History lessons: what is spiritual literacy?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The history of the people is its main treasure and memory, which will not be forgotten after many centuries. Being interested in the facts about the life of our ancestors, we often notice that the information is shrouded in secrets and deep meaning. Many are trying to find out what spiritual literacy is, how to understand and decipher it. Some researchers give the concept the following definition: spiritual literacy is one of the most important sources of Russian medieval history, a kind of testament addressed not only to specific individuals, but also to the whole people and descendants.

Wills of princes

In ancient times, to understand what a specific prince owns, it was enough just to look at his spiritual diploma. She gave detailed information about the owner's property, about the reasons and methods for acquiring it. Thanks to the recorded information, in an extraordinary testament, we can trace the dynamics of the collection or crushing of princely lands and we alth. In the Middle Ages about what spiritualliteracy, knew almost everything. Manuscripts were kept for a long time and carefully, because documents used to be treated very reverently. A collection of testaments of the great Moscow princes has survived to this day.

Life and work of Ivan Kalita

One of the most remarkable and valuable is the spiritual diploma of Ivan Kalita. This was truly the Grand Duke, who was born in 1283 and went through a difficult path before becoming a famous and revered person during his lifetime. At the very beginning of his reign, the prince achieved great results. He was respected for his ability to find a common language with people, as well as for his perseverance and determination. Thanks to the Great Ivan, the economic and political life of the union of the Moscow principality and the Golden Horde came into harmony. Kalita was merciless with traitors and strict with his people, any confrontation was always stopped by him with ease.

Spiritual credentials of Ivan Kalita

Kalita's spiritual charter was drawn up for a long time, in a very difficult historical period for Russia. At the beginning of the will there is an indication of the state of he alth of the prince. He assured that everything was in order with him mentally and that there were no physical deviations either. During his life, Kalita accumulated sufficient capital, which he bequeathed to his sons and wife, Princess Ulyana. In the document, Ivan listed all his savings, which he inherited from his father, grandfather, and those that he earned on his own. By the way, there were a lot of them. At that time, the Grand Duke was the owner of several cities, including Ruza,Zvenigorod, Mozhaisk, Serpukhov, Kolomna. Ivan Kalita owned dozens of villages and parishes.

Thus, to the question of what spiritual literacy is, one can give a simple answer - a real testament drawn up during the reign. For the first time, Kalita neglected the rules for the division of inheritance. He distributed it to all his sons equally, not paying attention to the "stair climb", according to which a significant share went to the eldest son. It is worth noting that Ivan Kalita did not take care of anyone else except his family. The whole inheritance was divided in a close family circle. An interesting fact is that the prince did not allocate a "widow's share" to his wife. He gave the money that was rightfully hers to his eldest son and ordered him to take care of his mother and younger brothers.

Kalita's testament today

Unfortunately, few people know what a spiritual literacy is, but it is never too late to read it and feel the events of a thousand years ago. For example, the will of Ivan Kalita is now available to everyone. There are two versions of the spiritual diploma of the Grand Duke, each of which deserves attention.