Bruce Codex

The Bruce Codex is a vital collection of Gnostic Christian texts, most notably preserving the ancient writings conventionally known as the Books of Jeu. It also contains fragments of an untitled Gnostic text often referred to by scholars as the Untitled Text of the Bruce Codex. These Coptic manuscripts provide deep insight into early Sethian Gnostic beliefs.

The manuscript was acquired in Egypt by the Scottish traveler and explorer James Bruce in 1769, during his famous explorations of the Nile region. Bruce brought the bound Coptic papyri back to Europe, and after his death, it eventually changed hands several times. It is currently preserved in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.

The texts within the Bruce Codex were written in a Coptic dialect, specifically Sub-Akhmimic, used in Upper Egypt during the early centuries of the first millennium. However, scholars believe the texts were originally composed in Greek before being translated. The parchment pages were bound together completely out of order when Bruce acquired them.

Both the Bruce Codex and the Nag Hammadi library are primary sources for understanding ancient Gnosticism, containing texts that were lost to mainstream Christianity for centuries. While the Nag Hammadi codices were discovered in 1945, the Bruce Codex was found much earlier, in 1769. Together, they provide the foundational texts for modern studies of Sethian Gnosticism.