On the Supposed Abridged Redaction of Anthony of Novgorod‘s “Kniga palomnik”

This paper is focused on one of ten extant copies, which, to varying degrees, transmit Anthony of Novgorod’s thirteenth-century travel account, “Kniga palomnik”. This copy was previously thought to have been an otherwise unknown redaction of the work, owing to the copyist’s supposed intention to compile a list of sacred sites devoid of narrative flair. By examining the textual transmission, with reference to three specific examples, this article reveals the abridgement to be mechanical rather than deliberate, rendering a damaged version of the original which cannot be considered an intentional redaction.