The Vulgate (/ˈvʌlɡt, -ɡət/) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible, largely edited by Jerome, which functioned as the Catholic Church's de facto standard version during the Middle Ages. The original Vulgate produced by Jerome around 382 has been lost, but texts of the Vulgate have been preserved in numerous manuscripts, albeit with many textual variants.

Beginning of the Gospel of Mark on a page from the Codex Amiatinus.

Vulgate manuscripts differ from Vetus Latina manuscripts, which are handwritten copies of the earliest Latin-language Bible translations known as the "Vetus Latina" or "Old Latin", originating from multiple translators before Jerome's late-4th-century Vulgate. Vetus Latina and Vulgate manuscripts continued to be copied alongside each other until the Late Middle Ages; many copies of (parts of) the Bible have been found using a mixture of Vetus Latina and Vulgate readings. Manuscripts of the Vulgate, together with the Codex Vaticanus, formed the basis of the printed Sixto-Clementine Vulgate in 1592, which became the Catholic Church's officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible.

History

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Though the Vulgate exists in many forms, a number of early manuscripts containing or reflecting the Vulgate survive today. Dating from the 8th century, the Codex Amiatinus is the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete Vulgate Bible. The Codex Fuldensis, dating from around 547, contains most of the New Testament in the Vulgate version, but the four gospels are harmonized into a continuous narrative derived from the Diatessaron.

Alcuin of York oversaw efforts to make an improved Vulgate, which most argue he presented to Charlemagne in 801. He concentrated mainly on correcting inconsistencies of grammar and orthography, many of which were in the original text. More scholarly attempts were made by Theodulphus, Bishop of Orléans (787?–821); Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury (1070–1089); Stephen Harding, Abbot of Cîteaux (1109–1134); and Deacon Nicolaus Maniacoria (mid-12th century). The University of Paris, the Dominicans, and the Franciscans following Roger Bacon assembled lists of correctoria; approved readings where variants had been noted.[1]

List of manuscripts

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Old Testament

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List of some manuscripts from the Stuttgart Vulgate (officially known as Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem) with siglum from the same source; no name means the Stuttgart Vulgate did not give it a name, no provenance means the Stuttgart Vulgate did not give it a provenance:

Old Testament manuscripts sigla per Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem[2]
Sigla Name Approx. date Prov. Content Custodian
D 8th century Lugdunum Sam, Rg, Pa Municipal Lib. of Lyon
D 8th century Northumbria Job Russian National Lib.
F 8th century Gaul DeutRuth National Lib. of France
F Psalt. Corbeiense triplex 8th century Ps (G&H) Russian National Lib.
G Pentateuchus Turonensis 6th-7th century GenNum National Lib. of France
G Sangermanensis 9th century Par, Esr, Est, Prv, Sap, Sir National Lib. of France
H Cathach S. Columbae 7th century Hibernia Psalms (G) Royal Irish Academy
I 10th century Ps (G&H) Municipal Lib. of Rouen
K 8th century Italia EzraJob Cathedral Lib. of Cologne
K Psalt. Augiense triplex 9th century Augia Ps (G&H) Baden State Library
L 9th century Würzburg DeutRuth Bodleian Library
L 9th century Lugdunum Ezra Municipal Lib. of Lyon
L Laureshamensis 6th-7th century Italia merid. TobitJob Vatican Library
L Psalt. Lugdunense 5th-6th century Lugdunum Psalms (G) Municipal Lib. of Lyon +

National Lib. of France

L 9th century Tours Psalms (H) British Library
M Maurdramni 8th century Corbie IosRt, DnMal, Mcc, PrvSir, Ez Municipal Lib. of Amiens

New Testament

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Vulgate of Mark 1:1ff in an illuminated manuscript held at Autun

The list of manuscripts below is based on citations in Novum Testamentum Graece (NA27) and The Greek New Testament (UBS4). Each manuscript is identified first by its siglum (the first column, s., in the table), as given by the critical apparatus of the editions mentioned. These sigla are related to content, so are not unique. For example, the letter S refers to Codex Sangallensis 1395 in the gospels, but to Codex Sangallensis 70 in the Pauline epistles. So sigla need disambiguation. In the table below, this is done by providing a full name. Additionally, the standard unique serial number for each manuscript is provided.

Certain Latin NT manuscripts may present a mixture of Vulgate and various Vetus Latina texts. For example, Codex Sangermanensis (g1 / VL6) is Vetus Latina in sections of the Gospels and Acts, but Vulgate in the Pauline Epistles and Revelation.[3]

New Testament manuscripts sigla per Novum Testamentum Graece, The Greek New Testament, and H.A.G Houghton's The Latin New Testament
Sigla Name Date Contents Custodian City, state Country
A Codex Amiatinus 716 NT Laurentian Library Florence Italy
C Codex Cavensis 850 GospPaul; Rev Archivio della Badia della Santissima Trinità Cava de' Tirreni Italy
D Codex Durmachensis 650 Gospels Trinity College, Dublin Dublin Ireland
F Codex Fuldensis 541–546 NT Hochschul- und Landesbibliothek Fulda Fulda Germany
G Codex Sangermanensis 850 NT BnF Paris France
I Codex Iuvenianus, Codex Vallicellianus 700–800 Acts, Catholic Epistles, Revelation Biblioteca Vallicelliana B.25II(in Italian) Rome Italy
K Codex Aug. perg. 185 850 Paul and Catholic Epistles Baden State Library Karlsruhe Germany
L Lectionarium Luxoviense 700 General
M Codex Mediolanensis 550 Gospels
N 450 Gospels Bibliothèque Municipale
National Library of France
Autun
Paris
France
P Codex Spalatensis 600 Gospels
R Codex Reginensis 750 Paul Vatican Library Vatican City Vatican City
R 600 General Biblioteca Capitolare Verona Italy
S Codex Sangallensis 1395 450 Gospels Abbey of St. Gall St. Gallen Switzerland
S Codex Sangallensis 2 750 Acts; Rev Abbey of St. Gall St. Gallen Switzerland
S Codex Sangallensis 70 750 Paul Abbey of St. Gall St. Gallen Switzerland
S Codex Sangallensis 907 750 General Abbey of St. Gall St. Gallen Switzerland
T Codex Toletanus 950 Old TestamentNT National Library of Spain Madrid Spain
Z Codex Harleianus 550 Gospels British Library London United Kingdom
Θ Codex Theodulphianus 950 Old TestamentNT Bibliothèque nationale de France Paris France
Λ Codex Legionensis 650 ActsRev St. Isidore's Basilica León Spain
Codex Complutensis I 927 Old TestamentNT Bibl. Univ. Centr. 31 Madrid Spain
11A Cod. M. p. th. f. 67 Gospels University of Würzburg Würzburg Germany

Complete bibles

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Complete bibles manuscripts sigla per Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem, Novum Testamentum Graece and The Greek New Testament
Sigla Name Approx. date Prov. Content Custodian
A[2] Amiatinus 8th century Northumbria Bible Laurentian Library
C[2] Cavensis 9th century Hispania Bible without Cath Monte Cassino
C Codex Complutensis I 927 Madrid Bible Bibl. Univ. Centr. 31
T Codex Toletanus 950 Madrid Bible National Library of Spain
Θ Codex Theodulphianus 950 Paris Bible Bibliothèque nationale de France

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Linde, Cornelia (2011). How to correct the Sacra scriptura? Textual criticism of the Latin Bible between the twelfth and fifteenth century. Medium Ævum Monographs 29. Oxford: Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature. ISBN 9780907570226.
  2. ^ a b c Weber, Robert; Gryson, Roger, eds. (2007). "Index codicum et editionum". Biblia sacra : iuxta Vulgatam versionem. Oliver Wendell Holmes Library, Phillips Academy (5th ed.). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft. pp. XLIII–XLV. ISBN 978-3-438-05303-9.
  3. ^ Houghton, Hugh A. G. (2016). The Latin New Testament: A Guide to its Early History, Texts and Manuscripts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-19-874473-3.
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