Natalia Viktorovna Sokolova,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
On the Problem of Coexistence of Manuscripts and Printed Books among the Provincial Clergy at the Turn of the 17th–18th Centuries
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2023-2-3
The existence of Cyrillic books outside the monastic and bishop’s book depositories in the 17th – early 18th centuries remained on the periphery of researchers’ attention for a long time. The information about manuscripts and printed books in parish churches was fragmented and therefore difficult to compare. Introducing new sources into scientific circulation remains a top priority today. The article presents some results of the study of the book lists in the Patriarch’s churches and monasteries, the description of which was carried out in pursuance of the decree of Peter I of January 31, 1701. The study revealed information about 1002 handrwritten and printed codices stored in 55 churches of the Patriarch’s estates across 13 uyezds of European Russia, as well as church books from two dozens of monastic villages. At the initial stage of the work, the author considered the following as the main tasks: assessing the information capabilities and representativeness of the identified sources, obtaining preliminary conclusions and formulating a hypothesis, determining further prospects for studying the problem of the joint existence of printed and handwritten books among the rural parish clergy. The study showed the presence of similarities and differences in the form and content of the book inventories in the Patriarch’s estates in different uyezds, made under the guidance of different scribes. The article analyses the reasons that influenced the formation of parish book collections, particularly the total number of codices, the ratio of printed books and manuscripts, the degree of representation of early printed books. The article studies the repertoire of books in rural churches, revealing a list of books that were minimally obligatory for a rural church. Despite the absolute predominance of the printed books in the Patriarch’s churches and monasteries, the description recorded manuscripts of various contents – liturgical books, biblical, explanatory theological literature, patristics, hagiographic literature. At the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, handwritten and printed books were still “coexisting” in parish churches, even in Patriarch’s estates. The article publishes inventories of books in the Patriarch’s villages in the Nizhny Novgorod uyezd (Matyushevo and Rabotki) and the Murom uyezd (Yarymovo).
Publishing: 28/02/2023
The article has been received by the editor on 23.01.2023
How to cite: Sokolova N.V. On the Problem of Coexistence of Manuscripts and Printed Books among the Provincial Clergy at the Turn of the 17th–18th Centuries // Historical Courier, 2023, No. 2 (28), pp. 35–48 . [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2023/ISTKURIER-2023-2-03.pdf]
Links: Issue 2 2023
Keywords: Patriarch; votchina; inventory books 1701–1705; parish church; manuscripts; printed books