Miniature as a Source of Information about Russian Shipbuilding Culture of the 15th—17th Centuries

The article is devoted to the study of images of boats in Russian chronicles and hagiographic miniatures of the 15th—17th centuries. Shipbuilding is an important component of Russian culture. Thus, the emergence and evolution of water transport contributed to the development of fishing, trade relations and various cultural and historical processes. Over the centuries-old history of navigation and shipbuilding, the image of a ship has acquired a sacred meaning for human. Ship motifs were at the centre of many outstanding works of fine art, literature and music. Images of ships and boats were widespread in chronicle and hagiographic miniatures. They contain a huge layer of visual information for the study of shipbuilding culture. It is visual information that is the main one for studying shipbuilding, which determines the relevance of the issue.

The inclusion of miniatures in the context of the study of shipbuilding makes it possible to obtain information about the methods and technologies used in the manufacture of a water vehicle, an idea of the external appearance of the vessel, what changes it has undergone, what watercrafts were typical for a particular area in a certain period of time, etc.

The novelty of the research solution is in the fact that the author, having carried out the detailed analysis of the images of ships and boats presented on Russian miniatures of the 15th—17th centuries, revealed the design features of the depicted vessels and established that the prototypes for the images were real ships that sailed in the 15th—17th centuries.

The article examined water vehicles presented in the miniatures of the Koenigsberg (Radziwill) Chronicle of the 15th century, the Illuminated Compiled Chronicle of the 16th century, the Illuminated Collection of the Lives of the Vologda Saints of the 17th century, the Hagiography of Anthony of Siya of the 17th century. Moreover, the last two sources were involved in the study of the shipbuilding tradition of Russia for the first time. The author established that the images of ships in miniatures can be used as sources for studying the technologies of construction of ships of various types that existed in Medieval Russia, as well as for reconstruction of ancient ships.

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