Chronicles and centers of chronicle writing in ancient Russia. Russian chronicles

  • 15.10.2019

monthly literary, scientific and political journal, Petrograd, 1915-17. Founded by M. Gorky, it united writers and publicists of a socialist orientation who opposed the continuation of the war, nationalism, and chauvinism.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

CHRONICLES

in Russia were conducted from the 11th to the 18th centuries. Until ser. XVI century, the time of Ivan the Terrible, they were the main type of historical narrative, only from that time "yielding primacy to another historiographic genre - chronographs. L. were compiled in monasteries, at the courts of princes (and then kings), in the offices of metropolitans. Chroniclers almost were never private individuals, but carried out an order or order from spiritual or secular rulers, reflecting the interests of certain groups of people.That is why L. often contradicted each other not only in their assessments of events, but also in the factual basis itself, which creates significant difficulties for researchers of the chronicle and historians, who, on the basis of the chronicles, recreate the actual course of events.In terms of their structure, the ancient Russian chroniclers represented sets of weather articles, i.e., messages about the events that occurred in each year.Most often, the chronicler limited himself brief information about what happened, For example: “In the summer of 6751 (1143). Vsevolod rezheni his son Svyatoslav Vasilkovna, Prince of Polotsk. The same winters, Izyaslav went to the line (uncle. - Ya. L.) to his Gyurgy and not settled with him, go to his brother Smolinsk, and from there go to his other brother Svyatopolk Novgorod, there and wintering. But in a number of cases, the chronicler resorted to a literary form of presentation, creating a plot narrative about the most significant events. national history. It is from L. that we know in detail about the campaign, captivity and flight from captivity of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich, about the tragedy of the battle on Kalka, about the Battle of Kulikovo, the circumstances of the capture of Moscow by Tokhtamysh, about the feudal war of the 15th century, the culminating episode of which was the capture and blinding of the great Prince Vasily II Vasilyevich, etc. Even in the weather records, chroniclers often include appeals of princes, their dialogues, widely use literary cliches in them: stable speech formulas, colorful epithets, rhetorical turns, etc. L. not only the main sources of political history of Russia, but also the most extensive monuments of ancient Russian secular literature, and chronicle writing is one of its leading genres. Russian chronicle writing has a long history. With the current level of knowledge, it is not yet possible to establish when they began to keep records of historical events, replacing the previous form of historical knowledge - oral stories, traditions and legends. According to the majority of scientists, followers of Acad. A. A. Shakhmatova, L. takes on a stable form and begins to be systematically conducted from the middle. 11th century The oldest of the L. that has come down to us is the Tale of Bygone Years. Already this chronicle of the beginning. 12th century what distinguishes it is the combination of actual weather records with monuments of other genres and even documents. The Tale of Bygone Years contains the texts of treaties with Byzantium, legends about the emergence of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, a presentation sacred history in the form of a “philosopher’s” story that prompted Prince Vladimir to adopt the Christian faith, etc. L. will retain this syncretic character later in the future. Of particular interest are the so-called chronicle stories - plot stories about the most significant events in Russian history. To date, several hundred lists of chronicles have been preserved (some of the records are known in several lists, others in the only ones), and scientists have identified at least several dozen chronicle collections. Strictly speaking, each L. is a code, since it combines in itself - in a revised, abbreviated or, on the contrary, supplemented form - the previous L. and records of events recent years or decades belonging to the chronicler himself. The consolidated nature of L. made possible the path of research into the chronicle, which was discovered and developed by Acad. Chess. If two or more L. up to a certain year coincide with each other, then it follows that either one is written off from the other (this is rare), or they had a common source, reaching up to this year. Shakhmatov and his followers succeeded in identifying a whole chain of chronicle collections that preceded the extant L. XIV-XVII centuries: collections of the XIV, XV and earlier centuries, up to the XI century. Of course, determining the exact date and place of compiling the codes is hypothetical, but these hypotheses, based on the texts that have actually come down to us and the relationship between them, allow us to navigate in the monuments included in the series that has been published for a hundred and fifty years - “The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles” (PSRL ). Chronicle containing an exposition ancient history Russia, is the Tale of Bygone Years. L. South Russian principalities XII-XIII centuries. came to us as part of the Ipatievskaya L. (see Chronicle of Ipatievskaya). Chronicles of Rostov the Great, Vladimir and Pereyaslavl of Suzdal, late XII-beginning. 13th century best preserved as part of the Lavrentievskaya and Radzivilovskaya L. (see Chronicle of Lavrentievskaya, Chronicle of Radzivilovskaya), as well as the Chronicler of Pereyaslavl of Suzdal. The annalistic code, associated with Metropolitan Cyprian and brought to 1408, came to Troitskaya L., which burned down in the Moscow fire of 1812. Its text was reconstructed by M. D. Priselkov (Trinity Chronicle: Reconstruction of the text - M .; L., 1950 ). Around 1412, an annalistic code was created in Tver, reflecting the supplemented processing of the all-Russian annalistic code of the end of the XIV-beginning. XV century, close to Troitskaya L. It was reflected in Simeonovskaya L. (PSRL. - T. 18) and the Rogozhsky chronicler (PSRL. - T. 15. - Issue 1). Another source of the Rogozhsky chronicler was the Tver code of 1375, which was also reflected in the Tver collection of the 16th century. (PSRL.-T. 15). Of particular interest is the all-Russian, so-called Novgorod-Sofia code, compiled, apparently, in the 30s. 15th century (it is often defined as “the code of 1448”) and included extended chronicle stories about the battle on Kalka, the invasion of Batu and stories about the struggle of the princes of Tver with the Tatars, which were absent in Troitskaya L., lengthy editions of stories about the Battle of Kulikovo, a story about the invasion of Tokhtamysh, “A WORD ON THE LIFE OF DMITRY DONSKOY”, etc. This code, compiled, apparently, at the metropolitan see during the feudal war in Moscow, combined the all-Russian chronicle with the Novgorod one. The code came to Sofia L. I (PSRL.-T. 5; 2nd ed. not completed: in 1925 only the first issue of this volume was published) and Novgorod IV L. (V. 4, issue 1 and 2; 2nd ed. not completed). The first monuments of the Moscow grand ducal chronicle, which have come down to us, were formed no earlier than ser. 15th century The chronicle of 1472 was reflected in the Vologda-Perm Leningrad (PSRL.-T. 26) and Nikanorovskaya L. (PSRL.-T. 27). It was based on the Novgorod-Sofia code, edited by the Grand Duke's chronicler (who excluded, in particular, the mention of Novgorod liberties). A more radical revision of the previous chronicle was carried out by the grand ducal archers in the late 70s. XV century: The Novgorod-Sofia arch was connected with the arch close to Troitskaya L. (with censored processing of the material from both sources), and with other monuments. Grand Duke Moscow chronicle of 1479 , reflecting this revision, formed the basis of the entire official annals of the late XV-XVI centuries. It has been preserved in an unpublished list of the 18th century. (in the Hermitage collection in the National Library), and its later edition, brought to 1492, was published in the 25th volume of the PSRL. 23), so named by Shakhmatov due to the fact that it contains a selection of news about the activities of the architect V. D. Yermolin in 1462-1472. The second part of the L. contains material that is independent of the Grand Duke's annals and obviously goes back to the code compiled in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The same set was reflected in the so-called Abridged Chronicle Codes of the end of the 15th century. (PSRL.-T. 27). Rostov archiepiscopal code of the 80s. XV century was reflected in Typographic L. (PSRL. - T. 24). Sophia II (PSRL.-T 6) and Lvovskaya (PSRL.-T. 20) L. reflected the code of 1518, which, in turn, was based on a certain annalistic code of the 80s. XV century, compiled in unofficial church circles. At the end of the 20s. 16th century at the Moscow metropolitan department, a chronicle was compiled covering the events of 1437-1520, named after its owner Ioasafovskaya (its text was published in 1967 by A. A. Zimin as a separate edition). The compilation of the first edition of the largest of the Russian chronicles - Nikonovskaya (see Nikonovskaya Chronicle) also dates back to the same years. Between 1542-1544 another extensive chronicle was compiled - Resurrection (PSRL - T. 7-8). In the 2nd floor. 50s of the XVI century. the original edition of Nikonovskaya L. was combined with extracts from Voskresenskaya L. and the Chronicler of the Beginning of the Kingdom (the chronicle setting out the events of 1533-1552, that is, the beginning of the great reign, and then the reign of Ivan the Terrible). Finally, in 1568-1576. under Ivan the Terrible, a multi-volume illustrated L., the so-called Facial Code, was created. These were the last all-Russian chronicles, which then gave way to a different type of historiographical work - chronographs (see Russian Chronograph). L., conducted in the 17th-18th centuries, were not monuments of all-Russian, but rather of local provincial chronicle writing. Publisher: Complete collection of Russian chronicles. - St. Petersburg; M, 1843; M., 1989.-T. 1-38; Novgorod first chronicle of the older and younger editions. - M .; L., 1950; Pskov Chronicles.-M, L., 1941-1955.-Iss. 1-2; Stories of Russian chronicles of the XII-XIV centuries. / Translation and explanations by T. N. Mikhelson.- M., 1968; 2nd ed. - M., 1973; Stories of Russian chronicles of the XV-XVII centuries / Translation and explanations by T. N. Mi-Khelson - M., 1976, Northern Russian chronicle of 1472 / Text and commentary I S Lurie; Translation by V, V Kolesov // PLDR: The second half of the 15th century.-M., 1982.-S. 410-443, 638-655. Lit .: Sukhomlinov M.I. On the ancient Russian chronicle as a literary monument. - St. Petersburg, 1856; Shakhmatov A. A. Review of Russian chronicle codes of the XIV-XVI centuries - M., L., 1938, Priselkov M. D. History of Russian chronicle writing of the XI-XV centuries - L, 1940; L and Khachev D. S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. - M; L., 1947; Dmitrieva R.P. Bibliography of Russian Chronicle.- M.; L., 1962; Nasonov A. N. The history of Russian chronicle writing in the XI - early XVIII century. - M .. 1969, O. V. Curds. // Origins of Russian fiction.-S. 31-66, Lurie Ya.S.; I) To the study of the chronicle genre // TODRL.- 1972.- T. 27.- S. 76-93; 2) All-Russian chronicles of the XIV-XV centuries - L., 1976; 3) Two stories of Russia of the XV century. SPb., 1994; Koretsky V.I. The history of Russian chronicle writing in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries.-M., 1986. For articles on individual chronicles, see: Dictionary of Books.-Iss. 1.-S. 234-251; Issue. 2, part 2.-S. 17-18, 20-69. See also: Chronicles of Novgorod, Chronicles of Pskov, Chronicle of Ipatiev, Chronicle of Lavrentiev, Chronicle of Nikonovskaya, Chronicle of Radzivilovskaya, Front Code, Tale of Bygone Years. Ya. S. Lurie

Chronicles were the most remarkable phenomenon of ancient Russian literature. The first weather records date back to the 9th century, they were extracted from later sources of the 16th century. They are very brief: notes in one or two lines.

As a phenomenon on a national scale, chronicle writing appeared in the 11th century. People of different ages became chroniclers, and not only monks. A very significant contribution to the restoration of the history of the annals was made by such researchers as A.A. Shakhmatov (1864-1920) and A.N. Nasonov (1898 - 1965). The first major historical work was the Code, completed in 997. Its compilers described the events of the 9th-10th centuries, ancient legends. It even includes epic court poetry that praised Olga, Svyatoslav and especially Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, in whose reign this Code was created.

Nestor, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery, who by 1113 completed his work The Tale of Bygone Years and compiled an extensive historical introduction to it, must be attributed to figures of a European scale. Nestor knew Russian, Bulgarian and Greek literature very well, being a very educated person. He used in his work the earlier Codes of 997, 1073 and 1093, and the events of the turn of the XI-XII centuries. covered as an eyewitness. This chronicle gave the most complete picture of early Russian history and was copied over 500 years. It must be borne in mind that the ancient Russian annals covered not only the history of Russia, but also the history of other peoples.

Secular people were also engaged in writing chronicles. For example, Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh. It was in the composition of the chronicle that such beautiful works of his as “Instruction to Children” (c. 1099; later supplemented, preserved in the list of 1377) have come down to us. In particular, in the "Instruction" Vladimir Monomakh holds the idea of ​​the need to repulse external enemies. In total, there were 83 "paths" - campaigns in which he participated.

In the XII century. chronicles become very detailed, and since they are written by contemporaries, the class and political sympathies of the chroniclers are very clearly expressed in them. The social order of their patrons is traced. Among the largest chroniclers who wrote after Nestor, one can single out the Kyivian Peter Borislavich. The most mysterious author in the XII-XIII centuries. was Daniil the Sharpener. It is believed that he owns two works - "Word" and "Prayer". Daniil Zatochnik was an excellent connoisseur of Russian life, knew church literature well, wrote in bright and colorful literary language. He said the following about himself: “My tongue was like the reed of a scribe, and my lips were friendly, like the speed of a river. For this reason, I tried to write about the fetters of my heart and broke them with bitterness, as in ancient times they smashed babies against a stone.

Separately, it is necessary to highlight the genre of "walking", describing the travel of our compatriots abroad. Firstly, these are the stories of pilgrims who carried out their “walks” to Palestine and Pargrad (Constantinople), but descriptions of Western European states gradually began to appear. One of the first was a description of the journey of Daniil, the abbot of one of the Chernigov monasteries, who visited Palestine in 1104-1107, spending 16 months there and participating in the crusader wars. The most outstanding work of this genre is "Journey Beyond Three Seas" by the Tver merchant Athanasius Nikitin, compiled in the form of a diary. It describes many southern peoples, but mostly Indians. "Walking" A. Nikitin lasting six years took place in the 70s. 15th century

The "hagiographic" literature is very interesting, since in it, in addition to describing the life of canonized persons, a true picture of life in monasteries was given. For example, cases of bribery for obtaining this or that church rank or place, etc., were described. Here we can single out the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, which is a collection of stories about the monks of this monastery.

The latest fashion trends of this year on the Lady Glamor fashion portal.

worldwide famous work of ancient Russian literature was "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", the date of writing of which is attributed to 1185. This poem was imitated by contemporaries, it was quoted by Pskovians already at the beginning of the 14th century, and after the victory at Kulikovo Field (1380) in imitation of "The Lay ..." "Zadonshchina" was written. "The Word..." was created in connection with the campaign of the Seversk prince Igor against the Polovtsian Khan Konchak. Igor, overwhelmed by ambitious plans, did not team up with Grand Duke Vsevolod Big Nest and was broken. The idea of ​​unification on the eve of the Tatar-Mongol invasion runs through the entire work. And again, as in the epics, here we are talking about defense, and not about aggression and expansion.

From the second half of the XIV century. all greater value acquires the Moscow Chronicle. In 1392 and 1408 Moscow chronicles are being created, which are of an all-Russian character. And in the middle of the XV century. "Chronograph" appears, representing, in fact, the first experience of writing world history our ancestors, and in the "Chronograph" an attempt was made to show the place and role of Ancient Russia in the world-historical process.


Chronicle is a detailed account of specific events. It is worth noting that the annals of ancient Russia are the main written source on the history of Russia in (pre-Petrine times). If we talk about the beginning of Russian chronicle writing, then it refers to the 11th century - the period of time when historical records began to be made in the Ukrainian capital. According to historians, the chronicle period dates back to the 9th century.

http://govrudocs.ru/

Saved lists and annals of ancient Russia

The number of such historical monuments reaches about 5000. The main part of the annals, unfortunately, has not been preserved in the form of the original. Many good copies have been preserved, which are also important and tell interesting stories. historical facts and stories. Lists have also been preserved, which are some narratives from other sources. According to historians, the lists were created at certain places, describing this or that historical event.

The first chronicles appeared in Russia approximately in the period from the 11th to the 18th centuries during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. It is worth noting that at that time the chronicle was the main type of historical narrative. The people who compiled the chronicles were not private figures. This work was carried out exclusively by order of secular or spiritual rulers, who reflected the interests of a certain circle of people.

History of Russian Chronicles

To be more precise, Russian chronicle writing has a complicated history. Everyone knows the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years", where various agreements were highlighted, including agreements with Byzantium, stories about princes, Christian denomination etc. Particularly interesting are chronicle stories, which are plot stories about the most significant events in the history of the fatherland. It is worth noting that the first mention of the annals of Moscow can also be attributed to the Tale of Bygone Years.

In general, the main source of any knowledge in Ancient Russia is medieval chronicles. Today in many libraries in Russia, as well as in the archives, you can see a large number of such creations. It is surprising that almost every chronicle was written by a different author. Chronicles were in demand for almost seven centuries.

http://kapitalnyj.ru/

In addition, chronicle writing is a favorite pastime of many scribes. This work was considered charitable, as well as spiritual work. Chronicle writing can easily be called an integral element of ancient Russian culture. Historians claim that some of the first chronicles were written thanks to the new Rurik dynasty. If we talk about the first chronicle, then it ideally reflected the history of Russia, starting from the reign of the Rurikovich.

The most competent chroniclers can be called specially trained priests and monks. These people had a fairly rich book heritage, owned various literature, records of old stories, legends, etc. Also at the disposal of these priests were almost all the grand ducal archives.

Among the main tasks of such people were the following:

  1. Creation of a written historical monument of the era;
  2. Comparison historical events;
  3. Working with old books, etc.

It is worth noting that the chronicle of ancient Russia is a unique historical monument containing the mass interesting facts about specific events. Among the common chronicles, one can single out those that told about the campaigns of Kiy, the founder of Kyiv, the travels of Princess Olga, the campaigns of the no less famous Svyatoslav, etc. The chronicles of Ancient Russia are the historical basis, thanks to which many historical books have been written.

Video: SLAVIC CHRONICLES in CHARACTERISTICS

Read also:

  • The question of the origin of the state of Ancient Russia still worries many scientists to this day. On this occasion, you can meet a large number of scientifically based discussions, disagreements, opinions. One of the most popular in our time is the Norman theory of the origin of Old Russian

  • Traditionally, petroglyphs are images on stone that were made in ancient times. It is worth noting that such images are distinguished by the presence of a special system of signs. In general, petroglyphs of Karelia - real mystery for many scientists and archaeologists. Unfortunately, while scientists have not given

  • The origin of money is a very important and difficult issue, which entails a lot of controversy. It is worth noting that in Ancient Russia, at a certain stage of development, people used ordinary cattle as money. According to ancient lists, in those years very often local residents

What features of chronicles can you highlight?

The chronicle arose back in Kievan Rus from the need of Russian society to have its own written history, and this was due to the growth of the national self-consciousness of the people. The chronicle was a historical document that included texts or transcriptions of treaty letters, wills of princes, resolutions of feudal congresses and other documents. The events of not only domestic, but also world history, their interconnection became the subject of interest of chroniclers. This was especially clearly manifested in The Tale of Bygone Years, in which the question of the origin of the Russian people was studied in connection with world history. The chronicle was kept by years, had a collective authorship, and therefore in it we find a variety of opinions about the events of history, a wider coverage, a direct reflection of the people's point of view on these events. In it, one can even notice differences in the political views and literary skill of its compilers.

Chroniclers often used folklore and book sources. One of the first chronicles, The Tale of Bygone Years, is a monument of collective creativity, on which, starting from the reign of Yaroslav the Wise in the 30s of the 11th century, more than one generation of Russian chroniclers worked, usually monks or representatives of the princely-boyar environment. The most famous as a chronicler was the Monk Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.

The chronicles, and especially The Tale of Bygone Years, allowed for the mixing of genres within the framework of one work. So, in the composition of the “Tale ...” we find chronicle tales (for example, about the death of Prince Oleg from his horse, subsequently used by A.S. Pushkin), proximity to hagiographic literature (about the transfer of the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb, about the death of Theodosius of the Caves) . In the bowels of the annals, a military story begins to take shape, for example, about Yaroslav's revenge on Svyatopolk the Accursed. The "Tale of Bygone Years" also includes "Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh". However, for all the event and genre mosaicity of the chronicle, it is distinguished by thematic unity - the image of individual milestones in the history of Russia, the presentation of events in a strict temporal sequence. The chronological connection of events was reinforced in the annals by a genealogical line, i.e. showing the continuity of power of the princes of Rurikovich. The chronicler necessarily points to family relations between the princes, whose glory each of them inherits.

Chronicles proclaim as their main ideas the assertion of the independence of Russia, the superiority of Christianity over paganism, the inseparability of Russian history from the general one, a call for unity of action in the fight against enemies, and the spiritual unity of Russian society.

Can you name distinctive features genre "teaching"?

In Ancient Russia, oratorical prose developed, which, in turn, is divided into solemn and teacher's eloquence. Teaching belongs to the teacher's eloquence. Its purpose is instruction (edification), information, controversy. It is small in volume, often devoid of rhetorical embellishments, written or pronounced in a public, lively, colloquial Old Russian language.

“Monuments of didactic prose, often unsophisticated in style, contained many vivid everyday realities and scenes of “low” reality, especially in the description of human vices ... Educating Christian morality, “educational” literature condemned vices and glorified virtues, reminding believers of the day doomsday and inescapable torment, which is prepared for sinners after death in hell.

Among the works of didactic eloquence, a group of “words” on the theme of “God’s executions” stands out, where any disaster that has befallen a country: drought or flood, epidemic or enemy invasion<…>regarded as divine retribution for sins. Another group of “teachings” and “conversations” is addressed to monks and contains a number of rules that a monk must strictly follow: observe fasting, be distinguished by meekness of disposition, perform a deed of prayer, resort to repentance and communion as often as possible. (L. A. Olshevskaya, S. N. Travnikov)


The originality of ancient Russian literature as medieval literature

Handwritten character (in the beginning there was a word, the word was with God, the word was God)

Text variability (redaction - if deliberately changed, variant - if there are typos, revision - if the text is moved far from the place of writing, the list is a copy) the text is fluid, unstable

Anonymous character (did not know the personal beginning, predominantly collective forms of perception)

Medieval historicism - documentary, authenticity of the liter. (Until the 16th century, the liter did not know fiction)

Applied character (the creation of a work is a public order; the text performed a non-literary function)

Religious character (litre of the time associated with Christianity)

Artistic originality ancient Russian literature

No rhyme

Dr. genres (did not know the novel and drama; but there were annals, life and eloquence)

Bilingualism (a mix of Old Church Slavonic and Old Russian languages even in one piece)

Handwritten character

About ink and birch bark and parchment (calfskin)

Not books, but manuscripts (almost no use of the word "book")

There are palimpsests(this is when the original text of the manuscript is erased and another is written)

Anonymity of works

Features of the chronicle genre

It is customary to call chronicles “monuments of historical writing and literature of Ancient Russia. The narration in them was conducted by year in chronological order (the story of the events of each year began with the words “in the summer:” - hence the name “chronicle” (The word “chronicle” is ambiguous: this is the name of the type of historical work that has special external features (“scripture”). by years") - a record of historical events is carried out by years - i.e. in chronological order; both a separate book consisting of records of this type, and part of a book containing an annual grid. In the narrow sense of the word, chronicles are records of contemporaries of events. United in chronological order, such records and other historical writings form a chronicle compendium.The compiler of the compendium may no longer be a contemporary of the events referred to in his composition.Specialists also distinguish between chronicle collections, which sometimes represent a mechanical combination in one manuscript of several annals or compendiums, and chronicle lists, i.e. handwritten copies from the annals, collection or collection. the stamping of chronicles was a historical and legal moment; the annalistic code, telling about the past, fixed some important stage of the present. The compilation of chronicles was mainly done by officials: employees of princes and sovereigns, clerks, Pskov posadniks, and later - clerks. It is known that it was possible to be removed from keeping the annals, and this was perceived as a punishment; chronicles were never shown to foreigners. The chronicle style, which corresponded to the literary etiquette of the 11th - 13th centuries, was called the style of monumental historicism. The basis of this style, the authors consider the desire of the Old Russian scribe to judge everything from the point of view of the general meaning and goals of human existence, hence the desire to show only the largest and most significant, from large spatial and temporal distances.