§ 1. General Notice. Some apology is perhaps needed for the length of time which has elapsed between the first advertisement of this book and its actual appearance. But though I went to Munich as long ago as September, 1884, to revise the proof-sheets of the manuscript with the manuscript itself, the large amount of labour which fell to my share as joint editor of the second number of 'Old-Latin Biblical Texts,' and other pressing duties, have prevented me from working continuously at the Munich MS. Even now my Introduction is not so complete as I could wish, though I trust that the relation of the text to that of other Old-Latin MSS. may receive fuller treatment in time to come at the hands of Dr. Sanday. I have however spared no effort to make the printed text a representation as correct as possible of the written one.

I was able to work for a little over four weeks at Munich in revising the proof-sheets and examining the MS., and my labours were much lightened by the kind assistance of Dr. Laubmann, the Director of the Hof-Bibliothek, and Dr. Wilhelm Meyer, then the Secretary, but now Professor at Göttingen: to them I owe my thanks for their courtesy in answering my questions, and in furnishing me with information, both while I was at Munich, and also afterwards. Especially must I thank Dr. Meyer for his advice, and for the assistance of his experience in deciding difficult points in the MS., and notably in the lectionary notes.

§ 2. Title and Number. The Manuscript is now numbered Lat. 6224 in the Hof-Bibliothek at Munich, whither it was transferred in 1802 with the rest of the Monastic Library of Freising, in which it was numbered 24. Since the time of Tischendorf it has been cited as q. It is thus

1 These were printed by the Delegates of the Clarendon Press from Tischendorf's transcript of the MS., which had been bought by them with other similar material from Tischendorf's widow in Feb. 1883.

described in the printed Catalogue of the Munich Royal Library (vol. 1. part iii. Codices Latini, Munich, 1873):

'6224 (Fris. 24), membr. in 4to. s. vii. 251 fol. literis semiuncialibus exaratus inter Cimelia II. 13.

Quatuor euangelia secundum Matheum, Johannem, Lukan, Markum. Ordo foliorum culpa ligatoris septem locis turbatus est, atque ita ut finis legatur in fol. 202; simul aliquot inde lacunae notantur. Conclusio haec est fol. 202 b, sinistrorsum ab imagine crucis in medio folio depictae; finit liber sancti euangelii dicta adque facta domini nostri Ihi Christi amen: qui legis intellige quia domini sunt uerba ista sancta et ora pro scriptore sic mereas corona a saluatore et uitam cum sanctis eius cultores et legentes mementote mei peccatoris. Dextrorsum : quia tribus digitis scribitur et totus membrus laborat labor quidem modicum gratia autem magna a creatori pax legentibus pax audientibus pax et caritas et gaudium spiritui Sancto uientibus in Christo Amen.

In centro crucis apicem ornat imago uiri, cum in brachiis sedeant columbae, legitur

Ego ualerianus scripsi

Manus cursiua sat antiqua et difficilis lectu aliquot in margine adscripsit adnotationes quae spectant lectiones euangeliorum solemnes.'

§ 3. External Description, date and place of origin. The book thus described is a fairly stout volume, with its old binding of oak boards and yellow worm-eaten leathern back still remaining. It is written throughout in bold but rather squat semi-uncial characters apparently of the 7th century1, though Tischendorf on the one hand assigns it to the sixth, and Silvestre 2 on the other describes it as 'une écriture onciale caroline.' But Tischendorf was known to be rather prone towards dating his MSS. early, and it is at the same time difficult to discover any traces of a Caroline character in q. The writing seems to be an ordinary half-uncial, such as prevailed in the 7th century, the century which witnessed the breaking up of the uncial hand, and which therefore produced

1N. T. editio octava critica maior (Leipzig, 1869) p. xv. '9 Monacensis VI. saeculi.'

2

Paléographie universelle; Quatrième Partie, No. 158. 'On reconnaît ici une mauvaise écriture onciale caroline, à plein trait, à demitranchée, massive, indistinct, un peu tortue, parfois pointue à ses extrémités inférieures, très-inégale, plusieurs lettres, telles que LUIAT approchant de la minuscule'; but though, below, Silvestre again notices the spelling of the MS., 'l'orthographie n'est pas encore correcte comme au temps du Charlemagne,' he strangely enough heads the specimen which he gives, 'VIIe siècle Latin, Allemand.'