The Experiment of Technological and Codicological Research of Old Russian Parchment Manuscripts of the Second Half of the 13th–14th Centuries

Abstract

The article analyzes the types of lining of Old Russian codexes. The conclusion is made that there are two main techniques of lining — tra- ditional with the use of a special awl or knife and for the first time described in Russian historiography — with the use of a template. It is concluded that when using an awl or a knife, the lining furrows can be either wide, oval or rectangular in cross-section, or narrow (angular or triangular in cross-sec- tion), depending on the tool. Observations on the nature of the location of line grooves and punctures allowed us to reconstruct the technology of preparing parchment for writing. In most cases, the two-bifol lining was used. After the 4 bifolia were folded in half, punctures were made in the fields. Then the block was again sorted into 2 sheets. The sheets of parchment were unbent again. Lining was deployed at bifolia, not one tile at a time. In the pre-Mongol peri- od, in most of the studied manuscripts, there is a clear difference in the color of the hair (darker and yellowish) and flesh (lighter) sides. At a later time, the technology changed significantly, and in codexes, created in the period from the second half of the 13th–15th centuries differences between the flesh and hair sides are practically not observed, as a result of which the so-called Gregory’s rule is not executed. The article also analyzes the technique of template lining of parchment manuscripts. The earliest known case of this type of lining is recorded in the copy of Izbornik (Anthology) of 1073 year, which was created in Moscow back to 1403. The appearance of template technology significantly diversified the lining schemes.