Western Medieval Manuscripts : Codex Bezae

Western Medieval Manuscripts

There are half-a-dozen ancient manuscripts which are the foundation of our understanding of the text of the New Testament writings. Among these stands the copy known since the sixteenth century as Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis. Any manuscript which has survived from antiquity is a marvel for this reason alone, and as we explore its pages, we have a rare opportunity to explore a little of the written culture of late antique Christianity. Although in the past century some remarkable papyrus manuscripts have been recovered from the sands of Egypt, their discovery has in general served more to highlight the significance of the parchment manuscripts than to diminish it. Among this group, Codex Bezae occupies a unique place for several reasons. In the first place, as a bilingual manuscript, with a Greek text and a Latin version on facing pages, it provides a valuable insight into the reception of the Gospels and Acts in the western Christian tradition. The Latin version it contains is one of the small handful of manuscripts which are the most important witnesses to the development of a Latin version before Jerome's famous Vulgate of 382. Secondly, it provides a strikingly different form of text to that preserved in almost every other manuscript, and to the printed Greek text and the translations derived from it. These differences consist in the Gospels in frequent harmonisation of the text and in Acts in a free restyling of the text found best represented by Codex Vaticanus and reproduced in English translations.The manuscript is the work of a single scribe, one trained primarily to copy Latin texts. Its present contents are the Gospels of Matthew, John, Luke and Mark, a single page of the last verses of 3 John (in Latin only) and the Acts of the Apostles. The only book that is complete is the Gospel of Luke, since there are pages missing from all the others. It is possible that between Mark and 3 John the manuscript originally contained Revelation and the rest of the Epistles of John. The Gospels are in the so-called Western order, with the two who were apostles first, followed by the two who were companions of the apostles.The manuscript is best dated to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century. Many places have been proposed for its place of origin, including southern France, Africa, Egypt and Palestine. I have proposed Berytus (Beirut). There were a number of correctors and annotators working in the first centuries of its existence. The first strong evidence for the manuscript's history is replacement leaves for missing portions of Matthew, John and Mark. The style of writing and the use of blue ink provide a very strong case that these pages were written in Lyons in the ninth century. At this period Lyon was an important centre for the dissemination of ancient works in the west.It is probable that the Codex Bezae remained there, in the Monastery of St Irenaeus, until the sixteenth century. It was apparently taken over the Alps to the Council of Trent in 1546. Its textual significance was already recognised, since it was one of the manuscripts whose readings was cited in the first edition of the Greek New Testament to include such information, made by Robert Stephanus in Paris in 1550. Then after the sacking of Lyons in the religious wars it came into the hands of the Reformer Theodore de Bèze, Calvin’s successor at Geneva. The first part of its name is derived from the Latin form of his name, Beza. In 1581, Beza presented the manuscript to Cambridge University. This is the origin of the second part of its name, Cantabrigiensis.A printed transcription of the manuscript (using a font imitating the shape of the characters) was published by the University Press in 1793. A more accurate transcription, with the corrections and annotations fully detailed, was made by F.H. Scrivener and published by Deighton Bell in 1864. A facsimile edition was published by the University Press in 1899.Of the many distinctive readings of the manuscript, the following deserve special mention:It is the oldest manuscript to contain the story of the adulterous woman (John 7.53-8.11). It is on Folios <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(236);return false;'>133v</a> to <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(239);return false;'>135</a>.The genealogy of Jesus in Luke's Gospel is arranged in reverse order so as to conform more closely with that in Matthew. It is on Folios <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(371);return false;'>195v</a> to <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(374);return false;'>197</a>.There is a story about Jesus found in no other manuscript (the story of the man working on the Sabbath, placed after Luke 6.4). It is on Folios <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(391);return false;'>205v</a> and <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(392);return false;'>206</a>.It is the oldest manuscript to contain the longer ending of Mark (16.9-20). The last pages of Mark are missing, so all that remains is the Greek text of verses 9-15. What follows is text supplied in the ninth century. It is on Folio <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(675);return false;'>347v</a>.In Acts, when the angel delivers Peter from prison the detail is added that they go into the street down seven steps (Acts 12.10). It is on Folios <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(759);return false;'>463v</a>-<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(760);return false;'>464</a>, eleven lines from the bottom of the page.Professor David Parker Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology and Director of the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing University of Birmingham March, 2012

Page: 299v

Codex Bezae (Cambridge, University Library, MS Nn.2.41)

There are half-a-dozen ancient manuscripts which are the foundation of our understanding of the text of the New Testament writings. Among these stands the copy known since the sixteenth century as Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis. Any manuscript which has survived from antiquity is a marvel for this reason alone, and as we explore its pages, we have a rare opportunity to explore a little of the written culture of late antique Christianity. Although in the past century some remarkable papyrus manuscripts have been recovered from the sands of Egypt, their discovery has in general served more to highlight the significance of the parchment manuscripts than to diminish it.

Among this group, Codex Bezae occupies a unique place for several reasons. In the first place, as a bilingual manuscript, with a Greek text and a Latin version on facing pages, it provides a valuable insight into the reception of the Gospels and Acts in the western Christian tradition. The Latin version it contains is one of the small handful of manuscripts which are the most important witnesses to the development of a Latin version before Jerome's famous Vulgate of 382. Secondly, it provides a strikingly different form of text to that preserved in almost every other manuscript, and to the printed Greek text and the translations derived from it. These differences consist in the Gospels in frequent harmonisation of the text and in Acts in a free restyling of the text found best represented by Codex Vaticanus and reproduced in English translations.

The manuscript is the work of a single scribe, one trained primarily to copy Latin texts. Its present contents are the Gospels of Matthew, John, Luke and Mark, a single page of the last verses of 3 John (in Latin only) and the Acts of the Apostles. The only book that is complete is the Gospel of Luke, since there are pages missing from all the others. It is possible that between Mark and 3 John the manuscript originally contained Revelation and the rest of the Epistles of John. The Gospels are in the so-called Western order, with the two who were apostles first, followed by the two who were companions of the apostles.

The manuscript is best dated to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century. Many places have been proposed for its place of origin, including southern France, Africa, Egypt and Palestine. I have proposed Berytus (Beirut). There were a number of correctors and annotators working in the first centuries of its existence. The first strong evidence for the manuscript's history is replacement leaves for missing portions of Matthew, John and Mark. The style of writing and the use of blue ink provide a very strong case that these pages were written in Lyons in the ninth century. At this period Lyon was an important centre for the dissemination of ancient works in the west.

It is probable that the Codex Bezae remained there, in the Monastery of St Irenaeus, until the sixteenth century. It was apparently taken over the Alps to the Council of Trent in 1546. Its textual significance was already recognised, since it was one of the manuscripts whose readings was cited in the first edition of the Greek New Testament to include such information, made by Robert Stephanus in Paris in 1550. Then after the sacking of Lyons in the religious wars it came into the hands of the Reformer Theodore de Bèze, Calvin’s successor at Geneva. The first part of its name is derived from the Latin form of his name, Beza. In 1581, Beza presented the manuscript to Cambridge University. This is the origin of the second part of its name, Cantabrigiensis.

A printed transcription of the manuscript (using a font imitating the shape of the characters) was published by the University Press in 1793. A more accurate transcription, with the corrections and annotations fully detailed, was made by F.H. Scrivener and published by Deighton Bell in 1864. A facsimile edition was published by the University Press in 1899.

Of the many distinctive readings of the manuscript, the following deserve special mention:

It is the oldest manuscript to contain the story of the adulterous woman (John 7.53-8.11). It is on Folios 133v to 135.

The genealogy of Jesus in Luke's Gospel is arranged in reverse order so as to conform more closely with that in Matthew. It is on Folios 195v to 197.

There is a story about Jesus found in no other manuscript (the story of the man working on the Sabbath, placed after Luke 6.4). It is on Folios 205v and 206.

It is the oldest manuscript to contain the longer ending of Mark (16.9-20). The last pages of Mark are missing, so all that remains is the Greek text of verses 9-15. What follows is text supplied in the ninth century. It is on Folio 347v.

In Acts, when the angel delivers Peter from prison the detail is added that they go into the street down seven steps (Acts 12.10). It is on Folios 463v-464, eleven lines from the bottom of the page.

Professor David Parker
Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology and Director of the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing
University of Birmingham
March, 2012

Information about this document

Physical Location: Cambridge University Library
Classmark: Cambridge, University Library, MS Nn.2.41
Alternative Identifier(s): Diktyon 12240
Alternative Title(s): Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis
Uniform Title: New Testament and Acts of the Apostles
Subject(s): Bible
Origin Place: Many places have been proposed for the place of origin, including southern France, Egypt, northern Africa, Palestine and Beirut.
Date of Creation: Late 4th or early 5th Century
Language(s): Greek and Latin
Former Owner(s): Béze, Théodore de (1519-1605)
Associated Name(s): Ado of Lyons; Florus, of Lyons, -860; Prat, Guillaume du; Burghley, William Cecil, Baron, 1520-1598; Bacon, Anthony, 1558-1601
Note(s): Gregory-Aland Dea / O5; Scrivener Evan D
Extent:
Volume I: ii + 157 + ii Leaf height: 260 mm, width: 212-228 mm.
Volume II: ii + 258 + ii Leaf height: 260 mm, width: 218-225 mm.
Collation: With the rebinding and conservation of the manuscript in 1965, the quires were mounted on guards, and the gutter edges of many of the leaves repaired and stabilised with Japanese tissue paper. In Volume I, Quire 1, the present arrangement of the leaves does not reflect their original structure. The 3rd and 4th leaves (ff. 5-6) are now joined together, however the structure of the other quires in the volume (almost all containing eight leaves), and the loss of text at the beginning of the quire, together suggest that the 2nd and 3rd leaves (ff. 4-5) were originally joined together as the central bifolium in this quire.
Volume I:
- Quire 1^8-3+1 ff. 3-6, 7*, 8 The first, second and seventh leaves have been lost, and the seventh later replaced
- Quires 2-10⁸ ff. 9-88
- Quire 11⁸ ff. 89-96 The eighth leaf (f. 96) is mutilated, leaving only a small portion
- Quires 12-19⁸ ff. 97-168
- Quire 20^8-2+1 ff. 169*-175* The first leaf has been cancelled; the second and seventh (ff. 170* and 174*) are singletons
Volume II:
- Quires 21-31⁸ ff. 177-264
- Quire 32⁶ ff. 265-270
- Quires 33-41⁸ ff. 271-342
- Quire 42^8-3+1 ff. 343-347, 348* The sixth-eighth leaves have been lost, and the sixth later replaced
- Quires 43-52⁸ ff. 415-446, 455-502
- Quire 53^8-2 ff. 504-508, 510 The first and seventh leaves have been lost
There are leaf signatures in Latin letters (for quires) and Arabic numerals (for bifolios) in pencil in the lower right-hand corner of the rectos, by H.L. Pink. The letter sequence for quires runs, in Volume I: a-i, k-n, p-u, x, y*; Volume II: z, A-I, K-T, V, X, X*, Gg-Ii, Kk, Mm-Ss.
Asterisks denote leaves inserted during the 9th century to supply missing text (see Provenance for further details). A sequence of signatures, numbered by folio rather than leaf but preceded by a letter indicating the quire, appears on ff. 4-8, in Latin letters and Arabic numerals, apart from f. 8r, where the number is in Roman numerals.
There are quire signatures in Greek numerals in brown ink at the end of quires, in the lower right-hand corner of the versos, probably original to the production of the manuscript. They are accompanied by a horizontal line above, turning into a downward diagonal to the left. This is consistent with Latin practice, as is the positioning of the signatures. Most of them have been lost to cropping or damage. They survive on Quires 30 (λβʹ), 34 (λϛʹ), 36 (ληʹ), 37 (λθʹ), 39 (μαʹ), 40 (μβʹ), 44 (νδʹ), 46 (νϛʹ), 48-51 (νθʹ-ξβʹ) and partially on Quires 14 (ιϛʹ?), 23, 38 (μʹ) and 47 (νηʹ).
The evidence of these signatures supports the conjecture reflected in the foliation that one original quire has been lost after Quire 2 and another after Quire 12, since apparently by Quire 14 and certainly by Quire 30 they are larger than the count of surviving quires by two. They also corroborate the conjecture that eight full quires were lost after the incomplete Quire 42, since by 44 they are larger than the count of surviving quires by ten, and one quire after Quire 46, since apparently by Quire 47, and certainly by Quire 48, they are larger by eleven.
There is another set of quire signatures in Arabic numerals in brown ink at the beginning of each quire, in the lower left-hand corner of the rectos. Those on Quires 22-23, 37 and 43 have apparently been lost to damage, suggesting that they were added before this damage was incurred. No signature has been placed on Quire 45. This sequence includes the replacement Quire 20 as well as the original quires; the number 21 appears on the last folio of this quire. When the sequence resumes after those lost to damage, on Quire 24, it bears the number 23, and this sequence is thereafter smaller than the count of surviving quires by one. However, the number 38 is skipped, so from Quire 39 they again correspond to the actual count. The signatures of Quires 42 and 53 appear on the second folio rather than the first.
A third set of quire signatures appears in Greek numerals in pencil at the beginning of each quire, in the lower right-hand corner of the recto.These take into account lost quires, corresponding to the original numbering rather than the count of those currently surviving. No signature of this sequence appears on Quire 53.
No catchwords
Material: Parchment, thin and of extremely high quality
Format: Codex
Condition: Almost the whole of f. 96 has been torn away, leaving a stub with a small amount of surviving text on it. Extensive areas of the edges of some folios (e.g. ff. 26, 32, 91, 94, 219, 303, 504) have also been lost, with some loss of text; these folios have been repaired with paper patches. Smaller areas have been torn from the margins of a number of other folios, some of which have also been repaired with paper patches. There are long lateral tears across a number of folios, which have been repaired with thread (e.g. ff. 35-40) and/or translucent patches (e.g. ff. 98-101). A considerable number of worm-holes are present in the outermost folios. Defects in the parchment have left a number of holes, which have formed since the copying of the manuscript (e.g. ff. 51, 55) There are extensive dark brown stains to many folios, and some areas of black dirt and drops of wax, as well as general discoloration to the outer folios and water staining elsewhere. The text has become seriously faded in places, and this has sometimes been overwritten. The surface of the leaves has been treated with glycerol to eradicate mould.
Binding:
Quarter tawed pigskin over oak boards, in two volumes. Sandy and Elizabeth Cockerell, 1965 (stamp on skin on the inside of the right-hand boards).
Volume I Binding height: 279 mm, width: 250 mm, depth: 52 mm.
Volume II Binding height: 279 mm, width: 252 mm, depth: 71 mm.
A former binding, dating to the 19th-century, is preserved separately: pasteboards covered in light brown leather, with blind-tooled panel and scrollwork, with metal clasp, metal plates at the corners and another in the centre engraved with the coat of arms of the University of Cambridge (on the front) and 'Codex Bezae Cantab.' (on the rear) (?pewter, all now tarnished).
A report by Sandy Cockerell - entitled 'Repairing and Rebinding the Codex Bezae' - is kept separately, along with several black-and-white photographs of the manuscript and the rebinding work in progress. Dated November 1965, but beginning with a description of the condition of the manuscript dated January 1962, the report suggests that the project to conserve and rebind Codex Bezae took place over several years. According to Cockerell:
"The manuscript had been removed from the 19th century binding at some time and in removing it a great deal of damage had been done to the folds of the vellum leaves, particularly to the outside fold of each gathering."
It is not clear when this removal took place, but other notes imply that this occurred during the Librarianship of Henry Bradshaw (b. 1831, d. 1886, Librarian 1867-1886): specifically, a collation diagram by Bradshaw's hand, which describes the structure of the quires and concludes 'all in box Aug 25' and 'together with Bezae's letter + seal Sept. 3' (no year is given). This sheet then continued to be used by subsequent members of Library staff as a means of checking that all of the leaves were present: it is signed 'all here' by Francis Jenkinson on 30 September 1898, and by H.L. Pink on 14 December 1949, 5 December 1952 and 26 January 1962.
Bradshaw's notes indicate that Codex Bezae was kept disbound in a box and this seems to have been the case until Cockerell's rebinding work. Another note, written by H.R. Creswick (1902-1988, Librarian 1949-1967), states '4 Red boxes inspected 9 Dec. 1949 HRC & HLP [i.e. H.L. Pink] & JCTO [i.e. J.C.T. Oates]. All the Manuscript is in good state'. An index card bears the notes by several members of staff between 4 June 1904 and 16 May 1963, recording the removal of selected leaves for display in the Library's show cases. In some cases, the display was just for a single day, notes regarding their removal and return beearing the same date, however in other instances it appears that leaves from Codex Bezae remained on view for extended periods: a note by H.R. Creswick concerning unspecified folios states 'In show case since 1926 at least, returned to box 9 May 1934 (Librarian's order to clear show cases)' (presumably in preparation for the re-location of the Library to the new building on West Road).
Script:
ff. 3-6, 8r-16v, 25r-104v, 113r-168v, 177r-347v, 415r-446v, 455r-502v, 504r-508v, 510r-510v: The original Latin text is written in half uncial script in brown ink, the Greek text by the same hand in Biblical majuscule script in brown ink, without accents or breathings. Mute iota is absent. There is non-functional use of the double dot. The horizontal stroke for nu is sometimes used at the end of lines. Punctuation in use includes the middle and upper points and two-dot colon. Various characteristics of this hand have been highlighted as indicating that the scribe was primarily trained in copying Latin. For instance, the article is often omitted, while the usage regarding Greek nomina sacra is archaic for the likely time of copying, whereas that for the Latin ones is more up to date. Letter-forms show possible traces of Latin influence, notably the resemblance of upsilon to a Latin Y. The dative forms ἡμῖν and ὑμῖν are consistently spelt incorrectly as ἡμεῖν and ὑμεῖν.
ff. 7*r-7*v, 169*r-175*v, 348*r-348*v: The Greek text of the replacement leaves is written in a majuscule script in black or dark brown ink, without accents and usually without breathings, but with occasional breathings in anomalous forms. Mute iota is absent. There is non-functional use of the double dot, which is sometimes incorrectly placed on diphthongs. Punctuation in use includes the lower, middle and upper points and middle comma. The Greek script is written by a scribe trained in Latin, and shows signs of Latin influence in the form of letters such as epsilon, kappa and upsilon, as well as displaying anomalous practices such as the form of breathings. Latin letters are occasionally used in error in place of Greek ones (e.g. f. 169*v, line 20, "pαρρησια" for "παρρησια"). There are frequent itacisms and other spelling errors, and the article is often omitted. The subscription to Mark and superscription to Acts on f. 348v are written in blue ink.
Foliation:
20th-century foliation:
Volume I
[i-ii] + 3-6, 7*, 8-16, 25-104, 113-168, 169*-175* + [iii-iv]
Volume II
[v-vi] + 177-347, 348*, 415-446, 455-502, 504-508, 510 + [vii-viii]
Both volumes are foliated in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto, upper right, by H.L. Pink (Assistant Under-Librarian 1947-1960 and Head of the Department of Manuscripts, 1960-1970).
Folio numbers 1-2, 17-24, 105-112, 176, 349-414, 447-454, 503, 509 were assigned to leaves no longer present in the volume, according to the interpretation of the manuscript's collation (as per historic foliation practice at Cambridge University Library).
Asterisks denote leaves inserted during the 9th century to supply missing text (see Provenance for further details).
Early modern foliation:
Volume I
1-156
Volume II
157-270, 270 [bis], 271-312, 314-393, 393 [bis], 394-413
There is an earlier foliation in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto, upper right.
This foliation does not count the mutilated leaf later numbered as f. 96. The numbers 270 and 393 have been erroneously used twice, and the number 313 skipped.
Layout: ff. 3-6, 8r-16v, 25r-104v, 113r-168v, 177r-347v, 415r-446v, 455r-502v, 504r-508v, 510r-510v A single column of 33 lines, with parallel Greek and Latin text on facing leaves. Pricking survives in all three margins. Upper-margin pricking appears within the ruled space. Ruled in hardpoint, with single vertical bounding lines extending the full length of the page; horizontal lines extend slightly beyond these into the outer margin and are carried into the gutter. A single additional line above, guiding the running heads. System Leroy 2, type Leroy 01C1a. Position of text relative to the ruling lines varies. Written space is variable: the text is written in long lines that are not justified with the ruling pattern, but which frequently fall short of and sometimes extend beyond the vertical bounding lines. Ruled height: 180-185 mm, width: 140-145 mm. ff. 7*r-7*v, 169*r-175*v, 348*r A single column of 32-33 lines, with parallel Greek and Latin text on facing leaves. Pricking survives in all three margins. Ruled in hardpoint, with double vertical bounding lines extending the full length of the page and text lines confined within the inner vertical lines. System Leroy 2, type Leroy 20D1. Text stands on the lines. Written height: 180 mm, width: 140 mm. f. 348v is written in two columns, Greek to the left and Latin to the right.
Additions:
An early hand has included marginal Ammonian section numbers accompanying the Greek text, and running heads indicating the current book in both Greek and Latin in the upper margin, on the single horizontal ruling line besides the text lines. Occasional Greek lection notes, including some marginal ἀρχή and τέλος marks, have been added by different hands, including one set in fomal majuscule script and others in a very crude hand. There are numerous corrections of the main text by several different hands.
Later Greek hands, one using an informal minuscule script and a crude and eccentric majuscule script have added notes in margins of the Greek text regarding the content of the page on which they appear. The latter hand has also added προσερμηνείαι (notes to be used in divination) in a crude Greek majuscule script in the lower margins of the Greek text of the Gospel of Mark. Where these are added to Gospel manuscripts, they usually appear in the Gospel of John, but that of Mark here appears last in the sequence, the position usually occupied by John.
The beginning of modern chapters has been marked with their number in Roman numerals in the margin of the Latin text by different hands, whille running chapter numbers in Roman numerals appear in the upper right-hand corner of recto folios from f. 69r onwards. These numbers also appear in the upper left-hand corner of the verso in the same portion of the manuscript, except in the latter part of Matthew (ff. 83v103v), where this position is occupied by Greek κεφάλαιον (chapter) numbers.
There is a Latin note on f. 73r regarding the names of the Magi and the thieves crucified with Jesus. Latin notes in ink in different hands and modern English notes in pencil have been added regarding lost folios and quires.
Provenance:
Perhaps at the monastery of St Irenaeus in Lyon, France from the ninth century. Leaves inserted in the ninth century to supply missing text bear Lyonese characteristics, notably the use of blueish ink. The text also appears to have influenced the martyrology written by Ado of Lyons in 850-60, and it is possible that Florus of Lyon was responsible for it coming to this location.
Taken to the Council of Trent by Guillaume du Prat, bishop of Clermont, where some of its Greek readings were cited as evidence relevant to matters then under debate.
According to a note by Theodore Beza, the manuscript was discovered in the monastery of St Irenaeus in 1562 when the city was sacked by the Huguenot army during the religious wars.
Acquisition: Sent by Theodore Beza (1519-1605) to William Cecil, Chancellor, perhaps via the latter's nephew Anthony Bacon (1558-1601), with a letter dated 6 December 1581, addressed to the University of Cambridge and offering the manuscript as a gift.
Date of Acquisition: 6 December 1581
Funding: The Polonsky Foundation
Author(s) of the Record: Christopher Wright (with notes on 19th-century binding and 20th-century repairs by Dr James Freeman)
Bibliography:
Editions:
Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose, Bezae Codex Cantabrigiensis: being an exact copy, in ordinary type, of the celebrated uncial Graeco-Latin manuscript of the four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, written early in the sixth century, and presented to the University of Cambridge by Theodore Beza, A.D. 1581 (Cambridge; London: Deighton, Bell, and Co.; Bell and Daldy, 1864).
Codex Bezae: Cantabrigiensis Quattuor Evangelia at actus Apostolorum complectens Graece et Latine ([London]: [Veneunt apud C.J. Clay et Filios in Emporio Preli Academici Cantabrigiensis], 1899).
Ammassari, Antonio and Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener (eds), Bezae Codex Cantabrigiensis: copia esatta del manoscritto onciale greco-latino dei quattro Vangeli e degli Atti degli Apostoli scritto all'inizio del V secolo e presentato da Theodore Beza all'Università di Cambridge nel 1581 (Città del Vaticano: Libreria editrice vaticana, 1996).
Haelewyck, Jean-Claude, Evangelium secundum Marcum, Vetus Latina. Die Reste der altlateinischen Bible 17 (Freiburg: Herder, 2013) fasc. 1.

Manuscript descriptions:
Nestle, Eberhard, Novi Testamenti Graeci supplementum (Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1896).
Hatch, William Henry Paine, The principal uncial manuscripts of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939).
Parker, D.C., Codex Bezae: an early Christian manuscript and its text (Birmingham: [s.n.], 1990).
Bischoff, Bernhard, Katalog der festländischen Handschriften des neunten Jahrhunderts: (mit Ausnahme der wisigotischen), Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften: Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für die Herausgabe der mittelalterlichen Bibliothekskataloge Deutschlands und der Schweiz (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998) I: Aachen-Lambach.
Parker, David, "Codex Bezae", in Peter Fox (ed.), Cambridge University Library: The Great Collections (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) 33-43.
Robinson, P.R., Catalogue of dated and datable manuscripts c. 737-1600 in Cambridge libraries (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1988).

Secondary literature:
Harris, J. Rendel, Codex Bezae: a study of the so-called western text of the New Testament, Texts and studies: contributions to Biblical and Patristic literature 2:1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891).
Chase, Frederic Henry, The Old Syriac element in the text of Codex Bezae (London: Macmillan and Co., 1893).
Vogels, Heinrich Joseph, Codicum Novi Testamenti specimina: paginas 51 ex codicibus manuscriptis et 3 ex libris impressis collegit ac photo typice repraesentatas (Bonn: P. Manstein, 1929).
Peters, C., "Die Entstehung der griechischen Diatessaronübersetzung und ihr Nachhall in byzantinischer Kirchenpoesie", Orientalia Christiana Periodica 8 468-76 (1942).
Stone, R.C., "Some remarks on the provenance of Codex Bezae", in Classical studies in honor of William Abbott Oldfather (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1943) 177-83.
Lowe, E.A., "The oldest omission signs in Latin manuscripts, their origin and significance", in Miscellanea Giovanni Mercati, vol. 6, Studi e testi 126 (Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,, 1946) 76-78.
Siegmund, Albert, Die Überlieferung der griechischen christlichen Literatur in der lateinischen Kirche bis zum zwölften Jahrhundert (München-Pasing: Filser-Verlag, 1949).
Hemmerdinger, Bertrand, "Trois nouveaux fragments grecs du Livre III de saint Irénée", Scriptorium 10 268-269 (1956).
Savignac, J. de, "Le papyrus Bodmer II de l'Évangile selon Saint Jean", Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits 11 281-85 (1957).
Savignac, J. de, "Les fragments du papyrus Bodmer II de l'Evangile johannique", Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits 14 333-338 (1960).
McGurk, Patrick, "Citation marks in early Latin manuscripts (with a list of citation marks in manuscripts earlier than A.D. 800 in English and Irish libraries)", Scriptorium 15 3-13 (1961).
Epp, Eldon Jay, "The "Ignorance Motif" in Acts and Anti-Judaic Tendencies in Codex Bezae", The Harvard Theological Review 55 1 51-62 (1962) http://www.jstor.org/stable/1508811 Accessed: 2015-03-30T11:59:49Z.
Mizzi, J., "The Vulgate text of the supplemental pages of Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis", Sacris Erudiri: A Journal on the Inheritance of Early and Medieval Christianity 14 149-163 (1963).
Epp, Eldon Jay, "Coptic Manuscript G67 and the Rôle of Codex Bezae as a Western Witness in Acts", Journal of Biblical Literature 85 2 197-212 (1966) http://www.jstor.org/stable/3265125 Accessed: 2015-03-30T12:01:06Z.
Mizzi, Joseph, "The African Element in the Latin Text of Mt. XXIV of Cod. Cantabrigiensis", Revue bénédictine 78 33-66 (1968).
Duplacy, Jean, "Les lectionnaires et l'édition du Nouveau Testament grec", in A.-L. Descamps and André de Halleux (eds), Mélanges bibliques en hommage au R. P. Béda Rigaux (Gembloux: Duculot, 1970) 509-45.
Metzger, Bruce M., "Names for the nameless in the New Testament: a study in the growth of Christian tradition", in Patrick Granfield and Josef A. Jungmann (eds), Kyriakon; Festschrift Johannes Quasten (Munster: Aschendorff, 1970) 2 79-99.
Lowe, E.A., "A note on the Codex Bezae", in Ludwig Bieler (ed.), Palaeographical papers 1907-1965 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972) 1 224-228.
Lowe, E.A., "The oldest omission signs in Latin manuscripts, their origin and significance", in Ludwig Bieler (ed.), Palaeographical papers 1907-1965 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972) 2 378-80.
Lowe, E.A., "The Codex Bezae and Lyons", in Ludwig Bieler (ed.), Palaeographical papers 1907-1965 (Oxford: Clarendon Press,, 1972) 1 182-186.
Hemmerdinger Iliadou, Démocratie, "Les citations évangéliques de l'Êphrem Grec", Byzantina 5 313-93 (1973).
Shae, Gam Seng, "The Question on the Authority of Jesus", Novum Testamentum 16 1 1-29 (1974) http://www.jstor.org/stable/1560348 Accessed: 2015-03-30T12:29:38Z.
Epp, Eldon Jay and Gordon D. Fee (eds), New Testament textual criticism: its significance for exegesis: essays in honour of Bruce M. Metzger (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981).
Metzger, Bruce M., Manuscripts of the Greek Bible : an introduction to Greek palaeography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981).
Duplacy, Jean, "Les lectionnaires et l'édition du Nouveau Testament grec", in Jean Duplacy (ed.), Etudes de critique textuelle du Nouveau testament (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1987) 81-117.
Heyworth, P. L. (ed.), The letters of Humpfrey Wanley: palaeographer, Anglo-Saxonist, librarian, 1672-1726 : with an appendix of documents (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989).
Metzger, Bruce M., The text of the New Testament: its transmission, corruption, and restoration 3rd enl. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).
Brown, T. Julian, A palaeographer's view: the selected writings of Julian Brown, ed. Janet Bately, Michelle Brown and Jane Roberts (London: Harvey Miller, 1993).
Bischoff, Bernhard, Manuscripts and libraries in the age of Charlemagne translator: Michael Gorman, Cambridge studies in palaeography and codicology 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Holtz, Louis, "La minuscule marginale et interlineaire de Florus de Lyons", in Paolo Chiesa and Lucia Pinelli (eds), Gli autografi medievali: problemi paleografici e filologici : atti del Convegno di studio della Fondazione Ezio Franceschini, Erice, 25 settembre-2 ottobre 1990, Quaderni di Cultura Mediolatina 5 (Spoleto: Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 1994) 149-66.
McGurk, Patrick, "The oldest manuscripts of the Latin Bible", in Richard Gameson (ed.), The Early Medieval Bible: Its Production, Decoration and Use, Cambridge Studies in Palaeography and Codicology 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) 1-23.
Amphoux, Christian-Bernard, L'Évangile selon Matthieu: Codex de Béze (L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue: Le Bois d'Orion, 1996).
Parker, D.C. and Christian-Bernard Amphoux, Codex Bezae: studies from the Lunel colloquium, June 1994, New Testament tools and studies 22 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996).
McKendrick, Scot and Orlaith O'Sullivan (eds), The Bible as book: the transmission of the Greek text (London; New Castle, DE: British Library & Oak Knoll Press in association with The Scriptorium: Center for Christian Antiquities, 2003).
Rius-Camps, Josep and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, The message of Acts in Codex Bezae: a comparison with the Alexandrian tradition, Journal for the study of the New Testament. Supplement series 257 (London: T & T Clark International, 2004) 1.
Epp, Eldon Jay, The Theological Tendency of Codex Bezae Cantebrigiensis in Acts, Society for New Testament Studies Monographs 3 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) Accessed: 2015-03-30T11:57:55Z.
Manns, Frédéric, "Quelques variantes du Codex Bezae de Luc 24", Liber Annuus: Annual of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Jerusalem 55 131-139 (2005).
Parker, D.C., Manuscripts, texts, theology: collected papers 1977-2007, Arbeiten zur neutestamentlichen Textforschung 40 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009).
Maertens, Philip, "“Vos pères” ou “nos pères”: la question de l'appartenance ethique dans le texte grec du livre des Actes du Codex Bezae", New Testament Studies 58 3 401-415 (2012).
Mandelbrote, Scott, "When Manuscripts Meet: Editing the Bible in Greek during and after the Council of Trent", in Ann Blair and Anja-Silvia Goeing (eds), For the sake of learning: essays in honor of Anthony Grafton, Scientific and Learned Cultures and Their Institutions 18 (2016) 1 251-267.
Hixson, Elijah, "A Lost Page of Codex Bezae: Traces of the Bezan Greek Text of Acts 10.4–9""A Lost Page of Codex Bezae", New Testament Studies 64 2 213-230 (2018) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/lost-page-of-codex-bezae-traces-of-the-bezan-greek-text-of-acts-1049/493D60498D03A4ADE9C86167D691F705 Accessed: 2018-11-02T09:57:33Z.
Veselá, Lenka and Marta Vaculínová, "Die Bibliothek des Theodor Beza: Verloren order Zerstreut?", Gutenberg Jahrbuch 93 208-227 (2018).

Section shown in images 334 to 849

Title: Volume II

Section shown in images 551 to 677

Title: St. Mark's Gospel
Note(s): Surviving original text in Greek: 1:1-16:15; in Latin: 1:1-16:6; replacement text in Greek: 16:15-20; in Latin: 16:6-20.; TLG 0031.002
Excerpts:
Rubric: (Greek) f. 284v Αρχεται κατα Μαρκον
Rubric: (Latin) f. 285r Incipit Evangelium secundum Marcum
Incipit: (Greek) f. 285v Αρχη του Ευαγγελιου Ιησου Χριστου Υιου Θεου (Mk 1:1)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 286r Initium Evangelium Iesu Christi Fili Dei (Mk 1:1)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 348v και τον λογον βεβαιουντος· δια των επακολουθων των σημιων· αμην (Mk 16:20)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 348v et sermonem firmante sequentibus signis· amen (Mk 16:20)
Final Rubric: (Greek) f. 348v Ευαγγελιον κατα Μαρκον ετελεσθη
Final Rubric: (Latin) f. 348v Evangelium secundum Marcum explicit

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Volume I (image 7, page 3r) St. Matthew's Gospel (image 7, page 3r) St. John's Gospel (image 194, page 104v) Volume II (image 334, page 177r) St. John's Gospel (continued) (image 334, page 177r) St. Luke's Gospel (image 345, page 182v) St. Mark's Gospel (image 551, page 285v) Third Epistle of St. John (image 678, page 415r) Acts of the Apostles (image 679, page 415v)

Information about this document

Physical Location: Cambridge University Library
Classmark: Cambridge, University Library, MS Nn.2.41
Alternative Identifier(s): Diktyon 12240
Alternative Title(s): Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis
Uniform Title: New Testament and Acts of the Apostles
Subject(s): Bible
Origin Place: Many places have been proposed for the place of origin, including southern France, Egypt, northern Africa, Palestine and Beirut.
Date of Creation: Late 4th or early 5th Century
Language(s): Greek and Latin
Former Owner(s): Béze, Théodore de (1519-1605)
Associated Name(s): Ado of Lyons; Florus, of Lyons, -860; Prat, Guillaume du; Burghley, William Cecil, Baron, 1520-1598; Bacon, Anthony, 1558-1601
Note(s): Gregory-Aland Dea / O5; Scrivener Evan D
Extent:
Volume I: ii + 157 + ii Leaf height: 260 mm, width: 212-228 mm.
Volume II: ii + 258 + ii Leaf height: 260 mm, width: 218-225 mm.
Collation: With the rebinding and conservation of the manuscript in 1965, the quires were mounted on guards, and the gutter edges of many of the leaves repaired and stabilised with Japanese tissue paper. In Volume I, Quire 1, the present arrangement of the leaves does not reflect their original structure. The 3rd and 4th leaves (ff. 5-6) are now joined together, however the structure of the other quires in the volume (almost all containing eight leaves), and the loss of text at the beginning of the quire, together suggest that the 2nd and 3rd leaves (ff. 4-5) were originally joined together as the central bifolium in this quire.
Volume I:
- Quire 1^8-3+1 ff. 3-6, 7*, 8 The first, second and seventh leaves have been lost, and the seventh later replaced
- Quires 2-10⁸ ff. 9-88
- Quire 11⁸ ff. 89-96 The eighth leaf (f. 96) is mutilated, leaving only a small portion
- Quires 12-19⁸ ff. 97-168
- Quire 20^8-2+1 ff. 169*-175* The first leaf has been cancelled; the second and seventh (ff. 170* and 174*) are singletons
Volume II:
- Quires 21-31⁸ ff. 177-264
- Quire 32⁶ ff. 265-270
- Quires 33-41⁸ ff. 271-342
- Quire 42^8-3+1 ff. 343-347, 348* The sixth-eighth leaves have been lost, and the sixth later replaced
- Quires 43-52⁸ ff. 415-446, 455-502
- Quire 53^8-2 ff. 504-508, 510 The first and seventh leaves have been lost
There are leaf signatures in Latin letters (for quires) and Arabic numerals (for bifolios) in pencil in the lower right-hand corner of the rectos, by H.L. Pink. The letter sequence for quires runs, in Volume I: a-i, k-n, p-u, x, y*; Volume II: z, A-I, K-T, V, X, X*, Gg-Ii, Kk, Mm-Ss.
Asterisks denote leaves inserted during the 9th century to supply missing text (see Provenance for further details). A sequence of signatures, numbered by folio rather than leaf but preceded by a letter indicating the quire, appears on ff. 4-8, in Latin letters and Arabic numerals, apart from f. 8r, where the number is in Roman numerals.
There are quire signatures in Greek numerals in brown ink at the end of quires, in the lower right-hand corner of the versos, probably original to the production of the manuscript. They are accompanied by a horizontal line above, turning into a downward diagonal to the left. This is consistent with Latin practice, as is the positioning of the signatures. Most of them have been lost to cropping or damage. They survive on Quires 30 (λβʹ), 34 (λϛʹ), 36 (ληʹ), 37 (λθʹ), 39 (μαʹ), 40 (μβʹ), 44 (νδʹ), 46 (νϛʹ), 48-51 (νθʹ-ξβʹ) and partially on Quires 14 (ιϛʹ?), 23, 38 (μʹ) and 47 (νηʹ).
The evidence of these signatures supports the conjecture reflected in the foliation that one original quire has been lost after Quire 2 and another after Quire 12, since apparently by Quire 14 and certainly by Quire 30 they are larger than the count of surviving quires by two. They also corroborate the conjecture that eight full quires were lost after the incomplete Quire 42, since by 44 they are larger than the count of surviving quires by ten, and one quire after Quire 46, since apparently by Quire 47, and certainly by Quire 48, they are larger by eleven.
There is another set of quire signatures in Arabic numerals in brown ink at the beginning of each quire, in the lower left-hand corner of the rectos. Those on Quires 22-23, 37 and 43 have apparently been lost to damage, suggesting that they were added before this damage was incurred. No signature has been placed on Quire 45. This sequence includes the replacement Quire 20 as well as the original quires; the number 21 appears on the last folio of this quire. When the sequence resumes after those lost to damage, on Quire 24, it bears the number 23, and this sequence is thereafter smaller than the count of surviving quires by one. However, the number 38 is skipped, so from Quire 39 they again correspond to the actual count. The signatures of Quires 42 and 53 appear on the second folio rather than the first.
A third set of quire signatures appears in Greek numerals in pencil at the beginning of each quire, in the lower right-hand corner of the recto.These take into account lost quires, corresponding to the original numbering rather than the count of those currently surviving. No signature of this sequence appears on Quire 53.
No catchwords
Material: Parchment, thin and of extremely high quality
Format: Codex
Condition: Almost the whole of f. 96 has been torn away, leaving a stub with a small amount of surviving text on it. Extensive areas of the edges of some folios (e.g. ff. 26, 32, 91, 94, 219, 303, 504) have also been lost, with some loss of text; these folios have been repaired with paper patches. Smaller areas have been torn from the margins of a number of other folios, some of which have also been repaired with paper patches. There are long lateral tears across a number of folios, which have been repaired with thread (e.g. ff. 35-40) and/or translucent patches (e.g. ff. 98-101). A considerable number of worm-holes are present in the outermost folios. Defects in the parchment have left a number of holes, which have formed since the copying of the manuscript (e.g. ff. 51, 55) There are extensive dark brown stains to many folios, and some areas of black dirt and drops of wax, as well as general discoloration to the outer folios and water staining elsewhere. The text has become seriously faded in places, and this has sometimes been overwritten. The surface of the leaves has been treated with glycerol to eradicate mould.
Binding:
Quarter tawed pigskin over oak boards, in two volumes. Sandy and Elizabeth Cockerell, 1965 (stamp on skin on the inside of the right-hand boards).
Volume I Binding height: 279 mm, width: 250 mm, depth: 52 mm.
Volume II Binding height: 279 mm, width: 252 mm, depth: 71 mm.
A former binding, dating to the 19th-century, is preserved separately: pasteboards covered in light brown leather, with blind-tooled panel and scrollwork, with metal clasp, metal plates at the corners and another in the centre engraved with the coat of arms of the University of Cambridge (on the front) and 'Codex Bezae Cantab.' (on the rear) (?pewter, all now tarnished).
A report by Sandy Cockerell - entitled 'Repairing and Rebinding the Codex Bezae' - is kept separately, along with several black-and-white photographs of the manuscript and the rebinding work in progress. Dated November 1965, but beginning with a description of the condition of the manuscript dated January 1962, the report suggests that the project to conserve and rebind Codex Bezae took place over several years. According to Cockerell:
"The manuscript had been removed from the 19th century binding at some time and in removing it a great deal of damage had been done to the folds of the vellum leaves, particularly to the outside fold of each gathering."
It is not clear when this removal took place, but other notes imply that this occurred during the Librarianship of Henry Bradshaw (b. 1831, d. 1886, Librarian 1867-1886): specifically, a collation diagram by Bradshaw's hand, which describes the structure of the quires and concludes 'all in box Aug 25' and 'together with Bezae's letter + seal Sept. 3' (no year is given). This sheet then continued to be used by subsequent members of Library staff as a means of checking that all of the leaves were present: it is signed 'all here' by Francis Jenkinson on 30 September 1898, and by H.L. Pink on 14 December 1949, 5 December 1952 and 26 January 1962.
Bradshaw's notes indicate that Codex Bezae was kept disbound in a box and this seems to have been the case until Cockerell's rebinding work. Another note, written by H.R. Creswick (1902-1988, Librarian 1949-1967), states '4 Red boxes inspected 9 Dec. 1949 HRC & HLP [i.e. H.L. Pink] & JCTO [i.e. J.C.T. Oates]. All the Manuscript is in good state'. An index card bears the notes by several members of staff between 4 June 1904 and 16 May 1963, recording the removal of selected leaves for display in the Library's show cases. In some cases, the display was just for a single day, notes regarding their removal and return beearing the same date, however in other instances it appears that leaves from Codex Bezae remained on view for extended periods: a note by H.R. Creswick concerning unspecified folios states 'In show case since 1926 at least, returned to box 9 May 1934 (Librarian's order to clear show cases)' (presumably in preparation for the re-location of the Library to the new building on West Road).
Script:
ff. 3-6, 8r-16v, 25r-104v, 113r-168v, 177r-347v, 415r-446v, 455r-502v, 504r-508v, 510r-510v: The original Latin text is written in half uncial script in brown ink, the Greek text by the same hand in Biblical majuscule script in brown ink, without accents or breathings. Mute iota is absent. There is non-functional use of the double dot. The horizontal stroke for nu is sometimes used at the end of lines. Punctuation in use includes the middle and upper points and two-dot colon. Various characteristics of this hand have been highlighted as indicating that the scribe was primarily trained in copying Latin. For instance, the article is often omitted, while the usage regarding Greek nomina sacra is archaic for the likely time of copying, whereas that for the Latin ones is more up to date. Letter-forms show possible traces of Latin influence, notably the resemblance of upsilon to a Latin Y. The dative forms ἡμῖν and ὑμῖν are consistently spelt incorrectly as ἡμεῖν and ὑμεῖν.
ff. 7*r-7*v, 169*r-175*v, 348*r-348*v: The Greek text of the replacement leaves is written in a majuscule script in black or dark brown ink, without accents and usually without breathings, but with occasional breathings in anomalous forms. Mute iota is absent. There is non-functional use of the double dot, which is sometimes incorrectly placed on diphthongs. Punctuation in use includes the lower, middle and upper points and middle comma. The Greek script is written by a scribe trained in Latin, and shows signs of Latin influence in the form of letters such as epsilon, kappa and upsilon, as well as displaying anomalous practices such as the form of breathings. Latin letters are occasionally used in error in place of Greek ones (e.g. f. 169*v, line 20, "pαρρησια" for "παρρησια"). There are frequent itacisms and other spelling errors, and the article is often omitted. The subscription to Mark and superscription to Acts on f. 348v are written in blue ink.
Foliation:
20th-century foliation:
Volume I
[i-ii] + 3-6, 7*, 8-16, 25-104, 113-168, 169*-175* + [iii-iv]
Volume II
[v-vi] + 177-347, 348*, 415-446, 455-502, 504-508, 510 + [vii-viii]
Both volumes are foliated in Arabic numerals, in pencil, recto, upper right, by H.L. Pink (Assistant Under-Librarian 1947-1960 and Head of the Department of Manuscripts, 1960-1970).
Folio numbers 1-2, 17-24, 105-112, 176, 349-414, 447-454, 503, 509 were assigned to leaves no longer present in the volume, according to the interpretation of the manuscript's collation (as per historic foliation practice at Cambridge University Library).
Asterisks denote leaves inserted during the 9th century to supply missing text (see Provenance for further details).
Early modern foliation:
Volume I
1-156
Volume II
157-270, 270 [bis], 271-312, 314-393, 393 [bis], 394-413
There is an earlier foliation in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto, upper right.
This foliation does not count the mutilated leaf later numbered as f. 96. The numbers 270 and 393 have been erroneously used twice, and the number 313 skipped.
Layout: ff. 3-6, 8r-16v, 25r-104v, 113r-168v, 177r-347v, 415r-446v, 455r-502v, 504r-508v, 510r-510v A single column of 33 lines, with parallel Greek and Latin text on facing leaves. Pricking survives in all three margins. Upper-margin pricking appears within the ruled space. Ruled in hardpoint, with single vertical bounding lines extending the full length of the page; horizontal lines extend slightly beyond these into the outer margin and are carried into the gutter. A single additional line above, guiding the running heads. System Leroy 2, type Leroy 01C1a. Position of text relative to the ruling lines varies. Written space is variable: the text is written in long lines that are not justified with the ruling pattern, but which frequently fall short of and sometimes extend beyond the vertical bounding lines. Ruled height: 180-185 mm, width: 140-145 mm. ff. 7*r-7*v, 169*r-175*v, 348*r A single column of 32-33 lines, with parallel Greek and Latin text on facing leaves. Pricking survives in all three margins. Ruled in hardpoint, with double vertical bounding lines extending the full length of the page and text lines confined within the inner vertical lines. System Leroy 2, type Leroy 20D1. Text stands on the lines. Written height: 180 mm, width: 140 mm. f. 348v is written in two columns, Greek to the left and Latin to the right.
Additions:
An early hand has included marginal Ammonian section numbers accompanying the Greek text, and running heads indicating the current book in both Greek and Latin in the upper margin, on the single horizontal ruling line besides the text lines. Occasional Greek lection notes, including some marginal ἀρχή and τέλος marks, have been added by different hands, including one set in fomal majuscule script and others in a very crude hand. There are numerous corrections of the main text by several different hands.
Later Greek hands, one using an informal minuscule script and a crude and eccentric majuscule script have added notes in margins of the Greek text regarding the content of the page on which they appear. The latter hand has also added προσερμηνείαι (notes to be used in divination) in a crude Greek majuscule script in the lower margins of the Greek text of the Gospel of Mark. Where these are added to Gospel manuscripts, they usually appear in the Gospel of John, but that of Mark here appears last in the sequence, the position usually occupied by John.
The beginning of modern chapters has been marked with their number in Roman numerals in the margin of the Latin text by different hands, whille running chapter numbers in Roman numerals appear in the upper right-hand corner of recto folios from f. 69r onwards. These numbers also appear in the upper left-hand corner of the verso in the same portion of the manuscript, except in the latter part of Matthew (ff. 83v103v), where this position is occupied by Greek κεφάλαιον (chapter) numbers.
There is a Latin note on f. 73r regarding the names of the Magi and the thieves crucified with Jesus. Latin notes in ink in different hands and modern English notes in pencil have been added regarding lost folios and quires.
Provenance:
Perhaps at the monastery of St Irenaeus in Lyon, France from the ninth century. Leaves inserted in the ninth century to supply missing text bear Lyonese characteristics, notably the use of blueish ink. The text also appears to have influenced the martyrology written by Ado of Lyons in 850-60, and it is possible that Florus of Lyon was responsible for it coming to this location.
Taken to the Council of Trent by Guillaume du Prat, bishop of Clermont, where some of its Greek readings were cited as evidence relevant to matters then under debate.
According to a note by Theodore Beza, the manuscript was discovered in the monastery of St Irenaeus in 1562 when the city was sacked by the Huguenot army during the religious wars.
Acquisition: Sent by Theodore Beza (1519-1605) to William Cecil, Chancellor, perhaps via the latter's nephew Anthony Bacon (1558-1601), with a letter dated 6 December 1581, addressed to the University of Cambridge and offering the manuscript as a gift.
Date of Acquisition: 6 December 1581
Funding: The Polonsky Foundation
Author(s) of the Record: Christopher Wright (with notes on 19th-century binding and 20th-century repairs by Dr James Freeman)
Bibliography:
Editions:
Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose, Bezae Codex Cantabrigiensis: being an exact copy, in ordinary type, of the celebrated uncial Graeco-Latin manuscript of the four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, written early in the sixth century, and presented to the University of Cambridge by Theodore Beza, A.D. 1581 (Cambridge; London: Deighton, Bell, and Co.; Bell and Daldy, 1864).
Codex Bezae: Cantabrigiensis Quattuor Evangelia at actus Apostolorum complectens Graece et Latine ([London]: [Veneunt apud C.J. Clay et Filios in Emporio Preli Academici Cantabrigiensis], 1899).
Ammassari, Antonio and Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener (eds), Bezae Codex Cantabrigiensis: copia esatta del manoscritto onciale greco-latino dei quattro Vangeli e degli Atti degli Apostoli scritto all'inizio del V secolo e presentato da Theodore Beza all'Università di Cambridge nel 1581 (Città del Vaticano: Libreria editrice vaticana, 1996).
Haelewyck, Jean-Claude, Evangelium secundum Marcum, Vetus Latina. Die Reste der altlateinischen Bible 17 (Freiburg: Herder, 2013) fasc. 1.

Manuscript descriptions:
Nestle, Eberhard, Novi Testamenti Graeci supplementum (Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1896).
Hatch, William Henry Paine, The principal uncial manuscripts of the New Testament (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939).
Parker, D.C., Codex Bezae: an early Christian manuscript and its text (Birmingham: [s.n.], 1990).
Bischoff, Bernhard, Katalog der festländischen Handschriften des neunten Jahrhunderts: (mit Ausnahme der wisigotischen), Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften: Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für die Herausgabe der mittelalterlichen Bibliothekskataloge Deutschlands und der Schweiz (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998) I: Aachen-Lambach.
Parker, David, "Codex Bezae", in Peter Fox (ed.), Cambridge University Library: The Great Collections (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) 33-43.
Robinson, P.R., Catalogue of dated and datable manuscripts c. 737-1600 in Cambridge libraries (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1988).

Secondary literature:
Harris, J. Rendel, Codex Bezae: a study of the so-called western text of the New Testament, Texts and studies: contributions to Biblical and Patristic literature 2:1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891).
Chase, Frederic Henry, The Old Syriac element in the text of Codex Bezae (London: Macmillan and Co., 1893).
Vogels, Heinrich Joseph, Codicum Novi Testamenti specimina: paginas 51 ex codicibus manuscriptis et 3 ex libris impressis collegit ac photo typice repraesentatas (Bonn: P. Manstein, 1929).
Peters, C., "Die Entstehung der griechischen Diatessaronübersetzung und ihr Nachhall in byzantinischer Kirchenpoesie", Orientalia Christiana Periodica 8 468-76 (1942).
Stone, R.C., "Some remarks on the provenance of Codex Bezae", in Classical studies in honor of William Abbott Oldfather (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1943) 177-83.
Lowe, E.A., "The oldest omission signs in Latin manuscripts, their origin and significance", in Miscellanea Giovanni Mercati, vol. 6, Studi e testi 126 (Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,, 1946) 76-78.
Siegmund, Albert, Die Überlieferung der griechischen christlichen Literatur in der lateinischen Kirche bis zum zwölften Jahrhundert (München-Pasing: Filser-Verlag, 1949).
Hemmerdinger, Bertrand, "Trois nouveaux fragments grecs du Livre III de saint Irénée", Scriptorium 10 268-269 (1956).
Savignac, J. de, "Le papyrus Bodmer II de l'Évangile selon Saint Jean", Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits 11 281-85 (1957).
Savignac, J. de, "Les fragments du papyrus Bodmer II de l'Evangile johannique", Scriptorium. Revue internationale des études relatives aux manuscrits 14 333-338 (1960).
McGurk, Patrick, "Citation marks in early Latin manuscripts (with a list of citation marks in manuscripts earlier than A.D. 800 in English and Irish libraries)", Scriptorium 15 3-13 (1961).
Epp, Eldon Jay, "The "Ignorance Motif" in Acts and Anti-Judaic Tendencies in Codex Bezae", The Harvard Theological Review 55 1 51-62 (1962) http://www.jstor.org/stable/1508811 Accessed: 2015-03-30T11:59:49Z.
Mizzi, J., "The Vulgate text of the supplemental pages of Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis", Sacris Erudiri: A Journal on the Inheritance of Early and Medieval Christianity 14 149-163 (1963).
Epp, Eldon Jay, "Coptic Manuscript G67 and the Rôle of Codex Bezae as a Western Witness in Acts", Journal of Biblical Literature 85 2 197-212 (1966) http://www.jstor.org/stable/3265125 Accessed: 2015-03-30T12:01:06Z.
Mizzi, Joseph, "The African Element in the Latin Text of Mt. XXIV of Cod. Cantabrigiensis", Revue bénédictine 78 33-66 (1968).
Duplacy, Jean, "Les lectionnaires et l'édition du Nouveau Testament grec", in A.-L. Descamps and André de Halleux (eds), Mélanges bibliques en hommage au R. P. Béda Rigaux (Gembloux: Duculot, 1970) 509-45.
Metzger, Bruce M., "Names for the nameless in the New Testament: a study in the growth of Christian tradition", in Patrick Granfield and Josef A. Jungmann (eds), Kyriakon; Festschrift Johannes Quasten (Munster: Aschendorff, 1970) 2 79-99.
Lowe, E.A., "A note on the Codex Bezae", in Ludwig Bieler (ed.), Palaeographical papers 1907-1965 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972) 1 224-228.
Lowe, E.A., "The oldest omission signs in Latin manuscripts, their origin and significance", in Ludwig Bieler (ed.), Palaeographical papers 1907-1965 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972) 2 378-80.
Lowe, E.A., "The Codex Bezae and Lyons", in Ludwig Bieler (ed.), Palaeographical papers 1907-1965 (Oxford: Clarendon Press,, 1972) 1 182-186.
Hemmerdinger Iliadou, Démocratie, "Les citations évangéliques de l'Êphrem Grec", Byzantina 5 313-93 (1973).
Shae, Gam Seng, "The Question on the Authority of Jesus", Novum Testamentum 16 1 1-29 (1974) http://www.jstor.org/stable/1560348 Accessed: 2015-03-30T12:29:38Z.
Epp, Eldon Jay and Gordon D. Fee (eds), New Testament textual criticism: its significance for exegesis: essays in honour of Bruce M. Metzger (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981).
Metzger, Bruce M., Manuscripts of the Greek Bible : an introduction to Greek palaeography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981).
Duplacy, Jean, "Les lectionnaires et l'édition du Nouveau Testament grec", in Jean Duplacy (ed.), Etudes de critique textuelle du Nouveau testament (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1987) 81-117.
Heyworth, P. L. (ed.), The letters of Humpfrey Wanley: palaeographer, Anglo-Saxonist, librarian, 1672-1726 : with an appendix of documents (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989).
Metzger, Bruce M., The text of the New Testament: its transmission, corruption, and restoration 3rd enl. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).
Brown, T. Julian, A palaeographer's view: the selected writings of Julian Brown, ed. Janet Bately, Michelle Brown and Jane Roberts (London: Harvey Miller, 1993).
Bischoff, Bernhard, Manuscripts and libraries in the age of Charlemagne translator: Michael Gorman, Cambridge studies in palaeography and codicology 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Holtz, Louis, "La minuscule marginale et interlineaire de Florus de Lyons", in Paolo Chiesa and Lucia Pinelli (eds), Gli autografi medievali: problemi paleografici e filologici : atti del Convegno di studio della Fondazione Ezio Franceschini, Erice, 25 settembre-2 ottobre 1990, Quaderni di Cultura Mediolatina 5 (Spoleto: Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 1994) 149-66.
McGurk, Patrick, "The oldest manuscripts of the Latin Bible", in Richard Gameson (ed.), The Early Medieval Bible: Its Production, Decoration and Use, Cambridge Studies in Palaeography and Codicology 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994) 1-23.
Amphoux, Christian-Bernard, L'Évangile selon Matthieu: Codex de Béze (L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue: Le Bois d'Orion, 1996).
Parker, D.C. and Christian-Bernard Amphoux, Codex Bezae: studies from the Lunel colloquium, June 1994, New Testament tools and studies 22 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996).
McKendrick, Scot and Orlaith O'Sullivan (eds), The Bible as book: the transmission of the Greek text (London; New Castle, DE: British Library & Oak Knoll Press in association with The Scriptorium: Center for Christian Antiquities, 2003).
Rius-Camps, Josep and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, The message of Acts in Codex Bezae: a comparison with the Alexandrian tradition, Journal for the study of the New Testament. Supplement series 257 (London: T & T Clark International, 2004) 1.
Epp, Eldon Jay, The Theological Tendency of Codex Bezae Cantebrigiensis in Acts, Society for New Testament Studies Monographs 3 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) Accessed: 2015-03-30T11:57:55Z.
Manns, Frédéric, "Quelques variantes du Codex Bezae de Luc 24", Liber Annuus: Annual of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Jerusalem 55 131-139 (2005).
Parker, D.C., Manuscripts, texts, theology: collected papers 1977-2007, Arbeiten zur neutestamentlichen Textforschung 40 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2009).
Maertens, Philip, "“Vos pères” ou “nos pères”: la question de l'appartenance ethique dans le texte grec du livre des Actes du Codex Bezae", New Testament Studies 58 3 401-415 (2012).
Mandelbrote, Scott, "When Manuscripts Meet: Editing the Bible in Greek during and after the Council of Trent", in Ann Blair and Anja-Silvia Goeing (eds), For the sake of learning: essays in honor of Anthony Grafton, Scientific and Learned Cultures and Their Institutions 18 (2016) 1 251-267.
Hixson, Elijah, "A Lost Page of Codex Bezae: Traces of the Bezan Greek Text of Acts 10.4–9""A Lost Page of Codex Bezae", New Testament Studies 64 2 213-230 (2018) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/lost-page-of-codex-bezae-traces-of-the-bezan-greek-text-of-acts-1049/493D60498D03A4ADE9C86167D691F705 Accessed: 2018-11-02T09:57:33Z.
Veselá, Lenka and Marta Vaculínová, "Die Bibliothek des Theodor Beza: Verloren order Zerstreut?", Gutenberg Jahrbuch 93 208-227 (2018).

Section shown in images 7 to 320

Title: Volume I

Section shown in images 7 to 193

Title: St. Matthew's Gospel
Note(s): Incomplete: surviving original text in Greek 1:20-3:7, 3:16-6:20, 9:2-27:1, 27:12-28:20; in Latin: 1:12-2:20, 3:8-6:8, 8:27-26:67, 27:2-28:20; replacement text in Greek: 3:7-16; in Latin: 2:20-3:7.; TLG 0031.001
Excerpts:
Incipit: (Greek) f. 3v παραλαβειν Μαριαμ την γυναικα σου (Mt 1:20)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 3r post transmigrationem autem Babylonis (Mt 1:12)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 103v εως της συντελειας του αιωνος (Mt 28:20)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 104r usque in consummationem saeculi (Mt 28:20)
Final Rubric: (Greek) f. 103v Ευαγγελιον κατα Μαθθαιον(!) ετελεσθη
Final Rubric: (Latin) f. 104r Euangelium secundum Mattheum explicit

Section shown in images 194 to 320

Title: St. John's Gospel
Note(s): Incomplete: surviving original text in Greek: 1:1-16, 3:26-18:13, 20:13-21:25; in Latin: 3:16-18:2; replacement text in Greek: 18:14-20:12; in Latin: 18:2-20:1.; TLG 0031.004
Excerpts:
Rubric: (Greek) f. 103v Αρχεται Ευαγγελιον κατα Ιωαννην
Rubric: (Latin) f. 104r Incipit Euangelium secundum Iohannen
Incipit: (Greek) f. 104v Εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον Θεον (Jn 1:1)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 113r ut filium suum unicum dedi (Jn 3:16)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 175*v και λεγουσιν αυτη εκεινοι· γυναι τι κλαιεις (Jn 20:13)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 175*r cum adhuc tenebre essent (Jn 20:1)

Section shown in images 334 to 849

Title: Volume II

Section shown in images 334 to 344

Title: St. John's Gospel (continued)
Note(s): Original text in Greek: 20:13-21:25; in Latin: 20:1-21:25.; TLG 0031.004
Excerpts:
Incipit: (Greek) f. 177v τινα ζητεις λεγει αυτοις οτι ηραν τον Κυριον (Jn 20:13)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 177r essent ad monimentum et videt lapidem (Jn 20:1)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 181v ουδ'αυτον οιμαι τον κοσμον χωρησε τα γραφομενα βιβλια (Jn 21:25)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 182r nec ipsum facile puto mundum capere qui scribunt libri (Jn 21:25)
Final Rubric: (Greek) f. 181v Ευαγγελιον κατα Ιωαννην ετελεσθη
Final Rubric: (Latin) f. 182r Euangelium secundum Iohanen explicit

Section shown in images 345 to 550

Title: St. Luke's Gospel
Note(s): TLG 0031.003
Excerpts:
Rubric: (Greek) f. 181v Αρχεται Ευαγγελιον κατα Λουκαν
Rubric: (Latin) f. 182r Incipit Euangelium secundum Lucan
Incipit: (Greek) f. 182v Επειδηπερ πολλοι επεχειρησαν αναταξασθαι (Lk 1:1)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 183r Quoniam quidem multi temptaverunt conscribere (Lk 1:1)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 284v και ησαν δια παντος εν τω ιερω αινουντες τον Θεον (Lk 24:53)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 285r et erant semper in templo laudantes Dominum (Lk 24:53)
Final Rubric: (Greek) f. 284v Ευαγγελιον κατα Λουκαν επληρωθη
Final Rubric: (Latin) f. 285r Euangelium secundum Iohanen explicit

Section shown in images 551 to 677

Title: St. Mark's Gospel
Note(s): Surviving original text in Greek: 1:1-16:15; in Latin: 1:1-16:6; replacement text in Greek: 16:15-20; in Latin: 16:6-20.; TLG 0031.002
Excerpts:
Rubric: (Greek) f. 284v Αρχεται κατα Μαρκον
Rubric: (Latin) f. 285r Incipit Evangelium secundum Marcum
Incipit: (Greek) f. 285v Αρχη του Ευαγγελιου Ιησου Χριστου Υιου Θεου (Mk 1:1)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 286r Initium Evangelium Iesu Christi Fili Dei (Mk 1:1)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 348v και τον λογον βεβαιουντος· δια των επακολουθων των σημιων· αμην (Mk 16:20)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 348v et sermonem firmante sequentibus signis· amen (Mk 16:20)
Final Rubric: (Greek) f. 348v Ευαγγελιον κατα Μαρκον ετελεσθη
Final Rubric: (Latin) f. 348v Evangelium secundum Marcum explicit

Section shown in images 678 to 678

Title: Third Epistle of St. John
Note(s): Incomplete: surviving text in Latin only: 11-15.; TLG 0031.025
Excerpts:
Incipit: f. 415r qui male facit non vidit Dominum (3 Jn 11)
Explicit: f. 415r saluta amicos nominatim (3 Jn 15)
Final Rubric: f. 415r Epistulae Iohannis III explicit

Section shown in images 679 to 849

Title: Acts of the Apostles
Note(s): Incomplete: surviving text in Greek: 1:1-8:29, 10:14-21:2, 21:10-16, 21:18-22:10, 22:20-29; in Latin: 1:1-8:20, 10:4-20:31, 21:2-7, 21:10-22:2, 22:10-20.; TLG 0031.005
Excerpts:
Rubric: (Greek) f. 348v Αρχεται Πραξεις Αποστολων
Rubric: (Latin, replacement) f. 348v Incipiunt Actus Apostolorum
Rubric: (Latin, original) f. 415r Incipit Actus Apostolorum
Incipit: (Greek) f. 415v Τον μεν πρωτον λογον εποιησαμην (Ac 1:1)
Incipit: (Latin) f. 416r Primum videm sermonem feci (Ac 1:1)
Explicit: (Greek) f. 510v <ευθυ>ς απεστησαν απ αυτου (Ac 22:29)
Explicit: (Latin) f. 510r ego eram adsistans et consentiens (Ac 22:20)