Κεφαλαια and Τιτλοι from Codex Alexandrinus and minuscule 669

On this page we will examine the use of Κεφαλαια and Τιτλοι as well as the Eusebian Canon. For the purpose of illustration we will be seeing examples from A (02) Alexandrinus and minuscule 669. The examination will progress step by step with clear examples along the way. The use of Κεφαλαια and Τιτλοι supposedly dates back to Tatian but the fact that the first time we see them is in Codex A in the fifth century this is unlikely. It should also be noted that Sinaiticus and Vaticanus do not use this system.   We shall be using the Gospel of Mark as our example. We will start with the Κεφαλαια and Τιτλοι page immediately preceeding the Gospel of Mark.

Below we see the page immediately preceeding the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. The top left column shows the ending of the Gospel of Matthew. This is followed by some decorative markings, the words ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝΚΑΤΑΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ another decorative marking, the words ΤΟΥΚΑΤΑΜΑΡΚΟΝΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΥΑΙΠΕΡΙΟΧΑΙ and then the list of κεφαλαια and τιτλοι.   The κεφαλαια are the list of numbers preceeding each of the τιτλοι. They are in standard Greek numerals. Do not get tripped up by the use of the digamma. A good overview of Greek numerals can be found here. The last entry is marked with μη which corresponds to the number forty-eight.   For our example, we will be taking a look at the fourth entry named ΠΕΡΙΤΟΥΛΕΠΡΟΥ and marked with a delta, i.e. the number four.

Here we have a close-up of that particular section. Notice that the third entry runs out of space. It uses a small horizontal line over the last letter (omega), which indicates a letter Ν and continues on the next line. This means that the fourth entry actually starts on the fifth line. Also, notice that almost all the τιτλοι start with the word ΠΕΡΙ. Since they didn't use page numbers it will take a little more effort to find the entry than we are used to. In this case we need to scan through the codex and look for our τιτλος along the tops of the pages. In the case of Codex A many have, unfortunately, been damaged. We can find our entry, though.

Here is what it looks like. This indicates that we are on the correct page. Now we need to scan down and find the specific marker. We may have more than one marker per page, so it might be necessary to inspect several places before we find the one we are interested in.

And this is what it looks like. It is the one that looks like a "7" with an underscore. Some think it looks like the letter "Z" in other places. This mark will look different from manuscript to manuscript. This is the mark from Codex A. Later we will see a mark from minuscule 669. Notice that the section we are looking for does not start at the beginning of the line. In this case our scribe has indicated where we are to start by inscribing a small horizontal line over the first letter of the first word. If you look to the right of the mark you will see a the line of the word ΚΑΙ just after the space.

This is a similar example from minuscule 669 from the 10th century. In this case I don't have a photograph of the fourth entry, just the last two. The fourth would look the same as these, so they can serve as an example. Notice that it has the same number of entries as Codex A.

Here is the corresponding τιτλος for our leper entry. Notice that it is marked with the number delta. Again, seeing this entry means that we are on the correct page. Now, we will look for the mark.

It's big and red, hard to miss. Notice that there are no Eusebian Canon (more later). Also notice that the scribe did not indicate where on the line we should start. There is, however, a convenient space which is plenty of indication.