Historical and language-cultural dimensions of Nobel Gospel of 1520

Abstract

A manuscript from the beginning of the 16th century from Noble (Pinsk County, which is now in Rivne oblast, Ukraine) was studied, representing the religious writing of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in historical and language-cultural aspects. The afterword to the Nobel Gospel was analyzed, and the historical figures named in it were identified (Prince Fedor Ivanovich Yaroslavich, Bishop Jonah). Information about them was collected based on historical sources and scientific literature. The ‘Ruthenian’ edition of the Church Slavonic language, manifestations of the second South Slavic influence in the text, is characterized. The monument’s history information, now represented in the Library of the Vrublevsky Academy of Sciences of Lithuania (Lithuania), was systematized. The Nobel Gospel, which has not been the subject of scientific study until now, was analyzed during an interdisciplinary study. The historical context of the monument’s creation based on the afterword is analyzed. Its temporal and spatial localization, the possible sphere of operation, ancient storage of the rarity, scribes (Chivs), and historians were established. Prince Fedor Ivanovich Yaroslavich carried out charitable activities. He founded and supported churches and monasteries in the Pinsk District. The bishops of Pinsk and Turov, Vasian, and later Jonah, mentioned in the afterword, appealed to the king and received a “salary” letter stating that it should be their will and approval for the construction of churches and monasteries. The analyzed manuscript from Polissia was proved to reveal the book traditions of the 16th century and the eccentricity of the centers of rewriting texts of religious writing. The main manifestations of the second South Slavic influence in the orthography of the manuscript are characterized. Different orthographic and phonetic features of the ‘Ruthenian’ edition of the Church Slavonic language have been analyzed. Since the 60s of the 19th century, the manuscript from Polissia was transported to the Vilnius Public Library. The Manuscript Department was founded here, and the first descriptions of the monument were compiled.