Observations on the Vocabulary of the 3rd Book of Kingdoms: to the Problem of Reconstruction of the Ancient Slavonic Translation

In the history of Slavonic literature, the Books of Kingdoms were translated twice: the first translation was presumably produced at the turn of the ninth and tenth centuries, and the second during the Middle Bulgarian period. Ten manuscripts containing the text of the Third Book of Kingdoms, either in full or in part, are currently available: two Middle Bulgarian manuscripts and eight Old Russian ones. To date, only a limited portion of the vocabulary of the earliest translation of the Third Book of Kingdoms has been examined, namely rare words and items identified as hapax legomena. Within the analysis of rare lexemes, individual lexical readings are also discussed, the meanings of several words are clarified (zasobitъ, lakinija, očьce, pokrǫta, stьblь/stьplь, utroiti), and primary readings are identified. One of the most recent studies of the earliest translation of the Books of Kingdoms contrasts the Middle Bulgarian manuscripts with the Old Russian ones. On the basis of the analysis of rare vocabulary, it appears that the Middle Bulgarian copies reflect partial lexical editing of the text. Further clarification of this issue requires the examination of a larger body of material.