Anthroponoms in Nikolai Leskov's Сhronicle "Soboriane" ("The Cathedral Folk")

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Abstract

This article examines the etymological and semantic aspects of onomastics (specifically, anthroponymy) in the chronicle "Soboriane" ("The Cathedral Folk") by Nikolai Leskov. Leskov's constant interest in the church everyday life and the life of clergy is indicated. For Leskov, the choice of a surname or name for a character of his prose was very important: he himself often paid attention to this and the characters of his works often talk about it. The article offers clarified explanation of the origin and meaning of the "artificial" ecclesiastical surnames of the main characters, who were clergymen in a provincial Russian city. The "artificial" surnames were characteristic of the Russian clergy in the 18th–19th centuries and where often formed from Greek, Latin, and Church Slavonic terms. In this regard, attention is paid to the surname of the main character of this chronicle, archpriest Tuberozov. The surnames of his two assistants, priest Benefaktov (an early version of this surname, used by the author, was Benefisov) and deacon Desnitsyn, have been studied and commented on in more detail. The two priests have surnames of Latin origin, while the deacon has a Church Slavonic one. The surnames of two negative characters (Prepotensky (an early version was Omnepotensky) and Termosesov) were studied as well.

About the authors

V. A. Korshunkov

Vyatka State University

Email: vla_kor@mail.ru
Kirov

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