Vukan's Gospel () is a 13th-century Serbian
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
(
Gospel Book
A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels ( Greek: , ) is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the roo ...
) in Serbian
recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from the Latin ("review, analysis").
In textual criticism (as is the ...
of
Church Slavonic
Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...
. It is one of the oldest preserved Serbian medieval books, with more than 189 pages.
It was produced in
Ras,
which was the capital of the medieval
Principality of Serbia
The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...
, by the monk Simeon for
Prince Vukan, the son of King
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince (Grand Župan#Serbia, Veliki Župan) of the Grand Principality of Serbia, Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška (region), Raš ...
. It is the oldest ''
aprakos
Aprakos is a kind of Gospel or Acts of the Apostles book, otherwise known as weekly or service Gospel (Acts). In aprakoses, the text is organized not in the natural order of books, but along with the weekly church readings starting from the Holy (E ...
'' written in Rascian.
Miniatures in Vukan's Gospel from the beginning of the 13th century, are representative of the Raška miniature style. They were executed in the spirit of the late Comnenus art, characterized by graphic interpretations. The old monk Symeon left a long note saying that the manuscript had been made for the Great Zupan of the city of Ras, Vukan Nemanjić. It is quite possible that Simeon was the author of the miniatures.
See also
*
Medieval Serbian literature
Medieval Serbian literature or Old Serbian literature () refers to the literature written in medieval forms of Serbian language, up to the end of the 15th century, with its traditions extending into the early modern period.
During the Middle Age ...
References
Vukan Gospel. Complete Aprakos. About 1200. Serbian version. One of scribes: Monk Simeon
Church Slavonic biblical manuscripts
Medieval documents of Serbia
Serbian Cyrillic texts
Serbian literature
Serbian manuscripts
Gospel Books
13th-century biblical manuscripts
13th-century illuminated manuscripts
Cyrillic manuscripts
Cyrillo-Methodian studies
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