Battle on the Ice Soon after the victory on the Neva, his relations with the Novgorod boyars went wrong; as a result of clashes with the boyars, Alexander Nevsky was forced to leave Novgorod. After the invasion of the Livonian knights into Rus', the Novgorodians sent messengers to Prince Alexander

“The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” is the most extensive monument of the Kulikovo cycle. It contains the most detailed account of the battle. The "Legend" describes the preparations for the campaign, the route of the Russian army through Kolomna to the Kulikovo field. The names of the princes who took part in the battle are listed, and the Russians crossed the Don. Only from the “Tale” do we learn that the outcome of the battle was decided by the regiment of Prince Vladimir Serpukhovsky: he was in ambush and, with an unexpected attack from the flanks and rear, inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy. From the monument we also learn that Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich was wounded and found unconscious after the battle.

The main character of "The Legend" is Dmitry Donskoy, because this is not only a military story telling about campaigns and battles, but also a work praising the Grand Duke of Moscow. The author portrays the prince as a wise and courageous commander, emphasizing his military valor and courage.

The chronicler uses the technique of opposition. If Prince Dmitry is the embodiment of the bright principle, his actions are guided by God, then Mamai personifies darkness and evil, behind him stands the devil. “Russian daredevils set out with their sovereign, with Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich,” “like falcons fell from golden stocks from the stone city of Moscow and flew up into the blue skies,” the author writes about the Russians. He calls Mamai “filthy.” He “gnashes” his teeth, cries bitterly, runs from the battlefield, trying to “carry away his head.” And “he could not bear that he was defeated, disgraced and desecrated.” “And he began to get angry again, flying into a terrible rage and plotting new evil on the Russian land, like a roaring roar and like an insatiable viper” 1 .

The role of visions in the Tale is significant. So, on the night before the battle, on the eve of the bright holiday of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, Prince Dmitry Ivanovich and Dmitry Volynets go to the battle site and listen to the Tatar and Russian camps. “The autumn then dragged on and still brought joy with bright days, and that night it was very warm and very quiet, and fogs rose from the dew. For truly the prophet said: “The night is not bright for the unbelievers, but for the faithful it is enlightened.” Russian warriors from the Tatar side hear a loud knock, and “blades, and a cry” as if “great thunder is roaring”, “wolves are howling menacingly”, “crows are cawing and the hubbub of birds”, “swans are splashing their wings, foreshadowing an unprecedented thunderstorm”. These signs foreshadow a “terrible thunderstorm.” And on the Russian side there is “great silence,” and only many fiery dawns rise. The prince and his warrior see this as a good omen. They trust in the mercy of God, in the prayer of the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb for a favorable outcome of the battle: “With the Lord God everything is possible: the breath of all of us is in his hands!”

The heroic nature of the events depicted in the "Tale" is associated with the author's appeal to oral traditions about the Massacre of Mamaev. These include the episode of single combat between the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery of Peresvet and the Tatar hero Temirmurza before the start of the battle.

The Tatar boasted of his valor in front of everyone; he looked like the “ancient Goliath”: “his height is five fathoms and his width is three fathoms.” “And Alexander Peresvet, a monk who was in the regiment of Vladimir Vsevolodovich, saw him, and, stepping out from the ranks, said: “This man is looking for someone like himself, I want to talk to him!” And he had a helmet on his head, like an archangel’s, he was armed with a schema at the behest of Abbot Sergius... and rushed at the Pecheneg and exclaimed: “Hegumen Sergius, help me with prayer!..” And they hit hard with spears, almost the ground broke under them, and both fell from their horses to the ground and died "2.

The author also describes the battle with emotional expressiveness: “And both great forces came together menacingly, fighting hard, brutally destroying each other, not only from weapons, but also from the terrible crowding under the horse’s hooves, they gave up the ghost, for it was impossible to fit everyone on that Kulikovo field.” 3.

The “Tale” depicts “bloody dawns”, “flashing lightning” from the brilliance of swords, “crackling and great thunder” from broken spears.

Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, seeing “traces of the great massacre,” cried for his army, “exclaiming from the pain of his heart, and shedding tears: “Brothers, Russian sons, princes and boyars, and governors, and boyar servants! The Lord God has judged you with such a death.” die. You laid down your heads for the holy churches and for Orthodox Christianity"" 3.

The influence of oral folk art is manifested in the author’s use of certain visual means, which go back to the techniques of folk poetry. Russian warriors are compared to falcons and gyrfalcons. The cry of Grand Duchess Evdokia at the moment of farewell to the prince, leaving Moscow for battle, can be regarded as a reflection of folklore. “The Great Princess, Evdokia,” writes the author, “... went up to her golden-domed mansion on the embankment and sat down on the locker under the glass windows. For this is the last time she sees the Grand Duke, shedding tears like a river flow. With great sadness, pressing his hands to his chest, he says: “Lord my God, the Almighty Creator, look at my humility, deign me, Lord, to see again my sovereign, the most glorious among people, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich. Help him, Lord, with your firm hand to defeat those who have come out.” the filthy Polovtsians are attacking him” 4.

"The Legend" is imbued with patriotic pathos and glorifies the victory of the Grand Duke and Russian soldiers.

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. Name the historical events that contributed to the emergence of the theme of the Battle of Kulikovo in ancient literature.
2. Read an excerpt from "The Tale".
3. Briefly summarize the content.
4. How is Prince Dmitry Donskoy depicted? What qualities does he represent? What feelings does the prince show towards his soldiers? Give examples of his experiences after the great massacre.
5. How and for what purpose does the author use the technique of contrast in the depiction of Dmitry and Mamai?
6. What is the influence of oral folk art on the story?
7. What is the artistic function of visions? What role does the author assign to them?

Reads in 8 minutes

The beginning of the story about how God granted victory to the sovereign Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich across the Don over the filthy Mamai and how, through the prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God and Russian miracle workers, Orthodox Christianity - God exalted the Russian land, and put the godless Hagarians to shame.

The prince of the eastern country Mamai, a pagan and an evil persecutor of Christians, decides, at the instigation of the devil, to go to the Russian land. Prince Oleg Ryazansky, Mamai’s protege, and Prince Olgerd of Lithuania, who also swore allegiance to Mamai, having learned about this, send ambassadors to Mamai with rich gifts and declare their readiness to join his army, for they hope that Mamai will give Olgerd Moscow and nearby cities, and Oleg Ryazansky Kolomna, Vladimir and Murom. Oleg and Olgerd are confident that Prince Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow will not dare to oppose Mamai and will run away from Moscow, leaving his lands to the enemy. Having heard that Mamai with a countless army is approaching Rus', Prince Dmitry sends to Borovsk for his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, as well as for all the Russian princes, governors and servicemen. Prince Dmitry tells Metropolitan Cyprian that he had not done anything wrong to Mamai and paid him tribute, as agreed and even beyond that. Cyprian advises the prince to humble himself and send Mamai as much gold as he has, and if Mamai goes to war against Rus' after that, he will be struck down by the Lord himself, who opposes the daring and helps the humble.

Prince Dmitry listens to the advice and sends Zakhary Tyutchev to meet Mamai, giving him a lot of gold. However, Zakhary, having reached Ryazan, learns that princes Oleg Ryazansky and Olgerd of Lithuania have joined Mamai, and secretly sends a messenger to Dmitry with this news. The prince informs Metropolitan Cyprian about everything and calls upon soldiers from all over the Russian land to come to Kolomna for the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God. Prince Dmitry himself, together with his brother and all the Russian princes, goes to the life-giving Trinity, to his spiritual father, the Venerable Elder Sergius. He sprinkles him with water, consecrated from the relics of the holy martyrs Florus and Laurus, and tells him so that no one can hear that the prince will defeat the enemy. At the request of the prince, Abbot Sergius gives him two warriors from the monastic brethren - Alexander Peresvet and Andrei Oslyabya.

The prince returns to Moscow and, appearing before Metropolitan Cyprian, secretly informs him that Elder Sergius predicted victory over the enemy for him and blessed the entire Orthodox army. Having blessed the prince for the campaign against the Tatars, the Metropolitan sends a holy cathedral with crosses, holy icons and blessed water to the Frolovsky, Nikolsky and Konstantin-Eleninsky gates, so that every warrior comes out of them blessed and sprinkled with holy water.

Having reached Kolomna, the prince distributes the regiments, appoints a governor for them and, having received a blessing from the Archbishop of Kolomna Gerontius, crosses the Oka River with the entire army, in prayer calling for help to his relatives, the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb. Princes Oleg Ryazansky and Olgerd Lithuanian, having learned that Prince Dmitry with a large army is going to the Don against Mamai, begin to doubt the success of Mamai’s campaign: they are in no hurry to join his army and are waiting for the outcome of the battle. At the same time, princes Andrei Polotsky and Dmitry Bryansky, Olgerdovichs, unloved by their father because of their stepmother and who received holy baptism, learn that the Tatars are going to Rus' and decide to join the Orthodox army of Prince Dmitry.

The prince, rejoicing, sent news to Metropolitan Cyprian in Moscow that the Olgerdovichs had come to him with their troops, but had left their father. Prince Dmitry consults with his brother Vladimir and the Olgerdovichs whether he should cross the Don or not. They convince him that if he wants a solid army, then he must cross the Don, because then no one will have the thought of retreating. The Russian army is crossing the Don, and scouts report that the Tatars are already close and know that Prince Dmitry has gathered large forces against them. The prince travels through the regiments with the governors and calls on the soldiers to stand up for Rus' and the Orthodox faith, not sparing their lives.

On the night of the luminous feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thomas Katsibey, the robber whom Prince Dmitry distinguished for his courage and placed on the Churov River to protect him from the Tatars, is awarded a wondrous vision. God, wanting to correct Thomas, shows him how a large cloud is moving from the east, as if some troops were going to the west, and from the south two young men come in light purple robes, with shining faces and holding sharp swords in their hands. The young men menacingly demand an answer from the leaders of the army, asking them who allowed them to attack their fatherland, and they are all cut down with swords, so that not a single enemy is saved. The next morning, Thomas tells the prince about his vision and from then on becomes prudent and believes in God.

Prince Dmitry sends his brother Prince Vladimir along with Dmitry Volynets up the Don to the oak grove so that they hide there with their regiments. And on the eighth day of September, on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at dawn, both armies, Russian and Tatar, face each other on the Kulikovo field. The earth groans terribly, predicting a thunderstorm, and the Kulikovo field sags, and the rivers overflow their banks, for there has never been such a countless number of people in that place. A messenger from the Venerable Elder Sergius gives the prince letters of blessing and a loaf of bread from the Most Pure Mother of God, and the prince loudly offers a prayer to the Holy Trinity and the Mother of God and asks for their help and intercession. Then the prince, contrary to all persuasion, mounts his horse and stands in front of his warriors to fight in the front ranks. It's three o'clock in the afternoon.

An evil Pecheneg five fathoms tall emerges from the Tatar army, and from the Russian side, at the behest of Abbot Sergius, the monk Alexander Peresvet, armed with a schema, emerges. They rush at each other, hit with spears and both fall from their horses dead. Prince Dmitry calls on his warriors to show their courage, and both troops converge and the battle begins.

At seven o'clock the Tatars begin to prevail. Prince Vladimir, hiding with his soldiers in the oak grove, tries to come out to help his brother, but Dmitry Volynets holds him back, saying that it is not time yet. When the eighth hour comes, their fresh forces attack the Tatars, and they cannot withstand the onslaught and flee from the battlefield. Mamai calls on his gods: Perun, Salavat, Rakliya, Khors and his accomplice Mohammed, but he receives no help from them. He runs away and manages to escape pursuit.

Thus, Prince Dmitry defeated the Tatars by the grace of God and the Most Pure Mother of God and the help of Saints Boris and Gleb, whom Thomas Katsibey saw. Prince Dmitry is found in an oak grove, beaten and wounded, and he orders the soldiers to bury their comrades so that Christian bodies do not become the prey of wild animals.

The Russian army stands on the battlefield for eight days while the soldiers bury their loved ones. And Mamai returns to his land, gathers his remaining forces and wants to go to war against Rus' again, but finds out that Tsar Tokhtamysh is coming against him from the east. Tokhtamysh defeats Mamai's army on Kalka, Mamai escapes to Kafa, hiding his name, but he is identified and killed. Olgerd, having heard about the glorious victory of Prince Dmitry, returns to his possessions in shame. Oleg Ryazansky, fearing that Prince Dmitry will send his army against him, runs away from his estate, and when the Ryazan people beat the Grand Duke with his forehead, he imprisons his governors in Ryazan.

Retold

The most detailed description of the events of the Battle of Kulikovo has been preserved for us by “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” - the main monument of the Kulikovo cycle. This work was extremely popular among ancient Russian readers. The legend was rewritten and revised many times and has come to us in eight editions and a large number of variants. The popularity of the monument among the medieval reader as “someone’s” work is evidenced by the large number of front copies (illustrated with miniatures) of it.
The exact time of creation of “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” is unknown. There are anachronisms and errors in the text of the Legend (we will dwell on some of them in more detail below). They are usually explained by the late origin of the monument. This is a deep misconception. Some of these “mistakes” are so obvious that they could not have taken place in a detailed narrative about a historical event if the author had not pursued some specific goal. And, as we will see later, the deliberate replacement of one name with another made sense only if the story was compiled at a time not too distant from the events described in it. Anachronisms and “mistakes” of the Legend are explained by the journalistic orientation of the work.
Recently, the question of dating the Legend has attracted a lot of attention. Yu. K. Begunov dates the creation of the Legend to the period between the middle and end of the 15th century, I. B. Grekov - to the 90s. XIV century, V.S. Mingalev - by 30–40 m. XVI century, M.A. Salmina - to the period from the 40s. XV century until the beginning of the 16th century. This question is very hypothetical and cannot be considered resolved. We consider it most likely to date the origin of the Legend to the first quarter of the 15th century. Particular interest in the Battle of Kulikovo at this time can be explained by the newly aggravated relations with the Horde, and in particular by the invasion of Edigei into Rus' in 1408. The invasion of Edigei, the success of which was explained by the lack of cohesion and unanimity of the Russian princes, awakens the idea of ​​​​the need to restore unity under the leadership of the Grand Duke Moscow to fight the external enemy. This idea is the main one in the Legend.
The main character of the Legend is Dmitry Donskoy. The legend is not only a story about the Battle of Kulikovo, but also a work dedicated to the praise of the Grand Duke of Moscow. The author portrays Dmitry as a wise and courageous commander, emphasizing his military valor and courage. All other characters are grouped around Dmitry Donskoy. Dmitry is the eldest among the Russian princes, all of them are his faithful vassals, his younger brothers. The relationship between senior and junior princes, which seems ideal to the author and which all Russian princes should follow, is shown in the monument using the example of the relationship between Dmitry Ivanovich and his cousin Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky. Vladimir Andreevich is portrayed everywhere as a faithful vassal of the Grand Duke of Moscow, unquestioningly carrying out all his commands. Such an emphasis on the devotion and love of the Prince of Serpukhov to the Prince of Moscow clearly illustrated the vassal devotion of the younger prince to the elder prince.
In the Legend, Dmitry Ivanovich’s campaign is blessed by Metropolitan Cyprian, who in fact in 1380 was not even within the borders of Rus', and due to the “mess up” at the metropolis (see earlier) there was no metropolitan in Moscow at that time. This, of course, is not a mistake by the author of the Tale, but a literary journalistic device. The author of the Legend, who set as his goal in the person of Dmitry Donskoy to show the ideal image of the Grand Duke of Moscow, it was necessary to present him as supporting a strong alliance with the Metropolitan. For journalistic reasons, the author could have included Metropolitan Cyprian among the characters, although this contradicted historical reality (formally Cyprian was at that time the Metropolitan of All Rus').
Mamai, the enemy of the Russian land, is portrayed by the author of the Legend in sharply negative tones. He is the complete opposite of Dmitry Donskoy: all of Dmitry’s actions are guided by God, everything that Mamai does is from the devil. The principle of “abstract psychologism” in this case manifests itself very clearly. The Tatars are also directly opposed to Russian warriors. The Russian army is characterized as a bright, morally high force, the Tatar army is characterized as a dark, cruel, sharply negative force. Even death is completely different for both. For the Russians this is glory and salvation for eternal life, for the Tatars it is endless destruction: “Many people become sad because of both, seeing death before their eyes. Having begun to defile the Polovtsians, they were darkened with much grief over the destruction of their lives, before the wicked died, and their memory perished with a noise. But people who are orthodox are more than prosperous, rejoicing, longing for this fulfilled promise, for beautiful crowns, about which the Venerable Abbot Sergius told the Grand Duke.”
The Lithuanian ally of Mamai in the Legend is named Prince Olgerd. In fact, during the events of the Battle of Kulikovo, an alliance with Mamai was concluded by Olgerd’s son Jagiello, and Olgerd had already died by that time. As in the case of Cyprian, we are faced with not a mistake, but a conscious literary journalistic device. For Russian people of the late XIV - early XV centuries, and especially for Muscovites, the name of Olgerd was associated with memories of his campaigns against the Principality of Moscow; he was an insidious and dangerous enemy of Rus', whose military cunning was reported in the chronicle obituary article about his death. Therefore, they could call Olgerd an ally of Mamai instead of Jogaila only at a time when this name was still well remembered as the name of a dangerous enemy of Moscow. At a later time, such a change of names did not make any sense. It is no coincidence, therefore, that already in the early period of the literary history of the monument, in some editions of the Legend, the name of Olgerd was replaced, in accordance with historical truth, by the name of Jogaila. By calling Mamai Olgerd an ally, the author of the Legend thereby strengthened both the journalistic and artistic sound of his work: the most insidious and dangerous enemies opposed Moscow, but they too were defeated. The replacement of the name of the Lithuanian prince also had another connotation: the princes Andrei and Dmitry Olgerdovich, the children of Olgerd, were in alliance with Dmitry. Due to the fact that Olgerd appeared in the Tale, it turned out that even his own children opposed him, which also enhanced the journalistic and plot sharpness of the work.
The heroic nature of the event depicted in the Legend led the author to turn to oral traditions about the Massacre of Mamaev, to epic stories about this event. Most likely, the episode of single combat before the start of the general battle of the monk of the Trinity of Sergius Monastery of Peresvet with the Tatar hero goes back to oral traditions. The epic basis is felt in the story about the “test of omens” by Dmitry Volynets - the experienced commander Dmitry Volynets and the Grand Duke, on the night before the battle, go into the field between Russian and Tatar troops, and Volynets hears how the earth is crying “in two” - about the Tatar and Russian warriors: there will be many killed, but the Russians will still prevail. Oral tradition probably underlies the message of the Legend that before the battle Dmitry put princely armor on his beloved governor Mikhail Brenka, and he himself, in the clothes of a simple warrior with an iron club, was the first to rush into battle. The influence of oral folk poetry on the Legend is revealed in the author’s use of certain visual means, which go back to the techniques of oral folk art. Russian warriors are compared to falcons and gyrfalcons, Russians beat their enemies “like a forest, like a scythe of grass.” The cry of Grand Duchess Evdokia after saying goodbye to the prince, who was leaving Moscow to fight the Tatars, can be regarded as a reflection of folklore influence. Although the author gives this lament in the form of a prayer, one can still note in it a reflection of the elements of folk lamentation. The descriptions of the Russian army are imbued with poetry (“The armor of the Russian sons, like water swaying in all the winds. The golden Sholoms on their heads, like the dawn of the morning in buckets of light, the yalovtsi of their Sholoms, like a fiery flame plowing,” pp. 62–63) , the pictures of nature are vivid, some of the author’s remarks are deeply emotional and not devoid of life-like truthfulness. Talking, for example, about the farewell of soldiers leaving Moscow for battle with their wives, the author writes that the wives “were unable to utter a word in tears and exclamations from the heart,” and adds that “the great prince himself could hardly help himself from tears, without giving I want to make the people cry” (p. 54).
The author of the Legend made extensive use of poetic images and means of “Zadonshchina”. The interaction of these monuments was reciprocal: in the later copies of “Zadonshchina” there are inserts from “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev.”
“The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” was of interest to readers simply because it described in detail all the circumstances of the Battle of Kulikovo. Some of them were of a legendary epic nature, some are a reflection of actual facts not recorded in any other sources. However, this is not the only attractiveness of the work. Despite a significant touch of rhetoric, “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” has a pronounced plot character. Not only the event itself, but also the fates of individuals, the development of the twists and turns of the plot made readers worry and empathize with what was being described. And in a number of editions of the monument, the plot episodes become more complex and their number increases. All this made “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” not only a historical journalistic narrative, but also a work that could captivate the reader with its plot and the nature of the development of this plot.

THE TALE OF MAMAYEV'S MASSACRE

THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY ABOUT HOW GOD GRANTED VICTORY TO THE GOVERNOR GRAND DUKE DMITRY IVANOVICH BEHIND THE DON OVER THE POSSESSIVE MOMAY AND HOW WITH THE PRAYERS OF THE MOST Pure MOTHER AND RUSSIAN MIRACLE WORKERS ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY - GOD CALLED THE RUSSIAN LAND STRENGTH, AND HAS SHAMED THE GODLESS HAGARIANS.

I want to tell you, brothers, about the battle of the recent war, how the battle on the Don happened between Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and all Orthodox Christians with the filthy Mamai and the godless Hagaryans. And God exalted the Christian race, but humiliated the filthy and put to shame their savagery, just as in the old days he helped Gideon over Midian and the glorious Moses over Pharaoh. We must tell about the greatness and mercy of God, how God fulfilled the wishes of those faithful to him, how he helped Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother Prince Vladimir Andreevich over the godless Polovtsians and Hagarians.

By God's permission, for our sins, through the delusion of the devil, a prince of an eastern country named Mamai arose, a pagan by faith, an idolater and an iconoclast, an evil persecutor of Christians. And the devil began to incite him, and the temptation against the Christian world entered his heart, and his enemy taught him how to ruin the Christian faith and desecrate the holy churches, because he wanted to subjugate all Christians to himself, so that the name of the Lord would not be glorified among the faithful. Our Lord, God, king and creator of all things, will do whatever he wants.

The same godless Mamai began to boast and, envying the second Julian the apostate, Tsar Batu, began asking the old Tatars how Tsar Batu conquered the Russian land. And the old Tatars began to tell him how Tsar Batu conquered the Russian land, how he took Kiev and Vladimir, and all of Rus', the Slavic land, and killed the Grand Duke Yuri Dmitrievich, and killed many Orthodox princes, and desecrated holy churches and burned many monasteries and villages , and in Vladimir he plundered the golden-domed cathedral church. And since he was blinded by his mind, he did not comprehend that, as the Lord pleased, it would be so: in the same way, in ancient days, Jerusalem was captured by Titus the Roman and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, for the sins and lack of faith of the Jews - but not God is endlessly angry and He does not punish forever.

Having learned everything from his old Tatars, Mamai began to hurry, constantly inflamed by the devil, taking up arms against Christians. And, having forgotten himself, he began to speak to his Alpauts, and Esauls, and princes, and governors, and all the Tatars like this: “I don’t want to act like Batu, but when I come to Russia and kill their prince, then which cities are the best sufficient, will for us, we’ll settle here, take over Russia, live quietly and carefree,” but the damned one didn’t know that the Lord’s hand was high.

And a few days later he crossed the great Volga River with all his strength, and joined many other hordes to his great army and said to them: “Let's go to the Russian land and get rich from Russian gold!” The godless one went to Rus' like a lion, roaring in rage, like an insatiable viper breathing anger. And he had already reached the mouth of the river. Voronezh, and disbanded all his strength, and punished all his Tatars like this: “Let not one of you plow bread, be prepared for Russian bread!”

Prince Oleg Ryazansky found out that Mamai was wandering around Voronezh and wanted to go to Rus', to the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow. The poverty of his mind was in his head, he sent his son to the godless Mamai with great honor and with many gifts and wrote his letters to him like this: “To the Eastern great and free king, Tsar Mamai, rejoice! Your protege, Oleg, the prince of Ryazan, who swore allegiance to you, "I'm asking you a lot. I heard, sir, that you want to go to the Russian land, against your servant Prince Dimitri Ivanovich of Moscow, and want to frighten him. Now, sir and blessed king, your time has come: the land is overflowing with gold, and silver, and many riches Moscow, and all the treasures of your possession will be needed. And Prince Dimitri of Moscow - a Christian man - when he hears the word of your rage, “he will flee to his distant borders: either to Novgorod the Great, or to Beloozero, or to the Dvina, and the great wealth of Moscow and gold - everything will be in your hands and your army will need it. But your power will spare me, your servant, Oleg of Ryazan, O Tsar: for for your sake I strongly intimidate Rus' and Prince Demetrius. And we also ask you, O Tsar, both your servants, Oleg of Ryazan and Olgerd of Lithuania: we received a great insult from this Grand Duke Dimitri Ivanovich, and no matter how we, in our insult, threaten him with your royal name, he is not worried about it. And also, our lord king, he captured my city of Kolomna for himself - and about all this, oh king, we send you a complaint.”

And Prince Oleg Ryazansky soon sent another messenger with his letter, and the letter was written like this: “To the Grand Duke Olgerd of Lithuania - rejoice with great joy! It is known that for a long time you have been plotting against the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow in order to expel him from Moscow and take possession of Moscow himself. Now, prince, our time has come, for the great Tsar Mamai is coming against him and his land. And now, prince, we will both join Tsar Mamai, for I know that the king will give you the city of Moscow , and other cities that are closer to your principality, and he will give me the city of Kolomna, and Vladimir, and Murom, which are closer to my principality. I sent my messenger to Tsar Mamai with great honor and with many gifts, as well and you sent your messenger, and whatever gifts you had, you sent to him, writing your letters, and how - you yourself know, for you understand more about it than I.”

Prince Olgerd of Lithuania, having learned about all this, was very happy at the great praise of his friend Prince Oleg of Ryazan and quickly sent an ambassador to Tsar Mamai with great gifts and gifts for the royal amusements. And he writes his letters like this: “To the great Eastern Tsar Mamai! Prince Olgerd of Lithuania, who swore allegiance to you, prays to you a lot. I heard, sir, that you want to punish your inheritance, your servant, the Moscow prince Dimitri, that’s why I pray to you, free king, slave yours: Prince Dimitri of Moscow inflicts a great insult on your ulus, Prince Oleg of Ryazan, and he also does great harm to me. Mister Tsar, free Mamai! Let the power of your rule now come to our places, let your attention, O Tsar, turn to our sufferings from Moscow Prince Dimitri Ivanovich."

Oleg Ryazansky and Olgerd Lithuanian thought to themselves, saying this: “When Prince Dimitri hears about the arrival of the Tsar, and about his rage, and about our alliance with him, he will flee from Moscow to Veliky Novgorod, or to Beloozero, or to the Dvina, and we will sit in Moscow and Kolomna. When the Tsar comes, we will meet him with great gifts and with great honor, and we will beg him, the Tsar will return to his possessions, and we, by the Tsar’s order, will divide the Principality of Moscow among ourselves - then to Vilna, otherwise to Ryazan, and Tsar Mamai will give us his labels and our descendants after us.” They didn’t know what they were planning and what they were saying, like foolish little children, ignorant of God’s power and God’s destiny. For it is truly said: “If someone has faith in God with good deeds and holds the truth in his heart and trusts in God, then the Lord will not betray such a person to his enemies for humiliation and ridicule.”

The Sovereign, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich - a kind man - was a model of humility, he desired a heavenly life, expecting future eternal blessings from God, not knowing that his close friends were plotting an evil plot against him. The prophet said about such people: “Do not do evil to your neighbor and do not swarm, do not dig holes for your enemy, but trust in the Creator God, the Lord God can revive and kill.”

Ambassadors came to Tsar Mamai from Olgerd of Lithuania and Oleg of Ryazan and brought him great gifts and letters. The tsar accepted the gifts and letters favorably and, having heard the letters and ambassadors with respect, released him and wrote the following answer: “To Olgerd of Lithuania and Oleg of Ryazan. For your gifts and for your praise addressed to me, whatever Russian possessions you want from me, I will give you those ". And you swear allegiance to me and quickly come to me and defeat your enemy. I don’t really need your help: if I wanted now, then with my great power I would have conquered ancient Jerusalem, as the Chaldeans did before. Now I will support you I want in my royal name and by force, and by your oath and your power, Prince Dmitry of Moscow will be defeated, and your name will become formidable in your countries with my threat. After all, if I, the king, have to defeat a king like myself, then the royal honor is due and proper to me receive. Now go away from me and convey my words to your princes."

The ambassadors, returning from the king to their princes, told them: “Tsar Mamai greets you and is very, for your great praise, well disposed towards you!” Those, poor in mind, rejoiced at the vain greetings of the godless king, not knowing that God gives power to whomever he wishes. Now - one faith, one baptism, and with the godless we united together to pursue the Orthodox faith of Christ. The prophet said about such people: “Indeed, they cut themselves off from the good olive tree and were grafted into the wild olive tree.”

Prince Oleg Ryazansky began to rush to send ambassadors to Mamai, saying: “Go forth, Tsar, quickly to Rus'!” For great wisdom says: “The way of the wicked will perish, for they accumulate grief and reproach upon themselves.” Now I will call this Oleg the accursed the new Svyatopolk.

And the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich heard that the godless Tsar Mamai was approaching him with many hordes and with all his might, tirelessly raging against Christians and the faith of Christ and envying the headless Batu, and the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich was greatly saddened because of the invasion of the godless. And, standing before the holy icon of the Lord’s image that stood at his head, and falling on his knees, he began to pray and said: “Lord! I, a sinner, dare to pray to you, your humble servant? But to whom will I turn my sorrow? It is only in you, Lord, that I will lift up my sorrow. You, Lord, king, ruler, light-giver, do not do to us, Lord, what you did to our fathers by bringing the evil Batu upon them and their cities, for even now ", Lord, that great fear and trembling lives in us. And now, Lord, king, lord, do not be completely angry with us, because I know, Lord, that because of me, a sinner, you want to destroy our whole land; for I have sinned before "You are more than all people. Do me, O Lord, for my tears, like Ezekiah, and, O Lord, tame the heart of this ferocious beast!" He bowed and said: “I trusted in the Lord, and I will not perish.” And he sent for his brother, for Prince Vladimir Andreevich to Borovsk, and for all the Russian princes he sent out fast messengers, and for all the local governors, and for the boyar children, and for all the service people. And he ordered them to be in Moscow soon.

Prince Vladimir Andreevich quickly arrived in Moscow, and all the princes and governors. And the Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, taking his brother Prince Vladimir Andreevich, came to the Right Reverend Metropolitan Cyprian and said to him: “Do you know, our father, the great test that lies ahead of us - after all, the godless Tsar Mamai is moving towards us, inflaming his inexorable rage?” And the Metropolitan answered the Grand Duke: “Tell me, my lord, what have you done wrong to him?” The great prince said: “I checked, father, everything was accurate, that everything was according to the behests of our fathers, and even more, I paid tribute to him.” The Metropolitan said: “You see, my lord, with God’s permission for the sake of our sins, he goes to fill our land, but you, Orthodox princes, must satisfy those wicked ones with gifts at least four times. If even after that he does not humble himself, then the Lord will pacify him, because the Lord opposes the daring, but gives grace to the humble. The same thing once happened with Basil the Great in Caesarea: when the evil apostate Julian, going against the Persians, wanted to destroy his city of Caesarea, Basil the Great prayed with all the Christians to the Lord God, collected a lot of gold and sent a criminal to him to satisfy the greed of the criminal. The same accursed one only became more enraged, and the Lord sent his warrior, Mercury, to destroy him. And the wicked one was invisibly pierced in the heart, he cruelly ended his life. But you, my lord “, take as much gold as you have, and go to meet him - and you will quickly bring him to his senses.”

The great prince Dmitry Ivanovich sent to the wicked Tsar Mamai his chosen youth, named Zakhary Tyutchev, tested by reason and sense, giving him a lot of gold and two translators who knew the Tatar language. Zakhary, having reached the land of Ryazan and learned that Oleg of Ryazan and Olgerd of Lithuania had joined the filthy Tsar Mamai, quickly sent a messenger secretly to the Grand Duke.

The great prince Dmitry Ivanovich, having heard that news, was grieved in his heart, and filled with rage and sadness, and began to pray: “Lord, my God, I hope in you, who loves the truth. If the enemy harms me, then I should endure, for from time immemorial he is a hater and enemy of the Christian race; but my close friends have plotted against me. Judge, Lord, them and me, because I have not caused them any harm, except that I accepted gifts and honors from them, but I also responded to them gave. Judge, Lord, according to my righteousness, let the malice of sinners end."

And, taking his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, he went a second time to the Metropolitan and told him how Olgerd of Lithuania and Oleg of Ryazan united with Mamai on us. The Right Reverend Metropolitan said: “And you yourself, sir, have not caused any offense to both of them?” The great prince shed tears and said: “If I have sinned before God or before people, then I have not transgressed a single line before them according to the law of my fathers. For you yourself, Father, know that I am satisfied with my limits, and have not caused them any offense, and I do not know why those who harm me have multiplied against me.” The Right Reverend Metropolitan said: “My son, the great lord prince, let your heart’s eyes be illuminated with joy: you honor the law of God and do the truth, since the Lord is righteous, and you loved the truth. Now they have surrounded you like many dogs; they are vain and vain attempts, in the name of the Lord, defend yourself from them. The Lord is just and will be your true helper. And from the all-seeing eye of the Lord, where can you hide - and from His firm hand?

And Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich with his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, and with all the Russian princes and governors, thought about how to build a strong outpost in the field, and sent their best and experienced warriors to the outpost: Rodion Rzhevsky, Andrei Volosaty, Vasily Tupik, Yakov Oslyabyatev and other seasoned warriors with them. And he commanded them to carry out guard duty on Quiet Pine with all zeal, and to go to the Horde, and to obtain a language in order to find out the true intentions of the king.

And the great prince himself sent fast messengers throughout the Russian land with his letters to all cities: “Be ready, all of you, to go to my service, to the battle with the godless Hagaran Tatars; let us unite in Kolomna for the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God.”

And since the guard detachments lingered in the steppe, the Great Prince sent a second outpost: Clementy Polyanin, Ivan Svyatoslavich Sveslanin, Grigory Sudakov and others with them, ordering them to return quickly. The same ones met Vasily Tupik: he leads the tongue to the Grand Duke, and the tongue is from the people of the royal court, from the dignitaries. And he informs the Grand Duke that Mamai is inevitably approaching Rus' and that Oleg Ryazansky and Olgerd of Lithuania have contacted each other and united with him. But the king is in no hurry to go because he is waiting for autumn.

Having heard such news from the tongue about the invasion of the godless king, the Grand Duke began to take comfort in God and called for firmness on his brother Prince Vladimir and all the Russian princes, saying: “Brothers Russian princes, we are all from the family of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich of Kiev, to whom the Lord opened to know Orthodox faith, like Eustathius Placis; he enlightened the entire Russian land with holy baptism, delivered us from the torments of paganism, and commanded us to firmly hold and preserve the same holy faith and fight for it. If anyone suffers for it, he will be the first to the saints in the future life "I will be counted among the disciples for the faith of Christ. But I, brothers, for the faith of Christ I want to suffer even to the point of death." They all answered him in agreement, as if with one mouth: “Truly, sir, fulfill the law of God and follow the commandment of the Gospel, for the Lord said: “If anyone suffers for my name’s sake, then after the resurrection he will receive eternal life a hundredfold.” And we, sir “Today we are ready to die with you and lay down our heads for the holy Christian faith and for your great offense.”

The Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, having heard this from his brother Prince Vladimir Andreevich and from all the Russian princes who decide to fight for the faith, ordered his entire army to be at Kolomna for the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God: “Then I will review the regiments and appoint a governor for each regiment.” And the whole multitude of people seemed to say with their lips alone: ​​“God grant us this decision to fulfill your name for the sake of the saint!”

And the princes of Belozersky came to him, they were ready for battle, and the army was perfectly equipped, Prince Fyodor Semenovich, Prince Semyon Mikhailovich, Prince Andrei Kemsky, Prince Gleb Kargopolsky and the Andom princes; Yaroslavl princes also came with their regiments: Prince Andrei Yaroslavsky, Prince Roman Prozorovsky, Prince Lev Kurbsky, Prince Dmitry Rostovsky and many other princes.

Immediately, brothers, a knock knocks and it’s like thunder roars in the glorious city of Moscow - then the strong army of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich is coming and the Russian sons are thundering with their gilded armor.

The great prince Dmitry Ivanovich, took with him his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich, and all the Russian princes, went to the life-giving Trinity to bow to his spiritual father, the reverend elder Sergius, to receive a blessing from that holy monastery. And the venerable abbot Sergius begged him to listen to the holy liturgy, because it was then Sunday and the memory of the holy martyrs Florus and Laurus was honored. At the end of the Liturgy, Saint Sergius and all his brothers asked the Grand Duke to eat bread in the house of the life-giving Trinity, in his monastery. The Grand Duke was in confusion, for I would send messengers to him that the filthy Tatars were already approaching, and he asked the monk to let him go. And the venerable elder answered him: “This delay of yours will turn into double obedience for you. For it is not now, my lord, that you will wear the crown of death, but in a few years, and for many others the crowns are now being woven.” The great prince ate bread from them, and Abbot Sergius at that time ordered the water to be blessed from the relics of the holy martyrs Florus and Laurus. The great prince soon got up from the meal, and the Monk Sergius sprinkled him with sacred water and all his Christ-loving army and overshadowed the great prince with the cross of Christ - a sign on his forehead. And he said: “Go, sir, against the filthy Polovtsians, calling on God, and the Lord God will be your helper and intercessor,” and added to him quietly: “You will defeat, sir, your adversaries, as befits you, our sovereign.” The great prince said: “Give me, father, two warriors from your brethren - Peresvet Alexander and his brother Andrei Oslyab, then you yourself will help us.” The venerable elder ordered both of them to quickly prepare to go with the Grand Duke, for they were famous warriors in battles and had met more than one attack. They immediately obeyed the venerable elder and did not refuse his command. And he gave them, instead of perishable weapons, an incorruptible one - the cross of Christ, sewn on the schemas, and commanded them, instead of gilded helmets, to place it on themselves. And he handed them over to the hands of the Grand Duke, and said: “Here are my warriors for you, and your chosen ones,” and said to them: “Peace be with you, my brothers, fight firmly, like glorious warriors for the faith of Christ and for all Orthodox Christianity against the filthy Polovtsy." And the sign of Christ overshadowed the entire army of the Grand Duke - peace and blessing.

The great prince rejoiced in his heart, but did not tell anyone what the Monk Sergius had told him. And he went to his glorious city of Moscow, rejoicing in the blessing of the holy elder, as if he had received an unstolen treasure. And, returning to Moscow, he went with his brother, with Prince Vladimir Andreevich, to the Right Reverend Metropolitan Cyprian, and secretly told him everything that the elder Saint Sergius had told only to him, and what blessing he had given to him and his entire Orthodox army. The archbishop ordered to keep these words secret and not tell anyone.

When Thursday, August 27, came, the day of remembrance of the holy father Pimen the Hermit, on that day the great prince decided to go out to meet the godless Tatars. And, taking with him his brother Prince Vladimir Andreevich, he stood in the church of the Holy Mother of God before the image of the Lord, folding his hands on his chest, shedding streams of tears, praying, and said: “Lord our God, great and steadfast ruler, truly you are the king of glory, have mercy on us sinners, when we become discouraged, we resort to you alone, our savior and benefactor, for we were created by your hand. But I know, Lord, that my sins are already covering my head, and now do not leave us, sinners, do not depart from us "Judge, O Lord, those who oppress me and defend from those who fight against me; take, O Lord, a weapon and a shield and come to my aid. Grant me, O Lord, victory over my enemies, so that they too may know your glory." And then he proceeded to the miraculous image of the Lady Theotokos, which Luke the Evangelist wrote, and said: “O miraculous Lady Theotokos, intercessor of all human creation, - for thanks to you we came to know our true God, incarnate and born of you. Do not give up, lady, destroy our cities to the filthy Polovtsians, so that they may not desecrate your holy churches and the Christian faith. Pray, Madam Mother of God, to your son Christ, our God, to humble the hearts of our enemies, so that their hand will not be over us. And you, our most holy Lady Mother of God, send us your help and cover us with your imperishable robe, so that we do not fear wounds, we rely on you, for we are your slaves. I know, lady, if you want, you will help us against evil enemies, these filthy Polovtsy, who "They call on your name; we, Madam Most Pure Mother of God, rely on you and your help. Now we oppose the godless pagans, the filthy Tatars, pray to your son, our God." And then he came to the tomb of the blessed wonderworker Peter the Metropolitan and, falling heartily to him, said: “O miraculous Saint Peter, by the grace of God you constantly work miracles. And now the time has come for you to pray for us to the common ruler of all, the king and the merciful savior. For Now the filthy adversaries have taken up arms against me and are preparing weapons against your city Moscow. After all, the Lord showed you to our subsequent generations, lit you for us, a bright candle, and set you on a high candlestick to shine on the whole Russian land. And now it behooves you to pray for us sinners, so as not to "The hand of death came upon us, and the hand of the sinner did not destroy us. You are our guardian, steadfast from enemy attacks, for we are your flock." And, having finished the prayer, he bowed to the Right Reverend Metropolitan Cyprian, and the archbishop blessed him and released him on a campaign against the filthy Tatars; and, having crossed his forehead, overshadowed him with the sign of Christ, and sent his holy council with crosses, and with holy icons, and with sacred water to the Frolovsky gate, and to the Nikolsky, and to the Konstantino-Eleninsky, so that every warrior would come out blessed and with holy water sprinkled

The great prince Dmitry Ivanovich with his brother, with prince Vladimir Andreevich, went to the church of the heavenly governor Archangel Michael and beat his holy image with his forehead, and then proceeded to the tombs of the Orthodox princes, his ancestors, tearfully saying: “True guardians, Russian princes, champions of the Orthodox Christian faith, our parents! If you have the boldness to stand before Christ, then pray now for our grief, for a great invasion threatens us, your children, and now help us." And having said this, he left the church.

The Great Princess Evdokia, and Vladimir's Princess Maria, and other Orthodox princes, princesses, and many wives of the governor, and the Moscow boyars, and the wives of the servants stood here, seeing off, from tears and heartfelt cries they could not say a word, giving a farewell kiss. And the rest of the princesses, and the boyars, and the wives of the servants also kissed their husbands farewell and returned with the Grand Duchess. The great prince, barely restraining himself from tears, did not cry in front of the people, but in his heart he shed a lot of tears, comforting his princess, and said: “Wife, if God is for us, then who can be against us!”

And he sat on his best horse, and all the princes and commanders sat on their horses.

The sun shines clearly for him in the east, showing him the way. Then, as the falcons fell from the golden stocks from the stone city of Moscow, and flew up under the blue skies, and thundered with their golden bells, they wanted to strike at the large herds of swans and geese: then, brothers, it was not falcons that flew out of the stone city of Moscow, it was the Russian daredevils with their sovereign, with Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, but they wanted to run into the great Tatar power.

The Belozersk princes left separately with their army; Their army looks finished. The great prince sent his brother, Prince Vladimir, on the road to Brashevo, and the Belozersk princes on the Bolvanovskaya road, and the great prince himself went to the Kotel road. The sun shines brightly in front of him, and a quiet breeze blows after him. That is why the great prince was separated from his brother, because they could not travel the same road.

The Great Princess Evdokia, with her daughter-in-law, Princess Vladimir Maria, and with the voivode's wives, and with the boyars, went up to her golden-domed mansion on the embankment and sat down on the locker under the glass windows. For this is the last time he sees the Grand Duke, shedding tears like a river flow. With great sadness, putting his hands to his chest, he says: “My Lord God, the Almighty Creator, look at my humility, deign me, Lord, to see again my sovereign, the most glorious among people, Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich. Help him, Lord, with your with a firm hand to defeat the filthy Polovtsians who came out against him. And do not, Lord, allow what happened many years before, when the Russian princes had a terrible battle on Kalka with the filthy Polovtsians, with the Hagarians; and now, Lord, deliver us from such a misfortune , and save, and have mercy! Do not, Lord, let the surviving Christianity perish, and let your holy name be glorified in the Russian land! Since the time of that Kalka disaster and the terrible massacre of the Tatars, the Russian land is now sad, and it no longer has any hope for anyone, but only on you, the all-merciful God, for you can revive and kill. I, a sinner, now have two small branches, Prince Vasily and Prince Yuri: if the clear sun rises from the south or the wind blows from the west - neither They won’t be able to bear another one yet. What then can I, a sinner, do? So, Lord, return to them their father, the Grand Duke, healthy, then their land will be saved, and they will always reign.”

The Grand Duke set off, taking with him noble men, Moscow merchants - ten people from Surozhan - as witnesses: no matter what God arranged, they would tell in distant countries, like noble merchants, and there were: the first - Vasily Kapitsa, the second - Sidor Alferyev, third - Konstantin Petunov, fourth - Kuzma Kovrya, fifth - Semyon Antonov, sixth - Mikhail Salarev, seventh - Timofey Vesyakov, eighth - Dmitry Cherny, ninth - Dementy Salarev and tenth - Ivan Shikha.

And the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich moved along the big wide road, and behind him the Russian sons quickly walked, as if drinking cups of honey and eating bunches of grapes, wanting to gain honor and a glorious name for themselves: after all, brothers, knocking is knocking and thunder is thundering at the early dawn, Prince Vladimir Andreevich crosses the Moscow River on a good ferry on Borovsky.

The great prince came to Kolomna on Saturday, the day of remembrance of the holy father Moses Ethiopia. Many governors and warriors were already there and met him on the Severka River. Archbishop Geronty of Kolomna with all his clergy met the Grand Duke at the city gates with life-giving crosses and holy icons, and overshadowed him with the life-giving cross, and made a prayer: “God save your people.”

The next morning, the Grand Duke ordered all the soldiers to go to the field to the Maiden Monastery.

On Holy Sunday, after Matins, many trumpets sounded, and the kettledrums thundered, and the embroidered banners rustled near Panfilov’s garden.

The Russian sons entered the vast fields of Kolomna, but even here there was no room for a huge army, and it was impossible for anyone to look around the army of the Grand Duke. The great prince, having entered an elevated place with his brother, with Prince Vladimir Andreevich, seeing such a multitude of people equipped, rejoiced and appointed a governor for each regiment. The great prince took the Belozersk princes under command, and appointed his brother Prince Vladimir to the regiment of his right hand and gave him command of the Yaroslavl princes, and appointed Prince Gleb of Bryansk to the regiment of his left hand. The leading regiment is Dmitry Vsevolodovich and his brother Vladimir Vsevolodovich, with the Kolomenets - voivode Mikula Vasilyevich, the Vladimir voivode and Yuryevsky - Timofey Voluevich, and the Kostroma voivode - Ivan Rodionovich Kvashnya, and the Pereyaslav voivode - Andrey Serkizovich. And Prince Vladimir Andreevich has governors: Danilo Beleut, Konstantin Kononov, Prince Fyodor Yeletsky, Prince Yuri Meshchersky, Prince Andrei Muromsky.

The Great Prince, having distributed the regiments, ordered them to cross the Oka River and ordered each regiment and commanders: “If anyone walks across the Ryazan land, do not touch a single hair!” And, taking a blessing from the Archbishop of Kolomna, the great prince crossed the Oka River with all his might and sent the third outpost, his best knights, into the field so that they would meet with the Tatar guards in the steppe: Semyon Medic, Ignatius Kren, Foma Tynina, Peter Gorsky, Karp Oleksin , Petrusha Churikov and many other daring riders with them.

The great prince said to his brother Prince Vladimir: “Let us hasten, brother, to meet the godless pagans, the filthy Tatars, and we will not turn our faces away from their insolence, and if, brother, death is destined for us, then it will not be without benefit, not without a plan for us.” this death, but into eternal life!" And the Great Prince himself, on his way, called on his relatives for help - the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb.

Prince Oleg Ryazansky heard that the great prince had united with many forces and was going towards the godless Tsar Mamai, and besides, he was firmly armed with his faith, which he placed all his hope in God the Almighty, the Supreme Creator. And Oleg Ryazansky began to beware and move from place to place with his like-minded people, saying: “If only we could send news of this misfortune to the wise Olgerd of Lithuania, to find out what he thinks about it, but it’s impossible: they blocked our path. "I thought in the old fashioned way that the Russian princes should not rise up against the Eastern Tsar, but now how can I understand all this? And where did the prince get such help that he could rise up against the three of us?"

His boyars answered him: “We, prince, were informed from Moscow fifteen days before,” but we were afraid to tell you, “that in his estate, near Moscow, lives a monk, his name is Sergius, he is very perspicacious. measures and armed him, and gave him assistants from among his monks." Hearing this, Prince Oleg Ryazansky was frightened and became angry and furious with his boyars: “Why haven’t they told me until now? Then I would have sent to the evil king and begged him, and no evil would have happened! Woe to me, I have lost my mind , but I am not the only one who has weakened in mind, but Olgerd of Lithuania is more intelligent than me; but, however, he reveres the Latin faith of Peter the Great, but I, the accursed one, have come to know the true law of God! And why have I turned aside? And what the Lord said to me will come true: " If a slave, knowing the law of his master, breaks it, he will be beaten severely." For now what has he done? Knowing the law of God, who created heaven, and earth, and all creation, he has now joined the wicked king, who decided to trample on the law of God! And now what of his "Have I entrusted myself to an unreasonable thought? If I were to offer help to the Grand Duke now, he would not accept me, for he had learned of my betrayal. But if I join the wicked king, then I will truly become like the former persecutor of the Christian faith, and then the earth will swallow me alive, like Svyatopolk: I will not only be deprived of my reign, but I will also lose my life, and I will be thrown into fiery Gehenna to suffer. If the Lord is for them, then no one will defeat them, and even that perspicacious monk will help him with his prayer! If I don’t help any of them, then how can I resist both of them in the future? And now I think so: whichever of them God helps, I will join!”

Prince Olgerd of Lithuania, in accordance with the previous plan, gathered many Lithuanians and Varangians, and Zhmudi and went to help Mamai. And he came to the city of Odoev, but, having heard that the great prince had gathered a great multitude of warriors - all of Russia and the Slavs, and went to the Don against Tsar Mamai, - having also heard that Oleg was frightened, - and from then on he became motionless here, and realized the futility of his thoughts, now he regretted his alliance with Oleg Ryazansky, rushed about and was indignant, saying: “If a person lacks his own mind, then he searches in vain for someone else’s mind: it has never happened that Ryazan taught Lithuania! Now he has driven me crazy Oleg, and even worse, died. So now I’ll stay here until I hear about the Moscow victory.”

At the same time, Prince Andrei of Polotsk and Prince Dmitry of Bryansk, the Olgerdovichs, heard that great trouble and care had burdened the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow and all of Orthodox Christianity from the godless Mamai. Those princes were unloved by their father, Prince Olgerd, because of their stepmother, but now they were loved by God and received holy baptism. They were like fruitful ears of corn, suppressed by weeds: living in the midst of wickedness, they could not bear worthy fruit. And Prince Andrei secretly sends a small letter to his brother, Prince Dmitry, in which it is written like this: “You know, my beloved brother, that our father rejected us from himself, but our heavenly father, the Lord God, loved us more strongly and enlightened us with the saints with baptism, giving us his law to live according to it, and freeing us from empty vanity and unclean food; now what shall we give back to God for that? So, brother, let us strive for a good feat for the ascetics of Christ, the source of Christianity, let us go, brother, to the aid of the Grand Duke Dmitry of Moscow and all Orthodox Christians, for a great misfortune came for them from the filthy Ishmaelites, and even our father and Oleg of Ryazan joined the godless and persecuted the Orthodox Christian faith. We, brother, should fulfill the holy scripture that says : “Brothers, be responsive in troubles!” Do not doubt, brother, that we will resist our father, because this is how the Evangelist Luke conveyed the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You will be betrayed by your parents and brothers and die for my name; whoever endures to the end will be saved!" Let us get out, brother, from this crushing weed and graft ourselves into the true fruitful grapes of Christ, cultivated by the hand of Christ. Now, brother, we are not striving for earthly life, but desiring honor in heaven, which the Lord gives to those who create his will."

Prince Dmitry Olgerdovich, having read the letter from his elder brother, rejoiced and cried with joy, saying: “Master, Lord, lover of mankind, give your servants the desire to accomplish this good feat in this way, which you revealed to my elder brother!” And he ordered the ambassador: “Tell my brother, Prince Andrey: I am ready now at your order, brother and lord. As many of my troops as there are, they are all with me, because by God’s providence we have gathered for the upcoming war with the Danube Tatars. And also tell my brother, I also heard from the honey collectors who came to me from the Sèvres land, they say that Grand Duke Dmitry is already on the Don, because the evil raw-eaters want to wait there. And we should go to the North and unite there: we need to keep our way to North, and in this way we will hide from our father, so that we are not shamefully disturbed."

A few days later, both brothers came together, as they decided, with all their strength in the Seversk land and, having met, they rejoiced, as Joseph and Benjamin once did, seeing with them many people, vigorous and equipped with skillful warriors. And they quickly reached the Don, and caught up with Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow on this side of the Don, at a place called Berezuy, and then they united.

The great prince Dmitry and his brother Vladimir both rejoiced with the great joy of such God’s mercy: after all, it is impossible for such a simple thing to happen, for the children of their father to leave and outwit him, like Herod’s wise men once did, and come to our aid. And he honored them with many gifts, and they went their way, rejoicing and glorifying the holy spirit, having already renounced everything earthly, awaiting another immortal redemption for themselves. The great prince said to them: “My dear brothers, for what need have you come here?” They answered: “The Lord God sent us to help you!” The great prince said: “Truly you are like our forefather Abraham, who quickly helped Lot, and you are also like the valiant Grand Duke Yaroslav, who avenged the blood of his brothers.” And the great prince immediately sent such news to Moscow to the Right Reverend Metropolitan Cyprian: “The Olgerdovich princes came to me with many forces, but left their father.” And the messenger quickly reached the Metropolitan. The archbishop, having heard about this, stood up in prayer, saying with tears: “Lord, Master and lover of mankind, for you turn the winds that are contrary to us into quiet ones!” And he sent to all the cathedral churches and monasteries, commanding them to pray diligently day and night to the Almighty God. sent to the monastery to the venerable abbot Sergius so that God would heed their prayers, but the Great Princess Evdokia, having heard about God’s great mercy, began to give out generous alms and constantly remained in the holy church, praying day and night.

Let’s leave this again and return to the previous one.