Ostromir Gospels

History of the Manuscript

The Ostromir Gospels was created with a special purpose. It was intended for a precious donation to the St. Sophia Cathedral, the main church of Northwestern Russia, which was erected in 1045-1050 in Novgorod using the model of St. Sophia of Kiev (this temple was laid in 1037).

The oldest Russian manuscript has the exact date of its creation — 1057. So it has witnessed all of the Russian state evolution over time. However, the thousand-year history of the book is known only in general terms. The first page of the Ostromir Gospels contains the 17th century inscription, made in the cursive writing, "The Gospels of Sophia, a lectionary". This indicates that the manuscript belonged to some St. Sophia Church. Most likely, the Ostromir Gospels had been held in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral for several centuries, until it was transferred to Moscow (no one knows when this happened). Documentary, the history of the manuscript can be traced only from the 18th century. The property inventory of the Resurrection Church in the Moscow Kremlin, compiled in 1701, provides evidence that the Ostromir Gospels was there at that time. In 1720, the ancient book was sent to St. Petersburg, where its tracks were lost again. In 1805, the Ostromir Gospels was discovered by Ya. Druzhinin, the personal secretary of Catherine II, among the property of the deceased Empress who showed a great interest in Russian history during her lifetime.

In 1806, Emperor Alexander I gave the Ostromir Gospels to the Imperial Public Library (the former name of our Library). From this moment, the earliest Russian manuscript began to be studied. The Manuscripts Department of the Library was established only a year earlier - in 1805. Thus, the Ostromir Gospels laid the foundation of the richest manuscript collection of our Library. All the history of the study of the Ostromir Gospels is directly connected with the National Library of Russia, the oldest state public repository of manuscripts.