A Short History of the Greek Colophon from the Beginnings to Modern Times

This paper focuses on that kind of paratexts usually called colophons (that is to say, the scribes’ signatures), as they occurr in Greek manuscripts. Our inquiry follows a diachronical and a synchronical path: on the diachronical level, we sketch the history and development of this ‘genre’ from the first instances in the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique ages down to its canonization and most widespread dissemination in the Byzantine age (including also some modern imitations); on the synchronical level, we analyse the structure of these paratexts, taking into account their various components and the ways in which they are expressed and arranged together. The theorical discussion is rooted on a vast range of examples, which are not only quoted and commented upon in the paper, but are also conveniently assembled in an appendix, where we offer a fresh edition of the Greek texts, English translations and detailed critical apparatuses with bibliographical references