History in Drawings or Drawings “Embedded” into History? (On the Issue of Miniatures from the Old Believer Miscellany of the 18th Century)

Abstract

The article considers a unique handwritten miscellany of the 18th century from the collection of the Laboratory of Archaeographical Studies of the Ural Federal University, created by an Old Believer scribe — compiler and miniaturist. The Miscellany is composed of articles-readings of the Synaxarion with descriptions of the lives of saints, as well as hagiography from the Menaion for Reading. A special feature of the Miscellany is the selection of essays that exclusively show the phenomenon of martyrdom of early Christian ascetics. Pictures of past events are vividly and expressively reflected not only in the texts, but also in numerous miniatures accompanying the writings. The pictorial series of the manuscript reproduces in detail the sequence of the plot, focusing the reader’s attention on important points and forcing each episode of the story to be emotionally experienced. Such a detailed reproduction of events from long-gone times makes one wonder: what was the reason for the appearance of such an unusual miscellany in composition and design? In one of the works of the Ural scientist V. I. Baidin, it was suggested that the compiler of the Miscellany tried to allegorically convey information about the events associated with the Tara riot of 1722, and arguments were made in favor of this point of view. This article expresses other considerations regarding the origin of the illustrative material and, in general, the idea of such a selection of texts in the Miscellany. Considering the historical situation in Russia in the 1770s–1780s and the current events for society at the time the Miscellany appeared, the author finds out a cause-and-effect relationship between the brutal persecution of Christian martyrs shown in the Miscellany and the events of the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion, when similar sophisticated means of beatings, torture and reprisals were used. The participants of the Pugachev rebellion, among whom there were many Old Believers, may have been for the compiler of the Miscellany the same heroes as the martyrs of the era of Christian persecution, who fought for freedom, especially freedom of faith. The Miscellany of hagiographic articles of the 18th century with a wide range of illustrations will be of interest both as a historical phenomenon and as a striking artistic artifact that requires further in-depth research.

Keywords

• old believers
• illustrated miscellany
• early christian saints
• miniature
• tara riot
• pugachev’s rebellion