An inventory of Medieval Greek Apocalyptic Sources (c. 500 – 1500 AD): Naming and dating, editions and manuscripts

Abstract

This bibliographical inventory surveys 50 medieval Greek apocalyptic sources ranging from the turn of the sixth century until the late fifteenth century. The surveyed material consists of historical and moral apocalypses, oracular prophecies and end-time calculations. The survey enumerates the various appellations and dating attempts for each text as proposed in modern scholarship. Moreover, references to editions and translations of each source are provided; they are followed by a preliminary list of the known manuscript witnesses. The purpose of the inventory is twofold: (i) it presents a quantitative estimation of the respective manuscript distribution. Altogether 1024 textual witnesses in 688 manuscripts have been identified to contain the surveyed apocalyptic texts. It has been found that about 70 % of all manuscript material dates to the fifteenth century or later. Consequently, it can be established that the period surrounding and following the halōsis of 1453 functions as a filter that, to a large extent, regulates our access to and conditions our understanding of medieval Greek apocalyptic thought. Moreover, the inventory (ii) provides a holistic yet concise overview of a large section of Byzantine apocalypticism, which appears necessary for any comprehensive research that engages in (or steps beyond) intertextual analysis.