Features of Old Russian educational literature. Lecture material: specifics of ancient Russian literature

01.05.2019

"Some observations on the artistic specifics ancient Russian literature were already in the works of F.I. Buslaeva, I.S. Nekrasova, I.S. Tikhonravova, V.O. Klyuchevsky." Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature, M., 1979, p. 5.

But only at the end of the twentieth century did works appear that set out general views their authors on artistic specificity and on the artistic methods of ancient Russian literature. “These views can be traced in the works of I.P. Eremin, V.P. Andrianova-Peretz, D.S. Likhachev, S.N. Azbelev.” Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature, M., 1989, p. 9.

D.S. Likhachev put forward the position of the diversity of artistic methods not only in all ancient Russian literature, but in this or that author, in this or that work.

“Every artistic method,” the researcher distinguishes, “makes up a whole system of large and small means to achieve certain artistic goals. Therefore, each artistic method has many characteristics, and these characteristics are correlated with each other in a certain way.” Likhachev D.S. To the study of artistic methods of Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries // TODRL, M., Leningrad, 1964, vol. 20, p.7.

The worldview of medieval man absorbed, on the one hand, speculative religious ideas about the human world, and on the other, a specific vision of reality, resulting from labor practice man of feudal society.

In his daily activities, a person faces reality: nature, social, economic and political relations. The Christian religion considered the world around man to be temporary, transitory and sharply contrasted it with the eternal, imperishable world. The principles of the temporal and eternal are contained in man himself: his mortal body and immortal soul; the result of divine revelation allows a person to penetrate the secrets of the ideal world. The soul imparts life to the body and spiritualizes it. The body is the source of carnal passions and the diseases and suffering that result from them.

A person perceives reality with the help of the five senses - this is the lowest form of sensory knowledge." visible world". The "invisible" world is comprehended through reflection. Only internal spiritual insight as a doubling of the world largely determined the specifics artistic method Old Russian literature, its leading principle is symbolism. Medieval man was convinced that symbols were hidden in nature and in man himself, symbolic meaning filled with historical events. The symbol served as a means of revealing meaning and finding truth. Just as the signs of the visible world around a person are polysemantic, so is the word: it can be interpreted both in literal and figurative meanings.

Religious Christian symbolism in consciousness ancient Russian man closely intertwined with folk poetry. Both had common source- the nature surrounding humans. And if the labor agricultural practice of the people gave this symbolism earthly concreteness, then Christianity introduced elements of abstractness.

A characteristic feature of medieval thinking was retrospectiveness and traditionalism. Thus, the ancient Russian writer constantly refers to texts of “scripture”, which he interprets not only historically, but also allegorically, tropologically and analogically.

An Old Russian writer creates his work within the framework of an established tradition: he looks at models, canons, and does not allow “self-thinking,” i.e. fiction. Its task is to convey the “image of truth.” The medieval historicism of ancient Russian literature is subordinated to this goal. All events occurring in the life of a person and society are considered as a manifestation of divine will.

History is a constant arena for the struggle between good and evil. The source of goodness, good thoughts and actions is God. The devil pushes people to evil. But ancient Russian literature does not relieve responsibility from the person himself. He is free to choose either thorny path virtue, or the spacious road of sin. In the consciousness of the ancient Russian writer, the categories of ethical and aesthetic organically merged. The ancient Russian writer usually builds his works on the contrast of good and evil, virtues and vices, ideal and negative heroes. It shows that high moral qualities of a person are the result of hard work and moral achievement.

The character of medieval literature is stamped by the dominance of the estate-corporate principle. The heroes of her works, as a rule, are princes, rulers, generals or church hierarchies, “saints” famous for their deeds of piety. The behavior and actions of these heroes are determined by their social status.

Thus, symbolism, historicism, ritualism or etiquette and didacticism are the leading principles of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, which incorporates two sides: strict factuality and the ideal transformation of reality.

Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, the heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
The main theme of ancient Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.
Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing what is most precious for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in the power, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and defeat evil.
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.
Feature artistic creativity The ancient Russian writer also has the so-called “literary etiquette”. This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.
Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state and writing and is based on book Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetic creativity. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots artistic images, visual arts folk art.
The originality of ancient Russian literature in the depiction of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, it is reproduced in monuments ancient literature hero, ideals are formed and created.
In ancient Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was the “use” of the genre, the “practical purpose” for which this or that work was intended.
The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th-20th centuries.

TEST QUESTIONS AND TASKS

How does Academician D.S. characterize Likhachev ancient Russian literature? Why does he call it “one grandiose whole, one colossal work”?
What does Likhachev compare ancient literature with and why?
What are the main advantages of ancient literature?
Why would the artistic discoveries of literature of subsequent centuries be impossible without the works of ancient literature? (Think about what qualities of ancient literature were adopted by Russian literature of modern times. Give examples from works of Russian classics known to you.)
What did Russian poets and prose writers value and adopt from ancient literature? What did A.S. write about her? Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak?
What does ancient literature write about the benefits of books? Give examples of “praise of books” known in ancient Russian literature.
Why were ideas about the power of words high in ancient literature? What were they connected with, what did they rely on?
What is said about the word in the Gospel?
What do writers compare books to and why; why are books rivers, sources of wisdom, and what do the words mean: “if you diligently search for wisdom in the books, you will find great benefit for your soul”?
Name the monuments of ancient Russian literature known to you and the names of their scribes.
Tell us about the method of writing and the nature of ancient manuscripts.
Name the historical background for the emergence of ancient Russian literature and its specific features in contrast to modern literature.
What is the role of folklore in the formation of ancient literature?
Using vocabulary and reference material, briefly retell the history of the study of ancient monuments, write down the names of the scientists involved in their research and the stages of study.
What is the image of the world and man in the minds of Russian scribes?
Tell us about the depiction of man in ancient Russian literature.
Name the themes of ancient literature, using vocabulary and reference material, characterize its genres.
List the main stages in the development of ancient literature.

Read also the articles in the section “National identity of ancient literature, its origin and development.”

Old Russian literature... How can it be interesting to us, people of the 21st century? First of all, preserving historical memory. It is also the origins of our entire spiritual life. Our written culture originates from literature Ancient Rus'. Much in modern life becomes clear if it appears historical retrospective. At the same time, it is necessary to make a number of efforts to understand what our distant ancestors believed in, what they dreamed of, what they wanted to do.
It is advisable to start a conversation with students with a description of the era.
Ancient Rus'... How do we imagine it? What is the peculiarity of the perception of man and the world of a certain era? What is the difficulty in understanding it? First of all, the reader, researcher or teacher faces problems adequate understanding the era itself, and since the era is shown through the prism literary work, then this is a problem of reading and interpretation. This task becomes especially complicated if the time in question is several centuries distant from the reader. Other times, other morals, other concepts... What should the reader do to understand the people of a distant time? Try to understand the intricacies of this time period yourself.
What is the world of medieval man like? To answer this question, it is necessary to depart somewhat from the interpretation Medieval Rus' given during the Soviet period. The fact is that the starting point of Soviet science was P.N. Milyukov’s pre-revolutionary book “Essays on the History of Russian Culture,” in which the Middle Ages period was defined as “unconscious,” devoid of meaningfulness and directed goal-setting. Accordingly, in many works of Soviet researchers, the Middle Ages are presented as a time where senseless barbaric customs and mores reigned, and the domination of the church was perceived as evil.
Currently, a new direction in science is being developed - historical anthropology. Its focus is on man with his inner world and the totality of man’s relationships with the space around him, natural, social, and everyday. This is how the image of the world is revealed both as a microcosm (through the person of a given era) and as a macrocosm (through social and state relations). The teacher bears a great responsibility for forming in the student’s mind the image of the world of the Middle Ages. If the space of the past is distorted, then the space of the present is thereby distorted. Moreover, the historical past becomes an arena of ideological battles, where distortion of facts, manipulation, and “fantastic reconstruction”, so fashionable at the present time, take place. That is why the position of the teacher in the process of teaching ancient Russian literature is so important.
What should the reader pay attention to in order to understand the world of medieval Russian people, to learn to respect the significance and self-understanding of this world? It is important to understand that the meaning of some words and concepts for a person of the 10th – 15th centuries is different than for a person of the 21st century. Accordingly, in the light of these meanings, some actions can be viewed and assessed in completely different ways. Thus, one of the main concepts of the Middle Ages is the concept of truth. For modern man, truth is “a sphere of deep experiences, artistic interpretations, eternal scientific search. The medieval man was distinguished by the fact that his mood was different: the truth for him was already open and defined in the texts of the Holy Scriptures.”
In addition to the concept of “truth,” it is important to reveal the ancient meanings of the words “truth” and “faith.” In Ancient Rus', “truth” meant the Word of God. “Faith” is the Word of God in the flesh. This is the truth given in God's commandments, apostolic and sacred rules. In a narrower sense, “faith” is the ritual aspect of religion. Trying to translate this concept into modern language, let’s say that “truth” is an idea, and “faith” is the technology for bringing this idea to life.”
The task of a teacher is especially difficult when he has to immerse himself not only in the past, which in itself is fraught with the dangers of misunderstanding, but in other spiritual world, the world of the Church, where the opposite perspective is characteristic: the distant edges are larger than the near ones. The most important thing that a teacher must remember is the covenant handed down to us from the depths of the Middle Ages: “Let us not lie against the saint!”
The images of saints excited and still excite. However to modern man It is difficult to understand the full depth of the actions of these people. We must make an effort, devote time to this, and then the world of Russian holiness will appear before us.
Old Russian literature differs in many ways from modern literature. It is possible to highlight a number of specific features, which determine its dissimilarity with the literature of our days:
1) historicism of content;
2) syncretism;
3) voluntariness and didacticity;
4) labeling of forms;
5) anonymity;
6) the handwritten nature of the narrative and existence.
In Ancient Rus', fiction was attributed to the devil's instigation, so only those events that happened in reality and that were known to the author were depicted. The historicism of the content is manifested in the fact that there were no fictional characters or events. All the persons, all the events discussed in the story are real, authentic, or the author believes in their authenticity.
Anonymity is inherent primarily in chronicles, lives, and military stories. The author proceeded from the idea that it is immodest to put your signature when you talk about historical events or narrate the life, deeds and miracles of a saint. As for sermons, teachings, prayers, they most often have specific authors, because they could be spoken or written by a very authoritative person, respected and revered by others. The genre of preaching and teaching itself made special demands on the author. His name, his righteous life influenced the listener and reader.
In the Middle Ages, great importance was attached to the form of relationships between people, scrupulous adherence to tradition, observance of ritual, and detailed etiquette. Therefore, literary etiquette was predetermined by the world order and strict boundaries of behavior. Literary etiquette presupposed how the course of events should have taken place, how one should behave actor, what words should be used to describe what happened. And if the behavior of any person did not correspond to the generally accepted norm, then it was either negative character, or it was necessary to remain silent about this fact.
In general, everything written works in ancient Russian literature they are voluntary and didactic. The author writes his works with the idea that he will definitely convince the reader, have an emotional and volitional impact and lead him to generally accepted standards of morality and morality. This is also typical for translated literature, including scientific literature. Thus, “The Physiologist,” a translated monument known to Vladimir Monomakh, introduced real and mythical animals. At the same time, this text is an insistence to readers: “A lion has three properties. When the lioness gives birth, she brings a dead and blind cub, she sits and guards until three days. After three days the lion comes, blows in his nostrils and the cub comes to life. It's the same with faithful peoples. Before baptism they are dead, but after baptism they are cleansed by the holy spirit.” A synthesis of science and religious ideas are combined in one text.
Original written works in ancient Russian literature belonged, as a rule, to the genres of journalistic style. Life, sermon, and teaching as a genre predetermined the vector of thought, showed moral standards and taught rules of behavior. Thus, the works of Metropolitan Hilarion are theological treatises in content, sermons in form. In them, he cares about the prosperity of the Russian people, about their morality and ethics. Hilarion has a very definite idea of what the people need, for he became a teacher and shepherd “by the grace of a man-loving God.”
The syncretism of genres is generally characteristic of the era of the emergence of art and literature. It comes in two forms. Firstly, a clear manifestation of syncretism can be traced in the chronicles. They contain a military story, legends, samples of contracts, and reflections on religious topics. Secondly, syncretism is associated with the underdevelopment of genre forms. In “Walkings,” for example, there are descriptions of specific geographical and historical places, and sermons, and teachings. Elements can be introduced into the life military stories. And military stories can end with teachings or religious reflections.
To understand the peculiarities of the culture of Ancient Rus', it is also necessary to say about the significance of Byzantine culture and literature for the formation of Old Russian literature. Books came to Rus' with baptism. The most famous and revered works were the works of Byzantine theologians John Chrysostom (344-407), Basil the Great (330-379), Gregory the Theologian (320-390), Ephraim the Syrian (died 343). The foundations of Christianity were interpreted in them, people were instructed in Christian virtues.
Of the translated stories and novels, the most popular was the novel “Alexandria,” which tells about the life of Alexander the Great. This novel about historical events with an entertaining plot, intertwining fictional events and fantastic inserts, with a colorful description of India and Persia, was a favorite work in medieval Europe. The Russian translator interacted with this novel quite freely; he supplemented it with episodes from other sources, adapting it to the tastes of Russian readers. Moreover, he believed that all the events of the novel were genuine, and not fictitious.
In addition to these books, Russian people were interested in “The Tale of the Devastation of Jerusalem” by Josephus, the story of Vasily Digenis Akrit (it was known to ancient Russian readers under the name “Deugene’s Act”), the story of the Trojan Acts, and the story of Akira the Wise. Even a simple listing gives an understanding of the breadth of interests of the translators of Ancient Rus': they introduce historical events in Jerusalem, admire the exploits of a warrior guarding the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire, show history Trojan War and they talk about the distant past, about the life of the wise adviser to the Assyrian and Nineveh king Sennacherib-Akihara (Akira).
Translators are also interested in works about the natural world. These books included “The Six Days” with information about the Universe, “The Physiologist”, which described real and imaginary animals, fantastic stones and amazing trees, and “The Christian Topography of Cosmas Indicoplov”, “the voyage to India”.
Middle Ages by tragic accident appear dark, harsh and unproductive. It seems that people thought differently, imagined the world differently, that literary works did not correspond to great achievements. Chronicles, teachings, lives and prayers... Will all this be interesting? After all, now are different times, different morals. But could there be another idea? native land? In his prayer, Metropolitan Hilarion asks the Savior to “show meekness and mercy” to the Russian people: “... drive out enemies, establish peace, pacify tongues, quench famines, create our rulers by the threat of tongues, make boys wise, spread cities, grow Your Church, preserve Your heritage , save husbands and wives with babies who are in slavery, in captivity, in captivity on the road, in voyages, in prisons, in hunger and thirst and nakedness - have mercy on everyone, give comfort to everyone, rejoice everyone, giving them joy both bodily and soulful!”
Despite the peculiarities of the vision of the world, the attitude towards God and man, the form of expression of thought remains almost the same for people of the 10th and 21st centuries. We convey thought with the same substances of language. Types of speech and genres exist over time, changing and adapting to a particular era rather in content than in form.
Genre is the primary speech form of the existence of a language. If speech genres did not exist, they would have to be created anew at the moment of speech. This would make communication difficult, making it difficult to transmit information. Each time creating a genre for the first time, rather than using its form, would be very difficult. M.M. Bakhtin in the book “Aesthetics verbal creativity» defined the following criteria for the speech genre: subject content, stylistic decision and the speech will of the speaker. All these points are interconnected and determine the specifics of the genre. However, the genre is not only a speech utterance, but also at the same time a historically emerging type of literary work, which has the characteristics distinctive features and patterns.
Genre is determined not only by the laws of language, but also by the paradigm of consciousness and the paradigm of behavior. Therefore, the primary genres are those that reflect the simplest things: biography, funeral speech, sermon as a discourse on moral and religious topics, teaching as a discourse on moral and ethical topics, parable, description of a journey. Genres at the beginning of their emergence exist as certain unities, distinguished by a rigid structure of presentation of dominant views. As a result of rethinking life, changing semantic values, the genre is also changing. There is no unity of content, and the form of presentation of the material is also destroyed.
Genres are not stable on their own. They interact with each other, mutually enriching. They can change and form new combinations.
Over a certain period, the genre changes and acquires new features. We can trace the development of such a genre as the description of travel over the centuries. “Walkings,” pilgrimages, are a religious description of a journey to the Holy Land, to Constantinople, to Palestine. “Walking across Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin is already a secular description, to some extent geographical. In the following, travel of scientific, artistic and journalistic styles is distinguished. In the latter style, the travel essay genre is especially common.
Of course, in ancient Russian literature the subject content depended on the religious worldview and historical events. The theocentric vision of the world largely determined human self-awareness. Human personality- nothing before the power and greatness of the Lord. Thus, the style decision was determined by a person’s place in the world. The author's origin should not play any role. The image of historical figures should initially be far from reality. The lack of original style was to become the rule rather than the exception. But all this did not become a dogma for ancient Russian literature. In it, on the contrary, we see works filled with the author’s worldview, pain for the fate of the country; they give preference to certain events and people. The chronicler is proud, exalts or degrades and condemns his princes; he is not an impartial observer.
In the works of this period, the reader becomes familiar with religious wisdom. That is why fiction is not allowed, but only facts are conveyed, on their basis Christian truths are revealed. The speech will of the speaker in the works of that time was subordinated to the state and religious idea.
Parameters that determine genre features speech utterance are considered at several levels: at the subject-semantic level, at the structural-compositional level, at the level of stylistic and linguistic design.
The thematic content of any speech utterance is determined by “subject-semantic exhaustion”. The author of a speech utterance thinks through how the subject of speech will be presented in the texts and what needs to be said in order for the topic to be revealed within the given genre framework.
The structural and compositional level prescribes a fairly rigid genre scheme. The parable is characterized by its own structure, the oratory does not resemble a teaching, and the lives of the saints do not resemble military tales. Compositional organization is the external and internal manifestations of textual material, this is its division into semantic parts. The genres of ancient Russian literature were created according to a certain canon, which largely dictated a rigid structure and characteristic composition.
Speech utterance requires special stylistic resources. Firstly, this is the style of the era, in in this case, Old Russian. Secondly, the style of the genre, parable, walk, etc. The genre itself determines which stylistic features are priority in this work. And thirdly, the author's style. The monk does not speak as the prince speaks.
The genre nature of any statement is specific, therefore in each genre it is possible to identify something unique, original, characteristic only of this type. The content depends on the speech will of the speaker, i.e. the subject of speech, the idea, how this subject of speech is defined and what is the author’s attitude towards it, and the style, in what manner all this is presented. This unity determines the genre of literary and journalistic work, including ancient Russian literature.
In ancient Russian literature there was a division of genres into secular and state-religious.
Secular works are works of oral creativity. In ancient Russian society, folklore was not limited by class or estate. Epics, fairy tales, songs were interesting to everyone, and they were listened to in princely palace, and there is a stink in the house. Oral creativity fulfilled aesthetic needs in artistic expression.
Written literature was journalistic. She responded to religious, moral, and ethical needs. These are parables, lives of saints, walks, prayers and teachings, chronicles, military and historical stories.
Thus, oral and written literature covered all spheres of human activity, showed it inner world, satisfied religious, moral, ethical and aesthetic needs.

In this article we will look at the features of Old Russian literature. The literature of Ancient Rus' was primarily church. After all, book culture in Rus' appeared with the adoption of Christianity. Monasteries became centers of writing, and the first literary monuments These are mainly works of a religious nature. Thus, one of the first original (that is, not translated, but written by a Russian author) works was the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion. The author proves the superiority of Grace (the image of Jesus Christ is associated with it) over the Law, which, according to the preacher, is conservative and nationally limited.

Literature was created not for entertainment, but for teaching. Considering the features of ancient Russian literature, it should be noted that it is instructive. She teaches to love God and her Russian land; she creates images of ideal people: saints, princes, faithful wives.

Let us note one seemingly insignificant feature of ancient Russian literature: it was handwritten. Books were created in a single copy and only then copied by hand when it was necessary to make a copy or the original text became unusable over time. This gave the book special value and generated respect for it. In addition, for the Old Russian reader, all books traced their origins to the main one - the Holy Scriptures.

Since the literature of Ancient Rus' was fundamentally religious, the book was seen as a storehouse of wisdom, a textbook of righteous life. Old Russian literature is not fiction, but modern meaning this word. She goes out of her way avoids fiction and strictly follows the facts. The author does not show his individuality; he hides behind the narrative form. He does not strive for originality; for an ancient Russian writer it is more important to stay within the framework of tradition, not to break it. Therefore, all lives are similar to one another, all biographies of princes or military stories are compiled according to overall plan, in compliance with the "rules". When “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells us about Oleg’s death from his horse, this beautiful poetic legend sounds like a historical document; the author really believes that everything happened that way.

The hero of ancient Russian literature does not have no personality, no character in our view today. Man's destiny is in the hands of God. And at the same time, his soul acts as an arena for the struggle between good and evil. The first will win only when a person lives according to moral rules given once and for all.

Of course, in Russian medieval works we will not find either individual characters or psychologism - not because ancient Russian writers did not know how to do this. In the same way, icon painters created planar rather than three-dimensional images, not because they could not write “better”, but because they were faced with other artistic tasks: the face of Christ cannot be similar to the usual human face. An icon is a sign of holiness, not a depiction of a saint.

The literature of Ancient Rus' adheres to the same aesthetic principles: it creates faces, not faces, gives the reader sample correct behavior rather than depicting a person's character. Vladimir Monomakh behaves like a prince, Sergius of Radonezh behaves like a saint. Idealization is one of the key principles of ancient Russian art.

Old Russian literature in every possible way avoids mundaneness: she does not describe, but narrates. Moreover, the author does not narrate on his own behalf, he only conveys what is written in the sacred books, what he read, heard or saw. There can be nothing personal in this narrative: no manifestation of feelings, no individual manner. (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in this sense is one of the few exceptions.) Therefore, many works of the Russian Middle Ages anonymous, the authors do not even assume such immodesty - to put your name. And the ancient reader cannot even imagine that the word is not from God. And if God speaks through the mouth of the author, then why does he need a name, a biography? That is why the information available to us about ancient authors is so scarce.

At the same time, in ancient Russian literature a special national ideal of beauty, captured by ancient scribes. First of all, this is spiritual beauty, the beauty of the Christian soul. In Russian medieval literature, in contrast to Western European literature of the same era, the knightly ideal of beauty - the beauty of weapons, armor, and victorious battle - is much less represented. The Russian knight (prince) wages war for the sake of peace, and not for the sake of glory. War for the sake of glory and profit is condemned, and this is clearly seen in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Peace is assessed as an unconditional good. The ancient Russian ideal of beauty presupposes a wide expanse, an immense, “decorated” earth, and it is decorated with temples, because they were created specifically for the exaltation of the spirit, and not for practical purposes.

The attitude of ancient Russian literature is also connected with the theme of beauty to oral and poetic creativity, folklore. On the one hand, folklore was of pagan origin, and therefore did not fit into the framework of the new, Christian worldview. On the other hand, he could not help but penetrate literature. After all, the written language in Rus' from the very beginning was Russian, and not Latin, as in Western Europe, and there was no impassable border between the book and the spoken word. Folk ideas about beauty and goodness also generally coincided with Christian ideas; Christianity penetrated folklore almost unhindered. Therefore, the heroic epic (epics), which began to take shape in the pagan era, presents its heroes both as patriotic warriors and as defenders of the Christian faith, surrounded by “filthy” pagans. Just as easily, sometimes almost unconsciously, ancient Russian writers use folklore images and stories.

The religious literature of Rus' quickly outgrew its narrow church framework and became truly spiritual literature, which created a whole system of genres. Thus, “The Sermon on Law and Grace” belongs to the genre of a solemn sermon delivered in church, but Hilarion not only proves the Grace of Christianity, but also glorifies the Russian land, combining religious pathos with patriotic ones.

Genre of life

The most important genre for ancient Russian literature was the hagiography, the biography of a saint. At the same time, the task was pursued, by telling about the earthly life of a saint canonized by the church, to create an image ideal person for the edification of all people.

IN " Lives of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb"Prince Gleb appeals to his killers with a request to spare him: “Do not cut the ear, which is not yet ripe, filled with the milk of goodness! Do not cut the vine, which is not yet fully grown, but bears fruit!” Abandoned by his squad, Boris in his tent “cries with a broken heart, but is joyful in his soul”: he is afraid of death and at the same time he realizes that he is repeating the fate of many saints who accepted martyrdom for their faith.

IN " Lives of Sergius of Radonezh“It is said that the future saint in his adolescence had difficulty comprehending literacy, lagged behind his peers in learning, which caused him a lot of suffering; when Sergius retired into the desert, a bear began to visit him, with whom the hermit shared his meager food, it happened that the saint gave the last piece of bread to the beast.

In the traditions of life in the 16th century, “ The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, but it already sharply diverged from the canons (norms, requirements) of the genre and therefore was not included in the collection of lives of the “Great Chet-Minea” along with other biographies. Peter and Fevronia are real historical figures who reigned in Murom in the 13th century, Russian saints. The author of the 16th century produced not a hagiography, but an entertaining story, built on fairy-tale motifs, glorifying the love and loyalty of the heroes, and not just their Christian deeds.

A " Life of Archpriest Avvakum", written by himself in the 17th century, turned into a bright autobiographical work filled with authentic events and real people, living details, feelings and experiences of the hero-narrator, behind which stands the bright character of one of the spiritual leaders of the Old Believers.

Genre of teaching

Since religious literature was intended to educate a true Christian, teaching became one of the genres. Although this is a church genre, close to a sermon, it was also used in secular (secular) literature, since the ideas of the people of that time about the correct, righteous life did not differ from the church ones. You know" Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", written by him around 1117 "while sitting on a sleigh" (shortly before his death) and addressed to children.

The ideal appears before us Old Russian prince. He cares about the welfare of the state and each of his subjects, guided by Christian morality. The prince's other concern is about the church. All earthly life should be considered as work to save the soul. This is the work of mercy and kindness, and military work, and mental work. Hard work is the main virtue in Monomakh’s life. He made eighty-three large campaigns, signed twenty peace treaties, studied five languages, he himself did what his servants and warriors did.

Chronicles

A significant, if not the largest, part of ancient Russian literature is works of historical genres that were included in the chronicles. The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years""created in beginning of XII century. Its significance is extremely great: it was proof of Rus'’s right to state independence and independence. But if the chroniclers could record recent events “according to the epics of this time”, reliably, then the events of pre-Christian history had to be reconstructed according to oral sources: traditions, legends, sayings, geographical names. Therefore, the chroniclers turn to folklore. These are the legends about the death of Oleg, about Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans, about Belgorod jelly, etc.

Already in The Tale of Bygone Years, two most important features of Old Russian literature appeared: patriotism and connections with folklore. Book-Christian and folklore-pagan traditions are closely intertwined in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”

Elements of fiction and satire

Of course, ancient Russian literature was not unchanged throughout all seven centuries. We saw that over time it became more secular, elements of fiction intensified, and satirical motifs increasingly penetrated into literature, especially in the 16th-17th centuries. These are, for example, " The Tale of Misfortune", showing what troubles disobedience and the desire to “live as he pleases,” and not as his elders teach, can bring a person, and “ The Tale of Ersha Ershovich", ridiculing the so-called "voivode's court" in the tradition of a folk tale.

But in general, we can talk about the literature of Ancient Rus' as a single phenomenon, with its own end-to-end ideas and motives that have passed through 700 years, with its general aesthetic principles, with a stable system of genres.

Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, the heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
The main theme of ancient Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.
Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing what is most precious for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in the power, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and defeat evil.
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.
A feature of the artistic creativity of the ancient Russian writer is the so-called “literary etiquette”. This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.
Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state and writing and is based on book Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetic creativity. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, and visual means of folk art.
The originality of ancient Russian literature in the depiction of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, the hero is reproduced in the monuments of ancient literature, ideals are formed and created.
In ancient Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was the “use” of the genre, the “practical purpose” for which this or that work was intended.
The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th-20th centuries.

TEST QUESTIONS AND TASKS

How does Academician D.S. characterize Likhachev ancient Russian literature? Why does he call it “one grandiose whole, one colossal work”?
What does Likhachev compare ancient literature with and why?
What are the main advantages of ancient literature?
Why would the artistic discoveries of literature of subsequent centuries be impossible without the works of ancient literature? (Think about what qualities of ancient literature were adopted by Russian literature of modern times. Give examples from works of Russian classics known to you.)
What did Russian poets and prose writers value and adopt from ancient literature? What did A.S. write about her? Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak?
What does ancient literature write about the benefits of books? Give examples of “praise of books” known in ancient Russian literature.
Why were ideas about the power of words high in ancient literature? What were they connected with, what did they rely on?
What is said about the word in the Gospel?
What do writers compare books to and why; why are books rivers, sources of wisdom, and what do the words mean: “if you diligently search for wisdom in the books, you will find great benefit for your soul”?
Name the monuments of ancient Russian literature known to you and the names of their scribes.
Tell us about the method of writing and the nature of ancient manuscripts.
Name the historical background for the emergence of ancient Russian literature and its specific features in contrast to the literature of modern times.
What is the role of folklore in the formation of ancient literature?
Using vocabulary and reference material, briefly retell the history of the study of ancient monuments, write down the names of the scientists involved in their research and the stages of study.
What is the image of the world and man in the minds of Russian scribes?
Tell us about the depiction of man in ancient Russian literature.
Name the themes of ancient literature, using vocabulary and reference material, characterize its genres.
List the main stages in the development of ancient literature.

Read also the articles in the section “National identity of ancient literature, its origin and development.”