Abstract: Among the works of ancient Russian art of the XIV–XVI centuries, the images of holy wives are of particular interest in terms of the specific features of their iconography. In the art of Orthodox countries, the images of the saints we are considering, as a rule, do not deviate from strict iconographic norms, which indicates the stable semantic meaning that these figures are endowed with. However, in ancient Russian art we find noticeable discrepancies with this principle, which brings special connotations to the artistic structure of such monuments. The subject of the research in the work is the originality of iconographic variations of icons with the sole image of holy women in ancient Russian art of the XIV–XVI centuries. The purpose of this article is to determine the specifics of the perception of images of holy women in the art of Ancient Russia at the time we are interested in. To do this, we will resort to the iconographic method of research, as well as to the methods of typological and comparative analysis. The comprehensive analysis made it possible to conclude that the iconographic confusion in the images of holy women, which is not uncommon in ancient Russian art, indicates a pronounced tendency to combine these figures into a single syncretic image. We believe that the fusion of their attributes indicates a more significant status of images of female holiness in the art of Ancient Russia compared to the wider Byzantine world. In the monuments of Byzantine art, the iconographic features of the images of the saints we are interested in are expressed with greater consistency. In ancient Russian art, the specificity of the perception of individual images of holy women is associated not only with the motives of steadfastness in defending the true faith, but also with the expression of the hope of Orthodox Christians for the intercession of their images.

Abstract: The veneration of St. Nicholas was extremely spread in the Medieval Rus’ culture. This fact found it’s expression in great variety of this saint representation as in the shades of meaning that are conveyed by the stylistic features of specific works. The St. Nicholas icons with the chosen saints on the margins are the subject of scientific research. Especially we will focus on such works of art, which composition includes the female saints’ representations. Despite a certain interest in the problem of interpreting the order of saints in the composition of the icons under consideration, researchers have not actively addressed this aspect of the topic, so the comprehensive iconographical interpretation was not provided. The aim of this study is to identify the iconographical characteristic and style features of the oldest Novgorodian icons of St. Nicholas with the female saints and other chosen saints on the margins. As a result of a comprehensive analysis, first of all, it should be mentioned that female saints played a great role in Medieval Novgorod culture. Secondly, taking into accounts some aspects of their cults and their representations on liturgical items, the female saints’ figures were an ecclesiastical symbol. Thirdly, female saints were protectors of the novgorodians and the Orthodox Christian in pre-Mongol era as in 15th–16th century.