Към въпроса за южнославянските преводи на житието на мъченица Параскева-Петка Римлянка
On the Question of the South-Slavic Translations of the Vitae of St. Petka the Roman Martyr

Summary/Abstract: Despite the confusion of the three saints called Paraskeve/Petka widespread in the Middle Ages, St. Petka the Roman Martyr is one of the most popular women saints in the South-Slavic tradition. Besides the relatively great number of preserved copies of her vita, this fact is testified to by the existence of many different versions of her story. This study aims mainly to establish the chronology and classification of the Slavic vitae of Petka of Rome, examining their variety and diffusion in the medieval South-Slavic literatures. As far as the manuscript material allows, a brief survey of the known versions and their mutual connection is provided. Although the preservation has been haphazard, when we consider the surviving versions, it seems most plausible to deduce that quite early – before the thirteenth century – two independent Slavic versions were translated from the Greek: a long and a short one. Later on, probably in Bulgarian environment, two other abbreviated literary redactions appeared on the basis of the long version. These new variants of the legend were formed simultaneously with the gradual “sinking down” of the legend to the level of popular literature and apocryphal tales. Indicative in this respect are the anthologies where St. Petka’s vita is to be found.

• Details
• Contents