Federal Agency for Education
State educational institution
higher professional education
"Vladimir State University"
Department of History and Museology
Features of the development of Russian culture in the XIV-XVI centuries.
Plan:
I. Introduction. Russian culture as an original and unique phenomenon
II. Main part. The development of Russian culture in the XIV-XVI centuries
1. Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion for Russian culture
2. The main trends in the development of culture in the XVI century
3.Accumulation of knowledge
4. Enlightenment and book business of the XIV-XV centuries
5. Russian literature of the XIV-XV centuries
6.Architecture in the XIV-XVI centuries
7. Applied art
8. Development of painting in the XVI-XVI centuries
9. Life
10. Folklore of the 16th century
11. Features of education and printing in the XVI century
12. Scientific knowledge
13. Socio-political thought and literature
14. Orthodoxy
15.Music and theater
III. Conclusion. Specific features of Russian culture
Russian culture as an original and unique phenomenon.
Culture is a historical and multifaceted concept. Every person living in his country should know its history, especially culture. Without knowledge of the culture of past years, it is impossible to understand what people felt at that time, what internal processes gave impetus to its development, what features in culture (architecture, literature, painting, education) were evident, and which were less noticeable, what influenced its formation and development (the influence of different countries on the life of Russia was enormous).
Our culture is multilayered and exists not only as a whole. In the history of Rus' there was a period of paganism with its everyday experience, which has come down to us thanks to preserved myths and some customs. There was a culture of the Russian peasant, which differed both territorially and spiritually. There was a culture of the Russian clergy, which is also heterogeneous. Both the merchant and the city dweller had their own way of life, their circle of reading, their life rituals, forms of leisure, clothing. Of course, the life of Russian tsars and queens, the culture and life of the Russian nobility, that great Russian culture that became national, was different from all of the above.
Culture is not only books or works of art, it is, first of all, the things that surround us, our habits, the way of life that determines the daily routine, the time of various activities, the nature of work and leisure, forms of recreation, games, love ritual and funeral ritual and creates a certain cultural context around itself. Despite its diversity, Russian culture is united thanks to common customs and habits. These norms belong to culture, are transmitted through everyday life and are in close contact with the sphere of folk poetry, merging into the memory of culture. It is in it that the features are revealed by which we usually recognize our own and others, a person of a particular era and nationality.
The oldest set of meanings of the Latin word “culture”: “processing, arranging the place where you live, honoring the gods of this place and receiving patronage from them” - has been preserved in all subsequent times, and today the concept of “culture” implies the assimilation of previous experience by a person, - morality, the whole range of ideas, creativity and many other things that belonged to history. Having ceased to recognize in the historical today, ours, we in a sense cease to recognize and understand ourselves. This is the difficulty of understanding the past and the need to understand the bygone culture: it always has what we need now, today.
The development of Russian culture in the XIV-XVI centuries.
Consequences of the Mongol-Tatar invasion for Russian culture.
The Mongol-Tatar invasion had disastrous consequences for ancient Russian culture, although it could not completely destroy it. The devastation of Russian lands, the ruin of cities, accompanied by the destruction and destruction of material and cultural values, the extermination and captivity of a significant part of the rural and urban population, frequent raids and the collection of heavy tribute interrupted the process of the country's cultural development for a long time. Immediately after the establishment of the Horde dominion in Rus', the construction of stone buildings ceased for half a century. The art of a number of artistic crafts is being lost (making mosaics, making products with niello and grain, with cloisonne enamel), and many technical techniques and skills have been forgotten. A huge number of written monuments perished, chronicle writing, painting, and applied arts fell into decay. And although there were some signs of a revival from the end of the 13th century, a decline in various areas of culture was observed until the middle of the 14th century. The disunity of the Russian lands, which increased from the middle of the 12th century, negatively affected the pace of development of all-Russian cultural processes.
As a result of state and political changes that took place in the XIII-XV centuries, the once united ancient Russian nationality was divided. Entry into different state formations made it difficult to maintain and develop economic and cultural ties between individual regions of the Russian lands, deepened the differences in language and culture that existed earlier. This led to the emergence on the basis of the Old Russian nationality of three East Slavic nationalities - Russian (Great Russian), Ukrainian and Belarusian. Against the background of common features based on the ancient Russian cultural tradition, specific features appeared in the culture of each of these peoples, reflecting the emerging ethnic characteristics of the people and the specific historical conditions of its development. The formation of the Russian (Great Russian) nationality, which began in the 14th century and ended in the 16th century, was facilitated by the emergence of a common language (while maintaining dialectical differences) and culture, and the formation of a common state territory. A huge role in erasing ethnic and cultural differences was played by the movement of significant masses of the population from one region to another, caused by the invasion, as well as the colonization of new lands in the north and northeast of the country.
Only from the second half of the 14th century did a new upsurge of culture begin in the Russian lands. The main content of the cultural process was determined by the tasks of liberation from the Horde dominion and the reunification of Russian lands. The leading role of Moscow in this process is determined and its importance as one of the main cultural centers is growing. While maintaining significant local features in culture, the idea of the unity of the Russian land becomes the leading one. In the 15th century, the national revival and strengthening of the power of the unified Russian state gave an impetus to the development of a common Russian culture. The role and importance of the Russian language is growing, literary works are increasingly subject to the theme of state building, and interest in the history of the Fatherland is growing.
The fight against the Golden Horde yoke became the main topic oral folk art. Many folk poetic works on this topic - epics, songs, legends, military tales were included in a revised form in written literature. Among them are legends about the battle on the Kalka, about the devastation of Ryazan by Batu, about the hero Yevpaty Kolovrat, about the Defender of Smolensk, the youth of Mercury, who saved the city from the Mongol army at the behest of the Virgin. During this period, the creation of the epic epic cycle about Kyiv and Prince Vladimir the Red Sun is being completed. Narrating the Mongol invasion, the composers of epics refer to the images of the Kyiv heroes who drive out the invaders. In the XIV century, the Novgorod epic cycle about the merchants Vasily Buslaevich and Sadko reached its peak, embodying the idea of the power and greatness of Novgorod.
This period includes the emergence of a new genre of folklore - historical song. The characters and events in it are closer to reality than in the epic epic. The songs reflected the feat of ordinary people who tried to stop the hordes of Batu. The historical song about Avdotya Ryazanochka sings of a simple townswoman who saves the inhabitants of Ryazan from the crowd and revives the city anew. The song about Shchelkan Dudentevich became a response to the anti-Horde uprising against the Baskak Cholkhan in Tver in 1327.
The main trends in the development of culture in the XVI century.
At the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries, the formation of a unified Russian state, the liberation of the country from Mongol-Tatar domination and the completion of the formation of the Russian (Great Russian) people and a single Russian language, in which the Moscow dialect and Vladimir took the leading place, had an active impact on the spiritual life of the country and the development of its culture -Suzdal dialect, becoming the basis of colloquial and business language. The beneficial influence of these factors led in the 16th century to the transformation of Russian culture, diverse in its characteristics, into a single whole.
At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, the relationship between church and state began to play a special role in the development of Russian culture.
The theocratic aspirations of the hierarchs of Russian culture at the end of the 15th century came into sharp conflict with the Grand Duke's policy of strengthening secular power, including through the secularization of church possessions. The position of the church was weakened by the struggle of factions within the church itself, as well as the growth of heretical movements. From the beginning of the 16th century, a union of state power and the "Josephite" church, based on mutual concessions, gradually formed. The church abandoned its theocratic ambitions and put forward the theory of the divine origin of the grand duke's power, securing the support of the state in the fight against its ideological enemies. The state, having abandoned plans for secularization, received the necessary ideological support from the church. The further process of strengthening autocratic power was accompanied by an effort of church and religious influence on the spiritual life of the country. The Church led the fight against "Latinism" (the influence of the Western Catholic Church), the spread of secular knowledge, and established a new regulation of architecture, painting, and literature.
Serious political and socio-economic upheavals of the second half of the 16th century and the tragic events of the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century significantly slowed down the forward movement in the formation of a unified Russian cultural space. Introduced in the 16th century tendency towards secularization of culture - its liberation from the influence of the church, the destruction of the religious medieval worldview, the appeal to reason - in the 16th century became the main content of the cultural and historical process.
Accumulation of knowledge.
Rus' was by no means entirely illiterate. Knowledge of writing, counting was required in many branches of this or that activity. Birch bark letters from Novgorod and other centers, various written monuments (chronicles, stories, etc.), inscriptions on handicrafts
(coins, seals, bells, weapons, jewelry, artistic casting, etc.) indicate that literate people have never been translated into Rus', not only among monks, but also among artisans and merchants. There were also among the boyars and nobles. Wealthy people kept written records of their households; from the 16th century various types of accounting books, documents of spiritual cloisters - monasteries, copies from documents of earlier times have been preserved.
At the disposal of scientists, despite all the losses of the Batu era and later Horde "armies", there is still a lot of handwritten material for the XIV-XVI centuries. These are documents (spiritual letters, treaties of great, including Moscow, and specific princes, economic acts of the Russian metropolis, episcopal departments of monasteries), lives of saints, annals, and many others. There are manuals on grammar, arithmetic, herbal treatment (alphabetics, herbalists, etc.).
Practical observations were accumulated, knowledge of construction techniques (which were necessary for the construction of buildings), dynamics (calculations of the flight range of stones, cannonballs from wall-beating and other devices; from cannons that appeared at the end of the 14th century), applied physics (minting coins, casting cannons , assembly and repair of watch movements), applied chemistry
(making paints, inks), arithmetic and geometry (description of lands, trade, etc.).
Descriptions of natural phenomena (eclipses, earthquakes, etc.) are quite frequent in chronicles. Translated works were popular - "Christian Topography" by Kozma Indikoplova (traveler of the 6th century), "Shestodnev" by John, Exarch of Bulgaria, "Gromnik", etc. Astronomical observations are given in Russian manuscript collections; medical - in the same annals (description of diseases). And the collection of the 15th century, which came out of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, included comments by Galen, a Roman scientist of the 2nd century. AD, to the work of Hippocrates, the ancient Greek "father of medicine" (V-IV centuries BC). Of outstanding importance for its time was the “Book of Coal Letters” (the middle of the 14th century) - it describes how to calculate land areas and taxes from them.
The circle of geographical knowledge was expanded by Russian travelers. They left descriptions of their travels. Such are the Novgorodian Stefan, who visited Constantinople (the middle of the 14th century); Grigory Kalika (probably visited the same city in the 14th century; later, under the name of Vasily Kalika, he became the Novgorod archbishop); Deacon of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery Zosima (Constantinople,
Palestine; 1420); Suzdal monk Simeon (Ferrara, Florence, 1439); the famous Athanasius Nikitin, merchant of Tver (India, 1466-1472); merchants V. Poznyakov, T. Korobeinikov (holy places, second half of the 16th century). Russian people, penetrating to the north, to Siberia, made descriptions, "drawings" of the lands they saw; ambassadors - article lists with information about foreign states.
3.Accumulation of knowledge
4. Enlightenment and book business of the XIV-XV centuries
5. Russian literature of the XIV-XV centuries
6.Architecture in the XIV-XVI centuries
7. Applied art
8. Development of painting in the XVI-XVI centuries
10. Folklore of the 16th century
11. Features of education and printing in the XVI century
12. Scientific knowledge
13. Socio-political thought and literature
14. Orthodoxy
15.Music and theater
III. Conclusion. Specific features of Russian culture
The development of Russian culture during this period was influenced by many factors. This is the development of former traditions, especially those associated with Christian values and church interests. There are also new factors influencing culture: the gathering of Russian lands around the Moscow principality and the creation of a single centralized state, the assertion of national identity in the struggle against the Golden Horde yoke. From century to century, the role of Moscow, the Moscow Grand Dukes, is becoming more and more noticeable. Muscovite Rus has become the center of not only unification processes, but also the development of culture.
Literature. In Russian literature, the theme of the struggle against the Horde yoke occupied a large place. Particularly distinguished are the works of the Kulikovo cycle (“Zadonshchina”, “The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev”). They are imbued with a sense of patriotism and admiration for the exploits of Russian soldiers.
In the second half of the XV century. a new birth is experienced by the old genre of walking (descriptions of journeys). Reading about the adventures of the Tver merchant Athanasius Nikitin, who reached India, was especially popular. “Journey beyond three seas” is a description of an eight-year dramatic journey, which ends with a return to his native land.
Annalistic traditions were preserved and multiplied. In the XIV century. in Moscow, an all-Russian annalistic code is being created, and the “Chronograph” compiled in 1442 includes a description of world history.
In the first half of the XVI century. a group of educated people formed around Metropolitan Macarius, who created the famous “Great Menaion”. This is a collection of the most read books in Rus': hagiographic literature, teachings, legends, etc. - as a rule, they were not of a liturgical nature, but were directly related to the Orthodox tradition.
An important cultural event was the emergence of printing. It is associated with the names of Ivan Fedorov and Peter Mstislavets, who created the first printed book "The Apostle" (1564). This book was produced at a high printing level for that time. Due to persecution and accusations of heresy, Ivan Fedorov moved to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and continued his educational activities there. The first Russian primer with grammar was published in Lvov. Despite the difficulties, book printing continued to develop in the Muscovite state - printing houses reappear here. The reaction of the church to printing was so negative that even in the 17th century. The printed book could not replace the handwritten one.
Socio-political thought. Among Russian written sources of the XV-XVI centuries. many works in which the authors reflect on the fate of Russia. The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir emphasized the idea of succession of Moscow rulers from the Byzantine emperors. The Pskov monk Philotheus, in a message to Vasily III, argued that Moscow is the “Third Rome”. “Two Romes are fallen, and the third is standing, and the fourth will not be,” he argued.
Evidence of the secularization of culture are the journalistic works of Fyodor Karpov and Ivan Peresvetov. Both talked about the nature of a strong, just state, about power.
A notable monument of spiritual culture of the 16th century. - "Domostroy", one of the editors of which was close to Ivan IV - Sylvester. In this work, which has become a model of the organization of life, the behavior of Russian people over the centuries, we find instructions of a different nature: on the performance of religious rites, advice on raising children, on the relationship between husband and wife, how to store supplies and dry clothes, when to buy goods in the market and how to receive guests.
Interesting from the point of view of the development of the Russian language, as well as the content of the correspondence of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Prince Andrei Kurbsky. It was a dispute between two ardent opponents about the ways of centralizing power, about the relationship between the sovereign and subjects. The tsar defended the idea of servility of all subjects in relation to the autocratic power. He formulated the basic principle of despotism in this way: “And I am free to pay my lackeys, but they are free to execute.” Kurbsky imagined royal power differently - the king is responsible for his deeds not only before God, but also before people, he cannot violate the rights of his subjects, he must obey wise advisers.
Architecture. Moscow becomes the capital of a huge power, the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the Moscow prince makes it possible to start stone construction unprecedented in scope. Dmitry Donskoy in 1366-1367 began construction of the new Moscow Kremlin. In place of the wooden fortifications built under Ivan Kalita, a new white-stone Kremlin arose. Moscow became an impregnable fortress at that time.
The heyday of architecture at the end of the XV century. associated with intensive construction in Moscow. Ivan III invites Italian architects to work, among which Aristotle Fioravanti stands out. Under his leadership, a new Assumption Cathedral was built in the Kremlin - the cathedral church of the metropolitans. The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was taken as a model for it. Fioravanti drew up a plan for the construction of new walls and towers. The Kremlin and the walls were built of red brick (they still exist). True, the Kremlin towers did not yet have tents - they were put up later, in the 17th century. The interior layout of the Kremlin was finally formed. The Faceted Chamber for ceremonial receptions, the Archangel Cathedral (the tomb of Moscow princes and tsars), the home church for sovereigns - the Annunciation Cathedral and other buildings were built here. One of the most remarkable buildings of the Kremlin is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It was placed on the site of the ancient church of Ivan Lestvichnik, therefore it was called Ivanovskaya. It was called Great for its extraordinary height - more than 80 m. The bell tower was the tallest building in Rus' for a long time. It was laid at the beginning of the 16th century. simultaneously with the Archangel Cathedral, and was completed only in 1600, under Boris Godunov.
The construction of Moscow fortifications continued throughout the 16th century. A semicircle of Kitay-gorod fortifications was added to the Kremlin, and at the end of the century, “city master” Fyodor Kon erected a “White City” about 9.5 km long. F. Horse also built the walls of the Kremlin in Smolensk.
In the second half of the XVI century. from the traditions of wooden architecture, but already in stone, the tented style arises. A remarkable example of it is the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye. Hip-roof church architecture did not spread widely, because it contradicted church canons and was forbidden by church authorities. In 1551-1561. masters Postnik Yakovlev and Barma built Intercession Cathedral (better known as St. Basil's Cathedral) on Red Square. This building was dedicated to the capture of Kazan. Painting. In the second half of the XIV - the first half of the XV century. two great Russian artists worked - Feofan Grek and Andrey Rublev. Theophanes, a native of Byzantium, lived in Novgorod, and then in Moscow. His frescoes and icons are characterized by a special emotionality. A. Rublev's painting is unique in composition and only in its characteristic color. These features are most clearly manifested in his famous icon "Trinity". The traditions of Andrei Rublev were continued after his death. The frescoes of Dionysius stand out especially (they are best preserved in the Ferapontov Monastery in the Belozersk Territory). The decisions of the Stoglavy Cathedral influenced not only architecture, but also painting. The painters were obliged to strictly adhere to the Greek patterns and iconography of A. Rublev. This led to the fact that only the technical methods of writing were improved. Craft. In the XIV-XVI centuries. craft continued to develop. The main centers of handicraft production were cities, monasteries, and some large estates. At the end of the XV century. Cannon Yard is being created in Moscow. The first cannons appeared in Rus' in the last third of the 14th century. In subsequent centuries, a whole school of cannon makers developed. One of its representatives was Andrei Chokhov, the creator of the famous Tsar Cannon. It took about 2.5 pounds of non-ferrous metals to make it, its caliber is 89 cm, the barrel length is almost 5.5 m.
Russian culture of the 16th century mainly developed on the basis of domestic traditions of the previous period. Russian medieval culture had a number of features of its formation; it was not only a regional version of European culture. The roots of the specifics of Russian culture of the XVI century. in that it was based on Orthodoxy.
Russian literature of the 16th century. Literature has been developed mainly within the traditional Russian genres.
chronicle genre
In the first half of the XVI century. Several well-known chronicles were created that told about Russian history from ancient times. In particular, the Nikon and Resurrection Chronicles, the Book of Powers, the Facial Code.
Publicism
16th century - the time of the birth of Russian journalism. It is believed that in the works of Fyodor Karpov, Ivan Peresvetov, the first, albeit timid, signs of rationalism are already visible, but already freed from the strict canons of the religious worldview. Among the publicists of the 16th century are also Maxim the Greek, Yermolai Eraz-ma, Prince Andrei Kurbsky.
He is considered one of the most distinctive, undeniably gifted writers of his era. In his letters to Andrey Kurbsky, Ivan the Terrible argued that Russia needed a despotic monarchy, an order in which all state subjects, without exception, are effectively servants of the sovereign. Kurbsky, on the other hand, defended the idea of centralizing the state in the spirit of the decisions of the Chosen Rada and believed that the tsar was obliged to reckon with the rights of his subjects. In the middle of the XVI century. under the leadership of Metropolitan Macarius, a collection of books of different genres was created, which were intended for reading (not worship) in the appointed months and days of veneration of the saints. At the same time, with the participation of Sylvester, typography was created.
In the XVI century. book printing began in the Russian lands. The first Russian book, The Apostle, was published in 1517 in Prague by Francis Skorina. In Russia, the beginning of book printing dates back to the middle of the 16th century. In 1564, clerk Ivan Fedorov, together with Peter Mstislavets, published the first printed book. In 1574 Ivan Fedorov published the first Russian primer in Lvov. At the same time, until the XVIII century. handwritten books dominated in Russia.
Architecture
In the architecture of the XVI century. national motives became very noticeable. This was due to the spread in the 16th century of the tent style, which came to stone construction from wooden architecture. The most famous works of architecture of that time were the Church of the Ascension in the village of Kolomenskoye (1532), as well as St. Basil's Cathedral, built on Red Square in Moscow by Russian architects Barma and Postnik in honor of the capture of Kazan (1561).
In the XVI century. military fortifications are being intensively erected. The walls of Kitay-Gorod were added to the Moscow Kremlin. Kremlins are being built in Nizhny Novgorod, Tula, Kolomna and other cities. The author of the powerful Kremlin in Smolensk was the outstanding architect Fyodor Kon. He was also the architect of the stone fortifications of the White City in Moscow (along the current Boulevard Ring). To protect the southern borders from the Crimean raids in the middle of the XVI century. built the Zasechnaya line, which passed through Tula and Ryazan. In the 17th century in Russian culture, not only religious, but also secular elements (secularization of culture) are widely used. The church, which saw Western influence in this process, actively resisted it with the support of the tsarist government, but new ideas and customs penetrated the established life of Muscovite Rus'. The country needed knowledgeable, educated people who were able to engage in diplomacy, understand the innovations of military affairs, technology, and manufactory production. The reunification of Ukraine with Russia contributed to the expansion of political and cultural ties with the countries of Western Europe.
In the second half of the XVII century. several public schools were established. Thanks to the invention of the printing press, it became possible to publish uniform textbooks for teaching literacy and arithmetic in mass circulation, among which was the first "Grammar" by Melety Smotrytsky.
In 1687, the first higher educational institution was founded in Moscow -
Russian explorers made a great contribution to the development of geographical knowledge, for example, Semyon Dezhnev, who went to the strait between Asia and North America, or Erofey Khabarov, who compiled a map of the Amur lands. The central place in the historical literature was occupied by historical novels that had a journalistic character, such as "The Time of the Deacon Ivan Timofeev", "The Tale of Avraamy Palitsyn", "Another Tale". The genre of a satirical story, memoirs (“The Life of Archpriest Avvakum”) and love lyrics (books by Simeon of Polotsk) appear.
In 1672, a court theater was created in Moscow, in which German actors played. The “secularization” of art manifested itself with particular force in Russian painting. The greatest artist of the 17th century was Simon Ushakov. In his icon “The Savior Not Made by Hands”, new realistic features of painting are already noticeable: three-dimensionality in the depiction of the face, elements of direct perspective. Portrait painting is spreading - "parsuns", which depicted real characters, albeit in a technique similar to icon painting.
The history of the Russian state covers several stages or cycles. Each of them is represented by characteristic cultural features. The decline of Kievan Rus ends the first stage in the development of Russian culture. XIV - XVII century - the birth of the Moscow kingdom and the formation of Moscow culture, which will be different from the previous one. The time of fragmentation is over, the annexation of the Russian principalities has formed a mighty centralized power: Russia. With the fall of Constantinople, Rus' becomes the defender of Orthodox Christianity, and therefore, the role of the church increases, which has a great influence on the life of the state and people.
With the elimination of dependence on the Golden Horde, Russian culture began to develop, its centers were the cities that received the status of self-government in the 15th century. Moscow is being rebuilt. Invited Italian craftsmen construct the walls and towers of the Kremlin from bricks. Cathedrals of the Assumption, Annunciation and Arkhangelsk become remarkable works of art, where the traditions of Russian architecture and advanced technical achievements of Western European architecture are organically combined. The famous Palace of Facets, built in 1487-1491, being the throne room of the royal palace, is considered one of the best buildings in the Kremlin. Its walls are painted with paintings depicting scenes from the Holy Scriptures and Russian history.
In addition to Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod, Vladimir are being built. Churches are built first. The best example of new churches are the Novgorod ones: the Church of Fyodor Stratilat and the Savior on Ilyinka. In Pskov, the grandiose construction of the Pskov Kremlin-fortress begins, which will be completely completed by the 16th century. Stone worldly houses, boyar mansions are also being built, cathedral squares are being formed. In the 15th century, glass was used in the construction of stone houses. It was brought from Constantinople, it was very expensive, and windows were glassed only in rich boyar buildings. The original Russian historian A.V. Tereshchenko described the master's yards in Moscow as follows: “... almost every Moscow boyar house had a garden where hazel, raspberry, and cherry trees are found in abundance. Pears, plums, melons and watermelons had just begun to grow, but the fish ponds were the best decoration.
Painting is getting a new development. The names of Theophan the Greek and Andrei Rublev become known. Geniusly mastering the skill of tonal painting, they filled the created images with expressiveness and sincerity. It was they who were invited to paint the iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow. Rublev's brush belongs to the famous "Trinity" - the pinnacle of world icon painting. In it, the master showed a harmonious combination of pure colors, revealing the inner dignity and strength of the images, their philosophical depth. His frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and the Trinity Cathedral in Sergiev Posad show the world masterpieces of fresco painting.
Interesting cultural changes are taking place in Russian literature. The annals of Moscow are beginning to come to the fore. In the famous Trinity Chronicle of 1408, Metropolitan Photius for the first time expresses the idea of a single Russian state with centralized power. In the genre of hagiographic literature, biographies of the great church fathers of Rus' were compiled: Metropolitan Peter, the patron saint of Moscow, St. Sergius of Radonezh. And the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin wrote "Journey Beyond Three Seas", where he first spoke about India, which Vasco da Gamma would open for Europeans 30 years later. This work still impresses readers with a colorful description of the life, customs, and religion of a distant country.
Gradually, the replacement of parchment with paper takes place, and the cumbersome "charter" with square letters turns into a semi-charter, representing a fluent and free letter, which prepared the appearance of Russian book printing in the next century.
Travels of Russian merchants, annexation of conquered lands, interest in world history lead to the appearance of cartography and chronographs (events of world history of that time).
The material culture of Rus' in the 15th century made up for opportunities to create that had been lost during the Golden Horde yoke. Building churches, fortresses and new cities requires knowledge. Textbooks on applied sciences, mathematics and geometry, were written.
Smart children were selected from villages and cities. At the monasteries they were taught to read and write. The state needed technical workers. It is necessary to connect the lakes with canals, build bridges, mills. They mastered the casting of copper cannons. At the same time, state institutions appeared. They were called orders. There were land, military, judicial, secular, embassy, town planning and other orders. They were in charge of the boyars, assistants were recruited from among the monastics or the serving nobility.
Christian morality influenced everyday life: marriage, family life, and the upbringing of children. Church holidays and Sunday were established, when it was forbidden to work, you need to devote time to prayers and pious deeds. On Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, street performances and folk festivals were organized. All sorts of games and fun were allowed: carousels, swings, buffoon theaters, performances of acrobats, puppeteers. Gorodki, blind man's buff, leapfrog, grandmothers were favorite games. Gambling with cards was frowned upon. There was a state monopoly on pleasure taverns. On holidays, public feasts were held in the squares, where they treated all those gathered at the same table. The food was simple - porridge, pies with peas, cabbage, eggs, oatmeal jelly.
Russian culture of the 15th century reflected the ideas of the spiritual unity of the people in the formation of a centralized state.
The Battle of Kulikovo became the internal frontier in the development of Russian culture of the 13th-15th centuries. The recovering economy predetermined the general rise of Russian culture at the end of the 14th-15th centuries. Ties were restored with Byzantium and the South Slavic states. From the second half of the 15th century, Italian masters began to work in Russia.
Oral folk art is experiencing a new upsurge. New works called for the struggle to overthrow the Golden Horde yoke (“The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh”, “The Song of Shchelkan Dudentevich”). New centers of chronicle writing appeared. Since 1325 chronicle records began to be kept in Moscow. In 1408, an all-Russian annalistic code was compiled - the Trinity Chronicle. Interest in world history caused the appearance of chronographs - a kind of world history. In 1442 Pachomius Logofet compiled the first Russian chronograph. Historical stories became a common literary genre (“The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu”, the stories “About the Battle of the Kalka”, about Alexander Nevsky, etc.). The victory on the Kulikovo field is dedicated to the "Legend of the Mamaev Battle", "Zadonshchina". The genre of hagiographic literature flourished. The first description of India in European literature was given by the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin (“Journey Beyond the Three Seas” (1466-1472)).
Architecture
In Novgorod and Pskov, stone construction resumed faster than in other lands (the churches of Feodor Stratilat (1361) and the Church of the Savior on Ilyin Street (1374) in Novgorod, painted inside by Theophanes the Greek, the Church of Basil on Gorka (1410) in Pskov) . Stone buildings in the Moscow principality appeared in the XIV-XV century (temples in Zvenigorod, Zagorsk, the cathedral of the Andronnikov Monastery in Moscow). Under Dmitry Donskoy in 1367, the white stone walls of the Moscow Kremlin were erected. A hundred years later, with the participation of Italian masters, the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin was convened, which in many respects has been preserved to this day. In 1475-1479, the main temple of the Moscow Kremlin, the Assumption Cathedral, was created by the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti. In 1484-1489 the Annunciation Cathedral was built by Pskov masters. At the same time (in 1487-1491) the Faceted Chamber was built.
Painting
As in architecture, in painting there was a process of merging local art schools into an all-Russian one (up to the 17th century). In the 14th century, the outstanding artist Theophanes the Greek, who came from Byzantium, worked in Novgorod and Moscow. The highest rise of Russian painting of this period is associated with the work of the brilliant Russian artist Andrei Rublev, who lived at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. The most famous works of Rublev are the "Trinity" (kept in the Tretyakov Gallery), the frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, the icons of the Zvenigorod rank (Tretyakov Gallery), the Trinity Cathedral in Zagorsk.
Key documents of the era
“The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu”, “The Word of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, “The Battle on the Ice of 1242”, “Zadonshchina”, “Sudebnik of 1497”.
