From the heirmos to the troparia? Thoughts on the Hymnographer’s Method of Composition and Contemporary Editing Practices

This paper raises a series of questions concerning the use of the heirmos in Byzantine hymnography. Did the hymnographer always know the same text of the heirmos as that transmitted in the manuscripts and editions available to us today? Did he follow this text strictly, or did he modify it in the process of composition? Modern editions of troparia are usually established on the basis of the metrical structure of the heirmos, with philological intervention when the textual evidence appears to require it. The paper asks whether the reverse approach may also be appropriate.