The Use of Sense-Lines in Codex Laudianus

A Formal Analysis

Abstract

Some of the Greek-Latin manuscripts of the New Testament are written in sense-lines. By means of the division of texts into such short corresponding units, the activities of both copying and reading were facilitated, as this division helps to see what Greek and Latin words or phrases correspond to one another. This article examines the use of sense-lines in Codex Laudianus, a bilingual manuscript (sixth or seventh century) transmitting the Acts of the Apostles in two narrow columns to the page (Latin on the left, Greek on the right). The investigation of text segmentation patterns sheds light on the production and function of sense-lines in Codex Laudianus.