On the distribution of dual forms in Russian hagiographies of the 15th century: a case study of Life of St. Stephen of Perm' and Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh

The purpose of this study is to examine how the dual forms were used in the literary texts of the Muscovy period. The author analyzed original hagiographies written by Epiphanius the Wise in the early fifteenth century Life of St. Stephen of Perm’ and Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The analysis was conducted not only at the grammatical and lexical-grammatical level, but also at the textual level. As a result of the analysis, it turned out that in many cases number forms were chosen according to the grammatical and lexical-grammatical conditions, but in considerable cases the choice was made by the narrative strategy associated with the characteristic of the episodes, the evidence of which can be observed in Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh.