"A WORD ABOUT IGOR'S POLAND" remains a unique work in ancient Russian literature. This is the only work of its kind of purely secular content, consciously clothed in art form. This is a poem, and it fully deserves this name, but only thanks to external form, which sounds more like rhythmic prose than poetry.withfrom the point of view of artistic value, it rises like a mountain among flat plain contemporary literature to him. Unknown author 39, who lived at the end of the XII century, no doubt brilliant poet. Seven "centuries" passed until Pushkin appeared in the 19th century - a poet equal to him. In Western poetry, the "Word" can only be compared with the "Song of Roland" and "The Song of the Nibelungs", but from the point of view of the Russian it perhaps even surpasses them in its ethical power.

Ancient Russia, however, was undeservedly harsh on the best literary creations. The Tale of Igor's Campaign, although it was read and quoted by several authors until the 15th century, has come down to us in only one copy, which unfortunately burned down during the fire of Moscow in 1812. The apparent neglect of this masterpiece by medieval readers may be due to its purely secular - in some ways even pagan - content and form. It apparently shocked the pious Muscovites.

Was The Tale of Igor's Campaign always so unique in Russian literature, or rather belonged to those literary phenomena that thundered in their time, but then completely disappeared from monastic libraries, the only repositories of ancient documents? The author himself refers to the old poetic tradition, according to which he compares

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Vaet himself with Boyan - a poet who worked at the end of the XI century. In any case, according to what is said about Boyan in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - the only source that tells about this person - Boyan was both a poet and a singer who performed his songs, accompanying them with playing on musical instrument. The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign is a poet, a literary man who combined the epic traditions of Boyan with the historical style of Byzantine chronicles. He is well acquainted with the Russian chronicles. Thanks to this combination of the Russian oral poetic tradition with the Greek written "Word" and then, apparently, remained a unique work. The fusion of these two heterogeneous forms was carried out by the author of the Lay with amazing perfection: the reader not only did not notice this, but did not even guess about the stylistic duality of the poem.

The content of the Lay is only one episode of the age-old struggle of the Russian princes with the Polovtsy, who roamed the southern steppes. exactly following historical events, the poem describes an insignificant and at the same time inglorious episode. Prince Igor, who ruled in the small southern town of Novgorod-Seversky, undertook a campaign with his brother Vsevolod, as well as with his son and nephew. They were defeated and taken prisoner by the nomads. After a while, Igo-ryu managed to escape. This is the essence historical content"The words". The author could belong to a select circle of warriors or to the retinue of Prince Igor and give this inglorious event a traditional epic sound. The main lyrical motif is mourning and lamentations about the fallen Russian soldiers and the entire Russian land, torn apart by nomad raids and strife between princes. An appeal is addressed to the Russian princes to come to the rescue and save Igor from reproach. At the end of the poem, the tragic tension is replaced by joy and jubilation.

Analyzing the religious content of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", one should take into account stylistic form works. The Lay describes the same feudal society as the contemporary chronicles, but it belongs to a completely different literary school. The transition from the church atmosphere of the chronicles of that time - not to mention the rest of modern--

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their own literature - into the secular or even slightly pagan world, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" does not cause much surprise. Do not be miraculous salvation this poem - we would have a completely different idea of ​​​​the power of the influence of Christianity and Byzantium on pre-Mongol Russia.

Based on the religious and moral worldview of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, three layers can be distinguished in its artistic fabric: Christian, pagan, and purely secular. If we are guided by authentic criteria, then Christian motives represented the least. There are four lines in the poem, which clearly indicate that its author is a Christian. Yet neither these four sentences, nor each of them, are strong enough to give us complete confidence in that. One of these lines is Boyan’s aphoristic statement: “Neither the cunning, nor the skilful, nor the skilful bird can escape God’s judgment!” Speaking of Igor's escape from captivity, the author notes: "God shows the way to Prince Igor." Having reached Kyiv, the happy prince "rides along Borichev to the church of the holy" Mother of God Pirogoshcha "", named after the revered icon brought from Constantinople. The word "Christian" appears in the penultimate sentence: "Hello, princes and retinue fighting for Christians against the invasions of the filthy.” All this testifies to the author's involvement in Christianity.

Two more expressions can be added: the insulting designation of the Polovtsians as "nasty", which runs through the entire poem, and in this case they are called "children of demons." On the other hand, it is difficult to be completely sure of the religious meaning of the Russian word "nasty", borrowed from the Latin "parash" and found in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. In Russian it is foreign word changed its original meaning "pagan" and began to be used as "unclean", "dirty" in the physical or physiological sense. When studying the meaning of this word in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, the question arises whether it was used from the very beginning of this transformation in the canonical questions of Kirik, a generation earlier. In most cases, this word seemed to have the character of a direct insult in such phrases as "filthy slave", "filthy leader of the Polovtsians"

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or "you, black raven, filthy Polovtsian." If the religious meaning of the word "nasty" was always remembered by the author, it would be surprising, but even more surprising, that Russian soldiers are not designated as "Christians", with the exception of the last sentence; they are called simply Russians or "Rusichi", which means "sons of Russia".

The Christian vocabulary is not only poor, but the poem lacks actions, gestures and thoughts that are necessarily inherent in Christian society. Prayers are not mentioned. Russian soldiers, going on risky campaigns, do not pray; do not pray before battles and even in mortal combat. Death is not accompanied by reflections on the fate of the soul that abandoned the warrior. Among so a large number the foreshadowings of nature are completely absent from the visions or revelations of the Christian heavenly world: neither angels nor saints bless the Christian squad going on a campaign to foreign lands.

The medieval French epic "The Song of Roland" also contains some Christian elements. There are in large quantities external signs and symbols; the author enthusiastically contrasts the "law of Christ" with the "law of Mohammed", which is under threat in this holy war. Suffice it to recall the scene of the death of the hero, when the archangel Michael himself descends from paradise to receive the soul of Roland. Igor's dying warriors remain among the mourning nature, alone, face to face with merciless fate.

The distinction between Christian providence and pagan fate is not always clear cut. Many Christians today continue to believe in blind fate. Gentile converts easily retain a deep-rooted belief in fate, covering it up with the name of God. The mentioned sayings of Boyan are too fragmentary to understand in what sense the poet uses the phrase " God's judgment". But it should be noted that Russian word"judgment" means both judgment and fate. The modern Russian words “fate”, “destined” include the content of this concept, and the word “betrothed” also means “predestined spouse”. But, on the other hand, "the judgments of God" is a translation of the biblical "Councils of God."

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We have obtained equally meager information when considering the author's use of the word "judgment" in describing combat and death on the battlefield. “Boris Vyacheslavich’s boasting brought him to court” (or to his fate). We have seen that in Russian chronicles princes often go to battle so that God's judgment will prevail. In some Christian Slavic manuscripts, such as the Life of St. Constantine-Cyril, the word "judgment" is used as a synonym for the word "death". But in those cases where the name of God is omitted, the word "judgment" sounds rather vague, especially in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign". This concept is either just a linguistic rudiment, or it still contains some kind of religious idea - Christian or pagan. Later we will return to Christian expressions in The Tale of Igor's Campaign to take a closer look at the influence of Christianity on ethical views and feelings of the author. But we rightly note that the influence of Christianity, and this is more than obvious, is very weakly manifested in the poem.

Incomparably richer, in contrast to Christianity, the pagan principle sounds, the understanding of which, at the same time, is associated with no small difficulties. The skepticism of modern scientists expressed in relation to Slavic mythology, can be traced in the assessments of the pagan world in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign", which is often regarded as a kind of poetic convention. One respected scholar compared the use of pagan images in the "Word" with the mythological symbols of the classical poetry of the XVIII century. The exaggeration is, of course, obvious. The medieval poet lived at a time when Christianity in Russia was waging a fierce struggle against the remnants of paganism, when, according to the confessions of church preachers, the people still remained "two-faithful." A similar historical situation that arose at the junction of two religious worlds requires a more thorough study. religious basis the work of the poet. Pagan elements in the "Word" sound in the names of the great gods of the Russian Olympus, in the mentions of a number of less significant spirits or personalities, as well as in general view poet on nature and life.

Among the great pagan gods known from other sources, the poet names four, and three of them are mentioned as ancestors or as rulers of people and the elements. Upo-

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Minania is stereotyped: the grandchildren of Stribog, the grandchildren of Dazhdbog, the grandchildren of Veles. Drawing relations between generations, the poet often uses the expression "grandson" rather than "son". The winds are the grandchildren of Stri-bog, Boyan himself is the grandson of Veles, as for the author, we do not know with whom he is related. Veles (or Volos), together with Perun, is one of the greatest Russian gods. Often he is referred to as the patron of cattle and wealth, but in this case he is the patron of the poet, the "magic" poet. Perhaps, for a magician, the protection of a pagan god or kinship with him is not entirely appropriate. We do not know who are the grandchildren of Dazhdbog, the god of the sun; the content of the Lay suggests that these are either Russian princes, or the Russian people as a whole, and perhaps even all of humanity. The poet says that because of the enmity of the princes, "the property of Dazhdbog's grandson perished."

God Khors, who, according to pagan mythology, is also the son of the sun, in all likelihood, of Iranian origin; named directly, but apparently synonymous with the sun itself. Prince Vseslav "roamed the path of the great Horse like a wolf." The word "great" again reminds us that the divine vocation of Hors is not diminished: he is far superior to the luminary itself. What meaning does the Christian author put into these names, using them so emotionally?

As a poet and student of Boyan, he is the heir to poetic traditions dating back to pagan times. These traditions, apparently, dictated the need to use the names of the gods, who at one time were full of life and reverence and whose light was dimmed under the onslaught new faith to pass them on to new generations. But even for the official spokesman of Christianity, the ancient gods have not yet lost their significance and have not sunk into oblivion. Unlike modern theology ancient church did not deny the existence of the gods. Medieval theology viewed them as demons or as deified people. The second theory, known as euhemerism, was very popular in Russia. So, in the Ipatiev Chronicle (1114), which partially retells the Greek chronicle of Malala, one can find a story about how Egyptian pharaohs became gods. Pharaoh Feost "was called the god Svarog ... After which the king-

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There was his son, who was called the Sun, who was called Dazhdbog ... ". It is important to note that the poet who sang of Prince Igor could well believe in the historical existence of the gods. But while Christian preachers were disgusted by their names, he refers to them respectfully as a son or grandson. Perhaps he was not at all committed to any of the theological versions about the origin of the gods: were they elemental spirits, like the sun or wind, or were the ancestors of people. The main ideas of Christian theology were perceived by the Russian people in a very peculiar way, even in the 19th century. It is important for us that these names evoked deep and magical associations in the poet. He used them as symbols, but quite real symbols, very significant in the system of his mythological worldview 40 .

This worldview can indeed be called mythological. For a religious scholar, it is interesting to observe the living process of myth-making taking place in the poet's work. Mythological elements are rooted in the worldview of most great poets, but in primitive poetry it is sometimes almost impossible to draw a line between religious mythology and the images created by the poet. The singer Prince Igor cannot be ranked among the creators of primitive poetry, but he is rooted in primitive world paganism. He fuses folk mythological traditions with his own more or less pantheistic symbolism. There is not a single abstract idea that has not been animated by him or turned into a living symbol. For example, “resentment” is a scolding, one of his favorite symbols. This is a symbol so necessary for the singer of sorrow, the poet of grief. According to recent studies by Professor R. Yakobson, the image of "offense" was borrowed by the Russian poet from the translation of the Greek work of Methodius of Patara (scandal, resentment, abixia). Resentment is drawn in this way in the image of a girl: “Resentment arose in the troops of Dazhdbog's grandson, entered the land of Troyan as a virgin, splashed her swan wings on the blue sea near the Don; splashing drove away the times of abundance. But Russian folklore has always personified “grief”, depicting it as a creature that pursues a damned person, follows him on his heels, accompanies him to the grave.

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Gila. Fever or even Fever was perceived by every Russian in the form of demonic women, whose influence he tried to avoid with the help of spells and sorcery.

Personified Resentment does not remain alone in the poem. She is surrounded by personifications of grief and lies - two female creatures, Karna and Zhelya, names that can be interpreted as the embodiment of sorrowful weeping and sorrow: "Karna clicked on him, and Zhelya galloped across the Russian land, bellowing fire in a fiery horn." Among these demonic beings, personifications of fate and fate, we find a being of a completely different origin and obscure meaning. This is Div 41, the nature of which has not yet been fully elucidated. “Div - calls at the top of the tree”, foreshadowing failure. The same Div throws himself on the ground when disaster strikes. Most commentators interpret it as a demonic bird-like creature created by Slavic or Iranian mythology, the personification of sinister, misfortune-bringing forces. Therefore, this image is close to the symbolic depiction of grief and misfortune.

All these divine or demonic creatures live and act in the bosom of nature, which is fraught with a deeper meaning. In the poem, she is not just a landscape against which events unfold. Nature lives its own life and is completely spiritualized. It is no exaggeration to say that nature and natural phenomena occupy in the Tale of Igor's Campaign the same important place like a person. Nature, of course, is not completely free from man: she lovingly takes him into her arms, but sometimes challenges, threatening him. She warns him with signs, she shares human grief and joy. So, the introduction, which tells about the campaign of Prince Igor, opens with a scene of an eclipse of the sun - a diabolical omen, and there is nothing unusual in this. Russian chronicles, unlike Western medieval chronicles, are always filled with descriptions of astronomical phenomena, which are interpreted in a prophetic sense. But in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, nature is not depicted as an instrument of Divine revelation. It carries within itself an independent vital principle. When Prince Igor leads his soldiers to battle, “The sun blocks the way for him with darkness.”

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lo; the night woke the birds with the moans of a thunderstorm; the animal whistle stood up, the divas started up, calls on the top of the tree, orders to listen - to the unknown land ... "Foreshadowing a bloody slaughter," wolves call a thunderstorm along the ravines, eagles call on the bones of animals with a scream, foxes rattle on scarlet shields. After the defeat of the Russians, "the grass will droop with pity, and the tree bowed to the ground with grief."

In consonance with the general tragic character of the Lay, nature appears in the poem mainly as a bearer of grief. But at the same time, she can also rejoice, sympathizing with human happiness. At the time of Prince Igor's escape from captivity, "the woodpeckers knock the way to the river, and the nightingales herald the dawn with cheerful songs." Nature is not only a witness to human destinies. It can be not only a powerful defender, but also an enemy of a person. During the flight of Prince Igor, the Donets River helps, “cherishing the prince on the waves, spreading green grass on its silver shores, dressing it with warm mists under the shade of a green tree. Igor thanks Donets, his savior, talking poetically with the river. But the river appears vicious and ominous, like Stugna, whose deceit opposes the meek Donets. “Not like that,” he says, “the Stug-na river: having a meager stream, having swallowed other people's streams and streams, expanded to the mouth, she imprisoned the youth of Prince Rostislav” (he drowned in Stugna in 1083).

Prince Igor enters into a conversation with the river. His wife, daughter Yaroslava, standing on the wall of the city of Putivl, weeping sorrowfully for her captive husband, turns to the wind, the Dnieper River and the sun with complaints and spells that sound like pagan prayers. It should be noted that in the appeal to these elements the word “lord” sounds, which testifies not so much to empathy for nature, but to reverent awe and reverence for it:

"O wind, wind! Why, sir, are you moving forward? Why are you rushing Khin's arrows on your light porches against my dear warriors? Was it not enough for you to blow high under the clouds, cherishing the ships on the blue sea? Why, sir, did you dispel my joy on a feather-grass? .. O Dnieper Slovutich! .. You cherished Svyatoslav’s plantations on yourself ... Cling, sir, my dear to me, so that I don’t send tears to him on the sea

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early ... Bright and thrice bright sun! You are warm and beautiful to everyone; why, lord, did you extend your hot rays on the warriors of my kind?

Until now, as we can see, nature is personified and active in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. But in the poem, countless times, nature is included in the composition of metaphors and poetic symbols. Prince Vsevolod is constantly mentioned in combination with the epithet "tour". Warriors are compared to wolves, princes - to falcons, the singer's fingers on the strings - to ten falcons, "launched on a flock of swans." In human, even political world the poet does not leave the natural world. He lives with memories of nature, uses its images, its sublime spirit. Apparently, there is no such poem or other work in European culture in which unity with nature would be so perfect and religiously significant.

Most Russian literary historians consider The Tale of Igor's Campaign as a purely poetic work. A deep pantheistic feeling permeates Russian poetry, both written and oral, both artistic and folk. Russians who grew up in such poetic traditions do not attach any importance to this and do not think about their origins. In the oral folk art of Russian peasants, poetic pantheism coexists side by side with the remnants of ancient paganism. Russian poetry XIX century has undergone strong influence oral folk art, although its pagan origins were too often ignored. In the XII century, when sacrifices were still made to the gods in the villages, the impact of the pagan world rich in images and feelings on folk art it must have been more significant and profound than it is today.

We do not believe that the poet who created The Tale of Igor's Campaign, not to mention Prince Igor himself and his wife, worshiped the ancient gods. They must have been good Christians at heart. However, the poet at least in the depths of the subconscious, in tune with the soul of the people, he lived in another, hardly a Christian world. Probably, most of the images of nature he created were born of poetic fiction. But, speaking of nature, he cannot but draw the image of a living being, and

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his imagination immediately enters the realm of the mythological universe. In this natural-supernatural world, the names of the ancient gods, preserved perhaps only thanks to the poetic tradition, acquire the place in which, at the early stage of the development of Russian poetry, the saints and angels of the Christian sky are denied. The poet subtly feels that the names of the Archangel Michael or St. George can destroy the ethical fabric in which the names of Veles and Dazhd-bog are woven. This is the triumph of paganism, which prevails in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.

If we can only guess how deeply the singer of Prince Igor shares the pagan faith and superstitions of the Russian people, then at least we can firmly speak about his belief in magic. Moreover, he treats magic without any suspicion and even with reverence. Several times he calls Boyan, his teacher, a "prophetic" poet. This word, which later acquired the meaning of “wise” in Russian and even “clairvoyant”, “prophetic”, meant, according to ancient documents, “magic”. The epithet "prophetic" the poet applies to the ancient prince of Polotsk Vseslav, about whom he says: “Vseslav, the prince, ruled the court for people, dressed the princes of the city, and he himself prowled like a wolf in the night: from Kyiv he roamed to the roosters of Tmutorokan, the great Khors searched the path like a wolf.” In the image of Vseslav the werewolf, rationalist critics saw only a metaphor. But the ancient monastery chronicler, a contemporary of Prince Vseslav, who died a hundred years before the writing of the Lay, mentioned that Vseslav's mother conceived him with the help of magic (1044). The same belief existed in Bulgaria in relation to one prince who lived in the 10th century. It is unlikely that anyone in the Middle Ages doubted the existence of werewolves. Surprisingly, with what deep respect the poet treats one of them - Prince Vseslav.

If nature in the Tale of Igor's Campaign is permeated with pagan symbols, which are difficult to find parallels in Russian chronicles, then in views on public life, social or political ethics "Word" and chronicles are very close to each other. However, one cannot speak of a complete identity of views. The main difference is that the poet's social ethics is completely secularized.

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It is purely secular or even neutral - at first glance, neither Christian nor pagan, wherever there is that secret source that nourishes both. religious world. It is worth considering first of all the nominal value of ethics, regardless of its religious significance.

studying moral world chronicler, we see a constant struggle between two points of view: the church author and the interpreter, and on the other hand feudal society which he draws. We have seen how the second level of values ​​can be seen through the pious narrative and most explicitly in the twelfth century. The same feudal world looks at us from the pages of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, but he expresses his views freely, not constrained by the censorship of the interpreter. These views are expressed in a completely uncensored way, they are free from any influence of Christianity, and this is most palpable in the language and symbols that should become obligatory and inevitable for every member of a Christian society, no matter how mundane or impious it may be. The absence of Christian symbols is dictated, perhaps, by the same stylistic need as the use of images of pagan mythology in the description of the landscape.

Three main social ethical currents permeate The Tale of Igor's Campaign - the same ones that are easily found in the worldly narratives of the chronicles: the ethics of the clan or blood relationship, the ethics of the group or feudal and military dignity, and the ethics of the fatherland associated with adherence. -ness to the Russian land. Clan or tribal consciousness in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" can be traced as often as in the annals, but it is quite strong and very eloquently expressed. Prince Vsevolod addresses his brother at the beginning of the campaign: “One brother, one bright light - you, Igor! We are both Svyatoslavichs!” Generic names formed from the name of an ancestor are used by the poet quite often instead of the main ones: Yaroslavna, Glebovna - when he talks about women, or<храбрые сыновья Глеба».

Prince Igor and his brother, the unfortunate heroes of the Lay, belonged to the great Chernigov branch of the Russian princely dynasties, descended from the famous Oleg Svyatoslavovich,

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who died in 1116. The poet is aware of the common destinies and the sense of pride inherent in this clan. “A brave nest slumbers in Oleg’s field. It flew far! It was not born in offense ... ”- this is how he describes the Russian camp in the steppe. He dedicates touching lines to the memory of Oleg, an unfortunate but glorious ancestor. We also see how the ethics of the clan prompts the author to endow natural elements with generic names: the winds are the grandchildren of Stribog, the Dnieper is Slovutich; Russian princes are the grandchildren of Dazhdbog, or, in other words, the Russians - the most beloved generic comparison, usually used by this and, apparently, created by him.

Clan ethics are closely connected and strongly influenced by feudal or military ethics, elements of which we also noted when analyzing chronicles 42 . Here, all kinds of military virtues are glorified without any restrictions: courage, bravery, courage. In the style of historical narratives (and chronicles), the poet praises Prince Igoryu, “who strengthened his mind with his strength and sharpened his heart with courage; filled with a military spirit, he led his brave regiments to the Polovtsian land ... ". The narrative still flows within the framework of reasonable courage, describing the behavior of the Christian prince, full of a sense of duty: “And Igor, the prince, said to his retinue:“ O my retinue, brothers! It’s better to be killed than to be captured.” These lines trace a parallel with the descriptions of the chronicles and, what is important to emphasize, with the sources of the 10th century describing the deeds of the great pagan warrior Svyatoslav. conceivable, is the subject of glorification. Such was the campaign of Prince Igor, justified by the following words of the prince: “I want,” he said, “to break a spear on the border of the Polovtsian field with you, Russians, I want to either lay down my head, or drink a helmet from the Don.

The heroic behavior of Vsevolod in the last desperate battle is described in images reminiscent of Russian folk epic tales - epics, known from records made at the beginning of our century: “The ardent tour of All-volod! You fight in battle, you pimple on the warriors with arrows, you rattle against the helmets with damask swords! Where, tour, you will jump,

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shining with their golden helmet, there lie the filthy Polovtsian heads. Avar helmets are cut with red-hot sabers by you, ardent tour Vsevolod!

Nowhere in Russian literature, written or oral, can one find a description of such a height of military intensity, such superhuman or animal fury, with which the soldiers of Prince Vsevolod, the Kuryans, are captured: “And my Kuryans are experienced warriors: under the pipes they are cherished under their helmets, fed from the end of the spears, they know their paths, they know the ravines, their bows are stretched, their quivers are open, their sabers are sharpened; they themselves gallop like gray wolves in the field, seeking honor for themselves, and glory for the prince.

This last motif, praising "honor" and "glory", reveals another side of the same feudal ideal. Glory in the name of real greatness, especially after death, and honor at the lower social levels constitute a moral good, the fruit and advantage of military virtue, valor. Glory is not achieved by luck or political power, but by fearlessness. That is why the poem ends with a “doxology” to Prince Igor and his relatives, although from a political point of view their campaign was doomed to failure and ended in defeat. In the same spirit, the poet glorifies the ancestor of the princely family of the Olgovichs, whom he calls Gorislavich, with a name that combines the words "woe" and "glory". He also glorifies the ancient Vseslav, the "magician", whose grandfather's glory his weak descendants lost. Both of them - Oleg and Vseslav - left behind a sad memory in the annals of Russia, which were well known to our poet. They were the main "blacksmiths of enmity", the heroes of civil wars. If for a poet or Prince Igor they still conceal a glimmer of glory, like Oleg for Boyan, then this is only because of their personal courage, craving for risky adventures, which distinguished Prince Igor himself, as well as the descendants of Prince Oleg.

What is the glory of princes is an honor for the squad, their servants and warriors. The refrain: "seeking honor for oneself, and glory for the prince", is repeated twice in the battle scenes. The idea of ​​"honor" as a personal value, based on the awareness of military dignity, is very important for the historical assessment of the culture of Ancient Russia. This idea was especially significant in the Middle Ages.

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the feudal West. Undoubtedly, the concept of honor formed the basis of aristocratic freedoms and, accordingly, became the basis of modern democracy. On the other hand, it was widely believed that the idea of ​​honor was alien to the Russian national character and the Orthodox understanding of Christianity. Indeed, it is futile to look for the origins of this idea in Byzantine social ethics or in later Muscovite society, where “honor” meant the social position bestowed by state power. In the non-Christian East, in the Islamic world, and in Japan, the consciousness of personal honor is just as strongly developed, although it is deprived of that religious support against the claims of the state, which the medieval Catholic Church bestowed upon the individual.

The truth is that the concept of personal military honor has little, if anything, to do with the national character of the Teutonic peoples. It is easily found in any society where military service is rooted in a feudal or feudal-like organization. Ancient, or Kievan, Russia was just such a feudal society, and that is why the idea of ​​military honor was developed in it - perhaps not without the influence of the Varangians. In the pages of the annals, we find that this idea is still hidden under a deaf veil, only sporadically breaking through the Byzantine ideal of a humble Orthodox warrior. In The Tale of Igor's Campaign this idea sounds free and eloquent.

The third source of social ethics for the singer Prince Igor is steadfast patriotism, which covers not individual Russian principalities, but the entire Russian land. This pan-Russian consciousness, as we have seen, was in decline at the end of the 12th century, and only a few traces of this decline can be found in the chronicles contemporary to that period. In The Tale of Igor's Campaign, patriotism occupies the same important place as in the 11th century; in fact, the poet - the author of the Lay - is the faithful heir to the era of Boyan. There is not a single phrase in the poem that would be repeated as often as "Russian Land". This expression is perceived not in that narrow sense, - including only Kyiv and the lands surrounding it,

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what was characteristic of that time - but in a broader sense. This concept included all the principalities and lands inhabited by Russian people. The raid of Prince Igor, which is essentially only an insignificant episode of the border battle, is regarded as a national tragedy. Igor leads his regiments to the battle for the "Russian Land", he fights for the "Russian Land". His defeat causes national sorrow. The poet goes even further and concludes with the words of Boyan: "It is hard for a head without shoulders, trouble for a body without a head - so is the Russian land without Igor." These words sound as if for him Prince Igor was the real head or leader of all Russia.

The expression "Russian land" in the mouth of the poet is not only hyperbole to enhance the glory of Prince Igor, it is the fruit of his political worldview. The bearer of political ideals in the poem is Prince Svyatoslav of Kyiv, the head of the Olgovich family. In his bitter and passionate appeal to all Russian princes, Svyatoslav demands that they come out in defense of the Russian land, "for the wounds of Igor, the violent Svyatoslav!" Smolensk and Polotsk, Galich and Suzdal, the most remote suburbs near the borders of Russia, are all embraced by this passionate appeal. In the laudatory list of Russian princes, the poet does everything to avoid belittling individual branches of the Rurik family. The Monomakhoviches, the traditional enemies of the Olgovichi, are given a dominant place due to the political significance of their positions. On the contrary, one of the strongest representatives of the Olgovichi clan, Yaroslav Chernigovsky, is censured for his ignoble behavior: he refrained from all joint campaigns against the Polovtsians.

The national consciousness of the poet echoes the consciousness of the family. But it also echoes the feudal ethic of boundless honor. The poet, being a patriot, cannot help but see the disastrous consequences of enmity, and he unequivocally condemns them: “The struggle of the princes against the filthy ones has ceased, for brother said to brother:“ This is mine, and that is mine. ”And the princes began about the small“ this great" to speak and forge sedition against themselves. And the filthy from all sides came with victories to the Russian land.

Here, greed rather than pride is a political original sin, contrary to the concepts of feudal ethics.

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Key. The words "this is great" indicate an exaggerated scrupulousness in the understanding of personal honor. The poet is fully aware of the national damage caused by the pursuit of glory, speaking of the great hero, the ancient Oleg: “He, after all, Oleg forged sedition with a sword and sowed arrows on the ground ... the standing of Dazhdbozh's grandson; in princely seditions, human lives were shortened.

This political condemnation of Oleg does not diminish the poet's admiration for the "glory" and courage of the prince. We find the same dualism in assessment in relation to Prince Igor. Speaking for himself, the poet tries not to utter a single word of condemnation against the adventurous and reckless raid, which ended in disaster for the "Russian Land". But the political assessment was given through the lips of Svyatoslav of Kyiv, who, through tears and groans, sends words of condemnation to the captive cousins: “O my children, Igor and Vsevolod! Early on, you began to offend the Polovtsian land with swords, and seek glory for yourself. But you did not overcome with honor, you did not shed filthy blood with honor. Your brave hearts made of strong damask steel are chained and tempered in courage. What did you co-create to my silver gray hair.

Before us is an ethical conflict that the poet leaves unresolved. His heart equally responds to the call to "glory" and to the call of suffering Russia. He, apparently, does not sympathize with domestic strife. He prefers to see the manifestation of the military prowess he adores on the battlefield against the common enemy of Russia, the pagans. In this he is unanimous with the best traditions of chronicles.

It is interesting to compare the glorification of Prince Igor by the singer, the high assessment of this prince and his campaign with the assessments contained in the annals of that time. Narratives about this campaign have come down to us, preserved in the Lavrentiev and Ipatiev Chronicles. They give very unambiguous interpretations of the image of Prince Igor. The Laurentian Chronicle (1186), which was created in the city of Vladimir, reflects the political tendencies characteristic of the northern branch of the Monomakh family, the view of the opponents of Prince Igor. This view is rather harsh. The chronicler stigmatizes the adventurous spirit and recklessness--

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audacity, which turned out to be an inglorious defeat for Prince Igor and his squad. Sometimes the tone of the narration takes on an ironic tinge: “In the same year, Olgova’s grandchildren decided to go to the Polovtsy, since they didn’t go with all the princes last year, but they went on their own, saying: “Well, aren’t we princes? we will get the same glory for ourselves!"

After the first easy victory, their enthusiasm increased immensely. They spent three days in entertainment and bragging: “Our brethren went with Svyatoslav, the Grand Duke, and fought with the Polovtsy in full view of Pereyaslavl, they themselves came to them, but they did not dare to go to the Polovtsian land. And we are in their land, and we ourselves have been killed, and their wives are captive, and their children are with us. And now let's follow them behind the Don and kill them all without a trace. If we win here too, then we will follow them to the seashore, where our grandfathers did not go, and we will take glory and honor to the end, ”but we didn’t know about God’s destiny,” the author adds. The behavior of Russian soldiers in the second battle was not distinguished by courage:

“Our people, seeing them (the Polovtsians), were horrified and forgot about their boasting, for they did not know what the prophet said:“ Wisdom, and courage, and plan are in vain for a man, if God opposes "... And ours were defeated the wrath of God."

The author's mourning for the failures of the Russian army is interspersed with a pious depiction of a punishing God. Prince Igor's escape is naturally described with a sense of satisfaction and interpreted as a sign of divine forgiveness. “Igor soon fled from the Polovtsy, for the Lord will not leave the righteous in the hands of sinners.” The characterization of Prince Igor as a righteous man is rather unexpected in the context of the chronicle, but it is quite understandable from the standpoint of Christianity, as opposed to paganism; among other things, it is a biblical quotation.

The Ipatiev Chronicle, compiled in Kyiv, is more than friendly towards Prince Igor, tells about the failure of the prince in more detail, and from a religious point of view, this version is more carefully developed. It is very likely that this part of the Ipatiev Chronicle includes annals created in the very house of Prince Igor. Igor is presented in it as a wise, pious prince who went through purifying suffering and reached a high degree of Christian humility.

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His reflections on the meaning of the eclipse of the sun are very different in tone from his proud defiance of this omen in the Lay. So, according to the chronicle, he says: “Brothers and squad! No one knows the secrets of the divine, but God creates a sign, like His whole world. And what God will give us - for good or for sorrow to us - we will see. When the scouts warn him of the readiness of the enemy, he answers: “If we have to return without a fight, then shame on us will be worse than death; so it will be as God wills us.” The idea of ​​honor and dignity is emphasized, softened, however, by humility and faith in God. Here are his reflections after the first victory: “Behold, God by His power doomed our enemies to defeat, and gave us honor and glory.”

The second, unsuccessful battle is described in much more detail than in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. We learn that Igor himself was wounded. One chronicle stroke reminds us of a vivid epic picture - the chronicler speaks of love connecting Prince Igor with his brother Vsevolod at the moment of mortal danger: “And already captured, Igor saw his brother Vsevolod, fiercely fighting, and he prayed to God for death lest he see his brother's death." The captivity of Prince Igor is accompanied by a long monologue of the prince, in which he attributes his failure to the just punishment of God and begs for forgiveness. One of his sins is a particularly heavy burden on his conscience - his cruel plunder of a Russian city:

“I remembered my sins before the Lord God, that I committed many murders and bloodshed on Christian land: how I did not spare the Christians, but plundered the city of Glebov near Pereyaslavl, Then the innocent Christians experienced many troubles: we are separated there were fathers with their children, brother with their brother, with each other, wives with their husbands - they kicked the elders, the young suffered from cruel and merciless beatings, they killed and dissected their husbands, they defiled women. And I did all this... and I'm not worthy to stay alive! And now I see vengeance from the Lord my God ... ”The specific episode of the plunder of the city of Glebov sounds from the lips of Prince Igor himself, these are his personal memories, although the general pious account of events is attributed to the chronicler.

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The problem of the authorship of literary monuments of Ancient Russia is directly related to the national specifics of the first centuries of the development of the Russian literary process. “The author's principle,” noted D.S. Likhachev, “was muted in ancient literature.<…>The absence of great names in ancient Russian literature seems like a death sentence.<…>We biasedly proceed from our ideas about the development of literature - ideas brought up<…>for centuries when it blossomed individual, personal art is the art of individual geniuses.<…>The literature of Ancient Russia was not the literature of individual writers: it, like folk art, was a supra-individual art. It was an art that was created through the accumulation of collective experience and made a huge impression with the wisdom of traditions and the unity of everything - mostly unnamed- writing.<…>Old Russian writers are not architects of separate buildings. These are city planners.<…>Any literature creates its own world, embodying the world of ideas of contemporary society. Hence, anonymous (impersonal) the nature of the work of ancient Russian authors is a manifestation of the national identity of Russian literature and in this regard namelessness"Words about Igor's Campaign" is not a problem.

Representatives of the skeptical literary school (the first half of the 19th century) proceeded from the fact that the "backward" Ancient Russia could not "give birth" to a monument of such a level of artistic perfection as "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

Philologist-orientalist O.I. Senkovsky, for example, was sure that the creator of the Lay was imitating the samples of Polish poetry of the 16th-17th centuries, that the work itself could not be older than the time of Peter I, that the author of the Lay was a Galician who moved to Russia or was educated in Kyiv. The creators of the "Word" were also called A.I. Musin-Pushkin (the owner of the collection with the text "Words"), and Ioliy Bykovsky (the one from whom the collection was purchased), and N.M. Karamzin as the most gifted Russian writer of the late 18th century.

Thus, The Lay was presented as a literary hoax in the spirit of J. MacPherson, who allegedly discovered in the middle of the 18th century the works of the legendary Celtic warrior and singer Ossian, who, according to legend, lived in the 3rd century AD. in Ireland.

The traditions of the skeptical school in the 20th century were continued by the French Slavist A. Mazon, who initially believed that the Lay was supposedly created by A.I. Musin-Pushkin to justify the aggressive policy of Catherine II on the Black Sea: "We have a case here when history and literature deliver their evidence at the right time." In many ways, the Soviet historian A. Zimin was in solidarity with A. Mazon, who called Ioliy Bykovsky the creator of the Lay.

The arguments of the supporters of the authenticity of the Lay were very convincing. A.S. Pushkin: the authenticity of the monument is proved by “the spirit of antiquity, under which it is impossible to fake. Which of our writers in the 18th century could have had enough talent for that? VK Küchelbecker: “In terms of talent, this deceiver would have surpassed almost all the then Russian poets, taken together.”

“Surprises of skepticism,” V.A. rightly emphasized. Chivilikhin - were to some extent even useful - they revived the scientific and public interest in the Lay, encouraged scientists to look more sharply into the depths of time, gave rise to research done with scientific thoroughness, academic objectivity and thoroughness.

After disputes related to the time of creation of the Lay and Zadonshchina, the vast majority of researchers, even, ultimately, A. Mazon, came to the conclusion that the Lay is a monument of the 12th century. Now the search for the author of the Lay focused on the circle of contemporaries of the tragic campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich, which took place in the spring of 1185.

V.A. Chivilikhin in the novel-essay "Memory" gives the most complete list of alleged authors of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and indicates the names of the researchers who put forward these assumptions: "they called a certain "Greek" (N. Aksakov), the Galician "wise scribe" Timofey (N. Golovin), "folk singer" (D. Likhachev), Timofey Raguilovich (writer I. Novikov), "Verbal singer Mitus" (writer A. Yugov), "thousand Raguil Dobrynich" (V. Fedorov), some unknown courtier the singer close to the Grand Duchess of Kyiv Maria Vasilkovna (A. Soloviev), the "singer Igor" (A. Petrushevich), the "mercy" of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich chronicle Kochkar (American researcher S. Tarasov), the unknown "wandering book singer" (I. Malyshevsky), Belovolod Prosovich (anonymous Munich translator of the Lay), Chernigov voivode Olstin Aleksich (M. Sokol), Kyiv boyar Pyotr Borislavich (B. Rybakov), probable heir to the family singer Boyan (A. .Shchepkina ), in relation to a significant part of the text - Boyan himself (A. Nikitin), mentor, adviser to Igor (P. Okhrimenko), an unknown Polovtsian storyteller (O. Suleimenov)<…>».

V.A. himself Chivilikhin is sure that Prince Igor was the creator of the word. At the same time, the researcher refers to an old and, in his opinion, undeservedly forgotten report by the famous zoologist and at the same time a specialist in the Lay N.V. Charlemagne (1952). One of the main arguments of V. Chivilikhin is the following: “it was not for the singer and not for the combatant to judge the princes-contemporaries, to indicate what they should do; this is the prerogative of a person who stands on the same social level with those to whom he addressed"

Bibliography

"The Golden Word of Russian Literature"

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is an ever-blooming trunk stretching branches heavy with fruits into the future...

From a monument of antiquity, it turns into a living asset of a creative culture.

P. Antokolsky

About eight centuries ago, in 1187, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" was created - a brilliant work of ancient Russian literature. The passing centuries have not muffled its poetic sound and have not erased the colors. Interest in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" has not only not diminished, but is becoming more and more broad, more and more profound.

Why is this work so durable, so small in size? Why do the ideas of The Word continue to excite us?

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is imbued with a great human feeling - a warm, tender and strong feeling of love for the motherland. "The Word" is literally filled with it. This feeling is also reflected in the emotional excitement with which the author of the Lay speaks of the defeat of Igor's troops, and in the way he conveys the words of the lamentation of Russian wives for the dead soldiers, and in the broad picture of Russian nature, and joy at the return of Igor.

That is why the meaning of the Word has always been so great. His call for the defense of the motherland, for the protection of the peaceful labor of its people, resounds even today with unrelenting force.

the word prince igor literature

The meaning of the "Word" is especially great for us also because it is a living and indisputable evidence of the height of ancient Russian culture, its originality and its nationality.

I chose this topic because, in my opinion, it is relevant today and interesting in a historical sense. "The word about Igor's regiment" has long disturbed the minds and hearts of people of various professions, not only in all corners of our country, but also abroad. Many professional and amateur translations of the Lay have been created, as well as many research papers on this subject.

But at the same time, this greatest work of ancient Russian literature is still not fully understood, since we have by no means studied the historical soil on which this, in the words of the researcher of the Lay P. Antokolsky, "ever-blooming trunk" grew up. .

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is also interesting because it is the first achievement of its kind in the thought of the people, civil, patriotic. It is not only the voice of an unknown author, but also the voice of the people - the voice of the people, tired of the endless strife and civil strife of the princes. "Word" - a call for unity. For this alone, it deserves a detailed, detailed study.

And, finally, I have always been interested in ancient Russian literature, and in particular "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - the brightest and most interesting work.

Russia of time "Words about Igor's Campaign"

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" with brilliant force and penetration reflected the main disaster of its time - the lack of political unity of Russia, the enmity of the princes among themselves and, as a result, the weakness of its defense against the ever-increasing pressure of the southern nomadic peoples and the eastern neighbors of Russia.

The reason for the separation of Russia was the developing feudal relations. A multitude of feudal "semi-states" was formed - principalities that were at enmity with each other, contesting each other's possessions. The ancient Russian state, united in the 10th - early 19th centuries, completely disintegrates in the 12th century.

The Polotsk land, which remained in the possession of Izyaslav, was the first to stand apart. This subsequently led to endless internecine wars between the princes of Polotsk and the rest of the Russian princes - the descendants of Yaroslav the Wise.

After the death of Yaroslav the Wise, further division of the Russian land began. According to the will of Yaroslav, his eldest son Izyaslav received Kyiv, the next, Svyatoslav, - Chernigov, Vsevolod - Pereyaslavl, Igor - Vladimir Volynsky, Vyacheslav - Smolensk. At the end of the 19th century, the Chernigov principality was finally assigned to the son of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich - Oleg and his offspring.

This isolation of the Chernihiv land and its assignment to the offspring of Oleg Svyatoslavovich was as tragic as the assignment of the Polotsk land to the offspring of Vseslav Polotsky. Oleg Svyatoslavovich was at enmity with Vladimir Monomakh all his life, and subsequently the strife of the Olgovichi and Monomakhovichi filled the entire 12th and first half of the 13th century with their noise. The author of the Lay nicknamed Oleg Svyatoslavich Oleg Gorislavich, correctly pointing out in him one of those princes from whom the Russian land would "shut down and stretch with strife."

The isolation of individual lands as hereditary princely possessions was recognized under Vladimir Monomakh at the Lyubech Congress of Princes (1097): "Let everyone keep their fatherland" (let everyone own the father's land).

But the decision of the Lyubich Congress, which recognized the division of the Russian land, did not even lead to a temporary agreement between the princes, and was immediately violated. One of the princes, Vasilko Terebovlsky, was treacherously seized by two others and blinded. The princely strife began again. Calling for unity, the people of Kyiv turned to Vladimir Monomakh with the words: “We pray, prince, to you and your brother, you cannot destroy the Russian lands. and your grandfathers with great labor and courage, barking across the Russian land, searching for other lands, and you want to destroy the Russian land. The call of the people to unity sounded on the lips of every generation of Russian people, in every principality, in every city.

Galicia, Ryazan, Smolensk, Vladimir Volynsky, Vladimir Zalessky, Rostov, Novgorod - all these regional centers are resolutely striving for political independence; The princes forget about "this great" and get bogged down in endless fratricidal wars. The times of political unity and external power of Russia are receding into the past.

The internecine struggle of the princes was complicated by the Polovtsian danger hanging over Russia. The Polovtsians, a people of Turkic origin, occupied the steppes between the Volga and the Dnieper in the middle of the 11th century. They were such a powerful military force that more than once they threatened the very existence of the Byzantine Empire, which had to turn to the Russian princes for help.

The Russian princes managed to win major victories over the Polovtsians. But their sudden raids destroyed agriculture, ruined the civilian population of Russian villages and cities. The boundless "wild field", the "unknown country" was ready to absorb in the ebb and flow of the numerous centers of Russian culture. Waves of steppe raids broke against the staunch resistance of individual principalities. Part of the Polovtsy settled on the border lands under the names of "Kovuev", "their filthy". But the strife of the Russian princes was convenient for new invasions. The princes called on the Polovtsy to help themselves, thus shaking the buildings of Russian independence that had been built for centuries.

So the era of feudal fragmentation, natural in the historical development of all peoples, suddenly acquired an acute, tragic character because of the terrible Polovtsian danger.

At the time of the creation of the Lay, there was no shortage of energetic and capable princes. The trouble of Russia was that their activities were not coordinated, the princes understood their tasks differently, striving primarily to strengthen their principality. At the same time, for each of the princes striving for the unity of Russia, there were up to a dozen of those who forgot everything and everything in order to achieve selfish goals, heading their way to the "golden table".

The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign was the spokesman for the idea of ​​uniting the Rhone Land.

Russia in the XII century

Events of Russian history, preceding the campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich Novgorod-Seversky

Most of the feudal strife was associated with the enmity of the Monomakhoviches and the Olgoviches. Both of them constantly used the help of the Polovtsy in campaigns against neighboring Russian principalities. Especially often, the Chernigov Olgoviches turned to the help of the Polovtsy, who were looking for an alliance and peace with the restless population of the adjacent steppes. And this Polovtsian "help", as well as independent campaigns of the Polovtsy, became a cruel national disaster from the end of the 11th century. The raids intensified especially in the 70s of the XII century, when, according to the chronicler, "the army without a break" begins.

By that time, the Russian princes had experienced and battle-hardened warriors who made up the main core of their army - the squad. In addition to the squads, the princes, if necessary, could assemble a large army of peasants and townspeople. There were outposts on the borders with the steppe; in the steppe itself there were Russian "watchmen" - scouts who monitored the movements of the nomads.

The Russian army in the 12th century was mainly cavalry; it was very fast in its movements and developed skilful tactics against the nomads. Russian campaigns in the steppe were undertaken mainly in the spring, when the horses of the Polovtsy, exhausted on the meager winter pasture, turned out to be much weaker than the horses of the Russian army. In battle, Russian troops were able to operate in complex formations, were staunch and fearless. The armament of the combatants consisted of swords, sabers, bows, sometimes six-pointers. In addition, they had spears - a weapon, although easily broken, but indispensable in the first skirmish with the enemy. The combatants had strong damask helmets and chain mail, which appeared in Russia earlier than Western Europe. The armament of ordinary warriors was simpler - spears, axes. Heavy helmets and armor, heated in the sun, were usually put on just before the battle.

The particularly strong onslaught of the Polovtsy, which began in the 70s of the XII century, is broken up by Russian counter campaigns. After a series of defeats, the Polovtsians are united under the rule of Khan Konchak. Polovskie troops receive a single organization and good weapons. Disunited by discord, Russia faced a strong and, most importantly, united army of nomads face to face.

Under the influence of the Polovtsian danger, as subsequently under the influence of the Mongol-Tatar danger, the idea of ​​unity is ripening. In the 80s of the XII century, an attempt was made to reconcile the Olgovichi and Monomakhovichi. The Olgovichi are breaking with their traditional policy of alliance with the steppe. Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of Novgorod-Seversky, plays a very important role in this.

At first, Igor is a typical Olgovich. As early as 1180, the Polovtsy actively helped him. Completely defeated by Rurik of Kyiv near Dolobsk, together with his Polovtsy allies, he jumped into the boat with his future enemy Konchakos and managed to escape from the pursuit of the Kyiv prince.

Having won, Rurik peculiarly took advantage of its fruits. He did not leave Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich in the great reign, but took all the other cities of the Kyiv region for himself. It is not known under what conditions Rurik conceded the "golden table". But most likely, one of these conditions was the refusal of an alliance with the Polovtsy of the Olgovichi and their consent to act against the Polovtsy together with other Russian princes. In the coming years, Rurik and Svyatoslav managed to widely organize allied campaigns of Russian princes on the steppe.

The obligations of the feudal head of all the Olgoviches - Svyatoslav of Kyiv - extended to Igor, his cousin, who was under his feudal subordination. He decisively breaks with his old policy and becomes an ardent opponent of the Polovtsians.

Despite the fact that the policy of the Olgovichi has undergone drastic changes since the very beginning of the 80s, Igor did not immediately manage to participate in the campaign against Konchak, his former ally. In 1183, by the combined efforts of the Russian princes, under the leadership of Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, the Polovtsy were defeated. 700 prisoners were taken, military vehicles were captured, Russian prisoners were repulsed, Khan Kobyak Karyevich was captured. Igor did not participate in this campaign. He walked independently and defeated the Polovtsian Khan Obovl Kostukovich. In 1184, Svyatoslav with the Russian princes again defeated the Polovtsy. A "basurman" who fired "live fire" was captured. The Polovtsy were terrified, and the danger seemed to be removed from the Russian land for a long time. However, Igor Svyatoslavich could not participate in this campaign either, it began in the spring and the sleet did not allow the cavalry to arrive in time. When Igor, in spite of everything, still wanted to go to connect with Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, the squad told him: “Prince! Sunday) is Kiev, then what can you comprehend?

Apparently, the prince was very upset by the failure: he failed to participate in the victory and prove his devotion to the alliance of Russian princes against the Polovtsians. That is why in the next year, in 1185, "not holding back his weariness," he rushes on a campaign against the Polovtsians.

Inspired by the victories of Svyatoslav, Igor sets himself an insanely bold task - with a few of his own forces to "search" for the old Chernigov Tmutorokan, once subject to his grandfather Oleg Svyatoslavich ("Gorislavich"), to reach the shores of the Black Sea, which has been closed to Russia for almost a hundred years by the Polovtsy .

But the consequences of this campaign turned out to be deplorable: they nullified all the efforts of Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich and for a long time "opened the gates" to the Russian land for the Polovtsians.

Campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich Novgorod-Seversky

The campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich in 1185 is told in two chronicles. A more extensive story has been preserved in the Ipalevsky chronicle (compiled by a southern chronicler), another, more concise, in the Laurentian chronicle (it was compiled in Vladimir Suzdal). Here is how, based on the stories of the chronicles, one can imagine Igor's campaign.

Without notifying their feudal head Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich on April 23, 1185, on Tuesday, Igor Svyatoslavich Novgorod-Seversky, his son Vladimir Putivlsky, his nephew - Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich Rylsky, together with the Kovuev squads sent from Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, led by Olstin Oleksich, marched into the distant steppe campaign against the Polovtsy. Fat horses fattened for the winter walked quietly. Igor rode, gathering his squad.

On a campaign off the banks of the Donets on May 1, when the day was drawing to a close. They were overtaken by an eclipse, which in Russia was considered an omen of misfortune. But Igor did not turn his horses. He said to his boyars and retinue: "Brothers and retinue! No one knows the secrets of God, but God is the creator of the eclipse and his whole world. And what God can do for us - either for good or for evil - and we see the same." Having said that, Igor crossed the Donets. At Oskol, Igor waited for two days for his brother Vsevolod, who was walking a different path from Kursk. From Oskol we went further, to the river Salnitsa.

It was not possible to take the Polovtsy by surprise: the Russian "watchmen" who were sent to catch the "tongue" reported that the Polovtsy were armed and ready for battle. But Igor said: "Ozhe we will not fight to return, then we will be rubbish forests of death, but how will God give them." Having agreed, the Russians did not stay for the night, but rode all night. The next day at lunchtime (at that time they dined early) the Russians met the Polovtsian regiments. The Polovtsy sent back their vezhy (covered carts), and they themselves, gathered "from young to old", lined up on the other side of the Syuurliya River. Igor's troops lined up in six regiments. According to the custom of that time, the prince said a short encouraging word: "Brothers, we were looking for this, but we'll pull it." In the middle stood the regiment of Igor, on the right - the regiment of Vsevolod, on the left - the regiment of Svyatoslav Rylsky, in front - the regiment of Igor's son, Vladimir, and the regiment of Chernigov kovuy. Chosen riflemen from all regiments stood in front of the formation. The Polovtsy lined up their archers. With a volley of bows, they fled. Those Polovtsian regiments that stood far from the river also fled. The advanced regiments of the Chernigov kovuy and Vladimir Igorevich chased after them. Igor and Vsevolod walked slowly, keeping formation. The Russians took possession of the Polovtsian vezhas and captured prisoners.

The next day, at dawn, the Polovtsian regiments, "like a hog", that is, like a forest, began to suddenly attack the Russians. Igor did not turn the shelves.

For three days Igor slowly made his way to the Donets with his army. In battle, he was wounded in the right hand. The warriors and horses pushed aside from the water were exhausted from thirst. There were many wounded and dead in the Russian regiments. The Kowui were the first to waver.

Igor galloped towards them, removing his helmet to be recognized, but could not stop them. On the way back, exhausted from his wound, he was captured by the Polovtsy at a distance of an arrow from his troops. He saw how fiercely his brother Vsevolod fought at the head of his army and. according to the chronicle, he asked the god of death so as not to see his death.

Vsevolod, despite courageous resistance, was also taken prisoner. The captive princes were taken apart by the Polovtsian khans. Igor was bailed out by his former ally Konchak. Of the entire Russian army, only 15 people were saved. And even fewer kovuevs. Others drowned in the sea (in the annals, a lake, a large expanse of water, could also be called a sea).

At that time, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Kyiv, having decided to go to the Polovtsians to the Don for the whole summer, gathered soldiers in the north of his possessions. On the way back, he heard that his cousins ​​went to the enemy, hiding from him, and "it was not pleasant for him." Approaching on the boats to Chernigov, he learned about the defeat of Igor; learning about this, he “sighed deeply”, “wiped his tears” and said: “O love my brothers and sons and men of the Russian land! Yes, it will be about everything. Yes, it’s a pity for me to lash out at Igor (as I used to be annoyed), so now I pity more (so now I regret more) for Igor, wash my brother "This is Svyatoslav's" golden word with tears. The "Word" conveys it somewhat differently, but the very meaning and tone of his mournful reproach in the annals and the "Word" are the same.

In these words of Svyatoslav, the consequences of Igor's defeat are precisely defined. Svyatoslav "remembered the filthy ones" in his campaign of 1184, and Igor nullified all efforts by "opening the gates" to the Polovtsy on Russian soil.

And the "filthy" Polovtsy, "taking great pride" and gathering all their people, rushed to Russia. A strife arose between the Polovtsian khans: Konchak wanted to go to Kyiv to avenge his grandfather Sharukan and Bonyak, who were defeated there in 1106, and Gza offered to go to Seven, “where the wife and children are left: ready to be full of us gathered; "And so they split up. Konchak went to Pereyaslavl South, besieged the city and fought there all day.

Vladimir Glebovich then reigned in Pereyaslavl. He was "daring and strong to the rati", left the city and rushed to the enemy. But a little dared to leave the squad for him. In the battle, the prince was wounded by three spears. Then others came up from the city and recaptured it. Vladimir Glebovich sent a message to Svyatoslav of Kyiv, Rurik and Davyd Rostislavichs: "behold the weeds, but help us."

But disagreements arose between the troops of Rurik and Davyd, the Smolensk squads "became a veche" and refused to go on a campaign. Davyd with his "Smolyans" went back, and Svyatoslav and Rurik sailed along the Dnieper against the Polovtsians. The Polovtsy, having heard of their approach, retreated from Pereslavl and besieged the city of Rimov on the way back. During the siege, part of the wall (two gorodni) collapsed along with the people. Some of the besieged went on a sortie and escaped capture.

The rest were captured or killed. Meanwhile, Khan Gza devastated the land around

Engraving by V.A. Favorsky.

Engraving by V.A. Favorsky.

Putivl, burned many villages and prisons. But the city itself, which was fortified with wooden walls on high earthen ramparts, he could not take. There, as we know from the Lay, his wife, Efrosinya Yaroslavna, was saved in Igor's absence.

In captivity, Igor Svyatoslavich enjoyed relative honor and freedom. 20 watchmen were assigned to him, who did not interfere with his travel and obeyed him when he sent them anywhere. He went with his servants to falconry and even summoned a priest from Russia to conduct a church service.

Polovtsian Laurus, judging by the name of the baptized, invited the prince to flee. He refused to go not in the "unglorious way", but circumstances forced him to flee: the son of a thousand man and the equestrians, who were in captivity with him, reported that the Polovtsians returning from Pereyaslavl intended to kill all Russian prisoners.

The time for the escape was chosen in the evening - at sunset. Igor sent his groom to the Lavra, ordering him to cross to the other side of the river with a leash. The Polovtsy, guarding the prince, "drunk their fill of koumiss," played and had fun, thinking that the prince was sleeping. Having prayed and taking with him a cross and an icon, Igor left his vestry. He crossed the river, mounted a horse there and secretly crossed the Polovtsian towers. Eleven days Igor traveled to the border town of Donets, running away from the chase. Arriving in Novgorod Seversky, the prince soon set off on a detour - to Kyiv and Chernigov, and was greeted everywhere with joy. Apparently, this happened in September 1185.

In 1187, Igor's son, Vladimir, returned from captivity. He was with his wife and "with a child" and here, in Russia, he was married according to the church rite. When the rest of the princes returned from captivity is not clear.

The consequences of Igor's defeat made themselves felt in Russia for a long time. The Polovtsy constantly disturbed Russia with their raids. Russian princes quite often organized campaigns against them.

In 1196, Igor's brother, Vsevolod Buy Tur, died. The chronicler marked his death with an obituary, in which he praised his prowess, kindness, and "manly prowess."

Soon, in 1198, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov also died - the brother of Svyatoslav of Kyiv, who had died four years earlier - in 1194. In place of Yaroslav in Chernigov, Igor Svyatoslavich became prince. He reigned for a short time: four years later (he died in 1202, and we know nothing about his reign.

From Igor left six sons. With the death of Roman Mstislavich, Vladimir manages to reign in Galich. He gets Vladimir Volynsky for his brother Svyatoslav, and gives Zvenigorod to Roman Igorevich.

The Igoreviches failed to keep Vladimir Volynsky. In Galicia, they come to grips with the boyars. In 1211, the boyars managed to gain the upper hand, and three Igoreviches were hanged, including one of the participants in the campaign of 1185, Svyatoslav Igorevich. Soon the eldest son of Igor, Vladimir, also died (in 1212). When Oleg died, the third of Igor's sons, who participated in the campaign, is not known. Such was the fate of the participants in the campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich Novgorod-Seversky.

Time of creation of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

"The Lay of Igor's Campaign" was created shortly after the events of the campaign. It was written under the fresh impression of these events. This is not a historical narrative about the distant past, but a response to an event of its time, full of grief that has not yet subsided.

The author of the Lay refers in his work to his contemporaries, to whom these events were well known. Therefore, the "Word" is woven from hints, reminders, from deaf indications of what was still alive in the memory of every reader - his contemporary.

There are more precise indications that the "Word" about Igor's regiment "was created shortly after the events described in it. In 1196, Vsevolod Svyatoslavich died, in 1198 Igor sat down to reign in Chernigov, before that he repeatedly went to the Polovtsy again , but everything remained without mention of the "Word". Other events of Russian history that occurred after 1187 are not mentioned either. In particular, the author names Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galitsky among the living princes; the land of Rus, for the wounds of Igor, the buoy of Svyatslavich." From this it is clear that the "Word" was written no later than 1187, could not have been written earlier, since it ends with "glory" to the young princes, including Vladimir Igorevich, who returned from captivity only in the same year, 1187. Therefore, it is believed that the "Word" about Igor's regiment "was written in 1187.

Question about the authorship of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

Undoubtedly, the author of the Lay is a contemporary of these events. He knows that during the battle the wind blew from the side of the Polovtsy, and the southerly winds are really typical for the area of ​​the battle in spring and summer, he knows about the location of the palace of the Galician prince, about the Russian settlements on the Danube. It crashed in the political position of individual Russian principalities. The language of the "Word" is undoubtedly the language of the second half of the 12th century. Archaeologically accurate descriptions of weapons and clothing.

So, in the 19th century, a hypothesis was put forward about the authorship of the wise scribe Timothy. But the scribes interpreted the sacred writings, and in the "Word" pagan gods are mentioned several times. The chronicles of Timothy are characterized by one side: "birth - death", they do not have the imagery and linguistic richness of the "Word". This hypothesis has no basis.

According to the hypothesis of Yugov and Fedorov, it is believed that the author is an eyewitness, a participant in the events (for example, Igor, Vsevolod, Vladimir, Polovtsy Lavr, thousand-man Raguil).

The researcher of the Lay, I. Shklyarevsky, put forward a version that the author was a hunter or falconer at the princely court (at that time, the position was very honorable).

B. Rybakov discovered the name of Pyotr Borislavich. He was the chronicler of Rurik, carried out diplomatic missions and, importantly, created a chronicle, where he considered princely strife and strife from the people's point of view.

Whoever he may be, based on the analysis of the text of the Lay, we can draw up an approximate description of him.

The author calls all the princes by name, all names are real. It is felt in the appeals that he knows many of them personally: "And you, Roman, and you, Mstislav ...". In reproaches to the princes - the voice of a worthy and self-aware person.

In the "Word" one can see a strange symbiosis of Christianity and paganism. So, Yaroslavna turns to the Dnieper, the Wind, the Sun with a pagan prayer. God shows Igor the way to his father's "golden table", and at the same time nature helps: Donets, birds (magpies, woodpeckers). The author mentions pagan gods (for example, Zhelyu and Karna - Goddesses of the afterlife).

Most likely, when the author wrote "The Word", he was already "in years". The ethics of that time would not allow a young man to address elders in age and position in this way. In addition, he calls Boris "young", and Rostislav, brother Monomakh, who drowned in Stugna, "young". So they didn’t talk about peers.

The author created the nature of the "Word" semi-sighted: on the one hand, nameless, anxiously faceless, and on the other, concrete and nominal. His grasses and trees are nameless: "The tree bowed in anguish", "the tree leaf did not give good," "the grass droops from pity", "on the bloody grass", "the grass rustled". Only once is reed mentioned, and in Yaroslavna's lament - feather grass. And the monks were herbalists, not to mention sorcerers, sorcerers, sorcerers - herbalists and "pharmacists". Specific names of herbs would break into the "Word", as happened with birds and animals.

Birds are mentioned 54 times in the "Word": eagles, swans, crows, crows, jackdaws, hawks, cuckoos, gulls, woodpeckers, nightingales... The same is with animals. They are very real and concrete. But at the same time, northern animals are not mentioned, for example, bears, wild boars. But fish, despite all the author's love for water, are not mentioned. Although the names of the rivers - Dnieper, Don, Danube, Stunga, Kayala, Dvina, Donets ... - are used 23 (!) Times.

Engraving by V.A. Favorsky.

1. "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" is a call for unity.

The Word was a direct response to the events of Igor's campaign. It was a call to unity in the face of a terrible external danger. Using the example of Igor's defeat, the author shows the sad consequences of the political separation of Russia.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" not only tells about the events of the campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich - it gives an assessment to them and is a passionate and excited speech of a patriot, either referring to the events of modern times, or recalling the deeds of hoary antiquity. This speech is sometimes angry, sometimes sad and mournful, but always full of faith in the motherland, full of pride in it, confidence in its future.

The author constantly addresses the readers, calls them "brethren", as if he sees in front of him. He introduces them to the personalities of the present and the past, introduces the reader to the disturbing atmosphere of the campaign, interrupts himself with exclamations of grief. All this creates the impression of his closeness to the listeners.

The genre of "Words" is difficult to define. It is, no doubt, written by the author, but the author feels his connection with the oral word, with oral poetry. It is difficult to say whether it was meant to be spoken aloud as a speech or to be sung. If it is a speech, then it still has a resemblance to a song; if a song, then it is close to speech. It is not possible to define the genre of "Words" more closely. Written, it retains all the charm of a living, oral word - hot, persuasive, full of the most sincere, sincere and cordial love for the motherland.

The true meaning of the "Lay" lies, of course, not only in an attempt to organize this or that campaign, but also in uniting public opinion against the feudal strife of the princes, branding harmful feudal ideas, setting society against the princes' pursuit of personal "glory" and "honor". ", avenging their personal "grievances". The task of the Lay was not only military, but also the ideological rallying of all the best Russian people around the idea of ​​the unity of the Russian land.

2. The image of the Russian land in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is dedicated to the entire Russian land as a whole. The hero is not one of the princes, but the Russian people, the Russian land. The image of Russia in the work is central. The author draws the vast expanses of the Russian land and feels the homeland as a whole.

There is hardly any other work in world literature in which such vast geographical areas are simultaneously involved in action. All Russia is in the author's field of vision, introduced into the circle of his narration.

The vast expanses of the homeland are united by the hyperbolic speed of movement of the actors in it and the simultaneity of action in its different parts: "the girls sing on the Danube - curl their voices to Kyiv."

The landscape of the "Word" is distinguished by grandiosity, always taken as if in motion and concrete: before the battle with the Polovtsy, bloody dawns will tell the light, black clouds are coming from the sea. to be a great thunder, to rain like arrows to the great Don... The earth is buzzing, the rivers are flowing muddy, the dust is rushing over the fields... After the defeat of Igor's army, widespread sadness spreads across Russia.

All Russian nature takes part in the joy and sorrow of the Russian people. She is alive and sympathizes with the Russians. The sun obscures the path of the prince with darkness - it warns him of danger. Donets helps Igor to escape, dresses him with warm mists, guards the birds.

The image of the homeland, full of cities, rivers and numerous inhabitants, is as if opposed to the desert "unknown country", the Polovtsian steppe, its "yarugas" (ravines), swamps and "dirty" places.

Russia for the author is not only "land", but also the Russian people. The author talks about the peaceful work of the plowmen, disturbed by the strife of the princes, about the wives of Russian soldiers, mourning their “way; he talks about the grief of his people after the defeat of Igor, about the death of the property of the Russian people, about the joy of the inhabitants of cities and rural areas at the return of the prince.

The army of Igor Svyatoslavich is primarily "Rusichi", Russian sons. They go to the enemy for their homeland, and say goodbye to it, and not to Novgorod-Seversky principality, Kursk or Putivl. "O Russian land! You are already behind the Shelomyan!".

At the same time, the concept of the motherland - the Russian land - for the author also includes its history. In the opening to the "Word" the author says that he is going to tell the story "from the old Vladimer to the present Igor.

The author draws a surprisingly vivid image of the Russian land. Creating the "Word", he managed to take a look at the whole of Russia, as a whole, united in his description both Russian nature, and Russian people, and Russian history. The image of the suffering homeland is very important in the artistic and ideological concept of the Lay: it evokes the reader's sympathy for it, hatred for its enemies, calls the Russian people to its defense. The image of the Russian land is an essential part of the "Word" as a call to its defense against external enemies.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is an amazingly integral work. The artistic form of the "Word" very accurately corresponds to its ideological design. All images of the "Word" contribute to the identification of its main ideas - the idea of ​​the unity of Russia.

3. Images of Russian princes in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.

The author of the Lay speaks of 44 princes and princesses of the 11th-12th centuries. Of these, 16 belong to the historical section, and 28 - to the author's contemporaries. The fate of these heroes, or, perhaps, more precisely, the characters of the poem, should interest us, since in many ways it was for them that the "Word" was created.

The author's attitude towards the Russian princes is ambivalent: he sees in them representatives of Russia, sympathizes with them, proud of their successes and grieving for their failures. But he condemns their selfish, narrowly local politics and their strife, their unwillingness to jointly defend Russia.

Using the example of Igor's campaign, the author shows what the lack of unity can lead to. Igor is defeated only because he went on a campaign alone. It operates according to the feudal formula: "we are ourselves, and you are yourself." In the "golden word" of Svyatoslav, the author also expresses his attitude to the campaign.

The whole story about Igor's campaign is sustained in the same lines: the brave, but short-sighted prince goes on a campaign, despite the fact that this campaign is doomed to failure from the very beginning; goes, despite all unfavorable "eclipses". Igor loves his homeland, Russia, but his main motivation is the desire for personal glory: "I want more, - speech, - a spear to break the end of the Polovtsian field; with you, Russians, I want to attach my head, and it's nice to drink the Don's helmet." The desire for personal glory "stands for him a sign."

However, the author emphasizes that the actions of Igor Svyatoslavich are conditioned to a greater extent by the concepts of his environment than by his personal properties. In itself, Igor Svyatoslavich is rather good than bad, but his deeds are bad, because they are dominated by the prejudices of feudal society, the ideology of the ruling class. Therefore, in the image of Igor, the general, and not the individual, comes to the fore. Igor Svyatoslavich - the "average" prince of his time; brave, courageous, to a certain extent loving the motherland, but reckless and short-sighted, caring about his honor more than about the honor of the motherland.

With much greater condemnation, the author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" speaks about the ancestor of the Olgovichi princes and the grandfather of Igor Svyatoslavich - Ogeya Gorislavich, the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise and the constant opponent of Vladimir Monomakh. Remembering this Oleg (Oleg lived in the second half of the 11th - early 12th century; he died in 1115), the author of the Lay says that he forged sedition with a sword and sowed arrows on the ground, with him the Russian land was sown and sprouted with strife. The author of the Lay dismisses the disastrous nature of Oleg’s seditions, primarily for the working people, for the peasantry: “Then, across the Russian land, roar rataev kikahut, n often lie, swear, troupia yourself for the sake of it, and Galicians say their own language, want to fly away.” The author endows Oleg with the ironic patronymic "Gorislavich", meaning, of course, not his personal grief, but the people's grief caused by Oleg's strife.

Prince Vseslav Polotsky, the founder of Polotsk, is also depicted as the initiator of strife. The entire text about Vseslav is a reflection on his ill-fated fate. Vseslav is depicted in the "Word" with alienation, but also with a certain, though very insignificant, share of sympathy. This is a restless prince, rushing about like a hunted animal, a cunning, "prophetic" loser. Before us is an exceptionally vivid image of the prince of the period of feudal fragmentation of Russia.

In the rest of the Russian princes, the author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" notes their positive features to a greater extent than their negative ones. The author emphasizes the exploits of the Russian princes, draws their power and glory. The images of the Russian princes reflect his dreams of strong power in Russia, of the military might of the Russian princes. Vladimir I Svyatoslavich went on campaigns against enemies so often that he "could not have been nailed to the mountains of Kyiv." Vsevolod Suzdalsky can splash the Volga with oars, and drink the Don with helmets, and the author mourns that this prince is not now in the south. Yaroslav Osmomysl propped up the Hungarian mountains with his iron regiments, blocked the way for the Hungarian king, opened the gates to Kyiv, shot at the Saltanov behind the lands.

The concept of hyperbole can be applied to the "Word" only with great limitations. The impression of hyperbole is achieved in the "Word" by the fact that the exploits of his squad are transferred to this or that prince. So, for example, Vsevolod Bui Tur streaks at enemies with arrows, rattles swords on helmets, Ovar helmets are "scraped" with his red-hot sabers. Of course, helmets, swords and sabers are not personal Vsevolod. The author of the "Lay" says here that Vsevolod spits arrows at the enemies of the squad, fights with its sabers and swords. We see the same transfer of the exploits of the squad to the prince in other cases. Svyatoslav of Kyiv "ruffled" the treachery of the Polovtsy "with his strong whips and swords"; Vsevolod of Suzdal can "pour out helmets" - of course, not with one of his helmets, but with many helmets of his army.

A very special group is made up of female images of the "Word": they are all fanned by the thought of the world, home, family, imbued with tenderness and affection, a brightly folk principle; they embody the sadness and care of the motherland for their soldiers. In the ideological concept of the author, these female images occupy a very important place.

The wives of Russian soldiers after the defeat of Igor's troops cry for their fallen husbands. Their executioner, full of tenderness and boundless sadness, has a deeply folk character: “We can’t understand our own dear ways, we can’t think, we can’t see.” The lament of Yaroslavna, Igor's wife, has the same folk-song character. It is remarkable that Yaroslavna mourns not only the capture of her husband - she mourns for all the fallen Russian soldiers: “Oh, see, it’s blown! Why, sir, are you forcibly fighting? Thou art dark and red: why, lord, stretch thy hot ray upon thy palm?"

The opposition of the war to the world, embodied in the image of Russian women, is especially vivid in the lyrical appeal of the author of the Lay to Vsevolod Bui Tur. In the midst of the battle, Vsevolod does not feel wounds on himself, he has forgotten the honor and life of his dear, beloved "red Glbovna of custom and custom." It is characteristic that not a single translator of the Slovo could satisfactorily translate the excellent and, in fact, well-understood expression: custom and custom.

So, the images of Russian princes, the female images of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" are not given by themselves - they serve as the ideas of the author, serve the purposes of the same call to unity. The Word appears as an exceptionally purposeful work. The hand of the artist - the author of the Lay - was driven by political thought, an old thought, full of ardent love for the motherland.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" in Old Russian Literature

Acquaintance with the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" is clearly revealed in the entire subsequent development of ancient Russian literature. So, for example, in one liturgical book - the so-called Pskov "Apostle" of 1307, stored in the State Historical Museum in Moscow - there is the following addition made by the scribe on the last page of the manuscript: "This summer there was a battle on the Russian land, Mikhail with Yuri about the princes of Novgorod. Under these princes, strife is growing and growing, our life is growing in princes, which and veci are quick to man" This correspondence in its half is an alteration of the following passage from the "Word": , you perish the life of Dazhdbog's grandson; in princely sedition, you shrunk like a man.

At the very beginning of the 15th century, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" served as a literary model for the creation of "Zadonshchina". "Zadonshchina" is a small poetic work dedicated to the glorification of the victory of Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field, "beyond the Don". "zadonshchina" uses the images of the Lay, contrasting the sad past with the joy of victory. But the author of "Zadonshchina" did not understand "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" everywhere, distorted and left many of its artistic images.

Through the "Zadonshchina", and perhaps directly, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" also influenced another work about the Battle of Kulikovo - the so-called "Tale of the Battle of Mamaev."

In the 16th century, the "Word" was undoubtedly copied in Pskov or Novgorod, since the manuscript that burned down during the fire of 1812 was of precisely this origin.

Thus, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" from time to time made itself felt in various regions of Russia. It was read and rewritten, they looked for inspiration for their own works in it. Creation in the south of Russia, "The Word" "was not lost, - in the words of Academician A.S. Orlov, - on the border of the" wild field "; it went around the entire horizon of Russian territory, more than once crossed its circumference."

Opening of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", its publication and study

The handwritten list of the "Words" was found in the early 90s of the 18th century by the famous lover and collector of Russian antiquities A.I. Musin-Pushkin.

The text of the "Words" was in the collection of ancient Russian stories of secular content. Musin-Pushkin acquired it through his commission agent from the former archimandrite of the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery of Joel, abolished in 1788.

The first mention of the "Word" was made by the famous poet of that time Kheraskov in 1797 in the second edition of his poem "Vladimir". Then N.M. Karamzin about the October book for 1797 of the magazine "SpectateurduNord", published by French emigrants in Hamburg.

Copies were made from the manuscript of the Lay, one of them, intended for Catherine II, has come down to us.

In 1800, Musin-Pushkin published The Word in collaboration with his friends - scientists: A.F. Malinovsky, N.N. Bantyshevsky-Kamensky and N.M. Karamzin - the three best experts on ancient Russian manuscripts of that time.

In 1812, the collection, which included The Tale of Igor's Campaign, burned down in a Moscow fire in Musin-Pushkin's house on Razgulay. Tamm also lost other manuscripts of paramount importance, such as the famous parchment Trinity Chronicle from the very beginning of the 15th century, which Karamzin widely used when creating the History of the Russian State. Most of the first edition of the word also burned down.

In 1813, already after the manuscript of the Lay, together with the entire rich collection of antiquities, A.I. Musina-Pushkina died in a fire, the famous archeographer K.F. Kaidakovich wrote to Musin-Pushkin: “I would like to know about all the details of Igoreva’s incomparable song. On what, how and when was it written? Where was it found? Who was a participant in the publication? How many copies were printed? heard from A.F. Malinovsky".

Musin-Pushkin's response to this appeal is still the most important document for the history of the discovery and publication of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, but, unfortunately, it is far from complete and unclear.

Kaidalovich wrote in his notes in 1824 that Musin-Pushkin, in a conversation held on December 31, 1813, told him that the "Word" was written "on glossy paper, at the end of the chronicle in a fairly clean letter", and most likely at the end of the XIV - the beginning of the XV century. The text was without division and lowercase characters. Kaydalovich also learned about how the "Word" was found.

But, dissatisfied with the results of the conversation, K.F. Kaidalovich again turned to Musin-Pushkin with a request to more accurately determine the nature of the writing of the manuscript to appoint the persons who saw it. However, he did not receive an answer: by this time, skeptics had already begun to suspect, talk began about the forgery of the manuscript, and Musin-Pushkin, who did not understand the scientific significance of Kaydalovich's questions, saw in them, obviously, the same distrustful attitude towards him personally and, perhaps, offended by this, he chose to remain silent.

Comparison of Catherine's copy and the 1800 edition clearly shows how much was not understood initially in the "Lay" because of the natural ignorance of the history of the Russian language for that time or the lack of paleographic publications. What now seems to us simple and clear in "the word" was not recognized by its first publishers.

Title page of the first edition of The Tale of Igor's Campaign.

A clear misunderstanding of the text can be seen in those places where the words of the text are incorrectly divided or merged (in the original, according to Musin-Pushkin, the words were merged into a single line).

So, for example, in the first edition, it was printed separately "to meti", "by jumping", "shut into the Danube", "by sea, by suliya" instead of "Kymeti", "jump", "shut the Danube", "pomoria, promise ". Words incomprehensible to them were written by the first publishers of the Lay with a capital letter, believing that these were proper names. This is how "Koshchei" appeared - supposedly the proper name of the Polovtsian, "Urim" (instead of "U Rim") - supposedly one of the governor or associates of Igor, "Chaga", identified with Konchak. Finally, the publishers left some places without translation at all.

Not only the details, but the content itself was not understood by the publishers or their contemporaries. The literary milieu of the late 18th and early 19th centuries strove for the most part to find in the Lay conformity to their pre-romantic tastes. They searched for Ossianism, information about the ancient folk "bards", etc. At the same time, the moral and patriotic content of the Lay, its warm feeling for the homeland, did not yet find echoes; all the typically Russian features of the form of the "Word" were not understood - its correspondence to Russian folk poetry, annals, and works of Russian folk literature.

In many ways, the "Lay of Igor's Campaign" was not understood by its closest publishers N.N. Bantysh-Kamensky and A.F. Malinovsky are scrupulous, meticulously honest and accurate archivists.

A.S. Pushkin, who was engaged in the translation of the Lay, but did not have time to finish his work, correctly felt the connection between the Tale of Igor's Campaign and oral folk poetry. Following Pushkin, these folk foundations of the Lay were carefully studied by M.A. Maksimovich.

Gradually, the Lay was surrounded by a broad historical perspective. We got a correct interpretation of the political ideas of the Lay, its meaning. Many phenomena of the language of the "Words" that had previously seemed incomprehensible were explained.

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" was studied by literary critics, poets, linguists and historians, it was translated by V. Zhukovsky, A. Maikov, L. Meyi and many other Russian poets. There was not a single major philologist who did not write about the Lay.

The "Word" became a factor in Russian science and literature of the 19th-20th centuries: interest in this stimulated studies in Russian literature of the 11th-13th centuries, the history of the Russian language, and paleography.

The poetic elements of the Lay were reflected in Russian poetry and prose for a year and a half.

In total, there are more than 700 works on the "Word" in the research literature. It has been translated into most Western European languages ​​(French, English, Dutch, Danish, German, Hungarian, Italian) and into all Slavic languages ​​(Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian). All this speaks of an unflagging interest in the Lay.

In our country, such scientists as A.D. Grekov, M.D. Prisekov, S.P. Obnorsky, L.A. Bukhalovsky, N.M. Dylevsky, V.L. Vinogradova, A.N. Kotlyarenko, I.I. Shkelyarevsky, B.A. Rybakov and, of course, D.S. Likhachev.

On Immortality "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

Dying, a person continues to live - he lives in his deeds. And it is important at the same time that only the best has lived, lives and will live in a person. The worst is not inherited in the broad sense of the word, it does not have long-term national traditions, it is fragile, it easily arises, but disappears even faster. The best in man is immortal. This applies even more to the life of art monuments. Artwork embodies a long tradition. They continue to live beyond their era. In its best works - works of humanism, humane in the highest sense of the word - art knows no aging. The highest works continue to be modern for centuries and millennia. The modernity of art is everything that people read, watch and listen to at the moment, regardless of the time when these works of art were created.

The history of art, and in particular literature, differs sharply from general history. Its process is not a process of simple, straightforward change, but a process of accumulation and selection of the best, most effective. The most perfect works of art and literature in particular continue to participate in the life of the people and their literature.

That is why "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", which continues to live in hundreds of works of Russian literature of the 19th-20th centuries, we have the right to consider a work not only of ancient, but to a certain extent of modern literature. It is alive and active, infects with its poetic energy and educates ideologically, teaches literary mastery and love for the motherland.

For more than seven and a half centuries, the Tale of Igor's Campaign has lived a full-blooded life, and the power of its influence not only does not weaken, but is growing and expanding. Such is the power over the time of the "Word" of its living connection with the worldview and creativity of the whole people.

Bibliography

1. "Golden word. Century XII". - M.: Young Guard, 1986. - 461s.

2. "Literature. Grade 9". Part 1. Textbook-reader for educational institutions. - M.: Enlightenment, 2006. - 369s.

3. "The Word about Igor's Campaign". Seventh edition. - M.: Children's literature, 1978 - 221s.

4. Likhachev D.S. "A word about Igor's regiment". Historical and literary essay. Handbook for teachers. 2nd edition, corrected and supplemented. - M.: Enlightenment, 1982. - 176s.

5. Rybakov B.A. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and His Contemporaries". - M .: "Nauka", 1971. - 293 p.

6. Shklyarevsky I.I. "I'm reading "The Word of the Shelf": A book for students. - M .: Education, 1991. - 79s.

BELGOROD STATE UNIVERSITY

CREATIVE WORK IN HISTORY

RUSSIAN LITERATURE ON THE TOPIC:

"A WORD ABOUT IGOR'S GUARD",

PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN

MOTIVES IN THE WORK»

COMPLETED:

CHECKED:

BELGOROD - 2003

I. Introduction. On Immortality "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

1. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" - a work of not only ancient, but always modern literature;

2. Living connection of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" with the worldview and creativity of the whole people;

3. Goals and objectives of this work.

II. Culture and life of the ancient Slavs.

1. Pantheon of Slavic gods;

2. The adoption of Christianity and its influence on ancient Russian culture;

3. Paganism - an aesthetic arsenal of poetic images used in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.

III. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and Old Russian paganism.

1. The concept of dual faith;

2. The pagan element and the figurative system of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign":

a) the meaning of names and nicknames,

b) figurative system.

3. Spiritualization of the elements and phenomena of nature;

4. Pagan gods as poetic concepts.

IV. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" the ideas of Christianity.

1. The influence of Christianity on the culture of Ancient Russia;

2. The use of Church Slavonic vocabulary;

3. Toponymic terms;

4. Compliance with Christian literary traditions.

V. Conclusion and conclusions.

I Introduction: On Immortality "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

Dying, a person continues to live - he lives in his deeds. And it is important at the same time that only the best has lived, lives and will live in a person. The worst is not inherited in the broad sense of the word, it has no long-term national traditions, it is fragile, it easily arises, but disappears even faster. The best in man is immortal. This applies even more to the life of art monuments. Artwork embodies long-standing folk traditions. They continue to live beyond their era. In its best works - works of humanism, humane in the highest sense of the word - art knows no aging. The highest works of art continue to be modern for centuries and millennia. The modernity of art is everything that retains its aesthetic effectiveness, everything that people read, watch and listen to at the moment, regardless of the time when these works of art were created.

That is why The Tale of Igor's Campaign, which continues to live in hundreds of works of Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, we have the right to consider a work not only of ancient, but to a certain extent of modern literature. It is alive and active, infects with its poetic energy and educates, teaches literary skill and love for the motherland.

For more than seven and a half centuries, the Tale of Igor's Campaign has lived a full-blooded life, and the power of its influence not only does not weaken, but is growing and expanding. Such is the power over the time of the "Word", its living connection with the worldview and creativity of the whole people.

In this work, I have to prove that although the remarkable monument of ancient Russian literature, The Tale of Igor's Campaign, was created after the adoption of Christianity by Russia, pagan ideas about the world were still very strong in it.

II. Using the text of the work "Words", and the testimony of eyewitnesses, we will try to imagine the environment in which our distant ancestors lived. “They are very tall and of great strength. The color of their skin and hair is very white, or golden, or not quite black ... They revere rivers and nymphs, and all sorts of deities, make sacrifices to all of them, and with the help of these victims, they make fortune-telling, ”wrote Procopius of Caesarea. This is how this Byzantine historian saw the Slavs, who left us priceless and, unfortunately, the rarest information about our distant ancestors. The Slavs in those days were just beginning to make themselves known on the world stage and still lived their own separate culture, far from the achievements of ancient civilization. They touched it much later, after the adoption of Christianity.

Their ideas about the world were reflected in naive myths about gods, connected directly with nature. Even now we can hardly imagine the general picture of the pantheon of the Slavs, legends, myths are lost, forgotten. Only a few names of the ancient Slavic gods remained.

Russian fairy tales brought to us the poetic charm of these ancient ideas of our ancestors, and they still color our childhood with poetry: goblin, brownies, mermaids, water, Baba Yaga, miracle Yudo, Kashchei the Immortal. Many moral principles appeared to the imagination of an ancient person in a personified form: Woe-misfortune, Truth, Krivda. Even death appeared in the form of a skeleton in a shroud and with a scythe in his hand. The word “Chur”, which is now used in the expression: “Chur me!” Was the name of a god.

The supreme deity was revered by the ancient Slavs Perun - the god of thunder. He lives at the top of the mountain. His enemy is Veles. An insidious and evil god. He kidnaps cattle, people, a werewolf god who can turn into both a beast and a man. Perun fights with him and, when he wins, a life-giving and fertile rain falls on the earth, giving life to the crops. The word "god" (apparently from rich) is often associated with the name of the deity: Dazhdbog, Stribog. In the world of myths, there are kikimoras, ghouls, nightingale robbers, divas, the Serpent Gorynych, the winds of Yarila, the god of spring Lel.

Numerical names sometimes also acquire a divine meaning; if, for example, even carries a positive beginning, then odd is clearly negative.

From the ninth century, the ideas of Christianity began to penetrate to the Slavs. Princess Olga, who visited Byzantium, converted to Christianity, was baptized there. Her son, Prince Svyatoslav, buried his mother according to Christian custom, but he himself remained a pagan, an adherent of the old Slavic gods. Christianity, as you know, was established by his son, Prince Vladimir, in 988. In Russian chronicles, colorful stories about the last days of paganism in Russia, full of drama, have been preserved:

“And Vladimir began to reign in Kyiv alone and set up idols on a hill outside the tower courtyard: a wooden Perun with a silver road and a golden mustache, then Horst, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Simargl and Mokosh. And he offered sacrifices to them, calling them gods, and brought his sons and daughters to them, and these sacrifices went to demons and defiled the earth with their offerings. And the Russian land and that hill were defiled.

The chronicler, already a Christian, commemorates these pagan gods with an unkind word.

The customs of the ancient Slavs are harsh, their gods are harsh, in order to appease them or thank them, sacrifices and human sacrifices are needed. The chronicle tells about one dramatic episode.

Vladimir returned after a successful military campaign against the Yatvag tribe. It was necessary, according to custom, to celebrate the victory and thank the gods. “... The elders and boyars said: “Let us cast lots on the youths and maidens, on whom it falls, we will slaughter him as a sacrifice to the gods.” There was only one Varangian then, and his yard stood where the Church of the Holy Mother of God, which Vladimir built, is now. That Varangian came from the Greek land and professed the Christian faith. And he had a son, beautiful in face and soul, and the lot fell on him ... And those sent to him, having come, said: “The lot fell on your son, the gods chose him for themselves, so that we would sacrifice him to the gods.” - “These are not gods, but a simple tree: today there is, but tomorrow it will rot; they do not eat, do not drink, do not speak, but are made by human hands from wood. I will not give my son!" - "Give me your son, let us bring him to the gods." “If they are gods, then let them send one of the gods and take my son. And why are you doing their rites?”

They called, and cut down the canopy under it, and so they killed them.

The chronicler, having told about this, laments: “After all, there were then people of ignorance and non-Christ. The devil rejoiced at that."

Soon Vladimir changed his faith, and erected a church on the site of the execution of the Varangian and his son.

However, the former gods did not leave the memory of the people. Belief in them already in the form of superstitions continued to live. The old pagan gods symbolized the forces of nature and somehow merged with these forces in the poetic imagination of the people. They made up the aesthetic arsenal of poetic images that poets used. We will find many of them in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. Even individual Russian words originate from the names of ancient pagan gods, for example: “cherish” - from the god of spring Lelya. In the Belarusian language, a swearing expression is commonly used: “Kabe tsebya pyarun cracked!” (god Perun).

III. The Word and Old Russian Paganism

The Tale of Igor's Campaign mentions pagan gods several times: Veles, Dazhdbog, Stribog, Khors. At the same time, the “Word” was clearly written by a Christian poet: Igor, on his return from captivity, goes to the Church of the Virgin Pirogoshcha. How are paganism and Christianity combined in the author of the work? This is very typical for ancient Russia. It is commonly referred to as dualism.

What is this duality? A simple union of the two faiths is hardly possible at all, especially since Christianity in the twelfth century, as well as in the next, actively fought against the pagan religion, with its remnants among the people. Elements of paganism began to come into contact with Christian beliefs only when they ceased to be perceived by the people as opposed to Christianity. Paganism as a system of beliefs, moreover, hostile to Christianity, had to disappear before dual faith could appear. This disappearance of paganism as a consistent system of beliefs could take place only after a certain time after the victory of Christianity: not earlier than the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century.

That is why both the chronicler himself and the author of the work, despite all his Christian attitude, are not averse to determining the time of the events he describes either by the pagan Korochun (the shortest day of the year is the solstice), then by the Christian Radunitsa (the time of commemoration of the dead), then by the pagan Mermaid Week (also a feast of remembrance of the dead).

The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign does not believe in pagan gods in the way that a pagan would believe in them. For him, pagan gods are symbols of nature, artistic generalizations. It animates natural phenomena, trees, the sun, wind, rivers, animates even cities and their walls. (“Sadly, they took away the city,” says the author, describing the consequences of Igor’s defeat). He animates abstract concepts: resentment, acquiring the image of a maiden with swan wings, melancholy and sadness - Karna and Zhelya.

The pagan element largely forms the figurative system of the "Word". Let us turn to the grandfather of Prince Igor - Oleg Svyatoslavich, nicknamed Gorislavich. He was known for his internecine wars. Admiring his power and courage, the author of the Lay at the same time blames him for fratricidal campaigns: “He, after all, Oleg forged sedition with a sword and sowed arrows on the ground.” Many researchers raise the nickname Gorislavich on this basis to the word "gure". In our opinion, however, the combination of the concepts of grief and glory in one word contradicts logic, and even the very image of Oleg. After all, Gorislav would then be read as a would-be brave, something like Anika the warrior, which cannot be assumed in relation to the illustrious prince. The erection by others of the nickname Gorislavich to the word “mountain” (“mountain glory”) seems too ecclesiastical, not corresponding to the style of nicknames. In the name Gorislav, we clearly hear “burning with glory”, “cares for glory”, “seeks glory”. Glory in Old Russian is both love of glory and ambition .. So, Prince Boris Vyacheslavovich "glory brought to court" - ambition led to death completely consistent with the character of this prince.

And in general, the name, and earlier the nickname, in the ancient consciousness was given a fateful significance. So, Oleg in Greek means burning (here is Gorislav!). Igor - consonant with the word "gure". In the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" we find many names with the component "glory": Vseslav, Yarolav, Svyatoslav, Gorislav, Vyachelav, Bryacheslav, Izyalav. Such an abundance of princely names with the root "glory" speaks for itself.

Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Kyiv, Igor's cousin, who learned too late about Igor's campaign, sees a prophetic dream:

Already boards without a prince

In my tower with golden domes.

All night from evening

Gray crows sang at Plesensk,

In the forefront stood the forest of Kiyani,

And they rushed, the crows, to the blue sea.

Why to the blue sea? In our opinion, the Blue Sea is a pagan element that patronizes the Polovtsy. This sea is the element that swallowed up the Russians, the meaning corresponds to the expression "the desert has already covered its strength." And almost everywhere in the work, the elements hostile to the Russians are represented by adherents of the "filthy pagans." This is primarily darkness, night - as opposed to light, day and dawn (an eclipse of the sun as a sign of trouble and death). This is a groaning thunderstorm, an animal whistle, these are wolves that guard Igor's misfortune along the ravines; these are the foxes that bark at scarlet shields. These are the “beads of lies” - the sinister crows of the beads (Bus, Booz, Booz - the legendary leader of the Polovtsians). And this is Div, who “calls at the top of the tree” when Prince Igor is going on a campaign; the diva beats its wings, calling to a bloody feast everything hostile to the Russians. Div is hostile to Russians (cf. in fairy tales “the one-eyed marvel”). This is a mythical creature of the pagans, the personification of savagery and spontaneity, hostile to humanity and culture, what we call Asianism today.

Div is an alien, hostile creature to a Russian person (for a Russian is, in the popular understanding, the same as a righteous person, actually a person). Until now, in folk speech, the expressions “what a miracle is this? or "what a wonder!" - in the meaning of something absurd, awkward, alien, unfavorable. Marvelous in the meaning of beautiful is a sign only of the book tradition, but not of folk speech, where this epithet has a negative meaning.

V. Dal deciphers the word div as a miracle, a miracle, a monster, a sea monster or an ominous bird (pugach, owl). The proverb “thrice a person is wonderful: he is born, marries, dies” - speaks of a different, even impure shade of the word “wonderful”, because. it is at these transitional, boundary moments in a person's life - birth, marriage and death - that he is ritually "unclean" and requires special cleansing actions, rituals.

Alien, unmastered, divya is also conveyed by the word unknowable. This steppe is an unknown field (cf. an open field - also deserted, but included in the image of a friendly, “own” world). Unknown - wild, marvelous, uninspired by culture, unknown. Not without reason in folklore, evil spirits often appear in the form of a "stranger".

Academician B.A. Rybakov insists that the div is a Slavic deity, referring to the Scythians as the Proto-Slavs and their ornamentation, citing the griffon-shaped ornaments of pre-Mongol Rus as an argument. But it is not known whether in the minds of the ancient Russians the diva was rigidly attached to the images of griffins, while ornaments can be borrowed outside of religious worship, for artistic and other reasons. In any case, individual examples of wall ornaments and helmet decorations with griffins hardly give reason to call the diva “the arbiter of the heavenly will,” as Academician Rybakov does. Diva, he considers the patron of Igor's squad; when the Russian army was defeated, then the diva fell from the top, - writes B.A. Rybakov in the book “Peter Borislavich. Search for the author of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" (Moscow, 1991). However, the expression “dives has already fallen to the ground” means, we believe, that it didn’t fall like a mowed down one, but quite the opposite - it attacked, rushed at the Russians from the top of a tree, like a kite (cf. the expression “Vseslav threw a lot about a girl for himself any” - threw lot, the action is active, not passive).

The hostile activity of the diva stands in a logically inseparable series: “blasphemy is already rushing to praise, need is already cracking at will, the diva has already fallen to the ground.” What does it mean: blasphemy overcame praise, need - will, div - earth. The recitative of crying, going without interruptions in one breath, underlined by the rhythmic repetition of the word "already" speaks of the grief of the Russian land. This entire construction is supported a little lower by a concluding phrase related in meaning and style: “the desert has already covered the force.” Trust in the text, and above all in the text, clears up many dark places. And in itself, the meaning of the word “wonderful” as outlandish, wild, alien, unknown, pagan convinces us of the hostility of the diva.

Or let's take this piece of text: "They will beat our birds" ...

And rivers Gzak to Konchak (about Igor):

And if we entangle him with a red maiden -

nor will we have a falcon,

nor us a red maiden.

but they will beat our birds

in the Polovtsian field.

In this fragment from the last part of O. Shcherbinin's "Word" in the article "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" ("Dark Places" in a New Light), for the first time he offers the translation "our birds will be beaten", in contrast to other researchers who wrote: "And birds will start beating us in the Polovtsian field”, to understand as “a falcon with a falcon will start beating Polovtsian birds in the field”. This metaphor - Russian falcons beat Polovtsy birds - runs through the entire figurative system of the word, as well as ancient Russian literature. In the “Word” there are such phrases: “When a falcon is in mytekh, he beats the birds high; “You float high in the storm, like a falcon spreading in the winds, although you overcome the birds in a riot.”

According to some researchers, swans are a pagan totem of the Polovtsians. Perhaps it was with the image of swans on banners that the Polovtsians went into battle. In this case, “they will beat our birds” from the lips of the Polovtsian khans - these are both symbolic and visible, specific images. Let us also recall the expression: “Polovtsian carts creak like frightened swans.” Or "resentment set foot on the land of Troyan, splashed with swan wings."

In the scene of Igor's escape from the Polovtsian captivity: "... and the falcon flew under the darkness, beating geese and swans for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Or: “Oh, the falcon is far away, the birds were beating - to the sea!” Birds mean jackdaws, black crows, magpies (cf. “daw herds run to the Great Don” ...). In the 12th century, birds and foxes - in this combination - were perceived as purely pagan realities, it is not without reason that in the "Word and Teaching against the Gentiles" we read: "The voices of kokosh, and crows, and other birds and foxes, are also listening."

"Russian birds" are a falcon, a nightingale, a cuckoo, a duck (and a goldeneye), a seagull, a black, a quail. But first of all, the falcon. They are always referred to by name, and "pagan birds" are often referred to simply as "birds".

Let's turn to another fragment: "The desert covered the force." And again, the opposition: chaos - order, elements, culture, familiar, mastered, cultural, spiritualized, Christian - and unfamiliar, unknown, undeveloped, uncultivated, deserted, impure, filthy, pagan - has an important world-forming meaning in the "Word". This is the key to images. This opposition creates an image of great poetic and philosophical depth - "the desert has already covered its strength" - in weeping after the defeat of Prince Igor. The transmission of this phrase as “already desert” covered the army” is completely insufficient, because. the concept of force is much broader than an army. The army is only one of the centers of power. The full meaning is that the empty overcame the complex and rich, the wild overcame the cultural, powerless in all respects (because it is not inspired by tradition, culture), overcame strength as the focus of not only physical military power, but also spiritual qualities: courage , valor, honor, sacrifice in the name of the Motherland.

If we recall the masterpieces of church architecture in Russia of the 12th century, if we recall that it was in this century that the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral with its luxurious architecture and complex system of symbols began, if we think about the complex spiritual search for theological literature, then it will appear especially bright and prominent in comparison with all these riches the concept of the desert - the entire life arrangement of nomadic peoples living in the bare steppe. (Probably, it is not necessary to specify in detail that the nomadic, "backward" peoples had their own culture, deserving respect, sometimes admiration - the stone sculpture of the Polovtsians). We are here reconstructing the consciousness of a medieval Christian. And by the way, the desert did not destroy the force, but only covered it, latently the force is ripening.

Spiritualized, and therefore friendly or hostile to the Russians, are all natural elements and phenomena, including rivers. The "Word" contains many names of rivers, and the author has a special attitude to each. The rivers were personified. Dnepr Slovutich - assistant, patron. Stugna is insidious, full of cold water. Kayala is a disastrous, cursed river, like the Kanina, where the Russian squads and the very glory of the Russians “sank”. In the medieval consciousness, proper names, as well as the names of rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, were interpreted as designations of the nature of the object, its essence, sometimes fate. All these animations, elements of animism and paganism in the "Word" are phenomena not so much of a religious as of an artistic nature.

When the author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign relates Igor's conversation with Donets, he, of course, does not assume that this conversation took place in real life. This conversation is an artistic summary. There can be no doubt that the pagan gods mentioned in the work are artistic images that have a poetic coloring for the author, and not real cult concepts. The author of the Lay is a Christian, not a pagan. He does not believe in pagan gods, just as he does not believe in the reality of Igor's conversation with Donets.

Pagan gods - artistic images, poetic concepts. The author of the Lay calls the winds "Stribog's grandchildren", speaks of the Russian people as Dazhdbozh's grandson. "Veles grandson" he calls Boyan. Veles, or Volos (“cattle god”) is mentioned several times in the work of Idols to Veles - Volos stood in the 10th century in Kyiv on Podol, in Rostov, according to legend - in Novgorod. Apparently, Veles was also considered the patron of singer-poets, the shepherd's god and the god of poetry at the same time.

Thus, in the "Word", as well as in the folk art of his time, there is a departure from paganism; many pagan elements are recognized as purely poetic elements. In this regard, The Tale of Igor's Campaign reflects the process of the decomposition of paganism and the transition to dual faith.

There is another point of view in the scientific literature: it is assumed that the author of the Lay believed decisively in everything he writes about, and in all the pagan gods that he mentions. But it is unlikely that in the twelfth century paganism took its positions so firmly. The author of the Lay was already moving on to dual faith and looked at many things in paganism only as an artistic generalization. In the Russian language of the time of the “Words” there were already quite a lot of Turkic words, therefore the Turkic mythology was familiar to the Russians, but hardly anyone would argue that at the time of the intensified struggle between Christianity and paganism in Russia, the Russians not only found the strength to fight for their pagan gods, but they also took faith in the Polovtsian gods seriously. For a poet of the twelfth century, pagan gods (both Russian and Polovtsian) could be approximately the same as the gods of antiquity were for a poet of the Renaissance. The poetry of the Lay was multifaceted, drawing its images, its artistic system from various sources, transforming it, transforming it, merging it into an organic alloy, awakening artistic associations, but not religious beliefs.

IV. "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and Christianity

The adoption of Christianity in Russia created a completely different spiritual atmosphere in society. V. G. Belinsky rightly wrote that “Christianity, of course, produced in the Slavic tribes the spirit of unconditional denial of their former pagan nationality ... the monuments of pagan poetry were forgotten and were not entrusted to the letter. That is why not only no songs of the pagan period of Russia have come down to us, but we even have almost no idea about Slavic mythology ... How many monuments of folk poetry have perished completely!”

From the twelfth century a rather rich literature has come down to us, created and preserved in monasteries. It has a pronounced clerical character. The Russian clergy cannot be accused of lack of patriotism. The clergy understood the danger of Russia from the fragmentation of the principalities and constant strife. Therefore, the idea of ​​the unity of the princes is somehow presented in the literary monuments of that time that have come down to us.

“Think about it, princes, you resist your elder brethren, raise up an army and call on the filthy on your brothers - until God rebuked you at the terrible judgment!” - the author of the “Word about the Princes” admonished the organizers and perpetrators of the then troubles. It was apparently a sermon written and delivered in the second half of the 12th century. As we can see, in the sermon the Christian God is placed as a frightening judge. And so in almost all the texts of that time. One may get the impression that Christianity has completely taken over the consciousness of the people. Although the entire text of The Tale of Igor's Campaign never mentions the name of the Christian God, the influence of the Christian faith is clearly noticeable. Twice in the text we meet the mention of the churches of St. Sophia in Polotsk and Kyiv:

“From the same Kayala, Svyatopolk ordered his father to bring

between the Hungarian pacers

to St. Sophia to Kyiv.

“For him (Vseslav) in Polotsk, they called early for matins

at St. Sophia in the bells,

and he heard that ringing in Kyiv.

The poet nowhere refers to Christian preachers, whose names, of course, he knew. But the widespread use of Russian and Church Slavonic vocabulary speaks for itself. Let's take, for example, this passage: "Children of demons blocked the field with a click, and the brave Russians blocked it with scarlet shields." Here are two verbs of the same root, but in one case with a Russian full vowel (“pregorodisha”), and in the other with a Church Slavonic non-plentiful (“pregradisha”). In Russian, words of Church Slavonic origin and purely Russian give different shades of meaning. This increases the richness and flexibility of the language, making it possible to express various, very minor shades of meaning, which are especially important in artistic speech. The author of The Tale of Igor's Campaign makes extensive use of this. He has “raven” and “lie”, “head” and “head”, “nightingale” and “glory”, “gate” and “gate”, “fight” and “scold”. And not only the use of the vocabulary of two languages ​​proves the assertion that the work was created after the adoption of Christianity by Russia.

Such phrases: “the scarlet banner, the white banner” and “There were centuries of Troyan, the years of Yaroslav passed; there were campaigns of Olegov, Oleg Svyatoslavovich" - directly confirm what was said above. In the Dictionary of the Russian Language S.I. Ozhegov, the word "gonfalon" is defined as belonging to church processions and military regiments - a large banner with the image of saints fixed on a long pole. And finally, the second passage. In connection with what was said above about Troyan as an ancient Russian pagan god, this place should be understood as follows: “There were pagan times, the times of Yaroslav came, there were also campaigns of Oleg, Oleg Svyatoslavich.” Here, therefore, the author of the Lay outlines three stages of Russian history: pagan times, Yaroslav's time, as the time of Christian and united Russia, and the time of Oleg's internecine strife.

There is no doubt that the thought expressed by us is correct, also because at the very end of the work the author directly indicates that in the twelfth century the Christian worldview dominated Russia:

“Igor is driving along Borichev

to the Holy Mother of God Pirogoshcha.

Borichev import - rise from the Dnieper pier up the mountain to the center of Kyiv. Pirogoshchaya is the name of the church in Kyiv, which was founded in 1132. It is named after the icon of the Mother of God, “Pirogoshcha”, which was brought to Russia from Byzantium, was in it.

“Hello, princes and squad,

fighting for christians

against the invasions of the filthy!

The author directly indicates that Igor, and his army, and the author himself are Christians. Therefore, it is quite understandable that the work ends with the word "amen", which comes from the Greek word "so be it, truly." This is how many literary monuments of Ancient Russia and church prayers end.

V. Conclusion and conclusions:

The Tale of Igor's Campaign is a cultural monument of the 12th century, and this is extremely important from a historical point of view, because it gives us an idea of ​​the spiritual life of the people. We know little about the life and beliefs of the Slavs before they accepted Christianity. Some very meager information about them can be found in Byzantine historians.

Traditions live for a long time, and much of what worried the Slavs in the days of Procopius of Caesarea survived until the 12th century. It must be borne in mind that Christianity arose at the time of the deepest crisis of ancient civilization, was the fruit of its decadence. The young peoples who adopted the new religion were far from the level of their ideas from the ideas and rather abstract forms of its dogma. The ancient Slavs were still very close to nature. She gave their imagination poetic images that were associated not only with religious ideas, but also with their aesthetic needs. So it was with all the ancient peoples at the time of the creation of civilization. The poet, the author of the Lay, was closer to nature-related images of the pagan religion of the ancient Slavs, although the harsh allegories of Christianity also lived in his soul. Hence such a wealth of colorful visual and sound comparisons in his poem. Rivers, steppes, hills, the sea, the cries of prophetic birds fill the "Word", we see them, hear them, they are participants in the events. And then there are fabulous Divas and swan maidens, and the great blue Don and the Russian land that was left somewhere behind “behind the shelomyan”, and the constant heart-wrenching refrain “Oh, Russian land! You are already behind the shelomyan!" This is an appeal, a conversation with the motherland. She is not an abstract concept, she is a living being with whom one can talk, as well as drink clean water from the blue Don, the great Russian river, with a helmet.

It is important to note the verbal communication characteristic of the "Word", as well as the ability to perceive inanimate, from our point of view, phenomena and realities of nature - as living, having their own unique character and significance in ongoing events. So to speak, the participation of the entire daily world in history and destiny. This has nothing to do with the modern interpretation of history, where either economic or political causes stick out in a torn, inanimate, inanimate world. Spilled everywhere life, the spirit colors the worldview of medieval man with a quivering sense of the inseparable unity of the world and its – in a literal, concrete-sensual sense – permeated by the single will of the Creator.

The attitude of our ancestors, their understanding of the world, goodness and justice, an unparalleled sense of the native language and ingenious language creation - this is what will forever excite the Russian people in the national cultural monument.

What a hell of a kiss to step aside, hai be damned in the future of the Lord's twelve holidays. "But on the same days, Davidovichi's insults came from a goddamn kiss." , from purely pagan to ...

In this regard, a lot of attention was paid to the study of specifically oratorical techniques, the relationship between the Lay and the works of rhetoricians of the pre-Mongolian period. I.P. Eremin studied this side of the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" in particular detail, referring it to the monuments of political eloquence. Most commentators translate the phrase "difficult story" as "military story" (another, less common ...

In the great monument of ancient Russian literature, The Tale of Igor's Campaign, there is an undoubted connection with folk traditions. The very idea of ​​the work is folk; nationality is manifested both in the description of events, and in the language, and in the artistic manner of the author, as well as in the images that he creates. One of such folk images is Igor's young wife, Yaroslavna, in the poem.

Yaroslavna is a typical Russian woman. This image occupies a very important place in the ideological concept of the poem. He is fanned by the thought of the world, family, home, imbued with tenderness and affection, a bright folk beginning. The image of Yaroslavna and other women expresses the sadness and concern of the motherland, the people for their soldiers. They contain the idea of ​​creation, which opposes troubles and Destruction, the idea of ​​opposing war and peace. The wives of Russian soldiers mourn their husbands who fell on the battlefield. And their cry, full of tenderness and sadness, has a deeply folk character.

The character of the heroine is most clearly revealed in the famous lament of Yaroslavna. The author, as it were, quotes the lamentation of a Russian woman pitying not only her husband, but also his soldiers:

O wind, wind!

Why are you rushing Khin's arrows

on their porches

on the warriors of my dear? ..

Bright and thrice bright sun! ..

Why, lord, did you stretch out your hot rays

on the warriors of my kind?

In the waterless field, thirst twisted their bows,

grief shut their quivers?

She also recalls the glorious campaign of Svyatoslav against the Polovtsy, which the Russian people can rightly be proud of. In her weeping-sentence, folk tunes are heard. The author did not accidentally choose such a style of presentation - the style of folk lyrical songs. He most accurately reveals the image of the heroine as a representative of her people. It is precisely such words and expressions that lament is filled with that were used in oral folk art - in songs, laments, parables. Appeals and images that the author uses are present in all folk works of that time. From the very beginning, crying is built exclusively on folklore images - Yaroslavna, for example, strives, like the heroines of folk tales, "to fly like a cuckoo along the Danube." For ancient parables and songs, such a transformation into birds or animals was very characteristic.

Yaroslavna turns to nature: to the wind blowing under the clouds, cherishing the ships on the blue sea; to the Dnieper, which broke through the stone mountains and cherished Svyatoslav's embankments; to the sun, which is beautiful for everyone, but in the steppe with waterless thirst and languor twisted the Russian soldiers. All these images contain a characteristic of the great and immense Russia. These appeals clearly reflect the inseparable connection of the heroine with the entire Russian people. It is in her native nature that she seeks sympathy and help:

Oh Dnepr Slovutich!

Pour, sir, my dear to me,

so that I do not send him tears

at sea early.

The peculiarity of Yaroslavna's monologue is also that it reveals the inner world of Yaroslavna. With the mighty forces of nature, she is on an equal footing. She shows courage, wanting to be near her husband in danger, as well as mercy: with her presence, she wants to alleviate the suffering of the wounded Igor.

In the voice of Yaroslavna, not only suffering and sadness are heard. Every word of her cry is filled with tenderness and love. Her gentle lyrical words carry reconciliation to feelings, soften the bitterness of loss and defeat. She deeply mourns for the army, but her grief is bright, full of hope. Together with her, all Russian women, all the Russian people hope and believe in a happy outcome of events. And these hopes are justified - Igor escapes from captivity. He is helped by all the same nature, to which the heroine addressed with a prayer.

Thus, in Yaroslavna, the author embodied the typical features of the people, he created the type of Russian woman, devoted to her husband and native country. And, besides, this image became the embodiment of the sorrows and joys of the Russian people, their hopes. Through him, as well as through other characters, the poet conveys the main idea of ​​his work - a call for unity in the name of happiness and peace throughout Russia.
I will fly, - he says, - like a cuckoo along the Danube.

I will soak a silk sleeve in the Kayala river,

I will wipe away the prince's bloody wounds on his mighty body.

In the history of Russian literature, many interesting female images have been preserved that embodied the ideal of a Russian woman. The most striking of them is the image of Yaroslavna, the wife of Prince Igor, in the Old Russian story "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

The image of Yaroslavna is built on the best folklore traditions. The monologue of the wife of the courageous Prince Igor occupies only a page and is a lamentation, but its significance for the whole story is great. We see the love, tenderness, loyalty of a Russian woman who helped brave warriors survive in their feats of arms. After all, the combatants knew that they were eagerly awaited at home and they certainly needed to return.

The author of the Lay compares Yaroslavna with a cuckoo, because it was this bird that was popularly a symbol of a lonely grieving woman. As in many folk works, we can observe the appeal of the heroine to various phenomena

nature: the wind, the Dnieper, the sun. Even in the days of paganism, the Slavs prayed to these natural phenomena, believing in their omnipotence.

An interesting fact is that Yaroslavna is worried not only by the thought of wounding Igor, but also by the fate of his soldiers. This once again confirms that this woman is a true princess, for whom the fate of the state is important:

Why, my lord, did you extend your hot rays

on warriors frets;

in a waterless field with thirst he bent his bows ...

Unfortunately, the lot of many wives, mothers, sisters of that time was a long wait for their soldiers. But all the combatants were returning from campaigns, and mournful lamentation spread throughout the Russian land. Perhaps that is why Russian folklore is dominated by tragic motifs in the depiction of female images.

Yaroslavna is the ideal of a Russian woman - a devoted, loving wife, a wise ruler.