As the Martin Luther University announced on Thursday in Halle, researchers from theology and computer science are working together on the digitization and analysis of the oldest Latin manuscripts of the Old Testament. The German Research Foundation is funding the project with around 815,000 euros.
Important collections of manuscripts
The manuscripts will then be made accessible in a virtual manuscript room. There are also plans to present the results in a traveling exhibition. Specifically, it concerns the Codices Vercellensis (VL3) and Sangallensis 1395.
These are important collections of manuscripts that contain translations of the Greek New Testament into Latin, said theologian Annette Weissenrieder from Martin Luther University. She leads the project together with Hubert Mara from the Free University of Berlin.
The Codex Vercellensis is therefore the oldest surviving manuscript of Old Latin Bible translations from the middle of the 4th century. According to information, the Codex Sangallensis dates from the late 5th century and is one of the most important texts of the so-called Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible.
