---
title: "Hagiopolitan Octoechos"
chunk: 8/11
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagiopolitan_Octoechos"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:39:20.479308+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Medieval use of transposition (μεταβολὴ κατὰ τόνον) ===
Latin cantors knew about the theoretical concept of the practice of transposition since Boethius' translation of Ptolemy. Very few can be said, if they ever understood the practical use of it. Nevertheless, there was a rudimentary knowledge which can be found in the Carolingian treatises Musica and Scolica enchiriadis. The Musica enchiriadis was also the only Latin treatise which documented a second tone system beside the systẽma teleion, but it does not explain at all, how these both systems worked together in practice.
The Hagiopolites did neither explain it nor did it mention any tone system nor the metabolē kata tonon, but this was probably because the hymn reform of Jerusalem was mainly concerned with simple models exemplified by heirmoi or troparia. Greek protopsaltai used the transposition only in very few compositions of the stichẽrarion, for instance the compositions passing through all the modes of the octoechos, or certain melismatic elaborations of troparia in the psaltic style, the soloistic style of the Constantinopolitan cathedral rite. This might explain that Charles Atkinson discussed Carolingian theory in comparison with the later Papadikai, in which all possible transpositions were represented by the Koukouzelian wheel or by the kanõnion.
Wheels are also used in Arabic music theory since the 13th century, and Al-Farabi was the first who started a long tradition of science, which did not only find the proportions of the untransposed diatonic system on the oud keyboard, but also those of all possible transpositions. The use of instruments had to adapt to a very complex tradition which had probably been a rather vocal tradition in its origins.

== See also ==
Papadic and Neobyzantine Octoechos
Musical system of ancient Greece
Byzantine Music—traditional music of the Byzantine Empire
Protopsaltes (Domestikos, Lampadarios)—ranks of psaltes in charge of the Patriarchate

=== People ===
Andrew of Crete—teacher of John of Damascus, and Cosmas of Maiuma and hymn reformer at Mar Saba (8th century)
Joseph the Hymnographer—Sicilian Greek and hymn reformer at the Monastery of Stoudios (9th century)

== Notes ==

== Sources ==

=== Greek chant treatises ===
Pseudo-Zosimos (1887–88). Berthelot, Marcellin; Ruelle, Charles-Émile (eds.). Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs. Vol. 3. Paris: Georges Steinheil. p. 434.; quoted and translated into German: Gombosi, Otto (1940). "Studien zur Tonartenlehre des frühen Mittelalters. III". Acta Musicologica. 12 (1/4): 39–44. doi:10.2307/931952. JSTOR 931952.
"Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fonds grec, Ms. 360, ff.216r-237v", Βιβλίον ἁγιοπολίτης συγκροτημένον ἔκ τινων μουσικῶν μεθόδων [The book of the Holy Polis "Jerusalem" unifying different musical methods] in a compiled collection of basic grammar treatises and fragments with mathemataria and of a menologion (12th century), see the edition: Raasted, Jørgen, ed. (1983), The Hagiopolites: A Byzantine Treatise on Musical Theory (PDF), Cahiers de l'Institut du Moyen-Âge Grec et Latin, vol. 45, Copenhagen: Paludan.
Bellermann, Johann Friedrich; Najock, Dietmar, eds. (1972), Drei anonyme griechische Traktate über die Musik, Göttingen: Hubert.
Hannick, Christian; Wolfram, Gerda, eds. (1997), Die Erotapokriseis des Pseudo-Johannes Damaskenos zum Kirchengesang, Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae - Corpus Scriptorum de Re Musica, vol. 5, Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, ISBN 978-3-7001-2520-4.