What is included in the genres of ancient Russian literature. The system of genres of Old Russian literature (XI-XVI centuries)

Old Russian genre story literature

To understand the peculiarity and originality of the original Russian literature, to appreciate the courage with which Russian scribes created works that "stand outside genre systems", such as "The Lay of Igor's Campaign", "The Teaching" of Vladimir Monomakh, "The Prayer" of Daniel Zatochnik and the like , for all this it is necessary to get acquainted with at least some samples of certain genres of translated literature.

Chronicles. Interest in the past of the Universe, the history of other countries, and the fate of the great people of antiquity was satisfied with the translations of Byzantine chronicles. These chronicles began narrating events from the creation of the world, retelling the biblical history, citing individual episodes from the history of the countries of the East, telling about the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and then about the history of the countries of the Middle East. Having brought the story to the last decades before the beginning of our era, the chroniclers went back and recounted the most ancient history of Rome, starting from the legendary times of the founding of the city. The rest and, as a rule, most of the chronicles were occupied by the story of the Roman and Byzantine emperors. The chronicles ended with a description of events contemporary to their compilation.

Thus, the chroniclers created the impression of the continuity of the historical process, of a kind of "change of kingdoms." Of the translations of the Byzantine chronicles, the most famous in Russia in the XI century. received translations of "The Chronicle of George Amartolus" and "The Chronicle of John Malala". The first of them, together with a continuation made on Byzantine soil, brought the story to the middle of the 10th century, the second - to the time of Emperor Justinian (527-565).

Perhaps one of the defining features of the composition of the chronicles was their desire for an exhaustive completeness of the dynastic series. This feature is typical for biblical books (where long lists of genealogies follow), and for medieval chronicles, and for the historical epic.

"Alexandria". The novel about Alexander the Great, the so-called "Alexandria", enjoyed immense popularity in Ancient Russia. This was not a historically accurate description of the life and deeds of the illustrious military leader, but a typical Hellenistic adventure novel 7.

In "Alexandria" we encounter topical (and also pseudo-historical) collisions. "Alexandria" is an indispensable part of all ancient Russian chronographs; from editorial office to editorial office, the adventure and fantastic theme is becoming increasingly stronger in it, which once again indicates an interest in the plot-entertaining, and not the historical aspect of this work itself.

"Life of Eustathius Placis". In ancient Russian literature, imbued with the spirit of historicism, addressing worldview problems, there was no place for open literary fiction (readers apparently trusted the miracles of Alexandria - after all, all this happened a long time ago and somewhere in unknown lands, at the end of the world!), Everyday story or a novel about the private life of a private person. Oddly enough at first glance, but to a certain extent, the need for such subjects was filled with such authoritative genres closely related to religious issues as the lives of saints, paterics or apocrypha.

Researchers have long noticed that the lengthy lives of Byzantine saints in some cases were very reminiscent of an antique novel: sudden changes in the fate of heroes, imaginary death, recognition and meeting after many years of separation, attacks by pirates or predatory animals - all these traditional plot motives of the novel of adventures in a strange way coexisted in some Lives with the idea of ​​glorifying an ascetic or martyr for the Christian faith 8. A typical example of such a life is the Life of Eustathius Placis, translated back in Kievan Rus.

Apocrypha. Apocrypha - legends about biblical characters that were not included in the canonical (recognized by the church) biblical books, discussions on topics that worried medieval readers: about the struggle in the world of good and evil, about the ultimate fate of mankind, descriptions of heaven and hell or unknown lands "at the end of the world."

Most of the apocryphal stories are entertaining narratives that amazed the readers' imagination either with everyday details of the life of Christ, the apostles, prophets, unknown to them, or with miracles and fantastic visions. The church tried to fight against apocryphal literature. Compiled special lists of prohibited books - indexes. However, in judgments about which works are unconditionally "renounced books", that is, unacceptable for reading by faithful Christians, and which are only apocryphal (literally apocryphal - secret, secret, that is, calculated for a reader experienced in theological questions), medieval censors do not there was unity.

The indices varied in composition; in collections, sometimes very authoritative, we find alongside the canonical biblical books and lives also apocryphal texts. Sometimes, however, even here they were overtaken by the hand of devotees of piety: in some collections the sheets with the text of the apocrypha were torn out or their text was crossed out. Nevertheless, there were a lot of apocryphal works, and they continued to be rewritten throughout the centuries-old history of ancient Russian literature.

Patristics. A large place in the Old Russian translated writing was occupied by patristics, that is, the works of those Roman and Byzantine theologians of the 3rd-7th centuries who enjoyed special authority in the Christian world and were revered as "church fathers": John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Gregory Nazianzin, Athanasius of Alexandria and others.

In their works, the dogmas of the Christian religion were explained, the Holy Scriptures were interpreted, Christian virtues were affirmed and vices were exposed, various worldview questions were raised. At the same time, works of both teaching and solemn eloquence had considerable aesthetic value.

The authors of the solemn words intended to be pronounced in the church during the divine service, perfectly knew how to create an atmosphere of festive ecstasy or reverence, which was supposed to cover the believers when remembering the glorified event of church history, perfectly mastered the art of rhetoric, which Byzantine writers inherited from antiquity: not incidentally, many of the Byzantine theologians learned from pagan rhetoricians.

In Russia, John Chrysostom (d. 407) was especially famous; from words that belonged to him or were attributed to him, whole collections were compiled, bearing the names "Zlatoust" or "Zlatostruy".

The language of liturgical books is especially colorful and rich in paths. Here are some examples. In the service menaea (a collection of services in honor of the saints, arranged according to the days when they are venerated) of the XI century. we read: "The vines of thought have appeared ripe in the grapes, thrown into the winepress of torment, thou hast exuded the wine of tenderness to us." A literal translation of this phrase will destroy the artistic image, therefore, we will only explain the essence of the metaphor.

The saint is compared with a ripe bunch of grapevine, but it is emphasized that it is not a real, but a spiritual ("mental") vine; the tortured saint is likened to grapes, which are crushed in a "winepress" (pit, vat) to "exude" juice for making wine; the saint's torments "exude" "the wine of tenderness" - a feeling of reverence and compassion for him.

A few more metaphorical images from the same service menaion of the 11th century: "From the depths of malice, the last climb of the heights of virtue, like an eagle, flying high, gloriously in the east, praise Matthew!"; "Strained the prayer bows and arrows and the serpent lutago, the crawling serpent, thou art killed, blessed, having delivered the holy flock from that harm"; "Thou hast gloriously passed the towering sea, the delightful polytheism, with a storm of divine rule, a quiet haven for all who were trapped." "Prayer bows and arrows", "the storm of polytheism", which heaves waves on the "lovely [insidious, deceptive] sea" of vain Christian symbolism.

And as can be judged by the original works of Russian authors - chroniclers, hagiographers, creators of teachings and solemn words, this high art was fully perceived by them and implemented in their work.

Speaking about the system of genres of Old Russian literature, one more important circumstance should be noted: this literature for a long time, up to the 17th century, did not allow literary fiction. Old Russian authors wrote and read only about what was in reality: about the history of the world, countries, peoples, about the commanders and kings of antiquity, about holy ascetics. Even passing on frank miracles, they believed that it could be, that there were fantastic creatures inhabiting unknown lands, through which Alexander the Great passed with his troops, that in the darkness of caves and cells demons appeared to the holy hermits, then tempting them in the form of harlots , then frightening in the guise of animals and monsters.

Talking about historical events, ancient Russian authors could report different, sometimes mutually exclusive versions: some say so, the chronicler or chronicler will say, and others - differently. But in their eyes this was just the ignorance of informants, so to speak, a delusion from ignorance, but the idea that this or that version could be simply invented, composed, and even more so composed for purely literary purposes - such a thought to writers of the older time, apparently, seemed implausible. This non-recognition of literary fiction also, in turn, determined the system of genres, the range of subjects and topics to which a work of literature could be devoted. The fictional hero will come to Russian literature relatively late - not earlier than the 15th century, although even at that time he will still disguise himself as a hero of a distant country or a long time ago.

Explicit fiction was allowed only in one genre - the genre of the apologue, or parable. It was a miniature story, each of whose characters and the entire plot existed only in order to visually illustrate any idea. It was an allegory story, and that was its meaning.

In ancient Russian literature, which did not know fiction, historical in large or small, the world itself appeared as something eternal, universal, where both the events and actions of people are determined by the very system of the universe, where the forces of good and evil are always fighting, a world whose history is well known ( after all, for each event mentioned in the annals, the exact date was indicated - the time elapsed from the "creation of the world"!) and even the future is predetermined: prophecies about the end of the world, the "second coming" of Christ and the Last Judgment awaiting all people on earth were widespread.

This general ideological setting could not but affect the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, once and for all determine what and how should be depicted.

Old Russian literature, like other Christian medieval literatures, is subject to a special literary and aesthetic regulation - the so-called literary etiquette.

The genres of Old Russian literature were basically borrowed from the Byzantine tradition, but underwent some changes in the "national" character.

The influence of oral folk art is noticeable in them. At the same time, this influence is not particularly strong, since ancient Russian literature is inherent in stereotypes, and Byzantine works served as a model in this sense.

Stereotypedism manifested itself both in the structure of the Old Russian work and in expressive means - the same epithets were repeated from one text to another, comparisons, descriptions of cities or historical figures were similar to each other and contained almost no specific details.

Primary and unifying genres

Primary genres of Old Russian literature were included in the "secondary" - uniting genres. Here is a list of primary ones:

1. Life;
2. Lecture;
3. Word;
4. Story;
5. Church Legend;
6. Chronicle story, chronicle legend;
7. Walking - a description of the journey to the “holy places”.

Unifying genres:

1. chronicle (generally the central genre of Old Russian literature),
2. chronograph,
3. patericus,
4. chet-menaea.

"A word about Igor's regiment"

The word about Igor's regiment is one of the most unique ancient Russian works. Already the genre of "Words" is knocked out of the usual system: it is a completely artistic epic poem, containing a heroic plot, and lyrical digressions, and inserted episodes; it also contains a place for philosophical and political discourse.

The narrator tells about the past, sometimes returning to the present - this technique was generally not welcomed by Russian scribes. The "Word", apparently, was purposefully written with an artistic and journalistic purpose, the historicity of the plot was not particularly important for the author.

These features and inconsistencies with traditions have led to the fact that the authenticity of this literary monument has been repeatedly challenged.

Modifications of old Russian genres in the late era

Over time, the "assortment" and the internal content of genres have changed. Novels and legends already in the 15th century turned into fictional works, often written for entertainment. "Walking Beyond Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin is a completely secular work, written with a cognitive and even somewhat entertaining purpose, it contains descriptions of the peoples of distant countries, their customs, traditions and way of life.

The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, written by himself, caused a great commotion in the church environment. " It was created in the 17th century. Let us recall that Avvakum is the initiator of a church schism, a supporter of the "old rite" (the sign of the cross with two fingers) and an ardent critic of the reformer patriarch Nikon. Indignation was caused by the fact that the author made himself the hero of the “life”, having committed an unforgivable sin - that is, he declared himself a saint.

Meanwhile, Avvakum's "Life" is an excellently written autobiography, in which the author did not seek to assign himself the status of a saint, but only showed what calamities a common man goes through and how he carries his cross in spite of ill-wishers. "Life" is completely devoid of church genre canons, is written in a simple "folk" language, contains a lot of everyday and portrait descriptions, pictures of nature.

The Tale, having finally become a secular genre, entered popular literature and folklore. Such are the "Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" and especially "The Tale of Ruff Ershovich", in which anthropomorphic animals are involved; this is a caustic satire on the then judicial realities. "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" originally contained all the elements inherent in the church genre: teaching, the theme of the salvation of the soul, a description of miracles. But in subsequent editions, these elements were already omitted, which is why the work eventually turned into a fairy tale.

By the 18th century, the genres of Old Russian literature had completely outlived their usefulness, and a period of completely different literature began.

Ticket. The specifics of Old Russian literature.

The literature of Ancient Rus' originated in the 11th century. and developed over the course of seven centuries before the Peter the Great era. Old Russian literature is a single whole with all the variety of genres, themes, images. This literature is the focus of Russian spirituality and patriotism. On the pages of these works, conversations are held about the most important philosophical, moral problems, about which the heroes of all centuries think, speak, reflect. The works form love for the Fatherland and their people, show the beauty of the Russian land, therefore these works touch the innermost strings of our hearts.

The significance of Old Russian literature as the basis for the development of new Russian literature is very great. So the images, ideas, even the style of writing were inherited by A.S. Pushkin, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy.

Old Russian literature did not arise from scratch. Its appearance was prepared by the development of the language, oral folk art, cultural ties with Byzantium and Bulgaria, and was conditioned by the adoption of Christianity as a single religion. The first literary works that appeared in Russia were translated. The books were translated that were necessary for the divine service.

The very first original works, that is, written by the Eastern Slavs themselves, date back to the end of the 11th-beginning of the 12th century. v. The formation of Russian national literature took place, its traditions took shape, features that determined its specific features, a certain dissimilarity with the literature of our days.

Features of Old Russian literature.

Historicism of content.

Events and characters in literature, as a rule, are the fruit of the author's fiction. The authors of works of fiction, even if they describe the true events of real persons, conjecture a lot. But in Ancient Russia, it was not at all like that. The Old Russian scribe only talked about what, in his opinion, really happened. Only in the XVII century. Household stories with fictional characters and plots appeared in Russia.

Both the Old Russian scribe and his readers firmly believed that the events described actually took place. So the chronicles were for the people of Ancient Russia a kind of legal document. After the death of the Moscow prince Vasily Dmitrievich in 1425, his younger brother Yuri Dmitrievich and son Vasily Vasilievich began to argue about their rights to the throne. Both princes turned to the Tatar khan to judge their dispute. At the same time, Yuri Dmitrievich, defending his rights to Moscow reign, referred to the ancient chronicles, in which it was reported that power had previously passed from the prince-father not to his son, but to his brother.

The handwritten nature of being.

Another feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of existence. Even the appearance of the printing press in Russia did little to change the situation until the middle of the 18th century. The existence of literary monuments in manuscripts led to a special reverence for the book. About which even individual treatises and instructions were written. But on the other hand, handwritten existence led to instability of ancient Russian literary works. Those works that have come down to us are the result of the work of many, many people: author, editor, copyist, and the work itself could continue for several centuries. Therefore, in scientific terminology, there are concepts such as "manuscript" (handwritten text) and "list" (rewritten work). The manuscript can contain lists of different works and can be written by the author himself or by scribes. Another fundamental concept in textual criticism is the term "editorial", that is, purposeful reworking of a monument caused by social and political events, changes in the function of the text, or differences in the language of the author and editor.

The existence of a work in manuscripts is closely related to such a specific feature of Old Russian literature as the problem of authorship.

The author's principle in Old Russian literature is muffled, implicitly, Old Russian scribes were not thrifty with other people's texts. When rewriting, the texts were reworked: some phrases or episodes were inserted from them or inserted into them, stylistic "decorations" were added. Sometimes the ideas and assessments of the author were even replaced by the opposite. The lists of one work differed significantly from each other.

Old Russian scribes did not at all seek to discover their involvement in literary composition. Many monuments have remained anonymous, the authorship of others has been established by researchers on indirect grounds. So it is impossible to ascribe to someone else the works of Epiphanius the Wise, with his sophisticated "weaving of words." The style of the messages of Ivan the Terrible is inimitable, boldly mixing grandioseness and rude abuse, learned examples and the style of simple conversation.

It happens that in a manuscript this or that text was signed with the name of an authoritative scribe, which may equally correspond and not correspond to reality. So among the works attributed to the famous preacher Saint Cyril of Turovsky, many apparently do not belong to him: the name of Cyril Turovsky gave these works additional authority.

The anonymity of literary monuments is also due to the fact that the ancient Russian "writer" did not deliberately try to be original, but tried to show himself as traditional as possible, that is, to comply with all the rules and regulations of the established canon.

Literary etiquette.

A well-known literary critic, researcher of ancient Russian literature, academician D.S. Likhachev proposed a special term for the canon in the monuments of medieval Russian literature - "literary etiquette."

Literary etiquette is composed:

From the idea of ​​how this or that course of the event should have taken place;

From ideas about how the actor should behave in accordance with his position;

From ideas about what words the writer should have described what is happening.

Before us is the etiquette of the world order, etiquette of conduct and verbal etiquette. The hero is supposed to behave in this way, and the author is supposed to describe the hero only with appropriate expressions.

The main genres of Old Russian literature

The literature of modern times is subject to the laws of the "poetics of the genre". It was this category that began to dictate the ways of creating a new text. But in ancient Russian literature, the genre did not play such an important role.

A sufficient number of studies have been devoted to the genre originality of Old Russian literature, but there is still no clear class of classification of genres. However, some genres immediately stood out in ancient Russian literature.

1. Life genre.

Life is a description of the life of a saint.

Russian hagiographic literature has hundreds of works, the first of which were written in the 11th century. The life that came to Russia from Byzantium along with the adoption of Christianity became the main genre of Old Russian literature, the literary form in which the spiritual ideals of Ancient Russia were clothed.

The compositional and verbal forms of life have been polished for centuries. A lofty theme - a story about a life that embodies ideal service to the world and God - defines the author's image and the style of the story. The author of the life leads the story excitedly, he does not hide his admiration for the holy ascetic, admiration for his righteous life. The author's emotionality, his excitement color the entire narrative in lyrical tones and contribute to the creation of a solemn mood. Such an atmosphere is created by the narrative style - high solemn, saturated with quotes from the Holy Scriptures.

When writing a life, the hagiographer (the author of the life) was obliged to follow a number of rules and canons. The composition of a correct life should be threefold: an introduction, a story about the life and deeds of a saint from birth to death, praise. In the introduction, the author asks the readers for forgiveness for the inability to write, for the rudeness of the narration, etc. The introduction was followed by the life itself. It cannot be called a "biography" of a saint in the full sense of the word. The author of the life selects from his life only those facts that do not contradict the ideals of holiness. The story about the life of the saint is freed from all that is everyday, concrete, and accidental. In a life compiled according to all the rules, there are few dates, exact geographical names, names of historical persons. The action of life takes place, as it were, outside of historical time and concrete space; it unfolds against the background of eternity. Abstraction is one of the features of the hagiographic style.

At the end of the life there should be praise to the saint. This is one of the most critical parts of life, requiring great literary art, a good knowledge of rhetoric.

The oldest Russian hagiographic monuments are two lives of princes Boris and Gleb and the Life of Theodosius of Pechora.

2. Eloquence.

Eloquence is an area of ​​creativity characteristic of the most ancient period in the development of our literature. Monuments of ecclesiastical and secular eloquence are divided into two types: teaching and solemn.

Solemn eloquence demanded depth of design and great literary skill. The orator needed the ability to effectively construct a speech in order to capture the listener, tune in a high mood, corresponding to the topic, and shock him with pathos. There was a special term for a solemn speech - "word". (There was no terminological unity in Old Russian literature. A military tale could also be called a "word".) Speeches were not only pronounced, but written and disseminated in numerous copies.

Solemn eloquence did not pursue narrowly practical goals, it demanded the posing of problems of a wide social, philosophical and theological scope. The main reasons for the creation of "words" are theological questions, questions of war and peace, the defense of the borders of the Russian land, domestic and foreign policy, the struggle for cultural and political independence.

The most ancient monument of solemn eloquence is the "Sermon on Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion, written between 1037 and 1050.

Teaching eloquence is teaching and speaking. They are usually small in volume, often devoid of rhetorical embellishments, and are written in the Old Russian language, which is generally accessible to people of that time. Lectures could be given by church leaders, princes.

Teachings and conversations have purely practical purposes, they contain information necessary for a person. "Instructions to the brethren" by Luke Zhidyaty, bishop of Novgorod from 1036 to 1059, contains a list of rules of conduct that a Christian should adhere to: do not take revenge, do not say "shameful" words. Go to church and behave in it quietly, honor elders, judge by the truth, honor your prince, not curse, keep all the commandments of the Gospel.

Theodosius of Pechorsky is the founder of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery. He owns eight teachings to the brethren, in which Theodosius reminds the monks of the rules of monastic behavior: do not be late for church, put three earthly obeisances, observe decency and order when singing prayers and psalms, bow to each other when they meet. In his teachings, Theodosius of Pechora requires complete detachment from the world, abstinence, constant prayer and vigilance. The hegumen sternly denounces idleness, money-grubbing, and intemperance in food.

3. Chronicle.

Chronicles were weather (by "years" - by "years") records. The annual entry began with the words: "In the summer." After that, there was a story about events and incidents that, from the point of view of the chronicler, were worthy of the attention of descendants. These could be military campaigns, raids of steppe nomads, natural disasters: droughts, crop failures, etc., as well as simply unusual incidents.

It is thanks to the work of chroniclers that modern historians have an amazing opportunity to look into the distant past.

Most often, the ancient Russian chronicler was a learned monk, who sometimes spent many years compiling the chronicle. It was customary to start telling about history in those days from ancient times and only then move on to the events of recent years. The chronicler had to first of all find, put in order, and often rewrite the work of his predecessors. If the compiler of the chronicle had not one, but several annalistic texts at once, then he had to "bring them together", that is, combine them, choosing from each one that he considered necessary to include in his own work. When materials related to the past were collected, the chronicler moved on to presenting the events of his time. The result of this great work was the collection of chronicles. After some time, this collection was continued by other chroniclers.

Apparently, the first major monument of Old Russian chronicle writing was the annals compiled in the 70s of the 11th century. The compiler of this collection, it is believed, was the hegumen of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nikon the Great (? - 1088).

Nikon's work formed the basis for another corpus of chronicles, which was compiled in the same monastery two decades later. In the scientific literature, he received the code name "Primary Code". Its unnamed compiler added to Nikon's collection not only news of recent years, but also chronicle information from other Russian cities.

"The Tale of Bygone Years"

Based on the chronicles of the 11th century tradition. The greatest chronicle monument of the era of Kievan Rus - "The Tale of Bygone Years" was born.

It was compiled in Kiev in the 10s. 12th century According to some historians, its likely compiler was the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor, who is also known for his other works. When creating the Tale of Bygone Years, its compiler drew on numerous materials, which he added to the Primary Code. These materials include Byzantine chronicles, texts of treaties between Russia and Byzantium, monuments of translated and Old Russian literature, oral legends.

The compiler of the "Tale of Bygone Years" set as his goal not only to tell about the past of Russia, but also to determine the place of the Eastern Slavs among the European and Asian peoples.

The chronicler tells in detail about the settlement of the Slavic peoples in antiquity, about the settlement by the Eastern Slavs of the territories that would later become part of the Old Russian state, about the manners and customs of different tribes. The "Tale of Bygone Years" emphasizes not only the antiquity of the Slavic peoples, but also the unity of their culture, language and writing, created in the 9th century. brothers Cyril and Methodius.

The chronicler considers the adoption of Christianity to be the most important event in the history of Rus. The story about the first Russian Christians, about the baptism of Rus, about the spread of a new faith, the construction of churches, the emergence of monasticism, the success of Christian enlightenment occupies a central place in the "Tale".

The wealth of historical and political ideas reflected in The Tale of Bygone Years suggests that its compiler was not just an editor, but also a talented historian, deep thinker, and a brilliant publicist. Many chroniclers of subsequent centuries turned to the experience of the creator of the "Tale", tried to imitate him, and almost certainly placed the text of the monument at the beginning of each new compilation of chronicles.

Genres of Old Russian literature A genre is a historically formed type of literary work, an abstract model, on the basis of which texts of specific literary works are created. The system of genres of literature in Ancient Rus was significantly different from that of the present. 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. It is customary to divide the genres of Old Russian literature into primary and unifying ones. Primary genres These genres are called Primary because they served as building blocks for unifying genres. Primary genres: Life, Word, Teaching, Story. The primary genres also include weather recording, chronicle story, chronicle legend and church legend. Life The genre of the 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. canonized. Life was created by people who directly communicated with a person or could reliably testify about his life. Life was always created after the death of a person. It performed a tremendous educational function, because the life of the saint was perceived as an example of a righteous life that must be imitated. In addition, living deprived a person of the fear of death, preaching the idea of ​​the immortality of the human soul. The life was built according to certain canons, from which they did not depart until the 15-16 centuries. The canons of the life The pious origin of the hero of the life, whose parents must have been righteous. The saint's parents often begged God. The saint was born a saint, and did not become one. The saint was distinguished by an ascetic lifestyle, spent time in solitude and prayer. An obligatory attribute of the life was a description of the miracles that took place 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 hagiographic 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. Lecture is a genre in which the 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 included in the "Tale of Bygone Years" "The Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh." In "The Tale of Bygone Years" "The Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh" is dated 1096. At this time, 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. Serving God is necessary 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 works, and try to arrange social relations on the model of a harmonious world order. The teaching of Vladimir Monomakh is addressed to the descendants. Word Word - is a kind of genre of Old Russian eloquence. An example of the political variety of Old Russian eloquence is The Lay of Igor's Host. This work causes a lot of controversy over its authenticity. This is because the original text of The Lay of Igor's Host has not survived. It was destroyed by a fire in 1812. Only copies have survived. Since that time, it has become fashionable to refute its authenticity. The word tells about the military campaign of Prince Igor against the Polovtsians, which took place in history in 1185. Researchers suggest that the author of "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" was one of the participants in the described campaign. Disputes about the authenticity of this work were conducted, in particular, because it is knocked out of the system of genres of Old Russian literature by the unusualness of the artistic means and techniques used in it. Here the traditional chronological principle of narration is violated: the author is transported into the past, then returns to the present (this was not typical for Old Russian literature), the author makes lyrical digressions, inserted episodes appear (Svyatoslav's dream, Yaroslavna's cry). There are a lot of elements of traditional oral folk art, symbols in the word. There is a clear influence of a fairy tale, an epic. The political background of the work is obvious: in the struggle against a common enemy, the Russian princes must be united, disunity leads to death and defeat. Another example of political eloquence is the "Lay of the death of the 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 the solemn variety of Old Russian eloquence is the "Word of Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion, 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. By "Law" Hilarion understands the Old Testament, which was given to the Jews, but it does not suit the Russian and other peoples. Therefore, God gave the New Testament, which is called "Grace". In Byzantium, the emperor Constantine is revered, who contributed to the spread and establishment of Christianity there. Hilarion says that Prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, who baptized Russia, is no worse than the Byzantine emperor and should also be revered by the Russian people. The work of Prince Vladimir is continued by Yaroslav the Wise. The main idea of ​​the "Word of Law and Grace" is that Russia is as good as Byzantium. The Story The story is an epic text that tells about princes, military exploits, and princely crimes. Examples of military stories are "The Tale of the Battle on the Kalka River", "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Khan Batu", "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky". Unifying genres Primary genres were included in the unifying genres, such as the chronicle, chronograph, chet-menaea, patericon. A chronicle is a story about historical events. This is the oldest genre of Old Russian literature. In Ancient Russia, the chronicle played a very important role, since not only reported on the historical events of the past, but also was a political and legal document, testified about how to act in certain situations. The oldest chronicle is the "Tale of Bygone Years", which has come down to us in the lists of the Laurentian Chronicle of the 14th century and the Ipatiev Chronicle of the 15th century. The chronicle tells about the origin of the Russians, the genealogy of the Kiev princes and the emergence of the ancient Russian state. Chronograph - these are texts containing a description of the time of the 15-16th centuries. Chetya-Menaion (literally "reading by months") is a collection of works about saints. Paterik is a description of the life of the holy fathers. Separately, it should be said about the genre of the apocrypha. Apocrypha - literally translated from the ancient Greek language as "intimate, secret". These are works of a religious and legendary character. Apocrypha became especially widespread in the 13-14 centuries, but the church did not recognize this genre and does not recognize it to this day. (Source - http://lerotto.com.ua/modules.php?name=Pages&pa=showpage&pid=151) *** Literature of Ancient Rus General characteristics of the period Ancient Russian literature went through a long period of development, which is 7 centuries: from 9 to 15 century. Scientists associate the formation of Old Russian literature with the adoption of Christianity in Russia in 988. This year is the starting point for the periodization of literature. It is reliably known that writing in Russia existed even before the adoption of Christianity. But very few monuments of pre-Christian writing have been found. According to the available monuments, it cannot be said that before the adoption of Christianity in Russia there was literature and bookishness. The spread of the Christian religion in Russia presupposed the study of Holy Scripture and Christian rituals. To preach Christian canons, it was necessary to translate religious books from ancient Greek and Latin into a language that the Slavs understood. The Old Slavonic language became such a language. Scientists talk about the special status of the Old Church Slavonic language. The Old Church Slavonic language is the literary language of all Slavs. They did not speak it, but only wrote and read books. The Old Slavonic language was created by the Christian preachers Cyril and Methodius on the basis of the Solun dialect of the Old Bulgarian language specifically in order to make the canons of the Christian religion understandable to the Slavs and to preach these canons in the language of the Slavs. Books in the Old Slavonic language were copied in different territories inhabited by Slavs, where they spoke in different ways: in different dialects. Gradually, the peculiarities of the speech of the Slavs began to be reflected in the letter. So, on the basis of the Old Slavonic language, the Church Slavonic language arose, reflecting the peculiarities of the speech of the Eastern Slavs, and then of the Old Russian man. Christian preachers came to Russia and created schools. In schools, they taught reading, writing and the canons of Orthodox Christianity. Over time, a layer of people appeared in Russia who could read and write. They copied the Holy Scripture, translated it into the Old Church Slavonic language. Over time, these people began to write down historical events that took place in Russia, make generalizations, use images of oral folk art, evaluate the described events and facts. This is how the original Old Russian literature gradually took shape. Old Russian literature was fundamentally different from what we are used to understanding by literature at the present time. Literature in Ancient Russia was closely connected with the spread of the Christian religion and served as an instrument for the preaching and consolidation of Christianity in Russia. This determined a special attitude to the book, as to a holy subject, and to reading, as a sacred process of communion with God's Word. How were ancient Russian books written? Old Russian books were huge tomes, the pages of which were made of cowhide. Books were bound into boards, which were covered with leather and decorated. Crafted cowhide was an expensive material that needed to be saved. That is why ancient Russian books were written in a special way: there were no spaces between words in books. Naturally, reading such books was very difficult. In addition, many frequently used words were not written in full. For example, BG is God, BGTs is the Mother of God, NB is the sky. Above such words, they put the sign "title" - an abbreviation. Because of the high cost of the material, entire villages were worth the books. Only rich princes could afford to have books. A book is a source of Divine grace One of the differences between ancient Russian literature and modern literature is that ancient Russian books do not have and could not have an author. In Ancient Russia, the concept of authorship did not exist at all; it appeared much later. It was believed that the hand of the book-writer was led by God. Man is only a mediator through which God communicates his Word to people. It was considered a great sin to put your name in the book. Belief in this was strong, so for a long time no one dared to indicate their name in books. But some could not resist and put an inconspicuous, but so important for them, an inscription like “I’ve put my hand to my heart”. There was a strong belief that the book miraculously affects a person, giving him divine grace. Communicating with the book, the ancient Russian people believed that they were communicating with God. That is why, before reading books, it was customary to fast and pray for at least a week. Historicism of Old Russian Literature Old Russian authors were aware of their special historical mission - the mission of witnesses of time. They believed that they were obliged to record all the events that took place on their land in order to convey the story through the book to their descendants. In addition, the texts included many legends and legends that were oral. So in ancient Russian texts, along with Christian saints, pagan deities are mentioned. This meant that Christianity existed in Russia with the original religion of the Slavs, which is usually called paganism, although the pagans themselves did not call themselves that. Folklore significantly enriched Old Russian literature. There were no lyrics in ancient Russian literature. Ancient Russian literature, being exclusively religious in nature, placed the preaching of the laws of Christian morality at the forefront. That is why it did not pay any attention to the private life of a person. Maximum objectivity is one of the basic canons of Old Russian literature. Among the genres in ancient Russian literature, the lives of the saints of the chronicle, chronographs, chetya-menaea, patericons, and also the apocrypha prevailed. Old Russian literature was distinguished by religiosity and historicism. Many Old Russian books have not reached us: they were destroyed by fires, some were taken to Poland and Lithuania, and some were destroyed by the scribes themselves - the old inscriptions were washed off, and new ones were written on top. This was done in order to save expensive material from which the books were made.

Old Russian literature began to form after the adoption of Christianity and at first was supposed to acquaint one with the history of religion and contribute to its spread. Another important function at this stage was to educate readers in the spirit of the Christian commandments. For this reason, the first works (Old Russian literature covers the period from the 11th to the 17th century) were mainly ecclesiastical in nature. Gradually, stories from the lives of ordinary people began to enjoy more and more popularity, which contributed to the emergence, and then more and more dissemination of "secular" works. Under the influence of these factors, the main genres of Old Russian literature were formed. All of them, up to the 15th century, were united by a common approach to the events depicted: the historical basis did not allow the author's fiction.

Features of the formation of genres

There is an opinion that the literature of Ancient Rus came from Byzantine and Bulgarian. This statement is partly legitimate, since the system of genres among all these peoples actually has a certain similarity. However, it should be borne in mind that the states at that time were at different stages of development (Russia was significantly behind Byzantium and Bulgaria), and the tasks faced by the authors were different. Therefore, it would be more correct to say that ancient Russian literature adopted the existing experience of the West. It was formed based on folklore and the needs of society. The genres of Old Russian literature were concretized depending on the practical goal and were divided into primary and unifying ones. On the whole, they were a dynamic system that responded vividly to any changes in society.

Primary genres of Old Russian literature

These included a life, a teaching, a word, a story, a chronicle story or legend, a weather record, a church legend. The first four are best known.

Life is a work containing a story about the life of the saints. It was perceived as a model of morality that should be imitated, and was built according to certain canons. The classical life contained a story of birth (usually a supplicated child) and a pious life, a description of the miracles associated with the hero, the glorification of the saint. One of the most famous works of this genre was The Life of Saints Gleb and Boris, written in a harsh time for the country. The images of the princes were supposed to contribute to unification in a common struggle against the invaders.

A later version was "The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, Written by Himself." Perceived more as a variant of an autobiography, it is interesting in that it presents a picture of social life during the period of the schism of the church.

The teachings that contained the rules of human behavior regardless of his position also belong to the genres of Old Russian literature. They had a powerful educational effect on the reader and touched upon various areas of life. The most famous teaching was compiled by Vladimir Monomakh and is addressed to youth. Its content is fully consistent with Christian commandments, therefore it was perceived as a book of life for posterity.

Old Russian eloquence was fully manifested in such a genre as a word. It could have different directions. An example of a solemn work is the "Word of Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion, written at the beginning of the 11th century in connection with the construction of military fortifications in Kiev. This is the glorification of the Russian princes and the Russian state, which are in no way inferior to the powerful Byzantium and its rulers.

The pinnacle of this genre was the work about the campaign of the Russian prince against the Polovtsians.

"A word about Igor's regiment"

Despite the ongoing controversy over the authenticity and authorship of this work, it became absolutely innovative for its time. Any genres of Old Russian literature, as already noted, possessed certain canons. "Word ..." is significantly different from them. It includes lyrical digressions, a violation of the chronology in the narrative (the action is sometimes transferred to the past, then it is turned to the present), inserted elements. The means of depiction are also unconventional, many of which correspond to elements of folklore. Many researchers put the "Word ..." on a par with the early feudal epic works of different peoples. In fact, this is a poem about the courage and resilience of soldiers, an expression of grief for the dead, a call for the need to unite all Russian princes and lands. In addition, "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" allows one to assess the place and role of the state in international history.

Uniting

There are also unifying genres of Old Russian literature. All readers are familiar with examples of the chronicle. This also includes the chetya-menaea ("reading by months", included stories about saints), a chronograph (description of events of the 15th and 16th centuries) and patericon (about the life of the holy fathers). These genres are called uniting genres (introduced by D.S.Likhachev), since they can include living, and teaching, and the word, etc.

Chronicle

The greatest attention, of course, deserves the works in which a record was kept of the events that took place over the years, which could be of a general nature or be more specific: with details, dialogues, etc.

Chronicle as a genre of Old Russian literature began to form presumably already at the end of the 10th century. But the actual work of this genre is taking shape under Yaroslav the Wise.

At the beginning of the 12th century, on the basis of the available records, the monk Nestor, who lived in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, compiled the "Tale of Bygone Years". Its events cover a large period: from the origin of the Slavic tribes to the present. A laconic and expressive description allows, after several centuries, to present the history of the formation and development of the Russian state.

The story

This genre of Old Russian literature was based on translations of Byzantine and folklore works and is the most studied to date. The stories were divided into:

• military - in the center is a historical personality and an important battle ("The Tale of the Battle on the Kalka River");
• satirical - about socially significant issues, often were in the nature of parodies ("The Tale of the Shemyakin Court");
• household - ("The Story of Grief-Misfortune").

The pinnacle was "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom", which is called the hymn of loyalty and love.

Popular in Russia were also walks (or walks), which first told about the travels of pilgrims to the holy land ("The Walking of Hegumen Daniel"), and later, in connection with the development of trade, about the travels of merchants. It was a story about what was seen with my own eyes.

The system created by the 17th century, which included various genres of Old Russian literature, marked the transition to the literature of the new era.