At the end of the 10th century, the literature of Ancient Rus appeared, the literature on the basis of which the literature of the three fraternal peoples - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian - developed. Old Russian literature arose along with the adoption of Christianity and was originally intended to serve the needs of the church: to provide for the church rite, to disseminate information on the history of Christianity, to educate society in the spirit of Christianity. These tasks determined both the genre system of literature and the peculiarities of its development.

The adoption of Christianity had significant consequences for the development of books and literature in Ancient Russia.

Old Russian literature was formed on the basis of a single literature of the southern and eastern Slavs, which arose under the influence of Byzantine and Old Bulgarian culture.

The Bulgarian and Byzantine priests who came to Russia and their Russian disciples were required to translate and rewrite books that were necessary for worship. And some of the books brought from Bulgaria were not translated, they were read in Russia without translation, since there was a closeness between the Old Russian and Old Bulgarian languages. Liturgical books, the lives of saints, monuments of eloquence, chronicles, collections of sayings, historical and historical stories were brought to Russia. Christianization in Russia demanded a restructuring of the worldview, books about the history of the human race, about the ancestors of the Slavs were rejected, and Russian scribes needed essays that would set out Christian ideas about world history, about natural phenomena.

Although the need for books in the Christian state was very high, the possibilities for satisfying this need were very limited: in Russia there were few skilled scribes, and the writing process itself was very long, and the material on which the first books were written - parchment - was very expensive ... Therefore, books were written only for rich people - princes, boyars and the church.

But before the adoption of Christianity in Russia, Slavic writing was known. She found application in diplomatic (letters, contracts) and legal documents, there was also a census between literate people.

Before the emergence of literature, there were speech genres of folklore: epic tales, mythological legends, fairy tales, ritual poetry, lamentations, and lyrics. Folklore played an important role in the formation of national Russian literature. There are legends about fairy-tale heroes, about heroes, about the foundations of the ancient capitals about Kie, Schek, Khoriv. There was also an oratorical speech: the princes spoke before the soldiers, delivered speeches at feasts.

But literature did not begin with recordings of folklore, although it continued to exist and develop with literature for a long time. For the emergence of literature, special reasons were needed.

The impetus for the emergence of ancient Russian literature was the adoption of Christianity, when the need arose to acquaint Russia with the Holy Scriptures, with the history of the Church, with world history, with the lives of saints. The churches under construction could not exist without liturgical books. And also it became necessary to translate from the Greek and Bulgarian originals and distribute a large number of texts. This was the impetus for the creation of literature. Literature had to remain purely ecclesiastical, cult, especially since secular genres existed in the oral form. But in reality, everything was different. First, the biblical stories about the creation of the world contained a lot of scientific information about the earth, the animal world, the structure of the human body, the history of the state, that is, they had nothing to do with Christian ideology. Secondly, the chronicle, everyday stories, such masterpieces as “Words about Igor's Campaign”, “Instructions” by Vladimir Monomakh, “Prayer” by Daniel Zatochnik, turned out to be outside the cult literature.

That is, the functions of literature at the time of its emergence and throughout history are different.

The adoption of Christianity contributed to the rapid development of literature only for two centuries, in the future the church in every way hinders the development of literature.

And yet the literature of Russia was devoted to worldview issues. The genre system reflected the worldview typical of Christian states. “Old Russian literature can be viewed as the literature of one theme and one plot. This plot is world history, and this topic is the meaning of human life ”- this is how D. Likhachev formulated the features of the literature of the most ancient period of Russian history in his work.

There is no doubt that the Baptism of Rus was an event of tremendous historical importance, not only politically and socially, but also culturally. The history of ancient Russian culture began after the adoption of Christianity by Rus, and the date of the Baptism of Rus in 988 becomes the starting point of reference for the national-historical development of Russia.

Starting from the Baptism of Rus, Russian culture now and then faced a difficult, dramatic, tragic choice of its path. From the point of view of cultural studies, it is important not only to date, but also to document this or that historical event.

1.2 Periods of the history of ancient literature.

The history of Old Russian literature cannot but be considered in isolation from the history of the Russian people and the Russian state itself. Seven centuries (XI-XVIII centuries), during which ancient Russian literature developed, are full of significant events in the historical life of the Russian people. The literature of Ancient Rus is evidence of life. History itself has established several periods in literary history.

The first period is the literature of the ancient Russian state, the period of the unity of literature. It lasts a century (XI and early XII centuries). This is the century of the formation of the historical style of literature. The literature of this period developed in two centers: in the south of Kiev and in the north of Novgorod. A characteristic feature of the literature of the first period is the leading role of Kiev as the cultural center of the entire Russian land. Kiev is the most important economic link in the world trade route. The Tale of Bygone Years belongs to this period.

Second period, mid-12th century - the first third of the 13th century. This is the period when new literary centers appeared: Vladimir Zalessky and Suzdal, Rostov and Smolensk, Galich and Vladimir Volynsky. During this period, local themes emerged in literature, and various genres appeared. This period was the beginning of feudal fragmentation.

Then comes a short period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. During this period, the stories "Words about the death of the Russian land", "Life of Alexander Nevsky" were created. During this period, one topic is considered in the literature, the topic of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar troops into Russia. This period is considered the shortest, but also the brightest.

The next period, the end of the XIV century. and the first half of the 15th century, this is a period of patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of chronicle writing and historical narration. This century coincides with the economic and cultural revival of the Russian land before and after the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. In the middle of the 15th century. new phenomena appear in literature: translated literature, the "Tale of Dracula", "The Tale of Basarga" appear. All these periods, from the XIII century. to the XV century. can be combined in one period and defined as a period of feudal fragmentation and unification of North - Eastern Russia. Since the literature of the second period begins with the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders (1204), and when the main role of Kiev has already ended and three fraternal peoples are formed from a single Old Russian nationality: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.

The third period is the period of literature of the Russian centralized state of the XIV-XVII centuries. When the state plays an active role in international relations of its time, and also reflects the further growth of the Russian centralized state. And since the 17th century. a new period of Russian history begins. ...

Old Russian literature

Study

Preliminary remarks... Concept old Russian literature denotes in a strict terminological meaning the literature of the Eastern Slavs of the XI-XIII centuries. before their subsequent division into Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. Since the XIV century. the special book traditions that led to the formation of Russian (Great Russian) literature are clearly manifested, and since the 15th century. - Ukrainian and Belarusian. In philology, the concept old Russian literatureis used traditionally for all periods in the history of Russian literature of the 11th - 17th centuries.

All attempts to find traces of East Slavic literature before the baptism of Rus in 988 ended in failure. The evidence presented is either gross forgeries (the pagan chronicle "Vlesova's book", embracing a huge era from the 9th century BC to the 9th century AD inclusive), or untenable hypotheses (the so-called "Askold's Chronicle" in the Nikon Codex XVI century among articles 867–89). What has been said does not mean at all that writing was completely absent in pre-Christian Russia. Treaties of Kievan Rus with Byzantium 911, 944 and 971 as part of the "Tale of Bygone Years" (if we accept the evidence of S.P. Obnorsky) and archaeological finds (an inscription from a firing on the Gnezdovskaya korchaga of the first decades or no later than the middle of the 10th century, a Novgorod inscription on a wooden lock-cylinder, according to V.L Yanina, 970-80) show that in the 10th century, even before the baptism of Rus, the Cyrillic script could be used in official documents, state apparatus and everyday life, gradually preparing the ground for the spread of writing after the adoption of Christianity in 988.

§ 1. The emergence of Old Russian literature

§ 1.1 . Folklore and Literature... The predecessor of Old Russian literature was folklore, widespread in the Middle Ages in all strata of society: from peasants to the princely-boyar aristocracy. Long before Christianity it was already litteratura sine litteris, literature without letters. In the written era, folklore and literature with their genre systems existed in parallel, mutually complemented each other, sometimes coming into close contact. Folklore accompanied Old Russian literature throughout its history: from the chronicle of the 11th - early 12th centuries. (see § 2.3) before the "Tale of Woe-Evil" of the transitional era (see § 7.2), although in general it was poorly reflected in writing. In turn, literature also influenced folklore. The most striking example of this is spiritual poetry, folk songs of religious content. They experienced a strong influence of church canonical literature (biblical and liturgical books, lives of saints, etc.) and apocrypha. Spiritual poetry retains a vivid imprint of dual faith and is a motley mixture of Christian and pagan ideas.

§ 1.2 . Baptism of Rus and the beginning of the "book teaching"... The adoption of Christianity in 988 under the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavich brought Russia into the orbit of influence of the Byzantine world. After baptism, the rich Old Slavonic literature created by the Solun brothers Constantine the Philosopher, Methodius and their disciples in the second half of the 9th-10th centuries was transferred from the southern and, to a lesser extent, from the western Slavs. A huge corpus of translated (mainly from Greek) and original monuments included biblical and liturgical books, patristics and church teaching literature, dogmatic-polemic and legal works, etc. This book fund, common to the entire Byzantine-Slavic Orthodox world , ensured within him the consciousness of religious, cultural and linguistic unity for centuries. From Byzantium, the Slavs assimilated mainly the church-monastic book culture. The rich secular literature of Byzantium, which continued the traditions of the ancient, with a few exceptions, was not in demand by the Slavs. South Slavic influence at the end of the X - XI centuries. laid the foundation for Old Russian literature and the book language.

Ancient Russia was the last of the Slavic countries to adopt Christianity and became acquainted with the Cyril and Methodian book heritage. However, in a surprisingly short time, she turned it into her national treasure. Compared to other Orthodox Slavic countries, Ancient Russia created a much more developed and diverse genre of national literature and preserved the all-Slavic book fund immeasurably better.

§ 1.3 . Worldview principles and artistic method of ancient Russian literature... For all its uniqueness, Old Russian literature possessed the same basic characteristics and developed according to the same general laws as other medieval European literatures. Her artistic method was due to the peculiarities of medieval thinking. He was distinguished by theocentrism - faith in God as the root cause of all existence, good, wisdom and beauty; providentialism, according to which the course of world history and the behavior of each person is determined by God and is the implementation of his predetermined plan; understanding of man as a creature in the image and likeness of God, endowed with reason and free will in the choice of good and evil. In medieval consciousness, the world bifurcated into a heavenly, higher, eternal, inaccessible to the touch, opening up to the chosen ones in a moment of spiritual illumination (“the eyes cannot be seen with dense eyes, but they listen to the spirit and mind”), and the earthly, lower, temporary. This faint reflection of the spiritual, ideal world contained images and likenesses of divine ideas, by which man cognized the Creator. The medieval worldview ultimately predetermined the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, which was religiously symbolic at its core.

Old Russian literature is imbued with a Christian moralistic and didactic spirit. Imitation and likeness to God was understood as the highest goal of human life, and serving him was seen as the basis of morality. The literature of Ancient Russia had a pronounced historical (and even factual) character and for a long time did not allow fiction. She was characterized by etiquette, tradition and retrospectiveness, when reality was assessed based on ideas about the past and events in the sacred history of the Old and New Testaments.

§ 1.4 . The genre system of Old Russian literature... In the ancient Russian era, literary samples were of exceptional importance. These were considered primarily translated Church Slavonic biblical and liturgical books. Exemplary works contained rhetorical and structural models of different types of texts, defined the written tradition, or, in other words, codified the literary and linguistic norm. They replaced grammars, rhetoric and other theoretical manuals on the art of word, common in medieval Western Europe, but absent for a long time in Russia ... Reading Church Slavonic samples, many generations of Old Russian scribes comprehended the secrets of literary technique. The medieval author constantly turned to exemplary texts, used their vocabulary and grammar, sublime symbols and images, figures of speech and tropes. Consecrated by hoary antiquity and the authority of holiness, they seemed unshakable and served as the yardstick for writing. This rule was the alpha and omega of ancient Russian creativity.

The Belarusian educator and humanist Francis Skaryna argued in the preface to the Bible (Prague, 1519) that the books of the Old and New Testaments are analogous to the “seven liberal arts” that formed the basis of medieval Western European education. The Psalter teaches grammar, logic, or dialectics, - the Book of Job and the Epistle of the Apostle Paul, rhetoric - the creation of Solomon, music - biblical chants, arithmetic - the Book of Numbers, geometry - the Book of Joshua, astronomy - the Book of Genesis and other sacred texts.

Bible books were also perceived as ideal genre examples. In the Izbornik of 1073, an ancient Russian manuscript dating back to the collection of the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon (893-927), translated from the Greek, the article "From the Apostles' ustav" states that the books of Kings are the standard of historical and narrative works, an example in the genre of church chants is the Psalter , exemplary "cunning and creative" writings (that is, related to the writing of the wise and poetic) are the teaching Books of Job and the Proverbs of Solomon. Almost four centuries later, around 1453, the Tver monk Thomas called in his "Praise of the Great Duke Boris Alexandrovich" the example of historical narrative works of the Book of Kings, the epistolary genre - the apostolic epistles, and the "soul-saving books" - the lives.

Such ideas, which came to Russia from Byzantium, were widespread throughout medieval Europe. In the preface to the Bible, Francis Skaryna sent those wishing to "tell about the military" and "about heroic deeds" to the Books of Judges, noting that they are more truthful and useful than "Alexandria" and "Troy" - medieval novels with adventure stories about Alexander Macedonian and Trojan War, known in Russia (see § 5.3 and § 6.3). By the way, the canon says the same thing in M. Cervantes, convincing Don Quixote to abandon his extravagance and take up his mind: “If ... you are drawn to books about exploits and chivalrous deeds, then open the Holy Scriptures and read Book of Judges: here you will find great and genuine events and deeds as true as they are brave ”(part 1, 1605).

The hierarchy of church books, as it was understood in Ancient Rus, is set forth in the preface of Metropolitan Macarius to the Great Menaea Chetiim (completed c. 1554). The monuments that made up the core of traditional bookishness are located in strict accordance with their place on the hierarchical ladder. Its upper steps are occupied by the most revered biblical books with theological interpretations. At the top of the book hierarchy is the Gospel, followed by the Apostle and the Psalter (which in Ancient Russia was also used as a textbook - they learned to read from it). This is followed by the creations of the church fathers: collections of works by John Chrysostom "Zlatoust", "Margaret", "Chrysostom", works of Basil the Great, words of Gregory the Theologian with interpretations of Metropolitan Nikita of Heraclius, "Pandects" and "Tacticon" by Nikon Montenegrin, etc. The next level is oratorical prose with its own genre subsystem: 1) prophetic words, 2) apostolic, 3) patristic, 4) festive, 5) laudable. At the last step is hagiographic literature with a special genre hierarchy: 1) the lives of the martyrs, 2) the monastic ones, 3) the paters of the Alphabet, Jerusalem, Egyptian, Sinai, Skete, Kiev-Pechersky, 4) the lives of Russian saints, canonized by the cathedrals of 1547 and 1549.

The Old Russian genre system, formed under the influence of the Byzantine one, was rebuilt and developed over the seven centuries of its existence. Nevertheless, it has been preserved in its basic features until modern times.

§ 1.5 . Literary language of Ancient Russia... Together with the old Slavonic books to Russia at the end of the X-XI century. The Old Slavonic language was transferred - the first common Slavic literary language, supranational and international, created on the Bulgarian-Macedonian dialect basis in the process of translating church books (mainly Greek) by Constantine the Philosopher, Methodius and their students in the second half of the 9th century. in the West and South Slavic lands. From the first years of its existence in Russia, the Old Church Slavonic language began to adapt to the living speech of the Eastern Slavs. Under its influence, some specific South Slavicisms were ousted by Rusisms from the book norm, while others became acceptable variants within its limits. As a result of the adaptation of the Old Church Slavonic language to the peculiarities of Old Russian speech, a local (Old Russian) version of the Church Slavonic language was formed. Its formation was close to completion in the second half of the 11th century, as the most ancient East Slavic written records show: the Ostromir Gospel (1056-57), the Archangel Gospel (1092), the Novgorod service Menaion (1095-96, 1096, 1097) and other contemporary manuscripts.

The linguistic situation of Kievan Rus is assessed differently in the works of researchers. Some of them recognize the existence of bilingualism, in which the spoken language was Old Russian, and the literary language was Church Slavonic (Old Slavonic by origin), which was only gradually Russified (A. A. Shakhmatov). Opponents of this hypothesis prove the originality of the literary language in Kievan Rus, the strength and depth of its folk East Slavic speech base and, accordingly, the weakness and superficiality of the Old Slavic influence (S.P. Obnorsky). There is a compromise concept of two types of a single Old Russian literary language: book-Slavic and folk-literary, which interacted widely and diversifiedly with each other in the process of historical development (V.V. Vinogradov). According to the theory of literary bilingualism, in Ancient Russia there were two book languages: Church Slavonic and Old Russian (F.I.Buslaev was close to this point of view, and then it was developed by L.P. Yakubinsky and D.S.Likhachev).

In the last decades of the XX century. the theory of diglossia (G. Hutl-Volter, A.V. Isachenko, B.A. In contrast to bilingualism in diglossia, the functional spheres of the book (Church Slavonic) and non-book (Old Russian) languages \u200b\u200bare strictly distributed, almost do not overlap and require speakers to evaluate their idioms on a scale of "high - low", "solemn - ordinary", "church - secular" ... Church Slavonic, for example, being a literary and liturgical language, could not serve as a means of colloquial communication, while in Old Russian this was one of the main functions. During diglossia, Church Slavonic and Old Russian were perceived in Ancient Rus as two functional varieties of one language. There are other views on the origin of the Russian literary language, but they are all controversial. It is obvious that the Old Russian literary language was formed from the very beginning as a language of a complex composition (B. A. Larin, V. V. Vinogradov) and organically included Church Slavonic and Old Russian elements.

Already in the XI century. various written traditions are formed and a business language appears, ancient Russian in origin. It was a special written language, but not literary, not actually bookish. It was used to draw up official documents (letters, petitions, etc.), legal codes (for example, "Russian Pravda", see § 2.8), clerical office work was conducted in the 16th - 17th centuries. In Old Russian, texts of everyday content were also written: birch bark letters (see § 2.8), graffiti inscriptions drawn with a sharp object on the plaster of ancient buildings, mainly churches, etc. At first, the business language weakly interacted with the literary language. However, over time, the once clear boundaries between them began to collapse. The convergence of literature and business writing took place mutually and was clearly manifested in a number of works of the 15th-17th centuries: "Domostroy", the epistles of Ivan the Terrible, the work of Grigory Kotoshikhin "About Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich", "The Tale of Ruff Ershovich", "Kalyazinsky petition ", etc.

The emergence of ancient Russian literature

Historical background.Literature is born only under the conditions of the development of a class society. The necessary prerequisites for its emergence are the formation of the state, the emergence of writing, the existence of highly developed forms of oral folk art.

The emergence of Old Russian literature is inextricably linked with the process of creating an early feudal state. Soviet historical science refuted the Norman theory of the origin of the ancient Russian state, proving that it arose not as a result of the vocation of the Varangians, but as a result of a long historical process of disintegration of the tribal communal system of the East Slavic tribes. A characteristic feature of this historical process is that the East Slavic tribes come to feudalism, bypassing the stage of the slave formation.

The new system of social relations, based on the class domination of the minority over the majority of the working population, needed an ideological foundation. Neither the tribal pagan religion, nor the oral folk art, which previously served the ideological and artistic basis of the tribal system, could provide this justification.

The development of economic, commercial and political ties caused the need for writing, the existence of which is one of the most essential prerequisites for the emergence of literature.

The data of the Soviet linguistic and historical science indicate that writing in Russia appeared long before the official adoption of Christianity. About the existence of some forms of writing among the Slavs already in the second half of the 9th century. testifies from the monk Brave and the Pannonian Life of Cyril.

The creation of the Slavic alphabet by Cyril and Methodius in 863 was an act of the greatest cultural and historical significance, which contributed to the rapid cultural growth of both the southern and eastern Slavs. By the end of the 9th - first quarter of the 10th century, ancient Bulgaria was experiencing a remarkable period of flourishing of its culture. During this period, outstanding writers appeared here: John Exarch of Bulgaria, Clement, Constantine and Tsar Simeon himself. The works created by them played an important role in the development of ancient Russian culture. The closeness of the Old Russian language to Old Slavic ("... the Slavic language and Russian are one", -emphasized the chronicler) contributed to the gradual assimilation of the new writing by the Eastern Slavs.

A powerful impetus to the wide spread and development of writing in Russia was given by the official adoption of Christianity in 988, which helped to consolidate the ideologically new social relations of the emerging feudal society.

For the development of the original ancient Russian culture, the fact that Russia adopted Christianity from Byzantium, which at that time was the bearer of the highest culture, was of no small importance. The Byzantine Orthodox Church, already by that time already isolated from the Western Roman Catholic Church (the formal division of the churches took place in 1054), gave much greater scope for the formation of national cultural characteristics. If the Catholic Church put forward Latin as a literary language, then the Greek Orthodox Church allowed the free development of national literary languages. The literary church language of Ancient Rus became the language of Old Slavic, which is similar in character and grammatical structure to the language of Old Russian. The original literature that emerged contributed to the development of this language, enriching it at the expense of colloquial oral folk speech.

From the end of the X century. we can talk about the emergence of a certain education system in Russia - "Book teaching".

Christianity played a progressive role in the formation of the culture of Ancient Rus. Kievan Rus is becoming one of the advanced states of Europe. At the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, as Adam Bremensky testifies, Kiev rivals Constantinople in its wealth and population.

In the 30s-40s of the 11th century, there were already many skilled translators in Kiev who "Shift"books directly from Greek to "Slovenian".Yaroslav's son Vsevolod owns five foreign languages, his sister Anna, having become the French queen, leaves her own handwritten signature - "Anna regina", while her regal husband instead of the signature puts a cross.

In the development of book education, including literature, monasteries, which in the first years of their existence were a hotbed of new Christian culture, played an important role. The role of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery, created in the middle of the 11th century, was especially great in this respect.

So, the formation of the early feudal Old Russian state and the emergence of writing were necessary prerequisites for the appearance of literature.

Main sources. On the one hand, oral folk poetry actively participates in the formation of literature, and on the other hand, Christian book culture, coming both from the southern Slavs, in particular the Bulgarians, and from Byzantium.

The historical study of folklore, which began relatively recently, shows that the Eastern Slavs by the X century. there were highly developed forms of oral folk art. Researchers believe that at this time in folklore there is a transition from mythological to historical subjects. Historical ancestral tradition, toponymic legend, tradition associated with burial grounds, heroic legend, songs about military campaigns occupy a leading place in oral poetry of that time.

Apparently, the formation of the folk epic, which played an extremely important role in the formation of the original Old Russian literature, belongs to this period.

The princely squads, who made numerous military campaigns, obviously had their own singers who entertained them during feasts, composing songs of "glory" in honor of the victors, glorifying the prince and his brave soldiers. The heroic songs of the squad singers, epic legends about battles and campaigns made up a kind of oral chronicle, which was then partially fixed in writing.

Thus, folklore was the main source that provided images and plots of the emerging original Old Russian literature. Through folklore, not only the artistic imagery of folk poetry, individual elements of style, but also folk ideology penetrated into it.

Assimilating Christian ideology, the people adapted it to their pagan concepts and ideas. This gave rise to such a very characteristic feature Russian life, as a "dual faith", which for a long time was retained in the people's consciousness, which was reflected in the ancient Russian literature. Throughout the history of the development of literature, oral folk poetry was the life-giving source that contributed to its enrichment.

The art of oral speech and business writing also played an important role in the formation of literature. Oral speech was widespread in the life practice of early feudal society; military leaders, before the start of battles, addressed their soldiers with a speech, giving them "Audacity"inspiring to the feat of arms. Oral speech was constantly used in diplomatic negotiations: ambassadors who went to carry out their diplomatic missions usually memorized the words that one or another ruler ordered them to convey. These speeches contained certain stable phrases, they were distinguished by their conciseness and expressiveness.

Business writing also developed verbal formulas. The laconicism and accuracy of the expressions of oral speech and business writing contributed to the development of a concise, aphoristic style of presentation in literary monuments.

It could not but have a great influence on the emerging original Old Russian writing and the Christian book culture assimilated by Russian scribes.

Philosophical foundations of ancient Russian literature.The philosophical foundations of Old Russian literature were the Christian canonical books of the New Testament the Gospel and the Apostle, as well as the Old Testament book Psalter. It is by no means accidental that the earliest surviving monuments of ancient Russian writing were the Ostromirovo (1056-57) and Arkhangelsk (1092) gospels and those explaining the meaning of "the many-sided (containing many difficulties) of these books", so that " add "(open) their innermost minds of articles of the philosophical and didactic Izbornik of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav 1073. Izbornik goes back to the ancient Bulgarian encyclopedic Collection of Tsar Simeon (X century), translated from Greek.

The first principles of Christian philosophical thought were the gospels and the apostolic epistles. They included a biography of the earthly life of the God-man Jesus Christ, an exposition and explanation of his doctrine, a description of his passions and arbitrary death, his miraculous resurrection and ascension to heaven.

He wrote about the significance of the gospel in the life of Christian peoples, and in particular the Russian one, in the 30s. last century A. S.Pushkin in his article “On the Duties of Man”: “There is a book by which every word is interpreted, explained, preached in all ends of the earth, applied to all kinds of circumstances of life and the incidents of the world; from which it is impossible to repeat a single expression that everyone did not know by heart, which would not have been the proverb of the peoples;it does not already contain anything unknown to us; but this book is called the Gospel - and such is its eternally new charm that if we, fed up with the world or dejected by despondency, accidentally open it, then we are no longer able to resist its sweet enthusiasm and plunge in spirit into its divine eloquence ”1.

The scientific significance of the Gospel was clearly emphasized by V. G. Belinsky: “There is a book,” he wrote, “in which everything is said, everything is decided, after which there is no doubt about anything, the book is immortal, holy, the book of eternal truth, eternal life - the Gospel. All the progress of mankind, all the successes in science, in philosophy consist only in a greater penetration into the mysterious depth of this divine book, in the awareness of its living, eternally intransient verbs ”2.

The development of Old Russian literature was primarily associated with the gradual penetration into the "mysterious depth" of this "eternal book", the "book of life" - the Gospel, mastering its philosophical content and linguistic wealth, which gradually became proverbs and catchphrases.

The main philosophical thoughts of Ancient Russia in the first centuries of its adoption of Christianity were directed to the knowledge of God 3, to comprehending the secrets of divine wisdom, the world created by God, the wisdom of the Divine word, determining the place of man - the crown of God's creation - in the system of the universe.

The classical patristic Byzantine literature of the 4th century was devoted to clarifying these issues: the works of Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Athanasius of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, as well as the works of the philosopher and poet of the first half of the 8th century John Damascene. His "Word on the Right Faith", translated into Old Slavonic by John Exarch of Bulgaria in the 10th century, was the philosophical and theological basis of the Orthodox faith.

John Damascene viewed philosophy as the knowledge of all that exists, the nature of the visible and invisible world, and raised questions about its beginning and end. He viewed philosophy as being likened to God. God is the highest ideal of moral perfection, the immortal embodiment of goodness, truth and beauty.

The primary place in Christian theological philosophy was given to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, that is, to the doctrine of the Trinity of God, his inseparable triune hypostases: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This philosophical concept was essentially the idea of \u200b\u200ba triune being and consciousness.

The 9th chapter of the Izbornik Svyatoslav of 1073 expresses the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in the words of Michael Sinckel of Jerusalem: “... Not three Gods, but one God, one Deity in three persons, equal in time, neither separated by nature, nor by the way where the Father and the Son are and the Spirit, and where is the Spirit, where are the Father and the Son. It is easier to say: we worship the Trinity in unity, and the unity in the Trinity, a unit that contains three beings, and the Trinity is consubstantial and capacious and, on a par with others (hypostases), has no beginning. One I confess the Holy Trinity Deity, one and consubstantial Deity, one power, one power, one dominion, one kingdom, one eternally existing, unborn, beginningless, indescribable, incomprehensible, limitless, unchangeable, unshakable, immortal, eternal, impassive, everything and creative and containing, providentially governing heaven and earth and sea, and everything that is visible and invisible in them. "

The crown of God's creation is Man. He was created by God in his own image and likeness. The image of God is given to a person from birth, but it depends only on the personal will of a person to preserve this image during his earthly life and to liken himself to God.

Man is endowed with a creator with an immortal, rational and verbal soul. This is the difference between man and the soulless, unreasonable, wordless creatures of God, created for man and subordinate to man.

The Christian world outlook doubled the world, opposing the material, visible world to the spiritual, invisible world. The first is temporary, transitory, the second is eternal. These principles of the temporal and eternal are contained in man himself, in his perishable, perishable body and eternal immortal soul. The soul imparts life to the body, spiritualizes it, and at the same time, "fleshly seductions" (temptations) distort the soul, distort the image of God that a person is endowed with from birth. The flesh is the source of base passions, diseases, suffering. “The dominant power of the soul is the mind,” asserted John of Damascus. Thanks to reason, a person becomes the master of everything. Reason allows a person, with the help of will, to defeat base passions, to free himself from their power, for passions enslave a person.

With the help of five "servants" (senses), the mind allows a person to cognize the material world around him. But this is the lowest form of knowledge. The highest goal is the cognition of the invisible world, the cognition of the essences hiding behind the visible phenomena of the material world. A person is able to penetrate these essences not with “bodily eyes”, “bodily ears,” but by opening up “spiritual” eyes and ears, that is, through inner spiritual insight, reflection. Asceticism, suppression of fleshly passions, prayerful ecstasy open the "spiritual eyes" of a person and they reveal the innermost secrets of the Divine to a person, allow him to penetrate into the essence of the invisible world hidden from the "bodily eyes" and thereby bring a person closer to the knowledge of God.

Having created the first man - the old Adam and his wife Eve, God settled the first people in the Paradise planted by him in the East and made a covenant with them: Adam and Eve can enjoy all the benefits of paradise life, but they do not have the right to eat the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of Good planted in the middle of paradise and Evil. However, the devil-tempter - the bearer of absolute evil, having possessed the snake, tempts Eve to break the covenant, and Eve, in turn, encourages Adam to taste the forbidden fruit. Original sin is committed, the Divine covenant is violated, and Adam and Eve are expelled by God from paradise to earth. People are now doomed to death, hard work and torment (Adam will earn his bread in the sweat of his brow, Eve will bear children in pain).

However, the all-merciful man-lover God does not allow his creatures - people to perish completely and sends his only-begotten son to earth. Incarnate in a man, God the Son - Jesus Christ, through a voluntary atoning sacrifice, saves people from final destruction. Having corrected Death by his own death, he gave people eternal life, eternal bliss - salvation to all who believed in Christ.

Thus, God, from the point of view of Christian philosophy, is not the source and cause of evil. The main culprit of evil - "who hates the human race from time immemorial" - the devil and his servants, demons, as well as evil is rooted in man himself, and it is associated with the freedom of his will, the freedom to choose between good and evil ("to avoid evil, or the evil of being", - as Izbornik writes in 1073).

Each person is faced with the question: what path should he go in earthly life: whether the spacious road of sin, allowing sin to enslave his soul by the passions, or the narrow thorny path of virtue associated with the struggle with passions and the desire to get rid of them. The first path leads to eternal torment, the second - to salvation. Demons push a person to the first path. The source of sin is “dense (fleshly) seductions”: “eating too much, drinking plenty of food, and sleeping too much”. “Laziness is the mother of all vices,” Vladimir Monomakh instructs his children. It is engendered by idleness and entails drunkenness and fornication, and "in drunkenness and fornication, soul and body perish people." As the smoke drives away the bees, so the wine vapors drive out the souls from the king's head - reason and madness takes its place.

Old Russian literature, however, does not shift all the evil of the world onto otherworldly demonic forces. It asserted that an evil person can be worse than a demon: "the demon is afraid of the cross, and an evil person is not afraid of the cross, nor is he ashamed of people." Especially disgusting are those people who quarrel friends with each other and push others on an unkind path. The ancient scribes warned of the evil that false prophets bring to people, hiding the predatory essence of evil wolves under sheep's clothing.

Great evil is brought to the country by evil, unkind advisers, giving unkind advice to the ruler, they "bring an" abomination "to the whole country". Even Satan himself is able to appear to a person in the form of a bright angel and his servant to be transformed into the righteous. This idea will be further developed by the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon.

However, God himself permits evil, but only within certain limits, as “pedagogical goals” of influencing people who commit sins, to call them to universal repentance. With the help of heavenly signs (eclipse of the moon, sun), God warns about the danger threatening people, and then punishes by the invasion of foreigners "sin for our sake." "All evil, how much do we create countries, according to the command of God, create", for "the lover of mankind (God), for the righteous judge, God gives us many desires to sinners to us, not to perdition, but to repentance," so that people would stop committing iniquity and repent their sins.

The Gospels and patristic literature affirm the postulate that "the powers of the world are imposed on the essence of God," and "every sovereign and king, and a bishop is supplied from God," including unworthy rulers. The latter are supplied by God's "permission" or "desire." Such unmerciful rulers are the result of God's punishment of the people of the country for their sins.

Christianity brought God much closer to Man. It created a vivid image of the God-man Jesus Christ, who united in himself two natures, Divine and Human. He was born as a man, goes through his earthly life as a man, endures passions as a man, accepts an unauthorized death on the cross as a man. At the same time, Jesus is born as a result of the gospel of the archangel Gabriel, without violating the virginity of the mother, how God works miracles, how God resurrects on the third day after his death, appears to his resurrected disciples as God and how God ascends on the fortieth day after the resurrection to heaven and takes his rightful place in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, and as God he must reappear on earth, perform the righteous Last Judgment and establish the Millennial Kingdom of goodness and justice.

The texts of sacred scripture and patristic literature in the person of the God-man Jesus Christ created the ideal of mankind "eternal", according to FM Dostoevsky.

Christ, with his new creed, indicated the path of moral perfection for man, the path of becoming like the Savior, the path of overcoming base passions, the path of enlightenment. The hagiographic literature, which was one of the favorite readings of the Russian people, was dedicated to the depiction of this path to the achievement of the divine ideal. The famous card index of Academician N.K. Nikolsky, kept in the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has 5,508 titles of original Old Russian Lives.

One of the most important aspects of Christian philosophy was the development of the doctrine of God the Word. The foundations of this teaching are laid in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God. It was in the beginning with God. Everything through Him began to be, and without Him nothing began to be that began to be. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. "

These Gospel words have been interpreted as follows. The Word is the only begotten Son of God, the embodiment of His creative power and might. With the help of the Word, God created the world and everything in the world. He said, "Let there be light," and there was light. The word is the life-giving divine principle of all that exists, it is the beginning of life, the light of truth for people.

Associated with these provisions of medieval philosophy is the deep belief of medieval man in the power of the word, which brings the light of truth to people. This "light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not embrace it." This position explains the reason for the intensive development in ancient Russian literature of the teaching word, the living word of the pastors, addressed to their flock. In these words, as N.V. Gogol noted, the beginnings of the originality of our ancient literature broke through. In the words of the pastors, the foundations of Christian morality were set forth. The words of the encyclopedic Izbornik 1076 were devoted to the presentation of these fundamentals. They gave an answer to the urgent question of newly converted Christians, "How can the peasants live?"

The compiler of the Izbornik selects words in a certain thematic sequence in order to direct his reader-listener to the "right path of salvation."

The Izbornik 1076 opens with an original article that has no analogues in the Greek language "The Word of a Kaluger (Monk)" About Reading Books. Its purpose is to show the significance of the book in the spiritual and moral life of “every Christian”. The written word - a book - bears the good, the good that a person needs in life. It carries the light of truth. Therefore, the kaluger urges the reader to slowly and attentively read the book from "head to head", which is necessary to understand the meaning of what he read. To do this, the reader needs to refer not once, but “three times” to the same chapter. As the ruler holds the horse with a bridle, so the book is for the righteous a "bridle of abstinence."

"The beauty of the warrior is a weapon, the ship is windy, and so is the veneration of books for the righteous." Here, kaluger highlights the importance of the book as a means of abstaining from base passions. The book allows a person to find inner beauty and harmony. It is a person's spiritual weapon in the fight against sin. The book is like sails (sails) guiding the life ship of a person in sailing along the stormy waves of the sea of \u200b\u200blife. And the book is the weapon that adorns a person, which protects him from everyday storms and worries.

Kaluger calls on the “brethren” to open their “spiritual ears” and listen to the “power and teachings” of the holy books. As an example, the kaluger refers to the lives of Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Cyril the Philosopher (enlightener of the Slavs), who "obeyed holy books" and "podvngushaya for good deeds."

“The word of a certain father to his son” continues to develop the thoughts of “The word of a certain kaluger”. This word lays the foundations for the future "Domostroi". The father encourages his son to reflect on the two paths by which he is given the opportunity to go through life. This is either the path of those few people who "in heaven and on earth" left behind a memory, or the path of "unconsciousness", that is, sin. The first path is the path of meekness, humility, love, kindness and charity.

First of all, the father advises his son to avoid sin ("run sin, yaki warrior") and urges him to be merciful: "Child, feed the greedy, give someone a drink, introduce the strange, sit down sick, do it in dungeons, see their misfortune and breathe." It is these virtues, according to the father, that are capable of leading a son to eternal life, that is, finding the path of salvation.

The father especially emphasizes the need to visit the church, where the son should stand with fear and diligently listen to the words of the scripture.

The special word “punishment” is addressed to the rich. It calls on the rich to provide constant help to the suffering and categorically forbids doing evil, to remember that "the true ruler is the one who possesses himself."

In selected articles from many "fathers, apostles and prophets and other books" Izbornik 1076 inspired neophytes-Christians "eternal truths" of the morality of the new faith, set forth in the form of maxims, dwarfs.

Izbornik 1076 laid the foundation for the creation of original in the Old Russian literature didactic collections such as "Izmaragd", "Golden Chep", "Domostroy".

By the XI century. includes a number of Service Minei that have come down to us, including Novgorod in 1095-1097. for September, October and November. Collections such as "Lenten Triode" (contained services before Easter) and "Color Triod" (contained services on Easter and after Easter), included texts of prayers and chants, some of which were created by talented Byzantine poets Roman the Sladkopevets, John Damascus and others. Poetic images of church hymnography, gradually entering everyday life, became an arsenal of artistic means of the original Old Russian writing.

Obviously, immediately after the adoption of Christianity, selected passages from the Old Testament biblical books were translated into the Old Russian language, which compiled collections of the so-called Paremiyniks, intended for liturgical readings. The complete text of fifty Old Testament books byya was translated into Old Russian in 1499 in Novgorod on the initiative of Archbishop Gennady.

The most popular of all the Old Testament books was the Psalter. This book was used to teach literacy. The texts of the psalms were learned by heart. The Psalter attracted the attention of the ancient Russian reader with its lyrical pathos, narrative, combined with allegorism and abstract generalization, as well as a highly artistic form of presentation.

Very early in Russia, the texts of the explanatory and fortune-telling Psalter became known. The explanatory Psalter contained interpretations - explanations of the allegorical meaning of the psalms, and the fortune-telling was intended to resolve doubts, it was designed to help a person make the "correct" decision.

The texts of the canonical church books were considered "sacred" and enjoyed unquestioned authority. They were considered the source of "divine wisdom", the deeply hidden meaning of which must be correctly interpreted and understood. In this regard, ancient Russian scribes turn to patristic literature for help, that is, to the creations of the “church fathers”.

The moralizing "words" of the famous St. John Chrysostom of Constantinople were spread among us in the collections "Zlatoust", "Chrysostom", "Margarit". "Zlatostruy", composed under the leadership of Tsar Simeon, was very popular in Russia. Here, however, purely Russian works began to be introduced into it, the authors of which, wishing to give weight to their works, attributed their creation to the famous Byzantine rhetorician. The collection "Chrysostom" was devoted to the interpretation of the weekly aprakos gospel texts.

From the writings of Basil the Great in Russia was known "Six days" in the translation of John the Exarch of Bulgaria. This work introduced the reader in detail to the "six days" of the creation of the world. It reported information about nature, flora and fauna, as well as about man as the crown of God's creation.

The gloomy ascetic poetry of the "words" of Ephraim the Syrian, which were included in the Byzantine collection "Parenesis", became known quite early in Russia. From this collection were extracted the "words" "about evil wives" and "about the last judgment and the coming of the Antichrist."

The paths of moral perfection of the human soul, its ascent to God were indicated by the "Ladder" of John Climacus. Systematically expounded the dogma of the Christian doctrine "The Word of the Right Faith" by John Damascene, translated in Bulgaria.

As a rule, most of the works of the "church fathers" were associated with the traditions of ancient oratory... Using the techniques of great orators, they saturated their "words" with vivid images, achieving the desired emotional impact on the audience - readers. They gave their "words" a timeless generalized character, addressing them to listeners of various social conditions and ethnicity. Patristic literature focused on the spiritual side of human life and demanded a detachment from "Transient delights"current life.

Life literature.An important means of religious and moral education was hagiographic literature - hagiographic literature dedicated to the biographies of saints. In an entertaining form, an object lesson was given here in the practical application of abstract Christian dogmas. She painted the moral ideal of a person who has achieved a complete triumph of the spirit over sinful flesh, complete victory over earthly passions.

The formation and development of hagiographic literature dates back to the first centuries of Christianity. It incorporates elements of ancient historical biography, uses a number of features of the Hellenistic novel, and at the same time, its origin is directly related to the genre of eulogy. The Life combines the amusement of the plot narration with edification and eulogy. At the center of his life is the ideal Christian hero who follows Christ in his life.

In the VIII-XI centuries. in Byzantium, the canonical structure of the life and the basic principles of the depiction of the hagiographic hero were developed. There is a kind of hierarchical division of the lives according to the types of heroes and the nature of their exploits.

The type of hero determines the type of living, and in this respect the living resembles an icon. Like an icon, the life seeks to give an extremely generalized idea of \u200b\u200bthe hero, focusing its main attention on the glorification of his spiritual, moral qualities, which remain unchanged and constant. The compilers of the Lives deliberately transform the facts of real life in order to show the beauty of the Christian ideal in all its greatness. The character of this ideal imposes its stamp on the compositional and stylistic structure of life.

The life story of a saint usually begins with an indication of his origin, usually "From the pious", "honorable"parents, less often from The "wicked"but this fact is intended only to emphasize the piety of the hero in a more contrasting way. In childhood, he already differs from his peers: he does not lead "Void"games, conversations, retirement; having mastered literacy, he begins with diligence to read the books of "holy scripture", understands their wisdom. Then the hero refuses to marry or, fulfilling the parental will, entered into marriage, but observed "Bodily purity."Finally, he secretly left the parental home, retired to "Desert"became a monk, led a successful struggle against demonic temptations. Flocked to the saint "brethren",and he used to found a monastery; predicted the day and hour of his death, piously, having taught the brethren, he died. After death, his body turned out to be incorrupt and emitted a fragrance - one of the main evidence of the holiness of the deceased. Various miracles took place at his incorruptible relics: candles lit by themselves, the lame, blind, deaf and other ailments were healed. The hagobiography usually ended with a brief praise. Thus, a generalized, radiant image of the saint was created, adorned with all sorts of Christian virtues, an image devoid of individual qualities of character, detached from everything that is accidental, transitory.

In Russia, with the adoption of Christianity, lives began to spread in two forms: in a short form, the so-called interim hagiographies, which were part of the Prologues (Synaxarii) and used during divine services, and in a lengthy one - the Menaion lives. The latter were part of the Chetikh-Minei, that is, monthly readings, and were intended to be read aloud at the monastery meals, as well as for individual reading.

A special type of hagiographic literature was the Patericon (Fatherland), in which not the entire biography of a particular monk was given, but only the most important, from the point of view of their holiness, feats or events. Already, apparently, in the XI century. in Russia, the "Egyptian Patericon" was known, created on the basis of "Lavsaik", compiled by Palladius of Elenopolis in 420. This Patericon included stories about Egyptian monks who were successfully fighting demons. The "Jerusalem" or "Sinai Patericon" ("Spiritual Meadow"), compiled by John Moschus in the 7th century, was also popular. Later the "Roman Patericon" became known. The amusement inherent in a number of patericus stories, the plot of the narration, the combination of naive fiction with everyday episodes attracted the attention of readers. These stories were then included in the Prologues.

The stories about the elder Gerasim, about his lion, and about Thais can serve as typical examples of the patericus novel. The first story tells about the touching affection and love of the lion for the elder, the second - about the beauty of the girl's feat.

It was not without reason that the Patericon story attracted many writers of the 19th century: Tolstoy, Leskov, Flaubert, Frans.

Translated hagiographic literature served as an important source in the creation of the original Old Russian Lives. However, ancient Russian writers contributed much of their own - original and distinctive to the development of this genre.

Apocrypha.The assimilation of the new Christian worldview by Ancient Rus proceeded not only through the translation of works of canonical church literature, but also through the widespread use of the apocrypha. The word "apocryphal" is Greek, translated into Russian it means "secret", "secret". Apocrypha were originally called works designed for a narrow circle of educated readers. Later, when various kinds of heresies appeared, the apocryphal began to be used by heretics to criticize the provisions of orthodox dogma. In this regard, the official church after the establishment of the canon of "holy scripture" in the IV century. ranks the apocrypha, which have become widespread among heretics, to the category of books "false", "renounced". The same apocrypha, which, in the opinion of Christian orthodoxy, did not contradict the canonical "scripture", were allowed to be converted. At the same time, there were no exact criteria as to what category one or another apocryphal should be classified as “false” or “admitted”. The first index of "false" books appeared in the 6th century, its compilation is attributed to Anastasius Sinait. Then this index was combined with the index of books "allowed". By the XI century. refers to the one that has come down to us in the XIV century. as part of the Nomokanon, the South Slavic index. It was then used by Cyprian in his Prayer Book. The Russian Metropolitan has supplemented the South Slavic list with an indication "Godless" and "unrighteous"fortune-telling books. Throughout the XVI century. Cyprian's list was expanded and received a final edition in the Cyril Book of 1664, which contains a detailed list of books "true" and "false." At the same time, a number of apocryphal works fall into the category of "true" ones. Thus, such legendary and religious narratives that are thematically close to the canonical Old Testament and New Testament books, but sharply diverge from them in the interpretation of events and the nature of the characters, are called apocrypha. Apocrypha widely incorporates folk performances, artistic techniques of oral poetry.

Apocryphal works also penetrate into Russia in oral transmission. They are brought by pilgrims who have visited the "holy places".

Thematically, the Apocrypha are divided into Old Testament, New Testament and eschatological. The Old Testament Apocrypha develops the plots of the Old Testament books. Their heroes are Adam, Eve, forefathers Enoch, Melchizedek, Abraham, kings David and Solomon. The New Testament is dedicated to stories about Christ, apostolic "detours" and "deeds." Eschatological apocrypha are associated with a fantastic story about the afterlife, the final destinies of the world.

Apocryphal lives, which include the lives of Fyodor Tiron, Nikita, George the Victorious, constitute a special group.

The main stream of apocryphal literature went to Russia from Bulgaria and was associated with the heresy of the Bogomils. This heresy, whose name is associated with the name of its ideologue Bogomil, revised the orthodox monotheistic teaching. Being a kind of religious form of social protest of the masses, the Bogomil heresy developed the dualistic doctrine of the domination of two equal forces in the world — good-God and evil-devil. The product of these two forces is a person who has a divine - spiritual - principle and a devil - material. In this regard, the Bogomils argued, each person must wage an incessant struggle with the material principles of life - the sources of evil - in the name of the triumph of the spirit. They preached abstinence, moral self-improvement.

The dualistic views of the Bogomils were reflected in a number of apocrypha, which, due to their concreteness and vivid imagery, gained great popularity in Russia. One of these apocryphal legends was recorded in the "Tale of Bygone Years" under 1071, where a story about the creation of man is embedded in the mouth of a pagan sorcerer.

Apocryphal is associated with dualistic Bogomil ideas "What kind of god created Adam."Concretizing the biblical legend, the apocrypha depicts God and the devil as equal forces, although God is the main creator of man. If, according to the story of the book "Genesis", God creates a person from the dust of the earth in his own image and likeness and the process of creation itself occurs instantly, then in the Apocrypha the creation of a person lasts a certain time, since God creates him from 8 parts: he takes a body from the earth, from stone - bone, from the sea - blood, from the sun - oi, from a cloud - thoughts, from light - light, from wind - breath, from fire - warmth. This list reflects the poetic imagery of folk thinking. Here each "part" contains a metaphor, though not yet expanded.

In the process of creation, the devil seeks to do harm to God in every possible way. Taking advantage of the absence of the latter, the devil smeared the body of Adam with his filth. When God created a dog out of these impurities and left it to guard his creation, the devil, not daring to come close (he is afraid of the dog!), Tormented Adam's body with a tree. He justifies this act by the great benefit of God himself. Having endowed man with 70 ailments, the devil made sure that man would never forget about his creator. What a true observation of life! After all, a person, as a rule, "remembers" God when he falls into an illness, when he has a hard time.

Thus, in the Apocrypha, the biblical legend acquired a concrete sound and, of course, was more intelligible for the yesterday's pagan than the dry, laconic story of canonical scripture.

Most of the Old Testament apocryphal was part of "Paleia" (translated from Greek means "old") - a collection of Old Testament stories. A number of apocryphal legends dedicated to Abraham, Melchizedek, Joseph, and also King Solomon were placed here.

The name of Solomon was very popular among the peoples of the Middle East, where, obviously, the main apocryphal legends were formed. In Russia, the "Legend of Solomon and Kitovras", "The Courts of King Solomon", "Solomon and the Queen of South" (Sheba) were early known.

"The Legend of Solomon and Kitovras" tells how Solomon forced a demonic creature to serve himself: the half-man-half-horse Kitovras (in this transcription the Greek word "centaur" was transmitted in Russia). During the construction of the Jerusalem Temple, Solomon cannot do without the help of Kitovras: only he can teach him how to process stone without the use of iron. And Kitovras, cunningly caught by the boyars of Solomon, helps to get the "shamir" - a diamond, which is used to hew the stones, erecting the "holy of holies".

In the apocrypha two heroes are compared: Solomon and Kitovras. And although Kitovras is a demonic creature endowed with extraordinary strength, he is not inferior in wisdom to Solomon, human qualities are not alien to him — kindness, compassion. It is Kitovras who is the main character of the apocrypha, while Solomon has a rather passive role. The "Tale" contains a number of aphoristic moral maxims, close to popular proverbs: “You don’t manage to drink wine anyway ...”, “the word aches softly, but the word anger whines cruelly.”

Apparently, the "Legend of Solomon and Kitovras" was known in Russia already in the 11th - early 12th centuries.

As A.N. Veselovsky established, the Slavic legends about Solomon and Kitovras are close to the Talmudic apocrypha about Solomon and Asmodeus, which goes back to the Iranian, and then to the Indian legend. But, obviously, the Byzantine text, which has not survived to this day, where Asmodeus was replaced by the Centaur, was taken as the basis of the Slavic legends.

In Russia, apocryphal legends about the courts of Solomon were also popular, where the Russian reader was attracted by the image of a wise judge who justly resolved mainly civil litigation. The apocrypha "Solomon and the Queen of the South" was dedicated to the stories about the test of the wisdom of Solomon by Semiramis.

The New Testament apocryphal includes the Gospels of Nicodemus, James and Thomas. They seemed to supplement the canonical Gospels, providing a number of details related to the parents of the Mother of God Joachim and Anna, the birth of Christ and his childhood years, his "passions".

The New Testament apocryphal is the "Legend of Aphrodite about the miracle in the Persian land." It emphasized the regularity and inevitability of the replacement of paganism by a new Christian religion, as a result of which "The end of honor to idols."This idea was very relevant for Russia in the 11th - early 12th centuries, where the remnants of paganism were still significant.

Of great interest to the ancient Russian reader were the eschatological apocrypha, which unfolded fantastic pictures of the afterlife, the ultimate destinies of the world. These apocrypha was an effective means of educating and promoting a new Christian morality, concretizing the Christian idea of \u200b\u200bretribution in the "future century" for the corresponding actions in earthly life.

The eschatological apocryphal includes "Pavlov's Vision", "The Legend of Macarius of Rome", "Revelation" by Methodius of Patarsky, and especially popular "The Walking of the Mother of God".

The plot of the "Walking" is quite simple: the Mother of God, accompanied by the Archangel Michael, visits hell and in her "journey" through hell is a witness to the various torments of sinners. The hellish torments are portrayed very concretely, while the thought of retribution in the next world for sins is consistently carried out. Those who did not believe in the Trinity are immersed in terrible darkness. This is how the metaphorical image is realized "Pagan darkness".It is characteristic that the Old Russian text of the Apocrypha also places here those who, during their lifetime, idolized the sun, moon, earth and water, animals and reptiles, who believed in Troyan, Khors, Veles and Perun.

To red-hot iron hooks, gossipers are hung by the tooth, slanderers by the tongue, debauchers by the legs, and snakes emanate from their mouths, tormenting their own bodies. Sloths, sleepers, nailed to hot beds in hell. Oath-breakers, children cursed by their parents, cannibals, depending on the severity of the sin, are immersed in a river of fire: some up to their bosom, others up to their necks, and still others hide the fiery waves with their heads. At the same time, hell, located deep under the earth, has, as the Apocrypha claims, its own geography: north, south and west.

The pictures of hellish torment that "Walking" paints are vivid and concrete. They differ from the abstract generalized representations of the canonical "scripture", which only said that sinners in the next world awaits "Filth", "gnashing of teeth", "vigilant worm."

The form of "Walking", that is, travel, made it possible to freely vary the hellish torments, depending on the social environment in which the apocrypha fell. Thus, in the popular democratic environment, the apocryphal was replenished with new pictures of the hellish torments of cruel and merciless boyars and boyars, evil princes, kings and patriarchs, clerks and housekeepers.

The Mother of God is endowed with specific human qualities in the "Walk": she is a woman-mother who deeply sympathizes with human torments and sufferings, her heart is filled with love and pity for tormented sinners, she herself is ready to share their torments and hurries to come to their aid. Only those who betrayed and crucified her son are unable to forgive her mother's heart.

The Mother of God is contrasted in the apocrypha to the cruel God, indifferent to human sorrows. He is stern and indifferent to the suffering of sinners. Three times the Mother of God, together with all the heavenly hosts, has to beg the inexorable, cruel God. And only for the third time does he agree to send his son - Christ "Show your face to sinners"and Christ gives sinners rest from Maundy Thursday to Pentecost (eight weeks).

The apocryphal was sharply at odds with the canonical church literature in the interpretation of divine justice, love and mercy.

Thus, the amusement of the stories, the brightness, concreteness and imagery of presentation, the proximity to folklore contributed to the popularity of apocryphal literature. Gradually absorbing the features of Russian reality, some apocryphal legends became the property of folklore, existed in the form of oral legends, spiritual verses 4.

Historical and "natural science" literature.The development of new Christian views on nature, the historical life of peoples was facilitated by the translation of Byzantine chronicles, "natural science" works.

The chronicle of Georgy Amartolus, created in the 9th century, was especially popular in Russia. and supplemented by Simeon Logofet in the X century. The presentation of the events of "world" history here began from the creation of the world and included Hebrew history and, as its continuation, Byzantine history. Outlining the events of Byzantine history, brought to 948, George Amartolus and Simeon Logofet paid great attention to church life. The interpretation of historical events was given from a religious-didactic, providentialist point of view. The chronicle introduced the Russian reader to the events of world history, and served as edifying reading. Its materials were used by Russian chroniclers to clarify the place and destiny of the Russian land in "world" history.

The chronicle of John Malala (6th century) and the chronicle of George Sinkell (8th century) were less popular in Russia; the account of events in the latter was brought to the attention of the emperor Diocletian (III century). In both chronicles, the worldly element predominated. George Sinkell included in his chronicle many pagan mythological stories and almost did not touch on the events of church life.

In the XI-XII centuries. by processing the chronicles of George Amartol and John Malala in Russia, the first edition of the "Jellinsky and Roman Chronicler" was created, the second edition of which (XIII century) was the basis of the ancient Russian chronographs.

A kind of medieval "natural science" encyclopedia was "Six days" and "Physiologist". Providing information about the plant world and the animal kingdom, these works included a lot of fabulous, fantastic and at the same time poetic.

So, for example, "Physiologist" reported about a wonderful bird phoenix, surpassing in its beauty the peacock and all birds. She wears a crown on her head and "Boots on the leg, like a king."This most beautiful bird lives in India near the Sun City. For five hundred years it has been lying on Lebanese cedars without any food. Then the priest of the Sun City rings the bell, and when it rings, the phoenix flies to the ground and enters the priest's church, sits on the steps of the altar and turns into ash. The next morning the priest, having come to the church, finds there a bird reborn from the ashes. Describes "Physiologist" and a fantastic unicorn beast that is similar to "Goats"and very meek, but the hunter cannot approach him, because the unicorn is very strong, having one horn in the middle of its head. Here comes the bird "Sirin"— "Up to the loins"the image is human, and the tail is a goose. His "He kindles the hearts of the harmless with awe and blessing."

"Physiologist" is not limited to a simple description of animals, he gives a symbolic interpretation of their properties. So, the phoenix is \u200b\u200bthe image of the righteous, the evidence of the resurrection of Christ.

The described properties of animals "Physiologist" explains as certain states of the human soul.

The image of a single-husband turtledove is the ideal of marital fidelity and love: having lost a beloved or beloved, the turtledove retires to a desolate place, where on a dry tree it mourns its irreparable loss. The rotten tree that the woodpecker hollows, making a nest inside itself, is a symbol of the mental weakness of a person, this weakness is used by the devil, who takes possession of the soul and will nest there.

The ancient Russian people were introduced to the structure of the universe by the "Christian Topography" of Cosmas Indikoplov (a sailor to India). The work of this monk, a former Alexandrian merchant who traveled to the East (6th century AD), was known in Russia in the 11th-12th centuries. Cosmas believes that only "divine scripture" gives a true idea of \u200b\u200bthe structure of the universe. The center of the universe is the earth. This is a rectangular plane, the length of which is twice the width, because of this shape the throne in the Holy of Holies was arranged by Moses - this throne was the image of the earth. The earth is fixed on its foundation, and it is motionless. The plane of the earth is washed by the ocean on all sides. Outside it there is still a land where paradise was The edge of this earth is raised by a high wall, which, rounded, forms the visible sky, or heavenly firmament. The heavenly bodies are fortified here, which are controlled by special angels who follow the change of day and night, collect sea water in pipes and bring it down to earth with rain. The visible sky, or the firmament of heaven, hides behind it the invisible heaven, where the Lord God Himself dwells in the seventh heaven.

By the end of the XII century. a collection of aphorisms collected from the books of the "holy scriptures", the works of the "church fathers", books of ancient philosophers was translated. Since these sayings were collected with great diligence, as a bee collects nectar, and the wisdom extracted from books was such nectar, then this collection was called "Bees". Its main goal was didactic: to give the norms of Christian feudal ethics in aphoristic form. Russian scribes used "Bee" as a source of aphorisms with which they supported their thoughts. At the same time, they supplemented The Bee with new aphorisms taken from the works of Old Russian literature, as well as their “worldly parables,” that is, folk proverbs.

So, the emergence of Old Russian literature was caused by the needs of the political and spiritual life of the Old Russian state. Relying on oral folklore and assimilating the artistic traditions of Christian literature, Russian writers from the middle of the 4th century to the beginning of the 12th century. create original works.

TEST QUESTIONS

1. What are the historical prerequisites for the emergence of Old Russian literature?

2. The role of folklore and Byzantine books in the formation of ancient Russian literature.

3. What circle of Byzantine literature existed in Russia in the 11th-12th centuries?

4. What are the philosophical foundations of Old Russian literature?

5. What are the Apocrypha, what is their classification?

6. The originality of the ideological and artistic content of the apocryphal "The Legend of Solomon and Kitovras" and "The Virgin's Walking Through the Torments."

7. What works of Byzantine natural science, historical literature were translated into the Old Slavic language?

Notes.

1... Pushkin A.S.Poly. collection cit .: In 10 volumes.Vol. VII. Criticism and journalism. M .; L., 1949.S. 443.

2... Belinsky V.G.Poly. collection cit .: In 13 volumes. T. 2. M., 1953. S. 555-556.

3... Podskalski Gerhard.Christianity and theological literature of Kievan Rus (988-1237). 2nd ed. SPb .. 1996.

4. See: Tikhonravov N.S.The renounced books of ancient Russia // Tikhonravov N.S.Op. M., 1898.T. 1.S. 127-255.

Preliminary remarks. The concept of Old Russian literature means, in a strict terminological sense, the literature of the Eastern Slavs of the XI-XIII centuries. before their subsequent division into Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. Since the XIV century. the special book traditions that led to the formation of Russian (Great Russian) literature are clearly manifested, and since the 15th century. - Ukrainian and Belarusian. In philology, the concept of Old Russian literature is traditionally used in relation to all periods in the history of Russian literature of the 11th - 17th centuries.

All attempts to find traces of East Slavic literature before the baptism of Rus in 988 ended in failure. The evidence presented is either gross forgeries (the pagan chronicle "Vlesov's book", embracing a huge era from the 9th century BC to the 9th century AD inclusive), or untenable hypotheses (the so-called "Askold's Chronicle" in the Nikon Codex XVI century among articles 867-89). What has been said does not mean at all that writing was completely absent in pre-Christian Russia. Treaties of Kievan Rus with Byzantium 911, 944 and 971 as part of the "Tale of Bygone Years" (if we accept the evidence of S.P. Obnorsky) and archaeological finds (an inscription from firing on the Gnzdov korchaga of the first decades or no later than the middle of the 10th century, a Novgorod inscription on a wooden lock-cylinder, according to V.L Yanina, 970-80) show that in the 10th century, even before the baptism of Rus, the Cyrillic script could be used in official documents, the state apparatus and everyday life, gradually preparing the ground for the spread of writing after the adoption of Christianity in 988.

§ 1. The emergence of Old Russian literature
§ 1.1. Folklore and Literature. The predecessor of Old Russian literature was folklore, which was widespread in the Middle Ages in all strata of society: from peasants to the princely-boyar aristocracy. Long before Christianity it was already litteratura sine litteris, literature without letters. In the written era, folklore and literature with their genre systems existed in parallel, mutually complemented each other, sometimes coming into close contact. Folklore accompanied Old Russian literature throughout its entire history: from the chronicle of the 11th - early 12th centuries. (see § 2.3) before the "Tale of Woe-Evil" of the transitional era (see § 7.2), although in general it was poorly reflected in writing. In turn, literature also influenced folklore. The most striking example of this is spiritual poetry, folk songs of religious content. They experienced a strong influence of church canonical literature (biblical and service books, lives of saints, etc.) and apocrypha. Spiritual poetry retains a vivid imprint of dual faith and is a motley mixture of Christian and pagan ideas.

§ 1.2. Baptism of Rus and the beginning of the "book teaching". The adoption of Christianity in 988 under the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavich brought Russia into the orbit of influence of the Byzantine world. After baptism, the rich Old Slavonic literature created by the Solunsk brothers Constantine the Philosopher, Methodius and their disciples in the second half of the 9th-10th centuries was transferred to the country from the southern and, to a lesser extent, from the western Slavs. A huge corpus of translated (mainly from Greek) and original monuments included biblical and liturgical books, patristics and church teaching literature, dogmatic-polemic and legal works, etc. This book fund, common to the entire Byzantine-Slavic Orthodox world , ensured within him the consciousness of religious, cultural and linguistic unity for centuries. From Byzantium, the Slavs assimilated mainly the church-monastic book culture. The rich secular literature of Byzantium, which continued the traditions of the ancient, with a few exceptions, was not in demand by the Slavs. South Slavic influence at the end of the X - XI centuries. laid the foundation for Old Russian literature and the book language.

Ancient Russia was the last of the Slavic countries to adopt Christianity and became acquainted with the Cyril and Methodian book heritage. However, in a surprisingly short time, she turned it into her national treasure. Compared to other Orthodox Slavic countries, Ancient Russia created a much more developed and diverse genre of national literature and preserved the all-Slavic book fund immeasurably better.

§ 1.3. World outlook principles and artistic method of ancient Russian literature. For all its originality, Old Russian literature possessed the same basic features and developed according to the same general laws as other medieval European literatures. Her artistic method was due to the peculiarities of medieval thinking. He was distinguished by theocentrism - faith in God as the root cause of all existence, good, wisdom and beauty; providentialism, according to which the course of world history and the behavior of each person is determined by God and is the implementation of his predetermined plan; understanding of man as a creature in the image and likeness of God, endowed with reason and free will in the choice of good and evil. In medieval consciousness, the world bifurcated into a heavenly, higher, eternal, inaccessible to the touch, opening up to the chosen ones in a moment of spiritual illumination ("one cannot see the eyes with dense eyes, but hears the mind and spirit"), and the earthly, lower, temporary. This faint reflection of the spiritual, ideal world contained images and likenesses of divine ideas, by which man cognized the Creator. The medieval worldview ultimately predetermined the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, which was basically religious and symbolic.

Old Russian literature is imbued with a Christian moralistic and didactic spirit. Imitation and likeness to God was understood as the highest goal of human life, and serving him was seen as the basis of morality. The literature of Ancient Rus had a pronounced historical (and even factual) character and for a long time did not allow artistic fiction. She was characterized by etiquette, tradition and retrospectiveness, when reality was assessed on the basis of ideas about the past and events in the sacred history of the Old and New Testaments.

§ 1.4. The genre system of Old Russian literature. In the ancient Russian era, literary samples were of exceptional importance. These were considered primarily translated Church Slavonic biblical and liturgical books. Exemplary works contained rhetorical and structural models of different types of texts, defined the written tradition, or, in other words, codified the literary and linguistic norm. They replaced grammars, rhetoric and other theoretical manuals on the art of word, common in medieval Western Europe, but absent for a long time in Russia. Reading Church Slavonic samples, many generations of Old Russian scribes comprehended the secrets of literary technique. The medieval author constantly turned to exemplary texts, used their vocabulary and grammar, sublime symbols and images, figures of speech and tropes. Consecrated by hoary antiquity and the authority of holiness, they seemed unshakable and served as the yardstick of writing. This rule was the alpha and omega of ancient Russian creativity.

The Belarusian educator and humanist Francisk Skaryna argued in the preface to the Bible (Prague, 1519) that the books of the Old and New Testaments are analogous to the "seven free arts" that formed the basis of medieval Western European education. The Psalter teaches grammar, logic, or dialectics, - the Book of Job and the Epistle of the Apostle Paul, rhetoric - the creations of Solomon, music - biblical chants, arithmetic - the Book of Numbers, geometry - the Book of Jesus Christ, astronomy - the Book of Genesis and other sacred tek-s-you.

Bible books were also perceived as ideal genre examples. In the Izbornik of 1073, an ancient Russian manuscript, dating back to the collection of the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon (893-927), translated from the Greek, in the article "From the Apostolic Statutes" it is stated that the standard of historical and narrative works are the Books of Kings, an example in the genre of church chants is the Psalter , exemplary "cunning and creative" writings (that is, related to the writing of the wise and poetic) are the teaching Books of Job and the Proverbs of Solomon. Almost four centuries later, around 1453, the Tver monk Thomas called in his "Praise of the Great Duke Boris Alexandrovich" a model of the historical narrative works of the Book of Kings, the epistolary genre - apostolic epistles, and "soul-saving books" - life.

Such ideas, which came to Russia from Byzantium, were widespread throughout medieval Europe. In the preface to the Bible, Francis Skaryna sent those willing to "tell about the military" and "about heroic deeds" to the Books of Judges, noting that they were more truthful and useful than "Alexandria" and "Troy" - medieval novels with adventure stories about Alexander Macedonian and Trojan War, known in Russia (see § 5.3 and § 6.3). By the way, the canon says the same thing in M. Cervantes, urging Don Quixote to abandon his extravagance and take up his mind: "If ... you are drawn to books about exploits and deeds of chivalry, then open the Holy Scriptures and read the Book of Judges: here you are you will find great and genuine events and deeds as true as they are brave "(part 1, 1605).

The hierarchy of church books, as it was understood in Ancient Rus, is set forth in the preface of Metropolitan Macarius to the Great Menaea Chetiim (completed c. 1554). The monuments that made up the core of traditional bookishness are located in strict accordance with their place on the hierarchical ladder. Its upper steps are occupied by the most revered biblical books with theological interpretations. At the top of the book hierarchy is the Gospel, followed by the Apostle and the Psalter (which in Ancient Russia was also used as a textbook - they learned to read from it). This is followed by the creations of the church fathers: collections of works by John Chrysostom "Zlatoust", "Margaret", "Zlato-mouth", works of Basil the Great, words of Gregory the Theologian with interpretations of Metropolitan Nikita of Iraqi-liysky, "Pandects" and "Tacticon" Nikon of Montenegro etc. The next level is oratorical prose with its own genre subsystem: 1) prophetic words, 2) apostolic, 3) patristic, 4) festive, 5) praiseworthy. At the last step is hagiographic literature with a special genre hierarchy: 1) the lives of the martyrs, 2) the monks, 3) the paters of the Alphabet, Jerusalem, Egyptian, Sinai, Skete, Kiev-Pechersky, 4) the lives of Russian saints, canonized by cathedrals 1547 and 1549

The Old Russian genre system, formed under the influence of the Byzantine one, was rebuilt and developed over the seven centuries of its existence. Nevertheless, it has been preserved in its basic features until modern times.

§ 1.5. Literary language of Ancient Russia. Together with the old Slavonic books to Russia at the end of the X-XI centuries. The Old Slavonic language was transferred - the first common Slavic literary language, supranational and international, created on the Bulgarian-Macedonian dialect basis in the process of translating church books (mainly Greek) by Constantine the Philosopher, Methodius and their students in the second half of the 9th century. in the West and South Slavic lands. From the first years of its existence in Russia, the Old Church Slavonic language began to adapt to the living speech of the Eastern Slavs. Under its influence, some specific South Slavicisms were ousted by the Russianisms from the book norm, while others became acceptable variants within its limits. As a result of the adaptation of the Old Church Slavonic language to the peculiarities of Old Russian speech, a local (Old Russian) version of the Church Slavonic language was formed. Its formation was close to completion in the second half of the 11th century, as the most ancient East Slavic written records show: the Ostromir Gospel (1056-57), the Archangel Gospel (1092), the Novgorod service Menaion (1095-96, 1096, 1097) and other contemporary manuscripts.

The linguistic situation of Kievan Rus is assessed differently in the works of researchers. Some of them recognize the existence of bilingualism, in which the spoken language was Old Russian, and the literary language was Church Slavonic (Old Church Slavonic by origin), which was only gradually Russified (A. A. Shakhmatov). Opponents of this hypothesis prove the originality of the literary language in Kievan Rus, the strength and depth of its folk East Slavic speech base and, accordingly, the weakness and superficiality of the Old Slavic influence (S.P. Obnorsky). There is a compromise concept of two types of a single Old Russian literary language: book-Slavonic and folk-literary, which interacted widely and diversifiedly with each other in the process of historical development (V.V. Vinogradov). According to the theory of literary bilingualism, in Ancient Russia there were two book languages: Church Slavonic and Old Russian (F.I.Buslaev was close to this point of view, and then it was developed by L.P. Yakubinsky and D.S.Likhachev).

In the last decades of the XX century. the theory of diglossia (G. Hutl-Volter, A.V. Isachenko, B.A. In contrast to bilingualism in diglossia, the functional spheres of the book (Church Slavonic) and non-book (Old Russian) languages \u200b\u200bare strictly distributed, almost do not overlap and require speakers to evaluate their idioms on a scale of "high - low", "solemn - ordinary", "church - secular" ... Church Slavonic, for example, being a literary and liturgical language, could not serve as a means of colloquial communication, while in Old Russian this was one of the main functions. During diglossia, Church Slavonic and Old Russian were perceived in Ancient Rus as two functional varieties of one language. There are other views on the origin of the Russian literary language, but they are all controversial. It is obvious that the Old Russian literary language was formed from the very beginning as a language of a complex composition (B. A. Larin, V. V. Vinogradov) and organically included Church Slavonic and Old Russian elements.

Already in the XI century. various written traditions are formed and a business language appears, ancient Russian in origin. It was a special written language, but not literary, not actually bookish. Official documents (letters, petitions, etc.), legal codes (for example, "Russkaya Pravda", see § 2.8) were drawn up on it, clerical office work was carried out in the 16th - 17th centuries. In Old Russian, texts of everyday content were also written: birch bark letters (see § 2.8), graffiti inscriptions drawn with a sharp object on the plaster of ancient buildings, mainly churches, etc. At first, the business language weakly interacted with the literary language. However, over time, the once clear boundaries between them began to collapse. The convergence of literature and business writing took place mutually and was clearly manifested in a number of works of the 15th-17th centuries: "Domostroy", the messages of Ivan the Terrible, the work of Grigory Kotoshikhin "About Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich", "The Tale of Ersha Ershovich", "Kalyazinskaya petition ", etc.

§ 2. Literature of Kievan Rus
(XI - first third of the XII century)

§ 2.1. The oldest book of Russia and the first written monuments. "Book Doctrine", begun by Vladimir Svyatoslavich, quickly achieved significant success. The oldest surviving book of Russia is the Novgorod Codex (no later than the 1st quarter of the 11th century) - a triptych of three waxed tablets, found in 2000 during the work of the Novgorod archaeological expedition. In addition to the main text - two psalms, the codex contains "hidden" texts, scratched on wood or preserved in the form of weak prints on tablets under wax. Among the "hidden" texts read by A. A. Zaliznyak, a previously unknown essay consisting of four separate articles on the gradual movement of people from the darkness of paganism through the limited good of the law of Moses to the light of Christ's teaching (tetralogy "From paganism to Christ") is especially interesting.

In 1056-57. The oldest surviving precisely dated Slavic manuscript was created - the Ostromir Gospel with an afterword by the book writer Deacon Gregory. Gregory, together with his assistants, copied and decorated the book in eight months for the Novgorod mayor Ostromir (in the baptism of Joseph), from which the name of the Gospel comes from. The manuscript is luxuriously decorated, written in a large two-column calligraphic charter and is a wonderful example of book-writing art. Among other ancient accurately dated manuscripts, the philosophical and didactic Izbornik of 1073, rewritten in Kiev, should be mentioned - a richly decorated folio containing more than 380 articles by 25 authors (including the essay "On the Image", about rhetorical figures and tropes, by the Byzantine grammar Georgiy Khirovosk, ca.750-825), a small and modest Izbornik 1076, copied in Kiev by the scribe John and, possibly, compiled by him mainly from articles of religious and moral content, the Archangel Gospel of 1092, rewritten in the south of Kievan Rus, as well as three Novgorod list of service Mena: for September - 1095-96, for October - 1096 and for November - 1097

These seven manuscripts exhaust the surviving Old Russian books of the 11th century, which indicate the time of their creation. The rest of the Old Russian manuscripts of the XI century. either do not have exact dates, or are preserved in later lists of lists. So, it has come down to our time in the lists not earlier than the 15th century. a book of 16 Old Testament prophets with interpretations, rewritten in 1047 by a Novgorod priest who had a "worldly" name Ghoul the Dashing. (In Ancient Russia the custom of giving two names, Christian and "secular", was widespread not only in the world, compare the name of the mayor Joseph-Ostromir, but also among the clergy and monks.)

§ 2.2. Yaroslav the Wise and a New Stage in the Development of Old Russian Literature. The educational activity of Vladimir Svyatoslavich was continued by his son Yaroslav the Wise (+ 1054), who finally established himself on the Kiev throne in 1019 after the victory over Svyatopolk (see § 2.5). The reign of Yaroslav the Wise was marked by foreign policy and military successes, the establishment of broad ties with the countries of Western Europe (including dynastic ones), the rapid rise of culture and extensive construction in Kiev, which transferred to the Dnieper, at least by name, the main shrines of Constantinople (St. Sophia Cathedral, Golden Gate and etc.).

Under Yaroslav the Wise, "Russkaya Pravda" arose (see § 2.8), chronicles were kept, and, according to A. A. Shakhmatov, around 1039 at the Metropolitan See in Kiev, the most ancient annalistic collection was compiled. In the Kiev metropolis, administratively subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople, Yaroslav the Wise strove to promote his people to the highest church positions. With his support, the first ancient Russian hierarchs from among the local clergy were Luka Zhidyata, Bishop of Novgorod from 1036 (see § 2.8), and Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kiev from 1051 (from the priests in the village of Berestovo, Yaroslav's country palace near Kiev). For the entire pre-Mongol period, only two metropolitans of Kiev, Hilarion (1051-54) and Clement Smolyatich (see § 3.1), came from among the local clergy, were elected and installed in Russia by a council of bishops without intercourse with the Patriarch of Constantinople. All other metropolitans of Kiev were Greeks, were elected and consecrated by the patriarch in Constantinople.

Hilarion owns one of the deepest works of the Slavic Middle Ages - "The Word about Law and Grace", uttered by him between 1037 and 1050. Among Hilarion's listeners there could well have been people who remembered Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich and the baptism of the Russian land. However, the writer turned not to ignorant and simple people, but to people who were experienced in theology and book wisdom. Using the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Galatians (4: 21-31), he proves with dogmatic perfection the superiority of Christianity over Judaism, the New Testament - the Grace that brings salvation to the whole world and affirms the equality of nations before God, over the Old Testament - the Law given to one people. The triumph of the Christian faith in Russia has world significance in the eyes of Hilarion. He glorifies the Russian land, a full power in the family of Christian states, and its princes - Vladimir and Yaroslav. Hilarion was an outstanding orator, knew very well the techniques and rules of Byzantine preaching. "The Word of Law and Grace" in rhetorical and theological merits is not inferior to the best examples of Greek and Latin ecclesiastical eloquence. It became known outside of Russia and influenced the work of the Serbian hagiographer Domentian (XIII century).

According to the "Tale of Bygone Years", Yaroslav the Wise organized major translation and book-writing works in Kiev. In pre-Mongol Russia, there were various translation schools and centers. The vast majority of the texts were translated from Greek. In the XI-XII centuries. wonderful examples of ancient Russian translation art appear. Over the centuries they have enjoyed unchanging readership and influenced ancient Russian literature, folklore, and visual arts.

The North Russian translation of the Life of Andrey the Foolish (11th century or not later than the beginning of the 12th century) had a noticeable influence on the development of the ideas of foolishness in Ancient Rus (see also § 3.1). The outstanding book of world medieval literature, "The Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph" (not later than the first half of the 12th century, possibly Kiev), vividly and figuratively told the ancient Russian reader about the Indian prince Joasaph, who, under the influence of the hermit Barlaam, abdicated the throne and worldly joys and became an ascetic hermit. "The Life of Basil the New" (XI-XII centuries) amazed the imagination of medieval man with impressive pictures of hellish torment, paradise and the Last Judgment, as well as those Western European legends (for example, "The Vision of Tnugdal", mid. XII century), which later nourished " Divine Comedy "Dante.

Not later than the beginning of the XII century. in Russia was translated from Greek and supplemented with new articles Pr o log, dating back to the Byzantine Synaxar (Greek uhnboysyn) - a collection of brief information about the life of saints and church holidays. (According to M.N.Speransky, the translation was made on Athos or in Constantinople by the joint works of Old Russian and South Slavic scribes.) The prologue contains abbreviated editions of the life, words for Christian holidays and other church teaching texts, arranged in the order of the church month, starting with first day of September. In Russia, the Prologue was one of the most beloved books, it was repeatedly edited, revised, supplemented with Russian and Slavic articles.

Historical writings received special attention. No later than the 12th century, apparently in the south-west of Russia, in the Galician principality, the famous monument of ancient historiography - "History of the Jewish War" by Josephus Flavius, a fascinating and dramatic story about the uprising in Judea in 67-73, was translated in a free manner. against Rome. According to V. M. Istrin, in the XI century. the Byzantine world chronicle of the monk George Amartol was translated in Kiev. However, it is also assumed that this is a Bulgarian translation or a translation made by a Bulgarian in Russia. Due to the lack of originals and the linguistic proximity of the Old Russian and South Slavic texts, their localization is often hypothetical and generates scientific disputes. It is far from always possible to say which Russianisms in the text should be attributed to the East Slavic author or translator, and which - to the account of later scribes.

In the XI century. on the basis of the translated Greek chronicles of George Amartol, the Syrian John Malala (Bulgarian translation, probably of the 10th century) and other sources, the "Chronograph of the Great Exposition" was compiled. The monument covered the era from biblical times to the history of Byzantium in the 10th century. and was reflected already in the Primary Chronicle Code around 1095 (see § 2.3). The "chronograph according to the great exposition" has not survived, but it existed as early as the first half of the 15th century, when it was used in the Second Edition of the Chronicler of Yellinsky and Roman, the largest ancient Russian compiled chronographic collection containing a presentation of world history from the creation of the world.

To Old Russian translations of the XI-XII centuries. usually include "Degenievo deed" and "The Tale of Akira the Wise". Both works have survived to our time in late copies of the 15th-18th centuries. and occupy a special place in ancient Russian literature. The Devgenievo Deed is a translation of the Byzantine heroic epic, which over time was reworked in Russia under the influence of military tales and epic epics. The Assyrian "The Tale of Akira the Wise" is an example of an entertaining, instructive and half-storytelling novel, so beloved in the ancient literatures of the Near East. Its oldest edition is preserved in fragments in the Aramaic papyrus of the late 5th century. BC e. from Egypt. It is believed that the "Tale of Akir the Wise" was translated into Russia from the Syrian or Armenian originating from it.

Love for didactic maxim, characteristic of the Middle Ages, led to the translation of "The Bee" (no later than XII-XIII centuries) - a popular Byzantine collection of moralizing aphorisms of ancient, biblical and Christian authors. "The Bee" not only contained ethical instructions, but also significantly expanded the historical and cultural horizons of the ancient Russian reader.

The translation work was obviously carried out at the metropolitan see in Kiev. Preserved translations of dogmatic, church-teaching, epistolary and anti-Latin works of the Metropolitans of Kiev John II (1077-89) and Nicephorus (1104-21), Greeks by origin, wrote in their native language. Nikifor's message to Vladimir Monomakh "on fasting and abstinence of the senses" is marked by high literary merits and professional translation technology. In the first half of the XII century. Theodosius the Greek was engaged in translations. By order of the prince-monk Nicholas (Saints), he translated the message of Pope Leo I the Great to Patriarch Flavian of Constantinople about the heresy of Eutychios. The Greek original of the epistle was received from Rome.

One of the main holidays of the Russian Church (not recognized by Byzantium and the Orthodox South Slavs) - the transfer of the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker from the Lycian World in Asia Minor to the Italian city of Bari in 1087 (9 May). Installed in Russia at the end of the 11th century, it contributed to the development of a cycle of translated and original works in honor of Nicholas of Mirlikisky, which includes "A Commendable Word for the Transfer of the Relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker", stories about the miracles of the saint preserved in the lists of the 12th century, etc.

§ 2.3. Kiev-Pechersky Monastery and Old Russian Chronicle. The most important literary and translation center of pre-Mongol Rus was the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, which brought up a bright galaxy of original writers, preachers and church leaders. Early enough, in the second half of the 11th century, the monastery established book ties with Athos and Constantinople. Under the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavich (978-1015), Anthony (+ 1072-73), the founder of the Russian monastic life, one of the founders of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, took monastic vows on Mount Athos. His disciple Theodosius Pechersky became "the father of Russian monasticism." During his abbess in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery (1062-74) the number of brethren reached an unprecedented figure in Russia - 100 people. Theodosius was not only a spiritual writer (author of ecclesiastical and anti-Latin writings), but also an organizer of translation work. On his initiative, the communal rule of the Studite monastery of John the Baptist in Constantinople was translated, sent to Russia by the tonsured Anthony, the monk Ephraim, who lived in one of the Constantinople monasteries. Adopted in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, the Studian charter was then introduced in all Old Russian monasteries.

From the last third of the XI century. The Kiev-Pechersk Monastery becomes the center of the Old Russian chronicles. The history of early chronicle writing is brilliantly reconstructed in the works of A. A. Shakhmatov, although not all researchers share certain provisions of his concept. In 1073, in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, on the basis of the Ancient Code (see § 2.2), the code of Nikon the Great, an associate of Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, was compiled. Nikon was the first to give historical records the form of weather articles. Not known to the Byzantine chronicles, it was firmly established in the Old Russian annals. His work formed the basis for the Primary Codex (c. 1095), which appeared under the Pechersk Abbot John, the first chronicle monument of all Russian character.

During the second decade of the XII century. editions of a new collection of chronicles - "The Tale of Bygone Years" appeared one after another. All of them were compiled by scribes who reflected the interests of a particular prince. The first edition was created by the Kiev-Pechersk monk Nestor, the chronicler of the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich (according to A.A. Shakhmatov - 1110-12, according to M.D. Priselkov - 1113). Nestor took the Primary Code as the basis of his work, supplementing it with numerous written sources and folk legends. After the death of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich in 1113, his political opponent Vladimir Monomakh ascended the Kiev throne. The new Grand Duke transferred the chronicle to his family Mikhailovsky Vydubitsky monastery near Kiev. There, in 1116, Abbot Sylvester created the Second Edition of the Tale of Bygone Years, positively assessing the activities of Monomakh in the struggle against Svyatopolk. The third edition of the "Tale of Bygone Years" was compiled in 1118 on the instructions of the eldest son of Vladimir Monomakh Mstislav.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is a most valuable monument of ancient Russian historical thought, literature and language, complex in composition and sources. The structure of the annalistic text is heterogeneous. "The Tale of Bygone Years" includes epic retinue legends (about the death of Prince Oleg the Prophetic from the bite of a snake that crawled out of the skull of his beloved horse, under 912, about Princess Olga's revenge on the Drevlyans under 945-46), folk tales ( about the elder who saved Belgorod from the Pechenegs, under 997), toponymic legends (about a young man of kozhemyak who defeated the Pechenezh hero, under 992), testimonies of his contemporaries (voivode Vyshata and his son voivode Yan), peace treaties with Byzantium 911 , 944 and 971, church teachings (speech of a Greek philosopher under 986), hagiographic stories (about the murder of princes Boris and Gleb under 1015), war stories, etc. The heterogeneity of the chronicle determined the special, hybrid nature of its language : complex interpenetration in the text of Church Slavonic and Russian linguistic elements, mixing of book and non-book elements. "The Tale of Bygone Years" became for centuries an unsurpassed role model and formed the basis for further ancient Russian annals.

§ 2.4. Literary monuments in the "Tale of Bygone Years". The chronicle includes "The Tale of the Blinding of Prince Vasilko of Terebovlsky" (1110s), which arose as an independent work about princely crimes. Its author, Vasily, was an eyewitness and participant in dramatic events, knew perfectly well all the drinking of the internecine wars of 1097-1100. The whole scene of the reception of Vasilko by princes Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and David Igorevich, his arrest and blindness, the subsequent torment of the blinded (an episode with a washed-out bloody shirt) is written with deep psychology, great concrete accuracy and exciting drama. In this respect, Vasily's work anticipates "The Tale of the Murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky" with its vivid psychological and realistic sketches (see § 3.1).

A selection of works by Vladimir Monomakh (+ 1125) organically entered the "Tale of Bygone Years" - the fruit of many years of life and deep reflections of the wisest of the princes of the specific-veche period. Known under the name "Instruction", it consists of three works of different times: instructions for children, an autobiography - a chronicle of Monomakh's military and hunting exploits and a letter from 1096 to his political rival Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov. In "Instructions" the author summarized his life principles and the princely code of honor. The ideal of the "Teachings" is a wise, just and merciful sovereign, sacredly keeping faithful to treaties and kissing the cross, a brave warrior prince, sharing work in everything with his retinue, and a pious Christian. The combination of elements of doctrine and autobiography finds a direct parallel in the apocryphal "Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs", known in medieval Byzantine, Latin and Slavic literature. Included in the apocryphal "Testament of Judas of Courage" had a direct impact on Monomakh.

His work is on a par with medieval Western European teachings to children - heirs to the throne. The most famous among them are "Testament", attributed to the Byzantine emperor Basil I of Macedonian, Anglo-Saxon "Teachings" of King Alfred the Great and "Paternal Teachings" (VIII century), which were used to educate royal children. It cannot be argued that Monomakh was familiar with these works. However, one cannot fail to recall that his mother came from the clan of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh, and his wife was Gida (+ 1098/9), the daughter of the last Anglo-Saxon king Harald, who died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

§ 2.5. Development of hagiographic genres. One of the first works of Old Russian hagiography - "The Life of Anthony of Pechersk" (§ 2.3). Although it has not survived to our time, it can be argued that it was an outstanding work of its kind. The Life contained valuable historical and legendary information about the emergence of the Kiev Caves Monastery, influenced the chronicle, served as the source of the Primary Code, and later was used in the Kiev Caves Patericon.

The peculiarities of the life and the historical word of praise are united in one of the oldest monuments of our literature - the rhetorically decorated "Memory and Praise to Prince Vladimir of Russia" (XI century) by the monk Jacob. The work is dedicated to the solemn glorification of the Baptist of Russia, to the proof of his God's chosenness. Jacob had access to the ancient chronicle that preceded the "Tale of Bygone Years" and the Primary Code, and used its unique information, which more accurately conveys the chronology of events in the time of Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

The lives of the Kiev-Pechersk monk Nestor (not earlier than 1057 - early XII century), created on the basis of Byzantine hagiography, are distinguished by outstanding literary merits. His "Reading on the Life of Boris and Gleb", along with other monuments of the XI-XII centuries. (the more dramatic and emotional "The Legend of Boris and Gleb" and the continuation of it "The Legend of the Miracles of Roman and David") form a widespread cycle about the bloody internecine war of the sons of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich for the Kiev throne. Boris and Gleb (baptized Roman and David) are depicted as martyrs not so much of a religious as of a political idea. Preferring death in 1015 to the struggle against the elder brother Svyatopolk, who seized power in Kiev after the death of his father, they assert with all their behavior and death the triumph of brotherly love and the need for the subordination of the younger princes to the elder in the family to preserve the unity of the Russian land. The passion-bearers princes Boris and Gleb, the first canonized saints in Russia, became her heavenly patrons and protectors.

After Reading, Nestor created, on the basis of the memoirs of his contemporaries, a detailed biography of Theodosius of the Caves, which became a model in the genre of the Venerable Life. The work contains precious information about the monastic life and manners, about the attitude towards monks of ordinary lay people, boyars and the Grand Duke. Later, The Life of Theodosius of the Caves was included in the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, the last major work of pre-Mongol Rus.

In Byzantine literature, patericons (cf.Greek. ... The golden fund of medieval Western European literatures included Skete, Sinai, Egyptian, Roman patericons, known in translations from Greek in ancient Slavic writing. Created in imitation of the translated "fathers" "Kiev-Pechersk Paterik" worthily continues this series.

Back in the XI - XII centuries. in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, legends were recorded about its history and the ascetics of piety, who were reflected in the "Tale of Bygone Years" under 1051 and 1074. In the 20s-30s. XIII century begins to take shape "Kiev-Pechersk Patericon" - a collection of short stories about the history of this monastery, its monks, their ascetic life and spiritual exploits. The monument was based on the epistles and accompanying paterican stories of two Kiev-Pechersk monks: Simon (+ 1226), who in 1214 became the first bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal, and Polycarp (+ 1st half of the 13th century). The sources of their stories about the events of the XI - the first half of the XII century. monastic and ancestral legends, folk tales, the Kiev-Pechersk chronicle, the lives of Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves appeared. The formation of the patericon genre took place at the intersection of oral and written traditions: folklore, hagiography, chronicle writing, oratorical prose.

"Kiev-Pechersk Paterik" is one of the most beloved books of Orthodox Russia. For centuries it has been readily read and copied. 300 years, before the appearance of "Volokolamsk Patericon" in the 30s-40s. XVI century (see § 6.5), it remained the only original monument of this genre in ancient Russian literature.

§ 2.6. The emergence of the genre of "walking". At the beginning of the XII century. (in 1104-07), the abbot of one of the Chernigov monasteries Daniel made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and stayed there for a year and a half. Daniel's mission was politically motivated. He arrived in the Holy Land after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099 and the formation of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Daniel twice received an audience with the Jerusalem king Baldwin (Baudouin) I (1100-18), one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who more than once showed him other exceptional signs of attention. In The Walk, Daniel appears before us as a messenger of the entire Russian land as a kind of political whole.

Daniel's "Walking" is a sample of pilgrimage notes and a valuable source of historical information about Palestine and Jerusalem. In form and content, it resembles the numerous medieval itinerarium (Latin itinerarium ‘a description of the journey’) of Western European pilgrims. He described in detail the route, the sights seen, retold legends and legends about the shrines of Palestine and Jerusalem, sometimes not distinguishing canonical stories from apocryphal ones. Daniel is the largest representative of the pilgrimage literature not only of Ancient Rus, but of the entire medieval Europe.

§ 2.7. Apocrypha. As in medieval Europe, in Russia already in the 11th century, in addition to orthodox literature, apocrypha (Greek? Rkskh f pt 'secret, secret') became widespread - half-book, semi-popular legends on religious topics that are not included in the church canon (in history, the meaning of the concept of apocrypha changed). Their main stream went to Russia from Bulgaria, where in the X century. the dualistic heresy of the Bogomils was strong, preaching equal participation in the creation of the world of God and the devil, their eternal struggle in world history and human life.

Apocrypha form a kind of common people Bible and for the most part are divided into Old Testament ("The Legend of how God created Adam", "Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs", apocrypha about Solomon, in which demonological motives prevail, "The Book of Enoch the Righteous"), New Testament ("The Gospel of Thomas "," The First Gospel of Jacob "," The Gospel of Nicodemus "," The Legend of Aphrodite "), eschatological - about the afterlife and the final destinies of the world (" The Vision of the Prophet Isaiah "," The Walking of the Mother of God "," Revelation "of Methodius of Patarsky, used already in "Tale of Bygone Years" under 1096).

Apocryphal lives, torments, words, messages, conversations, etc. are known. The "Conversation of the Three Saints" (Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom), preserved in ancient Russian lists from the XII century, enjoyed great love among the people. Written in the form of questions and answers on a wide variety of topics, from biblical to "natural science", it reveals, on the one hand, clear points of contact with medieval Greek and Latin literature (for example, Joca monachorum 'Monastic games'), and on the other - experienced during her handwritten history the strong influence of popular superstitions, pagan ideas, mysteries. Many apocryphas are included in the dogmatic-polemic compilation "Explanatory Paleya" (possibly of the 13th century) and in its revision "Chronographic Paleya".

In the Middle Ages, there were special lists (indexes) of renounced, that is, books prohibited by the Church. The oldest Slavic index, translated from the Greek language, is in Izbornik 1073. Independent lists of renounced books, reflecting the real circle of reading in Ancient Rus, appear at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. and are advisory, not strictly prohibitive (with subsequent punitive sanctions). Many apocryphal ("The Gospel of Thomas", "The First Gospel of James", "The Gospel of Nicodemus", "The Legend of Aphrodite", significantly supplementing the information of the New Testament about the earthly life of Jesus Christ) could not be perceived as "false scriptures" and were revered on a par with the canonical works ... The Apocrypha left noticeable traces in the literature and art of all medieval Europe (in church painting, architectural decorations, book ornament, etc.).

§ 2.8. Literature and writing of Veliky Novgorod. Even in the most ancient period, literary life was not concentrated in Kiev alone. In the north of Russia, the largest cultural center and trade and craft center was Veliky Novgorod, early, already at the beginning of the 11th century, which revealed a tendency towards isolation from Kiev and achieved political independence in 1136.

In the middle of the XI century. in Novgorod, chronicles were already conducted at the church of St. Sophia. The Novgorod chronicles are generally distinguished by their brevity, business tone, simple language, lack of rhetorical decorations and colorful descriptions. They are designed for the Novgorod reader, and not for general Russian distribution, tell about local history, rarely touch on the events of other lands, and then mainly in their relation to Novgorod. One of the first ancient Russian writers known to us by name was Luka Zhidyata († 1059-60), Bishop of Novgorod from 1036 (The nickname is a diminutive from the secular name Zhidoslav or the church name George: Gyurgiy\u003e Gyurat\u003e Zhidyata.) His "Teaching to the brethren." "about the foundations of the Christian faith and piety represents a completely different type of rhetorical strategy in comparison with" The Word of Law and Grace "by Hilarion. It is devoid of oratorical tricks, written in a public language, simple and concise.

In 1015, an uprising broke out in Novgorod, caused by the shameless management of the prince's squad, in a large part consisting of Varangian mercenaries. To prevent such clashes, by order of Yaroslav the Wise and with his participation in 1016, the first written code of law in Russia was compiled - "The Ancient Truth", or "Yaroslav's Truth". This is a fundamental document in the history of Old Russian law in the 11th - early 12th centuries. In the first half of the 11th century. he entered the short edition of "Russian Pravda" - the legislation of Yaroslav the Wise and his sons. "Brief Truth" has come down to us in two copies of the middle of the 15th century. in the Novgorod first chronicle of the younger edition. In the first third of the XII century. the "Short Pravda" was replaced by a new legislative code - the Extensive edition of "Russkaya Pravda". This is an independent monument that includes various legal documents, including the "Brief Pravda". The oldest copy of the "Extensive Pravda" was preserved in the Novgorod helmsman in 1280. The emergence of an exemplary legislative code written in Old Russian at the very beginning of our writing was extremely important for the development of the business language.

The most important sources of everyday writing of the XI-XV centuries. are birch bark letters. Their cultural and historical significance is extremely high. Texts on birch bark made it possible to put an end to the myth of almost universal illiteracy in Ancient Rus. For the first time, birch bark letters were discovered in 1951 during archaeological excavations in Novgorod. Then they were found in Staraya Russa, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Torzhok, Moscow, Vitebsk, Mstislavl, Zvenigorod Galitsky (near Lvov). Currently, their collection includes over a thousand documents. The vast majority of sources come from Novgorod and its lands.

Unlike expensive parchment, birch bark was the most democratic and readily available writing material. On the soft birch bark, letters were squeezed out or scratched with a sharp metal or bone rod, which was called a writing. Pen and ink were used only on rare occasions. The oldest birch bark letters from among those found now belong to the first half - mid-11th century. The social composition of the authors and addressees of birch bark letters is very wide. Among them are not only representatives of the titled nobility, clergy and monasticism, which is understandable in itself, but also merchants, elders, key keepers, warriors, artisans, peasants, etc., which indicates the widespread spread of literacy in Russia already in the XI-XII centuries. Women took part in the correspondence on birch bark. Sometimes they are addressees or authors of messages. Several letters from woman to woman have survived. Almost all of the birch bark letters are written in Old Russian, and only a few in Church Slavonic.

Birch bark letters, mostly private letters. Everyday life and concerns of a medieval person are presented in them in the smallest detail. The authors of the messages talk about their affairs: family, economic, trade, money, judicial, travel, military campaigns, expeditions for tribute, etc. Business documents are not uncommon: invoices, receipts, records of promissory notes, ownership labels, wills, purchase deeds , petitions from peasants to feudal lords, etc. Educational texts are interesting: exercises, alphabets, lists of numbers, lists of syllables by which they learned to read. There are also conspiracies, a riddle, a school joke. All this everyday aspect of the medieval way, all these little things of life, so obvious to contemporaries and constantly eluding researchers, are poorly reflected in the literature of the 11th-15th centuries.

Occasionally, birch bark letters of church and literary content are found: fragments of liturgical texts, prayers and teachings, for example, two quotations from "The Word of Wisdom" by Kirill Turovsky (see § 3.1) in a birch bark list of the first 20th anniversary of the 13th century. from Torzhok.

§ 3. Decentralization of Old Russian literature
(second third of XII - first quarter of XIII century)

§ 3.1. Old and new literary centers. After the death of the son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav the Great (+ 1132), Kiev lost its power over most of the Russian lands. Kievan Rus split into a dozen sovereign and semi-sovereign states. Feudal fragmentation was accompanied by cultural decentralization. Although Kiev and Novgorod remained the largest ecclesiastical, political and cultural centers, literary life awakened and developed in other lands: Vladimir, Smolensk, Turov, Polotsk, etc.

A striking representative of Byzantine influence in the pre-Mongol period is Clement Smolyatich, the second after Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kiev (1147-55, with short breaks), elected and installed in Russia from among the local natives. (His nickname comes from the name Smolyat and does not indicate his origin from the Smolensk land.) In Clement's polemic message to the Smolensk presbyter Thomas (mid-12th century), Homer, Aristotle, Plato, the interpretation of Holy Scripture with the help of parables and allegories, the search for spiritual meaning are discussed in subjects of a material nature, as well as schedography - the highest literacy course in Greek education, which consisted in grammatical analysis and in memorizing exercises (words, forms, etc.) for each letter of the alphabet.

A solemn speech of thanks to the Grand Duke of Kiev Rurik Rostislavich, written by Moses, hegumen of the Mikhailovsky Vydubitsky monastery near Kiev, on the occasion of the completion of construction work in 1199 on the construction of the wall, fortifying the bank under the ancient Mikhailovsky Cathedral, is distinguished by skillful rhetorical technique. It is believed that Moses was the chronicler of Rurik Rostislavich and the compiler of the Kiev Grand Ducal Code of 1200, preserved in the Ipatiev Chronicle.

One of the most learned scribes was the Hierodeacon and Domestic (Church Regent) of the Anthony Monastery in Novgorod Kirik, the first ancient Russian mathematician. He penned mathematical and chronological works, united in "The Teaching about Numbers" (1136) and "Questioning" (mid-XII century) - a complex work in the form of questions to the local archbishop Niphont, Metropolitan Kliment Smolyatich and other persons concerning various aspects of church-ritual and secular life and discussed among the Novgorod parishioners and clergy. It is possible that Kirik participated in the local archbishop's chronicle. At the end of the 1160s. Priest Herman Voyata, having revised the previous chronicle, compiled the archbishop's vault. The early Novgorod chronicles and the Kiev-Pechersk Primary Vault were reflected in the Synodal List of the 13th-14th centuries. Novgorod first chronicle.

Before his tonsure into monasticism, the Novgorodian Dobrynya Yadreykovich (from 1211 Archbishop Anthony of Novgorod) traveled to the holy places in Constantinople until it was seized by godparents in 1204. What he saw during his wanderings was briefly described by him in the "Book of Pilgrim" - a kind of guide to Constantinople shrines ... The testimony of an unknown eyewitness, included in the Novgorod first chronicle, is dedicated to the fall of Constantinople in 1204 - "The Tale of the capture of Constantinople by the fryagami". Written with external impartiality and objectivity, the story substantially complements the picture of the defeat of Constantinople by the crusaders of the Fourth Campaign, drawn by Latin and Byzantine historians and memoirists.

Bishop Cyril of Turovsky (+ c. 1182), the "zlatoust" of Ancient Rus, was brilliant in the techniques of Byzantine oratory. The sublimity of religious feelings and thoughts, the depth of theological interpretations, expressive language, clarity of comparisons, a subtle sense of nature - all this made the sermons of Kirill Turovsky a wonderful monument of ancient Russian eloquence. They can be placed on a par with the best works of contemporary Byzantine preaching. The creations of Kirill Turovsky became widespread in Russia and beyond its borders - among the Orthodox South Slavs, and caused numerous alterations and imitations. In total, more than 30 compositions are attributed to him: a cycle of 8 words for the holidays of the Color Triodion, a cycle of weekly prayers, "The Tale of the Belorussian and the Minority and the Soul and Repentance", etc. According to IP Eremin, in an allegorical form " Parables about the human soul and body "(between 1160-69) Kirill Turovsky wrote an accusatory pamphlet against the Bishop of Rostov Fyodor, who fought with the support of the appanage prince Andrey Bogolyubsky, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky, for the independence of his see from the Kiev Metropolis.

Under Andrei Bogolyubsky, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, which was one of the youngest and most insignificant estates before him, experienced a political and cultural flourishing. Having become the most powerful prince in Russia, Andrei Bogolyubsky dreamed of uniting the Russian lands under his rule. In the struggle for church independence from Kiev, he then conceived of separating the Suzdal region from the diocese of Rostov and establishing in Russia a second (after Kiev) metropolitanate in Vladimir, then after the refusal of the Patriarch of Constantinople, he tried to obtain autocephaly from him for the Rostov diocese. Literature glorifying his deeds and local shrines, proving the special patronage of the heavenly forces of North-Eastern Russia, provided him with significant assistance in this struggle.

Andrei Bogolyubsky was distinguished by a deep veneration of the Mother of God. Having left for Vladimir from Vyshgorod near Kiev, he took with him an ancient icon of the Mother of God (according to legend, written by the Evangelist Luke), and then ordered to compose a legend about her miracles. The work confirms the chosenness of the Vladimir-Suzdal state among other Russian principalities and the primordial political significance of its sovereign. The legend marked the beginning of a popular cycle of monuments about one of the most beloved Russian shrines - the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, which later included "The Tale of Temir Aksak" (beginning of the 15th century; see § 5.2 and § 7.8) and the compiled Legend of the Icon of Vladimir Our Lady "(mid. XVI century). In the 1160s. under Andrei Bogolyubsky, on October 1, the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the appearance of the Mother of God to Andrew the Fool and Epiphany in the Blachernae Church of Constantinople, praying for Christians and covering them with her headdress - an omophorion (see § 2.2). Old Russian works created in honor of this holiday (an interim legend, service, words for the Intercession) explain it as a special intercession and patronage of the Mother of God to the Russian land.

Having defeated the Volga Bulgarians on August 1, 1164, Andrei Bogolyubsky composed a grateful "Word of the Mercy of God" (First edition - 1164) and established a feast for the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos. These events are also dedicated to "The Legend of the Victory over the Volga Bulgarians in 1164 and the Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos" (1164-65), celebrated on August 1 in memory of the victories on this day of the Byzantine emperor Manuel Komnenus (1143-80) over the Saracens and Andrey Bogolyubsky over the Volga Bulgarians. The legend reflected the growing military-political power of the Vladimir-Suzdal state and portrayed Manuel Komnenus and Andrey Bogolyubsky as equal in glory and dignity.

After the discovery in Rostov in 1164 of the relics of Bishop Leonty, who preached Christianity in the Rostov land and was killed by pagans around 1076, a short version of his life was written (until 1174). "The Life of Leonty Rostovsky", one of the most widespread works of Old Russian hagiography, glorifies the holy martyr as the heavenly patron of Vladimir Rus.

The strengthening of the princely power led to a clash between Andrei Bogolyubsky and the boyar opposition. The death of the prince in 1174 as a result of a palace conspiracy was vividly captured by the dramatic Tale of the Assassination of Andrei Bogolyubsky (apparently between 1174-77), combining high literary merits with historically important and accurate details. The author was an eyewitness to the events, which does not exclude the recording of the story from his words (one of the possible authors is the servant of the murdered prince Kuzmishch Kiyanin).

The eternal theme "woe from wits" is also developed by Daniel Zatochnik, one of the most mysterious ancient Russian authors (XII or XIII centuries). His work was preserved in several editions in the lists of the 16th - 17th centuries, apparently reflecting a late stage in the history of the monument. "The Word" and "Prayer" by Daniel the Zatochnik are, in fact, two independent works created at the intersection of book, primarily biblical, and folklore traditions. In the figurative form of allegories and aphorisms, close to the maxims of "The Bee", the author sarcastically portrayed the life and customs of his time, the tragedy of an extraordinary person who is haunted by need and misfortune. Daniil Zatochnik is a supporter of a strong and "formidable" princely power, to which he appeals for help and protection. In terms of genre, the work can be compared with Western European "prayers" for pardon, for release from imprisonment, often written in verse in the form of aphorisms and parables (for example, Byzantine monuments of the 12th century. "Works of Prodromus, Mr. ).

§ 3.2. Swan Song of the Literature of Kievan Rus: "The Lay of Igor's Regiment". The Lay of Igor's Campaign (late 12th century), a lyric-epic work associated with the retinue environment and poetry, is also in the mainstream of the medieval European literary process. The reason for its creation was the unsuccessful campaign in 1185 of the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians. The war stories that have come down to the Laurentian Chronicle (1377) and the Ipatiev Chronicle (late 10s - early 20s of the 15th century) are dedicated to Igor's defeat. However, only the author of the Lay was able to turn a particular episode of numerous wars with the Steppe into a great poetic monument, standing on a par with such masterpieces of the medieval epic as the French Song of Roland (apparently, the end of the 11th or the beginning of the 12th century), Spanish "Song of My Side" (c. 1140), German "Song of the Nibelungs" (c. 1200), "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli (late XII - early XIII centuries).

The poetic imagery of the Lay is closely related to the pagan ideas that were alive in the 12th century. The author managed to combine the rhetorical techniques of church literature with the traditions of the squad epic poetry, the model of which was in his eyes the works of the poet-singer of the 11th century. Boyana. The political ideals of the Lay are associated with the disappearing Kievan Rus. Its creator is a staunch opponent of princely "sedition" - civil strife that ruined the Russian land. "The Word" is imbued with the passionate patriotic pathos of the unity of the princes for protection from external enemies. In this respect, he is close to the "Lay of the Princes", directed against the feuds that were tearing Russia apart (possibly, the 12th century).

"The word about Igor's regiment" was discovered by Count A. I. Musin-Pushkin in the early 1790s. and was published by him according to the only surviving copy in 1800 (By the way, in the only manuscript, moreover, extremely defective and incomplete, the "Song of My Side" has reached us.) During the Patriotic War of 1812, the collection with the "Word" burned out in the Moscow fire. The artistic perfection of the Lay, its mysterious fate and death gave rise to doubts about the authenticity of the monument. All attempts to challenge the antiquity of the Lay, declare it a forgery of the 18th century. (French Slavist A. Mazon, Moscow historian A. A. Zimin, American historian E. Keenan, and others) are scientifically untenable.

§ 4. Literature of the era of struggle against foreign yoke
(second quarter of XIII - end of XIV century)

§ 4.1. The tragic theme of Old Russian literature. The Mongol-Tatar invasion caused irreparable damage to ancient Russian literature, led to its noticeable decline and decline, for a long time interrupted book ties with other Slavs. The first tragic battle with the conquerors on the Kalka River in 1223 is dedicated to the stories preserved in the Novgorod first, Laurentian and Ipatiev chronicles. In 1237-40. hordes of nomads under the leadership of Genghis Khan's grandson Batu rushed to Russia, sowing death and destruction everywhere. Stubborn resistance of Russia, which held "a shield between two hostile races of Mongols and Europe" ("Scythians" by A. A. Blok), undermined the military power of the Monglo-Tatar horde, which ruined, but no longer held in its hands Hungary, Poland and Dalmatia.

The foreign invasion was perceived in Russia as a sign of the end of the world and God's punishment for the grave sins of the entire people. The former greatness, power and beauty of the country is mourned by the lyrical "Word about the death of the Russian land." The time of Vladimir Monomakh is depicted as the era of the highest glory and prosperity of Russia. The work vividly conveys the feelings of contemporaries - the idealization of the past and deep sorrow for the bleak present. "The Word" is a rhetorical fragment (inception) of a lost work about the Mongol-Tatar invasion (most likely between 1238-46). The passage has been preserved in two copies, but not in a separate form, but as a kind of prologue to the original edition of the "Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky".

The most prominent church preacher of that time was Serapion. In 1274, shortly before his death (+ 1275), he was made Bishop of Vladimir from the archimandrites of the Kiev Caves Monastery. 5 teachings have survived from his work - a bright monument to the tragic era. In three of them, the author paints a vivid picture of the destruction and calamities that befell Russia, considers them to be God's punishment for sins, preaches the path of salvation in national repentance and moral cleansing. In two other teachings, he denounces belief in witchcraft and gross superstition. Serapion's works are distinguished by deep sincerity, sincerity of feelings, simplicity and, at the same time, skillful rhetorical technique. This is not only one of the finest examples of Old Russian church-teaching eloquence, but also a valuable historical source that reveals with special power and brightness the life and mood during the "destruction of the Russian land."

XIII century gave an outstanding monument of the South Russian chronicle - the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, consisting of two independent parts: "The Chronicler Daniel Galitsky" (up to 1260) and the chronicle of the Volodymyr-Volyn principality (from 1261 to 1290). The court historiographer Daniil Galitsky was a man of high book culture and literary skill, an innovator in the field of annals. For the first time, he did not compose a traditional weather chronicle, but created a coherent and coherent historical story, not constrained by records for years. His work is a vivid biography of the warrior prince Daniil Galitsky, who fought against the Mongol-Tatars, Polish and Hungarian feudal lords, the rebellious Galician boyars. The author used the traditions of druzhina epic poetry, folk legends, subtly understood the poetry of the steppe, as evidenced by the wonderful Polovtsian legend he recounted about the grass Yevshan ‘wormwood’ and Khan Otroke.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion revived the ideals of a wise sovereign, a courageous defender of his native land and the Orthodox faith, ready to sacrifice himself for them. A typical example of a martyr's life (or martyria) is "The Legend of the Murder in the Horde of Prince Mikhail of Chernigov and his boyar Theodore." In 1246, they were both executed by order of Khan Batu for refusing to worship pagan idols. A short (Projected) version of the monument appeared no later than 1271 in Rostov, where Maria Mikhailovna, the daughter of the murdered prince, and his grandsons Boris and Gleb ruled. Subsequently, on its basis, more lengthy editions of the work arose, the author of one of which was the priest Andrei (no later than the end of the 13th century).

The conflict in the most ancient monument of Tver hagiography - "The Life of Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver" (late 1319 - early 1320 or 1322-27) has a pronounced political background. In 1318, Mikhail of Tverskoy was killed in the Golden Horde with the approval of the Tatars by the people of Prince Yuri Danilovich of Moscow, his rival in the struggle for the great reign of Vladimir. The Life portrayed Yuri Danilovich in the most unfavorable light and contained anti-Moscow attacks. In the official literature of the XVI century. it was subjected to strong pro-Moscow censorship. Under the son of the martyr, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, a popular uprising broke out in Tver in 1327 against the Khan Baskak Chol-Khan. The response to these events was the "Tale of Shevkal", which appeared soon after them, and was included in the Tver annals, and the folk historical song "About Shchelkan Dudentievich".

The "heroic military" direction in hagiography is developed by "The Story of the Life of Alexander Nevsky". Its original version was probably created in the 1280s. in the Vladimir monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin, where Alexander Nevsky was originally buried. An unknown author, who was fluent in various literary techniques, skillfully combined the traditions of a military story and life. The bright face of the young hero of the Battle of the Neva in 1240 and the Battle of the Ice in 1242, the victor of the Swedish and German knights, the defender of Russia from foreign invaders and Orthodoxy from the Roman Catholic expansion, a pious Christian became a model for subsequent princely biographies and military stories. The work influenced the "Tale of Dovmont" (2nd quarter of the XIV century). The reign of Dovmont (1266-99), who fled to Russia from Lithuania because of civil strife and was baptized, became for Pskov a time of prosperity and victories over external enemies, Lithuanians and Livonian knights. The story is associated with the Pskov chronicle, which began in the 13th century. (see § 5.3).

Two interesting works of the late 13th century are dedicated to the princely power. The image of the ideal ruler is presented in the message-admonition of the monk Jacob to his spiritual son, Prince of Rostov Dmitry Borisovich (possibly 1281). Responsibility of the prince for the affairs of his administration, the issue of judgment and truth is considered in the "Punishment" of the first bishop of Tver Simeon (+ 1289) to Prince Constantine of Polotsk.

Stories about the foreign invasion and the heroic struggle of the Russian people were overgrown with legendary details. The Story of Nikolas Zarazsky, a lyric-epic masterpiece of Ryazan regional literature, is distinguished by its high artistic merit. The work dedicated to the local shrine - the icon of Nikola Zarazsky, includes the story of its transfer from Korsun to the Ryazan land in 1225 and the story of the ruin of Ryazan by Khan Batu in 1237 with praise for the Ryazan princes. One of the main places in the story of the capture of Ryazan is occupied by the image of the epic hero Evpatiy Kolovrat. On the example of his valiant deeds and death, it is proved that the heroes in Russia were not extinct, the heroism and greatness of the spirit of the Russian people, not broken by the enemy and cruelly avenging him for the desecrated land, is glorified. In the final form, the monument was formed, apparently, in 1560, while it should be borne in mind that over the centuries its ancient core could have been and, presumably, been reworked, acquiring factual inaccuracies and anochronisms.

In the Smolensk literature of the XIII century. only dull echoes of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, which did not affect Smolensk, are heard. Calls on God to destroy the Ishmaelites, that is, the Tatars, the well-read and educated scribe Ephraim in the life of his teacher Abraham of Smolensk, a valuable monument of local hagiography (apparently, the 2nd half of the 13th century). For an understanding of the spiritual life of that time, it is important that Ephraim depicted the collision of Abraham, an ascetic scribe, with an environment that did not accept him. The scholarship and preaching gift of Abraham, who read "deep books" (possibly apocrypha), became the cause of envy and persecution against him from the local clergy.

The miraculous deliverance of Smolensk from Batu's troops, which seemed to contemporaries, who did not besiege or plunder the city, but passed away from it, was understood as a manifestation of divine intercession. Over time, a local legend developed that completely rethought the historical facts. In it, the savior of Smolensk is represented by the young man Mercury - an epic hero who, with the help of heavenly forces, defeated countless hordes of enemies. The "Tale of Mercury of Smolensk" (lists from the 16th century) uses a "wandering" story about a saint carrying his severed head in his hands (cf. the same legend about the first Bishop of Gaul, Dionysius, executed by the pagans).

Such later literary adaptations of oral legends about Batyevshchina include the legend of the invisible city of Kitezh, after its destruction by the Mongol-Tatars hidden by God until the second coming of Christ. The work was preserved in the late Old Believer writing (2nd half of the 18th century). The belief in the secret city of the righteous lived among the Old Believers and other religious seekers from the people back in the 20th century. (see, for example, "At the walls of the invisible city. (Bright lake)" by M. M. Prishvin, 1909).

§ 4.2. Literature of Veliky Novgorod. In Novgorod, which retained its independence, in a relatively calm atmosphere, the archbishop's chronicle continued (its most significant literary part belongs to the sexton of the 13th century Timothy, whose manner of presentation is distinguished by an abundance of edifying digressions, emotionality, extensive use of church-book linguistic means), travel notes appeared - " Wanderer "Stephen of Novgorod, who visited Constantinople in 1348 or 1349, biographies of local saints were created. Ancient oral legends preceded the lives of the two most revered saints of Novgorod who lived in the 12th century: Varlaam Khutynsky, founder of the Transfiguration Monastery (Initial edition - 13th century), and Archbishop of Novgorod Ilya-John (Main edition - between 1471-78). In the "Life of John of Novgorod", the central place is occupied by the legend created at different times about the victory of the Novgorodians over the united Suzdal troops on November 25, 1170 and about the establishment of the feast of the Sign of the Virgin, celebrated on November 27 (as it is believed, the 40s-50s of the XIV c.), as well as the story of the journey of Archbishop John on demon to Jerusalem (possibly the 1st half of the 15th century), using a "wandering" plot about the line sworn by the cross or the sign of the cross.

To understand the medieval religious worldview, the message of the Archbishop of Novgorod Vasily Kalika to Bishop of Tver Fyodor the Good about paradise is important (possibly 1347). It was written in response to theological disputes in Tver about whether paradise exists only as a special spiritual substance or, in addition to it, in the east of the earth there is a material paradise created for Adam and Eve. The central place among the evidence of Vasily Kalika is the story of the acquisition of the earthly paradise, surrounded by high mountains, and earthly hell by the Novgorod sailors. Typologically, this story is close to Western European medieval legends, for example, about the Abbot Brendan, who founded many monasteries in England and sailed to the Paradise Islands. (In turn, the legends of Saint Brendan absorbed the ancient Celtic legends about the voyage of King Bran to a wonderful otherworldly land.)

Around the middle of the XIV century. in Novgorod, the first significant heretical movement appeared in Russia - shearling, which then swept Pskov, where in the first quarter of the 15th century. reached its peak. The strigolniks denied clergy and monasticism, church sacraments and rituals. Against them is directed "Writing off the rule of the holy apostles and holy fathers ... on the shearers", among the possible authors of which is named Bishop Stephen of Perm.

§ 5. Revival of Russian literature
(late XIV-XV century)

§ 5.1. "The second South Slavic influence". In the XIV century. Byzantium, and after it Bulgaria and Serbia, experienced a cultural upsurge that affected different areas of spiritual life: literature, book language, icon painting, theology in the form of the mystical teaching of monks-hesychasts, that is, silent (from the Greek? UhchYab 'peace, silence, silence '). At this time, a reform of the book language was under way among the southern Slavs, extensive translation and editorial work was carried out in book centers on Athos, in Constantinople, and after that in the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Tarnovo, under Patriarch Euphemia (c. 1375-93). The goal of the South Slavic book reform of the XIV century. there was a desire to restore the ancient norms of the common Slavic literary language, dating back to the Cyril-Methodius tradition, in the XII-XI V centuries. more and more isolated by nationality, to streamline the graphic and spelling system, to bring it closer to the Greek spelling.

By the end of the XIV century. among the southern Slavs, a large corpus of church monuments was translated from Greek. The translations were prompted by the growing needs of the cenobitic monasteries and hesychast monks for ascetic and theological literature, the rules of monastic life, and religious polemics. Basically, the works that were not known in the Slavic writing were translated: Isaac the Syrian, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Peter Damascene, Abba Dorotheus, Simeon the New Theologian, preachers of the renewed hesychast ideas of Gregory Sinait and Gregory Palamas, etc. Such old translations as "Ladder" by John , have been checked against the Greek originals and thoroughly revised. The revival of translation activity was facilitated by the church reform - the replacement of the Studite church charter with the Jerusalem one, carried out first in Byzantium, and then, by the middle of the XIV century, in Bulgaria and Serbia. Church reform demanded from the South Slavs the translation of new texts, the reading of which was provided for by the Jerusalem charter during the divine service. This is how the verse Prologue, the triode Synaxarium, the Menaean and triode Solemnity, the Teaching Gospel of Patriarch Callistus, and others appeared. All this literature was not known in Russia (or existed in old translations). Ancient Russia was in dire need of the book treasures of the southern Slavs.

In the XIV century. the connections of Russia with Athos and Constantinople, the largest centers of cultural contacts between Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs and Russians, interrupted by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, were resumed. In the last decades of the XIV century. and in the first half of the 15th century. The Jerusalem charter became widespread in Ancient Rus. At the same time, the South Slavic manuscripts were transferred to Russia, where, under their influence, the "book on the right" began - the editing of church texts and the reform of the literary language. The main directions of the reform consisted in "cleansing" the book language from "corruption" (rapprochement with colloquial speech), its archaization and Greekization. The renewal of bookishness was caused by the internal needs of Russian life. Simultaneously with the "second South Slavic influence" and independently of it, the revival of Old Russian literature took place. The works that survived from the era of Kievan Rus were diligently searched for, copied and distributed. The revival of pre-Mongol literature in combination with the "second South Slavic influence" ensured a rapid rise in Russian literacy in the 15th century.

From the end of the XIV century. in Russian literature there are changes in the rhetorical order. At this time, a special rhetorically decorated manner of presentation appears and develops, which contemporaries called "weaving of words." "Weaving of words" revived the rhetorical methods known in the eloquence of Kievan Rus ("The Word of Law and Grace" by Ilarion, "Memory and Praise to the Russian Prince Vladimir" by Jacob, the works of Kirill Turovsky), but gave them even greater solemnity and emotionality. In the XIV-XV centuries. Old Russian rhetorical traditions were enriched as a result of increased ties with South Slavic literatures. Russian scribes got acquainted with the rhetorically decorated works of Serbian hagiographers of the XIII-XIV centuries. Domenian, Theodosius and Archbishop Danila II, with the monuments of the Bulgarian Tarnovo literary school (primarily with the lives and praiseworthy words of Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovsky), with the Chronicle of Constantine Manassia and "Diopter" by Philip the Hermit - South Slavic translations of the XIV Byzantine poems in the XIV works. ornamental, rhythmic prose.

"Weaving of words" reached its highest development in the work of Epiphanius the Wise. This style was most clearly manifested in the "Life of Stephen of Perm" (1396-98 or 1406-10), the enlightener of the Komi-Zyryan pagans, the creator of the Perm alphabet and literary language, the first bishop of Perm. Epiphanius the Wise is less emotional and rhetorical in the life of the spiritual educator of the Russian people Sergius of Radonezh (completed in 1418-19). The Life shows, in the person of Sergius of Radonezh, the ideal of humility, love, meekness, love and non-covetousness.

The spread of South Slavic influence was facilitated by some Bulgarian and Serbian scribes who moved to Russia. Prominent representatives of the literary school of Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovsky were Metropolitan of All Russia Cyprian, who finally settled in Moscow in 1390, and Gregory Tsamblak, Metropolitan of Lithuanian Rus (from 1415). The Serb Pakhomiy Logofet became famous as the author and editor of many lives, church services, canons, words of praise. Pakhomiy Logofet revised Epiphanius the Wise's "Life of Sergius of Radonezh" and created several new editions of this monument (1438-50s). Later he wrote "The Life of Cyril Belozersky" (1462), making extensive use of eyewitness accounts. The Lives of Pachomius Logofet, built according to a clear scheme and decorated with "weaving of words", stand at the origins of a special trend in Russian hagiography with its rigid etiquette and magnificent eloquence.

§ 5.2. The collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of Moscow. During the Turkish invasion of the Balkans and Byzantium, an interesting monument appears - "The Legend of the Babylonian Kingdom" (1390s - until 1439). Rising to an oral legend, it substantiates the continuity of the Byzantine imperial power from the Babylonian monarchy, the ruler of the world's destinies, and at the same time proves the equality of Byzantium, Russia and Abkhazia-Georgia. The subtext was, probably, in the call for joint actions of the Orthodox countries in support of Byzantium, dying under the blows of the Turks.

The threat of a Turkish conquest forced the Constantinople authorities to seek help in the Catholic West and, for the sake of saving the empire, make important concessions in the field of religious dogma, agree to obey the Pope and unite the churches. The Florentine Union of 1439, rejected by Moscow and all Orthodox countries, undermined the influence of the Greek Church on Russia. Russian members of the embassy at the Ferraro-Florentine Cathedral (Bishop of Suzdal Abraham and the scribes in his retinue) left notes telling about the trip to Western Europe and its sights. "Walking to the Florentine Cathedral" by an unknown Suzdal scribe (1437-40) and, obviously, his "Note on Rome" are distinguished by literary merits. Also of interest are "The Exodus" of Bishop Abraham of Suzdal and "The Tale of the Cathedral of Florence" by Hieromonk Simeon of Suzdal (1447).

In 1453, after a 52-day siege under the blows of the Turks, Constantinople fell, the second Rome - the heart of the once huge Byzantine Empire. In Russia, the collapse of the empire and the conquest of the entire Orthodox East by Muslims were considered God's punishment for the great sin of the Union of Florence. The translated "Sob" by the Byzantine writer John Eugenicus (50s-60s of the 15th century) and the original "The Tale of the Conquest of Constantinople by the Turks" (2nd half of the 15th century) - a talented literary monument and valuable historical source attributed to Nestor Iskander. At the end of the story, there is a prophecy about the future liberation of Constantinople by the "Russians" - an idea that was subsequently repeatedly discussed in Russian literature.

The conquest of the Orthodox countries by the Turks took place against the background of the gradual rise of Moscow as a spiritual and political center. The transfer of the metropolitan see from Vladimir to Moscow under Metropolitan Peter (1308-26), the first Moscow saint and heavenly patron of the capital, was of extremely great importance. Based on the Brief Edition of the Life of Metropolitan Peter (1327-28), the earliest monument of Moscow hagiography, Metropolitan Cyprian compiled an extensive edition (late 14th century), in which he included Peter's prophecy about the future greatness of Moscow.

The great victory over the Tatars on the Kulikovo field on September 8, 1380 meant a radical turning point in the struggle against foreign domination, was of exceptional importance for the formation of Russian national identity, and was a unifying principle in the era of fragmentation of the Russian lands. She convinced her contemporaries that the wrath of God had passed, that the Tatars could be defeated, that complete liberation from the hated yoke was not far off.

The echo of the Kulikovo victory did not cease in literature for over a century. The cycle about the heroes and events of the "massacre on the Don" includes a short (initial) and lengthy story about the Battle of Kulikovo as part of the annals under 1380. The author of the lyric-epic "Zadonshchina" (1380s or, in any case, not later 1470s) turned in search of literary samples to "The Lay of Igor's Host", but rethought his source. The writer saw in the defeat of the Tatars a fulfilled call of "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" to put an end to internecine strife and to unite in the struggle against the nomads. The Legend of the Mamaev Massacre (no later than the end of the 15th century) became widespread in the manuscript tradition - the most lengthy and fascinating story about the Battle of Kulikovo, but containing obvious anachronisms, epic and legendary details. Adjacent to the Kulikovo cycle is "The Word about the Life and the Repose of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsar of Russia" (possibly 1412-19-19) - a solemn eulogy in honor of the winner of the Tatars Dmitry Donskoy, close in language and rhetorical techniques to the literary manner of Epiphany the Wise and, probably written by him.

The events after the Battle of Kulikovo are told "The Tale of the Invasion of Khan Tokhtamysh", who captured and plundered Moscow in 1382, and "The Tale of Temir Aksak" (early 15th century). The last work is dedicated to the invasion of Russia in 1395 by the hordes of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) and the miraculous salvation of the country after the transfer of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the "sovereign intercessor" of the Russian land, to Moscow (after standing at the Oka for 15 days, Timur unexpectedly turned back south). The Tale of Temir Aksak, which proves the special patronage of the Mother of God of Muscovite Russia, was included in the monumental grand-ducal Moscow annalistic collection of 1479. This monument, compiled shortly after the annexation of Novgorod to Moscow under Ivan III (see § 5.3), formed the basis of all official of the all-Russian chronicle of the end of the 15th-16th centuries, grand ducal and royal.

The reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III (1462-1505), married to Sophia (Zoya) Palaeologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, was marked by the cultural rise of Russia, its return to Europe, the unification of the Russian lands around Moscow and the liberation from the Tatar yoke in 1480 At the moment of the highest confrontation between Moscow and the Golden Horde, Archbishop Vassian of Rostov sent a rhetorically decorated "Message to the Ugra" (1480) - an important historical document and publicistic monument. Following the example of Sergius of Radonezh, according to legend, who blessed Dmitry Donskoy for the battle, Vassian called on Ivan III to a decisive struggle with the Tatars, declaring his power to be imperial and God-affirmed.

§ 5.3. Local literary centers. By the second half of the 15th century. The first surviving Pskov annalistic vaults belong to the same period, and at the same time three branches of local annals were distinguished, differing in their ideological and political views: Pskov first, beginning with "The Tale of Dovmont" (see § 4.1), second and third chronicles. Already in the XIV century. Dovmont was revered as a local saint and heavenly patron of Pskov, which in 1348 separated from the Novgorod feudal republic and was the center of an independent principality until 1510, when he was subordinated to Moscow, as an eyewitness of events, well-read and talented, tells about this in a deeply lyrical and figurative form. author, in "The Tale of the Pskov Capture" (1510s) as part of the Pskov First Chronicle.

In the XV century. in the literature of Veliky Novgorod, conquered by Ivan III in 1478, the "Tale of the mayor Schil" appears (apparently, not earlier than 1462) - a legend about a usurer who went to hell, proving the saving power of prayer for dead sinners; the simple, unadorned Life of Mikhail Klopsky (1478-79); the chronicle story of Ivan III's campaign against Novgorod in 1471, opposed to the official position of Moscow in covering this event. In the Moscow annalistic collection of 1479, the main content of the story about Ivan III's campaign against Novgorod in 1471 is the idea of \u200b\u200bthe greatness of Moscow as the center of the unification of Russian lands and the continuity of the grand ducal power since the time of Rurik.

The swan song to the mighty Tver principality (shortly before its annexation to Moscow in 1485) was composed by the court writer Monk Thomas in a rhetorically decorated panegyric "A commendable word about the Grand Duke Boris Alexandrovich" (c. 1453). Portraying Boris Aleksandrovich as the political leader of the Russian land, Thomas called him "an autocratic sovereign" and "tsar", in relation to whom the Grand Duke of Moscow acted as a junior.

The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin wrote about the absence of brotherly love between princes and justice in Russia, having switched to a mixed Turkic-Persian language for safety. Abandoned by fate in a foreign land, he told in a simple and expressive language about wandering in distant countries and staying in India in 1471-74. in the travel notes "Voyage across the Three Seas". Before Nikitin in Russian literature, there was an image of India as the fabulously rich kingdom of Presbyter John, as a mysterious country located not far from the earthly paradise, inhabited by blessed sages, where amazing miracles are found at every step. This fantastic image was formed by "The Legend of the Indian Kingdom" - a translation of a Greek work of the 12th century, "Alexandria" - a Christian reworking of the Hellenistic novel by Pseudo-Callisthenes about Alexander the Great (in the South Slavic translation no later than the 14th century), "The Word of the Rahmans", dating back to to the Chronicle of George Amartol and preserved in the list of the late 15th century. In contrast, Afanasy Nikitin created a real portrait of India, showed her brilliance and poverty, described her way of life, customs and folk traditions (the legends about the bird "Gukuk" and the prince of monkeys).

Along the way, it should be noted that the deeply personal content of the "Walking", the simplicity and spontaneity of his story are close to the notes of the monk Innocent about the death of Pafnutiy Borovsky (apparently 1477-78), the spiritual teacher of Joseph Volotsky, who created a large literary and book center in the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery and became one of the leaders of the "Militant Church".

§ 6. Literature of the "Third Rome"
(late 15th - 16th century)
§ 6.1. "Heretical storm" in Russia. End of the 15th century was engulfed in religious ferment, generated, among other reasons, by the uncertainty of religious and cultural orientations in the minds of the educated part of Russian society after the fall of Constantinople and the expectation of the end of the world in 7000 from the Creation of the world (in 1492 from the birth of Christ). The heresy of the "Judaizers" originated in the 1470s. in Novgorod, shortly before his loss of independence, and then spread to Moscow that defeated him. The heretics questioned the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, did not consider the Virgin Mary the Mother of God. They did not recognize church sacraments, condemned the worship of sacred objects, and sharply opposed the veneration of relics and icons. The struggle against the free-thinkers was led by the Archbishop of Novgorod Gennady and Hegumen Joseph Volotsky. An important monument of theological thought and religious struggle of that time is Joseph Volotsky's "Book on the Heretics of Novgorod" (Short edition - not earlier than 1502, Extensive - 1510-11). This "hammer of the Jews" (cf. the title of the book of the Inquisitor John of Frankfurt, published around 1420) or, more precisely, the "hammer of the heretics" was renamed in the lists of the 17th century. in "The Illuminator".

At the archbishop's court in Novgorod, Gennady created a large book center, open to Western European influences. He brought together a whole staff of staff who translated from Latin and German. Among them were the Dominican monk Benjamin, obviously Croat by nationality, the German Nikolai Bulev, Vlas Ignatov, Dmitry Gerasimov. Under the leadership of Gennady, the first complete biblical code of the Orthodox Slavs, the Bible of 1499, was compiled and translated. In addition to Slavic sources, the Latin (Vulgate) and German Bibles were used in its preparation. Gennady's theocratic program is grounded in the work of Benjamin (probably 1497), written in defense of church property from the assassination of Ivan III and affirming the superiority of spiritual power over secular power.

By order of Gennady, an excerpt (8th chapter) from the calendar treatise by Guillaume Durand (Wilhelm Durandus) "The Meeting of Divine Deeds" was translated from Latin in connection with the need to compile the Passover for "the eighth thousand years" (1495) and the anti-Jewish book "teacher Samuel the Jew "(1504). The translation of these works is attributed to Nikolai Bulev or Dmitry Gerasimov. The last of them also, by order of Gennady, translated the Latin anti-Jewish work of Nicholas de Lira "Proof of the Coming of Christ" (1501).

In 1504, at a church council in Moscow, the heretics were found guilty, after which some of them were executed, while others were sent into exile in monasteries. The most notable figure among the Moscow free-thinkers and their leader was the clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn, close to the court of Ivan III. Kuritsyn is credited with "The Legend of the Voivode Dracula" (1482-85). The historical prototype of this character is Prince Vlad, nicknamed Tepes (literally 'The Impaler'), who ruled "in the Muntyan land" (the old Russian name for the Wallachia principality in southern Romania) and died in 1477 shortly before Kuritsyn's embassy to Hungary and Moldova ( 1482-84). There were numerous rumors and anecdotes about the monstrous inhumanity of Dracula, with which Russian diplomats became acquainted. Talking about the numerous atrocities of the "evil-wise" Dracula and comparing him to the devil, the Russian author emphasizes at the same time his justice, merciless struggle against evil and crime. Dracula seeks to eradicate evil and establish a "great truth" in the country, but acts with methods of unlimited violence. The question of the limits of the supreme power and the moral character of the sovereign became one of the main ones in Russian journalism of the 16th century.

§ 6.2. The heyday of journalism. In the XVI century. there was an unprecedented rise in journalism. One of the most remarkable and mysterious publicists, the authenticity of whose works and the person himself have repeatedly raised doubts, is Ivan Peresvetov, a native of Lithuanian Rus, who served in the mercenary troops in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Arriving in Moscow in the late 30s. XVI century, during the boyar "autocracy" under the minor Ivan IV, Peresvetov took an active part in the discussion of burning issues of Russian life. He submitted petitions to the tsar, spoke with political treatises, wrote publicistic works (the legends "about Magmet-saltan" and tsar Constantine Palaeologus). Peresvetov's political treatise, containing an extensive program of state reforms, is clothed in the form of a big petition to Ivan IV (1540s). The writer is a staunch supporter of a strong autocratic power. Its ideal is a military monarchy, modeled on the Ottoman Empire. The basis of her power is the military class. The king is obliged to take care of the welfare of the serving nobility. Anticipating the oprichnina terror, Peresvetov advised Ivan IV to put an end to the arbitrariness of the nobles who ruined the state with the help of a "storm".

Russian writers understood that there was only one step from strong individual power to Dracula's "cannibalism". They tried to limit the "tsarist storm" by law and mercy. In his letter to Metropolitan Daniel (before 1539) Fyodor Karpov saw the state ideal in a monarchy based on law, truth and mercy.

Church writers were divided into two camps - the Josephites and the non-possessors, or the Trans-Volga elders. Metropolitan Gennady, Joseph Volotsky and his followers Josephites (Metropolitans Daniel and Macarius, Zinovy \u200b\u200bOtensky, etc.) defended the right of communal monasteries to own land and peasants, to accept rich donations, while not allowing any personal property of the monk. They demanded the death penalty for stubborn heretics, deeply rooted in their delusions ("The Word on the Condemnation of Heretics" in the Extensive edition of "The Illuminator" by Joseph Volotskiy 1510-11).

The spiritual father of the non-possessors, "the great old man" Nil Sorsky (c. 1433-7. V.1508), a preacher of the silent life of the skete, did not take part in the church-political struggle - this contradicted, above all, his inner convictions. However, his writings, moral authority and spiritual experience had a great influence on the Trans-Volga elders. Nil Sorsky was opposed to monastic estates and rich contributions, he considered the skete way of life to be the best type of monasticism, understanding it under the influence of hesychasm as an ascetic deed, a path of silence, contemplation and prayer. The dispute with the Josephites was led by his follower, the monk prince Vassian Patrikeev; later, Elder Artemy became a prominent representative of non-acquisitiveness (see § 6.7). Non-possessors believed that repentant free-thinkers should be forgiven, and hardened criminals should be sent to confinement, but not executed ("The answer of the Cyril elders to the message of Joseph Volotsky about the condemnation of heretics", possibly 1504). The Iosiflian party, which held the highest church posts, used legal proceedings in 1525 and 1531. over Patrikeev and Maxim the Greek and in 1553-54. over the heretic boyar son Matvei Bashkin and the elder Artemy for reprisals against non-possessors.

Monuments of the religious struggle are the treatise of Zinovy \u200b\u200bOtensky "Testimony to those who asked about the new doctrine" (after 1566) and the anonymous "Wordy Epistle" created at about the same time. Both works are directed against the fugitive servant Theodosius the Kosy, the most radical free-thinker in the entire history of Ancient Russia, the creator of the "slave doctrine" - the heresy of the lower classes.

Literature of the first third of the 16th century worked out several ways to combine Russian history with world history. First of all, we should highlight the Chronograph of the edition of 1512 (1st quarter of the 16th century), compiled by Joseph Volotskiy's nephew and disciple Dosifei Toporkov (see § 6.5). This is a new type of historical work, introducing into the mainstream of world history the history of the Slavs and Russia, understood as a stronghold of Orthodoxy and the heir to the great powers of the past. The legends about the origin of the Moscow sovereigns from the Roman emperor Augustus (through his mythical relative Prus, one of the ancestors of Prince Rurik) and about Vladimir Monomakh's receipt of the royal regalia from the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh are combined in the "Epistle on the Monomakh crown" Spiridon-Savva, the former Metropolitan of Kiev and in the "Tale of the princes of Vladimir". Both legends were used in official documents and in Moscow diplomacy in the 16th century.

The theory "Moscow - the Third Rome", put forward by Philotheus, the elder of the Pskov Eleazarov Monastery, in a letter to the clerk MG Misyur Munehin "against the astrologers" (c. 1523-24), became a response to the Catholic propaganda of the Boolev church union and the primacy of Rome. After the Catholics fell away from the right faith and the apostasy of the Greeks at the Florentine Council, as punishment for this conquered by the Turks, the center of Ecumenical Orthodoxy moved to Moscow. Russia was declared the last world monarchy - the Rome state, the only guardian and defender of the pure faith of Christ. The cycle of the main works, united by the theme of "The Third Rome", includes "The Epistle to the Grand Duke of Moscow on the Sign of the Cross" (between 1524-26), whose belonging to Philotheus is doubtful, and the essay "On the Grievances of the Church" (30th - early 40th - x years of the XVI century) of the so-called successor of Philotheus.

The works representing Russia as the last stronghold of true piety and Christian faith, the heiress of Rome and Constantinople, were created not only in Moscow, but also in Novgorod, which preserved the tradition of its former greatness and rivalry with Moscow even after the loss of independence. "The Tale of the White Cowl of Novgorod" (16th century) explains the origin of the special headdress of the Novgorod archbishops by the transfer from Constantinople to Novgorod of the white cowl, bestowed by the first Christian emperor Constantine to Pope Sylvester I of Rome. The same path (Rome-Byzantium-Novgorod land) traveled the miraculous image of the Mother of God, according to the "Legend of the Icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin" (late 15th - 15th centuries). The Life of Anthony the Roman (16th century) tells about a hermit who, fleeing persecution of Orthodox Christians in Italy, miraculously sailed on a huge rock to Novgorod in 1106 and founded the Nativity Monastery.

A special place in the literature of the XVI century. occupies the work of Tsar Ivan IV. Grozny is a historically colorful type of autocratic author. In the role of the "father of the Fatherland" and the defender of the right faith, he composed letters, often written in the famous "biting verbs" in a 'mockingly sarcastic manner' (correspondence with Kurbsky, letters to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery 1573, oprichnik Vasily Gryazny 1574, Lithuanian prince Alexander Polubensky 1577 , Polish king Stephen Bathory 1579), gave mandated memories, uttered passionate speeches, rewrote history (additions to the Personal Chronicle Code, reflecting his political views), participated in the work of church councils, wrote hymnographic works (canon to Angel the Terrible, voivode , stichera to Metropolitan Peter, a meeting of the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir, etc.), exposed dogmas alien to Orthodoxy, participated in scholarly theological disputes. After an open debate with Jan Rokita, pastor of the community of Czech brothers (an offshoot of Hussism), he wrote "Answer to Jan Rokita" (1570) - one of the best monuments of anti-Protestant polemics.

§ 6.3. Western European influence. Contrary to popular belief, Moscow Russia was not fenced off from Western Europe and the culture of the Latin world. Thanks to Gennady Novgorodsky and his entourage, the repertoire of translated literature, which was previously almost exclusively Greek, has significantly changed. End of XV - first decades of the XVI century. marked by an unprecedented interest in Western European books. There are translations from the German language: "The debate of the belly and death" (late 15th century), corresponding to the eschatological moods of its time - the expectations of the end of the world in 7000 (1492); "Lucidarius" (late 15th - 1st edition of the 16th century) - a general educational book of encyclopedic content, written in the form of a conversation between a teacher and a student; medical treatise "Travnik" (1534), translated by Nikolai Bulev by order of Metropolitan Daniel.

Such an original writer as Fyodor Karpov was also a Westerner, who sympathetically (unlike Elder Philotheus and Maxim the Greek) related to the propaganda of astorology by the Booleans. In his letter to Metropolitan Daniel (before 1539), answering the question of what is more important in the state: people's patience or truth, Karpov argued that the basis of social order is neither one nor the other, but a law that should be based on truth and mercy. To prove his ideas, Karpov used Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Ovid's Metamorphoses, The Art of Love and Fasta.

A notable event in the history of Russian translated literature was the secular Latin novel by the Sicilian Guido de Columna (Guido delle Colonne) "The History of the Destruction of Troy" (1270s), in the Old Russian translation - "The History of the Destruction of Troy" (late 15th - early 15th century). XVI century). A fascinatingly written book was the forerunner of knightly novels in Russia. The Trojan Story introduced the Russian reader to a wide range of ancient myths (about the campaign of the Argonauts, the history of Paris, the Trojan War, the wanderings of Odysseus, etc.) and novels (stories about the love of Medea and Jason, Paris and Helena, etc.).

The repertoire of translated church literature is also changing dramatically. Translations of Western European Latin theologians appeared (see § 6.1 and § 6.3), among which the "Book of St. Augustine" (no later than 1564) stands out. The collection includes "Life of Augustine" by Bishop Possidius of Kalamos, two works of Pseudo-Augustine: "On the vision of Christ, or the word of God" (Manuale), "Teachings, or Prayers" (Meditationes), as well as two Russian stories of the 16th century. about Blessed Augustine, which used the "wandering" stories told by Maxim the Greek, who developed humanistic traditions in literature and language.

§ 6.4. Russian humanism. D.S.Likhachev, comparing the second South Slavic influence with the West European Renaissance, came to the conclusion about the typological homogeneity of these phenomena and the existence in Ancient Russia of a special East Slavic Pre-Renaissance, which could not pass into the Renaissance. This opinion provoked well-founded objections, which, however, do not mean that in Ancient Rus there were no correspondences to Western European humanism. As R. Picchio showed, points of contact can be found primarily at the linguistic level: in the field of relation to the text, to the principles of its translation, transmission and correction. The essence of the Italian Renaissance disputes about language (Questione della lingua) consisted, on the one hand, in the desire to justify the use of the vernacular language (Lingua volgare) as a literary language, to assert its cultural dignity, and on the other, in the desire to establish its grammatical and stylistic norms. It is significant that the "book on the right", based on the Western European sciences of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics), originates in Russia from the activities of Maxim the Greek (in the world Mikhail Trivolis), who lived at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. in the heyday of the Renaissance in Italy, where he met and collaborated with famous humanists (John Laskaris, Ald Manucius, etc.).

Arriving in Moscow from Mount Athos to translate church books in 1518, Maxim the Greek tried to transfer the rich philological experience of Byzantium and Renaissance Italy to Church Slavonic soil. Due to his brilliant education, he became a center of intellectual attraction, quickly gaining admirers and students (Vassian Patrikeev, Elder Siluan, Vasily Tuchkov, later Elder Artemy, Andrei Kurbsky, etc.), worthy opponents (Fedor Karpov) and making such powerful enemies as Metropolitan Daniel. In 1525 and 1531. Maxim Grek, who is close to the non-possessors and the disgraced diplomat I.N.Bersen Beklemishev, was tried twice, and some charges (deliberate damage to church books during editing) were of a philological nature. Nevertheless, his humanistic views are confirmed both in Russia and in Lithuanian Rus thanks to his followers and like-minded people who moved there: Elder Artemy, Kurbsky and, possibly, Ivan Fedorov (see § 6.6 and § 6.7).

The literary heritage of Maxim the Greek is large and varied. In the history of Russian journalism, a noticeable trace was left by "The Tale is terrible and memorable and about the perfect monastic life" (until 1525) - about the mendicant monastic orders in the West and the Florentine preacher G. Savonarola, the last century of this "(between 1533-39 or the middle of the 16th century), exposing the boyar arbitrariness during the young Ivan IV, the ideological program of his reign -" Chapters are instructive to the rulers truly "(c. 1547-48), works against ancient myths, astrology , apocrypha, superstition, in defense of the "book reference" he carried out and the philological principles of text criticism - "A disgusting word about correcting the books of Russians" (1540 or 1543), etc.

§ 6.5. Generalizing literary monuments. The centralization of the Russian lands and state power was accompanied by the creation of generalizing book monuments of an encyclopedic nature. Literature of the 16th century as if it sums up the entire path traversed, seeks to generalize and consolidate the experience of the past, to create models for future times. At the origins of the generalizing enterprises is the Gennady Bible of 1499. Literary gathering was continued by another archbishop of Novgorod (1526-42) - Macarius, who later became the Metropolitan of All Russia (1542-63). Under his leadership, the Great Menaia of Chetia were created - a grandiose collection of soulful literature in 12 books, arranged in the order of the church month. Work on the Makaryevsky Menaia, begun in 1529/1530 in Novgorod and completed around 1554 in Moscow, lasted for almost a quarter of a century. One of the most prominent erudites of Ancient Russia, Macarius joined the efforts of famous church and secular scribes, translators and scribes, and created the largest book center. Its employees searched for manuscripts, selected the best texts, corrected them, composed new works and created new editions of old monuments.

Under the leadership of Macarius, Dmitry Gerasimov worked, who translated the Latin Explanatory Psalter of Bishop Brunon of Gerbipolensky, or Würzburg (1535), Vasily Tuchkov, who reworked the simple Novgorod "Life of Mikhail Klopsky" into a rhetorically decorated version (1537), the Novgorod presbyter Ilya (1538-39) based on the oral story of the Athonite monks, Dosifei Toporkov - editor of the ancient "Sinai Patericon" (1528-29), which is based on the "Spiritual Meadow" (beginning of the 7th century) by the Byzantine writer John Moschus. Dosifei Toporkov is known as the compiler of two generalizing monuments: the Chronograph of the 1512 edition (see § 6.2) and the Volokolamsk Patericon (30s-40s of the 16th century), which, after a long break, resumed the traditions of the Kiev-Pechersk Paterikon ". "Volokolamsk Patericon" is a collection of stories about the saints of the Josephite school of Russian monasticism, primarily about Joseph Volotsky himself, his teacher Paphnutiy Borovsky, their associates and followers.

In 1547 and 1549. Macarius held church councils at which 30 new all-Russian saints were canonized - 8 more than in the entire previous period. After the cathedrals, dozens of lives and services were created for new miracle workers. Among them was the pearl of Old Russian literature - "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom" (late 1540s) by Yermolai-Erasmus.

The work depicts the love of a peasant girl from the Ryazan land, the daughter of a simple beekeeper, and the Murom prince, a love that overcomes all obstacles and even death. The writer created a sublime image of the ideal Russian woman, wise and pious. The peasant princess stands immeasurably higher than the boyars and their wives, who did not want to come to terms with her low birth. Yermolai-Erasmus used folk-poetic "wandering" plots about the struggle with the werewolf serpent and the wise, things to the virgin, which absorbed the motives of a fairy tale. His work reworks the same motives as the medieval legends about Tristan and Isolde, the Serbian youth song "Tsarina Milica and the Serpent from Yastrebac", etc. The story sharply diverges from the hagiographic canon and therefore was not included by Macarius in the Great Minea of \u200b\u200bChetia. Already in the XVI century. they began to correct it, bringing it in line with the requirements of literary etiquette.

Macarius was the inspirer of the church council in 1551, at which many aspects of the church, social and political life of the Moscow kingdom were regulated. The collection of conciliar decrees, arranged in the form of answers of church hierarchs to a hundred questions of Tsar Ivan IV, was named Stoglav and for a century was the main normative document of the Russian Church.

Metropolitan Daniel, who angrily denounced human vices in words and teachings, was the editor-compiler of the extensive Nikon Chronicle (late 1520s) - the most complete collection of news on Russian history. The monument had a great influence on the subsequent chronicle writing. He became the main source of information on Russian history in the grandiose Litsevoi Chronicle Code - the largest chronicle-chronographic work of Ancient Rus. This genuine "historical encyclopedia of the 16th century", created by decree of Ivan the Terrible, covers world history from biblical times to 1567. It has survived to our time in 10 luxuriously decorated volumes, made in the royal workshops and numbering more than 16,000 magnificent miniatures.

The Nikon Chronicle is also used in the famous "Book of Degrees" (1560-63). The monument was compiled by the monk of the Chudov Monastery, the confessor of Ivan the Terrible Afanasy (Metropolitan of Moscow in 1564-66), but the idea obviously belonged to Macarius. The Book of Degrees is the first experience of presenting Russian history according to a genealogical principle, in the form of princely biographies, from the baptist of Russia Vladimir Svyatoslavich to Ivan IV. The introduction to the "Book of Degrees" is "The Life of Princess Olga" edited by Sylvester, Archpriest of the Kremlin Cathedral of the Annunciation.

Sylvester is considered the editor or author-compiler of "Domostroy" - a strictly and detailed "charter" of home life. The monument is a valuable source for studying the life of the Russian people of that time, their morals and customs, social and family relations, religious, moral and political views. The ideal of "Domostroy" is a zealous owner who powerfully manages family affairs in accordance with Christian morality. The language of the work is remarkable. In "Domostroy" in a complex fusion features of the book language, business writing and colloquial speech merged with its imagery and ease. Writings of this kind were common in Western Europe. Almost simultaneously with the final edition of our monument, an extensive work by the Polish writer Mykola Rey "The Life of an Economic Man" (1567) appeared.

§ 6.6. The beginning of typography. Apparently, the emergence of Russian book printing is connected with the generalizing book enterprises of Metropolitan Macarius. In any case, his appearance in Moscow was caused by the needs of the divine service and was a state initiative supported by Ivan the Terrible. The printing press made it possible to distribute in large circulations serviceable and unified liturgical texts, free from the mistakes of book writers. In Moscow in the first half of the 1550s - mid 1560s. an anonymous printing house worked, producing professionally prepared editions without imprint. According to the documents of 1556, the "master of printed books" Marusha Nefediev is known.

In 1564, Ivan Fedorov and Peter Mstislavets, deacon of the Church of St. Nicholas Gostunsky in the Moscow Kremlin, published the Apostle, the first Russian printed book with imprint. In preparing it, the publishers critically used numerous Church Slavonic and Western European sources, and did a great deal of thorough textual and editorial work. Perhaps it was on this basis that they had serious disagreements with the traditionally thinking church hierarchs, who accused them of heresy (as before Maxim the Greek, see § 6.4). After two editions of the Chapel in Moscow in 1565 and no later than the beginning of 1568, Fedorov and Mstislavets were forced to move to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

With their move abroad, book printing has become permanent in the lands of modern Belarus and Ukraine. With the support of Orthodox philanthropists, Ivan Fedorov worked in Zabludovo, where, together with Pyotr Mstislavets, he published the Teaching Gospel in 1569, which was intended to oust translated Catholic and Protestant sermon collections from use, in Lvov, where he founded the first printing house in Ukraine, published a new edition Apostle in 1574 and at the same time the first printed book for elementary education that came down to us - the ABC, and in Ostrog, where he published another ABC in 1578, as well as the first complete printed Church Slavonic Bible in 1580-81. The epitaph for Fedorov on the tombstone in Lvov is eloquent: "Drukar [printer. - VK] books before the unseen." Fedorov's prefaces and afterwords to his publications are the most interesting monuments of this literary genre, containing valuable information of a cultural, historical and memoir nature.

§ 6.7. Literature of the Moscow emigration. By the time Fedorov and Mstislavets moved to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, there already existed a circle of Moscow emigrants who were forced, for various reasons, religious and political, to leave Russia. The most prominent representatives among them were Elder Artemy and Prince Andrei Kurbsky, both close to Maxim the Greek and continuing his humanistic traditions in literature and language. Moscow emigrants were engaged in creativity, translated and edited books, participated in the creation of printing houses and book centers. They contributed to the revival of Church Slavonic literature and the strengthening of Orthodox consciousness in the religious and cultural struggle against Catholics and religious reformers on the eve of the Brest Union of 1596.

The work of Kurbsky, a representative of the princely-boyar opposition, became a counterweight to the official Moscow literature of the 16th century, which deified the tsarist power and affirmed the primordial nature of autocracy in Russia. Immediately after fleeing to Lithuania, he sent the first letter to Ivan the Terrible (1564) accusing him of tyranny and apostasy. Grozny responded with a political treatise in epistolary form, glorifying the "free tsarist autocracy" (1564). After a break, the correspondence was resumed in the 1570s. The dispute was about the limits of the royal power: autocracy or a limited estate-representative monarchy. To the exposure of Ivan IV and his tyranny, Kurbsky dedicated "The History of the Grand Duke of Moscow" (according to I. Auerbach - spring and summer 1581, according to V.V. Kalugin - 1579-81). If the monuments of the official historiography of the 50s-60s. XVI century ("Book of Degrees", "Chronicler of the Beginning of the Kingdom", compiled in connection with the conquest of Kazan in 1552, dedicated to this event in the context of three hundred years of Russian-Horde relations "Kazan History") are an apology for Ivan IV and unlimited autocracy, then Kurbsky created the exact opposite them the tragic story of the moral downfall of "the formerly kind and deliberate tsar", ending it with an impressively artistic martyrology of the victims of the oprichnina terror.

In emigration, Kurbsky maintained close relations with the elder Artemy (+ 1st half of the 1570s), one of the last adherents of non-acquisitiveness. A follower of the Nil Sorsky, Artemy was distinguished by tolerance for the religious quests of others. Among the scribes close to him were such free-thinkers as Theodosius Kosoy and Matvey Bashkin. By agreement of the latter, on January 24, 1554, Artemy was condemned by the church council as a heretic and exiled to imprisonment in the Solovetsky monastery, from where he soon fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (c. 1554-55). Having settled in Slutsk, he proved himself to be a staunch fighter for Orthodoxy, a denouncer of reformation movements and heresies. Fourteen epistles have survived from his literary heritage.

§ 6.8. On the eve of the Troubles. The traditions of military tales are continued by the "Tale of the coming of Stefan Batory to the city of Pskov" by the icon painter Vasily (1580s), which tells about the heroic defense of the city from the Polish-Lithuanian army in 1581. In 1589, a patriarchate was established in Russia, which contributed to the revival literary activity and printing. "The Tale of the Life of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich" (before 1604), written by the first Russian patriarch Job in the traditional style of idealizing biography, stands at the origins of the literature of the Time of Troubles.

§ 7. From Old Russian literature to the literature of the New time
(XVII century)
§ 7.1. Literature of the Time of Troubles. XVII century - a transitional era from ancient to new literature, from the Muscovy to the Russian Empire. This was the century that paved the way for the comprehensive reforms of Peter the Great.

The "rebellious" century began with the Troubles: a terrible famine, civil war, Polish and Swedish intervention. The events that shook the country gave rise to an urgent need to comprehend them. People of various views and origins took up the pen: the cellarer of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery Avraamy Palitsyn, the clerk Ivan Timofeev, who in flowery language outlined events from Ivan the Terrible to Mikhail Romanov in the "Vestnik" (the work was carried out until the author's death in 1631), Prince I. A Khvorostinin is a Western writer, a favorite of False Dmitry I, who composed in his own defense "The Words of the Days, and Tsars, and Saints of Moscow" (possibly 1619), Prince S. I. Shakhovskoy is the author of "A Story in Memory of the Great Martyr Tsarevich Dimitry" Tale of a certain Mnis ... "(about False Demetrius I) and, possibly," Tale of the sowing book from previous years ", or" Chronicle book "(1st book of the 17th century), which is also attributed to the princes I. M. Katyrev-Rostovsky, I.A.Khvorostinin and others.

The tragedy of the Time of Troubles gave rise to a vivid journalism that served the goals of the liberation movement. A propaganda work in the form of a letter of appeal against the Polish-Lithuanian invaders who seized Moscow is "A New Story about the Glorious Russian Kingdom" (1611). In Lament over the Capture and Ultimate Ruin of the Moscow State (1612), depicting in a rhetorically decorated form "the fall of high Russia", the propaganda and patriotic letters of the patriarchs Job, Hermogenes (1607), the leaders of the people's militia, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Prokopy Lyapunov ( 1611-12). The sudden death at the age of twenty-three of Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky, a talented commander and popular favorite, gave rise to a persistent rumor about his poisoning by the boyars out of envy, due to dynastic rivalry. Rumors formed the basis of a folk historical song used in the "Scripture on the death and burial of Prince M. V. Skopin-Shuisky" (early 1610s).

Among the most remarkable monuments of Old Russian literature is the work of Avraamy Palitsyn "History in memory of the previous generation". Abraham began to write it after the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov in 1613 and worked on it until the end of his life in 1626. With great artistic power and with eyewitness reliability, he painted a broad picture of the dramatic events of 1584-1618. Most of the book is devoted to the heroic defense of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery from the Polish-Lithuanian troops in 1608-10. In 1611-12. Abraham, together with the archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Dionisy (Zobninovsky), wrote and sent out patriotic messages calling for the fight against foreign invaders. The energetic activity of Abraham contributed to the victory of the people's militia, the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612 and the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613.

The events of the Time of Troubles prompted the creation of numerous regional literary monuments (usually in the form of stories and tales of miracles from locally revered icons) dedicated to episodes of the struggle against foreign intervention in different regions of the country: in Kursk, Yaroslavl, Veliky Ustyug, Ustyuzhna, Tikhvin, Ryazan Mikhailov monastery and other places.

§ 7.2. Historical truth and fiction. The development of fiction. A feature of the literature of the XVII century. is the use in historical stories and tales of fictional plots, legends and folk traditions. The central monument to the legendary 17th century historiography. - Novgorod "Legend of Slovenia and Ruse" (no later than 1638). The work is dedicated to the origin of the Slavs and the Russian state (from the descendants of Patriarch Noah to the vocation of the Varangians to Novgorod) and includes the mythical letter of Alexander the Great to the Slavic princes, popular in ancient Slavic literatures. The legend was included in the Chronicle Patriarchal Code of 1652 and became the official version of the initial Russian history. It had a significant impact on subsequent Russian historiography. The historical outline is completely subordinated to a fictional intrigue with elements of an adventurous plot in "The Legend of the Assassination of Daniel of Suzdal and the Beginning of Moscow" (between 1652-81).

In the depths of traditional hagiographic genres (legends about the founding of a monastery, about the appearance of the cross, about a repentant sinner, etc.), the sprouts of new narrative forms and literary devices were ripening. A fictional folk-poetic plot is used in the "Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery" (2nd half of the 17th century). The work, dedicated to the traditional theme - the founding of the monastery, has been turned into a lyrical story about a man, his love and destiny. The basis of the conflict is the unrequited love of the prince's servant George for the beautiful Xenia, the daughter of the village sexton, who rejected him on the wedding day and "by God's will" married her husband, the prince. Heartbroken, Gregory becomes a hermit and founds the Tver Otroch monastery.

Murom literature of the first half of the 17th century gave wonderful images of ideal female types. As in "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom", which captures the sublime image of a wise peasant princess (see § 6.5), events unfold in these stories not in the monastery, but in the world. Features of life and biography are connected by "The Tale of Ulyania Osoryina", or "The Life of Juliania Lazarevskaya". The author, son of Ulyania Kallistrat (Druzhina) Osorin, created a work unusual for hagiographic literature, in many respects at odds with generally accepted views on the acts of saints. The Murom landowner with all her behavior affirms the sanctity of a virtuous life in the world. She embodies the ideal character of a Russian woman, compassionate and hardworking, daily in business and caring for her neighbors. Vivid pictures taken from life are painted by "The Tale of Martha and Mary", or "The Legend of the Unzhesky Cross". The miraculous origin of the local shrine, the life-giving cross, is connected here with the fate of loving sisters, for a long time separated by a quarrel between their husbands over a place of honor at a feast.

In the XVII century. essays are created with frankly fictional plots, anticipating the appearance of fiction in the proper sense of the word. The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn (possibly the 1660s) is extremely important for understanding changes in cultural consciousness. The work is in close connection with demonological legends and motifs that were widespread in Russian literature of that time. Suffice it to mention, for example, "The Tale of the Possessed Wife of Solomonia" by priest Jacob from Veliky Ustyug (probably between 1671 and 1676), a fellow countryman of the Grudtsyn-Usov merchants who actually existed. At the same time, "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" is based on the theme of the contract between man and the devil and the sale of the soul for worldly goods, honors and love pleasures, which was elaborated in detail in the Western European Middle Ages. The successful denouement of demonological plots is designed to testify to the power of the Church, overcoming the machinations of the devil, to the salutary intercession of heavenly forces, and especially to the Mother of God (as, for example, in the famous cycle of medieval works about Theophilus, one of which was translated by A. Blok, or in the case of Savva Grudtsyn). However, in the story, the religious didactics characteristic of stories about repentant sinners is overshadowed by a colorful depiction of everyday life and customs, folk-poetic images dating back to the Russian fairy tale.

Writers of the 17th century for the first time realized the self-sufficient value of artistic comprehension of the world and artistic generalization. This turning point in the history of Russian literature is vividly reflected in "The Tale of the Woe-Evil Part" - an unusually lyrical and deep work, written with wonderful folk poetry. "The Tale of Woe-Evil" was conceived as a moral and philosophical parable about the prodigal son, the ill-fated vagrant hawk, persecuted by evil fate. In the collective image of a fictional hero (a nameless fellow - a merchant), the eternal conflict of fathers and children, the theme of a fatal unhappy fate, the desired deliverance from which only death or departure to a monastery are revealed with amazing force. The ominously fantastic image of Grief-Evil Part personifies the dark motives of the human soul, the bad conscience of the young man himself.

The Tale of Frol Skobeev became a new phenomenon in the literature of Peter the Great. Her hero is an artful nobleman who seduced a rich bride and secured a comfortable life for himself by a successful marriage. They are a type of clever sly, joker, and even a crook. Moreover, the author does not in the least condemn his hero, but even admires his resourcefulness. All this brings the story closer to the works of the rogue genre, fashionable in Western Europe in the 16th-17th centuries. The Tale of Karp Sutulov (late 17th - early 18th centuries), which glorifies the resourceful female mind and ridicules the unlucky love affairs of a merchant, priest and bishop, is also distinguished by an entertaining plot. Its satirical orientation grows out of the folk culture of laughter, which flourished in the 17th century.

§ 7.3. Folk laughter culture. One of the brightest signs of a transitional era is the flourishing of satire, closely associated with folk culture of humor and folklore. Satirical literature of the 17th century reflected a decisive departure from the old book-Slavic traditions and "soulful reading", apt folk speech and imagery. For the most part, the monuments of folk culture of humor are independent and original. But even if Russian writers sometimes borrowed plots and motives, they gave them a vivid national imprint.

Against social injustice and poverty, the "ABC of the Naked and Poor Man" is directed. The Tale of Ruff Ershovich ridicules judicial red tape and legal proceedings (possibly the end of the 16th century), venality and bribery of judges - The Tale of Shemyakin's Court, which develops a rogue line in Russian literature on the basis of a "wandering" plot. The everyday life and customs of the clergy and monasticism ("Kalyazin petition", "The Legend of the priest Sava") become the target of satire. The unfortunate losers, who are literally lucky as drowned, are presented in a clownish form in The Tale of Thomas and Erem.

Monuments of folk culture of humor depict with great sympathy the intelligence, dexterity and resourcefulness of an ordinary person ("The Tale of the Shemyakin Court", "The Tale of the Peasant Son"). Behind the external comic side of "The Tale of a Hawk Moth," who argued the righteous and took a better place in paradise, there is a polemic with church ritual formalism and there is evidence that human weaknesses cannot interfere with salvation if the soul has faith in God and Christian love for neighbors ...

Folk laughter culture of the 17th century ("The Tale of Ruff Ershovich", depicting a land lawsuit, and "Kalyazinskaya petition", depicting the drunkenness of monks) widely uses genres of business writing for comic purposes: the form of a court case and petitions - official petitions and complaints. The language and structure of medical books, recipes and documents of the Aptekarsky Prikaz are parodies of the clownish "Healing Book for Foreigners", apparently created by someone from Muscovites.

In the XVII century. for the first time in the history of Old Russian literature, parodies of the Church Slavonic language and liturgical texts appear. Although the number of such monuments is small, no doubt only a few parodies have survived to this day, created in the circle of scribes who were well-read in church books and knew their language well. Writers of the 17th century they knew how not only to pray, but also to have fun in Church Slavonic. Sacred plots are played out to a greater or lesser extent in "The Tale of the Peasant Son" and "The Tale of the Hawk Maker". In the genre of parodia sacra, the "Tavern Service" is written - a buffoon's tavern liturgy, the oldest list of which is dated 1666. "The Kabaku Service" is in line with traditions dating back to such Latin services for drunkards as, for example, The Most Drunken Liturgy (XIII century) - the greatest monument of medieval scholarly buffoonery in vagant literature. Western European "wandering" plot, "turning inside out" the church confession, is used in "The Tale of the Chicken and the Fox".

From Western Europe came to Russia and the genre of dystopia. The satirical "The Legend of Luxurious Living and Glory", a Russian adaptation of a Polish source, depicts a fairy-tale paradise of gluttons and drunkards in Rabelaisian manner. The work opposes popular utopian legends like those that nourished the legends about Belovodye, a wonderful, happy country where true faith and piety flourish, where there are no lies and crimes. Faith in Belovodye lived among the people for a long time, forcing the brave dreamers to go in search of a blissful land to distant overseas lands in the second half of the 19th century. (see the essays by V. G. Korolenko "At the Cossacks", 1901).

§ 7.4. Revitalization of local literary life. Since the Time of Troubles, local literatures have been developing, maintaining a connection with the center and, as a rule, traditional forms of narration. XVII century presents in abundance examples of the glorification of local shrines that have not received general Russian veneration (life, legends about miraculous icons, stories about monasteries) and examples of the creation of new editions of already known works. From the literary monuments of the Russian North, one can single out the biographies of the saints who lived in the 16th century: "The Tale of the Life of Barlaam of Keret" (17th century) - the Kola priest who killed his wife and in great grief wandered in a boat with her corpse across the White Sea, begging for Forgiveness of God, and "Life of Tryphon of Pechenga" (late 17th - early 18th centuries) - the founder of the northernmost monastery on the Pechenga River, enlightener of the Sami in the western part of the Kola Peninsula.

The first history of Siberia is the chronicle of the Tobolsk clerk Savva Esipov (1636). Her traditions were continued in the "History of Siberian" (late 17th century or until 1703) by the Tobolsk nobleman Semyon Remezov. The cycle of stories is devoted to the capture of Azov by the Don Cossacks in 1637 and their heroic defense of the fortress from the Turks in 1641. The "Poetic" "The Tale of the Azov Siege of the Don Cossacks" (turn 1641-42) combines documentary accuracy with Cossack folklore. In the "fairy tale" story about Azov that used it (70s-80s of the 17th century), historical truth gives way to fiction based on a large number of oral legends and songs.

§ 7.5. Western European influence. In the XVII century. Muscovite Rus is rapidly ending the medieval era, as if in a hurry to make up for the lost time over the previous centuries. This time was marked by a gradual but steadily increasing pull of Russia towards Western Europe. In general, Western influence did not penetrate to us directly, but through Poland and Lithuanian Rus (Ukraine and Belarus), which largely assimilated the Latin-Polish culture. Western European influence increased the composition and content of our literature, contributed to the emergence of new literary genres and themes, satisfied new reading tastes and needs, provided abundant material to Russian authors and changed the repertoire of translated works.

The largest translation center was the Ambassadorial Prikaz in Moscow, which was in charge of relations with foreign states. At various times, it was headed by prominent diplomats, political and cultural figures, such as, for example, patrons and bibliophiles Boyar A.S. Matveev (§ 7.8) or Prince V.V. Golitsyn. In the 70s-80s. XVII century they directed the literary, translation and book activities of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. In 1607 FK Gozvinsky, a native of Lithuanian Rus, who served there, translated Aesop's fables and his legendary biography from the ancient Greek. Another ambassadorial translator, Ivan Gudansky, participated in the collective translation of The Great Mirror (1674-77) and independently translated from Polish the famous chivalrous novel The Story of Melusine (1677) with a fairy tale about a werewolf woman.

The translated knightly novel became one of the most significant events of the transitional era. He brought with him many new exciting plots and impressions: fascinating adventures and fantasy, the world of selfless love and friendship, the cult of ladies and female beauty, a description of knightly tournaments and fights, a knightly code of honor and nobility of feelings. Foreign fiction came to Russia not only through Poland and Lithuanian Rus, but also through the South Slavs, the Czech Republic and other routes.

Especially loved in Russia "The Tale of Bove the King" (according to V. D. Kuzmina, no later than the middle of the 16th century). It goes back through the Serbian translation to the medieval French novel about the exploits of Boveau d'Anton, which traveled all over Europe in various poetic and prose reworkings. Oral existence preceded the literary processing of the famous "The Tale of Yeruslan Lazarevich", which reflected the ancient oriental legend about the hero Rustem, known in the poem "Shah-name" by Firdousi (10th century). Among the early translations (no later than the middle of the 17th century) is "The Tale of Stilfried" - a Czech adaptation of a German poem of the late 13th or early 14th century. about Reinfried of Brunswick. The Tale of Peter the Golden Keys (2nd half of the 17th century) was translated from Polish, dating back to the popular French novel about Peter and the beautiful Magelon, created in the 15th century. at the court of the Burgundian dukes. In the XVIII - XIX centuries. the stories about Bove the king, Peter the Golden Keys, Eruslan Lazarevich were favorite folk tales and popular books.

Foreign fiction appealed to the taste of the Russian reader, caused imitations and alterations, which gave it a pronounced local flavor. The Tale of Cesar Otton and Olunda, translated from Polish (1670s), which tells about the adventures of the slandered and exiled queen and her sons, was reworked in a church-didactic spirit in The Tale of the Queen and the Lioness (late 17th century .). There is still debate about whether "The Tale of Vasily Zlatovlas" is translated or Russian (written under the influence of foreign entertainment literature), which is close to the fairytale plot about a proud princess (probably, the second half of the 17th century).

In the last third of the 17th century. popular collections of stories and pseudo-historical legends translated from Polish with a predominant ecclesiastical moralistic spirit are becoming widespread: "The Great Mirror" in two translations (1674-77 and 1690s) and "Roman Acts" (the last tr. of the 17th century. ), which use the plots of late Roman writers, which explains the title of the book. In the same way, through Poland, secular works come to Russia: "Faceces" (1679) - a collection of stories and anecdotes, acquainting the reader with the novelistics of the Renaissance, and apothegmata - collections containing apothegmas - witty sayings, anecdotes, entertaining and moralizing stories. Not later than the last quarter of the 17th century. the Polish collection of apothegmas of AB Budny († after 1624), a leader of the Reformation era, was translated twice.

§ 7.6. Pioneers of Russian versification. Rhyme in ancient Russian literature originated not in poetry, but in rhetorically organized prose with its love for the equality of the structural parts of the text (isokoly) and parallelism, which were often accompanied by the consonance of endings (homeoteleutons - grammatical rhymes). Many writers (for example, Epiphanius the Wise, Andrei Kurbsky, Avraamy Palitsyn) deliberately used rhyme and rhythm in prose.

Since the Time of Troubles, verse poetry has firmly entered Russian literature with its articulate verse, uneven and rhymed. The pre-syllabic poetry was based on the ancient Russian book and oral traditions, but at the same time it was influenced by Poland and Lithuanian Rus. The older poets were well acquainted with Western European culture. Among them, an aristocratic literary group stands out: princes S.I.Shakhovskoy and I.A.Khvorostinin, okolnichy and diplomat Alexei Zyuzin, but there were also clerks: a native of Lithuanian Rus Fyodor Gozvinsky and Anthony Podolsky, one of the writers of the Time of Troubles Evstratii - the author "serpentine", or "serpentine", verse, common in Baroque literature.

In the 30s-40s. XVII century accounts for the formation and flourishing of the "command school" of poetry, which united the employees of the Moscow orders. The center of literary life became the Printing House, the largest center of culture and the place of service of many writers and poets. The most prominent representative of the "school of ordered poetry" was the monk Savvaty, director (editor) of the Printing House. His colleagues Ivan Shevelev Nasedka, Stefan Gorchak, Mikhail Rogov left a noticeable trace in the history of verse poetry. All of them wrote mainly didactic messages, spiritual instructions, and poetic prefaces, often giving them the form of detailed acrostics containing the name of the author, addressee or customer.

An echo of the Troubles is the work of clerk Timofey Akundinov (Akindinov, Ankidinov, Ankudinov). Entangled in debts and under investigation, in 1644 he fled to Poland and for nine years, moving from one country to another, pretended to be the heir to Tsar Vasily Shuisky. In 1653 he was extradited by Holstein to the Russian government and quartered in Moscow. Akundinov is the author of a poetic declaration to the Moscow embassy in Constantinople in 1646, the metrics and stylistics of which are typical for the "command school" of poetry.

In the last third of the 17th century. vocal verse was ousted from high poetry by a more strictly organized syllabic verse and passed into lower literature.

§ 7.7. Baroque literature and syllabic poetry. Syllabic versification was brought to Russia (largely through the Belarusian-Ukrainian mediation) from Poland, where the main syllabic dimensions in baroque literature were formed in the 16th century. based on the patterns of Latin poetry. Russian verse received a qualitatively new rhythmic organization. The syllabic is based on the principle of equivalence: the rhyming lines must have the same number of syllables (most often 13 or 11), and in addition, exclusively female rhymes are used (as in Polish, where words have a fixed stress on the penultimate syllable). The work of the Belarusian Simeon Polotsky was of decisive importance in the dissemination of a new verbal culture and syllabic poetry with a developed system of poetic sizes and genres.

Having moved to Moscow in 1664 and became the first court poet in Russia, Simeon Polotsky was the creator of not only his own poetry school, but a whole literary movement of the Baroque - the first Western European style that penetrated Russian literature. Until the end of his life (+ 1680), the writer worked on two huge collections of poetry: "Vertograd multicolored" and "Rhymologion, or Poetry". His main poetic work, "Vertograd multicolored", is a "poetic encyclopedia" typical of baroque culture with thematic headings arranged in alphabetical order (1155 titles in total), often including whole cycles of poems and containing information on history, natural philosophy, cosmology, theology , antique mythology, etc. Characteristic of elite baroque literature and "Rhymologion" is a collection of panegyric poems on various occasions from the life of the royal family and nobles. In 1680, Simeon of Polotsk's "Rhyming Psalter" was published - the first in Russia poetic arrangement of psalms, created in imitation of the "Psalter of David" (1579) by the Polish poet Jan Kokhanovsky. An extremely prolific author, Simeon Polotsky wrote plays in verse based on biblical subjects: "About Nechadnezzar the Tsar ..." (1673 - early 1674), "The comedy of the parable of the prodigal son" (1673-78), containing a typical Russian life of that time conflict between fathers and children, polemical writings: the anti-Old Believer "Wand of Government" (published in 1667), sermons: "Soulful Lunch" (1675, published in 1682) and "Soul Supper" (1676, published in 1683), etc.

After the death of Simeon of Polotsk, his disciple Sylvester Medvedev took the place of the court writer, who dedicated the epitaph - "Epitaphion" (1680) to the memory of his mentor. Leading the Moscow Westernizers - "Latinists", Medvedev waged a decisive struggle against the party of Grekophile writers (Patriarch Joachim, Euthymius Chudovsky, brothers Ioanniki and Sophrony Likhudy, Hierodeacon Damascene), and fell in this struggle, executed in 1691 in co-authorship Medvedev wrote a historical essay about the reforms of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the Streltsy revolt of 1682 and the first years of the regency of Princess Sophia - "A brief contemplation of the years 7190, 91 and 92, in which he became a citizen." End of the 17th century was the time of the greatest creative successes of the court author Karion Istomin, who wrote a huge number of poems and poems, epitaphs and epigrams, orations and panegyrics. His pioneering pedagogical work, the illustrated poetic Primer (whole-engraved in 1694 and typeset in 1696), was reprinted and used as a textbook as early as the beginning of the 19th century.

The school of poetry also existed in the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery founded by Patriarch Nikon, the most prominent representatives of which were Archimandrites Herman (+ 1681) and Nikanor (2nd half of the 17th century), who used the isosyllabic version.

An outstanding representative of baroque authors was the Ukrainian Dimitri Rostovsky (in the world Daniil Savvich Tuptalo), who moved to Russia in 1701. A writer of versatile talents, he became famous as a wonderful preacher, poet and playwright, author of essays against the Old Believers ("Investigation of the schismatic Bryn faith", 1709). The creativity of Dimitri of Rostov, the East Slavic "metaphrast", summed up the ancient Russian hagiography. For almost a quarter of a century he worked on a generalized collection of the lives of the saints. Collecting and processing numerous Old Russian (Great Menaion of Chetia, etc.), Latin and Polish sources, Dimitri created a "hagiographic library" - "Lives of the Saints" in four volumes. His work was published for the first time in the printing house of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in 1684-1705. and immediately won a strong reader's love.

§ 7.8. The beginning of the Russian theater. The development of baroque culture with its favorite postulate life - stage, people - actors contributed to the birth of Russian theater. The idea of \u200b\u200bits creation belonged to the famous statesman boyar-Westernizer A.S. Matveev, head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. The first play of the Russian theater was "Artaxerxes Action". It was written in 1672 by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on the plot of the biblical book of Esther by the Lutheran pastor Johann Gottfried Gregory from the German settlement in Moscow (possibly with the participation of the Leipzig medical student Lavrenty Ringuber). "Artaxerxes Action" was created in imitation of the Western European drama of the 16th - 17th centuries. on biblical stories. The play, written in German poetry, was translated into Russian by employees of the Ambassadorial Prikaz. First staged on the opening day of the court theater of Alexei Mikhailovich on October 17, 1672, it ran for 10 hours without intermissions.

Russian theater was not limited to religious subjects. In 1673 it turned to ancient mythology and staged the musical ballet Orpheus based on the German ballet Orpheus and Eurydice. Gregory's successor, the Saxon Georg Hüfner (in the Russian pronunciation of that time - Yuri Mikhailovich Gibner or Givner), who directed the theater in 1675-76, compiled on the basis of various sources and translated "Temir-Aksakovo action". The play, dedicated to the struggle of the Central Asian conqueror Timur with the Turkish Sultan Bayazid I, was topical in Moscow both in historical perspective (see § 5.2) and in connection with the imminent war with Turkey for Ukraine in 1676-81. Despite the fact that the court theater existed for less than four years (until the death of the "main theater-goer", Alexei Mikhailovich on January 29, 1676), the history of Russian theater and drama began with it.

By the beginning of the XVIII century. school theater penetrates into Russia, used for educational and religious-political purposes in Western European educational institutions. In Moscow, theatrical performances were staged at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy (see § 7.9), for example, "A comedy of terrible betrayal of a voluptuous life" (1701), written on the theme of the gospel parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. A new stage in the development of the school theater was the drama of Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov, the author of "comedies" for Christmas (1702) and for the Assumption of the Virgin (probably 1703-05). In the Rostov school, opened by Dimitri in 1702, not only his plays were staged, but also works of teachers: the drama "The Crown of Dimitri" (1704) in honor of the heavenly patron saint Metropolitan the Great Martyr Dimitri of Thessaloniki, composed, as is believed, by the teacher Evfimy Morogin. At the beginning of the XVIII century. based on the Lives, in the version of Dimitry Rostovsky, plays were staged at the court theater of Princess Natalya Alekseevna, the beloved sister of Peter I: the "comedies" of Varlaam and Joasaph, the martyrs Evdokia, Catherine, and others.

§ 7.9. Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating the first higher educational institution in Moscow Russia belonged to baroque authors - Simeon Polotskiy and Sylvester Medvedev, who wrote "Privileges of the Moscow Academy" on behalf of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (approved in 1682). This document defined the foundations of a state higher education institution with an extensive program, rights and prerogatives for the training of secular and spiritual professional personnel. However, the first leaders and teachers of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, opened in Moscow in 1687, were the opponents of Simeon of Polotsk and Sylvester Medvedev - the learned Greeks brothers Ioanniki and Sophrony Likhuda. The Academy, where Church Slavonic, Greek, Latin languages, grammar, poetics, rhetoric, physics, theology and other subjects were taught, played an important role in the spread of education. In the first half of the 18th century. such famous writers and scientists as A.D. Kantemir, V.K.Trediakovsky, M.V. Lomonosov, V.E.Adodurov, A.A. Barsov, V.P. Petrov, and others came out of its walls.

§ 7.10. Church schism and Old Believer literature. The rapidly expanding work of the Moscow Printing House demanded more and more experts in theology, grammar and Greek. To translate and edit books, the "Kiev elders" Epiphany Slavinetsky, Arseny Satanovsky and Damaskin Ptitsky, who arrived in Moscow in 1649-50, were invited to Russia. Boyarin F. M. Rtishchev built for the "Kiev elders" St. Andrew's Monastery on his estate on the Sparrow Hills. There they began scholarly work and opened a school in which young Moscow clerks learned Greek and Latin. The Southwestern Russian book culture became one of the sources of Nikon's church reform. Another part of it was the modern Greek church rite, the differences of which from the old Russian were still worried about by Patriarch Joseph.

In 1649-50. the learned monk Arseny (in the world Anton Sukhanov) carried out important diplomatic assignments in the Ukraine, Moldavia and Wallachia, where he participated in a theological dispute with Greek hierarchs. The dispute is described in "Debate with the Greeks on Faith", where the purity of Russian Orthodoxy and its rituals (two-fingered, severe hallelujah, etc.) is proved. In 1651-53. with the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, Arseny traveled to the Orthodox East (to Constantinople, Jerusalem, Egypt) for the purpose of a comparative study of Greek and Russian church practice. Sukhanov described what he saw during the trip and critical comments about the Greeks in the essay "Proskinitariy" ‘A worshiper (of holy places)’ (from the Greek rspukhnEsh ‘to worship’) (1653).

In 1653, Patriarch Nikon began to unify the Russian church-ritual tradition with modern Greek and with the Orthodox in general. The most significant innovations were: the replacement of the two-finger sign of the cross with a three-finger sign (to which the Byzantines themselves switched under Latin influence after the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204); the printing on prosphora of a four-pointed cross (Latin "roof", as the Old Believers believed) instead of the Old Russian eight-pointed; the transition from a strong hallelujah to a triangular hallelujah (from its two repetitions during worship to three times); exclusion of the definition of true from the eighth member of the Creed ("true Lord"); the spelling of the name of Christ with two and (Iesus), and not with one (Isus) (in translations from the Greek Ostromir Gospel of 1056-57, Izbornik 1073, both options are still presented, but later in Russia a tradition was established to write a name with one i ) and much more. As a result of the "book information" in the second half of the 17th century. a new version of the Church Slavonic language was created.

Nikon's reform, which broke the Russian way of life, consecrated for centuries, was rejected by the Old Believers and marked the beginning of a church schism. The Old Believers opposed the orientation towards foreign church orders, defended the faith of their fathers and grandfathers, ancient Slavic-Byzantine rituals, defended national identity and were against the Europeanization of Russian life. The Old Believers' environment turned out to be unusually rich in talents and outstanding personalities; a brilliant galaxy of writers emerged from it. Among them were the founder of the "God-loving" movement Ivan Neronov, Archimandrite Spiridon Potemkin, Protopope Avvakum Petrov, Solovetsky monks Gerasim Firsov, Epiphanius and Gerontius, the preacher of self-immolation as the last means of salvation from the Antichrist, Hierodeacon Ignatius of the Solovetsky, and his adversary " priest Lazar, deacon Fyodor Ivanov, monk Avraamy, Suzdal priest Nikita Konstantinov Dobrynin, and others.

Inspirational speeches of Archpriest Avvakum attracted numerous followers not only from the lower classes, but also from among the aristocracy (noblewoman F.P. Morozova, Princess E.P. Urusova, etc.). This was the reason for his exile to Tobolsk in 1653, then to Dauria in 1656 and later to the Mezen in 1664. In 1666 Avvakum was summoned to Moscow to a church council, where he was dismissed and anathematized, and the next year he was exiled to the Pustozersky prison together with other defenders of the "old faith". During almost 15 years of imprisonment in an earthen prison, Avvakum and his associates (Elder Epiphanius, Priest Lazar, Deacon Fyodor Ivanov) did not stop fighting. The moral authority of the prisoners was so great that even the prison guards participated in the distribution of their works. In 1682 Avvakum and his comrades were burnt to death in Pustozersk "for great blasphemy against the royal house."

In the empty lake prison, Avvakum created his main works: "The Book of Conversations" (1669-75), "The Book of Interpretations and Moralities" (c. 1673-76), "The Book of Rebuke, or the Eternal Gospel" (c. 1676) and a masterpiece of Russian literature - "Life" in three author's editions 1672, 1673 and 1674-75. The work of Avvakum is far from the only autobiographical life in the 16th - 17th centuries. Among his predecessors were the story of Martyri Zelenetsky (1580s), "The Legend of the Anzersky skete" (late 1630s) by Eleazar and the remarkable "Life" (in two parts 1667-71 and c. 1676) Epiphany, spiritual father Habakkuk. However, Avvakum's "Life", written in a "natural Russian language" unique in its richness and expressiveness, is not only an autobiography, but also a sincere confession of a truth-seeker and a fiery sermon of a fighter ready to die for his ideals. Avvakum, the author of more than 80 theological, epistolary, polemical and other works (some of which have been lost), combine extreme traditionalism with bold innovation in creativity, and especially in language. The word Habakkuk grows out of the deepest roots of truly popular speech. The living and figurative language of Avvakum is close to the literary manner of the Old Believer Ioann Lukyanov, the author of the pilgrimage notes about "going" to Jerusalem in 1701-03.

The spiritual daughter of Avvakum, boyaryna F.P. Morozova, who was killed by starvation together with her sister, Princess E.P. Urusova, and the wife of the Strelets Colonel M.G. Danilova, in an earthen prison in Borovsk in 1675 for refusing to accept church reform, is dedicated to "The Tale of Boyaryna Morozova ", a work of high artistic merit. Soon after the death of the disgraced noblewoman, an author close to her (apparently her brother, the boyar Fyodor Sokovnin), created in the form of a life a vivid and truthful chronicle of one of the most dramatic events in the history of the early Old Believers.

In 1694, in the northeast of Lake Onega, Daniil Vikulin and Andrei Denisov founded the Vygovskoe hostel, which became the largest book and literary center of the Old Believers in the 18th - mid-19th centuries. The Old Believer book culture, which also developed in Starodubye (from 1669), on Vetka (from 1685) and in other centers, continued the Old Russian spiritual traditions in new historical conditions.

KEY SOURCES AND LITERATURE

SOURCES. Literary monuments of Ancient Russia. M., 1978-1994. [Vol. 1-12]; Library of Literature of Ancient Rus. SPb., 1997-2003. T. 1-12 (ed. Continues).

RESEARCH. Adrianova-Peretz VP "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" and Monuments of Russian Literature of the XI-XIII centuries. L., 1968; She's the same. Old Russian literature and folklore. L., 1974; Eremin I.P. Lectures and articles on the history of ancient Russian literature. 2nd ed. L., 1987; The origins of Russian fiction. L., 1970; Kazakova N.A., Lurie Ya.S. Antifeudal heretical movements in Russia of the XIV - early XVI centuries. M .; L., 1955; Klyuchevsky V.O. Old Russian Lives of Saints as a Historical Source. M., 1989; Likhachev D.S.Human in the literature of Ancient Rus. M., 1970; He's the same. Development of Russian literature X-XVII centuries: Epochs and styles. L., 1973; He's the same. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. 3rd ed. M., 1979; Meshchersky N.A. Sources and composition of ancient Slavic-Russian translated writing of the 9th-15th centuries. L., 1978; Panchenko A.M.Russian poetic culture of the 17th century. L., 1973; He's the same. Russian culture on the eve of Peter's reforms. L., 1984; Peretz V.N.From lectures on the methodology of literary history. Kiev, 1914; Robinson A. N. Biographies of Habakkuk and Epiphany: Research and Texts. M., 1963; He's the same. Literature of Ancient Rus in the literary process of the Middle Ages XI-XIII centuries: Essays on literary and historical typology. M., 1980; Russian literature X - first quarter of the XVIII century. / Ed. DS Likhacheva // History of Russian Literature: In four volumes. L., 1980. T. 1.S. 9-462; Sazonova L.I. Poetry of the Russian Baroque: (second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries). M., 1991; Sobolevsky A.I. Translated literature of Moscow Russia XIV-XVII centuries. SPb., 1903; Shakhmatov A.A.History of the Russian annals. SPb., 2002. T. 1. Book. 1; 2003. T. 1. Book. 2.

TEXTBOOKS, CHRESTOMATIOS. Buslaev F.I. Historical anthology of Church Slavonic and Old Russian languages. M., 1861; Gudziy N.K., History of ancient Russian literature. 7th ed. M., 1966; He's the same. Reader on ancient Russian literature / Scientific. ed. N.I. Prokofiev. 8th ed. M., 1973; History of Russian literature X - XVII centuries. / Ed. D.S. Likhacheva. M., 1985; Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature. 7th ed. M., 2002; Orlov A.S. Ancient Russian literature of the XI - XVII centuries. 3rd ed. M .; L., 1945; Pikkio R. Old Russian literature. M., 2001; Speransky M. N. History of ancient Russian literature. 4th ed. SPb., 2002.

REFERENCES. Bibliography of Soviet Russian works on literature of the XI-XVII centuries. for 1917-1957 / Comp. N.F.Droblenkova. M .; L., 1961; Bibliography of works on Old Russian literature published in the USSR: 1958-1967. / Comp. N.F.Droblenkova. L., 1978.Part 1 (1958-1962); L., 1979.Part 2 (1963-1967); the same: 1968-1972 / Comp. N.F.Droblenkova. SPb., 1996; the same: 1973-1987 / Comp. A.G. Bobrov et al. SPb., 1995. Part 1 (1973-1977); SPb., 1996. Part 2 (1978-1982); SPb., 1996. Part 3 (1983-1987); Bibliography of works on Old Russian literature published in the USSR (Russia): 1988-1992. / Comp. OA Belobrova et al. SPb., 1998 (continued publishing); Dictionary of scribes and bookishness of Ancient Russia. L., 1987. Issue. 1 (XI-first half of the XIV century); L., 1988. Issue. 2 (second half of the XIV-XVI centuries). Part 1 (A-K); L., 1989. Issue. 2 (second half of the XIV-XVI centuries). Part 2 (L-Z); SPb., 1992. Issue. 3 (XVII century). Part 1 (A-Z); SPb., 1993. Issue. 3 (XVII century). Part 2 (I-O); SPb., 1998. Issue. 3 (XVII century). Part 3 (P-S); SPb., 2004. Issue. 3 (XVII century). Part 4 (T-I); Encyclopedia "Words about Igor's Regiment". SPb., 1995. T. 1-5.

The first rhetoric appeared in Russia only at the beginning of the 17th century. and preserved in the earliest copy of 1620. This is a translation of the Latin short "Rhetoric" by the German humanist Philip Melanchthon, revised by Luke Lossius in 1577.

Its source was the "Russian Law", dating back to the ancient tribal era of the Eastern Slavs. In the X century. “Russian law” developed into a complex structure of customary law, which guided the Kiev princes in court cases. In the days of paganism, the "Russian Law" existed orally, was passed on from memory from one generation to another (apparently, by the priests), which contributed to the consolidation of terms, traditional formulas and phrases in his language, which after the baptism of Rus entered the business language.

Leo Tolstoy was a descendant of Saint Michael of Chernigov on the maternal side.

The clerk Grigory Kotoshikhin continued the literature of the "sovereign traitors". Having fled to Sweden, he wrote there, commissioned by Count De la Gardie, a detailed essay on the peculiarities of the Russian political system and social life - "On Russia in the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich" (1666-67). The writer is critical of the Moscow order. His work is a vivid document of a transition period, testifying to a turning point in the minds of people on the eve of Peter's reforms. Kotoshikhin possessed a sharp natural mind and literary talent, but in moral terms he stood, apparently, not high. In 1667 he was executed in a suburb of Stockholm for the murder of an apartment owner in a drunken brawl.

Alexei Mikhailovich's interest in the theater is not accidental. The monarch himself willingly took up the pen. Most of his work is occupied by monuments of the epistolary genre: official business letters, "friendly" letters, etc. With his lively participation, the "Sokolniki's path commander" was created. The book continues the tradition of Western European hunting writings. It describes the rules of falconry, the favorite entertainment of Alexei Mikhailovich. He also owns "The Tale of the Repose of Patriarch Joseph" (1652), remarkable for its artistic expressiveness and life truthfulness, unfinished notes about the Russian-Polish war of 1654-67, church and secular poetry, etc. Under his supervision the famous collection was compiled laws of the Russian state - "Cathedral Code" of 1649, an exemplary monument of the Russian business language of the 17th century.)