Manuscript hagiographic miscellany; written and illuminated in Egypt, before Aug. 30, 823.
Colophons: 1) on fol. 149v: Donation, date and memorial in Coptic: By the archimandrite Papa Damianos (alias Damianē) to the Monastery of St. Michael Archangel near present-day Hamuli; AM 539, 1st indication (August 29 AD 822-August 29, AD 823); memorial for Damianos's coadministrator Apa Apaioule son of the late Papa Basilios, and all the clerics of the same monastery. 2) on fol. 149v: Memorial in Coptic: For Gabriel (?), monk of the same monastery. 3) fol. 105r: Memorial in Coptic: Gabri son, i.e., monk, (of the monastery of St.) Michael. 4) Memorial (?) on fol. 149v. --Ed. van Lantschoot, no. 1.
Written area ca. 279 x 225 mm. Divisions: Red leather tabs fastened to fore-edge of fols. 16, 73, 88, 124, 131 at major divisions of the codex; major initial setting off major textual units; ekthesis, enlarged or greatly enlarged initial and paragraphus sign setting off paragraphs; passages (fols. 35r, 56r) marked by a small diple in margin of each line..
Script: Upright (titles and colophons at fol. 149v right-sloping). 10 lines = ca. 72 mm
Superlineation: Non-standard (very short strokes or dots) Punctuation: Raised dot in conjunction with a space. Tremas rare.
Collation: Signed on first and last page of the quire, top inner margin. Quire ornaments. No monograms, headlines or catchwords.
Decoration: frontispiece, headpieces, tailpieces, marginal ornaments, initials, paragraphus signs, signatures and page numbers, extended letters. Colors: strong reddish orange (Centroid 35), moderate yellowish green (136).
In the current binding, fol. 1 is a leaf from a parchment codex formerly used as the upper pastedown of the present manuscript, and is known as Pierpont Morgan Library MS M.579, fol. 1. It is a homiletic fragment of a moralizing character.
St. Archellites (Saint Archellides) is fictitious according to the Coptic encyclopedia (1991).