Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31745/s.75.1
Orality and meaning in the Clozianus Methodian sermon
Denis Crnković
; Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minnesota, USA
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* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The paper examines how the Methodian Sermon found in the Codex Clozianus might have been preached in a manner that used rhythmically regular prose to convey its messages with great rhetorical and artistic effect. As one of the earliest examples of the Old Church Slavic corpus, the sermon offers evidence of how oral presentation might have been effectively used to convey the newly introduced doctrinal teachings of the Moravian missionaries. The graphemic features of the text as it appears in the codex, as well as other rhetorical devices, often indicate an arrangement of phrasing that is consistent with an isocolic arrangement of the prose in accord with the isocolic principle that was a widespread feature of the medieval Slavic literary tradition. This rhythmical patterning, when seen as integral to any oral performance of the text, helps reveal the sermon’s message, an admonition to the listener to abide by the Christian doctrines concerning restrictions on consanguineous marriage between natural and spiritual kin. These admonitions are directed in a forceful way to those of high political status, and likely echo events that occurred during St Methodius’ Moravian mission and which are mentioned in the saint’s vita. Rulers, moreover, who have received their leadership roles by the will of God, are admonished to be staunch exemplars of the Christian way of life. An examination of the text’s rhetorical structures in view of the features of the isocolic principle reveals a consistent use of graphemic and rhetorical markers that help the preacher – or even the silent reader – to grasp these strict doctrinal messages.
Keywords
Codex Clozianus; St. Methodius; Methodian sermon; orality; isocolic principle; Old Church Slavonic language; medieval Slavic rhetoric
Hrčak ID:
342129
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2025.
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