urch Slavonic,"
because it differed materially from the Russian vernacular, and was used
exclusively for the church services. Moreover, as in the early days of
Russian literature the majority of writers belonged to the
ecclesiastical class, the literary or book language was gradually
evolved from a mixture of Church Slavonic and ancient Russian; and in
this language all literature was written until the "civil," or secular,
alphabet and language were introduced by Peter the Great, at the
beginning of the eighteenth century. Books were written in "Kyrillian"
characters until the sixteenth century, and the first printed books
(which date from that century) were in the same characters. The most
ancient manuscripts, written previous to the fourteenth century, are
very beautiful, each letter being set separately, and the capital
letters often assuming the form of fantastic beasts and birds, or of
flowers, or gilded. The oldest manuscript of Russian work preserved
dates from the middle of the eleventh century--a magnificent parchment
copy of the Gospels, made by Deacon Grigory for Ostromir, the
burgomaster of Novgorod (1056-1057), and hence known as "the Ostromir
Gospels."

But before we deal with the written and strictly speaking literary works
of Russia, we must make acquaintance with the oral products of the
people's genius, which antedate it, or at all events, contain traces of
such hoary antiquity that history knows nothing definite concerning
them, although they deserve precedence for their originality. Such are
the _skazki_, or tales, the poetical folk-lore, the epic songs, the
religious ballads. The fairy tales, while possessing analogies with
those of other lands, have their characteristic national features.
While less striking and original than, for example, the exquisite
Esthonian legends, they are of great interest in the study of
comparative folk-lore. More important is the poetical folk-lore of
Russia, concerning which neither tradition nor history can give us any
clue in the matter of derivation or date. One thing seems reasonably
certain: it largely consists of the relics of an extensive system of
sorcery, in the form of fragmentary spells, exorcisms, incantations, and
epic lays, or _byliny_.

Song accompanies every action of the Russian peasant, from the cradle to
the grave: the choral dances of spring, summer, and autumn, the games of
the young people in their winter assemblies, marriages, funerals, and
ev