A chapter in the Byzantine paleography of accountancy: The fractions in the Book of Ceremonies

Abstract

Chapter II, 45 of the Book of Ceremonies, a half-edited dossier pertaining to the naval expedition of 949 against the Arabs at Crete, contains a document which is most banal and singular at once. This is a procurement report of miscellaneous supplies recording in each entry the amount spent and the nature of the supplies acquired, occasionally specifying the price per item or per measure. However common such reports are in ancient and modern accounting, this is the only document of its kind preserved from the middle Byzantine period. In line with the State accounting norms inherited from Late Antiquity, all expenses are listed in gold, the silver miliaresia being recorded as fractions of a golden nomisma. The symbols for fractions have not been recognized by editors, translators and students of the text; they were either disregarded or misinterpreted. Restoring their meaning to these symbols allows not only a coherent reading of the report as a whole and a better understanding of the State purchasing process; it also throws light on prices of many items and on the last-minute enterprise which consisted in building Viking-style boats for the Rus’ warriors participating in the campaign.