Graffiti of the 15th century in the Novgorodian Church of the Dormitionon-in-Volotovo (materials for the catalog)

Abstract

The report describes the complex of graffiti inscriptions in the Church of the Dormition-in-Volotovo near Novgorod dated 14th century. Some of them were already introduced into scientific circulation, the other are published here for the first time. In contrast to the graffiti of the 12th–15th centuries from other churches of medieval Novgorod, a significant part of the graffiti in the Church of the Dormition-in-Volotovo consists of 2 groups of inscriptions: liturgical quotes and personal names (apart from the standard prayer formulas “Lord help (save, forgive)” and autographs “X wrote”). The main attention in the report is paid to the personal names, the lists of which completely cover the part of the wall to the right of the entrance to the altar and the north-eastern face of the north-eastern pillar. The graffiti are made in different handwriting, but all of them are palaeographically dated to the beginning and the first half of the 15th century. The article publishes Christian names, of which only 6 belong to women. Personal names are presented in the form of Acc. sing., which suggests their use as part of the prayer formula for health or for the repose of “Lord save, have mercy + Acc. Sing.” Many Christian names are represented in the popular vocalization, which is also typical for birch bark letters. The material presented and analyzed in the article is part of the graffiti corpus prepared by the author from the Novgorodian Church of the Dormition-in-Volotovo.