Question No. 1
Main features of Old Russian literature.
Old Russian literature - 10th – 12th century
Peculiarities:
1. Handwritten character. There were not individual handwritten works, but collections with specific purposes.
2. Anonymity. This was a consequence of society’s attitude towards the writer’s work. It is rare that the names of individual authors are known. In the work, the name is indicated at the end, title and in the margins with evaluative epithets "thin" and "undignified". Medieval authors did not have the concept of “authorship.” The main task: to convey the truth.
Types of anonymity:
3. Religious character. Everything is explained by God's purpose, will and providence.
4. Historicism. The author has the right to write only historically reliable facts. Fiction is excluded. The author is convinced of the accuracy of what is stated. Heroes – historical figures: princes, rulers standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. Even stories about miracles are not so much the imagination of the author as accurate records of the stories of eyewitnesses or the participants themselves.
5. Patriotism. The works are filled with deep content, the heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
6. The main theme of ancient Russian literature - world history and the meaning of human life.
7. 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.
8.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 and how should be depicted
9. Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, 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.
10. The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th–20th centuries.
The word is imbued patriotic pathos of glorifying Rus', as equal among all states of the world. The author contrasts the Byzantine theory of the universal empire and the church with the idea of equality of all Christian peoples. Proves the superiority of grace over the law. The law was extended only to the Jews, but grace was extended to all nations. In summary, the new covenant is a Christian creed that has worldwide significance and in which every people has the full right to freely choose this grace. Thus, Hilarion rejects the monopoly rights of Byzantium to the exclusive possession of grace. According to Likhachev, the author creates his own patriotic concept of history, where he glorifies Rus' and the enlightener Vladimir. Hilarion exalts Vladimir's feat in the adoption and spread of Christianity. He lists the prince's services to his homeland, emphasizes that the Christian faith was adopted by Russians as a result of free choice. The work put forward demand for the canonization of Vladimir as a saint, also the author glorifies the activities of Yaroslav, who successfully continued his father’s work in spreading Christianity. The work is very logical. The first part is a kind of introduction to the second – the central one. The first part is a comparison of Law and Grace, the second is praise to Vladimir, the third is a prayerful appeal to God. In the first part it is observed sign of antithesis- a typical technique of oratorical eloquence. Hilarion widely uses book metaphors, rhetorical questions, exclamations, repetitions and verbal rhymes. The word is a model for scribes of the 12th-15th centuries.
Question #10
The Walk of Abbot Daniel
Already in the 11th century, Russian people began traveling to the Christian East, to “holy places.” These travel-pilgrimages (a traveler who visited Palestine brought with him a palm branch; pilgrims were also called kaliki - from the Greek name for shoes - kaliga, worn by the traveler) contributed to the expansion and strengthening of international relations of Kievan Rus, and contributed to the development of national identity.
So, at the beginning of the 12th century. "The Walk of Abbot Daniel" arises. Daniel committed pilgrimage to Palestine in 1106-1108 Daniel undertook a long journey, “compelled by his thoughts and impatience,” desiring to see “the holy city Jerusalem and the promised land,” and “for the sake of love, for the sake of these holy places, I wrote down everything I saw with my eyes.” His work is written “for the sake of the faithful people”, so that when they hear about “these holy places,” rushed to these places with thought and soul and thus they themselves accepted “from God an equal reward” with those who “reached these holy places.” Thus, Daniel gave his “Walk” not only cognitive, but also moral, educational value: his readers-listeners must mentally make the same journey and receive the same benefits for the soul as the traveler himself.
Daniel's "Walk" is of great interest due to its detailed description of the "holy places" and the personality of the author himself, although it begins with etiquette self-deprecation.
Talking about a difficult journey, Daniel notes how difficult it is to “experience and see all the holy places” without a good “leader” and without knowing the language. At first, Daniel was forced to give from his “meager earnings” to people who knew those places, so that they would show them to him. However, he was soon lucky: he found St. Savva, where he stayed, his old husband, “the book of Velmi,” who introduced the Russian abbot to all the sights of Jerusalem and its environs. This land.”
Daniel shows great curiosity: he is interested nature, city layout and character of buildings of Jerusalem, irrigation system near Jericho. Some interesting information Daniel reports about the Jordan River, which has gentle banks on one side and steep banks on the other, and in every way resembles the Russian river Snov. Daniel also strives to convey to his readers the feelings that every Christian experiences when approaching Jerusalem: these are feelings of “great joy” and “shedding of tears.” The abbot describes in detail the path to the city gates past the pillar of David, the architecture and size of the temples. A large place in the “Walk” is occupied by legends that Daniel either heard during his journey or read in written sources. He easily combines canonical scripture and apocrypha in his mind. Although Daniel’s attention is absorbed in religious issues, this does not prevent him from recognizing himself as an authorized representative Russian land in Palestine. He proudly reports that he, the Russian abbot, was received with honor by King Baldwin (Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders during Daniel's stay there). He prayed at the Holy Sepulcher for the entire Russian land. And when the lamp set by Daniel on behalf of the entire Russian land was lit, but the “flask” (Roman) one was not lit, he sees in this a manifestation of God’s special mercy and favor to the Russian land.
Question #12
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was found in the early 90s of the 18th century by the famous lover and collector of Russian antiquities A.I. Musin-Pushkin.
“The Word” is the pinnacle of literature created during the period of feudal fragmentation.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is dedicated to the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185 of Novgorod-Seversky Prince Igor Svyatoslavich with a few allies, a campaign that ended in a terrible defeat. Author calls on the Russian princes to unite to repel the steppe and to jointly defend the Russian land.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” with brilliant power and insight reflected the main disaster of its time - the lack of state unity of Rus' and, as a consequence, the weakness of its defense against the onslaught of steppe nomadic peoples, who in quick raids ravaged old Russian cities, devastated villages, drove the population into slavery, penetrated into the very depths of the country, everywhere bringing death and destruction with them.
The all-Russian power of the Kyiv prince had not yet completely disappeared, but its importance was falling uncontrollably . The princes were no longer afraid of the Kyiv prince and sought to capture Kyiv, to increase their possessions and use the fading authority of Kyiv to their advantage.
In the Lay there is no systematic account of Igor’s campaign. Igor’s campaign against the Polovtsians and the defeat of his army is for the author a reason for deep thought about the fate of the Russian land, for a passionate call to unite and defend Rus'. This idea - the unity of Russians against common enemies - is the main idea of the work. An ardent patriot, the author of “The Lay” sees the reason for Igor’s unsuccessful campaign not in the weakness of the Russian soldiers, but in the princes who are not united, act separately and ruin their native land, forgetting all-Russian interests.
The author begins his story with a memory of how alarming the beginning of Igor's campaign was, what ominous signs - an eclipse of the sun, the howling of wolves through the ravines, the barking of foxes - it was accompanied. Nature itself seemed to want to stop Igor, not to let him go further.
The defeat of Igor and its terrible consequences for the entire Russian land seem to force the author to remember that not long ago the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, with the united forces of the Russian princes, defeated these same Polovtsians. He is transported mentally to Kyiv, to the tower of Svyatoslav, who has an ominous and incomprehensible dream. The boyars explain to Svyatoslav that this dream is “in hand”: Igor Novgorod-Seversky suffered a terrible defeat.
And so Svyatoslav plunged into bitter thoughts. He pronounces the “golden word”, in which he reproaches Igor and his brother, the buoy of Vsevolod, for the fact that they disobeyed him, did not respect his gray hair, alone, without collusion with him, they arrogantly went against the Polovtsians.
Svyatoslav's speech gradually turns into an appeal by the author himself to all the most prominent Russian princes of that time. The author sees them as powerful and glorious.
But then he remembers Igor’s young wife, Yaroslavna. He quotes the words of her mournful cry for her husband and for his fallen soldiers. Yaroslavna cries on the city wall in Putivl. She turns to the wind, to the Dnieper, to the sun, yearns and begs them for the return of her husband.
As if in response to Yaroslavna’s plea, the sea began to gush at midnight, and tornadoes swirled on the sea: Igor is escaping from captivity. The description of Igor's flight is one of the most poetic passages in the Lay.
The Lay ends joyfully with Igor’s return to the Russian land. and singing his glory upon entering Kyiv. Despite the fact that “The Lay” is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land. The call for unity is permeated in the “Word” with the most passionate, strongest and most tender love for the homeland.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a written work oh.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” became the main phenomenon not only of ancient literature, but also of modern literature - the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The Word” is a direct response to the events of Igor’s campaign. It was a call for an end to princely civil strife, for unification to fight against an external enemy. This call is the main content of the Word. Using the example of Igor's defeat, the author shows the sad consequences of political fragmentation in Rus' and the lack of cohesion between the princes.
The word not only tells about the events of Igor’s campaign, and also represents a passionate and excited speech true patriot . His speech is sometimes angry, sometimes sad and mournful, but always full of faith in the motherland. The author is proud of his homeland and believes in its bright future.
The author is a supporter of princely power, which would be capable of curbing the arbitrariness of petty princes . He sees the center of united Rus' in Kyiv.
The author embodies his call for unity in the image of the Motherland, the Russian land. In fact, the main character of the word is not Igor or any other prince. Main character– this is the Russian people, the Russian land. Thus, the theme of the Russian land is central to the work.
Using the example of Igor’s campaign, the author shows what such disunity among the princes can lead to. . After all, Igor is defeated only because he is alone.
Igor – brave but short-sighted, goes on a hike despite bad omens - a solar eclipse. Although Igor loves his homeland, his main goal is to gain fame.
Talking about female images , it is important to note that they are imbued with tenderness and affection, the national principle is clearly expressed in them, they embody sadness and care for the Motherland. Their crying is deeply national in nature.
The central lyrical element of the plot is Yaroslavna’s cry. Yaroslavna – a collective image of all Russian wives and mothers, as well as the image of the Russian land, which also mourns.
No. 14 Russian pre-revival. Emotionally - expressive style. "Zadonshchina"
Russian pre-renaissance - mid-14th - early 15th centuries!
This is a period of expressive-emotional style and patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of revival of chronicle writing, historical narration, panegyric hagiography, appeal to the times of independence of Rus' in all areas of culture: literature, architecture, painting, folklore, political thought, etc.
The Russian Pre-Renaissance of the XIV-XV centuries was the era of the greatest spiritual figures, scribes and painters. The names of Rev. served as the personification of the national spiritual culture of that time. Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan of Perm and Kirill Belozersky, Epiphanius the Wise, Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev and Dionysius. During the Pre-Renaissance period. coinciding with the gathering of Russian lands Around Moscow, there was an appeal to the spiritual traditions of ancient Kievan Rus, and attempts were made to revive them in new conditions. We are, of course, talking about the traditions of Russian asceticism. In the era under review, these traditions were strengthened, but they acquired a slightly different character. The activities of ascetics during the formation of the Moscow state in the second half of the 14th century became socially, and to some extent, politically active. This was reflected in ancient Russian literature of that period. A particularly striking example is the works of Epiphanius the Wise - “The Lives” of Sergius of Radonezh and Stephen of Perm.
There comes a period in Russian history when a person somehow begins valued as a person, there is a discovery of its historical significance and internal merits. In the literature, increasing attention is being paid emotional sphere, there is an interest in human psychology. This leads to expressive style. Dynamic descriptions.
In literature, an emotionally expressive style develops, and in ideological life everything higher value acquires “silence”, “solitary prayer”.
Attention to inner life man, demonstrating the fluidity of what is happening, the variability of all things, was associated with the awakening of historical consciousness. Time was no longer represented only in the forms of changing events. The character of the eras changed, and first of all, the attitude towards the foreign yoke. The time has come to idealize the era of Russian independence. Thought turns to the idea of independence, art - to the works of pre-Mongol Rus', architecture - to the buildings of the era of independence, and literature - to the works of the 11th–13th centuries: to the “Tale of Bygone Years”, to the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion, to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, to the “Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, to the “Life of Alexander Nevsky”, to the “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”, etc. Thus, for the Russian Pre-Renaissance, Rus' during the period of independence, Pre-Mongol Rus' became its “antique”.
There is an increasing interest in the internal states of the human soul, psychological experiences, and the dynamics of feelings and emotions. Thus, Epiphanius the Wise in his works conveys feelings of delight and surprise that fill the soul. Literature and art in general embody the ideal of beauty, spiritual harmony, the ideal of a person who devotes himself to serving the idea of the common good
According to DS Likhachev, “The focus of attention of writers of the late XIV - early XV centuries. turned out to be individual psychological states of a person, his feelings, emotional responses to events outside world. But these feelings, separate states human soul are not yet united into characters. Individual manifestations of psychology are depicted without any individualization and do not add up to psychology. The connecting, unifying principle - the character of a person - has not yet been discovered. Man's individuality is still limited by the straightforward classification of it into one of two categories - good or evil, positive or negative."
It is important to note that the emergence of man as a measure of all values in Rus' is only partial. This is how man, the titan, the man at the center of the Universe, does not appear. So, despite the existence of a pre-renaissance period, the Renaissance itself never comes!!!
Pushkin’s words “The Great Renaissance had no influence on it (Russia).”
"Zadonshchina"
Degree book"
Created in 1563 on the initiative of the Metropolitan Macarius by the royal confessor Andrei - Athanasius - “The Grave Book of the Royal Genealogy.” The Work makes an attempt to present the history of the Russian Moscow State in the form of genealogical continuity from Rurik to Ivan the Terrible.
History of the state presented in the form of hagiobiographies of rulers. Period the reign of each prince is a certain facet in history.
So the book is divided into 17 degrees and facets. Introduction – a lengthy life of Princess Olga. In each facet after the author's biography, major events. At the center of the story are the personalities of the autocratic princes. They endowed with the qualities of ideal wise rulers, brave warriors and exemplary Christians. The compilers of the Degree Book try to emphasize the greatness of the deeds and the beauty of the virtues of the princes, the psychologist introduces the characteristics of the heroes, trying to show their inner world and pious stories.
The idea of a autocratic form of government in Rus' is being pursued, power is surrounded by an aura of holiness, the need for resigned submission to it is proven.
Thus, in the Degree Book, historical material acquired topical political significance, everything is subordinated to the task of the ideological struggle to strengthen the autocratic power of the sovereign in Rus'. The degree book, like chronicles, serves as an official historical document, relying on which Moscow diplomacy conducted negotiations in the international arena, proving the original rights of Moscow sovereigns to own Russian territories.
Also An important part of the period of the second monumentalism is the work of Ivan the Terrible and the Tale of Peter and Fevronia.
No. 18 The work of Ivan the Terrible
Ivan the Terrible was one of the most educated people of their time, had phenomenal memory and erudition.
He founded the Moscow Printing Yard, By his order, a unique literary monument was created - the Facial Chronicle.
And also the works of Ivan the Terrible - the most famous monument Russian literature of the 16th century. Messages from Tsar Ivan the Terrible - one of the most unusual monuments of ancient Russian literature. The central themes of his messages- international the importance of the Russian state(the concept of Moscow - “the third Rome”) and the monarch's divine right to unlimited power. The themes of the state, ruler, and power occupy one of the central places in Shakespeare, but are expressed in completely different genres and artistic means. The power of influence of Ivan the Terrible's messages lies in the system of argumentation, including biblical quotes and extracts from sacred authors; facts from world and Russian history to draw analogies; examples from personal impressions. In polemical and private messages, Grozny uses facts from his personal life much more often. This allows the author, without cluttering the message with rhetoric, to significantly enliven the style. A fact conveyed briefly and accurately is immediately remembered, receives an emotional overtones, and imparts the urgency necessary for polemics. The messages of Ivan the Terrible suggest a variety of intonations - ironic, accusatory, satirical, instructive. This is only a special case of the extensive influence on the messages of the living colloquial speech XVI century, which is very new in ancient Russian literature.
The works of Ivan the Terrible - REALLY GREAT LITERATURE.
Basic literary monuments , created by Ivan the Terrible, this is the Message of the Terrible to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and Correspondence with Andrei Kurbsky.
Message from Ivan the Terrible in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery to the abbot of the monastery Kozma. Around 1573.
Written regarding violation of the monastic decree exiled there by the Terrible boyars Sheremetev, Khabarov, Sobakin.
Message permeated with caustic irony escalating into sarcasm, in relation to the disgraced boyars, who “introduced their own lustful regulations” into the monastery. Grozny accuses the boyars of destroying the monastic charter and this led to social inequality. Terrible attacks the monks, who were unable to curb the temper of the boyars. Ivan the Terrible's words are imbued with irony arising from self-deprecation: “woe is me” O. And further, the more Grozny talks about his respect for the Kirillov Monastery, the more caustic his reproaches sound. He shames the brethren for allowing the boyars to violate the rules, and thus it is not known, the tsar writes, who took tonsure from whom, whether the boyars were the monks or the monks were the boyars.”
Grozny ends the letter with an angry, irritable appeal, forbidding the monks to bother him with such problems. According to Likhachev, the Message is a free improvisation, passionate, written in the heat of the moment, turning into an accusatory speech. Ivan the Terrible is confident that he is right and is annoyed that the monks are bothering him.
In general, Ivan the Terrible’s messages are evidence of the beginning of the destruction of the strict system of literary style and the emergence of an individual style. True, at that time only the king was allowed to declare his individuality. Realizing his high position, the king could boldly break all the established rules and play the roles of either a wise philosopher, or a humble servant of God, or a cruel ruler.
An example of a new type of life is precisely the “Life of Ulyaniya Osorgina” (Life of Juliania Lazarevskaya, The Tale of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya)
“The Tale of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya” is the first biography of a noblewoman in ancient Russian literature.(at that time a noblewoman was not upper layer society, rather middle class).
Main features of the product:
1. Life writes relative of the saint(in this case son)
2. The medieval principle of historicism is violated. The work must convey the most important historical events, the heroes are major figures, and not a simple married woman with children.
3. The story is a clear indication that liter becomes closer to the reader.
Written by the son of Ulyana Druzhina at the beginning of the 17th century. The second level of anonymity, little is known about the author. The son is well acquainted with the facts of the heroine’s biography, her personal qualities, and her moral character is dear to him. The positive character of a Russian woman is revealed in the everyday setting of a rich noble estate.
The qualities of an exemplary housewife come to the fore. After marriage, Ulyany’s shoulders fall on the responsibility of managing a complex household. A woman pulls a house, pleases father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, monitors the work of slaves, herself resolves social conflicts in the family and between servants and gentlemen. So, one of the sudden riots of the courtyards leads to the death of her eldest son, but Ulyaniya resignedly endures all the hardships that befall her.
The story truthfully and accurately depicts the position of a married woman in big family, her powerlessness and responsibilities. Running the household consumes Ulyanya, she doesn’t have time to go to church, but nevertheless she is a “saint.” Thus, the story affirms the holiness of the feat of highly moral worldly life and service to people. Ulyaniya helps the hungry, cares for the sick during the pestilence, doing “immeasurable alms.”
The story of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya creates the image of an energetic, intelligent Russian woman, an exemplary housewife and wife, enduring all trials with patience and humility. Which falls to her lot. So Druzhina depicts in the story not only the real character traits of her mother, but also paints the general ideal appearance of a Russian woman as it seemed to a Russian nobleman of the early 17th century.
In biography The squad does not completely depart from the hagiographic tradition. So Ulyaniya comes from “God-loving” parents, she grew up in “piety” and “from a young age, love God.” In the character of Ulyany the inherent traits of a true Christian can be traced- modesty, meekness, humility, tolerance and generosity (“doing immeasurable alms.” As befits Christian ascetics, although Ulyaniya does not go to the monastery, she in old age indulges in asceticism: refuses carnal “coitus with her husband”, walks in winter without warm clothes.
The story also uses traditional hagiography Motives of religious fiction: Demons want to kill the Hive, but she is saved by the intervention of St. Nicholas. In some cases, “demonic machinations” have very specific manifestations - conflicts in the family and rebellion of “slaves”.
As befits a saint, Juliana has a presentiment of her death and dies piously; later her body works miracles.
Thus, The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya is a work in which elements of an everyday story are intertwined with elements of the hagiographic genre, however, the everyday description still prevails. The story is devoid of the traditional introduction, lamentation and praise. The style is quite simple.
The story of Juliania Lazarevskaya is evidence of growing interest in society and literature in the private life of a person, his behavior in everyday life. As a result, as a result of the penetration of such realistic elements into hagiography, the hagiography is destroyed and turns into the genre of a secular biographical story.
No. 21 “The Tale of the Tver Otroche Monastery”
17th century.
Historical story gradually turns into a love and adventure story, which can be easily traced in the Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery. DS Likhachev studied this most interesting work in detail in selected works, so we will rely on his opinion.
“The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery,” undoubtedly composed in the 17th century, tells about a rather ordinary everyday drama: the bride of one marries another. The conflict intensifies because both heroes of the story - both the ex-fiancé and the future husband - are connected by friendship and feudal relations: the first is the servant, the “youth” of the second.
A remarkable feature of the story is that it is not based on the usual conflict between good and evil in medieval stories. In “The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery” there are no evil characters, no evil principle at all. In it missing even social conflict : action takes place as if in an ideal country where exist good relations between the prince and his subordinates. The peasants, boyars and their wives strictly follow the prince’s instructions, rejoice at his marriage, and happily meet his young wife, a simple peasant woman. They come out to meet her with children and offerings, and are amazed at her beauty. All the people in this story are young and beautiful. Several times the beauty of the heroine of the story is persistently spoken of - Ksenia. She is pious and meek, humble and cheerful, has “a great mind and walked in all the commandments of the Lord.” Youth Gregory, Xenia's fiancé, is also young and handsome(his expensive clothes are mentioned several times in the story). He always “stood before the prince,” was “loved by him dearly,” and was faithful to him in everything. The young man receives no less praise Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich. They all behave as they should and are distinguished by piety and intelligence. Ksenia’s parents also behave ideally. None of characters didn't make a single mistake. Not only that, everyone acts as planned. The youth and the prince see visions and carry out the will revealed to them in these visions and signs. Moreover, Ksenia herself foresees what is about to happen to her. She is illuminated not only with bright beauty, but also with a bright vision of the future. And yet, the conflict is obvious - an acute, tragic conflict, forcing all the characters in the story to suffer, and one of them, the youth Gregory, to go into the forests and found a monastery there. This happens because for the first time in Russian literature, the conflict has been transferred from the sphere of the world struggle between evil and good into the very essence of human nature. Two people love the same heroine, and neither of them is guilty of their feeling. Is Ksenia to blame for choosing one over the other? Of course, she is not guilty of anything, but to justify her, the author has to resort to a typically medieval technique: Ksenia follows the divine will. She obediently does what is destined for her and what she cannot help but do. By this, the author seems to free her from the burden of responsibility for the decisions she makes; in essence, she does not decide anything and does not change Gregory; she only follows what was revealed to her from above. Of course, this intervention from above weakens the earthly, purely human nature of the conflict, but this intervention is described in the story in highest degree tactfully. Fate has no intervention ecclesiastical character. Nowhere is it said about Ksenia’s visions, about her prophetic dreams, the voice she heard or something similar. Ksenia has the gift of clairvoyance, but this clairvoyance is not ecclesiastical, but completely folklore in nature. She knows what must happen, but why she knows is not told to the reader. She knows as a wise man knows the future. Ksenia is a “wise maiden”, a character well known in Russian folklore and reflected in ancient Russian literature: let us remember the maiden Fevronia in “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” of the 16th century. But, in contrast to the fairy-tale development of the plot, in “The Tale of the Tver Youth Monastery” everything is transferred to a more “human plane”. The story is still far from being immersed in everyday life, but it is already developing in the sphere of ordinary human relationships.
The plot itself: the founding of the Tver Otroche Monastery. When it turns out that Ksenia has been given to another, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, Grigory dresses in a peasant dress and goes into the forest, where “build yourself a hut and a chapel.” The main reason that Gregory decides to found a monastery is not a pious desire to devote himself to God, but unrequited love.
The founding of the monastery and the prince’s help in its construction finally confirm the main idea of the story, that everything that happens happens for the betterment of the world. “The monastery still stands today through the grace of God and the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Great Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, the Wonderworker.”
“The Tale of the Tver Youth Monastery” has the features of an epic plot. It is similar to the translated chivalric novel by its love theme; as in "Bova", we meet here a classic love triangle and the vicissitudes within this triangle that are beyond the reader’s foresight.
Gregory receives heavenly love in return for his lost earthly love. However, this preference is forced - and in the depiction of this compulsion, new trends in the original fiction of the 17th century were perhaps reflected most forcefully. Fate is inescapable, but it promised the prince a happy love, and Gregory an unhappy one. The youth has nothing more to look forward to in this world; he must build a monastery only in order to please the Lord and become “blessed.” Thus, on the ladder of Christian moral values, carnal, earthly love is one step higher - a conclusion apparently not intended by the author.
The Tale of "Grief - Misfortune"
One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the 17th century.
Central theme : topic tragic fate the younger generation, trying to break with the old forms of family and everyday life, domostroevsky morality.
The plot of the story is based on tragic story the life of the Young Man, who rejected parental instructions and wished to live of his own free will, “as he pleases.” Appearance in general – collective image representative of the younger generation of his time - an innovative phenomenon. Per liter The historical personality is replaced by a fictional hero, embodying the typical traits of an entire generation.
Well done, he grew up in a patriarchal family living according to the principles of Domostroy. He was surrounded by the love and care of his parents. But because of this, he has not learned to understand people and understand life, so he wants to break out from under his parents’ wing and live according to his own will. He is too gullible, and this gullibility and belief in the sanctity of the bonds of friendship destroys him, but he does not want to give up and wants to prove that he is right by going to a foreign country. The reason for the further misadventures of the Young Man is his character. He is ruined by boasting about his happiness and wealth. This is the moral - “but the word of praise has always rotted.” From this moment on, the image of Grief appears in the work, which personifies the unfortunate fate of a person. The young man, who rejected parental authority, is forced to bow his head before Grief. “Good people” sympathize with him and advise him to return to his parents. But now it’s just Gore
Any national literature has its own distinctive (specific) features.
Old Russian literature (DRL) is doubly specific, since in addition to national features it bears the features of the Middle Ages (XI-XVII centuries), which had a decisive influence on the worldview and human psychology Ancient Rus'.
Two blocks of specific features can be distinguished.
The first block can be called general cultural, the second is most closely connected with the inner world of the personality of a person in the Russian Middle Ages.
Let's talk about the first block very briefly. Firstly, ancient Russian literature was handwritten. In the first centuries of the Russian literary process, the writing material was parchment (or parchment). It was made from the skin of calves or lambs and therefore it was called “veal” in Rus'. Parchment was an expensive material, it was used extremely carefully and the most important things were written on it. Later, paper appeared instead of parchment, which partly contributed, in the words of D. Likhachev, to “the breakthrough of literature to the masses.”
In Rus', three main types of writing successively replaced each other. The first (XI–XIV centuries) was called the charter, the second (XV–XVI centuries) was called the semi-ustav, the third (XVII century) was called cursive.
Since writing material was expensive, the book’s customers (large monasteries, princes, boyars) wanted the works that most interested them on various subjects and the time of their creation to be collected under one cover.
Works of ancient Russian literature are usually called monuments.
Monuments in Ancient Rus' functioned in the form of collections.
Particular attention should be paid to the second block of specific features of DRL.
1. The functioning of monuments in the form of collections is explained not only by the high price of the book. Old Russian man, in his desire to acquire knowledge about the world around him, strove for a kind of encyclopedicism. Therefore, ancient Russian collections often contain monuments of various themes and issues.
2. In the first centuries of the development of DRL, fiction had not yet emerged as an independent area of creativity and social consciousness. Therefore, one and the same monument was simultaneously a monument of literature, a monument of historical thought, and a monument of philosophy, which existed in Ancient Rus' in the form of theology. It is interesting to know that, for example, Russian chronicles until the beginning of the 20th century were considered exclusively as historical literature. Only thanks to the efforts of Academician V. Adrianova-Peretz did the chronicles become the object of literary criticism.
At the same time, the special philosophical richness of Old Russian literature in subsequent centuries of Russian literary development will not only be preserved, but will actively develop and become one of the defining national features of Russian literature as such. This will allow Academician A. Losev to state with certainty: “Fiction is a storehouse of original Russian philosophy. In the prose works of Zhukovsky and Gogol, in the works of Tyutchev, Fet, Leo Tolstoy, Dostoevsky<...>The main philosophical problems are often developed, of course, in their specifically Russian, exclusively practical, life-oriented form. And these problems are resolved here in such a way that an unbiased and knowledgeable judge will call these solutions not just “literary” or “artistic,” but philosophical and ingenious.”
3. Old Russian literature was anonymous (impersonal) in nature, which is inextricably linked with another characteristic feature - the collectivity of creativity. The authors of Ancient Rus' (often called scribes) did not strive to leave their name for centuries, firstly, due to the Christian tradition (scribe-monks often call themselves “unreasonable,” “sinful” monks who dared to become creators of the artistic word); secondly, due to the understanding of one’s work as part of an all-Russian, collective endeavor.
At first glance, this trait seems to indicate a poorly developed personal element in the Old Russian author in comparison with Western European masters of artistic expression. Even the name of the author of the brilliant “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is still unknown, while Western European medieval literature can “boast” of hundreds of great names. However, there can be no talk of the “backwardness” of ancient Russian literature or its “impersonality.” We can talk about its special national quality. Once D. Likhachev very accurately compared Western European literature with a group of soloists, and Old Russian literature with a choir. Really choral singing less beautiful than the performances of individual soloists? Is there really no manifestation of human personality in him?
4. The main character of ancient Russian literature is the Russian land. We agree with D. Likhachev, who emphasized that the literature of the pre-Mongol period is the literature of one theme - the theme of the Russian land. This does not mean at all that ancient Russian authors “refuse” to depict the experiences of an individual human personality, “get fixated” on the Russian land, depriving themselves of individuality and sharply limiting the “universal” significance of the DRL.
Firstly, Old Russian authors always, even in the most tragic moments of Russian history, for example, in the first decades of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, they strived through the richest Byzantine literature to become familiar with the highest achievements of the culture of other peoples and civilizations. Thus, in the 13th century, the medieval encyclopedias “Melissa” (“Bee”) and “Physiologist” were translated into Old Russian.
Secondly, and this is the most important thing, we must keep in mind that the personality of a Russian person and the personality of a Western European are formed on different ideological foundations: the Western European personality is individualistic, it is affirmed due to its special significance and exclusivity. This is due to the special course of Western European history, with the development of the Western Christian Church (Catholicism). A Russian person, by virtue of his Orthodoxy (belonging to Eastern Christianity - Orthodoxy), denies the individualistic (egoistic) principle as destructive both for the individual himself and for his environment. Russian classical literature- from the nameless scribes of Ancient Rus' to Pushkin and Gogol, A. Ostrovsky and Dostoevsky, V. Rasputin and V. Belov - depicts the tragedy of the individualistic personality and affirms his heroes on the path to overcoming the evil of individualism.
5. Old Russian literature did not know fiction. This refers to a conscious orientation towards fiction. The author and the reader absolutely believe in the truth of the literary word, even if we are talking about fiction from the point of view of a secular person.
A conscious attitude towards fiction will appear later. This will happen at the end of the 15th century during a period of intensified political struggle for leadership in the process of unifying the original Russian lands. Rulers will also appeal to the unconditional authority of the book word. This is how the genre of political legend will arise. In Moscow there will appear: the eschatological theory “Moscow - the Third Rome”, which naturally took on a topical political overtones, as well as “The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir”. In Veliky Novgorod - “The Legend of the Novgorod White Cowl.”
6. In the first centuries of DRL, they tried not to depict everyday life for the following reasons. The first (religious): everyday life is sinful, its image prevents earthly man from directing his aspirations to the salvation of the soul. Second (psychological): life seemed unchanged. Both grandfather, father, and son wore the same clothes, weapons did not change, etc.
Over time, under the influence of the process of secularization, everyday life penetrates more and more into the pages of Russian books. This will lead to the emergence in the 16th century of the genre of everyday stories (“The Tale of Ulyaniya Osorgina”), and in the 17th century the genre of everyday stories will become the most popular.
7. DRL is characterized by a special attitude to history. The past is not only not separated from the present, but is actively present in it, and also determines the fate of the future. An example of this is “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Story of the Crime of the Ryazan Princes”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, etc.
8. Old Russian literature wore teacher character. This means that ancient Russian scribes sought, first of all, to enlighten the souls of their readers with the light of Christianity. In DRL, unlike Western medieval literature, there was never a desire to entice the reader with a wonderful fiction, to take him away from life’s difficulties. Adventurous translated stories will gradually penetrate into Russia from the beginning of the 17th century, when the Western European influence on Russian life becomes obvious.
So, we see that certain specific features of DID will gradually be lost over time. However, those characteristics of Russian national literature that determine the core of its ideological orientation will remain unchanged until the present time.
The originality of ancient Russian literature:
Works of ancient Russian literature existed and were distributed in manuscripts. Moreover, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections. Another feature of medieval literature is the absence of copyright. We know of only a few individual authors, book writers, who modestly put their name at the end of the manuscript. At the same time, the writer supplied his name with such epithets as “thin”. But in most cases, the writer wished to remain anonymous. As a rule, the author’s texts have not reached us, but later lists of them have been preserved. Often, scribes acted as editors and co-authors. At the same time, they changed the ideological orientation of the work being copied, the nature of its style, shortened or distributed the text in accordance with the tastes and demands of the time. As a result, new editions of monuments were created. Thus, a researcher of ancient Russian literature must study all available lists of a particular work, establish the time and place of their writing by comparing various editions, variants of lists, and also determine in which edition the list most closely matches the original author's text. Such sciences as textual criticism and paleography can come to the rescue (studies the external signs of handwritten monuments - handwriting, lettering, the nature of the writing material).
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. Its heroes are mainly historical figures; it allows almost no 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. Old Russian literature, inextricably linked with the history of the development of the Russian state and the Russian people, is imbued with heroic and patriotic pathos. Another feature is anonymity.
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 deep faith in the power and ultimate triumph of good, in man's ability to elevate his spirit and defeat evil. The Old Russian writer was least of all inclined to an impartial presentation of facts, “listening to good and evil indifferently.” Any genre ancient literature, whether it is a historical story or a legend, a life or a church sermon, as a rule, includes significant elements of journalism. Touching primarily on state-political or moral issues, the writer believes in the power of words, in the power of persuasion. He appeals not only to his contemporaries, but also to distant descendants with an appeal to ensure that the glorious deeds of their ancestors are preserved in the memory of generations and that descendants do not repeat the sad mistakes of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
The literature of Ancient Rus' expressed and defended the interests of the upper echelons of feudal society. However, it could not help but show an acute class struggle, which resulted either in the form of open spontaneous uprisings or in the forms of typically medieval religious heresies. The literature vividly reflected the struggle between progressive and reactionary groups within the ruling class, each of which sought support among the people. And since the progressive forces of feudal society reflected national interests, and these interests coincided with the interests of the people, we can talk about the nationality of ancient Russian literature.
In the 11th - first half of the 12th century, the main writing material was parchment, made from the skin of calves or lambs. Birch bark played the role of student notebooks.
To save writing material, the words in the line were not separated and only paragraphs of the manuscript were highlighted with red capital letters. Frequently used, well-known words were written abbreviated under a special superscript - title. The parchment was pre-lined. Handwriting with regular, almost square letters was called charter.
The written sheets were sewn into notebooks, which were bound into wooden boards.
The problem of artistic method:
The artistic method of ancient Russian literature is inextricably linked with the nature of the worldview, the worldview of medieval man, which absorbed religious speculative ideas about the world and a concrete vision of reality associated with labor practice. In the minds of medieval man, the world existed in two dimensions: real, earthly and heavenly, spiritual. The Christian religion insisted that human life on earth is temporary. The purpose of earthly life is preparation for eternal, incorruptible life. These preparations should consist of moral improvement of the soul, curbing sinful passions, etc.
Two aspects of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature are associated with the dual nature of the worldview of medieval man:
1) reproduction of individual facts in all their specificity, purely empirical statements;
2) consistent transformation of life, that is, idealization of facts real life, an image not of what exists, but of what should be.
The first side of the artistic method is associated with the historicism of Old Russian literature in its medieval understanding, and with the second - its symbolism.
The Old Russian writer was convinced that symbols are hidden in nature, in man himself. He believed that historical events are also full of symbolic meaning, since he believed that history moves and is directed by the will of the deity. The writer considered symbols as the main means of revealing the truth, discovering the inner meaning of a phenomenon. Just as the phenomena of the surrounding world are polysemantic, so is the word. This is where the symbolic nature of metaphors and comparisons in ancient Russian literature stems.
An Old Russian writer, trying to convey an image of truth, strictly follows a fact that he himself witnessed or about which he learned from the words of an eyewitness, a participant in the event. He does not doubt the truth of miracles, supernatural phenomena, he believes in their reality.
As a rule, the heroes of works of ancient Russian literature are historical figures. Only in some cases do representatives of the people turn out to be heroes.
Medieval literature is still alien to any individualization of human character. Old Russian writers create generalized typological images of an ideal ruler, a warrior, on the one hand, and an ideal ascetic, on the other. These images are sharply contrasted with the generalized-typological image of the evil ruler and the collective image of the demon-devil, personifying evil.
In the view of the ancient Russian writer, life is a constant arena of the struggle between good and evil.
The source of goodness, good thoughts and actions is God. The devil and demons push people to evil. However, Old Russian literature does not relieve responsibility from the person himself. Everyone is free to choose their own path.
In the consciousness of the ancient Russian writer, the categories of ethical and aesthetic merged. Good is always beautiful. Evil is associated with darkness.
The writer builds his works on the contrast of good and evil. He brings the reader to the idea that high moral qualities of a person are the result of hard moral work.
The behavior and actions of the heroes are determined by their social status, their belonging to the princely, boyar, druzhina, and church classes.
Strict adherence to the rhythm and order established by the ancestors forms the vital basis of etiquette and ceremoniality of ancient Russian literature. So the chronicler, first of all, sought to put the numbers in a row, that is, to arrange the material he selected in chronological sequence.
The works of ancient Russian literature were didactic and moralizing in nature. They were called upon to help get rid of vices.
So, medieval historicism, symbolism, ritualism and didacticism are the leading principles of artistic representation in works of ancient Russian literature. IN various works, depending on the genre and time of their creation, these features manifested themselves differently.
The historical development of Old Russian literature proceeded through the gradual destruction of the integrity of its method, liberation from Christian symbolism, ritualism and didacticism.
3 – 6. “The Tale of Bygone Years.”
The main ideas of the initial chronicle. Already in the title itself - “Behold the tales of the bygone years, where did the Russian land come from, who began to reign first in Kyiv, and where did the Russian land come from” - contains an indication of the ideological and thematic content of the chronicle. The Russian land, its historical destinies, from its origin to the first decade of the 12th century, are the focus of the chronicle. The high patriotic idea of the power of the Russian land, its political independence, religious independence from Byzantium constantly guides the chronicler when he introduces into his work the “traditions of deep antiquity” and truly historical events of the recent past.
The chronicles are unusually topical, journalistic, full of sharp condemnation of princely strife and strife, weakening the power of the Russian land, a call to guard the Russian land, not to disgrace the Russian land in the fight against external enemies, first of all with the steppe nomads - the Pechenegs, and then the Polovtsians.
The theme of the homeland is decisive and leading in the chronicle. The interests of the homeland dictate to the chronicler one or another assessment of the prince’s actions and are the measure of his glory and greatness. A living sense of the Russian land, homeland and people gives the Russian chronicler that unprecedented breadth of political horizon, which is unusual in Western European historical chronicles.
From written sources, chroniclers borrow the historical Christian-scholastic concept, connecting the history of the Russian land with the general course of development of “world” history. The Tale of Bygone Years opens with the biblical legend about the division of the earth after the flood between the sons of Noah - Shem, Ham and Japheth. The Slavs are the descendants of Japhet, that is, they, like the Greeks, belong to a single family of European peoples.
Finally, it is possible to “establish” the first date - 6360 - (852) - mentioned in "Chronicles of the Greeks" "Russian Land". This date makes it possible to put "numbers in a row" that is, proceed to a consistent chronological presentation, more precisely, the arrangement of the material "by the years" - by year. And when they cannot attach any event to a particular date, they limit themselves to simply fixing the date itself (for example: “in the summer of 6368”, “in the summer of 6369”). The chronological principle provided ample opportunities for free handling of the material, made it possible to introduce new legends and stories into the chronicle, exclude old ones if they did not correspond to the political interests of the time and the author, and supplement the chronicle with records of events of recent years, of which its compiler was a contemporary.
As a result of the application of the weather chronological principle of presenting the material, the idea of history gradually emerged as a continuous sequential chain of events. The chronological connection was reinforced by a genealogical, tribal connection, the continuity of the rulers of the Russian land, starting from Rurik and ending (in the Tale of Bygone Years) with Vladimir Monomakh.
At the same time, this principle made the chronicle fragmentary, which I. P. Eremin drew attention to.
Genres included in the chronicle. The chronological principle of presentation allowed the chroniclers to include in the chronicle material that was heterogeneous in nature and genre characteristics. The simplest narrative unit of a chronicle is a laconic weather record, limited only to a statement of fact. However, the very inclusion of this or that information in the chronicle indicates its significance from the point of view of the medieval writer.
The chronicle also presents a type of detailed record, recording not only the “actions” of the prince, but also their results. For example: "IN summer 6391. Until Oleg fought the Derevlyans, and, having tormented them, imposed a tribute on them, according to black kun.” etc.
Both a brief weather record and a more detailed documentary one. There are no speech-decorating tropes in them. The recording is simple, clear and concise, which gives it special significance, expressiveness and even majesty.
The chronicler's focus is on the event - "What's going on in the summer of strength." They are followed by news of the death of the princes. The birth of children and their marriage are recorded less often. Then information about the construction activities of the princes. Finally, reports on church affairs, which occupy a very modest place. True, the chronicler describes the transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb, includes legends about the beginning of the Pechersk monastery, the death of Theodosius of Pechersk and stories about the memorable monks of Pechersk. This is quite explainable by the political significance of the cult of the first Russian saints Boris and Gleb and the role of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery in the formation of the initial chronicle.
An important group of chronicle news consists of information about heavenly signs - eclipses of the sun, moon, earthquakes, epidemics, etc. The chronicler sees a connection between unusual natural phenomena and the lives of people, historical events. Historical experience associated with the evidence of the chronicle of George Amartol leads the chronicler to the conclusion: “For signs in the heavens, or the stars, or the sun, or birds, or creatures, are not for good; but there are signs of evil, whether the manifestation of an army, or a famine, or death.”
News of various topics can be combined within one chronicle article. The material included in the “Tale of Bygone Years” allows us to distinguish a historical legend, a toponymic legend, a historical legend (associated with the heroic druzhina epic), a hagiographic legend, as well as a historical legend and a historical story.
The connection between the chronicle and folklore . The chronicler draws material about the events of the distant past from the treasury of folk memory.
The appeal to the toponymic legend was dictated by the chronicler’s desire to find out the origin of the names of Slavic tribes, individual cities and the word “Rus” itself. Thus, the origin of the Slavic tribes Radimichi and Vyatichi is associated with the legendary people from the Poles - the brothers Radim and Vyatko. This legend arose among the Slavs, obviously, during the period of decomposition of the clan system, when an isolated clan elder, in order to justify his right to political dominance over the rest of the clan, creates a legend about his supposedly foreign origin. Close to this chronicle legend is the legend about the calling of the princes, placed in the chronicle under 6370 (862). At the invitation of the Novgorodians from overseas "to reign and to become voluptuous" Three Varangian brothers come to the Russian land with their families: Rurik, Sineus, Truvor.
The folklore nature of the legend confirms the presence of the epic number three - three brothers.
The legend about the calling of the princes served as an important argument for proving the sovereignty of the Kyiv state, and did not at all indicate the inability of the Slavs to independently organize their state, without the help of Europeans, as some scientists tried to prove.
A typical toponymic legend is also the legend about the founding of Kyiv by three brothers - Kiy, Shchek, Khoryv and their sister Lybid. On oral source The chronicler himself indicates the material included in the chronicle: “Ini, ignorant, rekosha, what kind of carrier Kiy was.” The chronicler indignantly rejects the version of the folk legend about Kie the Carrier. He categorically states that Kiy was a prince, made successful campaigns against Constantinople, where he received great honor from the Greek king and founded the settlement of Kievets on the Danube.
Echoes of ritual poetry from the times of the clan system are filled with chronicles about Slavic tribes, their customs, wedding and funeral ceremonies.
The chronicle news about Vladimir’s marriage to the Polotsk princess Rogneda, about his abundant and generous feasts held in Kyiv - the Korsun legend - goes back to folk tales. On the one hand, before us appears a pagan prince with his unbridled passions, on the other, an ideal Christian ruler, endowed with all the virtues: meekness, humility, love for the poor, for the monastic and monastic order, etc. A contrasting comparison of the pagan prince With the Christian prince, the chronicler sought to prove the superiority of the new Christian morality over pagan morality.
The reign of Vladimir was covered in the heroism of folk tales already at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century.
The legend of the victory of the Russian youth Kozhemyaki over the Pecheneg giant is imbued with the spirit of the folk heroic epic. As in the folk epic, the legend emphasizes the superiority of a person of peaceful labor, a simple artisan over a professional warrior - a Pecheneg hero. The images of the legend are built on the principle of contrastive comparison and broad generalization. At first glance, the Russian young man is an ordinary, unremarkable person, but he embodies the enormous, gigantic strength that the Russian people possess, decorating the land with their labor and protecting it on the battlefield from external enemies. The Pecheneg warrior with his gigantic size terrifies those around him. The boastful and arrogant enemy is contrasted with a modest Russian youth, the youngest son of a tanner. He accomplishes the feat without arrogance and boasting. At the same time, the legend is confined to the toponymic legend about the origin of the city of Pereyaslavl - “the zone of reaping the glory of the youth”, but this is a clear anachronism, since Pereyaslavl was already mentioned more than once in the chronicle before this event.
The legend of Belgorod jelly is associated with the folk fairy tale epic. This legend glorifies the intelligence, resourcefulness and ingenuity of the Russian people.
The folklore basis is clearly felt in the church legend about the visit to the Russian land by the Apostle Andrew. By placing this legend, the chronicler sought to “historically” substantiate the religious independence of Rus' from Byzantium. The legend claimed that the Russian land received Christianity not from the Greeks, but allegedly by the disciple of Christ himself - the Apostle Andrew, who once walked the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" along the Dnieper and Volkhov, Christianity was predicted on Russian soil. The church legend about how Andrei blessed the Kyiv mountains is combined with the folk tale about Andrei’s visit to the Novgorod land. This legend is of an everyday nature and is associated with the custom of the inhabitants of the Slavic north to steam in hotly heated wooden baths.
Most of the chronicles dedicated to the events of the 9th - late 10th centuries are associated with oral folk art and its epic genres.
Historical stories and legends as part of the chronicle . As the chronicler moves from narrating events of long ago to the recent past, the chronicle material becomes increasingly historically accurate, strictly factual and official.
The chronicler's attention is drawn only to historical figures at the top of the feudal hierarchical ladder. In depicting their actions, he follows the principles of medieval historicism. According to these principles, only purely official events that have historical significance for the state should be recorded in the chronicle, and the private life of a person and the everyday environment around him are not of interest to the chronicler.
The chronicle develops the ideal of a prince-ruler. This ideal is inseparable from the general patriotic ideas of the chronicle. The ideal ruler is the living embodiment of love for his native land, its honor and glory, the personification of its power and dignity. All his actions, all his activities are determined by the good of his homeland and people. Therefore, in the view of the chronicler, the prince cannot belong to himself. He is first and foremost a historical figure who always appears in an official setting, endowed with all the attributes of princely power. D. S. Likhachev notes that the prince in the chronicle is always official, he seems to be addressed to the viewer and is presented in his most significant actions. The prince's virtues are a kind of ceremonial clothing; at the same time, some virtues are purely mechanically attached to others, thanks to which it became possible to combine secular and church ideals. Fearlessness, courage, military valor are combined with humility, meekness and other Christian virtues.
If the prince’s activities are aimed at the good of his homeland, the chronicler glorifies him in every possible way, endowing him with all the qualities of a predetermined ideal. If the prince’s activities run counter to the interests of the state, the chronicler does not spare black paint and attributes to the negative character all the mortal sins: pride, envy, ambition, greed, etc.
The principles of medieval historicism are vividly embodied in stories "About the murder of Borisov"(1015) and about the blinding of Vasilko Terebovlsky, which can be classified as historical stories about princely crimes. However, in style these are completely different works. Tale "About the murder of Borisov" sets out the historical facts of the murder of the brothers Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk with extensive use of elements of hagiographic style. It is built on the contrast of the ideal prince-martyrs and the ideal villain. "cursed" Svyatopolk. The story ends with praise oh, glorifying “Christ-loving passion-bearers”, “shining lamps”, “bright stars” - “intercessors of the Russian land”. At its end there is a prayer call to the martyrs to conquer the filthy "under the nose of our prince" and deliver them "from the internal army" so that they may remain in peace and unity. This is how the patriotic idea common to the entire chronicle is expressed in hagiographic form. At the same time the story "About the murder of Borisov" interesting for a number of “documentary” details, “realistic details”.
The story does not idealize Vasilko. He is not only a victim of slander, cruelty and treachery of Davyd Igorevich, gullibility of Svyatopolk, but he himself reveals no less cruelty both towards the perpetrators of evil and towards innocent people. There is no idealization in the depiction of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Svyatopolk, indecisive, gullible, weak-willed. The story allows the modern reader to imagine the characters of living people with their human weaknesses and strengths.
The story was written by a medieval writer who builds it on the opposition of two symbolic images“cross” and “knife”, the leitmotif running through the entire narrative.
Thus, “The Tale of the Blinding of Vasilko Terebovlsky” sharply condemns the princes’ violation of their contractual obligations, leading to terrible bloody crimes, bringing evil to the entire Russian land.
Descriptions of events related to the military campaigns of the princes take on the character of a historical documentary tale, indicating the formation of the genre of military stories. Elements of this genre are present in the tale of Yaroslav’s revenge on the Accursed Svyatopolk in 1015-1016.
This chronicle tale already contains the main plot and compositional elements of a military story: gathering troops, going on a campaign, preparing for battle, battle and its denouement.
All this allows us to speak about the presence in “The Tale of Bygone Years” of the main components of the genre of a military story.
Within the framework of the historical documentary style, messages about heavenly signs are kept in the chronicle.
Elements of hagiographic style . The compilers of the “Tale of Bygone Years” also included hagiographic works: a Christian legend, a martyr’s life (the tale of two Varangian martyrs), a legend about the founding of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery in 1051, about the death of its abbot Theodosius of Pechersk in 1074 and the legend of the Pechersk monks. The tales included in the chronicles about the transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb (1072) and Theodosius of Pechersk (1091) were written in a hagiographic style.
The chronicle exalted the exploits of the founders of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery, which was "set" neither "from kings, and from boyars, and from wealth", A "tears, and fasting, and vigil" Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk. In 1074, following the story of the death of Theodosius, the chronicler tells about the Pechersk monk people who “Like the lights shine in Rus'.”
One of the forms of glorification of princes in the chronicle is posthumous obituaries associated with the genre of funeral eulogies. The first such word of praise is the obituary of Princess Olga, placed under 969. It begins with a series of metaphorical comparisons glorifying the first Christian princess. The metaphorical images of “daybreak”, “dawn”, “light”, “moon”, “beads” (pearls) were borrowed by the chronicler from Byzantine hagiographic literature, but they were used to glorify the Russian princess and emphasize the significance for Rus' of her feat - the adoption of Christianity.
The obituary-praise of Olga is stylistically close to the praise of Vladimir, placed in the chronicle under 1015. The deceased prince receives an evaluative epithet "blissful", that is, righteous, and his feat is equal to the feat of Constantine the Great.
Obituaries of Mstislav and Rostislav can be classified as a genre of verbal portrait, in which a description of the external appearance and moral qualities princes: “But Mstislav was stout in body, dark-faced, great-eyed, brave in the army, merciful, loving his squad to the fullest, not sparing his property, neither drinking nor eating.”
The obituaries of Izyaslav and Vsevolod, along with the hagiographic idealization of these princes, concern specific moments of their activities, and in the obituary of Vsevolod a voice of condemnation is heard, since Vsevolod began to “to love the meaning of the lost, creating light with them.”
The chronicler drew moralizing maxims and figurative comparisons from Christian literature.
The function of biblical comparisons and reminiscences in the chronicle is different. These comparisons emphasize the significance and greatness of the Russian land, its princes; they allow chroniclers to transfer the narrative from a “temporary” historical plane to an “eternal” one, that is, they perform the artistic function of symbolic generalization. In addition, these comparisons are a means of moral assessment of events and the actions of historical figures.
7. The sermon “the word on law and grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion as an outstanding work of oratory of the 11th century. The theme is the equality of peoples, the glorification of the Russian land and its princes. Three-part composition. Metaphors-symbols, rhetorical questions and exclamations, rhythmic organization of the “Words on Law and Grace.”
"The Sermon on Law and Grace" by Hilarion. An outstanding work of oratorical prose of the 11th century is “The Sermon on Law and Grace.” It was written between 1037-1050. priest of the princely church in Berestov Hilarion.
“The Sermon on Law and Grace” is imbued with the patriotic pathos of glorifying Rus' as equal among all states of the world. Hilarion contrasts the Byzantine theory of the universal empire and the church with the idea of the equality of all Christian peoples. Comparing Judaism (Law) with Christianity (Grace), Hilarion at the beginning of his “Word” proves the advantages of Grace over the Law. The law was distributed only among the Jewish people. Grace is the property of all nations. The Old Testament - the Law given by God to the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, regulated the life of only the Jewish people. New Testament- Christian doctrine - has worldwide significance, and every people has the full right to freely choose this Grace. Thus, Hilarion rejects the monopoly rights of Byzantium to the exclusive possession of Grace. He creates, as D.S. Likhachev rightly notes, his own patriotic concept of world history, glorifying Rus' and its "enlightener" "kagan" Vladimir.
Hilarion exalts Vladimir's feat in accepting and spreading Christianity in Rus'. Thanks to this feat, Rus' entered the family of Christian countries as a sovereign state. Vladimir ruled “not in harm’s way and not in unknown lands”, A “In Russian, which is known and heard by all, there are the ends of the earth.”
In his praise of Vladimir, Hilarion lists the prince’s services to his homeland. He says that his activities contributed to the glory and power of Rus'. At the same time, he emphasizes that the Christian faith was accepted by the Russians as a result of free choice, that the main merit in the baptism of Rus' belongs to Vladimir, and not to the Greeks. The Lay contains a comparison of Vladimir with Tsar Constantine, which was very offensive to the Greeks.
Hilarion’s “Word” is built according to a strict, logically thought-out plan, which is communicated by the author in the title of the work: “The word about the law that Moses gave to him, and about grace and truth, Jesus Christ was, and as the law came, grace and truth filled the whole earth, and faith in all languages extended to our Russian language and praise to our kagan Vlodimer, from him We were baptized and prayed to God from the weight of our earth.”
The first part - a comparison of Law and Grace - is a lengthy introduction to the second, central, part of praise to Vladimir, ending with the author's appeal to Vladimir with a call to rise from the grave, shake off his sleep and look at the deeds of his son George (the Christian name of Yaroslav). The second part aims to directly glorify the ruler of Rus' contemporary to Hilarion and his activities. The third part is a prayer appeal to God "from all our land."
The “Word” is addressed to people “we have had our fill of book sweets”, therefore, the author puts his work into bookish rhetorical form. He constantly uses quotes from the Bible, biblical comparisons, comparing the Law with the slave Hagar and her son Ishmael, and Grace with Sarah and her son Isaac. These symbolic parallels are intended to more clearly demonstrate the superiority of Grace over the Law.
In the first part of the Lay, Hilarion consistently observes the principle of antithesis - the most typical technique of oratorical eloquence. “First the law, then grace: first the steppe(shadow) you, then the truth.”
Hilarion widely uses book metaphors - symbols and metaphorical comparisons: Law is "dry lake"; paganism - “darkness of idols”, “darkness of demonic service”; Grace is "flooded spring" etc. He often uses rhetorical questions and exclamations - typical techniques of solemn eloquence, with the help of which greater emotionality of speech is achieved. The rhythmic organization of the Lay serves the same purpose. Hilarion often resorts to repetitions and verbal rhymes. For example: “... drive away the warriors, establish peace, tame the countries, make gladugobzi, make the Bolyars wise, disperse the cities, grow your church, preserve your property, save husbands and wives and babies.”
High artistic skill ensured “The Word of Law and Grace” great popularity in medieval writing. It becomes a model for scribes of the 12th-15th centuries, who use individual techniques and stylistic formulas of the Lay.
8. Didactic “Instruction” by Vladimir Monomakh” - a work of political and moral instruction. The image of an outstanding politician and warrior. Autobiographical elements in "Instruction". Emotional and lyrical coloring of the work.
“Teaching” by Vladimir Monomakh, written by him "sitting on a sleigh" that is, shortly before his death, somewhere around 1117, it was attributed by chroniclers to similar wills addressed to children.
The outstanding statesman of the late 11th - early 12th centuries, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh (1052-1125), through his policies contributed to the temporary cessation of princely strife. He became famous for his successful campaigns against the Polovtsians. Having become the Grand Duke of Kyiv in 1113, Monomakh contributed in every possible way to strengthening the unity of the Russian land.
The central idea of the “Instruction” is a call addressed to the children of Monomakh and everyone who will hear "this grammar" strictly observe the requirements of the feudal legal order, be guided by them, and not by personal, selfish family interests. “Instruction” goes beyond the narrow framework of a family will and acquires great social significance.
Using the example of his personal rich life experience, Vladimir gives a high example of serving the prince to the interests of his land.
A characteristic feature of the “Teaching” is the close interweaving of didactics with autobiographical elements. Monomakh’s instructions are supported not only by maxims from the “holy scripture”, but first of all concrete examples from my own life.
The “Teaching” brings to the fore the tasks of a national order. The sacred duty of the prince is concern for the good of his state, its unity, strict and strict observance of oaths and contracts. The prince must “care for the souls of the peasants”, “about the evil stench” And "poor widow." Internecine strife undermines the economic and political power of the state. Only peace leads to the prosperity of a country. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the ruler to maintain peace.
Another equally important duty of the prince, according to Monomakh, is care and concern for the welfare of the church. He understands that the church is the prince's faithful assistant. Therefore, in order to strengthen his power, the prince must vigilantly take care of the priestly and monastic rank. True, Monomakh does not recommend that his children save their souls in a monastery, that is, become a monk. The ascetic monastic ideal is alien to this life-loving, energetic person.
In accordance with Christian morality, Vladimir demands a caring attitude towards "poor"(to the poor).
The prince himself must be an example of high morality. The main positive quality of a person is hard work. Labor, in the understanding of Monomakh, is, first of all, military feat, and then hunting, when the body and soul of a person are tempered in the constant struggle against dangers.
Vladimir gives examples from his personal life: he made only 83 large campaigns, and does not remember small ones, he concluded 20 peace treaties. While hunting, he was in constant danger and risked his life more than once: “Tura threw me 2 narozekh and with a horse, a deer was one big, and 2 moose, one trampled with his feet, and the other was a big one; ...a fierce beast jumped onto my hips and the horse fell with me.”
Vladimir considers laziness to be the main vice: “Laziness is the mother of everything: if you know how, you’ll forget, but if you don’t know how, you can’t teach it.”
Monomakh himself appears in his “Teachings” as an unusually active person: “Whatever my youth had to do, I myself did, deeds in war and fishing, night and day, in heat and winter, without giving myself peace.”
One of the positive qualities of the prince is his generosity, constant concern for increasing and spreading his good name.
In everyday life, the prince should be a model for those around him: to visit the sick, to see off the dead, for everyone is mortal. Family relationships should be built on respect between husbands and wives: “Love your wife, but do not give them power over you,” he instructs.
Thus, in the “Instructions” Monomakh covers a fairly wide range of life phenomena. He gives clear answers to many social and moral questions of his time.
At the same time, the “Instruction” is a very valuable material for understanding the personality of the author himself - the first secular writer of Ancient Rus' known to us. First of all, he is a widely educated person who knows the literature of his time well. In his work, he uses the Psalter, the Book of Psalms, the teachings of Basil the Great, Xenophon and Theodora to children, placed in the “Izbornik 1076”, “Six Days”.
The “Instruction” is built according to a specific plan: an introduction addressed to children, with self-deprecation characteristic of the ancient Russian writer - not to laugh at his writing, but to accept it in your heart, not to scold, but to say that “On the long journey, and sitting on the sleigh, I said a foolish thing,” and finally, a request: “...if you don’t love the last one, take the first one.”
The central didactic part of the “Instruction” begins with a general philosophical discussion about the love of mankind and the mercy of God, about the need for victory over evil and the possibility of this victory, the guarantee of which is the beauty and harmony of the world created by God.
Gives a kind of diary of military campaigns, in a manner reminiscent of brief chronicle weather records, only without dates. Listing your "paths" Vladimir arranges them in chronological order starting from 1072 to 1117.
And again the conclusion follows. When addressing children or others, "who will read" Monomakh asks not to judge him. He does not praise himself, not his courage, but praises God, who "thin and sinful" saved from death for so many years and created “not lazy”, “thin”, “all human needs are needed.”
In the style of the “Teaching” one can easily detect, on the one hand, its bookish elements associated with Vladimir’s use of literary sources, and on the other hand, elements of a living spoken language, especially clearly manifested in the description "paths" and the dangers to which he was exposed during the hunt. A characteristic feature of the “Teaching” style is the presence of polished, vivid, easy-to-remember aphoristic expressions.
In general, the “Instruction” and the letter clearly reveal the appearance of an extraordinary statesman of the Russian Middle Ages, a man in whom the ideal of a prince who cared about the glory and honor of his native land was vividly embodied.
Over the course of seven centuries of development, our literature has consistently reflected the main changes taking place in the life of society.
For a long time, artistic thinking was inextricably linked with the religious and medieval historical form of consciousness, but gradually, with the development of national and class consciousness, it began to free itself from church ties.
Literature has developed clear and definite ideals of the spiritual beauty of a person who devotes himself entirely to the common good, the good of the Russian land, the Russian state.
She created ideal characters staunch Christian ascetics, valiant and courageous rulers, “good sufferers for the Russian land.” These literary characters complemented the folk ideal of man that emerged in epic oral poetry.
D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak spoke very well about the close connection between these two ideals in a letter to Ya. L. Barskov dated April 20, 1896: “It seems to me that the “heroes” serve as an excellent complement to the “hierarchs.” And here and there are representatives of their native land, behind them one can see that Rus', on whose guard they stood. Among the heroes, the predominant element is physical strength: they defend their homeland with broad chests, and that is why this “heroic outpost”, put forward on the battle line, in front of which wandered historical predators, is so good... The “Saints” show another side of Russian history, even more important as a moral stronghold and holy of holies of the future multi-million people. These chosen ones had a presentiment of the history of a great people...”
The focus of literature was on the historical destinies of the motherland and issues of state building. That's why epic historical topics and genres play a leading role in it.
Deep historicism in the medieval sense determined the connection of our ancient literature with the heroic folk epic, and also determined the features of the depiction of human character.
Old Russian writers gradually mastered the art of creating deep and versatile characters, the ability to correctly explain the reasons for human behavior.
From a static, still image of a person, our writers moved on to revealing the internal dynamics of feelings, to depicting various psychological states of a person, to identifying individual characteristics personality.
The latter became most clearly evident in the 17th century, when personality and literature began to free themselves from the undivided power of the church and, in connection with the general process of “secularization of culture,” the “secularization” of literature also occurred.
It led not only to the creation of fictional heroes, generalized and, to a certain extent, socially individualized characters.
This process led to the emergence of new types of literature - drama and lyrics, new genres - everyday, satirical, adventure stories.
The strengthening of the role of folklore in the development of literature contributed to its democratization and closer rapprochement with life. This affected the language of literature: the obsolete language was replaced by the end XVII century Old Slavic literary language there was a new living spoken language, pouring into the literature of the second in a wide stream half XVII V.
A characteristic feature of ancient literature is its inextricable connection with reality.
This connection gave our literature an extraordinary journalistic poignancy, an excited lyrical emotional pathos, which made it an important means of political education of contemporaries and which gives it the enduring significance that it has in subsequent centuries of the development of the Russian nation and Russian culture.
Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature. - M., 1998
In ancient times, on the territory modern Russia Numerous tribes lived with various pagan beliefs and rituals associated with the worship of many gods. The Slavs were among the first to live in this territory. The Slavs carved idols from wood. The heads of these idols were covered with silver, and the beard and mustache were made of gold. They worshiped the god of thunderstorms - Perun. There was a sun god - Dazhdbog, Stribog - who controlled the air elements and winds. Idols were placed in a high place, and bloody sacrifices (birds, animals) were brought to appease the gods. By the 9th century, tribal alliances of the Eastern Slavs formed principalities, which were headed by princes. Each prince had a squad (rich high nobility). Relations between the princes were complex, and internecine wars often broke out.
In the I X - X centuries. various principalities of the Eastern Slavs united and created a single state, which became known as the Russian Land or Rus'. Central city was Kyiv, the head of the state was the Grand Duke of Kiev. Founder of the dynasty Kyiv princes became Rurik. The Slavic tribes fought with each other and then decided to invite one of the foreigners. The Slavs went to the Varangians who lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea. One of the leaders named Rurik was offered to come to the Slavic lands and rule. Rurik came to Novgorod, where he began to reign. He founded the Rurik dynasty, which ruled Rus' until the 16th century. The Slavic lands ruled by Rurik increasingly began to be called Russia, and the inhabitants were called Rusichs, and later Russians. In the language of the Varangians, the detachment of rowers that sailed, led by Rurik, on a large boat to Novgorod was called Rus. But the Russians themselves understood the word Rus differently: bright land. Light brown meant fair. The princes who began to rule after Rurik (Igor, Princess Olga, Oleg, Vladimir Svyatoslav, Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh, etc.) sought to end civil strife within the country, defended the independence of the state, strengthened and expanded its borders.
A significant date in the history of Russia - 988. This is the year of the adoption of Christianity. Christianity came to Rus' from Byzantium. Writing spread with Christianity. In the second half of the 9th century, the Slavic alphabet was created by the brothers Cyril and Methodius. Two alphabets were created: the Cyrillic alphabet (named Kirill) and the Glagolitic alphabet (verb-word, speech); the Glagolitic alphabet did not become widespread. The brothers are revered by the Slavic peoples as educators and are recognized as saints. Writing contributed to the development of Old Russian literature. The literature of Ancient Rus' has a number of features.
I. Feature – syncretism i.e. compound. This feature is associated with the underdevelopment of genre forms. In one Old Russian genre It is possible to identify features characteristic of other genres, i.e., in one genre elements of several genres are combined, for example, in “Walking” there are descriptions of geographical and historical places, and sermons, and teachings. A clear manifestation of syncretism can be traced in the chronicles; they also contain war story, and legend, and sample contracts, and reflections on religious topics.
II.Feature - monumentality. The scribes of Ancient Rus' showed the greatness of the world, they were interested in the fate of the Motherland. The scribe strives to depict the eternal; eternal values are determined by the Christian religion. Hence there is no image of appearance, everyday life, because... it's all mortal. The scribe strives to narrate the entire Russian land.
III. Feature - historicism. In ancient Russian monuments, historical figures were described. These are stories about battles, about princely crimes. The heroes were princes, generals, and saints. In ancient Russian literature there are no fictional heroes, there are no works on fictional plots. Fiction was equal to lies, and lies were unacceptable. The writer's right to fiction was realized only in the 17th century.
IV.Feature – patriotism. Old Russian literature is marked by high patriotism and citizenship. The authors always mourn the defeats suffered by the Russian land. Scribes always tried to put boyars and princes on the true path. The worst princes were condemned, the best were praised.
V. Feature – anonymity. Old Russian literature is mostly anonymous. Very rarely, some authors put their names at the end of manuscripts, calling themselves “unworthy”, “great sinners”; sometimes ancient Russian authors signed the names of popular Byzantine writers.
VI. Feature - Old Russian literature was entirely handwritten. And although printing appeared in the middle of the 16th century. Even before the 18th century, works were distributed by correspondence. When rewriting, scribes made their own amendments, changes, shortened or expanded the text. Therefore, the monuments of ancient Russian literature did not have a stable text. From the 11th to the 14th centuries, the main writing material was parchment, made from calf skin. Parchment from the title ancient city(in Greece) Pergamon, where in the 2nd century BC. began to make parchment. In Rus', parchment is called “veal” or “haratya”. This expensive material was available only to the propertied class. Craftsmen and traders used birch bark. The recordings were made on birch bark. Wooden tablets were fastened together in the form of student notebooks. Famous birch bark letters are monuments of writing from the 11th to 15th centuries. Birch bark letters - a source on the history of society and everyday life medieval people, as well as on the history of East Slavic languages.
They wrote on birch bark or parchment with ink. Ink was made from decoctions of alder or oak bark and soot. Until the 19th century They used a quill pen, since parchment was expensive, so to save writing material, the words in a line were not separated, everything was written together. Paragraphs in the manuscript were written in red ink - hence the “red line”. Frequently used words were written abbreviated - under a special sign - “title” For example, lithargy (short for the verb, i.e. to speak) Buka (Virgin Mary)
The parchment was lined with a ruler. Every letter was written down. Texts were copied by scribes either across the entire page or in two columns. There are three types of handwriting: charter, semi-charter, cursive. The charter is in the handwriting of the 11th - 13th centuries. This is handwriting with regular, almost square letters. The letter is solemn, calm, the letters were written in wide, but not tall, letters. Working on the manuscript required painstaking work and great art. When the scribe completed his hard work, he happily noted it at the end of the book. Thus, at the end of the Laurentian Chronicle it is written: “Rejoice, book writer, having reached the end of the books.” They wrote slowly. Thus, “Ostromirovo Gospel” took seven months to create.
From the second half of the 15th century, paper came into use and the charter gave way to semi-ustav, a more fluent letter. The division of the text into words and the use of punctuation marks are associated with the semi-charter. The straight lines of the charter are replaced by oblique lines. The charter of Russian manuscripts is drawing, calligraphically clear writing. In the semi-charter, a large number of abbreviations of words were allowed, and emphasis was placed. A semi-statutory letter was faster and more convenient than a statutory letter. Since the 16th century, semi-statutory writing has been replaced by cursive writing. “Cursive writing” is a tendency to speed up writing. This is a special type of letter, differing in its graphics from the charter and semi-charter. This is a simplified version of these two types. Monuments of ancient writing testify to the high level of culture and skill of ancient Russian scribes, who were entrusted with the copying of texts. They tried to give handwritten books a highly artistic and luxurious appearance, decorating them with various types of ornaments and drawings. With the development of the statute, geometric ornament develops. It consists of a rectangle, an arch and other geometric shapes, inside of which patterns in the form of circles, triangles and others were applied on the sides of the title. The ornament could be one-color or multi-color. They also used ornaments depicting plants and animals. They painted capital letters and used miniatures - that is, illustrations for the text. The written sheets were sewn into notebooks, which were intertwined into wooden boards. The boards were covered with leather, and sometimes covered with frames specially made of silver and gold. A remarkable example of jewelry art is the setting of the Mstislav Gospel (XII). In the middle of the 15th century, printing appeared. Church works were published, and artistic monuments were copied for a long time. The original manuscripts have not reached us; their later copies of the 15th century have been preserved. Thus, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” written in the late 80s of the 12th century, was found in a copy of the 16th century. Textualists study monuments, establish the time and place of their writing, and determine which list is more consistent with the original author's text. And paleographers use handwriting, writing material, and miniatures to determine the time of creation of the manuscript. In Ancient Rus', the word book in the singular was not used, since the book consisted of several notebooks bound together. They treated books with care; they believed that mishandling a book could harm a person. On one book there is an inscription: “Whoever spoils books, whoever steals them, let him be damned.”
The centers of book writing, education and culture of Ancient Rus' were monasteries. In this regard, the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery played a major role. Theodosius of Pechersk introduced the duty of monks to write books. In his life, Theodosius of Pechersky describes the process of creating books. Day and night the monks wrote books in their cells. The monks led an ascetic lifestyle and were educated people. They not only rewrote books, but also translated from Greek language The Bible, the Psalter (songs of religious content), church prayers explained the meaning of church holidays. Several books have survived from the 11th century. They are decorated with great taste. There are books trimmed with gold and pearls. Such books were very expensive. In Rus', book printing was considered a state matter.
The first printing house was founded by Ivan Fedorov in 1561 in Moscow. He creates a printing press, a typeface, and according to his scheme, a Printing Yard is being built not far from the Kremlin. 1564 is the year of birth of Russian printing. Fedorov publishes the first Russian primer, which was used to teach both adults and children to read and write. Books and ancient manuscripts are stored in the libraries of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Yaroslavl, Kostroma. Few parchment manuscripts have survived, many in one copy, but most were burned during fires.
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