Functional analysis of Russian reflexive pronouns in written monuments of XI-XV centuries

The earliest written artifacts of the Russian language present different functional versions of reflexive pronouns and reflect in details the process of grammaticalization. The reflexive pronoun of ancient period is characterized by short and adjectival forms. They formalize relations between different notional units and provide the coherence and integrity of the text. It explains the large number of reflexive pronouns in the texts of various genres.