Abstract
This paper examines the function and purpose of small format Byzantine Greek psalters. It addresses specifically Marc Lauxtermann's proposal that, on the basis of its small size, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS E. D. Clarke 15 was made for the purpose of travel. Contrary to Lauxtermann's literal reading of travel metaphors in the poems of the book's owner, Mark the Monk, I argue that size and portability are not reliable indicators of a travel function. Instead, by interpreting these travel metaphors as indicative of spiritual conversion and placing Clarke 15 within the context of Annemarie Weyl Carr's category of "diminutive manuscripts," I show that this manuscript and other such small psalters were produced as gifts to mark the entry into monastic life of the individual making profession.
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