What are the features of ancient Russian literature? About ancient Russian literature
Question No. 1
Main features of Old Russian literature.
Old Russian literature - 10th – 12th century
Peculiarities:
1. Handwritten character. There were not individual handwritten works, but collections with specific purposes.
2. Anonymity. This was a consequence of society’s attitude towards the writer’s work. It is rare that the names of individual authors are known. In the work, the name is indicated at the end, title and in the margins with evaluative epithets "thin" and "undignified". Medieval authors did not have the concept of “authorship.” The main task: to convey the truth.
Types of anonymity:
3. Religious character. Everything is explained by God's purpose, will and providence.
4. Historicism. The author has the right to write only historically reliable facts. Fiction is excluded. The author is convinced of the accuracy of what is stated. Heroes are historical figures: princes, rulers standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. Even stories about miracles are not so much the imagination of the author as accurate records of the stories of eyewitnesses or the participants themselves.
5. Patriotism. The works are filled with deep content, heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
6. The main theme of ancient Russian literature- world history and the meaning of human life.
7. Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing what is most precious for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in the power, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and defeat evil.
8. A feature of the artistic creativity of the ancient Russian writer is the so-called “literary etiquette”. This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what and how should be depicted
9. Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing and is based on book Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetic creativity. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, and visual means of folk art.
10. The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th–20th centuries.
The word is imbued patriotic pathos of glorifying Rus', as equal among all states of the world. The author contrasts the Byzantine theory of the universal empire and the church with the idea of equality of all Christian peoples. Proves the superiority of grace over the law. The law was extended only to the Jews, but grace was extended to all nations. In summary, the new covenant is a Christian creed that has worldwide significance and in which every people has the full right to freely choose this grace. Thus, Hilarion rejects the monopoly rights of Byzantium to the exclusive possession of grace. According to Likhachev, the author creates his own patriotic concept of history, where he glorifies Rus' and the enlightener Vladimir. Hilarion exalts Vladimir's feat in the adoption and spread of Christianity. He lists the prince's services to his homeland, emphasizes that the Christian faith was adopted by Russians as a result of free choice. The work put forward demand for the canonization of Vladimir as a saint, also the author glorifies the activities of Yaroslav, who successfully continued his father’s work in spreading Christianity. The work is very logical. The first part is a kind of introduction to the second – the central one. The first part is a comparison of Law and Grace, the second is praise to Vladimir, the third is a prayerful appeal to God. In the first part it is observed sign of antithesis- a typical technique of oratorical eloquence. Hilarion widely uses book metaphors, rhetorical questions, exclamations, repetitions and verbal rhymes. The word is a model for scribes of the 12th-15th centuries.
Question #10
The Walk of Abbot Daniel
Already in the 11th century, Russian people began traveling to the Christian East, to “holy places.” These travel-pilgrimages (a traveler who visited Palestine brought with him a palm branch; pilgrims were also called kaliki - from the Greek name for shoes - kaliga, worn by the traveler) contributed to the expansion and strengthening of international relations of Kievan Rus, and contributed to the development of national identity.
So, at the beginning of the 12th century. "The Walk of Abbot Daniel" arises. Daniel committed pilgrimage to Palestine in 1106-1108 Daniel undertook a long journey, “compelled by his thoughts and impatience,” desiring to see “the holy city Jerusalem and the promised land,” and “for the sake of love, for the sake of these holy places, I wrote down everything I saw with my eyes.” His work is written “for the sake of the faithful people”, so that when they hear about “these holy places,” rushed to these places with thought and soul and thus they themselves accepted “from God an equal reward” with those who “reached these holy places.” Thus, Daniel attached to his “Walk” not only cognitive, but also moral, educational significance: his readers and listeners must mentally make the same journey and receive the same benefits for the soul as the traveler himself.
Daniel's "Walk" is of great interest due to its detailed description of the "holy places" and the personality of the author himself, although it begins with etiquette self-deprecation.
Talking about a difficult journey, Daniel notes how difficult it is to “experience and see all the holy places” without a good “leader” and without knowing the language. At first, Daniel was forced to give from his “meager earnings” to people who knew those places, so that they would show them to him. However, he was soon lucky: he found St. Savva, where he stayed, his old husband, “the book of Velmi,” who introduced the Russian abbot to all the sights of Jerusalem and its environs. This land.”
Daniel shows great curiosity: he is interested nature, city layout and character of buildings of Jerusalem, irrigation system near Jericho. Some interesting information Daniel reports about the Jordan River, which has gentle banks on one side and steep banks on the other, and in every way resembles the Russian river Snov. Daniel also strives to convey to his readers the feelings that every Christian experiences when approaching Jerusalem: these are feelings of “great joy” and “shedding of tears.” The abbot describes in detail the path to the city gates past the pillar of David, the architecture and size of the temples. A large place in the “Walk” is occupied by legends that Daniel either heard during his journey or read in written sources. He easily combines canonical scripture and apocrypha in his mind. Although Daniel’s attention is absorbed in religious issues, this does not prevent him from recognizing himself as the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian land in Palestine. He proudly reports that he, the Russian abbot, was received with honor by King Baldwin (Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders during Daniel's stay there). He prayed at the Holy Sepulcher for the entire Russian land. And when the lamp set by Daniel on behalf of the entire Russian land was lit, but the “flask” (Roman) one was not lit, he sees in this a manifestation of God’s special mercy and favor to the Russian land.
Question #12
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was found in the early 90s of the 18th century by the famous lover and collector of Russian antiquities A.I. Musin-Pushkin.
“The Word” is the pinnacle of literature created during the period of feudal fragmentation.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is dedicated to the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185 of Novgorod-Seversky Prince Igor Svyatoslavich with a few allies, a campaign that ended in a terrible defeat. Author calls on the Russian princes to unite to repel the steppe and to jointly defend the Russian land.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” with brilliant power and insight reflected the main disaster of its time - the lack of state unity of Rus' and, as a consequence, the weakness of its defense against the onslaught of steppe nomadic peoples, who in quick raids ravaged old Russian cities, devastated villages, drove the population into slavery, penetrated into the very depths of the country, everywhere bringing death and destruction with them.
The all-Russian power of the Kyiv prince had not yet completely disappeared, but its importance was falling uncontrollably . The princes were no longer afraid of the Kyiv prince and sought to capture Kyiv, to increase their possessions and use the fading authority of Kyiv to their advantage.
In the Lay there is no systematic account of Igor’s campaign. Igor’s campaign against the Polovtsians and the defeat of his army is for the author a reason for deep thought about the fate of the Russian land, for a passionate call to unite and defend Rus'. This idea - the unity of Russians against common enemies - is the main idea of the work. An ardent patriot, the author of “The Lay” sees the reason for Igor’s unsuccessful campaign not in the weakness of the Russian soldiers, but in the princes who are not united, act separately and ruin their native land, forgetting all-Russian interests.
The author begins his story with a memory of how alarming the beginning of Igor's campaign was, what ominous signs - an eclipse of the sun, the howling of wolves through the ravines, the barking of foxes - it was accompanied. Nature itself seemed to want to stop Igor, not to let him go further.
The defeat of Igor and its terrible consequences for the entire Russian land seem to force the author to remember that not long ago the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, with the united forces of the Russian princes, defeated these same Polovtsians. He is transported mentally to Kyiv, to the tower of Svyatoslav, who has an ominous and incomprehensible dream. The boyars explain to Svyatoslav that this dream is “in hand”: Igor Novgorod-Seversky suffered a terrible defeat.
And so Svyatoslav plunged into bitter thoughts. He utters the “golden word”, in which he reproaches Igor and his brother, the buoy of Vsevolod, for the fact that they disobeyed him, did not respect his gray hair, alone, without collusion with him, they arrogantly went against the Polovtsians.
Svyatoslav's speech gradually turns into an appeal by the author himself to all the most prominent Russian princes of that time. The author sees them as powerful and glorious.
But then he remembers Igor’s young wife, Yaroslavna. He quotes the words of her mournful cry for her husband and for his fallen soldiers. Yaroslavna cries on the city wall in Putivl. She turns to the wind, to the Dnieper, to the sun, yearns and begs them for the return of her husband.
As if in response to Yaroslavna’s plea, the sea began to gush at midnight, and tornadoes swirled on the sea: Igor is escaping from captivity. The description of Igor's flight is one of the most poetic passages in the Lay.
The Lay ends joyfully with Igor’s return to the Russian land. and singing his glory upon entering Kyiv. Despite the fact that “The Lay” is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land. The call for unity is permeated in the “Word” with the most passionate, strongest and most tender love for the homeland.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a written work oh.
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” became the main phenomenon not only of ancient literature, but also of modern literature - the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The Word” is a direct response to the events of Igor’s campaign. It was a call for an end to princely civil strife, for unification to fight against an external enemy. This call is the main content of the Word. Using the example of Igor's defeat, the author shows the sad consequences of political fragmentation in Rus' and the lack of cohesion between the princes.
The word not only tells about the events of Igor’s campaign, and also represents the passionate and excited speech of a true patriot. His speech is sometimes angry, sometimes sad and mournful, but always full of faith in the motherland. The author is proud of his homeland and believes in its bright future.
The author is a supporter of princely power, which would be capable of curbing the arbitrariness of petty princes . He sees the center of united Rus' in Kyiv.
The author embodies his call for unity in the image of the Motherland, the Russian land. In fact, the main character of the word is not Igor or any other prince. The main character is the Russian people, the Russian land. Thus, the theme of the Russian land is central to the work.
Using the example of Igor’s campaign, the author shows what such disunity among the princes can lead to. . After all, Igor is defeated only because he is alone.
Igor is brave but short-sighted, goes on a hike despite bad omens - a solar eclipse. Although Igor loves his homeland, his main goal is to gain fame.
Speaking of female images, it is important to note that they are imbued with tenderness and affection, the folk principle is clearly expressed in them, they embody sadness and care for the Motherland. Their crying is deeply national in nature.
The central lyrical element of the plot is Yaroslavna’s cry. Yaroslavna – a collective image of all Russian wives and mothers, as well as the image of the Russian land, which also mourns.
No. 14 Russian pre-revival. Emotionally - expressive style. "Zadonshchina"
Russian pre-renaissance - mid-14th - early 15th centuries!
This is a period of expressive-emotional style and patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of revival of chronicle writing, historical narration, panegyric hagiography, appeal to the times of independence of Rus' in all areas of culture: literature, architecture, painting, folklore, political thought, etc.
The Russian Pre-Renaissance of the XIV-XV centuries was the era of the greatest spiritual figures, scribes and painters. The names of Rev. served as the personification of the national spiritual culture of that time. Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan of Perm and Kirill Belozersky, Epiphanius the Wise, Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev and Dionysius. During the Pre-Renaissance period. coinciding with the gathering of Russian lands Around Moscow, there was an appeal to the spiritual traditions of ancient Kievan Rus, and attempts were made to revive them in new conditions. We are, of course, talking about the traditions of Russian asceticism. In the era under review, these traditions were strengthened, but they acquired a slightly different character. The activities of ascetics during the formation of the Moscow state in the second half of the 14th century became socially, and to some extent, politically active. This was reflected in ancient Russian literature of that period. A particularly striking example is the works of Epiphanius the Wise - “The Lives” of Sergius of Radonezh and Stephen of Perm.
There comes a period in Russian history when a person somehow begins valued as a person, there is a discovery of its historical significance and internal merits. In the literature, increasing attention is paid to the emotional sphere, and interest in human psychology is emerging. This leads to expressive style. Dynamic descriptions.
An emotionally expressive style is developing in literature, and in ideological life “silence” and “solitary prayer” are becoming increasingly important.
Attention to the inner life of man, demonstrating the fluidity of what is happening, the variability of everything that exists, was associated with the awakening of historical consciousness. Time was no longer represented only in the forms of changing events. The character of the eras changed, and first of all, the attitude towards the foreign yoke. The time has come to idealize the era of Russian independence. Thought turns to the idea of independence, art - to the works of pre-Mongol Russia, architecture - to the buildings of the era of independence, and literature - to the works of the 11th–13th centuries: to the “Tale of Bygone Years”, to the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion, to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, to the “Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, to the “Life of Alexander Nevsky”, to the “Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”, etc. Thus, for the Russian Pre-Renaissance, Russia during the period of independence, Pre-Mongol Rus' became its “antique”.
There is an increasing interest in the internal states of the human soul, psychological experiences, and the dynamics of feelings and emotions. Thus, Epiphanius the Wise in his works conveys feelings of delight and surprise that fill the soul. Literature and art in general embody the ideal of beauty, spiritual harmony, the ideal of a person who devotes himself to serving the idea of the common good
According to DS Likhachev, “The focus of attention of writers of the late XIV - early XV centuries. turned out to be individual psychological states of a person, his feelings, emotional responses to events in the outside world. But these feelings, individual states of the human soul are not yet united into characters. Individual manifestations of psychology are depicted without any individualization and do not add up to psychology. The connecting, unifying principle - the character of a person - has not yet been discovered. Man's individuality is still limited by the straightforward classification of it into one of two categories - good or evil, positive or negative."
It is important to note that the emergence of man as a measure of all values in Rus' is only partial. This is how man, the titan, the man at the center of the Universe, does not appear. So, despite the existence of a pre-renaissance period, the Renaissance itself never comes!!!
Pushkin’s words “The Great Renaissance had no influence on it (Russia).”
"Zadonshchina"
Degree book"
Created in 1563 on the initiative of the Metropolitan Macarius by the royal confessor Andrei - Athanasius - “The Grave Book of the Royal Genealogy.” The Work makes an attempt to present the history of the Russian Moscow State in the form of genealogical continuity from Rurik to Ivan the Terrible.
History of the state presented in the form of hagiobiographies of rulers. Period the reign of each prince is a certain facet in history.
So the book is divided into 17 degrees and facets. Introduction – a lengthy life of Princess Olga. In each facet after the author's biography, the most important events are outlined. At the center of the story are the personalities of the autocratic princes. They endowed with the qualities of ideal wise rulers, brave warriors and exemplary Christians. The compilers of the Degree Book try to emphasize the greatness of the deeds and the beauty of the virtues of the princes, the psychologist introduces the characteristics of the heroes, trying to show their inner world and pious stories.
The idea of a autocratic form of government in Rus' is being pursued, power is surrounded by an aura of holiness, the need for resigned submission to it is proven.
Thus, in the Degree Book, historical material acquired topical political significance, everything is subordinated to the task of the ideological struggle to strengthen the autocratic power of the sovereign in Rus'. The degree book, like chronicles, serves as an official historical document, relying on which Moscow diplomacy conducted negotiations in the international arena, proving the original rights of Moscow sovereigns to own Russian territories.
Also An important part of the period of the second monumentalism is the work of Ivan the Terrible and the Tale of Peter and Fevronia.
No. 18 The work of Ivan the Terrible
Ivan groznyj was one of the most educated people of their time, had phenomenal memory and erudition.
He founded the Moscow Printing Yard, By his order, a unique literary monument was created - the Facial Chronicle.
And the works of Ivan the Terrible are the most famous monument of Russian literature of the 16th century. Messages from Tsar Ivan the Terrible - one of the most unusual monuments of ancient Russian literature. The central themes of his messages- international the importance of the Russian state(the concept of Moscow - “the third Rome”) and the monarch's divine right to unlimited power. The themes of the state, ruler, and power occupy one of the central places in Shakespeare, but are expressed in completely different genres and artistic means. The power of influence of Ivan the Terrible's messages lies in the system of argumentation, including biblical quotes and extracts from sacred authors; facts from world and Russian history to draw analogies; examples from personal impressions. In polemical and private messages, Grozny uses facts from his personal life much more often. This allows the author, without cluttering the message with rhetoric, to significantly enliven the style. A fact conveyed briefly and accurately is immediately remembered, receives an emotional overtones, and imparts the urgency necessary for polemics. The messages of Ivan the Terrible suggest a variety of intonations - ironic, accusatory, satirical, instructive. This is only a special case of the extensive influence on messages of living spoken language of the 16th century, which is very new in ancient Russian literature.
The works of Ivan the Terrible - REALLY GREAT LITERATURE.
Main literary monuments, created by Ivan the Terrible, this is the Message of the Terrible to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and Correspondence with Andrei Kurbsky.
Message from Ivan the Terrible in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery to the abbot of the monastery Kozma. Around 1573.
Written regarding violation of the monastic decree exiled there by the Terrible boyars Sheremetev, Khabarov, Sobakin.
Message permeated with caustic irony escalating into sarcasm, in relation to the disgraced boyars, who “introduced their own lustful regulations” into the monastery. Grozny accuses the boyars of destroying the monastic rule and this leading to social inequality. Terrible attacks the monks, who were unable to curb the temper of the boyars. Ivan the Terrible's words are imbued with irony arising from self-deprecation: “woe is me” O. And further, the more Grozny talks about his respect for the Kirillov Monastery, the more caustic his reproaches sound. He shames the brethren for allowing the boyars to violate the rules, and thus it is not known, the tsar writes, who took tonsure from whom, whether the boyars were monks or the monks were boyars.”
Grozny ends the letter with an angry, irritable appeal, forbidding the monks to bother him with such problems. According to Likhachev, the Message is a free improvisation, passionate, written in the heat of the moment, turning into an accusatory speech. Ivan the Terrible is confident that he is right and is annoyed that the monks are bothering him.
In general, Ivan the Terrible’s messages are evidence of the beginning of the destruction of the strict system of literary style and the emergence of an individual style. True, at that time only the king was allowed to declare his individuality. Realizing his high position, the king could boldly break all the established rules and play the roles of either a wise philosopher, or a humble servant of God, or a cruel ruler.
An example of a new type of life is precisely the “Life of Ulyaniya Osorgina” (Life of Juliania Lazarevskaya, The Tale of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya)
“The Tale of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya” is the first biography of a noblewoman in ancient Russian literature.(at that time, a noblewoman was not the highest stratum of society, rather the middle class).
Main features of the product:
1. Life writes relative of the saint(in this case son)
2. The medieval principle of historicism is violated. The work must convey the most important historical events, the heroes are major figures, and not a simple married woman with children.
3. The story is a clear indication that liter becomes closer to the reader.
Written by the son of Ulyana Druzhina at the beginning of the 17th century. The second level of anonymity, little is known about the author. The son is well acquainted with the facts of the heroine’s biography, her personal qualities, and her moral character is dear to him. The positive character of a Russian woman is revealed in the everyday setting of a rich noble estate.
The qualities of an exemplary housewife come to the fore. After marriage, Ulyany’s shoulders fall on the responsibility of running a complex household. A woman pulls a house, pleases father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, monitors the work of slaves, herself resolves social conflicts in the family and between servants and gentlemen. So, one of the sudden riots of the courtyards leads to the death of her eldest son, but Ulyaniya resignedly endures all the hardships that befall her.
The story truthfully and accurately depicts the position of a married woman in a large family, her lack of rights and responsibilities. Running the household consumes Ulyanya, she doesn’t have time to go to church, but nevertheless she is a “saint.” Thus, the story affirms the holiness of the feat of highly moral worldly life and service to people. Ulyaniya helps the hungry, cares for the sick during the “pestilence”, doing “immeasurable alms.”
The story of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya creates the image of an energetic, intelligent Russian woman, an exemplary housewife and wife, enduring all trials with patience and humility. Which falls to her lot. So Druzhina depicts in the story not only the real character traits of her mother, but also paints the general ideal appearance of a Russian woman as it seemed to a Russian nobleman of the early 17th century.
In biography The squad does not completely depart from the hagiographic tradition. So Ulyaniya comes from “God-loving” parents, she grew up in “piety” and “from a young age loved God.” In the character of Ulyany the inherent traits of a true Christian can be traced- modesty, meekness, humility, tolerance and generosity (“doing immeasurable alms.” As befits Christian ascetics, although Ulyaniya does not go to the monastery, she in old age indulges in asceticism: refuses carnal “coitus with her husband”, walks in winter without warm clothes.
The story also uses traditional hagiography Motives of religious fiction: Demons want to kill the Hive, but she is saved by the intervention of St. Nicholas. In some cases, “demonic machinations” have very specific manifestations - conflicts in the family and rebellion of “slaves”.
As befits a saint, Juliana has a presentiment of her death and dies piously; later her body works miracles.
Thus, The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya is a work in which elements of an everyday story are intertwined with elements of the hagiographic genre, however, the everyday description still prevails. The story is devoid of the traditional introduction, lamentation and praise. The style is quite simple.
The story of Juliania Lazarevskaya is evidence of growing interest in society and literature in the private life of a person, his behavior in everyday life. As a result, as a result of the penetration of such realistic elements into hagiography, the hagiography is destroyed and turns into the genre of a secular biographical story.
No. 21 “The Tale of the Tver Otroche Monastery”
17th century.
The historical story gradually turns into a love-adventure novella, which can be easily traced in the Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery. DS Likhachev studied this most interesting work in detail in selected works, so we will rely on his opinion.
“The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery,” undoubtedly composed in the 17th century, tells about a rather ordinary everyday drama: the bride of one marries another. The conflict intensifies because both heroes of the story - both the former groom and the future husband - are connected by friendship and feudal relations: the first is a servant, the “youth” of the second.
A remarkable feature of the story is that it is not based on the usual conflict between good and evil in medieval stories. In “The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery” there are no evil characters, no evil principle at all. In it there is not even social conflict: action takes place as if in an ideal country where exist good relations between the prince and his subordinates. The peasants, boyars and their wives strictly follow the prince’s instructions, rejoice at his marriage, and happily meet his young wife, a simple peasant woman. They come out to meet her with children and offerings, and are amazed at her beauty. All the people in this story are young and beautiful. Several times the beauty of the heroine of the story is persistently spoken of - Ksenia. She is pious and meek, humble and cheerful, has “a great mind and walked in all the commandments of the Lord.” Youth Gregory, Xenia's fiancé, is also young and handsome(his expensive clothes are mentioned several times in the story). He always “stood before the prince,” was “loved by him dearly,” and was faithful to him in everything. The young Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich received no less praise. They all behave as they should and are distinguished by piety and intelligence. Ksenia’s parents also behave ideally. None of the characters made a single mistake. Little of, everyone acts as planned. The youth and the prince see visions and carry out the will revealed to them in these visions and signs. Moreover, Ksenia herself foresees what is about to happen to her. She is illuminated not only with bright beauty, but also with a bright vision of the future. And yet, the conflict is obvious - an acute, tragic conflict, forcing all the characters in the story to suffer, and one of them, the youth Gregory, to go into the forests and found a monastery there. This happens because for the first time in Russian literature, the conflict has been transferred from the sphere of the world struggle between evil and good into the very essence of human nature. Two people love the same heroine, and neither of them is guilty of their feeling. Is Ksenia to blame for choosing one over the other? Of course, she is not guilty of anything, but to justify her, the author has to resort to a typically medieval technique: Ksenia follows the divine will. She obediently does what is destined for her and what she cannot help but do. By this, the author seems to free her from the burden of responsibility for the decisions she makes; in essence, she does not decide anything and does not change Gregory; she only follows what was revealed to her from above. Of course, this intervention from above weakens the earthly, purely human nature of the conflict, but this intervention is told in the story with the utmost tact. The intervention of fate is not ecclesiastical in nature. Nowhere is it said about Xenia’s visions, her prophetic dreams, the voice she heard, or anything like that. Ksenia has the gift of clairvoyance, but this clairvoyance is not ecclesiastical, but rather folkloric in nature. She knows what must happen, but why she knows is not told to the reader. She knows as a wise man knows the future. Ksenia is a “wise maiden”, a character well known in Russian folklore and reflected in ancient Russian literature: let us remember the maiden Fevronia in “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” of the 16th century. But, in contrast to the fairy-tale development of the plot, in “The Tale of the Tver Youth Monastery” everything is transferred to a more “human plane”. The story is still far from being immersed in everyday life, but it is already developing in the sphere of ordinary human relationships.
The plot itself: the founding of the Tver Otroche Monastery. When it turns out that Ksenia has been given to another, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, Grigory dresses in a peasant dress and goes into the forest, where “build yourself a hut and a chapel.” The main reason that Gregory decides to found a monastery is not a pious desire to devote himself to God, but unrequited love.
The founding of the monastery and the prince’s help in its construction finally confirm the main idea of the story, that everything that happens happens for the betterment of the world. “The monastery still stands today through the grace of God and the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Great Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, the Wonderworker.”
“The Tale of the Tver Youth Monastery” has the features of an epic plot. It is similar to the translated chivalric novel by its love theme; as in "Bova", we meet here a classic love triangle and the twists and turns within this triangle that are beyond the reader’s foresight.
Gregory receives heavenly love in return for his lost earthly love. However, this preference is forced - and in the depiction of this compulsion, new trends in the original fiction of the 17th century were perhaps reflected most forcefully. Fate is inescapable, but it promised the prince a happy love, and Gregory - an unhappy one. The youth has nothing more to look forward to in this world; he must build a monastery only in order to please the Lord and become “blessed.” Thus, on the ladder of Christian moral values, carnal, earthly love is one step higher - a conclusion apparently not intended by the author.
The Tale of "Grief - Misfortune"
One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the 17th century.
Central theme: the theme of the tragic fate of the younger generation, trying to break with the old forms of family and everyday life, domostroevsky morality.
The plot of the story is based on the tragic life story of Young Man, who rejected his parents’ instructions and wished to live of his own free will, “as he pleases.” Appearance in general - a collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time - an innovative phenomenon. Per liter The historical personality is replaced by a fictional hero, embodying the typical traits of an entire generation.
The term “ancient literature” is understood as a unique layer of Russian culture, covering the period from the 11th to the 17th centuries. The works created in these centuries are distinguished by their originality and originality. The differences are primarily due to the fact that it was not similar to any other in the medieval period.
Character traits
The main feature that ancient Russian literature has, and at the same time its key difference from the works that are present in Western European culture, is that it was not intended for entertainment and idle reading. The goal set by the authors of those years was primarily spiritual instruction. Their works taught, conveyed the life experience of generations, and fostered a patriotic spirit. Consequently, the characteristic features of this literature are instructive, documentary, and journalistic.
One of the main subjects of artistic depiction in the works of that era is a real historical event. There is no fictional storyline in them. The authors, as a rule, depicted events that they themselves witnessed. They could not take a detached, objective position.
The works that ancient literature includes are imbued with an extraordinary patriotic spirit. There is historicism in them, but at the same time one more characteristic feature should be mentioned - anonymity. Very few authors left their names on the pages of these works, although they wrote them, of course, by hand. The handwritten character can also be attributed to the distinctive properties that ancient literature possesses. The first printed books in Rus' appeared later than in Western European countries. Therefore, the cultural monuments of Ancient Rus' are, as a rule, handwritten texts.
Influence of other literary movements
As already mentioned, the authors of ancient Russian works did not consider it necessary to entertain their readers with adventure stories that were easy to understand. Therefore, in the books of that period there is no fiction whatsoever. An important function was the development of spiritual consciousness.
The writers of Ancient Rus' were entrusted with a huge responsibility. Taking a clear civic position, they glorified their native land and worried about its strengthening. According to modern critics, the work of ancient literature contributed to strengthening the unity of the people. Proof of this point of view is “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
Alexander Musin-Pushkin
This man was a well-known public figure in his time, a scrupulous collector of oral folk art. He was extremely interested in the history of ancient Russian literature. And “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was first read by this very person.
In 1792, he worked in the archives of the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery and discovered a copy of an ancient manuscript. Unfortunately, during the Patriotic War of 1812, this document was burned. Musin-Pushkin transported the find to the Moscow archive, where it died as a result of the legendary fire. Thus, neither the original nor copies have survived to this day. However, there is evidence of the authenticity of the “Word”. Researchers whose subject of study is the history of ancient literature have discovered excerpts from the text of the mentioned manuscript in the largest monument of Russian culture “Zadonshchina”.
The basis of the plot
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, like other ancient Russian creations, has a historical character. The plot is based on the events associated with the campaign against the Polovtsians of Novgorod-Seversky Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich. This campaign took place in 1185. The main stages of the plot, as in other works of ancient Russian literature, are the beginning, the climax, and the denouement. This pattern is also characteristic of the military story - one of the main genres of this cultural period.
Plot structure of “The Word”
The plot is placed, oddly enough, not at the beginning of the work, but a little further. This structure is explained by the fact that the author preferred to first pay attention to the introduction. In it, he defined the time frame of his work and introduced readers to his unique style of storytelling. The beginning is Igor's decision to go on a hike.
The development of the plot is events such as a solar eclipse and the first battle. At the climax we talk about the defeat of the Russian army and the capture of Igor. The denouement of the plot is the escape from captivity, as well as the rejoicing of the inhabitants of the Russian land.
The genre of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is defined in different ways. This is a song, a poem, and a heroic story. Most likely, this work can be attributed to one of the main artistic movements - the word. Other genres of ancient literature should also be considered. Some are original, others are borrowed from other sources.
Life
The works that ancient literature includes have different forms. Life is one of the genres of that era. It belongs to church literature. The subject of depiction in such works is the life and deeds of saints.
A life is a kind of artistic biography of one or another legendary personality who is canonized. A work in this genre, as a rule, narrates events covering the period from the moment the main character is born until his death. The composition has a ring structure. A striking example is “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”.
It should be said that none of the creations of ancient Russian authors stands apart. The works complemented each other, grew, and gradually new stories about miracles associated with the acts of saints were included in them. Military stories, the plots of which are intertwined with each other, also have this character.
Other genres
The chronicle was a detailed record. Of course, the main feature in the works of this genre was journalisticism. They used almost no artistic means. The name itself is explained by the fact that entries were made annually, and each of them began with the words: “In the summer...”.
The authors sought to create and approve a model of behavior for any ancient Russian person. To do this, they created unique instructive works, which, as a rule, were part of the chronicles. The norms that were indicated in them concerned everyone - from the prince to the commoner. This genre in ancient literature is called teaching.
The military story depicted the battles of Russian soldiers with an external enemy. Such works could have been part of the chronicle. But they were often a separate, full-fledged creation.
Many ancient Russian works are valuable due to their documentary nature and are important historical sources and heritage of national culture.
In this article we will look at the features of Old Russian literature. The literature of Ancient Rus' was primarily church. After all, book culture in Rus' appeared with the adoption of Christianity. Monasteries became centers of writing, and the first literary monuments were mainly works of a religious nature. Thus, one of the first original (that is, not translated, but written by a Russian author) works was the “Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion. The author proves the superiority of Grace (the image of Jesus Christ is associated with it) over the Law, which, according to the preacher, is conservative and nationally limited.
Literature was created not for entertainment, but for teaching. Considering the features of ancient Russian literature, it should be noted that it is instructive. She teaches to love God and her Russian land; she creates images of ideal people: saints, princes, faithful wives.
Let us note one seemingly insignificant feature of ancient Russian literature: it was handwritten. Books were created in a single copy and only then copied by hand when it was necessary to make a copy or the original text became unusable over time. This gave the book special value and generated respect for it. In addition, for the Old Russian reader, all books traced their origins to the main one - the Holy Scriptures.
Since the literature of Ancient Rus' was fundamentally religious, the book was seen as a storehouse of wisdom, a textbook of righteous life. Old Russian literature is not fiction, in the modern sense of the word. She goes out of her way avoids fiction and strictly follows the facts. The author does not show his individuality; he hides behind the narrative form. He does not strive for originality; for an ancient Russian writer it is more important to stay within the framework of tradition, not to break it. Therefore, all lives are similar to one another, all biographies of princes or military stories are compiled according to a general plan, in compliance with the “rules”. When “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells us about Oleg’s death from his horse, this beautiful poetic legend sounds like a historical document; the author really believes that everything happened that way.
The hero of ancient Russian literature does not have no personality, no character in our view today. Man's destiny is in the hands of God. And at the same time, his soul acts as an arena for the struggle between good and evil. The first will win only when a person lives by moral rules given once and for all.
Of course, in Russian medieval works we will not find either individual characters or psychologism - not because ancient Russian writers did not know how to do this. In the same way, icon painters created planar rather than three-dimensional images, not because they could not write “better,” but because they were faced with other artistic tasks: the face of Christ cannot be similar to an ordinary human face. An icon is a sign of holiness, not a depiction of a saint.
The literature of Ancient Rus' adheres to the same aesthetic principles: it creates faces, not faces, gives the reader example of correct behavior rather than depicting a person's character. Vladimir Monomakh behaves like a prince, Sergius of Radonezh behaves like a saint. Idealization is one of the key principles of ancient Russian art.
Old Russian literature in every possible way avoids mundaneness: she does not describe, but narrates. Moreover, the author does not narrate on his own behalf, he only conveys what is written in the sacred books, what he read, heard or saw. There can be nothing personal in this narrative: no manifestation of feelings, no individual manner. (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in this sense is one of the few exceptions.) Therefore, many works of the Russian Middle Ages anonymous, the authors do not even assume such immodesty - to put your name. And the ancient reader cannot even imagine that the word is not from God. And if God speaks through the mouth of the author, then why does he need a name, a biography? That is why the information available to us about ancient authors is so scarce.
At the same time, in ancient Russian literature a special national ideal of beauty, captured by ancient scribes. First of all, this is spiritual beauty, the beauty of the Christian soul. In Russian medieval literature, in contrast to Western European literature of the same era, the knightly ideal of beauty - the beauty of weapons, armor, and victorious battle - is much less represented. The Russian knight (prince) wages war for the sake of peace, and not for the sake of glory. War for the sake of glory and profit is condemned, and this is clearly seen in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Peace is assessed as an unconditional good. The ancient Russian ideal of beauty presupposes a wide expanse, an immense, “decorated” earth, and it is decorated with temples, because they were created specifically for the exaltation of the spirit, and not for practical purposes.
The attitude of ancient Russian literature is also connected with the theme of beauty to oral and poetic creativity, folklore. On the one hand, folklore was of pagan origin, and therefore did not fit into the framework of the new, Christian worldview. On the other hand, he could not help but penetrate literature. After all, the written language in Rus' from the very beginning was Russian, and not Latin, as in Western Europe, and there was no impassable border between the book and the spoken word. Folk ideas about beauty and goodness also generally coincided with Christian ideas; Christianity penetrated folklore almost unhindered. Therefore, the heroic epic (epics), which began to take shape in the pagan era, presents its heroes both as patriotic warriors and as defenders of the Christian faith, surrounded by “filthy” pagans. Just as easily, sometimes almost unconsciously, ancient Russian writers use folklore images and plots.
The religious literature of Rus' quickly outgrew its narrow church framework and became truly spiritual literature, which created a whole system of genres. Thus, “The Sermon on Law and Grace” belongs to the genre of a solemn sermon delivered in church, but Hilarion not only proves the Grace of Christianity, but also glorifies the Russian land, combining religious pathos with patriotic ones.
Genre of life
The most important genre for ancient Russian literature was the hagiography, the biography of a saint. At the same time, the task was pursued, by telling about the earthly life of a saint canonized by the church, to create an image of an ideal person for the edification of all people.
IN " Lives of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb"Prince Gleb appeals to his killers with a request to spare him: “Do not cut the ear, which is not yet ripe, filled with the milk of goodness! Do not cut the vine, which is not yet fully grown, but bears fruit!” Abandoned by his squad, Boris in his tent “cries with a broken heart, but is joyful in his soul”: he is afraid of death and at the same time he realizes that he is repeating the fate of many saints who accepted martyrdom for their faith.
IN " Lives of Sergius of Radonezh“It is said that the future saint in his adolescence had difficulty comprehending literacy, lagged behind his peers in learning, which caused him a lot of suffering; when Sergius retired into the desert, a bear began to visit him, with whom the hermit shared his meager food, it happened that the saint gave the last piece of bread to the beast.
In the traditions of life in the 16th century, “ The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, but it already sharply diverged from the canons (norms, requirements) of the genre and therefore was not included in the collection of lives of the “Great Chet-Minea” along with other biographies. Peter and Fevronia are real historical figures who reigned in Murom in the 13th century, Russian saints. The author of the 16th century produced not a hagiography, but an entertaining story, built on fairy-tale motifs, glorifying the love and loyalty of the heroes, and not just their Christian deeds.
A " Life of Archpriest Avvakum", written by himself in the 17th century, turned into a vivid autobiographical work, filled with reliable events and real people, living details, feelings and experiences of the hero-narrator, behind which stands the bright character of one of the spiritual leaders of the Old Believers.
Genre of teaching
Since religious literature was intended to educate a true Christian, teaching became one of the genres. Although this is a church genre, close to a sermon, it was also used in secular (secular) literature, since the ideas of the people of that time about the correct, righteous life did not differ from the church ones. You know" Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", written by him around 1117 "while sitting on a sleigh" (shortly before his death) and addressed to children.
The ideal ancient Russian prince appears before us. He cares about the welfare of the state and each of his subjects, guided by Christian morality. The prince's other concern is about the church. All earthly life should be considered as work to save the soul. This is the work of mercy and kindness, and military work, and mental work. Hard work is the main virtue in Monomakh’s life. He made eighty-three major campaigns, signed twenty peace treaties, learned five languages, and did what his servants and warriors did.
Chronicles
A significant, if not the largest, part of ancient Russian literature is works of historical genres that were included in the chronicles. The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years""was created at the beginning of the 12th century. Its significance is extremely great: it was proof of the right of Russia to state independence, independence. But if the chroniclers could record recent events “according to the epics of this time,” reliably, then the events of pre-Christian history had to be restored from oral sources: legends , legends, sayings, geographical names. Therefore, the compilers of the chronicle turn to folklore. Such are the legends about the death of Oleg, about Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans, about Belgorod jelly, etc.
Already in The Tale of Bygone Years, two most important features of Old Russian literature appeared: patriotism and connections with folklore. Book-Christian and folklore-pagan traditions are closely intertwined in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
Elements of fiction and satire
Of course, ancient Russian literature was not unchanged throughout all seven centuries. We saw that over time it became more secular, elements of fiction intensified, and satirical motifs increasingly penetrated into literature, especially in the 16th-17th centuries. These are, for example, " The Tale of Misfortune", showing what troubles disobedience and the desire to “live as he pleases,” and not as his elders teach, can bring a person, and “ The Tale of Ersha Ershovich", ridiculing the so-called "voivode's court" in the tradition of a folk tale.
But in general, we can talk about the literature of Ancient Rus' as a single phenomenon, with its own enduring ideas and motives that have passed through 700 years, with its own general aesthetic principles, with a stable system of genres.
Old Russian literature... How can it be interesting to us, people of the 21st century? First of all, by preserving historical memory. It is also the origins of our entire spiritual life. Our written culture originates from the literature of Ancient Rus'. Much in modern life becomes clear if a historical retrospective appears. At the same time, it is necessary to make a number of efforts to understand what our distant ancestors believed in, what they dreamed of, what they wanted to do.
It is advisable to start a conversation with students with a description of the era.
Ancient Rus'... How do we imagine it? What is the peculiarity of the perception of man and the world of a certain era? What is the difficulty in understanding it? First of all, the reader, researcher or teacher faces the problem of adequately understanding the era itself, and since the era is shown through the prism of a literary work, this is a problem of reading and interpretation. This task becomes especially complicated if the time in question is several centuries distant from the reader. Other times, other morals, other concepts... What should the reader do to understand the people of a distant time? Try to understand the intricacies of this time period yourself.
What is the world of medieval man like? To answer this question, it is necessary to move somewhat away from the interpretation of Medieval Rus' given during the Soviet period. The fact is that the starting point of Soviet science was P.N. Milyukov’s pre-revolutionary book “Essays on the History of Russian Culture,” in which the Middle Ages period was defined as “unconscious,” devoid of meaningfulness and directed goal-setting. Accordingly, in many works of Soviet researchers, the Middle Ages are presented as a time where senseless barbaric customs and mores reigned, and the domination of the church was perceived as evil.
Currently, a new direction in science is being developed - historical anthropology. Its focus is on man with his inner world and the totality of man’s relationships with the space around him, natural, social, and everyday. This is how the image of the world is revealed both as a microcosm (through the person of a given era) and as a macrocosm (through social and state relations). The teacher bears a great responsibility for forming in the student’s mind the image of the world of the Middle Ages. If the space of the past is distorted, then the space of the present is thereby distorted. Moreover, the historical past becomes an arena of ideological battles, where distortion of facts, manipulation, and “fantastic reconstruction”, so fashionable at the present time, take place. That is why the position of the teacher in the process of teaching ancient Russian literature is so important.
What should the reader pay attention to in order to understand the world of medieval Russian people, to learn to respect the significance and self-understanding of this world? It is important to understand that the meaning of some words and concepts for a person of the 10th – 15th centuries is different than for a person of the 21st century. Accordingly, in the light of these meanings, some actions can be viewed and assessed in completely different ways. Thus, one of the main concepts of the Middle Ages is the concept of truth. For modern man, truth is “a sphere of deep experiences, artistic comprehension, and eternal scientific searches. The medieval man was distinguished by the fact that his mood was different: the truth for him was already open and defined in the texts of the Holy Scriptures.”
In addition to the concept of “truth,” it is important to reveal the ancient meanings of the words “truth” and “faith.” In Ancient Rus', “truth” meant the Word of God. “Faith” is the Word of God in the flesh. This is the truth given in God's commandments, apostolic and sacred rules. In a narrower sense, “faith” is the ritual aspect of religion. Trying to translate this concept into modern language, let’s say that “truth” is an idea, and “faith” is the technology for bringing this idea to life.”
The task of a teacher is especially difficult when he has to plunge not only into the past, which in itself is fraught with the dangers of misunderstanding, but into another spiritual world, the world of the Church, where the opposite perspective is characteristic: the distant sides are larger than the near ones. The most important thing that a teacher must remember is the covenant handed down to us from the depths of the Middle Ages: “Let us not lie against the saint!”
The images of saints excited and still excite. However, it is difficult for a modern person to understand the full depth of the actions of these people. We must make an effort, devote time to this, and then the world of Russian holiness will appear before us.
Old Russian literature differs in many ways from modern literature. It is possible to highlight a number of specific features that determine its dissimilarity with the literature of our days:
1) historicism of content;
2) syncretism;
3) voluntariness and didacticity;
4) labeling of forms;
5) anonymity;
6) the handwritten nature of the narrative and existence.
In Ancient Rus', fiction was attributed to the devil's instigation, so only those events that happened in reality and that were known to the author were depicted. The historicism of the content is manifested in the fact that there were no fictional characters or events. All the persons, all the events discussed in the story are real, authentic, or the author believes in their authenticity.
Anonymity is inherent primarily in chronicles, lives, and military stories. The author proceeded from the idea that it is immodest to put your signature when you talk about historical events or narrate the life, deeds and miracles of a saint. As for sermons, teachings, prayers, they most often have specific authors, because they could be spoken or written by a very authoritative person, respected and revered by others. The genre of preaching and teaching itself made special demands on the author. His name, his righteous life influenced the listener and reader.
In the Middle Ages, great importance was attached to the form of relationships between people, scrupulous adherence to tradition, observance of ritual, and detailed etiquette. Therefore, literary etiquette was predetermined by the world order and strict boundaries of behavior. Literary etiquette presupposed how the course of events should have taken place, how the character should have behaved, and what words should be used to describe what happened. And if the behavior of a person did not correspond to the generally accepted norm, then it was either a negative character, or it was necessary to remain silent about this fact.
In general, all written works in ancient Russian literature are voluntary and didactic. The author writes his works with the idea that he will definitely convince the reader, have an emotional and volitional impact and lead him to generally accepted standards of morality and morality. This is also typical for translated literature, including scientific literature. Thus, “The Physiologist,” a translated monument known to Vladimir Monomakh, introduced real and mythical animals. At the same time, this text is an insistence to readers: “A lion has three properties. When the lioness gives birth, she brings a dead and blind cub, she sits and guards for up to three days. After three days the lion comes, blows in his nostrils and the cub comes to life. It's the same with faithful peoples. Before baptism they are dead, but after baptism they are cleansed by the holy spirit.” A synthesis of science and religious ideas are combined in one text.
Original written works in ancient Russian literature belonged, as a rule, to the genres of journalistic style. Life, sermon, and teaching as a genre predetermined the vector of thought, showed moral standards and taught rules of behavior. Thus, the works of Metropolitan Hilarion are theological treatises in content, sermons in form. In them, he cares about the prosperity of the Russian people, about their morality and ethics. Hilarion has a very definite idea of what the people need, for he became a teacher and shepherd “by the grace of a man-loving God.”
The syncretism of genres is generally characteristic of the era of the emergence of art and literature. It comes in two forms. Firstly, a clear manifestation of syncretism can be traced in the chronicles. They contain a military story, legends, samples of contracts, and reflections on religious topics. Secondly, syncretism is associated with the underdevelopment of genre forms. In “Walkings,” for example, there are descriptions of specific geographical and historical places, and sermons, and teachings. Elements of military stories can be introduced into the life. And military stories can end with teachings or religious reflections.
To understand the peculiarities of the culture of Ancient Rus', it is also necessary to say about the significance of Byzantine culture and literature for the formation of Old Russian literature. Books came to Rus' with baptism. The most famous and revered works were the works of Byzantine theologians John Chrysostom (344-407), Basil the Great (330-379), Gregory the Theologian (320-390), Ephraim the Syrian (died 343). The foundations of Christianity were interpreted in them, people were instructed in Christian virtues.
Of the translated stories and novels, the most popular was the novel “Alexandria,” which tells about the life of Alexander the Great. This novel about historical events with an entertaining plot, intertwining fictional events and fantastic inserts, with colorful descriptions of India and Persia, was a favorite work in medieval Europe. The Russian translator interacted with this novel quite freely; he supplemented it with episodes from other sources, adapting it to the tastes of Russian readers. Moreover, he believed that all the events of the novel were genuine, and not fictitious.
In addition to these books, Russian people were interested in “The Tale of the Devastation of Jerusalem” by Josephus, the story of Vasily Digenis Akrit (it was known to ancient Russian readers under the name “Deugene’s Act”), the story of the Trojan Acts, and the story of Akira the Wise. Even a simple listing gives an understanding of the breadth of interests of the translators of Ancient Rus': they introduce historical events in Jerusalem, admire the exploits of a warrior guarding the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire, show the history of the Trojan War and talk about the distant past, about the life of the wise adviser to the Assyrian and Nineveh king Sennacherib-Akihara (Akira).
Translators are also interested in works about the natural world. These books included “The Six Days” with information about the Universe, “The Physiologist”, which described real and imaginary animals, fantastic stones and amazing trees, and “The Christian Topography of Cosmas Indicoplov”, “the voyage to India”.
The Middle Ages, by tragic accident, seem dark, harsh and unproductive. It seems that people thought differently, imagined the world differently, that literary works did not correspond to great achievements. Chronicles, teachings, lives and prayers... Will all this be interesting? After all, now are different times, different morals. But could there be another representation of the native land? In his prayer, Metropolitan Hilarion asks the Savior to “show meekness and mercy” to the Russian people: “... drive out enemies, establish peace, pacify tongues, quench famines, create our rulers by the threat of tongues, make boys wise, spread cities, grow Your Church, preserve Your heritage , save husbands and wives with babies who are in slavery, in captivity, in captivity on the road, in voyages, in prisons, in hunger and thirst and nakedness - have mercy on everyone, give comfort to everyone, rejoice everyone, giving them joy both bodily and soulful!”
Despite the peculiarities of the vision of the world, the attitude towards God and man, the form of expression of thought remains almost the same for people of the 10th and 21st centuries. We convey thought with the same substances of language. Types of speech and genres exist over time, changing and adapting to a particular era rather in content than in form.
Genre is the primary speech form of the existence of a language. If speech genres did not exist, they would have to be created anew at the moment of speech. This would make communication difficult, making it difficult to transmit information. Each time creating a genre for the first time, rather than using its form, would be very difficult. M.M. Bakhtin in his book “Aesthetics of Verbal Creativity” defined the following criteria for a speech genre: subject content, stylistic decision and the speech will of the speaker. All these points are interconnected and determine the specifics of the genre. However, the genre is not only a speech utterance, but also at the same time a historically emerging type of literary work, which has characteristics, distinctive features and patterns.
Genre is determined not only by the laws of language, but also by the paradigm of consciousness and the paradigm of behavior. Therefore, the primary genres are those that reflect the simplest things: biography, funeral speech, sermon as a discourse on moral and religious topics, teaching as a discourse on moral and ethical topics, a parable, a description of a journey. Genres at the beginning of their emergence exist as certain unities, distinguished by a rigid structure of presentation of dominant views. As a result of rethinking life, changing semantic values, the genre is also changing. There is no unity of content, and the form of presentation of the material is also destroyed.
Genres are not stable on their own. They interact with each other, mutually enriching. They can change and form new combinations.
Over a certain period, the genre changes and acquires new features. We can trace the development of such a genre as the description of travel over the centuries. “Walkings,” pilgrimages, are a religious description of a journey to the Holy Land, to Constantinople, to Palestine. “Walking across Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin is already a secular description, to some extent geographical. In the following, travel of scientific, artistic and journalistic styles is distinguished. In the latter style, the travel essay genre is especially common.
Of course, in ancient Russian literature the subject content depended on the religious worldview and historical events. The theocentric vision of the world largely determined human self-awareness. The human person is nothing before the power and greatness of the Lord. Thus, the style decision was determined by a person’s place in the world. The author's origin should not play any role. The image of historical figures should initially be far from reality. The lack of original style was to become the rule rather than the exception. But all this did not become a dogma for ancient Russian literature. In it, on the contrary, we see works filled with the author’s worldview, pain for the fate of the country; they give preference to certain events and people. The chronicler is proud, exalts or degrades and condemns his princes; he is not an impartial observer.
In the works of this time, the reader becomes familiar with religious wisdom. That is why fiction is not allowed, but only facts are conveyed, on their basis Christian truths are revealed. The speech will of the speaker in the works of that time was subordinated to the state and religious idea.
The parameters that determine the genre features of a speech utterance are considered at several levels: at the subject-semantic level, at the structural-compositional level, at the level of stylistic and linguistic design.
The thematic content of any speech utterance is determined by “subject-semantic exhaustion.” The author of a speech utterance thinks through how the subject of speech will be presented in the texts and what needs to be said in order for the topic to be revealed within the given genre framework.
The structural and compositional level prescribes a fairly rigid genre scheme. The parable is characterized by its own structure, the oratory does not resemble a teaching, and the lives of the saints do not resemble military tales. Compositional organization is the external and internal manifestations of textual material, this is its division into semantic parts. The genres of ancient Russian literature were created according to a certain canon, which largely dictated a rigid structure and characteristic composition.
Speech utterance requires special stylistic resources. Firstly, this is the style of the era, in this case, Old Russian. Secondly, the style of the genre, parable, walk, etc. The genre itself determines which stylistic features are prioritized in a given work. And thirdly, the author's style. The monk does not speak as the prince speaks.
The genre nature of any statement is specific, therefore in each genre it is possible to identify something unique, original, characteristic only of this type. The content depends on the speech will of the speaker, i.e. the subject of speech, the idea, how this subject of speech is defined and what is the author’s attitude towards it, and the style, in what manner all this is presented. This unity determines the genre of literary and journalistic work, including ancient Russian literature.
In ancient Russian literature there was a division of genres into secular and state-religious.
Secular works are works of oral creativity. In ancient Russian society, folklore was not limited by class or estate. Epics, fairy tales, songs were interesting to everyone, and they were listened to both in the princely palace and in the dwelling of the stinker. Oral creativity fulfilled the aesthetic needs of artistic expression.
Written literature was journalistic. She responded to religious, moral, and ethical needs. These are parables, lives of saints, walks, prayers and teachings, chronicles, military and historical stories.
Thus, oral and written literature covered all spheres of human activity, showed his inner world, and satisfied religious, moral, ethical and aesthetic needs.
Old Russian literature has a number of features due to the unique worldview of medieval people and the nature of the creation of written texts:
1) The religious-Christian views of the world inherent in medieval people determined the special nature of the depiction of events and people.
A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism: the heroes of the works are famous historical figures; writers strive to avoid “self-thinking” (fiction) and strictly follow the facts.
The historicism of Old Russian literature is distinguished by its specific medieval character and is inextricably linked with providentialism. From the point of view of the ancient Russian writer, any events occurring in people’s lives were perceived as a manifestation of the action of higher powers. The source of good is God; the devil, who hates the human race, pushes people into sinful acts. God not only has mercy on people, but also punishes: “for the sake of sins,” he sends diseases, foreign conquerors, etc. to people. In some cases, God sends people signs of his anger in advance - signs that should enlighten his foolish “slaves” and warn them of the need for repentance.
2) Old Russian literature was closely connected with the political life of Rus'. This circumstance determines the interest of writers in a certain topic and the nature of writing works. One of the central themes is the theme of the Motherland. Writers glorify its power and strength, actively oppose feudal civil strife that weakens the state, and glorify princes who serve the interests of the people.
Old Russian writers are not inclined to impartial presentation of facts. Being sincerely convinced that they know what life in Rus' should be like, they strive to convey their beliefs to those whom they address in their works. Therefore, all works of ancient Russian literature (spiritual and secular) as a rule are of a journalistic nature.
3) Another characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution.
Even if a work was simply rewritten, it rarely became an exact copy of the original. Many texts were copied several times, and each copyist could act as a kind of co-author. As a result, new lists of works(this term refers to handwritten copies) and editorial staff(varieties of texts in which certain, often quite significant, changes have been made).
4) The works created in Ancient Rus' are mostly anonymous. This is a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude towards people characteristic of the Middle Ages. The person perceived himself as a “servant of God,” a dependent person, completely dependent on higher powers. The creation and rewriting of a work was seen as something happening at the behest of above. In this case, to sign your name under the work meant to show pride, that is, to commit a sin. Therefore, in most cases, the authors of the works preferred to remain unknown.
5) As noted earlier, ancient Russian literature was inextricably linked with folklore, from which writers drew themes, images and visual means.
Thus, ancient Russian literature has a number of features that distinguish it from the literature of modern times. Old Russian texts are the product of a certain time, characterized by a rather unique worldview of people, and therefore should be considered as unique monuments of a certain era.
Genre system of ancient Russian literature
Modern literature has a certain genre-generic system. There are three types of literature: epic, lyric, drama. Within each of them there are certain genres (novel, tragedy, elegy, story, comedy, etc.). Genres(from the French genre - genus, type) are called historically established types of literary works.
There were no genres in the modern sense of the word in ancient Russian literature. The term “genre” in relation to works created in the 11th–17th centuries is used conditionally.
The genres of ancient Russian literature are divided into spiritual(church) and worldly(secular).
Together with Christianity, Rus' adopted the system spiritual (church) genres adopted in Byzantium. Spiritual genres include a number of works (books of Holy Scripture (the Bible), hymns and “words” related to the interpretation of scripture, lives of saints, etc.)
Dominant position among genres of secular literature occupied by stories. This word denoted narrative works of various natures (tales, lives, and even chronicles (“The Tale of Bygone Years”) were called stories). Along with this, “words” occupied a prominent place among worldly genres (“The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Lay of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, etc.). They differed from church “words” in their content, in that they were devoted not to the interpretation of Holy Scripture, but to topical contemporary problems. Obviously, by calling their works “words,” their authors wanted to emphasize that the texts were intended to be spoken in front of listeners.
The genre-clan system of ancient Russian literature does not remain unchanged over the centuries. Particularly significant changes in it were noted in the 17th century, when the foundations of such previously unknown types of literature as lyricism and drama were laid.
