Document

• AuthorsAnonyme
• TitlePB 6
• CopyistsThere are two scribes in this manuscript. The first scribe copied all of the text and also made corrections to that text. Orsini calls this hand a mix between the Biblical Majuscule and the Alexandrian Majuscule (Orsini, “I papiri Bodmer,” 77). While Kasser agrees that some hands are a compromise between Biblical Majuscule and Alexandrian Majuscule, he labels P.Bodmer 6 as a graphic style borrowed from Greek script and not as an example of the mixed style (Kasser, “Paleography,” 176). The second hand is limited to corrections, and samples are too sporadic to date or label. It is distinguishable by the ink which is darker and thicker. Kasser suggests that it is possible that there was also a second corrector (Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer VI, xiv).
• Event Date Placelate 3rd cent. (Kasser, “Dialect P,” no reason given); 3rd to 4th cent. (Kasser, “Paleography,” no reason given); 4th to 5th cent. (Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer VI, by palaeography); 4th to 5th cent. (Orsini, by palaeography).
• Language(s)cop

Publication, distribution

Edition

Description material

• TypeManuscript
• Volume
  Dimensions: The width of the page is 12.0 cm. The height of the page is 14.6 cm. The ratio of the page (width/height) is 0.822. The writing is in a single column. The width of the written area is about 9.5 cm. The height of the written area is about 11.5 cm. There are 16-17 lines per page There are 64 extant folia.
  Quires: The codex is made up of nine quires. Seven of the quires are quaternions, the second is composed of five sheets and the last is composed of six sheets. The third and fourth quires are preserved intact as a bookblock. There are no quire signatures (Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer VI, viii-xi).
  Cover: No cover is extant. Kasser argues that the state of the codex, with its wear and tear and loose binding suggest that it had no firm cover other than some blank “guard pages” at the beginning and end of the codex (Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer VI, xi-xii).
  
• Binding
  Binding: The quires were bound using a link-stitch at two independent pairs of sewing stations. Kasser describes the thread as “coarse” (grossier).
• Physical MediumParchment, brown ink

Remarques

• General Notes
  Paratextual features: The scribe did not number the quires but did put a page number only on the first page of each new quire. The page numbers appear to be accurate, so it looks as if the scribe took the time to count each folio but only wrote the page number on the first page of each new quire. Other than the separation of sentences, this codex does not have any significant divisions.
  
  Decorations: None.
  
  Other holding institutions: None.
  
• Abstract
  Parchment codex containing Proverbs 1:1-21:4 in Coptic (dialect P).
  
  Description: The remains of this codex consist of 64 parchment folios containing Proverbs 1:1-21:4 in Coptic (dialect P). P.Bodmer 6 has been of great interest to scholars because of its rare dialect, for which it is the only witness. This dialect is sometimes called proto-Theban, or proto-Sahidic. Wolf-Peter Funk identifies this dialect as the dialect belonging the farthest South of all known dialects. The codex shows signs of having been partially destroyed by a rodent. There is no precise data for the acquisition of P.Bodmer 6. Kasser states that when P.Bodmer 6 was presented to him, its leaves were found between the wooden boards of another codex, P.Bodmer 19 (Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer VI, viii).
  
• Bibliography
  LDAB number 107761
  TM number: 107761
  Digital text: DCLP
  
  Editio princeps:
  Kasser, Rodolphe. Papyrus Bodmer VI: Livre des Proverbes. CSCO 194-195. Scriptores Coptici 27-28. Louvain: CSCO, 1960.
  
  Additional bibliography:
  Funk, Wolf-Peter. “Dialects Wanting Homes: A Numerical Approach to the Early Varieties of Coptic.” Pages 149-192 in Jacek Fisiak (ed.), Historical Dialectology: Regional and Social. Berlin; New York: De Gruyter, 1988.
  Kasser, Rodolphe. “Dialect P (or Proto-Theban).” Pages 8.82-8.87 in Aziz Suryal Atiya (ed.), The Coptic Encyclopedia, 8 vols. New York: MacMillan, 1991.
  Kasser, Rodolphe. “Paleography.” Pages 8.175-8.184 in Aziz Suryal Atiya (ed.), The Coptic Encyclopedia, 8 vols. New York: MacMillan, 1991.
  Orsini, Pasquale. “I papiri Bodmer: scritture e libri.” Adamantius 21 (2015): 60-78.
  

Identification

• ConstellationPapyri
• PID3764
• Shelf MarkPB 6