Volodymyr / Vladimir

[Natalia Pylypiuk]

Dear Professors Valentino and Steiner,

The form *Volodymyr* appears in the witnesses to the Primary Chronicle  
of Rus'.

I have just checked Donald Ostrowski (Editor)
The *Pove[hachek]st   vremennykh   le[hachek]t .*
An Interlinear Collation and Paradosis (2003),
which cites the five main witnesses to the PVL
(i.e., those copies that have independent authority to testify
about the archetype), namely, the Laurentian, Radziwill,
Academy, Hypatian and Khlebnikov  copies.

Each one of these main witnesses has the following forms of the Rus'
prince's name:

218,26:  *svoemu volodymyru* or *svoemu volodymyrou*
or *svoemu volodymeru*  or *svoemu volodymerou*
(vol. 3, p.1742)

219,1: *posla k volodymeru* or *posla k volodymyru* or *posla k  
volodymerou*
(vol. 3, p.1742)

Moreover, in their own academic editions the Russian scholars L.  
Bychkov (1872),
A. Shakhmatov (1916) and D. S. Likhachev (1950) accept these spellings  
and do not
introduce the modern Russian form Vladimir.  Please see the pages  
cited above.

For more examples of Volodymyr / Volodymer, please see pages 1743,  
1745, and so on.

Consequently, there is nothing anachronistic about the modern  
Ukrainian form Volodymyr.

By the way, the above mentioned three volume collation and paradosis  
of the PVL was compiled and edited by
historian Donald Ostrowski (Harvard University). Its associate editor  
was the linguist and medievalist
David Birnbaum (University of Pittsburgh), and its consultant was the  
linguist Horace Lunt (Emeritus, Harvard University).
All three scholars have a serious reputation in their field. They are  
not Ukrainian by
background. One may not accuse them or L. Bychkov, A. Shakhmatov, and  
D. S. Likhachev
of Ukrainian nationalism.

Kind regards,
Professor Natalia Pylypiuk, Modern Languages & Cultural Studies
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2E6


On 7-Dec-08, at 9:57 AM, Valentino, Russell wrote:

> This example ("St. Volodymyr, ruler of Ukraine") makes perfect  
> anachronistic sense. One merely has to accept the implication that  
> the nation of Ukraine existed in 988...
>
> The phenomenon of renaming in post-Communist space has received  
> serious scholarly attention. It bears some similarities but is not  
> equivalent to renaming in post-colonial space (Bombay, Peking,  
> Bangui). If anyone knows of a comparative study or studies of these  
> two phenomena, please pass it/them on.
>
>
> Russell Scott Valentino
> Department of Cinema and Comparative Literature
> University of Iowa

Begin forwarded message:
> From: Evgeny Steiner <es9 at SOAS.AC.UK> [...]
> Date: December 7, 2008 10:48:29 AM MST (CA)
>
> The post-Soviet renaming is researched (with many hilarious examples  
> - but
> possibly not as striking as re-baptizing of the poor Russian prince  
> Vladimir
> into [the] Ukrainian Volodymyr) in the book of Gasan Gusejnov:
> http://speakrus.ru/gg/gus_tom-1-14-10td.pdf
>
> ES

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