Western Medieval Manuscripts : Oktoechos (fragment)

Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This fragment is a single folio from one of the earliest surviving examples of the Oktoechos, a liturgical book containing hymns for Sunday services, arranged according to the eight <i>echoi</i> (musical modes). It has been dated to the second half of the 9th or first half of the 10th century. During this period the formal Greek minuscule script emerged and became the usual form for copying manuscripts, but some continued to be produced in majuscule script, particularly for liturgical purposes. It is believed to have been copied in the Greek-speaking communities of southern Italy, and features the use of yellow wash to highlight headings, a common feature of manuscripts from this region. The original manuscript is now fragmented: larger portions of it are now Sinai, Monastery of St Catherine, MS gr. 776, Sinai, Monastery of St Catherine, MS gr. 1593 and <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Add_MS_26113'>London, British Library, Add. MS 26113</a>.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Dr Christopher Wright</p>