Bookmen’s notes in Old Russian exegetical compilations


2020. № 2 (40), 206-217

Konstantin V. Vershinin
The Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences
(Moscow, Russia)
versh-kv@yandex.ru

Abstract:

The paper presents a publication, with a commentary, of four notes contained in different
Old Russian exegetical compilations. One of the notes is an afterword by a bookman who
supposedly interpreted the verses on the legendary Solomon’s Chalice (the story is widely
known from Vita Constantini-Cyrilli); two others express exegetical views of the bookmen;
the last one is a lengthy remark against unreasonable listeners. These short opuscula are interesting
in their content, literary form, and some linguistic material. The notes contain words
not registered in historical dictionaries of the Russian language.