León palimpsest

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title: "León palimpsest" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["vetus-latina-new-testament-manuscripts", "vulgate-manuscripts", "7th-century-biblical-manuscripts", "palimpsests", "7th-century-books-in-latin"] description: "7th-century Latin Bible manuscript" topic_path: "general/vetus-latina-new-testament-manuscripts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/León_palimpsest" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 7th-century Latin Bible manuscript ::

The León Palimpsest, designated l or 67 (in the Beuron system), is a 7th-century Latin manuscript pandect of the Christian Bible conserved in the cathedral of León, Spain. The text, written on vellum, is in a fragmentary condition. In some parts it represents the Old Latin version, while following Jerome's Vulgate in others. The codex is a palimpsest.

From its location in Léon, this palimpsest is sometimes referred to as the Codex Legionensis; but this name is more commonly applied to the 10th-century Vulgate Bible at the Basilica of San Isidoro, León (Codex Gothicus Legionensis, or 91, 92 and 133 in the Beuron system). Nor should the León palimpsest be confused with another 10th-century pandect in León, of which the second volume is conserved in the cathedral archive of Léon (number 193 in the Beuron system).

Description

The text of the New Testament has survived on 40 leaves of the codex. The leaves have measures 37 by 24 cm. The text is written in 2 columns of 38-55 lines per page.{{Cite book | last = Gregory | first = Caspar René | author-link = Caspar René Gregory | title = Textkritik des Neuen Testaments | publisher = J.C. Hinrichs | year = 1902 | location = Leipzig | volume = 2 | page = 712 | url = https://archive.org/stream/textkritikdesne01greggoog#page/n245/mode/2up | isbn = 1-4021-6347-9

The order of the books may tentatively be reconstructed: Octateuch, 1–4 Kings, Prophets (without Baruch), Job, Psalms (iuxta Hebraeos?), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Chronicles (Paralipomenon), 1–2 Ezra, 4 Esdras, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Esther, Judith, Tobit, 1–2 Maccabees; Gospels, Pauline Epistles, Catholic Epistles, Acts, Apocalypse.

History

The biblical underwriting has been dated by F. H. A. Scrivener, Samuel Berger, and Bruce M. Metzger to the 7th century.

It was discovered by Rudolf Beer. It was examined and described by Samuel Berger.{{cite book | last = Scrivener | first = Frederick Henry Ambrose | author-link = Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener | author2 = Edward Miller | title = A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament | publisher = George Bell & Sons | year = 1894 | location = London | edition = 4 | volume = 2 | page = 72

Currently it is housed in the archive of León Cathedral, where it is designated as codex 15. The manuscript is cited in several critical texts of the Greek and Latin New Testament.

References

References

1. Piggin, Jean-Baptiste. (2019). "The Original Beuron Numbers of 1949 With Links". piggin.net.
2. Bruce M. Metzger, ''The Early Versions of the New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 316.
3. (1993). "The Greek New Testament". United Bible Societies.
4. Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice. (2013). "The New Cambridge History of the Bible; Volume 2; from 600 to 1450". CUP.
5. Bogaert, Pierre-Maurice. (2013). "The New Cambridge History of the Bible; Volume 2; from 600 to 1450". CUP.
6. (2009). "The Greek New Testament". United Bible Societies.
7. Berger, Samuel. (1893). "Histoire de la Vulgate pendant les premiers siècles du Moyen Age".

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