In 1762, Paisy of Hilendar completed his work Slavo-Bulgarian History that was destined to play an enormous role in the Bulgarian National Revival. His book was about the glorious past of Bulgaria and aimed to bring national pride back on track in the hard times of Ottoman rule. The Paisy history book had a great many handwritten copies and has many print editions too. Recently, owing to support from the women’s club Soroptimist International – Ancient Plovdiv a phototype edition was released of the Second Hariton Amendment of the Slavo-Bulgarian History. 

The unique edition is too expensive to be sold, but it can still be a sophisticated present to academics and connoisseurs, politicians and diplomats. The book has been released under a project of the ladies from the club and with the dedication and efforts of Associate Prof. Mila Krasteva, Antoaneta Djeliova, Atanaska Tosheva, Petya Peytcheva and Fanny Boykova.
„It features the amendment made by monk Hariton Rilets in Chirpan, back in 1831”, explains artist Vihra Grigorova, Chairperson of the women’s club and curator at the City Art Gallery in Plovdiv. The amendments include some corrections required by time, without breaking the book’s original wholeness.”
“It is beautifully written, one of the handwritten copies displaying genuine sophistication. The language is closer to the present-day one, though it is still Church-Slavonic, and is more comprehensible. It was created many years after the release of the original Slavo-Bulgarian History. Over that time many events had taken place and knowledge had expanded thus requiring a few corrections of historical facts."
The idea for the deluxe edition came from Fanny Boykova who lectures to students at the University of Plovdiv, after she came across the article of Associate Prof. Mila Krasteva from the same university, a scholar involved in the study of Paisy’s history book. The valuable manuscript is kept under special conditions at Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library in Sofia and is subject to limited access. A special permission is necessary to obtain, a rule valid for all scholars engaged in Bulgarian studies across the world. Mind you that Bulgarian Language chairs are operational in many universities in Europe, and also in Russia, Ukraine and USA.
Vihra Grigorova tells us that the new phototype edition creates the feeling that one holds the precious Slavo-Bulgarian History. It has been supplemented with the study of Associate Prof. Krasteva that explains a few difficult paragraphs. In this way the new edition becomes accessible for present-day readers. Krasteva’s study is presented in Russian and English language summaries. „In this way the phototype edition has the potential to contribute into better understanding of the ancient Bulgarian culture and spirit", Vihra Grigorova says. Being an organization committed to the preservation and conservation of the Bulgarian cultural heritage, Soroptimist International – Ancient Plovdiv is member of UNESCO. Therefore the ladies from the club count strongly on support from Mrs. Irina Bokova, Director General of that organization who has encouraged them for the project in writing. „We have added this letter to the book as an acknowledgement for the project. Indeed, it has given us wings”, Vihra Grigorova says. The club is not financially strong however its initiative has been supported by the Municipality of Plovdiv and other generous benefactors:
„We had already been working on the book, and we had to purchase the copyright”, the chairperson of the women’s club goes on to say. “The history book itself is a very brittle thing and so, it was being photographed by highly-professional and competent library experts. For the printing job we turned to publisher Bozhana Apostolova who encouraged us to go for it. There was a lot of work on prepress and synchronization of texts and translations. In the end, she also contributed to the financing and the book was released. We are very grateful to her, the whole club. It is always clear when somebody is doing something gladly. The book cover is a phototype of the original cover of the History. In creates the impression of the ancient, worn out, reddish-brown leather-bound booklet. Together with the study and all the rest, its volume is double the original. To my mind, it is one of the things that anyone who cares for the Bulgarian spirit, will be happy to see and touch.”
Scanning the pages of the new edition, one is impressed with the diligence of the calligrapher who has written down every letter with great love and utmost care:
„This amendment is acknowledged as one of the most beautiful handwritten copies of the Paisy history book. This is a work of both literature and history but also of calligraphic art. We have here some important paragraphs underlined with red, coupled with a bigger font. I am a student of the greatest expert of Bulgarian fonts Prof. Vasil Yontchev and I am aware of how difficult handwriting fonts can be. It is about writing meticulously every word but also about creating a balanced composition on the page. The page, as a work of art, should both attract and caress the eye. Copying the history book, Hariton actually gave the floor to others who would come after him to add bits of their knowledge about the Bulgarian spirit. I think that we, as followers of Paisy, honored and marked in an adequate way his anniversary marked in 2012 by recreating one of the most beautiful handwritten copes of his History. We started in 2012 when UNESCO officially placed on its calendar the 250th anniversary since the completion of the History and we finished work on the phototype edition at the end of 2013. So, I hope we have left a worthy vestige”.

English version: Daniela Konstantinova