Codex Bobiensis (also spelled Codex Bobbiensis) is a fragmentary Latin manuscript of the New Testament, classified among the Old Latin (Vetus Latina) versions that predate the Vulgate. In the Beuron system of cataloguing Latin biblical manuscripts, it is designated by the siglum k or VL 1.
Physical description and contents
The codex consists of a small number of surviving folios that preserve portions of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. The extant text includes Mark 8:8–16:8 and Matthew 1:1–15:36, though the manuscript is incomplete and heavily lacunose. The script is a semi‑uncial hand typical of late antiquity.
Dating and provenance
Paleographic analysis places the production of Codex Bobiensis in the fourth or fifth century CE, most scholars favoring a date around the early fifth century. The manuscript is believed to have originated in Roman North Africa, a region that was a significant center for early Latin biblical transmission.
Historical significance
As one of the earliest surviving witnesses to the Old Latin text of the Gospels, Codex Bobiensis is valuable for the study of the textual history of the New Testament prior to Jerome’s Vulgate. Its readings contribute to the reconstruction of the Vetus Latina tradition and to understanding the diversity of early Latin biblical texts.
Scholarly work
The codex was first edited in a critical edition by John Wordsworth in 1886, published as part of the Old Latin Biblical Texts series (No. 2). Subsequent studies have examined its textual variants, palaeography, and the implications for the development of the Latin biblical tradition.
Current location
The surviving fragments of Codex Bobiensis are housed in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, under the shelf‑mark MS. Bodley MS. 281. Digital images of the manuscript have been made available to scholars for further research.
References
- Wikipedia entry “Codex Bobiensis.”
- “Codex Bobbiensis (k).” Bible‑Researcher.com.
- Wordsworth, J. (1886). Old Latin Biblical Texts (No. 2). Oxford.
Note: The information presented is based on established scholarly sources and recognized catalogues of Latin biblical manuscripts.