From textological notes on folklore works (right to conjecture and rules of conjecture)

Textological problems of oral poetic works are in the center of attention of Russian folklore studies. At present, the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences is drafting a commentary on the volumes of the “Byliny” series of the Code of Russian Folklore, where the textological aspect occupies an important place. The article considers one of the textologcial problems of folklore studies: the right to the conjecture of a recorded (published) text. It is proposed to the scholarly community to agree on the rules of the conjecture. A number of examples are used to point out the mishearings that may happen when folklore collectors record (transcribe) oral poetic works, and errors that occur when reading archival materials. Examples are given from byliny and historical, wedding, and lyrical songs. Conjectures are offered for some byliny from the classic collections by P. N. Rybnikov and A. F. Hilferding. The research material also includes records of a famous Soviet writer Fyodor Abramov published by E. I. Yakubovskaya. The examples given in the article demonstrate once again that working with archival manuscripts or republishing classic folklore collections must be analytical.