The name of the lists "The Tale of Bygone Years". "The Tale of Bygone Years" and its predecessors

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

"The Tale of Bygone Years" is one of the most ancient monuments of Russian literature, the creation of which dates back to 1113.

The life of Nestor the Chronicler, creator of The Tale of Bygone Years

Nestor the Chronicler was born in Kyiv in 1056. At the age of seventeen, he went as a novice to the Kiev Caves Monastery. There he became a chronicler.

In 1114 Nestor died and was buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. On November 9 and October 11, the Orthodox Church commemorates him.

Nestor the Chronicler is known as the first writer who could tell about the history of Christianity. His first known work was The Life of Saints Boris and Gleb, and soon after it was followed by The Life of St. Theodosius of the Caves. But Nestor's main work, which brought him worldwide fame, is, of course, The Tale of Bygone Years, a literary monument of ancient Russia.

The authorship of this story does not belong only to Nestor the Chronicler. Rather, Nestor skillfully collected information from a variety of sources and created a chronicle from them. For work, Nestor needed annalisticvaults and ancient tales, he also used the stories of merchants, travelers and soldiers. In his time, many witnesses of the wars and raids of the Polovtsians were still alive, so he could listen to their stories.

The Tale of Bygone Years lists

It is known that The Tale of Bygone Years has undergone changes. In 1113, Vladimir Monomakh handed over the manuscript to the Vydubitsky Monastery, and in 1116 its last chapters were redone by Abbot Sylvester. Hegumen Sylvester went against the will of the rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, giving the manuscript to the Vydubitsky Monastery.

Significant parts of The Tale of Bygone Years later became part of such annals as Lavrentievskaya, Ipatievskaya, First Novgorodskaya.

Usually, any ancient Russian chronicle consists of several texts, some of which refer to sources of an earlier time. The Tale of Bygone Years, a list of which was made in the 14th century, became part of the Laurentian Chronicle, created by the monk Lavrenty. Rather, the monk Lavrenty used the work of the monk Nestor as the main source for his chronicle. The name of the lists "The Tale of Bygone Years" was usually created by the name of the monk who made the list, or by the place where the list was made. In the middle of the 15th century, another ancient copy of The Tale of Bygone Years was created under the name of the Ipatiev Chronicle.

Contents of The Tale of Bygone Years

The Tale of Bygone Years begins with biblical stories. After the flood, Noah settled his sons - Ham, Shem and Japheth - throughout the Earth. The name of the lists "The Tale of Bygone Years" is alsoindicates the biblical beginning of these chronicles. It was believed that the Russian people descended from Japheth.

Then the chronicler tells about the life of the East Slavic tribes and the establishment of the state in Russia. The chronicler points out the legend according to which Kyi, Shchek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid came to rule the East Slavic lands. There they founded the city of Kyiv. The tribes of the Slavs living in the northern part of Russia called on the Varangian brothers to rule over them. The brothers' names were Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. The name of the lists "The Tale of Bygone Years" also has the purpose of ex alting the ruling power in Russia, and for this purpose it is indicated that its foreign origin. From the Varangians who came to Russia, the royal family began in Russia.

Basically, the chronicle describes wars, and also talks about how temples and monasteries were created. The chronicle sees the events of Russian history in the context of world history and directly connects these events with the Bible. The traitorous prince Svyatopolk killed the brothers Boris and Gleb, and the chronicler draws a comparison with the murder of Abel by Cain. Prince Vladimir, who baptized Russia, is compared with the Roman emperor Constantine, who introduced Christianity as the official religion in Russia. Before baptism, Prince Vladimir was a sinful person, but baptism radically changed his life, he became a saint.

The legends in the "Tale of Bygone Years"

The Tale of Bygone Years includes not only historical facts, but also legends. Traditions served as important sources of information for the chronicler, since he had morethere was no way to know what happened centuries or decades before.

The legend about the foundation of the city of Kyiv tells about the origin of the city and about who it was named after. The legend about the Prophetic Oleg, placed in the text of the chronicle, tells about the life and death of Prince Oleg. The legend about Princess Olga, which tells how she strongly and cruelly avenged the death of Prince Igor, was also included in the chronicle. "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells a legend about Prince Vladimir. Envoys from different nations came to him and each offered his own faith. But each faith had its shortcomings. The Jews did not have their own land, Muslims were forbidden to have fun and drink intoxicating drinks, German Christians wanted to capture Russia.

And Prince Vladimir eventually settled on the Greek branch of Christianity.

The role of signs in The Tale of Bygone Years

If you carefully read the text of the chronicle, it becomes obvious that the chronicler pays great attention to various natural phenomena, linking them with divine forces. He considers earthquakes, floods and droughts to be God's punishment, and solar and lunar eclipses, in his opinion, are a warning from heavenly powers. Solar eclipses played a special role in the life of princes. The researchers note that the symbolism of dates and the title of The Tale of Bygone Years are also influenced by natural phenomena and the chronology of time.

Prince Igor Svyatoslavich sees a solar eclipse in 1185 before starting his campaign against the Polovtsians. His warriors warnhim, saying that such an eclipse is not good. But the prince disobeyed them and went to the enemy. As a result, his army was defeated. Also, a solar eclipse usually foreshadowed the death of a prince. During the period from 1076 to 1176, 12 solar eclipses occurred, and after each of them, the death of one of the princes occurred. The chronicle was tuned to the fact that the end of the world, or the Last Judgment, would come in 1492, and prepared its readers for this. Droughts and eclipses foreshadowed wars and the imminent end of the world.

Style features of The Tale of Bygone Years

The name of the lists of "The Tale of Bygone Years" is determined by the genre features of these chronicles. First of all, chronicles are typical works of ancient Russian literature. That is, they contain features of different genres. These are not works of art and not just historical works, but they combine the features of both. "The Tale of Bygone Years", a list of which was found in Novgorod, also has these features.

The chronicle itself was obviously a legal document. Scientist N. I. Danilevsky believes that the annals were not intended for people, but for God, who was supposed to read them at the Last Judgment. Therefore, the chronicles described in detail the deeds of the princes and their subordinates.

The task of the chronicler is not the interpretation of events, not the search for their causes, but simply a description. The present is conceived in the context of the past. The Tale of Bygone Years, whose lists are legendary, has an "open genre" in which features of different genres are mixed. As is known, in ancient Russian literaturethere was no clear division of genres yet, only chronicles existed from written works, therefore they combined the features of a novel, poem, story and legal documents.

What does the title "The Tale of Bygone Years" mean

The name of the set was given by the first line of the chronicle "Behold the tale of bygone years …". "The Tale of Bygone Years" means "The Tale of the Past Years", since the word "summer" in Old Russian meant "year". Many are trying to find out what the title "The Tale of Bygone Years" means. In the broadest sense, this is a story about the existence of this world, which sooner or later awaits the Judgment of God. "The Tale of Bygone Years", a copy of which was found in the monastery, is considered the earliest work.

Prior vaults

"The Tale of Bygone Years" was subjected to a thorough textual analysis. And it turned out that it was compiled on the basis of earlier chronicle writings.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" and the previous vaults form a single whole, that is, the "Tale" largely repeats what was written before it. Modern history adheres to the opinion of Academician A. A. Shakhmatov, who studied all the ancient chronicles using the comparative method. He discovered that the very first chronicle was the Ancient Kyiv Chronicle, created in 1037. It talked about when the history of mankind began and when Russia was baptized.

In 1073, the Kiev-Pechersk chronicle was created. In 1095, the second edition of the Kiev-Pechersk code appeared, it is also called the Initialvault.

Symbols of dates

Calendar dates in The Tale of Bygone Years were seen as having special significance. If for a modern person calendar dates have no meaning, then for the chronicler, each date or day of the week on which events took place was filled with special historical significance. And the chronicler tried to mention more often those days or dates that had more meaning and carried more value. Since Saturday and Sunday were considered special, or sacred, days at that time, these days are mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years 9 and 17 times, respectively, and weekdays are mentioned less frequently. Wednesday is mentioned only 2 times, Thursday three times, Friday five times. Monday and Tuesday are only mentioned once. It can be argued that the symbolism of dates and the title of The Tale of Bygone Years are closely related to the religious context.

"The Tale of Bygone Years" was closely connected with the religious worldview, so all of its features were based on this. The chronicler sees all events only in the context of the coming Last Judgment, so he looks at what is happening from the point of view of divine powers. They warn people of coming wars, droughts and crop failures. They punish the villains who committed murders and robberies, and the innocent are elevated to the divine throne. The relics of saints take on unusual qualities. This is evidenced by the legends about the lives of Saints Boris and Gleb. Temples are also sacred places where the wicked and pagans cannot enter.