On Stephanus Byzantius' Text of Strabo

The full publication, after long and expert study, of the remnant of the Vatican Palimpsest of Strabo (W. Aly and F. Sbordone, de Strabonis Codice Rescripto) redeems this unique early MS. of the Geographica from the oblivion to which Kramer and Cobet consigned it, and justifies all Aly's travail upon it. Aly dates the script about A.D. 500; and while recognising numerous errors and great carelessness on the part of scribe and corrector, he finds support for many of the readings of the palimpsest where they differ from the established text of the Byzantine MSS. of Strabo. He maintains that in the early sixth century there were two distinct traditions of the text current in Constantinople:(i) That of the Vatican Palimpsest (V). Some of its variant readings seem to be echoed in marginal or interlinear corrections in the Byzantine MSS., and Aly therefore believes that V is the source from which such corrections were transmitted. If this is true, they may be freely drawn upon for the establishment of this very early tradition of the text.(ii) The tradition of the text preserved in our Byzantine MSS. of Strabo (L). Aly seeks to identify the archetype of L as the text of Strabo used by Stephanus Byzantius in the early years of Justinian's reign.