What is the name of the most famous Russian chronicle? Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - the center of chronicle writing

Byzantine chronicles and Russian chronicles The main sources on this topic are the “History” of Leo the Deacon, a Byzantine author of the second half of the 10th century, who described in detail the Russian-Bulgarian and Russian-Byzantine wars, the Byzantine chronicles of Skylitzes (XI century) and Zonara (XII century

The history of chronicles in Rus' goes back to the distant past. It is known that writing arose before the 10th century. The texts were written, as a rule, by representatives of the clergy. It is thanks to ancient writings that we know. But what was the name of the first Russian chronicle? Where did it all start? Why is it of great historical significance?

What was the name of the first Russian chronicle?

Everyone should know the answer to this question. The first Russian chronicle was called “The Tale of Bygone Years.” It was written in 1110-1118 in Kyiv. Linguistic scientist Shakhmatov revealed that she had predecessors. However, this is still the first Russian chronicle. It is called confirmed, reliable.

The story describes a chronicle of events that occurred over a certain period of time. It consisted of articles that described each past year.

Author

The monk described events from biblical times to 1117. The title of the first Russian chronicle is the first lines of the chronicle.

History of creation

The chronicle had copies made after Nestor, which were able to survive to this day. They weren't very different from each other. The original itself was lost. According to Shchakhmatov, the chronicle was rewritten just a few years after its appearance. Big changes were made to it.

In the 14th century, the monk Lawrence rewrote the work of Nestor, and it is this copy that is considered the most ancient that has survived to our time.

There are several versions of where Nestor got the information for his chronicle. Since the chronology goes back to ancient times, and articles with dates appeared only after 852, many historians believe that the monk described the old period thanks to the legends of people and written sources in the monastery.

She corresponded often. Even Nestor himself rewrote the chronicle, making some changes.

The interesting thing is that in those days the scripture was also a code of laws.

The Tale of Bygone Years described everything: from exact events to biblical legends.

The purpose of the creation was to write a chronicle, record events, restore chronology in order to understand where the Russian people come from and how Rus' was formed.

Nestor wrote that the Slavs appeared a long time ago from the son of Noah. Noah had three in total. They divided three territories among themselves. One of them, Japheth, received the northwestern part.

Then there are articles about the princes, the East Slavic tribes that descended from the Noriks. It is here that Rurik and his brothers are mentioned. It is said about Rurik that he became the ruler of Rus' by founding Novgorod. This explains why there are so many supporters of the Norman theory of the origin of princes from the Rurikovichs, although there is no factual evidence.

It tells about Yaroslav the Wise and many other people and their reign, about wars and other significant events that shaped the history of Rus' and made it what we know it now.

Meaning

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is of great importance today. This is one of the main historical sources on which historians conduct research. Thanks to her, the chronology of that period has been restored.

Since the chronicle has an open genre, ranging from stories of epics to descriptions of wars and weather, one can understand a lot about the mentality and ordinary life of the Russians who lived at that time.

Christianity played a special role in the chronicle. All events are described through the prism of religion. Even the deliverance from idols and the adoption of Christianity are described as a period when people got rid of temptations and ignorance. And the new religion is light for Rus'.

Chronicles are ancient Russian writings; they described events year by year, described the life of ordinary people and the princely court, copied legal documents and church texts. They covered different periods for description. In some, the description came from biblical events, and in others, from the settlement of lands by the Slavs. The emergence of the state and the adoption of Christianity are described. They described all the historical events that occurred in Ancient Rus'. Each period described in them, of course, contains elements of ideology and propaganda of unification, descriptions of the merits of the princes. In addition to historical events, there is a description of the state policy and the way of life of the Slavs.
Unlike European chronicles, which are written in Latin, Old Russian chronicles are written in Old Russian. What made them accessible, since in Ancient Rus' there were many men and women trained to read and write, and there were also many very educated people.

Chronicle centers in Ancient Rus'

Various methods of keeping and writing were used in the chronicle. Here, for example, we used lists. These are rewritten copies of ancient chronicles. Changes were made for various reasons. If the prince changed, then it was necessary to glorify the deeds, describe the events of past years in a new way, making changes, taking into account new events. This was also done to introduce religious aspects into the writing.

The concept of “corpora” or “consolidated chronicles” is also used. The chronicle of Ancient Rus' is a description of what is happening chronologically. The description takes place from the point of view of the ruling class; the entire process of chronicling was under the control of the authorities. Ideology played an important role.

Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - the center of chronicle writing

This place has always been the main shrine and pride. It was here that many of the brightest and most worthy people lived, dressing as monks, after cutting their hair, moving away from the bustle of the world and the blessings of life, completely devoting themselves to the affairs of God. This is not only a shrine, but also a center of enlightenment. And later - the main concentration of chronicle writing. It was within these walls that the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years” was compiled and recorded for a long time. And the monk Nestor, who created this and a number of other significant works, lived here, doing many holy deeds, for 41 years. He, together with other monks, compiled a scripture about the Old Russian Church, described all the important church events and gave a description of its features in Rus'. After his death, his incorrupt body was transferred and still rests in the cave of the Lavra.
The Vydubetsky Monastery also plays a special role. Within the walls of the Vydubetskaya shrine, Hegumen Matthew was engaged in maintaining the Kyiv vault, in which he chronolized events in the period 1118-1198. Gave them a very accurate description and disclosure, without distorting the facts. This work is also one of the written monuments, which plays an important role in the study of the history of our ancestors. It became a logical continuation of the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years.”

The Kiev model of keeping formed the basis for the creation and application of principles in writing chronicles. This is where the rules and methods are based.

What were the names of the centers of chronicle writing in Ancient Rus':

• Novgorod
• Vladimir-Suzdal
• Galicia-Volynsky

Novgorod Chronicle Center

Novgorod was the largest city with a developed structure, so it became a center for chronicling. A description of the city can be seen in the “Tale of Ancient Years” for the year 859. In the 11th century, Yaroslav the Wise, having ascended the throne, did not stay in Kyiv; his court spent 10 years in Novgorod. All this time the city was considered virtually the capital of Rus'.

Compilation began in the 11th century with the writing of the first Novgorod Chronicle. In total, four of them were created, but the rest were written later. It included:

• Brief description of “Russian Truth”
• Brief description of the legal collection
• Description of ongoing events and processes

Vaults were also built here, led by the mayor Ostromir. But history has not left us any information about him.

Vladimir-Suzdal Chronicle Center

The Vladimir Church is the place where the monks were engaged in keeping chronicles. Chronicle collections, the earliest of those that have come down to us, there are two of them, compiled from 1177-1193, describe the “Chronicle of Pereyaslavl Russian”. They covered politics, church life, and described life and main events at the princely court. Everything was presented and interpreted from the point of view of the church. Only at the beginning of the 12th century did chronicles begin to be written at the princely court.

Galicia-Volyn Chronicle Center

For these lands, the confrontation between princely and boyar power has always been a big problem. The chronicles were created at court, so the main idea when writing was strong and fair princely power, and the complete opposite - boyar power. Perhaps the chronicle was written by warriors. They described events as separate fragments and descriptions. They stood on the side of the princely power, so the idea of ​​fighting the boyars, a negative description of their desire for power, runs through the chronicle.

The Galician-Volyn Chronicle dates back to a later period, approximately 1201-1291. She entered the Ipatiev Vault. Later it was drawn up in the form of a chronology; before registration it consisted of parts:

1. Galician Chronicle, compiled in Galicia in 1201-1261.
2. Volyn Chronicle, compiled in Volyn 1262-1291.

Main feature: church events and way of life were not described.

The first ancient Russian chronicle

The oldest Russian chronicle was called “The Tale of Bygone Years.” Created in the 12th century. This is a consistent chronological description of events on the territory of Rus', the place of creation is the city of Kyiv. It was redone an unknown number of times, but no fundamental changes were made. In any case, this version is officially considered correct.
Contains descriptions up to 1137, but dates back to 852. Consists of a large number of articles of different nature. And each one contains a description of a specific year. The number of articles coincides with the number of years described. As a rule, each section begins with a phrase in the form: “In the summer of such and such” and then there is a description, excerpts from important documents or in the form of legends. It got its name because of the phrase that appears at the beginning - “The Tale of Bygone Years.”

The oldest chronicle, the most ancient Russian chronicle, “The Tale of Bygone Years,” which has survived to this day, was rewritten by the monk Lawrence and dates back to the 14th century. The original chronicle, unfortunately, is lost forever. Now later versions have been found with various modifications by other authors.
At the moment there are many versions of the history of the chronicle. If you believe them, then it was completed in 1037, and the author is still the monk Nestor. It was even rewritten under Nestor, because he made changes there to add Christian ideology, and additions of a political nature were also made. Ideology, even in those days, was an important tool for strengthening princely power. Other versions say the date of creation is 1100. It is generally accepted that the oldest Russian chronicle of the beginning of the 12th century. is "The Tale of Bygone Years".

The distinctive feature is that it contains a structured description of events and does not try to interpret them in one’s own way. The Will of God came first; its existence explained many events. The cause-and-effect relationship was not interesting and was not reflected in the work. The genre of the Tale of Bygone Years was open; it could include anything, from various legends to weather reports. The chronicle had legal force on a par with the set of officially accepted documents.

The purpose of writing the first ancient Russian chronicle, called “The Tale of Bygone Years,” was to clarify the roots of the Russian people, the philosophy of Christianity and a description of the valiant princely power. It begins with a story and discussion about the origin and settlement. The Russian people are shown as descendants of Noah's son, Japheth. The basis to which most of it is subordinated consists of legends about the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, about wars and brave heroes. The ending consists of battle stories from the princes' obituaries.
“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the first important document that described the history of Rus' from its very beginning. It played a very important role in further historical research and is a very important source of knowledge about our ancestors.

Old Russian chroniclers

Nowadays, information about chroniclers is collected bit by bit. The centers of their writing were, as a rule, temples. Chroniclers of Ancient Rus', names: Nestor and Hegumen Matthew. These are some of the first chroniclers; others appeared later. Initially, chronicles were written almost everywhere only in churches, and later at princely courts. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the life of Jehumn Matthew, except that he was engaged in chronicle writing at the Vydubetsky Monastery.

We know little more about Nestor the chronicler. While still a seventeen-year-old teenager, he received monastic rank from Theodosius of Pechersk. He came to the monastery already a literate and educated person; there were many teachers in Kyiv who could teach him. In addition to “The Tale of Bygone Years,” Nestor left us a lot of works, one of them: “The Biography of Theodosius of Pechersk,” which he often saw as a novice. In 1196, he witnessed the destruction of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. In his last works, he raised topics about the unity of Rus' with Christianity. Death overtook the chronicler at the age of 65.

Conclusion

Chronicles, summary chronicles and chronicle lists have only partially survived to this day, which help in studying the history of the ancient Slavs, political events, and the way of life of both the common people and the princely court.

The Monk Nestor came to the famous Kiev-Pechersk Monastery when he was a seventeen-year-old youth. The holy monastery lived according to the strict Studite Rule, which was introduced into it by the Monk Theodosius, borrowing it from Byzantine books. According to this charter, before taking monastic vows, the candidate had to go through a long preparatory stage. Newcomers first had to wear secular clothes until they had thoroughly studied the rules of monastic life. After this, the candidates were allowed to put on monastic attire and begin testing, that is, to show themselves in work at various obediences. Those who passed these tests successfully received tonsure, but the test did not end there - the last stage of acceptance into the monastery was tonsure into the great schema, which not everyone was awarded.

The Monk Nestor went all the way from a simple novice to a schemamonk in just four years, and also received the rank of deacon. In addition to obedience and virtue, his education and outstanding literary talent played a significant role in this.

The Kiev Pechersky Monastery was a unique phenomenon in the spiritual life of Kievan Rus. The number of brethren reached one hundred people, which was rare even for Byzantium itself. The severity of the communal rules found in the Constantinople archives had no analogues. The monastery also flourished materially, although its governors did not care about collecting earthly riches. The powers that be listened to the voice of the monastery; it had a real political and, most importantly, spiritual influence on society.

The young Russian Church at that time was actively mastering the rich material of Byzantine church literature. She was faced with the task of creating original Russian texts in which the national image of Russian holiness would be revealed.

The first hagiographical (hagiography is a theological discipline that studies the lives of saints, theological and historical-ecclesiastical aspects of holiness - Ed.) work of the Monk Nestor - “Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearers Boris and Gleb” - is dedicated to the memory of the first Russian saints. The chronicler, apparently, responded to the expected all-Russian church celebration - the consecration of a stone church over the relics of Saints Boris and Gleb.

The work of the Monk Nestor was not the first among works devoted to this topic. However, he did not recount the story of the brothers according to a ready-made chronicle legend, but created a text that was deeply original in form and content. The author of “Reading about the Life...” creatively reworked the best examples of Byzantine hagiographic literature and was able to express ideas that were very important for the Russian church and state consciousness. As Georgy Fedotov, a researcher of ancient Russian church culture, writes, “the memory of Saints Boris and Gleb was the voice of conscience in inter-princely appanage accounts, not regulated by law, but only vaguely limited by the idea of ​​clan seniority.”

The Monk Nestor did not have much information about the death of the brothers, but as a subtle artist he was able to recreate a psychologically reliable image of true Christians meekly accepting death. The truly Christian death of the sons of the baptizer of the Russian people, Prince Vladimir, is inscribed by the chronicler in the panorama of the global historical process, which he understands as the arena of the universal struggle between good and evil.

Father of Russian monasticism

The second hagiographic work of St. Nestor is dedicated to the life of one of the founders of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - St. Theodosius. He writes this work in the 1080s, just a few years after the death of the ascetic, in the hope of the speedy canonization of the saint. This hope, however, was not destined to come true. The Monk Theodosius was canonized only in 1108.

The internal appearance of St. Theodosius of Pechersk has special meaning for us. As Georgy Fedotov writes, “in the person of St. Theodosius, Ancient Rus' found its ideal saint, to which it remained faithful for many centuries. Venerable Theodosius is the father of Russian monasticism. All Russian monks are his children, bearing his family traits.” And Nestor the Chronicler was the person who preserved for us his unique appearance and created on Russian soil the ideal type of biography of the saint. As the same Fedotov writes, “Nestor’s work forms the basis of all Russian hagiography, inspiring heroism, indicating the normal, Russian path of labor and, on the other hand, filling in the gaps of biographical tradition with general necessary features.<…>All this gives Nestor’s life exceptional significance for the Russian type of ascetic holiness.” The chronicler was not a witness to the life and exploits of St. Theodosius. Nevertheless, his life story is based on eyewitness accounts, which he was able to combine into a coherent, vivid and memorable story.

Of course, to create a full-fledged literary life, it is necessary to rely on a developed literary tradition, which did not yet exist in Rus'. Therefore, the Monk Nestor borrows a lot from Greek sources, sometimes making long verbatim extracts. However, they have virtually no effect on the biographical basis of his story.

Memory of the unity of the people

The main feat of the life of the Monk Nestor was the compilation of the “Tale of Bygone Years” by 1112-1113. This work is separated from the first two literary works of the Monk Nestor known to us by a quarter of a century and belongs to another literary genre - the chronicle. Unfortunately, the entire set of “The Tale...” has not reached us. It was revised by the monk of the Vydubitsky monastery Sylvester.

The Tale of Bygone Years is based on the chronicle work of Abbot John, who made the first attempt at a systematic presentation of Russian history from ancient times. He brought his narrative up to 1093. Earlier chronicle records represent a fragmentary account of disparate events. It is interesting that these records contain a legend about Kiy and his brothers, a brief account of the reign of the Varangian Oleg in Novgorod, the destruction of Askold and Dir, and a legend about the death of the Prophetic Oleg. Actually, Kiev history begins with the reign of “old Igor,” whose origin is kept silent.

Hegumen John, dissatisfied with the inaccuracy and fabulousness of the chronicle, restores the years, relying on Greek and Novgorod chronicles. It is he who first introduces “old Igor” as the son of Rurik. Askold and Dir appear here for the first time as boyars of Rurik, and Oleg as his governor.

It was the arch of Abbot John that became the basis for the work of the Monk Nestor. He subjected the greatest processing to the initial part of the chronicle. The initial edition of the chronicle was supplemented by legends, monastic records, and Byzantine chronicles of John Malala and George Amartol. Saint Nestor attached great importance to oral testimonies - the stories of the elder boyar Jan Vyshatich, merchants, warriors, and travelers.

In his main work, Nestor the Chronicler acts both as a scientist-historian, and as a writer, and as a religious thinker, giving a theological understanding of Russian history, which is an integral part of the history of the salvation of the human race.

For St. Nestor, the history of Rus' is the history of the perception of Christian preaching. Therefore, he records in his chronicle the first mention of the Slavs in church sources - the year 866, and talks in detail about the activities of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and about the baptism of Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga in Constantinople. It was this ascetic who introduced into the chronicle the story about the first Orthodox church in Kyiv, about the preaching feat of the Varangian martyrs Theodore Varangian and his son John.

Despite the huge amount of heterogeneous information, the chronicle of St. Nestor has become a true masterpiece of ancient Russian and world literature.

During the years of fragmentation, when almost nothing reminded of the former unity of Kievan Rus, “The Tale of Bygone Years” remained the monument that awakened in all corners of crumbling Rus' the memory of its former unity.

The Monk Nestor died around 1114, bequeathing to the Pechersk monks-chroniclers the continuation of his great work.

Newspaper "Orthodox Faith" No. 21 (545)

(Answers at the end of the test)

1. What was the name of the first Russian chronicle?

A) “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”

B) “The Tale of Bygone Years” by Nestor

C) “Lesson for Children” by Vladimir Monomakh

D) “The Word on Law and Grace”

2. What is patrimony?

A) land ownership of nobles

B) land ownership of the guardsmen, given out as a merit

C) land ownership of boyars and princes, inherited

D) land ownership of the voivode

3. When did feudal fragmentation in Rus' begin and end?

A) end of the 10th century - until the 12th century

B) end of the 11th century - until the middle of the 13th century

B) the beginning of the 13th century - the 40s of the 16th century

D) 30s of the 12th century - end of the 15th century

4. Who was the first Moscow prince?

A) Yuri Dolgoruky

B) Daniil Alexandrovich

B) Ivan Kalita

D) Dmitry Donskoy

5. The patriarchate was established in Russia:

A) in 1589

B) in 1605

B) in 1612

D) in 1645

6. Which historical figure played a significant role during the “Time of Troubles”?

A) Malyuta Skuratov

B) Alexander Menshikov

B) Kozma Minin

D) Ermak Timofeevich

7. What feature is characteristic of the absolute monarchy that existed in Russia in the 18th century?

A) unlimited power of the monarch

B) independence of local authorities

C) a clear distribution of state power into legislative, executive and judicial

D) the great role of the patriarch in public administration

8. The origin of the “policy of enlightened absolutism” in Russia is associated with the era of management:

A) Peter I

B) Elizaveta Petrovna

B) Catherine II

D) Alexander I

9. In Ancient Rus', a tax in favor of the church was called:

A) tithe

B) capitation tax

D) elderly

10. The Baptism of Rus' took place in

11. Which city did not have its own princely dynasty?

A) Vladimir

B) Chernigov

B) Novgorod

D) Pereslavl

12. Kievan Rus was replaced by a form of political structure called:

A) Centralized state

B) Feudal Republic

B) Moscow Rus'

D) Feudal fragmentation

13. The main idea of ​​Catherine’s domestic policyII was:

A) absolutist bureaucracy

B) class monarchy

B) enlightened absolutism

D) constitutional monarchy

14. Andrei Rublev wrote...

A) portraits

B) landscapes of Russian nature

D) battle scenes

15. What was the name of the tribute that was collected from Russian lands for the Horde?

16. The peasant war under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev took place...

A) in 1670-1672.

B) in 1801-1803.

B) in 1758-1760.

D) in 1773-1775.

17. The result of the Livonian War for the Russian state was:

A) obtaining access to the Baltic Sea coast

B) loss of Pskov, Novgorod and part of the northwestern lands

B) annexation of eastern Belarus and Ukraine

D) loss of Ivangorod, the southern coast of the Baltic and access to the sea

18. What was the name of the merchant who is credited with the authorship of “Walking across the Three Seas”

19. The election of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom took place in...

A) 1650

B) 1585

B) 1613

D) 1495

20. The Declaration of "Armed Neutrality", adopted in 1780, was aimed at limiting the policy...

A) France

B) England

B) Prussia

D) Sweden

21. In what century did V.N. Tatishchev create his historical works?

22. In what century did Russia become a major maritime power?

23. Which ancient Russian princes were canonized for refusing to shed brotherly blood in internecine wars?

A) Yaroslav and Svyatopolk

B) Boris and Oleg

B) Vladimir and Yaroslav

D) Boris and Gleb

24. Who founded the oprichnina?

25. Match the name and nickname: