Chapter VII. Cursive Manuscripts Of The Gospels. Part I.
The later manuscripts of the Greek Testament, written in cursive characters from the tenth down to the fifteenth century or later, are too numerous to be minutely described in an elementary work like the present. We shall therefore speak of them with all possible brevity, dwelling only on a few which present points of especial interest, and employing certain abbreviations, a list of which we subjoin for the reader's convenience[225].
Abbreviations used in the following Catalogue.
Act. MS. of Acts and Catholic Epistles.
Am. Ammonian Sections (so-called) in the margin of MSS.
Apoc. MS. of the Apocalypse.
Apost. MS. of Apostolos.
Ἀναγν. Ἀναγνώσματα or ἀναγνώσεις, readings or lections: here marks of the lections in the margin or at the head or foot of pages, or the computation of them at the end of the book.
Argent. Written in silver letters, either capitals or all.
Ἀρχή and τέλος, see Lect.
Aur. Written in gold letters, either capitals (l. l.) or all.
Carp. Epistle to Carpianus.
Chart. Written on paper.
Chart. by itself = linen paper.
Chart. b. = bombycina, or cotton paper.
Cols. Columns. When the MS. is written only in one, no notice is given.
Coll. Collated.
Curs. Cursive MSS.
Eus. Eusebian Canons standing in the margin under Ammonian Sections.
Eus. t. Tables of so-called Eusebian Canons prefixed to the Gospels.
Euthal. κεφ. Euthalian κεφάλαια found in Acts and Epistles.
Evan. Evangelia.
Evst. Evangelistaria.
Ff. Folia, or leaves. The figures in brackets immediately appended denote the number of lines on a page.
Harm. Harmony, sometimes given with κεφ. t.
Insp. Inspected.
Κεφ. Letters in the margin denoting the κεφάλαια majora.
Κεφ. t. Tables of κεφ. prefixed to each book.
Lect. Notices of proper lessons for feasts, &c., in the margin, or above, or below, or interspersed with the text. Often marked with ἀρχή and τέλος at beginning and end.
Membr. On vellum.
Men. A menology, or calendar, of Saints' Days at the beginning or end of a book.
Mus. Musical notes, especially in Evangelistaria.
Mut. That the copy is mutilated.
Orn. Ornamented.
Paul. MS. of St. Paul's Epistles.
Pict. Illuminated with pictures.
Prol. Contains a prologue or ὑπόθεσις.
Ῥήμ. Where the ῥήματα, or phrases are numbered.
Syn. A synaxarion, or calendar, of daily lessons—also called eclogadion.
Στίχ. Where the στίχοι, or lines, are numbered.
Subscr. Subscriptions (ὑπογραφαί) at the end of books.
Τίτλ. Titles of κεφ. at the head or foot of the pages.
Vers. Greek or Latin metrical verses at beginning or end of books.
Unc. Uncial MS.
The other Abbreviations will be evident upon perusing this work. Where Chart. is not printed, the MS. is written on vellum. The Latin numeral within square brackets denotes the date of the book, whether fixed by a subscription in the book itself, or approximated by other means, e.g. [xiii] indicates a book of the thirteenth century. The Arabic numerals within ordinary brackets denote the number of lines on a page. Thus 297 (38) = 297 leaves and thirty-eight lines in a page. The names within parentheses indicate the collators or inspectors of each manuscript, and if it has been satisfactorily examined, an asterisk is prefixed to the number by which it is known. If the copy contain other portions of the New Testament, its notation in those portions is always given. Measurements where given are in inches[226].