Old East Slavic, also known as Old Russian (Russian: древнерусский) or Old Ruthenian, was a vernacular literary language used from the 10th to the 14th centuries by East Slavs in Kievan Rus' and states which formed after its collapse. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The East Slavs are a Slavic ethnic group, the speakers of East Slavic languages. Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan Dialects of it were spoken, though not exclusively, roughly in the area today occupied by the European part of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and several eastern voivodships of Poland. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. This article concerns both historical and contemporary voivodeships in various countries Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland

As the language is part of the (pre-)national history of all East Slavs, in recent years it has been increasingly named as:

• Old Belarusian (Belarusian старабеларуская or старажытнабеларуская мова) instead of traditional supranational старажытнаруская мова or
• Old Ukrainian (Ukrainian староукраїнська or давньоукраїнська мова) (old Ukrainian Language) or давньокиївська мова (old Kievan Language) rather than давньоруська мова (Old Rus Language). The Belarusian language, or Belorussian,(беларуская мова BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages.

General considerations

The language was a descendant of the Proto-Slavic language and faithfully retained many of its features. Proto-Slavic is the Proto-language from which Slavic languages later emerged A striking innovation in the evolution of this language was the development of so-called full vocalism, which came to differentiate the newly evolving East Slavic from other Slavic languages. For instance, Proto-Slavic *gordъ ‘town’ became (Old East Slavonic:OES) gorodъ, Proto-Slavic *melko ‘milk’ – OES moloko, and Proto-Slavic *korva ‘cow’ – OES korova. Other Slavic languages would develop such forms as gradъ, mlěko, krava (South Slavic, Czech and Slovak) or gъrodъ, mьleko, kъrova (e. South Slavic languages comprise one of the three geographical groups of Slavic languages (besides West and East Slavic) Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" g. Polish: gród, mleko, krowa), (Ukrainian Город, молоко, корова), etc. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages.

Since extant written records of the language are sparse, it is difficult to assess the level of its unity. In consideration of the number of tribes and clans that constituded Kievan Rus, it is probable that there were many dialects of Old East Slavonic. Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Русь romanised: Kievskaya Rus', rusʲ also written as Kyivan Rus′ (Ки́ївська Русь or Kievan Therefore, today we may speak definitively only of the languages of surviving manuscripts, which, according to some interpretators, show regional divergences from the beginning of the historical records.

With time, it evolved into several more diversified forms, which were the predecessors of the modern Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn and Ukrainian languages. The Belarusian language, or Belorussian,(беларуская мова BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Rusyn (ry русинськый язык) is an East Slavic language (along with Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian, with which it shares Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. Each of these languages preserves much of the Old East Slavic grammar and vocabulary.

When after the end of the 'Tatar yoke' the territory of former Kievan Rus was divided between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, two separate literary languages emerged in these states, Ruthenian in the west and medieval Russian in the east. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje The Grand Duchy of Moscow (Великое княжество Московское was a medieval Russian polity centered on Moscow between 1340 and Ruthenian (also

Literary language of Kievan Rus

A page from Svyatoslav's Miscellanies (1073).

The political unification of the region into the state called Rus', from which modern Belarus, Russia and Ukraine trace their origins, occurred approximately a century before the adoption of Christianity in 988 and the establishment of the South Slavic Old Church Slavonic as the liturgical and literary language. Rus’ (Русь rusʲ Русичи Русы are an ancient people whose name survives in the cognates Russians, Rusyns, and Ruthenians Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Events By Place Africa Al-Azhar University is founded in Cairo, Egypt (the second oldest university in the world to make sure old Cyrillic letters are displayed properly (For example instead of just Ѣ write Ѣ Documentation of the language of this period is scanty, making it difficult at best fully to determine the relationship between the literary language and its spoken dialects.

There are references in Arab and Byzantine sources to pre-Christian Slavs in European Russia using some form of writing. Despite some suggestive archaeological finds and a corroboration by the 10th-century monk Khrabr that ancient Slavs wrote in "strokes and incisions" (черты и резы /ʧertɪ i rʲezɪ/), the exact nature of this system is not known. Chernorizets Hrabar (Чръноризьць Храбръ Черноризец Храбър was a monk scholar and writer in medieval Bulgaria who worked at the Preslav

Although the Glagolitic alphabet was briefly introduced, as witnessed by church inscriptions in Novgorod, it was soon entirely superseded by the Cyrillic. The Glagolitic alphabet or Glagolitsa is the oldest known Slavic Alphabet. Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod The Cyrillic alphabet (səˈrɪlɪk also called azbuka, from the old name of the first two letters is actually a family of Alphabets, subsets of which are used by The samples of birch-bark writing excavated in Novgorod have provided crucial information about the pure tenth-century vernacular in North-West Russia, almost entirely free of church influence. A birch bark document is a document written on pieces of Birch bark. Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod Old Novgorod dialect ( Russian древненовгородский диалект also translated as Old Novgorodian or Ancient Novgorod dialect) is a It is also known that borrowings and calques from Byzantine Greek began to enter the vernacular at this time, and that simultaneously the literary language in its turn began to be modified towards Eastern Slavic. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly

The following excerpts illustrate two of the most famous literary monuments.

NOTE. The spelling has been partly modernized. The translations attempt to be as literal as possible; they are not literary.

Primary Chronicle

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c. The Primary Chronicle (ѣѣтъ Пóвесть временны́х лет Povest' vremennykh let; Пóвість врéм'яних літ Povist' vremjanykh 1110, from the Laurentian Codex, 1377

Се повѣсти времѧньных лѣт ‧ ѿкуду єсть пошла руская земѧ ‧ кто въ києвѣ нача первѣє кнѧжит ‧ и ѿкуду руская землѧ стала єсть. Laurentian Codex (Лаврентьевский список Лаврентьевская летопись is a collection of chronicles that includes the oldest extant version of the

These [are] the tales of the bygone years, whence is come the land of Rus’, who first began to rule at Kiev, and whence the land of Rus’ has come about.

Early language; Russian and Ukrainian not yet differentiated. Fall of the yers in progress or arguably complete (several words end with a consonant; кнѧжит "to rule" < кънѧжити, modern Uk княжити, R княжить). The letter Yer or Jer ( Ъ, ъ) of the Cyrillic alphabet is known as the hard sign (твёрдый знак znak in the modern South-western (incipient Ukrainian) features include времѧньнъıх "bygone"; modern R временных). Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. Correct use of perfect and aorist: єсть пошла "is/has come" (modern R пошла), нача "began" (modern R начал as a development of the old perfect tense. The perfect aspect is variously considered either an aspect or tense which calls a listener's attention to the consequences generated by an action rather than the ) Note the style of punctuation.

Tale of Igor's Campaign

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Слово о пълку Игоревѣ. The Tale of Igor's Campaign ( Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ Slovo o plŭku Igorevě; Слово о полку Ігоревім c. 1200, from the Pskov manuscript, 15th cent.

Не лѣпо ли ны бяшетъ братые, начати старыми словесы трудныхъ повѣстій о полку Игоревѣ, Игоря Святъ славича? Начатижеся тъ пѣсни по былинамъ сего времени, а не по замышленію Бояню. Боянъ бо вѣщій, аще кому хотяше пѣснѣ творити, то растекашется мысію по древу, сѣрымъ волкомъ по земли, шизымъ орломъ подъ облакы.

Would it not be meet, o brothers, for us to begin with the old words the martial telling of the host of Igor, Igor Sviatoslavich? And to begin in the way of the true tales of this time, and not in the way of Boyan's inventions. For the wise Boyan, if he wished to devote to someone [his] song, would wander like a squirrel over a tree, like a grey wolf over land, like a bluish eagle beneath the clouds.

Illustrates the sung epics. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Typical use of metaphor and simile. The apparent (Russian) misreading растекаться мыслью по древу (to effuse/pour out one's thought upon/over wood) has become proverbial in modern Russian with the meaning "to speak ornately, at length, excessively". (The misreading is of мысію (akin to мышь "mouse") from "run like a squirrel/mouse on a tree", taken to be мыслію, "as a thought, thought-like". It is present in both the manuscript copy of 1790 and the first edition of 1800, and appears to have been aided by a then misunderstood change in the meaning of the word R течь "to flow", here "run")

Old East Slavic Literature

The Old East Slavic language developed a certain literature of its own, though much of it (in hand with those of the Slavic languages that were, after all, written down) was influenced as regards style and vocabulary by religious texts written in Church Slavonic. Surviving literary monuments include the legal code Justice of the Rus (Руська правда /ruska pravda/), a corpus of hagiography and homily, the disputed epic Song of Igor (Слово о полку игореве /slovo o polku igorʲevʲe/) and the earliest surviving manuscript of the Primary Chronicle (Повесть временных лет /povʲestʲ vremʲennix lʲet/) – the Laurentian codex (Лаврентьевский список /lavrʲentʲjevskij spʲisok/) of 1377. Ruskaya Pravda (Ру́сская пра́вда Russkaya Pravda; Archaic Правда Роська Pravda Ros'ka; Руська Правда Rus'ka Pravda Hagiography ( is the study of Saints. A hagiography, from Greek (hağios (ἅγιος "holy" or "saint" and graphē (γραφή A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and in the Eastern Orthodox Church The Tale of Igor's Campaign ( Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ Slovo o plŭku Igorevě; Слово о полку Ігоревім The Primary Chronicle (ѣѣтъ Пóвесть временны́х лет Povest' vremennykh let; Пóвість врéм'яних літ Povist' vremjanykh

The Book of Veles, said to have been found during the Russian civil war and to have disappeared in WWII, would, if genuine, provide about the only surviving pre-Christian East Slavic literary monument. The Book of Veles (also Veles Book, Vles book, Vlesbook, Isenbeck's Planks, Велесова книга Велес книга Книга Since the account of its find and eventual fate (several photographs are claimed to survive) has not been confirmed, and its language deviates from the accepted reconstruction, most professional linguists have so far dismissed the book's authenticity.

The earliest dated specimen of Old East Slavic (or, rather, of Church Slavonic with pronounced East Slavic interference) must be considered the written Slovo o zakone i blagodati, by Hilarion, metropolitan of Kiev. Church Slavonic (also Church Slavic, Old Bulgarian) is the Liturgical language of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Hilarion or Ilarion (Иларион Іларіон was the first non- Greek Metropolitan of Kiev. In Hierarchical Christian churches the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the Diocesan bishop or Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the In this work there is a panegyric on Prince Vladimir of Kiev, the hero of so much of East Slavic popular poetry. Saint Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great ( Old Russian: Володимеръ Святославичь, c This subtle and graceful oration admirably conforms to the precepts of the Byzantine eloquence. It is rivalled by another panegyric on Vladimir, written a decade later by Yakov the Monk.

Ostromir Gospels from Novgorod (mid-11th century)

Other 11th-century writers are Theodosius, a monk of the Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, who wrote on the Latin faith and some Pouchenia or Instructions, and Luka Zhidiata, bishop of Novgorod, who has left us a curious Discourse to the Brethren. The Ostromir Gospels (Russian Остромирово Евангелие is the oldest dated East Slavic book (and the second-oldest extant book after the Novgorod Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Києво-Печерська лавра Kyievo-Pechers’ka lavra; Киево-Печерская лавра Kievo-Pecherskaya lavra) Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod From the writings of Theodosius we see that many pagan habits were still in vogue among the people. He finds fault with them for allowing these to continue, and also for their drunkenness; nor do the monks escape his censures. Zhidiata writes in a more vernacular style than many of his contemporaries; he eschews the declamatory tone of the Byzantine authors. And here may be mentioned the many lives of the saints and the Fathers to be found in early East Slavic literature, starting with the two Lives of Sts Boris and Gleb, written in the late 11th century and attributed to Jacob the Monk and to Nestor the Chronicler. There are other people known as Saint David and Saint Roman. Boris and Gleb ( Russian: Борис и Глеб Ukrainian Saint Nestor the Chronicler (c 1056 - c 1114 Kyiv) was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, (the earliest East Slavic Chronicle

With the so-called Primary Chronicle, also attributed to Nestor, begins the long series of the Russian annalists. The Primary Chronicle (ѣѣтъ Пóвесть временны́х лет Povest' vremennykh let; Пóвість врéм'яних літ Povist' vremjanykh There is a regular catena of these chronicles, extending with only two breaks to the 17th century. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Besides the work attributed to Nestor, we have chronicles of Novgorod, Kiev, Volhynia and many others. Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Every town of any importance could boast of its annalists, Pskov and Suzdal among others. Pskov (Псков ancient Russian spelling Пльсковъ Pleskov) in Latvian Pleskava, in Estonian Pihkva, is an ancient city located in Suzdal (Су́здаль is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated north-east of Moscow, from the city of In some respects these compilations, the productions of monks in their cloisters, remind us of Herodotus, dry details alternating with here and there a picturesque incident; and many of these annals abound with the quaintest stories. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash

In the 12th century we have the sermons of bishop Cyril of Turov, which are attempts to imitate in Old East Slavic the florid Byzantine style. Cyril of Turaŭ (1130 &ndash 1182 (Кіры́ла Ту́раўскі Kiryla Turaŭski was an Orthodox Christian Bishop and Saint in the Orthodox In his sermon on Holy Week, Christianity is represented under the form of spring, Paganism and Judaism under that of winter, and evil thoughts are spoken of as boisterous winds. Holy Week ( Latin: Hebdomada Sancta or Maior Hebdomada, "Greater Week" in Christianity is the last week before Easter. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut

The 14th-century Novgorodian children were literate enough to send each other letters written on birch bark

There are also admirable works of early travellers, as the igumen Daniel, who visited the Holy Land at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th century. Veliky Novgorod (Вели́кий Но́вгород is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia and the administrative center of Novgorod A birch bark document is a document written on pieces of Birch bark. Daniel (; Persian: دانيال, Dâniyal or Danial, also Dani, داني; Arabic: دانيال The Holy Land ( Arabic: الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah;Ancient Aramaic: ארעא קדישא Ar'a Qaddisha; Hebrew: ארץ_הקודש A later traveller was Afanasiy Nikitin, a merchant of Tver, who visited India in 1470. Afanasy Nikitin ( Афана́сий Ники́тин in Russian) (? - 1472 was a Russian merchant and one of the first Europeans (after Niccolò Tver (Тверь is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Tver Oblast. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country He has left a record of his adventures, which has been translated into English and published for the Hakluyt Society. A Journey Beyond the Three Seas (Хожение за три моря Khozheniye za tri morya) is a Russian literary monument in the form of travel notes The Hakluyt Society is a Registered charity based in London England, dedicated to the advancement of the understanding of world history

A curious monument of old Slavonic times is the Pouchenie (Instruction), written by Vladimir Monomakh for the benefit of his sons. For the cruiser see Russian armoured cruiser Vladimir Monomakh, for the submarine see RFS Vladimir Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh This composition is generally found inserted in the Chronicle of Nestor; it gives a fine picture of the daily life of a Slavonic prince. The Paterik of the Kievan Caves Monastery is a typical medieval collection of stories from the life of monks, featuring devils, angels, ghosts, and miraculous resurrections.

We now come to the famous Lay of Igor's Campaign, which narrates the expedition of Igor Svyatoslavich, prince of Novhorod-Siverskyi against the Cumans. The Tale of Igor's Campaign ( Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ Slovo o plŭku Igorevě; Слово о полку Ігоревім Igor Svyatoslavich ( April 3, 1151 &ndash 1202 was the prince of Novgorod-Seversky from 1180 to 1202 Novhorod-Siversky (Новгород-Сіверський Новгород-Северский Novgorod-Seversky is a historic city in the Chernihiv Oblast ( province Cumans (Кумани Byzantine: Kuman or Cuman, Kunok Turkic: Kumanlar) were a nomadic Turkic people who inhabited a It is neither epic nor a poem but is written in rhythmic prose. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Any Christian influence is hard to trace, whereas pagan gods and deities are famously invoked by Igor's grieving wife, Yaroslavna, from the walls of Putyvl. Putyvl or Putivl (Пути́вль Putyvl’, Пути́вль Putivl’) is a picturesque town in north-east Ukraine, in Sumy Oblast Of the whole bulk of the Old East Slavic literature, the Lay is the only work familiar to every educated Russian or Ukrainian. Its brooding flow of images, murky metaphors, and ever changing rhythm haven't been successfully rendered into English yet. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects Indeed, the meanings of many words found in it have not been satisfactorily explained by scholars.

The Zadonshchina is a sort of prose poem much in the style of the Tale of Igor's Campaign, and the resemblance of the latter to this piece furnishes an additional proof of its genuineness. Zadonshchina ( «Задонщина» in Russian; could be translated as "the region beyond the Don River " is a Russian literary This account of the battle of Kulikovo, which was gained by Dmitri Donskoi over the Mongols in 1380, has come down in three important versions. The Battle of Kulikovo (Куликовская битва битва на Куликовском поле was fought by the Tartaro - Mongols (the Golden Horde

The early laws of Rus’ present many features of interest, such as the Russkaya Pravda of Yaroslav the Wise, which is preserved in the chronicle of Novgorod; the date is between 1018 and 1072. Ruskaya Pravda (Ру́сская пра́вда Russkaya Pravda; Archaic Правда Роська Pravda Ros'ka; Руська Правда Rus'ka Pravda Yaroslav I the Wise (c 978 in Kiev - February 20, 1054 in Kiev) ( East Slavic: Ярослав Мудрый Christian name The laws show Rus at that time to have been in civilization quite on a level with the rest of Europe. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society

Notable texts

First page of the 10th-century Novgorod Codex, thought to be the oldest East Slavic book in existence

• Bylinas
• The Tale of Igor's Campaign – the most outstanding literary work in this language
• Russkaya Pravda – an 11th century legal code issued by Yaroslav the Wise
• Praying of Daniel the Immured
• A Journey Beyond the Three Seas

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Novgorod Codex (Новгородский кодекс is a name for the oldest book of Rus’, unearthed on July 13, 2000 in Novgorod. Bylina ( Russian: были́на also Byliny, Bylyny and Stariny) is a traditional epic, The Tale of Igor's Campaign ( Old East Slavic: Слово о плъку Игоревѣ Slovo o plŭku Igorevě; Слово о полку Ігоревім Ruskaya Pravda (Ру́сская пра́вда Russkaya Pravda; Archaic Правда Роська Pravda Ros'ka; Руська Правда Rus'ka Pravda Yaroslav I the Wise (c 978 in Kiev - February 20, 1054 in Kiev) ( East Slavic: Ярослав Мудрый Christian name "Praying of Daniel the Immured" ("Моление Даниила Заточника" in Russian, or Moleniye Danila Zatochnika is a Russian Literary A Journey Beyond the Three Seas (Хожение за три моря Khozheniye za tri morya) is a Russian literary monument in the form of travel notes The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

See also

• History of the East Slavic languages
• Slavic languages
• Rusyn language
• Russian language
• Ukrainian language
• Belarusian language

External links

• Ostromir's Gospel Online
• Online library of the Old Russian texts
• 'Izbornyk', library of Old Ukrainian chronicles