The scribe of the Hilandar charter no. 139/141 and the Chrysobull of St Stephen palaeographic and philological analysis

Abstract

Ever since it was discovered in the Topkap? Palace in Istanbul (1889), the Chrysobull of St Stephen has not ceased to attract researchers? attention. It is one of the most representative Serbian medieval charters, and the first known example of a charter in the form of a book. The Chrysobull is a rich resource for linguistic, historical, cultural and ethnic studies of the Serbian medieval state in a wide area covered by the estates of the Banjska monastery. A palaeographic and philological analysis has shown that the same scribe who wrote out this stupendous monument of Serbian medieval law also wrote King Milutin?s founding charter granted to the tower of Hrusija on the sea coast, intended for the defence of the Hilandar monastery (Archbishop Nikodim?s note of confirmation was added by the same hand at the bottom of the scroll). Although rather extensive, this document is more than half as extensive as the Chrysobull of St Stephen. Taking this into account and keeping in mind the fact that it presents a lower degree of original content (the tower was granted a rather small estate in Serbia for its own needs, whereas the estate of the monastery to which it belonged was merely enlarged), this document is, on the whole, a less abundant source of information for research. Nevertheless, it additionally illuminates the activity of a very prominent scribe from the beginning of the golden period of Serbian medieval culture who tried himself in writing original documents and original manuscript copies for the king. The Chrysobull reveals his scribal diversity and contributes to a better understanding of the activities of the royal chancery. The document may be used as a reliable comparative material in linguistic research, as well as a control corpus to check the previous knowledge, but also to make new conclusions. The exceptional significance of the Chrysobull of St Stephen also increases the significance of this Hilandar scroll.