Literacy in Russia in the pre-Christian (Docievan) period

The emergence of a school in Russia in the sense that is familiar to us, the bulk of researchers connects with the process of Christianization of the Slavic tribes and directly with the Kyiv period of development Old Russian state. The generally accepted idea that before the adoption of Christianity in Russia there was neither writing nor any culture at all, is contained in the writings of many authors both in the pre-revolutionary and in the modern period. Interestingly, The Tale of Bygone Years is the main source on the history of Ancient Russia, contains exactly this point of view. Nestor connects the spread of literacy directly with the adoption of Christianity and the activities of Prince Vladimir. There is no mention of the existence of literacy before this period in the Tale. The same point of view is supported by the great Russian historian N.M. Karamzin: "The Bohemian, Illyric and Russian Slavs did not have any alphabet until 863 ..." The first Russian taxonomist says the same world history pedagogy L.N. Modzalevsky in his work "Essay on the history of education and training from ancient times to our times." HER. Golubinsky in "History of the Russian Church" also believes that it was during the Kievan period that "enlightenment on the Greek model was established in our country for a very short time in the highest (boyar) class ...". This version eventually became official, which means that it was included in all school and university textbooks back in the Soviet period. However, despite the abundance of new data obtained in the course of research by archaeologists, historians, philologists, etc., the same version is contained in all modern textbooks, as well as in books on the history of Russia for children and youth. Obviously, the authors of the textbooks consider Nestor's opinion to be indisputable and the only correct one. They simply ignore all the currently available data on the literacy of the Slavs in the pre-Christian period. From early childhood, I put in our heads the idea of ​​the backwardness of the Slavic civilization, thus instilling admiration for the West. For what purpose this is done, it is difficult to say. Perhaps the textbook authors simply do not bother with any analysis and generalization of the available data, rewriting the same version from one textbook to another. However, if we take into account that the authors of many textbooks are the largest historians, such as A.N. Sakharov, B. Rybakov, S. Orlov and others, such an approach to the presentation of national history becomes incomprehensible. Interestingly, in the school textbook Academician A.N. Sakharov defends Nestor's version, and in the textbook for universities he significantly deviates from this version. But, one way or another, we leave it on the conscience of the authors.

A very interesting theory of the emergence of literacy in Russia is proposed by A.V. Kartashev in the two-volume work "Essays on the History of the Russian Church". He also believes that before Christianization, the Slavs did not know literacy, and only with the adoption of Christianity does writing begin to spread. However, the adoption of Christianity by Western and Eastern Slavs A.V. Kartashev connects not with the reign of Prince Vladimir and the date of the official baptism of Russia in 988, but with the events of the creation Slavic alphabet Cyril and Methodius and even earlier. He believes that by 860 Christianity was no longer just widespread in the lands of the Slavs, but there was already a Russian diocese with a bishop at the head. This version is also supported by the modern historian Svetlana Zhuk, saying that "by the time of Oleg's reign, Kyiv was already on the list of Greek metropolises, there was a Russian bishopric here." At the same time, A.V. Kartashov mentions the existence of a certain Slavic language, into which Cyril and Methodius translated Greek books as early as 855. But it is difficult to say what kind of Slavic language we are talking about: either it is the Slavic alphabet created by the Thessalonica brothers, or it is the Slavic language that existed before the official creation of the Slavic alphabet. The appearance of the first schools in the Slavic lands A.V. Kartashov also connects with the activities of the brothers. It was they who founded the first schools for the Slavs and trained the first teachers. The purpose of these schools was to teach the Slavs to read and write in the newly created Slavic language and to spread Christianity among the Slavs. "... As soon as Constantine reached Moravia, he immediately put the crowded school on its feet and unfolded a wide range of liturgical books in front of it." Here the historian stipulates that "... it is a matter of continuing the Slavic doctrinal and liturgical mission already begun by Byzantium and only of applying it to a new territory and a new people." The missionary activity of the Thessalonica brothers begins with the Bulgarian lands, after which all the southern Slavs were converted to Christianity, and then the brothers went to the lands of the Western Slavs and from there to Russia. The baptism directly of the Eastern Slavs or the Russian population, as well as the fact of the beginning of the spread of literacy in Russia, A.V. Kartashov connects with the year 862. In his work, he clearly indicates that "... 862 is not the year of the beginning of the Russian state, but the year of the beginning of the Russian church with a bishop at the head." However, the great Russian historian V.N. Tatishchev was the first to draw attention to the fact that the Slavs had a written language long before the adoption of Christianity and the creation of the Slavic alphabet. "Indeed, the Slavs long before Christ and the Slavic-Russians actually had a letter before Vladimir, in which many ancient writers testify to us, and, firstly, that in general they are told about all the Slavs." In support of his conclusions, V.N. Tatishchev cites the story of various Slavic historians, without saying what kind of historians they are, about a certain Jerome, a teacher of the Slavs, who translated the Bible into Slavic as early as the 4th century. This fact, according to Tatishchev, proves that the Slavs had their own written language. The historian cites other evidence based on sources that have not survived to our time. At the same time, Tatishchev is trying to trace the process of the emergence of writing among the Slavs from the Greeks in the south, because. the Slavs, the same Scythians, Sarmatians and other tribes, lived in close proximity to the Greeks and had the closest contact with them. He also believes that the northern Slavic tribes, which are in close trade relations with the countries of Europe, could well adopt the runic script from them. However, archaeological excavations do not confirm the fact that the Slavs had such a letter, so Tatishchev himself stipulates that this is just an assumption.

Opinion of V.N. Tatishchev is supported by the historian A.N. Sakharov, saying that the existence of writing in Russia in the pre-Kiev period is beyond doubt. At the same time, A.N. Sakharov does not comment on the nature of writing. He cites the testimony of the Arab bibliographer an-Nidin about the correspondence of the Russian prince, which took place on the eve of the Christian reform. This fact Academician A.N. Sakharov does not consider the pre-Christian period to be the norm for Ancient Russia, since, in his opinion, this is a single piece of evidence, just like archaeological finds with ancient writings of the Slavs are single. "However, the letter that came to Russia from the southern Slavs did not receive any wide distribution in pre-Christian Russia, and there is no reason to talk about the appearance of literature in Russia before Vladimir." Thus, following V.N. Tatishchev A.N. Sakharov believes that writing came to Russia from the south. Since the Slavs, both eastern and southern, had very close contacts with the Greek world, it is quite reasonable to assume that the Slavs could use the Greek language directly. However, we do not find any explanations on this matter either from V.N. Tatishchev, nor A.N. Sakharov. V.N. Tatishchev only claims that the Slavs had their own language, but does not explain what letters it was depicted in writing. It is important to note that V.N. Tatishchev testifies that the Slavic princes knew Greek well and used it when writing. This fact is confirmed by the famous historian S.M. Solovyov. At the same time, he says that V.N. Tatishchev wrote his work on the basis of many sources that have not come down to us, and there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of Tatishchev's code of annals.

The possible presence of runic writing among the ancient Slavs indirectly confirms in his work A.V. Kartashev. He points out: "This Russia of the end of the 8th beginning of the 9th centuries - a mobile mess of peoples: Slavic, Norman and maybe partly Scythian-Iranian, or even Turkic, wandered and was scattered along all the northern shores of the Black Sea, already long since Christianized by Byzantium." Hence it is likely that the Slavs could use the runic script, having borrowed it from the peoples of the North. N.M. Karamzin also gives indirect evidence that the runic script existed among the ancient Slavs. "The Baltic Slavs worshiped Wodan, or the Scandinavian Odin, having learned about him from the Germanic peoples with whom they lived in Dacia and who were their neighbors from ancient times."

It is worth paying close attention to the monograph of the domestic pre-revolutionary researcher Yegor Klassen. He claims that "the Slavs had literacy not only before general introduction Christianity between them, but also long before the birth of Christ, this is evidenced by the acts erecting the literacy of the Slavic-Russians from the tenth century ago to deep antiquity ... ". E. Klassen cites numerous testimonies of both Western and Eastern writers, travelers and rulers , and also refers to the texts of ancient Russian treaties and various Western chronicles.The use of a large number of sources allowed E. Klassen to draw amazing conclusions.First of all, he believes that the Slavs had a written language much earlier than the Greeks and Romans.Secondly, he convincingly proves that the process of spreading literacy did not go from West to East, but from East to Zpapad, i.e. from the ancient Slavic peoples to the Greeks, and from there further to the Romans and to Europe.Thirdly, E. Klassen believes that the origin of the runic letters exclusively from Scandinavia is erroneous.In his opinion, the Slavs had their own runic script, which was distributed everywhere.

We are told about the widespread distribution of runic writing by archaeological finds throughout the European part of Russia. However, a comparison of the Scandinavian and Slavic runes testifies to us about their complete identity. Therefore, the statement about the existence of the actual Slavic runes seems to us not entirely plausible. There is no reason to talk about the borrowing of runic writing by the Scandinavians and Germans from the ancient Slavs. From here we can assume that the borrowing was still from the side of the Slavs due to close trade ties.

Opinion about antiquity Slavic writing supported by the famous Russian historian Dmitry Ivanovich Ilovaisky. Studying the problem of the Slavic origin of the Bulgarians, he comes to the conclusion that Slavic writing existed already in the 7th-8th centuries. At the same time, he stipulates that Slavic writing has more ancient roots. D. Ilovaisky connects the flourishing of this writing with the period of the 9th-10th centuries. and believes that it was Slavic writing that became the basis for all subsequent Slavic-Christian education. Thus, the official adoption of Christianity gives a new powerful impetus to the development of writing and education, although D. Ilovaisky does not write about this directly.

Modern researcher Sergei Berdyshev proves this version on the basis of archaeological finds made on the territory of Central and Southern Russia in the 40-50s. XX century. Runic inscriptions were found on clay jars in the places of settlements of representatives of the so-called Chernyakhov culture, which had a rather large area of ​​settlement and dated to the 3rd-4th centuries, and partly to the beginning of the 5th century. "Thus," S.N. Berdyshev points out, "the Chernyakhov culture can be considered inter-tribal: in addition to the Slavs, the Germans and Sarmatians were involved in its creation." These finds are important for us because the Slavs used writing long before the baptism of Russia. But, apparently, the runic writing was used in case of emergency and by very narrow circles of the population. This conclusion is supported by the fact that there are few finds with runic inscriptions, despite the rather large territory (from northwestern Europe to southern Russia) of the spread of the Chernyakhov culture. In addition, this fact also testifies to the fact that in the chronological period indicated by S. Berdyshev, the Slavs did not have their own written language, and we also cannot talk about the general spread of literacy among the bulk of the Slavic population.

Thus, it becomes clear that the highest circles of Slavic society had a Greek script and actively used it. Part of the trade and craft circles, if necessary, could use runic writing when making large transactions. As for the bulk of the population, it is quite reasonable to assume that a certain "folk" Slavic language existed, as well as primitive Slavic writing in the form of dashes and dimples squeezed out on clay or birch bark. Many peoples at the stage of the primitive system had primitive writing, as evidenced by numerous archaeological finds around the world.

The modern researcher S. Zhuk confirms these conjectures in the work "Kievan Rus", saying that "the Slavs already had the simplest writing. wooden planks they scratched or cut out dashes, indentations, with the help of which they stored or transmitted the necessary information, that is, they knew how to read and write. "A little later, the Slavs switched to the alphabet created by Cyril, which" was much simpler, clearer and much more convenient to use. It consisted of 43 letters and included numbers. "We find very interesting evidence of ancient Slavic writing in the work of the modern researcher Alexander Asov" Sacred Ancestral Homes of the Slavs ". The author sets out legends about two roots of the Slavs: northern, Hyperborean, and southern, Atlantic. the fact that A. Asov cites excerpts from the most ancient monuments of Slavic not just writing, but literature that existed in the III-IV centuries AD These are excerpts from the "Book of Carols", "Veles Book" and others. "Yarilin's book" - he cites the chronicle of the Russians, dating from the same time, in full. But what is even more important, in the work of A. Asov there is a photograph of the first page of the Yarilina Book, where we clearly see the Greek letters. So what happens? It is clear that such works, like "Book of Veles", "Book of carols", "Yarilin's book" could only be written by the Slavic magi. The very titles of the books speak of this. The books are written in Greek letters, i.e. in Greek. This means that the highest the circles of the ancient Slavic society, which included the Magi, were not just literate, but well educated. They knew Greek and could read and write in it. And, no less surprising, they had access to paper, since the oldest books of the Slavs were written on paper. The lower layers used the simplest writing and used clay tablets or birch bark for it, as the most available material. Paper was obviously in great short supply and was very expensive. Magi or Slavic priests created imperishable books, but not as literary works, but as repositories of sacred knowledge. That is why these books were so carefully hidden and were available only to a very narrow circle of people. They were created and read only by those initiated into secret knowledge. That is why we can hardly talk about the existence of ancient Slavic literature in the pre-Christian period. However, the question remains: where and how did the ancient Slavs teach literacy. S. Zhuk, like other researchers, does not write about this. There are mentions in the work of the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, but what kind of people they were and whom they taught is not mentioned. Nevertheless, in the same S. Zhuk we meet the following evidence: "A Russian peasant and his wife still make everything necessary for their everyday life ...". From which follows a simple conclusion that the training took place at home in the process of chores. There is clearly no need to talk about the existence of schooling in the pre-Kiev period.

Researcher S. Egorov, the creator of the Reader on the history of pedagogy in Russia, developing the point of view on Slavic writing in the pre-Christian period, cites inscriptions on the wall of the Kyiv St. Sophia Cathedral, discovered during archaeological excavations by S.A. Vysotsky, as well as clay vessels discovered in 1949 by the archaeologist D. Avdusin near Smolensk, numerous birch bark letters dated 953-972, and Oleg’s treaties with Byzantium in 907 and 911. Based on this, S. Egorov concludes that the Russian population was completely literate long before Vladimir, and all segments of the urban population were literate. At the same time, the researcher brings a vessel discovered by archaeologist D.A. Avdusin in 1949, which has an inscription in Slavic, dated to the middle of the 10th century. This fact only confirms, in our opinion, the version of A.V. Kartashev that literacy in Russia began to spread from the time of the creation of the Slavic alphabet, i.e. long before the official adoption of Christianity. The point of view of S. Egorov is confirmed by the modern historian O.A. Kudinov in his course of lectures on the history of Russia. He relies on the same evidence of the presence of writing among the Slavs in the 9th century, to which S. Egorov also refers. However, he does not believe that literacy was widespread. In his opinion, it was Christianity that gave a powerful impetus to the rapid and widespread development of written culture. As for the peasantry, there is no mention of this class in any of the authors. Interestingly, S. Egorov does not speak of literacy as some kind of unique phenomenon. This concept is woven into the concept of "Slavic pedagogy" and is its integral part. We do not find any evidence from any of the researchers about teachers, schools where they would teach literacy and educate the younger generations in the pre-Kiev period. Then the question arises: how did literacy spread in Russia and where was it taught? S. Egorov gives a very vague answer to this question: “Unfortunately, from ancient times, few direct evidence has come down to us about the way of life and life of our ancestors, and even more so about the methods of teaching children. But modern archeology, history, linguistics, linguistics, etymology have sufficient material to present in in general terms the process of transferring life and social experience, knowledge, skills and abilities from the older generation to the younger". Such a pedagogical system, apparently, existed in peasant families.As for the upper circles of society, as well as urban families, the role of the first teachers was close relatives, most often uncles, to whose upbringing boys were given at a certain age. The girls, on the other hand, remained with their mothers and learned the mastery of household and the art of relationships with men. Many researchers speak about the existence of such a system of education and training. So in the "Tale of Bygone Years" we find a mention that Prince Vladimir himself was raised by his uncle Dobrynya. The same system of education is described by S.N. Berdyshev in this work, A. Asov and other authors.

So, now we can say with full confidence that the Slavs had written language long before the adoption of Christianity. The population of Ancient Russia in the pre-Kiev period was completely literate, but this applies specifically to the urban strata of the population. The princes and high society of the boyars used the Greek script, because. were fluent in Greek. The upper strata of society were not just literate, but well educated. In everyday life they used the Slavic language, but for writing they were served by the Greek language, well known to them due to the closest contacts of Russia with Byzantium. From Byzantium, books were delivered to Russia, which were read by the princes and their inner circle without translation, i.e. in original. The Magi also used Greek writing to create sacred books. The Slavic Magi, as representatives of the upper class, also had an excellent command of the Greek language and used it to read and write books. But we cannot talk about ancient Slavic literature, since the books created by the Magi were a repository of secret knowledge and were available to a very narrow circle of people. As for schools and teachers in Russia in the pre-Christian period, we can unequivocally assert that the Slavs did not have such schools in that period.

A huge cultural upheaval, which made extremely important changes in the development of culture and helped to accumulate the necessary experience, knowledge, the opportunity to develop art word, to consolidate and preserve verbal works for posterity and distribute them among the general public, was the introduction of a single script.

The factor that prepared the adoption of Christianity by Russia was the creation in the second half of the 9th century. Slavic writing based on Greek statutory writing with the addition of several letters. The creation of writing is associated with the names of the brothers Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (815-885), who arrived from Byzantium in the Great Moravian state at the invitation of Prince Rostislav for missionary purposes in 863. They not only created the Slavic alphabet, but also translated into it from the ancient Greek language of the book of Holy Scripture. In the tenth century there is already evidence of the use of the Cyrillic alphabet in Russia. The agreement of 911 between Oleg and Byzantium was written in two languages ​​- Greek and Slavonic. There are numerous annalistic and archaeological evidence of the widespread use of literacy among different strata of society. So Novgorod birch bark letters are found everywhere, starting from the 11th century 11 of the history of Ukrainian culture. -- K., 1993.

The raging development of book art began Kievan Rus. Christianity, unlike paganism, was a highly literate religion. It owned own composition books, obligatory for the administration of various kinds of divine services, for monastic readings, which were obligatory, for the promotion of Christianity, for the training of ministers of the church. Such were historical works, church singing, theological, preaching and others. All of them required not only a single alphabet, but also a highly developed writing system as a whole.

The high art of translation already existed. Under Yaroslav the Wise, the "History of the Jewish War" by Josephus Flavius ​​was translated.

The most common letter was among the urban population. The townspeople left inscriptions - "graffiti" on the walls of churches in Kyiv, Smolensk, Novgorod. Among such inscriptions are reflections on life, complaint, and prayer. Vladimir Monomakh, being a young prince, during a church service wrote on the wall of St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv - "Oh, it's hard for me" - and signed Christian name Basil.

So, the introduction of Christianity activated the spread of education, was the reason for the organization and development of the school business. However, in the beginning, "book writing" did not become more or less widespread, limited to a small number " the best people"or "deliberate children". There is evidence that after the baptism of Russia in 988, Vladimir created the first school for the children of the local aristocracy in Kyiv at the Church of the Tithes. From the annals it is known that Vladimir's son Yaroslav the Wise in Novgorod in 1054 created a school for 300 children elders and clerics.Teaching was conducted in the native language, and in this school they taught reading, writing, the basics of Christian doctrine and arithmetic.

The circumstances of that time and the needs of life required certain knowledge, since enlightened people were required for the church and for the state, for filling church positions and various administrative positions, for maintaining broad trade relations, running large farms on boyar estates, etc.

The raging castle and temple construction that unfolded after the introduction of Christianity required highly skilled master artists for their framing, singers for church functions. Therefore, in addition to general education schools in Russia, they began to create separate schools of singing, painting, carving, crocheting, artistic blacksmithing, etc. .

Diplomatic and trade relations of Russia with Byzantium and other countries demanded from Ukrainians a high education with the obligatory knowledge of Greek and Latin. Its study was necessary for the practical activities of the then diplomatic corps and various trade, cultural and other relations of Russia with abroad. To this end, Yaroslav in 1037 created a school in the newly built Sophia of Kyiv, which, continuing the best traditions of the Vladimir and Byzantine schools, was in fact already a new type of school. This is the first domestic institution of higher education, which appeared, by the way, a century earlier than the first universities. Western Europe. The level of knowledge that children received here was not lower than in Byzantine higher schools. The children of the nobility studied at this school: the future Metropolitan Hilarion, the posadniks Ostromir and Ratibor, the codifiers (who brought the codes of Russkaya Pravda into a single whole) Kosnyachko and Nikifor of Kiev, the children of Yaroslav himself, from a dozen noble foreigners - contenders for the crowns of kings. According to some reports, in different times the children of the English king Edmund Ironside, the Hungarian prince Andrei, the successor to the Danish throne Herman, the Norwegian king Harald, the son of the Norwegian king Olaf and other foreigners studied at Yaroslav's school.

What sciences were studied in this high school? The chronicle names philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, history, Greek language, saying along with theology. ancient authors, geography and natural Sciences. Many figures of Ukrainian culture came out of its walls.

After the death of Yaroslav the Wise, schools were created at the courts of bishops to train the clergy. They taught reading, writing, church singing, the basics of faith and morality, necessary for priests. In the parishes, at the churches, there were schools of primary education for the children of ordinary people.

The processes of spreading education in Russia had their own characteristics. The most important of them was that not only male children were involved in education, mastered it. School education was extended, although not on such a scale, among female children. Regarding this, there is an interesting testimony of the famous historian of the 18th century. Tatishcheva, who gives such an example from an annals dated 1085: the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, Janka (Anna) Vsevolodovna, opened a special school in Kyiv for 300 girls in the same year, in which, in addition to reading and writing, they also taught various needlework. Extremely highly educated were the Chernigov princess Paraskeva, Paraskeva Polotskaya and other women in princely families. Moreover, they studied and knew well not only "Athenian wisdom", but also "philosophy, rhetoric and all grammar." They were taught here singing, noble behavior, sewing, embroidery, tailoring.

The Kiev Caves Monastery contributed a lot to the development of education. Already in the XI century. here a training center for higher clergy, artists, doctors, calligraphers, and translators was established. Only before the Tatar-Mongol invasion, more than 80 bishops emerged from the walls of the monastery. Here the phenomenon of chronicle writing appeared and acquired its development. Famous chroniclers Nestor, Nikon, Sylvester worked in this monastery; in the XII century. was compiled "Kyiv-Pechersk Paterikon" - an outstanding work, the historical first-born of Kievan Rus 11 Ukrainian culture. / Ed. D. Antonovich. - K .: Libid, 1993 ..

In addition to literacy in the narrow sense of the word - the ability to read and write - arithmetic was also well known in Russia. The chronicle brought to us such interesting example: the Novgorod deacon Kirik in 1136 calculated how many days have passed since the creation of the world - 29,120,652. In addition to knowing the four rules of arithmetic, in Russia they also knew fractions and used them in a variety of calculations.

The emergence and spread of writing, the development of education in Russia had a positive impact on the development processes scientific knowledge. scientific centers in Russia during the heyday of the Kievan state were primarily Kyiv, Novgorod, great importance had Polotsk, Chernigov, Galich, Vladimir-Volynsky. Schools existed there, primarily founded by the clergy. Among them were many teachers, writers, orators, artists, chroniclers, creators of the then Ukrainian science, which, like all ancient culture, was at first completely dependent on Byzantium, which by that time, next to Rome, had the glory of the second world center of science. and literature.

The heart of contemporary science was, of course, theology, often tinged with philosophical content. Her works were associated not only with the thoughts of the holy fathers of the Church and ancient philosophy(characteristic of this is the polemic of Klim Smolyatich with Thomas around 1147 about the use of the theology of Homer, Plato and Aristotle), but also with his own folk wisdom and her original worldview. Based on theology and mythology, the science of that time also processed other areas of knowledge - history, law, natural science, mathematics, astronomy - in such more or less volumes as it was in Byzantium and Western European countries. In historical knowledge, translations of the Byzantine chronicles by I. Malali, G. Amartoli and G. Sinkel, "History of Palestine" by Josephus Flavius ​​stand out; The "Shestidnev" of Basil the Great and revised by the Bulgarian Exarch John is dedicated to natural science, in which the individual kingdoms of nature are characterized according to the days of their creation according to the Bible; "Physiologist" narrates about various animals, in particular about plants and stones, and "Cosmography" by Kozma Indikoplov gives general characteristics universe. Church law was developed in many "driving" books.

Domestic original scientific experiments at that time began, as a rule, in such areas of science that Byzantium was not interested in and could not give us anything, since the Slavic lands there were known only superficially. Therefore, our ancestors began to write about themselves. We see an attempt to do this already on the first pages of the chronicle found. The chronicler is widely engaged in the history of mankind from the creation of the world and to the information that he gathered from the Bible and Greek sources, he adds his account of the origin of the Slavs, their language, ethnographic affiliation, their wandering and describes the customs of the tribes that were part of the Kievan state.

Historical science developed successfully. Like the historical chronicles of Byzantium, the then historiography was developed, which dealt with the history of our state, there was annals. The most ancient of those that have come down to us are, of course, the Book of Veles and others, which have been preserved in later lists, in particular the chronicle of 1039, compiled, probably, at the court of the Kyiv monastery by such monks as Nikon and the famous Nestor the chronicler, author of The Tale of Bygone Years. The monks of the Vydubytsky monastery also ordered the writing of chronicles - for example, hegumen Sylvester; other monasteries were engaged in this business also. Next to the monastery there were also private historians-chroniclers at the princely courts. / Ed. D. Antonovich. - K .: Libid, 1993 ..

The most ancient Slavic legal code XI-XII Art. - "Russian Truth" - testifies to its long-term preparation and comparative studies of Byzantine, Western European and its own, ancient Russian, customary law. This collection of laws of Prince Yaroslav and his successors formed the basis of the Lithuanian Charter and the legislation of the hetman's time. It is also interesting for its almost pure East Slavic language, without Church Slavonic elements, transparent structure of sentences and a dictionary of words-terms that are no longer commonly used today.

You should also remember medicine. The first doctors in Russia were "sorcerers" and healers, various "prophetists" and "magicians" - men and women. They were treated with spells and incantations. There was also a kind of medicine, which, in addition to various ointments, powders, etc., also provided for hydrotherapy, thermotherapy (heating, warming up the body, cooling it), etc. There are single mentions of surgical intervention in the patient's body.

Article

The development of writing and literacy in Ancient Russia in the 9th-first third of the 13th century.

Voronenko Tatyana Evgenievna,
teacher of Russian language and literature
GBOU School No. 429 named after M.Yu. Malofeev

Statement of the problem and its relevance: to analyze the development of writing and literature in Ancient Russia in the IX-first third of the XIII century; this article can be used as additional material in the lessons of the Russian language and literature in grades 5-11.

Writing in Russia appeared before the adoption of Christianity. There are references that the ancient Slavs used nodular and nodular-hieroglyphic writing, but due to its complexity it was available only to the elite.

The widespread spread of literacy is associated with activities in the second half of the 9th century. brothers Constantine (who accepted monasticism before his death under the name of Cyril) and Methodius, who created the first Slavic alphabet. In the second half of the ninth century Cyril and Methodius, as most experts now believe, created the Glagolitic alphabet (Glagolitic alphabet), which, in turn, was soon reworked by them using the Greek script, so the current alphabet, the Cyrillic alphabet, which we still use today (was simplified by Peter I) appeared , then in 1918).

The main centers for teaching literacy were schools at monasteries and churches, where they mastered not only the skills of reading and writing, but also the higher sciences of that time (theology, grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, etc.).

There is a lot of evidence of the spread of literacy among the inhabitants of Ancient Russia. The literacy of the urban population is evidenced by handicrafts, on which there are various inscriptions.

A huge number of inscriptions (they are called graffiti) were found on the walls of ancient cathedrals. Most of them begin with the words "Lord, help me" and then the text of the request follows. Sometimes there are funny inscriptions. “Yakim was successful,” wrote a Novgorodian about a neighbor who fell asleep in a church, and a Kyivian, joking with a friend, deduced: “Kuzma the pig.” The inscription on the wall of St. Sophia of Kyiv, above the sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise, helped historians to find out that Kyiv princes given the royal title.

In 1951, archaeologists in Novgorod discovered birch-bark letters. Currently, more than 700 letters have been found - in Novgorod, Smolensk, Moscow, Polotsk, Pskov and other cities.

The level of literacy in Russia is evidenced by the schools opened under Yaroslav the Wise in Kyiv, where more than 300 children studied. Yaroslav the Wise's daughter Anna, one of the first literate women who became Queen of France, was educated in the princely towers of Kyiv.

Literature in Ancient Russia in the 9th-first third of the 13th century.

All ancient Russian literature is divided into translated and original.

Translation occupied an important place in the literature of Kievan Rus and was considered as part of the national literature. The choice of translated works was due to the influence of the church: Holy Bible, works of John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem and other early Christian authors. Historical works and chronicles were also translated.

The original Old Russian literature is represented by the following main genres: chronicle writing, life, word (teaching), walks and historical stories:

Chronicle writing occupies a central place among the genres of ancient Russian literature. Chronicles are weather ("by years") records created on the basis of historical legends and songs, official sources, eyewitness memories. The monks who had undergone special training were engaged in chronicle writing. Chronicles were usually compiled on behalf of the prince or bishop, sometimes on the personal initiative of the chronicler. The oldest Russian chronicle known to us - « Tale of Bygone Years » - compiled on the basis of earlier chronicles that have not come down to us, and oral traditions. The monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor is considered its author, and the creation is dated 1113 g. The Tale of Bygone Years has come down to us in handwritten copies no older than the 14th century. The most famous of them are the Laurentian and Ipatiev Chronicles. The main idea of ​​the work is the unity and greatness of the Russian land. From the 12th century the chronicle of local centers develops.

Life (hagiography ) is a biography of clergy and secular persons canonized (recognized as saints) by the Christian church (“Reading about the life and death of Prince Boris and Gleb” by the same Nestor, etc.).

The word (teaching, speech) is a work related to the genre of eloquence. In Russia, two varieties of this genre became widespread - solemn eloquence and moralizing eloquence. The oldest monument of solemn eloquence is the “Sermon on Law and Grace”, which is attributed to the first Kyiv Metropolitan Hilarion (second quarter of the 11th century). "The Word" - the first known original work created by a Russian author - is a church-political treatise that justifies the significance for Russia of the adoption of Christianity and glorifies the Russian land and its princes.

A vivid example of moralizing eloquence - « Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh” (1096 or 1117), which is a kind of political and moral testament of the Grand Duke of Kyiv with elements of autobiography.

A special group of monuments of ancient Russian literature is walking (walking ) - a kind of travel literature. Their main purpose is to tell about Christian shrines and sights, but they also contain information about nature, climate, customs of other countries. One of the most famous works of this genre - « Journey of Father Superior Daniel" to Palestine.

The most famous literary monument of pre-Mongol Rus is the Tale of Igor's Campaign (probably the end of the 12th century). The author of the Lay calls for the unity of the Russian lands, opposes strife, contrasts the two states of humanity - peace and war. The originality of the "Word" determined the complexity of its genre identification. It is called an epic or lyric poem, a historical story, a political treatise. By decision of UNESCO, the 800th anniversary of this monument of ancient Russian literature was celebrated all over the world as significant date in the history of world culture.

By the beginning of the XIII century. as a result of the creative assimilation of the achievements of Byzantine literature and their rethinking in accordance with the national traditions of oral art, an original ancient Russian literature has developed. In almost every genre, original works were created that were not inferior to Byzantine models and did not copy them.

The writing of the Eastern Slavs existed even before the adoption of Christianity. Many sources reported about a kind of pictographic letter - "Russian letters".

Byzantine missionary monks Cyril and Methodius, who lived at the turn of the X-XX centuries, are traditionally considered the creators of the Slavic alphabet (“Glagolitic” and “Cyrillic”). May 24 is celebrated in our country as a day of their memory and a holiday of Slavic writing and culture.

The adoption of Christianity in 988, which became the official religion of Kievan Rus, contributed to the rapid spread of writing and written culture. appeared in Russia a large number of translated literature of religious and secular content, the first libraries appeared at cathedrals and monasteries. Original Russian literature began to be created - religious and secular (chronicles, words, teachings, lives, etc.)

The beginning of school education in Ancient Russia is connected with the introduction of Christianity. The first schools in the Kievan state were created by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. “He sent to collect children from the best people and give them to book education,” the chronicle reported. Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, who went down in history as the Wise, expanded the circle of people who learned to read and write, instructing the priests "in cities and other places" to teach people, for "there is great benefit from book teaching." In Novgorod, he created a school in which 300 children of the clergy and church elders studied. The Russian historian V. N. Tatishchev wrote about the existence in Kiev at the Andreevsky Monastery of a special women's school, where "young girls" were taught writing, as well as crafts, singing, sewing and other crafts useful to them.

The first Russian schools were created mainly at monasteries, the clergy taught in them. Reading, writing, singing and theology were taught in elementary schools. The training was conducted in the native language. In schools of the highest type for the "best-

children of our people”, where they prepared for state and church activities, gave, in addition, knowledge of philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, Byzantine historical works, geographical and natural science works, collections of sayings of ancient authors were used for training. Many prominent figures ancient Russian culture left, in particular, from the school at the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery - the leading center of book learning. However, the most common in Kievan Rus was individual training.

Education in the Kievan period was valued very highly. “Books instruct and teach us”, books “are the rivers that water the universe”, “if you diligently search for wisdom in books, you will find great benefit for your soul” - such sayings filled the literature of this period. The high level of professional skill with which the oldest Russian books that have come down to us (first of all, the oldest - the Ostromir Gospel, 1057) are executed, testifies to the well-established production of handwritten books already in the 10th! in.

Highly educated people met not only among the clergy, but also in secular aristocratic circles. “My father, sitting at home, knew five languages, that’s why the honor from other countries,” Prince Vladimir Monomakh wrote in his “Instruction” to his sons. Such "book men" were princes Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh, his father Vsevolod, Yaroslav Osmomysl, Konstantin Rostovsky and others.

Archaeological excavations of the mid-twentieth century. in Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, and other Russian cities gave the most valuable material on the spread of writing in Ancient Russia. The birch-bark letters of the most varied content found there (letters, memorandums, educational records, etc.), along with numerous epigraphic monuments (inscriptions on stones, crosses, weapons, utensils, etc.), became evidence of the wide spread of literacy among the urban population in Kievan Rus.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion had disastrous consequences for Russian culture. The death of the population, the destruction of cities - centers of literacy and culture, the rupture of ties with Byzantium and Western countries, the destruction of book wealth led to a decrease in the general cultural level of Ancient Russia. Although the traditions of writing and bookishness were preserved, the spread of literacy was concentrated ^

during this period mostly in the hands of the church. Schools were created in monasteries and churches, where representatives of the clergy taught children. Information about such schools is contained in the lives of Russian saints - Sergius of Radonezh, Alexander of Svir, Anthony of Siy, Zosima of Solovetsky and others. It was preserved and maintained in the XIV-XV centuries. literacy among the trade and craft population of Novgorod and Pskov, which is confirmed by birch bark letters and "graffiti" (inscriptions on the walls of temples). Unique finds include birch bark “study books” by the Novgorod boy Onfim, which contain letters, syllables, phrases of prayers, songs, and promissory notes. The centers of writing in this period were also veche and princely offices.

At the same time, the level of literacy of the population of Ancient Russia was very low, even among the clergy, for whom literacy was a craft. The appeal of the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady to Metropolitan Simon (late 15th - early 16th century) is known with a request to “mourn” before the sovereign, “to establish schools”: “My advice is to teach in the school, first of all, the alphabet, the words under the title and the psalter: when they study it , then you can already read all sorts of books. And then the ignorant men teach the guys - they only spoil it. First, he will teach him Vespers, and for this they bring the master porridge and a hryvnia dene Mr.. The same is due for Matins, and for the hours there is a special payment. Moreover, there are also commemorations, except for the agreed magarych. And when (such a student) leaves the master, he doesn’t know how to do anything, he just wanders through the book. After all, it is impossible to comprehend the meaning of the book otherwise than by learning the alphabet and the title. As you can see, the "masters" - the teachers of Ancient Russia - were able to train candidates for the clergy right from the voice without real literacy training.

Half a century passed, but in 1551 at the Stoglavy Cathedral the same complaints about the low level of literacy of the clergy were repeated. Meanwhile, the need for educated people in the XVI century. increased significantly, which was associated with the development of the economy, the state apparatus of the united country, and international relations. The Stoglavy Cathedral decreed: “In the reigning city of Moscow and throughout the city ... for priests, deacons, and deacons, establish a school in their homes, so that priests and deacons and all Orthodox Christians in every city give them their children and for teaching reading and writing and on the teaching of book writing.

The decision of the Stoglavy Cathedral was not implemented. There were few schools, and education in them was limited to the assimilation of elementary literacy. Home-based learning continued to dominate. Liturgical books were teaching aids. In the second half of the XVI century. special grammars appeared (“A conversation about the teaching of literacy, what is literacy and what its structure is, and why such a doctrine is glad to be composed, and what an acquisition is from it, and what is first of all learning is appropriate”) and arithmetic (“Book, recommendation in Greek Arithmetic , and in German Algorism, and in Russian - tsifirnaya counting wisdom").

In the middle of the 16th century, the largest event in the history of Russian culture took place, which played an unusually important role in the development of literacy and literacy - the printing press arose. On March 1, 1564, The Apostle, the first Russian dated printed book, came out of a Moscow printing house. The deacon of the Kremlin church Ivan Fedorov and Peter Mstislavets became the heads of the state printing house, created on the initiative of Ivan IV and Metropolitan Macarius.

In the 16th century, the number of highly educated people increased both among the clergy and secular persons. These were not only individual aristocrats, but also people of mental labor - figures government controlled, foreign service, military, academic scribes. A high degree of education in Ancient Russia was achieved by reading books or communicating with knowledgeable people. Thanks to the activities of these people, the rudiments of scientific knowledge developed, historical and literary works were created, and the monopoly of the church on knowledge and education was shaken. Some 16th century thinkers in Russia, those who dared to criticize the Russian Orthodox Church were declared heretics and executed.

17th century further increased the need for literacy and education. The development of urban life, the revival of commercial and industrial activities, the complication of the system of the state apparatus, the growth of ties with foreign countries required a large number educated people.

The distribution of books acquired a much wider scale during this period. Extensive libraries of Russian and translated literature began to be compiled. The Printing Yard worked more intensively, publishing not only religious works, but also secular books.

The first printed textbooks appeared. In 1634, the first Russian primer Vasily Burtsev was published, which was repeatedly reprinted. In the second half of the XVII century. More than 300,000 primers and about 150,000 educational Psalters and Books of Hours were printed. In 1648, the printed "Grammar" of Meletius Smotrytsky was published, in 1682 - the multiplication table. In 1678, Innokenty Gizel's book "Synopsis" was published in Moscow, which became the first printed textbook of Russian history. In 1672, the first bookstore opened in Moscow.

Throughout the 17th century Many immigrants from Ukrainian and Belarusian lands came to Moscow, who began to work as "referencers" (editors) at the Printing House, translators, teachers in schools and private homes. F. M. Rtishchev, a courtier of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, founded a school at the Andreevsky Monastery at his own expense, where 30 learned monks invited from Kiev taught Greek, Latin and Slavic languages, rhetoric, philosophy and other sciences. The well-known teacher and translator Epiphanius Slavinetsky led the school. A native of Belarus, a scientist, poet, translator Simeon Polotsky taught the children of Alexei Mikhailovich and headed the school in the Zaikonospassky monastery, which trained educated clerks for government agencies.

The issues of literacy and the organization of education became the subject of lively disputes between "Latins" and "Greekophiles". Part of the higher clergy and nobility ("Grecophiles") defended the inviolability of the Byzantine Orthodox traditions, advocated a narrowly theological direction in education. The ideologists of the "Latinophile" direction Simeon Polotsky and Sylvester Medvedev advocated a broader secular education, for familiarization with European science and culture through the spread of the Latin language and literature. The “Latins” enjoyed patronage at court, they were supported by Princess Sophia, educated statesmen A. L. Ordin-Nashchokin,

V. V. Golitsyn. The "Grecophiles" relied on the support of Patriarch Joachim.

In 1681, on the initiative of the Patriarch and Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the Typographic School of “Greek Reading, Language and Writing” was opened at the Printing House. In 1685, 233 students studied there.

Throughout the 17th century in Moscow there were other schools - in the German settlement, at church parishes and monasteries, private. Under the Pharmaceutical order, medical students received medical education.

In 1687, the first higher educational institution was opened in Russia - the Slavic-Greek-Latin School (Academy), intended for the training of higher clergy and officials public service. People "of every rank, rank and age" were admitted to the academy. The number of students in the first enrollment was 104, and two years later it increased to 182. The academy was headed by the brothers Sophrony and Ioannik Likhud, Greeks who graduated from the University of Padua in Italy.

The program of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was built on the model of Western European educational institutions. The charter of the academy provided for the teaching of civil and spiritual sciences: grammar, rhetoric, logic and physics, dialectics, philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, Latin and Greek, and other secular sciences. Many study guides were compiled by the Likhuds. In 1694, the brothers were dismissed, and the academy gradually lost its role as a center of education and science. Nevertheless, she made her contribution to the development of education, having trained many prominent figures in science and culture - F. F. Polikarpov, M. V. Lomonosov and others.

The basis of any ancient culture is writing. When did it originate in Russia? For a long time there was an opinion that the letter came to Russia along with Christianity, with church books and prayers. However, it is difficult to agree with this. There is evidence of the existence of Slavic writing long before the Christianization of Russia. In 1949, the Soviet archaeologist D.V. Avdusin, during excavations near Smolensk, found an earthenware vessel dating back to the beginning of the 10th century, on which “pea” (spice) was written. This meant that already at that time in the East Slavic environment there was a letter, there was an alphabet. This is also evidenced by the testimony of the Byzantine diplomat and Slavic educator Cyril. During his stay in Chersonese in the 60s of the IX century. he got acquainted with the Gospel, written in Slavonic letters. Subsequently, Cyril and his brother Methodius became the founders of the Slavic alphabet, which, apparently, was based in some part on the principles of Slavic writing that existed among the Eastern, Southern and Western Slavs long before their Christianization.
We must also remember that the treaties between Russia and Byzantium, dating back to the first half of the 10th century, had "baking trays" - copies also written in Slavic. By this time, the existence of translators and scribes, who wrote down the speeches of ambassadors on parchment, dates back.
The Christianization of Russia gave a powerful impetus further development writing, literacy. From the time of Vladimir, church clerks and translators from Byzantium, Bulgaria, and Serbia began to come to Russia. There appeared, especially during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise and his sons, numerous translations of Greek and Bulgarian books, both ecclesiastical and secular. In particular, Byzantine historical works and biographies of Christian saints are being translated. These translations became the property of literate people: they were read with pleasure in the princely, boyar, merchant environment, in monasteries, churches, where Russian chronicle writing was born. In the XI century. such popular translated works as “Alexandria”, containing legends and traditions about the life and exploits of Alexander the Great, “Deed of Devgen”, which is a translation of the Byzantine epic poem about the exploits of the warrior Digenis, are becoming widespread.
Thus, a literate Russian person of the 11th century. knew a lot of what the writing and book culture of Eastern Europe, Byzantium had.
The cadres of the first Russian literateists, scribes, and translators were formed in schools that had been opened at churches since the time of Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise, and later at monasteries. There is a lot of evidence of the widespread development of literacy in Russia in the 11th-12th centuries. However, it was distributed mainly only in the urban environment, especially among wealthy citizens, the princely-boyar elite, merchants, and wealthy artisans. In rural areas, in remote, remote places, the population was almost entirely illiterate.
From the 11th century in rich families began to teach literacy not only boys, but also girls. Vladimir Monomakh's sister Yanka, the founder of a convent in Kyiv, created a school for the education of girls in it.
The so-called birch-bark letters are a striking evidence of the widespread literacy in cities and suburbs. In 1951, during archaeological excavations in Novgorod, Nina Akulova, a member of the expedition, removed a birch bark from the ground with well-preserved letters on it. “I have been waiting for this find for twenty years!” exclaimed the head of the expedition, Professor A.V. Artsikhovsky, who had long assumed that the level of literacy of Russia at that time should have been reflected in mass writing, which could have been in the absence of paper in Russia, either on wooden boards, as evidenced by foreign evidence, or on birch bark. Since then, hundreds of birch bark letters have been introduced into scientific circulation, indicating that in Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, and others
In the cities of Russia, people loved and knew how to write to each other. Among the letters business documents, exchange of information, invitation to visit and even love correspondence. Someone Mikita wrote to his beloved Ulyana on birch bark “From Mikita to Ulianitsi. Come for me..."
There remains one more curious evidence of the development of literacy in Russia: the so-called graffiti inscriptions. They were scratched on the walls of churches by lovers to pour out their souls. Among these inscriptions are reflections on life, complaints, and prayers. The famous Vladimir Monomakh, while still a young man, during a church service, lost in a crowd of the same young princes, scrawled “Oh, it’s hard for me” on the wall of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv and signed his Christian name “Vasily”.