The Manuscript Tradition of The Third Redaction of the Russian Chronograph. Continuing A. N. Popov’s Research

Abstract

This article aims to draw scholars’ attention to the study of The Old Russian Chronograph of the Third Redaction, a work of Russian culture that provides a profound idea of the spiritual world of the people of the seventeenth century. An archaeographic sketch provides a key to the study of the manuscript tradition initiated by A. N. Popov 150 years ago. The author examines 47 major codices (not counting excerpts) attributed to each of the three editions of the Chronograph, which was created in the 1640s and became extremely popular with scribes later. The author reveals 25 of the 31 manuscripts used by Popov. Another 22 archival codices were added to them. For many of them, the author managed to establish the time frames of emergence and identify their creators and owners. The archaeographic data show the growing interest in the work from 1645 to the turn of the eighteenth century among all strata of society. Diocesan bishops and important monasteries (Chudov, Novospassky Siyskiy, Makaryev Zheltovodsky), boyars, many stolniks, priests, merchants, and townspeople tried to acquire The Chronograph. They rewrote and enlarged it showing enviable creativity in all parts of the country, from Moscow to Bryansk, Beloozero, and Kholmogor. The article provides a description of the sources that have now become available for study.