Translation queries: Ipatyevskaya letopis, 1184

[Ralph Cleminson]

As others have already pointed out, the text from "и укреплены были на
возу" to "вельми хитро сделанный" is not in the Hypatian
Chronicle, at least as edited in the PSRL.  Presumably it comes from
somewhere, but short of going through all the volumes of the PSRL there
doesn't seem to be an easy way of identifying the source (though it
might be worth checking the relevant volume of Solov'ev's history, he
uses a lot of chronicle material).  I strongly suspect that there was an
Old Russian source, as малѣишии is used in the sense of Modern Russian
меньший.

"Был" is presumably a misprint, as the original is clearly plural: бяхоу
же и оу нихъ лоуци тоузи самострѣлнии.  It should be noted that these
are not "bows" in the common meaning of the English word, but siege
engines of some sort, as it took fifty men (in the original, not eight,
as in the translation) to draw them.

Since the translator is clearly unreliable (both in citing his sources
and rendering them accurately), on no account should the non-Hypatian
part of this passage be used for any scholarly purpose until the
original has been identified and checked.

>>> "Paul B. Gallagher" <paulbg at PBG-TRANSLATIONS.COM> 01/07/10 7:43 PM
>>>
Dear colleagues,

I'm using up my third and final posting for the day with this, so please

understand why I can't reply publicly until tomorrow. Thanks in advance 
for your assistance.

My source text reads:

Вот как в Ипатьевской летописи описаны события одной из битв 
объединенного войска русских князей, состоявшейся в 1184 г.: «... 
Двинулся окаянный и безбожный и трижды проклятый Кончак с бесчисленными 
полками половецкими на Русь, надеясь захватить и пожечь огнем города 
русские, ибо нашел некого мужа басурманина, который стрелял живым огнем.

Хан Кончак имел мужа, умеющего стрелять огнем и зажигать грады, у коего 
был самострельные луки так велики, что едва восемь человек могли 
натягивать, и укреплены были на возу великом. Сам он мог бросать каменья

в середину града в подъем человеку и для метания огня имел особый 
малейший, но вельми хитро сделанный».

My queries are as follows:

1) "У коего был самострельные луки..." -- singular or plural bow(s)? By 
majority rule, should be plural... I have no reason to think this is one

of the anomalous nouns that is apparently plural but logically singular,

but I'm open to guidance.

2) "в подъем человеку" -- "to the height of a man"? Certainly the point 
is not to raise a man, but to knock him down!

3) "для метания огня имел особый малейший, но вельми хитро сделанный" --

where's the masc.sg. noun that goes with the adjectives? Should I assume

"лук"?

If it helps, my author is concerned with the use of so-called "Greek 
fire" ("греческий огонь"), a weapon developed by the Byzantines in which

a mixture of petroleum and other secret ingredients was heated in a pot 
and shot through a tube against an enemy target (originally, warships). 
The term "живой огонь" was also used for this. Part of my confusion here

lies in the use of a bow, which should not be able to propel a liquid.

Thanks very much.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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