Abstract
In many ways, this volume is one for the specialist. It provides a comprehensive listing of commentary manuscripts which contain New Testament texts. Parpulov describes the parameters of the volume in the following manner.
The present volume deals with commentaries which were written in Greek, which were copied by hand between ca. 800 and ca. 1600 CE, and which consist of passages excerpted from the works of John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Origen Theodoret, Photius and other authoritative theologians. Since the thirteenth century, this kind of composite text has been conventionally called catena, i.e. ‘chain’ (where individual excerpts form the ‘chain-links). (p. 1)
This printed catalogue lists about four hundred catena manuscripts and as Parpulov notes about 65% of these derive from the tenth and eleventh centuries.
In the catalogue, Parpulov provides information for each manuscript, but sensible groups together manuscripts that appear to have a genetic relationship thereby avoiding duplication of information. For instance, in the first group he describes examples of ‘full-page commentary; NT text abridged’ (pp. 6-37). These are divided into fifteen groups, with some further division into subgroups. In all the volume presents forty-four groups, although some of the later groups only have a few examples.
This is an expensive book, but the good news is that it has been published in an Open Access format, which means the complete pdf can be consulted (http://pure-oai.bham.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/132638459/2021_Parpulov_Catalogue.pdf). Furthermore, there is also a searchable electronic database available through the ITSEE platform (http://purl.org/itsee/catena-catalogue). This means that the rich information contained in this volume is widely available without cost. As such this book is a fine tool and resource that will facilitate further research on catena manuscripts.