News and Events
Guest Speaker: Tatiana Nikolova-Houston
November 10, 2009
Eastern Orthodox Christian, Tatiana Nikolova-Houston, from Austin, Texas, will give a presentation derived from her 2008 dissertation “Marginalia and Colophons in Bulgarian Manuscripts during the Ottoman Period”, and her work in the area of preservation and conservation of Slavic medieval manuscripts in Bulgarian manuscript collections, specifically at the Historical and Archival Church Institute (HACI) of the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Sofia. She will also bring some illuminations of old Slavic manuscripts as examples of medieval Orthodox form of liturgical art. They will be on display and may be purchased.
THE DISCOVERY AND THE REVELATION OF THE HIDDEN SOUTH SLAVIC MANUSCRIPT HERITAGE
I want to share with you the untold story of the survival of Orthodox art. It survived in manuscripts, 95% of which were lost to fire, neglect, and theft. Yet, the remaining 5% give a window into the Eastern Orthodox soul. Let me compare the Western and Eastern manuscript traditions. Compared to popular images of Western illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells, Slavic manuscripts appear to be orphans, dressed in worn leather covers or no covers at all, consumed by time and exposure, and bearing the marks of fire and sword. Written during foreign occupation, they also bear the blood, sweat, and tears of their scribes and readers because evidence of Orthodox worship was punished heavily by non-Orthodox overlords. Hidden in cellars and caves, these manuscripts bear the marks of moisture, filth, and rot.
The value of these orphans rests not so much in the aesthetical realm, but more so as historical evidence. Beyond the visual aesthetics, the marginal notes in those manuscripts witness the challenges confronting our Orthodox predecessors. Scribes, illuminators, and marginal authors demonstrated ultimate humility before God, calling themselves “most sinful” and “the least.” Yet cold, sickness, and physical danger did not prevent these humble souls from their work. Further, they added secret messages about the social and political calamities of foreign conquest over the Slavic and Byzantine worlds. In this manner, our Orthodox heritage survived and endured.
Tatiana Nikolova-Houston serves as president and preservation administrator for the Society of Folk Dance Historians and as librarian for St. Elias Orthodox Church in Austin, Texas.
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