British Codex

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The manuscripts called the British Codex (also Codex Britannicus) by Erasmus is most probably not Minuscule 61 Codex Montfortianus as is popularly thought. Erasmus quoted it in his Annotaions:

Ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, πατήρ, λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα, καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσιν. Καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ, πνεῦμα, ὕδωρ, καὶ αἷμα. Εἰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, (Codex Britannicus)

Context:

Veruntamen, ne quid dissimulem, repertus est apud Anglos græcus codex vnus, in quo habetur quod in vulgatis deest. Scriptum est enim hunc ad modum: Ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, πατήρ, λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα, καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσιν. Καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ, πνεῦμα, ὕδωρ, καὶ αἷμα. Εἰ2 τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων etc. Quanquam haud scio an casu factum sit, vt hoc loco non repetatur quod est in græcis nostris: καὶ οἱ τρεῖς εἰς τὸ ἕν εἰσιν. Ex hoc igitur codice Britannico reposuimus quod in nostris dicebatur deesse, ne cui sit ansa calumniandi.

Translated as:

However—lest I should keep anything hidden—there has been found in England one single Greek manuscript in which occurs what is lacking in the commonly-accepted texts. It is written as follows: Ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, πατήρ, λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα, καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσιν. Καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ, πνεῦμα, ὕδωρ, καὶ αἷμα. Εἰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, etc, although I am not sure if it is by accident that the phrase “and these three are unto one,” which is found in our Greek manuscripts, is not repeated at this point [i.e. in verse 8]. I therefore restored from this British codex what was said to be lacking in our editions, lest anyone should have any handle to blame me unjustly.[1]

Comparison with Montfortianus

Some people in the past such as Thomas Burgess (1756 – 19 February 1837) have disputed the identification of Erasmus' "Codex Britannicus" as the same manuscript as the Codex Montfortianus, instead proposing that it is a now lost Greek manuscript.

Ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, πατήρ, λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα ----, καὶ οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς ἕν εἰσιν. Καὶ τρεῖς εἰσιν -- μαρτυροῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ, πνεῦμα, ὕδωρ, καὶ αἷμα. Εἰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, (Codex Britannicus)

ὁτϊ τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτϋροῦντ·¨ ἐν τῶ ουνω, πηρ, λογος, καί πνα αγῖον, καί οὗτοι οἱ τρεῖς εν εισϊ. καί τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτϋροῦντ·¨ ἐν τῃ γῃ, πνα, ὑδωρ, καί αιμα. (Codex Montfortianus)[2]

Codex Montfortianus and Codex Britannicus compared:

Montfortianus	Britannicus
ὁτϊ	Ὅτι
τρεῖς	τρεῖς
εἰσιν	εἰσιν
οἱ	οἱ
μαρτϋροῦντ·¨	μαρτυροῦντες
ἐν	ἐν
τῶ	τῷ
ουνω,	οὐρανῷ,
πηρ	πατήρ
λογος,	λόγος
καί	καὶ
πνα	πνεῦμα,
αγῖον,
καί	καὶ
οὗτοι	οὗτοι
οἱ	οἱ
τρεῖς	τρεῖς
εν	ἕν
εισϊ.	εἰσιν.
καί	Καὶ
τρεῖς	τρεῖς
εἰσιν	εἰσιν
οἱ
μαρτϋροῦντ·¨	μαρτυροῦντες
ἐν	ἐν
τῃ	τῇ
γῃ,	γῇ,
πνα,	πνεῦμα,
ὑδωρ,	ὕδωρ,
καί	καὶ
αιμα.	αἷμα.
εἰ	Εἰ
τὴν	τὴν
μαρτϋρίαν	μαρτυρίαν
τῶν	τῶν
ἀνων	ἀνθρώπων,

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