Constantin von Tischendorf

Constantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874) was a noted German Biblical scholar credited with the recovery of Codex Sinaiticus, a Greek manuscript of the New Testament in 1859. He spent his entire scholarly career at the University of Leipzig, first as a student, and later as a professor.

Tischendorf exemplified the buccaneer image of 19th century archaeology, though his chosen field were critical editions of texts. In his pursuit of unknown manuscripts to compare with known manuscripts to create new editions (especially though not exclusively of the New Testament) Tischendorf was accused of buying manuscripts from ignorant librarians at overly low prices.