Old Russian written historical source. Types of historical sources

The historian usually deals with the phenomena of the past, as a result of which there is no possibility of direct observation of their progress. Nevertheless, research should be carried out objectively, without prejudice, without a conjuncture approach to their evaluation. This can only be achieved through careful work with historical sources.

General information

Even at school, students take in hand some historical sources (grade 5). Under the program, children are given some initial information on the subject under consideration. Studying of historical sources assumes not only acquaintance with them. During the learning process, students evaluate, compare information obtained from different authors.

Terminology

According to Klyuchevsky, historical sources represent a certain category of monuments. They reflect the extinct life of whole societies and individuals. Thanks to this or that information, history is supplemented. Historical sources can reflect the process of both the formation and development of society. According to the definition given by Tikhomirov, one can say that the information that has survived in one form or another is the remnant of life in the past. According to one of the scientific interpretations, historical sources contain information about real phenomena in social life and human activity that occurred in previous centuries. Combining the above definitions, we can form a general concept. The historical sources of Russia are cultural objects and documents reflecting directly the processes of the past. They recorded the accomplished events and certain facts. Next, consider what historical sources are.

Varieties

The study of historical sources is carried out within the framework of a special science. Discipline also examines the methods of their identification, gives an assessment. This science is called "source study". Within the discipline, several categories of researched information are distinguished. There are the following types of historical sources:

• Ethnographic.
• Phono and photo documents.
• Real.
• Written.

These are the main historical sources. They are the most accessible reflect the events of the past. Speaking about what kind of historical sources there are, it is necessary to mention both pictorial and behavioral varieties.

Real objects

The classification of historical sources was presented above. Depending on the category to which this or that subject belongs, the method of its investigation is chosen. For example, work with historical sources of a material species is carried out within the framework of such a science as archeology. To this category include any objects of the past, utensils, household items, handicrafts, tools, clothing, ornaments, treasures, burial, coins and so on. It should also be said that archeology explores other types of historical sources. They include, in particular, photo and ordinary documents. Analysis of the historical source allows you to restore this or that period of the past of mankind. Investigating the information, specialists reconstruct the social and economic development of society.

Old Russian written historical source

This category includes literary monuments of a particular era. As an example, birchbark can be cited. Among the documents found in Smolensk, Nizhny Novgorod, Pskov and other cities there are letters of administrative nature from feudal lords to dependent people, complaints from peasants, reports written by village headmen, usurious and economic records, drafts of wills. Also among the found papers there are reports of military and political content, judicial provisions, student exercises.

One of the main documents of the past

The classification of historical sources presented above is considered to be general. Each category has its own subgroups. So, written sources include not only birch bark letters, but also annals. The latter are considered one of the main documents of the past. Considering the ancient Russian written historical source, it should be said that it retains reliable information about the lives of people of previous centuries. The works have a textual structure, presented in the form of a narrative of events by years.

Written language in Russia was preceded by oral creativity. His keeper was directly the people. The first chroniclers who appeared in Russia were able to collect information about the past for several centuries. As a result, they recreated the previous chronology of events. Ancient Russian historical source contains information about marches, the founding of cities, treaties. In the works real characteristics are given to the princes, it is told about the settlement of the tribes. Knowledge passed down from generation to generation. Carrying out an analysis of the historical source, the researchers concluded that all the information the authors drew from folklore. And this is quite understandable. Traditions, songs, legends, fairy tales were the great unwritten history of Ancient Rus.

Old Russian chronicles as a historical source

In the documents that have survived to this day, numerous remains of legends, songs and legends have been preserved. Using them, the scribes of Ancient Rus filled the lack of material on the history of their land. Folklore became the basis for restoring the chronology of the events of the past. In oral creativity was the self-consciousness of the people, which enabled the history to grow and develop. The centuries that adjoined directly to the activities of the first authors of the 9th and 10th centuries gave much more material borrowed from folklore than the preceding ones.

Knowledge base

It is easy to distinguish the main types of works that were used in compiling the weather description. One of the main were numerous legends. These works were associated with cities, villages, burial grounds, tracts, common throughout the Russian plain. It is characteristic that the earliest memories are closely related to the pre-Christian, pagan cult of ancestors. However, the closer to the time of the authors themselves, the more clearly the historical information is traced and the interest to the past of the country is more clearly highlighted. The self-consciousness of the people becomes more intensive and is introduced into the chronological framework.

Form of works

The type and nature of the arches in which the ancient Russian written source was clothed had its own peculiarities. The shape of the vaults, in particular, was closely related to the consciousness of the authors themselves. Medieval works were mainly composed to preserve the source text as a basis in the new document. Readers in those days were interested not in the realism of the image, but in reality itself. They were attracted by the events and documentary records. Along with this, often the reader took for a story tales of miracles, phenomena, signs and other phenomena.

Features of the presentation

Old Russian historians gave new author's texts about contemporary events for them. The narrative was about the phenomena to which the author was a witness. The works were constantly supplemented, new entries were added to the text. Up until the 16th century, history did not contain complete periods - it lasted until the time in which the chronicler lived. Each author sought to bring the work to "the prince of the present." In the final records was particularly valuable material. In them the author did not write excerpts from previous works, but set forth his own thoughts. That is why the ancient Russian written historical source is virtually incomplete. The end of the work has always been somehow elusive, smoothly turning into the present. The continuation of history, the "lively outcome" can be defined as a peculiar perception, which affected the form of arches. This transition from the past to the present was a mix of old, documentarily valuable material and new records to events that are contemporary to the author.

Drawing up descriptions

The authors, while creating the works, cared mainly for the work of their predecessors to fall into their hands. Important for them were and various historical documents. These included, in particular, messages, contracts, princely wills, the lives of saints, novels and so on. After all available material was collected, in some cases very diverse and numerous, and sometimes two or three works, the author made a weather description. The annals were joined year after year. At the same time, the author tried to avoid repetition. He had a statement under the year of his residence, the life of a saint - under the date of his death. In the materials there could be a historical story that took several years. In this case, the author broke it into periods, placing each under a certain year. This construction enabled the chronicler to make changes in each of the described years.

This work can not be called a mechanical one. In some cases, the author had to eliminate the contradictions that were encountered, to carry out quite complex chronological studies to accurately place the information by year. The Chronicler could have missed events, based, for example, on his political views, or made a selection of news. In some works, one can find brief comments by the originator. But along with this the author did not invent anything new. At the end of the work of the procurer, the chronicler proceeded to describe the events contemporary to him.

Class coloring of works

Ancient Russian written historical source is not only a collection of past narratives. In the works, various ideologies were reflected. From the very beginning of its existence the annals received a class coloring of a certain character. The work was in some way a monument. The document was compiled in the upper strata of the Old Russian society, mainly in circles close to the prince. In connection with this, the central figures in the works were the big feudal lords: bishops and princes. The Chronicler always turns his attention towards the top of society.

Laurentian Description

This chronicle is dated 1377 year. In its composition, the monk Lavrenty and several other authors participated. The work is presented in the form of a parchment manuscript. It contains a copy of the vault from 1305. Under the guidance of a monk, a group of copyists in 1377 compiled this work on the orders of Prince Dmitry (Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod). The text begins with the "Tale of Bygone Years" and ends in 1305. At the same time, the work contains no events of some years. The Code of 1305 contained information about events that occurred during the period when the great Vladimir prince was Mikhail Yaroslavovich. It is based on the narrative of 1281, supplemented by 1282-m. The Laurentian Chronicle was compiled in the Annunciation Monastery of Nizhny Novgorod or in the Vladimir Christmas Parish. In 1792 it was acquired by AI Musin-Pushkin and presented to Alexander the First. Later the manuscript was transferred to the Public Library (today named after Saltykov-Shchedrin). There it is kept to this day.

Ipatiev arch

This manuscript is considered the oldest monument, one of the earliest chronicles. The collection received its name from the location of the list in Kostroma, in the Ipatiev Monastery. The manuscript consists of three parts. The first is the "Tale of Bygone Years," the second is the Kiev chronicle of the late 12th century, and the third contains primarily Galician-Volhynian narratives. The Ipatiev arch is considered to be the most valuable work, in which descriptions of events in the southwestern part of the country at the end of the 13th century are collected. A distinctive feature of the chronicle is the secular style of some stories. Many Galician-Volhynian narratives are characterized by a bright, imaginative language, thanks to which the arch can be raised to the level of a poetic work.

Novgorod I story

This chronicle is considered the most important source, telling about the socio-political history of Russians, and in particular, Novgorod lands 11-17-th centuries. This arch influenced the all-Russian tales of the second half of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. In general, the ideology of the ruling strata of society was expressed in the works. However, the Novgorod authors often took the side of the working people. Very interesting records for the period of formation of a single state of Russian. They allow us to supplement and clarify the information of Tver, Moscow and other authors. Novgorod chronicles in the publications are conditionally designated by five numbers. The oldest part is the First arch. It describes the events brought to the thirties of the 14th century. The composition of the arch contains "Russian Truth" in a short version and a legal collection containing several legislative monuments. In the annals there are mainly records from the second decade of the XII century. The significance of the Novgorod I arch is revealed in the writings of Shakhmatov. In the course of the research, it was revealed that the Early Vault was reflected in the early works at the end of the XI century. He preceded the "Tale of Bygone Years".

Value of arches

It should be noted that even today the chronicle does not lose its historical and cognitive, but educational meaning. Vaults continue to teach a deep respect for the glorious past of the people. The chronicle still contributes to the upbringing of patriotic noble ideas.

Other documents

Considering the historical sources of Russia, one can not help but mention the memories of foreigners who had to visit the native land. It should be noted that the first and rather large scientific work of Klyuchevsky was the Ph.D. thesis on legends of foreigners about the state of Moscow. This work was published in the form of a monograph. To written historical sources should also include legislative acts, government documents, forensic and statistical materials, international agreements. The researchers learned the most important information about past events from private mail messages, diaries. In later periods, a group of written sources included transcripts of meetings of leading ranks of political parties and social movements, brochures, programs, memoirs, leaflets, periodicals (magazines and newspapers), and other documents.

The purpose of research data

Collections of documents of a large volume on the activities of municipal and state institutions and various public organizations and individuals are concentrated in the archives. They provide for the acquisition, storage and further use of information. The comprehensive application of all historical sources enables researchers to reconstruct past events as objectively as possible.

Monuments of spiritual and material culture

Ethnographic sources include elements of the traditional, everyday life and life of the people. This category includes, in particular, tools, tools, adaptations for farming, pottery, dishes, dwelling, decoration and furnishings in it, food, a folk toy. This includes the farm buildings, clothing and fabrics, including national costume, ornament, embroidery and so on. The category of ethnographic sources also includes the phenomena of the people's spiritual life. They include family and calendar rituals, traditions, folk beliefs, folklore, genres and forms of national songs, dances, proverbs, tales, legends, riddles, conspiracies, legends.

Other monuments of the past

To the fine sources include some or other works of art, including rock paintings, individual items and collections of paintings, sculptures, graphics. The group of behavioral sources includes rituals (military, labor, holiday, etc.), fashion, customs, elements of prestige.

New methods of documentation

These ways of collecting and preserving information have become quite widespread. New methods have emerged as a result of scientific discoveries, the development of technology, inventions, and those or other studies. These documentary sources include, for example, film, audio, and photographic materials. Such methods of information collection are called audiovisual. They contain information for the reproduction of which you need appropriate equipment. As a rule, these sources are considered comprehensively. This is due to the fact that they are very similar in the technique of reproduction and creation, the nature of information, the method of coding and the organization of their storage. Currently, many film, photo, video and audio documents are contained on digital media. This ensures the safety of information and the ability to use them in studies many times by different specialists.