Codex Usserianus Primus (Dublin, Trinity College

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

 Library, 55) is an early 7th century 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...

 Gospel Book

Gospel Book

The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...

. It is dated palaeographically to the 6th or 7th century. It is designated by r (traditional system).

Description

The manuscript is damaged, with the leaves being fragmentary and discoloured. The remains of the approximately 180 vellum

Vellum

Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...

 folios have been remounted on paper. It contains the text of the Pericope Adulterae as do many Old Latin manuscripts of the Italian branch. It contains some lacunae

Lacuna (manuscripts)

A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...

 (Matthew 1:1-15:16; 15:31-16:13; 21:4-21; 28:16-20; John 1:1-15; Mark 14:58-15:8; 15:29-16:20). Interestingly, it names the two thieves crucified with Jesus as, Ioathas and Capnatas (Luke 23:32).

The order of Gospels is Western: Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark. It represents European Old Latin recension.

The manuscript has a single remaining decoration, a cross outlined in black dots at the end of the Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

 (fol. 149v). The cross is between the Greek letters alpha and omega. It is also flanked by the explicit (an ending phrase) for Luke and the incipit

Incipit

Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...

(first few words) for Mark. The entire assemblage is contained within a triple square frame of dots and small "s" marks with crescent shaped corner motifs. The cross has been compared to similar crosses found in the Bologna Lactantius, the Paris St. John, and the Valerianus Gospels. Initials on folios 94, 101 and 107 have been set off by small red dots. This represents the first appearance of decoration by "dotting" around text, a motif which would be important in later Insular

Insular script

Insular script was a medieval script system originally used in Ireland, then Great Britain, that spread to continental Europe under the influence of Celtic Christianity. Irish missionaries also took the script to continental Europe, where they founded monasteries such as Bobbio. The scripts were...

 manuscripts.

There are some paleographic similarities with early manuscripts produced at the monastery at Bobbio

Bobbio

Bobbio is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a diocese of the same name...

, such as the Ambrosiana Jerome and the Ambrosiana Orosius. However, it is now thought to have been produced in Ireland. It may therefore be the earliest surviving Irish codex

Codex

A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...

.

The manuscript's traditional name can be translated as "the First Book of Uss(h)er" and refers to James Ussher

James Ussher

James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...

, Archbishop of Armagh

Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)

The Anglican Archbishop of Armagh is the ecclesiastical head of the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the Province of Armagh and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh....

. Despite the name, it is doubtful that Ussher ever actually owned the manuscript.

The text of the codex was collated by T. K. Abbott

Thomas Kingsmill Abbott

Thomas Kingsmill Abbott was an Irish scholar and educator. He was born in Dublin and was educated at Trinity College. He took his degree in 1851 and was made a fellow of the college in 1854. He obtained an M.A. and a D...

 in 1884.

Currently it is housed at the Trinity College

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

 (55) at Dublin.