Liturgical Ustav: Functioning and Regional Differences of the ceremonial handwriting in the East Slavic Regions (15th–17th c.)

Abstract

A study of the development of Cyrillic writing shows that the earliest type of writing, ustav, did not disappear with the spread of poluustav. At the turn of the 14th–15th centuries, a special kind of ustav was developed — the liturgical ustav, which was distinguished by its special solemnity. This type of handwriting was preserved in the 15th century in Novgorod lands in Euchologia, and from the second half of the 15th century it became widespread in the Novgorod and Moscow Gospels, as well as in Synodics, intended for eternal commemoration. This indicates the connection of the type of handwriting with the purpose and functioning of texts, as well as the continuity of the calligraphic tradition. Ustav could be executed using the technique of “composite” writing or with the help of a wide-edged pen, which allowed the scribes to achieve the effect of richer and denser or lighter and more elegant writing.

The manuscripts from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania borrowed liturgical ustav from the Moldavian tradition. They preserved ustav in the Gospels and the Apostles, both in Church Slavonic and in translations into Ruthenian (prostaja mova), appearing from the middle of the 16th century. This indicates the uniqueness and independence of the development of ustav in the 15th–16th centuries in Moscow, Novgorod and Ruthenian manuscripts, although the functions of this solemn type of handwriting were similar: it marked the most important, mainly liturgical handwritten books. The emergence of scribes specializing in the liturgical ustav contributed to the development of regional schools. By the middle of the 16th century, a special type of new ustav was being developed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was far from the earlier models in its outlines.

DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2025.2.04