Culture is the totality of material and spiritual values ​​created by society. In this regard, it is customary to talk about material and spiritual culture. However, the above division is conditional, since each work of material culture is the result of conscious human activity, and at the same time, almost any phenomenon of spiritual culture is expressed in a specific material form (a literary work, an icon, a painting, an architectural structure, etc.).

The development of Old Russian culture took place in direct connection with the evolution of East Slavic society, the formation of the state, and the strengthening of relations with neighboring countries.
In the XII-XIII centuries. due to the decline of Kyiv and the political isolation of individual lands, new cultural centers are being formed. Russian culture, without losing its unity, is becoming much richer and more diverse.
In the pre-Mongol period, the culture of Ancient Rus' reached a high level, and the basis for subsequent cultural development was created.

Material culture. Activities and life

The study of the material culture of Ancient Rus' is based mainly on archaeological sources. They testify to the agricultural nature of the culture of the Eastern Slavs. Archaeologists often come across various agricultural tools: in the southern forest-steppe regions - a ralo (an arable tool such as a plow), a plough, a harrow; in the forest belt - a two-tooth plow, a harrow-harrow.

Along with agriculture and forestry, the Eastern Slavs developed crafts. Old Russian artisans mastered the most complex metal processing techniques. Blacksmiths made shovels, axes, ploughshares, sickles, knives, fishhooks, frying pans, complex locks, etc.
But the weapons industry developed especially successfully: swords and battle axes, helmets, shields, spruce and spear tips were produced.

Russian craftsmen created chain mail from intertwined iron rings. This skill came from the East; in Europe they did not know how to weave chain mail.

Weapons were often decorated with niello (filling engraved strokes with a special niello alloy) or with a silver pattern. Jewelry production also developed separately from weapons production. Working using casting or forging techniques, craftsmen made rings, rings, bracelets, crosses, copper and silver dishes and cups.

Decorating items with filigree or grain required exceptionally fine workmanship. Filigree is a pattern made of gold or silver wire, which is soldered onto a metal base. Grain - a pattern of tiny gold or silver grains, which were also soldered onto a metal plate. On the basis of filigree, the technique of cloisonné enamel arose, when the cells between the filigree partitions were filled with colored enamel. In Ancient Rus' they also knew how to make glass jewelry. Pottery was a widespread craft. Pottery made using a potter's wheel was very diverse and was used everywhere.
The carpentry craft became equally widespread. The main tools of the ancient Russian carpenter were an ax and an adze, with the help of which they built huts, fortress walls and churches decorated with intricate carvings.

Other crafts also developed: leatherworking, shoemaking, tailoring, which in turn were divided into many specialties - up to 70 in total.

A typical dwelling in Ancient Rus' was a half-dugout or log house, with an earthen or plank floor. The stove was heated black (without a chimney) for less wood consumption and greater heat retention. For wealthy city dwellers, their houses consisted of several interconnected log houses. In princely and boyar houses (mansions), covered galleries were installed and towers were built. The basis of the interior decoration was made up of chests and benches, on which they sat and slept.

The clothes of the inhabitants of Ancient Rus', belonging to different segments of the population, differed not so much in cut as in the material from which they were made. The basis of a man's costume consisted of a shirt, trousers tucked into boots or onuchi, a cloak (votola), worn saddle-back, without sleeves, and in winter - a fur casing. But the clothes of a peasant or an ordinary city dweller were made of canvas, while those of boyars and princes were made of velvet, while those of a commoner were made of sheepskin, and those of a prince were made of sable or other expensive fur. Only princes could wear long, toe-length cloaks (korzno).

Folklore

Everyday life and bright amazing events were reflected in oral folk art - folklore. Songs, epics, riddles, and proverbs have reached us through many centuries, and it is often difficult to separate the early basis of a folklore work from later layers.

Researchers of folk art highlight ritual folklore associated with the agricultural calendar and rooted in ancient pagan beliefs. These are the songs and dances performed on Maslenitsa, on the day of Ivan Kupala, and Christmas carols.

Ritual folklore also includes wedding songs and fortune telling.

However, folk art was far from only ritual in nature. Many riddles, spells, and conspiracies on everyday topics have been preserved. At feasts, songs were sung, fairy tales and legends were told. Probably, even then the main plots of Russian folk tales: about the fox and the wolf, Baba Yaga, the Serpent Gorynych, a self-assembled tablecloth, etc.

The epic epic occupies a special place in folklore. Among the ancient Russian epic stories, the epics about Ilya Muromets, Mikul Selyaninovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich stand out. Most of the epics are associated with the times of Vladimir I (in the epics - Vladimir the Red Sun). The appearance of the epic epic, whose central figures are the prince and his heroes, reflected the strengthening of state power and the struggle of Rus' against foreign invasions.

Folklore had a great influence on the formation and development of ancient Russian literature.

Writing and literature

Reports from medieval authors suggest that the Slavs had a written language even before the adoption of Christianity. However, the widespread dissemination of writing began, apparently, with the spread of Christianity and the creation by Bulgarian missionaries Cyril and Methodius of the Slavic alphabet - Cyrillic (The Slavs also had another alphabet, the creation of which is also often associated with the name of Cyril - Glagolitic. However, the Cyrillic alphabet spread much more widely) . The earliest monuments of ancient Russian writing that have survived to our time are the Ostromir Gospel of 1056 - 1057, Izborniki 1073 and 1076.

In Ancient Rus' they wrote on parchment (a specially prepared calf or lamb skin). The books were bound in leather and richly decorated with gold and precious stones.
In connection with the spread of Christianity in Rus' (mainly in monasteries), schools for “book learning” began to be created. There were quite a lot of literate people, as evidenced, first of all, by birch bark letters discovered in Novgorod from the 11th-12th centuries. Among them are private correspondence, business documents, even student records.
In Kyiv, an extensive library was created at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. Similar collections of books existed in other rich churches and large monasteries.

Greek liturgical books, works of the church fathers, lives of saints, historical chronicles, and stories were translated into Russian.

Already in the 11th century. The formation of ancient Russian literature proper begins. The leading place among literary works belonged to chronicles. The largest chronicle collection Kievan Rus- “The Tale of Bygone Years” (PVL) arose at the beginning of the 12th century. The PVL has reached us in two editions, which were formed in the 14th - 15th centuries. It became the basis of Russian chronicles. It was included in almost all local chronicles. The most important themes of the PVL were the defense of the Christian faith and the defense of their native land.

The author of the PVL is usually called the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. However, in essence this is a collective work, in the compilation and revision of which several chroniclers took part, who by no means dispassionately observed the events. The chronicle was a political document and therefore was often revised in connection with the coming to power of a new prince.

The chronicles often included journalistic and literary works. “The Sermon on Law and Grace” by Metropolitan Hilarion (the first metropolitan of Russian origin), written in the second third of the 11th century, is dedicated to the glorification of Christianity and the justification of the independence of Rus' in relation to Byzantium. In the “Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh” (1117), the image of an ideal prince was created, courageous in battle, caring for his subjects, caring for the unity and well-being of Rus'.

The largest centers of chronicle writing in the 12th century. - Novgorod, Vladimir-Suzdal and Galicia-Volyn lands.

The Novgorod chronicle arose back in the era of Kievan Rus. Its creators always reflected primarily local, city affairs. The Novgorod chronicle paid special attention to the events of 1136 (the expulsion of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich), which marked the beginning of the political independence of Novgorod. Chronicles here were created not at the princely court or in monasteries, but among the white urban clergy. Therefore, they contain a lot of everyday details, which is not typical for the princely court chronicles that prevailed in other Russian lands.

The chronicle of the North-East originated under Andrei Bogolyubsky and reflected the desire of this prince to establish the primacy of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the entire Russian land. The chroniclers sided with Vladimir in his rivalry with the “elder” cities of Rostov and Suzdal, and depicted princes Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod III the Big Nest almost as saints.

The Galicia-Volyn Chronicle was created in the princely environment. It reflected the acute confrontation between the princely power and the boyars, characteristic of the Galician land. The chronicle praised princes Roman and Daniil and promoted the idea of ​​strong princely power. The Galician chronicle is characterized by poetry, often neglecting chronological accuracy.

In the 12th century. All-Russian chronicles were replaced by regional ones. All chroniclers retained their understanding of the unity of Rus' and therefore each time began the story with PVL, but, continuing it, they drank mainly local events. To a certain extent, this narrowing of horizons is compensated by a closer attention to everyday life.

The consciousness of the unity of the Russian land is the leading theme of the literature of the 12th - 13th centuries. The largest work of this era is considered to be “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” dedicated to the campaign of the Novgorod-Seversk prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians in 1185 (There is also a fundamentally different dating for “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” According to the opinion of A.A. Zimin and a number of those who supported him scientists, “The Lay” was created in the 18th century in imitation of the poetic work of the late 14th century “Zadonshchina”). The author of the Lay sees the most important reason for the severe defeat of Rus' in the strife between the princes, in their disobedience to the Grand Duke of Kyiv. The most outstanding parts of “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign” are “Yaroslavna’s Lament” and the “golden word” of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, filled with deep pain for the Russian land and a call for unity.

An important type of reading for medieval Russians was the lives of saints. Rus' began to create its own hagiographic literature. Among them are “The Tale of Boris and Gleb”, the lives of Princess Olga, Abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Theodosius, etc.
In the Middle Ages, people rarely left their native lands. The greater the interest in distant countries. That is why the genre of “walkings” and travel stories is so characteristic of medieval literature. This direction of ancient Russian literature includes the “Walking” of Abbot Daniel, who made a pilgrimage to Palestine.

At the turn of the XII - XIII centuries. “The Prayer of Daniel the Imprisoner” was written, distinguished by its expressive rhymed language and poetic artistic images. Its author lived in the Vladimir-Suzdal land and was, apparently, a princely warrior or a person dependent on the prince. Daniel praises the princely power, which he trusts in as the mercy of God. At the same time, he speaks hostilely about the boyars, despises servility, and speaks disrespectfully of monastic customs. Daniil Zatochnik, like other authors of the 12th - 13th centuries, expresses concern for the fate of the Russian land, torn apart by princely strife.

Architecture

With the adoption of Christianity, churches began to be built in Rus'. The first of them were wooden and have not survived to this day. But already at the end of the 10th century. The first Russian stone temple was built - the Tithe Church (destroyed by the Mongols in 1240).

A typical Russian church was cross-domed. The central drum (cylinder or multifaceted upper part of the building) rested on 4 pillars that divided the interior space of the temple. Semicircular apses were added to the temple on the eastern (altar) side. Choirs were built on the western side. Russian craftsmen used the traditions of wooden architecture, which was characterized by multiple domes, when building stone churches.

The earliest surviving monument of ancient Russian architecture is the huge 13-domed brick Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, built under Yaroslav the Wise (30s of the 11th century). The cathedral was richly decorated with mosaics and frescoes (Fresco - painting with water paints on wet plaster).

Somewhat later, the Hagia Sophia Cathedral was built in Novgorod. Despite the obvious similarity in composition, this temple is significantly different from the Kyiv one. It is built from local white stone, has 5 symmetrically located domes, and powerful walls. The interior of the cathedral consists of frescoes; there are no rich mosaics here. If the Kiev Sofia is elegant, then the Novgorod one is stern and laconic. St. Sophia Cathedral became a model for Novgorod and Pskov architecture in subsequent centuries.

In the 11th century Monastic stone churches were also erected in Kyiv and Novgorod. Stone construction was also carried out in other cities of Rus': Polotsk, Chernigov.

In the 12th century. Stone construction developed rapidly, as the princes who became independent sought to decorate cities and monasteries, thereby emphasizing their wealth and greatness. At the same time, most stone churches were significantly inferior in size and richness of decoration to the cathedrals of the Kyiv era. The single-domed cross-domed church became typical.

Two trends in architecture of the 12th - 13th centuries. represented by the architecture of Novgorod and Vladimir.
In Novgorod, princely construction was not carried out; churches were built at the expense of the townspeople, intended for everyday services, and therefore were relatively small and simple in decoration. The churches were squat and had strong walls. The most famous among them are St. George's Cathedral of the St. George's Monastery (three-domed), the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa, Peter and Paul on Sinichya Mountain, Paraskeva Pyatnitsa on Yaroslav's Courtyard.
Novgorod architecture had a great influence on the architecture of other northwestern lands: Pskov, Staraya Ladoga.

The architecture of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, which finally took shape during the time of Andrei Bogolyubsky, differed in many ways from Novgorod. In the Northeast they built not from brick, but from white stone. The Vladimir Cathedrals (Assumption and Dmitrievsky), the princely castle in Bogolyubovo, the Golden Gate of Vladimir are majestic and elegant. Demetrius Cathedral, built under Vsevolod III the Big Nest, is famous for its abundance of fine stone carvings. The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl amazes with its exceptional grace of proportions, lightness, and upward aspiration.

art

With the spread of cult stone construction, monumental painting began to develop. Byzantine and Russian masters decorated the interiors of temples with frescoes and mosaics. In the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral, the dome image of Christ Pantocrator (Almighty), the Mother of God and the apostles were made using the mosaic technique. The mosaic of the cathedral has 130 shades.

Fresco paintings were especially widely used. In the St. Sophia Cathedral (Kyiv), almost all the walls were covered with frescoes, but only a few have survived to this day. Some of the frescoes are dedicated to secular subjects: two group portraits of the family of Yaroslav the Wise, hunting scenes, images of acrobats and musicians.

There were icons in every church. The most famous of the icons of that era is “Our Lady of Vladimir”, created at the beginning of the 12th century.

Along with monumental painting and icon painting, there was also book miniature, whose masters reached great heights.

Thanks to the creative assimilation of Christianity and the cultural heritage of antiquity, Kievan Rus reached a high level and stood on par with Western European countries. The cultural traditions created during the Kievan period were further developed in the era of fragmentation, but many of them could not survive the Mongol invasion.

The fine art of the 12th-13th centuries, as in the era of Kievan Rus, was associated with the painting of churches and was represented mainly by frescoes. They are best preserved in the Novgorod land. Compared to the 11th century. the paintings became less solemn, but the figures depicted became more dynamic. The most striking example of Novgorod fresco is the painting in the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa.

Vladimir churches also had frescoes, but only a few examples have survived.

Note

It is advisable to move smoothly from one part of the answer to another, and this requires connectives. Thus, when talking about material culture, and then about folklore (the phenomenon of spiritual culture), it is necessary to mention the reflection of everyday life in folk art.

There is no need to list all famous architectural monuments or works of fine art - it is important to show characteristics ancient Russian art.

// Katsva L.A. History of the Fatherland: a reference book for high school students and applicants to universities: a complete course of preparation for final and entrance exams / L.A. Katsva; under scientific ed. V.R. Leshchinera. - M., 2012. - P.35-44.

Factors that influenced the formation of Russian culture.

It should be noted that the formation of Russian culture coincides in time with the formation of Russian statehood. The birth of a people took place simultaneously along several lines - economic, political, cultural. Rus' took shape and developed as the center of a huge people for that time, consisting at first of various tribes; as a state whose life unfolded over a vast territory. And the entire original cultural experience of the Eastern Slavs became the property of a single Russian culture.

The development of Russian culture was also influenced by the fact that Rus' was developing as a lowland state, open to all, both intra-tribal and foreign international influences. At the time of its state formation, Rus' was strongly influenced by neighboring Byzantium, which at that time was one of the most cultural states in the world. Thus, the culture of Rus' developed from the very beginning as synthetic, i.e. influenced by various cultural trends, styles, traditions.

But we cannot say that Rus' blindly copied other people’s influences and recklessly borrowed them; it adapted them to its cultural traditions, to its folk experience and understanding of the world that came down from time immemorial.

For many years, Russian culture - oral folk art, art, architecture, painting, artistic crafts - developed under the influence of pagan religion and pagan worldview. With the adoption of Christianity by Russia, the situation changed dramatically. First of all, the new religion claimed to change people’s worldview, their perception of all life, and therefore their ideas about beauty, artistic creativity, and aesthetic influence.

However, Christianity, having had a strong impact on Russian culture, especially in the field of literature, architecture, art, literacy development, school affairs, libraries - in those areas that were closely connected with the life of the church and religion, was never able to overcome folk origins Russian culture. For many years, dual faith remained in Rus': the official religion, which prevailed in the cities, and paganism, which went into the shadows, but still existed in remote parts of Rus', especially in the northeast, retained its position in rural areas, the development of Russian culture reflected this duality in the spiritual life of society, in folk life. It is no coincidence that the pinnacle of the spiritual achievement of Ancient Rus' - “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” - is all permeated with pagan motifs.

This openness of ancient Russian culture, its powerful reliance on folk origins and the popular perception of the Eastern Slavs, the interweaving of Christian and folk-pagan influences led to what in world history is called the phenomenon of Russian culture. Its characteristic features are the desire for monumentality, scale, imagery in chronicle writing; nationality, integrity and simplicity in art; grace, a deeply humanistic principle in architecture; gentleness, love of life, kindness in painting; the constant presence of doubt and passion in literature. And all this was dominated by the great unity of the creator of cultural values ​​with nature, his sense of belonging to all of humanity, worries about people, their pain and misfortunes. It is no coincidence that, again, one of the favorite images of the Russian church and culture was the image of Saints Boris and Gleb, lovers of mankind, who suffered for the unity of the country, who accepted torment for the sake of people.

These features and character traits The cultures of Ancient Rus' did not appear immediately. In their basic guises they developed over the centuries. But then, having already formed into more or less established forms, they retained their strength for a long time and everywhere. And even when united Rus' disintegrated politically, the general features of Russian culture were manifested in the culture of individual principalities. Despite the political difficulties and local peculiarities, it was still a single Russian culture of the 10th - early 13th centuries.

But the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the subsequent final disintegration of the Russian lands, and their subordination to neighboring states interrupted this unity for a long time.

The beginning of the Russian chronicle. The first chronicles

The most ancient chronicle texts were rewritten and edited more than once before they were included in the vaults that have survived to this day. The compilation of the oldest of these codes is separated from the origins of chronicle writing by more than one century. Carefully, layer by layer removing later layers, researchers are approaching the most ancient texts. However, the older the layer, the less confidence in the accuracy of the conclusions.

Scientists answer the question of when and how the chronicle writing of Ancient Rus' began in different ways. Some believe that the first short chronicles appeared already in the 10th or even at the end of the 9th century, that is, even before the adoption of Christianity, with which the beginning of the ancient Russian written culture of Rus' is usually associated. Others are inclined to conclude that this happened in the first half of the 11th century, and foreign - primarily Byzantine - chronicles probably served as models for ancient Russian chronicles. Still others believe that their appearance was preceded by some non-chronicle historical works.

As an example of non-chronicle writings, historians cite the legend about the first Russian Christians and the spread of Christianity in Rus', which later (in the second half of the 11th century) was replenished with various materials and turned into the most ancient chronicle.

Be that as it may, in the second half of the 11th century. chronicles already existed in Ancient Rus'. Moreover, the chroniclers of this time had at their disposal not only legends and traditions, but also written materials, documents, literary monuments telling about the past of Rus' (for example, the lives of saints). The center of chronicle work at this time was Kyiv, but records were kept in Novgorod, and, possibly, in some other cities.

Apparently, the first major monument of ancient Russian chronicle writing was the chronicle code compiled in the 70s. XI century The compiler of this code is believed to have been the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nikon the Great (?-1088).

Nikon's work formed the basis of another chronicle, which was compiled in the same monastery two decades later. IN scientific literature it received the code name “Initial Vault”. Its nameless compiler replenished Nikon's collection not only with news of last years, but also chronicle information from other Russian cities, as well as materials of a non-chronicle nature, including, apparently, Byzantine chronographs.

The compiler of the Initial Code prefaced it with a preface in which he spoke rather critically about his contemporaries, the princes, and accused them of “gluttony” and neglect of the interests of the Russian land. This can be partly explained by the fact that during the compilation of the code, relations between the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk and the Kiev-Pechersk monastery were strained. But there was more to it than that. Already the first Kyiv chroniclers firmly understood that their task was not limited to simply recording facts. History should teach! It is not without reason that the compiler of the Initial Code invited his contemporaries to remember “what the ancient princes and their men were like” and how they “defended the Russian land.” “I pray to you, flock of Christ, incline your ears with love and understanding!” - the chronicler cried.

"The Tale of Bygone Years."

Based on the chronicle tradition of the 11th century. The greatest chronicle monument of the era of Kievan Rus was born - “The Tale of Bygone Years”. It got its name from the first lines, which in Old Russian sound like this: “Behold the tales of the past years, where the Russian land came from, who began to reign first in Kiev, and where the Russian land came from.”

The Tale of Bygone Years was compiled in Kyiv in the 10s of the 12th century. According to some historians, its probable compiler was the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor, also known for his other works. When creating “The Tale of Bygone Years,” its compiler used numerous materials with which he supplemented the Primary Code. These materials included Byzantine chronicles, texts of treaties between Rus' and Byzantium, monuments of translated ancient Russian literature, and oral traditions.

The compiler of “The Tale of Bygone Years” set as his goal not just to tell about the past of Rus', but also to determine the place of the Eastern Slavs among the European and Asian peoples.

The chronicler talks in detail about the settlement of Slavic peoples in ancient times, about the settlement of territories by the Eastern Slavs that would later become part of the Old Russian state, about the morals and customs of different tribes. The Tale of Bygone Years emphasizes not only the antiquity of the Slavic peoples, but also the unity of their culture, language and writing, created in the 9th century. brothers Cyril and Methodius.

After such an introduction, the chronicler turns to the history of the first Russian princes, tells the legend of how the noble Scandinavian Prince Rurik was called to Rus' as a ruler, and tells about the deeds of his descendants. The chronicle shows how the Old Russian state is taking shape and strengthening, how its borders are expanding, how its enemies are weakening. The reader is transported from Kyiv to Novgorod and Ladoga, from there to Smolensk, then to Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Rostov, Lyubech. The chronicler is concerned about the fate of the entire Russian land, all its cities, all its princes.

The chronicler considers the adoption of Christianity to be the most important event in the history of Rus'. The story of the first Russian Christians, the baptism of Rus', the spread of the new faith, the construction of churches, the emergence of monasticism, and the successes of Christian enlightenment occupies a central place in The Tale of Bygone Years.

From the middle of the 11th century. The Old Russian state began to split into separate principalities and lands. Inter-princely conflicts multiplied, sometimes resulting in bloody clashes, which Rus'’s warlike neighbors unsuccessfully took advantage of. All this could not leave the chroniclers indifferent. The final part of the “Tale” is permeated with the idea of ​​the need for harmony between the Russian princes, that mutual hatred of princes, members of one big family, is a grave sin, a crime against the Lord.

The wealth of historical and political ideas reflected in The Tale of Bygone Years suggests that its compiler was not just an editor, but also a talented historian, a deep thinker, and a brilliant publicist. Many chroniclers of subsequent centuries turned to the experience of the creator of the Tale, sought to imitate him and almost necessarily placed the text of the monument at the beginning of each new chronicle.

Iconography in Kievan Rus

As we know, the icon arose before the birth of ancient Russian culture and became widespread in all Orthodox countries. But nowhere has icon painting reached such development as in Rus', nowhere has it created so many masterpieces and has not become over the centuries the favorite form of fine art of an entire people.

Icons in Rus' appeared as a result of the missionary activity of the Byzantine Church during a period when the significance of church art was experienced with particular force. What is especially important and what was a strong internal motivation for Russian church art is that Rus' adopted Christianity precisely in the era of the revival of spiritual life in Byzantium itself, the era of its heyday. During this period, nowhere in Europe was church art as developed as in Byzantium. And at this time, newly converted Rus' received, among other icons, as an example of Orthodox art, an unsurpassed masterpiece - the icon of the Mother of God, which later received the name of Vladimir.

The cult of the icon (from the Greek eikon - image, image) originated in the 2nd century. and flourished in the 4th century; The oldest surviving icons date back to the 6th century. The icon should be considered not as an image identical to the Divine, unlike pre-Christian idols, but as a symbol that allows spiritual communion with the “original” (archetype), that is, penetration into the supernatural world through an object of the material world.

Icon Making Technology

Icons were made initially using the technique of encaustic (wax painting), then with tempera and, in rare cases, mosaics, and later (mainly from the 18th century) with oil painting. The icon became especially widespread in Byzantium; original schools of icon painting arose in Coptic Egypt and Ethiopia, in the South Slavic countries, and in Georgia. The ancient Russian icon acquired real artistic brightness and originality.

During archaeological excavations of ancient Kyiv in 1938, an artist’s dwelling-workshop was discovered, which dates back to the 9th-13th centuries, burned and collapsed, probably during the fire and looting of the city. In the workshop, 14 small pots with paints, tools for woodworking, as well as defective, broken amber products and a copper vessel were found. All this indicates that the artist lived and worked here. He himself hewed out boards for the icons, prepared paints, the composition of which was determined by analysis (white lead, ocher and others). The icon painter probably kept vegetable oil in a copper vessel, as all medieval artists did.

From handwritten instructions for icon painters of later times (XVII-XIX centuries) we know that in aged oil, highly heated (250-325°), amber was dissolved (melted) and an amber drying oil was obtained, creating a hard, difficult-to-soften film. Confirmation of the antiquity of amber drying oil was provided by archaeological excavations. Fragments of amber products and pieces were discovered in Novgorod in 1973-1977, when a rich estate was discovered and studied there, in which at the end of the 12th century there was a workshop of the artist Olisey Grechin. In the workshop, wooden tablets with arks prepared for painting icons, fragments of frames, large quantities of ceramic cups for paints, small glass vessels, pieces of multi-colored paints, gold, silver and bronze foil, smalt, and wax were found.

The icon consists of four to five layers, arranged in the following order: base, primer, paint layer, protective layer. The icon may have a frame made of metals or any other materials.

The first layer is the base; most often it is a wooden board with a fabric called pavoloka glued to it. Sometimes the board is without pavilion. Very rarely, the base for works of yolk tempera was made only from canvas. The reason for this phenomenon is obvious. Wood, not stone, served as our main building material, so the vast majority of Russian churches (9/10) were wooden. With their decorativeness, ease of placement in the church, the brightness and durability of their colors (ground on egg yolk), icons painted on boards (pine and linden, covered with alabaster primer - “gesso”) were perfectly suited for the decoration of Russian wooden churches. It was not without reason that it was noted that in Ancient Rus' the icon was the same classical form of fine art as a relief in Egypt, a statue in Hellas, and a mosaic in Byzantium.

The second layer is soil. If the icon is painted in a late manner, combining tempera with paints on other binders (mainly oil), and the layers of the primer are colored (color pigments are used, rather than traditional chalk or plaster), then it is called “primer”. But in yolk tempera, which prevailed in icon painting, the ground is always white. This type of soil is called gesso.

The third layer is colorful. The paint layer consists of various paints sequentially applied to the ground. This is the most essential part of a work of painting, since it is with the help of paints that the image is created.

The fourth is a protective (or cover) layer of drying oil or oil varnish. Very rarely, protein was used as a material for the protective layer. chicken egg(on Belarusian and Ukrainian icons). Currently - resin varnishes.

The frames for the icons were made separately and secured to them with nails. They come in metals, embroidered fabrics, and even carved wood, covered with gesso and gilding. They covered not the entire pictorial surface with frames, but mainly the halos (crowns), background and fields of the icon, and less often - almost its entire surface with the exception of images of heads (faces), hands and feet.

For many centuries in Rus' they painted using the yolk tempera technique; Nowadays the terms “egg tempera” or simply “tempera” are used.

Tempera (from the Italian “temperare” - to mix paints) is painting with paints, in which the binder is most often an emulsion of water and egg yolk, less often - from vegetable or animal glue diluted in water with the addition of oil or oil varnish. The color and tone in works painted with tempera are incomparably more resistant to external influences and retain their original freshness much longer compared to oil painting paints. The yolk tempera technique came to Russia from Byzantium at the end of the 10th century along with the art of icon painting.

Until the end of the 19th century, Russian icon painters, speaking about the process of mixing pigment with a binder, used the expression “rub paint”, or “dissolve paint”. And the paints themselves were called “created”. Since the beginning of the 20th century, only paints made from gold or silver powders mixed with a binder (created gold, created silver) began to be called created. The rest of the paints were simply called tempera.

Images of the Virgin Mary

In ancient Russian art, according to their meaning and significance, according to the place they occupy in the consciousness and spiritual life of people, there are images of the Mother of God - the Virgin Mary, from whom the Savior was incarnated, made man - images of his earthly mother. And Christians have a firm belief that, having become the Lady of the world, the Mother of God became the unchanging intercessor of people: her eternal maternal compassion acquired its highest fullness, her heart, “pierced” by the great torments of the Son, forever responded to countless human sufferings.

Tradition said that the first icons of the Mother of God were created during her lifetime, that they were painted by one of the apostles, the author of the Gospel, Luke. The icon “Our Lady of Vladimir,” which was considered the patroness of Russia, and is now in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, was also included among the works of the evangelist artist. There is chronicle news that this icon was brought to Kiev from Constantinople at the beginning of the 12th century (as the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, was called in Russia). It received the name “Vladimirskaya” in Russia: Prince Andrey took it with him from Kiev, going to the northeastern lands Bogolyubsky. And here, in the city of Vladimir, the icon found its glory. In the center of the icon is a half-length image of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms, who gently presses against her cheek.

An image of Mary and the baby in poses of mutual caressing - in Russian it was designated as “Tenderness”. Holding the baby Son close to her with her right hand, gently bending her head towards him, Mary extends her left hand to him in a gesture of prayer: pierced by her maternal grief for him, she reaches out to him but he carries his sadness, his eternal intercession for people. Capable of resolving maternal sadness, answering her prayer, the baby Son is depicted here: in his face, in his gaze turned to his mother, childish gentleness and deep, ineffable wisdom mysteriously merged.

The veneration of “Our Lady of Vladimir” led not only to the fact that in Rus' there were many copies of it, many repetitions of it. Obviously, largely thanks to the love for this ancient icon, especially in the northeastern Russian lands, the “Tenderness” type itself, to which it belonged, became widespread.

“Tenderness” is the famous “Our Lady of the Don” - an icon, according to legend, which received its name due to the fact that Dmitry Donskoy took it with him to the Don, to the battle on the Kulikovo field, where a great victory was won over the Tatars.

In addition to images of the "Tenderness" type, numerous and beloved were images of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms, which were called "Hodegetria", which means "Guide". In the compositions "Hodegetria", the Mother of God is depicted in a frontal, solemn pose. Only the right hand of the Virgin Mary is raised low and calmly in a gesture of prayer addressed to her son. Sometimes “Our Lady Hodegetria” is called “Our Lady of Smolensk”. The fact is that, according to the chronicle legend, the oldest copy of “Odegetria” brought to Rus' was located in Smolensk .

There are several other images of the Virgin Mary, different in composition. These include: “Our Lady of Kazan”, “Our Lady of Tikhvin”, “Our Lady of Oranta (praying)”, “Our Lady of the Sign”.

Architecture of the 10th – first half of the 13th centuries

It is not without reason that they say that architecture is the soul of the people, embodied in stone. This applies to Rus' with some amendments. Even in the pagan times, architecture, mainly wooden, was developed in Rus': Russian “wood makers” have long been famous.

For many years, Rus' was a wooden country, and its architecture, fortresses, towers, and huts were built of wood. Not all architectural monuments of that time have survived; many have survived in a distorted form; we know many more only from archaeological excavations, but the architectural style of the people has reached us in later wooden structures, in ancient descriptions and drawings, or from written sources. The chronicler provided us with evidence that before the stone Novgorod Sofia, on the territory of the Novgorod Kremlin there was a thirteen-domed wooden Sofia Cathedral, cut down by the Novgorodians at the end of the 10th century. It is completely impossible that the Eastern Slavs had their own chopped wooden temples, and that these temples were multi-domed. Many domes, therefore, were an original national feature of Russian architecture, and were then adopted by the art of Kievan Rus.

Cross-dome system of the temple

If wooden architecture goes back mainly to pagan Rus', then stone architecture is associated with already Christian Russia. With Christianity, the cross-domed form of the temple, typical for Greek-Eastern Orthodox countries, came to Russia. The cross-domed form of the temple is rectangular in plan, with four (or more) pillars, its interior is divided into longitudinal (east-west) parts - naves (three, five or more). The four central pillars are connected by arches that support the dome's drums through the sails. The under-dome space, thanks to the drum's windows, is flooded with light. It is the center of the temple. The cells adjacent to the under-dome space are covered with cylindrical vaults. The entire central space of the temple in plan forms a cross, hence the name of the system of a similar temple - cross-dome. On the eastern side of the interior there are altar spaces - apses, usually protruding in semicircles on the outside; the transverse space in the western part of the interior is called the narthex, narthex. In the same western part, on the second tier, there are choirs, where the prince and his entourage were located during the service. In the exterior of a Mongolian temple, a distinctive feature is the division of the facade with flat vertical piastres (in Old Russian - blades) into spindles. The semicircular completion of the spindle, the shape of which is determined by the underlying covering, is called a zakomara.

The first temples

In 989, Grand Duke Vladimir began monumental stone construction. With the help of Byzantine craftsmen, the cathedral church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was erected (finished in 996). Understanding the ideological significance of the first stone church for Kyiv, the prince allocated one tenth of his income for its maintenance, and therefore the church received the name Tithes. In 1240, the temple was completely destroyed, as it served as the last stronghold of the defenders of Kyiv in their heroic struggle against the hordes of Batu Khan. Therefore, we cannot form a reliable idea about the initial forms of this first monumental religious building made of stone in Rus'. The study of the remains of the foundations allows us to draw only the conclusion that it was a three-nave cross-domed building with a highly developed western part, which gave it a basilical character. Later, galleries were added to it from the north and south.

The interior view of the Church of the Tithes amazed the people of Kiev both with its complex, multifaceted organization of space, which is not typical for wooden churches, and with the richness and colorfulness of its decoration. Numerous marble carved details found during archaeological excavations, including capitals, fragments of mosaic floors, fragments ceramic tiles glazed pieces of plaster with fresco paintings suggest that the Tithe Church was not inferior to the Byzantine ones in the richness of its decoration. There is reason to believe that the temple was multi-domed, and this brought its silhouette closer to wooden churches, in which, to increase capacity, individual log buildings were combined, but each had its own covering and completion

The construction of the Tithe Church was probably part of broader plans to give the “capital city” of the powerful “Rurikovich empire” a worthy appearance. That is why the detinets was expanded and surrounded by a rampart with chopped walls, majestic palace buildings were built and a stone temple of the Virgin Mary was erected - unprecedentedly large and magnificent. The compositional center of the city of Vladimir became Babin Torzhok, on which a bronze quadriga and statues were placed, taken by the prince in 988 from Korsun (Chersonese) as trophies. The ensemble of the square included the Tithe Church and the buildings of the princely court.

In the center of the city of Yaroslav, next to the main highway connecting Detinets and the outlying town, in 1037, according to chronicles, the construction of St. Sophia Cathedral began. It was conceived as the main Christian temple in Rus' - the Russian Metropolis, which was opposed to Constantinople. Yaroslav, dedicating the temple to Sophia, seemed to emphasize his equality with the Byzantine emperors. From now on, the city of Kyiv, like Constantinople, had not only the Golden Gate, but also the St. Sophia Cathedral.

The construction of a new ideological center cannot be considered outside the general political program of the Grand Duke - a program aimed at strengthening statehood and the dominance of the feudal nobility.

St. Sophia Cathedral was a five-nave cross-domed church, surrounded from the south, west and north by two bypasses - galleries. The composition of the cathedral is dominated by the main dome; it is surrounded by four smaller ones, behind which are located lateral, lower domes. The central volume of the building is equipped with a bypass gallery. The entire structure has a complex, dissected-compact shape with a pyramidal silhouette. The walls of the cathedral are lined with Byzantine masonry - flat brick and stone on lime mortar with the addition of crushed brick (in the 17th century the facades were plastered). In the interior of the Kyiv Sofia, finishing and decoration techniques characteristic of Byzantium were used: marble cladding, smalt mosaics, fresco paintings. St. Sophia Cathedral affirmed the significance of the new religion and at the same time was a symbol of statehood.

Cathedral of St. Sofia in Novgorod differs even more from the Byzantine prototypes. It, like the Kiev one, consists of a core, which has the canonical scheme of a four-pillar, five-domed, three-apse temple, and buildings. But the rooms surrounding the central part have a common height with it, forming a single, compact volume. The building was erected from stone (later it was plastered).

The religious buildings of the Kyiv state are characterized by large scale, majesty, and solemnity. The stone temple, towering above the ordinary wooden buildings, was visible from afar and therefore was of great importance in shaping the silhouette of the city. Taking this into account, the architects paid special attention to the upper part of the structure, which was compositionally more complex compared to the blank, laconic surface of the walls of the underlying volume. This feature, which distinguishes ancient Russian churches from Byzantine ones, was further developed.

Differences between architectural schools

Already in the initial period of the formation of stone Russian architecture, its local differences were determined: the southern type of temples is characterized by a picturesque appearance, while the northern type is characterized by some isolation and restraint.

The process of fragmentation of the ancient Russian state into separate principalities affected the scale of religious buildings of the 12th century. Instead of grandiose multi-domed cathedrals, smaller churches with one dome supported by four internal pillars are built.

A large number of architectural monuments of the medieval era have been preserved in Novgorod and Pskov - the extreme northwestern region of Rus', which was not subject to the Mongol invasion. In these cities in the 12th century. A veche republic was created, limiting the princely power. The architecture here was distinguished by simplicity of form, some severity, and clarity of appearance. Churches were built small.

The silhouettes of Novgorod churches are compact and closed, the architectural forms are laconic. Their appearance was somewhat enlivened by the picturesque masonry: the buildings were erected from rough stone with layers of red brick (they were plastered later).

One of the best works of Novgorod architecture of the 12th century. - the monastery church of the Savior on Nereditsa, destroyed in 1941. The bell tower at this church was the first in Rus', and the fact of its construction is reflected in the familiarity of local builders with the architecture of Western Europe (Novgorod had trade relations with Northern European countries).

The severity and isolation of the appearance of Savior Nereditsa reflects the spirit of the times: the same impression is made by Romanesque churches of the 11th-12th centuries. in Western Europe. The power of the walls is emphasized by narrow arched windows. The plane of the wall is dissected by pilasters (blades), but this is not a decorative detail: pilasters are protrusions of pillars on which the arches supporting the vaults rest. The facade wall thus ended with three arches (zakomars). All elements of the church had non-rigid outlines, the architectural forms looked as if sculpted. The surfaces of the walls in the interior were entirely painted with wonderful frescoes.

In the 12th century, the Novgorod-Pskov Republic heroically fought off the Swedish and German knights. During this period, mainly defensive structures were built. A new rise in architecture occurs at the end of the 13th century, after the victory of the Novgorodians on Lake Peipus.

XIV-XV centuries - the time of further development of Novgorod-Pskov architecture. During this period, brick was no longer used; buildings are erected from rounded stone, the facades are covered with plaster. Decorative details appear.

In the XII - early XIII centuries. Kyiv has lost its significance as an all-Russian political and cultural center. Among the Russian appanage principalities, Vladimir-Suzdal rose to the fore. Here, a bright and unique style of stone architecture is formed. During this period in Rus', brick began to be replaced by stone in monumental construction. The technique of constructing buildings from hewn white stone developed, which reached a particularly high level in the Galician and Vladimir-Suzdal principalities.

The Vladimir-Suzdal churches had a compact cubic volume and were crowned with one dome. External masses and internal space are static. The buildings are enriched with stone sculpture and sometimes with gilded copper details; the interiors are painted with frescoes.

An outstanding work of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture is the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl River, a pearl of Russian architecture. The appearance of the temple is elegant, but at the same time modest, lyrical, captivating with bright optimism, soft poetry, and grace. The architect created an enlightened, deeply human architectural and artistic image that expressed the moral and humanistic ideal, which in that era was clothed in a religious form.

Built in the princely residence in Vladimir, the Dmitrovsky Cathedral is distinguished by its developed decorative decoration and solemn appearance. In terms of space-planning structure, this temple corresponds to Byzantine canons. The spherical dome corresponds to the Byzantine prototypes, but it must be said that this form underwent a significant transformation in Russian architecture. For better drainage atmospheric precipitation They began to arrange helmet-shaped coverings, their shape was emphasized, made more plastic, as a result of which the outlines of the chapters in the form of onions were developed, which became characteristic elements of the religious architecture of Russia.

The facade planes of the walls of the Dmitrov Cathedral are dissected by thin, elongated semi-columns. Their verticality is interrupted and balanced by a horizontal arcature belt. However, Dmitrovsky Cathedral, like other temples of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture, cannot be attributed either to the Romanesque or Transcaucasian type, or to the Byzantine type. In its general appearance and in its spirit, it is a work of Russian architecture.

Religious architecture of the southern and western Russian lands of the 12th-13th centuries. was closest to the architecture of Kievan Rus, at the same time its development followed the all-Russian architectural trends of that time. Cross-domed single-domed churches were also built here. The masonry was made of brick. Famous work Southern Russian architectural school is the Pyatnitskaya Church in Chernigov. The volume of the building is compact and assembled. The facades are divided by vertical profile rods, giving the structure a dynamic upward thrust. This impression is strengthened by the pyramidal-tiered grouping of vaults topped with a high dome drum.

The dynamic rise of the middle arch with two semi-arches adjacent to it on the sides, which replaced the static composition of three arches on the facade, is not only an artistic, compositional and decorative technique. This form reflects new space-planning and technical techniques that further alienate Russian religious architecture from the Byzantine models with which it began its development.

If the facade wall ends with three arches, sinuses are formed between them, where precipitation is retained - rainwater and especially snow; raising the middle arch contributes to their more effective removal. At the same time, the design of the side semi-arches reflects changes in the internal structure of the structure. If the four pillars supporting the dome stand at equal distances from each other and from the walls, the interior space is divided into nine equal compartments. Meanwhile, for practical and compositional reasons, it was necessary to expand and highlight the central part of the space. The distance between the pillars was increased, they were moved closer to the walls. With the decrease in the span between the pillar and the wall, there was no longer a need to cover this gap with a full barrel vault; half of the vault could have been erected here. The half-vaults (which correspond to the side half-arches on the façade) have the same structural meaning as the inclined thrust arches protruding from the outside in Gothic cathedrals, which receive the thrust of the central vault. These constructive techniques appeared in Rus' and France simultaneously, in the second half of the 12th century.

The stepped-tier arrangement of the vaults, which gives a dynamic increase in masses towards the center, was also used for compositional reasons. In the interior, this emphasized the importance of the central part of the internal space and gave it an upward thrust, and in the external volume of the church, the raised drum of the dome was not obscured when viewed from below from close points of view. This compositional technique was further developed in Moscow architecture, at the end of the 14th-15th centuries, since in the middle of the 13th century. The Mongol invasion - a terrible catastrophe that befell Rus' - interrupted the development of Russian architecture for more than two hundred years.

Conclusion

This was the ancient Russian culture that developed in the 9th-13th centuries. It absorbed all the best from the cultural heritage of the East Slavic tribes of the previous era, as well as many cultural achievements of the most advanced country of its time - Byzantium and a number of other neighboring peoples, but all borrowings were creatively processed and were only individual elements in the majestic edifice of ancient Russian culture created creative genius of the Russian people. But the Tatar-Mongol invasion suddenly stopped the brilliant flowering of art. Although the northern Russian lands defended their independence in the fight against enemies, here too, during the period of increasing threat of raids, artistic life froze. A lot of time passed, years before the Russian people, freed from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, began to live and create as before.

The development of the culture of Ancient Rus' was not stopped even by the invasion of the Mongols and the established yoke. Which areas have developed particularly intensively? What is characteristic of the development of Russian culture in this period?

1. Oral folk art

The folklore of Ancient Rus', rooted in the pagan rites of the Eastern Slavs, was extremely diverse. But a special place in oral folk art has always been occupied by epics, or antiquity, which became real masterpieces of ancient Russian folklore. Among the oldest Russian antiquities created in the 9th-12th centuries, most historians (B. Rybakov, I. Froyanov, R. Lipets, V. Kozhinov) include the cycle of epics about Ilya Murovlyanin (Muromets), Mikul Selyaninovich, and about the Nightingale the Robber , epics “Dobrynya and the Serpent” and “Dobrynya the Matchmaker”, “Ivan the Guest’s Son”, “Mikhailo Potyk”, “Sukhan”, “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin”, etc.

Rice. 1. Nightingale the Robber. Yudin G. ()

2. The emergence and development of writing

In modern historical science, the debate about the time of the appearance of writing in Ancient Rus' still continues. Some historians and philologists (F. Buslaev, A. Shakhmatov, A. Kuzmin) argue that it appeared simultaneously with the process of the official baptism of Rus' at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries. Their opponents (V. Istrin, D. Likhachev) say that there is indisputable evidence of the existence of East Slavic writing long before the baptism of Rus'. But be that as it may, the overwhelming majority of scientists associate the appearance of Russian writing with the names of the famous Thessalonica brothers Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (815-885), who created the two oldest Slavic alphabet - Glagolitic And Cyrillic alphabet.

Among the written monuments of Ancient Rus' that have survived to this day, a special place is occupied by the “Putyatin Menaion” (1130), the Ostromir Gospel (1056/57), “Izborniki” of Svyatoslav (1073 and 1076), and the Arkhangelsk Gospel (1092). g.) and the Mstislav Gospel (1115).

Rice. 3. Ostromir Gospel ()

The spread of writing and literacy in Rus' was accompanied by the creation of the first Russian libraries. The largest repositories of books were the St. Sophia Cathedrals in Novgorod, Kiev and Polotsk, the Kiev-Pechersk and Yurievsky monasteries, as well as private collections of princes Yaroslav the Wise, Vsevolod Yaroslavich, Yaroslav Osmomysl, princesses Euphrosyne of Polotsk and Euphrosyne of Suzdal, Archimandrite Theodosius of Pechersk and Metropolitan Clement and Smolyatich.

Rice. 4. St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod ()

3. Old Russian chronicles and literature

The development of the written culture of Ancient Rus' gave a powerful impetus to the emergence of such an original genre of Russian literature as chronicle, which, according to most authors (L. Cherepnin, D. Likhachev, B. Rybakov, A. Kuzmin), arose at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries. Unfortunately, the first Russian chronicles have not survived, but they have come to us as part of three editions of the famous “Tale of Bygone Years” (PVL), created by the monks Nestor, Sylvester and John in 1113, 1116 and 1118.

Among the most significant literary monuments of Ancient Russia are such multi-genre works as “The Sermon on Law and Grace”, “Confession of Faith” and “A Sermon to the Stylite Brother” written by Metropolitan Hilarion, “Memory and Praise of Vladimir” by Jacob Mnich, “ Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearer Boris and Gleb" and "The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk", the author of which was the monk Nestor, "The Life of Princess Olga", "The Tale of the Blinding of Prince Vasilko of Terebovlsky", "The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh", "The Life of Mstislav the Great" ”, “Prayer of Daniel the Sharper”, “Praise to Roman Galitsky”, “Walking of 40 Novgorodians to the city of Jerusalem”, “Walking of Abbot Daniel to the Holy Places”, “Teaching to the Brethren” by Luka Zhidyata and many others.

Various secular works of Antiquity and the early Middle Ages also became widespread in Russia, in particular the “Chronicles” of John Malala, George Amartol and George Sinkel, “The Chronicler Soon” by the Byzantine Patriarch Nicephorus, “The History of the Jewish War” by Josephus, “The Tale of Basil Digenis Akritos” ", "The Tale of Akira the Wise", "The Tale of Varlaam and Prince Joasaph", "Christian Topography" by Kuzma Indikoplov and others.

4. Architecture of Ancient Rus'

The high level of development of the architecture of Ancient Rus' can be judged by many religious buildings of that time, which were based on Old Byzantine style. Among the most significant monuments of ancient Russian architecture are: the Tithe Church of the Virgin Mary (989-996), St. Sophia Cathedral (1037-1054), the Golden Gate (1037) and the Church of Irina and George (1037) in Kiev, Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Chernigov (1036), St. Sophia Cathedrals in Novgorod (1045-1050) and Polotsk (1065), cathedrals in Dmitrievsky (1070-1075), Vydubitsky (1070-1088). ), Mikhailo-Zlatoverkhovsky (1085) and Kirillovsky (1089) Kiev monasteries, the Great Assumption Cathedral (1075-1078), Gateway (1106) and St. Michael's (1108) churches in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery , St. George's Cathedral of the Yuryev Monastery (1120), the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary of the Anthony Monastery (1117-1119) and the Church of St. Nicholas on Yaroslav's Court (1113) in Novgorod, Boris and Gleb Cathedral (1128) and the Church of Friday at Torg ( 1130-1133) in Chernigov, etc.

Rice. 5. Tithe Church in Kyiv

5. Painting art of Ancient Rus'

The construction of large temple, monastery and palace complexes in various cities of Ancient Rus' was accompanied by the rapid development of monumental and easel painting.

Monumental art Kievan Rus (mosaics, frescoes and tempera painting) was most clearly represented in the Kievan Sophia, the Church of the Tithes, the Kiev-Pechersk Assumption Cathedral, the Transfiguration Church, the Cathedral of the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and other religious buildings of that time

To the most ancient rarities easel painting Kievan Rus, created in the second half of the 11th - 12th centuries, should include such famous icons as “Our Lady of Vladimir”, “Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya”, “Ustyug Annunciation”, “Golden Hair Angel”, “Savior Not Made by Hands”, “Assumption of the Virgin Mary” , “St. George the Victorious” and many others.

1. Istrin V.I. 1100 years of the Slavic alphabet. M., 1988

2. Kozhinov V.V. History of Rus' and the Russian word. Modern look. M., 1997

3. Kuzmin A.G. Initial stages of ancient Russian chronicles. M., 1977

4. Kuskov V.V. History of Old Russian Literature. M., 1989

5. Lipets R. S. Epic and Ancient Rus'. M., 1969

6. Likhachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical heritage. L., 1947

7. Rybakov B. A. Ancient Rus': legends, epics, chronicles. M., 1963

8. Tikhomirov M. N. Russian chronicle. M., 1979

9. Froyanov I. Ya. Russian epic epic. St. Petersburg, 1995

1. Russian general education portal ().

3. Russian Orthodox Church ().

The Old Russian state, formed in the 9th century, two centuries later was already a powerful medieval state. Having adopted the Christian religion from Byzantium, Kievan Rus adopted everything valuable that this most advanced state in Europe had for that period. That is why the influence of Byzantine culture on ancient Russian art is so clearly visible and so strong. But in the pre-Christian period, the Eastern Slavs had a fairly developed art. Unfortunately, the passing centuries brought down a huge number of raids, wars and a variety of disasters on the territories inhabited by the Eastern Slavs, which destroyed, burned or razed to the ground almost everything that was created during the pagan period.

By the time the state was formed, Rus' consisted of 25 cities, which were almost entirely wooden. The craftsmen who built them were very skilled carpenters. They built elaborate princely castles, towers for the nobility, and public buildings from wood. Many of them were decorated with intricate carvings. Stone buildings were also erected, this is confirmed by archaeological excavations and literary sources. Ancient cities The Rus that have survived to this day have virtually nothing in common with their original appearance. The ancient Slavs created sculpture - wooden and stone. An example of this art has survived to this day - the Zbruch Idol, kept in the Krakow Museum. Very interesting examples of ancient Slavic jewelry made of bronze: clasps, amulets, amulets, bracelets, rings. There are skillfully made household items in the form of fantastic birds and animals. This confirms that for the ancient Slav the world was filled with life.

Since ancient times, writing has existed in Rus', but there were almost no literary works of its own. They read mainly Bulgarian and Greek manuscripts. But at the beginning of the 12th century, the first Russian chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Sermon on Law and Grace” by the first Russian Metropolitan Hilarion, “Teaching” by Vladimir Monomakh, “Prayer” by Daniil Zatochnik, “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon” appeared. The pearl of ancient Russian literature remains “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” by an unknown author of the 12th century. Written two centuries after the adoption of Christianity, it is literally permeated with pagan images, for which the church persecuted him. TO XVIII century The only copy of the manuscript has reached us, which can rightfully be considered the pinnacle of ancient Russian poetry. But medieval Russian culture was not homogeneous. It is quite clearly divided into the so-called elite culture, which was intended for the clergy, secular feudal lords, wealthy townspeople, and the culture of the lower classes, which is a truly popular culture. Respecting and valuing literacy and the written word, ordinary people could not always afford it, especially handwritten works. Therefore, oral folk art and folklore were very widespread. Not being able to read or write, our ancestors compiled oral monuments of folk culture - epics and fairy tales. In these works, people comprehend the connection between the past and the present, dream about the future, and tell descendants not only about princes and boyars, but also about ordinary people. The epics give an idea of ​​what truly interested the common people, what ideals and ideas they had. The vitality of these works and their relevance can be confirmed by modern cartoons based on the works of the ancient Russian folk epic. “Alyosha and Tugarin the Snake”, “Ilya Muromets”, “Dobrynya Nikitich” have existed for the second millennium and are popular with viewers now in the 21st century.

4) Architecture, architecture of Kievan Rus.

Few people know that Rus' was a wooden country for many long years, and its architecture, pagan chapels, fortresses, towers, and huts were built of wood. It goes without saying that in a tree, a person, at first, like the peoples who lived next to the Eastern Slavs, expressed their perception of building beauty, a sense of proportion, fusion, building structures with surrounding nature. It would be bad if we did not note that if arboreal architecture goes back mainly to Rus', as everyone knows, is pagan, then stone architecture is associated with already Christian Russia. Unfortunately, the most ancient wooden buildings have not survived to this day, but the building style of the people has come down to us in later wooden structures, in old descriptions and drawings. Undoubtedly, it is worth mentioning that Russian wooden architecture was characterized by multi-tiered buildings, crowning them with turrets and towers, and the presence of various types of extensions - cages, passages, vestibules. Unusual, artistic wood carving was a common decoration of Russian wooden buildings. This tradition lives on among the people until real time.

The first stone building in Rus' appeared at the end of the 10th century. - The famous Church of the Tithes in Kyiv, built on the orders of Prince Vladimir the Baptist. Unfortunately, it did not survive. But to this day the famous Sofia of Kiev, built several decades later, still stands.

Both temples were, in general, built by Byzantine masters from their usual plinth - large flat brick measuring 40/30/3 cm. The mortar connecting the rows of plinth was a consistency of lime, sand and crushed brick. Reddish plinth and pink mortar made the walls of Byzantine and early Russian churches elegantly striped.

Built from plinth mainly in the south Rus'. In the north, in Novgorod, far from Kyiv, they preferred stone. True, the arches and vaults were still made of brick. Novgorod stone “gray flagstone” is a natural hard stone. Walls were made from it without any processing.

At the end of the 15th century. V architecture of Kievan Rus arose newest material- brick. Everyone knows that it became widespread because it was cheaper and more accessible than stone.

The world of Byzantium, the world of Christianity, the states of the Caucasus brought the latest construction experience and traditions to Rus': Rus' adopted the construction of its own churches in the form of a cross-domed temple of the Greeks, a square dissected by 4 pillars forms its base, rectangular cells adjacent to the dome area form the building cross. But the Greek professionals who arrived in Rus', starting from the time of Vladimir, and the Russian craftsmen working with them, applied this standard to the traditions of Russian wooden architecture, common to the Russian eye and dear to the heart, if the first Russian churches, including the Tithe Church, in end of the 10th century were built, so to speak, by Greek masters in serious accordance with Byzantine traditions, then the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv reflected a combination of Slavic and Byzantine traditions: thirteen joyful chapters were placed on the base of the cross-domed temple the newest temple. This step pyramid of the St. Sophia Cathedral resurrected the style of Russian timber architecture.

The St. Sophia Cathedral, made during the establishment and rise of Rus' under Yaroslav the Wise, showed that construction is also politics. And indeed, with this temple, Rus' challenged Byzantium, its recognized shrine - the St. Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople. It must be said that in the 11th century. St. Sophia Cathedrals grew up in the other principal centers of Rus' - Novgorod, Polotsk, and any of them claimed their own prestige, independent of Kiev, just like Chernigov, where the monumental Transfiguration Cathedral was built. It must be emphasized that monumental multi-domed churches with thick walls and small windows were built throughout Rus', evidence of power and beauty.
Temples were immediately built in Novgorod and Smolensk, Chernigov and Galich. new fortresses were laid, stone palaces and chambers of rich people were built. Corresponding trait Russian architecture Those decades included stone carvings decorating buildings.

Another feature that unites all Russian architecture of that time was the organic combination of building structures with the natural landscape. Look at how Russian churches were built and still stand today, and you will understand what we are talking about.

St. Sophia Cathedral as the first architecture of Kievan Rus
The first stone architectural structures were built at the end of the 10th century, with the advent of Christianity. The first stone church was built in 989, by order of Vladimir the Great. It has not survived to this day. The style of the building was Byzantine. A striking example that has remained from those times is the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The date of completion of its construction dates back to 1036, under the principality of Yaroslav the Wise.
St. Sophia Cathedral was built on the site of the prince's victory over the Pechenegs. The cathedral was first crowned with thirteen baths, which created a pyramidal structure. Now the temple has 19 baths. From the west, according to Byzantine tradition, two towers, called staircases, approach the temple; they lead to the choir, as well as a flat roof. St. Sophia Cathedral is the pearl of the architecture of Kievan Rus. This temple combines Byzantine and Russian styles.

Transfiguration Cathedral
Another masterpiece of Russian architecture is the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov. It was founded by the brother of Yaroslav the Wise Mstislav in 1030. The Spassky Cathedral was the main shrine of the Chernigov land and city, as well as the tomb in which Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, his wife Anastasia, their son Eustathius, Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich were buried. Spassky Cathedral is a unique building, one of the oldest churches of Kievan Rus.
Pyatnitskaya Church
Also one of the oldest churches is the Pyatnitskaya Church in Chernigov. This church belongs to the typical single-domed churches with four pillars. The name of the architect is unknown. Pyatnitsky Church is unique, inimitable and, perhaps, the most beautiful in all the pre-Mongol temple architecture of Kievan Rus. By the way, this church has been restored.

Panteleimon Church
The only architectural monument of the Galicia-Volyn principality that has survived to our times is the Church of Panteleimon. It is built on top of a hill, in the place where the Dniester and Lokva merge into one. The temple was built from blocks, which were fitted very tightly to each other and secured with a thin layer of fastening mortar. The construction turned out to be very durable. The architecture of the temple combines three styles: Byzantine, Romanesque and traditional Old Russian. In those days of war and internecine struggle, churches and cathedrals were built as defensive structures, which is why the Church of Panteleimon has such a special architecture.

Upper castle
Also included in the architecture of Rus' is the Upper Castle in Lutsk, which was built in the second half of the 14th century. A drawbridge led across a deep moat to the castle. The length of the castle walls is 240 m, the height is 10 m, and there are three towers in the corners:
1) The entrance tower was erected at the end of the 13th century. At first it was three-tiered. After adding two more tiers, its height reached 27 meters. The thickness of the walls of the lower tiers reaches 3.6 m.
2) Styrova Tower. It received this name because it is located above the Styr River. It was built during the XIII-XIV centuries. The height of the tower is 27 m.
3) Vladychya - the third tower, has a height of 13.5 meters. In ancient times, it was maintained at the expense of the ruler, hence its name. In the tower itself there is a museum of bells, and in the dungeon there is a prison.
Between the Entrance and Styrovaya towers, on the site of the princely hotel, there is a “noble house”.
Most of the temples and castles of Rus' were restored several times due to the Mongol invasion.

5) Russian icon. Tempera painting. Manner of writing. Subjects and images.

Russian icon painting- developed in the depths Orthodox Church fine art of Ancient Rus', which began at the end of the 10th century with the baptism of Rus'. The basis for the emergence of Russian painting were examples of Byzantine art. Icon painting remained the core of Old Russian culture until the end of the 17th century.

Icon is a painting depicting saints and episodes from the Bible. “Icon” translated from Greek means “image”, “image”. In Rus', icons were called “images”.

Icon painting technique

On a wooden base with a selected recess - “ark” (or without it) a fabric - “pavolok” is glued. Next, a primer is applied, which is chalk mixed with animal or fish glue with the addition of linseed oil - “gesso”. The first stage of the actual painting work is “revealing” - laying out the basic tones. Egg paint is used as paint tempera* on natural pigments. In Russia, the technique of tempera painting was predominant in art until the end of the 17th century. (an example of tempera is the Icon of the Savior from the Zvenigorod rank. Andrei Rublev. XIV - XV centuries.) The process of working on the face is completed by the application of “movers” - light dots, spots and features in the most intense areas of the image. At the final stage, clothes, hair and other necessary details of the image are painted with created gold, or gilding is done on the assist (touches of gold or silver leaf on the folds of clothes, feathers, angels’ wings, and so on). Upon completion of all work, the icon is covered with a protective layer - natural drying oil.

Tempera*- water-based paints prepared on the basis of dry powder pigments. The binders for tempera paints are emulsions - natural (chicken egg yolk diluted with water or a whole egg) or artificial (drying oils in an aqueous solution of glue, polymers).

In Rus', icon painting was considered an important, state matter. Chronicles, along with events of national importance, noted the construction of new churches and the creation of icons. There was an ancient tradition - only monks were allowed to paint icons, and those who had not stained themselves with sinful deeds.

Iconography is ascetic, harsh and completely illusory. A sign, a symbol, a parable is a way of expressing truth that is well known to us from the Bible. The language of religious symbolism is capable of conveying complex and deep concepts of spiritual reality. Christ, the apostles and prophets resorted to the language of parables in their sermons. A grapevine, a lost drachma, a withered fig tree and other images that have become significant symbols in Christian culture.

Its purpose is a reminder of the image of God, help in entering the psychological state necessary for prayer.

Types of images, compositional schemes, symbolism were approved and illuminated by the church. In particular, in painting there were rules and techniques that every artist had to follow - canons. The main guide for creating icons for painters was ancient originals brought from Byzantium. For many centuries, canonical painting fit into strictly defined frameworks, allowing only the repetition of iconographic originals.

The philosophical meaning of the canon is that the “spiritual world” is immaterial and invisible, and therefore inaccessible to ordinary perception. It can only be depicted using symbols. The icon painter in every possible way emphasizes the difference between the heavenly world depicted with the saints who have joined it and the earthly world in which the viewer lives. To achieve this, proportions are deliberately distorted and perspective is disrupted.

Let us list some basic rules of the icon painting canon:

1. Proportions. The width of ancient icons correlates with the height 3:4 or 4:5, regardless of the size of the icon board.

2. Sizes of figures. The height of the face is equal to 0.1 of the height of his body (according to Byzantine rules, a person’s height is equal to 9 head measures). The distance between the pupils was equal to the size of the nose.

3. Lines. There should be no torn lines on the icon; they are either closed, or emanate from one point, or connect to another line. The lines of the face are thin at the beginning and end, and thickened in the middle. The lines of architecture are of equal thickness everywhere.

4. The use of reverse perspective - consisting only of close and medium plans, the long shot was limited to an opaque background - gold, red, green or blue. As they move away from the viewer, objects do not decrease, but increase.

5. All painters resorted to the symbolism of colors, each color carried its own meaning. For example, the color gold, symbolizing the radiance of Divine glory in which the saints abide. The golden background of the icon, the halos of saints, the golden radiance around the figure of Christ, the golden clothes of the Savior and the Mother of God - all this serves as an expression of holiness and eternal values ​​belonging to the world.

6. Gestures also had a symbolic meaning. The gesture in the icon conveys a certain spiritual impulse, carries certain spiritual information: a hand pressed to the chest - heartfelt empathy; a hand raised up is a call to repentance; two hands raised up - prayer for peace, etc.

7. Great importance They also had objects in the hands of the depicted saint, as signs of his service. Thus, the Apostle Paul was usually depicted with a book in his hands - this is the Gospel, less often with a sword, symbolizing the Word of God.

The face (face) in an icon is the most important thing. In the practice of icon painting, the background, landscape, architecture, clothes were first painted, and only then the main master began painting the face. Compliance with this order of work was important, because the icon, like the entire universe, is hierarchical. The proportions of the face were deliberately distorted. It was believed that the eyes are the mirror of the soul, which is why the eyes on the icons are so large and soulful. Let us recall the expressive eyes of pre-Mongol icons (for example, “The Savior Not Made by Hands” Novgorod, 12th century). The mouth, on the contrary, symbolized sensuality, so the lips were drawn disproportionately small. Starting from Rublev's time at the beginning of the 15th century. the eyes no longer painted so exaggeratedly large, nevertheless, great attention is always paid to them. On Rublev’s icon “The Savior of Zvenigorod,” what is first striking is the deep and soulful gaze of the Savior. Theophan the Greek depicted some saints with their eyes closed or with empty eye sockets altogether - in this way the artist tried to convey the idea that their gaze was directed not at the outside world, but inward, at the contemplation of divine truth and inner prayer.

The figures of the depicted biblical characters were painted less densely, in few layers, deliberately elongated, which created the visual effect of their lightness, overcoming the physicality and volume of their bodies.

The main characters of the icons are the Mother of God, Christ, John the Baptist, apostles, forefathers, prophets, holy associates and great martyrs. The images could be: main (only the face), shoulder-length (shoulder-length), waist-length (waist-length), full-length.

Saints were often painted surrounded by separate small compositions on the themes of their lives - the so-called hagiographical marks. Such icons told about the Christian feat of the character.

A separate group consisted of icons dedicated to evangelical events, which formed the basis of the main church holidays, as well as icons painted on the basis of Old Testament stories.

Let's look at the basic iconography of the Mother of God and Christ - the most important and revered images in Christianity:

In total, there were about 200 iconographic types of images of the Mother of God, the names of which are usually associated with the name of the area where they were especially revered or where they first appeared: Vladimir, Kazan, Smolensk, Iverskaya, etc. The love and veneration of the Mother of God among the people inextricably merged with her icons, some of them are recognized as miraculous and there are holidays in honor of them.

Images of the Mother of God. Hodegetria (Guidebook)- This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms. The right hand of Christ is in a blessing gesture, in his left he has a scroll - a sign of the Holy Teaching. The Mother of God holds her son with one hand and points to him with the other. One of the best icons of the “Hodegetria” type is considered to be “Our Lady of Smolensk,” created in 1482 by the great artist Dionysius.

Eleusa (Tenderness)- This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms, bowed to each other. The Mother of God hugs her son, he presses his cheek to hers. The most famous icon of the Mother of God is the Vladimir one; scientists date it to the 12th century; according to chronicle evidence, it was brought from Constantinople. Subsequently, the Mother of God of Vladimir was rewritten several times; there were many copies of her. For example, the famous repetition of “Our Lady of Vladimir” was created at the beginning of the 15th century. for the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir, to replace the ancient original transported to Moscow. The Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir is credited with saving Moscow from Tamerlane in 1395, when he unexpectedly interrupted his campaign against the city and returned to the steppe. Muscovites explained this event as intercession Mother of God, who allegedly appeared to Tamerlane in a dream and ordered him not to touch the city. The famous Mother of God of the Don, supposedly painted by Theophanes the Greek himself and which became the main shrine of the church founded in the 16th century, also belongs to the “Tenderness” type. Moscow Donskoy Monastery. According to legend, she was with Dmitry Donskoy on the Kulikovo field in 1380 and helped defeat the Tatars.

Oranta (Praying)- This is a full-length image of the Mother of God with her hands raised to the sky. When a round medallion with the infant Christ is depicted on Oranta’s chest, this type in iconography is called the Great Panagia (All-Holy).

Sign or Incarnation- This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with her hands raised in prayer. As in the Great Panagia, on the chest of the Mother of God there is a disk with the image of Christ, symbolizing the incarnation of the God-man.

The main and central image of ancient Russian painting is the image of Jesus Christ, the Savior, as he was called in Rus'.

Image of Christ. Pantocrator (Almighty)- This is a half-length or full-length image of Christ. His right hand is raised in a blessing gesture, in his left he holds the Gospel - a sign of the teaching he brought into the world. The famous “Zvenigorod Spas” by Andrei Rublev from this series is one of greatest works ancient Russian painting, one of the best creations of the author.

Savior on the throne- This is an image of Christ in the robes of a Byzantine emperor seated on a throne (throne). Right hand raised in front of his chest he blesses, and with his left he touches the opened Gospel.

In addition to the usual composition of “The Savior on the Throne,” there were also images in ancient Russian art where the figure of Christ seated on the throne was surrounded by various symbolic signs indicating the fullness of his power and the judgment he carried out on the world. These images formed a separate set and were called Savior is in power.

Spas Bishop the Great- an image of Christ in a bishop’s robe, revealing him in the image of a New Testament high priest.

Savior Not Made by Hands- this is one of the oldest images of Christ, where only the face of the Savior is depicted, imprinted on fabric. The oldest surviving one is the Novgorod “Savior Not Made by Hands,” created in the 12th century. and now owned by the State Tretyakov Gallery. No less famous is the “Savior Not Made by Hands” from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, dating back to the 15th century.

Savior Not Made by Hands in the Crown of Thorns- one of the varieties of this image, although it is rare; this type of image appears in Russian icon painting only in the 17th century.

Even less common is the image of the infant Christ with a star-shaped halo, personifying Christ before the incarnation (i.e., before birth), or Christ in the form of an archangel with wings. Such icons are called Angel of the Great Council.

6) Old Russian literature.
Old Russian literature is “the beginning of all beginnings,” the origins and roots of Russian classical literature, national Russian artistic culture. Great are her spiritual moral values and ideals. It is filled with patriotic pathos of service to the Russian land, state, and homeland.

To feel the spiritual riches of ancient Russian literature, you need to look at it through the eyes of its contemporaries, to feel like a participant in that life and those events. Literature is part of reality; it occupies a certain place in the history of the people and fulfills enormous social responsibilities.

Academician D.S. Likhachev invites readers of ancient Russian literature to mentally transport themselves to the initial period of the life of Rus', to the era of the inseparable existence of the East Slavic tribes, to the 11th–13th centuries.

The Russian land is huge, settlements in it are rare. A person feels lost among impenetrable forests or, on the contrary, among the endless expanses of steppes that are too easily accessible to his enemies: “the unknown land,” “the wild field,” as our ancestors called them. To cross the Russian land from end to end, you need to spend many days on a horse or in a boat. Off-road conditions in spring and late autumn take months and make it difficult for people to communicate.

In boundless spaces, man was especially drawn to communication and sought to mark his existence. Tall, bright churches on hills or on steep river banks mark settlement sites from afar. These structures are distinguished by a surprisingly laconic architecture - they are designed to be visible from many points and serve as beacons on the roads. Churches seem to be sculpted by a caring hand, keeping the warmth and caress of human fingers in the unevenness of their walls. In such conditions, hospitality becomes one of the basic human virtues. The Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh calls in his “Teaching” to “welcome” the guest. Frequent moving from place to place belongs to considerable virtues, and in other cases even turns into a passion for vagrancy. The dances and songs reflect the same desire to conquer space. It is well said about Russian drawn-out songs in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “... the davitsi sing on the Danube, - the voices curl across the sea to Kyiv.” In Rus', even a designation was born for a special type of courage associated with space and movement - “prowess”.

In the vast expanses, people with particular acuteness felt and valued their unity - and, first of all, the unity of the language in which they spoke, in which they sang, in which they told legends of deep antiquity, again testifying to their integrity and indivisibility. Under the conditions of that time, even the word “language” itself takes on the meaning of “people”, “nation”. The role of literature becomes especially significant. It serves the same purpose of unification, expresses the national consciousness of unity. She is the keeper of history and legends, and these latter were a kind of means of developing space, marking the holiness and significance of a particular place: a tract, a mound, a village, etc. Legends also imparted historical depth to the country; they were the “fourth dimension” within which the entire vast Russian land, its history, its national identity were perceived and became “visible.” The same role was played by chronicles and lives of saints, historical stories and stories about the founding of monasteries.

All ancient Russian literature, up to the 17th century, was distinguished by deep historicism, rooted in the land that the Russian people occupied and developed for centuries. Literature and the Russian land, literature and Russian history were closely connected. Literature was one of the ways to master the surrounding world. It is not for nothing that the author of praise for books and Yaroslav the Wise wrote in the chronicle: “Behold, these are the rivers that water the universe...”, compared Prince Vladimir to a farmer who plowed the land, and Yaroslav to a sower who “sowed” the land with “bookish words.” Writing books is cultivating the land, and we already know which one - Russian, inhabited by the Russian "language", i.e. Russian people. And, like the work of a farmer, the copying of books has always been a sacred task in Rus'. Here and there sprouts of life, grains, were thrown into the ground, the shoots of which were to be reaped by future generations.

Since rewriting books is a sacred task, books could only be on the most important topics. All of them, to one degree or another, represented “book teaching.” Literature was not of an entertaining nature, it was a school, and its individual works were, to one degree or another, teachings.

What did ancient Russian literature teach? Let's leave aside those religious and church issues with which she was busy. The secular element of ancient Russian literature was deeply patriotic. She taught active love for the homeland, fostered citizenship, and strived to correct the shortcomings of society.

If in the first centuries of Russian literature, in the 11th–13th centuries, she called on the princes to stop discord and firmly fulfill their duty of defending their homeland, then in the subsequent centuries - in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries - she no longer cares only about protecting the homeland, but also about reasonable government system. At the same time, throughout its development, literature was closely connected with history. And she not only reported historical information, but sought to determine the place of Russian history in world history, to discover the meaning of the existence of man and humanity, to discover the purpose of the Russian state.

Russian history and the Russian land itself united all works Russian literature into a single whole. In essence, all monuments of Russian literature, thanks to their historical topics, were much more closely connected with each other than in modern times. They could be arranged in chronological order, and as a whole they set out one story - Russian and at the same time world. The works were more closely connected with each other as a result of the absence of a strong authorial principle in ancient Russian literature. Literature was traditional, new things were created as a continuation of what already existed and based on the same aesthetic principles. The works were rewritten and reworked. They reflected more strongly the reader's tastes and requirements than the literature of modern times. Books and their readers were closer to each other, and the collective principle was more strongly represented in the works. Ancient literature, by the nature of its existence and creation, was closer to folklore than to the personal creativity of modern times. The work, once created by the author, was then changed by countless copyists, altered, in different environments acquired various ideological colors, supplemented, acquired new episodes.

"The role of literature is enormous, and happy is the people who have great literature in their native language... In order to perceive cultural values ​​in their entirety, it is necessary to know their origin, the process of their creation and historical change, and the cultural memory embedded in them. To deeply and accurately perceive piece of art, you need to know by whom, how and under what circumstances it was created. In the same way, we will truly understand literature as a whole when we know how it was created, shaped and participated in the life of the people.

It is as difficult to imagine Russian history without Russian literature as it is to imagine Russia without Russian nature or without its historical cities and villages. No matter how much the appearance of our cities and villages, architectural monuments and Russian culture as a whole changes, their existence in history is eternal and indestructible" 2.

Without ancient Russian literature there is and could not be the work of A.S. Pushkina, N.V. Gogol, moral quests of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky. Russian medieval literature is the initial stage in the development of Russian literature. She passed on to subsequent art the richest experience of observations and discoveries, as well as literary language. It combined ideological and national characteristics, and created lasting values: chronicles, works of oratory, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” “The Kiev-Pechersk Patericon,” “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom,” “The Tale of Misfortune,” "The Works of Archpriest Avvakum" and many other monuments.

Russian literature is one of the most ancient literatures. Its historical roots date back to the second half of the 10th century. As noted by D.S. Likhachev, of this great millennium, more than seven hundred years belong to the period that is commonly called Old Russian literature.

“Before us is literature that rises above its seven centuries, as a single grandiose whole, as one colossal work, striking us with its subordination to one theme, a single struggle of ideas, contrasts that enter into a unique combination. Old Russian writers are not architects of separate buildings. city ​​planners. They worked on one common grandiose ensemble. They had a remarkable “sense of shoulder”, created cycles, vaults and ensembles of works, which in turn formed a single building of literature...

This is a kind of medieval cathedral, in the construction of which thousands of free masons took part over several centuries..." 3.

Ancient literature is a collection of great historical monuments, created mostly by nameless masters of words. Information about the authors of ancient literature is very scanty. Here are the names of some of them: Nestor, Daniil Zatochnik, Safoniy Ryazanets, Ermolai Erasmus, etc.

Names characters works are mainly historical: Theodosius of Pechersk, Boris and Gleb, Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Sergius of Radonezh... These people played a significant role in the history of Rus'.

The adoption of Christianity by pagan Russia at the end of the 10th century was an act of the greatest progressive significance. Thanks to Christianity, Rus' joined the advanced culture of Byzantium and entered as an equal Christian sovereign power into the family of European nations, becoming “known and followed” in all corners of the earth, as the first ancient Russian rhetorician 4 and publicist 5 known to us, Metropolitan Hilarion, said in “The Tale of the Law” and Grace" (monument from the mid-11th century).

The emerging and growing monasteries played a major role in the spread of Christian culture. The first schools were created in them, respect and love for books, “book teaching and veneration” were cultivated, book depositories and libraries were created, chronicles were written, and translated collections of moralizing and philosophical works were copied. Here the ideal of a Russian monk-ascetic who devoted himself to serving God, moral improvement, liberation from base, vicious passions, and serving the high idea of ​​civic duty, goodness, justice, and public good was created and surrounded by the aura of a pious legend.

Folk culture.

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Education Agency of the Russian Federation

Penza State Pedagogical University

them. V.G. Belinsky

Department of Russian History

Course work

Topic: “Culture pre-Mongol Rus' “

Completed by: student

Faculty of History

4th year s/o group i-41

Babushkina Ya.V.

Checked:

Telyanov

Penza 2008

Plan

Introduction

I. History of the emergence of ancient Rus' (culture of Slavic and Proto-Slavic tribes)

1.1 The appearance of Slavic tribes (II - I millennium BC)

1.2 The dawn of Slavic culture in the 10th century BC. - III century AD and the subsequent settlement of the Slavs

II. Pre-Christian Rus'

2.1 Historical moments in the development of Rus' VI - X centuries.

2.2 Government system and laws

2.3 Religion of the ancient Russians

2.4 Calendar rituals and holidays

2.5 Historical and cultural image of Rus' at the turn of the first millennium

III. Kievan Rus

3.1 Historical reforms of Prince Vladimir and the further development of Kievan Rus

3.2 Christianity in Rus'

3.3 State and church

IV. Directions of artistic culture

4.1 Writing, literacy, schools

4.2 Literature

b) chronicles

c) folklore

4.3 Architecture

4.4 Art

a) frescoes, icons, mosaics

b) music

V. Life of the people

5.1 Housing

b) princely palaces and dwellings of the feudal nobility

5.2 Clothing

a) clothes of the lower class

b) clothes of the nobility

5.3 Village craft

a) blacksmithing

b) jewelry making

c) pottery

d) home production

5.4 Urban craft

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The culture of a people is part of its history. Its formation and subsequent development are closely related to the same historical factors that influence the formation and development of the country’s economy, its statehood, and the political and spiritual life of society. The concept of culture naturally includes everything that is created by the mind, talent, and handicraft of the people, everything that expresses its spiritual essence, view of the world, nature, human existence, and human relationships.

The culture of Rus' takes shape in the same centuries as the formation of Russian statehood. The birth of a people took place simultaneously along several lines - economic, political, cultural. Rus' took shape and developed as the center of a huge people for that time, consisting at first of various tribes; as a state whose life unfolded over a vast territory. And the entire original cultural experience of the Eastern Slavs became the property of a single Russian culture. It developed as a culture of all Eastern Slavs, while at the same time maintaining its regional features - some for the Dnieper region, others for North-Eastern Rus', etc. etc.

The development of Russian culture was also influenced by the fact that Rus' was developing as a lowland state, open to all, both intra-tribal domestic and foreign international influences. And this came from the depths of centuries. The general culture of Rus' reflected both the traditions of, say, the Polans, Northerners, Radimichi, Novgorod Slavs, and other East Slavic tribes, as well as the influence of neighboring peoples with whom Russia exchanged production skills, traded, fought, made peace - with the Finno-Ugric tribes , Balts, Iranian tribes, other Slavic peoples and states.

At the time of its state formation, Rus' was strongly influenced by neighboring Byzantium, which for its time was one of the most cultural states in the world. Thus, the culture of Rus' developed from the very beginning as synthetic, that is, influenced by various cultural movements, styles, and traditions.

At the same time, Rus' not only blindly copied other people’s influences and recklessly borrowed them, but applied them to its cultural traditions, to its folk experience that had come down from time immemorial, its understanding of the world around us, and its idea of ​​beauty.

Therefore, within the characteristics of Russian culture, we are constantly faced not only with influences from outside, but with their sometimes significant spiritual processing, their constant refraction in an absolutely Russian style. If the influence of foreign cultural traditions was stronger in cities, which themselves were centers of culture, its most advanced features for their time, then the rural population was mainly the custodian of ancient cultural traditions associated with the depths of the historical memory of the people. In villages and villages, life flowed at a slower pace; they were more conservative and more difficult to succumb to various cultural innovations.

For many years, Russian culture - oral folk art, art, architecture, painting, artistic crafts - developed under the influence of pagan religion and pagan worldview. With the adoption of Christianity by Russia, the situation changed dramatically. First of all, the new religion claimed to change people’s worldview, their perception of all life, and therefore their ideas about beauty, artistic creativity, and aesthetic influence.

However, Christianity, having had a strong impact on Russian culture, especially in the field of literature, architecture, art, literacy development, school affairs, libraries - in those areas that were closely connected with the life of the church, with religion, was never able to overcome popular the origins of Russian culture. For many years, dual faith remained in Rus': the official religion, which prevailed in the cities, and paganism, which went into the shadows, but still existed in remote parts of Rus', especially in the northeast, retained its position in rural areas, the development of Russian culture reflected this duality in the spiritual life of society, in folk life. Pagan spiritual traditions, folk at their core, had a profound impact on the entire development of Russian culture in the early Middle Ages.

Under the influence of folk traditions, foundations, habits, under the influence of the people's worldview, church culture itself and religious ideology were filled with new content. The harsh ascetic Christianity of Byzantium on Russian pagan soil with its cult of nature, worship of the sun, light, wind, with its cheerfulness, love of life, deep humanity was significantly transformed, which was reflected in all those areas of culture where the Byzantine, fundamentally Christian cultural influence was especially large. It is no coincidence that in many church cultural monuments (for example, the works of church authors) we see completely secular, worldly reasoning and a reflection of purely worldly passions. And it is no coincidence that the pinnacle of spiritual achievement of Ancient Rus' - the brilliant “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” - is all permeated with pagan motifs.

This openness and synthetic nature of ancient Russian culture, its powerful reliance on folk origins and popular perception, developed by the entire long-suffering history of the Eastern Slavs, the interweaving of Christian and folk-pagan influences led to what in world history is called the phenomenon of Russian culture. Its characteristic features are the desire for monumentality, scale, imagery in chronicle writing; nationality, integrity and simplicity in art; grace, a deeply humanistic principle in architecture; gentleness, love of life, kindness in painting; the constant beating of the pulse of quest, doubt, passion in literature. And all this was dominated by the great unity of the creator of cultural values ​​with nature, his sense of belonging to all of humanity, worries about people, their pain and misfortunes. It is no coincidence that, again, one of the favorite images of the Russian church and culture has become the image of Saints Boris and Gleb, lovers of humanity, non-resistance, who suffered for the unity of the country, who accepted torment for the sake of people. These features and characteristic features of the culture of Ancient Rus' did not appear immediately. In their basic guises they developed over the centuries. But then, having already taken on more or less established forms, they retained their power for a long time and everywhere. And even when united Rus' disintegrated politically, the general features of Russian culture were manifested in the culture of individual principalities. Despite the political difficulties and local peculiarities, it was still a single Russian culture of the 10th - early 13th centuries. The Mongol-Tatar invasion, the subsequent final disintegration of the Russian lands, their subordination to neighboring states interrupted this unity for a long time.(1)

“Where does the Russian Land come from?” probably every Russian would like to know the answer to this question. It was the desire to learn more about this period in the development of Rus' that prompted me to choose this topic.

To write this essay, I read and looked through several books on the history and culture of ancient Rus'. In my opinion, the most informative is still “History of Russia”. Basically, on the basis of it, as well as Rybakov’s book “The World of History,” I wrote this work. The rest of the literature was used as a supplement to these books.

I. History of the emergence of ancient Rus' (culture of Slavic and Proto-Slavic tribes)

1.1 The emergence of Slavic tribes (II- Imillennium BC)

It is believed that the Slavic peoples belong to the ancient Indo-European unity, which includes such peoples as the Germanic, Baltic, Roman, Greek, Iranian, Indian or Aryan peoples who occupied the entire territory from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic and from the Arctic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea. The center of this massif was the territory of present-day Asia Minor. About 4000 - 3500 years ago, the Proto-Slavic tribes separated from their related Indo-European tribes and settled to the north. The Slavs occupied significant territories north of the Black Sea. From west to east, their territory extended in a strip from the Oder to the lower reaches of the Don. The ancient Slavs lived in small villages. “The economy was conducted on the basis of four sectors: agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing and hunting. Despite the discovery of bronze, only jewelry was made from it, and tools (axes, knives, sickles) were still made of stone. Sometimes bronze It was also used for the manufacture of chisels needed in construction. This is not difficult to explain by the fact that there were no open deposits of the necessary raw materials for the production of bronze, or there were, but in insignificant quantities.

The ancient Slavs believed in the transmigration of souls, therefore, like many other peoples, they gave the deceased the shape of an embryo during funerals, preparing him for the next birth.

1.2 The dawn of Slavic culture in the 10th century BC.- III century AD and the subsequent settlement of the Slavs

A big impetus for the development of Slavic culture was the discovery at the turn of the 1st millennium BC. plow farming. This allowed the ancient Slavs to begin systematically exporting grain across the Black Sea to Greece. Also an important role in this process was played by the discovery of iron, the deposits of which abounded in the Proto-Slavic homeland. There is evidence that ancient Slavic merchants traveled to the southeast, across the Caspian Sea all the way to Baghdad. (2) Our ancestors are also mentioned in his works by the father of history, Herodotus (5th century BC), who, according to Rybakov, himself traveled along the Dnieper.

Tales about those distant times have been preserved in our folklore; these are tales about a hero - a blacksmith who defeats the Serpent, or harnesses him to a plow and plows huge furrows on it. It is obviously about the struggle of the ancient Slavs against the raids of the Cimmerians (1st millennium BC), and the subsequent use of captured captives for the construction of fortifications in the south of the Slavic ancestral home (these fortifications have survived to this day).

In the 3rd century BC. The Slavs were already close to creating their own state, but the onslaught of the Sarmatian tribes forced them to settle further to the northeast and set them back in development several centuries ago. The second time the Slavic tribes approached the border of statehood was already in the 4th century AD. but the invasion of the Huns (about 375) again drove them back and called them out.

II. Pre-Christian Rus'

2.1 Historical moments in the development of Rus'VI- XV.

So, in the 5th-6th centuries, a grandiose settlement of the Slavs began from their Proto-Slavic homeland to the south, beyond the Danube, to the Balkan Peninsula, to the territories conquered from the Byzantine Empire. The second important event that led to the founding of the Russian state was the construction of the city of Kyiv on the Dnieper. Kyiv, according to legend, was built by three brothers Kiy, Shchek and Horive in honor of their elder brother Kiy. It should be noted that due to its geographical location(Kyiv was located on the route of trade caravans traveling along the Dnieper to Byzantium, and was difficult to reach for enemy raids) this ancient Russian city became the center of consolidation of Slavic tribes. Thus, “The builder of the fortress on the Dnieper became one of the leaders of the pan-Slavic movement to the Balkans.” It is not surprising that such campaigns to the south, as well as the continuous struggle with the steppe nomads, led to the creation of a union of Slavic tribes called Russia.

The first data about Rus' and the Rosses appeared in the 6th - 7th centuries AD (3). although some sources of that time mention “Russian husbands” much earlier (Jordan 370). In those distant times, Rus' occupied the following territory: Kyiv, Chernigov, the Ros and Porosye rivers, Pereslavl Russian, Severnaya Zemlya, Kursk, where the principalities were located: Kiev, Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, Seversky. Let's take a closer look at the process of its formation. To do this, we will need to go back several centuries and trace the life and activities of the tribal unions, which later formed the Russian state.

The 5th century among the Slavic tribes that formed the Russian state proceeded as a period of military democracy. Large production and clan collectives were replaced by territorial or neighborhood communities (which united small individual families). Laws in At that time they were harsh, for example, a mother had the right to kill her newborn daughter if the family became too large, or children had the right to kill their elderly parents if they, having grown old, did not benefit the family. But, despite this, the Slav, when leaving home, left food on the table and the door open so that the wanderer could eat and rest. At the same time, such interesting formations as squads appeared and strengthened - an association of free professional warriors who swore allegiance to the prince on the battlefield. This process is stimulated by numerous raids of steppe inhabitants and nomads. Gradually, the prince - the head of such a squad - relying on it, concentrates power in his hands and begins to ignore some laws and customs. The princes also entered into various alliances among themselves, or chose the main prince - a commander over the others. This was one of the prerequisites for the creation of a unified state. Also during this period, the formation of cities took place. At first, so-called fortifications were built - refuges, where during enemy raids the surrounding residents flocked; in peacetime, such cities were usually empty. Soon, princes with their squads began to settle in these towns, and they needed clothing, weapons, food and much more. So, near the cities, suburbs gradually began to form, places where various merchants and artisans lived. This also served as an impetus for the emergence of a unified state. But in general the Rosichi lived very poorly. Their clothing consisted of skins or coarse linen, there were few tools, and the Slavs lived mainly in countrymen and holes. And therefore the formation of a single state, and accordingly the strengthening of trade, was very useful for them.

Let's return to the emergence of Rus'. According to legend, the first Russian prince was the Varangian Rurik. He and his brothers Sineus and Truvor (2) were invited to reign in Rus'. At first, Rurik built the city of Novgorod and settled in it, but then moved to the capital Kyiv. Thus the formation of the Russian state was completely completed. From this moment on, Rus' begins to develop rapidly, Russian merchants increasingly visit other countries. Therefore, the appearance in the Russian language of such primordially non-Russian words as ax (in Russian ax) or dog (in Russian dog) is associated with this time. Also, the Russian princes are launching an active campaign to defend against nomads and conquer the lands of Byzantium. Such life in Rus' continued for quite a long time, until Prince Vladimir came to power at the end of the 10th century.

2.2 Government system and laws

So, at the head of the Russian state of the 6th - 10th centuries was the Chief Prince, who lived in the then capital of Kyiv. The simple princes who stood at the head of their allotments or principalities were subordinate to the main prince. In reality, the second in command was the Prince of Novgorod, so the main prince tried to place his eldest son there. Each prince had his own army, squad. Naturally, both the warriors and the princes themselves had to be fed with something. So the prince and his powerful retinue periodically traveled around the Slavic lands and collected Polyudye. Subsequently, part of what was collected was eaten, and part was sent abroad (polyudye lasted approximately from the 8th to the 11th centuries). There was no unified legislation in Rus' until Prince Vladimir, who issued the first unified Russian legislation, Russian Pravda. Usually the princes administered the court according to their own understanding and according to ancient customs. But there were people who could point it out even to the Grand Duke - these were the servants of the Slavic pagan gods. If such a servant said who and when should, for example, be sacrificed to the gods, no one dared to disobey him. In Rus', sometimes even people were sacrificed; the minister threw a rope around the victim’s neck, and thus killed him. So, we moved on to the next topic - the paganism of ancient Rus'.

2.3 Religion of the ancient Russians

“In the culture of the ancient Slavs, pagan religion occupied a central place.” It manifested itself in folklore (the paradise tree Vyriy, oak, birch), in the motifs of northern embroidery, in sculpture, in architecture (skates on the roofs of houses), in the knotted writing of the Slavs. Paganism is, first of all, a form of human exploration of nature, Chernysheva says in her article. She also identifies three stages in the development of pagan culture in Rus' (quotes were taken from a scribe of the 12th century): first, the Slavs “laid offerings to ghouls and beregins”, then “they began to set meals for the Family and Women in Birth”, they began to worship “the damned Perun and Horse and Moksha and Pitchfork.” "

The mythology of the Eastern Slavs was an important part of the doctrine of their religion - paganism. In relation to the history of Ancient Rus', paganism refers to religious beliefs, rituals and traditions that developed before the adoption of Christianity.

Mythological narration is the basis of the most important doctrinal ideas of Slavic paganism: about the miraculous arrangement of the world by extraordinary creatures - gods and ancestors; about the divine presence in nature, about human destiny and public affairs; about the hierarchy of gods, which was conceived, first of all, as a family subordination of the younger generation of gods to the older one; about the constant supernatural movement of life forms - to the other world and back, from the human state to the zoomorphic one, etc. Finally, the mythological idea of ​​dualism was woven into the fabric of paganism with a red thread - everything (both nature and human nature) is permeated with the struggle of light, good and dark, evil principles.

Mythological images of gods made up the pantheon - the divine community. The pagan Slav firmly believed in the reality of the existence of his gods. One ancient legend preserved the words of Prince Vladimir addressed to the Varangian Olav: “I ask you to honor the gods and tame yourself before them with obedience; I fear that they will shed the horror of their stormy anger and cruelty on you” (“The Saga of Olav Trygveson”). The gods, like the ancestors from their monastery, vigilantly monitored order in the world and acted as a guarantor of observance of the customs of ancient society.

From the mythological personifications of dark forces, paganism formed hordes of demons - evil spirits.

Revealed to ancient man in the form of religious knowledge, myths were perceived in past cultures as sacred narratives. The sacred aura around the most important myths was also supported by the fact that many myths had as their direct continuation a ritual, a sacred rite that plays out the plot of the myth.

Human consciousness was captivated by ideas about evil and good spirits of nature, about the possibility of influencing nature with the help of spells, conspiracies, propitiatory sacrifices and the whole diverse ritual of magical actions. Fine art and folklore were inextricably linked with pagan ideas.

The custom of burning the dead and erecting large earthen mounds - mounds - over funeral pyres spread everywhere. Belief in the afterlife was manifested in the fact that things, weapons, food were placed with the dead, and funerals were held annually at the graves in honor of sacred ancestors. To protect against evil forces (ghouls, goblin, evil spirits), amulets made of wolf and bear teeth were used, verbal spells were used, and magical signs were introduced into the ornament. Birth, wedding, death - all these events in a person’s life were accompanied by spell rituals.

The main deities of the Slavs were: the deity of the universe - Rod, the deity of the sun - Dazhdbog, the goddess of the earth, the god of cattle - Veles, the god of fire - Svarog, the god of thunderstorms - Perun.

In addition, there were many minor deities.

The hearth or oven was considered sacred as a symbol of the family. They prayed to the fire under the barn. In the villages there were idols depicting deities to whom “the whole world” made sacrifices. The gods were treated to specially fattened rams and bulls, and those who made sacrifices themselves participated in eating the sacrificial animals. Groves, rivers, and lakes were considered sacred. In addition, each tribe had a common sanctuary, where members of the tribe gathered for especially solemn holidays and to resolve important matters.(4)

Let's briefly look at these gods, their functions and purposes in the pagan culture of the ancient Slavs.

Ghouls are evil spirits (vampires, werewolves, the living dead) that lie in wait and attack people at night, suck their blood and cause other troubles.

Beregini are good spirits who help people and wage a constant struggle against evil spirits.

It should be noted that the cult of serving good and evil spirits appeared in the Stone Age.

Rod and Mothers in Birth are deities of fertility (the appearance of such deities speaks of the transition of the ancient Slavs from nomadic to sedentary life). Rod is the creator of the universe, the lord of rain, sky, fire and the underworld. Together with him there are 2 women in labor - goddesses of fertility. Every year on September 9th the holiday of the Mother of God and Mothers in Childbirth (harvest festival) was celebrated. Rod had assistants Yarilo and Kupala. Yarilo is a young man on a white horse, the god of spring. Kupala is the “fruitful deity of summer”, the holiday was celebrated on June 24.

Time passed, and new gods replaced the old gods:

Svarog is the ruler of the sky and the universe.

Svarozhich (son of Svarog) is the god of fire, patron of blacksmiths and blacksmithing.

Volos (Veles) is the patron saint of livestock and herders; the holiday was celebrated in early January (2nd and 6th). For the holiday, they baked cookies in the shape of animals and wore animal masks and skins. It should be noted that despite the apparent insignificance, Veles was one of the central gods of the Slavs (for example, Russian princes swore by his name).

Perun - first the lord of thunder and lightning, the patron of warriors, and then main god(the fact that the god of warriors becomes the main deity speaks of who comes to power in ancient Rus'). His holiday was celebrated on July 20. Every Thursday was considered his day, so they tried to start all work on Thursday.

But the listed pagan gods are by no means all those that existed at that time in Rus', and even more so among the Slavs. Almost every tribe worshiped its own gods, or elevated some over others. This diversity of faith continued until Prince Vladimir came to power. In 980, having captured Kiev, he carried out his religious reform, raising six over other pagan gods: Perun, Simogol (a winged dog guarding crops), Jadbog (Son of Svarog personifying the sun), Stribog (god of the wind, storm, hurricane), Moksha (patron of women and handicrafts) and Khorsa (deity in the form of a white horse).

But Rus' did not accept this reform, despite the fact that magnificent holidays in honor of these gods were held annually in the capital, and huge idols were placed for five of them near the city of Kiev; outside the capital, people continued to pray to their gods.

For the performance of rituals, as a rule, special places were used - sanctuaries, in which, according to beliefs, deities and spirits lived temporarily or permanently.

Each home had sacred places for performing household rituals. In addition, the Slavic burial, which resembled a residential mansion in its structure, was revered as a sacred place, the home of ancestors.

To perform joint sacred rites, people gathered in remarkable areas of fields or river banks, near streams, but especially often in groves.

There were also specially equipped sanctuaries - temples. Large temples usually had the shape of a round platform, protected on all sides by a ditch or rampart. Inside, in the very center, statues of pagan gods were placed, and a little further away, there were probably buildings for general ritual feasts. Participants in the rituals were illuminated and “purified” by the light of large sacred fires that were lit around the sanctuary.

The most impressive temple of this kind was the sanctuary of Perun near Novgorod. Archaeologists have discovered numerous remains of Slavic pagan sanctuaries - the settlement "Grudok" in the Middle Desna basin, a temple on the top of the Old Kyiv Mountain above the Dnieper. It is characteristic that many large temples were located on hills and were revered by pagans as extraordinary, sacred places.

2.4 Calendar rituals and holidays

The most important pagan rituals and holidays in Rus' were merged with agricultural labor, with the life of nature, and therefore with mythological personifications of natural forces.

The birth of Kolyada, a mythological creature related to Mokosh, coincided in time with the “birth” of the Sun - the winter solstice. Participants in the caroling ritual sang songs glorifying Kolyada, went from house to house, wishing the owners health, a rich harvest, and offspring in the coming year. At the request of the carolers, the owners rewarded them with food gifts - this was a sacrifice to Kolyada. Bonfires were lit, and the collected food was collectively eaten to the accompaniment of cheerful songs, accompanied by dancing of the mummers. This usually happened on December 24 (old style).

Winter Christmastide began with caroling - an ancient Slavic holiday of the beginning of the New Year, which lasted from December 25 to January 6 (old style). What is its essence?

The growing sun promised a quick awakening of the earth, the rebirth of nature. Ancient farmers, inextricably linked by their work with nature, believed that by combining the efforts of many people in a ritual action, they could help fertility. After all, people and nature, according to their worldview, are two parts of one whole, and ritual is a means of communication between them.

Mandatory Christmas games, fun games, abundant food and intoxicating drinks awakened cheerful energy in people, which, in their opinion, merged with the emerging energy of fertility, doubling it.

The other side of Christmas rituals is fortune telling. Everyone wanted to know what the year would be like: whether it would be fruitful, whether there would be plenty of illnesses, or whether it would be generous with weddings. It was believed that the fortune-telling revealed at Christmas time would definitely come true.

At the end of March, during spring equinox celebrated Maslenitsa. Maslenitsa is a holiday of seeing off winter and welcoming spring. An indispensable companion of this spring holiday were pancakes and butter pancakes. With their shape they symbolized the sun. A thousand years ago, the appearance of pancakes was even closer to the ancient schematic representation of the Sun - they were baked on round clay pans with jagged edges and a cross drawn inside.

Maslenitsa itself towered above the merry, mummered crowd, gorging itself on buttery pancakes - the personification of the end of winter and the beginning of the fruiting season. She was present at the festival in the form of a stuffed animal dressed in women's clothing. The festivities began with the rituals of calling and welcoming Maslenitsa. The festivities ended with the ritual burial of Maslenitsa - the effigy was burned or, after being torn apart, scattered across the fields and buried. Having marked the arrival of spring, transferring its power to the fields, Maslenitsa was now supposed to calm down until next year.

They prepared in advance for spring rituals: they embroidered towels with images of the fertility goddess Makosh, women in labor, horses, cranes and other birds. These towels were covered with floral designs. Spring rituals would not be complete without painted eggs. The tradition of painting eggs in the spring is one of the oldest that has survived to this day. The painted egg was such an important attribute of rituals that for a long time (from about the 10th century) the custom of using specially made ceramic decorated eggs - Easter eggs - was maintained. It was believed that the painted ritual egg had extraordinary properties: it could heal a sick person or even put out a fire caused by a lightning strike.

The spring rituals ended and the summer “green Christmastide”, or rusalia, began. They fell at the end of May - June (different localities set their own dates). For the farmer, this is a critical time - he did everything he could in the fields, the thrown grain sprouted, now everything depended on nature, and therefore on the whim of the creatures that control the natural elements.

The farmer's gaze turned to the surface of the water - to rivers and lakes, sources of fertile morning dew. And the soul goes to the mermaids, the rulers of reservoirs. And at this time they expected from the mermaids not only pranks and intrigues, but also irrigating the fields with life-giving moisture, which would contribute to the earing of grain.

Rus' ritual round dances and songs were accompanied by the beats of a tambourine and the sharp sounds of a flute. By spinning and jumping and shrill shouts, the participants brought themselves into a state of extreme excitement. Such a massive riot was supposed to attract the attention of the mermaids and lure them out of the pools.

A good harvest depended not only on moderate irrigation, but also on solar heat. Therefore, part of the “green Christmastide” were two “fiery”, sunny holidays - Yarilin’s Day (June 4, old style) and Ivan Kupala (June 24, old style), the date of the summer solstice.

Yarilo was the god of the rising or spring sun, the god of lust and love, the god of the producer and patron of animals, the producer of plants, the god of strength and courage.

Kupala is a deity of Slavic mythology associated with the cult of the sun. During the holiday, it was revealed as a doll or stuffed animal (male and sometimes female).

The decoration and symbol of the holiday were the Ivan-da-Marya flowers. According to legends, on the night of Ivan Kupala, a wonderful fern flower bloomed with a fiery color - “Perun’s color”, indicating the location of buried treasures.

Witchcraft surrounded this flower; finding it and opening the treasure was considered almost impossible. Those who were especially gullible and reckless went into the forest at night. For centuries, tales about such simpletons have been passed down from mouth to mouth.

In the evening of Ivan Kupala, the magical ritual of producing “living fire” began the main action: sacred bonfires were lit from the glowing fire, and the most daring people began to jump over them. Everyone tried to fly higher, because magically the height of the bread depended on the height of the jump. There were round dances around the fires.

The next round of agricultural calendar holidays and rituals is timed to coincide with the time of harvesting and the beginning of its processing. Particularly significant were: the holiday of “first fruits” (early August); honoring Rod and women in labor, when the bread has already been poured into the bins (the time of “Indian summer”, from late August to mid-September); beginning of flax spinning (October).

2.5 Historical and cultural image of Rus' at the turn of the first millennium

So, the Russian state, formed in the 6th-7th centuries from Slavic tribes (Polyan, Krivichi and others) living in the territory from the Black Sea and the Dnieper, to the Baltic Sea and the upper Volga, began to grow and develop rapidly. The number of cities, as well as the population in them, quickly increased. As a consequence of these processes, Polyudye increased and trade flourished. Russian merchants actively visited cultural countries, and as a result, elements of foreign culture began to penetrate into Rus' (not only clothing or jewelry, but also words, writing, and subsequently Christianity). The processes of stratification of society intensified, merchants, government officials, and the army became more and more prominent. This elite received some special benefits. Perhaps the pagan reform of Prince Vladimir did not pass due to the fact that the six gods he proposed were mainly the gods of the aristocracy, and not the majority of the population.

Meanwhile, integration processes were taking place at the very bottom. Small tribes (as well as tribes that joined Rus') were assimilated by the rest, and the formation of a single Russian nationality and culture took place. So, by the 10th century, almost everything was ready for the formation of a single, full-fledged state of Kievan Rus from the “union of tribes”.

III. Kievan Rus

3.1 Historical reforms of Prince Vladimir and the further development of Kievan Rus

The coming to power of Prince Vladimir in Rus' marked a new stage in the development of the state. The reforms he carried out forever changed the appearance of Rus' at that time. Having come to power in 980, Vladimir carried out religious reform, seeking to unite the tribes that then made up the Russian state. This reform did not receive popular support and therefore actually failed. Then, in his choice of religion, Vladimir settled on Christianity. This choice had several advantages for Rus': firstly, it made it possible to unite a diverse population under one religion, and secondly, it made it possible to conclude a profitable agreement with Byzantium. So, in 988, Prince Vladimir secretly received baptism, on August 1, 990, the people of Kiev were baptized, and already on September 8/9 of the same year, the residents of rebellious Novgorod were baptized. But these are not all of Prince Vladimir’s reforms; his equally important achievement was the creation of the first Russian collection of laws of Russian Pravda. (3) This collection firstly abolished and prohibited some old laws and customs such as: blood feud, polygamy, human sacrifice, burning of wives with their dead husbands. The following princes also reformed and supplemented the legislation, and it should be noted that Russian laws did not blindly copy Byzantine ones. So in Russian laws there was no such punishment as the death penalty or self-harm; instead, fines were introduced. It should also be noted that it was under Vladimir that writing appeared in Rus'. But Kievan Rus did not retain this image of a strong and strong power for long; already in the 12th century, signs of feudal fragmentation appeared. Perhaps this is what caused the fall Great Rus' under the onslaught of the Tatar-Mongols.

3.2 Christianity onRus'

Having appeared in Rus' at the end of the 10th century, Christianity began its rapid rise. Cathedrals and churches are being built. Despite the fact that Christianity came to us from Byzantium, its canons do not remain unchanged; there is a kind of integration between paganism and Christianity. It does new religion original, Russian Christianity acquired its own laws and rituals, unlike the Byzantine ones. The church gradually became the main institution of the feudal culture of ancient Rus'. So, the first step towards the creation of the Christian religion in Rus' was taken under Prince Vladimir. And the second one was no less important under Prince Yaroslav in 1051. Until this time, Russian metropolitans were exclusively governors from Byzantium, and the Russian Church was subordinate to it. Under Yaroslav the Wise, the Russian priest Hilarion was appointed Russian Metropolitan for the first time. From that moment on, the church in Rus' became completely independent. But, despite such powerful progress of the church, it was not possible to completely change the ancient traditions of the Russians. As Ryabova Z.A. says in her article: “The world of culture of Kievan Rus was a world of traditions, rituals, and canons, first pagan, then Orthodox.” Therefore, despite the prohibitions of the church, various pagan festivals took place in Rus' (this phenomenon of the proximity of two cultures was called “cultural dualism”), such as the expulsion of winter and the old year. Laughter was a magical symbol of the increase in the human race and harvest, hence the “laughter culture” of ancient Rus'. Such a mixture of two cultures, two religions: pagan ancient Slavic and Byzantine Orthodox, remains Christianity in Rus' to this day.

3.3 State and church

The most noticeable feature of ancient Russian culture is the dominance of religion in it, which, permeating all its spheres, acted as an integrating element and gave it a certain integrity. The activity of the church was one of the important factors that ensured and supported the dominance of religious ideology. The degree of dominance of religion in culture was largely determined by the power and influence of the church in all spheres public life, which primarily depended on the nature of the developing relationship between the church and the state.

There can be no unambiguous answer to the question about the influence of the church on the cultural-historical process, about the assessment of its cultural activities. On the one hand, the church stimulated the development of certain spheres of culture (writing, architecture, painting, etc.), using their arsenal of means to promote religious ideology. On the other hand, the subordination of these spheres of culture to the interests of the church, the establishment of strict control and regulation, ultimately constrained development. An assessment of the role of the church in the development of culture must be specific historical; it cannot be the same and unambiguous in relation to different periods. Such a significant place that religion occupied in ancient Russian culture did not, however, lead to the complete and undivided dominance of the church in this sphere of social life.

Two periods can be distinguished in the relationship between the state and the church in Kievan Rus:

First period (X-XI centuries). The form of monetary support for the church was a monetary tithe - “a deduction in favor of the church from tributes and other receipts to the princely court.” The church did not have its own land. The church performed some judicial functions (marriages, etc.).

Second period (XI-XIII centuries). This period was marked by the emergence and sharp increase in church land ownership. Church tithes are transformed “from a share of centralized state rent into a special tax, which church organizations began to collect themselves through their officials - foremen.”

The official date of the emergence of the Russian metropolis is 1037 (the foundation stone of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev), but there is evidence that the first Russian church “Rosias” was founded in 970-997 (presumably in 995). From its very origins, the Russian church became distinctive, since the centralized system of its bishops repeated the system of subordination of the ancient Russian principalities to Kyiv, while in Byzantium there was no such centralization. As the church grew, its state functions increased, so it was entrusted with control over the system of weights and measures. Also, the church gradually begins to interfere in the political life of the country: “the church and its leaders in Rus' in political matters did not defend or defend any of their own special lines, but supported one of the sides in the dispute.” From this we can conclude that the church in Kievan Rus played a large role in state life.

IV. Directions of artistic culture

4.1 Writing, literacy, schools

The basis of any ancient culture is writing. When did it originate in Rus'? For a long time there was an opinion that writing came to Rus' along with Christianity, with church books and prayers. However, it is difficult to agree with this. There is evidence of the existence of Slavic writing long before the Christianization of Rus'. In 1949, Soviet archaeologist D.V. Avdusin, during excavations near Smolensk, found a clay vessel dating back to the beginning of the 10th century, on which was written “gorushna” (spice). This meant that already at that time writing was in use in the East Slavic environment, there was an alphabet. This is also evidenced by the testimony of the Byzantine diplomat and Slavic educator Kirill. While serving in Chersonesus in the 60s of the 9th century. he became acquainted with the Gospel written in Slavic letters. Subsequently, Cyril and his brother Methodius became the founders of the Slavic alphabet, which, apparently, was in some part based on the principles of Slavic writing, which existed among the Eastern, Southern and Western Slavs long before their Christianization.

We must also remember that the treaties between Rus' and Byzantium dating back to the first half of the 10th century had “baking trays” - copies also written in the Slavic language. The existence of interpreters-translators and scribes who recorded the speeches of ambassadors on parchment dates back to this time.

The history of the creation of the Slavic alphabet is as follows: the Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius spread Christianity among the Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe. Greek theological books had to be translated into Slavic languages, but there was no alphabet corresponding to the peculiarities of the sound of Slavic languages. It was the brothers who decided to create it, since Kirill’s education and talent made this task feasible.

A talented linguist, Kirill took the Greek alphabet, consisting of 24 letters, as a basis, supplemented it with sibilants characteristic of Slavic languages ​​(zh, sch, sh, h) and several other letters. Some of them have been preserved in the modern alphabet - b, ь, ъ, y, others have long gone out of use - yat, yus, izhitsa, fita.

So, the Slavic alphabet originally consisted of 43 letters, similar in writing to Greek. Each of them had its own name: A - “az”, B - “beeches” (their combination formed the word “alphabet”), C - “lead”, G - “verb”, D - “good” and so on. The letters on the letter denoted not only sounds, but also numbers. “A” - number 1, “B” - 2, “P” - 100. In Rus' only in the 18th century. Arabic numerals replaced “letter” ones.

In honor of its creator, the new alphabet was called “Cyrillic”.

For some time, along with the Cyrillic alphabet, another Slavic alphabet was in use - the Glagolitic alphabet. It had the same composition of letters, but with a more complex, ornate spelling. Apparently, this feature predetermined the future fate of the Glagolitic alphabet: by the 13th century. it has almost completely disappeared.

We must also remember that the treaties between Rus' and Byzantium dating back to the first half of the 10th century had “baking trays” - copies also written in the Slavic language. The existence of interpreters-translators and scribes who recorded the speeches of ambassadors on parchment dates back to this time.

The Christianization of Rus' gave a powerful impetus further development writing, literacy. Since the time of Vladimir, church scholars and translators from Byzantium, Bulgaria, and Serbia began to come to Rus'. Numerous translations of Greek and Bulgarian books of both ecclesiastical and secular content appeared, especially during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise and his sons. In particular, Byzantine historical works and biographies of Christian saints are translated. These translations became the property of literate people; they were read with pleasure in the princely, boyar, merchant circles, in monasteries, churches, where Russian chronicle writing originated. In the 11th century such popular translated works as “Alexandria”, containing legends and traditions about the life and exploits of Alexander the Great, and “The Deed of Deugene”, which is a translation of the Byzantine epic poem about the exploits of the warrior Digenis, are becoming widespread.

Thus, a literate Russian person of the 11th century. knew much of what writing and book culture had of Eastern Europe, Byzantium. The cadres of the first Russian scribes, scribes, and translators were formed in schools that were opened at churches from the time of Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise, and later at monasteries. There is a lot of evidence of the widespread development of literacy in Rus' in the 11th-12th centuries. However, it was widespread mainly only in the urban environment, especially among wealthy townspeople, the princely-boyar elite, merchants, and wealthy artisans. In rural areas, in remote, remote places, the population was almost entirely illiterate.

The cadres of the first Russian scribes, scribes, and translators were formed in schools that were opened at churches from the time of Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise, and later at monasteries. There is a lot of evidence of the widespread development of literacy in Rus' in the 11th-12th centuries. However, it was widespread mainly only in the urban environment, especially among wealthy townspeople, the princely-boyar elite, merchants, and wealthy artisans. In rural areas, in remote, remote places, the population was almost entirely illiterate.

From the 11th century In wealthy families, they began to teach literacy not only to boys, but also to girls. Sister of Vladimir Monomakh Yanka, founder convent in Kyiv, created a school there to educate girls.

A clear indication of the widespread spread of literacy in cities and suburbs are the so-called birch bark letters. In 1951, during archaeological excavations In Novgorod, expedition member Nina Akulova extracted birch bark from the ground with well-preserved letters on it. “I’ve been waiting for this find for twenty years!” - exclaimed the head of the expedition, Professor A.V. Artsikhovsky, who had long assumed that the level of literacy in Rus' at that time should have been reflected in mass writing, which could have been in the absence of paper in Rus', writing either on wooden tablets, as indicated by foreign evidence, or on birch bark Since then, hundreds of birch bark letters have been introduced into scientific circulation, indicating that in Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, and other cities of Rus', people loved and knew how to write to each other. The letters include business documents, exchange of information, invitations to visit, and even love correspondence. A certain Mikita wrote to his beloved Ulyana on birch bark “From Mikita to Ulianitsa. Come for me...”

There remains one more interesting evidence of the development of literacy in Rus' - the so-called graffiti inscriptions. They were scratched on the walls of churches by those who loved to pour out their souls. Among these inscriptions are reflections on life, complaints, prayers. The famous Vladimir Monomakh, while still a young man, during a church service, lost in a crowd of the same young princes, scrawled “Oh, it’s hard for me” on the wall of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and signed his Christian name “Vasily.”

The discovery of birch bark letters XI-XV in Novgorod was extremely important. Birch bark is a very convenient material for writing, although it required some preparation. Birch bast was boiled in water to make the bark more elastic, then its rough layers were removed. The birch bark sheet was cut from all sides, giving it a rectangular shape. They wrote on the inside of the bark, squeezing out letters with a special stick - a “writing” - made of bone, metal or wood. One end was written, sharpened, and the other was made in the form of a spatula with a hole and hung from the belt. The technique of writing on birch bark allowed texts to be preserved in the ground for centuries.

The production of ancient handwritten books was expensive and labor-intensive. The material for them was parchment - specially made leather. The best parchment was made from soft, thin skin of lambs and calves. She was cleared of wool and washed thoroughly. Then they pulled them onto drums, sprinkled them with chalk and cleaned them with pumice. After air drying, the rough edges were cut off from the leather and sanded again with pumice. The tanned leather was cut into rectangular pieces and sewn into notebooks of eight sheets. It is noteworthy that this ancient order of stitching. The stitched notebooks were collected into a book. Depending on the format and number of sheets, one book required from 10 to 30 animal skins - a whole herd! According to the testimony of one of the scribes who worked at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries, three rubles were paid for the leather for the book. At that time, you could buy three horses with this money.

Books were usually written with a quill pen and ink. The king had the privilege of writing with a swan and even a peacock feather. Making writing instruments required a certain skill. The feather was always removed from the left wing of the bird so that the bend would be comfortable for the right writing hand. The feather was degreased by sticking it into hot sand, then the tip. they cut it obliquely, split it and sharpened it with a special penknife. They also scraped out errors in the text. Medieval ink, unlike the blue and black we are used to, was brown in color, as it was made on the basis of ferrous compounds, or, more simply, rust. Pieces of old iron were dipped into the water, which, rusting, painted it brown. Ancient recipes for making ink have been preserved. In addition to iron, oak or alder bark, cherry glue, kvass, honey and many other substances were used as components, giving the ink the necessary viscosity, color, and stability. Centuries later, this ink has retained its brightness and color strength.

The scribe blotted the ink with finely crushed sand, sprinkling it onto a sheet of parchment from a sandbox - a vessel similar to a modern pepper shaker.

Unfortunately, ancient books very few have survived. In total there are about 130 copies of priceless evidence of the 11th-12th centuries. came to us. There were few of them in those days.

In Rus' in the Middle Ages they knew several types of writing. The oldest of them was the “charter” - with letters without slope, strictly geometric shape, reminiscent of a modern printed font. In the 14th century, with the spread of business writing, the slow “charter” was replaced by the “half-chart” with smaller letters, easier to write, with a slight slant. The semi-character vaguely resembles modern italics. Another hundred years later, in the 15th century, they began to write in “cursive script” - smoothly connecting adjacent letters. In the XV-XVII centuries. cursive writing gradually replaced other types of writing.

To decorate manuscripts, titles in the Middle Ages were written in a special, decorative font - script. The letters, stretched upward, intertwined with each other (hence the name - ligature), forming a text similar to an ornamental ribbon. They wrote in script not only on paper. Gold and Silver vessels and fabrics were often covered with elegant inscriptions. Of all types of ancient writing until the 19th century. It is the ligature that has been preserved, although only in Old Believer books and decorative “antique” inscriptions.

On the pages of ancient Russian books, the text was arranged in one or two columns. Letters were not divided into lowercase and uppercase. They filled the line in a long sequence without the usual intervals between words. To save space, some letters, mainly vowels, were written above the line or replaced with the “title” sign - a horizontal line. The endings of words that were well known and often used were also truncated, for example God, Mother of God, Gospel, etc. The tradition of placing an accent mark on each word - “strength” - was borrowed from Byzantium.

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