That same autumn, the Horde prince Mamai came with his like-minded people, and with all the other princes of the Horde, and with all the power of the Tatar and Polovtsian, and in addition he hired another army: infidels, and Armenians, and Fryags, Circassians, and Yas, and Burtas. And with Mamai, in alliance with him, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello with all the power of Lithuania and Lyash, and with them, at the same time, Oleg Ivanovich, the prince of Ryazan - with these accomplices he went against the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother, Vladimir Andreevich. But the philanthropic God wanted to save and liberate the Christian race through the prayers of his Most Pure Mother from the slavery of the Ishmaelites, from the filthy Mamai and from his allies - the wicked Jogaila and the flattering and deceitful Oleg of Ryazan, who did not observe his Christianity. Hell and the devil await him on the day of the great judgment of the Lord.
The accursed Mamai, having become proud and imagining himself to be a king, began to gather a wicked council, calling to himself his leaders, the filthy princes. And he said to them: “Let’s go against the Russian prince and all the Russian power, as it was under Batu - we will eradicate Christianity and burn down the churches of God, and we will shed their blood, and we will destroy their customs.” The wicked man was fiercely angry because his friends, favorites and princes were killed on the river on the Vozha. And he began to resolutely and hastily gather his forces and, in a rage, went with a large army to capture the Christians. And then all the Tatar tribes moved.
And Mamai began to send to Lithuania, to the filthy Jagiel, and to the flattering servant of Satan, an accomplice of the devil, excommunicated from the son of God, darkened by the darkness of sin and not wanting to hear the voice of reason, Oleg Ryazansky, a servant of the Basurman, the wicked son. As Christ said: “They departed from us and took up arms against us.” And the old villain Mamai concluded an unholy agreement with the filthy Lithuania and with the murderer Oleg in order to unite against the noble prince at the Oka River on Semenov’s day. The murderer Oleg began to add evil to evil: he began to send his like-minded boyar Epifan Koreev, the Antichrist's forerunner, to Mamai and Jagiel, calling on them to come exactly at the appointed time and, as agreed, to stand at the Oka with three-headed beasts - raw food eaters - to shed blood.
Enemy and traitor Oleg! You hope to receive benefits, but you don’t know that the sword of God will be sharpened on you! As the prophet said: “The sinners have drawn their weapons and drawn their bows to shoot the righteous in the darkness, and their weapons will pierce their own hearts and their bows will be broken.”
And the month of August came, news reached the Christ-loving prince from the Horde that the Ishmaelite tribes were rising up against the Christians. Oleg, who had completely abandoned the Christian faith because of an alliance with the filthy, sent deceptive news to Prince Dmitry: “Mamai is coming with his entire kingdom to my land of Ryazan against me and you. Let it also be known to you that the Lithuanian Jogaila is coming against you with all his might.” Prince Dmitry, having heard in this sad time that all the kingdoms were coming against him, creating lawlessness, said: “Our hand is still high!” He went to the cathedral church of the Mother of God, the Mother of God, and, shedding tears, began to pray: “O Lord, you are almighty and omnipotent, strong in battles, truly you are the king of glory, who created heaven and earth, have mercy on us through the prayers of your Most Holy Mother, do not forsake us.” we're in trouble. You are our God, and we are your people, stretch out your hand from above and have mercy on us, disgrace our enemies and blunt their weapons. Great are you, Lord, who can resist you? Remember, Lord, your mercy, which you have poured out on the Christian race from time immemorial. Oh, many-named Virgin, mistress, queen of the heavenly ranks, eternal mistress of the entire universe and nurse of all human life, stretch out, mistress, your most pure hands, with which you carried God, who became incarnate from you, do not reject these Christians, deliver us from these raw materials and have mercy me!"
Rising from prayer, he left the church and sent for his brother Vladimir and all the Russian princes and great governors. And he said to his brother Vladimir and all the Russian princes and governors: “Let us go against this accursed and godless, wicked and gloomy raw-eater Mamai for the Orthodox Christian faith, for the holy churches, and for all infants and elders, and for all Christians present and future; Let us take with us the scepter of the king of heaven, an invincible victory, and thereby receive Abraham’s valor.” And he called on God and said: “Lord, hear my prayer for help! God, come to my aid! Let our enemies be covered with shame and disgrace and know that your name is Lord, that you are the only one highest in all the earth.”
And having united with all the Russian princes and having gathered all his strength, without delay he set out from Moscow against the enemies, wanting to protect his patrimony, and came to Kolomna and gathered his soldiers one hundred thousand and fifty thousand, and this without the princely regiments and local governors. And since the beginning of the world there has never been such a strength of Russian princes and local governors as under this prince. There were all the forces and all the troops numbering one and a half hundred thousand or two hundred. And to this, from afar, in that troubled time, the great princes of Olgerdovich came to bow and serve: Prince Andrei of Polotsk with the Pskovites and his brother Prince Dmitry of Bryansk with all his husbands.
At this time, Mamai stood behind the Don, ascending, and proud, and angry, and stood like that with his entire kingdom for three weeks. And then new news came to Prince Dmitry. They told him that Mamai, beyond the Don, having gathered his strength, was standing in the field, waiting for Jogaila and the Lithuanians to come to his aid, so that when they came together, they would win a common victory.
And Mamai began to send to Prince Dmitry and ask for tribute, as was the case under Chanibek the Tsar, and not according to his own agreement. The Christ-loving prince, not wanting bloodshed, agreed to give tribute to Mama according to Christian strength and according to his agreement, as agreed with him. Mamai did not want this in his pride, waiting for his wicked Lithuanian accomplice. Oleg, our traitor, who joined the evil and filthy Mamai and the wicked Jagiel, began to give tribute to Mamai and send his strength to him against Prince Dmitry.
And when Prince Dmitry learned about the deception of the crafty Oleg, the Christian bloodsucker, the new Judas-traitor, who had risen against his ruler, he sighed from the depths of his heart and said: “Lord, destroy the plans of the unrighteous, and destroy those who initiate wars. It was not I who began to shed Christian blood, but he, the new Svyatopolk. Reward him, Lord, seven times seven times more, for he remains in darkness and has forgotten your grace. I will sharpen my sword like lightning, and let my hand execute judgment, I will take revenge on my enemies and those who hate me, and I will fill my arrow with their blood, so that the infidels will not say: “Where is their God?” Turn away, Lord, your face from them and show them, Lord, all your anger at last, since their race is corrupt and they have no faith in you, Lord, and pour out your anger on them, Lord, on the nations that do not recognize you , Lord, even your holy name is not called upon. What god is greater than our God? You are the only God who works miracles!”
And, having finished the prayer, he went to the Church of the Most Pure One to Bishop Gerasim and said to him: “Bless me, father, to go against this accursed raw-eater Mamai, and the wicked Jagiel, and our traitor Oleg, who has retreated from the light into darkness.” Saint Gerasim blessed the prince and all his soldiers for the campaign against the wicked Hagarians.
And Prince Dmitry went from Kolomna with great force against the godless Tatars on August 20, trusting in the mercy of God and in his most pure mother, the Mother of God, in the ever-virgin Mary, calling for help on the venerable cross. And, having passed through his patrimony and his great principality, he stood on the Oka near the mouth of the Lopasnya River, intercepting news of the filthy. Here Prince Dmitry Vladimir, his brother, and his great governor Timofey Vasilyevich and all the other soldiers who were left in Moscow caught up with him. And they began to cross the Oka a week before Semenov’s day, on Sunday. Having moved across the river, they entered the land of Ryazan. And the prince himself crossed over with his court on Monday, and in Moscow he left his governor with the Grand Duchess Evdokia, and with his sons, Vasily, and Yuri, and Ivan, Fyodor Andreevich.
The Horde prince Mamai came with his like-minded people, and with all the other princes of the Horde, and with all the forces of the Tatars and Polovtsians, having also hired troops of Besermen, Armenians, Fryags, Cherkasy, and Yasov, and Burtas. Also gathered with Mamai, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello Olgerdovich with all the forces of Lithuania and Poland, and with them at the same time Oleg Ivanovich, the prince of Ryazan, also gathered with Mamai, of the same mind and with him. With all these accomplices, Mamai went against Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich. But the philanthropic God wanted to save and liberate the Christian race through the prayers of his most pure mother from the enslavement of the Ishmaelites, from the filthy Mamai, and from the gathering of the wicked Jogaila, and from the eloquent and insignificant Oleg of Ryazan, who did not observe his Christian faith. And the great day of the Lord will be the death of him, the fiend of hell and the viper!
The accursed Mamai became proud, imagining himself to be a king, began to weave an evil conspiracy, convening his filthy temnik-princes and told them: “Let's go against the Russian prince and the whole Russian land, as was the case under Batu. We will destroy Christianity, and we will burn God’s churches, and we will shed Christian blood, and we will destroy their laws.” And this is because the wicked man was fiercely angry because of his friends and favorites, because of the princes killed on the Vozha River. And he began to frantically and hastily gather his strength, moving in rage and in great strength, wanting to capture Christians. And then all the Tatar tribes moved.
And Mamai began to send to Lithuania, to the wicked Jagiel, and to the cunning centurion worker, an accomplice of the devil, separated from the son of God, darkened by the darkness of sin and not wanting to understand - Oleg Ryazansky, the helper of the Besermen, a lying son, as Christ said: “They came out from us and they climbed on us.” And the old villain Mamai concluded a dishonest agreement with the filthy Lithuania and the murderer Oleg: they would gather at the Oka River on Semenov’s day for the noble prince.
And the murderer Oleg began to apply evil to evil: he sent his like-minded boyar, the forerunner of the Antichrist, named Epifan Koreev, to Mamai and Jagiel, ordering them to come on the specified day, and confirmed the same agreement - to gather at the Oka with three-headed animals - raw materials and blood shed. O enemy and traitor Oleg, you show examples of extortion, but you do not know that the sword of God threatens you, for the prophet said: “Sinners have drawn weapons and drawn the bow to kill the righteous in the darkness. And their weapons will pierce their hearts, and their bows will be broken.”
And when August came, they came from the Horde to lead the Christ-loving prince who was rising against the Christians of the Ishmaelite family. Oleg, who had already abandoned God, since he had made an evil conspiracy with the filthy, sent to Prince Dmitry with false news: “Mamai is coming with his entire kingdom to my land of Ryazan against me and against you, and know also what is coming against you.” and the Lithuanian Jagiello with all his forces.”
Prince Dmitry, having heard that a bad time had come, that all the kingdoms that were committing lawlessness were coming against him, and, saying: “The power is still in our hands,” went to the cathedral church of the Mother of God of the Virgin Mary and, shedding tears, said: “Lord , you are omnipotent, omnipotent and firm in battles, truly you are the king of glory, who created heaven and earth - have mercy on us through the prayers of the Blessed Mother, do not leave us when we despair! You are our God, and we are your people, stretch out your hand from above and have mercy on us, disgrace our enemies and blunt their weapons! Mighty are you, Lord, and who can resist you? Remember, Lord, your mercy, which from time immemorial you have shown to the Christian race! Oh, maiden of many names, mistress, queen of the ranks of heaven, eternal mistress of the entire universe and nurse of all human life! Raise up, lady, your most pure hands, in which you carried God incarnate! Don’t despise us Christians, deliver us from raw materials and have mercy on me!”
And, getting up from prayer, he left the church and sent for his brother Vladimir, and for all the Russian princes, and for the great commanders. And he turned to his brother Vladimir and to all the princes and governors: “Let us go against the accursed, and godless, and wicked, and dark raw foodist Mamai for the orthodox Christian faith, for the holy churches, and for all infants and elders, and for all living Christians and the deceased. And we will take with us the scepter of the king of heaven - an invincible victory, and we will accept Abraham’s valor.” And, calling on God, he said: “Lord, listen to my prayer, God, hurry to help me! Let your enemies be ashamed and put to shame, and let them know that your name is Lord, that you are the only Most High in all the earth!”
And, having united with all the Russian princes and with all his forces, he soon set out against them from Moscow to defend his fatherland. And he came to Kolomna, gathered his soldiers one hundred thousand and one hundred, in addition to the princes and local governors. Since the beginning of the world there has never been such a Russian power - Russian princes - as under this prince. And all the forces and all the armies number one and a half hundred thousand or two hundred. In addition, at that hour of war, the Grand Dukes of Olgerdovich came from afar to bow and serve: Prince Andrei of Polotsk with the Pskovites and his brother, Prince Dmitry of Bryansk, with all his husbands.
At that time, Mamai stood behind the Don, with his entire kingdom, raging, and arrogant, and angry, and stood for three weeks. Another message came to Prince Dmitry: they told him that Mamaev’s army had gathered beyond the Don and was standing in the field, waiting for Jogaila and the Lithuanians to come to their aid, so that when they united, they would win a joint victory. And Mamai sent to Prince Dmitry to ask for tribute not according to his agreement, but as it was under Tsar Janibek. The Christ-loving prince, not wanting bloodshed,
wanted to pay him a tribute feasible for Christians and according to his agreement, as was established with him. He did not want to and was arrogant, waiting for his wicked Lithuanian accomplice.
Oleg, our apostate, having joined the evil and filthy Mamai and the wicked Jagiel, began to pay tribute to him and send his army to him against Prince Dmitry. Prince Dmitry learned about the cunning of the insidious Oleg, the Christian bloodsucker, the new Judas the traitor, raging against his master. And, sighing heavily, Prince Dmitry said from the depths of his heart: “Lord, crush the conspiracy of the unrighteous and destroy those who started the war, it was not I who began to shed Christian blood, but he, the new Svyatopolk! Reward him, Lord, seven times seven, for he walks in darkness and has forgotten your grace! I will sharpen my sword like lightning, and I will take judgment into my hands, I will take vengeance on my enemies and reward those who hate me, and I will water my arrows with their blood, so that the infidels will not say: “Who is their god?” Turn away, Lord, your face from them and show them, Lord, all their evil in the end, for their race is corrupt and they have no faith in you, Lord! And pour out your wrath on them, O Lord, on the nations who do not know you, O Lord, and do not call on your holy name! What god is greater than our God! You are one god who works miracles!”
And, having prayed, he went to the Most Pure One and to Bishop Gerasim and said to him: “Bless me, father, to go against this accursed raw-eater Mamai, and the wicked Jagiel, and our traitor Oleg, who has retreated from the light into darkness.” And Bishop Gerasim blessed the prince and all his soldiers to go against the wicked Hagarians.
And he left Kolomna in great numbers against the godless Tatars of the month of August on the twentieth day, trusting in the mercy of God and in his most pure mother, the Mother of God, in the ever-virgin Mary, calling on the holy cross for help. And, having passed through his homeland and his great reign, he stood at the Oka at the mouth of Lopasnya, intercepting news from the filthy. Vladimir, his brother, and his great governor Timofey Vasilyevich, and the rest of the army that remained in Moscow, also came here. And they began to cross the Oka a week before Semenov’s day, on Sunday. And, having moved across the river, they entered the land of Ryazan. And the prince himself forded the river with his court on Monday. In Moscow, he left his governors with the Grand Duchess Evdokia and with his sons, with Vasily, with Yuri and with Ivan - Fyodor Andreevich.
And when they heard in the city of Moscow, and in Pereyaslavl, and in Kostroma, and in Vladimir, and in all the cities of the Grand Duke and all the Russian princes, that the Great Prince had gone beyond the Oka, then great sadness arose in Moscow and throughout all its borders, and A bitter cry arose, and the sounds of sobbing were heard. And a hopeless sob could be heard - as if Rachel, who, mourning her children with great tears and sighs, could not be consoled - for they went with the Grand Duke to sharp spears for the whole Russian land! And who wouldn’t cry, seeing how these wives sob and weep bitterly, each of them lamented: “Woe is me! Our poor children, it would have been better for us if you had not been born, then we would not have experienced this malicious and bitter sadness about your murder! Why are we to blame for your death!”
The great prince approached the Don River two days before the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God. And then a letter came with a blessing from the Venerable Abbot Sergius, from the holy elder; in it his blessing is written - to fight the Tatars: “So that you, sir, go like this, and God and the Holy Mother of God will help you.” The prince said: “These are on chariots, and these are on horses. Let us turn to the Lord God with a prayer: “Give me victory, Lord, over my adversaries, and help us with the weapon of the cross, overthrow our enemies; Trusting in you, we overcome, praying diligently to your most pure mother.” And having said this, he began to build shelves and clothed them in local clothes. Like great warriors, the governors armed their regiments, and came to the Don, and stood here, and consulted for a long time. Some said: “Go, prince, beyond the Don.” And others objected: “Don’t go, because our enemies have multiplied too much, not only the Tatars, but also the Lithuanians and Ryazans.”
Mamai, having heard about the arrival of the prince to the Don and seeing his soldiers killed, became furious, and his mind became clouded, and he became inflamed with fierce rage, and swelled up, like some kind of asp breathing anger, and said: “Let us move, my dark forces and rulers , and princes! Let’s go, let’s stand at the Don against Prince Dmitry, until our ally Jagiello arrives with his forces.”
The prince, hearing Mamai’s boast, said: “Lord, you did not order us to enter someone else’s territory, but I, Lord, did not enter. This same, Lord, accursed Mamai, who came like a snake to a nest, an unclean raw-eater, has dared to embrace Christianity, and wants to shed my blood, and desecrate the whole earth, and destroy the holy churches of God.” And he said: “What is Mamaev’s great rage? It’s as if some echidna has come, squirting, from some desert and wants to devour us! Do not betray me, Lord, to this raw-eating Mamai, show me the greatness of your deity, lord! Where is the host of angels, where is the cherubic presence, where is the service of the six-winged seraphim? All creation trembles before you, the heavenly powers worship you! You created the sun and the moon and decorated the earth with all its beauties! Show, O God, your greatness even now; Lord, change my sorrow to joy! Have mercy on me, as you had mercy on your servant Moses, who cried out to you in spiritual grief, and you commanded the pillar of fire to go before him, and you turned the depths of the sea into dry land, as a lord and lord, you turned terrible indignation into silence.”
And, having said all this, he turned to his brother and to all the great princes and commanders: “The time of our battle has come, brothers, and the feast of Queen Mary, the mother of the Mother of God and all the heavenly ranks, the mistress of the whole universe, and her holy Nativity has come. If we stay alive - for the sake of the Lord, if we die for this world - for the sake of the Lord! And he ordered bridges to be built on the Don and fords to be looked for that night, on the eve of the feast of the Most Pure Mother of God.
The next morning, early on Saturday, on the eighth day of September, on the very feast of the Mother of God, at the time of sunrise, there was great darkness throughout the whole earth, and it was foggy that morning until the third hour. And the Lord ordered the darkness to retreat, and granted the coming of the light. The great prince gathered his great regiments, and all his Russian princes prepared their regiments, and his great commanders dressed in local clothes. And the gates of death dissolved, great fear and horror gripped the people gathered from afar, from the east and west. They went beyond the Don, to the far ends of the earth, and soon crossed the Don in anger and rage, and so swiftly that the foundation of the earth shook with great force. The prince, who crossed the Don into a clear field, into the Mamaev land, at the mouth of the Nepryadva, was led by God alone, and God did not turn away from him. Oh, strong and firm boldness of courage! Oh, how I was not afraid, how I was not troubled in spirit when I saw such a multitude of warriors! After all, three lands, three armies rose against him: the first was Tatar, the second was Lithuanian, the third was Ryazan. However, he was not afraid of all of them, was not afraid, but, armed with faith in God, strengthened by the power of the holy cross and protected by the prayers of the Holy Mother of God, he prayed to God, saying: “Help me, Lord, my God, save me with your mercy, you see how the number of my enemies has increased. Lord, why have those who harass me multiplied? Many have risen up against me, many are fighting me, many are pursuing me, tormenting me, all nations have surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I have resisted them.”
And at the sixth hour of the day the filthy Ishmaelites appeared in the field - and the field was open and vast. And then the Tatar regiments lined up against the Christians, and the regiments met. And seeing each other, great forces moved, and the earth hummed, the mountains and hills shook from countless warriors. And they drew weapons - two-edged in their hands. And the eagles flocked, as it is written - “where there are corpses, there the eagles will gather.” At the appointed hour, the Russian and Tatar guard regiments first began to arrive. The Grand Duke himself was the first to attack the filthy Tsar Telyak, called the incarnate devil Mamai, in the guard regiments. However, soon after that the prince left for the great regiment. And then the great army of Mamaev moved, all the Tatar forces. And on our side, the Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich with all the Russian princes, having prepared regiments, went against the filthy Polovtsians with all his army. And, looking up to heaven with prayer and filled with sorrow, he said in the words of the psalm: “Brothers, God is our refuge and strength.” And immediately both great forces came together for many hours, and covered the regiments of the field for ten miles - such was the multitude of warriors. And there was a fierce and great slaughter, and a fierce battle, and a terrible roar; Since the creation of the world there has not been such a battle among the Russian great princes as during this great prince of all Rus'. When they fought, from the sixth hour to the ninth, the blood of both Russian sons and the filthy ones poured out like rain from a cloud, and countless numbers fell dead on both sides. And a lot of Rus' was beaten by the Tatars, and the Tatars by Russia. And corpses fell on corpses, Tatar bodies fell on Christian bodies; here and there one could see how a Rusyn was chasing a Tatar, and a Tatar was chasing a Rusyn. They came together and mixed, because everyone wanted to defeat their opponent. And Mamai said to himself: “Our hair is torn out, our eyes do not have time to shed hot tears, our tongues become stiff, and my larynx dries up, and my heart stops, my loins cannot support me, my knees weaken, and my hands become numb.”
What should we say or what should we talk about when we see a malicious death! Some were cut with swords, others were pierced with swords, others were raised on spears! And despair gripped those Muscovites who had not been to battle. Seeing all this, they were frightened, and, having said goodbye to life, they turned to flight and ran, but did not remember how the martyrs said to each other: “Brothers,
Let's be patient a little, winter is fierce, but heaven is sweet; and the sword is terrible, but the crown is glorious.” And some of the sons of Hagaryan fled from the loud cries, seeing cruel death.
And after this, at nine o’clock in the afternoon, the Lord looked with merciful eyes on all the Russian princes and on the courageous commanders, and on all the Christians who dared to stand up for Christianity and were not afraid, as befits glorious warriors. The pious saw at the ninth hour how the angels, fighting, helped
Christians, and the holy martyrs' regiment, and the warrior George, and the glorious Dmitry, and the namesake great princes - Boris and Gleb. Among them was the commander of the perfect regiment of heavenly warriors - Archangel Michael. Two commanders saw the regiments of the filthy, and the three-solar regiment, and the fiery arrows flying at them; The godless Tatars fell, overwhelmed by the fear of God and from Christian weapons. And God raised up the right hand of our prince to defeat the foreigners. And Mamai, trembling in fear and groaning loudly, exclaimed: “Great is the Christian God and great is his power! Brothers Ishmaelites, lawless Hagarites, flee along unprepared roads!” And he himself, turning back, quickly ran to his Horde. And, hearing about this, his dark princes and rulers also ran. Seeing this, the other foreigners, persecuted by the wrath of God and overcome with fear, young and old, fled. The Christians, seeing that the Tatars and Mamai were running, chased after them, beating and chopping up the filthy ones without mercy, for God, with invisible power, terrified the Tatar regiments, and, defeated, they fled. And in this pursuit, some Tatars fell under the arms of Christians, while others drowned in the river. And they drove them to the river as far as Mechi, and there they killed countless numbers of those running. The princes drove the regiments of the Sodomites, beating them, to their camp, and seized great wealth, and all their property, and all the herds of Sodom.
Then at that massacre the following were killed in battle: Prince Fyodor Romanovich Belozersky and his son Ivan, Prince Fyodor Tarussky, his brother Mstislav, Prince Dmitry Monastyrev, Semyon Mikhailovich, Mikula Vasiliev, son of the thousand, Mikhailo Ivanov Akinfovich, Ivan Alexandrovich, Andrei Serkizov, Timofey Vasilyevich Akatievich, called Voluy, Mikhailo Brenkov, Lev Morozov, Semyon Melikov, Dmitry Mininich, Alexander Peresvet, who was formerly a boyar of Bryansk, and many others whose names are not recorded in these books. Here only the princes and governors, and the names of noble and oldest boyars are named, and I omitted the names of the other boyars and servants and did not write them because of the many names, since their number is too large for me, for many were killed in that battle.
The Grand Duke himself had all his armor dented and pierced, but there were no wounds on his body, and he fought the Tatars face to face, being ahead of everyone in the first battle. Many princes and commanders told him more than once: “Mr. Prince, do not strive to fight in front, but be behind either on the wing, or somewhere in a third-party place.” He answered them: “But how can I say - my brothers, let’s all move forward together, every single one, but I will hide my face and hide behind? I cannot do this, but I want to be the first, both in word and deed, and in the sight of everyone to lay down my head for my brethren and for all Christians. Let others, seeing this, be desperate in their insolence.” And as he said, he did so, then fighting with the Tatars ahead of everyone. And how many times were his warriors beaten to the right and left of him, and he was surrounded, like water, from all sides! And they struck him many blows on the head, and on his shoulders, and on his womb, but God protected him on the day of battle with the shield of truth and the weapon of favor overshadowed his head, with his right hand he protected him, and with a strong hand and a high arm, God, who gave strength, saved him. to him. And so, finding himself among many enemies, he remained unharmed. “I do not trust in my bow, and my weapon will not save me,” as the prophet David said. - “You have made the Most High your refuge, and evil will not come to you, and there will be no wound on your body, for he commands his angels to guard you all your way, and you will not be afraid of the arrow flying in the day.”
It is because of our sins that foreigners come to fight against us, so that we will renounce our sins: from brotherly hatred, and from the love of money, and from unjust judgment, and from violence. But God, the lover of mankind, is merciful, not completely angry with us, and does not forever remember evil.
And from here, from the country of Lithuania, Jagiello, the Prince of Lithuania, came with all the Lithuanian forces to help Mamaia, to help the filthy Tatars, and to the Christians in grief. But God delivered them from them too, because they were a little late in time, by one day or less. But as soon as Jagiello Olgerdovich and all his warriors heard that the great prince had a fight with Mamai, the great prince won, and Mamay ran away - and then, without any delay, the Lithuanians and Jagiello hastily turned back, without being persecuted by anyone. At that time they did not see either the great prince, or his army, or his weapons; the Lithuanians were afraid and trembled at his name alone; and not like in the present time - the Lithuanians mock us and commit outrages. But we will put this conversation aside and return to the previous story.
Prince Dmitry with his brother Vladimir, and with the Russian princes, and with the governors, and with the other boyars, and with all the remaining soldiers, standing that night at the filthy feasts, on the Tatar bones, wiped their sweat and, having rested from their labors, He offered great thanks to God, who granted such a victory over the filthy, who delivered his servant from the fierce weapon: “You, Lord, remembered your mercy, you delivered us, Lord, from these raw materials, from the filthy Mamai and from the wicked Ishmaelites, and from the lawless Hagarians, giving honor like a son to his mother. He gave us a passionate desire, as he gave to his servant Moses, and the ancient David, and the new Constantine, and Yaroslav, a relative of the great princes, against the accursed and damned fratricide, the headless beast Svyatopolk. And you, Mother of God, had mercy on us, your sinful servants, and the entire Christian race, and begged your eternal son.” And many Russian princes and governors glorified the Most Pure Mother of God, Theotokos, with praiseworthy praises. And the Christ-loving prince also praised his squad, which fought hard against the foreigners, and steadfastly defended itself, and was valiantly courageous, and dared, by the will of God, to stand up for the Christian faith.
And the great prince returned from there to the God-protected city of Moscow, to his homeland with a great victory, defeating his opponents, defeating his enemies. And many of his soldiers rejoiced, having captured large booty: they brought with them herds of horses, and camels, and oxen, which were countless, and they captured armor, and clothes, and all their goods.
They told the great prince that Prince Oleg Ryazansky sent his forces to help Mamaia, and he himself broke bridges on the rivers. And whoever went home from the Don Massacre through his fatherland, the Ryazan land, boyars or servants, he ordered them to be seized and robbed and released robbed. Prince Dmitry wanted to send an army against Oleg for this. And suddenly the Ryazan boyars came to him and told him that Prince Oleg had left his land and fled with the princess,
both with children and with boyars. And they begged the Grand Duke not to send troops against them, and they themselves beat him with their foreheads, and agreed to be subordinate to him. The prince heeded them and accepted their petition, did not send an army against them, and installed his governors in the Ryazan reign.
Then Mamai ran away with a few and came to his land with a small retinue. And, seeing that he was defeated, and put to flight, and disgraced, and desecrated, he again became inflamed with anger and gathered his remaining forces to attack Rus' again. When he decided so, news came to him that a certain king Tokhtamysh from the Blue Horde was coming towards him from the east. Mamai, who had prepared an army against us, went against him with that army ready. And they met on Kalki, and there was a battle. And King Tokhtamysh defeated Mamai and drove him away. The Mamai princes, dismounting from their horses, beat King Tokhtamysh with their foreheads, and took an oath to him according to their faith, and took his side, and left Mamai disgraced; Mamai, seeing this, hastily fled with his like-minded people. King Tokhtamysh sent his soldiers in pursuit of him. And Mamai, driven by them and fleeing from Tokhtamysh’s pursuers, ran to the outskirts of the city of Kafa. And he entered into negotiations with the Kathinians, persuading with them about his safety, so that they would accept him under protection until he got rid of all his pursuers. And they allowed him. And Mamai came to Kafa with a lot of property, gold and silver. The Kafinians, after consulting, decided to deceive Mamai, and then he was killed by them. And so came the end of Mamai.
And Tsar Tokhtamysh himself went and took possession of the Mamaev Horde, and captured his wives, and his treasury, and the entire ulus, and distributed the wealth of Mamaev to his squad. And from there he sent his ambassadors to Prince Dmitry and to all the Russian princes, announcing his arrival and how he reigned and how Mamai defeated his opponent and their enemy, and he sat down in the kingdom of the Volga. The Russian princes released his ambassador with honor and with gifts, and that winter and that spring each sent their Kilicians with them to the Horde to the Tsar with large gifts.
The Short and Long stories, as works close in time, perhaps even by the same author, should be considered together.
The chronicle story about the Battle of Kulikovo has reached us in two forms: short and lengthy. The short chronicle story is part of the chronicles that originate from the chronicle code of Cyprian of 1408 (Trinity Chronicle). The lengthy chronicle story in its earliest form is represented by the Novgorod Fourth and Sofia First Chronicles, i.e. it should have been in the code of 1448.
The short chronicle story, compiled, according to M. A. Salmina, by the compiler of the 1408 code, reports on the cruelty and bloodiness of the battle, which lasted the whole day, lists the names of the killed princes and governors, and tells about the fate of Mamai. The author of a lengthy chronicle story, taking a short one as a basis, significantly expanded it (perhaps using for this purpose “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamayev” or some other sources), inserted into his text harsh denunciations of Oleg Ryazansky.
Brief and lengthy chronicle stories, textually interconnected, one concisely, the other in more detail, cover the circumstances of the Battle of Kulikovo. The lengthy chronicle story, in addition, is distinguished by its rhetoric and journalistic nature, in it a lot of attention is paid to the denunciation of the Ryazan prince Oleg, who entered into an alliance with the enemy of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Mamai.
In science, there are different points of view on the nature of the relationship between short and lengthy chronicle stories and on the time of their occurrence. Until recently, a short chronicle story was considered as an abbreviated version of a lengthy one. M.A. Salmina, who studied the chronicle story about the Mamaev Massacre in different forms and in connection with the history of the chronicles in which this story is included, proved that the lengthy chronicle story goes back to the short one written earlier; She associates its emergence with the creation of the chronicle code of 1448. This dating of the lengthy chronicle story is controversial: the story could have been created much earlier than the late 40s of the 15th century, and its inclusion in the 1448 codex, as well as the appearance of some chronological errors in it, is a reflection of a later stage in the literary history of the work.
brief - historical information about the shorebird battle was conveyed. Mamai flees, but gathers strength. about the battle - briefly. the author's attitude is through epithets. lengthy - almost the entire text is short here. the battle is described in more detail. the author includes rhetorical information about the events. There is Dmitry's prayer. new characters and details appear.
51. “The Tale of the Mutyansky Governor Dracula.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
“The Tale of Dracula the Governor, or the Tale of the Mutyansky Governor Dracula,” created at the end of the 15th century, raises the question of the nature of the power of the autocratic ruler, the significance of his personality and occupies an important place in the development of the genre of historical and legendary stories.
In the 40s of the last century, A. Kh. Vostokov put forward the assumption that its author was the sovereign clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn. This hypothesis was also supported by the modern researcher of the story Ya. S. Lurie.
The historical prototype of Dracula is the governor Vlad the Impaler, who ruled Romania in 1456-1462 and 1476. There were many stories about his extraordinary cruelty in Europe. The text of the Russian story most likely goes back to oral stories heard by its author in Hungary and Romania.
Written in the form of an embassy “unsubscribe”, “The Tale of Dracula” focuses the main attention on the actions of the autocratic governor.
These deeds are presented in the form of small, mostly plot-based anecdotes, where dialogue takes on paramount importance, and the fate of the character with whom Dracula is talking depends on the intelligence and resourcefulness of the interlocutor. Evil-wise The sovereign values above all else in a person intelligence, resourcefulness, the ability to get out of a difficult situation, and military valor "Grozny" the incorruptible ruler hates evil and executes everyone for the crime he committed.
At the same time, Dracula, whose name translated from Romanian means “devil,” is unusually cruel: he orders the “caps” (hats) to be nailed to the heads of the ambassadors, who, according to the custom of their country, did not take them off when they came to "great sovereign" and thereby causing him "shame"; executes soldiers who were wounded in the back; impales the ambassador who condemned Dracula's cruelty; burns old people, cripples and beggars, motivating his act with “humane” goals: thereby he freed them from poverty and illness.
In general, the story is devoid of Christian didacticism. Dracula performs all actions of his own free will, not incited to them by any otherworldly forces. They testify to it "wickedness".
Without glorifying or condemning his hero, the author of the story seemed to invite readers to take part in resolving the central question - what should a “great sovereign” be like: is it appropriate for him to be "mercifully" or "formidable".
This question then becomes the main one in journalism of the 16th century, and Ivan Peresvetov and Ivan the Terrible, Maxim the Greek and Andrei Kurbsky will answer it.
52. “The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople” by Nestor Iskander. Ideological and artistic analysis.
The fall of Constantinople under the blows of the Seljuk Turks in 1453 receives philosophical historical understanding in “The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople,” written by Nestor-Iskander. In the story of the founding of the city by Constantine Flavius, a symbolic sign of the struggle between the serpent (symbol of Islam) and the eagle (symbol of Christianity) is introduced: the victory of the serpent over the eagle is temporary, and ultimately Christianity will triumph. The fall of Constantinople is the fulfillment of the first part of the prophecy. This was interpreted as a reference to the Russian people, whose mission is to liberate Constantinople from "infidels". All this gave the Tale a journalistic edge.
The main focus of the story is on the description of the siege of the city. The author conveys the psychological state of the besieged, the behavior of Constantine. This is a courageous warrior who despises death, duty and honor are above all else for him. Despite the terrible, menacing signs foreshadowing the fall of Constantinople, Constantine refuses to leave the city in order to save his life. He dies heroically in an unequal battle. Constantine's faithful ally, the Genoese prince Susteney (Justinian), also dies with arms in his hands.
The Turkish Sultan Magmet is depicted in the story as a courageous and brave warrior. He is cruel, but fair, and appreciates the military valor of the enemy. This portrayal of the enemy was a new step in the development of the historical story genre. Descriptions of battle scenes are full of dynamism, tension and artistic expressiveness. The author's sympathy is on the side of the besieged.
“The Tale of the Capture of Constantinople” was an important stage in the development of the genre of historical story. The combination of a specific description of military events with artistic fiction (heavenly signs, fictional monologues revealing the internal state of the heroes, emotional assessment, broad philosophical and historical understanding of events) constitutes a distinctive feature of the story, which prepared the historical justification for the political theory of the Russian state: Moscow - the Third Rome. The story was very popular among readers and served as a model for historical stories of the 16th - first quarter of the 17th centuries.
53. “The Life of Stefan of Perm.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
"The Life of Stefan of Perm" was written by Epiphanius, apparently, shortly after the death of Stephen in 1396. The purpose of the life is to glorify the missionary activity of the Russian monk, to show the triumph of Christianity over paganism. Having carefully collected factual material about Stephen, Epiphanius formats it into an elegant and solemn panegyric.
“The Life of Stephen of Perm” opens with a rhetorical introduction, followed by a biographical part and three laments (of the Perm people, of the Perm church and “The lament and praise of a monk who writes off”).
In the introduction, Epiphanius speaks at length about the motives that prompt him to take up the pen. Reports the sources he had when starting work and the difficulties he encountered.
The biographical part provides a number of specific information about the life and work of Stefan. He was born in Ustyug, in the family of a cathedral cleric. Having learned to read and write, I read many books of the Old and New Testaments, listened carefully "pure tales" And "teaching words" He prepares himself in advance for future missionary activity. Moreover, Stefan studied Greek.
Thus, before going to the Perm land, Stefan carefully and comprehensively prepares himself for the feat "teachers". Epiphanius says that the idea of going to the Perm land and “teach unbaptized people” originated from his hero "for a long time." Inflamed in spirit, Stefan sets the goal of his life "enlighten" these people.
The description of Stephen's missionary activity occupies a central place in the life. He wages an energetic fight against pagan rituals: he ruins "Idol" cuts down the magic birch tree that the Permians worshiped, puts the shaman Pam to shame. Stefan shows great willpower, endurance, patience and conviction, as well as complete selflessness. Thanks to these qualities, he wins a moral victory. He invites the shaman to enter the burning fire with him and descend into the ice hole. Pam categorically refuses such tests and finally loses authority among the Zyryans. Having won, Stefan protects Pam from the fury of the Permians, who demand his execution, and seeks to replace it with exile.
Epiphanius the Wise takes a new approach to the portrayal of a negative hero. Stefan's opponent Pam is an extraordinary person who has a great influence on the Perm people. He seeks to convince his compatriots not to accept Christianity, seeing Stefan as a protege of Moscow. Pam’s “speech” makes the image of the pagan shaman psychologically convincing and life-like. Victory over Pam is not easy for Stefan, Epiphanius notes, and this further emphasizes the importance of the winner’s personality and his moral example.
Epifaniy sees Stefan’s main merit in his educational activities, in the creation of the Perm alphabet and the translation of books of “holy scripture” into the Perm language.
Special skill in "weaving words" Epiphanius reaches in “The Lamentation of the Perm People”, “The Lamentation of the Perm Church”. Epiphanius uses rhetorical questions and exclamations, comparisons with biblical characters, and metaphorical comparisons. The extraordinary richness of the dictionary and the variety of synonyms that Epiphanius uses are striking.
In praise we sometimes encounter up to 20-25 synonymous epithets, with the help of which the author seeks to express his feelings of respect and admiration for the hero.
The laments in “The Life of Stefan of Perm” express not only the feeling of sorrow of the Perm people, but also a feeling of delight and surprise at the greatness of the hero’s feat.
In creating a solemn rhetorical style, Epiphanius relied on the traditions of the literature of Kievan Rus, and in particular on Hilarion’s “Sermon on Law and Grace.”
Apparently, Epiphanius intended it for individual reading and, like his friend Theophanes the Greek, wrote regardless of canonical models.
54. “Walking across Three Seas” by Afanasy Nikitin. Ideological and artistic analysis.
An outstanding work of the late 15th century. is “Walking across Three Seas” by the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin, placed under 1475 in the Sofia Chronicle.
Nikitin made his “walk” to India from 1466 to 1472. He was one of the first Europeans to enter the land of the “Brahmans,” whose enormous wealth and fabulous wonders were told in “Alexandria” and “The Tale of Rich India.”
“Walking” is a precious historical document, the living word of a man of the 15th century, a wonderful monument of literature. For his work, Afanasy chooses the genre of travel notes and essays. Unlike the “travel-walkings” of the 12th-13th centuries, his “walking” is devoid of religious and didactic purposes. Nikitin goes to India, unknown to Russian people, in order to see it with his own eyes, so that "look at the goods on the Russian land."
Thus, not only curiosity, but also the practical acumen of the merchant guided Athanasius on his journey.
Based on “Walking across Three Seas,” we can clearly imagine the personality of a Russian man, a patriot of his homeland, paving the way to unknown countries. None of the adversities and trials that befell Athanasius on the difficult path could frighten him or break his will. Having lost his ships at the mouth of the Volga, which were plundered by steppe nomads, he continues his journey. Returning back to Tver promised him nothing but prison, and the distance of unknown lands beckoned ahead.
Having crossed the Caspian Sea, passing through Persia and crossing the Indian Sea, Nikitin finally reaches his goal. He is in the center of India: he visits the cities of Chivil, Junnar, Beder, Parvat.
Inquisitively looking at the morals and customs of a foreign country. Afanasy sacredly keeps in his heart the image of his homeland - the Russian land. The feeling of homeland is heightened in a foreign land, and although there is a lot of disorder in Rus', his homeland is dear to him.
The Orthodox faith is a symbol of the homeland for Nikitin. The inability to accurately and strictly observe religious rites in a foreign country causes him a feeling of bitterness. No amount of threats can force Athanasius to convert to Islam. For him, changing his faith is tantamount to changing his homeland. However, Athanasius is alien to religious fanaticism. He takes a close look at the religious beliefs of the Indians and describes in detail the Buddhist shrines in Parvata. Nikitin is amazed by the abundance of castes in India - "ver" - 84.
“Walking Beyond Three Seas” is distinguished by an abundance of autobiographical material; Nikitin describes in detail his inner experiences. However, the central place in the “Walk” is occupied by Athanasius’ story about India.
A Russian person is interested in the life and customs of a foreign country. He is struck by the “black” skin color of the local residents, their clothes . Particularly strange and unusual for a Russian person was the view "simple-haired" married women. After all, for a Russian woman to “go wild” - to reveal her hair - was the greatest disgrace.
Social inequality and religious strife are striking to Athanasius.
Nikitin describes the Sultan’s magnificent hunting trip, the splendor and luxury of the Sultan’s palace, which has seven gates, in which sit a hundred guards and a hundred scribes, recording those entering and leaving.
The Russian merchant is attracted by the annual grand bazaar held near Beder. Nikitin is looking for goods "to our land" and at first it finds nothing. The Russian traveler is interested in the weapons of the Indian army and combat techniques. However, he condemns the senselessness and destructiveness of wars.
Afanasy notes the climate features of India: “...they have had winter since Trinity Day,” and everywhere there is water and mud, and then they plow and sow wheat, millet, peas and everything edible. Spring comes with the Intercession of the Day, when the first winters begin in Rus'.
Afanasy Nikitin's description of India is strictly factual, and only in two cases does he cite local legends. This is the legend about the bird "gukuk" in the city of Alanda. She flies at night and screams "goo-kook" and on “Whichever man sits down, then the person will die”; and who wants to kill her, “otherwise fire will come out of her mouth.”
“Walking” ends with a short travel diary about the hero’s return to his homeland, where he died near Smolensk.
It is difficult to overestimate the literary significance of Afanasy Nikitin's work. The colloquial and colloquial vocabulary of the Russian language is intertwined with Arabic, Persian and Turkish words acquired by Nikitin during his travels. It is characteristic that he resorts to foreign language vocabulary even when he expresses his innermost thoughts about the Russian land, about love for the motherland and condemns the injustice of Russian nobles.
55. “A new story about the glorious Russian kingdom.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
“A new story about the glorious Russian kingdom” - journalistic propaganda appeal. Written at the end of 1610 - beginning of 1611, at the most intense moment of the struggle, when Moscow was captured by Polish troops and Novgorod by Swedish feudal lords. “New story”, addressing "people of all ranks" called them to take active action against the invaders. She sharply denounced the treacherous policy of the boyar government, which, instead of being "landlord" native land, turned into a domestic enemy . The story exposed the plans of the Polish magnates and their leader Sigismund III, who sought to lull the vigilance of the Russians with false promises. The courageous feat of the Smolensk people, who selflessly defended their city, preventing the enemy from capturing this important key position, was glorified. The “New Tale” portrays the Patriarch Hermogenes as the ideal of a patriot, endowing him with the traits of a faithful Christian, a martyr and a fighter for the faith against apostates. Using behavior as an example "strong" Smolyan and Hermogenes "New Tale" highlighted perseverance as a necessary quality of behavior of a true patriot.
A characteristic feature of the story is its democracy, a new interpretation of the image of the people . The appeals and messages of Hermogenes are addressed to the people, enemies and traitors fear the people, the author of the story appeals to the people. However, the people in the story do not yet act as an effective force.
Unlike other works of that time, “The New Tale” does not contain historical excursions; it is filled with topical material, calling on Muscovites to armed struggle against the invaders. This determines the features of the style of “The New Tale,” in which businesslike, energetic speech is combined with an excited, pathetic appeal. The “lyrical element” of the story consists of the author’s patriotic sentiments and the desire to rouse Muscovites to an armed struggle against the enemy.
The general pathetic tone of the presentation is combined in the “New Tale” with numerous psychological characteristics. For the first time in literature, there appears a desire to discover and show contradictions between a person’s thoughts and actions. This increasing attention to revealing a person’s thoughts that determine his behavior lies the literary significance of the “New Tale.”
56. “The Life of Juliania Lazarevskaya.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
Changes in the traditional genre of hagiography are clearly visible in “The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya.” This story is the first biography of a noblewoman in ancient Russian literature. It was written by the son of Juliania Druzhina Osorin, the mayor of the city of Murom, in the 20-30s of the 17th century. The author of the story is well aware of the facts of the heroine’s biography; her moral character and her human traits are dear to him. The positive character of a Russian woman is revealed in the everyday setting of a rich noble estate.
The qualities of an exemplary housewife come to the fore. After her marriage, young Juliania falls on the shoulders of the complex management of the noble estate. Pleasing her father-in-law, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, she supervises the work of the slaves and the running of the household; at the same time, she often has to resolve social conflicts that arise between servants and gentlemen. These conflicts lead to open rebellion "slaves" which, however, is explained in the story by a traditional motive - the machinations of the devil. During such a spontaneous rebellion, Juliania's eldest son was killed. Juliania meekly endures the hardships that befall her. Twice she had to go through terrible years of hunger: in her youth and in her old age, when Juliania was even forced to let her family go. "slaves" so that they can get their own food.
The story truthfully depicts the position of a married woman in a large noble family, her lack of rights and numerous responsibilities. Housekeeping consumes Juliana so much that she is deprived of the opportunity to attend church, and yet she is a “saint.” The story affirms the holiness of the feat of highly moral worldly life and service to people. Juliania helps the hungry, cares for the sick during "mora".
“The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya” creates the image of an energetic, intelligent Russian woman, an exemplary wife and housewife, who patiently endures the trials that life throws at her. Osorin depicts in the story not only the real character traits of his mother, but also paints the ideal appearance of a Russian woman as it seemed to a Russian nobleman of the first half of the 17th century.
In the biography of Juliania, Osoryin does not yet completely depart from the hagiographic tradition; the beginning of the story is connected with it. Juliania comes from "God-loving" And "poor-loving" parents; she grew up in every way "in good faith. The character of Juliana emphasizes the features of Christian meekness, humility and patience, love of poverty and generosity . As befits Christian ascetics, Juliania, although she does not go to a monastery, in her old age indulges in asceticism: she renounces “carnal "copulation with husband" sleeps on the stove, lining "under the ribs" logs and "the keys are iron" walks around in winter without warm clothes, “You put your bare feet into boots. Osoryin also uses traditional hagiographic motifs of religious fiction: demons want to kill Juliana, but the intervention of St. Nicholas will save her. In some cases, “demonic intrigues” have a very specific everyday and even social outline. Such is discord in the family, rebellion "slaves".
As befits a saint, Juliana herself has a presentiment of her death and dies piously. Ten years later, they find her incorruptible body, which works miracles.
Thus, in “The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya” elements of an everyday story are closely intertwined with elements of the hagiographic genre, but the everyday narrative is clearly beginning to occupy a predominant place. The story is devoid of the traditional introduction, lamentation and praise. Her style is quite simple. It reflects the clerical practice of the Murom provincial governor.
“The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya” is evidence of growing interest in society and literature in the private life of a person, his behavior in everyday life. These realistic elements, penetrating into the genre of hagiography, destroy it and contribute to its gradual transformation into the genre of a secular biographical story.
57. “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
Thematically, the Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, created in the 70s of the 17th century, is close to “The Tale of Grief and Misfortune.” This story also reveals the theme of the relationship between two generations, contrasting two types of attitudes towards life. The basis of the plot is the life of the merchant son Savva Grudtsyn, full of anxiety and adventure. The narration of the hero's fate is given against a broad historical background. Savva’s youth takes place during the period of the Russian people’s struggle against Polish intervention; in his mature years the hero takes part in the war for Smolensk in 1632-1634. The story mentions historical figures: Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, boyar Streshnev, governor Shein, centurion Shilov; and the hero himself belongs to the famous merchant family of the Grudtsyn-Usovs. However, the main place in the story is occupied by pictures of private life.
The story consists of a series of successive episodes that make up the main milestones of Savva’s biography: youth, mature years, old age and death.
In his youth, Savva, sent by his father on trade affairs to the city of Orel, indulges in lovemaking with the wife of his father’s friend Bazhen the Second, boldly trampling on the sanctity of the family union and the sanctity of friendship. In this part of the story, the central place is given to the love affair and the first attempts are made to depict a person’s love experiences. Drugged with a love potion and expelled from Bazhen’s house, Savva begins to be tormented by the pangs of love. . To dispel his grief, to quench his heartfelt melancholy, Savva goes out of town.
The author sympathizes with Savva and condemns the act "evil and unfaithful wife" insidiously seduced him. But this traditional motive of seducing an innocent youth takes on real psychological contours in the story.
The medieval motif of the union of man with the devil is also introduced into the story: in a fit of love grief, Savva calls for the help of the devil, and he did not hesitate to answer his call in the form of a young man. He is ready to provide Savva with any services, demanding from him only to sell his soul. The hero fulfills the demand of the demon, without attaching much importance to it, and even worships Satan himself in his kingdom; the devil, taking the image of the “said brother,” becomes a devoted servant of Savva.
The ideological and artistic function of the image of the demon in the story is close to the function of Grief in “The Tale of Grief and Misfortune.” He is the embodiment of the hero's fate and the inner turmoil of his young and impetuous soul. At the same time, the image of the “sworn brother” that the demon takes on in the story is close to the folk tale.
With the help of his “sworn brother”, Savva reunites with his beloved, escapes from his parents’ wrath, being transported with fabulous speed from Orel to the Volga and Oka. In Shuya, the “said brother” teaches Savva military art, then helps him in reconnaissance of the fortifications of Smolensk.
Showing Savva's participation in the struggle of Russian troops for Smolensk, the author of the story heroizes his image. Savva's victory over the enemy heroes is depicted in a heroic epic style.
It is characteristic that Savva enters the service of the Tsar on the advice of his “sworn brother” - the demon.
The royal service is considered by the demon as a means for a merchant's son to achieve nobility and move into the service class of the nobility. By attributing these “sinful thoughts” of Savva to the demon, the author condemns the hero’s ambitious thoughts. Savva's heroic deeds are surprising “all... the Russian army”, but they cause the furious anger of the governor - boyar Shein. Shein demands that Savva immediately leave Smolensk and return to his rich parents. The conflict between the boyar and the merchant's son clearly characterizes the conflict that began in the second half of the 17th century. the process of forming a new nobility.
If in the episodes depicting the hero’s youth, a love affair is brought to the fore and the ardent, addicted nature of an inexperienced young man is revealed, then in the episodes telling about Savva’s mature years, the heroic traits of his character come to the fore: courage, bravery, fearlessness. In this part of the story, the author successfully combines the techniques of folk epic poetry with the stylistic techniques of military stories.
In the last part of the story, describing Savva’s illness, the author widely uses traditional demonological motifs: in "temple" Demons rush into the sick man in a great crowd and begin to torment him. In these “demonic torments” it is not difficult to detect the characteristic signs of epilepsy. Having learned about Savva's torment, the king sends two "guards" protect from demonic torment.
The denouement of the story is connected with the traditional motif of the “miracles” of the Mother of God icons: the Mother of God, through her intercession, delivers Savva from demonic torment, having first made him vow to go to a monastery. Having been healed, having received back what was smoothed out "handwriting" Savva becomes a monk. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that throughout the entire story Savva remains a “young man.”
The image of Savva, like the image of the Young Man in “The Tale of Woe and Misfortune,” summarizes the features of the younger generation, striving to throw off the oppression of centuries-old traditions and live to the fullest extent of their daring, brave powers.
The style of the story combines traditional book techniques and individual motifs of oral folk poetry. The innovation of the story lies in its attempt to portray an ordinary human character in an ordinary everyday setting, to reveal the complexity and inconsistency of character, to show the meaning of love in a person’s life. Quite rightly, therefore, a number of researchers consider “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn” as the initial stage in the formation of the novel genre.
58. “The Tale of Misfortune.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the 17th century. is "A Tale of Woe and Misfortune." The central theme of the story is the theme of the tragic fate of the younger generation, which is trying to break with the old forms of family life and home-building morality.
The introduction to the story gives this theme a universal, generalized sound. The biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve is interpreted here as disobedience, disobedience of the first people to the will of the God who created them. The source of this disobedience is not the tempting devil, as the Bible interpreted, but the man himself, his heart “meaningless. This interpretation of the biblical story speaks of a new worldview that the author has developed: the reason for a person’s violation of the commandments of humility and obedience is in himself, in his character, and not the result of the influence of otherworldly forces.
The plot of the story is based on the tragic life story of the Young Man, who rejected his parents’ instructions and wanted to live according to his own will. “how he likes it.” The appearance of a generalized collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time was a very remarkable and innovative phenomenon. In literature, a historical figure is replaced by a fictional hero, whose character typifies the traits of an entire generation of the transitional era.
The young man grew up in a patriarchal merchant family, surrounded by constant care and care of loving parents. However, he yearns for freedom from under his native roof, longs to live according to his own will, and not according to parental instructions. The constant guardianship of his parents did not teach the Young Man to understand people, to understand life, and he pays for his gullibility, for his blind faith in the sanctity of the bonds of friendship. The “tsar’s tavern” destroys him. But Well done doesn’t give up, he doesn’t bring his guilty head to his parents’ house, he wants to prove he’s right . Personal experience convinced him that without advice "good people" you can't live.
The reason for the hero's further misadventures is his character. Boasting of one’s happiness and wealth ruins a young man. From this moment on, the image of Grief appears in the story, which, as in folk songs, personifies the tragic fate, destiny, and lot of a person. This image also reveals the internal duality, confusion of the hero’s soul, his lack of confidence in his abilities.
In the minds of Molodets, traditional ideas are still tenacious. Thus, he cannot overcome the old view of a woman as a “vessel of the devil,” the source of all the troubles and misadventures of a man; he remains faithful to his religious beliefs fathers. Not believing the insidious advice of Grief, the Well done, however, is unable to disobey the same advice when it comes from the Archangel Gabriel, whose appearance Grief has taken.
In the advice that Mountain gives to the Good Man, it is easy to detect the hero’s own painful thoughts about life, about the instability of his material well-being.
The young man, who rejected parental authority and did not want to submit to his father and mother, is forced to bow his proud head before Grief. "Good people" They sympathize with the fate of the Young Man and advise him to return to his parents’ shelter and ask for forgiveness. However, now Grief does not want to let go of its victim. It persistently and relentlessly pursues the Young Man, mocking all his attempts to escape from his "ill-fated fate". Well done, he goes to the monastery. For the hero and author of the story, the monastery is by no means an ideal of a righteous life, but the last opportunity to escape from one’s ill-fated fate.
The story sharply contrasts two types of attitudes to life, two worldviews: on the one hand, parents and “good people” - the majority, on the other hand, Well done, embodying the desire of the new generation for a free life.
The fate of the Young Man is presented in the form of his life, but the story no longer has anything in common with traditional hagiography. Before us is a typically secular, everyday biographical story.
The author has a perfect command of the poetics of folklore, its figurative system, and the forms of epic verse. The image of a good fellow, "naked, barefoot" Grief, the epic picture of the feast, the song symbolism of the episode of the persecution of the Grief Young Man - all this finds a direct correspondence in epic folk poetry and in lyrical songs about Grief.
The interweaving of epic and lyricism gives the story an epic scope and gives it lyrical sincerity. In general, the story, according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, follows the true flow of the folk poetic word.
59. “Kalyazin petition.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
A vivid accusatory document depicting the life and customs of monasticism is the “Kalyazin Petition.” The monks did not retire from the bustle of the world in order to mortify their flesh and indulge in prayer and repentance. Behind the walls of the monastery lies a well-fed life full of drunken revelry. The story chooses one of the largest monasteries in Rus' - the Kalyazin Monastery - as the object of satirical denunciation, which allows the author to reveal the typical features of the life of Russian monasticism in the 17th century.
In the form of a tearful petition, the monks complain to the Archbishop of Tver and Kashin Simeon about their new abbot of the monastery, Gabriel. Using the form of a business document, the story shows the discrepancy between the life practice of monasticism and the requirements of the monastic charter. Drunkenness, gluttony and debauchery, rather than fasting and prayer, became the norm of life for the monks. That is why the monks are outraged by the new abbot, who is radically changing the previously established “orders” and demanding strict adherence to the rules. The monks are also outraged that Gabriel began to strictly enforce their morality. By his orders At the monastery gates, a crooked Falaley was placed with a rustle, he doesn’t let us, your pilgrims, through the gates, he doesn’t order us to go into the settlements - to look at the cattle yard, to drive the calves into the camp, and to put the chickens underground, to give blessings to the cowsheds.”
The petition emphasizes that the main source of the monastery’s income is distillation and brewing, and Gabriel’s ban only creates havoc for the monastery’s treasury.
The monks themselves are ready not to go to church at all .
The cruel, greedy and selfish mentor is also the object of satirical denunciation. The greedy mentor starves the monastic brethren by putting them on the table “steamed turnips and dried radishes.
Behind the external buffoonery of drunken monks in the story is hidden the people's hatred of monasteries and church feudal lords. The main means of satirical denunciation is caustic irony, hidden in the tearful complaint of the petitioners.
A characteristic feature of the petition style is its aphorism: ridicule is often expressed in the form of folk rhyming jokes.
60. “The Tale of Frol Skobeev.” Ideological and artistic analysis.
the poor nobleman Frol Skobeev, the hero of the story of the same name, is already shamelessly trampling on ethical standards, achieving personal success in life: material well-being and a strong social position.
Frolka Skobeev makes “fortune and career” the motto of her life. “Either I’ll be a colonel or a dead man!” - he declares. To achieve this goal, Skobeev does not disdain anything. He is unscrupulous in his means and uses bribery, deception, and blackmail. For him, nothing is sacred except faith in the power of money. He buys the mother’s conscience, seduces the rich steward’s daughter Annushka, then kidnaps her, of course with Annushka’s consent, and marries her. By cunning and deception, the spouses achieve parental blessing, then complete forgiveness and remission of their guilt. Annushka's father in the end I am forced to recognize him as my son-in-law "thief, rogue" And "snitch" Frolka Skobeev, sit down with him at the same table for lunch and "commit" his heir.
The story is a typical picaresque short story. It reflected the beginning of the process of merging the patrimonial boyars and the service nobility into a single noble class.
Boyar pride is subjected to sharp satirical ridicule in the story: the noble steward is powerless to do anything against the “seedy” nobleman and is forced to reconcile with him and recognize him as his heir. All this gives reason to believe that the story arose after 1682, when localism was eliminated.
Achieving his goal, Frol Skobeev does not rely on either God or the devil, but only on his energy and mind. Religious motives occupy a rather modest place in the story. A person’s actions are determined not by the will of a deity or a demon, but by his personal qualities.
The image of Annushka is also noteworthy in the story. She declares her rights to choose her betrothed, boldly breaks traditions, and actively participates in organizing an escape from her parents’ home; easily agrees to pretense and deception in order to regain the favor of the fooled father and mother.
Thus, the fate of the heroes of the story reflects characteristic social and everyday phenomena of the late 17th century: the emergence of a new nobility and the destruction of the traditional way of life.
The style of the story, peppered with clericalism: "have a place of residence" etc. These phrases are interspersed with archaic expressions of book style and vernacular, especially in the speeches of the heroes, as well as barbarisms that widely poured into the literary and colloquial language at that time (“quarter”, “coreta”, “banquet”, “person” and so on.).
The matured Prince Dmitry decided to take advantage of the weakness of the Horde, which was undermined by internal strife (the situation in the Horde was in many ways reminiscent of late imperial Rome - a series of intrigues, conspiracies, murders, the result of which was the rise of the military leader Mamai: not belonging to the Genghisid family, he himself could not become a khan and therefore he ruled through the descendants of Temujin, who owed him power). In 1377, Dmitry besieged Kazan and forced the Mongols to pay a ransom, a year later he defeated a detachment on the Vozha River under the command of a temnik - that is, the commander of ten thousand soldiers - Begich. The angry Mamai gathered a huge army to punish Dmitry; This army included both Genoese mercenaries and Lithuanian troops of Prince Jagiello, the son of Prince Olgerd, who marched against Moscow three times, supporting his brother-in-law, Prince Michael of Tver, recognized by the Horde as the Grand Duke of Rus'.
In order to prevent Mamai from meeting with Jagiello’s troops, Dmitry decided to meet the enemy in the upper reaches of the Don, near the mouth of the Nepryadva River. On September 8, the Russians crossed the Don and stood on a spacious field called Kulikov.
In the same year, the godless, wicked Horde prince, the filthy Mamai, having gathered numerous troops and the entire Polovtsian and Tatar land, hired the troops of the Fryaz, Cherkasy and Yas - and with all these troops he went against the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and the entire Russian land. In August, news came from the Horde to Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich that the Tatar army was rising against the Christians, the filthy race of the Ishmaelites. And the wicked Mamai, fiercely angry with Grand Duke Dmitry about his friends and favorites and princes who were beaten on the Vozha River, set out with a huge army, wanting to capture the Russian land.
Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich found out about this, gathered many soldiers and went against the Tatars to defend their estates, for the holy churches and for the right Christian faith and for the entire Russian land. When the prince crossed the Oka, other news came to him that Mamai had gathered his troops beyond the Don, was standing in the field and was waiting for Jogaila, the Lithuanian army, to come to his aid.
The Grand Duke crossed the Don to where there was a clean and spacious field. There the filthy Polovtsians, the Tatar regiments, gathered in an open field near the mouth of the Nepryadva. And then both armies lined up and rushed into battle, the opponents came together - and there was a long battle and a vicious slaughter. They fought all day, and countless dead fell on both sides. And God helped Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, and Mamaev’s filthy regiments ran, and ours followed them, and beat and flogged the filthy ones without mercy. It was God who, with miraculous power, terrified the sons of the Hagarites, and they ran, exposing their backs to the blows, and many were beaten, and others drowned in the river. And the Russian troops drove the Tatars to the Mechi River and there they killed many of them, and other Tatars threw themselves into the water and drowned, driven by God’s wrath and overcome with fear. And Mamai fled with a small squad to his Tatar land.
And in the battle they were killed: Prince Fedor Romanovich Belozersky, his son Prince Ivan Fedorovich, Semyon Mikhailovich, Mikula Vasilyevich, Mikhaila Ivanovich Okinfovich, Andrei Serkizov, Timofey Valuy, Mikhaila Brenkov, Lev Morozov, Semyon Melik, Alexander Peresvet and many others.
And the Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich with other Russian princes and with governors, and with boyars, and with nobles, and with the surviving Russian regiments, occupied the battlefield, and thanked God, and bowed to his soldiers, who fought hard with the foreigners, and fought firmly for him , and in a courageous battle they defended the Christian faith.
And the prince returned to Moscow, to his possessions with a great victory, having won the battle and defeated his enemies. And many of his warriors rejoiced, having captured rich booty: they drove behind them numerous herds of horses, camels, oxen, countless in number, and armor, and clothing, and goods.
Then they told the Grand Duke that Prince Oleg Ryazansky sent his army to help Mamai, and he himself ordered the destruction of bridges across the rivers. For this, the Grand Duke was going to send his army to Oleg. But unexpectedly at that very time the Ryazan boyars came to him and told him that Prince Oleg had abandoned his land, and he himself had fled with his princess, with his children, with his boyars and with his advisers. And the boyars asked the Grand Duke not to send troops against them, but they themselves beat him with their foreheads and submitted to the princely power. The Grand Duke, having listened to them, accepted their petition, fulfilled their request - he did not send troops to Ryazan, but he himself went to his own land, and installed his governors in the Ryazan reign.
Then Mamai fled from the Battle of the Don and ran to his land with a small detachment. Seeing himself defeated, and running, and disgraced, and desecrated, Mamai became even more angry, fell into a frenzy and rage, gathered his remaining troops, and again wanted to raid Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and the entire Russian land. As soon as he conceived this, news came to him that a certain king from the east, named Toktamysh, from the Blue Horde, was coming against him, and Mamai, who had gathered an army to raid Rus', came out with this army against him, and they met on Kalki. And the Mamaev princes, getting off their horses, beat King Toktamysh with their foreheads, and swore an oath to him according to their faith, and wrote an oath record, and recognized his power, but they betrayed Mamaia, for he was disgraced by defeat.
And Mamai, seeing this, quickly fled with his advisers and like-minded people. But King Toktamysh sent his soldiers in pursuit of him, and they killed Mamai. And Toktamysh himself went and captured the Mamaev Horde, and its queens, and the treasury, and took the entire ulus, and divided the wealth of Mamaev among his warriors. And from there he sent ambassadors to the Russian land to Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and to all the Russian princes, informing them of his appearance and how he seized power in the Horde, and how he defeated his opponent and their enemy Mamai, and he himself sat down in the kingdom of the Volga . And the Russian princes released his ambassadors with honor and with gifts, and in the same winter and spring they each sent their ambassadors with rich gifts to Tsar Toktamysh.
Russian losses in this battle amounted to about 100,000 people, but Mamai was defeated, and Jagiello turned back. Tradition says that Prince Dmitry received a blessing for the battle from Sergius of Radonezh (in the world Bartholomew), abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (71 km north of Moscow), former confessor of Prince Simeon the Proud. The Life of Sergius of Radonezh tells how the ascetic blessed the prince and inspired Russian soldiers to feat (later a legend developed that Saint Sergius personally participated in the battle, as did two monks from his monastery - Peresvet, who defeated the Mongol Chelubey in a duel, and Oslyabya).
With God's permission for our sins, the news came that the Horde prince Mamai had gathered a great army, the entire horde of godless Tatars, and was going to the Russian land. And all the people were seized with great fear. And the great prince who then held the scepter of the Russian lands, the praiseworthy and victorious great Dmitry<...>came to Saint Sergius, for he had great faith in the elder, to ask him whether he would command him to speak out against the godless, since he knew that Sergius was virtuous and possessed the gift of prophecy. And the saint, having listened to the Grand Duke, blessed him, armed him with prayer and said: “It behooves you, sir, to take care of the flock of Christ given to you by God. Go against the godless and with God’s help you will win and with great glory you will return alive to your fatherland.” And the Grand Duke said: “If God helps me, Father, I will build a monastery in the name of the Most Pure Mother of God.” And having said this, he accepted the blessing and quickly set off on his way.
And so, having gathered all his warriors, he marched against the godless Tatars. And seeing how large their army was, many began to doubt, many were overcome with fear, wondering how they could escape. And suddenly at that hour a messenger arrived with a message from the saint, which said: “Without any doubt, sir, boldly go against their malice. Don’t be afraid: God will help you in everything.”
And then Grand Duke Dmitry and his entire army, filled with insolence, went out against the filthy ones, and the prince said: “Great God, who created heaven and earth, help me in the battle against the opponents of your name.” And so they fought.
Many bodies fell, and God helped the great victorious Dmitry, and the filthy Tatars were defeated and put to death. The filthy ones saw God's anger and God's indignation, and they all ran. The crusader banner, pursuing the enemies for a long time, destroyed countless numbers of them. Some ran away, wounded, others were caught alive. And there was a wonderful day and a wonderful victory, and if before the weapon shone, now it was bloodied with the blood of foreigners. And everyone wore signs of victory. And here the prophetic word came true: “One drove a thousand, and two drove ten thousand.”
And the saint, about whom it was said above that he had the gift of prophecy, knew all this, as if he was nearby, saw from afar over long distances, from where he could not reach for many days, and prayed with the brethren, thanking the Lord for the victory over the filthy.
A little time passed since the godless were completely defeated, and the saint told his brothers everything that had happened: the victory and courage of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, described the glorious victory over the filthy, and called everyone killed by them by name and prayed for them to the all-merciful God .
And the praiseworthy and victorious Grand Duke Dmitry, having won a glorious victory over his barbarian enemies, returns with much joy to his fatherland. And without delay he comes to the holy elder Sergius, thanking him for his good advice and glorifying the omnipotent God and thanking the elder and the brethren for the prayers, and with heartfelt joy he told everything that happened, how many mercies the Lord showed him, and gave rich alms to the monastery.<…>
It seemed that the power of the Golden Horde was crushed, but two years later a new blow fell on Rus': Khan Tokhtamysh came, intending to punish Dmitry for refusing to pay tribute.
The Horde prince Mamai came with his like-minded people, and with all the other princes of the Horde, and with all the forces of the Tatars and Polovtsians, having also hired troops of Besermen, Armenians, Fryags, Cherkasy, and Yas, and Burtas. Also gathered with Mamai, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello Olgerdovich with all the forces of Lithuania and Poland, and with them at the same time Oleg Ivanovich, the prince of Ryazan, also gathered with Mamai, of the same mind and with him. With all these accomplices, Mamai went against Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and his brother, Prince Vladimir Andreevich. But the philanthropic God wanted to save and liberate the Christian race through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother from the enslavement of the Ishmaelites, from the filthy Mamai, and from the gathering of the wicked Jogaila, and from the eloquent and insignificant Oleg of Ryazan, who did not observe his Christian faith. And the great day of the Lord will be the death of him, the fiend of hell and the viper!The accursed Mamai became proud, imagining himself to be a king, began to weave an evil conspiracy, convening his filthy temnik-princes and told them: “Let's go against the Russian prince and the whole Russian land, as was the case under Batu. We will destroy Christianity, and we will burn the churches of God, and we will shed Christian blood, and we will destroy their laws.” And this is because the wicked man was fiercely angry because of his friends and favorites, because of the princes killed on the Vozha River. And he began to frantically and hastily gather his strength, moving in rage and in great strength, wanting to capture Christians. And then all the Tatar tribes moved.
And Mamai began to send to Lithuania, to the wicked Jagiel, and to the cunning centurion, an accomplice of the devil, excommunicated from the Son of God, darkened by the darkness of sin and not wanting to understand - Oleg Ryazansky, the helper of the Besermen, a lying son, as Christ said: “They came out from us and they climbed on us.” And the old villain Mamai concluded a dishonest agreement with the filthy Lithuania and the murderer Oleg: they would gather at the Oka River on Semenov’s day for the noble prince.
And the murderer Oleg began to apply evil to evil: he sent his like-minded boyar, the forerunner of the Antichrist, named Epifan Koreev, to Mamai and Jagiel, ordering them to come on the specified day, and confirmed the same agreement - to gather at the Oka with three-headed animals - raw materials and blood shed. O enemy and traitor Oleg, you show examples of extortion, but you do not know that the sword of God threatens you, for the prophet said: “Sinners have drawn their weapons and drawn their bows to kill the righteous in the darkness. And their weapons will pierce their hearts, and their bows will be broken.”
And when August came, they came from the Horde to lead the Christ-loving prince who was rising against the Christians of the Ishmaelite family. Oleg, who had already retreated from God, since he had made an evil conspiracy with the filthy, sent to Prince Dmitry with false news: “Mamai is coming with his entire kingdom to my land of Ryazan against me and against you, and know also what is coming against you.” and the Lithuanian Jagiello with all his forces.”
Prince Dmitry, having heard that a bad time had come, that all the kingdoms were coming against him, creating lawlessness, and, saying: “The power is still in our hands,” he went to the cathedral church of the Mother of God the Mother of God and, shedding tears, said: “Lord , You are almighty, omnipotent and firm in battles, truly You are the King of Glory, who created heaven and earth - have mercy on us through the prayers of the Most Holy Mother, do not leave us when we despair! You are our God, and we are Your people, stretch out Your hand from above and have mercy on us, disgrace our enemies and blunt their weapons! Mighty are You, O Lord, and who can resist You? Remember, Lord, about Your mercy, which from time immemorial you have shown to the Christian race! Oh, many-named Virgin, Lady, Queen of the heavenly ranks, eternal Mistress of the entire universe and nurse of all human life! Raise, O Lady, Your most pure hands, in which you carried God incarnate! Don’t despise us Christians, deliver us from raw materials and have mercy on me!”
And, getting up from prayer, he left the church and sent for his brother Vladimir, and for all the Russian princes, and for the great commanders. And he turned to his brother Vladimir and to all the princes and governors: “Let us go against the accursed, and godless, and wicked, and dark raw foodist Mamai for the orthodox Christian faith, for the holy churches, and for all infants and elders, and for all living Christians and the deceased. And we will take with us the scepter of the Heavenly King - an invincible victory, and we will accept Abraham’s valor.” And, calling out to God, he said: “Lord, listen to my prayer, God, hurry to help me! Let your enemies be ashamed and put to shame, and let them know that Your name is Lord, that You are the only Most High in all the earth!”
And, having united with all the Russian princes and with all his forces, he soon set out against them from Moscow to defend his fatherland. And he came to Kolomna, gathered his soldiers one hundred thousand and one hundred, in addition to the princes and local governors. Since the beginning of the world there has never been such a Russian power - Russian princes - as under this prince. And all the forces and all the armies number one and a half hundred thousand or two hundred. In addition, at that hour of war, the Grand Dukes of Olgerdovich came from afar to bow and serve: Prince Andrei of Polotsk with the Pskovites and his brother, Prince Dmitry of Bryansk, with all his husbands.
At that time, Mamai stood behind the Don, with his entire kingdom, raging, and arrogant, and angry, and stood for three weeks. Another message came to Prince Dmitry: they told him that Mamaev’s army had gathered beyond the Don and was standing in the field, waiting for Jogaila and the Lithuanians to come to their aid, so that when they united, they would win a joint victory. And Mamai sent to Prince Dmitry to ask for tribute not according to his agreement, but as it was under Tsar Janibek. The Christ-loving prince, not wanting bloodshed, wanted to pay him a tribute feasible for Christians and according to his agreement, as was established with him. He did not want to and was arrogant, waiting for his wicked Lithuanian accomplice.
Oleg, our apostate, having joined the evil and filthy Mamai and the wicked Jagiel, began to pay tribute to him and send his army to him against Prince Dmitry. Prince Dmitry learned about the cunning of the insidious Oleg, the Christian bloodsucker, the new Judas the traitor, raging against his master. And, sighing heavily, Prince Dmitry said from the depths of his heart: “Lord, crush the conspiracy of the unrighteous and destroy those who started the war, it was not I who began to shed Christian blood, but he, the new Svyatopolk! Reward him, O Lord, seven times seven, for he walks in darkness and has forgotten Your grace! I will sharpen my sword like lightning, and I will take judgment into my hands, I will take vengeance on my enemies and reward those who hate me, and I will water my arrows with their blood, so that the infidels will not say: “Who is their God?” Turn away, O Lord, Your face from them and show them, Lord, all their evil in the end, for their generation is corrupt and they have no faith in You, Lord! And pour out Your wrath on them, O Lord, on the nations who do not know You, O Lord, and do not call on Your holy Name! What god is greater than our God! You are the only God who works miracles!”
And, having prayed, he went to the Most Pure One and to Bishop Gerasim and said to him: “Bless me, father, to go against this accursed raw-eater Mamai, and the wicked Jagiel, and our traitor Oleg, who has retreated from the light into darkness.” And Bishop Gerasim blessed the prince and all his soldiers to go against the wicked Hagarians.
And he left Kolomna in great numbers against the godless Tatars of the month of August on the twentieth day, trusting in the mercy of God and in His Most Pure Mother Theotokos, in the Ever-Virgin Mary, calling on the Holy Cross for help. And, having passed through his homeland and his great reign, he stood at the Oka at the mouth of Lopasnya, intercepting news from the filthy. Vladimir, his brother, and his great governor Timofey Vasilyevich, and the rest of the army that remained in Moscow, also came here. And they began to cross the Oka a week before Semenov’s day, on Sunday. And, having moved across the river, they entered the land of Ryazan. And the prince himself forded the river with his court on Monday. In Moscow, he left his governors with the Grand Duchess Evdokia and with his sons, with Vasily, with Yuri and with Ivan - Fyodor Andreevich.
And when they heard in the city of Moscow, and in Pereyaslavl, and in Kostroma, and in Vladimir, and in all the cities of the Grand Duke and all the Russian princes, that the Great Prince had gone beyond the Oka, then great sadness arose in Moscow and throughout all its borders, and A bitter cry arose, and the sounds of sobbing were heard. And a hopeless sob could be heard - as if Rachel, who, mourning her children with great tears and sighs, could not be consoled - for they went with the Grand Duke to sharp spears for the whole Russian land! And who wouldn’t cry, seeing how these wives sob and weep bitterly, each of them lamented: “Woe is me! Our poor children, it would have been better for us if you had not been born, then we would not have experienced this malicious and bitter sadness about your murder! Why are we to blame for your death!”
The great prince approached the Don River two days before the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God. And then a letter came with a blessing from the Venerable Abbot Sergius, from the holy elder; it also contains his blessing to fight the Tatars: “So that you, sir, go this way, and God and the Holy Mother of God will help you.” The prince said: “These are on chariots, and these are on horses. Let us turn to the Lord God with a prayer: “Give me victory, Lord, over my adversaries, and help us with the weapon of the cross, overthrow our enemies; Trusting in You, we overcome, praying diligently to Your Most Pure Mother.” And having said this, he began to build shelves and clothed them in local clothes. Like great warriors, the governors armed their regiments, and came to the Don, and stood here, and consulted for a long time. Some said: “Go, prince, beyond the Don.” And others objected: “Don’t go, because our enemies have multiplied too much, not only the Tatars, but also the Lithuanians and Ryazans.”
Mamai, having heard about the arrival of the prince to the Don and seeing his soldiers killed, became furious, and his mind became clouded, and he became inflamed with fierce rage, and swelled up, like some kind of asp breathing anger, and said: “Let us move, my dark forces and rulers , and princes! Let’s go, let’s stand at the Don against Prince Dmitry, until our ally Jagiello arrives with his forces.”
The prince, hearing Mamai’s boast, said: “Lord, You did not order us to enter someone else’s territory, but I, Lord, did not enter. This same, Lord, accursed Mamai, who came like a snake to a nest, an unclean raw-eater, has dared to embrace Christianity, and wants to shed my blood, and desecrate the whole earth, and destroy the holy churches of God.” And he said: “What is Mamaev’s great rage?” As if some echidna, squirting, appeared from some desert and wants to devour us! Do not betray me, Lord, to this raw-eating Mamai, show me the greatness of Your Divinity, Lord! Where is the host of angels, where is the cherubic presence, where is the service of the six-winged seraphim? All creation trembles before you, the heavenly powers worship you! You created the sun and the moon and decorated the earth with all its beauties! Reveal, O God, Your greatness even now; Lord, change my sorrow to joy! Have mercy on me, as You had mercy on Your servant Moses, who cried out to You in spiritual grief, and You commanded the pillar of fire to go before him, and You turned the depths of the sea into dry land, as the Lord and Lord, You turned the terrible indignation into silence.”
And, having said all this, he turned to his brother and to all the great princes and commanders: “The time of our battle has come, brothers, and the feast of Queen Mary, the Mother of God, Theotokos and all the heavenly ranks, the Lady of the whole universe, and her holy Nativity has come. If we stay alive - for the sake of the Lord, if we die for this world - for the sake of the Lord! And he ordered bridges to be built on the Don and fords to be looked for that night, on the eve of the feast of the Most Pure Mother of God.
The next morning, early on Saturday, on the eighth day of September, on the very feast of the Mother of God, at the time of sunrise, there was great darkness throughout the whole earth, and it was foggy that morning until the third hour. And the Lord commanded the darkness to retreat, and granted the coming of the light. The great prince gathered his great regiments, and all his Russian princes prepared their regiments, and his great commanders dressed in local clothes. And the gates of death dissolved, great fear and horror gripped the people gathered from afar, from the east and west. They went beyond the Don, to the far ends of the earth, and soon crossed the Don in anger and rage, and so swiftly that the foundation of the earth shook with great force. The prince, who crossed the Don into a clear field, into the Mamaev land, at the mouth of the Nepryadva, was led by the Lord God alone, and God did not turn away from him. Oh, strong and firm boldness of courage! Oh, how I was not afraid, how I was not troubled in spirit when I saw such a multitude of warriors! After all, three lands, three armies rose against him: the first was Tatar, the second was Lithuanian, the third was Ryazan. However, he was not afraid of them all, was not afraid, but, armed with faith in God, strengthened by the power of the Holy Cross and protected by the prayers of the Holy Mother of God, he prayed to God, saying: “Help me, Lord my God, save me by Your mercy, you see how the number of my enemies has increased. Lord, why have those who harassed me multiplied? Many have risen up against me, many are fighting against me, many are pursuing me, tormenting me, all nations have surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I resisted them.”
And at the sixth hour of the day the filthy Ishmaelites appeared in the field - and the field was open and vast. And then the Tatar regiments lined up against the Christians, and the regiments met. And seeing each other, great forces moved, and the earth hummed, the mountains and hills shook from countless warriors. And they drew weapons - two-edged in their hands. And the eagles flocked, as it is written - “where there are corpses, there the eagles will gather.” At the appointed hour, the Russian and Tatar guard regiments first began to arrive. The Grand Duke himself was the first to attack the filthy Tsar Telyak, called the incarnate devil Mamai, in the guard regiments. However, soon after that the prince left for the great regiment. And then the great army of Mamaev moved, all the Tatar forces. And on our side, the Great Prince Dmitry Ivanovich with all the Russian princes, having prepared regiments, went against the filthy Polovtsians with all his army. And, looking up to heaven with prayer and filled with sorrow, he said in the words of the psalm: “Brothers, God is our refuge and strength.” And immediately both great forces came together for many hours, and covered the regiments of the field for ten miles - such was the multitude of warriors. And there was a fierce and great slaughter, and a fierce battle, and a terrible roar; Since the creation of the world there has not been such a battle among the Russian great princes as during this great prince of all Rus'. When they fought, from the sixth hour to the ninth, the blood of both Russian sons and the filthy ones poured out like rain from a cloud, and countless numbers fell dead on both sides. And a lot of Rus' was beaten by the Tatars, and the Tatars by Russia. And corpses fell on corpses, Tatar bodies fell on Christian bodies; here and there one could see how a Rusyn was chasing a Tatar, and a Tatar was chasing a Rusyn. They came together and mixed, because everyone wanted to defeat their opponent. And Mamai said to himself: “Our hair is torn out, our eyes do not have time to shed hot tears, our tongues become stiff, and my larynx dries up, and my heart stops, my loins cannot support me, my knees weaken, and my hands become numb.”
What should we say or what should we talk about when we see a malicious death! Some were cut with swords, others were pierced with swords, others were raised on spears! And despair gripped those Muscovites who had not been to battle. Seeing all this, they were frightened, and, having said goodbye to life, they turned to flight and ran, but did not remember how the martyrs said to each other: “Brothers, we will endure a little, winter is fierce, but paradise is sweet; and the sword is terrible, but the crown is glorious.” And some of the sons of Hagaryan fled from the loud cries, seeing cruel death.
And after this, at nine o’clock in the afternoon, the Lord looked with merciful eyes on all the Russian princes and on the courageous commanders, and on all the Christians who dared to stand up for Christianity and were not afraid, as befits glorious warriors. The pious saw at the ninth hour how the angels, fighting, helped the Christians, and the holy martyrs' regiment, and the warrior George, and the glorious Dmitry, and the great princes of the same name - Boris and Gleb. Among them was the commander of the perfect regiment of heavenly warriors - Archangel Michael. Two commanders saw the regiments of the filthy, and the three-solar regiment, and the fiery arrows flying at them; The godless Tatars fell, overwhelmed by the fear of God and from Christian weapons. And God raised up the right hand of our prince to defeat the foreigners. And Mamai, trembling in fear and groaning loudly, exclaimed: “Great is the Christian God and great is His power! Brothers Ishmaelites, lawless Hagarites, flee along unprepared roads!” And he himself, turning back, quickly ran to his Horde. And, hearing about this, his dark princes and rulers also ran. Seeing this, the other foreigners, persecuted by the wrath of God and overcome with fear, young and old, fled. The Christians, seeing that the Tatars and Mamai were running, chased after them, beating and chopping up the filthy ones without mercy, for God, with invisible power, terrified the Tatar regiments, and, defeated, they fled. And in this pursuit, some Tatars fell under the arms of Christians, while others drowned in the river. And they drove them to the river as far as Mechi, and there they killed countless numbers of those running. The princes drove the regiments of the Sodomites, beating them, to their camp, and seized great wealth, and all their property, and all the herds of Sodom.
Then at that massacre the following were killed in battle: Prince Fyodor Romanovich Belozersky and his son Ivan, Prince Fyodor Tarussky, his brother Mstislav, Prince Dmitry Monastyrev, Semyon Mikhailovich, Mikula Vasiliev, son of the thousand, Mikhailo Ivanov Akinfovich, Ivan Alexandrovich, Andrei Serkizov, Timofey Vasilyevich Akatievich, called Voluy, Mikhailo Brenkov, Lev Morozov, Semyon Melikov, Dmitry Mininich, Alexander Peresvet, who was formerly a boyar of Bryansk, and many others whose names are not recorded in these books. Here only the princes and governors, and the names of noble and oldest boyars are named, and I omitted the names of the other boyars and servants and did not write them because of the many names, since their number is too large for me, for many were killed in that battle.
The Grand Duke himself had all his armor dented and pierced, but there were no wounds on his body, and he fought the Tatars face to face, being ahead of everyone in the first battle. Many princes and commanders told him more than once: “Mr. Prince, do not strive to fight in front, but be behind either on the wing, or somewhere in a third-party place.” He answered them: “But how can I say - my brothers, let’s all move forward together, every single one, and I’ll hide my face and hide behind.” I can’t do that, but I want to be the first in both word and deed and in plain sight. everyone to lay down their heads for their brethren and for all Christians. Let others, seeing this, be desperate in their insolence.” And as he said, he did so, then fighting with the Tatars ahead of everyone. And how many times were his warriors beaten to the right and left of him, and he was surrounded, like water, from all sides! And they struck him many blows on the head, and on his shoulders, and on his womb, but God protected him on the day of battle with the shield of truth and the weapon of favor overshadowed his head, with his right hand he protected him, and with a strong hand and a high arm God, who gave strength, saved him. to him. And so, finding himself among many enemies, he remained unharmed. “I do not trust in my bow, and my weapon will not save me,” as the prophet David said. - “You have made the Most High your refuge, and evil will not come to you, and there will be no wound on your body, for he commands his angels to guard you all your way, and you will not be afraid of the arrow flying in the day.”
It is because of our sins that foreigners come to fight against us, so that we will renounce our sins: from brotherly hatred, and from the love of money, and from unjust judgment, and from violence. But God, the lover of mankind, is merciful, he is not completely angry with us, and he does not forever remember evil.
And from here, from the country of Lithuania, Jagiello, the Prince of Lithuania, came with all the Lithuanian forces to help Mamaia, to help the filthy Tatars, and to the Christians in grief. But God delivered them too, because they were a little late in time, by one day or less. But as soon as Jagiello Olgerdovich and all his warriors heard that the great prince had a fight with Mamai, the great prince won, and Mamay ran away - and then, without any delay, the Lithuanians and Jagiello hastily turned back, without being persecuted by anyone. At that time they did not see either the great prince, or his army, or his weapons; the Lithuanians were afraid and trembled at his name alone; and not like in the present time - the Lithuanians mock us and commit outrages. But we will put this conversation aside and return to the previous story.
Prince Dmitry with his brother Vladimir, and with the Russian princes, and with the governors, and with the other boyars, and with all the remaining soldiers, standing that night at the filthy feasts, on the Tatar bones, wiped their sweat and, having rested from their labors, He offered great thanks to God, who granted such a victory over the filthy, who delivered his servant from the fierce weapon: “You, Lord, remembered your mercy, you delivered us, Lord, from these raw materials, from the filthy Mamai and from the wicked Ishmaelites, and from the lawless Hagarians, giving honor, like the Son, to His Mother. He gave us a passionate desire, as he gave to his servant Moses, and the ancient David, and the new Constantine, and Yaroslav, a relative of the great princes, against the accursed and damned fratricide, the headless beast Svyatopolk. And you, Mother of God, had mercy on us, your sinful servants, and the entire Christian race, and begged your eternal Son.” And many Russian princes and governors glorified the Most Pure Mother of God, Theotokos, with praiseworthy praises. And the Christ-loving prince also praised his squad, which fought hard against the foreigners, and steadfastly defended itself, and was valiantly courageous, and dared, by the will of God, to stand up for the Christian faith.
And the great prince returned from there to the God-protected city of Moscow, to his homeland with a great victory, defeating his opponents, defeating his enemies. And many of his soldiers rejoiced, having captured large booty: they brought with them herds of horses, and camels, and oxen, which were countless, and they captured armor, and clothes, and all their goods.
They told the great prince that Prince Oleg Ryazansky sent his forces to help Mamaia, and he himself broke bridges on the rivers. And whoever went home from the Don Massacre through his fatherland, the Ryazan land, boyars or servants, he ordered them to be seized and robbed and released robbed. Prince Dmitry wanted to send an army against Oleg for this. And suddenly the Ryazan boyars came to him and told him that Prince Oleg had left his land and fled with the princess, and with the children, and with the boyars. And they begged the Grand Duke not to send troops against them, and they themselves beat him with their foreheads, and agreed to be subordinate to him. The prince heeded them and accepted their petition, did not send an army against them, and installed his governors in the Ryazan reign.
Then Mamai ran away with a few and came to his land with a small retinue. And, seeing that he was defeated, and put to flight, and disgraced, and desecrated, he again became inflamed with anger and gathered his remaining forces to attack Rus' again. When he decided so, news came to him that a certain king Tokhtamysh from the Blue Horde was coming towards him from the east. Mamai, who had prepared an army against us, went against him with that army ready. And they met on Kalki, and there was a battle. And King Tokhtamysh defeated Mamai and drove him away. The Mamai princes, dismounting from their horses, beat King Tokhtamysh with their foreheads, and took an oath to him according to their faith, and took his side, and left Mamai disgraced; Mamai, seeing this, hastily fled with his like-minded people. King Tokhtamysh sent his soldiers in pursuit of him. And Mamai, driven by them and fleeing from Tokhtamysh’s pursuers, ran to the outskirts of the city of Kafa. And he entered into negotiations with the Kathinians, persuading with them about his safety, so that they would take him under their protection until he got rid of all his pursuers. And they allowed him. And Mamai came to Kafa with a lot of property, gold and silver. The Kafinians, after consulting, decided to deceive Mamai, and then he was killed by them. And so came the end of Mamai.
And Tsar Tokhtamysh himself went and took possession of the Mamaev Horde, and captured his wives, and his treasury, and the entire ulus, and distributed the wealth of Mamaev to his squad. And from there he sent his ambassadors to Prince Dmitry and to all the Russian princes, announcing his arrival and how he reigned and how Mamai defeated his opponent and their enemy, and he sat down in the kingdom of the Volga. The Russian princes released his ambassador with honor and with gifts, and that winter and that spring each sent their Kilicians with them to the Horde to the Tsar with large gifts.