Sulla genesi della Paleja Tolkovaja

Abstract · On the genesis of the Paleja tolkovaja · This article deals with the question of defining the literary genre to which the Paleja tolkovaja can be considered to belong to. Previous research underlined its encyclopedic character, implying that the work functioned as a true encyclopedia or a generic compendium of theological, historical and natural science knowledge. On the other hand, they stressed the anti-Judaic direction of the work, and considered it as a polemical writing. Some scholars recognized the exegetical character of the work but no systematic examination in this direction has been provided. This article focuses on the exegetical nature of the Paleja, both by examining some topics presented in it (mainly the christological interpretation of the Old Testament) and the formal arrangement of the text. A comparison with exegetical genres circulating in Late-Antiquity and Middle Ages is provided, with particular regard to the scholia commentaries and the catenae (i.e. exegetical compilations accompanying a continuous biblical text) and their late transformations. Such an examination allows us to conclude that the Paleja was exclusively an exegetical work organized as a late medieval commentary derived from catenal compilations. Most likely the work arose in the xiv century in the East Slavic area, in which a considerable attention was paid to exegetical writings, due to the intense relation both with Athonite monasteries and ecclesiastical hierarchy in Constantinople.