SECOND PERIOD, FROM THE TATÁR DOMINION TO THE TIME OF IVÁN THE TERRIBLE,
1224-1330.
During the Tatár Dominion, or yoke (1224-1370), Kíeff lost its
supremacy, and also ceased to be, as it had been up to this time, the
center of education and literature. The dispersive influence of the
Tatár raids had the effect of creating centers in the northeast, which
were, eventually, concentrated in Moscow; and in so far it proved a
blessing in disguise for Russia. The conditions of life under the Tatár
sway were such, that any one, man or woman, who valued a peaceful
existence, or existence at all, was driven to seek refuge in
monasteries. The inevitable consequence was, that a religious, even an
æsthetic, cast was imparted to what little literature was created. One
celebrated production, dating from about the middle of the fourteenth
century, will serve to give an idea of the sort of thing on which men
then exercised their minds and pens. It is the Epistle of Archbishop
Vasíly of Nóvgorod to Feódor, bishop of Tver, entitled, "Concerning the
Earthly Paradise," wherein the author discusses a subject of contention
which had arisen among the clergy of the latter's diocese, as to
"whether the earthly paradise planted by God for Adam doth still exist
upon the earth, or whether not the earthly but only an imaginary
paradise doth still exist." The worthy archbishop, with divers
arguments, defends his position, that the earthly paradise does still
exist in the East, and hell in the West: which latter proposition is not
surprising when we recall the historical circumstances under which it
was enounced.
The monks continued to be the leaders in the educational and literary
army, and under the stress of circumstances, not only won immense
political influence over the life of the people, but also developed a
new and special type of literature--political sermons--which attained to
particular development in the fourteenth century. Another curious
phenomenon was presented by the narratives concerning various prominent
personages, which contain precious facts and expressions of contemporary
views. The authors always endeavored, after the time-honored fashion of
biographers, to exalt and adorn their subjects; so that "decorated
narratives," a most apt title for that sort of literature in general,
was the characteristic name under which they came to be known. One
peculiarity of all of these, it is worth noting, including that which
dealt with the decisive battle with the Tatárs on the field of Kulikóvo,
on the Don, in 1370, under Dmítry Donskóy (Dmítry of the Don), Prince of
Moscow, is, that they are imitated, in style and language, from the
famous "Word Concerning Ígor's Raid."
Among the many purely secular tales of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries preserved in manuscript, not one has anything in common with
Russian national literature. All are translations, or reconstructions of
material derived from widely divergent sources, such as the stories of
Alexander of Macedon, of the Trojan War, and various Oriental tales.
About the middle of the sixteenth century, Makáry, metropolitan of
Moscow, collected, in twelve huge volumes, the Legends (or Spiritual
Tales) of the Saints, under the title of Tchetyá Mináya--literally,
Monthly Reading. It was finished in 1552, and contains thirteen hundred
Lives of Saints.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
1. What was the effect of the Tatár raids upon Kíeff?
2. What striking illustration have we of the weak religious
literature of this time?
3. What were the "decorated narratives"? To what famous epic
are they similar in style?
4. What foreign character have the secular tales of this
period?
5. What famous collection of Legends of the Saints was made in
the sixteenth century?