Khimipetъ of the Mstislav Gospels and the jer-shift

A Greek loan-word химипетъ occurs in the colophon written by the scribe Naslav in the Mstislav Gospels (1103–1117) and denotes byzantine enamels manufactured in Constantinople for the precious cover of the codex. As it is generally recognized, the word renders Gr. χυμευτόν. What needs explanation however is the vowel e inserted on the East Slavic ground. A vowel-zero alternation attested by Instr. sg. хиниптомь in the Hypatian Chronicle leads to an older химипьтъ, but vocalization of a strong jer’ seems to be out of time in an early twelfth century manuscript. Surprisingly, it comes out that in the very colophon of Naslav itself this example is accompanied by four more cases of vocalization of strong jers. In an original East Slavic text this pattern can hardly be explained by the scribe’s adherence to an artificial South Slavic orthography. Химипетъ is particularly demonstrative in this respect since the word was definitely borrowed orally and is could not be found in any Old Church Slavic text. Naslav’s colophon appears thus to contain the earliest attestation of systematic vocalization of strong jers in Early East Slavic.