The main features of ancient Russian literature. Specific Features of Old Russian Literature

1. Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, heroic pathos of service to 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 man, who is capable of sacrificing the most precious thing for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in strength, the ultimate triumph of good, and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and conquer evil.
4. A characteristic feature of ancient Russian literature is historicism. Heroes are predominantly historical figures. The literature strictly follows the fact.
5. feature artistic creativity ancient Russian writer is the so-called "literary etiquette". This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.
6. Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing, and is based on Christian book culture and developed forms of oral poetry. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature has often taken stories artistic images, figurative means folk art.
7. The originality of ancient Russian literature in the image 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.
9. The traditions of ancient Russian literature are found in the work of Russian writers of the 18th-20th centuries.

CONTROL QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. As academician D.S. Likhachev ancient Russian literature? Why does he call it “one grandiose whole, one colossal work”?
2. To what does Likhachev compare ancient literature, and why?
3. What are the main virtues of ancient literature?
4. Why would the artistic discoveries of the literature of subsequent centuries be impossible without the works of ancient literature? (Think about what qualities of ancient literature were assimilated by Russian literature of modern times. Give examples from the works of Russian classics known to you.)
5. What did Russian poets and prose writers appreciate and what did they perceive from ancient literature? What did A.S. write about her? Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, D.N. Mom-Siberian?
6. What does ancient literature say about the benefits of books? Give examples of "praise to books" known in ancient Russian literature.
7. Why were there high ideas about the power of the word in ancient literature? What were they connected with, what did they rely on?
8. What is said about the word in the Gospel?
9. What do writers compare books to and why? Why are books rivers, sources of wisdom, and what do the words mean: “If you diligently seek wisdom in books, you will find great benefit for your soul”?
10. Name the monuments of ancient Russian literature known to you and the names of their scribes.
11. Tell us about the way of writing and the nature of ancient manuscripts.
12. name historical background the emergence of ancient Russian literature and its specific features in contrast to the literature of modern times.
13. What is the role of folklore in the formation of ancient literature?
14. Using vocabulary and reference material, briefly retell the history of the study of ancient monuments, write down the names of scientists involved in their study, and the stages of study.
15. What is the image of the world and man in the view of Russian scribes?
16. Tell us about the image of a person in ancient Russian literature.
17. Name the topics of ancient literature, using vocabulary and reference material, describe its genres.
18. List the main stages in the development of ancient literature.

Read also the articles in the national identity ancient literature, its origin and development.

1. Ancient literature is filled with deep patriotic content, heroic pathos of service to the Russian land, state, and homeland.
2. The main theme of ancient Russian literature is world history and the meaning of human life.
3. Ancient literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian man, who is capable of sacrificing the most precious thing for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep belief in strength, the ultimate triumph of good, and the ability of man to elevate his spirit and conquer evil.
4. A characteristic feature of ancient Russian literature is historicism. The heroes are mostly historical figures. The literature strictly follows the fact.
5. A feature of the artistic creativity of the ancient Russian writer is the so-called "literary etiquette". This is a special literary and aesthetic regulation, the desire to subordinate the very image of the world to certain principles and rules, to establish once and for all what should be depicted and how.
6. Old Russian literature appears with the emergence of the state, writing, and is based on Christian book culture and developed forms of oral poetry. At this time, literature and folklore were closely connected. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, visual means of folk art.
7. The originality of ancient Russian literature in the image of the hero depends on the style and genre of the work. In relation to styles and genres, the hero is reproduced in the monuments of ancient literature, 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.
9. The traditions of ancient Russian literature are found in the work of Russian writers of the 18th-20th centuries.

CONTROL QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. As academician D.S. Likhachev ancient Russian literature? Why does he call it “one grandiose whole, one colossal work”?
2. To what does Likhachev compare ancient literature, and why?
3. What are the main virtues of ancient literature?
4. Why would the artistic discoveries of the literature of subsequent centuries be impossible without the works of ancient literature? (Think about what qualities of ancient literature were assimilated by Russian literature of modern times. Give examples from the works of Russian classics known to you.)
5. What did Russian poets and prose writers appreciate and what did they perceive from ancient literature? What did A.S. write about her? Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, D.N. Mom-Siberian?
6. What does ancient literature say about the benefits of books? Give examples of "praise to books" known in ancient Russian literature.
7. Why were there high ideas about the power of the word in ancient literature? What were they connected with, what did they rely on?
8. What is said about the word in the Gospel?
9. What do writers compare books to and why? Why are books rivers, sources of wisdom, and what do the words mean: “If you diligently seek wisdom in books, you will find great benefit for your soul”?
10. Name the monuments of ancient Russian literature known to you and the names of their scribes.
11. Tell us about the way of writing and the nature of ancient manuscripts.
12. What are the historical prerequisites for the emergence of ancient Russian literature and its specific features, in contrast to the literature of modern times.
13. What is the role of folklore in the formation of ancient literature?
14. Using vocabulary and reference material, briefly retell the history of the study of ancient monuments, write down the names of scientists involved in their study, and the stages of study.
15. What is the image of the world and man in the view of Russian scribes?
16. Tell us about the image of a person in ancient Russian literature.
17. Name the topics of ancient literature, using vocabulary and reference material, describe its genres.
18. List the main stages in the development of ancient literature.

Read also the articles in the section "National originality of ancient literature, its emergence and development."

In this article we will consider the features of Old Russian literature. Literature Ancient Russia was primarily church. After all, book culture in Russia appeared with the adoption of Christianity. Monasteries become centers of writing, and the first literary monuments These are mainly works of a religious nature. So, one of the first original (that is, not translated, but written by a Russian author) works was Metropolitan Hilarion's Sermon on Law and Grace. The author proves the superiority of Grace (the image of Jesus Christ is associated with it) over the Law, which, according to the preacher, is conservative and nationally limited.

Literature was not created for entertainment, but for teaching. Considering the features of ancient Russian literature, it should be noted its instructiveness. She teaches to love God and her Russian land; she creates images of ideal people: saints, princes, faithful wives.

We note one seemingly insignificant feature of ancient Russian literature: it was handwritten. Books were created in a single copy and only then copied by hand when it was necessary to make a copy or the original text became unusable from time to time. This gave the book a special value, gave rise to a respectful attitude towards it. In addition, for the Old Russian reader, all books originated from the main one - Holy Scripture.

Since the literature of Ancient Russia was basically religious, the book was seen as a storehouse of wisdom, a textbook of a righteous life. Old Russian literature is not fiction, in modern meaning this word. She in every possible way avoids fiction and strictly follows the facts. The author does not show his individuality, hiding behind the narrative form. He does not strive for originality, for the Old Russian writer it is more important to stay within the framework of tradition, not to break it. Therefore, all the lives are similar to one another, all the biographies of princes or military stories are compiled according to a general plan, in compliance with the "rules". When The Tale of Bygone Years tells us about the death of Oleg from his horse, this beautiful poetic legend sounds like a historical document, the author really believes that everything was so.

The hero of ancient Russian literature does not possess neither personality nor character in our current view. The fate of man is in the hands of God. And at the same time, his soul is the arena of the struggle between good and evil. The first will win only when a person lives according to the moral rules given once and for all.

Of course, in Russian medieval works we will not find any individual characters, nor psychologism - not because the ancient Russian writers were not able to do this. In the same way, icon painters created planar, rather than three-dimensional images, not because they could not write “better”, but because they faced other artistic tasks: the face of Christ cannot be similar to the usual human face. An icon is a sign of holiness, not an image of a saint.

The literature of Ancient Russia adheres to the same aesthetic principles: it creates faces, not faces, gives the reader pattern of correct behavior rather than portraying the character of a person. Vladimir Monomakh behaves like a prince, Sergius of Radonezh behaves like a saint. Idealization is one of the key principles of ancient Russian art.

Old Russian literature in every possible way avoids being grounded: it does not describe, but narrates. Moreover, the author does not narrate on his own behalf, he only conveys what is written in the sacred books, what he read, heard or saw. There can be nothing personal in this narrative: neither a manifestation of feelings, nor an individual manner. (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” in this sense is one of the few exceptions.) Therefore, many works of the Russian Middle Ages anonymous, the authors do not assume such immodesty - to put their name. And the ancient reader cannot even imagine that the word is not from God. And if God speaks through the mouth of the author, then why does he need a name, a biography? Therefore, the information available to us about ancient authors is so scarce.

At the same time, in ancient Russian literature, a special, national ideal of beauty, captured by ancient scribes. First of all, it is spiritual beauty, the beauty of the Christian soul. In Russian medieval literature, in contrast to Western European literature of the same era, the knightly ideal of beauty is much less represented - the beauty of weapons, armor, victorious battle. The Russian knight (prince) wages war for the sake of peace, and not for the sake of glory. War for the sake of glory, profit is condemned, and this is clearly seen in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. The world is valued as an unconditional good. The ancient Russian ideal of beauty presupposes a wide expanse, an immense, “decorated” land, and temples decorate it, because they were created specifically for the exaltation of the spirit, and not for practical purposes.

The attitude of ancient Russian literature is also connected with the theme of beauty. to oral-poetic creativity, folklore. On the one hand, folklore was of pagan origin, and therefore did not fit into the framework of the new, Christian worldview. On the other hand, he could not but penetrate into literature. After all, the written language in Russia from the very beginning was Russian, and not Latin, as in Western Europe, and there was no impassable boundary between the book and the spoken word. Folk ideas about beauty and goodness also generally coincided with Christian ones, Christianity penetrated into folklore almost without hindrance. Therefore, the heroic epic (epics), which began to take shape back in the pagan era, presents its heroes both as patriotic warriors and as defenders Christian faith surrounded by "filthy" pagans. Just as easily, sometimes almost unconsciously, ancient Russian writers use folklore images and stories.

The religious literature of Russia quickly outgrew the narrow church framework and became a truly spiritual literature that created a whole system of genres. Thus, the "Sermon on Law and Grace" refers to the genre of a solemn sermon delivered in the church, but Hilarion not only proves the Grace of Christianity, but also glorifies the Russian land, combining religious pathos with patriotic.

Genre of life

The most important for ancient Russian literature was the genre of life, the biography of the saint. At the same time, the task was pursued, by telling about the earthly life of a saint canonized by the church, to create an image perfect person for the benefit of all people.

AT " Lives of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb" Prince Gleb appeals to his killers with a request to spare him: "Do not cut the ear, which is not yet ripe, filled with milk of malice! Do not cut the vine, which is not fully grown, but bears fruit!" Abandoned by his retinue, Boris in his tent “weeps with a contrite heart, but is joyful in his soul”: he is afraid of death and at the same time he realizes that he is repeating the fate of many saints who accepted martyrdom for faith.

AT " Lives of Sergius of Radonezh"It is said that the future saint in adolescence had difficulty comprehending reading and writing, lagged behind his peers in teaching, which caused him a lot of suffering; when Sergius retired to the desert, a bear began to visit him, with whom the hermit shared his meager food, it happened that the saint gave the beast the last piece of bread.

In the traditions of life in the XVI century was created " The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, but it already sharply diverged from the canons (norms, requirements) of the genre and therefore was not included in the collection of lives “Great Menaion” along with other biographies. Peter and Fevronia are real historical figures who reigned in Murom in the 13th century, Russian saints. Author XVI century the result was not a life, but an entertaining story built on fairy tale motifs, glorifying the love and loyalty of the heroes, and not just their Christian exploits.

BUT " Life of Archpriest Avvakum”, written by himself in the 17th century, turned into a bright autobiographical work filled with authentic events and real people, living details, feelings and experiences of the hero-narrator, behind which stands bright character one of the spiritual leaders of the Old Believers.

Genre of teaching

Since religious literature was called upon to educate true christian, one of the genres was teaching. Although this is a church genre, close to preaching, it was also used in secular (secular) literature, since the then people's ideas about a correct, righteous life did not differ from church ones. you know" Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", written by him around 1117 "sitting on a sleigh" (shortly before his death) and addressed to children.

Before us appears the ideal old Russian prince. He cares about the welfare of the state and each of his subjects, guided by Christian morality. Another concern of the prince is about the church. All earthly life should be considered as a work for the salvation of the soul. This is the work of mercy and kindness, and military work, and mental. Diligence is the main virtue in the life of Monomakh. He made eighty-three big campaigns, signed twenty peace treaties, studied five languages, did what his servants and vigilantes did.

Annals

A significant, if not the largest, part of Old Russian literature is the works historical genres included in the annals. The first Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years"was created at the beginning of the 12th century. Its significance is extremely great: it was proof of Russia's right to state independence, independence. But if the recent events could be recorded by the chroniclers "according to the epics of this time", reliably, then the events of pre-Christian history had to be restored according to oral sources: legends, legends, sayings, geographical names. Therefore, the compilers of the chronicle turn to folklore. Such are the legends about the death of Oleg, about Olga's revenge on the Drevlyans, about Belgorod jelly, etc.

Already in The Tale of Bygone Years, two key features Old Russian literature: patriotism and connection with folklore. Literary-Christian and folklore-linguistic traditions are closely intertwined in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.

Elements of fiction and satire

Of course, ancient Russian literature has not been unchanged throughout all seven centuries. We saw that over time it became more secular, elements of fiction intensified, more and more often literature, especially in the 16th-17th centuries, penetrated satirical motives. These are, for example, " The Tale of Woe-Misfortune"showing to what troubles disobedience can bring a person, the desire to "live as he pleases", and not as the elders teach, and " The Tale of Ersh Ershovich", ridiculing the so-called "voivodship court" in the traditions of a folk tale.

But in general, we can talk about the literature of Ancient Russia as a single phenomenon, with its own cross-cutting ideas and motives that have passed through 700 years, with its own general aesthetic principles, with a stable system of genres.

The originality of ancient Russian literature:

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

Feature ancient Russian literature - historicism. Her heroes are predominantly historical figures, she almost does not allow fiction and strictly follows the fact. Even numerous stories about "miracles" - phenomena that seem supernatural to a medieval person, are not so much the fiction of an ancient Russian writer, but accurate records of the stories of either eyewitnesses or the persons themselves with whom the "miracle" happened. Old Russian literature, inextricably linked with the history of the development of the Russian state, the Russian people, is imbued with heroic and patriotic pathos. Another feature is anonymity.

Literature glorifies the moral beauty of the Russian man, who is capable of giving up the most precious thing for the sake of the common good - life. It expresses a deep faith in the power and ultimate triumph of good, in the ability of a person 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, whether historical tale or legend, life or church sermon, as a rule, includes significant elements of journalism. Concerning mainly state-political or moral issues, the writer believes in the power of the word, in the power of conviction. He appeals not only to his contemporaries, but also to distant descendants with an appeal to take care that the glorious deeds of their ancestors are preserved in the memory of generations and that the descendants do not repeat the sad mistakes of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

The literature of Ancient Russia expressed and defended the interests of the upper classes of feudal society. However, it could not fail to show an acute class struggle, which resulted either in the form of open spontaneous uprisings, or in the forms of typical medieval religious heresies. Literature clearly reflected the struggle between progressive and reactionary groupings within the ruling class, each of which was looking for support among the people. And since the progressive forces of feudal society reflected the interests of the whole state, and these interests coincided with the interests of the people, we can talk about the folk character of ancient Russian literature.

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

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

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

Problem artistic method:

The artistic method of ancient Russian literature is inextricably linked with the nature of the worldview, the worldview of medieval man, which absorbed religious speculative ideas about the world and a specific vision of reality associated with labor practice. In the mind of medieval man, the world existed in two dimensions: real, earthly and heavenly, spiritual. christian religion insisted that human life on earth is temporary. The purpose of earthly life is preparation for eternal, imperishable life. These preparations should consist in the moral perfection of the soul, the curbing of sinful passions, and so on.

Two aspects of the artistic method of ancient Russian literature are connected with the dual nature of the worldview of medieval man:

1) playback single facts in all their concreteness, a purely empirical statement;

2) consistent transformation of life, that is, the idealization of facts real life, the image is not what is, but what should be.

The historicism of Old Russian literature in its medieval understanding is connected with the first side of the artistic method, and its symbolism is associated with the second.

The ancient Russian writer was convinced that symbols are hidden in nature, in man himself. He believed that historical events also performed symbolic meaning, because he believed that history moves and is directed by the will of the deity. The writer considered symbols as the main means of revealing the truth, discovering the inner meaning of the phenomenon. As the phenomena of the surrounding world are ambiguous, so is the word. Hence the symbolic nature of metaphors, comparisons in ancient Russian literature.

The Old Russian writer, in an effort to convey the image of truth, strictly follows the fact, which he himself witnessed or which he learned about from the words of an eyewitness, a participant in the event. He does not doubt the truth of miracles, supernatural phenomena believes in their reality.

As a rule, the heroes of the works of ancient Russian literature are historical figures. Only in some cases, the heroes are representatives of the people.

medieval literature any individualization of human character is still alien. Old Russian writers create generalized typological images ideal ruler, a warrior, on the one hand, and an ideal ascetic, on the other. These images are sharply opposed to the generalized typological image of an evil ruler and collective image demon-devil personifying evil.

In the view of the ancient Russian writer, life is a constant arena of the struggle between good and evil.

The source of goodness, good thoughts and deeds is God. The devil and demons are pushing people to evil. However, the Old Russian literature does not remove responsibility from the person himself. Everyone is free to choose their own path.

In the understanding of the ancient Russian writer, the categories of ethical and aesthetic merged. Good is always great. Evil is associated with darkness.

The writer builds his works on the contrast between good and evil. He leads the reader to the idea that high moral character man is the result of hard moral labor.

The behavior and actions of the characters are determined by their social status, their belonging to the princely, boyar, retinue, church estates.

Strict observance of the rhythm established by the ancestors of the order is the vital basis of etiquette, ceremoniality of ancient Russian literature. So the chronicler, first of all, sought to put the numbers in a row, that is, to arrange the material he selected in chronological order.

The works of ancient Russian literature were didactic, moralizing in nature. They were designed to help get rid of vices.

So, medieval historicism, symbolism, ritualism and didacticism are the leading principles artistic image in works of ancient Russian literature. AT various works, depending on the genre and time of their creation, these features manifested themselves in different ways.

Historical development Old Russian literature proceeded through the gradual destruction of the integrity of its method, liberation from Christian symbolism, ritualism and didacticism.

Old Russian literature - literature of the Eastern Slavs of the XI - XIII centuries. Moreover, only from the XIV century can we talk about the manifestation of certain book traditions and the emergence of Great Russian literature, and from the XV - Ukrainian and Belarusian literature.

Conditions for the emergence of ancient Russian literature

Factors without which no literature could have come into being:

1) The emergence of the state: the emergence of orderly relationships between people (ruler and subjects). In Russia, the state is formed in the 9th century, when in 862 Prince Rurik is called. After that, there is a need for texts proving his right to power.

2) Developed oral folk art . In Russia, by the 11th century, it was formed in two forms: a retinue epic glorifying feats of arms, and ritual poetry destined for worship pagan gods and also for traditional holidays.

3) Adoption of Christianity- 988 year. There is a need for translated into Slavic Bible texts.

4) The emergence of writing- the most important condition for the formation of any literature. Without writing, she would forever remain in the status oral art, after all main feature literature - that it is written down.

Periods of Old Russian literature (X - XVII centuries)

1. The end of the X - the beginning of the XII century: literature Kievan Rus (main genre- annals).

2. The end of the XII - the first third of the XIII century: literature of the era of feudal fragmentation.

3. The second third of the XIII - the end of the XIV century (until 1380): literature of the era of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

4. The end of the XIV - the first half of the XV century: the literature of the period of the unification of Russia around Moscow.

5. Second half of the 15th - 16th centuries: literature centralized state(At this time, publicity appears).

6. XVI - the end of the XVII century: the era of transition from ancient Russian literature to the literature of the New Age. At this time, poetry appears and the role of personalities significantly increases (authors begin to be indicated).

Features (difficulties) of studying Old Russian literature

1) Handwritten literature. The first printed book (Apostle) is published only in 1564, before that all the texts were written by hand.

3) Inability to install the exact date writing a work. Sometimes even a century is unknown, and all dating is very arbitrary.

The main genres of ancient Russian literature

In the first periods, the main part of the texts was translated, and their content was purely ecclesiastical. Consequently, the first genres of Old Russian literature were borrowed from foreign ones, but similar Russian ones also appeared later:

hagiography (lives of saints)

Apocrypha (lives of the saints presented from a different point of view).

Chronicles (chronographs). Historical writings, the ancestors of the chronicle genre. ("