The secularization of culture in the 17th century. Expansion of cultural ties with Europe

The 17th century is a transitional century for the national history and culture. This period is considered to be time. It was then that the preconditions for the famous Peter's reforms were formed in our country. The main component of this process is the secularization of culture.

Review of the era

The time under consideration is interesting in that stage, which clearly demonstrates that the reforms of Peter I did not arise out of nothing. They became a natural consequence of the entire previous development of the country. In this respect, the studied century is very revealing, because it was during this period that fundamental changes occurred in almost all spheres of public life. Changes have affected politics, economy, society. In addition, Russia began to play a prominent and prominent role in international relations in Western Europe. Therefore, the secularization of culture should be considered in the context of the above innovations.

Main directions of development

In previous centuries, religion occupied a defining place in the history and art of Russia. Power, society, and education were determined by it, which left a significant imprint on the way of life and thought of the population. However, in the 17th century a new development trend was emerging: ties with Western Europe expanded, so foreign achievements were leaked to our country. Educated circles of society began to show interest in secular knowledge, sciences, culture and, finally, the European way of life.

All this had a very marked effect on the life and everyday life of the Russian population. One more direction of development, which became apparent at the considered time, is the tendency to borrow major achievements and novelties from abroad. At first, only the closest proximate Moscow rulers and prominent aristocrats who could afford to buy expensive foreign goods were engaged in this. The number of such people slowly but steadily increased. This small stratum later became the support for Peter I in carrying out his reforms.

Prerequisites for change

The secularization of culture arose as a result of the entire preceding development of the history of Russia. The fact is that even in the Middle Ages Moscow princes invited foreigners to their yard for construction, as well as doctors, craftsmen, craftsmen and artists. A striking example is the invitation by Ivan III of the famous Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti to build the famous Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Another example is the work of the talented Greek artist Theophanes the Greek in Russia.

At the time being, such cases of contacting foreign masters were rare. But nevertheless they were indicative. First, they spoke about the tendency of Russian society to borrow Western European experience. Secondly, it became a prerequisite for such a phenomenon as the secularization of culture.

Household stories

The literature of the 17th century very clearly reflected this tendency to penetration of secular knowledge and achievements into art. The fact is that at the time being, new genres arose, the purpose of which was not only to teach, but also to entertain the reader. At the same time, the personality of a person, his aspirations and desire to break through in life, reach a certain position came to the forefront. These genres include the so-called everyday story. His examples were the works: "The Story of Savva Grudtsyne", "The Story of the Mountain and Wickedness" and others. Their peculiarity was that they paid special attention to depicting the unlike characters of characters, their hard share, everyday problems. And, most importantly, the authors began to pay great attention to the personal qualities of the actors.

Satire

Literature of the 17th century is also interesting because in it the satire took shape. The authors in a rather ironic form ridiculed the shortcomings of the modern bureaucracy. As a rule, officials, judges, bribery and embezzlement became the object of humor. Among the most famous works of this genre can be called "The Story of Shemyakin Court", "The Tale of Ersh Yershovich" and others. The appearance of works of this kind indicates that Russian culture has entered a new stage of development. The secular character of the literature was evident. And it spoke of serious changes in the public consciousness.

Historical works

The beginning of the century was marked by terrible shocks for the country. Troubles, dynastic coups, threats of state capture by the Poles, suppression of the dynasty - all this shocked, strongly influenced the opinion of society. People began to actively reflect on what had happened. Many chroniclers and authors in their writings tried to find the cause of this large-scale catastrophe, which shocked the Moscow state. These attempts to understand and understand what happened are also evidence of serious shifts in the views of the educated circles. Intellectuals began to analyze the changes that have taken place in the country. Thus, a new genre of historical narrative emerged, usually devoted to the vague time ("The Tale of 1606").

Change of outlook

People in the culture of the XVII century - this is one of the principal problems for understanding the question of what became the impetus to change in the art of our country in the time being studied. The matter is that the educated circles of a society have seriously become interested in secular knowledge. Many of the approximate kings of Mikhail and Alexei Romanovich adopted the achievements of the countries of Western Europe. But even in the urban environment, the reading public also became interested in secular literature, which also became a clear sign of the changes taking place.

People in the culture of modern times have become more receptive to secular and entertaining genres. They were interested in theater, stories, satire. The percentage of reading people has increased in comparison with the previous time. The number of books has increased, printed publications began to spread. The court set theatrical productions. All this testified to the serious changes in the worldview of the era, which became the ideological basis for Peter's transformations in the next century.

The most characteristic changes

The culture of the 17th century was a preparatory stage for the development of aristocratic and noble art under Peter I. New genres appeared in all areas of artistic creativity. For example, parsons were widely used - portraits of kings or other famous persons who did not convey similarities, however, in their essence were secular genre. Another significant change was that many representatives of the higher nobility were carried away by Western European luxury goods, which was not the case before. So, the approximate princess Sophia - Vasily Golitsyn - arranged in his mansion something like a collection of expensive goods brought from abroad. Many got books and libraries. All these changes have paved the way for the assimilation by the educated society of Western European art.

The public situation

The culture of the 17th century developed in close connection with the general political changes in the country. The fact is that at the considered time there was clearly a noticeable tendency to borrow advanced ideas and achievements from the West. True, these borrowings have not yet acquired such a wide scope as in the following century. However, the very fact was very revealing. For example, the changes were observed in the military sphere, when the first Romanovs began to create new regiments on a Western European model. According to the famous historian SM Solovyov, it was at this time "the people gathered on the road," that is, everything in the country was ripe for changes and reforms.

Spreading literacy

The areas of culture in which the changes occurred were: literature, painting, architecture. Concerning the literature, we have already spoken above. Here it should only be added that literacy in the country spread throughout the period under study. Especially actively produced books of civil content: the letters, grammar books. In addition, regular schools were opened. Among them is the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which has become one of the most famous educational institutions in Russia.

art

In the painting there were also changes. The process of secularization of culture has also affected this sphere, as discussed above. It should be added that some changes have touched iconography. Along with the traditional canonical letter, artists began to use the achievements of Western European art. For example, Fryazhsky style. The work of the painters was led by the Armory Chamber. And the most famous author-icon painter was Simon Ushakov.

Building

The changes of the century also affected such areas of culture as architecture and theater. In the 17th century stone construction was interrupted after the events of troubled times. It was forbidden to build churches in a tent-like style, since it was different from Byzantine. The temples were built with five domes in bulbous form. A new style has appeared: the so-called Naryshkin Baroque. Its peculiarity was the use of red and white flowers, as well as a wealth of jewelry. The secularization of Russian culture in the period under consideration was manifested in the fact that civil construction has increased. The most famous monuments are the Terem Palace in the Kremlin, merchant's chambers and other buildings.

New fashion

The fundamental change in style in appearance is usually attributed to the time of Peter Alekseevich. He in a rather sharp and eccentric form forced his confidants and all noblemen to wear a West European dress, shave their beards, and the ladies obliged to dress in magnificent outfits that were in the course of foreign fashioners. However, the clothing of the 17th century has already undergone some changes. Thus, at the court of the predecessors of the first emperor, it was already possible to see nobles in German suits. The above-mentioned Golitsyn also adhered to Western European fashion.

Period value

The history of Russian culture includes several stages: the ancient period, princely, Medieval Russia, modern times, the nineteenth century, the Soviet and modern stage. In the list, the century under study occupies a special place, since it became a preparatory stage for the radical transformations of Peter I. At that time, the prerequisites for the establishment of secular knowledge in science and culture were established. Some researchers even tend to see the spread of educational ideas in our country. The secularization of Russian culture in the 17th century affected all areas of life. And this is its fundamental difference from the art of the whole previous period, when the borrowing of Western European achievements and novelties was sporadic, and secular knowledge was extremely poorly developed.

Place in the pan-European development

The cultures of the world, with all their diversity, nevertheless have one common general line of change. At the very beginning of their appearance, they are distinguished by deep religiosity. Faith penetrates into all spheres of society and determines their characteristics. But gradually, secular knowledge penetrates into art and social consciousness, which changes the world outlook of people. With the preservation of the dominant religion, masters begin to show greater interest in the human person, worldly concerns.

In this respect, the culture and way of life of the 17th century in Russia went the same way of development as the Western European countries. However, in our state religious consciousness still largely determined the socio-political and cultural life. The fact is that in Western European countries secular knowledge began to spread already in the XII-XIII centuries. And in our country only in the period under review. In this regard, religion and in the next centuries occupied a prominent place in the life of society.

Relations with the West

During this time, Russia's relations with Europe expanded. Foreign masters began to play a big role in the cultural development of our country. For example, the Greek brothers founded the famous Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Simeon of Polotsk, a Byelorussian by origin, played a major role in spreading the enlightenment at the royal court. He contributed to the development of fiction and poetry.

In the same century, our country began to play a prominent role in the international arena, joining the coalitions of Western European states. For example, Russia took part in the Thirty Years' War. All this could not but affect the domestic political life of the country, which felt itself to be part of the European space. Changes in the worldview have been reflected not only on cultural and educational policies, but also in everyday life. And even the clothes of the 17th century testified that educated circles of society felt a keen interest in their neighbors.

Tradition of culture

Despite all the abovementioned achievements, Russian art remained rather conservative. Although many have adopted the achievements of Western European countries, a significant part of the society nevertheless extremely negatively treated domestic innovations and various foreign novelties. It is not surprising that Peter's reforms were perceived as something alien and alien to the Russian spirit. Therefore, in this sense, the secularization of culture should be spoken with reservations and very cautiously.

Those changes that have occurred in society undoubtedly give grounds to call this stage a special, important period in development. However, we should not discount the fact that in many respects, Russian culture has retained its traditional features inherent only in it. First of all, this, of course, concerns the human worldview. Having adopted clothes, fashion, many circles of society nevertheless remained faithful to ancient customs, traditions, habits. This became particularly evident during the reign of Peter I. The tsar had to face the boyar opposition, which did not want to accept his innovations. At the same time, the first emperor found support among those who pursued a course of rapprochement with Western Europe.