Manuscripts, Papyri, and Epigraphy: Manuscripts of the Septuagint from Uncials to Minuscules

Owing to their number, chronological distribution, and geographical diffusion, the manuscript witnesses of the Septuagint amount to one of the major corpora of Greek literature, comparable only to the New Testament and Homer. The LXX corpus was in constant evolution, covering all the major turning points in the history of Greek manuscripts: the transition from roll to codex, from majuscule to minuscule writing, from papyrus to parchment, and from parchment to paper. The variety of uses is also comprehensive. There are both luxury manuscripts written by professional calligraphers, and manuscripts for daily use created from recycled materials and using cursory handwriting. It is a corpus of relevance not solely for the biblical scholar, but also for the philologist, the palaeographer and codicologist, the historian, the art historian, the Byzantinist, the theologian, and more. This chapter will focus on the parchment and paper manuscripts between the fourth and the sixteenth centuries.