Minuscule 12

Minuscule 12
New Testament manuscript
TextGospels
Date11th century
ScriptGreek
Now atNational Library of France
Size26 cm by 20 cm
TypeByzantine text-type
CategoryV

Minuscule 12 is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, made of parchment. It is designated by the siglum 12 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and A137 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the 11th century.

Description

The manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book format), containing the complete text of the four Gospels written on 294 parchment leaves (sized 26 cm by 20 cm), with a commentary. The text is written in one column per page, the biblical text in 21 lines, and the commentary in 57 lines per page. The ink is brown. The commentary to Matthew and John is of John Chrysostom's authorship; the commentary to Mark is of Victorinus of Pettau; and the commentary to Luke is from Titus of Bostra.

The text is divided according to the chapters (known as κεφαλαια / kephalaia), whose numbers are given in the margin, and their titles (known as τιτλοι / titloi) written at the top of the pages. There is also a division according to the Ammonian Sections, with references to the Eusebian Canons.

It contains the Epistle to Carpius, Eusebian Canon tables, prolegomena, the tables of contents (also known as κεφαλαια) before each Gospel, liturgical books with hagiographies (Menologion and Synaxarium), and subscriptions at the end of each Gospel.

Text

The Greek text of the codex is considered to be a representative of the Byzantine text-type, with a few alien readings. Biblical scholar Kurt Aland placed it in Category V of his New Testament manuscript classification system. Category V manuscripts are described as "manuscripts with a purely or predominantly Byzantine text.": 336  

Scholar Frederik Wisse did not examine it using his Claremont Profile Method (a specific analysis of textual data).

The text of the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11) is omitted. The text of Mark 16:9-20 has a note of Victor's.

History

The earliest history of the manuscript is unknown. It was added to the list of the New Testament manuscripts by biblical scholar Johann J. Wettstein, who gave it the number 12. It was examined and described by Wettstein, textual critic Johann J. Griesbach, and scholar Paulin Martin. Biblical scholar Caspar René Gregory saw the manuscript in 1885.

It is currently dated by the INTF to the 11th century. It is presently housed at the National Library of France (shelf number Gr. 230) in Paris.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gregory, Caspar René (1908). Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testament [The Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament] (in German). Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs. p. 48.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Aland, Kurt; M. Welte; B. Köster; K. Junack (1994). Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neues Testaments [A Concise List of the Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament]. Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter. p. 47. ISBN 3-11-011986-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Liste Handschriften: Minuscule 12". Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gregory, Caspar René (1900). Textkritik des Neuen Testamentes [Textual Criticism of the New Testament] (in German). Vol. 1. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs. p. 131.
  5. ↑ Tischendorf, Constantin von (1859). Novum Testamentum Graece [The Greek New Testament] (7 ed.). Leipzig: Adolph Winter. p. CXCV.
  6. 1 2 Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1.
  7. ↑ Wisse, Frederik (1982). The Profile Method for Classifying and Evaluating Manuscript Evidence. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 53. ISBN 0-8028-1918-4.
  8. ↑ Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose; Edward Miller (1894). A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. Vol. 1 (4 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. p. 192.
  9. ↑ Griesbach, Johann Jakob (1785). Symbolae criticae ad supplendas et corrigendas variarum N.T. lectionum collectiones accedit multorum N.T. codicum graecorum descriptio et examen [Critical Contributions for Supplementing and Correcting Collections of New Testament variant readings; Including a Description and Examination of many Greek New Testament manuscripts] (in Latin). Vol. 1. Halle: Widow of Johann Jakob Curtius. p. CXLIV.
  10. ↑ Martin, Jean-Pierre-Paul (1883). Description technique des manuscrits grecs, relatif au Nouveau Testament, conservé dans les bibliothèques des Paris [Technical Description of the Greek Manuscripts relating to the New Testament, conserved in the Libraries of Paris]. Paris: Maisonneuve frères et C. Leclerc. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 2026-09-23.