Identical Copies

Today I received a mailing by Wilbur Pickering, who is labouring away on the collation of Byzantine manuscripts. Here is what he writes:

Down with canards! In graduate school (theology) I was taught that no two MSS of the NT are identical in text. If we consider a book at a time, which I take to be the only reasonable demand, the statement is not true. Taking only the MSS that I myself have collated (copies in my possession), I have fourteen with an identical Text for Philemon, seventeen for 2 John, sixteen for 3 John, twelve for Jude, five for Titus and 2 Thessalonians, three for Galatians, Colossians and 1 Thessalonians, and two for Ephesians, Philippians, James and 2 Peter. As I collate more MSS these numbers can only go up. The shorter books have the higher scores because the copyists didn’t have time to get tired or bored. For all that, the care with which the monks did their work is impressive. I invite all who read this to join me in exposing this canard.

A Review of BHQ5

I received a note from John Hobbins that he has begun a review of BHQ 5 on his blog, ancienthebrewpoetry, in which he compares McCarthy's apparatus with that of Crawford's in her OHB sample in selected loci of Deut 32:1-9.

Read more here and here.

New Book: Textual Variation: Theological and Social Tendencies?

Gorgias Press has announced a new book edited by Hugh A.G. Houghton and David C. Parker, entitled, Textual Variation: Theological and Social Tendencies? Papers from the Fifth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament (Texts and Studies Third Series 6; Gorgias Press LLC, forthcoming 2008; ISBN: 978-1-59333-789-6); 207 pages, illustrations.
BLURB:
Did scribes change the text of the New Testament? This book questions the assumption that they did and the claim that variant readings are due to theological motivation or social difference. Evidence is gathered from some of the earliest surviving biblical manuscripts in order to reconstruct the copying habits of scribes and to explore the contexts in which they worked. Alongside these are studies of selected early Christian authors and writings, which illustrate attitudes to and examples of textual change. The papers were first presented at a colloquium in Birmingham and further developed in the light of subsequent discussion and interaction between the presenters. The international team of contributors represents a wide range of approaches and theories and includes many leaders in the field.

The contents of the book are as follows (thanks to Hugh Houghton):

Scribes and Variants ­ Sociology and Typology: ULRICH SCHMID
Kings or God? Towards an Anthropology of Text: RICHARD GOODE
Singular Readings in Sinaiticus: The Possible, the Impossible, and
the Nature of Copying: DIRK JONGKIND
Scribal Behaviour and Theological Tendencies in Singular Readings in
P.Bodmer II (P66): PETER M. HEAD
Theological Creativity and Scribal Solutions in Jude: TOMMY WASSERMAN
The Ethics of Sexuality and Textual Alterations in the Pauline
Epistles: JEFFREY KLOHA
Towards a Redefinition of External Criteria: The Role of Coherence in
Assessing the Origin of Variants: KLAUS WACHTEL
A Brief Study of Variations on Proper Names in Lectionaries: W.J.
ELLIOTT
Opting for a Biblical Text Type: Scribal Interference in John
Chrysostom’s Homilies on the Letter to Titus: MARIA KONSTANTINIDOU
On Revisiting the Christian Latin Sondersprache Hypothesis: P.H. BURTON
Scribal Tendencies and the Mechanics of Book Production: D.C. PARKER

INTF Colloquium, 3-6 August 2008

[I've received this notice from Klaus Wachtel:]

This summer, 3-6 August, the INTF in Münster will host a colloquium on contemporary research on the textual history of the Greek New Testament. In addition to about 30 invited guests, a further 30 persons may attend. Participation is free, and INTF staff will help to find convenient accommodation.

The programme of the colloquium can be found here:
http://www.uni-muenster.de/INTF/Colloquium2008.html

P. Köln 436

The most recent volume of the Kölner Papyri has a small piece of Luke's Gospel (HT: What's New in Papyrology?):

Kölner Papyri (P. Köln), ed. Charikleia Armoni at al; Band 11 (Papyrologica Coloniensia VII/11), Verlag Ferdinand Schoeningh, Paderborn 2007).
...
436. Lukas 3.29–30 (Inv. 2638) 58

It does not appear to be on-line as yet; nor have I seen the book.

The Dating of the Umlauts

In the comment section of the previous post (on "Asceticism") I mentioned the so-called "Umlauts" in Codex Vaticanus. Wieland Willker has set up a very valuable section on his website that deals with the Umlauts.

There he discusses a number of issues, e.g., the dating of the Umlauts over which there is disagreement among scholars. Leaving aside the "material" side of the problem (that has to do with the nature of the ink, etc), I assume that a complete survey of the textual support for each variant (at least at the un-ambiguous places where we can identify a particular textual variant) could bring us a step closer to the question of the nature and,in extension the dating of the Umlauts even if I realize that the evidence may be open to different interpretations.

In any case, besides Payne, Canart, Niccum and Miller, I know that one scholar in America is working on a thesis on the subject. Moreover, I know that C.M. Martini is working on a new study of Codex Vaticanus, but I don't know to what extent it will deal with the Umlauts. Are there any others out there?