Friday, May 30, 2008

Miscellaneous Biblical Codices

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I am creating a list of miscellaneous biblical codices up to the seventh century. In particular, I am interested in manuscripts which contain groups of texts which do not align with the usual groupings found in the early papyri and uncials. P72 is the only clear example of a Greek miscellaneous codex which I can find (although, note its Coptic proclivities). P42 and P62 are probably texts related to the (Novem) Odae Ecclesiae Graecae (P62 is a Greek-Coptic diglot). P6 and the Hamburger bilingual papyrus are both mainly Coptic texts, although they do contain Greek biblical texts (I Clement[co]-James[co]- John[co/gk], Song of Songs[co]- Lamentations[co]-Ecclesiastes[gk/co]). Yes, there is a Hamburger papyrus... but I trust that it comes with sauerkraut and not French fries.

Am I missing any other Greek miscellaneous biblical codices? The data will figure into my paper on the early Coptic biblical tradition at International Association of Coptic Studies in September.

4 comments

  1. Christian,

    since you say "biblical," look up J. M. Robinson, "The Manuscript's History and Codicology," in The Crosby-Schoyen Codex MS 193 in the Schoyen Collections (ed. J.E. Goehring; CSCO 521 Subsidia 85; Louvain, 1990), XVIII-XLVII (esp. XXVIII-XXX), where you will find an overview with other examples.

    For example, P.Bodm. XXVII+XLV-XLVII), contains Daniel and another works.

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  2. For the uninitiated (like me), it might make a great and educational post if you write up something describing the various categories of the codices that exist and in which these miscellaneous ones don't fit. This might also give us a chance to sleuth around and be of more help on your question. I know I'd enjoy the challenge.

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  3. These may or may not be relevant:
    P.Mich. inv.926
    P.Mich. inv.3992
    P.Mich. inv.3520

    You might also try reading: Writers and Readers in Medieval Italy: Studies in the History of Written Culture, by A. Petrucci; translated by C.M. Radding (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), it has an intersting discussion on unitaries, miscellanies and composite codices.

    Matthew Hamilton

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  4. For some reason, Blogger was not allowing me to post last week. Sorry for the late reply to these comments.

    Tommy: Thanks. This is a very helpful reference. I will get back to you on this one.

    Eric: The usual categories to which I refer are, for example, gospels, Pauline epistles, and Catholic epistles for the NT. For the OT, we might expect to find a manuscript with the Minor Prophets, wisdom literature, etc... Miscellaneous codices have more creative groupings. Sorry for any lack of clarity.

    Matthew: 3520 is an excellent example of how normal the miscellaneous codex is in early Coptic texts. 926 is very important for what it has to say about the early Bohairic textual tradition, but is not really a literary codex (although some of its contents are literary). 3992 appears to be a Greek documentary text with a blank verso. Thanks for the pointer on Petrucci. This may have some good information on the Latin tradition.

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