The Dioptra of Phillipos Monotropos

The Dioptra is a theological and philosophical treatise of more than 7000 verses, written towards the end of the eleventh century by tha Byzantine monk Philip (Philippos Monotropos). As can be inferred from the extremely rich manuscript tradition (about 90 manuscripts of the Greek original, about 180 of the Slavonic translation), the poem was widely read, particularly in monastic environments, by Greeks and Slavs in the later middle ages and beyond; quotations in the works of later authors also testify to the wide circulation of the Dioptra. With rather simple language, the equally simple verse form (the so-called political verse) and the kind of treatment of theological problems, the Dioptra proved an ideal piece of lecture in monastic milieus. Thus it can hardly be overestimated as source for the history of Byzantine spirituality and transfer to the Slavonic world. Regrettably there do not exist any reliable printed modern editions, neither of the Greek original nor of the Slavonic version (for the Greek text there exists only a totally insufficient and hardly accessible edition; parts of the Slavonic version were edited in Heinz Miklas` doctoral thesis). Therefore Heinz Miklas and Wolfram Hoerandner decided to submit the project in hand in order to establish a critical edition of both the Greek and the Slavonic text of this important source. Two well qualified young scholars, Eirini Afentoulidou and Juergen Fuchsbauer, will be charged with gathering, describing and investigating the manuscripts, establishing - under permanent supervision of Heinz Miklas and Wolfram Hoerandner - the textual tradition and preparing, on this basis, a critical edition. Contacts with other specialists in the field (L. Hoffmann, Mainz; G. Prochorov, St. Petersburg) and with E. Gamillscheg (National Library of Austria, manuscript department) will add to the quality of the product. The final profit of the project will be a sound basis for further research on an extremely valuable source for the history of Byzantine mentality and of Byzantine-Slavonic cultural relations. Besides, research on the development of the Greek language in the Byzantine period and on the medieval Slavonic language will profit from the project.

The Dioptra is a theological and philosophical treatise of more than 7000 verses, written towards the end of the eleventh century by tha Byzantine monk Philip (Philippos Monotropos). As can be inferred from the extremely rich manuscript tradition (about 90 manuscripts of the Greek original, about 180 of the Slavonic translation), the poem was widely read, particularly in monastic environments, by Greeks and Slavs in the later middle ages and beyond; quotations in the works of later authors also testify to the wide circulation of the Dioptra. With rather simple language, the equally simple verse form (the so-called political verse) and the kind of treatment of theological problems, the Dioptra proved an ideal piece of lecture in monastic milieus. Thus it can hardly be overestimated as source for the history of Byzantine spirituality and transfer to the Slavonic world. Regrettably there do not exist any reliable printed modern editions, neither of the Greek original nor of the Slavonic version (for the Greek text there exists only a totally insufficient and hardly accessible edition; parts of the Slavonic version were edited in Heinz Miklas` doctoral thesis). Therefore Heinz Miklas and Wolfram Hoerandner decided to submit the project in hand in order to establish a critical edition of both the Greek and the Slavonic text of this important source. Two well qualified young scholars, Eirini Afentoulidou and Juergen Fuchsbauer, will be charged with gathering, describing and investigating the manuscripts, establishing - under permanent supervision of Heinz Miklas and Wolfram Hoerandner - the textual tradition and preparing, on this basis, a critical edition. Contacts with other specialists in the field (L. Hoffmann, Mainz; G. Prochorov, St. Petersburg) and with E. Gamillscheg (National Library of Austria, manuscript department) will add to the quality of the product. The final profit of the project will be a sound basis for further research on an extremely valuable source for the history of Byzantine mentality and of Byzantine-Slavonic cultural relations. Besides, research on the development of the Greek language in the Byzantine period and on the medieval Slavonic language will profit from the project.