Uncial 0269: Mark’s Account of Herod beneath a Menaion
Uncial 0269: Mark’s Account of Herod beneath a Menaion is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0269, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
- Artifact date
- Ninth century AD
- Findspot
- The biblical undertext was identified in a reused leaf now at the British Library; its earlier monastic route is not fully documented
- Current location
- British Library, London, Add. 31919, fol. 23
What archaeologists can actually examine
one parchment leaf, preserving Mark 6:14–20, covering Herod’s fear, John the Baptist’s arrest, and Herodias’s hostility. The surviving writing surface uses one palimpsest leaf about 33 by 25 centimeters with two columns of twenty-five Greek majuscule lines beneath a later menaion.
A controlled physical identity
GA 0269 and British Library, London, Add. 31919, fol. 23 identify this witness independently of broad manuscript names or subject matter.
The writing surface is evidence
one parchment leaf, preserving Mark 6:14–20, covering Herod’s fear, John the Baptist’s arrest, and Herodias’s hostility. The surviving writing surface uses one palimpsest leaf about 33 by 25 centimeters with two columns of twenty-five Greek majuscule lines beneath a later menaion.
Directly preserved Scripture
The extant leaves physically preserve Mark 6:14–20; the connection is textual and material rather than merely thematic.
The limits remain visible
This is a ninth century ad witness rather than an autograph or an object from the events narrated in Mark 6:14–20. Only one leaf survives, the stated date is palaeographic, and the original copying center and early ownership are not fully documented. Broken margins, erased writing, later reuse, or lacunae must not be silently reconstructed as surviving text.
Follow the evidence from discovery to debate
Move through the find in a deliberate order: establish its provenance, examine the surviving object, place it in time, and then weigh the scholarly interpretation.
How the find came to light
The biblical undertext was identified in a reused leaf now at the British Library; its earlier monastic route is not fully documented. The Gregory–Aland number GA 0269 and the repository designation British Library, London, Add. 31919, fol. 23 control identity independently of generic labels such as “uncial fragment.” Modern custody does not establish ancient provenance, so this dossier separates find or collection history, likely copying context, publication, and present location. The record was also checked against the live Watchman 33 inventory by GA number, shelfmark, contents, and source URLs before selection. Digital photographs extend access, but the parchment itself remains the archaeological object.
What you are looking at
one parchment leaf, preserving Mark 6:14–20, covering Herod’s fear, John the Baptist’s arrest, and Herodias’s hostility. The surviving writing surface uses one palimpsest leaf about 33 by 25 centimeters with two columns of twenty-five Greek majuscule lines beneath a later menaion. Material, ruling, lineation, ink, letter formation, corrections, marginal systems, bilingual writing, and reuse are evidence alongside the copied words. The selected image depicts GA 0269 itself, not a generic manuscript. It represents one photographed side or leaf and must not be mistaken for every missing page of the original codex.
Where it belongs in history
The display date “Ninth century AD” follows current registry and palaeographic assessment. Letter forms, ruling, page design, material, ink, and comparison with related hands can support a range, but they do not supply an exact calendar year. This manuscript directly preserves Mark 6:14–20 in the period when it was copied. That is evidence for the transmission and use of those texts, not proof that the physical leaf was present when the narrated events occurred.
Consensus, questions, and debate
GA 0269 contributes a physically controlled witness to the textual history of Mark. Its readings are evaluated passage by passage against other Greek witnesses, early translations, patristic citations, scribal corrections, and the history of the codex. A text-type or Aland-category label summarizes patterns; it does not decide every reading or rank the manuscript’s theological value. The INTF registry controls the international manuscript identity, CSNTM provides an independent manuscript catalog and images where available, and published bibliography locates editions and collations.
The biblical record beside the artifact
The surviving parchment directly preserves Mark 6:14–20. It materially witnesses the copying, reading, organization, and transmission of these biblical passages in ninth century ad.
Mark 6:14–20
14And king Herod heard [of him]; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
15Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
16But when Herod heard [thereof], he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
17For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her.
18For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.
19Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
20For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
A responsible historical conclusion
Uncial 0269: Mark’s Account of Herod beneath a Menaion makes textual transmission visible at human scale. Its surviving surface shows how a biblical book was copied, formatted, corrected, translated, read, erased, or preserved. The connected Bible pages let readers move from the object to the precise passages it contains, while stable registry and repository identifiers make the claims independently checkable. Its fragmentary condition is instructive rather than embarrassing: confidence rests on comparing bounded evidence, not on asking one leaf to carry more history than it preserves.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
NT.VMR manuscript workspace: GA 0269
University of Münster INTFOfficial registry workspace used to confirm the identity, contents, date, and current repository of GA 0269.
CSNTM catalog: GA 0269
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsIndependent manuscript catalog used to check the physical description, shelfmark, contents, and available digital images of GA 0269.
A Bibliography of Greek New Testament Manuscripts
Cambridge University PressScholarly bibliographic framework for tracing published catalogs, facsimiles, collations, and textual studies of registered Greek New Testament manuscripts.
Uncial 0269: Mark’s Account of Herod beneath a Menaion image and rights record
Wikimedia CommonsSource page for the authentic GA 0269 manuscript image used here; the historical manuscript image is marked public domain.
Uncial 0269 with the Gospel undertext beneath a later liturgical text · Historical manuscript image via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
View the image source and license