The Development of the Catenae on the Gospels

Patton, Andrew J. ORCID: 0000-0002-3710-030X (2024). The Development of the Catenae on the Gospels. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis seeks to explain how the catenae on the Gospels developed up to the ninth century. Updated descriptions are provided here of five catena traditions on the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John which are called the Type A Basic Form, Type A Catena Form, Type B Basic Form, Type B Catena Form, and Type Z catenae. This research builds on the new catalogue of catena manuscripts of the Greek New Testament and the editio princeps of the catena in Codex Zacynthius. The Type A and Type B compilations developed in similar patterns of expansion from an anonymous compilation commentary into a more complex catena with attributed scholia. Examining the additional material in the Catena Forms led to the identification of another catena tradition, Type Z, as the source of the attributed scholia. The Basic Forms also share a connection to Type Z. All three compilations used as a source an early exegetical collection which is cited in the Type Z manuscripts with the enigmatic appellation ἐξ ἀνεπιγράφου (from an unattributed source). These findings chart the development of the catenae on the Gospels in new ways, proposing that the manuscripts in Type Z are a distinct catena type which were a project to interpret the Gospels as a collection. The catenae on Mark developed separately from the other catenae on the Gospels even though they are transmitted in the same manuscripts. The recensions of the Commentary on Mark are given updated descriptions and assessed in light of the development of the other catenae on the Gospels. These conclusions have led to a reclassification of the catenae on Luke in the Clavis Patrum Graecorum and provide the foundation for studying catenae as a genre of exegetical writing, the history of biblical interpretation, and the receptions or use of catenae in Byzantine Christianity.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):