Kurbanov, A.V., Spyridonova, L.V. (2025). The Leichoudes Brothers’ Guide to Epistolography in the Context of Ancient and Postbyzantine Tradition: Edition of the Introduction with Translation. Philologia Classica, 20(1), 108–143. https: ...

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/22615 (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 04.03.2026)

Abstract

This article examines an unpublished manual on epistolography “On the Method of Studying Epistolary Styles”, composed by the Leichoudes brothers for students of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in the late 17th century. This manual, preserved in two manuscripts by the Leichoudes’ students (Mt Athos, Iviron Monastery, No. 98, and St. Petersburg, NLR, f. 906, No. 506), represents the first systematic course on letter-writing theory and practice in Russia. The study investigates the manuscript tradition, establishes its creation date (1687), and attributes the copies to the Leichoudes’ first students - Nikolai Golovin and Fyodor Gerasimov. The manual’s position in the academy’s curriculum is examined as an intermediate course between grammar and rhetoric, aligning with both ancient and post-Byzantine educational traditions. The research analyzes the manual’s ancient prototypes - “Epistolary Types” by Pseudo-Demetrius and “Epistolary Styles” by Pseudo-Libanius - and traces their influence on the structure and content of the Leichoudes᾽ work. The treatise is also considered within the context of 17th-century Greek epistolary theory development, identifying common features. Special attention is paid to the manual’s structure, which includes a theoretical introduction and sample letters of various types, classified according to Aristotle’s three genres of rhetoric (epideictic, judicial, and deliberative). Special attention is paid to the manual’s structure, featuring a theoretical introduction in question-and-answer format, and to its discussion of key epistolographic concepts (definition of a letter, opening and closing formulas, structure, style, dating, titulature). The article includes a critical edition of the Greek text of the theoretical introduction with a Russian translation.