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. According to V. I. Dahl, "buslay" is "a riotous spendthrift, a reveler, a broken fellow." This is what a hero looks like. Two epics are dedicated to him: "About Vasily Buslaev" (or "Vasily Buslaev and Novgorodians") and "Vasily Buslaev's Journey".
The first epic reflected the inner life of independent Novgorod in the 13th-14th centuries. It is assumed that it reproduced the struggle of the Novgorod political parties.
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 - the 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 peasants 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 nailed too many 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:
There is an old pilgrimish here,
He holds a bell on his mighty shoulders,
And that bell weighs three hundred pounds ...
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.
The epic "Vasily Buslaev's Journey" tells about the hero's journey to Jerusalem-city in order to atone for sins. However, here, too, his indomitability manifested itself ("And I, Vasyunka, do not believe in sleep or chokh, but I also believe in my scarlet elm"). On Mount Sorochinskaya, Vasily blasphemously kicked a human skull out of the way. In Jerusalem, despite the warning of a forest woman, he swam in the Yerdan River with his entire squad. On the way back, he again kicked a human skull, and also neglected the inscription on some mystical stone:
"And someone de at the stone will amuse himself,
And have fun, have fun
Jump along the stone -
It will break a wild head."
Vasily jumped along the stone - and died. Thus, he failed to fulfill pious intentions, remained true to himself, died a sinner.
Another type of hero is represented by Sadko. V. G. Belinsky wrote about him: “This is no longer a hero, not even a strong man and not a daring man in the sense of a bully and a person who does not let anyone or anything down; this is not a boyar, not a nobleman: no, this is strength, prowess and wealth in money, this is the aristocracy of wealth acquired by trade - this is the merchant, this is the apotheosis of the merchant class.<...>Sadko expresses his infinite prowess; but this strength and prowess are based on endless money, 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. Usually two or all three plots were performed in a contaminated form, like one epic (for example: "Sadko").
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.
The image of the Novgorod merchant shipbuilder naturally fits into the system of all Russian folklore. Nightingale Budimirovich sails to Kyiv on his expensive ships. Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich (Ilya Muromets on the Falcon-ship) are sailing on the Falcon-ship on the blue sea. The fairy tale "Wonderful Children" in its original East Slavic version also created a vivid image of merchant shipbuilders and trade guests. This image is also found in other East Slavic tales.
Kievan Rus actively used water trade routes. M. V. Levchenko described the structure of the ships of the ancient Russian fleet. "Boat boats", accommodating from 40 to 60 people, were made from a dugout deck, sheathed with boards (later the Cossacks built their ships in the same way). B. A. Rybakov noted that in the VIII-X centuries. Old Russian fleets numbered up to two thousand ships.
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 Kiev prince Volga with his retinue.
Volga went to the prince of Kiev 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. This gave reason to build an archaic basis of the plot to a conflict between an ancient hunter and a more civilized farmer. However, the idea of the epic, first of all, is that the prince is opposed by a wonderful plowman, endowed with mighty strength.
Zueva T.V., Kirdan B.P. Russian folklore - M., 2002
legendsVelikiy Novgorod. Dove and Sadko
SmartNews has collected the legends of the Novgorod region
Almost every city in our large country is fraught with legends and traditions that local residents have been passing on to each other for decades, or even hundreds of years. They are told to children and grandchildren, travelers, guests, collected in collections, compose songs about them. We have collected the most interesting and meaningful legends of the Russian regions, on the basis of which you can make an alternative history of the country.
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Ancient Novgorod land is full of legends, legends and tales. Over the almost 1155-year history of one of the oldest cities in Russia, a lot of them have accumulated. Some legends are retold by word of mouth for many years, others are written down in books. SmartNews has compiled a list of the most interesting legends of the Novgorod region.
city guardian
Sophia Cathedral is considered the main Orthodox church of Veliky Novgorod. The first stone was laid back in 1045, and by 1050 the ancient Novgorodians were able to visit the temple. In addition to architectural and other features, St. Sophia Cathedral has one mysterious riddle - a lead dove on the cross of the main dome.
- The story of the appearance of a dove on the cross of the main dome of St. Sophia Cathedral is amazing and at the same time tragic. At the end of 1569, Tsar Ivan the Terrible went on a campaign against Novgorod. He suspected the Novgorodians and his cousin, Prince Staritsky, of allegedly wanting to poison the tsar, and that they wanted to recognize the power of the Poles over themselves. As a result, Ivan the Terrible killed his brother and decided to go to Novgorod. Moreover, the ancient Novgorodians were independent, capricious - a veche republic. For many years, Moscow tried to subjugate Novgorod, but Ivan the Terrible managed to do this only with great bloodshed. The punitive campaign in Novgorod lasted, according to some reports, a month and a half, everything was plundered and destroyed here. It is also not known for certain about the dead, some say about 1.5 thousand dead, others say that about 60 thousand inhabitants were killed.
Inessa Antonova, tour guide
According to the chroniclers, the blood of the Novgorodians flowed in streams through the streets. On one of the days of the rout, a dove flew over the city. Tired, he sat down to rest on the cross of the main dome of St. Sophia Cathedral, and when he saw what was happening below, he was petrified with horror. And after some time, one of the monks told about the appearance of the Mother of God, who revealed to him the secret that the dove was sent to the people of Novgorod as a consolation. The legend says: while the dove sits on the cross, Novgorod will live and prosper. As soon as the dove flies, then the city will no longer exist.
It is also curious that on the monument "Millennium of Russia", installed opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral more than 150 years ago, among the statesmen you will not find Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
Guslyar Sadko
Hero of the Novgorod epic cycle. Some sources initially called him a merchant, others - a poor harpman. The people tell from mouth to mouth the story of how a poor gusler became a famous merchant.
- Sadko is a legendary person, many people know and heard about him. The main version tells how, after sitting idle for several days, and he was engaged in playing the harp during the feast, he went to Lake Ilmen, where he began to play. This went on for several days. And once, when he again came to the shore of the lake and started the game, the Sea King appeared from the abyss. He liked the game of the poor harpman so much that he suggested that at one of the feasts he bet that there was a fish in the lake - golden feathers and Sadko would catch it, of course, not without the help of the king.
Igor Petrov, historian
Artist Boris Olshansky
Sadko did just that. He won a dispute with three merchants, and they each gave him a shop with goods. He is getting rich. And once at a feast, which Sadko himself had already arranged, he told the guests that he would buy up all Novgorod goods. For several days the merchant swept goods from the Novgorod counters, but they did not end. The merchant loses the argument.
- After a lost dispute, he went to sell Novgorod goods to overseas countries. And already on the way back to Novgorod, he was visiting the Sea Tsar. The king asks the harpman to play. The epic says that Sadko played for several days, and the king danced, which caused a storm at sea, as a result of which ships sank and people died. Everything stopped when Sadko, following the advice of St. Mykola of Mozhaisk, broke the strings on the harp.
Alena Gavrilova, pupil of the school of Russian folklore "Kudesy"
But the Sea King did not let up and offered Sadko to marry a sea beauty. And here Mikola Mozhaisky came to his rescue. He advised Sadko to marry the very last mess - Chernavushka. After the wedding feast, Sadko fell asleep, and in the morning he woke up in Novgorod. The merchant no longer traveled with goods to overseas countries.
The image of the merchant Sadko is also depicted on the Fairytale Map of Russia. In addition, a film of the same name was made about Sadko and an opera was staged.
Guslyar Sadko
Two brothers
There is Lake Ilmen not far from Veliky Novgorod, all rivers flow into it, and only one falls out - Volkhov. There are many legends about the origin of the name of the lake. Historical roots, perhaps, should be sought in the Finno-Ugric language. But there are several legends, one of which is permeated with a wonderful feeling - love.
The curse was that the brother would become crooked, hunchbacked, and he would no longer be able to rise from the ground. That's how it all happened. Once Ilmen had a dream where he saw a crippled brother. Ilmen decided that he would not rise from the ground either. So the lakes Seliger and Ilmen appeared.
- If someone has been to Seliger, he noticed that this lake is crooked in places, has boulders, which may indicate that the story of the brothers is really real. But I still tend to believe that this is just a beautiful and tragic love story.
Inessa Antonova, tour guide
Lake Seliger
In 2014, a new tourist route "The path of legends of the land of Novgorod" will appear in the Novgorod region. Walking through it, Novgorodians and guests of the city will be able to learn about the myths and legends of Novgorod.
The path of legends. Tourists will be taken to the places of Novgorod legends
A well-known Novgorod historian and folklorist has developed a new tourist route "The path of legends of the land of Novgorod". It took him a year and a half to draw up a route based on legends and traditions. The first tourists will set off on the route in 2014 - they will be able not only to visit the places of the region associated with famous ancient legends, but also to see their characters.
The idea and authorship of the new tourist route "The path of legends of the land of Novgorod" belongs to the famous Novgorod historian Igor Petrov. For a year and a half, he collected the brightest local legends, stories and even tales, developed a route that could cover the most legendary places in the region, created costume designs for the heroes of legends who meet tourists on the route.
The route is designed for two days. It includes sightseeing tours of the cities - during this time tourists will visit Veliky Novgorod, Staraya Russa and Volot - an interactive program and master classes. Now with the goddess of water Ilmera, after whom Lake Ilmen is named, the princes Sloven and Rus, the legendary Scythian founders of the cities of Slovensk and Rusa, and the giant Volot, the mythical ancestor of the Slavs, Novgorodians and guests of the city will be able to get acquainted with their own eyes.
- Of the legendary heroes today, many remember Sadko, Vasily Buslaev, but the legends and legends that are still alive in many areas remain in the background. Although there are truly unique and exciting legends, and not only ancient ones, but also modern ones. Therefore, when the development of the route began, the problem arose in the selection of material. I wanted to take into development not quite hyped, so that they would arouse interest. I chose the recreational route also due to the fact that serious tourist products require a lot of money. For example, the Noise Mountain project, where, according to legend, the grave of Prince Rurik is located, is very interesting if it is fully implemented. But for this, funds are needed, but so far they are not available. A fairy tale, folklore, legends attract tourists. And the Novgorodians themselves will be interested.
Igor Petrov, historian, project developer
The project of the route "Trail of legends of the land of Novgorod" in 2012 won the competition "Novgorodika". The main prize was a grant of 150 thousand rubles. With this money, Igor Petrov ordered costumes for the characters, sketches for which he himself came up with.
- We helped him submit this project last year to the competition "Novgorodika". As a result, the project was supported by the city and regional authorities. The route can be completely transformed. A tourist may, for example, not travel to districts or visit only one district. Suppose, after participating in an interactive program in Veliky Novgorod, you can go to the Fairy Tale Museum, created by enthusiasts in the Volotovsky district. But the key figures of the route, of course, are Veliky Novgorod and the Trinity excavation site.
Marina Lebedeva, director of the tourism development center "Red Izba"
The first tourists will go to the Novgorod legends in 2014. The fact is that the Troitsky excavation site is a seasonal object, it is closed in the autumn-winter period. At the same time, Igor Petrov is now working on trying to make the route year-round.
The first who managed to walk along the path of legends were children from large and low-income families. Many surprises awaited them: folk rituals, fun and competitions from the heroes of Novgorod legends. Everyone was able to test their strength in folk games and take part in ancient Novgorod amusements: hunt the Korkodil monster, create “speech circles” with their own hands and spread cabbages.
By the way, the interest of tourists to Veliky Novgorod has grown significantly. A powerful impetus for this was provided by large international holidays in 2009 - the Hanseatic days of the New Age and the 1150th anniversary of Veliky Novgorod. According to statistics, in 2012 about 200 thousand people visited Veliky Novgorod. For comparison: in 2008 the number of tourists did not even reach 100,000. The city authorities plan to increase the flow of tourists to Veliky Novgorod by 2015 to 370,000 people.
Travelers are attracted not only ancient history edge, but also its rich tourist resources. Event tourism is gaining momentum. Among the largest projects in the field of event tourism include an international exhibition of calligraphy, theatrical programs "Novgorod Veche" and "Tales of the Boy Onfim", as well as the production of the opera "Sadko".
tourism day
Anton Morozov, Sergey Antonov,
Tatyana Leonova, Natalia Grebneva, Natalia Solovieva
SmartNews, September 16-February 14, 2013-14
I.E. Repin. "Sadko" (1876), fragment
Two equally popular heroes of the Novgorod epic differ, in particular, in that they are connected in different ways with chronicle news about them. The degree of this correlation and the degree of reliability of one of such news were the subject of discussion not only among epic scholars, but also among historians. If about Vasily Buslaev there is, in essence, only one chronicle evidence, although repeated in several monuments, then there is quite a lot of information related directly or indirectly to the prototype of the epic Sadko. Chronicles reported that in 1167 Sotko Sytinich laid the stone church of Boris and Gleb in Novgorod Detinets, which existed until the end of the 17th century. Epics tell that Sadko built one or more churches in Novgorod. CM. Solovyov, who resolutely affirmed the historicity of Vasily Buslaev, spoke cautiously on the question of the historicity of Sadko; “The similarity of the song Sadok with the chronicle,” he writes, “is that in the song the rich guest is a hunter to build churches.” F.I. wrote about this even less definitely. Buslaev. Mentioning that the epic Sadko built churches, the researcher notes: “... this detail is consistent with the news of the Novgorod chronicles that nowhere in Russia were so many churches built by ordinary citizens as in Novgorod,” but does not mention the chronicle Sotko Sytinich.
A.N. Veselovsky had no doubt that the epic reflected, by the similarity of names, the real Sotko Sytinich, the builder of the church of Boris and Gleb. Of the churches built by Sadko, according to the epics, according to the researcher, “the primary is<...>church in honor of Nikola, who saved Sadka from the sea. According to A.N. Veselovsky, the real Sotko Sytinich, rescued during a storm by Boris and Gleb, built a church in their honor, which is noted in the annals. Folk tradition replaced Boris and Gleb with the more popular Nikola. V.F. Miller, who deduced the epic about Sadko mainly from the Finnish epic, on the question of his attitude to the chronicle Sotko Sytinich, in fact, adhered to the same view as Veselovsky. Identified Sotko Sytinich with the epic Sadko and A.V. Markov.
Subsequently, A.N. Robinson dated the epic about Sadko to the 11th century. - based on the fact that the Church of Boris and Gleb was founded by Sotko Sytinich in 1167. The same point of view was expressed by D.S. Likhachev. Talking about the church built by Sotko Sytinich, he writes: “It is natural that the name of its builder passed into the epic and around the construction of the church of Boris and Gleb<...>legends were created. This is exactly what later epics tell:
Shel Sadko, God's kram built
And in the name of Sophia the Wise,
and other versions of the epics about Sadko attribute to him the construction of two more churches: Stepan the Archdeacon and Nikola Mozhaisky. Chronicles and Sadko epics are one and the same person. Thus, the emergence of legends about him is also dated. Without touching the essence of the question for the time being, let us eliminate the factual inaccuracies obscuring it. In the text of the epic cited by D. S. Likhachev, Sadko built a temple “in the name of Sophia the Wise”, the chronicle reports on the church of Boris and Gleb (which is not in any epic record), therefore, it is illogical to assert that this version of the epic “tells exactly about it". It is not true that the text of the Sophia Time Book says "Satko is rich" - it simply says "Sotko".
2
Let's turn to chronicles. The construction of the Church of Boris and Gleb by Sotko Sytinich is reported in one context or another by 25 annalistic monuments. These are the Novgorod 1st chronicle of both versions, the Novgorod 2nd, Novgorod 3rd of both editions, the Novgorod 4th and Novgorod 5th chronicles, the Novgorod Karamzinskaya, the Novgorod chronicle according to the Dubrovsky list, the Novgorod Bolshakovskaya, the Novgorod Uvarovskaya, the Novgorod Zabeli some , Novgorod Pogodinskaya chronicle of all three editions, Chronicler of the Novgorod rulers, Novgorod chronicler according to the list of N.K. Nikolsky, Novgorod chronicler, discovered by A.N. Nasonov, Pskovskaya 1st chronicle, Sofia 1st, Annals of Avraamka, Volgodec-Permskaya, Tverskaya, Typographical, Moscow chronicle of the end of the 15th century, Rogozhsky chronicler, Vladimir chronicler, Voskresenskaya and Nikonovskaya chronicles.
14 chronicles contain the news of the very laying of the church by Sotko Sytinich in 1167. We quote it from the oldest of them - the Novgorod 1st chronicle of the senior version: under Archbishop Elijah. In other cases, the text either coincides with the one given, or is abridged or somewhat extended by introducing topographical clarifications (“in Kamenny Grad”, “in Okolotka”, “above the Volkhov at the end of Piskupli Street”). These clarifications are consistent with each other and correspond to the location of the church on the ancient plans of Novgorod. In the future, the church is repeatedly mentioned in chronicles and acts. In particular, it is reported that it was consecrated in 1173, that it was restored after a fire in 1441, and that it was dismantled due to dilapidation in 1682. One of these references (under 1350) says that the church was “built by Sotko Sytinich” .
Chronicle 21 mentions the church of Boris and Gleb, along with the name of its builder, in another connection. Reporting the death by fire in 1049 of the wooden church of St. Sophia (after which the stone St. Sophia Cathedral was built), these chronicles indicate that the wooden Sophia stood on the spot where Sotko Sytinich later built the Church of Boris and Gleb: “On March 4, on Saturday, St. Sophia was burned; beashe was honestly arranged and decorated, 13 the tops of the property, and that St. Sophia stood at the end of Peskuple Street, where now Sotka has erected the church of the stone of St. ; in other chronicles there are abbreviations and additions that are insignificant for us now, similar to those that are present in the above news of 1167). These data undoubtedly testify that the builder of the Church of Boris and Gleb, erected in Novgorod in 1167, Sotko Sytinich, is a very real historical person.
In all chronicles, his name is read almost the same: Sotko (in the vast majority of cases), Sytko, Sodko, Sadko, Sotka, Sotka, Sotka; in one case it was clearly corrupted: Sitkomo (Tver Chronicle). The middle name also varies slightly: Sytinich (in most cases), Sytinich, Sytinits, Sytenich, Sygnich, Sytnichi, Stanich, Sotich; in one case spoiled: Sochnik (Novgorod 2nd Chronicle). In epics, the forms of the name are essentially the same: Sadko, Sadke, Sotko, Sadka, Sadok. The epics did not preserve the patronymic of their hero, but they remembered the construction of the temple firmly. The very name of the builder and the name of his father are not unique: in similar forms and in various modifications, sometimes in the form of a patronymic or nickname, they are relatively common in chronicles and ancient Russian acts, for example, Novgorod ambassador Semyon Sudokov (under 1353), chief guard detachment Grigory Sudok (under 1380), Prince Sytko (under 1400), governor Sudok (under 1445), patrimony Ivan Fedorovich Sudok Monastyrev (under 1464 and 1473), Sudok Ivanov son Esipov (under 1503 g.), Metropolitan clerk Sudok (under 1504), peasant Sotko (under 1565), Kargopol patrimony Sotko Grigoriev son of Dvoryaninov (XVI century). In addition to the name and patronymic, the chronicles, unfortunately, do not provide any information about the builder of the church of Boris and Gleb, in connection with which M.K. Karger even wrote that “the identification of this noble boyar, whose name is mentioned in the annals“ with the fatherland ”, with the epic guest Sadko, long accepted in historical and archaeological literature, still requires serious justification.”
D.S. Likhachev rather unsuccessfully tried to justify this by the size of the building. According to him, “the Church of Boris and Gleb, until its destruction in the 17th century, was the largest church in Novgorod, the only one that surpassed in its size the patronal church of Novgorod - Sophia” and therefore “around the construction of the Church of Boris and Gleb - so unusual in its size in Novgorod - legends were created. The erroneous opinion that the temple had such a huge size can be based on only one circumstance. Image of the Novgorod Detinets on the Khutyn Icon of the 16th-17th Centuries. shows the Church of Boris and Gleb larger than St. Sophia Cathedral. However, in the same image, Sofia is also surpassed by the belfry, which has survived without significant alterations to this day and whose real dimensions cannot be compared with the St. Sophia Cathedral. It has long been known that the ratio of the size of individual images on ancient Russian icons and miniatures is completely arbitrary. On another image of the Novgorod Detinets, approximately the same time (XVII century), the temple of Boris and Gleb looks several times smaller than Sophia. Other images of the church of Boris and Gleb, except for these two, have not been preserved.
Archaeological excavations unearthed its foundation. It turned out that the area of its foundation was half the area of the foundation of St. Sophia Cathedral. Thus, the real dimensions of the Church of Boris and Gleb do not give reason to assume that its exceptional size caused the creation of legends about its construction, since no legends about the construction of the much larger St. Sophia Cathedral have been preserved. But still, according to archaeological data, the temple of Boris and Gleb was "an exceptionally monumental building, not inferior in size to one of the most majestic buildings in Novgorod - the Cathedral of St. George in the princely St. George's Monastery." It is appropriate to recall that 40 years before Sotko Sytinich began to build the temple of Boris and Gleb, a revolution took place in the city. Novgorodians deprived of power and expelled their prince Vsevolod Mstislavich (grandson of Vladimir Monomakh). The Novgorod principality actually became a republic, often shaken by internecine clashes between city parties, although the Novgorodians later invited princes, severely limiting, however, their prerogatives. The struggle for power between the opposing factions, sometimes reaching crowded bloody battles, lasted 350 years: until the abolition of the republican system by Ivan III, who completed the unification of the Russian lands, annexing Novgorod to the Muscovite state. He soon destroyed Tatar-Mongol yoke, which lasted two and a half centuries, and was established due to the lack of unity used by the enemies among the then rulers of Russia.
As you know, the princes Boris and Gleb (sons of St. Vladimir), treacherously killed in 1117 by their brother, who sought sole power, were officially canonized by the Russian Church as saints already in 1171. and Gleb became a religious symbol of opposition to internecine strife, the spiritual patrons of the princely family, consecrating the principle of the inviolability of hereditary rights. The erection in the center of medieval Novgorod, in its citadel, of an imposing temple dedicated specifically to these saints (even before their official canonization), could not but have then an important symbolic meaning. This should have been perceived there as a condemnation of bloody strife, and perhaps as a manifestation of sympathy for the princely dynasty, whose members here no longer had real power.
The epics speak differently about the reasons for building the church. The earliest record came in the famous Collection of Kirsha Danilov. As in a number of other variants, here Sadko competes in wealth with Novgorod: he undertakes to buy up all the goods of Novgorod merchants. In some versions of the epic he succeeds, in others he does not. According to the text of Kirsha Danilov, Sadko wins the match three times. Each time he gives thanks to heaven by building a temple. Bylina, thus, reports on the three churches that Sadko built. This indicates that he was well remembered as an outstanding temple builder, although the majestic church, actually built at his expense, had not existed for a long time already by the time the epics began to be written down. But folk memory attributed to Sadko the construction of the St. Sophia and St. Nicholas Cathedrals, erected in fact by the Novgorod princes at the time when they were still sovereign rulers of Novgorod. From Kirsha Danilov we read:
And God wetted him in a zealous heart:
Shed Sadko, built God's temple,
And in the name of Saphea the Wise,
Crosses, poppies gilded with gold,
Mestia adorned the icons,
He embellished icons, seated them with pure pearls,
He gilded the royal doors.
In the same expressions, the epic tells further about the construction of a temple in the name of St. Nicholas. It turns out that already more than 400 years ago, popular rumor began to attribute to the builder of a magnificent church in honor of the blessed princes-martyrs Boris and Gleb that he was involved in the construction of the oldest princely cathedral - St. Sophia, which became the state symbol of Novgorod. The chroniclers of the 12th-15th centuries correctly pointed out that the creator of this temple was the son of Yaroslav the Wise. But compiled at the end of the XVI century. The Novgorod 2nd chronicle reports under 1045: “Lay the foundation of Prince Volodnmer Yaroslavich and Vladyka Luke of St. Sophia of stone in Veliky Novgorod, Sotko Sytinich and Sytin.” The chronicler rewrote the bulk of the text from his ancient source, and the addition was made, obviously, on the basis of the epic. It is historically unreliable, since more than 120 years passed between the construction of St. Sophia Cathedral and the temple of Boris and Gleb, but it shows how trusted the oral epic was in those days.
Another example is the addition of the church of Boris and Gleb in the news about the construction by Sotko Sytinich. In the Novgorod chronicler, discovered by A. N. Nasonov in a manuscript of the middle of the 16th century, it is said about this church that it was built by “Weaving the Rich”. We find the same replacement of “Sotko Sytinich” with “Sotko rich” in the Novgorod Uvarov chronicle, compiled at the end of the 16th century, and in all subsequent Novgorod chronicles dating back to it: in the Novgorod 3rd edition of both editions, the Novgorod Zabelinskaya, Novgorod Pogodinskaya all three editions (the original edition of this latter in one case out of two gives a “compromise” reading: “Sotko Sotich rich”). The alteration of "Sotko Sytinich" to "Sotko rich" was, obviously, a consequence of the chroniclers' confidence that Sotko Sytinich is the same "Sadko rich guest", which is sung in epics.
4
The epic stories about Sadko make up a small cycle of three works. In oral existence, they were sometimes performed by folk singers separately, but more often in different combinations of two epics combined into one, and occasionally all together in one performance. Since most of the records contain contamination of plots about Sadko, previous works on the Russian epic were, as a rule, about one epic dedicated to him, although transmitted by singers with varying degrees of completeness and consistency. However, they noted the inconsistency in the plot composition of the available variants, the difference in time between the appearance of individual parts. Works by V.F. Miller, A.N. Veselovsky and other epic scholars clarified this even before the beginning of the last century. But the very thesis about the independent origin of each of the three plots was put forward quite clearly more than four decades ago in an article by B. Meridzhi A shortly after T.M. Akimova, having carefully examined all the records introduced by that time into science, convincingly proved that they represented not one epic dedicated to Sadko, but three.
The construction of the temple is not only in the center of the epic about the competition between Sadko and Novgorod. It also passed into another epic about him, dedicated to the journey to the bottom of the sea. In its variants, usually the hero, who went down to the water to propitiate the sea king, ends up in the underwater kingdom; it is possible to return from there thanks to the advice of St. Nicholas. To him, in gratitude, according to his promise, Sadko then builds a church. But again, attention should be paid to the oldest recording of Kirsha Danilov. There is no such promise here, and it is clear from the text that Sadko belonged to the parishioners of this church, which already stood in Novgorod before he set sail: having followed the advice of St. Nicholas from the sea king -
From sleep, Sadko tried to shrink.
He found himself under the New City,<...>
He recognized the church - the arrival of his own,
Tovo Nikola Mozhayskov,
He crossed himself with his cross.
The name of the Borisoglebskaya church was forgotten in the epics. One of the main researchers of epics about Sadko A.N. Veselovsky suggested that it was replaced by the name of the St. Nicholas Church because of the well-known proximity between St. Nicholas and St. Boris and Gleb, according to the time of their church honoring and according to some folk ideas about them. The name of St. Nicholas eventually became especially popular in Novgorod, where there was a “brother Nikolytsin” (where the epic Sadko enters) - a merchant community, whose heavenly patron was St. Nicholas. He was also the patron saint of seafarers, and Sadko, according to the most common of the epics about him, conducted overseas trade, and the caravan of his ships almost died from a storm, but Sadko escapes, following the advice of St. Nicholas. As the epic evolved, the idea appeared in it that “Sadko the Rich” erected a church specifically for St. Nicholas. According to A.N. Veselovsky, “at this stage of development, the legend was further complicated by the dark elements of a fairy tale, which are filled, with the exclusion of the episode about Nikola, bylinas that have come down to us.”
Epic stories about the sea king and his impact on the fate of Sadko, of course, are of fabulous origin. They acquired the most developed form with the advent of another epic about Sadko: a poor gusler on the banks of the Ilmen delighted the lord of the water element with his game and received wealth from him. This became, as it were, a preamble to the main epic about the competition between the rich Sadko and Novgorod (although there are other epic variations a tsy l in explaining how Sadko got rich). The final one in the resulting cycle was the very epic where Sadko, forced to thank the sea king for his wealth, falls to the bottom, here he must entertain him with his game, then choose his bride, risking staying here forever, if not for the wise advice of the saint, allowed to return to Novgorod. Thoroughly studied the epic about Sadko V.F. Miller rightly considered the central plot, where Sadko competes with Novgorod, to be primordial: the narrative could be based on historical reality. Not only in Kirsha Danilov, but also in a number of other entries, it is this plot that depicts its hero as a temple builder. As V.F. Miller, "the chronicle does not call Sadko a trading guest, but it is easy to assume that the historical Sadko acquired his wealth, which gave him the means to build a stone temple, like other rich Novgorodians, through extensive foreign trade." The scientist believed that there was a "Novgorod tradition that formed the basis of the epic"; later, “fabulous motifs” were attached to the name of this historical person.
Possible sources of such motifs were indicated by Veselovsky, Miller and other researchers in the folklore of not only the Slavic peoples, and close parallels turned out, in particular, among the Karelians living in the same places where the epics about Sadko were especially intense. The game of the hero on the harp in the underwater kingdom, for example, was explained by the influence of the Karelian-Finnish runes. But the most interesting parallel, which drew the attention of A.N. Veselovsky, was found in a French medieval novel. His hero named Zadok, sailing in a storm on a ship, is forced by lot to throw himself into the sea (as the culprit of danger) so that his companions do not die; after that, the storm subsides, and Zadok himself is saved. This is the same scheme of the plot in the third epic about Sadko. As Veselovsky suggested, "both the novel and the epic, independently of each other, go back to the same source." This source has not yet been discovered. But it is quite obvious that the folk singer, who knew the epic about Sadko, naturally perceived such a work as a story about other adventures of the same hero. The intensive overseas trade of ancient Novgorod gave wide scope for the international exchange of folklore stories, V.F. Miller wrote that the mentioned episode about Zadok, due to the coincidence of names, influenced the epic that has come down to us. The scientist believed that the image of Sadko the merchant was later expanded by the idea of him as a harpist. The fact is that there is no talk of playing the harp in one of the two epics about him by Kirsha Danilov: Sadko receives wealth from Ilmen Lake, having served him not as a harpist. Miller knew another entry, where it is even about Sadko's stay with the sea king, offering the hero a bride, but there is no playing his harp. True, this text is without a beginning. However, after Miller's death, two more interesting versions of the epic about Sadko's stay with the sea king were recorded. Here's a good start:
Sadko also lived a merchant, a rich guest.
Not a few times Sadko ran a shaft across the sea,
The sea king did not give anything.
Here, too, we are talking about the bride, but there is also no question that the hero is a harper. It is not necessary to explain this by later oblivion: both versions were recorded in the Siberian polar village of Russkoe Ustye, where for centuries the old folklore tradition was preserved in isolation, which was brought by the Novgorodians who, according to their legends, moved here back in the time of Ivan the Terrible. There are Russian mythological stories recorded in different places about how the hero became rich thanks to the water man. Some of them are close to the story of getting rich without the help of playing the harp in the epic about Sadko. There are also stories where we are talking about an alleged marriage to the daughter of a vodnik, in contrast to the epic, where the hero managed to avoid this marriage.
The fabulous and mythological details in the epics about Sadko are the result of a complex and probably long interaction between ancient Russian and non-Russian folklore plots and the historical grain that underlay the oral narrative about the Novgorod builder of the famous temple of the XII century. In epics, he also became famous as a gusler - like another popular hero of our epic Dobrynya Nikitich, although the historical prototype of the epic Dobrynya was not a wealthy Novgorodian of the 12th century, but a statesman and military leader of the 10th-11th centuries, connected by his biography with Novgorod. But, unlike Dobrynya Nikitich or Stavr Godinovich, the epic Sadko is a professional gusler, which was also noted by V.F. Miller. He rightly wrote about the presence of "traces of buffoon processing" mainly in "epics-short stories" depicting "incidents of urban life." The trilogy about Sadko, which belongs to their number, is the most striking evidence of the contribution that, obviously, the Novgorod buffoons made in equipping the historical basis of epic songs with fabulous episodes from their heterogeneous repertoire of professional harpists.
5
The dispute about how the epics about Vasilin Buslaev correlate with chronicle news is of considerable length. More I.I. Grigorovich, in his “Experience on the Posadniks of Novgorod,” had no doubt that the “posadnik Vaska Buslavich,” whose death the Nikon Chronicle reports in 1171, is a historical figure. N.M. Karamzin treated this chronicle news ironically. In contrast to him, S.M. Solovyov wrote, with reference to the Nikon chronicle, that “in ancient Russian poems from the faces of historical<...>is the acting Novgorodian Vasily Buslaev. I.N. argued this point of view. Zhdanov, pointing out that the Novgorod chronicles do not know such a posadnik, and "the lists of Novgorod posadniks do not mention him either." V.F. Miller and A.V. Markov (and later A.I. Nikiforov), on the contrary, saw no reason to doubt the authenticity of the Nikon chronicle. S.K. Shambinago, noting that “the Nikon Chronicle often uses song material for its inserts”, and in the oldest chronicle of Novgorod - Novgorod 1st - “there was no such posadnik” (in 1171, Zhiroslav was the posadnik, according to this chronicle), and ((Other chronicles do not mention Vaska at all,” concludes that this news from the Nikon Chronicle “does not match reality.”
A.N. Robinson not only did not doubt the authenticity of the annalistic news, but also dated, following V.F. Miller, on the basis of this news, the epics themselves: “The Nikon Chronicle,” he writes, “under 1171 marks the death of the “posadnik Vaska Buslavich,” on the basis of which the epics about him can be attributed to the 12th century.” D.S. Likhachev , accepting this dating and repeating the main arguments of his predecessors in favor of the folklore origin of the chronicle news, he wrote: “The form of the mayor’s name (“Vaska”), unusual for the chronicle, but common for epics about him, also indicates that this news was taken from the latter” However, D.S. Likhachev's own argument is untenable: the same diminutive names of Novgorod posadniks (Ivanko Pavlovich, Mikhalko Stepanich, Miroshka Neznanich, Ivanko Dmitrievich, etc.) constantly appear in the annals. At present, there is an indication of Vasily Buslaev not in one, but in fact in three chronicles.This is, firstly, the Nikon Chronicle (under 1171): ik Vaska Buslavich"; The Novgorod Pogodinsky chronicle, in its original edition (under the same year): “The same year, the posadnik Vasily Buslaviev reposed in Veliky Novgorod”, and, finally, the abridged version of the same chronicle (also under 1171): “The same summer, the posadnik Vasily Buslaviev reposed posadnik Vaska Buslaviev in Novegrad.
Both editions of the Novgorod Pogodin Chronicle belong to the last quarter XVII in. None of the Novgorod chronicles that preceded it (and now there are eight of them, apart from short chroniclers, some of which came in several editions) contains such news, as well as any mention of Vasily Buslaev at all. There is also no information about him in any of the published Nenovgorod chronicles, except for Nikonovskaya, compiled in the middle of the 16th century. There is reason to believe that this news came to the Novgorod Pogodinskaya chronicle from Nikonovskaya (directly or indirectly), since there is no such news in the Novgorod sources of the Novgorod Pogodinskaya chronicle - in the Novgorod Zabelinskaya and Novgorod 3rd chronicles. In Nikonovskaya itself, it is placed immediately after the story about the victory of the Novgorodians over the Suzdalians, which goes back to the texts read in the Novgorod chronicles, which have come down to us and do not mention Buslaev. Carefully compiled lists of Novgorod posadniks, which have come down as part of the Novgorod 1st chronicle according to a 14th-century manuscript, do not contain the name of Vasily Buslaevich (or Boguslavovich). This applies not only to the time around 1171, but also to all the posadniks preceding this year, which is significant, since if the news of the death of "Vaska Buslavich" in 1171 was reliable, it would not necessarily mean the death of a sedate posadnik (t e. who sent his post in 1171), as S. K. Shambinago thought; Novgorod posadniks continued to bear this title even after they ceased to perform posadnik functions.
The lists of posadniks include several persons bearing the name of Vasily, but all of them date back to no earlier than the middle of the 14th century. Not a single posadnik was named at all, whose patronymic even remotely resembled "Buslaevich" or "Boguslavovich". The consideration of P.A. Bessonov that Vasily could "hide" in the early Novgorod chronicles under a pagan name: the news of the Nikon chronicle should have been traced back to one of these early chronicles. However, it has long been proven that it was the Nikon Chronicle that included information gleaned from folklore sources. This leads us to believe that the same source owes its origin to her mention of "Vaska Buslavich". I.N. Zhdanov assumed that there was a plot where Vaska becomes a posadnik. If such a plot really existed in it, as well as in a possible source of V.A. Levshin (see below), Sadko was mentioned, then there is nothing surprising if the chronicler familiar with this plot considered it best to place the news of the death of the "mayor Vaska Buslavich" in chronological proximity to the news of Sotko Sytinich, whom he naturally identified with folklore Sadko. The attention of the Nikon Chronicle to epic heroes and even to folklore characters that are absent in the works of oral tradition that have come down to us, but, obviously, appeared there before, is a fact that sufficiently justifies such an assumption (not excluding, of course, the possibility of a real basis).
Although, unlike the epic Sadko, the epic Vasily Buslaev has not yet been correlated with a well-defined historical prototype, there are fairly close historical parallels. Particularly interesting material of this kind was considered by B.M. Sokolov, commenting on the epics about Buslaev and Sadko in an anthology of 1918, rarely used due to the small circulation. Two epics about Vasily Buslaev - about his quarrel with the Novgorodians and about a trip to Jerusalem, known in a significant number of records, were sometimes combined by storytellers into one. There were no other epic epic works about this hero, but it can be assumed that if not epics, then legends about Vasily Buslaevich, the content of which is not covered by surviving epics, existed. This is evidenced by the reflections of folklore about this hero in the Icelandic epic, to which the work of V.A. Brima. Comparing the Icelandic and Russian material, the author came to the conclusion that there must have been a legend about the campaign of Vasily Buslaev to the East. It was reflected in the Bosa-saga, the older version of which, represented by a significant number of manuscripts, appeared not earlier than the 14th century. and has similarities with both the first and the second epics. Another piece of evidence is The Tale of the Strong Bogatyr and the Old Slavonic Prince Vasily Boguslaevich, composed by V. A. Levshin in the second half of the 18th century. based on folklore. As I wrote
A.M. Astakhov, "for the history of the Russian epic epic" Levshin's Tale presents great interest as a reflection of one of the oral versions of the XVIII century epic about Vasily Buslaev. And although “the direct source of the Tale is unknown to us”, and it itself is “not a simple retelling of an epic”, but “a literary work based on epic material”, its text contains “details that are known in the subsequent oral tradition”. the version that Levshin used, all the details of the Tale that were missing in it, but among them there were almost certainly those that reflected the features of this particular oral source. ”, and Vasily himself eventually becomes the prince of Novgorod and the ruler of the entire Russian land.
Epics about Sadko and Vasily Buslaev provide useful illustrations of the results of studies of the socio-political structure of Novgorod, which in recent decades have been significantly enriched with the most valuable materials obtained as a result of unprecedented archaeological discoveries. Despite the changes that introduced a lot of fairy tales into the epics about Sadko and gave rise to several semantic ambiguities, dark places in the epics about Vasily Buslaevich, both here and there many character traits the social life of Novgorod in the 12th-15th centuries: mortgages, brotherhoods, the recruitment of a squad by a young boyar, the battle on the Volkhov bridge caused by the struggle for power, the huge scope of trade, pilgrimages to the Holy Land - all this, like many other things, reflected brighter and more fully the real life of ancient Novgorod than the sometimes somewhat schematized pictures of ancient Kyiv in epics about the exploits of its heroes.
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 Russia.
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
The favorite of Novgorod residents was Vaska Buslaev - a daring fellow, a hero of Novgorod ushkuinism, dashing robberies in the Novgorod colonies, a lover of showing off and feasting. Unlike other epic heroes who walked around Russia, 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, it always resembled a beehive disturbed by the acute struggle of social groups. 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).
Epic stories, the hero of which is Vasily Buslaev
According to S.A. Azbelev, with 53 plots of heroic epics, Vasily Buslaev is the main hero of three of them (No. 40, 41 and 42 according to the index compiled by Azbelev).
40. Vasily Buslaev and Novgorodians
41. Vasily Buslaev's trip
42. Death of Vasily Buslaev
The image of Vasily Buslaev in epics
Vasily Buslaev is a Novgorodian hero, representing the ideal of valiant boundless prowess. This is the most famous of the folklore characters bearing the name Vasily.
The first of the epic stories dedicated to Vasily Buslaev tells about his conflict with the urban community. From a young age, Vaska has no restraints; he always does as he pleases, regardless of the harm that his actions bring. Having set the majority of Novgorodians against himself, he gathers a squad of the same daredevils like himself, and rages more and more; only his mother has even a shadow of power over him. Finally, encouraged at the feast, Vasily bets that he will fight at the head of his squad on the Volkhov bridge with all the Novgorod peasants. The battle begins and Vasily's threat to beat all opponents to a single one is close to being carried out; only the intervention of Vasily's mother saves the Novgorodians.
The second of the epic stories dedicated to Vasily Buslaev depicts this hero no longer as a young man, but as a mature person. Feeling the weight of his sins, Basil goes to pray for them in Jerusalem. But the pilgrimage to the Holy Places does not change the character of the hero: he defiantly violates all prohibitions and dies in the most ridiculous way on the way back, trying to prove his youth.
The type of Vasily Buslaev was little developed in pre-revolutionary scientific literature. Most researchers have spoken in favor of the originality of this type, considering it the personification of the power of Novgorod itself, while Sadko is the personification of its wealth.
Movie hero
Nikolai Okhlopkov (left) as Vaska Buslay. The film "Alexander Nevsky"
One of the main characters of the famous film by Sergei Eisenstein "Alexander Nevsky", filmed in 1938, is a Novgorod guy Vaska Buslay (not Buslaev!). This character "inherited" two traits characteristic of the epic Vasily Buslaev: reckless prowess and reverence for his mother. Otherwise, the cinematic hero is sharply different from the epic one: he does not oppose himself to the community, and his overflowing energy is skillfully directed by Prince Alexander in the right direction (he is entrusted with the most important and most dangerous place in the upcoming battle). Cheerful and full of inventions, Vaska Buslai is represented by a friend-rival of the sedate boyar Gavrila Aleksich. In the Battle on the Ice, both perform great feats, and at the end of the film, Buslai himself generously recognizes the primacy of his older friend in military prowess.
In 1982, director Gennady Vasiliev shot the film-tale "Vasily Buslaev". The author of the script used some motifs of epics about Vasily Buslaev (and in a very free interpretation).
Notes
Literature
- N. I. Kostomarov Historical monographs and research, Volume 8. St. Petersburg. Type. K. Wulf, 1868. pp. 124-148
Links
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See what "Vasily Buslaev" is in other dictionaries:
VASILY BUSLAEV- VASILY BUSLAEV, USSR, film studio. M. Gorky, 1982, color, 81 min. Tale. Based on the poem of the same name by Sergei Narovchatov. Once the townsman's son Vaska Buslaev heard from wanderers an alarming message that terrible enemies had attacked Russia and ruined it. ... ... Cinema Encyclopedia
VASILY BUSLAEV- the hero of the epics of the Novgorod cycle (14th-15th centuries), a reveler and a mischievous person who entered into battle with all of Novgorod ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Vasily Buslaev- the hero of the epics of the Novgorod cycle (XIV-XV centuries), a reveler and a mischievous person who entered into battle with all of Novgorod. * * * VASILY BUSLAEV VASILY BUSLAEV, the hero of the epics of the Novgorod cycle (14th-15th centuries), a reveler and a mischievous person who entered into battle with all of Novgorod ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Vasily Buslaev- VASILY (Vaska) BUSLAEV folklore character, hero of the Novgorod epics Buslaev and Novgorodians and Buslaev's Death. Like other epic heroes, V. B. is endowed with a fantastic. strength, growing unusually fast, testing its physical. power on peers, ... ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary
Vasily Buslaev- the hero of two epics of the Novgorod cycle, created during the heyday of trade and political life Novgorod in the 14th-15th centuries. and experienced later influences of the 16th and 17th centuries. Condemnation of V. B., a reckless drunkard and ushkuin, entering into battle with everything ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
VASILY BUSLAEV- the hero of Russian epics, the son of a boyar, who contacted the Novgorod freemen, a reckless drunkard and ushkuin, who entered into battle with all of Novgorod. He died on the way from the Holy Land, where he went to atone for sins.