Minuscule 550 (in the
Gregory-Aland numbering), 537 (Scrivener's numbering),
ε 250 (in the
Soden numbering), is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
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 parchment.
Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century.
The manuscript has complex contents, with
marginalia
Marginalia (or apostils) are marks made in the margin (typography), margins of a book or other document. They may be scribbles, comments, gloss (annotation), glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, drolleries, or illuminated manuscript, ...
. It was adapted for liturgical use.
Description
The codex contains a complete 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 211 parchment leaves (size ). The writing is in one column per page, 33 lines per page, in large and spread minuscule letters.
The text is divided according to the (''chapters''), whose numerals are given at the margin, and the (''titles of chapters'') at the top of the pages. There is also a division according to the Ammonian Sections (in Mark 240 sections, the last in 16:9), (no 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 ...
).
It contains the Epistula ad Carpianum
The ''Epistula ad Carpianum'' ("Letter to Carpian") or Letter of Eusebius is the title traditionally given to a letter from Eusebius of Caesarea to a Christian named Carpianus. In this letter, Eusebius explains his ingenious system of gospel harmon ...
, Prolegomena (added by a later hand), tables of the (tables of contents) before each Gospel, lectionary markings at the margin (for liturgical use), incipits, liturgical books with hagiographies (Synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...
and 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 ...
), subscriptions at the end of each Gospel with numbers of , and marginal notes.
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 ...
included it to the textual family Kx. Aland placed it in Category V.
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 Kx in Luke 1
Luke 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. With 80 verses, it is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. This chapter describes the birth of John the Baptist and the events leading up ...
and Luke 20
Luke 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the teaching of Jesus Christ in the temple in Jerusalem, especially his responses to questions raised by the Pharisees and Sadducees.Hal ...
. In Luke 10
Luke 10 is the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. It records the sending of seventy disciples by Jesus, Parable of the Good Samaritan, the famous parable about the Good Samaritan, and his ...
no profile was made.[
]
History
In 1609 the manuscript belonged to Gerasimus. It was held in the Karakalou monastery
The Karakallou Monastery () is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It stands on the south-eastern side of the peninsula and ranks eleventh in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries. The monastery has 5 ...
at Athos peninsula. In 1837 Robert Curzon, Lord Zouche, brought this manuscript to England (along with the codices 547
__NOTOC__
Year 547 ( DXLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 547 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europ ...
-551
__NOTOC__
Year 551 ( DLI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 551 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for ...
).[ The entire collection of Curzon was bequeathed by his daughter in 1917 to the ]British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, where it had been deposited, by his son, since 1876.[Heike Behlmer]
''... `As Safe as in the British Museum`: Paul de Lagarde and His Borrowing of Manuscripts from the Collection of Robert Curzon''
The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
The ''Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA)'' is a bi-annual peer-reviewed international academic journal published by the Egypt Exploration Society. Covering Egyptological research, the JEA publishes scholarly articles, fieldwork reports, and re ...
Vol. 89, (2003), pp. 231-238.
The manuscript was added to the list of the New Testament manuscript by F. H. A. Scrivener (536) 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 ...
(549).[ It was examined by Scrivener, ]Dean Burgon
John William Burgon (21 August 1813 – 4 August 1888) was an English Anglican divine who became the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. He was known during his lifetime for his poetry and his defense of the historicity and Mosaic authorshi ...
, and Gregory.[
It is currently housed at the ]British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
(Add MS 39593) in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.[
]
See also
* List of New Testament minuscules
The list of New_Testament_minuscule, New Testament Minuscules ordered by Gregory–Aland index number is divided into three sections:
* List of New Testament minuscules (1–1000)
* List of New Testament minuscules (1001–2000)
* List of New Test ...
* Biblical manuscript
A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures (see '' Tefillin'') to huge polyglot codices (multi- ...
* Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may rang ...
References
Further reading
* S. Emmel, ''Catalogue of Materials for Writing, Early Writings on Tablets and Stones, rolled and other Manuscripts and Oriental Manuscript Books, in the Library of the Honourable Robert Curzon'' (London 1849).
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minuscule 0550
Greek New Testament minuscules
12th-century biblical manuscripts
British Library additional manuscripts