Minuscule 553 (in the
Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 331 (in the
Soden numbering),
is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
minuscule
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, on parchment.
Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century.
Scrivener labelled it by number 540.
Description
The codex contains a complete text of the four
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
s on 303 parchment leaves (size ). The writing is in one column per page, 21 lines per page.
[
It contains tables of the , the , the , subscriptions at the end of the Gospels, , and faded decorations.]
According to Scrivener the manuscript is "extremely uninteresting".[
]
Text
The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the Byzantine text-type
In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Majority Text, Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main text types. It is the form fou ...
. Hermann von Soden
Baron Hermann von Soden (16 August 1852 – 15 January 1914) was a German Biblical scholar, minister, professor of divinity, and textual theorist.
Life
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 16, 1852, Soden was educated at the University of Tübinge ...
classified it to the textual family Kr. Aland placed it in Category V.
According to the Claremont Profile Method
The Claremont Profile Method is a method for classifying ancient manuscripts of the Bible. It was elaborated by Ernest Cadman Colwell and his students. Professor Frederik Wisse attempted to establish an accurate and rapid procedure for the classif ...
it represents the textual family Kr in Luke 1 and Luke 20. In Luke 10 no profile was made. It belongs to subgroup 35.
The Pericope Adulterae
Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (or the ) is a passage (pericope) found in John 7:53– 8:11 of the New Testament. It has been the subject of much scholarly discussion.
In the passage, Jesus was teaching in the Second Temple after com ...
(John 7:53-8:11) is marked with an obelus
An obelus (plural: obeluses or obeli) is a term in typography that refers to a historical mark which has resolved to three modern meanings:
* Division sign
* Dagger
* Commercial minus sign (limited geographical area of use)
The word "obelus ...
.[
]
History
The manuscript was held in the monastery Mar Saba
The Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas, known in Arabic and Syriac as Mar Saba ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܣܒܐ, ar, دير مار سابا; he, מנזר מר סבא; el, Ἱερὰ Λαύρα τοῦ Ὁσίου Σάββα τοῦ Ἡγιασμέ ...
. In 1834 Robert Curzon, Lord Zouche, brought this manuscript to England (along with the codices 548
Year 548 (Roman numerals, DXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 548 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calend ...
, 552
__NOTOC__
Year 552 ( DLII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 552 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era beca ...
, 554
__NOTOC__
Year 554 ( DLIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 554 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
).[ The entire collection of Curzon was bequeathed by his daughter in 1917 to the ]British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, where it had been deposited, by his son, since 1876.[Heike Behlmer]
''... `As Safe as in the British Museum`: Paul de Lagarde and His Borrowing of Manuscripts from the Collection of Robert Curzon''
The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
The ''Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA)'' is a bi-annual peer-reviewed international academic journal published by the Egypt Exploration Society. Covering Egyptological research, the JEA publishes scholarly articles, fieldwork reports, and re ...
Vol. 89, (2003), pp. 231-238.
The manuscripts was added to the list of the New Testament minuscule manuscripts by F. H. A. Scrivener
Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener (September 29, 1813, Bermondsey, Surrey – October 30, 1891, Hendon, Middlesex) was a New Testament textual critic and a member of the English New Testament Revision Committee which produced the Revised Version ...
(540) and C. R. Gregory
C. or c. may refer to:
* Century, sometimes abbreviated as ''c.'' or ''C.'', a period of 100 years
* Cent (currency), abbreviated ''c.'' or ''¢'', a monetary unit that equals of the basic unit of many currencies
* Caius or Gaius, abbreviated as ...
(553).[
The manuscript was examined by Scrivener, ]Dean Burgon
John William Burgon (21 August 18134 August 1888) was an English Anglican divine who became the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. He was known during his lifetime for his poetry and his defence of the historicity and Mosaic authorship of Gen ...
, and Gregory.[
It is currently housed at the ]British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
(Add MS 39596) in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.[
]
See also
* List of New Testament minuscules
The list of New Testament Minuscules ordered by Gregory-Aland index number is divided into three sections:
* List of New Testament minuscules (1–1000)
* List of New Testament minuscules (1001–2000)
* List of New Testament minuscules (2001– ...
* Biblical manuscript
A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures (see ''Tefillin'') to huge polyglot codices (multi-ling ...
* Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in ...
References
Further reading
* S. Emmel, ''Catalogue of Materials for Writing, Early Writings on Tablets and Stones, rolled and other Manuscripts and Oriental Manuscript Books, in the Library of the Honourable Robert Curzon'' (London 1849).
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minuscule 0553
Greek New Testament minuscules
13th-century biblical manuscripts
British Library additional manuscripts