Zograf Electronic Research Library – a Brief Presentation

father Kozma Popovski
Margaret Dimitrova
Andrej Bojadžiev

Представяне

The Bulgarian Athos Monastery "St. George Zograf" possesses a unique and extremely rich manuscript, archival and library gatherings, which includes in a single organic collection about 1000 manuscripts (Bulgarian, Greek, Moldavian-Wallachian, etc.), over 800 medieval and Renaissance charters and documents (Bulgarian, Byzantine, Moldavian-Wallachian and Ottoman) and hundreds of rare old printed books that are not available in any Bulgarian library. This accumulation is the result of nearly a thousand years of continuous bibliographic tradition. The degree of preservation of the written and documentary heritage of Zograf is unparalleled among the monasteries in the Bulgarian lands, and the value of the collection not only for the scientific community, but also for the general public, both in our country and abroad, is particularly significant. In this sense, the arrangement, publication and study of the rich collection of the Zograf Monastery is a task of paramount importance for domestic and foreign humanities. The introduction of this significant archive into scientific circulation would enable specialists - historians, philologists, linguists, economists and other researchers with broader interdisciplinary interests - to conduct in-depth research. On the one hand, scientific activity will be focused on the history of Zograf, highlighting more clearly its role as a significant spiritual center during the Bulgarian Middle Ages, Ottoman rule and post-liberation Bulgaria. On the other hand, it will provide an opportunity to look at entire periods of our native history from a new perspective. The study and publication of this collection opens the doors for the creation of a university school of specialists, which will turn the university into an attractive center for the training of future specialists.

Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and the Zograf Monastery have established a relationship of mutual trust, due to many years of successful cooperation. Already in 2009, specialists from the university began digitizing the Zograf Archive. In June 2014, the Athos Monastery provided the oldest and most authoritative higher education institution in Bulgaria with digital access to part of the collection, and within the university, the “Zograf Electronic Research Library at Sofia University” was founded. The successful joint work between researchers from Sofia University and the Zograf Monastery revealed the enormous potential of such cooperation, and in 2016, the monastery initiated a process of providing Sofia University with digital copies of its rich documentary and literary collection, which, after the necessary scientific processing, will be made available for free use by Bulgarian and foreign scholars.

The collection includes::

  • over 700 Cyrillic manuscripts, the earliest of which are the Zograf Sheets from the 10th century;
  • about 200 Greek manuscripts with the earliest representatives from the 12th century;
  • over 100 Byzantine charters (the earliest from 980);
  • approx. 20 Bulgarian and Serbian charters, including the Vitosha Charter of Tsar Ivan Shishman and the golden seal of Tsar Ivan Asen II from his charter with donations for the monastery that has not survived;
  • over 100 charters of the Moldavian voivodes, the earliest of which is from 1426, as well as several charters of the Moldavian voivode Stefan cel Mare, one of the largest donors of the monastery;
  • over 600 Ottoman documents, the most valuable of which are several firmans of Mehmed II the Conqueror from the 15th century.
  • Hundreds of priceless old printed books that have no analogue in any Bulgarian library.

The electronic platform is based on the same ideas and technological basis as the "Repertorium of Old Bulgarian Literature and Letters" initiative. A variant of the TEI manuscript model: (Chapter 10. Manuscript Description). The following projects are also close to our goals: