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Voznesenskaia I. The Title of Tsar Peter I in Dedications of Presentation Handwritten Books

Irina Voznesenskaia
Russian Academy of Sciences Library
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0003-2788-9607
E-mail: voznesen@list.ru

 

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ABSTRACT.The author attempts to trace the changing of the Russian rulers’ title in the literary dedications in presentation handwritten books of the late 17th — early 18th century. The magnificent baroque forms of address close to the official royal title were changed with the rise of Tsarevna Sophia to power. The unusual situation dictates new rules. Dedicators avoid using the official title because the legitimacy of Tsarevna’s succession is perceived ambiguously. However, Sophia’s supporters, such as Sylvester Medvedev, do not hesitate to use the Tsar’s title in their dedications tо the Tsarevna. The accession of Peter Alekseevich brings the situation into the traditional framework, and the first dedications addressed to Peter are similar to those addressed to his father or brother. A decade later dedications change. The official title is reduced to a minimum in dedications; in the dedicatory address, the abbreviation “and others” can be used. At the same time, new epithets penetrate into dedications, such as Caesar, autocrat, monarch. Now and then, Tsar Peter’s name is used without the patronymic; instead, the numeration, following the Western monarchs’ mode (“the First”), and later the title “the Great”, are added. Form of address “Your Majesty” appears. It should be also noted that among presentation copies addressed to Peter manuscripts written in foreign languages (Latin and Dutch) appear. The dedication texts of the presentation copies demonstrate a gradual rejection of the official title that can be abbreviated or replaced by informal formulas.

 

KEYWORDS: title, dedication, Peter I, presentation copy, handwritten book

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2022-1(15)-109-121
УДК 099.3

 

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