The Salentine Group

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 9 addresses a group of nomocanons produced in the Salento peninsula between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. These manuscripts stand out from the others in the book, as they were not produced for monasteries, bishops, or lay judges, but for the secular clergy and parish priests of the Salento. The chapter explores their distinctive aesthetic style and material characteristics, which are highly consistent across the group but noticeably different from those of other Italo-Greek nomocanons. It also discusses their textual content, pointing out that the manuscripts contain lengthy appendices consisting of texts that would have been of particular interest to Salentine Greek clergy of the late Middle Ages, covering subjects like clerical marriage and Lenten fasting. These were all topics on which the Greek church diverged from the Latin, and it seems that the texts were included as a way to defend the Greeks’ distinctive religious practices. The chapter also highlights a fascinating marginal abbreviation that occurs in multiple Salentine nomocanons, ‘Against the Latins’, which was used by scribes and readers to highlight canons that were felt to be especially useful in this effort.