León palimpsest

The León Palimpsest, designated l or 67 (in the Beuron system),[1] is a 7th-century Latin manuscript pandect of the Christian Bible conserved in the cathedral of León, Spain. The text, written on vellum, is in a fragmentary condition. In some parts it represents the Old Latin version, while following Jerome's Vulgate in others. The codex is a palimpsest.[2]

From its location in Léon, this palimpsest is sometimes referred to as the Codex Legionensis; but this name is more commonly applied to the 10th-century Vulgate Bible at the Basilica of San Isidoro, León (Codex Gothicus Legionensis, or 91, 92 and 133 in the Beuron system).[1] Nor should the León palimpsest be confused with another 10th-century pandect in León, of which the second volume is conserved in the cathedral archive of Léon (number 193 in the Beuron system).[1]

Description

The text of the New Testament has survived on 40 leaves of the codex. The leaves have measures 37 by 24 cm. The text is written in 2 columns of 38-55 lines per page.[3] The text is written in a semi-uncial hand, in Visigothic characters. The fragments contain texts of James 4:4 - 1 Peter 3:14; 1 John 1:5 - 3 John 10; Acts 7:27-11:13; 14:21-17:25. It contains also a fragment of the Books of Maccabees.[4] The text of the codex represent a Vulgate with Old Latin elements, especially in the First Epistle of John.[2] The text is close to the Liber Comicus.[4] The codex also contains the text of the Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7).[5] As it is a palimpsest, the text could be overwritten. The younger upper text contains a 10th-century writing of Rufinus' translation of Eusebius' Church history.[4] The whole book contains 275 leaves, of which 185 have had their underwiting deciphered.[3][6]

The order of the books may tentatively be reconstructed: Octateuch, 1–4 Kings, Prophets (without Baruch), Job, Psalms (iuxta Hebraeos?), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Chronicles (Paralipomenon), 1–2 Ezra, 4 Esdras, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Esther, Judith, Tobit, 1–2 Maccabees; Gospels, Pauline Epistles, Catholic Epistles, Acts, Apocalypse. [7]

History

The biblical underwriting has been dated by F. H. A. Scrivener, Samuel Berger, and Bruce M. Metzger [2][8] to the 7th century.[9]

It was discovered by Rudolf Beer. It was examined and described by Samuel Berger.[2][10] It was examined by Bonifatius Fischer and Thiele.[4] Fischer edited its text in 1963.[8]

Currently it is housed in the archive of León Cathedral, where it is designated as codex 15.[4] The manuscript is cited in several critical texts of the Greek and Latin New Testament.[9]

See also

• List of New Testament Latin manuscripts
• Codex Toletanus

References

1. Piggin, Jean-Baptiste (2019). "The Original Beuron Numbers of 1949 With Links". piggin.net. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
2. Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose; Edward Miller (1894). A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. Vol. 2 (4 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. p. 72.
3. Gregory, Caspar René (1902). Textkritik des Neuen Testaments. Vol. 2. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs. p. 712. ISBN 1-4021-6347-9.
4. Bruce M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament, Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 316.
5. Aland, B.; Aland, K.; J. Karavidopoulos, C. M. Martini, B. Metzger, A. Wikgren (1993). The Greek New Testament. Stuttgart: United Bible Societies. p. 819. ISBN 978-3-438-05110-3. [UBS4]
6. Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice (2013), "The Latin Bible, c. 600 to c. 900", in Marsden, Richard; Matter, E. Ann (eds.), The New Cambridge History of the Bible; Volume 2; from 600 to 1450, CUP, p. 74
7. Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice (2013), "The Latin Bible, c. 600 to c. 900", in Marsden, Richard; Matter, E. Ann (eds.), The New Cambridge History of the Bible; Volume 2; from 600 to 1450, CUP, p. 75
8. Léon Vaganay, Christian-Bernard Amphoux, Jenny Heimerdinger, An introduction to New Testament textual criticism, Cambridge University Press, 1991, p. 29.
9. Aland, B.; Aland, K.; J. Karavidopoulos, C. M. Martini, B. Metzger, A. Wikgren (2009). The Greek New Testament (4 ed.). Stuttgart: United Bible Societies. p. 25*. ISBN 978-3-438-05110-3. [UBS4]
10. Berger, Samuel (1893). Histoire de la Vulgate pendant les premiers siècles du Moyen Age (in French). Paris. p. 384.