Read the facial vault. Front Chronicle. The front chronicle

The "Makariev school" of painting, the "school of Grozny" are concepts that cover a little more than three decades in the life of Russian art in the second half (or, more precisely, the third quarter) of the 16th century. These years are full of facts, rich in works of art, characterized by a new attitude towards the tasks of art, its role in the general way of life of the young centralized state, and, finally, they are notable for the attitude towards the creative personality of the artist and attempts to regulate his activity, more than ever to subordinate it to the tasks polemical, to involve in the tense dramatic action of public life. For the first time in the history of Russian artistic culture, questions of art become the subject of debate at two church councils (1551 and 1554). For the first time, a pre-designed plan for the creation of numerous works different types art (monumental and easel painting, book illustration and applied art, in particular woodcarving) predetermined themes, plots, emotional interpretation and, to a large extent, served as the basis for a complex set of images designed to reinforce, substantiate, glorify the reign and deeds of the first "crowned autocrat”, who ascended the throne of the centralized Russian state. And it was at this time that a grandiose artistic project was carried out: the front chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book - an annals of events in world and especially Russian history, written, probably in 1568-1576, especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The grandiose "paper" project of Ivan the Terrible!

Front chronograph. RNB.

The chronological framework of these phenomena in the artistic life of the Russian centralized state in the second half of the 16th century. are determined by one of the most significant events of that time - the wedding of Ivan IV to the kingdom. The wedding of Ivan IV (January 16, 1547) opened a new period of approval autocratic power, being a kind of result of a long process of formation of a centralized state and the struggle for the unity of Rus', subject to the power of the Moscow autocrat. That is why the very act of crowning the kingdom of Ivan IV, which served as the subject of repeated discussions among future participants in the "chosen council", as well as among the inner circle of Metropolitan Macarius, was, as historians have repeatedly said, furnished with exceptional splendor. Based on the literary sources of the end of the previous century, Macarius developed the very ritual of the royal wedding, introducing the necessary symbolism into it. A convinced ideologue of autocratic power, Macarius did everything possible to emphasize the exclusivity ("God's chosen") of the power of the Moscow ruler, the primordial rights of the Moscow sovereign with references to historical analogies in the field civil history and above all the history of Byzantium, Kievan and Vladimir-Suzdal Rus.

Royal book.

The ideology of autocracy, according to Macarius, should have been reflected in the written sources of the era and, first of all, the chronicle, the books of the royal genealogy, the circle of annual reading, which were the Menaia compiled under his leadership, and also, apparently, it was supposed to turn to the creation of befitting occasions. works of fine art. That the intentions of appealing to all kinds of artistic culture from the very beginning were grandiose, shows the scope of the literary works of that time. It is difficult, however, to imagine what forms the implementation of these ideas in the field of fine arts would have taken and in what terms they would have been realized if it were not for the fire in June 1547, which devastated the vast territory of the city. As the chronicle tells, on June 21, on Tuesday, “at 10 o’clock on the third week of Peter’s Lent, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross behind Neglimnaya on Arbatskaya Street caught fire ... And there was a great storm, and fire flowed, like lightning, and the fire was strong faster ... And the storm turned to a greater city, and the city caught fire near the cathedral churches of the Holy Top, and in the royal court of the Grand Duke on the roof battens, and wooden huts, and battens decorated with gold, and the Treasury yard and with the royal treasury, and the church in the royal yard at the royal treasuries The Annunciation of the Golden Dome, the deesis of Andreev’s letter of Rublev, overlaid with gold, and the images, decorated with gold and beads of the valuable Greek letters of his forefathers from many years collected ... And in many churches the stone burnt deesis and images, and church vessels, and many human stomachs , and the court of the Metropolitan. “... And in the city all the yards and wards are burning hot, and the Chudovsky Monastery is all burnt out, the relics of the holy great miracle worker Alexei by God's mercy were preserved by God's mercy... And the Ascension Monastery is also all burnt out, ... and the Church of the Ascension is burnt out, images and vessels church and the stomachs of many people, only one image of the Most Pure Archpriest endured. And all the yards in the city burned down, and the city’s roofing was on the city, and the potion of cannon, where in the city, and those places the city walls were torn apart ... In one hour, a lot of people burned down, 1,700 men and women and a baby, a lot of grief people along Tferskaya Street, and along Dmitrovka, and in Bolshoy Posad, along Ilyinskaya Street, in gardens. The fire on June 21, 1547, which began in the first half of the day, continued until night: "And at the third hour of the night the fiery flame ceased." As it is clear from the given chronicle evidence, the buildings in the royal court were badly damaged, numerous works of art were destroyed and partly damaged.

Battle on the Ice. Annalistic miniature from the 16th century Facial Code.

But Moscow residents suffered even more. On the second day, the tsar and the boyars gathered at the bedside of Metropolitan Macarius, who had been injured during the fire, to discuss the mood populace, and the tsar's confessor, Fyodor Barmin, reported rumors spreading about the cause of the fire, which black people explained by the witchcraft of Anna Glinskaya. Ivan IV was forced to appoint an investigation. In addition to F. Barmin, it was attended by Prince Fyodor Skopin Shuisky, Prince Yuri Temkin, I. P. Fedorov, G. Yu. Zakharyin, F. Nagoi and "others". Excited by the fire, Moscow black people, as the course of further events explains the Continuation of the Chronograph of 1512 and the Chronicler Nikolsky, gathered at the Veche and on Sunday morning, June 26, entered the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin "to the sovereign's court", seeking trial over the perpetrators of the fire (the perpetrators of the fire , as mentioned above, the Glinskys were revered). Yuri Glinsky tried to hide in the Dmitrovsky aisle of the Assumption Cathedral. The rebels penetrated the cathedral, despite the ongoing divine service, and during the “cherubic song” they took Yuri out and killed him against the metropolitan place, dragged him outside the city and left him at the place of execution of the criminals. The people of the Glinskys were "countlessly beaten and the prince's belly ripped apart." One might have thought that the murder of Yuri Glinsky was an "execution", clothed in the form of "traditional" and "legal".

Mityai (Michael) and St. Dionysius before led. book. Dimitry Donskoy.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle. 70s 16th century

This is evidenced by the fact that the body of Glinsky was put up for auction and thrown "before the stake, where they will be executed." This performance of black people did not end there. On June 29, armed, in battle order, they (by the “cry of the executioner” or “birich”) moved to the royal residence in Vorobyevo. Their ranks were so formidable (they were with shields and spears) that Ivan IV was "surprised and horrified." Black people demanded the extradition of Anna Glinskaya and her son Mikhail. The scale of the actions of black people turned out to be quite large, the readiness for a military action testified to the strength of the people's anger. This uprising was preceded by protests by the dissatisfied in the cities (in the summer of 1546, the Novgorod pishchalniks came out, and on June 3, 1547, the Pskovites complained about the royal governor Turuntai), and it is clear that the size of the popular unrest should have made a formidable impression not only on Ivan IV. They had to be considered by the inner circle of the young king, who determined the policy of the 30s - 50s. The organized uprising of the Moscow lower classes was mainly directed against the boyar autocracy and arbitrariness, which was especially painfully reflected in the years of the youth of Ivan IV on the fate of the broad masses of the people, and had a certain influence on further development domestic policy.

One of the books of the Facial Code of the 16th century.

Most likely, those of the historians who consider the Moscow uprising after the fire of 1547 inspired by the opponents of the boyar autocracy are right. Attempts to find the inspirers of the uprising in the immediate environment of Ivan IV are not without foundation. However, inspired from outside, it, reflecting the protest of the broad masses of the people against the boyar oppression, as you know, took on an unexpected scope, although it coincided in its direction with the new trends of the emerging government of the 50s. But at the same time, its scale, the speed and strength of the popular reaction to the events were such that it was impossible not to take into account the significance of the speech and those of its deep social causes, which, regardless of the influence of the ruling political parties, caused popular unrest. All this aggravated the complexity of the political situation and in many respects contributed to the breadth of the idea and the search for the most effective means of ideological influence, among which works of fine art, new in content, occupied a significant place. It can be thought that in developing a plan of political and ideological measures to influence the broad circles of the people, it was decided to turn to one of the most accessible and familiar educational means - to standing and monumental painting, due to the capacity of its images, capable of leading from the usual edifying themes to more broad historical generalizations. A certain experience of this kind took shape already in the reign, first of Ivan III, and later of Vasily III. In addition to influencing the Moscow black people, as well as the boyars and service people, the paintings were intended to have a direct educational effect on the young tsar himself. Like many literary undertakings carried out in the circle of Metropolitan Macarius and the "chosen council" - and the leading role of Macarius, as the ideologist of autocratic power, should not be underestimated - the works of painting in their essential part contained not only "justifications for the policy" of the king, but also revealed those basic ideas that were supposed to inspire Ivan IV himself and determine the general direction of his activities.

Ivan the Terrible at the wedding of Simeon Bekbulatovich.

It was important to interest Ivan IV in the general plan of restoration work to such an extent that their ideological orientation was, as it were, predetermined by the sovereign himself, came from him (recall that the Stoglavy Cathedral was similarly organized a little later). The initiative for restoration work was divided between Metropolitan Macarius, Sylvester and Ivan IV, who, of course, was supposed to officially lead. All these relationships can be traced in the very course of events, as they are described in the chronicle, and most importantly, as evidenced by the materials of the Viskovaty case. The interior decoration of the temples burned out, the fire did not spare both the royal dwelling and the royal treasury. It was not in the custom of Muscovite Rus' to leave temples without shrines. Ivan IV first of all “sent around the cities holy and honest icons, in Velikiy Novgorod, and to Smolensk, and to Dmitrov, and Zvenigorod, and from many other cities, many wonderful holy icons were brought and placed at the Annunciation for worship by the tsar and all the peasants. Following this, restoration work began. One of the active participants in the organization of restoration work was Priest Sylvester, who himself served in the Annunciation Cathedral - as you know, one of the most influential figures in the "chosen council". Sylvester tells in detail about the progress of the work in his “Complaint” to the “consecrated cathedral” of 1554, from which you can get information about the organization and performers of the work, and about the sources of iconography, and about the process of ordering and “accepting” works, as well as about the role and relationships Metropolitan Macarius, Ivan IV and Sylvester himself during the creation of new monuments of painting.

Shchelkanovshchina. Popular uprising against the Tatars in Tver. 1327.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle of the 16th century

The “Complaint” allows us to judge the number of invited masters, as well as the very fact of inviting masters, and most importantly, about those art centers from where the cadres of painters were scooped: “the sovereign sent icon painters to Novgorod, and to Pskov and other cities, the icon painters gathered , and the tsar ordered them to write icons, to whom it was ordered, and to others he ordered them to sign and at the city above the gates of the saints to write images. Thus, the areas of activity of painters are immediately determined: easel painting (icon painting), secular chamber painting, the creation of over-the-gate icons (it is possible to understand them as wall painting and as easel painting). As the main artistic centers where the masters come from, two cities are called Sylvester: Novgorod and Pskov, and it is very interesting how the relationship between the masters and the organizers of the order develops. All from the same Sylvester's Complaint, as well as from his message to his son Anfim, one can judge about the leading role of Sylvester in organizing the leadership of the squad itself, which carried out painting works after the fire of 1547. In particular, with the Novgorod masters at Sylvester, apparently, long established relationships. He himself determines what they should order, where they can get the sources of iconography: “And I, reporting to the sovereign tsar, ordered the Novgorod icon painters to write the Holy Trinity Life-Giving in deeds, and I believe in one God, praise the Lord from heaven, yes Sophia, Wisdom God, yes, it is worthy, and the translation from the Trinity had icons, why write, but on Simonov. But this was done only if the plots were traditional. The situation was much more complicated when there were no such transfers.

Defense of Kozelsk, miniature of the 16th century from the Nikon chronicle.

Another part of the work was entrusted to the Pskovites. Their invitation was not unexpected. They turned to the Pskov masters at the end of the 15th century. True, at that time skillful builders were invited, while now they are icon painters. Macarius, in the recent past the archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov, himself, as you know, a painter, in all likelihood, struck up relations with the Pskov masters in his time. In any case, on the basis of completed orders, one can judge the rather significant size of the workshop at the archbishop's court in Novgorod. It is generally accepted that this whole workshop, following Macarius, moved to the metropolitan court in Moscow. Maintaining relations with the Pskovites, being already a metropolitan, Macarius could through the priest of the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Pskovite Semyon, the same one who submitted his “Complaint” to the “consecrated cathedral” together with Sylvester. Obviously, for the execution of such a complex order, the best masters from different cities were convened, which laid the foundation for the "royal school" of painters. The Pskovites, without explaining the reasons, did not want to work in Moscow and pledged to fulfill the order, working at home: “And the Pskov icons of Ostanya, yes Yakov, yes Mikhail, yes Yakushko, yes Semyon the High Verb and comrades, ask for leave to Pskov and went there to write four large icons":

1. Last Judgment

2. Renovation of the Cathedral of Christ our God of Resurrection

3. Passion of the Lord in the Gospel parables

4. The icon, there are four holidays on it: "And God rest on the seventh day from all his works, yes, the Only Begotten Son, the Word of God, yes, Come people, let us bow down to the three-part Deity, but in the tomb of the flesh"

So, at the head of the whole grandiose plan of restoration work was the king, “reporting” to whom or “having asked” whom (partly nominally), Sylvester distributed orders among painters, especially if there was a direct opportunity to use samples.

Battle on the Ice. Flight of the Swedes to the ships.

It should be emphasized that the Moscow sources of traditional iconography were the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and the Simonov Monastery. (In written sources until the second half of the 16th century, there was no information about the art workshop in Simonov, despite the mention of the names of several masters who left this monastery). It should also be recalled that Novgorod and Pskov churches are also mentioned among the authoritative sources of iconography, in particular, the murals of St. Sophia of Novgorod, the church of St. George in the Yuriev monastery, St. Life-Giving Trinity in Pskov, which is very typical for Novgorod connections and Sylvester and Macarius. Despite the fact that it would seem natural to consider Metropolitan Macarius himself the main inspirer of the paintings, it is clear from the text of the Complaint that he played a rather passive role in the organizational side of the order. On the other hand, he carried out the “acceptance” of the order, “performing a prayer service with the entire consecrated cathedral,” for the most important act of approbation from the point of view of church ideology was the moment of consecration of finished works, primarily easel, as well as monumental painting. Not without the participation of Ivan IV and at this stage - he distributed the new icons in the temples. Restoration work after the fire of 1547 was considered a matter of national importance, as long as Ivan IV himself, Metropolitan Macarius and Sylvester, the closest member of the “chosen council” to Ivan IV, took care of their implementation.

Ivan the Terrible and the royal icon painters.

It is in the era of Grozny that art is “deeply exploited by the state and the church”, and the role of art is being rethought, the importance of which as an educational principle, a means of persuasion and an irresistible emotional impact increases immeasurably, at the same time, the usual way of artistic life changes dramatically. The possibility of "free creative development of the artist's personality" is reduced. The artist loses the simplicity and freedom of relationships with the customer-parishioner, the church keeper or the abbot - the builder of the monastery. Now the order of state importance is strictly regulated by the ruling circles, who consider art as a conductor of certain political trends. Themes, plots of individual works or integral ensembles are discussed by representatives of state and church authorities, become the subject of debate at councils, and are stipulated in legislative documents. During these years, ideas were developed for grandiose monumental ensembles, cycles of easel works and illustrations in handwritten books, which in general have common trends.

Construction of St. Basil's Cathedral (Protection on the Moat) on Red Square.

There is a desire to link the history of the Muscovite state with world history, to show the “chosenness” of the Muscovite state, which is the subject of “divine economy”. This idea is supported by numerous analogies from the Old Testament history, the history of the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms, the monarchy of Alexander the Great, Roman and Byzantine history. It is not for nothing that the chronographic volumes of the Illuminated Chronicle were created with special attention and such thoroughness in the circle of the Makaryev scribes. It is not for nothing that in the monumental ensembles of temple murals and the murals of the Golden Chamber such a significant place was given to historical and Old Testament subjects, selected on the principle of direct analogy. At the same time, the whole cycle of works of fine art was permeated with the idea of the divinity of the sovereign power, its divine establishment, its originality in Rus' and the direct succession of royal dignity from the Roman and Byzantine emperors and the continuity of the dynasty of “God-approved scepter holders” from the princes of Kiev and Vladimir to the sovereign of Moscow. All this taken together was intended to reinforce and justify the very fact of the wedding of Ivan IV, to justify the further course of the autocracy policy not only in the Muscovite state itself, but also in the face of the "Orthodox East".

Ivan the Terrible sends ambassadors to Lithuania.

This was all the more necessary because the "approval" of the wedding of Ivan IV by the Patriarch of Constantinople was expected, which, as you know, was carried out only in 1561, when a "conciliar charter" was received. An equally important place in the overall plan was occupied by the idea of glorifying the military actions of Ivan IV. His military speeches were interpreted as religious wars in defense of the purity and inviolability of the Christian state from infidels, freeing Christian captives and civilians from the Tatar invaders and oppressors. Finally, the topic of religious and moral education was no less significant. It was interpreted in two ways: more in-depth with a certain philosophical and symbolic connotation in the interpretation of basic Christian dogma and more directly - in terms of moral purification and improvement. The last topic was also of a personal nature - it was about the spiritual education and self-correction of the young autocrat. All these trends, or, more precisely, all these facets of a single ideological concept, were realized in different ways in individual works of art throughout the Grozny reign. The culmination in the disclosure and implementation of this concept was the period of restoration work in 1547-1554. and more broadly - the time of the activity of the "chosen one".

Kulikovo battle. 1380

After 1570, until the end of the reign of Ivan IV, as is known, the volume of works in the field of fine arts was sharply reduced, the intensity of the emotional content, the feeling of uniqueness and chosenness gradually faded away. It is replaced by another, more severe, mournful, sometimes tragic. Echoes of triumph, self-affirmation, so characteristic of the early days, only occasionally make themselves felt in individual works as belated reflections of the past, only to fade away completely in the early 80s. At the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, applied art came to the fore in artistic life. If it becomes impossible to affirm and glorify the idea of autocracy as such, then it is natural to add splendor to palace life, palace utensils, like royal clothes, covered with patterns and jewelry, often turn into unique works of art. The nature of the literary works undertaken in the course of "preparation" for the wedding in the circle of Metropolitan Macarius draws attention. Among them, one should especially single out the rite of the wedding to the kingdom, with its direct connection with the "Tale of the Princes of Vladimir". The story of Vladimir Monomakh receiving the royal crown and his crowning "to the kingdom" is contained in the Book of Degrees and the Great Menaia of the Four, i.e., literary monuments of the Makaryev circle. The initial volumes of the chronographic part of the Illuminated Chronicle, as well as the extended (in comparison with other lists of the Nikon Chronicle) edition of the text of the first six sheets of the Golitsyn volume of the Illuminated Chronicle, also contain a story about the beginning of the reign of Vladimir Monomakh in Kiev and about his wedding "to the kingdom" with regalia sent byzantine emperor. In direct connection with them are the miniatures that adorn the chronographic part of the Obverse Vault, as well as the miniatures of the first six sheets of the Golitsyn volume. In the miniatures of the chronographic part of the Facial Chronicle, in turn, they find further disclosure of the theme of the divine establishment of the sovereign power, the introduction of Rus' into the general course world history, as well as the idea of the chosenness of the Moscow autocrat. Thus, a certain range of literary monuments is designated. The same themes are further developed in the paintings of the Golden Chamber, in the reliefs of the royal place (“Monomakh's Throne”), erected in the Assumption Cathedral, in the painting of the portal of the Archangel Cathedral. The icons made by the Pskovites, seemingly purely dogmatic in their content, carry the plot, and perhaps the disclosure of the theme of the sacred nature of the wars waged by Ivan IV, the God-chosen heroism of the warriors, awarded the crowns of immortality and glory, which culminates in the icon " Militant Church" and in the image of Christ - the winner of death in the "Four-part" of the Cathedral of the Annunciation.

Battle of Kosovo. 1389

This theme, in its programmatic, most developed form, is embodied in the first Russian "battle picture" - "The Militant Church". The direct disclosure of its subtext is the murals of the tomb of Ivan IV (in the deacon of the Archangel Cathedral), as well as the system of murals of the cathedral as a whole (assuming that its murals that have come down to the present time completely repeat the murals carried out no later than 1566). Even if we remain within the most cautious assumptions about the preservation of the earlier painting, one cannot fail to see that the military themes that make up the wall painting lead directly to a cycle of Old Testament battle scenes in the painting of the Golden Chamber, in which contemporaries found direct analogies with the history of Kazan and Astrakhan taking. To this we should add personal, “autobiographical” themes, if we can talk like that about the plots of the murals of the Archangel Cathedral (chapter about the tomb of Grozny) and the Golden Chamber, and partly the icon-painting “The Militant Church”. Finally, the main Christological, or symbolic-dogmatic, cycle of icons, made according to the "sovereign order", is associated with the main compositions of the painting of the Golden Chamber, being a clear expression of the entire system of religious and philosophical views of that group, which is usually called the "government of the 50s" and which included both representatives of the "chosen council" and the head of the Russian church, Metropolitan Macarius. Being addressed to a relatively wide circle of people, this painting also had another purpose - a constant reminder of the basic religious and philosophical principles to the young king, whose "correction" was undertaken by his closest members of the "chosen council". This is also evidenced by the presence in the painting system of the Golden Chamber of compositions on the theme of the Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph, in which contemporaries were inclined to see the story of the moral renewal of Ivan IV himself, and by Varlaam they meant the same all-powerful Sylvester. Thus, before us are, as it were, links of a single plan. The themes, starting in one of the monuments, continue to be revealed in subsequent ones, being read in direct sequence in works of different types of fine art.

Front Chronicle(The personal chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book) is a chronicle of events in world and especially Russian history, created in the 40-60s of the 16th century (probably in 1568-1576) especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The front (i.e., illustrated, with the image “in faces”) chronicle is not only a monument of Russian handwritten books and a masterpiece of ancient Russian literature. It is a literary, historical, artistic monument of world significance. It is no coincidence that it is unofficially called the Tsar-Book (by analogy with the Tsar-Cannon and the Tsar-Bell). The front annalistic code was created in the 2nd half of the 16th century by order of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible in a single copy for his children. Metropolitan and "sovereign" artisans worked on the books of the Facial Code: about 15 scribes and 10 artists. The codex consists of about 10,000 sheets and over 17,000 illustrations, and the visual material occupies about 2/3 of the entire volume of the monument. Miniature drawings (landscape, historical, battle and everyday genres) not only illustrate the text, but also complement it. Some events are not written, but only drawn. The drawings tell readers what clothes, military armor, church vestments, weapons, tools, household items, and so on looked like in antiquity. In the history of world medieval writing there is no monument similar to the Illuminated Chronicle both in terms of breadth of coverage and volume. It included sacred, ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek stories, stories about the Trojan War and Alexander the Great, plots from the history of the Roman and Byzantine empires, as well as an annals covering major events Russia for four and a half centuries: from 1114 to 1567. (It is assumed that the beginning and end of this chronicle, namely, the Tale of Bygone Years, a significant part of the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, as well as some other fragments, have not been preserved.) In the Facial Code, the history of the Russian state is considered inseparably from world history.

The volumes are grouped in relatively chronological order:

bible story
History of Rome
History of Byzantium
Russian history

Contents of volumes:

Museum collection (GIM). 1031 sheets, 1677 miniatures. Presentation of the sacred, Hebrew and Greek history from the creation of the world to the destruction of Troy in the XIII century. BC e.
Chronographic collection (BAN). 1469 sheets, 2549 miniatures. Presentation of the history of the ancient East, the Hellenistic world and ancient Rome from the 11th century. BC e. until the 70s. 1st century n. e.
Front chronograph (RNB). 1217l., 2191 miniatures. Outline of the history of the ancient Roman Empire since the 70s. 1st century until 337 and Byzantine history until the 10th century.
Golitsyn volume (RNB). 1035 l., 1964 miniatures. Statement national history for 1114-1247 and 1425-1472
Laptev volume (RNB). 1005 l., 1951 miniature. Statement of national history for 1116-1252.
Ostermanovsky first volume (BAN). 802 sheets, 1552 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1254-1378.
Ostermanovsky second volume (BAN). 887 sheets, 1581 miniature. Statement of national history for 1378-1424.
Shumilovsky volume (RNB). 986 sheets, 1893 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1425, 1478-1533.
Synodal volume (GIM). 626 l, 1125 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1542, 1553-1567.
Royal Book (GIM). 687 sheets, 1291 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1553

The history of the creation of the vault:

The vault was probably created in 1568-1576. (according to some sources, work began in the 1540s), by order of Ivan the Terrible, in the Alexander Sloboda, which was then the residence of the king. In particular, Alexey Fedorovich Adashev took part in the work. The creation of the Illuminated Chronicle lasted intermittently for more than 30 years. The text was prepared by scribes from the entourage of Metropolitan Macarius, the miniatures were executed by the masters of the metropolitan and "sovereign" workshops. The presence in the illustrations of the Front Chronicle of images of buildings, structures, clothing, handicraft and agricultural tools, household items, corresponding in each case to the historical era, indicates the existence of more ancient illustrated chronicles that served as models for illustrators. of the entire volume The front annalistic code contains a developed system of illustrating historical texts. Within the illustrations of the Obverse Chronicle, one can speak about the origin and formation of the landscape, historical, battle and actually everyday genres. Around 1575, amendments were made to the text regarding the reign of Ivan the Terrible (apparently, under the leadership of the tsar himself). Initially, the vault was not bound - the binding was carried out later, at different times.

Storage:

The only original copy of the Code is stored separately, in three places (in different "baskets"):

State Historical Museum (volumes 1, 9, 10)

Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (volumes 2, 6, 7)

Russian National Library (volumes 3, 4, 5, 8)

Cultural influence and significance. B. M. Kloss described the Code as "the largest chronicle-chronographic work of medieval Rus'." The miniatures from the Code are widely known and are used both in the form of illustrations and in art.

Tom

The volumes are grouped in relatively chronological order:

bible story
History of Rome
History of Byzantium
Russian history

Face Chronograph

royal book

Museum collection (GIM). 1031 sheets, 1677 miniatures. Presentation of the sacred, Hebrew and Greek history from the creation of the world to the destruction of Troy in the XIII century. BC e.
Chronographic collection (BAN). 1469 sheets, 2549 miniatures. Presentation of the history of the ancient East, the Hellenistic world and ancient Rome from the 11th century. BC e. until the 70s. 1st century n. e.
Front chronograph (RNB). 1217l., 2191 miniatures. Outline of the history of the ancient Roman Empire since the 70s. 1st century until 337 and Byzantine history until the 10th century.
Golitsyn volume (RNB). 1035 l., 1964 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1114-1247 and 1425-1472.
Laptev volume (RNB). 1005 l., 1951 miniature. Statement of national history for 1116-1252.
Ostermanovsky first volume (BAN). 802 sheets, 1552 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1254-1378.
Ostermanovsky second volume (BAN). 887 sheets, 1581 miniature. Statement of national history for 1378-1424.
Shumilovsky volume (RNB). 986 sheets, 1893 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1425, 1478-1533.
Synodal volume (GIM). 626 l, 1125 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1542, 1553-1567.
Royal Book (GIM). 687 sheets, 1291 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1553.

The history of the creation of the vault

The miniatures from the Code are widely known and are used both in the form of illustrations and in art.

Facsimile edition (2008)

A copy of the complete facsimile edition of the Literary Chronicle can be found in the library of the Department of Manuscripts of the State Historical Museum in Moscow and in the Pushkin House in St. Petersburg.

Currently, the Facial Chronicle is published for charitable and educational purposes by the Society of Lovers of Ancient Writing. Distributed for free.

Literature

Artsikhovsky A. V. Old Russian miniatures as a historical source. - M., 1944.

Podobedova O. I. Miniatures of Russian Historical Manuscripts: On the History of Russian Facial Chronicles / Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Art History of the Ministry of Culture of the USSR. - M .: Nauka, 1965. - 336 p. - 1,400 copies.

Pokrovskaya V.F. From the history of the creation of the Illuminated Chronicle of the second half of the 16th century. // Materials and messages on the funds of the Department of Manuscript and Rare Books of the Library of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - M.; L., 1966.

Amosov A. A. The personal annals of Ivan the Terrible: A comprehensive codicological study. - M .: Editorial URSS, 1998. - 392 p. - 1,000 copies. - ISBN 5-901006-49-6(in trans.)

The front annalistic code of the XVI century: Methods of description and study of a disparate annalistic complex / Comp. E. A. Belokon, V. V. Morozov, S. A. Morozov; Rep. ed. S. O. Schmidt. - M .: Publishing House of the Russian State Humanitarian University, 2003. - 224, p. - 1,500 copies. - ISBN 5-7281-0564-5(in trans.)

Presnyakov A. E. Moscow Historical Encyclopedia of the 16th century // IORYAS. - 1900. - T. 5, book. 3. - S. 824-876.

Morozov V.V. The front annalistic code about the campaign of Igor Svyatoslavich // TODRL. - 1984. - T. 38. - S. 520-536.

Kloss B. M. Chronicle front // Dictionary of scribes and bookishness Ancient Rus'. Issue. 2, part 2 (L - Z). - L., 1989. - S. 30-32.

Links

The "Makariev school" of painting, the "school of Grozny" are concepts that cover a little more than three decades in the life of Russian art in the second half (or, more precisely, the third quarter) of the 16th century. These years are full of facts, rich in works of art, characterized by a new attitude towards the tasks of art, its role in the general way of life of the young centralized state, and, finally, they are notable for the attitude towards the creative personality of the artist and attempts to regulate his activity, more than ever to subordinate it to the tasks polemical, to involve in the tense dramatic action of public life. For the first time in the history of Russian artistic culture, questions of art become the subject of debate at two church councils (1551 and 1554). For the first time, a predetermined plan for the creation of numerous works of various types of art (monumental and easel painting, book illustration and applied art, in particular wood carving) predetermined themes, plots, emotional interpretation and, to a large extent, served as the basis for a complex set of images designed to reinforce, substantiate, glorify the reign and deeds of the first "crowned autocrat" who ascended the throne of the centralized Russian state. And it was at this time that a grandiose artistic project was carried out: the front chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book - an annals of events in world and especially Russian history, written, probably in 1568-1576, especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The grandiose "paper" project of Ivan the Terrible!

Front chronograph. RNB.

The chronological framework of these phenomena in the artistic life of the Russian centralized state in the second half of the 16th century. are determined by one of the most significant events of that time - the wedding of Ivan IV to the kingdom. The wedding of Ivan IV (January 16, 1547) opened a new period of assertion of autocratic power, being a kind of result of a long process of formation of a centralized state and the struggle for the unity of Rus', subject to the power of the Moscow autocrat. That is why the very act of crowning the kingdom of Ivan IV, which served as the subject of repeated discussions among future participants in the "chosen council", as well as among the inner circle of Metropolitan Macarius, was, as historians have repeatedly said, furnished with exceptional splendor. Based on the literary sources of the end of the previous century, Macarius developed the very ritual of the royal wedding, introducing the necessary symbolism into it. A convinced ideologue of autocratic power, Macarius did everything possible to emphasize the exclusivity ("chosen by God") of the power of the Moscow sovereign, the primordial rights of the Moscow sovereign by referring to historical analogies in the field of civil history and, above all, the history of Byzantium, Kievan and Vladimir-Suzdal Rus.

Royal book.

Battle on the Ice. Annalistic miniature from the 16th century Facial Code.

But Moscow residents suffered even more. On the second day, the tsar and the boyars gathered at the bedside of Metropolitan Macarius, who had suffered during the fire, “for a thought” - the mindset of the masses was discussed, and the tsar’s confessor, Fyodor Barmin, reported rumors spreading about the cause of the fire, which black people explained by the witchcraft of Anna Glinskaya. Ivan IV was forced to appoint an investigation. In addition to F. Barmin, it was attended by Prince Fyodor Skopin Shuisky, Prince Yuri Temkin, I. P. Fedorov, G. Yu. Zakharyin, F. Nagoi and "others". Excited by the fire, Moscow black people, as the course of further events explains the Continuation of the Chronograph of 1512 and the Chronicler Nikolsky, gathered at the Veche and on Sunday morning, June 26, entered the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin "to the sovereign's court", seeking trial over the perpetrators of the fire (the perpetrators of the fire , as mentioned above, the Glinskys were revered). Yuri Glinsky tried to hide in the Dmitrovsky aisle of the Assumption Cathedral. The rebels penetrated the cathedral, despite the ongoing divine service, and during the “cherubic song” they took Yuri out and killed him against the metropolitan place, dragged him outside the city and left him at the place of execution of the criminals. The people of the Glinskys were "countlessly beaten and the prince's belly ripped apart." One might have thought that the murder of Yuri Glinsky was an "execution", clothed in the form of "traditional" and "legal".

Mityai (Michael) and St. Dionysius before led. book. Dimitry Donskoy.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle. 70s 16th century

This is evidenced by the fact that the body of Glinsky was put up for auction and thrown "before the stake, where they will be executed." This performance of black people did not end there. On June 29, armed, in battle order, they (by the “cry of the executioner” or “birich”) moved to the royal residence in Vorobyevo. Their ranks were so formidable (they were with shields and spears) that Ivan IV was "surprised and horrified." Black people demanded the extradition of Anna Glinskaya and her son Mikhail. The scale of the actions of black people turned out to be quite large, the readiness for a military action testified to the strength of the people's anger. This uprising was preceded by protests by the dissatisfied in the cities (in the summer of 1546, the Novgorod pishchalniks came out, and on June 3, 1547, the Pskovites complained about the royal governor Turuntai), and it is clear that the size of the popular unrest should have made a formidable impression not only on Ivan IV. They had to be considered by the inner circle of the young king, who determined the policy of the 30s - 50s. The organized uprising of the Moscow lower classes was mainly directed against the boyar autocracy and arbitrariness, which was especially painfully reflected in the years of Ivan IV's youth on the fate of the broad masses of the people, and had a certain influence on the further development of domestic policy.

One of the books of the Facial Code of the 16th century.

Ivan the Terrible at the wedding of Simeon Bekbulatovich.

It was important to interest Ivan IV in the general plan of restoration work to such an extent that their ideological orientation was, as it were, predetermined by the sovereign himself, came from him (recall that the Stoglavy Cathedral was similarly organized a little later). The initiative for restoration work was divided between Metropolitan Macarius, Sylvester and Ivan IV, who, of course, was supposed to officially lead. All these relationships can be traced in the very course of events, as they are described in the chronicle, and most importantly, as evidenced by the materials of the Viskovaty case. The interior decoration of the temples burned out, the fire did not spare both the royal dwelling and the royal treasury. It was not in the custom of Muscovite Rus' to leave temples without shrines. First of all, Ivan IV “sent around the cities holy and honest icons, to Veliky Novgorod, and to Smolensk, and to Dmitrov, and Zvenigorod, and from many other cities, many and wonderful holy icons were brought and placed on the Annunciation for worship by the tsar and all the peasants ". Following this, restoration work began. One of the active participants in the organization of restoration work was Priest Sylvester, who himself served in the Annunciation Cathedral - as you know, one of the most influential figures in the "chosen council". Sylvester tells in detail about the progress of the work in his “Complaint” to the “consecrated cathedral” of 1554, from which you can get information about the organization and performers of the work, and about the sources of iconography, and about the process of ordering and “accepting” works, as well as about the role and relationships Metropolitan Macarius, Ivan IV and Sylvester himself during the creation of new monuments of painting.

Shchelkanovshchina. Popular uprising against the Tatars in Tver. 1327.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle of the 16th century

Defense of Kozelsk, miniature of the 16th century from the Nikon chronicle.

1. Last Judgment

2. Renovation of the Cathedral of Christ our God of Resurrection

3. Passion of the Lord in the Gospel parables

Battle on the Ice. Flight of the Swedes to the ships.

It should be emphasized that the Moscow sources of traditional iconography were the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and the Simonov Monastery. (In written sources until the second half of the 16th century, there was no information about the art workshop in Simonov, despite the mention of the names of several masters who left this monastery). It should also be recalled that among the authoritative sources of iconography, both Novgorod and Pskov churches are mentioned, in particular, the murals of St. Sophia of Novgorod, the church of St. George in the St. characteristic of Novgorod connections and Sylvester and Macarius. Despite the fact that it would seem natural to consider Metropolitan Macarius himself the main inspirer of the paintings, it is clear from the text of the Complaint that he played a rather passive role in the organizational side of the order. On the other hand, he carried out the “acceptance” of the order, “performing a prayer service with the entire consecrated cathedral,” for the most important act of approbation from the point of view of church ideology was the moment of consecration of finished works, primarily easel, as well as monumental painting. Not without the participation of Ivan IV and at this stage - he distributed the new icons in the temples. Restoration work after the fire of 1547 was considered a matter of national importance, as long as Ivan IV himself, Metropolitan Macarius and Sylvester, the closest member of the “chosen council” to Ivan IV, took care of their implementation.

Ivan the Terrible and the royal icon painters.

Construction of St. Basil's Cathedral (Protection on the Moat) on Red Square.

Ivan the Terrible sends ambassadors to Lithuania.

Kulikovo battle. 1380

After 1570, until the end of the reign of Ivan IV, as is known, the volume of works in the field of fine arts was sharply reduced, the intensity of the emotional content, the feeling of uniqueness and chosenness gradually faded away. It is replaced by another, more severe, mournful, sometimes tragic. Echoes of triumph, self-affirmation, so characteristic of the early days, only occasionally make themselves felt in individual works as belated reflections of the past, only to fade away completely in the early 80s. At the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, applied art came to the fore in artistic life. If it becomes impossible to affirm and glorify the idea of autocracy as such, then it is natural to add splendor to palace life, palace utensils, like royal clothes, covered with patterns and jewelry, often turn into unique works of art. The nature of the literary works undertaken in the course of "preparation" for the wedding in the circle of Metropolitan Macarius draws attention. Among them, one should especially single out the rite of the wedding to the kingdom, with its direct connection with the "Tale of the Princes of Vladimir". The story of Vladimir Monomakh receiving the royal crown and his crowning "to the kingdom" is contained in the Book of Degrees and the Great Menaia of the Four, i.e., literary monuments of the Makaryev circle. The initial volumes of the chronographic part of the Illuminated Chronicle, as well as the extended (in comparison with other lists of the Nikon Chronicle) edition of the text of the first six sheets of the Golitsyn volume of the Illuminated Chronicle, also contain a story about the beginning of the reign of Vladimir Monomakh in Kiev and about his wedding "to the kingdom" with regalia sent by the Byzantine emperor. In direct connection with them are the miniatures that adorn the chronographic part of the Obverse Vault, as well as the miniatures of the first six sheets of the Golitsyn volume. In the miniatures of the chronographic part of the Personal Chronicle, in turn, they find further disclosure of the theme of the divine establishment of the sovereign power, the introduction of Rus' into the general course of world history, as well as the idea of the chosenness of the Moscow sovereign. Thus, a certain range of literary monuments is designated. The same themes are further developed in the paintings of the Golden Chamber, in the reliefs of the royal place (“Monomakh's Throne”), erected in the Assumption Cathedral, in the painting of the portal of the Archangel Cathedral. The icons made by the Pskovites, seemingly purely dogmatic in their content, carry the plot, and perhaps the disclosure of the theme of the sacred nature of the wars waged by Ivan IV, the God-chosen heroism of the warriors, awarded the crowns of immortality and glory, which culminates in the icon " Militant Church" and in the image of Christ - the winner of death in the "Four-part" of the Cathedral of the Annunciation.

Battle of Kosovo. 1389

Front Chronicle(The personal chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book) is a chronicle of events in world and especially Russian history, created in the 40-60s of the 16th century (probably in 1568-1576) especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The front (i.e., illustrated, with the image “in faces”) chronicle is not only a monument of Russian handwritten books and a masterpiece of ancient Russian literature. It is a literary, historical, artistic monument of world significance. It is no coincidence that it is unofficially called the Tsar-Book (by analogy with the Tsar-Cannon and the Tsar-Bell). The front annalistic code was created in the 2nd half of the 16th century by order of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible in a single copy for his children. Metropolitan and "sovereign" artisans worked on the books of the Facial Code: about 15 scribes and 10 artists. The codex consists of about 10,000 sheets and over 17,000 illustrations, and the visual material occupies about 2/3 of the entire volume of the monument. Miniature drawings (landscape, historical, battle and everyday genres) not only illustrate the text, but also complement it. Some events are not written, but only drawn. The drawings tell readers what clothes, military armor, church vestments, weapons, tools, household items, and so on looked like in antiquity. In the history of world medieval writing there is no monument similar to the Illuminated Chronicle both in terms of breadth of coverage and volume. It included sacred, ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek stories, stories about the Trojan War and Alexander the Great, plots from the history of the Roman and Byzantine empires, as well as an annals covering the most important events in Russia for four and a half centuries: from 1114 to 1567. (It is assumed that the beginning and end of this chronicle, namely, the Tale of Bygone Years, a significant part of the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, as well as some other fragments, have not been preserved.) In the Facial Code, the history of the Russian state is considered inseparably from world history.

The volumes are grouped in relatively chronological order:

bible story
History of Rome
History of Byzantium
Russian history

Contents of volumes:

Museum collection (GIM). 1031 sheets, 1677 miniatures. Presentation of the sacred, Hebrew and Greek history from the creation of the world to the destruction of Troy in the XIII century. BC e.
Chronographic collection (BAN). 1469 sheets, 2549 miniatures. Presentation of the history of the ancient East, the Hellenistic world and ancient Rome from the 11th century. BC e. until the 70s. 1st century n. e.
Front chronograph (RNB). 1217l., 2191 miniatures. Outline of the history of the ancient Roman Empire since the 70s. 1st century until 337 and Byzantine history until the 10th century.
Golitsyn volume (RNB). 1035 l., 1964 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1114-1247 and 1425-1472.
Laptev volume (RNB). 1005 l., 1951 miniature. Statement of national history for 1116-1252.
Ostermanovsky first volume (BAN). 802 sheets, 1552 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1254-1378.
Ostermanovsky second volume (BAN). 887 sheets, 1581 miniature. Statement of national history for 1378-1424.
Shumilovsky volume (RNB). 986 sheets, 1893 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1425, 1478-1533.
Synodal volume (GIM). 626 l, 1125 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1542, 1553-1567.
Royal Book (GIM). 687 sheets, 1291 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1553

The history of the creation of the vault:

Storage:

The only original copy of the Code is stored separately, in three places (in different "baskets"):

State Historical Museum (volumes 1, 9, 10)

Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (volumes 2, 6, 7)

Russian National Library (volumes 3, 4, 5, 8)

The front chronicle - the source of truth

The front annalistic code was created in the 16th century by order of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible for the education of the royal children. The work on compiling this Code was headed by the most educated person of his time - St. Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus', confessor of the Tsar. The best scribes and icon painters of their time worked on compiling the Code.

What they have done: a collection of all reliably known sources from Holy Scripture (the text of the Septuagint) to the history of Alexander the Great and the writings of Josephus Flavius - the entire written history of mankind from the creation of the world to the 16th century inclusive. All times and all peoples that had a written language are reflected in dozens of books of this collection. Such a collection of chronicles, decorated with a huge number of highly artistic illustrations, was not created by any civilization of mankind: neither Europe, nor Asia, nor America and Africa.

The fate of the Russian Tsar himself and his children was tragic. The front annalistic code was not useful to the princes. After reading the Facial Code, part of which is devoted to the period of Grozny, it becomes clear why

Over the next hundreds of years, official historiography appeared, often opportunistic and politically biased, and therefore reliable chronicle sources were doomed to destruction or correction, that is, falsification. The front annalistic code survived these centuries due to the fact that after the death of Ivan the Terrible, during the period of unrest and timelessness, this tome became a coveted object for "enlightened" bibliophiles. Its fragments were taken to their libraries by the most influential nobles of their time: Osterman, Sheremetev, Golitsyn and others. After all, even then high-ranking collectors understood that there was no price for such a folio with sixteen thousand miniatures. And so the Code survived until the revolution, after which it was dumped in heaps in several museums and depositories.

Already today, through the efforts of enthusiasts, disparate books and sheets were brought together from different repositories. And the revived Society of Ancient Literature Lovers made this masterpiece accessible to everyone. An unparalleled historical source will now be able to receive free of charge many major educational establishments world, national libraries different countries and, of course, our compatriots to raise children on this treasure of experience and wisdom of millennia.

In such an amazing way, the work that was done for the royal children five hundred years ago went to our children, dear contemporaries, for which we congratulate you from the bottom of our hearts!

The front annalistic code of the second half of the 16th century is the pinnacle achievement of ancient Russian book art. It has no analogues in the world culture of this century. The facial vault is also the most grandiose chronicle work in Ancient Rus' in terms of volume.

Facial in the Middle Ages was called illuminated (illustrated) manuscripts with images of people - "in faces". The Facial Vault contains about 10,000 handwritten sheets and more than 17,000 miniatures. The facial vault has long attracted the attention of art historians, bibliologists, and historians - especially those who study the problems of the development of social consciousness, the history of spiritual and material culture, and the state-political history of the time of Ivan the Terrible. This precious monument of culture is extraordinarily rich in information for those who specifically study the features of historical sources of various types - verbal, written (and where there are postscripts, oral, directly imprinting the spoken language), pictorial, material, behavioral.

The work on compiling the Facial Code was not fully completed. Bales of sheets remained in the 17th century. unbound. Not later than the first half of the 18th century. arrays of sheets of the colossal chronicle were already dispersed. Intertwined them independently of each other; and some of these resulting folios were named after their owner (or one of the owners during the 17th and 19th centuries). Gradually, the Facial Vault began to be perceived as a monumental corpus of ten huge volumes. At the same time, it turned out that individual sheets and even arrays of sheets were lost, and when weaving into books, the order of the sheets was violated in places.

Conventionally, this ten-volume manuscript corpus can be divided into three parts: three volumes of world history, seven volumes of national history; of which five volumes are chronicles of the "years of the old" (for the years 1114-1533), two volumes are chronicles of the "years of the new", i.e. during the reign of Ivan IV. It is believed that sheets about the initial history of the Fatherland (until 1114) have not come down to us, and possibly about the world history of the X-XV centuries, until the time after the fall Byzantine Empire, as well as sheets outlining the events of national history of the last one and a half decades of the reign of Ivan IV (or preparations for them), since in the middle of the 18th century. sheets about the wedding of Fyodor Ivanovich to the kingdom were still preserved.

Firm "AKTEON" together with the curators for the first time carried out a scientific facsimile edition of "The personal chronicle of the XVI century."

The so-called "people's edition" is an addition to the scientific apparatus of the above facsimile. It fully reproduces the miniatures and the Old Russian text of each sheet of the manuscript. At the same time, transliteration and translation into modern Russian are given on the outer margin. The pages are arranged in chronological order of the story.

First section:

Bible story in 5 books. These are the historical books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deut. ancient Rome.

Front Chronicle of the 16th century. Bible Story - Volume Imprint

Front Chronicle of the 16th century. Bible story. Book 1. - M.: AKTEON Firm LLC, 2014. - 598 p.
Front Chronicle of the 16th century. Bible story. Book 2. - M .: Firm AKTEON LLC, 2014. - 640 p.
Front Chronicle of the 16th century. Bible story. Book 3. - M .: Firm AKTEON LLC, 2014. - 670 p.
Front Chronicle of the 16th century. Bible story. Book 4. - M .: Firm AKTEON LLC, 2014. - 504 p.
Front Chronicle of the 16th century. Bible story. Accompanying volume. - M.: Firma AKTEON LLC, 2014. - 212 p.

The 16th century chronicle - Biblical history - Contents by volume

Bible story. Book 1 contains an exposition of the Bible Books: Genesis; Book 2 - Exodus; Book 3 - Leviticus.
Bible story. Book 2 contains an exposition of the Bible Books: Numbers; Deuteronomy; Book of Joshua; Book of Judges of Israel; Book of Ruth.
Bible story. Book 3 contains an exposition of the Biblical Books called the Four Kings.
Bible story. Book 4 contains an exposition of the Biblical Books: the Book of Tobit; Book of Esther; Book of the Prophet Daniel; History of ancient Persia and Babylon; Beginning of the Roman Empire.

The front annalistic code of the 16th century - Bible history - From the publishing house

The front (that is, illustrated “in faces”, with the image of people) chronicle set, created in a single copy for Tsar Ivan the Terrible, his legendary book collection is a book monument that occupies a special place in world culture. The earliest historical and literary encyclopedia. It brings together the first illustrated Bible in the Slavic language, such artistic historical works as the Trojan War, Alexandria, the Jewish War of Josephus Flavius, etc., as well as weather (by year) chronicles, stories, legends, lives of Russian chronicle history.

The facial vault is the largest chronographic work of medieval Rus'. It has come down to our days in 10 volumes.

Currently, the volumes of the Facial Code are in various book depositories in Russia: three volumes (Museum Collection, Synodal Volume and Tsarskaya Book) - in the manuscript department of the State Historical Museum (Moscow), four volumes (Facial Chronograph, Golitsyn volume, Laptev volume, Shumilovsky volume) in the National Library of Russia (St. Petersburg) and three volumes (Chronographic collection, Ostermanovsky first volume, Ostermanovsky second volume) in the manuscript section of the Library of the Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg).

The first three volumes of the Facial Code tell about the events of biblical and world history, following in chronological order, and include outstanding works of world literature that form the basis of book culture. They were recommended reading for medieval Russian people.

Volume 1 - Museum collection (1031 sheets) contains a presentation of the sacred and world history, starting from the creation of the world: the Slavic text of the first seven books of the Old Testament, the history of the legendary Troy in two versions. The first part of the Museum collection is a unique Russian front Bible, which is distinguished by the utmost completeness of the reflection of the content in the illustrations, and corresponds to the canonical text of the Gennadiev Bible of 1499.

The biblical books are followed by the Trojan story, presented in two versions: the first is one of the earliest lists of the medieval Latin novel “The History of the Destruction of Great Troy”, created at the end of the 13th century by Guido de Columna. The second version of the Trojan story is "The Tale of the Creation and Capture of Troy", compiled by Russian scribes on the basis of earlier South Slavic works on the theme of the Trojan War, giving a different version of the events and fates of the main characters.