epics- folk songs about exploits heroes, preserved in the north of Russia in the memory of singer-storytellers. Epic songs that sing of heroic events. Epics artistically summarized the reality of the 11th-16th centuries.
Epics were recorded mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries in the Russian North - their main keeper: in the former Arkhangelsk province, in Karelia, on the Mezen, Pechora, Pinega rivers, on the coast of the White Sea, in the Vologda region. In addition, starting from the 18th century, epics were recorded among the old-timers of Siberia, the Urals, the Volga and in the central Russian provinces. Echoes of epics have been preserved by Cossack songs on the Don, Terek, Lower Volga, and the Urals.
The content of the epic is varied. About 100 plots are known to science, more than 3,000 texts have been recorded with variants and versions, a significant part of which has been published. Usually epics have a heroic or short story character. Idea heroic epics– glorification of unity and independence Russian land, in novelistic epics marital fidelity, true friendship were glorified, personal vices were condemned. Epics condemned social injustice, the arbitrariness of princely power. The people called epics "old men", "old men", "old women". The term "epic" is purely scientific; it was proposed in the first half of the 19th century by I.P. Sakharov. The word "epic" was taken by him from "The Tale of the Regiment" and artificially applied to designate the folklore genre in order to emphasize its historicism.
Singing certain events in epics, the storytellers never became like chroniclers, they did not seek to convey the chronicle sequence of events, but depicted only the central moments. The singers were attracted not by the exact recording of history, but by the expression of its people's assessments, the display of people's ideals.
Epics conveyed the names of real-life persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Sadko, Alexander Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Polovtsian and Tatar khans (Batu, Tugorkan). So the epic prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko combined Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh. Dobrynya Nikitich, uncle of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, lived in the 10th-early 11th centuries. there are chronicles about him. For example, the epic Dobrynya is the matchmaker of Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Historical Dobrynya acted in this role in 980, when Vladimir decided to marry the Polotsk princess Rogneda.
In the 12th century In Novgorod there was a merchant named Sotko. Sadko is the hero of the Novgorod epics.
Ilya Muromets in Russian written sources is mentioned in the 16th century, and in the German oral tradition it has been known since the 13th century. According to some legends, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra there was a tomb with the relics of Ilya Muromets. The rise of Ilya Muromets over other heroes was facilitated by the fact that he came from North-Eastern Rus', which from the 12th century began to play a leading role among the ancient Russian lands.
Putilov. Russian historical and song folklore.
Epics are works whose plots are the result of artistic fiction. This fiction is always based on historical reality, but not in the form of specific events and facts. The epic is an artistic generalization historical experience people whole era. In this generalization, the historical ideals of the people are in the foreground.
COLLECTION HISTORY. A significant difficulty is created by the fact that we have not reached, and perhaps did not have at all, records of epics earlier early XVII century. The oldest B. records are only 300 years old. Taking into account the inevitable variability of any folklore text in oral transmission from generation to generation, we have to admit that even our most ancient records of B. did not preserve B. in their original content and form. Later records of epics, made by scholarly collectors from the lips of the people in the 18th-20th centuries, quite naturally included a number of even further “layerings” and underwent more or less changes and additions from a long series of generations of individual storytellers. The restoration of the original form of each B. and its further evolution can be (and even relatively) done only on the basis of a careful comparison and comparison of all B. variants that have come down to us, both old and new records.
This explains why learned folklorists so cherish every old manuscript with an epic text and every new record B. on the same plot. B. plots, there are only about 40, while records of B. texts now have accumulated more than 1,500 numbers.
The oldest recording of Russian epic songs is a recording of historical songs, almost contemporary with the events sung in them, made for the Englishman Richard James, who lived in Russia in 1619-1620. Actually B. texts in the manuscripts of the XVII century. we got five. The oldest handwritten text is “The Tale of the Kiev Bogatyrs, how they went to Constantinople and how they beat the Constantinople heroes and did themselves honor” (at the end of the text, this “Tale” is called the “Bogatyr Word”). This and similar handwritten texts of B. of the 17th century. should be considered together with other handwritten B. texts XVIII and early XIX centuries
From mid-eighteenth V. wonderful came to us collection of epics, compiled by the Cossack Kirsha Danilov for the Ural rich breeder Demidov and containing over 70 songs.
The discovery of the riches of the Russian epic epic falls on the 60-70s. 19th century In 1861-1867, “Songs collected by P. N. Rybnikov” (224 numbers of B.) were published, and in 1872 - “Onega B.”, recorded in 1871 by A. F. Gilferding (318 numbers).
During 1862-1874, issues of the posthumous work “Songs collected by P. V. Kireevsky” were published (11 volumes in total).
two collections: N. S. Tikhonravova and V. F. Miller, Young then-scientific collectors made trips for B. to different parts of this vast province; as a result, science has been enriched by detailed collections of B.: A. V. Markova, “Belomorskie B.”, M., 1901 (116 issues); A. D. Grigorieva (total 424 issues), “Arkhangelsk B. and historical songs”, vol. I, M., 1904 and vol. III, M., 1910 (volume II was not released) and N. E. Onchukova, "Pechorsky B.", in the Saratov region (M. and B. Sokolov and others - 24 numbers), in Siberia (Tan-Bogoraz, Gulyaev and others - 27 numbers); rather significant B. material recorded at Don Cossacks, Terek, Ural, Orenburg (collections of Listopadov, Arefin, Dogadin, Zheleznov, Myakushin, Pankratiev, Karpinsky - information about all these records is combined in the article by V.F. Miller - “Cossack epic songs of the 16th and 17th centuries” in his “Essays folk literature, vol. III, M., 1924).
Epic classification:
heroic epics will differ from B. short stories, as they have long been Sun. Miller distinguished by content. In the epics of the heroic movement is centripetal to the main acting person- a rich man. It does not always develop in a straight line, but very often with sudden shifts in the opposite direction. A favorite technique of heroic B. is the reception of antithesis (Ilya, contrary to the warning inscription at the crossroads of three roads, travels along them and refutes these warnings with his actions; Dobrynya does not obey the instructions of his mother and bathes in the Puchay River, etc.). Similarly to the method of antithesis in the development of action in heroic epics, we see the same method of contrast in the organization of the image of B. heroes. At the beginning of B., the hero is not underestimated, even slandered, the enemy seems to be more significant than him, stronger, then all this 13 is immediately refuted by the further, especially the final moment of the heroic battle: the hero alone cracks down on a hostile force of many thousands. In contrast, for example, such couples as Ilya and Idolishche, Potanya and Kostruk, Dobrynya and Serpent, etc. are depicted. For the heroic epic are extremely characteristic various forms hyperbolization as appearance epic heroes and their attributes, and their actions, exploits.
B. short stories (Churila and Katerina, Alyosha and Dobrynya, Khoten Bludovich, and others), in contrast to heroic short stories, include much more elements of purely dramatic action. Various forms of dialogue play an important role in the poetics of B., and in heroic, military B. dialogue, or direct speech in general, is less common than in short story B., for which the dialogic form of presentation is largely a formal sign of a special B. .genre. Dialogue performs an essential dynamic function in the structure of B. - it largely moves the action in B.
Epics are also combined into cycles:
By time
By territory
By heroes
Kyiv and Novgorod cycles
Ticket 27. the main plots of Russian epics. Novgorod and Kyiv cycles.
Plots of epics. The number of epic stories, despite the many recorded versions of the same epic, is very limited: there are about 100 of them. There are epics based on matchmaking or the struggle of the hero for his wife ( Sadko, Mikhailo Potyk, Ivan Godinovich, Danube, Kozarin, Nightingale Budimirovich and later - Alyosha Popovich and Elena Petrovichna, Hoten Bludovich); fighting monsters Dobrynya and the snake, Alyosha and Tugarin, Ilya and Idolishche, Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber); fight against foreign invaders, including: repelling Tatar raids ( Ilya's quarrel with Vladimir, Ilya and Kalin, Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich), wars with Lithuanians ( Bylina about the arrival of Lithuanians).
Stand apart are satirical epics or epics-parodies ( Duke Stepanovich, Competition with Churila).
The main epic heroes. Representatives of the Russian "mythological school" divided the heroes of epics into "senior" and "junior" heroes. In their opinion, the “elders” (Svyatogor, Danube, Volkh, Potyka) were the personification of elemental forces, epics about them in a peculiar way reflected the mythological views that existed in Ancient Rus'. The “younger” heroes (Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich) are ordinary mortals, heroes of a new historical era, and therefore in minimum degree endowed with mythological features. Despite the fact that serious objections were subsequently raised against such a classification, such a division is still found in the scientific literature.
The images of heroes are the national standard of courage, justice, patriotism and strength (it was not for nothing that one of the first Russian aircraft, which had an exceptional carrying capacity for those times, was called the creators of "Ilya Muromets").
Epics are divided into:
Kyiv.
Epic Kyiv is a symbol of the unity and state independence of the Russian land. Here, in the court of Prince Vladimir, the events of many epics take place. The military power of Rus' is personified by heroes. Among heroic epics in the first place are those in which Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich operate. These main defenders of the Russian land come from three estates: peasant, princely and priestly. Epics sought to present Rus' as a united in the fight against enemies.
Ilya - peasant son, originally from the village of Karacharova near the city of Murom. Until the age of thirty, he was ill - he could not control his arms or legs. The poor wanderers cured Ilya and endowed him with unprecedented strength. The enormous power of Ilya should benefit all of Rus', so he rushed to Kyiv. Along the way, he accomplished his first feats: he defeated the enemy troops near Chernigov, freed the road from the nightingale-robber.
After Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich is most loved by the people. This is a hero of princely origin, he lives in Kyiv. The main business of his life is the military service of Rus'.
The heroic feat of Dobrynya is depicted by the epic “Dobrynya and the Serpent” - a story about how, on the Puchay River, Dobrynya fought off a snake with one hat, knocking off three trunks from it. The snake prayed and offered to make peace. Dobrynya released the snake, but then he saw how he grabbed the prince's daughter and went to rescue her. This time the battle was long, but Dobrynya won.
Among the popular genres of folklore are fairy tales and epics. Although they are very similar, these genres each have their own characteristics and were written for different purposes. Consider the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics.
A brief introduction to the fairy tale genre
Fairy tales are among the popular genres of Russian folklore. First, fairy tales about animals appeared, then magical and social ones. What specific features genre?
- The events described in it were perceived as fiction.
- The purpose of writing is instructive, less often entertaining.
- The form of presentation is prose.
Most often, fairy tales were passed on "from mouth to mouth", which is why they do not have specific authors. Each narrator could forget something or, conversely, add, so the texts had many options.
Description of the epic as a genre
Another interesting folk genre is epic, an epic song, the main characters were heroes, princes and other defenders common people. Their opponents were often endowed with mighty power. So, the Serpent Gorynych - a three-headed monster, spewing fire from his insatiable mouths, captured entire villages of the Russians.
Let's briefly highlight the key features of the genre:
- A poetic form of narration, most often the texts were written in tonic verse with an even number of stresses (2-4).
- The presence of a clear structure: the sing-along - the beginning - the exposition - the ending.
- Heroes often have real prototypes or perceived by the popular consciousness as the embodiment of evil.
In general, this genre was loved by the Russian people, because in the texts good always overcame evil.
Common features
Consider the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epic. First of all, let's highlight common features for both genres:
- Absence of authorship.
- Initially there was only oral form presentation.
- Use of traditional wording and templates.
- They reflected the features of life and life of people of their era.
These are the main similarities of a fairy tale and an epic. The differences will be described below. We also note that both genres used the images of fantastic characters who most often embodied evil (the Serpent Gorynych in epics, Baba Yaga and Koschey in fairy tales).
Differences
Considering what similarities and differences fairy tales and epics distinguish, we note that they were created for different purposes:
- A fairy tale is for teaching and amusement of listeners.
- Bylina - to sing the exploits of heroes.
Further, speaking about the similarities and differences between the epic and fairy tales, it should be noted that various characters acted in them. At first glance, both of them are objects of fiction. However, in fairy tales, heroes were initially perceived as invented. In epics, they often had a real historical background and embodied the ideal qualities of people's defenders.
The next similarity and difference between a fairy tale and an epic is in the plot of the text. In the bylina, feats were sung, some historical events important for the whole people, which was not in the fairy tale texts. The latter were often dedicated to a specific character and his fate.
Comparison Example
To better understand the similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics, let's compare two texts - "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber" and "Marya Morevna". Both works are very interesting and have a fascinating plot, acquaintance with which will be useful for both children and adults.
The first sign that distinguishes the texts catches the eye: the tale is presented in prose, the epic - in a special verse.
Next, consider other similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics. At the beginning of the texts there is an indication of the place of action. “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state” - this is how Marya Morevna begins, the formula for the genre is traditional and devoid of specifics. And "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber" directly speaks of where events unfold - the city of Chernihiv.
The following similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics are the main characters. It seems that both of them - both Ivan Tsarevich and the hero Ilya - are brave, resolute and courageous, but main goal Ilya is a selfless feat for the sake of saving his native people, and Ivan, with all his positive qualities yet acts in his own interests - wanting to regain his lost wife.
Presentation Features
Considering the similarities and differences between the epic and fairy tales as genres of Russian folklore, it should be noted that both of them used stable turns, passing from text to text:
- “Soon the fairy tale is told, but the deed is not done soon.”
- "Black-black", "let the gray beast not roar."
Their use not only created a special poetics, but also helped memorize rather voluminous works.
Also often used permanent epithets: « good fellow”, “Bogatyrskaya Silushka”, “straight path”.
The similarities and differences between fairy tales and epics indicate that these are different folklore genres, but with many common features.
Genres such as the heroic epic, myth and epic are among the most ancient literary works. They became the first genres of literature, originating at a time when mankind first began to use writing.
Heroic epic, myth, epic; difference between myth and fairy tale
Myth, epic and heroic epic have a number of characteristics that generalize them, as well as some points that nevertheless speak of deep differences between them. These genres arose on a real historical basis.
Heroic epic and epic often they glorify the peoples who resisted the invaders, the heroes of military conflicts, sing their courage, courage and patriotism. In myths, the motive of heroism is partly mixed with hoax, but they are also based on historical events, the reality of which is still in doubt.
The myth is over ancient genre, than the heroic epic and epic. Its origin is attributed to the heyday of ancient civilizations. It is false to believe that myths existed only in Ancient Greece and Rome. IN Slavic culture myths also occupied a leading place.
However, due to the fact that the Slavs on early stages did not have a written language of their development, many myths were lost in the thickness of history and have not survived to this day. IN modern theory literature, the fairy tale genre is considered in the status of a “degraded myth”.
To dispel false identification of myth and fairy tale, main distinctive features these genres. Firstly, a fairy tale and a myth perform different functions: a myth explains to a person the origin of the phenomena surrounding him, a fairy tale performs an educational and entertaining function.
Secondly, a person perceives a myth as an exaggerated reality, while a fairy tale is initially considered a fiction.
Techniques for creating a heroic character in an epic
In the process of creating a heroic character in the epic, stylistic, lexical devices, and syntactic schemes were often widely used.
Quite often in the heroic epic are found phraseological turns, which emphasize the dignity of the hero: "fast as lightning." Heroic character the protagonist is a composite phenomenon - most often it includes positive features a few people, and sometimes the whole nation.
hero hero
The protagonist of the epics known today is a hero - a hero - a man with a huge physical force, a sense of patriotism, courage and determination. Hero - hero - central figure heroic epics. In contrast to him, negative heroes are often included - invaders, mythological creatures with whom he fights to protect his fatherland and his people.
The role of the artistic word in the epic work
IN epic works lexical devices are always used, which are combined into epic formulas. The artistic epic formula is a combination of a noun and an adjective with a stable epithet - black death, white face, good fellow.
Answer left Guest
The bylina is very close to the historical song, but nevertheless there is a deep and fundamental difference between them. The bylina is ancient historical song. Bylina and historical song express the consciousness of the people at different stages of its development. historical development V different forms.When comparing a fairy tale with an epic on the same plot, it will always turn out that there are differences not only in the form of execution, but also in the content itself: a fairy tale usually turns heroic deed V funny adventure.
Bylina began to penetrate into ancient Russian literature. Starting from the 17th century, we have handwritten stories, the subject of which are the exploits of heroes. Of these, the most favorite were the stories about Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber and about Mikhail Potyk. Such works were called "story", "history" or "tale". book language of that time, it was told about those heroes and their exploits, about which the people sang. These "tales" were intended, of course, not for singing, but for reading.
Unlike myth and later - from a fairy tale, the hero of the epic does not have any talismans or magical means. True, there are cases when the hero has not only superhuman strength, but also the ability to turn into animals or magical means, but such cases are rare. This is the “arsenal of myth”, which the epic epic still uses for some time. The hero wins not because of his magical weapons, embodied in talismans, amulets, magic tools or objects, he wins only by courage, strength, courage, complete fearlessness. To arouse admiration and love of listeners, the hero must have outstanding qualities. He is endowed with the highest moral qualities and external attractiveness.
What is the main moral quality hero? It consists in the fact that the hero is always only in last turn thinks about himself. The hero does not strive for his personal well-being, his activities are aimed at the benefit of people. There is no doubt that this ideal is associated with the tribal system, where the individual always has the support of the team. However, if something heroic and lofty is seen in such support, then this means that something extraordinary is seen in it. The readiness to help everyone is not the result of striving for the past, where this help was implied by itself, it is a reaction to the present, where this help is no longer implied by itself, where there is already a division into haves and have-nots, where exploitation and violence have already arisen. The hero helps the disadvantaged, that is, the impoverished in property.
This character of heroism is neither externally nor internally connected with the main narrative. It can be observed that the new concept of heroism invades the old one. composition system and starts breaking it. The hero performs actions that are not connected with the main thread of the narrative, even disrupting and slowing down its course, but internally necessary to create his full appearance. These actions consist in the fact that the hero in various forms saves someone from trouble.
The Russians were participants in the greatest historical upheavals of the Euro-Asian Middle Ages. The struggle against the Tatars demanded the exertion of all the forces of the people. Now the people could no longer be content with songs in which the hero struck a monstrous snake, although he did not forget about these songs and continued them artistic processing. There are new songs about the fight against historical, real enemies. Only their epic form and way of performance are traditional in these songs. In them, the people created images of heroes defending the greatest asset and shrine - their homeland. The character of these heroes is not created by tradition and cannot be derived from it. It is forged in a specific historical struggle and embodies the best, heroic qualities of the people. The group of these epics is later than the group of epics about the hero’s matchmaking or his struggle with monsters.
