Minuscule 538 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 335 (von Soden), is a Greek

minuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing system ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

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 ...

on a parchment. Dated palaeographically to the 12th or 13th century. Formerly it was labelled as W^d and 552 (Scrivener). The manuscript is lacunose. It was adapted for liturgical use.

Description

The codex 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, on 212 parchment leaves (15.2 cm by 11 cm) with some lacunae (Matthew 1:1-12:41; 15:14-30; Mark 14:9-20; John 1:1-15). It is written in one column per page, 24 lines per page in minuscule letters. The letters are neatly written. The text is divided according to the (''chapters''), whose numbers are given at the margin, and their (''titles of chapters'') at the top of the pages. There is also a division according to the Ammonian Sections (in Mark 241 Sections - the last in 16:20), with references to the

Eusebian Canons Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapters ...

(written at the margin below Ammonian Section numbers). The tables of the (''tables of contents'') are placed before each Gospel, portrait of the Saint Mark, It contains lectionary markings at the margin (for liturgical use),

Menologion A menologium (, pl. menologia), also known by other names, is any collection of information arranged according to the days of a month, usually a set of such collections for all the months of the year. In particular, it is used for ancient Roman ...

(fragments), and subscriptions at the end of each Gospel, with numbers of stichoi. The manuscript was bound and numbered later. Some leaves were cut in a trapezoidal shape. Gospel order is mixed with various leaves misplaced in other areas of the manuscript (folio 153 recto has John 1:15).

Text

The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the

Byzantine text-type In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main Textual criticism#New Testament, text types. ...

Hermann von Soden Baron Hermann von Soden (16 August 1852 – 15 January 1914) was a German Biblical scholar, minister, professor of divinity, and textual theorist. Life Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 16, 1852, Soden was educated at the University of Tübinge ...

classified it as a member of the textual family K^x. In Mark and Luke it closer to K¹.William Merritt Read, ''Michigan Manuscript 18 of The Gospels''. Seattle, Univ. of Washington Press, 1942, p. 80. Aland placed it in Category V. The manuscript has some non-Byzantine elements. It has some textual affinities to the early versions of the Gospels. According to the

Claremont Profile Method The Claremont Profile Method is a method for classifying ancient manuscripts of the Bible. It was elaborated by Ernest Cadman Colwell and his students. Professor Frederik Wisse attempted to establish an accurate and rapid procedure for the classi ...

it represents the textual family K^x in Luke 1 and Luke 20. In Luke 10 it has mixed Byzantine text. Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts

History

The manuscript was brought from

Janina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

(Epirus) between 1870 and 1872 together with the codices

532 __NOTOC__ Year 532 ( DXXXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Second year after the Consulship of Lampadius and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1285 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denom ...

546 __NOTOC__ Year 546 ( DXLVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 546 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe f ...

and bought by

Baroness Burdett-Coutts Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

(1814-1906), a philanthropist. It was presented by Burdett-Coutts to Sir Roger Cholmely's School, and was housed at the Highgate (Burdett-Coutts II. 18), in London. It was added to the list of the New Testament manuscripts by F. H. A. Scrivener (552) and

C. R. Gregory C. or c. may refer to: * Century, sometimes abbreviated as ''c.'' or ''C.'', a period of 100 years * Letter C, the third letter in the alphabet. * Cent (currency), abbreviated ''c.'' or ''¢'', a monetary unit that equals of the basic unit of man ...

(538). Gregory saw it in 1883. The manuscript was examined and collated by Scrivener in his '' Adversaria critica sacra''.F. H. A. Scrivener, ''Adversaria critica sacra'' (Cambridge 1893). Currently the codex is housed at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

(Ms. 18), in

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

References

External links

Images of Minuscule 538
at the CSNTM * William Merritt Read
''Michigan Manuscript 18 of The Gospels''
Seattle, Univ. of Washington Press, 1942. {{DEFAULTSORT:Minuscule 0538 Greek New Testament minuscules 12th-century biblical manuscripts University of Michigan

Description

Text

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links