The Name of Prophet Abraham in the Old Russian Literature of XI—XIII centuries
- DOI
- 10.5922/2225-5346-2018-2-9
- Pages
- 98-121
Abstract
The spread of Christianity in Russia contributed to the development of writing and had a direct impact on the thematic, genre, figurative features of spiritual, and later secular literature. In this article, we consider the image of Abraham, one of the Biblical forefathers, along with Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, who are central to Old Testament. The author analyzes the mentioning of his name in various contexts of ancient Russian literature of the 11th-13th centuries — the Tale of Bygone Years, the Teaching and Prayer of Theodosius of Pechersky, the Ostromir’s Gospel, the Words and Instructions of Cyril of Turov, the Tale of Boris and Gleb and some others. The author distinguishes free and formulaic references to the prophet’s name. An example of free reference is a comparison of the events of the recent past with an episode from Abraham’s life. Examples of formulaic references include cases like "Abraham bosom", "children of Abraham", where Abraham not only appears as a forefather of the sacred people, but also personifies the afterlife. The name of Abraham is described in the historical chronology, in which the prophet appears as the emblem of time or a genus. Depending on the context, the formulaic and free references to his name in the Old Testament belong to the period of the sacred history when Abraham lived or to all the biblical events simultaneously. Free reference of Abraham's name occurs less often and mostly in the episode of the liberation of Lot from captivity, and in the description of his personal qualities, such as his hospitality. Formulas are always built into rhetorical constructions such as additions, and the image of the forefather of the chosen people in the formulas appears primarily as a symbol of the Old Testament.
Reference
|
Akent'ev, K. K., 2005. ‘Slovo o zakone i blagodati’ Ilariona Kievskogo [‘The Word of Law and Grace’ by Hilarion of Kiev]. Vol. 3. St. Petersburg. pp. 116—152 (in Russ.). Alekseev, A. A., 1999. Tekstologiya slavyanskoi Biblii [Textology of the Slavic Bible]. St. Petersbourg (in Russ.). Bahtina, O. N., 1999. Staroobryadcheskaya literatura i traditsii khristianskogo ponimaniya slova [Old Believer literature and traditions of Christian understanding of the word]. Tomsk (in Russ.). Bibliya, sirech' knigi svyashchennogo pisaniya Vetkhogo i Novogo zaveta s parallel'nymi mestami [The Bible, the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments with parallel places], 1900. St. Petersburg (in Russ.). Vodolazkin, E. G., 2008. Vsemirnaya istoriya v literature Drevnei Rusi (na materiale khronograficheskogo i paleinogo povestvovaniya XI—XV vekov) [World history in the literature of Ancient Russia (on the basis of the chronographic and paleic narration of the XI—XV centuries)]. St. Petersbourg (in Russ.). Vprashanie Izyaslav prince, the son of Yaroslavl, the grandson of Volodymyr, hegumen Fedosya Pechersky monastery, 1997. In: D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, eds. Biblioteka literatury Drevnej Rusi [The Library of Ancient Rus' Literature]. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg. pp. 446—448 (in Russ.). Gippius, A. A., 2010. ‘Chronicle’ readings of paremias about Boris and Gleb: the history of the text and the historical context. In: B. A. Uspenskii, F. B. Uspenskii. Fakty i znaki: issledovaniya po semiotike istorii [Facts and signs: research on the semiotics of history]. Moscow. pp. 42—71 (in Russ.). Danilevskij, I. N., 2004. The Bible as the source of the Tale of Bygone Years and its prior corpuses. In: Povest vremennyh let: germenevticheskie osnovy istochnikovedeniya letopisnyh tekstov [The Tale of Bygone Years: Hermeneutical foundations of the source study of annalistic texts]. Moscow. pp. 90—110 (in Russ.). Zhivov, V. M., 1994. Svyatost'. Kratkii slovar' agiograficheskikh terminov [Holiness. A brief dictionary of hagiographic terms]. Moscow. Life and piligrimage of Danil from the Russian land, 1997. In: D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, eds. Biblioteka literatury Drevnej Rusi [The Library of Ancient Rus' Literature]. Vol. 4. St. Petersburg. pp. 26—117 (in Russ.). 1908. Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisei [Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles]. Vol. 2. St. Petersbourg. (in Russ.). Kyiv-Pechersk Patericon, 1997. In: D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, eds. Biblioteka literatury Drevnej Rusi [The Library of Ancient Rus' Literature]. Vol. 4. St. Petersburg. pp. 296—489 (in Russ.). The month of July 24. To the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. From Genesis at the Vespers of Reading 3, 2006. In: N. I. Milyutenko. Svyatye knyaz'ya-mucheniki Boris i Gleb: (issledovaniya i teksty) [The holy princes of martyrdom Boris and Gleb: (research and texts)]. St. Petersbourg. pp. 346—355 (in Russ.). 1995. Mesyac maj: Minei [Month May: Mineas]. Moscow (in Russ.). Milyutenko, N. I., 2006. Readings of paremias to Saint Boris and Gleb. In: Svyatye knyaz'ya-mucheniki Boris i Gleb [The Holy Princes-Martyrs Boris and Gleb]. St. Petersbourg. pp. 212—248 (in Russ.). Minei [Mineas], 1995. Moscow (in Russ.). Myuller, L., 2000. Ponyat' Rossiyu: istoriko-kul'turnye issledovaniya [Understand Russia: historical and cultural studies.]. Moscow (in Russ.). Nevzorova, N. N., 2004. Paremias to Boris and Gleb: the experience of reading). In: O. V. Tvorogov, ed. Trudy Otdela drevnerusskoi literatury [Works of the Department of Old Russian Literature]. Vol. 56. St. Petersbourg. pp. 428—452 (in Russ.). About the Law, through Moses given, and about Grace and Truth through Jesus Christ revealed, and as the Law departed, but Grace and Truth filled the whole earth, and faith in all nations spread, and reached our Russian people. And praise our prince Vladimir, whom we were baptized. And prayer to God from all our land, 1997. In: D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, eds. Biblioteka literatury Drevnej Rusi [The Library of Ancient Rus' Literature]. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg. 1, pp. 26—61 (in Russ.). Ostromir Gospels. Rossiiskaya natsional'naya biblioteka [Russian State Library]. Available at: http://expositions.nlr.ru/ex_manus/Ostromir_Gospel/_Project/page_Manuscripts. php?izo=B42EB88E-8BD8-44A1-9754-EF88B39E7CAC [Accessed 02 December 2017] (in Russ.). Picchio, Riccardo, 2008. Slavia Orthodoxa: Literatura i yazyk [Slavia Orthodoxa: literature and language]. Moscow (in Russ.). A story about the life and bravery of the blessed and great Prince Alexander, 1997. In: D. S. Likhacheva, L. A. Dmitrieva, eds. Biblioteka literatury Drevnej Rusi [The Library of Ancient Rus' Literature]. Vol. 5. St. Petersburg. pp. 358—369 (in Russ.). Ranchin, A. M., 2012. On the topic in the Old Russian literature: the problem of distinguishing of topos and quotations. Drevnyaya Rus': Voprosy medievistiki [Early Rus’: Questions of Medieval Studies], 3(49), pp. 21—32 (in Russ.). Tvorogov, O. V., 1964. Problems of studying the stable literary formulas of Early Rus’. In: Trudy otdela drevnerusskoj literatury [Works of the Department of Old Russian Literature]. Vol. 20. Moscow. pp. 29—40 (in Russ.). Turilov, A. A., 2000. Notes on Kievan graffiti. In: Lingvisticheskoe istochnikov edeniei istoriya russkogoy azyka [Linguistic source study and the history of the Russian language]. Moscow. pp. 26—58 (in Russ.). Shahmatov, A. A., 1940. The Tale of Bygone Years and its sources. In: Trudy otdela drevnerusskoj literatury (Works of the Department of Old Russian Literature). Vol. 4 Moscow. pp. 9—150 (in Russ.). Franklin, S., 1982. Some Apocryphal Sources of Kievan Russian Historiography. Oxford Slavonic Papers, 15, pp. 1—27. Franklin, S., 2002. Writing, Society and Culture in Early Rus. Cambridge. pp. 950—1300. |