George Baiophoros
RGK I/A, n. 55; II/A, n. 74; III/A, n. 90
George Baiophoros was a very prolific scribe who was active in the first half of the 15th century (1402-1433/34) at St John’s Monastery in Petra (Constantinople). He often undersigned the books he made and used recycled writing surfaces for the texts he copied, mainly the grammatical works of Manuel Moschopoulos (Erotemata and Schedography). George Baiophoros probably produced these grammatical books to meet the great need of many Latin students who visited Constantinople to learn Greek. The manuscripts he recycled probably came from the same monastery and sometimes the same palimpsests appear in different manuscripts that he copied. For example, Simplicius' commentary on Aristotle's Categories is featured in both Vat. gr. 21 and Urb. gr. 154. Vat. gr. 19 has preserved the characteristic binding produced at the monastery of St. John Prodromos.
Undersignings
Urb.gr.154
«It was finished on April 15 of the first indiction, in the year 6931 (= 1423)»
Transcription: † τελειωθὲν κ(α)τ(ὰ) τ(ὴν) ιε´ τοῦ ἀπριλλ(ΐου) μηνὸς· ἰν(δικτιῶνος) α´· ἔτους, |͵ϛϡλα´ †
Vat.gr.19
«It was finished on May 25 of the third indiction, in the year 6933 (= 1425)»
Transcription: † τελειωθ(ὲν) κ(α)τ(ὰ) τ(ὴν) κε´ τοῦ μαΐου μηνὸς· ἰν(δικτιῶνος), γ´· ἔτους, ͵ϛϡλγ´
Vat.gr.21
«It was finished on June 10 of the first indiction, in the year 6931 (= 1423)»
Transcription: † τελειωθὲν κ(α)τ(ὰ) τ(ὴν) ι´ τοῦ ἰουν(ίου) μηνὸς· ἰν(δικτιῶνος), α´· ἔτους, ͵ϛϡλα´ †