Minuscule 666
Encyclopedia
Minuscule 666 ε 1293 (von Soden), is a Greek
minuscule manuscript
of the New Testament
, on parchment. Palaeographically
it has been assigned to the 13th century. The manuscript is lacunose. Scrivener
labelled it by 899e.
s, on 298 parchment leaves (size ) with some lacunae
. The text of John 3:4-18; 5:12-6:7; 7:2-21:25.
The text is written in one column per page, 23-24 lines per page.
The text is divided according to the (chapters), whose numbers are given at the margin, with (titles) at the top. There are the Ammonian Sections are given at the margin to the Gospel of Matthew
, but only from number α' to number κβ'.
It contains Prolegomena, lists of the are placed before every book, portrait of Evangelists before every Gospel. Lectionary markings and subscriptions to the Gospel of John
were added by a later hand.
. Kurt Aland
placed it in Category V.
According to the Claremont Profile Method it belongs to the textual family Kx
in Luke 1; 10; 20.
to the 13th century.
The manuscript came to USA from Albania.
Gregory saw the manuscript in 1889.
Currently the manuscript is housed at the Harvard University Library
(Ms. Gr. 1), in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
minuscule 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...
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....
, on parchment. Palaeographically
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
it has been assigned to the 13th century. The manuscript is lacunose. Scrivener
Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener
The Reverend Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener, LL.D. was an important text critic of the New Testament and a member of the English New Testament Revision Committee which produced the Revised Version of the Bible...
labelled it by 899e.
Description
The codex contains the entire of the four GospelGospel
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, on 298 parchment leaves (size ) with 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...
. The text of John 3:4-18; 5:12-6:7; 7:2-21:25.
The text is written in one column per page, 23-24 lines per page.
The text is divided according to the (chapters), whose numbers are given at the margin, with (titles) at the top. There are the Ammonian Sections are given at the margin to the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, but only from number α' to number κβ'.
It contains Prolegomena, lists of the are placed before every book, portrait of Evangelists before every Gospel. Lectionary markings and subscriptions to the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
were added by a later hand.
Text
The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the Byzantine text-typeByzantine text-type
The Byzantine text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is the form found in the largest number of surviving manuscripts, though not in the oldest...
. Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. He founded the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung in Münster and served as its first director for many years...
placed it in Category V.
According to the Claremont Profile Method it belongs to the textual family Kx
Family Kx
Family Kx is a large group of the New Testament manuscripts. It belongs to the Byzantine text-type as one of the textual families of this group. It includes uncials, and although hundreds of minuscules, no early ones.- Description :...
in Luke 1; 10; 20.
History
Gregory dated the manuscript to the 12th or 13th century. Currently the manuscript is dated by the INTFInstitute for New Testament Textual Research
The Institute for New Testament Textual Research at the University of Münster, Westphalia, Germany, is an institute for the investigation of the text of the New Testament. The INTF was founded in Münster in 1959 by Professor Kurt Aland , the first director of the Institute...
to the 13th century.
The manuscript came to USA from Albania.
Gregory saw the manuscript in 1889.
Currently the manuscript is housed at the Harvard University Library
Harvard University Library
The Harvard University Library system comprises about 90 libraries, with more than 16 million volumes. It is the oldest library system in the United States, the largest academic and the largest private library system in the world...
(Ms. Gr. 1), in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
See also
- List of New Testament minuscules
- Biblical manuscriptBiblical manuscriptA biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. The word Bible comes from the Greek biblia ; manuscript comes from Latin manu and scriptum...
- 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
- E. J. Goodspied, The Harvard Gospels, AJT X (1906), 687-700
- E. J. Goodspied, The Harvard Gospels, HLS 6 (1919), 171-86 and plate 1
- K. W. Clark, A Descriptive Catalogue of Greek New Testament Manuscripts in America (Chicago, 1937), pp. 107-109