“Our Lady of tenderness with prophets and holy women” from Belozersk: paleographic and graphico-orthographic analysis of the inscriptions on the icon

The monumental icon titled, “Our Lady of Tenderness” (“Belozerskaya”), which is in the collection of the State Russian Museum, is a famous example of ancient, pre-Mongol, Russian art. An extensive bibliography dedicated to this unique image examines issues related to its stylistic and iconographic features and explores the history of its existence. Meanwhile, this monumental icon has preserved the original naming inscriptions, which have not yet attracted the attention of philologists. This article attempts to fill this gap. The inscriptions are considered from the point of view of paleographic and graphico-orthographic features.