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Introduction to the Source

The text used for this translation is from a 14th or 15th century manuscript, Festal Menaion, in the St. Sofia Collection of the National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg (Софийское собрание 396, fol. 1v-4v). A digitization of the manuscript is available to view online here: http://nlr.ru/manuscripts/RA1527/elektronnyiy-katalog?ab=D684C217-677F-40DD-AADA-33FD3A80D9B1. The Festal Menaion is a liturgical book of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which contains texts used for the most important feasts that always fall on the same dates of the ecclesiastical year. The Festal Menaion is an abridged version of the Menaion, a far more extensive liturgical book which holds texts for the services for all the saints’ feasts and commemorations that have a constant date in the liturgical calendar. The legend about the miracle of the icon of the Mother of God is included in this Festal Menaion because it celebrates the feast of the icon of the Mother of God, a significant religious holiday in Novgorod. As in most liturgical manuscripts, the names of the authors and scribes are unknown. However, from the differing handwriting and orthographic conventions used in the text, it is evident that more than one scribe worked on recording or copying this tale.

Introduction to the Text

This legend about a miracle brought about by an icon of the Mother of God refers to the events of the 1169 CE battle between Novgorod and Suzdal, two kingdoms in what is now western Russia. Written accounts of the event from both sides appeared soon after the battle, and an oral legend emerged to explain Novgorod’s victory. The tale in this edition dates to the 14th or 15th century, and describes divine intervention in the conflict between Novgorod and Suzdal.

According to the text, the conflict between Novgorod and Suzdal began with a tax dispute, as a province under Novgorod’s influence chose to pay tribute to Suzdal instead of Novgorod. In response, the Novgorodians sent a tax collector to the province along with an army. This army was intercepted by the Suzdalians, resulting in a battle with heavy losses on the side of Suzdal. Following this battle, tensions escalated between the two kingdoms, and Prince Andrei of Suzdal sent his full military might to attack Novgorod. While Novgorod was under siege, the archbishop, St. John, had a vision telling him to take the icon of the Mother of God (a painted image of the Virgin Mary praying with baby Jesus in a circle in her chest) from its place in the Church of the Holy Savior on Il’ina Street and place it opposite the enemy. The following day, he held a holy gathering and told the people of Novgorod to follow its instructions. However, the icon would not move from its place until he prayed beneath it, and then it moved on its own, a miracle which all the congregation witnessed. They brought the icon out facing the enemy, and the icon “cried,” tears appearing to flow down its face, as the Mother of God prayed to save the city of Novgorod. The Suzdalian army then descended into chaos, fighting amongst themselves. The Novgorodians were able to kill the majority and capture the rest thanks to divine intervention. Afterwards, the date of the victory was made a feast day and all the people of Novgorod celebrated.

Starting in medieval times, this tale was commemorated as a holy event later incorporated into the body of religious texts of the Russian Orthodox Church, establishing the titular icon of the Mother of God as a holy object. This icon, known as The Mother of God of the Sign, remains one of the most significant icons in the Russian Orthodox Church, and has stood for Novgorodian strength and independence throughout history.

In medieval as well as modern Russian Orthodoxy, the use of religious images such as the icon of the Mother of God is an important part of church practice and popular devotion. They are used as objects of worship, but are also associated with the spiritual powers of the personages and theological concepts they depict, and thus the subject of many superstitions. The icon of The Mother of God of the Sign, a central participant in this legend, is one such icon. Through “crying,” it established itself as being spiritually more than just dry wood, and showed Novgorod the favor of the Mother of God herself. Another visual icon, The Miracle of the Mother of God of the Sign, was created in the 15th century to depict the events of this legend. On the feast day dedicated to this legendary victory, the visual icon is worshipped at the same time as the legend is read.

Further Reading

Birnbaum, Henrik. "Medieval Novgorod: Political, Social, and Cultural Life in an Old Russian Urban Community". Volume 14, edited by Henrik Birnbaum, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2020, pp. 1-43. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520343078-002.

• General historical introduction to medieval Novgorod.

Bulgakov, Sergej N., and Boris Jakim. Icons and the Name of God. W.B. Eerdmans, 2012.

• Theology of Orthodox icons.

Lazarev, Viktor Nikitich, Gerold Ivanovich Vzdornov, and Nancy McDarby. The Russian Icon : From Its Origins to the Sixteenth Century. English-language ed. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1997.

• General observations on Russian iconography.

Lelis, Arnold A. “The View from the Northwest: The Chronicle of Novgorod as the Mirror of Local Experience of Rus’ History, 1016-1333.” Russian History, vol. 32, no. 3/4, 2005, pp. 389–399. www.jstor.org/stable/24663271.

• History of medieval Novgorodian record-keeping.

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