Old East Slavic, traditionally known as Old Russian (Russian: древнерусский), is a name for a vernacular literary language used between the 10th and 14th centuries by East Slavs in Kievan Rus and other states formed by that ethnic group. Its dialects were spoken, though not exclusively, roughly in the area today occupied by the European part of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and several eastern voivodships of Poland. Map of Eastern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... An extinct language (also called a dead language) is a language which no longer has any native speakers. ... This article or section should be merged with List of East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families A language family is a group of related languages said to have descended from a common proto-language. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... This article or section should be merged with List of East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of the sounds of human speech. ... Unicode is an industry standard designed to allow text and symbols from all of the writing systems of the world to be consistently represented and manipulated by computers. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... The East Slavs are a Slavic ethnic group, the speakers of East Slavic languages. ... Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Ру́сь, Kievskaya Rus in Russian; Київська Русь, Kyivs’ka Rus’ in Ukrainian) was the early, mostly East Slavic¹ state dominated by the... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the languages speakers. ... A Voivodship (also voivodeship, Romanian: voievodat, Polish: województwo, Serbian: vojvodstvo or vojvodina) was a feudal state in medieval Romania, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Serbia (see Vojvodina), ruled by a Voivod (voivode). ...

As the language is part of the (pre-)national history of all East Slavs, in recent years it has been increasingly labelled by the respective national names: The East Slavs are a Slavic ethnic group, the speakers of East Slavic languages. ...

• Old Belarusian (Belarusian старабеларуская or старажытнабеларуская мова) instead of traditional supranational старажытнаруская мова;
• Old Ukrainian (Ukrainian староукраїнська or давньоукраїнська мова) instead of traditional supranational давньоруська мова or давньокиївська мова.

General considerations

The language was a descendant of the Proto-Slavic language and faithfully retained many of its features. A striking innovation in the evolution of this language was the development of so-called full vocalism, which came to differentiate the newly evolving East Slavic from other Slavic languages. For instance, Proto-Slavic *gordъ ‘town’ became OES gorodъ, Proto-Slavic *melko ‘milk’ - OES moloko, and Proto-Slavic *korva ‘cow’ - OES korova. Other Slavic languages would develop such forms as gradъ, mlěko, krava (South Slavic, Czech and Slovak) or gъrodъ, mьleko, kъrova (e.g. Polish: gród, mleko, krowa) etc. Proto-Slavic is the proto-language from which Old Church Slavonic and other Slavic languages later emerged. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Since the extant records of the language are sparse, it is difficult to assess the level of its unity. The spoken language in Rus' may have consisted of a variety of dialects, and today we may speak definitely only of the languages of surviving manuscripts, which, according to some interpretators, show regional divergences from the beginning of the historical records.

With time it evolved into several more diversified forms, which were the predecessors of the modern Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn and Ukrainian languages. Each of these languages preserves much of the Old East Slavic grammar and vocabulary. Rusyn, though by most outsiders considered one language and even having only one SIL code rue, is in fact the name of two independent languages spoken by Rusyns: Carpatho-Rusyn (also called Ruthenian) Pannonian-Rusyn (also called Rusnak) Carpatho-Rusyn (Ruthenian) The Rusyn language of the Carpathian Mountains is an...

When after the end of the 'Tatar yoke' the territory of former Kievan Rus was divided between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, two separate literary languages emerged in these states, Ruthenian in the west and medieval Russian in the east. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: , Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje, Ruskaje, Żamojckaje, Belarusian: , Ukrainian: , Polish: , Latin: ) was an Eastern and Central European state of the 12th[1] /13th century until the 18th century. ... Coat of arms The growth of Muscovy-Russia. ... Ruthenian was a historic East Slavic language, spoken in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and after 1569 in the East Slavic territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Literary language of Kievan Rus

A page from Svyatoslav's Miscellanies (1073).

The political unification of the region into the state called Kievan Rus, from which modern Belarus, Russia and Ukraine trace their origins, occurred approximately a century before the adoption of Christianity in 988 and the establishment of the South Slavic Old Church Slavonic as the liturgical and literary language. Documentation of the language of this period is scanty, making it difficult at best fully to determine the relationship between the literary language and its spoken dialects. Image File history File links A page from Svyatoslav IIs Izbornik (1073) in the State Historical Museum, Moscow. ... Image File history File links A page from Svyatoslav IIs Izbornik (1073) in the State Historical Museum, Moscow. ... The word Rus or Rus (Русь in Cyrillic Alphabet) may refer to: the Rus (people) of disputed origin who were at the roots of the statehood of Eastern Slavic peoples; the territories they ruled, also known by the Latinized name, Ruthenia; Kievan Rus, the most powerful of... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Events Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev marries Anna, sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II and converts to Christianity. ... Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian, Old Macedonian, or Old Slavic) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Thessaloniki (Solun) by the 9th century Byzantine missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ...

There are references in Arab and Byzantine sources to pre-Christian Slavs in European Russia using some form of writing. Despite some suggestive archaeological finds and a corroboration by the 10th-century monk Khrabr that ancient Slavs wrote in "strokes and incisions" (черты и резы /ʧertɪ i rʲezɪ/), the exact nature of this system is not known. Khrabr (Old Church Slavonic Храбръ) was a 10th century Bulgarian monk who was a near-contemporary of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, the Byzantine saints who created the Cyrillic alphabet and did much to promote Christianity among the Slavs. ...

Although the Glagolitic alphabet was briefly introduced, as witnessed by church inscriptions in Novgorod, it was soon entirely superseded by the Cyrillic. The samples of birch-bark writing excavated in Novgorod have provided crucial information about the pure tenth-century vernacular in North-West Russia, almost entirely free of church influence. It is also known that borrowings and calques from Byzantine Greek began to enter the vernacular at this time, and that simultaneously the literary language in its turn began to be modified towards Eastern Slavic. Tablet inscribed with the Glagolitic alphabet The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavonic alphabet. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... The Cyrillic alphabet (or azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters) is an alphabet used for several East and South Slavic languages; (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Rusyn, Serbian, and Ukrainian) and many other languages of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Eastern Europe. ... A Birch bark document is a document written on pieces of birch bark. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Old Novgorod dialect (Russian древненовгородский диалект, also translated as Old Novgorodian or Ancient Novgorod dialect) is a term introduced by Andrey Zaliznyak (Андр&#1077... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ...

The following excerpts illustrate two of the most famous literary monuments.

NOTE. The spelling has been partly modernized. The translations attempt to be as literal as possible; they are not literary.

Primary Chronicle

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c. 1110, from the Laurentian Codex, 1377 The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from... Image File history File links The opening of the Old Russian (Ruthenian, Ukrainian, East Slavic) Primary Chronicle from the Laurentian codex of 1377. ... Image File history File links The opening of the Old Russian (Ruthenian, Ukrainian, East Slavic) Primary Chronicle from the Laurentian codex of 1377. ... Laurentian Codex (Russian: ) is a collection of chronicles that includes the oldest extant version of the Primary Chronicle and its continuations, mostly relating the events in the Northern Russia (Vladimir-Suzdal). ...

Се повѣсти времѧньных лѣт ‧ ѿкуду єсть пошла руская земѧ ‧ кто въ києвѣ нача первѣє кнѧжит ‧ и ѿкуду руская землѧ стала єсть.

These [are] the tales of the bygone years, whence is come the land of Rus’, who first began to rule at Kiev, and whence the land of Rus’ has come about.

Early language; Russian and Ukrainian not yet differentiated. Fall of the yers in progress or arguably complete (several words end with a consonant; кнѧжит "to rule" < кънѧжити, modern Uk княжити, R княжить). South-western (incipient Ukrainian) features include времѧньнъıх "bygone"; modern R временных). Correct use of perfect and aorist: єсть пошла "is/has come" (modern R пошла), нача "began" (modern R начал as a development of the old perfect tense.) Note the style of punctuation. The letter (Ъ, ÑŠ) of the Cyrillic alphabet is known as the hard sign (твёрдый знак ) in the modern Russian alphabet and as er golyam (ер голям, big yer) in the Bulgarian alphabet. ... Look up Perfect in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Aorist (from Greek αοριστος, indefinite) is a term used in certain Indo-European languages to refer to a particular grammatical tense and/or aspect. ...

Tale of Igor's Campaign

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Слово о пълку Игоревѣ. c. 1200, from the Pskov manuscript, 15th cent. The Tale of Igors Campaign (Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ, Slovo o pălku IgorevÄ›; Modern Russian: Слово о полку Игореве, Slovo o polku Igoreve) is an anonymous masterpiece of East Slavic literature written in Old East Slavic language and tentatively dated by the end of 12th century. ... Image File history File links Opening of the Tale of Igors Campaign (OR ) as preserved in the Catherine manuscript made for the Russian Empress Catherine II in approximately 1790 from, it is supposed, a fifteenth- or sixteenth-century Pskov manuscript that burned in 1812. ... Image File history File links Opening of the Tale of Igors Campaign (OR ) as preserved in the Catherine manuscript made for the Russian Empress Catherine II in approximately 1790 from, it is supposed, a fifteenth- or sixteenth-century Pskov manuscript that burned in 1812. ...

Не лѣпо ли ны бяшетъ братіе, начати старыми словесы трудныхъ повѣстій о полку Игоревѣ, Игоря Святъ славича? Начатижеся тъ пѣсни по былинамъ сего времени, а не по замышленію Бояню. Боянъ бо вѣщій, аще кому хотяше пѣснѣ творити, то растекашется мысію по древу, сѣрымъ волкомъ по земли, шизымъ орломъ подъ облакы.

Would it not be meet, o brothers, for us to begin with the old words the difficult telling of the host of Igor, Igor Sviatoslavich? And to begin in the way of the true tales of this time, and not in the way of Boyan's inventions. For the wise Boyan, if he wished to devote to someone [his] song, would wander like a squirrel over a tree, like a grey wolf over land, like a bluish eagle beneath the clouds.

Illustrates the sung epics. Typical use of metaphor and simile. The apparent (Russian) misreading растекаться мыслью по древу (to effuse/pour out one's thought upon/over wood) has become proverbial in modern Russian with the meaning "to speak ornately, at length, excessively". (The misreading is of мысію, "squirrel-like", taken to be мыслію, "thought-like". It is present in both the manuscript copy of 1790 and the first edition of 1800, and appears to have been aided by a then misunderstood change in the meaning of the word R течь "to flow".) The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ...

Old East Slavic Literature

The Old East Slavic language was the only medieval Slavic tongue (apart from the Old Church Slavonic) that developed a great literature of its own. Surviving literary monuments include the legal code Justice of the Rus (Руська правда /ruska pravda/), a corpus of hagiography and homily, the disputed epic Song of Igor (Слово о полку игореве /slovo o polku igorʲevʲe/) and the earliest surviving manuscript of the Primary Chronicle (Повесть временных лет /povʲestʲ vremʲennix lʲet/) - the Laurentian codex (Лаврентьевский список /lavrʲentʲjevskij spʲisok/) of 1377. Russkaya Pravda (Russian &#1056;&#1091;&#1089;&#1089;&#1082;&#1072;&#1103; &#1055;&#1088;&#1072;&#1074;&#1076;&#1072;) or Ruska Pravda (Ukrainian &#1056;&#1091;&#1089;&#1100;&#1082;&#1072; &#1055;&#1088;&#1072;&#1074;&#1076;&#1072;) was the legal code of later Kievan Rus and the subsequent East Slavic principalities during the times of... Hagiography is the study of saints. ... In the Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church, a homily is usually given during Mass (or Divine Liturgy for Orthodox) at the end of the Liturgy of the Word. ... The Tale of Igors Campaign (Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ, Slovo o pălku IgorevÄ›; Modern Russian: Слово о полку Игореве, Slovo o polku Igoreve) is an anonymous masterpiece of East Slavic literature written in Old East Slavic language and tentatively dated by the end of 12th century. ... The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: &#1055;&#1086;&#1074;&#1077;&#1089;&#1090;&#1100; &#1074;&#1088;&#1077;&#1084;&#1077;&#1085;&#1085;&#1099;&#1093; &#1083;&#1077;&#1090;, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from...

The Book of Veles, said to have been found during the Russian civil war and to have disappeared in WWII, would, if genuine, provide about the only surviving pre-Christian East Slavic literary monument. Since the account of its find and eventual fate (several photographs are claimed to survive) has not been confirmed, and its language deviates from the accepted reconstruction, most professional linguists have so far dismissed the book's authenticity. The only known contour copy of a plank; the book is named after this plank, as it begins with To Veles this book we devote. ...

The earliest dated specimen of Old East Slavic (or, rather, of Church Slavonic with pronounced East Slavic interference) must be considered the written Slovo o zakone i blagodati, by Hilarion, metropolitan of Kiev. In this work there is a panegyric on Prince Vladimir of Kiev, the hero of so much of East Slavic popular poetry. This subtle and graceful oration admirably conforms to the precepts of the Byzantine eloquence. It is rivalled by another panegyric on Vladimir, written a decade later by Yakov the Monk. Church Slavonic may refer to: Old Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic language This is a disambiguation page &#8212; a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ilarion (Ukrainian: ) was the first Metropolitan of Kiev of East Slavic origin. ... In hierarchical Christian churches, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop (then more precisely called Metropolitan archbishop) of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of an old Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Detail of the Millenium of Russia monument in Novgorod (1862) representing St Vladimir and his family. ...

Ostromir Codex from Novgorod (mid-11th century)

Other 11th-century writers are Theodosius, a monk of the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, who wrote on the Latin faith and some Pouchenia or Instructions, and Luka Zhidiata, bishop of Novgorod, who has left us a curious Discourse to the Brethren. From the writings of Theodosius we see that many pagan habits were still in vogue among the people. He finds fault with them for allowing these to continue, and also for their drunkenness; nor do the monks escape his censures. Zhidiata writes in a more vernacular style than many of his contemporaries; he eschews the declamatory tone of the Byzantine authors. And here may be mentioned the many lives of the saints and the Fathers to be found in early East Slavic literature, starting with the two Lives of Sts Boris and Gleb, written in the late 11th century and attributed to Jacob the Monk and to Nestor the Chronicler. Image File history File links Ostromirs Gospel (mid 11th century) from the Russian National Library File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Ostromirs Gospel (mid 11th century) from the Russian National Library File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Ostromir Codex, written in the Church Slavonic with many vernacular words, is famous for its brilliant miniatures. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Categories: Ukraine-related stubs | Eastern Orthodoxy | Places in Ukraine | Kyiv city | UN World Heritage Sites ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... A medieval Russian icon of Boris and Gleb Boris and Gleb, Christian names Roman and David, were the first Russian saints. ... Mark Antokolski Nestor the Chronicler Nestor (c. ...

With the so-called Primary Chronicle, also attributed to Nestor, begins the long series of the Russian annalists. There is a regular catena of these chronicles, extending with only two breaks to the 17th century. Besides the work attributed to Nestor, we have chronicles of Novgorod, Kiev, Volhynia and many others. Every town of any importance could boast of its annalists, Pskov and Suzdal among others. In some respects these compilations, the productions of monks in their cloisters, remind us of Herodotus, dry details alternating with here and there a picturesque incident; and many of these annals abound with the quaintest stories. The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: &#1055;&#1086;&#1074;&#1077;&#1089;&#1090;&#1100; &#1074;&#1088;&#1077;&#1084;&#1077;&#1085;&#1085;&#1099;&#1093; &#1083;&#1077;&#1090;, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The word may have one of the following meanings. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Volhynia (Ukrainian: , Polish: , Russian: ; also called Volynia) comprises the historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Western Bug -- to the north of Galicia and of Podolia. ... The Trinity Cathedral (1682-99) is a symbol of Pskovs former might and independence. ... St. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

In the 12th century we have the sermons of bishop Cyril of Turov, which are attempts to imitate in Old East Slavic the florid Byzantine style. In his sermon on Holy Week, Christianity is represented under the form of spring, Paganism and Judaism under that of winter, and evil thoughts are spoken of as boisterous winds. Cyril of Turaw (1130 - 1182) (Kiryla Turawski; Belarusian: &#1050;&#1110;&#1088;&#1099;&#769;&#1083;&#1072; &#1058;&#1091;&#769;&#1088;&#1072;&#1118;&#1089;&#1082;&#1110;) was an Orthodox Christian bishop and saint in the Orthodox Church. ... Holy Week (Latin: Hebdomada Sancta) in Christianity is the last week of Lent. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Heathen redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The 14th-century Novgorodian children were literate enough to send each other letters written on birch bark

There are also admirable works of early travellers, as the igumen Daniel, who visited the Holy Land at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th century. A later traveller was Afanasiy Nikitin, a merchant of Tver, who visited India in 1470. He has left a record of his adventures, which has been translated into English and published for the Hakluyt Society. Young Novgorodians send to each other letters written on pieces of birch bark. ... Young Novgorodians send to each other letters written on pieces of birch bark. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... A Birch bark document is a document written on pieces of birch bark. ... This article is about the Biblical figure called Daniel. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Holy Land (Biblical). ... Afanasiy Nikitin (&#1053;&#1080;&#1082;&#1080;&#1090;&#1080;&#1085;, &#1040;&#1092;&#1072;&#1085;&#1072;&#1089;&#1080;&#1081; in Russian) (? _ 1472) was a Russian traveller, writer and the first European to visit India. ... Tvers coat of arms depicts grand ducal crown placed on a throne. ... Events May 15 - Charles VIII of Sweden who had served three terms as King of Sweden dies. ... A Journey Beyond the Three Seas (&#1061;&#1086;&#1078;&#1076;&#1077;&#1085;&#1080;&#1077; &#1079;&#1072; &#1090;&#1088;&#1080; &#1084;&#1086;&#1088;&#1103; in Russian, or Khozhdeniye za tri morya) is a Russian literary monument in the form of travel notes, made by a merchant from Tver India in 1466... The Hakluyt Society is a society named after Richard Hakluyt. ...

A curious monument of old Slavonic times is the Pouchenie (Instruction), written by the great Vladimir Monomakh for the benefit of his sons. This composition is generally found inserted in the Chronicle of Nestor; it gives a fine picture of the daily life of a Slavonic prince. The Paterik of the Kievan Caves Monastery is a typical medieval collection of stories from the life of monks, featuring devils, angels, ghosts, and miraculous resurrections. Volodymyr Monomakh (Ukrainian: Володимир Мономах; Russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name Vasiliy, or Basil) (1053 -- May 19, 1125) was the ruler of Kievan Rus. ...

We now come to the famous Lay of Igor's Campaign, which narrates the expedition of Igor Svyatoslavich, prince of Novhorod-Siverskyi against the Cumans. It is neither epic nor a poem but is written in rhythmic prose. Any Christian influence is hard to trace, whereas pagan gods and deities are famously invoked by Igor's grieving wife, Yaroslavna, from the walls of Putyvl. Of the whole bulk of the Old East Slavic literature, the Lay is the only work familiar to every educated Russian or Ukrainian. Its brooding flow of images, murky metaphors, and ever changing rhythm haven't been successfully rendered into English yet. Indeed, the meanings of many words found in it have not been satisfactorily explained by scholars. The Tale of Igors Campaign (Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ, Slovo o pălku Igorevě; Modern Russian: Слово о полку Игореве, Slovo o polku Igoreve) is an anonymous masterpiece of East Slavic literature written in Old East Slavic language and tentatively dated by the end of 12th century. ... Igor Svyatoslavich (April 3, 1151-1202) was the prince of Novhorod-Siversky from 1180 to 1202. ... Novhorod-Siverskyj (Ukrainian: ) or Novgorod-Sjeverskij (Russian: ) is a historic town in the Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine, on the bank of the Desna River, 200 km from the capital Kiev and 45 km south from the Russian border. ... Cumans, also called as Polovtsy, (Russian Половцы, from old Slavic for pale yellowish) was the European name for the Western Kipchaks, a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... Putyvl or Putivl (Russian: ; Ukrainian: ) is an ancient town in north-east Ukraine, in Sumy Oblast. ... Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The Zadonshchina is a sort of prose poem much in the style of the Tale of Igor's Campaign, and the resemblance of the latter to this piece furnishes an additional proof of its genuineness. This account of the battle of Kulikovo, which was gained by Dmitri Donskoi over the Mongols in 1380, has come down in three important versions. Zadonschina («&#1047;&#1072;&#1076;&#1086;&#1085;&#1097;&#1080;&#1085;&#1072;» in Russian; could be translated as the region beyond the Don River) is a Russian literary monument of the late 14th century, which tells about the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. ... Combatants Combined Russian armies The Golden Horde Commanders Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow Mamai Strength About 80,000 About 125,000 Casualties About 40,000 able body men left Unknown The Battle of Kulikovo (Russian: ), also called Battle on the Snipes Field (Кулик means snipe), was fought by the Tartaro-Mongols (the... Statue of Dmitri Donskoi (1862). ... The name Mongols (Mongolian: Mongol) specifies one or several ethnic groups. ...

The early laws of Rus’ present many features of interest, such as the Russkaya Pravda of Yaroslav the Wise, which is preserved in the chronicle of Novgorod; the date is between 1018 and 1072. The laws show Rus at that time to have been in civilization quite on a level with the rest of Europe. Russkaya Pravda is being read to people Russkaya Pravda (Russian: , Russkaya Pravda; Ukrainian: ; Archaic: Правда Роська, Pravda Roska) was the legal code of Kievan Rus and the subsequent Rus principalities during the times of feudal division. ... Yaroslav I the Wise (978?-1054) (Christian name: Yury, or George) was thrice prince of Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. ... Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ...

Notable texts

First page of the 10th-century Novgorod Codex, thought to be the oldest East Slavic book in existence

• Bylinas
• The Tale of Igor's Campaign - the most outstanding literary work in this language
• Russkaya Pravda - an 11th century legal code issued by Yaroslav the Wise
• Praying of Daniel the Immured
• A Journey Beyond the Three Seas

Image File history File links Codex_novg. ... Image File history File links Codex_novg. ... First page of the Novgorod Codex Novgorod Codex (Russian Новгородский кодекс) is a name for the oldest book of Rus’, unearthed on July 13, 2000 in Novgorod. ... Bylina (Russian: были́на, also Byliny and Stariny) is a traditional epic, heroic narrative poetry of early East Slavs of Kievan Rus, the tradition continued in Russia and Ukraine. ... The Tale of Igors Campaign (Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ, Slovo o pălku Igorevě; Modern Russian: Слово о полку Игореве, Slovo o polku Igoreve) is an anonymous masterpiece of East Slavic literature written in Old East Slavic language and tentatively dated by the end of 12th century. ... Russkaya Pravda is being read to people Russkaya Pravda (Russian: , Russkaya Pravda; Ukrainian: ; Archaic: Правда Роська, Pravda Roska) was the legal code of Kievan Rus and the subsequent Rus principalities during the times of feudal division. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Yaroslav I the Wise (978?-1054) (Christian name: Yury, or George) was thrice prince of Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. ... Praying of Daniel the Immured (&#1052;&#1086;&#1083;&#1077;&#1085;&#1080;&#1077; &#1044;&#1072;&#1085;&#1080;&#1080;&#1083;&#1072; &#1047;&#1072;&#1090;&#1086;&#1095;&#1085;&#1080;&#1082;&#1072; in Russian, or Moleniye Danila Zatochnika), is a Russian literary monument of the 13th century. ... A Journey Beyond the Three Seas (&#1061;&#1086;&#1078;&#1076;&#1077;&#1085;&#1080;&#1077; &#1079;&#1072; &#1090;&#1088;&#1080; &#1084;&#1086;&#1088;&#1103; in Russian, or Khozhdeniye za tri morya) is a Russian literary monument in the form of travel notes, made by a merchant from Tver India in 1466...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge&#8212;writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others&#8212;in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• History of the East Slavic languages
• Slavic languages
• Russian language
• Ukrainian language
• Belarusian language

This article or section should be merged with List of East Slavic languages The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... Russian ( , transliteration: , ) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. ... Ukrainian (украї́нська мо́ва, ukrayinska mova, ) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. ... Belarusian (беларуская мова) is the language of the Belarusian people. ...

External links

• Ostromir's Gospel Online
• Online library of the Old Russian texts
• 'Izbornyk', library of Old Ukrainian chronicles