Walters Ms. W.916, Fathers of the Solovetsky Monastery and their sufferings Old Believer Martyrs Istoriya ob ottsekh i stradal'tsekh solovetskikh Denisov, Simeon, 1682-1741 Simeon Denisov is known as the author of this text, but the name of his brother and fellow Old Believer leader, Andrei, is written on the title page; the name was once crossed off, and another name written above in pencil, which has subsequently been erased Denisov, Andreĭ Dionisʹevich, 1674-1730 Cataloger Kauffman, Nicholas Editor Herbert, Lynley Copy editor Dibble, Charles Contributor Bockrath, Diane Contributor Emery, Doug Contributor Noel, William Contributor Tabritha, Ariel Contributor Toth, Michael B. Conservator Quandt, Abigail The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.

 This manuscript was made around 1800 by an often persecuted group of Russian Christians, the “Old Believers.” Because this group frequently had its books confiscated and was denied the use of printing presses, its members continued to write important books such as this one by hand. This text chronicles and illustrates the story of a group of monks at the Solovetsky Monastery who opposed Nikon’s controversial reforms and endured a siege for eight years (1668-1676) before they were finally betrayed. Most of the monks were killed, though some escaped, and many went to the Vyg region, where the author of this book, Simeon Denisov (1682-1741), was a leader in the Old Believer community. Baltimore The Walters Art Museum W.916 The primary language in this manuscript is Russian. 1r - 131v Old Believer Martyrs Istoriya ob ottsekh i stradal'tsekh solovetskikh

Compiled of an array of different types of paper ranging from thin to very thick; some pages laid and some wove; two different watermarks observed, both heraldic in style: one features a crown supported by a beast, the other a horse's head on a base; some pages have letters RCMR or RGMR; some contain parts of dates

 Foliation: 13618.5 15.0 13.5 11.0 Pastedowns and three blank folios at end are part of quire structure but are not foliated; modern foliation in pencil at top right corners of rectos (no. 130 repeated) and at bottom right (in Cyrillic numeration) in ink

1(8,-2,-7), 2-5(4), 6(6), 7(6 -6), 8-14(4), 15(6), 16(8,-2), 17(6,-6), 18-22(4), 23(2), 24(4), 25(8,-1), 26-29(6) None None Many bifolia appear to be formed from two smaller sheets glued together; quire 1 appears to be missing a folio that was pasted in and hooked to fol. 4v; quires 16 and 17 contain pasted-in fold-out miniatures

 Multiple different hands throughout text; squared uncial script Three double-page miniatures; two fold-out full-page miniatures; forty-seven regular full-page miniatures; decorative headpiece; decorated initial; rubrics in red; text in black and brown ink Author portrait of Simeon Denisov Full-page miniature Father Savatius building monastery Full-page miniature Eleazar sees Nikon with a snake Full-page miniature Martyr dies by fire Full-page miniature Symbols of liturgical reform Full-page miniature Monks discussing texts Full-page miniature Monks entreat a clergyman Full-page miniature Monks discussing texts Full-page miniature Soldiers take monks captive Full-page miniature Monks presented to officials Full-page miniature Torture of a monk Full-page miniature Beheading of a monk Full-page miniature Chained monk presented to an official Full-page miniature Burning of village and fishing equipment Full-page miniature Cannon fires upon monastery Full-page miniature Cannon fires upon monastery Full-page miniature Two monks in coffins Full-page miniature Discussion among monks Full-page miniature Siege preparations against the monastery Full-page miniature Monks defend themselves against besiegers Full-page miniature Monk receives bribe from an official Full-page miniature A monk roused to defend monastery Full-page miniature Monks and soldiers fight inside monastery Full-page miniature Monks with icon confront soldiers Full-page miniature Monks taken captive Full-page miniature Soldiers bludgeon monk Full-page miniature Soldiers bring monk on sled to official Full-page miniature Official beats monk beside sled Full-page miniature Monk dragged off cliff Full-page miniature Monk presented to official Full-page miniature Official strikes monk Full-page miniature Official strikes monk Full-page miniature Monk dragged into sea Full-page miniature Monks presented to an official Full-page miniature Monks dismembered Full-page miniature Multiple monks hung from scaffold Fold-out full-page miniature Multiple monks dragged behind horses Fold-out full-page miniature Multiple monks dragged onto ice (part A) Half of double-page miniature Multiple monks dragged onto ice (part B) Half of double-page miniature Monks dragged to hole in ice Full-page miniature Soldiers remove sacred objects Full-page miniature Monk dragged off cliff Full-page miniature Two clergymen in a bedchamber Full-page miniature Soldier on a galloping horse Full-page miniature Mounted soldier receives a message Full-page miniature Funeral of a clergyman Full-page miniature Chained monk in a sleigh Full-page miniature Monks executed by hanging and ice (part A) Half of double-page miniature Monks executed by hanging and ice (part B) Half of double-page miniature Burial of dead monks (part A) Half of double-page miniature Burial of dead monks (part B) Half of double-page miniature Men smoking pipes at dinner Full-page miniature Monks see liturgical objects with flames Full-page miniature Monks worship before cross Full-page miniature Liturgical symbols Full-page miniature

Tooled and varnished leather over wood; spine in light brown leather; darker leather tacked on over boards; two different types of clasps in different metals (one brass, the other possibly copper); straps broken

 Ca. 1800 CE Russia Russia, ca. 1800, created by Russian "Old Believers" Walters Art Museum, 2005, purchased from Sam Fogg Rare Books and Manuscripts Museum Purchase, 2005 Art Medicine Museum Poetry Script Muhammad, the Prophet Kashmiri Horses Walters Art Museum Document Astrology Devotion History Legal Literature -- Poetry Literature -- Prose Liturgy Philosophy Science Science -- Medicine Scripture Sufism Theology Mineralogy Logic Geography Geomancy Cosmology Cartography Fortune-telling Koran Qur`an Firman Palimpsest Prayer Bible Gospels Psalter Missal Lectionary Book of Hours Antiphonary Homilary Processional Horologion Breviary Hymnal Chronicle Maghreb Sub-Saharan (West) Africa Turkey Afghanistan Central Asia Egypt England India Iran Iraq Pakistan Germany France Austria Netherlands Ethiopia Armenia Flanders Greece Mamluk Mughal Ottoman Ottonian Armenian Byzantine Abbasid Qajar Rajput Christian Arabic Austrian Dutch Egyptian Fatimid German Indian Islamic Persian Safavid Timurid Turkish Umayyad English French Flemish Ethiopian Carolingian Calligraphy Colophon Headpiece Illumination Illustration Medallion Miniature Ornament Painting Early Abbasid script Ragini Romanesque Gothic Watermark Grotesques Historiated initial Inhabited initial White-vine lettering Textura Batarda Humanistic Uncial Accordion book Album Book Codex Manuscript Heraldry Saint's Life Drawing Grisaille Binding New Abbasid style Musical notation Russia Romania Charter Russian Genealogy Mass book Prayer book Gospel Lectionary Psalter-Hours Treatise Grammar Gloss Pontifical Private devotional text Gradual Protective scroll Scroll 10th century 11th century 12th century 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 8th century 9th century Block book Caroline minuscule Central Arab lands (Near East) Chart English secretary hand Kufic Gothic book hand Original binding Treasure binding Gospel Book Spanish Spain Italian Italy Coptic Scrapbook American United States Maryland Historical Society Friendship book Friendship Liturgical Devotional Scriptural Theological Legal Historical Scientific Scientific -- Medical Literary -- Prose Literary -- Poetry Philosophical Astrological Sufi English Russian Book Codex Illumination Manuscript Walters Art Museum Russia 19th century Theology Watermark Saint's Life Christian Miniature Original binding Painting 18th century History