In this article, we will look at the features of Old Russian literature. The literature of Ancient Russia was primarily ecclesiastical... After all, book culture in Russia appeared with the adoption of Christianity. Monasteries became the 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 Word of Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion. The author proves the advantage 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 not created for entertainment, but for teaching... Considering the peculiarities of Old Russian literature, one should note its instructiveness. 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 Old Russian literature: it was handwritten... Books were created in a single copy and only then were rewritten by hand when it was necessary to make a copy or the original text became unusable from time to time. This gave the book special value and engendered respect for it. In addition, for the ancient Russian reader, all books were derived from the main one - Holy Scripture.
Since the literature of Ancient Russia was basically religious, they saw in the book a storehouse of wisdom, a textbook of a righteous life. Old Russian literature is not fiction, in the modern sense of the word. She in every way avoids fiction and strictly follows the facts. The author does not show his individuality, hides behind a 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 violate it. Therefore, all the lives are similar to one another, all the biographies of princes or military stories are drawn up according to a general plan, observing 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When “The Tale of Bygone Years” tells us about Oleg's death from his horse, this beautiful poetic legend sounds like a historical document, the author really believes that everything was so.
The hero of Old Russian literature does not possess neither personality nor character in our view today. Man's destiny is in the hands of God. And at the same time, his soul is the arena of the struggle between good and evil. The first will triumph 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 the ancient Russian writers did not know how to do this. In the same way, icon painters created flat, not three-dimensional images, not because they could not write "better", but because they faced other artistic tasks: the face of Christ cannot resemble an ordinary human face. The icon is a sign of holiness, not an image of a saint.
The literature of Ancient Rus adheres to the same aesthetic principles: it creates faces, not faces, gives the reader pattern of good behaviorrather than depicting a person's character. Vladimir Monomakh behaves like a prince, Sergius of Radonezh - like a saint. Idealization is one of the key principles of ancient Russian art.
Old Russian literature in every possible way avoids earthiness: 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 story: neither a manifestation of feelings, nor an individual manner. ("The Lay of Igor's Host" in this sense is one of the few exceptions.) Therefore, many works of the Russian Middle Ages anonymous, the authors do not expect such immodesty - to put their 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? Therefore, the information available to us about the ancient authors is so scarce.
At the same time, in the ancient Russian literature, a special, national beauty idealcaptured by the ancient scribes. First of all, it is spiritual beauty, the beauty of the Christian soul. In Russian medieval literature, in contrast to Western European of the same era, the chivalrous ideal of beauty - the beauty of weapons, armor, victorious battle - is much less represented. The Russian knight (prince) wages war for the sake of peace, not for glory. The war for the sake of glory and profit is condemned, and this is clearly seen in "The Lay of Igor's Host." The world is assessed as an unconditional good. The Old Russian ideal of beauty presupposes a wide space, an immense, "decorated" land, and temples adorn it, because they were created specifically for the exaltation of the spirit, and not for practical purposes.
The attitude of Old Russian literature is also connected with the theme of beauty. to oral and poetic creativity, folklore. On the one hand, folklore had a pagan origin, therefore it did not fit into the framework of a new, Christian worldview. On the other hand, he could not help but penetrate literature. After all, the written language in Russia from the very beginning was Russian, and not Latin, as in Western Europe, and there was no impassable border between the literary and oral word. Popular ideas about beauty and goodness also generally coincided with Christian ones, Christianity almost unhindered penetrated into folklore. Therefore, the heroic epic (epics), which began to form in the pagan era, presents its heroes both as warriors-patriots 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 Russia quickly outgrew the narrow church framework and became a truly spiritual literature that created a whole system of genres. Thus, "The Word of Law and Grace" refers to the genre of solemn sermons delivered in the 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 for ancient Russian literature was the genre of the life, the biography of the 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 murderers with a request to spare him:" Do not cut an ear that is not yet ripe, filled with milk of good-naturedness! Do not cut a vine that is not fully grown, but bearing fruit! " Abandoned by his retinue, Boris in his tent “weeps with a broken heart, but is joyful in soul”: death is terrible for him and at the same time he realizes that he is repeating the fate of many saints who have been martyred for their faith.
IN " Lives of Sergius of Radonezh"it is said that the future saint in adolescence had difficulty comprehending literacy, lagging behind his peers in teaching, 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 living in the 16th century, “ The Story of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, But it was already sharply at odds with the canons (norms, requirements) of the genre and therefore was not included in the collection of the lives of“ Great Cheti-Menaus ”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 did not have a life, but an entertaining story, built on fairy-tale motives, glorifying the love and loyalty of the heroes, and not just their Christian exploits.
AND " Life of Archpriest Avvakum”, Written by him in the 17th century, turned into a vivid autobiographical work filled with reliable events and real people, vivid details, feelings and experiences of the hero-narrator, behind which stands the vivid 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 an ecclesiastical genre, close to preaching, it was also used in secular (secular) literature, since the ideas of the people of that time about a correct, righteous life did not differ from the church ones. You know " The teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", written by him around 1117" sitting on a sleigh "(shortly before his death) and addressed to children.
The ideal old Russian prince appears before us. He cares about the welfare of the state and each of his subjects, guided by Christian morality. Another concern of the prince is about the church. All earthly life should be viewed as a work to save the soul. This is a work of mercy and kindness, and military work, and mental. Diligence is the main virtue in the life of Monomakh. He made eighty-three large campaigns, signed twenty peace treaties, studied five languages, and did what his servants and vigilantes did.
Chronicle
A significant, if not the largest, part of Old Russian literature is the works of historical genres that were included in the chronicles. The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years"created at the beginning of the XII century. Its significance is extremely great: it was a 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 reconstructed according to 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 were manifested: patriotism and connection with folklore. Book-Christian and folklore-lingual traditions are closely intertwined in "The Lay of Igor's Host".
Elements of fiction and satire
Of course, Old Russian literature has not been unchanged throughout all seven centuries. We saw that over time it became more secular, elements of fiction intensified, more and more often satirical motives penetrated into literature, especially in the 16th-17th centuries. Such are, for example, " The Tale of Woe-Evil"showing to what troubles disobedience can bring a person, the desire to" live as he likes ", and not as taught by the elders, and" The Story of Ruff Ershovich", making fun of the so-called" provincial court "in the tradition of folk tales.
But on the whole, one can speak of the literature of Ancient Russia as a single phenomenon, with its end-to-end ideas and motives that have passed through 700 years, with its own general aesthetic principles, with a stable system of genres.
Features of the development of ancient Russian literature.
Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.
The main theme of Old Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.
Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, who is able to sacrifice the most precious thing - life for the common good. It expresses a deep faith in strength, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of a person to raise his spirit and overcome evil.
Historicism is a characteristic feature of Old Russian literature. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.
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.
Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing and is based on the bookish Christian culture and developed forms of oral poetry. During this time, literature and folklore were closely related. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, figurative means of folk art.
The originality of Old Russian literature in the portrayal of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, the hero is reproduced in the monuments of ancient literature, ideals are formed and created.
In Old Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was "use", "practical purpose" for which this or that work was intended.
The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the works of Russian writers of the 18th – 20th centuries.
the main genres of Old Russian literature
The first works of the original Old Russian literature that have come down to us date back to the middle of the 11th century. Their creation is due to the growth of the political, patriotic consciousness of the early feudal society, striving to consolidate new forms of statehood, to assert the sovereignty of the Russian land. Justifying the ideas of political and religious independence of Russia, literature seeks to consolidate new forms of Christian ethics, the authority of secular and spiritual power, to show the inviolability, "eternity" of feudal relations, the rule of law.
The main genres of literature of this time are historical: legend, legend, story - and religious and didactic: solemn words, teachings, lives, walking. Historical genres, relying in their development on the corresponding genres of folklore, develop specific book forms of narration "according to the epics of this time." The leading genre is the historical story based on a reliable depiction of events. Depending on the nature of the events reflected in the stories, they can be "military" stories, stories about princely crimes, etc. Each type of historical stories acquires its own specific stylistic features. The central hero of historical stories and legends is the warrior prince, the defender of the country's frontiers, the builder of temples, the zealot of enlightenment, the righteous judge of his subjects.
His antipode is a seditious prince who violates the feudal legal order of subordination of the trade wind to his overlord, the eldest of the family, leading bloody internecine warriors, seeking to gain power by force. The story of the good and evil deeds of the princes is based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, participants in the events, oral legends that existed in the retinue environment. Historical stories and legends do not allow fiction in the modern meaning of this word. The facts stated and them are documented, attached to exact dates, correlated with other events. Historical genres of Old Russian literature, as a rule, do not exist separately, but as part of the chronicles, where the principle of weather presentation pressed the opportunity to include a variety of material in it: a weather record, a legend, a story. These historical genres were devoted to the most important events associated with military campaigns, the struggle against external enemies of Russia, the construction activities of the prince, strife, unusual natural phenomena - heavenly signs. At the same time, the chronicle also included a church legend, elements of a life, and even whole lives, legal documents.
One of the most ancient surviving greatest historical and literary monuments of the second half of the 11th-early 12th centuries is the "Tale of Bygone Years".
3. Ancient Russian literature of the 11th century (The Tale of Bygone Years, The Tale of Igor's Regiment, The Life of Theodosius of Pechora, The Tale of Peter and Fevronia)
The Tale of Bygone Years is an outstanding historical and literary monument reflecting the formation of the ancient Russian state, its political and cultural flourishing, as well as the beginning of the process of feudal fragmentation. Created in the first decades of the 12th century, the story has come down to us as part of the chronicles of a later time. The Tale of Bygone Years contains 2 main ideas: the idea of \u200b\u200bthe independence of Russia and its equality with other countries (in the description of military operations) and the idea of \u200b\u200bthe unity of Russia, the Russian princely family, the need for an alliance of princes and condemnation of strife (The Legend of the Varangian Calling). Several main themes stand out in the work: the theme of the unification of cities, the theme of the military history of Russia, the theme of the peaceful activities of princes, the theme of the history of the adoption of Christianity, the theme of urban uprisings. In terms of composition, this is a very interesting work. It is divided into 2 parts: up to 850 - conditional chronology, and then - weather. There were also articles where the year stood, but there was no record. This meant that nothing significant happened that year, and the chronicler did not consider it necessary to write it down. There could be several major narratives under one year. The chronicle includes symbols: visions, miracles, signs, as well as messages, teachings. The first, dated 852, was associated with the beginning of the Russian land. Under 862 there was a legend about the vocation of the Varangians, the establishment of the common ancestor of the Russian princes Rurik. The next turning point is associated in the annals with the baptism of Rus in 988, the final articles tell about the reign of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. Also, the compositional originality of the "Tale of Bygone Years" is manifested in the combination of many genres in this work. Partly because of this, messages of different content were sometimes placed under the same year. The chronicle was a collection of primary genre formations. Here we find both the weather record, the simplest and most ancient form of narration, and the chronicle story, chronicle legends. The closeness of the chronicle to hagiographic literature is revealed in the stories about two Varangians-martyrs, about the founding of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery and its ascetics, about the transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb, about the death of Theodosius of the Caves. Obituary articles were associated with the genre of funeral words of praise in the annals, which often contained verbal portraits of deceased historical figures, for example, a description of the Tmutarakan prince Rostislav, who was poisoned during a feast by a Byzantine warrior. Landscape sketches are symbolic. Unusual natural phenomena are interpreted by the chronicler as "signs" - warnings from above about impending doom or glory. In the depths of the Tale of Bygone Years, a military tale begins to form. Elements of this genre are already present in the story of Yaroslav's revenge on Svyatopolk the Accursed. The chronicler describes the gathering of troops and the march, preparation for battle, "I slaughter the evil" and the flight of Svyatopolk. Also, the features of the military story can be traced in the "Tale of the capture of Tsaryrad by Oleg", in the story "About the battle of Yaroslav with Mstislav."
Characteristics of the genre of living. The originality of "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves" as a literary monument.
Life is a genre that tells about the life of a real historical person, canonized after death. Russian lives were formed on the basis of Byzantine ones. The genre took shape in the first centuries of Christianity and was supposed to serve as an illustration to the Christian commandments. In the first lives, many miracles repeated the miracles of Christ. They were artless in form, but they are gradually becoming more complex. Signs of living: idealization (ideal saints, ideal evil); in composition - strict adherence to the canons (introduction - many toposes, self-deprecation of the author, appeal to God for help; central narration - a story or mention of parents; story about the hero's childhood; story about his life and exploits; story about death and posthumous miracles; conclusion - praise or prayer to the saint); the narrator is always an educated and well-read person, distancing himself from the hero, bringing information about himself, clearly expressing his position in relation to the hero with the help of biblical quotes; language-Church Slavonic and lively spoken, extensive use of tropes and biblical quotes. The Life of Theodosius of the Caves was written by Nestor, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery. Following the genre canon, the author saturated his life with traditional images and motives. In the introduction, he humiliates himself, in stories about his childhood, Theodosius talks about his spirituality, talks about posthumous miracles. But Nestor violates one of the main genre rules - to portray -\u003e a saint outside the specific signs of the times and peoples. The author seeks to convey the flavor of the era, which turns the work into a source of valuable historical information. From it we learn what charter governed life in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, how the monastery grew and became rich, intervened in the struggle of the princes for the Kiev table, contributed to the development of the book business in Russia. The main part of the life sometimes resembles the "hagiographic chronicle" of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, since includes stories about the spiritual mentors, companions and disciples of Theodosius. In addition to the monastic life of Theodosius, his participation in the political life of Rus is shown, which also increases the value of the Life as a literary monument.
The Life laid the foundation for the development of the genre of the Venerable Life in Russian literature.
"The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom".
It was created in the middle of the 16th century (but for a long time it was attributed to the 15th century) by the priest and publicist Yermolai-Erasmus. In theory, this work was created as a life. But it was not recognized as a life because of numerous deviations from the canon in the central part, and in the process of revision it became a story. The basis of her plot was formed on the basis of two oral-poetic, fairy-tale motifs, about a hero-snake fighter and a wise maiden, which are widespread in folklore. The source of the plot was a local legend about a wise peasant girl who became a princess. Popular tradition had a strong influence on Ermolai-Erasmus, and he created a work that was not related to the canons of the hagiographic genre: this is a fascinating narrative story, little like the lives of the saints with their exploits and martyrdom for the glory of the church. "The work consists of 4 parts, connected by plot. 1-story about a snake-fighter. 2-heroes go for a doctor for a victim of a snake. They meet a girl who speaks in riddles. This is followed by a motive of riddles and tests. 3-life of Peter and Fevronia in marriage, there are elements of folklore narration. 4-story about the death of Peter and Fevronia and the posthumous miracle. The problem of the genre is that many elements of different genres are combined in the work. The work does not say anything about the childhood of the heroes (unconventional for living) , in all parts, folklore motifs can be traced. For example, a fairy tale story about a hero-snake-fighter, a motive of riddles, when Fevronia says that “it’s not good for a house to be without ears and a temple without good” (dog-ears at home, child-eyes at home) and to the question where her family answers: "Father and mother are going to borrow posters. But my brother is through my legs in Navi," which means "mother and father went to the funeral, and my brother went to hibernation." There is also a folk motif in 3 -e The first part, when Fevronya, after a meal, collects crumbs in her hand, and then they turn into incense and incense. This is an echo of the fairy tale about the frog princess, when the leftovers turned into swans and a lake. And the departure of Peter and Fevronia from Murom, and then the request of the nobles for their return also has an echo in the folk tale. But the work also has a spiritual side inherent in the lives. Peter and Fevronia do not talk about love, because Peter does not even want to marry her at first. Their marriage is not carnal, but spiritual and is built on keeping the commandments. Fevronia works miracles because of her spirituality. Another element of the life is the posthumous miracle, when Peter and Fevronia, contrary to their dying instruction, are buried in different places, and overnight they still end up together in a coffin for two, which remained empty. And their death in one hour is also something unusual, which can only be characteristic of saints. The combination of folklore, life and elements of the story in one work makes the work multifaceted, but this is the author's special skill and innovation in literature.
Old Russian literature of the 17th century (Life of Archpriest Avvakum, The Tale of Frol Skobeev,
Life of Archpriest Avvakum-Monument of the 17th century. Written in a transitional period - from Old Russian to new literature. Life reflects this. Protopop did not perceive himself as a writer. He was forced to turn to the pen, as he was deprived of the possibility of oral communication with people. Lots of letters.
"Life of Archpriest Avvakum, written by himself" - 1670. The name refers to the hagiographic tradition, but then the tradition is destroyed. I myself could not write a life about myself. He was not only never canonized, but even excommunicated as the head of the schismatics who did not accept the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century. Old Believer movement.
Nikon's reforms: two fingers were replaced by three fingers. Bows to the ground - with belts. And for the icons to be rewritten according to the Greek model. The reforms concerned only the outer rite, but for the believer, all elements of the rite are of great inner importance.
The protopop was imprisoned in an earthen pit and burned at the stake. Nothing broke him - the faith remained. In an earthen prison, he wrote his life.
He meets many requirements literary etiquette of the genre of living:
Introduction (unworthy me, etc.)
Narrative part
· final part
· Habakkuk often quotes scriptures.
But all the elements acquire a different quality: in the introduction, he talks about his principles of the scribe (aesthetic views). “I will write in my native language,” that is, as he says, not specially decorating, although hagiographic works were always written solemnly. The parents are not portrayed canonically: the father is a drunkard, the mother is pious, she became a nun.
When Avvakum distracts from the story about himself and proceeds to thinking about a person, his fate, he speaks in a high syllable, resorts to symbolic images. For example, a ship is a symbol of the life of Habakkuk, in which there were both happiness and sorrow.
There are miracles in the life, but they can also have an everyday explanation. For example, when he is imprisoned, someone brought him food. He does not understand whether it is an angel or a man. Pashkov almost killed his son - the pishchal misfired three times.
The idea of \u200b\u200btime changes, the perspective of time appears: he feels differently, depicts time. In hagiographic works, the author is removed from the life of the hero himself - abstracted. Habakkuk has an egocentric time, he himself is the starting point of the depicted events. Therefore, the sequence of events may be disrupted. For example, in the finale, he recalls how he cast out demons. The author and the hero have merged into one person.
The space is very vast: Moscow, Tobolsk, Siberia, Baikal.
Many actors: Pashkov, archbishop, tsar, wife, Fyodor the holy fool ...
All this makes it possible to call this work the first Russian novel.
But not all researchers think so, since there is no fictional hero, no separation of the author from the hero, no artistic world.
It combines sublime poetry and everyday prose.
1. The basis of life is skaz ("blathering"), that is, spoken element with a bright emotional coloring.
2. The tale is combined with elements of the biblical-book style.
3. The solemn rhetorical layer of style, especially in the closing teachings.
Reception of contrast in the image: Peshkov like a beast. Habakkuk is in humility.
The syntax contains a lot of "a" conjunctions, which shows the diversity of life.
Key ideas:
· The Lord resists the proud, gives grace to the humble.
· The struggle between good and evil.
Avvakum laid the foundation for a whole series of biographies.
The story of Frol Skobeev
THE STORY OF FROL SKOBEEV,the first Russian roguish tale of the 17th century. The exact date of writing has not been established. Based on various data, the time interval when it could appear extends from 1680 (the hero's adventures are attributed to this year in some lists) to the 20s of the 18th century. (judging by the peculiarities of vocabulary and realities); by the 18th century. all 9 known lists of the work also apply. The story was discovered in the collection of MP Pogodin in 1853 and then published in the journal "Moskvityanin".
Small in volume, not rich in events, vividly and dynamically written story - a kind of apology for cunning, resourcefulness and trickery. Its hero, a resident of the Novgorod district of the "great yabid" Frol Skobeev, earning a profession of attorney, ie the clerk, decides at all costs to "have love" with Annushka, the daughter of the steward Nardin-Nashchokin. To begin with, he meets a certain clerk, in whose house he runs into Annushka's mother. Skobeev gives her two rubles without asking for anything in return. When Annushka invites noble daughters through her mother to visit on Christmastide, the unrecognized Frol arrives, dressed in a woman's dress. Having watched the mother, he gives her five rubles and reveals who he is, asking to take him to Annushka, which the mother does. They are left in the bedroom, where the deceiver opened up to Annushka and, despite her fear, "grew her virginity." When the steward summoned his daughter to Moscow, Frol goes after her. In Moscow, having begged a carriage from a friend of the steward Lovchikov and drunk the coachman until he was unconscious, he changed into coachman's clothes and took the girl away. Annushka and Frol are getting married. The saddened steward informs the sovereign about the disappearance of his daughter. By the tsar's command, the kidnapper must appear, otherwise, found, he will be executed.
When the stewards come out to Ivanovskaya Square in the Kremlin after the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral, Frol falls at the feet of Nardin-Nashchokin. Together with Lovchikov, he dissuades Annushka's father from complaining to the sovereign. Some time later, Nardin-Nashchokin sent a man to see how his daughter was living. Sly Frol makes Annushka go to bed and, through the messenger, tells her father that her daughter is ill and asks her parental forgiveness before her death. Frightened parents send their daughter an image, one stock of which costs 500 rubles. Having forgiven their daughter, the parents visit her in the new house and invite Annushka and Frol to their place, ordering the servants not to let anyone in, announcing to everyone: the steward “with his son-in-law, with the thief and rogue Frolkoy, is eating”. To maintain family life, the steward gives Frol an estate in the Simbirsk district, consisting of 300 households. Over time, resourceful Frol becomes the heir of all the steward's property, favorably marries his sister, and the mother who helped him is kept in great favor and honor until his death.
In the story, you can see quite real facts: the names of the characters are found in documents dating back to the 17th century, and the prototype of the steward could well have been boyar A.L. Ordin-Nashchokin, who headed the Ambassadorial Prikaz. But this work attracts, first of all, for its artistic merit. Here, unlike other ancient Russian stories, the author's speech does not merge with the speech of the heroes, which, although not individualized, is close to colloquial speech, rich in lively intonations. Absent in the story is the edifying element so characteristic of the 17th century stories. (another argument for dating it to the 18th century). Small details specially highlighted by the author are interesting and unusual. The most important events, as in other works of medieval prose, occur at especially significant moments (Christmastide), in especially significant places (in the church, after the liturgy), but these events themselves are such that the connection with other works of the genre is more like not a continuity, but a parody.
Before the reader is a rogue short story, which over time will degenerate into the genre of a Christmas story, and its hero is a typical rogue, a rogue, distinguished not by wealth, but by resourcefulness and personal connections. It is not without reason that it was emphasized that Frol Skobeev is familiar to all the stewards who have gathered on Ivanovskaya Square. The unknown author of the work openly sympathizes with the hero, and the fact that he is well aware of the commanding terminology makes it possible to look at the hero presented by him as a self-portrait.
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Ancient Russian literature fills us with pride for our distant predecessors, teaches us to respect their work, struggle, and their concern for the welfare of the homeland. D.S. Likhachev Literature of Ancient Russia
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Literature of Ancient Rus The literature of Ancient Rus reflected various periods of the formation of the Russian state from the 11th to the 18th century. The works contain invaluable historical material: we learn about the events that took place in the past, about prominent statesmen, we have a vivid idea of \u200b\u200bordinary people of various classes who lived in that distant era.
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Features of Old Russian Literature Old Russian literature emerged in the 12th century after the adoption of Christianity as a spiritual and religious literature. She almost did not admit fiction and strictly followed the fact. The task of the ancient Russian author is to convey the truth. However, Old Russian literature was not historical literature in the true sense of the word. Everything in it was created according to the canon - certain rules and patterns, Therefore, the image of a historical figure was often far from reality. In various works, the image of an ideal prince was unchanged: piety, courage, mercy, justice were his mandatory qualities.
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Features of Old Russian Literature The author's beginning in Old Russian literature is muted. The names of many authors of ancient Russian monuments are not known today. And this is not because their names were forgotten by ungrateful descendants, but because the authors of those years did not indicate their names themselves. And in the ancient Russian books themselves, the image of the author is rather arbitrary. We can hardly see his relationship to the depicted events or people. He is a cold-blooded writer of everyday life, a chronicler, whose main task is to preserve the great deeds of the princes for posterity or to list historical events significant for Russia. And the assessment of the princes and events, in the opinion of the ancient Russian writers, should have been given by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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Genres of Old Russian Literature A genre is a historically developed type of literary work, on the basis of which texts of specific literary works are created. The genres of the literature of Ancient Russia differ significantly from the modern one. primary unifying
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life word teaching story Primary genres Uniting genres chronicle chronograph chetya-menea patericon apocrypha
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LIFE is the most widespread and favorite genre of Old Russian literature. Life was created by people who directly communicated with a person or could reliably testify about his life. Life was always created after the death of a person who was soon canonized. It performed a tremendous educational function, because the life of the saint was perceived as an example of a righteous life that must be imitated.
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"Life of Sergius of Radonezh" In 1417 - 1418 Epiphanius the Wise creates the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the founder and abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Before taking monasticism, Sergius experienced three miracles, indicating that he was chosen by God. Even before the birth of Bartholomew (this is the worldly name of Sergius), during the divine service, he cried out loudly in his mother's womb three times. As an infant, he refused his mother's milk when she ate meat on the days of fasting. In adolescence, Sergius acquired the gift of understanding the literacy of books thanks to the miraculous loaf, which was given to him by a certain elder. Sergius of Radonezh played a significant role in the political and church life of Russia in the second half of the 14th century.
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"Life of Sergius of Radonezh" Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov. Vision to the youth Bartholomew. 1889 - 1890
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The painting "The Vision to the Youth Bartholomew" is written on a plot taken by Nesterov from the ancient "Life of St. Sergius", written by his disciple Epiphanius the Wise. The youth Bartholomew, the future Sergius, was not given a literacy, although he was very fond of reading, and he secretly often prayed to God that he would instruct and enlighten him. One day, his father sent him to look for the missing foals. Under an oak tree in a field, the youth saw a certain monastic, holy elder, "splendid and angelic," diligently doing prayer with tears. The elder looked at Bartholomew and saw with his inner eyes that before him was a vessel chosen by the Holy Spirit and asked him: "Why are you looking for, or what are you looking for, child?" The youth replied: "Love my soul most of all, learn to read and write this, hedgehog and vdan be taught, and now my soul is very sad, I am learning to read and write and I am not able to". He asked the holy father to pray to God for him that he "could read and write." The elder, "having done the prayer diligently," took out a particle of prosphora from his pocket "treasury" and handed it to the youth with the words: "Take this and sleep, behold, you are given a sign of the grace of God and the reason of holy scripture." And when the boy ate the prosphora, the elder said to him: "About literacy, child, do not grieve: from now on, the Lord grants you literacy, learn exceedingly good." And so it happened. Nesterov was imbued with the naive and poetic story of Epiphanius the Wise, his simple-minded belief in a miracle: "I was full of my picture. In it, in its atmosphere, in the atmosphere of a vision, a miracle that was to be accomplished, I lived then" (Nesterov wrote in Memoirs ").
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The famous Trinity icon was painted by the favorite student of Sergius of Radonezh - Andrei Rublev. Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy, setting off on a campaign against the Golden Horde, stopped by for a blessing to Sergius of Radonezh. The Holy Father gave the prince with him two warrior monks - Oslyabya and Peresvet. The latter acted as a combatant from the Russian army, fighting for life and death with the khan's favorite Chelubey.
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TEACHING is a kind of genre of Old Russian eloquence. In the teachings, the ancient Russian chroniclers tried to present a model of behavior for any ancient Russian person: both for the prince and for the commoner. The most striking example of this genre is "The Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh". In his teaching, Vladimir Monomakh gives advice on how to lead your life, how to seek the salvation of the soul in seclusion, to serve God, helping those in need.
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WORD - a kind of genre of Old Russian eloquence; this is a teaching and a message to posterity. An example is "The Lay of Igor's Regiment", which tells about the military campaign of Prince Igor against the Polovtsy in 1185. Researchers assume that the author of "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" was one of the participants in this campaign. Another example of this genre is the "Word about the death of the Russian land", which was created immediately after the Mongol-Tatars came to Russia.
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A TALE (military or historical) is an ancient Russian work that tells about the deeds of warrior princes, their struggle with external enemies, about military exploits and princely civil strife. Examples of military stories are "The Tale of the Battle on the Kalka River", "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Khan Batu", "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky".
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"The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" In the second half of the 13th century, the life of the great Novgorod prince Alexander Yaroslavovich, nicknamed Nevsky, was created. Victories over the Swedes (Battle of the Neva in 1240) and over the German knights (Battle of the Ice in 1242) are associated with his name. The author shows the prince as a zealous defender of the Russian land, Orthodoxy and a skillful politician. "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" absorbed the traditions of both hagiographic literature and the military story and became an example of the prince's life story.
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In Ancient Russia, the chronicle played a very important role, since not only reported on historical events of the past, but also talked about how to act in certain situations. The oldest chronicle is The Tale of Bygone Years. The chronicle tells about the origin of Russians, about the genealogy of the family of Kiev princes and about the emergence of the ancient Russian state. CHRONICLES are historical narratives that have been conducted over the years; the most ancient genre of Old Russian literature.
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THE BIRTH OF THE CHRONICLES The first Russian books were chronicles. The chronicles originated in Kiev and Novgorod in the 11th century. The chronicles were all-Russian and local. The first Russian chronicles were created in monasteries. Chronicles were written by monks, specially trained by senior masters. Chronicle writing was conducted in ink by order of one or another prince of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery
The genres of Old Russian literature were basically borrowed from the Byzantine tradition, but underwent some changes in the "national" character.
The influence of oral folk art is noticeable in them. At the same time, this influence is not particularly strong, since ancient Russian literature is inherent in stereotyped, and Byzantine works served as a model in this sense.
The pattern was manifested both in the structure of the Old Russian work and in expressive means - the same epithets were repeated from one text to another, comparisons, descriptions of cities or historical figures were similar to each other and contained almost no specific details.
Primary and unifying genres
Primary genres of Old Russian literature were included in the "secondary" - uniting genres. Here is a list of primary ones:
- Life;
- Lecture;
- Word;
- Story;
- Church Legend;
- Chronicle story, chronicle legend;
- Walking - a description of the journey to the “holy places”.
Unifying genres:
- chronicle (generally the central genre of Old Russian literature),
- chronograph,
- patericus,
- chet-menaea.
"Word about Igor's regiment"
The word about Igor's regiment is one of the most unique ancient Russian works. Already the genre of "Words" is knocked out of the usual system: it is a completely artistic epic poem, containing a heroic plot, and lyrical digressions, and inserted episodes; it also contains a place for philosophical and political discourse.
The narrator narrates about the past, sometimes returning to the present - this technique was generally not welcomed by Russian scribes. The "Word", apparently, was purposefully written with an artistic and journalistic purpose, the historicity of the plot was not particularly important for the author.
These features and inconsistencies with traditions have led to the fact that the authenticity of this literary monument has been repeatedly challenged.
Modifications of old Russian genres in the late era
Over time, the "assortment" and the inner content of genres have changed. Novels and legends already in the 15th century turned into fictional works, often written for entertainment. "Walking Beyond Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin is a completely secular work, written with an educational and even to some extent entertaining purpose, it contains descriptions of the peoples of distant countries, their customs, traditions and life.
The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, written by himself, caused a great commotion in the church environment. It was created in the 17th century. Let us recall that Avvakum is the initiator of the church schism, a supporter of the “old rite” (the sign of the cross with two fingers) and an ardent critic of the reformer patriarch Nikon. Indignation was caused by the fact that the author made himself the hero of the “life”, having committed the unforgivable sin - that is, he declared himself a saint.
Meanwhile, Avvakum's "Life" is an excellently written autobiography, in which the author did not seek to assign himself the status of a saint, but only showed what calamities a common man goes through and how he carries his cross in spite of ill-wishers. "Life" is completely devoid of church genre canons, it is written in a simple "folk" language, contains a lot of everyday and portrait descriptions, pictures of nature.
The Tale, having finally become a secular genre, entered popular literature and folklore. Such are the "Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" and especially "The Tale of Ruff Ershovich", in which anthropomorphic animals are involved; this is a caustic satire on the then judicial realities. "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" originally contained all the elements inherent in the church genre: teaching, the theme of the salvation of the soul, a description of miracles. But in subsequent editions, these elements have already been omitted, which is why the work eventually turned into a fairy tale.
By the 18th century, the genres of Old Russian literature had completely outlived their usefulness, and a period of completely different literature began.
In Old Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. Genres in Old Russian Literature stood out in slightly different ways than in the literature of modern times. The main thing in their definition was the "use" of the genre, the "practical purpose" for which this or that work was intended.
Chronographs told about the history of the world; about the history of the fatherland - chronicles, monuments of historical writing and literature of Ancient Russia, the narration in which was carried out over the years. They told about the events of Russian and world history. There was an extensive literature of moralizing biographies - the lives of the saints, or hagiography. Collections of short stories about the life of monks were widespread. Such collections were called patericons.
The genres of solemn and teaching eloquence are represented by various teachings and words. In the solemn words spoken in the church during the service, Christian holidays were glorified. In the teachings vices were exposed, virtues were glorified.
The voyages told about travels to the holy land of Palestine.
In this list of the main genres of ancient literature, there are no leading genres of modern literature: neither a novel or a novel reflecting the private life of an ordinary person, nor poetry. Some of these genres will appear later.
With all the great number of genres, they were in a kind of subordination to each other: there were major and minor genres. Literature in its genre structure, as it were, repeated the structure of feudal society. The main role in this belonged, according to D.S. Likhachev, "genres-ensembles". Scattered works were grouped into a coherent whole: chronicles, chronographs, patericons, etc.
The ensemble character of the chronicles was emphasized by the historian V.O. Klyuchevsky: “Life is a whole architectural structure, reminiscent in some details of an architectural structure” 1.
The concept of "work" was more complex in medieval literature than in modern literature. A work is both a chronicle and separate stories, lives, messages included in it. Some parts of the work could belong to different genres.
A special place among the examples of worldly genres is held by Vladimir Monomakh's "Instruction", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", "The Tale of the Death of the Russian Land" and "The Word of Daniel Zatochnik". They testify to the high level of literary development achieved by Ancient Rus in the 11th-first half of the 13th centuries.
The development of Old Russian literature of the XI-XVII centuries proceeds through the gradual destruction of the stable system of church genres, their transformation. The genres of secular literature are subject to fictionalization 2. They increase interest in the inner world of a person, the psychological motivation of his actions, entertaining, everyday descriptions appear. Historical heroes are being replaced by fictional ones. In the 17th century, this leads to radical changes in the internal structure and style of historical genres and contributes to the birth of new, purely fictional works. Verse poetry, court and school drama, democratic satire, everyday life, and rogue short story appeared.
Read also other articles in the section "National Uniqueness of Ancient Literature, Its Origin and Development".
