The most interesting traditions and rituals of the Russian people. Old Russian customs - a storehouse of all kinds of rituals

Russian spirituality, language and Slavic culture were laid during the development, this is one of the main milestones in history. The formation of ancient Russian culture took place along with the formation of the state system in Rus', it was during this period that society developed intensively in three directions: economic, cultural and political. The culture of a people is largely determined by its way of life. Old Russian traditions were formed in constant agreement with the culture of neighboring states. Religion had a great impact on culture, which determined the moral foundations of the people and their ideas about the world. At that time, the Slavs were, that is, they believed in gods personifying natural phenomena. Basically, traditions came into everyday life from pagan rites. After all, pagan rituals and holidays were distinguished by their diversity and were universally recognized. And later, with the adoption, thanks to the union with Constantinople and initiation into the Christian world, cultural ties expanded. All original, primitive cultural baggage of ancient Russian traditions and customs is the property of Russian culture.

Holidays.

Holidays, games, feasts not only brightened up the everyday life of the people of Ancient Rus' (see article), but also made the world around and temporary changes (for example, the change of seasons or a certain favorable time for harvest) more understandable and have some meaning. Before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs had their own calendar, which was associated with the cyclical nature of natural phenomena, such days as
- Christmas time (the main winter holiday, which marked the beginning of the new year and the end of the old one);
- Kolyada (the birthday of the god of light and warmth, during this period the people called for spring);
- Maslenitsa (seeing off winter, waiting for a fertile summer);
- Kupalo (the holiday is associated with the summer solstice).
The main features of all festivities in everyday life: rituals are associated with the gods of Ancient Rus' and nature, the sun is the main deity, the important role of women in rituals, fortune-telling, ritual meals. The goals of these festivities were often determined by the various needs of the people, which were of a domestic nature, for example, asking for fertility or rain, protecting their family from evil spirits, diseases, and so on.

Family customs and customs.

Family and marriage relations were regulated by folk customs and social norms. Household features of the family:
— Collective property,
— General economy,
- The head of the family is the eldest man, who was the bearer of unquestioning power, the representative of the whole family, the main worker, on whom the material condition and moral position in the society of his relatives depended;
- The eldest woman is the manager of family supplies and all household chores, who, in the long absence of the head of the family, took over his functions.
In the family upbringing of the younger generation, in addition to parents, grandparents took part, who devoted the rest of their lives to their grandchildren.
Many ancient Russian traditions are associated with the wedding. Marriage was carried out either by agreement and agreement of older relatives, or by "kidnapping", that is, by stealing the bride. The wedding was a sequential performance of rituals determined by traditions:
- Matchmaking (negotiations of the parties on the possibility of marriage, the proposal always came from the young man's family);

Glancing (visiting relatives of the maiden of the family of the wooer);

Smotriny (presentation of the betrothed girl to the relatives of the young man);

Conspiracy (the final decision to marry and hold the wedding itself, the conspiracy ended with a traditional handshake, that is, the fathers of the betrothed children beat their hands in a big way, wrapping them in scarves or sheepskin; after that, the bride had to mourn her girlhood, wore strict clothes and a scarf, little spoke; the groom, on the contrary, arranged festivities with his friends);

Loaf ritual (baking a loaf as a symbol of the birth of a new life, wealth and prosperity in everyday life; this ritual was performed by young women who were happy in family life and had healthy children; guests were treated to the loaf itself after their wedding night);
- Podvenyokha (bachelorette party, was a series of rituals on the eve of the wedding, marking the transition of the girl into the life of a married woman);
– Wedding train (departure of the bride and groom to the church for the wedding);

Wedding (marriage in the church, the main wedding ceremony);

Prince's table (wedding feast);
- Wedding night (It was customary to spend the night in another house. This tradition appeared due to the belief about an evil force that was sent to the house in which the wedding itself was celebrated.);
- Povivanie young (change of girlish hairstyles and headdress for women);

Otvodina (a feast for the newlyweds in the house of a young wife).

There were also many rituals and traditions associated with the birth of children, the purpose of which was to protect the child from evil spirits and arrange his future as best as possible.

military traditions.

The military art of the Slavs of Ancient Rus' (see article) was reflected in the history of Russia. The Old Russian state spent most of its existence in raids and wars, as a result of which a rich experience of military skill was accumulated. Ancient Russian traditions began to take shape from time immemorial, which are associated with the awareness of one's own dignity and honor, the obligatory knowledge of military affairs, military courage and mutual assistance. Weapons were an obligatory subject of warrior rituals, and the dance with weapons (combat dance) had a cult character and was passed down from generation to generation, becoming a military tradition. The warrior had to be able not only to use weapons, but also to repair them. Even military equipment necessarily included repair tools. In addition to training in the squad, the warriors themselves arranged ritual games, fistfights on holidays, which have become traditional for the people. An important period in the life of a young man was initiation into warriors, for this it was necessary to gain knowledge and skills, pass tests, which was also a military tradition in Rus'. Military initiation took place in several stages (circles):
– Check for physical and moral resistance to various tests;
— Test by fire, earth and water. (this involved walking barefoot along a path of hot coals, the ability to swim and hide under water, spending several days in a hole without food);
- Checking military skills and mastery (battle with experienced warriors, the ability to hide from persecution and pursue yourself).
Since the formation of Ancient Rus' as a state, the Russian people have guarded and bravely defended their homeland from enemies. Over the course of many centuries, military traditions developed that determined the outcome of bloody battles and became the basis for the military skills of the ancient Slavs.

Old Russian rituals originate in pagan times. Not even Christianity could destroy their power. Many traditions have come down to our times.

How did the old Russian rites appear?

The most important old Russian rituals are associated with elemental forces, or rather with their natural mystical side. The basis of the life of every peasant was hard land work, so most of the traditions were associated with coaxing rain, sun and harvest.

During the seasons, a certain amount was used aimed at improving the harvest and protecting livestock. Among the most important sacraments, baptism and communion are in the first place.

Caroling is a ritual of the Christmas holidays, during which the participants of the ceremony receive treats for performing special songs in the homes of relatives and friends. It was believed that during Christmas time, the sun receives a huge amount of energy to awaken the earth and nature.

Now caroling has remained a tradition associated with Slavic history, both in Ukraine and in Belarus. Divination is considered one of the components of the ritual. Many experts in the mystical sphere claim that during this period you can get the most accurate predictions.

The end of March is considered the period of the equinox, in which Shrovetide rites are held. As the personification of the pagan god Yarilo, pancakes are considered a traditional dish of this holiday.

Not a single Maslenitsa will be considered complete without burning an effigy on the last day of the celebration. The doll symbolizes the end of severe cold and the arrival of spring. At the end of the burning, Maslenitsa transfers its energy to the fields, giving them fertility.

In mythology, he is considered a powerful deity associated with the worship of the power of the Sun. In early times, it was held on the day of the summer solstice, but over time it was associated with the birthday of John the Baptist. All ritual actions take place at night.

Flower wreaths, which are used for divination, are considered a symbol of the ceremony. On this day, unmarried girls float their wreath down the river in order to find their betrothed with it.

There is a belief that a rare fern flower blooms on this night, indicating ancient treasures and treasures. However, it is almost impossible for an ordinary person to find it. Chants, round dances around the fire and jumping over the fire became an invariable part of the holiday. This helps to cleanse the negative and improve health. In addition, separate

Among all sorts of ancient customs, you can stumble upon rather strange and incomprehensible rites:

Daughterhood

This was the name of the intimate relationship between the father-in-law and the son's wife. Officially, this was not approved and was considered a minor sin. The fathers tried to send their sons under any pretext for a long time, so that the daughter-in-law would not have the opportunity to refuse. Nowadays, law enforcement agencies deal with such things, but in those days there was no one to complain to.

dump sin

Now this sin can be observed in special German-made films, and many years ago it was staged in Russian villages on. After the traditional activities, the couples would leave to look for fern flowers. But this was just an excuse to retire and indulge in carnal pleasures.

Gasky

The custom is known from the words of the traveler Roccolini. All the young people of the village converged in one house, sang songs and danced under the torches. When the light went out, everyone began to indulge in carnal pleasures with the first one that came to hand. Whether the traveler himself participated in such a rite is unknown.

overbaking

The rite was used in cases of the birth of a premature baby in the family. If the mother's body could not give the baby the necessary strength, then it should have been baked. The newborn was wrapped in unleavened dough, leaving one spout, and baked, pronouncing special words. Of course, the oven must be warm, then the bundle was laid out on the table. It was believed that this cleanses the baby from diseases.

Scarier than pregnant

Our ancestors were very sensitive to childbirth. They believed that during pregnancy, the child goes through a difficult path to the world of the living. The very process of birth is very complicated, and midwives made it even harder. Near the woman in labor, they rattled loudly and shot, so that it would be easier for the child to go out into the light with the mother's fright.

Salting

In addition to Rus', such a ritual was carried out in France and England. He provided for the addition of strength to children from salt. The child was completely rubbed with salt and wrapped in a cloth, more prosperous people buried it completely. All the skin could peel off the child, but at the same time he became healthier.

Rite of the Dead

Otherwise, this ritual is called a wedding. In ancient times, a white dress and a veil were considered funeral clothes. Marriage is associated with the new birth of a woman, but for a new birth one must die. Hence the belief that the bride should be mourned as a dead woman. When handing over the ransom, the groom, as it were, was looking for her in the world of the dead and brought her to the light. The bridesmaids acted as guardians of the underworld.

The synthetic form of culture is rites, customs, traditions and rituals, i.e. what are called patterns of behavior. Rituals are standard and repetitive team activities held at a set time and on a special occasion to influence the behavior and understanding of employees of the organizational environment. The strength of the rite is in its emotional and psychological impact on people. In the ritual, not only the rational assimilation of certain norms, values and ideals takes place, but also the participants in the ritual action empathize with them.

Rituals are a system of rituals. Even certain managerial decisions can become organizational rituals that employees interpret as part of the organizational culture. Such rites act as organized and planned actions of great "cultural" significance.

In the daily life of an enterprise, rituals perform a dual function: they can strengthen the structure of an enterprise, and on the other hand, by obscuring the true meaning of the actions performed, they can weaken it. In positive cases, the rituals are stage performances of works of fundamental importance. Rituals symbolize the beliefs that play a significant role in the enterprise. In combination with outstanding events, rituals directly and indirectly highlight the image of the enterprise and the value orientations that dominate it.

Rituals of recognition, such as anniversaries, celebrations of success in foreign service, public incentives, participation in incentive trips - all these events should demonstrate what the interests of the enterprise are, what is rewarded and what is solemnly celebrated.

A similar function is performed by the so-called initiating rituals, which are usually performed when joining a team. They must clearly demonstrate to the new member what is really valued in the firm. If a freshly minted graduate engineer, who graduated from an elite university, is given a broom in the very first days of his service career in the representative office of a company in South America and is offered to start sweeping the premises, then this can cause disappointment and confusion in a young person. At the same time, he is immediately made to understand that at this enterprise, first of all, it is not formal education that is valued, but personal participation in business. A parallel can be drawn with enterprises specializing in the production of high-quality products, where almost everyone, regardless of education, starts in sales.

In the negative case, the relationship between rituals and value orientations is lost. In this case, the rituals turn into an unnecessary, prim and ultimately ridiculous formality, with the help of which they try to kill time, evade decision-making, avoid conflicts and confrontations.

The most typical example of this in ordinary life is the negotiation of tariff agreements, especially when this was preceded by workers' protests. Dramaturgy prohibits reaching an agreement during the working day. No, we have to fight all night, and the new tariff agreement should be signed as soon as possible before dawn, so that union representatives and employers, completely exhausted, can appear in front of the cameras in the first rays of the sun.

And at enterprises one can often observe how rituals turn into an end in themselves, how they become ballast in the process of implementing the main active installations.

Rituals occupy an important place within the culture of the enterprise. At the same time, it is necessary to check whether they really convey value orientations that are relevant for everyday life as well.

A custom is a form of social regulation of the activities and attitudes of people taken from the past, which is reproduced in a particular society or social group and is familiar to its members. The custom consists in steadfast adherence to the prescriptions received from the past. Various rituals, holidays, production skills, etc. can act as a custom. A custom is an unwritten rule of conduct.

Traditions are elements of social and cultural heritage that are passed down from generation to generation and preserved in a particular community for a long time. Traditions function in all social systems and are a necessary condition for their life. A disdainful attitude to tradition leads to a violation of continuity in the development of society and culture, to the loss of the valuable achievements of mankind. Blind worship of tradition breeds conservatism and stagnation in public life.

Ancient wedding ceremonies

Wedding ceremonies in Russia developed around the 15th century. The main components of wedding ceremonies are as follows:

Matchmaking- a wedding ceremony in which the prior consent of the bride's relatives for the wedding was obtained.

Smotriny- a wedding ceremony in which the matchmaker / (matchmaker), the groom, the groom's parents could see the future bride and evaluate her strengths and weaknesses. Brides were held after the matchmaking, before the handshake.

handshake(collusion, binge, zaruchiny, wooing, arches) - part of the wedding ceremony, during which a final agreement was reached on the wedding.

Vytiye- wedding ceremony, ritual lamentation. Occurs on the half of the bride. Its purpose is to show that the girl lived well in the house of her parents, but now she has to leave. The bride said goodbye to her parents, friends, will.

hen-party- a wedding ceremony, the day before the wedding, or the days from handshaking to the wedding.

Redemption, scolding- a wedding ceremony in which the groom took the bride from home.

sacrament of wedding

Church marriage or wedding is a Christian sacrament of blessing the bride and groom, who have expressed a desire to live together as husband and wife during their later life.

wedding feast- a wedding ceremony in which a wedding was celebrated over food and drink with jokes and toasts.

holiday ceremonies

Cover

IN Veil Day (October 14) the girls ran to church early in the morning and lit a candle for the holiday. There was a belief: whoever puts a candle first, he will get married sooner.

Soon, girls, cover,

We'll have a party soon

Will play soon

Dear talyanochka.

You will have a fun Pokrov - you will find a friend.

In some areas, it is customary to put coins in glasses for the bride and groom. Newlyweds should keep these coins on their table under the tablecloth, which will always ensure prosperity in the house.

If a girl spills some drink on the tablecloth at dinner, this portends a drunkard husband.

In other places, the newlyweds had to sleep on rye sheaves. And these sheaves should be an odd number, say, 21. If this condition was met, then this meant that they would not need anything.

On a holiday, girls go to church and put candles in front of the icon of the Intercession of the Mother of God and say: “Protection is the Most Holy Theotokos, cover my poor head with a pearl kokoshnik, a golden cuff.” And if at such a moment a bewildered guy threw a veil over the head of a girl he liked, then she unquestioningly became his wife - noted one Arab writer who visited Rus' in the 12th century.

Christmas time

Christmas divination

Young people of both sexes gather for the evening, take rings, rings, cufflinks, earrings and other small things and put them under the dish along with slices of bread, and cover everything with a clean towel, napkin or fly (a piece of cloth). After that, those participating in divination sing a song dedicated to bread and salt, and then other observant (Christmas, fortune-telling) songs. At the end of each, turning away, one object is taken out from under the closed dish, which first came to hand. It's kind of like a house lottery. A song was used for this rite, from the content of which a prediction was derived. But since things taken out from under the dish do not always come across to those to whom they belong, a ransom of things is awarded on this occasion. To the last one, who has already taken out the last thing from under the dish, they usually sing a wedding song, as if foreshadowing an imminent marriage. Then the ring is rolled along the floor, watching in which direction it will roll: if to the door, then for the girl - the proximity of marriage; for the guy - departure.

New Year fortune telling

In order to find out what kind of bride or groom will be, big or small, you need to go to the firewood shed on New Year's Eve and immediately take a log. If large, then large growth, and vice versa.

If a girl cuts or pricks her finger until it bleeds on New Year's Eve, she will definitely get married next year.

They freeze water in a spoon for the New Year: if the ice is convex and with bubbles - to a long life, if a hole in the ice - to death.

But this is how Bulgarian girls guessed on New Year's Eve: they gathered together somewhere at a source, at a well, scooped up in complete silence a bucket of water, to which they attributed special magical powers. In this bucket, each girl threw a handful of oats, a ring or a bouquet with her mark. The little girl took out these items in turn, singing special ritual songs: the words of the songs referred to the future husband of the girl, whose ring was taken out. Then the girls took a little bit of oats from the bucket and put them under their pillows in the hope that they would dream of their betrothed.

Not all fortune-telling was only of a love nature, it happened that the girls guessed the weather in the coming year, and through this they made forecasts for the future harvest.

Christmas

Before Christmas was coming 40-day Filippov fast. They did not eat meat, they managed with fish. The whole house fasts, and the old people have Christmas Eve. The first pancake on Christmas Eve - for sheep (from pestilence)

IN Christmas eve(on the night of December 24-25) do not eat until the first star. On the first day of Christmas, figurines of cows and sheep are baked from wheat dough. They are kept until Epiphany, but on Epiphany, after the blessing of water, the hostess soaks these figurines in holy water and gives them to livestock (for offspring, for milk yield).

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Ministry of Health and Social Development

FEDERAL STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

"St. Petersburg State Medical

University named after academician I.P. Pavlov»

Department of History

Essay

"Rites, way of life and traditions of Ancient Rus'"

Is done by a student

Groups No. 192

Antonova Yu. A.

St. Petersburg 2012

Introduction

“The Old Russian state arose in Eastern Europe in the last quarter of the 9th century. as a result of the unification of the two main centers of the Eastern Slavs - Kyiv and Novgorod. It also included lands located along the path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, settlements in the areas of Staraya Ladoga, Gnezdovo, etc. - Rurik.

The Old Russian state arose during the period when other European states appeared on the historical arena: the collapse of the empire of Charlemagne (843) into the western (future France), middle (later Italy) and eastern (Germany) kingdoms; Moravian state (830); Hungarian state (896); Polish state (960).

« The prerequisites for the formation of the Old Russian state were:

· Development of the productive forces of the East Slavic tribes;

· Formation of a neighborhood community of intra-communal self-government of tribal rulers;

· Development of trade, including international and tribal;

The growth of social and property inequality, the allocation of tribal nobility

Existence of external danger.

The formation of the Old Russian state was accompanied by the following features:

There was a fairly strong influence of Byzantium, one of the most developed states of that time, the heir to ancient civilization

· Since the formation of the Russian state, it had a multi-ethnic character. But the leading role was played by the ancient Russian ethnos.

The formation of the Old Russian state played an important role in the consolidation of the Russian ethnos, in the formation of Russian civilization.

Life and customs of Ancient Rus'

With the formation of the Kyiv principality, the tribal life of the Slavs naturally changed in the volost, and in this already established organism of social life, the power of the Varangian princes arose.

“The people of Ancient Rus' lived both in large cities for their time, numbering tens of thousands of people, and in villages with several dozen households and villages, especially in the north-east of the country, in which two or three households were grouped.

According to archaeological data, we can judge to some extent about the life of the ancient Slavs. Their settlements located along the banks of the rivers were grouped into a kind of nest of 3-4 villages. If the distance between these settlements did not exceed 5 km, then between the “nests” it reached at least 30, or even 100 km. Several families lived in each settlement; sometimes they numbered in the tens. The houses were small, like semi-dugouts: the floor was a meter and a half below ground level, wooden walls, an adobe or stone stove, heated in black, a roof plastered with clay and sometimes reaching the ends of the roof to the very ground. The area of such a semi-dugout was usually small: 10-20 m2.

A detailed reconstruction of the interior and furnishing of an old Russian house is hampered by the fragmentation of archaeological material, which, however, is very slightly compensated by the data of ethnography, iconography, and written sources. In my opinion, this compensation makes it possible to outline the stable features of a residential interior: limited volumes of the dwelling, the unity of planning and furnishing, the main ornamental material is wood.

“The desire to create maximum comfort with minimal means determined the laconicism of the interior, the main elements of which were a stove, fixed furniture - benches, shelves, various supplies and movable furniture - a table, bench, capital, chairs, various styling - boxes, chests, cubes (1)." It is believed that the old Russian stove, which was entirely included in the hut, was both literally and figuratively a home - a source of warmth and comfort.

“The desire for beauty inherent in Russian artisans contributed to the development of concise means of decorating the hearth and the oven space. In this case, various materials were used: clay, wood, brick, tile.

The custom of whitewashing stoves and painting them with various patterns and drawings seems to be very ancient. An indispensable element of the decor of the furnace was the stove boards that covered the mouth of the firebox. They were often decorated with carvings, which gave them sophistication. Fixed furniture was built in and chopped at the same time as the hut, forming one inseparable whole with it: benches, supplies, crockery, shelves and the rest of the wooden “outfit” of the hut.

Several settlements probably made up the ancient Slavic community - verv. The strength of communal institutions was so great that even an increase in labor productivity and the general standard of living did not immediately lead to property, and even more so social, differentiation within the vervi. So, in the settlement of the X century. (i.e., when the Old Russian state already existed) - the settlement of Novotroitsky - no traces of more or less wealthy households were found. Even the cattle was, apparently, still in communal ownership: the houses stood very closely, sometimes touching the roofs, and there was no room for individual barns or cattle pens. The strength of the community at first slowed down, despite the relatively high level of development of the productive forces, the stratification of the community and the separation of richer families from it.

“Cities, as a rule, arose at the confluence of two rivers, since such an arrangement provided more reliable protection. The central part of the city, surrounded by a rampart and a fortress wall, was called the Kremlin or citadel. As a rule, the Kremlin was surrounded by water from all sides, since the rivers, at the confluence of which the city was built, were connected by a moat filled with water. Settlements - settlements of artisans adjoined the Kremlin. This part of the city was called the suburb.

The most ancient cities arose most often on the most important trade routes. One of these trade routes was the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." Through the Neva or the Western Dvina and the Volkhov with its tributaries and further through the portage system, the ships reached the Dnieper basin. Along the Dnieper, they reached the Black Sea and further to Byzantium. Finally, this path took shape by the 9th century.

Another trade route, one of the oldest in Eastern Europe, was the Volga trade route, which connected Rus' with the countries of the East.

“Approximately in the 7th-8th centuries. handicraft is finally separated from agriculture. Specialists stand out - blacksmiths, casters, goldsmiths and silversmiths, and later potters.

Craftsmen usually concentrated in tribal centers - cities or on settlements - churchyards, which gradually turn from military fortifications into centers of craft and trade - cities. At the same time, cities become defensive centers and residences of power holders.

Excavations in the territories of ancient cities show all the diversity of life in urban life. Many found treasures and opened burial grounds brought to us household items and jewelry. The abundance of women's jewelry in the found treasures made it possible to study crafts. On tiaras, rings, earrings, ancient jewelers reflected their ideas about the world.”

The pagans attached great importance to clothing. I believe that it carried not only a functional load, but also some ritual. Clothing was decorated with images of coastlines (2), women in labor, symbols of the sun, earth, and reflected the multi-tiered nature of the world. The upper tier, the sky was compared with a headdress, shoes corresponded to the earth, etc.

“Pagan rites and festivities were distinguished by a great variety. As a result of centuries-old observations, the Slavs created their own calendar, in which the following holidays associated with the agricultural cycle were especially prominent:

The annual cycle of ancient Russian festivities was made up of various elements dating back to the Indo-European unity of the first farmers. One of the elements was the solar phases, the second was the cycle of lightning and rain, the third was the cycle of harvest festivals, the fourth element were the days of commemoration of the ancestors, the fifth could be carols, holidays in the first days of each month.

Numerous holidays, carols, games, Christmas time brightened up the life of an ancient Slav. Many of these rituals are still alive among the people to this day, especially in the northern regions of Russia, it was there that Christianity took root longer and more difficultly, and pagan traditions are especially strong in the north. ancient Russian way of life temper rite agriculture hut

His life, full of work, worries, flowed in modest Russian villages and villages, in log huts, in semi-dugouts with stoves-heaters in the corner. “There, people stubbornly fought for existence, plowed up new lands, raised livestock, beekeepers, hunted, defended themselves from “dashing” people, and in the south - from nomads, again and again rebuilt dwellings burned by enemies. Moreover, often plowmen went out into the field armed with spears, clubs, bows and arrows to fight off the Polovtsian patrol. On long winter evenings, by the light of the torches, women spun, men drank intoxicating drinks, honey, remembered the days gone by, composed and sang songs, listened to storytellers and storytellers of epics.

In palaces, rich boyar mansions, life went on - warriors, servants were located here, countless servants crowded. From here came the administration of principalities, clans, villages, here they judged and dressed, tributes and taxes were brought here. Feasts were often held in the hallways, in spacious gardens, where overseas wine and their own honey flowed like a river, servants carried huge dishes with meat and game. Women sat at the table on an equal footing with men. Women generally took an active part in management, farming, and other affairs.

The harpists delighted the ears of eminent guests, sang "glory" to them, large bowls, horns with wine went around. At the same time, there was a distribution of food, small money on behalf of the owner to the poor. Such feasts and such distributions were famous throughout Rus' during the time of Vladimir I.

“The favorite pastimes of rich people were falconry, hawk, dog hunting. Races, tournaments, various games were arranged for the common people. An integral part of ancient Russian life, especially in the North, however, as in later times, was a bathhouse.

In a princely-boyar environment, at the age of three, a boy was put on a horse, then he was given to the care and training of a tutor. At the age of 12, young princes, together with prominent boyar advisers, were sent to manage volosts and cities.

The main occupation of the Eastern Slavs was agriculture. This is confirmed by archaeological excavations, during which seeds of cereals (rye, barley, millet) and garden crops (turnips, cabbage, carrots, beets, radishes) were found. Industrial crops (flax, hemp) were also grown. The southern lands of the Slavs overtook the northern lands in their development, which was explained by differences in natural and climatic conditions, soil fertility. The southern Slavic tribes had more ancient agricultural traditions, and also had long-standing ties with the slave-owning states of the Northern Black Sea region.

The Slavic tribes had two main systems of agriculture. In the north, in the region of dense taiga forests, the dominant system of agriculture was slash-and-burn.

It should be said that the border of the taiga at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. was much further south than today. The famous Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a remnant of the ancient taiga. In the first year, with the slash-and-burn system, trees were cut down on the assimilable area, and they dried up. The following year, the felled trees and stumps were burned, and grain was sown in the ashes. A plot fertilized with ash gave a fairly high yield for two or three years, then the land was depleted, and a new plot had to be developed. The main tools of labor in the forest belt were an ax, a hoe, a spade and a bough harrow. They harvested with sickles and ground the grain with stone grinders and millstones.

In the southern regions, fallow was the leading system of agriculture. In the presence of a large amount of fertile land, the plots were sown for several years, and after the depletion of the soil, they were transferred (“shifted”) to new plots. Ralo was used as the main tools, and later a wooden plow with an iron share. Plow farming was more efficient and produced higher and more consistent yields.

Cattle breeding was closely connected with agriculture. The Slavs bred pigs, cows, sheep, goats. Oxen was used as working livestock in the southern regions, and horses were used in the forest belt. An important place in the economy of the Eastern Slavs was played by hunting, fishing and beekeeping (gathering honey from wild bees). Honey, wax, furs were the main items of foreign trade.

The set of agricultural crops differed from the later one: rye still occupied a small place in it, wheat prevailed. There was no oats at all, but there were millet, buckwheat, and barley.

The Slavs bred cattle and pigs, as well as horses. The important role of cattle breeding is evident from the fact that in the Old Russian language the word "cattle" also meant money.

Forest and river crafts were also common among the Slavs. Hunting provided more fur than food. Honey was obtained with the help of beekeeping. It was not a simple collection of honey from wild bees, but also the care of hollows (“boards”) and even their creation. The development of fishing was facilitated by the fact that Slavic settlements were usually located along the banks of rivers.

A large role in the economy of the Eastern Slavs, as in all societies at the stage of decomposition of the tribal system, was played by military booty: tribal leaders raided Byzantium, extracting slaves and luxury goods there. The princes distributed part of the booty among their fellow tribesmen, which, naturally, increased their prestige not only as leaders of campaigns, but also as generous benefactors.

At the same time, squads are formed around the princes - groups of constant combat comrades-in-arms, friends (the word "team" comes from the word "friend") of the prince, a kind of professional warriors and advisers to the prince. The appearance of the squad did not mean at first the elimination of the general armament of the people, the militia, but created the prerequisites for this process. The separation of the squad is an essential stage in the creation of a class society and in the transformation of the power of the prince from tribal into state power.

The growth in the number of hoards of Roman coins and silver found on the lands of the Eastern Slavs testifies to the development of their trade. The export was grain. About the Slavic export of bread in the II-IV centuries. speaks of the borrowing by the Slavic tribes of the Roman bread measure - the quadrantal, which was called the quadrant (26, 26l) and existed in the Russian system of measures and weights until 1924. The scale of grain production among the Slavs is evidenced by the traces of storage pits found by archaeologists, containing up to 5 tons of grain. »

dwelling

For a long time, housing has been not only an area for satisfying a person's need for housing, but also a part of his economic, economic life. I believe that the social differentiation of society was also reflected in the features of the dwelling, its size, well-being. Each era is characterized by its own special features in residential and outbuildings, in their complexes. The study of these features gives us additional knowledge about the past era, provides details not only about the everyday life of past generations, but also about the social and economic aspects of their existence.

Semi-dugout

What kind of house could a person who lived in those days build for himself?

“This, first of all, depended on where he lived, what surrounded him, to which tribe he belonged. Indeed, even now, having visited the villages in the north and south of European Russia, one cannot help but notice the difference in the type of dwellings: in the north it is a wooden chopped hut, in the south - a hut-hut.

Traditions, of course, were largely determined by climatic conditions and the availability of suitable building materials.

In the north, at all times, moist soil prevailed and there was a lot of timber, while in the south, in the forest-steppe zone, the soil was drier, but there was not always enough forest, so other building materials had to be turned to.

Therefore, in the south, until very late (before XIII-XIV), a semi-dugout 0.5-1 m dug into the ground was a massive folk dwelling. And in the rainy cold north, on the contrary, a log house appeared very early.

The term semi-dugout was originally non-Slavic, it was invented much later by research scientists to refer to a dwelling that was partially deepened into the ground so that its walls rose above the ground, in contrast to a deep dugout, in which only the roof could rise above the ground. Sometimes the semi-dugout was so slightly cut into the ground that it was almost a full-fledged ground house. Outwardly, it looked like a slight hillock, and outside it was most often covered with clay or sprinkled with earth.

“In order to enter the semi-dugout, it was necessary to go down the steps, which were either carved in the ground in front of the door, or made of wood and located directly in the room.

The door was most often single-leaf and rather narrow, in order to better keep warm inside the semi-dugout ” [ 1 2] .

“The walls of the pit were most often covered with boards, which were fixed with wooden poles driven into the ground, pressing these boards against the wall of the pit. The floor in the semi-dugout was, as a rule, earthen, tightly packed, often smeared with clay mortar.

Apparently, there were no windows at all, because, according to many scientists, they had no functional meaning: the smoke coming from the stove was supposed to smoke them. Later, the pit of the semi-dugout began to be fixed with a small frame made of logs lowered into it, which was chopped “in the oblo”: the upper log was placed in a semicircular recess made in the upper part of the perpendicularly lying lower log. Moreover, the ends of the logs protruded outward, and special nests were dug out for them at the corners of the pit.

The distance between the log house and the walls of the pit was covered with earth. The floor in such semi-dugouts was plank, the boards were cut into the second or third lower crown of the log house, thus leaving room for household needs (medush). Near the hearth, as a rule, it was made of adobe to avoid a fire. Most likely, the semi-dugout did not have a ceiling, which allowed the smoke rising from the hearth to fill more space and allow people to be inside during the furnace. The roof was most often gable and settled on rafters covered with some kind of light material and sprinkled with earth on top, like the outer walls.

By the 12th-13th centuries, semi-dugouts were preserved mainly in treeless places in the Dnieper basin and in some fields (for example, south of Moscow), where for some reason it was difficult to transport timber. This was due to the fact that in the 10th-11th centuries ground log houses spread to the south and southeast, occupying almost the entire forest zone of European Russia, to the borders of the forest-steppe, and in the 12th-13th centuries they crossed this border, especially in the southeast. west, occupying almost the entire forest-steppe zone in Galicia and Volhynia. Starting from the 14th century, in Russian cities, all houses were log, ground. [ 1 3]

Log house

“Log houses were built from coniferous forests, because pine and spruce have a straight and even trunk that does not require much effort to caulk the walls and, therefore, retains heat better. In addition, coniferous trees provide dry air saturated with resin in the hut and create relatively better hygienic conditions for life. Larch and oak were valued for their strength, but they were heavy and difficult to work with. They were used only in the lower crowns of log cabins, for the construction of cellars or in structures where special strength was needed (mills, salt pits). Other tree species, especially deciduous ones (birch, alder, aspen) were used in the construction, as a rule, of outbuildings. In the forest, they received the necessary material for the roof. Most often, birch bark, less often the bark of spruce or other trees served as a necessary waterproof lining in the roofs. For each need, trees were selected according to special characteristics. So, for the walls of the log house, they tried to pick up special "warm" trees, overgrown with moss, straight, but not necessarily straight-layered. At the same time, not just straight, but straight-layered trees were necessarily chosen for the roof board. According to the purpose, the trees were marked while still in the forest and taken to the construction site.

If the forest suitable for buildings was far from the settlement, then the frame could be cut down right in the forest, it was allowed to stand, dry, and then transported to the construction site. But more often log cabins were collected already in the yard or near the yard.

The place for the future home was chosen very carefully. For the construction of even the largest log-type buildings, they usually did not build a special foundation along the perimeter of the walls, but at the corners of buildings (huts, cages) supports were laid - large boulders, large stumps. In rare cases, if the length of the walls was much longer than usual, supports were also placed in the middle of such walls.

The log house of the 9th-10th centuries still had similarities with a semi-dugout: they were small, consisting, as a rule, of only one square or almost square room, which served the whole family for work, and for cooking, and for eating, and for sleeping. The sizes of houses in different families were different, but in general it was approximately 16 m 2. The floor, as in later semi-dugouts, was almost always plank, raised above the ground and usually cut into the second or third crown of the frame. If the floorboards were laid on the ground, then special supports were placed below. There was also no ceiling.

The room had one or more small portage windows. Volokovoe window - a small window, cut down in two logs of a wooden frame located one above the other, half a log up and down. From the inside, the portage window is closed (clouded) with a board valve made of a board. [ 1 4]

“Along the wall of the house, where the front door was located, there was often an open gallery with a plank floor under the vault of the roof, the edge of which rested on pillars; to support the pillars and the floor, a row of logs was laid parallel to the wall.

The interior of the hut

The interiors of a semi-dugout and a ground log house practically did not differ. The walls were timbered. A wooden door with one leaf closed the entrance, usually oriented to the south, so that as much heat and light as possible would enter the room. The main role in the interior was played, of course, by the stove, which stood in one of the corners. No wonder all the rooms where the stove was located were called the firebox (from the word “to heat”), the east or, later, the hut.

In the 9th-10th centuries, it was mainly a heater - a stove that was built without any binding solution from "wild stones" (boulders and cobblestones), less often - adobe. An open hearth and a fireplace-type stove were not found in the Old Russian dwelling.

A little later, in the 12th-13th centuries, heater stoves practically disappeared, and round adobe stoves appeared instead. Then people still did not know how to make chimneys, so the stoves were pipeless, and the huts, respectively, were smoked. Therefore, the smoke went straight into the hut, rising up, and exiting either through a hole in the roof, or through a portage window, or through an open door. [ 15]

“The position of the stove determined the entire interior layout of the room. Basically, the stove was located in one of the corners of the room. If it was located in the center, then it can be assumed that this type of dwelling was of non-Slavic origin. There are 4 main options for the location of the furnace:

1) to the right or left of the entrance, mouth to it. Such huts were found mainly in the South and South-West after the 10th century.

2) In the far corner of the mouth to the entrance. This type of furnace location is the oldest in Rus' and prevailed until the 10th century.

3) In the far corner of the mouth to the side wall.

4) To the right or left of the entrance mouth to the opposite wall. Such huts could be found in the northern and central part of the Old Russian state after the 10th century, because such an arrangement was the most beneficial for keeping warm and cooking food for the hostess.

The entire internal layout of the hut adapted to the position of the stove: the corner diagonally from the stove, later called “red” (beautiful), was the front part of the hut. Here they set a table, set up benches, ate here and received guests. It is not known whether it had a sacred meaning in pagan families, but idols were found in some dwellings, located in this very corner. True, a little.

The corner opposite the stove mouth - "baby kut" or "middle" served for such activities as cooking and spinning. The fourth corner was reserved for men's work.

In those rare cases when the stove was placed in the middle of the hut, the layout should have been different, but this issue has not yet been studied either archaeologically or ethnographically. [ 16] There is an assumption that such premises were used as workshops, but this version requires careful study.

“We know almost nothing about the furnishing of the ancient hut. A necessary element of the decoration of the dwelling was a table serving for a daily and festive meal. The table was one of the most ancient types of mobile furniture, although the earliest tables were adobe and motionless.

Such a table with adobe benches near it was found in the Pronsk dwellings of the 11th-13th centuries and in the Kyiv dugout of the 12th century. Four legs of a table from a dugout are racks dug into the ground.

It can be thought that, in addition to the table and movable benches, there were fixed benches in the room - beds, located next to the stove on the side.

Decorations in the chicken hut hardly made sense, because the entire upper part was usually covered with soot, however, the carving could be present in the furniture, outside the house, dishes (ceramic, wooden, less often metal) were also decorated. In boyar and merchant houses, part of the furniture, especially armchairs, was decorated with skillful carvings. Tables were covered with hand-woven or handmade lace tablecloths.

The living quarters were lit by candles and lanterns. Wax candles burned in the grand ducal houses and mansions, because there was a lot of wax: it was taken in the forests from wild beekeepers and sold, probably cheaply. Poorer people burned ordinary oil (hemp, linseed) poured into round earthenware vessels. The torch was also common.

urban dwellings

“In ancient Russian cities, dwellings did not differ much from rural ones. This was mainly due to the fact that the city as such most often came from the countryside, and the connection could not be lost so quickly.

“However, there were some differences. For example, a relatively rare, but still occurring type of urban dwelling is the cage in the gorodni of the city rampart. Gorodnya is a wooden and earthen fortification of the city, its design made it possible to leave unfilled some areas in which log cabins were made. They were used for housing and household needs. Such a hut was slightly smaller than usual, it had an earthen floor, there were no windows, and the upper side platform of the wall served as the ceiling. Sometimes such premises were located in two rows so that the residential frame of one row corresponded to the outbuildings of the other. Most dwellings of this type date back to the 12th-13th centuries and are found during excavations of such fortified cities as Rayki, Kolodyazhin, Izyaslavl, Lenkovtsy, etc. ”

“In the 10th century, five-walls appeared in cities - whole-cut two-chamber houses, in which an elongated log house was immediately supplied with a fifth wall cut across during construction. This wall usually divided the house into two unequal parts, and the stove was in the larger one, and the entrance to the house was through the smaller one.

The houses of the feudal nobility were three-chambered: in them two huts or a hut and a cage were connected by a building of a lighter structure. In the annals, in the composition of the boyar and princely palaces, in addition to the huts, chambers (reception rooms), a tower, a canopy, a lodge or an odrine and a medusha are mentioned - something like a cellar in which honey was originally stored.

“Each rich city dweller necessarily erected the upper floor - the tower (from the Greek. “shelter, dwelling”), which was built above the entrance hall, on the basement. Basement - the lower floor of the mansion, used for household needs.

In folklore and literature, the word "terem" often meant a rich house. In epics and fairy tales, Russian beauties lived in high towers. In the terem, there was usually a svetlitsa - a bright room with several windows, where women were engaged in needlework. In the old days, towering above the house, it was customary to richly decorate. Often the painting of the ceiling and walls was associated with the sky, here they depicted a day or night luminary, bright stars. Not only picturesque painting made the tower attractive: its roof was sometimes covered with real gilding or copper sheets, creating the effect of golden shimmer in the sun. Hence the name "golden-domed tower." [ 21]

“At some distance from the house there were special bedchambers - odrins. This word is of Slavic origin and indicates that in these rooms there were beds for sleeping, and in the afternoon too.

The house usually adjoined a porch resting on strong wooden pillars.

Houses, especially their upper part, as a rule, were richly decorated with carved towels, flyers, cockerels, skates, tents, etc.

The princely palace, of course, was much larger and more skillfully built. His two characteristic features were Gridnitsa anderem. In the Kiev Palace, these two buildings were made of stone already in the tenth century. Gridnitsa is, in a way, the prince's reception room. Many researchers believe that this is a hall for ceremonial receptions and various solemn acts. Boyars, Gridni treated themselves to it (Gridni made up a selective princely squad, which later turned into swordsmen. Gridni or Gridni comes from the Swedish word: sword (gred), court guard. Probably the Varangian word), centurions and all deliberate people (eminent citizens) .

Another place that probably served for the same purpose is the canopy. Seni is a vast terrace on the 2nd floor of the palace (according to some researchers, even a separate building, connected with other palace buildings by passages). [ 22]

Rituals related to housing

“The construction of the house was accompanied by many rituals. The beginning of construction was marked by the ritual of sacrificing a chicken, a ram. It was held during the laying of the first crown of the hut. The "construction sacrifice" seemed to convey its shape to the hut, helping to create something reasonably organized out of the primitive chaos... "Ideally," the construction sacrifice should be a person. But human sacrifice was resorted to only in rare, truly exceptional cases - for example, when laying a fortress to protect against enemies, when it came to the life or death of the entire tribe. During normal construction, they were content with animals, most often a horse or a bull. Archaeologists have excavated and studied in detail more than one thousand Slavic dwellings: at the base of some of them, skulls of these animals were found. Horse skulls are especially often found. So the "skates" on the roofs of Russian huts are by no means "for beauty". In the old days, a tail made of bast was also attached to the back of the ridge, after which the hut was completely likened to a horse. The house itself was represented by a "body", four corners - by four "legs". Instead of a wooden "horse", a real horse's skull was once strengthened. Buried skulls are found both under the huts of the 10th century, and under those built five centuries after baptism - in the 14th-15th centuries. For half a millennium, they were only put into a less deep hole. As a rule, this hole was located at a holy (red) angle - just under the icons! - or under the threshold, so that evil could not penetrate the house.

Another favorite sacrificial animal when laying a house was a rooster (hen). Suffice it to recall "cockerels" as a decoration of roofs, as well as the widespread belief that evil spirits should disappear at the crow of a rooster. They put in the base of the hut and the skull of a bull. Nevertheless, the ancient belief that a house is being built "on someone's head" was ineradicable. For this reason, the ancient Russians tried to leave at least something unfinished, even the edge of the roof, in order to deceive fate.

The words mansion (house, dwelling) and temple (consecrated place of worship) are philologically identical. The first sacrifices, the first supplication and the first religious cleansings were performed in the hut, in front of the hearth, which is quite clearly confirmed by the remnants of the rites that have come down to us. The fire in the domestic stove can only be kept alive by the offering of various combustible materials, consumed by the flames: hence, in a simple and natural way, sacrifice to the hearth appeared. The hearth was honored with the most solemn sacrifice at the turning of the sun for the summer, grains of bread were thrown into the kindled fire and oil was poured, asking for abundance in the house and fertility in the harvests and herds. Then the whole family sat down at the table, and the evening, according to the indispensable ritual law, ended with a feast. After supper, the empty pots were smashed on the ground in order (according to the popular explanation) to drive out any shortcomings from the house. The pot, in which the hot coals of the hearth are transferred to the housewarming, is also broken: as consecrated by participation in a religious ceremony, this dish should be withdrawn from everyday use. In all likelihood, from these rites a sign was born, according to which breaking something from the dishes at a feast portends happiness. That the original sacrifices belonged to the hearth is convincingly proved by the fact that the attributes of the kitchen and the hearth - a poker, a pomelo, a golik, a tong, a shovel, a frying pan, etc. received the meaning of sacrificial tools and retained this meaning even until the late era of pagan development. The fire of the hearth drives away the impure force of cold and darkness, and therefore before this tribal penate (3) a religious purification was carried out, freeing from the hostile influences of the dark force.

Cloth

We can restore the true picture of how our ancestors dressed in the 16th century in general terms only by synthesizing information from various sources - written, graphic, archaeological, museum, ethnographic. It is completely impossible to trace local differences in clothing from these sources, but they undoubtedly existed.

“The main clothing in the 16th century was a shirt. Shirts were sewn from woolen fabric (sackcloth) and linen and hemp. In the 16th century, shirts were always worn with certain decorations, which were made of pearls, precious stones, gold and silver threads for the rich and noble, and red threads for the common people. The main element of such a set of jewelry is a necklace that closed the slit of the gate. The necklace could be sewn to the shirt, it could also be laid on, but wearing it should be considered mandatory outside the home. Decorations covered the ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the hem of the shirts. The shirts varied in length. Consequently, short shirts, the hem of which reached approximately to the knees, were worn by peasants and the urban poor. The rich and noble wore long shirts, shirts that reached to the heels. Pants were a mandatory element of men's clothing. But there was no single term for this clothing yet. Shoes of the 16th century were very diverse both in materials and in cut.

Archaeological excavations show a clear predominance of leather shoes woven from bast or birch bark. This means that bast shoes were not known to the population of Rus' since antiquity and were rather additional footwear intended for special occasions.

For the 16th century, a certain social gradation can be outlined: boots - the shoes of the noble, the rich; boots, pistons - the shoes of the peasants and the masses of the townspeople. However, this gradation could not be clear, since soft boots were worn by both artisans and peasants. But the feudal lords are always in boots.

Men's headdresses were quite diverse, especially among the nobility. The most common among the population, peasants and townspeople, was a cone-shaped felt hat with a rounded top. The ruling feudal strata of the population, more associated with trade, seeking to emphasize their class isolation, borrowed a lot from other cultures. The custom of wearing a tafya, a small hat, spread widely among the boyars and the nobility. Such a hat was not removed even at home. And, leaving the house, they put on a high "throat" fur hat - a sign of boyar dignity.

The nobility also wore other hats. If the difference in the main male attire between the class groups was mainly reduced to the quality of materials and decorations, then the difference in outerwear was very sharp, and, above all, in the number of clothes. The richer and nobler the person, the more clothes he wore. The very names of these clothes are not always clear to us, since they often reflect such features as the material, the method of fastening, which also coincides with the nomenclature of later peasant clothing, which is also very vague in terms of functionality. With the ruling strata, only fur coats, single-row coats and caftans were the same in name among the common people. But in terms of material and decorations, there could be no comparison. Among the men's clothing, sundresses are also mentioned, the cut of which is hard to imagine, but it was a spacious long dress, also decorated with embroidery, trims (4). Of course, they dressed so luxuriously only during ceremonial exits, receptions and other solemn occasions.

As in a men's suit, the shirt was the main, and often the only clothing of women in the 16th century. But the shirts themselves were long, we do not know the cut of a women's shirt to the heels. The material from which women's shirts were sewn was linen. But there could also be woolen shirts. Women's shirts were necessarily decorated.

Of course, peasant women did not have expensive necklaces, but they could be replaced by embroidered ones, decorated with simple beads, small pearls, and brass stripes. Peasant women and ordinary townswomen probably wore ponevs, plakhty or similar clothes under other names. But besides belt clothes, as well as shirts, from the 16th century they were given out some kind of maid clothes.

We do not know anything about the shoes of ordinary women, but, most likely, they were identical to men's. We have very common ideas about women's headdresses of the 16th century. In the miniatures, women's heads are covered with robes (abrasions) - pieces of white fabric that cover their heads and fall over their shoulders over their clothes. “The clothes of noble women were very different from the clothes of the common people, primarily in the abundance of dresses and their wealth. As for sundresses, even in the 17th century they remained predominantly men's clothing, and not women's. Talking about clothes, we are forced to note jewelry. Part of the jewelry has become an element of certain clothes. Belts served as one of the obligatory elements of clothing and at the same time decoration. It was impossible to go outside without a belt. XV-XVI centuries and later times can be considered a period when the role of metal jewelry sets is gradually fading away, although not in all forms. If archaeological data give us dozens of different types of neck, temporal, forehead, hand jewelry, then by the 16th century there are relatively few of them: rings, bracelets (wrist), earrings, beads. But this does not mean that the former decorations have disappeared without a trace. They continued to exist in a highly modified form. These decorations become part of the clothing.

Food

Bread remained the main food in the 16th century. Baking and preparing other grain products and grain products in the cities of the 16th century was the occupation of large groups of artisans who specialized in the production of these foodstuffs for sale. “Bread was baked from mixed rye and oatmeal, and also, probably, and only from oatmeal. Bread, kalachi, prosvir were baked from wheat flour. Noodles were made from flour, pancakes were baked and "bake" - rye fried cakes from sour dough. Pancakes were baked from rye flour, crackers were prepared. There is a very diverse assortment of pastry pies with poppy seeds, honey, porridge, turnips, cabbage, mushrooms, meat, etc. The listed products are far from exhausting the variety of bread products used in Rus' in the 16th century.

A very common type of bread food was porridge (oatmeal, buckwheat, barley, millet), and kissels - pea and oatmeal. Grain also served as a raw material for the preparation of drinks: kvass, beer, vodka. The variety of garden and horticultural crops cultivated in the 16th century determined the variety of vegetables and fruits used for food: cabbage, cucumbers, onions, garlic, beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, horseradish, poppies, green peas, melons, various herbs for pickles (cherry, mint, cumin), apples, cherries, plums.

Mushrooms - boiled, dried, baked - played a significant role in nutrition. One of the main types of food, following in importance, after grain and vegetable food and livestock products in the 16th century, was fish food. For the 16th century, different ways of processing fish are known: salting, drying, drying. Very expressive sources depicting the variety of food in Rus' in the 16th century are the canteens of the monasteries. An even greater variety of dishes is presented in Domostroy, where there is a special section "Books throughout the year, what food is served on the tables ...".

Thus, in the 16th century, the assortment of bread products was already very diverse. Successes in the development of agriculture, in particular horticulture and horticulture, have led to a significant enrichment and expansion of the range of plant foods in general. Along with meat and dairy food, fish food continued to play a very important role.

Rites

Folklore of the 16th century, like all the art of that time, lived by traditional forms and used artistic means developed earlier. Written memos that have come down to us from the 16th century testify that rituals, in which many traces of paganism have been preserved, were widespread in Rus', that epics, fairy tales, proverbs, songs were the main forms of verbal art.

Monuments of writing of the XVI century. buffoons are mentioned as people who amuse the people, jokers. They took part in weddings, played the role of friends, participated in funerals, especially in the final fun, told stories and sang songs, gave comic performances.

Fairy tales

In the XVI century. fairy tales were popular. From the 16th century few materials have been preserved that would allow one to recognize the fabulous repertoire of that time. We can only say that it included fairy tales. The German Erich Lassota, being in Kyiv in 1594, wrote down a fairy tale about a wonderful mirror. It tells about the fact that a mirror was built into one of the slabs of St. Sophia Cathedral, in which one could see what was happening far from this place. There were fairy tales about animals and everyday life.

“The genres of traditional folklore were widely used at that time. 16th century - the time of great historical events, which left its mark on folk art. The themes of folklore works began to be updated, as heroes they included new social types and historical figures. He entered the fairy tales and the image of Ivan the Terrible. In one tale, Grozny is depicted as a shrewd ruler, close to the people, but severe in relation to the boyars. The tsar paid the peasant well for the turnips and bast shoes presented to him, but when the nobleman gave the tsar a good horse, the tsar unraveled the evil intent and gave him not a large estate, but a turnip that he received from the peasant. Another genre that was widely used in oral and written speech in the 16th century was the proverb. It was the genre that most vividly responded to historical events and social processes. The time of Ivan the Terrible and his struggle with the boyars later often received a satirical reflection, their irony was directed against the boyars: "The times are shaky - take care of your hats", "Tsar's favors are sown in the boyar sieve", "The tsar strokes, and the boyars scratch."

Proverbs

Proverbs also give an assessment of everyday phenomena, in particular the position of a woman in the family, the power of parents over children. “Many of these proverbs were created among backward and dark people, and they were influenced by the morality of churchmen. "A woman and a demon - they have one weight." But proverbs were also created, in which the life experience of the people is embodied: "The house rests on the wife."

Beliefs

in the folklore of the sixteenth century. many genres were widely used, including those that arose in ancient times and contain traces of ancient ideas, such as belief in the power of words and actions in conspiracies, belief in the existence of goblin, water, brownies, sorcerers, in beliefs, legends , which are stories about miracles, about meeting with evil spirits, about found treasures, deceived devils. For these genres in the XVI century. significant Christianization is already characteristic. Faith in the power of words and actions is now confirmed by a request for help to God, Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. The power of Christian, religious ideas was great, they began to dominate over pagan ones. The characters of the legends, in addition to the goblin, mermaids and the devil, are also saints (Nikola, Ilya).

epics

Important changes have also taken place in the epics. The past - the subject of the image of epics - receives new illumination in them. “So, during the period of the struggle with the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms, epics about battles with the Tatars receive a new sound in connection with the rise of patriotic sentiments. Sometimes epics were modernized. Kalin Tsar is replaced by Mamai, and Ivan the Terrible appears instead of Prince Vladimir. The fight against the Tatars lived the epic epic. It absorbs new historical events, includes new heroes.

In addition to such changes, researchers of the epic also attribute the emergence of new epics to this time. In this century, epics were composed about Duke and Sukhman, about the arrival of Lithuanians, about Vavila and buffoons. The difference between all these epics is the wide development of the social theme and anti-boyar satire. The Duke is represented in the epic as a cowardly "young boyar" who does not dare to fight a snake, is afraid of Ilya Muromets, but amazes everyone with his wealth. Duke is a satirical image. The bylina about him is a satire on the Moscow boyars.

The epic about Sukhman, old in origin, is characterized by the strengthening in it of the negative interpretation of the images of the boyars, princes and Vladimir, who comes into conflict with the hero who does not reconcile with the prince.

The epic about the arrival of the Lithuanians contains vivid traces of time. Two brothers Livikov from the land of Lithuania are plotting a raid on Moscow. There are two storylines in the epic: the abduction of Prince Roman and his struggle against the Lithuanians. The epic about Babyla and buffoons and their struggle with the king Dog, whose kingdom they destroy and burn, is a work of a special kind. It is allegorical and utopian, as it expresses the age-old dream of the masses of the people about a "just kingdom." The epic is distinguished by satire and a cheerful joke, which entered it along with the images of buffoons.

lore

“New features are acquired in the 16th century. and legends - oral prose stories about significant events and historical figures of the past. From the legends of the XVI century. there are, first of all, 2 groups of legends about Ivan the Terrible and Yermak.

1) They are full of great public resonance, they include stories connected with the campaign against Kazan, with the subjugation of Novgorod: they are patriotic in nature, they praise Ivan the Terrible, but they are clearly democratic in nature.

2) Compiled by Novgorodians and contains the condemnation of Grozny for cruelty. The struggle with Marfa Posadnitsa, whom he allegedly exiled or killed, is also attributed to him. The name of Ivan the Terrible is associated with quite a few legends about the places he visited, or about the churches that he built. Novgorod legends depict the executions of townspeople, which, however, is condemned not only by the people, but also by the saints. In one of the legends, the saint, taking the severed head of the executed man in his hands, pursues the king, and he runs away in fear. The legends about Yermak are of a local nature: there are Don, Ural, and Siberian legends about him. Each of them gives his image its own special interpretation.

1) In the Don legends, Yermak is portrayed as the founder of the Cossack army, protecting the Cossacks: he liberated the Don from foreigners: he himself came to the Don, having fled after the murder of the boyar. So in the Don legends, Yermak, often at odds with history, appears as a Cossack leader. There is a rich group of legends in which Ermak acts as the conqueror of Siberia. His trip to Siberia is motivated differently: either he was sent there by the tsar, or he himself went to Siberia to earn the tsar's forgiveness for the crimes he had committed.

His death is also described in different ways: the Tatars attacked his army and killed the sleeping ones; Yermak drowned in the Irtysh in a heavy shell; he was betrayed by Esaul Koltso."

Songs

The unrest of the townspeople in Moscow (1547), the desire of the Cossacks for self-government, the royal decrees on a temporary ban on the transfer of peasants from one landowner to another (1581), on bonded serfs (1597) - all this contributed to the growth of discontent among the masses, one of the forms whose protest became robbery. It was reflected in folklore in the so-called bandit or daring songs. “The peasants fled not only from the estates of the landowners, but also from the royal troops. Life in the "freedom" served as a condition that contributed to a more vivid expression of the age-old dreams of the masses of the masses of social liberation. The artistic form in which these dreams found a poetic embodiment was bandit songs. They only appeared at the end of the 16th century. The hero of these songs is a brave, daring good fellow, and therefore the songs themselves were popularly called "daring songs". They are notable for their sharp drama, the chanting of "will" and the image of a robber who hangs the boyars and the voivode. A classic example is the song "Don't make noise, you mother, green oak tree." Her hero rejects the demand of the royal servants to extradite his comrades.

In the XVI century. the genre of ballad songs is also formed - a small ethical narrative poetic form. This type of work, to which the Western - European term "ballad" is applied, is very peculiar. It is distinguished by a subtle characteristic of personal, family relationships of people. But it often includes historical motifs and heroes, but they are not interpreted in historical terms. The ballads have a clearly anti-feudal orientation (for example, the condemnation of the arbitrariness of the prince, the boyar in the ballad "Dmitry and Domna", where the prince brutally cracks down on the girl who rejected his hand), they often develop severe parental authority, family despotism. Although the criminal in ballads is usually not punished, the moral victory is always on the side of ordinary people. The heroes of ballads are often kings and queens, princes and princesses, their fate is connected with the fate of ordinary peasants, servants, whose images are interpreted as positive. A characteristic feature in ballads is an anti-clerical orientation (for example, "Churilia - abbess", "Prince and old women", in which representatives of the clergy play a negative role).

...

Calendar holidays, traditions, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs

Associated with agricultural, agricultural cycles, they corresponded to the change of the main work throughout the year.

The customs of the Eastern Slavs are preserved in the oldest evidence of the Antes period. This refers to the famous list of rites of the 4th century. n. e. on a vessel for water (sacred?), found in the Kiev region, in the zone of settlement in the future of the meadows. Old Slavonic holidays and customs on this peculiar calendar are associated with the worship of gods, one way or another associated in folk deaths with the forces of nature. For the most part, they are rain spells, distributed over time in accordance with the sowing, ripening and harvesting of bread.

on the second of May, the rites of the feast of the first sprouts were performed;
in the third decade of May, rain spells were performed;
Yarilin day fell on June 4;
the whole second decade of June passed in prayers for rains, so necessary for the grain pouring in the ears;
June 24 was the holiday of Kupala, retained by the folk tradition up to the present day as the holiday of Ivan Kupala (artistic reproduction;
from the fourth to the sixth of July, prayers and rituals for rain were again performed;
on the twelfth of July, sacrifices were prepared to honor Perun (choosing a sacrifice to Perun in Kyiv: http://slavya.ru/trad/folk/gk/perun.jpg);
in mid-July, prayers were again made for rain; the origins of this rite can really go back to the Trypillia culture, as evidenced by the images on the vessels
on the twentieth of July, sacrifices were made to Perun (later on this day, Elijah will be celebrated); reconstruction of the sanctuary of Perun near Novgorod;
with the beginning of the harvest, July 24, prayers are already made for the cessation of rain;
at the beginning of August, rites and festivals of the harvest were performed: on the sixth of August - the feast of the "first fruits", and on the seventh - "zazhinka".

The pagan traditions of pre-Christian Rus' will keep the main rites and holidays of this calendar for many centuries. In honor of Yaril, games were played - with dancing, singing, screaming, and even, perhaps, with some exaltation. A lot of evidence of this has been preserved in the folklore of the East Slavic peoples (we are not talking about “Herborod” and other sources considered by many later hoaxes). Rus' for many centuries.

Wedding holidays, traditions, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs

A wedding, rituals and customs, accompanying it is always a bright sight. This is how it appears in ancient Russian customs. Before the baptism of Rus', they combined, as was usually the case in traditional societies, survival, relic behavioral models.
Today, questions about the relationship between patriarchy and matriarchy of the family in ancient Russian society are still being discussed. The fact, however, is that the ancient Russian customs and traditions testify to this quite definitely.

Patriarchy is evidenced by the very position of the head of the family, the patriarch, under whose authority are all family members in several generations. According to the annalistic tradition, the wedding ceremony involved the symbolic purchase of wives through the payment of a vein to their parents, or even their abduction, “kidnapping”.

This custom was especially widespread among the Drevlyans, who, according to Nestor the chronicler, did not even have any marriage, and they “kidnapped the girls by the water.” He also condemns the Radimichi, Severians, and Vyatichi. The whole wedding ceremony, according to the chronicler, was reduced to “games between neighboring villages”, “to demonic songs and dances”, during which men simply chose girls for themselves and simply, without any ceremony, began to live with them. And at the same time they had two and three wives, - the Tale of Bygone Years says condemningly.

Old Russian traditions and customs also retain traces of the phallic cult common in ancient societies. The wedding ceremony, among other things, involved a whole ceremony with a made model of a male member. Sacrifices are made to “shameful uds”, and the Slovenes during the wedding were immersed, if, again, to believe the later testimonies, the model of the phallus and garlic in buckets and bowls, they drank from them, and when they took it out, they licked it and kissed it. In the same connection some other ritual actions that accompanied the wedding in pre-Christian Rus' are also associated with phallic and sexual symbolism in general. Among them are obscene words, which are interspersed with the ceremony of matchmaking, shameful ditties with very frank vocabulary.

The world-famous Russian mat also obviously originates from ritual practices aimed at ensuring soil fertility, livestock fertility and, as during a wedding ceremony, the birth of children by newlyweds. But wedding ceremonies were much more common in ancient Russian customs, in which respect and love of the newlyweds and all participants of the ceremony to each other.

Among the glades, whom the chronicler contrasts with their northeastern relatives, the family is based on the modesty of fathers and children, husbands and wives, mothers-in-law and brothers-in-law. They also have a wedding ceremony, according to which no one steals the bride, but brings her to the house on the eve of the wedding. A dowry is generally not provided for by the rite - on the next day they bring whatever they wish for it.

Funeral holidays, traditions, rituals and customs of the ancient Slavs

Death, the repose of loved ones is one of the biggest shocks in a person's life. Comprehension of this mystery became one of the incentives for his religiosity. What is death and what will happen after death - these are the existential questions from which religious answers followed.

Old Russian customs and rituals are also closely connected with funeral rituals, the cult of the dead, and their veneration.

The pagan traditions of pre-Christian Rus' contain many features compared to later centuries. The funeral rite itself differed significantly. From the chronicle code, we can highlight some of its features among the Vyatichi:

the beginning of the rite is trizna
after the feast, the body of the deceased is put on fire
the remaining bones and dust are collected in vessels
vessels with ashes are placed on roadside poles.

By the way...

Ethnographic research makes it possible to fill this rite with individual details, to make it more understandable to modern man.

Thus, the feast here should be understood as competitions in honor of the deceased (as they were once arranged by the noble Achilles in memory of the deceased Patroclus) and actions of a purely ritual nature. Roadside poles (for the ancient Slavs - often with a kind of "roof" and, for the convenience of souls gathering around them, edges) are proposed to be interpreted as a symbol of the World Tree. They connect the heavenly world, the other world with the earthly world. According to them, souls move to another world.

More common, however, was the funeral rite, which the chronicler tells about in connection with the burial of Prince Oleg. Instead of burning - there is a burial, instead of pillars - a high mound. The funeral feast, hosted by Princess Olga, is accompanied by the weeping of the widow, relatives, and in the case of the prince, of the whole people, a dinner accompanied by the drinking of honey by the Drevlyans.

Old Russian customs that have not survived to this day have been left in the annals, numerous archaeological finds, folklore and modern ritual practices. We cannot always correctly unravel their deep, sometimes incomprehensible meaning. Sometimes we think they are prejudices.

"Prejudice! he's a wreck
Old truth. The temple has fallen;
And ruin it, a descendant
Didn't understand the language."

Sometimes it happens. But “the ancient truth becomes closer and more understandable to us if we take into account the thickness of the centuries and the darkness of the centuries separating us from it.