О работе автора Киевской летописи

Электронный научно-образовательный журнал "История". 2022. Т. 13. № 5 (115).

Лавренченко М. Л.

Among the study methods of the Old Rus’Chronicles, there are both macro approaches, when the entire source is analyzed, and micro approaches, when certain linguistic features or episodes of the narrative are examined. Considering the specific peculiarities of the Kyivan Chronicle, it seems reasonable to follow a middle path, which implies choosing the groups of princely “speeches” restricted to the entries within the chronological period of 1146–1154. Each group should be related to a single political situation and contain a unified phraseology. The following series of messages stand out among these groups: a series of messages of Izyaslav Mstislavich and Izyaslav and Vladimir Davydovichy, in which the rulers appeal to the previously concluded agreements, using the figures of speech and formulas from agreement’s texts; a series of "drafts" of the future treaty, which can be found in the “speeches” of Izyaslav Mstislavich, Geza II and Vladimir Volodarevich; Izyaslav and Vyacheslav’s message to Geza II, repeated twice in the chronicle; the “speeches”, bearing clear signs of being fabled by the chronicler. The consideration of this material allowed us to offer a new look at one of the works of the Kyivan Chronicle’s author, who did not only meticulously record the stages of the treaty’s conclusion and the actions of each participant, but also described preparatory procedures, as well as the results of agreements, and the forms of later references to them. All this indicates that the chronicler’s focus was not only Rurikovichy’s relations, but also the work of the ambassador himself, where his own experience seems to have played an important role.

Keywords: историописание, textology, текстология, Ипатьевская летопись, Historical Writing, Kyivan Chronicle, Киевская летопись, writing practices, Hypatian Codex, летописные практики