“Palaea Historica”. The Second Slavonic Translation: Commentary and Text

The so-called Byzantine “Palaea Historica” is a text that functioned in the literature and culture of the Byzantine-Slavic commonwealth. As a collection of stories on “Old Testament” themes, which are basically of biblical origin, it preserves some pre-Christian narrations coming from the Hebrew tradition, as well as some Early Christian apocrypha. Moreover, it represents different interpretations of the Bible. An important component of the “Palaea Historica” are the poetic fragments – excerpts from the “Book of Psalms” and from some liturgical poetry by St. John of Damascus, St. Cosmas of Maiuma, and St. Andrew of Crete. Although firstly thought to be a part of a bigger whole, the edition of the source text accepted the form of an independent title. In this volume, the presented critical edition of the second Slavonic translation of the “Palaea Historica” is preceded by an introduction, which discusses the origins and characteristics of the literary relic as well as the history of its reception amongst the Slavs.