Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient Roman medical treati

The author concludes that "Codex Berinensis [CB] was probably produced in [1148]". How does the author arrive at that hypothesis?

First, some background information:

• CB is a Florentine (of or relating to Florence) copy of an ancient Roman medical treatise.
• There is no date on CB to signify when it was produced.
• However, CB contains clues to help us figure out when it was produced.

What are those clues?

• "Its first 80 pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining 20 pages are by three different copyists." - According to the author, this is evidence of significant disruption. In other words, this evidence suggests that the production of CB was significantly interrupted.
• "A letter in handwriting identified as that of the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in Florence in 1148." - Why were the final 20 pages completed by three different copyists? This letter suggests a possible explanation. A plague killing many people could have certainly disrupted the production of CB (as the copyists and/or their loved ones became sick).

To review the author's argument...

• Production of CB was significantly disrupted.
• A plague could have certainly caused such disruption.
• There was a serious plague in Florence in 1148.
• Thus, this Florentine document was probably produced at the time of that plague (1148).

But did the disruption actually occur in 1148? What if other events/illnesses could have interrupted production in other years? We need something that supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148.


If we DID have other samples of the copyists' handwriting, then that might help us date the document. But the lack of such evidence does not strengthen or weaken the hypothesis. Eliminate (A).


We already know that the plague "killed many people." So, regardless of its length, the plague could certainly have disrupted production. Also, (B) doesn't help us determine whether production could have been disrupted in other years. (B) doesn't help us, so eliminate this one.


(C) tells us that it probably took the last three copyists about 20 days to complete CB. So what? Why were there three copyists? Was the disruption caused by the plague of 1148? Choice (C) certainly supports the idea that CB could have been completed in less than a year, but it does not help us determine the year in which the work actually was done. Eliminate (C).


If there were multiple outbreaks of plague in Florence in the 1100s (i.e. 1105, 1148, and 1179), then the disruption could have occurred during ANY of those outbreaks. This would obviously weaken the hypothesis. Choice (D) eliminates this possiblity, thus strengthening the hypothesis. Hang on to this one.


As with choice (C), (E) gives us information about the copyists' output. Each new copyist was less productive than the last. This is interesting, but it doesn't tell us anything about WHEN the document was produced. It doesn't even help us determine how long it took to produce the document. Choice (E) is irrelevant and can be eliminated.

(D) is the best answer.