New publications on the cultural history of the Slavs

Wed Nov 5 18:19:31 UTC 2003

         Dear Colleagues,
         it is my pleasure to announce the publication of volume XI (2003) 
of Palaeoslavica : International Journal for the Study of Slavic Medieval 
Literature, History, Language and Ethnology and of Supplementum 1 to volume 
XI of Palaeoslavica that presents Alexander B. Strakhov's book, On 
Christmas Eve: Popular Christianity and Christmas Rituals and Customs in 
the West and among the Slavs (Noch' pered Rozhdestvom: narodnoe 
khristianstvo i rozhdestvenskaia obriadnost' na Zapade i u slavian).

Volume XI of Palaeoslavica contains an article by Tat'iana Vilkul on the 
Novgorodian First Chronicle and its relationship with the so-called 
Nachal'nyi Letopisnyi Svod, the existense of which was postulated by A.A. 
Shakhmatov. It also contains an article by Olga B. Strakhov on the 
linguistic views of Josef Dobrovský, the great Czech scholar (1753-1829), 
whose name has recently been added to the "list" of possible forgers of the 
famous Igor' Tale. The article examines linguistic views of Dobrovský, as 
we infer them from his works and treatises, and compares them with the 
linguistic practice of the creator of the Tale. The Publication section 
presents a collection of scribal notes and colophons from 173 Old Russian 
manuscripts of the 13th-15th centuries, gathered by the late Mariia G. 
Gal'chenko. It also presents modern records of the Christmas carols, 
collected by Elena A. Samodelova and her colleagues during the folklore 
expeditions to the Central Russia. The Speculum section contains an article 
by Francis J. Thomson on the origin of the Slavonic version of the Vita of 
St. Apollinaris; an article by Alexander B. Strakhov concerning some 
mistakes and/or inappropriate readings attested in modern editions of the 
Old Russian texts; and an article by Donald Ostrowski on the Church Council 
of 1503 and the disputes between Iosifliane and Nestiazhateli with 
particular emphasis on textological problems presented by those Old Russian 
documents and written sources that describe the Council. The Miscellanea 
section contains articles and notes by, among the others,  I. Sevcenko, D. 
Stern, and L.I. Sazonova. Volume XI contains the index of all articles 
published in the previous ten issues.

Table of Contents
ARTICLES
Tat'iana Vilkul (Kiev). Novgorodskaia pervaia letopis' i Nachal'nyi Svod.
Olga B. Strakhov (Boston). The Linguistic Practice of the Creator of the 
Igor' Tale and the Linguistic Views of Josef Dobrovský
PUBLICATIONS
Mariia G. Gal'chenko (Moskva). Zapisi pistsov v datirovannykh 
drevnerusskikh rukopisiakh XIII-XV vv. (iz arkhiva M.G. Gal'chenko)
Alexander B. Strakhov (Boston). O kollektsii pistsovykh zapisei M.G. 
Gal'chenko (posleslovie redaktora)
Elena A. Samodelova (Moskva). Sviatochnye pesni Tsentral'noi Rossii 
(obrqdovye, igrovye, shutochnye)
SPECULUM
Francis J. Thomson (Antwerp). The Slavonic Vita of St Apollinaris of Ravenna
Alexander B. Strakhov (Boston). K drevnerusskoi tekstologii (zamechaniia i 
popravki k izdaniiam raznykh let)
Donald Ostrowski (Cambridge, Mass.). 500 let spustia: Tserkovnyi Sobor 1503 g.
MISCELLANEA
Ioann Ioannu radovatisia (Poslanie Ioanna Sinaiskogo Ioannu Raifskomu). 
Predvaritel'nye zamechaniia / T. G. Popova
Wo und was war *Imovologa? Anmerkungen zur Iljina kniga und zur 
Birkenrindeninschrift 531 / D. Stern
Gleaning 6. Oleako Palkin's Colophon in RNB, Pogod. 989. Textological 
Concerns and Erudition of a Late Fifteenth-Century Muscovite Bookman / I. 
Sevcenko
Sila slova: zalozhnyi pokoinik i maternaia bran' / A. Strakhov
Ts.-slav. korablekrushenie / O.B. Strakhova
Dve grecheskie epigrammy, posviashchennye getmanu Mazepe / L.I. Sazonova
Avvakum v osveshchenii Edvarda Kinana: Folie, et déraison / O.B. Strakhova
Izveshchenie o zakrytii vremennika RUSSIA MEDIAEVALIS
PALAEOSLAVICA.  Contents of volumes I-X

         Alexander B. Strakhov's book, On Christmas Eve: Popular 
Christianity and Christmas Rituals and Customs in the West and among the 
Slavs (Noch' pered Rozhdestvom: narodnoe khristianstvo i rozhdestvenskaia 
obriadnost' na Zapade i u slavian) contains a Preface, eight chapters, and 
a List of Works Cited.

         Chapters I-III describe the legendary miracles of Christmas Eve: 
the blossoming and fruit-bearing of trees (ch. I), water turning to a wine 
in rivers and springs (ch. II), the unusual behavior of domestic animals in 
barns (ch. III). The chapters analyze in details the Advent (the days of 
Stt. Barbara, Lucy, and Andrew) and its customs, whose aim is to stimulate 
the blossoming of trees; the legend of the fern which flowers on St. John's 
Eve; formulas of "impossible" (ch. I); motifs of "wine" and "vineyard" in 
Christmas carols; girls' fortune-tellings about future groom; and ablutions 
and swimmings included into the ritual calendar (ch. II). Chapter III 
discusses the "Bethlehem mythology" and its echoes in popular rituals and 
superstitions concerning animals and shepherds.
         Chapter IV describes customs whose aim is fertility in the 
household: rituals concerning fruitful trees and rituals connected with 
straw; both taking place during Christmas-tide. The ritual burning of the 
Christmas log and threats to fruitful trees, both performed on Christmas 
Eve, are analyzed in connection with the Gospel motifs and parables, while 
the important role of the straw in all Christmas rituals is understood as 
an imitation of the setting of Bethlehem's cowshed.
         Chapter V describes motifs and taboos of the Christmas rituals 
which, as the author shows, were borrowed from the corpus of superstitions 
and taboos surrounding pregnancy, labour and a post-partum period. Here the 
author analyzes the images of the "woman mythology": the Mother of God, St. 
Anne, midwife Salome.
         Chapter VI continues the discussion of the "woman theme" and 
describes the images of the popular meteorology which go back to the 
mytho-poetical understanding of the image and dance of Herodiade's daughter.
         Chapter VII discusses the peculiarities of people's behavior 
during Christmas, explained, on one hand, by the end of the pre-Christmas 
Fast and, on the other, by the popular belief that the infant Christ has 
not yet been baptized during the first two weeks of Christmas-tide. The 
book further discusses in details the Christian attitude towards fasting 
and breaches of fasting, as well as toward the baptismal ceremonies.
         Chapter VIII analyzes the popular beliefs of the written Christian 
tradition concerning the temporal relief of the sinful souls from their 
torments on the Christmas Eve. The author connects this idea with those 
elements of the European Christmas rituals that are usually explained by 
the pagan "cult of the ancestors."
         The book presents highly rich material concerning not only the 
Christmas rituals themselves but also such problems as the solar myth in 
Christianity, the symbolic significance of the wheel in rituals and 
customs; various localities of the "other world" (and images inhabiting 
it); the popular vision of time and its sacralization; the popular 
understanding of such images, as "Tree of Life" and "Tree of Death", Agnus 
Dei, Herod and Judas. The author often uses unpublished material, recorded 
by him and his colleagues during the ethnographical expeditions in Belarus 
and Ukraine between 1975 and 1988. The extremely rich list of sources cited 
contains 1053 positions.

Interested colleagues should send their enquires to: Palaeoslavica, P.O.Box 
380863, Cambridge, MA 02238-0863 (fax: +781-289-0301; e-mail: 
strakhov at gsd.harvard.edu)

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