La Vie de Jean de Novgorod : genèse du texte et fonction hagiographique [The Vita of Ioann from Novgorod : Genesis of the Text and Hagiographic Function

Abstract

The Vita of Ioann from Novgorod Genesis of the Text and Hagiographic Function The article focuses on the Vita of Ioann from Novgorod (Žitie Ioanna Novgorodskogo), a document composed in Novgorod at the end of the 15th century. The author considers the text within the historical context of its genesis and analyzes its literary form and function. In the middle of the 15th century Archbishop Ioann (1165-1186) became the symbol of Novgorod independence in the face of the centralizing policy of the Muscovite State. Evfimij II (1428 [ 1434]-1458) founded the local cult and ordered Paxomij the Serb to compose a liturgical office in celebration of the Ioann’s memory. The gathering and literary (re-) elaboration of some ancient, pre-existing tales about Ioann began then, and these materials were included in the Vita. The Vita of Ioann (in its main redaction) is composed of three different parts : the Story about the sign of the Mother of God (Skazanie o Znamenii Bogorodicy), the Narration of Ioann’s journey from Novgorod riding the devil (Povest ´ o putešestvii Ioanna Novgorodskogo na bese), and the Sermon on the discovery of the relics of the Saint (Slovo o projavlenii moščej svjatogo). Their inclusion in the biography created an apparently anomalous vita. Textual analysis shows the repetition and the unifying role of some topics (i. e. miracles) and the lack of others. Above all, however, the analysis of the Vita of Ioann establishes its substantial regularity, accurate elaboration, and conformity to the paradigms of traditional hagiography. In the 16th century the Vita of Ioann was included in metropolitan Makarij’s Velikie minei chetii.