Uncial script

Uncial is a majusculescript (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek, Latin, and Gothic.

Development

Early uncial script is likely to have developed from late Old Roman cursive. Early forms are characterized by broad single stroke letters using simple round forms taking advantage of the new parchment and vellum surfaces, as opposed to the angular, multiple stroke letters, which are more suited for rougher surfaces, such as papyrus. In the oldest examples of uncial, such as the De bellis macedonicis manuscript in the British Library, all of the letters are disconnected from one another, and word separation is typically not used. Word separation, however, is characteristic of later uncial usage.

As the script evolved over the centuries, the characters became more complex. Specifically, around AD 600, flourishes and exaggerations of the basic strokes began to appear in more manuscripts. Ascenders and descenders were the first major alterations, followed by twists of the tool in the basic stroke and overlapping. By the time the more compact minuscule scripts arose circa AD 800, some of the evolved uncial styles formed the basis for these simplified, smaller scripts. Uncial was still used, particularly for copies of the Bible, tapering off until around the 10th century. There are over 500 surviving copies of uncial script, by far the largest number prior to the Carolingian Renaissance.

Uncial 0176

Uncial 0176 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 4th century (or 5th).

Description

The codex contains a small part of the Epistle to the Galatians 3:16-25, on one parchment leaf (12 cm by 7 cm). It is written in one column per page, 22 lines per page, in a small uncial letters.

The Greek text of this codex is mixed. Aland placed it in Category III.

Currently it is dated by the INTF to the 4th or 5th century. It was examined by Guglielmo Cavallo.

The codex currently is housed at the Laurentian Library (PSI 251) in Florence.

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Uncial 059

Uncial 059 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 09 (Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 4th or 5th century.

Description

The codex contains a part of the Gospel of Mark (15:29-38), on 1 parchment leaf (15 cm by 11 cm). The text is written in one column per page, 19 lines per page.

The leaf designated by 059 came from the same manuscript as 0215 (Mark 15:20-21,26-27).

Text

The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type. Aland placed it in Category III.

History

Currently it is dated by the INTF to the 4th or 5th century.

The manuscript was examined by Karl Wessely, Guglielmo Cavallo, and Pasquale Orsini. Gregory added it to the list of New Testament manuscripts.

The codex is located at the Austrian National Library, in Vienna. Leaf 059 has number of catalogue Pap. G. 39779, and leaf 0215 – Pap. G. 36112.

See also

References

Further reading