The definition of the ancient Russian literary genre life is brief. General characteristics of the genre of life in ancient Russian literature
Description of the video lesson
Old Russian literature- literature of the East Slavic principalities from the moment of the creation of statehood in Rus' until the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
Without it, one cannot understand the work of modern writers, the history of the Fatherland. The main law of ancient Russian literature is the truth, the truth about prominent personalities who were the great Russian princes.
“What kind of a single and huge building is this, on the construction of which dozens of generations of Russian scribes worked for seven hundred years - unknown or known to us only by their modest names and about which almost no biographical data has been preserved, and there are not even autographs left?”- asks Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, a researcher of the literature of Ancient Rus'. And notes in her study: she has one theme - the meaning human life, one plot - world history.
life is a description of the life of a saint. The hero of life in his life follows the instructions of Christ and, passing through many trials, becomes a saint.
In the life, strict observance of the composition: an introduction, which tells the reasons for writing the work, in the main part - a description of the life of the saint, his death and miracles. Life ends with praise the perfect hero as an example of high morality. The authors did not reveal their names, emphasizing their modesty and humility. But they were educated and talented people. Without them, we would never have known about the life of the Christian and politician Alexander Nevsky.
Work "The Legend of the Life of Alexander Nevsky" was written in Vladimir, where the prince was buried, in the Nativity monastery. Academician Dmitry Likhachev suggested that Metropolitan Kirill took part in the creation of the work.
IN "The Life of Alexander Nevsky" presented image true patriot Russia, who not only prayed to God for the freedom of the Fatherland, but himself, with weapons in his hands, valiantly defended it from envious people and enemies. With a small retinue, relying on the help of God, on June 15, 1240, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich attacked the Swedish knights who invaded the northwestern lands of Rus', and won an absolute victory. The battle was at the mouth of the Neva River, which is why Prince Alexander Nevsky was named.
Since 1241, there was a war with the Lithuanian knights who captured the Pskov and Novgorod lands. The decisive battle took place on April 5, 1242 on the ice Lake Peipus. The battle ended with the defeat of the enemy. The battle went down in history under the name Battle on the Ice.
Alexander Nevsky not only fought, but also took care of civilians Russian land, supported good relations with the Khan of the Golden Horde, believing that the strength of Rus' is in its defense, and not in the offensive.
The author of the hagiographic story proves that, despite the subordination of Russian principalities to the Mongol-Tatars, princes remained in Rus', courageous and wise warriors, whose greatness is recognized even by enemies: “I have passed countries, peoples, and have not seen such a king among kings, nor a prince among princes.”
At the end of his life, after describing the exploits of Alexander Nevsky, a miracle happens: “When the holy body was laid in the tomb, then Sebastian the steward and Cyril the Metropolitan wanted to unclench his hand in order to put in a spiritual letter. He, as if alive, stretched out his hand and accepted the letter ... "
In 1547, Prince Alexander Nevsky was canonized for his devotion to God: “I believe, and that’s enough… You can’t buy faith for land, or for gold!”.
VOLGOGRAD STATE INSTITUTE
ARTS AND CULTURE
CHAIR OF LIBRARY STUDIES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Literature abstract on the topic:
"Life as a genre of ancient Russian literature"
Volgograd 2002
Introduction
Every nation remembers and knows its history. In traditions, legends, songs, information and memories of the past were preserved and passed on from generation to generation.
The general rise of Rus' in the 11th century, the creation of centers of writing, literacy, the appearance of a whole galaxy of educated people of their time in the princely-boyar, church-monastic environment determined the development of ancient Russian literature.
“Russian literature is almost a thousand years old. This is one of the oldest literatures in Europe. It is older than French, English, German literature. Its beginning dates back to the second half of the 10th century. Of this great millennium, more than seven hundred years belong to the period commonly called
"ancient Russian literature"
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,” writes D. S. Likhachev.1
Ancient Russian Literature up to the 17th century. does not know or almost does not know conventional characters. Names of actors - historical:
Boris and Gleb, Theodosius Pechersky, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy,
Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan of Perm...
Just as we talk about the epic in folk art, we can also talk about the epic of ancient Russian literature. The epic is not a simple sum of epics and historical songs. Epics are plot-related. They paint us a whole epic era in the life of the Russian people. The era is fantastic, but at the same time historical. This era is the reign of Vladimir the Red
Sun. The action of many plots is transferred here, which, obviously, existed before, and in some cases arose later. Another epic time is the time of Novgorod's independence. Historical songs depict us, if not a single era, then, in any case, a single course of events: the 16th and 17th centuries. par excellence.
Ancient Russian literature 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.
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.
Such a fate is not uncommon for literary works Ancient Rus': many of the stories eventually begin to be perceived as historical, as documents or narratives about Russian history.
Russian scribes also act in the hagiographic genre: in XI - early XII V. the lives of Anthony of the Caves were written (it has not survived), Theodosius
Pechersky, two versions of the life of Boris and Gleb. In these hagiographies, Russian authors, who are undoubtedly familiar with the hagiographic canon and with the best examples of Byzantine hagiography, show, as we shall see below, an enviable independence and display high literary skill.
Life as a genre of ancient Russian literature.
In the XI - the beginning of the XII century. the first Russian lives are created: two lives of Boris and
Gleb, "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves", "The Life of Anthony of the Caves" (not preserved until modern times). Their writing was not only literary fact, but also an important link in the ideological policy of the Russian state.
At this time, the Russian princes persistently sought the rights of the Patriarch of Constantinople to canonize their Russian saints, which would significantly increase the authority of the Russian Church. The creation of a life was an indispensable condition for the canonization of a saint.
We will consider here one of the lives of Boris and Gleb - "Reading about the life and destruction" of Boris and Gleb and "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves." Both lives were written by Nestor. Comparing them is especially interesting, since they represent two hagiographic types - the life-martyria (the story of martyrdom saint) and monastic life, which tells about everything life path the righteous man, his piety, asceticism, miracles performed by him, etc. Nestor, of course, took into account the requirements of the Byzantine hagiographic canon. There is no doubt that he knew translated Byzantine hagiographies. But at the same time, he showed such artistic independence, such an outstanding talent, that the creation of these two masterpieces alone makes him one of the outstanding ancient Russian writers.
Features of the genre of the life of the first Russian saints.
"Reading about Boris and Gleb" opens with a lengthy introduction that recounts the whole story human race: the creation of Adam and Eve, their fall into sin, the “idolatry” of people is denounced, it is remembered how Christ taught and was crucified, who came to save the human race, how the apostles began to preach a new doctrine and a new faith triumphed. Only
Rus' remained "in the first [former] charm of the idol [remained pagan]." Vladimir baptized Rus', and this act is portrayed as a universal triumph and joy: people in a hurry to accept Christianity rejoice, and not one of them resists and does not even “say” “against” the will of the prince, Vladimir himself rejoices, seeing the “warm faith” newly converted Christians. Such is the prehistory of the villainous murder of Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk. Svyatopolk thinks and acts according to the machinations of the devil. The “historiographical” introduction to the life corresponds to the ideas about the unity of the world historical process: the events that took place in Rus' are only a special case of the eternal struggle between God and the devil, and Nestor looks for an analogy, a prototype in every situation, every action. past history. Therefore, Vladimir's decision to baptize
Rus' leads to a comparison of him with Eustathius Plakida (the Byzantine saint, whose life was discussed above) on the grounds that Vladimir, as “ancient Plakida”, the god “sponu (in this case- illness) there’s no way, ”after which the prince decided to be baptized. Vladimir is compared with
Constantine the Great, whom Christian historiography revered as the emperor who proclaimed Christianity the state religion
Byzantium. Nestor compares Boris with the biblical Joseph, who suffered because of the envy of his brothers, etc.
The peculiarities of the life genre can be judged by comparing it with the annals.
The characters are traditional. The chronicle says nothing about the childhood and youth of Boris and Gleb. Nestor, according to the requirements of the hagiographic canon, tells how, as a youth, Boris constantly read
"the lives and torments of the saints" and dreamed of being honored with the same martyr's death.
The chronicle does not mention the marriage of Boris. Nestor has traditional motif- the future saint seeks to avoid marriage and marries only at the insistence of his father: "not for the sake of bodily lust", but "for the sake of the Caesar's law and the obedience of his father."
Further, the plots of the life and the annals coincide. But how different are the two monuments in the interpretation of events! The annals say that Vladimir sends Boris with his soldiers against the Pechenegs, the Reading speaks abstractly about some “military” (that is, enemies, enemy), in the annals Boris returns to Kiev, because he did not “found” (did not meet) enemy army,
"Reading" enemies take flight, as they do not dare to "stand against the blessed."
Vivid human relations are visible in the annals: Svyatopolk attracts the people of Kiev to his side by distributing gifts (“estate”) to them, they are reluctant to take them, since the same people of Kiev (“their brothers”) are in Boris’s army and - how completely natural in the real conditions of that time - the people of Kiev are afraid of a fratricidal war: Svyatopolk can raise the people of Kiev against their relatives who went on a campaign with Boris. Finally, let us recall the nature of Svyatopolk’s promises (“I will give you to the fire”) or his negotiations with
"Vyshegorodsky boyars". All these episodes in the chronicle story look very vital, in "Reading" they are completely absent. This shows the tendency towards abstraction dictated by the canon of literary etiquette.
The hagiographer seeks to avoid concreteness, lively dialogue, names
(remember - the chronicle mentions the river Alta, Vyshgorod, Putsha - apparently, the elder of Vyshgorod, etc.) and even lively intonations in dialogues and monologues.
When the murder of Boris and then Gleb is described, the doomed princes only pray, and they pray ritually: either quoting psalms, or
- contrary to any life plausibility - killers are rushed
"finish your business".
On the example of "Reading", we can judge the characteristic features of the hagiographic canon - this is cold rationality, conscious detachment from specific facts, names, realities, theatricality and artificial pathos of dramatic episodes, the presence (and the inevitable formal construction) of such elements of the saint's life, about which the hagiographer did not have the slightest information: an example of this is the description of childhood
Boris and Gleb in Reading.
In addition to the life written by Nestor, the anonymous life of the same saints is also known - "The Tale and Passion and Praise of Boris and Gleb."
The position of those researchers who see in the anonymous "Tale of Boris and Gleb" a monument created after the "Reading" seems to be very convincing; in their opinion, the author of the Tale is trying to overcome the schematic and conventional nature of the traditional life, to fill it with vivid details, drawing them, in particular, from the original hagiographic version that has come down to us as part of the chronicle. The emotionality in The Tale is subtler and more sincere, despite the conditionality of the situation: Boris and Gleb meekly surrender themselves into the hands of the killers and here they have time to pray for a long time, literally at the moment when the killer’s sword is already raised over them, etc., but at the same time, their replicas are warmed by some sincere warmth and seem more natural. Analyzing the "Tale", the well-known researcher of ancient Russian literature I.P. Eremin drew attention to the following stroke:
Gleb, in the face of the killers, “losing his body” (trembling, weakening), asks for mercy. He asks, as children ask: "Don't hurt me... Don't hurt me!" (Here
"deeds" - to touch). He does not understand what and why he must die ...
The defenseless youth of Gleb is in its way very elegant and touching. This is one of the most "watercolor" images of ancient Russian literature. In "Reading" the same
Gleb does not express his emotions in any way - he thinks (hopes that he will be taken to his brother and that, having seen Gleb's innocence, he will not “destroy” him), he prays, and at the same time rather impassively. Even when the killer "yat [took] Saint Gleb for an honest head," he "is silent, like a fire without malice, all the mind is named to God and roaring up to heaven praying." However, this is by no means evidence of Nestor's inability to convey living feelings: in the same scene, he describes, for example, the experiences of the soldiers and servants of Gleb. When the prince orders to leave him in the boat in the middle of the river, then the soldiers “sting for the saint and often look around, wanting to see that he wants to be a saint”, and the youths in his ship, at the sight of the killers, “put down the oars, gray-haired mourning and weeping for the saints”. As you can see, their behavior is much more natural, and, therefore, the dispassion with which Gleb is preparing to accept death is just a tribute to literary etiquette.
"The Life of Theodosius of the Caves"
After "Reading about Boris and Gleb" Nestor writes "The Life of Theodosius
Caves" - a monk, and then hegumen of the famous Kiev-Pechersk monastery. This life is very different from the one discussed above by the great psychologism of the characters, the abundance of lively realistic details, the plausibility and naturalness of replicas and dialogues. If in the lives of Boris and
Gleb (especially in “Reading”) the canon triumphs over the vitality of the situations described, then in “The Life of Theodosius”, on the contrary, miracles and fantastic visions are described so clearly and convincingly that the reader seems to see what is happening with his own eyes and cannot but “believe” him .
It is unlikely that these differences are only the result of Nestor's increased literary skill or a consequence of a change in his attitude towards the hagiographic canon.
The reasons here are probably different. First of all, these are lives different types.
The life of Boris and Gleb is a martyr's life, that is, a story about the martyrdom of a saint; this main theme determined and artistic structure such a life, the sharpness of the opposition between good and evil, the martyr and his tormentors, dictated a special tension and "poster" directness of the culminating scene of the murder: it should be painfully long and moralizing to the limit. Therefore, in the lives of martyrs, as a rule, the tortures of the martyr are described in detail, and ero death occurs, as it were, in several stages, so that the reader empathizes with the hero for a longer time. At the same time, the hero turns to God with lengthy prayers, in which his steadfastness and humility are revealed and the whole gravity of the crime of his killers is exposed.
“The Life of Theodosius of the Caves” is a typical monastic life, a story about a pious, meek, industrious righteous man, whose whole life is a continuous feat. It contains many everyday conflicts: scenes of the saint's communication with monks, laity, princes, sinners; in addition, in the lives of this type, the miracles performed by the saint are an obligatory component - and this introduces an element of plot entertainment into the life, requires considerable art from the author so that the miracle is described effectively and believably.
Medieval hagiographers were well aware that the effect of a miracle is especially well achieved when purely realistic everyday details are combined with a description of the action of otherworldly forces - the phenomena of angels, dirty tricks perpetrated by demons, visions, etc.
The composition of the "Life" is traditional: there is both a lengthy introduction and a story about the saint's childhood. But already in this narrative about the birth, childhood and adolescence of Theodosius, an involuntary clash of traditional clichés and life's truth takes place. Traditional reference to the piety of parents
Theodosius, the scene of naming the baby is significant: the priest calls him “Theodosius” (which means “ given to god”), since with “eyes of the heart” he foresaw that he “would be given to God from childhood.” Traditionally, there is a mention of how the boy of Theodosius “goes all day to the church of God” and did not approach his peers playing on the street. However, the image of the mother of Theodosius is completely unconventional, full of undeniable individuality. She was physically strong, with a rough male voice; passionately loving her son, she nevertheless cannot come to terms with the fact that he, a boy from a very wealthy family, does not think of inheriting her villages and “slaves”, that he walks in shabby clothes, categorically refusing to put on “bright” and clean, and thus brings reproach to the family that he spends his time in prayer or baking prosphora. The mother stops at nothing to break the exalted piety of her son (this is the paradox - parents
Theodosius is presented by the hagiographer as pious and God-fearing people!), she severely beats him, puts him on a chain, and tears the chains from the body of the youth.
When Theodosius manages to leave for Kyiv in the hope of getting a haircut in one of the monasteries there, the mother announces a large reward to the one who will show her the whereabouts of her son. She finally discovers him in a cave, where he labors together with Anthony and Nikon (later the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery grows out of this dwelling of hermits). And here she resorts to a trick: she demands from Anthony to show her her son, threatening that otherwise she will “destroy” herself “in front of the doors of the oven.” But, seeing Theodosius, whose face "has changed from his much work and restraint", the woman can no longer be angry: she, embracing her son, "weeping bitterly", begs him to return home and do whatever he wants ("according to her will") . Theodosius is adamant, and at his insistence, the mother is tonsured in one of the women's monasteries. However, we understand that this is not so much the result of a conviction that the path to God he had chosen is correct, but rather an act of a desperate woman who realized that only by becoming a nun would she be able to see her son at least occasionally.
The character of Theodosius himself is also complex. He possesses all the traditional virtues of an ascetic: meek, industrious, adamant in the mortification of the flesh, full of mercy, but when a princely strife occurs in Kiev (Svyatoslav drives his brother from the grand prince's throne -
Izyaslav Yaroslavich), Feodosia is actively included in the purely mundane political struggle and boldly denounces Svyatoslav.
But the most remarkable thing in the "Life" is the description of the monastic life and especially the miracles performed by Theodosius. It was here that the “charm of simplicity and fiction” of the legends about the Kyiv miracle workers, which he so admired
A. S. Pushkin1.
Here is one of such miracles performed by Theodosius. To him, then hegumen of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, the elder over the bakers comes and reports that there is no flour left and there is nothing to bake bread from for the brethren. Theodosius sends a baker: “Go, look in the bottom of the bottom, how little flour you find in it ...” But the baker remembers that he swept the bottom of the bottom and swept a small pile of bran into the corner - from three or four handfuls, and therefore answers with conviction
Feodosia:
“I’m telling you the truth, father, as if I myself had a litter of that sap, and there’s nothing in it, except for a single cut in a corner.” But Theodosius, recalling the omnipotence of God and citing a similar example from the Bible, sends the baker again to see if there is any flour in the bin. He goes to the pantry, goes to the bottom of the barrel and sees that the bottom of the barrel, previously empty, is full of flour.
In this episode, everything is artistically convincing: both the liveliness of the dialogue, and the effect of a miracle, enhanced precisely thanks to skillfully found details: the baker remembers that there are three or four handfuls of bran left - this is a concretely visible image and an equally visible image of a bin filled with flour: there is so much of it that she even spills over the wall to the ground.
The next episode is very picturesque. Theodosius was late on some business with the prince and must return to the monastery. The prince orders
Theodosius was brought up in a cart by a certain youth. The same, seeing the monk in “wretched clothes” (Theodosius, even being abbot, dressed so modestly that those who did not know him took him for a monastery cook), boldly addresses him:
"Chrnorizche! Behold, you are all day apart, but it’s difficult
[here you are idle all the days, and I work]. I can't ride horses. But having done this [we will do this]: let me lie down on the cart, you can go on horses. Theodosia agrees. But as you get closer to the monastery, you meet more and more people who know Theodosius. They respectfully bow to him, and the boy gradually begins to worry: who is this well-known monk, albeit in shabby clothes? He is completely horrified when he sees with what honor Theodosius is met by the monastery brethren. However, the abbot does not reproach the driver and even orders him to feed and pay him.
Let's not guess whether there was such a case with Theodosius himself. Another thing is undoubted - Nestor could and knew how to describe such collisions, he was a writer of great talent, and the conventionality with which we meet in the works of ancient Russian literature is not the result of inability or special medieval thinking. When we are talking about the very understanding of the phenomena of reality, then one should speak only of a special artistic thinking, that is, about ideas of how this reality should be depicted in the monuments of certain literary genres.
Over the next centuries, many dozens of different lives will be written - eloquent and simple, primitive and formal, or, on the contrary, vital and sincere. We will have to talk about some of them later. Nestor was one of the first Russian hagiographers, and the traditions of his work will be continued and developed in the works of his followers.
Genre of hagiographic literature in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The genre of hagiographic literature became widespread in ancient Russian literature. "The Life of Tsarevich Peter Ordynsky, Rostov (XIII century)",
"The Life of Procopius of Ustyug" (XIV).
Epiphanius the Wise (died in 1420) entered the history of literature primarily as the author of two extensive lives - "The Life of Stephen of Perm" (bishop of Perm, who baptized the Komi and created an alphabet for them in mother tongue), written at the end of the 14th century, and the Life of Sergius of Radonezh, created in 1417-1418.
The basic principle from which Epiphanius proceeds in his work
Wise, is that the hagiographer, describing the life of a saint, must by all means show the exclusivity of his hero, the greatness of his feat, the detachment of his actions from everything ordinary, earthly. Hence the desire for an emotional, bright, decorated language that differs from ordinary speech. The lives of Epiphanius are full of quotations from Holy Scripture, for the feat of his heroes must find analogies in biblical history. They are characterized by the demonstrative desire of the author to declare his creative impotence, the futility of his attempts to find the necessary verbal equivalent to the depicted high phenomenon. But it is precisely this imitation that allows Epiphanius to demonstrate all his literary skill, to stun the reader with an endless series of epithets or synonymous metaphors, or, by creating long chains of words with the same root, make him think about the erased meaning of the concepts they denote. This technique is called "word weaving".
Illustrating the writing style of Epiphanius the Wise, researchers most often turn to his "Life of Stephen of Perm", and within this life - to the famous praise of Stephen, in which the art of "weaving words"
(by the way, here it is called just that) finds, perhaps, the most vivid expression. Let us give a fragment from this praise, paying attention both to the game with the word “word” and to the series of parallel grammatical constructions: Collecting praise, and acquiring, and dragging, I say again: what will I call thee: the leader (leader) of the lost, the finder of the lost, the deceived mentor, the leader with the blinded mind, the defiled purifier, the exactor wasted, the guards of the military, the sad comforter, the feeder of the hungry, the giver of the demanding. ..”
Epiphanius strings a long garland of epithets, as if trying to more fully and accurately characterize the saint. However, this accuracy is by no means the accuracy of concreteness, but the search for metaphorical, symbolic equivalents to determine, in fact, the only quality of a saint - his absolute perfection in everything.
In the hagiography of the XIV-XV centuries. the principle of abstraction also becomes widespread, when “everyday, political, military, economic terminology, job titles, specific natural phenomena of a given country are expelled from the work ...” The writer resorts to paraphrases, using expressions like “a certain nobleman”,
“Lord of that city”, etc. The names of episodic characters are also eliminated, they are referred to simply as “someone’s husband”, “some wife”, while the additions “some”, “some”, “one” serve to remove the phenomenon from the surrounding household situation, from a specific historical environment.
The hagiographic principles of Epiphany found their continuation in the work of
Pachomia Logofeta. Pachomius Logothete. Pachomius, a Serb by origin, arrived in Rus' no later than 1438. In the 40-80s. 15th century and his creativity is accounted for: he owns at least ten lives, many words of praise, services to saints and other works. Pakhomiy, according to V.O.
Klyuchevsky, "he did not find any significant literary talent anywhere ... but he ... gave Russian hagiography many examples of that even, somewhat cold and monotonous style, which was easier to imitate with the most limited degree of erudition"2.
This rhetorical style of writing by Pachomius, his plot simplification and traditionalism can be illustrated at least by such an example. Nestor very vividly and naturally described the circumstances of the tonsure of Theodosius
Pechersky, as Anthony dissuaded him, reminding the young man of the difficulties awaiting him on the path of monastic asceticism, as his mother tries by all means to return Theodosius to worldly life. A similar situation exists in the Life of Cyril Belozersky, written by Pachomius. The young man Kozma is brought up by his uncle, a rich and eminent man (he is a roundabout with the Grand Duke). The uncle wants to make Kozma treasurer, but the young man longs to be tonsured a monk. And now, “if it happened to come to the Abbot of Makhrishch Stephen, the husband of the land in virtue is done, we all know the great for the sake of life. Having led this coming, Kozma flows with joy to him ... and falls at his honest feet, shedding tears from his eyes and tells his thought to him, and at the same time he begs him to lay on the monastic image. “For you, speech, oh, sacred head, from a long time you wished, but now God vouchsafe me to see your honest shrine, but I pray for the Lord’s sake, do not reject me as a sinner and indecent ...”
The elder is "touched", consoles Kozma and tonsures him as a monk (giving him the name Cyril). The scene is labeled and cold: the virtues are glorified
Stefan, Kozma implores him pathetically, willingly goes to meet his request of the abbot. Then Stefan goes to Timothy, the uncle of Kozma-Cyril, to inform him about the tonsure of his nephew. But here, too, the conflict is only barely outlined, not depicted. Timothy, having heard about what had happened, "heavyly understands the word, and at the same time he was filled with sorrow and some annoying utterance to Stefan." That insulted one leaves, but Timothy, ashamed of his pious wife, immediately repents "about the words spoken to Stephen", returns him and asks for forgiveness.
In a word, in the "standard" eloquent expressions, a standard situation is depicted, which in no way correlates with the specific characters of this life. We will not find here any attempts to arouse the reader's empathy with the help of any vital details, subtly noticed nuances (rather than general forms of expression) of human feelings. Attention to feelings, emotions, which require an appropriate style for their expression, the emotions of the characters and, to no lesser extent, the emotions of the author himself are undeniable.
But this, as already mentioned above, is not yet a genuine penetration into the human character, it is only a declared attention to it, a kind of
"abstract psychologism" (the term of D. S. Likhachev). And at the same time, the very fact of an increased interest in the spiritual life of a person is already significant in itself. The style of the second South Slavic influence, which was embodied initially in the lives (and only later in historical narrative), D.S. Likhachev proposed to name
"expressive-emotional style"1.
At the beginning of the XV century. under the pen of Pachomius Logothetes, as we remember, a new hagiographic canon was created - eloquent, "decorated" lives, in which lively "realistic" lines gave way to beautiful, but dry paraphrases. But along with this, lives of a completely different type appear, boldly breaking traditions, touching with their sincerity and ease.
Such, for example, is the Life of Mikhail Klopsky. "Life of Michael
Klopsky". The very beginning of this life is unusual. Instead of the traditional beginning, the story of the hagiographer about the birth, childhood and tonsure of the future saint, this life begins, as it were, from the middle, and at the same time from an unexpected and mysterious scene. The monks of the Trinity on Klop (near Novgorod) monastery were in the church for prayer. Pope Macarius, returning to his cell, finds that the cell is unlocked, and an old man unknown to him sits in it and rewrites the book of the apostolic deeds. The pope, "thrown up", returned to the church, called the hegumen and the brethren, and together with them returned to the cell. But the cell is already locked from the inside, and the unfamiliar old man continues to write. When they begin to question him, he answers very strangely: he repeats word for word every question put to him. The monks could not even find out his name. The elder visits the church with the rest of the monks, prays with them, and the abbot decides: “Be an elder with us, live with us.” All the rest of the life is a description of the miracles performed by Michael (his name is reported by the prince who visited the monastery). Even the story of Michael's "departure" is surprisingly simple, with mundane details, and there is no traditional praise for the saint.
The unusual "Life of Mikhail Klopsky", created in the age of creations
Pachomia Logofeta, however, should not surprise us. The point here is not only in the original talent of its author, but also in the fact that the author of the life is a Novgorodian, he continues in his work the traditions of Novgorod hagiography, which, like all the literature of Novgorod, was distinguished by greater immediacy, unpretentiousness, simplicity (in the good sense of this words), comparatively, say, with the literature of Moscow or Vladimir-Suzdal
Rus'.
However, the “realism” of the life, its plot amusingness, the liveliness of scenes and dialogues - all this was so contrary to the hagiographic canon that the life had to be reworked already in the next century. Let's compare only one episode - the description of the death of Michael in the original edition of the 15th century. and in the alteration of the XVI century.
In the original edition we read: “And Michael fell ill in the month of December on Savin's day, going to the church. And he stood on the right side of the church, in the courtyard, opposite Theodosius' tomb. And the abbot and the elders began to say to him: “What,
Michael, are you not standing in the church, but are you standing in the yard? And he said to them: “I want to lie down there.” ... Yes, he took with him a censer and temyan [incense - incense], and Shol in the cell. And the abbot sent him nets and threads from the meal. And they unlocked it, and the agiotemyan was smoking [temyan was still smoking], but he was not in his stomach [died]. And they began to look for places, the earth froze, where to put it. And remembering the blacks to the abbot - try the place where Michael stood. Ino from that place looked through, even the earth was melting. And they bury him honestly.”
This laid-back, lively story has undergone a drastic revision.
So, to the question of the hegumen and the brethren, why he prays in the courtyard, Michael now answers as follows: “Behold my rest forever and ever, as if the imam will dwell here.” The episode when he leaves for his cell is also reworked: “And he rises up the censer, and having laid incense on the coals, he departs to his cell, but the brethren marveling, having seen the saint, they were so much weak, and yet the fortress received a little more. The abbot departs for the meal and sends a meal to the saint, commanding him to taste.
Those who came from the hegumen and went into the cell of the saint, and seeing that departed to the Lord, and the hand was bent in the form of a cross, having, and in a way, as if sleeping and emitting a lot of fragrance. The following describes the weeping at the burial
Michael; moreover, not only the monks and the archbishop “with the whole sacred council”, but also the whole people mourn him: people rush to the funeral, “like the rapids of the river, the tears are incessantly shedding”. In a word, under the pen of the new editor, Vasily Tuchkov, the life acquires exactly the form in which, for example, Pakhomiy Logofet would have created it.
These attempts to move away from the canons, to let the breath of life into literature, to decide on literary fiction, to renounce straightforward didactics, were manifested not only in the lives.
The genre of hagiographic literature continued to develop in the 17th - 18th centuries:
"The Tale of a Luxurious Life and Joy", "The Life of Archpriest Avvakum" 1672,
"The Life of Patriarch Joachim Savelov" 1690, "The Life of Simon Volomsky", end
XVII century, "The Life of Alexander Nevsky"
The autobiographical moment is fixed in different ways in the 17th century: here is the life of the mother, compiled by the son (“The Tale of Uliania Osorgina”), and
"ABC", compiled on behalf of "naked and poor man”, and “Message to a noble enemy”, and the autobiographies themselves - Avvakum and Epiphanius, written simultaneously in the same earthen prison in Pustozersk and representing a kind of diptych. "The Life of Archpriest Avvakum" - the first autobiographical work Russian literature, in which Archpriest Avvakum himself spoke about himself and his long-suffering life.
Speaking of the work of Archpriest Avvakum, A.N. Tolstoy wrote: “These were ingenious“ life ”and“ messages ”of the rebel, frantic Archpriest Avvakum, who completed literary activity terrible torture and execution in
Pustozersk. Avvakum's speech is all about gesture, the canon is shattered, you physically feel the presence of the narrator, his gestures, his voice.
Conclusion:
Having studied poetics individual works ancient Russian literature, we concluded about the features of the genre of hagiography.
Life is a genre of ancient Russian literature that describes the life of a saint.
IN this genre There are different hagiographic types:
. life-martyria (the story of the martyrdom of the saint)
. monastic life (a story about the whole life path of a righteous man, his piety, asceticism, miracles he performed, etc.)
The characteristic features of the hagiographic canon are cold rationality, conscious detachment from specific facts, names, realities, theatricality and artificial pathos of dramatic episodes, the presence of such elements of the saint's life, about which the hagiographer had not the slightest information.
The moment of miracle, revelation is very important for the genre of monastic life.
(the ability to learn is a gift from God). It is the miracle that brings movement and development into the biography of the saint.
The genre of life is gradually undergoing changes. The authors depart from the canons, letting the breath of life into literature, decide on literary fiction (“The Life of Mikhail Klopsky”), speak a simple “peasant” language
("The Life of Archpriest Avvakum").
Bibliography:
1. Likhachev D. S. Great heritage. classical works literature
2. Eremin I. P. Literature of Ancient Rus' (etudes and characteristics). M.-L.,
1966, p. 132-143.
3. Likhachev D.S. Human Literature of Ancient Rus'. M., 1970, p. 65.
4. Eremin I. P. Literature of Ancient Rus' (etudes and characteristics). M.-L.,
1966, p. 21-22.
5. Pushkin A. S. Full. coll. op. M., 1941, v. XIV, p. 163.
6. Likhachev D. S. Culture of Rus' in the time of Andrei Rublev and Epiphanius
Wise. M.-L., 1962, p. 53-54.
7. Klyuchevsky V.O. Old Russian Lives saints like historical source. M.,
1871, p. 166.
1 Likhachev D.S. Great heritage. Classical works of literature
Ancient Rus'. M., 1975, p. 19.
1 Pushkin A. S. Full. coll. op. M., 1941, v. XIV, p. 163.
1 Likhachev D.S. Culture of Rus' in the time of Andrei Rublev and Epiphanius the Wise.
M.-L., 1962, p. 53-54.
2 Klyuchevsky V.O. Ancient Russian Lives of Saints as a Historical Source. M.,
1871, p. 166.
1 Likhachev D.S. Man in the literature of Ancient Rus'. M., 1970, p. 65
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“Morality is the same in all ages and for all people. By reading about the obsolete in detail, we can find a lot for ourselves.” . These words of academician D.S. Likhachev make us think about what spiritual literature can bestow on the modern reader, what we can discover in it for ourselves.
Spiritual literature is a special layer of Russian culture and, in particular, literature.
The very definition - "spiritual" - indicates its purpose: to create a spirit in a person (that which encourages action, to activity), to educate morally, to show the ideal. Ancient Russian literature put forward Jesus Christ as an ideal. His example is followed by the heroes of the hagiographic genre.
Life is one of the most stable and traditional genres of Russian literature. The first translations of hagiographic works were brought from Byzantium and appeared in Rus' along with the Bible and other Christian books at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century. In the same 11th century, the genre of hagiography established itself in the literature of Kievan Rus.
It was then that original hagiographic works were created, the heroes of which were born on Russian soil and made her pride in front of other countries that profess Christianity. These are the prince-brothers Boris and Gleb, who at the cost of their lives did not violate the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” and did not raise arms against brother Svyatopolk; Rev. Theodosius of the Caves, church leader and author of teachings; princes - ascetics of Christianity Olga, Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky.
The composition of the correct life should be three-part: an introduction, a story about the life and deeds of a saint from birth to death, praise; quite often a description of miracles was added to the life.
A lofty theme - a story about the life of a person serving people and God - determines the image of the author in his life and the style of narration. The emotionality of the author, his excitement paint the whole story in lyrical tones and create a special, solemnly sublime mood. The style of narration is lofty, solemn, saturated with quotations from the Holy Scriptures.
So, the canonical features of life:
is a biography of a saint;
- compiled after the death of the righteous;
- the story is told in the third person;
- the composition is built according to a strict scheme;
- a way of depicting a hero - idealization;
– inner world the hero is not depicted in development, he is the chosen one from the moment of birth;
- space and time are conditional;
- in the image of the saint, if possible, all individual character traits in particular, randomness;
- the tone of the narration is solemn, serious;
- the language of life is bookish, with an abundance of Church Slavonicisms;
- the plot is spiritual feat saint.
Thus, the spiritual ideals of Ancient Rus' found expression in a strict hagiographic form, thought out to the details, polished for centuries.
The creators of the biographies did not set themselves the task of showing the individual character of the saint. He was the bearer of Christian virtues, and nothing more. But when the lives of Russian saints were created, their images were still alive in the memory of their descendants, and the authors often deviated from this scheme, endowing the hero with bright individual human features, thereby “humanizing” the image of the saint, bringing him closer to the reader. As it developed, ancient Russian literature more and more went beyond the church framework, while maintaining its high spiritual mood, moral highness and instructiveness. So it happened with the genre of life.
Three original lives compiled according to these canons have come down to us: two lives of princes Boris and Gleb and the Life of Theodosius of the Caves.
Already in our time, Andrei Rublev, Ambrose of Optinsky, Xenia of Petersburg have been canonized and recognized as saints, and their lives have been written. Recently, the lives of the elders have been published: Archpriest Nikolai (Guryanov), Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov).
In 2004, the publishing house of the Novo-Tikhvin Convent in the city of Yekaterinburg published the book “The Life and Miracles of the Holy Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, the Wonderworker”. This life is built according to the laws of the genre; traditional canonical features can be found in it.
First of all, this is a biography of St. Simeon, compiled after the death of the righteous man (as it should be in accordance with the laws of the genre). But if earlier space and time were conventionally depicted in hagiographies, in this work they are real and concrete. True, the year of Simeon's birth is not exactly indicated, but presumably he was born around 1607. He was born and lived at first in the European part of Russia. His parents belonged to the nobility. Unfortunately, neither their names nor occupation are known. “Probably, the parents of the saint of God were God-fearing people and had great zeal for educating good-naturedness and true faith in their son. This is evidenced by the whole subsequent life of the righteous.” .
As in traditional lives, the way the hero is depicted is idealization: “From an early age, Simeon felt disgust for earthly goods and the inevitable worldly unrest. From a young age, he aspired to contemplation and soul-saving works, but the environment was an obstacle in this good deed. Desiring to find solitude for a more convenient fulfillment of the exploits of piety, as well as avoiding temptations and troubles alien to his soul, the righteous Simeon decided to leave his homeland, wealth, nobility and retire to more secluded places. . His choice fell on Siberia, which had been attached to Russia not long before and was still little known to the Russian people.
Talking about the later life of Simeon, the authors of the life name specific places and dates. Saint Simeon settled in the village of Merkushino, located on the banks of the Tura River, fifty miles from the fortress city of Verkhoturye. Verkhoturye was founded in 1598, shortly before the arrival of Righteous Simeon in Siberia. And the village of Merkushino was founded at the beginning of the 17th century.
In the description of the village of Merkushino, one can see some signs of the traditional hagiographical genre: the use of epithets and metaphors makes the narrative more expressive, vivid, and gives liveliness to the language. “The village of Merkushino was distinguished by its majestically wonderful location. Here the bizarre bends of the Tura, water meadows, hills, the expanse of valleys and dense forests, which seem to be an obstacle to any fuss, are connected. And the most amazing thing is that all this could be covered with one glance. .
In general, the language of the work is bookish, the narration is conducted in the third person, it is distinguished by its leisurely presentation, calm intonation - just as it was in other lives. There are also obsolete words here: verst, niello, idol temples, dust, etc. But there are almost no Church Slavonicisms in the language of life, it is simple and understandable to the reader of the 21st century.
The new approach of the authors of the life of Simeon was also manifested in the fact that, narrating about the life of a righteous man, they also talk about the historical era of the 16th century, and about the customs of people, and about their way of life. Here, for example, is a description of the life of the peasants in the village of Merkushino: “The huts then mostly consisted of one room where the whole family lived. Everyone dined at one large table under the icons in the red corner, ate from a common bowl, most often cabbage soup and porridge, scooped them up in turn, starting with the eldest in the family. At night, everyone went to sleep on benches near the walls, and those who did not have enough space, he also lay down on the floor. . Of course, for a person from the nobility, such an existence would be a difficult burden to bear. But the righteous Simeon, despite his noble origin and, consequently, the exacting tastes and habits, did not disdain life in peasant houses.
Talking about the life of Simeon in Merkushino, hagiographers tell about his studies, prayers. Living in Merkushino, Simeon did not have a permanent home, but moved from house to house. This was facilitated by the occupation by which the righteous maintained his existence. This occupation was tailoring. Of all types of clothing, Simeon sewed mainly “fur coats with stripes”, and working on other people's clothes, “thought about the clothes of his soul, about the clothes of dispassion and chastity”. . With particular love, he worked for poor people, from whom he usually refused to take payment for his labors. He considered the shelter and food that he used from the owners during work to be quite sufficient for himself.
Another favorite pastime of Simeon was fishing. To do this, he went to a secluded place with a fishing rod in his hands. There, sitting under a spreading spruce on the banks of the Tura, he “thought about the greatness of the Creator.”
By tradition, the inner world of a person is not depicted in development, the hero is ideal, since he is the chosen one from the moment of birth. These ideal features are constantly emphasized by the authors. In order to avoid payment for his labor, the righteous Simeon, not quite finishing his sewing, often early in the morning, without the knowledge of the owners, left home and settled in a new place. For this, he was often insulted and even beaten, but the righteous man, not having a high opinion of himself, endured them patiently, as well-deserved.
In catching fish, he showed moderation: he caught fish only for daily food.
In the ancient lives, when depicting a saint, all individual character traits, particulars, were eliminated. One cannot say the same about the image of Simeon. Before us, however, is not an abstract ideal, but an earthly sufferer, a living person. We can imagine his personality, character: “The humble, quiet appearance of a saint of God, his meek, respectful treatment of everyone, his simple and wise word made an amazing impression, no doubt softening the hardness of many hearts.” .
The composition of the life meets the requirements of the genre. Finishing the description of the life path of Simeon, the authors sum up. The narrative about the death of the hero is distinguished by a calm intonation, unhurried presentation (as was the case in the ancient lives): “Suffering from a stomach illness, probably from strict abstinence, the righteous Simeon passed away to the Lord at a rather young age. This happened between 1642 and 1650. The inhabitants of the village of Merkushino, who had deep respect for the righteous man, buried him with honor at the newly built parish church of Michael the Archangel.” . The authors of the life claim that, unlike most of the holy elders, Simeon died young: “The feat of the Merkushinsky saint of God, during his lifetime not noticed by many, and even ridiculed by some, was an exceptional phenomenon. By zealous fulfillment of the gospel commandments, Saint Simeon was cleansed of passions, returned to his soul the likeness of God in a relatively short life - he departed to the Kingdom of Heaven at the age of 35-40, although many great saints of God achieved such purification of the heart only on the slope of their lives. Summing up his life, the authors again emphasize the ideality of the hero: “he was a wondrous saint of God.” .
Then, in accordance with the composition of the genre, posthumous miracles are described. After his death, the body of Simeon turned out to be incorruptible: in 1692, the coffin with the body of Simeon suddenly began to “rise from the earth and appeared on top of the grave. Through the cracks of its lid one could see the incorruptible remains. Soon, jets of miraculous power flowed abundantly from the relics of the saint.
The following are examples of healings. For example, the Nerchinsk voivode Antony Savelov had a servant Grigory sick (he could hardly move). The voivode, going to the place of service in Nerchinsk, took with him a servant, who asked permission to call on the way to Merkushino to the tomb of the righteous. After the memorial service, Gregory, taking some earth from the coffin, wiped his hands and feet with it, and then got to his feet and began to walk.
Another example: the Siberian governor Andrei Fedorovich Naryshkin had a servant, Ilya Golovachev, whose eyes hurt, so that he could not even bear the light. He was also helped by the earth from the grave of Simeon the Righteous.
There are many such examples in the book. The authors took these historical details from the manuscript of the Metropolitan of Tobolsk and Siberian Ignatius - “The story of the well-known and testified about the manifestation of honest relics and partly the legend of the miracles of the holy and righteous Simeon, the new Siberian miracle worker.” It was Bishop Ignatius who led the examination of the relics of Simeon in 1695.
The life also describes the further fate of the relics of Simeon. In 1704 they were transferred from the village of Merkushino to the Verkhotursky St. Nicholas Monastery. Interesting fact about miracles during this procession is given in the life. The transfer took place on September 12, 1704. The solemn procession headed from Merkushino to Verkhoturye. Following the relics, the foolish cripple Kosma crawled on his knees. When he got tired, he prayed to the righteous as if he were alive: "Brother Simeon, let's have a rest." And the procession immediately stopped, because the shrine could not be moved for some time. On the way of the procession, in memory of these wonderful stops, several chapels were subsequently erected, which still exist today.
A detailed account of the ordeal of the relics of Simeon after October revolution, about transferring them to local history museum N. Tagila, then to Yekaterinburg, about the fate of the people involved in these events - all this makes up the second part of Simeon's life. In addition, the book includes appendices containing descriptions of cases of assistance and appearances of Simeon Verkhotursky to the suffering. These testimonies were left with gratitude by people who lived not only in ancient times, but also in our time, which, it would seem, is far from miracles.
Such a construction of the book, of course, does not correspond to the traditions of the genre. However, on the whole, in the life of Simeon (especially in its first part), the canonical features of life are undoubtedly visible, although elements of innovation are observed.
You can believe or not believe the miracles described in the lives. But stories about the life of the righteous, about their service to people in our time are not only necessary, but also interesting.
In our time, reading such instructive works is very important. “For people of our century, far from ideal service to the world and people, rarely looking into themselves, thinking more about the present than about the eternal, the heroes of hagiographic works seem strange. But, turning over the pages of Russian hagiographies, readers gradually discover for themselves the brightest, most secret ideals. .
List of used literature.
- The Life and Miracles of the Holy Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, the Wonderworker. – MPRO Publishing House convent Novo-Tikhvinsky of the Yekaterinburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2004.
- Likhachev D.S. Man in the Literature of Ancient Rus'. - M., 1970.
- Okhotnikova V.I. Old Russian literature. - M .: Education, 2002.
The originality of the genres of ancient Russian literature. life
Introduction
Every nation remembers and knows its history. In traditions, legends, songs, information and memories of the past were preserved and passed on from generation to generation.The general rise of Rus' in XI century, the creation of centers of writing, literacy, the appearance of a whole galaxy of educated people of their time in the princely-boyar, church-monastic environment determined the development of ancient Russian literature. “Russian literature is almost a thousand years old. This is one of the oldest literatures in Europe. It is older than French, English, German literature. Its beginning dates back to the second half of the 10th century. Of this great millennium, more than seven hundred years belong to the period that is customarily called "ancient Russian literature."<…>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,” writes D. S. Likhachev. 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 Pechersky, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan of Perm ... Just as we talk about the epic in folk art, we can talk about the epic of ancient Russian literature. The epic is not a simple sum of epics and historical songs. Epics are plot-related. They paint us a whole epic era in the life of the Russian people. The era is fantastic, but at the same time historical. This era is the reign of Vladimir the Red Sun. The action of many plots is transferred here, which, obviously, existed before, and in some cases arose later. Another epic time is the time of Novgorod's independence. Historical songs depict us, if not a single era, then, in any case, a single course of events: the 16th and 17th centuries. par excellence. Ancient Russian literature 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. 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. Such a fate is not uncommon for the literary works of Ancient Rus': many of the stories eventually begin to be perceived as historical, as documents or narratives about Russian history. Russian scribes also act in the hagiographic genre: in the 11th - early 12th centuries. the lives of Anthony of the Caves (it has not survived), Theodosius of the Caves, two versions of the life of Boris and Gleb were written. In these hagiographies, Russian authors, undoubtedly familiar with the hagiographic canon and with the best examples of Byzantine hagiography, show, as we shall see below, an enviable independence and display high literary skill.
Life as a genre of ancient Russian literature
In the XI - the beginning of the XII century. the first Russian lives are created: two lives of Boris and Gleb, "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves", "The Life of Anthony of the Caves" (not preserved until modern times). Their writing was not only a literary fact, but also an important link in the ideological policy of the Russian state. At this time, the Russian princes persistently sought the rights of the Patriarch of Constantinople to canonize their Russian saints, which would significantly increase the authority of the Russian Church. The creation of a life was an indispensable condition for the canonization of a saint. We will consider here one of the lives of Boris and Gleb - "Reading about the life and destruction" of Boris and Gleb and "The Life of Theodosius of the Caves." Both lives were written by Nestor. Comparing them is especially interesting, since they represent two hagiographic types - the life-martyria (the story of the martyrdom of the saint) and the monastic life, which tells about the whole life path of the righteous, his piety, asceticism, miracles he performed, etc. Nestor, of course, he took into account the requirements of the Byzantine hagiographic canon. There is no doubt that he knew translated Byzantine hagiographies. But at the same time, he showed such artistic independence, such an outstanding talent, that the creation of these two masterpieces alone makes him one of the outstanding ancient Russian writers.
Features of the genre of the life of the first Russian saints
"Reading about Boris and Gleb" opens with a lengthy introduction, which outlines the entire history of the human race: the creation of Adam and Eve, their fall, the "idolatry" of people is denounced, it is recalled how Christ, who came to save the human race, taught and was crucified, how they began to preach a new teaching of the apostles and a new faith triumphed. Only Rus' remained "in the first (former) charm of idols (remained pagan)." Vladimir baptized Rus', and this act is portrayed as a universal triumph and joy: people in a hurry to accept Christianity rejoice, and not one of them resists and does not even “say” “against” the will of the prince, Vladimir himself rejoices, seeing the “warm faith” newly converted Christians. Such is the prehistory of the villainous murder of Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk. Svyatopolk thinks and acts according to the machinations of the devil. The “historiographical” introduction to life corresponds to the idea of the unity of the world historical process: the events that took place in Rus' are only a special case of the eternal struggle between God and the devil, and Nestor looks for an analogy, a prototype in past history for every situation, every action. Therefore, Vladimir's decision to baptize Rus' leads to a comparison of him with Eustathius Plakida (the Byzantine saint, whose life was discussed above) on the grounds that Vladimir, as "ancient Plakida", God "has no way (in this case, illness)" after which the prince decided to be baptized. Vladimir is also compared with Constantine the Great, whom Christian historiography revered as an emperor who proclaimed Christianity the state religion of Byzantium. Nestor compares Boris with the biblical Joseph, who suffered because of the envy of his brothers, etc. One can judge the features of the life genre by comparing it with the chronicle. The characters are traditional. The chronicle says nothing about the childhood and youth of Boris and Gleb. Nestor, according to the requirements of the hagiographic canon, tells how, as a youth, Boris constantly read "the lives and torments of the saints" and dreamed of being honored with the same martyr's death. The chronicle does not mention the marriage of Boris. Nestor, on the other hand, has a traditional motive - the future saint seeks to avoid marriage and marries only at the insistence of his father: "not for the sake of bodily lust", but "for the sake of the Caesar's law and the obedience of his father." Further, the plots of the life and the annals coincide. But how different are the two monuments in the interpretation of events! The chronicle says that Vladimir sends Boris with his soldiers against the Pechenegs, the Reading speaks abstractly about some “military” (that is, enemies, opponent); in the annals, Boris returns to Kyiv, because he did not “found” (did not meet) the enemy army, in the “Reading” the enemies take flight, because they do not dare to “stand against the blessed”. Vivid human relations are visible in the annals: Svyatopolk attracts the people of Kiev to his side by distributing gifts (“estate”) to them, they are reluctant to take them, since the same people of Kiev (“their brothers”) are in Boris’s army and - how completely natural in the real conditions of that time - the people of Kiev are afraid of a fratricidal war: Svyatopolk can raise the people of Kiev against their relatives who went on a campaign with Boris. Finally, let us recall the nature of Svyatopolk’s promises (“I will give you fire”) or his negotiations with the “Vyshny Novgorod boyars”. All these episodes in the chronicle story look very vital, in "Reading" they are completely absent. This shows the tendency towards abstraction dictated by the canon of literary etiquette. The hagiographer strives to avoid concreteness, lively dialogue, names (remember - the chronicle mentions the river Alta, Vyshgorod, Putsha - apparently, the elder of Vyshgorodtsy, etc.) and even lively intonations in dialogues and monologues. When the murder of Boris, and then Gleb, is described, the doomed princes only pray, and they pray ritually: either, quoting psalms, or - contrary to any life plausibility - they urge the murderers to "finish their business."On the example of "Reading", we can judge the characteristic features of the hagiographic canon - this is cold rationality, conscious detachment from specific facts, names, realities, theatricality and artificial pathos of dramatic episodes, the presence (and the inevitable formal construction) of such elements of the life of a saint, about which hagiographer did not have the slightest information: an example of this is the description of the childhood years of Boris and Gleb in the Reading. In addition to the life written by Nestor, the anonymous life of the same saints is also known - “The Tale and Passion and Praise of Boris and Gleb”. The position of those researchers who see in the anonymous "Tale of Boris and Gleb" a monument created after the "Reading" seems to be very convincing; in their opinion, the author of the Tale is trying to overcome the schematic and conventional nature of the traditional life, to fill it with vivid details, drawing them, in particular, from the original hagiographic version that has come down to us as part of the chronicle. The emotionality in The Tale is subtler and more sincere, despite the conventionality of the situation: Boris and Gleb meekly surrender themselves into the hands of the killers here, and here they have time to pray for a long time, literally at the moment when the killer’s sword is already raised over them, etc. , but at the same time, their replicas are warmed by some kind of sincere warmth and seem more natural. Analyzing the "Tale", the well-known researcher of ancient Russian literature I.P. Eremin drew attention to the following stroke: Gleb in the face of the killers, "wearing his body" (trembling, weakening), asks for mercy. He asks, as children ask: "Don't hurt me... Don't hurt me!" (here "deeds" - to touch).
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Ancient written literature is divided into secular and ecclesiastical. The latter received special distribution and development after Christianity began to occupy an increasingly strong position among other world religions.
Genres of religious literature
Ancient Rus' acquired its own written language along with those brought from Byzantium by Greek priests. Yes, and the first Slavic alphabet, as you know, was developed by the Thessalonica brothers, Cyril and Methodius. Therefore, it was church texts that became the one by which our ancestors comprehended book wisdom. The genres of ancient religious literature included psalms, lives, prayers and sermons, church legends, teachings and stories. Some of them, such as the story, subsequently transformed into the genres of secular works. Others remained strictly within the church framework. Let's see what life is. The definition of the concept is as follows: these are works devoted to the description of the life and deeds of saints. We are not talking only about the apostles who continued the preaching work of Christ after his death. The heroes of hagiographic texts were martyrs who became famous for their highly moral behavior and who suffered for their faith.
Characteristic signs of life as a genre
From this follows the first hallmark of what life is. The definition included some clarification: firstly, it was drawn up about real person. The author of the work had to adhere to the framework real biography, but pay attention precisely to those facts that would indicate the special holiness, chosenness and asceticism of the saint. Secondly, what is a life (definition): it is a story composed for the glorification of a saint for the edification of all believers and non-believers, so that they are inspired by a positive example.
An obligatory part of the story was reports of the miraculous power that God endowed with his most faithful servants. Thanks to God's mercy, they could heal, support the suffering, perform the feat of humility and asceticism. So the authors drew the image perfect person, but, as a result, many biographical information, details privacy went down. And finally, one more distinguishing feature genre: style and language. There are many references, words and expressions with biblical symbols.
Based on the above, what is life? The definition can be formulated as follows: ancient genre written literature (as opposed to oral folk art) on religious theme, glorifying the deeds of Christian saints and martyrs.
Lives of the Saints
Hagiographic works have long been the most popular in ancient Rus'. They were written according to strict canons and, in fact, revealed the meaning of human life. One of the most striking examples of the genre is the "Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh", set forth by Epiphanius the Wise. There is everything that should be in this type: the hero comes from a pious family of the righteous, obedient to the will of the Lord. God's providence, faith and prayers support the hero from childhood. He meekly endures trials and trusts only in God's mercy. Realizing the importance of faith conscious life the hero spends in spiritual labors, not caring about the material side of life. The basis of his existence is fasting, prayers, taming the flesh, fighting the unclean, asceticism. The lives emphasized that their characters were not afraid of death, gradually prepared for it and accepted their departure with joy, as this allowed their souls to meet with God and angels. The work ended, as it began, with a doxology and praise of the Lord, Christ and the Holy Spirit, as well as the righteous man himself - the reverend.
List of hagiographic works of Russian literature
Peru of Russian authors owns about 156 texts related to the genre of hagiography. The first of them are connected with the names of princes Boris and Gleb, who were treacherously killed by their own brother. They also became the first Russian Christian martyrs-passion-bearers, canonized Orthodox Church and considered the protectors of the state. Further, the lives of Prince Vladimir, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and many other prominent representatives of the Russian land were created. A special place in this series is occupied by the biography of Archpriest Avvakum, the recalcitrant leader of the Old Believers, written by himself during his stay in Pustozersky prison (17th century). In fact, this is the first autobiography, the birth of a new
