Features of the Chronicle Story on the Murder of Yaropolk Izyaslavich as a “Deviant” Text

In the article, the chronicle story on the murder of Prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich, contained in the “Tale of Bygone Years” dated 6594 (1086), as well as in a number of later chronicles, is considered within the framework of the concept of a “deviant” text (O.A. Tufanova’s term). This work belongs to the group of criminal plots, which deal with crimes against the person. In the chronicle story on the murder of Prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich, two parts are distinguished: the narrative, which outlines the plot, and the obituary, which presents the characterization of the hero. When analyzing the three-component plot scheme typical of “deviant” texts, it is noted that 1) the initial situation is practically not described, only the movements of Yaropolk Izyaslavich are reported, there is no information about who ordered the murder, what his motives are; 2) the story itself about deviant actions is very concise, factual, but at the same time, it contains a number of details; 3) the work explicitly expresses a negative assessment of what happened. The chronicle story on the murder of Prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich contrasts with the obituary that follows, which highlights the idealized image of the passion bearer, whose violent death is characterized as a blessing, an opportunity to fi nd eternal life. The compilers of some later chronicles attempted to remove the discrepancy between these texts, achieve ideological and stylistic unity within the framework of the chronicle article by eliminating the obituary part (for example, in the Moscow Chronicle of the end of the 15th century, Tver, Vologda-Perm, Voskresenskaya chronicles) or introducing the components of the prince into the story of the murder of Yaropolk Izyaslavich obituary (see Typographic, Kholmogory chronicles, Book of Royal Degrees). With the contamination of the murder story and the obituary, the focus of attention shifts from the “deviant” act (murder) and its assessment to the idealized, hagiographic image of Yaropolk Izyaslavich.