2. Monuments of ancient Russian history
Historical works occupy a place of honor in chronicle literature. The first chronicle records date back to the 9th century, this short notes in one or two lines. Gradually the chronicles become detailed.
The first chronicle was compiled in the 10th century. It was intended to reflect the history of Rus' from the time of the emergence of the Rurik dynasty to the reign of Vladimir. Scientists believe that before the appearance of the chronicle, there were separate records: oral stories and church ones. These are stories about Kiy, about the campaigns of Russian troops against Byzantium, about Olga's travels to Constantinople, about the murders of Boris and Gleb, epics, sermons, songs, lives of saints. The first chronicle includes “Teachings to Children” by Vladimir Monomakh. The second chronicle was created by Yaroslav the Wise. The emergence of your own literary works in Rus' dates back to the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. At this time, even new types of literary works were emerging in Rus', which neither Bulgaria nor Byzantium knew. The next set was written by Hilarion, who wrote it under the name Nikon.
The oldest chronicle that has reached us is “The Tale of Bygone Years.” It was compiled on the basis of the chronicles preceding it, at the beginning of the 12th century by a monk Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. The Tale of Bygone Years “talked about the origin and settlement of the Slavs, about ancient history East Slavic tribes. About the first Kyiv princes, about the history of the Old Russian state until the beginning of the 12th century."
Nestor draws the origin of Rus' against the background of the development of the entire world history. Rus' is one of the European nations. Using previous codes, the chronicler develops a wide panorama of historical events. A whole gallery of historical figures passes through the pages of the Nestor Chronicle - princes, boyars, merchants, mayors, church ministers. He talks about military campaigns, the opening of schools, and the organization of monasteries. Nestor constantly touches the life of the people, their moods. On the pages of the chronicle we will read about uprisings and murders of princes. But the author describes all this calmly and tries to be objective. Nestor condemns murder, betrayal and deception; he extols honesty, courage, courage, loyalty, and nobility. It is to Nestor that The Tale of Bygone Years owes its broad historical outlook. It is Nestor who strengthens and improves the version of the origin of the Russian princely dynasty. Its main goal was to show the Russian land among other powers, to prove that the Russian people are not without family and tribe, but have their own history, which they have the right to be proud of.
Nestor’s chronicle narrative “reflects the features of chronicles in general, describing events, expressing his attitude towards them. Chroniclers change, and assessments also change.” Some authors place the main emphasis on the baptism of Rus', others on the fight against hostile tribes, and still others on military campaigns and the deeds of princes. But the leading theme of most chronicles is the idea of the unity of Rus'.
In The Tale of Bygone Years, two types of narration can be distinguished - weather records and chronicle stories. Weather records contain reports of events, and chronicles describe them. In the story, the author strives to depict an event, to provide specific details, that is, he tries to help the reader imagine what is happening and evokes empathy from the reader.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” was part of the local chronicle collections, which continued the tradition of Russian chronicle writing. “The Tale of Bygone Years” defines the place of the Russian people among the peoples of the world, depicts the origin of Slavic writing, and the formation of the Russian state. Nestor lists the peoples paying tribute to the Russians, shows that the peoples who oppressed the Slavs disappeared, but the Slavs remained and controlled the destinies of their neighbors.
“The Tale of Bygone Years,” written in its heyday Kievan Rus, has become a major work on history.
Old Russian writers and chroniclers raised the most important political problems, and not only talked about events, glorified heroism. The central problem was the desire to unite all Russian principalities in a joint struggle against foreign invasion.
The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, written in 1185 in Kyiv, is also devoted to the same topic - denouncing princely disagreement. The essence of the poem is the call of the Russian princes to unity just before the invasion of the Mongol horde. It was the disunity of the Russian princes that played a fatal role during the years of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
“The Word” is a monument of literature. The poem is not only an excited call for the unity of the Russian land, not only a story about the courage of the Russian people, not only a cry for the dead, it is also a reflection on the place of Rus' in world history, and the connection of Rus' with other peoples.”
Igor, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav - they are all valiant warriors, but personal courage in battle is not an indicator of patriotism. With his rash campaign, Igor caused great harm to his business and the neighboring principalities. The author of "The Lay" admires and condemns his hero; he puts up with the fragmentation of Rus', since it is time to create centralized state It hasn't arrived yet. The author of the Lay dreams of a time when all Russian princes will jointly speak out for the Russian land and defend the Russian land; he boldly demands from the princes coordinated actions against the enemies of Rus'. The author speaks as an equal to everyone, demands, not begs.
The most ancient chronicle of northeastern Rus' is the Rostov chronicle, which arose at the beginning of the 12th century. The difficulty of studying it lies in the fact that the monuments of the Rostov chronicle of the XII-XV centuries. have not been preserved in their “pure” form. At the same time, according to the unanimous opinion of all researchers, the Rostov chronicles are represented in almost all the main Russian chronicles: Laurentian, Novgorod fourth, Sofia first, Ermolinsk, Lvov, etc. The history of the Rostov chronicles has been restored in general terms through the works of several generations of domestic researchers (A.A. Shakhmatov, M.D. Priselkov, A.N. Nasonov, Yu.A. Limonov, L.L. Muravyova). There is no monographic study on the Rostov chronicle.
The ancient Rostov chronicler was mentioned by Bishop Simon of Vladimir (1220s) in a letter to the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Polycarp. This mention indicates the existence of chronicles in Rostov in the 12th century. The beginning of keeping Rostov chronicles dates back to the 20-30s. XII century Under Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, these records were compiled into a chronicler (M.D. Priselkov, Yu.A. Limonov). A.N. Nasonov dates the beginning of the Rostov chronicle to the second half of the 12th century, noting that it was conducted during the Rostov Assumption Cathedral (written in 1193). The initiators of the creation of chronicles in Rostov were either bishops or princes. In the 13th century. a whole series of princely chronicle collections appeared: Konstantin Vsevolodovich and his sons (records for 1206-1227), a collection of 1239 - Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. The chronicle code of 1239, compiled in Rostov, was a grand ducal one, that is, a chronicle code of the entire Vladimir-Suzdal land. The Rostov chronicler in 1227, when describing the installation of a bishop in Vladimir, also mentioned himself, although, traditionally for ancient Russian literature, he did not indicate his name (“may it happen to me, a sinner, to be and see it”). This Rostov chronicler, according to M.D. Priselkov, the “hagiographical” style of the story is inherent - the heroes of the story pronounce long prayer speeches, sometimes repeating them, the whole story is imbued with an instructive tone.
In the second half of the 13th century. the Rostov chronicle in connection with the destruction of most Russian cities by the Tatars (Rostov was not destroyed) becomes a short time all-Russian. In 1263, an all-Russian chronicle was compiled in Rostov, sometimes called the chronicle of Princess Maria (D.S. Likhachev). Princess Maria was the wife of the Rostov prince Vasilko Konstantinovich, who was killed by the Tatars in 1238 for refusing “to be in their will and to fight with them.” M.D. Priselkov believed that the chronicle of 1263 was compiled by “an ardent admirer of the Rostov Bishop Kirill, who died in 1263.” (Priselkov M.D. History of Russian chronicles. P. 149). This is precisely why he explains the appearance of the bishop’s life in the chronicle text around 1231. It is noted in the literature certain connection this life with the Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky, also included in the chronicle by the compiler of the chronicle in 1263. Bishop Kirill was a famous writer and scribe of his time. Under 1262, a chronicler, an eyewitness to the events, reported on the action against the Tatars of Rostovites and the murder of one of the first Russian traitors and his inglorious end: “Even when I killed the criminal Izosima, then in my opinion, exactly a hundred times over. He was a drunkard and a fool, a profanity and a blasphemer, but of course he rejected Christ and became a fool, having entered into the delusion of the false prophet Mahmed... this lawless Zosima killed in the city of Yaroslavl, his body was eaten by a dog and a raven.” (PSRL. T. 1. L., 1927. Stb. 476).
The earliest list (13th century) of the “Chronicle Soon” by Patriarch Nicephorus is also associated with Rostov, in which Byzantine history continued by Russian news brought up to 1276, including Rostov.
In the late 70s - early 80s. XIII century In Rostov, another chronicle was compiled. This is indicated by the Rostov news, which can be traced in the Laurentian Chronicle until 1281, and also, according to V.S. Ikonnikova, text of the Tver collection for 6784 (1276): “For the same summer, the prince’s chronicler.” This chronicle by Yu.A. Limonov dated it to 1279.
At V.N. Tatishchev in his History mentions the Rostov chronicle of 1313, but the chronicle itself has not survived.
Based on the analysis of a number of Russian chronicles, L.L. Muravyova substantiated the existence of the Rostov vault of 1365, calling it a monument to the episcopal-princely chronicle.
To characterize the Rostov chronicle of the late XII - early XV centuries. special meaning has the so-called Moscow Academic Chronicle (another name is the Moscow Academic List of the Suzdal Chronicle) - a monument that has come down to us in a single list (RSL, f. 173, MDA collection, No. 236; former code - MDA collection, No. 5 / 182). The third part of this chronicle (from 6746 (1238) to 6927 (1419)) presents the Rostov chronicle, brought up to 1419 (the last news of the chronicle). There is a special version of this set in the form of a short “Russian Chronicler”. In the Moscow Academic Chronicle, throughout its third part, there are Rostov news similar to the following: “In the summer of 6919, index 4, on the 26th of September, the Church of the Most Honest Mother of God in Rostov was built, which was not burned out by fire, and was sacred in the month of October 1 God-loving Bishop Gregory of Rostov and Yaroslavl" (PSRL. Vol. 1. Laurentian Chronicle. Issue 3. Appendixes: Continuation of the Suzdal Chronicle according to the Academic List: Indexes. L., 1928. Stb. 539). It is assumed that the compilation of the Moscow Academic Chronicle was associated with the Rostov Bishop Gregory (1396-1417 - the years of his bishopric). The compilation of all subsequent Rostov chronicles is associated with the Bishop of Rostov Ephraim, Archbishops Tryphon (1462-1467), Vassian and Tikhon (1489-1505). Judging by the characteristics of the Rostov chronicle given by A.A. Shakhmatov, based on the analysis of the Typographical and other chronicles, a new chronicle was created under almost every new ruler of Rostov. These Rostov chronicles of the 15th century. were actively used in other chronicle centers when creating new chronicle monuments. For example, the Rostov lord chronicle code of 1472 by Archbishop Bassian Ryl was the main source of the Ermolinskaya Chronicle, and the code of 1484 by Archbishop Tikhon was the source of the Typographical Chronicle. The latter contains “The Tale of Standing on the Ugra River,” which differs from similar Tale in the Moscow chronicles. The author or editor of this Tale was a Rostov chronicler who worked on the chronicle in the 80s. XV century at the archbishop's see. In the text of the Tale, he emphasizes the treacherous role of Andrei Bolshoi and Boris, the brothers of the Grand Duke, during the confrontation between the Russians and the Tatars. The author of the Tale understands the full significance of standing on the Ugra River, which put an end to Russia’s centuries-long dependence on the Tatars. Here he warns about another threat emanating from the Turkish empire: “Oh, the brave courage of the sons of Rusti! Protect your fatherland, the Russian land, from the filthy, do not spare your heads, so that your eyes will not see the raping and plunder of your houses, and the killing of your children, and the abuse of your wives and children, as if other great glories of the earth suffered from the Turks. I say: Bulgarians, and Serbs, and Greeks, and Trabizon, and Ammorea, and Albanians, and Hruats, and Bosna, and Mankup, and Kafa and many other lands, which did not gain courage and perished, ruined the fatherland and the land and the state, and they wander through foreign countries, truly poor and strange, and much weeping and tears worthily, reproached and reviled, spat upon as unmanly... And, Lord, have mercy on us, Orthodox Christians, through the prayers of the Mother of God of all saints. Amen". (Monuments of literature of Ancient Rus': The second half of the 15th century. M., 1982. P. 518-520). As we see, the Rostov chronicler of the 15th century. not only had an idea of the events taking place around Russia, but also perceived them in the correct historical perspective.
Another Rostov chronicler, based on one of the ruler’s chronicles, compiled at the end of the 15th century. a brief Rostov archdiocese, which describes events from 859 to 1490.
About the Rostov chronicle of the 16th century. little is known. There was some kind of Rostov chronicle that ended with the time of Ivan IV, but its only copy was lost (it was in the handwritten collection of P.V. Khlebnikov).
Known, for example, is the short Chronicle of Rostov, compiled at the end of the 17th century. sexton of one of the Rostov churches, and in the library of the Rostov bishop's house in the 17th century. There were three Russian chronographs, but it is difficult to say whether they were compiled in Rostov. One of the famous Russian chronographs of the 17th century is associated with Rostov, or more precisely, with its successor in the archbishopric Yaroslavl. - chronograph of the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery, on last sheets which included “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Chronicle writing was also carried out in Rostov in the 17th century, but it is not comparable in its significance with the Rostov chronicle collections of the 15th century.
Editions
PSRL. T. 1. Issue. 3. Continuation of the Suzdal Chronicle according to the Academic List. 2nd ed. L., 1928; PSRL. T. 24. Typographic chronicle. Pg., 1921; Nasonov A.N. Chronicle collection of the 15th century. (according to two lists) // Materials on the history of the USSR. T. II. M., 1955. S. 273-321; Bogdanov A.P. Brief Rostov chronicler of the late 17th century // Soviet archives. 1981. No. 6. P. 33-37.
Literature
Shakhmatov A.A. Review of Russian chronicles of the XIV-XVI centuries. M.; L., 1938. Ch. 9, 19, 22; Nasonov A.N. Little-studied issues of the Rostov-Suzdal chronicle of the 12th century. // Problems of source study. Vol. X. M., 1962. S. 349-392; Voronin Ya. Ya. On the question of the beginning of the Rostov-Suzdal chronicle // Archaeographic Yearbook for 1964, M., 1965. P. 19-39; Buganov V.I. Domestic historiography; Muravyova L.L. Chronicle of northeastern Rus' at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 15th centuries. M, 1983. Ch. V. Rostov chronicle.
CHRONICLES(from ancient Russian summer - year) - a historical genre of ancient Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries, which is a weather record of events.
The text of the chronicles is divided into articles corresponding to one year. Replenished over the centuries with more and more new news, chronicles are the most important sources scientific knowledge about Ancient Rus'.
Most often, the compiler or copyist of the chronicle was a learned monk. By order of the prince, bishop or abbot of the monastery, he spent time writing the chronicle long years. It was customary to begin the story about the history of one’s land from ancient times, gradually moving on to the events of recent years. Therefore, the chronicler relied on the works of his predecessors.
If the compiler of the chronicle had at his disposal not one, but several chronicle texts at once, then he “combined” (combined) them, choosing from each text what he considered necessary to include in his own work. Often, during compilation and rewriting, chronicle texts changed greatly - they were shortened or expanded, and supplemented with new materials. But at the same time, the chronicler tried to convey the text of the predecessors as accurately as possible. Composing or grossly distorting chronicle news was considered a grave sin.
The chronicler considered history to be a manifestation of the will of God, punishing or pardoning people for their deeds. The chronicler saw his task as conveying to descendants the acts of God. When describing the events of his time, the chronicler was guided by own recordings, memories or testimonies of participants in events, stories of knowledgeable people, sometimes he could use documents stored in the princely or episcopal archives. The result of this great job the chronicle was forming. After some time, this code was continued by other chroniclers or used in the compilation of a new code.
The chronicle carried the memory of the past and was a textbook of wisdom. The rights of dynasties and states were substantiated on the pages of chronicles.
Creating a chronicle was not only difficult, but also expensive. Before its appearance in the 14th century. Chronicle papers were written on parchment - specially prepared thin leather. There are two known chronicles (Radziwill and Litsevoy vault), in which the text is accompanied by colorful miniatures.
The first chronicle collections in Rus' began to be created no later than the 1st half. XI century, however, only the vaults of the 2nd floor have reached us. the same century. The center of early chronicles was Kyiv, the capital of the Old Russian state, but short chronicles were also kept in other cities. The first chronicle, divided into annual articles, was a code compiled in the 70s. XI century within the walls of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. Its compiler, as researchers believe, was the abbot of this monastery, Nikon the Great (? -1088). The work of Nikon the Great formed the basis for another chronicle collection that arose in the same monastery in the 90s. XI century IN scientific literature this code received the conventional name of the Initial Code (fragments of the Initial Code were preserved as part of the Novgorod First Chronicle). The unknown compiler of the Initial Code not only replenished Nikon's code with news of last years, but also expanded it by attracting chronicle records from other Russian cities, as well as materials including, presumably, the works of Byzantine chroniclers. The third and most significant monument of early chronicle writing was The Tale of Bygone Years, created in the 10s. XII century
After the collapse of the Old Russian state, chronicle writing continued in many Russian principalities. The chronicle monuments of the Russian lands from the era of fragmentation differ in literary style, range of interests, and methods of work. The verbose chronicles of Southern Rus' are not at all similar to the laconic and businesslike ones from Novgorod. And the chronicles of the North-East are distinguished by their penchant for eloquent philosophizing. Local chroniclers began to isolate themselves within the boundaries of individual principalities and looked at all events through the prism of the political interests of their prince or city. Princely chronicles telling about the life and exploits of one or another ruler became widespread. The chronicle monuments of this time are the Ipatiev, Novgorod first and Laurentian chronicles.
Mongol-Tatar invasion of the 30s. XIII century dealt a strong blow to the chronicles of Rus'. In many cities, chronicle writing was interrupted altogether. The centers of chronicle work during this period remained the Galicia-Volyn land, Novgorod, and Rostov.
In the XIV century. independent chronicle writing arose in Moscow. In this century, the Moscow princes became the most powerful rulers in northeastern Rus'. Under their hands, the gathering of Russian lands and the fight against Horde rule began. Along with the revival of the idea of a single state, the idea of all-Russian chronicle writing gradually began to revive. One of the first all-Russian chronicle codes during the formation of the Russian state was the Moscow code of 1408, the initiative to create which belonged to Metropolitan Cyprian. The creator of the 1408 code attracted chronicle materials from many Russian cities - Tver and Novgorod the Great, Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan, Smolensk and, of course, Moscow itself. The code of 1408 was preserved in the Trinity Chronicle at the beginning. XV century, which died in the Moscow fire of 1812. Unifying ideas also appeared in subsequent Moscow arches of the XV century. They substantiated the idea that the Moscow princes are the legitimate sovereigns and heirs of all the lands that formerly constituted Kievan Rus. Gradually, Moscow chronicles became more and more solemn and official. In the 16th century Grandiose chronicle vaults were created in Moscow (Nikon Chronicle, Litsevoy vault, etc.). In them Moscow State was portrayed not only as the successor of Kievan Rus, but also as the heir to the great kingdoms of the past, the only stronghold Orthodox faith. Entire teams of scribes, editors, scribes and artists worked on the creation of chronicle collections in Moscow. At the same time, the chroniclers of this time gradually lost their religious awe before the truth of the fact. Sometimes, when editing, the meaning of the chronicle messages was changed to the opposite (this was especially true for stories about recent events). Having experienced its heyday in mid. XVI century, Moscow chronicles already in the 2nd half. century began to decline. By this time, local chronicle traditions were also interrupted or shredded. The compilation of chronicles continued in the 17th century, but by the 18th century. this genre of historical books gradually became a thing of the past.
Is it possible today to imagine a life in which there are no books, newspapers, magazines, or notebooks? Modern man I am so accustomed to the fact that everything important and requiring ordering should be written down, that without this knowledge would be unsystematized and fragmentary. But this was preceded by a very difficult period that lasted for millennia. Literature consisted of chronicles, chronicles and lives of saints. Works of fiction began to be written much later.
When did ancient Russian literature emerge?
The prerequisite for the emergence of Old Russian literature was various shapes oral folklore, pagan legends. Slavic writing arose only in the 9th century AD. Until this time, knowledge and epics were passed on from mouth to mouth. But the baptism of Rus' and the creation of the alphabet by Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius in 863 opened the way for books from Byzantium, Greece, and Bulgaria. Christian teaching was transmitted through the first books. Since there were few written sources in ancient times, the need arose to rewrite books.
The alphabet contributed to the cultural development of the Eastern Slavs. Since the Old Russian language is similar to Old Bulgarian, then Slavic alphabet, which was used in Bulgaria and Serbia, could be used in Rus'. East Slavs gradually adopted the new writing. In ancient Bulgaria, by the 10th century, culture had reached its peak of development. Works by writers John the Exarch of Bulgaria, Clement, and Tsar Simeon began to appear. Their works also influenced ancient Russian culture.
The Christianization of the ancient Russian state made writing a necessity, because without it it was impossible public life, public, international relations. The Christian religion is not able to exist without teachings, solemn words, lives, and the life of the prince and his court, relations with neighbors and enemies were reflected in the chronicles. Translators and copyists appeared. They were all church people: priests, deacons, monks. Rewriting took a lot of time, and there were still few books.
Old Russian books were written mainly on parchment, which was received after special processing pork, calf, lamb skin. In the ancient Russian state, handwritten books were called “harateynye”, “harati” or “veal books”. The durable but expensive material also made books expensive, which is why it was so important to find a replacement for pet leather. Foreign paper, called “overseas”, appeared only in the 14th century. But until the 17th century, to write valuable state documents used parchment.
Ink was made by combining old iron (nails) and tannin (growths on oak leaves called “ink nuts”). To make the ink thick and shiny, cherry and molasses glue was poured into it. Ferrous ink having brown tint, were distinguished by increased durability. To add originality and decorativeness, colored ink, gold or silver sheets were used. For writing, they used goose feathers, the tip of which was cut off, and a cut was made in the middle of the point.
What century does ancient Russian literature belong to?
The first ancient Russian written sources date back to the 9th century. Old Russian state Kievan Rus occupied a place of honor among other European states. Written sources contributed to the strengthening of the state and its development. The Old Russian period ends in the 17th century.
Periodization of Old Russian literature.
- Written sources of Kievan Rus: the period covers the 11th century and the beginning of the 13th century. At this time, the main written source was the chronicle.
- Literature of the second third of the 13th century and the end of the 14th century. The Old Russian state is going through a period of fragmentation. Dependence on the Golden Horde set back the development of culture many centuries ago.
- The end of the 14th century, which is characterized by the unification of the principalities of the northeast into one Muscovy, the emergence of appanage principalities, and the beginning of the 15th century.
- XV - XVI centuries: this is the period of centralization of the Russian state and the emergence of journalistic literature.
- The 16th - end of the 17th century is the New Age, which marks the emergence of poetry. Now works are released with an indication of the author.
The oldest known work of Russian literature is the Ostromir Gospel. It received its name from the name of the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, who ordered the scribe Deacon Gregory to translate it. During 1056 - 1057 the translation has been completed. This was the mayor's contribution to the St. Sophia Cathedral, erected in Novgorod.
The second gospel is the Arkhangelsk Gospel, which was written in 1092. From the literature of this period, a lot of hidden and philosophical meaning is hidden in the Izbornik of Grand Duke Svyatoslav of 1073. The Izbornik reveals the meaning and idea of mercy, the principles of morality. The philosophical thought of Kievan Rus was based on the gospels and apostolic epistles. They described the earthly life of Jesus and also described his miraculous resurrection.
Books have always been the source of philosophical thought. Translations from Syriac, Greek, and Georgian penetrated into Rus'. There were also translations from European countries: England, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden. Their works were revised and rewritten by ancient Russian scribes. Old Russian philosophical culture is a reflection of mythology and has Christian roots. Among the monuments of ancient Russian writing, the “Messages of Vladimir Monomakh” and “Prayers of Daniil the Zatochnik” stand out.
The first ancient Russian literature is characterized by high expressiveness and richness of language. To enrich the Old Church Slavonic language, they used the language of folklore and the performances of orators. There were two literary style, one of which is “High” for ceremonial purposes, the other is “Low”, which was used in everyday life.
Genres of literature
- lives of saints, include biographies of bishops, patriarchs, founders of monasteries, saints (created in compliance with special rules and required special style expositions) – patericon (life of the first saints Boris and Gleb, Abbess Feodosia),
- lives of saints, which are presented from a different point of view - apocrypha,
- historical works or chronicles (chronographs) - brief records of the history of ancient Rus', Russian chronograph of the second half of the 15th century,
- works about fictional travels and adventures - walking.
Genres of Old Russian literature table
The central place among the genres of ancient Russian literature is occupied by chronicle writing, which developed over the centuries. These are weather records of the history and events of Ancient Rus'. The chronicle is a preserved written chronicle (from the word - summer, records begin “in the summer”) monument from one or several lists. The names of the chronicles are random. This may be the name of the scribe or the name of the area where the chronicle was written. For example, Lavrentyevskaya - on behalf of the scribe Lavrenty, Ipatyevskaya - after the name of the monastery where the chronicle was found. Often chronicles are collections that combine several chronicles at once. The source for such vaults were protographs.
The chronicle that served as the basis for the vast majority of ancient Russian written sources is the Tale of Bygone Years of 1068. A common feature chronicles of the XII - XV centuries is that the chroniclers no longer consider political events in their chronicles, but focus on the needs and interests of “their principality” (Chronicle of Veliky Novgorod, Pskov chronicle, chronicle of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, Moscow chronicle), and not events of the Russian land as a whole, as it was before
What work do we call a monument of ancient Russian literature?
“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” of 1185-1188 is considered the main monument of ancient Russian literature, describing not so much an episode from the Russian-Polovtsian wars, but rather reflecting events on an all-Russian scale. The author connects Igor’s failed campaign of 1185 with strife and calls for unification for the sake of saving his people.
Sources of personal origin are heterogeneous verbal sources that are united by a common origin: private correspondence, autobiographies, travel descriptions. They reflect the author’s direct perception of historical events. Such sources first appeared in the princely period. These are the memoirs of Nestor the Chronicler, for example.
In the 15th century, the heyday of chronicle writing began, when voluminous chronicles and short chroniclers coexisted, telling about the activities of one princely family. Two parallel directions emerge: the official and oppositional point of view (the church and princely descriptions).
Here we should talk about the problem of falsification historical sources or the creation of documents that have never existed before, amendments to original documents. For this purpose, entire systems of methods were developed. In the 18th century, interest in historical science was universal. This led to the emergence large quantity a counterfeit presented in epic form and passed off as the original. A whole industry is emerging in Russia for falsifying ancient sources. We study burned or lost chronicles, for example the Lay, from surviving copies. This is how copies were made by Musin-Pushkin, A. Bardin, A. Surakadzev. Among the most mysterious sources is the “Book of Veles,” found on the Zadonsky estate in the form of wooden tablets with text scratched on them.
Old Russian literature of the 11th – 14th centuries is not only teachings, but also rewriting from Bulgarian originals or translation from Greek of a huge amount of literature. The large-scale work done allowed ancient Russian scribes to become acquainted with the main genres and literary monuments of Byzantium over two centuries.
Chronicles are not clean works of art, because artistry is manifested in them only in some parts. Speaking about the chronicle genre, it is worth remembering that these are collections of heterogeneous, including non-literary material - documents, annual records, etc.
The Russian Pre-Renaissance was marked by the flourishing of chronicle writing in Rus'. Likhachev D.S., Makogonenko G.P., Begunov Yu.K. History of Russian literature in four volumes. Volume one. Old Russian literature. Literature of the 18th century, 1980.. It was a time of ideological preparation for the creation of a unified Russian state. Moscow became the main literary center of the country precisely at this time, even before it became the head of all of Rus'. Moreover, D.S. Likhachev writes that the work of Moscow chroniclers at this time was the most important state matter, because Moscow had to justify its policy of collecting Russian lands. She needed the revival of the chronicle idea of the unity of the princely family and Rus'. Various regional chronicle texts, arriving in Moscow, are included in the Moscow chronicles, which become all-Russian Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. M.; L.; Ed. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1947.P.289-293..
One of them was the Trinity Chronicle, written on the initiative of Metropolitan Cyprian, but was completed after his death (1407) - in 1409. According to some researchers, its author was Epiphanius the Wise. It was kept in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, where it got its name. At the beginning of the chronicle is placed the Tale of Bygone Years, taken from the Laurentian Chronicle. The Trinity Chronicle sets out the events up to 1408 and ends with a description of the invasion of Edigei. The task of collecting chronicles was made easier by the status of Metropolitan Cyprian, to whom, in ecclesiastical terms, both Rus' and Lithuania were subordinate. This allowed him to attract materials not only from Novgorod, Ryazan, Tver, Smolensk, Nizhny Novgorod (Lavrentievsk), but also from Lithuanian chronicles. The collection also included information from the previous Moscow chronicle, which was called “The Great Russian Chronicler.” Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. P. 296. It is the history of Moscow that occupies most of the chronicle. In the chronicle, there were: stories about the massacres on the Pyan and Vozha rivers, a short version of the story about the Battle of Kulikovo, a short version of the story about the invasion of Tokhtamysh, a message about the death of Dmitry Donskoy and a story about the invasion of Edigei Priselkov M.D. Trinity Chronicle. Reconstruction of the text. Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences. M.;L.;1950..
The supposed text of another chronicle, which was compiled by Metropolitan Photius around 1418, is the text of all-Russian news of the Novgorod Fourth and Sofia First Chronicles that have actually reached us. The compiler of 1418 worked a lot on the previous code and brought in a lot of new materials for his work, in most cases not of a chronicle nature (legends, stories, messages, letters), which were supposed to give the new code a character not only historical review past destinies of the Russian land, but also edifying reading. New feature Photius's arch was the use in it of folk legends about Russian heroes (Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya). The compiler of the code seeks to smooth out the too pronounced Moscow biases of the previous code, to be more objective in relation to all the lands of Rus', including those competing with the Moscow principality D. S. Likhachev, G. P. Makogonenko, Yu. K. Begunov. History of Russian literature in four volumes. Volume one. Old Russian literature. Literature of the 18th century, 1980..
Studying the chronicles of the 2nd half. XIV-1st half. XV centuries What is important for us is how different chronicles, appearing at approximately the same time, cover the same events by Lurie Y.S. All-Russian chronicles of the XIV-XV centuries. “Science”, L., 1976. P.3.. In the 15th century, Novgorod chronicle writing flourished, which at that time also became all-Russian, although it had an anti-Moscow orientation. There was a desire for all-Russian chronicles in many cities, which testified to the internal need of Rus' for unification.