An introduction to the text volume of the first critical edition of the Greek monastic novel The Life of Barlaam and Josaphat , available since the end of 2006. It deals with the question of the authorship – which can now be regarded as resolved – the sources of the text and its influence, the contents, the history of the manuscript together with the various illustration cycles, and the direct translations from the Greek. The volume is completed with a characterization of the new edition and a detailed bibliography.