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Greek Handwriting 4

2/5/2008 6:33:23 AM
Series: Greek Handwriting
This post is in a series. To see more about the series and other posts in the series, see the bottom of the post or skip to there by clicking here.

I know you have missed it. It has been a while since Greek Handwriting 3, so here is our next exciting installment!

Today we shall have some pi. The pi we will see is from the 13th century, manuscript 2444:

The text in this snippet reads as follows:

ματα εχιδνων. πως δυνασθε
αγαθα λαλειν πονηροι οντες· εκ

There is one pi on each line. In both it is the 12th letter. This isn't obvious on the second line because its ligatures shorten the distance from the beginning to the 12th letter...but it is true. The pi looks similar to our printed pi with the exception of the closed loops at the bottom. So, thankfully, it is pretty easy to recognize. This is a very common look for pi's in Greek New Testament minuscules.

Series: Greek Handwriting
Series focusing on scribal handwriting in Greek manuscripts. Most manuscripts will be related to the New Testament, though some snippets will be pulled from other pieces of Greek literature.
Want to see more posts in this series?
  1. Greek Handwriting 1 - 1/12/2008
  2. Greek Handwriting 2 - 1/15/2008
  3. Greek Handwriting 3 - 1/23/2008
  4. Greek Handwriting 4 - 2/5/2008
  5. Smarts About The Nomina Sacra - 3/2/2008
  6. Alpha and Lambda In Alexandrinus - 3/3/2008
  7. Ligature in Codex Hierosolymitanus: ει - 3/24/2008
  8. Crazy Kappa Leo - 3/30/2008
  9. Scribe Leo And The Nike Swoosh - 4/4/2008
  10. Another Hierosolymitanus Ligature - 4/21/2008
  11. It Is και Ligature Day - 4/23/2008
  12. Tips For Reading Greek New Testament Minuscule GA 676 - 5/7/2008
  13. Corrections to Uncatalogued Lectionary Fragment (ULF) - 5/12/2008
  14. More Corrections To ULF - 5/13/2008
Comments: 2
Filed Under: Greek Greek Handwriting

Comments

Chuck Grantham
Monday 3/3/2008 1:31 PM
Along with the shift in handwriting styles over time, ligatures are the biggest hurdle I find for reading New Testament manuscripts in photos on the Internet at places like CSNTM. Nestle-Aland and UBS don't prepare you for those alien-looking letter combos.
Eric
Monday 3/3/2008 2:04 PM
SO true. Metzger's "Manuscripts of the Greek Bible" gives some examples, but it doesn't even come close to covering all the ligatures. Of course that wasn't its point. I thought that I had spent enough time in minuscules that I was finally getting over this hurdle until I started a collation on a manuscript for 2 Clement. That one has been putting some hurtin' on my brain. But, as I see them more and more, I'm learning them. It just takes some time and personal exposure, as you are undoubtedly noticing as well!

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