Schools in Rus' in the old days. “This is how we studied in Rus'” An excursion into history How we studied in schools in Russia

In front of me is an old book. XVI century. Thick paper with watermarks, forged clasps, heavy board binding covered with brocade. (No wonder they said: “Read from board to board”), I carefully turn over the pages. How much work, skill and taste! The ornament of the headpieces and initial letters is magnificent. Multicolor miniatures tell about the life of our ancestors. Here you can see the Battle of Kulikovo, the peaceful work of a plowman, and scenes of monastic life. And here is a page without headers, drop caps and thumbnails. There is only text on it. Text only! But this page is also a work of art. The neat lines of the semi-charter run in neat rows. At the end of each chapter they are gradually shortened, forming a kind of triangle. What patience was needed to so beautifully rewrite page by page a huge book with about 400 sheets. The scribes slowly strung letters onto a line - as if they were weaving lace. We spent long days and nights doing this work. But it was even more difficult to overcome the cunning and sophisticated science of literacy. Now it’s hard to even imagine how much time and energy it once took to learn to read and write.

Page of the Old Russian ABC book. Warehouses.

A long table, a bench, on the wall there is a shelf with books and the obligatory whips. Students are sitting on a bench. They are all barefoot. This means that this school is not for boyar children and not for rich people, but for simpler children. The teacher sits at the head of the table. The student answers the lesson on his knees in front of him. Everyone follows their books. Here is another student, already guilty of something and awaiting retribution. Old Russian miniatures also depict the act of punishment itself. We encounter this plot repeatedly in the art of ancient Rus'. There are even poems dedicated to the rod.

The rod sharpens the mind, excites the memory
And he turns the evil will into good...
...Kiss the rod, kiss the whip and the staff...

However, one should not exaggerate the importance of the rod in the system of ancient Russian education. It was used no more often than in other countries of the Middle Ages. Chronicle of the 16th century. retained the instruction to teachers not to abuse this “tool of teaching.” It was recommended to “teach them (children) not with rage, not cruelty, not anger, but with joyful fear and loving custom, and sweet teaching, and gentle reasoning”... Thus, our ancient pedagogy relied not only on the whip, but also on persuasion.

The school day lasted a long time. On short winter days, students got ready for school while it was still dark. Classes began at seven o'clock and continued with a two-hour lunch break until "vespers". After classes, the students cleaned the room, brought clean water and went home when it got dark outside. This is how lessons went from dark to dark in the ancient Russian school. However, they can be called lessons very conditionally. Each received a personal assignment from the teacher: one took the first steps - crammed, the other moved on to the “warehouses”, the third was already reading the Book of Hours. And everything had to be learned “by heart” - “by rote.” They didn’t give homework assignments, and when would they be done if the whole day was spent at “school.” Everything had to be memorized during classes - this was the main method. Taught out loud. Each to their own. It’s not for nothing that the proverb was put together: “Teaching the alphabet, they shout at the top of their voices.”

Engraving from the first primer, printed in Moscow in 1634.

This is how we learned the alphabet. Each letter had its own name. A - az - personal pronoun of the 1st person, singular Ya. B - beeches - letter, V - veda - i know, G - verb - speak, D - good, E - is, F - stomach, I 3 - earth , I - like, K - what, L - people, M - think, N - ours, O - he, P - peace, etc.

First of all, the student was required to learn the names and images of the letters in the order they appeared in the alphabet and in their breakdown. Having firmly memorized the alphabet, he moved on to reading warehouses. The clauses were printed in the primer: Ba, Va, Ga, Da, Zha... then Be, Be, Ge, De... Bi, Vi... etc. The student first named the letters that made up this combination, and then pronounced it like this , as it should be when reading: Buki - az - ba. Vede - az - va... People - there are - le... what - - like - ki... peace - he - by. After two-letter warehouses came three-letter warehouses: Bla, vla, gla, etc.

Having overcome this, the student moved on to studying words “by titles.” Some of the most frequently occurring and most “important” words, such as “god”, “king”, “holy”, “spirit”, “son”, were written not in full, but in abbreviation, and a special superscript “title” was placed over them: bg, king, sty, fix, En. All these words were included in the primer, and the student had to know them by heart. Finally, having learned the alphabet, gone through the warehouses and memorized the words by titles, he moved on to reading the first coherent text.

Thus, before reading any meaningful phrase, the student spent long hours and days cramming completely meaningless combinations: ha, zha, dra... And for every mistake there was a rod. It is clear why, while the student began to study literacy, his mother often stood at the door and wailed as if for a dead person.

To some, literacy seemed so difficult that they preferred to learn everything by heart from the voice, without learning to spell. There were also teachers who believed that it was much easier to force people to memorize than to teach them to read. Novgorod Archbishop Gennady (XV-XVI centuries) complained about such teachers that they do not teach, “but only spoil.” “First, he (the teacher) will teach him the basics, and for that they bring the master porridge and a hryvnia of money. The same is due for matins, and for the hours there is a special fee... But he leaves the master, he doesn’t know how to do anything, he just wanders through the book.” Next, Gennady advised starting training with the alphabet and titles.

Old Russian school. Miniature.

Very often, literacy training was an integral part of craft training. Some tailor, blacksmith or shoemaker took a student into his house, undertaking to teach him “what he himself is good at,” and, in addition, to read and write. The duration of training is usually five years, after which the student was obliged to work another five years “for training” and another five years “for hire,” that is, for pay. Thus, the student was at the complete disposal of the teacher, with whom he lived, ate, slept, did all his homework and learned a craft and literacy.

To be continued.

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HOW WE TAUGHT AND LEARNED IN ANCIENT Rus'

The temptation to “look” into the past and “see” a bygone life with one’s own eyes overwhelms any historian-researcher. Moreover, such time travel does not require fantastic devices. An ancient document is the most reliable carrier of information, which, like a magic key, unlocks the treasured door to the past. This blessed opportunity for a historian was given to Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev, a famous journalist and writer in the 19th century. His historical monograph “Russian School Books” was published in 1861 in the fourth book of “Readings in the Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University.” The work is dedicated to the ancient Russian school, about which at that time (and indeed even now) so little was known.

... And before this, there were schools in the Russian kingdom, in Moscow, in Veliky Novograd and in other cities... They taught literacy, writing and singing, and honor. That’s why there were many people who were very good at reading and writing, and scribes and readers were famous throughout the land.
From the book "Stoglav"

Many people are still confident that in the pre-Petrine era in Rus' nothing was taught at all. Moreover, education itself was then allegedly persecuted by the church, which only demanded that students somehow recite prayers by heart and little by little sort out printed liturgical books. Yes, and they taught, they say, only the children of the priests, preparing them for taking orders. Those of the nobility who believed in the truth “teaching is light...” entrusted the education of their offspring to foreigners discharged from abroad. The rest were found “in the darkness of ignorance.”

Mordovtsev refutes all this. In his research, he relied on an interesting historical source that fell into his hands - “Azbukovnik”. In the preface to the monograph dedicated to this manuscript, the author wrote the following: “Currently, I have the opportunity to use the most precious monuments of the 17th century, which have not yet been published or mentioned anywhere and which can serve to explain the interesting aspects of ancient Russian pedagogy. Materials these are contained in a lengthy manuscript bearing the name “Azbukovnik” and containing several different textbooks of that time, written by some “pioneer”, partly copied from other, similar publications, which were entitled with the same name, although they differed in content and had different counts of sheets."

Having examined the manuscript, Mordovtsev makes the first and most important conclusion: in Ancient Rus', schools as such existed. However, this is also confirmed by an older document - the book “Stoglav” (a collection of resolutions of the Stoglav Council, held with the participation of Ivan IV and representatives of the Boyar Duma in 1550-1551). It contains sections that talk about education. In them, in particular, it is determined that schools are allowed to be maintained by persons of clergy rank, if the applicant receives permission from the church authorities. Before issuing one to him, it was necessary to test the thoroughness of the applicant’s own knowledge, and collect possible information about his behavior from reliable guarantors.

But how were the schools organized, how were they managed, and who studied in them? “Stoglav” did not give answers to these questions. And now several handwritten “Azbukovniks” - very interesting books - fall into the hands of a historian. Despite their name, these are, in fact, not textbooks (they contain neither the alphabet, nor copybooks, nor teaching numeracy), but rather a guide for the teacher and detailed instructions for students. It spells out the student’s complete daily routine, which, by the way, concerns not only school, but also the behavior of children outside of it.

Following the author, we too will look into the Russian school of the 17th century; fortunately, “Azbukovnik” gives full opportunity to do so. It all starts with the arrival of children in the morning to a special home - a school. In various ABC books, instructions on this matter are written in verse or prose; they, apparently, also served to strengthen reading skills, and therefore the students persistently repeated:

In your house, having risen from sleep, washed yourself,
Wipe the edge of the board well,
Continue in the veneration of holy images,
Bow low to your father and mother.
Go to school carefully
And lead your comrade,
Enter school with prayer,
Just go out there.

The prose version also teaches about the same thing.

But let us follow the student who entered the school and had already placed his hat on the “common bed,” that is, on the shelf, bowed to the images, and to the teacher, and to the entire student “squad.” A student who came to school early in the morning had to spend the whole day there until the bell rang for the evening service, which was the signal for the end of classes.

The teaching began with the answer to the lesson studied the day before. When the lesson was told by everyone, the whole “squad” performed a common prayer before further classes: “Lord Jesus Christ our God, creator of every creature, give me understanding and teach me the scriptures of the book, and hereby we will obey Your desires, for I will glorify You forever and ever, Amen !"

Then the students approached the headman, who gave them the books they were to study from, and sat down at a common long student table. Each one took the place assigned to him by the teacher, observing the following instructions:

The malia in you and the greatness are all equal,
For the sake of the teachings, let them be noble...
Do not disturb your neighbor
And don’t call your friend by his nickname...
Don't be close to each other,
Do not use your knees and elbows...
Some place given to you by the teacher,
Let your life be included here...

Books, being the property of the school, constituted its main value. The attitude towards the book was reverent and respectful. It was required that the students, having “closed the book,” always put it with the seal facing up and did not leave “indicative trees” (pointers) in it, did not unbend it too much and did not leaf through it in vain. It was strictly forbidden to place books on the bench, and at the end of the lesson, the books had to be given to the headman, who put them in the designated place. And one more piece of advice - do not get carried away by looking at book decorations - “tumbles”, but strive to understand what is written in them.

Keep your books well
And put it in a dangerous place.
...The book, closed, sealed to height
I guess
There is no index tree in it at all
don't invest...
Books to the elder for observance,
with prayer, bring,
Taking the same thing in the morning,
with respect, please...
Don’t unbend your books,
And don’t bend the sheets in them either...
Books on the seat
Do not leave,
But on the prepared table
please supply...
Who doesn’t take care of books?
Such a person does not protect his soul...

The almost verbatim coincidence of phrases in the prose and poetic versions of different “Azbukovniki” allowed Mordovtsev to assume that the rules reflected in them were the same for all schools of the 17th century, and therefore, we can talk about their general structure in pre-Petrine Rus'. The same assumption is prompted by the similarity of the instructions regarding the rather strange requirement that prohibits students from talking outside the school walls about what is happening in it.

Leaving home, school life
don't tell me
Punish this and every one of your comrades...
Ridiculous words and imitation
don't bring it to school
Do not wear out the deeds of those who were in it.

This rule seemed to isolate the students, closing the school world into a separate, almost family community. On the one hand, it protected the student from the “unhelpful” influences of the external environment, on the other hand, it connected the teacher and his students with special relationships inaccessible even to close relatives, and excluded the interference of outsiders in the process of teaching and upbringing. Therefore, to hear from the lips of the then teacher the now so often used phrase “Don’t come to school without your parents” was simply unthinkable.

Another instruction, similar to all “Azbukovniki,” speaks of the responsibilities that were assigned to students at school. They had to “add up the school”: sweep away the rubbish, wash the floors, benches and tables, change the water in the vessels under the “light” - a stand for a torch. Lighting the school with the same torch was also the responsibility of the students, as was firing the stoves. The head of the school “team” assigned students to such work (in modern language, on duty) in shifts: “Whoever heats the school, installs everything in that school.”

Bring fresh water vessels to school,
Take out the tub of stagnant water,
The table and benches are washed cleanly,
Yes, it is not disgusting for those who come to school;
This way your personal beauty will be known
You will also have school cleanliness.

The instructions urge students not to fight, not to play pranks, and not to steal. It is especially strictly prohibited to make noise in and around the school itself. The rigidity of this rule is understandable: the school was located in a house owned by the teacher, next to the estates of other residents of the city. Therefore, noise and various “disorders” that could arouse the anger of neighbors could well turn into a denunciation to the church authorities. The teacher would have to give the most unpleasant explanations, and if this is not the first denunciation, then the owner of the school could “be subject to a ban on maintaining the school.” That is why even attempts to break school rules were stopped immediately and mercilessly.

In general, discipline in the ancient Russian school was strong and severe. The whole day was clearly outlined by rules, even drinking water was allowed only three times a day, and “going to the yard for the sake of need” was only possible with the permission of the headman only a few times. This paragraph also contains some hygiene rules:

For the sake of need, who needs to go,
Go to the headman four times a day,
Come back from there immediately,
Wash your hands to keep them clean,
Whenever you go there.

All "Azbukovnik" had an extensive section - about the punishment of lazy, careless and obstinate students with a description of the most diverse forms and methods of influence. It is no coincidence that “Azbukovniki” begins with a panegyric to the rod, written in cinnabar on the first page:

God bless these forests,
The same rods will give birth for a long time...

And it’s not only “Azbukovnik” that praises the rod. In the alphabet, printed in 1679, there are these words: “The rod sharpens the mind, awakens the memory.”

However, one should not think that he used the power that the teacher possessed beyond all measure - good teaching cannot be replaced by skillful flogging. Nobody would teach someone who became famous as a tormentor and a bad teacher. Innate cruelty (if any) does not suddenly appear in a person, and no one would allow a pathologically cruel person to open a school. How children should be taught was also discussed in the Code of the Stoglavy Council, which was, in fact, a guide for teachers: “not with rage, not with cruelty, not with anger, but with joyful fear and loving custom, and sweet teaching, and gentle consolation.”

It was between these two poles that the path of education lay somewhere, and when the “sweet teaching” was of no use, then a “pedagogical instrument” came into play, according to experts, “a sharpening mind, stimulating the memory.” In various "Azbukovniks" the rules on this matter are set out in a way that is understandable to the most "rude-minded" student:

If anyone becomes lazy with teaching,
Such a wound will not be ashamed...

Flogging did not exhaust the arsenal of punishments, and it must be said that the rod was the last in that series. The naughty boy could be sent to a punishment cell, the role of which was successfully played by the school “necessary closet”. There is also a mention in “Azbukovniki” of such a measure, which is now called “leave after school”:

If someone doesn't teach a lesson,
One from free school
won't receive...

However, there is no exact indication whether the students went home for lunch in “Azbukovniki”. Moreover, in one of the places it is said that the teacher “during the time of bread-eating and midday rest from teaching” should read to his students “useful writings” about wisdom, about encouragement for learning and discipline, about holidays, etc. It remains to be assumed that Schoolchildren listened to this kind of teaching during a common lunch at school. And other signs indicate that the school had a common dining table, maintained by the parents' contribution. (However, perhaps this particular order was not the same in different schools.)

So, the students were constantly at school for most of the day. In order to have the opportunity to rest or be absent on necessary matters, the teacher chose an assistant from among his students, called the headman. The role of the headman in the internal life of the then school was extremely important. After the teacher, the headman was the second person in the school; he was even allowed to replace the teacher himself. Therefore, the choice of a headman for both the student “squad” and the teacher was the most important matter. "Azbukovnik" prescribed that the teacher himself should select such students from among the older students who were diligent in their studies and had favorable spiritual qualities. The book instructed the teacher: “Keep on your guard against them (that is, the elders. - V.Ya.). The kindest and most skillful students who can announce them (the students) even without you. V.Ya.) a shepherd's word."

The number of elders is spoken of differently. Most likely, there were three of them: one headman and two of his assistants, since the circle of responsibilities of the “chosen ones” was unusually wide. They monitored the progress of school in the absence of the teacher and even had the right to punish those responsible for violating the order established in the school. They listened to the lessons of younger schoolchildren, collected and gave out books, monitored their safety and proper handling. They were in charge of "leave to the yard" and drinking water. Finally, they managed the heating, lighting and cleaning of the school. The headman and his assistants represented the teacher in his absence, and in his presence - his trusted assistants.

The headmen carried out all the management of the school without any reporting to the teacher. At least, that’s what Mordovtsev thought, not finding a single line in “Azbukovniki” that encouraged fiscalism and gossip. On the contrary, students were taught in every possible way to comradeship, to life in a “squad”. If the teacher, looking for the offender, could not accurately point to a specific student, and the “squad” did not give him away, then the punishment was announced to all students, and they chanted in chorus:

Some of us have guilt
Which was not before many days,
The culprits, hearing this, blush their faces,
They are still proud of us, the humble ones.

Often the culprit, in order not to let down the “squad,” removed the ports and himself “climbed onto the goat,” that is, he lay down on the bench, on which the “assignment of lozans to fillet parts” was carried out.

Needless to say, both the teaching and the upbringing of the youths were then imbued with deep respect for the Orthodox faith. What is invested from a young age will grow in an adult: “This is your childhood, the work of students in school, especially those who are perfect in age.” Students were required to go to church not only on holidays and Sundays, but also on weekdays, after finishing school.

The evening bell signaled the end of the teaching. “Azbukovnik” teaches: “When you are released, you all rise up in droves and give your books to the bookkeeper, with a single proclamation everyone, collectively and unanimously, chant the prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver: “Now do you let go of Your servant, Master” and “Glorious Ever-Virgin.” After this, the disciples were to to go to vespers, the teacher instructed them to behave decently in church, because “everyone knows that you are studying at school.”

However, demands for decent behavior were not limited to school or temple. The school rules also extended to the street: “When the teacher dismisses you at such a time, go home with all humility: jokes and blasphemies, kicking each other, and beating, and running around, and throwing stones, and all sorts of similar childish mockery, let it not dwell in you." Aimless wandering through the streets was also not encouraged, especially near all sorts of “entertainment establishments,” then called “disgraces.”

Of course, the above rules are better wishes. There are no children in nature who would refrain from “spitting and running around”, from “throwing stones” and going to “disgrace” after they spent the whole day at school. In the old days, teachers also understood this and therefore sought by all means to reduce the time students spend unsupervised on the street, which pushes them into temptations and pranks. Not only on weekdays, but on Sundays and holidays, schoolchildren were required to come to school. True, on holidays they no longer studied, but only answered what they had learned the day before, read the Gospel aloud, listened to the teachings and explanations of their teacher about the essence of the holiday of that day. Then everyone went to church together for the liturgy.

The attitude towards those students whose studies were going poorly is curious. In this case, “Azbukovnik” does not at all advise them to flog them intensively or punish them in any other way, but, on the contrary, instructs: “whoever is a “greyhound learner” should not rise above his fellow “rough learner.” The latter were strongly advised to pray, calling on God for help. And the teacher worked with such students separately, constantly telling them about the benefits of prayer and giving examples “from scripture,” talking about such ascetics of piety as Sergius of Radonezh and Alexander of Svir, to whom teaching was not at all easy at first.

From "Azbukovnik" one can see the details of a teacher's life, the subtleties of relationships with students' parents, who paid the teacher, by agreement and if possible, payment for the education of their children - partly in kind, partly in money.

In addition to school rules and procedures, "Azbukovnik" talks about how, after completing primary education, students begin to study the "seven free arts." By which were meant: grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, music (meaning church singing), arithmetic and geometry (“geometry” was then called “all land surveying,” which included geography and cosmogony), and finally, “the last one, but The first action" in the list of sciences studied then was called astronomy (or in Slavic "star science").

And in the schools they studied the art of poetry, syllogisms, studied celebras, the knowledge of which was considered necessary for “virtuous diction”, became acquainted with “rhyme” from the works of Simeon of Polotsk, learned poetic measures - “one and ten kinds of verse.” We learned to compose couplets and maxims, write greetings in poetry and prose.

Unfortunately, the work of Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev remained unfinished, his monograph was completed with the phrase: “The Reverend Athanasius was recently transferred to the Astrakhan Diocese, depriving me of the opportunity to finally parse the interesting manuscript, and therefore, not having the ABC Books at hand, I was forced to finish my "The article is where it left off. Saratov 1856."

And yet, just a year after Mordovtsev’s work was published in the journal, his monograph with the same title was published by Moscow University. The talent of Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev and the multiplicity of topics touched upon in the sources that served to write the monograph, today allow us, with minimal “speculation of that life,” to make a fascinating and not without benefit journey “against the flow of time” into the seventeenth century.

V. YARKHO, historian.

Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev (1830-1905), having graduated from a gymnasium in Saratov, studied first at Kazan University, then at St. Petersburg University, from which he graduated in 1854 from the Faculty of History and Philology. In Saratov he began his literary activity. He published several historical monographs, published in “Russian Word”, “Russian Bulletin”, “Bulletin of Europe”. The monographs attracted attention, and Mordovtsev was even offered to occupy the department of history at St. Petersburg University. Daniil Lukich was no less famous as a writer on historical topics.

From Bishop Afanasy Drozdov of Saratov, he receives handwritten notebooks from the 17th century telling about how schools were organized in Rus'.

This is how Mordovtsev describes the manuscript that came to him: “The collection consisted of several sections. The first contains several ABC books, with a special count of notebooks; the second half consists of two sections: in the first - 26 notebooks, or 208 sheets; in the second, 171 sheets The second half of the manuscript, both of its sections, were written by the same hand... The entire section, consisting of “Azbukovnikov”, “Pismovnikov”, “School deaneries” and others - up to page 208, was written in the same hand. in handwriting, but with different ink it is written up to the 171st sheet and on that sheet, in a “four-pointed” cunning secret script, it is written “Started in the Solovetsky Hermitage, also in Kostroma, near Moscow in the Ipatskaya monastery, by the same first wanderer in the year of world existence 7191 (1683 .)".

His historical monograph “Russian School Books” was published in 1861 in the fourth book of “Readings in the Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University.” The work is dedicated to the ancient Russian school, about which at that time (and indeed even now) so little was known.

And before this, there were schools in the Russian kingdom, in Moscow, in Veliky Novograd and in other cities... They taught literacy, writing and singing, and honor. That’s why there were many people who were very good at reading and writing, and scribes and readers were famous throughout the land.
From the book "Stoglav"

***
Following the author, we too will look into the Russian school of the 17th century; fortunately, “Azbukovnik” gives full opportunity to do so. It all starts with the arrival of children in the morning to a special home - a school. In various ABC books, instructions on this matter are written in verse or prose; they, apparently, also served to strengthen reading skills, and therefore the students persistently repeated:

The prose version also teaches about the same thing.

From "Azbukovnik" we learn a very important fact: education in the times described was not a class privilege in Rus'. In the manuscript, on behalf of “Wisdom,” there is an appeal to parents of different classes to send their children to be taught “extreme literature”: “For this reason I speak continually and will never cease in the hearing of pious people, of every rank and dignity, glorious and honorable, rich and wretched, even to the last farmers." The only limitation to education was the reluctance of the parents or their sheer poverty, which did not allow them to pay the teacher anything for educating their child.
But let us follow the student who entered the school and had already placed his hat on the “common bed,” that is, on the shelf, bowed to the images, and to the teacher, and to the entire student “squad.” A student who came to school early in the morning had to spend the whole day there until the bell rang for the evening service, which was the signal for the end of classes.

***
Books, being the property of the school, constituted its main value. The attitude towards the book was reverent and respectful. It was required that the students, having “closed the book,” always put it with the seal facing up and did not leave “indicative trees” (pointers) in it, did not unbend it too much and did not leaf through it in vain. It was strictly forbidden to place books on the bench, and at the end of the lesson, the books had to be given to the headman, who put them in the designated place.

And one more piece of advice - do not get carried away by looking at book decorations - “tumbles”, but strive to understand what is written in them.

Leaving home, school life
don't tell me
Punish this and every one of your comrades...
Ridiculous words and imitation
don't bring it to school
Do not wear out the deeds of those who were in it.

***
Another instruction, similar to all “Azbukovniki,” speaks of the responsibilities that were assigned to students at school. They had to “add up the school”: sweep away the rubbish, wash the floors, benches and tables, change the water in the vessels under the “light” - a stand for a torch. Lighting the school with the same torch was also the responsibility of the students, as was firing the stoves. The head of the school “team” assigned students to such work (in modern language, on duty) in shifts: “Whoever heats the school, installs everything in that school.”

For the sake of need, who needs to go,
Go to the headman four times a day,
Come back from there immediately,
Wash your hands to keep them clean,
Whenever you go there.

***
All "Azbukovnik" had an extensive section - about the punishment of lazy, careless and obstinate students with a description of the most diverse forms and methods of influence. It is no coincidence that “Azbukovniki” begins with a panegyric to the rod, written in cinnabar on the first page:

God bless these forests,
The same rods will give birth for a long time...

And it’s not only “Azbukovnik” that praises the rod. In the alphabet, printed in 1679, there are these words: “The rod sharpens the mind, awakens the memory.”

If anyone becomes lazy with teaching,
Such a wound will not be ashamed...

If someone doesn't teach a lesson,
One from free school
won't receive...

***
So, the students were constantly at school for most of the day. In order to have the opportunity to rest or be absent on necessary matters, the teacher chose an assistant from among his students, called the headman. The role of the headman in the internal life of the then school was extremely important. After the teacher, the headman was the second person in the school; he was even allowed to replace the teacher himself. Therefore, the choice of a headman for both the student “squad” and the teacher was the most important matter. "Azbukovnik" prescribed that the teacher himself should select such students from among the older students who were diligent in their studies and had favorable spiritual qualities. The book instructed the teacher: “Keep on your guard against them (that is, the elders - V.Ya.). The kindest and most skillful students who can, even without you, announce them (the students - V.Ya.) with a shepherd's word."

Some of us have guilt
Which was not before many days,
The culprits, hearing this, blush their faces,
They are still proud of us, the humble ones.

***
Needless to say, both the teaching and the upbringing of the youths were then imbued with deep respect for the Orthodox faith. What is invested from a young age will grow in an adult: “This is your childhood, the work of students in school, especially those who are perfect in age.” Students were required to go to church not only on holidays and Sundays, but also on weekdays, after finishing school.

***
Unfortunately, the work of Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev remained unfinished, his monograph was completed with the phrase: “The Reverend Athanasius was recently transferred to the Astrakhan Diocese, depriving me of the opportunity to finally parse the interesting manuscript, and therefore, not having the ABC Books at hand, I was forced to finish my "The article is where it left off. Saratov 1856."

V. YARKHO, historian

* Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev (1830-1905), having graduated from a gymnasium in Saratov, studied first at Kazan University, then at St. Petersburg University, from which he graduated in 1854 from the Faculty of History and Philology. In Saratov he began his literary activity. He published several historical monographs, published in “Russian Word”, “Russian Bulletin”, “Bulletin of Europe”. The monographs attracted attention, and Mordovtsev was even offered to occupy the department of history at St. Petersburg University. Daniil Lukich was no less famous as a writer on historical topics.

From Bishop Afanasy Drozdov of Saratov, he receives handwritten notebooks from the 17th century telling about how schools were organized in Rus'.

***
This is how Mordovtsev describes the manuscript that came to him: “The collection consisted of several sections. The first contains several ABC books, with a special count of notebooks; the second half consists of two sections: in the first - 26 notebooks, or 208 sheets; in the second, 171 sheets The second half of the manuscript, both of its sections, were written by the same hand... The entire section, consisting of “Azbukovnikov”, “Pismovnikov”, “School deaneries” and others - up to page 208, was written in the same hand. in handwriting, but with different ink it is written up to the 171st sheet and on that sheet, in a “four-pointed” cunning secret script, it is written “Started in the Solovetsky Hermitage, also in Kostroma, near Moscow in the Ipatskaya monastery, by the same first wanderer in the year of world existence 7191 (1683 .)".

Source "Science and Life" No. 7, 2002

Every year, schoolchildren sit down at their desks to once again “gnaw on the granite of science.” This has been going on for over a thousand years. The first schools in Rus' were radically different from modern ones: before there were no directors, no grades, or even division into subjects. the site found out how education was conducted in schools of past centuries.

Lessons from the breadwinner

The first mention of the school in ancient chronicles dates back to 988, when the Baptism of Rus' took place. In the 10th century, children were taught mainly at home by the priest, and the Psalter and Book of Hours served as textbooks. Only boys were accepted into schools - it was believed that women should not learn to read and write, but do household chores. Over time, the learning process evolved. By the 11th century, children were taught reading, writing, counting and choral singing. “Schools of book learning” appeared - original ancient Russian gymnasiums, the graduates of which entered the public service: as scribes and translators.

At the same time, the first girls' schools were born - however, only girls from noble families were accepted to study. Most often, the children of feudal lords and rich people studied at home. Their teacher was a boyar - the “breadwinner” - who taught schoolchildren not only literacy, but also several foreign languages, as well as the basics of government.

Children were taught literacy and numeracy. Photo: Painting by N. Bogdanov-Belsky “Oral Abacus”

Little information has been preserved about ancient Russian schools. It is known that training was carried out only in large cities, and with the invasion of Rus' by the Mongol-Tatars, it stopped altogether for several centuries and was revived only in the 16th century. Now schools were called “schools”, and only a representative of the church could become a teacher. Before starting a job, the teacher had to pass a knowledge exam himself, and the potential teacher’s acquaintances were asked about his behavior: cruel and aggressive people were not hired.

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The schoolchildren's day was completely different from what it is now. There was no division into subjects at all: students received new knowledge in one general stream. The concept of recess was also absent - during the whole day the children could only take one break, for lunch. At school, the children were met by one teacher, who taught everything at once - there was no need for directors and head teachers. The teacher did not grade the students. The system was much simpler: if a child learned and told the previous lesson, he received praise, and if he did not know anything, he was punished with rods.

Not everyone was accepted into the school, but only the smartest and most savvy children. The children spent the whole day in classes from morning until evening. Education in Rus' proceeded slowly. Now all first-graders can read, but previously, in the first year, schoolchildren learned the full names of letters - “az”, “buki”, “vedi”. Second graders could form intricate letters into syllables, and it was only in the third year that children could read. The main book for schoolchildren was the primer, first published in 1574 by Ivan Fedorov. Having mastered letters and words, the children read passages from the Bible. By the 17th century, new subjects appeared - rhetoric, grammar, land surveying - a symbiosis of geometry and geography - as well as the basics of astronomy and poetic art. The first lesson on the schedule necessarily began with general prayer. Another difference from the modern education system was that children did not carry textbooks with them: all the necessary books were kept at school.

Available to everyone

After the reform of Peter I, a lot has changed in schools. Education acquired a secular character: theology was now taught exclusively in diocesan schools. By decree of the emperor, so-called numerical schools were opened in the cities - they taught only literacy and basic arithmetic. Children of soldiers and lower ranks attended such schools. By the 18th century, education became more accessible: public schools appeared, which even serfs were allowed to attend. True, forced people could study only if the landowner decided to pay for their education.

Previously, schools did not have divisions into subjects. Photo: Painting by A. Morozov “Rural Free School”

It was not until the 19th century that primary education became free for everyone. Peasants went to parish schools, where education lasted only one year: it was believed that this was quite enough for serfs. Children of merchants and artisans attended district schools for three years, and gymnasiums were created for nobles. The peasants were taught only literacy and numeracy. In addition to all this, the townspeople, artisans and merchants were taught history, geography, geometry and astronomy, and the nobles were prepared in schools to enter universities. Women's schools began to open, the program in which was designed for 3 years or 6 years - to choose from. Education became publicly accessible after the adoption of the corresponding law in 1908. Now the school education system continues to develop: in September, children sit down at their desks and discover a whole world of new knowledge - interesting and immense.

IN 9th century When a separate state, Kievan Rus, first appeared, and the Russians were pagans, writing already existed, but education was not yet developed. Children were taught mainly individually, and only then group education appeared, which became the prototype of schools. This coincided with the invention of the letter-sound learning system. Rus' in those days was closely connected by trade relations with Byzantium, from where Christianity began to penetrate to us, long before its official adoption. Therefore, the first schools in Rus' were of two types - pagan (where only the offspring of the pagan elite were accepted) and Christian (for the children of those small princes who had already been baptized by that time).

10th century

In ancient documents that have reached us it is written that the founder of schools in Rus' was Prince Vladimir the Red Sun. As is known, it was he who initiated and executed the transition of Rus' to the Orthodox Christian faith. The Russians at that time were pagans and fiercely opposed the new religion. In order for people to quickly accept Christianity, widespread literacy training was organized, most often at the priest’s home. Church books - the Psalter and the Book of Hours - served as textbooks. Children from the upper classes were sent to study, as it is written in the chronicle: “book learning.” The people resisted the innovation in every possible way, but they still had to send their sons to school (this was strictly monitored) and the mothers cried and lamented, collecting the simple belongings of their children.

"Verbal counting. At the public school of S. A. Rachinsky" - painting by Russian artist N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky
© Image: Wikimedia Commons

The date of foundation of the largest school of “book teaching” is known - 1028, the son of Prince Vladimir, Prince Yaroslav the Wise, personally selected 300 smart boys from the privileged environment of warriors and petty princes and sent them to study in Veliky Novgorod - the largest city at that time. At the direction of the country's leadership, Greek books and textbooks were actively translated. Schools were opened at almost every newly built church or monastery; these were the later widely known parochial schools.

11th century

This is the heyday of Kievan Rus. A wide network of monastery schools and primary literacy schools had already been developed. The school curriculum included counting, writing and choral singing. There were also “schools of book learning”, with an increased level of education, in which children were taught to work with text and prepared for the future public service. There was a “Palace School” at the St. Sophia Cathedral, the same one that was founded by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. It now had international significance; translators and scribes were trained there. There were also several girls' schools where girls from wealthy families were taught to read and write.

The highest feudal nobility taught children at home, sending several offspring to separate villages that belonged to them. There, a noble boyar, literate and educated, who was called the “breadwinner,” taught children to read and write, 5-6 languages and the basics of government. It is known that the prince independently “led” the village in which the “feeding center” (a school for the highest nobility) was located. But schools were only in cities; in villages they did not teach literacy.

16th century

During the Mongol-Tatar invasion (starting from the 13th century), the widely developing mass education in Rus' was, for obvious reasons, suspended. And only starting from the 16th century, when Rus' was completely “freed from captivity,” schools began to be revived, and they began to be called “schools.” If before this time there was very little information about education in the chronicles that have reached us, then from the 16th century an invaluable document has been preserved, the book “Stoglav” - a collection of resolutions of the Stoglav Council, in which the country’s top leadership and church hierarchs participated.

It devoted a lot of space to issues of education, in particular, it was pointed out that only a clergyman who had received an appropriate education could become a teacher. Such people were first examined, then information about their behavior was collected (a person should not be cruel and evil, otherwise no one would send their children to school) and only after all were they allowed to teach. The teacher taught all subjects alone, and was assisted by a headman from among the students. The first year they learned the alphabet (then you had to know the “full name” of the letter), the second year they put the letters into syllables, and the third year they started reading. Boys from any class were still selected for schools, the main thing was that they were savvy and intelligent.

The first Russian primer

The date of its appearance is known - the primer was printed by Ivan Fedorov, the first Russian book publisher, in 1574. It contained 5 notebooks, each with 8 sheets. If we recalculate everything into the format familiar to us, then the first primer had 80 pages. In those days, children were taught using the so-called “literal subjunctive” method, inherited from the Greeks and Romans. The children learned by heart syllables that initially consisted of two letters, then a third was added to them. The students were also introduced to the basics of grammar, they were given information about the correct stress, cases and verb conjugations. The second part of the ABC contained reading materials - prayers and passages from the Bible.

17th century

The most valuable manuscript “Azbukovnik”, written by unknown authors or an author in the 17th century, has miraculously survived to us. This is something of a teacher's manual. It clearly states that teaching in Rus' has never been a class privilege. It is written in the book that even “the poor and the poor” can study. But, unlike in the 10th century, no one forced anyone to do it by force. Tuition fees for the poor were minimal, “at least some.” Of course, there were those who were so poor that they could not give the teacher anything, but if the child had a desire to learn and he was “quick-witted,” then the zemstvo (local leadership) was charged with the responsibility of giving him the most basic education. To be fair, it must be said that the zemstvo did not act this way everywhere.

The ABC book describes in detail the day of the then schoolboy. The rules for all schools in pre-Petrine Rus' were the same. Children came to school early in the morning and left after evening prayer, having spent the whole day at school. First, the children recited yesterday’s lesson, then all the students (they were called the “squad”) stood up for general prayer. After that, everyone sat down at a long table and listened to the teacher. Children were not given books home; they were the main value of the school.

Reconstruction of the classroom of the former art school of the Teneshev estate, Talashkino, Smolensk region.
© Photo: lori.ru

The children were told in detail how to handle the textbook so that it would be stored for a long time. The children themselves cleaned the school and took care of its heating. The “druzhina” was taught grammar, rhetoric, church singing, land surveying (i.e. the basics of geometry and geography), arithmetic, “star knowledge” or the basics of astronomy. Poetic art was also studied. The pre-Petrine era was extremely interesting in Rus', but it was Peter I who introduced the first revolutionary changes.

In Russia, every new century brings its own changes, and sometimes a new ruler changes everything. This is what happened with the reformer Tsar Peter I. Thanks to him, new approaches to education appeared in Russia.

XVIII century, 1st half

Education became more secular: theology was now taught only in diocesan schools and only for the children of the clergy, and for them learning to read and write was compulsory. Those who refused were threatened with military service, which was life-threatening in conditions of almost continuous wars. This is how a new class was formed in Rus'.

In 1701, by decree of Peter I, who wanted to train his own specialists for the army and navy (at that time only foreigners worked in these places), the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences or, as it was also called, the School of the Pushkar Order, was opened in Moscow. It had 2 departments: the lower school (junior grades), where they taught writing and arithmetic, and the upper school (senior grades), for teaching languages and engineering sciences.

There was also a preparatory department, or digital school, where they taught reading and counting. Peter liked the latter so much that he ordered the creation of such schools in other cities in her image and likeness. The first school was opened in Voronezh. It is interesting that adults were also taught there - as a rule, lower ranks of the military.

In numerical schools, children of the clergy, as well as children of soldiers, gunners, nobles, that is, almost everyone who demonstrated a thirst for knowledge, learned to read and write. In 1732, garrison schools for soldiers' offspring were founded at the regiments. In them, in addition to reading and arithmetic, the basics of military affairs were taught, and the teachers were officers.

Peter I had a good goal - large-scale universal primary education, but, as happened more than once in history, the people were forced to this with the help of rods and intimidation. Subjects began to grumble and oppose compulsory school attendance for some classes. It all ended with the fact that the Admiralty (which was in charge of digital schools) itself tried to get rid of them, but the Holy Synod (the highest governing body of the Russian Church, which influenced the life of the country) did not agree to take them under its wing, noting that spiritual and secular education was not must be combined. Then the digital schools were connected to the garrison ones. This was of great importance for the history of education. It was the garrison schools that were distinguished by a high level of training, and from there many well-trained people subsequently emerged, who until the reign of Catherine II served as a support for Russian education, working as teachers.

XVIII century, 2nd half

If earlier children from different classes could study in the same school, then later class schools began to form. The first sign was the Land Noble Corps or, in modern terms, a school for noble children. Based on this principle, the Page Corps, as well as the Naval and Artillery Corps, were later created.

The nobles sent very young children there, who upon completion received a specialty and an officer rank. For all other classes, public schools began to open everywhere. In large cities these were the so-called main schools, with four classes of education, in small cities - small schools, with two classes.

For the first time in Russia, subject teaching was introduced, curricula appeared, and methodological literature was developed. Classes began to begin and end at the same time throughout the country. Each class studied differently, but almost everyone could study, even the children of serfs, although, of course, it was most difficult for them: often their education depended on the whim of the landowner or on whether he wanted to maintain the school and pay the teacher’s salary.

By the end of the century there were more than 550 educational institutions and more than 70,000 students throughout Russia.

19th century

It was a time of great breakthrough, although, of course, we were still losing to Europe and the USA. General education schools (public schools) were active, and general education gymnasiums operated for nobles. At first they were opened only in the three largest cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan.

Specialized education for children was represented by soldiers' schools, cadet and gentry (noble) corps, and many theological schools.

In 1802, the Ministry of Public Education was first established. The following year, it developed new principles: in particular, it was emphasized that the lower levels of education from now on would be free and representatives of any class would be accepted there.

Small public schools were replaced by one-class parish schools (for the children of peasants), in each city they were obliged to build and maintain a three-class district school (for merchants, artisans and other urban inhabitants), and the main public schools were transformed into gymnasiums (for nobles). The children of officials who did not have the rank of nobility now had the right to enter the latter institutions. Thanks to these transformations, the network of educational institutions was significantly expanded.

Children of the lower classes were taught the four rules of arithmetic, reading and writing, and the law of God. Children from the middle classes (philistines and merchants) in addition to this - geometry, geography, history. The gymnasiums prepared students for admission to universities, of which there were already six in Russia (a considerable number for that time). Girls were still extremely rarely sent to school; as a rule, they were taught at home.

After the abolition of serfdom (1861), accessible all-class education was introduced. Zemstvo, parish and Sunday schools appeared. Gymnasiums were divided into classical and real. Moreover, the latter accepted children from any class whose parents could save up for education. The fees were relatively low, which is confirmed by the large number of real gymnasiums.

Women's schools began to open actively, which were available only to children from among middle-income citizens. Women's schools offered three- and six-year education. Women's gymnasiums appeared.

Parochial school, 1913

XX century

In 1908, a law on universal education was adopted. Primary education began to develop at a particularly rapid pace - the state actively financed new educational institutions. Free (but not universal) education was legalized, which played a huge role in the development of the country. In the European part of Russia, almost all boys and half of girls studied in primary schools; in other territories the situation was worse, but almost half of urban children and almost a third of peasant children also had primary education.

Of course, compared to the background of other European countries, these were incommensurable figures, because by that time in developed countries the law on universal primary education had been in force for several centuries.

Education became universal and accessible to all in our country only after the adoption of Soviet power.