Abstract literature and chronicles of Kievan Rus. Periodization of Old Russian literature
Academic science uses periodization ancient Russian literature, based on the historical principle, starting from the 11th century:
- Literature Kievan Rus(XI – first third of the XIII century)
- Literature of the period of fragmentation and Tatar-Mongol yoke(second third of the XIII–XIV centuries)
- Literature from the time of the unification of the northeastern principalities into a single Moscow state (late XIV - early XV centuries)
- Literature of the centralized Russian state (late 15th–16th centuries)
- Literature of the stage of formation of the Russian nation (XVI–XVII centuries)
The stages in this periodization were the most important historical events, such as
- invasion of the Tatar-Mongols in 1237-1240,
- the emergence of appanage principalities in the post-space of Kievan Rus,
- unification of the northeastern lands,
- the rise of Moscow and the creation of the Moscow state, its further flourishing and the emergence of the Russian nation.
But literary historians have differing opinions on this matter. All existing periodizations are similar, but at the same time they are different. The number of stages ranges from 4 to 7. There were attempts by D.I. Chizhevsky, D.S. Likhacheva, G.K. Wagner distinguishes periods in ancient Russian literature based on the style of the eras. But to unanimous opinion the scientists never came.
Literature of Kievan Rus (XI - first third of the XIII century)
The literature of this period, which arose with the introduction of Christianity in Rus', is closely connected with the church. The first chroniclers were monks St. Sophia Cathedral and Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the oldest written source of that time. It consists of chronicle materials written and rewritten by several authors of the 10th-11th centuries. The Tale of Bygone Years has survived in the form of the Laurentian, Ipatiev and Radziwill lists, created in subsequent centuries. In the chronicles in chronological sequence the main events in the state and in the world were outlined, the dynasties of princes, armed campaigns were described, bible stories, stories and legends from oral history were used folk art and Holy Scripture. Many interpret the history of Kievan Rus based on this source.
Other examples of literature from this period were:
- oratorical prose “The Sermon on Law and Grace” (1037 - 1050 of the 11th century) by Hilarion,
- set of legal rules “Russian Truth” (1019-1054) by Yaroslav the Wise,
- biography “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” (mid-11th century) by an unknown author,
- pedagogical prose “Teaching to Children” by Vladimir Monomakh,
- sample pilgrimage notes “The Walk of Abbot Daniel”,
- “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik (1213 – 1236),
- philosophical reflections “The Parable of the Human Soul” by Kirill of Turov (late 12th century).
In 2000, Novgorod archaeologists found three wooden waxed tablets with scratched writings. This find was called the Novgorod Codex and dates back no later than the 1st quarter of the 11th century. Psalms are written on the tablets, but more ancient texts are “hidden” under the wax. Scientists have yet to solve this riddle, like the riddle of the Book of Veles.
Literature of the period of fragmentation (mid-XIII–XIV centuries)
During the period of absence of a single center, chronicles were kept in separate principalities by each. Kyiv, Novgorod and Pskov chronicle collections have reached us. The legendary “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” (circa 1185) became the apogee of the development of literature during the period of fragmentation. Written in figurative language and absorbing popular beliefs, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” told about the campaign of the Russian princes in 1185 against the Polovtsians, which ended in failure. The word is imbued with patriotism and the desire to unite the disparate Russian lands.
A genre such as a military story emerges:
- “Tales of the murder of Mikhail of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor in the Horde,”
- "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu."
Both “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land” and “The Life of Alexander Nevsky,” written after the death of the Grand Duke, glorify the greatness and power of the Russian land, the courage and glory of Russian soldiers.
Literature from the time of the unification of the northeastern principalities into a single Moscow state (late XIV - early XV centuries)
Literature is dominated by an expressive-emotional style and theme. After the Tatar-Mongol period in many big cities Chronicle writing is being revived, works of a historical nature and panegyric hagiography appear. In the wake of admiration for the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, military stories “The Tale of Mamaev's massacre" and "Zadonshchina".
Literature of the centralized Russian state (late 15th–16th centuries)
Translated literature, journalism, and historical prose are developing.
Fiction (secular narrative literature, translated from other languages):
"The Tale of Dracula"
"The Tale of Basarga".
Literature of the stage of formation of the Russian nation (XVI–XVII centuries)
During this period, traditional forms dominate, official influence on literature from rulers is felt, and individual styles are suppressed.
- “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum”, written by himself,
- “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” by Ermolai-Erasmus,
- a collection of spiritual rules and instructions “Domostroy”, attributed to the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral Sylvester,
- collection of religious content “Great Cheti-Minea”,
- travel notes of ambassadors “The Walk of Trifon Korobeinikov to Constantinople”
and “Tales of the death and burial of M.V. Skopin-Shuisky" are the most striking works of that time.
During this period there was a transition to new literature, the basis of which was the professionalism of each individual author, his personal perception of reality, protests and preferences.
Did you like it? Don't hide your joy from the world - share itPeriodization of Old Russian literature, its specific features.
Likhachev identified the following periods in the development of ancient Russian literature:
1. Literature of Kievan RusPeriod"11th century – first floor. 13th century."
Comes to Rus' Christian culture. Bookishness is developing in Kyiv, Novgorod, Polotsk. This is literature of one Old Russian people. This is the literature of Kievan Rus, because The style of monumental historicism dominates. The most important genres of literature are created here: chronicle, historical story, hagiography, word. “The Life of Boris and Gleb” is the first Russian life. The origin of the original Russian genre - chronicle writing - “The Tale of Bygone Years”. Feudal fragmentation began.
2. Literature of the period of fragmentation and the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Period"Tue. floor. 13th century – first floor. 14th century."
Stage of literary conservation. The period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, stories appear about it. Literature is dominated by the theme of the fight against invaders, hence tragedy, patriotism and citizenship. “The Prayer of Daniel the Prisoner”, “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”, “Zadonshchina”, “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia”.
3. Literature from the time of the unification of the northeastern principalities into a single Moscow principality. Period"Tue. floor. 14th century – first floor. 15th century."
Pre-Renaissance. Rus' is being revived economically and culturally, and the expressive-emotional style characteristic of hagiographies dominates. “The Life of Stephen of Perm”, Epiphanius the Wise.
4. Literature of the centralized Russian state. Period"Tue. floor. 15th century – first floor. 16th century."
The period of government. In Old Russian lit. translated works penetrate, for example, “The Tale of Dracula”. In 1453, Constantinople (the capital of Byzantium) fell, and literature was democratized. A single entity begins to form central state(Moscow and Novgorod), a heretical shutdown occurs.
5. Literature of the stage of formation of the Russian nation. Period"Tue. floor. 16th century – beginning 17th century."
Period lost balance. Riots, unrest, the Rurik dynasty is replaced by the Romanovs. Satire and Baroque are born. main feature- this is domination journalistic style (Correspondence between Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Prince Andrei Kurbsky).
6. Literature of the era of Peter I. Period"17th century."
Transition to new literature. The development of the individual principle in the work of writers is increasing (authorship, theater, poetry appear). Bookishness is fading into ecclesiastical oblivion.
The specific features of the medieval worldview determined the system of genres of ancient Russian literature, subordinated to practical utilitarian goals - both moral and political. Along with Christianity, Ancient Rus' also adopted the system of genres of church writing that was developed in Byzantium. There were no genres here yet in the modern literary understanding, but there were canons, enshrined in the decrees of ecumenical councils, legend - tradition and charter. Church literature was associated with ritual Christian cult, monastic life. Its significance and authority were built on a certain hierarchical principle.
Books occupied the top level "sacred scripture". She followed them hymnography And " words"related to interpretations of "scripture", explanations of the meaning of holidays. Such "words" were usually combined into collections - " celebrants", Triodi colored and Lenten. Then followed lives- stories about the exploits of saints. Lives were combined into collections: Prologues (Synaxari), Chetii-Minea, Patericon. Each type of hero: martyr, confessor, monk, stylite, holy fool - corresponded to its own type of life. The composition of the life depended on its use: liturgical practice dictated certain conditions to its compiler, addressing the life to readers and listeners. For example, " The Legend of Boris and Gleb», « Life of Theodosius of Pechersk" Based on Byzantine models, ancient Russian writers created a whole series outstanding works hagiographic original literature reflecting the essential aspects of life and everyday life Ancient Rus'.
In contrast to Byzantine hagiography, Old Russian literature creates original genre princely life, whose goal was to strengthen the political authority of the princely power and surround it with an aura of holiness. Distinctive feature the princely life is " historicism", a close connection with chronicles, military stories, i.e. genres of secular literature. Just like the princely life, they are on the verge of transition from church genres to secular ones" walking" - travel, descriptions of pilgrimages to “holy places,” tales of icons. The chronicle could include all genres. The system of genres of worldly (secular) literature is more flexible. It was developed by ancient Russian writers through extensive interaction with the genres of oral folk art, business writing, as well as church literature. The dominant position among the genres of secular writing is occupied by historical story, dedicated to outstanding events related to the struggle against the external enemies of Rus', the evil of princely strife. The story is accompanied by a historical legend and legend. A special place among worldly genres is occupied by " Teaching"Vladimir Monomakh," A Word about Igor's Campaign", "A word about the destruction of the Russian land" And " Word"Daniil the Sharper. They testify to high level literary development, achieved by Ancient Russia in the 11th - first half of the 13th centuries. Development of Old Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries. goes through the gradual destruction of a stable system of church genres and their transformation. They intensify interest in the inner world of a person, the psychological motivation of his actions, and appear entertaining and everyday descriptions. Historical heroes are being replaced by fictional ones. In the 17th century this leads to radical changes in the internal structure and style of historical genres and contributes to the birth of new purely fictional works. Virsha poetry, court poetry and school drama, democratic satire, everyday story, picaresque short story.
One of the principles of Christ. cult. – orientation to the addressee.
Genre of life was borrowed from Byzantium. This is the most widespread genre of ancient Russian literature. Life was an indispensable attribute when a person was canonized, i.e. were canonized. The life was created by people who directly communicated with a person or could reliably testify to his life. Life was always created after the death of a person. The life of the saint was perceived as an example of a righteous life that must be imitated. In addition, life deprived a person of the fear of death, preaching the idea of immortality human soul. Life was built according to certain canons, from which they did not deviate until the 15-16 centuries. Canons of Life: the pious origin of the hero of the life, whose parents must have been righteous; The saint's parents often begged God for him; a saint was born a saint, and did not become one; the saint was distinguished by an ascetic lifestyle, spending time in solitude and prayer; a description of the miracles that occurred during the life of the saint and after his death; the saint was not afraid of death; The life ended with the glorification of the saint. One of the first works of the hagiographic genre in ancient Russian literature was the life of the holy princes Boris and Gleb.
Chetyi-Minei(literally “reading by month”) - a collection of works about holy people.
Patericon- a description of the life of the holy fathers.
Literature of Kievan Rus. General characteristics.
The first works of original ancient Russian literature that have come down to us date back to the middle XI centuries. Their creation was due to the growth of the political, patriotic consciousness of early feudal society, striving to strengthen new forms of statehood and assert the sovereignty of the Russian land. Substantiating the ideas of political and religious independence of Rus', literature seeks to consolidate new forms of Christian ethics, the authority of secular and spiritual power, to show inviolability, “eternity” feudal relations, rules of law. The main genres of literature of this time historical: legend, legend, story - and religious-didactic: solemn words, teachings, lives, walks. Historical genres, relying in their development on the corresponding genres of folklore, develop specific book forms of storytelling “according to the epics of this time.” The leading genre is historical story, based on a reliable depiction of events. Depending on the nature of the events reflected in the stories, they can be “ military", stories about princely crimes, etc. Each type of historical stories acquires its own specific stylistic features.
The central hero historical stories and legends is prince- warrior, defender of the country's borders, builder of temples, zealot for education, righteous judge of his subjects. His antipode- prince- cram flax, leading bloody internecine wars, seeking to gain power by force. The narration of the good and evil deeds of the princes is based on eyewitness accounts, oral traditions, who existed in a druzhina environment. Historical stories and legends do not allow fiction V modern meaning this word. The facts stated in them are documented and attached to exact dates, correlated with other events. Historical genres of ancient Russian literature, as a rule, do not exist separately, but as part of chronicles, where the principle of weather presentation made it possible to include a variety of material: weather records, legends, stories. These historical genres were dedicated to the most important events related to military campaigns, the fight against external enemies of Rus', the construction activities of the prince, strife, unusual phenomena nature (heavenly signs). At the same time, the chronicle also included church legends, elements of lives and even entire lives, and legal documents. One of the oldest and greatest historical and literary monuments of the second half of the 11th and early 12th centuries that has come down to us is “ The Tale of Bygone Years" Since the beginning of the 16th century, in connection with the formation of the centralized Russian state in the 15th century, regional trends have weakened. At this time, noble literature was firmly established as dominant.
But in the 17th century, culture, literature, both townsman and partly peasant, were already developing. The literature of Ancient Rus' was at first imbued with church ideology. The means of disseminating ancient Russian literature was exclusively the manuscript. Printing arose only in the middle of the 16th century.
The development of ancient Russian literature proceeded in parallel with the evolution literary language. The latter is based on the living Russian language, which appears most of all in works of a secular nature. Already in the most distant era, the foundations of the modern Russian language were laid.
4. " Prayer» Daniil Zatochnik. Idea, artistic originality, personality of Daniel.
From the anthology: “Prayer” was written at the end of XII or early XIII V. It was very popular in Ancient Rus', and has come down to us in two editions and many lists. In some lists the work is called a “message”, in others – a “prayer”, i.e. a petition, a request from a disgraced (falling out of favor) person. The popularity of “Prayer” is due to its progressive ideas of protecting disadvantaged people dependent on the prince, along with praising the princely power, and high literary skill: the brightness of the language, filled with proverbs, aphorisms and craft terminology, the peculiar rhythm of stanzas and syntactic structures, internal riffs and assonances; many expressions in M. are borrowed from the collection “Bee”, popular in Ancient Rus'.
“Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik addressed to the prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich Pereyaslavsky and listeners. “Prayer” can be classified as a work early noble journalism. “Prayer” belongs to the journalistic didactic works, which in short form, filled with philosophical moral content, reveal the life and customs of Rus' on the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The style of “Prayers of Daniel the Imprisoner” is characterized by a combination of quotations from the Bible, chronicles with live speech, satire directed against the boyars and the clergy. It is distinguished by the author's book knowledge, richness of images, and satirical attitude towards others. Deliberate humiliation is combined with emphasized mental superiority.
The theme of denunciation of monasticism is introduced in “Prayer.” Daniel indignantly rejects the prince's imaginary advice to become a monk. Daniel Sharpener depicts the morals of the monks. He denounces their vicious, base customs, which, like kind-hearted dogs, go around houses and villages "the glorious ones of this world."
Some researchers believe that Daniil the Sharpener is purely literary image, on whose behalf the anonymous author created a purely literary work, others believe that Daniil the Sharpener - historical figure, and his work is a real message to the prince. Proponents of the latter point of view define it differently social status Daniel (nobleman, warrior, artisan, serf, chronicler, etc.) and the addressee of the message are considered to be different princes. Finding himself in disgrace for his insolence, excessive straightforwardness and having experienced all the hardships of a beggarly life in exile, Daniel turns to the prince with a request to have mercy and return him to the princely squad, pointing out his merits (intelligence, wisdom, gift artistic word) and claiming the role of princely adviser, ambassador and rhetorician.
The original text of “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik was written according to all the rules epistolary genre. Daniel uses aphorisms, phraseology and imagery from the Bible and various ancient Russian monuments, creating from “other people’s words” a deeply personal, integral and organic work. “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik was written in bookish language, in high style, which is characterized, in particular, by abstraction And " deconcretization».
5. " The story of Batu's destruction of Ryazan"as an example of a military story.
This work belongs to the best examples military story. It arose in the 13th century. and came to us in the lists of the 16th-17th centuries. The creation of the story was greatly influenced by oral poetic legends about the struggle of the Russian people with the Mongol-Tatar conquerors.
The story attracted the attention of poets of the 19th-20th centuries. A poem by L.A. was written based on its plot. Meya and poems by N.M. Yazykov and S.A. Yesenin about Evpatiy Kolovrat. In the 40s XX century part of the story was translated by the Soviet poet V. Vasiliev.
The story was written in 1237 the year when Batu came to Rus'.
“The Tale of Batu’s Coming to Ryazan” consists of four parts:
1. The appearance of Batu on the borders of the Ryazan land. Yuri Ingorevich asks for military assistance from the Grand Duke Vladimirsky Georgy Vsevolodovich. Georgy Vsevolodovich refuses to help, wanting to fight Batu on his own. The Ryazan prince sends his son Fyodor Yuryevich to Batu with gifts and a request not to attack the Ryazan land. Batu wants the people of Ryazan to bring their wives and daughters to him. Having learned from one traitor, a Ryazan nobleman, that Fyodor Yuryevich himself has a beautiful wife, Batu turns to him with such a “proposal”. Prince Fyodor Yuryevich refuses Batu, for which he orders him to be killed. Having learned about this, Princess Eupraxia threw herself with her little son Ivan from the tower and fell to her death.
2. The heroic defense of Ryazan by Yuri Ingorevich, the death of the defenders and the ruin of Ryazan by Batu. The central episode is a hyperbolic description of the battle. A Russian warrior fights the enemy alone. Princess Agrippina, the mother of the Grand Duke, is killed in the church. The depiction of the devastation of the city is depicted in the story with great drama: everyone died, everything is bad.
3. The feat of Evpatiy Kolovrat. At this time, the brother of the Ryazan prince Yuri, Ingvar, is in Chernigov, and with him the Ryazan nobleman Evpatiy Kolovrat. They rush to the aid of Ryazan, but arrive after its destruction. Evpatiy gathers a squad and goes to fight the Tatars. He suddenly attacks Batu’s army and “cuts them without mercy” so that “the swords become dull.” The Tatars were amazed by the courage and daring of the Russians and, in particular, by the valor of Evpatiy Kolovrat. Evpatiy and Batu’s brother-in-law come together in a duel, in which the Russian hero cuts him in half “to the saddle.” The Tatars still manage to kill Evpatiy Kolovrat, but they are afraid of him even when he is dead. The author points out that the Tatars have respect for Russian brave men, and Tsar Batu says: “If such a person served with me, I would bring him closer to me.”
4. Renewal of Ryazan by Ingvar Ingorevich.
The last, final part of the story begins with the emotional crying of Prince Ingvar Ingorevich, created according to all the rules of book rhetoric. He sadly mourns the dead. The story ends with a story about the revival and renewal by the Russian people of Ryazan, which was incinerated by the enemy. The entire work is an example of a military story, which has absorbed significant elements of folklore. The story is not always accurate in its presentation historical facts, but it correctly conveys the mood of society of that time and is distinguished by its liveliness, brightness and dramatic narrative.
6. " Life of Alexander Nevsky». Genre originality, image of Alexander.
"J.Al.N." written at the end of the 13th century. in Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' unknown author, who personally knew the prince. Subsequently, when Alexander Yaroslavovich was canonized, the secular narrative was supplemented with hagiographical legendary sentiments. In its form, the life is a work in which a military story and a princely life are fused together. In modern times, the life served as a source for a number of works of art: historical paintings N.K. Roerich, A.K. Gorbunova, P.D. Corina; CM. Eisenstein created a historical film.
This work hagiographic genre is a princely biography that combines the features of a life and a military story. The composition of the “Life” dates back to the 80s. XIII century and are associated with the names of Dmitry Alexandrovich, son of Alexander Nevsky, and Metropolitan Kirill.
The author of the life, a scribe from the entourage of Metropolitan Kirill, based on his memories and stories of Alexander Nevsky’s comrades-in-arms, creates a biography of the prince, glorifying his military valor and political successes. Compiling a complete biography of Prince Alexander was not part of the author’s tasks. The content of life is summary the main, from the author’s point of view, episodes of his life, which make it possible to recreate heroic image prince, preserved in the memory of his contemporaries: a warrior prince, a valiant commander and an intelligent politician. Descriptions of the famous victories of Alexander Nevsky in the Battle of the Neva and on ice Lake Peipsi, his diplomatic relations with the Horde and the Pope are the central episodes of his life. The story about the actions of the prince is characterized by abstraction. There is not a single annual date in the life, the author almost does not name historical names, especially when it comes to opponents; he is not always accurate in his presentation of events. The narrative is full of biblical analogies, quotes, and literary parallels. The eternal, timeless nature of Alexander’s activities is emphasized, his deeds are given majesty and monumentality. The author constantly reminds of the prince’s heavenly protection. The idea of the sacredness of princely power determines the features artistic structure biography of Alexander Nevsky.
« Life of Alexander Nevsky", written shortly after the death of the prince (in 1263), creates perfect image ruler, defender of his fatherland from military and ideological attacks by external enemies. It does not fit into the canons of hagiographic literature, and this was understood by the ancient Russian scribes, who included it primarily in the chronicles, and only in the 16th century. it was included in the “Great Cheti-Menaia” of Macarius. The life describes in detail the course of the battle of July 15, 1240, much attention is paid to the exploits of Alexander and his brave heroic warriors. Alexander himself shows extraordinary courage and fearlessness in battle. The Alexandrov warriors were distinguished by their courage and bravery. Characteristic feature life is the constant presence of the author-storyteller. Thus, “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” reveals a close connection with both hagiographic literature and military stories.
Literature of the Russian pre-renaissance. General characteristics.
Possibility to consider the period from the end XIV to end XV V. like Russian time Pre-Renaissance has been substantiated in research Likhacheva. Russian literature since the X-XI centuries. was in close contact with the cultures of Byzantium and southern Slavs. The Mongol-Tatar invasion slowed down and interrupted these connections (although not completely), but already in the second half of the 14th century. they are being revived with extraordinary intensity, and Rus' finds itself involved in the process of cultural upsurge that all European states are experiencing during this period and which led some of them to the Renaissance itself.
If the Renaissance discovered man, recognized value, complexity and individuality human personality, then in the Pre-Renaissance era this discovery was still being prepared. And as the first step on this path, a keen interest in the emotional life of a person arises, not only in the narrow sphere of prayerful ecstasy or tenderness, but also in the whole variety of feelings that arise in various life situations. The writers of this time had not yet discovered the individual human character, but they began to willingly depict human emotions and they themselves, together with their heroes, cry, admire, and are indignant. These new interests, in turn, required the development of a new, more flexible, more expressive language style. This style was acquired in the 13th-14th centuries. widespread in the literature of Byzantium, Bulgaria, Serbia and, finally, in Russian literature, in relation to which it is usually called the style of the second South Slavic influence.
In the Pre-Renaissance era, the process of secularization of culture intensified. More free-thinking is manifested in ideology, and various heretical views are becoming widespread. Literature more boldly departs from the canons in the system of genres, in the type of plots, in the nature of the image; The reader is increasingly attracted by the entertaining nature of the narrative and the novelty of plot collisions. All these processes are observed in Russian literature of the 15th century.
The Pre-Renaissance era was also characterized by an increased interest in the world, alien to the barriers of national and even religious limitations. It is enough to mention in this regard that in Rus' at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. translations are made from Latin that Rus', although in to a lesser extent, how Western Europe, meets at this time ancient culture, and in particular with ancient epic And ancient mythology. All these examples indicate the similarity of cultural trends in a number of European countries and, consequently, about the legitimacy of raising the question of the Russian Pre-Renaissance.
Related information.
Literature occupied the most important place in the culture of Kievan Rus. The development of literature and bookishness was closely related to the adoption of Orthodoxy. Byzantine and later Russian priests, first of all, translated and copied the books necessary for church services. More than 130 books have reached us, of which about 80 are liturgical. Handwritten books were created on parchment, which was the name given to specially dressed calfskin (otherwise it was called charter). In literary monuments, the statutory letter prevailed - geometric writing of letters not related to each other. Many manuscripts were richly illustrated. This gave the books an elegant look, so ancient charters are externally perceived as beautiful works applied arts (9).
Main literary sources Christian doctrines are Old and New Testaments Bible (Holy Scripture). The entire Bible was translated into Russian only in the 15th century, but certain parts of Scripture were already translated in ancient Kyiv. The most widespread were the Gospel and the Psalter, but along with religious books there were also secular ones.
Old Russian literature knew a variety of genres<-ры. Мы можем назвать: агиографии - литература, посвященная житию святых (древнейшим памятником этого жанра является:
“The Life of Anthony of Pechersk”, which tells about the life of the monk who founded the first monastery on the territory of the future Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, and among the surviving works one should name “The Life of Boris and Gleb” by Nestor, which is dedicated to the first Russian canonized saints); apocrypha - legends about the heroes of biblical stories that were not included in the canonical books; chronicles, or chronographs, telling the history of the world. Most of the books were translated - these are the works of Roman and Byzantine theologians, for example, one of the magnificent translations was the translation of the famous book by Josephus Flavius “History of the Jewish War”. According to the chronicle, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise ordered the gathering of scribes to translate and rewrite many books. (It is known that during his time in Kyiv the alphabet was already introduced - the Cyrillic alphabet, which was created by the great Bulgarian enlighteners - the monks Cyril and Methodius.) (19)
The most significant genre of young Russian literature, of course, should be considered the chronicle, which was born under the influence of the traditions of the folk Slavic epic and rich oral folk art. It was thanks to the chronicles that the identity and uniqueness of the Russian language developed. In the history of the chronicles of Kievan Rus, certain stages can be noted. The first occurs during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054), the second stage - in the 60s - 70s. XI century, it is associated with the activities of the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nikon. Around 1095, a new chronicle code was created, the so-called “Initial Code”. At the beginning of the 12th century. we can note the most significant event for the development of the Russian chronicle of the ancient Kiev period, the appearance of the “Tale of Bygone Years”, written by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - Nestor. Around 1113, Nestor completed the work, giving it a lengthy title: “This is the story of the time (past) years, where the Russian land came from, who began the first reign in Kiev, and where the Russian land came from” (10; 36). Nestor set the task of introducing the history of Rus' into the world historical process. He begins his work with a biblical story about Noah, from one of whose sons the Slavic family originated. Nestor talks about the emergence of the Rurik dynasty, the baptism of Rus', the military campaigns of the Kyiv princes, and civil strife. The Tale, like other Russian chronicles, is characterized by a free combination of elements of life, teaching, story, and laudatory words. Nestor’s work has enormous historical value; it is thanks to him that today we have invaluable information about the deep past of our Motherland (10).
Along with the chronicle, the genre of “words” developed in ancient Russian literature, reflecting the pathos of solemn and instructive eloquence. A famous work of this genre is “The Sermon on Law and Grace,” written by the first Russian Metropolitan Hilarion, who was the most educated man of his time and created a work distinguished not only by its philosophical depth, but also by its high emotional intensity.
The most outstanding work of literature from Kievan Rus that has come down to us is the famous “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Many books and articles have been written about him in a variety of languages. Russian poets of different eras translated “The Lay” into modern poetic speech, revealing in it ever deeper layers of artistic expressiveness. The plot outline of the “Tale” was made up of the true events of 1185. The author did not just tell us about the military campaign, he set himself the ultimate task - to convey to the reader the pain and anxiety for the future of Rus', torn apart by civil strife. It was not the plot itself, but rather the attitude towards it, the assessment of events against the background of history that determined the originality of its composition in The Lay. Of course, the “Word” was not the only monument of this kind in the literature of ancient Kyiv, and although very little of the original literature has survived, we can judge the degree of its scale and originality.
During the Kievan period, after the introduction of Christianity in Rus' and the appearance of written texts, literary art developed in two ways. “For many centuries, Russian written literature remained almost entirely the prerogative of the Church: for all its richness and high artistry, the ancient Russian literary heritage almost entirely consists of biographies of saints and pious people, religious legends, prayers, sermons, theological discussions and chronicles in the monastic style. However, the ancient Russian people possessed a rich, original, varied and highly artistic literature, but the only means of dissemination was oral presentation. The idea of using letters for secular poetry was absolutely alien to the Russian tradition, and the expressive means of this poetry were inseparable from the oral heritage and oral tradition" (25).
One of the types of folk literary creativity were epic songs (antiques, epics). They told about what “was” and at the same time told about all sorts of fables, fairy-tale characters, fantastic monsters. Most of the characters in Kiev epics are warriors of Vladimir the Saint (Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich), mighty heroes who defended the Russian land from steppe nomads and performed feats in the most unusual situations. They are always ready to defend the prince, but their treatment of the prince is friendly, without servility, each of them is portrayed as a bright personality with his own character. The text of the epics was sung. The narrator took the harp in his hands and, plucking the strings, led a leisurely story about “the affairs of bygone days, the legends of deep antiquity.” Sometimes the heroes of the epics themselves played on the “little spring goosenecks”.
Popular were folk tales about Churil Plenkovich, whom no girl could resist, about Volkh Vseslavich, whose prototype was Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, a poem about Duke Stepanovich, composed in Galicia and reflecting the close ties of this principality with the Byzantine Empire. The famous poem "Sadko", an early version of which was apparently created in the twelfth century. “Sadko” is a typically Novgorod work. Its hero is not a steppe hero, but a merchant traveler; whose wealth, rather than military prowess, gives color to history. Another Novgorod epic - about Vasily Buslaev - is of a completely different kind. Vaska is always looking for adventure and does not recognize any authority. A free-thinker, he does not revere the church, he is not superstitious, as the poet says: “he does not believe in dreams or choke” (5).
It is necessary to say a few words about the Russian fairy tale. The fairy tale has been extremely popular among the Russian people throughout the country's history. As an integral part of Russian folklore, it is rich and varied. There are two main genres of fairy tales: magical and satirical. Magic tales that tell about miracles: flying carpets, self-assembled tablecloths, etc., may have their roots in pagan witchcraft. Their popularity stems from people's dreams of things that would make life easier. Satirical tales provide an outlet for popular discontent with political and social injustice. Interestingly, some fairy tale characters, such as Baba Yaga, are mentioned in the chronicles, which indicates the popularity of fairy tales in the Kievan period (5).
Eremeeva N.G. Volgorgrad2006 Literature of Kievan Rus (XI-XII centuries)
While mastering common Slavic intermediary literature and translating from Greek, ancient Russian scribes simultaneously turned to creating original works of various genres. We cannot accurately indicate when the first records of historical legends appeared, when they began to be united into a coherent historical narrative, but there is no doubt that already in the middle of the 11th century, if not earlier, the first Russian chronicles were compiled.
At the same time, the Kiev priest Hilarion (the future metropolitan) wrote “The Sermon on Law and Grace” - a theological treatise in which, however, from dogmatic discussions about the superiority of “grace” (the New Testament) over the “law” (Old Testament) a clearly expressed ecclesiastical political and patriotic theme: Rus', which adopted Christianity, is a country no less authoritative and worthy of respect than Byzantium itself. The Russian princes Igor and Svyatoslav became famous for their victories and “strength”; Vladimir, who baptized Rus', in terms of the significance of his act, is worthy of comparison with the apostles, and the Kiev prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich (under whom Hilarion wrote his “Tale”) does not “destroy”, but “affirms” his father’s undertakings. He created the Church of St. Sophia (St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv), the like of which is not found in the “surrounding” countries, decorating it with “all beauty, gold and silver and precious stones,” as Hilarion writes. D. S. Likhachev explained why it was so important to emphasize the construction of this temple: “by building the Church of Sophia in Kiev, Yaroslav “built” the Russian metropolis, the Russian independent church. By calling the newly built temple the same name as the main temple of the Greek Church, Yaroslav laid claim to equality of the Russian Church with the Greek." It was precisely this awareness of the equality of Rus' and Byzantium that was the main idea of Hilarion’s “Lay”. These same patriotic ideas formed the basis of the most ancient Russian chronicles.
Russian scribes also appear in the hagiographic genre: in the 11th - early 12th centuries. the lives of Anthony of Pechersk (it was not preserved), Theodosius of Pechersk, and two versions of the lives of Boris and Gleb were written. In these lives, Russian authors, undoubtedly familiar with the hagiographic canon and the best examples of Byzantine hagiography, show, as we will see later, enviable independence and display high literary skill.
At the beginning of the 12th century. (apparently about
A decade earlier than the “Teaching” of Monomakh was written, the abbot of one of the Russian monasteries, Daniel, visited the Kingdom of Jerusalem (founded by the crusaders in Palestine conquered from the Arabs) and compiled a detailed account of his journey, which is known as “Daniel’s Walking in the Russian Land of the Abbot.” The traveler in detail describes the sights seen, while retelling the biblical stories and apocryphal legends associated with them. Daniel acts as a patriot of his native land, not forgetting about its interests in distant countries, caring about its prestige.
Second half of the 12th century. marked by the rapid development of chronicles. The South Russian code of the early 15th century allows us to judge this. (Ipatiev Chronicle), which contains fragments from chronicles of an earlier time.
At the end of the 12th century. The bishop of the city of Turov, Kirill, one of the most brilliant ancient Russian writers, created his works. A particularly significant place in his work is occupied by words for church holidays, designed to be pronounced in church during a solemn service. The thoughtfulness of the composition, the richness of the language, the courage and brightness of metaphors and comparisons, the skill in constructing phrases and periods with all the tricks of rhetorical art (syntactic parallelism, appeals, expressive antitheses, etc.) - all these advantages of Kirill’s works put him on the same level with the famous Byzantine writers.
The literary development of this era is crowned by “A Word to Igor’s Army.”
Brief list of monuments of original Russian literature of the 11th-12th centuries. - and almost all the most significant works are named here - makes us think about how incomplete our information about the literature of Kievan Rus seems to be. We know only a small fraction of the works created then, only those of them that were lucky enough to survive the terrible years of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
This comparison involuntarily suggests itself. Artists of the era of classicism loved to depict a romantic landscape: among fields overgrown with bushes, where flocks of sheep graze and colorfully dressed shepherdesses play pipes, rise the ruins of a beautiful and majestic temple, which, it would seem, should stand not here, in the wilderness, but in the square of a busy ancient city...
The literature of Kievan Rus represents something similar for us: several masterpieces that would make the glory of any literature rich in monuments - “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Life of Boris and Gleb”, “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, the works of Kirill of Turov... But where are the links connecting them, the environment in which these masterpieces were created? It was precisely these feelings that once possessed A.S. Pushkin, who wrote with bitterness: “Unfortunately, ancient literature does not exist among us. Behind us is the dark steppe - and on it rises the only monument - “The Song of Igor’s Campaign.” In those years, ancient Russian literature was not yet “discovered”; Russian researchers would become more familiar with it two or three decades later. But the same feeling of “loneliness” of masterpieces does not leave us to this day. What is the reason for this strange phenomenon?
Of course, these monuments that have come down to us were not alone; they simply could not be alone, since they testify to the existence of literary schools, to the high level of literary skill, and to the literature itself that gave birth to them.
Before approaching the answer to our puzzling question, let us give one fairly striking example. In the Ipatiev Chronicle we read in the article
If the Laurentian Chronicle had not been preserved
In a word, we know very little about the literature and writing of Kievan Rus. The Mongol-Tatar invasion led not only to the death of tens or hundreds of thousands of people, not only to the desolation of cities, including the largest centers of writing, it most cruelly destroyed ancient Russian literature itself. Only those works whose copies managed to survive and attract the attention of scribes of the 14th or 15th centuries became known to researchers of modern times. Thus, the journey of Abbot Daniel took place at the beginning of the 12th century, at which time he wrote his “Walking”, however, the oldest copies of the monument date only to the 15th century.
The oldest copy of the “History of the Jewish War,” translated in the 12th century, dates back to the end of the 15th century. At the same time, as N. A. Meshchersky believes, the copies of the ancient translation were lost in Rus'. But in
So, the literary monuments of the 11th-12th centuries that have survived to modern times. - these are only by a happy coincidence the surviving remnants of literature that was in its heyday on the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The high level of this literature is evidenced, in particular, by those works to the analysis of which we now turn.
"The Tale of Bygone Years"
Every nation remembers and knows its history. In stories, legends, and songs, information and memories of the past were preserved and passed on from generation to generation. The chronicle - a systematic chronicle kept from year to year - grew to a large extent on the basis of oral historical epic.
The chronicle as a literary genre (and not historical records in general!) appears, apparently, in the middle of the 11th century. However, the oldest lists of chronicles date back to a later time: the 13th and 14th centuries. dates back to the Synodal list of the First Novgorod Chronicle.
The Laurentian list refers to
The study of chronicles is further complicated by the following circumstance. Almost every chronicle is a vault. This means that the chronicler, as a rule, not only recorded contemporary events, but supplemented with his notes the text of an earlier chronicle that narrated the previous period. Therefore, it turns out that in almost every chronicle the history of Rus' is presented “from the very beginning” - the text of the “Tale of Bygone Years” is given in full or in an abbreviation, sometimes very significant, telling “where the Russian land came from.” When compiling a new chronicle, the chronicler did not treat his sources formally, mechanically “folding” them: he edited the text of his predecessor, shortened it or supplemented it with other sources, and sometimes, in accordance with his historiographical views, changed the assessment of events or reinterpreted individual facts. All These features of the work of ancient Russian historiographers significantly complicate the study of chronicles. However, science has developed a fairly advanced methodology for studying chronicle texts: by comparing them, similarities or differences between fragments telling about the same events are established, the sources of the corpus under study, the degree and nature of their processing in it, and the estimated time of its compilation are determined.
“The Tale of Bygone Years,” which will be discussed below, was created at the beginning of the 12th century. Nestor is traditionally considered the compiler of its first edition, although the question of the possibility of identifying Nestor the chronicler and Nestor the hagiographer, the author of “The Life of Boris and Gleb” and “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk,” remains debatable to this day. In the rich chronicle tradition of Ancient Rus', “The Tale of Bygone Years” occupies a very special place. According to D. S. Likhachev, it was “not just a collection of facts of Russian history and not just a historical and journalistic work related to the urgent but transitory tasks of Russian reality, but an integral , a literary presentation of the history of Rus'.
“We can safely say,” the scientist continues, “that never before or later, until the 16th century, did Russian historical thought rise to such a height of scholarly inquisitiveness and literary skill.”
The oldest edition of the “Tale of Bygone Years” has not reached us, but the second edition of the “Tale” has been preserved as part of the Laurentian and Radzivilov Chronicles, apparently only slightly changing its original text.
“The Tale of Bygone Years,” like most chronicles, is a collection, a work based on previous chronicle works, which included fragments from various sources, literary, journalistic, folklore, etc. Let us abstract here from the question of the origin of the components of “The Tale of Bygone Years” and, in particular, its relationship with the previous chronicle of the end of the 11th century. (scientists call it the Initial Vault) and look at it as a solid monument.
“This is the Tale of Bygone Years, where the Russian Land came from, who in Kiev began to live first, and where the Russian Land began to eat from” - the chronicle begins with these words, and these first words became its traditional name - “The Tale of Bygone Years”.
For monuments of medieval historiography devoted to the problems of general history, that is, for chronicles, it was typical to begin the presentation “from the very beginning,” with the creation of the world, and to trace the genealogical lines of the ruling dynasties to mythical heroes or even gods.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” did not remain aloof from this trend; Nestor also begins his narrative from a certain initial moment. According to the biblical legend, God, angry at the human race, mired in all kinds of sins, decided to destroy it by sending a global flood to the earth. All “antediluvian” humanity perished, and only Noah, his wife, three sons and daughters-in-law managed to escape. From the sons of Noah - Shem, Ham and Japheth - came the people who now inhabit the earth. That's what it said in the Bible.
Nestor therefore begins the “Tale of Bygone Years” with a story about the division of the land between the sons of Noah, listing in detail, following the Byzantine chronicles, the lands that went to each of them. In these chronicles, Rus', of course, was not mentioned, and the chronicler skillfully introduces the Slavic peoples into the context of world history: in the above-mentioned list, after mentioning Ilyuric (Illyria - the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea or the people who lived there), he adds the word “Slavs”. Then, in the description of the lands inherited by the descendants of Japheth, references to Russian rivers appear in the chronicle - the Dnieper, Desna, Pripyat, Dvina, Volkhov, Volga. In the “part” of Japheth, the chronicler reports, live “Rus, Chud and all the languages: Merya, Muroma, all...” And then follows a list of tribes inhabiting the East European Plain.
After this, the chronicler moves on to the history of the Slavs, telling how they settled throughout the land and how they were nicknamed depending on the place where they stayed to live: those who settled along the Morava River were called Maravas, those who settled on the banks of the Polot River were “nicknamed Polochans” , and the Slovenes, who settled on the shores of Lake Ilmen, “were nicknamed by their name.” The chronicler tells about the founding of Novgorod and Kyiv, about the customs of the Polyans, who, unlike the Drevlyans, Vyatichi and Severians, were “men of wisdom and understanding” and kept the custom of their fathers “meek and quiet.” This introductory historiographical part of The Tale of Bygone Years ends with a plot episode. The Khazars demanded tribute from the Polans (the tribe living in and around Kyiv), and they paid them tribute with swords. And the Khazar elders said to their ruler: “The tribute is not good, prince!... They will imati [will collect] tribute on us and on other countries.” “Now everything has come true,” the chronicler concludes with pride.
This introductory part of The Tale of Bygone Years is of considerable historiographical significance. It stated that the Slavs, and Russia among the Slavic peoples, as equals among equals, are mentioned among other peoples - the descendants of the most worthy of the sons of Noah - Japheth. The Slavs, as if fulfilling some destiny from above, populated the lands allotted to them, and the glades, on the land of which the future capital of Rus', Kyiv, was located, have long stood out for their wisdom and high morality among other tribes. And finally, the prediction of the wise Khazar elders came true - Rus' now does not obey anyone, it itself collects tribute from neighboring peoples. This is how Nestor defined the place of the Slavs and Rus' in world history. An equally important task was to justify the rights of the Kyiv princes to take possession of the entire Russian land. The legend about the calling of the Varangians appeared in the Initial Code; in Nestor it received its final completion. According to this legend, strife began among the Slavic tribes, “from one generation to the next,” and it was decided to invite foreign princes from overseas to come establish order and “rule and rule” over them. The chronicle tells us that three brothers came to Russia - Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. Two of them died, and Rurik began to reign in Novgorod. After the death of Rurik, his relative Oleg became the prince, since Rurik’s son Igor was still a “child Velmi”. Oleg, together with the baby Igor, went from Novgorod to the south, by cunning (and at the same time legally, for he acted “in the name” of Rurik’s son) captured Kiev and began to reign there. After Oleg’s death, Igor became the prince of Kiev, that Igor, whose descendants are now ( during the years of the creation of the “Tale of Bygone Years”) princes in Kyiv and in other parts of the Russian land.
Researchers without much difficulty revealed the legendary nature of the story about the calling of the Varangians. It is enough to mention that the most ancient Russian monuments trace the dynasty of the Kyiv princes to Igor, and not to Rurik; It is also strange that Oleg’s “regency” continued under the “young” Igor for no less than 33 years, and that in the Initial Code Oleg is called not a prince, but a governor... But this legend was one of the cornerstones of ancient Russian historiography. It responded primarily to the medieval historiographical tradition, where the ruling clan was often elevated to a foreigner: this eliminated the possibility of rivalry between local clans. “The origin of the French kings from the Trojans was believed even in the 16th century. The Germans derived many of their dynasties from Rome, the Swiss from the Scandinavians, the Italians from the Germans,” D. S. Likhachev illustrates this idea.
Secondly, the statement that the Rurik dynasty has its roots in ancient times, was, according to the chronicler, to raise the prestige of the blood relationship of the Rurik princes, strengthen their consciousness of fraternal ties, and prevent civil strife. However, feudal practice turned out to be stronger than the most convincing historiographical concepts.
The introductory part of The Tale of Bygone Years has no dates. The first date in the chronicle is 6360 (852). From that time, the chronicler claims, “they began to call Ruska the land.” The basis for this was the story of the Byzantine “Chronicle of George Amartol” about the campaign of Rus' against Constantinople, which the chronicler already identified with the campaign of the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir (later killed by Oleg). In the same article
The breadth of historical horizons that characterizes the introductory part of The Tale of Bygone Years is also inherent in its further presentation. Thus, talking about Vladimir’s “choice of faiths,” the chronicler cites a lengthy speech, as if delivered to the prince by a Greek missionary, in which the entire sacred history is briefly recounted (from the “creation of the world” to the crucifixion of Christ), comments on the decisions of the seven ecumenical church councils, at which controversial dogmatic issues were decided questions of Christian doctrine are denounced by the “Latins,” that is, supporters of the Catholic faith, who openly opposed themselves to the Greek Church after
But the chronicler, of course, analyzes and comprehends especially deeply the events in Rus'. He evaluates the significance of its Christianization, the activities of Russian translators and book writers under Yaroslav the Wise; talking about the emergence of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, he persistently emphasizes the connection between Russian monasteries and the famous monasteries of Byzantium.
Chroniclers do not simply recount events, but try, of course, in the traditions of medieval Christian historiography, to comprehend and explain them. Defeat of the Russian princes in the war
The chronicle returns again to the theme of “executions of God” in article 10S2, telling about the defeat of the Russian princes in the battle by the Spolovians at Trepol (south of Kyiv). After abundantly peppered with biblical quotations, discussions about the reasons that brought about divine punishment, the chronicler paints a dramatic picture: the Polovtsians are leading away captured Russian captives, and those, hungry, suffering from thirst, undressed and barefoot, “their feet are gored with thorns [wounded on thorny grasses], with tears responding to each other to a friend, saying: “I am the beg of this city,” and others: “I am sowing all [villages, settlements]”; they ask [question] with tears, telling their family and lifting their eyes, lifting their eyes to heaven to the highest, who knows the secret.” It is not difficult to understand the feelings of the people of that time and the complexity of the task of scribes and church preachers: having adopted a new religion, the Russian people, it would seem, gave themselves over to the protection of a powerful and just god. So why does this god grant victory to the filthy (pagan) Polovtsy and condemn his faithful Christians to suffering? This is how the constant theme of divine retribution for sins arises in medieval literature.
The chronicle also addresses this topic in the article
However, Lyubechsky did not put an end to “which”; on the contrary, immediately after its end, a new atrocity was committed: Prince Vasilko Terebovlsky was slandered and blinded. And the chronicler inserts into the text of the chronicle a separate detailed story about the events of this time, a passionate “story of princely crimes” (words by D. S. Likhachev), which should convince not only the mind, but also the heart of readers of the urgent need for sincere and real brotherly love among the Rurikovichs. Only their union and joint actions can protect the country from the ruinous raids of the Polovtsians and warn against internal strife.
“The Tale of Bygone Years,” as a monument to historiography, is permeated with a single patriotic idea: chroniclers strive to present their people as equal among other Christian nations, proudly recall the glorious past of their country - the valor of the pagan princes, the piety and wisdom of the Christian princes. The chroniclers speak for all of Rus', rising above petty feudal disputes, resolutely condemning strife and conflicts, describing with pain and anxiety the disasters brought by the raids of nomads. In a word, “The Tale of Bygone Years” is not just a description of the first centuries of the existence of Rus', it is a story of great beginnings: the beginning of Russian statehood, the beginning of Russian culture, the beginnings that, according to the chroniclers, promise future power and glory for their homeland.
But “The Tale of Bygone Years” is not only a monument of historiography, it is also an outstanding monument of literature. In the chronicle text one can distinguish two types of narration, which differ significantly from each other. One type is weather records, that is, brief information about events that occurred. Yes, article
In the article
The story does not end there: it is told how Governor Pretich cunningly made peace with the Spepenegs and how Svyatoslav delivered his capital from enemies. However, let's return to the episode we reviewed. Before us is not just information that a certain youth, having reached Pretich, conveyed to him the princess’s request, but an attempt to describe exactly how the youth managed to carry out his daring plan. The youth runs through the camp of enemies with a bridle in his hand, asking in their native language about the supposedly missing horse , - all these details make the story visible and convincing; This is an artistically organized plot, and not dry information about what happened. So, in addition to weather records themselves, the chronicle also knows plot stories, and it is they that place the chronicle genre among other genres of ancient Russian literature.
In The Tale of Bygone Years, a special place is occupied by stories that go back to oral historical traditions and legends. These are precisely the stories about the first Russian princes: Oleg, Igor, Princess Olga, about Svyatoslav, during the time of Vladimir. In these stories, the style of chronicle narration that D. S. Likhachev called the epic style was especially evident.
Here it is necessary to emphasize that style in Old Russian literature is not a narrow linguistic phenomenon, not only syllables and linguistic means themselves. Style is a special vision of the world, a special approach to its depiction, and also, of course, the sum of techniques (including linguistic ones) with the help of which this approach is implemented.
Thus, for a narrative in an epic style, it is characteristic that the hero is a man of heroic feat, distinguished by some extraordinary quality - cunning, intelligence, courage, strength; such a “hero is closely connected with one or several exploits, his characteristics are single, unchangeable, attached to the hero.”
A story about such a hero is usually a story about his feat, hence the indispensable feature of such a story is the presence of a sharp, entertaining plot. Very often, the cunning of the hero is the shaping force of a plot collision. The Kiev youth, whom we are talking about above, outwitted the Pechenegs. Princess Olga is also distinguished by cunning in folk legends: the success of all her “revenge” on the Drevlyans for the murder of her husband is determined by the insidious wisdom of the princess, cunningly deceiving the simple-minded and arrogant Drevlyans. Let's see how these chronicle stories about Olga's revenge are constructed.
In the article
“And she told Olza that the Drevlyans had arrived...” the chronicler continues the story. What follows is Olga’s dialogue with the Drevlyan ambassadors. Lively, relaxed dialogue is an indispensable element of the story, it is often psychologically dispassionate, it is characterized by illustrative speech, what is important is not what is said, but only what exactly is said, since this “what” is the grain of the plot. So, Olga invites the Drevlyan ambassadors to go to their boats for the night, and in the morning demand from the people of Kiev: “We will not go on horseback, nor on foot, but you will carry us to the boats.” This favor of Olga towards the ambassadors of her husband’s killer is unexpected, and thanks to this the plot acquires a certain tension and entertainment. However, the author immediately ceases to intrigue the listener, reporting that Olga “ordered to dig a large and deep hole in the yard I. Literature of the Old Russian state of the 11th - first half of the 13th centuries. The literature of this period is often called the literature of Kievan Rus. II. Literature of the period of feudal fragmentation and the struggle for the unification of north-eastern Rus' (second half of the 13th - first half of the 15th centuries). III. Literature from the period of creation and development of the centralized Russian state (XVI-XVII centuries). However, when periodizing the literary process, it is necessary to take into account:
1. A range of original and translated monuments that appeared in a given period. 2. The nature of ideas and images reflected in literature. 3. The leading principles of reflecting reality and the nature of genres and styles that determine the specifics of literary development of a given period. The first monuments of ancient Russian writing that have come down to us are known only from the second half of the 11th century: the Ostromir Gospel (1056-1057), “Izbornik of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav 1073”, “Izbornik 1076”. Most of the works created in the 11th-12th centuries were preserved only in later copies of the 14th-17th centuries. However, the intensive development of writing in Rus' began after the official adoption of Christianity in 988. At the same time, a certain education system arose. In the 30s of the 11th century. in Kyiv there are “many scribes” who not only copy books, but also translate them from Greek into "Slovenian letter". All this allows us to highlight the end of the 10th - the first half of the 11th century. as the first, initial, period of formation of Old Russian literature. True, we can only speak hypothetically about the range of works of this period, their themes, ideas, genres and styles. The predominant place in the literature of this period was apparently occupied by books of religious and moral content: the Gospels, the Apostle, the Service Menaion, the Synaxari. During this period, the translation of the Greek chronicles was carried out, on the basis of which the “Chronograph according to the Great Exposition” was compiled. At the same time, records of oral legends about the spread of Christianity in Rus' arose. The artistic peak of this period and the beginning of a new one was Hilarion’s “Sermon on Law and Grace.” The second period - the middle of the 11th - the first third of the 12th century - the literature of Kievan Rus. This is the heyday of original ancient Russian literature, represented by the genres of the didactic “word” (Theodosius of Pechersky, Luka Zhidyata), genre varieties of original lives (“The Legend” and “Reading” about Boris and Gleb, “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersky”, “Memory and Praise of Prince Vladimir” "), historical tales, tales, traditions that formed the basis of the chronicle, which at the beginning of the 12th century. is called "The Tale of Bygone Years". At the same time, the first “walk” appeared - the journey of Abbot Daniel and such an original work as the “Teaching” of Vladimir Monomakh. Translated literature during this period is widely represented by philosophical-didactic and moral-didactic collections, patericons, historical chronicles, and apocryphal works. The central theme of the original literature becomes the theme of the Russian land, the idea of its greatness, integrity, and sovereignty. Its devotees are the spiritual lights of the Russian land and the ideal of moral beauty. to his "toil and sweat" formidable princes build the fatherland - “good sufferers for the Russian land.” During this period, various styles developed: epic, documentary-historical, didactic, emotionally expressive, hagiographic, which are sometimes present in the same work.
The third period falls on the second third of the 12th - first half of the 13th century. This is literature from the period of feudal fragmentation, when the “patchwork empire of the Rurikovichs” broke up into a number of independent feudal semi-states. The development of literature takes on a regional character. Based on the literature of Kievan Rus, local literary schools are created: Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Kiev-Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Polotsk-Smolensk, Turovo-Pinsk, which will then become the source of the formation of the literature of the three fraternal Slavic peoples - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. In these regional centers, local chronicles, hagiography, genres of travel, historical stories, epideictic eloquence (“words” of Cyril of Turov, Kliment Smolyatich, Serapion of Vladimir) are developing, and the “Tale of the Miracles of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God” begins to take shape. Through the works of Bishop Simon of Vladimir and monk Polycarp, the “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon” was created. The pinnacle of literature of this period was “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” firmly connected with the outgoing traditions of the heroic druzhina epic. The original striking works are “The Lay” by Daniil Zatochnik and “The Lay on the Destruction of the Russian Land.” The fourth period - the second half of the XIII-XV centuries - literature of the period of the struggle of the Russian people with the Mongol-Tatar conquerors and the beginning of the formation of a centralized Russian state, the formation of the Great Russian people. The development of literature during this period took place in such leading cultural centers as the towering Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, and Tver. Awareness of the need to fight against foreign enslavers led to the unification of popular forces, and this struggle goes hand in hand with the political unification of Rus' around a single center, which becomes Moscow. An important milestone in the political and cultural life of Rus' was the victory won by the Russian people on the Kulikovo field in September 1380 over the hordes of Mamai. It showed that Rus' has the strength to decisively fight the enslavers, and these forces can be united and united by the centralized power of the Grand Duke of Moscow. In the literature of this time, the main theme was the fight against foreign enslavers - the Mongol-Tatars and the theme of strengthening the Russian state, glorifying the military and moral exploits of the Russian people, their deeds. Literature and fine arts reveal the moral ideal of a person who is able to overcome “the strife of this age” - the main evil that prevents the unification of all forces to fight the hated conquerors. Epiphanius the Wise revives and raises to a new level of artistic perfection the emotionally expressive style developed by the literature of Kievan Rus. The development of this style was determined by the historical needs of life itself, and not only by the second South Slavic influence, although the experience of Bulgarian and Serbian literature was taken into account and used by the literature of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. The style of historical narration receives further development. It is influenced by the democratic strata of the population, on the one hand, and church circles, on the other. Entertainment and artistic fiction are beginning to penetrate more widely into the historical narrative. Fictional tales appear that are taken as historical (the story of the city of Babylon, “The Tale of the Mutyansky governor Dracula”, “The Tale of the Iveron Queen Dinara”, “The Tale of Basarga”). In these tales, journalistic and political tendencies are intensified, emphasizing the importance of Rus' and its center of Moscow - the political and cultural successor of the ruling world powers. In the 15th century Novgorod literature reaches its peak, clearly reflecting the acute struggle of classes within the feudal city republic. Novgorod chronicles and hagiography with its democratic tendencies played an important role in the development of ancient Russian literature. In literature, there is growing interest in the psychological states of the human soul, the dynamics of feelings and emotions. The literature of this period reflected the main character traits of the emerging Great Russian people: perseverance, heroism, the ability to endure adversity and difficulties, the will to fight and win, love for the homeland and responsibility for its fate. The fifth period of development of Old Russian literature falls at the end of the 15th-16th centuries. This is the period of literature of the centralized Russian state. In the development of literature, it was marked by the process of merging local regional literatures into a single all-Russian literature, which provided an ideological justification for the centralized power of the sovereign. The acute internal political struggle to strengthen the sovereign power of the Grand Duke, and then the Sovereign of All Rus', determined the unprecedented flourishing of journalism. The official style of the era becomes the representative, magnificent, eloquent style of the Makaryev literary school. Polemical journalistic literature gives rise to freer, more vibrant literary forms associated with business writing and everyday life. The sixth period of development of Old Russian literature falls on the 17th century. The nature of literary development allows us to distinguish two stages in this period: 1st - from the beginning of the century to the 60s, 2nd - 60s - the end of the 17th, the first third of the 18th centuries. The first stage is associated with the development and transformation of traditional historical and hagiographic genres of ancient Russian literature. The events of the first Peasant War and the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish-Swedish intervention dealt a blow to religious ideology and providentialist views on the course of historical events. In the social, political and cultural life of the country, the role of the posad, the trade and craft population, increased. A new democratic reader has appeared. Responding to his requests, literature expands the scope of reality, changes the previously established genre system, and begins to free itself from provenentialism, symbolism, etiquette - the leading principles of the artistic method of medieval literature. Hagiography is turning into everyday biography, and the genre of the historical story is being democratized. The second stage in the development of Russian literature in the second half of the 17th century. associated with Nikon’s church reform, with the events of the historical reunification of Ukraine with Russia, after which an intensive process of penetration of Western European literature into Old Russian literature began. A historical story, losing connections with specific facts, becomes an entertaining narrative. The life becomes not only an everyday biography, but also an autobiography - a confession of a hot, rebellious heart. Traditional genres of church and business writing become objects of literary parody: a church service is parodied in the service to a tavern, the life of a saint is parodied in the life of a drunkard, petitions and the “court case” in “The Kalyazin Petition” and “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich.” Folklore is rushing into literature in a broad wave. The genres of folk satirical fairy tales, epics, and song lyrics are organically included in literary works. The self-awareness of the individual is reflected in a new genre - the everyday story, in which a new hero appears - a merchant's son, a seedy rootless nobleman. The nature of translated literature is changing. The process of democratization of literature meets with a response from the ruling classes. In court circles, an artificial normative style, ceremonial aesthetics, and elements of Ukrainian-Polish baroque were implanted. Living folk lyrics are contrasted with artificial syllabic book poetry, democratic satire with moralizing abstract satire on morals in general, and folk drama with court and school comedy. However, the emergence of syllabic poetry, court and school theater testified to the triumph of new principles and prepared the way for the emergence of classicism in Russian literature of the 18th century. 2.
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution. Moreover, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections that pursued certain practical goals. “Everything that serves not for the sake of benefit, but for the sake of embellishment, is subject to the accusation of vanity.” These words of Basil the Great largely determined the attitude of ancient Russian society towards written works. The value of a particular handwritten book was assessed from the point of view of its practical purpose and usefulness. Another feature of our ancient literature is the anonymity and impersonality of its works. This was a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude of feudal society towards man, and in particular towards the work of a writer, artist, and architect. At best, we know the names of individual authors, “writers” of books, who modestly put their name either at the end of the manuscript, or in its margins, or (which is much less common) in the title of the work. At the same time, the writer will not accept to provide his name with such evaluative epithets as “thin”, “unworthy”, “many sinners”. In most cases, the author of the work prefers to remain unknown, and sometimes hide behind the authoritative name of one or another “father of the church” - John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, etc. Biographical information about the ancient Russian writers known to us, the volume of their creativity, and the nature of their social activities is very, very scarce. Therefore, if when studying literature of the 18th-20th centuries. Literary scholars widely use biographical material, reveal the nature of the political, philosophical, aesthetic views of this or that writer, using the author's manuscripts, trace the history of the creation of works, reveal the creative individuality of the writer, then they have to approach the monuments of ancient Russian writing in a different way. As a rule, the author's texts of works have not reached us, but their later lists have been preserved, sometimes distant from the time the original was written by a hundred, two hundred or more years. For example, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” created by Nestor in 1111-1113, has not survived at all, and the edition of Sylvester’s “story” (1116) is known only as part of the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” written at the end of 80 s of the 12th century, was found in a list of the 16th century. When studying ancient Russian literature, one very important circumstance should be taken into account: in the medieval period, fiction had not yet emerged as an independent area of social consciousness; it was inextricably linked with philosophy, science, and religion. In this regard, it is impossible to mechanically apply to ancient Russian literature the criteria of artistry with which we approach when assessing the phenomena of literary development of modern times. The process of historical development of ancient Russian literature is a process of gradual crystallization of fiction, its isolation from the general flow of writing, its democratization and “secularization,” i.e., liberation from the tutelage of the church. One of the characteristic features of Old Russian literature is its connection with church and business writing, on the one hand, and oral poetic folk art, on the other. The nature of these connections at each historical stage of the development of literature and in its individual monuments was different. However, the wider and deeper literature used the artistic experience of folklore, the more clearly it reflected the phenomena of reality, the wider was the sphere of its ideological and artistic influence. A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is history. Its heroes are predominantly historical figures; it almost does not allow fiction and strictly follows the fact. Even numerous stories about “miracles” - phenomena that seemed supernatural to a medieval person, are not so much the invention of an ancient Russian writer, but rather accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the people themselves with whom the “miracle” happened. The historicism of ancient Russian literature has a specifically medieval character. The course and development of historical events is explained by God's will, the will of providence. The heroes of the works are princes, rulers of the state, standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. However, having discarded the religious shell, the modern reader easily discovers that living historical reality, the true creator of which was the Russian people. 3
. Genre system. The specific features of the medieval worldview determined the system of genres of ancient Russian literature, subordinated to practical utilitarian goals - both moral and political. Along with Christianity, Ancient Rus' also adopted the system of genres of church writing that was developed in Byzantium. There were no genres here yet in the modern literary understanding, but there were canons enshrined in the decrees of ecumenical councils, legend - tradition and charter. Church literature was associated with the ritual of Christian worship and monastic life. Its significance and authority were built on a certain hierarchical principle. The top level was occupied by the books of “holy scripture”. Following them came hymnography and “words” associated with interpretations of “scripture” and explanations of the meaning of the holidays. Such “words” were usually combined into collections - “celebrants”, Triodion colored and Lenten. Then followed the lives - stories about the exploits of saints. The Lives were combined into collections: Prologues (Synaxari), Chetii-Minea, Patericon. Each type of hero: martyr, confessor, monk, stylite, holy fool - corresponded to its own type of life. The composition of the life depended on its use: liturgical practice dictated certain conditions to its compiler, addressing the life to readers and listeners. Based on Byzantine examples, ancient Russian writers created a number of outstanding works of hagiographic original literature that reflected essential aspects of the life and everyday life of ancient Rus'. In contrast to Byzantine hagiography, Old Russian literature creates an original genre of princely lives, which aimed to strengthen the political authority of princely power and surround it with an aura of holiness. A distinctive feature of the princely life is “historicism”, a close connection with chronicles, military stories, i.e. genres of secular literature. Just like the princely life, on the verge of transition from church genres to secular ones there are “walkings” - travels, descriptions of pilgrimages to “holy places”, legends about icons. The system of genres of worldly (secular) literature is more flexible. It was developed by ancient Russian writers through extensive interaction with the genres of oral folk art, business writing, and church literature. The dominant position among the genres of secular writing is occupied by the historical story, dedicated to outstanding events related to the struggle against the external enemies of Rus', the evil of princely strife. The story is accompanied by a historical legend and legend. A legend is based on some plot-completed episode; a legend is based on an oral legend. These genres are usually included in chronicles and chronographs. A special place among worldly genres is occupied by the “Teaching” of Vladimir Monomakh, “The Lay of Igor’s Host”, “The Lay of the Destruction of the Russian Land” and “The Lay” of Daniil Zatochnik. They testify to the high level of literary development achieved by Ancient Russia in the 11th - first half of the 13th centuries. Development of Old Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries. goes through the gradual destruction of a stable system of church genres and their transformation. Genres of worldly literature are subject to fictionalization. They intensify interest in the inner world of a person, the psychological motivation of his actions, and appear entertaining and everyday descriptions. Historical heroes are being replaced by fictional ones. In the 17th century this leads to radical changes in the internal structure and style of historical genres and contributes to the birth of new purely fictional works. Virsha poetry, court and school drama, democratic satire, everyday stories, and picaresque short stories appeared. Original Russian literature.
The genre that best defines the first period is chronicle genre
. As you know, “The Tale of Bygone Years” has come down to us in two forms (second (1116) and third (1118) editions), the best are the “Lavrentievskaya” (2) and Ipatievskaya (3) editions Indeed, the beginning of chronicle writing dates back to the 30s of the 11th century. But there were probably some records before that. It was hypothesized that there was some historical information in: In 1113, Nestor (the chronicler) completed the creation of the chronicle as a genre that existed until the 17th century. Nestor introduces a biblical aspect - he connects everything with biblical history (for example, the division of the earth between the sons of Noah). Nestor thinks in terms of world history, but also remains a man of his tribe, and he mocks other tribes (he says about the Drevlyans: there was no marriage, we have no shame). This is local patriotism with open-mindedness. We already have a state chronicle in front of us, hence patriotism. Nestor also acts as a researcher (his additions to the story of Olga’s revenge from oral sources - legends), he reflects on what is reliable and what is not (for example, reflections on the emergence of Kiev. According to Kiy - Nestor rejects this version, since his this offended him, he says that Kiy was a prince). As a result, the chronicle becomes official history. Genre Life.
“The Legend of the Initial Spread of Christianity in Rus'” is not yet a life, but there is a description of exploits, stories about death (for example, “Boris and Gleb”). From it grows the first Russian hagiography, which does not have all the hagiographic features (the legend of Boris and Gleb). An anonymous legend about Boris and Gleb emerges from chronicle history. The anonymous author expands and gives us a detailed description of how Boris and Gleb accepted death. There is no canonical introduction, their infancy and adolescence. Then a story about the sons of Vladimir, and then a story about the death of Boris and Gleb, who are killed by Svyatopolk, their brother (the son of Vladimir’s murdered brother). He was afraid of competition with his brothers as princes... the princely family was still perceived as one. But Yaroslav then defeated Svyatopolk. In this story, the focus is on the death event, which is described in great detail (telling how they feel). The brothers' monologues are very similar (we see that Boris guesses what is happening: he is smart, and Gleb cannot believe in fratricide). A feeling of melancholy is described (the fact that the children did not bury their father. For him - Gleb - his father is still alive; his experiences intensify; the psychological state is well described). Also, after the death of Gleb’s brother Boris, his feelings intensify even more. But this is also not a canonical life (that’s why it is so intense and emotional). Since it is not canonical, Nestor undertook to make it canonical. He added an introduction, a story about his youth (and since he knew little, he added what was needed: they read divine books, did not play with children). Nestor removed all the specifics (the name of the boy who tried to save Boris). Specifics belittled their actions and grounded them. When the specifics, sharpness, and emotionality were gone, we got so-called rhetorical exercises. Nestor also edited some of the miracles (removing social motives and specifics). This is an unsuccessful model for constructing a life. But at the same time, Nestor manages to create a rich, emotional life - “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk”. This is the man with whom he lived next to in the monastery. It followed the Byzantine canon (correct). This is a deeply religious person who lived a traditional saintly life with the peculiarities of his personal life. Nestor begins and writes his life according to the rules. But Theodosius speaks in detail about his parents (which is not required by the canon!). He says that his mother was domineering, rude, strong, she believed that she knew how to make her son happy. Theodosius does not play, wears bad clothes, he leaves home along with the pilgrims and wanderers. Theodosius thinks about the soul, and his mother wants him to achieve earthly happiness. He goes to Kyiv and takes monastic vows. They don't want to cut his hair anywhere. The mother, having learned this, finds Theodosius and asks him to leave (he comes out for the third time, and on the condition that his mother becomes a nun). He becomes the abbot (abbot) of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. His exploits are standard. But he is also an educator and a builder (a story about the construction of new buildings in the Kiev Pechersky Monastery). As a result, Theodosius gets the opportunity to work miracles (since he has purified his soul). The miracles are even funny (the baker’s visit to Theodosius and complaints about the demon - Theodosius shuts himself up in the bakery for the night, prays and the demon disappears. Veselovsky’s wandering plot!). Humility is the most important virtue (obedience was characteristic of Theodosius). There are political things (for example, the clash between Theodosius and the Kyiv prince). Paterik.
A wonderful monument is “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon”. Psychological and everyday details have been preserved. It also talks about the exploits of the holy monks (the story of Moses and Ungra). The monks perform feats and get the opportunity to work miracles (the story of Olympia). The land itself becomes holy. A story about two brothers (at the beginning). There is no stench if a person is holy (until death). Story about Mark. Mark dug graves, but lazily (it often happened that his brother died and the grave was not yet ready!). A story about the relationship between the monaz (when Sid during the service...?). Miracle - Titus is healthy, and Vagriy is numb, as if he had died a few days ago. The name of Prokhor the Lebednik was known (he ate only quinoa!). If people received bread from Prokhor’s hands, it (the bread) was sweet, but the stolen bread was bitter. Prokhor created salt from ashes, and in the king’s courtyard they turned back into ashes. These are paterik novellas. Sermon.
Sermon is the word spoken by the minister before the service. The most syncretic and free genre (a combination of different arts). Not only the preacher’s word is important, but also architecture, painting, and to some extent music. These elements are used in different types of preaching. Sermon highlights: Everyday (on ordinary days, concerns everyday and sometimes political issues); Solemn (on major holidays, affects listeners). Everyday Sermon. Introduction, sequential presentation, conclusion. It must logically prove/convey something to the listener. The personality of the preacher is reflected. Theodosius in preaching he is a passionate man, a fanatic, which is aimed at glorifying Orthodoxy and fighting enemies - Catholics. Theodosius writes “The Sermon on the Christian and Latin Faith” to convince that in no case should one accept Catholicism. It would seem that the question is serious and we must start with why the churches diverged. Theodosius begins with a spell for the prince not to communicate with Catholics. The first argument is as the fathers commanded; He says they don’t believe rightly, they don’t live purely. Graduation technique (from harmless to disgusting): “They eat soup with cats and drink... urine.” Theodosius is a medieval man; everything alien is bad. He comes to the main creed. The relationship has already been formed. Image: a strong, fanatical, convinced man, he convinces the prince of what he himself is convinced of. Hilarion and Kirill– developed solemn sermon. Kirill spoke on very solemn holidays, he is an emotional person. Everything is thin. the funds are aimed at making us feel included. He specifies some things that are unclear to us (for example, the ascension of Christ). His main artistic technique is rhetorical amplification. Kirill wants us to experience the feeling that a peasant/Christian experiences. Hilarion is the first Russian metropolitan. Demon of consent. His sermon has philosophical and political significance. Writes “The Word on Law and Grace.” The pattern of replacement of Judaism by Christianity. Grace is Christianity, law is Judaism. He comprehends natural historical processes: the worldwide spread of Christianity was planned by the Almighty from the very beginning, it was predetermined. But then people were not ready. God decides which people and when to accept faith. Everything is done according to the will of God. Hilarion's biography is interesting. When we adopted Christianity, the metropolitans were Greeks. After the death of another metropolitan, Yaroslav the Wise appoints Hilarion as metropolitan without anyone’s consent. A few years later, the Metropolitan was Greek again. There is one hypothesis (but not reliable): Hilarion later accepted monasticism in the Kiev Pechersk Monastery, became a monk and took the name Nikon! Hilarion belonged to a circle of scribes. He has the same interests as Yaroslav the Wise. In his “Sermon on Law and Grace” Hilarion reflects(!) on the historical movement. It takes one aspect: the replacement of the Jewish religion with Christianity. He varies the scheme and comes to the conclusion that Judaism is a step towards Christianity. The sermon is delivered in the temple, where there are frescoes on this occasion. In this way he achieved syncretism (that is, the connection of different arts). One of those wonderfully structured sermons. It is built on a system of parallels and synthesis. law grace shadow, cold, moonlight, warmth, sun Law - man's relationship with God is strictly regulated. Grace is a free choice, a moral choice every day. In Judaism, everything is predetermined (for example, in Judaism you cannot cook dairy and meat in the same container, you cannot work on the Sabbath, after marriage women are shaved bald). Law is opposed to grace. Hagar and her son Ishmael are contrasted with Sarah and her son Isaac. “First is the shadow and then is the truth,” teaches Hilarion. Here he is a philosopher. The philosophy of history is presented. Hilarion’s goal is to prove that this change is a completely natural thing, foreseen by the creator. Hilarion gives many examples (for example, the arrival of Grace to God); if Judaism is a natural step to Christianity, then there is no merit of Byzantium (+ independence of Rus'). Everything is according to God's will. The theme is religious-philosophical, the idea is political. For a medieval person, any postulate must be justified religiously and philosophically. Hilarion is first and foremost a philosopher. Walking.
Travel genre. It arose after the adoption of Christianity. We need to make sure of what is written about. Many people wanted to become pilgrims, so pilgrimages to Constantinople began. People are asking eternal questions, but there is a lot of damage to the economy. The church harshly characterized this movement: according to the church, this is an encroachment on its mission, the church is concerned about what is happening (the fields are abandoned). Many texts condemned pilgrimage. The Church convinces us that there is no need to go far at all, but rather read the description of the holy places. Abbot Daniel was the first to write. There is a hypothesis: Daniel’s goal is political; Daniel carried out a diplomatic mission from the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk. At this time, there is the state of the Crusaders with King Baldwin, his support is just right (the beginning of the 12th century, the struggle with Monomakh, who was in full force, + the authority of Constantinople). Svyatopolk needed to put someone behind his back (but he failed). Many documents prove this goal, according to which this hypothesis is quite probable. First, he is respected; Daniel alone is led to the Holy Sepulcher and to the Pillar of David. Daniel himself says that he “applied, and they let him in” - everything is much simpler. Secondly: “The Walking of Hegumen Daniil” - there was a reconstruction of the memorial list: the list is different in different copies, so we turn to the protographer, and there (in the memorial list) there are all the senior, independent princes, so Daniil feels like an intercessor (representative) of the entire Russian land. All these arguments generally confirm everything. Most likely, Daniil is the abbot of one of the southern Russian (Chernigov) monasteries. Its associations are similar to Russian. The most important thing that we see in the text is a special view of the world thanks to the composition. The composition is justified by purpose. Each chapter intersects past and present. Daniel is inquisitive and wants to make sure of everything. His look is the look of a person who is joyfully convinced that everything he believes in really exists. He is a lively, curious person. This is confirmed by the details he describes. He's interested in everything. At the same time, he is a representative of the entire Russian land and sees the world like all representatives. This “Walking” is a kind of guide.
When was the weather record used?? According to Shakhmatov, in the 30s and 40s, but Likhachev does not think so. He says no. He also observes and reads the text. He discovers that there are several stories that are very similar stylistically, but scattered throughout the text of “The Tale of Bygone Years” (stories about peasants - Boris and Gleb, Vladimir). Likhachev suggested that all these episodes constituted one single text, which was not yet chronicled, he did not have a weather record, and called this text “The Legend of the Initial Spread of Christianity in Rus'.” According to Likhachev, the goal of the author of this legend is to prove to Byzantium that we have our own saints, that Rus' is no worse than Byzantium, and that the more saints there are, the more God loves Rus'. But this is not a life, because there is no biography of each of these heroes; there are descriptions of exploits (journalistic purpose). The author uses there as a source of legend (Olga’s baptism), records (about the murder of Gleb and Boris). The author created a journalistic treatise that contains chronicle features:
oral form (in which detail is removed and generalities are added);
records (which began to be kept with Easter tables where I came from weather recording principle. Each church had Easter tables in which Easter days were calculated several years in advance, and the most significant facts (for example, about princes) were recorded from scratch. But there was a second result of such records - a form of weather record was found, which was the most closed system).
This text (“The Legend of the Initial Spread of Christianity in Rus'”) comes to Nikon, who also has Easter tables, and he heard many legends and talked with eyewitnesses (Vushata). Nikon displays this in a weather record, which began to display a chronicle. History becomes extended in time. At this time, the story “Oleg looks like Constantinople” appears. Intensifying those 3 features and a new chronicle feature appears - a sense of the flow of history, a movement in which everyone and everything is involved. This kind of weather recording also has a negative feature - “I write everything I see and know.” But a new philosophy also arises - the equality of all events.
the desire to cover a sufficiently large chronological period, and therefore to cover various episodes, to convey a sense of movement/meaning of the theory;
compilability (use of various sources);
journalistic orientation (to prove something to enemies, friends, our patriotic view of history);
- What does it show and how to calculate the internal rate of return?
- Yaroslav Samoilov is a relationship specialist with no professional education. Do you want to save your relationship?
- Perm Pharmaceutical Academy: reviews, faculties
- Trader Dmitry Cheremushkin
- Main economic issues
- Creative competition: we enter the Faculty of Journalism of St. Petersburg State University Bachelor's training programs
- Management of a modern school using the example of creating an educational cluster
- What does individuality mean?
- What does a person’s individuality depend on?
- Issues of formation of a cluster education system in the Russian Federation
- Unified State Exam tests in literature What is included in the Unified State Examination in literature
- Christmas fortune telling for children
- Sergey Yesenin Yesenin's work more information
- Ancient Slavic calendar Daaryan circle number of the god Kolyada dar Slavic Vedic calendar
- Slavic fabric amulets dolls: their meaning and how to make them with your own hands When you need to say goodbye to a doll
- Festive cutting of dough
- Festive cutting of dough
- Portfolio of professional activities of a trainer-teacher at the BMU DoD "Dyussh" Portfolio - Document Pa
- Oriental and African studies
- Yelets State University named after