A written literature on what historically became Ukrainian territory developed with the introduction of Byzantine Christianity into Kyivan Rus', traditionally dated in 988. With the exception of princely chronicles, most of this written legacy until the 17th century was religious in nature. The literary legacy of Kyivan Rus' comprises both translated and original works, written in Church Slavonic (of South Slavic provenance) but with varying degrees of infusion of East Slavic elements (some of which can be identified as northern, or "Russian", and others as southern, or "Ukrainian").

Translations of the Scriptures are the earliest literary monuments. The Ostromir Gospel (1056-7) is perhaps the most significant manuscript, but books of the Epistles and Psalters were also copied and disseminated. The early Slavonic Psalter on exhibit here dates to the late 12th century. Original religious writings of the Kyivan period include lives of the saints, the Paterikon of the Caves Monastery, homilies and edificatory works. The princely chronicles, especially the Primary, Kyivan, and Galician-Volhynian Chronicles, exist only in later copies.

The gradual disintegration of Kyivan Rus', the Mongol invasions of the mid-13th century, and the absorption of most Ukrainian lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were followed by a hiatus in major literary activity in the 14th and 15th centuries. Revival of literary activity followed the introduction of printing in Cyrillic, the oldest examples dating to 1491 (in Cracow).

The literary revival in Ukraine was stimulated by two significant developments--one political, the other religious. In 1569, the personal union between Poland and Lithuania was transformed into a federation, while concurrently the Ukrainian lands were transferred from Lithuania directly under Polish rule. This occurred just as the Reformation and Counter-Reformation made strong inroads, confronting the Orthodox Ruthenian (Ukrainian and Belarusian) population with a religious crisis that demanded a response. This response came in the formation of Orthodox lay organizations, the creation of native schools and scholarly centers, and the establishment of printing presses.

The first printing press on Ukrainian territory was founded in L'viv in 1573-74 by Ivan Fedorovych (Fedorov), a refugee from Muscovy; it subsequently became the basis of the L'viv lay brotherhood press (1591). The L'viv press was soon followed by the establishment of a press in Ostrih in Volhynia in 1577 by Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozky, who also gathered a circle of scholars and literati there, connected with the newly founded Ostrih Academy. The monumental achievement of the Ostrih circle was the printing of the first full edition of the Bible in Church Slavonic in 1580-81.

The literary activities of the late 16th century were closely connected with the bitter struggle that developed between defenders of Eastern Orthodoxy and proponents of union of the Eastern Church with Rome. The Union was in fact achieved by the hierarchy in Brest in 1596. It created a religious division among the Ukrainian and Belarusian population into Orthodox and Uniates (who maintained the Eastern rituals and customs while accepting papal primacy), led to a deep polarization in society, and largely determined the nature of religious writings well into the 17th century.