Peculiarities of description of «their» and «others» in the cosmographical introduction of the Russian Primary Chronicle

Abstract

The article examines the structure of the cosmographical essay of the Primary Chronicle in order to explain the features of the annalistic description of «their» and «others». Based on the analysis of the text structure, it is shown that the chronicle account of events corresponds to the standard of early historical description developed in the world literature. This statement puts the researcher not so much before the task of considering the actual information contained in the source text, but rather before the need to analyze the form and structure of the historical text itself in terms of revealing the general idea of the chronicler. Structural analysis of the text shows that the cosmographical essay at the beginning of the Primary Chronicle was necessary for the chronicler for the conceptual and semantic connection of the plots of the old Testament and Slavic history. The author draws attention to the fact that the scheme of the chronicle narrative is similar to the old Testament book of Joshua, which tells about the conquest of the land of Canaan by a God-chosen people. Thus the chronicler correlates the early history of the Slavs with the Old Testament stories. Introducing into the chronicle descriptions of the life and customs of Slavic tribes, demonstrating their fundamental cultural differences from the Poles, the author thus justifies the political and sacral-сeremonial dominance of the Poles and defines Kiev as the uncontested center of Medieval Russia.