A military tale is a story about the struggle of a Russian soldier against a foreign invader. She has more volume than a story, but less than a novel, and the plot shows events close to reality. Therefore, a military tale can be a historical source.
Opinions about this genre differ: some historians are sure that the military tale is an independent literary work, while others believe that it is only part of the chronicle. Indeed, stories about wars with the Pechenegs, Tatars or Polovtsians are included in the Chronicle of Bygone Years, and The Lay of Igor's Host is part of the Kiev Chronicle of the 12th century.
There is no consensus among historians, but the reference book of literary terms does not hesitate: a military tale is a type of narrative Old Russian literature, which describes military events.
The structure of a military story
The military story has a purpose, features and composition. The goal is to show descendants the image of a fighter and liberator of their native land. This is the main, but there are also secondary goals, which the military tale also achieves. It shows the place of Russia among other powers, and also proves that the Russian people have a history that they have the right to be proud of.
The military story has three features:
- Complex character of the hero. He was valiant, courageous, by exploits he proved strength, despised wounds and death. But with the advent of Christianity, the image became more complicated: the holiness and sacrifice of Christian martyrs were added to the features of the epic hero. Then the hero began to fight for faith, and not to prove strength. He aspired to holiness, chroniclers put both pious thoughts and prayers into his lips. And the heavenly forces also helped the hero.
- Sacrifice. This also came with Christianity and a new image of the hero, gave a new understanding to military feat: it became a holy deed. In the same period, a pantheon of Russian saints arose, which included both ascetic monks and warrior martyrs. The image of the latter gave an idea of worldly and princely holiness.
- Stylistic formulas are typical turns, characteristic of just such a genre: "… and arrows on nya summer, like rain", for example.
The composition of the military story consists of three parts:
- Preparation, which included the collection of troops and the speech of the prince before the campaign. The prince was a strategist and orator, and he also always prayed with his retinue before leaving.
- Event. There was a fight in this part, but not immediately. First, there was a battle between the hero and his opponent, which predetermined the outcome of the battle. This tradition was called single combat, and it was believed that the battle would be won by the side whose warrior wins. Warriors noticed omens of victory or defeat: signs, natural phenomena, divine signs. Then there was a battle: God could intervene in it, and then the warriors of Russia won, or turn away - then they were defeated. The battle was most often compared to a feast or sowing.
- Consequences - we won, lost, died, survived. And even if they lost and died, the ending was with an optimistic message.
The story of Svyatoslav
The story is divided into fragments with dates, tells about Prince Svyatoslav, who was very close to his squad. So close that he considered himself one of her warriors. And there was nothing humiliating in this, on the contrary: being in a squad was considered the basis of the knightly code.
Such closeness with the soldiers is a key feature of Svyatoslav. The story contains many of his speeches, speeches before the army, but this is presented difficult for the modern reader. The text is replete with facts and details of the life of that time, which are mentioned intentionally - the author wanted to show the era when Svyatoslav lived, and not only himself.
Svyatoslav is a strong, brave and agile warrior. For his activity and agility in battle, he was compared to a cheetah. As it should be for a military story, its hero, even as a ruler, knows how to endure the hardships of a military life, fight and lead an army. Neither in this story, nor in others, are there hero-princes who would be pampered or pompous.
The Tale of Prince Izyaslav
The structure of this story is uneven: sometimes the plot is interrupted by excerpts from the story about Prince Igor, at the beginning of the story there are no vivid ideological or stylistic signs, and the end is as imperceptible as the beginning. He seems to be lost against the background of central events.
The story of Prince Izyaslav is a typical cult of a heroic personality, individual and national honor, and virtues of a prince typical of this genre. Izyaslav throughout history is ready to risk his life, he surrenders to the will of God, he is generous in relation to the church and its ministers. The author of the story, by the way, was a supporter of this prince and belonged to the highest circles of that society.
The story begins with Izyaslav ascending to the throne, after which the Kievites dealt with Prince Igor, the attack on Kiev and the accession to the Kiev throne are described. The story contains enough detailed stories about diplomatic missions and military campaigns, describes the victorious entry of the wounded after the battle of Izyaslav to Kiev.
This story occupies an important place in the Kiev Chronicle: it covers a time period of almost 10 years. The story was ordered by different princes at different times, which is why its structure is so heterogeneous - a collection of separate chronicles, among which it is not easy to find the main storyline. The beginning, for example, is inconspicuous, because the story of Izyaslav is intertwined with the story of Igor's martyrdom so closely that it is almost lost in it.
The author uses many figurative means of language to dramatize events. He emphasizes that Izyaslav ascended the throne legally, because the people of Kiev themselves called him from Pereyaslav. And during the reign of Izyaslav tried to reduce the role of Byzantium in the life of the Russian people, to reduce the Byzantine cultural and spiritual influence. The prince created the Kiev cathedral, where his father was elected metropolitan, he remained in history as Klim Smolyatich.
The author of the story portrays the prince as a wise politician and a skillful commander who cares about the fate of soldiers and ordinary Russian people, and also strives to achieve political freedom for Russia. The character and motives of Izyaslav can be seen both in his deeds and in his monologues: there are many of them in the story, and their language is very rich in images.
The story of Igor's campaign against the Polovtsi
The story has two cycles: the first describes Igor's campaign and the death of Prince Svyatoslav, and the second - of Chernigov-Seversk origin. The chronicler mentions in the text such details and such trifles that one who either participated in the campaign, or communicated with one of the participants, could have known.
Igor's fight was unsuccessful. The scouts told him that the position of the Russian army was bad, but the honor did not allow them to retreat without a battle. In the story, he mentions that it would be "shame worse than death." So Igor met with the Polovtsians, and even successfully conducted the first battle, but then the Polovtsians surrounded his squad. The defeat was inevitable, and neither the courage of Vsevolod, nor the courage of Igor himself, nor the courage of the soldiers helped. In this battle, few survived, and the prince was captured. Then he fled from the Polovtsi, fought with them again and was already successful.
The theme of defeat in the story is just the beginning. For the author, this is an introduction to broader reflections: about the historical fate of Russia, its past, present and future. The image of the Russian land is highlighted, and telling about Igor's deeds, the author affirms its unity in the face of a mortal threat. The Russian land in the story is like a living organism, the particles of this organism are people. They rejoice and grieve, worry and show courage. Despite the class difference, in front of the enemy threat, all these people unite to fight back and defend the Russian land.
The volume of the story is small, but the images are very bright, the details are reliable. Reading, one can imagine what and how people lived in Russia in the XII century, what they hoped for, and who led them. And its main idea, the message that the author tried to convey, is the need to love the native land, protect it and increase its wealth.
