DESCRIPTION OF THE CODEX

Column 1

addicted to monograms, or combinations of several letters into
one form, such as ΗΝ for ΗΝ. Possibly this scribe belonged to
the scriptorium A room in a monastery or library set aside for the copying of manuscripts., but there is no definite proof that such was
the case, unless it be thought that he was the scribe of the
correction to which the Eusebian scribe affixed the number (see
above, and cf. the first of the ‘doubtful’ examples in Plate II).
At one time I was inclined to think that this was so, on the
ground of the ‘monogram’ in this correction, but further con-
sideration has made me think that this is probably not the
case. Thus it remains uncertain whether A³ belonged to the
scriptorium or should be regarded as one of the earliest hands
who touched the MS. after it had been ‘issued’. Examples
are given in the second column of Plate II.
The corrector A⁴. There are only a very few corrections
by this hand. It probably belongs to the fourth century, but
according to Dr. Kenyon’s judgement might possibly be a little
later than the scribes hitherto mentioned. It is marked by an
extreme regularity and neatness (see the fourth column of
Plate II).
The corrector A⁵. This scribe, easily distinguished by his
graceful style, and the curious shape of his ξ The Greek letter 'Xi'., only made a few
corrections. He is no doubt contemporary with the MS. or
nearly so, but there is nothing to show whether he did or
did not belong to the scriptorium. Examples are given in
the third column of Plate II.
Aᴴᵉʳᵐ. Possibly distinct from all the other A correctors is
one who seems to have acted as the corrector (διορθωτής) original: "διορθωτὴς"; a professional proofreader or supervisor in a scriptorium who checked the work of the primary scribes. of Hermas Referring to the "Shepherd of Hermas," an early Christian literary work included in the Codex Sinaiticus. in
a small delicate hand. Examples are given in the third
column of Plate II.
All the scribes hitherto dealt with belong to the A group
which Tischendorf Constantin von Tischendorf (1815–1874), the biblical scholar who discovered the Codex Sinaiticus at St. Catherine's Monastery. regarded as belonging to the scriptorium.
In some places he expressed himself in such a way as to
give the impression that he meant A—the א Aleph, the Hebrew letter used as the symbol for the Codex Sinaiticus in biblical criticism. of the critical
Greek Testament—to refer to a single scribe. This he cer-
tainly did not really think, and he only omitted to define the
facts more clearly because it is so often impossible to say to
which of the group any given correction belongs, even though
it is plain that it is not to be assigned to any later hand.
Outside the pure A family come the scribes known as
Aᵒᵇˡⁱᵠ, B, and B*. They differ from those which have been
already treated in that they probably do not belong to the
scriptorium. They are, however, not much later than the

Column 2

A group—the fifth century is the latest date to which they can
be assigned—and they may be regarded as representing the
corrections of some of the earliest owners of the Codex.
The corrector Aᵒᵇˡⁱᵠ. This scribe, who, as his title suggests,
used sloping characters, is quite unimportant. He only made
a few casual alterations; Tischendorf only classed him in the
A group because his is a clearly early hand, and he used ink
which is indistinguishable from that of the A correctors.
Specimens of his script can be seen in the fourth column of
Plate II.
The corrector B. Far more interest attaches to the work
of this scribe, whose writing is chiefly distinguishable from the
A group by a slight difference of tint, which is not discernible
in a photograph. He was contemporary with the A group or nearly so, and was chiefly interested in small points of spelling and scholarship. The previous sentence is underlined in the source. He was contemporary with the A group
or nearly so, and was chiefly interested in small points of
spelling and scholarship. On the first pages of Matthew he
made frequent corrections which are very important for the
history of the orthographical tradition as to proper names,
but his interest soon declined, and his hand is not found
outside the first Gospel. He may very well have been a
scholarly owner, who had strong opinions as to the proper
way of spelling the names of the Patriarchs and Kings of
Israel. Tischendorf gives a full list of the corrections; it is
exceedingly difficult to see them either in the facsimile or in
the MS., but there is not, I believe, any reason for doubting
the correctness of his judgement. With great trouble I suc-
ceeded in verifying in the MS. all the corrections which
Tischendorf indicates on f. 1. So far as I can judge the
facsimile is not more obscure than the MS., except in so far as
in a MS. the sense of touch often helps to detect erasures, or
the erosions of faded ink, and this is of course impossible in
a photographic facsimile. It may, however, be thought with
some probability that the MS. was in a better condition when
Tischendorf first saw it than now. The Imperial Library at
St. Petersburg is no doubt in every other respect an infinitely
better home for a MS. than the convent of St. Catherine, but
on the important matter of climate one may suspect that the
advantage is with Sinai. Specimens of B are given in the
third column of Plate II.
The corrector B*. This symbol was used by Tischendorf to
indicate a few corrections in a hand which cannot with cer-
tainty be identified either with B or with any of the A group.