Codex Sangallensis 1395 is a 19th-century compilation of fragments, and includes a 5th-century

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

manuscript of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, designated by Σ. The text, written on

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...

, is a version of the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

Description

The collection contains the text of the four

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

s (Matthew 6:21–Johannes 17:18), with numerous lacunae. The Latin text of the Gospels is representative of the Latin Vulgate. It contains 473 parchment leaves (24 by 18.5 cm). The leaves are arranged in

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

.Cod. Sang. 1395
at the e-codices The order of Gospels is usual. The

nomina sacra In Christian scribal practice, (singular: , Latin for 'sacred name') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A consists of two or more letters from the original w ...

are written in an abbreviated way. The words at the end of line are abbreviated. It also uses a few other abbreviations. Hebrew names like Ααρων, Ισαακ, Αβρααμ, Βεθλεεμ were Latinized by dropping one of the repeated vowels, or by insertion of the letter "h" between them. Although the

Vetus Latina The ''Vetus Latina'' ("Old Latin" in Latin), also known as ''Vetus Itala'' ("Old Italian"), ''Itala'' ("Italian") and Old Italic, and denoted by the siglum \mathfrak, are the Latin Bible translations, translations of biblical texts (both Old T ...

standard forms were Aron and Isac, forms like Aron and Aharon, Isac and Isahac, Bethlem and Bethlehem all occur in the manuscript. It has some singular readings in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

(11:4; 14:2; 16:9.10; 17:26; 18:9; 26:45.47; 27:59; 28:1) and in

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

(4:7; 4:11; 6:33; 14:21). The collection also includes a number of Irish fragments from the 7th and 10th century, including an illustration of Matthew (p. 418). On the blank verso side of the portrait there are incantations and supplications written by three different writers in a mixture of Latin and possibly

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

. Both pre-Christian deities and the Christian God are invoked for the relief of health issues. A solitary leaf on page 422 depicts a decorated cross, and similarly to the Matthew fragment contains a text in Irish minuscule on the back, which comprises blessings and an exorcism. Page 426 depicts the illuminated Irish fragment, which begins with ''PECCAVIMUS DOMINE PECCAVIMUS PARCE N bis("We have sinned, Lord, we have sinned, forgive us").'' This fragment shows a strong resemblance to fragments and manuscripts from the Irish midlands, among them Cod. Sang. 51. As such, it may have originated at the same time and in the same region.

History

The manuscript was written in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

in the 5th century. E. A. Lowe even thought it possible that the manuscript could have been written during the lifetime of

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

. It is also dated to the 6th century. It is probably the oldest manuscript of the Latin Vulgate. In the Middle Ages it was used for rebinding other manuscripts and about half of the codex has survived. The text was published by C. H. Turner,C. H. Turner
''The oldest manuscript of the Vulgate Gospels''
(Oxford 1931) A. Dold. It is housed at the

Abbey library of Saint Gall The Abbey library of St Gall () is a significant medieval monastic library located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1983, the library, as well as the Abbey of St Gall, were designated a World Heritage Site, as "an outstanding example of a large Caro ...

(Cod. Sang. 1395) in St. Gallen,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

References

External links

Cod. Sang. 1395
at the e-codices {{DEFAULTSORT:Sangallensis 1395 Vulgate manuscripts 5th-century biblical manuscripts Manuscripts in the Abbey library of Saint Gall

Description

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links