Main trends in the development of painting in the XIII - XV centuries

The development of painting in the $13th - $15th centuries continued in line with the development of Russian art in the pre-Mongol period. After the Tatar Mongol invasion the centers of painting moved from the south to the northern cities of Yaroslavl, Rostov, Pskov and Novgorod. In which not only monuments of old art have been preserved, but also bearers of cultural traditions have survived. The isolation of Rus' from Byzantium, as well as the feudal fragmentation of Russian lands, stimulated the flourishing of local trends in art. In the $13th century. the final formation of the Novgorod, and in the $XIV$ century. - Moscow schools of painting. The flourishing of painting in the $XIII$ - $XV$ centuries. can be seen more clearly in Novgorod monuments, which have been preserved in greater numbers than in other cities. In Novgorod icons, the drawing acquired color, became more graphic and was based on the contrast of bright colors. The red-background icons created in Novgorod became a real “rebellion” against Byzantine traditions ( “The Savior on the Throne with Etymasia” and “Saints John Climacus, George and Blasius”).

Novgorod school. Feofan the Greek

XIV century - the heyday of Novgorod painting, which was greatly influenced by Feofan the Greek arrived in the $70s. $XIV$ century. to Rus' from Byzantium. In $1378 he completed work on the painting of the Church of the Savior on Ilyin. From the surviving fragments of this painting, we can say that this master is characterized by wide brush strokes, confident highlights, and a predominance of yellow and red-brown colors. Theophan's influence, for example, can be seen in the frescoes of the Church of Fyodor Stratelates, created by Russian masters in the late $70s - $80s.

Unlike frescoes, it developed more slowly in the $14th - $15th centuries. Novgorod icon painting. All monuments that have reached us from that time are characterized by an archaic style, dating back to the 13th century.

Example 1

Among the icons, where the features of the local style can already be traced, we can include the icon "Fatherland" , in the “New Testament” version, interpreting the Trinity - not in the form of three angels, but anthropomorphically, i.e. God the Father as a gray-haired old man, God the Son as a youth, and the Holy Spirit as a dove.

A new iconographic form appeared in Novgorod when the church waged a fight against heresy that rejected the Christian dogma of the Holy Trinity. A new type of icon, which reflected historical subjects, appeared in the 15th century.

Note 1

For example, an icon "The Miracle of the Icon of the Sign" Holy Mother of God» (or "Battle of Suzdal with Novgorod"), which depicts the victory of the Novgorodians over the superior forces of the Suzdalians in $1169, reflects a certain freedom of the Novgorod icon painters, who were interested not only in sacred history, but also in their own.

Moscow school. Andrey Rublev

The rise of Moscow painting $XIV$ - $XV$ centuries. had no equal in scope and ramifications. Around $1390, Feofan the Greek moved to Moscow from Novgorod.

With his direct participation, the main monuments of painting were created: paintings of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, etc. The most reliable work of Feofan himself in Moscow are the $7$ icons of the Annunciation Cathedral early. $XV$ c. ( “Savior”, “Our Lady”, “John the Baptist” etc.). Several icons of the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral are associated with the name of one of the greatest icon painters Rus' Andrey Rublev. Little reliable information has survived about his creative life.

Example 2

For example, Andrei Rublev was first mentioned in $1405, when he, together with Feofan the Greek and Prokhor from Gorodets, worked on the painting of the Kremlin Annunciation Cathedral. In addition, the name of Rublev was mentioned in $1408, when the icon painter, together with Daniil Cherny, created the painting of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, from the frescoes of which to this day the best preserved scenes depicting Last Judgment.

Subject doomsday, provided significant influence on the work of Russian icon painters. However, in its interpretation by artists of the Moscow school, an enlightened motif is noted, most characteristic of Andrei Rublev. He depicted the Last Judgment with the unconventional optimism characteristic of Russian hesychasm. This was determined both by popular expectations (belief in universal forgiveness, characteristic of a significant number of believers), and by the attitude of the artist himself, who predicted the coming revival of Rus' after the Tatar-Mongol invasion. The “Last Judgment” depicted by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny does not generate feelings of fear and impending retribution. This is not a trial in anticipation of punishment, but the final triumph of good, the victory of justice, a reward to humanity for the suffering it has endured. In addition, for the Assumption Cathedral, icon painters created a grandiose three-row iconostasis, including a $61 icon, among which - "Our Lady of Vladimir". Your most important work is an icon "Trinity ", Rublev created in the $10s - $20s. $XV$ c. for the Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Deeply overestimating Byzantine composition, Andrei Rublev abandoned genre details and focused on images of angels. The cup with the head of a calf placed in the center of the icon symbolizes the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The three angels depicted by Rublev are one, but not the same. Their agreement is achieved by a single rhythm, a circular movement. The circle, symbolizing harmony since ancient times, is formed by the poses, movements of angels, and the correlation of their figures. Thus, Rublev managed to solve the most difficult creative problem, expressing two complex theological ideas about the sacrament of the Eucharist and the trinity of the deity. Andrei Rublev died between $1427$ and $1430$ and was buried in the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery in Moscow.

In $XIV$ -$XV$ centuries. in the most difficult conditions of the national liberation struggle and the strongest patriotic upsurge, the unification of North-Eastern Rus' was carried out. Moscow becomes the political and religious center of a rising unified Russian state, the center of the formation of the Great Russian people. The rise of national self-awareness, the idea of ​​unity, the tendency to overcome centrifugal tendencies in social thought, literature, art - all this testified to the emergence of an all-Russian (Great Russian) culture.

While culture and literature flourished in Italy High Renaissance, and in the north of Europe, in Germany and Holland, the Northern Renaissance came to its apogee, in Russia the level of development of art and literature was very low.

The Russian principalities were just beginning to shake off the decay of the long and painful Tatar-Mongol yoke from their shoulders. It is not surprising that the literature of this time differs little from the chronicles of the Dark Ages.

Early Russian literature

The medieval literature of the Russian principalities mainly consists of chronicles, much of which are anonymous, and biographies of saints. The oral folk culture of Russia consisted of epics and songs. The literature of the 14th and 15th centuries, respectively, consists of oral creativity, chronicles and lives. In the second half of the 15th century, interest in foreign legends and worldly creativity appeared.

Oral creativity (or folklore) is a collective folk art transmitted from mouth to mouth. Folklore conveys the traditions and worldview of the people, creating unique images and speech patterns. Among the main genres, there is a special influence on further development literature included epics, fairy tales and historical songs.

Genres of oral folk art

Unlike written literature, which was monotonous and almost completely secularized, oral literature of the 14th-15th centuries in Rus' was replete with a variety of forms and genres. Works belonging to ritual chants have survived to this day, epic epic, fairy tales, and of course, well-known proverbs, sayings, funny and lullabies.

Bylinas - a distinctive genre of Russian oral folk art, a unique version that reflects real historical achievements and people. Epic stories are often supplemented with elements of fiction and exaggerate the strength of the heroes.

Fairy tales - fictional stories or epics, retold in simple language and focusing on one action or feat, rich in mythical characters and magic.

Historical songs are a genre that took shape in the 14th century and are a reimagined epic. The personalities associated with them are also sung.

Written literature

Literature of the 14th-15th centuries had a unique form - all works, including massive chronicles, were copied by hand by monks. There were few books, and they were practically not distributed outside the church.

Apart from the difficulty of copying works, the literature of the 14th and 15th centuries in Rus' practically did not encounter the concept of copyright - any monk rewriting a work could add or remove that part that he considered necessary at that time. Thus, there is no work written before the mid-16th century that is identical in two copies.

Many linguists and literary scholars suspect that some chronicles are the product of collective creativity. The reason for this is the linguistic and stylistic discrepancy within the same work. This applies not only to chronicles, but also to the lives of saints.

Genre consistency and emotional richness

Russian literature of the 14th-15th centuries, and even up to the 17th-18th centuries, developed very conservatively. Literary traditions and conventions required writing works in a certain genre. Therefore, the stylistic and genre characteristics of the works did not change abruptly, but smoothly, as if flowing from one another. This is how dry and strict church literature became emotional and close to the people.

The harmful influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke shocked both the simple peasant or artisan and the learned and devout monk to the core. In a single cry, common grief and eternal disobedience, a new Russian literature of the 14th-15th centuries was born, combining the dry style of presentation of chronicles, the rich language of lives, as well as the images and folklore of oral creativity.

Legacy of early literature

Like Christianity, writing and literature came to the Russian principalities from the outside, which is probably why the first chronicles and lives are so similar to Byzantine ones and so strikingly different from oral folk art. While the language of the chronicles is dry and complex, folk songs, fairy tales and epics, despite the vernacular, are full of bright images and are easy to remember.

Many academics and critics, especially Slavophiles and adherents of their ideas, believe that Russian literature of modern times, including its golden age, owes its originality not so much to the uniqueness of the Russian soul, but to a strange, unexpected combination of dry presentation of facts, deep piety and rich imagery What was incompatible in the 11th century, like heaven and earth, began to mix in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Early literature is the source of that very Russian spirit. National ideas, nationality and original morality, everything that distinguishes Russian literature today came from the very first centuries of its existence. It was the literature of the 14th and 15th centuries that paved the way for the magnificent fairy tales of Pushkin, the incredible stories of Gogol and the poems of Lermontov, which, in turn, had a formative influence on the future of Russian culture.

Literature of the 13th-15th centuries

Heroic and hagiographic, or biographical, themes have occupied a large place in literature. A number of military stories tell about the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols and the struggle of brave Russians against them. Defense of their native land, fearlessness in the fight against its enemies and invaders is their constant motive: “It is better for us to buy our belly through death than through the vile will of being.”

In literature, heroic and “hagiographic”, or biographical, themes occupied a large place. A number of military stories tell about the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols and the struggle of brave Russians against them. Defense of their native land, fearlessness in the fight against its enemies and invaders is their constant motive: “It is better for us to buy our belly by death than by the vile will of being.”

Later, on the basis of this story, “The Life of St. Alexander Nevsky” was created. His hero is depicted as an ideal ruler, similar to biblical and Roman heroes: with a face like Joseph, strength like Samson, wisdom like Solomon, and courage like the Roman emperor Vespasian.

Under the influence of this monument, the life of Dovmont, the Pskov prince of the 13th century, the winner of the Lithuanian princes and Livonian knights, was reworked: its short and dry edition turned into a lengthy one, filled with sublime and picturesque descriptions of the exploits of the Pskov hero.

From the second half of the 14th century. a significant number of works talk about the fight against the Horde - the Battle of Kulikovo. A special place among these monuments is occupied by “Zadonshchina”. Its author, Sophony Ryazanets, views the events of 1380 as a direct continuation of the struggle of Kievan Rus against steppe nomadic predators. It is not without reason that the model for it is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” which tells the story of the campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of Novgorod-Seversky, against the Polovtsians in 1185. The victory on the Kulikovo Field is retribution for the defeat on the Kayala River. From the “Word” Zephanius borrows images, literary style, individual revolutions,

In Novgorod the Great, legends and lives of local saints were compiled - Moses, Euthymius, Mikhail Klopsky. The same is true in other lands.

Chronicles occupied a leading place in literature and historical thought. All chronicles reflected local interests, the views of princes and boyars, and church hierarchs; sometimes - the views of ordinary, “lesser” people. These are, for example, the records of one of the Novgorod chronicles about the rebellion of the mid-13th century: “Give up my enemies!” And you kissed the Holy Mother of God (the icon of the Mother of God - V.B.) menshii, - why should everyone, either life (life - V.B.), or death for the truth of Novgorod, for their fatherland.

They kept their chronicles in Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and other centers. All of them, like the Moscow monuments, begin their presentation with “The Tale of Bygone Years.” Thus, they emphasize the continuity of the ancient Russian book literature and continue its traditions.

In today's lesson you will learn about the development of Russian culture during the difficult period of the Golden Horde yoke for our country.

Topic: Old Russian state

Lesson:Culture of Rus' in the XIII-XIV centuries

As a result of the Mongol invasion of Rus', remarkable monuments of ancient Russian culture were lost. The works of architects and artists, chroniclers and artisans were destroyed in the fire. Many talented craftsmen were taken into Horde captivity. There was no one to pass on the accumulated for many years traditions of crafts and architecture. For example, for fifty years after the Mongol invasion, no stone buildings were built in Rus'. The art of white stone carving is a thing of the past. Jewelers have forever lost the secret of cloisonne enamel. In Vladimir, Kyiv and other cities, chronicle writing stopped for a while. Even in Novgorod and Pskov, which the Mongols did not reach, cultural life seemed to have come to a standstill. “Our beauty perished, our wealth went to others, the work of our labor went to the rotten,” one of the writers of that time mourned.

The gradual revival of the culture of Russian lands began at the end of the 13th century. Cities were rebuilt. In Tver, Novgorod, Moscow, and then in other cities, stone buildings began to be built again. The craft was revived, new chronicles were created.

Books in Rus' were still handwritten. They were copied both in large cities - Moscow, Novgorod, Tver, and in small ones. The rules of writing and the spelling of letters changed. In the 14th century, they began to use not only the previously adopted charter font, but also semi-charter. The writing of his letters was not so strict, they could be slanted, the letter line became less even. The writing process itself has accelerated significantly. Now the scribe managed to do much more in a day. From the end of the 14th century, cursive writing began to spread - letters began to be written together. In addition, cursive writing allowed for the abbreviation of words.

In the 14th century, paper appeared in Rus', which was brought from Italy and France. It was cheaper than parchment and was more convenient to write on. The advent of paper led to many more books.

One of the most important writers of Rus' at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries was the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Epiphanius the Wise. He also spent part of his life in Moscow and Tver. Epiphanius was one of the best book scribes of his time, decorating books with expressive miniatures. He carefully collected information about great contemporaries, about the peculiarities of nature and the life of people in different Russian lands. Epiphanius wrote his works in a peculiar ornate language, which testified, as they believed then, to the special erudition of the author. His pen includes the lives of Sergius of Radonezh and Dmitry Donskoy. It was no coincidence that Epiphany turned to the names of those who played such a prominent role in the revival of the country and the struggle for its freedom. After the Battle of Kulikovo, the theme of the heroic feat of its participants became leading in Russian literature.

A chronicle story about the fight against Mamai was written in Moscow. She became widely known and became part of many chronicle vaults. The author of the story paid tribute to the personal courage of Dmitry Donskoy. “I want, both in word and deed, to be ahead of everyone and in front of everyone to lay down my head for the brothers and for all Christians; then the rest, seeing this, will begin to show their courage with zeal,” the prince says to his companions before the battle. The author of the chronicle story not only talked about heroic deeds, but also analyzed the reasons for the victory over Mamai. His views reflected the worldview of the inhabitants of the Russian lands of that time. According to the writer, victory on the Kulikovo field is predetermined by God's will, and Prince Dmitry is driven, first of all, by love for God and Orthodox Church. The divine principle and the ideals of Christian service to people helped the inhabitants of Rus' strengthen their spirit in an era of difficult trials; they found them in the purity and holiness of religion.

At the end of the 14th century the first poetic works about the Battle of Kulikovo, which later formed an extensive literary cycle - “Zadonshchina”. As scientists suggest, it began with a song composed by the Ryazan boyar Sophony. He was well acquainted with ancient Russian literature; “Zadonshchina” echoes “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” “And already falcons and gyrfalcons, Belozersk hawks... they flew under the blue skies, rattled golden bells on the fast Don, they want to attack many flocks of geese and swans. These are heroes, Russian daredevils, who want to attack the great forces of Tsar Mamai.”

Rice. 3. “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev” ()

Outstanding architectural monuments were created after the resumption of stone construction by the architects of Veliky Novgorod. The first of them was the Church of St. Nicholas on Lipne. It was built at the end of the 13th century not far from the city on an island among swamps (“lipny”). This small one-domed church seems slender and sublime. But at the same time, it retains the features characteristic of Novgorod churches, which make them similar to fortifications and defensive structures.

In the 14th century, Novgorodians developed a special architectural style, the most striking monuments of which are the churches of Fyodor Stratelates and the Savior on Ilyin Street. These buildings are not as significant in size as, for example, the St. Sophia Cathedral. The simplicity of their forms is combined with majesty. The walls were decorated very modestly; the heads of the churches were more ornate. The builders used the most different materials: limestone slabs, boulders, and bricks were used. This gave the buildings a special uniqueness.

The origin of stone construction in Moscow dates back to the reign of Ivan Kalita. By his order, in connection with the move of Metropolitan Peter, the first (later there were others) Assumption Cathedral was built. The prince wanted to show that Moscow had become the spiritual center of the Russian lands. The famous Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir seemed to pass the baton to its Moscow counterpart.

Rice. 4. Assumption Cathedral (Moscow) ()

During the time of Ivan Kalita, the Annunciation Cathedral was built, which became the tomb of the Moscow princes. By the end of the 14th century, the Moscow Kremlin was built up with many single-domed white stone churches. A unique architectural appearance the main city of Rus'. Unfortunately, the buildings of the 14th century have not survived to this day.

Our ancestors sought to take care of the architectural heritage of the past. At the same time, they did not just study and in some ways repeat ancient models. At the end of the 14th century, restoration of ancient buildings was undertaken in Vladimir, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and Rostov.

The revival of icon painting is associated with the name of the Byzantine master Theophanes the Greek, invited to Rus'. He managed to combine in his work examples of Byzantine art and techniques developed by Russian masters. At the end of the 14th century, Theophanes worked in Novgorod and Moscow, studying Vladimir icon painting. The artist’s brushes include the icons of Our Lady of the Don, Saints Peter and Paul, and the Dormition of the Mother of God. Theophanes also painted the walls of temples. His frescoes in the Novgorod Church of the Savior on Ilyin Street make a particularly strong impression. The images created by the artist seem harsh, even menacing, but at the same time they are filled with spirituality, as if they glow from within.

Many Russian artists studied with Theophanes the Greek. The most talented of them was Andrei Rublev. Feofan and his students transformed the decoration of the Russian church. On the partition separating the main place in the church - the altar - from the rest of it, the artists created an iconostasis. Icons were placed on it in several rows. Now they have acquired a strict pattern and formed a single composition.

Having survived the difficult era of the Mongol invasion, the Russian people began to revive their culture. Literature and fine art of the 13th-14th centuries were imbued with the desire for high spiritual ideals, the idea of ​​​​the struggle for the liberation of the Motherland.

1. Grabar I.E. About ancient Russian art. M., 1966.
2. Alpatov M.V. Theophanes the Greek. M., 1979.

1. Historic.ru).
2. Russian Academy of Justice ().

1. What consequences of the Mongol invasion did the Russian people have to overcome?
2. Why do you think “Zadonshchina” begins with these words: “Come, brothers and friends, let’s climb the Kyiv mountains and magnify the Russian land”?
3. Why do you think a repetition of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was made specifically for the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin?
4. Tell us about the life and work of Theophanes the Greek.

Introduction

In the historical and cultural process of the XIII - XV centuries. two periods are distinguished. The first (from 1240 to the middle of the 14th century) is characterized by a noticeable decline in all areas of culture in connection with the Mongol-Tatar conquest and simultaneous expansion by German, Swedish, Danish, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Polish feudal lords. The second period (first half of the XIV - XV centuries) was marked by the rise national identity, the revival of Russian culture. Foreign invasions were especially harmful to the southern and western lands. Therefore, the center of socio-political and cultural life gradually shifted to the northeast, where, for a number of reasons, from the middle of the 14th century. Moscow's hegemony was established. It was the Moscow principality that was destined, overcoming feudal fragmentation Rus', lead the fight against the Golden Horde and by the end of the 15th century. complete both processes with the creation of a single and independent state.

Russian culture of the XIII-XV centuries

During the Middle Ages, the spread of literacy and knowledge took different paths in princely palaces, monasteries, trading towns and in the countryside. While in an unwritten village knowledge about nature, man, the structure of the world, native history were transmitted to the younger generation from word of mouth in the form of agricultural signs, healer's recipes, fairy tales, epic poetry, etc., education in cities, monasteries and patrimonial castles was based on books. Judging by the hagiographic literature of the 14th - 15th centuries, children's education began at the age of 7, first they were taught reading ("literacy"), and then writing. The church monopoly on education gave it a predominantly theological character.

Despite the severity of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, in the XIV-XV centuries. The book business developed in Rus'. The gradual replacement of parchment with paper made books more accessible. By the 15th century Quite a lot of libraries are already known. Although most of the books of that time, obviously, perished in the fires of military fires, in the fires of church censorship, etc., from the XIII-XIV centuries. Still, 583 handwritten books have reached us. When speaking about the dissemination of “book wisdom,” we must keep in mind the collective use of medieval books. Reading aloud was then widespread in all countries and in all levels of society.

Mathematical knowledge in the XIII -XV centuries. have not received much development. The Old Russian digital system was extremely inconvenient: which made accurate mathematical operations difficult.

Russian scribes drew cosmological ideas from Christian theological literature, which interpreted the issues of the universe in a very contradictory way.

With the gradual development of trade, the restoration of diplomatic ties, the revival of pilgrimage in the XIV-XV centuries. There was an expansion of the geographical horizons of Russian people. This time included the compilation of many handwritten collections containing authentic and detailed descriptions Constantinople, Palestine, Western Europe and other lands.

Social ideas related to the understanding of man in the world and society, as well as political theories Since the establishment of Christianity in Rus', they mainly fit within the framework of a religious worldview. In the XIV - early XV centuries. Rus', having adopted mainly the philosophical and theological trends of Byzantium, lagged behind it in terms of the level of philosophical thinking. If Byzantium was dominated by two main ideological trends: victorious hesychasm Hesychasm (from the Greek hesychia - peace, silence, detachment) is a mystical movement, in in a broad sense- ethical-ascetic teaching that arose in Byzantium in the 4th - 8th centuries, included a system of psychophysical control that has an external resemblance to yoga). and defeated rationalism, then in Rus' the situation was more complicated. Here three currents of philosophical and theological thought interacted and opposed: Orthodoxy in the traditional sense, weak shoots of rationalism (in the form of heresies) and hesychasm. Orthodox Christian ideology has always been characterized by the assertion that supernatural phenomena are accessible to human feelings (God acted on earth, appearing to people in visions, through angels and saints, by the “appearance” of icons, miraculous healings etc.). The ideologists of hesychasm developed the views of early Christian teachers of the church, opening up to believers the possibility of knowledge of God, spiritual and even bodily unity with God through the perception of divine energy. In Rus' in the middle of the 15th century. this teaching was affirmed in a fierce struggle simultaneously as a method of individual asceticism (hesychasm of the “cell” level) and as new style spiritual and cultural life. It was especially difficult for hesychasm to take root on Russian soil as a system of philosophical thinking, entering into a certain contradiction with the inert practice of church life.

The doctrine of the inevitability of the end of the world and the divine judgment of humanity, eschatology Eschatology (from the Greek eschatos) is the last, the final. always occupied significant place in the Christian worldview. But in eras of social upheaval, eschatological ideas took the form of a real expectation of the second coming of Christ. Rus' experienced such a period in the 14th - 15th centuries.

The fight against the Mongol-Tatars was main theme folklore second half XIII--XV centuries, both traditional (epic tales, legends) and new (historical song) genres are dedicated to it.

Period XIII -XV centuries. in Russian literature is transitional in the movement from Kyiv literature, marked by ideological and statistical unity, to the literature of the future centralized Moscow state. IN literary process of this time two main stages can be distinguished: XIII - XIV centuries. and XV century The first begins with the Battle of Kalka (1223) and ends with the victory on the Kulikovo Field (1380). The literature of this period is characterized by heterogeneous trends. The leading genre of this time was the military story, the dominant theme was the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Poetic pathos folklore images and a strong patriotic feeling are imbued with “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”, “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, “The Tale of the Exploits and Life of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky” (a life that has the features of a military story), “The Tale of Shevkal”, dedicated to events 1327 in Tver and others.

The second stage in the development of literature begins after the victory on the Kulikovo Field and ends with the annexation of Veliky Novgorod, Tver and Pskov to Moscow. During these years, the idea of ​​the political and cultural unification of Russian lands, which was increasingly associated with Moscow, dominated in public thought and literature. Moscow literature, absorbing regional stylistic trends, acquired an all-Russian character and occupied leading place. The role of national self-awareness is evidenced both by the revival of all-Russian chronicles at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries, and by a whole series of works, different in genre and style, but united in theme - all of them are dedicated to the historical victory of Russia over the Tatars.

The idea of ​​all-Russian unity, having emerged in the pre-Mongol period, intensified in difficult years Mongol-Tatar invasion. In the 15th century The theme of the national liberation struggle was pushed aside by a new type of literature, distinguished by thematic and stylistic diversity, a more organic connection with folklore, and a desire for psychologism.

After the Mongol-Tatar devastation, Russian architecture experienced a time of decline and stagnation. Monumental construction stopped for half a century, the cadre of builders was essentially destroyed, and technical continuity was undermined. Therefore, at the end of the 13th century. In many ways I had to start over. Construction was now concentrated in two main areas: in the north-west (Novgorod and Pskov) and in the ancient Vladimir land (Moscow and Tver).

From the end of the 13th century. Important changes took place in Novgorod architecture. The plinth was replaced by local Volkhov flagstone, which, in combination with boulders and bricks, formed the uniquely plastic silhouettes of Novgorod buildings. Of the three apses, one remained, which organized the altar part in a new way. As a result, there was new type, corresponding to the tastes and needs of the townspeople.

By the beginning of the 16th century. The total length of the fortress walls of Pskov was 9 km. In 1330, the Izborsk fortress was built near the city - one of the largest structures Ancient Rus', which has withstood quite a few German sieges and still amazes with its inaccessibility.

Small Pskov churches were built from local stone and whitewashed so that the limestone would not weather away.

Centuries-old traditions, flexibility of architectural thinking, and practicality created well-deserved fame for Pskov architects and allowed them to subsequently make a significant contribution to the architecture of the united Russian state.

The first stone buildings in the Moscow Kremlin, which have not survived to this day, appeared at the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries.

In the second half of the 14th century. tense relations with the Horde and Lithuania forced Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, later nicknamed Donskoy, to concentrate his efforts on building fortifications. Soon after its construction (1367), the white-stone Kremlin was tested for strength by the troops of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd.

Painting of the first half of the XIII - XV centuries. is a natural continuation of the art of pre-Mongol Rus'. But as a result of the invasion art centers moved from south to north, to cities that escaped devastation (Rostov, Yaroslavl, Novgorod and Pskov), where there were many monuments of old art and living bearers of cultural traditions were preserved. The long-term isolation of Rus' from Byzantium, as well as the increasing disunity of Russian lands, pushed the growth of regional trends in art. In the 13th century the final crystallization of the Novgorod and Rostov schools of painting took place, and in the 14th century. - Tver, Pskov, Moscow and Vologda. Russian medieval cultural

The evolution of painting in the XIII-XV centuries. best seen in Novgorod monuments, which are also preserved in greater numbers than in other cities. In the Novgorod icon, the design became more graphic, the color was based on a combination of bright contrasting colors. The red background icons became a kind of “rebellion” against the Byzantine tradition.

XIV century - a time of brilliant prosperity monumental painting Novgorod, the development of which was greatly influenced by the great Byzantine Theophanes the Greek, who came to Rus' in the 70s. XIV century In 1378, he painted the Church of the Savior on Ilyin, the frescoes of which have reached us only partially.