Minuscule 174


Minuscule 174 is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament Gospels, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum 174 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and ε109 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1052 CE.

Description

The manuscript is a codex, containing the text of the four Gospels on 132 thick parchment leaves, with three gaps. The text is written in two columns, 30 lines per page, in brown-red ink, with the capital letters in red. It has marginal notes.
The text is divided according to the chapters, whose numbers are given in the margin, and their titles at the top of the pages. There is also a division according to the Ammonian Sections, with references to the Eusebian Canons written below Ammonian Section numbers.
It contains tables of contents before each Gospel, lectionary markings in the margin for liturgical use, and subscriptions at the end of each of Gospel. The subscriptions contain the numbers of phrases and numbers of lines.

Text

The Greek text of the codex has been considered a representative of the Caesarean text-type. The text-types are groups of different New Testament manuscripts which share specific or generally related readings, which then differ from each other group, and thus the conflicting readings can separate out the groups. These are then used to determine the original text as published; there are three main groups with names: Alexandrian, Western, and Byzantine. The Caesarean text-type however has been contested by several text-critics, such as Kurt and Barbara Aland. The manuscript is a member of textual Family 13, also known as the Ferrar Group/Family. Kurt Aland did not place it in any Category among his New Testament manuscript text classification system.
According to the Claremont Profile Method, it represents textual group Λ in Luke 1, Luke 10, and Luke 20.

History

The manuscript was written by the monk Constantine "tabernis habitante", "cum praessent praefecturae Georgilas dux Calabriae". The codex, together with 173, 175, 176, and 177, was brought from the Library of the Basilian monks.
It was examined by textual scholars Giuseppe Bianchini, Andreas Birch, Johan M. A. Scholz, James Rendel Harris, and William Hugh Ferrar. Biblical scholar Caspar René Gregory saw it in 1886. It is currently housed at the Vatican Library, at Rome.