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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Trip to Chester Beatty Library

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Almost two weeks ago now a group comprised mostly of MPhil and PhD students and I took a trip to Dublin to see the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri. There is a wonderful general display, where some of the joined up sheets of both P45 and P46 were a highlight - these really help to visualise the respective codices as a whole - P45 is comprised of a series of single sheet quires, whereas P46 is one large single quire.

Here is an image of a sheet from P45 (folios 13R - 14R, Luke 11-13)











Here is an image of a sheet from P46 (a bifolium featuring Romans 11 [fol. 15V] and Colossians 1 [fol. 90V]):





















We were also able to take a closer look at a large selection of leaves from the NT papyri (P45, P46, P47), courtesy of Charles Horton.
















4 comments

  1. Rick Bennett4/17/2008 9:59 pm

    Peter, I'm definitely jealous! That would have made for a great side-trip last summer.

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  2. Wieland Willker4/18/2008 10:56 am

    Since you are there:
    What is P45 reading at Lk 14:17?
    EISIN or ESTIN?
    From the printed plate this is not clear. There is something before IN, but it is not clear if it is a Sigma or a Tau.
    Can this be decided from the original?

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  3. Peter M. Head4/18/2008 2:53 pm

    Sorry Wieland,
    It was only a brief trip.

    ReplyDelete
  4. James M. Leonard4/21/2008 10:49 am

    While we were in Dublin, we also walked down the street to Trinity College and looked at the excellent display of the important Irish manuscripts, including the Book of Kells. I'm not sure about the value of these 8th century Latin manuscripts for establishing the biblical text, but the artistry is incredible, intricate, and satisfying once you learn a thing or two about their method and intention.

    ReplyDelete