Art of Kievan Rus

Introduction

Folklore of Kievan Rus

Theater of Russian civilization in the Kievan period

Architecture and fine arts

Literature of ancient Rus'

Conclusion

Bibliography

Applications

Introduction

During the period of the formation and flourishing of feudalism in Rus' (X - XVII centuries), art was formed on the basis of the achievements of the artistic culture of the East Slavic tribes and the Scythians and Sarmatians who lived on these lands before them. Naturally, the culture of each tribe and region had its own distinctive features and was influenced by neighboring lands and states. The influence of Byzantium was especially noticeable from the moment Russia adopted Christianity (988). Together with Christianity, Rus' adopted the traditions of ancient, primarily Greek, culture.

It is important to note that the Russian art of the Middle Ages was formed in the struggle between two ways - patriarchal and feudal, and two religions - paganism and Christianity. And just as traces of the patriarchal way of life can be traced in the art of feudal Rus' for a long time, so paganism reminded of itself in almost all its forms. The process of getting rid of paganism was spontaneous, but still attempts were made to strengthen the new religion, to make it close, accessible to people. It is no coincidence that churches were built on the sites of pagan temples; elements of folk deification of nature penetrated into it, and some saints began to be attributed the role of old gods.

Having adopted Christianity from Byzantium, Rus' naturally adopted certain foundations of the language of culture. But these foundations were reworked and acquired their specific, deeply national forms in Rus'. "We took the gospel and tradition from Byzantium," wrote A.S. Pushkin. Of course, like any art of the Middle Ages, art Ancient Rus' follows a certain canon, traceable both in architectural forms and in iconography - in painting. Even samples were created - "cuts," "originals," facial and sensible (in the first it was shown how to write, in the second it was "interpreted," it was told), but following the canon, and contrary to them, the rich creative personality of the artist skillfully manifested himself . Based on the centuries-old traditions of Eastern European art, Russian masters managed to create their own national art, enrich European culture with new forms of temples inherent only in Rus', original wall paintings and iconography, which cannot be confused with Byzantine, despite the common iconography and the apparent closeness of the pictorial language.

In pre-Mongol times, the political and cultural center of the Russian land was Kyiv - "the mother of Russian cities," as its contemporaries called it in antiquity, comparing its beauty and significance with Constantinople. The growth of Kyiv's power was facilitated by its geographical position at the crossroads of trade routes from the Scandinavian countries to the south, to Tsar-grad, from the west, from Germany, to Khorezm. Under Prince Vladimir and his son Yaroslav, Kievan Rus became a strong state, previously unknown to the Eastern Slavs. The Russian army kept both the Byzantines and the Khazars in fear. The Western Slavs sought friendship with Russia, the German emperors made alliances. Russian princes gave their daughters in marriage to foreign sovereigns. Thus, the international position of Kievan Rus was strengthened.

This work reflects the main areas of art of Kievan Rus: folklore, music, theater, architecture, fine arts (icon painting), literature.

For this, the literature of such authors as Barskaya N.A., Lebedeva Yu.L., Muravyov A.V. was used. and others.

Folklore of Kievan Rus

Language is primarily a means of communication between people. He connects a person with a social group: with the immediate environment - family or friend, and with a wider social group - clan, tribe, nation. In society, the language performs various official functions, serving the Church, the state, and justice. At the stage of "literary language" it becomes an instrument of education, science, and literature.

Prior to reaching this final cultural stage, language undergoes a long process of internal development, being a means of self-expression of individuals and groups during work and leisure. We usually call the products of such self-expression "folklore". Echoes of this ancient poetic tradition were preserved mainly among the peasantry, at least in Russia, and therefore the term "folklore" became almost synonymous with the concept of "folk literature", denoting the literary works of the lower classes. IN ancient period the situation was different, since the development of creative abilities in the field of literature was based on the cooperation of all social groups. In the Kiev period, after the introduction of Christianity in Rus' and the appearance of written texts, a kind of dualism was formed in literary art. As Roman Jakobson so masterfully puts it:

“For many centuries, Russian written literature almost completely remained the prerogative of the Church: for all its richness and high artistry, the Old Russian literary heritage almost all consists of biographies of saints and pious people, religious legends, prayers, sermons, theological discourses and chronicles in the monastic style. However "The ancient Russian people possessed the richest, original, diverse and highly artistic literature, but the only means of its distribution was oral presentation. The idea of ​​using letters for secular poetry was absolutely alien to the Russian tradition, and the expressive means of this poetry were inseparable from the oral heritage and oral tradition"1.

The main component of Russian folklore is the song - language and rhythm, word and melody are closely intertwined in it. A Russian proverb quite characteristically says: "You can't throw out a word from a song." It was also said that "The Song is a living chronicle of the Russian people." Since time immemorial, Russians have captured in song the entire course of their lives: work and play, joy and sadness, minor incidents and great historical events.

Russian folklore has accompanied the Russian people throughout its history, and it is only very recently that the sources of folklore have begun to dry up under the influence of an industrialized and mechanized civilization. In the villages, especially in the north of Russia, the narrators of ancient epics are still held in high esteem.

Apart from the Tale of Igor's Campaign, which, of course, was created not by the "people", but by an individual creator belonging to the aristocracy class, the first written text of a Russian folk poem, a spiritual verse, dates from the fifteenth century. The oldest known manuscript of Russian folk ballads appears to have been written in 1619 for Richard James, an Oxford graduate who served as chaplain to English merchants in Russia. The Englishman, therefore, has the honor of a pioneer in the study of Russian folklore. James's manuscript contains only six songs.

Most of the works of Russian folklore known to us, including folk prose, such as fairy tales, are recorded in writing or, more recently, in audio form during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Thus, there is no formal evidence to date these materials other than the date of recording, which in most cases is relatively recent.

For some epic songs, the earliest creation date can be determined by context. Thus, the song about the death of the voivode Skopin-Shuisky, one of those recorded for James, certainly could not have appeared before 1610, the date of the voivode's death. In most cases, however, this method is unreliable. Some epic songs in praise of Prince Vladimir could have been created in his time, but we cannot be sure that we have the original text.

Thus, to try to choose from the general fund of ancient Russian folklore a part that can be confidently attributed to the Kievan period, is really in the highest degree difficult task. We can be sure that one or the other folk song very ancient, but we are unlikely to be able to prove it in each case. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the roots of folklore, including Russian folk art, go deep into history - in many cases much further than the Kievan period. Consequently, the picture of the civilization of that period will be incomplete if folklore is left out of consideration, and even a hypothetical dating of some songs is better than ignoring the subject.

Obviously, some of the ritual songs that originally accompanied or symbolized the various stages of the agricultural cycle are very ancient. Traces of pagan beliefs, the worship of the Sun and the Earth, are visible in many of them. This group includes songs performed during the festivities on the occasion of the winter solstice (kolyada), spring equinox (carnival), summer solstice (semik or mermaid) and autumn solstice. After the introduction of Christianity in Rus', the former pagan holidays were combined with Christian ones, and the texts of some songs changed accordingly, the old carol songs now played the role of Christmas hymns. In many cases, the evidence of the ancient origin of the song, in addition to its content, is an ancient melodic form. In general, there is enough circumstantial evidence that many Russian ritual songs were formed in the Kievan period, if not earlier. An important part of the ritual songs is the cycle of wedding songs, which corresponds to the complex ceremonies that accompanied the ancient wedding ceremony, which is still performed among the peasants. Each action of the rite corresponds to a special song. Some are very cheerful, others are sad and even sad.

Epic songs (old times, epics), which can be dated to the Kievan period, are quite numerous. These poems are usually dedicated to glorious deeds mighty heroes who defended the Russian land from the steppe nomads. In some cases, the opponent of the hero is a Zhidovin (Jew). Of course, this refers to the struggle of the Russians with the Khazars. In many cases, however, the enemy in the discrepancies of the surviving texts is the Tatar, which, of course, would be an anachronism for the Kievan period, since the Tatars - as the Mongols were called in Rus' - appeared only in the thirteenth century.

The bogatyrs sung in epic poems are mostly warriors of St. Vladimir. Although they are always ready to protect the prince and his state, they have no servility, they communicate with him in a friendly way, sometimes even scold the prince and his wife. They were not disciplined soldiers, but brutish individualists, and indeed each of them is portrayed as an individual with his own character. The eldest of them is Ilya Muromets, a big, powerful man of peasant origin, purposeful and fearless, but without traces of civilization. His main associate is Alyosha Popovich, the son of a priest who relies on his cunning. Dobrynya Nikitich is a boyar, a noble and generous person. Another popular character from the gallery of portraits of heroes is Churilo Plenkovich, whom no girl could resist.

Other epic poems were later added to the Vladimir cycle of epics, including the legend of Volkh Vseslavich, describing the adventures of Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, and the poem about Duke Stepanovich, which was composed in Galicia in the twelfth century and reflects the close ties of this principality with the Byzantine Empire. The famous poem "Sadko", an early version of which, apparently, was also created in the twelfth century, is a typical Novgorod work. Her hero is not a steppe hero, but a merchant-traveler; wealth, not military prowess, gives color to history.

Another Novgorod epic - about Vasily Buslaev - is of a completely different kind. Vaska (a diminutive of Vasily) is one of the unbridled fellows of the city-republic; he is always looking for adventure and does not recognize any authorities. A free-thinker, he does not revere the church, he is not superstitious, as the poet says: "he does not believe in a dream or in a choh."

Returning to the "steppe epics", it should be emphasized that in some of them there are parallels with Persian and Turkic folklore. So, for example, some episodes of the story about Ilya Muromets remind us of the great Persian epic Shahnameh. Perhaps the Circassians were a link between Russian and Persian poetry, the Circassian influences themselves are also read in individual Russian epic songs. It is noteworthy that the hero of one of the ancient Russian epics is called Svyatogor ("prince of the holy mountains"). Under these mountains, apparently, the Caucasian ridge was meant.

In conclusion, it is necessary to say a few words about the Russian fairy tale. The fairy tale has been extremely popular among the Russian people throughout the history of the country. As an integral part of Russian folklore, it is rich and varied. There are two main genres of fairy tales: magical and satirical. Fairy tales, with their flying carpets, homemade tablecloths, and the like, may have their roots in pagan witchcraft. Their popularity is due to people's dream of things that would make life easier.

Satirical tales give vent to popular dissatisfaction with political and social injustice. Interestingly, some fairy-tale characters, such as Baba Yaga, are mentioned in the annals, which indicates the popularity of fairy tales in the Kievan period.

Music

The study of ancient Russian folklore is just as important for understanding the historical basis of Russian music as it is for an adequate approach to Russian poetry.

Russian song has its own melodic, harmonic and rhythmic features. Some ancient Russian songs are composed in the so-called pentatonic scale, for the shortest interval in which a "tone" or "full interval" is adopted. As Prince N.S. Trubetskoy, a similar scale is found in the folk music of the Turkic tribes of the Volga and Kama basins - the Bashkirs, Siberian Tatars, Turks of Central Asia, as well as among the natives of Siam, Burma and Indochina.

In this sense, the music of at least one group of ancient Russian folk songs can be called Eurasian rather than European. In Ukraine, the pentatonic scale is found only in a small number of very ancient songs, among other Slavs its use is even more rare. On the other hand, it is interesting to note that the pentatonic scale is also preserved in the Celtic folk song, among the Scots, the Irish and in Britain. Other Russian songs seem to follow the traditions of ancient Greek music.

It can be added that Russian folk song is predominantly diatonic, elements of chromaticism are very rare. Most Russian songs are polyphonic. Each party is independent and beautiful in its own way, but all serve the whole. The song begins with the lead singer who sings the theme. Other singers modulate and embellish it, creating a distinctive counterpoint. In this respect, Russian folk song differs markedly from the folk songs of the Eastern peoples, most of which sing in unison.

The rhythm of a Russian song is partly determined by the nature of the living language, but also largely depends on the artistic intuition of the creator and performer. Typical sizes are 5/4 and 7/42.

In addition to choral singing, Kievan Rus also loved solo singing, especially at princely feasts, where heroic ballads such as "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" were sung. In most cases, the singer himself accompanied himself on the harp. In the Lay there is a poetic description of such a performance: “It was not Boyan who sent ten falcons on a flock of swans, but he laid his skillful fingers on live strings. And those strings, as if themselves, sang glory to the princes.”

Apparently there were many professional singers. They moved from one national holiday to another, performing not only in the prince's mansions, but also at city market squares and rural fairs. They were mostly known as buffoons. The buffoons worked in groups, and, as a class, they must be given credit for preserving the traditions of ancient folk art in Russia through the centuries.

In addition to the gusli, other different musical instruments were used in ancient Rus': nozzles, tambourines. The latter were also an indispensable part of military bands, along with boar and trumpets. Undoubtedly, some oriental instruments were well known, for example, the marmot (zurna) and domra. In addition to military bands, the princes maintained special ensembles for palace feasts and festivities.

As far as religious music is concerned, little is known about pagan rites. Masudi mentions musical melodies that the traveler could hear when approaching certain pagan temples in the land of the Slavs. It is known that the pagan priests of the Baltic Slavs used pipes. Perhaps the pagan ritual also included some kind of singing and music.

After the baptism of Rus', church singing became an essential element of Russian musical culture. In accordance with the Byzantine tradition, the Russian Church avoided instrumental music, except for church bells. On the other hand, vocal music - and specifically, choral singing - reached a high level early. The Byzantine system of chants served as the basis for Orthodox church singing. This system contains eight tones, four main ("authentic") and four additional ("plagal"). The system was built for church music by St. John of Damascus (d. 760) on the basis of ancient Greek harmony.

At first, Russian church singing was in unison. His notations have been preserved in a small number of manuscripts, the oldest of which is an eleventh-century Novgorod church book. It contains the famous notation. In addition to it, in Rus' in the period from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries there was another notation system known as kondakar. Unfortunately, it has not yet been fully deciphered, but from what has already been read, it is clear that this is a recording of polyphonic singing.

Theater of Russian civilization in the Kievan period

Theater is one of the most important types of modern Russian art, and it is even said that Russians have an innate talent for the stage. However, the theater, in the modern sense, appeared in Russia only at the end of the seventeenth century. In the Moscow period - the era of Shakespeare - there was no theater in Russia.

The situation of the Kyiv period is not entirely clear. First of all, we must consider folklore foundations. The ritual of folk holidays, with its dances, rhythmic dialogue, etc., contained a significant element of theatrical art. The same can be said about the wedding ceremony and funeral rites.

The complex cycle of the ancient Russian wedding ceremony was an action in which not only the bride and groom, but also their relatives and friends - everyone had their own role. The performance consisted of several acts and began with the arrival of the groom's relatives at the house of the bride's father, usually at night, as required by the ancient ritual. The performance took place for several days in the homes of relatives of each side in turn. As already noted, various songs were an essential part of the ceremonies, each day and each scene had its own song.

It is noteworthy that Russian peasants even now, speaking of a wedding, use the verb "play" (play a wedding). The funeral was also performed according to the established ritual, an important role in which belonged to professional mourners. In "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" the mourner Karna mourns the fate of all Rus', tormented by the steppe nomads.

It is against this background of folklore that one should consider the activities of wandering artists - buffoons3. It is assumed that most buffoons were public actors and musicians, such as jugglers and jesters. However, it should be borne in mind that information about them comes mainly from church sources.

The Russian clergy considered the performances of buffoons to be a manifestation of paganism and unsuccessfully tried to prevent them. In this, the clergy were guided by the decision of the Church Council of Constantinople in 692, which condemned all types of theatrical performances. But the Byzantine Church itself abandoned its rigorism during the iconoclasm (eighth century) and went even further in this during the period of the Macedonian dynasty (ninth to eleventh centuries). The Byzantine theater, which grew out of Roman pantomime, lasted until the last day of the Empire. By the way, Byzantine pantomime gave birth to the Turkish folk theater orta oyun, Karagoz and Meddakhov.

Taking into account the close cultural ties of Kievan Rus with Byzantium, it can be assumed that Byzantine artists visited Rus' and introduced local buffoons to the beginnings of theatrical art. As we shall see, on the frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Byzantine actors are depicted against the background of the hippodrome, but the pantomimes were different in content and, in addition to the square performances, more serious performances were played in Constantinople.

Byzantine artists, in some cases, wore masks, buffoons also had masks. It is with the performances of buffoons that the appearance of a puppet theater in medieval Rus' should be associated. The first known mention of it is in a fifteenth-century manuscript.

In addition to the secular theater in Byzantium, as in Western Europe of the Middle Ages, a religious drama (mystery) developed. In a certain sense, the Byzantine service is itself a spiritual drama, and the complex ceremony in St. Sophia Cathedral was carried out with theatrical effects. It was the theatrical moment of the Byzantine rite that attracted Vladimir's ambassadors to Christianity more than anything else. According to the chronicle, during the service in the St. Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople, they did not know where they were, on earth or in heaven. Later, a similar feeling must have been experienced by the rural inhabitants of Rus', attending services in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and other large churches in Russian cities. Wall paintings, mosaics and icons placed throughout the church created the necessary setting for the spiritual drama of the church service, the deep symbolism of which would otherwise not be perceived by the parishioners.

In Byzantium, from the earliest period of its history, special solemn services with complex rituals were developed to celebrate the main church events: Palm Sunday, Easter, the Nativity of the Virgin. Gradually church processions and mysteries were built around each of these services, and, in the end, the Byzantine religious drama grew out of them. It is significant that at a reception in honor of the Russian princess Olga (957) in the imperial palace, a religious play was played.

Thus, we can be sure that even before the official introduction of Christianity in Rus', the Russians were familiar with the theatrical parts of the Byzantine church service. There is no evidence that religious drama as such existed in Russia before the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, but special services on solemn days and Holy Week were held already in the Kiev period, although perhaps not as magnificently as later.

Architecture and fine arts

Most of the monuments of ancient Russian architecture and painting known to us represent church art. Since the Russian Church was part of the Byzantine fold, Russian church art, of course, had to follow the Byzantine canons, at least in the initial period of the spread of Christianity in Rus'. Therefore, it is often said that from the point of view of the history of art, Kievan Rus was part of Byzantium.

It is impossible to deny the strong Byzantine influence in ancient Russian architecture and painting. But, however, the real process of Russian artistic development was too complex to be described within the framework of the theory of "Byzantinization" of Rus' or any other strict doctrine of this kind. First, our knowledge of ancient Russian art is incomplete. If some church buildings have been preserved, then the monuments of secular architecture have not, since most of the dwellings were built of wood and therefore were less durable than church buildings. Moreover, with the exception of a few foundations, buildings from the pre-Christian period have not come down to us, and thus we have no way to trace the connection between pagan and Christian architecture. In addition, the very concept of "Byzantine art" requires interpretation. It had several schools and must be divided, for example, between the architectural style of Constantinople and the Byzantine provinces such as Thrace and Macedonia on the one hand, and Anatolia on the other.

Let's start with the problem of pre-Christian architecture in Rus'. Approximately in 1908, in Kyiv, archaeologists discovered the oval foundation of the building, which they considered the remains of a pagan temple, although there is no direct evidence for this. On this basis, it was suggested that the pagan temples in Rus' had an oval shape. There is no specific evidence for such a general conclusion. If we consider parallels in other Slavic countries, we will see that, for example, the temple of Svyatovit on the island of Rügen is square.

Apparently the first Christian churches were not built for the Russians by themselves, shortly after their first baptism in 866. Probably one was in Tmutarakan. In 1022, Prince Mstislav Tmutarakansky erected another church there, which served as a model for the cathedral in Chernigov, founded by the same prince. By the time of his death, in 1036, the cathedral was not yet finished, but later it was completed.

Although the Chernihiv Cathedral was rebuilt several times, its original architectural features were preserved. It is organized according to the Byzantine plan - a basilica with five naves; it also obviously has a certain influence of the architectural style of the Transcaucasian temples.

The first of the luxurious Kiev churches was the so-called "Tithing" church, founded by St. Vladimir and completed in 1039. According to K.J. five separate volumes intended for the construction of a vault, but not twenty-five domes, as some believe.

Even earlier, around 989, Vladimir ordered the construction of a cathedral in Novgorod. From the annals we learn that the first St. Sophia of Novgorod, built of wood, was about thirteen tops. Some archaeologists are ready to see domes in this term, but it seems more plausible that the "tops" can be explained simply as elements of the roof.

According to Conant, one of the architects of this cathedral was apparently from Asia. This style undoubtedly influenced the style of other early Russian churches, both in Novgorod and Kiev.

The two most impressive monuments of Russian architecture of the eleventh century are the St. Sophia Cathedral, built in Kiev in 1037-1100, and the second Novgorod Cathedral of the same name, founded in 1045. The Kiev Cathedral has come down to us in poor condition, distorted by fires and rebuilding. Novgorodsky was somewhat better preserved before the German invasion, but was terribly damaged by the Germans before the retreat in 1944.

Apparently, St. Sophia of Kiev in its original form was a majestic cathedral. In plan, it was a square, the internal volume was divided by columns into naves. The cathedral had five apses - all on the east side - and thirteen domes; a huge one in the center and twelve smaller ones around it. The cathedral was magnificently decorated inside with wall paintings, mosaics and icons.

As a whole, St. Sophia of Kiev is an outstanding product of the Byzantine style, but it was not a simple copy of any temple that existed then in Byzantium. It is believed that the so-called "New Church" (Nea Ecclesia) in Constantinople, completed in 881, served as the initial model for the creators of Sophia and some other Kyiv churches built under Yaroslav the Wise. However, the Kiev St. Sophia is much more complex in its architecture than its prototype. It also shows the artistic motifs of the Byzantine provinces (in this case, Anatolia). In addition, the possibility of a certain influence of Novgorod wooden architecture is not ruled out, especially if we take into account the number of domes, which coincides with the number of Novgorod "tops".

The second St. Sophia of Novgorod was erected on the site of the first wooden one, destroyed by fire in 1045. Novgorod St. Sophia is more strict and less luxurious than Kiev, but beautiful in its own way. Its proportions are completely different, the apses are elongated, and although the main volume of the temple is rectangular, it is not square. The cathedral has six domes.

According to A.I. Nekrasov, some architectural features of this temple belong to the Romanesque style4. During the twelfth century, with the growth of local cultural centers, most of the capitals of the specific principalities were decorated with churches, each of which, if smaller than Kyiv's St. Sophia Cathedral, had its own distinct style.

It is significant that in the artistic style of the churches of both western Ukraine (Galicia and Volyn) and eastern Rus' (Suzdal and Ryazan), both Romanesque and Transcaucasian (Georgian and Armenian) stylistic influences are intertwined. As recent archaeological research shows, the Ryazan church of the early twelfth century had the shape of the so-called "Armenian cross".

The second half of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century were the heyday of Suzdal architecture.

As we know, at this time the Vladimir-Suzdal principality came to the fore, led by such gifted rulers as Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod III. Both were keen builders. It is known from chronicles that Andrei invited architects from different countries to Suzdal. Historian V.N. Tatishchev claims that once Emperor Frederick Barbarossa sent Andrey master builders from Germany. Tatishchev does not indicate the source of this message, but his information is usually reliable. We know that the Suzdal princes maintained friendly relations with both Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire. Perhaps Andrei Bogolyubsky hired some Georgian and Armenian architects, as well as builders from Western Rus' (Galicia).

The presence of such a large number of foreign architects in the fifties and sixties of the twelfth century, apparently, stimulated the artistic activity of local Suzdal masters, and in 1194 the chronicler notes that Vsevolod invited only Russian masters to renovate the cathedrals of Suzdal and Vladimir.

Two outstanding architectural monuments of the reign of Andrei - the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir (built in 1158 - 1161, restored in 1185 - 1189, rebuilt in 1194) and the amazing miniature Church of the Intercession of the Virgin on the banks of the Nerl River near Bogolyubov (1165 G.). During the reign of Vsevolod, the Demetrius Cathedral (1194 - 1197) was erected in Vladimir, famous for the decorative decoration of the outer walls. No less remarkable is St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky, built by Vsevolod's son Svyatoslav (1230-1234). Its facades are also decorated with carvings, even more spectacular than those on Dimitrievsky.

Culture of Ancient Rus'(or culture Medieval Rus' ) - the culture of Rus' during the period of the Old Russian state from the moment of its formation to the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Writing and education

About the existence of Eastern Slavs writing in the pre-Christian period is evidenced by numerous written sources and archaeological finds. The creation of the Slavic alphabet is associated with the names of the Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius. Cyril in the second half of the 9th century created the Glagolitic alphabet (Glagolitic), in which the first translations of church books were written for the Slavic population of Moravia and Pannonia. At the turn of the 9th-10th centuries, on the territory of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, as a result of the synthesis of the Greek script, which had long been widespread here, and those elements of the Glagolitic alphabet that successfully conveyed the features of the Slavic languages, an alphabet arose, later called Cyrillic. In the future, this easier and more convenient alphabet replaced the Glagolitic alphabet and became the only one among the southern and eastern Slavs.

The Baptism of Rus' contributed to the widespread and rapid development of writing and written culture. It was essential that Christianity was adopted in its eastern, Orthodox version, which, unlike Catholicism, allowed worship in national languages. This created favorable conditions for the development of writing in the native language.

The development of writing in the native language led to the fact that the Russian Church from the very beginning did not become a monopoly in the field of literacy and education. The spread of literacy among the strata of the urban population is evidenced by birch bark letters discovered during archaeological excavations in Novgorod, Tver, Smolensk, Torzhok, Staraya Russa, Pskov, Staraya Ryazan, etc. These are letters, memos, training exercises, etc. The letter, therefore, was used not only to create books, state and legal acts, but also in everyday life. Often there are inscriptions on handicraft products. Ordinary citizens left numerous records on the walls of churches in Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, Vladimir and other cities. The oldest surviving book in Rus' is the so-called. "Novgorod Psalter" of the first quarter of the 11th century: wooden, wax-covered tablets with texts of 75 and 76 psalms.

Most of monuments of writing before Mongolian period died during numerous fires and foreign invasions. Only a small part of them survived. The oldest of them are the Ostromir Gospel, written by deacon Gregory for the Novgorod posadnik Ostromir in 1057, and two Izborniks by Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich of 1073 and 1076. The high level of professional skill with which these books were made testifies to the well-established production of handwritten books already in the first half of the 11th century, as well as to the skills of “book construction” that had been established by that time.

Correspondence of books was carried out mainly in monasteries. The situation changed in the 12th century, when the craft of "book describers" also arose in large cities. This speaks of the growing literacy of the population and the increased need for books, which the monastic scribes could not satisfy. Many princes kept copyists of books, and some of them copied books on their own.

At the same time, the main centers of literacy continued to be monasteries and cathedral churches, where there were special workshops with permanent teams of scribes. They were engaged not only in the correspondence of books, but also kept chronicles, created original literary works translated foreign books. One of the leading centers of this activity was the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, which developed a special literary direction, which had a great influence on the literature and culture of Ancient Rus'. As chronicles testify, already in the 11th century in Rus', libraries with up to several hundred books were created at monasteries and cathedral churches.

Needing literate people, Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich organized the first schools. Literacy was not only the privilege of the ruling class, it also penetrated into the environment of the townspeople. Letters found in a significant number in Novgorod, written on birch bark (from the 11th century), contain the correspondence of ordinary citizens; inscriptions were also made on handicrafts.

Education was highly valued in ancient Russian society. In the literature of that time one can find many panegyrics to the book, statements about the benefits of books and "book teaching".

Literature

With the adoption of Christianity, Ancient Rus' was attached to book culture. The development of Russian writing gradually became the basis for the emergence of literature and was closely connected with Christianity. Despite the fact that writing was known in the Russian lands before, only after the baptism of Rus' did it become widespread. It also received a basis in the form of a developed cultural tradition of Eastern Christianity. An extensive translated literature became the basis for the formation of a non-own tradition.

For original literature Ancient Rus' is characterized by great ideological richness and high artistic perfection. Her prominent representative was Metropolitan Hilarion, the author of the famous "Sermon on Law and Grace", dating from the middle of the 11th century. In this work, the idea of ​​the need for the unity of Rus' is clearly manifested. Using the form of a church sermon, Hilarion created a political treatise, which reflected the pressing problems of Russian reality. Contrasting "grace" (Christianity) with "law" (Judaism), Hilarion rejects the concept of God's chosen people inherent in Judaism and affirms the idea of ​​transferring heavenly attention and disposition from one chosen people to all mankind, the equality of all peoples.

Outstanding Writer and the historian was a monk of Kiev Caves Monastery Nestor. His “Reading” about the princes Boris and Gleb and the “Life of Theodosius”, valuable for the history of life, have been preserved. "Reading" is written in a somewhat abstract style, instructive and ecclesiastical elements are reinforced in it. Approximately 1113 is an outstanding monument of ancient Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years", preserved as part of later chronicles XIV-XV centuries. This work is compiled on the basis of earlier chronicles - historical works dedicated to the past of the Russian land. The author of the Tale, the monk Nestor, managed to vividly and figuratively tell about the emergence of Rus' and connect its history with the history of other countries. The main attention in the Tale is given to the events political history, deeds of princes and other representatives of the nobility. economic life and the life of the people are described in less detail. clearly manifested in the annals and religious outlook its compiler: he sees the ultimate cause of all events and actions of people in the action of divine forces, "providence." However, religious differences and references to the will of God often hide a practical approach to reality, the desire to identify real causal relationships between events.

In turn, Theodosius, hegumen of the Pechersk Monastery, about whom Nestor also wrote, wrote several teachings and letters to Prince Izyaslav.

Vladimir Monomakh was an outstanding writer. His "Instruction" painted the ideal image of a prince - a just feudal ruler, touched upon the pressing issues of our time: the need for strong princely power, unity in repelling nomadic raids, etc. "Instruction" is a work of a secular nature. It is imbued with the immediacy of human experiences, alien to abstraction and filled with real images and examples taken from real life.

The question of princely power in the life of the state, its duties and methods of implementation becomes one of the central ones in literature. The idea arises of the need for strong power as a condition for a successful fight against external enemies and overcoming internal contradictions. These reflections are embodied in one of the most talented works of the 12th-13th centuries, which has come down to us in two main editions of the “Word” and “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik. A staunch supporter of strong princely power, Daniel writes with humor and sarcasm about the sad reality surrounding him.

A special place in the literature of Ancient Rus' is occupied by the "Tale of Igor's Campaign", dating from the end of the 12th century. It tells about the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsy in 1185 by the Novgorod-Seversky prince Igor Svyatoslavich. The description of this campaign only serves as an occasion for the author to reflect on the fate of the Russian land. The author sees the reasons for the defeats in the struggle against the nomads, the reasons for the disasters of Rus' in the princely civil strife, in the egoistic policy of the princes, thirsting for personal glory. Central to the "Word" is the image of the Russian land. The author belonged to the milieu. He constantly used the concepts of “honor” and “glory” characteristic of her, but filled them with a broader, patriotic content. The Tale of Igor's Campaign embodied character traits ancient Russian literature of that time: a living connection with historical reality, citizenship and patriotism.

The Batu invasion had a great influence on Russian culture. The first work devoted to the invasion - "The Word about the destruction of the Russian land." This word has not come down to us completely. Also Batu's invasion is dedicated to "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu" - an integral part of the cycle of stories about the "miraculous" icon of Nikola Zaraisky.

Architecture

Until the end of the tenth century, there was no monumental stone architecture in Rus', but there were rich traditions of wooden construction, some forms of which subsequently influenced stone architecture. Significant field skills wooden architecture led to the rapid development of stone architecture and its originality. After the adoption of Christianity, the construction of stone temples begins, the principles of construction of which were borrowed from Byzantium. Byzantine architects summoned to Kyiv passed on extensive experience to Russian masters building culture Byzantium.

The large churches of Kievan Rus, built after the adoption of Christianity in 988, were the first examples of monumental architecture in the Eastern Slavic lands. The architectural style of Kievan Rus was established under the influence of the Byzantine. Early Orthodox churches were mostly made of wood.

The first stone church of Kievan Rus was the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv, the construction of which dates back to 989. The church was built as cathedral not far from the prince's palace. In the first half of the XII century. The church has undergone significant renovations. At this time, the southwestern corner of the temple was completely rebuilt, a powerful pylon appeared in front of the western facade, supporting the wall. These events, most likely, were the restoration of the temple after a partial collapse due to an earthquake.

Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, built in the XI century, is one of the most significant architectural structures of this period. Initially, St. Sophia Cathedral was a five-nave cross-domed church with 13 domes. WITH three parties it was surrounded by a two-tier gallery, and from the outside - an even wider one-tier one. The cathedral was built by the builders of Constantinople, with the participation of Kyiv masters. At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, it was externally rebuilt in the Ukrainian baroque style. Temple is listed world heritage UNESCO.

Painting

After the baptism of Rus', new species came from Byzantium monumental painting- mosaic and fresco, as well as easel painting (icon painting). Also, the iconographic canon was adopted from Byzantium, the invariability of which was strictly guarded by the church. This predetermined a longer and more stable Byzantine influence in painting than in architecture.

The earliest surviving works of ancient Russian painting were created in Kyiv. According to the chronicles, the first temples were decorated by visiting Greek masters, who added to the existing iconography a system for arranging plots in the interior of the temple, as well as a manner of planar painting. The mosaics and frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral are known for their special beauty. They are made in a strict and solemn manner, characteristic of Byzantine monumental painting. Their creators skillfully used a variety of shades of smalt, skillfully combined the mosaic with the fresco. Of the mosaic works, the images of Christ the Almighty in the central dome are especially significant. All images are imbued with the idea of ​​greatness, triumph and inviolability. Orthodox Church and earthly power.

Another unique monument of the secular painting of Ancient Rus' is the wall paintings of the two towers of the Kyiv Sophia. They depict scenes of princely hunting, circus competitions, musicians, buffoons, acrobats, fantastic animals and birds, which somewhat distinguishes them from ordinary church paintings. Among the frescoes in Sofia - two group portraits family of Yaroslav the Wise.

In the XII-XIII centuries in the painting of individual cultural centers local features began to emerge. This is typical for the Novgorod land and the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Since the XII century, a specific Novgorod style of monumental painting has been formed, which reaches a fuller expression in the paintings of the churches of St. George in Staraya Ladoga, the Annunciation in Arkazhy and especially the Savior-Nereditsa. In these fresco cycles, in contrast to the Kyiv ones, there is a noticeable desire to simplify artistic techniques, to an expressive interpretation of iconographic types. In easel painting, Novgorod features were less pronounced.

In Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', fragments of frescoes of the Dmitrievsky and Assumption Cathedrals in Vladimir and the Church of Boris and Gleb in Kideksha, as well as several icons, have been preserved until the Mongol period. Based on this material, the researchers consider it possible to talk about the gradual formation of the Vladimir-Suzdal school of painting. The best preserved fresco of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral depicting doomsday. It was created by two masters - a Greek and a Russian. The Vladimir-Suzdal school includes several large icons XII - early XIII centuries. The earliest of them is the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God, dated mid-twelfth century, stylistically close to the famous "Vladimir Mother of God", which is of Byzantine origin.

Folklore

Written sources testify to the richness and diversity of the folklore of Ancient Rus'. A significant place in it was occupied by calendar ritual poetry: incantations, incantations, songs, which were an integral part of the agrarian cult. Ritual folklore also included pre-wedding songs, funeral laments, songs at feasts and feasts. Mythological tales, reflecting the pagan ideas of the ancient Slavs, also became widespread. For many years, the church, in an effort to eradicate the remnants of paganism, waged a stubborn struggle against "vile" customs, "demonic games" and "blasphemers". However, these types of folklore survived in folk life up to the 19th-20th centuries, having lost their initial religious meaning over time, the rites turned into folk games.

There were also such forms of folklore that were not associated with a pagan cult. These include proverbs, sayings, riddles, fairy tales, labor songs. The authors of literary works widely used them in their work. Written monuments have preserved numerous traditions and legends about the founders of tribes and princely dynasties, about the founders of cities, about the struggle against foreigners. So, folk tales about the events of the II-VI centuries were reflected in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign".

In the 9th century, a new epic genre arose - the heroic epic epic, which became the pinnacle of oral folk art and the result of the growth of national consciousness. Epics are oral poetic works about the past. Epics were based on real historical events, the prototypes of some epic heroes are real people. So, the prototype of the epic Dobrynya Nikitich was the uncle of Vladimir Svyatoslavich - the governor Dobrynya, whose name is repeatedly mentioned in ancient Russian chronicles.

In turn, in the military estate, in the princely retinue environment, there was their own oral poetry. In squad songs, princes and their exploits were glorified. The princely squads had their own "songwriters" - professionals who composed songs - "glory" in honor of the princes and their soldiers.

Folklore continued to develop even after the spread of written literature, remaining an important element of ancient Russian culture. In the following centuries, many writers and poets used the plots of oral poetry and the arsenal of its artistic means and techniques. Also in Rus', the art of playing the harp was widespread, of which it is the birthplace.

Decorative and applied crafts

Kievan Rus was famous for its craftsmen, decorative arts who were fluent in various techniques: filigree, enamel, granulation, niello, as evidenced by jewelry. It is no coincidence that the admiration of foreigners for the artistic creativity of our craftsmen was great. L. Lyubimov in his book “The Art of Ancient Rus'” gives a description of star-shaped silver kolts from the Tver treasure of the 11th–12th centuries: “Six silver cones with balls are soldered to a ring with a semicircular shield. 5000 tiny rings with a diameter of 0.06 cm from wire 0.02 cm thick are soldered onto each cone! Only microphotography made it possible to establish these dimensions. But that's not all. The rings serve only as a pedestal for the grain, so that another silver grain with a diameter of 0.04 cm is planted on each one! Jewelry was decorated with cloisonné enamel. Masters used bright colors, skillfully selected colors. In the drawings, mythological pagan plots and images were traced, which were especially often used in applied art. They can be seen on carved wooden furniture, household utensils, fabrics embroidered with gold, in carved bone products, known in Western Europe under the name "carving of the Taurus", "carving of the Rus".

Cloth

Modern researchers have numerous evidence of how princes and boyars dressed. Verbal descriptions, images on icons, frescoes and miniatures, as well as fragments of fabrics from sarcophagi have been preserved. Various researchers compared these materials in their works with references to clothing in written documentary and narrative sources - chronicles, lives and various acts.

3. Folklore

Language is primarily a means of communication between people. It connects a person with a social group: with the immediate environment - a family or a friend, and with a wider social group - a clan, a tribe, a nation. In society, the language performs various official functions, serving the Church, the state, and justice. On the stage " literary language» it becomes an instrument of education, science, literature.

Prior to reaching this final cultural stage, language undergoes a long process of internal development, being a means of self-expression of individuals and groups during work and leisure. We usually call the products of such self-expression "folklore". Echoes of this ancient poetic tradition preserved mainly among the peasantry, at least in Russia, and therefore the term "folklore" has become almost synonymous with the concept of "folk literature", denoting the literary works of the lower classes. In the ancient period, the situation was different, since the development of creative abilities in the field of literature was based on the cooperation of all social groups. In the Kiev period, after the introduction of Christianity in Rus' and the appearance of written texts, in literary art a kind of dualism emerged. As Roman Jakobson so masterfully puts it:

"For many centuries, Russian written literature remained almost entirely the prerogative of the Church: for all its richness and high artistry, the Old Russian literary heritage consists almost entirely of the biographies of saints and pious people, religious legends, prayers, sermons, theological discourses and annals in the monastic style. However, the ancient Russian people possessed the richest, original, diverse and highly artistic literature, but the only means of its dissemination was oral presentation. The idea of ​​using letters for secular poetry was completely foreign to the Russian tradition, and means of expression of this poetry were inseparable from the oral heritage and oral tradition".329

Home integral part Russian folklore is a song - language and rhythm, word and melody are closely intertwined in it. A Russian proverb quite characteristically says: “You can’t throw out a word from a song.” It was also said that "The Song is a living chronicle of the Russian people." Since time immemorial, Russians have captured in song the entire course of their lives: work and play, joy and sadness, minor incidents and great historical events.

Russian folklore has accompanied the Russian people throughout its history, and it is only very recently that the sources of folklore have begun to dry up under the influence of an industrialized and mechanized civilization. In the villages, especially in the north of Russia, the narrators of the ancient epics still held in high esteem.330

Not counting the Tale of Igor's Campaign, which, of course, was created not by the "people", but by an individual creator who belonged to the class of the aristocracy, the first written text of the Russian folk poem, spiritual verse, dates back to the fifteenth century.331 The oldest known Russian manuscript folk ballads, apparently created in 1619 for Richard James, an Oxford graduate who served as a chaplain for English merchants in Russia.332 The Englishman, therefore, has the honor of being a pioneer in the study of Russian folklore. James's manuscript contains only six songs.

Most of the works of Russian folklore known to us, including folk prose such as fairy tales, were recorded in writing or, more recently, in audio form during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.333 Thus, there is no formal evidence to date these materials, apart from the date of recording, which in most cases is comparatively recent.

For some epic songs, the earliest creation date can be determined by context. Thus, the song about the death of the voivode Skopin-Shuisky, one of those recorded for James, certainly could not have appeared before 1610, the date of the voivode's death. In most cases, however, this method is unreliable. Some epic songs in praise of Prince Vladimir could have been created in his time, but we cannot be sure that we have the original text.

Thus, trying to select from the general fund of ancient Russian folklore a part that can be confidently attributed to the Kievan period is indeed an extremely difficult task. We can be sure that this or that folk song is very ancient, but we are unlikely to be able to prove this in each specific case. Nevertheless, it is clear that the roots of folklore, including Russian folk art, go deep into history - in many cases much further than the Kievan period. Consequently, the picture of the civilization of that period will be incomplete if folklore is left out of consideration, and even a hypothetical dating of some songs is better than ignoring the subject.

It is obvious that some ritual songs, originally accompanying or symbolizing the various stages of the agricultural cycle, are very ancient.334 Traces of pagan beliefs, the worship of the Sun and the Earth, are visible in many of them. This group includes songs performed during the festivities on the occasion of the winter solstice ( carols), spring equinox ( Maslenitsa), summer solstice ( semik or mermaid) and the autumn solstice. After the introduction of Christianity in Rus', the former pagan holidays were combined With Christian, and the texts of some songs have changed accordingly, the old carol songs now played the role of Christmas carols. In many cases, the evidence of the ancient origin of the song, in addition to its content, is an ancient melodic form. In general, there is enough circumstantial evidence that many Russian ritual songs were formed in the Kievan period, if not earlier. An important part of the ritual songs is the cycle of wedding songs, which corresponds to the complex ceremonies that accompanied the ancient wedding ceremony, still performed in the peasant environment. Each action of the rite corresponds to a special song. Some are very cheerful, others are sad and even sad.

epic songs ( antiquity,epics), which, according to their content, can be dated to the Kyiv period, are quite numerous.335 These poems are usually dedicated to the glorious deeds of the mighty heroes, defending the Russian land from the steppe nomads. In some cases, the opponent of the hero - Zhidovin(Jew). Of course, this refers to the struggle of the Russians with the Khazars. In many cases, however, the enemy in the discrepancies of the surviving texts is the Tatar, which, of course, would have been an anachronism for the Kievan period, since the Tatars - as the Mongols were called in Rus' - appeared only in the thirteenth century.

The bogatyrs sung in epic poems are mostly warriors of St. Vladimir. Although they are always ready to protect the prince and his state, they have no servility, they communicate with him in a friendly way, sometimes even scold the prince and his wife. They were not disciplined soldiers, but brutish individualists, and indeed each of them is portrayed as an individual with his own character. The eldest of them is Ilya Muromets, a big powerful man of peasant origin, purposeful and fearless, but without traces of civilization. His main associate is Alyosha Popovich, the son of a priest who relies on his cunning. Dobrynya Nikitich is a boyar, a noble, generous person. Another popular character from the gallery of portraits of heroes - Churilo Plenkovich, before whom not a single girl could resist.

Other epic poems were later added to the Vladimir cycle of epics, including the legend of Volkh Vseslavich, describing the adventures of Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, and the poem about Duke Stepanovich, which was composed in Galicia in the twelfth century and reflects the close ties of this principality with the Byzantine Empire. famous poem"Sadko", an early version of which, apparently, was also created in the twelfth century, is a typical Novgorod work. Her hero is not a steppe hero, but a merchant-traveler; wealth, not military prowess, gives color to history.

Other Novgorod epic- about Vasily Buslaev - a completely different kind. Vaska (a diminutive of Vasily) is one of the unbridled fellows of the city-republic; he is always looking for adventure and does not recognize any authorities. A free-thinker, he does not revere the church, he is not superstitious, as the poet says: "he does not believe in dreams or chokh."

Returning to the “steppe epics”, it should be emphasized that some of them have parallels with Persian and Turkic folklore.336 For example, some episodes of the story about Ilya Muromets remind us of the great Persian epic Shahnameh. Perhaps the Circassians were a link between Russian and Persian poetry, the Circassian influences themselves are also read in individual Russian epic songs. It is noteworthy that the hero of one of the ancient Russian epics is called Svyatogor (“prince of the holy mountains”). By these mountains, apparently, the Caucasian ridge was meant.337

In conclusion, it is necessary to say a few words about the Russian fairy tale.338 The fairy tale has been extraordinarily popular among the Russian people throughout the history of the country. As an integral part of Russian folklore, it is rich and varied. There are two main genres of fairy tales: magical and satirical. Fairy tales, with their flying carpets, self-made tablecloths etc., possibly rooted in pagan witchcraft. Their popularity is due to people's dream of things that would make life easier.

Satirical tales give vent to popular dissatisfaction with the political and social injustice. Interestingly, some fairy tale characters, such as Baba Yaga, are mentioned in the annals, which indicates the popularity of fairy tales in the Kievan period.339.