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HTMLText_4B5508A2_DEB8_4A29_41DE_BEE387483AB3.html = This palimpsest of a Christian Arabic work written over a Greek copy of the Old Testament shows tell-tale staining, probably the result of a chemical reagent used by its former owner, Constantin von Tischendorf. 19th-century scholars sometimes used a mixture of potassium ferrocyanide and hydrochloric acid, which turned the iron in faded inks blue.
Add. 1879.5, Palimpsest of Lives of Saints in Christian Arabic over Greek Old Testament; vellum; 7/8th c. (undertext); 10th (overtext); Mar Saba monastery, Palestine
This palimpsest of a Christian Arabic work written over a Greek copy of the Old Testament shows tell-tale staining, probably the result of a chemical reagent used by its former owner, Constantin von Tischendorf. 19th-century scholars sometimes used a mixture of potassium ferrocyanide and hydrochloric acid, which turned the iron in faded inks blue.
Add. 1879.5, Palimpsest of Lives of Saints in Christian Arabic over Greek Old Testament; vellum; 7/8th c. (undertext); 10th (overtext); Mar Saba monastery, Palestine
While some manuscripts have been left ruined by the efforts of earlier scholars to read them, many more show just traces of their handiwork. A chemical reagent was brushed over selected lines in the undertext of this palimpsest, a fragment of Homer’s Iliad from the 5th century, but the writing remains quite legible.
Add. 7872, Palimpsest of John Chrysostom over Homer; vellum; 5th c. (undertext); 10th c. (overtext); place of production unknown
While some manuscripts have been left ruined by the efforts of earlier scholars to read them, many more show just traces of their handiwork. A chemical reagent was brushed over selected lines in the undertext of this palimpsest, a fragment of Homer’s Iliad from the 5th century, but the writing remains quite legible.
Add. 7872, Palimpsest of John Chrysostom over Homer; vellum; 5th c. (undertext); 10th c. (overtext); place of production unknown
The undertext of Codex Zacynthius is a catena (‘chain’) on the New Testament. The catena is a commentary composed of sayings of the Church Fathers. It was copied about 700 CE in large Greek letters called uncials. In the 12th century, a monk called Neilos reused the parchment pages to make a new book with Gospel readings for church services called an evangeliary. Neilos used a smaller more modern Greek minuscule script, using both upper and lower case letters. The undertext is visible on many pages of the new book, in the central margins and between the lines.
Add.10062, Codex Zacynthius, a palimpsest of a catena on the Gospel of Luke overwritten by an evangeliary; vellum; 7/8th c. (undertext); 12th c. (overtext); eastern Mediterranean, overwritten in Rhodes
The undertext of Codex Zacynthius is a catena (‘chain’) on the New Testament. The catena is a commentary composed of sayings of the Church Fathers. It was copied about 700 CE in large Greek letters called uncials. In the 12th century, a monk called Neilos reused the parchment pages to make a new book with Gospel readings for church services called an evangeliary. Neilos used a smaller more modern Greek minuscule script, using both upper and lower case letters. The undertext is visible on many pages of the new book, in the central margins and between the lines.
Add.10062, Codex Zacynthius, a palimpsest of a catena on the Gospel of Luke overwritten by an evangeliary; vellum; 7/8th c. (undertext); 12th c. (overtext); eastern Mediterranean, overwritten in Rhodes
Written probably six or seven hundred years after the catena of Codex Zacynthius, this New Testament catena manuscript from the 13th or 14th century follows the same layout. It’s a commentary on the Pauline Epistles, laid out as a ‘frame catena’, where the commentary surrounds the biblical text it comments on, just like Codex Zacynthius’s undertext. The script, though, is a much later Greek minuscule, unlike the early monolithic uncials of Zacynthius.
Ff.1.30, Catena on the Pauline Epistles; vellum; late 10th or early 11th century; Byzantine Empire
Written probably six or seven hundred years after the catena of Codex Zacynthius, this New Testament catena manuscript from the 13th or 14th century follows the same layout. It’s a commentary on the Pauline Epistles, laid out as a ‘frame catena’, where the commentary surrounds the biblical text it comments on, just like Codex Zacynthius’s undertext. The script, though, is a much later Greek minuscule, unlike the early monolithic uncials of Zacynthius.
Ff.1.30, Catena on the Pauline Epistles; vellum; late 10th or early 11th century; Byzantine Empire
The dark stain shows where scholars applied a chemical, perhaps gallic acid, to try and read the text in this hefty medieval collection of songs and poetry. Over time the chemical has darkened, leaving the 11th-century ink even less legible than before. This particular Latin poem was deliberately erased by one of its owners, probably due to its erotic nature.
Gg.5.35, Medieval compilation of poetic works, including the ‘Cambridge Songs’; vellum; 11th c.; Canterbury, England
The dark stain shows where scholars applied a chemical, perhaps gallic acid, to try and read the text in this hefty medieval collection of songs and poetry. Over time the chemical has darkened, leaving the 11th-century ink even less legible than before. This particular Latin poem was deliberately erased by one of its owners, probably due to its erotic nature.
Gg.5.35, Medieval compilation of poetic works, including the ‘Cambridge Songs’; vellum; 11th c.; Canterbury, England
The monk who created the palimpsest and overwrote the earlier catena has been identified by the frequent notes he left in the manuscript. He was a monk called Neilos, known to have worked in a monastery in Rhodes in the late 12th century. His notes provide occasional vivid commentary on his copying of the book: ‘I am very tired, with a heavy head, and what I write I do not know’.
The monk who created the palimpsest and overwrote the earlier catena has been identified by the frequent notes he left in the manuscript. He was a monk called Neilos, known to have worked in a monastery in Rhodes in the late 12th century. His notes provide occasional vivid commentary on his copying of the book: ‘I am very tired, with a heavy head, and what I write I do not know’.
In 1861 the Devon scholar Samuel Prideaux Tregelles was the first to read the under-text of Zacynthius, painstakingly deciphering it with the help only of sunlight, a magnifying glass and much patience. Tregelles only read the Gospel of Luke, however; the surrounding text of the catena remained mostly unread. In 2014, the Birmingham project with specialists of the Early Manuscript Electronic Library (EMEL) photographed every page of the catena using multi-spectral imaging. They shot 51 images of each page, each image under a different wavelength of light, from infrared all the way to ultraviolet. The images were then processed electronically, relying on the different fluorescence under different lights of the two different inks used in the manuscript to digitally enhance the undertext.
In 1861 the Devon scholar Samuel Prideaux Tregelles was the first to read the under-text of Zacynthius, painstakingly deciphering it with the help only of sunlight, a magnifying glass and much patience. Tregelles only read the Gospel of Luke, however; the surrounding text of the catena remained mostly unread. In 2014, the Birmingham project with specialists of the Early Manuscript Electronic Library (EMEL) photographed every page of the catena using multi-spectral imaging. They shot 51 images of each page, each image under a different wavelength of light, from infrared all the way to ultraviolet. The images were then processed electronically, relying on the different fluorescence under different lights of the two different inks used in the manuscript to digitally enhance the undertext.
This pair of leaves of the Qur’ān is of a similar age to the Lewis palimpsest, and is also written in an early ‘Hijazi’ (ḥijāzī) script. The lines are characteristically slanting to the right, very similar to the ‘large Qur’ānic leaves’ of Or.1287. It probably dates to the 1st century of the Hijra (7th and 8th centuries CE), and further leaves are in Paris and Istanbul. The discovery of such early manuscripts of the Qur’ān has comprehensively refuted some of the revisionist scholarship of the 20th century, which proposed a late date – even as recent as the 9th century – for the completion of the Qur’ān.
Add. 1125, Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Anfāl 8:10–72; vellum; 7/8th c.; Syria (?)
This pair of leaves of the Qur’ān is of a similar age to the Lewis palimpsest, and is also written in an early ‘Hijazi’ (ḥijāzī) script. The lines are characteristically slanting to the right, very similar to the ‘large Qur’ānic leaves’ of Or.1287. It probably dates to the 1st century of the Hijra (7th and 8th centuries CE), and further leaves are in Paris and Istanbul. The discovery of such early manuscripts of the Qur’ān has comprehensively refuted some of the revisionist scholarship of the 20th century, which proposed a late date – even as recent as the 9th century – for the completion of the Qur’ān.
Add. 1125, Qur’ān, Sūrat al-Anfāl 8:10–72; vellum; 7/8th c.; Syria (?)
Lewis and Gibson purchased a number of palimpsests during their travels in Egypt and Palestine. This single leaf is another case of a Christian manuscript that came into Jewish hands, probably through the dispersal of a monastic library in Palestine. A text in Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic is written over a Christian Aramaic version of the ‘Life of Antonius’, a work originally written in Greek by Athanasius of Alexandria in the 4th century CE.
Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, and Cambridge University Library Lewis-Gibson Glass 1a, Palimpsest of Palestinian Talmud over Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Life of Antonius; vellum; 6/7th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
Lewis and Gibson purchased a number of palimpsests during their travels in Egypt and Palestine. This single leaf is another case of a Christian manuscript that came into Jewish hands, probably through the dispersal of a monastic library in Palestine. A text in Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic is written over a Christian Aramaic version of the ‘Life of Antonius’, a work originally written in Greek by Athanasius of Alexandria in the 4th century CE.
Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, and Cambridge University Library Lewis-Gibson Glass 1a, Palimpsest of Palestinian Talmud over Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Life of Antonius; vellum; 6/7th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
Or. 1287, Palimpsest of Christian Arabic texts over Syriac, Greek and Arabic works; vellum; 5–9th c. (undertexts); 9/10th c. (overtext); unknown and Sinai
Or. 1287, Palimpsest of Christian Arabic texts over Syriac, Greek and Arabic works; vellum; 5–9th c. (undertexts); 9/10th c. (overtext); unknown and Sinai
Not all of the Archimedes Palimpsest is owned by an anonymous tech millionaire. When the 19th-century New Testament scholar and collector Constantin von Tischendorf was browsing a Greek Orthodox library in Constantinople, he spotted that an old prayer book had mathematical symbols beneath the text. When he returned home to Leipzig, suspiciously he was carrying a single leaf of the manuscript, probably intending to identify it. This leaf was among the papers purchased by Cambridge from the executors of his will, and was identified in the 1960s as belonging to the Archimedes Palimpsest.
Add.1879.23, Palimpsest of Byzantine liturgy over Archimedes On the Sphere and Cylinder I 35–37; vellum; 10th c. (undertext); 1229 (overtext); Constantinople
Not all of the Archimedes Palimpsest is owned by an anonymous tech millionaire. When the 19th-century New Testament scholar and collector Constantin von Tischendorf was browsing a Greek Orthodox library in Constantinople, he spotted that an old prayer book had mathematical symbols beneath the text. When he returned home to Leipzig, suspiciously he was carrying a single leaf of the manuscript, probably intending to identify it. This leaf was among the papers purchased by Cambridge from the executors of his will, and was identified in the 1960s as belonging to the Archimedes Palimpsest.
Add.1879.23, Palimpsest of Byzantine liturgy over Archimedes On the Sphere and Cylinder I 35–37; vellum; 10th c. (undertext); 1229 (overtext); Constantinople
Many palimpsests were created in the monasteries of Palestine and Sinai following the Islamic conquest. As Arabic superseded Greek and Aramaic as the language of the eastern Church, the monasteries recycled their own libraries, copying over obsolete texts with newer works in Arabic. This palimpsest, purchased by Lewis and Gibson in Egypt, was produced by Arabic-speaking monks, who overwrote an older Greek collection of Bible readings with a series of canonical Christian works in Arabic.
Westminster College WGL 9/2, Palimpsest manuscript of Arabic canonical works over Greek prophetologion; vellum; 8th c. (undertext); 10th c. (overtext); Palestine or Sinai Peninsula
Many palimpsests were created in the monasteries of Palestine and Sinai following the Islamic conquest. As Arabic superseded Greek and Aramaic as the language of the eastern Church, the monasteries recycled their own libraries, copying over obsolete texts with newer works in Arabic. This palimpsest, purchased by Lewis and Gibson in Egypt, was produced by Arabic-speaking monks, who overwrote an older Greek collection of Bible readings with a series of canonical Christian works in Arabic.
Westminster College WGL 9/2, Palimpsest manuscript of Arabic canonical works over Greek prophetologion; vellum; 8th c. (undertext); 10th c. (overtext); Palestine or Sinai Peninsula
MANY PALIMPSESTS ARE CREATED within the same culture or even the same institution as the underlying manuscript. They are textual evidence of linguistic or doctrinal changes that occurred within that tradition, such as the shift from Aramaic to Arabic by Christians in Palestine. Others show the parchment pages having crossed over into a different culture, such as the Christian manuscripts that were overwritten by Jews in Palestine. This palimpsest, purchased by Agnes Lewis in 1895, is evidence of both. It is a Christian book that, in its undertext, preserves a range of early Christian and Muslim texts.
The 19th-c. Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi wrote Ad Angelo Mai to celebrate the Cardinal’s rediscovery of Cicero’s lost De Republica. The poem is regarded among his greatest, and is seen here in its original Italian, alongside one of many English translations.
The 19th-c. Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi wrote Ad Angelo Mai to celebrate the Cardinal’s rediscovery of Cicero’s lost De Republica. The poem is regarded among his greatest, and is seen here in its original Italian, alongside one of many English translations.
Constantin von Tischendorf acquired this leaf of a Byzantine sticherarion, a collection of Greek hymns with musical notation, on his third visit to the Middle East in 1859. The undertext contains hymns that were once common enough that their owners could happily erase and replace them with newer works, but which are now in many cases unknown.
Add. 1879.15, Palimpsest of Byzantine liturgical book with musical notation (sticherarion) over unknown hymns; vellum; 10th c. (undertext); 13/14th c. (overtext); Byzantium or Jerusalem (?)
Constantin von Tischendorf acquired this leaf of a Byzantine sticherarion, a collection of Greek hymns with musical notation, on his third visit to the Middle East in 1859. The undertext contains hymns that were once common enough that their owners could happily erase and replace them with newer works, but which are now in many cases unknown.
Add. 1879.15, Palimpsest of Byzantine liturgical book with musical notation (sticherarion) over unknown hymns; vellum; 10th c. (undertext); 13/14th c. (overtext); Byzantium or Jerusalem (?)
THE ARCHIMEDES PALIMPSEST became famous when it was sold at Christie’s in New York in 1998 to an anonymous buyer. Subsequent multi-spectral imaging revealed seven treatises from the Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes in the undertext. Two of these had not survived anywhere else. Although the manuscript was known to preserve Archimedes’ works, and had been read in part by various scholars using nothing more advanced than a magnifying glass, it is only through the use
of today’s imaging technology that the text could be recovered in full.
CODEX ZACYNTHIUS IS A PALIMPSEST containing a copy of the Gospel of Luke, surrounded by
an early commentary. It is the only known manuscript where both the New Testament text and its
commentary are in the Greek uncial script. Written about 700 CE., it was erased, cut, rearranged
into a new book and overwritten with a liturgical text in the 12th century. Presented to a British
dignitary on the island of Zakynthos, it was for two hundred years in the collection of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 2014 it was put up for sale and purchased by Cambridge University
Library, following a public appeal. A project led by Professors David Parker and Hugh Houghton of Birmingham University, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK, has employed advanced imaging techniques to recover the erased undertext of this important biblical manuscript.
THE ARCHIMEDES PALIMPSEST became famous when it was sold at Christie’s in New York in 1998 to an anonymous buyer. Subsequent multi-spectral imaging revealed seven treatises from the Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes in the undertext. Two of these had not survived anywhere else. Although the manuscript was known to preserve Archimedes’ works, and had been read in part by various scholars using nothing more advanced than a magnifying glass, it is only through the use of today’s imaging technology that the text could be recovered in full.
MANY PALIMPSESTS ARE CREATED within the same culture or even the same institution as the underlying manuscript. They are textual evidence of linguistic or doctrinal changes that occurred within that tradition, such as the shift from Aramaic to Arabic by Christians in Palestine.
Others show the parchment pages having crossed over into a different culture, such as the Christian manuscripts that were overwritten by Jews in Palestine. This palimpsest, purchased by Agnes Lewis in 1895, is evidence of both. It is a Christian book that, in its undertext, preserves a range of early Christian and Muslim texts.
THESE PARCHMENT PAGES come from what might have been, when it was complete, one of the
world’s most precious books. The palimpsest’s upper and lower texts both preserve rare works of
late antiquity. The upper text contains lost Hebrew poems of the synagogue poet Yannai, who lived
in 4/5th-century Palestine. But the 10th-century Jewish scribe who made this book of poetry reused
parchment from a number of different Christian manuscripts, preserving leaves of some of the
rarest texts of the early church.
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S AS 139.1, Palimpsest of Masora over St Augustine De Sermone Domine; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Egypt or Palestine
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S AS 139.1, Palimpsest of Masora over St Augustine De Sermone Domine; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Egypt or Palestine
CODEX ZACYNTHIUS IS A PALIMPSEST containing a copy of the Gospel of Luke, surrounded by an early commentary. It is the only known manuscript where both the New Testament text and its commentary are in the Greek uncial script. Written about 700 CE., it was erased, cut, rearranged into a new book and overwritten with a liturgical text in the 12th century. Presented to a British dignitary on the island of Zakynthos, it was for two hundred years in the collection of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 2014 it was put up for sale and purchased by Cambridge University Library, following a public appeal. A project led by Professors David Parker and Hugh Houghton of Birmingham University, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK, has employed advanced imaging techniques to recover the erased undertext of this important biblical manuscript.
T-S 12.183, Palimpsest of Jerusalem Talmud Bava Qama 9 over Jeremiah 12:10–16 in Georgian; vellum; 8th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
T-S 12.183, Palimpsest of Jerusalem Talmud Bava Qama 9 over Jeremiah 12:10–16 in Georgian; vellum; 8th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
THESE PARCHMENT PAGES come from what might have been, when it was complete, one of the world’s most precious books. The palimpsest’s upper and lower texts both preserve rare works of late antiquity. The upper text contains lost Hebrew poems of the synagogue poet Yannai, who lived in 4/5th-century Palestine. But the 10th-century Jewish scribe who made this book of poetry reused parchment from a number of different Christian manuscripts, preserving leaves of some of the rarest texts of the early church.
Once this must have been a large, luxury copy of St Augustine’s sermons. You can just see the faded Latin characters underneath the Hebrew text. The works of St Augustine were widely copied in antiquity, but early manuscripts are now scarce. This fragment preserves a version of St Augustine’s sermon for Easter Sunday that is 600 years earlier than any other copy. A Jewish scribe has written technical notes on the Hebrew Bible over it. This fragment was acquired in 1899, and conserved under glass. As you can see, the conservators took meticulous care with every last tiny piece.
Add. 4320d, Palimpsest of Masora over St Augustine Sermo 225; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Egypt or Palestine
Once this must have been a large, luxury copy of St Augustine’s sermons. You can just see the faded Latin characters underneath the Hebrew text. The works of St Augustine were widely copied in antiquity, but early manuscripts are now scarce. This fragment preserves a version of St Augustine’s sermon for Easter Sunday that is 600 years earlier than any other copy. A Jewish scribe has written technical notes on the Hebrew Bible over it. This fragment was acquired in 1899, and conserved under glass. As you can see, the conservators took meticulous care with every last tiny piece.
Add. 4320d, Palimpsest of Masora over St Augustine Sermo 225; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Egypt or Palestine
The same type of Greek capital letters occur in this bifolium as in T-S 12.184, indicating that they are both from the same original manuscript of Aquila’s hyper-literal translation of the Hebrew Bible. This edition preserved the sanctity of God’s name, the Tetragrammaton, by writing it in archaic Hebrew letters, ensuring that it would not be pronounced.
T-S 20.50, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 13–14, 21–22, over Aquila on 2 Kings 23; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
The same type of Greek capital letters occur in this bifolium as in T-S 12.184, indicating that they are both from the same original manuscript of Aquila’s hyper-literal translation of the Hebrew Bible. This edition preserved the sanctity of God’s name, the Tetragrammaton, by writing it in archaic Hebrew letters, ensuring that it would not be pronounced.
T-S 20.50, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 13–14, 21–22, over Aquila on 2 Kings 23; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
The Jewish scribe’s manuscript was assembled from a variety of different parchment leaves that he cut to size to make the new book. The undertext preserves parts of two columns here, written in a Semitic language, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, which was used in the monasteries of the Holy Land up to the 9th or 10th century. The text itself is from the New Testament, the Gospel of John.
T-S 16.98, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 18 and 21, over NT John 14:25-15:16; vellum; 7-8th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
The Jewish scribe’s manuscript was assembled from a variety of different parchment leaves that he cut to size to make the new book. The undertext preserves parts of two columns here, written in a Semitic language, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, which was used in the monasteries of the Holy Land up to the 9th or 10th century. The text itself is from the New Testament, the Gospel of John.
T-S 16.98, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 18 and 21, over NT John 14:25-15:16; vellum; 7-8th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
Large Greek letters are clearly visible under the Hebrew poetry in this leaf. When the Cambridge scholar Francis Burkitt spotted these in 1897 he recognised them as a fragment of the lost translation of the Hebrew Bible by Aquila (2nd century CE). This work had been popular with Greek-speaking Jews as well as Christians, before falling out of use and disappearing. This copy was probably written in a monastery in Palestine in the 6th century.
T-S 12.184, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 14–15, over Aquila on 1 Kings 20; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
Large Greek letters are clearly visible under the Hebrew poetry in this leaf. When the Cambridge scholar Francis Burkitt spotted these in 1897 he recognised them as a fragment of the lost translation of the Hebrew Bible by Aquila (2nd century CE). This work had been popular with Greek-speaking Jews as well as Christians, before falling out of use and disappearing. This copy was probably written in a monastery in Palestine in the 6th century.
T-S 12.184, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 14–15, over Aquila on 1 Kings 20; vellum; 6th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
The undertext on this leaf contains the oldest known copy of the Church Father Origen’s Hexapla, an early critical edition of the Greek Old Testament produced in the 3rd century CE. The Hexapla (literally ‘Sixfold’), presented six different versions of the Old Testament, side-by-side in columns: one in Hebrew letters, one in Greek letters, and four different translations. This allowed Christian scholars to study and interpret the Bible without needing to know Hebrew. The original manuscript of the Hexapla was held in the library at Caesarea in Palestine, from where this fragment was possibly copied, but no complete version of the work survived the Middle Ages.
T-S 12.182, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 15, over Origen’s Hexapla, Psalms 22; vellum; 7th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
The undertext on this leaf contains the oldest known copy of the Church Father Origen’s Hexapla, an early critical edition of the Greek Old Testament produced in the 3rd century CE. The Hexapla (literally ‘Sixfold’), presented six different versions of the Old Testament, side-by-side in columns: one in Hebrew letters, one in Greek letters, and four different translations. This allowed Christian scholars to study and interpret the Bible without needing to know Hebrew. The original manuscript of the Hexapla was held in the library at Caesarea in Palestine, from where this fragment was possibly copied, but no complete version of the work survived the Middle Ages.
T-S 12.182, Palimpsest of Yannai, liturgical poetry for Leviticus 15, over Origen’s Hexapla, Psalms 22; vellum; 7th c. (undertext); 9/10th c. (overtext); Palestine
Archimedes, who died in 211 or 212 BCE, was an influential mathematician whose writings inspired renewed interest during the Renaissance. Here we have his ‘Measurement of a Circle’, from an Italian manuscript of the 16th century. Many of his works do not survive, however, and the ‘Measurement’ is in fact only part of a larger treatise, now lost.
Gg.2.33, mathematical, astronomical and geographical miscellany; paper; first half of 16th c.; Italy
Archimedes, who died in 211 or 212 BCE, was an influential mathematician whose writings inspired renewed interest during the Renaissance. Here we have his ‘Measurement of a Circle’, from an Italian manuscript of the 16th century. Many of his works do not survive, however, and the ‘Measurement’ is in fact only part of a larger treatise, now lost.
Gg.2.33, mathematical, astronomical and geographical miscellany; paper; first half of 16th c.; Italy
Although this manuscript has been in Cambridge since 1785, it was only recognised as a palimpsest in 2002. It is a collection of various common religious and ethical works from the 14th century. However, look in the margins. You should just be able to just make out a very faded text. It was written in a Greek script of rounded capitals known as uncial, at least five hundred years earlier.
Nn.4.8, Palimpsest of a collection of homilies and writings of the Church Fathers; vellum; 9th c. (undertext); 13/14th c. (overtext); Byzantium
Although this manuscript has been in Cambridge since 1785, it was only recognised as a palimpsest in 2002. It is a collection of various common religious and ethical works from the 14th century. However, look in the margins. You should just be able to just make out a very faded text. It was written in a Greek script of rounded capitals known as uncial, at least five hundred years earlier.
Nn.4.8, Palimpsest of a collection of homilies and writings of the Church Fathers; vellum; 9th c. (undertext); 13/14th c. (overtext); Byzantium
Palimpsest of ‘The Massacre of the Forty Martyrs’
Even when paper is cheaply and widely available, we still find it being cannibalised. The archive of the 18th-century Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, shows him frequently using scraps of correspondence or printed material for his interminable calculations and compulsive note-taking.
Royal Greenwich Observatory Collection RGO 4/187.27, printed invitation from George Gilpin with Nevil Maskelyne’s calculations; paper; 18th c.; England
Even when paper is cheaply and widely available, we still find it being cannibalised. The archive of the 18th-century Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, shows him frequently using scraps of correspondence or printed material for his interminable calculations and compulsive note-taking.
Royal Greenwich Observatory Collection RGO 4/187.27, printed invitation from George Gilpin with Nevil Maskelyne’s calculations; paper; 18th c.; England
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S H17.6, liturgical poetry of Yannai on Deuteronomy 2, with children’s alphabetical writing practice; vellum; 10/11th c.; Palestine or Egypt
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S H17.6, liturgical poetry of Yannai on Deuteronomy 2, with children’s alphabetical writing practice; vellum; 10/11th c.; Palestine or Egypt
The Fāṭimid administration of Egypt in the 11th century ran on paper, with the circulation of numerous petitions and legal documents, often of impressive size. Many of them are now unexpectedly preserved in the Cairo Genizah Collection of Jewish manuscripts. When the Islamic chancery disposed of their unneeded documents, the paper was reused by the local Jewish community for their own correspondence and literary efforts. Here a petition to the Vizier has been reused to write poetry.
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S Ar.41.131, Petition to the vizier of the Fāṭimid caliph al-Ẓāfir, with Hebrew liturgical poetry written between the lines of Arabic; paper; 1149–1153 CE (petition); 12/13th c. (poetry); Cairo, Egypt
The Fāṭimid administration of Egypt in the 11th century ran on paper, with the circulation of numerous petitions and legal documents, often of impressive size. Many of them are now unexpectedly preserved in the Cairo Genizah Collection of Jewish manuscripts. When the Islamic chancery disposed of their unneeded documents, the paper was reused by the local Jewish community for their own correspondence and literary efforts. Here a petition to the Vizier has been reused to write poetry.
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S Ar.41.131, Petition to the vizier of the Fāṭimid caliph al-Ẓāfir, with Hebrew liturgical poetry written between the lines of Arabic; paper; 1149–1153 CE (petition); 12/13th c. (poetry); Cairo, Egypt
Jewish marriage deed, probably from the early 10th century. The deed has been turned 90 degrees and cut down to size before reuse.
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S K23.3, Palimpsest of Sefer ha-Razim over a ketubba; vellum; 10th c. (undertext); 10/11th c. (overtext); Egypt
or Palestine
Jewish marriage deed, probably from the early 10th century. The deed has been turned 90 degrees and cut down to size before reuse.
Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection T-S K23.3, Palimpsest of Sefer ha-Razim over a ketubba; vellum; 10th c. (undertext); 10/11th c. (overtext); Egypt
or Palestine
Westminster College WGL 9/5, Palimpsest of the Questions of Priest Mūsā (a Christian work in Arabic) over Ammonius, The Massacre of the Forty Martyrs of Raitho; The Story of Eulogios the Stone-Cutter; The Story of Anastasia in Christian Palestinian Aramaic; vellum; 7th c. (undertext); 10th c. (overtext); Palestine or Sinai Peninsula
Westminster College WGL 9/5, Palimpsest of the Questions of Priest Mūsā (a Christian work in Arabic) over Ammonius, The Massacre of the Forty Martyrs of Raitho; The Story of Eulogios the Stone-Cutter; The Story of Anastasia in Christian Palestinian Aramaic; vellum; 7th c. (undertext); 10th c. (overtext); Palestine or Sinai Peninsula
You can clearly see the difference between the two Greek scripts in this palimpsest. The leaf was turned sideways before reuse, and the single older leaf has become two in the new book.
The Greek uncial script of rounded capitals went out of fashion in medieval Byzantium, being replaced from the 10th century onwards by minuscule script, which allowed many more words on a page.
Add. 4489, Palimpsest of Gospel readings over a menologion (a liturgical work organised by the calendar); vellum; 9th c. (undertext); 14/15th c. (overtext); Byzantine Empire
You can clearly see the difference between the two Greek scripts in this palimpsest. The leaf was turned sideways before reuse, and the single older leaf has become two in the new book.
The Greek uncial script of rounded capitals went out of fashion in medieval Byzantium, being replaced from the 10th century onwards by minuscule script, which allowed many more words on a page.
Add. 4489, Palimpsest of Gospel readings over a menologion (a liturgical work organised by the calendar); vellum; 9th c. (undertext); 14/15th c. (overtext); Byzantine Empire