Wooden architecture. Heritage

All houses in Russia were traditionally built of wood. Later, already in the 16th-17th centuries, stone was used.
Wood as the main building material has been used since ancient times. It was in wooden architecture that Russian architects developed that reasonable combination of beauty and usefulness, which then passed into stone structures, and the shape and design of stone houses were the same as those of wooden buildings.

The properties of wood as a building material largely determined the special form of wooden structures.
On the walls of the huts there were pine and larch tarred at the root, a roof was made of light spruce. And only where these species were rare, they used strong heavy oak or birch for walls.

Yes, and not every tree was cut down, with analysis, with preparation. Ahead of time, they looked out for a suitable pine tree and made cleats (lasas) with an ax - they removed the bark on the trunk in narrow strips from top to bottom, leaving strips of untouched bark between them for sap flow. Then, for another five years, the pine tree was left to stand. During this time, she thickly highlights the resin, impregnates the trunk with it. And so, in the cold autumn, before the day had yet begun to lengthen, and the earth and the trees were still sleeping, they cut down this tarred pine. Later you can’t chop - it will begin to rot. Aspen, and generally deciduous forest, on the contrary, was harvested in the spring, during the sap flow. Then the bark easily comes off the log and, dried in the sun, it becomes strong as a bone.

The main, and often the only tool of the ancient Russian architect was an ax. The ax, crushing the fibers, seals the ends of the logs, as it were. Not without reason, they still say: "cut down the hut." And, well known to us now, they tried not to use nails. After all, around the nail, the tree begins to rot faster. In extreme cases, wooden crutches were used.

The basis of a wooden building in Russia was a "log house". These are logs fastened (“tied”) together into a quadrangle. Each row of logs was respectfully called a "crown". The first, lower crown was often placed on a stone base - "ryazhe", which was made up of powerful boulders. So it is warmer, and rots less.

Yes, and the decor of the facade was very important matter in construction, since each symbol had its own protective properties and secret purpose in traditional Slavic magic.
According to the type of fastening of logs, the types of log cabins also differed from each other. For outbuildings, a log house "in cut" (rarely laid) was used. The logs here were not stacked tightly, but in pairs on top of each other, and often they were not fastened at all.

When fastening the logs “in a paw”, their ends, whimsically hewn and really resembling paws, did not go beyond the wall from the outside. The crowns here already fit snugly together, but in the corners it could still blow in winter.

The most reliable, warm, was considered to be the fastening of logs "in the cloud", in which the ends of the logs slightly went beyond the wall. Such a strange name today comes from the word “obolon” ​​(“oblon”), meaning the outer layers of a tree (cf. “clothe, envelop, shell”). As early as the beginning of the 20th century. they said: “cut the hut into sapling”, if they wanted to emphasize that inside the hut the logs of the walls are not cramped. However, more often outside the logs remained round, while inside the hut they were hewn to a plane - “scraped into a las” (a smooth strip was called a las). Now the term "oblo" refers more to the ends of the logs protruding out of the wall, which remain round, with a bummer.

The rows of logs themselves (crowns) were connected to each other with the help of internal spikes.

Moss was laid between the crowns in the frame, and after the final assembly of the frame, the cracks were caulked with linen tow. Attics were often covered with the same moss to keep warm in winter.

In terms of plan, log cabins were made in the form of a quadrangle (“chetverik”), or in the form of an octagon (“octagon”). Of the several adjacent quadruplets, mainly huts were made up, and the octals were used for the construction of the choir. Often, placing quadruples and octals on top of each other, the ancient Russian architect folded rich mansions.

A simple covered rectangular wooden frame without any outbuildings was called a "cage". “Cage with a cage, tell a story,” they used to say in the old days, trying to emphasize the reliability of a log house in comparison with an open canopy - a story. Usually the log house was placed on the "basement" - the lower auxiliary floor, which was used to store supplies and household equipment. And the upper crowns of the log house expanded upward, forming a cornice - a “fall”.

This interesting word, derived from the verb "fall down", was often used in Russia. So, for example, the upper cold common bedrooms in the house or mansions, where the whole family went to sleep (fall down) from a heated hut in the summer, were called “polushas”.

The doors in the cage were made as low as possible, and the windows were placed higher. So less heat left the hut.

The roof over the log house was arranged in ancient times without nails - "male". For this, the completion of the two end walls was made from decreasing stumps of logs, which were called “males”. Long longitudinal poles were placed on them in steps - “dolniks”, “lie down” (cf. “lie down, lie down”). Sometimes, however, they were called males, and the ends came down, cut into the walls. One way or another, but the whole roof got its name from them.

Roofing scheme: 1 - gutter; 2 - chill; 3 - stamic; 4 - slightly; 5 - flint; 6 - princely sleg ("knes"); 7 - general slug; 8 - male; 9 - fall; 10 - prichelina; 11 - chicken; 12 - pass; 13 - bull; 14 - oppression.

From top to bottom, thin tree trunks, cut down with one of the branches of the root, were cut into the slegs. Such trunks with roots were called "hens" (apparently for the similarity of the left root with a chicken paw). These upward branches of the roots supported a hollowed-out log - a "stream". It collected water flowing from the roof. And already on top of the hens and lay down wide boards of the roof, resting with their lower edges against the hollowed out groove of the stream. The upper joint of the boards - the “horse” (“prince”) was especially carefully blocked from rain. Under it, a thick “ridge slug” was laid, and from above the joint of the boards, like a hat, was covered with a log hollowed out from below - a “helmet” or “skull”. However, more often this log was called "cold" - something that covers.

Why didn’t they just cover the roof of wooden huts in Russia! That straw was tied into sheaves (bundles) and laid along the slope of the roof, pressing with poles; then they chipped aspen logs on planks (shingles) and with them, like scales, they covered the hut in several layers. And in ancient times they even covered with turf, turning it upside down and laying a birch bark.

The most expensive coating was considered "tes" (boards). The very word "tes" well reflects the process of its manufacture. An even log without knots was split lengthwise in several places, and wedges were hammered into the cracks. The log split in this way was split lengthwise several more times. The irregularities of the resulting wide boards were hemmed with a special ax with a very wide blade.

The roof was usually covered in two layers - “undercut” and “red tess”. The lower layer of the tess on the roof was also called a rocker, since it was often covered with a “rock” (birch bark, which was chipped from birch trees) for tightness. Sometimes they arranged a roof with a break. Then the lower, flatter part was called the "police" (from the old word "floor" - half).

The entire pediment of the hut was importantly called the "brow" and was richly decorated with magical protective carvings.

The outer ends of the under-roofing slabs were covered from the rain with long boards - "prichelina". And the upper joint of the berths was covered with a patterned hanging board - a “towel”.

The roof is the most important part of a wooden building. “There would be a roof over your head,” people still say. Therefore, over time, it became a symbol of any house and even an economic structure of its “top”.

"Riding" in ancient times was called any completion. These tops, depending on the wealth of the building, could be very diverse. The simplest was the "cage" top - a simple gable roof on a cage. The “cubic top” was intricate, resembling a massive tetrahedral onion. Terems were decorated with such a top. The “barrel” was quite difficult to work with - a gable covering with smooth curvilinear outlines, ending with a sharp ridge. But they also made a “crossed barrel” - two intersecting simple barrels.

The ceiling was not always arranged. When burning furnaces "in black" it is not needed - the smoke will only accumulate under it. Therefore, in a living room it was made only with a “white” firebox (through a pipe in the furnace). At the same time, the ceiling boards were laid on thick beams - “matits”.

The Russian hut was either a “four-wall” (simple cage) or a “five-wall” (a cage partitioned off inside by a wall - “overcut”). During the construction of the hut, utility rooms were attached to the main volume of the cage (“porch”, “canopy”, “yard”, “bridge” between the hut and the yard, etc.). In the Russian lands, not spoiled by heat, they tried to bring the whole complex of buildings together, to press them against each other.

There were three types of organization of the complex of buildings that made up the courtyard. A single large two-story house for several related families under one roof was called a "purse". If the utility rooms were attached to the side and the whole house took on the form of the letter “G”, then it was called the “verb”. If the outbuildings were adjusted from the end of the main frame and the whole complex was pulled into a line, then they said that this was a “beam”.

A “porch” led to the house, which was often arranged on “helps” (“releases”) - the ends of long logs released from the wall. Such a porch was called "hanging".

The porch was usually followed by "canopy" (canopy - shade, shaded place). They were arranged so that the door did not open directly onto the street, and heat did not come out of the hut in winter. The front part of the building, together with the porch and the hallway, was called in ancient times the "sprout".

If the hut was two-story, then the second floor was called the "tale" in the outbuildings and the "room" in the living quarters.
On the second floor, especially in outbuildings, there was often an “import” - an inclined log platform. A horse with a cart loaded with hay could climb along it. If the porch led directly to the second floor, then the porch platform itself (especially if there was an entrance to the first floor under it) was called a “locker”.

There have always been many carvers and carpenters in Russia, and for them there was no great work cut out the most complex floral ornament or reproduce a scene from pagan mythology. The roofs were decorated with carved towels, cockerels, skates.

Terem (from Greek blood, dwelling) the upper residential tier of the ancient Russian choirs or chambers, built above the upper room, or a separate high residential building on the basement. The epithet "high" has always been applied to the tower.
The Russian tower is a special, unique phenomenon of centuries-old folk culture.

In folklore and literature, the word terem often meant a rich house. In epics and fairy tales, Russian beauties lived in high towers.

In the terem, there was usually a light-filled room with several windows, where women were engaged in needlework.

In the old days, towering above the house, it was customary to richly decorate. The roof was sometimes covered with real gilding. Hence the name of the golden-domed tower.

Around the towers they arranged ambush - parapets and balconies, fenced with railings or gratings.

Palace Terem of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye.

The original wooden palace, Terem, was built in 1667-1672 and amazed with its splendor. Unfortunately, 100 years after the start of its construction, due to dilapidation, the palace was dismantled, and only thanks to the command of Empress Catherine II, before dismantling, all measurements, sketches and a wooden model of the Terem was created, according to which it became possible to restore it today.

During the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the palace was not only a place of rest, but also the main country residence of the Russian sovereign. Meetings of the Boyar Duma, councils with heads of orders (prototypes of ministries), diplomatic receptions and military reviews were held here. The wood for the construction of a new tower was brought from the Krasnoyarsk Territory, then processed by craftsmen near Vladimir, and then delivered to Moscow.

Izmailovsky Tsar's Terem.

Made in the classical old Russian style and incorporated architectural solutions and all the most beautiful of that era. Now it is beautiful historical symbol architecture.

The Izmailovsky Kremlin appeared quite recently (construction was completed in 2007), but immediately became a prominent landmark of the capital.

The architectural ensemble of the Izmailovo Kremlin was created according to the drawings and engravings of the royal residence of the 16th-17th centuries, which was located in Izmailovo.

The main feature of the life of a farmer in Ancient Russia was a large patriarchal family - a clan. This family consisted of:

• the head of the clan and his wife (the eldest man in the clan);
• sons of the head of the clan, with wives and children (daughters went to another clan after marriage and lost contact with their relatives).

The life of farmers in Russia was not easy. The whole family lived in the same house and had common household. The head of the clan controlled all the property of the family and the fate of each of its members. He decided whom, when and which of the daughters or granddaughters to marry, whom to marry sons and grandsons. The power of the head of the clan within the family was unlimited. Outside its limits, it was limited only by the power of the prince.

Pastushki, Vladimir Makovsky

Each, even the smallest, family member had his own responsibilities. Children and housekeeping were exclusively women. From an early age, girls were taught to take care of younger children, cook food, weave, spin, sew and embroider.

Seven-year-old boys were already walking with adults in the field, where, to the best of their ability, they participated in the process of sowing and harvesting. Boys were taught to hunt, set snares, fish, collect honey. Girls were taught the rules of collecting and preserving berries, mushrooms, the secrets of using medicinal herbs.

Haymaking, Konstantin Makovsky

In ancient Russia, a peasant farmer had to be able to do a lot. Adult men looked after the cattle, plowed and sowed the field, harvested crops, hunted, fished, and beekeepers. The work in the fields was seasonal, but that did not mean that the family was idle during the winter. The cold season was devoted to repairing old and creating new household utensils, weaving bast shoes and wicker baskets.

Household items - axe, scissors, children's toy, candle, wax, musical instrument. ()

The farmers of Ancient Russia married early, the girl was considered a bride when she reached 12 years old. By this time, the dowry (embroidered shirts, towels, clothes, household utensils) was already ready in her family, the groom was chosen, and she herself was ready for the wedding ceremony of the ancient Slavs. After the adoption of Christianity, the church actively resists the tradition of early marriage, disapproving of it. Gradually, this tradition becomes obsolete, and young girls are married only at 14-15, or even 16 years old.

Before the baptism of Russia, newborn children were given names that most of all characterized their behavior or appearance. Such names as Krasava, Zabava, Gorislava, Malusha, Lyubim, Milyai and Molchan were common. After baptism, Christian names were chosen for the children - Matthew, Gregory, Yuri, Vasily, etc. Some rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs were preserved even after the baptism of Russia. Sometimes to Christian name the people added a nickname - Ivan Krivoy, Vasilisa the Beautiful. With its help, they tried to more accurately characterize a person, to tell what external and internal qualities he has.

Citizens and city life

A smaller part of the population lived in the Old Russian cities. The population of the Old Russian cities consisted, first of all, of artisans, merchants, money changers, combatants and the prince himself with his entourage. Cities were centers of culture. The main place in the city was given to the city square. Trade rows were located around it, temples were erected, princely mansions were built. Many townspeople knew how to read and write, so they were engaged in copying books, creating beautiful illustrations for them, or dressing leather for pages.

The everyday life of the townspeople in Ancient Russia practically did not differ from the life of the peasants. An artisan living in the city could also be engaged in cattle breeding or agriculture. Families were patriarchal, but not as large as in countryside. Few lived in the same house. Usually, after the marriage of adult sons, their separation from the parental home took place. The power of the head of the family was preserved, but the young family could live on its own territory, if funds allowed. For this, next to parental home built another one. Gradually, whole streets appeared in the cities, on which only relatives lived, mainly engaged in the same craft. The head of the family took part in veche meetings, was responsible for minor offenses that members of the family subordinate to him allowed themselves.

Wealthy citizens lived in mansions. This category included usurers, merchants, representatives of the senior squad of the prince and the prince himself. The internal order in a rich family differed little from similar orders in a poor one. Merchant and princely daughters did not have to wash their own linen, take care of children and perform other tasks. homework. That's why they had servants. But just like ordinary peasant women, they were forced to obey their father or older brother, they could be married against their will or even sent to a monastery. Girls in wealthy families were valued no less than boys. Not being the heirs of the father's fortune (there could be exceptions), they were intended to establish friendly relations with other clans (families) by concluding dynastic marriages.

Babies until they were 1 year old were raised by a wet nurse in a rich family. Older children were in the care of nannies. From about 4-5 years old, the princely sons and boys who were to join the squad learned to count, write, read and handle weapons. The girls learned how to manage the house, how to embroider with satin stitch and cross stitch, and other feminine tricks.

Adult men and women, in addition to family and professional affairs (keeping accounts, managing a squad, etc.), often went hunting, took part in games, organized rich feasts. At feasts, women sat next to men. The feasting people were entertained - buffoons and guslars.

Trade was in the first place in the life of the city. Russian merchants traded in honey, wax, hemp, resin, and furs. Foreign merchants brought jewelry, cloth, weapons, spices.

Warfare

Features of the military organization Old Russian state was the absence of a large regular army. The basis of the army was the princely army - the squad. He led the voivode's combatants. This army of Ancient Russia consisted of only a few hundred people, divided into junior and senior. If there was a need to protect the frontiers from a strong and well-armed army, the princes called for help from the squads of their neighbors or gathered a militia. The militia was divided into:

The militias were ordinary townspeople and peasants. The number of troops of Ancient Russia reached tens of thousands. The squad consisted of free people, most often of noble birth. A large army in Russia was called an army.

AT war time from each city exhibited at least 1 thousand soldiers. The army gathered by the townspeople was divided into hundreds and tens. A thousand was led by a thousand's man, a hundred by centurions, a dozen by foremen.

The appearance of the ancient Russian militia warrior until the 8th-9th centuries was not much different from the appearance of a peasant. The equipment of the ancient Russian warrior consisted of ports, bast shoes and a long shirt. Wooden shields, clubs, axes and horns were used as weapons. Initially, the combatants also looked like this, but as this type of troops developed and separated from the general mass of the development of the military affairs of Ancient Russia, an external change in the appearance of combatants also took place. Appear:

• mail shirt;
• armor;
• a shield bound with iron and upholstered in leather;
• pointed helmet.

Damage was inflicted on the enemy with a sword, spear or saber (the manufacturing technique and manner of using sabers were adopted from the nomads). They were armed with a bow, crossbow, battle ax or knife.

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Chain mail consisted of metal rings or plates that connected to each other and did not allow an enemy arrow to penetrate to the body. In 10-12 centuries. chain mail is a long-sleeved shirt with short sleeves. In the 12th century, the sleeves of chain mail were lengthened. The pointed shape of the helmet was not chosen by chance. Upon impact, the enemy sword slipped off an uneven surface and minimal damage was inflicted on the warrior. Over time, additional protection is attached to the helmets in the form of a mesh or a metal plate that protects the eyes and nose.

Where farmers and townspeople lived: mansions, log cabins, semi-dugouts

The difference between the dwelling of the leader of a tribal warrior detachment Eastern Slavs and the simple peasant was insignificant. After the formation of the state, the life of ordinary citizens worsens, the nobility, on the contrary, grows richer, and can afford more comfortable and expensive housing. The appearance of the dwelling in Ancient Russia is changing. Princes and boyars live in mansions. The princely chambers consist of:

• princely terem (tower with rooms heated in winter);
• canopy (transition);
• chambers (analogous to a modern living room);
• summer bedroom.

In addition to the princely or merchant's house, the steward's house, a kitchen, a large stable, barns, pantries, cellars (glaciers) were located on the territory of a large courtyard. A little away from the main buildings there was a bathhouse. The courtyard was surrounded by a fence made of wood or stone with wide gates.

Ancient Moscow, A.Vasnetsov

Prosperous families, not related to the nobility, but possessing money, lived in log cabins. This type of building consisted of 2 floors and had several bedrooms. From the inside of the old Russian hut, everything was wooden - beds, benches, chests for clothes and kitchen furniture. If funds allowed, then the chambers of a wealthy citizen were necessarily decorated with a Persian carpet or bearskins. The same decorations, but in larger quantities, could be found in the prince's house. The house was heated by a Russian stove, the space was lit with wax candles.

Log cabin ()

Simple artisans lived on the outskirts of cities in one-story wooden huts. The handicraft part of the ancient Russian city was called the settlement (Goncharnaya Sloboda, Blacksmith's Sloboda).

The interior of the semi-dugout ()

The appearance of the house of an ordinary peasant depended on the place of his residence. In the south, peasants dug out semi-dugouts with earthen floors. In the north, wooden huts were built. Such a building had a wooden floor, but there was no chimney, so all the smoke remained inside the room, which is why the walls inside the old Russian hut turned black (they said that the hut is heated in black). During the day, the old Russian hut was illuminated by the sun's rays passing through small windows. Instead of glasses, a cow bladder was used. The window of the old Russian hut was closed to them in the cold season. In the evening, a torch was lit in the hut.

How peasants and wealthy citizens dressed

The main elements of clothing of Ancient Russia had much in common among all classes. Both rich and poor dressed the same. The clothes of the Slavs of Ancient Russia, belonging to noble people, differed only in the quality and variety of fabrics. The rich sewed clothes from brocade and silk. Ordinary threads in such clothes were replaced with gold threads, the clothes themselves were decorated with beads or fur. Shoes were sewn from morocco sheathed in gold.

Clothing options, prince and princess, ordinary people ()

The clothes of ordinary peasants were coarse, they were sewn from canvas or woolen fabric. Hems of skirts and collars of shirts were decorated with embroidery.

Men in Russia wore:

• ports (narrow cropped pants);
• a shirt-kosovorotka, going down to the knees;
• sash belt

As a male outerwear in ancient Russia, zipuns were used - brocade caftans that did not have a collar. In winter, fur coats and pointed hats made of felt or fur were worn. The rich used epancha as outerwear.

Women's and men's suit ()

In order not to freeze the legs, they were wrapped in pieces of dense fabric - onuchs. Bast shoes made of linden bark were put on over them. This type of footwear of Ancient Russia was often fashionable to see on peasants and poor townspeople. The rich did not wear bast shoes. They put on morocco boots, the toes of which were bizarrely turned up.

Women's clothing of Ancient Russia consisted of:

• shirts;
• woolen skirt or sundress.

The hair was held by a hoop made of leather or birch bark. The shape and name of the headdress depended on the status. married women at home they covered their heads with a cap, the girls wove multi-colored silk ribbons into their hair.

Women's sundress ()

On holidays, the head was covered with a kokoshnik made of hard material covered with rich fabric. The kokoshnik was decorated with beads or pearls. They wore rings and bracelets on their hands, beautiful earrings were put into their ears, necklaces or chains were hung around their necks. The women's costume of Ancient Russia was also complemented by a caftan or fur coat. They were decorated with embroidery or bright silk lining.

Kokoshnik ()

Women's outerwear ()

The richer a person was, the more expensive his clothes looked. Ordinary peasants sometimes did not even have bast shoes or a zipun for the winter, while a merchant could afford a fur coat and warm boots.

On the example of the life and customs of the inhabitants of Ancient Russia, the growing stratification of society is well traced. The difference between the rich and the poor, which first manifested itself during the existence of the Slavic tribes, after the formation of the state, increased tenfold. This is manifested in clothing, living conditions and even the upbringing of certain classes.

Dictionary

1. Beekeeping - collecting honey from wild bees.

2. Changer - a person involved in the exchange of money.

3. One house - together, under one roof.

4. Games - the game part mass holiday, consisting of fun, songs, dances, competitions, round dances and dressing up as characters from fairy tales, myths and legends.

5. Buffoons - folk artists performing theatrical and musical performances on the streets of cities and villages. Most often they wandered around the cities and villages. Among the buffoons were dancers and animal trainers.

6. Guslyar - a musician playing a folk instrument - a harp.

7. Hemp is a coarse flax fiber obtained through a special processing of hemp stalks.

8. Militia - an armed formation of people not involved in the regular army - peasants and townspeople.

9. Hundred - one hundred people, part of the militia.

10. Regiment - a militia consisting of feudal landowners (noble people).

11. Army - militia, consisting of townspeople

12. Squad - an armed detachment of people under the prince.

13. Rat - the general name for a large army, consisting of regiments, hundreds and tens.

14. Rogatin - a heavy spear for hand-to-hand combat or hunting a large beast - a bear, a wild boar.

15. Log house - a wooden structure, the walls of which are assembled from processed logs.

16. Epancha - a wide sleeveless cloak, trimmed with fur.

17. Onuchi - strips of fabric for wrapping the leg below the knee. Ports were run in onuchi. They were tied to the leg with special rope or bast wraps.

Our generation is mostly accustomed to apartments. And even those who were born in the village tend to build their families already in cities, in high-rise buildings. And most Slavs today perceive housing itself simply as a place where you can eat, sleep, watch TV. Maybe that's why, having left such a house, a person does not feel any attachment to him?
But before the house for the Slav was both a dining room, and a fortress, and a temple. The house was alive, and its care was not limited to simple cleaning. Each person knew that the hut has its own magical places, symbolic household items, with which you can manage the space around you, protect yourself from dark forces, attract prosperity, health and joy. Threshold Through the threshold enter and leave the house. The ancestors understood that this was not only the boundary between the house and the street, but also between the outer space and the tribal space in which the family resides. Therefore, the threshold was asked to make people who cross it with dashing thoughts stumble and leave everything bad outside the house. In addition, the threshold is also the border between the world of the living and the dead (they used to bury the ashes of the ancestors, the oldest in the house, under the threshold, so that they would protect the clan). For this reason, it was forbidden for pregnant women to stand on the threshold (or at the gate, according to the same principle) for a long time. Garbage was never swept across the threshold so as not to sweep someone from the family. You can’t cross it with one foot shod, and the other barefoot - otherwise you won’t get married or get married. Also, no things were passed through the threshold and no hand was given. We remember some of these signs even today.

Pokutya Traditionally, pokutya was placed diagonally from the stove. There were images of the Gods, towels of the gods (special embroidered towels for decorating the images), household items of great value. There was also a table covered with a tablecloth. Under the images hung a lamp, which was lit on holidays and during prayer. Pokutya was decorated with cherry twigs, herbs (roses, cornflowers, bird cherry, mint), later - with bright paper flowers. According to folk tradition, pokutya should be “facing the sun”, so the table window, near which the pokutya was placed, was made to the east. Starting from the harvest of the first crop and the sowing of a new one, a bunch of ears of corn stood at the pokutia, a symbol of prosperity, “so that bread is not transferred in the house.” These ears were consecrated, and the grains from them were added to the wheat, which was sown in the field in the spring. They also kept holy water from Yar-Dan, Sretensky thunder-candles, willow twigs from Palm Sunday. If someone was sick in the house, they gave him holy water to drink, wiped the sore spots with it. The most desirable and important guests were offered to sit near the Pokutya. The first font of a newborn took place near the Pokutia, and a person who had left the Explicit World was laid with his head there. The newlyweds and their godly ones were also revered at this sacred place. All important events human life were associated with this home temple.

Living and magical in the house were considered not only places, but also some important household items, such as a dija (a container for kneading dough for bread), a chest (“screen”), towels, a bed, a cradle, spoons, a broom, needles and many others. .
Stove If the poultry is the most sacred place in the house, then the stove is certainly the most mystical. The stove has long been revered, because it gave both warmth and the opportunity for cooking and baking bread, and most importantly, fire lived in it, the protector and keeper of the family, a manifestation of Fire-Svarozhich. The stove was kept clean, the girls painted it with flowers. In Ukraine, at the stove, as well as at a woman, a child or images, it was impossible to slander (“Having said bi, ta pich u khati”). Judging by this alone, one can imagine how much cleaner and brighter that ancient ancestral house was than our apartments, from the windows of which drunken and sober swearing is often heard in the evenings. Although most of us do not have ovens, this is not a hindrance to inheriting such perfect example and watch what we say, because we put our strength into it. Also, Slavic mothers in charge knew that cooking is a real magical act, because the hostess adds not only salt, vegetables, seasonings to food, but also her mental images and feelings. Therefore, when food was being prepared in the oven, all family members were forbidden to shout and slam the door loudly. And when bread was baked, the door was generally locked so that no stranger would enter (it was believed that this would attract poverty into the house). Cleaning of the house should have been started from the door to the stove, and not vice versa, and the garbage itself had to be burned in the stove: they believed that the energy of the residents was stored in household garbage, so they did not throw it out into the street in order to protect themselves from someone else's negative impact. Some readers may think that the ancestors were too fearful and superstitious, but this is not so. The old days are the times of magic, which was a big part of life itself, worldview. Then every woman knew the simplest ways to remove damage, evil eye and other influences.

Terem. What is terem?

All of you probably remember the good old Russian folk tales well. They are all filled fairy world and the special spirit of Russian antiquity. Many of them mention the old type of wooden log cabins - towers. We can say that it was the Russian tower that was the progenitor of modern wooden architecture. We will consider what the tower was, for whom it was intended, and what elements the tower consisted of. Many of us at some time in our lives have heard this word, which is often found in Russian folk tales(children's fairy tale "Teremok"), legends, stories, epics and stories.

The very concept of the word "terem" means a high residential building raised with the help of a special scaffold (basement), according to appearance resembling a tower, usually having a sloping roof, and combined into a common architectural ensemble with other nearby buildings.

Another concept of the tower is the upper tier of the choir (large residential buildings in Ancient Russia), which were built over the entrance hall.

Let us consider these concepts in more detail in order to determine what a tower is, for what purpose it was built and how it looks.

The tower was a wooden frame of coniferous or deciduous trees. Structurally, such buildings differed from ordinary log cabins (huts). The tower had a more powerful and wider base than the building blocks lying above. Due to the use of a basement under the base for the tower, in which hay, food was stored, or livestock hibernated, a solid appearance of the building was created. The position of the owner was just as solid. Towers have always belonged only to people from the rich classes.

In the towers, red windows were arranged in all the walls. Turrets were attached to the towers - lookouts. The epithet "high" has always been applied to the tower. Amusements were arranged around the towers - parapets and balconies, fenced with railings or bars. On stone chambers, the tower could be both stone and wooden.

Below we have selected some of the old idioms, proverbs and sayings of Ancient Russia.

In the cages of a bird, in the towers of a girl, according to an old custom.
Not a piece of bread, so longing in the tower.
A girl in a tower is like an apple in paradise.
To look out for girls, to stare at the towers.
Without you, the high tower is empty.
Of the high nobles, whose tower? gone under heaven, popovich.
Each other puts the tower, and the enemy's foe's coffin gets along.
It is high in the tower, but far from Moscow.
Tell that, but I live in the tower.
The tower was built up, but there were no logs.
He said the word, so at least put luggage on it.

The dwellings of Ancient Russia, with an abundance of forests, were entirely wooden, ranging from the hut of a poor peasant to the chambers of the princes. The basis of Russian housing was a log square frame, or the so-called "cage"; and when this cage was supplied with a hearth or a stove, it was called "stove" or "hut". Several cages, connected into one whole, received the name "chorus". The dwelling of a rich man from a poor one, in fact, differed in the number of cages or the vastness of the choir. Usually mansions consisted of three main parts: firstly, winter housing, or a hut, and secondly, the actual barn, or summer housing without a stove, which served in winter instead of a pantry; between them was a third, spacious and bright room, called the canopy or sennitsa, which served as a reception room for guests. Russian people loved to build tall mansions; the aforementioned three parts usually constituted the second tier of the building; under them were basements, where various household supplies and accessories were stored; they also contained cellars and medushas. And steps, or stairs, were attached to the entrance hall on pillars, with a covered platform at the top, which was called the "porch". The vestibule itself was sometimes affirmed on poles, without a basement; at least this can be concluded from some places in the annals, when the rebellious crowd cut down or threatened to cut down the canopy. Above the latter, a bright upper room, a tower, or "polow" was still built; then the word "terem" began to denote generally high housing. The roof was usually made steep, gable. The upper edge of these slopes was called "knes" (prince); carved skates usually flaunted at its ends, i.e. two horse heads facing in different directions. The roof was covered with straw, and for the rich - with a board or shingle, i.e. small boards, so that the shingle coating looked like scales. The mansions stood in the middle of the yard, fenced with a tyn, or wattle fence; on its corners and sides there were barns, stables and other buildings for servants, livestock, poultry, for hay, bread and other household items. Bath, or movnitsa, apparently, served as an accessory of any wealthy house.

Of course, the more prosperous the owner was, the more spacious his yard and the more complex his mansions; they enclosed several vestibules, cages and chambers. Judging by the remains of the city ramparts, it is clear that in the cities there was little space for courtyards and, in general, they lived closely. Therefore, rich people, especially princes, liked to stay more in their vast suburban dwellings, usually calling them "paradise", "red courtyard", "red village", etc. A distinctive feature of the princely choir, or towers, by the way, was the spacious entrance hall or dining room, in which the princes spent time with their retinue in council and feasts; there were special cages for the stay of regular grids, or combatants guarding the prince; such cages were called "gridnitsa". The princely towers were decorated with carved cornices, painted inside and outside with multi-colored paints. At the top, along the knes, apparently, there was a comb, painted with various patterns and gilded; or maybe the ceiling was decorated with gilding; at least the name of the tower "gold-domed" is also found in folk songs, and in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". So, in the Word Grand Duke Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, conveying his unkind dream to the boyars, says: "Already the boards without knes (stand) in my tower with a golden version." Ancient Russia, no doubt, fully applied its predilection for colorful, patterned decorations to dwellings. Intricate carvings and coloring covered, of course, the front, front sides, the window frames were especially dotted with them; so that the ancient Russian mansions, with a lack of correctness and correspondence in parts (symmetry), were distinguished by undeniable picturesqueness and taste. With regard to patterned carving, Russia has long achieved significant artistry. In general, woodworking, or carpentry, undoubtedly flourished in the forested North. Novgorodians were especially famous for this skill. As early as the beginning of the 11th century, the people of Kiev, when meeting with them, near Lyubech, shouted: "But you are carpenters, and we will put you in chorus to chop." According to some indications, carpenter associations, or artels, already existed then, and significant buildings, such as the houses of rich people, temples, city walls, towers, bridges, etc., were made on the basis of a contract by artels, at the head of which were famous masters. And in Southern Russia, in places poor in forest, of course, even in that era, rural dwellings approached the Little Russian huts of our time; those. their walls consisted of wattle or poles smeared with clay and whitewashed with chalk.

Stone buildings in Russia were still very rare. The very skill of masons began to spread only with the construction of rich temples, towers, or towers, and some city walls, under the influence of Greek and German masters. However, the chronicle even before Vladimir the Great mentions in Kyiv about the prince's stone tower. In the following centuries, the number of stone towers in the princely courts, no doubt, began to multiply. In the 12th century, stone craftsmanship had already advanced so much in Suzdal Russia that the people of Vladimir became especially famous for them. It was not for nothing that the Rostovites spoke of them in 1175: "These are our serfs and masons." Not to mention the many stone churches erected in this region, a part of the stone chambers attributed to Andrei Bogolyubsky has been preserved in Bogolyubovo to this day.

The wooden buildings of Ancient Russia also corresponded to household utensils, which were also made mainly of wood. In the sources we find the same names of dishes and utensils that still exist in Russian life; for example: a table, a capital (chair), a bench, a bed ("hewn"), a chest, a barrel (barrel), a bucket, a tub, a dish, a bowl, an elbow, a ladle, a spoon, etc. All this indicates the existence of crafts: carpentry, turning, cooperage, etc. Products made from popular prints, bast and bast were in great use, such as: sieves, sieves, boxes, onion, matting, etc.

Ancient Russia, however, was not limited to one wooden utensils. We have positive evidence that there were different metal craftsmanship; blacksmithing flourished especially, which prepared household tools and utensils from iron, copper and tin, for example: boilers, pans, locks, saws, scythes, sickles, chisels, spades, rales, nails, knives, axes, etc. Products made of expensive metals, available only to the upper classes or used for jewelry and church utensils, were partly delivered by foreign trade, but partly by their own Russian craftsmanship. So, there is news about silver bowls, dishes and spoons, gold and silver goblets, tury horns that served instead of glasses and were set in silver or gold, and especially about silver and gold frames of crosses, icons and liturgical books, mainly the Gospels, also about gold and silver hryvnias, hoops, monists and other decorations for men's and women's attire. These products date back to pagan times; for already in the agreement between Igor and the Greeks, Russian seals, gold and silver, are mentioned: the first served in Constantinople as a sign of Russian ambassadors, and the second - of guests. In the burial mounds of a distant era, there are many jewelry made of gold and silver, even more, of course, copper and iron things.

Sketch of the pavilion of the Russian Department at the World Exhibition in Paris, 1878. Architect Ivan Pavlovich Ropet (real surname, name and patronymic - Petrov Ivan Nikolaevich, 1845, Peterhof-25 (12) December 1908, St. Petersburg)

Beautiful towers and chic mansions. These are all well-known examples of ancient Russian architecture.

We hear about towers, chambers, mysterious cells and mansions in fairy tales and ancient chronicles. And what is it, towers and chambers?

Old Russian style in architecture

Let's start with the definition of the era. The concept of Old Russian implies a time period from the baptism of Russia to the time of the reign of Peter I.

The baptism of Russia significantly influenced the way of life of the people, their art and architecture. Temples began to be built in Russia, and since the Christian faith came from Byzantium, the first temples were built as copies of the religious architecture of the Third Rome.

But the civil buildings of that period retained the features of traditional Russian identity.
To begin with, in those days the bulk of the buildings were made of wood. There were, of course, stone buildings. But, both the shape and the design of these stone buildings repeated the style of traditional wooden buildings.

Architect unknown

Houses of townspeople and villagers, noble and boyar, and even princely mansions, were made of wood. And there are reasons for this: inexpensive, affordable and very comfortable for life. As you know, wood is a porous material, which allows you to create an indoor microclimate that is very comfortable for living at any time of the year. If you have ever lived in a log house, then you know what I am talking about. Yes, there is a significant drawback - the tree burns very well. Especially in those times when wars rage regularly. On the other hand, the tree allows you to build a new structure very quickly.

Architect unknown

We can say that by the 15th century in Russia, traditional techniques of carpentry were firmly established. At the same time, the skill was high level that not only simple huts were erected, but also rather complex architectural structures of a high artistic level. This indicates. That a large complex of constructive and compositional techniques, and solutions.

This is a recognizable design of openings, which made it possible to maintain the strength of the log house, and the famous structural coverings of buildings (hipped, high gable and famous "barrel"), coverings from horizontal crowns and much more.
The skill of carpenters is evidenced by the fact that the ancient masters easily cut the log cabins of the most different sizes. And the log cabins themselves were not only quadrangular, but also octagonal, and “crossed” (in the form of a cross).

Architect unknown

At the heart of the old Russian architectural architecture is the simplest log cabin, cut from logs. This is what today is called a log cabin. If the crate was heated, then it was called a hut. In a rich house, the crate had a different name - gridnitsa, i.e. a large cage (or a large hut). Gridnitsa was intended for feasts and for taking food on solemn occasions. Somewhat later, the gridnitsa began to be called plows or dining huts. This room was decorated both inside and out. And the plow was built separately (at a distance) from the living quarters. Traditionally, the tumbler was located in front of the choir.

The porch was built on strong pillars. Both the porch and the houses themselves were necessarily decorated. In the 13th - 15th century, complex and very complex forms of roofing appeared, including figured roofing, inlay and gilding came into fashion, use in decorating buildings national ornaments. Painting was widely used.
It was in those days that the golden-domed tower appeared.

Terem is the third (or higher than the third) floor of the mansion, which was located above the upper room and the basement (or basement). That is why in fairy tales and legends the tower is always high. And around high tower set up "gatherings". In those days, balconies and parapets were called amusement places. Since beauties (women) lived in towers in Russia, the tower had red windows in all the walls.

Architect unknown

As I said above, the upper room was located above the basement and under the tower. The first mention of the chamber or the burner is found in written sources, which date back to about 1162. And the word itself comes from "mountainous", i.e. high. The fundamental difference between the upper room and the hut is the red window. There is such a window - we are in the upper room. There is no such window - this is a hut.
Now about the red window. A window with a frame, or a deck, was called red.
In addition, there was always a Russian stove in the upper room: quadrangular or round, painted, with tiles.

The upper room was divided by partitions (walls) into chambers and closets.

Another interesting building is the chandelier. The Svetlitsa is an improved upper room. And improved with red windows. There was a lot of light in this room, hence the name - the room. In the room, windows were cut through in at least three walls (in the upper room - in 1-2). Svetlitsy, traditionally, arranged in the female half of the house and were intended for needlework.

Architect unknown

We go down below and get from the upper room to the cellar. The cellars were used for household needs, as warehouses (cellars) and for servants. Accordingly, the cellars were residential (with stoves and portage windows) and non-residential (cold, without windows and, often, without doors (cellars)).

And now let's talk about canopy. In Ancient Russia, passages between rooms were called hallways. In the old days, the prince's palace was called the vestibule or sennitsa. What is important to understand is that the canopy is the passages under the common roof of the building.
If the passage did not have an overlap, or there was a separate roof, then this is no longer a canopy, but a passage or a porch.

In addition to the porch, there was also a sennik - an unheated porch with windows. In the summer, the sennik was used as a dormitory and no earth was poured on its roof (in heated rooms, the roofs were insulated with earth). Marriage beds were also arranged in senniks. The tradition said that there should be no earth above the young on their first night, since the earth reminds of the frailty of all living things.

Traditionally, a large canopy was tripled in the women's quarters for girls' games and fun.

The canopy, located in the second tier of the building, was often used as banquet halls, they even put the prince's throne.

Architect M.A. Kuzmin

Now let's talk about mansions. Mansions were a collection of buildings located in the same courtyard. There could be a lot of buildings and they were placed in separate groups (for household purposes), and then connected by passages and / or passages. The result was mansions, which consisted of several mansions. Over time, the necessary premises were attached to the existing mansions. The owners did not pay attention to symmetry - it should have been convenient and comfortable.

Architect Lygin Konstantin Konstantinovich. Born May 21, 1854, Kremenchug, Poltava province - died May 7, 1932, Tomsk. In the magazine "Motives of Russian Architecture" for 1878 and 1880. Lygin's projects of wooden country houses in the "Russian style" were printed.

The erection of the choir required special knowledge (secrets) and there were many such knowledge. This is the use of birch bark in the roof, and when laying the tesa, police were made (small fractures in the roof structure) and much more. These secrets allowed buildings to stand for decades without any damage from nature.

Modern reconstruction. Kolomenskoe. From 1667 to 1767, there was a palace built by the first tsars of the Romanov dynasty, nicknamed by contemporaries the "Eighth Wonder of the World". The wooden palace with numerous chambers sparkled with gold and colors, struck with intricate wooden carvings.

The mansions did not have a front facade. This despite the fact that the building had a very strict internal organization. For owners (until the 17th century), convenience was in the first place. It cannot be said that the owners neglected beauty. Look at the Palace in Kolomenskoye. It just doesn't have a front. Such is the old Russian tradition or the old Russian style in architecture.