Names of Vladimir the Great in Liturgical Texts and the Perception of his Sainthood in the 14th and 17th Centuries

Abstract

The article examines attributive and agentive names of the grand prince of Kiev, Vladimir Svyatoslavich as they appear in liturgical texts of the 14th and 17th centuries, that either circulated independently or were employed at church services especially dedicated to the saint. Presuming that the first laudatory songs glorifying Vladimir date back to the 12th century, the author observes the steady increase of the number of such attributive and agentive names in liturgical texts and marks the period from the 14th through the 17th centuries as a peak of textual activity surrounding Vladimir. As the tables included in the article indicate, the increase in number was accompanied by the corresponding increase in semantic and imagery complexity. The names, employed in broader contextual meanings, became associated with various semantic fields and, above all, began to express abstract ideas related to the ideal vision of the personality of the saint and its historical, metaphysical, and spiritual dimensions.

Keywords

• name
• nomination
• service
• hymn
• laudatory song
• semantics
• semantic field
• reflection.