Volokolamsk Literacy Monk Vassian Koshka and his Copy of the Menology Life of Iosif Volotsky: from Text to Context

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

The Life of Iosif Volotsky written by his disciple Savva Cherny in the mid-1540s and included in the Menology of Metropolitan Makariy has been studied quite well. One of the manuscript copies was rewritten by the Volokolamsk scribe Vassian Koshka. Among the features of his copy is the omission of the news about the grant of the village Belkovo to the Iosifo- Volokolamsky Monastery by the appanage prince Yuri Ivanovich of Dmitrov in 1510. This paper is devoted to link the features of Vassian Koshka’s copy with his activities in monastery in the 1560s. Monk Vassian was engaged not only in rewriting manuscripts and writing literary works, but also edited the Donation Book of Iosifo-Volokolamsky Monastery during this period. The chapters of the Donation Book about grants associated with the name of the appanage prince Yuri Ivanovich of Dmitrov could have influenced Vassian Koshka’s decision to remove the information about the village of Belkovo from the text of the Life. The copy he edited had almost no influence on the manuscript tradition of this writing. The only exception is the miracle About the Novgorod priest, which is read both in Vassian’s copy and in the copies of the third edition of the Life. Probably, the appearance of this story in Vassian’s copy was connected with his interaction with Volokolamsk literaсy monk Evfimy Turkov, who in the 1560s was a monastery Chart Keeper and supervised the editing of the Donation Book.
Keywords: book culture of Iosifo-Volokolamsky Monastery, Vassian Koshka, Menology Life of Iosif Volotsky, tale About prince Yuriy, Donation Book of Iosifo-Volokolamsky Monastery, miracle tale About Novgorod priest, Evfimy Turkov
Author: Alexander A. Kazakov
Information about the author:

Alexander A. Kazakov, PhD in History, Research Fellow, Institute of Russian History of Russian Academy of Sciences, Dm. Ul’yanova St., 19, 117292 Moscow, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8506-3737

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

Kazakov, A.A. “Volokolamsk Literacy Monk Vassian Koshka and His Copy of the Menology Life of Iosif Volotsky: from Text to Context.” 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. 635–653. https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-635-653 (In Russian)
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/EGMWAM
UDC: 821.161.1.0
Publication Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2026-25-635-653

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