Minuscule 69 (in the
Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 505 (in the
von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), known as the ''Codex Leicester'', or ''Codex Leicestrensis'', 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
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
and
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
leaves. Using the study of comparative writing styles (
palaeography
Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...
), it has been dated to the 15th century. Some leaves of the
codex
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
are lost. It has been examined and collated by many palaeographers and textual critics. Although it is of a late date, its text is remarkable from the point of view of
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 ...
.
Description
Contents
The manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book), containing the entire New Testament with four
gaps
Gaps is a member of the Montana group of Patience games, where the goal is to arrange all the cards in suit from Deuce (a Two card) to King.
Other solitaire games in this family include Spaces, Addiction, Vacancies, Clown Solitaire, Paganini, ...
(
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
1:1-18:15;
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
10:45-14:17;
Jude 7-25;
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
19:10-22:21) on 213 leaves (sized ). The text of the manuscript skips from Acts 10:45 to 14:17 without a break, which possibly indicates the copyist copied it from a defective manuscript. The codex is written on 91 leaves of parchment and 122 of paper. According to biblical scholar
Frederick H. A. Scrivener, it is in fact 83 leaves of vellum and 130 of paper. Usually two parchment leaves are followed by three paper leaves. The paper was of very poor quality.
The quality is so bad that four of the leaves were only written on one side.
The leaves are arranged in
quarto
Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
(four leaves in a
quire). There are catchwords from quire to quire, and in the first half of each quire the leaves are numbered (2nd, 3rd, 4th).
The original sequence of the books was:
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
,
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
,
Catholic epistles
The catholic epistles (also called the general epistlesEncarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "katholieke brieven". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.) are seven epistles of the New Testament. Listed in order of their appearance in ...
,
Revelation of John
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
,
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. The
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
precede
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
(as also seen in
Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...
). This order was changed by a binder to the following: Gospels, Pauline epistles, Acts, Catholic epistles, and Revelation of John.
The text of Rev 18:7-19:10 is fragmentary.
It has some non-biblical additional material like: ''An explanation of the Creed and the Seven Councils'' (on fol. 159v), the ''Lives of the Apostles'' (on fol. 160v), ''
Limits of the Five Patriarchates'' (on fol. 161r). These are also seen in the codices
Minuscule 211 and
543.
File:Minuscule 69 (GA) 0161a.jpg, Folio 161 (recto) of the codex with the text of "The Limits of the Five Patriarchates"
File:Minuscule 69 (GA) 0161b.jpg, Folio 161 (verso) with the text of "The Limits of the Five Patriarchates"
It contains an
introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
to the Epistle to the Hebrews, the tables of contents (known as / ''kephalaia'') precede the three later Gospels with very unusual variations, and even without corresponding numbers of the (''chapters'') in the margin. There is no division into chapters or sections, no references to the
Eusebian Canons
Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into chapters and verses used in modern texts d ...
(an early division of the Gospels into sections), and no liturgical markings in the margin. The marginal notes are often illegible. It contains subscriptions at the end of each book. The subscriptions contain the numbers of lines (known as / ''stichoi'') and the numbers of phrases (known as / ''rhemata'').
The headings of the Gospels are titled as ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ Μάρκον etc., something also seen in
Minuscule 178
Minuscule 178 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 210 ( Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century. It has marginalia.
Description
The codex contai ...
.
Scribal habit
The text is written in one column per page, 37-38 lines per page.
The large initial letters at the beginning of each book are written in red ink.
The writing is rather rough and inelegant. It was written by a strange hand, the letter ''
epsilon
Epsilon (, ; uppercase , lowercase or lunate ; el, έψιλον) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a mid front unrounded vowel or . In the system of Greek numerals it also has the value five. It was der ...
/ ε'' being recumbent and so much like the letter ''
alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
/ α'', that it is not clear which was intended. The accents are placed over the succeeding consonant of the vowel. According to Scrivener, "The whole style of writing resembling a careless scrawl". There are numerous marginal notes written by a beautiful hand, who wrote words Ειμι Ιλερμου Χαρκου (''I am William Chark'') at the top of the first page. The hand of the corrector is nearly as old as the scribe.
The name ' (''Jesus'') is always written in full up to John 21:15, where we meet with the
nomen sacrum
In Christian scribal practice, nomina sacra (singular: ''nomen sacrum'' from Latin ''sacred name'') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A nomen sacrum consists ...
, and in 41 other places, 19 of which are in Acts. The
nomina sacra
In Christian scribal practice, nomina sacra (singular: ''nomen sacrum'' from Latin ''sacred name'') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A nomen sacrum consists ...
(an early Christian method of designating important names/words) are contracted in a usual way: ( / ''David''), ( / ''Jesus''), ( / ''Lord''), ( / ''Heaven''), ( / ''man''), ( / ''Christ''), ( / ''Israel''), ( / ''Jerusalem''), ( / ''saviour''), ( / ''father''), ( / ''mother''), ( / ''spirit''), ( / ''cross''), and ( / ''virgin''). The abbreviation is used once for χρηστος.
Scholar
William Hugh Ferrar
William Hugh Ferrar (1826–1871), a Latinist, was a classical Irish scholar at Trinity College Dublin.
In 1868, Ferrar discovered that four medieval manuscripts. Namely minuscules 13, 69, 124, and 346, were closely related texts. They are des ...
enumerated 1129 errors of
itacism
Iotacism ( el, ιωτακισμός, ''iotakismos'') or itacism is the process of vowel shift by which a number of vowels and diphthongs converged towards the pronunciation in post-classical Greek and Modern Greek. The term "iotacism" refers to ...
in the codex:
ο for
ω (190 occurrences), ω for ο (126), η for ει (93), ει for η (104),
ι for ει (77), ει for ι (62),
η for ι (87), ι for η (46),
ε for αι (73), αι for ε (72), ε for η (24), η for ε (20), υ for η (27 – rare elsewhere), η for υ (28), ου for ω (13), ω for ου (16), οι for ι (3), ι for οι (3), η for ευ (1 – in Luke 12:16), υ for ι (15), ι for υ (14), υ for η (6), υ for ε (1), υ for οι (4), υ for ει (3), οι for υ (4), οι for η (9), ο for ου (3), η for οι (3). There is also θ for τ (after σ) in Mark 10:40 and Luke 11:7.
Nu-moveable is rarely omitted.
There are some unusual grammar forms: ειπαν (twice only – ; ), ηλθατε (), εξηλθατε (; ; , , ; ), εισηλθατε (all instances), ανεπεσαν (), παραγενομενος ().
In some cases the accusatives are written with ending -αν for -α, e.g. νυκταν, θυγατεραν, χειραν. The gender is sometimes altered, verbs in -αω or -οω are formed as those in -εω (e.g. επηρωτουν, ; ; επετιμουν, ; ετολμουν; ερωτουν; εμβριμουμενος and others). The augment is often omitted after , but all before , and there is a double augment in ηπηντησαν ().
Text
The text of the codex is very remarkable; it belongs to
Family 13
Family 13, also known as the Ferrar Group (''ƒ'', von Soden calls the group I), is a group of Greek Gospel manuscripts, dating from the 11th to the 15th centuries, which share a distinctive pattern of variant readings — especially placing the pa ...
as a very important member of the group. The Greek text of the Gospels of this codex is considered to be a representative of the
Caesarean text-type
In textual criticism of the New Testament, Caesarean text-type is the term proposed by certain scholars to denote a consistent pattern of variant readings that is claimed to be apparent in certain Koine Greek manuscripts of the four Gospels, but wh ...
. The text-types are groups of different New Testament manuscripts which share specific or generally related readings, which then differ from each other group, and thus the conflicting readings can separate out the groups. These are then used to determine the original text as published; there are three main groups with names:
Alexandrian,
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Biblical scholar
Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland (28 March 1915 – 13 April 1994) was a German theologian and biblical scholar who specialized in New Testament textual criticism. He founded the '' Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung'' (Institute for New Testament Textua ...
placed it in
Category III of his New Testament manuscript text classification system. Category III manuscripts are described as having "a small but not a negligible proportion of early readings, with a considerable encroachment of
yzantinereadings, and significant readings from other sources as yet unidentified." An analysis using 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 ...
, confirmed its placement among
Family 13 (ƒ)
In the
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
and
Catholic epistles
The catholic epistles (also called the general epistlesEncarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "katholieke brieven". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.) are seven epistles of the New Testament. Listed in order of their appearance in ...
, its text is considered a representative of the Byzantine text-type. For these books,
Aland placed its text in
Category V (Category V manuscripts are "Manuscripts with a purely or predominantly Byzantine text").
In the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
its text belongs to the Byzantine text-type, but with a large number of unique textual variants, in close relationship to
Uncial 046 and
Minuscule 61
Codex Montfortianus designated by 61 (on the list Gregory-Aland; Soden's δ 603), and known as ''Minuscule 61'' is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on paper. Erasmus named it Codex Britannicus. Its completion is dated on the bas ...
, which appears to have been copied from it.
These three manuscripts constitute a subgroup 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 ...
.
The text of
Christ's agony at Gethsemane () is placed after . 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 ...
() is placed after . This is typical for the manuscripts of the
Ferrar Group.
In it reads
Σιχαρ for Συχαρ.
[ (NA27)]
In it reads ανθρωπον for κυριον.
Although there is no liturgical markings in the codex, it is likely many of its various readings have arisen from
lectionaries
A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, and a ...
.
History
Textual critic Wettstein and biblical scholar
J. Rendel Harris
James Rendel Harris ( Plymouth, Devon, 27 January 1852 – 1 March 1941) was an English biblical scholar and curator of manuscripts, who was instrumental in bringing back to light many Syriac Scriptures and other early documents. His contacts at t ...
dated the manuscript to the 14th century, but scholar
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 ...
dated it to the 15th century. It is currently dated by the
INTF
The Institute for New Testament Textual Research (german: Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung — INTF) at the University of Münster, Westphalia, Germany, is to research the textual history of the New Testament and to reconstruct its G ...
to the 15th century. M. R. James suggested that it was written by Emmanuel from Constantinople.
The manuscript was presented to
George Neville, Archbishop of York (1465–1472). It once belonged to
Richard Brinkley (or Brinkeley), who probably got it from Covenant of Grey Friars at Cambridge (like
minuscule 61
Codex Montfortianus designated by 61 (on the list Gregory-Aland; Soden's δ 603), and known as ''Minuscule 61'' is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on paper. Erasmus named it Codex Britannicus. Its completion is dated on the bas ...
). Then it belonged to William Chark (or Charc), mentioned in marginal notes of
codex 61. Then it belonged to
Thomas Hayne
Thomas Hayne (1582–1645) was an English schoolmaster and theologian.
Life
The son of Robert Hayne of Thrussington, Leicestershire, he matriculated from Lincoln College, Oxford, on 12 October 1599. He was admitted B.A. on 23 January 1605, was ...
, who in 1641 gave this codex with his other books to the Leicester Library.
John Mill was permitted to use this manuscript at Oxford, and collated it there in 1671 (as L). Another collation was made by John Jackson and William Tiffin, and it was lent to
Wettstein Wettstein is a Swiss surname. Bearers of the name include:
* Carla Wettstein (born 1946), Swiss and Australian chess master
*Fritz von Wettstein (1895–1945), Austrian botanist
*Johann Jakob Wettstein (1693–1754), Swiss theologian
* Johann Rudol ...
through
César de Missy Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* Ce ...
. Wettstein had observed a close affinity between this codex and minuscule 13. It was also examined by
Edward Gee.
Tregelles re-collated it in 1852 for his edition of the Greek New Testament. Scrivener collated it again in 1855 and published his results, with a full description in the Appendix to his "Codex Augiensis".
It was collated by
T. K. Abbott
Reverend Thomas Kingsmill Abbott (26 March 1829 – 18 December 1913) was an Irish scholar and educator.
Abbott was born in Dublin and was educated at Trinity College. He was elected a scholar in 1848, graduated in 1851 as a senior moderator in ma ...
along with three other manuscripts of the Ferrar family (marked by L). It was examined and described by biblical scholar
Rendel Harris. Biblical scholar
Caspar René Gregory
Caspar René Gregory (November 6, 1846 – April 9, 1917) was an American-born German theologian.
Life
Gregory was born to Mary Jones and Henry Duval Gregory in Philadelphia. He was the brother of the American zoologist Emily Ray Gregory. After ...
saw it in 1883.
It was formerly held in the library of the Town Council of Leicester. The codex is now located in the Leicestershire Record Office (Cod. 6 D 32/1) at
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
.
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– ...
*
Family 13
Family 13, also known as the Ferrar Group (''ƒ'', von Soden calls the group I), is a group of Greek Gospel manuscripts, dating from the 11th to the 15th centuries, which share a distinctive pattern of variant readings — especially placing the pa ...
*
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 L*
*
*
*
External links
*
Digital Images of Codex Leicestrensisat the ''CSNTM''
at the ''Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minuscule 0069
Greek New Testament minuscules
15th-century biblical manuscripts
Family 13