Western Medieval Manuscripts : Menaion for December

Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This fragmentary manuscript, probably copied in the later 13th or 14th century, is a <i><i>Menaion</i></i>, a liturgical book containing the components of services particular to individual days of the year, divided into volumes for each month. This volume covers the month of December.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The manuscript was copied on parchment, a material that was becoming unusual at this time due to the widespread availability of the cheaper paper. With the parchment market and production much diminished, such as was produced was often of poor quality. That is conspicuously the case with this manuscript, which is marred by numerous holes that had appeared during the production process, sometimes large and found within the written area.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>There is a later note in Arabic on <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(232);return false;'>f. 134v</a> recording the purchase of the manuscript by a priest named Yūḥannā (John), son of the priest Ibrāhīm. Thus it clearly came into the possession of an Arab Christian community, perhaps still using Greek for liturgical purposes, and may indeed have been produced for the use of such a community.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Dr Christopher Wright</p>