Greek Gospel Book (British Library, MS Add. 4949)
Encyclopedia
British Library, MS Add. 4949 is an illuminated
Gospel Book
in Greek
from the 12th century. It contains all four Gospels preceded by synaxarion and menologion, the Eusebian
canon tables, and indications of lection
s. It has 259 vellum
folios, most of which are gathered into quires of eight folios. There are evangelist portrait
s on folio 13 verso (Matthew), folio 80 verso (Mark), folio 125 verso (Luke), and folio 201 verso (John).
The manuscript was at Mt. Athos in the 18th century. It was brought from there by César de Missy
. The British Museum
purchased the manuscript at the sale of de Missy’s library in March, 1776.
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
Gospel Book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
from the 12th century. It contains all four Gospels preceded by synaxarion and menologion, the Eusebian
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
canon tables, and indications of lection
Lection
A lection is a reading, in this context, from Scripture.The custom of reading the books of Moses in the synagogues on the Sabbath day was a very ancient one. The addition of lections from the prophetic books had been made afterwards and was in existence at the time of Jesus, as may be gathered...
s. It has 259 vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
folios, most of which are gathered into quires of eight folios. There are evangelist portrait
Evangelist portrait
Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediæval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, may be prefaced by a portrait of...
s on folio 13 verso (Matthew), folio 80 verso (Mark), folio 125 verso (Luke), and folio 201 verso (John).
The manuscript was at Mt. Athos in the 18th century. It was brought from there by César de Missy
César de Missy
César de Missy , theologian, chaplain to George III, scholar of the New Testament, and book collector.De Missy was a Prussian critic and book collector, who owned many of the volumes in this collection. He spent his life collecting manuscripts for the new edition of the New Testament. Some...
. The British Museum
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
purchased the manuscript at the sale of de Missy’s library in March, 1776.