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Mykola Zharkikh (Kyiv)

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Remarks on the texts of the Degree Book

Nicholas Zharkikh

Andrew (Athanasius) – the author of the Degree Book

Tale of Michael and Fedor in the Book of Degrees

Andrew generously borrowed fragments from PSLF. The influence of PSLF was also manifested in the systematic titling of Fedor synlitic, and in M-70 it is named also ascetic – this characteristic word is used in PSLF at least three times.

Andrew’s goal was to preserve the factual basis of the story, as befits a historical work, and to decorate it with magnificent rhetoric, as required by the literary tastes of his time.

Tale of Michael and Fedor
in the Illustrated Chronicle

In general, the version of Illustrated Chronicle, significantly deviating from its prototype, did not show much literary skill. The purpose of the revision, as in most cases with the SMF, remained unclear to me.

It should also be noted that the variants of the SMF, derived from the Nikon’s Chronicle, are all marked by increasingly sharp anti-Tatar rhetoric. I do not give examples, there are enough of them even in the extracts made above.

Shortened text of the section. Full text in ukrainian version.