International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Andi Rëmbeci
University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania; 
[e-mail]
Italo-Greek Manuscripts from the Byzantine Collection 
of the Manuscripts in Albania
In a group of 100 manuscripts kept at the Central Archive of the State (CAS), Tirana dating from 
the Byzantine and the post-Byzantine period, a number of codices present evidence of a manuscript 
book culture, common in Southern Italy and Byzantine Epirus during the 12
th
-14
th
centuries. In 
this paper I will briefly present some data and preliminary thoughts regarding seven manuscripts 
from the CAS collection, belonging to the Italo-Byzantine cultural area of book production. The 
manuscripts are those of Berat, bearing the numbers 24, 14, 31, 33, 34, 49, 40 and 41.
Codex Beratinus, No. 24
is a 13
th
century Lectionary of the Gospel, written on parchment. 
Its initial letters are illustrated with floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic elements, while the 
manuscript also bears three miniatures. According to our paleographic and codicological observations, 
two important characteristics can be evidenced: first, the illustrations and the illuminations classify this 
manuscript among the group of manuscripts belonging to the book production culture of Southern 
Italy; second, similarities between our manuscript’s decoration style of initials and script type with 
those of other Epirote manuscripts, point to an eastern provenance of our manuscript, since there are 
Fettaugen-Mode
elements observed, 
Fettaugen-Mode
being an Eastern type of script.
Codices Beratini No. 14 and 31.
These are fragments of a single manuscript separated in two 
parts. They date on the 13
th
century, are written in parchment and contain homilies and discourses 
of the Holy Fathers, as well as saints’ 
vitae
. Characteristic for this manuscript is one of the quires, 
found on Ms. No. 14, bearing a palimpsest in eight folios (f. 130
r
-137
v
). From a paleographic and 
codicological point of view, this manuscript bears features found not only in manuscripts produced 
in Southern Italy, but also in Epiros.