Genre originality of "The Tale of Bygone Years"

Unlike folklore, which is not characterized by a mixture of different genres within the framework of one work, The Tale of Bygone Years was set of primary genre formations. The ensemble of the chronicle included legends and traditions, legends and military stories, teachings and parables, signs and wonders.

The simplest and oldest form of chronicle narration was the weather record, which recorded single facts of history. Its main features are documentary accuracy, extreme conciseness, lack of emotional coloring and author's commentary. The message was introduced into the chronicle narrative using traditional formulas: " In summer6596 . Sacred was the church of St. Michael of Vsevolozh Monastery... Same summer go Svyatopolk from Novgorod to Turov to reign. It's summer Died Nikon, hegumen of the Caves. In the same summer taking the Bulgarians Murom".

Ns claimed to be "literary", pursuing an informative goal, and a chronicle story, which, unlike the weather record, had the character of an extended documentary message: "In the summer of 6534. Yaroslav bought a lot of howling and came to Kiev, and make peace with his brother Mstislav near Gorodets. And the Russian land was also divided along the Dnieper: Yaroslav added to this country, and Mstislav to him. Written in the fresh wake of the event, the chronicle message retained the lively intonations of the oral story and reflected the author's assessment of what happened.

The chronicle tales in The Tale of Bygone Years are a literary adaptation of an oral source, to which the chronicler turned if there was no more reliable material at hand. They restore the pre-literate period of Russian history on the basis of folk legends, toponymic legends or heroic epos of the retinue. These stories of the chronicle are characterized by a plot and an attempt by the author to create the illusion of authenticity by enclosing the legendary basis in a "historical frame".

For example, in the chronicle tale about the death of Oleg from his horse, dates, both real and symbolic, serve as a means of documenting the narrative. The chronicler, including the story of Oleg's death in the article of iodine 912, reports that he "stayed in summer" in the war with the Greeks, and "the life of all his reign was 33". The history of the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Greek land and Russia, extracts from the "Chronicle" of Georgy Amartol about cases when the predictions of sorcerers came true - the entire historical context was intended to testify to the reliability of the description of the death of the great commander from a snake bite (according to other chronicle versions, he died, " going beyond the sea", and was buried in Ladoga). In the legend, the author's assessment of what is depicted is manifested, no matter how dispassionate the narration may seem. The attitude of the chronicler to the triumphant commander, whose shield flaunted on the gates of the conquered Constantinople, is ambivalent. On the one hand, he captured the people's attitude towards Oleg through the nickname "Prophetic", reflected the "great cry" about his death and the memory of the burial place of the prince on Mount Shchekovitsa, which survived the centuries. On the other hand, respect for Oleg’s military victories fades in the mind of the chronicler before the unbelief of a man who imagines himself to be invincible enemies and fate itself, who laughed at the prediction of the Magi and reproached them: I'm alive." The horse, according to the ancient beliefs of the Slavs, is a sacred animal, a helper and friend of man, a talisman. Stepping on the skull of his beloved horse with his foot, Oleg doomed himself to an "evil" death, death is a punishment. The reader is warned about the inevitability of a tragic denouement by the opening lines of the story. The chronicler connects the action with the arrival of autumn, which sets the theme of death, and with the period when Oleg lives, "having peace to all countries", i.e. when a hundred talent commander is unclaimed.

Proximity to hagiographic literature discover the stories of the "Tale of Bygone Years" about two Varangian martyrs, about the founding of the Kisvo-Pechersky monastery and its ascetics, about the transfer of the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb, about the repose of Theodosius of the Caves. Glorifying the spiritual feat of the first Saints of the Caves, who “like shone in the Russian land to this day,” the chronicler cannot hide the shady sides of monastic life. From the annalistic "word" about Matthew the Perspicacious, it is known that some of the brethren during the church service "having committed any guilt, leaving the church, and going to the cell and saving, and not returning to the church until the funeral service." Others, like Mikhail Tolbekovich, fled the monastery, unable to endure the harsh monastic life. The ancient Russian writer explained these cases of deviation from the norms of Christian piety by the eternal intrigues of the devil, who then takes on the appearance of a "Polyakh" (Pole, Catholic) and, invisibly to everyone except the saint, walks around the church, scattering "moldings" - flowers that make the monks sleep during worship, then appears in the monastery in the form of a demon sitting on a pig in order to "rapture" those who yearn to return to the "world".

with the genre grave words of praise linked in the annals are obituary articles that contain verbal portraits of deceased historical figures. Such is the chronicle characterization of the Tmutarakan prince Rostislav, who was poisoned during a feast by a Byzantine warrior: "Because Rostislav is a good husband to the army, but of old age and a red face, merciful to the poor." The chronicle article of iodine 1089 contains a panegyric to Metropolitan John, who was "cunning to books and learned, merciful to the poor and widows, caressing everyone, rich and poor, humble in mind and meek, and silent, speaking with holy books, comforting the sad , and this was not before in Russia, neither will it be like that. Creating a portrait of the hero, the chronicler observed the principle of the priority of spiritual beauty over external beauty, focusing on the moral qualities of a person.

The landscape sketches found in The Tale of Bygone Years are symbolic. Unusual natural phenomena are interpreted by the chronicler as signs- warnings from above about future disasters or glory. The ancient writer explained the fire in Novgorod not by the internecine struggle of the princes, but by the fact that before that "Ids Volkhovo went back 5 days. This is a bad sign: on the 4th summer, the whole city will burn." The sign of 1113, when "there was little left of the sun, like a month down by its horns," also foreshadowed trouble - the death of Prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the uprising in Kyiv.

In the depths of The Tale of Bygone Years, a military tale begins to take shape. Elements of this genre formation are already present in the story of Yaroslav's revenge on Svyatopolk the Accursed. The chronicler describes the gathering of troops and the march, preparations for the battle of the opponents separated by the Dnieper, the climax - the "evil slash" - and the flight of Svyatopolk. Stylistic formulas typical of a military story permeate the chronicle story about the battle of Yaroslav with Mstislav in 1024: “Mstislav, in the evening, serve the squad, and put the north [northerners] in front of the Varangian, and he himself with his squad on krill.<...>And Mstislav said to his retinue: "Let's go to him." And Mstislav and Yaroslav went against ... And the battle was strong, as if shining brightly and shining weapons, and the thunderstorm was great and the battle was strong and terrible.

The mosaic structure of the chronicle led to the fact that messages of very different content were placed in it under one year. For example, in an chronicle article of 1103, it was told about the princely congress in Dolobsk, about the invasion of locusts, about the foundation of the city of Yuryev by Prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, about the battle of the Russian army with the Mordovians. What turns such a "mosaic" of historical information into a coherent and harmonious literary whole?

First of all, this unity of thematic range: before us are separate milestones in the history of Russia. In addition, the presentation of the material regulates weather principle: the strict attachment of each fact to a certain year connects the links into a single chain. It should be noted that the compiler of the "Tale" used the medieval system of chronology, in which the "creation of the world" was the starting point (to transfer to the modern system, where the calculation is from the Nativity of Christ, it is necessary to subtract 5508 from the chronicle date). The desire of the chronicler to "put the numbers in a row", i.e. the material selected by him to be presented in a strict temporal sequence, according to scientists, is associated with such characteristic features of the social life of the Middle Ages as "decency" and "orderliness". The ancients saw beauty and harmony in the observance of order, while the violation of the usual rhythm in the life of nature, society, and literature was perceived by them as a manifestation of the ugly and immoral. The chronological connection of events in the annals was supported by the genealogical one - the idea of ​​the succession of the power of the Rurikovichs. The chronicler is always attentive to what kind of "father and grandfather" glory the ruler of Russia inherits, whether he is a descendant of Oleg Gorislavich or belongs to the family of Vladimir Monomakh.

The weather principle of the presentation of events had certain costs. Combining heterogeneous news to one year, the chronicler was forced to break the unity of the narrative series in the story of an event that lasted several years: under one year there was a story about the preparations of the Russian army for a campaign, under another a description of the decisive battle was given, under the third was placed the text of the peace treaty. Fragmentation in the presentation of historical events hindered the development of Russian fiction, an entertaining and action-packed story. The structure of The Tale of Bygone Years is characterized by a confrontation between two trends: the desire for isolation, independence of each chronicle story, on the one hand, and the ability to “open” the narrative, stringing new works on a historical theme on a single chronological rod, on the other.

The Tale of Bygone Years is a collection in the broadest sense of the word; a monument that combines works of different times, different authors, having different sources and political orientation, differing in genre and style. It cements the monumental, but harmonious building of the chronicle, despite the heterogeneity of the events described in it, commonality of historical subjects products-terms and chronological principle of material organization in the vault. The main ideas of the chronicle are the idea of ​​the independence of Russia, the assertion of the superiority of the Christian faith over paganism, the inseparability of Russian history from the general historical process, a call for unity of action, for the catholicity of the spirit of the Russian people.

The meaning of "The Tale of Bygone Years" in the history of Russian chronicle writing

The following generations of Russian chroniclers began the presentation of Russian history with The Tale of Bygone Years. Already in the XII century. the geography of chronicle writing is expanding, differences are emerging between specific chronicle collections. For example, scholars consider the anti-princely orientation as distinctive features of the Novgorod chronicle, since after the political upheaval of 1136 Novgorod turned into a boyar republic, as well as the rarity and stinginess of all-Russian messages. Unlike the Vladimir-Suzdal chroniclers, the Novgorodians avoided church rhetoric; the style of their weather articles is concise and businesslike. If they depicted a natural disaster, they provided data on the strength of the hurricane or flood and the damage caused by them. The Vladimir Chronicle, on the other hand, sought to substantiate the claims of its principality to ecclesiastical and political hegemony, and therefore was attentive to events of both local and national scale, while the South Russian chroniclers were absorbed in describing the turbulent history of their destinies. The main form of the South Russian chronicles of the XII century. was a weather record; the plot of the story is preserved only by some stories about boyar and princely crimes (about the murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky, 1175) and military stories (about the campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians, 1185).

"The Tale of Bygone Years" had a decisive influence on the formation of regional and all-Russian chronicle codes, which included it in their composition. The oldest copies of the Tale are found in the Lavrentiev (XIV century), Ipatiev and Radzivilovskaya (XV century) chronicles. "The Tale of Bygone Years" served as a source of poetic plots and images for many writers of the New Age: it is enough to recall the historical tragedies of A. P. Sumarokov and Ya. B. Knyazhnin, "Duma" by K. F. Ryleev. The chronicle tales, which A. S. Pushkin appreciated for the poetry of touching innocence, inspired him to create the historical ballad "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg", the image of Pimen in the tragedy "Boris Godunov".

Stylistic originality of "The Tale of Bygone Years"

The stylistic originality of the Tale deserves special attention, since the chronicle genre is absent in the modern literary tradition. The nature of the chronicle genre is very complex; the chronicle is one of the “unifying genres”, subordinating the genres of its components - a historical story, life, teaching, a laudable word, etc. See: D. S. Likhachev, Poetics of Old Russian Literature. L., 1971, p. 48-50. Nevertheless, the chronicle remains an integral work that can be studied both as a monument of one genre, as a literary monument, see: Eremin IP The Tale of Bygone Years as a literary monument. - In the book: Eremin IP Literature of Ancient Russia (etudes and characteristics). M.-L., 1966; Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance, ch. 7; He is. Man in the Literature of Ancient Russia. M.-L., 1970, Ch. 2 and 3; Curds O. V. Plot narrative in the annals of the XI-XIII centuries. - In the book: The origins of Russian fiction, p. 31-66. . In The Tale of Bygone Years, as in any other chronicle, two types of narration can be distinguished - weather records proper and chronicle stories. Weather records contain reports of events, while chronicles offer descriptions of them. In the chronicle story, the author seeks to depict the event, to bring certain specific details, to reproduce the dialogues of the characters, in a word, to help the reader imagine what is happening, to arouse his empathy.

So, in the story about the youth who fled from Kyiv besieged by the Pechenegs in order to convey the request of Princess Olga to the governor Pretich, not only the very fact of transmitting the message is mentioned, but it is told about how the youth fled through the Pecheneg camp with a bridle in his hand, asking about allegedly the missing horse (at the same time, an important detail was not missed that the youth could speak Pecheneg), about how, having reached the banks of the Dnieper, he “overthrew the ports” and rushed into the water, how Pretich’s warriors sailed out to meet him on a boat; the dialogue between Pretich and the Pecheneg prince is also transmitted. This is precisely a story, and not a brief weather record, such as: “Vyatichi defeat Svyatoslav and pay tribute to them”, or “Queen Volodimeraya Anna died”, or “Mstislav went to Yaroslav from the goats and from the cassocks”, etc.

At the same time, the chronicle stories themselves belong to two types, largely determined by their origin. Some stories tell about events contemporary to the chronicler, others about events that took place long before the compilation of the chronicle; these are oral epic traditions that were only later included in the chronicle.

In the stories, either strength or cunning triumphs. So, the Pecheneg prince, who fought with Russia, suggested that Vladimir put out a warrior from his army who would measure his strength with the Pecheneg hero. Nobody dares to accept the challenge. Vladimir is saddened, but then a certain “old husband” comes to him and offers to send for his youngest son. The young man, according to the old man, is very strong: “From childhood, there is no one who hit him” (i.e., threw him to the ground). Somehow, the father recalls, the son, having become angry with him, “pretorted with his hands” (he tore the skin that he was crushing at that moment with his hands: father and son were tanners). The young man is called to Vladimir, and he shows his strength to the prince - he grabs a bull running past by the side and pulls out "the skin from the meat, if he has a hand." But nevertheless, the young man is “medium in body”, and therefore the Pecheneg hero who went out with him for a duel - “great and terrible” - laughs at his opponent. Here (as in the story of Olga's revenge) surprise awaits the negative hero; the reader knows about the strength of the young man and triumphs when the kozhemyak is “strangled” by the hands of the Pecheneg hero.

Some stories of the chronicle are united by a special, epic style of depicting reality. This concept reflects, first of all, the narrator's approach to the subject of the image, his author's position, and not just the purely linguistic features of the presentation. In each such story in the center there is one event, one episode, and it is this episode that makes up the characterization of the hero, highlights his main, memorable feature; Oleg (in the story about the campaign against Tsargrad) is, first of all, a wise and brave warrior, the hero of the story about Belgorod jelly is a nameless old man, but his wisdom, which at the last moment saved the city besieged by the Pechenegs, is the characteristic feature that won him immortality in people's memory.

Another group of stories was compiled by the chronicler himself or by his contemporaries. It is distinguished by a different manner of narration, it does not have an elegant completeness of the plot, there is no epic brevity and generalization of the images of the characters. At the same time, these stories can be more psychological, more realistic, and literary processed, since the chronicler seeks not just to tell about the event, but to present it in such a way as to impress the reader, to make him relate to the characters in the story in one way or another. Among such stories within the Tale of Bygone Years, the story about the blinding of Vasilko Terebovlsky stands out (in the article of 1097).

The episode about the terrible fate of the slandered prince appears emotionally vivid, it evokes sympathy for him, his expressed desire to appear before God “in that bloody shirt” seems to remind of inevitable retribution, serves as a journalistic justification for the completely “earthly” actions of the princes who made war against Davyd Igorevich in order to restore the rights of Vasilko to the inheritance taken from him.

So, along with the chronicle narrative, a special genre subordinate to the chronicle begins to form - the genre of the story about princely crimes Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance, p. 215-247..

The whole chronicle narrative is permeated with etiquette, especially in that part of it that is sustained in the style of monumental historicism. The chronicler selects in these cases for his narration only the most important events and deeds of state significance. In the style of monumental historicism, for example, a presentation of the events of the time of Yaroslav the Wise and his son, Vsevolod, is being conducted. For example, the description of the battle on Alta, which brought Yaroslav victory over the "cursed" Svyatopolk - the murderer of Boris and Gleb (in the "Tale of Bygone Years" under 1019).

The combination of monumental historicism and epic styles in The Tale of Bygone Years created its unique literary appearance, and its stylistic influence will be clearly felt for several centuries: chroniclers will apply or vary those literary formulas that were first used by the creators of The Tale of Bygone Years, to imitate its characteristics, and sometimes to quote the "Tale", introducing into its text fragments from this monument Prokhorov G. M. "The Tale of the Invasion of Batu" in the Laurentian Chronicle. - "TODRL". L., 1974, v. XXVIII, p. 77-80..

The earliest monument of the Russian chronicle is the work "The Tale of Bygone Years". It describes historical events that took place in the period before 1117. At the same time, many experts doubt the authenticity of the document, citing various arguments.

But the Tale ... is undoubtedly a landmark phenomenon both in Russian literature and in the history of the state, allowing you to trace the path of Kievan Rus from the beginning of its formation.

In contact with

The history of the creation of the work

Historians and literary critics agree that the author of this work is the monk Nestor. He lived and worked at the turn of the XI-XII centuries. Although his name appeared as the author in later editions of the chronicle, he is considered the author.

At the same time, experts, calling her herself ancient chronicle, still believe that The Tale of Bygone Years is a literary transcription of more ancient works.

The first edition of the code was written by Nestor in 1113, subsequently there were two more arrangements: in 1116 her rewritten by the monk Sylvester, and in 1118 another unknown author.

Currently the first edition is considered lost, the most ancient version that has come down to us is a copy of the monk Lawrence, made in the XIV century. It was she who was compiled on the basis of the second edition of the chronicle.

Also have Ipatiev copy, written on the basis of the third edition.

He paid the greatest attention to the structure and sources of the chronicle in his studies Academician A.A. Shakhmatov. He substantiated the existence and history of the creation of each of the three versions of the chronicle. He also proved that the work itself is only transcription of older sources.

Main content

This chronicle is major work, which describes the key events that took place from the moment the first came to the period when the work itself was created. Below we consider in detail what this chronicle tells about.

it not a complete work, its structure consists of the following elements:

• historical notes;
• articles describing events for one particular year;
• the lives of the saints;
• teachings from various princes;
• some historical documents.

Attention! The structure of the chronicle is complicated by the fact that in later years additional insertions were made into it in a rather free mode. They break the logic of the overall narrative.

In general, the whole work uses two types of storytelling: these are actually chronicles and weather notes. In the work, the monk seeks to tell about the event itself; in the annual records, he reports on this or that event. Then the author, on the basis of heart notes, writes a chronicle, filling it with colors and details.

Conventionally, the entire chronicle is divided into three large blocks:

1. The formation of Russian statehood from the moment when the first Slavs settled. They are considered to be the descendants of Japheth, and the story begins in biblical times. The same block describes the moment when the Varangians were called to Russia, as well as the period when the process of the baptism of Russia was established.
2. The second and largest block consists of fairly detailed descriptions activities of the princes of Kievan Rus. It also describes the lives of some saints, the history of Russian heroes and the conquests of Russia;
3. The third block describes the events of numerous wars and campaigns. Here are the obituaries of the princes.

Prophetic Oleg, who, according to the legend of the Tale of Bygone Years, was destined for death from his horse.

The work is enough heterogeneous in structure and presentation, but 16 chapters can be distinguished in the annals. Among the most interesting chapters from a historical point of view, three can be noted: about the Khazars, about Olga's revenge, about the activities of Prince Vladimir. Consider a summary of the work by chapter.

The Slavs encountered the Khazars after they settled and founded Kyiv. Then the people called themselves glades, and three brothers became the founders of Kyiv - Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv. After the Khazars came to the meadows for tribute, they conferred for a long time. In the end, they decided that tribute to the Khazars from each hut will be represented by the sword.

Khazar warriors will return to their tribe with tribute and will boast, but their elders will see such a tribute as a bad sign. Khazars were in circulation sabers A weapon that has a sharp edge on one side only. And the glade applied with swords, a double-edged weapon. And seeing such a weapon, the elders predicted to the prince that tributaries with double-edged weapons would eventually become collect tribute from the Khazars. This is what happened afterwards.

Princess Olga, the wife of Prince Igor, is probably the only woman about whom much is told in the annals. Her story begins with an equally entertaining story about her husband, who, due to greed and excessive collection of tribute, was killed by the Drevlyans. Olga's revenge was terrible. The princess, left alone with her son, became a very profitable match for remarriage. And the Drevlyans themselves, deciding reign in Kyiv, sent matchmakers to her.

First, Olga prepared a trap for matchmakers, and then, having gathered a huge army, went to war against the Drevlyans, to avenge her husband.

Being a very smart and cunning woman, she was not only able to avoid an unwanted marriage, but was also able to completely protect yourself from the revenge of the Drevlyans.

To do this, the princess completely burned the capital of the Drevlyans - Iskorosten, and either killed the Drevlyans themselves or took them and sold them into slavery.

Olga's revenge for her husband's death was truly terrible.

Prince Vladimir became best known for the fact that baptized Russia. He came to faith not quite voluntarily, for a long time choosing which faith to be in and which god to pray to. And even having chosen, he put all sorts of conditions. But after being baptized, he began to actively preach Christianity in Russia, destroying pagan idols and persecuting those who did not accept the new faith.

The baptism of Russia is described in great detail. Also, Prince Vladimir is mentioned a lot in connection with his military action against the Pechenegs.

As an example, we can cite the following excerpts from the work:

• This is how Prince Vladimir says that it is necessary to destroy the pagan gods: “If it sticks somewhere, push it with sticks until it carries it through the rapids.”
• And this is how Olga spoke, realizing her plan of revenge on the Drevlyans: “Now you have neither honey nor furs.”

About the baptism of Russia

Since the chronicle was written by a monk, its content has a lot of references to the Bible and imbued with the spirit of Christianity.

The very moment when Prince Vladimir was baptized is the main one in the annals. In addition, the prince, before being baptized, is described as a person who did not restrain himself in desires, who committed unrighteous actions from the point of view of Christianity.

The moment is also described as it overtakes God's punishment for breaking a vow He was blind and received his sight only after he was baptized.

In the "Tale of Bygone Years", in the chapters that talk about the baptism of Russia, foundations of the Orthodox faith, in particular, it substantiates who or what can be the object of worship.

The chronicle lays the groundwork for the process of the baptism of Russia, saying that only the righteous, who are considered Christians, can go to heaven.

The chronicle also describes the beginning of the spread of the Christian faith in Russia: what exactly was done, what churches were built, how worship was performed, how the structure of the church was organized.

What does the Tale of Bygone Years teach?

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is landmark work for literature and history of Russia. From a literary point of view, this unique historical monument Slavic writing in the chronicle genre, the date of writing of which is considered to be 1113.

The main theme of the chronicle is description of the history of the emergence and development of Russia. Its author wanted to popularize the idea of ​​the power of the Russian state in that period. Whatever event was described by the monk, he considered each from the point of view of the interests of the entire state, and also evaluated the actions of the characters.

Chronicle as a literary monument important for its role in the teaching of that time. Separate parts of the work served as material for reading for children that time. Until specialized children's literature appeared, children mostly passed through the science of reading by reading chronicles.

The role of this work is also important for historians. There is a certain criticism of the correctness of the presentation and evaluation of some historical events. Many researchers believe that the author of the work was very biased. But all these assessments are made from the point of view of modern man, which can also be biased in judging the chronicler's work.

Attention! Such a presentation made it possible to make the work a source for the creation of many later chronicles, in particular, chronicles of cities.

The Tale of Bygone Years. Prince Oleg. Nestor - chronicler

Tale of Bygone Years - Igor Danilevsky

Conclusion

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is one and first known historical evidence how the Russian statehood developed and established. The role of the work is also important from the point of view of assessing the events that took place in ancient times. What the chronicle teaches, in general, is clear.

The Tale of Bygone Years occupies a special place in the history of Russian public consciousness and the history of Russian literature. This is not only the oldest of the chronicles that have come down to us, telling about the emergence of the Russian state and the first centuries of its history, but at the same time the most important monument of historiography, which reflected the ideas of ancient Russian scribes of the early 12th century. about the place of the Russians among other Slavic peoples, ideas about the emergence of Russia as a state and the origin of the ruling dynasty, in which, as they would say today, the main directions of foreign and domestic policy are illuminated with extraordinary clarity. The Tale of Bygone Years testifies to the highly developed national self-consciousness at that time: the Russian land conceives itself as a powerful state with its own independent policy, ready, if necessary, to enter into single combat even with the powerful Byzantine Empire, closely connected by political interests and kinship relations of rulers not only with neighboring countries - Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, but also with Germany, and even with France, Denmark, Sweden. Russia conceives itself as an Orthodox state, already from the first years of its Christian history, sanctified by special divine grace: it is rightfully proud of its patron saints - princes Boris and Gleb, its shrines - monasteries and temples, its spiritual mentors - theologians and preachers, the most famous of which , of course, was in the XI century. Metropolitan Hilarion. The guarantee of the integrity and military power of Russia should have been the dominion in it of a single princely dynasty - the Rurikovichs. Therefore, reminders that all princes are blood brothers are a constant motif of The Tale of Bygone Years, because in practice Russia is shaken by internecine strife and brother raises his hand to brother more than once. Another topic is persistently discussed by the chronicler: the Polovtsian danger. The Polovtsian khans, sometimes allies and matchmakers of the Russian princes, most often nevertheless acted as leaders of devastating raids, they besieged and burned cities, exterminated the inhabitants, and led away lines of prisoners. The Tale of Bygone Years introduces its readers to the very thick of these political, military, and ideological problems that were relevant for that time.

THE LEGEND ABOUT THE APOSTLE ANDREY

When the glade lived on their own on these mountains, there was a path from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and in the upper reaches of the Dnieper it dragged to Lovot, and along Lovot you can enter Ilmen, a great lake; Volkhov flows out of the same lake and flows into the Great Lake Nevo, and the mouth of that lake flows into the Varangian Sea. And by that sea you can even reach Rome, and from Rome you can come along the same sea to Constantinople, and from Constantinople you can come to the Pontus Sea, into which the Dnieper River flows. The Dnieper flows out of the Okovsky forest and flows south, and the Dvina flows from the same forest and goes north, and flows into the Varangian Sea. From the same forest, the Volga flows to the east and flows through seventy mouths into the Khvalis Sea. Therefore, from Russia you can sail along the Volga to the Bolgars and Khvalisy, and go east to the lot of Sim, and along the Dvina to the Varangians, and from the Varangians to Rome, from Rome to the Khamov tribe. And the Dnieper flows into the Pontic Sea by three mouths; this sea is called Russian, - St. Andrew, Peter's brother, taught him along the shores.

As they say, when Andrei taught in Sinop and arrived in Korsun, he learned that the mouth of the Dnieper was not far from Korsun, and he wanted to go to Rome, and sailed to the mouth of the Dnieper, and from there he went up the Dnieper. And it so happened that he came and stood under the mountains on the shore. And in the morning, getting up, he said to the disciples who were with him: “Do you see these mountains? So the grace of God will shine on these mountains, there will be a great city, and God will build many churches. And having ascended these mountains, he blessed them and put up a cross, and prayed to God, and descended from this mountain, where Kyiv would later be, and went up the Dnieper. And he came to the Slavs, where Novgorod now stands, and saw the people living there - what is their custom and how they wash and whip, and marveled at them. And he went to the Varangians, and came to Rome, and told about how many he taught and whom he saw, and told them: “I saw a miracle in the Slavic land when I came here. I saw wooden bathhouses, and they would heat them up strongly, and they would undress and be naked, and douse themselves with soap, and take brooms, and start whipping, and they would finish themselves off so much that they would barely get out, barely alive, and douse themselves with icy water, and only in this way would they come to life. And they do this all the time, not tormented by anyone, but they torment themselves, and then they do not wash themselves, but<...>torment." Those, hearing, were amazed; Andrew, having been in Rome, came to Sinop.

"TALE OF TIME YEARS" AND ITS EDITIONS

In 1110-1113, the first edition (version) of the Tale of Bygone Years was completed - a lengthy chronicle that absorbed numerous information on the history of Russia: about the Russian wars with the Byzantine Empire, about the calling to Russia for the reign of the Scandinavians Rurik, Truvor and Sineus, about the history of Kiev- Caves monastery, about princely crimes. The probable author of this chronicle is the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor. This edition has not survived in its original form.

The first edition of the Tale of Bygone Years reflected the political interests of the then Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. In 1113, Svyatopolk died, and Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh ascended the throne of Kyiv. In 1116, the monk Sylvester (in the Promonomach spirit) and in 1117-1118. unknown scribe from the entourage of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich (son of Vladimir Monomakh), the text of the Tale of Bygone Years was revised. This is how the second and third editions of the Tale of Bygone Years arose; the oldest list of the second edition has come down to us as part of the Laurentian, and the earliest list of the third - as part of the Ipatiev Chronicle.

EDITING THE "TALE OF TIME YEARS"

Having become the prince of Kyiv, Vladimir Monomakh retained his "fatherland" - the principality of Pereyaslavl, as well as Suzdal and Rostov. He recognized the power of Vladimir and Veliky Novgorod, obeying his orders and accepting princes from him. In 1118, Vladimir demanded to himself "all the boyars of Novgorod" to bring them to the oath. He sent some of them back to Novgorod, and “leave others with you.” Under Vladimir, the former military power of the ancient Russian state, weakened by the previous feudal strife, was restored. The Polovtsy suffered a crushing blow, and they did not dare to attack the Russian land ...

One of the measures during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh in Kyiv in 1113 was the correction of Nestor's "Tale of Bygone Years" in order to more correctly cover the reign of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, hated by the Kyiv working people. Monomakh entrusted this matter to the abbot of the Vydubetsky monastery, Sylvester. The Vydubetsky Monastery was founded by the father of Vladimir Monomakh, Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, and, naturally, he took the side of this prince, and after his death - the side of his son. Sylvester conscientiously fulfilled the task entrusted to him. He rewrote The Tale of Bygone Years and supplemented it with several inserts about Svyatopolk's negative actions. So, Sylvester introduced into the "Tale of Bygone Years" under the year 1097 the story of the priest Vasily about the blinding of Vasilko Rostislavich. Then, in a new way, he outlined the history of the campaign of the Russian princes against the Polovtsians in 1103. Although this campaign was led by Svyatopolk, as the senior prince of Kyiv, Sylvester's pen Svyatopolk was relegated to the background, and Vladimir Monomakh, who really participated in this campaign, but did not lead it, was put in the first place.

The fact that this version could not belong to Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, is clear from a comparison with it of a story about the same campaign that is available in the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, which probably follows the tradition from Nestor himself. In the story “Paterika”, Vladimir Monomakh is not even mentioned, and the victory over the Polovtsy is attributed to one Svyatopolk, who received a blessing before the campaign from the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.

While editing Nestor's The Tale of Bygone Years, Sylvester did not continue it for a single year, but issued an indication of the authorship of the Kiev-Pechersk monk. Under the same year 1110, Sylvester made the following addition: “Hegumen Sylvester of St. Michael wrote these books, chronicler, hoping from God to receive mercy under Prince Volodimer, who reigned over him Kiev, and at that time I was abbess at St. Michael, in the summer of 6624 (1116) indicta 9. And if you read these books, then be in prayers. Since Sylvester's edition received official recognition, it formed the basis of all further Russian chronicle writing and has come down to us in many later chronicle lists. Nestor's text of The Tale of Bygone Years, which remained the property of only the Kiev-Pechersk tradition, has not reached us, although some traces of differences between this text and the Sylvester edition have been preserved, as already mentioned, in separate stories of the later Kiev-Pechersk Patericon. In this "Paterik" there is also an indication of Nestor, who wrote the Russian "chronicler".

In 1118, the Sylvestrian edition of The Tale of Bygone Years was continued, apparently in connection with the inclusion of the well-known Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh written in that year. According to the convincing assumption of M. Priselkov, the addition was made by the son of Vladimir Monomakh Mstislav, who was then in Novgorod. Of great interest among these additions are two stories about the northern countries, heard by the author in 1114, when he was present at the laying of a stone wall in Ladoga. The Ladoga posadnik Pavel told him about the northern countries beyond Yugra and Samoyed. Another story about these countries, heard by the author from the Novgorodian Gyuryata Rogovich, is placed under the year 1096, indicating that he was heard "for the past 4 years." Since both stories are closely related in content, the words “previously 4 years” should be attributed to the time of writing this insert in 1118, when the author heard the first story as well .. Since the original manuscript of Mstislav has not come down to us, but only her later lists, then the only explanation for the resulting confusion may be a random rearrangement of the original sheets from which these lists were then made. Such an assumption is all the more admissible, since in the available lists under the year 1096 there is also the "Instruction of Vladimir Monomakh", written no earlier than 1117.

The genre of The Tale of Bygone Years is defined as a chronicle, and an ancient one at that. There are three editions related to 1113, 1116 and 1118. The author of the first was Nestor, the second was Abbot Sylvester, who did the work commissioned by Vladimir Monomakh. It was not possible to establish the creator of the third edition, but it is known that it was intended for Mstislav Vladimirovich.

The system of genres of ancient Russian literature

Consists of two subsystems - genres of secular and church literature. The second is more closed and includes lives and walks, solemn and teacher's eloquence. The genres of secular literature are represented by military tales and chronicles that tell about historical events over the years. They have a certain similarity with Byzantine chronography. However, when The Tale of Bygone Years was being created, the chronograph genre was not used by Russian scribes. It was mastered at later stages.

"The Tale of Bygone Years": genre

Dmitry Likhachev wrote about the enfilade, or ensemble, nature of the construction of ancient Russian written monuments. This is a distinctive feature of almost all works written in the era of Kievan Rus - a single text is thought of as potentially open to inclusions from other sources. So, when the task requires “specify the genre of The Tale of Bygone Years”, you need to consider that the chronicle includes:

• treaties (for example, Russian-Byzantine 1907);
• lives of saints - Boris and Gleb,;
• "philosopher's speech" and other texts.

Stories that have a pronounced folklore origin (for example, the story of the death of Oleg, the story of how a young man-kozhemyaka defeated the Pecheneg hero) are also inherent in the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years". What is the genre of these works? They are similar to a fairy tale or legend. In addition, the chronicle is distinguished by the so-called stories about princely crimes - like the blinding of Vasilko. Dmitry Likhachev was the first to point out their genre originality.

It should be noted that such "ensembleness", diversity does not make the genre of "The Tale of Bygone Years" something indefinite, and the monument itself - a simple collection of random texts.

Construction specifics

The main compositional units of The Tale of Bygone Years are weather articles beginning with the words "In summer ...". In this, the ancient Russian chronicles differ from the Byzantine chronographs, which, to describe the events of the past days, took not a year, but the period of the ruler's reign as a segment of history. Weather articles fall into two categories. The first includes the so-called weather reports, which record one or another historical fact. Thus, the content of the article for 1020 is limited to one piece of news: Yaroslav had a son named Vladimir. Especially many such messages are observed in the Kyiv Chronicle for the XII century.

In contrast to them, chronicle stories not only report the event, but also suggest its description, sometimes in great detail. The author may consider it necessary to indicate who took part in the battle, where it took place, how it ended. At the same time, such an enumeration added plot to the weather article.

epic style

The one who studied The Tale of Bygone Years, the genre and the compositional originality of the monument, made a distinction between monumental and epic styles. The latter is especially characteristic of those parts of the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", the genre of which is defined as a military story. The epic style is distinguished by a close connection with folklore, the use of images drawn from there. A vivid example of this is Princess Olga, represented in the annals as an avenger. In addition, they become more realistic (to the extent that such a characteristic can be applied to the characters of ancient Russian literature).

monumental style

The style of monumental historicism is the main one not only for the most ancient chronicle monument, but also for the entire literature of Kievan Rus. It manifests itself, first of all, in the depiction of characters. The chronicler is not interested in their private lives, as well as those who are outside of feudal relations. A person is of interest to the medieval author as a representative of a certain character. This also influenced the characterization of the characters, in which a share of idealization is noticeable. The canon becomes the most important concept for the "Tale ...". So, any prince is depicted in the most significant circumstances, not knowing the spiritual struggle. He is brave, smart and has a loyal squad. On the contrary, any church figure from life should be pious, humbly follow the Law of God.

The chronicler does not know the psychology of his characters. The medieval author did not hesitate to refer the hero to "good" or "evil", and the complex, contradictory images familiar to us from classical literature could not arise.