Nobody noticed the theft, since it was five internal quires and part of a sixth. There is no record at the monastery of any permissoin for the 1844 theft and Tischendorf kept the source of the leaves very quiet. The idea that he got permission was written by Tischendorf around 1860, along with his saved by fire fabricationn, his 1844 letter to his brother Julius says simply that they came into his possession. Plus Tischendorf had an additional 1844 theft, a palimpsest.Or rather: he didn't "steal" them. He took them to Constantinople with the Patriarch's permission, or even at the Patriarch's request. Remember he's at Ste. Katherines on a Vatican budget: he had no money of his own and was an unknown for raising funds. To me, it is unbelievable that he would be allowed to, or would, "steal" the leaves. Not only would he never be invited back (he was), he would sully the name of those who recommended (or sent) him: cardinals Mai and Mezzofanti and others.Note that Tischendorf went directly to Constantius after he stole the 43 leaves in 1844, likely he had been told that the manuscript had gotten to Sinai from Constantinople. A trip there could help his efforts to get the full manuscript.
I'll see if I have a summary handy.
Statistics: Posted by Steven Avery — Wed Jan 31, 2024 5:26 am