Hypatian Codex

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hypatian Codex (Hypatian Chronicle, Ipatiev Chronicle, Russian: Ипатьевская летопись) is a compendium of three chronicles: Primary Chronicle, Kiev Chronicle, and Halych-Volhynian Chronicle. It is the second oldest manuscript of the Primary Chronicle, after the Laurentian Codex.

The Hypatian Codex was discovered at the Hypatian Monastery of Kostroma by the Russian historian Nikolay Karamzin. The Hypatian manuscript dates back to the 15th century, but it incorporates much precious information from the lost 12th-century Kievan and 13th-century Halychian chronicles. The language of this work is Old Church Slavonic with many East Slavisms.

Since 1810, the codex has been preserved in the Russian National Library, St Petersburg. The original text with extensive commentaries is available here.