Muratorian fragment

The Muratorian Canon is one of the most important evidence of the early history of the canon of the New Testament. This directory from the 7th century is named after its discoverer, the archivist Muratori. He published it in 1740 as an example of a bad kind of medieval manuscripts.

Discovery

The Muratorian Fragment is preserved in a codex from the 8th century. Ludovico Antonio Muratori (1672-1750) found this manuscript in the library of the abbey founded by Columbanus of Bobbio, when he was in Milan operational historical research at the School of Dottori the Ambrosian Library.

Emergence time and author

Presumably it is a translation of about 170-200 AD in Rome written in bad Greek original Latin ( see for instance the clearly recognizable typo " apocalapse " in line 9, the mapped page ). This dating is based mainly on the fact that the Shepherd of Hermas ( between about 120-145 ) is referred emerged as " recently to our time." In addition, several rejected authors are credited in the end, who wrote before or around 150 AD ( Valentinus, Marcion, Basilides ), but not later authors such as Montanus, about whom there were arguments from about 170 AD.

Alternative assumptions concerning the formation of the directory date it to the second half of the 3rd century. or in the 4th century

The author does not go directly from the text. As the author suggests some Hippolytus of Rome or Victorinus of Poetovio, this due to textual or thematic parallels.

Directory of New Testament books

The beginning of the book with the notes on Matthew and Mark is not obtained. Of the canonical writings of the New Testament canon of Muratori mentions the Gospel of Luke " as the third Gospel " and the Gospel of John, the fourth, followed by the Acts of the Apostles. He is one of Paul's letters to, names three of the Catholic Epistles (Jude, 1st and 2nd Letter of John ) and the Book of Wisdom, which is now one of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament. Not included are out of the book of Hebrews, the Epistles of Peter, James, and the third letter of John.

In addition to the Apocalypse of John, the apocryphal Apocalypse of Peter is mentioned in relation to the latter with the addition quam quidam ex nostris legitimate in ecclesia nolunt (of which some do not want to read in the community).

The apocryphal Shepherd of Hermas may be read from ( legi eum quidem oportet ), but not publicly the community are recited ( publicare vero in ecclesia populo ). Other apocryphal writings are discarded: the letters of Paul to the Laodiceans and Alexandrians are rejected as forgeries ( Pauli nomine fictae ), as well as writings of Arsinous, Valentinus, Miltiades and a supposedly authored the book of Psalms for Marcion ( nihil in totum recipimus ).