The Kievan Caves Monastery was for centuries the most important Ukrainian monastic establishment. It was the outstanding center of literary production, and its monks served throughout the territory of Rus' as bishops and monastic superiors. The most detailed source for the monastery early history is its
Paterik, a thirteenth-century compilation containing stories reaching back to the monastery's foundation in the mideleventh century. Muriel Heppell now makes available the first complete English translation of the Paterik. With an introduction, map, and several appendices, Muriel Heppell discusses the work's Byzantine background and also sets it in its historical context.
The
Harvard Library of Early Ukrainian Literatureis one portion of the Harvard Project in Commemoration of the Millennium of Christianity in Rus'-Ukraine sponsored by the Ukrainian Research Institute of Harvard University. The
Libraryencompasses literary activity in Rus'-Ukraine from its beginning in the mid-eleventh century through the end of the eighteenth century. Included are ecclesiastical and secular works written in a variety of languages, such as Church Slavonic, Old Rus', Ruthenian (Middle Ukrainian), Polish, and Latin. This linguistic diversity reflects the cultural pluralism of Ukrainian intellectual life in the medieval and early-modern periods. The
Libraryconsists of three parts:
Texts, which publishes original works, in facsimile whenever appropriate;
English Translations; and
Ukrainian Translations. Each volume begins with an introductory essay by a specialist. The two translation series also include maps, appendices, and indices. A cumulative index to the entire
Libraryis planned.