Preserved by Hand: the Bible from Manuscript to Gutenberg
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Codex Sinaiticus - 4th Century A.D.
History
The Codex Sinaiticus is an important Bible manuscript named after the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, where the manuscript was discovered in the 19th century. It is on vast almost square pages of parchment, about 15 by 13 inches. Some 390 leaves (pages) survive out of an original estimated total of 730. It is written in Greek, with four columns on every page. The manuscript comprises the Old and New Testaments as well as two apocryphal texts. The manuscript was probably copied in the 4th century A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt, though some have argued for origins in Caesarea on the coast of Palestine. The manuscript is now bound principally in two volumes, not including some further fragments in Leipzig, St. Petersburg, and at Mount Sinai still. The Codex Sinaiticus is one of three great Bible manuscripts, the others being the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus, all three providing incalculable value for the history of the Biblical text.
Item Description
This copy of the Codex Sinaiticus (4th century Greek manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments ) is a photographic reproduction of the original manuscripts housed in the Imperial Library at St. Petersburg, Russia. The facsimile was made from negatives taken in 1908. This edition, in two large volumes, was published by Oxford University in London in 1911.
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Leningrad Codex - 11th Century A.D.
History
The Leningrad Codex is the world's oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible that has been preserved to the present time. It is housed in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg ( formerly Leningrad), and thus it has become known simply as the Leningrad Codex. The manuscript also at times goes by the name of the Cairo Codex, because Cairo, Egypt is the original place of the copying of the text in the early 11th century. The manuscript first came to scholarly attention in 1845, and was subsequently acquired in 1863 for what was then the Imperial Public Library in St. Petersburg. Some have suggested that this Codex is the single most important manuscript of the Bible, for it established the text of the most critical editions of the Hebrew Bible.
Item Description
This copy of the Leningrad Codex (11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible) is a photographic reproduction of the original manuscript housed in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. This facsimile of the Codex, an edition published by William B. Eerdmans in 1998, was made from photographs taken in 1990.
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"Giant" Manuscript Bibles
History
Prior to the invention of Gutenberg=s printing press in 1455, the Bible continued to be copied by hand. Most surviving Bibles of the late Middle Ages conform to the standard Latin text and the arrangement of the books created in Paris in the 13th century. The practical purpose of these "giant" manuscript Bibles is not always easy to determine. Many were placed on lecterns in cathedrals and monasteries for public reading. But others may also have been appropriate for private study in monasteries or by wealthy patrons who could afford to have a personal copy scribed for their use. In these large examples of manuscript Bibles in the 15th century, the similarities between the scribal hand and the typeface of the soon-to-be-printed Gutenberg Bible in 1455 are quite striking. The "illumination" (decoration or illustration) of the text can be quite elaborate or simply focused on the large beginning letter of each chapter with a rather serendipitous addition of random decoration.
Item Description
This leaf from a 15th century Latin manuscript Bible was scribed in Bohemia. The text is from the end of the 4th chapter of Isaiah on the front side through the beginning of the 8th chapter on the back side. The text, scribed on vellum, is handwritten and colored.
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"Portable" Manuscript Bibles
History
Unlike the large, multi-volume manuscript (hand-written) Bibles of the preceding centuries, the 13th century saw the development of smaller "portable" manuscript Bibles, sometimes called "Paris Bibles." These Bibles now had the complete text of the Scriptures in a single volume. As well, the content of these hand-written volumes and the order of the books of the Bible were becoming standardized and for the first time chapter headings were becoming more consistent from Bible to Bible. This development of smaller single-volume Bibles was driven by the growing use of the Bible as a personal reference and study book by priests and bishops. As well, unlike the large multi-volume folio Bibles, these portable Bibles could more easily be taken by bishops and priests on their journeys, because copies could be carried in saddle bags. Compared to a modern printed Bible, the 13th century portable Bibles look very similar. The weight, size, shape, thin paper, chapter numbers, two columns of text, and the order of the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, are all now virtually unchanged today.
Item Description
This leaf from a 14th century Latin manuscript "portable" Bible was scribed in France, probably in Paris. The text includes the prologue to Matthew and then chapter 1 through the first part of chapter 4. The very precise text, on vellum, is handwritten and hand-illuminated (colored).
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"Pocket" Manuscript Bibles
History
Even though the development of the portable manuscript (hand-written) Bibles enhanced the transportability of the Scriptures, the arrival of the Dominican and Franciscan friars in Paris led to another transformation of the physical Bible. The friars traveled from place to place, preaching the Word of God and usually relying on the charity of faithful Christians. The new one-volume "Paris Bible" was in ideal format for the friars because it was portable, it was definitive, it was searchable, and it was available commercially. However, since friars commonly walked from place to place, the portable Bibles were a little cumbersome. Those Bibles fit into the saddle bag of a horse or donkey, but hardly fit into the folds of a friar's habit (robe). Thus, even smaller Bibles were developed called "pocket" Bibles. Each copy was commonly written in minute script, densely blocked on the page, and is so compact that it can encompass all parts of the Scriptures into a single small unit, an entire hand-written Bible in one consecutive book in a single binding. The parchment or vellum is sometimes so white and thin that it looks like tissue paper, almost weightless in its density. The pages often had tiny initials at the start of each text with red or blue penwork for chapter initials or other illustrations.
Item Description
This leaf from a 13th century Latin manuscript "pocket" Bible was scribed in France. The text is from the end of the 3rd chapter of Zephaniah through the first two chapters of Haggai. The minute text, on very thin vellum, is handwritten and colored.
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John Wycliffe, mid 1320's-1384
History
Called the "Morning Star of the Reformation," John Wycliffe was responsible for the first significant translation of the Scriptures into English. Born in 1330, Wycliffe spent many of his years arguing against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which he believed to be contrary to the Bible. Wycliffe was convinced in his day that there was a need to turn to the Scriptures as the primary rule of life. In order to do that, since the Scriptures of the Church of his day were in Latin, those Scriptures had to be translated into the common language of the day, which for him was English. So he and several of his colleagues began the translation work in the 1370's. The first Wycliffe New Testament appeared in 1382. Because Wycliffe lived nearly a century before Gutenberg invented the moveable-type printing press, all of his New Testaments and Bibles were hand-written manuscripts, produced one at a time. His work created a thirst for the Bible in the language of the common man. That thirst led to the insatiable desire for Bible translations that came to being in England in the 16th century, starting with the translation work of William Tyndale and the first printed English New Testament in 1525.
Item Description
This copy is a facsimile reproduction of the very first translation of the Scriptures into the English language. The Wycliffe translations were hand-written manuscript Bibles, pre-dating printing by 70 years [Gutenberg, 1455].
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Gutenberg Bible - First Printed 1455
History
Johann Gutenberg was the first in the West to advance the use of moveable type for printing. His greatest printing achievement, and the first book ever to be printed by moveable type in the West, was the magnificent two-volume copy of Jerome's Latin Vulgate, commonly called today the Gutenberg Bible. Completed in 1455, the project resulted in the printing of about 200 copies on paper and an additional 30 deluxe copies on vellum. The expense of the project, as well as the actions of unscrupulous business associates, forced Gutenberg into debt from which he never recovered. The Bibles did sell well enough for a second edition to be printed two years later. Today, there are only 46 copies of the Gutenberg Bible still in existence, about half of which are complete. These are the property of libraries and private collections scattered throughout the world. Without Gutenberg's invention, allowing for the eventual printing of common language copies of the Bible in the 16th century, it is possible that the Protestant Reformation may not have happened or have been significantly delayed.
Item Description
This copy of the Gutenberg Bible is a reproduction of the Mazarin Bible, once owned by Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661), who under Louis XIV directed French foreign and domestic affairs. It is currently housed in the Mazarin Library at the French Institute in Paris. This two-volume, folio-size limited edition facsimile of the Mazarin Bible was printed in Paris in 1985, using full color printing on a high quality handmade paper, finely bound in red morocco with gilt edges. It dramatically replicates the appearance and feel of the original Gutenberg Bible.
