“The Tale of Bygone Years” essay


Here are the stories of the past years, where the Russian land came from, who in Kiev became the first to reign and how the Russian land arose

“The Tale of Bygone Years” is the earliest surviving chronicle. Refers to the beginning of the XII century. This code is known as part of a series of annalistic collections preserved in the lists, of which the best and oldest are Lavrentyevsky in 1377 and Ipatievsky in the 1920s. The chronicle absorbed in a large number of materials of legends, stories, legends, oral poetic traditions about various historical figures and events.

For more than two hundred years, science has known one of the oldest Russian chronicles, the Tale of Bygone Years, or the Primary Chronicle, which has been preserved in a number of later lists and has absorbed even more archaic written monuments of Ancient Rus. Since the XVIII century. The Tale of Bygone Years has been the object of constant attention of historians, philologists, linguists, textologists,

who have achieved considerable success in its study. At the beginning of this century, the famous Russian historian V. 0. Klyuchevsky wrote:

“In libraries, do not ask the Primary Chronicle – you probably will not understand and ask:” What list of records do you need? “”

1. Now we can take in hands the academic edition of the Tale of Bygone Years, which is not a simple generalization of all its copies, but the result of many years and painstaking research work of scientists of various specialties

2. For historians The Tale of Bygone Years is a special source, if only because most of the information about the national history of the 9th-11th centuries is unique. they draw from it. However, it turned out that of all the problems facing the historical science (What, Why, Where and When Was It?) And the Tale of Bygone Years, the least definite answers were given to the last question. The chronology of the Russian history of the Kievan Rus period is still largely mysterious and approximate, although I think it should not be long to explain that accuracy in time should

be one of the most important qualities of historians.

Chronicle, as a specific literary genre, originated in Kiev in the late 10th century. The first annalistic arch of Ancient Russia was the Kiev chronicle of 996 – 997 years. Later, in 1037 – 1039, it was recycled and became part of the ancient Kiev arch, which was conducted at the church of St. Sophia by the command of Prince. Yaroslav the Wise. This arch was later also repeatedly reprocessed and corresponded with the monks of the Kiev-Pechersky monastery, until it took its final form and became known as the “Tale of Bygone Years.”

This surviving chronicle describes the events of Russian history until the 10th of the 12th century. Its first edition was compiled around 1113 by Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery, commissioned by Prince. Svyatopolk II of Izyaslavich. Its second edition refers to 1116 and was compiled by Sylvester, hegumen of the Kiev Vydubitsky Monastery, for the book. Vladimir Monomakh. And in 1118 in Pereyaslavl an unnamed chronicler created the third edition of The Tale of Bygone Years for Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich.

This work of chroniclers in the XII century on the text of the “Tale” did not end. According to the probable assumption of a number of scientists (M. Kh. Aleshkovsky and others) in 1119, Presbyter Basil, close to Vladimir Monomakh, for the fourth time edited the text of “The Tale of Bygone Years” and it was preserved to us by the Ipatiev Chronicle. This Vasily is the author of The Tale of the Blinding Prince Vasilka Terebovlysky, which was included in The Tale of Bygone Years. In 1123, Bishop Sylvester, former hegumen of the Vydubitsky Monastery, copied Vasilyeva’s text in the editorial office in Pereyaslavl. In the course of repeated correspondence, the text of Vasilyeva’s edition of The Tale of Bygone Years was included in the Tver Arch of 1305, which reached us in the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377.


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“The Tale of Bygone Years” essay