Kontakion

DIMITRI CONOMOS

The first and dominant form of Byzantine hymnody. A long metrical homily culti­vated in the 5th century or early 6th, it consists of a preface (prooimion or koukoulion) which introduces the subject and its refrain (ephymnion), followed by a series of metrically identical stanzas or strophes (oikoi) that are linked by an acros­tic that may render the alphabet, the author’s name, or the feast commemorated. The prooimion is in a different meter from the stanzas, whose length can be anything from four to eighteen lines. Kontakia were performed paraliturgically between the offices of an all-night urban (or cathedral) vigil (pannychis).

SEE ALSO: St. Romanos the Melodist (6th c.)

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Carpenter, M. (ed.) (1970–3) Kontakia of Romanos, 2 vols. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. Lash, E. (trans.) (1995) St. Romanos “On the Life of Christ”: Kontakia. San Francisco: Harper Collins.