Lectionary 299

Uncial 040

New Testament manuscript papyri uncials minuscules lectionaries
Facsimile from Tregelles edition
Name	Zacynthius
Sign	Ξ
Text	Gospel of Luke †
Date	c. 550
Script	Greek
Found	Colin Macaulay, 1820
Now at	Cambridge University Library
Cite	Tregelles, Codex Zacynthius. Greek Palimpsest Fragments of the Gospel of Saint Luke, (1861)
Size	36 cm by 29 cm
Type	Alexandrian
Category	III
Note	textually close to codex B

Codex Zacynthius (designated by siglum Ξ or 040 in the Gregory-Aland numbering; A¹ in von Soden) is a Greek New Testament codex, dated paleographically to the 6th century. First thought to have been written in the 8th century, it is a palimpsest—the original (lower) text was washed off its vellum pages and overwritten in the 12th or 13th century. The upper text of the palimpsest contains weekday Gospel lessons; the lower text contains portions of the Gospel of Luke, deciphered by biblical scholar and palaeographer Tregelles in 1861. The lower text is of most interest to scholars.

The manuscript came from Zakynthos, a Greek island, and has survived in a fragmentary condition. It was brought to England in 1821 and transferred to Cambridge University in 1985. It is often cited in critical editions of the Greek New Testament.

The lower text of the manuscript contains fragments of the chapters 1:1-11:33 of the Gospel of Luke. The codex comprises 86 thick, coarse parchment leaves and three partial leaves; it measures 36 x 29 cm. The text was written in a single column with well-formed uncial script. The letters are large, round and narrow, without spiritus asper, spiritus lenis, or accents. The manuscript was written by two scribes.

Abbreviations are rarely used in the codex. The handwriting is very close to that of the Rossano Gospels. The errors of itacism occur, but not so often as in Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. It uses grammatical forms typical of the ancient manuscripts (e.g. ειπαν, ηλθαν, ευραν), which are not used in later medieval manuscripts.