Merilo Pravednoye

The Merilo Pravednoye or Just Measure (lit. 'measure of righteousness'; Russian: Мерило Праведное, Church Slavonic: мѣрило праведноѥ) is a Russian collection of writings from the late 13th or early 14th century, preserved in the copies of the 14th to the 16th centuries.^[1][2] The name was given in modern literature, taken from the first words of this text: "this book is the measure of righteousness, a declaration of truth" (Church Slavonic: сиѩ книги мѣрило праведноѥ. извѣсъ истиньныи..., romanized: siya knigi merilo pravednoye, izves istin`nyi...). The Merilo Pravednoye was written in both Church Slavonic and the Old Russian vernacular.^[3]

Merilo Pravednoye
Page of the oldest surviving Trinity (Troitsky) copy of Merilo Pravednoye, 14th century
Created	late 13th or early 14th century
Author(s)	churchmen and monks
Purpose	moral precept; guide book for the court; transmission of several old texts
Full text
Merilo Pravednoye at Wikisource

First page of the Russkaya Pravda (expanded edition) from the oldest surviving Trinity copy of the Merilo Pravednoye

Content

The Trinity (Troitsky) copy is the oldest surviving copy from the 14th century and is the standard text.^[4] The first part consists of 69 sheets which are mainly religious texts of Greek origin, but some are of Russian origin, while the second part consists of 275 sheets which are more legal in nature and are mostly of Byzantine origin.^[4]

Materials from the old legal collection from the early 12th century may have been used during the compilation of Merilo Pravednoye. It was to serve both as a book of moral precepts and a legal guide book for judges as well as the transmission of several older texts. The first part contains the words and the lessons (poucheniya) both translated and original, on the just and the unjust courts; the second part (the so-called collection of 30 chapters) consists of translations of Byzantine church and secular laws, borrowed from the Kormchaia Book, and the oldest Slavic and Russian legal texts, the Zakon Sudnyi Liudem, the Church Statute of Vladimir the Great, the Russkaya Pravda, and the "Legal rule on the church people" – Pravilo zakonno o tserkovnykh liudiakh.^[5][6]

A revised version of the Merilo Pravednoye appeared in the 15th century.^[7] A number of new texts were added, while some others were removed.^[7] The Rozenkampf (Chudov) and Ferapontov groups of the extended version of the Russkaya Pravda are also included.^[7]

See also

• Nomocanon
• Kormchaia