On the Textology of The History of the First Patriarch Job of Moscow and All Russia

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Category: Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Issue 25
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Abstract:

The article presents a textual analysis of the History of the First Patriarch Job of Moscow and All Russia, which narrates the biography and deeds of Patriarch Job against the backdrop of the Time of Troubles. Twelve extant copies dating from the 17th–19th centuries are examined and classified into four principal textual types: A, B, C, and D. The study provides a chronological assessment of all known copies and an analysis of their structural and content features. Lexical variants and differences in the narration of individual episodes are analyzed to trace the relationships between the copies and types. It is shown that the main narrative remains stable across all copies. The earliest copy, Tikh. 227, which is incomplete and dates from 1673, is distinguished as a separate textual type A. By the late 17th century, type B (represented by the abbreviated manuscripts Rum. 156 and Rum. 364) was established, deriving from a now-lost copy from Staritsky Uspensky Monastery. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, six copies of type C were produced, containing a more expanded narrative. In the 19th century, type D developed from type C, characterized by greater compactness and textual coherence. On this basis, a stemma is constructed to illustrate the sequence of textual transmission and the relationships among the copies. The study also hypothesizes that the History was originated in Staritsa.
Keywords: Patriarch Job, The History of the First Patriarch Job of Moscow and All Russia, textology, manuscript copies, Staritsa
Author: Yi Zhong
Information about the author:

Yi Zhong, PhD Student, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Emb., 7/9, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5270-3502

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For citation:

Zhong, Yi. “On the Textology of ‘The History of the First Patriarch Job of Moscow and All Russia’.” Germenevtika drevnerusskoi literatury [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature]. Issue 25. Ed.-in-chief O.A. Tufanova, sci. ed. M.V. Kaplun. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2026, pp. 215–253. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-215-253 (In Russian)
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/OYKRWC
UDC: 821.161.1.0
Publication Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-215-253

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