Ravenna letters of Fedir Schmit from the collection of manuscripts of the Central Library of the V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University

Abstract

Purpose of the article. The article represents an analysis and publication of the letters of Kharkiv University professor Fedir Shmit (1877–1937?) held in the manuscript collection of the Central Academic Library of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Methodologically, the study is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity and employs a variety of special historical methods, including chronological, comparative, and the method of internal and external source criticism. Academic originality. Fedir Shmit’s letters to his fiancée Pavla Shper from the library of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, dating to March 1904, are published for the first time. The author analyzes the contents of the scholar’s personal correspondence and the importance of his study of Byzantine artifacts and monuments in Ravenna, undertaken in March 1904, for his subsequent work. Conclusions. The article outlines the significance of Fedir Shmit’s letters from the CAL collection both for reconstructing the scholar’s biography and for assessing his contribution to Byzantinology. Personal correspondence throws light on Shmit’s study of Byzantine remains in Ravenna, the results of which are presented in the works of his Kharkiv period. The author deciphers the letters and provides commentary on individual fragments. The article represents the first publication of Fedor Shmidt’s manuscript legacy preserved in Kharkiv’s libraries and archives.