Capua

The Evangelion of Capua is a celebrated lectionary in Greek that was penned by a monk, Kyriakos the Wretched, in 991 in the town of Capua, southern Italy. Vat. gr. 2138 at the Vatican Library has just come online and you can now admire the colourful tempera patterns of its illumination.

The plaited headbands and initials chiefly served to help celebrants find their places when using this codex as a lectionary. It dates from the period when Greek was still the common language in Calabria and other parts of the Italian south. Pressed by Arab incursions and economic instability, a religious leader, Neilos of Rossano, relocated north by stages to Grottaferrata near Rome.

This is perhaps the most magnificent of a series of books made by the band of monks he trained. It is precisely datable to 991 during their stay in Capua, as the Met guide explains, and to the hand of Kyriakos, monk and presbyter. Why he was styled the Wretched I do not know, but he was on form while doing this work.

Here is my list of items brought online by the Digi Vat Lib digitization project in the week ending March 10, 2017:

1. Reg.lat.24
2. Reg.lat.81
3. Reg.lat.90
4. Reg.lat.210
5. Reg.lat.223
6. Reg.lat.276
7. Reg.lat.357
8. Reg.lat.364
9. Reg.lat.418
10. Urb.lat.388
11. Urb.lat.524
12. Urb.lat.865
13. Urb.lat.1073
14. Urb.lat.1078.pt.1
15. Urb.lat.1078.pt.2
16. Urb.lat.1078.pt.3
17. Urb.lat.1081
18. Urb.lat.1083
19. Urb.lat.1504
20. Urb.lat.1567
21. Urb.lat.1632
22. Urb.lat.1639
23. Urb.lat.1640
24. Urb.lat.1642
25. Urb.lat.1644
26. Urb.lat.1645
27. Urb.lat.1664
28. Urb.lat.1675
29. Urb.lat.1676
30. Urb.lat.1677
31. Urb.lat.1709
32. Urb.lat.1713
33. Urb.lat.1721
34. Urb.lat.1744
35. Urb.lat.1773
36. Vat.gr.2138, the Evangelion of Capua (above). Gregory-Aland number: l 562. See a detailed study of folio 29v by Bruce Metzger ...
37. Vat.lat.1276
38. Vat.lat.1476

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 108. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.