Old Russian literature- "the beginning of all beginnings", the origins and roots of Russian classical literature, national Russian artistic culture. Its spiritual, moral values and ideals are great. It is filled with patriotic pathos 1 serving the Russian land, the state, and the motherland.

To feel the spiritual riches of ancient Russian literature, you need to look at it through the eyes of its contemporaries, to feel like a participant in that life and those events. Literature is a part of reality, it occupies a certain place in the history of the people and fulfills enormous social obligations.

Academician D.S. Likhachev invites readers of ancient Russian literature to mentally travel back to the initial period of the life of Rus', to the era of the inseparable existence of the East Slavic tribes, in the 11th-13th centuries.

The Russian land is vast, settlements in it are rare. A person feels lost among the impenetrable forests or, on the contrary, among the endless expanses of the steppes, too easily accessible to his enemies: "land of the unknown", "wild field", as our ancestors called them. To cross the Russian land from end to end, one must spend many days on a horse or in a boat. Off-road in spring and late autumn takes months, making it difficult for people to communicate.

In boundless spaces, a person with a special force was drawn to communication, sought to celebrate his existence. Tall light churches on hills or on steep banks of rivers mark the places of settlements from a distance. These structures are distinguished by their surprisingly laconic architecture - they are designed to be visible from many points, to serve as beacons on the roads. The churches are as if fashioned by a caring hand, keeping the warmth and caress of human fingers in the unevenness of their walls. In such conditions, hospitality becomes one of the basic human virtues. Kyiv Prince Vladimir Monomakh calls in his "Instruction" to "welcome" the guest. Frequent moving from place to place belongs to no small virtues, and in other cases even turns into a passion for vagrancy. The same desire to conquer space is reflected in dances and songs. About Russian lingering songs it is well said in "The Lay of Igor's Campaign": "... the girls sing on the Danube, - voices wind through the sea to Kyiv." In Rus', even a designation was born for a special kind of courage associated with space, movement - "daring".

In the vast expanses, people felt and appreciated their unity with particular acuteness - and, first of all, the unity of the language in which they spoke, in which they sang, in which they told the legends of ancient times, again testifying to their integrity, indivisibility. In those conditions, even the very word "language" acquires the meaning of "people", "nation". The role of literature becomes especially significant. It serves the same purpose of unification, expresses the people's self-awareness of unity. She is the keeper of history, legends, and these latter were a kind of means of space exploration, noted the holiness and significance of a particular place: a tract, a mound, a village, and so on. Traditions informed the country of historical depth, they were the "fourth dimension" within which the entire vast Russian land, its history, its national identity was perceived and became "visible". The same role was played by chronicles and lives of saints, historical novels and stories about the founding of monasteries.

All ancient Russian literature, up to the 17th century, was distinguished by deep historicism, rooted in the land that the Russian people occupied and mastered for centuries. Literature and the Russian land, literature and Russian history were closely connected. Literature was one of the ways of mastering the surrounding world. It is not for nothing that the author of praise for books and Yaroslav the Wise wrote in the annals: “Behold, the essence of the rivers that water the universe.”, Prince Vladimir was compared with a farmer who plowed the land, while Yaroslav was compared with a sower who “sowed” the earth with “book words”. The writing of books is the cultivation of the land, and we already know which one is Russian, inhabited by the Russian "language", i.e. the Russian people. And, like the work of a farmer, the correspondence of books has always been a holy deed in Rus'. Here and there sprouts of life were thrown into the ground, grains, the shoots of which were to be reaped by future generations.

Since rewriting books is a sacred thing, books could only be on the most important topics. All of them, in one way or another, represented the "teaching of the book." Literature was not of an entertaining nature, it was a school, and its individual works, to one degree or another, were teachings.

What did ancient Russian literature teach? Let us leave aside the religious and ecclesiastical matters with which she was preoccupied. The secular element of ancient Russian literature was deeply patriotic. She taught active love for the motherland, brought up citizenship, and strove to correct the shortcomings of society.

If in the first centuries of Russian literature, in the 11th-13th centuries, she called on the princes to stop strife and firmly fulfill their duty of protecting the motherland, then in the subsequent ones - in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries - she no longer cares only about the defense of the motherland, but also about reasonable government. At the same time, throughout its development, literature has been closely connected with history. And she not only communicated historical information, but sought to determine the place of Russian history in the world, to discover the meaning of the existence of man and mankind, to discover the purpose of the Russian state.

Russian history and the Russian land itself united all the works of Russian literature into a single whole. In essence, all the monuments of Russian literature, thanks to their historical themes, were much more closely connected with each other than in modern times. They could be arranged in chronological order, but as a whole they set out one story - Russian and at the same time world. Works were more closely interconnected as a result of the absence of a strong authorial principle in ancient Russian literature. Literature was traditional, the new was created as a continuation of what already existed and on the basis of the same aesthetic principles. The works were rewritten and reworked. They reflected the reader's tastes and requirements more strongly than in the literature of modern times. Books and their readers were closer to each other, and the collective principle is more strongly represented in the works. In terms of the nature of its existence and creation, ancient literature was closer to folklore than to the personal creativity of modern times. The work, once created by the author, was then changed by countless scribes, altered, acquired various ideological colors in different environments, supplemented, overgrown with new episodes.

"The role of literature is enormous, and happy is the nation that has great literature in its native language... To perceive cultural values in their entirety, it is necessary to know their origin, the process of their creation and historical change, the cultural memory embedded in them. In order to deeply and accurately to perceive a work of art, one must know by whom, how and under what circumstances it was created.In the same way, we will truly understand literature as a whole when we know how it was created, formed and participated in the life of the people.

Russian history without Russian literature is just as hard to imagine as Russia without Russian nature or without its historical towns and villages. No matter how much the appearance of our cities and villages, monuments of architecture and Russian culture as a whole changes, their existence in history is eternal and indestructible.

Without ancient Russian literature, there is not and could not be the work of A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, moral quest L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky. Russian medieval literature is the initial stage in the development of Russian literature. She passed on to subsequent art the richest experience of observations and discoveries, the literary language. It combined ideological and national characteristics, created enduring values: chronicles, works of oratory, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", "Kiev-Pechersk Patericon", "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom", "The Tale of Grief-Misfortune", "Compositions of Archpriest Avvakum" and many other monuments.

Russian literature is one of the most ancient literatures. Its historical roots date back to the second half of the 10th century. As noted by D.S. Likhachev, out of this great millennium, more than seven hundred years belong to the period that is commonly called Old Russian literature.

“We have before us a literature that rises above its seven centuries, as a single grandiose whole, as one colossal work, striking us with its subordination to one theme, a single struggle of ideas, contrasts entering into a unique combination. Old Russian writers are not architects of separate buildings. urban planners. They worked on one common grandiose ensemble. They had a wonderful "sense of shoulder", created cycles, vaults and ensembles of works, which in turn formed a single building of literature ...

This is a kind of medieval cathedral, in the construction of which thousands of freemasons took part over several centuries ... "3.

Ancient literature is a collection of great historical monuments, created for the most part by nameless masters of the word. Information about the authors of ancient literature is very scarce. Here are the names of some of them: Nestor, Daniil the Sharpener, Safony Ryazanets, Yermolai Erasmus, and others.

The names of the actors in the works are mostly historical: Theodosius Pechersky, Boris and Gleb, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Sergius of Radonezh. These people played a significant role in the history of Rus'.

The adoption of Christianity by pagan Russia at the end of the 10th century was an act of the greatest progressive significance. Thanks to Christianity, Rus' joined the advanced culture of Byzantium and entered as an equal Christian sovereign power into the family of European peoples, became "known and led" in all corners of the earth, as the first Old Russian rhetorician 4 and publicist 5 known to us, Metropolitan Hilarion, said in his "Sermon on the Law and Grace" (monument of the middle of the XI century).

The emerging and growing monasteries played an important role in the spread of Christian culture. The first schools were created in them, respect and love for the book, "book teaching and reverence" were brought up, book depositories-libraries were created, chronicles were kept, translated collections of moralizing and philosophical works were copied. Here the ideal of the Russian monk-ascetic was created and surrounded by a halo of pious legend, who devoted himself to serving God, moral perfection, liberation from base vicious passions, serving the lofty idea of civic duty, goodness, justice, and the public good.

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Essay on the topic of man and his spiritual values of ancient Russian literature

The image of the hero in ancient Russian literature

"The first historical works allow the people to realize themselves in the historical process, to reflect on their role in world history, to understand the roots of contemporary events and their responsibility to the future."

Academician D. S. Likhachev

Old Russian literature, which includes epics, fairy tales, lives of saints, and (later) stories, is not just a cultural monument. This is a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the life, everyday life, spiritual world and moral principles of our distant ancestors, a kind of bridge connecting modernity and antiquity.

So, what is he, the ancient Russian hero of literature?

The first thing to note is that the depiction of a person in general in ancient Russian literature is very peculiar. The author deliberately avoids accuracy, certainty, detail, indicating a specific character. Professional activity or belonging to a certain social category determines the personality. If we have a monk in front of us, his monastic qualities are important, if the prince is princely, if the hero is heroic. The life of the saints is depicted specifically outside of time and space, being the standard of ethical standards.

The disclosure of the character of the hero of the story occurs through a description of his actions (acts, exploits). The author does not pay attention to the reasons that prompted the hero to this or that act, the motivation remains behind the scenes.

The Old Russian hero is an integral and uncompromising personality, living according to the principle: "I see the goal, I do not notice obstacles, I believe in myself." His image seems to be carved out of a granite monolith, his actions are based on unshakable confidence in the rightness of his cause. His activities are aimed at the good of his native land, for the good of fellow citizens. The epic hero, for example, is a collective image of the defender of the Motherland, albeit endowed with certain supernatural abilities, a model of civil behavior.

Whoever the hero is, he is courageous, honest, kind, generous, devoted to his Motherland and people, never looking for his own benefit, an Orthodox Christian. This man is strong, proud and unusually stubborn. Obviously, this fantastic stubbornness, so splendidly described by N.V. Gogol in the story "Taras Bulba", allows a person to achieve the task that he himself has determined for himself. For example, St. Sergius of Radonezh flatly refuses to become a metropolitan, Fevronia, contrary to her social status, becomes a princess, Ilya Muromets, not only defends Kyiv, but exterminates the enemies of the Russian land according to her own understanding.

A characteristic feature of the hero of ancient Russian literature is the absence of chauvinism, a humane attitude towards people of different nationalities. With all the patriotism, there is no aggressiveness. Thus, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, the struggle against the Polovtsy is regarded as the defense of the Russian people from unexpected predatory raids. In the epic "The Legend of the Walking of the Kyiv Bogatyrs to Constantinople" "... young Tugarin is released to Constantinople and taught to conjure so that they do not come to Rus' for centuries."

St. Sergius of Radonezh, blessing Prince Dmitry for the battle with Mamai, says: "Go against the barbarians, rejecting the great doubt, and God will help you. You will defeat your enemies and return healthy to your fatherland."

Female images of ancient Russian literature carry creation, the warmth of a family hearth, love and fidelity. These are unusually subtle and intelligent representatives of the beautiful half of humanity, who know how to achieve their goal not by force, but by reason.

The man of ancient Rus' is inextricably linked with the nature around him. And although in ancient Russian literature there is no description of the landscape in the usual sense of the word for modern man, but the presence of living, animated forests and fields, rivers and lakes, flowers and herbs, animals and birds give the impression of an inseparable connection between people and the living world around.

The description of nature is most clearly expressed in the "Word ... 9, where natural phenomena, the animal world empathize with the hero:

"... The night has passed, and the bloody dawns

They proclaim disaster in the morning.

A cloud is moving in from the sea

For four princely tents….."

In all other works, the landscape is drawn extremely poorly, sometimes there is almost none at all.

However, St. Sergius seeks solitude among virgin forests, and Fevronia turns tree stumps into large trees with branches and foliage.

In general, we understand the language in which ancient Russian works of literature are written, because this, although ancient, is still Russian!

There certainly are outdated words (guni - outerwear, eliko - only, monk - monk, adamant - diamond, span - measure of length, incense - incense), the meaning of which is difficult to guess right away, but in the context of the work one can understand their meaning (prayer - worship, zegzitsa - cuckoo). Old Russian literature uses a very vivid, lively and figurative language. There is a lot of dialogic speech, respectively, colloquial vocabulary is used, which makes these works unusually folk. In ancient Russian literature, there are many epithets (silver shores, pearl soul) and comparisons (leaped like an ermine, swam like a white gogol, flew like a falcon, ran like a wolf, like a cuckoo, calls in a jura). Literary works are melodious, musical and unhurried due to the large number of vowels and sonorous sounds.

It is worth mentioning that the author does not use such an important thing as a portrait, without which we cannot imagine modern literature. Perhaps, in those days, the idea of a particular hero was common, and it was not necessary to describe his appearance, because it (the idea) was unspoken.

Also a means of artistic expression is epic hyperbolization and idealization.

The technique of hyperbolization is widely used in epics, the capabilities of many heroes and objects are exaggerated, enlivening and emphasizing events. (For example, the description of Idol Skoropeevich in the Bogatyr Word:

"And growth is good, not according to custom,

Between his eyes, an arrow is going well,

Between his shoulders he has a large fathom,

His eyes are like bowls

And his head is like a beer cauldron.)

The method of idealization is a method of artistic generalization that allows the author to create an image based on his ideas about how it should be (saints are ideal, family values are unshakable).

All elements of the composition (Prologue => Start of the action => Development of the action => Climax => Denouement => Epilogue) are present only in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", and in epics, stories and lives there is no prologue, and the starting point of the action is the plot.

The spiritual values defended by the heroes of ancient Russian literature are still relevant today, almost a thousand years later. National independence, solidarity and unity of the nation, family values, Christian values (= universal values) are close and understandable to every citizen of Russia. The connection of times is obvious.

The first moral writings, socio-political writings, clarify social norms of behavior, make it possible to more widely disseminate the ideas of responsibility of each for the fate of the people and the country, instill patriotism and at the same time respect for other peoples.

The richness of the Russian language is the result of almost a thousand years of development of Russian literature.

In ancient Rus' there was a beauty of moral depth, moral subtlety and, at the same time, moral might.

To join the ancient Russian literature is a great happiness and great joy.

B.A. Rybakov "The World of History" 1984

D.S. Likhachev "Anthology of Old Russian Literature"

Attention, only TODAY!

Morality is the same in all ages and for all people. Reading about obsolete in detail, we can find a lot for ourselves.

D.S. Likhachev

Spirituality and morality are the most important, basic characteristics of a person. Spirituality in the most general sense is the totality of manifestations of the spirit in the world and in man. The process of cognition of spirituality is associated with a systematic comprehension of significant truths in all spheres of culture: in science, and in philosophy, and in education, and in religions, and in art. Moreover, the principles of openness, honesty, freedom, equality, collectivism are the basis, the environment for the creation and preservation of spirituality. Spirituality is the unity of truth, goodness and beauty. Spirituality is what contributes to the development of man and humanity.

Morality is a set of general principles of human behavior towards each other and society. In this regard, the modern humanistic ideal actualizes such personal qualities as patriotism, citizenship, service to the Fatherland, family traditions. The concepts of "spirituality" and "morality" are universal values.

They say that Russia is the soul of the world, and the literature of Rus' reflects the inner potential that the Russian people have. Without knowing the history of ancient Russian literature, we will not understand the full depth of the work of A. S. Pushkin, the spiritual essence of the work of N. V. Gogol, the moral quest of L. N. Tolstoy, the philosophical depth of F. M. Dostoevsky.

Old Russian literature carries within itself a very great moral force. Good and evil, love for the motherland, the ability to sacrifice everything for a good cause, family values are the main ideas of ancient Russian literature. Old Russian literature is the focus of Russian spirituality and morality. In addition, one of the main leitmotifs of these works is faith in God, which supports the heroes in all trials.

The works of ancient Russian literature reveal complex worldview concepts about a person's place in life, about his goals and aspirations, and provide an opportunity to gain experience in a moral assessment of the events and phenomena of the world around us. This is especially true in our time, when Russia is undergoing profound transformations, accompanied by serious spiritual losses. The revival of spirituality and upbringing with spirituality is what we need today.

Many Soviet and Russian scientists considered the works of ancient Russian literature in the context of the education of spiritual and moral values. It is not easy for a modern person to understand the works of ancient Russian literature, therefore, the school curriculum includes works of ancient Russian literature for studying: The Tale of Bygone Years (fragments), The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the word about the devastation of Ryazan by Batu (fragments), The Life of Boris and Gleb, The Instruction of Vladimir Monomakh, The Legend about Peter and Fevronia of Murom, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Life of Archpriest Avvakum.

Spiritual and moral values in the works of ancient Russian literature are the leitmotif and the basis of the plot, and therefore today it is necessary to refer to these works in the process of education and upbringing both in the family and at school due to their enduring significance.

The appearance of Old Russian literature is associated with the emergence of the state, writing, and is based on Christian book culture and developed forms of oral poetry. Literature often perceived plots, artistic images, visual means of folk art. The adoption of Christianity also played a positive role in the development of Old Russian literature. The fact that the new religion came from Byzantium, the center of Christian culture, was of great positive significance for the culture of Ancient Rus'.

Speaking about the features of Old Russian literature, it is worth highlighting several of its main characteristics: 1) it is religious literature, the main value for a person in Ancient Rus' was his Vera; 2) handwritten character its existence and distribution; 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 that pursued specific practical goals it means that all her works were a kind of instruction on HOW to live righteously; 3) anonymity, impersonality of her works(at best, we know the names of individual authors, "writers" of books, who modestly put their name either at the end of the manuscript, or in its margins, or in the title of the work); four) connection with church and business writing, one side, and oral poetic folk art- with another; five) historicism: her heroes are mostly historical figures, she almost does not allow fiction and strictly follows the fact.

The main themes of ancient Russian literature are inextricably linked with the history of the development of the Russian state, the Russian people, and therefore are imbued with heroic and patriotic pathos. It contains a sharp voice of condemnation of the policy of the princes, who sowed bloody feudal strife, weakened the political and military power of the state. 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. I would like to end the conversation about the originality of ancient Russian literature with the words of D. S. Likhachev: “Literature has risen over Russia as a huge protective dome - it has become a shield of its unity, a moral shield.”

Genre called a historically established type of literary work, an abstract sample, on the basis of which the texts of specific literary works are created. Old Russian genres are closely related to the way of life, everyday life, and life, and differ in what they are intended for. The main thing for the genres of ancient Russian literature was the "practical goal" for which this or that work was intended.

Therefore, it presented the following genres: 1) life: the genre of life was borrowed from Byzantium. This is the most widespread and favorite genre of Old Russian literature. Life was always created after the death of a person. It performed great educational function, because the life of the saint was perceived as an example of a righteous life, which must be imitated; 2) Old Russian eloquence: this genre was borrowed by ancient Russian literature from Byzantium, where eloquence was a form of oratory; 3) Lesson: This is a kind of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. Teaching is a genre in which ancient Russian chroniclers tried to present behavior model for any Old Russian person: both for the prince and for the commoner; 4) Word: is a kind of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. The word has a lot of elements of the traditional oral folk art, symbols, there is a clear influence of a fairy tale, epic; 5) Story: this is text epic character narrating about princes, about military exploits, about princely crimes; 6) Chronicle: narration of historical events. This is the most ancient genre of ancient Russian literature. In Ancient Rus', the chronicle played a very important role, it not only reported on the historical events of the past, but was also a political and legal document, testifying to how to act in certain situations.

Thus, considering the specifics of various genres, it should be noted that, despite the originality of each genre of ancient Russian literature, all of them are based on spiritual and moral sources - righteousness, morality, patriotism.

Do not see my outer, see my inner.

From the prayer of Daniel the Sharpener

Likhachev Dmitry Sergeevich emphasized the important mission of ancient Russian literature and noted the moral basis of these works, reflecting the cultural, historical, spiritual and moral path of many generations of our ancestors. The paths of "Good" have eternal guidelines, common for all times, and, one might say, tested not only by time, but by eternity itself.

Let us analyze three works of ancient Russian literature from the point of view of the ways of "Good".

1. "Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh"

Justice is above all, but mercy is above justice.

Olga Brileva

"Instruction" combines three different works of Monomakh, among which, in addition to the "Instruction" itself, there is also an autobiography of the prince himself and his letter to his enemy, Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich, for the great grief that he brought with his fratricidal wars to the Russian land. It is addressed to the princes - the children and grandchildren of Monomakh, and in general to all Russian princes. An important feature of the "Instruction" is its humanistic orientation, appeal to Man, his spiritual world, which is closely related to the humanistic nature of the author's worldview. In its content, it is highly patriotic and partial to the fate of the Russian land as a whole and each person individually, whether it be a prince, a clergyman or any layman.

Quoting excerpts from Christian holy books, Vladimir Monomakh suggests that all Russian princes, in order to improve their situation and achieve peaceful success, first of all, learn justice, compassion, and even “compliance”: “Eat and drink without great noise, ... listen to the wise, submit to the elders, ... do not rage with a word, ... keep your eyes down, and your soul up ... put universal honor in nothing.

It also contains advice on how a Christian should live in the world. Much is written in Christian literature about monastic life, but it is rare to find teachings on how to save oneself outside monasteries. Monomakh writes: “Just as a father, loving his child, beats him and again draws him to himself, so our Lord showed us victory over enemies, how to get rid of them and overcome them with three good deeds: repentance, tears and alms”.

Moreover, relying on these three good deeds - repentance, tears and almsgiving, the author develops the doctrine of the small doing good. He says that the Lord does not require great deeds from us, because many people, seeing the severity of such labors, do nothing at all. The Lord wants only our hearts. Monomakh directly advises princes (hereditary warriors and rulers!) To be meek, not to strive to seize other people's estates, be content with little and seek success and prosperity not with the help of force and violence against others, but thanks to a righteous life: “What is better and more beautiful than living brothers together... After all, the devil quarrels us, because he does not want good for the human race.

“Monomakh's autobiography,” notes Likhachev, “is subordinated to the same idea of peacefulness. In the annals of his campaigns, Vladimir Monomakh gives an expressive example of princely peacefulness. His voluntary compliance with the sworn enemy - Prince Oleg Ryazansky is also indicative. But Monomakh's own "Letter" to the same Oleg Ryazansky, the murderer of the son of Vladimir Monomakh, who at that time was defeated and fled beyond the borders of Rus', brings to life the ideal of the "Instruction" even more strongly. This letter shocked the researcher with its moral force. Monomakh forgives the murderer of his son (!). Moreover, he consoles him. He invites him to return to the Russian land and receive the principality due to inheritance, asks him to forget the grievances. .

When the princes came to Monomakh, he wholeheartedly stood against new internecine strife: “Do not forget the poor, but, as much as possible, feed the orphans according to your strength, and do not let the strong destroy a person. Kill neither the right nor the guilty, and do not order him to be killed; if he is guilty of death, then do not destroy any Christian soul.

And starting to write his "Instruction" to children and "others who will hear it", Vladimir Monomakh constantly quotes the Psalter as the basis of spiritual and moral laws. So, for example, the answer to the proposals of warlike princes: “Do not compete with the evil ones, do not envy those who do lawlessness, for the evil ones will be destroyed, but those who are obedient to the Lord will own the land.” During your trips, you need to water and feed the beggars who will meet on the way, honor the guest, no matter where he comes from: he is a commoner, a noble or an ambassador. At the same time, it is also taken into account that such actions acquire a good name for a person.

The author especially rebels against laziness, which destroys all good undertakings, and calls for diligence: Laziness is the mother of everything: “what one knows, he will forget, and what he does not know, he will not learn, Doing good, do not be lazy for anything good, first of all to the church: let the sun not find you in bed.

So, the origins of the "Instruction" are the following values on the path of "Good": Faith in God, patriotism, love of neighbor, humanism, peacefulness, righteousness, good deeds, spiritual and moral education of descendants. Therefore, the personal and universal are intertwined in the Teaching so closely, which makes it a brilliant human document that can excite the soul even today.

2. "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom"

Only one heart is vigilant. You can't see the most important thing with your eyes

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom" was a favorite reading of Russian people from tsars to commoners, and now this work is called "the pearl of ancient Russian literature." Let's try to figure out why this story was so popular in Rus'.

Peter and Fevronia of Murom are Orthodox patrons of the family and marriage, whose marital union is considered a model of Christian marriage. Spouses turn to Murom Prince Peter and his wife Fevronia with prayers for family happiness. Blessed Prince Peter was the second son of Prince Yury Vladimirovich of Murom. He ascended the throne of Murom in 1203. A few years earlier, Peter had contracted leprosy. In a dream vision, it was revealed to the prince that Fevronia, a peasant woman of the village of Laskovaya in the Ryazan land, could heal him.

Virgin Fevronia was wise, wild animals obeyed her, she knew the properties of herbs and knew how to heal ailments, she was a beautiful, pious and kind girl. Undoubtedly, D.S. was right. Likhachev, calling the main feature of Fevronia’s character “psychological peace” and drawing a parallel of her image with the faces of the saints of A. Rublev, who carried in themselves the “quiet” light of contemplation, the highest moral principle, the ideal of self-sacrifice. Convincing parallels between the art of Rublev and The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom are drawn by Dmitry Sergeevich in the fifth chapter of his book Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'.

One of the highest cultural achievements of Ancient Rus' was the ideal of man, created in the paintings of Andrei Rublev and the artists of his circle, and Academician Likhachev compares Fevronia with Rublev's quiet angels. But she's ready for action.

The first appearance in the story of the girl Fevronia is captured in a visually distinct image. She is found in a simple peasant hut by the envoy of the Murom Prince Peter, who fell ill from the poisonous blood of the snake he killed. In a poor peasant dress, Fevronia sat at a loom and was engaged in a “quiet” business - she wove a linen, and a hare jumped in front of her, as if symbolizing her fusion with nature. Her questions and answers, her quiet and wise conversation clearly show that "Rublev's thoughtfulness" is not thoughtless. She astonishes the messenger with her prophetic answers and promises to help the prince. The prince promised to marry her after the healing. Fevronia healed the prince, but he did not keep his word. The disease resumed, Fevronia cured him again and married him.

When he inherited the reign after his brother, the boyars did not want to have a princess of a simple rank, telling him: "Either let go of your wife, who offends noble ladies with her origin, or leave Murom." The prince took Fevronia, got into a boat with her and sailed along the Oka. They began to live as ordinary people, rejoicing that they were together, and God helped them. “Peter didn’t want to break God’s commandments…. For it is said that if a man drives away his wife who is not accused of adultery, and marries another, he himself commits adultery.”

In Murom, turmoil began, many set off to solicit the vacant throne, and murders began. Then the boyars came to their senses, gathered a council and decided to call Prince Peter back. The prince and princess returned, and Fevronia managed to earn the love of the townspeople. “They had equal love for everyone, ... they did not love perishable wealth, but they were rich in God's wealth ... And the city was ruled with justice and meekness, and not with rage. They accepted the wanderer, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, delivered the poor from misfortunes.

In their advanced years, having taken monastic vows in different monasteries, they prayed to God that they die on the same day. They died on the same day and hour (June 25 (according to the new style - July 8), 1228).

Thus, the spiritual and moral source of this story is a sample Christian family values and commandments as milestones on the path of "Good": faith in God, kindness, self-denial in the name of love, mercy, devotion, spiritual and moral education.

3. "The Life of Alexander Nevsky"

Patriotism does not mean only one love for one's homeland. It's much more. This is the consciousness of one's inalienability from the motherland and the inalienable experience with her of her happy and unhappy days.

Tolstoy A.N.

Alexander Nevsky is the second son of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Pereyaslavl. In 1240, on June 15, in a battle with Swedish knights with a small squad, Prince Alexander won a brilliant victory. Hence the nickname of Alexander - Nevsky. Until now, the name of Alexander Nevsky is a symbol of unity, part of a common national idea.

It is generally accepted that the work was written no later than the 80s of the XIII century in the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Vladimir, where Prince Alexander Nevsky was buried. The author of the story was probably, according to the researchers, a scribe from the circle of Metropolitan Kirill of Vladimir, who came from Galicia-Volyn Rus in 1246.

"Life" highlights the main points of Alexander's biography, linking them with victorious battles, and biblical memories are combined here with Russian historical tradition, literary traditions - with real observations of the battle. According to I.P. Eremin, Alexander appears before us in the form of either the king-commander of biblical antiquity, or the brave knight of the book epic, or the icon-painting "righteous man". This is another enthusiastic tribute from the side to the blessed memory of the late prince.

The courage of Alexander was admired not only by his associates, but also by enemies. Once Batu ordered the prince to come to him if he wants to save Rus' from subjugation. The king was sure that Alexander would be frightened, but he arrived. And Batu said to his nobles: "They told me the truth, there is no prince like him in his own country." And he released him with great honor.

Choosing to describe two victorious battles of the Russian army under the command of Alexander - a picture of the battles of the Russians with the Swedes on the Neva River and with the German knights on the ice of Lake Peipus, the author tried to present the descendants of the Grand Duke and his army as endowed with heroism, selflessness and stamina in the name of the interests of the Russian people of mythical warriors - heroes. The exaltation of the Russian people, the development of a sense of patriotism and hatred for enemies, the maintenance of the authority of military leaders will echo through the history of Russia right up to the present day.

He is full of church virtues - quiet, meek, humble, at the same time - a courageous and invincible warrior, in battle swift, selfless and merciless to the enemy. This is how the ideal of a wise prince, ruler and brave commander is created. “There was then great violence from the filthy pagans: they drove Christians, ordering them to go on campaigns with them. Grand Duke Alexander went to the king to pray people out of trouble.

One of the episodes of the fight against enemies is described as follows: before the battle with the Swedes, the prince had a small squad, and there was nowhere to expect help from. But there was a strong faith in the help of God. The main book of Alexander's childhood was the Bible. He knew her well, and much later he retold and quoted her. Alexander went to the church of St. Sophia, “fell on his knee in front of the altar and began to pray with tears to God ... He remembered the psalm song and said: “Judge, Lord, and judge my quarrel with those who offend me, overcome those who fight with me.” Having finished the prayer and having received the blessing of Archbishop Spiridon, the prince, strengthened in spirit, went out to his squad. Encouraging her, instilling courage in her and infecting her with his own example, Alexander told the Russians: “God is not in power, but in truth.” With a small retinue, Prince Alexander met the enemy, fought fearlessly, knowing that he was fighting for a just cause, protecting his native land.

So, the spiritual and moral sources of the "Life" are the following values : faith in God, patriotism, a sense of duty to the Motherland, heroism, selflessness, steadfastness, mercy.

Let's imagine a comparative table reflecting the general and special in three works:

Work	main characters
"The Tale" of Peter and Fevronia of Murom	Peter and Fevronia Murom	Faith in God, the family as a Christian value, the affirmation of love as a great all-conquering feeling; family traditions, spiritual and moral education, devotion, dedication and trust in marriage, kindness, self-denial in the name of love, mercy, devotion, spiritual and moral education
"Life" of Alexander Nevsky	Alexander	Faith in God, patriotism, a sense of duty to the Motherland, heroism, selflessness, perseverance, kindness, good deeds, mercy
"Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh	Vladimir	Faith in God, patriotism, love of neighbor, humanism, peacefulness, righteousness, good deeds, spiritual and moral education of descendants: “do not be lazy”, “drink and feed the one who asks”, “do not kill the right or the guilty”, “do not have pride in the heart and in the mind", "honor the old like a father", "visit the sick" (and so on)

It was interesting to trace the differences between the two works - "Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh and "Life" by Alexander Nevsky. Both of them were commanders, both defended their native land, both were merciful. Although, reading the Life, it may seem (sometimes) that Alexander allegedly wanted to simply conquer foreign lands and win, but this is not so. "Life" tells about Alexander as a commander and warrior, ruler and diplomat. It opens with the "glory" of the hero, which is likened to the glory of all the world-famous heroes of antiquity. Prince Alexander, on the one hand, was a glorious commander, on the other hand, a righteous (living in truth, fulfilling Christian commandments) ruler. Despite his youth, as it is written in the Life, Prince Alexander "won everywhere, was invincible." This speaks of him as a skillful, brave commander. And one more interesting detail - Alexander, fighting with enemies, was nevertheless a merciful person: “... again the same ones came from the western country and built a city in the land of Alexander. Grand Duke Alexander immediately went to them, dug the city to the ground, beat some, brought others with him, And had mercy on others and let them go, for he was merciful beyond measure.

Thus, it is possible to bring result: these works, despite the originality of various genres and literary features, are interconnected by themes that reveal the spiritual beauty and moral strength of the hero, that is, common content is as follows: faith in God, patriotism and a sense of duty to the Motherland; strength of mind and mercy, selflessness and love, kindness and good deeds.

Peculiarity: 1) family and family values - the main source in "The Tale of Peter and Fevronya of Murom", but it seems that this is common in the sense that the Motherland is like a big family, and love for the Motherland in two other works is also is a common value; 2) in the "Instruction" of Monomakh, much attention is paid to the enlightenment and guidance of the young. But this can also be attributed to the common content of three different works, since the deeds themselves, both Monomakh and Alexander, are a role model, and there is no need to give verbal instructions to readers, that is, education by personal example, and this is the basis of spiritual moral education.

In these works of ancient Russian literature, common values are distinguished for all three works: 1) faith in God; 2) patriotism and a sense of duty to the motherland; 3) fortitude and mercy; 3) family values; 4) kindness and good deeds; 5) selflessness and love.

In conclusion, I would like to note that Old Russian literature gives a chance to comprehend life values in the modern world and compare them with the priorities of the people of the times of Ancient Rus'. This allows us to conclude that the works of ancient Russian literature are the source of spiritual and moral development for any person and, moreover, for humanity as a whole, since they are based: on high moral ideals, on faith in a person in the possibilities of his unlimited moral perfection, on faith in the power of the word and its ability to transform the inner world of a person. Therefore, their ideals remain relevant today.

I would like to finish the work with the words “Instructions”: “What you can do well, don’t forget that you don’t know how, learn that.” Read ancient Russian literature, find in it the origins of our soul!

Bibliography:

1 . Eremin I.P. Life of Alexander Nevsky / I.P. Eremin. Lectures and articles on the history of ancient Russian literature. - Leningrad: Leningrad University Publishing House, 1987. - S. 141-143. .

2. Yermolai-Erasmus. The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom (translated by L. Dmitriev) / Old Russian literature / Compiled, foreword. and comment. M.P. Odessa. - M.: WORD / Slovo, 2004. - S.508-518.

3. Life of Alexander Nevsky (translated by I.P. Eremin) / Old Russian literature. - M.: Olimp; LLC "Publishing House AST-LTD", 1997. - P. 140-147.

4 .Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature: http://sbiblio.com/biblio/archive/kuskov_istorija/00.asp (accessed 01/11/2014).

5 . Likhachev D.S. Great legacy. Classical works of literature. M., 1975.

6. Likhachev D.S. Chapter 5 XV century / Likhachev D.S. Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'. : http://www.lihachev.ru/nauka/istoriya/biblio/1859/ (accessed 12.12.2013).

7 . Likhachev D.S. Russian culture. M.: "Art", 2000.

8 . Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh (translated by D. Likhachev) / Old Russian literature / Compiled, foreword. and comment. M.P. Odessa. - M.: WORD / Slovo, 2004. - S. 213-223.

For an Orthodox person, the hero of ancient Russian literature, the spiritual, inner life is most important. The Russian man was convinced that it was the inner, spiritual qualities that determined the degree of perfection to which one should strive. Arguing that the internal, the spiritual determines the external, Orthodoxy thereby builds a certain system of values in which the spiritual is more important than the bodily.

Russian Orthodoxy focused a person on spiritual transformation, stimulated the desire for self-improvement, approaching Christian ideals. This contributed to the spread and establishment of spirituality. Its main foundation: unceasing prayer, peace and concentration - the gathering of the soul.

Sergius of Radonezh approved the standard of morality in Russian life. At a turning point in the history of our people, when its national self-consciousness was being formed, St. Sergius became the inspirer of state and cultural construction, a spiritual teacher, a symbol of Russia.

“For our friends and for the Russian land” The great spiritual feat of humility, donations of the “earthly vanity of power” for the sake of his country and its people was performed by Prince Alexander Nevsky. Being the Great Commander, who won many valiant victories, he swore an oath to the khans of the Golden Horde in order to save at least the remnants of the people for future revival. Thus, he proved himself not only a great warrior, but also a wise politician and diplomat.

The left side is a mirror image of the right. The sounds are dissonant, the graphics of the letters in their pattern resemble shackles, the bars of a prison. This side is the path of spiritual fall. Therefore, it ends with the words: “Beginningly empty ... thieves; drunkards ... take a bitter share ... ". The fall of Buki-empty Letters of the Word Nicknames of Buki (0) Numberless offspring, rootless, violent. Buki-empty Shebarsha - empty talker. Whisperer - slanderer, snitch. Shui - left. Shuynitsa - left hand. Shkota - damage, laziness. To pinch - to flaunt. Shcha - spare, spare; ruthlessly, mercilessly - cruelly, mercilessly. "And they betray cruel deaths without mercy." Shkodnik Type "Gon" - Filthy offspring of Era - a rogue, a swindler, a thief. Eryga - a connecting rod, a reveler, a drunkard. Eric is a renegade; a heretic - an apostate, a sorcerer, casting Bonds - chains, shackles, fetters; bridle, knot, knot - knit. The condemned prison is a jail, a prison, a dungeon. Prisoner A special kind - An ardent enemy - Prisonership - imprisonment. Strupnik \ Beheading - the death penalty, the end. Ugly Corpse

The books of ancient Rus' introduced the virtues that a person should possess. Virtue means regular, constant doing good, which becomes a habit, a good habit. 7 main virtues: 1 Temperance (from excess). 2. Chastity (storage of feelings, modesty, purity). 3. Non-acquisition (satisfaction with the necessary). 4. Meekness (avoidance of rage and anger, gentleness, patience). 5. Sobriety (zeal for every good deed, keeping oneself from laziness). 6. Humility (silence before those who offend, the fear of God) 7. Love (to the Lord and neighbor).

Humility, meekness, obedience were distinguished by the beloved Russian saints Boris and Gleb. Boris and Gleb are the first Russian saints. They were the younger sons of Prince Vladimir. They were born before the baptism of Rus', but were brought up in Christian piety. The brothers imitated their father in everything, sympathetic to the poor sick, destitute.

Family values always play a big role for a person. Peter and Fevronia of Murom are spouses, saints, the brightest personalities of Holy Rus', who reflected its spiritual values and ideals with their lives. They opened to pious hearts the beauty and loftiness of the Orthodox family.

And the spouses began to live, live, and make good. Peter and Fevronia did not make good in chests, but in their souls they built crystal castles. Human envy does not tolerate someone else's happiness. But the faithful spouses endured the slander with meekness and humility. Princess Fevronia consoled and supported her husband, Prince Peter took care of his wife. They loved each other with Christian love, they were one flesh, a worthy example of a true Christian family. And when the end of their earthly life came, they left it in one day.

In family life, much attention was paid to the worthy upbringing of children. The Great Russian Prince Vladimir Monomakh wrote the Instruction, wanting to protect his children from mistakes, to help them realize the strength and value of the only worthy person of the path. What is the prince calling for?

The prince teaches children the rules of relationships with people: “Do not miss a person without greeting him, and say a kind word to him. Visit the patient. Drink and feed the one who asks. Do not forget the poor, give to the orphan. Honor the old as a father, and the young as brothers. Most of all honor the guest; if you cannot honor him with a gift, then give him food and drink.”

Old Russian literature is not only a wonderful monument of antiquity, but also the foundation on which the spirituality of the Russian people was built. Reading the works of ancient Russian literature, we have the opportunity to get acquainted with the events of the ancient history of our homeland, compare our assessments of life with the wise assessments of writers of that distant time, learn complex concepts about a person’s place in life, about his goals and aspirations, make sure of the truth of spiritual and moral values of the Russian people.

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The presentation was prepared by the teacher of the Russian language and literature of the MOU "Secondary School No. 32" of Orenburg, Ivashchenko A.V. Spiritual and moral system of values in ancient Russian literature

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The life of Sergius of Radonezh allows you to get acquainted with the spiritual values that are especially revered by the Russian people

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Love for God From his youth, Sergius of Radonezh set himself the goal of perfecting his soul in order to draw closer to God, and devoted his whole life to this, reaching the heights of holiness.

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Love for people The power of love of Sergius of Radonezh worked wonders: in his life, an example is given of the resurrection of a dead boy by a saint.

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The creation of good deeds - help to all those in need, not only by deed, but also by a kind word, advice, sympathy, St. Sergius constantly provided assistance to everyone who came to him.

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Diligence The saint was engaged in physical labor every day: he worked in the garden, was a carpenter, carried water, baked bread, sewed clothes.

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Humility - non-judgment of others, renunciation of fame and honors. Sergius of Radonezh never condemned anyone. He did not want power and honor: he refused to be hegumen in the founded monastery, he did not accept the rank of archbishop.

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Renunciation of earthly blessings and riches The saint never cared about excess food, clothes, realizing that the main wealth of a person is his immortal soul.

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Sergius of Radonezh became the ideological inspirer of the opposition to Mamai. He blessed Prince Dmitry Ivanovich to defend the Russian land and predicted victory in the Battle of Kulikovo

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Such an ascetic life of Sergius of Radonezh was perceived and is perceived by the Russian people as an ideal. No wonder the author of the "Life ..." Epiphanius the Wise calls him "an earthly angel."

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A deep spiritual meaning was invested by Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Slavic alphabet created by them.

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Its division into two parts - rightism and leftism - means two paths in the life of a person who has to make a choice in the direction of good or evil.

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On the right side of the alphabet, the letters are harmonious, and the entry below them teaches people piety: “Initially be the first: know the doctrine; speak - act kindly; live by nature; love the earth firmly; our spiritual brother...

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The left side is a mirror image of the right. The sounds are dissonant, the graphics of the letters in their pattern resemble shackles, the bars of a prison. This side is the path of spiritual fall. Therefore, it ends with the words: “Beginningly empty ... thieves; drunkards ... take a bitter share ... ". The fall of Buki-empty Letters of the Word Nicknames of Buki (0) Numberless offspring, rootless, violent. Buki-empty Shebarsha - idle, idle talker. Whisperer - slanderer, snitch. Shui - left. Shuynitsa - left hand. Shkota - damage, laziness. To pinch - to flaunt. Shcha - spare, spare; ruthlessly, mercilessly - cruelly, mercilessly. "And they betray cruel deaths without mercy." Shkodnik Type "Gon" - Filthy offspring of Era - a rogue, a swindler, a thief. Eryga - a connecting rod, a reveler, a drunkard. Eric is a renegade; a heretic - an apostate, a sorcerer, casting Bonds - chains, shackles, fetters; bridle, knot, knot - knit. The condemned prison is a jail, a prison, a dungeon. Prisoner A special kind - An ardent enemy - Prisonership - imprisonment. Strupnik \ Beheading - the death penalty, the end. Ugly Corpse

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The ABC explained that the meaning of the spiritual life of a person is in the constant struggle in his soul of good and evil, divine and devilish forces.

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After the death of Prince Vladimir, his eldest son Svyatopolk treacherously deceived the brothers and sent assassins to them. The brothers were warned, but did not resist, they were martyred.

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What is the point in dying without resistance at the hands of assassins? The life of the holy princes was sacrificed as a sacrifice of the main Christian commandment - love. They were the first in Rus' to show that it is impossible to repay evil with evil, even under pain of death.

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The Lord, through sorrow and illness, pointed with His finger to Prince Peter the peasant girl Fevronia. She healed the young prince from a serious illness.

The role of ancient Russian literature in the spiritual and moral development of the child

INTRODUCTION

In modern conditions, literature as an academic subject is entrusted with a special mission - the education of a spiritual and moral personality with a high degree of consciousness of being a citizen of Russia. In today's social atmosphere, when romanticism is out of fashion, when selflessness, mercy, kindness, patriotism have become scarce, the spiritual and moral revival of a person is a problem on the solution of which the future of the country depends

It is not always easy for our children to navigate in such an ambiguous world. All this indicates the need to improve educational work in literature lessons; to use as much as possible all the possibilities of this subject for the formation of a spiritually rich, harmoniously developed personality, with high moral ideals and aesthetic needs.

Russian literature has always been the pride, the conscience of the people, because our national psychology is characterized by increased attention to the soul, conscience, to a bright and accurate word that can kill and resurrect, trample into the ground and elevate to heaven. Literature in school studies is multifunctional in its goals and objectives, polyphonic in content: the voices of writers, historical eras and literary movements sound in it. Works of fiction raise issues of ethics, aesthetics, politics, and sometimes even strategy and tactics of combat battles. But the most important thing is the problem of the soul and spirit of an individual and an entire nation.

The most important thing in our national literature is its Orthodox worldview, the religious nature of the reflection of reality. The religiosity of literature is manifested not in some connection with church life, but in a special way of looking at the world. The literature of modern times belongs to secular (secular) culture, and it cannot be purely ecclesiastical. However, the literature of the new time took over from the literature of the 10th - 17th centuries. its teaching character, its moral basis and its “philosophical nature”, i.e. the combination of philosophy with general cultural phenomena - art, science, etc. Domestic literature of the 10th - 17th centuries is called Old Russian literature.

Modern literature has preserved the most valuable thing that was in the literature of Ancient Rus': a high level of morality, interest in worldview problems, richness of the language.

Old Russian literature saw its task and the meaning of existence in kindling and maintaining spiritual fire in human hearts. This is where the recognition of conscience as the measure of all life values comes from. The writers of Ancient Rus' perceived their work as a prophetic service. That is why the works of that time are an expression of the conscience of the people, their traditions, needs and aspirations, their soul. Revealing everything that is sore, it poses burning questions that require an answer to society, teaches them to solve them by humane means, calls for kindness, mutual understanding and compassion, it brings up the best qualities of a person.

Old Russian literature is the focus of Russian spirituality and patriotism. The specificity of its moral impact lies in the fact that the reader has the opportunity to get acquainted with the events of the ancient history of Rus', to compare their assessments of life with the wise assessments of writers of that distant time. In the process of perceiving ancient Russian works, students can learn complex worldview concepts about a person’s place in life, about his goals and aspirations, be convinced of the truth of certain moral decisions, and gain experience in moral assessment.

Of course, spiritual and moral education is a long and painstaking process, but the whole system of work on a work of art, as well as extracurricular activities, contributes to the formation of students' spiritual values. The moral and aesthetic potential of ancient Russian culture and literature, the work of Avvakum, the chroniclers Nestor and Sylvestor is very high, the degree of emotional impact on our students is exceptional, the depth of moral issues is inexhaustible. This is truly the "inexhaustible cup" of our spirituality.

A return to age-old spiritual values, to national traditions is an urgent need of our time. And whether this return will take place, whether it will become a reality, a personal need of everyone, and not just a tribute to fashion, depends largely (hopefully) on language teachers.

This is especially true in our time, when Russia is undergoing profound transformations, accompanied by serious spiritual losses. Children of the 90s are sitting at school desks, having taken on their fragile shoulders all the consequences of political and social reforms, the stratification of society, and unemployment. We are responsible for them because they have to inherit the country; for their morality, since an immoral people is doomed to death and destruction.

A people is alive as long as its national culture is alive: language, customs, traditions, legends, art and, of course, literature. Therefore, the main tasks of a teacher are to enrich students with versatile and deep knowledge about their people, their past, traditions, and culture.

Only in the process of interaction, cooperation and co-creation of the teacher and students is it possible to truly immerse and comprehend the spiritual and moral potential of ancient Russian literature - a truly "inexhaustible cup" of our spirituality.

Objective:

Show the role of ancient Russian literature in the spiritual and moral development of the child by using a variety of forms, methods and techniques in the study of literary monuments of the 10th - 17th centuries.

Work tasks:

To study the works of scientists in the field of ancient Russian literature.

Determine the prerequisites for the emergence, periodization and genre specifics of the literature of Ancient Rus'.

To reveal the most effective forms of work, techniques and methods in the study of ancient Russian literature.

The experimental work was based on the analysis and generalization of the best practices of leading teachers and methodologists and personal pedagogical experience.

Chapter 1. Old Russian literature as part of culture.

. The emergence of ancient Russian literature.

At the end of the 10th century, the literature of Ancient Rus' arose, the literature on the basis of which the literature of the three fraternal peoples developed - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. Ancient Russian literature arose along with the adoption of Christianity and was originally called upon to serve the needs of the church: to provide a church rite, to disseminate information on the history of Christianity, to educate societies in the spirit of Christianity. These tasks determined both the genre system of literature and the features of its development. Literature arose in Rus' simultaneously with the adoption of Christianity. Its development indisputably testifies that both the Christianization of the country and the appearance of writing were determined, first of all, by state needs. Having adopted Christianity, Ancient Rus' simultaneously received both writing and literature.

Old Russian scribes were faced with the most difficult task: it was necessary to provide the churches and monasteries created in Rus' with the books necessary for worship in the shortest possible time, it was necessary to acquaint newly converted Christians with Christian dogma, with the foundations of Christian morality, with Christian historiography in the broadest sense of the word: and with the history of the Universe, peoples and states, and with the history of the Church, and, finally, with the history of the life of Christian ascetics 1 .

As a result, during the first two centuries of the existence of their written language, ancient Russian scribes became acquainted with all the main genres and main monuments of Byzantine literature.

It was necessary to talk about how - from a Christian point of view - the world is arranged, to explain the meaning of expediently and wisely "arranged by God" nature. In a word, it was necessary to immediately create literature devoted to the most complex worldview issues. Books brought from Bulgaria could not meet all these versatile needs of the young Christian state, and, consequently, it was necessary to translate, rewrite, and multiply works of Christian literature. All the energy, all the forces, all the time of the ancient Russian scribes at first were absorbed in the fulfillment of these primary tasks.

The writing process was lengthy, the writing material (parchment) was expensive, and this not only made each book folio laborious, but also gave it a special halo of value and significance. Literature was perceived as something very important, serious, intended to serve the highest spiritual needs.

Writing was necessary in all spheres of state and public life, in inter-princely and international relations, in legal practice. The appearance of writing stimulated the activities of translators and scribes, and most importantly, it created opportunities for the emergence of original literature, both serving the needs and requirements of the church (teachings, solemn words, lives), and purely secular (chronicles). However, it is quite natural that in the minds of the ancient Russian people of that time, Christianization and the emergence of writing (literature) were considered as a single process.

In the article of 988 of the most ancient Russian chronicle - "The Tale of Bygone Years", immediately after the message about the adoption of Christianity, it is said that the Kyiv prince Vladimir, "sending, began to take children from deliberate children [from noble people], and gave them to begin book learning" 2 .

In an article of 1037, characterizing the activities of Vladimir’s son, Prince Yaroslav, the chronicler noted that he was “developing with books, and reading them [reading them], often in the night and in the day. And I gathered a lot of scribes and converted from Greek into Slovenian writing [translating from Greek]. And many books have been written down, and by learning to be faithful, people will enjoy the teachings of the divine. Further, the chronicler gives a kind of praise for the books: “Great is the crawl from the study of the book: with books, we show and teach us the way of repentance [books instruct and teach us repentance], we gain wisdom and restraint from the words of the book. Behold the essence of the river, soldering the universe, behold the origin [sources] of wisdom; For books there is an inexcusable depth. These words of the chronicler echo the first article from one of the oldest ancient Russian collections - "Izbornik 1076"; it states that, just as a ship cannot be built without nails, so one cannot become a righteous man without reading books, advice is given to read slowly and thoughtfully: do not try to quickly read to the end of the chapter, but reflect on what has been read, re-read one word three times and the same chapter, until you comprehend its meaning.

Getting acquainted with ancient Russian manuscripts of the 11th-14th centuries, establishing the sources used by Russian writers - chroniclers, hagiographers (authors of lives), authors of solemn words or teachings, we are convinced that in the annals we do not have abstract declarations about the benefits of enlightenment; in the 10th and first half of the 11th century. In Rus', a huge work was done in terms of its scale: a huge literature was copied from the Bulgarian originals or translated from the Greek 1 .

Old Russian literature can be regarded as the literature of one theme and one plot. This plot is world history, and this topic is the meaning of human life.

Not that all the works were devoted to world history (although there are a lot of these works): that's not the point! Each work, to some extent, finds its geographical place and its chronological milestone in the history of the world. All works can be put in one row one after another in the order of the events taking place: we always know to what historical time they are attributed by the authors.

Literature tells, or at least seeks to tell, not about the invented, but about the real. Therefore, the real - world history, real geographical space - connects all individual works.

In fact, fiction in ancient Russian works is masked by the truth. Open fiction is not allowed. All works are devoted to events that were, took place, or, although they did not exist, are seriously considered to have taken place. Ancient Russian Literature up to the 17th century. does not know or almost does not know conventional characters. The names of the actors are historical: Boris and Gleb, Theodosius of Pechersk, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan of Perm ... At the same time, ancient Russian literature tells mainly about those persons who played a significant role in historical events: be it Alexander the Great or Abraham Smolensky.

One of the most popular books of Ancient Rus' is "Shestodnev" by John Exarch of Bulgaria. This book tells about the world, arranging its story in the order of the biblical legend about the creation of the world in six days. On the first day, light was created; on the second, the visible sky and water; on the third, the sea, rivers, springs, and seeds; on the fourth, the sun, moon, and stars; on the fifth, fish, reptiles, and birds; on the sixth, animals and man. . Each of the days described is a hymn to creation, the world, its beauty and wisdom, consistency and diversity of the elements of the whole.

Ancient Russian literature is a cycle. A cycle many times superior to folklore. This is an epic that tells the history of the universe and the history of Rus'.

None of the works of Ancient Rus' - translated or original - stands apart. All of them complement each other in the picture of the world they create. Each story is a complete whole, and at the same time it is connected with others. This is just one of the chapters in the history of the world. Even such works as the translated story "Stephanit and Ikhnilat" (an old Russian version of the plot of "Kalila and Dimna") or "The Tale of Dracula" written on the basis of oral stories of an anecdotal nature are included in collections and are not found in separate lists. In individual manuscripts, they begin to appear only in the late tradition in the 17th and 18th centuries. 2 .

There is a continuous cycling going on. Even the notes of the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin about his "Journey beyond the three seas" were included in the chronicle. These notes become a historical composition - a story about the events of a trip to India. Such a fate is not uncommon for the literary works of Ancient Rus': over time, many of the stories begin to be perceived as historical, as documents or narratives about Russian history: whether it is the sermon of the abbot of the Vydubetsky monastery Moses, delivered by him about the construction of the monastery wall, or the life of a saint.

The works were built according to the "enfilade principle". Life was supplemented over the centuries with services to the saint, a description of his posthumous miracles. It could grow with additional stories about the saint. Several lives of the same saint could be combined into a new single work. The chronicle could be supplemented with new information. The end of the chronicle seemed to be pushed back all the time, continuing with additional entries about new events (the chronicle grew along with history). Separate annual articles of the chronicle could be supplemented with new information from other chronicles; they could include new works. Chronographs and historical sermons were also supplemented in this way. Collections of words and teachings proliferated. That is why in ancient Russian literature there are so many huge works that unite separate narratives into a common "epos" about the world and its history.

Christian literature introduced the Russian people to the new norms of morality and morality, broadened their mental horizons and provided many historical and geographical information.

The circumstances of the emergence of ancient Russian literature, its place and functions in the life of society determined the system of its original genres, that is, those genres within which the development of original Russian literature began.

At first, according to the expressive definition of D.S. Likhachev, it was literature of “one theme and one plot. This story is world history, and this theme is the meaning of human life” 1 . Indeed, all genres of ancient Russian literature were devoted to this theme and this plot.

There is no doubt that the Baptism of Rus' was an event of great historical importance, not only politically and socially, but also culturally. The history of ancient Russian literature began after the adoption of Christianity by Russia, and the date of the Baptism of Rus' in 988 becomes the starting point for the national historical development of Russia.

Beginning with the Baptism of Rus', Russian culture now and then faced a difficult, dramatic, tragic choice of its path. From the point of view of cultural studies, it is important not only to date, but also to document this or that historical event.

1.2. Periods of the history of ancient literature.

The history of ancient Russian literature cannot but be considered in isolation from the history of the Russian people and the Russian state. Seven centuries (XI-XVIII centuries), during which ancient Russian literature developed, are full of significant events in the historical life of the Russian people. The literature of Ancient Rus' is evidence of life. History itself established several periods of literary history.

The first period is the literature of the ancient Russian state, the period of the unity of literature. It lasts a century (XI and early XII centuries). This is the age of the formation of the historical style of literature. The literature of this period develops in two centers: in the south of Kyiv and in the north of Novgorod. A characteristic feature of the literature of the first period is the leading role of Kyiv as the cultural center of the entire Russian land. Kyiv is the most important economic link on the world trade route. The Tale of Bygone Years belongs to this period.

Second period, mid-twelfth century. - first third of the thirteenth century This is the period of the emergence of new literary centers: Vladimir Zalessky and Suzdal, Rostov and Smolensk, Galich and Vladimir Volynsky. During this period, local themes appeared in literature, various genres appeared. This period is the beginning of feudal fragmentation.

Then comes a short period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. During this period, the stories “Words about the destruction of the Russian land”, “The Life of Alexander Nevsky” are created. During this period, one topic is considered in the literature, the topic of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar troops into Rus'. This period is considered the shortest, but also the brightest.

The next period, the end of the XIV century. and the first half of the 15th century, this is a period of patriotic upsurge in literature, a period of chronicle writing and historical narrative. This century coincides with the economic and cultural revival of the Russian land before and after the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. In the middle of the XV century. new phenomena appear in literature: translated literature, the “Tale of Dracula”, “The Tale of Basarga” appear. All these periods, from the XIII century. by the 15th century can be combined into one period and defined as a period of feudal fragmentation and the unification of North-Eastern Rus'. Since the literature of the second period begins with the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders (1204), and when the main role of Kyiv has already ended and three fraternal peoples are formed from a single ancient Russian people: Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.

The third period is the period of literature of the Russian centralized state of the XIV-XVII centuries. When the state plays an active role in the international relations of its time, and also reflects the further growth of the Russian centralized state. And from the 17th century a new period of Russian history begins.

Old Russian literature contains a huge number of literary monuments written in the 11th-17th centuries. The works of ancient Russian literature were divided into "worldly" and "spiritual". The latter were supported and disseminated in every possible way, as they contained the enduring values of religious dogma, philosophy and ethics, and the main keepers and copyists of books in ancient Rus' were monks, and the former, with the exception of official legal and historical documents, were declared "vain". Thanks to this, we present our ancient literature to a greater extent ecclesiastical than it really was.

When embarking on the study of Old Russian literature, it is necessary to take into account its specific features, which differ from the literature of modern times.

A characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution. 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 that pursued certain practical goals. “Everything that serves not for the sake of benefit, but for the sake of embellishment, is subject to the charge of vanity.” These words of Basil the Great largely determined the attitude of the ancient Russian society to the works of writing. The value of this or that handwritten book was evaluated in terms of its practical purpose and usefulness. The works were rewritten, something of their own was added, so we can talk about the variability of ancient Russian works.

Another feature of our ancient literature is the anonymity and impersonality of its works. This was a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude of feudal society to man, and in particular to the work of a writer, artist, and architect. At best, we know the names of individual authors, "writers" of books, who modestly put their name either at the end of the manuscript, or in its margins, or (which is much less common) in the title of the work. At the same time, the writer will not accept to supply his name with such evaluative epithets as "thin", "unworthy", "sinful". In most cases, the author of the work prefers to remain unknown, and sometimes even hide behind the authoritative name of one or another "father of the church" - John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, etc. 1

Considering the works of Ancient Rus', it is necessary to mention such a term as literary etiquette, i.e. in ancient Rus', relationships between people were subject to a special etiquette or tradition (life is clearly regulated). This term was introduced by Academician Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev. Etiquette also existed in art, especially in painting (images on icons were located in strictly defined positions - growth depended on fame), events from the life of saints were also subject to etiquette. The author of ancient Russian works glorified or condemned what is customary to glorify or blame. He created such situations in his works that are necessary according to etiquette (in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" the prince goes on a campaign, which means it is necessary to show his appeal to the squad, and his prayer to God, the prince signs in full dress; usually the Russian army is depicted as small in number, and the army of the enemy is numerous, to show the strength of the army, etc.). Literary etiquette is in any work.

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Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature: Proc. for philology. specialist. Universities / V.V. Kuskov.- 7th ed.-M.: Higher. school, 2003.

1.3. Genre specifics of the literature of Ancient Rus'.

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

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

In ancient Russian literature, which did not know fiction, historical in big or small, the world itself appeared as something eternal, universal, where the events and actions of people are determined by the very system of the universe, where the forces of good and evil are always fighting, a world whose history is well known ( after all, for each event mentioned in the annals, the exact date was indicated - the time elapsed from the “creation of the world”!) And even the future was predestined: prophecies about the end of the world, the “second coming” of Christ and the Last Judgment awaiting all the people of the earth were widespread 1 .

In order to understand the peculiarity and originality of original Russian literature, to appreciate the courage with which Russian scribes created works such as The Tale of Igor's Campaign, Vladimir Monomakh's Teaching, Daniil Zatochnik's Prayer and the like, for all this you need to get acquainted though with some samples of individual genres of ancient Russian literature.

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

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

chronicle
teaching
Apocrypha

life

Life is one of the most stable and traditional genres of Russian literature.

The word "life" literally corresponds to the Greek ("life"), the Latin vita. Both in Byzantine literature, and in the Middle Ages in the West and in Rus', this term began to denote a certain genre: biographies, biographies of famous bishops, patriarchs, monks - the founders of certain monasteries, but only those whom the church considered saints. The lives, therefore, are the biography of the saints. Hence, lives in science are often also referred to by the term "hagiography" (from agios - "holy" and grafo - "I write"). Hagiography is all literature and art, which is a plot narrative about a person whom the church elevated to the degree of “saint” for his exploits.

Lives describe the life of holy princes and princesses, the highest hierarchs of the Russian Church, then subordinate servants of it, archimandrites, abbots, simple monks, least often people from the white clergy, most often founders and ascetics of monasteries who came from different classes of ancient Russian society, including from the peasants. 1

The people about whom the lives narrate were all more or less historical figures who attracted the attention of their contemporaries or the memory of their immediate offspring, otherwise we would not have known about their existence. But life is not a biography and not a heroic epic. It differs from the latter in that it describes real life only with a certain selection of material, in the required typical, one might say stereotypical, manifestations of it. The hagiographer, the compiler of his life, has his own style, his own literary devices, his own special task. 2

Life is a whole literary construction, in some details resembling an architectural building. It usually begins with a lengthy, solemn preface expressing a view on the significance of holy lives for human community 3 .

Then the activity of the saint is narrated, destined from infancy, sometimes even before birth, to become a God-chosen vessel of high talents; this activity is accompanied by miracles during life, and is imprinted by miracles even after the death of the saint. The life ends with a laudatory word to the saint, usually expressing gratitude to the Lord God for sending down to the world a new lamp that illuminated the path of life for sinful people. All these parts are combined into something solemn, liturgical: the life was intended to be read in the church at the all-night vigil on the eve of the saint's memorial day. Life is actually addressed not to the listener or reader, but to the one who prays. It more than teaches: in teaching, it attunes, it strives to turn a soulful moment into a prayerful inclination. It describes an individual personality, personal life, but this chance is not valued in itself, not as one of the diverse manifestations of human nature, but only as the embodiment of an eternal ideal. four

Byzantine hagiography served as a model for Russian hagiography, but already in the initial period of the development of ancient Russian literature, two types of hagiographic texts appeared: princely hagiographies and monastic hagiographies. Princely lives in general gravitate towards the hagiographic scheme. Such, for example, was created at the beginning of the 12th century. monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor, life under the title "Reading about Boris and Gleb." This work was written according to the strict requirements of the classical Byzantine life. Nestor, following the tradition, spoke about the childhood of princes Boris and Gleb, about Boris's marriage, about how the brothers prayed to God.

The goal of life is to show clearly on a separate existence that everything that the commandments require of a person is not only feasible, but has been fulfilled more than once, therefore, it is obligatory for conscience, because of all the requirements of goodness, only the impossible is not necessary for conscience. A work of art in its literary form, a life, processes its subject didactically: it is an edification in living faces, and therefore living faces are instructive types in it. Life is not a biography, but an edifying panegyric within the framework of a biography, just as the image of a saint in a life is not a portrait, but an icon. Therefore, among the main sources of ancient Russian history, the lives of the saints of Ancient Rus' occupy their own special place. five

Life was built according to certain canons, from which they did not depart until the 15th-16th centuries.

CANON (Greek - norm, rule) - a set of rules that predetermine the form and content of medieval art; sign-model of the incomprehensible spiritual world, i.e. specific implementation of the principle of dissimilar similarity (image). On a practical level, the canon acts as a structural model of a work of art, as a principle for constructing a known set of works in a given era. 1 In relation to books of the hagiographic genre, the word "canon" is used to denote the inspiration of a certain collection of books that make up the Holy Bible.

The life of a saint is a story about the life of a saint, the creation of which is necessarily accompanied by the official recognition of his holiness (canonization). As a rule, the life reports on the main events of the life of the saint, his Christian exploits (pious life, martyrdom, if any), as well as special evidence of Divine grace, which marked this person (these include, in particular, intravital and posthumous miracles). The lives of the saints are written according to special rules (canons). So, it is believed that the appearance of a child marked by grace most often occurs in the family of pious parents (although there were cases when parents, guided, as it seemed to them, by good intentions, interfered with the feat of their children, condemned them - see, for example, the life of St. Theodosius Pechersky, St. Alexy the Man of God). Most often, a saint from an early age leads a strict, righteous life (although sometimes repentant sinners, such as St. Mary of Egypt, also reached holiness). In the "Tale" of Yermolai-Erasmus, some features of the saint are traced rather in Prince Peter than in his wife, who, moreover, as follows from the text, performs her miraculous healings more by her own art than by the will of God. 2

Hagiographic literature, along with Orthodoxy, came to Rus' from Byzantium. There, by the end of the 1st millennium, the canons of this literature were developed, the implementation of which was mandatory. They included the following:

Only "historical" facts were stated.

The heroes of the lives could only be Orthodox saints.

Life had a standard plot structure:

a) introduction;
b) pious parents of the hero;
c) the solitude of the hero and the study of holy scripture;
d) refusal of marriage or, if it is impossible, preservation of “body purity” in marriage;
e) teacher or mentor;
f) going to the "hermitage" or to the monastery;
g) struggle with demons (described with the help of lengthy monologues);
h) founding a monastery, coming to the monastery of "brethren";
i) predicting one's own death;
j) pious death;
k) posthumous miracles;
m) praise

It was also necessary to follow the canons because these canons were developed by the centuries-old history of the hagiographic genre and gave the hagiographies an abstract rhetorical character.

4. Saints were portrayed as ideally positive, enemies as ideally negative. The translated hagiographies that came to Rus' were used for a dual purpose:

a) for home reading (Menaia);

b) for divine services (Prologues, Synaxaria) 3

Synaxaria - non-liturgical church meetings that were devoted to psalmody and pious reading (mainly hagiographic literature); were widespread in the early Christian era. The same name was given to a special collection, which contained selected passages from the lives of the saints, arranged in the order of calendar commemoration, and was intended for reading in such meetings. 1

It was this dual usage that caused the first major controversy. If a full canonical description of the saint's life is made, then the canons will be observed, but the reading of such a life will greatly delay the service. If, however, the description of the life of the saint is shortened, then his reading will fit into the usual time of worship, but the canons will be violated. Or at the level of physical contradiction: the life must be long in order to comply with the canons, and must be short so as not to drag out the service.

The contradiction was resolved by the transition to a bisystem. Each life was written in two versions: short (prologue) and long (menaine). The short version was read quickly in church, and the long version was then read aloud in the evenings by the whole family. 2

The prologue versions of the lives turned out to be so convenient that they won the sympathy of the clergy. (Now they would say - they became bestsellers.) They became shorter and shorter. It became possible to read several lives during one divine service. And then their similarity, monotony became obvious.

There should be a canonical part of the Lives, common to all, in order to preserve the canon, and there should not be, so as not to drag out the reading.

This contradiction was resolved by transition to the supersystem. The canonical part was preserved, but made common to all hagiographies. And only the exploits of different monks were different. There were so-called Pateriki - stories about actual exploits. Gradually, the general canonical part becomes less and less significant and eventually disappears, goes into the "iceberg". There are just entertaining stories about the exploits of the monks. 3

The lives shaped the views of ancient Russian readers on the ideal of holiness, on the possibility of salvation, brought up philological culture (in their best examples), created ideal forms of expression of the saint's feat in the form that it seemed to contemporaries and, in turn, form the views of believers of subsequent generations on feat. four

military tale

The story is a text of an epic nature, telling about princes, about military exploits, about princely crimes.

Military stories were imbued with patriotic pathos, the noble idea of serving the Motherland. Based on numerous examples of the most dramatic events in history, a special type of hero was created here - the ideal prince-warrior, whose meaning of life was to fight for the freedom of Rus'. Military stories, regardless of the time of their writing, are characterized by their own aesthetics, inherent only to this variety of historical fiction, their own type of ideals, their own principles in the selection of real historical material. The plots of military tales (like the hagiographies and other genres of ancient Russian literature) were “assembled” from materials of two varieties: facts taken from reality, and formulas and episodes borrowed from various sources. The borrowed material in the plot of the works performed no less important function than the material taken directly from life: most often it was a kind of "key" to understanding the events of our time. Military stories had "individual" attributes (first of all, a set of stable military formulas) and principles for selecting facts to be depicted. They realized a special type of providential plot with peculiar (other than, for example, in hagiographies) principles of construction. The “leading components” of military stories are the following situations: “1. Description of the troops preparing for battle; 2. The night before the battle; 3. Speech of the leader before the battle, addressed to the soldiers; 4. The battle itself and its end (victory - in this case, the pursuit of the enemy - or defeat); 5. Calculation of losses.

Most of the Russian military stories tell about the events of Russian history. Less often, the authors were interested in what was happening outside the Russian principalities. One of the few foreign states that were always in the circle of sight of Russian chroniclers was Byzantium, with the history of which, according to the chronicles translated in the first centuries of Christianity in Rus', they were familiar with no worse, and perhaps even better, than with the history of their own state. So, in the XIII century. Russian chroniclers responded to the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders with a detailed, and most importantly, reliable “Tale of the Capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204”. It was created shortly after the event itself and was preserved in the oldest (XIII century) Novgorod I chronicle. The story is written in a simple and expressive language of the chronicle, accurate in the presentation of events, impartial in assessing the actions of the Crusaders and the Greeks besieged by them.

Military stories told about battles with the enemies of the Russian land or about internecine wars. Medieval authors saw it as their task to interpret their meaning. To this end, they turned to more remote times and almost always tried to explain the present with the help of the past. Therefore, the most important task of the author was to search for analogues to the events and heroes of his time in the past. The authors of military stories searched for and found such parallels in world (primarily in biblical) and Russian history.

Functionally, military stories were intended not so much to preserve reliable information, but to provide a biased, dosed acquaintance of a wide range of readers with the events of the distant and recent past of the Russian state. All Russian military stories are characterized by a rigid determinism of the plot, due to the author's nationwide (or princely) political position, which predetermined both the biased selection of factual material and its biased interpretation.

Depending on the outcome of the central event of the work - the war - the stories can be divided into two thematic groups. The first group will consist of works about the defeats of the Christian (Russian) troops, the second - about his victories. The defeat of the united Russian and Polovtsian troops by the Tatars in 1223 is described in the Tale of the Battle on the Kalka River; in "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu" (hereinafter PR) - about the death in 1237 of the Russian city of Ryazan; in "The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks" - about the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, etc. The “Life of Alexander Nevsky” (hereinafter JAN) is dedicated to the victories over the enemies of Rus' by the Novgorod prince Alexander, the defeat of the Tatars in 1380 on the Kulikovo field - “The Legend of the Mamaev Battle”, etc. All these events - both victories and defeats - were used by medieval Russian authors to create a single ideological concept, logically substantiated by the entire course of Russian history.

The main stages in the formation of the military story genre can be represented as follows. Its sources are legends about the first Russian princes. The only written source of these legends is the Tale of Bygone Years, which contains a few and laconic legendary "stories" about the military campaigns of the pagan princes Askold, Dir, Oleg, Svyatoslav, Igor and many others. In these legends, only the most outstanding events of the first centuries of the existence of the Russian state and the deeds of the first Russian princes are recorded: their campaigns against Byzantium, battles with the Polovtsian enemies, internecine wars. The absence of other Russian sources does not allow checking how accurate these chronicle legends were in reflecting real events.

chronicle writing

It is customary to call chronicles “monuments of historical writing and literature of Ancient Rus'. The narrative in them was conducted by year in chronological order (the story of the events of each year began with the words "in the summer:" - hence the name "chronicle".

Chronicles are the focus of the history of Ancient Rus', its ideology, understanding of its place in world history - they are one of the most important monuments of writing, literature, history, and culture in general. Only the most literate, knowledgeable, wise people undertook to compile chronicles, i.e., weather reports of events, able not only to state different things year after year, but also to give them an appropriate explanation, to leave to posterity a vision of the era as it was understood by the chroniclers.

The chronicle was a matter of state, a matter of princes. Therefore, the commission to compile a chronicle was given not only to the most literate and intelligent person, but also to someone who could carry out ideas close to one or another princely branch, one or another princely house. Thus, the objectivity and honesty of the chronicler came into conflict with what we call "social order". If the chronicler did not satisfy the tastes of his customer, they parted with him and transferred the compilation of the chronicle to another, more reliable, more obedient author. Alas, work for the needs of the authorities was born already at the dawn of writing, and not only in Rus', but also in other countries.

Each annalistic list has its own conditional name. Most often, it was given at the place of storage (Ipatiev, Königsberg, Academic, Synodal, Archaeographic lists, etc.) or by the name of the former owner (Radzivilov list, Obolensky list, Khrushchev list, etc.). Sometimes chronicles are called by the name of their customer, compiler, editor or scribe (Laurentian List, Nikon Chronicle) or by the chronicle center in which they were created (Novgorod Chronicle, Moscow Code of 1486). However, the last names are usually given not to individual lists, but to entire editions, which unite a number of bishops. 1

Chronicle writing appeared in Rus' shortly after the introduction of Christianity. The first chronicle may have been compiled at the end of the 10th century. It was intended to reflect the history of Russia from the time of the emergence of a new Rurik dynasty there and until the reign of Vladimir with his impressive victories, with the introduction of Christianity in Russia. From that time on, the right and duty to keep chronicles were given to the leaders of the church. It was in churches and monasteries that the most literate, well-prepared and trained people were found - priests, monks. They had a rich book heritage, translated literature, Russian records of old tales, legends, epics, legends; they also had the grand ducal archives at their disposal. It was most convenient for them to carry out this responsible and important work: to create a written historical monument of the era in which they lived and worked, linking it with past times, with deep historical sources.

Scientists believe that before chronicles appeared - large-scale historical works covering several centuries of Russian history, there were separate records, including church, oral stories, which at first served as the basis for the first generalizing works. These were stories about Kiev and the founding of Kyiv, about the campaigns of Russian troops against Byzantium, about the journey of Princess Olga to Constantinople, about the wars of Svyatoslav, the legend of the murder of Boris and Gleb, as well as epics, lives of saints, sermons, traditions, songs, all kinds of legends .

The second chronicle was created under Yaroslav the Wise at the time when he united Rus', laid the temple of Hagia Sophia. This chronicle absorbed the previous chronicle and other materials.

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Literature and culture of Ancient Rus': Dictionary-reference book / Ed. V. V. Kuskova.-M., 1994.

Later, already at the time of the existence of the chronicles, all new stories were added to them, legends about impressive events in Rus', such as the famous feud of 1097 and the blinding of the young prince Vasilko, or about the campaign of Russian princes against the Polovtsy in 1111. The chronicle included in its composition and Vladimir Monomakh's memoirs about life - his Teaching to Children.

Already at the first stage of the creation of chronicles, it became obvious that they represent a collective work, they are a collection of previous chronicle records, documents, various kinds of oral and written historical evidence. The compiler of the next

of the annals, he acted not only as the author of the corresponding newly written parts of the annals, but also as a compiler and editor. This and his ability to direct the idea of the vault in the right direction were highly valued by the Kievan princes.

The next Chronicle Code was created by the famous Hilarion, who wrote it, apparently under the name of the monk Nikon, in the 60-70s of the 11th century, after the death of Yaroslav the Wise. And then the Code appeared already in the time of Svyatopolk in the 90s of the XI century.

The vault, which was taken up by the monk of the Kyiv-Pechersk monastery Nestor and which entered our history under the name "The Tale of Bygone Years," thus turned out to be at least the fifth in a row and was created in the first decade of the 12th century. at the court of Prince Svyatopolk. And each collection was enriched with more and more new materials, and each author contributed his talent, his knowledge, erudition to it. The Code of Nestor was in this sense the pinnacle of early Russian chronicle writing.

In the first lines of his chronicle, Nestor posed the question "Where did the Russian land come from, who in Kyiv first began to reign and where did the Russian land come from." Thus, already in these first words of the chronicle, it is said about the large-scale goals that the author has set for himself. Indeed, the chronicle did not become an ordinary chronicle, of which there were many in the world at that time - dry, dispassionately fixing facts, but an excited story of the then historian, introducing philosophical and religious generalizations into the narrative, his figurative system, temperament, his own style. The origin of Rus', as we have already said, Nestor draws against the backdrop of the development of the entire world history. Rus' is one of the European nations.

Using the previous sets, documentary materials, including, for example, the treaties of Rus' with Byzantium, the chronicler unfolds a wide panorama of historical events that cover both the internal history of Rus' - the formation of an all-Russian statehood with a center in Kyiv, and the international relations of Rus' with the outside world. A whole gallery of historical figures passes through the pages of the Nestor Chronicle - princes, boyars, posadniks, thousands, merchants, church leaders. He talks about military campaigns, about the organization of monasteries, the laying of new churches and the opening of schools, about religious disputes and reforms in domestic Russian life. Constantly concerns Nestor and the life of the people as a whole, his moods, expressions of dissatisfaction with the princely policy. On the pages of the annals, we read about uprisings, the murders of princes and boyars, and cruel public fights. The author describes all this thoughtfully and calmly, trying to be objective, as much as a deeply religious person can be objective, guided in his assessments by the concepts of Christian virtue and sin. But, frankly, his religious assessments are very close to universal assessments. Murder, betrayal, deceit, perjury Nestor condemns uncompromisingly, but extols honesty, courage, fidelity, nobility, and other wonderful human qualities. The entire chronicle was imbued with a sense of the unity of Rus', a patriotic mood. All the main events in it were evaluated not only from the point of view of religious concepts, but also from the standpoint of these all-Russian state ideals. This motive sounded especially significant on the eve of the beginning of the political collapse.

In 1116-1118. the chronicle was rewritten again. Vladimir Monomakh, who then reigned in Kyiv, and his son Mstislav were dissatisfied with the way Nestor showed the role of Svyatopolk in Russian history, by order of which the Tale of Bygone Years was written in the Kiev Caves Monastery. Monomakh took away the chronicle from the Cave monks and transferred it to his ancestral Vydubitsky monastery. His abbot Sylvester became the author of the new Code.

In the future, as the political collapse of Rus' and the rise of individual Russian centers, the annals began to be fragmented. In addition to Kyiv and Novgorod, their own chronicles appeared in Smolensk, Pskov, Vladimir-on-Klyazma, Galich, Vladimir-Volynsky, Ryazan, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl-Russian. Each of them reflected the peculiarities of the history of their region, their own princes were brought to the fore. Thus, the Vladimir-Suzdal chronicles showed the history of the reign of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod the Big Nest; Galician chronicle of the beginning of the XIII century. became essentially a biography of the famous warrior prince Daniel of Galicia; the Chernigov Chronicle narrated mainly about the Chernigov branch of the Rurikovich. And yet, in the local annals, all-Russian cultural sources were clearly visible. The history of each land was compared with the whole of Russian history.

The preservation of the all-Russian chronicle tradition was shown by the Vladimir-Suzdal chronicle of the beginning of the 13th century, covering the history of the country from the legendary Kyi to Vsevolod the Big Nest.

Walking

This genre - the genre of journeys - descriptions of medieval travels - began its development with pilgrimage journeys. Travel notes - walking were especially popular in Ancient Rus'. They passed from one generation to another in handwritten collections, they were read with interest in princely houses and in the houses of townspeople, in monastic cells and boyar chambers. Their former popularity is evidenced by the large number of works of this genre that have come down to us, as well as their lists compiled in various estates of feudal Rus'. The earliest example of the works of ancient Russian essay literature was a description of a journey to the holy places, made at the beginning of the 12th century. abbot of one of the Chernigov monasteries Daniel.

When ancient Russian literature arose, the main variety of this genre was precisely the pilgrimage.

Walking as a literary genre was distinguished by a certain subject of narration, structure, some linguistic originality and a special type of narrator-traveler.

In the history of the genre of ancient Russian travel notes, three works occupy a special place. These are truly innovative works. These include the walks of Abbot Daniel, Ignatius Smolnyanin and Athanasius Nikitin.

With all the modesty of the ancient Russian writer, his image is well read in his works. And the first thing to note is that he largely embodies folk qualities. This is not a contemplative, striving for loneliness, fenced off from the outside world. This is not a moralist preacher, calling for ascetic abstinence from worldly temptations. The writer-traveler is a strong-willed, restless person. He is guided in his life by the parable of the lazy slave, widespread in ancient Rus', which is often quoted by the authors of walks with the good hand of the founder of this genre, hegumen Daniel. He is also convinced that it is not worthy to consign to oblivion all the instructive things that he saw in foreign countries. He, a Russian person, is alien to a dismissive and arrogant attitude towards other peoples, their beliefs, customs, mores and culture. Possessing a sense of his own dignity, he respectfully writes about strangers. He adheres to that primordially Russian rule of life, which was formulated by Theodosius of the Caves in the 11th century: “If you see a naked, or hungry, or obsessed with winter or misfortune, will there still be a Jew, or a sratsin, or a Bulgarian, or a heretic, or a Latin, or from all the filthy ones - have mercy on everyone and deliver them from trouble, as you can.

However, such tolerance did not mean that Russian travel writers were indifferent to religious beliefs, which, as already mentioned, in the Middle Ages were a form of expression of national, philosophical, ideological and state interests. The narrators in their travels are bright representatives of their time, their people, spokesmen for their ideological and aesthetic ideas and ideals.

With the development of historical life, the Russian traveler-narrator also changed. In Kievan Rus and during the period of feudal fragmentation and the Mongol-Tatar yoke, a typical traveler was a pilgrim to places of Christian sights in the Middle East. Of course, in this historical era there were trade and diplomatic trips to various countries, but they were not explicitly reflected in the literature.

During the period of the unification of North-Eastern Rus', along with pilgrims to Eastern Christian countries, a new type of traveler appeared, more enterprising, inquisitive - this is an ambassador for state and church affairs and a trade guest. In this era, travel notes about Western Europe, the Muslim East and distant India appear. The traveler is surprised by foreign curiosities, enthusiastically and busily writes about phenomena unusual for a Russian person in the economy, trade, culture, life, nature, tries on what is foreign and what is not suitable for Russian life. But the pages of the manuscripts say that no temptations and innovations seen in other countries, even to a small extent, have at all times dulled the feelings of affection and love for the native land among Russian travelers.

In the XVI-XVIII centuries, a traveler appeared - an explorer, discovering new paths and uninhabited lands on the northern and eastern borders of Rus'. Pathfinders are somewhat reminiscent of the appearance of Athanasius Nikitin. Not for the sake of profit or glory, they went to unknown lands and countries. Folk inquisitiveness, prowess, love of freedom forced them to embark on risky journeys. And it is clear that the explorers were mainly people from the social lower classes, especially from among the restless Cossacks.

The authors of the pilgrimages of the 11th-15th centuries belonged to the clergy, merchants and "service people" (officialdom), but some of their representatives, despite their social class affiliation, did not lose touch with the people. The journeys of hegumen Daniel, Anonymous, Ignatius Smolnyanin, and especially Athanasius Nikitin, in terms of worldview positions and in the form of narration, are firmly connected with popular views and ideas.

Rigid, canonical requirements for the genre, so characteristic of ancient Russian literature, narrowed, but did not destroy the creative possibilities of the writer. Walkings differ in their original content and style. Even when visiting the same places, when describing the same "shrines", the travel writers did not repeat each other. In each journey, the individual moral image of the writer is visible, the degree of his literary talent and depth of thought is reflected.

The story is told in the first person. This manner of presentation follows from the nature of the genre. The monologue speech of the narrator underlies the construction of walks: essay sketches in walks are united among themselves not only by the logic of the journey itself, but also by a single monologue narrative, smooth and unhurried, epicly majestic.

In ancient Russian literature, in general, a great tribute is paid to traditions. And walks begin with a traditional introduction, which is designed for the tastes and needs of contemporaries. According to tradition, in the introduction, gaining the reader's trust, the author assures him of his piety and that everything he tells is not fiction, but the truth, and that everything told by the traveler himself saw "his own sinner's eyes."

In some short introductions, the name of the traveler is indicated (but there are many unnamed walks), sometimes his class affiliation and it is reported where and why he traveled (walks of the guest Vasily, Barsanuphius, Afanasy Nikitin).

Other introductions are more detailed. They reveal the circumstances in which the journey was made, the reasons that prompted the author to write “his sinful journey”, moral and religious instructions are given to the reader (the journey of Daniel, Zosima, Ignatius Smolnyanin).

Following the introduction is a chain of descriptions or sketches, occasionally accompanied by restrained lyrical inserts or brief, meager evaluative remarks. The feeling of modesty as a requirement of the era left its mark on the lyrical digressions and the author's assessments of what he saw on the way. All the attention of the author is directed to an objective description of events, objects and persons. The sequence of descriptions is based, as a rule, on one of two principles - spatial or temporal. The first compositional principle usually underlay the pilgrimages, in which the descriptions of the monuments of Christian culture and "shrines" correlated with the topography of the area.

The principle of temporal succession was the basis of "secular", that is, trade and diplomatic, walks. The descriptions in them were placed in accordance with the time of the journey, often with the dating of the traveler's stay in certain places, meetings with persons and events. Such a compositional principle is largely dependent on the original diary entries, which were often kept by travelers and which were subsequently processed.

The composition of the pilgrimage journeys is also distinguished by the fact that they contain inserted episodes of legendary biblical content, which is not found in diplomatic and trade journeys. Usually, these writers correlate legendary and biblical episodes either with geographical places, or with "shrines" and monuments of Christian culture.

The tasks of the genre required the ancient Russian travel writers to develop a system of stylistic devices for describing what they saw. This system is not complicated, it was often violated in particular, but in its basic principles it was observed. As a rule, descriptions were based on several basic techniques, used in various combinations and with a preference for one of them.

Another traditional stylistic device is curious, which can be conditionally called "stringing". It was used in the description of a complex object. First, a more voluminous object was named, followed by a chain of objects with decreasing volume. The origins of this technique lie deep in folk art, it resembles toy "nesting dolls" and a fabulous technique such as: oak, chest on oak, duck in chest, egg in duck, needle in egg. This technique is widespread in Novgorod pilgrimages.

Anonymous, using this technique, tells about the cultural monuments of Tsargrad destroyed by the crusaders: there is a pattern in the king's court. A pillar of cameos is placed high above the sea, and on the pillar are 4 pillars of stone, and on the other pillars are blue asp cameos, and in that stone are carved winged dogs and winged eagles and boran stones; the horns of the borans are beaten and the pillars are upholstered ... ".

These techniques are simple, lapidary and traditional.

The language of walking is basically folk, colloquial. In terms of their syntactic structure and lexical composition, the best works of this genre (the journeys of Daniel, Anonymous, Stefan Novgorodets, Ignatius, Athanasius Nikitin, etc.) were accessible to the widest range of readers - their language is so simple, accurate and at the same time expressive.

Old Russian wanderings as a genre, as a well-established literary form, do not disappear without a trace in the literature of modern times. They grow into the Russian travel literature of the first half of the 18th century and, transforming, take on new genre qualities in the last quarter of the 18th century (Letters of a Russian Traveler by Karamzin, Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow by Radishchev). There are reasons to assert that at the end of the 18th century, not only under the influence of Western European literature, but also on the rich basis of centuries-old national traditions, various forms of domestic literature of "travels" were formed. And, of course, the genre of modern travel essay, widespread in Soviet literature, has its roots in the mists of time.

Word

The word is a kind of genre of ancient Russian eloquence. An example of the political variety of ancient Russian eloquence is the "Tale of Igor's Campaign". This work causes a lot of controversy about its authenticity. This is because the original text of The Tale of Igor's Campaign has not been preserved. It was destroyed by fire in 1812. Only copies have survived. Since that time, it has become fashionable to refute its authenticity. The word tells about the military campaign of Prince Igor against the Polovtsy, which took place in history in 1185. Researchers suggest that the author of the Tale of Igor's Campaign was one of the participants in the described campaign. Disputes about the authenticity of this work were conducted, in particular, because it is knocked out of the system of genres of ancient Russian literature by the unusualness of the artistic means and techniques used in it. Here the traditional chronological principle of narration is violated: the author is transferred to the past, then returns to the present (this was not typical for ancient Russian literature), the author makes lyrical digressions, insert episodes appear (Svyatoslav's dream, Yaroslavna's lament). There are a lot of elements of traditional oral folk art, symbols in the word. There is a clear influence of a fairy tale, an epic. The political background of the work is obvious: in the fight against a common enemy, the Russian princes must be united, disunity leads to death and defeat.

Another example of political eloquence is the "Word about the destruction of the Russian land", which was created immediately after the Mongol-Tatars came to Rus'. The author glorifies the bright past and mourns the present.

An example of a solemn variety of ancient Russian eloquence is Metropolitan Hilarion's "Sermon on Law and Grace", which was created in the first third of the 11th century. The word was written by Metropolitan Hilarion on the occasion of the completion of the construction of military fortifications in Kyiv. The word carries the idea of the political and military independence of Rus' from Byzantium. Under the "Law" Illarion understands the Old Testament, which was given to the Jews, but it does not suit the Russian and other peoples. Therefore, God gave the New Testament, which is called "Grace." In Byzantium, Emperor Constantine is revered, who contributed to the spread and establishment of Christianity there. Illarion says that Prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, who baptized Rus', is no worse than the Byzantine emperor and should also be revered by the Russian people. The case of Prince Vladimir is continued by Yaroslav the Wise. The main idea of the "Word about Law and Grace" is that Rus' is as good as Byzantium.

teaching

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

Apocrypha

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

Most of the apocrypha are entertaining plot stories that struck the imagination of readers either with everyday details about the life of Christ, the apostles, prophets unknown to them, or with miracles and fantastic visions. The church tried to fight apocryphal literature. Special lists of banned books were compiled - indexes. However, in judgments about which works are unconditionally “renounced books”, that is, unacceptable for reading by orthodox Christians, and which are only apocryphal (literally apocryphal - secret, intimate, that is, designed for a reader experienced in theological matters), medieval censors did not there was unity.

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

Chapter 2. History of the study of monuments of ancient Russian literature

Russian literature until the 18th century. traditionally referred to as "ancient". During this time, the historical life of Russia passed the ancient period of its existence, then the medieval one, and approximately from the 17th century, according to the definition of V. I. Lenin, enters a new period of its development. Thus, the name of Russian literature before the XVIII century. "ancient", which is not consistent with the chronological division of the Russian historical process by periods, is largely conditional, meaning only that it is characterized by significant qualitative features that distinguish it from the subsequent literature, which we call new.

In the development of our literary heritage, which is part of the general cultural heritage, ancient Russian literature has a significant place, determined primarily by the fact that it was the initial stage in the development of great Russian literature, which acquired world significance. The high ideological content inherent in the new Russian literature, its nationality, its lively connection with the pressing issues of social life characterize ancient Russian literature in its most significant achievements. Ancient Russian literature, like the new one, was mainly journalistic and topical in its orientation due to the fact that it took a direct part in the ideological and political struggle of its time, which reflected the class struggle in Russian society.

The very concept of fiction as an area formally autonomous and delimited from other areas of culture did not exist among us in antiquity, at least if we have in mind written literature, and not oral creativity. This circumstance especially tangibly allows us to reveal the historical and social ties that existed between ancient Russian literary monuments and the era that gave birth to them. 1

The collection of monuments of ancient Russian literature began in the 18th century. Much attention is paid to their study by V. Tatishchev, G. Miller, A. Shletser. The remarkable work of V. N. Tatishchev “Russian History from Ancient Times” has not lost its source study significance even today. Its creator used a number of such materials, which were then irretrievably lost.

In the second half of the XVIII century. publication of some monuments of ancient writing begins. Separate works of our ancient literature are included in his "Ancient Russian Vifliophics" II by I. Novikov (the first edition was published in 1773-1774 in 10 parts, the second - in 1778-1791 in 20 parts). He also owns the “Experience of a Historical Dictionary of Russian Writers” (1772), which collected information about the life and work of more than three hundred writers of the 11th-18th centuries.

An important event in the history of the study of ancient Russian literature was the publication in 1800 of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, which aroused a keen interest in the past in Russian society. "The Columbus of ancient Russia", according to the definition of A. S. Pushkin, was N. M. Karamzin. His "History of the Russian State" was created on the basis of a study of handwritten sources, and precious extracts from these sources were placed in the comments, some of which then perished (for example, the Trinity Chronicle).

In the first third of the last century, the circle of Count N. Rumyantsev played an important role in collecting, publishing and studying the monuments of ancient Russian literature.

Members of the Rumyantsev circle published a number of valuable scientific materials. In 1818, K. Kalaidovich published "Old Russian Poems of Kirsha Danilov", in 1821 - "Monuments of Russian Literature of the XII century", and in 1824 the study "John Exarch of Bulgaria" was published.

Evgeny Bolkhovitinov undertook the colossal work on the creation of bibliographic reference books. Based on the study of handwritten material, in 1818 he publishes the Historical Dictionary of Writers of the Spiritual Order of the Greek-Russian Church who were in Russia, in 2 volumes,

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including 238 names ("Dictionary" was reprinted in 1827 and in 1995). His second work, Dictionary of Russian Secular Writers, Compatriots and Strangers Who Wrote in Russia, was published posthumously: the beginning of the Dictionary was in 1838, and in full in 1845 by M.P. Pogodin (reprint reprint 1971 G.).

The beginning of the scientific description of manuscripts was laid by A. Vostokov, who published in 1842 "Description of Russian and Slovenian Manuscripts of the Rumyantsev Museum".

By the end of the 30s of the XIX century. enthusiastic scientists collected a huge amount of handwritten material. For its study, processing and publications at the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1834, an Archaeographic Commission was established. This commission began the publication of the most important monuments: the complete collection of Russian chronicles (from the 40s of the last century to the present day 39 volumes have been published), legal, hagiographic monuments, in particular, the publication of Metropolitan Makariy's "Great Menaions" has begun.

In the 40s of the XIX century. The Society for the History and Antiquities of Russia actively operates at Moscow University, publishing its materials in special Readings (CHOIDR). There is a "Society of lovers of ancient writing" in St. Petersburg. The works of the members of these societies publish the series "Monuments of Ancient Literature", "Russian Historical Library".

The first attempt to systematize historical and literary material was made in 1822 by N. I. Grech in his “Experience in a Brief History of Russian Literature”.

A significant step forward was the History of Ancient Russian Literature (1838) by M. A. Maksimovich, a professor at Kyiv University. Here the periodization of literature is given in accordance with the periodization of civil history. The main part of the book is devoted to the presentation of general bibliographic information about the composition of the written language of this period.

The popularization of the works of ancient Russian literature and folk literature was facilitated by the publication of I. P. Sakharov's "Tales of the Russian people" in the second half of the 30s - early 40s. The nature of this edition was reviewed in detail on the pages of Otechestvennye Zapiski by V. G. Belinsky. 1

Old Russian literature was devoted to a special course of lectures delivered at Moscow University by Professor S.P. Shevyrev. This course, entitled "The History of Russian Literature", was first published in the second half of the 40s and then was reprinted twice: in 1858-1860. in 1887 S.P. Shevyrev collected a large amount of factual material, but he approached its interpretation from a Slavophile standpoint. However, his course summarized everything that had been accumulated by researchers by the 1940s. The systematic study of ancient Russian literature begins in the middle of the last century. Russian philological science at that time was represented by the outstanding scientists F.I. Buslaev, A.N. Pypin, N.S. Tikhonravov, A. N. Veselovsky.

The most significant works of F.I. Buslaev in the field of ancient writing are "Historical reader of the Church Slavonic and Old Russian languages" (1861) and "Historical essays on Russian folk literature and art" in 2 volumes (1861).

Reader F. I. Buslaev became an outstanding phenomenon not only of its time. It contained the texts of many monuments of ancient writing on the basis of manuscripts with their variants given. The scientist tried to present ancient Russian writing in all its variety of genre forms, included in the anthology with literary works monuments of business and church writing.

"Historical Essays" is devoted to the study of works of oral folk literature (1st volume) and ancient Russian literature and art (2nd volume). Sharing a point of view

the so-called "historical school" created by the brothers Grimm and Bopp, Buslaev, however, went further than his teachers. In the works of folklore, ancient literature, he does not

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1 Belinsky V.G. Full coll. cit.: In 13 t. M., 1954.

only looked for their "historical" - mythological - basis, but also connected their analysis with specific historical phenomena of Russian life, way of life, geographical environment.

Buslaev was one of the first in our science to raise the question of the need for an aesthetic study of the works of ancient Russian literature. He drew attention to the nature of her poetic imagery, noting the leading role of the symbol. Many interesting observations were made by the scientist in the field of the relationship between ancient literature and folklore, literature and fine arts, he tried in a new way to solve the issue of the nationality of ancient Russian literature.

By the 1970s, Buslaev departed from the “historical” school and began to share the positions of the “borrowing” school, the theoretical provisions of which were developed by T. Benfey in the Panchatantra. F. I. Buslaev expounds his new theoretical position in the article Passing Tales (1874), considering the historical and literary process as a history of borrowing plots and motifs that pass from one people to another.

A. N. Pypin began his scientific activity with the study of ancient Russian literature. In 1858, he published his master's thesis "Essay on the Literary History of Old Russian Tales and Tales", devoted to the consideration of mainly translated Old Russian stories.

Then the attention of A. N. Pypin was attracted by the apocrypha, and he was the first to introduce this most interesting type of ancient Russian writing into scientific circulation, devoting a number of scientific articles to the apocrypha and publishing them in the third issue of “Monuments of Ancient Russian Literature”, published by Kushelev-Bezborodko, “False and repudiated books of Russian antiquity.

A. N. Pypin summed up the result of his many years of studying Russian literature in the four-volume History of Russian Literature, the first edition of which was published in 1898-1899. (the first two volumes were devoted to Old Russian literature).

Sharing the views of the cultural-historical school, A. N. Pypin does not actually single out literature from general culture. He refuses the chronological distribution of monuments over the centuries, arguing that "due to the conditions in which our writing was formed, it almost does not know chronology." In his classification of monuments, A. N. Pypin seeks to “combine the homogeneous, although different in origin.”

The works of academician N. S. Tikhonravov are of great importance in the development of scientific textual criticism of not only ancient, but also modern Russian literature. From 1859 to 1863 he published seven editions of the Chronicles of Russian Literature and Antiquities, where a number of monuments were published. In 1863, N. S. Tikhonravov published 2 volumes of “Monuments of Renounced Russian Literature”, which compares favorably in completeness and quality of textual work with the publication of A. N. Pypin. Tikhonravov began studying the history of Russian theater and drama at the end of the 17th - the first quarter of the 18th century, which resulted in the publication in 1874 of the texts of Russian dramatic works of 1672-1725. in 2 volumes.

A huge contribution to the domestic philological science was made by Academician A. N. Veselovsky. He paid great attention to the relationship between literature and folklore, devoting such interesting works to them as "Experiments on the history of the development of the Christian legend" (1875-1877) and "Investigations in the field of Russian spiritual verse" (1879-1891). In the latter work, he applied the principle of the sociological study of literary phenomena, which became the leading one in the most significant theoretical works of the scientist.

Veselovsky's general literary concept was idealistic in nature, but it contained many rational grains, many correct observations, which were then used by Soviet literary criticism. Speaking about the history of the study of ancient Russian literature in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, it is impossible not to mention such a remarkable Russian philologist and historian as Academician A. A. Shakhmatov. The breadth of knowledge, extraordinary philological talent, scrupulousness of textual analysis made it possible to achieve brilliant results in the study of the fate of ancient Russian chronicles.

The successes achieved by Russian philological science in the field of studying ancient writing by the beginning of the 20th century were consolidated in the historical and literary courses of P. Vladimirov “Ancient Russian literature of the Kyiv period (XI-XIII centuries)” (Kyiv, 1901), A.S. Arkhangelsky “From lectures on the history of Russian literature” (vol. 1, 1916), E. V. Petukhov “Russian literature. Ancient period "(3rd ed. Pg., 1916), M. N. Speransky" History of ancient Russian literature "(3rd ed. M., 1920). Here it is appropriate to note the book by V.N. Peretz "A Brief Essay on the Methodology of the History of Russian Literature", last published in 1922.

All these works, distinguished by the great content of the factual material contained in them, gave only a static idea of ancient Russian literature. The history of ancient literature was considered as a history of changing influences: Byzantine, first South Slavic, second South Slavic, Western European (Polish). Class analysis was not applied to literary phenomena. Such important facts of the development of democratic literature of the 17th century as satire were not considered at all.

The works of academicians A. S. Orlov and N. K. Gudziya were of great importance in creating the scientific history of ancient Russian literature. “Ancient Russian literature of the XI-XVI centuries. (lecture course)" by A. S. Orlov (the book was supplemented, republished and named "Old Russian Literature of the XI-XVII Centuries" / 1945 /) and "History of Ancient Russian Literature" by N. K. Gudzia (from 1938 to 1966 the book went through seven editions) combined the historicism of the approach to the phenomena of literature with their class and sociological analysis, paid attention, especially the book of A. S. Orlov, to the artistic specificity of the monuments. Each section of N. K. Gudziya's textbook was supplied with rich reference bibliographic material, which was systematically supplemented by the author.

In recent years, the problem of studying the artistic specifics of ancient Russian literature has been put forward as a central one: method, style, genre system, and relationships with fine arts. A great contribution to the development of these issues was made by V. P. Adrianov-Peretz, N. K. Gudziy, O. A. Derzhavina, L. A. Dmitriev, I. P. Eremin, V. D. Kuzmina, N. A. Meshchersky, A. V. Pozdneev, N. I. Prokofiev, V. F. Rzhiga.

D. S. Likhachev's contribution to the development of these problems is immeasurable. Dmitry Sergeevich has said more than once that ancient Russian literature is “still silent”, has not yet become well known and understandable to the modern reader. Indeed, those studying the history of their native literature and literature at school might have thought that, apart from The Tale of Igor's Campaign, there is almost nothing in Old Russian literature, or almost nothing has been preserved of it. Therefore, for millions of his fellow citizens (not to mention foreign readers), Dmitry Sergeyevich became one of the pioneers of ancient Russian literature - this vast cultural continent, which the scientist himself considered the spiritual home of all Russian culture.

Academician D.S. Likhachev considered the greatest value of ancient Russian literature to be that in Ancient Rus' it "was more than literature." In the article “Miscellaneous about Literature”, he draws amazing conclusions: “In no other country in the world, from the very beginning of its inception, did literature play such a huge state and social role as that of the Eastern Slavs.” “At the time of the decline of political unity and the weakening of the military, literature replaced the state. Hence, from the very beginning and throughout all centuries, the enormous social responsibility of our literatures - Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian.

"Literature has risen over Russia like a huge protective dome - it has become a shield of its unity, a moral shield." 1

How did the scientist Dmitry Sergeevich try to understand the spiritual origins and literary sources of this great feat-phenomenon: why was ancient Russian literature able to fulfill such an important mission, what made its high service possible? Considering the merits of the Russian literature of the New Age, the scientist gave the following answer: “The literature of the New Age took from the Old Russian its teaching character, its moral basis and its “philosophical nature”, i.e. connection of philosophy with the general phenomena of culture - art, science, etc.

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1 Likhachev D.S. Miscellaneous about literature // Notes and observations: from notebooks of different years. - L.: Owls. writer. Leningrad. department, 1989.

The literature of the New Age has retained the most valuable thing that was in the literature of Ancient Rus': a high level of morality, interest in worldview problems, the richness of the language.

“Someday, when Russian readers become more interested in their past, the greatness of the literary feat of Russian literature will become completely clear to them and the ignorant slandering of Rus' will be replaced by an informed respect for its moral and aesthetic values.”

Love for the motherland, which nourished both joy and pain in Ancient Rus', the protection of good and opposition to evil, the desire to preserve their national traditions and the thirst for something new - all this, according to the scientist, “was the great glory of ancient Russian literature, which created good soil for the dawn new literature. In essence, - Dmitry Sergeevich wrote, - all the works of ancient Russian literature, due to the unity of their orientation and commitment to the historical basis (“historicism”), were in the aggregate a single huge work - about humanity and the meaning of its existence.

Old Russian literature appears as if suddenly, D.S. Likhachev. “We have in front of us, as it were, works of literature that are mature and perfect, complex and deep in content, testifying to a developed national and historical self-awareness.”

The scientist means the sudden, at first glance, “the appearance of such works of ancient Russian literature as Metropolitan Hilarion’s “Sermon on Law and Grace”, as the “Initial Chronicle” with a different range of works included in it, such as “Teachings of Theodosius of the Caves”, as "Instruction of Prince Vladimir Monomakh", "The Life of Boris and Gleb", "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves", etc. ". 1

Another theoretical problem worried D.S. Likhachev and repeatedly attracted his attention - this is the problem of the genre system of ancient Russian literature and, more broadly, of all Slavic literatures of the Middle Ages. This problem was posed and developed by him in the reports at the international congresses of Slavists "The system of literary genres of Ancient Rus'" (1963), "Old Slavic literatures as a system" (1968) and "The origin and development of genres of ancient Russian literature" (1973). In them, for the first time, the panorama of genre diversity was presented in all its complexity, the hierarchy of genres was identified and studied, and the problem of the close interdependence of genres and stylistic devices in ancient Slavic literatures was posed.

The history of literature faces a special task: to study not only individual genres, but also the principles on which genre divisions are carried out, to study their history and the system itself, designed to serve certain literary and non-literary needs and possessing some kind of internal stability. A broad plan for studying the system of genres of the 11th–17th centuries, developed by Dmitry Sergeevich, also includes clarifying the relationship between literary genres and folklore, the connection of literature with other types of arts, literature and business writing. The importance of the works of Dmitry Sergeevich lies precisely in the fact that he clearly formulated the main objectives of the study and the originality of the very concept of "genre" as applied to the literature of Ancient Rus'.

He studied chronicles, their growth and change in the ways of writing chronicles, their conditionality due to the uniqueness of the Russian historical process. This manifested a deep interest in the problem of the artistic mastery of ancient Russian literature, characteristic of all the work of Dmitry Sergeevich, and he considers the style of literature and fine arts as a manifestation of the unity of artistic consciousness. He presents in a new way the connection between the chronicle of the 11th-12th centuries. with folk poetry and living Russian; in the chronicles of the XII-XIII centuries. reveals a special genre of "tales of feudal crimes"; notes a peculiar revival in North-Eastern Rus' of the political and cultural heritage of the ancient Russian state after the Kulikovo victory; shows the relationship of individual spheres of Russian culture of the XV-XVI centuries. with the historical situation of that time and with the struggle to build

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1 Likhachev D.S. The emergence of Russian literature. M., 1952.

centralized Russian state.

The cycle of works by D.S. Likhachev devoted to Russian chronicle writing is of value, primarily because they gave the right direction to the study of artistic elements.

chronicles at different stages of its development; they finally approved for the annals a place of honor among the literary monuments of the historical genre. In addition, a thorough study of the features of chronicle narration allowed Dmitry Sergeevich to develop the question of forms of creativity bordering on literature - about military and veche speeches, about business forms of writing, about the symbolism of etiquette, which occurs in everyday life, but significantly affects literature itself.

D.S. Likhachev was primarily interested in ways of depicting a person - his character and inner world. 1

In 1958, D.S. Likhachev published the book “Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'”. In this book, the “problem of character” is explored not only on the basis of historical genres: from the end of the 14th century. hagiography is involved; "new" in the development of this problem is widely shown on samples of various types of democratic literature of the 17th century. and baroque style. Naturally, the author could not exhaust all literary sources in one study, however, within the limits of the studied material, he reflected the historical development of such basic concepts as character, type, literary fiction. He clearly showed what a difficult path Russian literature went through before turning to depicting the inner world of a person, his character, i.e. to artistic generalization leading from idealization to typification.

The book "Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'" is a serious contribution not only to the study of the history of ancient Russian literature. The method of scientific research underlying it and the important generalizations that it contains are of great interest to both the art critic and the researcher of new Russian literature, and to the theorist of literature and aesthetics in the broad sense of the word.

Literature is not a natural science theory, not a doctrine, and not an ideology. Literature teaches to live by depicting. She teaches to see, to see the world and man. This means that ancient Russian literature taught to see a person capable of goodness, taught to see the world as a place of application of human kindness, as a world that can change for the better. Therefore, one of the spiritual and moral commandments of Dmitry Sergeevich says: "Be conscientious: all morality is in conscience." 2

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1 Likhachev D.S. Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'. M., 1958

2 Monuments of renounced Russian literature / Collected and published by N. Tikhonravov. T. I. SPb., 1863; T. II. M., 1863

EXPERIMENTAL WORK

In practical work, I systematized and summarized all the knowledge gained from the methodological works cited above. The paper below analyzes current literature programs and provides experience in teaching Old Russian literature.

ABOUT OLD RUSSIAN LITERATURE AT SCHOOL

Ancient literature is endowed with high moral principles, it glorifies the ideals of the spiritual beauty of man, the ideals of asceticism, heroism and greatness of the Russian land. This is a powerful source of moral education, instilling a sense of national pride, faith in the creative forces of the Russian people. “Being more fully aware of the past, we understand the present, sinking deeper into the meaning of the past - we reveal the meaning of the future; looking back, we step forward” (A.I. Herzen).

The study of artistic monuments allows us to trace the traditions of ancient Russian literature in the literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, helps to solve the most important problems of the literary process - the problem of originality and national specificity, the problem of interaction between literature and folklore. And the variety of literary monuments testifies to the emergence of a number of literary forms during this period (hagiography, rhetoric, walking-journey, journalism, story, poetry, drama).

The study of ancient literature has a number of features. First of all, it must be borne in mind that the literary monuments of the ancient period were handwritten and were far from being preserved in full. The handwritten tradition led to the creation of a large number of variants, for the scribe usually arbitrarily changed the text, adapting it to the needs and tastes of his time and his environment. If during the correspondence the deviations from the original were insignificant, then only a new list appeared. More significant changes that concerned the ideological content, style or composition of the work led to the emergence of a new edition of the literary monument. The question of authorship is also complicated. The names of most of the authors of monuments of ancient literature have not reached us. This deprives us of an important factor in the study of literature - acquaintance with the biography of the writer, his life and work. The presence of lists and editions created at different times, the anonymity of the monuments make it difficult to chronologically date many works of ancient Rus'.

In 1988 academician D.S. Likhachev wrote: “It surprises me how little time is given at school to the study of ancient Russian culture.” “Due to insufficient familiarity with Russian culture, there is a widespread opinion among young people that everything Russian is uninteresting, secondary, borrowed, superficial. The systematic teaching of literature is designed to destroy this misconception. 1

Until the beginning of the nineties, only one work of literature of Ancient Rus' - "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - was studied at school, and the transition of the school curriculum from this great monument immediately to the 19th century created a feeling of a failure in time and space of literature and Russian culture. The conclusion made by Likhachev summed up what was urgent and prompted him to take action. A few years later, the study of works of ancient literature was increasingly included in school practice. They are represented by different genres in literature programs edited by T.F. Kurdyumova, A.G. Kutuzova, V.Ya. Korovina, V.G. Marantsman. However, the range of texts in them is the same and only varies. The works are recommended both for studying in the classroom, and for introductory reading, independent reading with subsequent discussion, extracurricular

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1 Likhachev D.S. Poetics of ancient Russian literature. - M., 1979

reading. Texts for memorization are determined. The teacher and the student are given the right to choose works.

In most literature programs in general education schools, works of Old Russian literature are studied from grades 5 to 9, and a meager number of teaching hours are allocated to this literature. There is no information about Old Russian literature in the program of 10th-11th grades.

For a more realistic idea of the study of Old Russian literature, you can analyze the current literature programs.

1. A brief analysis of the literature program by V.Ya. Korovina:

If we carefully analyze the literature program of V.Ya. Korovina, we will see that 7 hours are allotted for the study of medieval Russian literature. The study begins in the 5th grade and ends in the 9th grade.

The Tale of Bygone Years is being studied, the program edited by V.Ya. Korovina refers to it three times:

Grade 5 - schoolchildren read "The feat of the youth - a Kievan and the cunning of the governor Pretich";

Grade 6 - "The Tale of Bygone Years", "The Tale of Kozhemyak", "The Tale of Belgorod Kissel", acquaintance with Russian chronicles;

Grade 7 - "On the benefits of books", "Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh" (excerpt) and "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom";

Grade 8 - "The Life of Alexander Nevsky";

Grade 9 - review topic "Literature of Ancient Rus'" and "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

2. Brief analysis of the program on literature by A.G. Kutuzov:

Grade 5 - Bible, New Testament, Legends and legends about Jesus Christ, "The Life of Boris and Gleb";

Grade 7 - "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh", "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom", Analysis of the Old Russian text;

Grade 8 - “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “Where did the Russian land come from ...”, “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”, “Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh”, “Letter of Ambrose of Optinsky ...”;

Grade 10 - Periodization of Russian literature. Old Russian literature: basic aesthetic principles, genre system. Traditions of Old Russian Literature in the Works of Writers of the 18th Century. Ancient and new Russian literature: general and special.

3. A brief analysis of the literature program by T.F. Kurdyumova:

Grade 5 - Bible;

Grade 8 - "The Tale of Bygone Years", The story of the death of Oleg in the "Initial Chronicle", "The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu", "The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky", "Reverend Sergius of Radonezh";

Grade 9 - "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

4. A brief analysis of the literature program by V.G. Marantsman:

Grade 6 - Biblical tales, The story of Oleg's campaign against Constantinople;

Grade 7 - "Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh";

Grade 8 - "The Life of Peter and Fevronia" or "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh", extracurricular reading - "The Tale of Basarga", "The Tale of Dracula";

Grade 9 - "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

In such conditions, the issue of the quality of the content of educational material is put forward not in the quantity of the studied works, but in the first place.

How do we study ancient Russian literature now? The main problem in the study of ancient Russian literature as a whole is the hermeneutic problem, that is, the task of reading, interpreting and interpreting texts. The most important elements of hermeneutic analysis are the identification of the author's intention and the reconstruction of the reading of this work by the author's contemporaries. This doesn't always work out. The texts of Old Russian literature are difficult for schoolchildren to understand. One of the reasons for the misunderstanding is the Russians' poor knowledge of their history. Another reason is the change in the mentality of modern man. The stereotypes of public consciousness, norms of behavior, human thinking have changed, old words have acquired a new meaning, actions have been filled with a different content.

When studying ancient Russian literature, it is important to imagine what the world of medieval man was like?

For a long time, the impression was created of the Russian Middle Ages as a time in which senselessly barbaric customs and mores reigned, which it was necessary to get rid of, since the domination of the church and lack of freedom were clearly perceived as evil.

Currently, researchers are developing a new direction - historical anthropology. The attention of scientists is focused not on political or economic development, but on a person with his inner world, the totality of a person's relationship to the cultural space surrounding him, in other words, on the image of the world. Including Old Russian literature in the school curriculum, we must understand that the texts chosen for study are full-fledged sources for children. We must realize the full responsibility for what will be the first experience of the student's contact with a medieval source. In fact, we are creating a precedent for a child to communicate with representatives of another culture, carriers of a different worldview. The formation of students' position in relation to our time, to the role of modern cultural tradition in the process of human development largely depends on how thoughtful and meaningful the teacher's attempt to introduce students into the world of someone else's consciousness.

In the Russian Middle Ages, one of the central concepts was the concept of truth. Medieval man was distinguished by the fact that his mood was different: the truth for him was already open and defined in the texts of Holy Scripture. Medieval culture was guided by the ideal embodied in the Holy Scriptures. We look forward to the future with optimism. In Ancient Rus', the future carried the idea of the End of the World, the inevitable Last Judgment. State in the understanding of contemporaries of the XV - XVII centuries. - the main means of collective salvation. The attitude towards the state is the attitude towards the sovereign, prince or king, who bears the main responsibility for the salvation of the people entrusted to him by the Lord. The sovereign fulfills the commandments of the Lord on earth, any of his actions and decisions, including executions and torture, are consecrated by the church. Treason to the sovereign was regarded as a betrayal of God, as a violation of the commandments of Christ and an appeal to the Antichrist.

Man in ancient Russian literature is a creation of God and a servant of the Lord, faith and service to God does not humiliate, but elevates a person, calls him to follow the path of high moral, social and patriotic ideals. The awareness of Rus' as the successor of the Orthodox Byzantium forced the Russian people to protect from enemies not only their native land, but also the shrine of Christian Orthodox culture.

In ancient Russian culture, the Word was perceived as a sacred phenomenon. The new time brought with it a different, secular attitude to the Word. Turning to the works of ancient Russian literature, it must be remembered that the Word of man was sanctified by the Word of God. The speech itself, as Christians believed, was given to man for communication with God, and it was a sin to defile God's gift with an unworthy topic.

Old Russian literature is the light that illuminates our spiritual life. It is not only an integral part of Russian history, but also inscribed in the context of world artistic culture. The teacher must imagine the richness and beauty of the ancient Word, the diverse connections of each work with the phenomena of history and culture, must put into the minds of children an idea of the deep roots of their native literature, of the great origins of the Russian soul.

Unlike general educational programs in literature, the educational program “Old Russian Literature” developed by me includes not only a more detailed study of the genre specifics of Old Russian literature, a large number of carefully selected texts and a deep analysis of each of them, but also a close relationship between literature and Orthodoxy. After all, as you know, literature in Rus' began to develop only after the adoption of Christianity.

The study of the literary process is chronological: at the same time, in the classroom, literature is supplemented with historical references of a given period. Such a spiral comprehension of the material ensures the systematic nature of education and its continuity: the knowledge gained at one educational level is in demand at each of the subsequent ones and, thanks to the emergence of ever new semantic perspectives, is continuously enriched and deepened. , "The main lines of study of ancient Russian literature")

To attract to the study of ancient Russian literature and more effective perception of the material, I use such forms of lesson as a lesson-research, a lesson-debate, a round table, correspondence excursions of the conference.

Mental actions that make it possible to make lessons more effective include the analysis of a literary text (the plot and composition of a work, genre specificity, features of stylistic means), as well as the correct determination of the place of a work in the historical-literary and historical-cultural process of its time, in the spiritual context of the era , his influence on the subsequent literary tradition, laboratory work, work on expressive reading, on dates. The study of the word in its artistic specificity does not exclude serious vocabulary work on unfamiliar, new words, their meaning, origin.

Reading texts of ancient Russian literature plays a huge role. Children must be taught to listen to the rhythm and music of words, to study the construction of phrases, to visualize the events depicted in the work. Old Russian texts educate children in the spirit of high morality, love for their homeland.

In literature classes, I turn to feedback techniques: an interview after class, a quiz at the beginning of the lesson that precedes home reading, lesson notes in a notebook, compiling a topic dictionary, continuing to read an excerpt from a work, writing compositions of various genres, conducting a correspondence tour of the cities of Ancient Rus', monasteries and cells of Russian Saints, drawing up a plan on the topic for the lesson, at the lesson, after the lesson.

During the academic year, three times - at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the year, the knowledge, skills and abilities of students in the association "Old Russian literature" are checked. (Appendix No. III "Analysis of knowledge, skills, skills of students in the association" Old Russian literature ")

After analyzing the diagnostics of knowledge, skills and abilities, we can conclude positive results.

At the beginning of the academic year, out of 20 students of the first year of study, 55% had a high level of knowledge, skills and abilities, with an average level of 30% and a low level of 15%. In the middle of the academic year, they significantly changed, though not significantly: with a high level - 65%, with an average level of 25%, with a low level -10%.

For students of the second year of study in the amount of 42 people, the indicators at the beginning of the academic year were as follows: with a high level - 55%, with an average level - 30%, with a low level -15%. In the middle of the academic year, the indicators changed significantly: a high level - 85%, an average level -15%.

Basic techniques, forms and methods of study

ancient Russian literature

1 year of study

Acquaintance of students with ancient Russian literature occurs through photographs and the ancient books themselves and literary scholars-researchers - this is N.K. Gudziy, D.S. Likhachev, V.V. Kuskov, V.P. Adrianov-Peretz, N.I. Prokofiev and others, their statements are given. With the help of maps of the ancient Russian state in the 9th century, children get acquainted with the Slavic tribes, their settlement in Ancient Rus'. (Appendix No. IV “Map of the settlement of Slavic peoples in the 9th century)

Before turning directly to the works of ancient Russian literature, it is necessary to turn to the history of the adoption of Christianity by the Russian people, thanks to which Ancient Rus' learned writing and literature. (Appendix No. IV “Literacy of Ancient Rus'”, “Life of Russian people in the XIV - XV centuries.”)

Using maps, paintings and illustrations, the features of the development of the culture of the ancient Russian state (10-17 centuries) are revealed:

major historical and political events in Russia;

development of ancient Russian art:

a) architecture: an idea of the wooden architecture of Ancient Rus' is given by illustrations: peasant huts, a princely palace. Stone architecture.

b) painting: iconography, frescoes, mosaics, temple painting. Using the illustrations on the example of the decoration of the Hagia Sophia in Kyiv, I talk about mosaics, frescoes, and smalts. In an Orthodox church, one could always see icons. Icons appear in the days of early Christianity. Evangelist Luke, an artist by profession, painted several images of the Mother of God. Icon painting is the art of depicting saints according to strictly defined canons. The first icons came to Rus' from Byzantium.

The icon should always be present in the lesson. Lessons devoted to the study of iconography can be held in the form of excursions both by correspondence and to the temple. Students in the role of guides introduce the history of painting icons, types of icons of the Mother of God and the iconostasis, with icon painters and their creations. During the course of the entire course of study, students should learn to read icons - who is depicted on them - a martyr, a prince, a stylist, a reverend and, of course, know the icons of the saints they study. To do this, you can use not only original icons, but also templates that children can color in the color typical for writing icons.

(Appendix No. IV "Recipes for icons")

For a more detailed idea of the formation of the ancient Russian state, its political and cultural heyday, the "Tale of Bygone Years" is being studied. This outstanding historical and literary monument was created in the 12th century. The focus of the chronicle is the Russian land and its historical fate from the moment of its origin to the end of the 12th century. It was a time of princely strife, frequent raids on Rus'. With pain and anxiety, the chronicler monks peered into the decaying fatherland, tormented by both its princes and enemies. It was necessary to understand, to understand why the former power was being lost, why it became unpeaceful on the Russian land and the enemies grew bolder again. To do this, it was necessary to remember what Rus' was like under the old princes, “fathers and grandfathers”, etc. ... “in order to “teach” the princes-contemporaries of political state wisdom, reasonable government. This prompted the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery to become historians. "The Tale of Bygone Years" is not the history of princes, but the history of the state, the history of the Russian land. Therefore, no matter how great the role of an individual, a prince, he is of interest to chroniclers not in himself, but only as a participant in the history of the state, the history of the Russian land. fight against external enemies. (Appendix No. IV "Map of the reign of Grand Duke Svyatoslav X century", "Map of the Old Russian state of the XI - XIII centuries", "Invasion of the Mongol Khan Batu XIII century", "Map of military campaigns of the princes of the Old Russian state")

In order for schoolchildren to touch the true history already in the first lesson, you can show a reproduction of the first page of the Tale ..., and if possible, show ancient books. A graceful ornament built from geometric shapes, interlacing lines, turning into the image of a bird that looks like an eagle. Pay attention to how letters, words, font-charter were written. Using illustrations and reproductions of paintings, we get acquainted with the chroniclers - Nikon, Sylvester and Nestor, as well as with the monasteries and cells of the chronicler monks. At the end of the study of this memo, the children should answer the question: Why was it so important for our ancestors to write down that “in the summer” such and such events occurred? Because life, thus, acquired universal human significance, the Russian land was comprehended in system of the world, Russian history became part of the history of mankind. The Tale of Bygone Years begins from the Flood, the chronicler speaks of the origin of the Slavs from Japheth, one of the sons of Noah. This is how Russian history is interpreted as a continuation of Sacred History. At the same time, the chronicler asserts the right of every nation to have its own customs, which are passed down from fathers to children. This is how the author's patriotism and at the same time his universal ideals are manifested.

From the pages of the Tale, children learn about the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery and the icon painter Alympia.

At the same time, when studying the Tale of Bygone Years » there is a detailed acquaintance with the first rulers of Ancient Rus'. (Appendix No. IV "The First Rulers of Ancient Rus'") A special place in the gallery of the first rulers is occupied by Prince Vladimir and his sons Boris and Gleb, as the founders of Orthodoxy in Rus'. When studying the personality of Prince Vladimir, I use worksheets for students on this topic, while the emphasis is on the choice of Prince Vladimir as the main religion of Rus' - Orthodoxy. (Appendix No. IV "Prince Vladimir", "Baptism of Rus'").

With further study of ancient Russian literature, a Rurik family tree should be created, where the baptist of Ancient Russia, Prince Vladimir, will occupy the leading place. (Appendix No. IV “Rurik family tree”).

Using this development, the assimilation of the material will be more effective. This is especially evident when getting acquainted with the genres of ancient Russian literature, where special attention is paid to the genre of hagiography. The works of this genre give us an example of a correct (i.e. righteous) life, telling about people who steadily followed the commandments of Christ, walked along the path He indicated. Lives convince us that every person can live righteously. The heroes of the lives were a variety of people: monks, peasants, townspeople and princes. In the lessons, 2 types of lives are distinguished - monastic and princely. When analyzing hagiographic works, the structure of the canonical life is used. (Appendix No. IIV "The structure of the canonical life")

An example of the first type is the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh. These lessons bring to mind the gospel parable about talents: how did the venerable fathers multiply the “talent” given to them by God? Children need to constantly repeat the idea that any life hero is, first of all, a moral model of a person of Ancient Rus'. It would be appropriate to draw parallels with our time: what spiritual qualities were valued by our ancestors, what was their ideal and what constitutes the subject of the aspiration of a perfect person. Who is the modern hero? The possibilities for conversations on moral education are truly inexhaustible.

The conversation about St. Sergius can be ended with a lesson in which to make a correspondence excursion to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. It will be useful to recall the names of the disciples of the monk, who founded the holy monasteries in all parts of the Russian land. The theme of apprenticeship, spiritual succession, learning from the good experience of personal life, love will be the main one in this lesson. It is necessary to emphasize the connection of the spiritual feat of St. Sergius with the revival of Rus' in our time.

In the lessons that study the lives of princes (for example, the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, saints Boris and Gleb), you need to emphasize the spiritual meaning of princely service, ask the children to comment on the words of the prophet Isaiah, spoken by him on behalf of the Lord: “I appoint princes, they are sacred, and I lead them." An icon and a variety of paintings will help to comprehend, understand the character of Alexander Nevsky (his military exploits and moral merits) (it is important not to forget about reproductions of paintings, examine them and compare them, think about whether the students imagined the appearance of Alexander Nevsky). You can use a comparison of A. Maykov's poem “The Death of Alexander Nevsky and the text of the Life.

No less interesting for students are the thoughts of literary scholars about the importance of literary and historical commentary, which helps to truly comprehend what they read.

“Only a comprehensive knowledge of the era,” the scientist writes, “helps us perceive the individual, understand the monument of art not superficially, but deeply ... Historical, historical-cultural, historical-literary commentary on the monument is the only dictionary with which you can to read it for its comprehensive understanding.

Studying the "Tale of Igor's Campaign", the range of issues under study is highlighted, which is associated with different aspects of the "Lay". It is necessary to talk about the prerequisites for writing the Lay, which are directly related to the idea of the work - the unity of the Russian land. The images of the main characters - Igor, Svyatoslav and Yaroslavna - require consideration, as they combine the features of ordinary people and representatives of the princely family, they are ambiguous, each in its own way reflects the main idea of the work. An appeal to A. Borodin's opera "Prince Igor" and paintings by Russian artists about the prince will help to reveal the images more vividly. All lessons involve working with the text of the Word, as it contains answers to many questions related to the study of the Word. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the features of the genre, the composition of the work inextricably linked with its plot. Also, children need to be introduced to various translations of the Lay (by Likhachev, Zhukovsky, Maikov and Zabolotsky).

During the study of the work, students are asked to fill in the table

	I want to know
1. The main characters are historical figures.
2. Other historical figures mentioned in the "Word".


5.Historical events.
6. Omens.
7. The idea of the "Word"

After studying the Lay, children should have an idea about this work as the greatest monument of ancient Russian literature.

Starting to read the texts of ancient Russian literature: “From praise to Prince Yaroslav and books » , “Instruction” by Vladimir Monomakh”, it is important that students master this material slowly, feeling the special style of the ancient literature of our Fatherland, realizing the high moral principles and the peculiar mood of the teachings and unhurried stories. That is why I would like a short passage about the benefits of books to be read to the children in Church Slavonic as well.

Before reading the Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh, it is necessary to tell about Vladimir Monomakh himself, who was an outstanding figure of Ancient Rus', a prominent statesman, a man of “great intelligence and literary talent. He earned devoted love for himself and great respect among his contemporaries and in posterity.

It is necessary to reflect together with the students, to imagine Vladimir Monomakh, the most prominent statesman, according to legend, a man of deep mind, who left important humane advice to the younger generation. What is this advice? Could they have been useful only in the distant past?

Try to read slowly the texts in translation and in Church Slavonic, commenting on all incomprehensible words (dictionary work) and answer questions. What is the meaning of "Instructions" by Vladimir Monomakh? Why does the author ask to accept the “letter” “into his heart”? How do you understand this request? What advice from the "prince of honor" seems useful to you? How do you understand the phrase: "Beware of lies and drunkenness, because of that the soul perishes and the body"? Why does the author turn to the Psalter, its role in achieving the psychological expressiveness of the description of difficult life situations in the Teaching.

By retelling a small lesson close to the text, using its vocabulary, students will be able to prepare “teachings” for their younger brothers on the topic of how to take care of a book, how to rationally spend your free time, how to treat elders, etc.

In the course of studying the works of the 1st year of study, test tasks and crossword puzzles are used to consolidate the material. (Appendix No. IV "Test tasks", "Crosswords")

At the end of the first year of study, a literary game is held with students, which includes questions and tasks for all the material covered.

What do you know about the origin of ancient Russian literature? What can you tell about her first monument?

Children talk about the origins of ancient Russian literature - oral folk art, about its connection with world artistic culture and the first book that came to us with the baptism of Rus' from Byzantium, talk about the "Tale of Bygone Years", about the variety of genres of works included in it.

During a conversation about the book, samples of salaries and spreads of the first Old Russian books are shown.

In the conversation, the children's attention is focused on key points: the origins of ancient Russian literature (oral folk art); its connection with the world artistic culture (the Bible, the culture of Byzantium); its traditions in the literature of modern times (the baton of wisdom passed down from generation to generation); genres (tales, legends, walks, teachings, stories, messages, lives, epics, legends). I note that schoolchildren have already become familiar with such a concept as the genre of a literary work in sufficient detail. Each of them has a dictionary, a kind of guidebook on the topic "Old Russian literature". It contains not only the interpretation of literary terms, but also their own interpretation of such concepts as morality, memory, etc.

The next moment of the lesson is about the leading themes of ancient Russian literature.

What do the wise ancient books tell us about? What is the written word? What did it convey to us? (Appendix No. IV "Questions and tasks for students of the 1st year of study").

After listening to the answers, I read out fragments from the preface by D. S. Likhachev to the book “Stories of Russian chronicles of the XII-XIV centuries”:

“I love Ancient Rus'.

I love this era very much, because I see in it the struggle, the suffering of the people ... This is the side of ancient Russian life: the struggle for a better life, the struggle for correction ... it attracts me. 1

2nd year of study

At the beginning of the second academic year, students are invited to recall the works of ancient Russian literature that are familiar to them (“The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh”, the lives of Saints Boris and Gleb, “The Feat of the Kievite and the Cunning of Governor Pretich” and, perhaps, other works read independently).

Students will name the works, the names of the characters, briefly convey the plots of the previously read works. You can offer individual tasks in advance, prepare students for such a conversation. After the conversation, it is necessary to once again tell the students about the features of Old Russian literature, about what works they will get acquainted with this year. Icons are used if necessary. (Appendix No. V "Recipes for icons")

prepare answers to questions, think about what they read, prepare a story about the characters, expressive reading of the text. The same course of work is possible for another text - "Court of Shemyakin".

A few words of the teacher about the military stories of ancient Russian literature and we can recall the story of Alexander Nevsky, anticipating the reading of the text, which begins in the lesson by the teacher and students. It is good if the entire text is read in class. Schoolchildren at home Moreover, if, when discussing the first work, schoolchildren tell the content of what they read, characterize the main character, then during the discussion of the second text, reading by roles or staging can be productive in order to more clearly show the ugliness of the characters, condemning the author's attitude towards them.

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1 Likhachev D.S. Stories of Russian chronicles of the XII-XIV centuries. M., 1968

This is the general direction of the course of the lessons in these texts. It is important that students gradually become more and more familiar with the texts of works of ancient Russian literature, discover new heroes, learn to read and retell these texts, get used to analyzing the actions of heroes of an era far from them, learn to understand and evaluate these characters, correlate events of a distant time with today . A special place in the study of literature of the late 15th and early 16th centuries is given to the Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom. We usually start talking about Peter and Fevronia in the class by finding out

for which these saints are glorified by God. Saints Peter and Fevronia are an example of an ideal Christian family. Their life for more than 8 centuries serves as an example of a proper attitude to church marriage and to each other. This is what we focus on when studying the "Tale ...". Starting a lesson on this story, the teacher will talk about ancient Russian stories, drawing attention to the connection between the "Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom" with works of oral folk art, to the abundance of folklore motifs in it. Then read the story or invite the students to listen to it in the performance, if there is a recording. “The story of Peter and Fevronia is replete with folklore motifs: a werewolf serpent that enters into a relationship with a married woman who asks him what death can happen to him, a wonderful sword-hoarder from which the serpent dies, a wise maiden who speaks in riddles and leads away unfulfillable demands by the same unfulfillable demands made on her part, miraculous transformations, such as turning bread crumbs into incense in our story, receiving a husband as the most expensive gift during exile. The plot of the story is largely used in Rimsky-Korsakov's famous opera The Tale of the City of Kitezh, writes N. K. Gudziy. 1

At home, students will draw up a plan for retelling the story, prepare an expressive reading of one of the fragments (optional), a selective retelling on a given topic, for example, “The Story of Fevronia”, a retelling on behalf of one of the characters, a brief retelling of the text. Then they will think about the questions asked and prepare a story about one of the characters.

The distribution of tasks is also possible: one group of students prepares a selective retelling, the other - a short one, the third - a retelling from another person, the fourth group prepares a description of one of the characters. Then the discussion of the work performed, reviewing. As a result of the work - the essay "My attitude to the heroes of the story", drawings, illustrations, feedback on the actor's reading of the text, staging, creating film scripts.

The main thing in the teacher's work is that the children feel the strength and beauty of the heroes, imbued them with respect and love, sympathy and compassion.

What feelings permeate the whole story? Who are its main characters? How are they different from other characters in the story? "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom" is one of the most poetic works of ancient Russian literature about love, devotion and selflessness.

Having met the married couple Peter and Fevronia, who lived according to the traditions of the Orthodox Church, I turn to the study of Domostroy. At the beginning of the lesson, I find out what associations the word “domostroy” evokes in children? In the course of conclusions, we come to the final conclusion, “house building” is the rules of life that have been developed by people's experience and consciousness. Next, I introduce students to the book "Domostroy", using illustrations from books about the history of Russian life. Then the children read excerpts from Domostroy, noting. What suits their lives and what doesn't. At the end of the lesson, students draw a verbal portrait of a Russian person from the Middle Ages, presented on the pages of Domostroy.

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1 Gudziy N.K. History of ancient Russian literature. - 7th ed. - M., 1966

When considering the literature of the 17th century, it occupies the genre of chronicle writing. It is important to convey to children the importance of studying and reading chronicles. Reading the chronicle, we hear the living voice of distant ancestors. The works of the past, as it were, destroy the barriers between eras. It is this feeling of belonging to history that a young reader should have. But it is not easy to perceive the art of antiquity, it cannot be approached with the same attitudes as a modern work. Therefore, the introduction to the topic is very important, in which the teacher will try to show the originality of ancient literature, to create in the children a sense of authenticity of touching the very origins of our culture.

To accomplish this task, it is necessary to explain what a chronicle is, when

chronicle, and who was the first chronicler. It is necessary to recall the first annalistic monument of the 12th century, The Tale of Bygone Years, which was studied earlier.

When studying the Gospel parables, it is considered what a parable is, the specifics of this literary genre and their classification. (Appendix No. V “Gospel parables”)

It is advisable to prepare a lecture-presentation with fixation of the main theses: the history of the parable genre, the distinctive features of the Gospel parable.

The parable as a genre directly aimed at comprehending the meaning of life, which had to be drawn from itself, was comprehended in different ways in different historical eras. Parables are allegorical moralizing stories that are conducive to reflection, arouse curiosity and in most cases need serious and deep

clarification. Acquaintance with this genre is useful at any age, so that every person, especially young people, thinks about their moral position.

In the parable, as it were, two planes were united - the visible and the invisible, as in the entire gospel narrative, as in the life of Christ. Everyone sees the outer plane, rarely anyone reveals the secret, inner, hidden from sight and hearing.

The main characters of the gospel parable are, as a rule, God the Father or God the Son, sometimes both - as in the parable of the evil vinedressers (Mark 12:1-12). And the lessons of the parable relate not only to the characters of this particular story, but to all people in the world. with the gospel word, writers of modern times - less often ... 1

When considering the main features of the gospel parable, the parable of the sower is used -

Mt 13:3-23; 13, 24-30.

Emphasis is placed on the parable of the prodigal son; this parable can be compared with the work of A.S. Pushkin "Snowstorm". The use of Gospel parables in the literature of the 20th century is analyzed.

To check the assimilation of the material, I use test tasks and crossword puzzles. (Appendix No. V "Crosswords")

When organizing a lesson that completes the study of Old Russian literature in the second year, you can use the test tasks "Close Ancient Rus'", a conversation or a children's conference. (Appendix No. V "Questions and tasks for students of the second year of study")

“The theme of the Motherland and the theme of the moral improvement of a person - the most important topics of ancient Russian literature, so relevant to me as a teacher and educator - determined the range of works chosen for the conversation.

The Tale of Bygone Years; Oleg's campaign against Tsar-grad; Oleg's death from his horse; Praise to Yaroslav - Enlightener of Rus'; The death of Yaroslav and instruction to his sons; Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh; The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu; Word about the destruction of the Russian land; Zadonshchina; Journey beyond the three seas by Afanasy Nikitin; The Tale of Woe-Misfortune (XVII century).

We must be grateful sons of our great mother - Ancient Rus'. The past must serve the present."

It is hardly worth organizing a lesson in the development of speech at the end of the study of the topic, but an extracurricular reading lesson should be carried out by connecting to the reading circle “Instruction of the Bishop of Tver

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1 Davydova N.V. Gospel and Old Russian Literature: Textbook for middle-aged students. Ser.: Old Russian literature at school.- M.: MIROS, 1992.S.139.

Seeds” from the book “We read, we think, we argue…” and the text “The Prayer of Daniil Zatochnik”, checking the knowledge and impressions of students on the material of questions and crossword puzzles.

3 year of study

The material of the third year helps the development of culture and love for the native word - the basis of the spiritual life of the people of education, thus introduces children to universal norms of morality, develops the ability to see the world in a holistic and voluminous way, contributes to the understanding of Christian values, the transmission of traditions from generation to generation, are introduced into circle of traditional main holidays of the Russian Orthodox Church, getting acquainted with their close and organic connection with folk life, art and creativity.

On the example of the texts of ancient Russian literature, studied in the first two years of study, students learn the right attitude towards other people: mercy, love, generosity, courage, diligence, tolerance, simplicity, strive to know the truth. They deepen and expand the scope of such concepts as truth, conscience, humility, patience, chastity, mercy, selflessness, love, fidelity, pity, compassion, patriotism, courage, duty, honor, dignity, family, marriage, parents, etc. P.

The following works of ancient Russian literature are considered: “The works of St. Fathers: John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Athanasius the Great”, “On Law and Grace” of St. Metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv, "Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh, "Message" by the Annunciation priest Sylvester, "The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh", "Domostroy".

Such topics are raised as: the moral dispensation of a person in Ancient Rus', the spiritual and moral attitude towards other people, the denunciation of the main human vices in ancient Russian literature, the attitude towards holy orders and monasticism in the literature of Ancient Rus'. The family was the main value, the focus of the life of an ancient Russian person. The life of the patriarchal Russian family was literally intertwined with the life of the Church: this included the obligatory participation of all in church services, festivities and sacraments; and pious domestic rituals; and pilgrimages to holy places, etc.

In "Domostroy" you can find recommendations, "How to honor the saints, also priests and monks" (ch. 5); “How to visit in monasteries and in hospitals, and in dungeons, and everyone in sorrow” (ch. 6); “How to pray to a husband and wife in the Church, keep purity and do no evil” (ch. 13), how to live according to a “Clean Conscience”, how to respect and honor your parents. With individual excerpts from Domostroy, one can compare the Commandments of the Lord. When studying these topics, it is necessary to consider the positions of the clergy of the Church of Christ, the Sacraments that they perform in temples.

In the Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh, children will find the recommendations of the Grand Duke to take an oath only if it is possible to keep it, and having sworn, keep the oath so as not to destroy the soul, save the soul in a monastery or fasting, but only in repentance, tears and alms. Advises to protect all the disadvantaged. Monomakh calls his readers to an active life, to constant work, he convinces them never to be in laziness and not indulge in debauchery.

Bible books, the Old Testament, is also one of the monuments of ancient Russian literature. Reading the Old Testament, children get acquainted with Christian family and tribal values: fidelity to the traditions of ancestors, religious veneration of ancestors, love for members of one's kind and obedience to elders, respect for the land, nature, wealth, which the clan or family practically owned. The gravest crime was the murder of a relative. Not to return evil for evil is the main idea of a whole series of hagiographies, where the saint endures undeserved insults without reproach. The Kiev-Pechersk Patericon (11th-13th centuries) tells about Isaac, the first holy fool in Rus', who works in the kitchen, where he is laughed at and mocked, and he humbly endures everything.

The main feature of Christian saints is to live according to the will of God, even if this deviates greatly from generally accepted norms and values.

Studying Metropolitan Hilarion's "Word on Law and Grace" children see the opposition of the Old and New Testaments - Law and Grace. The law is identified with the Old Testament, it is conservative and nationally limited. The author uses the method of comparison when speaking about the Law.
Law is opposed to Grace, with which Hilarion associates the image of Jesus. Old Testament - slavery, New - freedom. The preacher compares Grace with the sun, light and warmth.
On the example of this work, you can talk about the apostles Peter and Paul, ending the lesson, remembering Prince Vladimir, the teacher of the Russian land.

At the end of the study of the course of ancient Russian literature, the poetics of literature of the XI-XVII centuries is studied. for a complete analysis of the works. The analysis must begin with what distinguishes Old Russian literature from modern literature. We must dwell primarily on the differences, but scientific study must be based on the conviction that the cultural values of the past are knowable, on the conviction that it is possible to assimilate them aesthetically. Artistic analysis inevitably presupposes an analysis of all aspects of literature: the totality of its aspirations, its connections with reality. Any work, snatched from its historical environment, also loses its aesthetic value, like a brick taken out of the building of a great architect. A monument of the past, in order to be truly understood in its artistic essence, must be explained in detail with; all of its seemingly “non-artistic” aspects. An aesthetic analysis of a literary monument of the past should be based on a huge real commentary. You need to know the era, the biographies of writers, the art of that time, the laws of the historical and literary process, the language - literary in its relationship to the non-literary, etc., etc. Therefore, the study of poetics should be based on the study of the historical and literary process in all its complexity and in all its multiple connections with reality.

The final lesson on the study of ancient Russian literature can be held in the form of a children's creative conference, at which children will present their research work. (Appendix No. VII "Research work")

Penetrating into the aesthetic consciousness of other epochs and other nations, we must, first of all, study their differences among themselves and their differences from our aesthetic consciousness, from the aesthetic consciousness of modern times. We must, first of all, study the peculiar and unique, the "individuality" of peoples and past epochs. It is precisely in the diversity of aesthetic consciousnesses that their special instructiveness, their richness and the guarantee of the possibility of their use in modern artistic creativity are found. To approach the old art and the art of other countries only from the point of view of modern aesthetic norms, to look only for what is close to ourselves, means to extremely impoverish the aesthetic heritage.

Conclusion

The question of the role of ancient Russian literature in the spiritual and moral development of the child leads us to comprehend the aesthetic development of the cultures of the past. We must place the monuments of the cultures of the past at the service of the future. The values of the past must become active participants in the life of the present, our fighting comrades-in-arms. Questions of the interpretation of cultures and individual civilizations are now attracting the attention of historians and philosophers, art historians and literary critics all over the world.

The appearance of literature in the life of the people decisively changes its historical and moral self-awareness.

The first historical works allow the people to realize themselves in the historical process, to reflect on their role in world history, to understand the roots of contemporary events and their responsibility to the future.

The question arises: could the role of literature be so significant given the extreme non-proliferation of literacy itself? The answer to this question cannot be unambiguous and simple.

Firstly, the number of literate people in all strata of society in the XI-XVII centuries. was not at all as small as it seemed in the 19th century.

The discovery of birch bark documents clearly demonstrated the presence of literate peasants, literate artisans, not to mention literate merchants and boyars. That the clergy were basically literate, there is no doubt. The degree of literacy of the population depends on the level of its well-being. The growing enslavement of the peasants led to a decline in literacy. Therefore, in the XVI century. the number of literate people may have been less than in the 14th and 15th centuries. Many signs point to this possibility. Secondly, the influence of literature affected not only the literate strata of the population. Reading aloud was common. This is indicated both by some monastic customs and by the very text of ancient Russian works, designed for oral reproduction. If we take into account that the most literate people also possessed the greatest public authority, it is clear that the influence of literature on the public life of the people was far from small. Many facts, large and small, confirm this influence. That is why princes and kings themselves take up a pen or support scribes, chroniclers, scribes, encourage them to write works and distribute them. Let's remember Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh and his son Mstislav the Great, Ivan the Terrible or Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Literature has become a part of Russian history - and an extremely important part.

What is the meaning of ancient literature for us? It is clear that we must take into account its role in the past, but why should we study it now? Is the literature of Ancient Rus' relevant?

Yes, it is relevant - and how! Monuments of culture and history in Ancient Rus' were mainly historical, and moral and educational, and in the aggregate of these two main trends in ancient Russian literature, they were highly patriotic.

Caring for the past is caring for the future. We keep the past for the future. We can see far into the future if we can only look into the past. Any modern experience is at the same time the experience of history. The more clearly we see the past, the more clearly we see the future.

The roots of modernity go deep into the native soil. Our modernity is vast, and it requires special care for the roots of our culture. The moral consciousness of people requires a moral settled way of life, we must know our history, the past of our culture, in order to be aware of the connections between the people of our people, between different peoples, to feel our “rootedness” in our homeland, not to be grass without roots - a tumbleweed.

And finally, the most important thing. To understand the wealth of ideas of modern literature, the great humanistic Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, its lofty ideals and high craftsmanship, knowledge of ancient Russian literature is absolutely necessary. The richness of the Russian language is the result of almost a thousand years of development of Russian literature.

And already in ancient Russian literature we find works amazing in terms of the accuracy and expressiveness of their language. Already in ancient Russian literature we find highly moral ideas - ideas that have not lost their significance for us, ideas of deep patriotism, a consciousness of high civic duty. And they are expressed with such force, which only a great nation was capable of - a nation of enormous spiritual potential.

In ancient Russian literature we find works whose reading gives us moral and aesthetic satisfaction at the same time. In ancient Rus' there was a beauty of moral depth, moral subtlety and, at the same time, moral might.

The roots of the work of Pushkin, Derzhavin, Tolstoy, Nekrasov, Gorky and many, many great and small Russian writers do not accidentally go back to the most ancient layers of Russian literature.

To join the ancient Russian literature is a great happiness and great joy.

Bibliography

Belinsky V.G. Full coll. cit.: In 13 t. M., 1954.

Gladysheva E.V., Nersesyan L.V. Dictionary-index of names and concepts on ancient Russian art, Almanac "Strange World", Moscow 1991

Gudziy N.K. History of ancient Russian literature. - 7th ed. - M., 1966

Davydova N.V. Gospel and Old Russian Literature: Textbook for middle-aged students. – M., 1992 – Series “Old Russian Literature at School”.

Demin A.S. Old Russian Literature: An Experience of Typology from the 11th to the Middle of the 18th Centuries. from Illarion to Lomonosov.-M., 2003.

Dmitriev L.A. Literary destinies of the genre of Old Russian hagiographies // Slavic Literature. - M., 1973.

Eremina O.A. Lesson planning in Old Russian literature: grades 5-9 / O.A. Eremina.-M., 2004.

Source study of the literature of Ancient Rus'. L., 1980.

9. Klyuchevsky V.O. Ancient Russian Lives of Saints as a Historical Source. M., 1988.

10. Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature: Proc. for philology. specialist. Universities / V.V. Kuskov.- 7th ed.-M.: Higher. school, 2003.

12. Literature and art of Ancient Rus' in the classroom: grades 8-11: A guide for teachers and

student / Ed. G.A.Obernikhina.-M.: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 2001.

13. Literature and culture of Ancient Rus': Dictionary-reference book / Ed. V. V. Kuskova.-M., 1994.

14. Likhachev D.S. The emergence of Russian literature. M., 1952.

15. Likhachev D. S. Great heritage // Likhachev D. S. Selected works in three volumes. Volume 2. - L .: Khudozh. lit., 1987.

16. Likhachev D.S. Poetics of ancient Russian literature. M., 1979.

17. Likhachev D.S. Miscellaneous about literature // Notes and observations: from notebooks of different years. - L.: Owls. writer. Leningrad. department, 1989.

18. Likhachev D.S. Stories of Russian chronicles of the XII-XIV centuries. M., 1968.

19. Likhachev D. S. Textology. On the material of Russian literature of the X-XVII centuries. - M.-L., 1962; Textology. Brief essay. M.-L., 1964.

20. Likhachev V. D., Likhachev D. S. Artistic heritage of Ancient Rus' and modernity. - L., 1971.

21. Likhachev D.S. Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'. M., 1958.

22. Nasonov A.N. History of Russian Chronicle. M., 1969.

23. Nedospasova T. Russian foolishness X1-XV11 centuries. M., 1999.

24. Monuments of renounced Russian literature / Collected and published by N. Tikhonravov. T. I. SPb., 1863; T. II. M., 1863.

25. The Tale of Bygone Years // Monuments of Literature of Ancient Rus'. The Beginning of Russian Literature. X - beginning of the XII century. - M., 1978.

26. Polyakov L. V. Book centers of Ancient Rus'. - L., 1991.

27. Rozov N.N. The book of ancient Rus'. XI-XIV centuries M., 1977.

28. Rybakov B.A. From the history of culture of Ancient Rus': research and notes. M., 1984.

29. Tolstoy N. I. History and structure of Slavic literary languages. M., 1988.

30. Fedotov G., Saints of Ancient Rus', M, Svyatich, 1998.

31.Yagich I.V. Monuments of the Old Russian language. Vol. 1, LXXII.

1 Polyakov L. V. Book centers of Ancient Rus'. - L., 1991.

2 The Tale of Bygone Years // Monuments of Literature of Ancient Rus'. The Beginning of Russian Literature. X - beginning of the XII century. - M., 1978.

1 Likhachev D.S. Textology. On the material of Russian literature of the X-XVII centuries. - M.-L., 1962; Textology. Brief essay. M.-L., 1964.

2 Likhachev D.S. Great heritage // Likhachev D.S. Selected works in three volumes. Volume 2. - L .: Khudozh. lit., 1987.

1 Likhachev V. D., Likhachev D. S. Artistic heritage of Ancient Rus' and modernity. - L., 1971.

1 Tolstoy N. I. History and structure of Slavic literary languages. M., 1988.

2 Source study of the literature of Ancient Rus'. L., 1980.

3 Nedospasova T. Russian foolishness X1-XV11 centuries. M., 1999.

4 Klyuchevsky V.O. Ancient Russian Lives of Saints as a Historical Source. M., 1988.

5 Rozov N.N. The book of ancient Rus'. XI-XIV centuries M., 1977.

1 Gladysheva E.V., Nersesyan L.V. Dictionary-index of names and concepts on ancient Russian art, Almanac "Strange World", Moscow 1991

2 Nasonov A.N. History of Russian Chronicle. M., 1969.

3 Yagich I.V. Monuments of the Old Russian language. Vol. 1, LXXII.

1 Gladysheva E.V., Nersesyan L.V. Dictionary-index of names and concepts in ancient Russian art, Almanac "Strange World", Moscow 1991

2 Rybakov B.A. From the history of culture of Ancient Rus': research and notes. M., 1984.

3 Fedotov G., Saints of Ancient Rus', M, Svyatich, 1998.

4 Dmitriev L.A. Literary destinies of the genre of Old Russian hagiographies // Slavic Literature. - M., 1973.

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