History of the first manuscript. General history of the book
IN modern world Ancient manuscripts are treated with special respect - they are carefully stored in museums. This is understandable, because in ancient times they wrote only about significant things, believing that the manuscripts reflected the word of God. Thanks to the hard work of ancient Russian scribes, it is possible to compose a full-fledged message on the topic: handwritten books of Ancient Rus'.
Appearance of handwritten books of ancient Rus'
What the handwritten books of Ancient Rus' looked like, the message is quite interesting for the modern avid reader and book lover. Moreover, they were real works of art. The manuscript sheets were made from parchment (calfskin) and rarely from birch bark, which is not very durable. Four sheets of paper were folded in half to form an eight-sheet notebook. To accommodate the volume of content, several notebooks were sewn together into a single book. To do this, the spines of the manuscripts were sewn with thick threads to special belts, the ends of which were threaded into holes sawn into the covers and nailed down with pegs. The bindings were made of wooden planks covered with treated leather. For greater durability of the book, the corners of their covers were framed with metal squares, and the book itself was closed with a nice clasp. The covers were lavishly decorated with ornaments, gold, silver, and even precious stones. All this fittings made the handwritten creations very weighty.
As for the letter, the text was written in thick rusty iron ink and paints. There was a tradition of writing capital letters with red paint - cinnabar. All other text was in brown.
Ancient manuscripts often contain drawings by artists. In ancient religious books there are images of saints and monks, in chronicles - of kings and warriors. In addition, a bizarre image can highlight real art capital letters and ornamental headbands at the beginning of the book.
The main reason why handwritten books appeared in Ancient Rus' was the spread of Christianity. Consequently, the bulk of them have a religious content. The most famous books of similar subjects is the oldest “ Ostromir Gospel” (1056), the first dated “ Kyiv Psalter” (1397), most valuable “ Izbornik Svyatoslav” (1076)
In the beautifully designed manuscript “Ostromir Gospel” the lion’s share of the content is occupied by daily Gospel readings of commandments and soul-helping parables . Significant events of that time and history-making personalities were reflected in it. Written in the liturgical charter, the “Kiev Psalter” contains the psalms of David, biblical prayers and songs of praise. The manuscript contains elaborate marginal illustrations. Compiled on the basis of a philosophical Greek collection, “Svyatoslav’s Collection” is supplemented by teachings from church ministers and excerpts from books of the Bible. The collection has a spiritual and moral orientation, emphasizing the importance of the human soul and the need to take care of the purity of one’s thoughts.
Chronicles, another genre of early Russian literature, are of utmost importance for historians. The most famous of them was “The Tale of Bygone Years,” written by the monk Nestor in 1110. In it, he covered the history of the Russian land from the time of the Great Flood to the reign of Vladimir Monomakh. IN secondary school This chronicle is familiarized with in a lesson entitled: “Manuscript books of ancient Rus', 4th grade message.” Another important monument of ancient Russian historical literature – « A Word about Igor's Campaign ". Written in the 16th century, this manuscript tells about the unsuccessful campaign of the Russian prince against the Polovtsians.
There were also manuscripts on legal topics that helped regulate the legal sphere of life in ancient Russian society. In the 11th century, Prince Yaroslav the Wise published a legal collection “ Russian Truth " The peculiarities of this collection are that it already distinguishes between premeditated murder and this act in a state of passion, but still encourages blood feud. A more progressive book was the Code of Laws of 1497. It was intended to consolidate the centralization of the state, which had overcome feudal fragmentation. Basically, this set of laws protected the interests of the highest ruling stratum.
This message on the topic of handwritten books of Ancient Rus' makes it possible to understand that ancient manuscripts both reflected the process of development of ancient Russian society and contributed to its development. The interaction was two-way. Also from brief analysis ancient Russian literature It is clearly visible that there is no clear division into genres. Liturgical books contain general knowledge about the world.
Historical ones are thoroughly imbued with the Christian worldview. One thing is certain - ancient Russian manuscripts contain the intuitive wisdom of our ancestors, enriching all the knowledge of the modern world.
HANDWRITTEN BOOK OF ANCIENT Rus'.
HANDWRITTEN BOOK of Ancient Rus'. A book in Ancient Rus' is the greatest value, a collection of world wisdom. An ancient Russian scribe in The Tale of Bygone Years exclaimed: “Great is the benefit of book learning!.. These are rivers that water the universe, these are sources of wisdom, books have immeasurable depth!”
Number of surviving handwritten books from the 11th to 17th centuries. numbers tens of thousands. But even this figure cannot give an approximate idea of the number of books written and circulated in Rus' at that time. Many unique monuments perished during the invasions of the Polovtsians, Tatars, Lithuanians, in the fire of the Time of Troubles, and in frequent fires. For example, in 1240, during Batu’s invasion, unique manuscripts were lost in the Tithe Church in Kyiv. In 1382, during the burning of Moscow by Tokhtamysh, thousands of books that were brought to the capital on the orders of Metropolitan. Cyprian.
The first books in Rus' were usually translations from Greek, carried out by Slavic translators in Moravia and Bulgaria, as well as in Rus'. These were biblical books - Psalms, Gospels, etc. The original works of Russian authors are teachings, lives of saints, chronicles, words. Most of the books are of religious content (liturgical, hagiographical, works of the holy fathers). There were few books of secular content.
The earliest surviving manuscript books date back to the 2nd half. XI - n. XII century: Ostromir Gospel (1056-57), two “Selections” of Svyatoslav (1073, 1076), Mstislav Gospel (1115). These Gospels and Izborniki are magnificent examples of the book art of Ancient Rus'. They are written in a statutory letter on parchment. The pages of the books are richly ornamented and decorated with miniatures. As part of the Helmsman's Book 1282, a list of Russian Truth has reached us.
Philology and source studies study the contents of manuscripts. In addition, there is paleography (Greek “palaios” - ancient, “grapho” - writing) - a special historical discipline that explores the patterns of development written sources from their external side: changes in material, writing instruments, features of handwriting and decoration, etc. One of the main tasks of paleography is to establish the time and place of writing of the source, the authenticity of the work, because the dates of writing available in a handwritten book often do not correspond to reality . The manuscript can be dated based on the characteristics of the material on which it is written, writing signs - letters, decorations, and features of the Old Russian language.
The main materials on which handwritten books are written are parchment and paper. Parchment (from the name of the city of Pergamum in Asia Minor) is a specially tanned calfskin. In Ancient Rus', this material was called “haratia” (from the Greek “chartion”) or “veal”. The word “parchment” (“percoment”) penetrated into Rus' already in the 16th century. from Polish. Books were written on parchment until the 2nd half. XIV century From that time on, parchment began to be replaced by paper, first imported, and then domestically produced. Already in the 15th century. parchment is used to write only the most valuable books, because it was much more expensive than paper, but also more durable than it. Russian manuscripts of the XV-XVII centuries. written almost exclusively on foreign paper of French, German, Polish and Dutch origin. The first attempts to start a paper business in Rus' date back to the 16th century, but the paper produced was of poor quality. Mass production of Russian paper began only in the 18th century.
The characteristics of paper give historians the opportunity to date manuscripts very accurately. The paper has filigree (watermarks) indicating the manufacturing factory, the type of paper and its cost. The subjects chosen were very different: animals, birds, jugs, coats of arms. The watermarks were constantly changing; after a year or two, the design lost its original outline, and the new sign had its own characteristics. The study of these features makes it possible to determine the time of distribution of various drawings and signs, and from them - the date of the manuscript.
The writing materials were ink and paint. The ink was ferrous (with a brown tint) and gradually faded. For capital letters, red paint was used - cinnabar. In the chronicles, cinnabar was used to highlight each designation of the year.
Handwritten books came in different formats. As now, in ancient times books consisted of separate notebooks that were sewn together. Often notebooks were distributed to different scribes, each of whom wrote his own part of the book. The sheets of paper were of different sizes: one was 20 by 30 cm, the other was twice as large, it was called an Alexandrian sheet. The sheet of paper was sold folded in half. A manuscript written on open sheets was called in Rus' “in destny” (in large) sheet. A manuscript written on unopened sheets is “per sheet” or “in ten”. The sheets, folded in half a second time, gave a manuscript “in four”, if the sheets were folded again - “in an octagon”, again - in a sixteenth beat, etc. Women’s pocket prayer books were especially small - in 32 and even in 64. luxurious manuscripts of the 16th century were written on a large, “desk” sheet. - 12 volumes of “The Great Four Menyas” by Met. Macarius, "Royal Book".
The manuscripts were usually bound. The book was very expensive, and if unbound it quickly became untidy. The binding was done like this: the spine of the notebook was stitched with ropes, the ends of which were attached to wooden boards. The outer side of the board was covered, depending on the customer’s capabilities, with fabric, velvet, or leather. IN special cases A metal frame was also made. Fasteners were required so that the book would not lose its shape. Bindings were often decorated with metal “squares” at the corners of the binding boards; they prevented the binding from being damaged. The oldest surviving binding is for the Mstislav Gospel of 1135.
IN different time The lettering was also different. There are three types of writing - charter, semi-charter and cursive. Ustav is the oldest Russian letter of the 11th-12th centuries, distinguished by its geometric lettering. Letters were written in a line, their lower and upper ends should not extend beyond its limits, phrases were written almost without division into words. Gradually, in the XIII-XIV centuries. the charter changed and lost its geometric outlines, instead of straight lines rounded and curved lines appeared - the scribes sought to simplify the writing and make it faster.
The later charter turns into semi-statut - first in business documents, then, from the 15th-16th centuries, in handwritten books. The main features of the half-shaft are smaller writing of letters, the appearance of slanting, ligatures (i.e., connected writing of two letters standing next to each other). At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. A new style appears in a business letter - cursive. This is a fluent letter with the continuous writing of many letters in words, abbreviations of words. Cursive writing owes its appearance to the large amount of work done by scribes in government institutions united Russian state. It penetrates into handwritten books by the 16th century.
Ancient scribes used goose feathers as writing instruments, the method of making which did not change until the 19th century. Brushes were used to write capital letters.
Handwritten books have always been decorated. One of the features of Old Russian manuscripts is the use of ligature, decorative writing, which was characterized by reduction of letter details, ligatures, letter and interletter decorations. The headlines were written in elm. The scribes tried to fit the title of a book or chapter on one line, so the letters of the script are tall and narrow. The manuscript was also decorated with initials (beautifully drawn in capital letters) and headers at the beginning of the book or before each article. Drawings in the margins of the manuscript - “wildflowers” - were also common.
The most ancient ornament in Russian manuscripts was the so-called. Old Byzantine, or geometric. It consisted of circles, rectangles, triangles. Sometimes in geometric figures images of plants were included - trefoil, flower, branch, buds. The screensaver was placed in a rectangular frame. The paints used were white, blue, pink, and green.
In the XIV century. a teratological (Latin - “monstrous”) or animal ornament appears, when fantastic animals were depicted in the headband and initials. Since the 15th century under the influence of settlers from Byzantium, destroyed by the Turks, New Byzantine and Balkan ornaments appeared (sometimes called “wicker”).
In addition, miniatures are found in the manuscripts. To designate a miniature in Rus', they used the name “manuscript in faces”, “front”, because the miniatures, as a rule, depicted people: evangelists, saints, historical figures, etc.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. printed materials began to replace the handwritten book. But in the church and especially the Old Believer tradition, the art of handwritten books has been preserved to this day.
Writing on the territory of Rus' arose much later than it happened on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. At the time when the calligraphers of Egypt, Rome, and Greece honed their art on papyri and parchment, the endless steppes and forests of the Central Russian Upland were not yet even populated. The tribes of hunters and herders who came here at the beginning of the first millennium AD also did not need either an alphabet or writing. As a result, the most ancient handwritten monuments of Russian history date back to the time when culture Western Europe had already reached its peak, experienced decline due to the arrival of the barbarians and again rushed towards revival. As one might expect, the first books of Rus' turned out to be related to religious themes.
The most ancient Russian handwritten book
The most ancient Russian handwritten books that have reached us date back to the beginning of the 11th century. Although scientists believe that such books could have appeared in Rus' already in the 9th century following the invention Slavic writing. According to rough estimates by the historian N.K. Nikolsky, who devoted his life to compiling a card index of ancient Russian written publications, the number of handwritten books dating from the 11th to 18th centuries in our repositories ranges from 80 to 100 thousand manuscripts. According to academician Likhachev D.S. this estimate is inaccurate in the sense that it is too modest. Old Russian literature is truly enormous, and today they speak of it as a separate branch of Old Russian art.
The oldest handwritten book written by an East Slavic scribe in Old Russian is the church book "Ostromir Gospel", published in 1056. This is a unique masterpiece of ancient Russian book art. The 294 parchment pages are lavishly illustrated - they are decorated with magnificent images of the evangelists, colorful headpieces and initial letters. The text is written in straight lines of the Old Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet. Byzantine traditions are traced in the ornaments. The "Ostromir Gospel" was written in a single copy.
It is obvious that a whole manuscript workshop took part in its creation. Unfortunately, we know only one of the masters - Deacon Gregory. He probably did most of the work. The postscript to the manuscript says that work on it lasted seven months. In the same colophon, Deacon Gregory also reports on the time and circumstances of the writing of the ancient Russian book - the manuscript was commissioned by the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, who was sent to rule the Novgorod lands by the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich in 1054.
The "Ostromir Gospel" of Deacon Gregory and his unknown comrades is a most valuable monument of ancient Russian writing, language and visual arts. It is written in large, beautiful letters, and the size of the letters gradually increases towards the end of the book (from 5 to 7 millimeters). Text ancient book written in two columns of 18 lines on pages with a format of 20x24 centimeters, decorated with multi-colored initial letters, headpieces, images of evangelists, and cinnabar is used in places. The manuscript consists of 294 sheets of parchment good quality. There are several sheets with sewn-up cuts and holes (in places where gadflies have bitten), which appeared even before the text was written.
Unlike other monuments of the 11th century, in the “Ostromir Gospel” there is a correct rendering of reduced vowel sounds in the letters ъ and ь. This phonetic feature was common to Old Church Slavonic and other Slavic languages, so the Russian copyist, according to tradition, conveyed it well in writing, although by that time it had already disappeared. Where in the 11th century there were differences between Old Church Slavonic and Russian features, the scribe unwittingly mixed them up. This allows us to identify the “Ostromir Gospel” as one of the first monuments of the Old Church Slavonic language of the Russian edition.
Like any such ancient book, the Ostromir Gospel has its own fascinating history. Until the beginning of the 18th century, however, its history is shrouded in darkness. In 1701, the manuscript was mentioned in the inventory of the property of the Resurrection Church as part of the Verkhospassky Cathedral. In 1720, by order of Peter I, the book was sent (along with other old books) to St. Petersburg. After the death of Catherine II, the manuscript was found in her chambers by Ya.A. Druzhinin, who served under the Empress, who in 1806 presented it as a gift to Emperor Alexander I, who, in turn, ordered the book to be transferred for storage to the Imperial Public Library (now the Russian National Library). library in St. Petersburg), where it is kept today.
The manuscript of the “Ostromir Gospel” was decorated with a binding with precious stones, which is why it almost died: in 1932, a plumber stole it after breaking a display case. The attacker, tearing off the binding, threw the manuscript into a closet (according to other sources, onto a closet), where it was soon found. They no longer began to rebind the old book.
WITH early XIX century began and scientific study manuscripts. The Ostromir Gospel was first published by Vostokov A.Kh. in 1843 with the appendix of a short grammar, dictionary and Greek interlinear text. For this typesetting edition, a special Slavic font was made that accurately reproduces the handwriting of the original (there is even a reprint made in Wiesbaden in 1964). Later, facsimile editions were also published: black and white - in 1883; color gift in original format - in Leningrad in 1988.
Excerpts from the Ostromir Gospel were included in the compulsory curriculum of pre-revolutionary schools. In 1955, Trey E.H. carried out the restoration of this manuscript. On the basis of this ancient Russian book, modern grammars and dictionaries of the Old Church Slavonic language were created. A lot of research has been devoted to the monument and its language, but the language of this manuscript still requires thorough study.
The most ancient books of Rus': Novgorod Codex
Speaking about the oldest handwritten book compiled in Rus', one cannot ignore this manuscript. The Ostromir Gospel, of course, holds the lead among the oldest books in the Russian language, for which the exact date of their writing has been reliably established. However, on July 13, 2000, during excavations (which had been going on there for the twenty-eighth year) by the Novgorod archaeological expedition led by Academician V.L. Yanin. In the layers of the first quarter of the 11th century, three wooden (linden) planks measuring 19x15x1 centimeters were discovered.
Each board has a rectangular recess (15x11.5 cm), filled with wax; On the middle plank, such indentations are made on both sides. The boards have holes at the edges into which wooden pins are inserted to connect them into a single set. Thus, the ancient wooden book contained four wax pages (ceras). The outer sides of the first and last tablets acted as the covers of the codex.
The Novgorod Codex consists of linden tablets with four pages (ceras) covered with wax for writing with a stylus. According to stratigraphic, radiocarbon and paleographic data, the wax codex was used in the first quarter of the 11th century and possibly from recent years 10th century, so it is several decades older than the Ostromir Gospel, which was considered the oldest book in Rus' with a precisely established date of writing. Thus, the Novgorod Codex (or “Novgorod Psalter” - according to the highest quality readable text) is the oldest book of Rus'.
Cera is well preserved thanks to the marshy conditions in which it remained for about a thousand years. The uniqueness of the situation lies in the fact that the boards were thoroughly saturated with moisture and there was no access to oxygen; as a result, there were no living conditions for microorganisms that cause decay processes.
The dating of the Novgorod Codex is determined by the fact that it lay half a meter from the edge and 30 centimeters below the frame, which received a reliable dendrochronological date - 1036. This is the upper limit of the likely time for the planks to hit the ground. It is reasonable to consider the baptism of Rus' in 988 as the lower chronological limit of the creation of the code. At Uppsala University (Sweden's oldest university), radiocarbon dating of the wax was carried out, which with 84% probability indicates the year 1015 (plus or minus 35 years).
Earlier Slavic dated documents are only some ancient Bulgarian and Croatian inscriptions from the 10th century, but they cannot be classified as “books”. Consequently, today the Novgorod Psalter is the earliest monument to the Russian version of the Church Slavonic language and the oldest book that has reached us ancient Rus', which do not have an exact dating.
In addition to the main text of the ancient book, researchers report the “reconstruction” of part of the previous (“hidden”) texts based on imprints and scratches of the stylus on wooden tablets under wax. The problem of restoring these texts lies primarily in the fact that very faint imprints of tens of thousands of letters are superimposed on each other, hardly distinguishable from random strokes and cracks on wood.
For example, among the “hidden texts” a worn-out inscription was read, which says that in 999 the monk Isaac was made priest in Suzdal in the church of St. Alexander the Armenian. It is possible that the monk Isaac was the author of the Novgorod Code and belonged to a heretical religious movement.
Handwritten ancient books Kievan Rus 11th century
Collection of Svyatoslav 1073. An ancient Russian book that was copied in Kyiv for Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich. The ceremonial edition, which is an encyclopedia of various information, contains more than 400 sections from history, mathematics, natural science, grammar, philosophy and other areas. The book is written in Cyrillic script on parchment. The original, which served as the basis for the rewriting of the “Svyatoslav Collection”, is considered to be a Bulgarian collection created in the 10th century for Tsar Simeon. One of the largest ancient books in size. The frontispieces are especially decorative - there are two of them in the book.
Collection of Svyatoslav 1073. An ancient Russian book written by two scribes, one of whom worked on the Izbornik of 1073. In the text, the authors report that the manuscript was compiled “from many princely books.” The small-sized reference book also has encyclopedic content. There are no ceremonial illustrations in it. Compared to the Izbornik of 1073, the composition of the ancient book has been changed - there are more articles of religious content. Among the new texts is “A Word on Reading Books,” where the author teaches how to read a book.
Arkhangelsk Gospel of 1092. This ancient manuscript is unique from the point of view of linguistics, paleography and bibliology. It follows Old Russian spelling. IN artistically the publication is more than modest. The charter is written on parchment, without drawings or miniatures. But what is good are screensavers that are laconic in color, but harmonious in proportions and decorations. Dense, even lines are separated by a cinnabar line with initial letters only on rare pages. In 2000, the “Arkhangelsk Gospel” was included by UNESCO in the international Memory of the World register.
Novgorod service menaia for September 1095, October 1096 and November 1097. Menaions are liturgical books and books for reading, containing the “lives of saints,” stories about church holidays and teachings. Menaions for the service of menstruation contain texts for one month, arranged according to the days of each month, respectively, with holidays and days of remembrance of saints. The most ancient menaia have not reached us completely - each one is missing several leaves. The books are quite large for the 11th century: two of them contain more than 170 sheets, the third - more than 120 sheets. The Menaions were written for the Novgorod Lazarus Monastery. Today they are considered the oldest monuments of the Church Slavonic language, conveying the features of Old Russian northern dialects.
The very first printed Russian books
Russian word“book” (originates from the Church Slavonic “knigi”) was well known to Slavic copyists of chronicles back in the 14th century. However, at that time all ancient Russian books were handwritten. In Rus', the beginning of typographical book printing, as is known from school textbooks, dates back to XVI century. It is connected with the names of the remarkable Russian master Ivan Fedorov and Belarusian Peter Mstislavets.
The first Russian printing house was founded near the Moscow Kremlin, on Nikolskaya Street (then Nikolsky Krestets). Unlike the first European printing house of Johannes Gutenberg, who became the first printer of his own free will, the Moscow printing house was built by order of the tsar. Moreover, this construction lasted for almost ten years.
By the time of its creation, craftsmen in Rus' already had some experience in producing printed books. Back in 1553-1557, Russian masters, whose names have not yet been established, published two printed books. They are the first Russian publications to come out of the printing press. Their printing was not yet very skillful, the lines were not aligned, the pages were not numbered. There is a hypothesis that the first books in Rus' were printed by a certain Marusha Nefediev. He is mentioned in two letters from Ivan the Terrible as a “printing master.” It is possible that Ivan Fedorov knew about these first books. But, of course, his famous “Apostle” incomparably surpassed them in all his qualities.
So, when the printing yard was erected, on April 19, 1563, “the cunning masters of printing” began work on their first book, “The Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles.” This work lasted about a year. Ivan Fedorov did a huge amount of editorial work and designed the book according to all the rules of the printing art of that time. Now this antique book is a rarity!
On March 1, 1564, at the behest of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, with the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius of All Rus', the first Russian precisely dated book “The Apostle” was published - Ivan Fedorov went down in Russian history as the first printer. Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets began printing the Apostle on April 19, 1563. It was published in an unprecedented circulation for that time - about a thousand copies. Not a single foreign European printing house at that time printed its books in such quantities.
Ivan Fedorov also managed to surpass foreign printing technology - he printed his book in two colors, which foreign masters had not yet been able to do. After the canonical church text "Apostle" Ivan Fedorov added his afterword. In it he told how and when the book was created. The publication of "The Apostle" earned recognition even from such famous typographers and publishers of the 16th century as the Nuremberg master Anton Koberger and the Venetian scribe Aldus Manutius.
However, new trends in the book business caused a protest from the monastic scribes - their work was simply becoming financially unprofitable. The printers were accused of spreading heresy. In 1566, for an unknown reason, a fire occurred in their printing house, and they decided to urgently leave the capital of Muscovy. The pioneer printers fled to Lithuania, taking with them 35 engraved boards. Having been warmly received by the Polish king Sigismund, Ivan Fedorov found refuge with the Polish hetman Chodkiewicz, a philanthropist and educator, who founded a printing house on his estate.
But the book printing founded by Ivan Fedorov could no longer be stopped. In the 17th century, the Moscow printing house was already producing quite a lot of books, and some of them - “Psalter”, “Apostle”, “Service Book”, “Grammar” by Smotritsky - were published in several editions, and their circulation reached six thousand copies.
It is curious that Russian book publishers were the first in the world to print books for children - in 1692, the first Primer was published for them in Moscow, compiled by the outstanding teacher Karion Istomin. The “Primer” contained many drawings that attracted the attention of “youths and young women,” as stated in the dedication. The book could really teach children, as Istomin called, “not by resorting to the rod, but by amusing.”
Tsar Peter the Great understood the meaning of the printed word well. He contributed greatly to the development of Russian book printing. With his participation, a civil script was introduced on January 1, 1708. Russian books of general education content, textbooks, and artistic works appeared. Books on new subjects began to differ from church books, which were printed in Cyrillic. From that time on, the number of church books began to steadily decrease, and the number of publications of secular literature increased.
IN Russian Empire New printing houses began to open. The only Moscow printing house in the country was supplemented by the St. Petersburg printing house in 1711, and ten years later by the Senate printing house. Russian printed books began to be sold in shops. In Moscow in the 17th century, the center of the book trade was Kitai-Gorod. According to the inventory of 1695, in Kitay-Gorod there were “...up to 72 rows of small shops, forming small narrow streets. There were rows for sash, mittens, stockings, shoe, boot, sole, fur, beaver, sable, and among them there was a row for icons and books." These ranks were also mentioned by Maxim the Greek, the most educated man XVI centuries - obviously, they were the first Russian “marketplace” where you could buy a book.
The most ancient Russian books
Writing on the territory of Rus' arose much later than it happened on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. At the time when the calligraphers of Egypt, Rome, and Greece honed their art on papyri and parchment, the endless steppes and forests of the Central Russian Upland were not yet even populated. The tribes of hunters and herders who came here at the beginning of the first millennium AD also did not need either an alphabet or writing. As a result, the most ancient handwritten monuments of Russian history date back to a time when the culture of Western Europe had already reached its peak, experienced decline due to the arrival of the barbarians, and again rushed towards revival. As expected first books of Rus' turned out to be related to religious themes.The most ancient Russian handwritten book
The most ancient Russian handwritten books that have reached us date back to the beginning of the 11th century. Although scientists believe that such books could have appeared in Rus' already in the 9th century following invention of Slavic writing. According to rough estimates by the historian N.K. Nikolsky, who devoted his life to compiling a card index of ancient Russian written publications, the number of handwritten books dating from the 11th to 18th centuries in our repositories ranges from 80 to 100 thousand manuscripts. According to academician Likhachev D.S. this estimate is inaccurate in the sense that it is too modest. Old Russian literature is truly enormous, and today they speak of it as a separate branch of Old Russian art.
The oldest handwritten book written by an East Slavic scribe in Old Russian is the church book "Ostromir Gospel", published in 1056. This is a unique masterpiece of ancient Russian book art. The 294 parchment pages are lavishly illustrated, with stunning images of the evangelists, colorful headpieces and initial letters. The text is written in straight lines of the Old Church Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet. Byzantine traditions are traced in the ornaments. The "Ostromir Gospel" was written in a single copy.
It is obvious that a whole manuscript workshop took part in its creation. Unfortunately, we know only one of the masters - Deacon Gregory. He probably did most of the work. The postscript to the manuscript says that work on it lasted seven months. In the same colophon, Deacon Gregory also reports on the time and circumstances of writing ancient Russian book- the manuscript was commissioned by the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, who was sent to rule the Novgorod lands by the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich in 1054.
The "Ostromir Gospel" of Deacon Gregory and his unknown comrades is a most valuable monument of ancient Russian writing, language and fine arts. It is written in large, beautiful letters, and the size of the letters gradually increases towards the end of the book (from 5 to 7 millimeters). The text of the ancient book is written in two columns of 18 lines on pages measuring 20x24 centimeters, decorated with colorful initial letters, headpieces, images of evangelists, and cinnabar is used in places. The manuscript consists of 294 sheets of good quality parchment. There are several sheets with sewn-up cuts and holes (in places where gadflies have bitten), which appeared even before the text was written. Unlike other monuments of the 11th century in "Ostromir Gospel" correct transmission of reduced vowel sounds by letters is observed ъ And b. This phonetic feature was common to Old Church Slavonic and other Slavic languages, so the Russian copyist, according to tradition, conveyed it well in writing, although by that time it had already disappeared. Where in the 11th century there were differences between Old Church Slavonic and Russian features, the scribe unwittingly mixed them up. This allows us to identify the “Ostromir Gospel” as one of the first monuments of the Old Church Slavonic language of the Russian edition.
Like any other ancient book, The Ostromir Gospel has its own fascinating story. Until the beginning of the 18th century, however, its history is shrouded in darkness. In 1701, the manuscript was mentioned in the inventory of the property of the Resurrection Church as part of the Verkhospassky Cathedral. In 1720, by order of Peter I, the book was sent (along with other old books) to St. Petersburg. After the death of Catherine II, the manuscript was found in her chambers by Ya.A. Druzhinin, who served under the Empress, who in 1806 presented it as a gift to Emperor Alexander I, who, in turn, ordered the book to be transferred for storage to the Imperial Public Library (now the Russian National Library). library in St. Petersburg), where it is kept today.
The manuscript of the “Ostromir Gospel” was decorated with a binding with precious stones, which is why it almost died: in 1932, a plumber stole it after breaking a display case. The attacker, tearing off the binding, threw the manuscript into a closet (according to other sources, onto a closet), where it was soon found. Re-weave old book no longer.
From the beginning of the 19th century, scientific study of the manuscript began. The Ostromir Gospel was first published by Vostokov A.Kh. in 1843 with the appendix of a short grammar, dictionary and Greek interlinear text. For this typesetting edition, a special Slavic font was made that accurately reproduces the handwriting of the original (there is even a reprint made in Wiesbaden in 1964). Later, facsimile editions were also published: black and white - in 1883; color gift in original format - in Leningrad in 1988.
Excerpts from the Ostromir Gospel were included in the compulsory curriculum of pre-revolutionary schools. In 1955, Trey E.H. carried out the restoration of this manuscript. Based on this ancient Russian book Modern grammars and dictionaries of the Old Church Slavonic language were created. A lot of research has been devoted to the monument and its language, but the language of this manuscript still requires thorough study.
The most ancient books of Rus': Novgorod Codex
Speaking about the oldest handwritten book compiled in Rus', one cannot ignore this manuscript. The Ostromir Gospel, of course, holds the lead among the oldest books in the Russian language, for which the exact date of their writing has been reliably established. However, on July 13, 2000, during excavations (which had been going on there for the twenty-eighth year) by the Novgorod archaeological expedition led by Academician V.L. Yanin. In the layers of the first quarter of the 11th century, three wooden (linden) planks measuring 19x15x1 centimeters were discovered.Each board has a rectangular recess (15x11.5 cm), filled with wax; On the middle plank, such indentations are made on both sides. The boards have holes at the edges into which wooden pins are inserted to connect them into a single set. Thus, the ancient wooden book contained four wax pages (ceras). The outer sides of the first and last tablets acted as the covers of the codex.
Novgorod Code consists of linden tablets with four pages (cerae) covered with wax for writing with a stylus. According to stratigraphic, radiocarbon and paleographic data, the wax codex was used in the first quarter of the 11th century and, possibly, starting from the last years of the 10th century, so that it is several decades older than the Ostromir Gospel, which was considered the oldest book in Rus' with a precisely established date of writing . Thus, the Novgorod Code (or “Novgorod Psalter” - according to the highest quality readable text) - the oldest book of Rus'.
Cera is well preserved thanks to the marshy conditions in which it remained for about a thousand years. The uniqueness of the situation lies in the fact that the boards were thoroughly saturated with moisture and there was no access to oxygen; as a result, there were no living conditions for microorganisms that cause decay processes.
The dating of the Novgorod Codex is determined by the fact that it lay half a meter from the edge and 30 centimeters below the frame, which received a reliable dendrochronological date - 1036. This is the upper limit of the likely time for the planks to hit the ground. It is reasonable to consider the baptism of Rus' in 988 as the lower chronological limit of the creation of the code. At Uppsala University (Sweden's oldest university), radiocarbon dating of the wax was carried out, which with 84% probability indicates the year 1015 (plus or minus 35 years).
Earlier Slavic dated documents are only some ancient Bulgarian and Croatian inscriptions from the 10th century, but they cannot be classified as “books”. Therefore, for today Novgorod Psalter- the earliest monument to the Russian version of the Church Slavonic language and the oldest of the books of ancient Rus' that have come down to us, which do not have an exact dating.
In addition to the main text of the ancient book, researchers report the “reconstruction” of part of the previous (“hidden”) texts based on imprints and scratches of the stylus on wooden tablets under wax. The problem of restoring these texts lies primarily in the fact that very faint imprints of tens of thousands of letters are superimposed on each other, hardly distinguishable from random strokes and cracks on wood.
For example, among the “hidden texts” a worn-out inscription was read, which says that in 999 the monk Isaac was made priest in Suzdal in the church of St. Alexander the Armenian. It is possible that the monk Isaac was the author of the Novgorod Code and belonged to a heretical religious movement.
Handwritten ancient books of Kievan Rus of the 11th century
. An ancient Russian book that was copied in Kyiv for Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich. The ceremonial edition, which is an encyclopedia of various information, contains more than 400 sections from history, mathematics, natural science, grammar, philosophy and other areas. The book is written in Cyrillic script on parchment. The original, which served as the basis for the rewriting of the “Svyatoslav Collection”, is considered to be a Bulgarian collection created in the 10th century for Tsar Simeon. One of largest ancient books. The frontispieces are especially decorative - there are two of them in the book.Collection of Svyatoslav 1073. An ancient Russian book written by two scribes, one of whom worked on the Izbornik of 1073. In the text, the authors report that the manuscript was compiled “from many princely books.” The small-sized reference book also has encyclopedic content. There are no ceremonial illustrations in it. Compared to the Izbornik of 1073, the composition of the ancient book has been changed - there are more articles of religious content. Among the new texts is “A Word on Reading Books,” where the author teaches how to read a book.
Arkhangelsk Gospel of 1092. This ancient manuscript is unique from the point of view of linguistics, paleography and bibliology. It follows Old Russian spelling. Artistically, the publication is more than modest. The charter is written on parchment, without drawings or miniatures. But what is good are screensavers that are laconic in color, but harmonious in proportions and decorations. Dense, even lines are separated by a cinnabar line with initial letters only on rare pages. In 2000, the “Arkhangelsk Gospel” was included by UNESCO in the international Memory of the World register.
Novgorod service menaions for September 1095, October 1096 and November 1097. Menaions are liturgical books and books for reading, containing the “lives of saints,” stories about church holidays and teachings. Menaions for the service of menstruation contain texts for one month, arranged according to the days of each month, respectively, with holidays and days of remembrance of saints. The most ancient menaia have not reached us completely - each one is missing several leaves. The books are quite large for the 11th century: two of them contain more than 170 sheets, the third - more than 120 sheets. The Menaions were written for the Novgorod Lazarus Monastery. Today they are considered the oldest monuments of the Church Slavonic language, conveying the features of Old Russian northern dialects.
The very first printed Russian books
The Russian word “book” (originates from the Church Slavonic “knigy”) was well known to Slavic chronicle scribes back in the 14th century. However, at that time all ancient Russian books were handwritten. In Rus', the beginning of typographical book printing, as is known from school textbooks, dates back to the 16th century. It is connected with the names of the remarkable Russian master Ivan Fedorov and Belarusian Peter Mstislavets.The first Russian printing house was founded near the Moscow Kremlin, on Nikolskaya Street (then Nikolsky Krestets). Unlike the first European printing house of Johannes Gutenberg, who became the first printer of his own free will, the Moscow printing house was built by order of the tsar. Moreover, this construction lasted for almost ten years.
By the time of its creation, craftsmen in Rus' already had some experience in producing printed books. Back in 1553-1557, Russian masters, whose names have not yet been established, published two printed books. They are first Russian publications, coming out of the printing press. Their printing was not yet very skillful, the lines were not aligned, the pages were not numbered. There is a hypothesis that the first books in Rus' were printed by a certain Marusha Nefediev. He is mentioned in two letters from Ivan the Terrible as a “printing master.” It is possible that Ivan Fedorov knew about these first books. But, of course, his famous “Apostle” incomparably surpassed them in all his qualities.
So, when the printing yard was erected, on April 19, 1563, “the cunning masters of printing” began work on their first book, “The Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles.” This work lasted about a year. Ivan Fedorov did a huge amount of editorial work and designed the book according to all the rules of the printing art of that time. Now this antique book is a rarity!
On March 1, 1564, at the behest of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, with the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius of All Rus', the first Russian precisely dated book “The Apostle” was published - Ivan Fedorov went down in Russian history as the first printer. Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets began printing the Apostle on April 19, 1563. It was published in an unprecedented circulation for that time - about a thousand copies. Not a single foreign European printing house at that time printed its books in such quantities.
Ivan Fedorov also managed to surpass foreign printing technology - he printed his book in two colors, which foreign masters had not yet been able to do. After the canonical church text "Apostle" Ivan Fedorov added his afterword. In it he told how and when the book was created. The publication of "The Apostle" earned recognition even from such famous typographers and publishers of the 16th century as the Nuremberg master Anton Koberger and the Venetian scribe Aldus Manutius.
However, new trends in the book business caused a protest from the monastic scribes - their work was simply becoming financially unprofitable. The printers were accused of spreading heresy. In 1566, for an unknown reason, a fire occurred in their printing house, and they decided to urgently leave the capital of Muscovy. The pioneer printers fled to Lithuania, taking with them 35 engraved boards. Having been warmly received by the Polish king Sigismund, Ivan Fedorov found refuge with the Polish hetman Chodkiewicz, a philanthropist and educator, who founded a printing house on his estate.
But the book printing founded by Ivan Fedorov could no longer be stopped. In the 17th century, the Moscow printing house was already producing quite a lot of books, and some of them - “Psalter”, “Apostle”, “Service Book”, “Grammar” by Smotritsky - were published in several editions, and their circulation reached six thousand copies.
It is curious that Russian book publishers were the first in the world to become print books for children- in 1692, the first “Primer” was published for them in Moscow, compiled by the outstanding teacher Karion Istomin. The “Primer” contained many drawings that attracted the attention of “youths and young women,” as stated in the dedication. The book could really teach children, as Istomin called, “not by resorting to the rod, but by amusing.”
Tsar Peter the Great understood the meaning of the printed word well. He contributed greatly to the development of Russian book printing. With his participation, a civil script was introduced on January 1, 1708. Russian books of general education content, textbooks, and artistic works appeared. Books on new subjects began to differ from church books, which were printed in Cyrillic. From that time on, the number of church books began to steadily decrease, and the number of publications of secular literature increased.
New printing houses began to open in the Russian Empire. The only Moscow printing house in the country was supplemented by the St. Petersburg printing house in 1711, and ten years later by the Senate printing house. Russian printed books began to be sold in shops. In Moscow in the 17th century, the center of the book trade was Kitai-Gorod. According to the inventory of 1695, in Kitay-Gorod there were “...up to 72 rows of small shops, forming small narrow streets. There were rows for sash, mittens, stockings, shoe, boot, sole, fur, beaver, sable, and among them there was a row for icons and books." Maxim the Greek, the most educated man of the 16th century, mentioned these rows - apparently, they were the first Russian “marketplace” where you could buy a book.