I fell in love with this character from early childhood, his image was very unusual compared to the rest, fairy tales and myths available to Soviet children. Live, realistic. Selecting information for this post, I once again had fun from the fact that the Werewolf Prince is considered rather as a historical character and his amazing abilities are mentioned only in passing. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Vicki, as it turned out, tells about him surprisingly clearly and concisely) A little about werewolves in Slavic mythology and, directly about Volga under the cut, but this picture seemed to me to reflect the image of my favorite as much as possible, for the ermine and tour, and even a fly is unearthly cool, but Voooolk is the essence)
Werewolves in Slavic paganism
Volkodlak, volkolak, volkulak, vovkulak, in Slavic mythology, the wolf man; werewolf; a sorcerer who can turn into a wolf and turn other people into wolves.
Legends about the werewolf are common to all Slavic peoples. The ideas about the wolkolak combined features of a folklore image and borrowings from ideas about Christian demonology. The exceptional archaism of ideas about werewolves is clear from the fact that in other Indo-European traditions (in particular, in the Hittite) the transformation of the groom into a wolf is associated with a common form of marriage - kidnapping (forced removal of the bride).
The antiquity of this image is also confirmed by the chronicle of 1282, which tells of a volkolak who "drives the clouds and eats away the moon" (the Slavs for a long time kept faith in the volkhvs-clouders, who turned into wolves, rose to the sky and called for rain or dispersed the clouds). According to F. Buslaev, "the remnant of this legend is still preserved in the proverb:" The gray wolf catches stars in the sky. "Unlike the mythology of the peoples of Europe, among the Slavs, the werewolf was originally a positive character, and the fact of werewolves was perceived in principle as a normal phenomenon. Unusual - yes, but by no means - not terrible and terrible. This is indirectly confirmed by the ancient Russian conspiracy recorded by Sakhorov:
"On the sea, on the ocean, on the island of Buyan, in a hollow clearing, the moon shines on an aspen stump, in a green forest, in a wide valley. A shaggy wolf walks around the stump, all horned cattle are on his teeth, but the wolf does not enter the forest, but the wolf will not wander into the valley.. Month, month - golden horns!
Melt the bullets, dull the knives, blunt the clubs, cast fear on the beast of man and the reptile, so that they do not take the gray wolf, do not tear the warm skin from it. My word is strong, stronger than sleep and heroic strength.
Turning into a wolf was likened to one of the most revered and powerful animals endowed with supernatural powers. The name of this beast was so sacred that it could not be pronounced aloud, so instead of "wolf" they said "fierce", and the men of some tribes were called "lutichi". The ability to turn into a wolf from ancient times was attributed to "especially strong" sorcerers and, apparently, was a necessary part of certain rituals. "Turn around", "turn around" (turn) often literally meant "turn over", that is, roll over, "throw over oneself" or over a conditional border. "Turning around", a person, as it were
he turned over with that side of his being, which is attached to the higher forces of the world, to revered animals, birds, fish - "ancestors, relatives and patrons." In stories about werewolves, the line between man and beast is a narrow strip of a knife, rope, branch, in fact, it passes through the werewolf himself: he is both a man and an animal [I would say - THE BEAST] at the same time. The practice of werewolves was so widespread among the Slavic tribes that Herodotus describes [based on the attitude of Herodotus himself to his own words - they say, I will write something, but let those who want to believe it believe ...] the annual transformation of neurons (Slavic a tribe that supposedly lived on the territory of Belarus) for several days into wolves, as a matter of course.
And the Slavic heroic epic, in general, characterizes the main character of the werewolf as a being of divine origin. At the birth of the Russian wolf hero Volkh [as well as Volkhv and Volga proper] Vseslavovich:
And the moon shone bright in the sky,
And in Kyiv a mighty hero was born,
How young Volkh Vseslavevich would be.
The damp earth trembled,
Stressed the glorious kingdom of the Indians,
And the blue sea swayed
For the sake of the birth of a hero,
Young Volkh Vseslavevich.
Similar cataclysms and natural phenomena accompanied the birth of elemental Slavic deities. Many researchers draw parallels (albeit very conditional), according to which Volkh is the Kiev prince Oleg, who was considered prophetic (another word for volkolak was a word derived from the verb vedati - "to know": Ukrainian vischun - "werewolf", other Czech vedi - "werewolves", Slovenian vedomci, vedunci, vedarci - "werewolves"). However, such a werewolf prince was the no less famous Vseslav of Polotsk (second half of the 11th century), who "... dressed up the princes of the city, and himself prowled like a wolf in the night ... Cherson the great wolf roamed the path ..." (A word about Igor's regiment).
Another Slavic werewolf, the hero of the Belarusian and Serbian epics, was the Fire Wolf Serpent. His image also goes back to the common Slavic myth of the wolf hero. He is born from the Fire Serpent, is born in human form, "in a shirt" or with "wolf hair" - a sign of a miraculous origin. Can turn into a wolf and other animals, including a bird; performs feats, using the ability to turn himself (and his squad) into animals. Many of the creatures of lower mythology also had a penchant for werewolves, for example, the goblin very often turned into a white wolf (white king) or into a wolf shepherd. With the adoption of Christianity, all former deities were overthrown and declared demons. This fate did not bypass the werewolves, who from helper deities and heroes-heroes became terrible monsters of nightmares. Among Russian peasants of the 20th century, belief in werewolves is generally fading, although stories about werewolves - wolves and bears are still popular in some parts of Russia.
An interesting transformation of the theme of werewolves is found in the recording by I.V. Karnaukhova in the Russian North is a story about one of the heroes of the Civil War, "famous" for his cruelty: in this story, the partisan commander acts as a werewolf that destroys people.
A separate plot of the epic about the Volga was recorded only once by A.F. Hilferding from the eighty-year-old Kuzma Ivanovich Romanov, a student of the legendary storyteller of the eighteenth century Ilya Elustafiev, from whom T.G. Ryabinin and many other storytellers of the nineteenth century. Usually the name Volga is found in combination with another name - Mikula Selyaninovich. In this version, the image of Volga, who has been studying tricks and wisdom since the age of five, knowing all sorts of different languages \u200b\u200b(meaning, of course, the languages of animals and birds), is closest to the image of Volkh Vseslavievich.
The epic recreates a surprisingly poetic image of an ancient hunter and fisherman (quite possibly, the very god of hunting and fishing), who knows how not only to put silk ropes, but also to wrap martens, foxes, black sables, jumping hares and small ermines, taking their appearance. The same thing happens when catching fish: Volga turns around like a pike fish and wraps it in a net: salmon fish, beluga fish, pike fish, plotichenka, expensive sturgeon fish.
The description of the scenes of Volga's magical hunting is unparalleled in the Russian folk epic. This is a whole hunting poem created by the people.
The text is published according to the edition: Gilferding A.F. Onega epics. 3rd ed. M., 1938, v. 2, No. 91.
I’ll just add from myself - there is a vague feeling from the image of the three heroes (in particular, Vasnetsov’s painting) that Volga, unfairly rejected with the advent of Christianity, should be in the place of Alyosha Popovich.
Volga Svyatoslavich (also Volkh Vseslavievich) is a hero, a character in Russian epics. The main distinguishing feature of Volga is cunning, the ability to shapeshift and the ability to understand the language of birds and animals.
Volga (Volkh) is one of the most ancient characters in Russian folklore. It has a lot of archaic, magical. Miller gives Volga a mythical meaning: in his opinion, it was originally an image of a thundercloud, as indicated by the shaking in nature described in the epic at the birth of Volga (thunder) and werewolf, that is, a constant and rapid change in the shape of a cloud under the influence of air movement. They suspect the connection of his name with the word "sorcerer", suggesting that only then it turned from a common noun into a proper name. On the basis of the surviving data on Volga, researchers of the mythology of the ancient Slavs even reconstruct (quite controversially) the ancient Slavic god of hunting, Volkh.
The bylina about the campaign was preserved in 11 records.
The birth of a hero
Volga is the son of a snake and Princess Marfa Vseslavievna, who miraculously conceived him by accidentally stepping on a snake. The trembling of the earth and the terrible fear of all living creatures at the moment when Volga saw the light point to him as the personification of some elemental force. Volga grows by leaps and bounds, and soon becomes a powerful hero, possessing not only the art of fighting enemies, but also reading books and turning into different animals.
Hike to the Indian Kingdom
The central moment of the epics about the Volga is his campaign in a distant kingdom: Indian, the lands of the Turkish-Saltan, etc. He is recruiting a squad. To provide her with everything she needs, he turns into a wolf and a falcon, feeding her with hunting. The success of the campaign is due to the wisdom of Volga. With an ermine, he spoils the bowstrings of enemies' bows, with a wolf he bites the throats of horses, and so on. In order for the squad to overcome the impregnable walls, he turns them into ants, and within the walls of the city he returns his human form. The winner marries the wife of the murdered king, and his warriors marry the local girls left alive. He himself becomes king.
Meeting with Mikula Selyaninovich
Meeting with a wonderful plowman who surpassed Volga in "cunning-wisdom". During the collection of taxes from the cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets, Volga met the plowman Mikula Selyaninovich, who complained about the tax collectors in the city of Gurchevets, who were tearing a simple peasant at exorbitant prices. And he told him how he punished them for their greed with a whip. Seeing a mighty hero in Mikul, Volga called him with him to the squad to collect taxes. Having driven off, Mikula remembered that he had forgotten the plow in the ground. Twice Volga sent combatants to pull out that plow, on the third time he himself and his squad did not overcome the whole. Mikula pulled out that plow with one hand. Arriving in the cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets, they fought and collected taxes.
According to the Slavic Faith, a person has three paths: Magus, Vityaz and Worker. Everyone fulfills his destiny and the inability to raise a plow with a squad shows that the Vityaz / Magus cannot do without the Worker. As well as the Worker Mikula cannot be punished without the Knight Volga of the unrighteous people.
Volga Svyatoslavich and Prince Oleg
At one time it was customary to identify Volga Svyatoslavich with the Prophetic Prince Oleg, who reigned after Rurik. The identification is based on the similarity of names, the correspondence of Oleg's epithet "Prophetic" (indicating his cunning and wisdom) with the qualities of Volga. In addition, Oleg’s campaign against Tsaregrad was correlated with Volga’s campaign in India, and in the birth of Volga from a snake, they found a semblance of Oleg’s death from a snake. Vladimir Propp dismisses this attempt to find a historical prototype of the Volga as completely fantastic.
According to Miller, memories of the prophetic Oleg and Vseslav Polotsky eventually joined the initially purely mythical basis. According to Wollner, there were originally two separate songs about Volga and Volkh, which were then mixed with each other. Veselovsky brings together one of the epics about Volga with "The Walk of Charles", and in this way he compares Volga himself with Charlemagne. Volga also bears the name of Buslaevich, which, according to Miller, along with the news of his scholarship, was transferred to him from Vasily Buslaevich of Novgorod.
Some researchers identify Volga Svyatoslavich and Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich of Drevlyansk, brother of Vladimir and Yaropolk Svyatoslavovich.
This story preserves the oldest totemic ideas about animals as human ancestors and about the possibility of the birth of a great hunter and sorcerer directly from an animal father.
This article seemed to me one of the most interesting
Volkh, Volkh Vseslavievich, Volga
Volkh, Volkh Vseslavievich, Volga, a mythologized character of Russian epics, the owner of miraculous werewolf properties. The plot about Volkh Vseslavievich (less often - Volga Buslavlevich or Svyatoslavievich) and his campaign against India belongs to the most archaic layer in the Russian epic epic, characterized by persistent totemistic ideas and a widely represented element of the miraculous, magic-sorcerous, magical, fusion of human and natural principles. The birth of V. is miraculous: V.'s mother Marfa Vseslavyevna, walking in the garden, jumped off a stone onto a fierce snake; it wraps itself around her leg and “beats the white quilt with its trunk”; soon V. is born, whose birth shocked all nature: thunder rumbles, the damp earth trembles, the "kingdom of the Indians" shakes, the sea trembles, the fish goes into the depths of the sea, the bird high into the heavens, the animals into the mountains, etc. The development of V. is also wonderful: barely born, he already says, “like thunder rumbles”, he is swaddled in “damask armor”, they put in his cradle “golden helmet”, “a club of three hundred pounds”; at the age of seven he is sent to learn to read and write, and by the age of ten he comprehends "cunning-wisdom": to turn into a "clear falcon", a gray wolf, "a bay turk-golden horns". Having mastered the art of werewolf, V. at the age of 12 is gaining a squad, and at the age of 15 he is already ready for military exploits. When the news comes that the "Indian king" is going to go to Kyiv, V. decides to get ahead of the enemy and sets off with his retinue on a campaign against the Indian kingdom. Along the way, he exercises and demonstrates his "cunning-wisdom", acting as a great hunter, ruler of the natural kingdom, especially the world of animals. Turning into a wolf, he runs through the forests and “beats the horned animals”, in the guise of a falcon he beats geese, swans, ducks. B, feeds and waters, clothes and shoes his squad; he is always awake. Deciding to “repair enmity” to the Indian king and making sure that none of the squad can successfully complete the upcoming task, V. uses his “cunning-wisdom” to crush the Indian kingdom. Turning round-golden horns, he quickly reaches the goal; turning into a clear falcon, he flies into the chambers of the Indian king Saltyk (Saltan) Stavrulievich and eavesdrops on his conversation with "Tsarina Azvyakovna, young Elena Alexandrovna." Having learned about the intentions of the tsar hostile to Rus', V. turns into an ermine, descends into the basement-cellars, bites the string of bows, neutralizes arrows and guns, turns back into a clear falcon, flies to his squad and leads it to the city-fortress of the Indian king. In order to get inside unnoticed, V. wraps his warriors in ants (ants) and together with them penetrates the city through a narrow crack, subjecting it to destruction. V. kills the Indian king, takes Queen Azvyakovna as his wife, marries his soldiers to seven thousand spared maidens, and he himself becomes king, richly endowing the squad.
The motif of turning V. (and his warriors) into ants penetrating an impregnable fortress resembles a similar motif in connection with the Thunderer Indra. (Rig Veda I, 51 and others). Zeus appears to Eurymedusa also in the form of an ant. Their son Myrmidon (lit. - "ant") became the ancestor of the Myrmidons, "ant" people. In a Russian fairy tale, Ivan Tsarevich, having turned into an ant, penetrates the crystal mountain, kills the twelve-headed Serpent and frees the princess, whom he marries. The connection with V. of the motive of thundering thunder in the epic also outlines the theme of the thunderer in his image. At the same time, V. also implements the theme of the enemy of the Thunderer - the Serpent: being the son of the Serpent, he inherited from him "cunning-wisdom" and, in particular, the ability to hide from the enemy, turn into other creatures. Therefore, in the image of V., there are echoes with Volos-Veles, in which serpentine features are also found, or with the Serpent Fiery Wolf. In the Novgorod book legend about the Wolf-sorcerer V., the eldest son of Sloven, who gave his name to the Volkhov River, formerly called Mutnaya, was a "objectionable sorcerer"; "Demonic tricks" turned "into a fierce beast of a crocodile"; blocking the waterway in Volkhov for those who did not worship him: he devoured some, drowned others. And the ignorant people revered him for a god and called him Thunder or Perun (cf. the image of "Peryun's snake" in Novgorod sources). V. on the bank of the river put a “small town” on a place called Peryn, and an idol for Perun. The demons strangled V. in Volkhov, his body floated up the river and was thrown "against his Volkhov town" and buried here by the pagans. But after three days, "the earth shed tears and devoured the vile body of the crocodile, and the grave woke up above him to the bottom of hell."
V.'s werewolfism found a continuation in the same property attributed to the historical character Prince Vseslav of Polotsk (11th century), mentioned in this connection in the "Tale of Igor's Campaign" (cf. patronymic V. - Vseslavievich, i.e. son of Vseslav) . The connections between V. and Vasily Buslaev are also undoubted (the motive of the absence of a father and being raised by a mother, a trip to a distant land, the role of a stone in birth or death, etc.). In the post-Mongolian period (13th century), new interpretations of V.'s opponent appeared: now he is the king of the Golden Horde or even a Turkish sultan; instead of the Indian kingdom, Turkish-land appears, etc.
The second plot, in which V. appears (as a rule, it is Volga, sometimes Volga Svyatoslavgovich, etc.), connects him with Mikula Selyaninovich. Volga has this plot in common with V. - education in childhood without a father, mastering "wisdom" (turning into a pike, a falcon, a wolf and hunting for animals), picking up a squad for a campaign. Volga's uncle, Prince Vladimir of Stolno-Kiev, favors his nephew with the three cities of Gurgovets, Orekhovets and Krestyanovets (their real prototypes are also attributed to Novgorod land, to the Neva-Ladoga area), and Volga and his retinue set off "for pay"; along the way, V. meets Oratay Mikula, who is plowing his field; Volga and his squad cannot raise Mikula's plows, his peasant mare overtakes Volga's horse, etc. (cf. also the opposition in the Russian epic of the "peasant son" Ilya Muromets and Prince Vladimir). Sometimes, together with V. and Mikula, Sadko also performs, in other cases V. mixes with Vasily Buslaev (beating merchants on the Volkhov bridge, the motif of a stone with an inscription, jumping over it and death, etc.).
V. V. Ivanov, V. N. Toporov.
And, for the patient ones, here http://www.neohogwarts.ru/subjl.php?s=122&l=1 is a nice site on animorphomagic)))
Happiness to all tailed ones and may your claws and teeth never become dull!
Volga (Volkh) is one of the most ancient characters in Russian folklore. It has a lot of archaic, magical. Miller gives Volga a mythical meaning: in his opinion, it was originally an image of a thundercloud, as indicated by the shaking in nature described in the epic at the birth of Volga (thunder) and werewolf, that is, a constant and rapid change in the shape of a cloud under the influence of air movement. They suspect the connection of his name with the word "magus", suggesting that only then it turned from a common noun into a proper name. Based on the surviving data on Volga, researchers of the mythology of the ancient Slavs even reconstruct (quite controversially) the ancient Slavic god of hunting Volkh.
The bylina about the campaign was preserved in 11 records.
Main plots
1. The birth of a hero
2. Hike to the Indian Kingdom
The central moment of the epics about the Volga is his campaign in a distant kingdom: Indian, the lands of the Turkish-Saltan, etc. He is recruiting a squad. To provide her with everything she needs, he turns into a wolf and a falcon, feeding her with hunting. The success of the campaign is due to the wisdom of Volga. With an ermine, he spoils the bowstrings of enemies' bows, with a wolf he bites the throats of horses, and so on. In order for the squad to overcome the impregnable walls, he turns them into ants, and within the walls of the city he returns his human form. The winner marries the wife of the murdered king, and his warriors marry the local girls left alive. He himself becomes king.
3. Meeting with Mikula Selyaninovich
Meeting with a wonderful plowman who surpassed Volga in "cunning-wisdom". During the collection of taxes from the cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets, Volga met the plowman Mikula Selyaninovich, who complained about the tax collectors in the city of Gurchevets, who were tearing a simple peasant at exorbitant prices. And he told him how he punished them for their greed with a whip. Seeing a mighty hero in Mikul, Volga called him with him to the squad to collect taxes. Having driven off, Mikula remembered that he had forgotten the plow in the ground. Twice Volga sent combatants to pull out that plow, on the third time he himself and his squad did not overcome the whole. Mikula pulled out that plow with one hand. Arriving in the cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets, they fought and collected taxes.
Volga Svyatoslavich and Prince Oleg
At one time, it was customary to identify Volga Svyatoslavich with the Prophetic Prince Oleg, who reigned after Rurik. The identification is based on the similarity of names, the correspondence of Oleg's epithet "Prophetic" (indicating his cunning and wisdom) with the qualities of Volga. In addition, Oleg's campaign against Tsaregrad was correlated with Volga's campaign in India, and in the birth of Volga from a snake, they found a semblance of Oleg's death from a snake. Vladimir Propp dismisses this attempt to find the historical prototype of the Volga as completely fantastic.
Links
Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .
See what "Volga Svyatoslavovich" is in other dictionaries:
See the article Bogatyrs ... Biographical Dictionary
The famous hero of Russian epics, the son of a snake and Princess Marfa Vseslavievna. Already his very name Volga, i.e. Magus, indicates his mythical character, although another name Volga recalls the historical Oleg. In the personality of V. mythological are mixed ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
The data in this article are given as of the end of the 19th century. You can help by updating the information in the article... Wikipedia
Viktor Vasnetsov. "Bogatyrs" (Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich). 1881 1898. Bogatyrs and knights are artistic images of heroes who defended the lands of Kievan Rus, the Russian people from invasions of enemies or from evil evil spirits, created by anonymous ... ... Wikipedia
Viktor Vasnetsov. "Bogatyrs" (Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich). 1881 1898. Bogatyrs and knights are artistic images of heroes who defended the lands of Kievan Rus, the Russian people from invasions of enemies or from evil evil spirits, created by anonymous ... ... Wikipedia
In Russian folklore, the bogatyr Volga, who is also a prince, the leader of the squad, the elder of the family, is one of the most ancient characters. Volga did not differ in special strength, his main "weapon" is the ability, like the god Veles, to turn into any living creature. He is a werewolf magician who inherited his magical properties from his father, a snake, from whom Princess Marfa Vsevlasyevna miraculously conceived. Her son Volga grew by leaps and bounds, he himself learned to read and write. And he made his first military campaign in the kingdom of the Turkish Sultan.
Before setting off on a campaign in Turkey, Volga gathered a squad. But his soldiers needed to eat well, undergo serious combat training. And then Volga turned into a wolf, then into a falcon and went hunting. He scoured the forests, procured animal meat for his warriors, he flew up into the sky like a falcon and looked for prey from a height. He taught his warriors a lot: how to make a bow, a bowstring for it, how to conduct hand-to-hand combat.
The epics do not provide information against which sultan Volga went to fight, whom he defeated, which cities he conquered. It is only known that Volga himself did not take a direct part in the battles against the troops of the Sultan. He turned into an ermine and spoiled the bowstrings of his enemies so that they could not shoot arrows, he became a wolf and attacked the horses, biting their throats. And his army quickly defeated the Turkish Sultan.
Volga's squad captured rich booty - a lot of gold, silver, precious stones. Volga himself took the ex-wife of the Sultan, a beautiful Turkish woman, as his wife, and his soldiers married local girls. But Volga did not stay in Turkey, but returned to his homeland, began to reign and collect taxes from his peasants.
Once, while collecting taxes, he heard someone plowing with great noise, loosening the earth so that it could be heard from three miles away. Volga decided to take a look at this plowman. He spurred his horse and, together with the squad, galloped to the sounds. But no one was in sight ahead.
For three days and three nights, Volga rode with his people until he saw this plowman. A simple peasant easily uprooted rhizomes, threw out huge boulders, and his furrow turned out to be clean, deep, and he had a good filly, both of them worked for their own pleasure, they cleared and plowed a huge field.
Volga spoke to the plowman, found out that his name was Miku-la Selyaninovich. He was good-looking, strong in stature, curly-haired. Mikula complained to the prince about the tax collectors who were tearing "three skins" from ordinary peasants.
And how did you deal with them? Volga asked him.
“It’s very simple,” Mikula answered him, “for greed, I tore them off with a whip, removed “three skins” from them. They will remember for a long time and will no longer dare to offend the peasants.
He also told Volga that robbers had settled on the straight road along which he had recently been driving, so he scattered them in different directions.
Volga immediately realized that this plowman was not an ordinary person, but a brave hero who could stand up for himself. And he invited Mikula to join his squad, to become a tax collector. Mikula thought for a moment and agreed.
They set out on their journey together. We drove off not far from the field, when Mikula decided to test the strength of the Volga warriors, said that he remained in the furrow of his plow. It would be necessary to pull it out of the ground, shake it up and throw a bush behind the willows so that evil people do not covet its good. Volga sent five of his warriors to the field. They went to the field, found a furrow, tried to pull the plow out of the ground, but could not. They returned, confessed their impotence. Volga sent along with them ten more warriors. And they could not pull the plow out of the ground.
Then Volga, Mikula and his squad had to return to the field. The combatants tried to pull out the plow again, but they could not. Mikula jumped from his horse to the ground, went up to the plow and with one hand easily pulled it out of the ground, shook it off and threw a bush behind the willows.
So a simple peasant, a plowman Mikula Selyaninovich, put to shame the heroes of Prince Volga Svyatoslavovich.
August 18, 2016Volga Svyatoslavovich is a famous epic hero, who reflected the features of both the historical and the primitive communal system. A feature of the character is that, according to the legends, he was able to understand the language of animals and birds, and also turn into animals. In science, there is a point of view that in the face of this character the features of several real-life ancient Russian princes were combined.
Origin opinions
In historiography, there are several opinions about who Volga Svyatoslavovich is. Some researchers see in his image features of the primitive communal way of life. They refer to the following plot points in the epics: the description of thunder and lightning at his birth, as well as the mythological fact that, according to fairy tales, his father was a serpent.
Some scientists see in this the echoes of ancient Slavic cults and pagan beliefs. However, other authors trace real historical roots in this character. For example, there is a version that Volga Svyatoslavovich was the prototype of Prince Vseslav of Polotsk. There is a point of view that the hero reflects the features of the famous Prophetic Oleg, who, according to legend, died from a snakebite, in which there are parallels with the history of this fairy-tale character.
Related videos
Birth
Several stories are associated with the name of the hero, and the first of them is dedicated to his birth. As mentioned above, its origin is shrouded in various kinds of mythological layers. At the moment of his birth, according to the legend, there was thunder, lightning flashed, and all the animals were frightened. As in many other Russian folk tales, Volga Svyatoslavovich grew by leaps and bounds, intensively gaining strength. He quickly learned to read and write, as well as understand the language of animals. In this version of its origin, the influence of the pagan totemic ideas of the ancient Slavs about the connection between people and animals is clearly expressed.
Wars
Volga Svyatoslavovich, the epic about which is dedicated to his campaigns in overseas countries, was one of the most popular folklore heroes of the Old Russian epic. His difference from other characters is that he achieves victory not by physical strength, like other knights, but by cunning, magic and sorcery. This is shown in a work dedicated to his campaign in India.
According to the legend, he recruits a squad and goes to fight in foreign lands. An unknown author writes how he turns into a wolf, then into a falcon, getting his soldiers food for food. Before the siege, according to the myth, he turns the vigilantes into ants, and after taking the fortress, he again returns them to their human form. After the victory, he marries the wife of the deceased ruler, and his soldiers take local women as their wives.
Historical motives
Many scholars find in this episode another important difference between the character's story and traditional narratives about knights. The fact is that usually the epic Old Russian warrior did not stay in place, but continued to travel around the Russian lands, protecting them from enemies. The fact that the hero remained in the conquered city allows many authors to assert that in this legend there are echoes of a distant time of migration and enmity between the tribes, when the conquerors settled in the conquered territories and married local residents.
Meeting with Mikula Selyaninovich
The reflection of many archaic features in the myths about the hero is evidenced by their summary. Volga Svyatoslavovich not only travels to overseas lands, but also travels around Russian lands. One of the legends tells how he received three cities as governorship, where he intended to collect tribute. He gathered his squad and set out on his journey. On the way, he met with a peasant plowman who cultivated the land with a plow.
The work gives a lengthy description of this new hero, a simple peasant peasant Mikula, who could lift a heavy plow with one hand, which neither the combatants nor Volga himself could pull out of the furrow. According to the story, the protagonist gave Mikula control of these cities after he put things in order in the collection of tribute. The fact is that before the tax collectors abused their powers, collecting more money than it was supposed to.
Historical realities
The main idea of the epic "Volga Svyatoslavovich" is that it shows not only the feats of arms of warriors, but also simple peasant labor, as well as the occupations of the ancient Slavs. In the legend of the Indian campaign, hunting is shown, for example, as the main occupation of the people. If in other works this type of occupation was portrayed as the fun of princes and their combatants, then here it is shown that forestry provided people with a livelihood. The work reflected those times when the population did not yet know either agriculture or cattle breeding, and was mainly an appropriating economy. So, it is precisely at the expense of prey that the squad of the character eats on a campaign.
Influence of foreign legends
The second part, according to the general recognition of researchers, is less historical, since it reflects several cultural layers, for example, the motives of writings about Alexander the Great, who also made a trip to India. In addition, there are a number of references to the tales of other Eastern peoples. This affected, first of all, in folklore moments associated with the transformation of a character into animals. However, in the epic there is a reference to an event from ancient Russian history: we are talking about the campaign of the Prophetic Oleg against Byzantium. This prince built ships on wheels to guide the army. Volga also resorts to various tricks to achieve the capture of the city.
Novgorod roots
The story of the hero's meeting with Mikula, according to most experts, is connected with Novgorod realities. This is evidenced by the description of nature, which resembles the northern regions of the country. In these places, the soil was very difficult to plow, there really were stones in it, as it is said in the epic. In addition, salt and pennies are mentioned in the work, which, according to a number of authors, is due to the fact that Novgorod, having plenty of its own salt, nevertheless bought it from German merchants, for which they paid a large tribute. Related to this is the mention of unjust tax collectors. The city of Orekhovets is also mentioned in the epic, in which many historians see a reference to the ancient city of Oreshka.
Another curious point that the authors point to regarding this epic is how the character's relationship with a simple peasant is shown. Mikula clearly surpassed his Volga in strength and agility. His mare turned out to be faster and more enduring than Volga's horses. In this, the authors see references to that distant time, when the Varangian squads and the local Slavic population were at enmity with each other.
Peculiarities
Epics dedicated to this character are distinguished by the fact that they reflect many archaic features inherent in ancient Russian society. Therefore, in his image, Volga Svyatoslavovich combined several cultural traditions. The cartoon, filmed in 2010, however, did not at all reflect the ancient Russian motifs characteristic of these works. But the legends showed a transitional period in the formation of the ancient Russian state with the preservation of elements of the communal system, but with the emergence of the political power of the rulers. This is the difference between legends and traditional epics, which show the already established social structure. But none of these features was shown by the cartoon "Volga Svyatoslavovich", which was filmed in a modern style without taking into account historical realities.
The characterization of Volga Svyatoslavovich from the epic of the same name is usually compiled by students in the lesson of Russian literature in the seventh grade. This hero has many positive qualities, and therefore it will not be difficult to describe him. Let's try to do it in more detail.
First appearance
The characterization of Volga Svyatoslavovich begins from the moment he first appears before the reader. From childhood, this prince showed himself as a very educated and adventurous person. He is ready to learn how to swim under water as high as through dark forests, like a predatory wolf. This speaks of his activity and curiosity.
When the boy grew up and became an adult young man, he decided to gather a large squad for himself. He goes on a hike with her. His uncle Vladimir granted him an expensive gift: now Volga is the owner of three cities. The young man wanted to look at them, to visit that region.
Volga Svyatoslavovich put a brave squad on brown stallions. The characterization of the hero continues with an analysis of his actions. The prince respects his warriors, does not spare the best equipment and horses for them. However, his path is interrupted by a sudden acquaintance.
Mikula
Before us appears another main character of the epic. The prince is very surprised by a new acquaintance. He is so strong and brave that he plows a huge field alone. The characterization of Volga Svyatoslavovich from the epic should also include a description of Mikula. This brave guy is not at all like an ordinary plowman: he is wearing expensive clothes that are not at all characteristic of a peasant farmer. True, before meeting, the main characters could not get to each other for three days. By this, the author wants to show how vast the vast expanses of our Motherland are.
Volga decided to talk with the oratay, telling him where the path was leading. In response, Mikula told him about himself. It turns out that not so long ago he also visited the city where the prince was going. He bought salt for himself. The author uses the technique of hyperbolization and through the mouth of Mikula says that he is so strong that he had to drag three bags, each of which contains one and a half tons of salt. Undoubtedly, Volga and his squad are very surprised by such a hero's strength.
However, not everything turned out well on that trip: robbers attacked Mikula and began to demand money. The bogatyr shared with them, but that was not enough, they began to beat the oratay. Then Mikula Selyaninovich had to answer them. In the end, more than a thousand men were injured by a single plowman!
Undoubtedly, this story impressed Volga. From childhood, he dreamed of possessing an unusual gift or power, but, unfortunately, this is not always in our power.
Then the prince decided to call the hero with him on a campaign.
Characteristics of Volga Svyatoslavovich and his squad
Mikula is not averse to accompanying a new acquaintance on the road. But our farmer cannot just throw away the tool of his labor. His bipod, made of strong damask steel, is decorated with gold and silver. It is unlikely that we would have met an ordinary peasant with such a rich plow. But Mikula is the personification of all men in Rus'. For this reason, the author “dresses” him in expensive attire, elegant morocco boots, and in his hands is a tool that only a hero can have.
The characterization of Volga Svyatoslavovich and Mikula Selyaninovich continues with an analysis of the episode with the prince's retinue. The hero asks Volga to send five soldiers to help him and move the plow behind the willow bush. He wants to keep it not for the poor or the rich, but for the simple Russian peasant.
The prince orders the guys to fulfill the request of the oratay. But, unfortunately, it turned out to be beyond their power.
Then Volga sends already ten warriors, but they could not cope with this either.
Seeing that the squad could not fulfill his request, Mikula himself decides to remove the bipod. This is given to him very easily: with one hand he lifts it and throws it in front of the surprised Volga.
hike
The characterization of Volga Svyatoslavovich from the epic includes information on how he got to the desired city. The prince noticed that Mikula's horse was much faster and stronger than his own. He is a little Volga joking with the hero that if his mare were a stallion, he would offer him as much as five hundred rubles for her. But Mikula does not want to part with his faithful friend for anything and answers the prince that there is nothing more precious to him than this horse. He himself went out of her from a very young age, now he does not need anyone else.
Upon arrival in the city, the prince was surprised that the peasants, who offended Mikula three days ago, went to him to ask for forgiveness. Volga understands that oratay is a good, kind and strong-willed person. He does not want to part with him, so he invites him to become a governor in his lands. This suggests that the prince is a grateful and kind person.
Conclusion
Of course, the characterization of Volga Svyatoslavovich is not as bright as that of the hero Mikula. Against its background, any, even the most powerful warrior, fades. However, we managed to find out that this person is friendly and sympathetic. He does not envy Mikula, but, on the contrary, wanted to be friends with him.
