Greek and Slavic manuscripts with biblical content. Annotations toward the construction of new catalogues

Abstract

There are a number of shortcomings in traditional catalogues of Greek and Slavic manuscripts with biblical contents, for example the focus on linguistic features that point to a codex’s national origin e.g. Bulgarian or Macedonian. A new approach to cataloguing these manuscripts is offered. Since the liturgy was the natural setting of these codices, they should be catalogued according to their liturgical function. Greek and Slavic manuscripts should be catalogued together because they share the same liturgical function. Their comparison will illuminate specific aspects and forms of manuscript tradition. Some ideal features of this new codico-liturgical catalogue are listed, including the construction of a hierarchy of codices according to their liturgical function. The article finishes with some suggestions for those who may embark on constructing such a catalogue.