Manuscripts that contain the Akathistos can be divided into three categories. First, there are the kontakaria (collections of kontakion hymns arranged in calendrical order) which transmit the text under 25 March, the feast day of the Annunciation. The second group comprises menaia and triodia (liturgical books) where the hymn forms part of the festal office for 25 March or for the Fifth Saturday of Lent. Finally, there is a large number of psalters and horologia (books of hours) where an Office of the Akathistos (consisting of the hymn proper and an accompanying kanon) is appended to the psalms or hours as an extra devotional observance; in a few instances, the office is also transmitted on its own. Intended for private use and relatively later in date, codices of the third category are unimportant for the critical constitution of the hymn’s text; some of them, however, are illustrated with miniatures.