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
The most famous hero of Novgorod legends is Sadko. Coming out of a poor environment (either a hussler, or a simple merchant, or just a 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 version, much attention was paid to the ordinary everyday scenes of Novgorod reality, the merchant environment was vividly drawn. 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
favorite Novgorod residents there 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 other epic heroes who walked around Rus', the Novgorodian Buslaev is famous not for military heroism, but for his prowess in internal duels 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 the everyday life and tastes of the Novgorod bourgeoisie.
The role of the Novgorod cycle of epics
Novgorod was the richest trading center, open to the cultural influences of the 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 cycle of epics 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" carried 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).
"Novgorod land" - The main types of crafts of Novgorodians. Birch letter. Metal Wine Cloth Luxury items. Items of export and import for Novgorodians. Outward appearance of the city. Velikiy Novgorod. What do you remember about Hansa? Crafts Trade Crafts. Features of Novgorod trade. First mention. Question: The main directions of Novgorod's foreign trade.
"MO humanitarian cycle" - The main forms of work. Problem. The study of regulatory documents and methodological innovations. Members of the school MO teachers of the humanitarian cycle. Approximate plan of the month of the HUMANITARIAN CYCLE. Activate extracurricular work in subjects. Excursion to local history museum Kanash. 1. Questioning 2. Meetings of the Ministry of Defense 3. Subject weeks 4. Participation in methodical seminars, teachers' councils.
"Russian epics" - Svyatogor passes the sword to Ilya Muromets. Dobrynya liberates Fun from the serpent. Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich. Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber. Alyosha Popovich and the beautiful girl. Svyatogor. Heroes of Russian epics. Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich. Sadko and the king of the sea. Svyatogor and the blacksmith of fate. Avdotya the Ryazan.
"Business Cycles" - Potential GDP. Okun's law is used in the following interpretations: Business cycle - periodic ups and downs in business activity. Contracts and orders for new machines and equipment. The business cycle is the periodic fluctuations in the levels of employment, production and inflation. Economic cycle and dynamics of the main macroeconomic indicators.
“Product life cycle” - Style is the main and special form of expression that occurs in any field of activity. Fashion. Recycle Curve. Fashion is a style that is currently recognized and popular in a particular field of activity. Time. Fetish. "Comb" curve. Life cycle of style and fashion. The life of the product is limited.
"Cycles in Pascal" - Statement of the problem: N cubes are given, on which letters are written. Carrying out calculations and analysis of the obtained results. Write a program in Pascal. Formulation of the problem. Similar problems are solved by a branch of mathematics called combinatorics. Mathematical formalization. Debugging and testing the program.
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 of the Pomeranian Slavs (Venedi). 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 epic was subjected to significant processing almost recreated. 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, the malls are again filled with piles of goods brought from all over the world: “And 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 the Tatar invasion, and he gathered, according to the epic, not at all on an ear campaign, but on the Jordan, adding at the same time: plundered, under old age it is necessary to 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 the 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 collection of such a squad of "eager fellows" is vividly shown in the epic about Vaska Buslaev, where, apparently, the main epic heroes of Veliky Novgorod, the "freemen of Novgorod" were listed. (This list, unfortunately, was already forgotten by storytellers.)
The epic about Buslaev is expressive in the sense that instead of military heroism, fights with external enemies, repelling enemy armies and withdrawing beauties, it puts in place the internal social conflicts of the veche republic, 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?), That even today 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 interests 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. Senior historical songs of the 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. begin to experience more and more influence of 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. In this regard, the images of game songs are fundamentally different from the images of other song genres of ritual folklore. Only in these songs did plants, animals and birds become the main subject of the image. The purposefulness of the songs, the performance, the features of the images, as well as the originality of the spatio-temporal characteristics of the poetic content determined the narrative, multi-episode, multi-part nature of their composition; genre nature explains the selection of art. 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 relationships. 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 dances, where there is no such acting out, songs of a completely non-fiction, but narrative nature on various everyday and family topics were often performed ... then in content and composition these songs are lyrical and do not contain any dramatic element 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. the following groups of songs are combined: 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 play (life) of youth, within which it performed its ritual functions in the calendar labor rites of the collective and spent its 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 folklore genre is preserved) There is information about the performance different type 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. This view of round dance songs is 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. A dramatic game, “where the action is limited to a verbal-plastic form”, in contrast to a round dance game, in which “the action takes on 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.
Epics of the Novgorod cycle develop the themes of social and family life. The military theme of the Kyiv epics was of all-Russian significance. 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 everyday details characteristic of northern Russia (see the description of the Mikula field, the mention of the salt issue, the name of Orekhovets-Schlisselburg and etc.), there is a contrasting opposition of the prince-combatant to the peasant, which is easily explained in Novgorod Russia, in which the prince was an invited 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 the merchants of Novgorod did not need this art, 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". A beggar harpman, a representative of folk art, defeats 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, having left his native city, wanders the seas. Bylina combines the idea of a miraculous overcoming of 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 it closer to the Kalevala (the image of the wonderful musician Vainemeinen was interpreted by some researchers as parallel and even identical with Sadko; the sea king of the epic was interpreted as a reworking 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 Sadok in the old French novel "Tristan de Leonois")
The erection of the epic about Sadko to foreign sources and its interpretation as a reworking of the folklore and literature of other peoples is deeply erroneous. But the very parallels to the epic about Sadko should be taken into account as material for studying the Russian epic, helping to reveal its features and the commonality that the epic has in common with the heroic medieval epic of other peoples.
An equally remarkable example of the Novgorod epic epic are two epics about Vasily Buslaev - about his youth ("Vasily Buslaev and the men of Novgorod") and how he went to pray ("The Death of Vasily Buslaev"). These epics, reflecting the life and social relationships of medieval Novgorod (they contain wonderful everyday sketches that have correspondences in chronicles - see the Novgorod Chronicle and the Sophia Time Book), are especially important because they reflected the early glimpses of criticism and elements of rationalism in Rus'.
The epics about Vasily Buslaev reflect a critical attitude towards the dogmas approved by the church and the entire system of the feudal state. The very image of Vaska Buslaev is characterized by the absence of superstition, so typical of the Middle Ages, and the desire to disrupt the order of things established by the system. They say about Buslaev that he "does not believe in sleep, or in chokh, or in birds' hearts." The lack of respect for everything that was revered as illuminated by religion is manifested in many of Vaska's actions. So, in the heat of battle on the bridge across the Volkhov, Vaska does not think about raising his hand to his "godfather"; it must be remembered that the godfather appears before Vaska in spiritual vestments, therefore, Vaska is not stopped by monastic clothes either. At the tomb of the Lord, Vaska violates the rules of conduct by entering naked into the Jordan River. Vaska also did other forbidden things for a Christian.
These character traits Buslaev's images are entirely explained by the ideological life of the Russian Middle Ages. The more the ideological oppression of the Russian church intensified, the more rational the consciousness of people became. Under the dominance of a religious worldview, it often took the form of "heretical" movements. Such were the heresies of Strigolniks and Judaizers known in Rus'. The latter, for example, denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, the miracle-working of icons, and much more that the canonical Orthodox Church as the main elements Christian doctrine.
Epics about Vasily Buslaev, of course, cannot be directly connected with these "heretical" trends in Russian social thought. But the epic songs about him certainly reflected the setting that gave rise to variously expressed rationalisms. Vasily Buslaev's protest against the established prohibitions, his violation of the foundations and rules of life, disbelief in beliefs and signs reflected the progressive phenomena of the social life of medieval Rus'. A. M. Gorky rightly emphasized that the image of Buslaev was a specifically Russian generalization social phenomena and pointed out that it reflected some aspects of the national Russian character.
It should be noted that folk art notes the unconsciousness of Buslaev's protest. The very protest completely captures the hero of the epic, forcing him to violate all the rules of the hostel, to also commit unreasonable actions - entirely for the sake of reckless daring. From here comes some inconsistency of the image, which is reflected in the fact that Vaska, perceived as an obviously positive hero, whose actions protest against medieval stagnation, against established customs, performs a series of actions that are essentially unnecessary, give nothing, and sometimes contradict the elementary rules of behavior ( see, for example, the episode with a dead head). Vasily Buslaev does not know how to hold on to anything; he himself becomes a victim of violation of the prohibitions and eventually perishes.
Epics about Vasily Buslaev, telling about the hero's life in Veliky Novgorod, give wonderful sketches of the life of a medieval city (the custom of brotherhood, fist fights, etc.). The outline of the epic is very accurate and is fully confirmed by chronicle stories (cf. in the Novgorod Chronicles). The combination of truthfully depicted ideological phenomena of medieval Rus' with accurate and vivid sketches of social and family life single out the epic about Vasily Buslaev as one of the most artistic original epic songs of the Russian people.
It comes into contact with Novgorod epics (and perhaps in Novgorod lands and was created) an epic about Babyla and buffoons. The basis for this assumption is given by the fact that the buffoon song and epic tradition was vividly preserved on the territory of the Novgorod Pyatina until the 20th century, and the epic "Vavila and the buffoons", recorded on the river. Pinega is a vivid example of this tradition. Novgorod in the XV-XVII centuries. along with Moscow, it was the center of the focus of buffoon art. Naturally, the persecution of buffoons, the persecution of buffoon art, is especially strong in XVII century, in the Novgorod region also took place. Buffoons in the letters of Muscovite Rus' were declared servants of the devil, and their art, demonic Bylina about Babylon and buffoons, as it were, answers the government and the clergy and calls the art of buffoons holy. This epic is an apology for buffoon art.
In the epic, King Dog with his son, daughter and son-in-law are opposed to buffoons, leading the peasant Vavila with them. There is no sufficient reason to see any specific person under the name of Tsar Dog (for example, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who especially severely persecuted buffoons). Most likely, this image should be understood as a generalizing epic image, opposing buffoons, with whom, at their call, leaving everyday work in the field, the peasant Vavila goes. By the strength of your art - song and the game - Vavila and buffoons cause a fire that incinerates the "food kingdom" of the king of the Dog. Babyla is put in the kingdom of buffoons. It is also noteworthy that in the epic the buffoons going to Tsar Sobaka are named after Saints Kuzma and Demyan - unmercenaries (i.e., the poor), patrons of artisans (mainly blacksmiths). The epic says about them: “Not ordinary people, saints!”.
Bylina, opposing the peasant Vavila to the king, affirms the victory of the smerd over the ruler-Dog and the legality of the destruction of his kingdom.
Novgorod epics did not develop military themes. They expressed something else: the merchant's ideal of wealth and luxury, the spirit of bold travel, enterprise, sweeping prowess, courage. In these epics, Novgorod is exalted, their heroes are merchants.
Purely Novgorod hero is Vasily Buslaev.
Born of elderly and pious parents, left without a father early, Vasily easily learned to read and write and became famous in church singing. However, he showed another quality: the unbridled riot of nature. Together with drunkards, he began to get drunk and mutilate people. Rich townspeople complained to his mother - mother widow Amelfa Timofeevna. Mother began to scold Vasily, but he did not like it. Buslaev recruited a squad of the same fine fellows as he was. Further, a massacre is depicted, which on a holiday was staged in Novgorod by the drunk squad of Buslaev. In this situation, Vasily offered to hit on a great pledge: if Novgorod beat him with a retinue, then every year he would pay tribute-outputs of three thousand; if he beats him, then the men of Novgorod will pay him the same tribute. The contract was signed, after which Vasily and his retinue beat ... many to death. Rich men of Novgorod rushed with expensive gifts to Amelfa Timofeevna and began to ask her to appease Vasily. With the help of a black-haired girl, Vaska was taken to a wide courtyard, planted in deep cellars and tightly locked. Meanwhile, the squad continued the battle that had begun, but could not resist the whole city and began to weaken. Then the black-haired girl undertook to help Vasily's squad - she beat a lot to death with a yoke. Then she released Buslaev. He grabbed the cart axle and ran along the wide Novgorod streets. Along the way, he came across an old pilgrim
But even he could not stop Vasily, who, having entered the fervor, hit the old man and killed him. Then Buslaev joined his squad: He fights and fights day and night. Buslaev defeated the Novgorodians. The peasant peasants submitted and reconciled, brought expensive gifts to his mother and pledged to pay three thousand every year. Vasily won a bet with Novgorod, like Sadko the merchant in one of the epics.
Another type of hero is represented by Sadko. Sadko expresses his infinite prowess; but this strength and prowess is based on endless funds, the acquisition of which is possible only in a trading community
Three stories are known about Sadko: a miraculous acquisition of wealth, a dispute with Novgorod, and being at the bottom of the sea king.
The first story has two versions. One by one, the merchant Sadko came from the Volga and conveyed greetings from her to the lacrimal lake Ilmen. Ilmen gifted Sadko: he turned three cellars of the fish he caught into coins. According to another version, Sadko is a poor gusler. He was no longer invited to feasts. With grief, he plays the gusli of the spring on the shore of Lake Ilmen. The king of water came out of the lake and, in gratitude for the game, taught Sadko how to get rich: Sadko must hit the great pledge, claiming that there is a fish-golden feathers in Ilmen Lake. Ilmen gave three such fish in the net, and Sadko became a rich merchant.
The second story also has two versions. Enraged at the feast, Sadko wagers with Novgorod that he can redeem all Novgorod goods with his innumerable gold treasury. According to one version, this is exactly what happens: the hero buys even shards from broken pots. According to another version, more and more new goods arrive in Novgorod every day: either Moscow or overseas. Goods from all over the world cannot be redeemed; no matter how rich Sadko is, Novgorod is richer.
In the third plot, Sadko's ships are sailing on the sea. The wind blows, but the ships stop. Sadko guesses that the sea king demands tribute. The king does not need red gold, or pure silver, or small scat pearls - he requires a living head. Thrice cast lots convinces that the choice fell on Sadko. The hero takes with him the gooselets of the yarovchata and, once on the seabed, amuses the king with music. From the dance of the sea king, the whole blue sea shook, ships began to crash, people began to drown. The drowning people offered prayers to Nikola Mozhaisky, the patron saint of the waters. He came to Sadko, taught him how to break the harp to stop the dance of the sea king, and also suggested how Sadko could get out of the blue sea. According to some options, the rescued Sadko erects a cathedral church in honor of St. Nicholas.
It is difficult to see real historical features in the image of Sadko. At the same time, the epic emphasizes his prowess, which truly reflects the color of the era. The brave merchants who crossed the expanses of water were patronized by the deities of rivers and lakes, and the fantastic sea king sympathized. V. F. Miller attributed to Novgorod - according to a number of everyday and geographical signs - the epic "Volga and Mikula". The regional orientation of this work was reflected in the fact that the Novgorodian Mikula is depicted as stronger than the nephew of the Kyiv prince Volga with his retinue.
Volga went to the prince of Kyiv three cities for the collection of tribute. Having gone out into the field, he heard the work of the oratay: the oratay urges, the bipod creaks, the omeshiki scratches on the pebbles. But Volga managed to approach the plowman only two days later. Having learned that in the cities where he was going, peasants live ... robbers, the prince invited the yelling with him. He agreed: unharnessed the filly, sat on it and rode off. However, he soon remembered that he had left the bipod in the furrow - it must be pulled out, shaken off the land and thrown behind the willow bush. Volga sends warriors three times to remove the bipod, but neither five, nor ten good fellows, nor even the whole good fellow, can lift it. Plowman Mikula pulls out a bipod with one hand. The opposition also extends to horses: Volga's horse cannot keep up with Mikula Selyaninovich's filly.
The image of Volga was somewhat influenced by the image of the mythical Volkh: in the beginning it is reported that Volga can turn into a wolf, a falcon, a pike-fish
POETICS BYLIN
Epics have a special art world. Everything they sing about is different from ordinary life. The poetic language of epics is subordinated to the task of depicting the grandiose and significant. The singer-storyteller merges in his soul with the height of heaven, the deep sea, the vast expanses of the earth, comes into contact with mysterious world"deep whirlpools of the Dnieper"
The poeticization of the steppe will, valiant prowess, the whole appearance of the hero and his horse transferred listeners to an imaginary world Ancient Rus', majestically elevated above ordinary reality.
The compositional basis of the plots of many epics is antithesis: the hero is sharply opposed to his opponent ("Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar", "Dobrynya Nikitich and the Serpent", "Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin"). Another main device for depicting the hero's feat and epic situations in general is, as in fairy tales, tripling. Unlike fairy tales, epic plots can unfold not only following the actions of the protagonist: the storyline can consistently move from one character to another ("Ilya Muromets in a quarrel with Prince Vladimir", "Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians").
Epic stories are built according to the usual, universal principle of building epic works: they have a beginning, an outset of action, its development, a climax and a denouement.
The narration in the epic is conducted slowly, majestically. In the development of the plot, there are necessarily various and numerous repetitions that have both compositional and stylistic significance.
Slowness of action, or retardation (from Latin retardatio - "slowdown, delay"), is achieved by tripling episodes, repeating common places, speeches of heroes (sometimes with a consistent denial of what was said). So, in the epic "Volga and Mikula" three attempts are depicted by the prince's squad to pull the bipod from the dugout, Shake out the dugout from the omeshikov, Throw the bipod behind the willow bush; in the epic "Three trips of Ilya Muromets" the hero's test of three roads is shown .. When common places began to be repeated within one epic, they were included in the slowdown system.
Definition of historical songs. Features of displaying historical time in them. The content of historical songs of the XVI-XVIII centuries.
In their totality, historical songs reflect history in its movement - in the way that the people realized it. In the plots of the songs, we are confronted with the results of the selection of events, as well as with different aspects of their coverage.
In the XVI century. classical samples of historical songs appeared.
The cycle of songs about Ivan the Terrible developed the theme of the struggle against external and internal enemies for the strengthening and unification of the Russian land around Moscow. The songs used the old epic traditions: the organization of their plots, narrative techniques, and style were largely borrowed from epics.
At the same time, the song image of Ivan the Terrible, unlike the heroes of the epic, is psychologically complex and contradictory. Making sense of the essence royal power, the people portrayed Grozny as the organizer of the state, a wise ruler. But, as it was in reality, the king is quick-tempered, angry and recklessly cruel in anger. It is opposed to any man of sense, bravely pacifying the anger of the king and preventing his irreparable act.
The song "The Capture of the Kazan Kingdom" describes the events of 1552 quite close to reality. The people correctly realized and displayed the general political and state meaning of the conquest of Kazan: this major victory of the Russian people over the Tatars put an end to their domination. The campaign was organized by the king. Having laid siege to Kazan, the Russians made a dig under the city wall and laid barrels of gunpowder. At the estimated time, there was no explosion, and Grozny became inflamed, suspected treason and conceived gunners to be executed here. But a young gunner stepped out of their midst, who explained to the king why the explosion of the fortress wall was delayed: the candle left on the powder kegs underground had not yet burned out (That the candle burns faster in the wind, And in the ground that candle goes quieter ). Indeed, soon there was an explosion that raised high mountain and scattered the white stone chambers. It should be noted that the documents do not say anything about the clash between Grozny and the gunner - perhaps this is a folk fiction.
The fight against treason became the main theme of the song about Ivan the Terrible's anger at his son (see "The Terrible Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich"). As is known, in 1581 the tsar killed his eldest son Ivan in a fit of rage. In the song, the tsar's anger falls on his youngest son, Fedor, who is accused of treason by his brother Ivan.
This work reveals the dramatic era of the reign of Ivan IV. It talks about his reprisals against the population of entire cities (those where he brought treason), depicts the cruel deeds of the oprichnina, terrible pictures of the mass persecution of people
Regarding the marriage of Grozny to the Circassian princess Maria Temryukovna, a parody "Song of Kostryuka" was composed. Kostruk, the king's brother-in-law, is depicted hyperbolically, in an epic style. He boasts of his strength, demands a duel. But in fact, he is an imaginary hero. Moscow wrestlers not only defeat Kostrkzha, but also, having taken off his dress, make him a laughingstock. The song is composed in the style of a cheerful buffoon. Its plot is most likely fictional, since there is no historical evidence of the struggle of the royal brother-in-law with Russian fist fighters.
There are a number of other historical songs about Ivan the Terrible and his time, varied in subject matter: "The Raid of the Crimean Khan", "Ivan the Terrible near Serpukhov", "Defense of Pskov from Stefan Batory", "Ivan the Terrible and a good fellow", "Terek Cossacks and Ivan Terrible".
The cycle of songs about Yermak is the second large cycle of historical songs of the 16th century.
Ermak Timofeevich - the Don Cossack ataman - deserved the wrath of Ivan the Terrible. Fleeing, he goes to the Urals. At first, Yermak guarded the possessions of the Stroganov breeders from the attacks of the Siberian Khan Kuchum, then he began a campaign into the depths of Siberia. In 1582, Yermak defeated the main forces of Kuchum on the banks of the Irtysh.
"Song of Yermak" depicts the difficult and long journey of his detachment along unknown rivers, the fierce struggle against the Kuchum horde, the courage and resourcefulness of the Russian people. In another song - "Ermak Timofeevich and Ivan the Terrible" - Yermak appeared to the tsar with a confession. However, the royal princes-boyars, Duma senators persuade Grozny to execute Yermak. The king did not listen to them.
Ermak - authentic folk hero, his image is deeply embedded in folklore. Violating the chronological framework, later historical songs attribute campaigns to Kazan and Astrakhan to Yermak, turn him into a contemporary and accomplice of the actions of Razin and Pugachev.
So, main idea historical songs of the 16th century. - unification, strengthening and expansion of Muscovite Rus'.
In the 17th century song cycles about the Time of Troubles and about Stepan Razin were composed.
The cycle of songs about the "Time of Troubles" reflected the acute social and national struggle late 16th - early 17th centuries
After the death of Ivan the Terrible (1584), his young son Tsarevich Dimitri (born in 1582), together with his mother Maria Naga and her relatives, was sent by the boyar council from Moscow to Uglich. In 1591, the prince died in Uglich. After the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich in 1598, Boris Godunov became Tsar.
In 1605 Boris Godunov died. In the summer of the same year, False Dmitry I (Grishka Otrepyev) entered Moscow. Folklore has preserved two lamentations of the daughter of Tsar Boris, Ksenia Godunova, whom the impostor tonsured to a monastery: she was carried through all of Moscow, and she lamented (see "Lament of Ksenia Godunova"). The fact that Xenia is the daughter of a tsar hated by the people did not matter to the idea of the work; the only important thing was that she was cruelly and unfairly offended. Sympathy for the sad fate of the princess was at the same time a condemnation of the impostor.
The cycle of songs about Stepan Razin is one of the largest. These songs were widespread in folklore - much wider than those places where the movement of 1667-1671 unfolded. They lived in popular memory for several centuries. Many, having lost their confinement to the name of Razin, entered a wide circle of robber songs.
The songs of the Razin cycle are diverse in content. They go through all stages of the movement: Razin's robbery voyage with the Cossacks along the Caspian (Khvalynsk) Sea; peasant war; songs about the suppression of the uprising and the execution of Stepan Razin; songs of the Razintsy, hiding in the forests after the defeat. At the same time, almost all of them are lyrical, plotless by genre. Only two songs can be called lyrical: "Razin's son in Astrakhan" and "The Astrakhan governor (governor) was killed."
The songs of the Razin cycle were created mainly in the Cossack environment and in many ways expressed the ideals of struggle and freedom inherent in Cossack creativity. They are deeply poetic. Stepan Razin is portrayed in them by means of folk lyrics: he is not an individualized, but a generalized hero, embodying traditional ideas about male strength and beauty. There are many images from the natural world in the songs, which emphasizes their general poetic atmosphere and emotional intensity. This is especially evident in the songs about the defeat of the uprising, filled with lyrical repetitions and appeals to nature.
Starting from the XVIII century. historical songs were created mainly among soldiers and Cossacks.
The cycle of songs about Petrovsky time tells about various events of this period. Songs related to wars and military victories of the Russian army come to the fore. Songs were composed about the capture of the fortress of Azov, the cities of Oreshka (Shlisselburg), Riga, Vyborg, and so on. They expressed a sense of pride in the successes achieved by the Russian state, glorified the courage of Russian soldiers. New images appeared in the songs of this period - ordinary soldiers, direct participants in the battles
It should be noted that in most of the songs the soldiers speak of military leaders with respect and even admiration. Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev (Sheremetev and the Swedish Major, etc.) was especially popular among the soldiers. Heroic romance is fanned by the song image of the ataman of the Don Cossack army I. M. Krasnoshchekov ("Red-cheeked in captivity").
The theme of the Battle of Poltava occupies an important place in the songs of the Petrine era. The people understood its importance for Russia, but at the same time they realized at what cost the victory over the army of Charles XII
The idealized image of Peter I himself occupies a large place in historical songs. Here, as in the legends, his active nature, closeness to ordinary warriors, and justice are emphasized. For example, in the song "Peter I and the Young Dragoon" the tsar agrees to compete with a young dragoon of about fifteen
The cycle of songs about the Pugachev uprising is a relatively small number of texts recorded in the Urals, in the Orenburg steppes and in the Volga region from the descendants of participants or eyewitnesses of the events of 1773-1775. It is necessary to emphasize its connection with the Razin cycle (for example, the song about the "son" of Stepan Razin was completely dedicated to the name of Pugachev). However, in general, the attitude towards Pugachev in the songs is contradictory: he is seen either as a tsar, or as a rebel.
During the Pugachev uprising, General-in-Chief Count P.I. Panin was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in the Orenburg and Volga regions. On October 2, 1774, in Simbirsk, he met with Pugachev, who had been captured and brought there.
The popular response to this event was the song "The Trial of Pugachev" (see in the Reader). The song gives its own interpretation of the meeting, filling it with a sharp social meaning. Like the heroes of robber folklore (see, for example, the lyric song “Don’t make noise, mother, green oak tree ...”), Pugachev speaks proudly and courageously with Panin, threatens him and this terrifies him (Count and Panin emitted, knocked his hands together ). Even chained, Pugachev is so dangerous that all Moscow senators cannot judge him.
Songs about the Pugachev uprising are known among different peoples of the Volga region: Bashkirs, Mordovians, Chuvashs, Tatars, Udmurts.
25. Folk ballads: definition, content, poetics.
Folk ballads are lyrical epic songs about a tragic event. Ballads are characterized by personal, family and household themes. The ideological orientation of the ballads is associated with folk humanistic morality. At the center of the ballads are moral issues: love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal, catharsis brightening the soul (from the Greek katharsis - "purification"): evil wins, innocently persecuted heroes die, but when they die, they win a moral victory.
The manner of performing ballad songs - both solo, and choral, and recitative, and sung, - depending on the local tradition. The classical ballad has a tonic verse, no chorus and no strophic rhyme. In form it is close to historical songs and spiritual poems.
Ballads have many features that bring them closer to other song genres, so the question of selecting the texts of folk ballads is difficult. In the oral tradition, some lyrical-epic songs or their variants form a peripheral zone, i.e., according to their characteristics, they can be attributed to different genres. In many cases, the same works can be classified as a ballad, as well as a historical song, a spiritual verse, even an epic.
mythological ballad - classic ballad - new ballad
The plots of mythological ballads were built on an archaic ideological basis. The classical ballad firmly linked its content with feudal life. As D. M. Balashov emphasized, "the ballad was one of the leading song-epic genres of the Russian Middle Ages of the post-Mongol era (XIV-XVII centuries)" . "... The period of serfdom is especially richly represented; it can be considered that the 17th and 18th centuries are the period of the most intensive composition and design of ballads; the second half of the 19th century (especially the end of the century) is already translating ballads into romances
The content of the folk classical ballad is always drawn to the theme of the family. The ballad is concerned about the moral side of the relationship between fathers and children, husband and wife, brother and sister, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, stepmother and stepdaughter. The mutual love of a guy and a girl must also have a moral basis: the desire to create a family. Encroachment on the honor of a girl, abuse of her feelings is immoral.
In the plot of the ballad, evil triumphs, but the theme of repentance, an awakened conscience, is important. The ballad always condemns the atrocity, sympathetically portrays the innocent persecuted, laments the dead.
The power of the artistic impact of ballads lies in the art of depicting the tragic. The plot is concentrated on the conflict, freed from details. It can have an open course of action (immediately begin with a message about the fact of a crime), or it can be built as a predicted fatal outcome or as a tragic recognition. The narrative motifs of the ballads poetically reproduced events that took place or could take place in reality. Along with this, motifs with a miraculous content are known - a trace of a mythological ballad (the artistic function of the miraculous was to expose a crime, to affirm justice). A feature of the ballad is the rapid development of the plot and much less than in the epic, the use of means of slowing down the action. The ballad is characterized by discontinuity of presentation. Often the ballad uses increasing repetition, which exacerbates the tension, bringing the dramatic denouement closer. Sometimes the ballad consists almost entirely of dialogue (for example, the children's questions about the missing mother and the father's evasive answers).
Ballads use epithets, symbols, allegory, hyperbole and other stylistic means.
Lyrics - a poetic kind of oral artistic creativity. In folk lyrics, word and melody (singing) are inseparable. The main purpose of lyrical songs is to reveal the attitude of the people through the direct expression of their feelings, thoughts, impressions, moods.
Any person knew lyrical non-ritual songs - one more, the other less - and performed them in moments of joy or sadness. Singing without musical accompaniment was traditional. There were solo and polyphonic songs.
Since ancient times, Russians have developed a tradition of singing in chorus - at gatherings, at parties, at a wedding, in a round dance. The choirs were female, male and mixed, of the elderly and youth. Each choir, each age group had its own repertoire. It could change due to a change in the situation (for example: the end of a peaceful life - the beginning of a war, a period of war, again peace). Often, thanks to the choir, the songs were widely disseminated.
In any choir, the most gifted singers stood out, who were the main guardians, performers, and sometimes songwriters.
Extra-ceremonial lyrics reflected the everyday atmosphere of the people's life in the era of feudalism. It was significantly different from ritual poetry with its ancient mythological content, it was more realistic.
Peasant lyrics captured the most important aspects of people's life. A significant part of the repertoire consisted of love songs. Their heroes - a red maiden and a good fellow - are depicted in different typical relationships. The situation of the song could be happy, joyful (dating scene) or sad (separation, quarrel, betrayal). The experiences of the characters were conveyed through external images.
Dramatic collisions of family life received detente in comic and satirical songs. Their heroes are a fastidious bride, a lazy wife, a negligent cook, a woman who cannot spin and weave (Dunya the fine spinner), as well as her mother-in-law and her sons-in-law, stupid and incapable of doing men's work Foma and Yerema ... In comic songs, the young woman is self-willed: goes out into the street to amuse the young man; she spends the night in a meadow, under a crayfish bush, where two daring young men amuse her with their songs.
Separate comic songs could be danceable, if this was facilitated by their fast, perky melody ("Oh, you, canopy, my canopy ..."). However, the most famous dance songs - "Lady" and "Kamarinskaya" - had a short, undeveloped text
Unusually poetic folk songs of social content - robbers and soldiers.
Robber songs appeared in the 16th-17th centuries, during the peasant uprisings against serfdom. Those who managed to escape from their masters created gangs and began to lead a life of robbers. The songs created in their environment revealed the image of a daring robber - a man of courage, freedom-loving and devoted. He can accept death, but will not betray his comrades.
Soldiers' songs began to be created at the end of the 17th century, when Peter I introduced compulsory military service, first for life, and then for a period of 25 years. Soldiers' songs came into contact with historical songs, depicting the wars of the 18th-19th centuries, in which Russia participated. These songs express the patriotism of Russian soldiers, complete renunciation of personal life(for them, houses are steep mountains, farmsteads are wide expanses, wives - guns are loaded, bayonets are attached ...). The main thing in soldiers' songs is the depiction of the psychology of a simple soldier. The songs generally reproduced his entire life path: recruiting; service to the sovereign and deep longing for home, for his father, mother and young wife; finally, death from wounds in an open field.
The poetics of peasant lyrical songs is common to all thematic groups.
Psychological parallelism is a comparison of a human image and an image from the natural world on the basis of an action or state.
The composition of the song text was subject to the disclosure of its meaning, which was to convey the state of mind of a person.
Sometimes a repetition of the song plot was used, while, as in cumulative fairy tales, one or more elements were replaced.
Song endings, and sometimes beginnings, could express a generalizing judgment. In the composition of folk lyrical songs, the method of chain construction was sometimes used, based on poetic associations between images. Various repetitions occupied a large place in folk lyrics, manifesting themselves at all levels: in composition, in verse, in vocabulary. Song vocabulary knows tautological repetitions (dark dungeon, a wonderful miracle, paths are trailing, a jet streams, you live and live) and synonymous (path-path; sadness-sadness-longing; swore to him, swore; sleeps-drowses; knocks-rattles; thoughtful, pissed off). Lexical repetitions enhanced the artistic impact of the song and deepened its idea. They could be combined with syntactic repetitions related to song rhythm, to verse.
Double epithets are very expressive: the young-gray eagle, dear friend, the young-clear falcon, the bitter-bitter gray cuckoo, the new-high tower, the white-thin tent, the white-silk carpet, the golden-wonderful cross, and often the willow bush , gray-flammable pebble.
Comparisons were used in the songs (Shavings are equipped, like an arrow, flies); hyperbole (I will drown the whole garden with bitter tears, I will dry the whole garden with heavy sighs), diminutive suffixes. Special artistic means had dance, comic and satirical songs.
The poetics of traditional peasant lyrics is rich and varied. However, in each particular song, the use of techniques and means was strictly regulated by the principle of sufficiency. There are no poetic excesses in folk songs, everything in them is subject to artistic harmony, a sense of proportion and proportion, corresponding to simple, but sincere and deep movements of the soul.
