Enceiridion is defined as a manual or guide, which is an indispensable companion or guide in certain life situations or in the course of work. Theological and liturgical themes were originally dealt with in a work of this kind. In the course of the sixteenth century, medical guides or general manuals were later called the term. The genus described is similar to the so-called vademecum, which is, in the end, the Latin term for such a guide, whereby the word is also used as a concept for the guidebook literature itself.
The term “encheiridion” refers back to the Greek language and can be translated with a manual or a guide, whereby the noun itself points out what is the basic principle. The small catechism (1529) of the reformer Martin Luther or the enchiridion militis Christiani (1503) of the humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam can be regarded as an example of such a work.
The Enchiridion militis Christiani is a kind of guidance on how to behave as a Christian knight, with the main aim being to internalize the gentle virtues such as humility, mildness, selflessness, love of the enemy, and mercy. Luther’s work, The Small Catechism, can in turn be understood as an introduction to Christian faith, and is directed primarily to priests in order to serve it as aid to teaching in the Christian faith. The work came about because Martin Luther recognized on his travels that the people of the church were only incomprehensibly familiar with the Christian faith and, moreover, with the reformist insights.