É. Apor (ed.): Codex Cumanicus. Ed. by Géza Kuun with a Prolegomena to the Codex Cumanicus by Lajos Ligeti. (Budapest Oriental Reprints, Ser. B 1.)

L. Ligeti: Prolegomena to the Codex Cumanicus

PROLEGOMENA TO THE CODEX CUMANICl'S 51 it as a prop for their difficult work), but rather in their pious intention to convert Comans to the Christian faith. So far so good. The seemingly firm, logical foundation of this argument, however, totters if we recall the paperstructure of the Codex. The first, Italian part contains two fascicules with 118 pages, 110 of them used by the Italians. Pp. Ill 118 were left blank. Surprisingly, the third fascicule begins on page numbered 119 today. On this page the Coman riddles begin, followed by the Coman texts, and the glosses of the Franciscan friars in Latin. This continues until page 151, when several pages are left blank (pp. 152, 153, 154, 155 and 158). Pages 157 and 158 contain a few lines at the top. The last continuous Coman passage can be found on page 159. From all indications, the next five pages (160 164) were also left blank. It cannot be a coincidence that the five blank pages of the second fascicule and the similar five pages of the third fascicule are filled up with German glosses. This prompts the supposition that the Codex Cumanicus passed through three, not two hands: 1. Italian colonists; 2. Franciscan friars with a knowledge of Latin; and 3. clerical and (lay) persons of German origin. The Germans may also have been Franciscans, they may have been missionaries as well. Nevertheless, it is certain that the German glosses were the last items to be added to the Codex, since they take up only the pages left blank. This circumstance contradicts the earlier view that the religious Coman texts of the Latin-speaking Franciscans were written by German glossators. Were this true, we would inevitably come across a German glossary or some other evidence pointing to German origin among the clerical passages. Such, however, cannot be found. It is also striking that the clerical purpose of the German glosses is not all that apparent either. In his edition of the Codex, G. Kuun amply commented on its Italian verses, jumping to the conclusion that they were written by the great Italian poet Petrarca, the alleged owner of the Codex. Teza did not neglect this question either, and following Kuun's path, he deciphered several Italian verses which remained illegible for Kuun. His firm conviction that the poems had nothing to do with Petrarca was later confirmed by other Italian literary scholars. In a new, authentic edition these poems must be, of course, included. They have no bearing upon the Coman, or for that matter upon any other language of the Codex, but they cannot be ignored with regard to its history. To sum up the research to date, it can be concluded that the Codex Cumanicus was made up of two independent parts. The first can be called the «Interpreters' Book» (pp. 1 -110), and the second the «Missionaries' Book» (pp. 111-164).