Pereslavl Gospel. Tetraevangelion.
Late 14 - early 15th cent. Scribe: Deacon Zinovy.

F (240 x 175). 166 leaves.
Parchment. Ink, cinnabar, colours, gold.

It is written in a uncial hand in two columns.

The illumination of the manuscript includes 5 miniatures: The Savior Almighty (fol. 6r), portraits of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, John with the pupil St Prokhor (fols. 6v, 52r, 79r, 125v). The codex contains head-pieces in colours (fols. 2v, 7v, 52v, 79v, 126v). Folio 166v has the tail-piece in colours: a hand, supporting a vessel (?). There are initials in cinnabar.

Folio 166r bears the scribe's inscription stating that the manuscript was created in Pereslavl during the reign of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitriyevich by order of Savva, Hegumen of the Monastery of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin.

The codex is one of rare memorials, giving an idea of culture of Pereslavl-Zalessky. The manuscript dates from the times of the reign of Grand Duke Vasily Dmitriyevich (1389-1425). As Gerold Vzdornov supposes, miniatures of the codex were produced by two different artists. Iconography the miniature of The Savior Almighty relates most closely to memorials of Moscow painting dating from the early 15th century. These are the Saviour from the Deesis at the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin painted by Theophanes the Greek, the Saviour from the Deesis at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, the miniature from the Gospel of the St Andronik Monastery (ÃÈÌ, Åïàðõ. 436) etc. Evangelist portraits were painted by the other, less skilled artist. Nevertheless, they are very expressive, since the artist aimed to create accurate images of the process of the copying of books. Head-pieces from the Pereslavl Gospel, composed of arbitrarily arranged colours, are unique. Nothing of the kind can be found both in earlier Pereslavl manuscripts, or in Moscow codices. But they resemble decorative motifs of wall-paintings dating from that time. During the 16th century the manuscript was preserved at the Monastery of St Nicholas "in a swamp" founded by Reverend Dmitri of Prilutsk in Pereslavl-Zalessky in the 70s of the 14th century.

In 1830 the manuscript was acquired for the Imperial Public Library from F. A. Tolstoi.

Shelfmark: ÐÍÁ. F.ï.I.21.