The Possibilities of a Gospel Codex: GA 2064 (Dublin, CBL W 139), Digital Editing, and Reading in a Manuscript Culture

Abstract

Recent changes to the technology used to produce critical editions and the mass digitization of Greek New Testament manuscripts are beginning to fundamentally alter the place of later manuscripts in critical practice, reinvigorating research into minuscules and particular subtraditions of manuscripts that have often stood outside the interest of most New Testament scholars. This situation necessitates a reexamination of often-overlooked manuscripts, going beyond traditional text-critical concerns to better understand the ways that manuscripts function as arbiters of knowledge for the texts they carry, especially when their paratextuality and design differ from modern Bibles and critical editions. Changes in editorial technology have created a situation where editions can also be informed by the conceptual networks of literary interrelationships and interpretive pathways reflected in the layout and design of manuscripts. Moreover, the expanded availability of digital manuscript images creates new avenues for interdisciplinary exploration of the significance of paratextual systems. This article begins to explore these issues by analyzing the unpublished GA 2604 (Dublin, CBL W 139), a deluxe twelfth-century gospel codex.