The fate of the library of the Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise is one of the most mysterious mysteries of Ukrainian history.
Yaroslav the Wise (about 978-1054) - an outstanding statesman of Kievan Rus, the Grand Duke of Kiev, the son of Vladimir the Great and the Polovtsian princess Rognida Rogvolodovna. This ruler of Rus succeeded in state building, defeated enemies in many military campaigns, and is known as the compiler of the code of laws that went down in history under the name "Russian Truth". Under Yaroslav the Wise, Kievan Rus reached the zenith of its power.
The Grand Duke was actively building his capital - Kiev. During his reign, the so-called "city of Yaroslav" was erected on Starokievskaya mountain, which occupied an area of about 60 hectares and was fenced with a moat and a rampart. In this area, the Golden, Lyadsky and Zhidovsky gates were erected, the St. Sophia Cathedral raised its heads in the center of Yaroslavov's city, and majestic palaces stretched around. Under Yaroslav, many buildings were erected in other cities of Russia - Chernigov, Pereyaslav, Vladimir-Volynsky, Turov. During the reign of this prince, Christianity spread and strengthened. Yaroslav drew up the church charter, which determined the rights of the church and the clergy, and in 1051, on his initiative, the council of bishops chose the Ruthenian Hilarion as the Metropolitan of Kiev (before and after that the highest church office was occupied by the Greeks sent from Byzantium,since Kievan Rus was part of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople). At the same time, the first monasteries in Russia were founded: St. Yuri, St. Irene, the famous Kiev-Pechersky monastery. They became the most important cultural centers, where chronicles were kept and icons were painted.
The state of Yaroslav the Wise has taken a significant place in the family of European countries. The rulers of Europe turned to the Kiev prince for advice and help. At his court, former monarchs - the Norwegian Olaf the Saint and the English Edmund the Iron Bull - found refuge.
One of the most powerful cultural projects of the prince was the foundation of the library. This event dates back to 1037. The Tale of Bygone Years tells us about him. True, the library in Russia was called not by this modern and familiar Greek term, but in a simpler and more understandable way - a book depository or a book chamber. The chronicle indicates that the prince's library contained books of a church nature, which was relevant at the time of the spread of Christianity in Russia. Also, by order of the wise prince, books about the events of world history, geography and astronomy were translated from Greek, Bulgarian and other languages. Philosophical and legal treatises, journalism of that time were translated and rewritten.
The library was located in the most majestic architectural landmark of Kievan Rus - St. Sophia Cathedral, erected on the site of the last battle with the Pechenegs. Then it was the outskirts of the ancient city of Yaroslav, and now St. Sophia is the very heart of Kiev. St. Sophia Cathedral became the center of the Old Russian chronicles. It was here that the most ancient chronicles were compiled - the annals of 1037-1039, "The Word about Law and Grace" by Metropolitan Hilarion, the first collection of Russian laws - "Russian Truth" was written. The books written here formed the basis for other libraries of Russia, in particular the extensive library of the Pechersky Monastery. The first school in Russia and workshops for translators and copyists of books were organized at the cathedral. Near the walls of the cathedral, popular meetings were held - veche. In the same cathedral was the residence of the Metropolitan of Russia,and important government documents were kept right there, including treaties with Byzantium.
Opinions differ about how many books there were in the cathedral library. According to some experts, the book collection consisted of about 950 volumes of the most valuable manuscripts. However, more modest numbers are named: according to the assumption of the historian of the Orthodox Church E. Golubinsky, the number of books did not exceed 500. In those days, books were quite expensive, since they were made by hand - centuries were still to pass before the invention of Gutenberg's printing press. The texts were written on expensive material - parchment, which was made from the skin of calves or young sheep. The binding was covered with morocco leather, the frames of the books were decorated with gold, silver and precious stones: diamonds, emeralds, topaz and pearls.
Unfortunately, only grains of the book heritage of the medieval era have survived to our times. Some of the books from Yaroslav's library were taken to France during the prince's lifetime: his daughter Anna Yaroslavna was married to King Henri I of France. One of the books brought to her on the banks of the Seine is the famous Reims Gospel, on which for seven centuries, up to before Louis XIV, all French kings swore allegiance upon accession to the throne. Most likely, not only Princess Anne took out her father's books as her dowry. Yaroslav the Wise was called the father-in-law of Europe for a reason: his other daughter, Anastasia, was married to the Hungarian king Andras I, another daughter, Elizabeth, became the wife of the Norwegian king Harald the Severe. By the way, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise was buried in the same beloved Hagia Sophia. His marble sarcophagus is still here today.
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Disputes about the future fate of the famous book collection do not subside today. Someone claims that the books died in the fire of the Mongol-Tatar invasion in December 1240, when Kiev was destroyed. Other historians are inclined to believe that books from the collection of Yaroslav the Wise were sold to monasteries and cathedrals, and later to various public and private collections. And someone believes that the library has not disintegrated bit by bit, but is kept, safely hidden, in one of the many Kiev dungeons, and is waiting in the wings.
An attempt has already been made once to explore the dungeons of Sofia. In the spring of 1916, near the cathedral, the soil collapsed, and this prompted archaeologists to engage in a thorough study of the hidden underground. Scientists have cleared two underground corridors near the collapse. At the end of the second corridor, a small piece of birch bark was found with the inscription: "If anyone finds this move, he will find the great treasure Yaroslav." However, later this find was recognized as a hoax. The rest of the finds turned out to be rather modest: a coin from the time of Louis XIV, half a mother-of-pearl cross, and a heavily worn-out silver coin of the Muscovy Kingdom were found.
Soon the excavations were curtailed: they were carried out by the forces of soldiers and warrant officers, whose discipline fell. The times were dramatic for the country, and the archaeological commission decided to stop further research. Later, a quick survey of the St. Sophia Cathedral was carried out by sappers after the liberation of Kiev from the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War. Since then, no systematic studies of the cathedral and the surrounding area have been carried out.
However, St. Sophia Cathedral is not the only supposed location of the famous library, or, as the ancient Kievites would say, Yaroslav's book chamber. In Kiev and its environs there are many places - candidates for the possession of the treasury of Russian literature.
One of them is no less famous than St. Sophia, the undergrounds of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The charter of this first monastery in Russia required that its monks devote their free time from righteous labors to reading spiritual literature. This contributed to the organization of the library at the famous ancient monastery. Its founder was the first Kiev metropolitan-Rusyn Hilarion, ordained to a high rank in 1051, - a great lover of book wisdom. However, four years later, the holy father had a falling out with the prince, and the metropolitan humbly retired to the Kiev-Pechersk monastery as a simple monk. The Kiev-Pechersk Patericon - the biography of the outstanding monks of this lavra - notes that Hilarion wrote books day and night. Perhaps he took all or part of the library from St. Sophia Cathedral, his former residence, to the monastery that sheltered him. In 1106, the great-grandson of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Svyatoslav Davidovich of Chernigov, took monastic vows at the same monastery and donated his library to the monastery. It was also used by the famous chronicler Nestor, the author of the famous chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years". In the 17th century, the Syrian traveler Pavel Aleppsky mentions the Lavra library with countless expensive books. In the same century, the oldest printing house in Kiev began to work in the monastery. However, on April 22, 1718, the Lavra suffered an irreparable loss: a fire broke out, and not only the monastery's wooden buildings were destroyed in the fire, but also, to great regret, the precious book depository, where for centuries invaluable evidence of our history - the letters of the great princes, several thousand printed books … But there is hope that the fiery element did not destroy all the books:often monks hid them from sin away in monastic caves, where monks' cells were located since princely times. The climate of the Lavra dungeons contributes to the excellent preservation of ancient manuscripts.
Another place for a possible cache with the prince's library is the Vydubitsky monastery. This is a well-known center of chronicle writing of the XII-XIII centuries, and the monastery library also had a very impressive book collection. In addition, in the event of an attack on this monastery, which stood on the outskirts of Kiev, there was a place to hide the books: there were caves in the vicinity of the monastery. Some of them were accidentally discovered at the Zverinetsky tract in 1862, as a result of a collapse of the ground. They did not dare to conduct archaeological research at that time - the condition of the underground passages inspired fear for the safety of this event. Thirty years later, a landslide opened two new entrances to the underground caves. In 1912, their archaeological excavations began, as a result of which two galleries were cleared. Chaotic burials of monks and residents of Kiev were found,fleeing from the Mongol-Tatar invasion of 1240 in filled caves. Also, inscriptions have been found dating back to the X-XI centuries. However, then not all caves and underground passages in that area were explored.
Another version says about the discovery of leather-bound books on the territory of the Mezhigorsk monastery. They were discovered by workers who, in 1933, were building a government dacha for the CP (b) U secretary, Pavel Postyshev. At that time, they did not turn to scientists: they were running out of construction time, and by order of the NKVD officers, the basement with the manuscripts was simply covered with earth. An attempt to find this place in the early 1990s was unsuccessful. The library of Yaroslav the Wise continues to keep its secrets and excite the minds of historians. Author: A. V. Dziuba
Source: "Secrets and mysteries of history and civilization"