El espejo de príncipes en la Rusia medieval (ss. XI-XIII)Herencia e innovación

Abstract

The main objective of this thesis is to discover, define and trace the configuration of the Mirror for princes (specula principis) in Russia from the 11th to the 13th century as a cultural manifestation that reveals a complex formative process. For this, the first literary manifestations of this genre in the so-called pre-Mongol period (11th-13th centuries) will be analysed, considering only the texts whose composition date includes them within this stage. Some of these texts considered Mirror for princes constitute foundational works for Russian literature and have not been translated into Spanish, so the analysis entails their translation. We start in this study from the hypothesis according to which the Byzantine model of Mirror for princes in pre-Mongol Russia would undergo a profound process of adaptation and selection aimed at accepting the figure of the prince both in the Byzantine ecumene and in Rus‘ itself, considering the motivations and features promoting Russian Mirror for princes production. These conditions will vary in the post-Mongolian period, when the justification and role of the Mirror for princes will be adapted to the new socio-political context. In the period between the 11th and 13th centuries, the literary topic of the good ruler is still incipient and is deeply mediated by the Byzantine Church, which has the catalytic function of Russian culture, however it begins to acquire specific characteristics compared to Byzantine models. During the pre-Mongolian period, it is necessary to distinguish between translation literature and local literature as two different degrees on the scale of dependence of Byzantine output literature. In a first stage of transmission we analyze the Izbornik of the year 1076 as a medium for Byzantine models into Russian literature. A second stage comprises works from local authors, who select and adapt Byzantine materials from different sources to the context of Rus'. In the formation of the genre Mirror for princes in Russian literature we will take into account patristic literature, especially the works of Basil of Caesarea, and Byzantine Mirrors for princes such as Agapetus‘ Capitula Admonitoria and that are transmitted to Rus' mainly through gnomologies such as the above mentioned Izbornik of the year 1076 and Melissa. Besides, the sapiential books of the Bible and wisdom literature as Barlaam and Joasaph and the Tale of Ahiqar. In addition to that, Patriarch Photios' Letter to the Bulgarian Prince Boris-Michael, if not a source, it is an indirect influence that helps the formation and settlement of the genre in Rus'. In the corpus of Russian Mirror for princes (11th to 13th centuries) we include the Instruction to His Children of Vladimir Monomakh, the Epistle of Nikephoros Metropolitan of Kiev to Prince Vladimir and the Petition of Daniel the Exile.