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Manuscript

Codex Vercellensis

Also known as Codex a · Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolare MS a
translationslatinold-latingospels

Summary

The oldest surviving Gospels in Latin — from before Jerome, in the rough translation the Latin churches were already using.

  • Copied Fourth century AD (c. 350–400).
  • Written in latin on parchment.
  • Kept at Biblioteca Capitolare, Vercelli, Italy.
  • Contains Matthew, John, Luke.
  • Named in 6 of the places your Bible carries a footnote.
A page of Latin Gospel text in silver uncial letters on dark parchment
Codex Vercellensis at John 16:23–30, the Old Latin Gospels: 1896 plate, public domain

Sources (2)

  1. H. A. G. Houghton, The Latin New Testament (Oxford University Press, 2016) · accessed 2026-08-06The standard modern guide to the Latin manuscripts. Open access.
  2. Museo del Tesoro del Duomo e Archivio Capitolare di Vercelli · accessed 2026-08-06The holding institution.

What it is

Before Jerome produced the Vulgate in the 380s, Latin-speaking Christians already had Gospels, translated piecemeal and circulating in versions that varied from region to region. Scholars call the whole family the Old Latin.

This manuscript is the oldest substantial witness to it: the four Gospels in the order Matthew, John, Luke, Mark, written on thin parchment in silver ink.

Tradition at Vercelli credits it to Eusebius, the city's bishop, who died in 371 — which would place it before Jerome. The tradition cannot be confirmed, but the fourth-century date is not seriously disputed.

Manuscript details
Date
Fourth century AD (c. 350–400)
Language
Latin
Script
Uncial, in silver ink
Material
Parchment
Held at
Biblioteca Capitolare, Vercelli, Italy
Found at
Held at Vercelli Cathedral, traditionally since the fourth century
Contains
Matthew · John · Luke · Mark
Why it matters
It preserves what Latin Christians were reading before the Vulgate standardised them — which means its readings witness to Greek copies older than any complete Greek Bible that survives.

Where this witness is read

The words used here: uncial
uncial
a book hand of Greek capital letters, used for the oldest whole Bibles.

The KJV and the ASV translate the Hebrew Masoretic Text. Where Codex Vercellensis reads differently, the footnote in your Bible is pointing here.

Where the manuscripts differ, all 15 places →Every handwritten copy, shelved and in date order →