Laurentian Codex or Laurentian
Letopis
''Letopis'' was a Russian monthly journal published in St Petersburg from December 1915 until December 1917. It had a range of material including literary, scientific and political material. Its political stance was to oppose nationalism and the ...
(russian: Лаврентьевский список, Лаврентьевская летопись) is a collection of chronicles that includes the oldest extant version of the ''
Primary Chronicle
The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
'' and its continuations, mostly relating the events in Northern Russia (
Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
).
The scribe and his source
The codex was not just copied by the
Nizhegorod monk Laurentius commissioned by
Dionysius of Suzdal in 1377. The original text on events from 1284 to 1305 was a lost codex compiled for the Grand Duke
Mikhail of Tver
Mikhail Yaroslavich (russian: Михаил Ярославич) (1271 – 22 November 1318), also known as Michael of Tver, was a Prince of Tver (from 1285) who ruled as Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 until 1314 and again from 1315–1318. ...
in 1305, but Laurentius re-edited the presentation of
Yuri Vsevolodovich, the founder of
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, from positive into a negative, partly rehabilitating the role of Tatars. Vasily Komarovich studied traces of changes within the manuscript and established a hypothesis about differences between Laurentius' version and the lost one of the Tver chronicle.
Content
The Laurentian Codex compiled several codices of the Vladimir chronicles. It is the second edition of Nestor's chronicle, which had been already revised in 1116 by Sylvester, Hegumen of the St. Michael Monastery in the village of Vydubychi, under the reign of Prince
Vladimir Monomakh
Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...
, and it is the oldest version known today. The codex is a unique source for the autobiographical chronicle called ''Instruction of Vladimir Monomakh''.
The first part until folio 40 verso was written by an unknown scribe commissioned by
Andrew Bogolyubsky. In 1177 it was completed after the assassination of the prince. The second chronicle about
Vsevolod the Big Nest
Vsevolod III Yuryevich, or Vsevolod the Big Nest ( rus, Все́волод III Ю́рьевич Большо́е Гнездо́, Vsévolod III Yúr'yevich Bol'shóye Gnezdó) (1154–1212), was Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1176 to 1212. During ...
continued up to 1193. The third which did glorify Vsevolod, was composed in 1212 by his son
Yuri Vsevolodovich. The Vladimir Chronicles borrowed from sources of the Southern Rus', especially from
Pereiaslav
Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (Oblast, province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta River, Alta ...
, since Vladimir princes regarded the city as part of their patrimony.
The compilation referred to various periods until 1305, but the years 898–922, 1263–1283 and 1288–1294 had been omitted for reasons of censorship, and quite likely under supervision of Dionysios, Metropolitan of Kyiv. The revision was done under great rush and another hand in the manuscript proves, that Laurentius' work was assisted by a second scribe whose hand can be found on the later added folios 157, 167, and on the verso side of folio 161.
[See th]
description of the manuscript
in the documentation of the Russian National Library.
History of the manuscript
The manuscript was acquired by the famous
Count Musin-Pushkin in 1792 and subsequently presented to the
Russian National Library
The National Library of Russia (NLR, russian: Российская национальная библиотека}), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked amo ...
in
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
(Ms.
F.п.IV.2).
See also
*
Solar eclipse of 1 May 1185
The solar eclipse of 1 May 1185 was a total solar eclipse visible in Central America, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Kazakhstan. The eclipse is number 30 in the Solar Saros 115 series. The eclipse shadow on the Earth's surface was at its gr ...
References
Sources
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Critical edition
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Translations
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igitisation of the Laurentian Codex, including transliteration and translation into modern Russian, with an introduction in English*
External links
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Real photos, OCS text, modern Russian translationOld Church Slavonic text similar to original in pdf formatThe House of Count Aleksei Musin-Pushkin (1744–1818) in St. Petersburg. Here was stored Laurentian Codex
{{expand Russian, Лаврентьевская летопись, date=November 2020
1377 books
East Slavic chronicles
14th-century manuscripts
Cyrillic manuscripts