Codex Purpureus Beratinus

The codex was preserved for centuries in the church of Saint George at Berat and was described in the nineteenth century by Metropolitan Anthimos Alexoudes and then edited by Pierre Batiffol. Its custodians reportedly concealed it during wartime threats, a history central to Albanian memory but distinct from its ancient production. After later conservation in China, the leaves were divided into nine protective volumes and placed in a climate-controlled strongroom at Albania's Central State Archives in Tirana. Limited access during Albania's isolation meant that generations of textual scholarship depended heavily on Batiffol rather than repeated examination of the original.

Beratinus 1 is a two-column majuscule manuscript written on purple parchment, conventionally dated to the sixth century. Its fragmentary contents include Matthew, lacking the beginning and with lacunae, and Mark, lacking the end. Silver ink carries the main text, while the expensive support and formal uncials place the codex within elite late-antique Gospel production. Conservation divided the individual leaves among nine volumes for protection. Catalogues distinguish this sixth-century codex from Beratinus 2, the ninth-century golden Gospel manuscript also preserved in Albania; combining their contents, dates, or physical features would create a false composite object.

Palaeographic comparison assigns Beratinus 1 to the sixth century. Its place of manufacture remains uncertain: preservation at Berat from the medieval period does not prove Albanian production in late antiquity, and purple Gospel conventions circulated across the Byzantine world. Gregory-Aland 043 and the siglum Phi provide stable scholarly identifiers. Older textual classification placed it in Category V, broadly Byzantine, but that label summarizes sampled relationships and is not a substitute for full collation. Neither the luxury format nor its later church custody identifies a patron, liturgical setting, or exact date within the century.