Monuments of ancient Russian literature, famous author list. Old Russian literature - monuments of Old Russian literature

In this article we will look at the features ancient Russian literature. Literature Ancient Rus' was first of all church. After all, book culture in Rus' appeared with the adoption of Christianity. Monasteries became centers of writing, and the first literary monuments These are mainly works of a religious nature. Thus, one of the first original (that is, not translated, but written by a Russian author) works was the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion. The author proves the superiority of Grace (the image of Jesus Christ is associated with it) over the Law, which, according to the preacher, is conservative and nationally limited.

Literature was created not for entertainment, but for teaching. Considering the features of ancient Russian literature, it should be noted that it is instructive. She teaches to love God and her Russian land; she creates images of ideal people: saints, princes, faithful wives.

Let us note one seemingly insignificant feature of ancient Russian literature: it was handwritten. Books were created in a single copy and only then copied by hand when it was necessary to make a copy or the original text became unusable over time. This gave the book special value and generated respect for it. In addition, for the Old Russian reader, all books traced their origins to the main one - the Holy Scriptures.

Since the literature of Ancient Rus' was fundamentally religious, the book was seen as a storehouse of wisdom, a textbook of righteous life. Old Russian literature is not fiction, in the modern sense of the word. She goes out of her way avoids fiction and strictly follows the facts. The author does not show his individuality; he hides behind the narrative form. He does not strive for originality; for an ancient Russian writer it is more important to stay within the framework of tradition, not to break it. Therefore, all lives are similar to one another, all biographies of princes or military stories are compiled according to overall plan, in compliance with the "rules". When The Tale of Bygone Years tells us about Oleg’s death from his horse, this beautiful poetic legend sounds like historical document, the author really believes that this is how it happened.

The hero of ancient Russian literature does not have no personality, no character in our view today. Man's destiny is in the hands of God. And at the same time, his soul acts as an arena for the struggle between good and evil. The first will win only when a person lives by moral rules given once and for all.

Of course, in Russian medieval works we will not find either individual characters or psychologism - not because ancient Russian writers did not know how to do this. In the same way, icon painters created planar, rather than volumetric images not because they couldn’t write “better”, but because others stood in front of them artistic tasks: the face of Christ cannot be similar to the usual one human face. An icon is a sign of holiness, not a depiction of a saint.

The literature of Ancient Rus' adheres to the same aesthetic principles: it creates faces, not faces, gives the reader example of correct behavior rather than depicting a person's character. Vladimir Monomakh behaves like a prince, Sergius of Radonezh behaves like a saint. Idealization is one of the key principles of ancient Russian art.

Old Russian literature in every possible way avoids mundaneness: she does not describe, but narrates. Moreover, the author does not narrate on his own behalf, he only conveys what is written in the sacred books, what he read, heard or saw. There can be nothing personal in this narrative: no manifestation of feelings, no individual manner. (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in this sense is one of the few exceptions.) Therefore, many works of the Russian Middle Ages anonymous, the authors do not even assume such immodesty - to put your name. And the ancient reader cannot even imagine that the word is not from God. And if God speaks through the mouth of the author, then why does he need a name, a biography? That is why the information available to us about ancient authors is so scarce.

At the same time, in ancient Russian literature a special national ideal of beauty, captured by ancient scribes. First of all, this is spiritual beauty, beauty Christian soul. In Russian medieval literature, in contrast to Western Europe of the same era, the knightly ideal of beauty is much less represented - the beauty of weapons, armor, and victorious battle. The Russian knight (prince) wages war for the sake of peace, and not for the sake of glory. War for the sake of glory and profit is condemned, and this is clearly seen in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Peace is assessed as an unconditional good. The ancient Russian ideal of beauty presupposes a wide expanse, an immense, “decorated” earth, and it is decorated with temples, because they were created specifically for the exaltation of the spirit, and not for practical purposes.

The attitude of ancient Russian literature is also connected with the theme of beauty to oral and poetic creativity, folklore. On the one hand, folklore was of pagan origin, and therefore did not fit into the framework of the new, Christian worldview. On the other hand, he could not help but penetrate literature. After all, the written language in Rus' from the very beginning was Russian, and not Latin, as in Western Europe, and there was no impassable border between the book and the spoken word. Folk ideas about beauty and goodness also generally coincided with Christian ideas; Christianity penetrated folklore almost unhindered. Therefore, the heroic epic (epics), which began to take shape in the pagan era, presents its heroes both as patriotic warriors and as defenders of the Christian faith, surrounded by “filthy” pagans. Just as easily, sometimes almost unconsciously, ancient Russian writers use folklore images and stories.

The religious literature of Rus' quickly outgrew its narrow church framework and became truly spiritual literature, which created a whole system of genres. Thus, “The Sermon on Law and Grace” belongs to the genre of a solemn sermon delivered in church, but Hilarion not only proves the Grace of Christianity, but also glorifies the Russian land, combining religious pathos with patriotic ones.

Genre of life

The most important genre for ancient Russian literature was the hagiography, the biography of a saint. At the same time, the task was pursued, by telling about the earthly life of a saint canonized by the church, to create an image ideal person for the edification of all people.

IN " Lives of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb"Prince Gleb appeals to his killers with a request to spare him: “Do not cut the ear, which is not yet ripe, filled with the milk of goodness! Do not cut the vine, which is not yet fully grown, but bears fruit!” Abandoned by his squad, Boris in his tent “cries with a broken heart, but is joyful in his soul”: he is afraid of death and at the same time he realizes that he is repeating the fate of many saints who accepted martyrdom for their faith.

IN " Lives of Sergius of Radonezh“It is said that the future saint in his adolescence had difficulty comprehending literacy, lagged behind his peers in learning, which caused him a lot of suffering; when Sergius retired into the desert, a bear began to visit him, with whom the hermit shared his meager food, it happened that the saint gave the last piece of bread to the beast.

In the traditions of life in the 16th century, “ The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, but it already sharply diverged from the canons (norms, requirements) of the genre and therefore was not included in the collection of lives of the “Great Chet-Minea” along with other biographies. Peter and Fevronia are real historical figures who reigned in Murom in the 13th century, Russian saints. The author of the 16th century produced not a hagiography, but an entertaining story, built on fairy-tale motifs, glorifying the love and loyalty of the heroes, and not just their Christian deeds.

A " Life of Archpriest Avvakum", written by himself in the 17th century, turned into a vivid autobiographical work filled with reliable events And real people, living details, feelings and experiences of the hero-narrator, behind which stands bright character one of the spiritual leaders of the Old Believers.

Genre of teaching

Since religious literature was intended to educate true Christian, one of the genres was teaching. Although this is a church genre, close to a sermon, it was also used in secular (secular) literature, since the ideas of the people of that time about the correct, righteous life did not differ from the church ones. You know" Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", written by him around 1117 "while sitting on a sleigh" (shortly before his death) and addressed to children.

The ideal ancient Russian prince appears before us. He cares about the welfare of the state and each of his subjects, guided by Christian morality. The prince's other concern is about the church. All earthly life should be considered as work to save the soul. This is the work of mercy and kindness, and military work, and mental work. Hard work - cardinal virtue in the life of Monomakh. He made eighty-three major campaigns, signed twenty peace treaties, learned five languages, and did what his servants and warriors did.

Chronicles

A significant, if not the largest, part of ancient Russian literature are works historical genres included in the chronicles. The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years""created in beginning of XII century. Its significance is extremely great: it was proof of Rus'’s right to state independence and independence. But if recent events chroniclers could write down “according to the epics of this time”, reliably, then the events of pre-Christian history had to be reconstructed according to oral sources: traditions, legends, sayings, geographical names. Therefore, the chroniclers turn to folklore. These are the legends about the death of Oleg, about Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans, about Belgorod jelly etc.

Already in The Tale of Bygone Years, two most important features of Old Russian literature appeared: patriotism and connections with folklore. Book-Christian and folklore-pagan traditions are closely intertwined in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”

Elements of fiction and satire

Of course, ancient Russian literature was not unchanged throughout all seven centuries. We saw that over time it became more secular, elements of fiction intensified, and satirical motifs increasingly penetrated into literature, especially in the 16th-17th centuries. These are, for example, " The Tale of Misfortune", showing what troubles disobedience and the desire to “live as he pleases,” and not as his elders teach, can bring a person, and “ The Tale of Ersha Ershovich", ridiculing the so-called "voivode's court" in the tradition of a folk tale.

But in general, we can talk about the literature of Ancient Rus' as a single phenomenon, with its own end-to-end ideas and motives that have passed through 700 years, with its general aesthetic principles, with a stable system of genres.

Lesson 2

Subject: The original character of ancient Russian literature. Richness and variety of genres.

Target: briefly introduce students to the circumstances of the emergence of ancient Russian literature; to form an idea of ​​the specifics of ancient Russian literature, the features of its traditions; provide an overview of the genres of ancient Russian literature

Tasks:

Subject: Know: the main features and genres of ancient Russian literature, stages of its development; genre features. Understand: patriotic pathos of the works of Ancient Russia Be able to: build detailed statements based on what you read; argue your point of view

Metasubject: develop motives and interests cognitive activity

Personal: formation of motivation for learning and purposeful cognitive activity.

Interdisciplinary connections : history, Russian language.

Lesson type: a lesson in mastering new knowledge and forming new concepts.

Equipment: textbook

During the classes

I .Organizing time.

II . Learning new material.

Teacher's word.

You already know that the emergence of literature in Rus' is associated with the adoption of Christianity as state religion. Today our goal is to get the most general idea of ​​ancient Russian literature and get acquainted with one of its monuments.

The concept of “Old Russian literature” includes literary works, written in the 11th-17th centuries. They come in different genres.A genre is a historically established type of literary work, an abstract pattern on the basis of which the texts of specific literary works are created. The system of genres of literature of Ancient Rus' differed significantly from the modern one. Old Russian literature developed largely under the influence Byzantine literature and borrowed from her a system of genres, reworking them on a national basis: the specificity of the genres of Old Russian literature lies in their connection with traditional Russian folk art. The genres of ancient Russian literature are usually divided into primary and unifying.

Among them are chronicles, walks, teachings, lives, epistles, works of the oratorical genre, etc. It is impossible to indicate the very first ancient Russian monument, since the first monuments, the first books have not survived to this day. The first monument of ancient Russian literature that has reached us is

"The Tale of Bygone Years."

It is known that in addition to church books in Rus', books devoted to the history of the country and its connections with world history have become widespread. Records were kept about everything important that happened in the country: about princes and their struggle for power, about attacks by enemies and the fight against them. Such books were called chronicles.

The word “chronicle” comes from two words: summer, and write. Thus,chronicle - this is an essay, the narrative is presented on a yearly basis. The basis of the narrative in the chronicle is the annual record ( short message about the event, without description), chronicle story ( a detailed story about the event) and obituary description (description of the prince and praise to him).

The chroniclers considered themselves not authors, but recorders of ongoing events. That's why they don't mention themselves. Most often, the ancient Russian chronicler was a learned monk.

Being authored, literary works are, as a rule, anonymous, since, on the one hand, ancient Russian authors rarely indicated their names in manuscripts, considering them only executors of the highest Divine will; on the other hand, ancient Russian texts were distributed in handwritten formIand the ancient scribes, when rewriting, could also rework texts and become “co-authors.” This explains the existence of different editions of the same literary monument.

Chronicle writing began in Rus' inXIcentury. The first chronicler was the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Nikon, whom he called the Great. His life was full of stormy events, he was actively involved in political struggle against those Kyiv princes who put their own interests above all-Russian interests, was twice forced to flee to Tmutarakan. At the end of his life, Nikon became abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. It was then, apparently, that he worked on the chronicle.

At firstXIIcentury, the monk of the same monastery Nestor compiled “The Tale of Bygone Years” - one of wonderful works Russian literature. This story has reached us, rewritten and partly revised by the monk of the neighboring Vydubetsky Monastery, Sylvester. This “Tale...” is the fruit of the creativity of several generations of chroniclers. After all, there was no printing in those days; books were copied by hand, and this work was entrusted to a select few, learned scribes. When rewriting the chronicles, followers inevitably made some additions, amendments, and sometimes even made mistakes. In addition, new information was added, since the chronicles were kept strictly by year, and everything important that happened during the year was entered into the chronicle.

Reading the chronicle, we hear the living voice of distant ancestors. Works of the past destroy the barriers of time, and with the power of imagination we can imagine ourselves as participants in those events, see what happened and how.

The following genres of ancient Russian literature are also distinguished:LifeWordTeachingTaleThis also includes weather records, chronicle stories, chronicle legends and church legends.

Life The genre of hagiography was borrowed from Byzantium. This is the most widespread and beloved genre of ancient Russian literature. Life was an indispensable attribute when a person was canonized, i.e. were canonized. The life was created by people who directly communicated with a person or could reliably testify to his life. Life was always created after the death of a person. It performed a huge educational function, because the life of the saint was perceived as an example of a righteous life that must be imitated. In addition, life deprived a person of the fear of death, preaching the idea of ​​​​the immortality of the human soul. Life was built according to certain canons, from which they did not deviate until the 15-16 centuries.

Canons of Life The pious origin of the hero of the life, whose parents must have been righteous. The saint's parents often begged God.A saint was born a saint, not made one.The saint was distinguished by an ascetic lifestyle, spending time in solitude and prayer.A mandatory attribute of the life was a description of the miracles that occurred during the life of the saint and after his death.The saint was not afraid of death.The life ended with the glorification of the saint.One of the first works hagiographic genre in ancient Russian literature there was the life of the holy princes Boris and Gleb.Teaching - a type of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. Teaching is a genre in which ancient Russian chroniclers tried to present a model of behavior for any ancient Russian person: both for the prince and for the commoner. The most striking example of this genre is the “Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh” included in the Tale of Bygone Years. In the Tale of Bygone Years, the Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh are dated 1096. At this time, the strife between the princes in the battle for the throne reached its climax. In his teaching, Vladimir Monomakh gives advice on how to organize your life. He says that there is no need to seek the salvation of the soul in seclusion. It is necessary to serve God by helping those in need. When going to war, you should pray - God will definitely help. Monomakh confirms these words with an example from his life: he took part in many battles - and God protected him. Monomakh says that one should look at how the natural world works and try to arrange public relations modeled on a harmonious world order. The teaching of Vladimir Monomakh is addressed to descendants.

Word The word is a type of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. An example of the political variety of ancient Russian eloquence is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” This work is the subject of much controversy regarding its authenticity. This is because the original text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” has not been preserved. It was destroyed by fire in 1812. Only copies have survived. From that time on, it became fashionable to refute its authenticity. The word tells about the military campaign of Prince Igor against the Polovtsians, which took place in history in 1185. Researchers suggest that the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was one of the participants in the described campaign. Disputes about the authenticity of this work were conducted in particular because it stands out from the system of genres of ancient Russian literature due to the unusual nature of the elements used in it. artistic means and techniques. The traditional chronological principle of narration is violated here: the author is transported to the past, then returns to the present (this was not typical for ancient Russian literature), the author makes lyrical digressions, inserted episodes appear (Svyatoslav’s dream, Yaroslavna’s cry). The word contains many elements of traditional oral folk art, characters. One can clearly feel the influence of a fairy tale, an epic. The political background of the work is obvious: in the fight against a common enemy, Russian princes must be united, disunity leads to death and defeat.Another example of political eloquence is the “Word about the Destruction of the Russian Land,” which was created immediately after the Mongol-Tatars came to Rus'. The author glorifies the bright past and mourns the present.An example of the solemn variety of ancient Russian eloquence is the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion, which was created in the first third of the 11th century. The word was written by Metropolitan Hilarion on the occasion of the completion of the construction of military fortifications in Kyiv. The word conveys the idea of ​​​​the political and military independence of Rus' from Byzantium. By “Law” Hilarion understands the Old Testament, which was given to the Jews, but it does not suit the Russian and other peoples. Therefore, God gave the New Testament, which is called “Grace.” In Byzantium, Emperor Constantine is revered, who contributed to the spread and establishment of Christianity there. Hilarion says that Prince Vladimir the Red Sun, who baptized Rus', is no worse than the Byzantine emperor and should also be revered by the Russian people. The work of Prince Vladimir is continued by Yaroslav the Wise. The main idea of ​​“The Word of Law and Grace” is that Rus' is as good as Byzantium.

Tale A story is a text of an epic nature, telling about princes, military exploits, about princely crimes. Examples of military stories are “The Tale of the Battle of the Kalka River”, “The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu Khan”, “The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky”.

Message - usually used for journalistic purposes.

Walking is a genre that describes all kinds of travel to other lands and adventures.

Chronicle is a narration of historical events. This is the most ancient genre ancient Russian literature. In Ancient Rus', the chronicle played a very important role, because not only reported historical events of the past, but was also political and legal document, testified to how to act in certain situations. The oldest chronicle is the “Tale of Bygone Years,” which came to us in the lists of the Laurentian Chronicle of the 14th century and the Ipatiev Chronicle of the 15th century. The chronicle tells about the origin of the Russians, the genealogy of the Kyiv princes and the emergence of the ancient Russian state.

Literature of ancient Rus' general characteristics period

Old Russian literature went through a long period of development, which amounts to 7 centuries: from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Scientists associate the formation of ancient Russian literature with the adoption of Christianity in Rus' in 988. This year is the starting point for the periodization of literature. It is reliably known that writing existed in Rus' even before the adoption of Christianity. But very few monuments of pre-Christian writing have been discovered. Based on the available monuments, it cannot be said that before the adoption of Christianity, literature and book learning existed in Rus'.Spreading Christian religion in Rus' involved the study of holy scripture and Christian rituals. To preach Christian canons, it was necessary to translate religious books from ancient Greek and Latin languages into a language that the Slavs understood. The Old Church Slavonic language became such a language. Scientists talk about the special status of the Old Church Slavonic language. Old Church Slavonic is literary language all Slavs. They did not speak it, but only wrote and read books. The Old Church Slavonic language was created by Christian preachers Cyril and Methodius on the basis of the Solunsky dialect of the ancient Bulgarian language specifically in order to make the canons of the Christian religion understandable to the Slavs and to preach these canons in the language of the Slavs. Books in the Old Church Slavonic language were copied in different territories inhabited by the Slavs, where they spoke differently: in different dialects. Gradually, the peculiarities of the speech of the Slavs began to be reflected in writing. Thus, on the basis of the Old Church Slavonic language, the Church Slavonic language arose, reflecting the peculiarities of speech Eastern Slavs, and then the Old Russian man.Christian preachers arrived in Rus' and created schools. The schools taught reading, writing and the canons of Orthodox Christianity. Over time, a layer of people appeared in Rus' who knew how to read and write. They rewrote holy scripture and translated it into Old Church Slavonic. Over time, these people began to record historical events that took place in Rus', make generalizations, use images of oral folk art, and evaluate the events and facts described. This is how original ancient Russian literature gradually took shape.Old Russian literature was fundamentally different from what we are accustomed to understanding as literature at the present time. Literature in Ancient Rus' was closely connected with the spread of the Christian religion and served as a tool for preaching and consolidating Christianity in Rus'. This determined special treatment to the book as a sacred object, and to reading as a sacred process of communion with God’s Word.

As they wrote Old Russian books? Old Russian books were huge tomes, the pages of which were made of cowhide. The books were bound into boards, which were covered with leather and decorated. Cured cowhide was an expensive material that had to be saved. That is why ancient Russian books were written in a special way: in the books there were no intervals between words. Naturally, reading such books was very difficult. In addition, many frequently used words were not written in full. For example, BG - God, BGC - Mother of God, NB - heaven. Above such words they put a “title” sign - an abbreviation. Because of the high cost of the material, books cost entire villages. Only rich princes could afford to have books.

The book is a source of Divine grace One of the differences between ancient Russian literature and modern literature is that ancient Russian books do not and could not have an author. In Ancient Rus', the concept of authorship did not exist at all; it appeared much later. It was believed that God guided the hand of the book writer. Man is only an intermediary through whom God conveys his Word to people. Putting your name in a book was considered a great sin. The belief in this was strong, so for a long time no one dared to put their name in the books. But some could not resist and put an inconspicuous, but so important for them, inscription like “I am a great sinner (name) had a hand in this.”There was a strong belief that the book had a miraculous effect on a person, giving him divine grace. Communicating with a book old Russian man believed that he was communicating with God. That is why it was customary to fast and pray for at least a week before reading books.

Historicism of Old Russian Literature Old Russian authors were aware of their special historical mission - the mission of witnesses of time. They believed that they were obliged to record all the events that took place on their land in order to convey history to their descendants through the book. In addition, the texts included many traditions and legends that had oral existence. So in ancient Russian texts Along with Christian saints, pagan deities are mentioned. This meant that Christianity existed in Rus' with the original religion of the Slavs, which is usually called paganism, although the pagans themselves did not call themselves that. Folklore significantly enriched ancient Russian literature.There were no lyrics in ancient Russian literature. Old Russian literature, being exclusively religious in nature, placed the preaching of the laws of Christian morality at the forefront. That is why it did not pay any attention privacy person. Maximum objectivity is one of the main canons of ancient Russian literature. Among the genres in ancient Russian literature, the lives of saints, chronicles, chronographs, chety-menaion, patericon, and apocrypha predominated. Old Russian literature was distinguished by religiosity and historicism.Many ancient Russian books have not reached us: they were destroyed by fires, some were taken to Poland and Lithuania, and some were destroyed by the scribes themselves - the old inscriptions were washed off and new ones were written on top. This was done in order to save the expensive material from which the books were made.

III Job With statement

Useful when the soul asks for something unusual.”

A. S. Demin

Monuments to Peter and Fevronia:

In Ulyanovsk. Opening date: July 5, 2009 .

Installation location: in front of the building of Ulyanovsk State University.

Sculptors: Oleg Klyuev and Nikolai Antsiferov.

The monument to Peter and Fevronia in Ulyanovsk is made of bronze and represents the young princes Peter and Fevronia with a dove, symbolizing love and fidelity.

The monument in Ulyanovsk was erected as part of the national program “In the Family Circle”.

In Samara:

The monument was erected as part of the “In the Family Circle” program, which appeared in 2004 with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II. As part of the same program, monuments to Saints Peter and Fevronia have opened today in Vladivostok and Omsk, and over the past three years sculptural compositions Murom saints have already been installed in Arkhangelsk, Ulyanovsk, Yaroslavl, Sochi and Blagoveshchensk.

On July 8, Orthodox believers celebrate the day of remembrance of Russian saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom, patrons of marital fidelity and love.

Saints Peter and Fevronia are princes who ruled in Murom in the 13th century. The couple were models of fidelity and love for each other; in old age they became monks and soon died in the same hour. Being buried in different graves, their bodies miraculously ended up side by side, the legend says. After this, the couple was buried in Murom near the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God. In 1547, the Church canonized them as saints.

IV . Reinforcing the material covered

1. Conversation .

The word "Monument" comes from the word "memory". Most often, monuments are buildings or busts built in honor and glory of a person. For example, many monuments to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin were created. To perpetuate the memory of the great poet, his grateful admirers erected monuments to him. Monuments in those places where the poet lived and wrote his works are especially dear to us. They preserve the memory of the poet’s stay in these places. Ancient temples and ancient buildings in general are called architectural monuments, because they also preserve the memory of past centuries of native history.

In order for a work to be recognized as a literary monument, time must pass. An ancient Russian writer who compiled a chronicle, story or biographies of saints probably did not think that he was creating monuments. But after some time, descendants evaluate the work as a monument if they see in it something outstanding or characteristic of the era in which it was created.

What is the value of literary monuments, architecture and cultural monuments in general? The monument is a witness of its time.

Among the outstanding monuments of ancient Russian literature are “The Tale of Bygone Years” by Nestor the Chronicler, “The Tale of Boris and Gleb”, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”, “The Chronicle of the Battle of Kulikovo” and others heroic works Ancient Rus'. One of the most remarkable monuments of ancient Russian literature is “Vladimir Monomakh’s Teachings to His Children,” extracted from the Laurentian Chronicle. All these monuments of ancient Russian literature cannot but be addressed by those who study native history and Russian literature. We will also turn to them, because they all bear us living testimony about the past of our Fatherland.

Literature is part of reality; it occupies a certain place in the history of the people and fulfills enormous social responsibilities. During the period of the 9th - early 13th centuries. serves the purpose of unification, expresses the national consciousness of unity. She is the keeper of history and legends, and these latter were a kind of means of developing space, marking the holiness or significance of a particular place: a tract, a mound, a village, etc. Historically, legends conveyed historical depth to the country, they were that “fourth dimension” in within the framework of which the entire vast Russian land was perceived and became visible. The same role was played by chronicles and lives of saints, historical stories and stories about the founding of monasteries. All Russian literature was distinguished by deep historicism. Literature was one of the ways to master the surrounding world.

What did ancient Russian literature teach? The secular element of ancient Russian literature was deeply patriotic. She taught active love to the homeland, fostered citizenship, and strived to correct the shortcomings of society.

In essence, all monuments of ancient Russian literature, thanks to their historical topics much more closely interconnected than at present. They can be arranged in chronological order, but as a whole they present one story: Russian and world. Ancient literature by the nature of its existence and creation, it belongs to folklore rather than to the personal creativity of modern times. The work, once created by the author, was then changed by scribes in numerous rewrites, altered, acquired different ideological colors in different environments, was supplemented, acquired new episodes, etc.: therefore, almost every work that has come to us in several copies is known to us in various editions, types and editions.

The first Russian works are full of admiration for the wisdom of the universe, but a wisdom that is not closed in itself, but serves man. Along the path of such an anthropocentric perception of the universe, the relationship between the artist and the object of art also changed. And this new attitude led a person away from what was canonically recognized by the church.

The appeal of art to its creators and to all people has become the style-forming dominant of everything monumental art and all literature of the pre-Mongol period. This is where the imposing, solemn, ceremonial quality of all forms of art and literature of this time comes from.

The literary style of the entire pre-Mongol period can be defined as the style of monumental historicism. People of this time sought to see in everything significant in content, powerful in its forms. The style of monumental historicism is characterized by the desire to view what is depicted as if from great distances - spatial, temporal (historical), hierarchical distances. This is a style within which everything that is most beautiful appears large, monumental, majestic. A peculiar “ panoramic vision" The chronicler sees the Russian land as if from high altitude. He strives for a narrative about the entire Russian land, immediately and easily moves from an event in one principality to an event in another - at the opposite end of the Russian land. This happens not only because the chronicler combined sources of various geographical origin, but also because it was precisely such a “broad” story that corresponded to the aesthetic ideas of his time Adrianova-Peretz V.P. Ancient Russian literature and folklore: (Towards the formulation of the problem). -- P. 5--16.

The desire to connect various geographical points in one's narrative is also characteristic of the works of Vladimir Monomakh - especially his biography.

It is characteristic that writers of the 9th - 13th centuries. they perceive victory over the enemy as gaining “space,” and defeat as loss of space, misfortune as “crowded.” The path of life, if it is filled with need and grief, is first of all a “crowded path.”

The Old Russian writer seems to be striving to mark as many different places as possible with the historical events that took place in them. The land is sacred to him, it is consecrated by these historical events. He marks both the place on the Volga where Boris’s horse stumbled in the field and broke his leg, and Smyadyn, where Gleb received the news of his father’s death. and Vyshgorod, where the brothers were then buried, etc. The author seems to be in a hurry to connect more different places, tracts, rivers and cities with the memory of Boris and Gleb. This is especially significant in connection with the fact that the cult of Boris and Gleb directly served the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land, directly emphasizing the unity of the princely family, the need for brotherly love, and strict subordination of the younger princes to the elders.

The writer makes sure that all the characters behave appropriately and that they utter all the necessary words. “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” is furnished with speeches from beginning to end characters, as if ceremonially commenting on what was happening.

And another feature of the aesthetic formation is its ensemble character.

Medieval art is a systematic art, systematic and unified. It unites the visible and invisible worlds, created by man with the entire cosmos. The works of literature of this period are not self-contained or isolated little worlds. Each of them seems to gravitate toward its neighbors, which already existed before it. Each new work is, first of all, an addition to existing ones, but an addition not in form, but in theme, in plot. Each new work is, first of all, an addition to the existing ones, but an addition not in form, but in theme, in the plot of Adrianova-Peretz V.P. The main tasks of studying ancient Russian literature in research pp. 5--14.

IN XI-XII centuries took off cultural development Kievan Rus. Cultural centers there were large cities, many of which became important European centers: Novgorod, Kyiv, Galich.

Excavations carried out by archaeologists suggest a high culture of the townspeople, many of whom were literate. This is evidenced by preserved debt receipts, petitions, orders on economic affairs, notices of arrival, letters written on birch bark, as well as inscriptions on things and church walls preserved in different cities. Schools were organized in cities to teach literacy. The first schools for boys appeared in the 10th century, and in the 11th century a school for girls was opened in Kyiv.

It is known for certain that even before the adoption of Christianity, Ancient Rus' knew writing. The first to reach us handwritten books are true works of art. The books are written in very expensive material- parchment, which was made from lamb, calf or goat skin. They were decorated with amazingly beautiful colored miniatures.

Most of the books that have come down to us from this period of time are of religious content. Thus, out of 130 surviving books, 80 contain the basics of Christian doctrine and morality. However, at this time there was also religious literature for reading. A well-preserved collection of stories about real and legendary animals, trees, stones - "Physiologist". This collection consists of several stories, at the end of each there is a small interpretation of what is described in the spirit of Christianity. So, for example, the woodpecker’s natural property of chiselling trees was correlated with the devil, who persistently looks for a person’s weak points.

Such outstanding monuments of church literature as the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion and the sermons of Cyril of Turov date back to the same period of time. There were also religious books that unconventionally interpreted well-known biblical stories. Such books were called apocrypha. The name comes from Greek word"hidden" The most popular was the apocryphal "Walk of the Virgin Mary through Torment."

Lives of saints were created in large numbers, which described in detail the life, activities, and exploits of people canonized by the church. The plot of the life could be exciting, such as, for example, “The Life of Alexei, the Man of God.”

Literary monuments of the Vladimir-Suzdal land are also known. Among them is "The Word" ("Prayer") by Daniil Zatochnik.

In the 11th century, the first works of a historical (documentary) nature appeared. The oldest chronicle that has survived to this day, the Tale of Bygone Years, dates back to this period of time. This document allows us to judge not only the political situation of that time, but also the life and customs of the ancient Russians.

IN major cities Detailed chronicles were kept in which the events that took place were recorded. The chronicles contained copies of original documents from the princely archives, detailed descriptions battles, reports on diplomatic negotiations. However, we cannot talk about the objectivity of these chronicle vaults, since their compilers were primarily children of their time, who tried to justify the actions of their prince and denigrate his opponents.

An outstanding monument of ancient Russian literature is “The Instruction” of Vladimir Monomakh. It was intended for the prince’s children and contained instructions on how young princes, children of warriors, should behave. He ordered both his own and strangers not to offend the inhabitants of the villages, to always help those who ask, to feed guests, not to pass by a person without greeting, to take care of the sick and infirm.

And finally, the most significant monument of ancient Russian literature is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” The work is based on the campaign undertaken by Prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians. Unfortunately, the only surviving manuscript of the Lay was burned during a fire in Moscow in 1812.

ancient Russian literature patristics

The heyday of Kievan Rus, the time of the triumph of Christianity. About four hundred churches were built in Kyiv alone. A variety of genres is encouraged, and the influence of folklore on Old Russian literature does not dry out. The priority of the book tradition is affirmed.

The style of monumental historicism continues to develop, as in images and frescoes, the prince in the chronicle is always official, as if addressed to the viewer. The Christian worldview in depicting people was put at the service of strengthening the feudal system. It spoke mainly where legal crimes were discussed: murders, fraud.

With regard to negative heroes the writer is less official than in relation to the positive heroes of his story.

One of the most negative characters Ipatiev Chronicle - Vladimir Galitsky. His main trait: greed; he acts not directly, not by war, but by bribery and money. This image of Vladimir reflected the hatred of representatives of the poor Principality of Kyiv to a richer one in the 12th century. Principality of Galicia. Literary portraits The princes are also laconic, energetically inscribed in space.

On Icon XII in the Tretyakov Gallery from the Novgorod Yuryev Monastery, St. George the Victorious stands with a shield behind his back, with a spear and a sword in his hands. The authors strive to emphasize the bravery of the princes not only in the description, but also in the commendable characteristics of the heroes, but also in the description of the action. There are almost no characters and no connection of development historical events With characteristic features participants. Each prince performs his life's work as a representative of a certain family, princes.

Dependent chroniclers tried to portray their prince from the point of view of ideal behavior. They talked mainly about the activities of certain layers of society. XII is characterized by the awakening of thought, says Klyuchevsky. The initial Russian chronicle, along with other monuments of Russian literature, is a significant indicator of the growth and national consciousness in Ancient Rus'. The language of the chronicle, preserving the vocabulary and form of the Church Slavonic language in church narratives and in quotations from biblical books in other cases, is especially informative in the patericon, which is part of the folk poetic living Russian language. New genres are partly formed at the intersection of folklore and literature.

The most outstanding monument of this era is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” “The word was created in the 12th century. First pronounced at the congress in Lyubechi. The author saw the essence of this event as conveying the idea of ​​unity. Recovery theme genre system. The work has a unity of composition. “The Word...” is dedicated to Igor’s campaign. In “The Lay...” it is natural to often have unexpected transitions from one part to another. the text of the Word is artistically homogeneous in mood, thanks to a single picture of the Russian land. The dominant theme is love and care. The connection between “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and oral folk poetry is most clearly felt within two genres, most often mentioned in the word Lamentation and song glorification - “Glory”: the lament of Yaroslavna is mentioned at least 5 times, the lamentations of the same Russian soldiers, in Igor’s campaign, the lamentation of Yaroslavna’s mother Lamentation is what the author means words when he speaks about the groans of Kiev and Chernigov and the entire Russian land, after Igor’s campaign. Twice the author cites the most laments: the lament of Yaroslavna, the lament of Russian wives. Repeatedly distracts himself from the story by resorting to exclamations. The closeness of the Word to laments is strong in Yaroslavna’s lament. The author of the Tale of Igor's Campaign constantly resorts to images of the animal world, never introduces foreign animals into his work, resorting only to images of Russian nature.

Pagan elements in the word about Igor's campaign are, as we know, strongly exposed. The harmony of the composition is maintained by dividing the word into a number of songs; the picture ends with a refrain. The poem is divided into stanzas. The composition is determined by the design and lyro-epic nature; the author assesses the network of conciliar unity of the past and the present. Russian women embody care and love for their deceased son. I.P Eremin rightly notes in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” many techniques of oratory. Before us in the Word, as in many ancient Russian monuments The author more often feels himself speaking than writing, his readers - listeners, not readers, his topic - a lesson, not a story.

Victory weapons were forged in the righteous age. The focus is on people who do not call upon different forces. The Word about Igor's Host is a lyrical revelation to nature. In this era, genre formation occurs. Characteristic works are outside of traditional genres, which include the above-mentioned “Word” and “Prayer of Daniel the Imprisoner.”

“Prayer” was openly and partially published by N.M. Karamzin. The prayer came to us in copies XVI-XVIII no earlier, with traces of later insertions and interpolations. All famous lists The prayers are clearly divided into 2 editions. The prayer of Daniel the prisoner is a petition letter, from which it follows that a certain Daniel, judging by the text of the prayer, is in captivity. The prayer names different princes. The first is composed as follows: “The Word of Daniil the Sharper was written to his prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich.” The second edition dates back to the 12th century. in some sources, others - in the 13th century.

The system of folklore genres was sufficiently adapted, mainly to reflect the needs of pagan culture. tribal community. A cult of the brothers Boris and Gleb is created, who meekly submitted to the hand of the murderer, followers of Svyatopolk. Princes Boris and Gleb were the first saints canonized by the Russian Church. Boris and Gleb were the first married elects of the Russian Church, the first recognized miracle workers, its recognized heavenly prayer books for new Christian people. Boris and Gleb were not martyrs for Christ, but fell victims of a political crime in a princely feud, like many before and after them.