Old Russian epics, stories and fairy tales. Old Russian literature Old Russian literature

Library of Russian classics. Ten centuries of Russian literature

Volume 1

Old Russian literature

Secrets of Literature Ancient Rus'

Old Russian literature is not literature. Such a formulation, deliberately shocking, nevertheless accurately characterizes the features of the first period of Russian literature.

Old Russian literature is the beginning of Russian literature, its ancient period, which includes works written from the 11th to the 17th century, that is, over the course of seven centuries (and all subsequent literature takes only three centuries). The life of a person in Ancient Rus' was not like the life of a citizen of Russia in the 18th-20th centuries: everything was different - the habitat, the forms of the state structure, ideas about a person and his place in the world. Accordingly, ancient Russian literature is completely different from the literature of the 18th-20th centuries, and it is impossible to apply to it the criteria that define this concept over the next three centuries.

OLD RUSSIAN LITERATURE IS RELIGIOUS LITERATURE. The greatest value for a man of Ancient Rus' was his faith. The value of the state and the value human personality seemed insignificant compared to the value of religion, and each special person was judged not by how useful he is to society or how unusual he is. The most important thing was what he was like before God. For example, the favorite heroes of Ancient Rus' - the princes Boris and Gleb - did not show themselves to be such good rulers as theirs. brother Yaroslav the Wise. But it was they who were declared saints, unsuccessful politicians, but perfect people, ready to give their lives in the name of the religious demands of brotherly love and in imitation of the sacrifice of Christ.

And in literature, those genres that were closer to the church service, such as preaching and life, enjoyed special respect. They were intended not to entertain the reader, as they are today, not to glorify the power of the empire and statesmen, as in the 18th century, but to tell about life in the name of God.

OLD RUSSIAN LITERATURE - ESTATE LITERATURE. In Ancient Rus', completely specific ideas about the place of a person in the world developed: the concept of personality, individuality - in modern meaning- was then unknown. A person's opinion about himself and those around him depended on which class he belonged to: rulers, warriors, clergymen, merchants or "simple" - ordinary residents of cities and villages. Warriors and priests were considered the most respected, and they became central characters in ancient Russian literature. Moreover, the warrior had to be physically handsome, developed, healthy and take care of his health. So, Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh proudly recalls his hunting exploits, because the prince does not rest on the hunt, but keeps himself in good physical form and the prince's health is the common good of all the people. On the contrary, a monk in ancient Russian literature almost always turns out to be middle-aged: although Theodosius of the Caves died before he was fifty years old, in people's memory he remained a wise old man. In addition, the holy ascetics often refused treatment, considering the disease a manifestation of the will of God.

Old Russian literature is the literature of usefulness. Modern literature sets as its main goal to entertain the reader - it is even customary to teach while entertaining. In ancient Rus', the religiosity of literature, if not excluded, then relegated entertainment to second place. Benefit was the main moral attitude, that is, the praise of virtues and the denunciation of sins, as well as in public - a sermon is useful, because it is delivered in the temple and without it the service will be incomplete, life is also useful, because without knowledge about the life of a saint it is impossible to remember him in church. The chronicle preserved customs, patterns of actions, laws for posterity.

All these factors led to the fact that the Old Russian scribe refused fiction in his works, and although fiction - and sometimes the most incredible - Old Russian literature abounds, both the author and the reader perceived it as pure truth.

Thus, in Ancient Rus' there was no difference between fiction and non-fiction (documentary) literature, that is, there was no literature in its modern sense. On the one hand, the writers did not aim to create works of art, since there is no fiction in their writings. On the other hand, everything they created turned out to be literature - and historical essay(“The Tale of Bygone Years”) and a guide to housekeeping (“Domostroy”), and polemical messages (correspondence between Ivan the Terrible and A. M. Kurbsky).

OLD RUSSIAN LITERATURE IS TRADITIONAL LITERATURE. The Old Russian scribe - in contrast to the modern writer - avoided innovation, preferring to follow patterns.

Without a twinge of conscience, he allowed schematism in the depiction of heroes. Thus, in The Tale of Bygone Years, the princes of the Christian era are strikingly reminiscent of each other: tall, handsome, brave, wise, merciful. “He was handsome in body, tall, round in face, broad shoulders, thin at the waist, kind in the eyes, cheerful in face<…>he is brave on the armies, wise in advice and reasonable in everything ... ”(“ The Tale of Boris and Gleb ”about St. Boris); “Mstislav was powerful in body, handsome in face, with big eyes, brave in armies, merciful ...” (“The Tale of Bygone Years” about Mstislav Vladimirovich); “But Izyaslav’s husband was handsome in appearance and great in body, gentle in disposition, he hated lies, loving the truth” (“The Tale of Bygone Years” about Izyaslav Yaroslavich). It seems that if the prince did not correspond at all ideal scheme, the writer either turned him into evil incarnate (Svyatopolk the Accursed in the stories about Boris and Gleb), or tried to do without characterization altogether. For example, Nestor in The Tale of Bygone Years, informing about the death of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, simply writes that the prince died "from cutting the nodule" - during a surgical operation. The presentation of the fact is not accompanied by a description of the appearance of the sovereign, nor by an analysis of his virtues. This is not accidental: the chronicler condemned Svyatoslav Yaroslavich for the illegal seizure of the throne, and therefore reported that he died unexpectedly, which means that he did not repent of his sins.

The traditionalism of ancient Russian literature was also expressed in the fact that writers used a special symbolic language that readers had to master. Any phenomenon of the surrounding world could act as a symbol. So, in Rus', the book “Physiologist”, translated from Greek, was very popular, containing descriptions different breeds animals and their symbolic interpretation: “The hedgehog looks like a ball and consists entirely of needles. The physiologist says about the hedgehog that he climbs the vine, gets to the bunch and shakes the bunch, drops the berries to the ground. And lying on his back, he pierces the berries on his needles, and carries them to the children, and leaves the bunch empty.<…>And you, city dweller<…>do not allow the hedgehog, the spirit of deceit, to climb on your heart and leave you, like a vine, devastated ... ". The author does not care about authenticity - his hedgehogs crawl along the vine: the habits of the beast are not self-sufficient (as in contemporary literature about animals), but are symbolic, in this case alluding to the relationship of man with the devil. Symbolism also implied constant references to the Bible: as soon as the Russian prince violated the covenant of brotherly love, he was immediately called the “new Cain”. And in the life of Sergius of Radonezh, according to Epiphanius the Wise, the author of the life of the saint, the sacred number "three" played a special role. He even shouted three times in his mother's womb, which was a divine sign of veneration for the Trinity, in whose name Sergius then founded the monastery.

Finally, traditionalism determined the observance of the laws of the genre. Using the experience of his predecessors, the writer tried not to introduce anything new into the structure of his work. (True, he did not always succeed - for example, Archpriest Avvakum decided to write a traditional life, but, contrary to all the rules, he made himself a hero, thereby declaring a saint.)

Due to the same traditionalism, many works of ancient Russian literature are anonymous, and if the author's name was not forgotten, readers did not show any interest in his biography and individual specifics of creativity. Information about ancient Russian writers is, as a rule, scarce: according to a person of Ancient Rus', the writer fulfills the will of God, he is not a creator, but only an instrument of the Creator.

OLD RUSSIAN LITERATURE - HANDWRITTEN LITERATURE. Typography in Rus' arose - through the efforts of Ivan Fedorov - only in the second half of the 16th century, but even after that, mainly church books were printed.

In ancient Rus', works were usually distributed by rewriting, and errors and omissions inevitably crept into the text. There are almost no autographs of ancient Russian writers left: Maxim Grek, Avvakum, Simeon Polotsky are a rare and happy exception to the rule - however, they lived and worked relatively late. Most of the monuments of ancient Russian literature have reached the modern reader only in copies that can be separated from the time of the creation of the original version by several centuries (Hilarion's Word about Law and Grace, Zadonshchina, as far as is known - "The Word about Igor's Campaign"). In addition, the scribe did not just have the opportunity to change the text: he did not consider it shameful, arguing something like this: since what is composed is composed according to God's will, then an improving correction is pleasing to God. Therefore, sometimes it is very difficult to restore the original, author's view of the composition. For example, neither The Tale of Bygone Years nor Daniil Zatochnik's The Word have survived in the form in which they were created. Scientists also argue about what belongs to the author Epiphanius the Wise in the famous “Life of Sergius of Radonezh”, and what belongs to the editor Pachomius Serb.

If a work with...

But otherwise opens secret... (A. Akhmatova) Who says we will die? - Leave these Judgments in themselves - Falsehood twists in them: We live for many centuries In this world, And for many centuries we still have to live. We did not come from the void, And in years We are not destined to go into the void One day. We are part of Nature, We are part of the Universe, part of the world - Specifically, everyone! Billions of years ago We already breathed, I don’t know what, I don’t know how, But it was the case. The universe arose, We didn’t interfere with it, We did who, what could In other limits. And billions of years will pass - In the corona of the Sun The weary Earth will burn In its greatness, We will not burn! We will return to another life, We will return to ourselves In a different guise! I tell you: a person does not disappear! I tell you: a person is invested in immortality! But we still don’t know the evidence, And we can’t confirm immortality yet. But after a few years Oblivion weights We will throw off our memory And boldly remember: Why did we end up here - In the sublunar world? Why immortality is given to us And what to do with it? Everything that we will do in an hour, In a week and even a year, All this is not far from us In its own world lives. many floors, In one - we are going to Mars, In the other - we have already flown. Awards, praise and more ranks are waiting for us, lining up, And with them - our slaps in the neighboring worlds are burning. We think: life in hundreds of years This is God knows him: where? And it's nearby - invisible light Those years are scattered everywhere. Try to pierce the moon with your finger! It won’t work - the hand is short, It’s even more difficult to touch the country, Abandoned for centuries. But it’s so arranged: every moment From the streets, offices and apartments We move with the whole world To the real neighboring world. Wandering through space with the Earth With ideas fresh and old, We are new time - layer by layer - We rent from the world. And we are not in a hurry to live on loan, We do not speed up the year, We know with a distant memory That we have come to life forever. That our borders are not in milkiness, That our era is not an hour, In stock We have infinity, and Eternity is in store for us. And as on an excursion - only forward, Encrypting and theorem days, The Universe leads us by the hand Along the corridor of time. Turn on the light in the past and future! And you will see with a new vision how the city, which does not yet exist, is already appearing in time. In the future time, where so far only clouds of our hopes and our dreams float almost without color and outlines. the pulp of blue life smiled at warmth and light, turning on the lighting, you will meet a hedge that no longer exists. when eccentrics in a good mood turn on the sound in the past and future, turn on the light in the future and the past. And life, as if circles on water, knits links for millennia, and there are no dead people anywhere, there are only those who fell asleep for a moment. Peace is only temporary silt .People are eternal! Look at their faces on each page - in the past and in the future - the same faces. There are no other people in nature, and the same people walk in circles of past and future squares, grinding stones with elastic steps. Turn on the light in the past and future, and you will see doubts instead, that in the future, where you are not yet, a place has already been prepared for you. https://www.stihi.ru/avtor/literlik&;book=1#1

literary works (11th-17th centuries), covering various types of narration. In the literature of Kievan Rus (See. Kievan Rus) translated stories with moralizing tendencies and developed plots were distributed (the story of Akira the Wise; the story "About Barlaam and Joasaph"; the military narrative "History of the Jewish War" by Josephus Flavius; "Alexandria"; "Deed of Devgen", etc.). The original Russian stories were originally of a legendary-historical nature and were included in the annals (about Oleg Veshchem, about Olga's revenge, about the baptism of Vladimir, etc.). In the future, P. d. developed in two main directions - historical-epic and historical-biographical. The first cultivated the principles of narration about the events, mainly military ones (tales about internecine wars of princes; about wars with the Polovtsians of the 11th-12th centuries; about the Tatar-Mongol invasion of the 13th-14th centuries; “The Tale of Mamaev massacre", 15th century). Military tales often turned into extensive fictionalized “stories” (“The Tale of Tsar-Grad”, 15th century; “The History of the Kazan Kingdom”, 16th century, etc.), in some cases acquired a folklore-epic coloring (“The Tale of about the ruin of Ryazan by Batu”, 14th century; “The Tale of the Azov Seat”, 17th century, etc.). Stories of this type include the retinue epic The Tale of Igor's Campaign (12th century) and Zadonshchina (14th century). Military stories are characterized by patriotic ideals, colorful battle descriptions. Among the narratives about events, there are also stories dedicated to the problems of statehood. Legendary and historical narratives of the period of formation of the Russian centralized state were devoted to the succession of world monarchies and the origin of the Rurik dynasty (the stories “On the Kingdom of Babylon”, “On the Princes of Vladimir”, etc., 15-16 centuries). Then main theme stories becomes a historical and journalistic description of the crisis of Moscow statehood in " Time of Troubles"And the change of reigning dynasties ("The Tale of 1606", "The Tale" by Avraamy Palitsyn, "Chronicle Book" by I. Katyrev-Rostovsky, etc.).

Another direction of P. d. developed the principles of narrative about heroes, originally based on a Christian providential, solemnly rhetorical description of the deeds of prominent princes in the struggle against external enemies (the lives of Alexander Nevsky, Dovmont of Pskov, 13th century; Dmitry Donskoy, 15th century) ; these works occupied an intermediate position between traditional military stories and the lives of saints. Gradually, the historical and biographical narrative began to move its heroes into everyday situations: the story of Peter and Fevronia of Murom (15-16 centuries), imbued with fairy-tale symbols; the story of the noblewoman Juliana Lazarevskaya (17th century), etc. Interest in the exploits of the heroes is supplanted by attention to the relationships of people, to the behavior of the individual in everyday life, which, however, was still determined by church ethical norms. The stories of the biographical type branched into instructive autobiographical lives (the lives of Avvakum, Epiphanius) and narratives of a semi-secular, and then secular nature, imbued with medieval-traditional morality (the folklore-lyrical "The Tale of Grief-Misfortune", the book-fictional "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn ", 17th century). The narrative increasingly breaks away from the historical canvas and masters the art of plotting. At the end of the 17th century there are satirical stories with an element of literary parody ("The Tale of Yersh Ershovich", "Shemyakin Court", etc.). Acute difficult everyday situations are equipped with naturalistic details characteristic of the early short story (the stories about the merchant Karp Sutulov and his wife, 17th century; The Tale of Frol Skobeev, early 18th century). Translated stories are again in vogue, the characters of which are Russified in a fairy-tale spirit (“About Bova-Korolevich”, “About Yeruslan Lazarevich”, etc.), collections of Western European short stories (“Great Mirror”, “Facetia”, etc.). P. d. make a natural evolution from the medieval historical narrative to the fictional story of the new time.

Lit.: Pypin A. N., Essay literary history old Russian stories and fairy tales, St. Petersburg, 1857; Orlov A. S., Translated stories of feudal Rus' and the Moscow state of the XII-XVII centuries, [L.], 1934; Old Russian story. Articles and research. Ed. N. K. Gudziya, M. - L., 1941; The origins of Russian fiction. [Resp. ed. Ya. S. Lurie], L., 1970; History of Russian literature, vol. 1, M. - L., 1958.

A. N. Robinson.

• - see Izborniki ...

  encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron

• - TAKE | STI, DOW, CHILD ch. 1. Lead, take away kudal .: and more importantly, lead m˫a to tsr҃kvi glorious h҃vѹ mch҃nkѹ. SKBG XII, 23b; lead me to see all the pain. SatTr XII/XIII, 34...

  Dictionary Old Russian language(XI-XIV centuries)

• - the main person in it, on which the interest of the story is especially focused. The novel began with a description of a brilliant ball at which the two main characters of the novel appear, or the hero and heroine ... Goncharov. Literary evening. 1...
• - B/B ch. see _Appendix II conducted by A/B pr...

  Dictionary of Russian accents

• - see respect, lead ...

  Dictionary Dalia

• - ́, -going, -going; -ate, -ate; - eating; behaved; - eating; sovereign 1. whom. Start leading. P. of the patient under the arm. P. tourists in the mountains. P. highway to the north. P. car. P. conversation. P. assembly. P. with a bow on the strings ...

  Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

• - I'll lead, you'll lead, past. led, led; led, owl. 1. someone. To do, to begin to do, to manifest. in accordance with all the values. vb. lead. Lead someone. down an unfamiliar street...

  Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

• Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova

• - the story of I owls. transition and indefinitely. 1. transition Direct the movement of someone, something, showing the way; help go. ott. Force to go together, forcefully pull along. 2. transition...

  Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova

• - the story of I owls. transition and indefinitely. 1. transition Direct the movement of someone, something, showing the way; help go. ott. Force to go together, forcefully pull along. 2. transition...

  Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova

• - story "and, -ed" y, -goes; past temp. -eat, -eat "...

  Russian spelling dictionary

• - as a sign of attention, participation, anxiety Cf. "You are a steely and soulless woman!" She at least raised an eyebrow. Pisemsky. The churning sea. 6, 18. Cf. Ita supercilium salit. Plaut. Pseudol. 107. See an eyebrow not blink. See eyebrows move...

  Explanatory-phraseological dictionary of Michelson

• - as a sign of attention, participation, anxiety. Wed “Steel and soulless woman you are!” She at least raised an eyebrow. Pisemsky. The churning sea. 6, 13. Cf. Ita supercilium salit. Plaut. Pseudol. 107. See. Do not blink an eyebrow ...
• - The hero of the story is the main person in her, - on which the interest of the story is especially concentrated. Wed The novel began with a description of a brilliant ball, at which the two main characters of the novel, or the hero and heroine, appear .....

  Michelson Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original orph.)

• - ...

  Word forms

• - didn't lead to anything...

  Synonym dictionary

"Tales of Old Russian" in books

Old Russian dumplings with cottage cheese

From the book Vareniki, dumplings, dumplings author Melnikov Ilya

Syrniki "Old Russian"

From the book Most delicious recipes. Supersimple cooking recipes author Kashin Sergey Pavlovich

Old Russian magi

From the book Slavic Encyclopedia author Artemov Vladislav Vladimirovich

Ancient Russian sorcerers Since ancient times, the Slavs had sorcerers, carriers of folk religious ideas and mysterious knowledge, who conjured and predicted, healed and performed various religious rites. Magi - representatives of the old, pagan religion,

CHAPTER 2 OLD RUSSIAN LANDS IN THE XII - BEGINNING OF THE XIII

From the book History of Russia from ancient times to the 16th century. 6th grade author Chernikova Tatyana Vasilievna

CHAPTER 2 OLD RUSSIAN LANDS IN THE XII - BEGINNING OF XIII in § 10. POLITICAL DIVISION OF Rus' 1. The beginning of fragmentation In the XII century, Rus' entered into new period historical development- a period of fragmentation. It lasted 300 years - from the 12th to the end of the 15th century. In 1132, the son of Vladimir Monomakh

Original old Russian norms

From the book Course of Russian History (Lectures I-XXXII) author

Original Old Russian Norms In Old Russian legal, predominantly ecclesiastical-legal writing, we encounter lonely articles of Russian origin, as if they had accidentally fallen into the place where we find them, without organic connection with a monument

Chapter 3 Old Russian "principalities"

From the book Russian Middle Ages author Gorsky Anton Anatolievich

Chapter 3 Old Russian "principalities" When in various works on history - scientific, popular science or educational - we are talking about political development medieval Rus', the most common terms are two - these are "state" and "principality". Both words -

From the book The Mystery of the Baptism of Rus' author Froyanov Igor Yakovlevich

OLD RUSSIAN SOURCES Metropolitan Hilarion (42) “The Roman country praises Peter and Paul with a voice of praise, by which they were led to faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God; (praise) Asia, Ephesus and Patmos of John the Theologian, India - Thomas, Egypt - Mark. All countries, cities and peoples honor and

From book Short Course on Russian history author Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich

Old Russian Lives of the Saints as a Historical Source In order to prevent requirements that the author could not and did not think to satisfy, he finds it useful to explain the origin of his work. He turned to ancient Russian hagiographies as to the most abundant and fresh source,

Old Russian pagan sanctuaries

From the book Resurrection of Perun. To the reconstruction of East Slavic paganism author Klein Lev Samuilovich

Old Russian pagan shrines archaeological sites. The so-called "Old Russian pagan sanctuaries" constantly appear in literature - a complex,

From The Tale of Bygone Years. Translated by A. G. Kuzmin according to the publication “Se Tales of Bygone Years” (Laurentian Chronicle) (Arzamas, 1993)

From the book HISTORY OF RUSSIA from ancient times to 1618. Textbook for universities. In two books. Book one. author Kuzmin Apollon Grigorievich

From The Tale of Bygone Years. In the translation of A. G. Kuzmin according to the publication of “Behold the Tale of Bygone Years” (Laurentian Chronicle) (Arzamas, 1993), after the flood, the three sons of Noah divided the earth, Shem, Ham, Japhet. And Shem got the East... Ham got the South... Chiafet got the northern countries

Two migration flows to the Old Russian lands

From the book The Beginning of Russian History. From ancient times to the reign of Oleg author Tsvetkov Sergey Eduardovich

Two migration flows to the ancient Russian lands Ornaments of the Slovenes of NovgorodSo, the East Slavic ethnos did not know either tribal or dialectal unity, or a common “ancestral home”, which, until recently, the Middle Dnieper region was unconditionally recognized. IN

Old Russian or Scandinavian roots?

From the book Russian land. Between paganism and Christianity. From Prince Igor to his son Svyatoslav author Tsvetkov Sergey Eduardovich

Old Russian or Scandinavian roots? Historians and philologists discovered the folklore and literary roots of the chronicle of Olga's revenge as early as the first half of the 19th century, and the Normans, of course, hastened to attribute them to borrowings from the Scandinavian epic.

Old Russian princes

From the book From Hyperborea to Rus'. Non-traditional history of the Slavs author Markov German

Old Russian princes The list of princes given below, compiled according to the texts of the Book of Veles and Russian chronicles, in connection with unconfirmed data on kinship and chronology, can only serve as references for this review. The mythological ancestors of the Aryans (according to the Book

Old Russian lands and Pskov in the IX-XIII centuries

From the book Holy Defenders of Rus'. Alexander Nevsky, Dovmont Pskovskiy, Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir Serpukhovskoy author Kopylov N. A.

Old Russian lands and Pskov in the 9th-13th centuries, the 13th century brought ancient Russian history significant changes. The dependence of most of the Russian lands on the Golden Horde, the growth of their fragmentation into autonomous destinies, the differences in the forms of statehood, fixing on the thrones

Tales of Old Russian

From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(PO) author TSB

We bring to your attention fragments from the collection “Epics. Russians folk tales. Old Russian Tales” performed by Honored Artist of Russia Nina Vasilyeva.

“Already a thousand years ago, no one in Rus' could testify since when it was customary to sing epics and tell fairy tales. They passed to those who lived about this time from their ancestors, along with customs and rituals, with those skills, without which you can’t cut down a hut, you can’t get honey from a board - a deck, you can’t forge a sword, you can’t cut a spoon. These were a kind of spiritual commandments, covenants that the people honored ...

The influence of epic and fairy tales was found in many works of fine art and applied arts. The master wrote on the icon of St. George slaying a dragon with a spear - the winner of the fabulous Serpent Gorynych came out, and the saved maiden resembled a princess - a meek victim of an earthly rapist, with whom a peasant son fiercely fought in a fairy tale ...

Lots of authentic features ancient life and life gives documentary value to epics ... Epics satisfied not only the natural attraction to everything colorful, unusual, outstanding: they expressed in their own way public consciousness whole historical era. Who are they, Russian heroes, in the name of what do they perform feats and what do they protect?

V.P. Anikin,

“Russian literature is a thousand years old. We know our great classical writers well, but know little of our literature of the first seven centuries. Every Russian person is well aware of only "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". Meanwhile, our ancient literature is rich in works of various genres. The chronicles told about the history of our country, starting from ancient, pre-literate times and ending with the events of the turbulent 17th century. Biographies ("lives") told about the lives of individuals. In ancient Russian literature there are works of oratory, descriptions of journeys ("journeys") to the East or to Western Europe, journalistic writings aimed at eradicating social evil and injustice, calling for truth and goodness. Eat whole line so-called "war stories". In the 17th century, everyday stories appeared. At the end of the same century, dramatic and poetic compositions appeared ...

The works of Ancient Rus' captivate with their chaste purity. Old Russian literature does not linger on descriptions of atrocities, does not cherish the dream of retribution against enemies. She calls for the sublime and the good. In it we find noble ideals...

We are used to the works we read being entertaining. Amusement, for us, is mainly connected with the rapid development of a complex plot. The writers of Ancient Rus' also, of course, sought to interest the reader. But their plot is simple, the narration is calm, unhurried. The people of Ancient Rus' read books earnestly, slowly, rereading the same work several times, reverently looking for instructions, advice, or images of significant events from the history of their country or other countries. No wonder books were figuratively compared with the depths of the sea, and the reader - with a pearl seeker ...

Old Russian literature is valuable both for its own artistic achievements and for the fact that it paved the way for the emergence of the great Russian literature of modern times. Knowledge of ancient Russian literature helps to better and deeper understand literature XIX-XX centuries.

But the value of ancient Russian literature is not only in this. For us, it is that pure and life-giving source to which we turn in times of troubles and trials, “in days of doubt and painful reflection,” as well as in times of upsurge. We draw deep thoughts from it, find high ideals in it, beautiful images. Her faith in goodness and the victory of justice, her ardent patriotism strengthen and inspire us. M.V. Lomonosov called Russian chronicles "books of glorious deeds." The same can be said about most of the Old Russian stories.

D.S. Likhachev,
T.N. Michelson,
from the preface to the collection "Epics. Russian folk tales. Old Russian stories.

There are 43 transmissions in a cycle. Total time 13 h 3 min.
The size of the zip archive is 362 MB.

Epics.

1 Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber
2 Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar 1
3 Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar 2
4 Dobrynya and snakes
5 Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich
6 Stavr Godinovich
7 Sadko
8 Nightingale Budimirovich
9 Vasily Buslaevich
10 Vavilo and buffoons

Russian folk tales.

11 Kuzma Skorobogaty
12 Tiny-Havroshechka
13 White duck
14 Ivan Tsarevich and Gray wolf ch1
15 Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf P2
16 Go there - I don't know where, bring that - I don't know what P1
17 Go there - I don't know where, bring that - I don't know what P2
18 Go there - I don't know where, bring that - I don't know what P3

Old Russian stories.

19 From The Tale of Bygone Years Settlement of the Slavs
20 From The Tale of Bygone Years From the tales of Prince Oleg
21 From The Tale of Bygone Years From the Tales of Olga
22 From The Tale of Bygone Years Customs of Svyatoslav
23 From The Tale of Bygone Years From the Tales of Vladimir
24 From The Tale of Bygone Years
25 From The Tale of Bygone Years Battle of Listven
26 From the teachings of Vladimir Monomakh
27 The campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversky against the Polovtsy
28 Word about Igor's regiment, part 1
29 Word about Igor's regiment, part 2
30 From "The Prayer of Daniel the Sharpener"
31 The Tale of the Devastation of Ryazan by Batu, Part 1
32 The story of the ruin of Ryazan by Batu, part 2
33 The Tale of Mercury of Smolensk, The Tale of Shevkal, Instructions of the Bishop of Tver Semeon, The Word on the Destruction of the Russian Land
34 From The Life of Prince Alexander Nevsky
35 From "The Tale of the Life of Sergius of Radonezh" part 1
36 From "The Tale of the Life of Sergius of Radonezh" part 2
37 From "The Tale of the Battle of Mamaev" part 1
38 From "The Tale of the Battle of Mamaev" part 2
39 The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom
40 The story of the merchant Dmitry Basarga and his son Borzosmysl
41 From A Journey Beyond Three Seas by Afanasy Nikitin
42 Kazan take part 1
43 Kazan take part 2

Image - Viktor Vasnetsov "Bogatyrs" (1881-1898). State Tretyakov Gallery.

Archaeological excavations indicate that the writing of the ancient Slavs existed even in the pre-Christian period.. Most of the preserved written monuments have come down to our days after the Mongol period.

Agree that in the numerous fires and invasions, after which there was no stone left unturned, it is difficult to save anything. With the advent of the alphabet in the 9th century, created by the monks Cyril and Methodius, the first books began to be written. Mostly they were on church topics.

The worship went on national languages, so writing also developed in people's native languages. Literate in Rus' were different segments of the population . The found birch bark letters. They recorded not only civil and legal cases, but also everyday letters.

What is ancient Russian literature?

Ancient Russian literature includes handwritten or printed works written in the 11th-17th centuries. At this time, historical and business chronicles were kept, travelers described their adventures, but special attention was paid to Christian teachings.

The life of people ranked among the saints by the church was studied in school educational institutions and read by ordinary literate people. All creativity reflected the characteristic way of life of that time. Old Russian literature is characterized by the anonymity of writers.

How did literature develop in ancient Rus'?

Initially, handwritten texts were rewritten, exactly copying the original. Over time, the narrative became somewhat distorted due to changes in literary tastes and the preferences of translators. By comparing edits and multiple versions of texts, it is still possible to find the text closest to the original source.

You can read original books that have come down from the depths of centuries only in large libraries. . For example, "Instruction" by Vladimir Monomakh, written in the XII century by the great prince of Kyiv. This work is considered the first secular revelation.

Characteristic features of Old Russian literature

The works of this period are characterized by the repetition of certain situations and comparative characteristics in various writings. Characters always behave in accordance with the concepts of that time. So, the battles were depicted in a solemn language, majestically, in accordance with traditions.

Over seven hundred years of development, ancient Russian literature has made a huge breakthrough. Over time, new genres appeared, and writers increasingly rejected literary canons and showed writer's individuality. Nevertheless, patriotism and unity of the Russian people are visible in the texts.

At the beginning of the XIII century, Rus' was threatened by external enemies of the Pechenegs and Polovtsy, there was an internecine struggle between the principalities. The literature of that period called for an end to civil strife and fight with real enemies. The study of the events of those years is of great historical value.

From the written monuments you can learn about the events that took place in our homeland, life and moral values the whole people. Russian authors have always been concerned about the fate of the Russian heritage, and this is clearly seen from their sincere works.