Codex Fuldensis
Encyclopedia
The Codex Fuldensis, designated by F, is a New Testament
manuscript
based on the Latin
Vulgate
made between 541
and 546
. The codex is considered the second most important witness to the Vulgate text; and is also the oldest complete manuscript witness to the order of the Diatessaron
. It is an important witness in any discussion about the authenticity of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. It is one of the earliest dated manuscripts of the New Testament. It was corrected until 2 May, 546 CE.
and 23 canonical books of the New Testament
; plus the Epistle to the Laodiceans
, and a copy of Jerome
's Prologue to the Canonical Gospels. It represents the Italian type of text.
The four gospel
s are harmonised into a single continuous narrative, according to the form of Tatian
's Diatessaron. Its text is akin to that of Codex Amiatinus
. The harmonised gospel text is preceded by a listing of its sections, with a summary of their contents, which was copied unchanged from the Old Latin exemplar. From this it can be determined that the Old Latin source had lacked the Genealogy of Jesus
(which Victor inserted); but that the source had included the passage of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery.
The order of books: Diatessaron, Pauline epistles
(Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1-2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Laodiceans, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews), Acts of the Apostles
, Catholic epistles (usual order), Book of Apocalypse.
The section 1 Cor 14:34-35 is added by the original scribe on the margin. This section is marked by umlaut in Codex Vaticanus
. Several manuscripts of the Western text-type, placed section 1 Cor 14:34-35 after 1 Cor 14:40 (manuscripts: Claromontanus
, Augiensis
, Boernerianus
, itd, g). Also codex 88
, which is not representative of the Western text, placed this section after 1 Cor 14:40. One manuscript of the Vulgate does the same (Codex Reginensis). According to Metzger the evidence of the codex is ambiguous. Perhaps the scribe, without actually deleting verses 34-35 from the text, intended the liturgist to omit them when reading the lesson.
reports that he found an Old Latin harmony of the Gospels, which he recognised as following Tatian's arrangement of the Diatessaron; and substituted the Vulgate text for the Old Latin
, appending the rest of the New Testament books from the standard Vulgate. St. Boniface
acquired the codex and in 745 gave it to the monastic library
(Abb. 61), in Fulda
, where it is housed to the present day (hence the name of the codex), where it served as the source text for vernacular harmonies in Old High German
, Eastern Frankish and Old Saxon
.
Codex Sangallensis 56 was copied, in the 9th century, from the Diatessaron of the Codex Fuldensis. It contains also some extracts from the Acts of the Apostles.
The text of the codex was published by Ranke in 1868.
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
based on the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
made between 541
541
Year 541 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basilius without colleague...
and 546
546
Year 546 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 for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* December 17 – The Ostrogoths...
. The codex is considered the second most important witness to the Vulgate text; and is also the oldest complete manuscript witness to the order of the Diatessaron
Diatessaron
The Diatessaron is the most prominent Gospel harmony created by Tatian, an early Christian apologist and ascetic. The term "diatessaron" is from Middle English by way of Latin, diatessarōn , and ultimately Greek, διὰ τεσσάρων The Diatessaron (c 160 - 175) is the most prominent Gospel harmony...
. It is an important witness in any discussion about the authenticity of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. It is one of the earliest dated manuscripts of the New Testament. It was corrected until 2 May, 546 CE.
Description
It contains the DiatessaronDiatessaron
The Diatessaron is the most prominent Gospel harmony created by Tatian, an early Christian apologist and ascetic. The term "diatessaron" is from Middle English by way of Latin, diatessarōn , and ultimately Greek, διὰ τεσσάρων The Diatessaron (c 160 - 175) is the most prominent Gospel harmony...
and 23 canonical books of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
; plus the Epistle to the Laodiceans
Epistle to the Laodiceans
An Epistle to the Laodiceans, purportedly written by Paul of Tarsus to the Laodicean Church, is mentioned in the canonical Epistle to the Colossians...
, and a copy of Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
's Prologue to the Canonical Gospels. It represents the Italian type of text.
The four gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s are harmonised into a single continuous narrative, according to the form of Tatian
Tatian
Tatian the Assyrian was an Assyrian early Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century.Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the four gospels that became the standard text of the four gospels in the Syriac-speaking churches until the...
's Diatessaron. Its text is akin to that of Codex Amiatinus
Codex Amiatinus
The Codex Amiatinus, designated by siglum A, is the earliest surviving manuscript of the nearly complete Bible in the Latin Vulgate version, and is considered to be the most accurate copy of St. Jerome's text. It is missing the Book of Baruch. It was produced in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of...
. The harmonised gospel text is preceded by a listing of its sections, with a summary of their contents, which was copied unchanged from the Old Latin exemplar. From this it can be determined that the Old Latin source had lacked the Genealogy of Jesus
Genealogy of Jesus
The genealogy of Jesus is described in two passages of the Gospels: Luke 3:23–38 and Matthew 1:1–17.* Matthew's genealogy commences with Abraham and then from King David's son Solomon follows the legal line of the kings through Jeconiah, the king whose descendants were cursed, to Joseph, legal...
(which Victor inserted); but that the source had included the passage of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery.
The order of books: Diatessaron, Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
(Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1-2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Laodiceans, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews), Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
, Catholic epistles (usual order), Book of Apocalypse.
The section 1 Cor 14:34-35 is added by the original scribe on the margin. This section is marked by umlaut in Codex Vaticanus
Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus , is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible , one of the four great uncial codices. The Codex is named for the residence in the Vatican Library, where it has been stored since at least the 15th century...
. Several manuscripts of the Western text-type, placed section 1 Cor 14:34-35 after 1 Cor 14:40 (manuscripts: Claromontanus
Codex Claromontanus
Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp or 06 , δ 1026 , is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin text on facing pages...
, Augiensis
Codex Augiensis
Codex Augiensis, designated by Fp or 010 , α 1029 is a 9th century diglot uncial manuscript of the Pauline Epistles in double parallel columns of Greek and Latin on the same page.- Description :...
, Boernerianus
Codex Boernerianus
Codex Boernerianus, designated by Gp or 012 , α 1028 , is a small New Testament codex, measuring 25 x 18 cm, written in one column per page, 20 lines per page. Dated paleographically to the 9th century. The name of the codex derives from Boerner, to whom it once belonged...
, itd, g). Also codex 88
Minuscule 88
Codex Regis , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century...
, which is not representative of the Western text, placed this section after 1 Cor 14:40. One manuscript of the Vulgate does the same (Codex Reginensis). According to Metzger the evidence of the codex is ambiguous. Perhaps the scribe, without actually deleting verses 34-35 from the text, intended the liturgist to omit them when reading the lesson.
History
Victor of CapuaVictor of Capua
Victor of Capua was a sixth-century bishop of Capua, in Italy.About his life nothing is known except what is found in his epitaph , which has been preserved, though the tomb itself has disappeared. This inscription simply states that his episcopate of thirteen years ended in April, 554...
reports that he found an Old Latin harmony of the Gospels, which he recognised as following Tatian's arrangement of the Diatessaron; and substituted the Vulgate text for the Old Latin
Vetus Latina
Vetus Latina is a collective name given to the Biblical texts in Latin that were translated before St Jerome's Vulgate Bible became the standard Bible for Latin-speaking Western Christians. The phrase Vetus Latina is Latin for Old Latin, and the Vetus Latina is sometimes known as the Old Latin Bible...
, appending the rest of the New Testament books from the standard Vulgate. St. Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
acquired the codex and in 745 gave it to the monastic library
Fulda monastery
The monastery of Fulda was a Benedictine abbey in Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse. It was founded in 12 March, 744 by Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface, and became an eminent center of learning with a renowned scriptorium, and the predecessor of the Fulda...
(Abb. 61), in Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
, where it is housed to the present day (hence the name of the codex), where it served as the source text for vernacular harmonies in Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
, Eastern Frankish and Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
.
Codex Sangallensis 56 was copied, in the 9th century, from the Diatessaron of the Codex Fuldensis. It contains also some extracts from the Acts of the Apostles.
The text of the codex was published by Ranke in 1868.
See also
- List of New Testament Latin manuscripts
- Biblical manuscripts
- Textual criticismTextual criticismTextual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
Further reading
- Ernestus Ranke, Codex Fuldensis. Novum Testamentum Latine Interprete Hieronymo (Lipsiae 1868).
- John Chapman, Notes on the Early History of the Vulgate Gospels (Oxford, 1908), pp. 78-161.
- J. P. Waltzing, Codex Fuldensis (1914-1917).
- Heinrich Joseph Vogels, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Diatessaron im Abendland, Münster 1919, pp. 1-34.
External links
- "Manuscripts of the Bible" (1913) Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
- Codex Sangallensis 56 at the Stiffsbibliothek St. Gallen (copy of Fuldensis in Diatessaron)