After the collapse of Kievan Rus, certain changes took place in its culture associated with the development of individual Russian principalities. This was primarily reflected in Russian chronicle writing, since already from the 11th century local chronicle appeared along with the all-Russian chronicle. The Novgorod chronicle was especially striking. Its creators were only interested in local Novgorod events, but they are captured with amazing observation and immediacy, which we will not find in The Tale of Bygone Years.

A monument of the church literature of the city of Kyiv is the “Kiev-Pechersk Patericon”, written at the beginning of the 13th century, which A.S. was so fond of reading. Pushkin! It was compiled in the form of a correspondence between Bishop Simon of Suzdal and the Pechersk monarch Polycarp. This correspondence contains fascinating and instructive stories (there are 24 of them in total). Some of them belong to the early stages of the history of the monastery (mid-11th c.)

Along with church literature significant development in the XII century. Received oratory - preaching. The famous preacher of this time was Cyril of Turov (2nd half of the 12th century). Cyril's teachings are devoted mainly to church holidays and parables.

It would be completely wrong to limit the literary centers of Ancient Rus' only to the ecclesiastical environment. The annals contain many purely secular writings. The Ipatiev Chronicle, compiled within the boundaries of Galicia-Volyn Rus, is especially replete with them. Characteristics of the princes, their military campaigns, descriptions of the course of state affairs - all this in its spirit betrays secular, sometimes simply "knightly" (military), sources of its origin.

The pinnacle of ancient Russian literature is the epic poem "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". It is dedicated to the campaign of Russian troops led by the Novgorod-Seversky prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsy in April - May 1185. This campaign itself was not some kind of exceptional event, but the brilliant author, who remained unknown, saw in it and in its consequences, what so worried the Russian society of that time: the need to fight the Polovtsy, but without fail by common, and not by scattered efforts. Igor's campaign became, as it were, a harsh lesson and a warning to other princes. Such is the socio-political meaning of the Lay. The author of the Lay contrasts the power and unity of Rus' in the past with the time of strife.

"The Word" is a monument of national and at the same time world culture. The emergence of professional literature occurred in Rus' no later than in France, Germany and England.

During the period of fragmentation, other aspects of culture also acquire new features, in particular architecture. Chernihiv architects were full of creative quests and at the very end of the XII century. They created a fundamentally new architectural form, embodying it in the temple of Friday at the auction.

The white-stone architecture of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus has gone through a special path of development. At an early stage, at the beginning of the XII century, it was closely connected with the Kievan traditions. But the buildings of the middle of the XII century. (Yuri Dolgorukov's time) already have an independent character. During these years of development of Zalesky land, first of all, fortresses were built - strongholds of princely power, an example of which can be the powerful ramparts of Pereyaslavl Zalesky. Features of the Romanesque style fully flourish in the Vladimir architecture of the second half of the 12th century (the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest). At this time, the Assumption Cathedral was being built, originally built in 1158-1161 and significantly expanded in 1185-1189.

Visual arts also underwent certain changes. So, in the XII century. in Rus', the art of mosaic ceased to exist, but the fresco at that time was most widely developed. The features of this art made it possible to more flexibly reflect the needs and ideals of the schools that were being formed at that time. The severity and inner tension of squat figures with a sharp look is an example of Novgorod frescoes of the 12th century. In Vladimir frescoes, as well as in the architecture of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, there is more sublime and spiritual aristocracy and sophistication.

In the second half of the XII century. Vladimir has its own school of icon painting, whose works are characterized by a departure from the Byzantine canons. The Savior Not Made by Hands can serve as a model here, striking in its expressiveness, expressed in the unusual construction of the face and in huge expressive eyes. At the beginning of the XIII century. the Yaroslavl school of icon painting became famous. Many icons-masterpieces were painted in the monasteries and churches of Yaroslavl.

Applied art of Rus' in the XII century. reached a high level. His products were valued and were in great demand not only in Rus', but also abroad. Russian products made of filigree, cloisonne enamel, and granulation were also distinguished by the finest craftsmanship.

Analyzing the results of the development of culture XII - early XIII century. we can say that she managed to catch up at that time with Byzantium - the most cultured country of that time. The national identity of Russian culture is becoming more and more noticeable. The beginning of the specific period was marked by the creation of the first local specific art schools.

Art historians and philologists note that the spiritual life of various Russian lands, with all its diversity, retained common features and unity of styles. Political fragmentation and even the Mongol-Tatar invasion did not interrupt the cultural development of the people and did not lead to its decline. On the contrary, those who lived in the XII-XII centuries. artists, architects, writers left us many masterpieces of literature and art. This was the second "golden age" of Russian culture.

So, summing up, it should be emphasized that feudal fragmentation in Rus' in the XII-XIV centuries. was a natural phenomenon associated with the peculiarities of the formation of the feudal system. For all the progressiveness of this process, feudal fragmentation had a significant negative point, such as the weakening of the military potential of Rus', but at the same time it contributed to the improvement of the management system, created favorable conditions for the development of the economy and culture in regional centers.

Features of the formation of ancient Russian culture

1. The Eastern Slavs received from the primitive era a folk, basically pagan, culture, the art of buffoons, rich folklore - epics, fairy tales, ritual and lyrical songs.

2. The culture of Kievan Rus was formed in the era of the formation of a single ancient Russian people and the formation of a single Russian literary language. It was created on the basis of ancient Slavic culture. It reflected the cultural traditions of individual Slavic tribes - Polyans, Vyatichi, Novgorodians, etc., as well as neighboring tribes - Utro-Finns, Balts, Scythians, Iranians. Various cultural influences and traditions merged and melted under the influence of common political and socio-economic relations. The culture of Kievan Rus reflected the life and way of life of the Slavic peoples, it was associated with the flourishing of trade and crafts, the development of interstate relations and trade ties.

3. A huge influence on culture as a whole - on literature, architecture, painting - had Christianity. At the same time, the existing dual faith led to the fact that pagan spiritual traditions were preserved in the culture of medieval Rus' for a long time. The harsh canons of church Byzantine art in Rus' have undergone changes, the images of saints have become more worldly, humane.

Writing, school education. Chronicles. Literature

1. For a long time there was an opinion that the letter came to Rus' along with Christianity. However, the facts irrefutably testify that Slavic writing existed as early as the beginning of the 10th century:

> an earthenware Smolensk vessel with an inscription in Slavonic (late 9th century);

> agreement (911) between Prince Oleg and Byzantium is one of the first monuments of Slavic writing;

> Cyril and Methodius created their own alphabet based on the Slavic script.

2. After the adoption of Christianity in the XI century. in Rus', literacy begins to spread among princes, boyars, merchants, and wealthy citizens. In rural areas, the population was illiterate. Yaroslav the Wise, his children knew several languages. Craftsmen put inscriptions-brands on their products. There were translations of Greek, Bulgarian books, historical works - the famous "Academy" - a book about the campaigns of Alexander the Great, books on natural science and geography. Books were expensive, made from parchment. They were written by hand with goose or swan feathers, decorated with colored miniatures. Of the 130 surviving books of the XI-XII centuries. more than 80 - liturgical.

3. The first schools were opened at churches, monasteries, in cities. Yaroslav the Wise created a school in Novgorod for the children of clerics. Monomakh's sister set up a school for girls in Kyiv. Posad people (townspeople - artisans, merchants), as a rule, were literate, knew how to count well. This is evidenced by birch bark letters found in Novgorod and Pskov - letters, economic documents, court decisions, petitions, as well as graffiti - inscriptions on the walls of churches (complaints, prayers); the inscription of Monomakh has been preserved: “Oh, it’s hard for me.” The Slavs had a fairly extensive knowledge of geography, obtained from books and as a result of travel. They were well aware of the four operations of arithmetic, fractions, the beginnings of geometry, and astronomy.

4. The most important monuments of ancient Russian culture are the chronicles - the weather account of historical events. The chroniclers, as a rule, were literate, literary gifted monks who knew translated literature, legends, epics, and described events and facts connected mainly with the life of princes, the affairs of monasteries, and occasionally non-Ryad affairs. The first chronicle appeared at the end of the 10th century; it told about the history of the Ruriks before the introduction of Christianity. The chronicle has not survived. The second chronicle was compiled under Yaroslav the Wise. The third and fourth were created by Metropolitan Hilarion under Prince Svyatoslav.

5. Many legends were included in the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", which became the main work on the history of Rus'. It was written by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor in 1113. A highly educated person for his time, a talented writer and deep historian, he raises the question of the origin of the Russian state and its development: “Where did the Russian land come from, who in Kiev began the first prince, and from where the Russian land began to eat. Nestor not only reports facts, but also makes philosophical and religious generalizations, shows the history of Rus' and the princely power of the Kyiv state against the backdrop of world history. He describes boyars, posadniks, vigilantes, monks, speaks of military campaigns, uprisings, princely strife, and the life of ordinary people. Nestor condemns murders, betrayal, praises honesty and courage. The chronicler evaluates all events from the standpoint of religious morality and statehood. Nestor also left two other outstanding works: The Tale of Boris and Gleb and The Life of Theodosius. In 1118, during the reign of Monomakh, hegumen Sylvester wrote a new code, which specifically described the deeds of Vladimir Monomakh. As Rus' collapsed, centers of local chronicle writing appeared in Smolensk, Pskov, Galich, Vladimir, Suzdal and other cities. Local chronicles were written by order of the prince close boyars or warriors. They told about the life of the prince and his family, his relationship with the boyars, other princes, etc. Local chronicles differed in the subject of narration and style. A library of chronicles appeared in Kyiv.

6. In addition to historical works in Kievan Rus, works of other genres are also created. In 1049, Metropolitan Hilarion wrote "The Sermon on Law and Grace" - a famous work that testified to the deep penetration of the ideology of Christianity into the minds of the Russian Church Fathers. In it, Hilarion glorifies the new ideas and concepts of Christianity, as well as Rus', the Russian people, the “old” and “glorious” princes of the Russian land, emphasizes the right of the Russian church to independence. At the end of the XI century. written works: "The memory and praise of Vladimir" monk Jacob, "The legend of the initial spread of Christianity in Rus'." The most famous was Vladimir Monomakh's Teaching to Children, the main goal of which is the need to combat princely civil strife. Monomakh draws the image of an ideal prince who cares about the power of the Russian land. The work “Journey of Abbot Daniel to the East” describes a long, difficult journey to the tomb of the Lord in Palestine. Two works connected with each other stand out: “Word” and “Prayer”. Scientists believe that they were written - one in the XII century, the other in the XIII century. - by two authors who bore the name Daniel and called themselves the Sharpeners. Both from imprisonment turn to their princes, both stand up for a strong princely power. The great monument of ancient Russian literature is "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". The only manuscript of the “Words...” that has survived to modern times was destroyed in a fire in Moscow during the invasion of Napoleon in 1812. The work tells about the campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich in 1185 against the Polovtsians. The first battle ended with the victory of the Russian troops. In the second battle, the Russian army was defeated, and Igor was captured. The Polovtsy devastated the left bank of the Dnieper. The unknown author of the “Word...” overcame the narrowness of the interests of his principality and spoke from the standpoint of all-Russian interests, he stands up for the unity of all Russian princes in the struggle against the nomads and condemns those of them who did not come to the aid of Igor. This is a poetic story about the courage of the Russian people and lamentation for the dead.

Architecture

1. Archaeological excavations show that up to the tenth century. in Rus' they built exclusively from wood. The wooden buildings of pagan Rus' have not been preserved, but the architectural style - turrets, towers, tiers, passages, carvings - passed into the stone architecture of Christian times. In Rus', they began to build stone churches according to the Byzantine model: the squares formed an architectural cross. The earliest building in Kyiv is the Church of the Mother of God-Tsyatinnaya (end of the 10th century), so named because church tithes were allocated for its maintenance. Under Yaroslav the Wise, the Kiev Sophia Cathedral was built, the architecture of which organically combines Slavic and Byzantine traditions: 13 domes stand on the basis of a cross-domed church.

2. Sophia Cathedral became a symbol of the power of Kievan Rus. The walls of the cathedral are made of pink brick - plinths, alternating with a thick layer of white lime. The central dome was surrounded by 4 medium domes, behind which stood 8 small ones. There was an open gallery around the temple. Inside, the walls and ceiling were decorated with frescoes and mosaics. A fresco is a painting with water-based paints on wet plaster. Many frescoes were devoted not only to religious, but also to everyday subjects: they depict the family of Yaroslav the Wise, buffoons, fistfights, hunting, etc. The mosaic had 130 shades. There were many icons in the cathedral. Cathedrals in honor of St. Sophia were also built in Novgorod, Polotsk; in Chernigov - the Transfiguration Cathedral (multi-domed churches).

3. In the XII century. single-dome churches were built: Dmitrovsky and Assumption in Vladimir-on-Klyazma, the Church of the Intercession-on-Nerl. New fortresses, stone palaces, chambers of rich people were laid in Chernigov, Galina, Pskov, Suzdal. The stone, as a rule, was decorated with carvings. Temples were placed on high hills, they were combined with the natural landscape. The city of Vladimir was surrounded by a stone wall with gilded Golden Gates.

Art, music, oral folk art

1. Iconography has also become widespread. An icon is an image on specially processed boards of saints revered by the church. In Rus', the strict Byzantine technique of icon painting was influenced by ancient Russian culture, which brought softness, depth, and lyricism to the ascetic Byzantine canons. The oldest monument of icon painting that has come down to us is the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir. It was named after the transfer of the icon by Andrey Bogolyubsky from Kyiv to Vladimir. One of the oldest surviving monuments of the Vladimir-Suzdal art of icon painting is the main “Deesis”, written at the end of the 12th century. (“Deesis” means “prayer”). The “Oranta” icon also belongs to the same school of icon painting. Novgorod icons have come down to us: “The Angel of Golden Hair”, “The Savior Not Made by Hands”, “The Dormition of the Virgin” (all from the 12th century), which depict the passions of the divine and human. The Dmitrovsky Cathedral in Vladimir was decorated with frescoes of the Last Judgment.

2. The art of carving in wood and stone reached a high level; the palaces of princes and the dwellings of the boyars were decorated with it. Russian jewelers, using the most complex technique - filigree, niello, granulation, filigree, created gold and silver jewelry, which were masterpieces of world art. Magnificent chasing and elegant artistic decoration of weapons put Russian goldsmiths on a par with Western European ones. The frame of tury horns from the Black grave in Chernigov is known. Many products were exported to the Czech Republic, Poland; and bone carving in Byzantium was called “Russian carving”.

3. Folk art is reflected in Russian folklore: incantations, spells, proverbs, riddles that were associated with agriculture and the life of the Slavs, wedding songs and funeral lamentations. A special place is occupied by such an epic genre as “old times” - epics, especially the Kyiv heroic cycle. Their heroes - Kyiv, Dnieper, princes Vladimir the Red Sun and Monomakh, Russian heroes Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Ilya Muromets - folk heroes, defenders of the Motherland. Their deeds are fabulous and heroic. Gradually, oral folk art acquires a social coloring: the rich, the boyars are denounced.

4. The most ancient genre of Russian music is ritual and labor songs, “old times”. Musical instruments - tambourines, psaltery, pipes, horns. Buffoons performed on the squares - singers, dancers, acrobats, there was a folk puppet theater. Accordions - storytellers and singers of the "stars" enjoyed great respect.

Life and customs of Ancient Rus'

1. The culture of the people is inextricably linked with their way of life and customs. People lived in cities (20-30 thousand people), villages (≈50 people), villages (25-40 people). The main type of Slavic dwelling was a manor, a house - a log cabin, often two-story. Kyiv was a big and rich city: palaces, cathedrals, towers of boyars, wealthy merchants, clergy. Feasts were often held in palaces, women sat on an equal footing with men, harp sang, food and money were distributed on behalf of the owner to the poor. The favorite pastime of the rich is falconry, hawk hunting, dog hunting. For ordinary people, horse races, fistfights, and games were arranged. The bath was very popular.

2. Clothes were sewn from homespun canvas or cloth. The basis of the costume was a shirt, men's pants were tucked into boots, a women's shirt - to the floor, with embroidery and long sleeves. Hats: the prince had a hat framed with bright fabric, women covered their heads with a scarf (with a towel - married), decorated with pendants, peasants and townspeople wore fur or wicker hats. Outerwear - cloak-votola made of thick linen fabric. The princes wore barmas around their necks - chains of silver or gold medallions with enamel decorations.

3. They ate bread, meat, fish, vegetables. They drank kvass, honey, wine. The annals noted the predilection of the people of Kiev for drinking wine.

4. Newborns were given names according to the church calendar. Most of them are of Jewish or Greek origin. In Russian, they changed their sound: Jacob - Jacob, Joseph - Osip, Abram, John - Ivan. Princely names became calendar ones - Vladimir, Boris, Gleb, Oleg. For ordinary people, the name often became a nickname - Molchan, Oladya, Fool.

5. Russian culture on the eve of the Mongol invasion was at a very high level of development, not inferior to the culture of the advanced countries of Europe and actively interacting with it.

Prepared by a student of the Faculty of Russian Philology and National Culture of the Department of Cultural Studies, group 1G Pershin Svyatoslav

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From the 11th century Kievan Rus, just like Western Europe, begins to experience a period of feudal fragmentation. The disintegration of Rus' into specific principalities begins during the life of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) and intensifies after his death. In 1097, a congress of Russian princes took place in Lyubech. Two important decisions were made at it: - firstly, to stop the princely strife, - secondly, to adhere to the principle "Everyone keeps his fatherland."

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Time since the beginning of the XII century. until the end of the fifteenth century. called the period of feudal fragmentation or specific period. On the basis of Kievan Rus by the middle of the XII century. formed about 15 lands and principalities, by the beginning of the XIII century. - 50, in the XIV century. - 250. In each of the principalities, their own dynasty of Rurikovich ruled.

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Modern researchers understand feudal fragmentation as the period of the 12th - 15th centuries. in the history of our country, when from several dozen to several hundred large states were formed and functioned on the territory of Kievan Rus. Feudal fragmentation was a natural result of the previous political and economic development of society, the so-called period of the early feudal monarchy.

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Causes of feudal fragmentation

There are four most significant reasons for the feudal fragmentation of the Old Russian state: 1. Political (the vast expanses of the East European Plain, numerous tribes - all this contributed to the decentralization of the state); 2. Social (by the beginning of the 12th century, the social structure of ancient Russian society had become more complex); 3. Economic reason (within the framework of a single state, independent economic regions have developed); 4. The foreign political situation also contributed to feudal fragmentation (Rus' during this period had no serious opponents, since the great princes of Kyiv did a lot to ensure the security of their borders).

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Of the states that developed on the territory of Ancient Rus', the largest and most significant were the Galicia-Volyn, Vladimir-Suzdal principality and the Novgorod boyar republic. It was they who became the political heirs of Kievan Rus.

Slide 7

The Novgorod Boyar Republic chose a pro-Western position, which also affected its culture

However, being the largest and richest land of this period, the Novgorod land, due to the desire to isolate itself from all-Russian problems, lost its historical chance to become the center of the unification of all Russian lands.

Slide 8

At a time when in the Galicia-Volyn principality there were endless feuds between the princes and the boyars, in Novgorod there were quarrels and strife at the meetings, in the North-East of the Russian lands the foundations of a new Russian statehood were being laid.

However, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality repeated the fate of all Russian lands: after the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest, it broke up into many small ones.

Slide 9

During the period of feudal fragmentation, three all-Russian cultural centers were formed around Galich, Novgorod and Vladimir. They are formed on the basis of the traditions of Kievan Rus, but each of them developed its own aesthetic environment, developed its own artistic ideals, its own understanding and expression of beauty. And this did not testify to the collapse of the ancient Russian nationality and its culture. Despite the existence of local schools, styles, and traditions, the Old Russian culture continued to be fundamentally united. The time of feudal fragmentation was not a time of decline, but a flourishing of ancient Russian culture.

Slide 10

It was this period of history that gave the world such masterpieces of art as The Tale of Bygone Years and The Tale of Igor's Campaign, The Tale of Daniil the Sharpener, Vladimir Monomakh's Instruction in literature, the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in architecture, icons "Vladimir Mother of God" and "Angel with Golden Hair" in icon painting.

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Thus, in general, a powerful ancient Russian culture was created in the pre-Horde period. Further, hard times will come in Rus', the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars will cause significant damage to the culture of Rus', but Russian culture will not die. She was able to express such a lofty spiritual ideal, she possessed such powerful creative possibilities, such a large supply of original artistic ideas, that she was far from exhausted. Old Russian culture of the XI - XII centuries. laid the foundations for the culture of the new Russian statehood - the Muscovite kingdom.

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Bibliography

1. History [El. resource] Moscow, 2010. - Access mode: http:/ www.ido.rudn.ru. - Zagl. from the screen. – Date of access: 11.03.10. 2. Sakharov, A.N. History of Russia from ancient times to the end of the 17th century [Text]: a textbook for grade 10 general education institutions / A.N. Sakharov, V.N. Buganov; ed. A.N. Sakharov. - 8th ed. - M.: Education, 2002. - S. 65-121.

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The culture of Rus' in the period of feudal fragmentation. Cultuga of the Galicia-Volyn principality.

The development of culture took place in difficult conditions of fragmentation of Russian lands. At the same time, despite the constant strife and threats from neighboring states and tribes, there were achievements and successes in the ancient Russian culture of this period. The Oka became more democratic: new territories, cities, new strata of society were actively involved in cultural life. For example, the customers of religious buildings, monumental paintings and precious jewelry were not only princes and boyars, but also wealthy representatives of the urban population, who had their own views, tastes, ideas.

There were changes in ancient Russian architecture. Russian architects began to move away from traditional Byzantine architectural canons and forms and, under the influence of local conditions, began to look for new solutions. In the specific principalities, architectural schools arose, which differed in their characteristics. Kiev, Chernihiv and Pereyaslav architectural schools are known, which were united by a single style. In Russia, they began to build smaller temples of a simplified design. The internal and external decoration of the temples has changed. The new decoration of the facades became more characteristic: they began to be decorated with pilasters, semi-columns, arcade belts and the so-called curb.

The growth and strengthening of cities - the political and cultural centers of individual principalities - was accompanied by the construction of a large number of religious and civil buildings in Kiev, Chernigov, Galich, Pereyaslav and many other cities. Some of them have survived to this day.

The most famous of them are: the Church of the Virgin Pirogoshcha (1132) in Kyiv on Podil, the Borisoglebsky and Assumption Cathedral of the Yelets Monastery in Chernigov, etc.

The interior of ancient Russian palaces and temples, as before, was decorated with mosaics, frescoes, mosaic floors and a variety of applied arts. The latter were used not only as decorations, but often served as amulets-amulets and were designed to protect their owners from the evil forces of nature. The role of amulets was also played by magical ornaments, which were used to decorate many of their products by master jewelers and artisans who created household items. During the period of fragmentation, the writing of chronicles continued. New centers of chronicle writing appeared in Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Kholm, Vladimir-Volynsky. Some monasteries had entire libraries that consisted exclusively of chronicles. These chronicles were used by subsequent generations of chroniclers, who created entire chronicles, depicting the events of past years from different points of view, and trying to give these events the most objective assessment.

New original forms of historical works appeared; family and tribal princely annals, biographies of princes, etc.
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Unfortunately, most of these works have not survived.

The masterpiece of ancient Russian fiction is ʼʼThe Tale of Igor's Campaignʼʼ. This work was written in a difficult time for Rus', when it suffered from the Polovtsy raids, and tells about the unsuccessful campaign of the Novgorod-Seversky prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsy in 1185. The word is permeated with the idea of ​​uniting all the forces of Rus' to fight the enemies. Using the example of the defeat of Prince Igor, the author of the ʼʼSlovʼʼ sought to show what disputes and hostility of princes could lead to.

The Galicia-Volyn land became the center of the cultural life of the Ukrainian principalities during the period of fragmentation. So, as elsewhere at that time, the church played an important role in the development of culture. Chronicles were created in monasteries. The most famous is the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, which covers the events of the Galician and Volyn lands from 1201 to 1292. A feature of this chronicle is its secular nature.
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The author of the chronicle figuratively tells about the time of the reign of Roman and Danila, about the life of princes and boyars, about the military campaigns of Russian squads, about their struggle with the Tatars, Hungarians, Poles and other conquerors.

A clear evidence of the high level of culture was the architecture of the region. They were built mainly of wood, for a long time temples remained stone structures, in some cases chambers.

Temples were built mainly of white stone with carved ornaments. Archaeologists have established that there were about 30 monumental stone structures in Galicia in the 12th century, but only a small part of them have been studied to date. Interesting architectural monuments of the Galician land are the prince's palace and the church of Panteleimon in Galicia.

Galician and Volyn principalities, at the turn of the XII and XIII centuries. merged into a single Galicia-Volyn principality, in the second half of the XII century. and in the 13th century, at the time of the decline of the Kyiv principality, they reached significant political power and cultural flourishing. The reigns of Yaroslav Osmomysl, Roman Mstislavich, his sons Daniil and Vasilko Romanovich and grandson Vladimir Vasilkovich are associated with the most glorious pages of Galicia-Volyn history. But from the beginning of the XIV century. The Galicia-Volyn land was politically weakening and in the middle of the same century it became part of the Polish-Lithuanian state.

Galician-Volhynian literacy, which developed on the basis of the Kievan literary tradition, if not quantitatively, then qualitatively, stood at a considerable height. A number of copies of the gospel text have come down to us, incl. Galician Four Gospels 1144 ᴦ., Dobrilov Gospel 1164 ᴦ. and others, the lives of Nifont and Theodore the Studite in the Vygoleksin collection of the 12th-13th centuries Pandekty of Antioch 1307 ᴦ. and other handwritten books of the 12th-13th centuries. The chronicler characterizes Prince Vladimir Vasilkovich as a "great scribe" and a philosopher, which was not on the whole earth. In one of the monasteries, he donated the gospel, transcribed by his hand, as well as the ʼʼGreat Cathedralʼʼ, which belonged to his father. He sent liturgical books to several churches, incl. in Chernihiv, the Aprakos Gospel, written in gold and richly decorated. On his initiative, the full life of Dmitry Solunsky, the Pilot Book and, probably, the Conversations of Grigory Dvoeslov were written off. He had collaborators, just like him, bibliophiles who were engaged in the correspondence of liturgical and fourth books. Among the Galician-Volyn figures of that time, Metropolitan Peter should be mentioned.

In the second half of the XIII century. in the Galicia-Volyn land, a collection was apparently compiled (used in the so-called Archival collection of the 15th century and in the Vilna manuscript), which included the Explanatory Apocalypse, the Chronograph, which included biblical books, the chronicles of George Amartol and John Malala, Alexandria and the History of the Jewish War by Josephus; further - under the title ʼʼRussian chroniclerʼʼ - The Tale of Bygone Years and a collection of the Izbornik Svyatoslav type 1073 ᴦ.

Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, Galicia-Volyn land in the XII-XIII centuries. owned the best works of translated and Russian historical literature of the Kievan period.

Book activity in the Galicia-Volyn land continued, although not so intensively, even after the loss of its political independence.

There should be no doubt that many monuments of literature perished in that restless historical situation that befell the Galicia-Volyn principality.

Chronicle writing in Galicia apparently began in the 11th century. judging by individual stories, which, undoubtedly, were included from the Galician Chronicle in ʼʼThe Tale of Bygone Yearsʼʼ and in the Kiev Chronicle (a description of the blinding of Prince Vasilko and the subsequent events of 1098-1100 ᴦ., set out under 1097 ᴦ.). The Galician-Volyn chronicle of the 13th century, preserved precisely in Russian lists, based on sources that also entered Russian use. supported in northeastern Rus' the traditions of that retinue poetry, the highest achievement of which at the end of the 12th century. there was a Word about Igor's regiment,

Art of the Galicia-Volyn land of the XII-XIII centuries. cannot be divided by the edge of the Mongol conquest into two halves. The higher military training of the Galician armed forces, the strong defensive walls of the city centers made it difficult for the Tatar conquest, and the subsequent international policy of Daniil of Galicia softened the hardships of the Tatar yoke and ensured an almost normal course of public life, and with it the development of art. Here, as in Novgorod, which escaped the direct defeat of the land by the Mongol hordes, the fateful years 1238-1240. did not interrupt cultural development.

The origins of the art of Galicia-Volyn Rus are connected with the common treasury of artistic culture for all the ancient Russian principalities - the art of the Kievan land. We can judge the Galician-Volyn art only by architectural monuments, which, moreover, are poorly studied and are represented almost exclusively by the archaeologically unearthed ruins of temples.

In Kiev architecture of the XI-XII centuries. a foundation was laid for solving a number of new tasks - the city cathedral of the specific capital, the palace princely temple and the ensemble of the princely or generally feudal residence as a whole; they were given in the cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersky monastery, in the Church of the Savior on Berestovo - Monomakh's country palace, and then repeated many times with various modifications, both in the construction of Kiev itself and in other feudal centers of the 12th century; Galich and Vladimir-Volynsky were among them.

It is essential to note the features of originality that distinguish the architecture of Volhynia and Galicia. The monuments of Vladimir-Volynsky - Mstislav Assumption Cathedral (1157-1160) and the ruins of the temple located in the ʼʼOld Cathedraʼʼ tract, apparently dating back to the same time, are exceptionally close to the Kiev-Chernigov monuments.

Volyn in art, as well as in literature, was the direct heir of the Kyiv land and quite zealously followed its traditions.

The art of Galich followed a slightly different path and more critically perceived the artistic heritage and canonical examples. The originality of Galician architecture was facilitated by the very international position of Galich, which facilitated direct connection with Western Europe and the direct impact of Western artistic culture. The abundance of natural building stone made it possible to replace ordinary brick with it and enriched the possibilities for decorative processing of buildings - carving, playing with different tones of facing stone, etc. (Even in the middle of the 12th century) a complex architectural ensemble of the princely palace was created in Galich. The story of the chronicle about the circumstances of the death of Prince Vladimir of Galicia depicts this building for us in the form of a combination of a number of buildings: the residential part of the palace, the "senei" and the palace temple, united by a system of passages; This composition is based on the system of rich wooden housing - ʼʼkhoromʼʼ, which has received significant development here, which was established even in the conditions of life of the princely retinues of Kievan Rus. composition of the Bogolyubovsky castle of the XII century.

Built at the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. The Church of Panteleimon in Galich with its portals and Romanesque carvings shows how the Kiev heritage is reshaped in Galician architecture, how Romanesque features are laid on the all-Russian Kiev-Byzantine basis, creating a peculiar look of architecture.

It has received especially magnificent development since the 40s of the 13th century. This fact cannot but be connected with the circumstance noted above that the Galicia-Volyn land was that corner of the Russian land where cultural development continued in the first years of Mongol rule, where social life was not interrupted. Undoubtedly, all cultural forces that escaped captivity and death rushed here; Chronicle, telling about the development of the Hill, draws a colorful picture of the settlement of the new princely city; at the call of the prince ʼʼparishioner of the Germans and Rus', foreigners and Lyakhs go day and day and hunots and masters of all bezhehu_is Tatars, saddlers and archers and tulnitsy and forge iron and copper and silver, and be life, and fill the yards around the city, field and selaʼʼ.

It is in connection with this story about the large number of craftsmen of various professions who flocked to the Galician land that the Galician-Volyn chronicle reports about the beautiful buildings created in the 40-50s by Prince Daniel in the Hill, which caused genuine delight and surprise of his contemporaries.

The church of Ivan deserved special attention and admiration of the chronicler: its vaults rested on carved four-sided capitals depicting human heads. ʼʼsculpted from some tricksterʼʼ, ʼʼRoman glassʼʼ, that is, colored stained-glass windows on the windows of the temple, created a bizarre illumination of its interior space; in the altar above the throne, a beautiful canopy rose on two columns of solid stone. A ciborium decorated with gilded stars on an azure background; the floor was made of copper and tin and shone like a mirror.

Another building of the Hill - the Church of Mary (1260) was not inferior, according to the chronicler, with its beauty and size to other temples. For this church, a beautiful water-blessing cup was made of red marble, it was decorated with snake heads along the edges. The bowl was placed in front of the main church doors, as was done at the temples of that time in the West.

These characteristics, dedicated by the chronicler to the Kholmsk buildings, reveal to us an exceptionally complex and peculiar composition of its constituent elements. The appearance of the Kholmsky temples allows us to see a peculiar interweaving of features born in the process of development of ancient Russian architecture of the 12th century, with clearly borrowed techniques of Romanesque art. The same features characterize the second half of the 12th century. in the Vladimir principality; moreover, individual details of the decoration and decoration of the buildings of the Bogolyubov castle (1158-1165) are so strikingly repeated a century later in the Hill that the idea arises of the possibility of direct work with Prince Daniel of Vladimir architects and carvers who fled from Tatar captivity, and, together with other masters who built and decorated the Kholmsky temples.

The Galician-Volyn culture is characterized by the absence of a pronounced and irreconcilable religious and national aversion to the ʼʼLatinʼʼ world, and this feature of it also contributed to the enrichment of art by acquaintance with the West. The appeal to Romanesque art was quite understandable for Vladimir of the 12th century. and for Galician Rus' of the XIII century, since this art more fully than Byzantine, expressed the ideas and tastes of the feudal world, the leading representatives of which in Rus' in the XII century. were Vladimir ʼʼautocratsʼʼ, and in the XIII century. - Galician-Volynian ʼʼKingʼʼ Daniel.

On the other hand, turning to Western culture was a peculiar form of asserting one's own ways of artistic and cultural development in general and moving away from traditions.

This also explains the significant fact that in the Galician-Volyn art, unlike other principalities, the art of sculpture was significantly developed, which was denied by the Orthodox Byzantine Church when applied to religious subjects. It was expressed here not only in the decorative sculpture of the Kholmsky temples, but developed into an independent branch of art, even of a secular nature.
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The chronicle tells of an interesting statue erected by Prince Daniel outside the city of Kholm, probably on the way to it.

The same influence of Romanesque art is felt in the Galician-Volyn painting, which can only be judged by a few miniatures.

They trace the techniques of Romanesque-Gothic painting, both in terms of the color range and in the very construction of the picturesque image.

So, the Galician-Volyn art of the XIII century. is one of the brightest and most significant pages in the history of ancient Russian art. Having started its journey along with literature from a common source for all ancient Rus' - the Kievan-Byzantine artistic culture, it was enriched by communication with the art of Western neighbors. These introductions were organically mastered by the Galician masters, who created quite original and high-quality monuments of art of Galicia-Volyn Rus.

The principality became the successor of K. Rus, fought for the reunification and consolidation of lands, contributed to the development of the economy, cities, crafts, trade, and culture; contributed to the protection of the population of the southwestern lands from physical destruction by the Mongols-Tatars; raised the prestige of Ukrainian lands in the international arena, especially in the context of feudal fragmentation.

After the fall of Kyiv, the Galicia-Volyn principality continued the existence of a state entity in the Slavic lands for a whole century and became the main political center of the future Ukraine.

The word ʼʼUkrainianʼʼ was first used in the ʼʼHomilyʼʼ of theologian Gregory as early as the middle of the 11th century. The term ʼʼUkraineʼʼ is mentioned in the Kyiv Chronicle in 1187 ᴦ. as a synonym for the concept of ʼʼkrashaʼʼ, that is, the land, native land (for comparison: Serbia. in Serbo-Croatian - Serbska Krasha). Since 1335, for Galicia, the concept of ʼʼLittle Russiaʼʼ, borrowed from the Greeks, began to be used, which later turned into the concept of ʼʼLittle Russiaʼʼ. At the same time, in different periods it denoted different regions of Ukraine.

The culture of Rus' in the period of feudal fragmentation. Cultuga of the Galicia-Volyn principality. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Culture of Rus' in the period of feudal fragmentation. Cult of the Galicia-Volyn principality." 2017, 2018.

The culture of Rus' in the period of political fragmentation

The period of feudal fragmentation is the time of extensive stone construction in all principalities. Beautiful cities were created in the capital cities architectural structures, and their number was more than ten. In the architecture of the period of feudal fragmentation, their own distinctive features appear. Buildings of the XII - XIII centuries. differed from the structures of the previous period by the smaller scale of buildings, simple but beautiful forms, and ease of decoration. A typical building was a cubic temple with a massive light drum and a helmet-shaped dome. From the second half of the XII century. Byzantine influence in architecture is weakening, which was reflected in the appearance in ancient Russian architecture of temples of a tower-like shape, unknown to Byzantine architecture. Rus' at this time joins the pan-European Romanesque style. This communion did not affect the foundations of ancient Russian architecture - the cross-domed structure of the temple, but affected the external design of buildings: arched belts, groups of semi-columns and pilasters, columned belts on the walls, perspective portals and, finally, intricate stone carvings on the outer surface of the walls.
Elements of Romanesque architecture spread in the 12th century. in the Smolensk and Galicia-Volyn principalities, and then in Vladimir-Suzdal Rus. The architectural buildings of the Galicia-Volyn land are poorly preserved and many of them are known only from literary descriptions and archaeological data. In the middle of the XIV century. Galicia-Volyn lands became part of the Catholic states - Poland and Hungary. The Catholic Church for many centuries destroyed all traces of Russian culture, so it is especially difficult to restore the true appearance of the churches of Western Rus'. The peculiarity of the architecture of this land was the combination of the Byzantine-Kyiv composition with Romanesque building technology and elements of Romanesque decoration. The architects of Galich used white stone - local limestone, as well as block bricks instead of Kiev plinths, from which they erected temples of various plans: four- and six-pillared, and without pillars, and round in plan - rotundas. Round churches - rotundas - evidence of the influence of Western early Gothic architecture. The high level of Galician architecture of this period is evidenced by Church of Panteleimon near Galich(beginning of the 13th century) with its perspective portal and carving of capitals.

The general democratization of Novgorod life during the period of feudal fragmentation also affected Novgorod architecture. In 1136, Novgorod became a veche republic, and the princes turned into hired chiefs of a squad guarding the city with its possessions. The prince was evicted outside the city - on Gorodische, 3 km from Novgorod. There the princes settle down and build monasteries - fortresses with temples. The most remarkable of the princely temples is St. George's Cathedral of St. George's Monastery (1119), built by order of Vsevolod Mstislavich. The temple has three asymmetrically located domes, shifted to the west, which is not typical for Orthodox churches. The building was built using the technique of mixed masonry, combining stone blocks and bricks. The cathedral is actually devoid of decor, since Novgorod limestone is loose, oversaturated with shells and is difficult to process. History has not conveyed to us the names of the architects of that period, but the name of the architect of St. George's Cathedral has been preserved in the Novgorod annals - "Master Peter". The construction of the cathedral lasted 11 years, before the end of its walls were covered with frescoes, destroyed in the XIX century. On July 12, 1130, he was consecrated in the name of George the Victorious. In contrast to the interior decoration, the original external appearance of the cathedral has been almost completely preserved (during the restoration of 1931-1935, all of its numerous extensions built at different times were removed).

First stone Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa on the Market (Saint Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa was considered the patroness of trade) was built in 1207 on the site of a wooden one built in 1156 by overseas merchants. The documents preserved 15 news about the fires and renovations that befell the temple. The modern appearance of the temple was acquired as a result of post-war restoration, during which many ancient forms were revealed.

A striking example of the monuments of Novgorod architecture of the last third of the XII century. It is rightfully considered Church of the Transfiguration on Nereditsa. It was erected in one season around 1198 under the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich in memory of two dead sons. Despite its relatively small size, it gives the impression of a monumental structure. The volume of the church, crowned with one dome resting on four pillars, is divided into 3 naves and completed from the east by three altar apses. A characteristic feature of its composition is sharply lowered side apses. The appearance of the church in Novgorod is restrained and strict: not a single detail violates the harmony of the whole. ITS only adornment - an arched belt under the dome of a massive drum cut through by eight narrow windows - enhances the impression of simplicity and grandeur.
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Nereditsa became world-famous due to the frescoes, executed freely and energetically in unusually light colors: combinations of yellow-red ocher, pale green and blue. Unfortunately, during the Great Patriotic War, the church on Nereditsa was destroyed as a result of shelling, and its ancient frescoes were almost completely destroyed. In the restored in 1956-1958. only fragments of the painting of the altar part and the lower sections of other walls have been preserved.

With construction Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. On the site of the pagan sanctuary in Peryn (named after the god Perun), a new type of church is being created, which became decisive for the Novgorod architecture of the 14th-15th centuries. The highest achievements of Novgorod architects include Church of the Transfiguration on Kovalev (1345), Fyodor Stratilat on the Creek(1360-1361), Spas of the Transfiguration on Ilyina Street(1374), Peter and Paul in Kozhevniki (1406), Simeon the God-Receiver in the Animal Monastery(1467).
The facades of all Novgorod churches usually have a three-blade top, the roofs, as a rule, are eight-sloped. Such a deviation in the structure of the roof from the general Byzantine style was determined by local climatic conditions - frequent cold rains and snowfalls. Novgorod churches were built entirely of brick or multi-colored cobblestones with flat brick inserts - plinths, which provided color overflows from grayish-blue to bright red-brown and gave the building an extraordinary picturesqueness.
Temples were decorated very modestly: with brick crosses inserted into the masonry; three small slits where there should have been one large window; "eyebrows" above the windows and a typical Pskov-Novgorod pattern on the drum. This pattern consisted of squares and triangles. Above the ornamental belt, and sometimes instead of it, there was a chain of kokoshniks - arched stepped recesses. The altar apse was decorated with vertical roller patterns, connected on top with arcs. Special mention should be made of the so-called golosniks, peculiar only to Novgorod churches: pots and jugs smeared horizontally into the walls, into the drum of the dome, into the "sails" and vaults and served as a kind of microphones.

During the period of fragmentation, from the middle of the XII century, the largest center of Rus' becomes Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. The outlying region of Kievan Rus, lying between the Oka and Volga, begins its rapid development. Large-scale construction of new cities unfolded during the reign of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174), the son of Yuri Dolgoruky. In addition to the ancient cities - Rostov, Suzdal and Yaroslavl - new ones are being put forward: Pereslavl-Zalessky, Kideksha, Yuryev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Moscow and especially Vladimir. Outstanding monuments of art are created here, many of which have survived to this day.
Temples were built mainly from hewn white stone. It was to this time that the creation of the all-Russian type of temple, which has a complex dynamic composition, dates back. Temples with four pillars were crowned with one dome, towering on a high drum with apses protruding from the eastern side. The architecture of this period was distinguished by the simplicity of decor, the severity of proportions, and symmetry.

Assumption Cathedral, erected in 1158-1160, was painted for the next year. The first stone in the foundation of the temple was laid by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1158. On September 21, 1164, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God was transferred from Bogolyubovo to the newly built cathedral church, after which Prince Andrei proclaimed Vladimir the patron city. Moscow princes. The building of the Assumption Cathedral was erected from limestone and decorated with white stone carvings. The central dome of the temple, crowned with a gilded helmet, rose 33 meters high, surpassing the height of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The splendor of the Assumption Cathedral was above all estimates. The craftsmen bound the solemn entrance portals arranged on three sides with sheets of gilded copper. The facades were decorated with complex pilasters with Corinthian capitals, and horizontally divided into two tiers by an arched frieze. The walls and vaults of the temple were painted with frescoes. From the original frescoes, only fragments of ornamental painting have survived, in which the high professionalism of the artists who performed it is guessed.

Simultaneously with the temple, the construction of the residence of the Vladimir princes in Bogolyubovo began, not far from which, on the banks of the Nerl River, among flood meadows, in 1165 a white-stone Church of the Intercession of the Virgin. The location of the temple is unique: the Church of the Intercession is built in a lowland, on a small hill, located on a flood meadow. Previously, near the church there was a place where the Nerl flows into the Klyazma (now the riverbeds have changed their position). The church was located almost on the river "arrow", making out the crossroads of the most important water trade routes. An elegant four-pillar temple with the division of the outer walls into 3 unequal sections (part of the surface of the outer wall of the building, bounded on both sides by pilasters or shoulder blades) was crowned with a dome placed on a tetrahedral pedestal. A clear rhythm of the arched-columnar belt on the surface of the drum, the main volume and galleries, carvings make up the main decorative decoration of the temple. The refinement of proportions and the general harmony of the temple are noted by many researchers; often the Church of the Intercession is called the most beautiful Russian temple.
At the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. Equally famous architectural masterpieces were erected on the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, such as: Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir(1190s), Nativity Cathedral in Suzdal (1222-1225), St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky(1230-1234).
Stone carving played the most important role in the decoration of Vladimir churches. In an effort to express their own attitude to the world, to the beauties of nature, stone carvers showed true skill. Among the numerous temples of Vladimir, Dmitrievsky Cathedral stands out with elegance and an abundance of decorations. Thin carved lace, completely covering the surfaces of the walls from the arcade-columnar belt up to the dome itself, is the main feature of the cathedral, giving it a special lightness and grace. Figures of Christ, prophets and apostles, Christian martyrs and holy warriors are combined with images of animals, lion masks and flowering trees. The walls between the windows are decorated with intertwined medallions with images of "mountain" birds.
The reliefs were not repeated anywhere and were located from top to bottom. The upper images were larger than the lower ones, which contributed to their better view from the ground. In general, the sculptural decoration of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral is one of the highest achievements of Vladimir carvers, which is the glory and special pride of ancient Russian art.

The collapse of Kievan Rus had extremely important positive consequences. Small areas were easier manage . Now every ruler took care of the principality as if it were his own property, sought to strengthen and enrich it. Rising to a new quality level economy (handicraft, agricultural production). The absence of internal borders promotes development trade , commodity-money relations .
Rus' used to be called "country of cities". Now there are more of them, they are increasing in size, their social and political significance is growing.
Cities played a huge role in Rus'. First of all, the city is the center of power: the prince or his governor was here. Boyars and other noble people lived in the cities, their estates were located here. The military significance of the cities is also great: a military garrison was located in well-fortified fortresses, and the inhabitants of the cities formed their own militias - city regiments. The city was the religious center of the surrounding lands; a metropolitan was appointed here, to whom archpriests and parish priests were subordinate. Monasteries arose in cities or near them. The city was also a center of culture.

Old Russian cities most often grew on hills, at the confluence of rivers or a river and a ravine. The rivers at that time were the main trade routes, and their steep banks were the natural protection of the city. First, a fortress arose on a hill (it could also be called "detinets" or Krom, Kremlin), the settlement was surrounded by a fortified wall to protect it from enemies, originally wooden, at a later time - stone. Inside the fortifications there was a princely palace, temples, administrative offices, orders, farmsteads, trading, houses of residents.
Let us give as an example the city of Pskov, where the citadel, called Krom, was located on a rocky cape at the confluence of the Pskov River with the Velikaya River and was a formidable fortress, cut off from the settlement by a moat. In Pskov, it was the veche center - the heart and guardian of all city "ends" (quarters) and the entire Pskov land. The harsh impregnability of the city core was addressed to the enemies. For the owners, Krom was a safe haven, the keeper of their shrines, property and lives themselves. Something similar can be seen in other ancient Russian cities, where, during enemy raids, the inhabitants of the towns and suburban villages shut themselves up in citadels, and often burned their towns' courtyards with their own hands.

Pskov Kremlin

If in the IX-X centuries. the territory of Russian cities mainly fit within the limits of small fortresses - detintsy. (The inner castle - detinets - got its name from the "children", combatants who made up its garrison.) Then by the XII-XIII centuries. the cities grew significantly and soon ceased to fit within the narrow limits of the citadels. Settlements of craftsmen and merchants, who settled outside the castle walls, grew up next to the citadel, and two urban worlds were created: princely and free (trade and handicraft). The most striking example of such a neighborhood of two different worlds is Kyiv. In the annalistic news, two parts of Kyiv clearly appear - Gora and Podol. Posadas were subsequently attached to the city, and they were surrounded by a new wall. It formed the outer fortified belt. In large centers, the city suburbs gradually included in the city, surrounded by light fortifications in the form of a palisade, set on a low rampart. Such a fortification was called a "fort".

At the intersection of streets with defensive structures, towers with gates were built. Their number depended on the size of the settlement. In Kyiv there were at least 4 gates, in Vladimir-on-Klyazma - 4, in small fortresses they were content with one gate. The significance of the gate for the city is emphasized by the fact that the term "open the gate" meant the surrender of the city. In large princely cities, there is a noticeable desire to allocate special front gates. In Kyiv, they received the name Golden, in imitation of the Golden Gate in Constantinople. In medieval Rus', churches were always built over the gates, or icons were installed in icon cases. Churches and chapels were often placed next to the gates - for their spiritual protection.

Of exceptional importance for the city were monasteries, located both far from the cities, and in their centers, and among the settlements, and on the near and far approaches to the cities, where they sometimes became "watchmen" - advanced outposts, speaking the language of another era. The walls of the monasteries could acquire a fortress character. But monasteries had another meaning in the life of cities: it was in the monasteries that the cultural life of cities proceeded, chronicles and books were written here, and beautiful works of art were created.
In the center of the ancient Russian city there was a temple and a princely palace - symbols of two authorities, spiritual and secular. In pre-Christian times, the religious center of the city was a pagan temple, with the advent of Christianity in Rus', Orthodox churches began to be erected in the cities. The largest cathedrals of pre-Mongol Rus were erected in Kyiv. The second largest princely and episcopal cathedrals appeared in Novgorod, Chernigov, Polotsk, and somewhat later - in Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir-on-Klyazma, Vladimir-Volynsky, Galich. Cities of lesser importance, which were given into the possession of the younger princes (or where the princely governors were sent), received correspondingly more modest churches. For example, the cathedral of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky received such a size, which in the grand ducal capitals was given only to secondary township and palace churches.

The symbol of secular power was the prince's palace - "prince's court", which was the center of the political and administrative life of the city. Thieves caught overnight at the scene of a crime were brought here for reprisal, litigation between the townspeople was sorted out by the prince and his tiun (steward), here the city militia converged before going on a campaign - in a word, “prince’s court” or the posadnik’s court replacing him in small towns was the center around which urban life was concentrated. Of all the buildings, the prince's tower or mansions stood out. Buildings for the housing of boyars and other noble people competed with the dwelling of the prince. Separate parts of rich houses rose high above the poor dwellings of artisans and other townspeople. An outstanding part of the boyar or princely choir was the tower - a high tower or tower, with rooms for women. In Rus', the word "vezha" was also known, which denoted not only city towers, but also towers at houses. The princely or boyar courts, fenced with a high fence, contained not only the master's mansions, but also utility rooms: medushki for storing honey, cellars, baths, even dungeons - cuts.

And yet, the main population of the ancient Russian cities were artisans and people associated with various crafts and daily work. They did not live in chambers and mansions, but in simple houses - huts. Each hut, or cage, whether it was spacious or cramped, above ground or semi-underground, was located in a special courtyard. A fence (“tyn”) made of stakes, or wattle fence, separated one yard from another. Yards, fenced with wattle and tyn, made up the landscape of a typical city street of Ancient Rus'. The words "street" and "end" were used to designate urban areas in Ancient Rus'. In a number of cities (for example, in Moscow), one can observe that the direction of the streets was closely related to the direction of the original roads that converged to the fortified city.

The Mongol-Tatar invasions suddenly interrupted that brilliant flowering of art, which is embodied in the architecture, painting, sculpture of the Kyiv state and the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Although the northern Russian lands defended their independence in the struggle against enemies, here, too, during the period of increased threat of raids, artistic life froze. The Mongol-Tatar yoke caused enormous damage to the culture of the Russian people, many crafts disappeared, construction stopped for a long time, a huge amount of material values ​​​​was taken to the Horde. Thousands of handwritten books, hundreds of thousands of icons, works of applied art perished in the fires, many architectural monuments were lost.

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