The outstanding literary and historical monument of the 12th century - "The Lay of Igor's Regiment" - has not survived to this day in the original. However, this does not stop scientists who want to study this work as fully as possible and understand who is its author and whether it really existed.
"The Word about Igor's Regiment" as a Literary Monument
Isn't it time for us, brothers, to start
A word about Igor's campaign, To tell with an old speech
About the deed of the daring prince
The Lay of Igor's Host is a literary monument of great historical importance. It was written at the end of the 12th century, shortly after the campaign of the Novgorod-Seversky prince Igor Svyatoslavovich against the Polovtsians. The plot is based on this very event, but the text also mentions historical moments that precede it.
To date, the manuscript of the Lay has survived only in one copy, acquired by Count Musin-Pushkin in the 1890s. The only medieval list known to science died during a fire in Moscow in 1812, which still casts doubt on the authenticity of all the surviving versions. Two full versions have survived (based on the Musin-Pushkin manuscript). The first was written and published by the Earl himself in 1800. The second copy of The Lay of Igor's Campaign was made in 1795 for Catherine the Great. In addition, the extracts were made by N. M. Karamzin and A. F. Malinovsky, and the falsifications of the Lay, made by a certain Anton Bardin in the first half of the 19th century, are also known.
The author of the Lay as a person
Yaroslavna cries early
in Putivl {on the visor}, arkuchi:
Oh, vѣtrѣ, vѣtrilo!
What, sir, do you forcibly do?
Why are the mice of the Khinovska strelky
{on my own easy kriltsyu}
howl in my way? (D. S. Likhachev
Taking into account what has been said - that the original of the Lay was lost to history, it is necessary to cite the assumptions of researchers studying this literary monument. Thus, the author of the Lay supposedly knew the literature and culture of his time well, possessed information about the main historical monument of Ancient Rus - The Tale of Bygone Years (The Tale was written by Nestor at the beginning of the 12th century). The author uses folk poetics and folklore elements, legends and facts; mentions pagan gods, which gave reason to assume that he is a pagan, but, possibly, a Christian, using the beliefs that have come down to him to poeticize his work. He is neither a historian nor a chronicler, although he is quite historical. He orients himself in the political situation and the realities of the campaign, which may indicate his participation in this event. His knowledge and skills allow him to be attributed to the top of the then feudal society, which did not prevent him from reflecting the interests of the general population. Perhaps he even stood on the hierarchical ladder so high that he was well in touch with the princes, and treated them with warmth and respect.
Some of the scholars who study the Lay put forward theories that the author, or rather the authors, could have been several people, and that it itself was written at different times. However, due to the loss of the original scroll, and the absence of any unequivocal evidence that makes it possible to name one real person as the author of "The Lay of Igor's Host" is not possible.
