Answer · confidence: partial
What do surviving copies of the Muratorian fragment reveal about its language and translation?
Research question: What do the surviving manuscript copies and scholarly editions of the Muratorian fragment show about its language, copying history, and the Greek-to-Latin translation question?
The Fragment survives in a single, uniquely attested eighth-century manuscript, and Ludovico Muratori, the Ambrosian librarian, discovered and first published it in 1740 1112. The records describe a gap of over 100 years between the drafting of the Fragment and the creation of its Latin text 1. Most scholars date the original Greek text to the late second century, though a minority prefer a fourth-century date 4. The facts do not directly establish how the Greek and Latin versions relate in translation, so the translation question is only partly answered 14. The newest fact dates to 2024 10, so the record is roughly two years old as of October 2026.
Checked 2026-10-21. Only documented and supported facts are used.
Dig deeper on this questionSources
[1] supported
There is a chronological gap of over 100 years between the drafting of the Fragment and the creation of its Latin text.
"well over 100 years after the date in which the Fragment is likely to have been drafted"The Original Language of the Muratorian Fragment: (2015)
[2] supported
The Muratorian Fragment is included in the chapter on Latin Christian Lists, indicating it is treated as a Latin text.
"Chapter four (“Latin Christian Lists”) contains the canon lists from Western Christianity and includes lists from church fathers (e.g., Hilary, Jerome, Augustine) and evidence from codices (Muratorian Fragment, Codex Claromontanus)."The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: A Textual Analysis (2020)
[3] documented
The Muratorian Fragment lacks the books of 1–2 Peter, James, and Hebrews.
"Surprising, however, is its lack of 1–2 Peter, James, and Hebrews."The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: A Textual Analysis (2020)
[4] supported
While most scholars date the original Greek text of the Muratorian fragment to the late 2nd century, a minority of scholars prefer a 4th-century date.
"It survives, damaged and thus incomplete, as a bad Latin translation of an original, no longer extant, Greek text that is usually dated in the late 2nd century, although a few scholars have preferred a 4th-century date."Development of the New Testament canon
[5] supported
The beginning of the Muratorian Canon is lost, and the surviving fragment starts by naming Luke as the third gospel and John as the fourth, leading historians to assume the first two were Matthew and Mark, though this remains uncertain.
"The beginning of the Muratorian Canon is lost; the fragment that has survived, starts by naming Luke the third gospel and John the fourth. Historians therefore assume that the first two gospels would have been Matthew and Mark, although this remains uncertain."Development of the New Testament canon
[6] supported
The Muratorian fragment mentions two letters by John but provides little clues as to which ones, making it unknown which of the three canonical epistles was excluded.
"The Muratorian fragment mentions two letters by John, but gives little clues as to which ones. Therefore, it is not known which of the three was excluded that would later be considered canonical."Development of the New Testament canon
[7] supported
Bruce Metzger concluded that the Muratorian fragment cites 1 John 1:1-3 when it references John mentioning points in his Epistles about seeing, hearing, and handling.
"Bruce Metzger concluded that the Muratorian fragment cites 1 John 1:1-3 when it says: "What marvel is it then, if John so consistently mentions these particular points also in his Epistles, saying about himself, 'What we have seen with our eyes and heard with our ears and our hands have handled, these things we have written to you?'""Development of the New Testament canon
[8] supported
Clare K. Rothschild argues that the Muratorian Fragment is a fourth-century forgery.
"Recently, Clare K. Rothschild has argued that the Muratorian Fragment is a fourth-century forgery ( The Muratorian Fragment , 2022)."The Muratorian Fragment: Recent Debate
[9] documented
Jeremy C. Thompson and Clare K. Rothschild published a collaborative work questioning the form, dating, and problematic passages of the Muratorian Fragment.
"Last year the Zeitschrift für Neues Testament published a Rothschild’s latest collaborative work with Jeremy C. Thompson (“Honig gemischt mit Galle: Neue Fragen zu Form, Datierung und problematischen Passagen im Muratorischen Fragment,” ZeitNT 26 (51, ʼ23) 81-92)."The Muratorian Fragment: Recent Debate
[10] supported
Joseph Verheyden published a response piece titled 'The Muratorian Fragment, a Voice from the Other Side.'
"in addition to the response piece by Joseph Verheyden: “The Muratorian Fragment, a Voice from the Other Side.”"The Muratorian Fragment: Recent Debate
[11] supported
The Muratorian Fragment is preserved in a single, uniquely attested eighth-century manuscript.
"Clare K. Rothschild freshly evaluates the text of the singly attested eighth-century manuscript and its wider context in situ within the “Muratorian Codex,”"Clare K. Rothschild, "The Muratorian Fragment: Text, Translation, Commentary" (Mohr Siebeck, 2022)
[12] supported
The fragment was discovered and first published in 1740 by Ludovico Muratori, the Ambrosian librarian.
"Discovered and published in 1740 by the Ambrosian librarian Ludovico Muratori, the so-called “Muratorian Fragment” has long featured for New Testament scholars as a piece of second-century evidence for a canonical impulse in early Christianity."Clare K. Rothschild, "The Muratorian Fragment: Text, Translation, Commentary" (Mohr Siebeck, 2022)
[13] supported
Clare K. Rothschild argues that the fragment was composed in the orbit of the fourth-century writer Ambrosiaster, challenging the traditional second-century dating.
"offering both a neutral presentation of the evidence as well as a novel argument attributing its composition to the orbit of the fourth-century treatise writer Ambrosiaster."Clare K. Rothschild, "The Muratorian Fragment: Text, Translation, Commentary" (Mohr Siebeck, 2022)