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Category Archives: Codices
Online Images of Early Christian Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library
In a previous post, I mentioned that the Bodleian Library had made available nice color digital images of the Hawara Homer papyrus roll. They have also added images of several early Christian manuscripts. I provide links to the images at … Continue reading
Posted in Codices, Oxyrhynchus Papyri
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New Facsimiles of the Chester Beatty New Testament Papyri
I had heard rumors a few years ago that a new facsimile edition of the Beatty Biblical Papyri was in the works. It looks like the New Testament papyri have now appeared courtesy of Hendrickson. This is exciting. The volumes … Continue reading
Posted in Chester Beatty Papyri, Codices
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Back When Single-quire Codices Were Strange
Since the discovery and publication of the Nag Hammadi codices, the single-quire codex format has become very familiar to papyrologists and historians of the book. It’s interesting, however, to recall that there was a time when the idea of an … Continue reading
Posted in Book binding, Codices, Codicology, Oxyrhynchus Papyri
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BnF Copte 135E and Codex Construction
After a recent conversation about early Coptic codices with Alin Suciu, I spent some time with the several distinct manuscripts catalogued under the designation “Copte 135” at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the so-called Akhmim Papyri. There are some really … Continue reading
Posted in Book binding, Codices, Codicology
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The Cotton Genesis
I was reminded this week about one of the wonderful early Christian manuscripts that really didn’t get the treatment it deserved in my book God’s Library–the so-called Cotton Genesis. This small parchment codex was part of a collection amassed by … Continue reading
Posted in Codices, Codicology, Cotton Genesis
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Arthur Hunt, Harold Idris Bell, and Edward Maunde Thompson on the Date of Codex Sinaiticus
When it comes to the question of assigning palaeographic dates to Greek literary manuscripts of the Roman period, British papyrologists in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries seem to show some different tendencies. One of the most respected of the … Continue reading
Posted in Codex Sinaiticus, Codices, Palaeography
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Palaeographic Dating: Graphic Difference Does Not Always Mean Chronological Difference
In a few days, I hope to complete a post on the date of Codex Sinaiticus. It has been educational for me to revisit the arguments for the dating of this codex. One quotation that I found especially eye-opening was … Continue reading
Posted in Codex Sinaiticus, Codices, Palaeography
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A New Article on Palaeographic Dating of Codices
The latest issue of Journal for the Study of the New Testament contains a group of articles that emerged from an SBL session in 2016 arranged by Roberta Mazza on problems of dating ancient manuscripts. In addition to Roberta’s introductory … Continue reading
Posted in Codices, Codicology, Palaeography
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The Date of P.Köln 10.406 (P118)
One of the habits of papyrologists and New Testament scholars that I’ve tried to highlight over the last decade is the practice of dating the handwriting of ancient manuscripts by comparing them to other samples of handwriting that are themselves … Continue reading
Posted in Codices, P.Bodmer II, Palaeography
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