Abstract

To the group of 15th-century primary witnesses that form the so-called “humanist sub-groupµ in the tradition of Isocrates it is now necessary to add an early 15th-century MS from Byzantium (Oxford, BL, Laud gr. 16), containing ‘Ad Demonicum’, and a copy made in Reading, dated 5 October 1494, by John Serbopoulos (Oxford, New College, 254), which contains ‘Ad Demonicum’ and ‘Ad Nicoclem’. With regard to the latter E. Drerup suggested a connection with MS Modena, Est. gr. 75, which can now be connected with Constantine Lascaris’ copy of Isocrates (Madrid, B. N., gr. 7210), in many places corrected by Lascaris, partly with the help of the humanist sub-group. Thorough examination of the tradition has made possible the insertion into the stemma of previously unexamined MSS, enhancing our knowledge of the connection between Byzantium and the humanists