PROCHIRO. – An Eastern compilation, consisting of a preface and forty titles, probably promulgated in 879, during the reign of Basil I, Constantine, and Leo. It takes its name from the most frequent indication found in manuscripts (ὁ πρόχειρος νόμος); it is also known as διάταξις τῶν τριῶν βασιλέων or ἐγχειρίδιος νόμος.
The material from which it is composed is drawn mainly from Justinian’s *Institutiones* and *Novellae*, while passages from the *Digestae* and the *Codex* are scarce. The *P.* was widely used, even in ecclesiastical courts, and was adopted by Constantine Armenopulus as the basis for his *Manual*. It was edited by Zacharia von Lingenthal (Heidelberg 1837); noteworthy, also for the introduction provided, is the English translation by E. H. Freshfield (*A Manual of Eastern Roman Law*, Cambridge 1928).