Awards

• Winner of Early Slavic Studies Association Book Prize 2015 (United States)

Overview

The Slavic Letters of St. Jerome is the first book-length study of the medieval legend that Church Father and biblical translator St. Jerome was a Slav who invented the Slavic (Glagolitic) alphabet and Roman Slavonic rite. Julia Verkholantsev locates the roots of this belief among the Latin clergy in Dalmatia in the 13th century and describes in fascinating detail how Slavic leaders subsequently appropriated it to further their own political agendas. The Slavic language, written in Jerome's alphabet and endorsed by his authority, gained the unique privilege in the Western Church of being the only language other than Latin, Greek, and Hebrew acceptable for use in the liturgy. Such privilege, confirmed repeatedly by the popes, resulted in the creation of narratives about the distinguished historical mission of the Slavs and became a possible means for bridging the divide between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in the Slavic-speaking lands. In the fourteenth century the legend spread from Dalmatia to Bohemia and Poland, where Glagolitic monasteries were established to honor the Apostle of the Slavs Jerome and the rite and letters he created. The myth of Jerome's apostolate among the Slavs gained many supporters among the learned and spread far and wide, reaching Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and England. Grounded in extensive archival research, Verkholantsev examines the sources and trajectory of the legend of Jerome's Slavic fellowship within a wider context of European historical and theological thought. This unique volume will appeal to medievalists, Slavicists, scholars of religion, those interested in saints' cults, and specialists of philology.

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9780875804859

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Reviews

Erudite, perceptive, and judicious, with a superb command of languages and archival and secondary sources, Professor Verkholantsev is very rare in our field with her command of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Slavic literary traditions. While foregrounding the St. Jerome-as-Slav-and-Slavic translator myth and its role in legitimizing the Slavonic Catholic liturgy, this will be an indispensible introduction to the entire world of medieval Slavia Catholica for Western medievalists and specialists in Slavia Orthodoxa alike. --David Goldfrank, Georgetown University

This well-researched, original, and accessible book . . . will prove to be an indispensable contribution and excellent addition to scholarly work available in English on many aspects of medieval and Renaissance Slavic culture. The Catholic Historical Review In a fascinating niche work that combines historiography, multiculturalism, hagiography, and linguistics, Verkholantsev charts the history of an idea the myth of Jerome s role as author of Slavic Christianity by means of documentary and linguistic analysis of primary sources drawn from Slavic culture. CHOICE Verkholantsev s inclusive approach and the geographical span of her study offer invaluable depth and texture to the religious history of Western Slavic areas under Roman Catholic jurisdiction, namely Croatia, Bohemia, Silesia and Poland. . . . Verkholantsev's thorough analysis, based on an impressive bibliography, is a solid contribution to a subject often caught up in competing nationalistic claims. The Medieval Review The author s command of the primary sources and the secondary material represents an impressive achievement; the range of linguistic control alone is something of which few other scholars would be capable. This book makes a significant scholarly contribution. Paul Knoll, University of Southern California The author traces the story of St. Jerome and his letters by means of still existing glagolitic books or manuscripts, through dedication letters and foundation charters, and through certain people like Charles IV or John of Neumarkt who commissioned Slavonic books . . . this method of using texts to write a history can only be recommended. The Russian Review Erudite, perceptive, and judicious, with a superb command of languages and archival and secondary sources, Professor Verkholantsev is very rare in our field with her command of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Slavic literary traditions. While foregrounding the St. Jerome-as-Slav-and-Slavic translator myth and its role in legitimizing the Slavonic Catholic liturgy, this will be an indispensible introduction to the entire world of medieval Slavia Catholica for Western medievalists and specialists in Slavia Orthodoxa alike. David Goldfrank, Georgetown University

This well-researched, original, and accessible book... will prove to be an indispensable contribution and excellent addition to scholarly work available in English on many aspects of medieval and Renaissance Slavic culture. -The Catholic Historical Review In a fascinating niche work that combines historiography, multiculturalism, hagiography, and linguistics, Verkholantsev charts the history of an idea-the myth of Jerome's role as author of Slavic Christianity-by means of documentary and linguistic analysis of primary sources drawn from Slavic culture. -CHOICE Verkholantsev's inclusive approach and the geographical span of her study offer invaluable depth and texture to the religious history of Western Slavic areas under Roman Catholic jurisdiction, namely Croatia, Bohemia, Silesia and Poland.... Verkholantsev's thorough analysis, based on an impressive bibliography, is a solid contribution to a subject often caught up in competing nationalistic claims. -The Medieval Review The author's command of the primary sources and the secondary material represents an impressive achievement; the range of linguistic control alone is something of which few other scholars would be capable. This book makes a significant scholarly contribution. -Paul Knoll, University of Southern California The author traces the story of St. Jerome and his letters by means of still existing glagolitic books or manuscripts, through dedication letters and foundation charters, and through certain people like Charles IV or John of Neumarkt who commissioned Slavonic books... this method of using texts to write a history can only be recommended. -The Russian Review Erudite, perceptive, and judicious, with a superb command of languages and archival and secondary sources, Professor Verkholantsev is very rare in our field with her command of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Slavic literary traditions. While foregrounding the St. Jerome-as-Slav-and-Slavic translator myth and its role in legitimizing the Slavonic Catholic liturgy, this will be an indispensible introduction to the entire world of medieval Slavia Catholica for Western medievalists and specialists in Slavia Orthodoxa alike. -David Goldfrank, Georgetown University

In a fascinating niche work that combines historiography, multiculturalism, hagiography, and linguistics, Verkholantsev charts the history of an idea the myth of Jerome s role as author of Slavic Christianity by means of documentary and linguistic analysis of primary sources drawn from Slavic culture. CHOICE The author s command of the primary sources and the secondary material represents an impressive achievement; the range of linguistic control alone is something of which few other scholars would be capable. This book makes a significant scholarly contribution. Paul Knoll, University of Southern California The author traces the story of St. Jerome and his letters by means of still existing glagolitic books or manuscripts, through dedication letters and foundation charters, and through certain people like Charles IV or John of Neumarkt who commissioned Slavonic books . . . this method of using texts to write a history can only be recommended. The Russian Review

Author Information

Julia Verkholantsev is Associate Professor in the department of Russian and East European Studies at University of Pennsylvania. She is author of Ruthenica Bohemica.

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