Тhe Prose Genres of Old Serbian Literature

Пошто представи све прозне жанрове старе српске књижевности, аутор рада своју пажњу посвећује једном од најзначајнијих међу њима ‒ житију. Прати развој тога жанра у првом веку његовог постојања (XIII ‒ сам почетак XIV века). Полази од најстаријег дела, Житија Светог Симеона од Светог Саве, које је написано око 1208. и представља интегрални део Студеничког типика. Мада ово дело формацијски (у саставу је типика) припада ктиторским житијима, оно својим обимом, видовима приступа јунаку, надилази уобичајене моделе и донекле се приближава развијеним житијима. Житије Светог Симеона од Стефана Првовенчаног (настало између 1208. и 1216) у раду се посматра у светлости житијног типа коме припада ‒ развијено (опсежно) житије. Пратећи даљи развој жанра, аутор рада се зауставља на Житију Светог Саве од Доментијана (завршено 1242/43. или 1253/54. године). Приказује његове особености; одређује његову типолошку припадност (житије црквеног поглавара). Говорећи о житијним делима Теодосија Хиландарца (стварао крајем XIII и почетком XIV века), Љ. Јухас-Георгиевска указује да он прибегава другачијим поетичким решењима од Доментијана. Превасходно приповедач, у свом Житију Светог Саве значајно смањује учешће поетско-реторских садржаја. У раду се назначава да је Житије Светог Петра Коришког од овог писца прво житије пустињака у српској литератури.This paper focuses on the poetics of the prose genres of old Serbian liter ature. They are all presented in the opening section, following which attention is focused onto one of the best-known genres – hagiography. The author of the pa per follows its development in its earliest phase (the 13th and the very beginning of the 14th century), which is significant due to the fact that, during this period, the characteristic types of hagiographic works were established, as were its com monplace elements, stylistic complexes, etc. The analysis proceeds from St Sava, who initiated the continual creation of hagiographies in old Serbian literature. He wrote The Hagiography of St Simeon (around 1208). This work was conceived as an introduction to a typikon for the Studenica Monastery, and in terms of its form, it belongs to ktitor-type hagiog raphies. Sava followed the very old practice of beginning a monastery typikon with a hagiography of the monastery founder (ktitor). His hagiography, however, due to its length, the approach to the protagonist and the diversity of its artis tic-stylistic devices, goes beyond the usual models and, up to a point, approaches a developed hagiography. The author of this paper establishes that Sava introduces micro-genres into his work on a modest scale. However, he clearly possesses an awareness of their significance and the possibilities that they offer. In this paper, it is pointed out that Stefan the First-Crowned deserves cred it for establishing the developed (voluminous, large-scale) hagiography. His The Hagiography of St Simeon (written between 1208 and 1216) possesses all the char acteristics typical of this type of hagiography. What is at work here is the ruler-re lated concept of hagiography; it presents the rule of the protagonist in very broad terms and thoroughly develops his character as a ruler. Stefan uses more space than Sava to present Nemanja’s motives for becoming a monk. He also speaks of his saintly activities. This writer uses micro-genres with a greater intensity than Sava. He introduces a number of epistles and prayers. In his work, the enkomion (praise) has the function of the epilogue. He also establishes a new micro-genre – miracle. Ljiljana Juhas Georgievska points out that the hieromonk Domentijan sig nificantly contributed to the further development of the hagiography genre. He es tablished a new type of hagiography – the hagiography of a high priest. His main work, The Hagiography of St Sava (completed in 1242/43 or in 1253/54) has a very complex structure; it possesses a specific design, wherein the rules of the phy genre and those of the enkomion function simultaneously. The historical-doc umentary aspect, which constitutes the foundation of this work, is often transposed by Domentijan, elevating it to mythical-biblical allegories, symbols. He introduc es numerous and diverse micro-genres in this work. Enkomions are used to mark events of particular significance; through them, he expresses the basic symbolism of the work and the relationship between the earthly and the heavenly. Prayers signif icantly contribute to the characterisation of the protagonist. Domentijan makes the function of miracles more complex. The miracles introduced in The Hagiography of St Sava are numerous and occur in almost every phase of the protagonist’s life. An important innovation is the introduction of the travelogue. In this paper, the author also pays due attention to Domentijan’s The Hagiography of St Simeon (completed in 1264). This work was written on the ba sis of the existing sources. The input of historical and documentary sources was decreased, whereas the presence of poetic-rhetorical elements was increased. The general tendency was to increase the typification of the protagonist, in the spirit of the hagiography canon. Ljiljana Juhas Georgievska established that the monk Teodosije applied different poetic approaches in his hagiographies (created towards the end of the 13th and in the early 14th century). For his The Hagiography of St Sava, he used Domentijan’s work as a source. His approach to the material taken over from the source was creative. His narration is warmer and more dynamic than that of Domentijan. He transposes the character of Sava from the supradetermined and divine value system to a realistic anthropological one. He presents his view of the hagiographic genre in the introduction to The Hagiography of St Sava. In this paper, it is pointed out that Teodosije somewhat decreased the in put of micro-genres. A significant role in his work is played by epistles, which, as a rule, are neither long nor rhetorically intoned. Prayers do not appear as frequently as in Domentijan, nor are they markedly poetically-rhetorically intoned. Teodosije develops the descriptions of some miracles by introducing interesting narrative de tails. The travelogue segments are more concise in his work, with fewer informative details. There are fewer enkomions to be found, but their function is important. In this paper, the author carefully analyses Teodosije’s The Hagiography of St Petar of Korisha (probably written in the early 14th century), which is the first hagiography of a hermit in Serbian literature. The conclusion reached in this paper is that the 13th century was the period when hagiographic literature appeared and was established. The main types of such works were established then. Also established was the prologue (synaxarion) type hagiography, which was not specifically discussed in this paper. What the earliest period had to offer to the later ones, apart from the developed typology of hagiographies, was a number of excellent solutions in terms of ideas and stylistic devices, and also on the level of the characterisation of the protagonists of hagiographies.Научни скупови / Српска академија наука и уметности ; књ. 193. Одељење језика и књижевности ; књ. 3