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The Medieval Church · c. 1117
The Instruction
Vladimir Monomakh · 1053–1125
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What it is
A prince's testament to his sons: do not kill the innocent or the guilty without cause, honour guests, learn languages, and never let the sun find you in bed.
Why it lasted
The only work of its kind in early Rus literature — a ruler's own account of how a Christian prince should live, including a list of his hunting accidents.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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