Written in Old Russian, “The Tale of Bygone Years”, also known as “Nestor’s Chronicle”, also known as the “Primary Chronicle”, belongs to the pen of the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor, who worked on it from 1110 to 1118.
The Russian chronicler takes the beginning of the formation of the land from the biblical times of Noah, whose sons after his death - Japheth, Ham and Shem, brotherly, by drawing lots, divided the Earth among themselves:
- Japheth got the North and the West;
- Hamu - the whole South;
- Sim began to rule the Eastern part.
After the overthrow of the Tower of Babel by the angry God, the single people who populated the Earth were scattered into seventy ethnic groups. One of the formed peoples, the Rusichi, along with the Varangians, Swedes and Germans, settled throughout the domains of Japheth.
At the same time, the Russians initially chose the Danube, subsequently migrating to the fields and forests around the Dnieper, and turned into glades and Drevlyans.
Nestor also gave a diametrically opposite characterization of the steppe and forest inhabitants:
- clearings - peaceful, decent inhabitants;
- Drevlyans are robbers and cattle.
Journey of the Apostle Andrew
Further, the chronicle tells about Saint Andrew from Rome, who, teaching Christianity, came to Crimea, and from there up the Dnieper. Stopping for the night, the apostle predicts to his disciples the appearance of grace in the form of a great city. Thus, evidence of the creation of Kyiv appears in the chronicle.
Andrei also travels to the land of the Slovenes (which became Novgorod), which he talks about to his amazed fellow countrymen as a land of people who take strange but necessary ritual ablutions.
Cue
The glades are ruled by three brothers, who sit on separate hills of the Dnieper region and built the city of Kyiv (in honor of the eldest):
- Horeb.
Kiy won honors in the Byzantine Constantinople, and made an unsuccessful attempt to settle in Kievets, which he built near the Danube.
Khazars
When the brothers were gone, the Khazar detachment began to demand tribute from the glades, and each hut gave the Khazars a sword.
However, the joy of the Khazar warriors was short-lived: their elders warned about the evil sign that the Polyanian double-edged swords promised. The prediction came true: the Russian principalities captured the failed conquerors.
Title "Russian Land"
The chronicle of the Byzantines mentions a campaign against Constantinople by some “Rus,” whose land was engulfed in civil strife: the northern, including the Novgorod Slovenes, peoples under tribute to the Varangians, the southern, along with the Polans, under the rule of the Khazars.
The northern tribes throw the invaders over the Baltic Sea, and decide to call for a single prince from the other Varangians, whose people were called “Rus”.
Three brothers responded to the call:
- Rurik, who began to reign among the Slovenes in Novgorod;
- Sineus, - among the villages in Belozersk;
- Truvor, - among the Krivichi in Izborsk.
Two years later, due to the death of his younger brothers, Rurik becomes a single prince, transferring the cities to the Varangians-Russ for control. So, the new state, in honor of the rulers, began to be called “Russian Land”.
Askold and Dir
Two boyars of Rurik, with his permission, set off on a military campaign to Constantinople, on the way ending up in the state of the deceased Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv.
The campaign ended in complete defeat: through the prayers of the Byzantine king, a storm destroyed two hundred ships of Askold and Dir.
Rurik dies, leaving young Igor. Viceroy Oleg learns about the illegal reign of Askold and Dir in Kyiv, puts them on trial with his retinue and kills them.
Viceroyalty of Oleg
Igor proclaims “Kyiv will be the mother of Russian cities!”, captures the Drevlyans and reigns in Kyiv, and imposes tribute on Constantinople.
But the prophetic Oleg is predicted to die from his beloved horse. The horse died long ago, and Oleg, laughing at the prophecy, pushes his skull with his foot. The snake crawls out of the remains and fatally stings the prince.
Death of Igor
Igor imposed an even greater tribute on the Drevlyans, and marched on Constantinople twice. For the second time, Byzantium gives Igor a rich tribute, but the greedy warriors persuade the Prince to make another campaign against the Drevlyans.
The outraged residents of Iskorosten kill Igor along with his squad.
Olga's Revenge
The Drevlyans, having become free, decided to make Princess Olga the wife of their prince Mal. However, taking revenge for the death of her husband, Olga kills all the nobles who came to Kyiv for matchmaking, and with the help of birds devours the city of Iskorosten.
Olga's baptism
The pagan Olga is baptized by the Byzantine king in Constantinople, thus avoiding a wedding with him.
Wars of Svyatoslav
Olga's incorruptible and stern son wages many wars of conquest, gaining the respect and recognition of the Greeks.
Returning home, Svyatoslav and the remnants of his squad are besieged by the Pechenegs: in the spring the prince overcomes the siege, but is killed by Prince Kuri.
Baptism of Rus'
Svyatoslav's son, Vladimir, becomes the prince of Kyiv. He refuses the Mohammedans because their religion prohibits them from eating pork and drinking wine. Also refuses Catholics and Jews.
Vladimir keeps putting off baptism until he loses his sight. Miraculously healed, he converts to Christianity and baptizes Rus'.
Fight against the Pechenegs
Belgorod, besieged by the Pechenegs, is about to surrender due to hunger. The elders cook oatmeal jelly and act out in front of the Pechenegs the miraculous transformation of water in wells into food. The amazed Pechenegs lift the siege.
Massacres of the Magi
The governor of the Kyiv prince, Jan Vyshatich, deals with the wise men who kill and mock the people.
Victory over the Cumans
Vladimir Monomakh and Svyatoslav Izyaslavich go against the Polovtsians, who are running away in fear from the Russian squads. Vladimir executes the oathbreaker, the Polovtsian prince Beldyuz.
Nestor, who lived during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, at about 65 years of age, based on evidence of the past and the Bible, as an instruction to his contemporaries and descendants, described the history of his beloved Rus', devoting chapters to the origin of the name of the state, and to all the principalities ruling the Russian land.
And today “Nestor’s Chronicle” is unusually instructive, teaching through many centuries a lesson to descendants to leave hostility and unite, since only in unity is the strength and greatness of the people.
His mother gave birth to him in pain. A terrible, deformed baby was born. Throughout his childhood he was bullied and ridiculed. However, despite his pitiful appearance, Richard was extremely ambitious, cunning and ambitious
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, a terrible Serpent appeared near Kyiv. He caused great misfortune to the surrounding area - he destroyed, plundered the nearest towns and villages, and took the most beautiful of the girls to be eaten. After some time, the turn came to the king’s daughter.
Known from several editions and lists with minor deviations in the texts introduced by copyists. Was compiled in Kyiv.
The period of history covered begins with biblical times in the introductory part and ends with 1117 (in the 3rd edition). The dated part of the history of the Old Russian state begins in the summer of 6360 of Emperor Michael (852).
The name of the collection gave rise to the first phrase “The Tale of Bygone Years...” or in part of the lists “Behold the Tale of Bygone Years...”
History of the creation of the chronicle
The author of the chronicle is listed in the Khlebnikov list as the monk Nestor, a famous hagiographer at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, a monk of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. Although earlier lists omitted this name, researchers of the 18th-19th centuries considered Nestor the first Russian chronicler, and the Tale of Bygone Years the first Russian chronicle. The study of chronicles by the Russian linguist A. A. Shakhmatov and his followers showed that there were chronicle collections that preceded the Tale of Bygone Years. It is now recognized that the first original edition of the Tale of Bygone Years by Monk Nestor has been lost, and modified versions have survived to this day. At the same time, none of the chronicles contains any indication of where exactly the Tale of Bygone Years ends.
The problems of sources and structure of PVL were developed in most detail at the beginning of the 20th century in the works of Academician A. A. Shakhmatov. The concept he presented still plays the role of a “standard model”, on which subsequent researchers rely or argue with it. Although many of its provisions have often been subject to quite justified criticism, it has not yet been possible to develop a concept of comparable importance.
The second edition is read as part of the Laurentian Chronicle (1377) and other lists. The third edition is contained in the Ipatiev Chronicle (the oldest lists: Ipatiev (XV century) and Khlebnikov (XVI century)). In one of the chronicles of the second edition, under the year 1096, an independent literary work was added, “The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh,” dating back to 1117.
Nikon, Nestor, others unknown, Public DomainAccording to Shakhmatov’s hypothesis (supported by D. S. Likhachev and Ya. S. Lurie), the first chronicle collection, called The most ancient, was compiled at the metropolitan see in Kyiv, founded in 1037. The source for the chronicler was legends, folk songs, oral stories of contemporaries, and some written hagiographic documents. The oldest code was continued and supplemented in 1073 by the monk Nikon, one of the founders of the Kyiv Pechersk Monastery. Then in 1093 the abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery John was created Initial arch, which used Novgorod records and Greek sources: “Chronograph according to the Great Exposition”, “Life of Anthony”, etc. The initial code was fragmentarily preserved in the initial part of the Novgorod first chronicle of the younger edition. Nestor revised the Initial Code, expanded the historiographical basis and brought Russian history into the framework of traditional Christian historiography. He supplemented the chronicle with the texts of treaties between Rus' and Byzantium and introduced additional historical legends preserved in oral tradition.
According to Shakhmatov, Nestor wrote the first edition of the Tale of Bygone Years in the Kiev Pechersk Monastery in 1110-1112. The second edition was created by Abbot Sylvester in the Kiev Vydubitsky St. Michael's Monastery in 1116. Compared to Nestor's version, the final part was revised. In 1118, the third edition of the Tale of Bygone Years was compiled on behalf of the Novgorod prince Mstislav Vladimirovich.
The history of the Russian land dates back to the time of Noah. His three sons divided the Earth:
- Sim got the east: Bactria, Arabia, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Media, Syria and Phenicia.
- Ham got the south: Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Numidia, Ethiopia, but also Bithynia, Cilicia, Troas, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Cyprus, Crete, Sardinia.
- Japheth (slav. Afet) got the north-west: Armenia, Britain, Illyria, Dalmatia, Ionia, Macedonia, Media, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, Scythia and Thessaly.
The descendants of Japheth are the Varangians, Germans, Rus', Swedes (Old Slavic Swedes). In the beginning, humanity constituted a single people, but after the Babylonian pandemonium, “Noriki, who are Slavs,” emerged from the tribe of Japheth. The original ancestral home of the Slavs is the banks of the Danube River in the region of Hungary, Illyria and Bulgaria. As a result of the aggression of the Wallachians, part of the Slavs went to the Vistula (Poles), and the other to the Dnieper (Drevlyans and Polyana), to the Dvina (Dregovichi) and Lake Ilmen (Slovenians). The settlement of the Slavs dates back to the time of the Apostle Andrew, who visited the Slavs on Ilmen. The Polyans founded Kyiv and named it in honor of their prince Kiy. Other ancient Slavic cities are Slovenian Novgorod and Krivichi Smolensk. Then, under King Heraclius, the Danube Slavs experienced an invasion of the Bulgarians, Ugrians, Obras and Pechenegs. However, the Dnieper Slavs became dependent on the Khazars.
The first date mentioned in the chronicle is 852 (6360), when the Russian land began to be called, and the Rus first sailed to Constantinople. In 859, Eastern Europe was divided between the Varangians and Khazars. The first took tribute from the Slovenians, Krivichi, Vesi, Meri and Chud, and the second took tribute from the Polyans, Northerners and Vyatichi.
An attempt by the Northern Slavs to get rid of the power of the overseas Varangians in 862 led to civil strife and ended with the calling of the Varangians. The Russian land was founded by three brothers Rurik (Ladoga), Truvor (Izborsk) and Sineus (Beloozero). Soon Rurik became the sole ruler of the country. He founded Novgorod and installed his governors in Murom, Polotsk and Rostov. A special Varangian state was formed in Kyiv, led by Askold and Dir, which harassed Byzantium with raids.
In 882, Rurik's successor, Prince Oleg, captured Smolensk, Lyubech and Kyiv, uniting the two Russian-Varangian states. In 883, Oleg conquered the Drevlyans, and in 884-885 he conquered the Khazar tributaries Radimichi and northerners. In 907, Oleg undertook a major sea voyage on boats to Byzantium, which resulted in an agreement with the Greeks.
After Oleg's death from a snake bite, Igor began to reign, who fought with the Drevlyans, Pechenegs and Greeks. The Rus were originally overseas Varangians, but gradually merged with the glades, so the chronicler could say that the glades are now called Rus. The money of the Rus was hryvnia, and they worshiped Perun.
Igor was killed by the rebellious Drevlyans, and his throne was inherited by his wife Olga, who, with the help of the Varangian governors Sveneld and Asmud, brutally took revenge, killing over 5 thousand Drevlyans. Olga ruled as regent for her son Svyatoslav. Having matured, Svyatoslav conquered the Vyatichi, Yasov, Kasogs and Khazars, and then fought on the Danube against the Greeks. Returning from one of his campaigns against the Greeks, Svyatoslav was ambushed by the Pechenegs and died.
From Svyatoslav the princely throne passed to Yaropolk, whose reign was complicated by civil strife. Yaropolk defeated his brother and the ruler of the Drevlyan Oleg, but was killed by the Varangians of his other brother Vladimir. Vladimir first sent away the Varangians, unified the pagan pantheon, but then adopted Christianity. During his reign there were wars with the Poles, Yatvingians, Vyatichi, Radimichi and Volga Bulgars.
After the death of Vladimir, Svyatopolk began to reign in Kyiv. For the brutal reprisal against his brothers, he was nicknamed the Accursed. He was overthrown by his brother Yaroslav. The opposition to the new prince was the ruler of Tmutarakan Mstislav. After the end of the strife, Yaroslav built stone walls in Kyiv and the Cathedral of St. Sofia. After the death of Yaroslav, the Russian land fell apart again. In Kyiv Izyaslav ruled, in Chernigov Svyatoslav, in Vladimir Igor, in Pereyaslavl Vsevolod, in Tmutarakan Rostislav. In the strife, Vsevolod gained the upper hand. After Vsevolod, Kiev was ruled by Svyatopolk, who was replaced by Vladimir Monomakh.
Christianity in The Tale of Bygone Years
The Tale of Bygone Years imbued with Christian motifs and allusions to the Bible, which is quite natural, given that its author was a monk. One of the central places of the work is the choice of faith made by Prince Vladimir. He chose Greek-style Christianity, which was distinguished by communion with wine and bread, and not wafers, like the Germans. The foundations of the Christian faith (in the form of a retelling of the book of Genesis and the Old Testament history before the division of the kingdom of Israel) are presented to Vladimir by a certain philosopher who, among other things, mentions the fall of the elder angel Satanael on the 4th day of creation. God replaced Satanael with Michael. The Old Testament prophets (Mal. 2:2, Jer. 15:1, Ezek. 5:11) are mentioned to prove the end of the Israeli mission (v. rejection of Judaism). In 5500 from the creation of the world, Gabriel appeared to Mary in Nazareth and announced the incarnation of God, who was born as Jesus during the years of King Herod (Art. Tsar Zhidovesk), having reached the age of 30 and was baptized in the Jordan River by John. Then he gathered 12 disciples and healed the sick. Out of envy, he was handed over to crucifixion, but was resurrected and ascended. The meaning of the incarnation was redemption from the sin of Adam.
God is “three entities”: Father, Son and Holy Spirit ( one deity of three faces). It is curious that in relation to the persons of the Trinity, which to separate without separateness, and to copulate inseparably, the term is used obscene. Historians since the 18th century have been interested in the question of why, according to the Tale of Bygone Years, Kagan Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, who baptized Rus', allegedly read a rather strange Creed at his own baptism, and why this creed was reproduced by the monk Nestor. According to him, Vladimir said: “The Son is subsubstantial and co-existent with the Father...” Subsubstantial, and not consubstantial, as is stated in the Orthodox Nicene and Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creeds. This could be a reflection of the fact that the Arians of Rus', unlike neighboring Khazaria, did not convert to Nestorianism, Judaism and Orthodoxy until 988 and continued to remain the powerful force on which Vladimir wanted to rely in the fight against paganism. But it could also be simply a slander against Vladimir in order to prevent his canonization. God has at will save creature. For this God accepts flesh And pupil and dies truly ( not by daydreaming) and also truly resurrects and ascends to heaven.
Also, the Christianity of the Tale prescribes the veneration of icons, the cross, relics and sacred vessels, support of church tradition and the adoption of seven councils: the 1st Nicene (against Arius), Constantinople (for the consubstantial Trinity), Ephesus (against Nestorius), Chalcedon, Second Constantinople (against Origen, but for the divine humanity of Christ), 2nd Nicene (for the veneration of icons).
God is in heaven, sitting on a throne in ineffable Light, surrounded by angels whose nature is invisible. Demons oppose him rabble, krilati, people with a tail), whose abode is the abyss.
The meaning of the baptism of Rus' in the chronicle is revealed as deliverance from idolatry, ignorance and devilish charms. After death, the righteous instantly go to heaven, becoming intercessors for their people.
After baptism in Korsun, Vladimir ordered the people to be baptized in the Dnieper and wooden churches to be built. One of the first was the Church of St. Basil, erected on the site of the temple of Perun. There were also churches of the Virgin Mary, St. Sophia, St. apostles, St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. Nicholas, St. Fedora, St. Dmitry and St. Mikhail. In churches decorated with icons, vessels and crosses, liturgies, prayers and readings were performed euangel. Those who were baptized were required to wear crosses. The Annunciation, Ascension, Dormition of the Virgin Mary and the day of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb were especially celebrated. The 40-day fast on the eve of the Resurrection of the Lord played an important role. The head of a single church was priests clothed in vestments, bishops stood above the priests, and the metropolitan was the spiritual head of Russian Christians. The first monastery on Russian soil was the Pechersky Monastery, consisting of the brethren of the Monkmen living in their cells, led by the abbot.
Sources and insert stories
Abbreviations: N1L - Novgorod First Chronicle. N4L - Novgorod fourth chronicle. S1L - Sofia First Chronicle, VoskrL - Resurrection Chronicle. PSRL - Complete collection of Russian chronicles. PVL 1999 - The Tale of Bygone Years. /prep. text, trans., art. and comment. D. S. Likhacheva; edited by V. P. Adrianova-Peretz. - St. Petersburg: Nauka, 1999.
Texts of folklore origin
- The story of Oleg's death from a horse (under 912). Not in N1L.
- The story of Olga's revenge on the Drevlyans (under 945-946). Only a few words in the Nikon Chronicle.
- A story about a young man and a Pecheneg, under 992. Not in N1L.
- Siege of Belgorod by the Pechenegs, under 997. Not in N1L.
- Treaty of 912. Not in N1L.
- Treaty of 945. Not in N1L and in the Nikon Chronicle.
- Treaty of 971. Not in N1L.
- 852 - Year 6360, indicta 15. “Michael began to reign...”.
- 858 - Michael's campaign against the Bulgarians. Baptism of the prince and Bulgarian boyars. From “The Continuator of Amartol”, but it has no date.
- 866 - Askold and Dir's campaign against the Greeks, in the 14th year of Michael.
- 868 - “Basily began to reign.”
- 869 - “The whole Bulgarian land was baptized.”
All information below is from the “Continuator of Amartol”. In N1L they are all absent, in N4L they are all present.
- 887 - “Leon, the son of Vasily, who was called Leo, and his brother Alexander reigned, and they reigned for 26 years.” Missed in S1L.
- 902 - War of the Hungarians with the Bulgarians. In fact, the campaign took place in 893.
- 907 - Oleg's campaign against Byzantium.
- 911 - Appearance of a star in the west (Halley's Comet).
- 913 - “Constantine, son of Leon, began to reign.”
- 914 - Campaign of Simeon of Bulgaria to Constantinople. Not in N4L, S1L.
- 915 - Simeon captures Adrianople.
- 920 - “The Greeks have installed Tsar Roman” (in N4L and S1L more fully).
- 929 - Simeon's campaign against Constantinople. Peace be with Roman.
- 934 - Hungarian campaign against Constantinople. World.
- 942 - Simeon is defeated by the Croats and dies. Peter became the prince. News of the “Continuer of Amartol”, under 927.
- 943 - Hungarian campaign against Constantinople. Under 928 (1 indict).
- "Chronicle of George Amartol". Extracts: a list of peoples and a story about the customs of peoples. Not in N1L.
- A story about Andrew the First-Called’s visit to Rus'. Not in N1L.
- A story about the origin of Slavic literacy (under 898). Not in N1L.
- The story of Apollonius of Tyana from Amartol (under 912). Not in N1L.
- A story about Olga's trip to Constantinople (under 955).
- Praise to Olga (under 969).
- A story about a Varangian and his son (no names, under 983).
- Dispute about faith: the arrival of Muslims, Jews and Catholics (under 986).
- "The Speech of a Philosopher."
- A story about the campaign against Korsun.
- The Creed, the Seven Councils and the Corruption of the Latins.
- A story about the return from Korsun and the baptism of the people of Kiev.
- Stories about the murder of Boris, the murder of Gleb, praise to Boris and Gleb.
- Praise for the books under 1037. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L, VoskrL.
- A story about the beginning of the Pechersk Monastery, under 1051. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L, VoskrL.
- A story about signs in the present and past, with borrowings from the Chronograph according to the great exposition, under the year 1065.
- Teaching about the executions of God, under the year 1068. Not in N4L, S1L, VoskrL.
- Discussion about the cross that helped Vseslav, under 1068.
- The story of the Magi and Jan, under 1071, and the continuation of the story of the Magi.
- The story about the death of Theodosius of Pechersk and the monks of the monastery, under 1074. Not in N4L.
- Discourse on the death of Izyaslav and brotherly love, under the year 1078. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L, VoskrL.
- The story of the death of Yaropolk Izyaslavich, under 1086. Not in N1L, N4L.
- The story of the transfer of the relics of Theodosius of Pechersk, his predictions and praise to him, under 1091. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L.
- Teaching about the executions of God, under 1093. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L, VoskrL.
- A story about the Polovtsian raid on Kyiv and the monastery, under 1096. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L.
- An extract about the tribes from Methodius of Patar and the story of Gyuryata Rogovich. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L.
- The story of the blinding of Vasilko and subsequent events, under 1097. Not in N1L, N4L.
- A story about the campaign against the Polovtsians in 1103. Not in N1L, N4L, S1L.
- Discourse on angels with quotations from David, Epiphanius and Hippolytus. Not in other chronicles.
- Campaign of 1111 against the Polovtsians.
- A story about a trip to Ladoga, Slavic and ancient gods. Not in other chronicles.
- A story about the transfer of the relics of Boris and Gleb. Not in other chronicles.
Quotes
Quotes from the Ipatiev list of “The Tale of Bygone Years.”
- On the settlement of the Slavs in Rus' after their departure from the Danube in ancient undated times:
... the same and the same Slovenia · who came along the Dnieper · and the drug route Polina · and the friends of Derevlyne · before they sat in the forests · and the friends rode between the Pripetya and the Dvina · and the drug route Dregovichi · and the other side of the Dvina · and the river ѧ Polochans · river rad . It will also flow into the Dvina · in the name of Polot · and also nicknamed Polotsk. The word is gray near the lake of Ilmer · and nicknamed by its own name · and made the city · and named Novgorod · and the friends are sitting on the Desna · and along the Semi and along the Sul · and the drug chain of the North · and thus the Slovenian language dissolved. that’s also the nickname Slovenian gramota...
- About the calling of the Varangians led by Rurik in 862:
In lѣⷮ҇. ҂ѕ҃. t҃. o҃ ⁘ and expelled Varѧgy overseas. and did not give them tribute. and more often you will feel better about yourself. and there would be no truth in them. and the family rose up to roⷣ. and there was a conflict in nothing. and fight for yourself as often as possible. and we will look for the good fortune in ourselves. whoever would rule over us and destroy us. by right. going overseas to Vargoⷨ҇. to Rus'. this is a good name. you are Varⷽ҇gy Rus'. All these friends are called Sveje. Friends of Jermani. English. Ini and Gothe. tacos and si rkosh. Rus. Chud. Slovenia. Krivichi. and our whole land is great. and ѡbilna. but there are no people in it. let you go princes and lead us. and elected. three brothers. with your birth. and walked around all of Rus'. and came to Sloven first. and cut down the mountain of Ladoga. and the gray elders in Ladoza Rurik. and others Sineis on Belѣezer. and the third Truvor in Izborsk. and ѿ those Varѧg. nicknamed Ruska of the earth.
Criticism
Criticism of the beginning of this chronicle is present in Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State”. In particular, he questions the fact that in 862, according to the chronicle, the Slavs first expelled the Varangians from their lands, and then a few months later invited their princes to rule Novgorod. Karamzin claims that the Slavs, due to their warlike nature, could not do this. He also doubts the brevity of the narrative about the times of Prince Rurik - Karamzin concludes that Nestor bases the beginning of the chronicle solely on dubious oral legends.
It is difficult to determine why, after centuries, and sometimes millennia, individual representatives of the human race have a desire to get to the bottom of the truth, to confirm or refute some theory that has long ago become commonplace. The reluctance to believe without evidence in what is familiar, convenient or profitable has allowed and continues to allow new discoveries to be made. The value of such restlessness is that it contributes to the development of the human mind and is the engine of human civilization. One of these mysteries in the history of our Russian fatherland is the first Russian chronicle, which we know as.
The Tale of Bygone Years and its authors
Almost a thousand years ago, practically the first ancient Russian chronicle was begun, which told about how and where the Russian people came from, how the ancient Russian state was formed. This chronicle, like the subsequent Old Russian chronicles that have come down to us, is not a chronological listing of dates and events. But it is also impossible to call The Tale of Bygone Years a book in the usual sense. It consists of several lists and scrolls, which are united by a common idea.
This chronicle is the oldest handwritten document created in the territory and surviving to our times. Therefore, modern scientists, as well as historians of previous centuries, are guided precisely by the facts given in the Tale of Bygone Years. It is with its help that they try to prove or question this or that historical hypothesis. This is precisely where the desire to determine the author of this chronicle comes from, in order to prove the authenticity of not only the chronicle itself, but also the events it tells about.
The original manuscript of the chronicle, which is called the Tale of Bygone Years, and was created in the 11th century, has not reached us. In the 18th century, two lists made in the 15th century were discovered, something like a reprint of the ancient Russian chronicle of the 11th century. Rather, it is not even a chronicle, but a kind of textbook on the history of the emergence of Rus'. It is generally accepted that its author was a monk of the Kiev Pechora Monastery.
Amateurs should not put forward too radical theories on this matter, but one of the tenets of medieval culture was anonymity. Man was not a person in the modern sense of the word, but was just a creation of God, and only clergy could be conductors of God’s providence. Therefore, when rewriting texts from other sources, as happens in the Tale, the one who does this, of course, adds something from himself, expressing his attitude to certain events, but he does not put his name anywhere. Therefore, the name of Nestor is the first name that appears in the list of the 15th century, and only in one, Khlebnikovsky, as scientists called him.
The Russian scientist, historian and linguist A.A. Shakhmatov does not deny that the Tale of Bygone Years was not written by one person, but is a reworking of legends, folk songs, and oral stories. It uses both Greek sources and Novgorod records. In addition to Nestor, Abbot Sylvester at the Kiev Vydubitsky St. Michael's Monastery was involved in editing this material. So, historically it is more accurate to say not the author of the Tale of Bygone Years, but the editor.
Fantastic version of the authorship of The Tale of Bygone Years
A fantastic version of the authorship of the Tale of Bygone Years claims that its author is his closest associate, an extraordinary and mysterious person, Jacob Bruce. A Russian nobleman and count with Scottish roots, a man of extraordinary erudition for his time, a secret Freemason, alchemist and sorcerer. Quite an explosive mixture for one person! So new researchers of the authorship of the Tale of Bygone Years will have to deal with this version, which is fantastic at first glance.
The Tale of Bygone Years was created in the 12th century and is the most famous ancient Russian chronicle. Now it is included in the school curriculum - which is why every student who wants not to disgrace himself in class has to read or listen to this work.
What is “The Tale of Bygone Years” (PVL)
This ancient chronicle is a collection of text-articles telling about events in Kyiv from the times described in the Bible until 1137. Moreover, the dating itself begins in the work in 852.
The Tale of Bygone Years: characteristics of the chronicle
The features of the work are:
All this made The Tale of Bygone Years stand out from other ancient Russian works. The genre cannot be called either historical or literary; the chronicle only tells about the events that took place, without trying to evaluate them. The position of the authors is simple - everything is God’s will.
History of creation
In science, the monk Nestor is recognized as the main author of the chronicle, although it has been proven that the work has several authors. However, it was Nestor who was called the first chronicler in Rus'.
There are several theories explaining when the chronicle was written:
- Written in Kyiv. Date of writing: 1037, author Nestor. Folklore works are taken as a basis. Repeatedly copied by various monks and Nestor himself.
- Date of writing: 1110.
One of the versions of the work has survived to this day, the Laurentian Chronicle - a copy of the Tale of Bygone Years, performed by the monk Laurentius. The original edition, unfortunately, has been lost.
The Tale of Bygone Years: summary
We invite you to familiarize yourself with a summary of the chronicle chapter by chapter.
The beginning of the chronicle. About the Slavs. The first princes
When the Flood ended, the creator of the ark, Noah, died. His sons had the honor of dividing the land among themselves by lot. The north and west went to Japheth, Ham to the south, and Shem to the east. An angry God destroyed the majestic Tower of Babel and, as punishment for arrogant people, divides them into nations and gives them different languages. This is how the Slavic people - the Rusichi - were formed, who settled along the banks of the Dnieper. Gradually, the Russians also divided:
- Meek, peaceful glades began to live across the fields.
- In the forests there are warlike Drevlyan robbers. Even cannibalism is not alien to them.
Andrey's journey
Further in the text you can read about the wanderings of the Apostle Andrew in the Crimea and along the Dnieper, everywhere he preached Christianity. It also tells about the creation of Kyiv, a great city with pious inhabitants and an abundance of churches. The apostle speaks about this to his disciples. Then Andrei returns to Rome and talks about the Slovenians who build wooden houses and take strange water procedures called ablution.
Three brothers ruled the clearings. The great city of Kyiv was named after the eldest, Kiya. The other two brothers are Shchek and Khoreb. In Constantinople, Kiy was shown great honor by the local king. Next, Kiy’s path lay in the city of Kievets, which attracted his attention, but the local residents did not allow him to settle here. Returning to Kyiv, Kiy and his brothers continue to live here until their death.
Khazars
The brothers were gone, and Kyiv was attacked by the warlike Khazars, forcing the peaceful, good-natured glades to pay them tribute. After consulting, the residents of Kyiv decide to pay tribute with sharp swords. The Khazar elders see this as a bad sign - the tribe will not always be obedient. The times are coming when the Khazars themselves will pay tribute to this strange tribe. In the future, this prophecy will come true.
Name of Russian land
In the Byzantine chronicle there is information about a campaign against Constantinople by a certain “Rus”, suffering from civil strife: in the north, Russian lands pay tribute to the Varangians, in the south - to the Khazars. Having gotten rid of oppression, the northern peoples begin to suffer from constant conflicts within the tribe and the lack of a unified authority. To solve the problem, they turn to their former enslavers, the Varangians, with a request to give them a prince. Three brothers came: Rurik, Sineus and Truvor, but when the younger brothers died, Rurik became the only Russian prince. And the new state was named Russian Land.
Dir and Askold
With the permission of Prince Rurik, two of his boyars, Dir and Askold, undertook a military campaign to Constantinople, along the way meeting glades paying tribute to the Khazars. The boyars decide to settle here and rule Kyiv. Their campaign against Constantinople turned out to be a complete failure, when all 200 Varangian ships were destroyed, many warriors drowned in the depths of the water, and few returned home.
After the death of Prince Rurik, the throne was supposed to pass to his young son Igor, but while the prince was still an infant, the governor, Oleg, began to rule. It was he who learned that Dir and Askold had illegally appropriated the princely title and were ruling in Kyiv. Having lured out the impostors by cunning, Oleg arranged a trial over them and the boyars were killed, since they did not ascend to the throne without being a princely family.
When the famous princes ruled - Prophetic Oleg, Prince Igor and Olga, Svyatoslav
Oleg
In 882-912. Oleg was the governor of the Kyiv throne, he built cities, conquered hostile tribes, and it was he who managed to conquer the Drevlyans. With a huge army, Oleg comes to the gates of Constantinople and by cunning frightens the Greeks, who agree to pay a huge tribute to Rus', and hangs his shield on the gates of the conquered city. For his extraordinary insight (the prince realized that the dishes presented to him were poisoned), Oleg is called the Prophetic.
Peace reigns for a long time, but, seeing an evil omen in the sky (a star resembling a spear), the prince-deputy calls the fortuneteller to him and asks what kind of death awaits him. To Oleg’s surprise, he reports that the prince’s death awaits him from his favorite war horse. To prevent the prophecy from coming true, Oleg orders the pet to be fed, but does not approach him anymore. A few years later, the horse died and the prince, coming to say goodbye to him, is amazed at the error of the prophecy. But alas, the fortuneteller was right - a poisonous snake crawled out of the animal’s skull and bit Oleg, and he died in agony.
Death of Prince Igor
The events in the chapter take place in the years 913-945. Prophetic Oleg died and the reign passed to Igor, who had already matured enough. The Drevlyans refuse to pay tribute to the new prince, but Igor, like Oleg earlier, managed to conquer them and imposed an even greater tribute. Then the young prince gathers a large army and marches on Constantinople, but suffers a crushing defeat: the Greeks use fire against Igor’s ships and destroy almost the entire army. But the young prince manages to gather a new large army, and the king of Byzantium, deciding to avoid bloodshed, offers Igor a rich tribute in exchange for peace. The prince consults with the warriors, who offer to accept tribute and not engage in battle.
But this was not enough for the greedy warriors; after some time they literally forced Igor to go to the Drevlyans again for tribute. Greed destroyed the young prince - not wanting to pay more, the Drevlyans kill Igor and bury him not far from Iskorosten.
Olga and her revenge
Having killed Prince Igor, the Drevlyans decide to marry his widow to their prince Mal. But the princess, by cunning, managed to destroy all the nobility of the rebellious tribe, burying them alive. Then the clever princess calls matchmakers - noble Drevlyans - and burns them alive in a bathhouse. And then she manages to burn Sparkling by tying burning tinder to the pigeons' legs. The princess imposes a huge tribute on the Drevlyan lands.
Olga and baptism
The princess also shows her wisdom in another chapter of the Tale of Bygone Years: wanting to avoid marriage with the king of Byzantium, she is baptized, becoming his spiritual daughter. Struck by the woman’s cunning, the king lets her go in peace.
Svyatoslav
The next chapter describes the events of 964-972 and the wars of Prince Svyatoslav. He began to rule after the death of his mother, Princess Olga. He was a courageous warrior who managed to defeat the Bulgarians, save Kyiv from the attack of the Pechenegs and make Pereyaslavets the capital.
With an army of only 10 thousand soldiers, the brave prince attacks Byzantium, which put up a hundred thousand army against him. Inspiring his army to face certain death, Svyatoslav said that death was better than the shame of defeat. And he manages to win. The Byzantine Tsar pays the Russian army a good tribute.
The brave prince died at the hands of the Pecheneg prince Kuri, who attacked the army of Svyatoslav, weakened by hunger, going to Rus' in search of a new squad. From his skull they make a cup from which the treacherous Pechenegs drink wine.
Rus' after baptism
Baptism of Rus'
This chapter of the chronicle tells that Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav and the housekeeper, became a prince and chose a single god. The idols were overthrown, and Rus' adopted Christianity. At first, Vladimir lived in sin, he had several wives and concubines, and his people made sacrifices to idol gods. But having accepted faith in one God, the prince becomes pious.
About the fight against the Pechenegs
The chapter recounts several events:
- In 992, the struggle between the troops of Prince Vladimir and the attacking Pechenegs began. They propose to fight the best fighters: if the Pecheneg wins, the war will be three years, if the Russian - three years of peace. The Russian youth won, and peace was established for three years.
- Three years later, the Pechenegs attack again and the prince miraculously manages to escape. A church was erected in honor of this event.
- The Pechenegs attacked Belgorod, and a terrible famine began in the city. The residents managed to escape only by cunning: on the advice of a wise old man, they dug wells in the ground, put a vat of oatmeal in one, and honey in the second, and told the Pechenegs that the earth itself gave them food. They raised the siege in fear.
Massacre of the Magi
Magi come to Kyiv and begin to accuse noble women of hiding food, causing famine. Cunning men kill many women, taking their property for themselves. Only Jan Vyshatich, the Kyiv governor, manages to expose the Magi. He ordered the townspeople to hand over the deceivers to him, threatening that otherwise he would live with them for another year. Talking with the Magi, Ian learns that they worship the Antichrist. The voivode orders people whose relatives died due to the fault of deceivers to kill them.
Blindness
This chapter describes the events of 1097, when the following happened:
- Princely council in Lyubich to conclude peace. Each prince received his own oprichnina, they made an agreement not to fight with each other, focusing on expelling external enemies.
- But not all the princes are happy: Prince Davyd felt deprived and forced Svyatopolk to go over to his side. They conspired against Prince Vasilko.
- Svyatopolk deceitfully invites the gullible Vasilko to his place, where he blinds him.
- The rest of the princes are horrified by what the brothers did to Vasilko. They demand that Svyatopolk expel David.
- Davyd dies in exile, and Vasilko returns to his native Terebovl, where he reigns.
Victory over the Cumans
The last chapter of the Tale of Bygone Years tells about the victory over the Polovtsians of princes Vladimir Monomakh and Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. The Polovtsian troops were defeated, and Prince Beldyuz was executed; the Russians returned home with rich booty: livestock, slaves and property.
This event marks the end of the narrative of the first Russian chronicle.
Composition
THE TALE OF TIME YEARS is one of the first and oldest of the Russian chronicle collections that have come down to us. Its name is given according to the first words of the Laurentian list of the chronicle: “Behold the stories of the time years, where the Russian land came from, who began to reign first in Kyiv, and where the Russian land began to eat.” PVL was created at the very beginning. XII century, as most researchers believe, by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor. Nestor used the previous chronicle compiled in the beginning. 90s in the same monastery (this code is called the Initial), but significantly revised it and supplemented it with a description of the events of the last two decades. Since the PVL was preserved not in separate lists, but as the initial part of other chronicle collections, the question remains controversial as to what year Nestor himself brought the narrative to: they call it 1110, 1113 or 1115.
Reworking the Initial Code, Nestor deepened the historiographical basis of Russian chronicles: he examined the history of the Slavs and Rus' against the background of world history. Nestor prefaced the story of the Primary Code about the foundation of Kyiv with an extensive historical and geographical introduction, telling about the origin and ancient history of the Slavic peoples. He introduced extracts from the “Tale of the Beginning of Slavic Writing” into the chronicle in order to emphasize the antiquity and authority of Slavic literacy and Slavic book culture. Nestor strengthens the historiographical concept proposed by his predecessor chroniclers, according to which the lineage of the Kyiv princes originates from the Varangian prince Rurik, who was voluntarily summoned by the Novgorodians. Nestor strives to accurately date all events starting from 852 - the first named in the PVL, although, of course, the dating of events of the 9th - 10th centuries, described retrospectively, after 150-250 years, should be approached with great caution. An important documentary evidence of Russian-Byzantine relations in the 10th century. the treaties with Byzantium in 907 (911) and 945, inserted by Nestor into the text of the PVL, appeared.
Talking about the wars with the Greeks, Nestor widely uses Byzantine sources, while telling about the first Russian princes, he, like his predecessors, constantly reproduces folk historical legends: these are the stories about the death of Prince Oleg, about how Igor’s widow, Princess Olga, cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans for the murder of her husband, stories about folk heroes: a youth who by cunning escaped from Kiev besieged by the Pechenegs and called on the governor Pretich to come to the aid of Olga and her grandchildren who were in the city, about a Kozhemyak youth who defeated a Pecheneg hero in a duel, about a wise old man who managed to outwit Pecheneg ambassadors and convince enemies to lift the siege of the city.
The PVL tells in detail about the baptism of Rus' under Vladimir. Unfortunately, it turns out to be very difficult to establish the actual course of events from the chronicle: one of the versions is presented here (the baptism of Vladimir in Korsun), which is not confirmed by other sources; A purely literary device is the story about the test of faith - Vladimir’s acquaintance with representatives of various religions. In the PVL a lengthy “speech” is read by a Greek philosopher who told Vladimir about the history of mankind and the church in the Christian interpretation.
The episode of Vladimir’s conversation with the philosopher itself is a literary fiction, but this “speech” (it is called in science “The Philosopher’s Speech”) had great theological and educational significance for readers of the chronicle, presenting in a concise form the main plots of Sacred History. Article 1015 tells of the murder of Vladimir's sons - Boris and Gleb - by their half-brother Svyatopolk. These events, in addition to the chronicle version, were also reflected in the most ancient hagiographic monuments about Boris and Gleb (see Lives of Boris and Gleb). Narrating the reign of Yaroslav Vladimirovich, the chronicle reports on the book-writing and translation activities that unfolded under this prince, on the creation of monasteries in Rus', and on intensive church construction.
In article 1051 one reads a detailed “Legend of why the Pechersk Monastery was nicknamed,” which sets out one of the versions about the history of the creation of this most authoritative monastery in Kievan Rus. Of fundamental importance is the story of the PVL in 1054 about the will of Yaroslav the Wise, which determined the principles of the political structure of Rus' for many decades: the will emphasized the leading role of Kyiv and established that the Kiev table should belong to the eldest of the descendants of Yaroslav (i.e. his eldest). son, then grandson from the eldest son, etc.), to whom all other appanage princes must obey “like a father.”
In 1061, the Polovtsians attacked Rus' for the first time. Since that time, the PVL has paid great attention to the fight against the steppe inhabitants: chroniclers describe in detail the tragic consequences of the Polovtsian raids (see articles 1068, 1093, 1096), glorify the joint campaigns of the Russian princes in the Polovtsian steppe, and severely condemn the princes who use the Polovtsians as allies in internecine war. A special place in the PVL is occupied by the story introduced in article 1097 about the blinding of Prince Vasilko of Terebovl by the Kyiv prince Svyatopolk Izyaslavich and the Volyn prince Davyd Igorevich. Written independently of the chronicle (although, perhaps, intended for inclusion in it) by a participant in the events, a certain Vasily, this story was intended to expose the instigators of the next civil strife in the most unfavorable light and to justify the decisive actions of Vladimir Monomakh, who spoke out against the criminal princes.
The main idea of the story about Vasilko Terebovlsky is expressed in the appeal of the Kievites (probably formulated by the chronicler or the author of the story): “If you start fighting with each other, the filthy ones (i.e., the pagan Polovtsians) will rejoice and seize our land, which your fathers gathered and your grandfathers with great labor and courage”; princely civil strife scattered the forces necessary for a decisive rebuff to the nomads.
Thus, PVL contains an account of the ancient history of the Slavs, and then of Rus', from the first Kyiv princes to the beginning. XII century However, PVL is not only a historical chronicle, but at the same time an outstanding monument of literature. Thanks to the state view, breadth of outlook and literary talent of Nestor, PVL, according to D. S. Likhachev, was “not just a collection of facts of Russian history and not just a historical and journalistic work related to the urgent but transitory tasks of Russian reality, but integral, literary stated history of Rus'” (L ikh a -ch ev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. - M.; L., 1947. - P. 169).
As already mentioned, many chronicles began with PVL. The oldest lists of PVL are included in the Laurentian Chronicle (1377), the Ipatiev Chronicle (1st quarter of the 15th century), and the Radzivilov Chronicle (15th century).
Academician A. A. Shakhmatov, who devoted a number of fundamental works to the history of the oldest Russian chronicles, believed that the oldest first edition of the PVL had not reached us; in the Laurentian and Radzivil Chronicles we find the second edition of the PVL, revised (or rewritten) by the abbot of the Vydubitsky monastery (near Kiev) Sylvester in 1116, and in the Ipatiev Chronicle - its third edition.
PVL was published many times as part of chronicle collections. Below, only the main editions of the text of the PVL itself are indicated.