1735 /

Βασίλεος μοναχός μοσκοβορρώσσος //

1735 Basil, the Moscovite Russian monk.

This is one of the five graffiti left by Vasilis Grigorovich Barsky, a Russian monk who travelled extensively across Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean for 24 years (1723-1747) before returning to Kyiv. During his long-lasting trip, he kept an accurate account of the places he visited, enriched with drawings, which constitute a precious source for the social and cultural history of the 18th century. He visited Cyprus four times, and during his last stay (1734-1736), in addition to the narration of his pilgrimage and the depiction of some of the monasteries and churches he visited, he left five graffiti. In this case, we know with certainty that Barsky visited the places where graffiti are preserved, and from his Greek notations sometimes present in his drawings – the manuscript is in Russian – we also have a palaeographic comparison, which further confirms the authenticity of the graffiti. Thanks to the accuracy of Barsky’s travelogue, it is possible to follow him step by step and see the places he visited through his eyes. Moreover, we can share his experience by reading his manuscript and integrating a missing part with the material evidence of graffiti. 

Stylianou A. 1957. “Αι περιηγήσεις του μοναχόυ Βασίλειου Βάρσκυ”. Κυπριακαί Σπουδαί 21, pp. 57.

Grishin A. 1996. A pilgrim’s account of Cyprus: Bars’kyj’s travels in Cyprus, Sources for the History of Cyprus, III. New York.

Trentin M.G “Medieval and Post Medieval graffiti in the churches of Cyprus” in Christodoulou, S. and Satraki, A. (eds) POCA 2007, Postgraduate Cypriot Archaeology Conference, Cambridge, 2010, pp. 297-321.

Trentin, M.G. "Medieval and Modern Graffiti: multicultural and multimodal communication in Cyprus". Cahier du Centre d'Etudes Chypriotes, 50:2020, pp. 284-286.