Lexicon of the Dečani Gospel (RNB, Gil'f. 4)

Abstract

This paper casts light on the lexicon of the Dečani Gospel, a 13^th century Church Slavonic manuscript. Several layers of lexis are discussed. The oldest layer of the archaisms, as well as Graecisms, is the same as that in canonical manuscripts and is partly related to the western tradition. The influence from the vernacular is presented by some rare new words. There is a frequent occurrence of numerous synonyms, older and newer variants, but, on occasions, the older variant prevails in one part of the manuscript, while the newer in the other, which indicates that the manuscript was compiled from different sources. Some parts of the manuscript, such as Mt. 5-18, Mt. 21-26, Mk. 10-15, and Jh., refer to the newer period. In Jh. that fact is supported by grammatical features like the absence of asigmatic aorist, only in that part of Deč.