A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
A New Testament uncial is a section of the New Testament in Greek or Latin majuscule letters, written on parchment or vellum. This style of writing is called Biblical Uncial or Biblical Majuscule.
New Testament uncials are distinct from other ancient texts based on the following differences:
- New Testament papyri – written on papyrus and generally more ancient
- New Testament minuscules – written in minuscule letters and generally more recent
- New Testament lectionaries – usually written in minuscule (but some in uncial) letters and generally more recent
- New Testament uncials – written in majuscule letters, on parchment or vellum.
Classification of uncials
In 1751, New Testament theologian Johann Jakob Wettstein knew of only 23 uncial codices of the New Testament.[1] By 1859, Constantin von Tischendorf had increased that number to 64 uncials, and in 1909 Caspar René Gregory enumerated 161 uncial codices. By 1963, Kurt Aland, in his Kurzgefasste Liste, had enumerated 250, then in 1989, finally, 299 uncials.
Wettstein inaugurated the modern method of classification. He used capital Latin letters to identify the uncials. Codex Alexandrinus received the letter "A", Codex Vaticanus – "B", Codex Ephraemi – "C", Codex Bezae – "D", until he arrived at the last letter used by him, "O". Succeeding generations used this pattern, but newly discovered manuscripts soon exhausted the Latin alphabet.[2] As a result, letters of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets began to be used. Tischendorf, for example, assigned the Codex Sinaiticus the Hebrew letter א. Uncial 047 received siglum ב1, Uncial 048 received ב2, Uncial 075 received ג, Codex Macedoniensis – ו, to name a few.[3][4] When Greek and Hebrew letters ran out, Gregory assigned uncials numerals with an initial 0 (to distinguish them from the symbols of minuscule manuscripts). Codex Sinaiticus received the number 01, Alexandrinus – 02, Vaticanus – 03, Ephraemi – 04, etc. The last uncial manuscript known by Gregory received number 0161.[5] Ernst von Dobschütz expanded the list of uncials through 0208 in 1933.[2]
As of 2012[update] over 320 sigla for uncial codices have been catalogued by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) in Münster, Germany.[6][7]
However, the 322 currently catalogued does not provide a precise count of all the New Testament Greek uncials. Uncial 0168 has been lost and over thirty manuscripts are associated with a smaller set of designations.[n 1] Sometimes one number also applies to two separate manuscripts, as with uncial 092a and 092b, 0121a and 0121b, and 0278a and 0278b. Some other numerical designations should be reallocated to other lists: 055 (commentary), 0100 (lectionary), 0129 (lectionary), 0152 (talisman), 0153 (ostracon), 0192 (lectionary), 0195 (lectionary), 0203 (lectionary).[further explanation needed][2] Uncial 0212 from the 3rd or 4th century is more properly a witness to the Diatessaron than to the New Testament itself.[2] So, the number 322 is merely nominal; the actual figure should be somewhat lower.[2][8] Conversely, minuscule 1143, known as Beratinus 2, has some parts that were written in semi-uncial letters.
Legend
- The numbers (#) are the now standard system of Gregory-Aland.
- Dates are estimated palaeographically by the INTF (except Codex Vaticanus 354 where the scribe gave a date — 949).
- Content generally only describes sections of the New Testament: Gospels (Gosp), The Acts of the Apostles (Acts), Pauline Epistles (Paul), Catholic epistles (CE), and so on. Sometimes the surviving portion of a codex is so limited that specific books, chapters or even verses can be indicated. Linked articles, where they exist, generally specify content in detail, by verse.
- Digital images are referenced with direct links to the hosting web pages, with the exception of those at the INTF. The quality and accessibility of the images is as follows:
| Gold color indicates high resolution color images available online. |
| Tan color indicates high resolution color images available locally, not online. |
| Light tan color indicates only a small fraction of manuscript pages with color images available online. |
| Light gray color indicates black/white or microfilm images available online. |
| Light blue color indicates manuscript not imaged, and is currently lost or ownership unknown. |
| Light pink color indicates manuscript destroyed, presumed destroyed, or deemed too fragile to digitize. |
| Violet color indicates high resolution ultraviolet images available online. |
† Indicates the manuscript has damaged or missing pages.
K Indicates manuscript also includes a commentary.
Brackets around Gregory-Aland number indicate the manuscript belongs to an already numbered manuscript, was found to not be a continuous text manuscript, is destroyed or presumed destroyed.
List of all registered New Testament uncial codices
Only one uncial, Codex Sinaiticus has a complete text of the New Testament. Codex Alexandrinus has an almost complete text. It contains all books of the New Testament but lacks some leaves of Matthew (25), John (2), and Second Corinthians (3). Codex Vaticanus lacks the four last books, and the Epistle to the Hebrews is not complete. Codex Ephraemi has approximately 66 per cent of the New Testament. Uncials with designations higher than 046 typically have only one or two leaves.
Uncials with sigla
The first 45 uncials have been assigned descriptive names as well as a single letter code called a siglum, for usage in academic writing. Beginning with uncial 046 the assignment of sigla was dropped and only a few manuscripts thereafter received a descriptive name.
| # | Sign | Name | Date | Content | Pages | Institution | City | Country | Images[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | א | Sinaiticus | 4th | New Testament | 148 | British Library, Add. 43725 | London | United Kingdom | CS,[10] INTF |
| BL[11] | |||||||||
| CSNTM | |||||||||
| 02 | A | Alexandrinus | 5th | New Testament† | 144 | British Library, Royal 1 D. VIII | London | United Kingdom | BL[12] |
| CSNTM, INTF | |||||||||
| 03 | B | Vaticanus | 4th | Gospels, Acts, General Epistles, Pauline Epistles† (lacking 1 Timothy–Philemon) | 142 | Vatican Library, Gr. 1209, p. 1235-1518 | Vatican City | Vatican | DVL,[13] INTF |
| CSNTM | |||||||||
| 04 | C | Ephraemi Rescriptus | 5th | New Testament† | 145 | National Library, Gr. 9 | Paris | France | BnF,[14] INTF, CSNTM |
| 05 | Dea | Bezae | 5th | Gospels†, Acts† | 415 | University Library, Nn. 2. 41 | Cambridge | United Kingdom | CUL,[15] INTF, CSNTM |
| 06 | Dp | Claromontanus | 6th | Pauline epistles† (lacking Romans 1:1-7) | 533 | National Library, Gr. 107 AB | Paris | France | BnF,[16] INTF, CSNTM |
| 07 | Ee | Basilensis | 8th | Gospels† | 318 | University of Basel, AN III 12 (fol. 97v, 248r: 2087) | Basel | Switzerland | INTF |
| CSNTM | |||||||||
| 08 | Ea | Laudianus | 6th | Acts† | 227 | Bodleian Library, Laud. Gr. 35 | Oxford | United Kingdom | DB[17] |
| CSNTM, INTF | |||||||||
| 09 | Fe | Boreelianus | 9th | Gospels† | 204 | Utrecht University, Ms. 1 | Utrecht | Netherlands | UU,[18] INTF, CSNTM |
| 010 | Fp | Augiensis | 9th | Pauline epistles† (lacking Romans 1:1-3:19, 1 Cor. 3:8-16, 6:7-14, Col. 2:1-8, Philem. 21-25, Hebrews) | 136 | Trinity College, B.17.1 | Cambridge | United Kingdom | TC[19] |
| CSNTM, INTF | |||||||||
| 011 | Ge | Seidelianus I | 9th | Gospels† | 251 | British Library, Harley 5684 | London | United Kingdom | BL[20] |
| CSNTM, INTF | |||||||||
| 012 | Gp | Boernerianus | 9th | Pauline epistles† (lacking Romans 1:1-4, 2:17-24, 1 Cor. 3:8-16, 6:7-14, Col. 2:1-8, Philem. 21-25, Hebrews) | 99 | Saxon State Library, A 145b | Dresden | Germany | SSL[21] |
| CSNTM, INTF | |||||||||
| 013 | He | Seidelianus II | 9th | Gospels† | 193 | State and University Library, Codex 91 | Hamburg | Germany | INTF |
| 1 | Trinity College, B.17.20, 21 | Cambridge | United Kingdom | TC[22] | |||||
| 014 | Ha | Mutinensis | 9th | Acts† | 43 | Biblioteca Estense, G. 196, a.V.6.3 (II G 3) | Modena | Italy | CSNTM, INTF |
| 015 | Hp | Coislinianus | 6th | Galatians 4:30-5:5; Colossians 1:26-2:8, 2:20-3:4; Hebrews 12:10-15, 13:24-25; 1 Timothy 1:7-2:13 | 10 | National Library, Supplément grec 1074 | Paris | France | BnF,[23] INTF, CSNTM |
| 1 Corinthians 10:22-29, 11:9-16; Hebrews 2:11-16, 3:13-18, 4:12-15; 1 Timothy 3:7-13; Titus 1:1-3, 1:15-2:5, 3;13-15 | 12 | National Library, Coislin 202 | Paris | France | BnF,[24] INTF, CSNTM | ||||
| 2 Corinthians 10:8-12 ,10:18-11:6, 11:12-12:2; Galatians 1:1-4, 2:14-17 | 8 | Great Lavra Monastery | Mount Athos | Greece | INTF, CSNTM | ||||
| 1 Timothy 6:9-13; 2 Timothy 2:1-9 | 2 | Turin National University Library, A.1 | Turin | Italy | INTF, CSNTM | ||||
| Hebrews 1:3-8 | 1 | Russian State Library, F.270. 1a.70.1 (Gr. 166,1) | Moscow | Russia | INTF | ||||
| Hebrews 10:1-7, 10:32-38 | 2 | State Historical Museum, 563 | Moscow | Russia | INTF | ||||
| Galatians 1:4-9, 2:9-14; Colossians 3:4-11 | 3 | National Library of Russia, Gr. 14 | Saint Petersburg | Russia | INTF, CSNTM | ||||
| 2 Corinthians 4:2-7; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, 4:5-11 | 3 | Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, F. 301 (KDA), 26p | Kiev | Ukraine | INTF | ||||
| 016 | I | Freerianus | 5th | 1 Corinthians 10:29, 11:9-10, 18-19, 26-27, 12:3-4, 27-28, 14:12-13, 22, 32-33, 15:3, 15, 27-28, 38-39, 59-50, 16:1-2, 12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 9, 16-17, 2:3-4, 14, 3:6-7, 16-17, 4:6-7, 16-17, 5:8-10, 17-18, 6:6-8, 16-18, 7:7-8, 13-14, 8:6-7, 14-17, 8:24-9:1, 9:7-8, 9:15-10:1, 10:8-10, 10:17-11:2, 11:9-10, 20-21, 28-29, 12:6-7, 14-15, 13:1-2, 10-11; Galatians 1:1-3, 11-13, 1:22-2:1, 2:8-9, 16-17, 3:6-8, 16-17, 24-28, 4:8-10, 20-23; Ephesians 2:15-18, 3:6-8, 18-20, 4:9-11, 17-19, 28-30, 5:6-11, 20-24, 5:32-6:1, 6:10-12, 19-21; Philippians 1:1-4, 11-13, 20-23, 2:1-3, 12-14, 25-27, 3:4-6, 14-17, 4:3-6, 13-15; Colossians 1:1-4, 10-12, 20-22, 27-29, 2:7-9, 16-19, 3:5-8, 15-17, 3:25-4:2, 4:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2, 9-10, 2:7-9, 14-16, 3:2-5, 11-13, 4:7-10, 4:16-5:1, 5:9-12, 23-27; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-3, 10-11, 2:5-8, 14-17, 3:8-10; 1 Timothy 1:1-3, 10-13, 1:19-2:1, 2:9-13, 3:7-9, 4:1-3, 10-13, 5:5-9, 16-19, 6:1-2, 9-11, 17-19; 2 Timothy 1:1-3, 10-12, 2:2-5, 14-16, 22-24, 3:6-8, 3:16-4:1, 4:8-10, 18-20; Titus 1:1-3, 10-11, 2:4-6, 14-15, 3:8-9; Philemon 1-3, 14-16; Hebrews 1:1-3, 9-12, 2:4-7, 12-14, 3:4-6, 14-16, 4:3-6, 12-14, 5:5-7, 6:1-3, 10-13, 6:20-7:2, 7:7-11, 18-20, 7:27-8:1, 8:7-9, 9:1-4, 9-11, 16-19, 25-27, 10:5-8, 16-18, 26-29, 35-38, 11:6-7, 12-15, 22-24, 31-33, 11:38-12:1, 12:7-9, 16-18, 25-27, 13:7-9, 16-18, 23-25. | 84 | Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, 06. 275 | Washington, D.C. | United States | FGOA[25] |
| 017 | Ke | Cyprius | 9th | Gospels | 267 | National Library, Gr. 63 | Paris | France | BnF,[26] INTF, CSNTM |
| 018 | Kap | Mosquensis | 9th | Pauline EpistlesK†(lacking Rom. 10:18—1 Cor. 6:13; 1 Cor. 8:8-11), General EpistlesK | 288 | State Historical Museum, V. 93, S. 97 | Moscow | Russia | CSNTM, INTF |
| 019 | Le | Regius | 8th | Gospels† | 257 | National Library, Gr. 62 | Paris | France | BnF,[27] INTF, CSNTM |
| 020 | Lap | Angelicus | 9th | Acts† 8:10-28:31, General Epistles, Romans - Hebrews 12:28† | 189 | Biblioteca Angelica, Ang. gr. 39 | Rome | Italy | BA[28] |
| CSNTM, INTF | |||||||||
| 021 | M | Campianus | 9th | Gospels | 257 | National Library, Gr. 48 | Paris | France | BnF,[29] INTF, CSNTM |
| 022 | N | Petropolitanus Purp. | 6th | Gospels† | 182 | National Library of Russia, Gr. 537 | Saint Petersburg | Russia | INTF |
| Matthew 19:6-13, 20:6-22, 20:29-21:17 | 6 | Vatican Library, Vat. gr. 2305 | Vatican City | Vatican City | DVL[30] | ||||
| Mark 6:53-15:23 | 33 | Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, 67 | Patmos | Greece | INTF | ||||
| Matthew 14:22-31 | 1 | Byzantine Museum, Frg 21 | Athens | Greece | CSNTM | ||||
| John 6:31-39 | 1 | Byzantine Museum, Byz. Ms. 1 | Thessaloniki | Greece | INTF |