[New Testament Gospel Lectionary].

Forms part of the Kenneth Willis Clark Collection of Greek Manuscripts (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

Format: Manuscript codex.

Title supplied by cataloger.

Layout: Written in 1 column of 21+ lines; with 47 lines of marginal commentary; ruled for +/- 21 lines with a dry point on the hair side to accommodate both the text and the commentary.

Script: There are two scribes represented: Scribe I: fol. 1r-346v; Scribe II: fol. 347r-352v. Scribe I is responsible for all but the last quire, which apparently, severely damaged, was copied over for inclusion in this volume when it was rebound in the sixteenth-century. Scribe I writes boldly with a reed nib in a pendant hand using a dark brown ink for both the text and commentary. The titles, numbers, kephalaia, and liturgical rubrics are written generally in gilt, semi-uncials, slightly larger than the letters of the text. He used his own creative methods in producing the signes des renvoies which are gilt, placed above the word in the text for which the commentary can be found in the margin. The scribe appears to prefer the cursive form of letters, especially notable is the lack of the frequent use of the uncial epsilon, although there is a generous use of uncial nuns, kappas and etas. Scribe II writes in a smaller irregular pendant hand with black ink and red initials--no gilding. The signes des renvoies are also in red.

Decoration: Kephalaia appear in the upper and lower margins in the scribal hand in gold over red; there are also occasional gilt initials in the margins that do not necessarily correspond with section divisions of the text; each gospel has been provided with an ornamental headpiece and floriated intitial; Eusebian sections and canon numbers are not found.

Title cataloged from existing description.

Tetraevangelion, four Gospels with catenae; commentary in margins. Once in the library of Eikosiphoinisses. It and Duke Greek MS 1 were once side by side on the shelves of that library: Duke Greek MS 1 was Eikosoph. MS 60 and Duke Greek MS 60 was Eikosoph. MS 59.

Binding: A Byzantine binding of dark brown morocco over cypress, damaged in places by insects; edges plain to the corners; originally supplied with two fore edge triple interlaced thong clasps anchored in the lower board and attached to the upper cover by means of edge pins (only one nearer the head remains). The outer frame enclosed a field on which an Orthodox cross is formed by the same stamp used in the border, anchored at either end of the arms and by the large round floriate stamp with the small stamp in the corners of the angles of the cross. At the base, the foot bar contains in balanced positions a lozenge of a pelican in her piety, a lion gardant, and a griffon in circular stamps. All of the original eight fluted bosses of silver alloy remain. The quadrants of the lower cover are filled with lozenge stamps with fleur-de-lis stamps with each corner accented by the small round floral stamp. Sewn in the Byzantine style with chain-link style sewing with extended plain endbands of unbleached linen.