The specifics of ancient Russian literature. The main features of ancient Russian literature and its artistic method. The work of I.P. Eremin "On the artistic specifics of ancient Russian literature" The main features characterizing medieval literature in Russia

Genres ancient Russian literature.

A genre is a historical type literary work, an abstract sample, on the basis of which the texts of specific literary works are created. The system of genres of literature Ancient Russia significantly different from today. Old Russian literature developed largely under the influence of Byzantine literature and borrowed from it a system of genres, reworking them on a national basis: the specificity of the genres of Old Russian literature lies in their connection with traditional Russian folk art. Genres of Old Russian literature are usually divided into primary and unifying.

primary genres.

These genres are called primary because they served as building material for unifying genres. Primary genres:

Life - the genre of life was borrowed from Byzantium. This is the most widespread and favorite genre of Old Russian literature. Life was an indispensable attribute when a person was canonized, i.e. were considered saints. Life was created by people who directly communicated with a person or could reliably testify to his life. Life was always created after the death of a person. It performed a huge educational function, because the life of the saint was perceived as an example righteous life to be imitated. In addition, life deprived a person of the fear of death, preaching the idea of ​​the immortality of the human soul. Life was built according to certain canons, from which they did not depart until the 15th-16th centuries.

Canons of Life:

• - The pious origin of the hero of life, whose parents must have been righteous. The saint's parents often begged God.
• - A saint was born a saint, but did not become one.
• - The saint was distinguished by an ascetic way of life, spent time in solitude and prayer.
• - A mandatory attribute of life was a description of the miracles that occurred during the life of the saint and after his death.
• The Saint was not afraid of death.
• - The life ended with the glorification of the saint.

One of the first works of the hagiographical genre in ancient Russian literature was the life of the holy princes Boris and Gleb.

Old Russian eloquence - this genre was borrowed by Old Russian literature from Byzantium, where eloquence was a form of oratory. In ancient Russian literature, eloquence appeared in three varieties:

• - didactic (instructive)
• - political
• - solemn

Teaching is a genre in which ancient Russian chroniclers tried to present a model of behavior for any ancient Russian person: both for the prince and for the commoner. The most striking example of this genre is the Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh, included in the Tale of Bygone Years, dated 1096. At this time, the strife between the princes in the battle for the throne reached its climax. In his teaching, Vladimir Monomakh gives advice on how to organize your life. He says that there is no need to seek the salvation of the soul in seclusion. It is necessary to serve God by helping those in need. Going to war, you should pray - God will definitely help. Monomakh confirms these words with an example from his life: he took part in many battles - and God kept him. Monomakh says that one should look at how the natural world is arranged, and try to arrange social relations along the lines of a harmonious world order. The teaching of Vladimir Monomakh is addressed to posterity.

The word - is a kind of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. An example of the political variety of ancient Russian eloquence is the "Tale of Igor's Campaign".

Another example of political eloquence is the “Word of the Doom Russian land”, which was created immediately after the Mongol-Tatars came to Russia. The author glorifies the bright past and mourns the present. An example of a solemn variety of ancient Russian eloquence is Metropolitan Hilarion's "Sermon on Law and Grace", which was created in the first third of the 11th century. The word was written by Metropolitan Hilarion on the occasion of the completion of the construction of military fortifications in Kiev. The word carries the idea of ​​the political and military independence of Russia from Byzantium.

The story is a text of an epic character, telling about princes, about military exploits, about princely crimes. Examples of military stories are "The Tale of the Battle on the Kalka River", "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu Khan", "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky".

Unifying genres - the primary genres acted as part of the unifying genres, such as chronicle, chronograph, cheti-menei, patericon.

Chronograph - these are texts containing a description of the time of the 15th-16th centuries.

Cheti-menei - a collection of works about holy people.

Patericon - a description of the life of the holy fathers.

Apocrypha - literally translated from ancient Greek as "hidden, secret." These are works of a religious-legendary nature. Apocrypha became especially widespread in the 13th-14th centuries, but the church did not recognize this genre and does not recognize it to this day.

Works of ancient Russian literature existed and were distributed in manuscripts. At the same time, this or that work did not exist in the form of a separate, independent manuscript, but was part of various collections. Another feature of medieval literature is the absence of copyright. We know of only a few individual authors, writers of books, who modestly put their name at the end of the manuscript. At the same time, the writer supplied his name with such epithets as “thin”. But in most cases, the writer wished to remain anonymous. As a rule, the author's texts have not come down to us, but their later lists have been preserved. Often scribes acted as editors and co-authors. At the same time, they changed the ideological orientation of the rewritten work, the nature of its style, shortened or distributed the text in accordance with the tastes and demands of the time. As a result, new editions of monuments were created. Thus, a researcher of Old Russian literature must study all available lists of a particular work, establish the time and place of their writing by comparing different editions, variants of lists, and also determine in which edition the list most closely matches the original author's text. Such sciences as textology and paleography can come to the rescue (studies the external signs of handwritten monuments - handwriting, lettering, the nature of the writing material).

In the 11th - the first half of the 12th century, the main writing material was parchment, made from the skin of calves or lambs. Birch bark played the role of student notebooks.

To save writing material, words in a line were not separated, and only paragraphs of the manuscript were highlighted with a red capital letter. Often used well-known words were written in abbreviated form, under a special superscript - title. The parchment was pre-lined. The handwriting with the correct almost square lettering was called the charter.

The written sheets were sewn into notebooks, which were bound into wooden boards.

In the 14th century, parchment was replaced by paper. The statutory letter is replaced by a more rounded one.

The issue of periodization of Old Russian literature has not yet been finally resolved. Undoubtedly, the stages of development of Old Russian literature are closely connected with the stages of development of the Old Russian nationality and state. Taking into account the originality of ideas, original and translated works, main genres and styles, four periods can be distinguished in the history of the development of Old Russian literature (in addition to the initial one):

- Literature of Kievan Rus (11th - first third of the 12th century). Associated with the intensive development of ancient Russian writing. Ancient Russia gets acquainted with a large number of monuments of translated literature, both canonical, ecclesiastical, and apocryphal, didactic, historical and narrative. During this period, the original Old Russian literature was born and developed. The most important genres are being formed - life, didactic and solemn sermon, teaching, description of travels, chronicle, historical and military story, legend. The literature of this period is imbued with patriotic, civil pathos of love for the great Russian land.

- Literature of the period of feudal fragmentation (the second third of the 12th - the middle of the 13th century). Russia breaks up into a number of independent feudal semi-states, the development of literature takes on a regional character. Literary schools were created: Vladimir-Suzdal, Novgorod, Kiev-Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Polotsk-Smolensk, Turovo-Pinsk. In these regional centers, local chronicles, hagiography, genres of travel, historical stories, solemn oratorical eloquence are developing (“words” by Kirill Turovsky, Kliment Smolyatich; “Kiev-Pechersk Paterikon”, “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”, “Daniil Zatochnik's Prayer”).

- Literature of the period of struggle against foreign invaders and the unification of northeastern Russia (mid-13th - early 14th century). The heroic struggle of the Russian people against foreign invaders is vividly reflected. "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu", "The Life of Alexander Nevsky", "The Word of the Destruction of the Russian Land". In the literature of this time, the main topics are the fight against foreign enslavers - the Mongol-Tatars - and the strengthening of the Russian state, the glorification of the military and moral feats of the Russian people.

During this period, Epiphanius the Wise was revived and raised to a new stage of artistic perfection in an emotionally expressive style. Further development receives the style of historical narration, the political theory “Moscow is the third Rome” (“The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople”) is strengthened.

In the 15th century, Novgorod literature, as well as the literature of Tver, reached its peak. Afanasy Nikitin's "Journey Beyond the Three Seas" is connected with democratic urban culture.

The literature of this period reflected the main character traits of the emerging Great Russian people: steadfastness, heroism, the ability to endure hardships and difficulties, the will to fight and win. There is a growing interest in the psychological states of the human soul.

- Literature of the period of strengthening the Russian centralized state (16th - 17th centuries). In the 16th century, the process of merging regional literatures into one common one took place. Two tendencies are strictly traced: one is the observance of strict rules and canons of writing, church ritual, everyday life, the other is the violation of these rules. The latter begins to appear not only in journalism, but also in hagiography and historical narrative. Literature, in connection with historical changes (Bolotnikov's peasant war, the struggle against intervention) expands the scope of reality, changes the genre system, begins to free itself from faith in divine predestination. The principles of the artistic method of medieval literature are destroyed - symbolism, etiquette. Life turns into an everyday biography. Vivid evidence of this is "The Life of Yuliana Lazarevskaya" and "The Tale of the Azov Siege of the Don Cossacks in 1641". In the second half of the 17th century, the process of secularization of literature, its release from the tutelage of the church, the process of its democratization, accelerated. The traditional genres of ecclesiastical and business writing become objects of literary parody (Kazanskaya Petition and The Tale of Yersh Yershovich). Folklore rushes into literature in a broad wave. The genres of folk satirical tales, epic, song lyrics are organically included in literary works.

The process of self-awareness of the individual is reflected in a new genre - everyday story, in which a new hero appears - a merchant's son or a rootless nobleman. Together, syllabic poetry, court and school theater appear, which testifies to the triumph of new beginnings, which prepared the way for the emergence of classicism in Russian literature.

The historical significance of the Battle of Kulikovo and its reflection in the literature of the late 14th - 15th centuries. the chronicle story "Zadonshchina", "The Tale of the Life and Repose of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich", "The Tale of the Battle of Mamaev"

The meaning of the victory is comprehended in the cycle of stories about the Battle of Kulikovo that was taking shape at the end of the 14th - the middle of the 15th century. This cycle includes the chronicle story "The Massacre of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich on the Don with Mamai", the lyrical-epic story "Zadonshchina" and "The Legend of the Battle of Mamai". All these works are clear evidence of the growth of national self-consciousness. They are imbued with patriotic pathos of glorifying the great victory over foreign enslavers, glorifying the feat of the Russian people and the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich and his cousin Vladimir Andreevich, Prince Serpukhov and Borovsky. The stories about the Battle of Kulikovo emphasize that the victory was won at the cost of huge sacrifices of the Russian people and that it was the result of the unity and rallying of the main forces of Russia under the banner of Moscow. The events of 1380 are given in a broad historical perspective: the Battle of Kulikovo is compared with the battle on the Kalka, Mamai is compared with Batu, and the fight against the Golden Horde is seen as a continuation of the centuries-old struggle of Russia with the sedate nomads - the Pechenegs and Polovtsians.

ZADONSHINA. The poetic story about the Battle of Kulikovo - "Zadonshchina", which has come down to us in six lists and two editions, was written at the end of the 14th century. The author of this work was usually named Zephanius, the Bryansk boyar, who later became a priest. But according to Dmitrieva’s observations, it turns out that Zephanius owned another work that has not come down to us, which was used by an unknown author when writing Zadonshchina. An unknown author set himself the goal of glorifying the victory won in 1380, taking as a model the "Lay of Igor's Campaign". He created a song of glory to the victors and with a sorrowful cry honored those who fell on the battlefield.

In Zadonshchina, the course of historical events is not described in detail. The main attention is paid to their meaning, evaluation. It is noteworthy that the author of Zadonshchina saw the inseparable connection of times and events and helped his contemporaries to understand this. According to the author's correct idea, the Battle of Kulikovo is a continuation of the centuries-old struggle that the "brave Russians" had to wage with the steppe nomads. If Igor's defeat on Kayala (in the WORD) is the result of feudal strife, the lack of unity of action, then the victory on Kulikovo Field is the result of overcoming strife, the result of the unity of Russian forces led by the great Moscow prince Dmitry Ivanovich. Under the banner of Moscow, all Russian wars go into battle "for the Russian land, for the Christian faith." This refrain runs through the whole ZADONSHCHINA,

Zadonshchina consists of two parts: "pity" and "praise". Zadonshchina begins with a short introduction. It not only sets the readers - listeners in a high, solemn mood, but also determines the main theme of the work - to glorify Dmitry Ivanovich, his brother Vladimir Andreevich and bring sadness to the eastern country. Thus, in the Zadonshchina, a genealogical connection of the first Kiev princes is immediately established. And Moscow, the new political center of the Russian land, is declared the heir to Kiev and its culture.

The military prowess and courage of the Moscow princes are characterized in ZADONSHCHINA with the help of the same artistic techniques as in the WORD. For example, characterizing Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother Vladimir Andreevich, the author uses several adverbial phrases in one sentence, which gives the narrative a special smoothness, unhurriedness.

The first part of ZADONSHINA - pity, opens with vivid pictures of the gathering of Russian troops, their marching, the beginning of the battle and their defeat. The military valor of the Olgerdovichs - Andrei and Dmitry, who came to the aid of the Moscow prince, is glorified in the same way as the valor of the soldiers of Bui Tur Vsevolod in the WORD. Nature in Zadonshchina is on the side of the Russian troops and portends the defeat of the "nasty". Winged birds fly, crows roar, jackdaws roar, eagles scream, wolves howl. But for Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, the sun is shining brightly in the east.

The central place in ZADONSHCHINA is given to the image of the battle on the Kulikovo field. The first half of the battle ends with the defeat of the Russians. Russian women mourn the fallen soldiers. Their lyrical songs are similar to Yaroslavna's famous lament.

The second part of ZADONSHINA - praise, is devoted to describing the victory won by the Russian troops when the regiment of the voivode Dmitry Bobrok enters the battle. As a result of the victory won, merriment and rejoicing spread over the Russian land, and Russian glory rose above the blasphemy of the filthy.

ZADONSHINA's narration style is joyful, major, excitedly pathetic. The author enlivens the story with direct speech of the characters.

Pagan mythological images are completely absent in ZADONSHINA, but religious and Christian motives are significantly enhanced. The author puts reflections and prayer appeals into the mouths of the Russian princes, elements of religious fiction are introduced into the narrative (Boris and Gleb pray). Everything testifies to the increased role of the church in the life of the Muscovite state.

Techniques and poetic images of folk poetry, song rhythms are widely used in ZADONSHCHINA. So, like eagles, Russian princes flock to the aid of Dmitry Ivanovich. Like falcons and hawks, Russian warriors rush to the enemy herds of geese and swans. Such an artistic logic of parallelisms is based on the impressions associated with hunting, and also gives a visual representation of the superiority of the strength of the Russian troops over the Golden Horde.

In the style of ZADONSHINA, traces of 15th-century business prose are also significant. This is evidenced by chronological clarifications, titles of princes, genealogical formulas, a list of those killed, as well as the uniformity of methods for isolating direct speech. At the same time, ZADONSHCHINA has a strophic structure, which is emphasized by the same beginnings: "And the prince said to them ..", "And Andrey said ...", "And Dmitry said to him." Zadonshchina is an example of a special kind of folk poems of literary content, its author imitated the "Word" not in a book way, but by reproducing by ear and memorization. ZADONSHINA typologically belongs to lyrical-epic works, similar to "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and "The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land". ideological concept"Zadonshchina" is associated with the poetization of the political role of Moscow and the Moscow prince in the fight against the Horde (apparently, therefore, it deliberately does not talk about the betrayal of the Ryazan prince Oleg). The author directed all his pathos to the promotion of the idea of ​​unity, the unity of all the forces of the Russian land around Moscow, supporting in every possible way that only thanks to unity was a historical victory won, and the princes and Russian wars gained "honor and a glorious name" for themselves.

The legend of the mother's massacre. In the middle of the 15th century, on the basis of the annalistic story about the Battle of Kulikovo, Zadonshchina and oral traditions, the “Legend of the Mamai Battle” was created, which has come down to us in more than a hundred lists, in six editions. In the Tale, there is a tendency to fictionalize the narrative, and its amusingness is enhanced. The author of the Tale, glorifying the pious thoughts of Dmitry Ivanovich and opposing them to the thoughts of Mamai, does not strive for the accuracy of historical facts, often allowing anachronisms, and includes fictitious monologues in the narrative.

In the Tale you can find a lot of new, sometimes poetic details, for example, in the Tale it is reported that Dmitry sent Zakhary Tyutchev as an ambassador to Mamai, about a visit by the Moscow prince to the Trinity Monastery.

In the Tale, the steadfastness, courage, and Christian piety of the Russians are contrasted with the boastfulness, arrogance, and wickedness of Mamai and his allies.

In the legends about the Battle of Kulikovo, the moral and aesthetic assessment of the activities of historical figures is based on the folk idea of ​​the unity of the Russian principalities around Moscow. It is significant that in the Tale this idea is interpreted quite broadly and in a peculiar way. It outgrows the boundaries of the actual Russian borders and acquires international significance. According to the author, in the fight against Mamai, the efforts of not only Russian, but also Lithuanian princes should be united.

In the Tale, as in other stories of the era of the Battle of Kulikovo, the prince is portrayed in a new way. Previously, the prince was a brave and hardy warrior, a skilled diplomat, but now these qualities are not decisive. The main thing in the image of the prince is the display of his unifying efforts, overcoming his narrow local interests.

One of the artistic discoveries of the Legend is seen in the fact that the activities of the princes, especially their participation in the Battle of Kulikovo, are presented not only as an all-Russian affair, but also as a family affair. With anxiety and excitement, the Russian princesses escort their husbands to the battle, in such an image the Battle of Kulikovo acquires a special power of emotional impact.

The victory on the Kulikovo field over the hordes of Mamai showed that the Russian people have the strength to decisively fight the enemy, and these forces are able to unite and direct the centralized power of the Grand Duke. The victory strengthened the political authority of Moscow, the center of the emerging state, and the question of the final destruction of the Golden Horde yoke became only a matter of time: a hundred years after the Battle of Kulikovo, in 1480, the yoke was over.

Old Russian literature, like any medieval literature, has a number of features that distinguish it from modern literature. A characteristic feature of the literature of the medieval type is a broad interpretation of the concept of "literature" as a written word with the obligatory inclusion of functional genres in it, usually performing religious, ritual or business functions. Attention should be paid to the fact that in the Middle Ages the genre system was based on functional genres, which had special non-literary functions. On the contrary, genres with reduced functionality are on the periphery of this system. In the transitional period from the Middle Ages to the culture of modern times, a reverse process occurs: genres with weakened functionality move to the center of the system, while functional genres are pushed to the periphery.

In this way, DRL is a complex conglomeration of artistic and business memorabilia (1). This feature was due to its close connection with history, the Christian religion and writing in general.

The handwritten nature of the existence of the works of the DRL (2) fundamentally distinguishes it from modern literature. The work, as a rule, existed not in one, but in several lists. The scribe sometimes simply copied the manuscript, creating a new one. list, but often changed its ideological orientation in accordance with the requirements of the time, shortened or expanded the text, changed the style of the monument. In this case, we are talking about a new editions works. The author's list of text is called autographed. In the process of processing the work, its editions. Since the essay in the DRL existed for several centuries and in different regions, there could be several editions. The list that turns out to be the basis for revisions is called protographer. They may not always be the author's version. Researchers of the movement and development of texts in DRL - textologists and paleographers– consider the types of handwriting of scribes-scribes, features of spelling, grammar, identify individual language differences and, on the basis of this, draw up a hypothetical scheme for the development and distribution of editions of the monument. Textology and paleography are auxiliary disciplines that help in the study of handwritten texts. Textology deals with the study of the text itself, and paleography examines the material on which and with the help of which a handwritten monument was created.

Anonymity (3) most of the works of DRL - her other distinguishing feature, associated with the Christian concept of human personality, according to which pride was considered one of the greatest sins, and humility - the height of virtue. Because of this, the individual characteristics of the writer's personality in medieval literature did not receive such a vivid manifestation as in the literature of modern times. However, anonymity should not be confused with impersonality. It has long been proven that the individual authorial principle existed in DRL, but the forms of its expression were different than in the literature familiar to us. The attitude towards copyright in the DRL was quite different. Anonymity allowed the authors to use parts of "foreign" texts to compose their own. Exceptions were made only for authoritative works - texts Holy Scripture and Tradition, writings of the Church Fathers, state documents. References were necessarily made to the names of their creators. However, authoritative church texts were recognizable due to their wide popularity.

Medieval historicism (4). DRL began as literature devoid of fiction. The scribe strictly followed the fact, connected his work with a specific historical event or person. Even when we are talking about supernatural phenomena, about persons and events that, from our point of view, did not exist or are impossible in reality, all the same, both the compiler of the work and the reader in Ancient Russia perceived everything written as real. And this attitude to the written text persisted for a very long time. Perhaps only in the XVII century, this tradition was destroyed.

The principle of historicism is associated with providentialism (5), that is, the idea of ​​predestination. So, any hero of hagiographic literature, even in childhood, shows a penchant for a holy life. If he begins his life sinfully, then his belief, the change in the quality of his spiritual state is inevitable, predetermined from above. The suffering of the Russian people “for our sins” is also predetermined in the stories about the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

The peculiarities of the worldview of a medieval person are due to the authoritarian thinking of the ancient Russian scribe and authoritarianism (6) as a feature of the artistic method of DRL. A reference to historical, literary or political authority is very important for an ancient Russian person (this has already been said above). Often, new compositions were signed with the names of the church fathers, hierarchs of past years, only to give them greater weight. The reader, who first gets acquainted with the monuments of the DRL, pays attention to the abundance of direct quotations and indirect references to the texts of the New and Old Testament, numerous references to the works of authoritative church writers. In these quotations, the author, as it were, consolidated his moral, didactic, political and aesthetic assessment of a fact, event, person, affirmed its universal significance and universal recognition.

Closely related to authoritarian thinking principle of retrospective historical analogy (7) , which is the most important means of the author's assessment of a particular historical event. Here is what V.V. writes about this. Kuskov: “A retrospective historical analogy allows us to reveal more deeply the meaning of this or that historical event, assess the behavior of its participants, glorify them or condemn them, establish a kind of typological commonality between the events of Ancient Russia and the events of world history, and thereby indicate their certain pattern.” On the basis of the monuments of the Kulikovo cycle, the researcher shows how a continuous chain of victories won by the Russian princes Yaroslav the Wise, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy is established. “Traditional reception,” continues V.V. Kuskov, - a retrospective historical analogy with biblical characters in the "Tale of the Battle of Mame" emphasizes the significance of the victory won on the Kulikovo field. It is equated with the victory of Gideon over Midian, Moses over Amalek and Pharaoh, David over Goliath. The troops of the Moscow prince are like the army of Alexander the Great, the courage of the Russian soldiers is like Gideon's allies. And the heavenly powers help Dmitry just as they once helped Tsar Constantine in his fight against the wicked. The regiments of Dmitry Volynets are like the youths of Davidov, “whoever has hearts, like lions, like lyuti vljtsi on the flock of sheep.” In his prayers, Dmitry asks God to help him in the same way as Ezekiah - to tame the heart of the ferocious beast Mamai.

Authority dominated in the field art form. DRL can be called exemplary literature, sustainable etiquette literature. Traditional (8) covers not only the content of works, but also their form: the principles of depicting a person, plot, composition, language. The traditionalism of medieval literature should not be taken as the result of the "childish spontaneity", inability or "incompetence" of the scribe. This is a phenomenon of the era, the urgent need of the time, the fact of the moral consciousness of man, without which he could not explain the world and navigate in it.

The authoritarianism of the DRL reflects the class-corporate principle of the existence of an ancient Russian person. A clear awareness of the impossibility of breaking the class-corporate principle leaves an imprint on literature. If you are a prince, then you must be one and behave in accordance with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bworthy princely behavior. “Just as a cauldron cannot escape blackness and burning, so a serf cannot escape servility” (“Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik). Human behavior in medieval society is determined by rank. Likhachev called this feature of life etiquette. But it is more accurate to use the terms chivalry and orderliness. Even the clothing of a medieval person is a sign of rank. Order is order. Disorder, disorder, disorder. A person must take his place in the general row. Order, rows become indicators of the structure of the world. In the work of the 17th century "The constable of the falconer's way", created not without the participation of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the creed of human behavior and order is clearly formulated. The ancient Russian “rank” as a literary concept corresponds to some extent to the modern concept of “rhythm”, for it is precisely the measured adherence to order, ceremoniality that creates the vital basis for the ceremoniality of Russian literature.

Tradition becomes a type of medieval creativity, the most important factor in the intellectual assimilation of reality. It rests on a deep conviction that there is only one correct worldview in the world - the Christian ideology. The traditionalism of ideological and artistic thinking, reflecting medieval ideas about the new as heretical, did not allow a different approach to assessing the phenomenon, regarding any other point of view as coming from the devil.

The Old Russian writer creates within a certain tradition. true value medieval art he sees him as following the pattern exactly. The highest standard and highest truth is, of course, the authority of Holy Scripture.

D.S. Likhachev introduced the concept literary etiquette (9) , by which we mean the system of canonical literary devices- compositional, system of images, language, stylistic clichés, etc., necessary to create works of certain genres, images of certain characters.

An essential feature of DRL is its direct and more stable connection with ideology (10) . A.N. Robinson explains this by saying that in the Middle Ages "artistic literary creativity developed not independently (as a special form of ideology), but as if “inside” or as part of various practically purposeful genres of writing (for example, in annals, and in a solemn sermon, and in hagiography, etc.) ... Similar the united and practically purposeful functions of literature delayed the selection of the actual artistic creativity from writing and caused a more direct (than in the literature of modern times) dependence of aesthetics on ideology as a whole. It also follows from this didacticism DRL. The author has always set practical and didactic goals for his work, because medieval literature is utilitarian, it is created for the benefit of the soul. Even history is always an edifying lesson.

The process of creating a literary work in Ancient Russia was closely connected with the process of cognition, which in turn was due to the peculiarities of the worldview of a medieval person. The worldview of the ancient Russian scribe is characterized by binary, contrasting the real with the unreal, the temporal with the eternal. These features of the vision of the world also affected the theory of knowledge: the surrounding reality, everyday things, the scribe comprehends “bodily eyes”. Secrets ideal world a person is revealed through spiritual insight, divine revelation, therefore knowledge of the heavenly is possible only with “spiritual eyes”.

From the point of view of a medieval person, divine forces could manifest themselves in life either directly or indirectly, with the help of various hints. Perceiving reality as a symbol of the ideal world, a person perceived any phenomenon, any object of the real world as a sign expressing the sacred essence of this phenomenon or object. On the basis of such a vision of the world is actively developing symbolism (11) - one of the most characteristic features of medieval literature. The emergence of symbolism in the DRL should not be associated exclusively with the dominance of Christian ideology. It is inherent in art and pre-Christian eras. So, A.N. Veselovsky distinguished between pagan symbolism and Christian symbolism. In his opinion, in paganism "the symbol came out of life", while in Christianity "life begins to be determined by the mental material introduced into it."

Medieval literature and art is built on symbols. Dionysius the Areopagite states: "Things that are revealed are images of invisible things." Every thing is a symbol of the invisible. In medieval consciousness, the world doubles. The real world below is a symbol and prototype of the ideal, heavenly world. Only those who have gained perfection through inner contemplation can penetrate into the heavenly world, then the inner gazes open and prophets are born. Note that literature does not forget anything. Based on the principle of doubling the world in romantic aesthetics, images of prophetic poets appear.

Events are also doubled. They have analogues in the past, primarily in biblical and gospel history, which is conceived as a reality. In a historical event, it is important to find hidden meaning. God is a smart and wise mentor who tries to educate humanity with his batog. Please note that symbolism, as well as DRL historicism, turns out to be associated with the idea of ​​predestination, providentialism. Symbolic items. The sword is a symbol of power and justice, the shield is protection, defense. The church is a symbol of heaven, the earthly sky, the ark of salvation (just as God saved Noah in the ark, so the temple saves a person). Gold symbolizes eternity and Christ. The cross is salvation, the torment of the cross. It should be noted that the symbolism of the DRL gave rise to the predominance of the parable genre, which was the fundamental basis of genre systems.

Of course, all these features of DPD could not remain unchanged for seven centuries, they gradually transformed as literature developed.

"Separate observations on the artistic specifics of ancient Russian literature were already in the works of F.I. Buslaev, I.S. Nekrasov, I.S. Tikhonravov, V.O. Klyuchevsky." Likhachev D.S. Poetics of ancient Russian literature, M., 1979, p. 5.

But only at the end of the 20th century did works appear that set out the general views of their authors on the artistic specificity and artistic methods of ancient Russian literature. "These views can be traced in the works of I.P. Eremin, V.P. Andrianova-Peretz, D.S. Likhachev, S.N. Azbelev." Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature, M., 1989, p. 9.

D.S. Likhachev put forward a thesis about the diversity of artistic methods not only in all ancient Russian literature, but in this or that author, in this or that work.

"Any artistic method," the researcher distinguishes, "makes up a whole system of large and small means to achieve certain artistic goals. Therefore, each artistic method has many features, and these features are in a certain way correlated with each other." Likhachev D.S. To the study of artistic methods of Russian literature of the XI-XVII centuries // TODRL, M., L., 1964, v. 20, p.7.

The worldview of a medieval person absorbed, on the one hand, speculative religious ideas about the world of man, and on the other hand, a concrete vision of reality that followed from the labor practice of a person in a feudal society.

In his daily activities, a person is faced with reality: nature, social, economic and political relations. The Christian religion considered the world around man to be temporary, transient, and sharply opposed the world to the eternal, incorruptible. The beginnings of the temporal and eternal are contained in man himself: his mortal body and immortal soul, the result of divine revelation allows man to penetrate the secrets of the ideal world. The soul gives life to the body, spiritualizes it. The body is the source of carnal passions and the illnesses and sufferings resulting from them.

A person cognizes reality with the help of five senses - this is the lowest form of sensory cognition of the "visible world". The "invisible" world is comprehended by reflection. Only inner spiritual insight as a doubling of the world largely determined the specifics of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, its leading principle is symbolism. Medieval man was convinced that symbols are hidden in nature and in man himself, symbolic meaning filled with historical events. The symbol served as a means of revealing the meaning, finding the truth. As the signs of the visible world surrounding a person are ambiguous, so is the word: it can be interpreted both in direct and figurative meanings.

Religious Christian symbolism in the minds of ancient Russian people was closely intertwined with folk poetic. Both had a common source - surrounding a person nature. And if the labor agricultural practice of the people gave earthly concreteness to this symbolism, then Christianity introduced elements of abstractness.

A characteristic feature of medieval thinking was retrospectiveness and traditionalism. Thus, the ancient Russian writer constantly refers to the texts of "scripture", which he interprets not only historically, but also allegorically, tropologically and analogously.

The Old Russian writer creates his work within the framework of an established tradition: he looks at patterns, canons, does not allow "self-thinking", i.e. artistic invention. His task is to convey the "image of truth." The medieval historicism of Old Russian literature is subordinated to this goal. All events occurring in the life of a person and society are considered as a manifestation of the divine will.

History is a constant arena of the struggle between good and evil. The source of good, good thoughts and deeds is God. The devil pushes people to evil. But ancient Russian literature does not remove responsibility from the person himself. He is free to choose either thorny path virtue, or the spacious road of sin. In the mind of the ancient Russian writer, the categories of ethical and aesthetic organically merged. The Old Russian writer usually builds his works on the contrast of good and evil, virtues and vices, ideal and negative heroes. He shows that the high moral qualities of a person are the result of hard work, a moral feat.

The character of medieval literature is imprinted by the dominance of the estate-corporate principle. The heroes of her works, as a rule, are princes, rulers, generals or church hierarchies, "saints", famous for their deeds of piety. The behavior and actions of these heroes are determined by their social position.

Thus, symbolism, historicism, rituality or etiquette and didacticism are the leading principles of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature, which incorporates two sides: strict factuality and the ideal transformation of reality.

Question #1

The main features of ancient Russian literature.

Old Russian literature - 10th - 12th century

Peculiarities:

1. handwritten character. There were not individual handwritten works, but collections with specific goals.

2. Anonymity. This was a consequence of the attitude of society towards the work of the writer. Rarely are the names of individual authors known. In the work, the name is indicated at the end, title and in the margins with evaluative epithets "thin" and "unworthy". Medieval authors did not have the concept of "authorship". The main task: to convey the truth.

Anonymity types:

3. religious character. Everything is explained by God's will, will and providence.

4. Historicism. The author has the right to write only historically reliable facts. Fiction is excluded. The author is convinced of the authenticity of the stated. Heroes are historical figures: princes, rulers, standing at the top of the hierarchical ladder of feudal society. Even stories about miracles are not so much the fiction of the author as accurate records of the stories of eyewitnesses or the participants themselves.

5. Patriotism. The works are filled with deep content, heroic pathos of service to the Russian land, state, homeland.

6. main topic ancient Russian literature- world history and the meaning of human life.

7. Ancient Literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian man, capable of sacrificing the most precious thing - life for the common good. It expresses a deep belief in strength, the ultimate triumph of good, and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and conquer evil.

8. A feature of the artistic creativity of the ancient Russian writer is the so-called "literary etiquette". This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.

9. Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing and is based on Christian book culture and developed forms of oral poetry. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, visual means of folk art.

10. The traditions of Old Russian literature are found in the work of Russian writers of the 18th-20th centuries.

The word is imbued patriotic pathos of the glorification of Russia, as equal among all states of the world. The author contrasts the Byzantine theory of the universal empire and the church with the idea of ​​equality of all Christian peoples. Shows the superiority of grace over law. The law was distributed only among the Jews, but grace among all peoples. As a result, the new covenant is a Christian doctrine that has worldwide significance and where every nation has the full right to freely choose this grace. Thus, Hilarion rejects Byzantium's monopoly rights to the exclusive possession of grace. According to Likhachev, the author creates his own patriotic concept of history, where he glorifies Russia and the Enlightener Vladimir. Hilarion exalts the feat of Vladimir in the adoption and spread of Christianity. He lists the merits of the prince to the homeland, emphasizes that Christian faith was adopted by the Russians as a result of free choice. The work put forward demand for the canonization of Vladimir as a saint, also the author glorifies the activities of Yaroslav, who successfully continued his father's work of spreading Christianity. The product is very logical. The first part is a kind of introduction to the second - the central one. The first part is a comparison of Law and Grace, the second is a praise to Vladimir, the third is a prayer appeal to God. The first part follows sign of antithesis- a typical method of oratorical eloquence. Illarion widely uses book metaphors, rhetorical questions, exclamations, repetitions and verbal rhymes. The word is a model for scribes of the 12th-15th centuries.

Question #10

Journey of Abbot Daniel

As early as the 11th century, Russian people began to travel to the Christian East, to "holy places". These travel pilgrimages (a traveler who visited Palestine brought a palm branch with him; pilgrims were also called kaliks - from the Greek name for shoes - kaliga put on by a traveler) contributed to the expansion and strengthening of international relations of Kievan Rus, contributed to the development of national identity.

So, at the beginning of the 12th century. arises "The Journey of Abbot Daniel. Daniel committed pilgrimage to Palestine in 1106-1108 Daniel undertook a long journey, "needed by his thought and impatience", desiring to see "the holy city of Jerusalem and the promised land", and "for the sake of love for the sake of the holy places, I wrote down everything that I saw with my eyes." His work is written "for the faithful for the sake of people", so that when they hear about "these holy places," rushed to these places with thought and soul and those thus they received “an equal reward from God” with those who “reached these holy places.” Thus, Daniel attached to his "Journey" not only cognitive, but also moral, educational meaning: his readers - listeners must mentally go through the same journey and receive the same benefit for the soul as the traveler himself.

Daniel's "walk" is of great interest detailed description"holy places" and the personality of the author himself, although it begins with etiquette self-abasement.

Talking about the hard journey Daniel notes how difficult it is to "explore and see all the holy places" without a good "leader" and without knowledge of the language. At first, Daniel was forced to give from his "bad booty" to people who know those places, so that they show them to him. However, he was soon lucky: he found in the monastery of St. Savva, where he stayed, an old husband, “book velmi”, who introduced the Russian hegumen to all the sights of Jerusalem and its environs.

Daniel reveals great curiosity: he is interested nature, city planning and the character of the buildings of Jerusalem, irrigation system near Jericho. Some interesting information Daniel tells about the Jordan River, which has gentle shores on one side, and steep ones on the other, and in every way resembles the Russian river Snov. Daniel strives to convey to his readers the feelings that every Christian experiences when approaching Jerusalem: these are feelings of “great joy” and “shedding tears.” The abbot describes in detail the way to the city gates past the pillar of David, the architecture and size of the temples. A large place in the Journey is occupied by legends that Daniel either heard during his journey or read in written sources. He easily combines canonical scripture and apocrypha in his mind. Although Daniel's attention is absorbed by religious issues, this does not prevent him from realizing himself as the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian land in Palestine. He proudly reports that he, the Russian hegumen, was honorably received by King Baldwin (Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders during Daniel's stay in it). He prayed at the Holy Sepulcher for the whole Russian land. And when the lampada, set by Daniel on behalf of the entire Russian land, was lit, but the “flask” (Roman) lamp was not lit, he sees in this a manifestation of God’s special mercy and goodwill towards the Russian land.

Question #12

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

"The Lay of Igor's Campaign" was found in the early 90s of the 18th century by the famous lover and collector of Russian antiquities A.I. Musin-Pushkin.

"The Word" is the pinnacle of literature created during the period of feudal fragmentation.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is dedicated to the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185 by Prince Igor Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversky with a few allies, a campaign that ended in a terrible defeat. author calls on the Russian princes to unite to repulse the steppe, to defend the Russian land by joint efforts.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" with brilliant power and penetration reflected in itself the main disaster of its time - the insufficiency of the state unity of Russia and, as a result, the weakness of its defense against the onslaught of the steppe nomadic peoples, who in quick raids ravaged the old Russian cities, devastated villages, drove the population into slavery, penetrated into the very depths of the country, everywhere bringing death and destruction with them.

The all-Russian power of the Kiev prince had not yet completely disappeared, but its significance was falling irresistibly. . The princes were no longer afraid of the Kiev prince and sought to capture Kiev, to increase their possessions and use the dying authority of Kiev in their own interests.

In the Lay, there is no systematic account of Igor's campaign. Igor's campaign against the Polovtsians and the defeat of his troops is for the author an occasion for deep reflection on the fate of the Russian land, for a passionate call to unite and defend Russia. This idea - the unity of Russians against common enemies - is main idea works. The ardent patriot, the author of the Lay, sees the reason for Igor's unsuccessful campaign not in the weakness of the Russian soldiers, but in the princes, who are not united, act separately and ruin their native land, and forget all-Russian interests.

The author begins his story with a recollection of how disturbing the beginning of Igor's campaign was, what ominous signs - an eclipse of the sun, the howling of wolves in ravines, the barking of foxes - he was accompanied by. Nature itself, as it were, wanted to stop Igor, not to let him go further.

The defeat of Igor and its terrible consequences for the entire Russian land, as it were, make the author recall that not long ago the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, with the combined forces of the Russian princes, defeated these very Polovtsians. He mentally transferred to Kiev, to the tower of Svyatoslav, who has an ominous and incomprehensible dream. The boyars explain to Svyatoslav that this dream is "in the hand": Igor Novgorod-Seversky suffered a terrible defeat.

And so Svyatoslav plunged into bitter thoughts. He pronounces the “golden word”, in which he reproaches Igor and his brother, Vsevolod’s buoy, for the fact that they disobeyed him, did not respect his gray hair, alone, without collusion with him, arrogantly went to the Polovtsy.

Svyatoslav's speech gradually turns into an appeal by the author himself to all the most prominent Russian princes of that time. The author sees them as powerful and glorious.

But now he remembers Igor's young wife, Yaroslavna. He cites the words of her full of longing crying for her husband and for his dead soldiers. Yaroslavna cries on the city wall in Putivl. She turns to the wind, to the Dnieper, to the sun, yearns and begs them for the return of her husband.

As if in response to Yaroslavna's prayer, the sea burst at midnight, tornadoes swirled on the sea: Igor escapes from captivity. The description of Igor's flight is one of the most poetic passages in the Lay.

The “Word” ends happily - with the return of Igor to the Russian land and singing glory to him at the entrance to Kiev. Despite the fact that the "Word" is dedicated to the defeat of Igor, it is full of confidence in the power of the Russians, full of faith in the glorious future of the Russian land. The call to unity is imbued in the "Word" with the most passionate, strongest and most tender love for the motherland.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - a work of writing oh.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" became the main phenomenon not only in ancient literature, but also in modern literature - of the 19th and 20th centuries.

"Word" - a direct response to the events of Igor's campaign. It was a call for an end to princely civil strife, for unity in order to fight against an external enemy. This call is the main content of the Word. Using the example of Igor's defeat, the author shows the sad consequences of political fragmentation in Russia, the lack of cohesion between the princes.

The word not only tells about the events of Igor's campaign, and also represents a passionate and excited speech of a true patriot. His speech is sometimes angry, sometimes sad and mournful, but always full of faith in the motherland. The author is proud of his homeland and believes in its bright future.

The author is a supporter of princely power, which would be able to curb the arbitrariness of petty princes . He sees the center of united Russia in Kiev.
The author embodies his call for unity in the image of the Motherland, the Russian land. In fact, the main character of the word is not Igor or any other prince. Main character- this is the Russian people, the Russian land. So, the theme of the Russian land is central in the work.

Using the example of Igor's campaign, the author shows what such disunity among the princes can lead to . After all, Igor is defeated only because he is alone.
Igor - brave, but short-sighted, goes on a campaign despite bad omens - solar eclipse. Although Igor loves his homeland, his main goal is to gain fame.

Talking about female characters, it is important to note that they are saturated with tenderness and affection, the folk principle is clearly expressed in them, they embody sadness and care for the Motherland. Their lamentation has a deeply folk character.

The central lyrical element of the plot is the lamentation of Yaroslavna. Yaroslavna - a collective image of all Russian wives and mothers, as well as the image of the Russian land, which also mourns.

No. 14 Russian pre-revival. Emotionally expressive style. "Zadonshchina"

Russian pre-revival - the middle of the 14th - the beginning of the 15th century!

This is a period of expressive-emotional style and patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of revival of chronicle writing, historical narrative, panegyric hagiography, reference to the times of independence of Russia in all areas of culture: in literature, architecture, painting, folklore, political thought etc.

The Russian Pre-Renaissance of the XIV-XV centuries was the era of the greatest spiritual figures, scribes and painters. The personification of the national spiritual culture of that time was the names of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Stephen of Perm and Kirill Belozersky, Epiphanius the Wise, Theophan the Greek, Andrei Rublev and Dionysius. During the pre-Renaissance period. coincided with the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow, there was an appeal to the spiritual traditions of ancient Kievan Rus, attempts were made to revive them in the new conditions. This, of course, is about the traditions of Russian asceticism. In the era under consideration, these traditions were strengthened, but they acquired a slightly different character. The activities of ascetics during the formation of the Muscovite state in the second half of the 14th century became socially and, to some extent, politically active. This was reflected in the ancient Russian literature of that period. A particularly striking example is the writings of Epiphanius the Wise - the "Life" of Sergius of Radonezh and Stefan of Perm.

There comes a period in Russian history when a person somehow begins to valued as a person, there is a discovery of its historical significance, internal merits. In the literature, more and more attention is paid to the emotional sphere, there is an interest in human psychology. This leads to an expressive style. Dynamism of descriptions.

An emotionally expressive style is developing in literature, and “silence”, “solitary prayer” is becoming increasingly important in ideological life.

Attention to the inner life of a person, demonstrating the fluidity of what is happening, the variability of everything that exists, was associated with the awakening of historical consciousness. Time was no longer represented only in the form of a change of events. The nature of the epochs changed, and first of all, the attitude towards the foreign yoke. The time has come for the idealization of the era of independence of Russia. Thought turns to the idea of ​​independence, art - to the works of pre-Mongolian Russia, architecture - to the buildings of the era of independence, and literature - to the works of the 11th-13th centuries: to the Tale of Bygone Years, to "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", to "The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land", to "The Life of Alexander Nevsky", to "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu", etc. Thus, for the Russian Pre-Revival, Russia of the period of independence, Pre-Mongolian Rus became its "antiquity".

There is a growing interest in the internal states of the human soul, psychological experiences, the dynamics of feelings and emotions. So, Epiphanius the Wise in his works conveys feelings of delight and surprise that overwhelm the soul. Literature and art as a whole embody the ideal of beauty, spiritual harmony, the ideal of a person who devotes himself to serving the idea of ​​the common good.

According to DS Likhachev, “The focus of attention of writers of the late XIV - early XV century. individual psychological states of a person, his feelings, emotional responses to the events of the external world turned out to be. But these feelings, the individual states of the human soul, are not yet united into characters. Separate manifestations of psychology are depicted without any individualization and do not add up to psychology. The binding, unifying principle - the character of a person - has not yet been discovered. The individuality of a person is still limited to a straightforward assignment of it to one of two categories - good or evil, positive or negative.

It is important to note that the emergence of man as a measure of all values ​​in Russia is only partly. So there is no man - a titan, a man in the center of the universe. So, despite the existence of the period of pre-rebirth, the Renaissance itself does not come!!!

Pushkin's words Epoch Times The Renaissance had no influence on her (Russia).

"Zadonshchina"

Power book»

Created in 1563 at the initiative of the Metropolitan Macarius by the royal confessor Andrei - Athanasius - "The Power Book of the Royal Genealogy." In the Work, an attempt was made to present the history of the Russian Moscow state in the form of genealogical continuity from Rurik to Ivan the Terrible.
State history presented in the form of hagiobiographies of rulers. Period the reign of each prince is a certain facet in history.
So the book is divided into 17 degrees and facets. Introduction - a lengthy life of Princess Olga. In each facet after the biography of the author, major events. In the center of the narrative are the personalities of the autocratic princes. They endowed with the qualities of ideal wise rulers, brave warriors and exemplary Christians. The compilers of the Book of Degrees try to emphasize the greatness of the deeds and the beauty of the virtues of the princes, the psychologist introduces the characteristics of the heroes, trying to show them the world inside and pious stories.
The idea of ​​a monocratic form of government in Russia is being carried out, power is surrounded by a halo of holiness, the need for uncomplaining obedience to it is proved.

In this way, in the Book of Power, historical material acquired topical political significance, everything is subordinated to the task of the ideological struggle to strengthen the autocratic power of the sovereign in Russia. The book of degrees, like chronicles, plays the role of an official historical document., based on which Moscow diplomacy conducted negotiations in the international arena, proving the primordial rights of Moscow sovereigns to own Russian territories.

Also an important part of the period of the second monumentalism is the work of Ivan the Terrible and the Tale of Peter and Fevronia.

No. 18 Creativity of Ivan the Terrible

Ivan groznyj was one of the most educated people of their time, had a phenomenal memory and erudition.

He founded the Moscow Printing House, by his order, a unique literary monument was created - the Front Chronicle Code.
As well as writings of Ivan the Terrible famous monument Russian literature of the 16th century. Messages of Tsar Ivan the Terrible - one of the most unusual monuments ancient Russian literature. The central themes of his messages- international the meaning of the Russian state(the concept of Moscow - the "third Rome") and divine right of the monarch to unlimited power. The themes of the state, ruler, power occupy one of the central places in Shakespeare, but they are expressed by completely different genres and artistic means. The strength of the impact of the messages of Ivan the Terrible - in the system of argumentation, including biblical quotations and extracts from sacred authors; facts from world and Russian history for analogies; examples from personal experience. In polemical and private messages, Grozny much more often uses facts from his personal life. This allows the author, without cluttering up the message with rhetoric, to significantly enliven the style. A fact conveyed briefly and aptly is immediately remembered, receives emotional coloring, gives the sharpness necessary for the controversy. The messages of Ivan the Terrible suggest a variety of intonations - ironic, accusatory, satirical, instructive. This is just a special case of the extensive influence on the messages of the living colloquial speech XVI century, which is very new in ancient Russian literature.

Creativity of Ivan the Terrible - REALLY GREAT LITERATURE.

Main literary monuments , created by Ivan the Terrible, is the Epistle of the Terrible to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and the Correspondence with Andrei Kurbsky.

Terrible's message to Kirillo - Belozersky monastery to the abbot of the monastery Kozma. Approximately 1573.

Written about violation of the monastic decree exiled there by the Terrible boyars Sheremetev, Khabarov, Sobakin.

Message permeated with caustic irony turning into sarcasm in relation to the disgraced boyars, who in the monastery "introduced their voluptuous charters." Grozny accuses the boyars of violating the monastic charter and this has led to social inequality. Terrible falls on the monks, who could not curb the temper of the boyars. Grozny's words are saturated with irony arising from self-abasement: "woe is me O. And further, the more Grozny speaks of his respect for the Kirillov Monastery, the more caustic his reproaches sound. He shames the brethren for allowing the violation of the charter by the boyars, and they themselves do not know, the tsar writes, who got their hair cut from whom, whether the boyars were monks or monks were boyars.

Terrible ends the message with an angry, irritable appeal, forbidding the monks to bother him with such problems. According to Likhachev, the Message is a free improvisation, passionate, written in a rush, turning into an accusatory speech. Ivan the Terrible is confident that he is right and is annoyed that the monks bother him.

In general, the messages of Ivan the Terrible are evidence of the beginning of the destruction of a strict system of literary style and the emergence of an individual style. True, at that time only the king was allowed to declare his individuality. Realizing his high position, the king could boldly break all established rules and play the roles of a wise philosopher, a humble servant of God, or a cruel ruler.

An example of a new type of life is precisely the "Life of Ulyaniya Osorgina" (The Life of Julian Lazarevskaya, The Tale of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya)

"The Tale of Ulyania Lazarevskaya" - the first biography of a woman - a noblewoman in the ancient Russian literature(At that time, a noblewoman was not the highest stratum of society, but rather the middle class).

Main product features:

1. Life writes relative of a saint(in this case son)

2. The medieval principle of historicism is violated. The work should convey the most important historical events, the heroes are big figures, and not just a simple married woman with children.

3. The story is a clear indication that liters gets closer to the reader.

Written by the son of Ulyaniya Druzhina at the beginning of the 17th century. The second level of anonymity, little is known about the author. The son is well aware of the facts of the biography of the heroine, her personal qualities, her moral character is dear to him. The positive character of a Russian woman is revealed in the everyday atmosphere of a rich noble estate.

The qualities of an exemplary hostess come to the fore. After marriage, Ulyania has to take care of a complex household. Woman pulling a house, pleases the father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, monitors the work of serfs, herself settles social conflicts in the family and between the servants and gentlemen. So, one of the sudden riots of the courtyards leads to the death of her eldest son, but Ulyaniya resignedly endures all the hardships that fall on her lot.

The story faithfully and accurately depicts the situation married woman v big family, her powerlessness and duties. Housekeeping absorbs Ulyana, she does not have time to go to church, but nevertheless she is a “saint”. So the story affirms the holiness of the feat of highly moral worldly life and service to people. Ulyaniya helps the starving, takes care of the sick during the "pestilence", doing "almsgiving beyond measure."

The story of Ulyaniya Lazarevskaya creates the image of an energetic, intelligent Russian woman, an exemplary hostess and wife, enduring all trials with patience and humility. that falls to her lot. So Druzhina depicts in the story not only the real character traits of her mother, but draws the general ideal image of a Russian woman as it seemed to a Russian nobleman of the early 17th century.

In biography The squad does not depart completely from the hagiographic tradition. So Ulyaniya comes from "God-loving" parents, she grew up in "pious faith" and "from the young nails love God." In the character of Ulyaniya traits inherent in a true Christian are traced- modesty, meekness, humility, tolerance and generosity (“doing immeasurable alms”. As befits Christian ascetics, Ulyaniya, although she does not go to the monastery, but under old age indulges in asceticism: refuses carnal "copulation with her husband", walks in winter without warm clothes.
The story also uses traditional hagiography motives of religious fiction: Ulyaniy wants to be killed by demons, but she is saved by the intervention of St. Nicholas. In a number of cases, "demonic intrigues" have very specific manifestations - conflicts in the family and the rebellion of "slaves".

As befits a saint, Juliana anticipates her death and piously dies, later her body works miracles.
Thus, the Tale of Yuliana Lazarevskaya is a work in which elements of an everyday story are intertwined with elements of a hagiographic genre, however, everyday description still prevails. The story is devoid of the traditional for life introduction, lamentation and praise. The style is pretty simple.
The story of Yuliana Lazarevskaya is evidence of the growing interest in society and literature in the private life of a person, his behavior in everyday life. As a result, as a result of the penetration of such realistic elements into life, the hagiographic litera is destroyed and turns into the genre of a secular biographical story.

No. 21 "The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery"

17th century.

Historical tale gradually turns into a love-adventure novel, which can be easily traced in the Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery. DS Likhachev studied this most interesting work in detail in selected works, so we will rely on his opinion.

"The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery", undoubtedly composed in the 17th century, tells about rather ordinary everyday drama: the bride of one marries another. The conflict escalates because both heroes of the story - both the former groom and the future spouse - are linked by friendship and feudal relations: the first is a servant, the "lad" of the second.

A remarkable feature of the story is that it is not based on the usual conflict between good and evil for medieval plots. In "The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery" there are no evil characters, no evil inclination at all. In her there is no social conflict: action in progress as if in an ideal country, where exist good relations between the prince and his subordinates. Peasants, boyars and their wives strictly follow the instructions of the prince, rejoice at his marriage, and gladly meet his young wife - a simple peasant woman. They go out to meet her with children and offerings, they are amazed at her beauty. All the people in this story are young and beautiful. Several times it is persistently spoken about the beauty of the heroine of the story - Xenia. She is pious and meek, humble and cheerful, has "a great mind and walk in all the commandments of the Lord." The youth Gregory, Xenia's fiancé, is just as young and handsome(Several times in the story, his expensive clothes are mentioned). He always "stands before the prince", was "very much loved" by him and faithful to him in everything. No less praise is given to the young Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich. All of them behave as they should, differ in piety and reason. Ksenia's parents are also ideally behaved. none of actors didn't make a single mistake. Little of, everything works according to plan. The youth and the prince see visions, fulfill the will revealed to them in these visions and signs. Moreover, Ksenia herself foresees what should happen to her. She is radiant not only with bright beauty, but also with bright foresight of the future. Nevertheless, the conflict is obvious - a sharp, tragic conflict, forcing all the characters in the story to suffer, and one of them, the lad Gregory, to go into the forests and found a monastery there. This is because for the first time in Russian literature, the conflict has been transferred from the sphere of the world struggle between evil and good to the very essence of human nature. Two people love the same heroine, and neither of them is guilty of his feeling. Is Xenia to blame for choosing one over the other? Of course, she is not to blame for anything, but in order to justify her, the author has to resort to a typical medieval trick: Xenia follows the divine will. She obediently does what she is destined to do and what she cannot help but do. By this, the author, as it were, frees her from the burden of responsibility for her decisions; in essence, she decides nothing and does not change Grigory; it only follows what is revealed to it from above. Of course, this intervention from above weakens the earthly, purely human nature of the conflict, but this intervention is described in the story in the highest degree tactfully. The intervention of fate has no ecclesiastical character. Nowhere is it said about Xenia's visions, about her prophetic dreams, the voice she heard, or anything like that. Ksenia has the gift of clairvoyance, but this clairvoyance has not a church, but a completely folklore character. She knows what must be done, and why she knows - the reader is not informed about this. She knows the way she knows the future a wise man. Xenia is a “wise maiden”, a character well known in Russian folklore and reflected in ancient Russian literature: let us recall the maiden Fevronia in the “Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” of the 16th century. But, in contrast to the fabulous development of the plot, in The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery everything is transferred to a more “human plane”. The story is still far from being immersed in everyday life, but it is already developing in the sphere of ordinary human relations.

The plot itself: the foundation of the Tver Otroche Monastery. When it turns out that Xenia has been given to another, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, Gregory changes into a peasant dress and goes into the forest, where "I put myself a hut and a chapel." The main reason that Gregory decides to found a monastery is not a pious desire to devote himself to God, but unrequited love.
The foundation of the monastery and the help of the prince in its construction finally confirm the main idea of ​​the story, that everything that happens happens for the improvement of the world. “The monastery still stands to this day by the grace of God and the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Great Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Wonderworker.”

"The Tale of the Tver Otroch Monastery" has the features of an epic plot. With transfer chivalric romance she is brought together by a love theme; as in "Bova", we meet here classic love triangle and vicissitudes within this triangle that are not amenable to the reader's foresight.

Gregory instead of lost earthly love receives heavenly love. However, this preference is forced - and in the depiction of this compulsion, perhaps, new trends were reflected with the greatest force in the original fiction of the 17th century. Fate is inescapable, but it promised the prince happy love, and Grigory - unhappy. The lad has nothing more to look forward to in this world; he must build a monastery only in order to please the Lord and become “blessed.” Thus, on the ladder of Christian moral values, carnal, earthly love is one step higher - a conclusion apparently not foreseen by the author.

The Tale of "Woe - Misfortune"

One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the 17th century.

central theme: the theme of the tragic fate of the young generation, trying to break with the old forms of family and everyday life, domostroevskoy morality.

The plot of the story is based on tragic story the life of the Young Man, who rejected parental instructions and wished to live according to his own will, "as he pleases." Appearance generalized - a collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time - an innovative phenomenon. per liter the personality story is replaced by a fictional character who embodies the typical features of an entire generation.