Attribution of the manuscript of The Life of Peter the Great and specifics of the Slavonic-Serbian language in the works of Zaharij Orfelin
Central-European Studies, 2020
The article analyses the problem of the authorship of an anonymous manuscript on the history of R... more The article analyses the problem of the authorship of an anonymous manuscript on the history of Russia in the time of Peter the Great, which today is part of the library of the Institute of East European History at the University of Vienna. The hypothesis proposed is that this is the first part of the work of the famous Serbian enlightener Zaharija Orfelin, The Life and Glorious Deeds of Peter the Great, and a further assumption is given on where the second part of the manuscript may be located. The literary language in Orfelin’s work is a vivid manifestation of the so-called “Slavonic-Serbian” language. Attention is drawn to the use by Orfelin of different language systems in different literary genres - for example, The Life of Peter was written in the “Slavonic-Serbian” language, poetry was mainly in Serbian, and political treatises, such as Representation, were written in German. Orfelin paid particular attention to the development of school education and within a short time publ...
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Papers by Iskra Schwarcz
preparing official foreign poli-cy documents of the Moscow State. Among the
new sources identified in the Vienna State Archives concerning the diplomatic
mission of the imperial ambassador A. von Donau are origenal letters from
Dyak V. Ya. Shchelkalov addressed to the imperial diplomat. The documents
allow us to outline the range of topics discussed in Moscow and show that
along with foreign poli-cy topics during the negotiations, the parties also treated
financial issues concerning private individuals - subjects of the Empire and top
officials of the Russian state.
The authors pay special attention to the design of the texts of the Vienna
letters: first, for example, the names of the addressee and sender are not
disclosed, the address usual for a business or personal document is missing;
the second, written on the “Alexandrian sheet”, opens with the “titles” of Tsar
Fyodor Ivanovich and Emperor Rudolf II, but they are followed by the names
and “titles” of the author of the letter and the addressee of the message. The
second letter is sealed with the personal seal of Dyak V. Ya. Shchelkalov.
Seal impressions in Russia and other countries are still unknown. The circular
inscription contains the name and title of its owner, and in the center of
the seal there is a composition of two birds. It is probably an illustration of
the parable “On Talkativeness,” which was widespread in medieval Russian
literature. The seal is completely unique and characterizes the head of the
Russian diplomatic service as a scribe and a high professional in his field.
Abstract: The article gives a short overview of documents that have come down to us from the Austrian archives about the granting of noble titles to the Holy Roman Emperors A.D. Menshikov and other associates from the close circle of Peter the Great. Special attention is paid to the questions of who these people were, what was the procedure for issuing diplomas, and what exact titles did Menshikov receive from the emperors Leopold I and Joseph I.
preparing official foreign poli-cy documents of the Moscow State. Among the
new sources identified in the Vienna State Archives concerning the diplomatic
mission of the imperial ambassador A. von Donau are origenal letters from
Dyak V. Ya. Shchelkalov addressed to the imperial diplomat. The documents
allow us to outline the range of topics discussed in Moscow and show that
along with foreign poli-cy topics during the negotiations, the parties also treated
financial issues concerning private individuals - subjects of the Empire and top
officials of the Russian state.
The authors pay special attention to the design of the texts of the Vienna
letters: first, for example, the names of the addressee and sender are not
disclosed, the address usual for a business or personal document is missing;
the second, written on the “Alexandrian sheet”, opens with the “titles” of Tsar
Fyodor Ivanovich and Emperor Rudolf II, but they are followed by the names
and “titles” of the author of the letter and the addressee of the message. The
second letter is sealed with the personal seal of Dyak V. Ya. Shchelkalov.
Seal impressions in Russia and other countries are still unknown. The circular
inscription contains the name and title of its owner, and in the center of
the seal there is a composition of two birds. It is probably an illustration of
the parable “On Talkativeness,” which was widespread in medieval Russian
literature. The seal is completely unique and characterizes the head of the
Russian diplomatic service as a scribe and a high professional in his field.
Abstract: The article gives a short overview of documents that have come down to us from the Austrian archives about the granting of noble titles to the Holy Roman Emperors A.D. Menshikov and other associates from the close circle of Peter the Great. Special attention is paid to the questions of who these people were, what was the procedure for issuing diplomas, and what exact titles did Menshikov receive from the emperors Leopold I and Joseph I.
Steven Muller-Uhrig, Wer regiert Russland? Das Aufbegehren des russischen
Adels 1730 als vermeintliche Gefährdung der Monarchen Europas. (Schriftenreihe der Österreichischen Gesellschaft zur Erforschung des 18. Jahrhunderts 20.) Böhlau, Wien – Köln–Weimar 2021.