In what language was ancient Russian literature written? Teachings of the Metropolitans

For my work, I chose the topic “Ancient Russian literature as an outstanding cultural phenomenon.” In the library I found a small amount of literature about this period. But, looking through books on ancient Russian literature, I learned a lot of new things for myself, and also noticed that many famous people, scientists, and academicians were interested in the literature of this period. Old Russian literature occupies seven centuries (the period of the 11th-18th centuries), and this is a very long period. I’ll tell you about a short period from the 11th to the beginning of the 13th century. I learned that Peter I was interested in ancient Russian books; he even issued a decree on collecting various manuscripts on parchment and paper from monasteries and churches. On the personal instructions of the tsar, a copy of the Radzivilov Chronicle was made. Companion of Peter I, historian V.N. Tatishchev continued collecting manuscripts and chronicles. I learned about many other scientists who devoted their lives to the study of ancient Russian literature. These are such scientists as: Rumyantsev, Stroev, Buslaev, Pynin, Orlov, Shakhmatov, Likhachev and others. But they not only studied, they collected manuscripts, tried to study them and bring them to people, write and publish their works.

I learned that Russian literature of the X-XVII centuries. developed under unique conditions. It was handwritten. But printing has hardly changed the methods of distributing literary works. Until the 17th century, all works were distributed through correspondence. I also learned that the scribes who rewrote made their own corrections, changes, shortened the manuscripts, or added their own to what was written.

Knowledge and study of the past is very responsible; the heroic pages of history are dear to us.

In my work I will consider the issue of the emergence of Old Russian literature, which will help to find out the historical conditions and reasons for its emergence. Knowing this, I will try to explain its genre system and talk about the complex relationship between literature and the church. I’ll touch a little on writing, talk about the Slavic alphabet and literacy schools. Also, using the example of “The Tale of Bygone Years” and “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” I will talk about the heroic pages in literature, about the ideas that found expression in descriptions of the heroic struggle of the Russian people against foreign invaders, about the views of the writers of that time, about their wisdom and optimism . I will tell you about the variety of genres of ancient Russian literature, the periodization of history, and the broad outlook of writers and readers. And also about the high skill of ancient Russian writers, about the peculiarities of the poetics of literature.

Without knowing this, it is impossible to correctly assess the level of literature of the Russian Middle Ages. There were no fictions in ancient Russian literature: its heroes were historical figures (princes, tsars, church ministers, warrior heroes), and the subject of the depiction were actual events (battles, battles).

And in conclusion of my work I will describe the world of ancient Russian literature. Where the main idea is highlighted that literature was a means of knowledge and a means of educating a person. Literature is the art of words; it enriches a person’s aesthetic experience, helps a person to know himself, reveals the reasons for human actions and words. From the heroic examples of this literature, we learn to be truthful, courageous, obedient, and respect our elders.

There have been and are many peoples on earth, each of which has its own special and unique culture.

Chapter 1. Old Russian literature as part of culture.

1.1 The emergence of ancient Russian literature.

At the end of the 10th century, the literature of Ancient Rus' arose, literature on the basis of which the literature of three fraternal peoples developed - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. Old Russian literature arose along with the adoption of Christianity and was initially called upon to serve the needs of the church: to provide church ritual, disseminate information on the history of Christianity, and educate societies in the spirit of Christianity. These tasks determined both the genre system of literature and the features of its development.

The adoption of Christianity had significant consequences for the development of books and literature in Ancient Rus'.

Old Russian literature was formed on the basis of the unified literature of the southern and eastern Slavs, which arose under the influence of Byzantine and Old Bulgarian culture.

Bulgarian and Byzantine priests who came to Rus' and their Russian students needed to translate and rewrite books that were necessary for worship. And some books brought from Bulgaria were not translated, they were read in Rus' without translation, since there was a closeness between the Old Russian and Old Bulgarian languages. Liturgical books, lives of saints, monuments of eloquence, chronicles, collections of sayings, historical and historical stories were brought to Rus'. Christianization in Rus' required a restructuring of the worldview, books about the history of the human race, about the ancestors of the Slavs were rejected, and Russian scribes needed works that would set out Christian ideas about world history and natural phenomena.

Although the need for books in the Christian state was very great, the possibilities for satisfying this need were very limited: in Rus' there were few skilled scribes, and the writing process itself was very lengthy, and the material on which the first books were written - parchment - was very expensive . Therefore, books were written only for rich people - princes, boyars and the church.

But before the adoption of Christianity, Slavic writing was known in Rus'. It was used in diplomatic (letters, contracts) and legal documents, and there was also a census between literate people.

Before the emergence of literature, there were speech genres of folklore: epic tales, mythological legends, fairy tales, ritual poetry, laments, lyrics. Folklore played a major role in the development of national Russian literature. There are known legends about fairy-tale heroes, about heroes, about the foundations of ancient capitals about Kiy, Shchek, Horeb. There was also oratory: princes spoke to soldiers and made speeches at feasts.

But literature did not begin with the recordings of folklore, although it continued to exist and develop with literature for a long time. For the emergence of literature, special reasons were needed.

The stimulus for the emergence of Old Russian literature was the adoption of Christianity, when it became necessary to acquaint Rus' with the Holy Scriptures, with the history of the church, with world history, with the lives of saints. Without liturgical books, the churches being built could not exist. And also there was a need to translate from the Greek and Bulgarian originals and distribute a large number of texts. This is what was the impetus for the creation of literature. Literature had to remain purely church, cultic, especially since secular genres existed in oral form. But in reality everything was different. Firstly, the biblical stories about the creation of the world contained a lot of scientific information about the earth, the animal world, the structure of the human body, the history of the state, that is, they had nothing to do with Christian ideology. Secondly, the chronicle, everyday stories, such masterpieces as “Tales of Igor’s Campaign”, “Teaching” by Vladimir Monomakh, “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik were left out of cult literature.

That is, the functions of literature at the time of its origin and throughout history differ.

The adoption of Christianity contributed to the rapid development of literature only for two centuries; in the future, the church did its best to hinder the development of literature.

And yet the literature of Rus' was devoted to ideological issues. The genre system reflected the worldview typical of Christian states. “Old Russian literature can be considered as literature of one theme and one plot. This plot is world history, and this theme is the meaning of human life” - this is how D. Likhachev formulated the features of the literature of the most ancient period of Russian history in his work.

There is no doubt that the Baptism of Rus' was an event of enormous historical importance, not only politically and socially, but also culturally. The history of ancient Russian culture began after Russia adopted Christianity, and the date of the Baptism of Rus' in 988 becomes the starting point for the national-historical development of Russia.

Since the Baptism of Rus', Russian culture has continually faced a difficult, dramatic, tragic choice of its path. From the point of view of cultural studies, it is important not only to date, but also to document this or that historical event.

1.2 Periods of the history of ancient literature.

The history of ancient Russian literature cannot but be considered in isolation from the history of the Russian people and the Russian state itself. Seven centuries (XI-XVIII centuries), during which Old Russian literature developed, were full of significant events in the historical life of the Russian people. The literature of Ancient Rus' is evidence of life. History itself has established several periods of literary history.

The first period is the literature of the ancient Russian state, the period of the unity of literature. It lasts a century (XI and early XII centuries). This is the century of formation of the historical style of literature. Literature of this period developed in two centers: in the south of Kyiv and in the north of Novgorod. A characteristic feature of the literature of the first period is the leading role of Kyiv as the cultural center of the entire Russian land. Kyiv is the most important economic link on the world trade route. The Tale of Bygone Years belongs to this period.

Second period, mid-12th century. – first third of the 13th century. This is the period of the emergence of new literary centers: Vladimir Zalessky and Suzdal, Rostov and Smolensk, Galich and Vladimir Volynsky. During this period, local themes emerged in literature and different genres appeared. This is the period of the beginning of feudal fragmentation.

Next comes a short period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. During this period, the stories “Words about the destruction of the Russian land” and “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” were created. During this period, one topic was discussed in the literature, the topic of the invasion of Mongol-Tatar troops in Rus'. This period is considered the shortest, but also the brightest.

Today it worries all those who are interested in the history and culture of our country. We will try to give a comprehensive answer to it.

Old Russian literature is usually called the monuments of bookishness of Kievan Rus, which appeared at the stage of creation of the state of the Eastern Slavs, called Kievan Rus. The Old Russian period in the history of Russian literature, according to some literary scholars, ends in 1237 (during the devastating Tatar invasion); according to other literary scholars, it continues for about 400 years and gradually ends in the era of the revival of the Moscow state after the Time of Troubles.

However, the first version is more preferable, which partly explains to us when and why Old Russian literature arose.

In any case, this fact suggests that our ancestors approached a stage of social development when they were no longer satisfied with folklore works and new genres were required - hagiographic literature, teachings, collections and “words”.

When did ancient Russian literature arise: history and main factors of its emergence

There is no exact date for the writing of the first ancient Russian work in history, but the beginning of books in Rus' is traditionally associated with two events. The first is the appearance in our country of Orthodox monks - Methodius and Cyril, who created the Glagolitic alphabet, and later put their efforts into creating the Cyrillic alphabet. This made it possible to translate liturgical and Christian texts of the Byzantine Empire into Old Church Slavonic.

The second key event was the Christianization of Rus' itself, which allowed our state to closely communicate with the Greeks, the bearers of the then wisdom and knowledge.

It should be noted that the question of what year ancient Russian literature arose is also impossible to answer because a huge number of monuments of ancient Russian literature were lost as a result of the devastating Horde yoke, most of them burned in numerous fires that were brought to our country by bloodthirsty nomads .

The most famous monuments of bookishness of Ancient Rus'

When answering the question of when Old Russian literature arose, we must not forget that the works of this period represent a fairly high level of literary skill. One famous “Tale” about Prince Igor’s campaign against the Polovtsians is worth a lot.

Despite the devastating historical circumstances, the following monuments have survived to this day.

Let us briefly list the key ones:

Ostromir Gospel.
Numerous teaching collections.
Collections of lives (for example, collections of the lives of the first Russian saints from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra).
"The Sermon on Law and Grace" by Hilarion.
Life of Boris and Gleb.
Reading about princes Boris and Gleb.
"The Tale of Bygone Years".
"Teachings of Prince Vladimir, nicknamed Monomakh."
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign."
"The Tale of the Death of the Russian Land."

Chronology of Old Russian literature

An expert in the ancient Russian written tradition, Academician D.S. Likhachev and his colleagues assumed that the answer to the question of when ancient Russian literature arose should be sought in the first monuments of Russian literature.

According to these chronicle sources, translated works from Greek first appeared in our country in the 10th century. At the same time, folklore texts of legends about the exploits of Svyatoslav Igorevich, as well as epics about Prince Vladimir, were created at the same time.

In the 11th century, thanks to the activities of Metropolitan Hilarion, literary works were written. For example, this is the already mentioned “Sermon on Law and Grace,” a description of the adoption of Christianity by the Russian people, and others. In the same century, the texts of the first selections were created, as well as the first texts of the lives of those who died as a result of the princely strife and were later canonized.

In the 12th century, original works of authorship were written that told about the life of Theodosius, abbot of Pechersk, and the lives of other saints of the Russian land. At the same time, the text of the so-called Galician Gospel was created, and parables and “words” were written by a talented Russian orator. The creation of the text “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign” dates back to the same century. At the same time, a large number of translated works were published that came from Byzantium and carried the foundations of both Christian and Hellenic wisdom.

Consequently, it is possible to answer with complete objectivity the question of in what century Old Russian literature arose in this way: it happened in the 10th century along with the advent of Slavic writing and the creation of Kievan Rus as a single state.

IV. PECHERSK ASCETS. THE BEGINNING OF BOOK LITERATURE AND LEGISLATION

(continuation)

Teachings of the Metropolitans. - Hilarion. - Works of Theodosius. - Nestor Pechersky.

As in all of medieval Europe, monasteries were the beginnings and guardians of book education in Rus'. The flourishing of Russian writing is associated with the same Kiev-Pechersk monastery, more so than other monasteries. A significant part of ancient Russian writers labored here and came from here.

The book industry in Russia began with the introduction of Greek Christianity and Slavic-Bulgarian translations of the Holy Scriptures. Byzantine literature remained for a long time the model and main source for our literature; and the book Bulgarian language and Bulgarian literacy formed the basis of Russian writing. Its most ancient monuments are Slavic translations of the treaties of Oleg, Igor and Svyatoslav; although they belong to the era of the last pagan princes, there is no doubt that in this era baptized Rus', and therefore Church Slavonic literacy, already existed.

Among the first Russian writers are our first metropolitans and other hierarchs who came to us from Byzantium. The Slavic language they used suggests that the Patriarchate of Constantinople appointed to the Russian departments precisely those persons who were of Slavic origin, or those Greeks who were familiar with the Church Slavonic language. (It is also possible, however, that in the case of little familiarity with this language, they had Slavic translators at hand for their messages to the flock.) Such, for example, were Metropolitans John, a contemporary of Vsevolod, called in the chronicle a bookish and learned man, and Nicephorus, contemporary of Vladimir Monomakh. The writings of these and other hierarchs present primarily various kinds of rules and teachings; They had as their task the internal improvement of the young Russian Church and the determination of its external relations, the resolution of continuously arising questions from the ritual and everyday, the fight against various pagan customs, which were slowly giving way to Christian institutions, etc.

From Metropolitan John the Church Rule has come down to us, addressed to the monk Jacob, who probably proposed various questions to the Metropolitan for resolution. In this message, the Metropolitan rebels against the slave trade, sorcery, drunkenness, immodest songs, dances and other pagan customs, as well as against free cohabitation with a woman and the opinion that existed among the common people that the wedding rite was invented only for princes and noble people in general. Particularly noticeable is the effort of the Greek-Russian hierarchs to protect the Russian Church from the influence of the papacy and from rapprochement with Latinism. These efforts are all the more understandable because the Russian princes were in active communication and in family ties with other European sovereigns, especially with their neighbors, the kings of Poland, German, Scandinavian and Ugric; whereas it was in the second half of the 11th century that the final division of the churches took place and those measures of Gregory VII followed, which further strengthened the difference in the character of the Greek and Latin clergy. Metropolitan John in his Rule condemns the custom of Russian princes to give their daughters in marriage to foreign lands (where they usually became Catholics). And Metropolitan Nikifor dedicated an entire message to Vladimir Monomakh about the differences between the Roman Church and the Orthodox Church. It counts up to twenty differences, among which the main place is occupied by: the service on unleavened bread, celibacy and barber-shaving of priests, as well as the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son; he calls the latter “great atrocity.”

The same desire for teaching, instruction and confirmation in the rules of the Christian church lies in the works of Russian hierarchs and ascetics that have come down to us. A number of these writers are revealed by the same Hilarion, who was the first Kyiv metropolitan of Russian origin and with whom the cave origins of the famous Kyiv monastery are associated. Several of his works have reached us, namely: “The Doctrine of the Old and New Laws,” with which is combined “Praise to our Kagan Vladimir” and “Confession of Faith.” The bright mind, erudition and talent that characterize these works fully explain to us why Grand Duke Yaroslav showed such respect for their author, elevating him from a simple priest to the rank of Russian metropolitan. The first of these works is directed especially against Judaism; which confirms the presence of Jewish colonies in Rus' and propaganda that probably came from the southeast from Khazaria through our Tmutarakan possessions. (The life of Theodosius mentions the Jewish colony in Kiev; the annals of the death of Svyatopolk I testify to the bitterness of the Kievites against the Jews.) Having moved from the Old Testament to the New, from Judaism to Christianity, the author speaks of the baptism of the Russian people and extols the culprit of this baptism, Kagan Vladimir . Here his word is imbued with animation and is distinguished by true eloquence. “We are no longer fellow temples,” he says, “but we are building the churches of Christ. We no longer slay each other to demons; but Christ is slain for us. It is no longer by eating the blood of sacrifices that we perish; but by tasting the most pure blood of Christ, we are saved.” “All countries, cities and people honor and glorify each of their teachers in the Orthodox faith. Let us also, to the best of our little strength, praise the great and wondrous deeds of our teacher and mentor, the great Khagan of our land, Vladimir, the grandson of old Igor, the son of the glorious Svyatoslav, who became famous for their bravery and courage in many countries and are now remembered with glory." A particularly vivid picture lies in the following description of Rus' after baptism: “Then the sun of the Gospel illuminated our land, the temples were destroyed, churches were erected, idols were crushed and icons of saints appeared; monasteries stood on the mountains; the apostolic trumpet and the gospel thunder resounded all the cities; incense offered to God , sanctified the air; men and women, small and large, all the people, filling the churches, glorified God." Hilarion ends his praise of Vladimir with praise to his patron Yaroslav, who completed the great work begun by his father. In addition to the brilliant picture drawn by the author, from his work we see how, from the very establishment of the Christian religion in Rus', the clergy supported the sacred significance of princely power, finding in it support for their high position and calling. The Russian Church adopts a distinctive feature of the Greek Church from the Latin: the former’s unpretentiousness to secular domination and humility before civil or state power. Yes, it could not have been otherwise given the weakness of the feocratic principle, discovered back in the pagan period, and given the primordial, rather widespread development of princely power among the Russian people.

In the 11th century, Hilarion was not the only one who glorified the great deeds of Vladimir. This prince generally became a favorite hero of our folk and book literature. From the era of the first Yaroslavichs, “Praise to Prince Vladimir” has reached us, the author of which calls himself Jacob Mnich. It is believed that this was the same presbyter Jacob, the monk of Pechersk, whom Theodosius, at his death, proposed to name as his successor; but the brethren answered that he was not tonsured in the Pechersk Monastery, and wished to have Stefan, a student and tonsure of Theodosiev, as abbot. The famous abbot of Pechersk himself loved to engage in book writing and wrote teachings. Not a single one of the accusatory messages to the Grand Duke Svyatoslav, mentioned in the life of Theodosius, has reached us. But we have several of his teachings, addressed primarily to the monastic brethren, what are the instructions about the love of God, alms, patience, labor, etc. In some of his teachings, he, like a strict ascetic, strongly arms himself against drunkenness, loose morals, superstitions and various games left over from paganism. “Isn’t there a nasty (pagan) custom,” he exclaims, “whoever meets a monk or a monk, a pig or a bald horse on the road, returns back? Others believe in choch, in sorcery, or are engaged in growth, theft, buffoonery, harps, sniffles and generally inappropriate things." “Or when we stand in church, is it possible to laugh and whisper? The damned devil makes you do all this.” Theodosius, by the way, in response to Grand Duke Izyaslav’s own request, wrote a letter to him about the Varangian, or Latin, faith; in which he preceded the above-mentioned Metropolitans John and Nicephorus. He also enumerates the differences of the Latin Church; but he is arming himself against them with even greater energy; also condemns marriage alliances between Russian sovereigns and Western ones and generally advises Orthodox Christians to avoid communication with Latins.

From teachings and instructions on how to behave as a good Christian, a true son of the Orthodox Church, our book literature naturally had to move on to living examples, to the depiction of those men who acquired the glory of martyrs, ascetics, and generally holy people who pleased God. Hence, in ancient Russian literature, a rich section devoted to the biography and glorification of such men developed very early. Along with the translated lives of common Christian and predominantly Greek saints, legends about Russian saints began to appear. In this regard, the first place belongs to the same Pechersk monastery. Its extraordinary beginning and prosperity constantly inclined the thoughts of the Pechersk monks to its glorious founders and organizers, Anthony and Theodosius, as well as to their closest followers. Stories about these men became one of the favorite subjects of reading and copying in ancient Russia. At the head of such works is “The Life of our Venerable Father Theodosius, Abbot of Pechersk.” Like the works of Metropolitan Hilarion, it is distinguished by excellent language, intelligent presentation and reveals the undoubted literary talent of its author. And the author of this life was the Pechersk monk Nestor.

Reverend Nestor. Sculpture by M. Antokolsky, 1890

We know about him only the little that he himself casually notices about himself in this life of Theodosius. Namely, Nestor entered the Pechersk Monastery under the successor of Theodosius Stefan, was tonsured by him and elevated to the rank of deacon. He did not know Theodosius personally; but most of the monks were still under the lively impression of this extraordinary man, and the monastery was full of stories about his activities. Inspired by these stories and the deep respect with which the memory of St. was surrounded. abbot, Nestor decided to describe his life. It points to some of the brethren who helped him with their memories. The main source for him were the conversations of Theodore, who served as cellarer under Theodosius. To this Theodore, according to Nestor, Mother Theodosius herself told the story of her son before his flight from Kursk to Kyiv. Some details about St. The abbot was informed to Nestor by the monk Hilarion, who was skilled in the book business and often copied books in the cell of Theodosius himself, i.e. under his direct supervision. He also mentions the stories of other monks, whom he does not mention by name. Obviously, Theodosius himself, who loved bookmaking, by his example and encouragement greatly contributed to the literary trend that we meet in the Pechersk monastery primarily in front of other Russian monasteries of that time. The love of bookmaking may have had some influence on Theodosius’s sympathy for Studiysky the monastery was preferable to other Greek monasteries, because, in addition to the hostel, literary activity also flourished in it. When Nestor began the life of Theodosius, he was already sufficiently prepared for his task, quite experienced in writing. In the preface to this work, he notes that the Lord has already vouchsafed him to write “On the life, murder and miracles of the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb.” These martyred princes, as stated above, also became one of the favorite subjects of ancient Russian legends; Nestor was not the only one who described the lives of the martyred brothers and the main organizer of the Pechersk monastery; but he took the initiative in both cases. In the tale of Boris and Gleb, he also calls himself the “sinful” Nestor and mentions himself as a writer who carefully questioned knowledgeable people and collected stories about St. brothers

The mentioned works of Metropolitans John and Nicephorus were published in Russian Monuments. Part I. M. 1815 and in the monuments of the 12th century, published by Kalajdovich. M. 1821. Hilarion’s works were published in Additions to the works of Sts. Fathers. 1844 (Separately under the title “Monuments of Spiritual Literature from the Time of Yaroslav I”) and in the Readings of Moscow. About. I. and Dr. 1848 No. 7, with a preface by Bodyansky. For some fair comments on these works, see Shevyrev in his “History of Russian Literature, Mainly Ancient.” M. 1846. Lecture six. The same Hilarion is also credited with the “Teaching on the benefits of the soul,” but hardly thoroughly; as His Grace Macarius pointed out in his “History of the Russian Church.” II. 81. Praise for Vladimir by Jacob Mnich was published in Christian Reading in 1849. The Life of Vladimir is also included there, which is considered the work of the same Jacob, but it is hardly fair; since this life has signs of a much later composition. There is also a “Message to Prince Demetrius”, the author of which also calls himself the monk Jacob; he exhorts his spiritual son to abstain from drunkenness and unchaste living. They think that the message belongs to the same Jacob, and in Dmitry they want to see the Grand Duke Izyaslav Yaroslavich. But this is also doubtful. Vostokov pointed to Grand Duke Dimitri Alexandrovich, i.e. to the XIII century (Description of the Rumyan manuscripts, museum. 304). This message is fully published in the History of Rus. Church of Macarius. II. Note 254. The words and Teachings of Theodosius, partly completely, partly in fragments, were published by the same Eminence Macarius in the Scientific Notes of the Academy of Sciences. Book II. 1856. See his article “Reverend Theodosius of Pechersk as a Writer” in “Historical Readings on Language and Literature.” St. Petersburg 1855. On the writings of Theodosius, John and Nicephorus, relating to the differences of the Latin Church, interesting data was collected in the “Review of Old Russian polemical writings against the Latins” by Andr. Popova. M. 1875. This conscientious researcher cites the Byzantine prototypes that the mentioned works followed, especially the message of the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius to the Patriarch of Antioch Peter, appending to the original the ancient Slavic translation of this message. Regarding Popov’s book, there was an interesting study by A. Pavlov, “Critical experiments on the history of the ancient Greek-Russian polemic against the Latins.” St. Petersburg 1878.

Our learned researchers, such as Pogodin (Ancient Russian History), Eminence Philaret ("Review of Spiritual Russian Literature" and "History of the Russian Church"), Eminence Macarius ("History of the Russian Church") and I.I. Sreznevsky (his studies in the Izvest. Acad. N. vol. II), and more recently Shakhmatov (his above-mentioned articles) a more widespread and more embellished edition of the legends about Boris and Gleb is attributed to Jacob Mnich, the author of the Praise of Vladimir, the same Jacob whom Theodosius wanted to appoint him as his successor. We allow ourselves to disagree with this opinion. It is based on the fact that in the Praise of Vladimir the writer speaks of his glorification of the sons of Vladimir, “the holy glorious martyrs Boris and Gleb.” From here it turns out that Nestor’s legend about Boris and Gleb was written after the legend of Jacob; for Jacob was older than Nestor: Theodosius proposed Jacob as abbot at a time when Nestor had not yet entered the monastery. But a comparison of both works convinces us that, on the contrary, the older of them is the one that belongs to Nestor. The second, more complete, more decorated with the flowers of eloquence, obviously, besides Nestor, used other sources; since there are some differences and additions in it. This second work is supplemented by a story about the third transfer of the relics in 1115; whereas Nestor ends with the second transference, i.e. 1072 The latter circumstance, of course, indicates that a more complete edition also exists at a later date. As a sign of a later origin, I will also point out a distorted story about the death of Gleb, allegedly called by Svyatopolk in the name of his father. Muroma. According to Nestor's edition, Gleb fled from Kyiv from the impending danger and was overtaken on the road; which is much more consistent with logic and circumstances and directly points to an author closer in time to the event. As for Jacob Mnich, the author of the Praise to Vladimir, then, in all likelihood, he simply wrote a similar praise to Boris and Gleb; which can explain his above mention of them. That Nestor was the first to collect, put in order and set forth the legends about Boris and Gleb, he clearly testifies to this in his preface: “As soon as I heard from certain lovers of Christ, then let me confess.” And then, at the conclusion of the Life: “Behold, I am a sinner, Nestor, about the life and destruction and about the miracles of this holy and blessed passion-bearer, who wrote down the dangerous ones (having experienced?), and the other one himself is knowledgeable, from many small inscriptions, and reverently glorify God.” There is no possibility that he would not know and would not mention similar work already done before him by another Pechersk monk, if such work existed. Could he not exclusively attribute to himself an essay in which he only abbreviated Jacob Mnich. I repeat, the legend about Boris and Gleb attributed to the latter is obviously a much later work than Nestor’s.

Introduction

The emergence of ancient Russian literature

Genres of literature of Ancient Rus'

Periodization of the history of ancient Russian literature

Features of Old Russian literature

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The centuries-old literature of Ancient Rus' has its own classics, there are works that we can rightfully call classics, which perfectly represent the literature of Ancient Rus' and are known throughout the world. Every educated Russian person should know them.

Ancient Rus', in the traditional sense of the word, embracing the country and its history from the 10th to the 17th centuries, had a great culture. This culture, the immediate predecessor of the new Russian culture of the 18th-20th centuries, nevertheless had some of its own phenomena, characteristic only of it.

Ancient Rus' is famous all over the world for its painting and architecture. But it is remarkable not only for these “silent” arts, which allowed some Western scientists to call the culture of Ancient Rus' the culture of great silence. Recently, the rediscovery of ancient Russian music has begun to occur again, and more slowly - much more difficult to understand art - the art of words, literature. That is why Hilarion’s “The Tale of Law and Grace,” “The Tale of Igor’s Host,” “The Walk across the Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin, the Works of Ivan the Terrible, “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum” and many others have now been translated into many foreign languages. Getting acquainted with the literary monuments of Ancient Rus', a modern person will easily notice their differences from the works of literature of modern times: this is the lack of detailed characters, this is the paucity of details in the description of the appearance of the heroes, their surroundings, landscape, this is the psychological lack of motivation for actions, and the “facelessness” of remarks that can be conveyed to any hero of the work, since they do not reflect the individuality of the speaker, this is also the “insincerity” of monologues with an abundance of traditional “commonplaces” - abstract reasoning on theological or moral topics, with excessive pathos or expression .

It would be easiest to explain all these features by the student nature of ancient Russian literature, to see in them only the result of the fact that the writers of the Middle Ages had not yet mastered the “mechanism” of plot construction, which is now generally known to every writer and every reader. All this is true only to some extent. Literature is constantly evolving. The arsenal of artistic techniques is expanding and enriching. Each writer in his work relies on the experience and achievements of his predecessors.

1. The emergence of Old Russian literature

Pagan legends in Ancient Rus' were not written down, but were transmitted orally. Christian teaching was presented in books, therefore, with the adoption of Christianity, books appeared in Rus'. Books were brought from Byzantium, Greece, and Bulgaria. The Old Bulgarian and Old Russian languages were similar, and Rus' could use the Slavic alphabet created by the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

The need for books in Rus' at the time of the adoption of Christianity was great, but there were few books. The process of copying books was long and difficult. The first books were written by statute, or rather, they were not written, but drawn. Each letter was drawn separately. Continuous writing appeared only in the 15th century. First books. The oldest Russian book that has reached us is the so-called Ostromir Gospel. It was translated in 1056-1057. by order of the Novgorod mayor Ostromir.

Original Russian literature arose around the middle of the 11th century.

Chronicle is a genre of ancient Russian literature. Consists of two words: “summer”, i.e. year, and “write”. “Description of years” - this is how you can translate the word “chronicle” into Russian

The chronicle as a genre of Old Russian literature (only Old Russian) arose in the middle of the 11th century, and chronicle writing ended in the 17th century. with the end of the Old Russian period of literature.

Features of the genre. Events were arranged by year. The chronicle began with the words: In the summer, then the year from the creation of the world was named, for example, 6566, and the events of the present year were set out. I wonder why? The chronicler, as a rule, is a monk, and he could not live outside the Christian world, outside the Christian tradition. And this means that the world for him is not interrupted, is not divided into past and present, the past connects with the present and continues to live in modern times.

Modernity is the result of past deeds, and the future of the country and the fate of an individual depend on today's events. Chronicler. Of course, the chronicler could not tell about the events of the past on his own, so he attracted older chronicles, earlier ones and supplemented them with stories about his time.

To prevent his work from becoming enormous, he had to sacrifice something: skip some events, rewrite others in his own words.

In the selection of events, in the retelling, the chronicler, willingly or unwillingly, offered his own view, his assessment of history, but it was always the view of a Christian, for whom history is a chain of events that have a direct relationship. The oldest chronicle is the “Tale of Bygone Years,” compiled by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor at the beginning of the 12th century. The title is written like this (of course, translated from the Old Russian language): “Here are the stories of past years, where the Russian land came from, who became the first to reign in Kyiv and how the Russian land arose.”

And here is its beginning: “So let’s begin this story. After the flood, the three sons of Noah divided the land, Shem, Ham, Japheth. ... But Shem, Ham and Japheth divided the land, casting lots, and decided not to share their brother’s share with anyone and lived each in his own part. There was one people... After the destruction of the pillar and the division of the peoples, the sons of Shem took the eastern countries, and the sons of Ham took the southern countries, and the Japhethites took the west and northern countries. From these same 70 and 2 language came the people Slavic, from the tribe of Japheth - the so-called Noriks, who are the Slavs." Connection with modernity. The chronicler connected this biblical event about the division of the earth with modern life. In 1097, the Russian princes gathered to establish peace and said to each other: Why are we destroying the Russian land, arranging strife among ourselves? Let us unite with one heart from now on and let us guard the Russian land, and let everyone own his homeland.

Russian chronicles have long been read and translated into modern language. The most accessible and fascinating information about the events of Russian history and the life of our ancestors is written in the book “Stories of Russian Chronicles” (author-compiler and translator T.N. Mikhelson).

. Genres of literature of Ancient Rus'

ancient Russian genre story literature

To understand the peculiarity and originality of original Russian literature, to appreciate the courage with which Russian scribes created works that “stand outside genre systems,” such as “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” “The Instruction” of Vladimir Monomakh, “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik and the like , for all this it is necessary to get acquainted with at least some examples of individual genres of translated literature.

Chronicles.Interest in the past of the Universe, the history of other countries, and the destinies of great people of antiquity was satisfied by translations of Byzantine chronicles. These chronicles began with an account of events from the creation of the world, retold biblical history, cited individual episodes from the history of the countries of the East, talked about the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and then about the history of the countries of the Middle East. Having brought the narrative to the last decades before the beginning of our era, the chroniclers went back and outlined the ancient history of Rome, starting from the legendary times of the founding of the city. The rest and, as a rule, most of the chronicles were occupied by the narrative of the Roman and Byzantine emperors. The chronicles ended with a description of events contemporary to their composition.

Thus, the chroniclers created the impression of the continuity of the historical process, of a kind of “change of kingdoms.” Of the translations of Byzantine chronicles, the most famous in Rus' in the 11th century. received translations of the Chronicles of George Amartol and the Chronicles of John Malala. The first of them, together with the continuation made on Byzantine soil, brought the narrative to the middle of the 10th century, the second - until the time of Emperor Justinian (527-565).

Perhaps one of the defining features of the composition of the chronicles was their desire for an exhaustive completeness of the dynastic series. This feature is characteristic of biblical books (which contain long lists of genealogies), medieval chronicles, and historical epics.

"Alexandria".The novel about Alexander the Great, the so-called “Alexandria,” was extremely popular in Ancient Rus'. This was not a historically accurate description of the life and deeds of the famous commander, but a typical Hellenistic adventure novel 7.

In "Alexandria" we also encounter action-packed (and also pseudo-historical) collisions. "Alexandria" is an indispensable component of all ancient Russian chronographs; from edition to edition, the adventure and fantasy theme is increasingly intensified in it, which once again indicates an interest in the plot-entertaining, and not the actual historical side of this work.

"The Life of Eustathius Placidas".In ancient Russian literature, imbued with the spirit of historicism and addressed to ideological problems, there was no place for open literary fiction (readers apparently trusted the miracles of “Alexandria” - after all, all this happened a long time ago and somewhere in unknown lands, at the end of the world!), everyday stories or a novel about the private life of a private person. Strange as it may seem at first glance, to a certain extent the need for such subjects was fulfilled by such authoritative and closely related genres as the lives of saints, patericon or apocrypha.

Researchers have long noticed that the lengthy lives of Byzantine saints in some cases were very reminiscent of an ancient novel: sudden changes in the fate of heroes, imaginary death, recognition and meetings after many years of separation, attacks by pirates or predatory animals - all these traditional plot motifs of the adventure novel strangely coexisted in some lives with the idea of glorifying an ascetic or martyr for the Christian faith 8. A typical example of such a life is “The Life of Eustathius Placidas,” translated back in Kievan Rus.

Apocrypha.The apocrypha - legends about biblical characters that were not included in the canonical (recognized by the church) biblical books, discussions on topics that worried medieval readers: about the struggle in the world of good and evil, about the ultimate fate of humanity, descriptions of heaven and hell or unknown lands "at the end of the world."

Most of the apocrypha are entertaining plot stories that captured the imagination of readers either with unknown everyday details about the life of Christ, the apostles, and prophets, or with miracles and fantastic visions. The Church tried to fight apocryphal literature. Special lists of prohibited books were compiled - indices. However, in judgments about which works are definitely “renounced books,” that is, unacceptable for reading by true Christians, and which are only apocryphal (literally apocryphal - secret, hidden, that is, designed for a reader experienced in theological matters), the medieval censors did not there was unity.

The indices varied in composition; in collections, sometimes very authoritative, we also find apocryphal texts next to the canonical biblical books and lives. Sometimes, however, even here they were overtaken by the hand of zealots of piety: in some collections the sheets with the text of the apocrypha were torn out or their text was crossed out. Nevertheless, there were a lot of apocryphal works, and they continued to be rewritten throughout the centuries-old history of ancient Russian literature.

Patristics.A large place in ancient Russian translated writing was occupied by patristics, that is, the writings of those Roman and Byzantine theologians of the 3rd-7th centuries who enjoyed special authority in the Christian world and were revered as “fathers of the church”: John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Athanasius of Alexandria and others.

Their works explained the dogmas of the Christian religion, interpreted the Holy Scriptures, affirmed Christian virtues and exposed vices, and posed various ideological questions. At the same time, works of both teaching and solemn eloquence had considerable aesthetic significance.

The authors of the solemn words intended for utterance in the church during the service were excellent at creating an atmosphere of festive ecstasy or reverence, which should have gripped the believers when remembering the glorified event of church history, and were fluent in the art of rhetoric, which Byzantine writers inherited from antiquity: By chance, many of the Byzantine theologians studied with pagan rhetoricians.

In Rus', John Chrysostom (died in 407) was especially famous; From words belonging to him or attributed to him, entire collections were compiled, bearing the names “Zlatoust” or “Zlatostruy”.

The language of liturgical books is especially colorful and rich in tropes. Let's give a few examples. In the service menaions (a collection of services in honor of saints, arranged according to the days on which they are venerated) of the 11th century. we read: “The vines of thought appeared as ripening grapes, but you were cast into the winepress of torment; you poured out the wine of tenderness for us.” A literal translation of this phrase will destroy the artistic image, so we will only explain the essence of the metaphor.

The saint is compared to a ripe bunch of grapevine, but it is emphasized that this is not a real, but a spiritual (“mental”) vine; the saint subjected to torment is likened to grapes that are pressed in a “press” (pit, vat) in order to “exude” the juice for making wine; the saint’s torment “exudes” the “wine of tenderness” - a feeling of reverence and compassion for him.

A few more metaphorical images from the same service minions of the 11th century: “From the depths of evil, the last one ends the heights of virtue, like an eagle, flying high, gloriously in the east, the most praiseworthy of Matthew!”; “You have strained your prayer bows and arrows and the cruel and slithering serpent, you have slain, O blessed one, having delivered the holy flock from that harm”; “The towering sea of the charming polytheism, you gloriously passed through the storm of divine rule, a quiet refuge for all, being drowned.” “Prayer bows and arrows”, “a storm of polytheism” that raises waves on the “lovely [treacherous, deceptive] sea” of vain life - all these are metaphors designed for a reader with a developed sense of words and sophisticated figurative thinking, excellently versed in traditional Christian symbolism.

And as one can judge from the original works of Russian authors - chroniclers, hagiographers, creators of teachings and solemn words, this high art was completely accepted by them and implemented in their creativity.

Speaking about the system of genres of ancient Russian literature, it is necessary to note one more important circumstance: this literature for a long time, right up to the 17th century, did not allow literary fiction. Old Russian authors wrote and read only about what actually happened: about the history of the world, countries, peoples, about the generals and kings of antiquity, about holy ascetics. Even when conveying outright miracles, they believed that it could have happened, that there were fantastic creatures inhabiting unknown lands, through which Alexander the Great walked with his troops, that in the darkness of caves and cells demons appeared to holy hermits, then tempting them in the form of harlots , then frightening in the guise of animals and monsters.

When talking about historical events, ancient Russian authors could report different, sometimes mutually exclusive versions: some say this, the chronicler or chronicler will say, and others say differently. But this, in their eyes, was just the ignorance of the informants, so to speak, a delusion from ignorance, however, the idea that this or that version could simply be invented, composed, and even more so composed for purely literary purposes - such a thought apparently appealed to older writers seemed implausible. This non-recognition of literary fiction also, in turn, determined the system of genres, the range of subjects and themes to which a work of literature could be devoted. The fictional hero will come to Russian literature relatively late - not earlier than the 15th century, although even at that time he will still masquerade as a hero of a distant country or an ancient time for a long time.

Outright fiction was allowed only in one genre - the genre of the apologist, or parable. It was a miniature story, each of the characters and the entire plot existed only to clearly illustrate an idea. It was an allegory story, and that was its meaning.

In ancient Russian literature, which knew no fiction, historical in large or small ways, the world itself was presented as something eternal, universal, where events and people’s actions are determined by the very system of the universe, where the forces of good and evil are forever fighting, a world whose history is well known ( after all, for each event mentioned in the chronicle, an exact date was indicated - the time elapsed from the “creation of the world”!) and even the future was destined: prophecies about the end of the world, the “second coming” of Christ and the Last Judgment awaiting all people on earth were widespread.

This general ideological attitude could not but affect the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to determine once and for all what should be depicted and how.

Old Russian literature, like other Christian medieval literatures, is subject to a special literary and aesthetic regulation - the so-called literary etiquette.

3. Periodization of the history of ancient Russian literature

The literature of Ancient Rus' is evidence of life. That is why history itself, to a certain extent, establishes the periodization of literature. Literary changes largely coincide with historical ones. How should the history of Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries be periodized?

The first period in the history of ancient Russian literature is a period of relative unity of literature. Literature mainly develops in two (interconnected by cultural relations) centers: Kyiv in the south and Novgorod in the north. It lasts a century - the 11th - and covers the beginning of the 12th century. This is the century of formation of the monumental-historical style of literature. The century of the first Russian lives - Boris and Gleb and the Kiev-Pechersk ascetics - and the first monument of Russian chronicle that has come down to us - “The Tale of Bygone Years”. This is the century of a single ancient Russian Kiev-Novgorod state.

The second period, the middle of the 12th - the first third of the 13th century, is the period of the emergence of new literary centers: Vladimir Zalessky and Suzdal, Rostov and Smolensk, Galich and Vladimir Volynsky; At this time, local features and local themes appeared in literature, genres diversified, and a strong stream of topicality and journalisticism was introduced into literature. This is a period of beginning feudal fragmentation.

A number of common features of these two periods allow us to consider both periods in their unity (especially taking into account the difficulty of dating some translated and original works). Both first periods are characterized by the dominance of the monumental-historical style.

Next comes a relatively short period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, when the stories about the invasion of Mongol-Tatar troops in Rus', the Battle of Kalka, the capture of Vladimir Zalessky, “The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land” and “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” were created. Literature is compressed into one theme, but this theme manifests itself with extraordinary intensity, and the features of the monumental-historical style acquire a tragic imprint and the lyrical elation of a high patriotic feeling. This short but bright period should be considered separately. It stands out easily.

The next period, the end of the 14th and the first half of the 15th century, is the century of the Pre-Renaissance, coinciding with the economic and cultural revival of the Russian land in the years immediately preceding and following the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. This is a period of expressive-emotional style and patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of revival of chronicle writing, historical storytelling and panegyric hagiography.

In the second half of the 15th century. New phenomena are being discovered in Russian literature: works of translated secular narrative literature (fiction) are becoming widespread, and the first original works of this type are appearing, such as “The Tale of Dracula” and “The Tale of Basarga”. These phenomena were associated with the development of reformation-humanistic movements at the end of the 15th century. However, the insufficient development of cities (which in Western Europe were centers of the Renaissance), the subordination of the Novgorod and Pskov republics, and the suppression of heretical movements contributed to the fact that the movement towards the Renaissance slowed down. The conquest of Byzantium by the Turks (Constantinople fell in 1453), with which Rus' was closely connected culturally, closed Rus' within its own cultural borders. The organization of a single Russian centralized state absorbed the main spiritual forces of the people. Journalism is developing in literature; The internal politics of the state and the transformation of society occupy more and more attention of writers and readers.

From the middle of the 16th century. In literature, the official current is increasingly reflected. The time of “second monumentalism” is coming: traditional forms of literature dominate and suppress the individual principle in literature that arose in the era of the Russian Pre-Renaissance. Events of the second half of the 16th century. delayed the development of fiction, entertaining literature. century - the century of transition to the literature of modern times. This is the age of development of the individual principle in everything: in the very type of writer and in his work; a century of development of individual tastes and styles, literary professionalism and a sense of authorial ownership, individual, personal protest associated with tragic turns in the writer’s biography. The personal principle contributes to the emergence of syllabic poetry and regular theater.

. Features of Old Russian literature

The literature of Ancient Rus' arose in the 11th century. and developed over seven centuries until the Petrine era. Old Russian literature is a single whole with all the diversity of genres, themes, and images. This literature is the focus of Russian spirituality and patriotism. On the pages of these works there are conversations about the most important philosophical and moral problems that heroes of all centuries think, talk about, and reflect on. The works form a love for the Fatherland and one’s people, show the beauty of the Russian land, so these works touch the innermost strings of our hearts.

The significance of Old Russian literature as the basis for the development of new Russian literature is very great. Thus, images, ideas, even the style of writings were inherited by A.S. Pushkin, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy.

Old Russian literature did not arise out of nowhere. Its appearance was prepared by the development of language, oral folk art, cultural ties with Byzantium and Bulgaria and due to the adoption of Christianity as a single religion. The first literary works to appear in Rus' were translated. Those books that were necessary for worship were translated.

The first original works, that is, written by the Eastern Slavs themselves, date back to the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries. V. The formation of Russian national literature was taking place, its traditions and features were taking shape, determining its specific features, a certain dissimilarity with the literature of our days.

The purpose of this work is to show the features of Old Russian literature and its main genres.

Features of Old Russian literature

1. Historicism of content.

Events and characters in literature, as a rule, are the fruit of the author's imagination. Authors of works of fiction, even if they describe the true events of real people, conjecture a lot. But in Ancient Rus' everything was completely different. The ancient Russian scribe only talked about what, in his opinion, really happened. Only in the 17th century. Everyday stories with fictional characters and plots appeared in Rus'.

2. Handwritten nature of existence.

Another feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence. Even the appearance of the printing press in Rus' changed the situation little until the middle of the 18th century. The existence of literary monuments in manuscripts led to a special veneration of the book. What even separate treatises and instructions were written about. But on the other hand, handwritten existence led to the instability of ancient Russian works of literature. Those works that have come down to us are the result of the work of many, many people: the author, editor, copyist, and the work itself could last for several centuries. Therefore, in scientific terminology, there are such concepts as “manuscript” (handwritten text) and “list” (rewritten work). The manuscript may contain lists of various works and may be written either by the author himself or by copyists. Another fundamental concept in textual criticism is the term “edition,” i.e., the purposeful reworking of a monument caused by socio-political events, changes in the function of the text, or differences in the language of the author and editor.

Closely connected with the existence of a work in manuscripts is such a specific feature of Old Russian literature as the problem of authorship.

The author's principle in Old Russian literature is muted, implicit. Old Russian scribes were not thrifty with other people's texts. When rewriting, the texts were processed: some phrases or episodes were excluded from them or inserted into them, and stylistic “decorations” were added. Sometimes the author's ideas and assessments were even replaced by the opposite ones. The lists of one work differed significantly from each other.

Old Russian scribes did not at all strive to reveal their involvement in literary composition. Many monuments have remained anonymous; the authorship of others has been established by researchers based on indirect evidence. So it is impossible to attribute to someone else the writings of Epiphanius the Wise, with his sophisticated “weaving of words.” The style of Ivan the Terrible’s messages is inimitable, boldly mixing eloquence and rude abuse, learned examples and the style of simple conversation.

It happens that in a manuscript one or another text was signed with the name of an authoritative scribe, which may or may not correspond to reality. Thus, among the works attributed to the famous preacher Saint Cyril of Turov, many, apparently, do not belong to him: the name of Cyril of Turov gave these works additional authority.

The anonymity of literary monuments is also due to the fact that the ancient Russian “writer” did not consciously try to be original, but tried to show himself as traditional as possible, that is, to comply with all the rules and regulations of the established canon.

4. Literary etiquette.

Well-known literary critic, researcher of ancient Russian literature, Academician D.S. Likhachev proposed a special term to designate the canon in the monuments of medieval Russian literature - “literary etiquette”.

Literary etiquette consists of:

from the idea of how this or that course of events should have taken place;

from ideas about how the actor should have behaved in accordance with his position;

from ideas about what words the writer should have used to describe what was happening.

We have before us the etiquette of the world order, the etiquette of behavior and the etiquette of words. The hero is supposed to behave this way, and the author is supposed to describe the hero only in appropriate terms.

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 amount of research has been devoted to the genre uniqueness of Old Russian literature, but there is still no clear classification of genres. However, some genres immediately stood out in ancient Russian literature.

1. Hagiographic genre.

Life - a description of the life of a saint.

Russian hagiographic literature includes hundreds of works, the first of which were written already in the 11th century. The Life, which came to Rus' from Byzantium along with the adoption of Christianity, became the main genre of Old Russian literature, the literary form in which the spiritual ideals of Ancient Rus' were clothed.

The compositional and verbal forms of life have been refined over the centuries. A high theme - a story about life that embodies ideal service to the world and God - determines the author’s image and the style of the narrative. The author of the life tells the story excitedly; he does not hide his admiration for the holy ascetic and his admiration for his righteous life. The author's emotionality and excitement color the entire narrative in lyrical tones and contribute to the creation of a solemn mood. This atmosphere is also created by the style of narration - high solemn, full of quotations from the Holy Scriptures.

When writing a life, the hagiographer (the author of the life) was obliged to follow a number of rules and canons. The composition of a correct life should be three-fold: introduction, story about the life and deeds of the saint from birth to death, praise. In the introduction, the author asks forgiveness from readers for their inability to write, for the rudeness of the narrative, etc. The introduction was followed by the life itself. It cannot be called a “biography” of a saint in the full sense of the word. The author of the life selects from his life only those facts that do not contradict the ideals of holiness. The story about the life of a saint is freed from everything everyday, concrete, and accidental. In a life compiled according to all the rules, there are few dates, exact geographical names, or names of historical figures. The action of the life takes place, as it were, outside of historical time and specific space; it unfolds against the backdrop of eternity. Abstraction is one of the features of the hagiographic style.

At the end of the life there should be praise to the saint. This is one of the most important parts of life, which required great literary art and 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 the most ancient period of the development of our literature. Monuments of church and secular eloquence are divided into two types: teaching and solemn.

Solemn eloquence required depth of concept and great literary skill. The speaker needed the ability to construct a speech effectively in order to capture the listener, set him in a high mood corresponding to the topic, and shock him with pathos. There was a special term for a solemn speech - “word”. (There was no terminological unity in ancient Russian literature. A military story could also be called “the Word.”) Speeches were not only pronounced, but written and distributed in numerous copies.

Solemn eloquence did not pursue narrow practical goals; it required the formulation of problems of broad social, philosophical and theological scope. The main reasons for creating “words” are theological issues, issues of war and peace, defense of the borders of the Russian land, domestic and foreign policy, the struggle for cultural and political independence.

The most ancient monument of solemn eloquence is the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion, written between 1037 and 1050.

Teaching eloquence is teachings and conversations. They are usually small in volume, often devoid of rhetorical embellishments, and written in the Old Russian language, which was generally accessible to people of that time. Church leaders and princes could deliver teachings.

Teachings and conversations have purely practical purposes and contain the information a person needs. “Instruction to the Brethren” by Luke Zhidyata, Bishop of Novgorod from 1036 to 1059, contains a list of rules of behavior that a Christian should adhere to: do not take revenge, do not utter “shameful” words. Go to church and behave quietly in it, honor your elders, judge truthfully, honor your prince, do not curse, keep all the commandments of the Gospel.

Theodosius of Pechora is the founder of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. He owns eight teachings to the brethren, in which Theodosius reminds the monks of the rules of monastic behavior: not to be late for church, make three prostrations, observe decorum and order when singing prayers and psalms, and bow to each other when meeting. In his teachings, Theodosius of Pechora demands complete renunciation from the world, abstinence, constant prayer and vigil. The abbot sternly denounces idleness, money-grubbing, and intemperance in food.

3. Chronicle.

Chronicles were weather records (by “years” - by “years”). The annual entry began with the words: “Into the summer.” After this there was a story about events and incidents that, from the point of view of the chronicler, were worthy of the attention of posterity. These could be military campaigns, raids by steppe nomads, natural disasters: droughts, crop failures, etc., as well as simply unusual incidents.

It is thanks to the work of chroniclers that modern historians have 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 telling stories about history from ancient times and only then move on to the events of recent years. The chronicler had to first of all find, put in order, and often rewrite the work of his predecessors. If the compiler of the chronicle had at his disposal not one, but several chronicle texts at once, then he had to “reduce” them, that is, combine them, choosing from each what he considered necessary to include in his own work. When materials relating to the past were collected, the chronicler moved on to recounting the events of his time. The result of this great work was the chronicle collection. After some time, other chroniclers continued this collection.

Apparently, the first major monument of ancient Russian chronicle writing was the chronicle code compiled in the 70s of the 11th century. The compiler of this code is believed to have been the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nikon the Great (? - 1088).

Nikon's work formed the basis of another chronicle, which was compiled in the same monastery two decades later. In the scientific literature it received the code name "Initial arch". Its nameless compiler replenished Nikon's collection not only with news from recent years, but also with chronicle information from other Russian cities.

"The Tale of Bygone Years"

Based on the chronicles of the 11th century tradition. The greatest chronicle monument of the era of Kievan Rus was born - “The Tale of Bygone Years”.

It was compiled in Kyiv in the 10s. 12th century According to some historians, its probable compiler was the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor, also known for his other works. When creating The Tale of Bygone Years, its compiler used numerous materials with which he supplemented the Primary Code. These materials included Byzantine chronicles, texts of treaties between Rus' and Byzantium, monuments of translated and ancient Russian literature, and oral traditions.

The compiler of “The Tale of Bygone Years” set as his goal not just to tell about the past of Rus', but also to determine the place of the Eastern Slavs among the European and Asian peoples.

The chronicler talks in detail about the settlement of Slavic peoples in ancient times, about the settlement of territories by the Eastern Slavs that would later become part of the Old Russian state, about the morals and customs of different tribes. The Tale of Bygone Years emphasizes not only the antiquity of the Slavic peoples, but also the unity of their culture, language and writing, created in the 9th century. brothers Cyril and Methodius.

The chronicler considers the adoption of Christianity to be the most important event in the history of Rus'. The story of the first Russian Christians, the baptism of Rus', the spread of the new faith, the construction of churches, the emergence of monasticism, and the success of Christian enlightenment occupies a central place in the Tale.

The wealth of historical and political ideas reflected in The Tale of Bygone Years suggests that its compiler was not just an editor, but also a talented historian, a deep thinker, and a brilliant publicist. Many chroniclers of subsequent centuries turned to the experience of the creator of the Tale, sought to imitate him and almost necessarily placed the text of the monument at the beginning of each new chronicle.

Conclusion

So, the main range of works of ancient Russian literature are religious and edifying works, lives of saints, and liturgical chants. Old Russian literature arose in the 11th century. One of its first monuments, the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv, was created in the 30s and 40s. XI century. The 17th century is the last century of ancient Russian literature. During its course, traditional ancient Russian literary canons are gradually destroyed, new genres and new ideas about man and the world are born.

Literature refers to the works of ancient Russian scribes, and texts by authors of the 18th century, and the works of Russian classics of the last century, and the works of modern writers. Of course, there are obvious differences between the literature of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. But all Russian literature of the last three centuries is not at all similar to the monuments of ancient Russian verbal art. However, it is precisely in comparison with them that it reveals many similarities.

The cultural horizon of the world is constantly expanding. Now, in the 20th century, we understand and appreciate the past not only of classical antiquity. The Western European Middle Ages have firmly entered into the cultural baggage of humanity, back in the 19th century. seemingly barbaric, “Gothic” (the original meaning of this word was precisely “barbaric”), Byzantine music and iconography, African sculpture, Hellenistic romance, Fayum portrait, Persian miniature, Inca art and much, much more. Humanity is freeing itself from “Eurocentrism” and egocentric focus on the present 10.

Deep penetration into the cultures of the past and the cultures of other peoples brings times and countries closer together. The unity of the world is becoming more and more tangible. Distances between cultures are shrinking, and there is less and less room for national enmity and stupid chauvinism. This is the greatest merit of the humanities and the arts themselves - a merit that will be fully realized only in the future.

One of the most urgent tasks is to introduce monuments of the literary art of Ancient Rus' into the circle of reading and understanding of the modern reader. The art of words is in an organic connection with the fine arts, with architecture, with music, and there cannot be a true understanding of one without an understanding of all other areas of artistic creativity of Ancient Rus'. In the great and unique culture of Ancient Rus', fine art and literature, humanistic and material culture, broad international connections and a pronounced national identity are closely intertwined.

Bibliography

Likhachev D.S. Great Heritage // Likhachev D.S. Selected works in three volumes. Volume 2. - L.: Artist. lit., 1987.

Polyakov L.V. Book centers of Ancient Rus'. - L., 1991.

The Tale of Bygone Years // Monuments of literature of Ancient Rus'. The beginning of Russian literature. X - beginning of the XII century. - M., 1978.

Likhachev D.S. Textology. Based on the material of Russian literature of the X-XVII centuries. - M.-L., 1962; Textology. Brief essay. M.-L., 1964.

The adoption of Christianity had significant consequences for the development of books and literature in Ancient Rus'.

Old Russian literature was formed on the basis of the unified literature of the southern and eastern Slavs, which arose under the influence of Byzantine and Old Bulgarian culture.

Although the need for books in the Christian state was very great, the possibilities for satisfying this need were very limited: in Rus' there were few skilled scribes, and the writing process itself was very long, and the material on which the first books were written - parchment - was very expensive . Therefore, books were written only for rich people - princes, boyars and the church.

But before the adoption of Christianity, Slavic writing was known in Rus'. It was used in diplomatic (letters, contracts) and legal documents, and there was also a census between literate people.

But literature did not begin with the recordings of folklore, although it continued to exist and develop with literature for a long time. For the emergence of literature, special reasons were needed.

That is, the functions of literature at the time of its origin and throughout history differ.

The adoption of Christianity contributed to the rapid development of literature only for two centuries; in the future, the church did its best to hinder the development of literature.

And yet the literature of Rus' was devoted to ideological issues. The genre system reflected the worldview typical of Christian states. “Old Russian literature can be considered as literature of one theme and one plot. This plot is world history, and this theme is the meaning of human life,” - this is how in his work D. Likhachev formulated the features of the literature of the most ancient period of Russian history.

1.2 Periods of the history of ancient literature.

Second period, mid-12th century. - first third of the 13th century. This is the period of the emergence of new literary centers: Vladimir Zalessky and Suzdal, Rostov and Smolensk, Galich and Vladimir Volynsky. During this period, local themes emerged in literature and different genres appeared. This is the period of the beginning of feudal fragmentation.

The next period, the end of the 14th century. and the first half of the 15th century, this is a period of patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of chronicle writing and historical storytelling. This century coincides with the economic and cultural revival of the Russian land before and after the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. In the middle of the 15th century. New phenomena appear in literature: translated literature, “The Tale of Dracula”, “The Tale of Basarga” appear. All these periods, from the 13th century. to the 15th century can be combined into one period and defined as the period of feudal fragmentation and the unification of North-Eastern Rus'. Since the literature of the second period begins with the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders (1204), and when the main role of Kyiv has already ended and three fraternal peoples are formed from a single ancient Russian nation: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.

The third period is the period of literature of the Russian centralized state of the XIV - XVII centuries. When the state plays an active role in the international relations of its time, and also reflects the further growth of the Russian centralized state. And since the 17th century. a new period of Russian history begins. .