Among the most important sources for any exploration of the roles of texts in early and late antique Christianity are the material remains of early Christian books themselves. There are hundreds of papyrus and parchment fragments from identifiably Christian texts that can safely be dated to the period prior to the fifth century, and we have ostraka (texts written on pieces of pottery) containing scriptural texts. The papyrus and parchment fragments, some of which contain nearly complete books, provide a significant window onto how the form of Christian books intersected with their use. We can identify at least four different forms, which are not mutually exclusive: the ‘‘workaday’’ copies of the second and third centuries, the deluxe biblical codices of the fourth century and beyond, miniature books, and amulets. Each of those forms tells us something about the ways in which such works were produced, as well as about the use to which the books that contained them were put to.
Before turning to a brief description of book forms, it is worthwhile identifying the two features that have received most attention: the codex form and the use of the nomina sacra. It is curious that in the second century nearly all classical and Jewish literature continued to be copied on rolls. By contrast, nearly all the extant copies of identifiably Christian texts (both New Testament books and others) are codices, not rolls (Haines-Eitzen 2000: 95). Much attention has been given to this difference: some studies have argued that, because papyrus sheets used for codices could be written on both sides, codices were more economical to produce (Skeat 1982: 175); others have claimed that Christians used the codex form to distinguish their books from Jewish books (Roberts and Skeat 1987: 57); still others have pointed to the practical advantages of the codex form. That Christians came to adopt the codex form has suggested to some ‘‘a degree of organization, of conscious planning, and uniformity of practice’’ (Skeat 1969: 73), but that conclusion is not without problems, among them the fact that we have no secure evidence to support such a claim. Most striking is the shift in the distribution of codices in the fourth century, compared with rolls: ‘‘by the fifth century, at least if we may judge from the texts found in Egypt, the roll held barely 10% of the market; and by the sixth it had vanished for ever as a vehicle for literature’’ (Roberts and Skeat 1987: 75).
Another feature found in all extant copies of Christian texts is that of the nomina sacra:, abbreviations - or contractions, to be more precise - of divine or sacred words such as God, Lord, Jesus, Christ, and - later - mother, father, cross, son, and so forth. In their most common form, the first and last letters of each word are written and a suprascript line is placed on top. While there may indeed have been some sense of ‘‘creed’’ embedded in the choice of which words to abbreviate, what is striking about the appearance of these abbreviations is the universal use of them in early Christian manuscripts but the lack of uniformity in their precise form (Haines-Eitzen 2000: 91-4). Some scholars have indeed argued that the nomina sacra indicate ‘‘that the treatment of the sacred names had been laid down by the Church at Jerusalem, probably before ad 70’’ (Roberts 1979: 46); but more recent studies have emphasized that the form of these contractions is far from uniform or standardized prior to the fourth century. Hence, appeals to some sort of centralized and controlled efforts to standardize the copying of early Christian texts prior to the fourth century are misleading (Haines-Eitzen 2000: 92).
We can now turn briefly to some forms of early Christian books, and see what we can learn from the forms regarding the uses.
‘‘Workaday’’ copies
A combination of features found in most of the very earliest copies of Christian literature - those dated to the second or early third centuries - led Colin Roberts to identify them as ‘‘workaday’’ copies (Roberts 1979: 19). The handwriting lies somewhere between the careful and even bookhands normally employed for the copying of literature and the cursive and abbreviated hand used for the production of documents (contracts, receipts, petitions, and so forth). As with other literature, the script is continuous - in other words, there are very few, if any, breaks between words and very little marking even for paragraphs or sections. The quality of the papyrus used is neither particularly high nor particularly low. (The cost of papyrus in antiquity has been a subject of extensive scholarly debate: see Skeat 1995.) The use of ‘‘lectional aids,’’ such as breathing marks, in some of the earliest copies may suggest ‘‘that most of these texts were intended for church use, to be read in public’’ (Roberts 1979: 22); but it is problematic to push this argument too far, since ancient reading practices in general were for the most part public (Knox 1968; Schenkeveld 1992: 130). One of the earliest references to the reading of Scriptures in the context of Christian gatherings on Sundays is found in Justin Martyr: ‘‘And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits’’ (Apology 1. 67). The remark matches well the earliest papyrus remains, which stand in marked contrast with the deluxe copies that begin to appear in the fourth century.
Deluxe codices
It is in the fourth century that the great majuscule biblical manuscripts first appear - Codex Sinaiticus (fourth century), Codex Alexandrinus (fifth century), Codex Bezae (fifth century), and Codex Vaticanus (fourth century) being among the most important (Metzger 2005: 62-73). Much attention has been given to Eusebius’ record of Contantine’s request for fifty copies of Scripture: ‘‘I have thought it expedient to instruct your Prudence to order fifty copies of the sacred Scriptures, the provision and use of which you know to be most needful for the instruction of the church, to be written on prepared parchment in a legible manner, and in a convenient, portable form, by professional transcribers thoroughly practiced in their art’’ (Vit. Const. 36). Such a request may well indicate something of the resources available to Eusebius in fourth-century Caesarea. While we cannot ascertain whether the extant biblical majuscules from the fourth century were among those sent to Constantine, their features do suggest the use of highly trained scribes and a controlled process of correction. The handwriting is a clear, professional, and elegant bookhand; the quality of the materials used is particularly fine; and, where there are corrections, a number of different hands are employed. Moreover, the larger size of these copies when compared to the ‘‘workaday’’ copies may suggest more securely their use in liturgical services. The enormous shifts that take place in the fourth century certainly affected the production of early Christian texts as well as their use (Rapp 1991: 130).
Miniature books
There are extant some sixty miniature codices from antiquity, dated from the second to the seventh centuries. Eric Turner’s listing of miniatures - which he defined as codices that are less than ten centimeters wide - included ten papyrus miniatures and forty-four parchment miniatures (Turner 1977: 29-30). More can now be added. One of the most striking features of these miniatures, when compared with the ‘‘workaday’’ copies, is that the variation in handwriting - especially the range of handwriting types, qualities, and skill - is far less wide, perhaps indicating that the production of miniatures required greater skill on the part of the scribe. It is also significant that the miniatures can be broken down into the following categories: twenty examples from the Old Testament (nine of which are from the book of Psalms), nine miniatures from apocryphal texts (especially from the apocryphal gospels and Acts), fourteen examples from various New Testament books, miscellaneous Christian examples, and non-Christian texts. While this list may not seem instructive at first glance, the fact that the most numerous miniatures contain portions of the book of Psalms may indicate something of the use of miniature codices. We know from literary sources, for example, that the Psalms in particular were considered important for private reading for new initiates, for desert monks trying to avoid temptation, and for girls trying to keep vows of celibacy (Burton-Christie 1993: 111-14). Moreover, the existence in miniature form of the apocryphal Acts - which have been connected to pilgrimages - may suggest a somewhat different liturgical and ritualistic use (Davies 2001: 145). Finally, the existence of such miniatures - some of which measure a mere four centimeters square - could well provide us with material evidence for the practices condemned by John Chrysostom: ‘‘Do you not see how women and little children suspend Gospels from their necks as a powerful amulet, and carry them about in all places wherever they go’’ ( Hom. ad pop. Ant. 19. 14). This comment brings us to the last form of the early Christian book that I shall discuss here - namely, that of amulets inscribed with Christian Scriptures.
Amulets
Most of the extant amulets inscribed with Christian texts appear to date from the fourth century and later. As with the miniatures, a high percentage are inscribed with passages from the Psalms. The form of ancient amulets is quite varied, but we often find amulets inscribed on scraps of papyrus that are long and narrow. These were meant to be rolled up and then placed into a vial of some sort and hung around one’s neck. Strikingly, the Christian ostraka become more common after Constantine; and these scraps of inscribed pottery often contain amuletic texts (in addition to passages from Scripture, prayers, or liturgical texts) (Judge and Pickering 1970: 4). That Christians used amulets should not surprise us, for they were part of a culture that used a variety of ‘‘magical’’ practices to insure safety or protection, to receive communication from the gods about the future, to obtain a cure of some sort, and so forth. Indeed, ‘‘the magical use of Christian texts was a function of the sanctity, authority, and... power attributed to the ‘divine words’ they contained’’ (Gamble 1995: 238). This notion of a text’s ‘‘power’’ brings us back to the authority of the written word in early and late antique Christianity. Furthermore, the amulets take us beyond the binary of public or private use of texts, beyond even the binary of reading versus hearing early Christian texts: the use of miniature codices as amulets, as well as the use of amulets proper, suggest that in any discussion of early Christianity as a ‘‘textual community,’’ we must include the early Christian book as a material witness to books as objects of inherent power.
World History
