Osip Bodyansky | |
|---|---|
 Portrait, 1878 | |
| Born | (1808-10-31)31 October 1808 |
| Died | 6 September 1877(1877-09-06) (aged 68) |
| Education | Doctor of Science(1855) Corresponding Member of theRussian Academy of Sciences |
| Alma mater | Imperial Moscow University (1834) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Philology,history |
| Institutions | Imperial Moscow University |
| Thesis | On the time of origin of the Slavonic script |
Osip Maksimovich Bodyansky (Russian:Осип Максимович Бодянский;Ukrainian:Осип Максимович Бодянський,romanized: Osyp Maksymovych Bodianskyi; 31 October 1808 – 6 September 1877) was a RussianSlavist of Ukrainian Cossack descent who studied and taught at theImperial Moscow University. Bodyansky's close friends includedNikolai Gogol,Sergey Aksakov,Mikhail Katkov,Taras Shevchenko,Mikhail Maksimovich andPavel Jozef Šafárik. He was elected a corresponding member of theImperial Academy of Sciences (Saint Petersburg) in 1854.
Bodyansky was born in the oldRuthenian town ofVarva inPoltava Governorate (todayChernihiv Oblast) and later the Pereyaslav Seminary. He, as a student in Moscow, enteredStankevich's circle of intellectuals. After getting his master's degree, he was at work rummaging obscure libraries and archives ofLittle Russia. Such activities brought to light a splattering of important documents, such as the illustratedPeresopnytsia Gospel and theHistory of Ruthenians or Little Russia which is considered controversial in Russia.
Bodyansky's publication ofGiles Fletcher's sketch ofMuscovy was deemed an act ofRussophobia and incurred the displeasure ofTsar Nicholas I, leading to the scholar's departure from Moscow toKazan. In his 30s, Bodyansky travelled in theSlavic countries on behalf of the Russian government, in order to study their languages, literature, and societies. Having for long moved inSlavophile andPan-Slavist circles, he spent some time working inPrague with Šafárik. Upon his return he became professor in Moscow, where he died in 1878. His tomb is in theNovodevichy Convent.
Bodyansky was one of the first serious scholars of theUkrainian language and wrote some amateur poetry in his native tongue. His master's dissertation involved a comparison of Ukrainian and Russian folks songs. Bodyansky's chief work was editing theTreatises of the Moscow Society for Russian History and Antiquities (1846–49 and 1858–78). Of his own works, notable areOn the Folk Poetry of the Slavic Tribes (1837) andOn the Time of Origin of the Slavic Script (1855).
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