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Harley MS 5538
- Record Id:
- 040-001780193
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 040-001780193
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000195.0x000134
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley MS 5538
- Title:
- Four Gospels, without sections or liturgical signs (Gregory-Aland 505)
- Scope & Content:
- Four Gospels, without sections or liturgical signs (Gregory-Aland 505; Scrivener evan. 567; von Soden ε 248).
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Greek Manuscripts
Harley Collection - Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "040-001780193", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 5538: Four Gospels, without sections or liturgical signs (Gregory-Aland 505)" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "041-001780194", "parent" : "040-001780193", "text" : "Harley MS 5538, ff 1-64v: Matthew." },{ "id" : "041-001780195", "parent" : "040-001780193", "text" : "Harley MS 5538, ff 65-104v: Mark." },{ "id" : "041-001780196", "parent" : "040-001780193", "text" : "Harley MS 5538, ff 105-173: Luke." },{ "id" : "041-001780197", "parent" : "040-001780193", "text" : "Harley MS 5538, ff 174-226v: John." }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002045828
040-001780193 - Is part of:
- Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts
Harley MS 5538 : Four Gospels, without sections or liturgical signs (Gregory-Aland 505) - Contains:
- Harley MS 5538, ff 1-64v : Matthew.
Harley MS 5538, ff 65-104v : Mark.
Harley MS 5538, ff 105-173 : Luke.
Harley MS 5538, ff 174-226v : John.
Click here to View / search full list of parts of Harley MS 5538 - Hierarchy:
- 032-002045828[5540]/040-001780193
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
226 folios
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_5538 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-

- Languages:
- Greek, Ancient
- Scripts:
- Greek
- Start Date:
- 1100
- End Date:
- 1199
- Date Range:
- 12th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment.
Foliation: ff 1* + 226 (+ 3 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning, and one early modern and 3 modern at the end).
Dimensions: 125 x 92 (88 x 63) mm.
Ruling: 23 lines.
Collation: Gatherings αʹ-κγʹ: i12 ii-v10 vi12 / vii8 viii-ix10 x12 / xi-xii11 xii-xvi10 xvii7 / xviii8 xix-xxii10 xxiii5.
Decoration: Headpieces with geometric and foliate decoration, titles in display capitals and initials in colours (ff 1r, 65r, 105r, 174r). Two artists, the first being responsible for the headpiece on f 1r, the second being responsible for the other headpieces.
Binding: British Museum, 1962.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean.
Provenance:
Erased inscription in Latin '1449 Ultimo septembris' (f 1*r), similar to another found in Harley 5613 (f 1v).
Fra Antonio [of Genoa ?]: the beginning of his inscription (f 64v) as found in complete form and dated 1648 in Harley 5613, f 213r.
John Gibson (fl. 1720-1726), dealer: sold to Edward Harley in August 1733 (see Fontes p. 162).
The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts: Edward's inscription ‘Bought of Mr Gibson aug. 1733’ (f 1*r).
Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta Cavendish, née Holles (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (b. 1715, d. 1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.
- Administrative Context:
- Eastern Mediterranean.
- Information About Copies:
-
Complete digital coverage available for this manuscript, see Digitised Manuscripts [http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=harley_ms_5538].
Select digital coverage available for this manuscript, see Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts [http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=4917&CollID=8&NStart=5538].
- Publications:
-
A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols, London 1808-1812, III, p. 275.
F. H. A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, 2 vols, London 1894, evan. 567.
C. R. Gregory, Textkritik des Neuen Testamentes, 3 vols, Leipzig 1900-1909, no. 505.
Hermann von Soden, Die Schriften des Neuen Testaments, in ihrer ältesten erreichbaren Textgestalt hergestellt auf Grund ihrer Textgeschichte, 4 vols, Berlin 1902-1910, ε 248.
C. E. Wright, Fontes Harleiani: A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts preserved in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, London 1972, p. 162.
F. Wisse, The Profile Method for Classifying and Evaluating Manuscript Evidence, Grand Rapids (Mich.) 1982, pp. 61, 94-96 (Kx).
K. Aland, Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments (Berlin and New York, 2nd edn., 1994), p. 77 (GA 505).
The British Library Summary Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts, I, London 1999, p. 103.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)