- Boris Rimlyanin
Boris Rimlyanin, or Boris the Roman ( _ru. Борис Римлянин) (? – ?) was a
Russia nbellmaker of the 14th century.The information about Boris Rimlyanin is scarce. His name was first mentioned in the
Novgorod Chronicle , which says that in 1342 ArchbishopVasily Kalika ofNovgorod the Great commissioned a large bell for the Saint Sophia Cathedral and brought a craftsman fromMoscow under the name of Boris. It could be that he was the one to have cast the famousVeche Bell of Novgorod . Based on the information from the Novgorod Chronicle, it appears that Boris had already been an experienced bellmaker and had been working at the Moscow princely court since the mid 1330s. Most likely, Boris did not belong to theclergy ; otherwise it would have been mentioned in the chronicle. TheNikon Chronicle refers to this bell maker as Boris Rimlyanin (lit. Boris the Roman), probably alluding to his Roman origin. At that time, it was a common practice in Russia to give nicknames to foreigners, especially if their last names seemed impossible to pronounce (Nikolai Nemchin/Nikolai the German or Nikolai Fryazin/Nikolai the Italian).In 1346, the Nikon Chronicle mentions the casting of the first set of bells, which was an extremely important event for any
ecclesiastic community.Simeon of Russia commissioned three large and two smaller bells, cast by a bellmaker named Boriska (diminutive from Boris). It appears that Boris Rimlyanin was also invited byIvan II of Russia to cast a few large bells for the recently constructed Church ofJohn Climacus (Церковь Иоанна Лествичника). We do not have any information on how much Boris’s bells weighed, but they could not have weighed more than 30 to 40pood s (the usual weight for that time). None of his bells survived to this day.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.