28 February 2014

Archangel Gospel of 1092

It is the fourth dated Gospel after Ostromirovo Gospel, Izbornik by Sviatoslav and Izbornik of 1076. From 11th century only 36 Slavonic manuscript books saw our days, and only 7 of them possess an exact date of creation. Gospel of Arkhangelsk is among them. The manuscript is unique from the points of view of such sciences as Linguistics, Paleography, Manuscript Study and Book Study. Gospel of Arkhangelsk (1092) entered the Rumiantsev museum in the end of 19th century. By the 50th anniversary of Moscow public museum and Rumiantsev museum the Gospel was re – edited by way of autotyping, the number of copies was only 100. For several years the manuscript has been an object of great interest and careful research of national and international scientists. Numerous scientific works and monographs are devoted to this manuscript. UNESCO has taken this document into international list – register “Memory of the World”, which includes documents most significant for the world history.

Read the book

 

28 February 2014

Buslaev Psalter. 1470—1490

The manuscript book was named after its first researcher, the well-known historian, art critic and great connoisseur of manuscripts Fedor Ivanovich Buslaev. The main part of Buslaev Psalter was written in the period of 1485 and 1490. As the researchers believe, the combination of the two parts of manuscript happened around 1506. The manuscript is exceptional in terms of decorative design: none of the subsequent works have such splendor of imagination, sophistication of ornament and intricacy of script letters. Psalms are decorated with colorful headpieces and initials, remarkable by its beauty and diversity of ornament types: in the text of Psalms the initials on the margins of pages form the unusual floral composition of the finest herbs and leaves, painted in cold pale shades of green and cinnabar. Having repeatedly inspired the researchers, this manuscript «continues to remain a monument mysterious and solely unique», noted G.V.Popov, Doctor in History of Arts. Recently, the researcher M.A.Orlova managed to discover the nearest analogies to floral motifs on the margins of the manuscript: there were found similarities in some of the mosaic and fresco cycles of Constantinopolitan monuments, in the decorations of 1428 in the Church of Holy Mother Odigitria in Mistra and in the frescoes of the last quarter of XV century in the Church of Simeon the Righteous at Novgorod Zverin Convent.

Read the book

28 February 2014

Measure of Righteousness, the middle of the XIV century

The literary and legal collection, compiled at Tver’ at the turn of XIV century. The earliest copy was made in the middle of the XIV century on parchment and had the unique artistic features: historiated letters, teratological images and miniatures. The main part of the collection was formed by the Code of Law, including «Ruskaia Pravda» («Rus Truth [Law]») of Yaroslav the Wise, and «Ustav» («Code of Law») of Vladimir Monomakh. The introduction literary part of the collection served to convince the powers that be (princes) in the inevitability of Divine retribution for the unjust trial and the priority of the spiritual court over secular. The book is an outstanding monument of the written culture of universal value. The vast bibliography of well-known Russian scientists is devoted to it; among these researchers are A. I. Sobolevsky, D. V. Ainalova, G. I. Vzdornova, V. A. Koutchkina, G. V. Popova, and others. In 1961, by the effort of M. N. Tikhomirov, there was published the facsimile edition of the monument.

Read the book