Typological features of a humble character in Old Russian literature and Ivan Shmelev's prose ("The testament" of Vladimir Monomakh to his children and Ivan Shmelyov's novel "Summer of the Lord")

The article mainly raises the question about the representation of a character which we call "humble", his specific features, and the typological link between the texts, which are both within the framework of Russian national cultural tradition. The Testament of Vladimir Monomakh to his Children, written in the 12th century, presents an ideal human character - Old Russian Prince. And in the medieval Russian booklore, liturgical by its origin, such ideal character could only be humble - like its Gospel Archetype. The portrayal of Vladimir Monomakh is defined by the dominant idea of repentance, that brings forth genre of "confession and self-evaluation" (as termed by Mikhail Bakhtin). The idea of the Tast Judgment motivates the Prince's deeds and his axiological choice. The inner conflict is in Monomakh's realization of his sinfulness, of his inconformity with his Archetype. The resolution of this inner conflict lies in the principle of synergy, or, in other words, the free union between human's and God's will, which actually is the main typological characteristic of the image of a humble man. Gorkin's character in the novel Summer of the Lord is another perfectly positive character of Russian literature - a humble-type character (or a "hagiographycally-idyllic "supertype", by the definition by V. Khalizev). Gorkin is rooted in the Church, lives according to the Holy Tradition and this is what determines the type of his attitude towards the world. Like in Monomakh's Testament, the whole narration of Shmelevs novel is formed from the standpoint of the Last Judgment, and is inseparably connected with the idea of meekness. For both Monomakh in his Testament and Gorkin in Shmelevs Summer of the Lord, Christ is the Archetype of meekness and their life principle is to follow Christ's example. The narrative is also built on the principle of synergy. Due to the fact that both texts are included into the Holy Tradition context, there is typological similarity between the image of a humble man in the Old Russian text and the literature character in Ivan Shmelevs novel.