“The Tale of Bygone Years” is a collection, and therefore we will not find ideas here that cover all annual articles without exception. And yet, it is possible to highlight several points to which the compilers of the “Tale” turn again and again. A whole series of information included in the chronicle has a pronounced anti-Byzantine orientation. The idea of ​​independence from Byzantium, after the conversion of Rus' to Christianity, which probably expressed some claims not only to church leadership, but also to secular vassalage, according to researchers, was one of the central ones in the code of Nikon the Great. It was precisely in defiance of Byzantium that stories about the campaigns against Constantinople by Igor, Svyatoslav and especially Oleg, who demonstratively hung his shield on the gates of the Byzantine capital, could appear in the Russian chronicle.

Describing any contacts between Russian princes and the Byzantines, the chronicler is most concerned about how not to undermine the authority of the Slavic rulers. In any situation, he invariably portrays them not as modest supplicants, but as equal partners, often superior in intelligence and ingenuity to the prim Byzantine basileus. For example, according to the chronicle story, Princess Olga, who went to Constantinople, allegedly told the ruling Constantine Porphyrogenitus there “if you want to baptize me...”, thereby turning the matter around as if it was not she who came to ask for baptism, but the emperor who was very much seeking it. In his further narration, the chronicler will not forget to mention the godname of the Slavic princess - Elena, “like the ancient queen, mother of the Great Constantine,” and the fact that it was Olga, who had barely managed to be baptized, who reminded the Byzantine ruler who wanted to marry her while his wife was alive about Christian custom, according to for whom marriage between god-relatives is impossible. The author did not forget to include in his narrative a kind of recognition by the emperor of Olga’s moral superiority, as well as a memory of how, having arrived in Kyiv, the decisive princess sent unsalted Byzantine messengers, asking them to remind the emperor of how disrespectfully they treated the Kyiv embassy in Constantinople.

Anti-Byzantine sentiments were also reflected in a unique way in those articles of the chronicle that talk about Vladimir’s adoption of Christianity. It seems that the author is doing everything possible to belittle the role of Byzantium in this event. According to the chronicle, before accepting faith from the Greeks, the Kiev prince listens to the messenger of several religions, then sends a special embassy to Europe. The chronicler carefully emphasizes the special honors that were given to the Russians in Constantinople.

To top it all off, the chronicle sets out the so-called “Korsun Legend”. In this episode, the tone of the dialogue conducted by the chronicle Vladimir with the Byzantine brother emperors is especially indicative, since it is not about baptism at all, but about a wedding. Having captured the largest Greek colony in the Northern Black Sea region, Chersonese, the steppe pagan, who previously would not have been taken seriously in the Byzantine capital, asks for anything. On the contrary, he threatens the rulers of the empire with a new campaign against Constantinople and demands their sister, the porphyry princess Anna, as his wife. In these negotiations, with a significant flavor of blackmail, baptism turns out to be a concession to which Vladimir agrees, meeting the Byzantine rulers halfway. The legend ends with one more detail designed to elevate Vladimir above the Greeks: as a “vena” - the bride price required according to Slavic customs - the cunning Kiev prince gives the Byzantines the city of Korsun captured from them, thus managing to observe the customs and not go bankrupt too much.

And finally, most likely, it was precisely to spite Byzantium that the legend about the walk of the Apostle Andrew ended up in the Tale of Bygone Years. It seems that the search for a worthy heavenly patron for Rus' seriously occupied the compilers of the first Russian chronicles; at least, they included in their narrative the Moravian origin legend about Slavic letters, where Paul is named the teacher of Rus'. However, this was not enough for later editors, and in the text of the chronicle there appears a story about Andrew, the apostle from the twelve and, most importantly, heavenly patron Byzantium. And it doesn’t matter that this story from a historical point of view looks more than doubtful: it is completely incomprehensible why the apostle, who, if you believe his biography, never went further than the Scythians, had to go so deep into the wilds of the Dnieper forests that were absolutely deserted in the middle of the 1st century AD. And the very description of the legendary path “from the Varangians to the Greeks” is given in the chronicle through the eyes of a person located somewhere in the center of the Central Russian plain, in the “Okovsky Forest”. But the churches of the two powers could now consider themselves equal in status.

Another constant concern of the compilers of The Tale of Bygone Years was the description, assessment of the actions and justification of the legitimacy of the power of the ruling Rurik dynasty. This is explained not only by the fact that the chronicle was created in monasteries closely associated with the grand princely throne (Kievo-Pechersk and Vydubitsky), and apparently had the status of an official state document - it’s just that the very idea of ​​​​Slavic statehood was associated with princely power in the 12th century . Let me remind you that in the title of the “Tale” the question of the origin of Rus' and the emergence of princely power in it are put side by side.

The degree of reliability of the information provided by 12th-century chroniclers about the first Russian princes can be assessed in different ways. Most likely, narrating the events of two hundred to three hundred years ago and relying largely on the material of oral legends, ancient historiographers do not recreate the material appearance of historical figures, but record princely portraits as they appeared in popular consciousness. Another thing is certain: despite the fact that the chronicle was compiled and edited mainly by monastics, in the descriptions of the Kyiv rulers it is often not Christian, but rather princely virtues that come to the fore - military valor, the ability to strengthen the power of the country, subjugating the surrounding peoples to it, the ability to go out with honor from difficult diplomatic situations. The compilers of the chronicle equally endow both the ancient pagan princes and the Christian rulers who replaced them with these qualities.

Genre originality of "The Tale of Bygone Years"

Unlike folklore, which is not characterized by a mixture of different genres within one work, "The Tale of Bygone Years" was set of primary genre formations. The ensemble of the chronicle included legends and tales, tales and military stories, teachings and parables, signs and wonders.

The simplest and oldest form of chronicle narration was the weather record, which recorded isolated facts of history. Its main features are documentary accuracy, extreme laconicism, lack of emotional overtones and author's commentary. The message was introduced into the chronicle narrative using traditional formulas: " In the summer6596 . The church of St. Michael of the Vsevolozh monastery is sacred... Same summer Svyatopolk went from Novgorod to Turov to reign. It's summer Nikon, abbot of Pechersk, died. Same summer took the Bulgarians Murom."

NS claimed to be “literary”, pursuing an informative goal, and a chronicle story, which, unlike a weather record, had the character of a detailed documentary message: “In the summer of 6534, Yaroslav bought many wars and came to Kiev, and made peace with his brother Mstislav at Gorodets. And divided the Russian land along the Dnieper: Yaroslav came to this country, and Mstislav came to it. And began to live peacefully and in brotherly love, and strife and rebellion ceased, and there was great silence in the land." Written in the fresh wake of the event, the chronicle message retained lively intonations oral history and reflected the author’s assessment of what happened.

The chronicle tales in the Tale of Bygone Years are a literary adaptation of an oral source to which the chronicler turned if there was no more reliable material at hand. They restore the pre-literate period of Russian history on the basis of folk legends, toponymic legends or druzhina heroic epic. These stories in the chronicle are characterized by plot and an attempt by the author to create the illusion of authenticity by enclosing the legendary basis in a “historical frame.”

For example, in the chronicle tale of Oleg’s death from his horse, dates – real and symbolic – serve as a means of documenting the narrative. The chronicler, including the story of Oleg’s death in an article in 912, reports that he “remained for years” in the war with the Greeks, and “all the years of his reign were 33.” The history of the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Greek land and Russia, extracts from the Chronicle of George Amartol about cases when the predictions of sorcerers came true - the entire historical context was intended to testify to the authenticity of the description of the death of the great commander from a snake bite (according to other chronicle versions, he died, going overseas" and was buried in Ladoga). The story reveals the author's assessment of what is depicted, no matter how dispassionate the narrative may seem. The chronicler's attitude towards the triumphant commander, whose shield adorned the gates of the conquered Constantinople, is ambivalent. On the one hand, he captured the people’s attitude towards Oleg through the nickname “Prophetic”, reflected the “great lament” over his death and the memory of the prince’s burial place on Mount Shchekovitsa, which has survived centuries. On the other hand, respect for Oleg’s military victories fades in the chronicler’s mind in front of the lack of faith of a man who imagined himself invincible against enemies and fate itself, who laughed at the prediction of the Magi and reproached them: “It’s wrong to say the word, but all that is a lie: the horse died, but I'm alive." The horse, according to the ancient beliefs of the Slavs, is a sacred animal, a helper and friend of man, a talisman. Having stepped on the skull of his beloved horse with his foot, Oleg doomed himself to an “evil” death, death-punishment. The reader is warned about the inevitability of a tragic outcome by the opening lines of the story. The chronicler connects the action with the arrival of autumn, which sets the theme of death, and with the period when Oleg lives, “having peace to all countries,” i.e. when a commander’s hundred talents are unclaimed.

Proximity to hagiographic literature discover the stories of the "Tale of Bygone Years" about two Varangian martyrs, about the founding of the Kisvo-Pechersky Monastery and its ascetics, about the transfer of the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb, about the repose of Theodosius of Pechersk. Glorifying the spiritual feat of the first Pechersk saints, who “like the siyahu who shone in the Russian land,” the chronicler cannot hide the shadow sides of monastic life. From the chronicle “word” about Matthew the Seer, it is known that some of the brethren during the church service “committed any kind of guilt, leaving the church, and going to the cell and saving, and not returning to the church before the funeral service.” Others, like Mikhail Tolbekovich, fled from the monastery, unable to withstand the harsh monastic life. An ancient Russian writer explained these cases of deviation from the norms of Christian piety by the eternal machinations of the devil, who now takes the form of a “Polye” (Pole, Catholic) and, invisible to everyone except the saint, walks around the church, scattering “modelings” - flowers that force the monks to sleep during services, he appears at the monastery in the form of a demon sitting on a pig in order to “delight” those who long to return to the “world.”

With genre funeral words of praise Associated in the chronicle are obituary articles that contain verbal portraits of deceased historical figures. This is the chronicle description of the Tmutarakan prince Rostislav, who was poisoned during a feast by a Byzantine warrior: “Rostislav was a good man for the army, and he grew up with a beautiful face and was merciful to the poor.” A chronicle article from 1089 contains a panegyric to Metropolitan John, who was “cunning in books and learning, merciful to the poor and widows, kind to everyone, to the rich and to the poor, humble in mind and meek, and silent, speaking with holy books, comforting the sad , and such a thing would not have happened before in Rus', nor would it be like this." When creating a portrait of the hero, the chronicler observed the principle of the priority of spiritual beauty over external beauty, paying special attention to the moral qualities of a person.

The landscape sketches found in The Tale of Bygone Years are symbolic. Unusual natural phenomena are interpreted by the chronicler as signs- warnings from above about future disasters or glory. The ancient writer explained the fire in Novgorod not by the internecine struggle of the princes, but by the fact that before that “Volkhovo was destroyed for 5 days. And this sign of evil came quickly: on the 4th summer the whole city burned.” The sign of 1113, when “little was left of the sun, like the moon with its horns down,” also foreshadowed trouble - the death of Prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the uprising in Kyiv.

In the depths of the "Tale of Bygone Years" a military tale begins to take shape. Elements of this genre formation are already present in the story about Yaroslav’s revenge on Svyatopolk the Accursed. The chronicler describes the gathering of troops and the march, the preparation for the battle of opponents separated by the Dnieper, the climax - “the slaughter of the evil one” - and the flight of Svyatopolk. Stylistic formulas typical of a military story permeate the chronicle story about the battle of Yaroslav with Mstislav in 1024: “Mstislav, in the evening, killed his squad, and put the north [northerners] in front of the Varangians, and he himself stood with his squad against the enemy.<...>And Mstislav said to his squad: “Let’s go to it.” And Mstislav and Yaroslav went against... And the slaughter was strong, like shining and shining weapons, and the thunderstorm was great and the slaughter was strong and terrible.”

The mosaic structure of the chronicle led to the fact that under one year it contained messages of very different content. For example, a chronicle article from 1103 told about the princely congress in Dolobsk, about the locust invasion, about the founding of the city of Yuryev by Prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, about the battle of the Russian army with the Mordovians. What turns such a “mosaic” of historical information into a coherent and harmonious literary whole?

First of all this unity of thematic range: before us are individual milestones in the history of Rus'. In addition, the presentation of the material regulates weather principle: the strict attachment of each fact to a specific year connects the links into a single chain. It should be taken into account that the compiler of the “Tale” used the medieval chronology system, in which the starting point was the “creation of the world” (for translation into modern system, where the calculation is carried out from the Nativity of Christ, it is necessary to subtract 5508 from the chronicle date). The chronicler’s desire to “put the numbers in a row,” i.e. to present the material he selected in a strict time sequence, according to scientists, is associated with such characteristic features of the social life of the Middle Ages as “decency” and “orderliness.” The ancients saw beauty and harmony in maintaining order, while disruption of the usual rhythm in the life of nature, society, and literature was perceived by them as a manifestation of the ugly and immoral. The chronological connection of events in the chronicle was reinforced by genealogy - the idea of ​​succession of power of the Rurikovichs. The chronicler is always attentive to what kind of “grandfather’s” glory the ruler of Rus' inherits, whether he is a descendant of Oleg Gorislavich or belongs to the family of Vladimir Monomakh.

The weather principle of reporting events also had certain costs. By condensing disparate news into one year, the chronicler was forced to break the unity of the narrative series in the story of an event that lasted several years: under one year there was a story about the gathering of the Russian army on a campaign, under another there was a description of the decisive battle, under the third there was the text of a peace treaty. Fragmentation in presentation historical events interfered with the development of Russian fiction, entertaining and action-packed stories. The structure of “The Tale of Bygone Years” is characterized by a confrontation between two tendencies: the desire for isolation and independence of each chronicle story, on the one hand, and the opportunity to “open” the narrative, stringing new works on a historical theme onto a single chronological core, on the other.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is a collection in the broadest sense of the word; a monument that combines works of different times, different authors, having different sources And political orientation, differing in genre and style. It cements the monumental but harmonious edifice of the chronicle, despite the heterogeneity of the events described in it, common historical theme products of terms and chronological principle of organizing material in the vault. The main ideas of the chronicle are the idea of ​​the independence of Rus', the assertion of the superiority of the Christian faith over paganism, the inseparability of Russian history from the general historical process, a call for unity of action, for the unity of spirit of the Russian people.

The significance of "The Tale of Bygone Years" in the history of Russian chronicles

The following generations of Russian chroniclers began their presentation of Russian history with The Tale of Bygone Years. Already in the 12th century. The geography of chronicle writing is expanding, and differences are emerging between specific chronicle collections. For example, scientists consider the distinctive features of the Novgorod chronicle to be anti-princely in orientation, since Novgorod, after the political revolution of 1136, turned into a boyar republic, as well as the rarity and sparsity of messages of a general Russian nature. Unlike the Vladimir-Suzdal chroniclers, the Novgorodians avoided church rhetoric; The style of their weather articles is concise and matter-of-fact. If they were depicting a natural disaster, they would provide information about the severity of the hurricane or flood and the damage it caused. The Vladimir chronicle sought to substantiate the claims of its principality to church-political hegemony and therefore was attentive to events on both a local and national scale, while the southern Russian chroniclers were absorbed in describing the turbulent history of their destinies. The main form of South Russian chronicles of the 12th century. was a weather record; Only some stories about boyar and princely crimes (about the murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky, 1175) and military stories (about the campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians, 1185) retain the action-packed nature of the story.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" had a decisive influence on the formation of regional and all-Russian chronicle collections, which included it in their composition. The oldest copies of the “Tale” are found in the Laurentian (XIV century), Ipatiev and Radzivilov (XV century) chronicles. “The Tale of Bygone Years” served as a source of poetic plots and images for many writers of the New Age: it is enough to recall the historical tragedies of A. P. Sumarokov and Ya. B. Knyazhnin, “Duma” by K. F. Ryleev. Chronicle tales, which A. S. Pushkin valued for the poetry of touching innocence, inspired him to create the historical ballad “Song of the Prophetic Oleg”, the image of Pimen in the tragedy “Boris Godunov”.

The genre of “The Tale of Bygone Years” is defined as a chronicle, and an ancient one at that. There are three editions of it, dating back to 1113, 1116 and 1118. The author of the first was Nestor, the second was Abbot Sylvester, who did the work commissioned by Vladimir Monomakh. The creator of the third edition could not be identified, but it is known that it was intended for Mstislav Vladimirovich.

System of genres of ancient Russian literature

It consists of two subsystems - the genres of secular and church literature. The second is more closed and includes lives and walks, solemn and teacher eloquence. The genres of secular literature are represented by military stories and chronicles telling about historical events by year. They have a certain similarity with Byzantine chronography. However, when The Tale of Bygone Years was created, the chronograph genre was not used by Russian scribes. It was mastered at later stages.

“The Tale of Bygone Years”: genre

Dmitry Likhachev wrote about the enfilade, or ensemble, nature of the construction of ancient Russian written monuments. This is a distinctive property of almost all works written in the era of Kievan Rus - a single text is thought of as potentially open to inclusion from other sources. So, when the task requires “indicate the genre of The Tale of Bygone Years,” you need to take into account that the chronicle includes:

• treaties (for example, Russian-Byzantine 1907);
• lives of saints - Boris and Gleb;
• “The Philosopher’s Speech” and other texts.

Stories that have a distinct folklore origin (for example, the story of the death of Oleg, the story of how the Kozhemyaka youth defeated the Pecheneg hero) are also inherent in the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years.” What genre are these works? They are similar to a fairy tale or legend. In addition, the chronicle is distinguished by the so-called stories of princely crimes - like the blinding of Vasilko. First on their genre originality Dmitry Likhachev indicated.

Let us note that such “ensembleness” and diversity does not make the genre of “The Tale of Bygone Years” something vague, or the monument itself a simple collection of random texts.

Construction specifics

The main compositional units of The Tale of Bygone Years are weather articles beginning with the words “In the summer...”. In this way, ancient Russian chronicles differ from Byzantine chronographs, which, to describe the events of past days, took not a year, but the period of the ruler’s reign as a segment of history. Weather articles are divided into two categories. The first includes so-called weather messages, which record one or another historical fact. Thus, the content of the article for 1020 is limited to one piece of news: Yaroslav had a son named Vladimir. There are especially many such messages in the Kyiv Chronicle for the 12th century.

In contrast, chronicle stories not only report an event, but also imply a description of it, sometimes in great detail. The author may consider it necessary to indicate who took part in the battle, where it took place, and how it ended. At the same time, such a listing gave the weather article a plot twist.

Epic style

He who studied “The Tale of Bygone Years,” the genre and compositional originality of the monument, made the distinction between monumental and epic styles. The latter is especially characteristic of those parts of the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”, the genre of which is defined as a military story. The epic style is distinguished by its close connection with folklore and the use of images drawn from there. A striking example of this is Princess Olga, presented in the chronicle as an avenger. In addition, they become more realistic (to the extent that such a characteristic can be applied to characters in ancient Russian literature).

Monumental style

The style of monumental historicism is fundamental not only for the oldest chronicle monument, but also for all literature of Kievan Rus. It manifests itself primarily in the depiction of characters. The chronicler is not interested in them private life, as well as those who are outside feudal relations. A person is of interest to a medieval author as a representative of a certain person. This also influenced the characterization of the characters, in which a certain amount of idealization is noticeable. Canon becomes the most important concept for "The Tale...". Thus, any prince is depicted in the most significant circumstances, not knowing mental struggle. He is brave, smart and has a loyal squad. On the contrary, any church leader from life must be pious and obediently follow the Law of God.

The chronicler does not know the psychology of his characters. The medieval author had no hesitation in classifying the hero as “good” or “evil”, and complex, contradictory images, familiar to us from classical literature, could not arise.

Department of Literature

COURSE WORK

in the discipline "History of Russian Literature"

“The Tale of Bygone Years” - a literary monument of Ancient Rus'

Completed by a student

____________________________

Saint Petersburg

ABOUT THE CHAPTER:

Introduction 3

1. The history of the Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”_ 6

2. “The Tale of Bygone Years” as historical source and literary monument_ 11

3. Stylistic originality of “The Tale of Bygone Years”_ 16

4. The significance of “The Tale of Bygone Years” in the literary aspect 19

Conclusion 21

List of used literature_ 22

Introduction

Relevance of the work . The main source of our knowledge about ancient Rus' is medieval chronicles. Currently, more than two hundred lists of chronicles are known. Most of them were published (in full or in the form of discrepancies to other lists) in the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. One of the most ancient and famous is “The Tale of Bygone Years” - a chronicle that got its name from the first words “this tale of bygone years...” and tells about the events of Russian history in the middle of the 9th century - beginning of XII centuries According to the outstanding Russian scientist D.S. Likhachev, “The Tale of Bygone Years” with its world-historical introduction, with its broad desire to substantiate the place of the Russian people among other peoples of the world, with its special attention to the heroic, to military exploits, to the glory of the Russian weapons introduces us to the atmosphere of an epic folk-song attitude towards Russian history. In “The Tale of Bygone Years” we have a largely epic, poetic attitude towards our native history. That is why “The Tale of Bygone Years” is not only a work of Russian historical thought, but also of Russian historical poetry. Poetry and history are in inextricable unity in it. Before us is a literary work and a monument to historical thought.”

Tradition names the monk Nestor of the Pechersk Monastery in Kyiv as the author of the Tale. For a long time it was believed that Nestor was the founder of Russian chronicle writing, but later it was established that chronicle codes existed even before him. “The Most Ancient”, “Nikon’s Code”, “Initial Code”.

The study of the “Tale” continues to this day, however, despite the significant body of literature devoted to this literary monument, researchers disagree on many aspects of the appearance and interpretation of the chronicle. V.N. Tatishchev was the first in Russia to begin studying the chronicles. Having decided to create his grandiose “Russian History,” he turned to all the chronicles known in his time and found many new monuments. After V.N. Tatishchev, “The Tale of Bygone Years” was studied by A. Shletser. If V.N. Tatishchev worked in breadth, as it were, combining additional information from many lists in one text, and followed in the footsteps of the ancient chronicler - compiler, then Schletser worked in depth, identifying in the text itself a lot of clerical errors, errors, and inaccuracies. Both research approaches, with all their external differences, had one similarity: the idea of ​​a non-original form in which the Tale of Bygone Years has come down to us was consolidated in science. This is the great merit of both wonderful historians. The next major step was taken by the famous archaeographer P.M. Stroev. Both V.N. Tatishchev and A. Shletser imagined “The Tale of Bygone Years” as the creation of one chronicler, in this case Nestor. P.M. Stroev expressed absolutely A New Look the chronicle as a set of several earlier chronicles, and all the chronicles that have reached us began to be considered such sets. Thus, he opened the way not only to a more methodologically correct study of the chronicles and codes that have reached us, which have not reached us in their original form.

An extremely important step was taken by A.A. Shakhmatov, who showed that each of the chronicle codes, starting from the 11th century and ending with the 16th century, is not a random conglomeration of heterogeneous chronicle sources, but a historical work with its own political position, dictated by the place and time of creation. According to A.A. Shakhmatov, the chronicle, which is usually called the Tale of Bygone Years, was created in 1112 by Nestor - presumably the author of two famous hagiographic works - Readings about Boris and Gleb and the Life of Theodosius of Pechersk. Shakhmatov connected the history of chronicling with the history of the country. The opportunity arose to mutually verify the history of the state with the history of the source. Source data has become not an end in itself, but an essential aid in reconstructing the picture of the historical development of the entire people. And now, when starting to study a particular period, they first of all strive to analyze the question of how the chronicle and its information are connected with reality. The disadvantage of the approach developed by L.A. Shakhmatov, however, is that the critical analysis of the source actually boiled down to studying the history of its text. A large complex of problems related to the history of meanings and meanings that existed during the creation of this or that chronicle code remained outside the interests of the researcher. This gap was largely filled by the research of such remarkable scientists as: I.N. Danilevsky, V.M. Istrin, A.N. Nasonov, A.A. Likhachev, M.P. Pogodin and many others.

Target works – to show historical and artistic originality“The Tale of Bygone Years”, assess the significance of the “Tale” as a literary monument of Ancient Rus'.

1. The history of the Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”

An analysis of the literature on the history of the appearance of “The Tale of Bygone Years” shows its debatability in science. At the same time, all publications about the Tale emphasize the historical significance of the chronicle for the history and culture of Russia. Already in the very title of “The Tale of Bygone Years” there is an answer to the question about the purpose of the chronicle: to tell “where the Russian land came from, who began to reign first in Kyiv, and where the Russian land came from.” In other words, to tell about Russian history from its very beginning to the formation of the Orthodox state under the collective name Russian Land.

Revealing issues of chronicle terminology, I.N. Danilevsky wrote that traditionally chronicles in the broad sense are called historical works, the presentation of which is carried out strictly by year and is accompanied by chronographic (annual), often calendar, and sometimes chronometric (hourly) dates. In terms of species characteristics, they are close to Western European annals (from Latin annales libri - annual reports) and chronicles (from Greek chranihos - relating to time). In the narrow sense of the word, chronicles are usually called chronicle texts that have actually reached us, preserved in one or more copies that are similar to each other. But the scientific terminology in chronicles is largely arbitrary. This is due, in particular, to the “lack of clear boundaries and complexity of the history of chronicle texts”, to the “fluidity” of chronicle texts, allowing “gradual transitions from text to text without visible gradations of monuments and editions.” Until now, “in the study of chronicles, the use of terms is extremely vague.” At the same time, “any elimination of ambiguity in terminology should be based on the establishment of this ambiguity itself. It is impossible to agree on the use of terms without first finding out all the shades of their use in the past and present,” believes D.S. Likhachev.

According to M.I. Sukhomlinov, “all Russian chronicles are by the very name of “chronicles”, “chroniclers”, “vremenniki”, “tales of temporary years”, etc. expose their original form: none of these names would be appropriate for them if they did not indicate the time of each event, if summers and years did not occupy the same important place in them as the events themselves. In this respect, as in many others, our chronicles are similar not so much to Byzantine writers, but to those time books (annales) that were kept long ago, from the 8th century, in the monasteries of Roman and Germanic Europe - regardless of the historical examples of classical antiquity. The original basis of these annals was the Easter tables."

Most authors believe that the idea for the title of “The Tale of Bygone Years” belonged to Nestor, a scribe with a broad historical outlook and great literary talent: even before working on “The Tale of Bygone Years,” he wrote “The Life of Boris and Gleb” and “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk.” In The Tale of Bygone Years, Nestor set himself a grandiose task: to decisively rework the story about the most ancient period of the history of Rus' - “where the Russian land came from.”

However, as A. A. Shakhmatov showed, “The Tale of Bygone Years” was preceded by other chronicles. The scientist cites, in particular, the following fact: “The Tale of Bygone Years,” preserved in the Laurentian, Ipatiev and other chronicles, differed significantly in the interpretation of many events from another chronicle that told about the same initial period of Russian history, the Novgorod First Chronicle of the younger edition. In the Novgorod Chronicle there were no texts of agreements with the Greeks; Prince Oleg was called the governor under the young Prince Igor; otherwise, it was told about the campaigns of Rus' against Constantinople, etc.

A. A. Shakhmatov came to the conclusion that the Novgorod First Chronicle in its initial part reflected a different chronicle code, which preceded the Tale of Bygone Years.

A prominent researcher of Russian chronicles, V. M. Istrin, made unsuccessful attempts to find a different explanation for the differences between “The Tale of Bygone Years” and the story of the First Novgorod Chronicle (that the Novgorod Chronicle allegedly abbreviated the “Tale of Bygone Years”). As a result, A. A. Shakhmatov’s conclusions were confirmed by many facts obtained both by himself and by other scientists.

The text of the “Tale” that interests us covers a long period- from ancient times to the beginning of the second decade of the 12th century. It is quite rightly believed that this is one of the oldest chronicle codes, the text of which was preserved by the chronicle tradition. No separate lists of him are known. On this occasion V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “In libraries, do not ask for the Initial Chronicle - they will probably not understand you and will ask again: “What list of the chronicle do you need?” Then you, in turn, will be perplexed. So far, not a single manuscript has been found in which the Initial Chronicle would be placed separately in the form in which it came from the pen of the ancient compiler. In all known lists it merges with the story of its successors, which in later vaults usually reaches the end of the 16th century.” . In different chronicles the text of the Tale reaches different years: before 1110 (Lavrentievsky and lists close to it) or before 1118 (Ipatievsky and lists close to it).

At the initial stage of studying the chronicles, researchers proceeded from the fact that the discrepancies found in the lists were a consequence of distortion of the source text during repeated rewriting. Based on this, for example, A.L. Schletser set the task of recreating the “purified Nestor.” An attempt to correct the accumulated mechanical errors and rethink the chronicle text, however, was unsuccessful. As a result of the work done, A.L. himself Schletser became convinced that over time the text was not only distorted, but also corrected by copyists and editors. Nevertheless, the non-original form in which The Tale of Bygone Years has reached us was proven. This actually raised the question of the need to reconstruct the original form of the chronicle text.

Having compared all the lists of chronicles available to him, A.A. Shakhmatov identified discrepancies and so-called common places inherent in the chronicles. Analysis of the detected discrepancies and their classification made it possible to identify lists with coinciding discrepancies. The researcher grouped the lists by edition and put forward a number of complementary hypotheses that explain the occurrence of discrepancies. A comparison of hypothetical codes made it possible to identify a number of common features inherent in some of them. This is how the supposed source texts were recreated. At the same time, it turned out that many fragments of the chronicle presentation were borrowed from very early codes, which, in turn, made it possible to move on to the reconstruction of the oldest Russian chronicles. Conclusions A.A. Shakhmatov received full confirmation when the Moscow arch of 1408 was found, the existence of which was predicted by the great scientist. In full, the path that A.A. Shakhmatov, became clear only after the publication of his student M.D. Priselkov's workbooks for his teacher. Since then, the entire history of the study of chronicles has been divided into two periods: pre-Shakhmatova and modern.

During editing, the original text (the first edition of The Tale of Bygone Years) was changed so much that A.A. Shakhmatov came to the conclusion that its reconstruction was impossible. As for the texts of the Laurentian and Ipatiev editions of the Tale (they are usually called the second and third editions, respectively), then, despite later alterations in subsequent codes, Shakhmatov managed to determine their composition and presumably reconstruct it. It should be noted that Shakhmatov hesitated in assessing the stages of work on the text of the Tale of Bygone Years. Sometimes, for example, he believed that in 1116 Sylvester only rewrote Nestor’s text of 1113 (and the latter was sometimes dated 1111), without editing it.

If the question of Nestor’s authorship remains controversial (the Tale contains a number of indications that fundamentally diverge from the data of the Readings and Life of Theodosius), then in general the assumption of A.A. Shakhmatov’s opinion about the existence of three editions of the Tale of Bygone Years is shared by most modern researchers.

Based on the idea of ​​the political nature of ancient Russian chronicles, A.A. Shakhmatov, followed by M.D. Priselkov and other researchers believe that the origin of the chronicle tradition in Rus' is associated with the establishment of the Kyiv Metropolis. “The custom of the Byzantine church administration required, when opening a new department, episcopal or metropolitan, to draw up a note of a historical nature on this occasion about the reasons, place and persons of this event for the record keeping of the patriarchal synod in Constantinople.” This allegedly became the reason for the creation of the Most Ancient Code of 1037. Researchers present the later codes, compiled on the basis of the Tale of Bygone Years, either as purely journalistic works, written, as they say, on the topic of the day, or as some kind of medieval fiction, or simply as texts that systematically With amazing tenacity and perseverance, they “finish it” - almost by inertia.

At the same time, the entire history of studying the Tale shows that the purpose of creating chronicles should be significant enough for many generations of chroniclers to continue the work begun in Kyiv in the 11th century over a number of centuries. Moreover, “the authors and editors adhered to the same literary techniques and expressed the same views on social life and moral requirements.”

It is believed that the first edition of The Tale of Bygone Years has not reached us. Its second edition, compiled in 1117 by the abbot of the Vydubitsky monastery (near Kiev) Sylvester, and the third edition, compiled in 1118 by order of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, have survived. In the second edition, only the final part of The Tale of Bygone Years was revised; This edition has come down to us as part of the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377, as well as other later chronicles. The third edition, according to a number of researchers, is presented in the Ipatiev Chronicle, the oldest list of which, the Ipatiev Chronicle, dates back to the first quarter of the 15th century.

From our point of view, the final point in the study of the origin of the “Tale” has not yet been set; this is shown by the entire history of the study of the chronicle. It is possible that scientists, based on newly discovered facts, will put forward new hypotheses regarding the history of creation greatest monument ancient Russian literature - “Tales of Bygone Years”.

Scientists have established that chronicle writing was carried out in Rus' from the 11th to the 17th centuries. Back in the 19th century. it became known that almost all surviving chronicle texts are compilations, codes of previous chronicles. According to D.S. Likhachev, “in relation to the chronicle, the vault is a more or less hypothetical monument, i.e., a supposed monument underlying its lists or other supposed vaults.” The Tale of Bygone Years owes its broad historical outlook to Nestor, introducing into the chronicle the facts of world history, against the background of which the history of the Slavs unfolds, and then the history of Rus'. Thanks to the state view, breadth of outlook and literary talent of Nestor, “The Tale of Bygone Years” was “not just a collection of facts of Russian history and not just a historical and journalistic work related to the urgent but transitory tasks of Russian reality, but an integral, literary history of Rus'” , notes D.S. Likhachev.

The introductory part of the “Tale” sets out the biblical legend about the division of the earth between the sons of Noah - Shem, Ham and Japheth - and the legend about the Babylonian pandemonium, which led to the division of the “single race” into 72 nations, each of which has its own language: “After the flood, three the sons of Noah divided the land - Shem, Ham, Japheth..."

Having determined that the “language (people) Slovenian” is from the tribe of Japheth, the chronicle further tells about the Slavs, the lands they inhabit, the history and customs of the Slavic tribes. Gradually narrowing the subject of its narrative, the chronicle focuses on the history of the glades and tells about the emergence of Kyiv. Speaking about the ancient times when the Kyiv glades were tributaries of the Khazars, The Tale of Bygone Years proudly notes that now, as was destined for a long time, the Khazars themselves are tributaries of the Kyiv princes.

Precise indications of the years begin in the “Tale of Bygone Years” from 852, since from that time, according to the chronicler, Rus' was mentioned in the “Greek chronicle”: this year the Kyiv princes Askold and Dir attacked Constantinople. A chronological calculation is also provided here - a countdown of the years that have passed from one significant event to another. The calculation concludes with a calculation of the years from “the death of Yaroslavl to the death of Svyatopolch” (i.e., from 1054 to 1113), from which it follows that the “Tale of Bygone Years” could not have been compiled earlier than the beginning of the second decade of the 12th century.

Further in the chronicle it is told about major events 9th century - “the calling of the Varangians”, the campaign of Askold and Dir against Byzantium, the conquest of Kyiv by Oleg. The legend about the origin of Slavic literacy included in the chronicle ends with an important statement for the general concept of “The Tale of Bygone Years” about the identity of the “Slovenian” and Russian languages ​​- another reminder of the place of the Polyans among the Slavic peoples and the Slavs among the peoples of the world.

Subsequent chronicle articles tell about Oleg's reign. The chronicler cites the texts of his treaties with Byzantium and folk legends about the prince: a story about his campaign against Constantinople, with spectacular episodes, undoubtedly of a folklore nature (Oleg approaches the walls of the city in boats moving under sails on land, hangs his shield over the gates of Constantinople, "showing victory").

The chronicler considered Igor the son of Rurik. Two campaigns of Igor against Byzantium are reported and the text of the agreement concluded by the Russian prince with the Byzantine emperors-co-rulers: Roman, Constantine and Stephen is given. Igor's death was unexpected and inglorious: on the advice of his squad, he went to the land of the Drevlyans to collect tribute (usually his governor Sveneld collected the tribute). On the way back, the prince suddenly turned to his soldiers: “Go with the house tribute, and I’ll come back with more.” The Drevlyans, having heard that Igor intended to collect tribute a second time, were indignant: “If a wolf (if a wolf gets into the habit) gets into a sheep, then carry out the whole flock, if not kill it, so and so: if we don’t kill it, then we will all be destroyed.” . But Igor did not heed the warning of the Drevlyans and was killed by them.

Olga took revenge on the Drevlyans three times for the death of her husband. Each revenge corresponds to one of the elements of the pagan funeral rite. According to the customs of that time, the dead were buried in a boat; a bath was prepared for the deceased, and then his corpse was burned; on the day of burial, a funeral feast was held, accompanied by war games.

The chronicler enthusiastically depicts Igor's son Svyatoslav, his belligerence, chivalrous straightforwardness (he supposedly warned his enemies in advance: “I want to go against you”), and unpretentiousness in everyday life.

After the death of Svyatoslav, an internecine struggle broke out between his sons - Oleg, Yaropolk and Vladimir. Vladimir emerged victorious, becoming the sole ruler of Rus' in 980.

In the section “The Tale of Bygone Years” dedicated to the reign of Vladimir, great place The theme of the baptism of Rus' is occupied. The chronicle reads the so-called “Philosopher’s Speech,” with which a Greek missionary allegedly addressed Vladimir, convincing the prince to accept Christianity. “The Philosopher’s Speech” had great educational significance for the ancient Russian reader - it briefly outlined the entire “sacred history” and communicated the basic principles of the Christian faith.

After the death of Vladimir in 1015, internecine struggle broke out again between his sons. Svyatopolk is the son of Yaropolk and a captive nun, whom Vladimir, having killed his brother, made his wife, killed his half-brothers Boris and Gleb. The chronicle reads a short story about the fate of the martyred princes, about the struggle of Yaroslav Vladimirovich with Svyatopolk, which ended in the latter’s military defeat and terrible divine retribution.

The last decade of the 11th century. was full of stormy events. After internecine wars, the instigator and indispensable participant of which was Oleg Svyatoslavich (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” calls him Oleg Gorislavlich), the princes gathered in 1097 in Lyubech for a congress, at which they decided from now on to live in peace and friendship, to hold their father’s possessions and do not encroach on other people's inheritances. However, immediately after the congress, a new atrocity was committed: the Volyn prince Davyd Igorevich convinced the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich that the Terebovl prince Vasilko was plotting against them. Svyatopolk and Davyd lured Vasilko to Kyiv, captured him and gouged out his eyes. This event shocked all the princes: Vladimir Monomakh, according to the chronicler, complained that such evil did not exist in Rus' “neither under our grandfathers, nor under our fathers.” In article 1097 we find a detailed story about dramatic fate Vasilko Terebovlsky.

A brief overview of the composition “The Tale of Bygone Years” shows the complexity of its composition and the variety of components both in origin and genre. The Tale, in addition to brief weather records, also included texts of documents, retellings of folklore legends, and plot stories, and excerpts from monuments of translated literature. It contains a theological treatise - “the speech of a philosopher”, and a hagiographic story about Boris and Gleb, and patericon legends about the Kiev-Pechersk monks, and a church eulogy to Theodosius of Pechersk, and a casual story about a Novgorodian who went to tell fortunes to a magician.

If we talk about the historicism of the Tale, it should be emphasized that artistic generalization in Ancient Rus' was built mainly on the basis of a single specific historical fact. Almost all events are attached to a specific historical event or a specific historical person. As is known, Ancient Rus' during the 9th-10th centuries. From a fragile tribal union it turned into a single early feudal state. The campaigns of the Kyiv princes Oleg, Igor and Svyatoslav brought Rus' into the sphere of European politics. The close diplomatic, trade and cultural relations of Ancient Rus' with its southern neighbors - with the Bulgarian kingdom and especially with the largest state in South-Eastern Europe - Byzantium, paved the way for the adoption of Christianity. Which is reflected in the “Tale”. Obviously, the Christianization of Rus' required a radical restructuring of the worldview; former pagan ideas about the origin and structure of the Universe, about the history of the human race, about the ancestors of the Slavs were now rejected, and Russian scribes were in dire need of works that would set out Christian ideas about world history, would give a new, Christian interpretation of the world order and natural phenomena. Characterizing the literature of Kievan Rus, D.S. Likhachev notes that it was devoted mainly to ideological issues. Its genre system reflected the worldview typical of many Christian states in the early Middle Ages. “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 human life».

We also note the high citizenship and patriotism of the literary monument in question. The patriotism of ancient Russian literature is associated not only with the pride of the authors for the Russian land, but also with their grief over the defeats they suffered, with the desire to reason with the princes and boyars, and sometimes with attempts to condemn them, to arouse the wrath of readers against the worst of them.

Thus, “The Tale of Bygone Years” is not only a unique historical source and literary monument, but also an example of the true patriotism of the Russian people, love for their Motherland.

3. Stylistic originality of “The Tale of Bygone Years”

The stylistic originality of “The Tale” deserves special attention, since in the modern literary tradition the chronicle genre is absent. The nature of the chronicle genre is very complex; the chronicle is one of the “unifying genres”, subordinating the genres of its components - a historical story, a life, a teaching, a word of praise, etc. And yet the chronicle remains an integral work that can be studied as a monument of one genre, as a monument literature. In the Tale of Bygone Years, as in any other chronicle, two types of narration can be distinguished - actual weather records and chronicle stories. Weather records contain reports of events, while chronicles offer descriptions of them. In a chronicle story, the author strives to depict an event, provide certain specific details, reproduce the dialogues of the characters, in a word, help the reader imagine what is happening, evoke his empathy.

Thus, in the story about the boy who fled from Kyiv besieged by the Pechenegs in order to convey the request of Princess Olga to Voivode Pretich, not only the very fact of the message was mentioned, but it is precisely told about how the boy fled through the Pecheneg camp with a bridle in his hand, asking about allegedly missing horse (without missing important detail that the boy could speak Pechenezh), about how, having reached the banks of the Dnieper, he “overthrew the ports” and threw himself into the water, how Pretich’s warriors swam out to meet him in a boat; Pretich’s dialogue with the Pecheneg prince was also conveyed. This is a story, and not a brief weather record, such as: “Svyatoslav defeated the Vyatichi and laid tribute on them,” or “Tsarina Anna of Volodymyr died,” or “Mstislav went to Yaroslav from the kozary and from the kasoga,” etc.

At the same time, the chronicle stories themselves belong to two types, largely determined by their origin. Some stories tell about events contemporary to the chronicler, others - about events that took place long before the chronicle was compiled; these are oral epic legends, only later included in the chronicle.

In the stories, sometimes strength and sometimes cunning triumph. Thus, the Pecheneg prince, who was at war with Russia, suggested that Vladimir send a warrior from his army who would measure his strength with the Pecheneg hero. Nobody dares to take on the challenge. Vladimir is saddened, but then a certain “old husband” appears to him and offers to send for his youngest son. The young man, according to the old man, is very strong: “Since childhood, no one hit him with it” (that is, threw him to the ground). Once, the father recalls, the son, angry with him, “pretored the worm with his hands” (he tore the skin with his hands, which he was crumpling at that moment: the father and son were tanners). The young man is called to Vladimir, and he shows the prince his strength - he grabs the side of a bull running past and tears out “the skin from the meat, as big as a hare’s hand.” But nevertheless, the young man is “average in body”, and therefore the Pecheneg hero who came out to duel with him is “very great and terrible” - laughs at his opponent. Here (as in the story of Olga’s revenge) surprise awaits negative hero; the reader knows about the strength of the young man and triumphs when he “strangles” the leather meat with the hands of the Pecheneg hero.

Some stories in the chronicle are united by a special, epic style of depicting reality. This concept reflects, first of all, the narrator’s approach to the subject of the image, his author’s position, and not just the purely linguistic features of the presentation. In each such story, in the center there is one event, one episode, and it is this episode that constitutes the characterization of the hero and highlights his main, memorable feature; Oleg (in the story about the campaign against Constantinople) is, first of all, a wise and brave warrior, the hero of the story about Belgorod jelly is a nameless old man, but his wisdom, in last moment saved the city besieged by the Pechenegs, and is the one characteristic feature, which won him immortality in people's memory.

Another group of stories was compiled by the chronicler himself or his contemporaries. It is distinguished by a different style of narration; it does not have an elegant completeness of the plot, there is no epic laconicism and generalization of the images of the heroes. These stories, at the same time, can be more psychological, more realistic, and literary, since the chronicler strives not just to tell about the event, but to present it in such a way as to make a certain impression on the reader, to force him to relate to the characters in the story in one way or another. Among similar stories within the Tale of Bygone Years, the story about the blinding of Vasilko Terebovlsky (in article 1097) especially stands out.

The episode about the terrible fate of the slandered prince appears emotionally vivid, it evokes sympathy for him, his expressed desire to appear before God “in that bloody shirt” seems to remind of inevitable retribution, serves as a journalistic justification for the completely “earthly” actions of the princes who went to war against Davyd Igorevich in order to restore Vasilko’s rights to the inheritance taken from him.

Thus, together with the chronicle narrative, a special genre subordinate to the chronicle begins to form - the genre of the story of princely crimes.

The entire chronicle narrative is permeated by etiquette, especially in that part of it that is designed in the style of monumental historicism. The chronicler selects in these cases for his narration only the most important ones, of national importance events and actions. In the style of monumental historicism, for example, the events of the time of Yaroslav the Wise and his son Vsevolod are presented. For example, a description of the battle on Alta, which brought Yaroslav victory over the “cursed” Svyatopolk, the killer of Boris and Gleb (in the “Tale of Bygone Years” under 1019).

The combination of monumental historicism and epic styles in The Tale of Bygone Years created its unique literary appearance, and its stylistic influence will be clearly felt for several centuries: chroniclers will begin to apply or vary those literary formulas that were first used by the creators of the Tale of Bygone Years, imitate the characteristics present in it, and sometimes quote the “Tale”, introducing fragments from this monument into your text.

4. The significance of “The Tale of Bygone Years” in the literary aspect

Assessing the significance of the Tale, one should first of all emphasize the globality of the goal that all chroniclers set for themselves - to show the origins of the emergence of the Russian land in a historical perspective. The overriding task required a multifaceted presentation, covering a wide range of historical events of the most diverse nature. All this gave the Tale the depth that ensured its social multifunctionality.

This is an exceptionally bright literary phenomenon, which absorbed not only many historical events, but also reflected the socio-political views of that time.

The significance of the Tale for Russian literature is also evidenced by the fact that the chroniclers used the rich traditions of oral public speaking. Oral sources provided mainly material, content and ideas for constructing Russian history, partly its stylistic design, and language. The traditions of writing introduced all this material into the compositional framework familiar to medieval books. Agreements, juristic documents and establishments also contributed to the formation of the Russian literary language, and to some extent participated in the formation of the language of Russian literature.

It is important to note that the Middle Ages did not know “copyright”, copyright ownership in our sense of the word. The reader dominated the author - he was sometimes both a copyist and an editor of the book. Consequently, “The Tale of Bygone Years” is the result of collective literary work. That is why attempts to restore the original “author’s” text of “The Tale of Bygone Years” (A. Shletser) or to find a single author for the Kyiv chronicle of the 12th century. (Tatishchev, Shletser) and Novgorod XI century. (Tatishchev, Miller) have long been abandoned by science.

The form of the vault in which the ancient Russian historical “Tale” is clothed is closely connected with the special historical consciousness of its authors. The reader valued documentary, the reality of what happened, and not the subtleties of artistic depiction. At the same time, signs, wonders, predictions, etc. were reality for the reader. These factors should also be considered among the features of the Tale.

Conclusion

Summarizing what is presented in this work, we can draw the following conclusions.

1. “The Tale of Bygone Years” is a collection of chronicles. When compiling his collection, each chronicler first of all cared about getting into his hands the works of his predecessors, treaties, messages, wills of princes, historical stories, lives of Russian saints, etc., etc. Having collected all the material available to him , the chronicler put it together in a weather report. This circumstance gives the “Tale” a special depth, content and diversity of presentation.

2. Analysis of the content of the Tale shows that the “etiquette” of the writing craft is associated with the ideological ideas of the Middle Ages about the saint, about the villain, about the ideal type of prince, about the motives for which enemies attack the Russian land, about the causes of natural disasters (pestilence, drought and etc.). The chronicler was not far from politics and worldly passions. The course of the chronicler's narrative, his specific historical ideas very often go beyond the boundaries of religious thinking and are purely pragmatic in nature.

3. The chronicle is given special value by the personal experience of its creators, direct observation, elements of realism, political topicality - everything that is so rich in and thanks to which the Russian chronicle is so valuable.

4. “The Tale of Bygone Years” is the fruit of the collective work of ancient Russian scribes, a unique historical and literary monument of Ancient Rus', which is determined by the significance of the purpose of the work, deep historicism and valuable documentation, compositional and stylistic originality of the chronicle; high patriotism and citizenship of its creators.

List of used literature

1. Danilevsky I.N. The Bible and the Tale of Bygone Years (On the problem of interpreting chronicle texts). // Domestic history. - 1993. - No. 1.

2. Danilevsky I.N. The idea and title of the Tale of Bygone Years // Domestic History. - 1995. - No. 5.

3. Eremin I.P. Literature of Ancient Rus' (studies and characteristics). M.-L., 1966.

4. History of Russian literature X - XVII centuries: Textbook. manual for pedagogical students. Institute for specialties No. 2101 “Rus. language or T." / L. A. Dmitriev, D. S. Likhachev, Y. S. Lurie and others; Ed. D. S. Likhacheva. - M.: Education, 1979. - 462 p., ill.

5. Source study of Russian history. Sat. Art. M., 1976.

6. Istrin V.M. Essays on the history of ancient Russian literature of the pre-Moscow period: 11-13 centuries. Pg., 1922.

7. Istrin V. M. Notes on the beginning of Russian chronicles. - IORYAS, vol. XXVI. Pg., 1923; t. XXV11. L., 1924.

8. Klyuchevsky V. O. Course of Russian history // Klyuchevsky V. O. Works: In 9 volumes. M., 1987. T. 1.

9. Likhachev D.S. “Oral Chronicles” as part of the “Tale of Bygone Years”. - “Historical Notes”, 1945, vol. 17.

10. Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. M.-L., 1947.

11. Likhachev D. S. Comments. - In the book: The Tale of Bygone Years, part 2. M.-L., 1950.

12. Likhachev D.S. Man in the literature of Ancient Rus'. M.-L., 1970.

13. Likhachev D.S. Literary etiquette of Ancient Rus' (to the problem of studying). - "TODRL". M.-L., 1961

14. Likhachev D. S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. L., 1971.

15. Likhachev D.S. Great Heritage (Classical works of literature of Ancient Rus'). - M., Sovremennik, 1980.

16. Likhachev D.S. Textology; Based on the material of Russian literature of the X-XVIII centuries. 2nd ed., add. and processed L., 1983.

17. Nasonov A. N. History of Russian chronicles. XI - beginning of XVIII V. M., 1969.

18. The Tale of Bygone Years, vol. I. Introductory part. Text. Notes. Pg., 1916.

19. The Tale of Bygone Years. - St. Petersburg, 1996.

20. Priselkov M.D. History of Russian chronicles of the 11th-15th centuries. / Prepare To the stove V.G. Vovina. St. Petersburg, 1996.

21. Prokhorov G. M. “The Tale of Batu’s Invasion” in the Laurentian Chronicle. - "TODRL". L., 1974, vol. XXVIII.

22. Sukhomlinov M.I. On the ancient Russian chronicle as a literary monument // Studies on ancient Russian literature. - St. Petersburg, 1908.

23. Tvorogov O. V. “The Tale of Bygone Years” and “Initial Code” (textual commentary). - "TODRL". L., 1976.

24. Shakhmatov A.A. Research on the most ancient Russian chronicles. St. Petersburg, 1908.

25. Shakhmatov A.A. Review of Russian chronicles of the XIV-XVI centuries. M., 1938.

26. Shakhmatov A. A. “The Tale of Bygone Years” and its sources. - "TODRL". M.-L., 1940.

27. Shakhmatov A. A. Collection of articles and materials. /Ed. acad. S. P. Obnorsky. M.-L., 1947.

Likhachev D.S. Great Heritage (Classical works of literature of Ancient Rus'). - M., Sovremennik, 1980.

The Tale of Bygone Years. - St. Petersburg, 1996. - P.7.

Danilevsky I.N. The idea and title of the Tale of Bygone Years // Domestic History. 1995.-No. 5.

Likhachev D.S. Textology; Based on the material of Russian literature of the X-XVIII centuries. 2nd ed., add. and processed L., p. 367.

Likhachev D.S. Textology...S. 368-369.

Sukhomlinov M.I. On the ancient Russian chronicle as a literary monument // Studies on ancient Russian literature.-SPb., 1908.S. 50.

The main works of A. A. Shakhmatov on this issue: Research on the most ancient Russian chronicles. St. Petersburg, 1908; “The Tale of Bygone Years”, vol. I. Introductory part. Text. Notes. Pg., 1916; Kiev initial code 1095 - In the book: Shakhmatov A. A. Collection of articles and materials. Ed. acad. S. P. Obnorsky. M.-L., 1947.

Istrin V. M. Notes on the beginning of Russian chronicles. - IORYAS, vol. XXVI. Pg., 1923; t. XXV11. L., 1924.

Priselkov M.D. History of Russian chronicles of the 11th-15th centuries. L., 1940, p. 16-44; Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. M.-L., 1947, ch. 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9. See also: Lurie Ya. S. On the Chess method of studying chronicle vaults. - In the book: Source study of Russian history. Sat. Art. M., 1976, p. 93-99; Tvorogov O. V. “The Tale of Bygone Years” and “Initial Code” (textual commentary). - "TODRL". L., 1976, vol. XXX and others.

Klyuchevsky V. O. Course of Russian history // Klyuchevsky V. O. Works: In 9 volumes. M., 1987. T. 1.S. 92-93.

History of Russian literature X - XVII centuries: Textbook. manual for pedagogical students. Institute for specialties No. 2101 “Rus. language or T." / L. A. Dmitriev, D. S. Likhachev, Y. S. Lurie and others; Ed. D. S. Likhacheva. - M.: Education, 1979. - 462 p., ill.

See: Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. L., 1971, p. 48-50.

See: Eremin I.P. The Tale of Bygone Years as a monument of literature. - In the book: Eremin I.P. Literature of Ancient Rus' (studies and characteristics). M.-L., 1966; Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance, ch. 7; It's him. Man in the literature of Ancient Rus'. M.-L., 1970, ch. 2 and 3; Tvorogov O. V. Plot narration in chronicles of the 11th-13th centuries. - In the book: Origins of Russian fiction, p. 31-66.

Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance, p. 215-247.

Prokhorov G.M. “The Tale of Batu’s Invasion” in the Laurentian Chronicle. - "TODRL". L., 1974, vol. XXVIII, p. 77-80.

Likhachev D.S. “Oral Chronicles” as part of the “Tale of Bygone Years”. - “Historical Notes”, 1945, vol. 17, p. 201-224.

History of creation

Old Russian literature developed after the adoption of Christianity and spanned seven centuries. Its main task is to reveal Christian values ​​and introduce the Russian people to religious wisdom. “The Tale of Bygone Years” (“The Initial Chronicle”, or “Nester’s Chronicle”) is one of the oldest works of Russian literature.

It was created at the beginning of the 12th century by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, the chronicler Nestor.

In the title of the chronicle, Nestor formulated his task: “This is the story of the time years, where the Russian land came from, who began the first reign in Kiev, and where the Russian land came from.” The original “Tale...” has not reached us. There are currently several copies available.

Of these, the most famous are two: a handwritten parchment collection from 1337 - stored in the State Public Library named after M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (Lavrentievskaya Chronicle) and a handwritten collection of the early 15th century - stored in the library of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation (Ipatiev Chronicle). The Laurentian Chronicle is named after its scribe, the monk Laurentius, who rewrote it for the Suzdal Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich in 1337 and put his name at the end. The Laurentian Chronicle is a collection that includes two works: the “Tale of Bygone Years” itself and the “Suzdal Chronicle”, brought up to 1305. The Ipatiev Chronicle is named after former place storage - Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma. This is also a collection that includes several chronicles, including “The Tale of Bygone Years.” This document takes the narrative up to 1202. The main difference between the lists is at their end: the Laurentian Chronicle brings the story up to 1110, and in the Ipatiev List the story goes into the Kiev Chronicle.

Genre, gender

Chronicle is one of the genres of medieval literature. IN Western Europe it was called "chronicles". Usually this is a description of legendary and real events, mythological ideas. Academician D.S. Likhachev said on this occasion that ancient Russian literature had one plot - “world history” and one theme - “the meaning of human life.” The chroniclers did not record private events in their records and were not interested in the lives of ordinary people. As noted by D.S. Likhachev, “to be included in chronicles is a significant event in itself.” Russian chroniclers not only recorded events in chronological order, but also created a collection of written sources and oral traditions, and then made their generalizations based on the collected material. The result of the work was a kind of teaching.

The chronicle corpus includes both brief weather records (that is, records of events that occurred in a certain year) and other texts of various genres (stories, teachings, parables, traditions, legends, biblical tales, treaties). The main thing in the chronicle is a story about an event that has a complete plot. There is a close connection with oral folk art.

“The Tale of Bygone Years” contains an account of the ancient history of the Slavs, and then of Russia, from the first Kiev princes to the beginning of the 12th century. “The Tale of Bygone Years” is not only a historical chronicle, but at the same time an outstanding monument of literature. Thanks to the state view, breadth of outlook and literary talent of Nestor, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” according to D.S. Likhachev, was “not just a collection of facts of Russian history and not just a historical and journalistic work related to the urgent but transitory tasks of Russian reality, but an integral, literary history of Russia.”

Subjects

“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the first all-Russian chronicle collection. It contains historical information about the life of Ancient Rus', records legends about the origin of the Slavs, their settlement along the Dnieper and around Lake Ilmen, the clash of the Slavs with the Khazars and Varangians, the calling of the Varangians by the Novgorod Slavs with Rurik at their head and the formation of the state of Rus'. The legends recorded in the “Tale of Bygone Years” represent practically the only source of information on the formation of the first ancient Russian state and the first Russian princes. The names of Rurik, Sineus, Truvor, Askold, Dir, and the prophetic Oleg are not found in other sources of that time, although attempts are made to identify some historical characters with the listed princes. The role of the first Russian princes (Oleg, Igor, Svyatoslav, Vladimir) in the fight against enemies, the formation Principality of Kyiv- the fundamental theme of The Tale of Bygone Years.

Among the chronicle texts: the story of Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans (945-946); story about a young man and a Pecheneg (992); the siege of Belgorod by the Pechenegs (997) - the story of Oleg’s death by horse (912) occupies a special place.

The main idea of ​​“The Tale...” is the author’s condemnation of the strife between the princes and a call for unification. The Russian people are presented by the chronicler as equal among other Christian peoples. Interest in history was dictated by the urgent needs of the day; history was involved in order to “teach” the princes - contemporaries - political statesmanship, reasonable government. This prompted the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery to become historians. Thus, ancient Russian literature fulfilled the task of moral education society, the formation of national identity, and acted as a bearer of civic ideals.

Main characters

The heroes of the chronicles were primarily the princes. The Tale of Bygone Years tells about Prince Igor, Princess Olga, Prince Vladimir Monomakh and other people who lived in medieval Russia. For example, the focus of one of the editions of the story is on events related to the activities of Vladimir Monomakh, which talks about Monomakh’s family affairs, information about the Byzantine emperors with whom Monomakh was related. And this is no coincidence. As you know, Vladimir Monomakh was the Great Prince of Kyiv in 1113-1125. He was known to the people as a patriot and an active defender of Russia from the Polovtsians. Monomakh was not only a commander and statesman, but also a writer. In particular, he wrote “Teachings to Children”.

Among the first Russian princes, Nestor is attracted to Prince Oleg. Prince Oleg (? - 912) - the first Kiev prince from the Rurik family. The chronicle says that Rurik, dying, transferred power to his relative, Oleg, since Rurik’s son, Igor, was very small at that time. Oleg reigned in Novgorod for three years, and then, having recruited an army from the Varangians and the Chud, Ilmen Slavs, Meri, Vesi, and Krivichi tribes under his control, he moved south. Oleg took possession of Kiev by cunning, killing Askold and Dir, who reigned there, and made it his capital, saying: “This will be the mother of Russian cities.” By uniting Slavic tribes north and south, Oleg created a powerful state - Kievan Rus. There is a well-known legend associated with Oleg’s death in the chronicles. According to the chronicler, Oleg reigned for 33 years, from 879 (the year of Rurik’s death) to 912. He had outstanding talent as a commander, and his wisdom and foresight were so great that they seemed supernatural. Contemporaries nicknamed Oleg the Prophetic. The successful prince-warrior is nicknamed “prophetic”, i.e. a wizard (however, the Christian chronicler did not fail to emphasize that the nickname was given to Oleg by the pagans, “people of trash and lack of voice”), but he also cannot escape his fate. Under 912, the chronicle places a poetic legend connected, obviously, “with Olgova’s grave,” which “exists... to this day.” This legend has a complete plot, which is revealed in a laconic dramatic narrative. It clearly expresses the idea of ​​the power of fate, which no mortal, and even the “prophetic” prince, can avoid.

The legendary Prince Oleg can be called the first Russian figure on a national scale. Many songs, legends and traditions were composed about Prince Oleg. The people sang of his wisdom, ability to predict the future, his talent as an excellent military leader, intelligent, fearless and resourceful.

Plot, composition

Oleg reigned for many years. One day he called the soothsayers to him and asked: “What am I destined to die from?” And the wise men answered: “You, prince, will accept death from your beloved horse.” Oleg was saddened and said: “If this is so, then I will never sit on it again.” He ordered the horse to be taken away, fed and taken care of, and took another for himself.

A lot of time has passed. One day Oleg remembered his old horse and asked where he was now and if he was healthy. They answered the prince: “Three years have passed since your horse died.”

Then Oleg exclaimed: “The Magi lied: the horse from which they promised me death died, but I am alive!” He wanted to see the bones of his horse and rode into an open field, where they lay in the grass, washed by the rains and bleached by the sun. The prince touched the horse’s skull with his foot and said, grinning: “Is it from this skull that I should die?” But then a poisonous snake crawled out of the horse’s skull and stung Oleg in the leg. And Oleg died from snake venom.

According to the chronicler, “all the people mourned him with great lamentation.”

Artistic originality

“The Tale of Bygone Years,” telling about the place of the Russian people among other peoples of the world, about the history of its formation, introduces us to the atmosphere of an epic folk-song attitude towards Russian history. The Tale of Bygone Years contains both an epic image and a poetic attitude towards native history. That is why “The Tale of Bygone Years” is not only a work of Russian historical thought, but also of Russian historical poetry. Poetry and history are in inextricable unity in it. Before us is a literary work created on the basis of oral stories. It is to oral sources that The Tale of Bygone Years owes its magnificent, concise and expressive language. The historicism underlying ancient Russian literature presupposed a certain idealization of what was depicted. Hence the artistic generalization, the lack of depiction of the hero’s inner psychology, his character. At the same time, the author's assessment is clearly visible in the chronicle.

A special feature of “The Tale of Bygone Years” is its poetic style, unusual for that time. The style of the chronicle is laconic. 06 - different speech includes frequent use of direct speech, proverbs and sayings. Basically, the chronicle contains Church Slavonic vocabulary, which is closely intertwined with spoken Russian. While reflecting reality, the chronicle also reflects the language of this reality, conveying the speeches that were actually spoken. First of all, this is the influence spoken language is reflected in the direct speech of the chronicles, but also indirect speech, the narration conducted on behalf of the chronicler himself, to a large extent depends on the living oral language of his time - primarily in terminology: military, hunting, feudal, legal, etc. These were the oral foundations on which the originality of The Tale of Bygone Years was based as a monument of Russian historical thought, Russian literature and the Russian language.

Meaning of the work

Nestor was the first ancient Russian feudal historiographer who connected the history of Russia with the history of Eastern European and Slavic peoples. In addition, a feature of the story is its direct connection with world history.

“The Tale of Bygone Years” is not only an example of ancient Russian literature, but also a monument cultural life people. Many poets widely used the plots of the chronicle in their work. A special place belongs to the famous “Song about the Prophetic Oleg” by A.S. Pushkin. The poet talks about Prince Oleg as an epic hero. Oleg made a lot of trips, fought a lot, but she took care of him. loved and knew Russian history, “the legends of the centuries.” In the legend about Prince Oleg and his horse, the poet was interested in the theme of fate, the inevitability of destined fate. The poem also conveys a proud confidence in the poet’s right to freely follow his thoughts, consonant with the ancient idea of ​​the belief that poets are the heralds of a higher will.

The Magi are not afraid of powerful rulers, And they do not need a princely gift; Their prophetic language is truthful and free and friendly with the will of heaven.

The truth cannot be bought or circumvented. Oleg gets rid, as it seems to him, of the threat of death, sends away the horse, which, according to the magician’s prediction, should play a fatal role. But many years later, when he thinks that the danger has passed - the horse is dead, fate overtakes the prince. He touches the horse’s skull: “From dead head Meanwhile, the grave snake, hissing, crawled out.”

Told by A.S. Pushkin's legend about the glorious Prince Oleg suggests that everyone has their own destiny, you cannot deceive it, and you need to love, take care of your friends and not part with them during your lifetime.