The unsuccessful campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversky with his closest relatives against the Polovtsians is the basis of the "Lay of Igor's Regiment" and is recorded in two chronicles: the Southern Russian (preserved in the Ipatiev chronicle) and the Northern Russian (Lavrentievsky vault). The latter was reflected in the text of many later chronicles, but most of them underwent significant changes. Placed under the year 1186 in the Lavrentiev Chronicle, the story is typical of the Vladimir-Suzdal chronicle of the era of feudal fragmentation. The first part-a story about the preparation of the battle - is small in volume and contains mainly traditional elements of the genre: a list of the forces gathered by the prince, and a description of the situation that developed before the battle. The author conveys the words of the Olgovich princes who gathered for the campaign with obvious ill-will towards them and, emphasizing their self-confidence, precedes the hero's speech with a remark in which he reminds readers that Igor and his relatives did not take part in the united campaign of the Southern Russian princes before. The given speech of Polovtsians is informative and informs about their awareness of current events. The central part of the story contains a story about the course of military operations. In comparison with the tradition already established by that time, the brevity of the descriptions of the two battles is noteworthy. The first of them, with insignificant Polovtsian forces, was successful for the Olgovichi, page 68 practically only mentioned. But after reporting the defeat of the Polovtsians, the author gives a lengthy speech of the Olgovichi, rejoicing in the victory and boasting that they will go "to the bow of the sea, where neither our grandfathers went, and we will take our glory and honor to the end." These words emphasize the characteristics of the characters already given in the first part: shortsightedness and arrogance. Th ... Читать далее