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A: St. Gallen, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Codex Sangallensis 1394, One of the Two Surviving Ancient Codices Written Entirely in Square Capitals

Circa 450 CE
One of 12 surviving leaves of Codex Sangallensis 1394 written entirely in square capitals, circa 450 CE.

One of 12 surviving leaves of Codex Sangallensis 1394 written entirely in square capitals, circa 450 CE.

Codex Sangallensis 1394, containing pp. 7-48 of the Works of Virgil (Vergil) was written in Italy during the fifth century. With the Codex Augusteus of Virgil, this is one of only two surviving ancient codices writen entirely in Square capitals, a laborious and time-consuming style of writing, probably avoided by most scribes except for display headings. The twelve leaves of the Codex Sangallensis 1394 that survive are badly damaged, and most are severely cropped.

In August 2014 a digital facsimile was available from the St. Gallen Stiftbibliothek at this link.

Stan Knight, Historical Scripts from Classical Times to the Renaissance (2009) B4 (pp. 28-29).

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