It has been a while since I posted or worked on a translation. But, after a recent event with the…
Continue ReadingMedieval Russia
Russian Writing in the 11th-14th centuries
Schepkin’s 10th chapter is titled “Russian Writing on Parchment.” He focuses on Russian writing in the 11th-14th centuries, the period…
Continue ReadingFabrics in Pre-Mongol Rus’
Several of the articles I’ve read about medieval Russian clothing and embroidery have discussed the various kinds of fabric which…
Continue ReadingFun Videos about Late Medieval Russian Clothing
I recently came across these videos posted on YouTube by the Museums of the Moscow Kremlin, talking about late-medieval (16th-17th…
Continue ReadingLeatherworking and Shoemaking in Novgorod the Great
My research on Russian quivers for the project I’m working on led me to the article below, about leatherworking in…
Continue ReadingTrade Relations Between Volga Bulgaria and Northern and Eastern Europe in the Pre-Mongol Period (9th-early 13th cent.)
Today’s post is a translation of an article about the important trade route which passed through Volga Bulgaria between Europe…
Continue ReadingThe Khanate of Volga Bulgaria
I recently became aware of a state that existed to the east of the Rus’ kingdoms, known as Volga Bulgaria,…
Continue ReadingMedieval Russian Embroidery (Majasova, 1971)
This post my translation of the book Medieval Russian Embroidery (Древнерусское шитьё), by Natalia Andreevna Majasova (1919-2005), an expert in this area of study. Over the many years of her career, she was instrumental in the research and transformation of several collections of medieval Russian embroidered works, first at the Zagorsk State Historical-Artistic Museum-Reserve (the Soviet-era museum built on the site of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra, a famous monastery outside Moscow), and then later with the Museums of the Moscow Kremlin. This book, published in 1971, is a general overview, with over 50 full-color plates showing examples from the major embroidery centers of Moscow and Novgorod from the 15th-16th centuries, a small number of post-period items from the 17th century, and a lengthy introductory article on the subject.
Continue ReadingRepresentation of Episcopal Power in Pre-Mongol Rus’
Readers of my blog will be aware of my studies in the role of the church in medieval Rus’. Today’s…
Continue ReadingSeveral Examples of Muscovite Embroidery from the Time of Dionisius
Today’s post is my translation of N.A. Majasova’s overview of 5 items of Muscovite ecclesiastical embroidery from the late 14th-early 15th centuries,…
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