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 45 I, 123 (

cremisi

, chermesi, chermisi, chermisino, cremisino

); Heyd H, 608 (chermisi). P qirmizi «crimson, scarlet» (Stg. 183); A qirmizi «rouge, teint de rouge, cramoisi» (BK II, 725). Cf. Dozy II, 337; bachami «red of brazil-wood»; P bachami

: baqami

; C bachami

: baqami (92:30). — Heyd H, 587-590. The name of the tree in the Codex is braqile; P bacha

: baqami

; C bachan

: baqam (81:12); Peg. (Yule 167: «brazil-wood»). P baqam, baqqam «brazil-wood; the red extracted of it» (Stg. 194); Uig. baqam «arbre dit sapan (Caesalpinia sappan)» in Acta Orient, Hung. XIX, 137; A baqqam «bois de campéche employe dans la teinture; couleur rouge; teinture en rouge» (BK I, 151); balaxius «ruby of Badakhshan»; P haloes

: balaxé

; C (another word) (93:12). — Pelg. I, 122 (balscio, balasso, balogio «gemma color rubino, cca 1230: baiagius

); Heyd II, 653-654; Peg. (Dr. 70); Polo (balasci, Pelliot I, 63-65); Schaf. 231 («balas ruby»). P badaxS «Badakhshan», badaxSi «a ruby» (Stg. 162); A balaxS «rubis balais, vient du mot balakhchan, qui est employé souvent pour designer la province de Badakhchan» (Dozy I, 109).

6

2 spinatium «spinach»; P spanac: spanaq; C yspanac: ispanaq (106:25) — Pelg. I, 118 (

spinaci

, spinachinum, spinachia

); Lauf. 392 - 398; Schaf. 146 — 147. aspana

), aspanax, aspàna

] «herba pulmentis indi solita B. spinachia» (Vull. I, 89); A asfanàx «épinards» (Dozy I, 22). The number of examples could be increased. It seems likely that all of them are international loanwords which occur in mediaeval Latin texts just as in several other contemporary dcuments. For the time being, it is hardly possible to establish the exact time and route of each borrowing. However, it is highly probable that none of the Italo-Latin words of the Codex is a direct borrowing from the Persian or Coman word mentioned next to it. The Genoan or Venetian features of these Italo-Latin words cannot be decisive in determining the nationality of the author, since they likely reflect both the dialect of the scribe, and the mechanical imitation typical of the contemporary clerical practice. As is well known, the Codex contains Latin words, texts, and glosses in addition to the Italo-Latin material. To make things clearer let us return for a moment to the three paper-fascicules making up the Codex. The first two are related, forming an organic unit, so to speak. The Italo-Latin material was written on these two fascicules. 6

2 Several researchers have dealt with the phonetic explanation of balaxS. On East Iranian d > I, see E. Banovistine, Notes parthes et sogdiennes

: Journ. As. 1936, p. 234 (BaòaxSàn > BalaxSàn). Phonetically, the name of Baghdad (in mediaeval sources often Baudach or Baldac) calls for a totally different explanation. Marco Polo's manuscripts contain all the variants, see Pelliot, Notes on Marco Polo I, pp. 90 — 91, s. v. Baudac. On the phonetic explanation, see: N. Pellegrini, Gli arabismi nelle lingue neolatini II, p. 588.