Formation of the concept “grace” (благодать) and its place in the medieval Slavs’ linguistic picture of the world

Abstract

   The article deals with the transformation of the Medieval Slavs’ linguistic image of the world. We focus on the formation of new and meaningful adjustments to traditional Slavic concepts that appeared under the influence of Christianization. Relying on the analysis of the superword units, extracted from the Slavonic manuscripts of the Middle Ages, we can identify the sets of units that entered the fields of verbalizers of changing fragments of the Slavic language picture of the world under the influence of the new faith, or formed fields of verbalizers that emerged due to the rejection of the pagan religion. Particular attention is paid to the process of the Slavs’ acquisition of the lexeme благодать and its variant благодъть. Being a unique invention of Cyril and Methodius, this analogue of the Greek word χαρις began to play the role of the name for the new concept, which conveyed a complex philosophical concept. The article proves that the concept благодать held a central place in the Medieval Slavs’ linguistic world image and its verbalizers, creating an extensive word-forming nest, which harmoniously fitted into the Slavic language system and “established contacts” with the verbalizers of the traditional Slavic concepts “Любы”, “Добро”, “Миръ”, “Въра”, “Богъ”, etc.