The process of the secularisation of Old Russian literature could be seen in the transformation of as stable a genre as the vita, whose canons were destroyed by the intrusion of daily realia and folk legends already in the fifteenth century as is evident in the lives of SS loannof Novgorod and Mikhail of Klopovo and in the tale of SS 279 Peter and Fevronia. In the seventeenth century the vita gradually evolved into the tale of daily life, and then into an autobiographical confession.

The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya

p The changes in the early seventeenth century vita as a genre can be vividly seen in the Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya, the first biography of a noblewoman in Russian literature. It was written by Juliania’s son Druzhina Osoryin, a senior man (gubnoi starosta) of the city of Murom in the period from 1620 to 1640. The tale’s author was well acquainted with the facts of the heroine’s life and treasured her moral standards and human qualities. This positive potrayal of a Russian woman is set in the milieu of a wealthy country estate.

p In the foreground is a model housewife, for young Juliania is obliged to shoulder the burdens of running the domestic life of the estate when she marries. In an effort to please her father-, mother- and sisters-in-law, she supervises the servants’ work and the daily affairs of the household. Often she is obliged to resolve social conflicts arising between the staff and the masters. These conflicts result in an open rebellion of the “slaves” (although, it is true, the tale explains this in terms of a traditional motive—the intrigues of the devil). During such a spontaneous revolt Juliania’s oldest son is killed. But Juliania bears all adversities of fortune without complaining. Twice she endures terrible years of famine: in her youth and in her old age when she is even obliged to let her “slaves” leave her to seek food for themselves.

p The tale gives an authentic picture of the position of a married woman in a large noble family: her lack of rights and many obligations. So involved is Juliania in keeping the household that she is even unable to go to church; nevertheless she is a saint. The tale confirms the sanctity of a virtuous secular life spent in service to others. Juliania helps the starving, cares for the sick in time of plague and gives so much to charity that she is left without a single silver coin. This shows how the 280 earlier ascetic ideal of retirement from the world had lost its significance and become a thing of the past.

p Not only does Osoryin depict real traits of his mother, he also paints an ideal image of a Russian woman as seen by an early seventeenth century Russian nobleman.

p In his description of Juliania’s life, Osoryin was not able to totally depart from hagiographical tradition. This can be seen, for example, in the tale’s beginning. Juliania is born of parents who love God and the poor; she is raised in all piety and loves God from her earliest years. In her character the Christian virtues of humility, meekness, tolerance, love of the poor and generosity are stressed. As befitting a Christian zealot Juliania becomes an ascetic in her old age, although she does not enter a monastery: she refuses fleshly intercourse with her husband, sleeps on the stove, and places logs and iron keys under her ribs. In winter she goes about lightly clothed, “barefooted in her boots in which she puts hazelnut shells and sharp potsherds to mortify her body".

p Osoryin also introduces traditional hagiographical fantastic motifs: demons want to kill Juliania, but St. Nicholas intervenes to save her. In many cases, however, demonic machinations reflect concrete details of daily life and society. Such instances include the quarrels in the family and the revolt of the “slaves”, which are explained in the tale as being due to demonic instigation.

p As befitting a saint, Juliania herself predicts her death and dies piously. Ten years later her imperishable body is discovered and proves to be capable of working miracles.

p Thus in the Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya elements of the tale of daily life and the vita are closely interwoven; still elements of daily life already predominate in this narrative. It is telling that the tale lacks the traditional introduction, lament and eulogy characteristic of the vita. Its style is quite simple and reflects the chancellory experience of the senior man (gubnoi starosta) of the city of Murom.

p The Tale of Juliania Lazarevskaya bears witness to 281 the growing social and literary interest in individual lives and in people’s daily behaviour. These realistic elements penetrated the genre of the vita and gradually transformed it into a secular, biographical tale. This work is not an exception. Appended to it is the Tale of the Appearance of the Unzhensky Cross (Skazanie o yavlenii Unzhenskogo kresta).

p All of the above shows the process of the destruction of canonical hagiographical genres. The pious, ascetic monk is replaced as the central hero of the vita by a new secular hero who is gradually depicted in a real, daily environment.

The next step in the convergence of vita and life was taken by Archpriest Avvakum in his celebrated life—an autobiography.