Speaking about the scribes of books in ancient Russia, we should also mention our chroniclers
Almost every monastery had its own chronicler, who, in brief notes, enters information about the most important events of his time. It is believed that the chronicles were preceded by calendar notes, which are considered the founder of any chronicle. According to their content, the annals can be divided into 1) state annals, 2) family or tribal annals, 3) monastery or church annals.
Family chronicles are compiled in the clans of service people in order to see the public service of all ancestors.
The sequence observed in the annals is chronological: the years are described one after another.
If in some year nothing remarkable happened, then nothing is recorded against this year in the annals.
For example, in the chronicle of Nestor:
“In the summer of 6368 (860). In the summer of 6369. In the summer of 6370. Expelling the Varangians across the sea, and not giving them tribute, and more often in their own hands; and there is no truth in them ....
In the summer of 6371. In the summer of 6372. In the summer of 6373. In the summer of 6374, Askold and Dir went to the Greeks ... "
If a “sign from heaven” happened, the chronicler noted it as well; if there was a solar eclipse, the chronicler ingenuously wrote down that such and such a year and date "the sun died."
The Monk Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, is considered the father of the Russian chronicle. According to the studies of Tatishchev, Miller and Schlozer, he was born in 1056, entered the monastery at the age of 17 and died in 1115. His chronicle has not been preserved, but a list from this chronicle has come down to us. This list is called the Laurentian List, or the Laurentian Chronicle, because it was written off by the Suzdal monk Lavrenty in 1377.
In the Paterik of Pechersk it is said about Nestor: “that he is contented with the summer, laboring in the affairs of chronicle writing and remembering the eternal summer.”
The Laurentian Chronicle is written on parchment, on 173 sheets; up to the fortieth page it is written in an ancient charter, and from page 41 to the end - in a semi-charter. The manuscript of the Laurentian Chronicle, which belonged to Count Musin-Pushkin, was presented by him to Emperor Alexander I, who presented it to the Imperial Public Library.
Of the punctuation marks in the annals, only a period is used, which, however, rarely stands in its place.
This chronicle included events up to 1305 (6813).
The Lavrentiev chronicle begins with the following words:
“Here are the stories of bygone years, where did the Russian land come from, who in Kyiv began to reign first and where did the Russian land come from.
Let's start this story. After the flood, the first sons of Noah divided the earth .... ”, etc.
In addition to the Laurentian Chronicle, the “Novgorod Chronicle”, “Pskov Chronicle”, “Nikon Chronicle” are known, so named because “the sheets have a signature (clip) of Patriarch Nikon, and many others. friend.
In total, there are up to 150 variants or lists of annals.
Our ancient princes ordered that everything that happened under them, good and bad, be entered into the annals, without any concealment and decorations: “our first rulers without anger commanded to describe everything good and bad that happened to be described, and other images of the phenomenon will be based on them.”
During the period of civil strife, in case of any misunderstanding, the Russian princes sometimes turned to the annals as written evidence.
In the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian National Library, along with other valuable manuscripts, a chronicle is kept, which is called Lavrentievskaya, named after the person who copied it in 1377. “Az (I am) a thin, unworthy and many-sinful servant of God, Lavrenty mnih (monk),” we read on the last page.
This book is written in charters", or " veal“- so called in Russia parchment: specially processed calf leather. The chronicle, apparently, was read a lot: its sheets were dilapidated, in many places there were traces of wax drops from candles, in some places beautiful, even lines were erased, at the beginning of the book running across the entire page, further divided into two columns. This book has seen a lot in its six-hundred-year-old century.
The Manuscript Department of the Library of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg contains Ipatiev Chronicle. It was transferred here in the 18th century from the Ipatiev Monastery, famous in the history of Russian culture, near Kostroma. It was written in the XIV century. It is a large book, bound heavily on two planks of wood covered in darkened leather. Five copper beetles decorate the binding. The whole book is written by hand in four different handwritings, which means that four scribes worked on it. The book is written in two columns in black ink with cinnabar (bright red) capital letters. The second sheet of the book, on which the text begins, is especially beautiful. It is all written in cinnabar, as if blazing. Capital letters, on the other hand, are written in black ink. The scribes have worked hard to create this book. With reverence they set to work. “The Russian chronicler is starting with God. Good Father,” the scribe wrote before the text.
The oldest copy of the Russian chronicle was made on parchment in the 14th century. it synodal list Novgorod First Chronicle. It can be seen in the Historical Museum in Moscow. It belonged to the Moscow Synodal Library, hence its name.
It is interesting to see the illustrated Radzivilovskaya, or Koenigsberg, chronicle. At one time it belonged to the Radzivils and was discovered by Peter the Great in Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad). Now this chronicle is stored in the Library of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. It was written in semi-charter at the end of the 15th century, apparently in Smolensk. Semi-charter - the handwriting is faster and simpler than the solemn and slow charter, but also very beautiful.
Radzivilov Chronicle adorns 617 miniatures! 617 drawings in color - the colors are bright, cheerful - illustrate what is described on the pages. Here you can see the troops going on a campaign with banners fluttering, and battles, and sieges of cities. Here the princes are depicted seated on “tables” - the tables that served as the throne, in fact, resemble the current small tables. And in front of the prince are ambassadors with scrolls of speeches in their hands. The fortifications of Russian cities, bridges, towers, walls with "zaborblami", "cuts", that is, dungeons, "vezhs" - tents of nomads - all this can be visualized from the slightly naive drawings of the Radzivilov Chronicle. And what to say about weapons, armor - they are depicted here in abundance. No wonder one researcher called these miniatures "windows to a vanished world." The ratio of drawings and sheet, drawings and text, text and fields is very important. Everything is done with great taste. After all, each handwritten book is a work of art, and not just a monument of writing.
These are the most ancient lists of Russian chronicles. They are called “lists” because they were rewritten from older chronicles that have not come down to us.
How were chronicles written?
The text of any chronicle consists of weather records (compiled by years). Each entry begins: “In the summer of such and such”, and then follows a message about what happened in this “summer”, that is, the year. (The years were considered “from the creation of the world”, and in order to get the date according to modern chronology, you must subtract the figure 5508 or 5507.) The messages were long, detailed stories, and there were also very short ones, like: “In the summer of 6741 (1230) signed (painted ) there was a church of the Holy Mother of God in Suzdal and was paved with various marbles”, “In the summer of 6398 (1390) there was pestilence in Pskov, as if (how) there was no such; where they dug up one, put that and five and ten”, “In the summer of 6726 (1218) there was silence.” They also wrote: “In the summer of 6752 (1244) there was nothing” (that is, there was nothing).
If several events happened in one year, then the chronicler connected them with the words: “in the same summer” or “of the same summer”.
Entries belonging to the same year are called an article.. Articles went in a row, standing out only in red line. Only some of them were given titles by the chronicler. Such are the stories about Alexander Nevsky, Prince Dovmont, the Battle of the Don, and some others.
At first glance, it may seem that the chronicles were kept like this: year after year, more and more new records were added, as if beads were strung on one thread. However, it is not.
The chronicles that have come down to us are very complex works on Russian history. Chroniclers were publicists and historians. They were concerned not only with contemporary events, but also with the fate of their homeland in the past. They made weather records of what happened during their lives and added to the records of previous chroniclers new reports that they found in other sources. They inserted these additions under the respective years. As a result of all the additions, insertions and use by the chronicler of the annals of his predecessors, it turned out “ vault“.
Let's take an example. The story of the Ipatiev Chronicle about the struggle of Izyaslav Mstislavich with Yuri Dolgoruky for Kyiv in 1151. There are three main participants in this story: Izyaslav, Yuri and Yuri's oyn - Andrey Bogolyubsky. Each of these princes had his own chronicler. The chronicler Izyaslav Mstislavich admired the intelligence and military cunning of his prince. Yuriy's chronicler described in detail how Yuriy, unable to pass down the Dnieper past Kyiv, launched his boats across Dolobskoye Lake. Finally, in the chronicle of Andrei Bogolyubsky, Andrei's valor in battle is described.
After the death of all participants in the events of 1151, their chronicles came to the chronicler of the new Kyiv prince. He combined their news in his vault. It turned out to be a bright and very complete story.
But how did the researchers manage to isolate more ancient vaults from the later chronicles?
This was helped by the method of work of the chroniclers themselves. Our ancient historians treated with great respect the records of their predecessors, as they saw in them a document, a living evidence of the “previously former”. Therefore, they did not alter the text of the chronicles they received, but only selected the news they were interested in.
Thanks to the careful attitude to the work of the predecessors, the news of the 11th-14th centuries have been preserved almost unchanged even in relatively late chronicles. This allows them to stand out.
Very often chroniclers, like real scientists, indicated where they got the news from. “When I came to Ladoga, the people of Ladoga told me…”, “Behold, I heard from a witness,” they wrote. Passing from one written source to another, they noted: “And this is from another chronicler” or: “And this is from another, old,” that is, written off from another, old chronicle. There are many such interesting additions. The Pskov chronicler, for example, makes a note in vermilion against the place where he talks about the campaign of the Slavs against the Greeks: “This is written about in the miracles of Stefan Surozh”.
Chronicle-writing from its very inception was not a private matter of individual chroniclers who, in the quiet of their cells, in solitude and silence, recorded the events of their time.
Chroniclers have always been in the thick of things. They sat in the boyar council, attended the veche. They fought “near the stirrup” of their prince, accompanied him on campaigns, were eyewitnesses and participants in the sieges of cities. Our ancient historians carried out embassy assignments, followed the construction of city fortifications and temples. They always lived the social life of their time and most often occupied a high position in society.
Princes and even princesses, princely combatants, boyars, bishops, abbots took part in the chronicle writing. But there were also simple monks among them, and priests of city parish churches.
Chronicle writing was caused by social necessity and met social requirements. It was conducted at the behest of this or that prince, or bishop, or posadnik. It reflected the political interests of equal centers - the principality of cities. They captured the sharp struggle of different social groups. Chronicle has never been impassive. She testified to the merits and virtues, she accused of violating the rights and the rule of law.
Daniil Galitsky turns to the chronicle to testify to the betrayal of the “flattering” boyars, who “called Daniil a prince; but they themselves held the whole land. At the acute moment of the struggle, the “printer” (keeper of the seal) Daniel went to “write the robberies of the wicked boyars”. A few years later, the son of Daniil Mstislav ordered that the betrayal of the inhabitants of Berestye (Brest) be recorded in the annals, “and I entered their sedition in the annals,” writes the chronicler. The whole set of Daniel of Galicia and his immediate successors is a story about sedition and “many rebellions” of the “crafty boyars” and about the valor of the Galician princes.
The situation was different in Novgorod. The boyar party won there. Read the record of the Novgorod First Chronicle about the expulsion of Vsevolod Mstislavich in 1136. You will be convinced that you have a real indictment against the prince. But this is only one article from the set. After the events of 1136, all chronicle writing, which had previously been conducted under the auspices of Vsevolod and his father Mstislav the Great, was revised.
The former name of the chronicle, "Russian Timepiece", was remade into "Sofia Timeline": the chronicle was kept at the Cathedral of St. Sophia - the main public building of Novgorod. Among some additions, an entry was made: “First the Novgorod volost, and then the Kyiv volost”. The antiquity of the Novgorod “volost” (the word “volost” meant both “region” and “power”) the chronicler justified the independence of Novgorod from Kyiv, its right to elect and expel princes at will.
The political idea of each vault was expressed in its own way. It is expressed very clearly in the vault of 1200 of the abbot of the Vydubytsky monastery Moses. The code was compiled in connection with the celebration on the occasion of the completion of a grand engineering and technical structure for that time - a stone wall to protect the mountain near the Vydubytsky monastery from being washed away by the waters of the Dnieper. You might be interested in reading the details.
The wall was built at the expense of Rurik Rostislavich, the Grand Duke of Kyiv, who had “an insatiable love for the building” (for creation). The prince found an “artist suitable for this kind of work”, “not a simple master”, Peter Milonega. When the wall was “completed”, Rurik came to the monastery with his whole family. After praying "for the acceptance of his labor" he made "a feast not small" and "fed the abbots and every rank of the church." At this celebration, hegumen Moses delivered an inspirational speech. “Wonderful today our eyes see,” he said. “For many who lived before us wanted to see what we see, and did not see, and were not honored to hear.” Somewhat self-deprecatingly, according to the custom of that time, the abbot turned to the prince: “Accept our rude writing, as a gift of words to praise the virtue of your reign.” He spoke further about the prince that his “autocratic power” shines “more (more) than the stars of heaven”, she “is not only known in the Russian ends, but also to those who are in the sea far away, for the glory of Christ-loving deeds has spread throughout the earth” his. “Not standing on the shore, but on the wall of your creation, I sing you a song of victory,” exclaims the abbot. He calls the construction of the wall a “new miracle” and says that the “Kyyans”, that is, the inhabitants of Kyiv, are now standing on the wall and “from everywhere joy enters their souls and it seems to them that (as if) they have reached aera” (that is, that they soar in the air).
The abbot's speech is an example of the high oratory, that is, oratory, art of that time. It ends with the vault of Abbot Moses. The glorification of Rurik Rostislavich is associated with admiration for the skill of Peter Milonega.
Chronicles were of great importance. Therefore, the compilation of each new set was associated with an important event in the public life of that time: with the entry of the prince to the table, the consecration of the cathedral, the establishment of the episcopal chair.
Chronicle was an official document. It was referred to in various kinds of negotiations. For example, Novgorodians, concluding a “row”, that is, an agreement, with the new prince, reminded him of “old times and duties” (about customs), about “Yaroslavl letters” and their rights recorded in the Novgorod annals. The Russian princes, going to the Horde, carried chronicles with them and substantiated their demands on them, and resolved disputes. Prince Yuri of Zvenigorod, son of Dmitry Donskoy, proved his rights to reign in Moscow “by chroniclers and old lists and the spiritual (testament) of his father.” People who could “speak” according to the annals, that is, they knew their content well, were highly valued.
The chroniclers themselves understood that they were compiling a document that was supposed to preserve in the memory of their descendants what they had witnessed. “Yes, and this will not be forgotten in the last generations” (in the next generations), “Yes, we will leave those who exist for us, but it will not be completely forgotten,” they wrote. They confirmed the documentary nature of the news with documentary material. They used diaries of campaigns, reports of "watchmen" (scouts), letters, various kinds of diplomas(contractual, spiritual, that is, wills).
Diplomas always impress with their authenticity. In addition, they reveal the details of life, and sometimes the spiritual world of the people of Ancient Russia.
Such, for example, is the letter of the Volyn prince Vladimir Vasilkovich (nephew of Daniil Galitsky). This is a testament. It was written by a terminally ill man who knew that his end was near. The will concerned the prince's wife and his stepdaughter. There was a custom in Russia: after the death of her husband, the princess was tonsured into a monastery.
The letter begins like this: “Se az (I) Prince Vladimir, son Vasilkov, grandson Romanov, I am writing a letter.” The following lists the cities and villages that he gave the princess “by his stomach” (that is, after life: “belly” meant “life”). At the end, the prince writes: “If she wants to go to the blueberries, let her go, if she doesn’t want to go, but as she pleases. I can’t rise up to watch what someone will repair (do) on my stomach. Vladimir appointed a guardian for his stepdaughter, but ordered him "not to give her in marriage to anyone."
Chroniclers inserted works of various genres into the vaults - teachings, sermons, lives of saints, historical stories. Thanks to the involvement of a variety of material, the chronicle became a huge encyclopedia, including information about the life and culture of Russia at that time. “If you want to know everything, read the chronicler of the old Rostov,” wrote Bishop Simon of Suzdal in a once widely known work from the beginning of the 13th century - in the “Kiev-Pechersk Patericon”.
For us, the Russian chronicle is an inexhaustible source of information on the history of our country, a true treasury of knowledge. Therefore, we are very grateful to the people who have preserved for us information about the past. Everything we can learn about them is extremely precious to us. We are especially touched when the voice of the chronicler reaches us from the pages of the chronicle. After all, our ancient Russian writers, like architects and painters, were very modest and rarely identified themselves. But sometimes, as if forgetting, they talk about themselves in the first person. “I happened to be a sinner right there,” they write. “I have heard many words, hedgehogs (which) and entered in this annals.” Sometimes chroniclers bring in information about their lives: "The same summer they made me a priest." This entry about himself was made by the priest of one of the Novgorod churches German Voyata (Voyata is an abbreviation for the pagan name Voeslav).
From the mentions of the chronicler about himself in the first person, we learn whether he was present at the event described or heard about what happened from the lips of “seers”, it becomes clear to us what position he occupied in the society of that time, what was his education, where he lived and much more . Here he writes how in Novgorod the guards stood at the city gates, “and others on that side”, and we understand that this is written by a resident of the Sofia side, where the “city” was, that is, the citadel, the Kremlin, and the right, the Trading side was “other”, “she is me”.
Sometimes the presence of a chronicler is felt in the description of natural phenomena. He writes, for example, how the freezing Rostov Lake “howled” and “thumped”, and we can imagine that he was somewhere on the shore at that time.
It happens that the chronicler gives himself away in rude vernacular. “But he lied,” writes a Pskovian about one prince.
The chronicler is constantly, without even mentioning himself, yet as if invisibly present on the pages of his narrative and makes us look through his eyes at what was happening. The voice of the chronicler sounds especially clear in lyrical digressions: “Oh, woe, brothers!” or: “Who does not marvel at him who does not weep!” Sometimes our ancient historians conveyed their attitude to events in generalized forms of folk wisdom - in proverbs or sayings. So, the Novgorodian chronicler, speaking of how one of the posadniks was removed from his post, adds: “Whoever digs a hole under another will fall into it himself.”
The chronicler is not only a narrator, he is also a judge. He judges according to the standards of very high morality. He is constantly concerned with questions of good and evil. He now rejoices, now he is indignant, praises some and blames others.
The subsequent "bridler" connects the conflicting points of view of his predecessors. The presentation becomes more complete, versatile, calmer. An epic image of a chronicler grows in our minds - a wise old man who dispassionately looks at the vanity of the world. This image was brilliantly reproduced by A. S. Pushkin in the scene of Pimen and Grigory. This image lived already in the minds of Russian people in antiquity. So, in the Moscow Chronicle under 1409, the chronicler recalls the “initial chronicler of Kyiv”, who “without hesitation shows” all the “temporal riches” of the earth (that is, all earthly vanity) and “without anger” describes “everything good and bad”.
Not only chroniclers worked on chronicles, but also ordinary scribes.
If you look at an ancient Russian miniature depicting a scribe, you will see that he is sitting on a “ chair” with a foot and holds on his knees a scroll or a pack of sheets of parchment or paper folded two to four times, on which he writes. In front of him, on a low table, is an inkwell and a sandbox. In those days, wet ink was sprinkled with sand. Right there on the table is a pen, a ruler, a knife for mending feathers and cleaning up faulty places. On the stand is a book from which he cheats.
The work of a scribe required great effort and attention. Scribes often worked from dawn to dusk. They were hampered by fatigue, illness, hunger and the desire to sleep. To distract themselves a little, they wrote in the margins of their manuscripts, in which they poured out their complaints: “Oh, oh, my head hurts, I can’t write.” Sometimes the scribe asks God to make him laugh, because he is tormented by drowsiness and he is afraid that he will make a mistake. And then there will also come across “a dashing pen, involuntarily write to them.” Under the influence of hunger, the scribe made mistakes: instead of the word “abyss” he wrote “bread”, instead of “font” he wrote “jelly”.
It is not surprising that the scribe, having finished writing the last page, conveys his joy with a postscript: “Like a hare, he is happy, he escaped the net, so happy is the scribe, having finished writing the last page.”
A long and very figurative postscript was made by the monk Lavrenty, having completed his work. In this postscript, one feels the joy of accomplishing a great and important deed: the book writer rejoices in the same way, having reached the end of books. So I’m a thin, unworthy and sinful servant of God, Lavrenty of mine ... And now, gentlemen, fathers and brothers, if (if) where he described or rewrote, or didn’t finish, read (read), correcting God dividing (for God’s sake), and not curse, earlier (because) the books are dilapidated, and the mind is young, it has not reached.
The oldest Russian chronicle that has come down to us is called “The Tale of Bygone Years”. He brings his presentation to the second decade of the XII century, but he reached us only in the lists of the XIV and subsequent centuries. The compilation of the "Tale of Bygone Years" dates back to the 11th - early 12th centuries, by the time when the Old Russian state with its center in Kyiv was relatively united. That is why the authors of the Tale had such a wide coverage of events. They were interested in questions that were important for all of Russia as a whole. They were keenly aware of the unity of all Russian regions.
At the end of the 11th century, thanks to the economic development of the Russian regions, they were separated into independent principalities. Each principality has its own political and economic interests. They begin to compete with Kyiv. Each capital city strives to imitate the “mother of Russian cities”. Achievements of art, architecture and literature of Kyiv are a model for regional centers. The culture of Kyiv, spreading to all regions of Russia in the 12th century, falls on prepared soil. Before that, each region had its own original traditions, its own artistic skills and tastes, which went back to deep pagan antiquity and were closely connected with folk ideas, affections, and customs.
From the contact of the somewhat aristocratic culture of Kyiv with the folk culture of each region, a diverse ancient Russian art grew up, united both thanks to the Slavic community and thanks to the common model - Kyiv, but everywhere different, original, unlike a neighbor.
In connection with the isolation of the Russian principalities, chronicle writing is also expanding. It develops in such centers where, until the 12th century, only scattered records were kept, for example, in Chernigov, Pereyaslav Russky (Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky), Rostov, Vladimir-on-Klyazma, Ryazan and other cities. Every political center now felt an urgent need to have its own chronicle. The chronicle has become a necessary element of culture. It was impossible to live without your own cathedral, without your own monastery. In the same way, one could not live without one's chronicle.
The isolation of the lands affected the nature of chronicle writing. The chronicle becomes narrower in terms of the scope of events, in terms of the horizons of the chroniclers. It is closed within the framework of its political center. But even during this period of feudal fragmentation, the all-Russian unity was not forgotten. In Kyiv, they were interested in the events that took place in Novgorod. The Novgorodians kept an eye on what was being done in Vladimir and Rostov. Vladimirtsev worried about the fate of Russian Pereyaslavl. And of course, all regions turned to Kyiv.
This explains that in the Ipatiev Chronicle, that is, in the South Russian code, we read about the events that took place in Novgorod, Vladimir, Ryazan, etc. In the north-eastern vault - in the Laurentian Chronicle, it tells about what happened in Kyiv, Pereyaslavl Russian, Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky and in other principalities.
More than others, the Novgorod and Galicia-Volyn chronicles closed themselves in the narrow boundaries of their land, but even there we will find news about the events of all-Russian.
Regional chroniclers, compiling their codes, began them with the "Tale of Bygone Years", which told about the "beginning" of the Russian land, and therefore, about the beginning of each regional center. “The Tale of Bygone Years* supported our historians' consciousness of all-Russian unity.
The most colorful, artistic presentation was in the XII century Kyiv Chronicle included in the Ipatiev list. She led a sequential account of events from 1118 to 1200. This presentation was prefaced by The Tale of Bygone Years.
The Kyiv Chronicle is a princely chronicle. There are many stories in it, in which one or another prince was the main character.
Before us are stories about princely crimes, about the violation of oaths, about the ruin of the possessions of the warring princes, about the despair of the inhabitants, about the death of huge artistic and cultural values. Reading the Kyiv Chronicle, we seem to hear the sounds of trumpets and tambourines, the crackle of breaking spears, we see clouds of dust hiding both horsemen and footmen. But the general meaning of all these full of movement, intricate stories is deeply humane. The chronicler persistently praises those princes who "do not like bloodshed" and at the same time are filled with valor, the desire to "suffer" for the Russian land, "wish her well with all their hearts." Thus, the annalistic ideal of the prince is created, which corresponded to popular ideals.
On the other hand, in the Kievan Chronicle there is an angry condemnation of violators of the order, perjurers, princes who start unnecessary bloodshed.
Chronicle writing in Veliky Novgorod began in the 11th century, but finally took shape in the 12th century. Initially, as in Kyiv, it was a princely chronicle. The son of Vladimir Monomakh, Mstislav the Great, did especially much for the Novgorod Chronicle. After him, the chronicle was kept at the court of Vsevolod Mstislavich. But the Novgorodians expelled Vsevolod in 1136, and a veche boyar republic was established in Novgorod. Chronicle writing passed to the court of the Novgorod lord, that is, the archbishop. It was conducted at the Hagia Sophia and in some city churches. But from this it did not become a church at all.
The Novgorod chronicle has all its roots in the masses of the people. It is rude, figurative, sprinkled with proverbs and retained even in writing the characteristic “clatter”.
Most of the narrative is in the form of short dialogues, in which there is not a single superfluous word. Here is a short story about the dispute between Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, with the Novgorodians because the prince wanted to remove the Novgorod mayor Tverdislav, who was objectionable to him. This dispute took place on Veche Square in Novgorod in 1218.
“Prince Svyatoslav sent his thousandth to the veche, speaking (saying):“ I can’t be with Tverdislav and I’m taking away the posadnik from him. The Novgorodians rekosha: “Is it (is) his fault?” He said: "Without guilt." Speech Tverdislav: “To that I am glad, oh (that) there is no my fault; and you, brothers, are in posadnichestvo and in princes ”(that is, the Novgorodians have the right to give and remove posadnichestvo, invite and expel princes). The Novgorodians answered: “Prince, there is no zina of him, you kissed the cross to us without guilt, do not deprive your husband (do not remove him from office); and we bow to you (we bow), and here is our posadnik; but we won’t put it into it ”(and we won’t go for that). And be peace."
This is how the Novgorodians briefly and firmly defended their posadnik. The formula “And we bow to you” did not mean bowing with a request, but, on the contrary, we bow and say: go away. Svyatoslav understood this perfectly.
The Novgorod chronicler describes the veche unrest, the change of princes, the construction of churches. He is interested in all the little things in the life of his native city: the weather, poor crops, fires, the price of bread and turnips. Even about the struggle against the Germans and the Swedes, the chronicler-Novgorodian tells in a businesslike, short way, without superfluous words, without any embellishment.
Novgorod annals can be compared with Novgorod architecture, simple and severe, and with painting - juicy and bright.
In the XII century, annalistic writing appeared in the northeast - in Rostov and Vladimir. This chronicle was included in the code, rewritten by Lawrence. It also opens with The Tale of Bygone Years, which came to the northeast from the south, but not from Kyiv, but from Pereyaslavl Russian - the estate of Yuri Dolgoruky.
The chronicle of Vladimir was conducted at the court of the bishop at the Assumption Cathedral, built by Andrey Bogolyubsky. It left its mark on him. It contains many teachings and religious reflections. The heroes say long prayers, but rarely have lively and short conversations with each other, which are so numerous in the Kievan and especially in the Novgorod Chronicle. The Vladimir chronicle is rather dry and at the same time verbose.
But in the Vladimir annals, the idea of the need to gather the Russian land in one center sounded stronger than anywhere else. For the Vladimir chronicler, this center, of course, was Vladimir. And he persistently pursues the idea of the supremacy of the city of Vladimir not only among other cities of the region - Rostov and Suzdal, but also in the system of Russian principalities as a whole. Vladimir Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest is awarded the title of Grand Duke for the first time in the history of Russia. He becomes the first among other princes.
The chronicler depicts the Prince of Vladimir not so much as a brave warrior, but as a builder, diligent owner, strict and fair judge, and a kind family man. The Vladimir chronicle is becoming more and more solemn, as the Vladimir cathedrals are solemn, but it lacks the high artistic skill that Vladimir architects have achieved.
Under the year 1237, in the Ipatiev Chronicle, the words “Battle of Batyevo” burn with cinnabar. In other chronicles, it is also highlighted: “Batu's army”. After the Tatar invasion, chronicle writing ceased in a number of cities. However, having died out in one city, it was picked up in another. It becomes shorter, poorer in form and message, but does not stop.
The main theme of the Russian chronicles of the 13th century is the horrors of the Tatar invasion and the subsequent yoke. Against the backdrop of rather stingy records, the story about Alexander Nevsky, written by a South Russian chronicler in the tradition of the Kyiv chronicle, stands out.
The Vladimir grand-ducal chronicle goes to Rostov, it suffered less from the defeat. Here the chronicle was kept at the court of Bishop Kirill and Princess Maria.
Princess Maria was the daughter of Prince Mikhail of Chernigov, who was killed in the Horde, and the widow of Vasilok of Rostov, who died in the battle with the Tatars on the City River. This was an outstanding woman. She enjoyed great honor and respect in Rostov. When Prince Alexander Nevsky came to Rostov, he bowed to "the Holy Mother of God and Bishop Kirill and the Grand Duchess" (that is, Princess Mary). She "honored Prince Alexander with love." Maria was present during the last minutes of the life of Alexander Nevsky's brother, Dmitry Yaroslavich, when, according to the custom of that time, he was tonsured into blacks and schema. Her death is described in the annals in the same way as the death of only prominent princes was usually described: “The same summer (1271) there was a sign in the sun, as if (as if) everything would perish before dinner and the packs (again) would be filled. (You understand, we are talking about a solar eclipse.) The same winter, the blessed, Christ-loving Princess Vasilkova passed away on the 9th day of December, as if (when) the liturgy is sung throughout the city. And betray the soul quietly and easily, serenely. Hearing all the people of the city of Rostov her repose and flocking all the people to the monastery of the Holy Savior, Bishop Ignatius and abbots, and priests, and clergy, singing over her the usual hymns and burying her (her) at the holy Savior, in her monastery, with many tears."
Princess Maria continued the work of her father and husband. On her instructions, the life of Mikhail Chernigovsky was compiled in Rostov. She built a church in Rostov “in his name” and established a church holiday for him.
The chronicle of Princess Maria is imbued with the idea of the need to stand firmly for the faith and independence of the motherland. It tells about the martyrdom of Russian princes, steadfast in the fight against the enemy. Vasilyok of Rostovsky, Mikhail Chernigov, Ryazan Prince Roman were bred like this. After describing his cruel execution, there is an appeal to the Russian princes: “O beloved Russian princes, do not be seduced by the empty and deceptive glory of this world ..., love truth and long-suffering and purity.” The novel is set as an example to the Russian princes: by martyrdom, he acquired the kingdom of heaven for himself, together with “his kinsman Mikhail of Chernigov”.
In the Ryazan annals of the time of the Tatar invasion, events are viewed from a different angle. In it, the princes are accused of being responsible for the misfortunes of the Tatar devastation. The accusation primarily concerns Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, who did not listen to the pleas of the Ryazan princes, did not go to their aid. Referring to biblical prophecies, the Ryazan chronicler writes that even “before these”, that is, before the Tatars, “the Lord took away our strength, and put bewilderment and thunder and fear and trembling into us for our sins.” The chronicler expresses the idea that Yuri “prepared the way” for the Tatars with princely strife, the Battle of Lipetsk, and now the Russian people are suffering God’s punishment for these sins.
At the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century, chronicle writing developed in the cities, which, having advanced at that time, began to challenge each other for a great reign.
They continue the idea of the Vladimir chronicler about the supremacy of their principality in the Russian land. Such cities were Nizhny Novgorod, Tver and Moscow. Their vaults differ in breadth. They combine chronicle material from different areas and strive to become all-Russian.
Nizhny Novgorod became a capital city in the first quarter of the 14th century under Grand Duke Konstantin Vasilievich, who “honestly and menacingly harrowed (defended) his homeland from princes stronger than himself,” that is, from the princes of Moscow. Under his son, the Grand Duke of Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod Dmitry Konstantinovich, the second archdiocese in Russia was established in Nizhny Novgorod. Prior to this, only Vladyka of Novgorod had the rank of archbishop. In ecclesiastical terms, the archbishop was directly subordinate to the Greek, that is, the Byzantine patriarch, while the bishops were subordinate to the Metropolitan of All Russia, who at that time was already living in Moscow. You yourself understand how important it was from a political point of view for the Nizhny Novgorod prince that the church pastor of his land did not depend on Moscow. In connection with the establishment of the archdiocese, a chronicle was compiled, which is called Lavrentievskaya. Lavrenty, a monk of the Annunciation Monastery in Nizhny Novgorod, compiled it for Archbishop Dionysius.
The chronicle of Lavrenty paid great attention to the founder of Nizhny Novgorod, Yuri Vsevolodovich, the prince of Vladimir, who died in the battle with the Tatars on the City River. The Laurentian Chronicle is Nizhny Novgorod's invaluable contribution to Russian culture. Thanks to Lavrenty, we have not only the most ancient copy of The Tale of Bygone Years, but also the only copy of Vladimir Monomakh's Teachings to Children.
In Tver, the chronicle was kept from the 13th to the 15th century and is most fully preserved in the Tver collection, the Rogozhsky chronicler and in the Simeonovskaya chronicle. Scientists associate the beginning of the chronicle with the name of the Bishop of Tver Simeon, under whom the “great cathedral church” of the Savior was built in 1285. In 1305, Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver laid the foundation for the Grand Duke's chronicle writing in Tver.
The Tver Chronicle contains many records of the construction of churches, fires and internecine strife. But the Tver chronicle entered the history of Russian literature thanks to the vivid stories about the murder of the Tver princes Mikhail Yaroslavich and Alexander Mikhailovich.
We also owe to the Tver chronicle a colorful story about the uprising in Tver against the Tatars.
Initial annals of Moscow is conducted at the Assumption Cathedral, built in 1326 by Metropolitan Peter, the first metropolitan who began to live in Moscow. (Before that, the metropolitans lived in Kyiv, since 1301 - in Vladimir). The records of the Moscow chroniclers were brief and rather dry. They concerned the construction and murals of churches - in Moscow at that time a lot of construction was underway. They reported on fires, illnesses, and finally, on the family affairs of the Grand Dukes of Moscow. However, gradually - this began after the Battle of Kulikovo - the annals of Moscow are emerging from the narrow confines of their principality.
By his position as the head of the Russian Church, the metropolitan was interested in the affairs of all Russian regions. At his court, regional chronicles were collected in copies or in originals, chronicles were brought from monasteries and cathedrals. Based on all the material collected in In 1409, the first all-Russian code was created in Moscow. It includes news from the annals of Veliky Novgorod, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Suzdal and other cities. He illuminated the history of the entire Russian people even before the unification of all Russian lands around Moscow. The code served as the ideological preparation for this association.
Modern libraries are actively engaged in the study of the past of their region. They traditionally accumulate information from the history of cities and rural settlements: they make albums and folders of newspaper clippings, write down the memories of old-timers who witnessed various memorable events, collect manuscripts, diaries, letters, photographs of fellow countrymen.
At present, many libraries have started writing chronicles of their villages. We hope that the proposed methodological recommendations will help the chroniclers in their work, help in collecting and fixing materials on the history and modern life of the village.
What is a chronicle?
Every cultured person is well aware of the historical works of the 11th-17th centuries, in which the narration was conducted over the years. These chronicles are the most significant monuments of the social thought and culture of Ancient Russia.
Subsequently, the chronicles not only reflected historical information, but also included records of contemporary events for the chronicler over the years.
In our case, the chronicle is a handwritten text of the history and modern life of the village in chronological order.
The chronicle regularly records information about socially significant, extraordinary, political, economic, cultural and community events of this village:
statistics of births, marriages, divorces and deaths;
the total population of the village, the number of schoolchildren, conscripts, pensioners, other statistical information;
various information on the economy, culture, infrastructure of the settlement;
information about institutions and organizations located in the village, significant milestones and achievements in their activities, full names of leaders from the beginning of the activities of institutions and organizations to the present;
labor, combat, educational and other socially significant achievements of the villagers or other persons related to the rural settlement;
decisions of rural and higher administrations and bodies related to the life of the village;
publications in the media on issues related to the history and current situation of a rural settlement;
the most important events in the life of a rural school;
information about events and celebrations celebrated in the village, natural features and phenomena on its territory;
information about employment, folk crafts, hobbies and interests of the villagers;
economic activity of individuals and organizations in the village;
other events, facts, figures and dates of social significance for the area.
Founder of the chronicle, his duties
The founder of the chronicle is the administration of the local self-government body.
Her responsibilities include:
making a decision on the creation of the chronicle and the composition of the team of authors (compilers);
registration of this document;
providing compilers with information that is within the competence of the village administration;
assistance to compilers in collecting information from institutions, organizations and individuals related to this rural settlement;
check the availability of the chronicle as a document of the village administration within the prescribed time limits for the inventory.
The team of authors (compilers), their duties and reporting
The composition of the team of authors (compilers) is approved by the decision of the head of the local government. On a voluntary basis, local historians, representatives of the administration, librarians, teachers, war and labor veterans, villagers, and schoolchildren can enter it. It is advisable to involve local poets, artists, and photographers in compiling the chronicle.
Participants must be prepared in advance for this work - to help master the methodology of independent work with a book and archival sources, to teach them:
work deeper with historical literature;
record the memories of eyewitnesses on various media;
make a correct bibliographic record.
The work will require close contact with local and regional archives, museums, public organizations.
It is very important that the team of authors (compilers) of the chronicle have the opportunity to work with modern technical means: a computer, a scanner, a copier. With their help, any written or printed document, as well as a photo archive, will become available to anyone who wants to see it.
Within the deadlines set by the village administration, the compilers prepare a report on the work done and the prospects for further activities in creating the chronicle.
What is important for a chronicler?
It is fundamentally important for modern creators of the annals of their settlements to observe the principles of ethics and reliability when communicating with people who provide information:
feel responsible for the people they work with and whose lives and cultures they study: avoid moral harm or mistreatment, respect well-being, work for the long-term preservation of artifacts, actively consult with those they study to establish working relationships;
ensure that the research does not harm the safety, dignity or privacy of the people on whom the professional action is being taken;
find out if the persons who provided the information wish to remain anonymous or be known, and do everything to fulfill these wishes. At the same time, they should be warned about the possible consequences of such a choice: despite compliance with the conditions, anonymity may be revealed, and wide recognition may not take place;
Obtain prior consent of study subjects who may be affected by the study. This applies, first of all, to old-timers and veterans of rural settlements;
responsibly and in a timely manner to plan work on the creation of an annals, both now and in the future.
Thus, the modern chronicler is responsible not only to the people whom he touches with his research, but also for the truth of the information that he disseminates and ensures its correct understanding.
How to start work on the annals?
Preparation for the collection and systematization of materials:
preliminary acquaintance with the history of their area and the administrative-territorial position of the village;
a conversation with scientists and researchers involved in local history on the subject of methods for collecting materials and their systematization;
planning.
Study of literature and other information sources:
books, magazines, newspapers;
normative acts;
archives of your village and district;
regional and central archives;
family documents;
testimonies and memoirs of old-timers, settlers.
The structure of the chronicle, the order of its maintenance
The structure of the chronicle is developed by the team of authors (compilers) and approved by the head of the local administration. As a rule, the chronicle consists of two main parts:
1. History of the settlement.
2. Chronicle (chronicle) of the settlement.
In accordance with Russian legislation, the paper version of the rural chronicle, which is registered with the village administration, has the status of a document. All entries in the book are kept with the date of the event, the text of information about the past event.
Sources of information can be official and unofficial, written and oral, presented in the form of photo, video and audio recordings. Each source of information has its own value, degree of reliability and significance. Even a tablet on a grave monument, as a source of information, gives three types of information: date of birth, death and place of burial of a person.
The title page of the chronicle contains information about the modern name of the village, indicating the district, region and time when this document was started.
When the previous book of the annals is completely filled, work continues in the next one. In this case, on the title page of the chronicle, under the name of the settlement, its number is indicated (book 1, book 2, book 3, etc.).
The chronicle is filled in with black ink, even beautiful handwriting, medium-sized letters using various stencils. The text should not contain corrections, strikethroughs. Recordings are made on both sides of the sheet.
Pages are placed in the upper outer corner. Footnotes are given at the bottom of the sheet in smaller handwriting and are separated by a short line from the main text. Footnotes are marked with asterisks.
The value of the collected materials will be increased by the accompanying photo albums, originals (photocopies) of documents, samples of the folklore of the given area, audio and video sequences, separate review and thematic materials, which, due to their large volume, were not included in the text of the chronicle itself. These materials are stored as independent units. It is not allowed to paste photographs, documents, etc. into the chronicle book.
The section "History" contains a literary processed text of the history of the settlement from the moment of its foundation.
It is recommended that the following information be reflected in the historical reference:
the location of the settlement relative to the district center and the railway station;
location on the river bank or remoteness from it;
geographical location, natural and climatic conditions;
date of foundation of the settlement;
founder's name;
name changes;
the origin of the name, the legends associated with it, etc.
Reflection in the annals of modern village life
In the second part of the chronicle, on the second sheet of the chronicle book, the following information is placed: full name, position of the person responsible for maintaining the book, the period in which he kept records.
The chronicle of the modern life of the village begins with a brief overview of its socio-economic and cultural life: area, number of inhabitants, enterprises, organizations, institutions located on the territory of this settlement.
In the center of the line, numbers with the designation of the year of events (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, etc.) are highlighted in large print.
The date of the event is highlighted in red ink and a text-free field.
For example:
January 12 __________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
In the upper part of the front side of the sheet, on the first line of the stencil, the year is affixed.
The records are kept in chronological order. At the beginning - events with known dates, at the end of the month - with unknown dates. If the month is unknown, the event is recorded at the end of the year. After that, orders, resolutions of the local administration are listed. Next is a brief statistical review (based on data from authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations, etc.).
Entries in the chronicle book must be kept regularly (at least once a quarter) in chronological order.
About the electronic version of the annals
Simultaneously with the paper version of the chronicle, if possible, its electronic version is maintained. It should completely duplicate the paper text. Under this condition, the electronic version is a full-fledged author's copy of the annals.
If the paper version is lost, it must be restored on the basis of its electronic copy.
After completion and delivery to the village library of the next book of the annals, its electronic copy is recorded on digital media in two copies and then transferred one copy to the village library and local administration.
Collection and processing of materials
The main sources for creating chronicles are documentary sources obtained from archives and museums.
The collection of materials involves the identification of information about the village from books, collections, magazines, newspapers and various information materials. You need to be prepared for the fact that in many cases information will have to be collected literally bit by bit. It could be a chapter or paragraph from a book, just a few lines in a newspaper article, or one of the dates in a timeline.
The identification of information must begin with the study of the local history fund. Local history bibliographic manuals should be especially carefully studied, first of all, local history manuals prepared by employees of regional (inter-settlement) libraries, as well as publications of regional library centers (“Literature about the Altai Territory”, “Pages from the history of Altai”, etc.). The files of local, regional newspapers and magazines are closely looked through.
In order to fill in the "white spots" in the history of the settlement, to capture the knowledge of fellow villagers about their village with the greatest completeness and bring them to posterity, the local history fund is replenished with unpublished local history documents. These are typewritten and handwritten materials, photographs, archival documents or their copies, documents of local administrations, slides, video and audio recordings, illustrative material. These can be memoirs, diaries, letters, drawings, memoirs of old-timers, migrants, famous or well-known fellow countrymen - natives of the village - marked “from words”. The collection of such material from local residents is carried out on a voluntary basis. Each "contribution" is subject to processing: registration, editing and determining the place of storage in the fund.
Registration of such documents as a storage unit is carried out in a special notebook (book) or on a card. When registering, it is necessary to put down the number, inventory number of the received document, indicate its title, exact name, patronymic and surname of the author, type of document, annotation, method of acquiring the document (donated, discovered by accident, etc.). If this is a copy, then indicate the place where the original is stored, and also refer to the author who compiled the description.
If a link is given to an eyewitness account, then it is necessary to indicate his last name, first name, patronymic, year of birth and address of residence.
Documents are stored in folders. Photos - in envelopes, in a vertical position, each picture separately.
Chronicle - a monument of spiritual culture
Significant assistance in replenishing the historical part of the chronicle can be provided by the use of the Internet, electronic catalogs, full-text databases, etc.
The information presented in the annals refers to materials of high demand. In order to widely popularize the information collected in it and at the same time preserve the original documents, the compilers can propose the creation of printed publications based on these materials.
The information presented on the pages of newspapers, magazines, on radio and television will raise the authority and significance of both the chronicle itself and its creators, and will attract new interested persons to work on the restoration and study of the history of their small Motherland.
The electronic version of the chronicle can be legitimately placed on the Internet, providing access to it to as many people as possible who are interested in this topic.
The created chronicle of the village is not just a listing of historical events. This is a monument of Russian spiritual culture. She is unique.
1. To help the local history work of libraries / Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation; State. Pub. ist. b-ka; comp. E. V. Besfamilnaya. - M., 1992. – 83 p.
2. Zakharova, G. We keep a chronicle / G. Zakharova, E. Zubkova // Chronicles of a local historian. - 2008. - No. 3. - P. 13–16; No. 4. - P. 10–12; No. 5. - P. 13-18.
3. Chronicle of the village: method. recommendations / comp. I. A. Stupko; resp. for issue T. A. Maksoeva; Irkut. region publ. b-ka them. I. I. Molchanov-Sibirsky. - Irkutsk: [b. and.], 1996. - 6 p.
4. Compilation of the chronicle of settlements: (from work experience) / G. N. Reznichenko, L. A. Zakharova; Ryazan. UNB, Starozhylovskaya Central District Hospital. - Ryazan: [b. and.], 2002. - 5 p.
5. Tolkunova, V. Return to the "small motherland": [experience of the department. local historian. Bibliography Vladimir. OUNB] / V. Tolkunova // Library. - 1995. - No. 10. - P. 83–84.
6. Udalova, L. Chroniclers of professional affairs / L. Udalova // Bibliopole. - 2006. - No. 12. - P. 12–14.
7. Churochkin, B. Chronicle art / B. Churochkin // Chronicle of local history. - 2009. - No. 4. - P. 8–21.
8. Shadrina, L. V. In my village - my destiny: (from the experience of local lore. Baklushin activities. Historical local lore. library named after F. F. Pavlenkov Bolshesonov. district) / L. V. Shadrina // To the librarian for implementation in practice. - Perm, 2001. - Issue. 28. – P. 4–20.
9. Chronicles: [Electronic resource] // Access mode: http://interpretive.ru/dictionary
10. Chronicles: [Electronic resource] // Access mode: http://his95.narod.ru/leto.htm
UDC 9(s) + 913
BBC 63.3(2) + 26.891
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Production and practical edition
How to make a chronicle of your village: guidelines
Compiled by: L. I. Lukyanova, E. M. Terentyeva
Responsible for the release of L. V. Farafonova
Proofreader M. V. Sigareva
Computer layout by S. N. Arsentiev
Signed for publication on 28.01.2011. Format 60×84 1/16. Conv. oven l. 0.70.
Circulation 1 copy. Order No. 559.
GUK "Altai Regional Universal Scientific Library named after V.I. V. Ya. Shishkov. 656038, Barnaul, st. Youth, 5.
© GUK "Altai Regional Universal Scientific Library. V. Ya. Shishkova
The Monk Nestor came to the famous Kievo-Pechersk monastery, being a youth of seventeen. The holy monastery lived according to the strict Studian rule, which the Monk Theodosius introduced in it, borrowing it from Byzantine books. According to this charter, before taking monastic vows, the candidate had to go through a long preparatory stage. Newcomers first had to wear lay clothes until they had learned well the rules of monastic life. After that, the candidates were allowed to put on the monastic attire and proceed to the tests, that is, to show themselves in work on various obediences. The one who successfully passed these tests was tonsured, but the test did not end there - the last stage of admission to the monastery was tonsure into the great schema, which not everyone was honored with.
The Monk Nestor went all the way from a simple novice to a schemamonk in just four years, and also received the rank of deacon. A significant role in this was played, in addition to obedience and virtue, by his education and outstanding literary talent.
The Kiev Caves Monastery was a unique phenomenon in the spiritual life of Kievan Rus. The number of brethren reached one hundred people, which was rare even for Byzantium itself. The severity of the communal charter, found in the archives of Constantinople, had no analogues. The monastery also prospered in material terms, although its governors did not care about collecting earthly riches. The powerful of this world listened to the voice of the monastery, it had a real political and, most importantly, spiritual influence on society.
The young Russian Church at that time was actively mastering the richest material of Byzantine church literature. She was faced with the task of creating original Russian texts in which the national image of Russian holiness would be revealed.
The first hagiographic (hagiography is a theological discipline that studies the lives of saints, the theological and historical-ecclesiastical aspects of holiness. - Ed.) work of the Monk Nestor - "Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearers Boris and Gleb" - is dedicated to the memory of the first Russian saints. The chronicler, apparently, responded to the expected all-Russian church celebration - the consecration of a stone church over the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb.
The work of St. Nestor was not the first among the works devoted to this topic. However, he did not begin to present the history of the brothers according to a ready-made chronicle tradition, but created a text that was deeply original in form and content. The author of "Readings about life ..." creatively reworked the best examples of Byzantine hagiographic literature and was able to express ideas that are very important for Russian church and state self-consciousness. As the researcher of ancient Russian church culture Georgy Fedotov writes, “the memory of Saints Boris and Gleb was the voice of conscience in inter-princely appanage accounts, not regulated by law, but only vaguely limited by the idea of tribal seniority.”
The Monk Nestor did not have much information about the death of the brothers, but as a subtle artist he was able to recreate a psychologically reliable image of true Christians, meekly accepting death. The truly Christian death of the sons of the baptizer of the Russian people, Prince Vladimir, is inscribed by the chronicler in the panorama of the global historical process, which he understands as the arena of the universal struggle between good and evil.
Father of Russian monasticism
The second hagiographic work of St. Nestor is dedicated to the life of one of the founders of the Kiev Caves Monastery - St. Theodosius. He wrote this work in the 1080s, just a few years after the death of the ascetic, in the hope of a speedy canonization of the saint. This hope, however, was not destined to come true. Saint Theodosius was canonized only in 1108.
The inner appearance of the Monk Theodosius of the Caves is of particular importance to us. As Georgy Fedotov writes, “in the person of the Monk Theodosius, Ancient Russia found its ideal of a saint, to whom it remained faithful for many centuries. Saint Theodosius is the father of Russian monasticism. All Russian monks are his children, bearing his family traits. And Nestor the Chronicler was the man who preserved for us his unique appearance and created on Russian soil an ideal type of biography of the saint. As the same Fedotov writes, “Nestor’s work forms the basis of all Russian hagiography, inspiring feat, indicating the normal, Russian path of labor and, on the other hand, filling in the gaps of biographical tradition with common necessary features.<…>All this makes Nestor's life of exceptional importance for the Russian type of ascetic holiness. The chronicler was not a witness to the life and deeds of the Monk Theodosius. Nevertheless, his life story is based on eyewitness accounts, which he was able to combine into a coherent, vivid and memorable story.
Of course, in order to create a full-fledged literary life, it is necessary to rely on a developed literary tradition, which has not yet existed in Russia. Therefore, the Monk Nestor borrows a lot from Greek sources, sometimes making long verbatim extracts. However, they practically do not affect the biographical basis of his story.
The memory of the unity of the people
The main feat of the life of the Monk Nestor was the compilation of the Tale of Bygone Years by 1112-1113. This work is a quarter of a century away from the first two literary works of the Monk Nestor known to us and belongs to another literary genre - chronicles. Unfortunately, the set of "The Tale ..." has not come down to us in its entirety. It was subjected to processing by the monk of the Vydubitsky monastery Sylvester.
The Tale of Bygone Years is based on the chronicle work of Abbot John, who made the first attempt at a systematic presentation of Russian history from ancient times. He brought his story up to 1093. Earlier chronicles are a fragmentary account of disparate events. It is interesting that these records contain a legend about Kyi and his brothers, a short report about the reign of the Varangian Oleg in Novgorod, about the death of Askold and Dir, and a legend about the death of Prophetic Oleg. Actually Kyiv history begins with the reign of "old Igor", the origin of which is silent.
Abbot John, dissatisfied with the inaccuracy and fabulousness of the chronicle, restores the years, based on the Greek and Novgorod chronicles. It is he who first introduces "old Igor" as the son of Rurik. Askold and Dir here for the first time appear as the boyars of Rurik, and Oleg as his governor.
It was the set of Abbot John that became the basis of the work of the Monk Nestor. He subjected the initial part of the chronicle to the greatest processing. The original edition of the chronicle was supplemented with legends, monastic records, Byzantine chronicles of John Malala and George Amartol. Saint Nestor attached great importance to oral testimonies - the stories of the elder boyar Jan Vyshatich, merchants, warriors, and travelers.
In his main work, Nestor the Chronicler acts both as a historian, as a writer, and as a religious thinker, giving a theological understanding of Russian history, which is an integral part of the history of the salvation of the human race.
For St. Nestor, the history of Russia is the history of the perception of Christian preaching. Therefore, he records in his chronicle the first mention of the Slavs in church sources - the year 866, tells in detail about the activities of the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, about the baptism of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in Constantinople. It is this ascetic who introduces into the chronicle the story of the first Orthodox church in Kyiv, of the preaching feat of the Varangian martyrs Theodore the Varangian and his son John.
Despite the huge amount of heterogeneous information, the chronicle of St. Nestor has become a true masterpiece of ancient Russian and world literature.
In the years of fragmentation, when almost nothing reminded of the former unity of Kievan Rus, The Tale of Bygone Years remained the monument that awakened in all corners of crumbling Rus the memory of its former unity.
The Monk Nestor died about the year 1114, having bequeathed to the chronicler monks of the Caves the continuation of his great work.
Newspaper "Orthodox Faith" No. 21 (545)
CHRONICLE- in Russia were conducted from the 11th to the 18th centuries. Until ser. 16th century, time Ivan the Terrible, they were the main type of historical narrative, only since that time "yielding primacy to another historiographic genre - chronographs . L. were compiled in monasteries, at the courts of princes (and then kings), in the offices of metropolitans. Chroniclers were almost never private individuals, but carried out an order or order from spiritual or secular rulers, reflecting the interests of certain groups of people. That is why L. often contradicted each other not only in their assessments of events, but also in the actual basis, which creates significant difficulties for researchers of chronicle writing and historians who, on the basis of L., recreate the actual course of events.
In terms of their structure, ancient Russian legends represented sets of weather articles, i.e., reports on events that occurred in each year.
Russian chronicle writing has a long history. With the current level of knowledge, it is not yet possible to establish when they began to keep records of historical events, replacing the previous form of historical knowledge - oral stories, traditions and legends. According to the majority of scientists, followers of Acad. A. A. Shakhmatova, L. takes on a stable form and begins to be systematically conducted from the middle. 11th century The oldest L. that has come down to us is The Tale of Bygone Years. Already this chronicle of the beginning. 12th century what distinguishes it is the combination of actual weather records with monuments of other genres and even documents. The Tale of Bygone Years contains texts of treaties with Byzantium, legends about the emergence of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, a presentation of sacred history in the form of a “philosopher’s” story that prompted Prince Vladimir to adopt the Christian faith, etc. L. will retain this syncretic character later in further. Of particular interest are the so-called chronicle stories - plot stories about the most significant events in Russian history.
To date, several hundred lists of chronicles have been preserved (some of the records are known in several lists, others in the only ones), and scientists have identified at least several dozen chronicle collections. Strictly speaking, each L. is a vault, since it combines - in a revised, abridged or, on the contrary, supplemented form - the previous L. and records of the events of recent years or decades, belonging to the chronicler himself. The consolidated nature of L. made possible the path of research into the chronicle, which was discovered and developed by Acad. Chess. If two or more L. up to a certain year coincide with each other, then it follows that either one is written off from the other (this is rare), or they had a common source, reaching up to this year. Shakhmatov and his followers succeeded in identifying a whole chain of chronicle collections that preceded the extant L. XIV-XVII centuries: collections of the XIV, XV and earlier centuries, up to the XI century. Of course, determining the exact date and place of compiling the codes is hypothetical, but these hypotheses, based on the texts that have actually come down to us and the relationship between them, allow us to navigate in the monuments included in the series that has been published for a hundred and fifty years - “The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles” (PSRL ).
The chronicle containing the exposition of the ancient history of Russia is the Tale of Bygone Years. L. South Russian principalities XII-XIII centuries. came to us as part of the Ipatievskaya L. (see. Chronicle Ipatievskaya ). Chronicles of Rostov the Great, Vladimir and Pereyaslavl of Suzdal, late XII-beginning. 13th century best preserved in the composition of the Lavrentievskaya and Radzivilovskaya L. (see. Annals of Lavrentievskaya , Chronicle Radzivilovskaya ), as well as the Chronicler of Pereyaslavl of Suzdal. The annalistic code, associated with Metropolitan Cyprian and brought to 1408, came to Troitskaya L., which burned down in the Moscow fire of 1812. Its text was reconstructed by M. D. Priselkov (Trinity Chronicle: Reconstruction of the text - M .; L., 1950 ).
Around 1412, an annalistic code was created in Tver, reflecting the supplemented processing of the all-Russian annalistic code of the end of the XIV-beginning. XV century, close to Troitskaya L. It was reflected in Simeonovskaya L. (PSRL. - T. 18) and the Rogozhsky chronicler (PSRL. - T. 15. - Issue 1). Another source of the Rogozhsky chronicler was the Tver code of 1375, which was also reflected in the Tver collection of the 16th century. (PSRL.-T. 15). Of particular interest is the all-Russian, so-called Novgorod-Sofia code, compiled, apparently, in the 30s. 15th century (it is often defined as “the code of 1448”) and included extended chronicle stories about the battle on Kalka, the invasion of Batu and stories about the struggle of the princes of Tver with the Tatars, which were absent in Troitskaya L., lengthy editions of stories about the Battle of Kulikovo, a story about the invasion of Tokhtamysh, “A WORD ABOUT THE LIFE OF DMITRY DONSKOY” and so on. This code, compiled, apparently, at the metropolitan see during the feudal war in Moscow, combined the all-Russian chronicle with the Novgorod one. The code came to Sofia L. I (PSRL.-T. 5; 2nd ed. not completed: in 1925 only the first issue of this volume was published) and Novgorod IV L. (V. 4, issue 1 and 2; 2nd ed. not completed).
The first monuments of the Moscow grand ducal chronicle, which have come down to us, were formed no earlier than ser. 15th century The chronicle of 1472 was reflected in the Vologda-Perm Leningrad (PSRL.-T. 26) and Nikanorovskaya L. (PSRL.-T. 27). It was based on the Novgorod-Sofia code, edited by the Grand Duke's chronicler (who excluded, in particular, the mention of Novgorod liberties). A more radical revision of the previous chronicle was carried out by the grand ducal archers in the late 70s. XV century: The Novgorod-Sofia arch was connected with the arch close to Troitskaya L. (with censored processing of the material from both sources), and with other monuments. The Grand Duke Moscow chronicle of 1479, which reflected this revision, formed the basis of all official chronicle writing at the end of the 15th-16th centuries. It has been preserved in an unpublished list of the 18th century. (in the Hermitage collection in the National Library of Russia), and its later edition, brought to 1492, was published in the 25th volume of PSRL
