Izmaragd


Izmaragd

 

(from the Greek smaragdos, emerald), a Russian didactic work of the 14th century, whose origin may be traced to the principality of Vladimir. It is a collection of about 100 articles, most of which were translated from Greek and partially adapted to the conditions of Russian life. Its varied subject matter included maxims on reverence for books, on Christian virtues, on such vices as greed and drunkenness, on good and evil wives, on the raising of children and treatment of servants, and on the hardships of slavery. The Izmaragd was one of the collections that influenced the Domostroi.

REFERENCES

Istoriia russkoi literatury, vol. 2, part 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1946. Pages 157–62.
Klibanov, A.I. Reformatsionnye dvizheniia v Rossii v XlV-pervoi polovine XVI vv. Moscow, 1960.