From East to West: The Greek Prayer of Cyprian and its Translation into European Vernaculars

Vaucher, Daniel (2025) From East to West: The Greek Prayer of Cyprian and its Translation into European Vernaculars. THE HUNGARIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, 14 (2). pp. 247-273. ISSN 2063-8647 (print); 2063-9961 (online)

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Abstract

The Prayer of Cyprian is an exorcistic and apotropaic prayer that gained popularity inWestern Europe, particularly on the Iberian Peninsula and in South America. Since thefifteenth century, it has been transmitted in numerous versions and languages. Notably,the prayer came under the scrutiny of the Inquisition due to its alleged attribution toSaint Cyprian of Antioch and the inclusion of superstitious elements. As a result, itwas listed in the Index of Prohibited Books. Until now, the origins of this apotropaionhave remained unexplored. This article is the first to illuminate the clear connectionsbetween the vernacular recensions and the Greek manuscripts. An examination ofthe manuscripts, along with their copyists and owners, further reveals that the prayertravelled from East to West during the Renaissance, was translated into Latin, andsubsequently rendered into vernacular languages.

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