The Sinaitic Glagolitic Sacramentary (Euchologium) Fragments

Project Details


Austrian Science Fund

Grant Number



2007/01/01 - 2010/06/30


Robert Sablatnig
Robert Sablatnig


Markus Diem
Angelika Garz
Melanie Gau
Florian Kleber
Martin Lettner
Maria Christine Vill
Heinz Miklas (ISS)

In collaboration with the Institute of Slavic Studies (ISS), University of Vienna, this interdisciplinary project is devoted to the recording, investigation and edition of two medieval Slavonic manuscripts of extraordinary importance, discovered in 1975 in St. Catherine’s monastery on Mt. Sinai: “Euchologii Sinaitici pars nova” (Cod. Sin. slav. 1/N) and “Missale (Sacramentarium) Sinaiticum” (Cod. Sin. slav. 5/N). The goal of the image processing part lies in the development of techniques and tools for the recording, restoration and analysis of such sources in order to support the philological studies. The algorithms developed shall enable the philologists to perform their tasks better and faster.

The methodology of the interdisciplinary project is devided into the following tasks:

  1. Image Acquisition
    Since photographic techniques in the visible range have proven to be insufficient with the objects given, spectral imaging will have to be applied. Multi- and hyper-spectral imaging techniques have become a powerful tool in the scientific analysis and documentation of old manuscripts with “latent” (e.g. palimpsest) texts.
  2. Technical Image Analysis
    Following their acquisition the digital images have to be registered and analyzed. Preprocessingsteps enhance the readability of the text and prepare the images for the followingscript description and restoration which will be the major part of the technical image analysis.
  3. Material Analysis
    In order to complete the overall description of the manuscripts (esp. with respect to their proper dating and localizing) writing materials like inks and colors (pigments) have to be analyzed. This task will be handled by the Institute of Science and Technology in Art (ISTA), Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
  4. Philological Image Analysis
    This task aims at the examination of the formal peculiarities of the scripts (palaeographic side) and the form- and function relationship of the writing systems (graphemic side).
  5. Editorial Steps
    The editorial steps include the decipherment of latent texts and the preparation of the complete texts of the manuscripts chosen for publication, including commentaries, indices etc.

Detailed Information