The Library Of Great Meteoron (Part II)
As mentioned in the first part of the article, the archive of the monastery is very rich and interesting, preserving documents of the Byzantine period, the post Byzantine period and later periods.
Chrysobulls, Metropolitan documents, Patriarchical sigillia, etc which are kept here, are great heirlooms and valuable historical documents.
We mention indicatively the chrysobull of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaeologos in the year 1336 for the benefit of the Monastery of St. George of Zavladia, the chrysobull of Stephen Dousan in the year 1348 for the benefit of the same monastery, chrysobulls of the years 1359 and 1366 of the King Symeon Uresis Palaeologos, the father of the founder of the Meteoron Monastery saintly Ioasaph, two decrees for the benefit of the Prior of the skete of Stagoi Neilos issued in November 1372 by the king Ioannis Uresis Palaeologos the later monk Ioasaph, the second founder of the monastery; a letter of the “queen” Maria Angelina Palaeologian to her brother king Ioannis – monk Ioasaph in the year 1386; letters of the Metropolitans of Larissa Antonios (before the end of 1380) and Ioasaph (in the year 1392/3 and 1400/1402) etc.
The most official and significant documents are exposed in the museum of the monastery.
There are many important and valuable palaeotypes preserved and exposed in the monastery today. Their number is assumed to be about 450 volumes (period between 15-19thcent.).
Most of them are liturgical books, as it happens with the manuscripts, certain of them are rare editions of Venice: the Holy Bible 1518 edit. By Aldos Manoutios, the Acts of the Appostles 1525 (edit. By Stephen Savios) and 153 (edit. by Andreas Kainadis), Menaia 1526-1551, Paraklitiki 1528, Anthology 1555 with foreword of “the priest of Malaxos Nicholaos headpriest of Nafplion”, Gospel 1588 “correction Emmanuel Glyzonneios”. There are also writings: “certain writings of Vasilios the Great” Venice 1535 edit. Stephen Savios.
There is a number of archetypes, early printed books, edited in Venice by the famous humanist scholar Aldos Manoutios, the so-called editioners aldinae of the Greek classic writers as well as grammatic and handy books: Idylls by Theokritos, Gnome by Theognis, Theogony, Works and Days, Hercules’s shield by Hesiodos (1495) Grammar by Theodoros Laskaris, About syntax (1495) by Apollonios Grammatikos of Alexandria, Thesaurus – the horn of Amalthea ana Adonis’ gardens (1496), Aristophanes (1498) with preface of the illustrious Hellenist Markos Mousouros, Dialogoi by Loukianos (1503), Rhetoric orations (1513), Isokratis (1534) etc. Of the same importance are the editions of other classic writers: Opera Omnia Platonos, Basel 1534 with the famous ode of Markos Mousouros, Historian Library by Diodoros Sikeliotis “anno MDLIX = 1559 excudebat Henricus Stephanus”.
Among the others, the rare edition of the Lexicon of Souida (Souda) by Dimitrios Chalkokondilis on 15 Nov. 1499 in Milan as well as the Lexicon of Varinus Favorinus in 1523 in Rome “with the labor and the correction of Zacharias Kalliergis the Cretan”.
The monumental two-volumed edition in Paris “Lutetiae Parisiorum MDCXXX = 1630” of the Ecclesiastical History of Nikiphoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos as well as series of the Byzantine Historians (second edition Venice 1729 vol. IXII) are worth to mention.
All of the above are mearly a fragment of the massive collection of treasures and relics that the monasteries exhibit in the museums and a good excuse to spend a few days in Meteora.
Give us the oportunity to guide you throught history and to make this trip easier for you…!
