“A word about the regiment of Ihorev” in the ex-libris

Abstract

Ex Libris is an important source of history not only of Ukrainian culture, but of all humanity. Jubilee dates, which drew their attention to the literary process, were a significant incentive for artists and Ex Libris owners. Since its publication, “The Word about Igor's Regiment” has been of great interest to researchers and ordinary readers, and has inspired artists and poets. When, by UNESCO's decision, the world celebrated the 800th anniversary of the immortal work, artists responded to this event with numerous Ex Libris addressed to his fans. The next wave of interest in the literary monument arose after the establishment in 1990 of the Novgorod-Siversky historical and cultural reserve with the museum “Words about Igor's regiment”, as well as the announcement of a competition for the best Ex Libris for the museum. An important role was played by the active position of the Ukrainian collector and researcher of the “Slovo...”                    S. Voinov, who organized exhibitions and participated in scientific conferences.

            Each nation has its own Song of Songs of inexhaustible spiritual fulfillment. For Ukrainians from time immemorial, an irrefutable proof of their historical maturity and consciousness were original, one-of-a-kind, national opinions and the earliest, from the 12^th century, their echo – the poem “A word about Igor's regiment”. This is one of the most famous Old Russian works. At the heart of its plot is the story of the unsuccessful campaign of Novgorod-Siversky prince Igor Svyatoslavovych against the Polovtsy in the spring of 1185. To the historical story, the author added motifs of dreams, cries, reactions of nature to the fate of the heroes, monologues of princes... Although the story was written at the end of the 12^th century, it was found only in 1791. Prince Oleksiy Musin-Pushkin found the original work completely by accident in the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery. A work of such high sound and such wise depth as “Slovo…’ is a desktop edition of every self-conscious Ukrainian, every patriotic reader, fan of native literature. Therefore, it is not surprising that “Slovo…” found a wide response among numerous bookplate artists from all cities of Ukraine – from Chernivtsi, Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk to Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv.