Byzantine prayer books (euchologia)
contain—in addition to the eucharistic and sacramental liturgies—
a vast number of ‘small prayers’ pronounced by the clergy that
address the concerns of all levels of society, regardless of social
and economic status, at various occasions in a human being’s
lifetime. Yet, they have gone largely unexplored as a source for
daily life and social history, in large part because of the
challenges posed by their transmission.
Euchologia are extant in
manuscripts beginning with the late eighth century and well into the
post-Byzantine period. Their exact number is unknown. In the early
15th century, it was estimated to amount to about 2,000.
There is considerable variation between the manuscripts in the
number, sequence, content and concern of the small prayers, depending
on the community where the euchologion was used. While
scholars have studied individual prayer book manuscripts, a
comprehensive study of the entire tradition of Byzantine euchologia
has not yet been attempted.
Unlocking the potential of the small
prayers in the euchologia as a source for daily life and
social history requires a systematic, step-by-step effort of a
research team over an extended period of time.
This paper will introduce the new
project at the Division of Byzantine Research, IMAFO, Austrian
Academy of Sciences: a systematic study of euchologia, through
a combination of individual, thematically focused research projects
and the creation of the first-ever database of prayer books in
manuscript form, in a fully searcheable, open access format that
unlocks the wealth of issues and concerns addressed in the small
prayers. The database is designed to facilitate potential future
research in other areas as well, such as liturgical studies.
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