Minuscule 270

Minuscule 270
New Testament manuscript
TextGospels
Date12th century
ScriptGreek
Now atBibliothèque nationale de France
Size18.3 cm by 13.3 cm
TypeByzantine text-type
CategoryV
Notemarginalia

Minuscule 270 is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, made of parchment. It is designated by the siglum 270 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and ε 291 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the 12th century. The manuscript has complex contents.

Description

The manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book format), containing the complete text of the four Gospels on 346 parchment leaves (sized 18.3 cm by 13.3 cm). The text is written in one column per page, in 19 lines per page.

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 (234 in Mark, the last in 16:9), with references to the Eusebian Canons written below Ammonian Section numbers. It contains prolegomena to the Gospel of John, a Synaxarion, a Menologion, and pictures.

Text

The Greek text of the codex is considered to be a representative of the Byzantine text-type. 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  According to the Claremont Profile Method it represents textual family Πb in Luke 1, family Πa in Luke 10 and Luke 20.

History

The earliest history of the manuscript is unknown. It was added to the list of New Testament manuscripts by biblical scholar Johann M. A. Scholz (1794–1852).

During 1859 the manuscript was bought from Spyridion Lambros in Athens, along with 22 other manuscripts of the New Testament (codices: 269, 271, 272, 688, 689, 690, 691, 692, 693, etc.). The manuscript was formerly held in the library of St. Silvester in Rome.

Scholz examined a large part of the manuscript. It was examined by scholar and clergyman Dean Burgon, and it was examined and described by scholar Paulin Martin. Biblical scholar Caspar René Gregory saw the manuscript in 1885.

The manuscript is currently dated by the INTF to the 12th century. It is presently housed at the National Library of France (shelf number Gr. 75) 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. 57.
  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. 63. ISBN 3-11-011986-2.
  3. 1 2 3 "Liste Handschriften: Minuscule 270". Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gregory, Caspar René (1900). Textkritik des Neuen Testaments [Textual Criticism of the New Testament]. Vol. 1. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs. p. 174.
  5. 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.
  6. ↑ Wisse, Frederik (1982). The Profile Method for Classifying and Evaluating Manuscript Evidence. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 58. ISBN 0-8028-1918-4.
  7. ↑ 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. 225.
  8. ↑ 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. p. 61. Retrieved 2026-09-23.