Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
LITERATUROVEDCHESKII
ZHURNAL
The Journal of Literary History and Theory
Peer-reviewed Academic Journal

WAS KUZMISHCHE KIYANIN THE AUTHOR OF THE TALE OF IGOR’S CAMPAIGN?

Ranchin A.M.

Andrei M. Ranchin, DSc in Philology, Leading Researcher, Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovsky Avenue, 51/21, 117418, Moscow, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0414-5106

Abstract

The article examines the attribution of The Tale of Igor’s Campaign to Kuzmishche Kiyanin, the hypothetical author of the chronicle Tale of the Murder of Andrei Bogolyubskii, recently proposed by linguist A.A. Burykin, as well as the arguments of V. Yu. Franchuk in favor of the Tale belonging to one of the compilers of the Kiev Chronicle. The subject of attention is also the linguistic criteria for the attribution of ancient Russian monuments in general. A.A. Burykin, based on the similarities in the vocabulary of The Tale, the chronicle Tale and three translated ancient Russian works – The Deeds of Devgenii, The Tale of Akir the Wise and The Tale of the Indian Kingdom – proves that all three works had the same author. The scholar pays special attention to the so-called rare vocabulary. It has been demonstrated that almost all named A.A. Burykin’s lexemes are not rare. It is proved that it is impossible to make an attribution of a work on the basis of single coincidences of individual lexemes, even relatively rare ones: coincidences of words can be the result of borrowing lexemes from one text to another, and can also be explained by an orientation towards the same sociolect (for example, military). Attempts to attribute The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, characterized by an attitude towards sensationalism, are inappropriate in real scholarly studies and indicate a blurring of the boundaries between these studies and amateurism.

Keywords

The Tale of Igor’s Campaign; The Tale of the Murder of Andrei Bogolyubskii; Kuzmische Kiyanin; attribution; rare vocabulary.

Recieved

20.04.2024

Accepted

15.05.2024

For citation

Ranchin, A.M. “Was Kuzmishche Kiyanin the Author of The Tale of Igor’s Campaign?”. Literaturovedcheskii zhurnal, no. 3(65), 2024, pp. 156–175. (In Russ.)

DOI: 10.31249/litzhur/2024.65.11

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