Textology of Early Printed Cyrillic Tetraevangelions in Middle Bulgarian and Serbian Recensions and their Relation to the Manuscript Tradition (Gospel of Mark, Pericopes 1–9)

Abstract

Of about 120 early printed liturgical Tetraevangelions only nine Church Slavonic tetras of the Middle Bulgarian recension, and three of the Serbian recensions, have survived. All of them were printed in the 16th century.

Textual analysis of the Gospel of Mark (zachalas 1–9) demonstrates differences between the text of East Slavonic Tetraevangelions and others, i.e. Middle Bulgarian and Serbian ones. Comparing them with the manuscript material proves that, from the textual point of view, eleven Tetraevangelions of Middle Bulgarian and Serbian recensions are in a close relation to the first edition of the Church Slavonic translation of the Gospel text. This is particularly noticeable in the later Middle Bulgarian tetras printed from 1560 to 1582. The early Middle Bulgarian (issued from 1512 to 1553) and all Serbian Tetraevangelions share textual variants that can be attributed to the Commentary on the Gospels by Theophylact of Ohrid.