Radboud summer school on Greek papyrology

The second Radboud summer school on Greek papyrology will be held this summer, this time working on unpublished fragments from the Utrecht University Library. Over the course of a week, the participants will receive lectures and workshops on papyrology, palaeography, and the history of Graeco-Roman Egypt, while in the afternoons they will be working on editions of the unpublished pieces. The students will be tutored throughout the week by Dr Daniela Colomo, Dr Janneke de Jong, and Dr Mark de Kreij. The aim of the summer school is to produce a co-authored article in which we publish the little collection (the results of the 2021 summer school are forthcoming in ZPE). It has proven to be a great opportunity for young scholars with an interest in exploring documentary papyrology and the socio-economic history of Graeco-Roman Egypt. 

 I would ask you to forward this message to any advanced students (normally MA or PhD students, though advanced undergraduate students may apply) who might be interested. Experience in papyrology is not required but a good knowledge of ancient Greek is. The small course (c. 10-15 participants) will be offered on campus in Nijmegen, 3-7 July 2023. If one applies before March 1st, there will be a €50,- discount on the €500,- course fee. 

Details about the course and the application can be found here: https://www.ru.nl/radboudsummerschool/courses/overview-courses-2023/2023-courses/week-3/rss03-14-greek-papyri-society-graeco-roman-egypt/

 

 

Crash Course in Greek Palaeography

 

Crash Course in Greek Palaeography

Ghent University, 22-23 May 2023

The Greek department of Ghent University offers a two-day course in Greek palaeography in collaboration with the Research School OIKOS. The course is intended for MA, ResMA and doctoral students in the areas of Classics, Ancient History, Ancient Civilizations and Medieval studies with a good command of Greek. It offers a chronological introduction into Greek palaeography from the Hellenistic period until the end of the Middle Ages and is specifically aimed at acquiring practical skills for research involving literary and documentary papyri and/or manuscripts. We will also provide the unique opportunity to read from original papyri in the papyrus collection of the Ghent University Library and become familiar with the ongoing research projects at Ghent University.

Programme

The course is set up as an intensive two-day seminar. Five lectures by specialists in the field will give a chronological overview of the development of Greek handwriting, each followed by a practice session reading relevant extracts from papyri and manuscripts in smaller groups under the supervision of young researchers.

Monday, May 22

9:30 Welcome with coffee

10:00 Introduction

10:30-11:45 Papyri of the Ptolemaic and Roman period (Dr. Joanne Stolk)

11:45-13:00 Practice with papyri of the Ptolemaic and Roman period

13:00-14:00 Lunch break

14:00-14:30 Presentation of papyri from the collection of the Ghent University Library (Serena Causo)

14:30-15:45 Papyri of the Byzantine period (Dr. Yasmine Amory)

15:45-17:00 Practice papyri of the Byzantine period

19:00 Dinner (optional)

 

Tuesday, May 23

9:00-10:15 Majuscule and early minuscule bookhands (4^th-9^th centuries) (Dr. Rachele Ricceri)

10:15-11:30 Practice majuscule and early minuscule bookhands

11:30-12:00 Coffee break

12:00-13:15 The development of minuscule script (10^th-12^th centuries) (Prof. dr. Floris Bernard)

13:15-14:15 Lunch break

14:15-15:30 Practice minuscule script of the 10^th-12^th centuries

15:30-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-17:15 Manuscripts and scholars of the Palaeologan period (13^th-15^th centuries) (Prof. dr. Andrea  Cuomo)

17:15-18:30 Practice manuscripts of the Palaeologan period

Practical information

The study load is the equivalent of 2 ECTS (2x28 hours). Participants will be asked to read up on secondary literature in preparation for the seminar (distributed several weeks before the course). Extra material will be handed out during the course in order to continue to improve your reading skills afterwards.

There are no fees for participation in this course. Lunches and coffee on both days are provided free of charge. There is an optional dinner on Monday at your own expense. Travel costs and accommodation in Ghent are also at your own expense.

Registration

Please register by sending an e-mail with a short motivation (including your background, research interests and why you would like to follow this course) to yasmine.amory@ugent.be. Priority is given to OIKOS doctoral students and those who did not have the opportunity to follow course(s) on palaeography before. Registration closes by the final deadline of March 1st, 2023. Successful applicants will be notified soon afterwards.

A Westminster Divine on Codex Alexandrinus

Back in November a man I’ve never met named Stephen Steele sent me an article he’d recently written. On Friday, I finally got around to reading it and commend it to you. Stephen is a minister in Scotland and has an MA on Presbyterian history from Queen’s University Belfast. The article looks at Thomas Goodwin’s engagement with textual criticism and his appeal to the newly known Codex Alexandrinus. Goodwin is especially important because he was a Westminster Divine. Here is the key takeaway:

So-called ‘Confessional Bibliologists’ claim to hold the position of the Westminster Divines. However they certainly do not hold the position of leading Westminster Divine Thomas Goodwin.

It has been said that in the century after Goodwin, ‘the Received Text was still treated with excessive veneration, and was not actually replaced in England until the nineteenth century. But events in the scholarly world had been gradually bringing about its decline, ever since the arrival of the Codex Alexandrinus (A) in 1627’.

For an example of a Reformed pastor who gratefully used readings from this newly discovered manuscript in preference to the TR, we can go all the way back to Westminster Divine Thomas Goodwin.

Do give the whole article a read.

Houghton: GA 239 & 304 Do Not Attest the Short Ending of Mark

In the latest issue of NTS, Hugh Houghton has a brief article looking at two catena manuscripts (GA 239 and 304) that both break off after Mark 16:8. The latter is even cited as evidence for the short ending in the ECM. But Houghton makes the case that neither provide evidence for the short ending since there are good reasons to conclude that both manuscripts originally had the longer ending. The evidence for this comes both from the catena and from the fact that neither manuscript has typical ending marks after 16:8, suggesting the text originally continued. Here’s the conclusion:

In sum, there are no known Greek minuscule manuscripts which only preserve the Short Ending of Mark. While the tenacity of the early textual variation at this point continues to be visible in such documents in the form of marginal asterisks, other scribal annotations, and comments from early Christian authors in catenae, claims that this ancient reading is attested by a Byzantine manuscript cannot be sustained unless they are supported by detailed investigation of the witness’s codicology, scribal practice, and textual tradition. The present study does not challenge the scholarly consensus on the earliest attainable form of the ending of Mark, but it does demonstrate the imperative to take full account of the context and nature of documents in which an unexpected reading appears before adducing them as evidence for an early form of text.

There are other interesting features about both manuscripts, but the case against citing these two minuscules to support the short ending is convincing to my mind. The article is open access and you can read it here. 

Mark 16:8 in GA 239

Robinson Reviews Stanojević’s Orthodox New Testament Textual Scholarship

In the latest issue of the Southeastern Theological Review, Maurice Robinson has a review of Jovan Stanojević’s recent book Orthodox New Testament Textual Scholarship: Antoniades, Lectionaries, and the Catholic Epistles, Texts and Studies (Third Series) 26 (Piscataway NJ: Gorgias Press, 2021). 

The review is interesting because Stanojević is Eastern Orthodox himself and argues for a revision to the Antoniades edition, the standard form of the Greek NT text in the Orthodox church, as I understand it. Robinson, of course, has coedited a Byzantine edition which is not the Orthodox standard. No one in this situation is apparently happy. The review is online (p. 97ff).

Hebrew Poetic and Prophetic Discourse Conference in Dallas

On October 18, 2023, Dallas International University is hosting an in-person and virtual conference on Macro Analysis of Hebrew Poetic and Prophetic Discourse. Registration opens in the Spring and submissions are open until April 28, 2023. You can learn more at hebrewdiscourse.com.

Two Recent Articles from Peter Rodgers

Peter Rodgers sends word that he has two new articles in Filología Neotestamentaria. I can’t seem to link to the specific issues or articles, but here are the titles and abstracts. (Update: I’ve added links to Peter’s Academia page where they’re uploaded.)

Mark’s longer ending

Among the theories as to how the Gospel of Mark ended is the proposal that a final page was lost early in its transmission. This article presents evidence to support that theory. Matthew appears to follow Mark closely until 16:8 when our authentic Mark ends abruptly. We may expect him to do so if he has access to Mark’s longer ending. Utilizing C. H. Turner’s article on Marcan usage, we explore several peculiarities of Mark’s style that appear in Matthew 28:9-20. These indicate that Matthew followed Mark as he reshaped the gospel in his own way, but distinctive traces of Mark survived.

The Origins of the Alexandrian Text of the New Testament

The Alexandrian text is generally regarded as the most reliable text form of the New Testament. However, there is reason to suspect that it did not originate in Alexandria. There is a total absence of references to Christians in the documentary papyri before the beginning of the third century. This article argues that the “Alexandrian” text actually originated in Ephesus, a major Christian center in Apostolic and sub-apostolic times. This proposal sheds further light on the text-critical issue at Eph. 1:1.