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Mykola Zharkikh (Kyiv)

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Chronicle Metropolitan Photius

Nicholas Zharkikh

Shortened text of the section. Full text in ukrainian version

We have already noted that Bil0L in terms of 1410 – 1427 years very different from the previous parts by the mass of unique information and the fact that they are all grouped around the Metropolitan Photius.

To better understand the meaning of these messages, we will draw up a complete list of all the events surrounding the Metropolitan Photius, with the main chronicles 15. The table contains 43 rows, 4 columns.

We see that the Chronicle Metropolitan Photius (CMF) as part Bil0L limited episodes 1 – 37; for the subsequent years in other annals we have news of Photios, but they were not included in Bil0L. Therefore, we can say quite confidently that CMF replenishment stopped between February and April 1427, and it can be assumed that the cause of death was a chronicler of the plague, which avoided him one and half year (from autumn 1425).

Competence of the author CMF in those matters about which he wrote, and its proximity to Metropolitan – have no doubt. He, of course, accompanied Photius in his travels in Lithuania, and in trips through villages near Moscow, hence a large number of exact dates.

With respect the total number of messages about Photios for 1410 – 1427 years, the unique news CMF account for 38%; moreover, in such episodes 10, 12, 31, CMF provides unique details that were not included in any other chronicle. Therefore CMF is an important source for the biography of Photius, and for the history of this period as a whole.