Old Russian Calligraphic Writing of the 11th Century: Stylistic Varieties and Their Origin

The article examines the problem of classification of Cyrillic handwritings of the early period. The idea is expressed about the necessity of defining stylistic varieties of this script, as it is done in Greek and Latin paleography. The focus of the work is the professional book writing of Old Russian majuscule manuscripts of the late 10th — 11th centuries, executed in calligraphic handwritings. The questions about the “ideal canon” of the original Cyrillic, about the connection of early uncial handwritings with the Greek majuscule and about the interrelations of Bulgarian and Old Russian majuscule writing are resolved. An attempt is made to provide a stylistic characteristic of the varieties of the early uncial script, which should precede the traditional morphological analysis of its graphemes.