Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

Most of the work is religious and sacred in nature,
ranging from Bible expositions through hymnographies to
works of theology and polemics. However, the works of the
Byzantine Church fathers are particularly notable: these
include texts by John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus,
Basil the Great and Maximus the Confessor.
Much of the collection is unique, containing material
not seen anywhere else. Some texts preserve works lost
in Greek and other languages; some make references to
Byzantine authors whose work is known; others document
the life and works of writers previously unknown in the
modern era.
In addition to religious and liturgical texts, there are also
secular works relating to law, history, literature, astronomy
and medicine. Several of the religious works also contain
secular passages, such as descriptions of battle scenes
in a book of psalms. Some of these texts also contain
information that is no longer known or used, and so is
only available through written sources such as these. In
addition, the terminology they use in relation to financial
and administrative systems and aspects of society and
culture, is characteristic of the Byzantine era.
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(top) A page from the ‘Alaverdi Four Gospels’ (AD 1054) �
(bottom) ‘The Works of Gregory the Theologian’ (12th century) �
Georgian Byzantine manuscripts