Cultural and Historical Direction in Russian Medieval Studies of the Turn of the XIX‒XX Centuries

Abstract

The article discusses the views of Russian scientists who studied medieval Western European culture, namely the cultural-historical school in medieval studies at the turn of the 19th‒20th centuries. The relationship between historical science and modernity is an important issue. Only through the disclosure of the diverse influences of modernity on historical science, a genuine understanding of its actual development can be possible. The goal is to create a holistic image of the cultural and historical direction of Russian medieval studies of the early XX century in the context of the era. Demonstration of interaction, interrelation of Russian historiography of the beginning of the XX century with the cultural environment of the Silver Age. The objectives of the study: firstly, to present the main manifestations of the Silver Age culture; secondly, to consider the problems of Western European culture in the works of Russian historians of the early XX century. We used the following methods to achieve the goal: first, a holistic method that allows you to know the phenomenon in the context of the era. In order to understand a certain part (the cultural-historical direction in Russian medieval studies of the beginning of the 20th century ‒ in this case), it is necessary to understand the era as a whole, the cultural environment (culture of the Silver Age), which affects its constituent parts. Further, a historical-comparative method that allows us to present Russian historiography in the beginning of the 20th century against the backdrop of a pan-European context. A genetic method that allows you to determine the relationship between Russian medieval studies of the beginning of the 20th century and the previous tradition, in this case, the development of medieval studies in the second half of the 19th century. Overall, domestic medieval studies of the beginning of the 20th century developed in the traditions of pan-European medieval studies of the same time. Many of the points that, one way or another, are discussed in the writings of historians of this time were found, with some exceptions, reflected in further developments already during the second half of the 20th century. Keywords: culture of the Silver age, Russian medieval studies, Russian philosophy of the XX century, the Renaissance, the situation in Russia