Was the Primary Version of George the Monk’s Chronicle Preserved Only in the Church Slavonic Translation? Some Remarks Concerning the So-Called “Letovnik”

The Byzantine Chronicle of George the Monk (Hamartolus), written in the mid-9th century or in the second half of the 9th century, enjoyed great popularity in medieval literature and has survived to this day in several dozen manuscripts, representing many versions of the text. Most of the preserved Greek manuscripts are traditionally classified as the so-called "Vulgata", considered by many scholars to be a later redaction of the chronicle. The version closest to the protograph is supposed to be represented by only two incomplete manuscripts: BNF, Coislin 305 and ÖNB, Theol. Gr. 121 (a one-page fragment). The chronicle was translated to the (Old) Church Slavonic language twice: in the 10th century (Vremennik) and in the 14th century (Letovnik). In the 11th century also the Old Georgian translation could have been made. The so-called "Letovnik" is the second Church Slavonic translation of the chronicle, prepared in the first half of the 14th century. The translation could have been made in Bulgaria. Then it became very popular in Serbia. Many of its copies were written in the Hilandar monastery. Currently, there are at least 14 known Serbian, Bulgarian, and Moldavian manuscripts, dating from the 14th–16th centuries. So far, this variant has not been fully investigated nor received a scholarly edition. The initial study of the text has already shown that "Letovnik" is not a translation of the existing Greek versions but a separate redaction, not preserved in the Byzantine material. The textual layout is consistent with BNF, Coislin 305, but it also includes huge fragments absent from BNF, Coislin 305, but contained in the "Vulgata". Moreover, some parts of "Letovnik"’s text are not found in BNF, Coislin 305, nor in the "Vulgata". Therefore, the "Letovnik"’s place in the manuscript tradition of George the Monk’s Chronicle should be reconsidered.