What the Byzantines taught the Russians. What the Byzantines taught the Russians The formation of Greek dialects

07.02.2022

It is to Byzantine culture that Europe owes its achievements in the creative synthesis of the pagan ancient tradition (mainly in the late Hellenistic form) and the Christian worldview. And one can only regret that in the history of linguistics insufficient attention is still paid to the contribution of Byzantine scientists to the formation of medieval linguistic teachings in Europe and the Middle East.

When characterizing the culture and science (in particular linguistics) of Byzantium, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of state, political, economic, cultural, religious life in this powerful Mediterranean power, which existed for more than a thousand years during a period of continuous reshaping political map Europe, the emergence and disappearance of many “barbarian” states.

The specifics of the cultural life of this state reflected a whole series of significant historical processes: early isolation within the Roman Empire; the transfer in 330 of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, which had long before become the leading economic, cultural and scientific center empires; the final collapse of the Roman Empire into Western Roman and Eastern Roman in 345; the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and the establishment of complete domination of the “barbarians” in Western Europe.

Byzantium managed to maintain centralized state power over all the Mediterranean territories in Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor and Western Asia for a long time, and even achieved new territorial conquests. She more or less successfully resisted the onslaught of tribes during the period of the “great migration of peoples.”

By the 4th century. Christianity had already established itself here, officially recognized in the 6th century. state religion. By this time, Orthodoxy had emerged in the struggle against pagan remnants and numerous heresies. It became in the 6th century. the dominant form of Christianity in Byzantium.

The spiritual atmosphere in Byzantium was determined by a long rivalry with the Latin West, which led in 1204 to the official break (schism) of the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic churches and to the complete cessation of relations between them.

Having conquered Constantinople, the crusaders created the Latin Empire (Romania) on a large part of the Byzantine territory, but it lasted only until 1261, when the Byzantine Empire was restored again, since the masses did not accept attempts to forcibly Latinize government, culture and religion.

Culturally, the Byzantines were superior to the Europeans. In many ways, they preserved the late antique way of life for a long time. They were characterized by the active interest of a wide range of people in problems of philosophy, logic, literature and language. Byzantium had a powerful cultural impact on the peoples of adjacent countries. And at the same time, until the 11th century. The Byzantines protected their culture from foreign influences and only later borrowed the achievements of Arab medicine, mathematics, etc.

Many of them continued their activities as professors at Western European universities, humanist mentors, translators, spiritual leaders, etc. Byzantium had a responsible historical mission to save the values of the great ancient civilization during a period of steep changes, and this mission was successfully completed with their transfer to Italian humanists in the Pre-Renaissance period.

The features of Byzantine language science are largely explained by the complex linguistic situation in the empire. Here they competed with each other, archaic in nature, atticistic literary language, a relaxed folk-colloquial speech that continues the folk language of the pan-Hellenistic era, and the intermediate literary-colloquial koine.

IN public administration and in everyday life, the Byzantines / “Romans” initially widely used the Latin language, which gave way to the official status of Greek only in the 7th century. If during the era of the Roman Empire there was a symbiosis of Greek and Latin languages with a preponderance in favor of the second, then during the period of independent state development the advantage was on the side of the former. Over time, the number of people fluent in Latin decreased, and a need arose for orders for translations of works by Western authors.

Many of them were familiar with written Hebrew as the language of the Bible, which did not prevent them from often expressing an extremely puristic attitude towards borrowings from it, contrary to church dogma. In the 11th-12th centuries. - after the invasion and settlement of numerous Slavic tribes on the territory of Byzantium and before they formed independent states - Byzantium was essentially a Greco-Slavic state.

Byzantine philosophers and theologians of the 2nd–8th centuries. (Origen, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Proclus, Maximus the Confessor, Similicia, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, John Chrysostom, Leontius, John Philomon, John of Damascus, many of whom were officially recognized as “saints” and “fathers of the church” ) along with Western representatives of patristics, took an active part in the development of Christian dogmas with the involvement of the worldview ideas of Plato and partly Aristotle, in the development within the framework of the Christian system of views of a coherent philosophy of language, in the preparation of the isolation of scholastic logic (together with logical grammar) from philosophy.

They had a considerable influence on representatives of contemporary and subsequent Western philosophy and science. Later Byzantine theologians (Michael Psellus, Maximus Planud, Gregory Palamas) also addressed philosophical problems of language.

Significant (in contrast to the Latin West) careful attitude the Byzantine church and monasteries to the preservation and rewriting of ancient (pagan in content) monuments. Associated with this process of rewriting was the transition to the 9th and 10th centuries. for minuscule writing.

I.P. Susov. History of linguistics - Tver, 1999.

Occupies a special place. Over the several thousand years of its existence, it has changed more than once, but has retained its relevance and importance.

Dead language

Today Latin is a dead language. In other words, it does not have speakers who would consider this speech native and use it in everyday life. But, unlike others, Latin received a second life. Today this language is the basis of international jurisprudence and medical sciences.

In terms of the scale of its importance, ancient Greek is close to Latin, which also died, but left its mark in a wide variety of terminologies. This amazing fate is connected with the historical development of Europe in ancient times.

Evolution

The ancient Latin language originated in Italy a thousand years BC. According to its origin, it belongs to the Indo-European family. The first speakers of this language were Latins, thanks to whom it got its name. These people lived on the banks of the Tiber. Several ancient trade routes converged here. In 753 BC, the Latins founded Rome and soon began wars of conquest against neighbors.

Over the centuries of its existence, this state has undergone several important changes. First there was a kingdom, then a republic. At the turn of the 1st century AD, the Roman Empire emerged. Its official language was Latin.

Until the 5th century, it was the greatest civilization in the world. It surrounded the entire Mediterranean Sea with its territories. Many peoples came under her rule. Their languages gradually died, and were replaced by Latin. Thus, it spread from Spain in the west to Palestine in the east.

Vulgar Latin

It was during the era of the Roman Empire that history Latin language made a sharp turn. This adverb is divided into two types. There was a pristine literary Latin, which was the official means of communication in government institutions. It was used for paperwork, worship, etc.

At the same time, the so-called Vulgar Latin was formed. This language arose as a lighter version of the complex state language. The Romans used it as a tool to communicate with foreigners and conquered peoples.

This is how the popular version of the language arose, which with each generation became more and more different from its model of the ancient era. Living speech naturally discarded old syntactic rules that were too complex for quick comprehension.

Latin heritage

So the history of the Latin language gave rise to In the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire fell. It was destroyed by barbarians, who created their own national states on the ruins of the former country. Some of these peoples were unable to rid themselves of the cultural influence of the previous civilization.

Gradually, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese arose in this way. All of them are distant descendants of ancient Latin. The classical language died after the fall of the empire and ceased to be used in everyday life.

At the same time, a state was preserved in Constantinople, the rulers of which considered themselves the legal successors of the Roman Caesars. This was Byzantium. Its inhabitants, out of habit, considered themselves Romans. However, Greek became the spoken and official language of this country, which is why, for example, in Russian sources the Byzantines were often called Greeks.

Use in science

At the beginning of our era, medical Latin developed. Before this, the Romans had very little knowledge of human nature. In this field they were noticeably inferior to the Greeks. However, after the Roman state annexed the ancient city-states, famous for their libraries and scientific knowledge, interest in education noticeably increased in Rome itself.

Medical schools also began to emerge. The Roman physician Claudius Galen made a huge contribution to physiology, anatomy, pathology and other sciences. He left behind hundreds of works written in Latin. Even after the death of the Roman Empire, European universities continued to study medicine with the help of documents. That is why future doctors had to know the basics of Latin.

A similar fate awaited the legal sciences. It was in Rome that the first modern legislation appeared. Lawyers and legal experts played an important role in this. Over the centuries, a huge array of laws and other documents written in Latin has accumulated.

Emperor Justinian, the ruler of Byzantium in the 6th century, began systematizing them. Despite the fact that the country spoke Greek, the sovereign decided to reissue and update the laws in the Latin version. This is how the famous Code of Justinian appeared. This document (as well as all Roman law) is studied in detail by law students. It is therefore not surprising that Latin still survives in the professional environment of lawyers, judges and doctors. It is also used in worship by the Catholic Church.

GREECO-BYZANTINE

Greek-Byzantine

Lopatin. Dictionary of the Russian language Lopatin. 2012

BYZANTINE LANGUAGE (4th-15th century AD)

The Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine culture as a whole played a gigantic, not yet adequately appreciated role in the preservation and transmission of the Greco-Roman philosophical and scientific heritage (including in the field of philosophy and theory of language) to representatives of the ideology and science of the New Age. It is to Byzantine culture that Europe owes its achievements in the creative synthesis of the pagan ancient tradition (mainly in the late Hellenistic form) and the Christian worldview. And one can only regret that in the history of linguistics insufficient attention is still paid to the contribution of Byzantine scientists to the formation of medieval linguistic teachings in Europe and the Middle East.

When characterizing the culture and science (in particular linguistics) of Byzantium, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of state, political, economic, cultural, religious life in this powerful Mediterranean power, which existed for more than a thousand years during the period of continuous redrawing of the political map of Europe, the emergence and disappearance of many “barbarian” states .

In 1453, the Byzantine Empire finally fell under the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks. A mass exodus of Greek scientists, writers, artists, philosophers, religious figures, and theologians began to other countries, including the Moscow state. Many of them continued their activities as professors at Western European universities, humanist mentors, translators, spiritual leaders, etc. Byzantium had a responsible historical mission to save the values of the great ancient civilization during a period of abrupt changes, and this mission successfully ended with their transfer to Italian humanists in the Pre-Renaissance period.

The ethnic composition of the empire's population was very diverse from the very beginning and changed throughout the history of the state. Many of the inhabitants of the empire were originally Hellenized or Romanized. The Byzantines had to maintain constant contacts with speakers of a wide variety of languages - Germanic, Slavic, Iranian, Armenian, Syriac, and then Arabic, Turkic, etc. Many of them were familiar with written Hebrew as the language of the Bible, which did not prevent them from often expressing an extremely puristic attitude towards borrowings from it, contrary to church dogma. In the 11th-12th centuries. - after the invasion and settlement of numerous Slavic tribes on the territory of Byzantium and before they formed independent states - Byzantium was essentially a Greco-Slavic state.

Much attention was paid to rhetoric, dating back to the ideas of the ancient authors Hermogenes, Menander of Laodicea, Aftonius and further developed by the Byzantines Psellus and especially famous in the West, George of Trebizond. Rhetoric was the basis higher education. Its content consisted of teachings about tropes and figures of speech. Rhetoric retained the orientation towards the speaker, characteristic of antiquity, while philology was oriented towards the perceiver of artistic speech. The Byzantine experience of studying the cultural side of speech in the development of poetics, stylistics and hermeneutics has retained its significance in the Middle Ages and in our time.

The Byzantines achieved significant success in the practice and theory of translation. They carried out translations of Western theologians and philosophers, intensifying this activity after the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders. “Greek Donata” appeared (Greek interlinear texts to the Latin text), which initially helped the study of the Latin language, and then served Italian humanists as aids for studying the Greek language). Outstanding translators were the Byzantines Demetrius Kydonis, Gennadius Scholarius, Planud, the Venetians Jacob from Venice, immigrants from Southern Italy Henryk Aristippus and Leontius Pilate from Catania.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution

higher professional education

"Orenburg State University"

Faculty of Geology and Geography

Department of Ecology and Environmental Management

Spread of Greek-Byzantine spiritual traditions in Rus'. Lives of the Saints and introduction to ancient knowledge

Head of work

Ph.D., Associate Professor E.V. Grivko

Executor

student of group 15TB(ba)-1

A.V. Mazina

Orenburg 2015

Relevance

Pre-Cyrillic writing and knowledge of the Slavs

Spread of Greco-Byzantine cultural and scientific traditions

Christianization of Rus': development of everyday and spiritual culture

Widespread literacy in the urban environment in the 11th-12th centuries: birch bark letters and graffiti

Mathematical, astronomical and geographical knowledge in Ancient Rus'

The first parish schools under Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise

Practical use knowledge in crafts and construction

Sources

Relevance

Byzantium is a unique cultural entity (330-1453), the first Christian empire. Byzantium was located at the junction of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Its territory included the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica, part of Mesopotamia and Armenia, the island of Cyprus, Crete, strongholds in the Crimea (Chersonese), in the Caucasus (in Georgia), and some areas of Arabia. The Mediterranean Sea was an internal lake of Byzantium.

Byzantium was a multinational empire, with a diverse ethnic composition of the population, which included Syrians, Copts, Thracians, Illyrians, Armenians, Georgians, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, and Romans. It is not the Greeks or the Romans who play a major role after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. There was no physical continuity between ancient and medieval peoples at all. The immigration of barbarians into the empire is an essential feature separating antiquity from the Middle Ages. The constant and abundant replenishment of the provinces of the empire with new peoples poured a lot of new blood into the remnants of the old population and contributed to the gradual change of the physical type ancient peoples.

In the early Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire, the heir and successor of Greek culture and the state-legal organization of the Roman Empire, was the most cultural, strongest and most economically developed European state. It is quite natural that its influence was decisive over a fairly large period of Russian history.

WITH ancient times The Slavs traded with Byzantium using the great waterway of the Magi - the Dnieper - the so-called "from the Varangians to the Greeks". They exported honey, furs, wax, slaves, and from Byzantium they brought luxury goods, art, household products, fabrics, and with the advent of writing, books. Numerous Russian trading cities appeared along this route: Kyiv, Chernigov, Smolensk, Novgorod the Great, Pskov and others. At the same time, the Russian princes carried out military campaigns against Constantinople (Constantinople), which ended with the signing of peace treaties. So, in 907, Grand Duke Oleg besieges Constantinople, after which peace follows with the Greeks, after him Igor, the son of Rurik, goes on a campaign against Byzantium in 941-945, and in 946 he concludes treaties with it on peace, trade and mutual military assistance. Igor's son Svyatoslav in 970 helps the Byzantine emperor in the war against Danube Bulgaria.

1. Pre-Cyrillic writing and knowledge of the Slavs

Language and writing are perhaps the most important culture-forming factors. If a people is deprived of the right or opportunity to speak their native language, this will be the most severe blow to their native culture. If books in their native language are taken away from a person, he will lose the most important treasures of his culture. Since childhood, we get used to the letters of our Russian alphabet and rarely think about when and how our writing arose. The beginning of writing is a special milestone in the history of every people, in the history of its culture.

Writing existed in Rus' even in the pre-Christian period, but the question of pre-Cyril Slavic writing remained controversial until recently. Only as a result of the work of scientists, as well as in connection with the discovery of new ancient monuments, the existence of writing among the Slavs in the pre-Cyril period was almost proven.

A historian working on the problems of Russian history of the 12th-14th centuries has only chronicles preserved, as a rule, in later copies, very few fortunately surviving official acts, monuments of legislation, and rare works fiction and canonical church books. Taken together, these written sources amount to a tiny fraction of a percent of the number of written sources of the 19th century. Even less written evidence survives from the 10th and 11th centuries. The paucity of ancient Russian written sources is the result of one of the worst disasters in wooden Rus' - frequent fires, during which entire cities with all their riches, including books, burned out more than once.

In Russian works until the mid-40s of the twentieth century, and in most foreign works even now, the existence of writing among the Slavs in the pre-Cyril period was usually denied. From the second half of the 40s to the end of the 50s of the twentieth century, many researchers of this issue showed the opposite tendency - to excessively reduce the role of external influences on the emergence of Slavic writing, to believe that writing independently arose among the Slavs since ancient times. Moreover: there were even suggestions that Slavic writing repeated the entire path of the world development of writing - from the original pictograms and primitive conventional signs to logography, from logographines - to syllabic or consonantal-sound writing and, finally, to vocalized-sound writing.

However, according to general patterns development of writing, as well as according to the characteristics of the Slavic languages of the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e. such a path of development should be considered impossible. World history writing shows that not one of the peoples, even the most ancient, completely went through the entire path of the world development of writing. The Slavs, including the Eastern Slavs, were young peoples.

The decomposition of the primitive communal system began among them only in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. and ended in the second half of the 1st millennium with the formation of early feudal states. In such a short period of time, the Slavs would not have been able to independently go through the difficult path from pictography to logography, and from there to sound writing. In addition, during this period the Slavs were in close trade and cultural ties with the Byzantine Greeks. And the Greeks had long been using perfect vocalized sound writing, which the Slavs knew about. Vocalized sound writing was also used by other neighbors of the Slavs: in the west, the Germans, in the east, the Georgians (from the beginning of our era), the Armenians (from the beginning of the 5th century AD), the Goths (from the 4th century AD). ) and Khazars (from the 8th century AD).

In addition, logographic writing could not have developed among the Slavs, since Slavic languages are characterized by a wealth of grammatical forms; syllabic writing would be unsuitable, since Slavic languages are distinguished by the diversity of syllabic composition; Consonantal sound writing would be unacceptable for the Slavs, because in Slavic languages consonant and vowel sounds are equally involved in the formation of root and affixal morphemes. From all that has been said, it follows that pre-Cyrillic Slavic writing could be of only three types.

The preserved references to “traits and cuts” in the legend “About the Writer” (the turn of the 9th-10th centuries) have reached our times. The author, a Monk Khrabr, noted that the pagan Slavs use pictorial signs, with the help of which they “chitahu and gadahu” (read and told fortunes). The emergence of such an initial letter occurred when, on the basis of small and scattered clan groups, more complex, large and durable forms of community of people arose - tribes and tribal unions. Proof of the presence of pre-Christian writing among the Slavs is a broken clay pot discovered in 1949 in the Gnezdovo pagan mounds near Smolensk, on which the inscription “gorukhshcha” (“gorushna”) was preserved, which meant: either “Gorukh wrote” or “mustard”. In addition to Gnezdovskaya, fragments of inscriptions and digital calculations on amphoras and other vessels of the 10th century were discovered. in Taman (ancient Tmutarakan), Sarkel and the Black Sea ports. Writing based on various alphabets (Greek, Cyrillic, runic) was used by the diverse population of ancient cities and proto-cities located on important trade routes. Trade became the soil that contributed to the spread throughout the territory of Rus' of the Cyrillic alphabet, adapted for Slavic speech and convenient for writing.

Along with the testimony of the monk Khrabr, with the above sociological and linguistic considerations, the existence of the “devils and cuts” type of writing among the Slavs is also confirmed by literary reports of foreign travelers and writers of the 9th-10th centuries. and archaeological finds.

A “pre-Cyrillic” letter was being formed. History shows that a similar process of adapting writing to a language occurred in almost all cases of one people borrowing the writing of another people, for example, when the Phoenician script was borrowed by the Greeks, Greek by the Etruscans and Romans, etc. The Slavs could not be an exception to this rule. The assumption about the gradual formation of “pre-Cyrillic” writing is also confirmed by the fact that the Cyrillic alphabet in its extant version is so adapted to the accurate transmission of Slavic speech that this could only be achieved as a result of long-term development.

If alphabetic writing had not existed among the Slavs long before they adopted Christianity, then the unexpected flowering of Bulgarian literature at the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries, and the widespread spread of literacy in the everyday life of the Eastern Slavs of the 10th-11th centuries, and the high skill, would have been incomprehensible. which reached in Rus' already in the 11th century. the art of writing and book design (example - "Ostromir Gospel").

Thus, now we can say with confidence that in the pre-Cyril era the Slavs had several types of writing; most likely, it was not fully adapted for the accurate transmission of Slavic speech and was of a syllabic or runic nature; the Slavs also used the simplest writing such as “traits and cuts” for various purposes. The spread of Christianity among the Slavs was a political step both on the part of the Slavs, who sought to strengthen their position in Europe, and on the part of the Roman-Byzantine world, which sought to establish its dominance over those receiving more and more political influence Slavic peoples. This is partly due to the almost complete destruction of the ancient Slavic script and the rapid spread of new alphabets among people accustomed to writing.

Spread of Greco-Byzantine cultural and scientific traditions

Byzantium is a state that made a great contribution to the development of culture in Europe of the Middle Ages. In the history of world culture, Byzantium has a special, outstanding place. In artistic creativity, Byzantium gave the medieval world lofty images of literature and art, which were distinguished by noble elegance of forms, imaginative vision of thought, sophistication of aesthetic thinking, and depth of philosophical thought. In terms of its power of expressiveness and deep spirituality, Byzantium stood ahead of all the countries of medieval Europe for many centuries.

If we try to separate Byzantine culture from the culture of Europe, the Near and Middle East, then the most important factors will be the following:

· In Byzantium there was a linguistic community (the main language was Greek);

· In Byzantium there was a religious community (the main religion was Christianity in the form of Orthodoxy);

· In Byzantium, for all its multi-ethnicity, there was an ethnic core consisting of Greeks.

· The Byzantine Empire was always distinguished by stable statehood and centralized control.

All this, of course, does not exclude the fact that Byzantine culture, which influenced many neighboring countries, was itself subject to cultural influence from both the tribes and peoples that inhabited it, and the states adjacent to it. During its thousand-year existence, Byzantium faced powerful external cultural influences emanating from countries at a similar stage of development to it - Iran, Egypt, Syria, Transcaucasia, and later the Latin West and Ancient Rus'. On the other hand, Byzantium had to enter into various cultural contacts with peoples who were at a slightly or much lower stage of development (the Byzantines called them “barbarians”).

The process of development of Byzantium was not straightforward. It had eras of rise and decline, periods of triumph of progressive ideas and dark years of domination of reactionary ones. But the sprouts of the new, living, advanced sprouted sooner or later in all spheres of life, at all times.

Therefore, the culture of Byzantium is an interesting cultural and historical type, with very specific features.

There are three stages in the cultural history of Byzantium:

*early (IV - mid-VII century);

*middle (VII-IX centuries);

*late (X-XV centuries).

The most important topics of theological discussions at the early stage of the development of this culture were disputes about the nature of Christ and his place in the Trinity, about the meaning of human existence, the place of man in the Universe and the limits of his capabilities. In this regard, several directions of theological thought of that era can be distinguished:

*Arianism: Arians believed that Christ is the creation of God the Father, and therefore he is not consubstantial with God the Father, is not eternal, and occupies a subordinate place in the structure of the Trinity.

*Nestorianism: Nestorians believed that the divine and human principles in Christ are united only relatively and never merge.

*Monophysitism: The Monophysites emphasized, first of all, the divine nature of Christ and spoke of Christ as a God-man.

*Chalcedonianism: The Chalcedonians preached those ideas that later became dominant: the consubstantiality of God the Father and God the Son, the non-fusion and inseparability of the divine and human in Christ.

The flourishing of Byzantine art in the early period is associated with the strengthening of the power of the empire under Justinian. At this time, magnificent palaces and temples were erected in Constantinople.

The style of Byzantine architecture developed gradually; it organically combined elements of ancient and oriental architecture. The main architectural structure was the temple, the so-called basilica (Greek “royal house”), the purpose of which was significantly different from other buildings.

Another masterpiece of Byzantine architecture is the Church of St. Vitaliy in Ravenna - amazes with the sophistication and elegance of its architectural forms. This temple gained particular fame from its famous mosaics, not only of an ecclesiastical, but also of a secular nature, in particular images of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora and their retinue. The faces of Justinian and Theodora are endowed with portrait features, the color scheme of the mosaics is distinguished by full-blooded brightness, warmth and freshness.

The mosaics of Byzantium gained worldwide fame. The technology of mosaic art has been known since antiquity, but it was only in Byzantium that glass alloys painted with mineral paints, the so-called smalts with the finest gold surface, were first used. Masters widely used the gold color, which, on the one hand, symbolized luxury and wealth, and on the other, was the brightest and most radiant of all colors. Most of the mosaics were located at different angles of inclination on the concave or spherical surface of the walls, and this only increased the golden shine of the uneven smalt cubes. It turned the plane of the walls into a continuous shimmering space, even more sparkling thanks to the light of the candles burning in the temple. Byzantine mosaicists used a wide range of colors: from soft blue, green and bright blue to lavender, pink and red of various shades and degrees of intensity. The images on the walls mainly told about the main events of Christian history, the earthly life of Jesus Christ, and glorified the power of the emperor. The mosaics of the Church of San Vitale in the city of Ravenna (6th century) became especially famous. On the side naves of the apse, on both sides of the windows, there are mosaics depicting the imperial couple - Justinian and his wife Theodora with their retinues.

The artist places the characters on a neutral golden background. Everything in this scene is filled with solemn grandeur. Both mosaic paintings, located under the figure of the seated Christ, inspire the viewer with the idea of the inviolability of the Byzantine emperor.

In painting of the VI-VII centuries. a specifically Byzantine image, purified of foreign influences, crystallizes. It is based on the experience of masters of the East and West, who independently came to create new art that corresponds to spiritualistic ideals medieval society. Various directions and schools are already appearing in this art. The capital's school, for example, was distinguished by its excellent quality of workmanship, refined artistry, picturesqueness and colorful variety, trembling and iridescent colors. One of the most perfect works of this school were the mosaics in the dome of the Church of the Assumption in Nicaea.

Music occupied a special place in Byzantine civilization. The peculiar combination of authoritarianism and democracy could not but affect the nature of musical culture, which represented a complex and multifaceted phenomenon of the spiritual life of the era. In the V-VII centuries. The formation of Christian liturgy took place, new genres of vocal art developed. Music acquires a special civil status and is included in the system of representation of state power. The music of city streets, theatrical and circus performances and folk festivals retained a special flavor, reflecting the rich song and musical practice of many peoples inhabiting the empire. Each of these types of music had its own aesthetic and social meaning and at the same time, interacting, they merged into a single and unique whole. Christianity very early appreciated the special capabilities of music as a universal art and at the same time, possessing the power of mass and individual psychological impact, and included it in its cult ritual. It was cult music that was destined to occupy a dominant position in medieval Byzantium.

*Trivium - grammar, rhetoric and dialectic.

*Quadrivium - arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music.

Mass spectacles still played a huge role in the life of the broad masses. True, the ancient theater is beginning to decline - ancient tragedies and comedies are increasingly being replaced by performances of mimes, jugglers, dancers, gymnasts, and wild animal tamers. The place of the theater is now occupied by a circus (hippodrome) with its horse shows, which are extremely popular.

If we summarize the first period of the existence of Byzantium, we can say that during this period the main features of Byzantine culture were formed. First of all, they include the fact that Byzantine culture was open to other cultural influences received from outside. But gradually, already in the early period, they were synthesized by the main, leading Greco-Roman culture.

The culture of early Byzantium was an urban culture. Big cities empires, and primarily Constantinople, were not only centers of crafts and trade, but also centers of the highest culture and education, where the rich heritage of antiquity was preserved.

An important component of the second stage in the history of Byzantine culture was the confrontation between iconoclasts and icon worshipers (726-843). The first direction was supported by the ruling secular elite, and the second - by the Orthodox clergy and many segments of the population. During the period of iconoclasm (726-843), an attempt was made to officially ban icons. The philosopher, poet, and author of many theological works, John of Damascus (700-760), spoke out in defense of the icons. In his opinion, an icon is fundamentally different from an idol. It is not a copy or decoration, but an illustration reflecting the nature and essence of the deity.

At a certain stage, the iconoclasts gained the upper hand, so for some time ornamental and decorative abstract symbolic elements prevailed in Byzantine Christian art. However, the struggle between supporters of these directions was extremely tough, and in this confrontation many monuments of the early stage of Byzantine culture were lost, in particular the first mosaics of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia of Constantinople. But nevertheless, the final victory was won by supporters of icon veneration, which subsequently contributed to the final formation of the iconographic canon - strict rules for the depiction of all scenes of religious content.

It is also important to note that the iconoclastic movement served as a stimulus for a new rise in secular fine art and architecture in Byzantium. Under the iconoclastic emperors, the influence of Muslim architecture penetrated into architecture. Thus, one of the Constantinople palaces, Vrias, was built according to the plan of the palaces of Baghdad. All palaces were surrounded by parks with fountains, exotic flowers and trees. In Constantinople, Nicaea and other cities of Greece and Asia Minor, city walls, public buildings, and private buildings were erected. In the secular art of the iconoclastic period, the principles of representative solemnity, architectural monumentality and colorful multi-figure decorativeness prevailed, which later served as the basis for the development of secular artistic creativity.

During this period, the art of color mosaic images reached a new peak. In the IX-XI centuries. Old monuments were also restored. Mosaics were also renewed in the church of St. Sofia. New stories appeared that reflected the idea of a union of church and state.

In the IX-X centuries. The decoration of manuscripts became significantly richer and more complex, and book miniatures and ornaments became richer and more varied. However, a truly new period in the development of book miniatures occurred in the 11th-12th centuries, when the Constantinople school of masters in this field of art flourished. In that era, in general, the leading role in painting in general (in icon painting, miniature, fresco) was acquired by metropolitan schools, marked by the stamp of special perfection of taste and technique.

In the VII-VIII centuries. In the temple construction of Byzantium and the countries of the Byzantine cultural circle, the same cross-dome composition, which arose in the 6th century, dominated. and was characterized by a weakly expressed external decorative design. The decoration of the facade acquired great importance in the 9th-10th centuries, when a new architectural style arose and became widespread. The emergence of a new style was associated with the flourishing of cities, the strengthening of the public role of the church, a change in the social content of the very concept of sacred architecture in general and temple construction in particular (the temple as an image of the world). Many new temples were erected, big number monasteries, although they were usually small in size.

In addition to changes in the decorative design of buildings, architectural forms and the very composition of buildings also changed. The importance of vertical lines and divisions of the facade increased, which also changed the silhouette of the temple. Builders increasingly resorted to using patterned brickwork.

The features of the new architectural style appeared in a number of local schools. For example, in Greece X-XII centuries. the preservation of some archaic architectural forms is typical (not the dismemberment of the façade plane, the traditional forms of small churches) - with the further development and growth of the influence of the new style - patterned brick decor and polychrome plastic were also increasingly used here.

In the VIII-XII centuries. A special musical and poetic church art took shape. Thanks to his high artistic merits, the influence of folk music on church music, whose melodies had previously penetrated even into the liturgy, has weakened. In order to further isolate the musical foundations of worship from external influences, the canonization of the laotonal system, the “octoecho” (eight notes), was carried out. Ikhos represented certain melodic formulas. However, musical theoretical monuments allow us to conclude that the ichos system did not exclude scale understanding. The most popular genres of church music were the canon (musical and poetic composition during a church service) and the troparion (almost the main unit of Byzantine hymnography). Troparions were composed for all holidays, all solemn events and memorable dates.

The progress of musical art led to the creation of musical notation, as well as liturgical handwritten collections in which chants were recorded (either just the text or text with notation).

Social life also could not exist without music. The book “On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court” reports almost 400 chants. These are procession songs, and songs during equestrian processions, and songs at the imperial feast, and acclamation songs, etc.

From the 9th century In the circles of the intellectual elite, interest in ancient musical culture grew, although this interest was predominantly of a theoretical nature: attention was attracted not so much by the music itself, but by the works of ancient Greek music theorists.

As a result, by the second period it can be noted that Byzantium at this time reached its highest power and the highest point of cultural development. In the social development and evolution of the culture of Byzantium, contradictory trends are obvious, due to its middle position between East and West.

From the 10th century a new stage in the history of Byzantine culture begins - a generalization and classification of everything achieved in science, theology, philosophy, and literature takes place. In Byzantine culture, this century is associated with the creation of works of a generalizing nature - encyclopedias on history were compiled, agriculture, medicine. Treatises of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (913-959) “On State Administration”, “On Themes”, “On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court” - an extensive encyclopedia of valuable information about the political and administrative structure of the Byzantine state. At the same time, it contains colorful material of an ethnographic and historical-geographical nature about the countries and peoples adjacent to the Empire, including the Slavs.

Generalized spiritualistic principles completely triumph in culture; social thought, literature and art seem to be divorced from reality and locked in the circle of higher, abstract ideas. The basic principles of Byzantine aesthetics are finally taking shape. The ideal aesthetic object is transferred to the spiritual sphere, and it is now described using such aesthetic categories as beauty, light, color, image, sign, symbol. These categories help lighting global problems art and other spheres of culture.

In artistic creativity, traditionalism and canonicity prevail; art now does not contradict the dogmas of the official religion, but actively serves them. However, the duality of Byzantine culture, the confrontation between aristocratic and popular trends in it do not disappear even during periods of the most complete dominance of dogmatized church ideology.

In the XI-XII centuries. Serious ideological shifts were occurring in Byzantine culture. The growth of provincial cities, the rise of crafts and trade, the crystallization of the political and intellectual self-awareness of the townspeople, the feudal consolidation of the ruling class while maintaining a centralized state, and the rapprochement with the West under the Komnenos could not but affect culture. A significant accumulation of positive knowledge, the growth of natural sciences, the expansion of man’s ideas about the Earth and the universe, the needs of navigation, trade, diplomacy, jurisprudence, the development of cultural communication with European countries and the Arab world - all this leads to the enrichment of Byzantine culture and major changes in the worldview of Byzantine society . This was the time of the rise of scientific knowledge and the emergence of rationalism in the philosophical thought of Byzantium.

Rationalistic tendencies among Byzantine philosophers and theologians, as well as among Western European scholastics of the 11th-12th centuries, manifested themselves primarily in the desire to combine faith with reason, and sometimes to place reason above faith. The most important prerequisite for the development of rationalism in Byzantium was a new stage in the revival of ancient culture, the understanding of the ancient heritage as a single, integral philosophical and aesthetic system. Byzantine thinkers of the 11th-12th centuries. they receive respect for reason from ancient philosophers; Blind faith based on authority is being replaced by the study of the causality of phenomena in nature and society. But unlike Western European scholasticism, Byzantine philosophy of the 11th-12th centuries. was built on the basis of ancient philosophical teachings of different schools, and not only on the works of Aristotle, as was the case in the West. The exponents of rationalistic trends in Byzantine philosophy were Michael Psellus, John Italus and their followers.

However, all these representatives of rationalism and religious free-thinking were condemned by the church, and their works were burned. But their activity was not in vain - it prepared the ground for the emergence of humanistic ideas in Byzantium.

In literature, tendencies are revealed towards the democratization of language and plot, towards the individualization of the author's person, towards the manifestation of the author's position; a critical attitude towards the ascetic monastic ideal arises in her and religious doubts creep in. Literary life becomes more intense, literary circles arise. Byzantine art also reached a significant flourishing during this period.

At the court of Latin emperors, princes and barons, Western customs and entertainment, tournaments, troubadour songs, holidays and theatrical performances spread. A notable phenomenon in the culture of the Latin Empire was the work of troubadours, many of whom were participants in the Fourth Crusade. Thus, Conon de Bethune reached the zenith of his fame in Constantinople. Eloquence, poetic gift, firmness and courage made him the second person in the state after the emperor, in whose absence he often ruled Constantinople. The trouvères of the empire were the noble knights Robert de Blois, Hugo de Saint-Canton, Count Jean de Brien and less noble ones such as Hugo de Bregil. All of them became rich after the capture of Constantinople and, as Hugo de Bregilles narrates in the rhythmic verses, they plunged from poverty into wealth, into emeralds, rubies, brocade, and found themselves in fairy-tale gardens and marble palaces along with noble ladies and beautiful maidens. Of course, attempts to introduce the Catholic religion and spread Western culture in the Latin Empire encountered constant stubborn resistance from both the Orthodox clergy and the general population. The ideas of Hellenic patriotism and Hellenic self-awareness grew and strengthened among intellectuals. But the meeting and mutual influence of Western and Byzantine cultures during this period prepared for their rapprochement in late Byzantium.

The culture of late Byzantium is characterized by ideological communication between Byzantine scholars and Italian scientists, writers, and poets, which influenced the formation of early Italian humanism. It was the Byzantine scholars who were destined to open the wonderful world of Greco-Roman antiquity to Western humanists, to introduce them to classical ancient literature, to the true philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. It should be noted that the concept of “Byzantine humanism” denotes that cultural, spiritual-intellectual, psychological and aesthetic complex that is characteristic of the worldview of the erudite layer of the 14th-15th centuries, and which, in its characteristics, can be considered an analogue of Italian humanism. In this case, we are talking not so much about a completed and formed culture of humanism, but about humanistic tendencies, not so much about the revival of antiquity, but about a certain rethinking of the ancient heritage, paganism as a system of views, about turning it into a worldview factor.

The broadest knowledge of such famous Byzantine philosophers, theologians, philologists, rhetoricians as George Gemistus Plitho, Dmitry Kydonis, Manuel Chrysolor, Vissarion of Nicaea, etc., aroused the boundless admiration of Italian humanists, many of whom became students and followers of Byzantine scientists. However, the contradictory social relations of late Byzantium, the weakness of the sprouts of pre-capitalist relations, the onslaught of the Turks and the intense ideological struggle that ended with the victory of mystical movements led to the fact that the new direction in artistic creativity that arose there, akin to the early Italian Renaissance, did not receive completion.

Simultaneously with the development of humanistic ideas in late Byzantium, there was an extraordinary rise of mysticism. It was as if all the temporarily hidden forces of spiritualism and mysticism, asceticism and detachment from life were now consolidated in the hesychast movement, in the teachings of Gregory Palamas, and began an attack on the ideals of the Renaissance. In the atmosphere of hopelessness generated by mortal military danger, feudal strife and the defeat of popular movements, in particular the uprising of the Zealots, among the Byzantine clergy and monasticism the conviction grew stronger that salvation from earthly troubles could be found only in a world of passive contemplation, complete tranquility - hesychia, in self-absorbed ecstasy , supposedly bestowing mystical merging with the deity and illumination with divine light. Supported by the ruling church and the feudal nobility, the teachings of the hesychasts won victory, captivating the broad masses of the empire with mystical ideas. The victory of hesychasm was in many ways fatal for the Byzantine state: hesychasm strangled the sprouts of humanistic ideas in literature and art, weakened the will to resist the masses against external enemies. Superstitions flourished in late Byzantium. Social unrest gave rise to thoughts about the approaching end of the world. Even among educated people, fortune telling, predictions, and sometimes magic were common. Byzantine authors more than once turned to the plot of the prophecies of the Sibyl, who allegedly correctly determined the number of Byzantine emperors and patriarchs and thereby allegedly predicted the time of the death of the empire. There were special fortune-telling books (Bible Chrys-Matogica) that predicted the future.

Religious sentiment was highly characteristic of late Byzantine society. The sermons of asceticism and anchorage addressed to the people could not help but leave a trace. The desire for solitude and prayer marked the lives of many people, both from the nobility and from the lower classes. The words of George the Acropolitan could characterize more than just the despot John: “He spent whole nights in prayer... he was concerned about spending more time in solitude and enjoying the tranquility that flows from everywhere, or at least being in close communication with persons leading such a life." Leaving political life for a monastery is far from isolated. The desire to withdraw from public affairs was explained primarily by the fact that contemporaries did not see a way out of those unfavorable internal and international collisions that indicated the decline in the authority of the empire and its approach to disaster.

Summing up the development of Byzantine culture in the 11th-12th centuries, we can note some important new features. Of course, the culture of the Byzantine Empire at this time still remained medieval, traditional, and in many ways canonical. But in the artistic life of society, despite its canonicity and unification of aesthetic values, the sprouts of new pre-Renaissance trends are emerging, which found further development in the Byzantine art of the Palaiologan era. They affect not only and not so much the return of interest in antiquity, which never died in Byzantium, but the emergence of sprouts of rationalism and free-thinking, the intensification of the struggle of various social groups in the sphere of culture, and the growth of social discontent.

What is the contribution of Byzantine civilization to world culture? First of all, it should be noted that Byzantium was the “golden bridge” between Western and Eastern cultures; it had a profound and lasting impact on the development of cultures in many countries of medieval Europe. The area of distribution of the influence of Byzantine culture was very extensive: Sicily, Southern Italy, Dalmatia, the states of the Balkan Peninsula, Ancient Rus', Transcaucasia, the North Caucasus and Crimea - all of them, to one degree or another, came into contact with Byzantine education. The most intense Byzantine cultural influence, naturally, was felt in countries where Orthodoxy was established, connected by strong threads with the Church of Constantinople. Byzantine influence was felt in the field of religion and philosophy, social thought and cosmology, writing and education, political ideas and law, it penetrated into all spheres of art - literature and architecture, painting and music. Through Byzantium, the ancient and Hellenistic cultural heritage, spiritual values created not only in Greece itself, but also in Egypt and Syria, Palestine and Italy, were transmitted to other peoples. The perception of the traditions of Byzantine culture in Bulgaria and Serbia, Georgia and Armenia, in Ancient Rus' contributed to the further progressive development of their cultures.

Despite the fact that Byzantium existed 1000 years longer than the Great Roman Empire, it was still conquered in the 14th century. Seljuk Turks. The Turkish troops that conquered Constantinople in 1453 put an end to the history of the Byzantine Empire. But this was not the end of her artistic and cultural development. Byzantium made a huge contribution to the development of world culture. Its basic principles and cultural trends were transferred to neighboring states. Almost all the time, medieval Europe developed on the basis of the achievements of Byzantine culture. Byzantium can be called the “second Rome”, because its contribution to the development of Europe and the whole world is in no way inferior to the Roman Empire.

After 1000 years of history, Byzantium ceased to exist, but the original and interesting Byzantine culture, which passed the cultural and historical baton to Russian culture, did not remain in oblivion.

Christianization of Rus': development of everyday and spiritual culture

The beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe is usually associated with the transition from paganism to Christianity. And in our history, the adoption of Christianity became an important milestone. The unification of Old Russian lands into single state set an important task for the great princes - to give the tribes included in it a single spiritual basis.

Christianity was the spiritual foundation of European civilization. Vladimir's choice in this sense was correct. It showed an orientation toward Europe. Of the two most significant branches of Christianity: Catholicism and Orthodoxy, he chose Orthodoxy or Orthodox Christianity.

The adoption of Christianity had long-term consequences for Rus'. First of all, she defined her further development as European country, became part of the Christian world and played a prominent role in Europe at that time. The baptism of Rus' took place in 988, when, by order of Grand Duke Vladimir, the people of Kiev were to be baptized in the waters of the Dnieper, recognize the one God, renounce the pagan gods and overthrow their images - idols. In some principalities, baptism was accepted voluntarily, in others it caused resistance from the people. It can be assumed that the people of Kiev perceived baptism as a pagan act - purification with water and the acquisition of another god, the patron saint of the prince.

After the adoption of Christianity, Orthodoxy gradually began to influence ethnic consciousness and culture. The influence of the Russian Church extended to all aspects of public life. State acts, holidays (church and state), lighting and services marking the beginning and end of any event; registration of births, marriages and deaths - all this was the responsibility of the church.

The princely power actively influenced the formation and strengthening of the Orthodox Church in Rus'. A system of material support for the church has developed. The Orthodox church becomes the center of not only the spiritual, but also the social and economic life of the parish, especially the rural one.

The church occupied an important place in the political life of the country. The princes, starting with Vladimir, called on metropolitans and bishops to participate in state affairs; at princely congresses, the clergy came first after the princes. The Russian Church acted as a pacifying party in princely civil strife; it advocated for the preservation of peace and the good of the state. This position of the church was reflected in theological and artistic works. The clergy was the most educated layer of society. In the works of church leaders, universally significant ideas were put forward, the position of Russia in the world, and the ways of development of Russian culture were comprehended. During the period of fragmentation of Rus' and the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the Russian Orthodox Church was the bearer of the Orthodox faith, allowing it to maintain the unity of Rus' in the popular consciousness. From the middle of the 14th century. Gradually, a cultural upsurge begins, the development of education, the spread of literacy and the accumulation of scientific knowledge in all areas. External contacts are being revived through diplomatic ties, pilgrimages to holy places, and trade. As a result, people's horizons broaden. Since the 15th century The process of formation of the Russian national idea and the cultural and religious self-determination of the people is taking place more actively. It manifested itself in understanding the place of Russia and the world, its ways further development and national priorities. A definite impetus in this direction was the Union of Florence in 1439 (the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches). As a result of complex political and religious processes, the Russian Orthodox Church in 1539 became autocephalous - independent, with a patriarch at its head.

Development by the Byzantine diplomat and Slavic educator Cyril Slavic alphabet

writing Christianization Rus' Byzantine

The creation of Slavic writing is rightfully attributed to the brothers Constantine the Philosopher (in monasticism - Cyril) and Methodius. Information about the beginning of Slavic writing can be gleaned from various sources: the Slavic lives of Cyril and Methodius, several words of praise and church services in their honor, the work of the monk Khrabra “On Writing,” etc.

In 863, an embassy from the Great Moravian prince Rostislav arrived in Constantinople. The ambassadors conveyed to Emperor Michael III a request to send missionaries to Moravia who could preach in a language understandable to the Moravians (Moravians) instead of the Latin language of the German clergy.

The Great Moravian Empire (830-906) was a large early feudal state of the Western Slavs. Apparently, already under the first prince Moimir (reigned 830-846), representatives of the princely family adopted Christianity. Under Mojmir's successor Rostislav (846-870), the Great Moravian Empire waged an intensified fight against German expansion, the weapon of which was the church. Rostislav tried to counteract the German church by creating an independent Slavic bishopric, and therefore turned to Byzantium, knowing that Slavs lived in Byzantium and in its neighborhood.

Rostislav's request to send missionaries was in line with the interests of Byzantium, which had long sought to extend its influence to the Western Slavs. It was even more consistent with the interests of the Byzantine church, whose relations with Rome in the mid-9th century. became increasingly hostile. Just in the year of the arrival of the Great Moravian embassy, these relations became so aggravated that Pope Nicholas even publicly cursed Patriarch Photius.

Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photius decided to send a mission to Great Moravia led by Constantine the Philosopher and Methodius. This choice was not accidental. Konstantin already had extensive experience in missionary activity and showed himself to be a brilliant dialectician and diplomat. This decision was also due to the fact that the brothers, coming from the half-Slavic-half-Greek city of Thessaloniki, knew very well Slavic language.

Constantine (826-869) and his older brother Methodius (820-885) were born and spent their childhood in the bustling Macedonian port city of Thessaloniki (now Thessaloniki, Greece).

In the early 50s, Constantine showed himself to be a skilled orator, winning a brilliant victory in a debate over the former patriarch Arius. It was from this time that Emperor Michael, and then Patriarch Photius, began to almost continuously send Constantine as an envoy of Byzantium to neighboring peoples to convince them of the superiority of Byzantine Christianity over other religions. So Constantine, as a missionary, visited Bulgaria, Syria and the Khazar Kaganate.

The character, and, consequently, the life of Methodius were in many ways similar, but in many ways they were different from the character and life of his younger brother.

They both lived a mainly spiritual life, striving to embody their beliefs and ideas, not attaching importance to wealth, career, or fame. The brothers never had wives or children, they wandered all their lives, never creating a home for themselves, and even died in a foreign land. It is no coincidence that not a single one has survived to this day. literary works Constantine and Methodius, although both of them, especially Constantine, wrote and translated many scientific and literary works; finally, it is still not known what kind of alphabet was created by Constantine the Philosopher - Cyrillic or Glagolitic.

In addition to similar traits, there were many differences in the brothers’ characters, however, despite this, they ideally complemented each other in working together. The younger brother wrote, the older brother translated his works. The younger one created the Slavic alphabet, Slavic writing and bookmaking, the older one practically developed what the younger one created. The younger was a talented scientist, philosopher, brilliant dialectician and subtle philologist; the eldest is a capable organizer and practical activist.

It is not surprising that at the council convened on the occasion of the Moravian embassy, the emperor declared that no one would fulfill the request of Prince Rostislav better than Constantine the Philosopher. After this, according to the story of the Life, Constantine retired from the council and prayed for a long time. According to chronicle and documentary sources, he then developed the Slavic alphabet. “The Philosopher went and, according to the old custom, began to pray with other helpers. And soon God revealed to him that he listens to the prayers of his servants, and then he folded letters and began to write the words of the Gospel: from the beginning the word and the word from God, and God b the word (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”) and so on.”* In addition to the Gospel, the brothers translated other liturgical books into Slavic (according to the “Pannorian Life” these were “The Chosen Apostle”, "Psalter" and certain passages from "Church Services"). Thus, the first Slavic literary language was born, many of whose words are still alive in Slavic languages, including Bulgarian and Russian.

Constantine and Methodius went to Great Moravia. In the summer of 863, after a long and difficult journey, the brothers finally arrived in the hospitable capital of Moravia, Velehrad.

Prince Rostislav received envoys from friendly Byzantium. With his help, the brothers chose students for themselves and diligently taught them the Slavic alphabet and church services in the Slavic language, and in their free time from classes they continued to translate the brought Greek books into the Slavic language. Thus, from the very moment of their arrival in Moravia, Constantine and Methodius did everything possible to quickly spread Slavic writing and culture in the country.

Gradually the Moravians (Moravians) became more and more accustomed to hearing in churches native language. Churches where services were conducted in Latin became empty, and the German Catholic clergy lost their influence and income in Moravia, and therefore attacked the brothers with malice, accusing them of heresy.

Having prepared disciples, Constantine and Methodius, however, faced a serious difficulty: since neither of them was a bishop, they did not have the right to ordain priests. But the German bishops refused this, since they were not at all interested in the development of divine services in the Slavic language. In addition, the brothers’ activities towards the development of divine services in the Slavic language, being historically progressive, came into conflict with the so-called theory of trilingualism created in the early Middle Ages, according to which only three languages had the right to exist in worship and literature: Greek, Hebrew and Latin.

Constantine and Methodius had only one way out - to seek a solution to the difficulties that had arisen in Byzantium or Rome. However, oddly enough, the brothers choose Rome, although at that moment the papal throne was occupied by Nicholas, who fiercely hated Patriarch Photius and everyone associated with him. Despite this, Constantine and Methodius hoped for a favorable reception from the pope, and not without reason. The fact is that Constantine had the remains of Clement, the third in order of pope, found by him, if we consider that the very first was the Apostle Peter. Having such a valuable relic in their hands, the brothers could be sure that Nicholas would make great concessions, even allowing worship in the Slavic language.

In mid-866, after 3 years in Moravia, Constantine and Methodius, accompanied by their disciples, left Velehrad for Rome. On the way, the brothers met the Pannonian prince Kocel. He well understood the significance of the work undertaken by Constantine and Methodius and treated the brothers as a friend and ally. Kocel himself learned Slavic literacy from them and sent with them about fifty students for the same training and ordination. Thus, the Slavic letter, in addition to Moravia, became widespread in Pannonia, where the ancestors of modern Slovenes lived.

By the time the brothers arrived in Rome, Pope Nicholas was replaced by Adrian II. He favorably received Constantine and Methodius, allowed services in the Slavic language, ordained the brothers as priests, and their students as presbyters and deacons.

The brothers remained in Rome for almost two years. Konstantin becomes seriously ill. Feeling the approach of death, he becomes a monk and takes a new name - Cyril. Shortly before his death, he turns to Methodius: “Behold, brother, you and I were a couple in the same harness and plowed the same furrow, and I fall into the field, having finished my day. Love the mountain, but do not dare to leave your teaching for the sake of the mountain, for How else can you achieve salvation?" On February 14, 869, Konstantin-Cyril died at the age of 42.

Methodius, on the advice of Kotzel, seeks to be ordained Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia. In 870 he returned to Pannonia, where he was persecuted by the German clergy and imprisoned for some time. In mid-884, Methodius moved to Moravia and began translating the Bible into Slavic. He dies on April 6, 885.

The activities of the brothers were continued in the South Slavic countries by their disciples, expelled from Moravia in 886. In the West, Slavic worship and literacy did not survive, but were established in Bulgaria, from where they spread from the 9th century to Russia, Serbia and other countries.

The significance of the activities of Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius was the creation of the Slavic alphabet, the development of the first Slavic literary and written language, and the formation of the foundations for creating texts in the Slavic literary and written language. Cyril and Methodius traditions were the most important foundation of the literary and written languages of the southern Slavs, as well as the Slavs of the Great Moravian Empire. In addition, they had a profound influence on the formation of the literary-written language and texts in it in Ancient Rus', as well as its descendants - the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian languages. One way or another, Cyril and Methodius traditions are reflected in the Polish, Serbian, and Polabian languages. Thus, the activities of Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius had a pan-Slavic significance.

Widespread literacy in the urban environment in the 11th-12th centuries: birch bark letters and graffiti

The urban culture of Ancient Rus' has hardly been studied; little space is given to it even in a large two-volume publication on the cultural history of Ancient Rus' in pre-Mongol times, and even less in books on the history of architecture, painting and literature. In this sense, the section on the “culture of Ancient Rus'” in such a general work as “Essays on the History of the USSR” (IX-XIII centuries) is very indicative. Here the thesis is quite correctly proclaimed that “Russian rural and urban material culture, the culture of peasants and artisans, formed the basis of the entire culture of Ancient Rus'.” And then writing, literature and art, albeit in a somewhat unclear form, are declared the property of the “feudal landowners” and only folklore is recognized as the property of the poetic creativity of the Russian people.

Of course, monuments of literature, architecture, painting, and applied art that have come down to our time from Ancient Rus' in the 11th-13th centuries are works made primarily by order of feudal lords. But they also reflect popular tastes, and to a greater extent even the tastes of artisans than the feudal lords themselves. Works of art were made according to the plans of master craftsmen and by the hands of master craftsmen. The feudal lords, naturally, expressed general wishes, what they would like to see buildings, weapons, decorations, but they themselves did nothing, but realized their wishes with the hands of others. The largest role in the creation of objects of art in Ancient Rus' belonged to city craftsmen, and this role has not only not yet been clarified, but has not even been studied. That is why the culture of Ancient Rus' appears so one-sided in many historical works. We would look in vain for even a paragraph about urban culture in our general and special publications. The city and its cultural life fell out of sight of historians and cultural historians of Ancient Rus', while the urban culture of the medieval Western European city attracted and continues to attract the attention of researchers.

One of the prerequisites for the development of urban culture was the spread of literacy. The wide distribution of writing in the cities of Ancient Rus' is confirmed by the remarkable discoveries made by Soviet archaeologists. And before them, graffiti inscriptions were already known, written by unknown hands on the walls of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, on the walls of the Vydubitsky Church in Kyiv, the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the Church of Panteleimon in Galich, etc. These inscriptions were made on the plaster with a sharp tool, known in ancient Russian writing as a “shiltsa”. Their details are not feudal lords or churchmen, but ordinary parishioners, therefore - merchants, artisans and other people who visited churches and left memories in the form of this unique wall literature. The custom of writing on walls in itself speaks of the spread of literacy in urban circles. Scraps of prayers and prayer addresses, names, whole phrases scratched on church walls show that their creators were literate people, and this literacy, if not widespread, was not the lot of a too limited circle of townspeople. After all, the surviving graffiti inscriptions came to us by chance. One can imagine how many of them must have perished during various kinds of restoration of ancient churches, when, in the name of “splendor,” they covered and painted the walls of the wonderful buildings of Ancient Rus' with new plaster.

Recently, inscriptions from the 11th to 13th centuries. were found on various household items. They had a domestic purpose, therefore, they were intended for people who could read these inscriptions. If graffiti inscriptions can to some extent be attributed to representatives of the clergy, even lower ones, then what kind of princes and boyars made inscriptions on wine pots and shoe lasts? It is clear that these inscriptions were made by representatives of completely different circles of the population, whose writing is now becoming our property thanks to the successes of Soviet archaeological and historical science.

Even more remarkable discoveries were made in Novgorod. Here the bottom of one of the barrels was found with a clear inscription of the 12th-13th centuries. - "legalism". The barrel, therefore, belonged to some Yuri, “Yurishch,” according to the ancient Russian custom of reducing or strengthening a name. On a wooden shoe last for women's shoes we find the inscription "Mnezi" - invisible, female name. Two inscriptions are abbreviations of names, they are made on a bone arrow and on a birch bark float. But perhaps the most interesting find is the discovery in Novgorod of the so-called Ivan Elbow, found during excavations at the Yaroslav Courtyard in Novgorod. This is a small piece of wood in the shape of a broken arshin, on which there was an inscription in letters of the 12th-13th centuries.

A remarkable wooden cylinder, also found in Novgorod. The inscription “Eat hryvnia 3” is carved on it. Yemets was a prince's servant who collected judicial and other duties. The cylinder apparently served to store hryvnias and was equipped with a corresponding inscription).

Novgorod finds show that the spread of writing was significant in craft and commercial life, at least this can be said about Novgorod. However, the use of writing on household items was not only a Novgorod feature. B.A. Rybakov described a fragment of a pot on which the inscription was preserved. He managed to disassemble most of it. The inscription in full apparently read like this: “Blagodatnesha plona korchaga si.” The words “nesha plona korchaga si” are fully preserved on the remains of this vessel, found in the old part of Kyiv during excavation work. A.L. reports about the same, only more extensive, inscription on a fragment of a pot in which wine was stored. Mongait. Along the edge of this vessel, found in Old Ryazan, there is an inscription in letters of the 12th or early 13th century. V.D. Blavatsky discovered a fragment of a vessel from Tmutarakan, on which several obscure letters were written in ancient handwriting. It was not possible to make out this inscription due to its fragmentary nature.

Speaking about writing in ancient Russian cities, we must not forget that in a number of craft professions writing was a necessary condition, a need arising from the characteristics of production itself. Such, first of all, were icon craftsmanship and mural painting. As a rule, letters and entire phrases were placed on the icons. A master icon painter or church painter could be a semi-literate person, but he had to know the rudiments of literacy under all conditions, otherwise he would not be able to successfully fulfill the orders he received. In some cases, the artist had to fill images of open pages of books or scrolls with long texts (see, for example, the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God from the mid-12th century). Study of inscriptions on icons and murals in relation to them linguistic features almost never been produced, but could have yielded interesting results. Thus, on the temple icon of Dmitry Selunsky, which stood in the cathedral of the city of Dmitrov almost from the time of its foundation, we read the signature “Dmitry” next to the Greek designations (o agios - saint). Here the typically Russian, common folk “Dmitry” is combined with a conventional Greek expression. This reveals that the artist was Russian and not a foreigner.

The number of small and large inscriptions on icons and frescoes is so great, the inscriptions themselves are made so carefully and so reflect the development of living things Old Russian language with its features that no special evidence is required to draw a conclusion about broad development writing among master artists.

Knowledge of at least the elements of literacy was also necessary for silversmiths and gunsmiths who produced expensive items. This is evidenced by the custom of marking the names of masters on some objects of the 11th-13th centuries. The names of the masters (Costa, Bratilo) were preserved on the Novgorod kratir, on the copper arch from Vshchizh (Konstantin), on the cross of the Polotsk princess Euphrosyne (Bogsha). Writing was also widespread among masons and builders. Special studies have shown that bricks used for the construction of stone buildings in Ancient Rus' usually have marks. Thus, on several bricks of the cathedral in Old Ryazan the name of the master is imprinted: Yakov.

We also find the spread of writing among stone carvers. The oldest examples of Kirill's inscriptions are stone slabs with the remains of letters found in the ruins of the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv at the end of the 10th century. One of the oldest inscriptions was made on the famous Tmutarakan stone. The Sterzhensky Cross dates back to 1133; Almost simultaneously with him, the Boris stone was erected on the Western Dvina. The prevalence of such crosses and stones with memorial records of the 11th-13th centuries. indicates that writing was firmly established in the everyday life of Ancient Rus'. The established custom of placing stones with inscriptions on boundaries is also evidenced by the so-called “Stepan’s stone,” found in the Kalinin region.

Let us also recall the existence of inscriptions on various kinds of vessels, crosses, icons, and jewelry that have come down to us from the 11th to the 13th centuries. It is impossible to assume that the artisans who made these inscriptions were illiterate people, since in this case we would have clear traces of their inability to reproduce the inscriptions on the things themselves. Therefore, it must be assumed that among the artisans there were people with certain writing skills.

It can be assumed that inscriptions on household items of princes or high clergy, as is clearly visible, for example, from the already mentioned inscription on an Old Ryazan vessel, were sometimes made by princely tiuns or some other household servants. The setting of the Mstislav Gospel was made between 1125-1137. at the expense of the prince. A certain Naslav traveled on a princely errand to Constantinople and was a princely servant. But does this give the right to deny the existence of writing among those artisans who were engaged in the production of other, less precious products than the Novgorod kratyrs and the Polotsk cross? Wooden shoe lasts, a bone arrow, a birch bark float, a wooden cup with the inscription "Smova", found in Novgorod excavations, indicate that writing in Kievan Rus was not the property of only feudal lords. It was widespread among trade and craft circles of ancient Russian cities of the 11th-13th centuries. Of course, the spread of writing among artisans should not be exaggerated. Literacy was necessary for masters of a few professions and was distributed mainly in big cities, but even in this case, archaeological finds of recent years take us far from the usual ideas about unwritten Rus', according to which only monasteries and palaces of princes and boyars were centers of culture.

The need for literacy and writing was especially evident among the merchants. The “row” - the agreement - is known to us both from Russian Pravda and from other sources. The oldest private written “series” (Teshat and Yakima) dates back to the second half of the 13th century, but this does not mean that such written documents did not exist before.

This is evidenced by the use of terms associated with writing in legal monuments of ancient times. Usually, to prove that Ancient Rus' did not know the widespread use of private acts, they referred to Russian Pravda, which allegedly does not mention written documents. However, in the lengthy edition of Pravda, “fur” is named, a special fee that went in favor of the scribe: “for the scribe 10 kunas, for the transfer 5 kunas, for the fur two nogates.” Such an expert in ancient writing as I.I. Sreznevsky, translates the term “fur” in Russian Pravda precisely as “leather for writing.” Russkaya Pravda itself indicates that both the “transportation” and the duty “on the fur” went to the scribe. We have an indication of the duty on written transactions and records in the Manuscript of Vsevolod Mstislavich (“Russian Writing”).

Among the urban population there was also a stratum for whom writing was mandatory - the parish clergy, primarily priests, deacons, sextons, who read and sang in church. The priest's son, who did not learn to read and write, seemed to the people of Ancient Rus' to be a kind of undergrowth, a person who had lost the right to his profession, along with a debt-ridden merchant or a serf who bought his freedom. Book copyists were recruited from among the clergy and lower church clerks. If we remember that the monasteries of Ancient Rus' were primarily city monasteries, then the category of city residents among whom literacy was widespread will seem quite significant: it included artisans, merchants, clergy, boyars, and princely people. Let the spread of literacy not be universal; at least there were significantly more literate people in the city than in the countryside, where the need for literacy at that time was extremely limited.

Among the princes of the XII-XIII centuries. there was a widespread custom of exchanging so-called letters of the cross, which were written contracts. The letter of the cross, which the Galician prince Vladimirka “resigned” to the Kyiv prince Vsevolod, was reported in 1144. In 1152, Izyaslav Mstislavich sent the same Vladimir the letters of the cross with reproaches for treachery; in 1195, the Kiev prince Rurik sent letters of the cross to Roman Mstislavich; on the basis of them, Rurik “exposed” Roman’s betrayal; in 1196 the same letters of the cross were mentioned in relation to Vsevolod the Big Nest. It is known about the letters of the cross of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, etc. Thus, the custom of written inter-princely agreements was firmly established in Rus' in the 12th century. Already at this time, forgery certificates appeared. It is known about a false letter sent on behalf of Yaroslav Osmomysl in 1172 by the Galician governor and his comrades. The letter in this news is one of the necessary attributes of inter-princely relations. The princely charters that have survived to this day suggest that they were already in the 12th century. compiled according to a specific form. Two letters of the Novgorod prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, given by him to the Yuryev Monastery in 1125-1137, have the same introduction and conclusion. The letters of Mstislav Vladimirovich (1130) and Izyaslav Mstislavich (1146-1155) were written in approximately the same form 1). These documents, issued from the princely office, were written according to certain patterns by experienced scribes. The skills of the princely offices could not develop instantly. Consequently, they must have been preceded by some period of development. The existence of treaties between Rus' and the Greeks tells us that princely offices in Rus' appeared no later than the 10th century.

The relatively widespread spread of literacy in the urban environment is confirmed by the discovery of Novgorod birch bark letters. The material for writing in Ancient Rus' was such an object as birch bark. It cannot even be called cheap, it was simply publicly available, because birch bark is available wherever birch grows. The processing of bark for writing was extremely primitive. The properties of birch bark, easily disintegrating and brittle, made it a convenient writing material only for correspondence of temporary significance; books and acts were written on durable parchment, and later on paper.

Finding birch bark letters by A.V. Artsikhovsky dispelled the legend about the extremely weak spread of literacy in Ancient Rus'. It turns out that at this time people willingly corresponded on various issues. Here is Gostyata’s letter to Vasily about a difficult family case. Another letter talks about a disputed or stolen cow, a third about furs, etc. These are the finds of 1951.

We see even more fully and clearly the correspondence of townspeople of the 11th-13th centuries in the letters found during excavations in 1952. Here are demands to send “vertishcha” and “bear skins” (bags and bear skins), correspondence about the dishonor of some nobleman, orders for trade and even reports of military operations.

The birch bark certificates are valuable because they give an idea of the daily life and activities of townspeople with their small concerns of personal and social order. At the same time, they are indisputable evidence of the relatively wide spread of literacy in the cities of Ancient Rus' of the 11th-13th centuries.

Mathematical, astronomical and geographical knowledge in Ancient Rus'

From the 14th century, the process of uniting Russian lands around Moscow began and at the end of the 15th ─ beginning of the 16th centuries. this process has ended. Russian was created centralized state. But its lag from the West was significant. In Europe at that time, universities were operating, the market was developing, manufactories appeared, the bourgeoisie was an organized class, Europeans were actively exploring new lands and continents.

Scientific and technical knowledge in the XIV-XVI centuries. in Russian lands in most cases were at a practical level, there were no theoretical developments. Their main source continued to be books by Western European authors translated into Russian.

By the XIV-XVI centuries. Mathematics received special development, primarily in the practical aspect. The stimulus was the needs of the church and state. However, the church's interest was limited only to the area church calendar, issues of chronological determination of holidays and church services. In particular, special works on mathematics translated from Latin made it possible to calculate Easter tables, which were completed only until 1492. The needs of the state in the field of fiscal policy also shaped a closer attention to mathematics. Various surveying works were carried out, and, accordingly, knowledge of geometry was required.

Astronomy occupied a special place in the field of natural science. Its development took place in several directions: reproduction and systematization of old astronomical concepts, supplementing them with new knowledge; development of practical astronomy related to the calculation of calendar and astronomical tables; attempts to present the world system from a mathematical perspective.

Geographical knowledge in the XIV-XVI centuries. have not progressed much compared to the previous period. A distinctive feature of this period was the increase in the number of trips of Russian people abroad. Sources geographical information served as foreign aid. For example, the Byzantine work "Chronograph", published in 1512. This work had a touch of fabulousness. Another translated work of this period - the geography of "Lucidarius" - gives superficial information about Western Europe; the geography of Asia is described in some detail, although it contains a lot of mythical information about the population of India and its animal world.

In the XV-XVI centuries. Philosophical knowledge is actively penetrating into Russia. The country became acquainted with the ideas of Plato and Aristotle through translated literature. Thus, the main source of penetration of Aristotle’s ideas was the “Dialectics of St. John of Damascus.” Around the same period, the philosophical work of the Arab scientist Al-Ghazali, “The Purpose of the Philosopher,” came to Russia, which professed the ideas of Neoplatonism. Among Russian philosophers, it is necessary to highlight the works of Ermolai-Erasmus on the cosmic significance of the Holy Trinity.

The first parish schools under Vladimir I and Yaroslav the Wise

The period of development of national education under princes Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise is often considered to be the initial period in the entire history of this education, which is largely associated with Christian churches.

Under the year 988 in the Tale of Bygone Years: “And (Vladimir) built a church in the name of St. Basil on the hill where the idol of Perun and others stood and where the prince and the people performed their services. And in other cities they began to build churches and appoint priests in them, and to bring people to baptism in all the cities and villages. He sent to collect children from the best people and send them to book training. The mothers of these children wept for them, because they were not yet established in the faith, and wept for them as if they were dead.” (the pagans were against Christian innovations).

Polish historian Jan Dlugosh (1415-1480) about the Kyiv school of “book teaching” “Vladimir... attracts Russian youths to study the arts, in addition, he maintains masters requested from Greece.” To create a three-volume history of Poland, Dlugosz used Polish, Czech, Hungarian, German sources, and ancient Russian chronicles. Apparently, from a chronicle that has not reached us, he gleaned news about the study of arts (sciences) at Vladimir's Kyiv school. According to rough estimates, the “Vladimir school” with a contingent of 300 students in 49 years (988-1037) could prepare over a thousand educated students. Yaroslav the Wise used a number of them to develop education in Rus'.

Teachers of the X-XIII centuries. due to imperfect teaching methods and individual work during classes with each student individually, he could not work with more than 6-8 students. The prince recruited to school a large number of children, so at first I was forced to distribute them among teachers. This division of students into groups was common in schools Western Europe that time. From the surviving acts of the cantor of schools in medieval Paris it is known that the number of students per teacher was from 6 to 12 people, in the schools of the Cluny monastery - 6 people, in women's primary schools Tilya - 4-5 students. Eight students are depicted in the miniature of the front “Life of Sergius of Radonezh”, 5 students are seated in front of the teacher in the front engraving of “The ABC” of 1637 by V. Burtsov.

About this number of students is evidenced by the birch bark letters of the famous Novgorod schoolboy of the 13th century. Onfima. One with a handwriting different from Onfim’s (No. 201), hence V.L. Yanin suggested that this letter belonged to Onfim’s school friend. Onfim's fellow student was Danila, for whom Onfim prepared a greeting: "Bow from Onfim to Danila." Perhaps the fourth Novgorodian, Matvey (certificate No. 108), also studied with Onfim, whose handwriting is very similar.

Russian scribes who worked in advanced schools used their own version of the structure of subjects, which to a certain extent took into account the experience of Byzantine and Bulgarian schools that provided higher education.

Sofia's first chronicle about the school in Novgorod: 1030. "In the summer of 6538. Yaroslav went to Chyud, and I won, and established the city of Yuryev. And I came to Novugorod, and having collected 300 children from the elders and priests, teach them with a book."

Created in 1030 by Yaroslav the Wise, the school in Novgorod was the second educational institution advanced type in Rus', in which only the children of elders and clergy were trained. There is a version that the chronicle refers to the children of church elders who were chosen from the lower classes, but until the end of the 16th century. Only administrative and military elders are known. The term "church warden" appeared in the 17th century. The student population of the Novgorod school consisted of children of the clergy and city administration. The social composition of students reflected the class nature of education at that time.

The main task of the school was to prepare a competent administrative apparatus and priests united by the new faith, whose activities took place in a complex struggle with the strong traditions of pagan religion among the Novgorodians and the Finno-Ugric tribes with which Novgorod was surrounded.

The activities of Yaroslav's school were based on an extensive network of elementary literacy schools, as evidenced by the large number of birch bark letters, writings, and waxed tablets discovered by archaeologists. Novgorod book culture flourished on the basis of widespread literacy. The famous Ostromir Gospel, Dobrynya Yadreikovich’s description of Constantinople, and Kirik’s mathematical treatise were written in Novgorod. Preserved for posterity are the “Izbornik 1073”, the initial chronicle collection, and a short edition of “Russian Pravda”. The Novgorod book depositories served as one of the main sources of the “Great Four Mena” - a collection of “all books written in Rus',” consisting of 12 huge volumes with a total volume of over 27 thousand pages.

In the year 6545. Yaroslav founded a large city, which now has the Golden Gate, founded the Church of St. Sophia, the metropolis, and then the Church of the Holy Mother of God of the Annunciation on the Golden Gate, then the monastery of St. George and St. Irene... Yaroslav loved church statutes, he was very fond of priests, especially the monks, and he showed zeal for books, often reading them night and day. And he gathered many book writers who translated from Greek into Slavic. And they wrote many books from which believers learn and enjoy divine teaching. Just as it happens that one plows the land, another sows, and still others reap and eat food that never fails, so it is here. After all, his father Vladimir plowed the land and softened it, that is, he enlightened it with baptism, and we are reaping it by receiving book teaching.

After all, there is great benefit from book learning; books instruct and teach us the path of repentance, for we gain wisdom and self-control in the words of the books. These are rivers that water the universe, these are sources of wisdom, books have immeasurable depth... ...Yaroslav... loved books and, having copied them a lot, placed them in the church of St. Sophia, which he created himself."

The educational reform of Vladimir and Yaroslav increased Christianization in the lands future Russia and its neighbors, however, centuries-old pagan traditions had deep roots in the peoples of the country.

“Grammarians” were the professional scribes of South Slavic manuscripts who called themselves, and this is how teachers and teachers were also called Greeks. full course grammars. Emperor Justinian in 534 established a remuneration for prominent grammarians in the amount of 70 solidi and determined a number of other privileges for these teachers. Grammarians were also taught at the Kyiv Palace School, and after death, according to their status, they were buried in the cathedral. The relics of "Grammar" were transferred to the monastery, where Lazarus was the abbot (mentioned under 1088).

Practical application of knowledge in crafts and construction

In Kievan Rus, various knowledge and technical achievements used in practical life were accumulated and actively used: cities, fortresses and castles were built, metal was mined, tools and weapons were forged, ships and cars were built, fabrics and clothing were produced, leather and shoes were made. All these branches of craft required a wide variety of knowledge, skills and technical devices. From X to 20-30s. XII century the first stage in the development of ancient Russian craft with a fairly high production technology in terms of the Middle Ages stands out. At this time, the foundations of ancient Russian production were created. In particular, there was ferrous metallurgy based on the cheese-blowing process of producing iron from bog ores. Metallurgists living in rural areas, supplied sufficient amounts of iron to the cities High Quality, which the city blacksmiths converted into high-quality carbon steel. Leather and furrier production and the production of leather shoes were also developed. In Kievan Rus, several types of high-quality leather were known, and an assortment of woolen fabrics was widely represented. In handicraft production, there were various woodworking technologies that made it possible to produce complex turned vessels of more than 20 types. The products of jewelers for processing non-ferrous metals were varied and the technology of jewelry craft was at a high technological level.

The second period, which began at the end of the first third of the 12th century, was characterized by a sharp expansion of the range of products and at the same time a significant rationalization of production, which led to the standardization of products and specialization of crafts. Number of specialties at the end of the 12th century. in some Russian cities it exceeded 100. For example, in metalworking, instead of high-quality multi-layer steel blades, simplified blades with a welded tip appear. In textile production at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries. (at the same time as in Western Europe) the horizontal loom appears. Russian weavers, using extensive economic ties with the countries of Western Europe, are not far behind European craftsmen in modernizing weaving production. Russian weavers specialized in the production of linen fabrics.

In addition to looms, Rus' used a variety of mechanical devices and machines, made mainly of wood: blowers, lifting lever mechanisms, drills and gates, circular grinders and hand mills, spindles and reels, wheeled carts and potter's wheel, pounders and pulpers, lathes. machines, stone throwers, battering rams, crossbows and much more.

Thus, through translated literature in Kievan Rus, scientific ideas about the surrounding world were spread, there were many literate and educated (in general) people, and schools operated. The technique of constructing temples and other structures, military fortifications was developing (here it was necessary to operate with precise calculations and know mechanics). Handicraft production in Rus' in terms of variety of technological operations, development and equipment of tools, and level of specialization was on the same level as handicraft production in the countries of Western Europe and the East. However, scientific schools was not created, the development of knowledge was exclusively practical in nature.

From the second quarter of the 13th century. The development of Russian lands was stopped by a powerful blow from the East, from the Mongol Empire, and the establishment of Rus''s vassal dependence on the Golden Horde. Batya's invasion caused terrible damage to Russian cities - centers of progress and knowledge. Among the tragic consequences is that the development of Russian craft was interrupted, although it was in a state of recovery. For more than a century, some types of crafts (jewelry, glass), technical techniques and skills (filigree, granulation, cloisonne enamel techniques) were lost. Monuments of Russian architecture were destroyed. Stone urban construction ceased for half a century. Many written monuments were destroyed. As N.M. wrote Karamzin: “the shadow of barbarism, darkening the horizon of Russia, hid Europe from us at the very time when... the invention of the compass spread navigation and trade; artisans, artists, scientists were encouraged by the government; universities arose for higher sciences... The nobility was already ashamed of robberies... Europe did not have us I found out: but because it has changed in these 250 years, and we have remained as we were.”

The situation in the Russian lands began to change in the second half of the 14th century; in particular, the pre-Mongol level of production development was achieved. The prerequisites for this kind of production boom, undoubtedly, were the rise and strengthening of Moscow’s position in the unification process, the tactics of Ivan Kalita and his sons to “avoid conflicts” with the Horde. The symbol of the revival was the construction of the white stone Kremlin in Moscow during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy.

conclusions

The historical role of Byzantium in the destinies of Europe, Kievan Rus, is enormous, the significance of its culture in the development of world civilization is enduring and, of course, fruitful.

Byzantine art was exclusively great importance. Having made extensive use of the ancient heritage, Byzantine art acted as a repository of many of its images and motifs and passed them on to other peoples. The significance of Byzantine art was especially great for countries that, like Byzantium, adhered to the Orthodox religion (Bulgaria, Ancient Rus') and invariably retained lively cultural ties with Constantinople (the imperial and patriarchal courts).

In the history of world culture, Byzantium is the first Christian empire, an Orthodox power, opening the era of the European Middle Ages.

The most ancient and durable medieval state, Byzantium for many centuries was the most powerful country in the Christian world, the center of a multifaceted, outstanding civilization.

Sources

1.Istrin V.A. The emergence and development of writing, 2010

.Rozov N.N. Books of Ancient Rus' 9-14 centuries, 1977

.Florya B.N. The emergence of Slavic writing. Historical conditions of its development // Essays on the history of Slavic culture. RAS. Institute of Slavic and Balkan Studies. M., 1996

.Udaltsova Z.V. Byzantine culture. M., 1988.

.#"justify">. Arsentyeva A.V., Mikhailova S.Yu. History of science: Textbook. Cheboksary, ed. Chuvash University. 2003.

.Dyatchin N.I. History of technology development. M.: Phoenix, 2001, 320 p.

.Puzyrev N.M. Short story science and technology. Textbook allowance. Tver, Tver University. 2003-2004.

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