Let's start with the fact that they appeared along with the adoption of Christianity in Rus'. The intensity of its spread is indisputable evidence that the emergence of writing was caused by the needs of the state.
History of appearance
Writing was used in various fields public and state life, in the legal field, international and domestic relations.
After the emergence of writing, the activities of scribes and translators were stimulated, and various genres began to develop ancient Russian literature.
It served the needs and needs of the church, and consisted of solemn words, lives, and teachings. IN Ancient Rus' Secular literature appeared and chronicles began to be kept.
In the minds of people of this period, literature was considered together with Christianization.
Old Russian writers: chroniclers, hagiographers, authors of solemn phrases, they all mentioned the benefits of enlightenment. At the end of the X - beginning of the XI century. In Rus', a huge amount of work was carried out aimed at translating from ancient Greek language literary sources. Thanks to such activities, ancient Russian scribes managed to become familiar with many monuments of Byzantine times over two centuries, and on their basis created various genres of ancient Russian literature. D. S. Likhachev, analyzing the history of the introduction of Rus' to the books of Bulgaria and Byzantium, identified two characteristic features of such a process.
He confirmed the existence literary monuments, which became common to Serbia, Bulgaria, Byzantium, and Rus'.
Such intermediary literature included liturgical books, sacred scriptures, chronicles, works of church writers, and natural science materials. In addition, this list included some monuments historical narrative, for example, "The Romance of Alexander the Great".
Most of the ancient Bulgarian literature, the Slavic medium, were translations from Greek, as well as works of early Christian literature written in the 3rd-7th centuries.
It is impossible to mechanically divide ancient Slavic literature into translated and original; they are organically connected parts of a single organism.
Reading other people's books in Ancient Rus' is evidence of secondary national culture in area artistic word. At first, among the written monuments there was a sufficient number of non-literary texts: works on theology, history, and ethics.
The main type of verbal art became folklore works. To understand the uniqueness and originality of Russian literature, it is enough to familiarize yourself with works that are “outside genre systems”: “Teaching” by Vladimir Monomakh, “The Tale of Igor’s Host”, “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik.
Primary genres
The genres of ancient Russian literature include such works that became building material for other directions. These include:
- teachings;
- stories;
- word;
- hagiography
Such genres of works of ancient Russian literature include chronicle story, weather record, church legend, chronicle legend.
Life
Was borrowed from Byzantium. Life as a genre of ancient Russian literature has become one of the most beloved and widespread. Life was considered an obligatory attribute when a person was ranked among the saints, that is, canonized. It was created by people who communicate directly with a person, who are able to reliably tell about bright moments his life. The text was compiled after the death of the one about whom it was spoken. It performed a significant educational function, since the life of the saint was perceived as a standard (model) of righteous existence and was imitated.
The Life helped people overcome the fear of death, the idea of immortality was preached human soul.
Canons of Life
Analyzing the features of the genres of ancient Russian literature, we note that the canons according to which the hagiography was created remained unchanged until the 16th century. First, the origin of the hero was discussed, then space was given to a detailed story about his righteous life, about the absence of fear of death. The description ended with glorification.
Discussing which genres ancient Russian literature considered the most interesting, we note that it was the life that made it possible to describe the existence of the holy princes Gleb and Boris.
Old Russian eloquence
Answering the question about what genres existed in ancient Russian literature, we note that eloquence came in three versions:
- political;
- didactic;
- solemn.
Teaching
The system of genres of Old Russian literature distinguished it as a type of Old Russian eloquence. In their teaching, the chroniclers tried to highlight the standard of behavior for everyone ancient Russian people: commoner, prince. The most striking example of this genre is considered to be the “Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh” from the “Tale of Bygone Years”, dating back to 1096. At that time, disputes for the throne between the princes reached their maximum intensity. In his teaching, Vladimir Monomakh gives recommendations regarding the organization of his life. He suggests seeking the salvation of the soul in seclusion, calls for helping people in need, and serving God.
Monomakh confirms the need for prayer before a military campaign with an example from own life. He proposes to build public relations in harmony with nature.
Sermon
Analyzing the main genres of ancient Russian literature, we emphasize that this oratorical church genre, which has a unique theory, was involved in historical and literary study only in the form that at some stages it was indicative of the era.
The sermon called Basil the Great, Augustine the Blessed, John Chrysostom, and Gregory Dvoeslov “fathers of the church.” Luther's sermons are recognized as an integral part of the study of the formation of modern German prose, and the statements of Bourdalou, Bossuet, and other speakers of the 17th century are the most important examples of the prose style of French classicism. The role of sermons in medieval Russian literature is high; they confirm the uniqueness of the genres of ancient Russian literature.
Samples of Russian ancient pre-Mongol sermons that give a complete idea of the creation of composition and elements artistic style, historians consider the “Words” of Metropolitan Hilarion and Cyril of Turvo. They skillfully used Byzantine sources, and based on them they created quite good works of their own. They use a sufficient amount of antitheses, comparisons, personifications of abstract concepts, allegories, rhetorical fragments, dramatic presentation, dialogues, and partial landscapes.
Professionals consider the following examples of sermons designed in an unusual stylistic design to be the “Words” of Serapion of Vladimir and the “Words” of Maxim the Greek. The heyday of the practice and theory of preaching art occurred in the 18th century, they discussed the struggle between Ukraine and Poland.
Word
Analyzing the main genres of ancient Russian literature, we will pay special attention to the word. It is a type of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. As an example of its political variability, let us name “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” This work causes serious controversy among many historians.
The historical genre of ancient Russian literature, to which “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” can be attributed, amazes with the unusualness of its techniques and artistic means.
In this work, the chronological traditional version of the narrative is violated. The author first moves into the past, then mentions the present, uses lyrical digressions, which make it possible to write in various episodes: Yaroslavna’s cry, Svyatoslav’s dream.
"Word" contains different elements oral traditional folk art, symbols. It contains epics, fairy tales, and there is also a political background: Russian princes united in the fight against a common enemy.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is one of the books that reflect the early feudal epic. It is on a par with other works:
- "Song of the Nibelungs";
- "The Knight in Tiger Skin";
- "David of Sasun".
These works are considered single-stage and belong to one stage of folklore and literary formation.
The Word combines two folklore genre: lamentation and glory. Throughout the entire work there is a mourning of dramatic events and glorification of princes.
Similar techniques are characteristic of other works of Ancient Rus'. For example, “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land” is a combination of the lament of the dying Russian land with the glory of the powerful past.
As a solemn variation of ancient Russian eloquence, the “Sermon on Law and Grace”, authored by Metropolitan Hilarion, appears. This work appeared at the beginning of the 11th century. The reason for writing was the completion of the construction of military fortifications in Kyiv. The work contains the idea of complete independence of Rus' from the Byzantine Empire.
Under the “Law,” Hilarion notes the Old Testament, given to the Jews, which was not suitable for the Russian people. God gives New Testament, called "Grace". Hilarion writes that just as Emperor Constantine is revered in Byzantium, the Russian people also respect Prince Vladimir the Red Sun, who baptized Rus'.
Tale
Having examined the main genres of ancient Russian literature, we will pay attention to stories. These are the texts epic looking, telling about military exploits, princes, and their deeds. Examples of such works are:
- “The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky”;
- “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu Khan”;
- "The Tale of the Battle of the Kalka River."
The most widespread genre in ancient Russian literature was the military story. Were published various lists works related to it. Many historians paid attention to the analysis of stories: D. S. Likhachev, A. S. Orlova, N. A. Meshchersky. Despite the fact that traditionally the genre of the military story was considered the secular literature of Ancient Rus', it integrally belongs to the circle of church literature.
The versatility of the themes of such works is explained by the combination of the heritage of the pagan past with the new Christian worldview. These elements give rise to new perceptions military feat, combining heroic and everyday traditions. Among the sources that influenced the formation of this genre at the beginning of the 11th century, experts highlight translated works: “Alexandria”, “Devgenie’s Act”.
N.A. Meshchersky, engaged in a deep study of this literary monument, believed that “History” had the greatest influence on the formation of the military tale of Ancient Rus'. He confirms his opinion with a significant number of quotations used in various ancient Russian literary works: “The Life of Alexander Nevsky”, the Kyiv and Galician-Volyn Chronicles.
Historians admit that Icelandic sagas and military epics were used in the formation of this genre.
The warrior was endowed with courageous valor and holiness. The idea of it is similar to the description epic hero. The essence of military feat has changed; the desire to die for the great faith comes first.
A separate role was assigned to princely service. The desire for self-realization turns into humble self-sacrifice. The implementation of this category is carried out in connection with verbal and ritual forms of culture.
Chronicle
It is a kind of narrative about historical events. The chronicle is considered one of the first genres of ancient Russian literature. In Ancient Rus' she played special role, since it did not just report some historical event, but was also a legal and political document, and was a confirmation of how to behave in certain situations. Most ancient chronicle It is generally accepted to consider the “Tale of Bygone Years”, which came down to us in the Ipatiev Chronicle of the 16th century. It tells about the origin of the Kyiv princes and the emergence of the ancient Russian state.
Chronicles are considered “unifying genres” that subordinate the following components: military, historical story, life of a saint, words of praise, teachings.
Chronograph
These are texts that contain detailed description time XV-XVI centuries. Historians consider “Chronograph according to the Great Exposition” to be one of the first such works. This work did not reach in full until our time, so information about it is quite contradictory.
In addition to those genres of ancient Russian literature that are listed in the article, there were many other directions, each of which had its own distinctive characteristics. The variety of genres is a direct confirmation of the versatility and uniqueness of literary works created in Ancient Rus'.
Old Russian literature has a number of features due to the unique worldview of medieval people and the nature of the creation of written texts:
1) The religious-Christian views of the world inherent in medieval people determined the special nature of the depiction of events and people.
Characteristic feature ancient Russian literature is historicism: the heroes of the works are famous historical figures; writers strive to avoid “self-thinking” (fiction) and strictly follow the facts.
The historicism of Old Russian literature is distinguished by its specific medieval character and is inextricably linked with providentialism. From the point of view of the ancient Russian writer, any events occurring in people’s lives were perceived as a manifestation of action higher powers. The source of good is God; the devil, who hates, pushes people into sinful acts. human race. God not only has mercy on people, but also punishes: “for the sake of sins,” he sends diseases, foreign conquerors, etc. to people. In some cases, God sends people signs of his anger in advance - signs that should enlighten his foolish “slaves” and warn them of the need for repentance.
2) Old Russian literature was closely connected with political life Rus'. This circumstance determines the interest of writers in a certain topic and the nature of writing works. One of the central themes is the theme of the Motherland. Writers glorify its power and strength, actively oppose feudal civil strife that weakens the state, and glorify princes who serve the interests of the people.
Old Russian writers are not inclined to impartial presentation of facts. Being sincerely convinced that they know what life in Rus' should be like, they strive to convey their beliefs to those whom they address in their works. Therefore, all works of ancient Russian literature (spiritual and secular) as a rule are of a journalistic nature.
3) Another characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution.
Even if a work was simply rewritten, it rarely became an exact copy of the original. Many texts were copied several times, and each copyist could act as a kind of co-author. As a result, new lists of works(this term refers to handwritten copies) and editorial staff(varieties of texts in which certain, often quite significant, changes have been made).
4) The works created in Ancient Rus' are mostly anonymous. This is a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude towards people characteristic of the Middle Ages. The person perceived himself as a “servant of God,” a dependent person, completely dependent on higher powers. The creation and rewriting of a work was seen as something happening at the behest of above. In this case, to sign your name under the work meant to show pride, that is, to commit a sin. Therefore, in most cases, the authors of the works preferred to remain unknown.
5) As noted earlier, ancient Russian literature was inextricably linked with folklore, from which writers drew themes, images and visual arts.
Thus, Old Russian literature has whole line features that distinguish it from the literature of modern times. Old Russian texts are the product of a certain time, characterized by a rather unique worldview of people, and therefore should be considered as unique monuments of a certain era.
Genre system ancient Russian literature
Modern literature has a certain genre-generic system. There are three types of literature: epic, lyric, drama. Within each of them there are certain genres (novel, tragedy, elegy, story, comedy, etc.). Genres(from the French genre - genus, type) are called historically established types of literary works.
There were no genres in the modern sense of the word in ancient Russian literature. The term “genre” in relation to works created in the 11th– XVII centuries, is used conditionally.
The genres of ancient Russian literature are divided into spiritual(church) and worldly(secular).
Together with Christianity, Rus' adopted the system spiritual (church) genres adopted in Byzantium. Spiritual genres include a number of works (books of Holy Scripture (the Bible), hymns and “words” related to the interpretation of scripture, lives of saints, etc.)
Dominant position among genres of secular literature occupied by stories. This word meant narrative works of various nature(tales, and lives, and even chronicle collections (“The Tale of Bygone Years”) were called stories). Along with this, “words” occupied a prominent place among worldly genres (“The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Lay of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, etc.). They differed from church “words” in their content, in that they were devoted not to the interpretation of Holy Scripture, but to topical matters. modern problems. Obviously, by calling their works “words,” their authors wanted to emphasize that the texts were intended to be spoken in front of listeners.
The genre-clan system of ancient Russian literature does not remain unchanged over the centuries. Particularly significant changes in it were noted in the 17th century, when the foundations of such previously unknown types of literature as lyricism and drama were laid.
The literature of Ancient Rus' arose in the 11th century. and developed over seven centuries until the Petrine era. Old Russian literature is a single whole with all the diversity of genres, themes, and images. This literature is the focus of Russian spirituality and patriotism. On the pages of these works there are conversations about the most important philosophical, moral problems, about which heroes of all centuries think, speak, reflect. The works form a love for the Fatherland and one’s people, show the beauty of the Russian land, so these works touch the innermost strings of our hearts.
The significance of Old Russian literature as the basis for the development of new Russian literature is very great. Thus, images, ideas, even the style of writings were inherited by A. S. Pushkin, F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy.
Old Russian literature did not arise out of nowhere. Its appearance was prepared by the development of language, oral folk art, cultural ties with Byzantium and Bulgaria and due to the adoption of Christianity as a single religion. First literary works, appeared in Rus', translated. Those books that were necessary for worship were translated.
The very first original works, i.e. written by ourselves Eastern Slavs, date back to the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries. V. The formation of Russian national literature was taking place, its traditions and features were taking shape, determining its specific features, a certain dissimilarity with the literature of our days.
The purpose of this work is to show the features of Old Russian literature and its main genres.
II. Features of Old Russian literature.
2. 1. Historicism of content.
Events and characters in literature, as a rule, are the fruit of the author's fiction. Authors works of art, even if they describe the true events of real people, they conjecture a lot. But in Ancient Rus' everything was completely different. The ancient Russian scribe only talked about what, in his opinion, really happened. Only in the 17th century. Everyday stories with fictional characters and plots appeared in Rus'.
Both the ancient Russian scribe and his readers firmly believed that the events described actually happened. So the chronicles were a peculiar thing for the people of Ancient Rus' legal document. After the death of Moscow Prince Vasily Dmitrievich in 1425, his younger brother Yuri Dmitrievich and son Vasily Vasilyevich began to argue about their rights to the throne. Both princes turned to Tatar Khan so that he could judge their dispute. At the same time, Yuri Dmitrievich, defending his rights to Moscow reign, referred to ancient chronicles, which reported that power had previously passed from the prince-father not to his son, but to his brother.
2. 2. Handwritten nature of existence.
Another feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence. Even the appearance printing press in Rus' the situation changed little until the middle of the 18th century. The existence of literary monuments in manuscripts led to a special veneration of the book. What even separate treatises and instructions were written about. But on the other hand, handwritten existence led to the instability of ancient Russian works of literature. Those works that have come down to us are the result of the work of many, many people: the author, editor, copyist, and the work itself could last for several centuries. Therefore, in scientific terminology, there are such concepts as “manuscript” (handwritten text) and “list” (rewritten work). The manuscript may contain lists of various works and may be written either by the author himself or by copyists. Another fundamental concept in textual criticism is the term “edition,” i.e., the purposeful processing of a monument caused by socio-political events, changes in the function of the text, or differences in the language of the author and editor.
Closely related to the existence of a work in manuscripts is such a specific feature of Old Russian literature as the problem of authorship.
The author's principle in Old Russian literature is muted, implicit. Old Russian scribes were not thrifty with other people's texts. When rewriting, the texts were processed: some phrases or episodes were excluded from them or inserted into them, and stylistic “decorations” were added. Sometimes the author's ideas and assessments were even replaced by the opposite ones. The lists of one work differed significantly from each other.
Old Russian scribes did not at all strive to reveal their involvement in literary composition. Many monuments remained anonymous; the authorship of others was established by researchers based on indirect evidence. So it is impossible to attribute to someone else the writings of Epiphanius the Wise, with his sophisticated “weaving of words.” The style of Ivan the Terrible’s messages is inimitable, boldly mixing eloquence and rude abuse, learned examples and the style of simple conversation.
It happens that in a manuscript one or another text was signed with the name of an authoritative scribe, which may or may not correspond to reality. Thus, among the works attributed to the famous preacher Saint Cyril of Turov, many, apparently, do not belong to him: the name of Cyril of Turov gave these works additional authority.
The anonymity of literary monuments is also due to the fact that the ancient Russian “writer” did not consciously try to be original, but tried to show himself as traditional as possible, that is, to comply with all the rules and regulations of the established canon.
2. 4. Literary etiquette.
The famous literary critic, researcher of ancient Russian literature, Academician D. S. Likhachev, proposed a special term to designate the canon in the monuments of medieval Russian literature - “literary etiquette”.
Literary etiquette consists of:
From the idea of how this or that course of events should have taken place;
From ideas about how one should behave actor according to your position;
From ideas about what words the writer should have described what was happening.
We have before us the etiquette of the world order, the etiquette of behavior and the etiquette of words. The hero is supposed to behave this way, and the author is supposed to describe the hero only in appropriate terms.
III. The main genres of ancient Russian literature.
The literature of modern times is subject to the laws of “genre poetics.” It was this category that began to dictate the ways of creating a new text. But in ancient Russian literature the genre did not play such an important role.
A sufficient amount of research has been devoted to the genre uniqueness of Old Russian literature, but there is still no clear classification of genres. However, some genres immediately stood out in ancient Russian literature.
3. 1. Hagiographic genre.
Life is a description of the life of a saint.
Russian hagiographic literature includes hundreds of works, the first of which were written already in the 11th century. The Life, which came to Rus' from Byzantium along with the adoption of Christianity, became the main genre of ancient Russian literature, that literary form, in which the spiritual ideals of Ancient Rus' were clothed.
The compositional and verbal forms of life have been refined over the centuries. High theme - story about a life that embodies ideal service to the world and God - determines the image of the author and the style of narration. The author of the life tells the story excitedly; he does not hide his admiration for the holy ascetic and his admiration for his righteous life. The author's emotionality and excitement color the entire narrative in lyrical tones and contribute to the creation of a solemn mood. This atmosphere is also created by the style of narration - high solemn, full of quotations from the Holy Scriptures.
When writing a life, the hagiographer (the author of the life) was obliged to follow a number of rules and canons. The composition of a correct life should be three-fold: introduction, story about the life and deeds of the saint from birth to death, praise. In the introduction, the author asks forgiveness from readers for their inability to write, for the rudeness of the narrative, etc. The introduction was followed by the life itself. It cannot be called a “biography” of a saint in the full sense of the word. The author of the life selects from his life only those facts that do not contradict the ideals of holiness. The story about the life of a saint is freed from everything everyday, concrete, and accidental. In a life compiled according to all the rules, there are few dates, exact geographical names, or names of historical figures. The action of the life takes place, as it were, outside of historical time and specific space; it unfolds against the backdrop of eternity. Abstraction is one of the features of the hagiographic style.
At the end of the life there should be praise to the saint. This is one of the most important parts of life, requiring great literary art, good knowledge of rhetoric.
The oldest Russian hagiographic monuments are two lives of princes Boris and Gleb and the Life of Theodosius of Pechora.
3. 2. Eloquence.
Eloquence is an area of creativity characteristic of ancient period development of our literature. Monuments of church and secular eloquence are divided into two types: teaching and solemn.
Solemn eloquence required depth of concept and great literary skill. The speaker needed the ability to construct a speech effectively in order to capture the listener, set him in a high mood corresponding to the topic, and shock him with pathos. Existed special term to denote a solemn speech - “word”. (There was no terminological unity in ancient Russian literature. A military story could also be called “the Word.”) Speeches were not only pronounced, but written and distributed in numerous copies.
Solemn eloquence did not pursue narrow practical goals; it required the formulation of problems of broad social, philosophical and theological scope. The main reasons for creating “words” are theological issues, issues of war and peace, defense of the borders of the Russian land, internal and foreign policy, the struggle for cultural and political independence.
The most ancient monument of solemn eloquence is the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion, written between 1037 and 1050.
Teaching eloquence is teachings and conversations. They are usually small in volume, often devoid of rhetorical embellishments, and written in the Old Russian language, which was generally accessible to people of that time. Church leaders and princes could deliver teachings.
Teachings and conversations have purely practical purposes and contain information necessary for a person. “Instruction to the Brethren” by Luke Zhidyata, Bishop of Novgorod from 1036 to 1059, contains a list of rules of behavior that a Christian should adhere to: do not take revenge, do not utter “shameful” words. Go to church and behave quietly in it, honor your elders, judge truthfully, honor your prince, do not curse, keep all the commandments of the Gospel.
Theodosius of Pechora is the founder of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. He owns eight teachings to the brethren, in which Theodosius reminds the monks of the rules of monastic behavior: not to be late for church, make three prostrations, maintain decorum and order when singing prayers and psalms, and bow to each other when meeting. In his teachings, Theodosius of Pechora demands complete renunciation from the world, abstinence, and constant prayer and vigil. The abbot sternly denounces idleness, money-grubbing, and intemperance in food.
3. 3. Chronicle.
Chronicles were weather records (by “summers” - by “years”). The annual entry began with the words: “Into the summer.” After this there was a story about events and incidents that, from the point of view of the chronicler, were worthy of the attention of posterity. These could be military campaigns, raids by steppe nomads, natural disasters: droughts, crop failures, etc., as well as simply unusual incidents.
It is thanks to the work of chroniclers that modern historians have amazing opportunity look into the distant past.
Most often, the ancient Russian chronicler was a learned monk, who sometimes spent time compiling the chronicle long years. In those days, it was customary to start telling stories about history from ancient times and only then move on to the events of recent years. The chronicler had to first of all find, put in order, and often rewrite the work of his predecessors. If the compiler of the chronicle had at his disposal not one, but several chronicle texts at once, then he had to “reduce” them, that is, combine them, choosing from each what he considered necessary to include in his own work. When materials relating to the past were collected, the chronicler moved on to recounting the events of his time. The result of this great job the chronicle was forming. After some time, other chroniclers continued this collection.
Apparently, the first major monument ancient Russian chronicles became a chronicle compiled in the 70s of the 11th century. The compiler of this code is believed to have been the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nikon the Great (? - 1088).
Nikon's work formed the basis of another chronicle code, which was composed in the same monastery two decades later. In the scientific literature it received the code name “Initial arch”. Its nameless compiler replenished Nikon's collection not only with news of last years, but also chronicle information from other Russian cities.
“The Tale of Bygone Years”
Based on the chronicles of the 11th century tradition. The greatest chronicle of the era was born Kievan Rus- “The Tale of Bygone Years.”
It was compiled in Kyiv in the 10s. 12th century According to some historians, its probable compiler was the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor, also known for his other works. When creating “The Tale of Bygone Years,” its compiler used numerous materials with which he supplemented the Primary Code. These materials included Byzantine chronicles, texts of treaties between Rus' and Byzantium, monuments of translated and ancient Russian literature, and oral traditions.
The compiler of “The Tale of Bygone Years” set as his goal not just to tell about the past of Rus', but also to determine the place of the Eastern Slavs among the European and Asian peoples.
The chronicler talks in detail about the settlement Slavic peoples in ancient times, about the settlement of territories by the Eastern Slavs that would later become part of the Old Russian state, about the morals and customs of different tribes. The Tale of Bygone Years emphasizes not only the antiquity of the Slavic peoples, but also the unity of their culture, language and writing, created in the 9th century. brothers Cyril and Methodius.
The chronicler considers the adoption of Christianity to be the most important event in the history of Rus'. The story of the first Russian Christians, the baptism of Rus', the spread of the new faith, the construction of churches, the emergence of monasticism, and the success of Christian enlightenment occupies a central place in the Tale.
The wealth of historical and political ideas reflected in “The Tale of Bygone Years” suggests that its compiler was not just an editor, but also a talented historian, a deep thinker, and a brilliant publicist. Many chroniclers of subsequent centuries turned to the experience of the creator of the Tale, sought to imitate him and almost necessarily placed the text of the monument at the beginning of each new chronicle.
- Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, the heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
- The main theme of ancient Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.
- Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing what is most precious for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in the power, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and defeat evil.
- A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.
- Feature artistic creativity The ancient Russian writer also has the so-called “literary etiquette”. This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.
- Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing and is based on book Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetic creativity. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots artistic images, visual arts of folk art.
- The originality of ancient Russian literature in the depiction of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, it is reproduced in monuments ancient literature hero, ideals are formed and created.
- In ancient Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was the “use” of the genre, the “practical purpose” for which this or that work was intended.
- The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th-20th centuries.
TEST QUESTIONS AND TASKS
- How does Academician D.S. characterize Likhachev ancient Russian literature? Why does he call it “one grandiose whole, one colossal work”?
- What does Likhachev compare ancient literature with and why?
- What are the main advantages of ancient literature?
- Why would the artistic discoveries of literature of subsequent centuries be impossible without the works of ancient literature? (Think about what qualities of ancient literature were adopted by Russian literature of modern times. Give examples from works of Russian classics known to you.)
- What did Russian poets and prose writers value and adopt from ancient literature? What did A.S. write about her? Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak?
- What does ancient literature write about the benefits of books? Give examples of “praise of books” known in ancient Russian literature.
- Why were ideas about the power of words high in ancient literature? What were they connected with, what did they rely on?
- What is said about the word in the Gospel?
- What do writers compare books to and why; why are books rivers, sources of wisdom, and what do the words mean: “if you diligently search for wisdom in the books, you will find great benefit for your soul”?
- Name the monuments of ancient Russian literature known to you and the names of their scribes.
- Tell us about the method of writing and the nature of ancient manuscripts.
- Name the historical background for the emergence of ancient Russian literature and its specific features in contrast to the literature of modern times.
- What is the role of folklore in the formation of ancient literature?
- Using vocabulary and reference material, briefly retell the history of the study of ancient monuments, write down the names of the scientists involved in their research and the stages of study.
- What is the image of the world and man in the minds of Russian scribes?
- Tell us about the depiction of man in ancient Russian literature.
- Name the themes of ancient literature, using vocabulary and reference material, characterize its genres.
- List the main stages in the development of ancient literature.
Read also the articles in the section “National identity of ancient literature, its origin and development.”
Medieval picture of the world.
Every period of history and cultural development has its own worldview, its own ideas about nature, time and space, the order of everything that exists, about the relationship of people to each other, i.e. what can be called pictures of the world. They are formed partly spontaneously, partly purposefully, within the framework of religion, philosophy, science, art, and ideology. Pictures of the world are formed on the basis of a certain way of life of people, become part of it and begin to influence it. strong impact. Medieval man proceeded from the picture of the world developed by Christianity, more precisely, its Western form, called Catholicism. IN Christian Symbol faith, compiled in the 4th century, the church is called one (unique), holy, Catholic (in Church Slavonic - cathedral) and apostolic.
The Church is Catholic (conciliar), since it has its followers in all countries of the world and contains in its dogmas the fullness of the truth, the same for all Christians. After the division of Christianity in 1054 into Western and Eastern, the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic churches appeared, and the latter more often began to be called Orthodox as a sign of the constant confession of the right faith.
Christianity- religion of salvation. For him, the essence of the history of the world is the fall of humanity (in the person of Adam and Eve) from God, which subjugated man to the power of sin, evil, death, and the subsequent return to the Creator of those who realized their fall prodigal son. This return is led by God's chosen descendants of Abraham, with whom God makes a "covenant" (agreement) and gives them a "law" (rules of behavior). The chain of Old Testament righteous men and prophets turns into a ladder ascending to God. But even guided from above, even a holy person cannot be completely cleansed, and then the incredible happens: God incarnates, he himself becomes a man, or rather a God-man, by virtue of his miraculous birth “from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary”, free from sin. God the Word, the Savior, the Son of God appears as the Son of Man, a preacher from Galilee and voluntarily accepts a shameful death on the cross. He descends into hell, frees the souls of those who do good, resurrects on the third day, appears to the disciples, and soon then ascends to heaven. A few more days later, the Holy Spirit descends on the apostles (Pentecost) and gives them the strength to fulfill the covenant of Jesus - to preach the Gospel (“good news”) to all nations. Christian evangelism combines ethics based on love for one's neighbor with the feat of faith, which leads through the “narrow gates” to the Kingdom of Heaven. Its goal is the deification of the believer, i.e. transition to eternal life with God, is achieved through the cooperation (synergy) of human efforts and God's grace.
In the medieval consciousness, both popular and elite, great place was occupied by belief in magic, witchcraft. In the XI–XIII centuries. magic is relegated to the background, giving way to the anticipation of the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. A new flowering of witchcraft, demonology, and the occult occurred in the 15th–16th centuries.
Overall medieval folk culture cannot be reduced only to the remnants of paganism and primitive beliefs. The world of images she created provided rich material for the art of the Middle Ages and Modern times, and became an important and integral part of European art. artistic culture.
Features of ancient Russian literature, its difference from modern literature.
Old Russian literature is the solid foundation on which the majestic edifice of national Russian artistic culture of the 18th-20th centuries is erected. It is based on high moral ideals, faith in man, in his possibilities of limitless moral improvement, faith in the power of the word, its ability to transform inner world man, the patriotic pathos of serving the Russian land - the state - the Motherland, faith in the ultimate triumph of good over the forces of evil, the worldwide unity of people and its victory over hated discord.
Chronological boundaries of Old Russian literature and its specific features. Russian medieval literature is initial stage development of Russian literature. Its emergence is closely connected with the process of formation of the early feudal state. Subordinated to the political tasks of strengthening the foundations of the feudal system, it reflected in its own way various periods of development of social and social relations in Rus' XI-XVII centuries. Old Russian literature is the literature of the emerging Great Russian nationality, gradually developing into a nation.
The question of the chronological boundaries of ancient Russian literature has not been finally resolved by our science. Ideas about the volume of ancient Russian literature still remain incomplete. Many works were lost in the fire of countless fires, during the devastating raids of steppe nomads, the invasion of Mongol-Tatar invaders, and Polish-Swedish invaders! And at a later time, in 1737, the remains of the library of the Moscow tsars were destroyed by a fire that broke out in the Grand Kremlin Palace. In 1777, the Kyiv Library was destroyed by fire. During Patriotic War In 1812, handwritten collections of Musin-Pushkin, Buturlin, Bauze, Demidov, and the Moscow Society of Lovers of Russian Literature were burned in Moscow.
The main keepers and copyists of books in Ancient Rus', as a rule, were monks, who were least interested in storing and copying books of secular (secular) content. And this largely explains why the overwhelming majority of works of ancient Russian writing that have reached us are of an ecclesiastical nature.
Works of ancient Russian literature were divided into “secular” and “spiritual”. The latter were supported and disseminated in every possible way, since they contained the enduring values of religious dogma, philosophy and ethics, and the former, with the exception of official legal and historical documents, were declared “vain.” Thanks to this, we present our ancient literature in to a greater extent ecclesiastical than it really was.
When starting to study ancient Russian literature, it is necessary to take into account its specific features, which are different from the literature of modern times.
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution. Moreover, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections that pursued certain practical goals. “Everything that serves not for the sake of benefit, but for the sake of embellishment, is subject to the accusation of vanity.” These words of Basil the Great largely determined the attitude of ancient Russian society towards written works. The value of a particular handwritten book was assessed from the point of view of its practical purpose and usefulness.
“Great is the benefit of the teachings of books, for we teach through books and teach the ways of repentance, and we gain wisdom and abstinence from the words of books; for these are the rivers that feed the universe, these are the sources of wisdom, these are the sources of wisdom, these are the unsought depths, these are the comforts of us in sorrow, these are the bridles of self-control... If you diligently search for wisdom in the books, you will find great progress in your soul... "- the chronicler teaches in 1037.
Another feature of our ancient literature is the anonymity and impersonality of its 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 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, character social activities 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.
In medieval society, the concept of copyright did not exist; the individual characteristics of 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. And even when the copyist simply copied the text, his list was always somehow different from the original: he made typos, omitted words and letters, and involuntarily reflected in the language the features of his native dialect. In this regard, in science there is a special term - “izvod” (manuscript of the Pskov-Novgorod edition, Moscow, or, more broadly, Bulgarian, Serbian, etc.).
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 Campaign,” written at the end of 80 s of the 12th century, was found in a list of the 16th century.
All this requires from the researcher of ancient Russian literature unusually thorough and painstaking textual work: studying all available lists of a particular monument, establishing the time and place of their writing by comparing various editions, variants of lists, as well as determining which edition the list most matches original author's text. A special branch deals with these issues philological science - t e x t o l o g i a .
Deciding difficult questions about the time of writing of this or that monument, its lists, the researcher turns to such an auxiliary historical and philological science as paleography. Based on the characteristics of letters, handwriting, the nature of writing material, paper watermarks, the nature of headpieces, ornaments, miniatures illustrating the text of a manuscript, paleography makes it possible to relatively accurately determine the time of creation of a particular manuscript and the number of scribes who wrote it.
In the XI-first half of the XIV century. The main writing material was parchment, made from calf skin. In Rus', parchment was often called “veal” or “haratya”. This expensive material was, naturally, available only to the propertied classes, and artisans and traders used birch bark for their ice correspondence. Birch bark also served as student notebooks. This is evidenced by the remarkable archaeological discoveries of Novgorod birch bark letters.
To save writing material, the words in the line were not separated, and only the paragraphs of the manuscript were highlighted with a red cinnabar letter - the initial, the title - a “red line” in the literal sense of the word. Frequently used, widely known words were written abbreviated under a special superscript - t and t l o m. For example, lithargy (verb - says), bg (god), btsa (Mother of God).
The parchment was pre-lined by a scribe using a ruler with a chain. Then the scribe placed it on his lap and carefully wrote out each letter. Handwriting with a regular, almost square outline of letters was called u st a v o m. Work on the manuscript required painstaking work and great art, therefore, when the scribe completed his hard work, he celebrated it with joy. “The merchant rejoices when he has made the purchase, and the helmsman in the calm of the bailiff and the wanderer having come to his fatherland, the book writer rejoices in the same way when he reaches the end of his books...”- we read at the end of the Laurentian Chronicle.
The written sheets were sewn into notebooks, which were intertwined into wooden boards. Hence the phraseological turn - “read a book from blackboard to blackboard.” The binding boards were covered with leather, and sometimes covered with special frames made of silver and gold. A remarkable example of jewelry art is, for example, the setting of the Mstislav Gospel (early 12th century).
In the XIV century. paper replaced parchment. This cheaper writing material adhered and speeded up the writing process. The charter letter is replaced by slanted, rounded handwriting with a large number of extended superscripts - poluustav. In the monuments of business writing, cursive appears, which gradually replaces the semi-ustav and takes a dominant position in manuscripts of the 17th century .
The emergence of printing in Russia played a huge role in the development of Russian culture. mid-16th century V. However, until the beginning of the 18th century. Mostly church books were printed, but secular and artistic works continued to exist and were distributed in manuscripts.
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 the criteria of artistry with which we approach when assessing phenomena literary development new time.
The process of historical development of ancient Russian literature is a process of gradual crystallization 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- with another. 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.
Feature Old Russian literature - and history. Its heroes are mainly historical figures, it almost does not allow 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. Progress and development historical events 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.
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