Новая грамота о новгородско-ганзейских отношениях (1425)

Труды Института российской истории РАН. 2021. № 16. С. 41–75.

Полехов С. В., Gippius A., Лукин П. В., Сквайрс Е. Р.

An Old Russian missive written in March 1425 by the authorities of the city of Reval (modern Tallinn in Estonia) to Novgorod, concerning the arrest and captivity of Reval merchants, is published for the first time, accompanied by historical and linguistic commentary. Alongside with it, a parallel Middle Low German version of the same document is published in full accordance with the original manuscript, retaining all relevant linguistic detail. The German text is shown to be primary to the Russian one, and the deviations in the Russian translation are analysed against a background of differences in the political vocabularies in Novgorod and the Hanseatic cities. Linguistic analysis also proves that the translator was not a native Russian, and that his linguistic skill was not acquired in Novgorod, but rather somewhere in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This explains the heterogeneous character of his language, combining features of Novgorodian dialect with Ruthenian. The published document contains historical evidence of high importance, concerning such issues as the prominent role the archbishop of Novgorod played in the political life, and the cult of Saint Sophia (Holy Wisdom

Keywords: Великий Новгород, Ancient Novgorod, древненовгородский диалект, деловой язык, Old Novgorodian dialect, diplomatic correspondence, дипломатическая переписка, ганза, Hansa