The Making of the King: A Scholarly Biography of Codex Vaticanus (B03)

Description

Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209 in the Vatican Library, known by biblical scholars as Codex B or B03, is valued by modern textual critics as one of the pillars for constructing the Greek text of the New Testament. As the Cambridge critics Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, in 1881, warrant: “B very far exceeds all other documents in neutrality of text as measured by the above tests, being in fact always or nearly always neutral.” However, when textual scholarship was still in its infancy in the course of the sixteenth century, this manuscript was seen as a Latinised corruption and its textual value was dismissed by most. How did Codex Vaticanus become the manuscript par excellence over time? How did it rise to the prestigious position it now holds? And how can the changes in the scholarly evaluation be accounted for? These questions led to the composition of a “scholarly biography” of Codex Vaticanus. It aims to trace, describe, and analyse the changing perceptions of one of the most important biblical manuscripts through the centuries.
This paper highlights several significant changes of perception and substantial scholarly debates surrounding this manuscript between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries, starting with Desiderius Erasmus’ 1516 Greek New Testament edition and ending with the editio princeps of the manuscript published in 1857. Some examples are referenced to illustrate the contrasting opinions proposed within this timeframe of 350 years. For instance, based on my detailed analysis of the remaining archive of the famous classist Richard Bentley (1662–1742), not only his pioneering use of the manuscript can be studied, but the obstacles he faced can also be unearthed. Once a protégé of Bentley, Johann Jakob Wettstein (1693–1754) went into an opposite route. Relying on secondary sources, Wettstein rejuvenated the Latinisation theory, which originated from Erasmus, to disregard the textual value of the manuscript in its totality. In addition to illuminative stories of encounters between scholars, exchanges of information and data, and confirmation and refutation of ideas, in this contribution, I also offer methodological considerations on the endeavour of writing a biography of this manuscript, as well as reflect upon what can (and cannot) be achieved in our current digital era. Through this particular lens of the scholarly reception of a certain manuscript, our understanding of the field and its scholarly history can be broadened. All in all, the hope is to allow us to glimpse the history of Codex Vaticanus in New Testament textual scholarship and witness its enthronement as the “king” above all New Testament manuscripts.

Period	24 Nov 2024
Event title	Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting
Event type	Conference
Location	San Diego, United States, CaliforniaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International