[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 2 columns of 23-24 lines; ruled for 23-25 lines with a dry point to the hair side to accommodate both the text and the commentary.

Script: There are two scribes represented. Scribe I (fol. 1-64v) writes with a roundish, neat, irregular flowing cursive, pendant, with a tendency to accent the down strokes, with a reed nib using a dark brown ink. Scribe II (fol. 165r-181) is less practiced than Scribe I; he writes in a largish regular if not particularly beautiful pendant hand with a soft brown ink. In both sections, headings, accents and punctuation are in a red ink.

Decoration: The ornamentation consists of the initial letters: Scribe I uses a rather smallish knotted, floriated, and foliated form outlined in red, filled with a dark blue pigment; Scribe II has used only the reddish orange for initials. He has reinked in red some of the pages written by Scribe I. Ornamental bar headpiece, checkered in two hues of blue, outlined in red and gilt (fol. 1).

Title cataloged from existing description.

New Testament Lectionary with Menaion.

Binding: Originally a Byzantine binding of dark brown morocco over heavy wooden boards (the wood is not identifiable because of the pastedowns) with plain edges which have been tooled with a simple narrow fillet four or five times. The volume was rebacked with poor quality calf preserving the original (Byzantine) tooled covers. Both upper and lower covers were decorated in the same manner: an untooled wide frame, mitred at the corners, edged by triple-fillet tool around the edges, encloses an inner frame composed of multiple impressions of heart-shaped rinceau pattern joined at the points in the center. The center panel formed by this frame is decorated by diagonals in triple fillets and one line through the center; the junctures are marked by small lozenges with fleur-de-lis and the opposing central triangular panels at the head and tail are centered by a small round stamp with the form of some "fantastic" bird.