THALES
Thesaurus Antiquorum Lectionariorum Ecclesiae Synagogaeque
Preface
In Late Antiquity and the Middle
Ages, few people knew how to read or write. The common person usually became
familiar with texts by hearing them recited or by seeing them represented
artistically in liturgical, theatrical and ritual performances. Lectionaries
– broadly understood as texts of different genres which inform the
liturgical performance of one or more biblical passages – are the key link
between the Bible and people, between intellectuals and the uneducated, between
theory and praxis and, therefore, between the fields of literary and ritual
studies. As such, lectionaries are important not only for scholars of
Eastern and Western liturgies, but also for exegetes of the Old and New
Testaments as well as for historians researching Jewish – Christian relations. In
short, they are essential for any scholar attempting to understand Christianity
and Judaism as living religions both in the past and present. This database is
a deliberate attempt to bring to the fore the dimensions of liturgical performance
and ritual in the study of early Christianity and Judaism, where texts continue
to be perceived as falling primarily under the elitist domains of philology,
dogma and literature.
Scholarly Aims
Our aim is to assemble the vast data contained in all ancient
lectionaries, both Jewish and Christian, and make them easily accessible for
and conveniently searchable by scholars interested in liturgy, the Wirkungsgeschichte of biblical texts, as well as by historians.
We truly believe that publishing materials on the web is the most convenient
way to provide free and immediate access to those important texts which form
the basis for much of human culture. Publicizing these materials electronically
allows anyone with internet access to utilize these texts and enables these
materials to reach a broader audience.
Why Is This Database Important
and to Whom?
This database will enable biblical
scholars to quickly research the ritual Sitz
im Leben of scriptural
chapters or verses, which is critical for studying the impact of the Bible (the
Wirkungsgeschichte). In addition, liturgical
experts will be able to compare different reading traditions more easily and comprehensively. Historians
as well as patristic and rabbinic scholars can utilize the database for a variety of purposes, such as finding
the chronological and liturgical context of a homily or evaluating whether a
biblical pericope might have an impact during a particular season of the year.
With the help of the database, scholars will also be able to compare the prevalence
of a text within the database to the number of extant exegetical treatises,
along with carrying out many other statistical queries.
Why Have Lectionaries Remained
an Understudied Subject Matter?
Despite their significance,
lectionaries have been severely understudied. As a consequence, almost no
commentary on the Bible includes thorough references to the liturgical life of
a text - despite the fact that modern exegesis has understood the importance of
the history of Biblical interpretation (e.g. Evangelisch-Katholischer
Kommentar).
One of the factors contributing to
this phenomenon is the fragmentation of modern university life, where exegetes
and liturgists, scholars of the Church Fathers and scholars of Rabbinic Judaism,
rarely collaborate. Liturgy is usually a Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican or – more
rarely – a Jewish field. Scholars from each of these disciplines usually focus
on their own religious traditions; and liturgical study programs are seldom established
in non-theological institutions and rarely carry out comparative analyses of
different traditions.
An additional reason why lectionaries
have remained an understudied subject matter is that this discipline is highly complex
and contains an immense amount of data. The reading traditions of the Christian
East as well as those of the West can be distinguished by several large families.
On the Christian side, these include: Roman, Gallican,
Mozarabic, Byzantine, Jerusalem [Armenian and Georgian], Coptic, and East
and West Syrian. The Jewish families consist of: Sephardic, Ashkenazic,
Yemenite, Byzantine and Palestinian. Some of these traditions are
quite homogeneous (such as Roman and Byzantine Christian or the various
derivations of the annual Jewish rite), while others are extremely heterogeneous, differing from
manuscript to manuscript (e.g. Coptic, East Syrian, Jewish Palestinian).
A third reason why lectionaries remain
an understudied field is the fact that information relating to lectionaries is
dispersed throughout many sources and is difficult to locate. Currently,
anybody trying to identify when different Churches would read a specific
biblical chapter is forced to consult dozens of books, many of which are rare. For
serious studies on Syriac, Coptic or Jewish Palestinian liturgy, one would have
to locate and consult countless additional manuscripts as well. While the
database will not replace these publications, it will make their core
information easily accessible and will help the user decide which materials are
worth consulting.
An Inclusive Approach: Types
of Texts Included in the Database
Our website attempts to be as
inclusive as possible and aims to compile all Jewish and Christian texts, thereby providing
information on regular biblical readings. Many different genres of such texts
exist. First and foremost, there are various forms of lectionaries. Some
include the text to be read, e.g. Evangelaries
(readings of the Gospels), Epistolaries (readings of the
Epistles), and Menologies. Others are simply notations on the margins of biblical manuscripts,
give only the chapter and verse number, or merely provide the first and last
verses of the
pericopes which are to be read. There is also a great deal of data
scattered throughout many different texts. This data mainly focuses on local
rites
in patristic documents, in Midrashim or in some Piyyutim (Jewish liturgical hymns) which mention a Haftarah in connection to a Torah reading in one or the
other synagogue of Byzantine
and Muslim Palestine.
A Dynamic Approach: A
Growing Database
Current and Future Content
The database has been launched with the introduction of a
group of basic Christian and Jewish lectionaries, which represent the
major liturgical families. We are continuing to expand the database by diversifying
the larger families and by adding smaller local rites, single manuscripts and various
reconstructions. At the moment, our aim is to digitalize all lectionaries from the
first millennium; later we hope to include texts up to the age of print.
We have also begun mapping those lectionaries which will
eventually be included in the database, and we welcome any references to
lectionaries that we can include in this database.
In addition, important Patristic data
exists which can be analyzed for the purposes of reconstructing the Biblical readings of prominent Church figures. Michael
Margoni-Koegler (
Currently, the database focuses on readings. At a later
point, additional data such as the Sanctorale will be
added as will an introduction and bibliography to each lectionary.
Queries That Can Currently
Be Carried Out
While we plan to expand the range of possible queries on the database,
at this preliminary stage it is only possible to carry out those inquiries that
focus on which biblical passage was read at what particular time. As of
now, the database allows for three types of such queries:
a) Exactly (readings that exactly match the inquiry). For example:
a. Search all readings exactly like Isa. 11:4.
b. Search all readings exactly like Jer. 30:5b-7.
b) Including (readings that include the whole passage being searched). For example:
a. Search all readings including the whole passage of Isa. 11:4 (i.e. Isa. 11; Isa. 11:3-7; but not Isa. 11:3-4a [verse 4b is missing]).
b. Search all readings including the whole passage of Jer. 30:5b-7 (i.e. Jer. 30; Jer. 30:1-8; but not Jer. 30:1-5 [verses 6 and 7 are missing]).
c) Overlapping (readings that include parts of the passage being searched):
a. Search Isa. 11:4: the result would include readings such as Isa. 11:3-4a; Isa. 11:3-5; Isa. 11:4b-7; Isa. 11; or Isa. 11:4.
b. Search Jer. 30:5b-7: the result would include readings such as Jer. 30; Jer. 30:6; Jer 30:1-8; Jer 30:1-5; or Jer. 30:6-12.
As of now, the database cannot distinguish between the
different numbering systems of the various Bibles, but we plan to include a
tool converting Hebrew to LXX or Vulgate numbering in the near future.
At a later stage, the database will also include a calendar program for questions such as “Which texts are read during April/Nisan?” or “Which texts are read during the week before and after Passover/Easter?” Ideally, we would also like to include the biblical texts themselves in their original language as well as their English translations. This would allow for searches such as: “When are textual passages read which include the words 'angel' AND 'sword'?”
We also aim to allow for a broader
range of possible queries: The user should be able to search for the use of a
certain passage during all rites, or during selected rites, solely according to
parameters such as chronology, geography, language and liturgical family. With
regard to the origins of a certain lectionary, we hope to be able to assist researchers
to search the database in a more “positivistic” or “hypothetical” manner. Each
researcher should be able to decide whether to include hypothetical reconstructions, such as Jacob
Mann’s version of the three-year Palestinian reading cycle, or if he/she should
only include actual manuscripts in his/her search.
Current Database Content
This database was launched in January 2006. Today it includes fourteen lectionaries with roughly 5.700 individual readings.
List of 14 Lectionaries
Included So Far
AOLM2 The
BM 14528 The so-called “Burkitt”-Lectionary
– a Syriac Lectionary that might attest to readings used in
GrSC The Typicon of the Great Church of Constantinople, according to ms. Holy Cross 40 from the tenth century. .
JA The standard annual Jewish Ashkenazi rite of reading
the Torah.
JI The standard annual Jewish Italian (Bnei Roma) rite of reading the Torah.
Jp3 One of the reconstructions of the Jewish
Palestinian “triennial” rite (as published in the Encyclopedia Judaica).
JR The standard annual Jewish Byzantine (Romaniot) rite of reading the Torah.
JRSG Siddur Rav Saadia Gaon (10th century, Iraq/Egypt)
JS The standard annual Jewish Sephardic rite of
reading the Torah.
JY The standard annual Jewish Yemenite rite of
reading the Torah.
LR1 The
Roman Lectionary from the end of the seventh century as witnessed in Comes Würzburg.
LG3 An early Gallican Lectionary from the Bobbio Missal (ed. Lowe repr. 1991)
LM6 An early Mozarabic Lectionary from around 800 (Paris BN lat. 2269 palimpsest, ed. Mundo 1956) .
UM1 The Lectionay of the Upper Monastery (Eastern Syrian rite) ms BM 243 (add. 14492) from 862 AD
Lectionaries Currently
Undergoing Digitalization
GeOLM1 The
jmish references to fixed readings in the Mishnah (early 3rd century, Palestine).
jtos references to fixed readings attested in the best Tosefta (3rd or 4th century, Palestine).
List of Lectionaries
Known to the THALES' Administrators
Under construction
THALES Staff Members
and Collaborations
NEW: In October 2008 an agreement for an extensive and close collaboration with the database BiblIndex (based on Biblia Patristica) developed by Sources Chrétiennes has been reached.
Coordinator of the THALES database Project
Dr. Daniel Stoekl Ben Ezra is currently permanent research fellow (chargé de recherche) at the French National Institut for Research (CNRS)
Cooperating Scholars Contributing to the Database Include:
Prof. Harald Buchinger, Faculty for Catholic Theology, Regensburg University.
Dr. Margaret Dimitrova, Department of Cyril and Methodius Studies, Faculty of Slavic Studies, Sofia University, Bulgaria.
Mag. Michael Margoni-Koegler,
Institute for Liturgical Studies,
Dr. Ophir Münz-Manor, Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic Studies, Open University, Israel.
Current Research Assistant:
Avi Perrodin
Previous Research Assistants:
Moshe Levi
Avigail Nir
Daniel Stoekl Ben Ezra
October 2008