And do you know what kind of feat was performed by the boy-Kyivan and what was the trick of the voevoda Pretic?

The history of mankind knows many examples of heroism and courage. They came to us thanks to chroniclers, oral creativity, myths and legends. This is very important for future generations: descendants should be proud of their national heroes, even if events took place more than a thousand years ago! Not everyone knows what kind of feat accomplished by the boy-Kyivan, and at what times it happened.

Learning in literature lessons

Of course, The Tale of Bygone Years, written down by Nestor, required translation and processing in order for this historical work to be understandable to the modern reader. The content of legends and historical events is brought to us by Old Russian literature. The feat of the boy-Kyivan is already described in modern Russian. Today the legend is studied in schools by pupils of the fifth classes. For children, some Old Russian words, the names of tribes, peoples remain unclear. To make archaisms easier to remember, one should compile a small dictionary: during the teacher's explanation, write down the meaning of expressions or individual names. Children may not know what is the child, the step, the Pechenegs, to grieve. Although in parallel at the lessons of history, children study Ancient Rus and hear some terms.

Quotation plan

The feat of the lad-Kyivan is better perceived by the children, if the teacher recommends that they make a plan for the work. It is desirable that this is a citation plan: it is enough to use phrases from the text that show the content of the episode. It might look like this:

- Pechenegs came to the Russian land;

- besieged the city by great force;

- who could get over to the other side;

Said the boy: "I'll make my way!";

- People will surrender to Pechenegs;

They sat in the boats and sounded a loud blow;

- an army follows me;

- gave Prestich a horse, a sword and arrows;

- Svyatoslav returned to Kiev.

The monument built in honor of the victory of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich over the Pechenegs hitherto rises above the bank of the Dnieper in Zaporozhye.

Each part of the narrative is easily remembered and retold, thanks to the use of the citation plan. The teacher can offer the students to read the work by roles. In such lessons, children begin to understand the significance of the appearance of writing, books, chronicles for Christian Russia that has become Christian. Today, many schoolchildren know about the feat accomplished by the boy-Kiev, thanks to the lessons of literature and history. In honor of this feat, the St. Sophia Cathedral was built.

Books and chronicles

Until the eleventh century, books came to Russia only from Byzantium, and then from Bulgaria. These were translations of foreign authors. The first works of ancient Russian writers appeared only in the eleventh century: this is the work of Illarion and the chronicle. In other countries, this genre was not known. In the XII century, the monk Nestor makes additions and corrections in the old chronicles and gives them the title "The Tale of Bygone Years". Temporary summer - this means past years. The chronicle describes the life and activities of all Russian princes: the author especially emphasizes the idea that only the love of the brothers and the desire of the world could rally them. Love for the Motherland, careful attitude to the land of their ancestors - the father-in-law - is the main motive of the whole work. And although the beginning of the book is similar to legends and myths, the reader receives information about historical personalities who created the first principalities of Ancient Rus. Part of the story is a description of what kind of feat was performed by the boy-voivode and voivode Pretic.

Legend of the feat of the lad

This happened in the summer of 968 or, according to the calendar of those times, in 6476. The Principalities were constantly subjected to attacks by the Eastern tribes. But this summer the Pechenegs encroached on the principality of Kiev for the first time. At this time in the city of Kiev was not Svyatoslav: he was in Pereyaslavets. Here remained his mother - Princess Olga with her grandchildren, the children of Svyatoslav.

These were his three sons: Oleg, Vladimir and Yaropolk. She locked herself with them in the city of Kiev, and they had no opportunity to get out of there: the Pechenegs besieged him with great power. There was no possibility for the population to go outside the city, it was impossible to send messages and ask for help. People were exhausted from hunger and thirst.

The boy and the deed of Kiev

On the other side of the Dnieper, too, people gathered who could not make their way to Kiev through the vast hordes of Pechenegs to help the inhabitants of the city or deliver provisions and water there. They stood ready in the boats on the opposite shore and could not do anything.

The population of the city tried to find someone who could get through the ranks of enemies and inform the detachments that if they did not approach Kiev, they would have to surrender to the Pechenegs. And here one of the young people of Kiev said that he would make his way to "his own". People said to him: "Go!"

This boy knew the language of the Pechenegs. He picked up a bridle and went out with her to the camp of the enemy. He ran through their ranks and asked if anyone had seen his horse. They took the young man for his man. Having reached the Dnieper, he threw off his clothes and rushed into the water. The Pechenegs saw his maneuver and rushed after him, firing: but nothing could be done already.

Voevoda Pretić and his cunning

People on the opposite bank noticed that the young boy-kyivlyanin rushed into the water and swam towards them. They went on boats to meet him, lifted him on board and brought to the squad. The boy said that if warriors do not come to the city tomorrow, people will have to surrender to the Pechenegs. The voivode was Pretic, and he proposed to go up to the city to rooks, capture Princess Olga and the princes, to whisper to the opposite shore. If they do not do this, they will not save the princes, then Svyatoslav will not forgive and destroy them. A real feat was performed by the boy-Kiev, reporting the plight of Kiev.

The Governor's Plan

According to the plan of Pretic at dawn, the squad mounted in the rook and with trumpeted sounds moved to Kiev. People in the city, hearing the sound of pipes, shouted. The Pechenegs rushed in all directions, in all directions: it seemed to them that Prince Svyatoslav himself had come. Princess Olga came out of the city with her grandchildren, her retinue and went to the boats. The prince of the Pechenegs, having noticed this, returned to the boats alone and asked Pretić about who they were? To which I received an answer that they are people from the other side of the Dnieper. On the question of the prince of Pechenegs, not whether he was Svyatoslav, Pretić replied that they were a forward consolation, and a huge army led by Prince Svyatoslav was following them. He specifically said so to scare the prince of Pecheneg. This resolved all the contradictions: Pecheneg offered Prestig friendship and he accepted it. They shook hands and exchanged armor: the prince received a shield, a sword and chain mail, and Pretich - a horse, arrows and a sword.

Victory over enemies

Despite the truce and retreat of the Pechenegs from the city, the danger of being captured remained. The enemy remained standing in a dense base on the Lybid River, and the inhabitants could not be led to water the horses. And then the inhabitants of Kiev decided to send a messenger to Svyatoslav with words about the danger that threatens them. They reproached the prince for fighting and caring for someone else's land, he left his native side. And Pechenegs nearly took his mother and his children. Residents called the prince to help, they asked for protection. As soon as the news reached him, Svyatoslav, along with his druzhina, quickly returned to Kiev, where he was met by his mother and three sons.

He was very distressed about what they had to endure for them all. Svyatoslav gathered his whole squad and drove away all the Pechenegs in the field. After that, peacetime came.

Now to the question of what kind of feat was committed by the boy-Kyivite, Everyone can say that he saved the inhabitants of the ancient city and the family of Prince Svyatoslav. This is today called patriotism and love of the Motherland.