Codex

Codex (Lat., 'manuscript,' pl. CODICES: see CODE), the name applied to ancient manuscripts, as of the classics or of the Scriptures. Of the latter class the four great Codices are the Codex Sinaiticus, discovered in 1844 and 1859 in the monastery of Mount Sinai by Tischendorf, and the Codex Vaticanus, both of the 4th century; and the Codex Alexandrinus (see under ALEXANDRIA) and Codex Ephraemi of the 5th century. All four originally contained the Old and New Testament complete, but none are perfect copies, while the last, besides having great lacunæ, is almost illegible. See PALEOGRAPHY; BIBLE, Vol. II. p. 126.