Bitola triodion

The Bitola Triodion is a Middle Bulgarian Glagolitic manuscript that contains a triodion from the late 12th century.

History

In 1898, the manuscript was brought to the in Bitola from a nearby village, along with other Slavic and Greek manuscripts. Historian Yordan Ivanov found it in Bitola in 1907. It is now kept in the library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia.

The triodion contains 101 leaves of parchment, each sized to 27.5 x 19.5 cm. According to Ivanov, it was written in the village of by Georgi Gramatik. Along with usual service prayers, it contains a hymographic cycle of Konstantin of Preslav. It is written in Cyrillic with traces of Glagolitic, which is considered to be a characteristic feature of manuscripts from the Bulgarian region.
Some scholars assume that it is a direct copy of an older, Glagolitic book. The document contains musical notation, and a frequent use of the self-theta, which is written in black and red ink. The sign is placed above individual words to inform singers of musical ornamentation.