Abstract:
This article is devoted to the attempts to identify the prototype and the sources of
The Register of Dames and Handsome Maidens, which was part of the lubok tradition
of the 17th–18th centuries. This text is a list of female proper names provided with
humorous commentaries. The satirical texts of the 17th century frequently replicate
the structure of the documents and literary texts of those times. Some satirical texts
represent the structure of church services, an alphabet prayer, a petition, etc. Among
the manuscript and lubok texts of the 17th–18th centuries, there is a significant
number of texts which include lists of names with humorous characteristics. These
texts may be dated back to the Old Russian dictionaries of proper names, e.g., the
Commentaries on the Names in Alphabetical Order by Maximus the Greek. Unlike
the other texts organized as lists of names, The Register of Dames is related to the
wedding ritual, and its probable source can be identified as the register of potential
brides for Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, which was compiled in 1669–1670, when Tsar
Alexey was planning to marry for a second time. The text of the Register includes
all but two of the names that appear in the probable prototype, including rather
rare names. Furthermore, the name Natalia—that is, the tsar’s future wife—is
particularly emphasized.
