The Vaticanus: Codex Vaticanus (B) (c. 325–350)
It is perhaps the oldest uncial on parchment or vellum (c. 325–350), and one of the most important witnesses to the text of the New Testament. This manuscript copy of the whole Bible was probably written by the middle of the fourth century; however, it was not known to textual scholars until after 1475, when it was catalogued in the Vatican Library. It includes most of the LXX version of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament in Greek.
This codex was written in small and delicate uncials on fine vellum. It has three columns of forty-two lines per page, except for the Old Testament poetical books, which have only two columns. It contains 759 leaves measuring 10 by 10 1/2 inches: 617 in the Old Testament, and 142 in the New. Codex Vaticanus is a possession of the Roman Catholic church, and is housed in the Vatican Library. This manuscript is generally regarded as an excellent example of the Alexandrian text-type.
