Searching for Euthymius the Athonite’s Autograph: cod. Iviron geo. 68

The article deals with a manuscript from the Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, cod. Ivir. geo. 68, containing Georgian translations of Oratio 38 (In Nativitatem) by Gregory the Theologian and its commentary Explanation on the Difficult Passages from Oratio in Nativitatem. They are translated into Georgian by the famous scholar Euthymius the Athonite at the end of the tenth century.
The texts of cod. Ivir. geo. 68 have been edited: words and phrases written in an informal handwriting are inserted between lines and in the margins. The note “Pray for the poor Euthymius” (fol. 39v) written by the same informal hand is also attested in the manuscript. The note and the marginal and interlinear additions to the main texts in cod. Ivir. geo. 68 must have been personally written by Euthymius the Athonite. This is confirmed by: (I) dating the manuscript to the end of the 10th c. (before 1002); (II) analyzing the inscription “Pray for the poor Euthymius”; (III) analyzing the content of the additions considering Euthymius’ sensus de sensu translation. Hence, cod. Ivir. geo. 68 represents the collaboration of a translator and scribes; the manuscript was specifically written by scribes to be corrected and edited by the translator.
The Georgian translations of Gregory the Theologian’s Oratio 38 and the Commentary could be considered to be orally translated texts. Presumably, Euthymius translated the text impromptu and dictated it to scribes who record it, and after that, he edited his translations. Cod. Ivir. geo. 68 contains characteristics of medieval texts that were dictated to scribes. These are the abundance of mechanical errors and exceptional orthographic and phonetic diversity. All errors and orthographic-phonetic peculiarities of these texts were extensively edited as they were copied and spread around.