Vulgata Sixtina

The Vulgata Sixtina was a Latin edition of the Bible from 1590, prepared on the orders of Pope Sixtus V. It was the first edition of the Latin Vulgate authorised by a pope, but its official recognition was short-lived.

Three committees

Vulgata Sixtina

On 8 April 1546 the Council of Trent required that the Vulgate be printed quam emendatissime (fewest possible faults). There was no authoritative edition at that time.

The first committee was appointed by Pope Pius IV in 1561 to undertake the work, but the committee worked slowly and ineffectively. The second committee was appointed by Pope Pius V in 1569 (Congregatio pro emendatione Bibliorum), with four Cardinals Marcus Antonius, Sirleto, Madrutius, and Antonio Carafa. The committee was resolved under the Pope Gregory XIII.

The Pope Sixtus V had appointed the 3rd committee of scholars to continue the work. The committee was under the presidency of Cardinal Carafa. The work was prepared on the basis of the edition of Robertus Stephanus from Louvain (1583) and good manuscripts were used as authorities, including notably Codex Amiatinus. Carafa presented the result of their work, in the beginning of 1589, but Sixtus rejected their work and in 18 months prepared another text he corrected to agree with the Greek and Hebrew, He used Codex Carafianus, but it was hurried into print and suffered from many printing errors, as well as serious problems reflecting the inability of the headstrong Sixtus as a Bible scholar. After his death Robert Bellarmine warned that his work was an embarrassment, and a great danger to the church. In May 1590 the completed work was issued from the press in three volumes.

The full title of edition was: Biblica Sacra Vulgatae editionnis, ad Concilii Tridenti praescriptum emendata et a Sixto V P. M. recognita et approbata. The edition was preceded by the Bull Aeternus Ille (1 March 1590), in which the Pope declared the authenticity of the new Bible, the Vulgata Sixtina. This edition was short-lived, because of its textual inaccuracy.

On 27 August Sixtus V died suddenly, and on 5 September the college of Cardinals stopped all further sales, bought and destroyed as many copies as possible. Faced with about six thousand on matters of detail, and a hundred that were important, and saving the honour of Sixtus V, Bellarmine undertook the preface, and ascribed all the imperfections of his Vulgate to being errors of the press. Some believe that the attack against the edition had been instigated by the Jesuits, whom Sixtus had offended by putting one of Bellarmine's books on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

Vulgata Sixtina is cited only in some present critical editions and it is designated by siglum vg^s.

Some differences to the Louvain edition

In Book of Genesis 40-50 43 corrections were made (on the basis of Codex Carafianus):

40,8 – nunquam ] numquam
40,14 – tibi bene ] bene tibi
41,13 – quicquid ] quidquid
41,19 – nunquam ] numquam
41,20 – pecoribus ] prioribus
41,39 – nunquid ] numquid
41,55 – quicquid ] quidquid
42,4 – quicquam ] quidquam
42,11 – quicquam ] quidquam
42,13 – at illi dixerunt ] at illi
42,22 – nunquid ] numquid
42,38 – adversitatis ] adversi
43,3 – denuntiavit ] denunciavit
43,5 – denuntiavit ] denunciavit
43,7 – nunquid ] numquid
43,19 – dispensatorem ] dispensatorem domus
43,30 – lachrymae ] lacrymae
44,4 – ait surge ] surge
44,29 – maerore ]moerore
45,13 – nuntiate ] nunciate
45,20 – dimittatis ] demittatis
45,20 – auicquam ] quidquam
45,23 – tantundem ] tantumdem
45,23 – addens eis ] addens et
45,26 – nuntiaverunt ] nunciaverunt
46,10 – Chananitidis ] Chanaanitidis
46,10 – Cahath ] Caath
46,13 – Simeron ] Semron
46,16 – Sephon ] Sephion
46,16 – Aggi ] Haggi
46,16 – et Esebon et Suni ] et Suni et Esebon
46,17 – Jamma ] Jamme
46,22 – quatuordecim ] quattuordecim
46,26 – cunctaeque ] cunctae
46,28 – nuntiaret ] nunciaret
46,28 – et ille occurreret ] et occurreret
46,31 – nuntiabo ] nunciabo
47,1 – nuntiavit ] nunciavit
47,9 – peregrinationis vitae meae ] peregrinationis meae
47,24 – quatuor ] quattuor
47,31 – Dominum ] Deum
48,1 – nuntiatum ] nunciatum
49,1 – annuntiem ] annunciem

Among these 43 corrections, 31 has only grammar meaning, and 6 of them are correct.

Changes in versification

In 30 first chapters of the Book of Genesis following changes were made:

1 – 31 . . . . 29 2 – 25 . . . . 20 3 – 24 . . . . 20 4 – 26 . . . . 26 5 – 31 . . . . 30 6 – 22 . . . . 19 7 – 24 . . . . 19 8 – 22 . . . . 20 9 – 29 . . . . 24 10 – 32 . . . . 26 11 – 32 . . . . 31 12 – 20 . . . . 18 13 – 18 . . . . 18 14 – 24 . . . . 16 15 – 21 . . . . 17

16 – 16 . . . . 14 17 – 27 . . . . 25 18 – 33 . . . . 37 19 – 38 . . . . 34 20 – 18 . . . . 16 21 – 34 . . . . 31 22 – 24 . . . . 18 23 – 20 . . . . 15 24 – 67 . . . . 54 25 – 34 . . . . 27 26 – 34 . . . . 26 27 – 46 . . . . 33 28 – 22 . . . . 14 29 – 35 . . . . 31 30 – 43 . . . . 36

See also

• Sixto-Clementine Vulgate

Further reading

• Paul Maria Baumgarten, Die Vulgata Sixtina von 1590 und ihre Einführungsbulle Aktenstücke und Untersuchungen, Münster i. W. Aschendorff 1911.