The main works of ancient Russian literature. Periods of development of Old Russian literature
Old Russian literature
Study
Preliminary remarks. concept ancient Russian literature denotes, in a strict terminological sense, the literature of the Eastern Slavs of the 11th - 13th centuries. before their subsequent division into Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. From the 14th century distinct book traditions are clearly manifested, which led to the formation of Russian (Great Russian) literature, and from the 15th century. - Ukrainian and Belarusian. In philology, the concept ancient Russian literature is traditionally used in relation to all periods in the history of Russian literature of the 11th - 17th centuries.
All attempts to find traces of East Slavic literature before the baptism of Russia in 988 ended in failure. The evidence cited is either gross forgeries (the pagan chronicle “Vlesova book”, covering a huge era from the 9th century BC to the 9th century AD inclusive), or untenable hypotheses (the so-called “Askold Chronicle” in the Nikon code of the 16th century. among the Articles of 867–89). The foregoing does not mean at all that writing was completely absent in pre-Christian Russia. Treaties Kievan Rus with Byzantium 911, 944 and 971 as part of The Tale of Bygone Years (if we accept the evidence of S. P. Obnorsky) and archaeological finds (an inscription from firing on a Gnezdovo korchaga of the first decades or no later than the middle of the 10th century, a Novgorod inscription on a wooden cylinder lock, according to V. L Yanina, 970-80) show that in the 10th century, even before the baptism of Russia, the Cyrillic script could be used in official documents, the state apparatus and everyday life, gradually preparing the ground for the spread of writing after the adoption of Christianity in 988.
§ 1. Emergence ancient Russian literature
§ one.1 .Folklore and literature. The forerunner of ancient Russian literature was folklore, which was widespread in the Middle Ages in all strata of society: from peasants to the princely-boyar aristocracy. Long before Christianity it was already litteratura sine litteris, literature without letters. In the written era, folklore and literature with their genre systems existed in parallel, mutually complementing each other, sometimes coming into close contact. Folklore has accompanied ancient Russian literature throughout its history: from the annals of the 11th to the beginning of the 12th century. (see § 2.3) to the “Tale of Woe-Misfortune” of the transitional era (see § 7.2), although in general it was poorly reflected in writing. In turn, literature influenced folklore. The most striking example of this is spiritual poetry, folk songs of religious content. They were strongly influenced by ecclesiastical canonical literature (biblical and liturgical books, lives of saints, etc.) and apocrypha. Spiritual verses retain a vivid imprint of dual faith and are a motley mixture of Christian and pagan ideas.
§ one.2 .Baptism of Russia and the beginning of the "book teaching". The adoption of Christianity in 988 under the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavich brought Russia into the orbit of influence of the Byzantine world. After baptism, rich Old Slavonic literacy, created by the Thessalonica brothers Constantine the Philosopher, Methodius and their disciples in the second half of the 9th–10th centuries, was transferred to the country from the southern and, to a lesser extent, from the western Slavs. A huge corpus of translated (mainly from Greek) and original monuments included biblical and liturgical books, patristics and church teaching literature, dogmatic-polemical and legal writings, etc. This book fund, common to the entire Byzantine-Slavic Orthodox world , ensured within it the consciousness of religious, cultural and linguistic unity for centuries. From Byzantium, the Slavs learned primarily church and monastic book culture. The rich secular literature of Byzantium, which continued the traditions of ancient, with a few exceptions, was not in demand by the Slavs. South Slavic influence at the end of the 10th - 11th centuries. marked the beginning of ancient Russian literature and book language.
Ancient Russia was the last of the Slavic countries to adopt Christianity and got acquainted with the Cyril and Methodius book heritage. However, in a surprisingly short time, she turned it into her national treasure. Compared with other Orthodox Slavic countries, Ancient Russia created a much more developed and genre-diverse national literature and immeasurably better preserved the pan-Slavic book fund.
§ one.3 .Worldview principles and artistic method of ancient Russian literature. For all its originality, ancient Russian literature possessed the same basic features and developed according to the same general laws as other medieval European literatures. Her artistic method was determined by the peculiarities of medieval thinking. He was distinguished by theocentrism - faith in God as the root cause of all being, goodness, wisdom and beauty; providentialism, according to which the course world history and the conduct of every man is determined by God and is the fulfillment of his preconceived plan; understanding of man as a creature in the image and likeness of God, endowed with reason and free will in the choice of good and evil. In the medieval consciousness, the world was divided into heavenly, higher, eternal, not accessible to touch, opening to the elect in a moment of spiritual insight ("a hedgehog cannot be seen with the eyes of the flesh, but listens to the spirit and mind"), and the earthly, lower, temporary. This faint reflection of the spiritual, ideal world contained images and similarities of divine ideas, by which man cognized the Creator. The mediaeval worldview ultimately predetermined the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, which was basically religious and symbolic.
Old Russian literature is imbued with a Christian moralistic and didactic spirit. Imitation and likeness to God were understood as the highest goal of human life, and serving him was considered as the basis of morality. Literature Ancient Russia had a pronounced historical (and even factual) character and for a long time did not allow fiction. She was characterized by etiquette, tradition and retrospectiveness, when reality was assessed on the basis of ideas about the past and the events of the sacred history of the Old and New Testaments.
§ one.4 .Genre system of Old Russian literature. AT ancient Russian era exclusively great importance had literary examples. First of all, translated Church Slavonic biblical and liturgical books were considered such. Exemplary works contained rhetorical and structural models of different types of texts, defined a written tradition, or, in other words, codified the literary and linguistic norm. They replaced grammars, rhetorics and other theoretical guides to the art of speech, common in medieval Western Europe, but absent in Russia for a long time. . Reading Church Slavonic samples, many generations of ancient Russian scribes comprehended the secrets of literary technique. The medieval author constantly turned to exemplary texts, using their vocabulary and grammar, lofty symbols and images, figures of speech and tropes. Sanctified by hoary antiquity and the authority of holiness, they seemed unshakable and served as a measure of writing skills. This rule was the alpha and omega of ancient Russian creativity.
The Belarusian educator and humanist Francysk Skaryna argued in the preface to the Bible (Prague, 1519) that the books of the Old and New Testaments are an analogue of the "seven free arts" that formed the basis of medieval Western European education. Psalter teaches grammar, logic or dialectics - the Book of Job and the Epistle of the Apostle Paul, rhetoric - the works of Solomon, music - biblical chants, arithmetic - the Book of Numbers, geometry - the Book of Joshua, astronomy - the Book of Genesis and other sacred texts.
Bible books were also perceived as ideal genre examples. In the Izbornik of 1073, an Old Russian manuscript dating back to the collection translated from the Greek by the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon (893–927), the article “from the Apostolic Rules” states that the Books of Kings are the standard of historical and narrative works, and the Psalter serves as an example in the genre of church hymns , exemplary "cunning and creative" works (that is, related to the writing of the wise and poetic) are the instructive Books of Job and the Proverbs of Solomon. Almost four centuries later, around 1453, the Tver monk Foma called in the "Word of Praise about the Grand Duke Boris Alexandrovich" an example of the historical and narrative works of the Book of Kings, the epistolary genre - the apostolic epistles, and "soul-saving books" - lives.
Such ideas, which came to Russia from Byzantium, were spread throughout medieval Europe. In the preface to the Bible, Francis Skorina sent those wishing to "know about the military" and "about heroic deeds" to the Books of Judges, noting that they are more truthful and useful than "Alexandria" and "Troy" - medieval novels with adventure stories about Alexander Macedonian and Trojan Wars, known in Russia (see § 5.3 and § 6.3). By the way, the canon says the same thing in M. Cervantes, urging Don Quixote to leave folly and take up his mind: “If ... you are drawn to books about exploits and chivalrous deeds, then open Holy Bible and read Book of Judges: here you will find great and genuine events and deeds as true as they are brave” (part 1, 1605).
The hierarchy of church books, as it was understood in Ancient Russia, is set forth in the preface of Metropolitan Macarius to the Great Menaion Chetiyim (completed c. 1554). The monuments that formed the core of traditional literacy are arranged in strict accordance with their place on the hierarchical ladder. Its upper steps are occupied by the most revered biblical books with theological interpretations. At the top of the book hierarchy is the Gospel, followed by the Apostle and the Psalter (which in Ancient Russia was also used as an educational book - people learned to read from it). This is followed by the creations of the Church Fathers: the collections of works by John Chrysostom "Chrystostom", "Margaret", "Chrysostom", the works of Basil the Great, the words of Gregory the Theologian with interpretations of Metropolitan Nikita of Heraclius, "Pandects" and "Taktikon" by Nikon Chernogorets, etc. The next level is oratorical prose with its genre subsystem: 1) prophetic words, 2) apostolic, 3) patristic, 4) festive, 5) praiseworthy. At the last stage is hagiographic literature with a special genre hierarchy: 1) the lives of the martyrs, 2) the saints, 3) the ABC, Jerusalem, Egyptian, Sinai, Skit, Kiev-Pechersk patericons, 4) the lives of Russian saints, canonized by the cathedrals of 1547 and 1549.
The ancient Russian genre system, formed under the influence of the Byzantine system, was rebuilt and developed over the course of seven centuries of its existence. Nevertheless, it was preserved in its main features until the New Age.
§ one.5 .Literary language of Ancient Russia. Together with Old Slavonic books to Russia at the end of the 10th-11th centuries. The Old Church Slavonic language was transferred - the first common Slavic literary language, supranational and international, created on the Bulgarian-Macedonian dialect basis in the process of translating church books (mainly Greek) by Constantine the Philosopher, Methodius and their students in the second half of the 9th century. in the West and South Slavic lands. From the first years of its existence in Russia, the Old Slavonic language began to adapt to the living speech of the Eastern Slavs. Under its influence, some specific South Slavisms were forced out of the book norm by Russianisms, while others became acceptable options within it. As a result of the adaptation of the Old Church Slavonic language to the peculiarities of Old Russian speech, a local (Old Russian) version of the Church Slavonic language has developed. Its formation was close to completion in the second half of the 11th century, as the oldest East Slavic written monuments show: the Ostromir Gospel (1056–57), the Arkhangelsk Gospel (1092), the Novgorod Service Menaia (1095–96, 1096, 1097) and other contemporary manuscripts.
The linguistic situation of Kievan Rus is assessed differently in the works of researchers. Some of them recognize the existence of bilingualism, in which the spoken language was Old Russian, and the literary language was Church Slavonic (Old Church Slavonic in origin), which was only gradually Russified (A. A. Shakhmatov). Opponents of this hypothesis argue the originality literary language in Kievan Rus, the strength and depth of its folk East Slavic speech base and, accordingly, the weakness and superficiality of the Old Slavonic influence (S. P. Obnorsky). There is a compromise concept of two types of a single Old Russian literary language: book-Slavonic and folk-literary, widely and versatile interacting with each other in the process of historical development (V. V. Vinogradov). According to the theory of literary bilingualism, in ancient Russia there were two bookish languages: Church Slavonic and Old Russian (this point of view was close to F. I. Buslaev, and then it was developed by L. P. Yakubinsky and D. S. Likhachev).
In the last decades of the XX century. The theory of diglossia gained great popularity (G. Hütl-Folter, A. V. Isachenko, B. A. Uspensky). In contrast to bilingualism, in diglossia, the functional spheres of the bookish (Church Slavonic) and non-bookish (Old Russian) languages are strictly distributed, almost do not intersect and require the speakers to assess their idioms on a scale of "high - low", "solemn - ordinary", "church - secular" . Church Slavonic, for example, being a literary and liturgical language, could not serve as a means of colloquial communication, while Old Russian had one of its main functions. Under diglossia, Church Slavonic and Old Russian were perceived in Ancient Russia as two functional varieties of one language. There are other views on the origin of the Russian literary language, but all of them are debatable. Obviously, the Old Russian literary language was formed from the very beginning as a language of complex composition (B.A. Larin, V.V. Vinogradov) and organically included Church Slavonic and Old Russian elements.
Already in the XI century. different written traditions develop and a business language appears, Old Russian in origin. It was a special written, but not a literary, not actually bookish language. It was used to draw up official documents (letters, petitions, etc.), legal codes (for example, Russkaya Pravda, see § 2.8), and order clerical work was carried out in the 16th - 17th centuries. In Old Russian, everyday texts were also written: birch bark letters (see § 2.8), graffiti inscriptions drawn with a sharp object on the plaster of ancient buildings, mainly churches, etc. At first, the business language interacted weakly with the literary one. However, over time, the once clear boundaries between them began to collapse. The rapprochement of literature and business writing took place mutually and was clearly manifested in a number of works of the 15th–17th centuries: “Domostroy”, the messages of Ivan the Terrible, Grigory Kotoshikhin’s essay “On Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich”, “The Tale of Ersh Yershovich”, “Kalyazinskaya petition "and others.
Russian medieval literature is the initial stage in the development of Russian literature. Its emergence is closely connected with the process of formation of the early feudal state. Subordinate to the political tasks of strengthening the foundations of the feudal system, it in its own way reflected the various periods in the development of public and social relations in Russia in the 11th-17th centuries. Old Russian literature is the literature of the emerging Great Russian people, gradually taking shape 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 perished in the fire of countless fires, during the devastating raids of the steppe nomads, the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar invaders, the 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. The works of ancient Russian literature were divided into "worldly" and "spiritual". The latter were supported and disseminated in every possible way, as they contained the enduring values of religious dogma, philosophy and ethics, while the former, with the exception of official legal and historical documents, were declared "vain". Thanks to this, we present our ancient literature to a greater extent ecclesiastical than it actually was. When embarking on the study of Old Russian literature, it is necessary to take into account its specific features, which differ from the literature of modern times. A characteristic feature of ancient Russian literature is handwritten nature of its existence and distribution. At the same time, 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 charge of vanity." These words of Basil the Great largely determined the attitude of the ancient Russian society to the works of writing. The value of this or that handwritten book was evaluated in terms of its practical purpose and usefulness. One of the characteristic features of ancient 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 in 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 vividly it reflected the phenomena of reality, the wider was the scope of its ideological and artistic influence.
A characteristic feature of ancient Russian literature is historicism. Her heroes are predominantly historical figures, she almost does not allow fiction and strictly follows the fact. Even numerous stories about "miracles" - phenomena that seem supernatural to a medieval person, are not so much the fiction of an ancient Russian writer, but accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the persons themselves with whom the "miracle" happened. Old Russian literature, inextricably linked with the history of the development of the Russian state, the Russian people, is imbued with heroic and patriotic pathos. Another feature is anonymity.
Literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian man, who is capable of giving up the most precious thing for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep faith in the power and ultimate triumph of good, in the ability of a person to elevate his spirit and defeat evil. The Old Russian writer was least of all inclined to an impartial presentation of facts, "listening to good and evil indifferently." Any genre ancient literature, whether it be a historical story or a legend, a life story or a church sermon, as a rule, includes significant elements of journalism. Concerning mainly state-political or moral issues, the writer believes in the power of the word, in the power of conviction. He appeals not only to his contemporaries, but also to distant descendants with an appeal to take care that the glorious deeds of their ancestors are preserved in the memory of generations and that the descendants do not repeat the sad mistakes of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
The literature of Ancient Russia expressed and defended the interests of the upper classes of feudal society. However, it could not fail to show an acute class struggle, which resulted either in the form of open spontaneous uprisings, or in the forms of typical medieval religious heresies. Literature clearly reflected the struggle between progressive and reactionary groupings within the ruling class, each of which was looking for support among the people. And since the progressive forces of feudal society reflected the interests of the whole state, and these interests coincided with the interests of the people, we can talk about the folk character of ancient Russian literature.
periodization
According to the established tradition in the development of ancient Russian literature, there are three main stages associated with the periods of development of the Russian state:
I. Literature of the ancient Russian state of the XI - the first half of the XIII centuries. The literature of this period is often referred to as the literature of Kievan Rus. The central image is Kyiv and Kyiv princes, glorifies the unity of worldview, the patriotic principle. This period is characterized by the relative unity of literature, which is determined by the relationship between the two main cultural centers of the state - Kyiv and Novgorod. This is a period of apprenticeship, in the role of mentors Byzantium and Bulgaria. Translation literature prevails. It is first dominated by religious texts, and then secular literature appears. The main theme is the theme of the Russian land and its position in the family of Christian nations. The second half of the 11th century (before this period) - Ostromir Gospel, Izborniki, translation of Greek chronicles, based on cat. "Chronograph according to the great exposition", "Sermon about the Law and Grace of Hilarion". In the middle of the 11th - the first third of the 12th genres of the didactic word appeared
(Theodosius of the Caves, Luka Zhidyata), genre varieties of original lives (“The Tale” and “Reading” about Boris and Gleb, “The Life of Theodosius of the Caves”, “Memory and Praise to Prince Vladimir”), historical legends, stories, legends that formed the basis of the chronicle , which at the beginning of the XII century. is called The Tale of Bygone Years. At the same time, the first “walking” appeared - the journey of Abbot Daniel and such an original work as “Instruction”
Vladimir Monomakh.
II. Literature of the period of feudal fragmentation and the struggle for the unification of northeastern Russia (the second half of the 13th - the first half of the 15th centuries). The rise of books. Vladimir-Suzdal Rus. "The Tale of the Tatar-Mongolian Invasion", a cycle of stories about the Battle of Kulikovo. In the regional centers, local chronicles, hagiography, genres of travel, historical stories are created. "Kiev-Pechersk Patericon", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", "The Tale" by Daniil Zatochnik and "The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land". In the 14th century, fictional legends "The Tale of Babylon City" appear. "The Tale of the Mutyansk Governor Dracula". B15 c. Appeared "Journey beyond three seas" by Afanasy Nikitin.
III. Literature of the period of creation and development of the centralized Russian state (XVI-XVII centuries). Fight against heresy, liberation from spiritual illness. Satire appears, a household story.
The historical significance of the Battle of Kulikovo and its reflection in the literature of the late 14th-15th centuries \ annalistic story, "Zadonshchina", "The Tale of the Life and Death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich", "The Tale of the Mamaev Massacre".
In 1380, the Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich rallied almost the entire North-Eastern Russia under his banners and dealt a crushing blow to the Golden Horde. The victory showed that the Russian people have the strength to decisively fight the enemy, but these forces can only be united by the centralized power of the Grand Duke. After the victory at the Kulikovo field, the question of the final overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke was only a matter of time. The historical events of 1380 were reflected in the oral folk art and works of literature: the chronicle story, "Zadonshchina", "The Tale of the Life and Death of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich", "The Tale of the Mamaev Massacre".
Chronicle of the Battle of Kulikovo. The chronicle story about the Battle of Kulikovo has come down to us in two versions: short and lengthy. The story not only sets out the main facts: the gathering of enemy forces and Russian troops, the battle on the Nepryadva River, the return of the Grand Duke to Moscow with a victory, the death of Mamai, but also gives an emotionally expressive journalistic assessment of these facts. The central character of the chronicle story - Grand Duke Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich. He "Christ-loving" and "God-loving" the prince is an ideal Christian, constantly turning to God with prayers, at the same time a brave warrior who fights on the Kulikovo field "ahead". The battle itself is depicted using techniques characteristic of a military story: “Swiftly the battle is great and the battle is strong and the coward is great zeal ... shedding blood like a rain cloud of both ... fall the corpse on the corpse, and fall the Tatar body on the body of the peasants.”
The main goal of the chronicle story is to show the superiority of the courage of the Russian troops over arrogance and ferocity "raw eaters" "godless Tatars" and "foul Lithuania" stigmatize the betrayal of Oleg Ryazansky.
The short story was included in the "Rogozhsky chronicler" and is a work of an informative type, with a traditional 3-part structure. A significant place is given to the 3rd part - the consequences of the battle. But new details also appear: a list of the dead at the end of the story; methods of stringing homogeneous paths (“the godless evil prince of the Horde, Mamai is filthy”) and connecting tautological turns (“the dead are countless”). The lengthy story has been preserved as part of the Novgorod Chronicle 4. The composition of the factual information is the same as in the summary, but since this is a story of an event type, the author increased the number of compositional elements characterizing the characters. The number of prayers of the protagonist increases: before the battle - 3, after the battle - a prayer of thanksgiving. Another lyrical fragment also appears, which has not been used before - the lament of Russian wives. A variety of figurative and expressive means are also used, especially bright in relation to enemies: “dark raw-eater Mamai”, apostate Oleg Ryazansky, “soul-destroying”, “peasant blood-drinker”. The descriptions of the Battle of Kulikovo itself in all stories are distinguished by emotionality, which is created by the author's exclamations and the inclusion in the text of elements of the landscape that were not previously used. All these features make the narrative more plot-motivated and emotionally intense.
The composition of the "Tale" structurally follows the tradition of a military story, but the narrative consists of a number of separate episodes-microplots, interconnected by plot-motivated or chronological inserts, which is an innovation. Also, the new is manifested in the author's desire to show the personality of each hero individually and show his role throughout the story. The characters are divided into main (Dmitry Ivanovich, Vladimir Andreevich and Mamai), secondary (Sergius of Radonezh, Dmitry Bobrok, Oleg Ryazansky, etc.) and episodic (Metropolitan Cyprian, Foma Katsibey, etc.). Also, a compositional feature is a lot of lyrical fragments (prayers, lamentation) and natural descriptions. Vision also appears in the text. A new descriptive element appears - the image of the Russian army, as the princes saw it from the hill. Along with the preservation of military formulas, many epithets and comparisons are used, the role of metaphors emphasizing the experiences of the characters is enhanced. The author of "Zadonshchina" took "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" as a model. In the introduction, Boyan is also mentioned, and at the end the time of the event is set (“And from the Kalat rati to Mamaev, the battle is 160 years old”). The rest of the text is generally traditional - 3-part structure. But within each part, the narrative is built on the basis of individual episodes-pictures, alternating with the author's digressions. The story has documentary elements, the use of digital data, enumerations. There are minor deviations from the chronology, which is unconventional for a military story. Lyrical fragments are not numerous, according to the canons of the military story. There are no detailed descriptions of the characters (except for Dmitry Ivanovich), and the enemies are described quite schematically. Folklore influence can be seen in the use of negative comparisons (“Those were not gray wolves, but having come to the defilement of the Tatars, they want to go through the whole Russian land fighting”). "Zadonshchina" is a monument created at the intersection of traditions: folklore, military story and "Words". But the leading one should still recognize the tradition of a military story.
"Zadonshchina". Zadonshchina" came to us in six lists, the earliest of which (the Euphrosynus list) dates back to the 1470s, and the latest to the end of the 17th century. "Zadonshchina" is the name of the work in question in the Euphrosynus list. In other lists, it is called "The Tale of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother Prince Vladimir Andreevich." The Efrosinovsky list is an abbreviated revision of the original lengthy text that did not reach, in the rest of the lists the text is full of errors and distortions.
In "Zadonshchina" the poetic attitude of the author to the events of the Battle of Kulikovo is expressed. His story (as in The Tale of Igor's Campaign) is transferred from one place to another: from Moscow to Kulikovo Field, again to Moscow, to Novgorod, again to Kulikovo Field. The present is intertwined with memories of the past. The author himself described his work as “pity and praise to Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother, Prince Vladimir Ondreevich”, “Pity” is lamentation for the dead, “Praise” is glory to the courage and military prowess of the Russians.
The first part of "Zadonshchina" - "a pity" describes the gathering of Russian troops, their campaign, the first battle and defeat. Nature in the "Zadonshchina" is on the side of the Russians and portends defeat "nasty": the birds are crying, the sun is shining on Dmitry Donskoy. The fallen warriors are haunted by their wives: princesses and noblewomen. Their laments are built, like the lament of Yaroslavna, on the appeal to the wind, the Don, the Moscow River.
The second part of "Zadonshchina" - "praise" glorifies the victory won by the Russians when the regiment of Dmitry Bobrok Volynets stepped out of the ambush. The enemies fled, and the Russians got rich booty, and now Russian wives put on the clothes and jewelry of women from the Horde.
The entire text of the "Zadonshchina" is correlated with the "Tale of Igor's Campaign": here is the repetition of entire passages from the "Lay", and the same characteristics, and similar poetic devices. But the appeal of the author of "Zadonshchina" to "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is creative, not mechanical. The victory of the Grand Duke of Moscow over Mamai is perceived by the author of Z. as revenge for the defeat suffered by Igor on Kayala. The Christian element is significantly strengthened in the "Zadonshchina" and there are no pagan images at all.
It is generally accepted that "Zadonshchina" was written by Zephanius Ryazanets: this name, like the name of its author, is named in the title of two works. However, Zephanius Ryazanets is also called the author of the "Tale of the Mamaev Battle" in a number of lists of the main edition of the "Tale". The name of Zephanius Ryazanets is also mentioned in the very text of the “Zadonshchina”, and the nature of this mention is such that in Zephanius Ryazanets one should most likely see not the author of the “Zadonshchina”, but the author of some poetic work about the Battle of Kulikovo that has not come down to us, who, regardless from each other, both the author of "Zadonshina" and the author of "The Tale of the Battle of Mamaev" took advantage . We do not have any information about Zephanius Ryazanets, except for the mention of his name in the "Zadonshchina" and in the "Tale of the Mamai Battle".
"Zadonshchina" is an interesting literary monument, created as a direct response to major event in the history of the country. This work is also remarkable in that it reflected the advanced political idea of its time: Moscow should be at the head of all Russian lands and the unity of Russian princes under the rule of the Moscow Grand Duke serves as a guarantee of the liberation of the Russian land from Mongol-Tatar domination.
"The Legend of the Mamaev Battle". "The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev" is the most extensive monument of the Kulikovo cycle, written in the middle of the 15th century. This is not only a literary monument, but also the most important historical source. In it, the most detailed account of the events of the Battle of Kulikovo has come down to us. The "Tale" describes the preparation for the campaign and the "training" of the regiments, the distribution of forces and the setting of their military task before the detachments. The Tale describes in detail the movement of the Russian troops from Moscow through Kolomna to the Kulikovo field. Here is a listing of the princes and governors who took part in the battle, tells about the crossing of Russian forces across the Don. Only from the Tale we know that the outcome of the battle was decided by the regiment under the leadership of Prince Vladimir Serpukhovsky: before the start of the battle, he was ambushed and an unexpected attack from the flanks and rear on the enemy who broke into the Russian disposition inflicted a crushing defeat on him. From the "Tale" we learn that the Grand Duke was shell-shocked and found unconscious after the end of the battle. These details and a number of others, including legendary epic ones (the story of the duel before the start of the battle between the monk-hero Peresvet and the Tatar hero, episodes telling about the help of Russian saints, etc.), were brought to us only by the “Legend of Mamaev's massacre.
The "Tale" was repeatedly rewritten and revised, up to the beginning of the 18th century, and has come down to us in eight editions and in large numbers options. O popularity The monument of the medieval reader as the “fourth” (intended for individual reading) work is evidenced by a large number of obverse (illustrated with miniatures) lists of it.
The protagonist of the Tale is Dmitry Donskoy. "The Tale" is not only a story about the Battle of Kulikovo, but also a work dedicated to the praise of the Grand Duke of Moscow. The author portrays Dmitry as a wise and courageous commander, emphasizing his military prowess and courage. All other characters of the work are grouped around Dmitry Donskoy. Dmitry is the eldest among the Russian princes, all of them are his faithful assistants, vassals, his younger brothers. The image of Dmitry Donskoy still mostly bears the features of idealization, but future tendencies of turning to the personal principle are also visible in it - the author sometimes talks about the special emotions of DD (sadness, rage, etc.)
In the Tale, Metropolitan Cyprian blesses Dmitry Ivanovich's campaign. In fact, Cyprian was not in Moscow in 1380. This is not the mistake of the author of the Tale, but. For journalistic reasons, the author of the Tale, who set himself the task of drawing an ideal image of the Grand Duke of Moscow, the ruler and head of all Russian forces, had to illustrate the strong alliance of the Moscow prince with the Metropolitan of All Russia. And in a literary work, he could, contrary to historical truth, talk about the blessing of Dmitry and his army by Metropolitan Cyprian, especially since formally Cyprian really was at that time the Metropolitan of All Russia.
During the Battle of Kulikovo, the Ryazan prince Oleg and the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, the son of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, who died in 1377, entered into an alliance with Mamai. In the Tale, which describes the event of 1380, Olgerd is named Lithuanian ally of Mamai. As in the case of Cyprian, this is not a mistake, but a conscious literary and journalistic reception. For a Russian person of the late XIV - early XV centuries, and especially for Muscovites, the name of Olgerd was associated with memories of his campaigns against the Moscow principality. It was an insidious and dangerous enemy of Russia, whose military cunning was reported in an obituary chronicle article about his death. Therefore, they could call Olgerd an ally of Mamai instead of Jogail only at a time when this name was still well remembered as the name of a dangerous enemy of Moscow. At a later time, such a change of names did not make sense. .
Mamai, the enemy of the Russian land, is portrayed by the author of the Tale in sharply negative tones. There is a contrast: if Dmitry is a bright beginning, the head of a good deed, the deeds of which are led by God, then Mamai is the personification of darkness and evil - the devil stands behind him. Heroic character the event depicted in the "Tale" determined appeal author to oral tradition about the Mamaev massacre. Most likely, the episode of single combat before the start of the general battle of the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery of Peresvet with the Tatar hero goes back to oral traditions. The epic basis is felt in the story about the "test of signs" by Dmitry Volynets; On the night before the battle, the experienced voivode Dmitry Volynets and the Grand Duke leave for the field between the Russian and Tatar troops, and Volynets hears the earth crying “in two” - about the Tatar and Russian soldiers: there will be many killed, but still the Russians will prevail. Oral tradition probably underlies the message of the Tale that Dmitry, before the battle, put on princely armor on his beloved governor, and he himself, in the clothes of a simple warrior with an iron club, was the first to rush into battle. In the weeping of Evdokia, notes of folkloric lamentation also sound.
Descriptions of the Russian army are bright and imaginative pictures. In the descriptions of pictures of nature, a certain lyricism and the desire to connect these descriptions with the mood of events can be noted. Some of the author's remarks are deeply emotional and not devoid of vital veracity. Telling, for example, about the farewell to the wives of the soldiers leaving Moscow for the battle, the author writes that the wives "in tears and exclamations of the heart cannot utter a word," and adds that "the great prince himself was a little afraid of tears, without choking shed tears for the sake of the people.
The “Legend of the Battle of Mamaev” was of interest to readers already because it described in detail all the circumstances of the Battle of Kulikovo. However, this is not the only attraction of the work. Despite a significant touch of rhetoric, "The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev" has a pronounced plot character. Not only the event itself, but also fate of individuals, the development of the vicissitudes of the plot made readers worry and empathize with what is being described. And in a number of editions of the monument, plot episodes become more complicated and increase in number. All this made "The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev" not only a historical and journalistic monument, but also a plot-fascinating work.
"A word about the life and death of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia"
"A word about the life and death of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia" in its style can be attributed to hagiographic monuments of expressive-emotional style.
it praise deeds of Dmitry Donskoy, about which the author of the "Lay" with genre-specific self-abasement declares at the end of his work that he is not worthy to describe the deeds of the master.
Stylistically and compositionally, the "Word" is close to the works of Epiphanius the Wise.
Book traditions of military biography and folklore traditions are combined (Eudokia's lamentation is filled with f. images).
The time of writing the Lay is dated in different ways. Most researchers attributed its creation to the 90s. XIV century, believing that it was written by an eyewitness to the death and burial of the prince (died in 1389).
He has a traditional structure of life (characteristics of DD, his father and mother), but at the same time, another hypostasis of the DI is intertwined - a statesman.
Accurate biographical information about Dmitry Donskoy and historical data are of little interest to the author. At the beginning, the continuity of Dmitry in relation to the Grand Duke Vladir I and the fact that he is a “relative” of the holy princes Boris and Gleb are emphasized. The battle on the Vozha and the Mamaev battle are mentioned. Both in these parts of the "Word of Life", and in others, where some specific events are implied; it is not so much a story about them that is given as their generalized characteristic. "Word" - a chain of praise to Dmitry and philosophical, very complex thoughts of the author about the greatness of the prince, in which biographical details are wedged. Comparing his hero with biblical characters (Adam, Noah, Moses), the writer emphasizes the superiority of his hero over them. In the same series of comparisons, Dmitry appears as the greatest ruler of all known world history.
Highlighted in the "Word" crying wife of Dmitry Donskoy, Princess Evdokia, imbued with deep lyricism. It reflected the influence of the people's widow's tale: Evdokia addresses the deceased as if he were alive, as if talking to them, are characteristic of folklore and the comparison of the deceased with the sun, the moon, the setting star. However, lamentation also glorifies the Christian virtues of the prince.
The “Word about Life” pursued a clear political goal: to glorify the Moscow prince, the winner of Mamai, as the ruler of the entire Russian land, the heir to the Kyiv state, to surround the prince’s power with an aura of holiness and raise his political authority to an unattainable height.
Old Russian literature did not mechanically borrow, but creatively transformed the Byzantine and Bulgarian literary traditions, with which it was closely connected. Russia assimilated the ascetic Byzantine tradition and did not join the culture of Constantinople in the capital; it accepted only Christian literature proper, excluding ancient literature, which was widespread in Byzantium. One of the reasons for this is that a similar situation has already been created in South Slavic literature, which has become a model for Russian. The ancient heritage, which in Byzantium became the basis of secular education, was perceived in Russia as pagan, and therefore harmful to the human soul and having no cultural value.
The literature of Russia solved mainly non-literary tasks. The most important principle medieval culture"imitatio" (imitation, assimilation) assumed that grace-filled gifts are acquired on the path of familiarization with patterns, including verbal ones. That's why main task for the ancient Russian scribes, the salvation of the soul was seen. Almost the entire corpus of well-known literature had a theological and religious-educational orientation, including chronicle monuments. Vaults such as "Izmaragd", "Golden chain", "Measurement of the Righteous", "Bee", were intended to form the reader's skills of Christian service. The history recorded in the annals was perceived primarily as the realization of God's providence. Standing apart among the surviving works is The Tale of Igor's Campaign.
It was possible to extract spiritual benefit from the work only with a reliable presentation of events - manifestations of Providence. Most of the narrative texts are marked by the installation of authenticity. This is evidenced by references to chronicles, the search for precedents, interest in the opinion of eyewitnesses. The narrator sought to rely either on the information of the participants in the events, or on the tradition, which was considered a reliable source.
An important way of mastering the past was a retrospective analogy. In The Word of Law and Grace, Biblical examples are used to prove the benefits Christian faith and glorify the Russian people, who have become part of grace. In the annals, Princess Olga is compared with the Greek Queen Elena, and Prince Vladimir is compared with the biblical Solomon. The texts were designed for the background knowledge of the reader, for his acquaintance with Christian images and theology. The retrospective suggested a predetermination of events. In addition to the linear concept of time, medieval Christian cosmology assumed the correlation of events with the initial initial state, which, as it were, never disappears. The idea of linear time was connected with the idea of endless return, eternity. Hence the characteristic commitment of scribes to plots and topics that were always relevant. The embodiment of this idea was a Christian parable, the heroes of which do not correspond to a specific historical era. In hagiographic literature, a saint can act outside the usual spatio-temporal categories.
History and eternity did not imply fiction, artistic fiction. As early as 1073, the compilers of Svyatoslav's Izbornik warned against foreign worldly writings based on artistic imagination.
Story
Spread of writing and education
Despite the fact that Cyrillic writing was known in the Russian lands before, only after the Baptism of Russia did it become widespread. It also received a basis in the form of a developed cultural tradition of Eastern Christianity. Of essential importance was the fact that Christianity was adopted in its eastern, Orthodox version, which, unlike Catholicism, allowed worship in national languages. This created favorable conditions for the development of writing in their native language. In need of literate people, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich organized the first schools.
The development of writing in Russian led to the fact that the Russian Church from the very beginning did not become a monopoly in the field of literacy and education. Literacy was not a privilege and only the ruling class, it also penetrated into the environment of ordinary citizens. The spread of literacy among various strata of the urban population is evidenced by birch bark letters discovered during archaeological excavations in Novgorod and other cities and dated from the period starting from the 11th century. These are letters, memos, study exercises, etc. Thus, the letter was used not only to create books, state and legal acts, but also in everyday life. Often there are inscriptions on handicraft products. Ordinary citizens left numerous records on the walls of churches in Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, Vladimir and other cities.
The oldest known Russian written monuments are agreements with Byzantium of the 10th century. They testify to the acquaintance of Russia with the Cyrillic alphabet even before the Baptism. However, their originals have not been preserved. Only lists as part of The Tale of Bygone Years are known. The oldest surviving Russian written monuments are the Novgorod Codex (Psalter and other texts) of the late 10th - early 11th century, the Ostromir Gospel, written by deacon Grigory for the Novgorod mayor Ostromir in 1057, and two Izborniks by Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavovich of 1073 and 1076. High level The professional skill with which these books were made testifies to the well-established production of manuscript books already in the first half of the 11th century, as well as to the skills of “book construction” that were established at that time.
The main centers of literacy were monasteries and cathedral churches, where there were special workshops with permanent teams of scribes. They were engaged not only in the correspondence of books, but also kept chronicles, created original literary works, and translated foreign books. One of the leading centers of this activity was the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, in which a special literary trend developed, which had big influence on the literature and culture of Ancient Russia. As the chronicles testify, already in the 11th century in Russia, libraries were created at monasteries and cathedral churches, containing up to several hundred books. The situation changed in the 12th century, when the craft of "book copyists" also arose in large cities. This testified to the growing literacy of the population and the increased need for books, which the monastic scribes could not satisfy. Many princes kept copyists of books, and some of them copied books on their own.
Education was highly valued in ancient Russian society. In the literature of that time, one can find many panegyrics on the book, statements about the benefits of books and “book teaching”.
Original literature of the pre-Mongolian period
An outstanding writer was Prince Vladimir Monomakh. His "Instruction" painted the ideal image of a prince - a just ruler, touched upon the pressing issues of our time: the need for strong princely power, unity in repelling nomadic raids, etc. "Instruction" is a work of a secular nature. It is imbued with the immediacy of human experiences, alien to abstraction and filled with real images and examples taken from life.
The question of princely power in the life of the state, the methods of its implementation and the duties of the prince becomes one of the central ones in literature. The idea arises of the need for strong power as a condition for a successful struggle against external enemies and overcoming internal contradictions. These reflections are embodied in one of the most talented works of the 12th-13th centuries, which has come down to us in two main editions of The Word and Prayer by Daniil Zatochnik. A staunch supporter of strong princely power, Daniel writes with humor and sarcasm about the sad reality surrounding him.
A special place in the literature of Ancient Russia is occupied by the Tale of Igor's Campaign, dating from the end of the 12th century. It tells about the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185 by the Novgorod-Seversky prince Igor Svyatoslavovich. The description of this campaign serves as an occasion for the author to reflect on the fate of the Russian land. The author sees the reasons for the defeats in the struggle against the nomads, the reasons for the disasters of Russia in the princely civil strife, in the egoistic policy of the princes, thirsting for personal glory. Central to the "Word" is the image of the Russian land. The author belonged to the milieu. He constantly used the concepts of “honor” and “glory” peculiar to her.
The Mongol invasion had a great influence on Russian culture. The first work dedicated to the invasion is "The Word about the death of the Russian land". The Word has not come down to us in full. Also Batu's invasion is dedicated to "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu" - component cycle of stories about miraculous icon Nikola Zaraisky. An example of the preservation of the traditions of solemn and teacher eloquence in the 13th century is the instructions (“Word on lack of faith”, etc.)
Ancient Russian literature - what is it? The works of the 11th-17th centuries include not only literary works, but also historical texts (chronicle stories and annals), descriptions of travels (which were called walks), lives (narrations about the life of saints), teachings, messages, examples of the oratorical genre, as well as some texts of business content. The themes of ancient Russian literature, as you can see, are very rich. In all works there are elements of emotional illumination of life, artistic creativity.
Authorship
At school, students study what ancient Russian literature is, outline the basic concepts. They probably know that most of the works related to given period, did not retain the author's names. The literature of Ancient Russia is mostly anonymous and therefore similar to oral folk art. The texts were handwritten and distributed by correspondence - copying, as a result of which they were often reworked to suit new literary tastes, the political situation, and also in connection with the literary abilities and personal preferences of the scribes. Therefore, the works have come down to us in different editions and versions. Comparative analysis of them helps researchers reconstruct the history of a particular monument and make a conclusion about which of the options is closest to the original source, the author's text, as well as trace the history of its change.
Sometimes, in very rare cases, we have the author's version, and often in later lists you can find the monuments of ancient Russian literature that are closest to the original. Therefore, they should be studied on the basis of all available options for works. They are available in large city libraries, museums, archives. Many texts have been preserved in a large number of lists, some in a limited number. The only option is presented, for example, "The Tale of Woe-Misfortune", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".
"Etiquette" and repeatability
It is necessary to note such a feature of Old Russian literature as the repetition in different texts belonging to different eras of certain characteristics, situations, epithets, metaphors, comparisons. The works are characterized by the so-called etiquette: the hero behaves or acts one way or another, because he follows the concepts of his time about how one should behave in various circumstances. And events (for example, battles) are described using constant forms and images.
10th century literature
We continue to talk about what it is Take notes on the main points if you are afraid to forget something. majestic, solemn, traditional. Its origin dates back to the 10th century, more precisely, to its end, when, after the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in Russia, historical and official texts began to appear, written in Church Slavonic. Through the mediation of Bulgaria (which was the source of these works), Ancient Russia joined the developed literature of Byzantium and the southern Slavs. For the realization of its interests, the feudal state headed by Kyiv had to create its own texts and introduce new genres. With the help of literature, it was planned to educate patriotism, assert the political and historical unity of the people and old Russian princes denunciation of their strife.
Literature of the 11th - early 13th centuries
The themes and tasks of the literature of this period (the struggle against the Polovtsians and Pechenegs - external enemies, the issues of the connection of Russian history with the world, the struggle for the Kyiv throne of princes, the history of the emergence of the state) determined the nature of the style of this time, which D. S. Likhachev called monumental historicism. The emergence of chronicle writing in our country is associated with the beginning of domestic literature.
11th century
The first lives date from this century: Theodosius of the Caves, Boris and Gleb. They are distinguished by attention to the problems of modernity, literary perfection, and vitality.
Patriotism, the maturity of socio-political thought, publicism and high skill marked the monuments of oratory "The Word of Law and Grace", written by Hilarion in the first half of the 11th century, "Words and Teachings" (1130-1182). "Instruction" of the Grand Duke Kyiv Vladimir Monomakh, who lived from 1053 to 1125, is imbued with deep humanity and concern for the fate of the state.
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
It is impossible to do without mentioning this work when the topic of the article is Old Russian literature. What is "The Tale of Igor's Campaign?" This is the greatest work of Ancient Russia, created by an unknown author in the 80s of the 12th century. The text is devoted to a specific topic - the unsuccessful campaign in the Polovtsian steppe in 1185 by Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich. The author is interested not only in the fate of the Russian land, he also recalls the events of the present and the distant past, therefore the true heroes of the "Word" are not Igor and not Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, who also receives a lot of attention in the work, but the Russian land, the people - what is based on ancient Russian literature. The "Word" is connected in many ways with the narrative traditions of its time. But, as in any ingenious creation, it also contains original features, manifested in rhythmic refinement, linguistic richness, the use of techniques characteristic of oral folk art and their rethinking, civic pathos and lyricism.
National Patriotic Theme
It is raised during the period of the Horde yoke (from 1243 to the end of the 15th century) by ancient Russian literature. in works of this period? Let's try to answer this question. The style of monumental historicism acquires a certain expressive tone: the texts are lyrical and have tragic pathos. The idea of a strong centralized princely power takes on great importance at this time. In separate stories and chronicles (for example, in "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu"), the horrors of the enemy's invasion and the brave struggle against the enslavers of the Russian people are reported. This is where patriotism comes in. The image of the defender of the earth, the ideal prince, was most clearly reflected in the work "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" written in the 70s of the 13th century.
Before the reader of "Words about the destruction of the Russian land" opens a picture of the greatness of nature, the power of the princes. This work is only an excerpt from an incomplete text that has come down to us. It is dedicated to the events of the first half of the 13th century - the difficult time of the Horde yoke.
New style: expressive and emotional
In the period of 14-50s. In the 15th century, ancient Russian literature changed. What is the expressive-emotional style that arose at this time? It reflects the ideology and events of the period of unification of northeastern Russia around Moscow and the formation of a centralized Russian state. Then the literature began to show interest in the personality, human psychology, his inner spiritual world (although still only within the framework of religious consciousness). This led to the growth in the works of the subjective principle.
And so a new style appeared - expressive-emotional, in which verbal sophistication and "word weaving" (that is, the use of ornamental prose) should be noted. These new techniques were intended to reflect the desire to depict the feelings of an individual.
In the second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries. there are stories that go back in their plot to the novelistic nature of oral stories ("The Tale of the Merchant Basarga", "The Tale of Dracula" and others). The number of translated works of a fictional nature is noticeably increasing;
"The Tale of Peter and Fevronia"
As mentioned above, the works of ancient Russian literature also borrow some features of legends. In the middle of the 16th century, Yermolai-Erasmus, an ancient Russian publicist and writer, created the famous Tale of Peter and Fevronia, which is one of the most significant texts in Russian literature. It is based on the legend of how, thanks to her mind, a peasant girl became a princess. Fairy-tale tricks are widely used in the work, social motives also sound.
Characteristics of 16th century literature
In the 16th century, the official character of the texts intensifies, hallmark literature becomes solemnity and pomp. Distribution is received by such works, the purpose of which is the regulation of political, spiritual, everyday and legal life. A striking example- "Great, which are a set of texts, consisting of 12 volumes, which were intended for home reading for each month. At the same time, "Domostroy" is being created, which sets out the rules of behavior in the family, gives advice on housekeeping, as well as on the relationship between Fiction is increasingly penetrating the historical works of that period in order to give the story an interesting plot.
17th century
The works of ancient Russian literature of the 17th century are noticeably transformed. The art of the so-called modern times begins to take shape. There is a process of democratization, the subject of works is expanding. The role of the individual in history is changing due to the events of the peasant war (late 16th - early 17th centuries), as well as the Time of Troubles. The deeds of Boris Godunov, Ivan the Terrible, Vasily Shuisky and other historical characters are now explained not only by divine will, but also by the personality traits of each of them. A special genre appears - democratic satire, where church and state orders, legal proceedings (for example, "The Tale of the Shemyakin Court"), and clerical practice ("Kalyazinskaya Petition") are ridiculed.
"Life" of Avvakum, everyday stories
In the 17th century, an autobiographical work was written by those who lived in the period from 1620 to 1682. Archpriest Avvakum - "Life". It is set out in the textbook "Old Russian Literature" (Grade 9). A feature of the text is a juicy, lively language, sometimes colloquial, sometimes high bookish.
During this period, everyday stories about Frol Skobeev, Savva Grudtsyn and others were also created, reflecting the original character of ancient Russian literature. There are translated collections of short stories and poetry develops (famous authors are Sylvester Medvedev, Simeon Polotskits, Karion Istomin).
The history of ancient Russian literature ends with the 17th century, and the next stage begins - the literature of the new time.
The literature of Ancient Russia arose in the 11th century. and developed over the course of seven centuries until the Petrine era. Old Russian literature is a single entity with all the variety 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 that heroes of all centuries think about, talk about, and meditate on. The works form love for the Fatherland and their people, show the beauty of the Russian land, therefore 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. So images, ideas, even the style of compositions were inherited by A.S. Pushkin, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy.
Old Russian literature did not arise from scratch. Its appearance was prepared by the development of the language, oral folk art, cultural ties with Byzantium and Bulgaria, and was conditioned by the adoption of Christianity as a single religion. The first literary works that appeared in Russia were translated. Those books that were necessary for worship were translated.
The very first original works, that is, written by the Eastern Slavs themselves, belong to the end of the 11th-beginning of the 12th century. in. There was a formation of Russian national literature, its traditions were formed, features that determine 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.
Features of Old Russian literature
1. Historicism of content.
Events and characters in literature, as a rule, are the fruit of the author's fiction. The authors of works of art, even if they describe the true events of real people, conjecture a lot. But in ancient Russia, everything was completely different. The Old Russian scribe told only about what, according to his ideas, really happened. Only in the XVII century. Everyday stories appeared in Russia with fictional characters and plots.
Both the ancient Russian scribe and his readers firmly believed that the events described actually happened. So the chronicles were a kind of legal document for the people of Ancient Russia. After the death in 1425 of the Moscow prince Vasily Dmitrievich, his younger brother Yuri Dmitrievich and son Vasily Vasilyevich began to argue about their rights to the throne. Both princes turned to the Tatar Khan to judge their dispute. At the same time, Yuri Dmitrievich, defending his rights to reign in Moscow, referred to ancient chronicles, which reported that power had previously passed from the prince-father not to his son, but to his brother.
2. Handwritten nature of existence.
Another feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of existence. Even the appearance of the printing press in Russia did little to change the situation until the middle of the 18th century. The existence of literary monuments in manuscripts led to a special reverence for 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 writings 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 continue for several centuries. Therefore, in scientific terminology, there are such concepts as "manuscript" (handwritten text) and "list" (rewritten work). A manuscript may contain lists of various works and may be written by the author himself or by scribes. Another fundamental concept in textual criticism is the term "redaction", 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.
The existence of a work in manuscripts is closely related to such a specific feature of Old Russian literature as the problem of authorship.
The authorial principle in ancient Russian literature is muted, implicit; Old Russian scribes were not careful with other people's texts. When rewriting the texts, they were reworked: some phrases or episodes were excluded from them or some episodes were inserted into them, stylistic "decorations" were added. Sometimes the ideas and assessments of the author were even replaced by the opposite ones. Lists of one work differed significantly from each other.
Old Russian scribes did not at all seek to reveal their involvement in literary writing. Very many monuments remained anonymous, the authorship of others was established by researchers on indirect grounds. 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 epistles is inimitable, impudently mixing eloquence and rude abuse, learned examples and the style of a simple conversation.
It happens that in the manuscript one or another text was signed by the name of an authoritative scribe, which may equally correspond or not correspond to reality. So among the works attributed to the famous preacher St. Cyril of Turov, many, apparently, do not belong to him: the name of Cyril of Turov gave additional authority to these works.
The anonymity of literary monuments is also due to the fact that the Old Russian "writer" consciously did not 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.
4. Literary etiquette.
Well-known literary critic, researcher of ancient Russian literature academician D.S. Likhachev proposed a special term for the designation of the canon in the monuments of medieval Russian literature - "literary etiquette".
Literary etiquette is composed of:
From the idea of how this or that course of an event should have taken place;
From ideas about how the actor should have behaved in accordance with his position;
From the ideas of what words the writer had to describe what is happening.
Before us is the etiquette of the world order, the etiquette of behavior and verbal etiquette. The hero is supposed to behave in this way, and the author is supposed to describe the hero only in appropriate terms.
The main genres of ancient Russian literature
The literature of modern times is subject to the laws of the "poetics of the genre". 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 number of studies have been devoted to the genre originality of Old Russian literature, but there is still no clear classification of genres. However, some genres immediately stood out in ancient Russian literature.
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. Life, which came to Russia from Byzantium along with the adoption of Christianity, became the main genre of ancient Russian literature, the literary form in which the spiritual ideals of Ancient Russia were clothed.
The compositional and verbal forms of life have been polished for centuries. A lofty theme - a story about a life that embodies the ideal service to the world and God - determines the image of the author and the style of narration. The author of the life narrates with excitement, he does not hide his admiration for the holy ascetic, admiration for his righteous life. The emotionality of the author, his excitement paint the whole story 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) had to follow a number of rules and canons. The composition of the correct life should be three-part: an introduction, a story about the life and deeds of a saint from birth to death, praise. In the introduction, the author apologizes to the readers for their inability to write, for the rudeness of the narration, etc. The life itself followed the introduction. 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, random. In a life compiled according to all the rules, there are few dates, exact geographical names, names of historical persons. The action of life takes place, as it were, outside historical time and concrete space, it unfolds against the backdrop of eternity. Abstraction is one of the features of hagiographic style.
At the conclusion of the life there should be praise to the saint. This is one of the most important parts of life, requiring great literary art, a good knowledge of rhetoric.
The oldest Russian hagiographic monuments are two lives of princes Boris and Gleb and The Life of Theodosius of Pechora.
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: instructive and solemn.
Solemn eloquence required depth of conception and great literary skill. The orator needed the ability to effectively build a speech in order to capture the listener, set it up in a high way, corresponding to the topic, shake him with pathos. There was a special term for solemn speech - "word". (There was no terminological unity in ancient Russian literature. A military story could also be called a “Word.”) Speeches were not only delivered, but written and distributed in numerous copies.
Solemn eloquence did not pursue narrowly practical goals, it required the formulation of problems of a wide social, philosophical and theological scope. The main reasons for the creation of "words" are theological issues, questions of war and peace, defense of the borders of the Russian land, domestic and foreign policy, the struggle for cultural and political independence.
The oldest monument of solemn eloquence is Metropolitan Hilarion's Sermon on Law and Grace, written between 1037 and 1050.
Teaching eloquence is teachings and conversations. They are usually small in volume, often devoid of rhetorical embellishments, written in the Old Russian language, which was generally accessible to the people of that time. Teachings could be given by church leaders, princes.
Teachings and conversations have purely practical purposes, contain necessary for a person information. "Instruction to the brethren" by Luke Zhidyata, Bishop of Novgorod from 1036 to 1059, contains a list of rules of conduct that a Christian should adhere to: do not take revenge, do not say "shameful" words. Go to church and behave in it quietly, honor elders, judge by the truth, honor your prince, do not curse, keep all the commandments of the Gospel.
Theodosius of Pechersk, founder of the Kiev Caves Monastery. He owns eight teachings to the brethren, in which Theodosius reminds the monks of the rules of monastic behavior: do not be late for church, put three bow to the ground, observe deanery and order when singing prayers and psalms, bow to each other when meeting. In his teachings, Theodosius of Pechorsky demands a complete renunciation of the world, abstinence, constant prayer and vigil. The abbot severely denounces idleness, money-grubbing, intemperance in food.
3. Chronicle.
Chronicles were called weather (by "years" - by "years") records. The annual record began with the words: "In the summer." After that, 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 in modern historians there is an amazing opportunity to look into the distant past.
Most often, the ancient Russian chronicler was a learned monk, who sometimes spent many years compiling the chronicle. In those days, it was customary to start a story about history from ancient times and only then move on to the events of recent years. The chronicler had first of all to 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 one that he considered necessary to include in his own work. When the materials relating to the past were collected, the chronicler proceeded to present the incidents of his time. This great job became a chronicle. After some time, this code was continued by other chroniclers.
Apparently, the first major monument of ancient Russian chronicle writing was the annalistic code, compiled in the 70s of the 11th century. The compiler of this code is believed to have been the abbot of the Kiev Caves Monastery Nikon the Great (? - 1088).
Nikon's work formed the basis of another annalistic code, which was compiled in the same monastery two decades later. AT scientific literature he received the conditional name "Initial Code". Its unnamed compiler supplemented Nikon's collection not only with news of recent years, but also with chronicle information from other Russian cities.
"The Tale of Bygone Years"
Based on the annals of the tradition of the 11th century. The greatest annalistic monument of the era of Kievan Rus - "The Tale of Bygone Years" - was born.
It was compiled in Kyiv in the 10s. 12th c. According to some historians, its likely compiler was the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor, also known for his other writings. When creating The Tale of Bygone Years, its compiler drew on numerous materials with which he supplemented the Primary Code. Among these materials were Byzantine chronicles, texts of treaties between Russia 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 only to tell about the past of Russia, but also to determine the place of the Eastern Slavs among European and Asian peoples.
The chronicler tells in detail about the settlement of the Slavic peoples in antiquity, about the settlement by the Eastern Slavs of the territories that would later become part of Old Russian state, about the customs and customs of different tribes. The "Tale of Bygone Years" emphasizes not only the antiquities 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 Russia. The story about the first Russian Christians, about the baptism of Russia, about the spread of a new faith, the construction of churches, the emergence of monasticism, 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 bright publicist. Many chroniclers of subsequent centuries turned to the experience of the creator of the "Tale", sought to imitate him and almost always placed the text of the monument at the beginning of each new chronicle collection.
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