Minuscule 21

Minuscule 21 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 286 (Soden) is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament. It is written on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century. According to Scrivener it was written in the 10th century. It has marginalia and liturgical books.

Description
The codex contains the text of the four Gospels with some lacunae (Mark 13:28-14:33; Luke 1:10-58; 21:26-22:50) on 203 parchment leaves ($$). The text is written in two columns per page (size of column 16.3 by 4.6 cm), in black ink. The initial letters are in red or blue ink.

The text is divided according to the κεφαλαια (chapters), whose numbers are given at the margin, and their τιτλοι (titles) at the top of the pages. There is also another division according to the smaller Ammonian Sections (in Mark 237, the last numbered section in 16:15), but there are no references to the Eusebian Canons.

It contains αναγνωσεις (lessons), and pictures. The number of αναγνωσεις in Matthew is 129, in Mark 190, in Luke 309, in John 379. Liturgical books with hagiographies, Synaxaria and Menologion were added by later hand in the 15th century on the paper.

The text of John 5:4 is marked with an obelus; the text of the pericope John 7:53-8:11 is omitted.

Text
The Greek text of the codex is mixed. It contains some the Western and the Caesarean elements, but the Byzantine element is predominate. Aland placed it in Category V. According to the Claremont Profile Method it represents textual family Kx in Luke 1, Luke 10, and Luke 20.

In Matthew 27:9 it has variant ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ἰησαίου τοῦ προφήτου (fulfilled what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet). This variant is supported only by Latin Codex Rehdigeranus. Another manuscripts contain "Jeremiah" or omit the name of the prophet.

History
The manuscript probably was written in Calabria. At the end of Luke it is written κυριε σωσων με, τον αμαρτωλον ονησιμον (the Lord save me, a sinner Onesimus). Probably it was written by Onesimus.

It is dated by the INTF to the 12th century.

It was partially collated by Scholz (1794-1852). It was examined and described by Paulin Martin. C. R. Gregory saw the manuscript in 1885.

It was held in Fontainebleau.

It is currently housed at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gr. 68) at Paris.