Wyman Fragment (Uncial 0220)

Author(s)

Paul CoxFollow

Presentation Type

Poster

Keywords

Romans, textual criticism, New Testament manuscripts, Wyman, Uncial 0220.

Department

Religion

Major

Religion

Abstract

The Wyman Fragment—or Uncial 0220—constitutes the oldest known copy of Romans 4:23-5:3 (observe) and 5:8-13 (reverse), dating from within the third century C.E. It displays several characteristics of fragments from this period including the practice of abbreviating important terms—like divine names—and the practice of abbreviating words or a series of letters through the use of ligatures. While invaluable for its contribution to the textual reconstruction of Romans, the Wyman Fragment also illustrates the challenges researches face when studying ancient manuscript fragments. Natural phenomena have weathered the ink of the letters on the reverse side removing them completely or making them illegible to the human eye. Other letters have become blotched over time. This project has made use of contemporary photography and modern software techniques to identify damaged or obscured letters in an attempt to reconstruct as accurately as possible the text of the fragment. It will highlight scribal practices displayed in the Wyman Fragment and show how contemporary technology allows for the identification or reconstruction of previously unidentifiable letters. It aims to offer a broad overview of the practice of textual criticism today using the Wyman Fragment as a case-study.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Ronald Cox & Dr. Randall Chesnutt

Funding Source or Research Program

Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative

Location

Waves Cafeteria

Start Date

29-3-2019 2:00 PM

End Date

29-3-2019 3:00 PM

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Mar 29th, 2:00 PM Mar 29th, 3:00 PM

Wyman Fragment (Uncial 0220)

Waves Cafeteria

The Wyman Fragment—or Uncial 0220—constitutes the oldest known copy of Romans 4:23-5:3 (observe) and 5:8-13 (reverse), dating from within the third century C.E. It displays several characteristics of fragments from this period including the practice of abbreviating important terms—like divine names—and the practice of abbreviating words or a series of letters through the use of ligatures. While invaluable for its contribution to the textual reconstruction of Romans, the Wyman Fragment also illustrates the challenges researches face when studying ancient manuscript fragments. Natural phenomena have weathered the ink of the letters on the reverse side removing them completely or making them illegible to the human eye. Other letters have become blotched over time. This project has made use of contemporary photography and modern software techniques to identify damaged or obscured letters in an attempt to reconstruct as accurately as possible the text of the fragment. It will highlight scribal practices displayed in the Wyman Fragment and show how contemporary technology allows for the identification or reconstruction of previously unidentifiable letters. It aims to offer a broad overview of the practice of textual criticism today using the Wyman Fragment as a case-study.