Chronicle. Chronicles as a historical source

The methodology of textual research, as we have already seen, largely depends on how the ancient Russian scribe worked. The features of the textual study of chronicles also depend to a certain extent on how the Old Russian chronicler worked.

In the literature on ancient Russian chronicles, there was a lot of controversy about how the chronicles were kept. Some researchers saw the compilers of the chronicles as simple, unsophisticated and objective expounders of facts. Others, like A. A. Shakhmatov and M. D. Priselkov, assumed on the basis of textual data that the chroniclers were very knowledgeable source scholars who connected various material previous chronicles from the point of view of certain political and historical concepts. The latter are certainly right. It was their ideas that made it possible to unravel the complex composition of the chronicle codes and construct a general scheme for the history of Russian chronicles. The application of these views to the textual criticism of chronicles turned out to be practically fruitful.

Let us turn to the statements and statements of the chroniclers themselves and take a detailed look at their work.

First of all, we note that the nature of the text of the chronicles was largely determined by their acute political orientation.

The chronicle was most closely connected with the class and intra-class struggle of its time, with the struggle between individual feudal centers. In 1241, the Galician prince Daniil ordered his printer Cyril to “cover up the robbery of the wicked boyars,” and this report of Cyril formed the bulk of Daniil’s princely chronicle. In another case (1289), Prince Mstislav Danilovich ordered the sedition of the inhabitants of Berestye to be recorded in the chronicle.

The way the chronicler himself looked at his work is shown by the following characteristic entry in the burnt Trinity Chronicle. Under 1392, it read bitter reproaches to the Novgorodians for their disobedience to the great princes: “For men are harsh, unruly, stubborn, unruly... who has not angered the prince or who has pleased them from the prince? Also great Alexander Yaroslavich [Nevsky] did not let them down!” As evidence, the chronicler refers to the Moscow chronicle: “And if you want to crucify, open the book of the Great Russian Chronicler - and read from the Great Yaroslav to this current prince.”

Indeed, the Moscow chronicle is full of political attacks against the Novgorod, Tver, Suzdal, and Ryazan residents, just as the Ryazan, Tver, Novgorod, and Nizhny Novgorod chronicles are against the Muscovites. In the chronicle we will meet angry denunciations of the boyars (in Galician, Vladimir, Moscow), the democratic lower classes (in Novgorod), a sharp defense of “black people” from living people and the boyars (in some Pskov chronicles), anti-princely attacks of the boyars themselves (in the chronicle Novgorod XII century), defense of the foundations of the grand ducal “single power” (in the chronicle of the Tver mid-15th century and in the Moscow late XV-XVI c.), etc.

The prefaces to the chronicles also speak about the purely “worldly” - political tasks that the chroniclers set for themselves. Few of these prefaces have survived, since in all cases of later alterations of the chronicles they were destroyed as not corresponding to the new tasks of the chronicle compilations that included them. But even those prefaces that have survived speak quite clearly about the specific political goals that the chroniclers set for themselves.

D.S. Likhachev. Textology - St. Petersburg, 2001

Edited by Molev E.A., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Dean of the Faculty of History of Nizhny Novgorod state university them. Lobachevsky

The methodological guidance of the team of authors of the rural Chronicle is carried out by the district department of culture through the methodological department of the central district library (the centralized library system of the district)
For practical keeping of the Chronicle it is required positive attitude to it by the local government authority - the village council, documented. Moreover, this document should record:
a) who is creating the Chronicle and for how long;
b) within what time frame the team of authors (compilers of the Chronicle) reports on their work in this village council.
Only people who actually work on the Chronicle should be included in the decision of the local government to create the Chronicle.
Of decisive importance for the creation and maintenance of the rural Chronicle is the statute of the Chronicle - a relatively large document that reveals in detail all aspects of the activities of the group of authors (compilers of the Chronicle) and their relationship with village council. This is a very important organizational document for the Chronicle. The head of the village council administration approves the statute.

Statute of the Chronicle

1. The purpose and objectives of the rural Chronicle

The creation and maintenance of a rural chronicle is aimed at maintaining an orderly collection of information about events that occurred in a given village or related to this village and have public significant character, from the moment the settlement was created to the present day.

The information included in the “Chronicle...” is open to everyone interested in the history, economy, culture and other factors of rural life.

Particular importance is expected in informing the younger generation of village residents and rural school students about the history of this settlement and increasing the role of local history.

2. Team of authors, approval procedure and terms of work of the team of authors

To maintain the “Chronicle ...”, the decision of the head of the administration of the village council approves the team of authors (compilers of the chronicle), consisting of two people: an official who maintains the paper version of the “Chronicle ...” (at the stage of approving the status of “Chronicle ...”, the head of the village library), and a resident of the village (optional), having the desire, knowledge, skills and technical capabilities to maintain the “Chronicle ...” in in electronic format.

In the process of working on the Chronicle, the team of authors independently searches for and finds volunteer assistants and informants to collect information on the topic of the Chronicle. The number of assistants and informants is not limited. Their participation in the creation of the chronicle is recorded in a separate part of the chronicle: “Helpers and Informants”

The team of authors is looking for people who are capable of not writing under dictation from management, but who have independent thinking, interest and desire for local history. At the same time it uses wide circle searching for these people in the field of culture, education, etc.

The team of authors unites people interested in the history of their region into groups for collaboration over the preparation of the Chronicle in accordance with the approved statutes of the rural Chronicle. It does this based on decisions of local administrations.

3. What events are included in the rural chronicle

The “Chronicle ...” contains events that have social significance and concern both physical and legal entities related to this locality. Somehow:
statistics of births, marriages, divorces and deaths, the total population of a village, town, number of schoolchildren, conscripts, pensioners, other statistical information;
information various types on culture, economics, infrastructure of villages, towns;
information about organizations located in the village, significant milestones and achievements in their activities, full names of leaders from the moment the organization began its activities to the present;
educational, labor, combat and other socially significant achievements of village residents or other persons related to the rural settlement;
decisions of village and higher administrations and bodies relating to villages or rural settlement, both in general and in particular;
information and articles from the media on issues related to the village;
school events in rural school, events concerning students from this village;
information about corporate events and celebrations celebrated in the village
natural events and phenomena in the village
information about folk crafts, occupations, hobbies and interests of village residents;
economic activity individuals and organizations in the village;
other events, facts, figures, documents and dates of social significance for the village.

4. Procedure for maintaining the Chronicle, registration, numbering

In accordance with Russian legislation The rights of the document have the paper version of the Chronicle of Rural Chronicle. “Chronicle...” is registered as a paper document in the administration of the village council.

All entries in the book are kept in chronological order, as information becomes available, indicating the date of the event, the text of information about the past event and a link to the source of information about the event. As information accumulates on any topic, you can make analyzes and create various kinds generalizations and other materials, but this is secondary. The main approach is chronological.

Each completed page of the “Chronicle...” is numbered and signed by the compiler of the paper version of the “Chronicle...”. Certain review and thematic materials, which due to their large volume cannot be included in the text of the “Chronicles...” itself, are taken into account in the table of contents of the “Chronicles...” as separate appendices and are integral part rural chronicles.

5. Sources of information, their reliability

The principle of reference to the exact source of information - oral, written or electronic - is strictly required. Sources of information can be official and unofficial, written and oral, photo-video and audio recordings. Each source of information has its own meaning, degree of reliability and importance.

Even a sign on a grave monument, as a source of information, provides three types of information: the date of birth, death and place of burial of the person. Links to sources of information can be placed in a separate part of the Chronicle, but in any case there must be a link to the source of information.

The most reliable information is from archival and other official documents - if it is repeated more than once (information confirmed by two or more documentary sources).

Records based on information from one documentary source or means are less reliable mass media(MASS MEDIA).

And the third degree of reliability is the memories of our contemporaries. They are valuable for their primacy and sharpness and will always find a worthy place in the Chronicle. But due to the properties human memory, the subjectivity of assessing past events, it is not always possible to remember everything “according to the book.” Therefore, chronicle records based on memories must be clarified and supplemented with cross-sectional data from documentary sources.”

6. Procedure for storing the Chronicle

In the process of maintaining the “Chronicle ...”, its paper version is stored in the rural library. After filling next volume, it, together with its electronic copy on a CD, is transferred to the rural library. Its paper and electronic copies (on CD) are transferred for storage to the administration of the village council.

7. Responsibilities of the founder of the Chronicle

The founder of “Chronicle” is the administration of the village council. She:

approves the statute of the chronicle;

registers paper and electronic versions of the “Chronicle...”;

within the established timeframes of the inventory, checks the availability of the “Chronicle ...”, as a document of the administration of the village council;

upon completion of maintaining the next volume of “Chronicles ...”, makes a decision to transfer it in paper and electronic form (on a CD) for permanent storage to the village library, and its paper and electronic copies to the administration of the village council.

8. Responsibilities and reporting of the team of authors (compilers of the chronicle)

within the time limits agreed upon with the administration, maintains a record of statistical information relating to the village;

gives proposals to the village council administration for making additions and changes to the status of the “Chronicles ...”

within the deadlines established by the administration of the village council, prepares a report on its activities in maintaining the “Chronicle ...”.

9. The role and place of the electronic version of the Rural Chronicle

Simultaneously with the paper text “Chronicles...” electronic recording text of the rural chronicle. It must completely duplicate the paper text of the Chronicle. Under this condition, the electronic version of the “Chronicle ...” is a full author’s copy of the “Chronicle ...”, and in case of loss of the paper version of the “Chronicle ...”, the Chronicle must be restored on the basis of its electronic copy.

Upon completion and delivery of the next volume of “Chronicles ...” to the village library, its electronic copy is recorded in two copies on a CD, is also taken into account by the inventory number and is deposited in one copy each at the village library and the administration of the village council.

Copying, replication, reprinting of “Chronicles ...” materials in electronic and paper form is allowed, with a mandatory link to

The Monk Nestor came to the famous Kiev-Pechersk Monastery when he was a seventeen-year-old youth. The holy monastery lived according to the strict Studite Rule, which was introduced into it by the Monk Theodosius, borrowing it from Byzantine books. According to this charter, before taking monastic vows, the candidate had to go through a long preparatory stage. Newcomers first had to wear secular clothes until they had thoroughly studied the rules of monastic life. After this, the candidates were allowed to put on monastic attire and begin testing, that is, to show themselves in work at various obediences. Those who passed these tests successfully received tonsure, but the test did not end there - the last stage of acceptance into the monastery was tonsure into the great schema, which not everyone was awarded.

The Monk Nestor went all the way from a simple novice to a schemamonk in just four years, and also received the rank of deacon. In addition to obedience and virtue, his education and outstanding literary talent played a significant role in this.

The Kiev Pechersky Monastery was a unique phenomenon in the spiritual life of Kievan Rus. The number of brethren reached one hundred people, which was rare even for Byzantium itself. The severity of the communal rules found in the Constantinople archives had no analogues. The monastery also flourished materially, although its governors did not care about collecting earthly riches. They listened to the voice of the monastery the mighty of the world This means he had a real political and, most importantly, spiritual influence on society.

The young Russian Church at that time was actively mastering the rich material of Byzantine church literature. She was faced with the task of creating original Russian texts in which the national image of Russian holiness would be revealed.

The first hagiographical (hagiography is a theological discipline that studies the lives of saints, theological and historical-church aspects of holiness - Ed.) work of the Monk Nestor - “Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearers Boris and Gleb” - is dedicated to the memory of the first Russian saints. The chronicler, apparently, responded to the expected all-Russian church celebration - the consecration of a stone church over the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb.

The work of the Monk Nestor was not the first among works devoted to this topic. However, he did not recount the story of the brothers according to a ready-made chronicle legend, but created a text that was deeply original in form and content. The author of “Reading about the Life...” creatively reworked the best examples of Byzantine hagiographic literature and was able to express ideas that were very important for the Russian church and state consciousness. As Georgy Fedotov, a researcher of ancient Russian church culture, writes, “the memory of Saints Boris and Gleb was the voice of conscience in inter-princely appanage accounts, not regulated by law, but only vaguely limited by the idea of ​​clan seniority.”

Reverend Nestor did not have big amount information about the brothers' deaths, but how subtle artist was able to recreate a psychologically reliable image of true Christians who accept death without complaint. The truly Christian death of the sons of the baptizer of the Russian people, Prince Vladimir, was inscribed by the chronicler in the panorama of the global historical process, which he understands as the arena of the universal struggle between good and evil.

Father of Russian monasticism

The second hagiographic work of St. Nestor is dedicated to the life of one of the founders of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - St. Theodosius. He writes this work in the 1080s, just a few years after the death of the ascetic, in the hope of the speedy canonization of the saint. This hope, however, was not destined to come true. The Monk Theodosius was canonized only in 1108.

The internal appearance of St. Theodosius of Pechersk has special meaning for us. As Georgy Fedotov writes, “in the person of St. Theodosius, Ancient Rus' found its ideal saint, to which it remained faithful for many centuries. Venerable Theodosius is the father of Russian monasticism. All Russian monks are his children, bearing his family traits.” And Nestor the Chronicler was the person who preserved its unique appearance for us and created it on Russian soil ideal type biography of the monk. As the same Fedotov writes, “Nestor’s work forms the basis of all Russian hagiography, inspiring heroism, indicating the normal, Russian path of labor and, on the other hand, filling in the gaps of biographical tradition with general necessary features.<…>All this gives Nestor’s life exceptional significance for the Russian type of ascetic holiness.” The chronicler was not a witness to the life and exploits of St. Theodosius. Nevertheless, his life story is based on eyewitness accounts, which he was able to combine into a coherent, vivid and memorable story.

Of course, to create a full-fledged literary life, it is necessary to rely on a developed literary tradition, which did not yet exist in Rus'. Therefore, the Monk Nestor borrows a lot from Greek sources, sometimes making long verbatim extracts. However, they have virtually no effect on the biographical basis of his story.

Memory of the unity of the people

The main feat of the life of the Monk Nestor was the compilation of the “Tale of Bygone Years” by 1112-1113. This work is different from the first two known to us literary works St. Nestor for a quarter of a century and belongs to another literary genre- chronicles. Unfortunately, the entire set of “The Tale...” has not reached us. It was revised by the monk of the Vydubitsky monastery Sylvester.

The Tale of Bygone Years is based on the chronicle work of Abbot John, who made the first attempt at a systematic presentation of Russian history from ancient times. He brought his narrative up to 1093. Earlier chronicle records represent a fragmentary account of disparate events. It is interesting that these records contain a legend about Kiy and his brothers, a brief account of the reign of the Varangian Oleg in Novgorod, the destruction of Askold and Dir, and a legend of the death of Prophetic Oleg. Actually, Kiev history begins with the reign of “old Igor,” whose origin is kept silent.

Hegumen John, dissatisfied with the inaccuracy and fabulousness of the chronicle, restores the years, relying on Greek and Novgorod chronicles. It is he who first introduces “old Igor” as the son of Rurik. Askold and Dir appear here for the first time as boyars of Rurik, and Oleg as his governor.

It was the arch of Abbot John that became the basis for the work of the Monk Nestor. He subjected the greatest processing to the initial part of the chronicle. The initial edition of the chronicle was supplemented by legends, monastic records, and Byzantine chronicles of John Malala and George Amartol. Great importance Saint Nestor gave oral evidence to the stories of the elder boyar Jan Vyshatich, merchants, warriors, and travelers.

In his main work, Nestor the Chronicler appears both as a scientist-historian, and as a writer, and as a religious thinker, giving theological understanding national history, which is an integral part of the history of the salvation of the human race.

For St. Nestor, the history of Rus' is the history of the perception of Christian preaching. Therefore, he records in his chronicle the first mention of the Slavs in church sources - the year 866, talks in detail about the activities of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, about baptism Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in Constantinople. It was this ascetic who introduced into the chronicle the story of the first Orthodox church in Kyiv, about the preaching feat of the Varangian martyrs Theodore Varangian and his son John.

Despite the huge amount of heterogeneous information, the chronicle of St. Nestor has become a true masterpiece of ancient Russian and world literature.

During the years of fragmentation, when almost nothing reminded of the former unity of Kievan Rus, “The Tale of Bygone Years” remained the monument that awakened in all corners of crumbling Rus' the memory of its former unity.

The Monk Nestor died around 1114, bequeathing to the Pechersk monks-chroniclers the continuation of his great work.

Newspaper " Orthodox faith» No. 21 (545)

2. Teacher's word

The purpose of the cognition stage: What events are associated with the emergence of ancient Russian literature?

Teacher:

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 the saints. Without liturgical books, the churches being built could not exist. And also there was a need to translate the originals from Greek and Bulgarian and distribute a large number of texts. This was precisely the impetus for the creation of literature in the 10th century. Unlike Western European countries, Rus' adopted Christianity late, in 988. The initial development of Russian literature took place under the influence of Byzantium - that is, the Eastern Roman Empire with its capital in Constantinople. The most ancient monuments date back to the 11th century and were written in the old Church Slavonic language. The earliest surviving manuscripts were created in Kyiv, which was then located at the crossroads of the most important trade routes and was one of the most prosperous and cultural cities medieval Europe. Chernigov, Galich, Rostov, and Novgorod were also centers of book literacy. Books in Ancient Rus' were very highly valued. They were written mainly by monastic scribes in their cells. The greatest interest was caused by works of a moral, instructive nature, as well as historical works.

Answer: The beginning of Old Russian literature dates back to the 10th century, when writing appeared in Rus'.

Question: Listen to the material and answer the question: how does ancient Russian literature differ from modern literature?

Teacher: The specific features of Old Russian literature are:

1. Until 1564, Russian literature was handwritten.

The problem of book printing existed for a long time, until the 18th century, so the creation of a book was a long-term endeavor. Until the 17th century, all works were distributed by correspondence. 2. The works were created on the basis of historical material. Old Russian literature I didn’t know the fiction. All texts are based on real historical facts

. The presence of fantastic elements in the texts suggests that people in ancient Rus' believed that these miracles actually happened.

4. Old Russian literature remained for a long time anonymous.

Answer: Old Russian literature was handwritten, most often anonymous, was closely connected with religion, and was based on historical facts.

Teacher: Now let's talk about the genres of ancient Russian literature. Old Russian literature is diverse in its genre composition: weather records, stories, parables (about prodigal son), lives– these are works that told about the lives of saints (the first life is Boris and Gleb, these are the sons of Vladimir), legends (about the founding of Kyiv), teachings(this is a genre of solemn eloquence, they denounced vices, welcomed virtues, instructed believers in Christian morality, for example, the teaching of Vladimir Monomakh), walking or travel (Afanasy Nikitin) - works describing the journeys of pilgrims to the shrines of Palestine and Byzantium.

Chronicles, lives of saints and monks, sermons and several secular stories written in 1030-1240 have reached us. The most famous of the chronicle works is The Tale of Bygone Years. This work was created in beginning of XII century by the monk of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Nestor the Chronicler. The chronicle tells about the origin of the Russian land, the first Russian princes and the most important historical events. The peculiarity of the story is poetry, its author masterfully mastered the word, the text uses various artistic media, allowing you to make the story more convincing.

Question: How did you understand what a chronicle is?

Answer: weather description of events that took place in Rus' over several centuries.

Answer: Nestor the chronicler.

Among the genres of the ancient chronicle, the chronicle occupied a central place. The purpose of the chronicle is the desire to tell about the past of the Russian land and leave a memory. Initially, the first chronicles were created as historical encyclopedias for the Kyiv nobility. The creation of chronicles is a state matter. Scientists define the time of creation in different ways: B.A Rybakov linked the temporal beginnings of chronicles with the moment of the birth of the state, but most researchers believe that chronicles appeared only in the 11th century. eleven century - beginning chronicles that will be kept systematically until the 18th century.

Basically, chronicles were compiled at monasteries and at the courts of princes. Almost always, chronicles were written by monks - the most educated people of their time. Chronicles were created on a special assignment. The basis of the chronicle narrative is the arrangement of historical material by year/year. This principle was suggested by the Paschals. Chroniclers told all the historical events of Rus', arranging the material by year. The chronicler sought to show the continuous flow of life itself. The ancient Russian scribe knew that history has its beginning and its end (the Last Judgment). Old Russian chronicles also reflected these eschatological thoughts.

Sources of Russian chronicles are divided into 2 types:

Oral sources: tribal legends, squad poetry, local legends, associated with the origin of villages and cities.

Written sources: sacred scriptures (New Testament, Old Testament), translated Byzantine chronicles, various historical documents and charters.

Very often in the scientific literature, chronicles are called chronicle collections, since the chronicles combined the chronicles of the previous time and chronicle records about events that were recent or contemporary to the chronicler. Many scientists write about the fragmentation of the chronicle. Weather principle The arrangement of the material led to the fact that the chronicle was made into many articles and fragments. Hence such features as the fragmentary and episodic nature of the chronicle style.

“The Tale of Bygone Years” is a work under development

more than one generation of Russian chroniclers worked, this is a monument to the collection

creative creativity.In the beginning, in the first half of the 40s. XI century, a complex of articles was compiled, which Academician D.S. Likhachev suggested calling it “The Legend of the Spread of Christianity in Rus'.” It included stories about the baptism and death of Princess Olga, a story about the first Russian martyrs - the Varangian Christians, a story about the baptism of Rus', a story about princes Boris and Gleb and extensive praise for Yaroslav the Wise. The next stage in the development of Russian chronicles occurred in the 60-70s gg. XI century and is associated with the activities of the monk of Kiev-Pechersk

Nikon monastery. Nikon added to the “Tale of the Spread of Christianity in Rus'” legends about the first Russian princes and stories about their campaigns against Constantinople, the so-called “Varangian legend”, according to which the Kyiv princes descend from the Varangian prince Rurik, invited to Rus', so that the internecine strife of the Slavs ceases. The inclusion of this legend in the chronicle had its own meaning: Nikon tried to convince his contemporaries of the unnaturalness of internecine wars, of the need for all princes to obey the Grand Duke of Kyiv - the heir and descendant of Rurik. Finally, according to researchers, it was Nikon who gave the chronicle the form of weather records.

Around 1095, a new chronicle was created, which A.A. Shakhmatov suggested calling it “Initial”. The compiler of this collection continued the chronicle with a description of the events of 1073–1095, giving his work, especially in this part he added, a clearly journalistic character: he reproached the princes for internecine wars, for not caring about the defense of the Russian land.

The chronicle is a collection: apparently, its creator skillfully worked with a rich arsenal of sources (Byzantine chronicles, Holy Scripture, historical documents, etc.), moreover, later scribes could make their own changes to the created text, making its structure even more heterogeneous . For this reason, many researchers call the chronicle a compilation, and compilability is considered a distinctive feature of chronicle texts. D.S. Likhachev accompanies his literary translation of PVL with the names of chronicle passages, in which, along with names of an eventful nature (the reign of Oleg, the second campaign of Prince Igor against the Greeks, the revenge of Princess Olga, the beginning of the reign of Yaroslav in Kyiv, etc.), proper genre names are found (the legend of the founding of Kyiv , the parable of the Obra, the legend of Belgorod jelly, the story of the blinding of Vasilko Terebovlsky, etc.)

From the point of view of the forms of chronicle writing, Eremin divided all chronicle material into 5 groups: weather record (a small documentary record, devoid of artistic form and emotionality), chronicle legend (oral historical tradition in the literary processing of the chronicler), chronicle story (factual narration, in which the author’s personality is manifested: in the assessment of events, attempts to characterize the characters, comments, individual manner of presentation), chronicle story (narrative of the death of the prince, which gives a hagiographically enlightened image of the ideal ruler), documents (agreements and charters).

Tvorogov criticized the classification developed by Eremin, based on the nature of the combination of opposing methods of depicting reality, as not confirmed by chronicle material, and proposed a typology by the nature of the story.

The first type of narration is weather records (only informing about events), the other is chronicle stories (telling about events using a plot narrative).

Tvorogov distinguishes 2 types of plot narration: chronicle legends and chronicle stories characteristic of “PVL”. A distinctive feature of the first is the depiction of a legendary event. Chronicle stories are devoted to depicting events contemporary to the chronicler. They are more extensive. They combine factual records, sketches of episodes, and religious reasoning of the author.

The plot narration of “PVL” is constructed using art. Techniques: emphasizing strong details, evoking visual ideas, characterizing characters, direct speech of characters.

Plot stories are common in PVL, but chronicle writing in general is characterized by the style of monumental historicism.

Thus, based on the theoretical study of the works of researchers, we received a number of genres (forms of narration) with characteristic features assigned to them, which became the basis for identifying types of presentation in Russian chronicles. To date, we have identified the following types within the PVL: hagiographic, military, business, didactic, documenting, folk-poetic, reference. 1. Hagiographic: the main subject of the image is the actions of the saint or his life path as a whole; involves the use of certain motives, for example, motives of teaching (mentoring), prophecy.

Example: fragment about Theodosius of Pechersk (ll. 61 volume - 63 volume).

2. Military: depiction of a historical event associated with the struggle of the Russian people against external enemies (mainly the Pechenegs and Polovtsians), as well as with princely strife; the central character is usually real historical figure, as a rule, a prince.

Example: fragment about the captivity of Thrace and Macedonia by Semeon (l. 10).

3. Business: texts of documents included in the PVL.

Example: a fragment containing the text of the agreement between the Russians and the Greeks (ll. 11-14).

4. Didactic: contains edification, i.e. moral teaching (teaching) moral/religious.

Example: a fragment about the unrighteous life of Prince Vladimir before his adoption of Christianity (l. 25).

5. Documenting: a statement of the fact of a particular event that deserves mention, but does not require detailed presentation; Fragments of this type are distinguished by the protocol nature of the image, the lack of artistic form and emotionality.

Example: fragment about the reign of Leon and his brother Alexander (fol. 8 vol.).

6. Folk poetic: a story about real or possible events, as a rule, built on one vivid episode, may contain fiction.

Example: fragment about the revenge of Princess Olga (ll. 14v.-16).

7. Referential: fragments taken from authoritative sources (Byzantine chronicles, biblical texts, etc.).