Levels of Meaning and “Memory of Context” (on Marianna Andreicheva’s Book Dedicated to the Images of Infidels in the Rus Primary Chronicle)

This is a review of Marianna Andreicheva’s stimulating book (issued in 2019) dedicated to an analysis of several fragments of the Rus Primary Chronicle (‘Povest’ vremennykh let’) concerned with infidels: pagan, Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic. Andreicheva uses basically two methods: the search of literary sources and models of the chronicle fragments (Biblical, Byzantine, etc.), and the study of possible connotations which are not obvious when reading the chronicle itself but which can be understood when analyzing other written material. The author of the review evaluates the level of persuasiveness of Andreicheva’s conclusions (some of which are very persuasive, and some seem to be more disputable) and discusses some general issues concerning this approach

Archaeology · Art · Byzantine architecture · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Judaism · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Reading (process · Byzantine Studies and History · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Philosophy