N. K. Gudziy — image of the scholar in historical retrospective

Abstract

In the last decades, the history of philology has attracted significant attention. As a result, studying the heritage of prominent scholars who made their contribution to philology is undoubtedly important. Gudziy (1887–1965) belongs to such scholars. The article provides a general review of his career with a focus on the most up-to-date issues. In the context of modern culture, Gudziy’s works are of interest in three aspects. Firstly, Gudziy is a good example of a sharp mismatch of general cultural reputation of a scholar with the real volume of his achievements. Gudziy is known primarily as the author of the famous textbook “The History of Old Russian Literature”. However, his creative activity was not limited by this book and by medieval studies in general. As a scholar he left a tangible trace in many branches of literary criticism. Secondly, Gudziy was considered to be one of the few successful scholars of the first half of the 20th century who relied mostly on the experience of the pre-revolutionary philology: he was more traditional than innovative. However, his works are of great importance and in some respects they have retained their significance till nowadays. Thirdly, the fate of Gudziy provides grounds for comprehending the position of a successful, though principled, humanitarian scholar in the 1930s — early 1950s, the limits of his possibilities and necessary compromises. From this point of view on the problems, Gudziy’s works and his scholarly career are considered in this article.