Question No. 1
Main Features ancient 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.” Main task: 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. Main topic ancient Russian literature - world history and the meaning of human life.
7. Ancient literature glorifies moral beauty 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 equal rights for 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. As a result, New Testament- This Christian doctrine, which has universal significance and where 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 prayer 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 pilgrimage journeys (a traveler who visited Palestine brought with him a palm branch; pilgrims were also called kalikas - from the Greek name for the shoes - kaliga, worn by the traveler) contributed to the expansion and strengthening of international relations Kievan Rus, 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 detailed description“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. Great place 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 main idea works. The 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 native land, they forget 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 just recently Kyiv 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 political fragmentation in Rus', 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 is brave but short-sighted, goes on a campaign despite bad omens - 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 narrative, panegyric hagiography, appeals 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. Especially a shining example The works of Epiphanius the Wise can serve - “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 the inner life of man, demonstrating the fluidity of what is happening, the variability of everything that exists, 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 separate psychological states a person, his feelings, emotional responses to events in the outside world. But these feelings, individual states of the 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 Epoch Times The 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 - Litseva 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 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 and received emotional coloring, gives the sharpness 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 work 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 the tsar writes that they themselves do not know who took tonsure from whom, whether the boyars were monks or the monks were 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 your high position, the king could boldly break all the established rules and play the role 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(V 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 running 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 a large family, her lack of rights 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.
The historical story gradually turns into a love-adventure novella, which can be easily traced in the Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery. DS Likhachev studied this in detail in selected works most interesting work, 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 spouse - 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 one 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 Xenia’s visions, her prophetic dreams, the voice she heard, or anything like that. 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 - " 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 brings her closer to the translated chivalric novel 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: theme of tragic fate younger generation trying to break with old forms family and household way of 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 personality historian is replaced by a fictional hero who embodies typical features a whole 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"They sympathize with him and advise him to return to his parents. But now it’s just Gore
Medieval picture of the world.
Russian ancient and medieval culture Since the adoption of Christianity, it has been characterized by the concepts of holiness, conciliarity, sophia, and spirituality. Special aesthetic value in the traditional picture of the world Medieval Rus' acquired the categories of personality and transformation, light, luminosity.
Many religious, Orthodox values entered into the ancient Russian picture of the world quite organically and naturally and became entrenched in it for a long time. First of all, it should be noted that the assimilation and understanding of Christian dogma and cult, and all worship, took place largely in the language artistic imagery as closest to the consciousness of ancient Russian man. God, spirit, holiness were perceived not as theological concepts, but rather as aesthetic and praxeological categories, more as living (mythological, according to A. F. Losev) rather than as symbolic.
Beauty was perceived in Rus' as an expression of the true and essential. Negative, unseemly phenomena were considered as deviations from the truth. As something transitory, not related to essence and therefore actually having no existence. Art acted as the bearer and exponent of the eternal and imperishable - absolute spiritual values. This is one of its most characteristic features and, moreover, one of the main principles of ancient Russian artistic thinking in general - Sofian art, which consists in the deep feeling and awareness by the ancient Russians of the unity of art, beauty and wisdom and in the amazing ability of Russian medieval artists and scribes to express artistic by means of the basic spiritual values of one’s picture of the world, the essential problems of existence in their universal significance.
Art and wisdom appeared to man Ancient Rus' inextricably linked; and the terms themselves were perceived almost as synonyms. Art was not conceived by the wise, and this applied equally to the art of words, icon painting or architecture. Starting his work, opening the first sheet, the Russian scribe asked God for the gift of wisdom, the gift of insight, the gift of speech, and this plea was by no means just a traditional tribute to the rhetorical fashion of his time. It contained true faith in the Divinity of creative inspiration, in the high purpose of art. .
The best expressive means of sophia in the ancient Russian artistic and religious picture of the world was the icon. The icon, this “window” into the world of spiritual, transcendental religions, was also one of the most important paths to God. At the same time, in Rus' not only the direction of this path from the bottom up (from man to " mountain world"), but also vice versa - from God to man. God was understood by medieval Russian consciousness as the focus of all positive properties and characteristics of the “earthly” understanding of good, virtue, moral and aesthetic perfection, brought to the limit of idealization, that is, acting as an ideal, extremely distant from human earthly existence. Among its main characteristics, holiness, “honesty”, purity, luminosity most often appear - the main values on which religion is based.
Another component of the traditional picture of the world - holiness - in the broadest ancient Russian Orthodox understanding is sinlessness, and in the strict sense “God alone is holy.” In relation to a person, holiness means a state that is as far removed from sin as possible; It also means a state of special isolation of a person from the general mass. This singularity (or separateness) is manifested in extraordinary good deeds of the individual, in speeches marked by wisdom and insight, in amazing spiritual qualities. After the adoption of Christianity in ancient Russian spirituality, heroes of a very special kind appeared next to the holy heroes - passion-bearers. The first Russian passion-bearers are Boris and Gleb. However, brothers, warrior princes do not perform valiant feats of arms. Moreover, in a moment of danger, they deliberately leave the sword in its sheath and voluntarily accept death. The images of the passion-bearing saints were, in the words of G.P. Fedotov, a genuine religious discovery of the newly baptized Russian people. Why?
Old Russian man I saw, first of all, in the behavior of Boris and Gleb, a readiness for the unconditional implementation of Christian ideals: humility, meekness, love for one’s neighbor, even to the point of self-sacrifice, revealed not in words, but in deeds.
Features of Old Russian literature.
Russian literature XI-XVII centuries. developed under unique conditions. It was entirely handwritten. Printing, which appeared in Moscow in the middle of the 16th century, very little changed the nature and methods of distributing literary works.
The handwritten nature of literature led to its variability. When rewriting, scribes made their own amendments, changes, abbreviations, or, conversely, developed and expanded the text. As a result, the monuments of ancient Russian literature for the most part did not have a stable text. New editions and new types of works appeared in response to new demands of life and arose under the influence of changes in literary tastes.
The reason for the free handling of monuments was also anonymity ancient Russian monuments. The concept of literary property and author's monopoly was absent in Ancient Rus'. Literary monuments were not signed, since the author considered himself only an executor of God's will. The literary monuments were not dated, but the time of writing of this or that work is established with an accuracy of five to ten years using the chronicle, where all the events of Russian history are accurately recorded, and this or that work, as a rule, appeared “hot on the heels of the events” of history itself .
Old Russian literature is traditional. Author literary work“dresses” a given topic in its corresponding “literary attire.” As a result, the works of Ancient Rus' are not fenced off from each other by strict boundaries, their text is not fixed by precise ideas about literary property. This creates a certain illusion of slowness in the literary process. Old Russian literature developed strictly according to traditional genres: hagiographical, apocryphal, circulation genre, teachings of the church fathers, historical stories, didactic literature. All these genres are translated. Along with translated genres, the first Russian original genre appeared in the 11th century - chronicle writing.
Old Russian literature is characterized by “medieval historicism”, therefore artistic generalization in Ancient Rus' is built on the basis of a single specific historical fact. The work is always attached to a specific historical person, while any historical event receives a purely church interpretation, that is, the outcome of the event depends on the will of God, who either has mercy or punishes. The “medieval historicism” of Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries is in connection with another important feature of it that has been preserved and developed in Russian literature up to the present day - its citizenship and patriotism.
Called to consider reality, follow this reality and evaluate it, the ancient Russian writer already in the 11th century perceived his work as a work of service home country. Old Russian literature has always been particularly serious, trying to answer the basic questions of life, calling for its transformation, and possessing diverse and always high ideals.
Peculiarities.
1. Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
2. The main theme of ancient Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.
3. 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.
4. A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.
5. A feature of the artistic creativity of the ancient Russian writer is the so-called “literary etiquette”. This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.
6. Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state and writing and is based on bookish Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetic creativity. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, and visual means of folk art.
7. The originality of ancient Russian literature in the depiction of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, it is reproduced in monuments ancient literature hero, ideals are formed and created.
8. In ancient Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was the “use” of the genre, the “practical purpose” for which this or that work was intended.
The 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 (studies the external signs of handwritten monuments - handwriting, lettering, the nature of writing material) can come to help.
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. Its heroes are predominantly 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 of ancient literature, be it historical story or a legend, life or 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.
Features of Old Russian works
1. The books were written in Old Russian. There were no punctuation marks, all words were written together.
2. Artistic images were influenced by the church. Mostly the exploits of saints were described.
3. Monks wrote books. The writers were very literate; they had to know the ancient Greek language and the Bible.
3. In ancient Russian literature there was large number genres: chronicles, historical stories, lives of saints, words. There were also translated works of a religious nature.
One of the most common genres is the chronicle.
Old Russian(or Russian medieval, or ancient East Slavic) literature is the totality written works, written on the territory of Kievan and then Muscovite Rus' in the period from the 11th to the 17th centuries. Old Russian literature is common ancient literature of the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples.
Map of Ancient Rus'
The largest researchers
ancient Russian literature are academicians Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, Boris Aleksandrovich Rybakov, Alexey Aleksandrovich Shakhmatov.
Academician D.S. Likhachev
Old Russian literature was not the result fiction and had a close features
.
1. Fiction was not allowed in ancient Russian literature, since fiction is a lie, and lies are sinful. That's why all works were of a religious or historical nature. The right to fiction was conceptualized only in the 17th century.
2. Due to the lack of fiction in ancient Russian literature there was no concept of authorship, since the works either reflected real historical events or were expositions of Christian books. Therefore, works of ancient Russian literature have a compiler, a copyist, but not an author.
3. Works of ancient Russian literature were created in accordance with etiquette, that is, according to certain rules. Etiquette was formed from ideas about how the course of events should unfold, how the hero should behave, and how the compiler of the work should describe what is happening.
4. Old Russian literature developed very slowly: over seven centuries, only a few dozen works were created. This was explained, firstly, by the fact that the works were copied by hand, and the books were not replicated, since before 1564 there was no printing in Rus'; secondly, the number of literate (reading) people was very small.
Genres
Old Russian literature differed from modern ones.
| Genre | Definition | Examples |
| CHRONICLE |
Description of historical events by “year,” that is, by year. Goes back to ancient Greek chronicles. |
“The Tale of Bygone Years”, “Laurentian Chronicle”, “Ipatiev Chronicle” |
| TEACHING | A father's spiritual testament to his children. | "Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh" |
| LIFE (HAGIOGRAPHY) | Biography of a saint. | "The Life of Boris and Gleb", "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh", "The Life of Archpriest Avvakum" |
| WALKING | Description of travel. | "Walking beyond the three seas", "Walking of the Virgin Mary through torment" |
| WARRIOR TALE | Description of military campaigns. | "Zadonshchina", "The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev" |
| WORD | Genre of eloquence. | "The Word about Law and Grace", "The Word about the destruction of the Russian land" |
In this article we will look at the features of Old Russian literature. The literature of Ancient Rus' was primarily church. After all, book culture in Rus' appeared with the adoption of Christianity. Monasteries became centers of writing, and the first literary monuments were mainly works of a religious nature. Thus, one of the first original (that is, not translated, but written by a Russian author) works was the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion. The author proves the superiority of Grace (the image of Jesus Christ is associated with it) over the Law, which, according to the preacher, is conservative and nationally limited.
Literature was not created for entertainment, but for teaching. Considering the features of ancient Russian literature, it should be noted that it is instructive. She teaches to love God and her Russian land; she creates images of ideal people: saints, princes, faithful wives.
Let us note one seemingly insignificant feature of ancient Russian literature: it was handwritten. Books were created in a single copy and only then copied by hand when it was necessary to make a copy or the original text became unusable over time. This gave the book special value and generated respect for it. In addition, for the ancient Russian reader, all books traced their origins to the main one - the Holy Scriptures.
Since the literature of Ancient Rus' was fundamentally religious, the book was seen as a storehouse of wisdom, a textbook of righteous life. Old Russian literature is not fiction, but modern meaning this word. She does everything avoids fiction and strictly follows the facts. The author does not show his individuality; he hides behind the narrative form. He does not strive for originality; for an ancient Russian writer it is more important to stay within the framework of tradition, not to break it. Therefore, all lives are similar to one another, all biographies of princes or military stories are compiled according to overall plan, in compliance with the "rules". When “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells us about Oleg’s death from his horse, this beautiful poetic legend sounds like a historical document; the author really believes that everything happened that way.
The hero of ancient Russian literature does not have no personality, no character in our view today. Man's destiny is in the hands of God. And at the same time, his soul acts as an arena for the struggle between good and evil. The first will win only when a person lives according to moral rules given once and for all.
Of course, in Russian medieval works we will not find either individual characters or psychologism - not because ancient Russian writers did not know how to do this. In the same way, icon painters created planar rather than three-dimensional images, not because they could not write “better”, but because they were faced with other artistic tasks: the face of Christ cannot be similar to the usual human face. An icon is a sign of holiness, not a depiction of a saint.
The literature of Ancient Rus' adheres to the same aesthetic principles: it creates faces, not faces, gives the reader sample correct behavior rather than depicting a person's character. Vladimir Monomakh behaves like a prince, Sergius of Radonezh behaves like a saint. Idealization is one of the key principles of ancient Russian art.
Old Russian literature in every possible way avoids mundaneness: she does not describe, but narrates. Moreover, the author does not narrate on his own behalf, he only conveys what is written in the sacred books, what he read, heard or saw. There can be nothing personal in this narrative: no manifestation of feelings, no individual manner. (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in this sense is one of the few exceptions.) Therefore, many works of the Russian Middle Ages anonymous, the authors do not even assume such immodesty - to put your name. And the ancient reader cannot even imagine that the word is not from God. And if God speaks through the mouth of the author, then why does he need a name, a biography? That is why the information available to us about ancient authors is so scarce.
At the same time, in ancient Russian literature a special national ideal of beauty, captured by ancient scribes. First of all, this is spiritual beauty, the beauty of the Christian soul. In Russian medieval literature, in contrast to Western European literature of the same era, the knightly ideal of beauty - the beauty of weapons, armor, and victorious battle - is much less represented. The Russian knight (prince) wages war for the sake of peace, and not for the sake of glory. War for the sake of glory and profit is condemned, and this is clearly seen in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Peace is assessed as an unconditional good. The ancient Russian ideal of beauty presupposes a wide expanse, an immense, “decorated” earth, and it is decorated with temples, because they were created specifically for the exaltation of the spirit, and not for practical purposes.
The attitude of ancient Russian literature is also connected with the theme of beauty to oral and poetic creativity, folklore. On the one hand, folklore was of pagan origin, and therefore did not fit into the framework of the new, Christian worldview. On the other hand, he could not help but penetrate literature. After all, the written language in Rus' from the very beginning was Russian, and not Latin, as in Western Europe, and there was no impassable border between the book and the spoken word. Folk ideas about beauty and goodness also generally coincided with Christian ideas; Christianity penetrated folklore almost unhindered. Therefore, the heroic epic (epics), which began to take shape in the pagan era, presents its heroes both as patriotic warriors and as defenders of the Christian faith, surrounded by “filthy” pagans. Just as easily, sometimes almost unconsciously, ancient Russian writers use folklore images and stories.
The religious literature of Rus' quickly outgrew its narrow church framework and became truly spiritual literature, which created a whole system of genres. Thus, “The Sermon on Law and Grace” belongs to the genre of a solemn sermon delivered in church, but Hilarion not only proves the Grace of Christianity, but also glorifies the Russian land, combining religious pathos with patriotic ones.
Genre of life
The most important genre for ancient Russian literature was the hagiography, the biography of a saint. At the same time, the task was pursued, by telling about the earthly life of a saint canonized by the church, to create an image ideal person for the edification of all people.
IN " Lives of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb"Prince Gleb appeals to his killers with a request to spare him: “Do not cut the ear, which is not yet ripe, filled with the milk of goodness! Do not cut the vine, which is not yet fully grown, but bears fruit!” Abandoned by his squad, Boris in his tent “cries with a broken heart, but is joyful in his soul”: he is afraid of death and at the same time he realizes that he is repeating the fate of many saints who accepted martyrdom for their faith.
IN " Lives of Sergius of Radonezh“It is said that the future saint in his adolescence had difficulty comprehending literacy, lagged behind his peers in learning, which caused him a lot of suffering; when Sergius retired into the desert, a bear began to visit him, with whom the hermit shared his meager food, it happened that the saint gave the last piece of bread to the beast.
In the traditions of life in the 16th century, “ The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, but it already sharply diverged from the canons (norms, requirements) of the genre and therefore was not included in the collection of lives of the “Great Chet-Minea” along with other biographies. Peter and Fevronia are real historical figures who reigned in Murom in the 13th century, Russian saints. The author of the 16th century produced not a hagiography, but an entertaining story, built on fairy-tale motifs, glorifying the love and loyalty of the heroes, and not just their Christian deeds.
A " Life of Archpriest Avvakum", written by himself in the 17th century, turned into a bright autobiographical work filled with authentic events and real people, living details, feelings and experiences of the hero-narrator, behind which stands the bright character of one of the spiritual leaders of the Old Believers.
Genre of teaching
Since religious literature was intended to educate true Christian, one of the genres was teaching. Although this is a church genre, close to a sermon, it was also used in secular (secular) literature, since the ideas of the people of that time about the correct, righteous life did not differ from the church ones. You know" Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", written by him around 1117 "sitting on a sleigh" (shortly before his death) and addressed to children.
The ideal appears before us Old Russian prince. He cares about the welfare of the state and each of his subjects, guided by Christian morality. The prince's other concern is about the church. All earthly life should be considered as work to save the soul. This is the work of mercy and kindness, and military work, and mental work. Hard work is the main virtue in Monomakh’s life. He made eighty-three large campaigns, signed twenty peace treaties, studied five languages, he himself did what his servants and warriors did.
Chronicles
A significant, if not the largest, part of ancient Russian literature is works of historical genres that were included in the chronicles. The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years""was created at the beginning of the 12th century. Its significance is extremely great: it was proof of Rus'’s right to state independence, independence. But if chroniclers could record recent events “according to the epics of this time,” reliably, then the events of pre-Christian history had to be restored according to oral sources: traditions, legends, sayings, geographical names. Therefore, the chroniclers turn to folklore. These are the legends about the death of Oleg, about Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans, about Belgorod jelly, etc.
Already in The Tale of Bygone Years two the most important features Old Russian literature: patriotism and connection with folklore. Book-Christian and folklore-pagan traditions are closely intertwined in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
Elements of fiction and satire
Of course, ancient Russian literature was not unchanged throughout all seven centuries. We saw that over time it became more secular, elements of fiction intensified, and satirical motifs increasingly penetrated into literature, especially in the 16th-17th centuries. These are, for example, " The Tale of Misfortune", showing what troubles disobedience and the desire to “live as he pleases,” and not as his elders teach, can bring a person, and “ The Tale of Ersha Ershovich", ridiculing the so-called "voivode's court" in the tradition of a folk tale.
But in general, we can talk about the literature of Ancient Rus' as a single phenomenon, with its own end-to-end ideas and motives that have passed through 700 years, with its general aesthetic principles, with a stable system of genres.
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Old Russian literature (DRL) is the foundation of all literature. The main keepers and copyists of books in Ancient Rus', as a rule, were monks, who were least interested in storing and copying books of secular (secular) content. And this largely explains why the overwhelming majority of works of Old Russian writing that have reached us are of an ecclesiastical nature. A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is handwritten the nature of its existence and distribution. Moreover, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections that pursued certain practical goals. “Everything that serves not for the sake of benefit, but for the sake of embellishment, is subject to the accusation of vanity.” These words of Basil the Great largely determined the attitude of ancient Russian society towards written works. The value of a particular handwritten book was assessed from the point of view of its practical purpose and usefulness. Another feature of our ancient literature is anonymity, the impersonality of her works. This was a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude of feudal society towards man, and in particular towards the work of a writer, artist, and architect. IN best case scenario we know the names of individual authors, “writers” of books, who modestly put their name either at the end of the manuscript, or in its margins, or (which is much less common) in the title of the work In most cases, the author of the work prefers to remain unknown, and sometimes hide behind the authoritative name of one or another “church father” - John Chrysostom, Basil the Great. One of the characteristic features of Old Russian literature is its connection with church and business writing, on the one hand, and oral poetic folk art- on the other. The nature of these connections at each historical stage of the development of literature and in its individual monuments was different. However, the wider and deeper literature used the artistic experience of folklore, the more clearly it reflected the phenomena of reality, the wider was the sphere of its ideological and artistic influence. A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is and s t o r i z m. Its heroes are predominantly 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. The historicism of ancient Russian literature has a specifically medieval character. The course and development of historical events is explained by God's will, the will of providence. The heroes of the works are princes, rulers of the state, standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. Themes are also connected with historicism: the beauty and greatness of Rus', historical events. The DR writer creates within the framework of an established tradition, looks at models, and does not allow artistic invention.