The palaeographic examination of epigraphic monuments is a specific process that is associated with a number of difficulties and peculiarities. Its specificity is determined by the following factors: the material on which the inscriptions were written, the writing medium used, the artist, the purpose and the preservation. The most common difficulty with graffiti lies in its brevity, in contrast to the wordy nature of historical writings and chronicles. The majority of inscriptions are too short, containing only a name, single words or letters, or at most one of the traditional formulaic phrases.

  In contrast to manuscripts written by professional scribes who obeyed certain writing norms, most authors of inscription graffiti were untrained and unspoiled by the norms of the written tradition, so they allowed themselves to insert features of the spoken language. They represent a broader spectrum of medieval society. Therefore, in the graffiti one senses a greater freedom in the graphics, the spelling, the general structure, which differs more or less from the writing in their contemporary manuscripts. When dating an epigraphic source, a comparison is usually made between its inscription and the handwriting in dated inscriptions, paying particular attention to the date-determining elements and specific letter forms. The identical Cyrillic epigraphic sources from Russia and the Balkans, whose writing follows a similar chronological development path despite some differences, are suitable as comparative material

  In some of the graffiti inscriptions under consideration, features (graphic-orthographic and morphological) can be found that are characteristic of the literary and vernacular graphic-orthographic systems existing in Russia, which are characterized by the absence or presence of some graphemes and different rules for the use of the same ones.[1] According to B. Uspenskij orthography, unlike pronunciation, originally allowed for considerable variation, as from the very beginning, books with different orthographic systems came to Russia.[2] However, for all their diversity, the literary graphic-orthographic systems differ significantly from the vernacular orthography used in business and private correspondence and are most strongly represented in birchbark charters. The graphic systems of many Novgorod birch-bark charters stand out against the background of the systems used in literary writing, above all due to the high frequency of interchanging the graphemes ă-o, ь-е, ě-е, ě-е or ě-ь.[3] It occurs in inscriptions no. 4, 11, 18 from the west, no. 2 from the south and no. 3, 4, 5, 14, 16, 20, 23, 25, 30 from the north galleries. While the blending ě-е (or ь) is purely graphic, that of ě-i reflects a purely phonetic transition [ě] >[i] - (no. 36 north, no. 35 south gallery).[4] In addition, there is the transition ye-e (No. 3 South Gallery), which occurs less frequently in parchment charters and even more rarely in ecclesiastical charters, but is present in those on birch bark, together with the blending of ă-о, ь-е.

  Secondly, the blending of c and č in the scribe’s speech, reflecting the šokanʹe (nos. 6, south and 23, 28, north gallery); thirdly, the inflection -e/o- of personal names in nominative, sing., masc. (Mihale, Lazore, Jakove, Zavide, in the patronyms Kotele, Onaniče, Kăstelkeviče, Klimoviče, Borisoviče, Polozkoviče, Ivankoviče, instead of the standard – ă) and the verb forms (past perfect participles) ending in -l-. It was not until the second half of the 12th century that the replacement of ă by o in the final position of words permeated the inscriptions, especially in personal names (Ivano and Semejuno, instead the standard – ă) and in the past perfect participle ѱlo (no. 3, north gallery) The explanation for this lies in the formulaic nature of the texts themselves and their much closer relationship to tradition. As for the ending -o, it can be assumed that it was influenced not only by the vernacular system, but also by the forms of Greek names ending in -ος. This influence affected not so much the pronunciation but the spelling. The mixing of the letters ă, ь, о and е in non-final word position, which is characteristic of Novgorod inscriptions and is less common in Kiev texts, is found in inscriptions no. 18 from the west, 2, 3, 27/26, 35/33 the south and 3, 17, 25, 36 north galleries. Another item is fert (ф) and fita (θ), which are equally used to convey the phoneme ф (nos. 5 west, 27 south and 17 north gallery). The use of θ is one of the most characteristic features of a vernacular graphic system. Of the 65 inscriptions proven to be of Russian origin, 25 show dialectal features typical of the Novgorod region,[5] distributed as follows: Nos. 4v, 7v, 9v, 11v and 18v west gallery; No. 2v, 6š and 35v south gallery; and No. 3v, 4v, 5v, 14v, 16v, 17v, 18v, 19v, 20v, 23š, 24v, 25v, 26v, 28š, 30v, 32v and 36v north gallery.[6]

  The standard ending -ă of the verb ѱlă (wrote) is evidence for the literary writing habits of some of the authors (no. 14 south gallery; nos. 11, 12, 13 north gallery). In addition to these habits, there is also the frequent use of the sign of the cross at the beginning of the inscription as an invocation symbolica (no. 2, 4, 12, 15 west; no. 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 27, 34 south; and no. 2, 16 north gallery). It was preceded by inscriptions with varying content: with the formula “Lord, help”, or the signature “N.N. wrote [this]”, or an alphabet. The cross was used both at the beginning and the end of the text, and crosses were sometimes used to demarcate the two sides of an inscription from the adjacent wall surface, or they served as a separator between sections of text (no. 22 south gallery). Regardless of its location and form, the cross signifies holiness, honor, an expression of the authenticity and formality of the act.[7] It is a reflection of medieval ideas in which the divine is interwoven with the earthly, a concrete expression of the old Christian formula “to begin with God and end with God”.[8]

  The numerous drawings of ornaments, birds, animals, banners/headpieces, ornamental letters (no. 10 north gallery), crosses (no. 4, 6, 8, south gallery), human faces, warriors with weapons, circles, geometric figures, double contour on letters (no. 6 south gallery) are evidence for the influence of literary writing in the graffiti from the church of Hagia Sophia. A desire to give a more literary character to his inscription (no. 6 western gallery) is shown by its author with the use of the ‘Bulgarian/Old Slavic’ inflection -emь. In the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century it seemed to be characteristic feature for a noun based on *-en (imenemь) in the instrumental case (instrumentalis auctoris), sing. in inscription no. 6 west gallery.

  The graffiti are also characterized by a simpler system of word abbreviation than in the manuscripts, the absence of titles and superscript letters. Words with a liturgical purpose are mainly abbreviated, but the use of a titlo is much more consistent than in the birch-bark charters. Among the most common abbreviations is ГH (GI), a standard abbreviation for Lord (Gospodi), though it is more often written without titlo (with titlo no. 2, 4, 7, 8, 17, 21 in the north; no. 1, 3, 6, 32, 33, 34 in the south and no. 4, 9 in the west gallery; without titlo no. 6, 35 in the north; no. 17, 18, 20 in the south and no. 6, 10, 12, 13, 14 in the west gallery). In two cases the whole word is written out: no. 4, 18 west gallery. However, there are also other abbreviations, e.g. ГБ (GB) = Lord, God (no. 37 north gallery). This may explain the purpose of many of the inscriptions, which contain traditional prayer formulae.

  As far as can be seen from the available material, the graffiti do not use superscript diacritical marks (e.g. accents or breaths) and thus differ from the manuscripts. This peculiarity was also noted by the manuscript researchers of the Birch bark charters. The ones that are used are mostly titla over abbreviated words and numbers (no. 2, 9, 13 west, no. 2, 7, 8, 10, 16, 17, 21, 27, 37 north, no. 19, 30 south gallery) and superscript letters (no. 5, 10, 19, 30 south gallery). The most frequently used titlo is the straight line (macron). In the calligraphic sources from the 13th and 14th centuries, a titlo in the form of a semicircle or wavy line (tilde) is common (no. 2 west gallery) and is often used in written documents to abbreviate with superscript letters, which is characteristic of this period.[9] There are no separators, except in one inscription (no. 5 north gallery), where a vertical line after ъ serves to separate the words. The most common punctuation mark is the dot, which is primarily used to denote letter-numbers by placing a dot on either side of each letter-number (no. 27 north gallery). The placement of titla over letter-numbers was not obligatory. However, we have two inscriptions, in the first of which only the thousands are marked with a titlo (no. 27 north gallery), while in the second (no. 2 west gallery) titla are placed above each letter that represents a number. The dot is also used as a superscript above a vowel placed after another vowel letter (no. 12 south gallery).

  A common graphic-orthographic feature of the graffiti of Hagia Sophia is the regular spelling of pьsati (write) by ψ (psi) (nos. 2, 3, 7, 23, 24 south gallery; nos. 11, 12, 13, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 north gallery). In its expanded form it means ψьsală or psalъ (wrote), and the spelling of pьsalъ (wrote) with psi is influenced by such Greek words as psalm and psalter.[10] It should be noted that in the graffiti the verb pьsati is always in the participle form -l-, “N.N. + pьsal” or “N.N. wrote [this]”, beginning with the earliest 11th century texts from St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, while in the South Slavic inscriptions from the same period it consistently appears in the aorist form and in the formula “azъ N.N. pisahъ” (I, N.N., have written [this]) (no. 15 west, no. 19 south and no. 1 north gallery).

  The spelling of personal names with an inserted ă (no. 19 west and nos. 30, 31 north gallery) is common in Russian medieval orthography and indicates the adaptation of Greek names on East Slavic soil. Such forms of names are already known in the oldest manuscripts and inscriptions, beginning in the 11th century.

  There are certain characteristics of the graffiti inscriptions in Hagia Sophia that distinguish them from manuscripts as well as from the birch-bark documents. Some of them contain ligatures that are formed along the vertical axis of neighboring letters (а-r; а-z; а-т) in no. 15 west gallery), as well as those that are arranged horizontally (а-z no. 15 west and i-n no. 24 south gallery) by inscribing letters one inside the other (d-о-u; Tudor, no. 15 west gallery).

  Normally, the authors of graffiti inscriptions avoided separating words at the end of a line, which is not difficult when you have an unlimited area to write on. When they had to separate words, they did so by syllables, with each syllable necessarily ending in a vowel (nos. 9, 11, 14, 18 west, nos. 12, 20, 27, 32 south and nos. 4, 21, 23 north gallery).

  An important feature of epigraphic monuments is that inscriptions, unlike most written texts, name their executor. At a time when anonymity prevailed, this act of authorship reflects the living impulses in the formation of the written language and enriches the literary tradition.

  Some of the authors of the Hagia Sophia graffiti have left two autographs in the church: Filip Minitinič No. 20 and No. 32; Danilo No. 9 and No. 12 from the south gallery and Govena No. 3 and No. 14 from the north gallery).

  The authors of autographs and prayer inscriptions addressed to God and the saints (help, save, have mercy) often refer to themselves by their usual vernacular non-Christian names. Thanks to these sources, our ideas about the composition of the Old Russian anthroponomicon have expanded considerably (Bělikor, Gostil, Govena, Grozil, Nasil, Putjata, Sadko, Sudša).

  Our observations indicate that the content of most graffiti inscriptions on church walls is of the following type: “N.N. wrote [this]” and “Lord, help the servant N.N.”. At Hagia Sophia, the most numerous are the inscriptions of the first type or individual names and both can be found in inscriptions nos. 3, 5, 7 in the west gallery; nos. 7, 9, 11, 12, 13,14, 15, 21, 23, 25, 26, 30, 35 in the south gallery and 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39 in the north gallery.

  The formula - cliché “Lord, help your servant N.N.” is used in inscriptions no. 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18 from the west gallery, no. 1, 33, 34 from the south gallery and no. 2, 6, 7, 8, 35 from the north gallery. In the second formula, the Novgorod, Kiev and Polotsk epigraphy uses the endings for Dative, sing., masc. -оvi/еvi, as well as - u/ju. The endings -оvi, -еvi (Dative) are used in Old Russian sources only in masculine names and occupational titles.[11] The inflection -оvi (Dative, sing., masc.) is typical for the formation of Christian names in the Old Bulgarian model inherited by the Russian epigraphic tradition. According to A. Zaliznjak, the ending -оvi is characteristic of Novgorod only for “the early period”, and further “it decreases rapidly and is completely absent in the 14th to 15th <...>, but in the Pskov sources, of non-literary character, the dative, sing. ending -оvi occurs quite frequently and persists for a long time”.[12]

  The infiltration of the ending - u/ju into the dative (nos. 14, 18 west gallery; nos. 8, 20, 32 south gallery and no. 35 north gallery) in the Christian proper names used in the composition of the formula “Lord, help” is apparently explained by “the influence of the oral language”, in this case by dialectal features of the Russian north-west.[13]

  And one more thing about the formula “Lord, help your servant N.N.”. If the formula “N.N. wrote [this]” usually leaves no doubt as to the name of its creator, the question arises in the case of prayer formulae as to whether the person whose name follows “Lord, help” is always the author of the inscription. In fact, the creator of the graffiti invoking the help of God could have done so both for himself and for others whose fate he was not indifferent to. Therefore, establishing the authorship of prayer records with names containing the formula “Lord, help your servant N.N.” is impossible, or we could assume that it presupposes the name of the author as a prerequisite for a prayer record.

  In two of the inscriptions, we find the popular formula і҃с х҃с ɴика (i͞s h͞s nika), which is an invocation typical of the images of crosses and is written symmetrically in a configuration of two letters in each of the four quadrants of a Greek cross - і҃с х҃с ɴıка - Greek translation ʼΙΣ ΧΣ νικᾷ, in full form ʼΙησος Χριστὸς νικᾷ (Jesus Christ conquers) (no. 4 west gallery and no. 13 south gallery). This formula is a common expression for both the victory of Christ and the cross in a single idiom, which is often interpreted as an apotropaic function.

  In some of the personal names a zero ending is attested (nos. 7, 12, 13 south gallery), while in others the name is given in a mixed Greek-Slavic form, with the ending -ă attributed to the Greek -ος (no. 25 south gallery). Similar hybrid spellings, reflecting the adoption of the Greek inflection as part of the base of the name, occur, albeit rarely, in Old Russian epigraphy.

  An example of a hypocoric name is provided by the inscriptions (nos. 11, 34 from the north gallery - Bělovjata and Putjata (from Putislav) with the diminutive suffix -jata/-ta common in Novgorod. We also have two examples of compound names - Stanimir and Belikor (No. 22, 36 North Gallery). Morphological features include the replacement of [sʼlʼ] >[šʼlʼ] in inscription no. 5, south gallery, which extends from the mid-13th to the mid-15th century, but has a clear turning point at the border of the 13th and 14th century. The effect of the second palatalization can be seen in inscription no. 7, north gallery.

  An example of the use of a double number in the word raboma, Dative. dbl.) can be found in inscription no. 10, west gallery. In the living language, nouns apparently lost the double number much earlier than in the 14th century. The Novgorod birch-bark letters, for example, show a loss of the double number from the 13th century onwards.

  A single inscription after a remembrance formula referring to a deceased person is No. 17 from the north gallery. The same applies to the formula for repentance: “rich in sins, poor in righteous deeds”, which is famous for its variants in epigraphy and is also found in Hagia Sophia - no. 19, western gallery.[14]

  Inscriptions explaining the meaning of the autographs are also found in Hagia Sophia - “N.N. prays to St. Sophia”. Thus, not only the inscriptions containing a prayer, but also some autographs can be equated with a prayer, which is confirmed by the images of the cross accompanying the autograph (nos. 24 and 27 south gallery). A special feature of the epigraphic material from Hagia Sophia are the appeal inscriptions to the Patriarch (no. 16 west gallery and no. 10 south gallery) and to those who read inscription no. 11 (west gallery) to pray for the Metropolitan.

  It is remarkable that some of the graffiti inscriptions remained unfinished. One possible explanation is the expulsion of the intruder who scribbled on the temple walls (nos. 9, 10 west; nos. 1, 33, 34 south gallery and nos. 1, 2, 8 north gallery). The inscriptions on the north and south galleries follow the traditional formula “Lord, help”, in which the name of the person addressing God, as required by the canon, is missing. Based on other incomplete inscriptions, it can be assumed that mentioning the name of the person in need of help was optional.

  The mirrored letters, which can be found in both the literary and non-literary categories of the sources, are interesting. The mirror-inverted spelling in graffiti inscriptions and in birch bark charters from Novgorod is considered typical.[15] The reversed letter ц can be explained orthographically with the special mechanism for mirroring the Novgorodian šokanʹe. Some authors believe that the mirrored spelling is the result of learners practicing writing.[16] This is a plausible explanation, especially given the evidence for the existence of schools and scriptoria. Others, however, tend to see an incantation in the mirror writings.[17] In my view, it is proof of complete oral and written mastery of the alphabet and, through the mirror scripts, a demonstration of the ability to use the alphabet not only in the normal order, but also in reverse - from back to front, as Konstantin Kostenetsky instructed.[18] Of course, as K. Hadžiev notes, it is difficult to answer the question of whether in all cases “these are student exercises, mistakes or a trend in the art of writing at that time”.[19].

  Observations on the paleography of the inscription-graffiti of Hagia Sophia show that it is very capricious and much less stable than book graphics. While the latter represent a kind of uniform skill of a well-trained scribe for typesetting with some individual variations, the graffiti are mostly personal handwritings of different people without professional skills and experience. They are usually written without prior preparation on random and different surfaces, which affects their appearance: the lines are distorted, the height of the letters varies and the spacing between the characters also fluctuates. The chronological definition of undated epigraphic sources is usually based on a comparison of their graphics with those of handwritten scripts. Graffiti researchers, beginning with V. Šepkin, have established that the basic arrangement of the letters and their development essentially corresponds to the alphabetical arrangement in literary monuments. Birch bark charters come closest to graffiti in their letter outlines, so that we can rely on their extensive palaeographic material for dating. In addition, of course, there are the inscription graffiti from the St. Sophia Cathedrals in Novgorod and Kiev.

  Despite their brevity, the inscriptions reflect the differences in the writing of some letters and provide important clues for a more precise dating. For example, the letter (č) is one of the most striking chronological signs in the South Slavic and Russian scripts. In the graffiti of Hagia Sophia from the 11th - 12th century the letter dominates with a rounded symmetrical cup on a tall stem (nos. 19, 25 north gallery and nos. 13, 27 south gallery), and less often on a short stem (no. 2 south gallery, without a stem.) Unlike in the manuscripts, where with a cup disappears in the 13th century, it is found in the graffiti until the 14th century, but with an asymmetrical cup and a short stem (nos. 3, 20, 33 north gallery), and finally the right branch became an extension of the stem and the letter became one-sided (no. 19 south gallery).

  In manuscripts, one of the letters that is of chronological value is Ж (ž). It evolved from a three-stroke letter (three intersecting straight lines; no. 11 west gallery), to a vertically asymmetrical letter with four strokes (no. 24 south gallery) or five-stroke one with a smaller upper part in the 13th century (nos.12, 17 south gallery). In the 14th and 15th centuries, the upper part is almost completely missing (no. 16 west gallery).

  Almost completely missing are inscriptions written in the so-called “Russian semi-ustav”, which is known from literary monuments[20] and is a characteristic feature of birch bark charters and Novgorod graffiti. Only in two of our inscriptions (No. 32 south and No. 16 north gallery) does one of its characteristic features occur - the anchor-like Е (e), characteristic of the second half of the 14th century, and in other inscriptions (No. 3 south gallery) - the staggered В (v).

  Chronological data give us some of the forms of the letter Р (r): 1) in the form of a knife, the so-called Viking type (no. 5 south gallery), with a slightly curved back and sloping edge with parallels from the 14th century; 2) in the form of a “knife of the Russian Kurgan type” (no. 6 south gallery) with a slightly curved edge, straight back and short horizontal bar (which reinforces the similarity with a knife). This type occurs in 14th century birch bark charters and continues to be found in some early 15th century charters.[21] On parchment a similar Р is also known in the 14th century.

  The letter Ѣ (ě) is characterized by a particular clarity and consistency in its development, which is fully consistent with its development in the manuscripts: the position of the horizontal bar of this letter rises progressively between the 11th and 14th centuries.[22] The letter is located within the line of script (nos. 9 and 19 west gallery), with the horizontal bar slightly above the bowl - which is typical of the 12th century. In the 13th century (no. 13 south gallery), the vertical bar rises visibly above the header, while the horizontal bar is level with the header. In inscriptions no. 4 and 19 in the south gallery, the vertical bar rises above the header and the horizontal bar is at the same height as the header, which indicates that this inscription was created relatively late.

  As a rule, the development of the letters H (i) and N (n) in epigraphic monuments (Kiev and Novgorod inscription-graffiti, birchbark charters) does not reflect their development in the manuscripts’ handwriting.[23] Observations of their epigraphic variants show that in all periods old graphic styles were used alongside the new ones, which indicates that they are probably not a serious date-determining element.[24] This means that their use in palaeographic observations, especially in the dating of inscriptions, must take into account the complex information provided by the monument. Finally, the modern form of И (i) appears in the 14th century, but is more common in the 15th century and after (nos. 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 15, 20, 32, 34, 22 south gallery and nos. 13, 16, 21 west gallery), and H (no. 15 south gallery) with an almost horizontal crossbar is a late indication of the 15th century.

  Some of the forms of the letters А (a) and В (v) may also contain date-determining elements. In the 12th century, the letter А is predominantly written with a pointed loop attached to an oblique right-hand stroke. In the following century, however, the shape of the loop often changes - it is triangular, with a downward-sloping upper bar in some cases and an upward-sloping lower bar in others. In addition, the vertical stem of the letter is slightly bent backwards. In both cases it has a horizontal upper bar. A similar form of А-loop can be used together with other indicators to date graffiti from the end of the 13th century (no. 33 south gallery). In addition to these new forms of the letter А, the older forms characteristic of manuscripts with a vertical bar sloping to the left and a long, narrow loop descending towards the baseline (no. 13 south gallery) continued to be used. In the 14th century, the shape of the letter continued to evolve: a further change in the shape of the loop, which tapered more and more and eventually resembled a narrow, slightly humped wedge, – pointed or slightly rounded at the tip (nos. 7, 16 north, 4, 5, 6 south and 14 west gallery). In the following century, the letter has a long, curved end (nos. 6 north, 20 south and 14 west gallery). In three of the inscriptions (nos. 10 north, 7, 31 and 22 south gallery) the letter A appears in its modern form.

  As for the letter В (v) it has geometrical bowls during the 11th to 12th centuries, both of which are the same size (nos. 4 and 6 west, 27/26 south Gallery). During the 13th century its upper bowl becomes smaller (nos. 3 and 35 north gallery) or, in other cases, the letter В takes on a form with a left vertical bar, and horizontal top and bottom bars, whereas its right side consists of two lines that meet at an obtuse angle, and do not touch the vertical bar (nos. 14 and 20 north gallery). During the course of the 14th century, a further enlargement of the upper bowl of the letter and its gradual wedging into the ever-smaller lower bowl can be observed, which is typical of the manuscripts written in the semi-ustav (nos. 5 and 16 north gallery, 6 and 8 south gallery). The 14th century is also characterized by a В in the form of two triangles with partially touching sides (nos. 4, 20 and 33 south gallery). The В also appears in the form of a trapezoid, the lower side of which slopes towards the vertical bar (no. 14 west gallery), which is typical of the 15th century.

  The changes in Г (g), Л (l), П (p) are negligible and generally follow the common changes in the Cyrillic script. In fact, the letter Л in one of the inscriptions (nos. 23 south gallery) has a form (a left short stroke and a long right stroke rising above the headline) more typical of 11th-century Bulgarian epigraphic sources. Another date-determining letter is М (nos. 6 north and 5 south gallery) with straight vertical bars, flat shoulders and a rounded central vertex - typical of Novgorod and an important dating feature for the second half of the 12th to the first half of the 14th century. In О, С (s), Ю (yu) we can trace the development of a narrowing and lengthening of the grapheme characteristic of the manuscripts. Alongside the new scripts, wide and low archaic scripts can also be found in the epigraphic monuments. In the second half of the 15th century, instead of the familiar Т, a new form appears with three vertical bars (nos. 4, 11, 15, 32 south gallery). The square or almost square bowls of the letters Ъ (ă), Ь (ь), Ф (f), О (О) in some of the inscriptions have no parallels until the second half of the 14th century (nos. 8, 11, 20 south gallery).

  Palaeographers usually refer the occurrence of the simple У (u) to the 13th century, but in epigraphy there are quite a few deviations from this rule and it occurs as early as the 12th century: (nos. 6, 8, 20, 35 south; 6, 16, 24, 35 north and 9 west gallery).

  No consistent chronological development can be established for the letter form of ψ (psi) between the 11th and 14th centuries. This is because the form with forked branches or with a rounded cup is found in inscriptions from the 11th, the late 11th/early 12th century, 12th – 13th and 13th – 14th centuries.

  Most of the inscriptions (39) are in the north gallery, right across inscription 35 in the south gallery. This contradicts the widespread assumption that men stand on the south side and women on the north side of the church during the service. If the north gallery is a place only for women, there is no explanation for the accumulation of a large number of Latin inscriptions with men's names on the paneling of the north-eastern pylon in the north gallery. It is obvious that the laity and clergy of the diplomatic envoys were not confined to the south gallery, and the same applies to the ordinary devout visitors. However, two things can be clearly distinguished - the clergy (monks and priests) left their autographs only in the south gallery, while the women (3 Cyrillic and 3 Greek inscriptions) signed only in the west and north galleries.

  With the exception of two inscriptions, the remaining Hagia Sophia inscriptions, whose authors can be judged by their names and verb forms, were written by men. The first inscription with a female name is that of Govena Marʹja (no. 3), who later signed her name again in the same north gallery (no. 14). The content of both inscriptions suggests that their author could be the aforementioned Govena. The absence of further inscriptions is not a sure sign of female illiteracy, but rather of the few women who visited Constantinople. It is also possible that the women were illiterate and that the inscriptions were written at their behest.

  It is not always possible to determine the social affiliation of the authors of inscriptions. Very rarely does the writer himself state his profession – Nenčjul the Grammarian (no. 19 south gallery); a scribe - Jakov (James), son of Gregory (Grigorevič) (no. 8 south gallery); the djaks Stefan and Stojan Anastas (nos. 26 and 31 south gallery), but the word dʹjak (dьjakă or dʹjakonъ), not in the sense deacon, but in the sense of scribe, and the steward Filip,[25] son of Mikita (Mikitinič) (no. 32 south gallery). But the way in which the inscriptions are executed, the accompanying images, alphabets, etc., could indicate, albeit in general terms, the profession of their author: painter Grečin (no. 27 south gallery), scribe - 1) by the double outline of the letters Luka (no. 6 south gallery); 2) by the decoration of the letters Avraam (Abraham, no. 10 north gallery) and the unknown author of the inscription In the year 1397(no. 2 west gallery); 3) by the formula - cliché Kuzma (no. 5 north gallery); 4) by the completely mirrored inscription (no. 33/31 south gallery); 5) by the use of an introductory cross at the beginning of the inscription (nos. 6, 12, 13, 14 south, 2 north and 4, 15 west Gallery).

  Of particular value are inscriptions that contain a date in the text or offer the possibility of dating based on the mention of famous historical persons or events. Among the Cyrillic graffiti inscriptions from Hagia Sophia, there are only three inscriptions with dates (nos. 2, 12 and 21 of the west gallery) and six with recognizable historical figures - Šišman (no. 3 west gallery), Jakov (Jacob), son of Gregory (Grigorevič), Nenčjul the Grammarian, Olisej Grečin, Filip, son of Mikita (Mikitinič) (nos. 8, 19, 27, 32 south gallery) and the brothers Simeon and Gleb, sons of Boris (Borisoviči) (nos. 25 and 26 north gallery).

  There are ten inscriptions from the second half of the 12th - early 13th century and two more from the 14th century, the authors of which have inscribed their fathers names and are more likely to be noblemen, as in the chronicles of the 11th - 12th century only the names of the noble class are accompanied by patronyms[26]: Zavid, son of Danjata (Danetinič) (no. 7 west gallery) Jakov (James), son of Gregory (Grigorevič), Ivan Petrov, Filip, son of Mikita (Mikitinič) (nos. 8, 15 и 32 south gallery) и Vasil’ (Basil), son of Onan’ja (Onanič), Mihal (Mihail or Michael) of Kotel, Lazar (Lazaros), son of Kăstel (Kăstelevič), Ivan (John), son of Ivan (Ivankovič), Ivan (John), son of Sonilo (Sonilovič), Vasilij (Basil), son of Ivan (Ivankovič), Dobrinja, son of Sudăša(Sudošinič), Grozila, son of Gjurg (Gjurgevič), Jakov (James), son of Poloz (Polozkovič), Putjata, son of Klim (Klimovič) (nos. 3, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 33, 34 north gallery).Others are associated with the clergy, such as Savva the monk and priest Matfej (Matthew) of Galič (nos. 3, 13 south gallery). Thus 23 out of 95 inscriptions indicate the social affiliation of their authors - representatives of the clergy, scribes, boyars, nobles and artists.

  Interestingly, two of the graffiti writers, Ivanko and Luka (nos. 2, 6 south gallery), give a special reason for their visit to Hagia Sophia - they are refugees. As political refugees or emigrants, they have probably made use of their right to asylum in Hagia Sophia or simply noted their status. Another author, Aleksej Bezneg (No. 16 south gallery), has come to ask for repentance and absolution for the two people he has killed. Some have indicated the place they come from - Tărnovo, Moscow (nos. 12, 13 west gallery), Kostroma, Nižnij Novgorod, Galič (nos. 5, 9, 12 and 13 south gallery) and Vyšegorod (no. 39 north gallery), while others have indicated their ethnic origin – Rusyn (Russian) (nos. 26 south gallery).

  In tabular form (Diagram 1) are the inscriptions from Hagia Sophia, divided into different thematic groups depending on their content (Table 1). The first group includes prayer inscriptions, addresses to God - 25 in total, following the canonical formula-cliché “Lord, help your servant N.N.”. Here one can separate a subgroup for prayer to Hagia Sophia - 2 (nos. 24, 27 south gallery), another for the exclamation - “Lord God” - 3 (nos. 17, 18 south, 37 north gallery), a third with prayer to the Patriarch - 1 (no. 16 west gallery) and one for prayer in general - 1 (no. 4 south gallery). To this group I add the memorial inscription from the north gallery, and the abecedarium from the west gallery.

  

  The second group includes inscriptions-autographs of the type “N.N. wrote [this]”, which is the most numerous - 48 in total. Of these, 24 follow the Old Russian formula “N.N. wrote [this]”, 3 - the Bulgarian “I, N.N. have written [this]”. To this is added a subgroup for graffiti containing only a name - 18. But within the group itself there are also inscriptions in which the autograph is accompanied by some kind of annotation - pardon, forgive - 3 inscriptions (nos. 24, 27 south, 21 north Gallery). Not infrequently the prayer inscriptions of the first (nos. 4, 12, 15 west; 2 north, 6, 8, 18, 34 south gallery) and second groups (nos. 12, 13, 14, 19, 24 and 27 south, 15 west gallery) are accompanied by drawings of crosses.

  In another arrangement, the available 95 inscriptions are divided into Russian – 65,[27] Bulgarian/Balkan -10 (7 Bulgarian, 1 Vlachian, 1 Serbian and 1 Glagolitic)[28] and neutral, which could hardly be assigned to the first two groups – 20.[29]

  The numerous depictions of crosses without accompanying inscriptions, which are often found on temple walls, are also prayers, but rather by illiterate visitors. Finally, graffiti provide invaluable material for the study of the history of writing. The large number of inscriptions from the 12th century, belonging to various authors, testifies to the widespread use of writing in Russia at that time.

  The inscription graffiti from Hagia Sophia provide valuable material for comparing the penmanship from the epigraphic monuments with handwritten ones and with the extensive material from the Birch-bark charters. It is characteristic of inscription graffiti and birch-bark charters that they both reflect the changes that occur in literary writing with a delay compared to the monuments that followed the literary tradition.

  Even if archeology in its usual understanding is able to bring the researchers into the manor of the medieval man, to show them all the details of the surroundings and the changing domestic circumstances of the time, it does not have the power to bring a man back to life, to make his voice resound and give insight into his daily worries, joys and hardships.

  The discovery of a graffiti inscription therefore offers the opportunity to revive a long-dead person, his name and his existence, which seemed to have been forgotten by his relatives and descendants. The graffiti discovered today in Hagia Sophia informs us of the names of many such people who visited the temple, each with his or her hopes and expectations, and who always declared: “I have lived”.

 

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[1] A. Zaliznjak, Drevnenovgorodskij dialekt, Moskva 20042, 21-23; B. Uspenskij, Jazykovaja situacija Kievskoj Rusi i ee značenie dlja istorii russkogo literaturnogo jazyka, Moskva 1983, 38.

[2] Uspenskij, Jazykovaja situacija, 37-38.

[3] Vl. Janin, A. Zaliznjak, Novgorodskie gramoty na bereste (iz raskopok 1977 - 1983 gg.), Moskva 1986, 100-108. In the transliteration of the Old Bulgarian and Old Russian forms, the small er (ь) and the larger er (ъ) are retained, which are rendered as ь and ă respectively. For the letter Ѣ-jat, ě is used.

[4] Zaliznjak, Drevnenovgorodskij dialekt, 25.

[5] For its borders see Zaliznjak, Drevnenovgorodskij dialekt, 5 ʽThe Novgorod land comprised by and large the original Novgorod area, but also the Pskov land and an extensive area of the later Novgorod colonization in the northeast.ʼ

[6] The letters after each number mean:: v = vernacular orthography, š = šokan’e.

[7] J. Zaimov, Bitolski nadpis na Ivan Vladislav, samodǎržec bǎlgarski. Starobǎlgarski pametnik ot 1015-1016 godina, Sofija 1970, 16.

[8] St. Smjadovski, Bǎlgarska kirilska epigrafika IX – XV v., Sofija 1993, 50-51.

[9] K. Hadžiev, Nabljudenija vǎrhu paleografskite osobenosti na kirilskite epigrafski pametnici ot XII – XIV v., Palaeobulgarica/ Starobǎlgaristika XXV/ 1 (2001) 57.

[10] A. Medynceva, Drevnerusskie nadpisi novgorodskogo Sofijskogo sobora, Moskva 1978, 96. See the examples in the same study: 156, no. 217 (12th – 13th c.); no. 233 (11th – 12th c.).

[11] I. Duridanov, Gramatika na starobǎlgarskija ezik, Sofija 1991, 140; L. Jakubinskij, Istorija drevnerusskogo jazyka, Moskva 1953, 185; Smjadovski, Bǎlgarska kirilska epigrafika, 136; I. Itkin, Ju. Kogan, Okončanie datelʹnogo padeža -ovi v drevnerusskom dialekte, v: Russkoj jazyk v naučnom osveŝenie № 2 (12) (2006) 204-212.

[12] Zaliznjak, Drevnenovgorodskij dialekt, 150.

[13] T. Roždestvenskaja, Drevnerusskaja èpigrafika X – XV vv., Sankt-Peterburg 1991, 140.

[14] S. Vysockij, Drevnerusskie nadpisi Sofii Kievskoj XI - XIV vv., Kiev 1966, 60, № 24; Medynceva, Drevnerusskie nadpisi, 113.

[15] Medynceva, Drevnerusskie nadpisi, 81.

[16] V. Gjuzelev, Učilišta, skriptorii i znanija v Bǎlgarija XIII – XIV vek, Sofija 1985, 45; Smjadovski, Bǎlgarska kirilska epigrafika, 5.

[17] Vl. Janin, A. Zaliznjak, Novgorodskie gramoty na bereste (iz raskopok 1984 - 1989 gg.), Moskva 1993, 62.

[18] Hristomatija po stara bǎlgarska literatura, P. Dinekov, K. Kuev, D. Petkanova (red.), Sofija 1974, 445.

[19] Hadžiev, Nabljudenija, 54.

[20] E. Karskij, Slavjanskaja kirillovskaja paleografija, Leningrad 1979, 185; V. Ŝepkin, Učebnik russkoj paleografii, Moskva 1918, 211.

[21] A. Arcihovskij, V. Borkovskij, Novgorodskie gramoty na bereste (iz raskopok 1955 g.), Moskva 1958, 64 and charter no. 161; A. Arcihovskij, V. Borkovskij, Novgorodskie gramoty na bereste (iz raskopok 1956-1957 g.), Moskva 1963, 14 and charters nos. 300, 352.

[22] Vysockij, Drevnerusskie nadpisi, 126.

[23] Vysockij, Drevnerusskie nadpisi, 126.

[24] Hadžiev, Nabljudenija, 54.

[25] V. Boguslavskij, Slavjanskaja ènciklopedija. XVII vek, t. 2, Moskva 2004, 403: “the stol'nik [steward] was a court rank, and later a palace rank in the 13th to 17th centuries. <...> which was usually awarded to young people of noble birth” and in the list of ranks the stol'nik “occupies fifth place”.

[26] N. Tupikov, Slovarʹ drevnerusskih ličnyh sobstvennyh imen, Zapiski Otd. rus. i slav. arheologii imp. Rus. arheolog. ob-va, 6 (Sankt-Peterburg 1903) 6-7, 23, 26.

[27] West Gallery: nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 21; South Gallery: nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32, 35; North Gallery: nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39.

[28] West gallery: nos. 2, 3, 12, 15; South Gallery: nos. 16, 19, 23, 29; North Gallery: nos. 1, 15.

[29] West gallery: nos. 1, 14, 17, 19; South Gallery: nos. 1, 10, 11, 17, 18, 31, 32, 28; North Gallery: nos. 2, 8, 9, 10, 22, 27, 35, 37.

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