Boris Rimlyanin

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Boris Rimlyanin, or Boris the Roman (Russian: Борис Римлянин) (? – ?) was a Russian bellmaker of the 14th century.

The information about Boris Rimlyanin is scarce. His name was first mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle, which says that in 1342 Archbishop Vasily Kalika of Novgorod the Great commissioned a large bell for the Saint Sophia Cathedral and brought a craftsman from Moscow under the name of Boris. It could be that he was the one to have cast the famous Veche Bell of Novgorod. Based on the information from the Novgorod Chronicle, it appears that Boris had already been an experienced bellmaker and had been working at the Moscow princely court since the mid 1330s. Most likely, Boris did not belong to the clergy; otherwise it would have been mentioned in the chronicle. The Nikon Chronicle refers to this bell maker as Boris Rimlyanin (lit. Boris the Roman), probably alluding to his Roman origin. At that time, it was a common practice in Russia to give nicknames to foreigners, especially if their last names seemed impossible to pronounce (Nikolai Nemchin/Nikolai the German or Nikolai Fryazin/Nikolai the Italian).

In 1346, the Nikon Chronicle mentions the casting of the first set of bells, which was an extremely important event for any ecclesiastic community. Simeon of Russia commissioned three large and two smaller bells, cast by a bellmaker named Boriska (diminutive from Boris). It appears that Boris Rimlyanin was also invited by Ivan II of Russia to cast a few large bells for the recently constructed Church of John Climacus (Церковь Иоанна Лествичника). We do not have any information on how much Boris’s bells weighed, but they could not have weighed more than 30 to 40 poods (the usual weight for that time). None of his bells survived to this day.