Features of Old Russian literature. Main genres and works. Characteristic features of Old Russian literature

Medieval picture of the world.

Since the adoption of Christianity, Russian ancient and medieval culture has been characterized by the concepts of holiness, conciliarity, sophia, and spirituality. Special aesthetic value in the traditional picture of the world Medieval Rus' acquired the categories of personality and transformation, light, luminosity.
Many religious, Orthodox values ​​entered into the ancient Russian picture of the world quite organically and naturally and became entrenched in it for a long time. First of all, it should be noted that the assimilation and understanding of Christian dogma and cult, and all worship, took place largely in the language of artistic imagery as the closest to consciousness ancient Russian man. God, spirit, holiness were perceived not as theological concepts, but rather as aesthetic and praxeological categories, more as living (mythological, according to A. F. Losev) rather than as symbolic.
Beauty was perceived in Rus' as an expression of the true and essential. Negative, unseemly phenomena were considered as deviations from the truth. As something transitory, not related to essence and therefore actually having no existence. Art acted as the bearer and exponent of the eternal and imperishable - absolute spiritual values. This is one of its most characteristic features and, moreover, one of the main principles of ancient Russian artistic thinking in general - Sofian art, which consists in the deep feeling and awareness by the ancient Russians of the unity of art, beauty and wisdom and in the amazing ability of Russian medieval artists and scribes to express artistic means the basic spiritual values ​​of one’s picture of the world, the essential problems of existence in their universal significance.
Art and wisdom appeared to man Ancient Rus' inextricably linked; and the terms themselves were perceived almost as synonyms. Art was not conceived by the wise, and this applied equally to the art of words, icon painting or architecture. Starting his work, opening the first sheet, the Russian scribe asked God for the gift of wisdom, the gift of insight, the gift of speech, and this plea was by no means just a traditional tribute to the rhetorical fashion of his time. It contained true faith in the Divinity of creative inspiration, in the high purpose of art. .
The best expressive means of sophia in the ancient Russian artistic and religious picture of the world was the icon. The icon, this “window” into the world of spiritual, transcendental religions, was also one of the most important paths to God. At the same time, in Rus', not only the direction of this path from the bottom up (from man to the “mountain world”) was highly valued, but also back - from God to man. God was understood by medieval Russian consciousness as the focus of all positive properties and characteristics of the “earthly” understanding of good, virtue, moral and aesthetic perfection, brought to the limit of idealization, that is, acting as an ideal extremely removed from human earthly existence. Among its main characteristics, holiness, “honesty,” purity, and luminosity most often appear—the main values ​​on which religion is based.
Another component traditional painting world - holiness - in the broadest Old Russian Orthodox understanding is sinlessness, and in the strict sense “God alone is holy.” In relation to a person, holiness means a state that is as far removed from sin as possible; It also means a state of special isolation of a person from the general mass. This singularity (or separation) is manifested in extraordinary good deeds of the individual, in speeches marked by wisdom and insight, and in amazing spiritual qualities. After the adoption of Christianity in ancient Russian spirituality, heroes of a very special kind appeared next to the holy heroes - passion-bearers. The first Russian passion-bearers are Boris and Gleb. However, brothers, warrior princes do not perform valiant feats of arms. Moreover, in a moment of danger, they deliberately leave the sword in its sheath and voluntarily accept death. The images of the passion-bearing saints were, in the words of G.P. Fedotov, a genuine religious discovery of the newly baptized Russian people. Why?
Old Russian people saw, first of all, in the behavior of Boris and Gleb, a readiness for the unconditional implementation of Christian ideals: humility, meekness, love for one's neighbor - even to the point of self-sacrifice - revealed not in words, but in deeds.

Peculiarities ancient Russian literature.

Russian literature XI-XVII centuries. developed under unique conditions. It was entirely handwritten. Printing, which appeared in Moscow in the middle of the 16th century, very little changed the nature and methods of distributing literary works.

The handwritten nature of literature led to its variability. When rewriting, scribes made their own amendments, changes, abbreviations, or, conversely, developed and expanded the text. As a result, the monuments of ancient Russian literature for the most part did not have a stable text. New editions and new types of works appeared in response to new demands of life and arose under the influence of changes in literary tastes.

The reason for the free handling of monuments was also anonymity ancient Russian monuments. The concept of literary property and author's monopoly was absent in Ancient Rus'. Literary monuments were not signed, since the author considered himself only an executor of God's will. The literary monuments were not dated, but the time of writing of this or that work is established with an accuracy of five to ten years using the chronicle, where all the events of Russian history are accurately recorded, and this or that work, as a rule, appeared “hot on the heels of the events” of history itself .

Old Russian literature is traditional. Author literary work"dresses" this topic in a corresponding “literary outfit”. As a result, the works of Ancient Rus' are not fenced off from each other by strict boundaries, their text is not fixed by precise ideas about literary property. This creates a certain illusion of slowness in the literary process. Old Russian literature developed strictly according to traditional genres: hagiography, apocryphal, circulation genre, teachings of the church fathers, historical stories, didactic literature. All these genres are translated. Along with translated genres, the first Russian original genre appeared in the 11th century - chronicle writing.

Ancient Russian literature is characterized by “medieval historicism”, therefore artistic generalization in Ancient Rus' is built on the basis of a single specific historical fact. The work is always attached to a specific historical person, while any historical event receives a purely church interpretation, that is, the outcome of the event depends on the will of God, who either has mercy or punishes. The “medieval historicism” of Russian literature of the 11th-17th centuries is in connection with another important feature of it, which has been preserved and developed in Russian literature up to the present day - its citizenship and patriotism.

Called to consider reality, follow this reality and evaluate it, the ancient Russian writer already in the 11th century perceived his work as a work of service home country. Old Russian literature has always been particularly serious, trying to answer the basic questions of life, calling for its transformation, and possessing diverse and always high ideals.

Peculiarities.

1. Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, heroic pathos of serving the Russian land, state, and homeland.

2. Main topic ancient Russian literature - world history and the meaning of human life.

3. Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing the most precious thing for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in the power, the ultimate triumph of good and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and defeat evil.

4. A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mainly historical figures. Literature strictly follows fact.

5. Feature artistic creativity The ancient Russian writer also has 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 and how should be depicted.

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

7. The originality of ancient Russian literature in the depiction of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, it is reproduced in monuments ancient literature hero, ideals are formed and created.

8. In ancient Russian literature, a system of genres was defined, within which the development of original Russian literature began. The main thing in their definition was the “use” of the genre, the “practical purpose” for which this or that work was intended.

The originality of ancient Russian literature:

Works of ancient Russian literature existed and were distributed in manuscripts. Moreover, 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, book writers, 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 reached us, but later lists of them have been preserved. Often, scribes acted as editors and co-authors. At the same time, they changed the ideological orientation of the work being copied, 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 ancient Russian literature must study all available lists of a particular work, establish the time and place of their writing by comparing various editions, variants of lists, and also determine in which edition the list most closely matches the original author's text. Such sciences as textual criticism and paleography (studies the external signs of handwritten monuments - handwriting, lettering, the nature of writing material) can come to the rescue.

A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is historicism. Its heroes are predominantly historical figures; it allows almost no fiction and strictly follows the fact. Even numerous stories about “miracles” - phenomena that seemed supernatural to a medieval person, are not so much the invention of an ancient Russian writer, but rather accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the people themselves with whom the “miracle” happened. Old Russian literature, inextricably linked with the history of the development of the Russian state and the Russian people, is imbued with heroic and patriotic pathos. Another feature is anonymity.

Literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian person, capable of sacrificing what is most precious for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses deep faith in the power and ultimate triumph of good, in man's ability to elevate his spirit and defeat evil. The Old Russian writer was least of all inclined to an impartial presentation of facts, “listening to good and evil indifferently.” Any genre of ancient literature, be it historical story or a legend, life or church sermon, as a rule, includes significant elements of journalism. Touching primarily on state-political or moral issues, the writer believes in the power of words, in the power of persuasion. He appeals not only to his contemporaries, but also to distant descendants with an appeal to ensure that the glorious deeds of their ancestors are preserved in the memory of generations and that descendants do not repeat the sad mistakes of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

The literature of Ancient Rus' expressed and defended the interests of the upper echelons of feudal society. However, it could not help but show an acute class struggle, which resulted either in the form of open spontaneous uprisings or in the forms of typically medieval religious heresies. The literature vividly reflected the struggle between progressive and reactionary groups within the ruling class, each of which sought support among the people. And since the progressive forces of feudal society reflected national interests, and these interests coincided with the interests of the people, we can talk about the nationality of ancient Russian literature.

In the 11th – 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, the words in the line were not separated and only paragraphs of the manuscript were highlighted with red capital letters. Frequently used, well-known words were written abbreviated under a special superscript - title. The parchment was pre-lined. Handwriting with regular, almost square letters was called charter.

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

Features of Old Russian works

1. The books were written in Old Russian. There were no punctuation marks, all words were written together.

2. Artistic images were influenced by the church. Mostly the exploits of saints were described.

3. Monks wrote books. The writers were very literate; they had to know the ancient Greek language and the Bible.

3. In ancient Russian literature there was large number genres: chronicles, historical stories, lives of saints, words. There were also translated works of a religious nature.
One of the most common genres is the chronicle.

Option 5

Read the text and complete tasks 1 – 3

(1) While studying the features of ancient Russian literature, researchers have more than once drawn attention to the fact that in different works Episodes that are similar in content are conveyed using the same literary techniques, and sometimes almost the same words. (2) Such monotony in different monuments of ancient Russian literature, some scientists

explained by the meager imagination of medieval authors who could not vividly and originally present the events in the work. (3) academician D.S. Likhachev convincingly proved in his works that medieval authors consciously sought to imitate, professing the so-called “aesthetics of identity”: they saw the artistic dignity of a literary work in the fact that its author follows an authoritative model.

1. Indicate two sentences that correctly convey MAIN information contained in the text. Write down the numbers of these sentences.

1) Researchers of ancient Russian literature believed that the monotony of artistic techniques of medieval authors was due to the fact that these people were not able to present the material in an original way.

2) One of the most important features Old Russian literature lies in the fact that its authors sought to create their works according to a single template.

3) D.S. Likhachev, having refuted the opinion of a number of scientists, proved that in different works of ancient Russian literature, similar episodes are conveyed using the same means intentionally, since the authors consciously focus on known examples.

4) The fact that in the works of ancient Russian literature the reader finds a set of constantly repeating artistic techniques became the subject of research by academician D.S. Likhacheva.

5) The use of the same techniques when conveying similar episodes in ancient Russian literature is explained not by the poverty of imagination of medieval authors, as some scientists believed, but by the desire to follow an authoritative model, as evidenced by the works of D.S. Likhacheva.

2. Which of the following words (combinations of words) should appear in the gap in the third (3) sentence of the text? Write down this word (combination of words).

Therefore So However, Certainly, Moreover,

3. Read a fragment of a dictionary entry that gives the meaning of the word FOLLOW. Determine in what sense this word is used in the third (3) sentence of the text. Write down the number corresponding to this meaning in the given fragment of the dictionary entry.

FOLLOW, -blowing, -blowing; nesov.

1) Walk, move, move after, directly behind someone. Follow me.

2) Set off, go, move. The train goes to Moscow.

3) Be guided by something, act like someone. S. fashion.

4) Be the result of something., follow from something. This is the conclusion.

5) Bezl. It is necessary, it must. The experience of leading producers should be disseminated more widely.

4. In one of the words below, an error was made in the placement of stress: the letter denoting the stressed vowel sound was highlighted INCORRECTLY. Write this word down.

dowry

tamed

mosaic

dose

5. One of the sentences below uses the highlighted word incorrectly. Correct the mistake and write this word correctly.

The most amazing thing is that I just can’t write it VERBAL portrait.

His face is very expressive: aristocratic, PREDATORY, long and humpbacked, the most aquiline nose, high cheekbones, deep eye sockets.

Infection weakens the body's RESISTANCE and increases the risk of a new disease.

Mercy is a big topic that finds a HOL in the heart of any person.

Krymov made no distinction between Dobrolyubov and Lassalle, Chernyshevsky and Engels.

6. In one of the words highlighted below, an error was made in the formation of the word form. Correct the error and write the word correctly.

WAVE your hand

six SAUCERS

BEST way

SEVEN HUNDRED answers

curtain with tulle

7. Establish a correspondence between grammatical errors and the sentences in which they were made: for each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

8. Identify the word in which the unstressed vowel of the root being tested is missing. Write out this word by inserting the missing letter.

pl..sneeze

rel..mother

give me a hint

festival..val

unacceptable

9. Identify the row in which the same letter is missing in both words. Write out these words by inserting the missing letter.

pr..deeds (temple), pr..increased

in..south, confiscation

p..yesterday, nar..singing

s..ate (apple), super..bright

before..groovy, vz..small

10. Write down the word in which the letter E is written in the blank.

grow..grow

arrogant

man..k

de-energize (line)

11. Write down the word in which the letter I is written in place of the gap.

hide..hide

wounded..in (hand)

possessed (passerby dog)

expected..my

unnoticed

12. Determine the sentence in which NOT is spelled together with the word. Open the brackets and write down this word.

People who (DID NOT) WANT to submit to the pressure of militant indifference came to the aid of the city, memory, and art.

He imagined himself as a martyr and partly even proudly thought that the cup had not yet been drunk to the bottom, that he would still suffer for his honesty.

I shook her hand twice; the second time she pulled it out, (NOT) SAYING a word.

The French were repelled at all points, but we (DID NOT) have enough strength to cross the river that same day and complete the defeat.

Let it be (NOT) IN MY opinion, I am ready to compromise.

13. Determine the sentence in which both highlighted words are written CONTINUOUSLY. Open the brackets and write down these two words.

(DURING) THE CONTINUATION of the sea voyage, we (NOT) TIMES found ourselves in storms.

It was not THAT easy to lure Chekhov into a political party: he expressed his protest against injustice and cruelty (IN) HIS OWN.

(B) DIFFERENT from others, Zelensky was ready to speak, although he perfectly understood what Rybin had in mind when he made the appointment.

“(WHY) are you so sad?” – with excitement in her voice, tilting her head (ON) TO THE SIDE, Maria asked.

WHATEVER the guest said, he knew how to (TRULY) ignite and inspire his interlocutor...

14. Indicate all the numbers in whose place NN is written.

I patiently examined the sandbank and the fresh wash of pebbles in search of interesting pebbles; a light breeze was blowing, the waves were gentle and calm. It seemed to me that I was wandering in a mystery (3), abandoned (4) by everyone in the world.

15. Place punctuation marks. Specify two sentences in which you need to put ONE comma. Write down the numbers of these sentences.

1) The motif of desolation and rotting, necrosis and degradation is closely connected with the image of Plyushkin in Gogol’s “Dead Souls”.

2) Revolution and Civil war not only changed the socio-political situation in the country but also influenced the thoughts and attitudes of people.

3) The appearance of a stranger in the city was talked about the next day and a week later and even a month later.

4) Every day I tried to learn something new and did not want to waste a single hour or a single minute.

5) And in the morning the gray and hazy sea still roared and heavy splashes of surf flew onto the embankment.

16. Place all punctuation marks:

In the evening, grandfather Trofim (1), putting on a sheepskin coat (2), left the hut and appeared on the threshold only a couple of hours later with a bundle of firewood; covered with (3) gray frost (4) he looked like Santa Claus.

17. Place all the missing punctuation marks: indicate the number(s) in whose place(s) there should be a comma(s) in the sentence.

“I have a presentiment,” said the doctor, “that (1) poor Grushnitsky (2) will be your victim...

The princess said that your face is familiar to her. I noticed to her that (4) it’s true (5) she met you in St. Petersburg, somewhere in the world... I said your name... She knew it. It seems (6) your story made a lot of noise there... The princess began to talk about your adventures, adding (7) probably (8) her comments to the social gossip... If (9) you want, I will introduce you...

18. Place all punctuation marks: indicate the number(s) in whose place(s) there should be a comma(s) in the sentence.

Late German romantics presented passions as external, often deceptive and hostile forces to man (1) as a toy in the hands (2) of which (3) he is (4) and likened love to fate.

19. Place all punctuation marks: indicate the number(s) in whose place(s) there should be a comma(s) in the sentence.

We did not know (1) that in these rude hearts there is enough space (2) to serve as a battlefield between God and the devil (3) and (4) that the idea of ​​merging with the people or being separated from them is important only for us (5) and not for

public consciousness.

20. Edit the sentence: correct the lexical error, excluding unnecessary word. Write this word down.

Now the steppe opened up, distant and silent, now low, blood-stained clouds, and now people, the steam engine, and the thresher all at once drowned in the blackening darkness.

Read the text and complete tasks 21 – 26

(1) The sky is clouded evil clouds, the rain sadly pounded on the glass and made me sad. (2) In a thoughtful pose, with his vest unbuttoned and his hands in his pockets, the owner of the city pawnshop, Polikarp Semyonovich Iudin, stood at the window and looked at the gloomy street.

(3) “Well, what is our life? - he reasoned in unison with the crying sky. - (4) What is she? (5) Some kind of book with a lot of pages on which more suffering and grief are written than joys... (6) Why was it given to us? (7) After all, God, the good and omnipotent, did not create the world for sorrows! (8) But it turns out the other way around. (9) There are more tears than laughter..."

(10) Judah took out right hand out of his pocket and scratched the back of his head.

(11) “Well,” he continued thoughtfully, “in terms of the universe, obviously, there was no poverty, corruption and shame, but in reality they exist. (12) They were created by humanity itself. (13) It itself gave birth to this scourge. (14) And for what, one might ask, for what?”

(15) He took out his left hand and sadly ran it over his face.

(16) “But how easily it would be possible to help people’s grief: one would only have to lift a finger. (17) For example, there is a rich funeral procession. (18) A set of horses in black blankets is carrying a magnificent coffin, and a line of carriages is driving almost a mile behind. (19) The torchbearers step forward with lanterns. (20) Cardboard coats of arms are dangling from the horses: an important person is being buried, the dignitary must have died. (21) Has he done at least one good deed in his entire life? (22) Did you warm the poor man? (23) Of course not... tinsel!

- (24) What do you want, Semyon Ivanovich?

- (25) Yes, I find it difficult to evaluate the costume. (26) In my opinion, it is impossible to give more than six rubles for it. (27) And she asks for seven; He says the kids are sick and need to be treated.

- (28) And six rubles will be too much. (29) Don’t give more than five, otherwise we’ll go bankrupt. (30) Just take a good look around to see if there are any holes or stains left somewhere...

(31) “Okay, sir, so this is life that makes you think about human nature. (32) Behind the rich hearse is a cart, on which a pine coffin is loaded. (33) Only one old woman trudges behind her, splashing through the mud. (34) This old woman, perhaps, is burying her breadwinner son... (35) But let me ask if the lady sitting in the carriage will give her even a penny? (36) Of course, he won’t, although maybe he will express his condolences...”

-(37) What else is there?

- (38) The old woman brought a fur coat... how much should I give?

- (39) Rabbit fur... (40) Nothing, strong, worth five rubles. (41) Give three rubles, and interest, of course, forward... (42) “Where, in fact, are people, where are their hearts? (43) The poor are dying, but the rich don’t even care..."

(44) Judah pressed his forehead to the cold glass and thought. (45) Tears appeared in his eyes - large, shiny, crocodile tears.

(according to A.P. Chekhov*)

*Alexander Pavlovich Chekhov (1855–1913)- Russian writer, prose writer, publicist, elder brother of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

21. Which of the statements correspond to the content of the text? Please provide answer numbers.

1) The city pawnshop is on the verge of bankruptcy, so Judin, the owner of this pawnshop, cannot afford to engage in charity.

2) The lady in the carriage gave one kopeck to the old woman who was burying her son that day.

3) Funeral processions - rich and poor - led Polikarp Semyonovich to talk about the poor and the rich.

4) The owner of the pawnshop, despite his philanthropic reasoning, strictly looks after the financial interests of the establishment.

5) Polikarp Semyonovich is convinced that it is very easy to help people.

22. Which of the following statements are faithful? Please provide answer numbers.

Enter the numbers in ascending order.

1) Sentence 2 contains a description.

2) Sentences 11–14 present the narrative.

3) Proposition 23 contains the answer to the question formulated in sentences 21–22.

4) Sentences 34–36 present the reasoning

5) Proposition 45 explains the reason for what is said in sentence 44.

23. From sentences 39–45, write down antonyms (antonymic pair).

24. Among sentences 15–23, find one(s) that is related to the previous one using a coordinating conjunction and a personal pronoun. Write the number(s) of this sentence(s).

25. “Chekhov’s stories are compact in form and deep in content, and the author avoids direct value judgments - his voice sounds quiet, but at the same time firm and distinct. This is facilitated by a complex composition and, of course, a competent selection of visual expressive means. In the presented fragment it is worth noting the trope – (A)__________ (“angry clouds” in sentence 1, “gloomy street” in sentence 2), lexical device – (B)__________ (“hanging out” in sentence 20, “we’ll burn out” in sentence 29 , “travels, spanking...” in sentence 33), syntactic device – (B)__________ (sentences 3, 14, 21). It is worth paying attention to such a technique as (G)__________ (sentence 11), which becomes, perhaps, one of the main ones when constructing of this text».

List of terms:

1) phraseological units

2) antithesis

3) epithets

4) colloquial vocabulary

5) series of homogeneous members of the sentence

6) interrogative sentences

7) lexical repetition

8) hyperbole

9) synecdoche

26. Write an essay based on the text you read.

Formulate one of the problems posed by the author of the text.

Comment on the formulated problem. Include in your comment two illustrative examples from the text you read that you think are important for understanding the problem in the source text (avoid excessive quoting).

Formulate the position of the author (storyteller). Write whether you agree or disagree with the point of view of the author of the text you read. Explain why. Argue your opinion, relying primarily on reading experience, as well as knowledge and life observations (the first two arguments are taken into account).

The volume of the essay is at least 150 words.

ANSWERS:

1. Answer: 35|53.

2. Answer: however.

3. Answer: 3.

4. Answer: mosaic.

5. Answer: response.

6. Answer: tulle.

7. 94372

8. Answer: irreconcilable

9. Answer: ate superbright

10. Answer: little man

11. Answer: hurting

12. Answer: lacking

13. Answer: why sideways?

14. Answer: 234.

15. Answer: 12

16. Answer: 124

17. Answer: 345678

18. Answer: 14.

19. Answer: 1235.

20. Answer: blackening|blackening.

21. Answer: 345

22. Answer: 134.

23. Answer: 21

25. Answer: 3462

Explanation.

* To formulate a problem, the examinee may use vocabulary that differs from that presented in the table. The problem may also be cited from the source text or indicated by reference to sentence numbers in the text.

An essay based on the text “The sky is clouded with evil clouds... (A. Chekhov)”

The literary art of the Middle Ages is special world, in many ways “hidden” for modern man. He has a special system of artistic values, his own laws literary creativity, unusual forms of works. This world can only be discovered by someone initiated into its secrets, who has learned its specific features.

Old Russian literature is the literature of the Russian Middle Ages, which went through a long, seven-century path in its development, from the 11th to the 17th centuries. For the first three centuries it was common to the Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian peoples. Only by the 14th century did differences emerge between the three East Slavic peoples, their language and literature. During the period of the formation of literature, its “apprenticeship,” the center of political and cultural life was Kyiv, “the mother of Russian cities,” therefore the literature of the 11th–12th centuries is usually called literature Kievan Rus. In the tragic XIII-XIV centuries for Russian history, when Kyiv fell under the blows of the Mongol-Tatar hordes and the state lost its independence, literary process lost its former unity, its course was determined by the activities of regional literary “schools” (Chernigov, Galicia-Volyn, Ryazan, Vladimir-Suzdal, etc.). Since the 15th century, a tendency towards unification has been evident in Rus' creative forces, And literary development The 16th–17th centuries are marked by the rise of a new spiritual center – Moscow.

Old Russian literature, like folklore, did not know the concepts of “copyright” and “canonical text”. Works existed in handwritten form, and the scribe could act as a co-author, create the work anew, subjecting the text to sampling, stylistic editing, including in it new material, borrowed from other sources (for example, chronicles, local legends, monuments of translated literature). This is how new editions of works arose, differing from each other in ideological, political and artistic attitudes. Before publishing the text of a work created

In the Middle Ages, it was necessary to do a huge amount of grunt work to study and compare various lists and editions in order to identify those that are closest to the original appearance of the monument. These goals are served by the special science of textual criticism; its tasks also include attribution of the work, that is, establishing its authorship, and resolving questions: where and when was it created, why was its text subject to editing?

The literature of Ancient Rus', like the art of the Middle Ages in general, was based on a system of religious ideas about the world; it was based on a religious-symbolic method of cognition and reflection of reality. The world in the consciousness of ancient Russian man seemed to bifurcate: on the one hand, this is real, earthly life man, society, nature, which can be known with the help of everyday experience, with the help of feelings, that is, “bodily eyes”; on the other hand, it is a religious-mythological, “high” world, which, in contrast to the “down”, is revealed to chosen people pleasing to God in moments of spiritual revelation and religious ecstasy.

It was clear to the ancient Russian scribe why certain events were happening; he was never tormented by questions that Russian classics would think about solving. XIX century: “Who is to blame?” and “what should I do?” to change to the best person and peace. For the medieval writer, everything that happens on earth is a manifestation of God’s will. If “a great star appeared, the rays of which are as bloody,” then this served the Russians as a formidable warning about future trials, Polovtsian raids and princely feuds: “Behold, those who do not show it in advance. For this reason, there were many tussocks and the invasion of the FILTHY on the Russian land, this is a star, like a bloody one, showing the shedding of blood.” Nature for medieval man has not yet acquired its independent aesthetic value; unusual natural phenomenon, whether it was an eclipse of the sun or a flood, acted as a certain symbol, a sign of the connection between the “high” and “down” worlds, and was interpreted as an evil or good omen.

Historicism of medieval literature of a special kind. Often in the work two planes are intertwined in the most bizarre way: real-historical and religious-fantastic, and the ancient man believed in the existence of demons as well as in the fact that Princess Olga traveled to Constantinople, and Prince Vladimir baptized Russia. Demons, as depicted by the ancient Russian writer as “rabbles, creeps, with tails,” were endowed with the ability to perform human actions:

scatter flour at the mill, lift logs to the high bank of the Dnieper for the construction of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.

A mixture of fact and fiction is characteristic of the ancient part of The Tale of Bygone Years, the origins of which are in folklore. Talking about Princess Olga's journey to Constantinople and her adoption of Christianity, the chronicler follows folk legend, according to which Olga, the “wise maiden,” “outwitted” (outwitted) the Byzantine emperor. Struck by her “blindness,” he decided to “marry” Olga for himself, that is, to take her as his wife, but after the baptism of the Gentile (a marriage condition put forward by Olga) he was forced to abandon his intention: godfather could not become the husband of his goddaughter. Recent studies of this chronicle fragment, comparing it with data from translated chronicles, indicate that Princess Olga at that time was at a very advanced age, the Byzantine emperor was much younger than her and had a wife. The chronicler used a folk poetic version of this historical event in order to show the superiority of the Russian mind over the foreign one, to elevate the image of a wise ruler who understood that without a single religion the formation of a single state is impossible.

Glorifying the fortitude and wisdom of the Russian people, the medieval writer was an exponent of the idea of ​​religious tolerance and humane attitude towards people of other faiths. In the 11th century, Theodosius of Pechersk, in a letter to Izyaslav Yaroslavich, denouncing the “wrong Latin faith,” nevertheless calls on the prince: “Merciful with alms, not only your own v”ry, nb and mu-zhey. whether in winter, or E"bdoyu Odrzhi-ml, whether a child of a Jew, or a Sorochinin, or a Volgdrin, or a heretic, or an ldtnnin, or from the weather, have mercy on everyone and from f*cking from abroad, as you can, and bribes from “Eogd don’t drown.”

Old Russian literature is distinguished by high spirituality. The life of the human soul is the center of gravity of medieval literature, education and improvement of the moral nature of man is its main task. The external, the objective, recedes into the background here. Like on the icon, where close up“face” and “eyes” are given, something that reflects the inner essence of the saint, the “light” of his soul; in literature, especially hagiography, the image of a person is subordinated to the glorification of the proper, ideal, eternally beautiful moral qualities: mercy and modesty, spiritual generosity and non-covetousness.

In the Middle Ages, there was a different system of artistic values ​​than in our time; the aesthetics of similarity, rather than the aesthetics of uniqueness, prevailed. According to the definition of D.S. Likhacheva, Old Russian

The writer based his work on the concept of “literary etiquette,” which was composed of ideas about “how this or that course of events should have taken place,” “how the character should have behaved,” “in what words should the writer describe what is happening. Before us, therefore, is the etiquette of the world order, the etiquette of behavior and the etiquette of words.”

Old Russian literature valued the general, repetitive, and easily recognizable, avoiding the particular, random, and unusual for the reader. That is why in the monuments of the 11th–17th centuries there are so many “commonplaces” in the depiction of military or monastic feats, in the obituary characteristics of Russian princes and in words of praise saints Comparing the heroes of Russian history with biblical characters, quoting books of the Holy Scripture, imitation of authoritative Church Fathers, borrowing entire fragments from the works of previous eras - all this in the Middle Ages testified to a high book culture and the skill of the writer, and was not a sign of his creative impotence.

The literature of Ancient Rus' is characterized by a special system of genres. To a greater extent than in the literature of modern times, it is connected with extraliterary circumstances, with the practical needs of ancient Russian society. Every literary genre served a certain area of ​​life. So, for example, the emergence of chronicles was due to the need of the state to have its own written history, where they would be recorded major events(the birth and death of rulers, wars and peace treaties, the founding of cities and the building of churches).

In the 11th–17th centuries, several genre systems existed and actively interacted: folklore, translated literature, business writing, liturgical and secular, artistic and journalistic literature. Of course, the genres of liturgical literature (“Prologue”, “Book of Hours”, “Apostle”, etc.) were more closely connected with the sphere of their existence and were more static.

The basis for the identification of genres in the literature of Ancient Rus' was the object of the image. The military exploits of the Russians were depicted in military stories, travel to other countries, first only for pilgrimage, and then for trade and diplomatic purposes - in walks. Each genre had its own canon. For example, for a hagiographic work, where the object of the image was the life of a saint, a three-part composition is required: a rhetorical introduction, a biographical part and praise to one of the “armies of Christ.” Type

the narrator in the life is a conventionally sinful person, “thin and foolish,” which was necessary for the exaltation of the hero - a righteous man and a miracle worker, therefore, for this genre, the main thing was the idealizing way of depiction, when the hero’s behavior was freed from everything temporary, sinful and he was presented only in ceremonial moments of your life as “positive wonderful person" The style of monuments of hagiographic literature, in contrast to chronicles, is florid and verbally decorated, especially in the introductory and final parts, which are often called the “rhetorical mantle” of a life.

The fate of ancient Russian genres developed differently: some of them disappeared from literary use, others adapted to changed conditions, and others continue to actively function, filled with new content. Essay literature XIX- XX centuries, literary travels of the 18th century go back to the traditions of ancient Russian wanderings - one of the most stable genre formations of the Middle Ages. Researchers see the origins of the Russian novel in everyday stories of the 17th century. The poetics of odes in the literature of Russian classicism, of course, developed under the influence of the works of oratory of Ancient Russia.

Thus, ancient Russian literature is not a dead, bygone phenomenon; it did not sink into oblivion, leaving no posterity. This phenomenon is alive and prolific. She bequeathed to Russian literature of modern times a high spiritual spirit and a “teaching” character, the ideas of patriotism and a humane attitude towards people, regardless of their religion. Many genres of literature of Ancient Rus', having undergone evolution, found a second life in XVIII literature– XX centuries.

Over the course of seven centuries of development, our literature has consistently reflected the main changes taking place in the life of society.

For a long time, artistic thinking was inextricably linked with the religious and medieval historical form of consciousness, but gradually, with the development of national and class consciousness, it began to free itself from church ties.

Literature has developed clear and definite ideals of the spiritual beauty of a person who devotes himself entirely to the common good, the good of the Russian land, the Russian state.

She created ideal characters of persistent Christian ascetics, valiant and courageous rulers, “good sufferers for the Russian land.” These literary characters complemented the folk ideal of man, formed in epic oral poetry.

D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak spoke very well about the close connection of these two ideals in a letter to Ya. L. Barskov dated April 20, 1896: “It seems to me that the “heroes” serve as an excellent complement to the “hierarchs.” Representatives here and there native land, behind them one can see the Rus' they stood guard over. Among the heroes, the predominant element is physical strength: they defend their homeland with broad chests, and that is why this “heroic outpost”, put forward on the battle line, in front of which wandered historical predators, is so good... The “Saints” show the other side of Russian history, even more important as a moral stronghold and holy of holies of the future multi-million people. These chosen ones had a presentiment of the history of a great people...”

The focus of literature was historical destinies motherland, issues of state building. That is why epic historical themes and genres play a leading role in it.

Deep historicism in the medieval understanding determined the connection of our ancient literature with heroic folk epic, and also determined the features of the image of human character.

Old Russian writers gradually mastered the art of creating deep and versatile characters, the ability to correctly explain the reasons for human behavior.

From a static, still image of a person, our writers moved on to revealing the internal dynamics of feelings, to depicting various psychological states of a person, to identifying individual characteristics personality.

The latter became most clearly evident in the 17th century, when personality and literature began to free themselves from the undivided power of the church and, in connection with the general process of “secularization of culture,” the “secularization” of literature also occurred.

It led not only to the creation of fictional heroes, generalized and, to a certain extent, socially individualized characters.

This process led to the emergence of new types of literature - drama and lyrics, new genres - everyday, satirical, adventure stories.

The strengthening of the role of folklore in the development of literature contributed to its democratization and closer rapprochement with life. This affected the language of literature: the ancient Slavic literary language, which was outdated by the end of the 17th century, was replaced by a new living spoken language, which poured into the second literature in a wide stream. half XVII V.

A characteristic feature of ancient literature is its inextricable connection with reality.

This connection gave our literature an extraordinary journalistic acuity, an excited lyrical emotional pathos, which made it important means political education of contemporaries and what gives it the enduring significance that it has in subsequent centuries of the development of the Russian nation and Russian culture.

Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature. - M., 1998