p A special place in the literature of the eleventh and twelfth centuries is accorded to Vladimir Monomakh’s Instruction included in the Laurentian Chronicle under the year 1096. Apparently the chroniclers regarded this as the prince’s last testament written shortly before he died or about 1117. It was, however, entered in the chronicle under the year 1096, rather than 1125, the actual date of Monomakh’s death.

p This can be explained as follows. Monomakh’s letter to Oleg of Chernigov, which follows the Instruction, was dated 1096. In Addition events described in the chronicle under the year 1097—the conference of princes at Lyubech, the blinding of Vasilko, Monomakh’s peace treaty with Svyatopolk and the people of Kiev—clearly affirmed the justice of many of the teachings regarding the necessity for princes to fulfil their obligations and keep their word when they “kissed the cross".

p The renowned Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh (1052-1125) introduced policies that temporarily halted internecine warfare between princes. He was famed for his victories over the Polovtsy whom he drove back far beyond the River Don and who used to frighten their children by telling them that Monomakh was coming. In 1113 he became Great Prince of Kiev and proceeded to work in every possible way to unify the Russian land; he fulfilled the demands of the newly established feudal order to the letter.

p The central theme of his Instruction is a call to his children and all who read or heard the document to 92 abide by feudal law rather then act out of personal, selfish, family interests. The Instruction goes beyond the confines of a family will and has a great social significance.

p Vladimir’s wealth of personal experiences provides a lofty example of how a prince might serve the interests of his country.

p The Instruction alternates between didactic and autobiographical elements. Monomakh’s teachings are confirmed, not only by sententiae from Holy Scripture, but above all by concrete examples from his own life.

p First and foremost the Instruction is concerned with the interests of the state. A prince’s sacred obligation is to look out for the good of his land, to unite it, and to strictly observe all vows and treaties. The main thing is not to violate things over which one has kissed the cross, says Monomakh, that is, to keep one’s word. A prince must concern himself with “Christian souls”, “the humble serf”, and “the poor widow”. Internecine strife undermines the political and economic might of the state. Only peace can lead to the flowering of a land. Therefore the ruler is obliged to keep the peace and should not permit “burning villages" as a result of internecine wars.

p No less obligatory for the prince, as Monomakh sees it, is attention to the good of the Church. He was well aware of the Church’s role as the prince’s trustworthy helper. If a prince wishes to consolidate his power he must constantly attend to the order of the priesthood and of monks. Monomakh does not, it is true, recommend that his children attain salvation by entering a monastery. This life-affirming, energetic man was no ascetic. But he does call for the strict observance of religious ritual for he believes that through “repentence, tears and charity" one can atone for one’s sins.

p In accordance with Christian morality Monomakh calls for his children to care for the poor. A prince must also maintain justice and not permit “strong men to kill another”, just as Vladimir himself never let the strong “offend” either the “humble serf" or “the poor widow".

p A prince has to set an example of lofty morals. The 93 most fundamental virtue in man is industriousness. Labour for Monomakh is, above all, exploits in battle, and then the hunt where man’s body and soul are tempered in the constant struggle against danger.

p Among examples from his own life Vladimir mentions eighty-three major campaigns, not bothering to speak of minor forays, and twenty peace treaties. He speaks of how he constantly risked his life hunting: “Two aurochses charged me and my horse with their horns; a stag butted me, and of two elk, one trampled me with his hooves and the other gored me, ... a wild beast leaped at my thigh and knocked me and my steed to the ground....”

p For Vladimir the worst vice is laziness: “For laziness is the mother of all others: the lazy man forgets what he knows and cannot learn what he knows not.”

p Sloth can lead to sudden death during military campaigns and can harm the economy of a prince’s country. An experienced proprietor and military leader, Vladimir tells his children never to trust stewards or servants, but to examine everything themselves. Likewise in time of battle one should not rely on the voyevoda, but should “array” his sentries himself and sleep alongside his men without disarming. Vladimir also warns against falsehood, drunkenness and fornication which “destroy both body and soul".

p Monomakh’s Instruction shows him to be an extremely active man: “I did what my orderly should have done and did not rest at war or on a hunt, day and night, summer and winter.”

p Vladimir was also a determined advocate of learning: “Forget not what good you know and that which you know not, learn,” he says pointing to his father Vsevolod who learned five languages “sitting at home”, that is, in Kiev; this earned him “honour in other lands".

p A prince should be generous and never cease to worry about his good name. Vladimir notes that a prince must present a guest, be he of simple or noble origins, with gifts, feed him and quench his thirst because such people “spread a man’s glory through all lands as they pass and will speak either good or 94 bad of their host".

p A prince’s daily life should be a model for those around him: he should visit the sick, bid farewell to the dead—for all men are mortal. His family relations should be based on respect for women: “Love your wife, but do not let her dominate you.”

p Thus Monomakh’s Instruction embraces many aspects of life. He answers numerous social and moral questions of his day and his teachings are directed, not only to his children, but to everyone who reads the testament.

p At the same time the Instruction tells us many things about the author himself, the first known secular writer of Old Rus. Above all Vladimir was well educated and thoroughly acquainted with the literature of his day. He uses the Psalter, the Parimiynik, the teachings of St. Basil the Great, Xenophon’s and Theodore’s precepts to their children (which can be found in the Miscellany of 1076) and the Hexaemeron. The Psalter is used by Monomakh as a means of conveying his psychological state. In his grief at encountering envoys from his brothers who urge him to unite and drive out Rostislavich, Vladimir takes up the Psalter: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? " (Ps. 42 : 5). His soul is cast down because his brothers want to kindle internecine war and because they are outraged that he, Vladimir, has refused to join them and break his vow. The encounter of 1098 inspired Monomakh to write his Instruction. It was precisely then that he “gathered his words and organised them and began to write”. These words help us to reconstruct the process of composing the Instruction: first the choice of necessary material from books, then ordering the material, and finally the process of writing.

p The Instruction is organised according to a clear plan: the introduction addressing the writer’s children has typical self-denigration, characteristic of the Old Russian writer, and Monomakh asks the reader not to mock his work, but to take it to heart. His final request is: “If you are not pleased by the last part, then at least heed the first.”

p The central didactic part of the Instruction begins 95 with a philosophical discussion of God’s love for man and His mercy, the necessity for triumph over evil and the possibility of this triumph, and its pledge of beauty and harmony of God’s created world. With great lyrical inspiration Vladimir speaks of “how the heavens were created and the sun and moon and stars, and light and darkness and the firmament placed in the midst of waters...”. He marvels at the miracle of man, “how he formed different human faces, enough to fill the whole world, not in one image, but each with his own image...”. He admires how “heavenly birds come from paradise, and first into our hands, and do not settle in one country, but both the weak and the strong go forth into all lands, by God’s command, so that the forests and fields should be filled".

p After praising the harmony of the universe Vladimir once again addresses his children, asking them to attend to his own teachings based on his own weak reason. He first speaks of the benefits of prayer and then offers practical instructions concerning the functions of a prince and his economy, and finally daily behaviour. The last chord of the Instruction is an inspired call to praise God in the morning at sunrise, when deciding on matters of state, or hunting, going off to battle or lying down to sleep.

p At this point the Instruction would seem to be logically concluded, but Monomakh instead appends a list of his “labours”, a unique diary of military campaigns in the manner of chronicle entries lacking only dates. His travels are arranged in strict chronological order, beginning in 1072 and ending in 1117: seventy-four campaigns are enumerated.

p Then Monomakh lists peace treaties, followed by a catalogue of hunts which reveal him to be a bold, passionate trapper.

p Once again Monomakh concludes by addressing his children and others who may read his document; he asks them not to condemn him. Vladimir then explains that he is not praising himself or his courage, but God who guarded this “miserable sinner" from death for many years and created him “not slothful and vile, but capable of any human deed”. In this way Monomakh 96 avoids accusations of being a proud writer or of boasting about his own virtues. He expresses his faith that his children will read his testament and strive to do good deeds, exhorting them not to fear death whether in battle or from wild beasts, but to fulfil their “manly duties" without trembling.

p The Instruction is followed directly by a letter from Vladimir to Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, notorious for constantly stirring up internecine strife (the author of The Lay of Igor’s Host rightly calls him “Goreslavich”-that is “Son of Woe”). Defeated by Vladimir and Svyatopolk, Oleg was forced to abandon Chernigov and retreat to Rostov where he clashed with Vladimir’s son Izyaslav. Oleg killed Izyaslav in the course of the battle and captured his wife. This event which occurred on September 6, 1096 was the reason for Vladimir’s letter to Oleg of Chernigov.

p Vladimir writes that his son Mstislav sent him a message begging him to smooth things over and make peace rather than avenge the death of Izyaslav so as to save the Russian land. Vladimir’s letter paints a vivid picture of the grief of a father who has suffered the untimely loss of a son. Appealing to his enemy’s human feelings, Vladimir asks him to imagine his reaction had he seen the body of his own son before him and calls upon him to share the grief in his heart.

p Vladimir, who wishes the best for his “brothers” and the “Russian land”, speaks of reconciliation with Oleg and asks only that he release Izyaslav’s wife “so that we can mourn together and then I can settle her in my home, weeping like a turtle-dove on a dried-out branch; I myself would find consolation in the Lord".

p The image of a weeping turtle-dove is traditional in oral folk poetry and gives evidence of Vladimir’s poetic perception of reality.

p The letter to Oleg of Chernigov supplemented the Instruction and may have been appended by the author himself. It shows the triumph of common state obligations over the personal feelings of a father destroyed by grief.

p On the one hand, Vladimir’s Instruction has many literary elements derived from a judicious choice of 97 sources, and on the other hand, the living language is evident, particularly in the description of the many dangerous hunting expeditions. Vivid laconic aphorisms characterise the style of the Instruction.

On the whole both Instruction and epistle reveal an extraordinary state figure from the Russian Middle Ages and an incarnation of the ideal prince, guarding the honour and glory of his native land.   [97•1