«Господарь великий Новгород» и московское летописание 70-х годов xv века

Abstract

The article analyzes the designation “Sovereign [gospodar´] Novgorod the Great” used by the Moscow Chronicle Compilation in its account of the confrontation between Moscow and Novgorod in the 1470s. Used in Novgorod in the second half of the fifteenth century to designate Novgorod’s political community, this appellation was even more solemn than the pre-existing “Lord Novgorod the Great.” The author concludes that in the Moscow Chronicle Compilation, the designation was used at a time when unfavorable circumstances had befallen Novgorod: Novgorodians had allegedly recognized the Lithuanian Grand Duke Сasimir Jagiellon as lord [gospodin] of “Sovereign Novgorod the Great.” Further, it turns out that the Moscow chronicler used the treaty of Novgorod the Great with Lithuania (or its draft) for propaganda purposes. The Moscow Chronicle Compilation of the 1470s has a well thought-out rhetorical strategy aimed at concealing facts and interpreting or even fabricating others in a pro-Moscow way. The article explores specific aspects of this strategy.