In ancient times, on the territory modern Russia lived numerous tribes with different pagan beliefs and rituals associated with the worship of many gods. The Slavs were among the first to live in this territory. The Slavs carved idols from wood. The heads of these idols were covered with silver, and the beard and mustache were made of gold. They worshiped the god of thunderstorms - Perun. There was a sun god - Dazhdbog, Stribog - who controlled the air elements and winds. Idols were placed on high place, and to appease the gods they brought bloody sacrifices (birds, animals). By the 9th century tribal alliances Eastern Slavs formed principalities, which were headed by princes. Each prince had a squad (rich high nobility). Relations between the princes were complex, and internecine wars often broke out.

In the I X - X centuries. various principalities of the Eastern Slavs united and created a single state, which became known as the Russian Land or Rus'. The central city was Kyiv, the head of state was Grand Duke Kyiv Founder of the dynasty Kyiv princes became Rurik. Slavic tribes They fought with each other and then decided to call one of the foreigners. The Slavs went to the Varangians who lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea. One of the leaders named Rurik was offered to come to the Slavic lands and rule. Rurik came to Novgorod, where he began to reign. He founded the Rurik dynasty, which ruled Rus' until the 16th century. The Slavic lands ruled by Rurik increasingly began to be called Russia, and the inhabitants were called Rusichs, and later Russians. In the language of the Varangians, the detachment of rowers, which sailed led by Rurik on a large boat to Novgorod, was called Russia. But the Russians themselves understood the word Rus differently: a bright land. Light brown meant fair. The princes who began to rule after Rurik (Igor, Princess Olga, Oleg, Vladimir Svyatoslav, Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh, etc.) sought to end civil strife within the country, defended the independence of the state, strengthened and expanded its borders.

Significant date in the history of Russia - 988 This is the year of the adoption of Christianity. Christianity came to Rus' from Byzantium. Writing spread with Christianity. In the second half of the 9th century, the Slavic alphabet was created by the brothers Cyril and Methodius. Two alphabets were created: the Cyrillic alphabet (named Kirill) and the Glagolitic alphabet (verb-word, speech); the Glagolitic alphabet did not become widespread. Brothers are revered Slavic peoples as educators they are recognized as saints. Writing contributed to the development ancient Russian literature. The literature of Ancient Rus' has a number of features.

I. Feature – syncretism i.e. compound. This feature is associated with underdevelopment genre forms. In one Old Russian genre it is possible to identify features characteristic of other genres, i.e., in one genre elements of several genres are combined, for example, in “Walking” there are descriptions of geographical and historical places, and sermons, and teachings. A striking manifestation of syncretism can be traced in the chronicles; they contain a military story, a legend, samples of contracts, and reflections on religious topics.

II.Feature - monumentality. The scribes of Ancient Rus' showed the greatness of the world, they were interested in the fate of the Motherland. The scribe strives to depict the eternal; Eternal values defined by the Christian religion. Hence there is no image of appearance, everyday life, because... it's all mortal. The scribe strives to narrate the entire Russian land.

III. Feature - historicism. In ancient Russian monuments, historical figures were described. These are stories about battles, about princely crimes. The heroes were princes, generals, and saints. In ancient Russian literature there is no fictional characters, there are no works on fictional subjects. Fiction was equal to lies, and lies were unacceptable. The writer's right to fiction was realized only in the 17th century.

IV.Feature – patriotism. Old Russian literature is marked by high patriotism and citizenship. The authors always mourn the defeats suffered by the Russian land. Scribes have always tried to bet on true path boyars, princes. The worst princes were condemned, the best were praised.

V. Feature – anonymity. Old Russian literature is mostly anonymous. Very rarely, some authors put their names at the end of manuscripts, calling themselves “unworthy”, “great sinners”; sometimes ancient Russian authors signed the names of popular Byzantine writers.

VI. Feature - Old Russian literature was entirely handwritten. And although printing appeared in the middle of the 16th century. Even before the 18th century, works were distributed by correspondence. When rewriting, scribes made their own amendments, changes, shortened or expanded the text. Therefore, the monuments of ancient Russian literature did not have a stable text. From the 11th to the 14th centuries, the main writing material was parchment, made from calf skin. Parchment from the title ancient city(in Greece) Pergamon, where in the 2nd century BC. began to make parchment. In Rus', parchment is called “veal” or “haratya”. This expensive material was available only to the propertied class. Craftsmen and traders used birch bark. The recordings were made on birch bark. Wooden tablets were fastened together in the form of student notebooks. Famous birch bark letters are monuments of writing from the 11th to 15th centuries. Birch bark letters - a source on the history of society and Everyday life medieval people, as well as on the history of East Slavic languages.

They wrote on birch bark or parchment with ink. Ink was made from decoctions of alder or oak bark and soot. Until the 19th century They used a quill pen, since parchment was expensive, so to save writing material, the words in a line were not separated, everything was written together. Paragraphs in the manuscript were written in red ink - hence the “red line”. Frequently used words were written abbreviated - under a special sign - “title” For example, lithargy (short for the verb, i.e. to speak) Buka (Virgin Mary)

The parchment was lined with a ruler. Every letter was written out. Texts were copied by scribes either across the entire page or in two columns. There are three types of handwriting: charter, semi-charter, cursive. The charter is in the handwriting of the 11th - 13th centuries. This is handwriting with regular, almost square letters. The letter is solemn, calm, the letters were written in wide, but not tall, letters. Working on the manuscript required painstaking work and great skill. When the scribe completed his hard work, he happily noted it at the end of the book. Thus, at the end of the Laurentian Chronicle it is written: “Rejoice book writer, reached the end of the books.” They wrote slowly. Thus, “Ostromirovo Gospel” took seven months to create.

From the second half of the 15th century, paper came into use and the charter gave way to semi-charter, a more fluent letter. The division of the text into words and the use of punctuation marks are associated with the semi-charter. The straight lines of the charter are replaced by oblique lines. The charter of Russian manuscripts is drawing, calligraphically clear writing. In the semi-charter, a large number of abbreviations of words were allowed, and emphasis was placed. A semi-statutory letter was faster and more convenient than a statutory letter. Since the 16th century, semi-statutory writing has been replaced by cursive writing. “Cursive writing” is a tendency to speed up writing. This is a special type of letter, differing in its graphics from the charter and semi-charter. This is a simplified version of these two types. Monuments of ancient writing indicate high level culture and skill of ancient Russian scribes, who were entrusted with the copying of texts. They tried to give handwritten books a highly artistic and luxurious appearance, decorating them various types ornaments and drawings. With the development of the statute, geometric ornament develops. It is a rectangle, arch and others geometric figures, inside of which patterns in the form of circles, triangles and others were applied on the sides of the title. The ornament could be one-color or multi-color. Ornaments depicting plants and animals were also used. They painted capital letters and used miniatures - that is, illustrations for the text. The written sheets were sewn into notebooks, which were intertwined into wooden boards. The boards were covered with leather, and sometimes covered with frames specially made of silver and gold. A remarkable example of jewelry art is the setting of the Mstislav Gospel (XII). In the middle of the 15th century, printing appeared. Church works were published, and artistic monuments were copied for a long time. The original manuscripts have not reached us; their later copies of the 15th century have been preserved. Thus, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” written in the late 80s of the 12th century, was found in a copy of the 16th century. Textualists study monuments, establish the time and place of their writing, and determine which list is more consistent with the original author's text. And paleographers use handwriting, writing material, and miniatures to determine the time of creation of the manuscript. In Ancient Rus', the word book in the singular was not used, since the book consisted of several notebooks bound together. They treated books with care; they believed that mishandling a book could harm a person. On one book there is an inscription: “Whoever spoils books, whoever steals them, let him be damned.”

The centers of book writing, education and culture of Ancient Rus' were monasteries. In this regard big role played by the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. Theodosius of Pechersk introduced the duty of monks to write books. In his life, Theodosius of Pechersky describes the process of creating books. Day and night the monks wrote books in their cells. The monks led an ascetic lifestyle and were educated people. They not only copied books, but also translated the Bible, the Psalter (songs of religious content), church prayers from Greek, and explained the meaning church holidays. Several books have survived from the 11th century. They are decorated with great taste. There are books trimmed with gold and pearls. Such books were very expensive. In Rus', book printing was considered a state matter.

The first printing house was founded by Ivan Fedorov in 1561 in Moscow. He creates a printing press, a typeface, and according to his scheme, a Printing Yard is being built not far from the Kremlin. 1564 is the year of birth of Russian book printing. Fedorov publishes the first Russian primer, which was used to teach both adults and children to read and write. Books and ancient manuscripts are stored in the libraries of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Yaroslavl, Kostroma. Few parchment manuscripts have survived, many in one copy, but most were burned during fires.

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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 Tale of the Battle of Kulikovo” and other heroic works of 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. Those who study their native history and Russian literature cannot help but turn to all these monuments of ancient 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 the history of the people specific place and performs enormous public duties. 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 for 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 history: 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 became the style-forming dominant of all 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 kind of “panoramic vision” develops. The chronicler sees the Russian land as if from a great height. 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 in his narration sources of different geographical origins, but also because it was precisely such a “broad” story that answered 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 “crowding”, Life path, if it is filled with need and grief, it is, first of all, a “straight 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.

Introduction

Eloquence - 1) oratorical gift, talent, art of words, natural ability to speak and write convincingly and beautifully;

2) a set of texts, verbal works specific area communication (therefore, there is political, judicial, ceremonial, academic, church, military, diplomatic, social and everyday eloquence).

general characteristics period of ancient Russian literature

Old Russian literature passed a long period development, which is 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 the speech of the Eastern Slavs, and then ancient Russian man. Christian preachers arrived in Rus' and created schools. In schools they taught reading, writing and canons 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, and use images of oral folk art, 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 a special attitude towards the book as a sacred object, and towards reading as a sacred process of familiarization with God’s Word.

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 when depicting people was put at the service of strengthening feudal system. It spoke mainly where legal crimes were discussed: murders, fraud.

With regard to negative heroes the writer is less formal than in relation to goodies your narrative.

One of the most negative characters Ipatiev Chronicle - Vladimir Galitsky. His main feature: 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 an icon of the 12th century Tretyakov Gallery from the Novgorod Yuriev Monastery, St. George the Victorious stands with a shield behind his back, with a spear and 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 here and there is no connection between the development of historical events and 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. The theme of restoring the 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 glorifications - “Glory”: the lament of Yaroslavna is mentioned at least 5 times, the lamentations of the same Russian soldiers during the campaign Igor, the lament of Yaroslavna’s mother Lament is what the author of the word means when he speaks of the groans of Kyiv 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 distracted 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 evaluates 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, and 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.

With the advent of writing and the spread of literacy, ancient Russian literature developed.

Chronicles - monuments historical writing and literature of Ancient Rus'. The narration in them was carried out by year: chroniclers sequentially recorded the events that occurred in a particular year. The appearance of the first historical works dates back to the time of Yaroslav the Wise. Chronicles were created in Kyiv and Novgorod; on their basis, the monk Nestor in the 11th century compiled the chronicle code that has come down to us "The Tale of Bygone Years"(Initial Chronicle), which contains an account ancient history Slavs, as well as the history of Rus' until 1100.

The NIRO Library invites you to familiarize yourself with the book “Old Russian Chronicles”, in which you will find the text of the Initial Chronicle, as well as the Kyiv and Galician-Volyn Chronicles.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" was included in Laurentian Chronicle, which received its name from the name of the monk Lawrence, who rewrote it in 1377. The chronicle, together with the “Tale of Bygone Years,” contains a description of the events that occurred in the southern Russian principalities, and then in Vladimir-Suzdal Rus'. Full text“Tales” according to the Laurentian list you will find in the book

Thanks to Lavrenty, we have not only the most ancient list“The Tale of Bygone Years”, but also the only text of “Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh to Children”. “Lesson for Children” by Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh is addressed not only to children - heirs state power, but also to everyone who reads it. You can get acquainted with the text of the “Teaching” and its translation by following the link.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"- literary monument XII century, which is based on historical event- unsuccessful campaign of Novgorod-Northern Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich against the Polovtsians in 1185.

Edition spread

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

The only copy of the “Word” has come down to us as part of a collection that was kept in the library of the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery. Author's name and exact date The spelling of the “Lay” is unknown. Most researchers believe that it was created at the end of the 12th century.

"Domostroy" is one of the most famous ancient Russian monuments literature. It reflects the ideals of spiritual, social and family life, pictures are clearly shown medieval life, rituals associated with centuries-old Russian traditions are described.