Alexandria of Sofia Codex
Encyclopedia
The Alexandria Codex of Sofia
is a 15th century manuscript
collection that includes the illustrated "Alexandria", the Trojan Legend
(a story about the Trojan
war), the Legend for the India
n Kingdom, and various liturgical
articles, proverbs and texts devoted to fortune-telling
. The manuscript was for a long time in the possession of Mano Kalpakchim, a well-known contractor
and book-lover of the 18th century. It is now at the Bulgaria
n National Library in Sofia, courtesy of N. Hristov of Tzaribrod, Serbia
.
Among others, the manuscript collection discusses the well-known life-story of Alexander the Great, the son of Philip II
, king of Macedon
, who lived in the 4th century BC, and subjects classified as secular Middle Ages
literature
, including the Southern Slavic
literature.
In the Middle Ages, the Latin
version of the manuscript collection was widely available in Western Europe
. One of them, created in the 10th century, served as a basis for many adaptation
s in the French
, German
and Czech
literatures. Two versions appeared in different times in the Slavic
South:
The Bulgarian National Library manuscript is one of the earliest Slavic transcription
s of this work, abounding in illustrations. It contains the Serbian version of the story, popularly known as the "Serbian Alexandria". As a typical work of the literature of the fantastic hero
es, with a rich and entertaining narrative
, this story is well known in the 14th century and 15th century in the Slavic world. Encouraged by the printed issues of the work, the interest in it continued until the 19th century.
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
is a 15th century manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
collection that includes the illustrated "Alexandria", the Trojan Legend
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
(a story about the Trojan
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
war), the Legend for the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Kingdom, and various liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
articles, proverbs and texts devoted to fortune-telling
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
. The manuscript was for a long time in the possession of Mano Kalpakchim, a well-known contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
and book-lover of the 18th century. It is now at the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n National Library in Sofia, courtesy of N. Hristov of Tzaribrod, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
Among others, the manuscript collection discusses the well-known life-story of Alexander the Great, the son of Philip II
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
, king of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
, who lived in the 4th century BC, and subjects classified as secular Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, including the Southern Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
literature.
In the Middle Ages, the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
version of the manuscript collection was widely available in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. One of them, created in the 10th century, served as a basis for many adaptation
Adaptation (disambiguation)
Adaptation is the process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat.Adaptation may also refer to:Arts* Adaptation , a 2002 film by Spike Jonze* Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film...
s in the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
literatures. Two versions appeared in different times in the Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
South:
- Bulgarian (10th - 11th century)l and
- SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n (end of the 13th century, and the beginning of the 14th century.
The Bulgarian National Library manuscript is one of the earliest Slavic transcription
Transcription (linguistics)
Transcription in the linguistic sense is the systematic representation of language in written form. The source can either be utterances or preexisting text in another writing system, although some linguists only consider the former as transcription.Transcription should not be confused with...
s of this work, abounding in illustrations. It contains the Serbian version of the story, popularly known as the "Serbian Alexandria". As a typical work of the literature of the fantastic hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
es, with a rich and entertaining narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, this story is well known in the 14th century and 15th century in the Slavic world. Encouraged by the printed issues of the work, the interest in it continued until the 19th century.