Any national literature has its distinctive (specific) features.
Old Russian literature (DRL) is doubly specific, because in addition to national traits bears the features of the Middle Ages (XI - XVII centuries), which had a decisive influence on the worldview and human psychology Ancient Rus'.
Two blocks can be distinguished specific features.
The first block can be called general cultural, the second is most closely connected with inner world Personality of a person of the Russian Middle Ages.
Let's talk about the first block very briefly. First, ancient Russian literature was handwritten. In the first centuries of Russian literary process The writing material was parchment (or parchment). It was made from the skin of calves or lambs, and therefore it was called "veal" in Rus'. Parchment was an expensive material, it was used extremely carefully and the most important things were written on it. Later, instead of parchment, paper appeared, which partly contributed, in the words of D. Likhachev, to “the breakthrough of literature to mass character”.
In Rus', three main types of writing successively replaced each other. The first (XI - XIV centuries) was called a charter, the second (XV - XVI centuries) - semi-charter, the third (XVII century) - cursive.
Since the writing material was expensive, the book's customers (large monasteries, princes, boyars) wanted the most interesting works to be collected under one cover. various subjects and the time of their creation.
Artworks ancient Russian literature called monuments.
Monuments in Ancient Rus' functioned in the form of collections.
Particular attention should be paid to the second block of specific features of the DRL.
1. The functioning of monuments in the form of collections is explained not only at a great cost books. Ancient Russian man, in his desire to acquire knowledge about the world around him, strove for a kind of encyclopedia. Therefore, in the Old Russian collections there are often monuments of various subjects and problems.
2. In the first centuries of the development of the DRL, fiction had not yet emerged as an independent field of creativity and public consciousness. Therefore, one and the same monument was at the same time a monument of literature, and a monument of historical thought, and a monument of philosophy, which in Ancient Rus' existed in the form of theology. It is interesting to know that, for example, Russian chronicles until the beginning of the 20th century were considered exclusively as historical literature. Only thanks to the efforts of Academician V. Adrianov-Peretz did the annals become an object of literary criticism.
At the same time, the special philosophical saturation of ancient Russian literature in the subsequent centuries of Russian literary development will not only be preserved, but will actively develop and become one of the defining national features of Russian literature as such. This will allow Academician A. Losev to state with all certainty: “ Fiction is a treasure trove of original Russian philosophy. In the prose writings of Zhukovsky and Gogol, in the works of Tyutchev, Fet, Leo Tolstoy, Dostoevsky<...>often developed basic philosophical problems, of course, in their specifically Russian, extremely practical, life-oriented form. And these problems are resolved here in such a way that an open-minded and knowledgeable judge will call these solutions not just "literary" or "artistic", but philosophical and ingenious.
3. Old Russian literature was anonymous (impersonal) in nature, which is inextricably linked with another feature- collective creativity. The authors of Ancient Rus' (often referred to as scribes) did not seek to leave their name to the centuries, firstly, due to the Christian tradition (scribe-monks often call themselves "unreasonable", "sinful" monks who dared to become creators of artistic word); secondly, due to the understanding of their work as part of an all-Russian, collective cause.
At first glance, this feature seems to indicate a poorly developed personal beginning in the Old Russian author in comparison with the Western European masters of the artistic word. Even the name of the author of the brilliant Tale of Igor's Campaign is still unknown, while Western European medieval literature can "boast" of hundreds of great names. However, there can be no question of the "backwardness" of ancient Russian literature or its "impersonality". We can talk about its special national quality. Once D. Likhachev very accurately compared Western European literature with a group of soloists, and Old Russian literature with a choir. Is choral singing less beautiful than the performances of individual soloists? Does it lack manifestation? human personality?
4. The main character of ancient Russian literature is the Russian land. We agree with D. Likhachev, who emphasized that the literature of the pre-Mongolian period is the literature of one theme - the theme of the Russian land. This does not mean at all that the ancient Russian authors "refuse" to depict the experiences of an individual human personality, "fixate" on the Russian land, depriving themselves of their individuality and sharply limiting the "universal" significance of DRL.
Firstly, ancient Russian authors always, even in the most tragic moments national history, for example, in the first decades of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, they sought through the richest Byzantine literature to join the highest achievements of the culture of other peoples and civilizations. So, in the XIII century they are translated into Old Russian language medieval encyclopedias "Melissa" ("Bee") and "Physiologist".
Secondly, and most importantly, it must be borne in mind that the personality of a Russian person and the personality of a Western European is formed on different worldview foundations: a Western European personality is individualistic, it is affirmed due to its special significance, exclusivity. This is connected with the special course of Western European history, with the development of the Western Christian Church (Catholicism). A Russian person, by virtue of his Orthodoxy (belonging to Eastern Christianity - Orthodoxy), denies the individualistic (egoistic) principle as destructive both for the person himself and for his environment. Russian classic literature- from the nameless scribes of Ancient Rus' to Pushkin and Gogol, A. Ostrovsky and Dostoevsky, V. Rasputin and V. Belov - depicts the tragedy of an individualistic personality and establishes his heroes on the path to overcoming the evil of individualism.
5. Old Russian literature did not know fiction. This refers to a conscious mindset. The author and the reader absolutely believe in the truth of the artistic word, even if it is fiction from the point of view of a secular person.
The conscious attitude to fiction will come later. This will happen at the end of the 15th century, during the period of intensification of the political struggle for leadership in the process of unification of the primordially Russian lands. The rulers will also appeal to the absolute authority of the written word. This is how the genre of political legend arose. In Moscow there will appear: the eschatological theory "Moscow - the Third Rome", which naturally took on a topical political coloring, as well as "The Legend of the Princes of Vladimir". In Veliky Novgorod - "The Legend of the Novgorod White Klobuk".
6. In the first centuries, DRL tried not to depict everyday life for the following reasons. The first (religious) way of life is sinful, its image prevents an earthly person from directing his aspirations to the salvation of the soul. Second (psychological): life seemed unchanged. Both the grandfather, and the father, and the son wore the same clothes, weapons did not change, etc.
Over time, under the influence of the process of secularization, everyday life more and more penetrates the pages of Russian books. This will lead to the emergence in the 16th century of the genre of everyday story (“The Tale of Ulyaniya Osorgina”), and in the 17th century the genre of everyday story will become the most popular.
7. DRL is characterized by special treatment to history. The past is not only not separated from the present, but is actively present in it, and also determines the fate of the future. An example of this is "The Tale of Bygone Years", "The Story of the Crime of the Ryazan Princes", "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", etc.
8. Old Russian literature wore instructive character. This means that the ancient Russian scribes sought, first of all, to enlighten the souls of their readers with the light of Christianity. In DRL, unlike Western medieval literature, there was never a desire to lure the reader with a wonderful fiction, to lead away from life difficulties. Adventurous translated stories will gradually penetrate into Russia from the beginning of the 17th century, when Western European influence on Russian life will become obvious.
So, we see that some specific features of DID will be gradually lost over time. However, those characteristics of the Russian national literature, which define the core ideological orientation, remain unchanged up to the present.
The problem of the authorship of literary monuments of Ancient Rus' is directly related to national specifics the first centuries of the development of the Russian literary process. “The author's principle,” noted D.S. Likhachev, “was muted in ancient literature.<…>The absence of great names in ancient Russian literature seems like a death sentence.<…>We biasedly proceed from our ideas about the development of literature - ideas brought up<…>for centuries when it blossomed individual, personal art is the art of individual geniuses.<…>The literature of Ancient Rus' was not the literature of individual writers: it, like folk art, was a supra-individual art. It was an art that was created through the accumulation of collective experience and made a huge impression with the wisdom of traditions and the unity of everything - mostly unnamed- writing.<…>Old Russian writers are not architects of separate buildings. These are city planners.<…>Any literature creates its own world, embodying the world of ideas of contemporary society. Consequently, anonymous (impersonal) the nature of the creativity of ancient Russian authors is a manifestation national identity Russian literature and in this regard namelessness"Words about Igor's Campaign" is not a problem.
Representatives of the skeptical literary school (the first half of the 19th century) proceeded from the fact that the “backward” Ancient Rus' could not “give birth” to a monument of such a level of artistic perfection as “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”.
Philologist-orientalist O.I. Senkovsky, for example, was sure that the creator of the Lay was imitating the samples of Polish poetry of the 16th-17th centuries, that the work itself could not be older than the time of Peter I, that the author of the Lay was a Galician who moved to Russia or was educated in Kyiv. The creators of the "Word" were also called A.I. Musin-Pushkin (the owner of the collection with the text "Words"), and Ioliy Bykovsky (the one from whom the collection was purchased), and N.M. Karamzin as the most gifted Russian writer late XVIII century.
Thus, the "Word" represented literary hoax in the spirit of J. MacPherson, who allegedly discovered in the middle of the 18th century the works legendary warrior and the Celtic singer Ossian, who lived according to legend in the 3rd century AD. in Ireland.
The traditions of the skeptical school in the 20th century were continued by the French Slavist A. Mazon, who initially believed that the “Word” was supposedly created by A.I. Musin-Pushkin to justify the aggressive policy of Catherine II in the Black Sea: "We have a case here when history and literature deliver their evidence at the right time." In many ways, the Soviet historian A. Zimin was in solidarity with A. Mazon, who called Ioliy Bykovsky the creator of the Lay.
The arguments of the supporters of the authenticity of the Lay were very convincing. A.S. Pushkin: the authenticity of the monument is proved by “the spirit of antiquity, under which it is impossible to fake. Which of our writers in the 18th century could have had enough talent for that? VK Küchelbecker: “In terms of talent, this deceiver would have surpassed almost all the then Russian poets, taken together.”
“Surprises of skepticism,” V.A. rightly emphasized. Chivilikhin - were to some extent even useful - they revived the scientific and public interest in the Lay, encouraged scientists to look more sharply into the depths of time, gave rise to research done with scientific thoroughness, academic objectivity and thoroughness.
After disputes related to the time of creation of the Lay and Zadonshchina, the vast majority of researchers, even, ultimately, A. Mazon, came to the conclusion that the Lay is a monument of the 12th century. Now the search for the author of the Lay focused on the circle of contemporaries of the tragic campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich, which took place in the spring of 1185.
V.A. Chivilikhin in the novel-essay "Memory" gives the most full list alleged authors of The Tale of Igor's Campaign and indicates the names of the researchers who put forward these assumptions: "they called a certain "grechin" (N. Aksakov), the Galician" wise scribe "Timofey (N. Golovin)," folk singer"(D. Likhachev), Timofey Raguilovich (writer I. Novikov), "Verbal singer Mitus" (writer A. Yugov), "thousand Raguil Dobrynich" (V. Fedorov), some unknown court singer, approximate Grand Duchess Kyiv Maria Vasilkovna (A. Soloviev), "singer Igor" (A. Petrushevich), "merciful" Grand Duke Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich chronicle Kochkar (American researcher S. Tarasov), unknown "wandering book singer" (I. Malyshevsky), Belovolod Prosovich (anonymous Munich translator of the Lay), Chernigov voivode Olstin Aleksich (M. Sokol), Kyiv boyar Pyotr Borislavich (B. Rybakov), probable heir to the family singer Boyan (A. Robinson), unnamed grandson of Boyan (M. Shchepkin), as applied to a significant part of the text - Boyan himself (A. Nikitin), mentor, adviser to Igor (P. Okhrimenko), an unknown Polovtsian storyteller (O. Suleimenov)<…>».
V.A. himself Chivilikhin is sure that Prince Igor was the creator of the word. At the same time, the researcher refers to an old and, in his opinion, undeservedly forgotten report by the famous zoologist and at the same time a specialist in the Lay N.V. Charlemagne (1952). One of the main arguments of V. Chivilikhin is the following: “it was not for the singer and not for the combatant to judge the princes of his time, to indicate what they should do; this is the prerogative of a person who stands on the same social level with those to whom he addressed"
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Old Russian literature (DRL) is the foundation of all literature. The main keepers and copyists of books in Ancient Rus', as a rule, were monks, who were least of all interested in storing and copying books of worldly (secular) content. And this largely explains why the vast majority of works that have come down to us Old Russian writing is ecclesiastical in nature. A characteristic feature of ancient Russian literature is r u k o p i s n y nature of its existence and distribution. At the same time, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections that pursued certain practical goals. “Everything that serves not for the sake of benefit, but for the sake of embellishment, is subject to the charge of vanity.” These words of Basil the Great largely determined the attitude of the ancient Russian society to the works of writing. The value of this or that handwritten book was evaluated in terms of its practical purpose and usefulness. Another feature of our ancient literature is an an o n i m o s t, the impersonality of her works. This was a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude of feudal society to man, and in particular to the work of a writer, artist, and architect. At best, we know the names of individual authors, "writers" of books, who modestly put their name either at the end of the manuscript, or in its margins, or (which is much less common) in the title of the work. In most cases, the author of the work prefers to remain unknown, and sometimes even hide behind the authoritative name of one or another "father of the church" - John Chrysostom, Basil the Great. One of the characteristic features of ancient Russian literature is its connection with church and business writing, on the one hand, and oral poetic folk art, on the other. The nature of these connections on each historical stage development of literature and in its individual monuments was different. However, the wider and deeper literature used artistic experience folklore, the brighter it reflected the phenomena of reality, the wider was the scope of its ideological and artistic influence. Feature ancient Russian literature - and s t o r i z m. Her characters are mostly historical figures, it almost does not allow fiction and strictly follows the fact. Even numerous stories about "miracles" - phenomena that seem supernatural to a medieval person, are not so much the fiction of an ancient Russian writer, but accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the persons themselves with whom the "miracle" happened. The historicism of Old Russian literature has a specifically medieval character. The course and development of historical events is explained by God's will, the will of Providence. The heroes of the works are princes, rulers of the state, standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. The theme is also connected with historicism: the beauty and greatness of Rus', historical events. The AR writer creates within the framework of an established tradition, looks at patterns, does not allow fiction.
Over the course of seven centuries of development, our literature consistently reflected the main changes that took place in the life of society.
long time artistic thinking was inextricably linked with religious and medieval historical form consciousness, but gradually with the development of national and class self-consciousness, it begins to free itself from church ties.
Literature has worked out clear and definite ideals of the spiritual beauty of a person who gives himself entirely to the common good, the good of the Russian land, the Russian state.
She created the ideal characters of staunch Christian ascetics, valiant and courageous rulers, “good sufferers for the Russian land.” These literary characters supplemented the folk ideal of man, which has developed in epic oral poetry.
D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak spoke very well about the close connection between these two ideals in a letter to Ya. And here and there representatives of their native land, behind them one can see that Rus', on whose guard they stood. Among the heroes, the predominant element is physical strength: they defend their homeland with a broad chest, and that is why this “heroic outpost” is so good, advanced to the battle line, in front of which historical predators roamed ... “Saints” represent the other side of Russian history, even more important as a moral stronghold and the holy of holies of the future multi-million people. These chosen ones had a premonition of the history of a great nation...”
The focus of literature was the historical fate of the motherland, issues of state building. That's why epic historical themes and genres play a leading role in it.
Deep historicism in the medieval sense determined the connection of our ancient literature with the heroic folk epic, and also determined the features of the image of a human character.
Old Russian writers gradually mastered the art of creating deep and versatile characters, the ability to correctly explain the causes of human behavior.
From a static still image of a person, our writers went to reveal the inner dynamics of feelings, to depict various psychological states of a person, to identify individual features personality.
The latter was most clearly marked in the 17th century, when personality and literature began to free themselves from the undivided power of the church and, in connection with common process“secularization of culture” is also a “secularization” of literature.
It led not only to the creation of fictional heroes, generalized and, to a certain extent, socially individualized characters.
This process led to the emergence of new types of literature - drama and lyrics, new genres - everyday, satirical, adventurous and adventure stories.
The strengthening of the role of folklore in the development of literature contributed to its democratization and closer rapprochement with life. This affected the language of literature: to replace the obsolete already by late XVII centuries old Slavic literary language was a new living colloquial, a wide stream pouring into the literature of the second half of XVII in.
A characteristic feature of ancient literature is its inseparable connection with reality.
This connection gave our literature an extraordinary journalistic sharpness, an agitated lyrical emotional pathos, which made it an important means of political education of contemporaries and which gives it the enduring significance that it has in the subsequent centuries of the development of the Russian nation, Russian culture.
Kuskov V.V. History of ancient Russian literature. - M., 1998
The originality of ancient Russian literature:
Works of ancient Russian literature existed and were distributed in manuscripts. At the same time, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections. Another feature of medieval literature is the absence of copyright. We know of only a few individual authors, writers of books, who modestly put their name at the end of the manuscript. At the same time, the writer supplied his name with such epithets as “thin”. But in most cases, the writer wished to remain anonymous. As a rule, the author's texts have not come down to us, but their later lists have been preserved. Often scribes acted as editors and co-authors. At the same time, they changed the ideological orientation of the rewritten work, the nature of its style, shortened or distributed the text in accordance with the tastes and demands of the time. As a result, new editions of monuments were created. Thus, a researcher of Old Russian literature must study all available lists of a particular work, establish the time and place of their writing by comparing different editions, variants of lists, and also determine in which edition the list most closely matches the original author's text. Such sciences as textology and paleography can come to the rescue (studies external signs handwritten monuments - handwriting, lettering, the nature of the writing material).
A characteristic feature of ancient Russian literature is historicism. Her heroes are predominantly historical figures, she almost does not allow fiction and strictly follows the fact. Even numerous stories about "miracles" - phenomena that seem supernatural to a medieval person, are not so much the fiction of an ancient Russian writer, but accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the persons themselves with whom the "miracle" happened. Old Russian literature, inextricably linked with the history of the development of the Russian state, the Russian people, is imbued with heroic and patriotic pathos. Another feature is anonymity.
Literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian man, who is capable of giving up the most precious thing for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep faith in the power and ultimate triumph of good, in the ability of a person to elevate his spirit and defeat evil. The Old Russian writer was least of all inclined to an impartial presentation of facts, "listening to good and evil indifferently." Any genre of ancient literature, be it a historical story or a legend, a life story or a church sermon, as a rule, includes significant elements of journalism. Concerning mainly state-political or moral issues, the writer believes in the power of the word, in the power of conviction. He appeals not only to his contemporaries, but also to distant descendants with an appeal to take care that the glorious deeds of their ancestors are preserved in the memory of generations and that the descendants do not repeat the sad mistakes of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
The literature of Ancient Rus' expressed and defended the interests of the upper classes of feudal society. However, it could not fail to show an acute class struggle, which resulted either in the form of open spontaneous uprisings, or in the forms of typical medieval religious heresies. Literature clearly reflected the struggle between progressive and reactionary groupings within the ruling class, each of which was looking for support among the people. And since the progressive forces of feudal society reflected the interests of the whole state, and these interests coincided with the interests of the people, we can talk about the folk character of ancient Russian literature.
In the 11th - the first half of the 12th century, the main writing material was parchment, made from the skin of calves or lambs. Birch bark played the role of student notebooks.
To save writing material, words in a line were not separated, and only paragraphs of the manuscript were highlighted with a red capital letter. Often used well-known words were written in abbreviated form, under a special superscript - title. The parchment was pre-lined. The handwriting with the correct almost square lettering was called the charter.
The written sheets were sewn into notebooks, which were bound into wooden boards.
Problem artistic method:
The artistic method of ancient Russian literature is inextricably linked with the nature of the worldview, the worldview of medieval man, which absorbed religious speculative ideas about the world and a specific vision of reality associated with labor practice. In the mind of medieval man, the world existed in two dimensions: real, earthly and heavenly, spiritual. The Christian religion insisted that human life on earth is temporary. The purpose of earthly life is preparation for eternal, imperishable life. These preparations should consist in the moral perfection of the soul, the curbing of sinful passions, and so on.
Two aspects of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature are connected with the dual nature of the worldview of medieval man:
1) reproduction of individual facts in all their concreteness, a purely empirical statement;
2) the consistent transformation of life, that is, the idealization of the facts of real life, the image of not what is, but what should be.
The historicism of Old Russian literature in its medieval understanding is connected with the first side of the artistic method, and its symbolism is associated with the second.
The ancient Russian writer was convinced that symbols are hidden in nature, in man himself. He believed that historical events are also full of symbolic meaning, since he believed that history moves and is directed by the will of a deity. The writer considered symbols as the main means of revealing the truth, discovering inner meaning phenomena. As the phenomena of the surrounding world are ambiguous, so is the word. Hence the symbolic nature of metaphors, comparisons in ancient Russian literature.
The Old Russian writer, in an effort to convey the image of truth, strictly follows the fact, which he himself witnessed or which he learned about from the words of an eyewitness, a participant in the event. He does not doubt the truth of miracles, supernatural phenomena, believes in their reality.
As a rule, the heroes of the works of ancient Russian literature are historical figures. Only in some cases, the heroes are representatives of the people.
Medieval literature is still alien to any individualization of human character. Old Russian writers create generalized typological images of an ideal ruler, a warrior, on the one hand, and an ideal ascetic, on the other. These images are sharply opposed to the generalized typological image of an evil ruler and the collective image of the demon-devil personifying evil.
In the view of the ancient Russian writer, life is a constant arena of the struggle between good and evil.
The source of goodness, good thoughts and deeds is God. The devil and demons are pushing people to evil. However, the Old Russian literature does not remove responsibility from the person himself. Everyone is free to choose their own path.
In the understanding of the ancient Russian writer, the categories of ethical and aesthetic merged. Good is always great. Evil is associated with darkness.
The writer builds his works on the contrast between good and evil. He leads the reader to the idea that high moral qualities man is the result of hard moral labor.
The behavior and actions of the heroes are determined by their social status, their belonging to the princely, boyar, squad, church estates.
Strict observance of the rhythm established by the ancestors of the order is the vital basis of etiquette, ceremoniality of ancient Russian literature. So the chronicler, first of all, sought to put the numbers in a row, that is, to arrange the material he selected in chronological order.
The works of ancient Russian literature were didactic, moralizing in nature. They were designed to help get rid of vices.
So, medieval historicism, symbolism, ritualism and didacticism are the leading principles of artistic representation in the works of ancient Russian literature. In various works, depending on the genre and time of their creation, these features manifested themselves in different ways.
The historical development of ancient Russian literature proceeded through the gradual destruction of the integrity of its method, liberation from Christian symbolism, ritualism and didacticism.
3 - 6. "The Tale of Bygone Years".
The main ideas of the initial chronicle. Already in the title “Behold the story of time years, where did the Russian land come from, who in Kyiv began first before the princes, and where did the Russian land come from” - contains an indication of the ideological and thematic content of the chronicle. The Russian land, its historical destinies, starting from the moment of its origin and ending with the first decade of the 12th century, are at the center of attention of the chronicle. The lofty patriotic idea of the power of the Russian land, its political independence, religious independence from Byzantium constantly guides the chronicler when he brings into his work "traditions of antiquity" and truly historical events of the recent past.
The chronicle legends are unusually topical, publicistic, full of sharp condemnation of princely strife and strife, weakening the power of the Russian land, a call to observe the Russian land, not to shame the Russian land in the fight against external enemies, primarily with the steppe nomads - the Pechenegs, and then the Polovtsians.
The theme of the homeland is defining, leading in the annals. The interests of the homeland dictate to the chronicler one or another assessment of the actions of the prince, they are the measure of his glory and greatness. The living feeling of the Russian land, homeland and people tells the Russian chronicler that unprecedented breadth of the political horizon, which is unusual for Western European historical chronicles.
From written sources, the chroniclers borrow the historical Christian-scholastic concept, linking the history of the Russian land with the general course of development of "world" history. "The Tale of Bygone Years" opens with a biblical legend about the division of the earth after the flood between the sons of Noah - Shem, Ham and Japhet. The Slavs are the descendants of Japhet, that is, they, like the Greeks, belong to a single family of European peoples.
Finally, it is possible to "establish" the first date - 6360 - (852) - mentions in "Chronicles of Greek" "Russian Land". This date makes it possible to put "numbers in a row" i.e. proceed to a consistent chronological presentation, more precisely, the arrangement of the material "by summer" - on years. And when they cannot attach any event to a particular date, they limit themselves to simply fixing the date itself (for example: "in the summer of 6368", "in the summer of 6369"). The chronological principle gave ample opportunities for free handling of the material, made it possible to introduce new legends and stories into the annals, exclude old ones if they did not correspond to the political interests of the time and the author, supplement the annals with records of the events of recent years, the contemporary of which was its compiler.
As a result of the application of the weather chronological principle of presenting the material, the idea of history gradually developed as a continuous sequential chain of events. The chronological connection was reinforced by a genealogical, ancestral connection, the succession of the rulers of the Russian land, starting from Rurik and ending (in The Tale of Bygone Years) with Vladimir Monomakh.
At the same time, this principle made the chronicle fragmentary, which I. P. Eremin drew attention to.
Genres included in the chronicle. The chronological principle of presentation allowed the chroniclers to include in the chronicle material that was heterogeneous in character and genre features. The simplest narrative unit of the chronicle is a laconic weather record, limited only to a statement of fact. However, the very inclusion of this or that information in the annals testifies to its significance from the point of view of a medieval writer.
The chronicle also presents a type of detailed record, which records not only the "acts" of the prince, but also their results. For example: "AT Summer 6391 etc.
And a short weather record, and a more detailed documentary. They do not contain any embellishing tropes. The recording is simple, clear and concise, which gives it special significance, expressiveness and even majesty.
The chronicler focuses on the event - "what is here in the summer of forces." They are followed by news of the death of the princes. The birth of children, their marriage is less often recorded. Then information about the construction activities of the princes. Finally, messages about church affairs, occupying a very modest place. True, the chronicler describes the transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb, places legends about the beginning Caves monastery, the death of Theodosius of the Caves and stories about the memorable Chernorizets of the Caves. This is quite explainable by the political significance of the cult of the first Russian saints Boris and Gleb and the role of the Kiev Caves Monastery in the formation of the initial chronicle.
An important group of chronicle news is information about heavenly signs - eclipses of the sun, moon, earthquakes, epidemics, etc. The chronicler sees a connection between unusual natural phenomena and people's lives, historical events. The historical experience associated with the evidence of the chronicle of George Amartol leads the chronicler to the conclusion: “For signs in heaven, or stars, or suns, or birds, or chimney, are not for good; but there are signs of evil, whether the manifestation of rati, or famine, or death is manifested.
News items that are diverse in their subject matter can be combined within one chronicle article. The material included in The Tale of Bygone Years makes it possible to single out a historical legend, a toponymic tradition, a historical tradition (associated with a retinue heroic epic), a hagiographic legend, as well as a historical legend and a historical story.
The connection of the chronicle with folklore . The chronicler draws material on the events of the distant past from the treasury of the people's memory.
The appeal to the toponymic legend is dictated by the chronicler's desire to find out the origin of the names of the Slavic tribes, individual cities and the very word "Rus". So, the origin of the Slavic tribes of the Radimichi and Vyatichi is associated with the legendary natives of the Poles - the brothers Radim and Vyatko. This legend arose among the Slavs, obviously, during the period of the decomposition of the tribal system, when an isolated tribal foreman, in order to justify his right to political domination over the rest of the members of the clan, creates a legend about his supposedly foreign origin. This chronicle legend is close to the legend of the calling of princes, placed in the annals under 6370 (862). At the invitation of Novgorodians from across the sea "reign and volody" Three Varangian brothers come to Russian land with their families: Rurik, Sineus, Truvor.
The folklore nature of the legend confirms the presence of the epic number three - three brothers.
The legend about the calling of the princes served as an important argument for proving the sovereignty of the Kievan state, and by no means testified to the inability of the Slavs to independently arrange their own state, without the help of Europeans, as some scientists tried to prove.
A typical toponymic legend is also the legend about the founding of Kyiv by three brothers - Kyi, Shchek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid. On oral source The chronicler himself indicates the material included in the annals: “Ini, not knowing, rekosha, what kind of Kiy was the carrier.” The chronicler indignantly rejects the version of the folk legend about the Kiy-carrier. He categorically states that Kyi was a prince, made successful campaigns against Constantinople, where he received a great honor from the Greek king and founded the city of Kievets on the Danube.
Echoes of ritual poetry from the times of the tribal system are filled with annalistic news about the Slavic tribes, their customs, wedding and funeral rites.
The annalistic news about the marriage of Vladimir to the Polotsk princess Rogneda, about his plentiful and generous feasts arranged in Kyiv, goes back to folk tales - the Korsun legend. On the one hand, we see a pagan prince with his unbridled passions, on the other, an ideal Christian ruler, endowed with all the virtues: meekness, humility, love for the poor, for the monastic and monastic rank, etc. Contrasting comparison of the pagan prince with the Christian prince, the chronicler sought to prove the superiority of the new Christian morality over the pagan one.
The reign of Vladimir was fanned by the heroism of folk tales already at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century.
the spirit of the people heroic epic the legend about the victory of the Russian youth Kozhemyaki over the Pecheneg giant is imbued. As in the folk epic, the legend emphasizes the superiority of a man of peaceful labor, a simple artisan over a professional warrior - the Pecheneg hero. The images of the legend are built on the principle of contrasting comparison and broad generalization. At first glance, a Russian youth is an ordinary, unremarkable person, but he embodies that huge, gigantic power that the Russian people possess, decorating the earth with their labor and protecting it on the battlefield from external enemies. The Pecheneg warrior, with his gigantic size, terrifies those around him. A boastful and arrogant enemy is opposed by a modest Russian youth, the youngest son of a tanner. He performs a feat without arrogance and bragging. At the same time, the legend is timed to coincide with the toponymic legend about the origin of the city of Pereyaslavl - "Zone of the glory of the youth" but this is a clear anachronism, since Pereyaslavl had already been mentioned more than once in the annals before this event.
The legend of the Belgorod jelly is connected with the folk fairy tale epic. In this legend, the mind, resourcefulness and ingenuity of the Russian people are glorified.
The folklore basis is clearly felt in the church legend about the visit of the Russian land by the Apostle Andrew. By placing this legend, the chronicler sought to "historically" substantiate the religious independence of Rus' from Byzantium. The legend claimed that the Russian land received Christianity not from the Greeks, but allegedly by the disciple of Christ himself - the Apostle Andrew, who once passed the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" along the Dnieper and Volkhov - Christianity was predicted on the Russian land. The church legend about how Andrei blessed the Kyiv mountains is combined with a folk tale about Andrei's visit to the Novgorod land. This legend is of a domestic nature and is associated with the custom of the inhabitants of the Slavic north to bathe in hot wooden baths.
Most of the chronicle tales dedicated to the events of the 9th - the end of the 10th centuries are associated with oral folk art, its epic genres.
Historical stories and legends as part of the annals . As the chronicler moves from narrating the events of bygone years to the recent past, the material of the chronicle becomes more and more historically accurate, strictly factual and official.
The attention of the chronicler is attracted only by historical figures who are at the top of the feudal hierarchical ladder. In depicting their deeds, he follows the principles of medieval historicism. According to these principles, only purely official events of historical significance for the state should be recorded in the annals, and the private life of a person, his everyday environment, does not interest the chronicler.
In the annals, the ideal of a prince-ruler is developed. This ideal is inseparable from the general patriotic ideas of the chronicle. The ideal ruler is the living embodiment of love for native land, her honor and glory, the personification of her power and dignity. All his actions, all his activities are determined by the good of the motherland and the people. Therefore, the prince in the view of the chronicler cannot belong to himself. First of all, he is a historical figure who always appears in an official setting, endowed with all the attributes of princely power. D.S. Likhachev notes that the prince in the annals is always official, he is, as it were, turned to the viewer and is represented in his most significant actions. The virtues of a prince are a kind of ceremonial attire; at the same time, some virtues are purely mechanically attached to others, thanks to which it became possible to combine the ideals of the secular and church. Fearlessness, courage, military prowess are combined with humility, meekness and other Christian virtues.
If the activity of the prince is aimed at the good of the motherland, the chronicler glorifies him in every possible way, endowing him with all the qualities of a predetermined ideal. If the prince's activities run counter to the interests of the state, the chronicler spares no black paint and ascribes to the negative character all mortal sins: pride, envy, ambition, greed, etc.
The principles of medieval historicism are vividly embodied in stories "About the murder of Borisov"(1015) and about the blinding of Vasilko Terebovskiy, which can be attributed to the genre of historical stories about princely crimes. However, in terms of style, they are completely different works. Tale "About the murder of Borisov" sets out the historical facts of the murder of the brothers Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk with extensive use of elements of the hagiographic style. It is built on the contrast between the ideal martyr princes and the ideal villain. "cursed" Svyatopolk. The story of praise ends, oh, glorifying "Christ-loving passion-bearers", "shining lamps", "bright stars" - "protectors of the Russian land". In its ending, there is a prayer call to the martyrs to subdue the filthy "under the nose of our prince" and spare them "from the usable rati", that they may be in peace and unity. Thus, the patriotic idea common to the entire chronicle is expressed in hagiographic form. At the same time the story "About the murder of Borisov" interesting for a number of "documentary" details, "realistic details".
The story does not idealize Vasilko. He is not only a victim of slander, cruelty and deceit of Davyd Igorevich, Svyatopolk's gullibility, but he himself reveals no less cruelty both in relation to the perpetrators of evil and in relation to innocent people. There is no idealization in the depiction of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Svyatopolk, indecisive, gullible, weak-willed. The story allows the modern reader to imagine the characters of living people with their human weaknesses and virtues.
The story was written by a medieval writer who builds it on the opposition of two symbolic images"cross" and "knife", the leitmotif passing through the whole story.
Thus, "The Tale of the Blinding of Vasilko Terebovlsky" sharply condemns the violation by the princes of their contractual obligations, leading to terrible bloody crimes, bringing evil to the whole Russian land.
The descriptions of the events connected with the military campaigns of the princes take on the character of a historical documentary legend, testifying to the formation of the genre of the military story. Elements of this genre are present in the legend of Yaroslav's revenge on the Accursed Svyatopolk in 1015-1016.
In this chronicle legend, the main plot and compositional elements of the military story are already present: the collection of troops, the march, preparation for battle, the battle and its denouement.
All this allows us to speak about the presence in the "Tale of Bygone Years" of the main components of the military story genre.
Within the framework of the historical documentary style, messages about heavenly signs are sustained in the annals.
Elements of hagiographic style . The compilers of The Tale of Bygone Years also included hagiographic works: a Christian legend, a martyr's life (a legend about two Varangian martyrs), a legend about the founding of the Kiev Caves Monastery in 1051, about the death of its abbot Theodosius of the Caves in 1074 and the legend of the Chernorizets of the Caves. In the hagiographic style, the legends about the transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb (1072) and Theodosius of the Caves (1091) placed in the annals are written.
The chronicle exalted the exploits of the founders of the Kiev Caves Monastery, which was "set" neither "from kings, and from boyars, and from wealth", a "Tears, and fasting, and vigil" Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. Under 1074, following the story of the death of Theodosius, the chronicler narrates about the Pechersk Chernorizets, who "Like the lights in Rus' shine."
One of the forms of glorification of princes in the annals are posthumous obituaries associated with the genre of grave words of praise. The first such word of praise is the obituary of Princess Olga, placed under the year 969. It begins with a series of metaphorical comparisons glorifying the first Christian princess. The metaphorical images of “daylight”, “dawn”, “light”, “moon”, “beads” (pearls) were borrowed by the chronicler from Byzantine hagiographic literature, but they were used to glorify the Russian princess and emphasize the significance for Rus' of her feat - the adoption of Christianity.
The obituary praise of Olga is stylistically close to the praise of Vladimir, placed in the annals under 1015. The deceased prince receives an appraisal epithet "blissful", i.e., righteous, and his feat is equated with the feat of Constantine the Great.
Obituaries to Mstislav and Rostislav can be attributed to the genre of a verbal portrait, which describes the appearance and moral qualities princes: “Mastislav is a debel with a body, a dark face, a great eye, a brave on the rati, merciful, loving the squad in great measure, sparing no property, no drinking, no scolding food.”
The obituaries of Izyaslav and Vsevolod, along with the hagiographic idealization of these princes, touch on specific moments of their activity, and in the obituary of Vsevolod there is a voice of condemnation, since Vsevolod, in his old age, began "Love the meaning of the unholy, creating light with them."
From Christian literature, the chronicler drew moralistic maxims, figurative comparisons.
The function of biblical comparisons and reminiscences in the annals is different. These juxtapositions emphasize the significance and grandeur of the Russian land and its princes; they allow the chroniclers to translate the narrative from a “temporary” historical plan into an “eternal” one, i.e., they perform the artistic function of symbolic generalization. In addition, these comparisons are a means of moral evaluation of events and actions of historical figures.
7. Sermon "the word about law and grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion as an outstanding work of oratory of the 11th century. The theme of the equality of peoples, the glorification of the Russian land and its princes. Three-part composition. Metaphors-symbols, rhetorical questions and exclamations, rhythmic organization of the “Sermon on Law and Grace”.
"Sermon on Law and Grace" by Hilarion. An outstanding work of oratorical prose of the 11th century is the “Sermon on Law and Grace”. It was written between 1037-1050. priest of the princely church in Berestov Hilarion.
The "Sermon on Law and Grace" is imbued with patriotic pathos of glorifying Rus' as equal in rights among all states of the world. Hilarion contrasts the Byzantine theory of the universal empire and the church with the idea of equality of all Christian peoples. Comparing Judaism (Law) with Christianity (Grace), Hilarion at the beginning of his "Word" proves the advantages of Grace over the Law. The law was distributed only among the Jewish people. Grace is the property of all nations. The Old Testament - the Law given by God to the prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, regulated the life of only the Jewish people. The New Testament - the Christian doctrine - has a worldwide significance, and every nation has the full right to freely choose this Grace. Thus, Hilarion rejects the monopoly rights of Byzantium to the exclusive possession of Grace. He creates, as D.S. Likhachev rightly notes, his own patriotic concept of world history, glorifying Rus' and its "enlightener" "kagan" Vladimir.
Hilarion exalts the feat of Vladimir in the adoption and spread of Christianity in Rus'. Thanks to this feat, Rus' entered the family of Christian countries as a sovereign state. Vladimir reigned “not in thine bo and not in unknown lands”, a "In Russian, even known and audible, there are all the ends of the earth."
In praise of Vladimir, Hilarion lists the prince's services to his homeland. He says that his activities contributed to the glory and power of Rus'. At the same time, he emphasizes that Christian faith was accepted by the Russians as a result of the free choice that the main merit in the baptism of Rus' belongs to Vladimir, and not to the Greeks. The Lay contains a very offensive comparison for the Greeks between Vladimir and Tsar Constantine.
Hilarion's "Word" is built according to a strict, logically thought-out plan, which is reported by the author in the title of the work: “The word about the law given to him by Moses, and about grace and truth, Jesus Christ who was, and what law is gone, fill the whole earth with grace and truth, and faith in all tongues stretched to our Russian language and praise to our kagan Vlodimer, from him but be baptized with a blessing, and prayer to God from the weight of our land.
The first part - a comparison of Law and Grace - is a lengthy introduction to the second, central, part of praise to Vladimir, ending with an author's appeal to Vladimir with a call to get up from the grave, shake off sleep and look at the deeds of his son George (Christian name Yaroslav). The second part sets as its task the direct glorification of the contemporary ruler of Rus' to Hilarion and his activities. The third part is a prayer appeal to God "out of all our land."
"Word" addressed to people "Too much to fill up with book sweets" Therefore, the author clothes his work in a bookish rhetorical form. He constantly uses quotations from the Bible, biblical comparisons, comparing the Law with the slave Hagar and her son Ishmael, and Grace with Sarah and her son Isaac. These symbolic parallels are intended to more clearly show the superiority of Grace over the Law.
In the first part of the Lay, Hilarion consistently observes the principle of antithesis - the most typical method of oratorical eloquence. “First the law, then grace: first the steppe(shadow) ty, then the truth.
Hilarion widely uses book metaphors - symbols and metaphorical comparisons: Law is "dry lake"; paganism - "darkness of idols", "darkness of demonic service"; Grace is "flooding source" and others. He often uses rhetorical questions and exclamations - typical techniques of solemn eloquence, with the help of which great emotionality of speech is achieved. The rhythmic organization of the Lay serves the same purpose. Hilarion often resorts to repetitions, verbal rhymes. For example: "... Drive away the military, establish the world, tame the countries, gladugobzi, wiser the Bolars, settle the cities, grow your church, keep your property, save husbands and wives and babies."
High artistic skill ensured the "Word of Law and Grace" great popularity in medieval writing. It becomes a model for the scribes of the XII-XV centuries, who use separate techniques and stylistic formulas of the Lay.
8. Didactic "Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh "is a work of political and moral instruction. The image of an outstanding politician and warrior. Autobiographical Elements in the Teaching. Emotional and lyrical coloring of the work.
"Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh, written by him "sitting on a sledge" i.e., shortly before his death, somewhere around 1117, the chroniclers attributed it to similar wills addressed to children.
An outstanding statesman of the late 11th - early 12th centuries, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh (1052-1125), by his policy contributed to the temporary cessation of princely strife. He became famous for his successful campaigns against the Polovtsians. Having become the Grand Duke of Kyiv in 1113, Monomakh contributed in every possible way to strengthening the unity of the Russian land.
The central idea of the "Instruction" is an appeal addressed to the children of Monomakh and all who will hear "this grammar" strictly observe the requirements of the feudal legal order, be guided by them, and not by personal, self-serving family interests. "Instruction" goes beyond the narrow framework of the family will and acquires great social significance.
Using the example of personal rich life experience, Vladimir gives a high example of the prince serving the interests of his land.
A characteristic feature of the Teaching is the close intertwining of didactics with autobiographical elements. Monomakh's instructions are supported not only by maxims from " scripture", but first of all concrete examples from your own life.
The tasks of the national order are brought to the fore in the "Instruction". The sacred duty of the prince is concern for the welfare of his state, its unity, strict and strict observance of oaths and treaties. The prince must "Care about Christian souls", "about a bad stink" and "wretched widow". Internecine strife undermines the economic and political power of the state. Only peace leads to the prosperity of the country. Therefore, it is the duty of the ruler to keep the peace.
Another equally important duty of the prince, according to Monomakh, is the care and concern for the good of the church. He understands that the church is a faithful assistant to the prince. Therefore, in order to strengthen his power, the prince must vigilantly take care of the priestly and monastic rank. True, Monomakh does not recommend that his children save their souls in a monastery, that is, become monks. The ascetic monastic ideal is alien to this life-loving energetic person.
In accordance with Christian morality, Vladimir requires a caring attitude towards "wretched"(poor).
The prince himself should be an example of high morality. The main positive quality of a person is diligence. Work, in the understanding of Monomakh, is, first of all, military feat, and then hunting, when the body and soul of a person are tempered in the constant struggle against dangers.
Vladimir gives examples from his personal life: he made only 83 large campaigns, and he does not remember the small ones, he concluded 20 peace treaties. On the hunt, he was in constant danger, more than once he risked his life: “Tura me 2 threw narozeh and with a horse, a deer me one bol, and 2 elks, one trampled with their feet, and the other a horn bol; ... a fierce beast jumped on my hips and the horse was down with me.
Vladimir considers laziness to be the main vice: “Laziness is the mother of everything: if you know how, you will forget, but you don’t know how, but don’t teach it.”
Monomakh himself appears in his Teaching as an unusually active man: “Even if it was for my child to do, then I did it myself, deeds in war and fishing, night and day, in heat and winter, without milking myself to rest.”
One of the positive qualities of the prince is his generosity, constant concern for increasing and spreading his good name.
In everyday life, the prince should be a model for others: to visit the sick, to see the dead, for everyone is mortal. Family relationships should be built on the respect of husbands for wives: “Love your wife, but do not give them power over you,” he instructs.
Thus, in the "Instruction" Monomakh covers a fairly wide range of life phenomena. He gives clear answers to many social and moral questions of his time.
At the same time, the "Instruction" is a very valuable material for understanding the personality of the author himself - the first secular writer of Ancient Rus' known to us. First of all, he is a well-educated person, well knowledgeable in literature of his time. In his work, he uses the Psalter, Paremiion, teachings of Basil the Great, Xenophon and Theodora to children, placed in the Izbornik 1076, Shestodnev.
The “Instruction” is built according to a certain plan: an introduction addressed to children, with self-abasement characteristic of an ancient Russian writer - do not laugh at his writing, but take it into your heart, do not scold, but say that “on the way, and sitting on a sleigh, I said nonsense,” and finally a request: "... if you don't like the last one, take the front one."
The central didactic part of the "Instruction" begins with a general philosophical discussion about the philanthropy and mercy of God, the need for victory over evil and the possibility of this victory, the guarantee of which is the beauty and harmony of the world created by God.
He gives a kind of diary of military campaigns, in a manner reminiscent of brief annalistic weather records, only without dates. Listing my "paths" Vladimir arranges them in chronological order from 1072 to 1117.
And again comes the conclusion. Addressing children or others, "who will read" Monomakh asks not to condemn him. He does not praise himself, not his courage, but praises God, who "bad and sinful" so many years kept from death and created “not lazy”, “bad”, “human needs for all things”.
In the style of "Instructions" it is easy to detect, on the one hand, its bookish elements associated with the use of literary sources by Vladimir, and on the other hand, elements of a living spoken language, which are especially pronounced in the description "ways" and the dangers to which he was exposed during the hunt. A characteristic feature of the "Instructions" style is the presence of refined, vivid, easy-to-remember aphoristic expressions.
On the whole, the "Instruction" and the letter clearly reveal the image of an outstanding statesman of the Russian Middle Ages, a man who clearly embodied the ideal of a prince who cares about the glory and honor of his native land.
"Separate observations on the artistic specifics of ancient Russian literature were already in the works of F.I. Buslaev, I.S. Nekrasov, I.S. Tikhonravov, V.O. Klyuchevsky." Likhachev D.S. Poetics of ancient Russian literature, M., 1979, p. five.
But only at the end of the 20th century did works appear that set out the general views of their authors on artistic specificity and on the artistic methods of ancient Russian literature. "These views can be traced in the works of I.P. Eremin, V.P. Andrianova-Peretz, D.S. Likhachev, S.N. Azbelev." Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature, M., 1989, p. nine.
D.S. Likhachev put forward a thesis about the diversity of artistic methods not only in all ancient Russian literature, but in this or that author, in this or that work.
"Any artistic method," the researcher distinguishes, "comprises a whole system of large and small means to achieve certain artistic goals. Therefore, each artistic method has many features, and these features are in a certain way correlated with each other." Likhachev D.S. To the study of artistic methods of Russian literature of the XI-XVII centuries // TODRL, M., L., 1964, v. 20, p.7.
The worldview of medieval man absorbed, on the one hand, speculative religious performances about the human world, and on the other hand, a concrete vision of reality, which followed from the labor practice of a person in a feudal society.
In his daily activities, a person is faced with reality: nature, social, economic and political relations. The Christian religion considered the world around man to be temporary, transient, and sharply opposed the world to the eternal, incorruptible. The beginnings of the temporal and eternal are contained in man himself: his mortal body and immortal soul, the result of divine revelation allows a person to penetrate the secrets of the ideal world. The soul gives life to the body, spiritualizes it. The body is the source of carnal passions and the illnesses and sufferings resulting from them.
A person cognizes reality with the help of five senses - this is the lowest form sensory knowledge "visible world". The "invisible" world is comprehended through reflection. Only inner spiritual insight as a doubling of the world largely determined the specifics of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, its leading principle is symbolism. medieval man was convinced that symbols are hidden in nature and man himself, symbolic meaning filled with historical events. The symbol served as a means of revealing the meaning, finding the truth. As the signs of the visible world surrounding a person are ambiguous, so is the word: it can be interpreted both in direct and figurative meanings.
religious christian symbolism conscious ancient Russian man closely intertwined with folk poetry. Both of them had common source - surrounding a person nature. And if the labor agricultural practice of the people gave earthly concreteness to this symbolism, then Christianity introduced elements of abstractness.
A characteristic feature of medieval thinking was retrospectiveness and traditionalism. Thus, the ancient Russian writer constantly refers to the texts of "scripture", which he interprets not only historically, but also allegorically, tropologically and analogously.
The Old Russian writer creates his work within the framework of an established tradition: he looks at patterns, canons, does not allow "self-thinking", i.e. artistic invention. His task is to convey the "image of truth." The medieval historicism of Old Russian literature is subordinated to this goal. All events occurring in the life of a person and society are considered as a manifestation of the divine will.
History is a constant arena of the struggle between good and evil. The source of good, good thoughts and deeds is God. The devil pushes people to evil. But ancient Russian literature does not remove responsibility from the person himself. He is free to choose either the thorny path of virtue or the wide path of sin. In the mind of the ancient Russian writer, the categories of ethical and aesthetic organically merged. The Old Russian writer usually builds his works on the contrast of good and evil, virtues and vices, ideal and bad guys. He shows that the high moral qualities of a person are the result of hard work, a moral feat.
The character of medieval literature is imprinted by the dominance of the estate-corporate principle. The heroes of her works, as a rule, are princes, rulers, generals or church hierarchies, "saints", famous for their deeds of piety. The behavior and actions of these heroes are determined by their social position.
Thus, symbolism, historicism, ritualism or etiquette and didacticism are the leading principles of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, which incorporates two sides: strict factuality and the ideal transformation of reality.
