1 Psaltery (about 1470)

3 Psaltery and office (14th century)

2 Gospels (1275 A. D.)

4 Office of the Dead (Early 16th century)

II. Illumination in the West. 1. Early Italian. As manuscript writing, so illumination began in the East, and was thence taken over by the West. Pliny, 'Historia Naturalis' (xxv, 8) is witness to miniature-painting in Kome during the 1st century B.C. Martial (xiv, 1865) speaks of a parchment containing a portrait of Virgil. Varro had some 700 such miniature portraits. The most ancient illuminated manuscripts probably of western provenance are: the fragmentary 'Iliad, 3d century, Ambrosian Library, Milan; the Vatican Virgil, the Scheda Vaticanæ, 4th century, Vat. Lat. 3225, with 50 miniatures; the 'Codex Romanus,' another Vatican Virgil. Here be it noted that Latin illuminators gave us the word miniature, from the Latin minium, which means red lead or cinnabar,- the vividred lead oxide used as a pigment. Hence also is minare, to paint in miniature; together with miniator, the miniature-painter. Early Italian illumination is not very well known to the historian of art. Byzantine art reacted on Italian; and this reaction is marked in mosaics, early Italian painting, and the earliest illumination of manuscripts in southern and central Italy. Through Italy, the East influenced the illuminators of the Frankish Empire.

2. Celtic Illumination.— It was during this period of decline of illumination in the West that the Irish school, as early as the 7th century, broke completely away from the copying of ancient models and inaugurated its own style of book-ornamentation. The individuality of the artists, the civilization and character of their race, were expressed in an art that reached the very height of perfection and made its influence felt in continental Europe. The Celtic initials, margins, and full-page designs are easily recognized by their great intricacy of interlacing spirals, zigzags, and ribbons, that entangle animal and human shaped fancies, knots, and other designs,- all executed with a marvelous precision of mathematical accuracy, graceful delineation, delicate touch, brilliant coloring, and most fecund imagination. Irish illumination is decidedly oriental in conception and execution; and seems to point back to the ancient civilization of the race, before the Celtic migration from the steppes of Asia, across Asia Minor, by way of Austria, Switzerland, Spain and France. No trace is found of classic influences. Foliage is absent. Kinship with the sculpture on stone and jewels in barbaric Ireland is marked. The wonderful decorative schemes are more like to the Arabic than to any other; and the human form is depicted with a geometrical symmetry that is characteristic of Coptic workmanship. The finest example of Celtic illumination is in Q, 'Codex Kenanensis, the Book of Kells, 8th century, Vulgate Gospels, in Trinity College, Dublin. Its pages are replete with brilliant, exquisite designs, testifying to a minuteness and delicacy of precision that are a marvel to art critics. The Celtic art of illumination reached Iona through Saint Columba's foundation there; and the monks of Iona (635 A.D.) brought their faith and their art to Lindisfarne, or Holy Isle, off the Northumbrian coast. Here was executed in Celtic style the 'Lindisfarne Gospels, 8th century, now in the Cottonian collection of the British Museum. Other fine works

of the Celtic school of illuminators are the 'Book of Deir'; A, Codex Sangallensis, 9th or 10th century, Gospels in Greek and Latin, at Saint Gall, Switzerland. In England, the Celtic school of illumination dominated, although manuscripts brought by Saint Augustine from Rome introduced a classic influence. The 'Utrecht Psalter' (800 A.D.) is representative of the Celtic style in transition. It shows crude attempts at drapery effects. In AngloSaxon miniatures, frames of foliage and fluttering draperies become characteristic. The 'Benedictionale' of the see of Devonshire is the most elaborate specimen of 10th century Anglo-Saxon miniatures. The Norman Conquest saved Anglo-Saxon illumination from the fantastic exaggerations into which it was sinking.

3. Carlovingian Illumination.-When Charlemagne became emperor of the West (800 a.d.) illumination was rapidly revived. The Celtic style provided to this new school its interlacements; Byzantine art was drawn upon for the painting of the human figure. Gold was used profusely in letters as well as illustrations. Large initials were almost the rule. Ornamentation was luxurious. Miniatures represented historical characters, symbolical themes, the arts, signs of the zodiac, virtues, vices, etc. Notwithstanding the gorgeous effect of purple vellum, a dazzling abundance of gold, and a brilliance of decoration, the Carlovingian illuminated manuscripts show a tendency to coarseness of workmanship and clumsiness of figurepainting. This tendency is in part offset by the purer style of the Celtic influence. The best examples of early Carlovingian illumination are: the Evangeliary,' said to have been illuminated by Godescale for Charlemagne in 787 a.d., whose text is in gold letters on a purple ground, and whose every page is illustrated with a different decorative scheme; another 'Evangeliary of Charlemagne, at Vienna; the Bible of Theodulf, bishop of Orleans, at Paris and Le Puy; the 'Sacramentary,' written for Drogon, son of Charlemagne and bishop of Metz; the 'Evangeliary of Lothair,' Paris; and the Bible of Charles the Bald,' presented by Count Vivien, abbott of Saint Martin of Tours. It was about the time of Charles the Bald, second half of the 9th century, that Carlovingian illumination reached its greatest perfection.

4. Gothic Illumination.-The 10th to the 12th centuries show a decadence of Frankish illumination. After the 'Regensburg Gospels' (11th century) miniatures become more coarse and clumsy, colors are dull. Toward the end of the 12th century, a renascence of illumination is visible in both Germany and France. Gold is now laid on in leaf, and not in liquid: burnishing makes the illumination most brilliant. The old illuminators were monks; now laymen take up the art. The initials are smaller, but more artistic; they often contain miniatures of illustration or interpretation of the Biblical text. Hundreds of miniatures beautify the 'Picture Bibles' of the 13th century, or interpret the 'Sermon Bibles' of the period. Gothic features are introduced,- gables, pinnacles, rose and quatrefoil decorations. The human figure is painted with realism; 13th century costumes are preserved to us in an accuracy of coloring. During the 14th century, there is a departure

from conventional foliage, and a reproduction of garlands and flowers from nature. And with the flowers are intermingled peasants, birds, animals, butterflies, etc.,- all true to life. The 'Breviary of Belleville,' (Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Lat. 10483-4) the work of the famous Parisian illuminator, Jean Pucelle, together with Mahiet Ancelet and J. Chevrier; the Book of the Miracles of Our Lady, Soissons; Queen Mary's Psalter) (British Museum), done for Mary Tudor, are all exquisite works of 14th century craft. The golden age of illumination continues during the early 15th century. Even at the outset of the Renaissance, the Gothic manner prevails. Books of Hours are the special feature. Such is the Très Riches Heures' of the Duke of Berry, Musée Condé, Chantilly, by Pol de Limbourg, containing miniatures of the various châteaux of the duke, and portraying marvelous aerial perspectives in landscape scenery,- the effects of snow, starlight, blazing sunlight and dull autumn shades. Other beautiful Hora are the 'Grandes Heures,' by Jacquemart de Hesdin; Très Belles Heures,' and 'Heures de Turin, of the same Flemish school; and the 'Hours of Anne of Brittany) (1508 A.D.). This last work marks the end of the art of illumination. The Renaissance, together with the invention of printing, were fatal to miniature painting of books, and to the illumination of their carefully written pages.

Bibliography.- Middleton, 'Illuminated Manuscripts in Classical and Medieval Times' (1892); Bradley, A Dictionary of Miniaturists, Illumination, Calligraphers and Copyists' (1887); Lecoy de la Marche, 'Les manuscrits et la miniature) (Paris 1887); Labitte, 'Les manuscrits et l'art de les orner' (1893); Martin, 'Les peintres de manuscrits et la miniature en France (Paris 1910).

WALTER DRUM, S.J., Professor of Scripture, Woodstock College, Maryland.

MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE are written as opposed to printed copies of the whole Bible or a part thereof. All these manuscripts, whether of the original text or of an ancient version, so long as they were done before the invention of the art of printing, are important in the science of the textual criticism of Holy Writ. This article will contain a brief introduction on Bible manuscripts in general, followed by a summary account of the chief Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian and Coptic manuscripts of the Bible. Manuscripts of the Arabic, Ethiopic, Slavic and other early versions of Scripture do not witness to the earliest type of New Testament text; they are amply treated in technical dictionaries of the Bible.

I. Bible Manuscripts in General.— There are three classes of Bible manuscripts - papyrus, vellum and palimpsest to which attention should be called.

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Babylo

1. Papyrus Manuscripts.-While nian scribes were impressing upon endurable clay the cuneiform, or wedge-shaped, ideographic records of the style, Egyptian reedwriting with ink upon papyrus developed almost at the same pace. The name of this primitive paper is that of the plant which provided its raw material. The papyrus, ámνpos, probably

an Egyptian loan-word, was a rush of thick triangular stalk.

Its main root, Theophrastus tells us, was about 15 feet long and as thick as a man's wrist. Likely the bullrush, gómér, the wicker out of which was plaited the ark that contained the infant Moses, was the Nile papyrus. The outer coat of this Egyptian water-plant was peeled off, the pith was cut into strips and these were glued together transversely to form the first known writing paper. Sheets of papyrus were very fragile, became brittle in air, crumbled with use, could not resist the disintegrating force of moisture and were quite impracticable for book-form. Hence all papyrus manuscripts have been lost to us, save such as were buried in the exceedingly dry soil of Upper and Middle Egypt. For many years, the ignorant féllâhîn wantonly destroyed these precious records of the past. Now scientific excavators are preventing this ruthlessness, and constantly adding to the world's various collections of papyrus manuscripts. The most ancient papyrus document is a record of the reign of the Egyptian King Assa, B.C. 3580-3536; and the earliest literary papyrus work extant is the Prisse papyrus of Paris, written in the 5th dynasty, c. B.C. 2500. During the first three centuries of Christianity papyrus was the ordinary writing paper of the Roman Empire. It was used by the Arabs until the 8th century, when modern paper was invented. The sacred writers or their scribes most likely used ink and rolls of fragile papyrus for the autographa of the New Testament (2 Corinthians iii, 8; 2 John, xii). These precious documents seem to have perished during the early 2d century. No trace of them is found in the writings of either the Apostolic or Apologetic Fathers, unless we except Tertullian's words, "the authentic letters of the Apostles themselves," which are now generally set aside as rhetorical.

Bibliography.- Deissmann, 'Bible Studies' (1901), 'Light from the Ancient East' (1910); Moulton, Grammar of New Testament Greek' (Vol. I, 3d_ed., 1908); Milligan, 'The New Testament Documents (1913); Moulton and Milligan, 'Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament illustrated from the papyri and other non-literary sources' (parts 1 and 2, 1914–15). 2. Vellum Manuscripts.- Pliny ('Historia Naturalis xiii, 1) is witness to the use of vellum for documentary purpose before the time of Christ. Saint Paul (2 Timothy iv, 13) employed both papyrus-rolls, ràßeßhía, and parchment, μeußpávas. In the 3d century, vellum began, outside of Egypt, to supersede papyrus; and in the early 4th century, the codex or parchment book-form gained complete victory over the papyrus-roll. To this century belong the earliest extant Bible manuscripts of any thing but fragmentary size.

3. Palimpsests. Some of our most important vellum manuscripts are palimpsests (Lat. palimosestum, ñaðiμýnoτó5 "scraped again" i.e., manuscripts that were scraped a second time with pumice-stone and written upon anew). The reckless charge of wholesale destruction of Biblical manuscripts by the monastic scribes of palimpsest works has not been substantiated. Wattenbach (Das Schriftwesen im Mittelalter,' 1896, pp. 299 ff), a leading authority on the subject, notes that a Greek synod, A.D. 691, forbade the use of any but ut

terly unserviceable Biblical or Patristic_manuscripts for palimpsest-writing. According to Wattenbach, "more precious manuscripts, in proportion to the existing supply, have been destroyed by the learned experimenters of our time than by the much abused monks of old." The deciphering of a palimpsest may at times be accomplished by merely soaking it in clear water. The "learned experimenters" use some chemical reagent, in order to bring back the original writing. Such chemical reagents are an infusion of nutgalls, Gioberti's tincture and hydrosulphuret of ammonia; all do harm to the manuscripts.

II. Hebrew Manuscripts.- Certain parts of the Hebrew Bible,- Daniel ii, 4b-vii, 28, and Ezra iv, 8-vi, 18, together with vii, 12-26,are not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic. These Biblical Aramaic portions, in the language that the exiled Jews adopted during their Babylonian captivity (B.C. 586-536), are here treated conjointly with the Hebrew text into which they have been received. We shall briefly sum up the age, number and worth of the Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible.

1°. Age.-Textual criticism divides the Hebrew text of the Bible into the Masoretic and pre-Masoretic

The Masoretic text is that of our complete Hebrew manuscripts. It represents the Masorah. This authoritative textual tradition was begun in the 1st century B.C.; was fixed in its consonantal readings during the Talmudic period (A.D. 300-500); and received the vowel points about the 8th century of our era. The pre-Masoretic text includes chiefly the readings that are not witnessed to by Masorah. The earliest manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, and probably the oldest extant Biblical manuscript, is the Nash papyrus. There are four fragments, which, when pieced together, give 24 lines of a pre-Masoretic text of the 10 commandments and of the shemá (Exod. xx, 217; Deut. v, 6-19, and vi, 4-5). The writing is without vowels, and seems paleographically to belong to not later than the 2d century. Another witness to the pre-Masoretic text is the Samaritan Pentateuch, which is probably preexilic in origin. The earliest Samaritan manuscript extant is that of Nablus, once rated very ancient and now assigned to the 12th or the 13th century. The newly-discovered Hebrew 'Ecclesiasticus, represented by fragmentary manuscripts of the 10th or 11th century, preserves parts of the pre-Masoretic text of a book until recently thought to have been written in Hellenistic.

All other Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible are Masoretic, and belong to the 10th century or later. At most 9 or 10 are earlier than the 12th century. The earliest are Codex Petropolitanus, dated A.D. 916; the Saint Petersburg Bible, dated A.D. 1009; and Codex Oriental, 4445, British Museum, which Ginsburg assigns to A.D. 820-850.

2°. Number.- Kennicott ('Dissertatio Generalis in Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum,' 1780), collated 16 Samaritan and 638 Masoretic manuscripts. De Ross; (Variæ Lectiones,' 1784), brought the number of Masoretic manuscripts up to 1,375. No one has since surpassed this critical work of De Rossi on the Masoretic text. Some 2,000 Masoretic manuscripts gathered in the Crimea by Firkowitsch,

await critical study in the Imperial Library of Petrograd. Consult Strack, 'Die biblischen und massoretischen Handschriften zu TschufutKale (In Zeits. für luth. Theol. und Kirche, 1875).

3. Worth.- This rich store of some 3,375 manuscripts promises no very important critical results. For they all depend on an archetype of the 2d century A.D.; and are singularly alike in accuracy of reproduction. The Masoretes were most detailed in their painstaking efforts to hand down the text of this archetype. The Scribes counted words and consonants of each book; noted the middle words and middle consonants; retained peculiarities of script,- such as broken letters, inversions, consonants that were too small or too large, dots out of place, etc. All these oddities were handed down as God intended, and received mystical interpretations. Here is an instance. In Genesis ii, 4, behibbāre' am, "when they were created," the letter h is unduly small. The rabbis handed down this peculiarity as God inspired; translated the word, "In the letter h he created them"; and then disputed what that meant. Hence the importance of manuscripts of the early versions of the Old Testament, so as to reach a pre-Masoretic text.

Bibliography.- Kraft and Deutsch, 'Die handschriftl. hebräischen Werke der k. k. Hofbibliothek) (1857); Strack and Harkavy, Catalog der hebr. Bibelhandschriften der kaiserlichen Bibliothek' (1875); Schiller-Szinessy, 'Catalogue of the Hebrew Manuscripts' (preserved in the University Library, 1876) Assemani, Bibliothecæ Apostolicæ Vaticanæ Codices Orientales' (1756); Mai, Appendix to Assemani (1831); Neubauer, Facsimiles of Hebrew Manuscripts' in the Bodleian Library (1886), and Catalogue of the Hebrew Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library and in the College Libraries of Oxford (1886).

III. Greek Manuscripts.- Textual critics divide Greek manuscripts of the Bible into uncials and minuscules. Uncial manuscripts are written in large disconnected letters that vary in force so as to indicate the time and place of provenance. Words are not separated; accents and punctuation marks are not used; no great variety of script is admitted; ligatures are employed for the most ordinary words; paragraphs are marked off by small lacunas. The decadence of elegant uncial writing begins in the 6th century; twists and turns are given to certain letters. In the 7th century manuscripts still greater freedom of flourish is allowed the scribe; accents and breathings are introduced, and the script leans to the right. By the 10th century the writing in Biblical manuscripts begins to be more or less cursive; these manuscripts are called minuscules. The letters are now small, connected and written with a running hand. Cursive writing holds sway in Biblical manuscripts until the 16th century. In A D. 1514, the Greek New Testament was for the first time printed.

1°. Old Testament Greek Manuscripts.— Traces of the version of Aquila (c. A.D. 130) are found in: (1) fragments of Origen's third columns, written as marginal notes to some manuscripts of the Septuagint; (2) the Milan palimpsest of the Hexapla, a 10th century copy found by Mercati in 1896, containing about 11 psalms; (3) the Cambridge fragment,