Bylina is a special type folk songs and legends. What are the epics? Epics are composed of both war and peace. Those epics, in the center of which military events lie, are called heroic or heroic, since here the Russian hero often acts as the main character and savior. Epics about peaceful times are called social and household epics, and any distinguished person can be at the center of this kind of legends.
Heroic epics
Many epics are composed of three heroes - Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. These three heroes were in the service of the Russian prince Vladimir, nicknamed the Red Sun, and made one after another military exploits. One of the most famous epics is the tale of Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber. This story tells about a terrible robber who, with his whistle, kills all living things around. Having found out about the Nightingale the Robber, the great hero decides to deal with the evil killer, goes to his lair and captures the robber, and then delivers it to Vladimir and kills him in front of the prince.
Social epics
Perhaps the most famous hero social epics is Sadko. Sadko is a young talented gusler who plays beautifully, but he is not invited to feasts, so he goes to the lake to be sad, to play his music. On one of these nights, the king of the sea appears in front of Sadko and presents him with wonderful game. Sadko buys many shops, grows rich and travels the world, but after a storm he finds himself at the bottom of the sea. The Sea King now asks him to play without interruption, and he plays, but then he fraudulently gets out of the King's lair and returns to his homeland.
Russian epics are a reflection historical events retold by the people, and as a result, undergone strong changes. Each hero and villain in them is most often a real-life person, whose life or activity was taken as the basis of a character or a collective and very important image for that time.
Heroes of epics
Ilya Muromets (Russian hero)
Glorious Russian hero and brave warrior. This is exactly how Ilya Muromets appears in the Russian epic epic. Serving faithfully to Prince Vladimir, the warrior was paralyzed from birth and sat on the stove for exactly 33 years. Brave, strong and fearless, he was cured of paralysis by the elders and gave all his heroic strength to the defense of the Russian lands from the Nightingale the Robber, the invasion of the Tatar yoke and the Pogany Idol.
The hero of epics has real prototype- Ilya Pechersky, canonized as Ilya Muromets. In his youth, he suffered paralysis of the limbs, and died from a blow to the heart with a spear.
Dobrynya Nikitich (Russian hero)
Another hero from the famous trio of Russian heroes. He served Prince Vladimir and carried out his personal assignments. He was the closest of all the heroes to the princely family. Strong, brave, agile and fearless, he swam perfectly, knew how to play the harp, knew about 12 languages and was a diplomat in solving state affairs.
The real prototype of the glorious warrior is the governor Dobrynya, who was the maternal uncle of the prince himself.
Alyosha Popovich (Russian hero)
Alyosha Popovich is the youngest of the three heroes. He is famous not so much for his strength as for his onslaught, resourcefulness and cunning. A lover of boasting about his achievements, he was instructed on the true path by senior heroes. In relation to them behaved in two ways. Supporting and protecting the glorious trio, he falsely buried Dobrynya in order to marry his wife Nastasya.
Olesha Popovich is a Rostov brave boyar, whose name is associated with the appearance of the image of the epic hero-hero.
Sadko (Novgorod hero)
Lucky husler from Novgorod epics. For many years he earned his daily bread by playing the harp. Having received an award from the Tsar of the Sea, Sadko became rich and set off by sea with 30 ships to overseas countries. On the way, a benefactor took him to himself as a ransom. On the instructions of Nicholas the Wonderworker, the guslar managed to escape from captivity.
The prototype of the hero is Sodko Sytinets, a Novgorod merchant.
Svyatogor (hero-giant)
A giant and a hero who possessed remarkable strength. Huge and mighty, born in the mountains of Saints. As he walked, the forests trembled and the rivers overflowed. Svyatogor transferred part of his strength in the writings of the Russian epic to Ilya Muromets. Shortly thereafter, he died.
There is no real prototype of the image of Svyatogor. It is a symbol of a huge primitive power, which has never been used.
Mikula Selyaninovich (heroic plowman)
Bogatyr and peasant who plowed the land. According to the epics, he was familiar with Svyatogor and gave that bag to lift the full weight of the earth. According to legend, it was impossible to fight with the plowman, he was under the protection of Mother Raw Earth. His daughters are the wives of the heroes, Stavr and Dobrynya.
The image of Mikula is fictional. The name itself is derived from the common at that time Michael and Nicholas.
Volga Svyatoslavich (Russian hero)
hero hero ancient epics. He possessed not only impressive strength, but also the ability to understand the language of birds, as well as turn around any animal and wrap others in them. He went on campaigns to the Turkish and Indian lands, and after that he became their ruler.
Many scientists identify the image of Volga Svyatoslavich with Oleg the Prophet.
Nikita Kozhemyaka (Kyiv hero)
Hero Kyiv epics. A brave hero with great strength. Could easily tear apart a dozen folded bull skins. He tore out the skin with meat from the angry bulls rushing at him. He became famous for having defeated the snake, freeing the princess from his captivity.
The hero owes his appearance to the myths about Perun, reduced to everyday manifestations of miraculous power.
Stavr Godinovich (Chernigov boyar)
Stavr Godinovich is a boyar from Chernihiv region. Known for his good playing on the harp and strong love for his wife, whose talents he was not averse to boasting to others. In epics, the role is not the main one. More famous is his wife Vasilisa Mikulishna, who rescued her husband from imprisonment in the dungeons of Vladimir the Red Sun.
There is a mention of the real Sotsky Stavra in the annals of 1118. He was also imprisoned in the cellars of Prince Vladimir Monomakh after the riots.
Antiheroes of epics
Nightingale the Robber (antihero)
An ardent opponent of Ilya Muromets and a robber who long years he robbed both foot and horsemen on the road laid out by him. He killed them not with a gun, but with his own whistle. In epics, he most often appears in human form with pronounced Turkic features faces.
It is believed that his image was taken from the Mordvinians who lived in Nizhny Novgorod. Their traditional names are the names of birds: Nightingale, Starling, etc.
Serpent Gorynych (serpent-dragon)
The Dragon. Breathing fire with three heads. This classic look Serpent Gorynych in Russian epics. The body of the snake is one, there are wings, large sharp claws, and an arrow-like tail. Guards the bridge-passage in realm of the dead and spews fire when it attacks. Lives in the mountains, hence the nickname "Gorynych".
The image of the snake is mythical. Similar ones are found in Serbian and Iranian mythology.
Idolishche Poganoe (villain)
Idolishche is also a hero, only from the forces of the dark. Because of his gluttony, he has a huge shapeless body. Evil, unbaptized and non-religious. He plundered cities with his army, simultaneously forbidding alms and churches. He visited Russian lands, Turkey and Sweden.
In history, the prototype of Idolishche was Khan Itlar, who made barbarian raids on the cities of the Russian lands.
Bylina is a folklore-epic song written in tonic verse. Each work consists of a verse, a beginning and an ending. The first part of the epic was rarely associated with the main plot, mostly the introduction was written to attract attention. The beginning is the main event to which the epic is dedicated. The ending is the last part of the epic, in which, as a rule, there is a solemn feast, dedicated to victory over the enemies.
There are several types of melodies of epics - strict, stately, fast, cheerful, calm and even buffoonish.
Each legend was distinguished by a patriotic character, its plots were always laudatory and told about the invincibility of Rus', the virtues of the prince and brave defenders who immediately came to the rescue if trouble threatened the population. The term "epic" itself began to be used only from the 1830s, it was introduced by the scientist Ivan Sakharov. The real name of the songs about heroes is “old times”.
The main characters in were mighty heroes. The characters were endowed with superhuman strength, courage and courage. The hero, even alone, could cope with anyone. The main task of these characters is to protect Rus' from the encroachments of enemies.
Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich and Dobrynya Nikitich and Vladimir the Red Sun - these can be found in almost every legend. Prince Vladimir was the ruler of the Russian lands, and the heroes were the hope and protection of the Russian people.
Authors of epics
Many facts concerning the authors of epics, the time and territory of their writing remain a mystery until our days. Most researchers have come to the conclusion that the most ancient legends were written no more than three hundred years ago. On Wikipedia, for example, you can explore several different theories and facts that scientists have identified.
The prevailing number of epics was recorded by scholar-collectors from the words of the inhabitants of certain areas. In total, there are about forty plots of legends, but the number of texts already reaches one and a half thousand copies. Each epic is special value for Russian culture, folk, as well as for folklorists.
Humans could be narrators different professions, so in the texts they mentioned comparisons that were more understandable and close to them. According to the narrator-tailor, for example, a severed head was compared to a button.
Epics were not written by one author. These are the legends that the Russian people made up, and the lyrics were passed down from generation to generation. Songs were performed certain people who were called "narrators". This one had special qualities. The fact is that epics were never memorized by narrators, so the narrator had to independently connect plots, select comparisons, memorize important facts and be able to retell them without distorting the meaning.
In the old days, the people accumulated their wisdom over the centuries and passed it on to the next generations. Fairy tales, epics, sayings, fables - this is a storehouse worldly wisdom hardworking people. Through folklore, people conveyed their aspirations for a good future, talked about the past, warned about mistakes. Often fantastic stories helped to instill in children love for the motherland, the right
What is an epic? This special form c It is characteristic of the Russian tradition and tells about some remarkable episode from history. The name comes from the word "truth", that is, what was actually in the old days. Russian epics are distinguished by their peculiar techniques, poetics, melodiousness of speech, as well as the way they are performed. Scientists believe that in ancient times, storytellers accompanied the epic by playing the harp, and later they began to perform it in recitative. They used only a few melodies, but changed the intonation. The epic was presented in an emphatically solemn style: it was most suitable for narrating the heroic events of the past, quite often tragic ones.
So, what is an epic is already clear. Now let's talk about the techniques used in this genre. The first thing you pay attention to when you read or listen to this work is repetition. Ancient authors repeated words (for example, a long time ago, far, far away), and also widely used several synonyms in one place (tribute-duties, fight-rattling). Sometimes the end of one line became the beginning of another, whole episodes could be repeated three times. Techniques such as alliteration and assonance are also widely used. All this made it possible to more emotionally and accurately convey the details of the event, to enhance the effect of words.
What is an epic in the work of the population Kievan Rus? defenders, glorification good fellows, their heroism and selflessness. Hyperbole is often used to describe the character or appearance of characters. The attitude of the narrator towards them can be understood by epithets that are often stable: hot blood, violent head, burning tears. Favorite characters are often referred to as diminutives and pet names(Alyoshenka, Dobrynushka).
What is an epic? As a rule, this is a work that consists of three parts: a verse (an introduction that is not related to the further part of the content), a beginning (the main part where the actions unfold) and an ending. The narrator does not turn to the past and does not look into the future, his gaze is completely riveted to the hero and his exploits. He seems to live the life of his character, following along with him, moving from one event to another.
According to the plot, epics can be varied. Today, about a hundred stories are known, except for different options of the same work. The main ones are: the struggle for a wife or her search, the struggle with fabulous monsters or foreign invaders. A special category are epics-parodies or satirical epics (Competition with Churila, Duke Stepanovich).
Look into the well folk wisdom, whose age is a thousand, and maybe more years!
Heroes of epics
Folk songs, tales of those who stood up for state borders- this is the epics. The word itself sets the reader on the fact that epic heroes existed, actually existed. Of course, in this case there is fiction. Why not? After all, the hero should be equal, everyone wants to be like beautiful and strong characters. Let the hero turn out to be somewhat idealized, but he is real.
Do epics have variety
What are folk epic works? Epics about the war. Epics about the world. They are divided into:
- Heroic, heroic
- Social
- Magically fabulous
- historical songs
- Parodies
Epics describing military operations, as a result of which heroes should appear, are called “heroic”. A Russian man, a hero acts as a liberator, a savior, therefore the second name of such works is quite understandable - “heroic”. Epics about the ordinary peaceful life of villagers and townspeople are called "social and domestic". Any person with strong nature, which proved to be a good teacher, a peaceful plowman - these are the heroes of such folklore epic songs.
Three heroes
The names Ilya, Dobrynya and Alyosha personify not just Russian people. As soon as they are pronounced, the listeners immediately pick up the accompanying heroic names for them: Muromets, Nikitich and Popovich. Some immediately come to mind historical facts rule of Rus'. Prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko was glorified more than once by his exploits by three famous Russian heroes. A real Russian person will definitely add to all the heroic names the enemy name of the Nightingale - the Robber. As always, the strength of the enemy with which the hero has to fight is great. That is why the victory of the Russian warrior is significant, which is given with difficulty.
Love to motherland
A good example of social epics can be the epic "Sadko". What is special about her character? Incredible playing on the harp glorified the epic hero. With his skill only to play at royal feasts, but he does not enter the royal chambers. Only sea king was able to appreciate the game Sadko. Remarkable ending. Guslyar loves his native places and does everything to return from sea depths to native land.
Additional cycles of epics
For epics, another division is also used, in which the place of action and where the heroes come from matter. Thus, two cycles of epics are obtained: Kyiv and Novgorod. The first tells of the valiant deeds of epic heroes in the service of Prince Vladimir. The second cycle of epics speaks of Sadko and Vasily Buslaevich.
Epics contain fiction, historicism, there are many means of expression artistic text. Everything that is invented by the author-people fits perfectly into the main content of the epics. It looks as realistic as all the epithets, antitheses and hyperbole used. Moreover, there are constant epic stable epithets. By tradition, the chambers in Rus' are white-stone, good fellows, great silushka.
Such divisions of epics are, of course, conditional. This is due to the fact that epic heroes are Russian people who are equally good at working both in peacetime and in wartime. They know how to concentrate, gather their courage and be useful on the battlefield. The epic text is not always easy to read, although the melodiousness and melodiousness of the lines helps to reproduce it. Reading difficulty for modern reader in the fact that some meanings of words have already been lost, there are no objects that determine them.
