Vulgate manuscripts

Manuscripts of the Vulgate

Beginning of the Gospel of Mark on a page from the Codex Amiatinus.

The Vulgate (/ˈvʌlɡeɪt, -ɡət/) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible, largely edited by Jerome, which functioned as the Catholic Church's de facto standard version during the Middle Ages. The original Vulgate produced by Jerome around 382 has been lost, but texts of the Vulgate have been preserved in numerous manuscripts, albeit with many textual variants.

Vulgate manuscripts differ from Vetus Latina manuscripts, which are handwritten copies of the earliest Latin-language Bible translations known as the "Vetus Latina" or "Old Latin", originating from multiple translators before Jerome's late-4th-century Vulgate. Vetus Latina and Vulgate manuscripts continued to be copied alongside each other until the Late Middle Ages; many copies of (parts of) the Bible have been found using a mixture of Vetus Latina and Vulgate readings. Manuscripts of the Vulgate, together with the Codex Vaticanus, formed the basis of the printed Sixto-Clementine Vulgate in 1592, which became the Catholic Church's officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible.

## History

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Though the Vulgate exists in many forms, a number of early manuscripts containing or reflecting the Vulgate survive today. Dating from the 8th century, the Codex Amiatinus is the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete Vulgate Bible. The Codex Fuldensis, dating from around 547, contains most of the New Testament in the Vulgate version, but the four gospels are harmonized into a continuous narrative derived from the Diatessaron.

Alcuin of York oversaw efforts to make an improved Vulgate, which most argue he presented to Charlemagne in 801. He concentrated mainly on correcting inconsistencies of grammar and orthography, many of which were in the original text. More scholarly attempts were made by Theodulphus, Bishop of Orléans (787?–821); Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury (1070–1089); Stephen Harding, Abbot of Cîteaux (1109–1134); and Deacon Nicolaus Maniacoria (mid-12th century). The University of Paris, the Dominicans, and the Franciscans following Roger Bacon assembled lists of correctoria; approved readings where variants had been noted.[1]

## List of manuscripts

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### Old Testament

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List of some manuscripts from the Stuttgart Vulgate (officially known as Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem) with siglum from the same source; no name means the Stuttgart Vulgate did not give it a name, no provenance means the Stuttgart Vulgate did not give it a provenance:

Old Testament manuscripts sigla per Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem[2] Sigla | Name  | Approx. date  | Prov. | Content | Custodian

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D  | —  | 8th century | Lugdunum | Sam, Rg, Pa | Municipal Lib. of Lyon
D  | — | 8th century | Northumbria | Job | Russian National Lib.
F  | — | 8th century | Gaul | Deut–Ruth | National Lib. of France
F  | Psalt. Corbeiense triplex | 8th century | — | Ps (G&H) | Russian National Lib.
G  | Pentateuchus Turonensis | 6th-7th century | — | Gen–Num | National Lib. of France
G  | Sangermanensis | 9th century | — | Par, Esr, Est, Prv, Sap, Sir | National Lib. of France
H  | Cathach S. Columbae | 7th century | Hibernia | Psalms (G) | Royal Irish Academy
I  | — | 10th century | — | Ps (G&H) | Municipal Lib. of Rouen
K  | — | 8th century | Italia | Ezra–Job | Cathedral Lib. of Cologne
K  | Psalt. Augiense triplex | 9th century | Augia | Ps (G&H) | Baden State Library
L  | — | 9th century | Würzburg | Deut–Ruth | Bodleian Library
L  | — | 9th century | Lugdunum | Ezra | Municipal Lib. of Lyon
L  | Laureshamensis | 6th-7th century | Italia merid. | Tobit–Job | Vatican Library
L  | Psalt. Lugdunense | 5th-6th century | Lugdunum | Psalms (G) | Municipal Lib. of Lyon +

National Lib. of France

L  | — | 9th century | Tours | Psalms (H) | British Library
M  | Maurdramni | 8th century | Corbie | Ios–Rt, Dn–Mal, Mcc, Prv–Sir, Ez | Municipal Lib. of Amiens

### New Testament

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Vulgate of Mark 1:1ff in an illuminated manuscript held at Autun

See also: Critical apparatus § New Testament studies

The list of manuscripts below is based on citations in Novum Testamentum Graece (NA27) and The Greek New Testament (UBS4). Each manuscript is identified first by its siglum (the first column, s., in the table), as given by the critical apparatus of the editions mentioned. These sigla are related to content, so are not unique. For example, the letter S refers to Codex Sangallensis 1395 in the gospels, but to Codex Sangallensis 70 in the Pauline epistles. So sigla need disambiguation. In the table below, this is done by providing a full name. Additionally, the standard unique serial number for each manuscript is provided.

Certain Latin NT manuscripts may present a mixture of Vulgate and various Vetus Latina texts. For example, Codex Sangermanensis (g1 / VL6) is Vetus Latina in sections of the Gospels and Acts, but Vulgate in the Pauline Epistles and Revelation.[3]

New Testament manuscripts sigla per Novum Testamentum Graece, The Greek New Testament, and H.A.G Houghton's The Latin New Testament Sigla | Name  | Date  | Contents  | Custodian  | City, state  | Country

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A | Codex Amiatinus | 716 | NT  | Laurentian Library | Florence | Italy
C | Codex Cavensis | 850 | Gosp–Paul; Rev | Archivio della Badia della Santissima Trinità | Cava de' Tirreni | Italy
D | Codex Durmachensis | 650 | Gospels | Trinity College, Dublin | Dublin | Ireland
F | Codex Fuldensis | 541–546 | NT  | Hochschul- und Landesbibliothek Fulda | Fulda | Germany
G | Codex Sangermanensis | 850 | NT  | BnF | Paris | France
I | Codex Iuvenianus, Codex Vallicellianus | 700–800 | Acts, Catholic Epistles, Revelation  | Biblioteca Vallicelliana B.25II(in Italian) | Rome | Italy
K | Codex Aug. perg. 185 | 850 | Paul and Catholic Epistles  | Baden State Library | Karlsruhe | Germany
L | Lectionarium Luxoviense | 700 | General |  |  |
M | Codex Mediolanensis | 550 | Gospels |  |  |
N | — | 450 | Gospels | Bibliothèque Municipale
National Library of France | Autun
Paris | France
P | Codex Spalatensis | 600 | Gospels |  |  |
R | Codex Reginensis | 750 | Paul | Vatican Library | Vatican City | Vatican City
R | — | 600 | General | Biblioteca Capitolare | Verona | Italy
S | Codex Sangallensis 1395 | 450 | Gospels | Abbey of St. Gall | St. Gallen | Switzerland
S | Codex Sangallensis 2 | 750 | Acts; Rev | Abbey of St. Gall | St. Gallen | Switzerland
S | Codex Sangallensis 70 | 750 | Paul | Abbey of St. Gall | St. Gallen | Switzerland
S | Codex Sangallensis 907 | 750 | General | Abbey of St. Gall | St. Gallen | Switzerland
T | Codex Toletanus | 950 | Old Testament–NT | National Library of Spain | Madrid | Spain
Z | Codex Harleianus | 550 | Gospels | British Library | London | United Kingdom
Θ | Codex Theodulphianus | 950 | Old Testament–NT | Bibliothèque nationale de France | Paris | France
Λ | Codex Legionensis | 650 | Acts–Rev | St. Isidore's Basilica | León | Spain
| Codex Complutensis I | 927 | Old Testament–NT | Bibl. Univ. Centr. 31 | Madrid | Spain
11A | Cod. M. p. th. f. 67 |  | Gospels  | University of Würzburg | Würzburg | Germany

### Complete bibles

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Complete bibles manuscripts sigla per Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem, Novum Testamentum Graece and The Greek New Testament Sigla | Name  | Approx. date  | Prov. | Content  | Custodian

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A[2] | Amiatinus | 8th century  | Northumbria | Bible | Laurentian Library
C[2] | Cavensis | 9th century  | Hispania | Bible without Cath | Monte Cassino
C  | Codex Complutensis I | 927  | Madrid | Bible  | Bibl. Univ. Centr. 31
T  | Codex Toletanus | 950  | Madrid | Bible  | National Library of Spain
Θ  | Codex Theodulphianus | 950  | Paris | Bible  | Bibliothèque nationale de France

## See also

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* Biblical manuscript
* Septuagint manuscripts
* List of the Dead Sea Scrolls
* List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts
* Vetus Latina manuscripts

## References

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1. ^ Linde, Cornelia (2011). How to correct the Sacra scriptura? Textual criticism of the Latin Bible between the twelfth and fifteenth century. Medium Ævum Monographs 29. Oxford: Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature. ISBN 9780907570226.
2. ^ a b c Weber, Robert; Gryson, Roger, eds. (2007). "Index codicum et editionum". Biblia sacra : iuxta Vulgatam versionem. Oliver Wendell Holmes Library, Phillips Academy (5th ed.). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft. pp. XLIII–XLV. ISBN 978-3-438-05303-9.
3. ^ Houghton, Hugh A. G. (2016). The Latin New Testament: A Guide to its Early History, Texts and Manuscripts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 213\. ISBN 978-0-19-874473-3.

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