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{{New Testament manuscript infobox| form = Uncial | number = '''02''' | image = CodeAlexandrinusFol65vExplLuke.jpg | isize = 220 | caption= Folio 65v from the Codex Alexandrinus contains the end of the [[Gospel of Luke]] with the decorative tailpiece found at the end of each book.| name = Alexandrinus | sign = A| text = [[New Testament]]| script = [[Greek language|Greek]] | found = | date = c. 440 | now at = [[British Library]]| cite = | size = 32 x 26cm | type = [[Byzantine text-type]] in Gospels, [[Alexandrian text-type|alexandrian]] in rest of NT | cat = III (in Gospels), I (in rest of NT) | hand = | note = close to [[Papyrus 74|<math>\mathfrak{P}</math>⁷⁴]] in Acts, and to [[Papyrus 47|<math>\mathfrak{P}</math>⁴⁷]] in Rev }} The '''Codex Alexandrinus''' (London, [[British Library]], MS Royal 1. D. V-VIII; [[Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland|Gregory-Aland]] no. '''A''' or '''02''', [[Biblical manuscript#von Soden|Soden]] δ 4) is a [[5th century]] [[manuscript]] of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the [[Septuagint]] and the [[New Testament]].<ref>Kurt Aland, and Barbara Aland, ''The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism'', transl. Erroll F. Rhodes, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1995, p. 107, 109.</ref> Along with the [[Codex Sinaiticus]] and the [[Codex Vaticanus]], it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. It derives its name from [[Alexandria]] where it resided for a number of years before being given to the British in the 17th century.

The text in the codex is written in two columns in [[uncial]] script, with between 46 and 52 lines per column and 20 to 25 letters per line. The beginning lines of each book are written in red ink and sections within the book are marked by a larger letter set into the margin. Words are written continuously in a large square uncial hand with no accents and only some breathings (possibly added by a later editor). Some letters have [[Coptic language|Coptic]] shapes (f.e. Δ i Π).

The codex contains a complete copy of the [[Septuagint|LXX]], including the [[deuterocanonical]] books [[3 Maccabees|3]] and [[4 Maccabees]], [[Psalm 151]] and the [[Book of Odes (Bible)|14 Odes]]. The "Epistle to Marcellinus" attributed to [[Saint St. Athanasius]] and the [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebian]] summary of the Psalms are inserted before the Book of Psalms. It also contains all of the books of the [[New Testament]], in addition to [[Epistles of Clement|1 Clement]] (lacking 57:7-63) and the homily known as [[Epistles of Clement|2 Clement]] (up to 12:5a).

There is an appendix marked in the index, which lists the [[Psalms of Solomon]] and probably contained more apocryphal/pseudepigraphical books, but it has been torn off and the pages containing these books have also been lost.

* Lacking: [[1 Samuel|1 Sam]] 12:18-14:9 (1 leaf); [[Psalms|Ps]] 49:19-79:10 (9 leaves); [[Gospel of Matthew|Matt]] 1:1-25:6 (26 leaves); [[Gospel of John|John]] 6:50-8:52 (2 leaves); [[2 Corinthians|2 Cor]] 4:13-12:6 (3 leaves)* Damaged: [[Genesis|Gen]] 14:14-17, 15:1-5, 15:16-19, 16:6-9 (lower portion of torn leaf lost)

There are 773 [[vellum]] folios (630 in the Old Testament and 143 in the New Testament). The manuscript measures 12.6 by 10.4 inches and most of the folios were originally gathered into [[quire]]s quires of 8 leaves each. In modern times it was rebound into quires of 6 leaves each. The only decorations in the manuscript are decorative tailpieces at the end of each book (see illustration) and it also shows a tendency to increase the size of the first letter of each sentence.

The manuscript's original provenance is unknown. A 13th or 14th century [[Arabic]] note on folio 1 reads: "Bound to the Patriarchal Cell in the Fortress of Alexandria. Whoever removes it thence shall be excommunicated and cut off. Written by Athanasius the humble."<ref name=McK>McKendrick, Scot "The Codex Alexandrinus: Or the dangers of being a named manuscript" in ''The Bible as a Book: The Transmission of the Greek text'' ed. S McKendrick & O. A. O'Sullivan; London: British Library & New Castle, 2003</ref> A 17th century [[Latin]] note on a flyleaf (from binding in a royal library) states that the manuscript was given to a patriarchate of Alexandria in [[1098]] (''donum dedit cubicuo Patriarchali anno 814 Mrtyrum''), although this may well be "merely an inaccurate attempt at deciphering the Arabic note by Athanasius."<ref>ibid. p8</ref> The codex was brought to [[Constantinople]] in [[1621]] by Cyril Lucar (first a patriarch of Alexandria, then later a patriarch of Constantinople) who then presented it to [[Charles I of England]] in [[1627]], through the hands of [[Thomas Roe]], the English ambassador at the court of the Sultan. It became a part of the [[Royal Library, Windsor|Royal Library]], [[British Museum]] and now the [[British Library]]. It was saved from the fire at Ashburnam House (the [[Cotton library]]) on [[October 23 October]] [[, 1731]], by the librarian, Dr Bentley.

[[Textual criticism|Textual critics]] have had a challenging task in classifying the Codex, with the exact relationship to other known texts and families still disputed. The [[gospel]]s are mainly of the [[Byzantine text-type]], but there are a number of [[Alexandrian text-type|Alexandrian]] features. Alexandrinus follows Alexandrian readings through the rest of the New Testament, however, the text goes from closely resembling [[Codex Sinaiticus]] in the [[Pauline epistles]], to more closely resembling the text of a number of [[Papyrus|papyri]] (<math>\mathfrak{P}</math>⁷⁴ for Acts, <math>\mathfrak{P}</math>⁴⁷ for [[Revelation of John|the Apocalypse]]). The gospels are cited as a "consistently cited witness of the third order" in the [[critical apparatus]] of the [[Novum Testamentum Graece]], while the rest of the New Testament is of the "first order." ==See also==* [[List of New Testament uncials]]