On the eve of the anniversary of the birth of a native of Polotsk, an outstanding church, state and cultural figure Hieromonk Simeon of Polotsk (1629-1680), the National Library of Belarus has acquired a rare copy of the "Psalter Rhyming", printed in 1680.
The book was published in Moscow, in the Upper Printing House, which was organized by Simeon Polotsky.
The Psalter is one of the main educational and liturgical books, was one of the first biblical texts translated into Slavic. Simeon Polotsky was the first to carry out a complete translation of this biblical book in syllabic verse.
The publication includes three prefaces by the author, the text of the "Rhyming Psalter" itself, as well as the Old Testament "songs", "prayers" and "Months" in a poetic arrangement. The forewords of Simeon Polotsky are addressed to Tsar Theodore Alekseevich and pious readers, one of the forewords is also written in verse form.
On one of the pages, Simeon Polotsky used a "typographic game" for the first time in Russia: he began typing the phrase "Sing Psalms to our God" from the center of the typesetting strip, so that the phrase can be read from left to right, and from right to left, and from bottom to top, and from top to bottom.
The book is richly decorated with screensavers, endings, pawnshops, and set decorations. Includes an engraving of King David performed by the famous icon painter Simon Ushakov. The image became innovative for its time. The image of King David is made realistically, the interpretation of the background of the engraving is solved spatially and in perspective.
There are handwritten music lines in the margins of the book. The verses were set to music in 1685 by the sovereign singing clerk, composer Vasily Titov (about 1650-1710).
As Simeon Polotsky noted, the book was intended not for church and liturgical use, but for the "home fun" of the reader who appreciates "rhyming speech".
"Psalter rhyming" is a monument of book culture of the XVII century and is of great interest to researchers.
The material is provided by the Research Department of Book Studies
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