The Pandect Bible:

Liturgical Unity of codex Sinaiticus

by

Stefan Royé

Protestant Theological University, Amsterdam

The so-called pandect bibles received broad scholarly interest and continuous

attention, also from the side of the general public. Codex Sinaiticus was made known

in the course of the 19th century, when Tischendorf came back from the East with

codex portions discovered in the Monastery of St Catherine at the foot of Mount

Sinai. The other pandect bibles, codex Vaticanus, codex Alexandrinus, codex

Ephraemi Syri rescriptus played an important role in scholarship already from much

earlier ages on. Discussed were many aspects, although the balance of research was

directed towards the relevant textual data of these specimens of early Byzantine

codex making and with regard to critical text editions of the Septuagint and the

Novum Testamentum Graece.

In this contribution will be placed central stage the complete codex and its liturgical

imprint. Besides the codices mentioned above (from the 4th and 5th century) are

preserved other pandect bibles, a very small group indeed (less than 10 manuscripts),

stemming from later ages (9th, 12th, 14th and 15th c.). A curious thing is that the codex

unity – the principal inclusion of OT and NT corpora in one document – was broken

up in the respective disciplines of OT and NT studies. This is reflected in catalogue

descriptions, in specific studies and in text editions. The Sinaiticus, originally one

codex, was finally divided and rebind in two volumes by the British Library.

It is also of some interest to keep some attention to other codex types in which OT

and NT were brought together, as the Tetraevangelion-Praxapostols-Apocalyps (NT

corpus) and the Psalterion, the Praxapostolos and the Psalterion, the Apostolo-

Evangelion and Prophets codex, and so on (Tables of codices are included in the

article itself).

Unity of pandect bibles

A pandect bible is a codex type in which all books of the (Greek) OT and NT were

brought together between two covers. The unification in the beginning of the 4th

century of two codex traditions into one manuscript, of the old Greek OT and the NT

books and collections of epistles, as far as they were used in liturgical communities,

was an event of unequalled historical impact. In this contribution we focus on the

study of the unity of this codex type and the aspects which may contribute to more

insight in the physical construction related to the metaphysical (theological) contents.

Focus on quire structures

Quires are piles of sheets made of animal skin, which were bound together in order

to constitute a codex, including a cluster of books (the five books of the Law, the four

Gospels), or one single book (book of Psalms, the book of Acts of the Apostles). Used

were polished single parchment sheets, prepared from the hides of sheep, goats or

calves, which were cut in regular form of the same format, in rectangular form with

the height larger and the width (codex Sinaiticus: 38 x 34.5 cm) and in quadrate form

with even measures (codex Vaticanus: 27 x 27 cm). The sheets were folded double in

order to compose a quire, in this way that the double folded sheets were placed

inside the other and so on. Finally the quires (piles) were laid on each other in layers

and bound together, originally between leather covers, but these were lost in the

course of time in most cases and rebound later.

Construction and contents of the codex

The author lays some emphasis on the quire structures in early Byzantine pandect

bibles. Analysed are the quires and numbering systems of codex Sinaiticus, codex

Vaticanus, codex Alexandrinus. The subject concerns the technological construction

of the codices with regard to the presentation of the content. Insight in what could be

called the backbone of the Byzantine codex is essential for the understanding of the

manner in which bible contents were presented and transmitted in such an early age.

Of importance is, that preceding codex (and roll) types are reflected in the pandect

bibles even before that time. This understanding we need, when we start to describe

the Byzantine codex from the 4th century on, placing ourselves on solid ground.

Right from the start of the writing down of a bible codex one previewed and

prepared the sheets with regard to the contents, the books used in liturgical contexts.

It appears that the beginnings of larger divisions in bible codices correspond to new

beginnings of quires (Milne/Skeat).

Codicography and quire structure

The aim of this contribution to the pandect bible codex is to find out if there is a more

adequate manner of codex description possible in which the quire structures (and

original quire numbers) play a leading role (descriptive frame) in combination with

the foliations of later date.

An effort will be done of a new description of codex Sinaiticus according to the

(original) quire structure and other relevant aspects of codex divisions and presented

in the form of an extended Short Catalogue Form.