Codex Washingtonianus

biblical manuscript

Also known as: Codex Freerianus

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June 17, 2026

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Codex Washingtonianus, also known as the Freer Gospels, is a biblical manuscript from the 4th or 5th century. It contains the four Gospels in a Western order: Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark. This manuscript is unique because it appears to have been copied from several different textual families, showing elements of Byzantine, Western, Caesarean, and Alexandrian text types. One of its most notable features is a long ending to the Gospel of Mark that is not found in most other manuscript traditions. The Codex Washingtonianus is housed in the Freer Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..1

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W, Codex Washingtonianus (or Freerianus), consists of the four Gospels in the so-called Western order (Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark, as D^ea). It was acquired in Egypt by C.L. Freer, an American businessman and philanthropist (hence, the Freer-Gospels), in 1906 and is now in the Freer…
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W, Codex Washingtonianus (or Freerianus), consists of the four Gospels in the so-called Western order (Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark, as D^ea). It was acquired in Egypt by C.L. Freer, an American businessman and philanthropist (hence, the Freer-Gospels), in 1906 and is now in the Freer…
Read More