Lectionary 226

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Lectionary 226, designated by siglum ℓ 226 in the Gregory-Aland numbering, is a 14th‑century Greek manuscript of the New Testament on parchment. It is an Evangelistarium, containing saints’ day lessons from the Gospels of John, Matthew, and Luke. The codex comprises about 220 leaves, sized roughly 22 by 17.6 cm, with a lacuna at the beginning. The text is written in Greek minuscule, one column per page, 21 lines per page, with red accents and breathings. The initials are decorated, with some zoomorphic (birds, fishes) and anthropomorphic (hands) motifs. Notable illustrations appear on folios 25 recto, 96 verso, and 114 verso. The manuscript also includes a Menologion, though many leaves are missing. Fifteen leaves are palimpsests, containing older text in two columns from Genesis, Proverbs, and Isaiah, written over 24–27 lines per page; the remaining leaves have one column per page.

Scholars date it to the 14th century; Scrivener and Gregory assigned the same date, and the INTF agrees. The scribe’s name is unknown. The early history is unclear until 1864, when it appeared with a dealer in Janina (Epirus). It was purchased for £100 by a representative of Baroness Burdett-Coutts, along with many other Greek manuscripts, and brought to England in 1870–1871. It was donated to Sir Roger Cholmely’s School and kept at Highgate, London. It was catalogued as 249 by Scrivener and 226 by Gregory; Gregory examined it in 1883. In 1922 it was acquired by the University of Michigan, where it is now housed as University of Michigan, Ms. 28, in Ann Arbor. The manuscript is occasionally cited in critical editions of the Greek New Testament, such as UBS3.