Outside the general cyclization around Prince Vladimir, only the epics of the Novgorod cycle remained, for which there were deep reasons both in the very history of the veche republic - and in the fact that the Novgorod Russ descended from the Baltic branch Pomeranian Slavs(Venedov). Apparently, it is in their mythology that the origins of the epics about Sadko go (the wife from the "other world", the magical ability to play the harp, etc. - evidence of the deep antiquity of the plot). In Novgorod the Great, the bylina underwent significant processing, almost being created anew. Figurative details were found of extraordinary brightness, reproducing the greatness of the veche trading republic, at least the one that the wealthy Sadko tries to buy up all Novgorod goods, but cannot buy up. The next day malls again filled with piles of goods brought from all over the world: “But I can’t redeem goods from all over the world! - decides the hero. “May I not be rich, Sadko, a trading guest, but richer than me, Lord Veliky Novgorod!”
All this: both immoderate boasting, and the luxurious chambers of the former harpist Sadko, and this grandiose dispute - are also reproduced by means of epic exaggeration, that is, the style of the epic does not change, despite the absence of military heroism in this case.
Bylina about Vasily Buslaev (more precisely, two, as well as about Sadko), researchers usually attribute to the XIV-XV centuries, to the time of the Ushkuy campaigns, which in no way correlates with the data of the plot. The legendary Vaska Buslaev, who even got into the annals with the title of posadnik of Novgorod, according to the same legends, lived long before Tatar invasion, and he gathered, according to the epic, not at all on an ear trip, but on the Jordan, adding at the same time: “From youth, a lot was beaten, robbed, in old age one must save the soul!” And the trips to the Holy Land, repeatedly undertaken by Novgorodians, fall on the same pre-Mongolian XI-XII centuries. That is, the addition of the plot took place in the same "Kyiv" terms as the processing of epics about the heroes of Vladimirov's circle.
Novgorod the Great was founded at the beginning of the 8th century and arose as a union of three tribes: the Slovenes, who advanced from the south, from the Danube border (they led the union, bringing with them the tribal name "Rus" to the north); Krivichi and Pomeranian Slavs - these moved from the West, pressed by the Germans; and local Chud tribe. Each tribe created its own center, which formed the city "end": Slavna - on the right bank of the Volkhov, where there was a princely residence and city bargaining; Prussian, or Lyudin, end - on the left, where Detinets later arose with the church of St. Sophia; and the Nerevsky (Chudskoy) end - also on the left bank, downstream of the Volkhov (later two more ends stood out: Zagorodye and Plotniki).
This origin of the city predetermined the protracted Konchan struggle, and Slavna more often relied on the “Nizovsky” princes, the “Prussians” - on the Lithuanian ones. And although the population completely mixed up over time, the strife of the city ends tore apart the Novgorod Republic until the very end of its existence. According to an oral legend, the overthrown Perun, sailing along the Volkhov, threw his staff on the bridge, bequeathing the Novgorodians to fight here with each other forever. During city troubles, two veche gatherings usually gathered on this and that side of the Volkhov and fought or “stand in arms” on the Volkhov bridge.
The development of the North and the Urals by the Novgorodians was carried out mainly by separate squads of "eager fellows", whom one or another successful leader (most often from the boyars) recruited by "sentence" of the veche, or even on his own, "without the word of Novgorod". These gangs seized new lands, collected tribute, hunted the beast, founded fortified towns, and traded. The gathering of such a squad of “eager fellows” is vividly shown in the epic about Vaska Buslaev, where, apparently, the main epic heroes Veliky Novgorod, "Freemen of Novgorod". (This list, unfortunately, has already been forgotten by storytellers.)
The epic about Buslaev is expressive in the sense that instead of the military heroism common in any epic, duels with external enemies, repelling enemy armies and withdrawing beauties, it puts internal social conflicts veche republics, concentrated here - according to the laws of the epic genre - for many centuries. Here is the gathering of squads from "eager fellows", and the battles on the Volkhovsky bridge, and "hardened widows" - the owners of large property (the figure of Martha Boretskaya is symptomatic specifically for Novgorod). Actually, the third Novgorod epic - “Khoten Bludovich” is dedicated to the dispute of two similar sovereign boyars.
Vasily Buslaev, in all his reckless and daring nature, is in this enthusiasm, when he crushes opponents on the Volkhov Bridge, when he suddenly says repentantly: “From youth, a lot has been beaten, robbed, in old age you need to save your soul”; in the subsequent heroic trip - walking to Jerusalem, in mischievous behavior on the Jordan, in his last dispute with a dead head, a dispute-death (the stone through which Basil jumps is a probable exit to the afterlife, that is, the end, destruction, lurking in his time and the strongest of the strong), - in all this, Buslaev developed into such a truly Russian hero, as if bequeathed to the future (were it not his features that were reflected in explorers, conquerors of Siberia, leaders of Cossack campaigns and uprisings?), which is still the appearance, his image and fate excite him almost more than the images of ancient epic warriors, not excluding Ilya Muromets himself.
historical songs
(+ more about them here http://www.bukinistu.ru/russkaya-literatura-xix-v/russkie-istoricheskie-pesni.html)
Without exaggeration, historical songs are a continuation of the epic creativity of the people at a new stage state development Rus'. All of them are dedicated to various historical events and persons and express popular interest and ideals.
In terms of volume, they are smaller than epics. Usually the plot of historical songs is reduced to one single episode. Characters of historical songs - known to all historical figures(Ivan the Terrible, Ermak, Razin, Peter I, Pugachev, Suvorov, Alexander I, Kutuzov), as well as representatives, so to speak, from the people: gunner, gunner, soldiers, Cossacks. Elder historical songs 13th–16th centuries already a little closer to the epics by the presence of a clearly traced detailed plot, and most importantly by the style, and the younger ones - from the 18th-19th centuries. start experiencing everything greater influence lyrical songs and gradually turn into soldiers' songs of lyrical sound. This section of the site publishes about a quarter of historical songs known to science.
As for the time of origin of historical songs, there are serious disagreements among authoritative folklorists. Petersburg scientist S. N. Azbelev claims that such songs existed long before the formation Old Russian state. In his reasoning, S. N. Azbelev relies mainly on the opinion of such authoritative scientists as F. I. Buslaev, A. N. Veselovsky, V. F. Miller, as well as on the evidence of Byzantine historians. From another point of view (Yu. M. Sokolova, B. N. Putilova, F. M. Selivanova, V. P. Anikina), historical songs arose during the Mongol or Horde invasion - in the middle of the 13th century.
This is in summary form.
By its original function, close relationship with the performance, features of the subject. Images, spatio-temporal characteristics poetic world, composition and style in ritual songs, one can single out a special genre - game songs. These songs are directly related to the action, the game of the participants in the ritual, they tell about the plant and animal world of nature, which, obviously, in ancient times, a person sought to influence in this way, wanting to get a rich harvest of cultivated plants, a large offspring from domestic animals and birds, trying to protect themselves from animals and birds that harmed the economy. For this reason, images game songs fundamentally different from the images of other song genres ritual folklore. Only in these songs did plants, animals and birds become the main subject of the image. The purposefulness of songs, performance, features of images, as well as the originality of spatio-temporal characteristics poetic content determined the narrative, multi-episode, multi-part nature of their composition; genre nature explains the selection of thin. Means and the specifics of their use in songs.
The ancient song-actions changed in the process of evolution, they turned to the image of a person. At the same time, probably on their basis, breaking away from the game performance, but using the multi-episode and narrative nature of the genre, a new type of songs was formed - lyrical, the purpose of which was to describe complex social, domestic, family and love relationship. However, these lyrical songs, the content of which could be played and not played in a round dance, cannot be identified with game songs.
And now in more detail.
First of all, the concepts of a game song and a round dance should be clearly separated. In most music Editions they are identified. However, it is impossible to put an equal sign between them: not every game song is a round dance and not every round dance is a game song. In round dances, where those gathered walk in circles, in a chain, in a figure of eight and other figures, there is no game. A game is an action, playing out a particular plot situation. In circular round dances, where there is no such acting out, songs of a completely non-playing, but narrative nature were often performed for various household and family themes... then in terms of content and composition, these songs are lyrical and no dramatic element do not contain in themselves.
But the concept of "round dance" in this context requires clarification. Along with the games in the round dances, ritual, laudatory, and reproachful (reproaches of the addressee character) songs were performed. Game songs(ancient layer) are close to incantations.
Round dance and game songs genetically go back to the most ancient rites of the agricultural calendar, associated with the cult of the sun, the desire of a person to ensure prosperity in the economy and well-being in the family. Many of these songs have retained a functional connection with the ritual poetry of the calendar and wedding cycles and are, as it were, on the verge of ritual and non-ritual lyrics.
Round dance songs
Round dance - dancing games with songs
Round dances are mainly timed for spring and most of all for Easter week.
Under the name "round dance" song in the collections of the XVIII-XX centuries. unite following groups songs: 1) dramatized songs, that is, accompanied by collective acting out; 2) songs without acting out, performed while walking in round dances; 3) songs associated with movement such as walking with a dance; 4) songs like youth choruses of a love and majestic nature, performed at winter gatherings, etc.
In folk terminology, a round dance is called a “circle”, “street”, “tank”, “karogod”.
In a broad sense, the round dance means "spring-summer pastime", a gathering of peasant youth. “The round dance was a universal form of the game (life) of youth, in which it performed its ritual functions in the calendar labor rites of the collective and spent her own leisure time.
In the narrow sense of the word, which is directly related to the name of the songs, a circle dance is called a movement in a circle, a “chain”, “snake”, “rows” and other “figures”, that is, it acts as a form of performing songs of different genres (ritual, laudatory, reproaches, lyrical, playful).
Already the collectors of the 19th century noted the heterogeneity of round dances and round dance songs and tried to classify them. (whereas in theory the view of round dance songs as a special folk genre) There is information about the performance of different types of songs in round dances (playing, laudatory, lyrical).
So, round dances and round dance songs, according to their content and functions, can be divided into play and dance songs. “If the song has characters, a game plot, a specific action, then the content of the song is played out in faces and performance with the help of dance, facial expressions, gestures create various images and characters of the characters. Sometimes the content of the song is played out by all participants in the round dance, depicting birds, animals, imitating their movements and habits. Such round dances are called game dances - round dance game songs.
In other words, the performance of some round dance songs was accompanied by playing out the plot (they are more accurately characterized by the name “round dance game” songs), while the performance of others did not play out the plot situation. Such a view of round dance songs was reflected in special theoretical developments. So, V.E. Gusev writes: “... those round dance songs, in the performance of which there is a game element, we will call round dance-game, in contrast to the round dance itself, where the performance of songs in a circular motion or in dance is not accompanied by playing out any plot ".
The researchers note that in the actual round dance songs, the text is not directly reflected in the movements of the round dance, they are associated with the disclosure of the main image, and not the plot of the song. These include round dances such as "wattle", "snakes", "eights", "weaving" and some circular round dances. According to the predominance of the pictorial principle in them, round dances of this type are sometimes called ornamental.
A feature of round dance game songs is their plot. Dramatized acting, which is based on a consistently developing action, is combined with various movements of the participants in the round dance (in a circle, in rows, sometimes with the highlighting of the main actors). The game in them "occupies a subordinate position, exists as an illustration of texts."
In the round dance Great Russian songs, three groups are distinguished:
a) round dance typesetting (access to a round dance.),
b) the dance itself.
c) round dance collapsible or adjustable.
However, some groups of round dances serve as both type-setting and simply round dances .; these are the so-called "hare". Typesetting round dance songs have their content almost exclusively in wooing and marriage. This content develops either simply or in a symbolic form, common in folk songs (songs about "wreath" = "virginity", about "a girl walking on a perch", "loving", etc.). At the end of the collection of the round dance, the most round dance begins, accompanied by songs that are known as "playing".
Gaming
Game songs can also be performed outside the round dance, although, according to V.Ya. Propp: "the boundaries between round dance and game songs cannot always be established accurately enough, since the very conduct of a round dance is a kind of game." Perhaps that is why some researchers combine them within the genre of round dance songs.
Nevertheless, play songs played outside the round dance have their own specifics, existing only in close connection with the game. Dramatic play, "where the action is limited to a verbal-plastic form", in contrast to round dance game, in which "the action acquires a verbal-musical-choreographic form", plays a decisive role in relation to the text. The texts of game songs do not have an independent semantic meaning, they are limited to listing a number of actions, "comment" on the game. Compared to them, the texts of game round dance songs are fuller, compositionally more complex. Consider, for example, the song about the pear:
You are a pear, a pear green!
Grow up, pear, like that, like that, like that!
What kind of pear should grow all the same, judging by the text, it is impossible to determine. But one has only to consider the song in the context of performance, its meaning will immediately become clear. The participants in the round dance raised their hands when she sang, which meant, in accordance with the text, what a pear should grow, namely high.
In the Russian epic, the Novgorod cycle of epics stands apart. The basis of the plots of these legends was not feats of arms and political events of a national scale, but cases from the life of the inhabitants of a large trading city - Veliky Novgorod. The reasons are clear: the city and the veche republic formed around it have always occupied a separate place in the life, and, therefore, in the culture of Rus'.
They composed and told these epics of buffoons, for which the ancient city was especially famous. Naturally, for a generous reward, they tried to please the tastes of the Novgorod bourgeoisie, creating bright, exciting, and sometimes funny stories from their lives.
Epics about Sadko
Most famous hero Novgorod legends - Sadko. Coming out of a poor environment (either a hussler, or a simple merchant, or just good fellow) he becomes very wealthy. Such a plot could not but attract the residents of the shopping center who were carried away by the idea of enrichment.
In the plots of the epics about Sadko, three lines can be distinguished: about his enrichment, about the competition with the Novgorodians, and about the Tsar of the Sea. Sometimes it could all be summed up in one story. But in any case great attention given to ordinary everyday scenes Novgorod reality, was vividly drawn merchant environment. In fact, all the legends about Sadko glorify the wealth of the lord of Veliky Novgorod himself.
Bylina about Stavra
The epic about Stavra becomes the apogee of the flourishing of the Novgorod desire to receive capital. It tells about a noble Novgorod boyar-capitalist, who is engaged in mercenary and usury. Epic Stavr is imprisoned by Prince Vladimir - here you can see the clash and rivalry between Kyiv and Novgorod, and the prototype is Sotsky, imprisoned by Vladimir Monomakh. But all the narrator's sympathies are clearly on the side of the Novgorod boyar.
Epics about Vasily Buslaev
The favorite of Novgorod residents was Vaska Buslaev - a daring fellow, a hero of Novgorod ushkuinism, dashing robberies in the Novgorod colonies, a lover of showing off and feasting. Unlike others epic heroes who walked around Rus', the Novgorodian Buslaev is famous not for military heroism, but for his prowess in internal fights and conflicts of the troubled republic.
Other epics
Other epics also become an expression of the tastes of Novgorod residents - about Khoten Bludovich, who decided to woo the daughter of a arrogant and rich widow, about the rich guest Terentyshche, etc. They are purely realistic-genre in nature, vividly illustrating everyday life and the tastes of the Novgorod bourgeoisie.
The role of the Novgorod cycle of epics
Novgorod was the richest shopping center open cultural influences West and East. At the same time, he always resembled a certain social groups hive. By his very nature, he formed a cult of wealth, luxury and overseas travel.
The Novgorod epics cycle that appeared in such circumstances allows us to look not at the fabulous exploits of the heroes, as in, but at ordinary life ancient city. Even the style of presentation and the plot of these songs are more reminiscent of bright and exciting "gossip" spread around the noisy city by buffoons and storytellers. That is why Novgorod epics are singled out among their "brothers", referring rather to the category of European short stories about urban life (fablio).
Lesson type: combined.
Lesson goals.
- Give the concept of the division of epics into two cycles.
- Find out the reasons for the direction of separation.
Educational:
- Expanding students' horizons.
- Work on the culture of speech.
- Education of aesthetic feelings in students.
Equipment: blackboard, map of Rus' XI-XII centuries. , illustrations for epics.
Lesson method: explanatory and illustrative.
LESSON PLAN.
1. Organization of the class (2 min.)
2. Lecture (30 min.)
3. Fixing the material (10 min.)
4. Homework (3 min.)
DURING THE CLASSES
1. Organization of the class before the lesson: give the task to read in advance and bring the texts of the epics to the lesson.
Organization of the class in the lesson: announcement of the topic, explanation of the goals and objectives of this lesson.
2. TEACHER OF LITERATURE: “The word“ EPIC ”was used in folk speech in the meaning of true, past, and entered literature as the name of Russian epic songs, in the middle of the 19th century. They stopped writing epics by the 12th century; although they were performed for many centuries. IN recent centuries epics were performed without musical accompaniment; in more ancient times, epics were read to the accompaniment of the psaltery. The performers were called storytellers, among the peasants they enjoyed special honor and respect. ” (footnote #1)
A HISTORY TEACHER. History has brought us several names, famous storytellers. So it is known that the storyteller T. G. Ryabinin (Kizhi), who went fishing, tried to lure each artel to him. P. N. Rybnikov, who wrote down the epics from this narrator, exclaimed: “And where did Ryabinin learn such masterful diction: each subject spoke in a real light, each word received its own meaning.” In the Ryabinin family, the skill of telling epics was passed down from generation to generation. Trofim Grigoryevich's son Ivan Trofimovich was also a famous storyteller. From latest art performance of epics was taken over by his stepson Ivan Gerasimovich Ryabinin - Andreev. In the 20-40s of our century, the son of Ivan Gerasimovich, Pyotr Ivanovich Ryabinin-Andreev, was widely known.
LITERATURE TEACHER: In fact, not every person could be a storyteller, but only people with a good memory. Since literature Ancient Rus' did not know poetic speech, had to memorize prose text, although it has a certain rhythm. The stress fell on every third syllable. The narrator's speech flowed smoothly, but in right places(to attract attention) could become intermittent. The epic also has its own techniques that made it easier to memorize the text (I remind you that writing appeared in Rus' only in the second half of the 9th century, and even then only a select few knew it initially). These are repetitions, set expressions, chants, constant epithets (mother of cheese-earth, a beautiful girl, a good fellow), common places.
According to the content, the epics are divided into two cycles: Kiev and Novgorod. Moreover, the characters and the plots in them are very different. If the Kiev cycle tells us about the heroes - the defenders of the Russian land, then the Novgorod cycle told about merchants, trade and the so-called peaceful exploits. And if there were no historical explanation, then we would hardly be able to guess the reasons for this division.
A HISTORY TEACHER. Yes, indeed, history is very clear on this issue. But first, you need to explain a little the socio-political structure of Ancient Rus'. An integral state did not yet exist, it was at the stage of emergence. In the meantime, each city was a kind of specific principality, had its own ruler, its own army. The most powerful, developed cultural centers of that time were Kyiv and Novgorod. Hence, there are two directions in the creation of epics. The content of the epics reflects the life of these cities. And if we carefully examine the map of Ancient Rus' at the end of the 11th - 12th centuries, we will see that Novgorod was or was located inside the country and was protected by Russian cities from almost all sides. This means that he fought less and more time was left for the development of peaceful crafts and trade. Kyiv, on the other hand, was located on the very border and was forced to constantly repel the attacks of external enemies: the Pechenegs, Mongols, Tatars and Khazars, Polovtsy. Therefore, the heroes of the Kyiv cycle are heroes. (see Appendix No. 1,2).
LITERATURE TEACHER: “In general, the word hero entered our lives as a measure of people's assessment in the boundless manifestation of their capabilities and best qualities. Heroes of epics show their heroic qualities in military exploits in the name of protecting their native land. The epic enemy attacking Rus' is always cruel and cunning, he intends to destroy the people, their statehood, culture, shrines. So, Sokolnik, heading to Kyiv, threatens:
I will lower the cathedral churches into smoke,
I'll print more books in the mud,
Wonderful images - icons on a float of water,
I will boil the prince himself in a cauldron,
I myself will take the princess for myself ...
Kalin is a king.
He wants to ruin the capital Kyiv - hail,
Blackie - he will knock out all the peasants ...
Tugarin.
He defiled Orthodox churches,
He trampled all the little children with his horse,
Tugarin captivated all merchants - guests. ”
HISTORY TEACHER: There are many testimonies about the cruelty of the enemies who attacked Rus'. They spared neither children, nor the elderly, nor women. Cities were burned, often along with people. There is a legend that when Ryazan was attacked by enemies, the princess, together with her little son, rushed down from the fortress wall so that he would not be captured by
Polovtsy.
LITERATURE TEACHER: But the heroes stand guard over Kyiv, the Russian land: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, who defeat Tugarin, and the Serpent, and the Nightingale - the robber. Ilya, along the way, also arranges a road: with one hand he tears up trees by the roots, and with the other he bridges bridges. This, of course, is hyperbole, but still it is worth remembering the original routes of communication in Ancient Rus' - only along the rivers - in order to appreciate the greatness of such a thing. Every battle of a hero ends with his victory over the enemy, but a long series of epics shows the continuity of such battles and the appearance of more and more new heroes.
HISTORY TEACHER: “The epics reflected the difficult process of formation and survival of the Ancient Russian state, which for many centuries fought off nomadic raids Eastern peoples. In this struggle, the historical consciousness of the Eastern Slavs and the consciousness of the unity of the Russian land were formed.
Epics of the Kyiv cycle know the only prince - Vladimir. The connection of the epic Vladimir with the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (980 - 1015 - years of reign) is beyond doubt. By the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries, the Old Russian Kievan state reached its peak. Under the rule of Kyiv were, with few exceptions, all the East Slavic tribes, as well as some non-Slavic along the Volga, Oka, Novgorod land. Kievan Rus is one of the strongest states in Europe. The activities of Vladimir Monomakh (1113 - 1125) also helped to consolidate the name of the prince. The epic Dobrynya Nikitich also has a historical prototype - this, who lived at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries, was the uncle of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich by mother, his associate in the military and political affairs. At least two epics “The Marriage of Vladimir”, “Dobrynya and the Serpent” are associated with real events the last quarter of the 10th century - by marriage Kyiv prince on the Polotsk princess Rogneda (980) and the introduction of Christianity in Rus' (988). ”
LITERATURE TEACHER: but it would be wrong to mistake an epic world for an ideal one. The inner world of epics is always a world of confrontation between good and evil, light and dark forces. Even those few epics that end with the death of heroes, nevertheless, affirm their moral victory. Wide epic world bright and sunny until he is in danger. In general, in epics there is no natural alternation of the seasons, the change of weather only accompanies the invasion of hostile forces. Then black clouds, fog, a thunderstorm are approaching. The sun and stars fade from countless enemy hordes:
From one or another from a pair of horses,
From that of the human spirit
And the red sun faded,
The father died, the bright moon,
Lost and frequent stars,
The stars are frequent and the dawns are clear.
But all this is in the Kiev cycle of epics, the Novgorodians also had to fight off the attack of foreign conquerors - the Swedes and Germans, participate in all-Russian military campaigns and internecine wars, however, in the small Novgorod cycle of epics, the military affairs of the Novgorod heroes are not told. The main characters of the Novgorod cycle are: Sadko, Vasily Buslaev, Stavr Godinovich. And the last thing is interesting. Movies very often show us merchants as fat, clumsy people, incapable of anything other than counting money. What really happened?
HISTORY TEACHER: in fact, merchants not only owned ships (remember that in Rus' there were mainly waterways). One of these paths was the so-called path "from the Varangians to the Greeks." Between Novgorod and Kiev lay hundreds of kilometers of difficult path.
While the plows were sailing along the Lovat River, there was still nothing to complain about fate, but this is how the land of Smolensk began - here were the first portages. Wooden rollers on each ship were prepared ahead of time, and plows were placed on them. On them they rolled on dry land from water to water. Here then wait for the attack from the robbers. And if the squad falters, the goods are gone and people are ruined. Therefore, Slavic merchants did not have to take courage and military art. When they moved to the Dnieper, all in the same Smolensk land, it became easier.
And finally, the capital city of Kyiv, here the first half of the journey “from the Varangians to the Greeks” ended. Caravans of merchants gathered here to be sent to Constantinople. But that's a topic for another lesson.
LITERATURE TEACHER: before we start talking about the poetics of the epic, let's check what you managed to remember.
- What did the word bylina originally mean?
- By what time did epics cease to be created?
- What were the performers called?
- How many and what cycles were the epics divided into?
- What is the content of the epics of the Kyiv cycle?
- What is the content of the epics of the Novgorod cycle?
- Which heroes of this cycle do you know?
- What do epics have in common?
Used Books:
- Sergey Boyko “In the magical Pushkin country”, Moscow - Stavropol 1999, pp. 127 - 130.
- Library of Russian Folklore, volume of Bylina, Moscow “ Soviet Russia” 1988, pp. 5 – 24.
Saint Petersburg State University
economy and finance
General Economic Faculty
Department of the Russian language
Report on the topic:
"Epics"
Performed
2nd year student
Groups No. 229
Ivanova Julia
Saint Petersburg
Introduction.
Epic classification.
History and discovery of epics.
Cycles of development of epic creativity.
Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.
Introduction.
Of course, it is difficult to imagine a person who would not know what epics are and have not read at least one of them. However, most often people have a very general idea about epics, and often erroneous. We get acquainted with epics from books, therefore we consider them literary works, but this is not so. The creator of epics is the people; epics do not have authors, like works of fiction.
Oral folk art arose in the pre-literate period and achieved significant success. The richness of oral language culture is captured in: songs, fairy tales, riddles, proverbs. A significant place is occupied by calendar language poetry, based on a pagan cult: incantations, incantations, ritual songs.
For many generations, the people created and kept a kind of "oral" chronicle in the form of epic tales about the past of their native land. The emergence of a new epic genre, the epic epic, which was the pinnacle of oral folk art, dates back to the 10th century. epics - This oral works about the past. Epics were spoken in a singsong voice, often accompanied by harpists, to the sound of strings. The epic got its name from the word “reality” that is close in meaning. This means that the epic tells about what once happened in reality. The source of every heroic song was some historical fact. But this does not mean that everything is true in the epic, in the epic, as in folk tale, a lot of fiction. The presence of inaccuracies and inventions may be due to the fact that for a long time epics were transmitted only orally, were recorded from folk storytellers, often illiterate, who accepted them according to tradition from previous generations. The storytellers performed epics from memory, as they heard from their ancestors.
Epics were recorded only on the territory of Russia, mainly in the North and Siberia. In the southern regions - in the Volga region and on the Don - they turned out to be in a greatly altered and dilapidated form. Meanwhile, it should be assumed that the main number of plots was created within the Kievan state, that is, in those places that are depicted in them. But on the other hand, epics were not found on the territory of Ukraine. There are no Ukrainianisms in their language either.
In epics, as a rule, not a single fact is reflected, but many phenomena of historical life. Bylevoy epic summarizes the historical experience of the people, speaks of their heroic struggle for the independence of the state, without focusing on the description of any one battle or any one event. For example, let's take the epic "Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar." Documents do not confirm the historicity of either Ilya Muromets or the Tatar king Kalin. It is also impossible to establish which particular event is captured by the epic. IN this work summarized the entire experience of the struggle of our people with foreign invaders. Ilya Muromets is a generalized image of the Russian warrior, as well as Kalin Tsar - a generalized image of the conqueror Tatar Khan.
Epic classification.
From the point of view of content and genre features, epics can be divided into a number of species groups:
A large group is heroic or heroic epics. All these epics are devoted to the theme of defending the Motherland, they tell about the exploits of heroes-heroes. (Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Vasily Ignatiev, Mikhail Danilovich, Sukhman, Vasily Kazemirovich, Svyatogor and others.).
Another group is made up epics-short stories (social), usually telling about the everyday and social life of the people (epics about Sadko, Vasily Buslaev, Duke Stepanovich, Nightingale Budimirovich, etc.).
A special group is epics-ballads, in which the phenomena of public life or historical events are given in the form of dramatic incidents in the personal lives of people (“Prince Roman lost his wife”, “Prince Dmitry and his bride Domna”, “Vasily and Sophia”, etc.).
A small group includes epics of fairy-tale content("Sunflower Kingdom", "Vanka Udovkin and Son", "Untold Dream", "Zhdan - Tsarevich", "Merchant's Daughter and Tsar").
Another small group is epics that arose on the basis of legends and historical songs about eventsXVI- XVIIcenturies(“Rakhta Ragnozersky”, “Butman and Tsar Peter Alekseevich”, and others).
The sixth group is epics of a parodic nature. In these epics, people who perform far from heroic deeds are ridiculed in a paradox-comic form (“Agafonushka”, “Ancient about an ice floe”, various fables).
Thus, epics - This special kind Russian folk epic songs of historical content about the protection of Ancient Rus' and the social life of our people.
History and discovery of epics.
The discovery of the living existence of epics happened by chance. As it turned out, by the middle of the 19th century, the oral performance of epics was preserved only in the north of our country - in Zaonezhye, in villages located along the coast of the White Sea, along the rivers Pinega, Mezen and Pechora.
In the late fifties of the XIX century, P.N. Rybnikov was exiled to the Olonets province. In the summer of 1860, on official business, P.N. Rybnikov made a trip to the cities and villages located around Lake Onega. Once he and his companions stopped on the deserted island of Onega - Shui-navolok. It was here that he was lucky to hear epics. There was a house where travelers take shelter for the night. Since there were a lot of people in it and it was too dirty, P.N. Rybnikov lay down on a sack near the fire in the street. Through his drowsiness, he heard a lively and bizarre melody and saw that several peasants were sitting not far from him, and a gray-haired old man was singing. P.N. Rybnikov persuaded the peasant to repeat what he had sung and wrote it down from his words. This old man's name was Leonty Bogdanovich, and the epic was about Sadko the merchant. P.N. Rybnikov later said: “I later heard a lot of rare epics, I remember the ancient excellent tunes; their singers sang with an excellent voice and masterful diction, but to tell the truth, I never felt that fresh impression that bad versions of epics made, sung by the broken voice of old Leonty on Shui-navolok. P.N. Rybnikov, with the help of correspondents, managed to write down about two hundred epic texts.
But it would be wrong to say that the history of epics begins in the middle of the 19th century, it is rooted in ancient times. For example, the chronicle legend about Kozhemyak, the story about the campaign against Constantinople, "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" and other works of early Russian literature are a retelling of ancient epics.
In the second half of the 19th century, various collectors recorded epics in other regions of the country: in Western and North-Eastern Siberia, in some regions of the central regions, among the Cossacks of the Urals, Terek and Don. However, such epic wealth, as in the north, could not be found anywhere.
Despite the abundance of factual material (several thousand recorded versions of epic stories), science still cannot give a definite answer to the question of the origin and history of epics. There are several schools:
mythological school. It was formed in the middle of the XIX century. F.I. Buslaev, O.F. Miller and others believed that epics were like everything folk art formed during the distant gray antiquity on the common ancestral home for all Indo-European peoples - in ancient india V prehistoric period the lives of peoples. From their point of view, epics are distorted remnants of ancient myths (hence the name of the school).
School of borrowing (comparative, comparative). It was formed almost simultaneously with the mythological one. A.N. Veselovsky, V.V. Stasov, M.E. Khalansky, N.G. Potanin and others believed that Russian epics were not originally Russian by origin, but were borrowed from the peoples of the East and West.
historical school. It was formed at the end of the 19th century. V.F. Miller, M.N. Speransky, A.V. Markov, S.K. Shambinago and others believed that Russian folk art (mainly epics) are a reflection of the history of the people. But in their research, they artificially tried to connect any epic with a specific historical event. They also believed that epics were created only in an educated, cultural environment, i.e. in the ancient Russian aristocracy. But the poetic talent of people is not directly dependent on their literacy. On the question of when the epics took shape, the supporters historical school there was no unanimity of opinion. Most of them - V.F. Miller, M.N. Speransky, A.V. Markov and others - believed that epics were formed back in Kievan Rus. And other researchers - S.K. Shambinago, A.V. Pozdneev - believed that epics were formed not earlier than the 16th-17th centuries.
It is hardly correct to associate the origin of epics with any period. However, for the most part, the action usually takes place during the period of the highest flowering of Kievan Rus. But there are epics that tell about the life of subsequent and even previous historical stages.
Cycles of development of epic creativity.
V. G. Belinsky singled out the Kiev and Novgorod cycles in Russian epics. He established that in the Russian epic there is a group of epics, united by a number of important features.
Kyiv cycle.
The general features of the epics of the Kyiv cycle are as follows: the action takes place in Kyiv or near it; in the center stands Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (978-1015); the main theme is the protection of the Russian land from the southern nomads; historical circumstances and life depicted in epics are characteristic of Kievan Rus; events and enemies of the Russian land in these epics - the pre-Mongolian period; Kyiv is glorified as the center of Russian lands: from Murom, Rostov, Ryazan, Galich, bogatyrs go to serve in Kyiv. In the IX-XI centuries. Kyiv reached a high prosperity and power; he played important role in the fight against the Pechenegs and Polovtsy, blocking their way to the northern Russian lands.
According to most researchers (D.S. Likhachev, V.I. Chicherov, etc.), the appearance of epics about heroes, such as Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Mikhailo Potyk, can be attributed to the Kyiv period. These epics are characterized by the mythological principle of typification of images, since the images of enemies depicted not real people, but some kind of monsters (Nightingale the Robber, Serpent Gorynych, Pogany Idolische, etc.).
The main theme of the epics of the Kyiv cycle was the theme of the fight against foreign invaders, the idea of the unity and greatness of Rus'.
Novgorod cycle.
From the second half of the 11th century, the Kievan state began to disintegrate into a number of feudal principalities. In this regard, regional epic cycles begin to form. These epics reflected social contradictions, since the feuds of the princes were alien to the working people, and in response to oppression, the people rose up in revolts. So, a peculiar epic cycle arises in the Novgorod principality (epics about Sadko, about Vasily Buslaev, etc.) and in Galicia-Volynsky (epics about Duke Stepanovich, about Churil, etc.). The meaning of the epics about Sadko, as Belinsky wrote, is "the poetic apotheosis of Novgorod as a trading community." The image of Vasily Buslaev belongs to the number best creatures Russian epic. In the conditions of the Russian Middle Ages, the image of a free-thinking and courageous person who believed only in his own strength could not but arouse popular sympathy.
There are several more stages in the development of epic creativity:
Period of feudal fragmentation (XII- XVcentury). Public life This time is characterized mainly by the struggle of the people against the Tatar enslavers. And it is natural that the epics mainly reflected the theme of the fight against foreign invaders, there was a rethinking of the previously emerged epics, filling them with new content: “Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar”, “Ilya Muromets and Batyga” (Batu), “Kama Battle”, Vasily Ignatiev ”, “Dobrynya Nikitich and Vasily Kazimirovich” and others. But in these epics, the action is timed to coincide with the time of Kievan Rus.
The period of strengthening the Russian centralized state (XV- XVIcentury). During this period, local epic cycles are combined into one all-Russian. Moscow, along with Kiev, becomes a symbol of Russian statehood. So, in the epic about the battle of Ilya Muromets with his son, who arose back in Kievan Rus, the great hero is already on the defense of the “Glorious mother of stone Moscow”.
The period of late feudalism (XVII- XVIIIcentury). This is the time of strengthening the feudal monarchy and strengthening the oppression of serfs. Therefore, the epic epic reveals the growth of the class self-consciousness of the people, there is a theme of hatred for ruling classes. This manifested itself, first of all, in the image of Prince Vladimir. Initially, he was, apparently, positive, but now he has become the personification of everything negative (anger, contempt for the people, treachery, self-interest, cowardice, etc.). Epics of the period of late feudalism: “Ilya and the barren tavern”, “Ilya Muromets on the Falcon-ship”, “Dobrynya and Marinka” and others. It is also believed that epics of fairy-tale content arose no earlier than the 18th century on the basis of the processing of fairy-tale plots. During this period, the replenishment of the epic repertoire with new plots ended.
Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich.
The most famous heroes are Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich,
Ilya Muromets.
The most beloved folk hero is Ilya Muromets. The largest number of epics are dedicated to him. The entire “biography” of the hero is contained in the epics: “Healing of Ilya Muromets”, “Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber”, “Ilya Muromets and Idolishche”, “Fight of Ilya Muromets with his son”, “Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar”, “Ilya Muromets and goli tavern”, “Quarrel of Ilya Muromets with Prince Vladimir”, “Ilya Muromets on the Falcon-ship”, “Three trips of Ilya Muromets” and others. This image of Ilya Muromets did not develop immediately, but gradually over the long creative life of our epic.
In the epics, Ilya Muromets protects his native land, drives out the hordes of Tatar conquerors, cracks down on robbers, and serves the people. Ilya Muromets is the ideal image of a hero. This is a hero of mighty strength, which gives him confidence and endurance. He has a sense of dignity, which he will not give up even before the prince. He is the defender of the Russian land, the defender of widows and orphans. He hates the "boyars with a belly," he tells everyone the truth in person. He forgets the insult when it comes to the trouble hanging over his native land, he calls on other heroes to stand up for not Prince Vladimir.
The ideal nature of the hero is manifested not only in the moral feeling that guides his actions, but also in the features of his appearance: Ilya is old and gray-haired, which is a sign of his wisdom and experience. 1
Many researchers of the epic wondered: who was the prototype of the Russian hero? The search for historical "prototypes" of the epic Ilya Muromets did not give any tangible results, in the annals and other historical sources there is no similar, at least in consonance, name. The only parallel with the Thunderer Ilya the Prophet was used by mythologists in their interpretations of the image of Ilya Muromets as a double "replacement" in the public mind pagan god thunder of Perun: Perun - Ilya the Prophet - Ilya Muromets.
And, nevertheless, Ilya Muromets is the only hero of the Russian epic, canonized (Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich was also canonized, but not as an epic hero). In Orthodox calendars, to this day, December 19 is celebrated as "the memory of our reverend Ilya Muromets, who was in the twelfth century." 2 Moreover, there is one of the most irrefutable proofs of the reality of Ilya Muromets - his tomb in the famous Anthony Cave of the Kiev Caves Monastery, located next to the tombs of the first Russian chronicler Nestor, the first Russian icon painter Alympius and many other quite real historical figures of Kievan Rus, its ascetics and great martyrs.
Nikitich.
The second popular hero is Dobrynya Nikitich. He is an associate, a faithful comrade, the "cross brother" of Ilya Muromets. Several widespread epic stories are dedicated to him: “Dobrynya and the Serpent”, “Dobrynya and Vasily Kazimirovich”, “Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich”, “The Marriage of Alyosha Popovich to the Wife of Dobrynya Nikitich”, “Dobrynya and Marinka”. There are epics about birth and childhood, his marriage to the heroic polyanytsya, his acquaintance with Ilya Muromets, the conflict with Alyosha Popovich. The name of Dobrynina's mother is known - Amelfa Timofeevna, father - Nikita Romanovich; wife - Nastasya Mikulichna; aunt cross - Avdotya Ivanovna.
The image of Dobrynya Nikitich is one of the most charming and deep in the Russian epic. This is a true hero, always ready for a feat. He is where help is needed, ingenuity, intelligence and tact, the fight against heresy and deceit, loyalty and courage. He achieves his success thanks not only to strength, but also to other abilities: playing chess, archery, playing the harp, and the ability to deal with people ("knowledge").
Unlike Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich has a very real historical "prototype" - this is the famous maternal uncle of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, the Novgorod mayor, and then the governor of Kiev Dobrynya, stories about which are in the "Tale of Bygone Years", and in other chronicles sources. But there is another version, according to which the epic Dobrynya is a collective image that has absorbed the features of many ancient Russian Dobrynyas. Researcher Yu.I. Smirnov notes that the annals connect at least seven Dobryn:
Dobrynya, the uncle of Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich, is mentioned several times in the information from the 10th century;
to the 11th century - Dobrynya Raguilovich, governor of Novgorod;
to the 12th century - the Novgorod posadnik Dobrynya, the Kiev boyar Dobrynka and the Suzdal boyar Dobrynya Dolgiy;
according to the XII - century Dobrynya Galichanin and Dobrynya Yadreykovich, Bishop of Novgorod.
The choice is quite large - almost four centuries, and theoretically it is impossible to exclude any of these "prototypes" or reduce all Dobryns to the first of them. Annalistic news has been preserved about each of these historical Dobryns, and literary works about some of them. Yu.I. Smirnov speaks about the times of pre-Mongol Rus, but even later, in the 15th-17th centuries, this name remained among the most common ancient Russian names. It should be borne in mind that it belonged to the number of "non-calendar" names, it could not be given at baptism. And this means that for all the Dobryns listed above, it was either the second - a pagan name received for certain qualities: kindness, beauty, greatness.
Alesha Popovich.
The third most important and popular hero is Alyosha Popovich. Epics tell about him: “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmeevich”, “Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich”, “Alyosha Popovich and the sister of the Zbrodovich brothers”.
The characteristic features of Alyosha are courage, determination and cunning. Although Alyosha is boastful and carefree, and sometimes imprudent, he is still a hero. He loves his homeland, is merciless to its enemies and is ready to sacrifice his life for its sake.
Conclusion.
Epics created by the Russian people are our national treasure, our pride and glory.
Bibliography:
Anikin V.P. "Russian heroic epic"
Chicherov V.I. "Epics"
Kalugin V.I. "Strings of Rokotahu ... Essays on Russian folklore"
Kravtsov N.I., Lazutin S.G. "Russian oral folk art"
Rybakov B. "Russian epics"
Yudin Yu.I. Heroic epics(poetic art).
1Yudin Yu.I. Heroic epics. Poetic art p.68
2Kalugin V.I. Strings of Rokotahu…Essays on Russian Folklore
Epics of the Novgorod cycle develop themes of social and family life. Military theme Kyiv epics was of national importance. Novgorod, which almost did not know Tatar yoke, did not develop epics with a military theme. From the Novgorod epics, as it is said, especially great importance have epics "Sadko" and "Vasily Buslaev". According to the just assumption of V.F. Miller, the Novgorod epics also include the epic about the Volga and Mikul, in which, in addition to the geographical and household parts(see the description of the field of Mikula, the mention of the salt issue, the name of Orekhovets-Schlisselburg, etc.), there is a contrasting opposition of the prince-combatant to the peasant, which is easily explained in Novgorod Rus', in which the prince was invited from outside by a person who did not have the right to land
The image in the epic about Sadko of merchant feasts, boasting of shops with goods concludes sharp social and everyday characteristics. Bylina develops the theme of a miraculous deliverance from poverty. By itself, such a motive could only have arisen in an environment where malnutrition-underdrinking was common. The narrators at the beginning of the epic depict Sadko as a poor harpist, the creator of wonderful songs. The power of his art is enormous, it is able to evoke a response in nature itself. But it's art
1 See 10. M. Sokolov. Russian epic epic. " literary critic", 1937, No. 9.
Novgorod merchants found it unnecessary, and Sadko had nothing to live on, nothing to feed himself. Sadko leaves the merchants on the shore of Lake Ilmen and, with his playing the harp and singing, conquers the water element. The king of the sea himself rises from the depths of the waters and bestows unprecedented gifts on the guslar - "golden feather fish". Beggar husler, representative folk art, wins eminent merchants.
The bylina about Sadko is built on showing the conflict between the poor harpman and the merchants of Novgorod (merchants do not invite Sadko to a feast; Sadko admires the sea king by playing the harp, receives a reward from him and, at his instigation, argues with the merchants; Sadko wins the argument, becomes rich, proud of his wealth , argues with the merchants again). The conflict is resolved safely for Sadko as long as he fights with individual merchants. As soon as Sadko loses consciousness of his connection with the collective and comes to oppose himself to the whole of Veliky Novgorod, he loses. The defeat of the one who opposes himself to the collective-people is inevitable - such is the idea affirmed by the epic and determining the development of the plot. The second part tells how Sadko defeated by Novgorod, leaving hometown, wandering the seas. Bylina combines the idea of miraculous overcoming social injustice(rich merchants - poor guslar) with the glorification of Novgorod.
The bylina about Sadko has a number of episodes similar to episodes of the epic of other peoples. This made it possible to bring her closer to "Kaleva-la" (the image of the wonderful musician Vainemeinen was interpreted by some researchers as parallel and even identical to Sadko; the sea king of the epic was interpreted as a processing of the water god Ahto of the Karelian-Finnish epic). The episode of Sadko's sinking into the sea was considered as a variation of the theme of throwing a sinner into the sea, developed by the Bible (the story of Jonah in the belly of a whale) and medieval literature(cf. the story of Zadok in the old French novel Tristan de Leonois) 1.
