Old Russian literature, like any medieval literature, has a number of features that distinguish it from the literature of modern times. A characteristic feature literature of the medieval type is a broad interpretation of the concept of “literature” as the written word with the obligatory inclusion of functional genres, usually performing religious, ritual or business functions. It is worth paying attention to the fact that in the Middle Ages the basis of the genre system was precisely functional genres that had special extra-literary functions. On the contrary, genres with weakened functionality are on the periphery of this system. In the transition period from the Middle Ages to the culture of modern times, a reverse process occurs: genres with weakened functionality move to the center of the system, and functional genres are pushed to the periphery.

Thus, DRL is a complex conglomerate of artistic and business monuments (1). This feature was due to its close connection with history, the Christian religion and writing in general.

Handwritten nature of the existence of DRL works (2) fundamentally distinguishes it from the literature of modern times. A work, as a rule, appeared not in one, but in several lists. The scribe sometimes simply copied the manuscript, creating a new list, but often changed its ideological orientation in accordance with the requirements of the time, shortened or expanded the text, and changed the style of the monument. In this case we are talking about a new editorial staff works. The author's list of text is called autograph. In the process of processing a work, its editorial staff. Since the work in the DRL existed for several centuries and in different regions, there could be several editions. The list, which turns out to be the basis for processing, is called protographer. It may not always be the author's version. Researchers of movement and text development in DRL – textualists and paleographers– consider the types of handwriting of scribes, features of spelling, grammar, identify individual linguistic differences and, on the basis of this, draw up a hypothetical scheme for the development and distribution of editions of the monument. Textual criticism and paleography- These are auxiliary disciplines that help in the study of handwritten texts. Textual criticism studies the text itself, while paleography examines the material on which and with the help of which a handwritten monument was created.

Anonymity (3) Most of the works of DRL - another of its distinctive features associated with the Christian concept of human personality, according to which pride was considered one of the greatest sins, and humility - the height of virtue. Because of this, the individual characteristics of the writer’s personality in medieval literature did not receive such a vivid manifestation as in the literature of modern times. However, anonymity should not be confused with impersonality. It has long been proven that individual authorship existed in DRL, but the forms of its expression were different than in the literature we are accustomed to. The attitude towards copyright in DRL was completely different. Anonymity allowed authors to use parts of “other people’s” texts to compose their own. Exceptions were made only for authoritative works - texts of the Holy Scriptures and Tradition, writings of the church fathers, state documents. References were necessarily made to the names of their creators. However, authoritative church texts were recognizable due to their wide popularity.

Medieval historicism (4). DRL began as literature devoid of fiction. The scribe strictly followed the facts, connecting his work with a specific historical event or person. Even when we are talking about supernatural phenomena, about persons and events that, from our point of view, did not exist or were impossible in reality, all the same, both the compiler of the work and the reader are Ancient Rus' They perceived everything written as something that actually happened. And this attitude towards the written text remained very long time. Perhaps only in the 17th century this tradition was destroyed.

The principle of historicism is associated with providentialism (5), that is, the idea of ​​predestination. Thus, any hero of hagiographic literature, even in childhood, shows a tendency towards a holy life. If he begins his life sinfully, then his belief, a change in the quality of his spiritual state is inevitable, predetermined from above. The suffering of the Russian people “for our sins” is also predetermined in the stories about the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

The peculiarities of the worldview of medieval man determined the authoritarian thinking of the ancient Russian scribe and authoritarianism (6) like hell artistic method DRL. Reference to historical, literary or political authority is very important for ancient Russian man(this has already been mentioned above). Often new works were signed with the names of church fathers and hierarchs of past years just to give them greater weight. The reader who first becomes acquainted with the monuments of the DRL draws attention to the abundance of direct quotes and indirect references to the texts of the New and Old Testament, numerous references to the works of authoritative church writers. In these quotes, the author seemed to consolidate his moral, didactic, political and aesthetic assessment of a fact, event, person, and asserted its universal significance and universal acceptance.

Closely related to authoritarian thinking principle of retrospective historical analogy (7) , which is the most important means of the author’s assessment of a particular historical event. Here is what V.V. writes about this. Kuskov: “A retrospective historical analogy allows us to more deeply reveal the meaning of a particular historical event, assess the behavior of its participants, glorify them or condemn them, establish a unique typological commonality between the events of Ancient Rus' and the events of world history and thereby indicate their certain pattern.” Using the material from the monuments of the Kulikovo cycle, the researcher shows how an unbroken chain of victories won by the Russian princes Yaroslav the Wise, Alexander Nevsky, and Dmitry Donskoy is established. “Traditional reception,” continues V.V. Kuskov, - a retrospective historical analogy with biblical characters in “The Tale of the Battle of Mama” emphasizes the significance of the victory won on the Kulikovo field. It is equated to the victory of Gideon over Midian, Moses over Amalek and Pharaoh, David over Goliath. The troops of the Moscow prince are similar to the army of Alexander the Great, the courage of the Russian soldiers is similar to Gideon’s allies. AND heavenly powers They help Dmitry just as they once helped Tsar Constantine in his fight against the wicked. The regiments of Dmitry Volynets are like the youths of David, “those who had hearts, like the lvovs, like the luthiers, who came to the flock of sheep.” In his prayers, Dmitry asks God to help him in the same way as Hezekiah - to tame the heart of the ferocious beast Mamai.”

Authority also dominated in the area artistic form. DRL can be called exemplary literature, literature of sustainable etiquette. Traditional (8) covers not only the content of works, but also their form: principles of depicting a person, plot, composition, language. The traditionalism of medieval literature cannot be perceived as the result of the “childish spontaneity”, inability or “ineptitude” of the scribe. This is a phenomenon of the era, an urgent need of the time, a fact of man’s moral consciousness, without which he could not explain the world and navigate in it.

The authoritarianism of the DRL reflects the estate-corporate principle of the existence of ancient Russian people. A clear awareness of the impossibility of breaking the estate-corporate principle leaves its mark on literature. If you are a prince, then you are obliged to be one and behave in accordance with the idea of ​​worthy princely behavior. “Just as a cauldron cannot be freed from blackness and burning, so a slave cannot be freed from servitude” (“Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik). Human behavior in medieval society is determined by rank. Likhachev called this feature of life etiquette. But it is more accurate to use the terms decorum and orderliness. Even the clothing of a medieval person is a sign of rank. Decency is order. Disorder, disorder - disorder. A person must take his place in the general ranks. Order and rowness become indicators of the structure of the world. In the 17th-century work “The Officer of the Falconer’s Way,” created not without the participation of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the credo of human behavior and order is clearly formulated. The Old Russian “rank” as a literary concept corresponds to some extent to the modern concept of “rhythm”, for it is the measured adherence to order and decorum that creates the vital basis for the ceremoniality of Russian literature.

Traditionality becomes a type of medieval creativity, the most important factor in the intellectual development of reality. It rests on the deep conviction that there is only one correct worldview in the world - Christian ideology. Traditionalism of ideological and artistic thinking, reflecting medieval ideas about the new as heretical, did not allow a different approach to assessing the phenomenon, regarding any other point of view as coming from the devil.

An ancient Russian writer creates within a certain tradition. He sees the true value of medieval art in its exact adherence to the model. The highest example and the highest truth is, of course, authority Holy Scripture.

D.S. Likhachev introduced the concept literary etiquette (9) , by which we will understand the system of canonical literary devices– compositional, system of images, language, stylistic clichés, etc., necessary to create works of certain genres, images of certain characters.

An essential feature of DRL is its direct and more stable connection with ideology (10) . A.N. Robinson explains this by saying that in the Middle Ages “artistic literary creativity did not develop independently (as special shape ideology), but as if “inside” or as part of differently practically purposeful genres of writing (for example, in chronicles, and in solemn sermons, and in hagiography, etc.) ... Such combined and practically purposeful functions of literature delayed highlighting itself artistic creativity from writing and determined a more direct (than in modern literature) dependence of aesthetics on ideology as a whole.” It follows from this that didacticism DRL. The author always set practical and didactic goals for his work, for medieval literature is utilitarian, it is created for the benefit of the soul. Even history is always an edifying lesson.

Process of creation literary work in Ancient Rus' was closely connected with the process of cognition, which in turn was determined by the peculiarities of the worldview of medieval man. The worldview of the ancient Russian scribe is characterized by binary, the opposition of the real to the unreal, the temporary to the eternal. These features of the vision of the world affected the theory of knowledge: the scribe comprehends the surrounding reality and everyday things with “bodily eyes.” Secrets ideal world are revealed to a person through spiritual insight, divine revelation, therefore knowledge of the heavenly is possible only with “spiritual eyes.”

From the point of view of a medieval person, divine powers could manifest themselves in life either directly or indirectly, with the help of various hints. Perceiving reality as a symbol of the ideal world, a person perceived any phenomenon, any object real world as a sign expressing the sacred essence of this phenomenon or object. Based on this vision of the world, the symbolism (11) - one of the most characteristic features of medieval literature. The emergence of symbolism in the DRL should not be associated solely with the dominance of Christian ideology. It is inherent in the art of pre-Christian eras. So, A.N. Veselovsky distinguished between pagan symbolism and Christian symbolism. In his opinion, in paganism “the symbol came out of life,” while in Christianity “life begins to be determined by the mental material introduced into it.”

Medieval literature and art are built on symbols. Dionysius the Areopagite states: “Manifest things are images of invisible things.” Each thing is a symbol of the invisible. In the medieval consciousness, the world doubles. The real, earthly world is a symbol and prototype of the ideal, heavenly world. Only one who has achieved perfection through internal contemplation can penetrate into the heavenly world; then the inner eyes open and prophets are born. Let us note that literature does not forget anything. Based on the principle of doubling the world, images of poet-prophets appear in romantic aesthetics.

Events also double up. They have analogues in the past, primarily in the biblical and gospel history, which is thought of as reality. In a historical event it is important to find hidden meaning. God is an intelligent and wise mentor who is trying to educate humanity with his batog. Please note that symbolism, like the historicism of the DRL, turns out to be associated with the idea of ​​predestination, providentialism. Objects are symbolic. The sword is a symbol of power and justice, the shield is protection, defense. The church is a symbol of heaven, the earthly sky, the ark of salvation (just as God saved Noah in the ark, so the temple saves man). Gold symbolizes eternity and Christ. The cross is salvation, the torment of the cross. Let us note that the symbolism of the DRL gave rise to the predominance of the parable genre, which was the fundamental basis of genre systems.

Of course, all these features of DRL could not remain unchanged for seven centuries; they gradually transformed as literature developed.

Old Russian(or Russian medieval, or ancient East Slavic) literature is a collection of written works, written on the territory of Kievan and then Muscovite Rus' in the period from the 11th to the 17th centuries. Old Russian literature is common ancient literature of the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples.

Map of Ancient Rus'
The largest researchers Old Russian literature are academicians Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, Boris Aleksandrovich Rybakov, Alexey Aleksandrovich Shakhmatov.

Academician D.S. Likhachev
Old Russian literature was not the result of artistic invention and had a number of features .
1. Fiction was not allowed in ancient Russian literature, since fiction is a lie, and lies are sinful. That's why all works were religious or historical character . The right to fiction was conceptualized only in the 17th century.
2. Due to the lack of fiction in ancient Russian literature there was no concept of authorship, since the works either reflected real historical events or were expositions of Christian books. Therefore, works of ancient Russian literature have a compiler, a copyist, but not an author.
3. Works of ancient Russian literature were created in accordance with etiquette, that is, according to certain rules. Etiquette was formed from ideas about how the course of events should unfold, how the hero should behave, and how the compiler of the work should describe what is happening.
4. Old Russian literature developed very slowly: over seven centuries, only a few dozen works were created. This was explained, firstly, by the fact that the works were copied by hand, and the books were not replicated, since before 1564 there was no printing in Rus'; secondly, the number of literate (reading) people was very small.

Genres Old Russian literature differed from modern ones.

Old Russian literature... How can it be interesting to us, people of the 21st century? First of all, preserving historical memory. It is also the origins of our entire spiritual life. Our written culture originates from the literature of Ancient Rus'. Much in modern life becomes clear if a historical retrospective appears. At the same time, it is necessary to make a number of efforts to understand what our distant ancestors believed in, what they dreamed of, what they wanted to do.
It is advisable to start a conversation with students with a description of the era.
Ancient Rus'... How do we imagine it? What is the peculiarity of the perception of man and the world of a certain era? What is the difficulty in understanding it? First of all, the reader, researcher or teacher faces the problem of adequately understanding the era itself, and since the era is shown through the prism of a literary work, this is a problem of reading and interpretation. This task becomes especially difficult if the time about which we're talking about, is several centuries away from the reader. Other times, other morals, other concepts... What should the reader do to understand the people of a distant time? Try to understand the intricacies of this time period yourself.
What is the world of medieval man like? To answer this question, it is necessary to move somewhat away from the interpretation of Medieval Rus' given in Soviet period. The fact is that the starting point of Soviet science was P.N. Milyukov’s pre-revolutionary book “Essays on the History of Russian Culture,” in which the Middle Ages period was defined as “unconscious,” devoid of meaningfulness and directed goal-setting. Accordingly, in many works of Soviet researchers, the Middle Ages are presented as a time where senseless barbaric customs and mores reigned, and the domination of the church was perceived as evil.
Currently, a new direction in science is being developed - historical anthropology. Its focus is on man with his inner world and the totality of man’s relationships with the space around him, natural, social, and everyday. This is how the image of the world is revealed both as a microcosm (through the person of a given era) and as a macrocosm (through social and state relations). The teacher bears a great responsibility for forming in the student’s mind the image of the world of the Middle Ages. If the space of the past is distorted, then the space of the present is thereby distorted. Moreover, the historical past becomes an arena of ideological battles, where distortion of facts, manipulation, and “fantastic reconstruction”, so fashionable at the present time, take place. That is why the position of the teacher in the process of teaching ancient Russian literature is so important.
What should the reader pay attention to in order to understand the world of medieval Russian people, to learn to respect the significance and self-understanding of this world? It is important to understand that the meaning of some words and concepts for a person of the 10th – 15th centuries is different than for a person of the 21st century. Accordingly, in the light of these meanings, some actions can be viewed and assessed in completely different ways. Thus, one of the main concepts of the Middle Ages is the concept of truth. For modern man, truth is “the sphere of deep experiences, artistic comprehension, eternal scientific research. The medieval man was distinguished by the fact that his mood was different: the truth for him was already open and defined in the texts of the Holy Scriptures.”
In addition to the concept of “truth,” it is important to reveal the ancient meanings of the words “truth” and “faith.” In Ancient Rus', “truth” meant the Word of God. “Faith” is the Word of God in the flesh. This is the truth given in God's commandments, apostolic and sacred rules. In a narrower sense, “faith” is the ritual aspect of religion. Trying to translate this concept into modern language, let’s say that “truth” is an idea, and “faith” is the technology for bringing this idea to life.”
The task of a teacher is especially difficult when he has to immerse himself not only in the past, which in itself is fraught with the dangers of misunderstanding, but in other spiritual world, the world of the Church, where the opposite perspective is characteristic: the distant edges are larger than the near ones. The most important thing that a teacher must remember is the covenant handed down to us from the depths of the Middle Ages: “Let us not lie against the saint!”
The images of saints were and still are exciting. However to modern man It is difficult to understand the full depth of the actions of these people. We must make an effort, devote time to this, and then the world of Russian holiness will appear before us.
Old Russian literature differs in many ways from modern literature. It is possible to highlight a number of specific features, which determine its dissimilarity with the literature of our days:
1) historicism of content;
2) syncretism;
3) voluntariness and didacticity;
4) labeling of forms;
5) anonymity;
6) the handwritten nature of the narrative and existence.
In Ancient Rus', fiction was attributed to the devil's instigation, so only those events that happened in reality and that were known to the author were depicted. The historicism of the content is manifested in the fact that there were no fictional characters or events. All the persons, all the events discussed in the story are real, authentic, or the author believes in their authenticity.
Anonymity is inherent primarily in chronicles, lives, and military stories. The author proceeded from the idea that it is immodest to put your signature when you talk about historical events or narrate the life, deeds and miracles of a saint. As for sermons, teachings, prayers, they most often have specific authors, because they could be spoken or written by a very authoritative person, respected and revered by others. The genre of preaching and teaching itself made special demands on the author. His name, his righteous life influenced the listener and reader.
In the Middle Ages, great importance was attached to the form of relationships between people, scrupulous adherence to tradition, observance of ritual, and detailed etiquette. Therefore, literary etiquette was predetermined by the world order and strict boundaries of behavior. Literary etiquette presupposed how the course of events should have taken place, how one should behave actor, what words should be used to describe what happened. And if the behavior of a person did not correspond to the generally accepted norm, then it was either a negative character, or it was necessary to remain silent about this fact.
In general, everything written works in ancient Russian literature they are voluntary and didactic. The author writes his works with the idea that he will definitely convince the reader, have an emotional and volitional impact and lead him to generally accepted standards of morality and morality. This is also typical for translated literature, including scientific literature. Thus, “The Physiologist,” a translated monument known to Vladimir Monomakh, introduced real and mythical animals. At the same time, this text is an insistence to readers: “A lion has three properties. When the lioness gives birth, she brings a dead and blind cub, she sits and guards for up to three days. After three days the lion comes, blows in his nostrils and the cub comes to life. It’s the same with faithful peoples. Before baptism they are dead, but after baptism they are cleansed by the holy spirit.” A synthesis of science and religious ideas are combined in one text.
Original written works in ancient Russian literature belonged, as a rule, to the genres of journalistic style. Life, sermon, and teaching as a genre predetermined the vector of thought, showed moral standards and taught rules of behavior. Thus, the works of Metropolitan Hilarion are theological treatises in content, sermons in form. In them, he cares about the prosperity of the Russian people, about their morality and ethics. Hilarion has a very definite idea of ​​what the people need, for he became a teacher and shepherd “by the grace of a man-loving God.”
The syncretism of genres is generally characteristic of the era of the emergence of art and literature. It comes in two forms. Firstly, a clear manifestation of syncretism can be traced in the chronicles. They contain a military story, legends, samples of contracts, and reflections on religious topics. Secondly, syncretism is associated with the underdevelopment of genre forms. In “Walkings,” for example, there are descriptions of specific geographical and historical places, and sermons, and teachings. Elements of military stories can be introduced into the life. And military stories can end with teachings or religious reflections.
To understand the peculiarities of the culture of Ancient Rus', it is also necessary to say about the significance of Byzantine culture and literature for the formation of Old Russian literature. Books came to Rus' with baptism. The most famous and revered works were the works of Byzantine theologians John Chrysostom (344-407), Basil the Great (330-379), Gregory the Theologian (320-390), Ephraim the Syrian (died 343). The foundations of Christianity were interpreted in them, people were instructed in Christian virtues.
Of the translated stories and novels, the most popular was the novel “Alexandria,” which tells about the life of Alexander the Great. This novel about historical events with an entertaining plot, intertwining fictional events and fantastic inserts, with a colorful description of India and Persia, was a favorite work in medieval Europe. The Russian translator interacted with this novel quite freely; he supplemented it with episodes from other sources, adapting it to the tastes of Russian readers. Moreover, he believed that all the events of the novel were genuine, and not fictitious.
In addition to these books, Russian people were interested in “The Tale of the Devastation of Jerusalem” by Josephus, the story of Vasily Digenis Akrit (it was known to ancient Russian readers under the name “Deugene’s Act”), the story of the Trojan Acts, and the story of Akira the Wise. Even a simple listing gives an understanding of the breadth of interests of the translators of Ancient Rus': they introduce historical events in Jerusalem, admire the exploits of a warrior guarding the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire, show the history of the Trojan War and talk about the distant past, about the life of the wise adviser to the Assyrian and Nineveh king Sennacherib-Akihara (Akira).
Translators are also interested in works about the natural world. These books included “Six Days” with information about the Universe, “Physiologist”, which described real and imaginary animals, fantastic stones and amazing trees, and “The Christian Topography of Cosmas Indicoplos,” “the voyage to India.”
The Middle Ages, by tragic accident, seem dark, harsh and unproductive. It seems that people thought differently, imagined the world differently, that literary works did not correspond to great achievements. Chronicles, teachings, lives and prayers... Will all this be interesting? After all, now are different times, different morals. But could there be another idea? native land? In his prayer, Metropolitan Hilarion asks the Savior to “show meekness and mercy” to the Russian people: “... drive out enemies, establish peace, pacify tongues, quench famines, create our rulers by the threat of tongues, make boys wise, spread cities, grow Your Church, preserve Your heritage , save husbands and wives with babies who are in slavery, in captivity, in captivity on the road, in voyages, in prisons, in hunger and thirst and nakedness - have mercy on everyone, give comfort to everyone, rejoice everyone, giving them joy both bodily and soulful!”
Despite the peculiarities of the vision of the world, the attitude towards God and man, the form of expression of thought remains almost the same for people of the 10th and 21st centuries. We convey thought with the same substances of language. Types of speech and genres exist over time, changing and adapting to a particular era rather in content than in form.
Genre is the primary speech form of the existence of a language. If speech genres did not exist, they would have to be created anew at the moment of speech. This would make communication difficult, making it difficult to transmit information. Each time creating a genre for the first time, rather than using its form, would be very difficult. M.M. Bakhtin in his book “Aesthetics of Verbal Creativity” defined the following criteria for a speech genre: subject content, stylistic decision and the speech will of the speaker. All these points are interconnected and determine the specifics of the genre. However, the genre is not only a speech utterance, but also at the same time a historically emerging type of literary work, which has the characteristics distinctive features and patterns.
Genre is determined not only by the laws of language, but also by the paradigm of consciousness and the paradigm of behavior. Therefore, the primary genres are those that reflect the simplest things: biography, funeral speech, sermon as a discourse on moral and religious topics, teaching as a discourse on moral and ethical topics, a parable, a description of a journey. Genres at the beginning of their emergence exist as certain unities, distinguished by a rigid structure of presentation of dominant views. As a result of rethinking life, changing semantic values, the genre is also changing. There is no unity of content, and the form of presentation of the material is also destroyed.
Genres are not stable on their own. They interact with each other, mutually enriching. They can change and form new combinations.
Over a certain period, the genre changes and acquires new features. We can trace the development of such a genre as the description of travel over the centuries. “Walkings,” pilgrimages, are a religious description of a journey to the Holy Land, to Constantinople, to Palestine. “Walking across Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin is already a secular description, to some extent geographical. In the following, travel of scientific, artistic and journalistic styles is distinguished. In the latter style, the travel essay genre is especially common.
Of course, in ancient Russian literature the subject content depended on the religious worldview and historical events. The theocentric vision of the world largely determined human self-awareness. The human person is nothing before the power and greatness of the Lord. Thus, the style decision was determined by a person’s place in the world. The author's origin should not play any role. The image of historical figures should initially be far from reality. The lack of original style was to become the rule rather than the exception. But all this did not become a dogma for ancient Russian literature. In it, on the contrary, we see works filled with the author’s worldview, pain for the fate of the country; they give preference to certain events and people. The chronicler is proud, exalts or degrades and condemns his princes; he is not an impartial observer.
In the works of this time, the reader becomes familiar with religious wisdom. That is why fiction is not allowed, but only facts are conveyed, on their basis Christian truths are revealed. The speech will of the speaker in the works of that time was subordinated to the state and religious idea.
Parameters that determine genre features speech utterance are considered at several levels: at the subject-semantic level, at the structural-compositional level, at the level of stylistic and linguistic design.
The thematic content of any speech utterance is determined by “subject-semantic exhaustion”. The author of a speech utterance thinks through how the subject of speech will be presented in the texts and what needs to be said in order for the topic to be revealed within the given genre framework.
The structural and compositional level prescribes a fairly rigid genre scheme. The parable is characterized by its own structure, the oratory does not resemble a teaching, and the lives of the saints do not resemble military tales. Compositional organization is the external and internal manifestations of textual material, this is its division into semantic parts. The genres of ancient Russian literature were created according to a certain canon, which largely dictated a rigid structure and characteristic composition.
Speech utterance requires special stylistic resources. Firstly, this is the style of the era, in this case, Old Russian. Secondly, the style of the genre, parable, walk, etc. The genre itself determines what style features priority in this work. And thirdly, the author's style. The monk does not speak as the prince speaks.
The genre nature of any statement is specific, therefore in each genre it is possible to identify something unique, original, characteristic only of this type. The content depends on the speech will of the speaker, i.e. the subject of speech, the idea, how this subject of speech is defined and what is the author’s attitude towards it, and the style, in what manner all this is presented. This unity determines the genre of literary and journalistic work, including ancient Russian literature.
In ancient Russian literature there was a division of genres into secular and state-religious.
Secular works are works of oral creativity. In ancient Russian society, folklore was not limited by class or estate. Epics, fairy tales, songs were interesting to everyone, and they were listened to both in the princely palace and in the dwelling of the stinker. Oral creativity fulfilled aesthetic needs in artistic expression.
Written literature was journalistic. She responded to religious, moral, and ethical needs. These are parables, lives of saints, walks, prayers and teachings, chronicles, military and historical stories.
Thus, oral and written literature covered all spheres of human activity, showed it inner world, satisfied religious, moral, ethical and aesthetic needs.

Old Russian literature has a number of features due to the unique worldview of medieval people and the nature of the creation of written texts:

1) The religious-Christian views of the world inherent in medieval people determined the special nature of the depiction of events and people.

Characteristic feature ancient Russian literature is historicism: the heroes of the works are famous historical figures; writers strive to avoid “self-thinking” (fiction) and strictly follow the facts.

The historicism of Old Russian literature is distinguished by its specific medieval character and is inextricably linked with providentialism. From the point of view of the ancient Russian writer, any events occurring in people’s lives were perceived as a manifestation of action higher powers. The source of good is God; the devil, who hates the human race, pushes people into sinful acts. God not only has mercy on people, but also punishes: “for the sake of sins,” he sends diseases, foreign conquerors, etc. to people. In some cases, God sends people signs of his anger in advance - signs that should enlighten his foolish “slaves” and warn them of the need for repentance.

2) Old Russian literature was closely connected with political life Rus'. This circumstance determines the interest of writers in a certain topic and the nature of writing works. One of the central themes is the theme of the Motherland. Writers glorify its power and strength, actively oppose feudal civil strife that weakens the state, and glorify princes who serve the interests of the people.

Old Russian writers are not inclined to impartial presentation of facts. Being sincerely convinced that they know what life in Rus' should be like, they strive to convey their beliefs to those whom they address in their works. Therefore, all works of ancient Russian literature (spiritual and secular) as a rule are of a journalistic nature.

3) Another characteristic feature of Old Russian literature is the handwritten nature of its existence and distribution.

Even if a work was simply rewritten, it rarely became an exact copy of the original. Many texts were copied several times, and each copyist could act as a kind of co-author. As a result, new lists of works(this term refers to handwritten copies) and editorial staff(varieties of texts in which certain, often quite significant, changes have been made).

4) The works created in Ancient Rus' are mostly anonymous. This is a consequence of the religious-Christian attitude towards people characteristic of the Middle Ages. The person perceived himself as a “servant of God,” a dependent person, completely dependent on higher powers. The creation and rewriting of a work was seen as something happening at the behest of above. In this case, to sign your name under the work meant to show pride, that is, to commit a sin. Therefore, in most cases, the authors of the works preferred to remain unknown.

5) As noted earlier, ancient Russian literature was inextricably linked with folklore, from which writers drew themes, images and visual means.

Thus, ancient Russian literature has a number of features that distinguish it from the literature of modern times. Old Russian texts are the product of a certain time, characterized by a rather unique worldview of people, and therefore should be considered as unique monuments of a certain era.

Genre system ancient Russian literature

Modern literature has a certain genre-clan system. There are three types of literature: epic, lyric, drama. Within each of them there are certain genres (novel, tragedy, elegy, story, comedy, etc.). Genres(from the French genre - genus, type) are called historically established types of literary works.

There were no genres in the modern sense of the word in ancient Russian literature. The term “genre” in relation to works created in the 11th– XVII centuries, is used conditionally.

The genres of ancient Russian literature are divided into spiritual(church) and worldly(secular).

Together with Christianity, Rus' adopted the system spiritual (church) genres adopted in Byzantium. Spiritual genres include a number of works (books of Holy Scripture (the Bible), hymns and “words” related to the interpretation of scripture, lives of saints, etc.)

Dominant position among genres of secular literature occupied by stories. This word denoted narrative works of various natures (tales, lives, and even chronicles (“The Tale of Bygone Years”) were called stories). Along with this, “words” occupied a prominent place among worldly genres (“The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Lay of the Destruction of the Russian Land”, etc.). They differed from church “words” in their content, in that they were devoted not to the interpretation of Holy Scripture, but to topical matters. modern problems. Obviously, by calling their works “words,” their authors wanted to emphasize that the texts were intended to be spoken in front of listeners.

The genre-clan system of ancient Russian literature does not remain unchanged over the centuries. Particularly significant changes in it were noted in the 17th century, when the foundations of such previously unknown types of literature as lyricism and drama were laid.

Over the course of seven centuries of development, our literature has consistently reflected the main changes taking place in the life of society.

For a long time, artistic thinking was inextricably linked with the religious and medieval historical form of consciousness, but gradually, with the development of national and class consciousness, it began to free itself from church ties.

Literature has developed clear and definite ideals of the spiritual beauty of a person who devotes himself entirely to the common good, the good of the Russian land, the Russian state.

She created ideal characters of persistent Christian ascetics, valiant and courageous rulers, “good sufferers for the Russian land.” These literary characters complemented the folk ideal of man that emerged in epic oral poetry.

D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak spoke very well about the close connection between these two ideals in a letter to Ya. L. Barskov dated April 20, 1896: “It seems to me that the “heroes” serve as an excellent complement to the “hierarchs.” And here and there are representatives of their native land, behind them one can see that Rus', on whose guard they stood. Among the heroes, the predominant element is physical strength: they defend their homeland with broad chests, and that is why this “heroic outpost”, put forward on the battle line, in front of which wandered historical predators, is so good... The “Saints” show another side of Russian history, even more important as a moral stronghold and holy of holies of the future multi-million people. These chosen ones had a presentiment of the history of a great people...”

The focus of literature was on the historical destinies of the motherland and issues of state building. That's why epic historical topics and genres play a leading role in it.

Deep historicism in the medieval understanding determined the connection between our ancient literature with heroic folk epic, and also determined the features of the image of human character.

Old Russian writers gradually mastered the art of creating deep and versatile characters, the ability to correctly explain the reasons for human behavior.

From a static, still image of a person, our writers moved on to revealing the internal dynamics of feelings, to depicting various psychological states of a person, to identifying individual personality traits.

The latter became most clearly evident in the 17th century, when personality and literature began to free themselves from the undivided power of the church and, in connection with the general process of “secularization of culture,” the “secularization” of literature also occurred.

It led not only to the creation of fictional heroes, generalized and, to a certain extent, socially individualized characters.

This process led to the emergence of new types of literature - drama and lyrics, new genres - everyday, satirical, adventure stories.

The strengthening of the role of folklore in the development of literature contributed to its democratization and closer rapprochement with life. This affected the language of literature: the obsolete language was replaced by the end XVII century Old Slavic literary language There was a new living spoken language, which poured into the literature of the second half of the 17th century in a wide stream.

A characteristic feature of ancient literature is its inextricable connection with reality.

This connection gave our literature an extraordinary journalistic poignancy, an excited lyrical emotional pathos, which made it an important means of political education of contemporaries and which gives it the enduring significance that it has in subsequent centuries of the development of the Russian nation and Russian culture.

Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature. - M., 1998