Abstract
<jats:p>The article pursues two principal objectives. First, it aims to synthesise the archaeographical evidence concerning the printing of the Abgar cycle in the Travellers’ Books of Božidar and Vincenzo Vuković and of the first Bulgarian printer, Yakov Kraykov, published in Venice in the sixteenth century; to clarify its position and functions within the overall repertoire of Venetian Cyrillic paleotypy; and, in particular, to examine its participation in the so-called amuletic core of these editions. Second, the article adduces concrete evidence in support of the thesis of a connection between Philip Stanislavov’s Abagar (1651) and Yakоv’s Chasoslovets (Book of Hours) of 1566. The facts presented substantiate the conclusion that this early Christian text possesses rich potential for ideological and transformational reinterpretation, as well as a high degree of adaptability to diverse historical contexts. In the Venetian paleotypes, the Avgar cycle functions as a coherent whole composed of clearly defined compositional elements and accompanying metatexts, in an integrated unity of text, images and symbolism. Its dominant apotropaic role in the Balkans during the Late Middle Ages represents the most enduring and lasting affirmation of its integrative function, which extended even to Paulician proselytes, thereby contributing to the preservation of Christian identity under conditions of non-Christian rule.</jats:p>