Fossores

Like most cultures which bury their dead the world tend to look down on those who deal with the deceased, the ancient Romans treated gravediggers as outcasts.  With the advent of Christianity, that changed. Fossores or "Diggers" (from 'foedere'; 'to dig') not only dug graves, but there is evidence that they decorated and painted them as well.  In fact, several sources name 'fossores' as one of the minor orders of clerics.  There is also evidence that part of their duty was to exclude outsiders from Eucharistic celebrations held in the catacombs or in Christian cemetaries.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravedigger#Fossors

The drawing of the fossor Diogenes was badly damaged in the attempt to remove it from the wall on which it was drawn, but we have this sketch of its appearance.  He stands with the tools of his trade; a pick, a staff, and a light, as well as a sack lunch.  We will examine the symbols on his clothes in our next post.

Diogenes Fossor

 

DIOGENES FOSSOR IN PACE DEPOSITVS

OCTABV KALENDAS OCTOBRIS

Diogenes fossor in pace depositus

octabus Kalendas  Octobris

Diogenes, a 'digger', buried in peace

on the eighth day before the Kalends of October (Sept 24)

What did the angels really say on the first Christmas? Part 3

+

This is a scan of the page which contains Luke 2, 8-14.  Verse 14 at the bottom is the verse in question, which I transliterated in my previous post as "Doxa en hypsistois theo kai epi geis eireinei en anthropois eudokia(s)."

Below the Greek text is what is called the 'Critical Apparatus'.  This indicates to scholars what parts of the text have differing words or spellings than what is printed above in the 'official' text.  It also indicates where these variations come from, and give an editorial judgement, consisting of a grade which can range from 'A' (most realiable) through 'D' (least reliable) on how reliable our 'official' reading is.

For example, in verse 11 the words "Christos kyrios" appear as part of the sentence "is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord".  Most of the manuscripts of Luke say "Christos kyrios", as indicated by the letters and numbers which follow that Greek phrase in the note.  Each letter or number stands for a manuscript or collection which has this Gospel (most of these manuscripts go back to the 4th-6th centuries AD, although some are later).  After that, the note tells us that the readings "kyrios Christos", "Christos kyriou", "Christos Iesus", "Christos Iesus kyrios", "Christos Soter", and "Christos" appear in this verse in one or more other manuscripts, but based on the editors' judgement, "Christos kyrios" is the correct reading, and so, while they list the variants, they assign the "Christos kyrios" reading a grade of 'A' , based on the editors' knowledge, judgement, and the evidence of the texts.

We see that the reading of "en anthropois eudokias" (among men of good will), is assigned a 'B', meaning that scholars are pretty sure that this is the correct original reading, but not enough to assign an 'A'.  You can tell that there is quite a variation in this verse by just looking at the numbers of manuscripts that have different readings. 
 
By the way, Luke F.  pointed out to me that the earliest complete manuscript we have of the Bible, including the entire New Testament, is now online for viewing at http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/  (this manuscript is represented in the Critical Apparatus above by the Hebrew letter Aleph).  So go over there and take a look at Luke 2, verse 14, and see what you think!