Royal MS 1 D VIII

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Date
5th century

Title
Codex Alexandrinus (Gregory-Aland 02), Bible in four volumes: Volume 4 (New Testament)

Content
Volume 4 of 4 (see also Royal MSS 1 D. v-vii). New Testament. All the books have superscriptions and colophons. The Eusebian canons and Ammonian sections are indicated in the margins of the Gospels, and the κεφάλαια appear as running heads at the top of the Gospel pages. Contents: 1. (f. 1v): 17th-century table of contents. 2. (ff. 2r-5v): Matthew. Imperfect: the manuscript is missing 25 leaves at the beginning, which would have contained the κεφάλαια of Matthew and Matt. 1:1-25:6. Colophon (f. 5v): 'Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ματθαῖον'. 3. (f. 5v): Κεφάλαια of Mark. Superscription (f. 5v): 'Τοῦ κατὰ Μάρκον εὐαγγελίου αἱ περιόχαι'. 4. (ff. 6r-18v): Mark. Superscription (f. 6r) is partly lost: '[Εὐαγγέλ]ιον κατὰ Μάρκον'. Colophon (f. 18v): 'Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Μάρκον'. 5. (ff. 19r-v): Κεφάλαια of Luke. Colophon (f. 19v): 'Τοῦ κατὰ Λουκᾶν εὐαγγελίου τὰ κεφάλαια'. 6. (ff. 20r-41v): Superscription (f. 20r): 'Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Λουκᾶν'. Colophon (f. 41v): 'Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Λουκᾶν'. 7. (f. 42r): Κεφάλαια of John. 8. (ff. 42r-55v): John. 2 leaves missing between ff. 46v and 47r, which would have contained John 6:50-8:52. Colophon (f. 55v): 'Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην'. 9. (ff. 56r-76r): Acts. Colophon (f. 76r): 'Πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων'. 10. (ff. 76r-78r): James. Colophon (f. 78r): 'Ἰακώβου ἐπιστολή'. 11. (ff. 78r-80r): 1 Peter. Colophon (f. 80r): 'Πέτρου Α'. 12. (ff. 80r-81v): 2 Peter. Colophon (f. 81v): 'Πέτρου Β'. 13. (ff. 81v-83v): 1 John. Superscription: (f. 81v): 'Ἰωάννου Α'. Colophon (f. 83v): 'Ἰωάννου Α'. 14. (f. 83v): 2 John. Colophon (f. 83v): 'Ἰωάννου Β'. 15. (f. 84r): 3 John. Colophon (f. 84r): 'Ἰωάννου Γ'. 16. (ff. 84r-v): Jude. Superscription (f. 84r) is partly illegible: '[Ἰούδα ἐπ]ιστολή'. Colophon (f. 84v): 'Ἰούδα ἐπιστολὴ πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων άποστόλων καὶ καθολικαὶ'. 17. (ff. 85r-92r): Romans. Superscription (f. 85r) is partly lost: '[Πρὸ]ς Ῥωμαίους'. Colophon (f. 92r): 'Πρὸς Ῥωμαίους'. 18. (ff. 92v-99v): 1 Corinthians. Colophon (f. 99v): 'Πρὸς Κορινθίους Α'. 19. (ff. 99v-101v): 2 Corinthians. Superscription (f. 99v): 'Πρὸς Κορινθίους Β'. 3 leaves are missing between ff. 100v and 101r, which would have contained 2 Cor. 4:13-12:6. Colophon (f. 101v): 'Πρὸς Κορινθίους Β'. 20. (ff. 101v-104r): Galatians. Superscription (f. 101v): 'Πρὸς Γαλάτας'. Colophon (f. 104r): 'Πρὸς Γαλάτας'. 21. (ff. 104r-106v): Ephesians. Superscription (f. 104r): 'Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους'. Colophon (f. 106v): 'Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους'. 22. (ff. 107r-108v): Philippians. Superscription (f. 107r) is partly lost: '[Πρὸς] Φιλιππησίους'. Colophon (f. 108v): 'Πρὸς Φιλιππησίους'. 23. (ff. 108v-110r): Colossians. Superscription (f. 108v): 'Πρὸς Κολασσαεῖς'. Colophon (f. 110r): 'Πρὸς Κολασσαεῖς ἀπὸ Ῥωμῆ [sic]'. 24. (ff. 110v-12r): 1 Thessalonians. Colophon (f. 112r): 'Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Α ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Ἀθηνῶν'. 25. (ff. 112r-13r): 2 Thessalonians. Superscription (f. 112r): 'Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Β'. Colophon (f. 113r): 'Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Β ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Ἀθηνῶν'. 26. (ff. 113r-19r): Hebrews. Superscription (f. 113r): 'Πρὸς Ἑβραίους'. Colophon (f. 119r): 'Πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Ῥωμῆς'. 27. (ff. 119r-21r): 1 Timothy. Superscription (f. 119r): 'Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Α'. Colophon (f. 121r): 'Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Α ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Λαοδικείας'. 28. (ff. 121r-22v): 2 Timothy. Superscription (f. 121r): 'Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Β'. Colophon (f. 122v): 'Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Β ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Λαοδικείας'. 29. (ff. 123r-v): Titus. Superscription (f. 123r) is partly lost: '[Πρὸς] Τίτον'. Colophon (f. 123v): 'Πρὸς Τίτον ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Νικοπολέως'. 30. (f. 124r): Philemon. Superscription (f. 124r) is partly lost: '[Πρὸς] Φίλημον'. Folio 124v is blank. 31. (ff. 125r-33v): Revelation. Colophon (f. 133v): 'Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου'. 32. (ff. 134r-43r): 1 Clement. Superscription (f. 134r) is partly lost: '[...] Κορινθίους Α'. 1 leaf is missing between ff. 142 and 143, which would have contained 1 Clem. 57:7-63:4. Colophon (f. 143r): 'Κλήμεντος πρὸς Κορινθίους ἐπιστολὴ'. 33. (ff. 143r-44v): 2 Clem. 1:1- 12:5. The text ends imperfectly, with the loss of some leaves. Explicit: 'Καὶ τὸ ἄρσεν μετὰ τῆς θηλίας οὔτε ἄρσεν οὔτε θῆλυ τούτ[...]'. In addition to the end of 2 Clement, the Psalms of Solomon seem to have been lost in their entirety: the title of this book appeared at the end of the table of contents on Royal MS 1 D. v, f. 4r, although separated by a space from the rest. Decoration: Decorated tailpieces in the form of ornamental panels, at the end of major text divisions. Enlarged first letters of paragraphs standing out of the columns. The first few lines of each book are written in red ink.
 
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Languages
Greek, Ancient

Physical Description
  • Dimensions: 320 x 280 mm (text space: 240 x 205 mm). 2 columns, generally of 50 or 51 lines; each line contains usually from 20 to 25 letters, but more are often inserted by compression at the end of the line.
  • Foliation: ff. 144 (+ 2 unfoliated modern parchment flyleaves: 1 at the beginning and 1 at the end; f. 1 is a parchment flyleaf).
  • Collation: Gatherings originally of 8 leaves, numbered at the top of the first page; re-bound in modern times in gatherings of 6 leaves.
  • Script: Uncial. Written probably by 3 different hands (III, IV and V in Milne and Skeat 1938); punctuation by the original scribes.
  • Binding: Post-1600; gold-tooled leather with the royal arms of England and initials 'CR'.

Ownership
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean. Provenance: Athanasius III, patriarch of Alexandria (1276-1316), brought by him to Alexandria, between 1305 and 1315, probably from Constantinople, where he primarily resided until 1305: his note in Arabic, reading 'Bound to the Patriarchal Cell in the Fortress of Alexandria. Whoever removes it thence shall be excommunicated and cut off. Written by Athanasius the humble,' 13th/14th century (Royal MS 1 D. v, f. 5r); a similar inscription by Athanasius is included in Oxford, Bodleian Library Roe 13, the Commentaries of Hesychius and John Chrysostom on the Psalms, written on Mount Galesios, near Ephesus, in 1284/85, at the request of Galaction the Blind. Leaves were numbered in the 14th century by Arabic numerals in the lower corners of the verso sides; this numeration has in many cases been cut away during binding. A note in Arabic stating that the manuscript was written by Thecla the Martyr, early 17th century (Royal MS 1 D. v, f. 4v). Cyril Lucar (1572-1638), Greek Patriarch of Alexandria as Cyril III (1602-1621) and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as Cyril I (1621-1638), brought by him from Egypt to Constantinople in 1621: Latin note in his hand stating that the manuscript was written by Thecla shortly after the Council of Nicaea of 325 (f. 2r); offered by him in 1625 to Sir Thomas Roe, English ambassador to the Ottoman Porte, as a New Year's gift to James I (1566-1625), king of Scotland, England, and Ireland: a letter from Sir Thomas Roe to the earl of Arundel dated 1625, mentioning the manuscript as the intended gift to the king (see The Negotiations of Sir Thomas Roe in his Embassy to the Ottoman Porte, from the Year 1621 to 1628, ed. by S. Richardson (London: Society for the Encouragement of Learning, 1740), p. 335). Sir Thomas Roe (1581-1644), English ambassador to the Ottoman Porte, received by him in 1627 as a gift for Charles I. Charles I (1600-1649), king of England, Scotland, and Ireland: received by him in 1627 as a New Year's gift. Added note in Latin, being an attempt to translate the Arabic note by Athanasius, stating that the manuscript was given to a patriarchate of Alexandria in 1098: 'donum datum cubiculo Patriarchali anno 814 Mrtyrum', last quarter of the 17th century (Royal MS 1 D. v, f. 1r). Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library.

Bibliography
  • Facsimile of the Codex Alexandrinus, ed. by E. Maunde Thompson, 4 vols (London: British Museum, 1876-1883).
  • [E. Maunde Thompson and G. F. Warner], Catalogue of Ancient Manuscripts in the British Museum, 2 vols (London: British Museum, 1881-1884), I: Greek (1881), pp. 17-20.
  • Facsimiles of Biblical Manuscripts in the British Museum, ed. by Frederic G. Kenyon (London: British Museum, 1900), no. II.
  • The Codex Alexandrinus (Royal MS 1 D V-VIII) in Reduced Photographic Facsimile, ed. by Frederick G. Kenyon, 5 vols (London: British Museum, 1909-1957).
  • G. Mercati, 'Un'oscura nota del Codice Alessandrino', in Mélanges offert à M. Emile Chatelain (Paris, 1910), pp. 79-82.
  • George F. Warner and Julius P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King’s Collections, 4 vols (London: British Museum, 1921), I, p. 17.
  • H. I. Bell, Recent Discoveries of Biblical Papyri: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered before the University of Oxford on 18 November 1936 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1937), pp. 13-15.
  • H. J. M. Milne and T. C. Skeat, Scribes and Correctors of the Codex Sinaiticus (London: British Museum, 1938), pp. 91-93, pls 10-43.
  • William Henry Paine Hatch, The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1939), pls xvii-xix.
  • Giovanni Mercati, 'I Codici Greci di Abramo Massad Maronita', in Miscellanea Biblica et Orientalia R. P. Athanasio Miller oblata, Studia Anselmiana, 27-28 (1951), 15-37 (pp. 34-35).
  • H. J. M. Milne and T. C. Skeat, The Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Alexandrinus, 2nd edn (London: British Museum, 1955), pp. 30-40.
  • T. C. Skeat, 'The Provenance of the Codex Alexandrinus', The Journal of Theological Studies, 6 (1955), 233-35 (pp. 233-34).
  • Guiglielmo Cavallo, Ricerche sulla maiuscola biblica (Florence: Le Monnier, 1967), pp. 77-81.
  • Carl Nordenfalk, Die spätantiken Zierbuchstaben (Stockholm, 1970), pp. 106-13, figs 25-29, 31.
  • T. S. Pattie, Manuscripts of the Bible: Greek Bibles in the British Library (London: British Library, 1979), pp. 23-27.
  • Bruce M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Greek Palaeography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981), no. 18 [with additional bibliography].
  • Robert G. Calkins, Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages (London: Thames & Hudson, 1983), p. 19.
  • Otto Pächt, Buchmalerei des Mittelalters (Munich: Prestel, 1984), pp. 46, 63, il. 50.
  • G. Cavallo and H. Maehler, Greek Bookhands of the Early Byzantine Period A.D. 300-800 (London, 1987), p. 56.
  • J. K. Elliott, A Bibliography of Greek New Testament Manuscripts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 32-34.
  • John Lowden, The Octateuchs: A Study in Byzantine Manuscript Illustration (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992), p. 2.
  • Thomas S. Pattie, 'The Creation of the Great Codices', in The Bible as Book: The Manuscript Tradition, ed. by John L. Sharpe III and Kimberly Van Kampen (London: British Library), pp. 61-72 (pp. 69-70).
  • The British Library Summary Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts, vol. 1 (London: British Library 1999), pp. 223-24.
  • The Libraries of King Henry VIII, ed. by J. P. Carley, Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues, 7 (London: The British Library, 2000), p. lxxxvii.
  • Scot McKendrick, 'The Codex Alexandrinus: On the Dangers of being a Named Manuscript', in The Bible as Book: The Transmission of the Greek Text, ed. by Scot McKendrick and O. A. O'Sullivan (London: British Library & New Castle, 2003), pp. 1-16.
  • Scot McKendrick and Kathleen Doyle, Bible Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2007), no. 8.
  • Kathleen Doyle, ''Preserved and transmitted for the good of posterity': The Transfer of the Old Royal Library from a Palace to a Museum' in 1000 Years of Royal Books and Manuscripts, ed. by Kathleen Doyle and Scot McKendrick (London: British Library, 2013), pp. 179-212 (pp. 187, 189-90, 197, 202).
  • W. Andrew Smith, A Study of the Gospels in Codex Alexandrinus: Codicology, Palaeography, and Scribal Hands, New Testament Tools, Studies and Documents, 48 (Leiden: Brill, 2014).
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