These books are several thousand years old. They are invaluable both for culture and history, and for us, ordinary readers.

The Tale of Gilgamesh

The most complete version of the poem about Gilgamesh was found in the mid-19th century during excavations of the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in ancient Nineveh. The excavations were carried out by the English archaeologist Austin Henry Layard. The epic was written in cuneiform on 12 clay six-column tablets in the Akkadian language and included about 3,000 verses. Scientists date the epic to the VIII - VII centuries BC. e. The tablets with the text of the epic are kept in the British Museum, where they were transferred to assistant archaeologist Ormuzd Rasam in 1852.
Thanks to the legend, we have an idea about the religion of ancient people and their philosophy. The main characters of the epic were the demigod Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk and the clay man Enkidu. The great popularity of the epic among modern readers is explained by the story of the Flood, which is included in it.

Book of the Dead

This mystical collection of ancient Egyptian texts includes prayers, chants and spells that were supposed to ease the fate of the deceased in the afterlife.

Name " Book of the Dead"was invented by the Egyptologist Karl Lepsius, although the collection also has a more precise title: "Chapters on the Exit to the Light of Day."
It was created from the 6th to the 1st centuries BC. e. Most of the texts were found in the burials of the city of Thebes, where they were written on papyri and decorated with excellent drawings depicting scenes of the burial of the dead and the afterlife judgment.
The most significant papyri are kept in the British Museum.

Codex Sinaiticus

The oldest book of the format familiar to us, the Codex Sinaiticus, dates back to the 4th century AD. e. The first 43 pages of the codex were found by the German scientist Constantin Tischendorff in 1844 in the library of the Monastery of St. Helena on the Sinai Peninsula.

The scientist found them in a pile of waste paper prepared for destruction. He found another 86 pages as a result of targeted searches. Tischendorf took them to Europe and made them public. He wanted to return to the monastery to take out the rest, but the monks did not even let him look at the pages.

The situation was saved Russian Emperor Alexander II, who paid 9 thousand rubles, after which Tischendorf took the pages to Russia. An incomplete text was written on the thinnest white parchment in Greek Old Testament, the complete New Testament and two works of early Christian authors: “The Epistle of Barnabas” and “The Shepherd” of Hermas. Until 1933, Codex Sinaiticus was kept in the Imperial National Library in Russia, but the Bolsheviks decided to get rid of it and “gave it” to the British Museum.
The 347 pages of this book now have four owners: National Russian library, British museum, University of Leipzig and St. Helena Monastery.

Garima Gospels

The two Garima Gospels are kept in Ethiopia, in the monastery of St. Garima, which is located near the city of Adua. Created between 330 and 650. According to legend, Saint Garima copied them according to his vow in one day. The Gospels are written in the sacred written language of ancient Abyssinia, Ge'ez.
The gospels were found by British art historian Beatrice Plane in 1950. But the books ended up in the hands of a barbarian bookbinder, who wove 15th-century pages into one of them. It was only in 2006 that scientists were able to return the books to their original condition and date them. Unfortunately, it was not possible to restore the books, and they remained in the monastery.
The Gospels are written in the same manner, but written in different handwritings. The first book has 348 pages and 11 illustrations, the binding is made of boards covered with gilded copper. The second book contains 322 pages, 17 miniatures, including portraits of the four evangelists. The binding is made of silver. Scientists have found that the artist and copyist worked simultaneously, and the illustrations were made by African artists.

Diamond Sutra

The Diamond Sutra, the world's second printed book containing the fundamental text of Buddhism, was printed using the woodblock printing method. The book is a scroll of six sheets of text and one engraving depicting the Buddha.
The scroll, almost five meters long, was found by archaeologist Mark Stein in Magao Cave near the city of Danhuan in western China in 1900. He bought the scroll from the Taoist monk Wan Yuanlu and took it to Great Britain. The book was printed by a man named Wang Ji on behalf of his parents on the 15th day of the 4th moon of the Xiantong year, that is, May 11, 868. Kept in the British Library.

Torah

In 2013, the most ancient manuscript Torah. It is a 36-meter scroll made of soft sheepskin.
Nothing was known about the book due to an error in determining the age of the book, which occurred in 1889. Then the librarian dated the book to the 17th century.
The error was discovered by university teacher Mauro Perani. He examined the manuscript and saw that the narrative style belongs to the tradition ancient Babylon, which means the parchment may be older. In addition, the text contained details that had been prohibited from reproduction since the 12th century. The age of the Torah was determined using radiocarbon dating twice: in Italy and in the USA. It became clear that the Torah was written more than 850 years ago.

Ostromir Gospel

The oldest accurately dated book of Rus'. Stored in the Russian National Library (St. Petersburg). Written in 1056-1057 by Deacon Gregory for the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, a relative of Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavovich. The book is unique in that, after the canonical text, the deacon wrote in detail about the circumstances of its production and indicated the date from the creation of the world.
The Gospel was found among the property of the Resurrection Church of the Verkhospassky Cathedral in 1701. By order of Peter I she was sent to St. Petersburg. Rediscovered in the chambers of Empress Catherine after her death and presented to Alexander I. The Emperor handed over the Gospel to the Imperial public library.
It was thanks to the Ostromir Gospel that modern dictionaries and grammars were created Old Slavonic language.

Muslim: The Bible has been changed many times, so it cannot be considered the original Scripture revealed to Moses, Jesus and other prophets. What evidence do you have that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy?

Many years ago, a young Muslim woman asked me, “Has the Bible ever changed?” I told her: “Of course not.” To this she said: “But doesn’t she teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” I confirmed: “Teaches again and again.” In response, she stated: “Then she had to change.”

Any Christian who reads the works of Muslim authors will be surprised to find that the arguments put forward in them to refute the authenticity of the Bible texts are often extremely weak and unconvincing. This happens for one reason only - Muslims do not believe in the complete preservation of the Bible, not because they have found adequate evidence that changes were made to its text, but because they must deny its authenticity in order to support their conviction that The Qur'an is the Word of God. Two Books that conflict with each other cannot both be the Word of God. When Muslims discovered in the early centuries of Islamic history that the Bible clearly and definitively set forth fundamental Christian doctrines, such as the divinity of Jesus Christ and His atonement, they could no longer approach it objectively. Since then, they have striven to prove what is in fact nothing more than an assumption - the Bible must have changed! main reason Muslims' disbelief in the authenticity of the Bible lies in the lack of choice: they cannot believe the Bible if they must be faithful to the Koran.

It is important to know the evidence for the unchangeability of the biblical texts, especially the fact that there are authentic manuscripts that predate the birth of Islam by many centuries and prove that the Bible we hold in our hands today is the same Bible that the Jews and early Christians revered as their only Holy Scripture .

Three major manuscript copies of the Bible

There are still three major manuscript copies of the Bible in Greek (including the Septuagint (Old Testament) and original text New Testament), several centuries ahead of the appearance of the Koran.

1. Alexandrian list. This volume, written in the 5th century AD. BC, contains the entire Bible with the exception of a few lost leaves from the New Testament (namely: Matt. 1:1–25:6, John 6:50–8:52 and 2 Cor. 4:13–12:6). It does not include anything that is not part of the modern Bible. The manuscript is kept in the British Museum in London.

2. Sinai list. This is a very ancient manuscript, dating back to the end of the 4th century. It contains everything New Testament and a significant part of the Old Testament. For centuries it was kept in the St. Petersburg Imperial Library and was sold to the British government for one hundred thousand pounds. Currently also in the British Museum.

3. Vatican list. This is probably the oldest surviving complete manuscript copy of the Bible. It dates from the 4th century and is kept in the Vatican Library in Rome. The last part of the New Testament (Heb. 9:14 to the end of Revelation) is written in a different hand than the rest of the manuscript (probably the scribe who began copying the text for some reason was unable to complete the work).

These manuscripts convincingly prove that the only Scripture given to the Church at least two centuries before the birth of Muhammad is the Old and New Testaments known to us.

Other Evidence of the Bible's Authenticity

There are many other pieces of evidence that prove the authenticity of the Bible, going back several centuries to the time of the birth of Islam. The following points should be highlighted in discussions with Muslims.

1. Masoretic texts. Ancient biblical manuscripts belong not only to Christians, but also to Jews, who revere the Old Testament as the only Scripture given to them. These are texts written in Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, and are at least a thousand years old. These are known as the Masoretic Texts.

2. Scrolls Dead Sea. First discovered in the caves of the Qumran desert near the Dead Sea in Israel, these scrolls contain many passages from the Old Testament in Hebrew and date back to the 2nd century BC. e. They include two copies of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, containing prophecies about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see: Is. 53: 1-12), about His immaculate conception(see: Is. 7:14) and about His divinity (see: Is. 9:6–7).

3. Septuagint. The Septuagint is the name of the first translation into Greek language Old Testament. It was copied in the 2nd century BC. e. and contains all the main prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, the statement that He is the Son of God (see: Ps. 2:7; 1 Chron. 17:11–14), and some details of His suffering and atoning death (see: Ps. 21:68). The early Church made extensive use of the Septuagint.

4. Vulgate. In the 4th century AD e. The Roman Catholic Church translated the entire Bible into Latin language, using the Septuagint and ancient Greek manuscript copies of the New Testament. This list is known as the Vulgate and contains all the Books of the Old and New Testaments as we know them. This translation has been approved as the standard text for the Roman Catholic Church.

5. Excerpts from the Greek text of the New Testament. There are many fragments of the original Greek text of the New Testament surviving from the 2nd century AD. e. All of them, collected together, constitute the content of the New Testament in the form that we know. It is very interesting to compare the abundance of this evidence with the texts of ancient Greek and Roman classical works, many of which were written no earlier than a thousand years after Christ. Truly, there is no other literary work of the same era that would have such a wealth of manuscript evidence as the Greek text of the New Testament.

Most importantly, and this should be emphasized when talking to Muslims, there is no source suggesting that the Bible misrepresents the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. All apocryphal books rejected by the Church, at least in general outline, follow the same narrative line as the New Testament manuscripts. There is certainly no historical evidence to suggest that Jesus was in fact the prophet of Islam, as the Quran makes Him out to be.

Finally, it would be a good idea to ask Muslims to bring historical facts to support their claim that the Bible we read is a modified Bible. What was it like originally? What was changed about it that made it the Book we have today? Who made these changes? When was this done? Ask your interlocutor to name real people who he suggests corrupted the Bible, the time it occurred, the specific changes made to the original text of the Bible, and you will find that he is unable to do so because such evidence simply does not exist. Always remember that the vicious attack of Muslims is not based on the scientific evidence they have, but on assumptions. The Bible, in their opinion, had to change since it contradicts the Koran. Unfortunately, too often Muslims approach the Bible not with a desire to understand its teachings, but solely with the goal of finding errors in it that justify their prejudice against it.

John Gilchrist "God or Prophet?"

OR RNB. F.p. I.5. Ostromir Gospel 1056–1057 L. 66 vol. Initial with a zoomorphic element.

OR RNB. F.p. I.5. Ostromir Gospel 1056–1057 L. 87 vol. Miniature depicting the Evangelist Luke.

At the end of the 10th century. Rus', simultaneously with the establishment of Christianity as the state religion, adopted Cyrillic writing, which by that time was already widespread among the southern Slavs.

The collection of ancient Russian handwritten books of the Russian National Library most fully reflects the history of the Russian handwritten book tradition - from the Ostromir Gospel of the 11th century. to the late Old Believer manuscripts of the early twentieth century.

The subject matter of the material is unusually wide. Here are richly decorated liturgical books and the most important historical monuments– chronicles and chronographic books, books for “spiritual” reading and for practical application– herbalists, medical books, treatises on military affairs, various areas medieval knowledge and even textbooks for reading texts written in cursive. Of particular interest are his collections, which contain works of various genres: theological treatises, monuments of teaching eloquence, hagiographic works, plot stories, church polemical works, monuments of Russian journalism, syllabic verses.

OR RNB. Erm. 20. Izbornik. 1076

OR RNB. F.p. I. 36
“Minea Dubrovsky” (Minea service for July).

The exceptional value of the ancient Russian collections of the National Library is emphasized by the fact that it is here that monuments are kept, to which the definition of “first” can rightfully be applied - in the sense of “the oldest that has survived to this day”). First of all, this is the famous Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057 - the oldest surviving precisely dated Russian handwritten book. The manuscript, created during the era of cultural upsurge and flourishing of the ancient Russian state for the St. Sophia Cathedral of Veliky Novgorod - the main temple of northwestern Rus' - and which witnessed a thousand-year development of Russian culture, is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

OR RNB. Soph. 1.
Panteleimon's Gospel (Aprakos complete). Con. XII - beginning XIII century (?). Novgorod or Novgorod lands. Scribe Maxim Toshinich

If the Ostromir Gospel is a liturgical book, then the Izbornik of 1076, stored in the Russian National Library, is the oldest Russian precisely dated handwritten book that has survived to this day, that is, a book literary content. It contains many articles of a moral and Christian nature, addressed to the secular part of ancient Russian society, primarily to the princely elite. These are the Stoslovets of Gennady of Constantinople, the Wisdom of Jesus' son Sirakhov, Athanasius' answers, etc. The collection was compiled in Rus' according to the model of the Izbornik of 1073, which is a copy of the Bulgarian original.

The key source of all Russian historiography is the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377, stored in the Library since 1811 - the oldest precisely dated Russian chronicle that has survived to this day. The Laurentian Chronicle, a date-forming monument of Russian statehood, is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

OR RNB. OLDP. F.6.
Kyiv Psalter. 1397

The oldest precisely dated illustrated Russian handwritten book that has come down to us is also stored in the ancient Russian funds. This is the famous Kiev Psalter of 1397. The manuscript contains more than 300 miniatures illustrating the text or symbolically interpreting it. Before the Kiev Psalter, Old Russian manuscripts had only “facial” miniatures depicting the author of the text (the evangelists, King David, etc.), members of the princely family, and patron saints of the customer of the manuscript.

OR RNB. F. p. I. 2. Psalter. XIV century

The stylistic sophistication of the decoration, miniatures, and initials turn many monuments Old Russian writing V original works art. This is the Frolov Psalter of the 14th century, known to all art historians, decorated with headpieces and initials of the teratological style and interesting with the ornamentation of the initials, including numerous inclusions of human figures.

Unlike countries Western Europe, whose culture developed in cities and universities, in Rus' the most important centers of book culture were monasteries, in which book-writing workshops operated, created literary works, rich libraries were formed. The fact that the collections of the oldest Russian book depositories are located here is of particular value to the ancient Russian collections of the National Library. First of all, this is the library of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, which contains manuscripts created in various book centers north-eastern Rus', containing unique lists of monuments of ancient Russian literature, for example, the author's list of the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh by the famous hagiographer Pachomius Logothetes. The ancient Panteleimon Gospel with a rare iconographic miniature of St. Panteleimon and St. Catherine, the Sofia set of the Great Menaions of the Fourth Metropolitan Macarius, and many other rarities. In the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian National Library, the libraries of the largest Russian monasteries: Kirillo-Belozersky Uspensky and Solovetsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky are preserved in the integrity of their main array. These collections have brought to this day the most valuable monuments of Russian medieval monastic book culture, such as the manuscripts of the cell library of St. Cyril or the encyclopedic collections of the 15th century monk-scribe Euphrosynus.

OR RNB. Q paragraph I. 32.
Blagoveshchensk Kondakar. Con. XII – beginning XIII century

OR RNB. OSRC. F.IV.233
Facial chronicle vault. Second half of the 16th century. Laptevsky volume.

Old Russian church singing is widely represented in the Sector's funds. These are more than 1000 notated singing codes of the 12th–20th centuries. (including Old Believers): irmology, octoechos, everyday life, stichirari, triodion, holidays; as well as singing alphabet, intended for the practical development of Znamenny singing. One of the five known manuscripts in the world, distinguished by a special system, is kept here. musical notation, – Blagoveshchensk kontakari at the turn of the 12th–13th centuries.

OR RNB. F. XIV. 62.
Collection of Kirsha Danilov. Last quarter of the 18th century

The traditions of ancient Russian singing art were preserved in the Old Believer environment. Due to the large number and fragmentation of Old Believer communities, liturgical singing in almost each of them had its own local characteristics. The funds of the Sector contain manuscripts of the 18th – 20th centuries, representing singing art different centers of the Old Believers, differing not only in content, but also in artistic design.

A separate group of manuscripts consists of notolinear codices, which record both liturgical and secular works of the 17th–19th centuries. They contain panegyric cants and genres of spiritual lyrics. In these manuscripts, anonymous texts coexist with the original poetry of Simeon Polotsky, V.K. Trediakovsky, A.P. Sumarokov, M.V. Lomonosov. This group also includes the most valuable monument folk poetry– Collection of Kirsha Danilov - the first collection of Russian epics and epics in Russian folklore historical songs, equipped with notes.

OR RNB. OSRC. F.IV.482
Journal of N.P. Rezanov’s travel from Kamchatka to Japan. 1804–1805

The Sector of Old Russian Funds also stores handwritten books and other handwritten materials of the 18th–19th centuries, not specifically related to ancient Russian tradition. These are manuscripts of scientific, historical, literary content, works on military affairs, jurisprudence, and other branches of knowledge, personal diaries, maps, plans, travel albums, etc. The Hermitage contains a valuable set of copy materials - made in the 18th century. for Empress Catherine II, clerk's copies from ancient Russian handwritten books and documents.

Writing on the territory of Rus' arose much later than it happened on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. At the time when the calligraphers of Egypt, Rome, and Greece honed their art on papyri and parchment, the endless steppes and forests of the Central Russian Upland were not yet even populated. The tribes of hunters and herders who came here at the beginning of the first millennium AD also did not need either an alphabet or writing. As a result, the most ancient handwritten monuments of Russian history date back to a time when the culture of Western Europe had already reached its peak, experienced decline due to the arrival of the barbarians, and again rushed towards revival. As one might expect, the first books of Rus' turned out to be related to religious themes.

The most ancient Russian handwritten book

The most ancient Russian handwritten books that have reached us date back to the beginning of the 11th century. Although scientists believe that such books could have appeared in Rus' already in the 9th century following the invention of Slavic writing. According to rough estimates by the historian N.K. Nikolsky, who devoted his life to compiling a card index of ancient Russian written publications, the number of handwritten books dating from the 11th to 18th centuries in our repositories ranges from 80 to 100 thousand manuscripts. According to academician Likhachev D.S. this estimate is inaccurate in the sense that it is too modest. Old Russian literature is truly enormous, and today they speak of it as a separate branch of Old Russian art.

The oldest handwritten book made by an East Slavic scribe in Old Russian language, is the church book “Ostromir Gospel”, published in 1056. This is a unique masterpiece of ancient Russian book art. The 294 parchment pages are lavishly illustrated - they are decorated great images evangelists, colorful headpieces and initial letters. The text is written in straight lines of the Old Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet. Byzantine traditions are traced in the ornaments. The "Ostromir Gospel" was written in a single copy.

It is obvious that a whole manuscript workshop took part in its creation. Unfortunately, we know only one of the masters - Deacon Gregory. He probably did most of the work. The postscript to the manuscript says that work on it lasted seven months. In the same colophon, Deacon Gregory also reports on the time and circumstances of the writing of the ancient Russian book - the manuscript was commissioned by the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, who was sent to rule Novgorod lands prince of Kyiv Izyaslav Yaroslavich in 1054.

The "Ostromir Gospel" of Deacon Gregory and his unknown comrades is a most valuable monument of ancient Russian writing, language and visual arts. It is written in large, beautiful letters, and the size of the letters gradually increases towards the end of the book (from 5 to 7 millimeters). The text of the ancient book is written in two columns of 18 lines on pages measuring 20x24 centimeters, decorated with colorful initial letters, headpieces, images of evangelists, and cinnabar is used in places. The manuscript consists of 294 sheets of parchment good quality. There are several sheets with sewn-up cuts and holes (in places where gadflies have bitten), which appeared even before the text was written.

Unlike other monuments of the 11th century, in the “Ostromir Gospel” there is a correct rendering of reduced vowel sounds in the letters ъ and ь. This phonetic feature was common to Old Church Slavonic and other Slavic languages, so the Russian copyist, according to tradition, conveyed it well in writing, although by that time it had already disappeared. Where in the 11th century there were differences between Old Church Slavonic and Russian features, the scribe unwittingly mixed them up. This allows us to identify the “Ostromir Gospel” as one of the first monuments of the Old Church Slavonic language of the Russian edition.

Like any such ancient book, the Ostromir Gospel has its own fascinating story. Before early XVIII centuries, however, its history is shrouded in darkness. In 1701, the manuscript was mentioned in the inventory of the property of the Resurrection Church as part of the Verkhospassky Cathedral. In 1720, by order of Peter I, the book was sent (along with other old books) to St. Petersburg. After the death of Catherine II, the manuscript was found in her chambers by Ya.A. Druzhinin, who served under the Empress, who in 1806 presented it as a gift to Emperor Alexander I, who, in turn, ordered the book to be transferred for storage to the Imperial Public Library (now the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg), where it is kept today.

The manuscript of the "Ostromir Gospel" was decorated with a binding with precious stones, because of which she almost died: in 1932, a plumber kidnapped her after breaking a window. The attacker, tearing off the binding, threw the manuscript into a closet (according to other sources, onto a closet), where it was soon found. They no longer began to rebind the old book.

WITH early XIX century, the scientific study of the manuscript began. The Ostromir Gospel was first published by Vostokov A.Kh. in 1843 with the appendix of a short grammar, dictionary and Greek interlinear text. For this typesetting edition, a special Slavic font was made that accurately reproduces the handwriting of the original (there is even a reprint made in Wiesbaden in 1964). Later, facsimile editions were also published: black and white - in 1883; color gift in original format - in Leningrad in 1988.

Excerpts from the Ostromir Gospel were included in the compulsory curriculum of pre-revolutionary schools. In 1955, Trey E.H. carried out the restoration of this manuscript. On the basis of this ancient Russian book, modern grammars and dictionaries of the Old Church Slavonic language were created. A lot of research has been devoted to the monument and its language, but the language of this manuscript still requires thorough study.

The most ancient books of Rus': Novgorod Codex

Speaking of the most ancient handwritten book, compiled in Rus', this manuscript cannot be ignored. "The Ostromir Gospel", of course, holds primacy among the oldest books in the Russian language, for which it has been reliably established exact date their writing. However, on July 13, 2000, during excavations (which had been going on there for the twenty-eighth year) by the Novgorod archaeological expedition led by Academician V.L. Yanin. In the layers of the first quarter of the 11th century, three wooden (linden) planks measuring 19x15x1 centimeters were discovered.

Each board has a rectangular recess (15x11.5 cm), filled with wax; On the middle plank, such indentations are made on both sides. The boards have holes at the edges into which wooden pins are inserted to connect them into a single set. Thus, the ancient wooden book contained four wax pages (ceras). The outer sides of the first and last tablets acted as the covers of the codex.

The Novgorod Codex consists of linden tablets with four pages (ceras) covered with wax for writing with a stylus. According to stratigraphic, radiocarbon and paleographic data, the wax codex was used in the first quarter of the 11th century and possibly from recent years 10th century, so it is several decades older than the Ostromir Gospel, which was considered the oldest book in Rus' with a precisely established date of writing. Thus, the Novgorod Codex (or “Novgorod Psalter” is the most qualitative readable text) - the oldest book of Rus'.

Cera is well preserved thanks to the marshy conditions in which it remained for about a thousand years. The uniqueness of the situation lies in the fact that the boards were thoroughly saturated with moisture and there was no access to oxygen; as a result, there were no living conditions for microorganisms that cause decay processes.

The dating of the Novgorod Codex is determined by the fact that it lay half a meter from the edge and 30 centimeters below the frame, which received a reliable dendrochronological date - 1036. This is the upper limit of the likely time for the planks to hit the ground. It is reasonable to consider the baptism of Rus' in 988 as the lower chronological limit of the creation of the code. At Uppsala University (Sweden's oldest university), radiocarbon dating of the wax was carried out, which with 84% probability indicates the year 1015 (plus or minus 35 years).

Earlier Slavic dated documents are only some ancient Bulgarian and Croatian inscriptions from the 10th century, but they cannot be classified as “books”. Consequently, today the Novgorod Psalter is the earliest monument to the Russian version of the Church Slavonic language and the oldest book that has reached us ancient Rus', which do not have an exact dating.

In addition to the main text of the ancient book, researchers report the “reconstruction” of part of the previous (“hidden”) texts based on imprints and scratches of the stylus on wooden tablets under wax. The problem of restoring these texts lies primarily in the fact that very faint imprints of tens of thousands of letters are superimposed on each other, hardly distinguishable from random strokes and cracks on wood.

For example, among the “hidden texts” a worn-out inscription was read, which says that in 999 the monk Isaac was made priest in Suzdal in the church of St. Alexander the Armenian. It is possible that the monk Isaac was the author of the Novgorod Code and belonged to a heretical religious movement.

Handwritten ancient books Kievan Rus 11th century

Collection of Svyatoslav 1073. An ancient Russian book that was copied in Kyiv for Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich. The ceremonial edition, which is an encyclopedia of various information, contains more than 400 sections from history, mathematics, natural science, grammar, philosophy and other areas. The book is written in Cyrillic script on parchment. The original, which served as the basis for the rewriting of the “Svyatoslav Collection”, is considered to be a Bulgarian collection created in the 10th century for Tsar Simeon. One of the largest ancient books in size. The frontispieces are especially decorative - there are two of them in the book.

Collection of Svyatoslav 1073. An ancient Russian book written by two scribes, one of whom worked on the Izbornik of 1073. In the text, the authors report that the manuscript was compiled “from many princely books.” Small in size desk book also encyclopedic content. There are no ceremonial illustrations in it. Compared to the Izbornik of 1073, the composition of the ancient book has been changed - there are more articles of religious content. Among the new texts is “A Word on Reading Books,” where the author teaches how to read a book.

Arkhangelsk Gospel of 1092. This ancient manuscript is unique from the point of view of linguistics, paleography and bibliology. It follows Old Russian spelling. Artistically, the publication is more than modest. The charter is written on parchment, without drawings or miniatures. But what is good are screensavers that are laconic in color, but harmonious in proportions and decorations. Dense, even lines are separated by a cinnabar line with initial letters only on rare pages. In 2000, the “Arkhangelsk Gospel” was included by UNESCO in the international Memory of the World register.

Novgorod service menaia for September 1095, October 1096 and November 1097. Menaion - liturgical books and books for reading, containing "lives of saints", tales of church holidays and teachings. Menaions for the service of menstruation contain texts for one month, arranged according to the days of each month, respectively, with holidays and days of remembrance of saints. The most ancient menaia have not reached us completely - each one is missing several leaves. The books are quite large for the 11th century: two of them contain more than 170 sheets, the third - more than 120 sheets. The Menaions were written for the Novgorod Lazarus Monastery. Today they are considered the most ancient monuments Church Slavonic language, conveying the features of Old Russian northern dialects.

The very first printed Russian books

The Russian word “book” (originates from the Church Slavonic “knigy”) was well known to Slavic chronicle scribes back in the 14th century. However, at that time all ancient Russian books were handwritten. In Rus', the beginning of typographical book printing, as is known from school textbooks, dates back to XVI century. It is connected with the names of the remarkable Russian master Ivan Fedorov and Belarusian Peter Mstislavets.

The first Russian printing house was founded near the Moscow Kremlin, on Nikolskaya Street (then Nikolsky Krestets). Unlike the first European printing house of Johannes Gutenberg, who became the first printer of his own free will, the Moscow printing house was built by order of the tsar. Moreover, this construction lasted for almost ten years.

By the time of its creation, craftsmen in Rus' already had some experience in producing printed books. Back in 1553-1557, Russian masters, whose names have not yet been established, produced two printed books. They are the first Russian publications to come out of the printing press. Their printing was not yet very skillful, the lines were not aligned, the pages were not numbered. There is a hypothesis that the first books in Rus' were printed by a certain Marusha Nefediev. He is mentioned in two letters from Ivan the Terrible as a “printing master.” It is possible that Ivan Fedorov knew about these first books. But, of course, his famous “Apostle” incomparably surpassed them in all his qualities.

So, when the printing yard was erected, on April 19, 1563, “the cunning masters of printing” began work on their first book, “The Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles.” This work lasted about a year. Ivan Fedorov did a huge amount of editorial work and designed the book according to all the rules of the printing art of that time. Now this antique book is a rarity!

On March 1, 1564, at the behest of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, with the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius of All Rus', the first Russian precisely dated book “The Apostle” was published - Ivan Fedorov went down in Russian history as the first printer. Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets began printing the Apostle on April 19, 1563. It was published in an unprecedented circulation for that time - about a thousand copies. Not a single foreign European printing house at that time printed its books in such quantities.

Ivan Fedorov also managed to surpass foreign printing technology - he printed his book in two colors, which foreign masters had not yet been able to do. After the canonical church text "Apostle" Ivan Fedorov added his afterword. In it he told how and when the book was created. The publication of "The Apostle" earned recognition even from such famous typographers and publishers of the 16th century as the Nuremberg master Anton Koberger and the Venetian scribe Aldus Manutius.

However, new trends in the book business caused a protest from the monastic scribes - their work became financially simply unprofitable. The printers were accused of spreading heresy. In 1566, for an unknown reason, a fire occurred in their printing house, and they decided to urgently leave the capital of Muscovy. The pioneer printers fled to Lithuania, taking with them 35 engraved boards. Being made welcome Polish king Sigismund, Ivan Fedorov found refuge with the Polish hetman Chodkiewicz, a philanthropist and educator, who founded a printing house on his estate.

But the book printing founded by Ivan Fedorov could no longer be stopped. In the 17th century, the Moscow printing house was already producing quite a lot of books, and some of them - “Psalter”, “Apostle”, “Service Book”, “Grammar” by Smotritsky - were published in several editions, and their circulation reached six thousand copies.

It is curious that Russian book publishers were the first in the world to print books for children - in 1692, the first Primer was published for them in Moscow, compiled by the outstanding teacher Karion Istomin. The “Primer” contained many drawings that attracted the attention of “youths and young women,” as stated in the dedication. The book could really teach children, as Istomin called, “not by resorting to the rod, but by amusing.”

Tsar Peter the Great understood the meaning of the printed word well. He contributed greatly to the development of Russian book printing. With his participation, a civil script was introduced on January 1, 1708. Russian books of general education content, textbooks, essays appeared artistic character. Books on new subjects began to differ from church books, which were printed in Cyrillic. From that time on, the number of church books began to steadily decrease, and the number of publications of secular literature increased.

IN Russian Empire New printing houses began to open. The only Moscow printing house in the country was supplemented by the St. Petersburg printing house in 1711, and ten years later by the Senate printing house. Russian printed books began to be sold in shops. In Moscow in the 17th century, the center of the book trade was Kitai-Gorod. According to the inventory of 1695, in Kitay-Gorod there were “...up to 72 rows of small shops, forming small narrow streets. There were rows for sash, mittens, stockings, shoe, boot, sole, fur, beaver, sable, and among them there was a row for icons and books." Maxim the Greek, the most educated man of the 16th century, mentioned these rows - apparently, they were the first Russian “marketplace” where you could buy a book.

Erica Orloff

The Mystery of the Ancient Manuscript

To my children. May each of you have something as meaningful as the Book.

I saw another dream...

The inscription, like a trace of someone’s ghostly breath on the window, quietly whispers its message to us through the centuries.

Even books have their secrets. Come on, tell us something else,” said Uncle Harry, turning to the manuscript. He seemed to want to get her to talk. Bending over the crumbling pages, he carefully studied the manuscript like a true scientist of antiquity.

Secrets? - I asked, and my question echoed in the spacious hall of the auction house. In this building with marble floors and high ceilings, even a small noise turned into a measured rustling of the leaves of the trees.

Callie, every object, like a person, has its own secrets. Including books. And my task is to lure them out.

He brought the ultraviolet lamp closer to the pages of the manuscript and suddenly exhaled loudly.

What's there? - I whispered, looking over his shoulder. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

He pointed with his finger:

Look at the fields!

In the bluish light of the lamp, I could barely discern a thin web of illegible and seemingly unearthly words.

It seems that the lines of the manuscript were already written on top of this inscription,” I said quietly and squinted to get a better look at the find.

I knew that Uncle Harry, working at the Royal Auction House in Manhattan as an expert on medieval illuminated manuscripts, lived by these ancient works of the monks. Ancient legends could be heard in the rustle of their pages. He could talk endlessly about them over breakfast and dinner. He read about them. He studied them. And no matter what was written in the margins, it was the realization of my uncle’s dream.

Do you know what this is? This is a palimpsest!

Palimp... what?

In response, he smiled widely, and dimples immediately appeared on his cheeks, and his azure eyes glowed with happiness. Uncle Harry was a tall man, six feet tall, and in his blonde hair The first silver strands have already appeared. He is clever man of everyone I know. He has an amazing photographic memory and an encyclopedic knowledge of history. But I’m never bored with him: it seems that history comes to life in his mouth.

Palimpsest! A thousand years ago, paper was still rare. People wrote on parchment or vellum, that is, on pieces of animal skin. When the book itself or part of it was no longer needed, they washed off the inscription with a mixture of oat bran soaked in milk, or simply erased it with a pumice stone. And the pages could be used again, because the inscriptions disappeared. People believed it was without a trace.

I began to carefully examine the squiggle, barely noticeable in the light of the lamp, similar to the stroke of a pen.

So I see an inscription that is a thousand years old? And someone wanted to hide it? Maybe this is a secret message? - I asked my uncle.

He nodded.

Sometimes fortune smiles on us. The stars align, and fate gives us a gift... in the form of such a miracle. It's priceless. Usually time and nature destroy all traces.

I looked at the manuscript again. The black lines were drawn with a skilled hand, they were so even that each was a work of art. Not a single letter was out of order, not a single blot - perfection itself. At the top of the page was a golden miniature that time had passed by. The knight and lady were painted in shades of dark blue and green, as bright as peacock feathers.

What a beauty! - I said.

But what makes this thing special is the lettering. All the secrets are coming out, Callie. This is true. Traces always remain, even a thousand years later.

Does the person who put the manuscript up for auction know that it is a palimpsest?

Uncle Harry shook his head.

The owner of the lot inherited from his father a collection of rare books and manuscripts. But my son is only interested in money. - Uncle again glanced with envy at the ancient lines: - He can’t even imagine what secrets these pages hide. The price will reach hundreds of thousands, and maybe even millions of dollars. I will be able to evaluate the book more accurately once I know more about its fate.

He fell silent and shook his head again:

It's sad, isn't it?

Some people spend their entire lives building a collection of books or antiques. They think this will help them stay in people's memories. And then their children come along, who simply don’t care about their parents’ efforts, and they sell everything out. Apparently, passion for a hobby cannot be instilled.

Maybe you are right. But on the other hand... here we are,” I said, “and here are the words in the margins.” And you care.

I still can't believe it. And I know one more person who will be delighted with the find. I need to call Peter Sokolov.

And who is it?

World-renowned specialist in rare books and medieval manuscripts.

Even more special than you? I doubt.

He was my supervisor. And yes, he knows much more than me. He is the only one who understands your crazy uncle and shares his love for ancient documents. - Uncle Harry kissed the top of my head: - I told you that this summer would be memorable.

I rolled my eyes.

Great. You found an old manuscript. And really very ancient. From parchment or vellum. And with its secrets. But I don't think that makes it a successful summer - at least not for me. Dad left me and went to Europe with his next blonde passion. Are they really getting younger and blonder, or is it just me?

You're not the only one who thinks so. I could never understand your father either. Just as I didn’t understand why my sister married him. - Uncle Harry frowned. - Although I shouldn’t have told you that.

Why? It's true. And only the mystery of an old dusty manuscript can compare with this mystery.

How could I tell him that I was hoping for a romantic acquaintance this summer. Or even an adventure.

Patience, Callie,” my uncle winked at me. - Remember what I said about secrets.

What does it mean?

You never know where a secret will lead you. It's like playing hide and seek through the centuries. - He said these words in a mysterious and playfully disgusting voice. - I need to call. You can stay here for now and study the manuscript. But don't touch it with your hands!

He headed to his office and, without looking back, called after him:

And don't breathe on her!

I leaned over the table and began to examine the tiny, barely visible squiggle. However, I could not make out the words.

And then I saw her. There was a signature at the bottom.

...

I also saw another dream: behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars worship me...

Touch the stars. Dream about them.

My mother has always been a palimpsest for me. She died when I was six years old, and all my life I searched for secret messages from her, hoping that she would convey them to me in the same way that the marginal notes spoke to Uncle Harry. It's a passion that has never left me. Sometimes when I see one of my friends hugging their mother, I feel sharp pain in heart. And that night I again sat alone in my room in Harry’s apartment, legs tucked under me, looking at old photographs of my mother.

My “room”—and I should put quotation marks here—was what Manhattan realtors call a second bedroom, although in truth it was more like a niche in the wall with another wall attached to it. But I had enough space, especially since Uncle Harry kept photographs of my mother here and here I hoped to find secret messages from her. He was her brother, and so I constantly asked him questions about her. I always wondered if I looked like her... I know I’m not like my father.

My father and I have spent our entire lives trying to avoid each other - in some ways, we are terribly lucky that he is almost never at home. During my studies, I tolerated his presence in our home in the Boston suburbs. Luckily, he traveled a lot, so I spent half of my time with my friend Sofia's family. Or I was left in the care of a neighbor living opposite our apartment. But my favorite time of year is summer, because I always reserve it for Uncle Harry, his friend Gabe and New York. We usually spent our time playing games and going to the beach, and one day we even went to Toronto.

And this year? Oh, I was especially glad to get out of the house. I was facing a summer code-named “Meeting My Stepmom,” as my father was already looking for diamond rings for his newest and blondest girlfriend, Sharon. I felt sick just thinking about the upcoming celebration.

After looking at photos and chatting on Facebook with Sophia, who was spending the summer at a sports camp, I fell asleep without turning off the TV.

Waking up, I stared at the ceiling, then turned my gaze to the plasma screen hanging on the wall. The morning news anchor, her hair perfectly styled and styled, cheerfully announced that it was already six o'clock in the morning.

Mmmrmrrmrr! - I purred to Uncle Harry’s cat. His name was Aggi, short for Agamemnon. He is a Silver Persian by breed, and one eye is green and the other yellow. As befits his breed, he leaves his fur everywhere. - It's summer now, I can finally get some sleep. Why on earth am I awake?

In response, I heard the meow of Aggie, who began to stomp on my stomach until he lay down, purring like a car engine. Reaching for the remote control, I switched channels. I was too lazy to get up, but I was already so awake that now I definitely couldn’t fall asleep.

About twenty minutes later Uncle Harry knocked on the door.

Are you up? - he called me.

Unfortunately, yes.

He stuck his head through the door.

What will you wear to work today?

I looked at my closet: its doors were wide open, clothes were lying around on the floor.

Mmm... I don't know. Pants with some sweater: it’s so cold in your office. And since when are you interested in my appearance? I'm just bringing you coffee. In general, I haven't decided yet. It's too early to decide anything.

How about this? - And he threw a branded bag from the Barney's store on my bed.

I sat up in bed and ran my hand through my curls. I heard Gabe in the shower singing another hit from the musical Guys and Dolls, in which he played the role of the inveterate debater Sky Masterson. My uncle went to this show twenty times and always sat in the first row of the stalls in the middle. If you count, he spent a small fortune on this, and after each performance he stood at the door of the theater with a yellow and black program in his hands to get Gabe's autograph. It was a sickeningly touching story from the “How We Met” series. And the rest, as they say, is history.

It's sad when your uncle's love life is as good as it will never be for you. The fact that I am an honorary member of the smart guys club already means that in my personal life Something beautiful is missing. Of course, my grandmother still believes that the whole point is that Uncle Harry simply did not meet “the right” girl. But at least he is now definitely in the trend of all fashionable new items.

I pulled the box out of the bag, tore off the gift wrapping and looked at Uncle Harry.

Are you kidding?

I pulled the package out of the box and unwrapped it. I had a small one in my hands black dress. It truly was amazing. I looked at the price tag.

Three hundred fifty dollars? Are you crazy!

No, I didn't. I've always wanted to buy a dress inspired by Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's. But I had no one to give it to. Until you showed up. Come on, don't you like it?

I nodded dumbfounded. This is probably the most chic thing in my wardrobe.

It's amazing! It’s just a pity that only your dusty manuscripts will see me in it.

You can never look too good to work with parchment.

I grinned.

Thanks, I really really like it.

After the shower, I decided not to straighten my hair and leave the curls. The weather forecast promised high humidity, which meant there was no point in fighting the true nature of my hair. They will tangle anyway, and the result will be something between asparagus bushes and steel wool.

After applying lip gloss and eyelashes, I put on black ballet flats - I also decided that I wouldn't struggle with being five foot three. But really, I'm kidding myself because I'm five foot two and add a little hair on my head. I have naturally pale skin, dotted with freckles, which I also don’t bother hiding, and my eyes are bright gray. I looked at bookshelf, on which my uncle placed frames with black and white photographs my mother. She looks straight into the camera lens and laughs as the wind blows through her hair. In the photo she is dressed exactly like Madonna from the 80s, and somehow amazingly It all suits my mother.

I wish I knew what made her laugh so much. Uncle Harry doesn't remember this. I look a lot like her - just a different hair color, but the same pale skin type. Alas, from sun rays I immediately turn into boiled crayfish. But that seems to be where the similarities end. Because in every photo, mom looks like a model, or like a bohemian artist, or like someone glamorous from a life like a fairy tale.

I looked at myself again from head to toe in the closet mirror in my room. I looked... almost like an adult. Smiling at my reflection, I walked out into the narrow corridor. It was covered with posters and posters of Uncle Harry and Gabe's favorite musicals - Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street, Contact, Chicago, Spamalot. I turned right and walked into the kitchen. It was huge by Manhattan standards, tiny by Boston standards, with shiny and sparkling appliances, maple-colored cabinets and granite-topped kitchen tables. I reached for the coffee grinder.

“There’s no time, darling,” said Harry. - We'll stop at Starbucks on the way. We have to go.

Gabe came up to me.

Are you wearing a kimono? - I asked, touching the blue and green silk.

Cool, can I borrow it from you sometime?

If I were you, I would never take off this dress. Yes, it’s not a pity to die for him. You look incredible.

Thank you. - I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him goodbye. - By the way, I liked your shower chants today.

Did you hear me sing?

Every note.

Harry rolled his eyes playfully.

Holy innocence! He knows very well that we can hear him.

Having gone down the elevator from the fortieth floor and looked into Starbucks (I will die if I don’t drink coffee in the morning, this is the source of life for me), my uncle and I rushed into the morning crowd of people rushing to work - but we did not go to the auction house.

Where are we going?

Home to Dr. Sokolov.

I thought he would come to your work to see the manuscript. Isn't this manuscript what all your medieval specialists live for?

Harry threw back his head and laughed.

I'm afraid this is impossible.

He has agoraphobia.

I tried to remember what kind of phobia this was.

Harry turned around and looked at me:

He never leaves his home. Never.

At all? Does it work?

Yes, he writes scientific articles and conducts research. Gives lectures via video link and records podcasts. Modern technologies make friends with people like him. People bring books to his house. Well, or in my case, I'll show him the video.

Strange... Never go outside. Where does he get his food from?

Callie, honey. We're in New York. Here everything can be ordered to your home.

Well, okay, but there must be things for which he leaves the apartment?

Probably yes. But for such cases he has an assistant.

We got into a yellow taxi and ten minutes later, having barely avoided a dozen accidents, pale and completely sick, we were already leaving at the gates of a four-story mansion in Greenwich Village. On the other side of the street, trees raised their branches to the sky, spreading them over the road and trying to overcome the concrete barriers. Two long, highly polished limousines were parked next to the houses.

“It’s an amazing street,” I said, getting out of the taxi. - This part of the city seems so quiet and secluded.

I looked at my uncle.

That building over there is a typical home for a highly paid actress. I can't even tell you how many times I've met Uma Thurman here. Oh, or my idol Anderson Cooper. One day I saw him speeding by on his bike. - The uncle nodded towards the three-story stone mansion located on the other side of the road. - I think some famous writer lives there. One way or another, Doctor Sokolov, as they say, has golden blood. This house has belonged to his family for more than a hundred years, since the days when carriages drove along this street. Do you want me to tell you about incredible fact from the history?

I am not sure.

But this is absolutely necessary when it comes to such a luxurious home. For example, the reason why it is multi-story is rooted deep in history, in a time when the rich could only live on the upper floors, away from the stench of horse manure. It was…

Better stop there,” I groaned. Sometimes Uncle Harry's love of history was too obvious for me.

I looked around the street and wondered what it would be like to live here. The street was calm and serene, and for a second I felt like I had stepped back in time. I even heard the chirping of birds hiding in the trees. Approaching the door of Dr. Sokolov's house, I noticed a sign hanging next to the doorbell. It read: “Sokolov and Sons, antiques experts.” My uncle called, and we heard the overflowing ringing of a bell echo through the house.

The massive door, four meters high, polished to a shine, opened, but instead of an agoraphobic elderly expert on antiquities, I found myself face to face with the most handsome guy the one I've ever seen. At that very moment I felt myself blush.

“Oh, hello, Harry,” he smiled at my uncle, two dimples appeared on his cheeks. Then he looked at me, and it seemed to me that he saw something through me. Or inside. I backed away and bumped into my uncle.

Calliope, meet August Sokolov, Professor Sokolov’s invaluable assistant and also his son.

Hello! - I tried to find my breath again.

There was a long pause. I managed to see August: he had green eyes, Brown hair curled slightly at the collar of the shirt. One ear was pierced - there was an earring with the Yin-Yang symbol. The left eye had a scar that resembled a horseshoe. The guy stared at me and, blinking, said:

Come in, my father is waiting for you.

I stepped over the threshold, Uncle Harry followed me. August led us through the marble foyer; As we walked past paintings and real (really, really) knight's armor, I glanced over my shoulder at my uncle.

"What?" - Uncle Harry said silently with the most innocent look.

But I didn't take my eyes off him.