Pericope

A pericope (/pəˈrɪkəpiː/; Greek περικοπή, "a cutting-out") in rhetoric is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture.

Manuscripts—often illuminated—called pericopes, are normally evangeliaries, that is, abbreviated Gospel Books only containing the sections of the Gospels required for the Masses of the liturgical year. Notable examples, both Ottonian, are the Pericopes of Henry II and the Salzburg Pericopes.