Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles and Tales by Serge A. ZenkovskyReview by: Faith C. M. KitchThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 53, No. 133 (Oct., 1975), pp. 637-638Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4207191 .

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REVIEWS 637 and how Soviet sociolinguists have evaluated and coped with such questions.

In conclusion it must be said that Girke and Jachnow's book should not only make Soviet sociolinguistics accessible to sociolinguists who do not know Russian-it must surely be of very great value to all who want a systematic account of the history of and the principles underlying this subject. For those who, having read this book, wonder which Soviet text to turn to first it might be useful to recommend the appropriate chapters (six to nine) of Obshcheye yazykoznaniye: Formy sushchestvovaniya, funktsii, istoriyayazyka (Moscow, 1970). This is part of a major authoritative and up-to-date three-volume work on general linguistics. Girke and Jachnow's book can be recommended without reservation. Salford F. KNOWLES

Truszkowski, Witold. Z dziejow onomastyki polskiej: Stanistawa Wcdkiewicza prace i materialy onomastyczne. Towarzystwo Przyjaci6l Ksiliki, Cracow, I974. 89 pp.

PROFESSOR Stanislaw Wqdkiewicz (i888-i963), of the Jagiellonian University, was known primarily for his work on the Romance languages and the cultural history of the peoples speaking them. In particular he devoted much attention to questions of contact between Poland and Western cultures, expecially French culture. In addition, onomastic studies occupied an important place in his work, but, as the author of this book shows, Wqdkiewicz's approach was unusual: his interest was not in etymologies but in cultural contact between peoples. Consequently, much of his onomastic work is scattered throughout other publications devoted to broader themes.

Among Wcdkiewicz's interests were questions of the stylistic distinction of toponymical and anthroponymical synonyms, such as Polish Wiochy: Italia, Rumun: Woloch, German Tscheche:Bohme, etc. He also turned his attention to the business of choosing between onomastic variants-an area of what subsequently came to be called 'polityka jqzykowa'. In 1924 he took part in the discussion on the continuing use in some countries after I9I8 of the German names for certain Polish towns, and in 1925, when the Polish-Italian Chamber of Commerce raised the question of changing Wlochy, wioski to Italia, italski, he entered the dispute, challenging the competence of chambers of commerce to regulate linguistic practice.

W~dkiewicz's onomastic work was certainly original, and Truszkowski has performed a useful task in providing a general survey of it all in one small volume. Oxford GERALD STONE

Zenkovsky, Serge A. Medieval Russia's Epics, Chronicles and Tales. Revised and enlarged edition. E. P. Dutton, New York, 1974. xvii + 526 pp.

ZENKOVSKY'S anthology of translations from early Russian literature, which first appeared in I963 remains the only broad selection of works

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638 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW

readily available in English. The second edition enriches the considerable wealth of the original by the addition of some important works; notably Poucheniye Vladimira Monomakha, Moleniye Daniila Zatochnika, examples of the 'genre' of knyazheskiye zhitiya, Afanasy Nikitin's Khozheniye and a wider selection of 17th-century verse. Texts have been regrouped under the headings of Kievan, post-Kievan, Muscovite and I 7th-century, which in spite of their questionable designation as 'literary schools', is less confusing than in the first edition. Some other small corrections have also been made.

As before, the guiding principle of selection has been one of offering where possible, complete works chosen for their literary merit or cultural and historical interest. Yet there remain some curious anomalies; thus Ilarion's Slovo o zakone i blagodati still appears in the brief extract offered by Gudzy in his anthology, thereby affording scant opportunity for appreciating Ilarion's logical presentation of his material and mastery of Byzantine rhetoric. By contrast, many lesser works are given in full. The i6th-century is poorly represented, even though literature at this period so closely reflects the actual state of affairs in Muscovy, and thus fulfils one of Zenkovsky's criteria for selection. Furthermore, the extract from Aleksey Mikhaylovich's Rules of Falconry is too brief to permit the clear view of Muscovite aesthetics Zenkovsky claims for it, expecially as the ideas stem from Maxim Grek who is not represented in the anthology.

Since the book contains no bibliography and introductions to the various sections and works are of a general nature, it is evidently intended to appeal to readers without a knowledge of the old Russian language and not merely to act as a 'crib' for students. In this case greater efforts should have been made to reflect the system of set styles for different genres characteristic of early Russian literature. Zenkovsky declares (p. 3) that it is impossible to reproduce in translation the mingling of Church Slavonic and vernacular Russian peculiar to some genres. But English possesses a biblical style that could have been employed for works or passages in Church Slavonic, or, at the very least, for rendering the bibli- cal quotations so often embedded in texts. Some works, like the Moleniye Daniila Zatochnika fare better than others, but the overall impression is one of stylistic uniformity. Thus for all its obvious usefulness and interest, the anthology does not do full justice to the stylistic richness and variety of early Russian literature. London FAITH C. M. KiTcH

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