Ембриолошки одломак у зборнику Кирило-Белозерског манастира XII (223в—225г)
An embryological fragment in the miscellany of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery XII (223v–225r)

Summary/Abstract: In the Miscellany of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (XII), dating from the first quarter of the 15th century and currently kept in the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg (RNB, Q.p.I.30), there is an embryological fragment attributed to a certain Alexander (ff. 223b–226a). This South-Slavic (Bulgarian) translation of a Greek text, originating in the Balkans probably at the end of the 14th or the beginning of the 15th century, is actually a compilation of two different texts: a Byzantine adaptation of Hippocratic embryology and a physiological explanation of the memorial services held on the third, ninth, and fortieth days after death. The latter text corresponds to a work whose oldest variant was recorded by John Lydus in the 6th century. Very similar to the Serbian translation preserved in the Hodoš Miscellany (first third of the 15th century, now in the Šafařík Collection in Prague), the embryological fragment from the Kirillo-Belozersky Miscellany reflects how ancient physiological theories, crystallized in the time of Hippocrates' early followers, were creatively summarized by medieval readers. A detailed comparative analysis of the Old Church Slavonic text alongside the Greek originals (specifically the Paris manuscripts: Paris. gr. 2303, Paris. suppl. gr. 165, and Paris. suppl. gr. 496) reveals the translation strategies and illuminates the intriguing blend of ancient science, pagan tradition, and Christian funerary liturgy within medieval Slavic literacy.

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