Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature 1607-6192 2713-2226 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2023-22-139-148 Research Article Articles Kolyada for Little Children in the Context of Convolute of the 17th–18th Centuries: to the History of Verses on a Rod Demicheva Natalia A. old-rus@imli.ru 2023 22 139 148 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article examines the poetic text Kolyada for Little Children, which is written in a “prosta mova” (language of Lithuanian Rus’) and is in the convolute of the 17th–18th Centuries from the collection of manuscripts by T.F. Bolshakov (RSL, f. 37, no. 23). The verses belong to a group of works in which a rod is praised and the practice of physical punishment of children is approved. According to the article’s author, the source of all the texts are Polish verses 17th century on a rod, one of the versions of which came as part of the Polish textbook Elementa Pverilis Institutionis edited in 1736. By comparative analysis, it was found that Kolyada for Liittle Children is a literal translation of the Polish text, contains a significant number of polonisms and evidence of misunderstanding by the translator of some Polish words. The fact distinguishes the work from the verses on a rod in the Russian educational literature of the 17th–18th centuries (Simeon Polotsky’s ABC-book, alphabet books of the 17th century), in which there aren’t any polonisms and translation errors, changes have been made to the order of words, lines, rhymes, there are elements indicating cultural adaptation. In the convolute (RSL, f. 37, no. 23) Kolyada for Little Children is in the context of moral works, united with them by the theme of vices and their destructive consequences for human personality. In the collection the verses are functionally connected with subsequent text — the Legend of Literacy, since both texts could be used for educational purposes.