The stories we can tell about manuscripts are not only limited to the texts and images found within them. For as long as books have existed, readers and owners have written notes in them. Sometimes these are notes attempting to explain something difficult in the text, or offering alternative opinions, while at other times they are hastily-written memos of historical events, or simple signatures by later owners. A number of the articles on the new Greek Manuscripts Project Website give us insights into these marginal comments.

Perhaps the most famous example of an annotated Greek manuscript at the British Library is Codex Sinaiticus. Written in the 4th century, it was extensively corrected and annotated over the centuries. Many of the corrections were made by one of the original scribes, editing the work of the others, while other annotations date from later generations. These corrections are incredibly important for telling us about the early history of the Biblical text, which you can read more about in David Parker’s article on ancient Bibles. And for much more information about Codex Sinaiticus, you can consult the Codex Sinaiticus Website.

John 21:1-21:25. Codex Sinaiticus (Add MS 43725, f 260r), Eastern Mediterranean (?Palestine), mid-4th century.

During the Byzantine era, many scholars and intellectuals engaged in studying and copying Greek texts from antiquity. On occasion, they would reveal their frustration with their ancient predecessors. A famous example can be found in Harley 5694, the earliest known manuscript of Lucian of Samosata (c. 120–180 CE). In this early 10th-century manuscript, the original owner Arethas of Caesarea attacked Lucian for having taken part in an idolatrous rite. You can read what Arethas said, and much more about the scholars of Byzantium, in Georgi Parpulov’s article on the Greek Manuscripts Project Website. And for more information on the transmission of classical texts, consult Mark Joyal’s article on that topic. 

Arethas’ attack on Lucian, in Harley 5694, f. 60v. Eastern Mediterranean (Caesarea?), c. 912–914.

Many of the 19th-century owners of Greek manuscripts were less reverential than one might expect. Robert Curzon, 14th Baron Zouche, whose manuscripts were bequeathed to the British Library, inserted notes at the beginning of the volumes he acquired recounting the circumstances in which he obtained them. These can on occasion be quite entertaining, as in Additional 39604, which, Curzon tells us, was used by him as a pillow when he slept by the river Jordan!

Curzon’s note, pasted into the cover of Additional 39604, a 12th-century Gospel Lectionary.

Perhaps the most radical of all the 19th-century annotators of Greek manuscripts was John Ruskin, who filled the pages of his own Gospel Lectionary with notes on the text of the Bible and on the script used in this particular volume, which he occasionally found frustrating. You can read more about the 19th-century collectors of Greek manuscripts in an article on British Collectors of Greek Manuscripts on the project website.

A characteristic comment by Ruskin on his Gospel Lectionary, Egerton 3046, f. 126r. Eastern Mediterranean, last quarter of the 11th century-1st quarter of the 12th century.

We conclude with a reminder that many of the annotations and comments in Greek manuscripts await further attention from readers and scholars. Please explore the riches available on the Greek Manuscripts Project Website and on Digitised Manuscripts, and let us know what you find!

Cillian O'Hogan

@BLMedieval/@cillianohogan