I. Literature of the ancient Russian state of the 11th - first half of the 13th centuries. The literature of this period is often called literature Kievan Rus.
II. Literature of the period feudal fragmentation and the struggle for the unification of northeastern Rus' (second half of the 13th - first half of the 15th centuries).
III. Literature from the period of creation and development of the centralized Russian state (XVI-XVII centuries).
However, when periodizing literary process must be taken into account:
1. A range of original and translated monuments that appeared in a given period.
2. The nature of ideas and images reflected in literature.
3. The leading principles of reflecting reality and the nature of genres and styles that determine the specifics of literary development of a given period.
The first monuments of ancient Russian writing that have come down to us are known only from the second half of the 11th century: the Ostromir Gospel (1056-1057), “Izbornik of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav of 1073”, “Izbornik of 1076”. Most of the works created in the 11th-12th centuries were preserved only in later copies of the 14th-17th centuries.
However, the intensive development of writing in Rus' began after the official adoption of Christianity in 988. At the same time, a certain education system arose. In the 30s of the 11th century. in Kyiv there are “many scribes” who not only copy books, but also translate them from Greek language on "Slovenian letter" All this allows us to highlight the end of the 10th - first half of the 11th century. as the first, initial, period of formation of Old Russian literature. True, we can only speak hypothetically about the range of works of this period, their themes, ideas, genres and styles.
The predominant place in the literature of this period was apparently occupied by books of religious and moral content: the Gospels, the Apostle, the Service Menaion, the Synaxari. During this period, the translation of the Greek chronicles was carried out, on the basis of which the “Chronograph according to the Great Exposition” was compiled. At the same time, records of oral legends about the spread of Christianity in Rus' arose. The artistic pinnacle of this period and the beginning of a new one was Hilarion’s “Sermon on Law and Grace.”
The second period - the middle of the 11th - the first third of the 12th century - the literature of Kievan Rus. This is the heyday of original ancient Russian literature, represented by the genres of the didactic “word” (Theodosius of Pechersky, Luka Zhidyata), genre varieties of original lives (“The Legend” and “Reading” about Boris and Gleb, “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersky”, “Memory and Praise of Prince Vladimir” "), historical tales, tales, traditions that formed the basis of the chronicle, which at the beginning of the 12th century. is called "The Tale of Bygone Years". At the same time, the first “walk” appeared - the journey of Abbot Daniel and such an original work as the “Teaching” of Vladimir Monomakh.
Translated literature during this period is widely represented by philosophical-didactic and moral-didactic collections, patericons, historical chronicles, and apocryphal works.
The central theme of the original literature becomes the theme of the Russian land, the idea of its greatness, integrity, and sovereignty. Its devotees are the spiritual lights of the Russian land and the ideal of moral beauty. to his "toil and sweat" the formidable princes build the fatherland - “good sufferers for the Russian land.”
During this period, various styles developed: epic, documentary-historical, didactic, emotionally expressive, hagiographic, which are sometimes present in the same work.
The third period falls on the second third of the 12th - first half of the 13th century. This is literature from the period of feudal fragmentation, when the “patchwork empire of the Rurikovichs” broke up into a number of independent feudal semi-states. The development of literature takes on a regional character. Based on the literature of Kievan Rus, local literary schools: Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Kiev-Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Polotsk-Smolensk, Turovo-Pinsk, which will then become the source of the formation of the literature of the three fraternal Slavic peoples- Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.
In these regional centers, local chronicles, hagiography, genres of travel, historical stories, epideictic eloquence (“words” of Cyril of Turov, Kliment Smolyatich, Serapion of Vladimir) are developing, and the “Tale of the Miracles of the Vladimir Icon” begins to take shape Mother of God" Through the works of Bishop Simon of Vladimir and monk Polycarp, the “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon” was created. The pinnacle of literature of this period was “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” firmly connected with the outgoing traditions of the heroic druzhina epic. The original striking works are “The Lay” by Daniil Zatochnik and “The Lay on the Destruction of the Russian Land.”
The fourth period - the second half of the XIII-XV centuries - literature of the period of the struggle of the Russian people with the Mongol-Tatar conquerors and the beginning of the formation of a centralized Russian state, the formation of the Great Russian people. The development of literature during this period took place in such leading cultural centers as the towering Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, and Tver.
Awareness of the need to fight against foreign enslavers led to the unification of popular forces, and this struggle goes hand in hand with the political unification of Rus' around a single center, which becomes Moscow. An important milestone in the political and cultural life of Rus' was the victory won by the Russian people on the Kulikovo field in September 1380 over the hordes of Mamai. It showed that Rus' has the strength to decisively fight the enslavers, and these forces can be united and united by the centralized power of the Grand Duke of Moscow.
In the literature of this time, the main theme was the fight against foreign enslavers - the Mongol-Tatars and the theme of strengthening the Russian state, glorifying the military and moral exploits of the Russian people, their deeds. Literature and fine arts reveal the moral ideal of a person who is able to overcome "the strife of this age" - the main evil that prevents the unification of all forces to fight the hated conquerors.
Epiphanius the Wise revives and raises to a new level of artistic perfection the emotionally expressive style developed by the literature of Kievan Rus. The development of this style was determined by the historical needs of life itself, and not only by the second South Slavic influence, although the experience of Bulgarian and Serbian literature was taken into account and used by the literature of the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
Further development receives the style of historical narrative. It is influenced by the democratic strata of the population, on the one hand, and church circles, on the other. Entertainment and artistic fiction are beginning to penetrate more widely into the historical narrative. Fictional tales appear that are taken as historical (the story of the city of Babylon, “The Tale of the Mutyansky governor Dracula”, “The Tale of the Iveron Queen Dinara”, “The Tale of Basarga”). In these tales, journalistic and political tendencies are intensified, emphasizing the importance of Rus' and its center of Moscow - the political and cultural successor of the ruling world powers.
In the 15th century reaches its peak Novgorod literature, which clearly reflected the acute struggle of classes within the feudal urban republic. Novgorod chronicles and hagiography with its democratic tendencies played an important role in the development of ancient Russian literature.
In literature, there is growing interest in the psychological states of the human soul, the dynamics of feelings and emotions.
The literature of this period reflected the main character traits of the emerging Great Russian people: perseverance, heroism, the ability to endure adversity and difficulties, the will to fight and win, love for the homeland and responsibility for its fate.
The fifth period of development of Old Russian literature falls at the end of the 15th-16th centuries. This is the period of literature of the centralized Russian state. In the development of literature, it was marked by the process of merging local regional literatures into a single all-Russian literature, which provided an ideological justification for the centralized power of the sovereign. The acute internal political struggle to strengthen the sovereign power of the Grand Duke, and then the Sovereign of All Rus', determined the unprecedented flourishing of journalism.
The official style of the era becomes the representative, magnificent, eloquent style of the Makaryev literary school. Polemical journalistic literature gives rise to freer, more vibrant literary forms associated with business writing and everyday life.
The sixth period of development of Old Russian literature falls on the 17th century. The nature of literary development allows us to distinguish two stages in this period: 1st - from the beginning of the century to the 60s, 2nd - 60s - the end of the 17th, the first third of the 18th centuries.
The first stage is associated with the development and transformation of traditional historical and hagiographic genres of ancient Russian literature. The events of the first Peasant War and the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish-Swedish intervention dealt a blow to religious ideology and providentialist views on the course of historical events. In the social, political and cultural life of the country, the role of the posad—the trade and craft population—increased. A new democratic reader has appeared. Responding to his requests, literature expands the scope of reality, changes the previously established genre system, begins to free itself from provenentialism, symbolism, etiquette - the leading principles artistic method medieval literature. Hagiography is turning into everyday biography, and the genre of the historical story is being democratized.
The second stage in the development of Russian literature in the second half of the 17th century. associated with Nikon’s church reform, with the events of the historical reunification of Ukraine with Russia, after which an intensive process of penetration of Western European literature into Old Russian literature began. A historical story, losing connections with specific facts, becomes an entertaining narrative. The life becomes not only an everyday biography, but also an autobiography - a confession of a hot rebellious heart.
Traditional genres Church and business writing become objects of literary parody: a church service is parodied in the service to a tavern, the life of a saint in the life of a drunkard, petitions and the “judgment case” in “The Kalyazin Petition” and “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich.” Folklore is rushing into literature in a broad wave. Folk genres satirical tale, epic, song lyrics are organically included in literary works.
The self-awareness of the individual is reflected in a new genre - the everyday story, in which appears new hero- a merchant's son, a seedy rootless nobleman. The nature of translated literature is changing.
The process of democratization of literature meets with a response from the ruling classes. In court circles, an artificial normative style, ceremonial aesthetics, and elements of Ukrainian-Polish baroque were implanted. Living folk lyrics are contrasted with artificial syllabic book poetry, and democratic satire is contrasted with a moralizing abstract satire on morals in general, folk drama- court and school comedy. However, the emergence of syllabic poetry, court and school theater testified to the triumph of new principles and prepared the way for the emergence of classicism in Russian literature of the 18th century.
Features of Old Russian literature
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is handwritten character 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, impersonality 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, “copywriters” of books, who modestly put their name either at the end of the manuscript, or in its margins, or (which is much less common) in the title of the work. At the same time, the writer will not accept to provide his name with such evaluative epithets as “thin”, “unworthy”, “many sinners”. In most cases, the author of the work prefers to remain unknown, and sometimes hide behind the authoritative name of one or another “father of the church” - John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, etc.
Biographical information about the ancient Russian writers known to us, the volume of their creativity, and the nature of their social activities is very, very scarce. Therefore, if when studying literature of the 18th-20th centuries. literary scholars widely use biographical material, reveal the nature of political, philosophical, aesthetic views of this or that writer, using the author’s manuscripts, trace the history of the creation of works, identify creative individuality writer, then the monuments of ancient Russian writing have to be approached differently.
As a rule, the original texts of works have not reached us, but more than late lists, sometimes distant from the time of writing the original by a hundred, two hundred or more years. For example, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” created by Nestor in 1111-1113, has not survived at all, and the edition of Sylvester’s “story” (1116) is known only as part of the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377. “The Tale of Igor’s Host,” written at the end of 80 s of the 12th century, was found in a list of the 16th century.
When studying ancient Russian literature, one very important circumstance should be taken into account: in the medieval period, fiction had not yet emerged as an independent area of public consciousness; it was inextricably linked with philosophy, science, and religion.
In this regard, it is impossible to mechanically apply to ancient Russian literature those criteria of artistry with which we approach when assessing the phenomena of literary development of modern times.
The process of historical development of ancient Russian literature is a process of gradual crystallization of fiction, its isolation from the general flow of writing, its democratization and “secularization,” i.e., liberation from the tutelage of the church.
One of the characteristic features of Old Russian literature is its connection with church and business writing, on the one hand, and oral poetic folk art, on the other. The nature of these connections at each historical stage of the development of literature and in its individual monuments was different.
However, the wider and deeper literature used the artistic experience of folklore, the more clearly it reflected the phenomena of reality, the wider the sphere of its ideological and artistic influence.
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.
The historicism of ancient Russian literature has a specifically medieval character. The course and development of historical events is explained by God's will, the will of providence. The heroes of the works are princes, rulers of the state, standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. However, having discarded the religious shell, the modern reader easily discovers that living historical reality, the true creator of which was the Russian people.
1. What is the period of existence of Old Russian literature and what is its periodization?
four periods:
- Literature of Kievan Rus (11th - first third of the 12th century). Associated with the intensive development of Old Russian writing. Ancient Rus' becomes acquainted with a large number of monuments of translated literature, both canonical, church, and apocryphal, didactic, historical and narrative. During this period, the original Old Russian literature. The most important genres are formed - hagiography, didactic and solemn sermon, teaching, description of travel, chronicle, historical and military story, legend. The literature of this period is imbued with the patriotic, civic pathos of love for the great Russian land.
- Literature of the period of feudal fragmentation (second third of the 12th - mid-13th centuries). Russia breaks up into a number of independent feudal semi-states, and the development of literature takes on a regional character. Literary schools are being created: Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Kiev-Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Polotsk-Smolensk, Turovo-Pinsk. In these regional centers, local chronicles, hagiography, the genres of travel, historical stories, and solemn oratorical eloquence are developing (“words” of Kirill Turovsky, Kliment Smolyatich; “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon”, “The Tale of Igor’s Host”, “The Prayer of Daniil Zatochnik”).
Literature from the period of the struggle against foreign invaders and the unification of northeastern Rus' (mid-13th - early 14th centuries). The heroic struggle of the Russian people against foreign invaders is clearly reflected. “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”, “The Life of Alexander Nevsky”, “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land”. In the literature of this time, the main themes were the struggle against foreign enslavers - the Mongol-Tatars - and the strengthening of the Russian state, glorifying the military and moral exploits of the Russian people.
During this period, Epiphanius the Wise revived and raised the emotionally expressive style to a new level of artistic perfection. The style of historical narration is further developed, the political theory “Moscow is the third Rome” (“The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople”) is strengthened.
In the 15th century, Novgorod literature, as well as the literature of Tver, reached its peak. Afanasy Nikitin’s “Walking across Three Seas” is associated with democratic urban culture.
The literature of this period reflected the main character traits of the emerging Great Russian people: perseverance, heroism, the ability to endure adversity and difficulties, the will to fight and win. Interest in the psychological states of the human soul is growing.
- Literature from the period of strengthening the Russian centralized state (16th - 17th centuries). In the 16th century, the process of merging regional literatures into one common one took place. Two trends are strictly observed: one is the observance of strict rules and canons of writing, church rites, and everyday life, the other is the violation of these rules. The latter begins to appear not only in journalism, but also in hagiography and historical narrative. Literature, in connection with historical changes (Bolotnikov’s peasant war, the fight against intervention), expands the scope of reality, changes the genre system, and begins to free itself from the belief in divine predestination. The principles of the artistic method of medieval literature - symbolism, etiquette - are being destroyed. The life turns into an everyday biography. Vivid evidence of this is “The Life of Juliania Lazarevskaya” and “The Tale of the Azov Siege of the Don Cossacks in 1641.” In the second half of the 17th century, the process of secularization of literature, its liberation from the tutelage of the church, and the process of its democratization accelerated. Traditional genres of church and business writing become objects of literary parody (“Kazan Petition” and “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich”). Folklore is rushing into literature in a broad wave. The genres of folk satirical fairy tales, epics, and song lyrics are organically included in literary works.
The process of personal self-awareness is reflected in a new genre - the everyday story, in which a new hero appears - a merchant's son or a rootless nobleman. Together appears syllabic poetry, courtier and school theater, which indicates the triumph of new beginnings, which prepared the way for the emergence of classicism in Russian literature.
2.What are the main features of Old Russian literature? How does her religious character manifest itself?
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution. Moreover, this or that work existed, as a rule, not in the form of one, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections that pursued certain practical goals. The value of a particular handwritten book was assessed from the point of view of its practical purpose and usefulness.
Another feature is the anonymity and 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. At best, we know the names of individual authors, “copywriters” 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. At the same time, the writer will provide his name with such epithets as “thin”, “many sinners”, “unworthy”. In most cases, the author prefers to remain unknown, and sometimes hide behind the authoritative name of one or another “father of the church” - John Chrysostom and others.
There was no concept of copyright individual characteristics The writer’s personality did not receive such a vivid manifestation as in the literature of modern times. Copyists often acted as editors and co-authors rather than simple copyists of the text. 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 their time. As a result, new editions of monuments were created.
As a rule, the author's texts of works have not reached us, but their later lists have been preserved, sometimes distant from the time the original was written by a hundred, two hundred or more years. For example, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” created by Nestor in 1111-1113, has not survived at all, and the edition of Sylvester’s “story” (1116) is known only as part of the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377. “The Tale of Igor’s Host,” written at the end of 80 -x 12th century, was found in a list of the 16th century.
When studying ancient Russian literature, one important circumstance should be taken into account: in the medieval period, fiction had not yet emerged as an independent area of public consciousness; it was inextricably linked with philosophy, science, and religion.
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. Religiosity is connected with the fact that the worldview of ancient Russian people was exclusively religious in nature. The wider and deeper literature used the artistic experience of folklore, the more clearly it reflected the phenomena of reality, the wider was its sphere of ideological and artistic influence.
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 the numerous stories about “miracles” - phenomena that seemed supernatural to medieval people, are not so much the invention of an ancient Russian writer, but rather accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the people themselves with whom the “miracle” happened. The historicism of ancient Russian literature has a specifically medieval character. The course and development of historical events is explained by God's will, the will of Providence. The heroes of the works are princes, rulers of the state, standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. However, having discarded the religious shell, the modern reader easily discovers that living historical reality, the true creator of which was the Russian people.
3. What is the system of genres of Old Russian literature? Describe its main genres.
1) Chronicles. The narration in the chronicles was carried out by year in chronological sequence. The story about the events of each year began with the words “In the summer...”, hence the name - “chronicle”. What did the chroniclers write about? About military campaigns, the death of princes, epidemics, eclipses of the sun. Sometimes, the chronicles included the texts of charters, agreements, and detailed plot narratives. D.S. Likhachev said that the chronicle is one of the “unifying genres.” The beginning of Russian chronicle writing is “The Tale of Bygone Years.” Two editions of it have survived, dating from 1116 and 1118. The first version of 1113, made by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor, has not reached us. It must be said that in Ancient Rus' not only chronicles, but also lives (story of life...), legends were called stories. Thus, a story is a general genre form that includes works of different or the same genre, united by the thoughts of the narrator.
2) Stories were widespread in ancient Russian literature: translated ones (“The Tale of Eruslan Lazarevich”), about princely crimes (about the murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky), and military ones. Military stories depicted military exploits of the Russian people, numerous battles (about the battle on the Kalka River, about the invasion of Batu Khan, about the Battle of Kulikovo). The central character of the military story was a real historical figure, the prince. As a rule, the image of the prince was idealized, endowed with a large number of positive qualities. Vivid examples military story is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
Over time, the story underwent changes: historical facts were supplanted fiction. The story had the features of a love-adventure novel (“Tales of the Beginning of Moscow”). New genres have been formed - the everyday story (“The Tale of Grief-Misfortune”), the satirical story (“The Tale of Shemyakin’s Court”). The satirical stories talked about important social problems: about bribery, corruption of the court, social inequality, etc. Sometimes they were parodies of petitions, church services, and other popular texts.
3) An important genre Old Russian literature included lives - works that told about the lives of saints. The first Russian hagiography was “The Life of Boris and Gleb.” Boris and Gleb are the sons of Grand Duke Vladimir. The life tells how the elder brother of Boris and Gleb Svyatopolk killed them in order to become prince of Kyiv. At the beginning of the 15th century, the life of Sergius of Radonezh was compiled, which spoke about his exploits and miracles.
As a rule, the life includes a short introduction by the compiler, a main biographical part and a brief praise. The biographical part tells about the origin of the saint, his pious childhood, ascetic deeds and death. In ancient Russian literature, several types of lives are distinguished: martyr's lives (about saints who endured torture and death for their faith), confessional (about saints who were persecuted during their lifetime for preaching Christianity), venerable ones (about righteous, holy monks), etc. . Later, in the 17th century, lives began to appear that told about ordinary people. For example, “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum,” which he wrote himself, is widely known. Avvakum (1621-1682) was the leader of the Old Believers, opponents church reform, which was conducted by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The authorities persecuted schismatics, so Avvakum spent half of his life in prison and exile, and then was executed. In his “Life” he spoke about his suffering for his faith, and that these sufferings could not force him to abandon his ideas.
4) Walking (or walking) was very popular in Rus'. Walkings are works that describe the journeys of pilgrims to the shrines of Palestine and Byzantium. One of the earliest ancient Russian walks is “The Walk of Abbot Daniel.” The basic principle of this genre was formulated by Daniil as follows: “You need to write about what you have seen and heard yourself: not cleverly, but simply.” In the pilgrimages of the 14th-15th centuries, pilgrims are replaced by state ambassadors and traders who describe hitherto unknown lands.
4. How did early Russian chronicles develop? What are the features of The Tale of Bygone Years? Principles of depicting heroes, composition, genre composition?
The chronicle as a literary genre (and not historical records in general!) appears, apparently, in the middle of the 11th century.
Written by monk Nestor of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery in the 11th-12th centuries, the chronicle absorbed a large amount of materials from tales, stories, legends, oral poetic traditions about various historical figures and events. Many consider it as the main source on the initial period of Russian history, sometimes unreasonably discarding other sources if they contradict the Tale of Bygone Years.
The Tale of Bygone Years records legends about the origin of the Slavs, their settlement along the Dnieper and around Lake Ilmen, the clash of the Slavs with the Khazars and Varangians, the calling of the Varangians by the Novgorod Slavs with Rurik at their head and the formation of the state of Rus'. The legends recorded in the PVL represent practically the only source of information on the formation of the first ancient Russian state and the first Russian princes. The names of Rurik, Sineus, Truvor, Askold, Dir, and Prophetic Oleg are not found in other synchronous sources, although attempts are made to identify some historical characters with the listed princes.
When writing the chronicle, documents from the princely archive were used, which made it possible to preserve the texts of the Russian-Byzantine treaties of 911, 944 and 971 to this day. Some of the information was taken from Byzantine sources. The Russian raid on Constantinople in 860 is described based on the translation of the chronicle of George Amartol; stories about earlier times were taken from the chronicle of John Malala. According to the famous Russian philologist D.S. Likhachev, PVL was “not just a collection of facts of Russian history and not just a historical and journalistic work related to the urgent but transitory tasks of Russian reality, but an integral literary history of Rus'.”
5. What are the genre features of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”?
The question of the genre of “The Lay” turns out to be very difficult. The author of the monument cannot help us: he himself calls his work either a “word” (“The Lay of Igor’s Pilku ...”), or “song” (“These songs began according to the epics of this time ...”, “Pevshe song of the old prince..."), then "story" ("Let's finish this story, brethren..."). The Lay has no analogies among other monuments of ancient Russian literature. Consequently, this is either a work that is exceptional in its genre originality, or it is a representative of a special genre, the monuments of which have not reached us, since this genre, combining the features of a book “word” and an epic work, was not traditional. Perhaps works of this genre, intended primarily for oral performance, were rarely recorded at all.
D. S. Likhachev writes that the appearance of such monuments, “standing on the border of literature and folklore” (and this is exactly what “The Lay” is), could be caused by the following circumstance. In connection with the formation of a feudal state occurring at an accelerated pace, “a new historical and patriotic self-awareness is emerging, which requires special genre forms of expression. Neither the system of folklore genres nor the system of Byzantine-Slavic literary genres that passed to Rus' were adaptable to express new themes. The first due to its archaic nature, the second due to its predominant churchliness.” This was the prerequisite for the creation of new genres - “genres of political journalism, genres glorifying love for one’s native country, lyric-epic genres.” “The Lay” comes close to the monuments of the Western European early feudal epic, in particular with the “Song of Roland”.
This comparison was deeply studied by A. N. Robinson, who set the task of “finding and justifying... a place among the epic works of the Western and Eastern feudal world.” The researcher points out that when making such comparisons, it is necessary to take into account, on the one hand, the “socio-historical proximity of feudal ideologies and cultures”, and on the other, folk-national originality. A. N. Robinson demonstrates how common to medieval monuments heroic epic motives (the idea of defending the homeland, the concept of knightly honor, the etiquette of the relationship between overlord and vassal, the image of the hero’s wife or beloved in separation, etc.) manifest themselves differently in different cultures and different monuments. In “The Lay,” in particular, the possibilities for typical idealization of heroes turned out to be significantly limited, because the plot was based on a modern, rather than an event located in the distant past, and the author addressed his listeners “with a song-story about themselves.”
The special genre nature of the “Lay” had a great influence on his poetics: the “Lay” combines the principles of the poetics of the style of monumental historicism (ceremonialism in the depiction of heroes, techniques characteristic of the genre of solemn words) and the poetics of folklore (in the depiction of nature, in the depiction of the feelings of the hero’s wife , in a combination of folklore genres - “glory” and “crying”). Folklore elements turn out to be organically fused with bookish elements in The Lay.
6. What are the features of the literary style of “Zadonshchina”? How does this work relate to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”?
The main idea of the Battle of Adon is the greatness of the Battle of Kulikovo. The author of the work exclaims that the glory of the victory on the Kulikovo field reached different ends of the earth (“Shibla glory to the Iron Gates, and to Karanachi, to Rome, and to Cafe by sea, and to Tornav, and then to Constantinople for the praise of the Russian princes”) . The work is based on the real events of the Battle of Kulikovo, but this is not a consistent historical story about the preparation for the battle, about the battle itself, about the return of the victors from the battlefield, but an emotional refraction of all these events in the author’s perception. The story is transferred from one place to another: from Moscow to the Kulikovo Field, again to Moscow, to Novgorod, again to the Kulikovo Field. The present is intertwined with memories of the past. The author himself described his work as “pity and praise for Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother, Prince Vladimir Ondreevich.” “Pity” is a cry for the dead, for the difficult lot of the Russian land. "Praise" - glory to the courage and military valor of Russian soldiers and their leaders.
Already by the nature of the work, by the combination of lamentation and praise in it, 3. is close to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” But this closeness is not only of a general nature, but is most immediate, and this is another remarkable feature of this work of ancient Russian literature. “The Word” was a model for the author 3. at the textual level as well. Plan 3., a number of poetic images 3.—repetition of poetic images of the “Word”, individual words, phrases, large passages of text 3. Repeat the corresponding passages, “Words”, depend on the “Word”. Author 3. turned to the “Word” as a model with the goal of comparing and contrasting the political situation in Rus' at the time of the “Word” (80s of the 12th century) with the 80s of the 14th century. Main ideological meaning"Words" consisted of the author's call to the Russian princes to forget internecine strife and unite their forces to fight the external enemies of Rus'. Author 3. in the victory won over the Horde saw the real embodiment of the call of his brilliant predecessor: the combined forces of the Russian princes were able to defeat the Mongol-Tatars, who had previously been considered invincible. Author 3. rethinks the text of the Lay in accordance with the events of the Mamaev Massacre and brings in a lot of his own. 3. characterized by stylistic inconsistency - poetic parts of the text alternate with prosaic ones, which are in the nature of business prose.
3. To a greater extent than The Lay, the techniques of oral folk poetry are characteristic. The main thing is that in “The Lay” techniques and elements close to oral folk art are presented in an artistically executed author’s processing, author’s rethinking, but in 3. they are much closer both verbally and in character to oral sources. This circumstance and the state of the lists 3. (numerous distortions and errors) served as the basis for the assumption of the folklore, oral origin of the monument. The fact that individual lists 3. were recorded from memory and not copied from other lists is quite possible, but there is no reason to believe that 3. was originally a work of oral creativity. 3. goes back to the “Word” - a literary monument. Combination in 3. poetic text with prosaisms close in nature to business writing, speaks also to the bookish and literary character of the monument. This is evidenced by the strongly expressed church and religious symbolism and terminology in 3.
7. How is the plot embodied in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”? What are the features of the composition of the work?
The plot of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is based on true historical facts.
This idea is clearly embodied throughout artistic structure work, and above all in its plot and composition. Composition S. in highest degree thoughtful and harmonious, it is based on the principle of intertwining triads, characteristic of literary works Kievan Rus "words" messages, etc. The external triad of a composition consists of: beginning, main part, ending. The main part, in turn, is also three-part: a narrative about Igor’s campaign and its consequences for Rus', interrupted by three author’s digressions, a central fragment dedicated to Svyatoslav (Svyatoslav’s dream, his interpretation by the boyars of Svyatoslav’s “golden word”, merging with the author’s appeal to the princes) and the final fragment is associated with the return of Igor from captivity (the cry-spell of Yaroslavna, calling Igor from the “other world”, Igor’s flight, the pursuit of Gzak and Konchak). It is easy to notice that each of the moments of the main part also consists of three episodes. Separate scenes of S. are relatively independent, skillfully woven by the author into a single whole. The compositional bonds between them are, in particular, various types of repetitions.
8. What is the historical basis of the Lay? Who are its main characters and what are the methods of depiction?
Historical events associated with the campaign and defeat of the Seversk princes - Igor Svyatoslavich, his brother Vsevolod from Kursk, son Vladimir from Putivl and nephew Svyatoslav Olgovich from Rylsk - formed the basis of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”. Two historical stories that have come down to us are devoted to the description of Igor’s campaign: one is part of the North Russian Laurentian Chronicle, the other is part of the South Russian Ipatiev Chronicle.
Image of princes. A large place in the Lay is devoted to depicting the actions of Igor and Vsevolod - the main participants in the campaign (Vladimir Igorevich is mentioned only at the end, in the toast, and the name of Oleg Svyatoslavich is omitted). The author sympathizes with his heroes and sees in them the best representatives of his contemporary generation of princes.
Igor is distinguished by extraordinary courage and bravery. He is a valiant warrior who decided to stand up for the Russian land, “I will exhaust my mind with my strength and sharpen my heart with courage, having filled myself with the military spirit.” For the good of his land, he is ready for any sacrifices and trials. With a courageous and noble speech, Igor addresses his squad: “Brupshe and squad! I wish I could be better than I am full of being. And everyone, brothers, on our brezya komoni, let us see the blue Don... I want more,” he said, “ break the end of the Polovtsian field with a spear; with you, Russians, I want to lay down my head, and write down the helmet of the Don."
Igor delivers his inspired speech at the moment of a solar eclipse, when he sees “all his howls are covered with darkness.” The terrible omen of nature is unable to shake the prince’s passionate desire and determination to “tempt the great Don” and to stand up for the Russian land. “The Word” does not show Igor in the battle on Kayals, but speaks of his courage and nobility when he wraps up the shelves, feeling sorry for his brother Vsevolod.
Vsevolod is also a valiant warrior. He is inseparable from his faithful experienced warriors, who “were twisted under the trumpets, under the helmets, the end of the copy is raised, the paths are known, the circles are known, their bows are tense, their bows are open, their sabers are sharpened; they themselves gallop like a gray leader in field, seek honor for yourself, and glory for the prince." The valor and courage of Vsevolod, shown by him in the battle on Kayal, are unparalleled. Russian in detail epic heroes, buoy-tur Vsevolod "princets" on the enemy with his arrows, thunders "harm swords on the helmets." Poing up with his golden helmet, he gallops across the battlefield, striking enemies. He is completely absorbed and carried away by the battle, in the heat of battle he forgets about his wounds, and about his father’s golden table, and about the caresses of his dear beauty, his wife Glebovna. By hyperbolically depicting Vsevolod’s behavior in battle, transferring the feat of the squad onto him, the author of “The Lay” follows the artistic principles of folklore.
The activities of the princes in the Lay are assessed from the people's point of view.
Igor and Vsevolod are condemned for their thirst for personal glory. The image of Svyatoslav is revealed in the “Word” in his “muddy” dream and “golden word”. Svyatoslav’s “Golden Word” is filled with civil sorrow over the discord between the princes, the lack of unity between them, and most importantly, over their forgetting of their responsibilities towards the “golden table”, the Russian land. This makes it possible for the author of the Lay to easily turn the “golden word” into a journalistically passionate appeal addressed to the most powerful princes of Rus' to speak out “for the Russian land, for the wounds of Igor, the great Svyatoslavlitch!”
The Tale also soberly assesses the power of the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. “With his iron planks” he blocks the path to Rus' for the Hungarian king, his troops take part in the crusades “shooting from the gold of the Saltani table for the lands.”
The author also appeals to Prince Roman Mstislavich Volynsky, famous for his bravery and courage, with a call to come to the aid of his homeland and, together with the princes of Lutsk and Peresopnitsa Ingvar and Vsevolod, to block the “gate of the field.”
The author of the Lay calls on the princes to serve the interests of the Russian land, and not selfish, personal ones. The Russian land, its people - "Dazhdboz's grandchildren" - are the main hero of "The Lay". In the name of the interests of the homeland and the people, the inspired and passionate voice of the poet sounds. He imagines the Russian land in all the complexity of the political struggle of that time, comprehends its fate in a broad historical perspective. He is deeply concerned about the honor and glory of his homeland. That is why Igor’s defeat is perceived as a terrible insult to the entire Russian land. And this author’s thought is clearly revealed by the poetic image of the Virgin of Resentment, who rises in the forces of “Dazhdbozh’s grandson,” that is, the Russian people.
The author of the Lay connects the power of the Russian land with the activities of “old” Vladimir and “old” Yaroslav, and, focusing his main attention on the “present sad time” of the Russian land, he regrets that “that old Vladimir can no longer be nailed to the mountains Kyiv". A passionate patriot and citizen, the author of the Lay imagines the Russian land as a single powerful feudal state with a political center in Kyiv, a state in which vassals strictly fulfill their duties towards their overlord.
In the mind of the author of “The Lay,” Boyan is an ideal singer. He is the prophetic grandson of the god Beles, that is, a man possessing the divine power of singing. His songs are like the trills of a nightingale. Giving glory to the prince, Boyan spreads “my mind over the tree, like a gray fork over the earth, like a gray eagle under the clouds,” that is, his speech is figurative, his thought soars. The prophetic fingers of Boyanas rumble from the lava to the princes, touching the living strings of the human soul
9.What is the theory of the discovery of the “Word” and what are the main directions of its current? Which poet translated this work? What are the main points of view on the history of the text and the authorship of the work?
It was opened at the end of the 18th century. collector and lover of antiquities Musin-Pushkin \\Acquired from Archimandrite Ioliya a handwritten collection that was created in the 16th century in northwestern Rus' in the region of Pskov or Novgorod\\The first message about the discovery of the “Word” was made by Kheraskov. Then Karamzin announced the discovery of the Lay. The text was published in 1800 in Moscow by Musin-Pushkin. In 1812, during Napoleon's invasion, the manuscript burned. The only old copy of the Lay was lost; only the late Catherine’s copy and the first printed text remained.
The lost list of “Words” reflects the phonetic features of North Russian dialects. The spelling of the list is artificial.
Which poet translated this work?
Zhukovsky, Likhachev, Balmont, Gudziy, Sumarokov, Zabolotsky
What are the main points of view on the history of the text and the authorship of the work?
1st approach: in the works of Academician B. A. Rybakov, he suggested that this author could be Pyotr Borislavich, a Kiev boyar and - presumably - a chronicler of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Izyaslav Mstislavich
2nd approach: that the author of the Lay was Prince Igor himself. (A.N. Maikov)\says that Igor opened a report in the chronicle not only about his defeat, but also about his previous affairs.
3rd approach: D. S. Likhacheva “Reflections on the author of “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”, the author participated in Igor’s campaign, outlined the history of this campaign in the chronicle, conveying the prince’s cherished thoughts and at the same time, being a singer, created “The Lay” and wrote down its text himself . The local interests of the feudal elite were alien to him and the interests of broad sections of the Russian working population were close. This means that the author of “The Lay,” the academician believes, could have been a folk singer.
10. What means of artistic speech imagery are most characteristic of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”? What are the main rhythmic features of the work?
The presence of symbolism is varied and eloquent, an abundance of metaphors, epithets, figurative richness, monologues, dialogues, rhetorical exclamations, techniques of comparison and parallelism, antithesis, rhythmic organization of speech (repetitions, monotony)
It is rhythmic, but the rhythmic system of the “Word” is deeply unique and belongs to its time - XII century. the flexible rhythm of the “Word” is subordinated to the content. In this exact correspondence of rhythmic form and ideological content“Words” are one of the most important foundations for the unique musicality of his language.
The alarming rhythm of short syntactic and semantic units perfectly conveys Igor’s excitement before fleeing\\ Another rhythm - the rhythm of a large, free breathing of the people’s cry - is felt in Yaroslavna’s address to the sun and wind, to the Dnieper:\\ The triumph of the Russian victory over the Polovtsians is excellently conveyed by an energetic phrase, devoid of a predicate and therefore giving the impression of a joyful exclamation, shout\\
A. Chernov - according to his assumption, the Old Russian text “The Lay” is not only poetic, but also written in rhymed verses (we are not talking about literary rhyme - alliterative verse, rhyming based on the consonance of one stressed vowel at the end of the line, etc.)
Bookish elements are reflected in the language of the “Words” next to the folk features of the ancient Russian language. Due to frequent correspondence, the “Lay” in the list that has come down to us has lost its original features and has been colored by the peculiarities of the Novgorod-Pskov dialect (shizym, vechi, luchi, rusitsi, divitsey, etc.); but even now it still reflects the most ancient features of Russian literary language XII century In general, this is the language of chronicles, the teachings of Vladimir Monomakh. The Lay contains many difficult (“dark”) passages that arose as a result of damage to the text or the presence of rare words (hapaxes). Almost every such place has been subject to interpretation more than once. The author S. draws artistic means, firstly, from oral folk art ( folklore images symbols, constant epithets, the technique of negative parallelism, etc.), modifying and enriching the traditional topic of oral folk art; symbolism, imagery and phraseology associated with feudal relations and druzhina life are also widely used. Metonymy here remains a more important means than metaphor, likening prevails over rare forms of comparison, parallelism over analogy, hyperbole over litotes.
From the very beginning of the study of the Lay it was noted that this monument cannot be considered purely prosaic. narrative, because it contains more or less distinct signs of rhythm. construction. Apparently, on this basis, following the example of the first experience of poetry. adaptations of I. Siryakov’s “Lay” (1803), many poets of the 19th and 20th centuries translated and rearranged the monument into modern times. languages, resorting to various metrical forms of verse - trochaea, amphibrachium, dactyl, trochee, etc. The question of the rhythm of the “Lay” is closely related to the determination of its genre nature. Meanwhile, until now. time there are disputes about lit. form of the “Word”, and in the title of the work itself when translated into modern times. language there are designations: story, poem, heroic poem, epic, song, etc. Some. researchers in the 19th - early XX century tried to establish a connection lit. forms of "Words" from Byzantium. church chants and on this basis they made a conclusion about the peculiarities of the rhythm of the monument. However, most are modern. philologists and poets involved in the study or translation of the “Word” see in it a work of the highest verbal art, growing on the rich traditions of the mouth. adv. TV Vost. Slavs According to L.I. Timofeev, the rhythm of “The Lay” is based on the folk tradition. epic versification (dactylic line endings, two-part intonation-rhythmical basis of the line, and other features); he noted that “the general patterns emerging in the rhythmic organization of the Lay allow us to raise the question more broadly about the significance of the oral poetic tradition in the creation of this monument”
D. S. Likhachev convincingly proved that rhythmic. the construction is not necessarily related to the poem. forms; the main thing is the functional purpose of the rhythm of speech. In relation to the Lay, he made the following conclusion: “So, the flexible rhythm of the Lay is subordinate to the content. This exact correspondence of the rhythmic form and ideological content of the “Words” is one of the most important foundations for the unique musicality of his language.”
Is it possible today to imagine a life in which there are no books, newspapers, magazines, or notebooks? Modern man is so accustomed to the fact that everything important and requiring organization should be written down, that without this knowledge would be unsystematized and fragmentary. But this was preceded by a very difficult period that lasted for millennia. Literature consisted of chronicles, chronicles and lives of saints. Artistic works They started writing much later.
When did ancient Russian literature emerge?
The prerequisite for the emergence of Old Russian literature was various shapes oral folklore, pagan legends. Slavic writing arose only in the 9th century AD. Until this time, knowledge and epics were passed on from mouth to mouth. But the baptism of Rus' and the creation of the alphabet by Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius in 863 opened the way for books from Byzantium, Greece, and Bulgaria. Christian teaching was transmitted through the first books. Since there were few written sources in ancient times, the need arose to rewrite books.
ABC contributed cultural development Eastern Slavs. Since the Old Russian language is similar to the Old Bulgarian, the Slavic alphabet, which was used in Bulgaria and Serbia, could be used in Rus'. The Eastern Slavs gradually adopted a new writing system. In ancient Bulgaria, by the 10th century, culture had reached its peak of development. Works by writers John the Exarch of Bulgaria, Clement, and Tsar Simeon began to appear. Their works also influenced ancient Russian culture.
The Christianization of the ancient Russian state made writing a necessity, because without it state life, social and international relations would be impossible. The Christian religion is not able to exist without teachings, solemn words, lives, and the life of the prince and his court, relations with neighbors and enemies were reflected in the chronicles. Translators and copyists appeared. They were all church people: priests, deacons, monks. Rewriting took a lot of time, and there were still few books.
Old Russian books were written mainly on parchment, which was obtained after special processing of pork, calf, and lamb skin. Handwritten books in the ancient Russian state they were called “harateinye”, “harati” or “veal”. The durable but expensive material also made books expensive, which is why it was so important to find a replacement for pet leather. Foreign paper, called “overseas”, appeared only in the 14th century. But until the 17th century, parchment was used to write valuable state documents.
Ink was made by combining old iron (nails) and tannin (growths on oak leaves called “ink nuts”). To make the ink thick and shiny, cherry and molasses glue was poured into it. Ferrous ink, which has a brown tint, was distinguished by its increased durability. To add originality and decorativeness, colored ink, gold or silver sheets were used. For writing, they used goose feathers, the tip of which was cut off, and a cut was made in the middle of the point.
What century does ancient Russian literature belong to?
The first ancient Russian written sources date back to the 9th century. Old Russian state Kievan Rus occupied a place of honor among other European states. Written sources contributed to the strengthening of the state and its development. The Old Russian period ends in the 17th century.
Periodization of Old Russian literature.
- Written sources of Kievan Rus: the period covers the 11th century and beginning of XIII century. At this time, the main written source was the chronicle.
- Literature of the second third of the 13th century and the end of the 14th century. The Old Russian state is going through a period of fragmentation. Dependence on the Golden Horde set back the development of culture many centuries ago.
- The end of the 14th century, which is characterized by the unification of the principalities of the northeast into one Moscow principality, the emergence of appanage principalities, and the beginning of the 15th century.
- XV - XVI centuries: this is the period of centralization of the Russian state and the emergence of journalistic literature.
- The 16th - end of the 17th century is the New Age, which marks the emergence of poetry. Now works are released with an indication of the author.
The oldest of famous works Russian literature is the Ostromir Gospel. It received its name from the name of the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, who ordered the scribe Deacon Gregory to translate it. During 1056 - 1057 the translation has been completed. This was the mayor's contribution to the St. Sophia Cathedral, erected in Novgorod.
The second gospel is the Arkhangelsk Gospel, which was written in 1092. From the literature of this period, a lot of hidden and philosophical meaning is hidden in the Izbornik of Grand Duke Svyatoslav of 1073. The Izbornik reveals the meaning and idea of mercy, the principles of morality. The basis philosophical thought The Gospels and Apostolic Epistles came to Kievan Rus. They described the earthly life of Jesus and also described his miraculous resurrection.
Books have always been the source of philosophical thought. Translations from Syriac, Greek, and Georgian penetrated into Rus'. There were also translations from European countries: England, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden. Their works were revised and rewritten by ancient Russian scribes. Old Russian philosophical culture is a reflection of mythology and has Christian roots. Among the monuments of ancient Russian writing, the “Messages of Vladimir Monomakh” and “Prayers of Daniil the Zatochnik” stand out.
The first ancient Russian literature is characterized by high expressiveness and richness of language. To enrich the Old Church Slavonic language, they used the language of folklore and the performances of orators. Two literary styles arose, one of which was “High,” which was solemn, and the other, “Low,” which was used in everyday life.
Genres of literature
- lives of saints, include biographies of bishops, patriarchs, founders of monasteries, saints (created in compliance with special rules and required a special style of presentation) - patericon (life of the first saints Boris and Gleb, Abbess Feodosia),
- lives of saints, which are presented from a different point of view - apocrypha,
- historical works or chronicles (chronographs) - brief records of the history of ancient Rus', Russian chronograph of the second half of the 15th century,
- works about fictional travels and adventures - walking.
Genres of Old Russian literature table
The central place among the genres of ancient Russian literature is occupied by chronicle writing, which developed over the centuries. These are weather records of the history and events of Ancient Rus'. The chronicle is a preserved written chronicle (from the word - summer, records begin “in the summer”) monument from one or several lists. The names of the chronicles are random. This may be the name of the scribe or the name of the area where the chronicle was written. For example, Lavrentyevskaya - on behalf of the scribe Lavrenty, Ipatyevskaya - after the name of the monastery where the chronicle was found. Often chronicles are collections that combine several chronicles at once. The source for such vaults were protographs.
The chronicle that served as the basis for the vast majority of ancient Russian written sources is the Tale of Bygone Years of 1068. A common feature chronicles of the XII - XV centuries is that the chroniclers no longer consider political events in their chronicles, but focus on the needs and interests of “their principality” (Chronicle of Veliky Novgorod, Pskov chronicle, chronicle of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, Moscow chronicle), and not events of the Russian land as a whole, as it was before
What work do we call a monument of ancient Russian literature?
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” of 1185-1188 is considered the main monument of ancient Russian literature, describing not so much an episode from the Russian-Polovtsian wars, but rather reflecting events on an all-Russian scale. The author connects Igor’s failed campaign in 1185 with strife and calls for unification for the sake of saving his people.
Sources of personal origin are heterogeneous verbal sources that are united common origin: private correspondence, autobiographies, travel descriptions. They reflect the author’s direct perception of historical events. Such sources first appeared in the princely period. These are the memoirs of Nestor the chronicler, for example.
In the 15th century, the heyday of chronicle writing began, when voluminous chronicles and short chroniclers coexisted, telling about the activities of one princely family. Two parallel directions emerge: the official and oppositional point of view (the church and princely descriptions).
Here we should talk about the problem of falsification historical sources or the creation of documents that have never existed before, amendments to original documents. For this purpose, entire systems of methods were developed. In the 18th century, interest in historical science was universal. This resulted in the appearance of a large number of counterfeits, presented in an epic form and passed off as the original. A whole industry is emerging in Russia for falsifying ancient sources. We study burned or lost chronicles, for example the Lay, from surviving copies. This is how copies were made by Musin-Pushkin, A. Bardin, A. Surakadzev. Among the most mysterious sources is the “Book of Veles,” found on the Zadonsky estate in the form of wooden tablets with text scratched on them.
Old Russian literature of the 11th – 14th centuries is not only teachings, but also rewriting from Bulgarian originals or translation from Greek of a huge amount of literature. The large-scale work done allowed ancient Russian scribes to become acquainted with the main genres and literary monuments of Byzantium over two centuries.
Old Russian literature arose in the 11th century and developed over seven centuries, until the Peter the Great era. Kievan Rus was replaced by the time of the principalities of North-Eastern Rus' with its center in Vladimir, the chronicle Russian land survived the Mongolo-Tatar invasion and was freed from the yoke. Grand Duke Muscovite became Tsar, Sovereign of All Great, White, and Little Rus'. The last scion of the “tribe of Rurik” died, and the Romanov dynasty reigned on the throne. Rus' became Russia, passing on the richest literary traditions to its successor.
The term “Old Russian literature” is conditional. Starting from the 13th century, the literature we study is East Slavic literature of the Middle Ages. Continuing to use the term that has historically been assigned to the named phenomenon, let us not forget about its real semantic content.
Old Russian literature is divided into several periods (according to D. S. Likhachev):
- literature of Kievan Rus (XI-XIII centuries);
- literature of the XIV-XV centuries;
- 16th century literature;
- literature of the 17th century.
During the era of Kievan Rus, the formation of literary genres took place, the foundations of all East Slavic literatures were laid - Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian. At this time, the genres of Greek and Byzantine literature began to develop on a national basis. In the process of the formation of the Old Russian literary language, a large role is played not only by the living spoken language of that time, but also by another language, closely related to it, although foreign in origin - the Old Church Slavonic language (Church Slavonic).
The literature of the next two periods is already the literature of the Russian people themselves, who acquired national independence in the northeast of Rus'. This is the time of the creation of traditions, the development of new ideas in Russian culture and literature, the time that is called the Pre-Renaissance.
The 16th century was the time of development of journalistic genres. “Domostroy” is being created - a set of everyday rules and instructions that reflect the principles of patriarchal life. “Domostroy” requires strict home life.
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the “Great Menaions of the Chetia” were created - a set of twelve books, including readings for each month. Each of the twelve books contains from one thousand five hundred to two thousand large format sheets. The compilation of white lists lasted about twenty-five years. The books include works of various genres, the creation, translation and editing of which involved a large number of Russian writers, translators, scribes and copyists. At the same time, the “Facial Vault” was created, which contains the provisions of world history from the creation of the world to the 15th century. The surviving ten volumes contain about ten thousand sheets, decorated with 17,744 miniatures (color illustrations).
The 17th century is an era when people’s worldviews change, old literary forms disintegrate, and new genres and ideas emerge. A transition to the literature of Peter's time is planned. Satirical and everyday literature is developing, the focus is gradually shifting to life common man- not a prince, not a saint.
Old Russian literature is not similar to the literature of modern times: it is permeated by different thoughts and feelings, it has a different way of depicting life and man, a different system of genres.
In the Middle Ages it was impossible to draw a clear boundary between secular and ecclesiastical literature. They developed together, not denying, but enriching each other. Main types of Old Russian literary creativity —chronicles, lives, eloquence, which includes teachings, genres in praise And words; military stories, walks (walks) And messages. There was no poetry, drama, novel, or story in the modern understanding of these genres in the 11th-16th centuries. They appear only in the 17th century.
All genres of ancient Russian literature develop in close connection with oral folk art. Most of all, the folklore element influenced the chronicle. Like folklore, ancient Russian literature did not know the concept of copyright: every scribe could use everything that was written before him. This was manifested in widespread textual borrowing. Scribes sought to leave only the texts of liturgical books and legislative acts unchanged.
The main role of the book in the culture of Ancient Rus' was to serve as a means of saving the soul. In this regard, the most important were considered New Testament, Holy Scripture, patristic works, hagiographic literature and church traditions. Historical works and monuments of business writing were also considered important. The least valued were worldly works that did not pursue didactic purposes. They were considered "vain."
At the beginning of its development, ancient Russian literature was very closely connected with everyday life, especially liturgical life. The works, in addition to their literary significance, also have practical and applied significance. Only gradually over time does the separation of the artistic and aesthetic function from the everyday, applied function occur.
Old Russian literature is pre-realistic, medieval, studying it shows us how different our perception of the world is from the perception of our ancestors. In the minds of the inhabitants of Ancient Rus', the book was a symbol of Christianity, enlightenment and a special way of life. When Christianity was tested by idolaters, the book was first tested. The Life of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir tells how the pagans demanded that Patriarch Photius put into the fire a book that teaches the Christian faith. The Gospel did not burn in the fire. The amazed pagans believed in the truth of the new teaching and were baptized. Both the book and writing itself are surrounded by an aura of miracle. The Slavic alphabet was given to Constantine after his prayer as a divine revelation. The concepts of “Christianity”, “book” and “miracle” were closely intertwined.
The miracle of the Russian language is that a person, even with little philological training, can read (prepared) texts almost a thousand years ago. But often words that seem familiar to us have a different meaning, there are many unclear words, syntactic constructions are difficult to perceive. The names of objects, names, details of everyday life, the very logic of events - everything requires comment. Without trying to think about the meaning of the work, the modern reader seems to be deceiving himself. So, for example, “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” seems to him a funny fairy tale, and its theological problematics and philosophical depth remain unnoticed.
Over the past centuries, stereotypes of social consciousness, norms of behavior, human thinking have radically changed, old words have acquired a new meaning, actions have been filled with a different content. Already with the invention of printing, books began to be treated differently. Material from the site
Initially, all literature was exclusively ecclesiastical. The themes and ideas of the works could be different, but the worldview of the authors and readers was deeply religious. This is manifested not only in liturgical and theological texts, but also in the description of history, in military stories and secular subjects.
In the view of the Orthodox Middle Ages, “book reverence” was a moral merit and virtue that brought a person closer to the comprehension of God. To do this, it was necessary to read and re-read spiritual literature “night and day.” The Tale of Bygone Years writes that this is exactly what Yaroslav the Wise did. The art of reading consisted of slow, concentrated and deliberate perception of what was written “with all my heart.” The reader stopped, re-read important passages, carefully peering into the depth of meaning. Such a culture of reading taught to recognize the hidden nature of things behind the outer shell, to comprehend the invisible with “spiritual eyes.” to the naked eye world.
The book is a microcosm in which “lovers of soul-nourishing words” enjoy eternal truths and receive spiritual medicine - consolation and instruction. It was necessary to read not in a hurry, but to take refuge from the bustle of life and empty worries. It was believed that if you turn to a work with sinful thoughts, you cannot extract from it anything useful for the soul. To this day, the ancient belief in the miraculous power of the word remains in our minds.
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On this page there is material on the following topics:
- periodization of ancient Russian literature according to Likhachev
- brief description of the pre-Mongol period
- periods of development of Eastern literature
- history of ancient Russian literature briefly
- what does ancient Russian literature teach essay
Academic science uses the periodization of ancient Russian literature based on historical principle, starting from the 11th century:
- Literature of Kievan Rus (XI - first third of the XIII century)
- Literature of the period of fragmentation and the Tatar-Mongol yoke (second third of the 13th–14th centuries)
- Literature from the time of the unification of the northeastern principalities into a single Moscow state (late XIV - early XV centuries)
- Literature of the centralized Russian state (late 15th–16th centuries)
- Literature of the stage of formation of the Russian nation (XVI–XVII centuries)
The stages in this periodization were the most important historical events, such as
- invasion of the Tatar-Mongols in 1237-1240,
- the emergence of appanage principalities in the post-space of Kievan Rus,
- unification of the northeastern lands,
- the rise of Moscow and the creation of the Moscow state, its further flourishing and the emergence of the Russian nation.
But literary historians have differing opinions on this matter. All existing periodizations are similar, but at the same time they are different. The number of stages ranges from 4 to 7. There were attempts by D.I. Chizhevsky, D.S. Likhacheva, G.K. Wagner distinguishes periods in ancient Russian literature based on the style of the eras. But scientists have not come to a consensus.
Literature of Kievan Rus (XI - first third of the XIII century)
The literature of this period, which arose with the introduction of Christianity in Rus', is closely connected with the church. The first chroniclers were the monks of St. Sophia Cathedral and the Kiev Pechersk Monastery.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the oldest written source of that time. It consists of chronicle materials written and rewritten by several authors of the 10th-11th centuries. The Tale of Bygone Years has survived in the form of the Laurentian, Ipatiev and Radziwill lists, created in subsequent centuries. The chronicles described the main events in the state and in the world in chronological order, described the dynasties of princes, armed campaigns, biblical stories, and used stories and legends from oral folk art and the Holy Scriptures. Many interpret the history of Kievan Rus based on this source.
Other examples of literature from this period were:
- oratorical prose “The Sermon on Law and Grace” (1037 - 1050 of the 11th century) by Hilarion,
- set of legal rules “Russian Truth” (1019-1054) by Yaroslav the Wise,
- biography “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” (mid-11th century) by an unknown author,
- pedagogical prose “Teaching to Children” by Vladimir Monomakh,
- sample pilgrimage notes “The Walk of Abbot Daniel”,
- “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik (1213 – 1236),
- philosophical reflections "Parable of human soul» Cyril of Turov (late 12th century).
In 2000, Novgorod archaeologists found three wooden waxed tablets with scratched writings. This find was called the Novgorod Codex and dates back to no later than the 1st quarter of the 11th century. Psalms are written on the tablets, but more ancient texts are “hidden” under the wax. Scientists have yet to solve this riddle, like the riddle of the Book of Veles.
Literature of the period of fragmentation (mid-XIII–XIV centuries)
During the period of absence of a single center, chronicles were kept in separate principalities by each. Kyiv, Novgorod and Pskov chronicle collections have reached us. The legendary “Tale of Igor's Campaign” (circa 1185) became the apogee of the development of literature during the period of fragmentation. Written in figurative language and absorbing popular beliefs, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” told about the campaign of the Russian princes in 1185 against the Polovtsians, which ended in failure. The word is imbued with patriotism and the desire to unite the disparate Russian lands.
A genre such as a military story emerges:
- “Tales of the murder of Mikhail of Chernigov and his boyar Fyodor in the Horde,”
- "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu."
Both “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land” and “The Life of Alexander Nevsky,” written after the death of the Grand Duke, glorify the greatness and power of the Russian land, the courage and glory of Russian soldiers.
Literature from the time of the unification of the northeastern principalities into a single Moscow state (late XIV - early XV centuries)
Literature is dominated by an expressive-emotional style and theme. After the Tatar-Mongol period, chronicle writing was revived in many large cities, works of a historical nature and panegyric hagiography appeared. In the wake of admiration for the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, the military stories “The Legend of Mamaev’s Massacre” and “Zadonshchina” appeared.
Literature of the centralized Russian state (late 15th–16th centuries)
Translated literature, journalism, and historical prose are developing.
Fiction (secular narrative literature translated from other languages) also spread during this period:
"The Tale of Dracula"
"The Tale of Basarga".
Literature of the stage of formation of the Russian nation (XVI–XVII centuries)
During this period, traditional forms dominate, official influence on literature from rulers is felt, and individual styles are suppressed.
- “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum”, written by himself,
- “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” by Ermolai-Erasmus,
- a collection of spiritual rules and instructions “Domostroy”, attributed to the priest of the Annunciation Cathedral Sylvester,
- collection of religious content “Great Cheti-Minea”,
- travel notes of ambassadors “The Walk of Trifon Korobeinikov to Constantinople”
and “Tales of the death and burial of M.V. Skopin-Shuisky" are the most striking works of that time.
During this period there was a transition to new literature, the basis of which was the professionalism of each individual author, his personal perception of reality, protests and preferences.
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