Ecloga

   A legal handbook issued by Leo III (q.v.) in 741. It was intended as an abridged and updated substitute for the Corpus Juris Civilis (q.v.), which was outdated, and incomprehensible to those unacquainted with Latin. It also intended to introduce Christian principles to the law, making the law more humane by substituting mutilation (e.g., cutting off the nose, tongue, or hand, and blinding) for the death penalty, a prevalent punishment in Justinian's Corpus. The Ecloga also served as a manual for the teaching of law, replacing Justinian I's (q.v.) Institutes. Its usefulness is attested to by its revisions by an Arab adaptation, an Armenian translation, and various Slavonic translations. It was not replaced in Byzantium (q.v.) until the Epanagogue (q.v.), and its revision, the Prochiron (q.v.), issued in the following century.