Ivan I. Iliev

The article examines the emergence and semantic uses of the cedar, and more specifically the ‘Lebanese’ one, not only as a separate tree species but also as a specific ‘topos’, used in a Biblical context not only in St. Prophet Isaiah, with more than one meaning and even separate thematic spheres, while in medieval Bulgarian literature its ideological and semantic uses expanded and it became part of the ‘Christ tree.’ The reasons for this are rooted in its Old Testament Biblical use, and later, a purposeful attempt was made not only to explain it in more detail but also to attribute to it an even more substantial meaning. The ‘Lebanese cedar’ finds its place in early interpretive literature because it is one of the symbols of the presence and power of God. The ‘topos’ also finds wide application in parabiblical literature that goes beyond or adds to the previously expected qualities and properties of the cedar. Some facts and hypotheses will be presented to the Bulgarian reader for the first time.

Subject: Scripta

Keywords: cedar Lebanese cedar topos prophet Isaiah Cross tree parabiblical literature royal tree

Subject: Personalia

Subject: Personalia

The paper discusses a medieval South Slavonic text referring to the Book of Daniel in the framework of the Chronicle of Johannes Zonaras contained in manuscript No. 105 which is kept in Zograf Monastery. The author believes that this Slavonic version of the Chronicle was compiled by Konstantin Kostenečki. The author compares the version of the Book of Daniel in the Zograf manuscript with older Slavonic translations and versions of the Book of Daniel known to him to highlight the differences and the specific Constantine’s approach that is somewhat unique for this book from the Bible. This comparison makes it evident that Zograf 105 preserves a unique version of this biblical book which is not known to medieval Bulgarian and Greek written traditions. The juxtaposition is carried out on structural and lexical levels.

Subject: Language studies Language and Literature Studies Theoretical Linguistics Historical Linguistics Philology Translation Studies

Keywords: Johannes Zonaras Konstantin Kostenečki Book of Daniel interpretation a new version of the chronicle

The author presents the usage of some of the major Bible quotations in the Slavonic version of De Christo et Antichristo by Hippolytus of Rome. Mainly Old Testament quotations are examined, as well as the longer ones from Revelation. Among them, there are quotes from Genesis, the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Daniel which are compared to the same places in Prophetologium (Grigorovič No. 2 / М.1685, RGB), in the so-called Catena in Prophetas (Saint-Trinity Lavra No. 89, RGB) and where possible with the commentaries of Hippolytus In Danielem, and other early Slavic translations of the Scripture as well. The quotations from Revelation are compared with some later translations of this book in order to underline their importance and usage. The lexical analysis is not the main focus of the conducted study, but it is inevitable when the quotations are compared with biblical manuscripts. Тhe main aim and scope of the article is to highlight how the biblical quotations were approached by the translator. The large-scale comparisons made show how the medieval Slavonic biblical versions vary, depending on the function of the texts translated.

Subject: Scripta Medieval Studies Linguistic History of Literature

Keywords: HIPPOLYTUS OF ROME Bible quotes Slavonic translations Book of Isaiah Book of Daniel Revelation

The article traces back all early patristic pieces of evidence of the nature and appearance of the Antichrist, summarizes out his mentions in the Old Testament and New Testament and gives additional information for the calculation of the number 666. A peculiar Anti-Jewish trace is highlighted, as well as the reasons for its presence in the early Christian literature is discussed. The paper also focuses on De Christo and Antichristo by Hippolytus of Rome and points out its importance for the patristic studies and their connection to the Slavonic manuscript tradition.

Subject: Language and Literature Studies

Keywords: ANTICHRIST NUMBER 666 IRENAEUS HIPPOLYTUS OF ROME ORIGEN GREEK TRADITION SLAVONIC TRANSLATION

The article has two main focuses – first, it follows the most significant and important Antichrist myth researches, and secondly, the Greek tradition of De Christo et Antichristo by Hippolytus of Rome and the Slavonic versions of the text. The Slavonic witnesses are examined according to their omissions, additions, grammatical and morphological variations, and also some of the changes in the Bible quotations are highlighted. This work does not pretend to present new information on the Greek sources but to demonstrate how important the Slavonic translation is to the interpretation of the Greek original. The most interesting results are pointed out in the relation with the Greek text itself, where the proximity between the Greek fragment of Meteora Monastery 573 and the Slavonic tradition is presented.

Subject: Language and Literature Studies Language studies Theoretical Linguistics Applied Linguistics Studies of Literature Philology Translation Studies Antichrist Hippolytus of Rome Textology Greek tradition Manuscripts

The article highlights the Greek manuscripts, containing Hippolytus of Rome’s Commentarii in Danielem, the history of their research and their content, as well as the relation among them and the Slavonic translation. The author reveals all Greek and Slavonic sources, known today, and demonstrates how the two versions of the text correspond to each other. The main focus is placed on the cod. Meteoron 573, of the tenth century, proven to be the closest and mostly related to the Slavonic translation. This matter was profoundly revealed by comparison of contents, titles and structure of the texts of both versions, which is briefly presented in this paper.

Subject: History Language studies Language and Literature Studies Cultural history Studies of Literature Middle Ages Philology Translation Studies