The Kievan period is a time of broad international relations of Russia. Metropolitan Hilarion, an outstanding Russian writer of the eleventh century, could justly have written his famous words that the Russian land is "known and heard by all the four ends of the earth." 1 Economic, political and cultural contacts were also developing between Russia and the West at that time. But the Mongol-Tatar conquest had a fatal effect on them: they were extremely narrowed, and with a number of countries they were completely interrupted. The resumption of these contacts was largely due to the participation of the Russian Embassy in the Ferrara-Florence Council of 1438-1439, which proclaimed the union between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. It was due to the Turkish threat to Byzantium: the ruling circles, at the last price of the union, expected to receive Western help against the Turks. The Papacy, by means of the union, hoped to bring the Orthodox Church, and with it the countries of Eastern Europe, under its influence.

Metropolitan Isidore, who led the Russian delegation to the Council of Florence, signed the Act of union. But upon his return to Russia, Isidore was deposed, and in 1448 the Council of Russian bishops elected Bishop Jonah of Ryazan as Metropolitan. The Russian Church became autocephalous. Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich of Moscow and Russian ecclesiastical and political circles realized that the union meant for Russia the danger of subordination to the influence of the Vatican, and therefore it was rejected.

Participants of the Russian Embassy to the Florence Cathedral wrote four works telling about what their authors saw and found worthy of attention. One of these works - "Going to Florence 1437-1440" 2-contains a description of the journey of the Russian embassy to Florence and back to Russia, another - "Note on Rome" - conveys impressions of visiting Rome, the third - "The Exodus of Abraham of Suzdal" - tells about the mysteries that the author observed in the temples of Florence the fourth - "The Tale of the Eighth Cathedral" by Simeon of Suzdal-is specially dedicated to the activities of the Florence Cathedral.

All these works have long attracted the attention of researchers. However, pre-revolutionary authors were mainly interested in them

1 N. N. Rozov. Synodal list of works by Hilarion, a Russian writer of the XI century "Slavia", state XXXII (1963), ses. 2, str. 164.

2 This monument is known by various names: "Journey of Metropolitan Isidore", "Journey of Simeon of Suzdal", "Diary of the Journey of Metropolitan Isidore", "Travel Notes of an unknown Suzdal resident"," Going to the Florence Cathedral","Going to Florence". The latter name describes the monument in the best possible way (within the limits possible for the title), defining its genre and indicating the geographical purpose of the trip described in it.

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in particular, in terms of studying the anti-Latin polemic 3 . Modern West German historians have analyzed the part of the" Walk to Florence " containing a description of Germany; G. Steckl translated the text of the "Walk" into German and compiled the first commentary on it in the scientific literature .4 In Soviet historiography, the author of "Walking", lists and editions of the text of this work, the literary history of "The Exodus of Abraham of Suzdal" and "The Tale of the Eighth Cathedral" by Simeon of Suzdal, and the ideological content of the latter 5 were considered . But in the complex as monuments of travel literature, as notes of Russian people in the middle of the XV century, reflecting their impressions of acquaintance with the West, these works are still insufficiently studied. However, such a study is interesting not only because it allows us to get into the spiritual world of the Russian people of the mid-15th century, but also because it refutes the current opinion in some circles about the cultural isolation of Russia. 6
Of these works, the greatest value as a monument of travel literature is "Going to Florence". In his text, the enumeration of geographical points (through which travelers passed) is interspersed with essay descriptions of what they saw. The "Hodozhenie" is of a diary nature, and the time of its occurrence coincides with the time of the Russian embassy's trip to the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral (departure from Moscow on September 8, 1437, return to Suzdal on September 29, 1440). According to most researchers, the author of the "Hodozhenie", a member of the entourage of Bishop Avraamiy of Suzdal, was a layman7 , this led, in particular, to his interest in various aspects of life in European countries.

On January 24, 1438, the embassy left Pskov, crossed the Russian-Livonian border, and entered the territory of the Bishopric of Dorpat.

3 A. N. Popov. Historical and literary review of Old Russian polemical writings against the Latins (XI-XV centuries). Moscow, 1875, pp. 326-406; A. Pavlov. Critical experiments on the history of the most ancient Greek-Russian polemic against the Latins. St. Petersburg, 1878, pp. 88-112; F. Delektorsky. Critical and bibliographic review of Old Russian legends about the Florentine Union. "Journal of the Ministry of National Education "(ZHMNP), 1895, July (separate print-St. Petersburg, 1895); A.D. Shcherbina. Literary history of Russian tales about the Florentine Union. Odessa. 1902

4 "Reisebericht eines unbekannten. Russen (1437 - 1440)", ubersetzt, eingeleitet und erklart von Gunther Stokl. "Europa im XV. Jahrhundert von Byzantinern gesehen". By- zantinische Geschichtschreiber. Bd. II. Styria-Graz-Wien-Koln. 1954 (more. -.G. Stokl); H. Ludat. Lubeck in einem russischen Reisebericht des Spatmittelalters. "Zeitschrift des Vereins fur lubekische Geschichte und Altertumskunde". Bd. 35, 1955; L. Muller. Ein Russe bereist 1438 die Salzstrasse. "Lauenburgische Heimat. Zeitschrift des Heimatbund und Geschichtsvereins Herzogtum Lauenburg", N. F. Hf. 9. Ratzeburg, Dezember, 1955.

5 L. V. Cherepnin. On the question of Russian sources on the history of the Florentine Union. "The Middle Ages". Issue 25, 1964; N. I. Prokofiev. Russkie hodozheniya XII-XV vv. "Uchenye zapiski" MSPI imeni V. I. Lenina, 1970, N 363; N. V. Moshchinskaya. About the author of the Walk to the Florence Cathedral in 1439-1441. Same place; same place. The walk of an unknown Suzdal resident to the Ferraro-Florentine Cathedral of 1436-1440s. Ibid., 1970, N 389; same name. Literary history of" The Tale of the Eighth Ferraro-Florentine Cathedral " by Simeon of Suzdal. Ibid., 1971, N 455; same name. "The Tale of the Eighth Cathedral" by Simeon of Suzdal and "Going to the Ferraro-Florentine Cathedral of the Unknown Suzdal" as literary monuments of the mid-15th century. Author's abstract of the cand. Diss. M. 1972; N. A. Kazakova. Going to Florence 1437-1440 (lists and editorial offices). "Proceedings" of the Department of Old Russian Literature (TODRL), vol. XXX, 1976.

6 The persistence of this opinion in bourgeois historiography is evidenced by the report "The Image of the West in the Old Russian Chronicles" made by G. Stokl at a meeting of the Society for the Study of the Land of North Rhine - Westphalia and the discussion of this report (G. Stokl. Das Bild des Abendiandes in den altrussischen Chroniken. "Arbeits- gemeinschaft fur Forschung des Landes Nordhein-Westfalen", Hf. 124. Koln u. Opladen. 1965).

7 For an overview of points of view on the personality of the author of "Walking", see: N. A. Kazakova. Edict op.

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Dorpat (Yuryev)8 made an impression on Russian travelers with its stone buildings, so contrasting with the wooden buildings of Russian cities. "The city of be Yuriev is stone, great, and the poles are great in it," wrote the author of "Walking". He particularly noted the existence of Russian Orthodox churches in Dorpat:"They have two Christian churches: St. Nicholas and St. George." 9 In Livonian cities, churches were not only places of religious worship, but also organizing centers of Russian merchants in a foreign land (due to the lack of their farmsteads there): they had storage facilities for goods, joint feasts, etc. 10. The author's account of the "Walk" is the oldest evidence from the sources about these two churches.

From Dorpat, via Volmar ("Volodimeri"), the embassy's route lay to Riga, the distance to which the author defines as 250 versts. "And from Yuriev I went to Riza, there were a lot of towns and villages" (p.63), the author of "Walking" writes, briefly noting the peculiarity of the settlement of the country through which he passed: the relative frequency of settlements, obviously, both cities and towns. May 5, 1438 Isidore and his entourage left Riga. After a two-week sea voyage, they reached Lübeck on May 19. The burgomasters and ratmans met the Russian embassy in the harbor, where 20 waggons were placed at the disposal of the travelers who disembarked from the ship, on which they arrived in the city (p. 64).

Lubeck, the head of the Hanseatic League, maintained long-standing and close trade relations with the cities of northwestern Russia, especially with Novgorod. In the 12th century, Russian merchants visited this city. But in the 13th and 14th centuries, due to piracy and the domination of the Hanseatic League in the Baltic Sea, their trips stopped. The members of the Metropolitan's retinue were the first Russians to visit Lubeck after a long break. One of the most flourishing, rich and beautiful cities in northern Germany, it could not fail to make a strong impression on them. The author of" Walking "calls it " glorious city" and considers it as the standard of a large and prosperous city. About some other cities in Germany, he writes further: "majestically similar" to Lubeck.

The description of Lubeck in Walking begins with a general impression of the city and its surroundings: "And vidhom the city of velmi chyuden and, the fields of biahu, and the mountains are small, and the gardens are red, and the fields are velmi chyudny, and the monasteries in it are velmi chyudny and silni." The commercial significance of the city is specifically stipulated: "and it is full of all sorts of goods." Visits to churches and monasteries are described in detail. In one of them, Russian travelers were shown a library that included more than a thousand books. Travelers were particularly struck by the religious presentation on the gospel theme-the gifts of the Magi to the infant Christ (p. 64). As for the nature of the performance and its location, researchers disagree: Russian scientists believe that Isidore and his entourage watched a mystery in Lubeck "; West German researchers believe that travelers were shown a performance with figures set in motion by special forces.-

8 Here and further, the names of geographical points in the spelling contained in the text "Walking"are indicated in parentheses.

9 N. A. Kazakova. The original version of "Going to the Cathedral of Florence". TODRL, vol. XXV, 1970, p. 63 (further pages of the edition of this edition are indicated in the text). In "Walking", travel dates are mostly indicated on the days of saints, we have translated them into the corresponding numbers.

10 N. A. Kazakova. Russian-Livonian and Russian-Hanseatic relations. The end of the XIV-beginning of the XVI century. l. 1975, pp. 138-139.

11 "History of Russian Literature", Vol. II, part I. M.-L. 1945, p. 232; N. I. Prokofiev. Decree op., p. 199. P. O. Morozov thought that the Russians saw a puppet show in Lubeck (P. O. Morozov. History of the Russian theater up to the half of the XVIII century. St. Petersburg, 1889, p. 25).

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by a special mechanism. According to G. Stekla, it was a mechanical Christmas nursery, which was most likely located in the Franciscan monastery, according to G. Ludat, - a figurative device associated with the clock mechanism of the famous church of St. Mary 12 .

The author of Walking in Lubeck was extremely interested in urban improvement and technical facilities. First of all, the water supply and fountains attracted his attention: "And the waters are brought into it (Lubeck - N. K.), they flow through all the streets through pipes, and some of the pillars are studen and sweet flowing." He also noted the device that supplies water from the river: "And there is a wheel set up on the river, about a hundred fathoms high, and it draws water from the river and lets it run over all the houses." Another nearby structure is described, driven by the force of water into a wheel, which made the mill and cloth mill work: "And on the same shaft, the wheel is small, also grinding, and the cloth grinds red "(p. 64). G. Ludat believes that the author of" Walking " described a wheeled device that fed water to the water supply system which was built on the Gükster dam, as well as a cloth mill and three mills that already existed in the XIV century on the same dam ("on the same shaft") 13 . The presentation of the impressions of the city ends as follows:"The same video shows two beasts of lute in a box near the window, forged with iron." Usually this phrase is understood as a description of the menagerie that the author saw in Lübeck in 1498. Ludat notes that there were no menageries in Lübeck at that time. We can only talk about exotic animals sent to the Lubeck Council as a gift 15 .

From northern Germany to Italy, the embassy's route passed through many German cities. In Melna, where the embassy spent only one night, the author's attention was drawn to the lake-river system: "the river bole is 20 versts from the velika reki Eleva" (Elbe-N. K., p. 65). G. Shtekl believes that here we are talking about a canal built in 1390 - 1398 that connected through the lake Meln Elbe with the river Trave 16 . About Luneburg ("Lunbreg"), a famous city of the Hanseatic League, the author of the" Walk " in a general form remarks:: "Toi ubo grad majestically is like eating Lubka" and then gives a remarkable description of fountains decorated with gilded statues of people, whose hands, mouths, ears, eyes were hit by water jets; about the realism of the statues, he writes: "those bo people are simple, because live is the essence." Interestingly, the author drew attention not only to the appearance of fountains, but also to their practical purpose: "te bo people napayut the whole city of that and cattle" (p. 65). The author also begins the description of Brunswick ("Brunswick"), this flourishing Hanseatic city, the capital of the duchy, with a brief general impression of it: "And that city is more majestic than the former cities." Specifically, he dwells on the peaked roofs that struck him, comparing the tile coating with the one he knew in his homeland from the ploughshare. And one more feature of the city's appearance is conveyed by "Walking": channels, the banks and bottom of which were laid out with stone ("washed with stone"), and fountains (without describing them), "as well as in the prescribed gradeh" (p. 65).

From Braunschweig, the embassy proceeded to "Batmer" (according to West German historians, Magdeburg)17, and from there to Leipzig ("Lipes") and Erfurt ("Afrat"). Magdeburg is compared to Lübeck, and the presence of cobbled streets, chambers, and "waters" (obviously canals) is noted. About Leipzig, the author notes that it is "velmi velik". Characteristic

12 G Stokl, S. 178, A. 46; H Ludat. Op. cit., S. 80-82.

13 H. Lиdat. Op. cit., S. 78 - 79.

14 N. I. Prokofiev. Op. ed., p. 199.

15 N. Ludat. Op. cit., S. 82-83.

16 G. Stok1. S. 179, A. 53.

17 Ibid., A. 56; L. Mu11er. Op. cit., S. 5.

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Erfurt is more detailed: "great and chuden, and with many possessions and cunning needlework multiplied; and such goods and cunning needlework in no city in the forms prescribed by God" (p. 65). Here attention is drawn not so much to the appearance of the city, but to its commercial significance and the high level of development of crafts in it. This has shown the author's interest not only in the" foreign curiosities " that catch the eye, but also in the economic life of Western cities.

From Erfurt, the embassy went to Bamberg ("Bemibvereg"), and then to Nuremberg ("Nurbech"), the main city of Bavaria. The author notes its size and strength of fortifications ("velmi is great and strong"), the large population and abundance of goods ("And there are many people and goods in it"), the beauty of white-stone buildings, canals and fountains. Pointing out that the city stands "among the Alaman lands", the author gives an extremely interesting description of it: "The Alaman land, that is, not another faith, nor another language, but there is a single Latin faith, and the German language is the same, but differently, like Russia and the Serbs, so and one with Germans" (p. 65 - 66). Here, the population of southern Germany is characterized from a religious and linguistic point of view. Correctly noting its commonality in this respect with the population of northern Germany, which the author calls "Germans", he at the same time notices the difference between the languages of northern (Middle-low German) and southern Germany (Middle-High German). Very aptly, he compares this difference with the linguistic difference between Russians and Serbs. This passage is very revealing for the characterization of the anonymous narrator's personality: he possessed not only observation, but also a certain linguistic erudition (in particular, in the question of Slavic languages), which he was able to successfully apply in order to explain to the reader the difference between the dialects of northern and southern Germany.

Continuing their journey through southern Germany, the travelers arrived in its other major center - Augsburg ("Ausprok"). Regarding the history of this city, the author makes the following excursus: "And from that city (Nuremberg. - N. K.) 17 miles 18 there is a city in the name of August the king, it is from the beginning of you and King Justinian that the Danube begins and rises on the glorious river, and for this reason the city is called that August, in German Avsprok"(p. 66). In this excursion, correct information about the foundation of Augsburg "in the name of Augustus" (the city grew out of the Roman colony Augusta Vindelicorum, founded in 15 BC), intertwined with erroneous (the creation of Augsburg was associated with the Byzantine emperor of the VI century. Justinian, whose name was well known in Russia. The author emphasizes the importance of Augsburg, one of the commercial and financial centers not only in Germany, but also in Europe in the 15th century, with the phrase: "And greatness surpasses all prescribed cities." A special impression on the narrator was made by the temples of Augsburg, the interiors and exteriors of which were painted with frescoes. In one of the temples, travelers saw images of the Emperor Justinian and other "kings of the Roman, Ugric and Alaman" (p. 66)

Innsbruck ("Junebrück") was the last German city through which the Russian embassy passed. Then he was on his way across the Alps to Italy. The author calls it "Fryazhskaya zemlya", using the usual designation for Old Russian literature. The Alps, the first real mountains encountered by Russian travelers, made a deep impression on the author of "Walking" : "Those mountains are not the same thing, but they went from the Black Sea to the White Sea, 19 for they are called the belt of the earth, the stones. Only the same vysotsi essence, oblatsi vpol

18 The German mile, which the author of "Walking" uses to calculate the path through Germany, is 7.5 kilometers.

19 The name "White Sea "is used in" Walking " in the sense of the Mediterranean or Adriatic Sea.

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they are sold, and taxes are collected from them. And the snow is laid upon them from the creation of those mountains; and the summer is var, and the heat is great in them, but the snow is not taashe "(p. 66).

The embassy arrived in Ferrara, where the council meetings were held, on August 18. The "Walk" describes only the composition of the council and lists its meetings (from October 8 to December 13). The issues discussed at the council, the passionate debates between supporters and opponents of the union, are completely ignored by the author (p. 66). With much more interest, he reports on the sights of Ferrara and the life of this large city: about the chapel in the papal court with a figurative device, about the prices of food (p.66).

At the end of 1438, due to the plague epidemic, the council meetings were moved from Ferrara to Florence. The "Walking" lists the localities that the Russian delegation passed through. Among them is the unidentifiable 20 city of "Berena", of which it is said, "and the river under it Irnets is swift velmi, with a stone bridge over it; and there are many olive orchards, and the place is red between the mountains." 21 While traveling in Italy, travelers crossed the Apennines: "And all the mountains are very high, and the path is narrow and heavy velmi, zan same carts do not go, but on packs to carry." The author also noted the vineyards located on the mountain slopes: "And wine will be born in the mountains of those velmi good and sweet and red" (p. 67).

Florence (the only city besides Lubeck to which the epithet "glorious" is applied in the "Walking") is given a particularly large amount of space by the author. Noting the beauty of the church and civil buildings, he specifically dwells on the description of the majestic temple with a bell tower that existed in it: "And there is a great bozhnitsa built in that city, the mormor stone is white, but black; and the pillar and bell tower are built at that bozhnitsa, and the mormor stone is white... and walking in that pillar on the ladder, and sochtohom degrees 400 and 50" (pp. 67-68). Undoubtedly, this refers to the famous church of Santa Maria del Fiore, whose construction with the participation of the best Italian architects (Giotto di Bondone, Filippo Brunelesco) lasted from the XII to the XV century. Next to it, the Giotto di Bondone bell tower was erected: a semi-gothic square tower with a height of 81 m. 22, which was climbed by Russian travelers. The author's attention was also drawn to the hospital (Spedale di santa Maria Nuova), about the order of which he speaks with admiration. He did not forget the bridge over the Arno (Ponte Vecccio), on both sides of which there were commercial buildings. "And in the midst of that city there flows a great and swift river, Velmi, whose name is Rna; and a bridge of stone is built on that river, and velmi is wide, and there are shelves on both sides of the bridge." The author also writes about the trees that he saw in Florence, pathetically comparing them with the trees that grew in his homeland: "I saw the same ancient cedars and cypresses; the cedar was like a Russian pine, it looked a lot like a cypress, and the cypress was like a linden tree, and the needles were like spruce, but there were few curly and soft needles, and the cones looked like sosnovaya street" (p. 67-68).

Describing Florence, where the embassy spent more than six months (from February 14 to September 6, 1439), the author draws not only the appearance and sights of the city, but also stops at its location.

20 When identifying Italian cities, we used the comments of G. Schteklya on his edition of "Walking", in addition, we consulted with a corresponding member. V. I. Rutenburg of the USSR Academy of Sciences, to whom we express our sincere gratitude.

21 G. Steckl believes that by "Berena" we can mean the mountain pass "Ronchi die Berna". If we refer to the name of the river "Irnets" mentioned in the "Walking", then the description of the city will fit to Pontessieve, located east of Florence, at the confluence of the Sieve with the Arno (G. Stokl, S. 183-184, A. 86).

22 N. I. Prokofiev. Op. ed., pp. 201-202.

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economic life. He notes the development of trade ("there are many goods of every kind") and especially handicrafts, names the production of valuable fabrics woven with gold ("in the same city they make kamki and aksamites with gold") and expensive varieties of cloth ("they make the same cloth of shell"), writes about the production of olive oil ("a lot and olive orchards, and those olives are tree oil"), breeding silkworms ("in the same city vidkhom worms sholkovyya, and even then vidkhom, as sholk that eat from them") (p. 68).

The activities of the Council in Florence, as well as in Ferrara, are not actually described by the author, only its meetings are listed, and nothing is said about the issues discussed at them. An exception is made only for the session at which the act of the union of churches was signed: "The month of Julia in the 5th Cathedral of the former great, and then they wrote the letters of their selection, as if they believed in the holy Trinity, and signed by Pope Eugenia and King John of Greece and all Gardinalov, and the metropolitans signed on the literacy of each with their own hand" (p. 68). This entry is distinguished by its dispassion, which can serve as proof of the author's indifference to theological issues. In subsequent records, he reports on the solemn divine service ("in the Cathedral of Our Lady of God") on July 6, 1439, at which the union was publicly proclaimed, on the departure of the Byzantine emperor from Florence on August 26, and on the divine service on September 4 in the church of John the Baptist, where the Basel Cathedral was cursed: "and the Cathedral of Basle was cursed The Alaman lands, which did not come to the council of the Pope, but made a council for themselves, although they did not obey the pope; and they cursed him for dividing them" (p.69). This record reflects important facts of the ecclesiastical and political history of the West: the activities of the Council of the Catholic Church supported by the Emperor and held in Basel, which aimed to limit the power of the pope, and the struggle of Pope Eugene IV against this council.

On September 6, 1439, the Russian embassy set out on its return journey to Russia. From Florence, it went to Venice, and from Ferrara it went along the Po ("river Povoyu") and then, according to G. Steckl, it reached the city of Chioggia ("Keza"), located near the Adriatic ("White") Sea, through a system of canals. "That hail at the White Sea on the Brez, that salt is born large "(p. 69), so the author described the extraction of salt by evaporation of sea water. From Chioggi to Venice, the travelers traveled by sea.

The description of Venice is one of the most interesting in Walking. "And toi grad stands on the Mori, and there is no dry road to it, and from the shore 13 miles 23 stands in the sea, Ships and katargas pass among it, and water flows through all the streets, they go on barges" - this is how the unique appearance of Venice is conveyed. Noting the size of the city ("velmi grad tu velik"), the beauty and splendor of its architecture ("and the chambers in it are chyudny, and others are gilded"), the author specifically stops at the main attraction of the city - St. Mark's Cathedral. "There is in the city of Tom crkov kamena, svyatyi Marko Euangelist, and the pillars in it are morovany, having marble of every color; and the icons in it are chyudny, Grechin wrote to musiya, and you can see chyudno to the top; and inside the saints are carved on marble velmi slyly, and the church itself is great. And over the front doors from the inside are set 4 horses of copper, gilded, great, see that they are alive, and two great serpents are hanged and killed." The Russian traveler noticed both the size of the temple, and the richness of its marble decoration, and icons of Greek writing, and marble statues of saints, and, finally, the famous quadriga adorning the main portal of the temple.

23 Italian mile, which the author uses when talking about Italy, is equal to 1,472 meters.

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Venice, the queen of the Adriatic, was at that time the largest center of international trade, through which goods were exchanged between the West and the East, And the author correctly notes this: "And it is full of all sorts of goods, for ships come from all lands, from Jerusalem, and from Tsargrad, and from Azov, and from the Turian lands, and from Srachin, and from Germany" (p.69). According to the testimony of the "Walking", the eastern connections of Venice were particularly diverse. If only Germany is named among its Western trading partners, then Palestine, Byzantium, Turkey, and the countries of the Arab East ("Srachiny") are listed among the eastern ones; the distant Venetian colony of Tana, called by the name of Azov adopted in Russia,is not forgotten.

On December 22, 1439, Russian travelers set out by sea from Venice for the town of Porec 24 ("Pecherya"), located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, then to Pula ("Pola"), whose salt fields are recorded in the" Walking".: "tu bo salt will be born on the sea in the months of July and August" (months when the process of evaporation of sea water and salt precipitation was particularly intense). The author also recorded the presence of salt fields for Ossero ("Osora"), where the travelers proceeded from Pula. In the next "grad" of Senye ("Senya"), the Russians abandoned their ships on January 17, 1440 and moved on by land (p. 70).

From Senja, the embassy's route led to Zagreb. Observing the Croats, the author notes the kinship of their language with Russian and at the same time a different religion: "And in those towns live khavratyans, the language is from Russia, and the faith is Latin." About Zagreb, he writes: "that city is great and red" and notes its belonging to the Hungarian king: "and the power of the Ugric king." In Zagreb, Russian travelers saw the despot George Brankovich, who fled here after the conquest of Serbia by the troops of Sultan Murad II: "In this city vidkhom serpskago Caesar despod with his queen and children, zane was captured by the kingdom of his Serpskoe from the Turkish King Amurat" (p. 70). So the readers of" Walking " had the opportunity to learn about the subordination of the Slavic state close to them in language and faith to the Turks.

The description of the trip through Hungary is very concise: only the localities are named (although in large numbers) and the distances between them. An exception is made only for a few cities about which some information is given: about Buda ("Budin"), the author writes that this is the "capital city" of the Hungarian Kingdom on the Danube; regarding "Lyublev", he notes its border position with Poland and the coinage of money in it (pp. 72-73). In Poland and Lithuania, Russian travelers passed through Krakow, Lviv, Halych and Vilna. But no information about them is given in the Hodozhenie; only in connection with the mention of Cracow is it noted: "tu bo vidkh korl Volodyslav and his brother Kazimir" (p.72).

The last part of "Walking", starting with the news about leaving Zagreb, differs both in its content and in the manner of presentation from the main part: the essay descriptions of what was seen and the expression of the author's feelings and experiences completely disappear.

During the long journey, the author of" Walking " managed to see and reflect a lot in his work. Like any traveler who finds himself in unfamiliar countries, he captured first of all what caught the eye. He must have captured the image of Western cities with their stone buildings, tiled roofs, canals, fountains. He was able to reproduce the unique features that gave individual cities the characteristics of their geographical location, for example, located on the islands of Venice. Did you get his attention-

24 Name - in Croatian; in Italian - Parenzo.

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outstanding monuments such as Santa Maria del Fiore Church in Florence and St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. The Russian traveler did not remain indifferent to the pictures of nature other than at home (majestic, snow-capped peaks of the Alps sparkling in the sun, a terrible storm at sea, etc.).

But the author saw not only the appearance of foreign countries. He was able to discern a number of features of the life of the peoples who inhabited them. His attention was drawn primarily to the activities of the urban population - trade, craft. It highlights the commercial importance of cities such as Lübeck, Nuremberg, Florence, Venice's international trade links, and records food prices in Ferrara. The Russian traveler noted the high level of development of handicrafts in Erfurt and especially in Florence; for the latter, he specifically highlights, in particular, sericulture and silk weaving (the manufacture of silk fabrics occupied an important place in the craft production of Florence, and the silk-making workshop, which arose in 1218, was one of the oldest). The author also wrote about the coinage of money in the city of "Lyublev". He was also interested in the unusual method of salt production for the motherland by evaporating sea water under the sun on the Adriatic coast.

The Russian Embassy made stops in cities, and the author of" Walking " had the opportunity to observe the life of the predominantly urban population. Only in a few places, talking about the landscapes surrounding the city, he writes in a general form about the fields and gardens of the "reds". Special attention is paid only to the cultivation of olives in Florence for the production of vegetable oil, and viticulture in Italy.

Khozhdenie contains interesting observations on the ethnic and linguistic characteristics of the population of individual countries, including a comparison of the languages of southern and northern Germany and Serbian with Russian. Some events of that time were also reflected in the "Walk", mainly from church history (the activities of the Ferrara - Florence Council, the union of the Western and Eastern churches). The Russian traveler also touched upon the Turkish theme, noting one of the stages of the Turkish offensive on the lands of the southern Slavs. He also named a number of state and church figures of the West and Byzantium.

The author writes about the culture and life of Western countries with great respect, admiring the achievements of technology and art. He had no animosity toward the Western world, even though the latter was religiously alien to him. The author's Orthodox affiliation was reflected only in the name of Catholic churches "bozhnits" (Orthodox are always called "churches"), the Russian population of Dorpat "Christians", and in a passing remark that the union meant the" forgiveness " of the Latins by the Greeks (p.69). The unknown author appears from the pages of his work as a person devoid of religious narrowness and intolerance, who looked with great curiosity into the world that opened up before him.

In the century that has elapsed since the creation of the "Walking" (from the middle of the XV to the middle of the XVI century), three new editions of the monument 25 have appeared . The main direction of processing consisted in removing uninteresting passages with the text of the road book itself, on the one hand, and reducing religious and ecclesiastical subjects-descriptions of churches and monasteries and the activities of the Ferrara - Florence Cathedral-on the other. This contributed to making the work more interesting.

25 For the editions of "Going to Florence" and their dating, see: N. A. Kazakova. Going to Florence 1437-1440; her own. The legend of gradekh from Velikago Novagrada to Rome. "Cultural monuments. New Discoveries", Moscow, 1976.

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entertaining and revealing its secular essence. The intensive literary life of Hodozhenie during the period under review was probably due to the fact that this work was then the main source introducing Russian readers to a number of European countries26 . Since the second half of the 16th century, the situation has changed: in 1584, Martin Velsky's "World Chronicle" was translated from Polish into Russian, and in the 17th century "Cosmographies" were created in Russian, based on the "Cosmography" of the Flemish cartographer Mercator. With the appearance of these works, which provide much more fundamental information about European countries than" Hodenie", interest in the latter decreases and it ceases to be processed, although it continues to be rewritten.

The second monument, which also appeared in connection with the trip of the Russian delegation to the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral, is a small "Note on Rome". It includes a record of impressions of Rome and some geographical and historical information about it: the location of the city on the Tiber ("Tiveret"), its architectural monuments - the temples of St. Peter, St. Paul, John the Baptist, the imperial palace, the baptism of the Emperor Constantine in Rome, and, finally, curious observations about the decline of the city: "The churches in it were great and gilded, the tops and floors were wonderful. And then all porushilosya desolation for the sake of". This last point is quite true: Rome in the first half of the 15th century was indeed in a state of decline (the city's economy was stagnant, the population was declining, buildings were dilapidated and destroyed).

A "Note on Rome" has emerged (we agree with G. Steckl on this point)27 as a result of an unofficial trip of one of the participants of the Russian Embassy to Rome. It seems to us that the author of "Walking" could have made it and recorded his impressions of the city: this assumption is supported by the stylistic proximity of both monuments and the presence of identical expressions in them ("upper gilded", "polaty chyudny"). "A Note on Rome", despite its brevity and some naivety, is interesting because it is the first description of the Eternal City in Russian literature.

The author of the"Exodus of Avraamiy Suzdalsky" 28 is considered by researchers (following the manuscript tradition) to be the person named in the title. This monument consists of two passages describing the mysteries of the Annunciation and the Ascension performed in the temples of Florence.

Abraham watched the mystery of the Annunciation in the church of the monastery of St. Mark 29 (Dominican monastery), the mystery of the Ascension-in the church of another monastery, as researchers believe, del Carmine 30 . The Russian traveller conveyed the contents of the first mystery so thoroughly that it was possible to establish its Italian original: it is a spiritual drama attributed to Feo Belcari. 31 The original of the second mystery is more difficult to establish, since the description of it in Abraham is much shorter. P. O. Morozov suggested only that it might not be a play by the same Italian author .32
26 Some news about European countries is contained in the annals and especially in the embassy books, but in the annals these news are only interspersed in the material on national history, and the embassy books were not intended for reading.

27 G. Stokl, S. 181-182, A. 70.

28 Newest publication: N. I. Prokofiev. Op. ed., pp. 254-256.

29 Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library, Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books, Pogodinsky Collection, No. 1571, l. 81 vol.

30 N. S. Tikhonravov. Сочинения. Т. I. М. 1898, стр. 279; A. Wesselofsky. Italienische Mysterien in einem russischen Reisebericht ties XV. Jahrhunderts. "Riissische Revue. Monatsschrift fur die kunde Russlands", Bd. X, SPb, 1877, S. 439.

31 A. Wesselоfsky. Op. cit., S. 432 - 433.

32 P. O. Morozov. Op. ed., p. 27.

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When describing the mysteries, Avraamiy conveys not only their plots and the course of action, but also the details of the stage setting: the length and width of the platform (stage), the color and pattern of the curtains, the clothing of the actors, scenery, light and noise effects, technical devices with which complex movements were carried out for that time. Avrahamiy calls the creator of all this "cunning" "a certain man is cunning, a kind of fryazin", who arranged "a surprisingly clever and private matter for many people" 33 . Perhaps by "sly fryazin" - "wise Italian" should be meant the famous architect-engineer Filippo Brunellesco, who is known, in particular, that he created machines for the production of the mystery "Annunciation" 34 .

Theatrical performances (and mystery plays were the main form of theatrical entertainment in the West at that time), which Russian people saw for the first time, made a huge impression on them. Avrahamiy writes about this without any prejudice, as about "a red and strange vision", which is "full of tender and by no means unspeakable joy." A lively and fascinating story about a "strange vision" in the distant "Fryazhskaya land" in the "shady and great city of Florenz" was a success with the Old Russian reader, as evidenced by a significant number of preserved lists of "Exodus", which is interesting as a monument that brought us the impressions of a Russian person in the middle of the XV century. from contact with the theatrical culture of the West.

"The Story of the Eighth Cathedral" by Hieromonk Simeon of Suzdal, in contrast to" Going to Florence"," Notes on Rome "and" The Exodus of Abraham of Suzdal", which are travelogues, is a journalistic work written from a certain point of view. Drawing on the activities of the Ferrara - Florence Council, Simeon aims to show the unacceptability of the union concluded there between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and the correctness of the position of the Grand Duke of Moscow, who rejected this union.

The Novella contains some factual data about the cathedral, although the complex of them is poorer than in Western and Greek sources .36 Simeon names the most prominent participants of the council (Byzantine Emperor John VIII and his despot brother Demetrius, figures of the Catholic Church-Pope Eugene IV, Cardinal Cesarini, Bishop Andrew of Rhodes, Ambrogio Traversari, John de Monto Nigro, representatives of the Orthodox Church-Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople, Metropolitan Mark of Ephesus, Vissarion of Nicaea, Dorotheos of Mytilene, etc.) He indicates the number of meetings of the Council of Ferrara, which is close to the truth, but does not fix attention on each of them, does not seek to reproduce them in protocol. The main value of the "Story" is, as noted by L. V. Cherepnin, in the picture drawn by its author of the political struggle that took place at Cathedral 37 . At the same time, Simeon focuses only on a few figures, but each of them appears in his image as the embodiment of a certain church-political program. The personification of the militant Catholic Church is Pope Eugene IV, who tried to subjugate the Orthodox Church and the countries of Eastern Europe through the union and resorted to his opponents

33 N. I. Prokofiev. Op. ed., p. 254.

34 J. Burkhardt. Culture of Italy in the Renaissance. St. Petersburg, 1876, p. 334.

35 Publications: A. Pavlov. Op. ed., pp. 206-207; A. N. Popov. Op. ed., pp. 344-359.

36 For sources on the history of the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral, see B. J. Ramp. Papacy and Russia in the X-XV centuries. Moscow-L. 1959, pp. 225-228.

37 L. V. Cherepnin. Edict op.

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to unseemly means. His faithful accomplice is Metropolitan Isidore, who promised to subordinate all Russian princes to the pope and cleverly used his connections with the Greeks in order to achieve the conclusion of the union. John VIII Palaiologos is depicted as a figure who navigated between the Latinophile and Orthodox Byzantine parties; in the end, although reluctantly, he agrees to the union. Simeon's hero is Mark of Ephesus, an implacable opponent of the union. He opposes not only the pope, but also the Latinophile Greek churchmen and the Byzantine emperor himself. The "Story" ends with a panegyric to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Vasilyevich, who refused to recognize the union. Thus, Simeon contrasts the idea of the world domination of the papacy with the idea of the independence of the Russian state .38 Judging by the number of reworkings and lists that have come down to our time, the work of Simeon of Suzdal deeply stirred the minds of contemporaries.

The works that emerged as a result of the Russian Embassy's visit to the Ferrara - Florence Cathedral were of great importance for the cultural development of Russian society in the mid-15th and first half of the 16th centuries, being the main source of information about European countries. For researchers, they are of interest as monuments of contacts with the West of Russian people, indicating their observation and inquisitive and benevolent attitude to the life of other countries.

38 Ibid., pp. 180-183.

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