Western Medieval Manuscripts : Canon law and other religious and linguistic texts in Greek

Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This manuscript, probably copied in the first half of the 16th century, contains a miscellany of <i>Canon law and other religious and linguistic texts in Greek</i>. The majority of the content is drawn from collections of canon law and brief texts and excerpts on miscellaneous religious questions, mainly of patristic origin but occasionally the work of later Byzantine clerics. There are also some lexicographical texts and a small portion of a grammatical work.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The most recent contents are a number of works of 15th-century origin written against the 1438 Union of Florence between the eastern and western churches. These include works by Markos Eugenikos (c. 1392-c. 1445), leader of opposition to the Union, a joint decree of 1443 by the three Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, and the decree of a synod held in Constantinople in 1484.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The manuscript is a composite of two parts, both produced in the same period and in a similar style, but by different hands and with distinct sequences of quire signatures, indicating that they were originally separate projects. It retains a Greek binding in the Byzantine style.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Dr Christopher Wright</p>