The history of the creation of a monument of ancient Russian literature. Ancient Russian imperishable monuments of literature or the teachings of our glorious ancestors

18.02.2019

The word "Monument" comes from the word "memory". Most often, monuments are called structures or busts, arranged in honor and glory of a person. For example, many monuments to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin have been created. To perpetuate the memory of the great poet, his grateful admirers erected monuments to him. Monuments are especially dear to us in those places where the poet lived and wrote his works. They keep the memory of the poet's stay in these places. Ancient temples and ancient buildings in general are called architectural monuments, because they also keep the memory of past centuries of native history.

In order for a work to be recognized as a literary monument, time must pass. The ancient Russian writer, who compiled chronicles, stories or biographies of saints, probably did not think that he was creating monuments. But after some time, descendants evaluate the work as a monument if they see in it something outstanding or characteristic of the era when it was created.

What is the value of literary, architectural and cultural monuments in general? The monument is a witness of its time.

Among the outstanding monuments of ancient Russian literature are "The Tale of Bygone Years" by Nestor the Chronicler, "The Tale of Boris and Gleb", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh", " chronicle story about the Battle of Kulikovo" and other heroic works Ancient Rus'. One of the most remarkable monuments of ancient Russian literature is "Vladimir Monomakh's Teaching to His Children", taken from the Laurentian Chronicle. All these monuments of ancient Russian literature cannot but be referred to by those who study native history and Russian literature. We will also turn to them, because all of them bear us a living testimony of the past of our Fatherland.

Literature is a part of reality, it occupies a certain place in the history of the people and performs enormous social duties. During the period of the IX-beginning of the XIII centuries. serves the purpose of unification, expresses the people's self-consciousness of unity. She is the keeper of history and legends, and these latter were a kind of means of space exploration, noted the holiness or significance of a particular place: tracts, mounds, villages, etc. Historically, legends also informed the country of historical depth, they were that “fourth dimension”, in within which the entire vast Russian land was perceived and became visible. The same role was played by chronicles and lives of saints, historical novels and stories about the founding of monasteries. All Russian literature was distinguished by deep historicism. Literature was one of the ways of mastering the surrounding world.

What did ancient Russian literature teach? The secular element of ancient Russian literature was deeply patriotic. She taught active love for the motherland, brought up citizenship, and strove to correct the shortcomings of society.

In essence, all the monuments of ancient Russian literature, thanks to their historical topics are much more closely related than at present. They can be arranged in chronological order, but in general they tell one story: Russian and world. ancient literature according to the nature of its existence and creation, it is closer to folklore than to the personal creativity of modern times. The work, once created by the author, was then changed by scribes in numerous rewritings, altered, acquired various ideological colors in different environments, supplemented, overgrown with new episodes, etc.: therefore, almost every work that has come down to us in several lists is known to us in various editions, types and versions.

The first Russian works are full of admiration for the wisdom of the universe, but the wisdom is not closed in itself, but serving man. Along the way of such an anthropocentric perception of the universe, the relationship between the artist and the object of art also changed. And this new attitude took a person away from the canonically recognized by the church.

The appeal of art to its creators and to all people has become the style-forming dominant of everything. monumental art and all the literature of the pre-Mongolian period. It is from here that the imposingness, solemnity, ceremoniality of all forms of art and literature of this time comes.

The literary style of the entire pre-Mongolian period can be defined as the style of monumental historicism. People of this time sought to see in everything significant in content, powerful in its forms. The style of monumental historicism is characterized by the desire to consider what is depicted as if from great distances - spatial, temporal (historical), hierarchical distances. This is a style within which everything that is most beautiful appears large, monumental, majestic. A kind of "panoramic vision" develops. The chronicler sees the Russian land as if from high altitude. He strives for a narrative about the entire Russian land, immediately and easily passes from an event in one principality to an event in another - at the opposite end of the Russian land. This happens not only because the chronicler combined sources of different geographical origin in his narrative, but also because it was precisely such a “broad” story that corresponded to the aesthetic ideas of his time Adrianov-Peretz V.P. Ancient Russian Literature and Folklore: (On the Statement of the Problem). -- P. 5--16.

The desire to combine various geographical points in his narrative is also characteristic of the writings of Vladimir Monomakh - especially for his biography.

It is characteristic that the writers of the IX - XIII centuries. they perceive victory over the enemy as gaining “space”, and defeat as loss of space, misfortune as “crowding”, life path if he is full of need and grief, this is, first of all, a "straight path."

The Old Russian writer, as it were, seeks to mark as many different places as possible by the historical events that took place in them. The earth is sacred to him, it is consecrated by these historical events. He also marks the place on the Volga, where Boris's horse stumbled in the field and broke his leg, and Smyadyn, where Gleb found the news of his father's death. and Vyshgorod, where the brothers were then buried, etc. The author seems to be in a hurry to connect with the memory of Boris and Gleb more different places, tracts, rivers and cities. This is especially significant in connection with the fact that the cult of Boris and Gleb directly served the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land, directly emphasized the unity of the princely family, the need for brotherly love, and the strict subordination of the younger princes to the elders.

The writer makes sure that all the characters behave appropriately, so that they utter all the necessary words. "The Tale of Boris and Gleb" from beginning to end furnished with speeches actors, as if ceremonially commenting on what is happening.

And one more feature of the aesthetic formation is its ensemble character.

medieval art- systemic art, systemic and unified. It unites visible world and invisible, created by man with the whole cosmos. The works of literature of this period are not self-contained and isolated little worlds. Each of them, as it were, gravitates towards the neighboring ones that already existed before it. Each new work is, first of all, an addition to the existing ones, but an addition not in form, but in theme, in plot. Each new work is, first of all, an addition to the existing ones, but an addition not in form, but in theme, according to the plot of Adrianov-Peretz V.P. The main objectives of the study of ancient Russian literature in research pp. 5--14.

4. Monuments of ancient Russian literature

The word "Monument" comes from the word "memory". Most often, monuments are called structures or busts, arranged in honor and glory of a person. For example, many monuments to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin have been created. To perpetuate the memory of the great poet, his grateful admirers erected monuments to him. Monuments are especially dear to us in those places where the poet lived and wrote his works. They keep the memory of the poet's stay in these places. Ancient temples and ancient buildings in general are called architectural monuments, because they also keep the memory of past centuries of native history.

In order for a work to be recognized as a literary monument, time must pass. The ancient Russian writer, who compiled chronicles, stories or biographies of saints, probably did not think that he was creating monuments. But after some time, descendants evaluate the work as a monument if they see in it something outstanding or characteristic of the era when it was created.

What is the value of literary, architectural and cultural monuments in general? The monument is a witness of its time.

Among the outstanding monuments of ancient Russian literature are "The Tale of Bygone Years" by Nestor the Chronicler, "The Tale of Boris and Gleb", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh", "The Chronicle of the Battle of Kulikovo" and other heroic works of Ancient Rus' . One of the most remarkable monuments of ancient Russian literature is "Vladimir Monomakh's Teaching to His Children", extracted from the Laurentian Chronicle. Those who study their native history and Russian literature cannot but turn to all these monuments of ancient Russian literature. We will also turn to them, because all of them bear us a living testimony of the past of our Fatherland.

Literature is a part of reality, it occupies a certain place in the history of the people and performs enormous social duties. During the period of the IX-beginning of the XIII centuries. serves the purpose of unification, expresses the people's self-consciousness of unity. She is the keeper of history and legends, and these latter were a kind of means of space exploration, noted the holiness or significance of a particular place: tracts, mounds, villages, etc. Historically, legends informed the country of historical depth, they were that “fourth dimension”, in within which the entire vast Russian land was perceived and became visible. The same role was played by chronicles and lives of saints, historical novels and stories about the founding of monasteries. All Russian literature was distinguished by deep historicism. Literature was one of the ways of mastering the surrounding world.

What did ancient Russian literature teach? The secular element of ancient Russian literature was deeply patriotic. She taught active love for the motherland, brought up citizenship, and strove to correct the shortcomings of society.

In fact, all the monuments of ancient Russian literature, due to their historical themes, are much more closely connected with each other than at the present time. They can be arranged in chronological order, but in general they tell one story: Russian and world. According to the nature of its existence and creation, ancient literature is closer to folklore than to the personal creativity of modern times. The work, once created by the author, was then changed by scribes in numerous rewritings, altered, acquired various ideological colors in different environments, supplemented, overgrown with new episodes, etc.: therefore, almost every work that has come down to us in several lists is known to us in various editions, types and versions.

The first Russian works are full of admiration for the wisdom of the universe, but the wisdom is not closed in itself, but serving man. Along the way of such an anthropocentric perception of the universe, the relationship between the artist and the object of art also changed. And this new attitude took a person away from the canonically recognized by the church.

The appeal of art to its creators and to all people became the style-forming dominant of all monumental art and all literature of the pre-Mongolian period. It is from here that the imposingness, solemnity, ceremoniality of all forms of art and literature of this time comes.

The literary style of the entire pre-Mongolian period can be defined as the style of monumental historicism. People of this time sought to see in everything significant in content, powerful in its forms. The style of monumental historicism is characterized by the desire to consider what is depicted as if from great distances - spatial, temporal (historical), hierarchical distances. This is a style within which everything that is most beautiful appears large, monumental, majestic. A kind of "panoramic vision" develops. The chronicler sees the Russian land as if from a great height. He strives to narrate the entire Russian land, immediately and easily passes from an event in one principality to an event in another - at the opposite end of the Russian land. This happens not only because the chronicler combined sources of different geographical origin in his narrative, but also because it was precisely such a “broad” story that corresponded to the aesthetic ideas of his time.

The desire to combine various geographical points in his narrative is also characteristic of the writings of Vladimir Monomakh - especially for his biography.

It is characteristic that the writers of the IX - XIII centuries. they perceive victory over the enemy as gaining “space”, and defeat as loss of space, misfortune as “crampedness”, The life path, if it is full of need and grief, is primarily a “cramped path”.

The Old Russian writer, as it were, seeks to mark as many different places as possible by the historical events that took place in them. The earth is sacred to him, it is consecrated by these historical events. He also marks the place on the Volga, where Boris's horse stumbled in the field and broke his leg, and Smyadyn, where Gleb found the news of his father's death. and Vyshgorod, where the brothers were then buried, etc. The author seems to be in a hurry to connect with the memory of Boris and Gleb more different places, tracts, rivers and cities. This is especially significant in connection with the fact that the cult of Boris and Gleb directly served the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land, directly emphasized the unity of the princely family, the need for brotherly love, and the strict subordination of the younger princes to the elders.

The writer makes sure that all the characters behave appropriately, so that they utter all the necessary words. "The Tale of Boris and Gleb" from the beginning to the end is furnished with speeches of the characters, as if ceremonially commenting on what is happening.

And another feature of the aesthetic formation is its ensemble character.

Medieval art is systemic art, systemic and unified. It unites the visible world and the invisible, created by man with the entire cosmos. The works of literature of this period are not self-contained and isolated worlds. Each of them, as it were, gravitates towards the neighboring ones that already existed before it. Each new work is, first of all, an addition to the existing ones, but an addition not in form, but in theme, in plot. Each new work is, first of all, an addition to the existing ones, but an addition not in form, but in theme, in plot.

5. "The Word of Law and Grace"

"The Word about Law and Grace" of the first Kyiv metropolitan from the Russians Illarion, set at will Kyiv prince Yaroslav the Wise, is devoted to the most complex historiosophical problem. It speaks of the place of Rus' in world history, about historical role Russian people.

It is full of pride in the successes of Christian culture in Rus', and how surprising that for all this it is devoid of national limitations. Illarion does not place the Russian people above other peoples, but speaks of the equality of all peoples of the world who have joined Christianity.

This is the most perfect work both in the depth of its content and in the brilliant form in which it is clothed: consistency, logic, ease of transition from topic to topic, rhythmic organization of speech, variety of images, artistic laconicism make Illarion's "Word" one of the best works world oratory. And this work is not a rehash of Byzantine samples, because it is not just a theological sermon of the type that was common in Byzantium, but a theological and political speech that Byzantine oratory did not know, and at the same time on a national Russian theme.


6. "The Tale of Bygone Years"

Quite a different character. This is the work of many chroniclers. The last of them, Nestor, gave the Primary Chronicle artistic and ideological completeness and gave it a name.

This work expresses artistic unity, but the unity of a special, medieval type. Now we demand from a work of art a complete uniformity of style, a rigid unity of ideas, a complete absence of seams and differences in separate parts. If there are differences, they enter into a certain unity strictly uniting them. Artistic unity in ancient Rus' was understood much more broadly. This could be the unity of the ensemble, which was created over a number of decades and retained the author's features in each of its layers at different times.

In stories about the most ancient events of Russian history, the chronicler reflected the innocence characteristic of the legends that had come down to him. In the story about the baptism of Rus' and about the first Christian martyrs, the chronicler uses all the church ceremonial presentation. On the other hand, the annalistic story about the blinding of Prince Vasilko Terebovskiy is of a completely special character. Here the chronicler had to strike the reader with the horror of the crime committed, and this story is full of a kind of medieval naturalism, in which all terrible events are ideally described.

The historical consciousness expressed in The Tale of Bygone Years is very high level. The first chroniclers did not just describe events, they were original researchers, weighing different versions of the same event. Restoring the course of Russian history, the chroniclers sought to link this history of Rus' with the history of the world, to understand it as part of world history, to find out the origin of the Slavs and individual East Slavic tribes. With pedagogical clarity, the chronicler describes the geographical location of Rus', starting his description from the watershed of the Volga, Dnieper, Western Dvina, and, following their course, describes which sea each of them flows into and into which countries it is possible along each of the seas.

7. "Teachings"

The writings of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Monomakh are included in one of the lists of the Tale of Bygone Years under the year 1097 and are known as the Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh. In fact, only the first of them can be called "teaching"; This first is followed by Monomakh's autobiography, where he talks about his campaigns and hunts; the autobiography is followed by a letter from Monomakh to his primordial enemy Oleg Svyatoslavovich, the ancestor of the Olgovichi princes. All three works are written in a different manner, according to the themes. various genres that they represent, but all three are connected by one political idea.

Vladimir Monomakh promotes strict observance of mutual obligations and mutual compliance of princes. Strive to show the need to observe the principles of contentment with hereditary inheritances by personal example, but is not afraid to speak about those violations of this principle that he himself allowed.

8. "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves"

The Life of Theodosius, although it was essentially the first Russian life, completed the biographical genre. The story about a person is conducted in this work by highlighting only some moments of his life: those in which he reaches, as it were, his highest self-manifestation.

From the "Life" we learn a lot about the life around him and the people who are completely immersed in this life. Here is the life of a rich provincial house in Vasilva - at home, the leadership of his imperious matter. Something we can learn about the position of the servants. The flight of Theodosius to Kyiv depicts for us a trade convoy with carts heavily loaded with goods. But the description of everyday life is very restrained, - only to the extent that it is necessary for the plot - the plot is always over the insignificance and vanity of "passing" life. In the temporal setting, the eternal is seen, in the accidental, the significant. Thanks to this, everyday life is dressed up in ceremonial forms of high church virtues. These are, as it were, those dilapidated and poor relics that lie in precious vessels and are worshiped by wanderers who have come to the monastery.


Conclusion

The beginning of ancient Russian literature determined its character for the next time. It is significant that the influence of The Tale of Bygone Years remained active for half a millennium. In full or abbreviated form, it was copied at the beginning of most of the regional and grand ducal annals. She was imitated by subsequent chroniclers. For political glorifications, Metropolitan Hilarion’s “Sermon on Law and Grace” remained exemplary for many centuries, for hagiographic literature such as "Marty" - the lives of Boris and Gleb, for hagiographic biographies - "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves", for church teachings - the teachings of the same Theodosius, etc.

In the future, Russian literature is enriched with new genres, becomes more complex in content; its social functions are acquiring more and more ramified forms and diverse applications, literature is becoming more and more journalistic, but does not lose its monumentality and medieval historicism.


Literature

1. Adrianov-Perets V.P. The main objectives of the study of ancient Russian literature in research - P. 5-14

2. Adrianov-Perets V.P. Old Russian literature and folklore: (On the formulation of the problem). - pp. 5-16

3. Klyuchevsky V.O. Old Russian Lives saints as a historical source - M.: graduate School, 1879 - 254p.

4. Kuskov V. Literature and culture of Ancient Rus': a dictionary-reference book. - M .: Higher school, 1994. - 229 p.

5. Moral experience in the bookishness of Ancient Rus' // Thought. Yearbook of the Petersburg Association of Philosophers. - Issue. No. 1, 2000.


Kuskov V. Literature and culture of Ancient Rus': a dictionary-reference book. - M.: Higher School, 1994. - S. 129

Klyuchevsky V.O. Old Russian Lives of the Saints as a historical source - M .: Higher School, 1879 - S. 14

Moral experience in the bookishness of Ancient Rus' // Thought. Yearbook of the Petersburg Association of Philosophers. - Issue. No. 1, 2000.

Adrianov-Perets V.P. Ancient Russian Literature and Folklore: (On the Statement of the Problem). - pp. 5-16

Adrianov-Perets V.P. The main objectives of the study of ancient Russian literature in research P. 5-14


Ancient Russian literature. There is no need to consider all the monuments that existed in Ancient Rus'. On the example of several works, let us consider how the theme of man and his deeds developed in ancient Russian literature. 2. Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus' One of the first, most important genres of emerging Russian literature was the chronicle genre. The oldest actually extant chronicle...

To the Soviet deficit, but also to Old Russian literature. But the differences between ancient Russian literature and contemporary literature of the Latin West or Byzantium do not at all speak of its inferiority, “second-rate”. Just ancient Russian culture- in many ways different. Culturologist and semiotician B.A. Uspensky explained the originality of ancient Russian literature in the following way. The word, according to semiotics (the science of signs) is a conditional ...

... "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" "each era finds ... new and its own" [Likhachev, 1994: 3] Conclusion The study made it possible to identify the aesthetic and functional nature of ancient Russian literature, using cultural aspects of analysis artistic text, comprehend the spiritual atmosphere of Ancient Rus' and the author's model of the world, identify and analyze methodological and methodological ...

He cannot help us: he himself calls his work either a “word”, or a “song”, or a “story” (“Remember, brethren, this story ...”). The Word has no analogies among other monuments of ancient Russian literature. Therefore, it is either a work exceptional in its genre originality, or a representative special genre, whose monuments have not reached us, since this genre, combining features ...

Is it possible today to imagine a life in which there are no books, newspapers, magazines, notepads? Modern man so accustomed to the fact that everything important and requiring ordering should be written down that without this knowledge would not be systematized, fragmentary. But this was preceded by a very difficult period, stretching for millennia. Literature consisted of chronicles, chronicles and lives of saints. Works of art began to write much later.

When did ancient Russian literature originate?

The prerequisite for the emergence of ancient Russian literature was various forms oral folklore, pagan traditions. Slavic writing originated only in the 9th century AD. Until that time, knowledge, epics were passed from mouth to mouth. But the baptism of Rus', the creation of the alphabet by the Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius in 863 opened the way for books from Byzantium, Greece, and Bulgaria. Through the first books transmitted Christian doctrine. Since in ancient times written sources was not enough, then there was a need to rewrite books.

ABC contributed cultural development Eastern Slavs. Because the Old Russian language 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 script. In ancient Bulgaria, culture reached its peak of development by the 10th century. The works of the writers of John the Exarch of Bulgaria, Clement, Tsar Simeon began to appear. Their work also influenced ancient Russian culture.

The Christianization of the ancient Russian state made writing a necessity, because without it it is impossible public life, public, international connections. christian religion 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 annals. There were translators and scribes. All of them were church people: priests, deacons, monks. It took a long time to rewrite, but there were still few books.

Old Russian books were written mainly on parchment, which was obtained after special processing of pig, calf, and sheep skin. Manuscript books in the ancient Russian state were called "charate", "harati" or "veal". Durable, but expensive material made books expensive, which is why it was so important to find a replacement for the skin of pets. Foreign paper, called "overseas" appeared only in the XIV century. But until the 17th century, parchment was used to write valuable government documents.

Ink was obtained by combining old iron (nails) and tannin (growths on oak leaves, which were called "ink nuts"). In order for the ink to be thick and shiny, glue from cherries and molasses was poured into them. Ferrous ink having brown shade, were characterized by increased durability. To give originality and decorativeness, colored ink, sheet gold or silver were used. For writing, goose feathers were used, the tip of which was cut off, and a cut was made in the middle of the point.

What century does Old 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. ending Old Russian period in the 17th century.

Periodization of ancient Russian literature.

  1. Written sources Kievan Rus: the period covers the 11th century and early XIII century. At this time, the chronicle was the main written source.
  2. Literature of the second third of the XIII century and the end of the XIV century. The Old Russian state is going through a period of fragmentation. Dependence on the Golden Horde set back the development of culture for many centuries.
  3. The end of the XIV century, which is characterized by the unification of the principalities of the northeast into one Moscow principality, the emergence of specific principalities, and the beginning of the XV century.
  4. XV - XVI centuries: this is the period of centralization of the Russian state and the emergence of journalistic literature.
  5. XVI - late XVII century is the New Time, which accounts for the appearance of poetry. Now the works are released with the indication of the author.

the oldest of famous works Russian literature is the Ostromir Gospel. It got its name from the name of the Novgorod posadnik Ostromir, who ordered the scribe Deacon Gregory to translate it. During 1056 - 1057. translation has been completed. It was the posadnik's contribution to Saint Sophia Cathedral built in Novgorod.

The second gospel is the Arkhangelsk, which was written in 1092. From the literature of this period, there is a lot of secret and philosophical meaning hidden in the Izbornik of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav in 1073. The Izbornik reveals the meaning and idea of ​​mercy, the principles of morality. The basis philosophical thought The gospels and apostolic epistles lay down in Kievan Rus. They described earthly life Jesus, and also described his miraculous resurrection.

Books have always been a source of philosophical thought. Translations from Syriac, Greek, Georgian penetrated into Rus'. There were also translations from European countries: England, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden. Their works were revised and copied by ancient Russian scribes. Ancient Russian philosophical culture is a reflection of mythology and has Christian roots. Among the monuments Old Russian writing the “Messages of Vladimir Monomakh”, “The Prayers of Daniil the Sharpener” stand out.

The first ancient Russian literature is characterized by high expressiveness and richness of language. To enrich the Old Slavonic language, they used the language of folklore, speeches of orators. Two literary style, one of which is “High” solemn, the other is “Low”, which was used in everyday life.

Genres of literature

  1. lives of saints, include biographies of bishops, patriarchs, founders of monasteries, saints (they were created in compliance with special rules and required a special style of presentation) - patericons (life of the first saints Boris and Gleb, abbess Theodosia),
  2. the lives of the saints, which are presented from a different point of view - apocrypha,
  3. historical works or chronicles (chronographs) - brief records of the history of ancient Rus', Russian chronograph of the second half of the 15th century,
  4. works about fictional travels and adventures - walking.

Genres of Old Russian literature table

Central among the genres of ancient Russian literature is chronicle writing, which has developed over the centuries. These are weather records of the history and events of Ancient Rus'. The chronicle is a surviving written annalistic (from the word - summer, records begin "in the summer") monument from one or more lists. The names of chronicles are random. This may be the name of the scribe or the name of the area where the chronicle was written. For example, Lavrentievskaya - on behalf of the scribe Lavrenty, Ipatievskaya - on the name of the monastery where the chronicle was found. Chronicles are often vaults that combine several chronicles at once. Protographs were the source for such vaults.

The chronicle, which served as the basis for the vast majority of ancient Russian written sources, is the Tale of Bygone Years of 1068. common feature Chronicles of the XII-XV centuries is that the chroniclers no longer consider political events in their annals, but focus on the needs and interests of "their principality" (Annals of Veliky Novgorod, Pskov annals, annals of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, Moscow annals), 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 as reflecting events of an all-Russian scale. The author connects Igor's failed campaign in 1185 with strife and calls for unity in order to save his people.

Sources personal origin are heterogeneous verbal sources that are united common origin: private correspondence, autobiographies, travel descriptions. They reflect the author's direct perception of historical events. Such sources first appear in the princely period. These are the memoirs of Nestor the chronicler, for example.

In the 15th century, the heyday of chronicle writing begins, when voluminous chronicles and short chroniclers coexist, telling about the activities of one princely family. Two parallel trends emerge: the official point of view and the opposition point of view (the church and princely descriptions).

This is where the issue of falsification comes into play. historical sources or creating documents that never existed before, amending original documents. To do this, developed a whole system of methods. In the 18th century, interest in historical science was universal. This gave rise to a large number falsification, presented in epic form and presented as the original. A whole industry of falsifying ancient sources is emerging in Russia. Burnt or lost annals, such as the "Word", we study from the surviving copies. So copies were made by Musin-Pushkin, A. Bardin, A. Surakadzev. Among the most mysterious sources is the Book of Veles, found in the Zadonsky estate in the form of wooden boards with text scrawled on them.

Ancient 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 the ancient Russian scribes to get acquainted with the main genres and literary monuments of Byzantium over two centuries.

Rus. X-XI centuries. Active construction of schools, high literacy of the common population, as a rule, the appearance of written literary and chronographic monuments. Speaking about the monuments of ancient Russian literature, one can "get lost" in these wilds - there are quite a lot of works - more than 1000. A thousand handwritten creations, as it was said then, are in the wild and backward outskirts of the European continent. It's just unthinkable!

What were the monuments of ancient Russian literature? Here it is necessary to divide the writing of the Slavs into two periods: pre-Christian and Christian. In the pre-Christian period, the writing of the ancient Slavs was a pictography - a pictorial writing that did not represent the transmission of sounds and the recording of letters - it was conceptual, that is, a certain drawing could mean something, but not always the same thing. For example, the drawn Sun could mean either sunny, clear weather, or one day (in quantitative terms). In addition to pictography, in the second half of the 1st millennium AD, the Slavs appeared different kinds writing, since the Slavs lived in clans and tribes, and not always united common roots and culture, then their writing could develop separately. At that time great importance had the form of writing "devils and cuts", which was written down by more than one traveler, but was never deciphered. With this type of writing, according to medieval travelers, the Slavs made inscriptions on wooden idols of their gods and when carving inscriptions on sarcophagi and coffins of the dead. By virtue of its geographical location, Rus' bordered on various cultures that had a developed sound writing system - these are the Khazars and Armenians, Greeks and Romans. In the border regions of Rus' with other states, the Russians sometimes adopted their type of writing, but it did not become a national one. At the same time, it should be noted that since the ninth century in Rus', a gradual transition to the Cyrillic script - Cyrillic alphabet - begins.

After the adoption of Christianity in Rus' at the end of the 10th century, the state began to massively carry out activities to switch to single system letters. This system was the Cyrillic alphabet, which, more than any other type of writing, was adapted to specific sound forms. Slavic languages. This was the reason for the choice in the direction of writing, created by the Bulgarian monks Cyril and Methodius.

After that historical event in Rus', the era of the rise of writing began. In this or that large and small city, written monuments of historical and cultural character. The main directions of writing are, of course, the annals of religious monuments, meaning Christian ones.

A chronicle is a written record of history in chronological order. It cannot be said that these works were exclusively objective, since they were written at the courts of the rulers and were aimed at glorifying him and humiliating his enemies. Speaking in Russian, even then there was censorship. With regards to the second direction of writing - religious monuments, we can say that these are the first ones literary monuments filled with deep meaning and beautiful style. Basically, these are descriptions of the life of large religious figures or martyrs of the Orthodox religion.

In those ancient times, such written samples appeared as "The Truth of Yaroslav", "Joachim's Chronicle", "The Legend of the Spread of Christianity in Rus'", "Readings about the Life of Boris and Gleb" and "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves" and many others literary works that have come down to our days.

To the most outstanding monuments Old Russian literature, we can include such masterpieces of writing as "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", "Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", "The Tale of Bygone Years".

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is the first historical work of the Slavs, a chronicle that covers not only the political development of the country, but also the internal situation, including domestic relations, traditions and customs ancient population Russian lands.

"Instruction of Vladimir Monomakh" is most likely the first moralizing work of the Russians. Contains whole list instructions directed to the young, rising generation. That is, to children, both to their relatives and to everyone else. It was prescribed not to pass by a person without greeting him, to give the one who asks, to take care of the sick and the weak, and other "teachings".

The most significant monument of ancient Russian literature is "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". This large-scale work tells about the military campaign of Prince Igor (Svyatoslavovich), directed against the eastern neighbor, the Polovtsian nomads. It so happened that the only manuscript of this remarkable literary monument burned down in a fire in Moscow, during Patriotic War 1812. Unfortunately, there was no book printing in Rus' at that time, and literary monuments were almost always in a single copy, only sometimes they were copied, and the original work was distorted. Each scribe could add something or, conversely, it might seem to him that some sentence was superfluous and should be skipped.

Thus, not all monuments of ancient Russian literature have survived to this day, but even that part of the works that have come down to us allows us to judge the creative thought and literature of the ancient Slavs as achievements that are at a high cultural level.



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