Slide 4 of 22
Notes:
Evaluating the evidence is based on awareness of various factors that influence what we can assume about its date and character. These include:
1) The making of ancient books.
- A change from scroll (roll) to codex (book) form by about the 2nd century;
- A move from Papyrus to Vellum (skin) as the basic material by about the 4th century;
- A change from using “Uncial” (capital) letter style to “Minuscule” (small or cursive script) beginning about the 8th to 9th century.
(See the summary of these types of evidence and the symbols used to designate them in the critical apparatus in the textual criticism handout, p. 1, “Witnesses..Categories of Evidence)
Awareness of the type of manuscript material (all papyri are designated with the letter P with a number) or writing style (Uncials are designated with a capital letter or number preceded by 0; minuscules by a simple number) can assist in assessing the relative date of sources.
