Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Codex Zacynthius
Codex Zacynthius (designated by siglum Ξ or 040 in the Gregory-Aland numbering; A1 in von Soden) is a Greek New Testament codex, dated paleographically to the 6th century. First thought to have been written in the 8th century, it is a palimpsest—the original (lower) text was washed off its vellum pages and overwritten in the 12th or 13th century. The upper text of the palimpsest contains weekday Gospel lessons (ℓ299); the lower text contains portions of the Gospel of Luke, deciphered by biblical scholar and palaeographer Tregelles in 1861. The lower text is of most interest to scholars.
The manuscript came from Zakynthos, a Greek island, and has survived in a fragmentary condition. It was brought to England in 1821 and transferred to Cambridge University in 1985 which later purchased it after an appeal in 2014. It is often cited in critical editions of the Greek New Testament.
The lower text of the manuscript contains fragments of the chapters 1:1-11:33 of the Gospel of Luke. The codex consists of 86 thick, coarse parchment leaves and three partial leaves; (36 x 29 cm). The text was written in a single column with well-formed uncial script. The letters are large, round and narrow, without spiritus asper, spiritus lenis, or accents. The manuscript was written by two scribes.
Abbreviations are rarely used in the codex. The handwriting is very close to that of the Rossano Gospels. Some itacism errors occur. It uses grammatical forms typical of the ancient manuscripts (e.g. ειπαν, ηλθαν, ευραν), which are not used in later medieval manuscripts.
The codex uses a peculiar system of chapter divisions, which it shares with Codex Vaticanus (B) and Minuscule 579. A more common system divides the chapters according to their titles. The capital letters at the section beginnings stand out in the margin as in the Codices Alexandrinus and Ephraemi.
The text is surrounded by a marginal commentary; it is the only codex that has both text and commentary in uncial script. The commentary is a catena of quotations of nine church fathers: Origen, Eusebius, Titus of Bostra, Basil, Isidore of Pelusium, Cyril of Alexandria, Sever from Antioch, Victor from Antioch, and Chrysostom. The commentary surrounds the single-column text of Luke on three sides. Patristic text is written in small uncial letters. Most of the quotations are those of Ciril of Alexandria (93 scholia); next comes Titus of Bostra (45 scholia). The commentary was written in a different kind of uncial script than the biblical text.
The book contains the following chapters and verses of the Gospel of Luke: 1:1-9,19-23,27-28,30-32,36-60,77; 2:19,21-22,33-3; 3:5-8,11-20; 4:1-2,6-20,32-43; 5:17-36; 6:21; 7:6,11-37,39-47; 8:4-21,25-35,43-50; 9:1-28,32-33,35; 9:41; 10:18,21-40; 11:1-4,24-33.
Hub AI
Codex Zacynthius AI simulator
(@Codex Zacynthius_simulator)
Codex Zacynthius
Codex Zacynthius (designated by siglum Ξ or 040 in the Gregory-Aland numbering; A1 in von Soden) is a Greek New Testament codex, dated paleographically to the 6th century. First thought to have been written in the 8th century, it is a palimpsest—the original (lower) text was washed off its vellum pages and overwritten in the 12th or 13th century. The upper text of the palimpsest contains weekday Gospel lessons (ℓ299); the lower text contains portions of the Gospel of Luke, deciphered by biblical scholar and palaeographer Tregelles in 1861. The lower text is of most interest to scholars.
The manuscript came from Zakynthos, a Greek island, and has survived in a fragmentary condition. It was brought to England in 1821 and transferred to Cambridge University in 1985 which later purchased it after an appeal in 2014. It is often cited in critical editions of the Greek New Testament.
The lower text of the manuscript contains fragments of the chapters 1:1-11:33 of the Gospel of Luke. The codex consists of 86 thick, coarse parchment leaves and three partial leaves; (36 x 29 cm). The text was written in a single column with well-formed uncial script. The letters are large, round and narrow, without spiritus asper, spiritus lenis, or accents. The manuscript was written by two scribes.
Abbreviations are rarely used in the codex. The handwriting is very close to that of the Rossano Gospels. Some itacism errors occur. It uses grammatical forms typical of the ancient manuscripts (e.g. ειπαν, ηλθαν, ευραν), which are not used in later medieval manuscripts.
The codex uses a peculiar system of chapter divisions, which it shares with Codex Vaticanus (B) and Minuscule 579. A more common system divides the chapters according to their titles. The capital letters at the section beginnings stand out in the margin as in the Codices Alexandrinus and Ephraemi.
The text is surrounded by a marginal commentary; it is the only codex that has both text and commentary in uncial script. The commentary is a catena of quotations of nine church fathers: Origen, Eusebius, Titus of Bostra, Basil, Isidore of Pelusium, Cyril of Alexandria, Sever from Antioch, Victor from Antioch, and Chrysostom. The commentary surrounds the single-column text of Luke on three sides. Patristic text is written in small uncial letters. Most of the quotations are those of Ciril of Alexandria (93 scholia); next comes Titus of Bostra (45 scholia). The commentary was written in a different kind of uncial script than the biblical text.
The book contains the following chapters and verses of the Gospel of Luke: 1:1-9,19-23,27-28,30-32,36-60,77; 2:19,21-22,33-3; 3:5-8,11-20; 4:1-2,6-20,32-43; 5:17-36; 6:21; 7:6,11-37,39-47; 8:4-21,25-35,43-50; 9:1-28,32-33,35; 9:41; 10:18,21-40; 11:1-4,24-33.