Old Russian Literature

3 credits · Undergraduate credit

This is a concise historical survey of medieval East Slavic written monuments, both ecclesiastic and secular, considered within the cultural framework of the Kievan Rus' (10th to 13th century) and of Muscovy (13th to 17th c.), as well as certain local centers. Specimens of homiletics (Sermon on Law and Grace), hagiography (The Life and Assassination of SS. Boris and Gleb, Life of St. Stephen of Perm, Life of Archprienst Avvakum), chronicles, and lay literature (The Institution of Vladimir Monomachus, the Igor Tale, The Supplication of Daniil Zatochnik , Discourse on the Ruin of the Land of Rus, The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afonasili Nikitin, The Tale of Dracula, accounts of the Time of Troubles, and some 17th c. fiction and poetry) will be discussed with special attention to their language and style.