Ostromir Gospel

Copy of Mstislav Gospel

Copy of Mstislav Gospel.
1855. Copyist: Osip Bodyansky

Q (217 õ 180). 58 leaves.
Paper. Ink.

It is written in a civil cursive script of 19th cent.
The inside of the upper board of binding, folios I, 58r-58v carry notes made by Osip Bodyansky.

The copy of the early 12th-century parchment Gospel, known to scientists as the Mstislav Gospel (ÃÈÌ, Ñèí. 1203), was produced by Osip Bodyansky (1808-1877), the specialist in the philology of the Slavs, Professor of the Moscow University, Secretary of the Society of the Russian History and Antiquities. He specially applied himself to copying ancient manuscript memorials for the purpose of studying them. At the end of his copy the scientist made (in such manner as medieval scribes may) a note of the date of its creation and the storage-place for the original: "Copied on 10 August, in 1855, on Wednesday, at twelve o'clock in the midnight, from the parchment manuscript, kept in the Cathedral of the Archangel of the Moscow Kremlin, in the special small case, under lock. This manuscript contains 212 leaves, of which are 26 for the Gospel of John, 41 for the Gospel of Matthew, 54 for the Gospel of Luke, 40 for the Gospel of Mark, 43 for the Synaxarium and 7 for the rest, and 4 for 4 Evangelist portraits and 2 at the beginning…". Then Bodyansky describes in detail the artistic decoration of the manuscript: miniatures, head-pieces, precious applied covers of the Mstislav Gospel. A record on the inner face of the upper board of the binding includes the inscription of the Rostov expert in local studies and collector A. A. Titov stating that the codex "was acquired on 7 September in 1881 in Moscow from Bol'shakov for 15 roubles".

The manuscript came into the Imperial Public Library with the A. A. Titov's collection in the early 20 century.

Shelfmark: ÐÍÁ. Òèò. 751.

© The National Library of Russia, 2007