Bylina and fairy tale: The origins of Russian heroic poetry [Reprint 2019 ed.] 9783111396859, 9783111034294

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SLAVISTIC PRINTINGS AND REPRINTINGS edited by C. H. V A N

SCHOONEVELD

Indiana

University

281

BYLINA A N D FAIRY TALE The Origins of Russian Heroic Poetry

by

A L E X E. A L E X A N D E R

1973 MOUTON THE HAGUE • PARIS

© Copyright 1973 in The Netherlands Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form by print, photoprint microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 72-94439

Printed in Hungary

T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S

I. The Russian Folk Epos and the Fairy Tale Introduction Selection of Texts and Sources Relevance of Conclusions II. The Epos and the Fairy Tale in Russian Literary Criticism.. Early Studies Mythological School Comparative School Historical School Soviet Studies

7 7 9 11 13 13 18 19 20 21

III. The Hero's Miraculous Birth and Endowment The Fairy Tale The Bylina

25 25 31

IV. The New Aesthetics of the Epos Portrayal of the Adversary The Portrayal of the Hero

43 43 52

V. History and the Byliny Historical Basis for the Byliny Fairy-Tale Basis for the Byliny

61 61 67

VI. The Bylina: A Fairy-Tale History of Kievan Rus' The Epic Space The Epic Time Fairy-Tale Action in Kievan Rus' Ideology in the Epos VII. The Demise of the Epic Hero Popularity of the Variants of the Byliny Demise of the Epic Hero

86 86 90 96 97 105 105 106

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VIII. Summary and Conclusions

121

Bibliography

129

Appendix

134

Russian texts of translated bylina fragments General Index

134 158

I

THE RUSSIAN FOLK EPOS AND THE FAIRY TALE

INTRODUCTION

A comparison of the Russian folk epos - the byliny (sing, bylina) - with the fairy tales reveals similarities in structure and content. Such similarities can be explained by an independent development from a common source, by cross-penetration of motifs between the two genres, or by evolution of one genre from the other. A detailed comparison of exampples from both genres, based entirely on intrinsic evidence, indicates that the bylina evolved from the fairy tale. The first step in such an analysis is the establishment of genre chronology. The accepted view among Russian scholars is that the fairy tales are older than the byliny.1 Previous studies positing the evolution of epos from the fairy tale rely on extrinsic evidence. Wundt views the fairy tale as older than the epic song and bases this chronology on a historical reconstruction of the remote past. He suggests that the totemic age produced credited Märchen or animal myths, which in turn evolved into tales of fortune or fairy tales no longer credited. Epos then evolved out of the fairy tale.2 Zirmunskij accepts the genre chronology and the general validity of the evolution of epos out of fairy tales. He does, however, deny the universal applicability of Wundt's formulation and claims for Russia, among other countries, an independent development of the folk epos, He believes the byliny are a product of the feudal era and directly connected with historical, national events.3 Only an investigation of the precise 1 V. Ja Propp, Russkij geroiceskij èpos ("Russian Heroic Epos") (Moscow, 1958), p. 259; V. P. Anikin, Russkaja narodnaja skazka ("The Russian Folktale") (Moscow, 1959), p. 97. See also later discussion in this chapter and in Chapter II. 2 Wilhelm Wundt, Elements of Folk Psychology, E. L. Shaub trans. (London-New York, 1916), pp. 270-282. 3 V. M. Zirmunskij, Èpiceskoe tvorcestvo slavjanskix narodov i problemy sravnitel'nogo izucenija èposa ("The Epic Art of the Slavic Peoples and Problems of Comparative Epic Studies") (Moscow, 1958), pp. 65-70.

8

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

relationship between the two genres can substantiate ¿irmunskij's claim. In The Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale, Propp proposes the evolution of the byliny from fairy tales.4 In a later work, Russian Heroic Epos, he considers an independent evolution of the byliny and fairy tales from ancient mythology.5 The Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale reconstructs the ancient totemic rites and presents them as the ultimate origin of the fairy tale. The compositional unity of the fairy tale and the epos is given as evidence of the evolution of the epic song out of this genre. This theory of evolution could be based on purely intrinsic evidence. Propp, however, bases it on historical reconstruction: "With the growth of feudal culture, folklore elements become the property of the ruling class; on the basis of this folklore are formed heroic narratives... " 6 Besides basically agreeing with Wundt, Propp also directly contradicts Zirmunskij, who denies the origin of the Russian epos from the fairy tale. Wundt and Propp base their argument for genre chronology on reconstructed historical progression; Zirmunskij bases his on the presence of historical material in the byliny. However, all three scholars agree on genre chronology: the fairy tale is older than the bylina. The relationship between the two genres is a topic requiring detailed study. Extrinsic evidence is useful in such a study if it is well authenticated ; if it is not, it is best to rely first on intrinsic evidence readily available within the fairy tales and the folk epos. On this point, Bascom writes: Anthropologists have c o m e to the conclusion that the search for ultimate o r i g i n s . . . is a hopeless one where historical d o c u m e n t s and archeological evidence are lacking. In folklore, where archeology can be of almost n o help at all, and where documentation does not yield the answers directly, attempts to reconstruct history o n an even more restricted scale can yield results only in terms of probability rather than proven fact, and there is the constant danger of being enticed into the realm of pure speculation for which one can never hope to discover supporting evidence. 7

It seems, therefore, that the only piece of solid extrinsic evidence testifying to the relatively late development of epos is the historical material within it, but that does not necessarily make the fairy tale a older genre. 4

V. Ja. Propp, Istoriceskie korni volsebnoj skazki ("The Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale") (Leningrad, 1946). 5 Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, see especially pp. 5-58. 6 Propp, Roots of the Fairy Tale, p. 337. 7 W. R. Bascom, "Folklore and Anthropology", in The Study of Folklore, A. Dundes ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J , 1965). p. 31.

THE RUSSIAN FOLK EPOS AND THE FAIRY TALE

9

Verification of the genre chronology and evolution proposed by Wundt and Propp requires a comparison of the two genres along intrinsic lines. The greater the similarity between the two genres that can be demonstrated, the less likelihood there is of independent development. Conclusions are reached by the purely literary analysis suggested by Bascom: T h e anthropologist, to speak frankly, feels that his colleagues in folklore are o f t e n s o preoccupied with the problems of origin and historical reconstruction that they overlook problems of equal or greater significance to which one can h o p e t o find satisfactory answers. H e looks to t h e m for guidance in literary analysis of f o l k l o r e . . . 8

Other methods of analysis and conclusions reached thereby are presented only for purposes of comparison. Chapter II provides an overview of various approaches to the relationship of the byliny and the fairy tales.

S E L E C T I O N OF TEXTS A N D

SOURCES

The structure of fairy tales is essentially uniform: the hero embarks upon a quest, overcomes a series of obstacles, returns home and lives happily ever after. The atmosphere of the supernatural is all-pervasive. The fairy tale has two types of heroes, one type exhibiting a greater kinship with the epic protagonist than the other. Meletinskij distinguishes between them on the basis of name: Ivan the Prince is a more active and heroic protagonist than Ivan the Fool; hence, fairy tales in which Ivan the Prince appears are closer to the epos. 9 The manner of acquiring invincibility is, however, a more satisfactory basis for distinction. The fairy-tale hero who is magically endowed with invincibility prior to his quest bestows more of his attributes upon the epic hero than the one who receives his invincibility from a donor after setting out from home.10 A donor is a personage capable of granting powers, usually by presenting the hero with a magical agent. Obviously, both types of hero must be included in a study such as this. There are many collections of folktales. Afanas'ev's (1855-1862), Xudjakov's (1860-1862), Sadovnikov's (1884), Oncukov's (1908), and 8

Ibid. E. M. Meletinskij, Geroj volsebnoj skazki ("The Hero of the Fairy Tale") (Moscow, 1958), p. 233. 10 Narodnye russkie skazki A.N. Afanas'eva("Russian Folktales of A. N. Afanas'ev"), A. E. Gruzinskij ed. (Moscow, 1914), Nos. 77, 105. 9

10

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

Smirnov's (1917) collections are the most important. 11 Since this investigation is primarily concerned with the Russian folk epos and its evolution from the fairy tale, rather than with the fairy tale itself, and since the latter does exhibit a marked uniformity, Afanas'ev's collection has been selected as the best representation of the traditional fairy tale.12 Although a marked structural uniformity and the dominance of the supernatural are characteristic of the fairy tale, this is not true of the byliny. A comparison of the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" with the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" reveals that the first bylina, like the fairy tale, relies heavily on supernatural material, whereas such material is infrequent in the second bylina,13 There are also structural differences between the two byliny in relation to the hero, donor, and king. In "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" the hero aided by a donor figure saves the ruler; in "Volx Vseslav'evic", on the other hand, the protagonist dispenses with the aid of a donor and combats the king. The texts selected should be representative of the differences among byliny with regard to structure and the use of supernatural material. The detailed analysis necessary to provide intrinsic data on the evolution of the epic genre requires that only a limited number of texts be used. The greater the number of subjects chosen, the less is the chance of substantiating conclusions and, conversely, the greater the likelihood of compounding unproven generalizations. Therefore, six byliny in variants that employ the supernatural material in varying degrees have been chosen: "Volx Vseslav'evic", "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol", "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", and "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj". 14 This is a fair selection, since the fairy tale and the 11

For a more detailed listing see Propp, Roots of the Fairy Tale, p. ii. V. Ja. Propp, Morfologija skazki ("Morphology of the Folktale") (Leningrad, 1928), p. 109. 13 V. Ja. Propp and B. N . Putilov (eds.), Byliny I ( M o s c o w , 1958), pp. 8 - 2 0 , 183-195. 14 The titles given here are generalizations from a variety available in collections utilized for the purposes of this study: Drevrtie rossijskie stixotvorenija sobrannye Kirseju Danilovym, ("Ancient Russian Verses Collected by Kirsa Danilov"), A. P. Evgen'eva and B. N . Putilov eds., (Moscow-Leningrad, 1958); Pesni sobrannye P. V. Kireevskim, ("Songs Collected by P. V. Kireevski"), P. A . B e z s o n o v ed., 5 vols. ( M o s c o w , 18601863); Pesni sobrannye P. N. Rybnikovym ("Songs Collected by P. N . Rybnikov"), A . E. Gruzinskij ed., 3 vols. ( M o s c o w , 1909-1910); Onezskie byliny, ("Onega Byliny"), A. F. Gil'ferding comp., 3 vols. ( M o s c o w - Leningrad, 1949-1950); Belomorskie byliny ("White Sea Byliny"), A. Markov comp. ( M o s c o w , 1901); Pecorskie byliny ("Pecora Byliny"), N . Oncukov comp. (St. Petersburg, 1904); Arxangel'skie byliny i istoriceskiepesni ("Archangel Byliny and Historical Songs"), A. D . Grigor'ev comp., 12

THE RUSSIAN FOLK EPOS AND THE FAIRY TALE

11

bylina employ practically the same kind of supernatural material; the greater its use in the bylina, the more similarity there is to the fairy tale. Also, the structural differences among the six byliny represent a departure in varying degrees from the established fairy-tale patterns; the greater the departure, the less similarity there is between the bylina and the fairy tale. There is a wide choice of sources. Epic folk poetry first appeared in print in 1804, in the Kirsa Danilov collection; few texts in the field were gathered until the 1830's, when Kireevskij began his collecting activity. The publication of his texts was begun as late as the 1860's. Following the Kireevskij byliny came those collected by Rybnikov. In the early 1870's, Gil'ferding's texts appeared, and from then on the collecting activity was well on its way. Since the epos is of primary concern in this investigation, all available collections from that of Kirsa Danilov to those of the twentieth century are used. There were two additional considerations in choosing materials for study. Many byliny, especially in the twentieth century, evolved into fairy tales.15 The basic reason for this phenomenon is the decline of the epic tradition. This type of fairy tale could not be used as evidence of similarity between the two genres. Since these tales preserve the essential narrative line of the respective byliny, they were easy to detect. Also, separate bylina motifs penetrating the fairy tales were encountered, as for example, the locality of Kiev, and the court of Prince Vladimir.16 Such penetration is rather rare. Still, epic motifs in the fairy tales were eliminated as evidence of a genetic relationship between the bylina and the fairy tale. RELEVANCE OF

CONCLUSIONS

Russian folk epos may be divided into three major groups: the heroic byliny, byliny with a skazka-like (folktale) content, and byliny-novellas. The epic songs chosen for investigation belong to the first group. Schol3 vols. (Moscow - Prague, 1904-1939); Byliny severa ("Northern Byliny"), A. M . Astaxova comp., 2 vols. (Moscow-Leningrad, 1938-1951); Onezskie byliny ("Onega Byliny"), Ju. M. Sokolov and V. Cicerov eds. (Moscow, 1 9 4 8 B y l i n y M. S. Krjukovoj ("Byliny of M. S. Krjukova"), Ju. M. Sokolov ed., 2 vols. (Moscow 1939-1941); Byliny, V. Ja. Propp and B. N. Putilov eds., 2 vols. (Moscow, 1958). Byliny collections will be henceforth referred to by the name of the compiler. The source for fairy tales will also be referred to simply as Afanas'ev. 15 A. M. Astaxova, Narodnye skazki o bogatyrjax russkogo eposa ("Folktales about Russian Epic Heroes") (Moscow - Leningrad, 1962), pp. 9-71. 16 Afanas'ev, Nos. 85, 178.

12

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

ars point to a broad similarity, but not necessarily a direct genetic relationship, between the skazka-\\ke byliny and the fairy tales. Typically, after the pattern of the fairy tale, the skazka-like bylina deals with a heroic quest upon which the hero gains a bride and returns home safely. Also, the supernatural material evidenced in these byliny echoes the magical world of the fairy tale. Although conclusions stemming from this study have primary validity for the heroic epos, the finding of a genetic relationship with the fairy tale should also be applicable to the skazka-hke epos. As for the byliny-novellas, Propp and Putilov describe them as follows: In scholarship, the term "novella" is usually applied to byliny dealing with subjects of every-day life or romantic adventure. The heroic and the fairy-talelike motifs are either altogether absent from these byliny, or they remain very much in the background. 17

These scholars point out the late (post-heroic poetry) development of the novellas and their close kinship with the ballad. Although the subject requires a separate study, it is likely that the novellas fall outside of the epic genre proper, assuming the characteristics of both the epos and the ballad. Note: original Russian text of translated bylina fragments is given in the Appendix, pp. 134-157.

17

P r o p p and Putilov, Byliny, II, p. 165.

II T H E E P O S A N D T H E FAIRY TALE I N R U S S I A N LITERARY CRITICISM

EARLY

STUDIES

The term bylina is now commonly used to denote Russian folk epic poetry. At the end of the nineteenth century, Vsevolod Miller advanced the theory that this term is scholarly in origin.1 In 1839, Saxarov, a connoisseur of Russian folklore, published Songs of the Russian Nation, a section of which he entitled "Byliny of the Russian People"; thus bylina first gained scholarly acceptance at that time. This literary term, according to Miller, subsequently became a part of popular usage. He claims that, among the folk, the starina (narrative of old) was the common designator of the epic song. Miller also states that Saxarov derived the term bylina from a phrase in The Song of Igor's Campaign: po bylinam sego vremeni 'in keeping with the happenings of these times'.2 In recent years, Uxov submitted evidence that suggests the use of this term independently of Saxarov.3 However, Uxov cites no printed material prior to 1839 in which the term bylina appears. Although Uxov's article poses important questions concerning the origin of the term bylina, there is little doubt that Saxarov introduced it into common usage.4 In written sources prior to the 1840's, Miller finds the following terms denoting byliny: stixotvorenie (poem), pesnja (song), stafja (piece), and skazka (folktale). For the purposes of this study, the term skazka is especially important. The remaining terms are essentially neutral, inasmuch as they do not hark back to any specific genre. As Cicerov notes, scholars in the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, as well as popular writers, usually designated the byliny as 1

V. Miller, Ocerki russkoj narodnoj slovesnosti ("Essays on Russian Folk Literature") (Moscow, 1897), I, pp. 28-29. 2 V. Nabokov (trans.), The Song of Igor's Campaign (New York, 1960), p. 29. 3 P. D. Uxov, Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta ("Messenger of Moscow University"), No. 4 1953, pp. 135-192. * A. M. Astaxova, Byliny (Moscow - Leningrad, 1966), pp. 21-27.

14

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

skazki,5 In the years 1780-1783, Levsin's Russkie skazki ("Russian Folktales") was published. Harkins comments that Levsin included the by liny in his use of the term skazki; at that time the term was "applied to any folk narrative, whether in prose or in verse"6. Since etymologically the word skazka denotes a short narrative, such a usage is understandable.7 Levsin, however, knew the versified bylina genre and the prose skazka genre.8 If he chose to call both skazki, it is because he apparently saw little difference between them. In his use of the word, skazka means tale or folktale, but not simply and indiscriminately "narrative". In 1804 appeared the first edition of by liny, namely that of Kirsa Danilov, who had collected them some fifty years earlier, perhaps in the Urals. 9 Grammatin equates most of these songs with skazki.10 During this period, the study of Russian folklore was still in its infancy. Thus, the equating of the epos with the folktale did not follow from any serious analysis of the two genres. Indeed, it is quite clear that the two are by no means identical. It should be pointed out that at this time there existed no classification of skazki into specific groups. Only in the second half of the nineteenth century did the Russian mythological school make a twofold division of the skazki into mythical tales and animal tales.11 At the turn of the century, Vsevolod Miller introduced the now commonly accepted classification of skazki into three groups: fairy tales, tales of everyday life and

5

V. I. Cicerov, Russkoe narodone tvorcestvo ("Russian Folk Art") (Moscow, 1959), p. 213. 6 William E. Harkins, The Russian Folk Epos in Czech Literature, 1800-1900 (New York, 1951), pp. 239-240. 7 The seventeenth century "Pricta o starom muze i molodoj device" ("An Instructive Tale About an Old Man and a Young Maiden"), ends: "Sej skazke konec" ("This is the end of the narration"). See N . K. Gudzij (ed.), Xrestomatija po drevnej russkoj literature XI-XVII vekov ("An Anthology of Old Russian Literature, X I - X V I I Centuries") (Moscow, 1962), pp. 4 4 3 ^ 4 5 . 8 M. K. Azadovskij, Istorija russkoj fol'kloristiki ("A History of Russian Folklore Studies") (Moscow, 1958), I, p. 67. 8 This collection of byliny has had more editions than any other in the history of Russian epic poetry. The heroic songs of Kirsa Danilov were republished in 1818, 1878, 1892, 1901, 1938, and 1958. 10 Quoted in Harkins, The Russian Folk Epos in Czech Literature, p. 7; the quotation dates from 1809. 11 O. F. Miller, Opyt istoriceskogo obozrenija russkoj slovesnosti ("An Essay Toward a Historical Survey of Russian Literature") (St. Petersburg, 1865), pp. 137, 186. The precise terms used here are: Ostatki mificeskogo eposa: skazki; ostatki zivotnogo eposa: skazki o zivotnyx (the remains of the mythical epos: folktales; the remains of the beast epos: animal tales).

EPOS AND FAIRY TALE IN RUSSIAN LITERARY CRITICISM

15

animal tales.12 It is apparent from these classifications that early folklorists, when equating the byliny with skazki, always denoted by the term skazka the mythical tale or, more specifically, the fairy tale. In this connection, Propp's observation is especially relevant: O n e thinks of the folktale (skazka) and such figures as Baba Jaga and her hut, manyheaded serpents, Ivan the Prince (Ivan carevic), the beautiful princess (prekrasnaja carevna), the magical flying horse, and the like immediately c o m e to mind. 1 3

In spite of this classification, in Russian literature the folktale (skazka) often appears as a synonym for fairy tale (volsebnaja skazka) ,14 Therefore, in quotations from Russian sources, whichever term appears, the meaning is interchangeable. The second edition of the Kirsa Danilov collection (1818) contains an introduction by Kalajdovic, the first serious student of Russian folklore and a forerunner of the later historical school. Kalajdovic juxtaposes the piry (feasts) of the byliny with the feasts of Prince Vladimir as they are described in the medieval Russian chronicles and indicates the relevance of the personages of Alesa Popovic and Dobrynja Nikitic, who also appear in the chronicles, to their namesakes in the byliny. Kalajdovic refers to the texts of the collection both as songs and as folktales. The phrase, "The mode in which our folktales (skazki) are sung depends on their content", is characteristic.15 There can be little doubt that Kalajdovic designates byliny as skazki, since the latter are narrated and the former are sung. Kalajdovic's ideas about Kirsa Danilov and his songs should be noted before further analysis of his views. Kalajdovic considers Danilov to be 12

Fairy tales and tales of everyday life belonged to the former mythical group of tales. See M. Speranskij, Russkaja ustnaja slovesnost' ("Russian Oral Literature") (Moscow, 1917), p. 414. The precise terms used here are: (1) skazki s cudesnym soderzaniem; (2) skazki bytovye, ili narodnye anekdoty; (3) skazki o zivotnyx; i.e., (1) 'folktales with a wondrous content' - this terminology evolved into volsebnye skazki 'magical tales fairy tales' in subsequent years; (2) 'tales of everyday life or folk anecdotes'; (3) 'animal tales'. 13 Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p. 96. Propp himself, who does not like the name volsebnaja skazka, since he feels that this type of folktale is primarily defined by its special fixed structure rather than magical content, has no qualms about using simply the term skazka on his title page, though his work is concerned specifically with the fairy tale. 14 Depending on the context, skazka may also mean a tale of everyday life or an animal tale, since in scientific terminology this is a blanket designation for all three types of folktales. 15 Danilov (Moscow, 1878), p. xix.

16

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

a poet who used folklore (chiefly the fairy tale) as a basis for his own compositions, which he set to music. (This first collection of byliny contained texts and the music for their vocal performance.) Thus Kalajdovic, in his introduction, expresses his views about Danilov's mode of composition. That he should think of Danilov more as a poet is fully understandable; Kalajdovic's knowledge of the folk epos was limited to one collection, Kirsa Danilov's. Kalajdovic uses the term skazka for a specific reason. To him it is not a question of identity of genres, as it was with Grammatin or Levsin. The designation, folktale, acquires in Kalajdovic's remarks the quality of a critical appraisal and an indication of origin: Let us look at Danilov's description passages: they are simple, rich with repetitions and for the most part anachronistic. As for his language, it is that of the folktale (narodnaja skazka).16

He adds that Danilov drew his material far more from the fairy tale than from historical sources. The ready acceptance of the term bylina for the folk epic by the middle of the nineteenth century indicates the growing awareness of the differences between the byliny and the fairy tales. The polemic between the amateur folklorist, Sepping, and the critic, Aksakov, is illuminating in this respect. Sepping compares the fairy tales about Ivan the Prince with the epic poetry of the Kirsa Danilov collection, concluding that the fairy tales about Ivan the Prince were formerly epic songs about a Russian epic hero.17 He maintains that oral transmission distorted the ancient epic songs of the Danilov collection and turned them into fairy tales. Sepping admits that the fairy tales make far more use of the supernatural. However, in comparing Ivan the Prince with Il'ja Muromec, Dobrynja Nikitic, Alesa Popovic, and other epic heroes appearing in the Danilov collection, he finds definite points of similarity: the magical horse, the abduction of a princess, and the struggle with a dragon. Like Kalajdovic, Sepping points to certain stylistic similarities of the byliny and the fairy tales, not to claim identity of style, but rather to show kinship, thus justifying his theory. A comparison of the views of Kalajdovic and Sepping shows a growing tendency toward the differentiation of the byliny from the fairy tales. " Ibid., p. xiii. D. O. Sepping, "Ivan carevic, narodnyj russkij bogatyr"' ("Ivan the Prince, a National Russian Epic Hero"), Moskvitjaniti ("The Moscovite"), No. 21, 1852, Part VI, pp. 21, 23. 17

EPOS A N D FAIRY TALE IN RUSSIAN LITERARY CRITICISM

17

The former sees little difference between the two; the latter, in order to justify his claim, points to a process of gradual distortion as explanatory of the differences between the byliny of Kirsa Danilov and the fairy tales. When Kalajdovic discusses a relationship between the fairy tale and the bylina, his arguments are not altogether wrong. Yet his conclusion that Danilov mixed a little history with a large dose of the fairy tale can hardly be accepted. Danilov was a collector, not a poet. To verify this point, one only has to compare his by liny with any of the subsequent nineteenthor twentieth-century collections. The value of Sepping's observations concerning the similarity of the folk epos and the fairy tale cannot be denied, for his points about the magical horse, abduction, and the dragon are indeed pertinent. However, Ivan the Prince is not an epic hero. There are essential differences between the byliny and the fairy tales. Kalajdovic and Sepping are perceptive investigators who see a genre kinship and try to explain it. For Aksakov, Sepping's claim that "Ivan the Prince is a Russian epic hero" stems from a basic misunderstanding of the differences between the two genres: In our opinion, there is a sharp dividing line between the folktales (skazki) and songs (pesni). The folktale and the song are different from the very beginning. The people themselves established this difference, and we might as well adhere to this differentiation made by them in their literature. "The tale is fiction, the song is a fact", as the people themselves say. When we look at the song and the tale, we can understand the profound meaning of these words. 18

Here Aksakov is stating an essential difference between the aesthetics of the two genres: alleged fact versus admitted fiction. He points to other factors separating the folk epos from the fairy tales: In songs geography may be inexact, but this stems from ignorance. In folktales, however, the narrator abandons the boundaries of time and s p a c e . . . The magical element also contributes to the differentiation between the song and the folktale. In the latter it is constantly present and almost all the heroes find support and help from the magical. In songs, on the other hand, although one cannot negate the presence of the supernatural element within, it is always on the side of the adversary.19

Aksakov's observations have withstood the test of time. They provide the essential criteria for the differentiation of the bylina from the fairy tale. 18

K. S. Aksakov, Polnoe sobranie socinenij ("Complete Collected Works") (Moscow, 1889), I, p. 380. 19 Aksakov, Complete Works, pp. 380-381.

18

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

Aksakov does not find it surprising that Sepping sees similarities in the language of the fairy tale and the song, since both employ the language of the folktale. This is important in a study of the two genres. Stylistic similarities do not testify to a genetic relationship ; since both the bylina and the fairy tale belong to the same milieu it is only natural that the language and turns of phrase should be related, the more so as both genres belong to the narrative type. In a comprison of the arguments of Kalajdovic and Sepping with those of Aksakov, the weight of the evidence is in favor of the latter. Yet Aksakov's treatment of the fairy tale and the bylina is synchronic, whereas Kalajdovic's and, especially, Sepping's are evolutionary. Since Aksakov does not consider the historical development of the two genres, his statement that "the folktale and the song are different from the very beginning" must be accepted or rejected at face value.

MYTHOLOGICAL

SCHOOL

An important era of folklore scholarship began in Russia in the 1860's with the advent of the mythological school; its chief representatives are Buslaev, Afanas'ev, and Orest Miller.20 An essential preoccupation of this school was the search for those myths, both national and supranational (Indo-European), in which lie the ultimate origins of folklore. Historical considerations also occupied the mythologists. Their approach to the folktale and the bylina was, in a sense, archaeological. The folktale represents the oldest mythological stratum. In the bylina, this same mythological stratum becomes enveloped by historical strata pertaining to events that took place, by and large, from the time that history was first recorded. In the folktale, the scholar reconstructs the time-distorted myth in which the loss of ancient beliefs has taken place.21 In the bylina, on the other hand, it is necessary to separate the historical from the mythological in order to find this most ancient stratum.22 The investigaThis school finds its guidance in the West from the Brothers Grimm, Max Miller and others. For a good treatment of the topic, see Y. M. Sokolov, Russian Folklore, C. R. Smith trans. (Hatboro, Pennsylvania, 1966), pp. 48-62. 21 See, for example, Afanas'ev's interpretation of the satirical skazka figure of Balda (popularized by Puskin) as a distorted image of the gods Perun and Thor. A. I. Afanas'ev, Poeticeskie vozzrenija slavjan na prirodu ("The Poetic Outlook of Slavs on Nature") (Moscow, 1865-1868), II, pp. 746-749. 22 O. F. Miller's work, IVja Muromec i bogatyrstvo kievskoe ("Il'ja Muromec and the Kievan Knighthood") (St. Petersburg, 1870), is dedicated to this type of approach.

EPOS A N D FAIRY TALE IN RUSSIAN LITERARY CRITICISM

19

tion of the mythological allows the adherents o f this school to divide the epic heroes into two groups: the younger and the older. 23 Although the mythologists see the origin of all folklore in ancient religious beliefs (myths), they do not infer from this a direct genetic relationship between the fairy tale and the bylina. Both stem from myths, yet they develop independently; if they have points of similarity, their matrix explains them. Chronologically, the fairy tale is older. Orest Miller states: The striking similarity of folktales (skazki) among all Indo-European peoples indicates that only in its form does this genre belong to later times. At its base the folktale is an echo of the most ancient narratives about g o d s . . . Only in a few instances can the similarity be due to borrowing. In general, it serves as a testimony to the distant unity of a religious outlook of the entire Indo-European group. . . Epic poetry differs from people to people in its characteristics, which reflect their separate historical destinies. Thus folklore devoid of concrete history is basically o l d e r . . . than the type of poetry that is called epic and which corresponds to the later historical p e r i o d . . . The bylina connects the primal mythical base common to all folklore genres, with historical places and events. The skazka does not have such connections. 24 The search for the ultimate origins of folklore in mythology has been an important contribution of this school; it continues to occupy scholars, although many of the historical reconstructions o f the nineteenth-century mythologists have been subsequently rejected. 25

COMPARATIVE

SCHOOL

In Russia, as in the West, the mythological school gave way to the comparative school, which advances the theory that folklore subjects were borrowed from the Orient. Stasov presents the theory of a genetic relationship between the Eastern and Russian epos and fairy tales. 26 H e claims 23

See, for example, F. I. Buslaev, Narodnaja poezija ("Folk Poetiy") (St. Petersburg, 1887), pp. 17-20. The older heroes, closer to the distant mythological past, are Volx and Mikula; the younger, Il'ja Muromec, Dobrynja Nikitic, and Alesa Popovic. 24 O. Miller, Survey of Russian Literature, pp. 138, 140. Similar views concerning genre origin and chronology are expressed by P. A. Bezsonov (ed.), in Pesni sobrannye P. V. Kireevskim ("Songs Collected by P. V. Kireeevskij"), Part III (Moscow, 1861), p. xxxiii of commentary; A. N. Veselovskij, Sobranie socinenij ("Collected Works") (Moscow-Leningrad, 1938), XVI, p. 52. 25 See, for example, R. M. Dorson, "The Eclipse of Solar Mythology", in Myth, T. A. Sebeok, ed. (Bloomington, Ind., 1958). 26 V. V. Stasov, "Proisxozdenie russkix bylin" ("The Origin of the Russian Byliny"), Vestnik Evropy ("The European Messenger"), Nos. 1, 5, 6, 7, January, April, June, July, 1868.

20

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

that both genres are borrowed from the Orient, India, Persia, and the Turkic and Tartar tribes. Stasov sees the "petrified symmetry" and "mechanical regularity" of the skazka as indicative of its relatively late origin in contrast to that of the less conventional bylina?1 One would think that his argument would lead to the opposite conclusion. Stasov considers the bylina older than the fairy tale, whereas the mythologists claim the opposite. Also, the notion of borrowing from the Orient runs counter to the theory that the Indo-European religious heritage, stemming from the ancient unity of the Indo-European peoples, explains the similarities in their folklore. Whereas Stasov traces the migration of subjects, the mythologists trace the migration of peoples. For the mythologists, the historicity of the epos differentiates it from the fairy tale and testifies to its later origin. Stasov disposes of this argument by disclaiming the presence of any history in the bylina. For him, the folk epos and the fairy tale are borrowed from the same source; both are essentially alike. Stasov is far more radical than his predecessors. Kalajdovic finds little difference between the songs of Danilov and the skazki; yet he recognizes in the former the presence of some historical material. Sepping claims a gradual evolution and deterioration of the bylina into a skazka, with an increase of the supernatural; Aksakov gives synchronic evidence for the differentiation of the two genres. Stasov returns to the position of Levsin and Grammatin, who maintain that the bylina and the skazka are exactly the same. Thus, Stasov stands alone at the time when the differences between the genres acquire full recognition. HISTORICAL

SCHOOL

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the Russian historical school gained prominence.28 The foremost figure in this movement isVsevolod Miller. The verifiable historical fact and its relationship to folklore now becomes the principal concern. The perfect genre for this type of study is, naturally, the bylina. Unlike the mythologists, Miller avoids study of the mythical stratum in the byliny, concentrating instead on the historical 27

Ibid., June, 1868, pp. 634-636. The first work utilizing the historical approach appeared much earlier: L. Majkov, O bylinax Vladitnirova cikla ("On the Byliny of the Vladimir Cycle") (St. Petersburg, 1863).

28

EPOS AND FAIRY TALE IN RUSSIAN LITERARY CRITICISM

21

layers. He believes that these layers provide a more or less accurate account of past events.29 In this period, the study of the genetic relationship between the byliny and the skazki is reduced to the investigation of separate fairy-tale motifs and themes entering the epos. Thus, Miller notes that traces of the popular folktale can be found in the bylina. "We find in the bylina the traces of the influence of the popular folktale." 30 But the historical scholar is cautious. To track down the history of the folktale is, in Miller's words, "like chasing the wind in the field".31 This mode of investigation is repeated in the work of Speranskij, a follower of Miller and the historical school. Speranskij maintains that "skazka motifs often penetrate the bylina, but only as material for its detail", and that "the reverse rarely occurs".32 The Chadwicks, too, are indebted to Miller in their study of the byliny. They explain that "supernatural features have no doubt been introduced from folktale motifs... " 3S Vsevolod Miller makes an important contribution to epic scholarship, in addition to his historical research, by formulating a new classification within the epic genre. It is based not on the posited relationship of a given epic hero to the mythological past (younger and older heroes of the mythologists) but rather on the narrative content of the byliny. The epos can be divided into two basic groups: byliny characteristically heroic and byliny characteristically non-military. Miller further defines the second group as containing byliny-novellas and fabliaux.3* This classification, modified by Soviet scholarship, has had its influence on the determination of the relationship of fairy tale and bylina. SOVIET

STUDIES

Formalist literary scholarship blossomed in Soviet Russia during the early 1920's, contributing important studies on the byliny and the fairy tales. It must be noted, however, that formalist scholars treated the two genres in a dissociated, synchronic manner.35 Soviet scholars of the 29

V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, pp. iv-v. Ibid., p. v. 31 Ibid., p. iv. 32 Speranskij, Russian Oral Literature, p. 407; see also pp. 420-421. 33 H. M. Chadwick and N. K. Chadwick, The Growth of Literature (New York, 1936), II, pp. 122-123. 34 V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, p. 30. 35 For example: Propp, Morphology of the Folktale; see also A. P. Skaftymov, Poetika i genezis bylin ("The Poetics and Origin of the Byliny") (Moscow - Saratov, 1924); and N. P. Andreev, UkazateV skazocnyx sjuzetov ("Index of Folktale Types") (Leningrad, 1929). 30

22

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

1930's and 1940's became preoccupied with the ideological significance of folk art. The reminiscences of Bonc-Bruevic, a pre-revolutionary ethnographer and long-time friend of Lenin, set the pattern for ideologically oriented analysis. Bonc-Bruevic quotes Lenin as follows: I quickly looked over these b o o k s [a collection of folklore material he gave Lenin], and saw that apparently there aren't e n o u g h hands, or the desire is lacking, t o look over all this f r o m a sociopolitical vantage point. A f t e r all, o n the basis of this material o n e could write a splendid research paper about the hopes and aspirations of the p e o p l e . . . This is authentic folk art, so important for our understanding of the psychology of the people in our times. 3 6

Characteristic, also, are the words of Kalinin, a former Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: "Soviet patriotism finds its roots in the distant past beginning with the national epos." 37 Preoccupation with the ideological significance of folklore, which leads to the elevation of the byliny to the position of a forerunner of Soviet patriotism, seems to have prevented Russian scholars from considering the genetic relationship between the fairy tale and the bylina. In his classification of the byliny, Vsevolod Miller distinguishes the novellas and fabliaux from the heroic byliny. Soviet scholars reclassified the non-military epos into byliny-novellas and byliny with a skazka-like content, thus eliminating the group that Miller designates as fabliaux. A comparison of the Propp and Putilov classification of 1958 with that of Miller shows that many of the byliny which Miller considered either fabliaux or novellas, Propp and Putilov describe as having a skazka-like content. 38 Additional examples of this reclassification are provided in Propp's Russian Heroic Epos. Here, too, byliny defined as skazka-Mkc fall within Miller's category of non-military epos.39 In an article published in 1964, Propp cites as skazocnogo xaraktera (of skazka-Wkc character) byliny coinciding with Miller's examples of the non-military epos.40 36

N. P. Andreev, Russkij foVklor ("Russian Folklore") (Moscow - Leningrad, 1938), p. 29; see also Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 27; S. T. Mints and E. V. Pomeranceva (eds.), Russkaja foVkloristika ("Russian Folklore Studies") (Moscow, 1965), p. 25. 37 V. P. Adrianova-Perec (ed.), Russkoe narodnoe poeticeskoe tvorcestvo ("Russian Folk Poetic Art") (Moscow, 1953), I, p. 538. 38 Propp and Putilov, Byliny, II, p. 519; V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, pp. 30-31: "Mixajlo Potyk", "Stavr' Godinovic", "Ivan gostinnyj syn" ("Ivan, Son of a Merchant"), and others. 39 Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 602; V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, p. 30: "Dobrynja and Alesa", and "Dobrynja and Marinka". 40 V. Ja. Propp, "2anrovyj sostav russkogo fol'klora" ("Genre Structure of Russian Folklore"), in Russkaja literatura ("Russian Literature"), N o . 4, 1964.

EPOS A N D FAIRY TALE IN RUSSIAN LITERARY CRITICISM

23

Soviet scholars essentially accept Miller's classification of heroic by liny and admit that fairy-tale-like motifs exist in these byliny. The motif most commonly pointed to is that of the fight with the dragon. 41 The question of the origin of these motifs then arises. From the mythical base, say the mythologists; from the fairy tale, say the historians. Soviet scholars do not, as a rule, hunt for myths, nor are they willing to accept the thesis that fairy-tale-like motifs in the heroic epos are of fairy-tale origin. Paradoxically, they do not even establish a direct connection with the fairy tale for those specific byliny they describe as skazka-like. Propp and Putilov find no genetic relationship between the skazki and the heroic byliny, because their motifs, although often similar, are utilized differently. They do admit, however, that a question could be raised concerning a more or less direct dependence of the skazka-like byliny on the skazki.12 In his own study, Russian Heroic Epos, Propp, although repeating the basic arguments he made jointly with Putilov, no longer makes even that modest admission. The relationship between the two genres, in general, is that of relative closeness depending on similarity.43 Cicerov and Anikin see a broad similarity between the fairy tales and the byliny. Yet they, too, use a sort of spatial terminology. For Cicerov all byliny, not only those that are skazka-like, are close to the fairy tales in their compositional structure and utilization of folk poetic devices.44 Anikin approaches the skazka-bylina relationship from a kind of evolutionary vantage point. Now the two genres are only close to each other, whereas in the distant past they were contiguous.45 It is important to note that the Soviet scholars Cicerov and Anikin reiterate the views expressed by Kalajdovic, Sepping, and Stasov. Midnineteenth century and mid-twentieth century meet. But neither Cicerov nor Anikin accept the conclusions of these nineteenth-century scholars. Their explanation for the byliny-skazki similarity is closer to that of Propp. The byliny stand in a certain position of relative closeness to the fairy tales, depending on the degree of similarity. Cicerov and Anikin admit definite points of likeness but insist on a totally independent development of the two genres. 41

Andreev, Russian Folklore, p. 159; Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 259; A. M. Astaxova (ed.), H'jaMuromec (Moscow - Leningrad, 1959), p. 454; Propp and Putilov, Byliny, II. p. 7. 42 Propp and Putilov, Byliny, II, p. 7. 43 Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 257-260. 44 Cicerov, Russian Folk Art, p. 292. 45 Anikin, Russian Folktale, pp. 222-223.

24

BYLINA A N D FAIRY TALE

In his recent work, The Origins of the Heroic Epos, Meletinskij seems to depart from the mode of spatial consideration of folk epos and fairy tales.46 The author's thesis is that the culture hero, such as Prometheus, is the ancestor of the epic hero. But Meletinskij points out that this culture hero serves also as a model for the fairy-tale protagonist. The epic hero is related genetically to the culture hero in two ways: directly, inasmuch as mythology influences epic art, and indirectly, inasmuch as the fairy tale contributes to the development of the epos. In this last assumption, Meletinskij suggests at least a partial genetic relationship between epos and fairy tale, and also the possibility of the development of one genre from the other. It must be said, however, that Meletinskij speaks of the development of epic art in general. Only in his concluding chapter does he consider the specific case of the byliny, and here he suggests that the Russian folk epos may not necessarily follow the pattern outlined. The historicity of the byliny indicates an origin out of actual historical events. 4 '

46

E. M. Meletinskij, Proisxozdenie geroiceskogo eposa ("The Origins of Heroic Epos") (Moscow, 1963). This work gave rise to a prolonged controversy concerning the author's historical reconstructions: see Sovetskaja itnografija ("Soviet Ethnography"), No. 5, 1965; Nos. 1, 2, 3, 1966. 47 Meletinskij, The Origins of Heroic Epos, p. 445.

Ill THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS

BIRTH

AND ENDOWMENT THE FAIRY TALE

In Morphology of the Folktale, Propp lists the structural components of the fairy tale.1 Three of these, the miraculous birth, the journey from home to the donor, and the helper (magical agent), are closely interrelated in their artistic presentation and are the material that the epos inherits from the fairy tale. As shown in Chapter I, Meletinskij distinguishes between two types of fairy-tale heroes, Ivan the Prince and Ivan the Fool. 2 He considers the former to be more closely related to the epic hero, since he is the more active protagonist. In the case of the two Ivans, the name fits the personality. Ivan the Fool is usually depicted as an unreliable fellow: A merchant lived in a certain town. H e had three sons: the first was Fedor, the second Vasilij, and the third was Ivan the Fool. The youngest son Ivan constantly frequented taverns and inns. Hence the father had no confidence in him. 3

As a rule, Ivan the Fool undertakes his quest for purely selfish reasons: to find a wife or to see the world.4 He meets a donor, receives a magical agent, and ends his quest successfully. In certain cases, Ivan the Fool redeems himself; for example, he is the only one to go to the cemetery to pay his last respects to his deceased father. Here the father is the donor of a magical agent, a horse; but again, Ivan uses the horse to gain wealth and a princess for a wife. Ivan the Prince is a different hero. He is neither unreliable nor selfish. Usually he sets out on his quest for altruistic reasons: to free his mother or sister who has been abducted by a dragon, or to obtain for his father 1

Propp, Morphology of the Folktale, pp. 129-134. Meletinskij, Hero of the Fairy Tale, p. 231. 3 Afanas'ev, No. 135. l Ibid., Nos. 83, 126, 135.

2

26

BYLINA A N D FAIRY TALE

a desired object such as a firebird or the water of youth. 5 On his quest, Ivan the Prince finds a bride and wealth, but the initial altruistic motivation makes him, in contrast to Ivan the Fool, fully deserving of success. Ivan the Fool accomplishes nothing by himself. Aided by good fortune, though he seldom does anything to deserve it, Ivan the Fool finds a donor and a magical agent that makes his success certain. However, Ivan the Prince is also ineffective without a donor and a magical agent. The fairy-tale hero is never truly passive. Ivan the Fool exclaims to his mother, who considers him scarcely a fitting suitor for a princess, "Let me go, let me go!" 6 Ivan the Prince implores, "Permit me, Father! I want so much to go into the world and find our mother." 7 Since the roster of fairy-tale protagonists is not confined to Ivan the Prince and Ivan the Fool, a discussion of heroic nomenclature is in order. Fairy-tale heroes, as a rule, have neither patronymics nor family names. The commonest first name is Ivan though others, such as Danilo, Fedor, and Fedot, appear. Names are often connected with descriptive epithets: Ivan the Merchant's Son, Ivan the Soldier's Son, and Ivan the Peasant's Son. The epithets function here as a description of social origin rather than of character, whereas for Ivan the Fool and especially for Ivan the Prince they signify personality traits. Another set of names denotes the hero's mode of miraculous birth: Ivan the Cow's Son, Ivan the Pea, and Ivan the Bull's Son. Ivan the Pea is born to a queen who swallows a pea; the other two Ivans are humans born to cattle. Since the hero of one tale after another is called Ivan, the name becomes a generalized appellative, meaning hero, and loses the quality of individual identification. The accompanying epithets do not supply the hero with individual identification; rather, they describe his social origin and, in some cases, his character. The situation is different for heroes born miraculously. Though they too are called Ivan, the descriptive epithets point to a mode of birth that is specifically theirs, thereby granting them a degree of individual identification. Their names are not arbitrary selection. The motives of Ivan the Prince have been described as altruistic, those of Ivan the Fool as selfish. Other heroes of nonprincely birth set out on a quest for reasons similar to those of Ivan the Fool. Heroes of princely origin are altruistic. Technically, the hero of the fairy tale is its central protagonist. If the term "hero" is given a broader meaning, "man of valor", the fairy-tale Ibid., Nos. 71b, 95, 130, 104c. Ibid., No. 106. 7 Ibid., No. 71b.

5

6

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

27

heroes fall into two categories. Heroes born naturally belong to one, heroes born miraculously, to the other. The former acquire their power through a donor and a magical agent. For instance, Ivan the Merchant's Son, deprived of his inheritance by his two older brothers, sets out into the world. In the forest he encounters the donor: "Take", the donor says, "this shirt. A bullet cannot penetrate it. When you put it on, you will become invincible."8 Ivan puts on the shirt and becomes an invicible hero. He defeats Gorynyc the dragon, and marries the maiden Elena the Fair, whom the dragon had abducted. But, when Gorynyc succeeds in depriving the hero of his shirt, Ivan loses his power, and the dragon again abducts Elena. To regain her, Ivan needs the donor, who returns his magical shirt. In another example, two Ivans, the Soldier's Sons, prepare to set out into the world to seek adventure. On their way home from an unsuccessful journey to the market place, they encounter a donor: "Whither does G o d ' s path lead y o u ? " the old man asked. "We went to town, to the market place in the town, to buy g o o d horses. But we did not find any." " H o w could that be? Perhaps I should give y o u s o m e ? " "Oh, dear old m a n ! If y o u give us horses w e shall pray to G o d for y o u witho u t ceasing." "Well, let us go." The old man takes them to a tall mountain, opens iron gates [within it] and leads out two heroic horses. "Here are horses for y o u g o o d lads." T h e old m a n takes t h e m to a tall mountain, opens the iron gates and brings out t w o heroic swords. "Here are swords for y o u g o o d lads." 9

Having met the old man and having received the magical agents (horses and swords), the two Ivans are ready to set out on their quest. They gain wealth and marry princesses. As the tale continues, one of the Ivans finds himself confronted by a witch, whom he fails to recognize as such, while he is without his magical horse and weapon: "Please sit down, fair maiden, and join m e in my meal." "I would do so, but I'm afraid. Y o u have a magical horse." "Oh no, fair maiden! Don't y o u see, I have left m y magical horse at h o m e and have c o m e here on an ordinary o n e . " W h e n the fair maiden heard this, she swelled up and turned into a lioness. She opened her m o u t h and swallowed h i m . . .

Ivan is saved, of course, by the timely arrival of his brother with both magical agents. 8 9

Ibid., N o . 120. Ibid., No. 92.

28

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

A final example can be cited. Ivan the Prince sets out to rescue his mother from the dragon. In this fairy tale the mother acts as the donor: "Oh my G o d ! Is it you, my beloved son? How did you ever get h e r e ? . . . You must fight him [the dragon]. Let us go quickly to the cellar." They went down quickly, and found there two barrels of water; one on the left side, the other on the right. "Drink the water on the right." Ivan the Prince drank. "Well, do you feel strong?" "Yes, I feel so strong, I could topple the entire palace with one hand." " G o ahead, drink some more." Ivan the Prince drank more. "How strong do you feel n o w ? " "Now, if I felt like it, I could turn the whole world upside down." "Oho! That's really a lot." 1 0

Now the hero is ready to battle the dragon. But the water of strength is potent only against the monster. Ivan's brothers take away their mother and the bride the hero has gained while on his quest, leaving Ivan alone in the kingdom of the dragon. To be successful again, Ivan needs help. He finds his talisman in the form of bagpipes. In all three examples, the encounter with the donor and the gift of a magical agent do not render the hero permanently valorous. He may need the same donor again and again, or different ones to face new challenges. Heroes born miraculously have no need of the donors and their magical agents; their miraculous birth assures them of permanent valor and invincibility. In the following scene a queen whose daughter has been abducted by the dragon conceives miraculously a son, Ivan the Pea: The mother of Vasilisa Golden Locks g r i e v e d . . . One day she went for a walk in the garden with her ladies in waiting. The day was hot and the queen grew thirsty. In the garden, a spring was shooting forth, in a stream, out of a hillock. A white stone wall was built around the spring. The queen scooped up the tearpure spring water with a golden scoop and began to drink it quickly. Suddenly she swallowed a pea with the water. The pea grew and grew, and the queen felt heavy and oppressed. Some time passed and she gave birth to a son. They gave him the name Ivan the Pea. 11

Ivan sets out to free his sister, and he finds her in the kingdom of the dragon. Ivan the Pea and Vasilisa have this exchange: "Is it you, P e a ? " asked Vasilisa Golden Locks. "You who are capable of overcoming him [the dragon]?" "Wait a bit, my dear sister. First, give me to drink." 10 11

Ibid., No. 71b. Ibid., No. 74p.

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

29

"What d o y o u wish to drink?" "Buckets full of mead."

A comparison of this exchange with that between Ivan the Prince and his mother reveals a similarity in the initial questioning and in the drinking before the fight with the dragon. The mother acts as a true donor, however, and her son's victory over the dragon is predicated upon her role; this is not so with Vasilisa Golden Locks. Although Ivan the Pea drinks mead before the fight as Ivan the Prince drank water, it is his miraculous birth that assures his victory over the dragon. The miraculously born hero is never at a loss, nor does he require the aid of a donor. He knows what he needs and knows how to obtain a magical agent. Another miraculous birth takes place when a king obtains a wondrous fish which, when eaten by his childless queen, makes her conceive. The queen, however, does not give birth to the hero. A cow drinks the water in which the fish was washed, and a miracle occurs: After s o m e time there c a m e a maid f r o m the barn and announced that a c o w had given birth to a h u m a n being. 1 2

Thus is born the invincible hero, Ivan the Cow's Son. Like the two Ivans, the Soldier's Sons, he needs a weapon and a horse. The Russian fairy-tale hero is not one to accomplish great deeds with his bare hands; the agents remain indispensible. But note the difference in his manner of obtaining them: Ivan the C o w ' s S o n set out o n his journey. club.

H e took a sword and an oaken

Shortly thereafter he encounters a dragon: They fought for several hours and both were growing weak. The dragon lost three [of his] heads, while the hero's club b r o k e . . . [The h e r o ] t o o k a fragment of his club and threw it at the stable. Thus he broke d o w n the gates. T h e young colts ran out o n the bridge and toppled the dragon off his saddle. T h e hero was joyful. H e ran u p to him and cut off his three remaining heads.

The naturally born hero needs a donor in order to obtain a magical agent. The miraculously born hero is fully capable of acquiring the agent himself. 12

Ibid., N o . 76.

30

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

Ivan the Bull's Son is born in a manner similar to that of the Cow's Son, with the difference that a bird replaces the fish. On a journey culminating with a fight with a dragon, Ivan the Bull's Son and his two brothers meet the witch Baba-Jaga, a frequently encountered fairy-tale personage, who may function either as adversary or as donor. "Eh, old woman, don't be difficult! Get down from the stove and sit down on the bench here. Ask where we are going. I shall tell you everything." Baba-Jaga got down from the stove, came up to Ivan the Bull's Son and bowed low to him. "Greeting, little father, Bull's Son. Where are you going, where does your path lead?" "We are riding, old woman, to the river Smorodina, to the guelder-rose bridge. I have heard that there are many monsters there." 13

Because the adversary in this fairy tale is a dragon, Baba-Jaga could perform the function of a donor. Indeed, the hero meets her as he would meet a donor before his fight with the adversary. Like a donor, she questions the hero, but he departs without receiving anything from her. The miraculously born hero needs no donor. Thus, Ivan the Cow's Son obtains both weapon and horse, objects that serve as magical agents, without the aid of a donor. The same holds true for Ivan the Bull's Son: The Bull's Son came up to a stone, and kicked it with his foot. The stone rolled over to the other end of the garden, breaking all kinds of trees. There was a cellar under the stone; in it were three heroic horses and three weapons hanging on walls. 14

Comparison of the two categories of fairy-tale heroes, those born miraculously and those born naturally, shows that the former are inevitably brave, invincible heroes who need no donors; the latter must rely on donors and are helpless when deprived of magical agents. Although in the fairy tale with miraculous birth the essential function of the donor is eliminated, the structural pattern persists: the encounter away from home between the hero and the would-be donor, the questioning, and the artistically imaginative and often mysterious acquisition of horse and weapon. Meletinskij suggests that Ivan the Prince is the more active hero, and is closer to his epic counterpart. The above discussion shows, however, that it is the miraculously born hero rather than Ivan the Prince who indeed exhibits a close kinship with the hero of the epic song. 13 14

Ibid., N o . 77. Ibid.

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

THE

31

BYLINA

In the late 1940's, Roman Jakobson and Mark Szeftel published a study on the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic."15 It is conducted essentially along two lines: historical and ethno-cultural. The second line of inquiry involves the miraculous birth of the hero, Volx Vseslav'evic: Through the garden, the green garden, There walked, there strolled the young princess, The young princess Marfa Vseslav'evna. She leaped from a stone onto a fierce serpent; The fierce serpent winds himself Around her Morocco-green boot, Around her silk stocking, He strikes with his tail her white thigh. Thereupon the princess conceived, Conceived, gave birth to a child. 16

They connect the conception from a serpent to the birth of a child with a caul on his head. In Serbian, kosulja usually means 'shirt', but also caul and serpent's skin: a child born with a caul is born with serpent's skin on his head. On this basis, the two scholars reconstruct an ancient Slavic belief in humans fathered by a serpent. The linguistic evidence suggests that such a belief was common to many Slavic peoples: in Russian, rubaska, which commonly means shirt, also means caul, though not serpent's skin. Although present superstitions among Slavic peoples attribute to children born with a caul nothing more than good luck in their future life, Jakobson and Szeftel claim that in former times supernatural powers such as metamorphosis were also attributed to such children, as they are to the epic hero Volx Vseslav'evic. Jakobson and Szeftel's theory is plausible, not so much because of the linguistic evidence, but because conception from a serpent is a rather common international folk belief.17 Volx is born of a human and a snake. What is the significance of this theory of Jakobson and Szeftel with regard to the birth of the bylina hero ? 15 R. Jakobson and M. Szeftel, "The Vseslav Epos", in Russian Epic Studies, R. Jakobson and E. J. Simmons, eds. (Philadelphia, 1949). 16 Danilov, N o . 6. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 134. 17 J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, abriged edition (New York, 1966), pp. 168, 696; W. D. Hambly, "Serpent Worship in Africa", in Anthropological Series of Field Museum of Natural History, XXI, N o . 1 (Chicago, 1930), p. 23; see also R. M. Berndt, Kunapipi: A Study of an Australian Aboriginal Religious Cult (New York, 1951), p. 13.

32

BYLINA A N D FAIRY TALE

Zirmunskij, as has been shown in Chapter I, denies that the Russian folk epos evolved out of the fairy tale. However, he considers the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" an exception and points to its close dependence on what he calls the bogatyrskaja skazka (heroic folktale),18 which is merely another term for volsebnaja skazka (fairy tale). The bylina parallels the fairy-tale examples of miraculous birth rather closely. As in the fairy tale, the direct result of this birth is the hero's epic might: And Volx was one hour and one half old, H e spoke in a thunderous voice: "Now, you, lady, my mother, You, young Marfa Vseslav'evna, D o not swaddle me in swaddling cloths of silk, D o not gird me with silken waist-bands, Swaddle me, mother, In steel armor, Place on my daring head a helmet of gold, In my right hand a club made of lead, A heavy leaden club, By weight - three hundred poods. 1 9

Volx also has metamorphic ability, as Jakobson and Szeftel emphasize. Indeed, all variants build their narrative line on this theme. This capability does not seem to be an inherited skill but rather an acquired one: And when Volx was ten years old, Thereupon Volx learned wisdoms: The first wisdom he learned To turn into a brilliant falcon, The second wisdom he learned T o turn into a grey wolf, The third wisdom he learned T o turn into a bay bison with golden horns.

Such "wisdom" is related directly to the fairy-tale theme, xitraja nauka (crafty lore).20 In the fairy tale the naturally born heroes acquire crafty lore from a character named Ox, from an uciteV (teacher), who appears in the role of a donor and bestows magic art rather than an agent. The miraculously born Volx, however, like his fairy-tale ancestors, needs no donor to acquire the skill. This then is the connection to be made between the birth and the metamorphic ability of Volx Vseslav'evic. Crafty lore 18

V. Zirmunskij, Narodnyjgeroiceskijepos ("Heroic Folk Epos") (Moscow-Leningrad, 1962), pp. 126-130; Epic Art of Slavic Peoples, pp. 71-73. 19 Danilov, No. 6. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 134-135. 20 Afanas'ev, Nos. 140a, b, c, d, e.

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

33

resulting in the hero's metamorphic capability is rather typical for the fairy tale,21 while in the epos only one hero, Yolx Vseslav'evic, makes use of it. Of the miraculously born fairy-tale heroes, Ivan the Cow's Son and Ivan the Bull's Son are endowed with metamorphic capability; Ivan the Pea is not, which implies that metamorphosis is connected with totemic beliefs. In Russian folklore, such beliefs are now rare. Their vestiges remain in fantastic, literary motifs: a cow, a fish, a bird, or a serpent may bring into the world a hero endowed with supernatural powers. Jakobson and Szeftel build their theory around the serpent, but it should be pointed out that in Russian folklore the serpent appears in the role of lover, rather than father.22 Although a close parallel between the fairy tale and the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" is apparent, there is also an essential difference between the two. The fairy-tale hero of miraculous birth does not need a donor. Volx Vseslav'evic has such a birth in one bylina variant.23 All other variants preserve only the theme of crafty lore.24 In the epic tradition, therefore, the hero has an extrinsic source of power, namely, the crafty lore. Yet he maintains a degree of self-sufficiency too. He acquires the metamorphic skill on his own, and this independence from a donor is motivated by a miraculous birth in only one variant. Volx Vseslav'evic is the only epic hero with both a miraculous birth and a metamorphic ability. There does exist, however, another bylina hero credited with an extrinsic source for his might. This is Il'ja Muromec who, as Propp aptly notes, gains his strength from three old men.25 However, Propp does not connect this episode to the fairy tale, and yet, as the following lines show, such a connection clearly exists. Il'ja had no movement in his legs Il'ja had no use of his hands; He was already thirty years old. And so he was sitting, Il'ja Muromec, And there came up to him three old men: 21

Andreev, Index of Folktale Types, p. 29. Afanas'ev, Nos. 71b, 72, 74p, 95. 23 There exists also a small fragment about the birth of a nameless child and his speech to the mother. It parallels closely the "Volx Vseslav'evic" variant in Danilov. See ¿ i vaja starina (The Living Past) (St. Petersburg, 1912), xx, p. 452. 24 See, for example, Gil'ferding I, No. 15; II, N o . 91; Rybnikov, I, N o . 38; II, N o . 146; Markov, N o . 51; Oncukov, N o . 84. 25 Propp, Genre Structure, p. 62. 22

34

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

" - Get up Il'ja, you, Il'ja Muromec! You have movement in your legs, You have the use of your hands." And Il'ja stood up on his strong legs. And he made the sign of the cross Before the icon of the Holy Fathers: Glory be, glory to the Lord ! " - Go down, you, Il'ja, into the famed, deep cellar, Bring up a cup full [of drink], And you shall drink to your own health." And he drank the full cup. " - What do you feel, Il'ja, within yourself?" " - 1 feel great strength."26

Despite minor variations, we are dealing here with the fairy-tale pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent. In the fairy tale, the hero encounters the donor away from home; in the bylina the donors meet the hero in his own house. This is necessitated by the fact that Il'ja cannot move. Il'ja miraculously acquires power at the beginning of the narrative, and this power becomes his permanent attribute. He will never need a donor again. The permanency of the miraculously acquired valor relates the episode with the three old men to the theme of miraculous birth. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" is the most popular of all byliny. It exists in some hundred variants.27 However, the miraculous acquisition of strength from the old men appears only in about twenty variants, most of which belong to the twentieth century. 28 This indicates that the epic does not require a supernatural justification of heroic might. The fact that Il'ja Muromec is an epic hero is justification enough. The miraculous acquisition of power typical of a few late versions stems from his epic status rather than the reverse: a man such as Il'ja cannot have ordinary experiences. Thus the byliny present us with a situation different from that of the fairy tales. In the byliny, epic strength leads occasionally to a subsequent 26

Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 70; see also Kireevskij, IV, No. 1; Gil'ferding, II, No. 120; Grigor'ev, I, No. 89; Oncukov, Nos. 19, 53; Astaxova, I, Nos. 28, 49, 80, 93, 95; II, Nos. 157, 165; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 44, 57, 77, 130, 170. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 135. 27 Astaxova, Il'ja Muromec, pp. 453-461. 28 See note 26. There are several byliny dealing exclusively with this subject; see Astaxova, Il'ja Muromec, p. 451.

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

35

addition of a supernatural justification of this strength; in the fairy tales* miraculous birth is a prerequisite to subsequent might. Conclusions similar to these were reached by Vsevolod Miller, who points to a late, perhaps eighteenth-century, development of the three old men episode and to its folktale origin.29 The bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic", even without the initial episode of miraculous birth, preserves an extrinsic, supernatural source of power for its hero, crafty lore. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", on the other hand, in only a minority of more recent cases, introduces such a source and for a reason opposite of that in the fairy tale or the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic". Turning to other byliny heroes, we find them neither miraculously born nor dependent upon donors. The epic hero is selfsufficient. Yet the basic fairy-tale pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent persists in the byliny. Unlike the miraculously born hero, the epic protagonist often obtains an agent from the donor, which he utilizes to his advantage. But the agent is no longer magical in its nature, nor is it indispensable to the epic hero. The naturally born fairy-tale protagonist needs a donor and a magical agent; the miraculously born hero obtains such an agent by himself. The epic hero can succeed without a miraculous birth, donor, or agent. In the bylina "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", the hero's mother gives him a whip before Dobrynja departs from home: O, my child, whom I bore, Take this whip of silk, And hit the chestnut horse between the ears, And hit him between the legs, Between the legs, the hind legs, Thus he will start to jump up, Shake the little serpents off his legs, Trample them all - leave none." He took the whip of silk, Hit his chestnut horse between the ears. Hit his chestnut horse between the legs, Between the legs, the hind legs, And his chestnut horse began to jump up, To shake the little serpents off his legs; He trampled them all - left none. 30 29

30

V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature,

I, pp. 362-391.

Kireevskij, II, Section 2, No. 1; see also Danilov, No. 48; Rybnikov, I, No. 25; Gil'ferding,II,Nos.79,157;Grigor'ev,I,No. 51;II, No. 89; III, No. 104; Astaxova,I, No. 23; II, No. 133; Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 98. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 135-136.

36

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

The episode parallels rather closely the fairy-tale pattern, but the whip can hardly be considered magical. The situation in which the mother gives her son a whip is lifelike compared, for example, to that where the old man bestows horses and weapons upon the two Ivans. In another episode from the same bylina, Dobrynja acquires the agent on his own: [Dobrynja] put on the cap of the land of Greece, He conceived of no danger to himself. So he [Dobrynja] went to the river Pucaj. And all the young men undressed, So did young Dobrynja Nikitic too. Out of nowhere appeared the fierce monster [Gorynyc], Flew at Dobrynja Nikitic, The young Dobrynja Nikitic implored: "Now, you. Dragon Gorynyc, It is not honorable, it is not courageous, To fall upon a naked body." And the Dragon Gorynyc flew past him. And the young Dobrynja Nikitic Climbed up to [where] the yellow sand [was]; He ran out [of the river], the good lad, The young lad Dobrynja Nikitic, He filled his cap with the yellow sand, As there flew at him the Dragon Gorynyc. Thereupon, Dobrynja was not timid, He threw the cap of the land of Greece, With the yellow sand At the fierce Dragon Gorynyc. He blinded him with the sand, cut off two of his tails There fell Gorynyc the Dragon. 31 In the episode previously cited, Dobrynja followed the pattern of the naturally born fairy-tale hero, who depends upon the donor for a magical agent. In this episode, Dobrynja, like the miraculously born hero, acquires the agent himself. It is, of course, the cap. There is nothing miraculous about this agent. Although Dobrynja resembles the miraculously born fairy-tale hero by not resorting to a donor, he also resembles the naturally 91

Danilov, No. 48. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 136.

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

37

born hero. His appeal to Gorynyc may be taken as an admission that, stripped of all his accoutrements, Dobrynja is helpless, and by no means an equal opponent for the dragon. In the bylina "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", there are three episodes in which the hero encounters his adversary, Gorynyc. Two of these have been described. Dobrynja confronts the dragon for the first time and uses the cap filled with sand to defeat him. He sets out again to face the dragon and this time receives a whip from his mother. The whip helps him to destroy little serpents that obstruct the road leading to Gorynyc. In neither episode does Dobrynja emerge as a fully selfsufficient epic hero. His self-sufficiency is asserted only in the final episode, in which Dobrynja is able to defeat the dragon on his own, without donors or agents: He fought the dragon for three days and nights, He killed the cursed dragon. 32

There is inconsistency in this sequence of episodes. Is the hero selfsufficient or not? In a sense, however, this inconsistency is significant. It shows the emergence of the epic hero out of his literary heritage of dependence on extrinsic sources of power. The bylina "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" also provides a parallel to the fairy tale: [Alesa and his servant Akim] Armed themselves and set out for the city of Kiev. There came up to them a pilgrim; His sandals were of seven silks, [His] traveling whip of fifty poods. There put in young Alesa Popovic: "Now, you, brother pilgrim. Give me your pilgrim's attire, Take mine - heroic." The pilgrim gave his attire to Alesa Popovic, Dressed himself in the heroic attire. [Alesa] crossed the river Safat,

32 Kireevskij, II, Section 2, No. 1; See also Kireevskij, II, Section 1, No. 1; Rybnikov, I, No. 40; Gil'ferding, II, No. 123; Astaxova, II, No. 123; Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 10. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 136.

38

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE Thus, spoke Alesa in his disguise: " N o w , you, young Tugarin, the Dragon's Son, Ride u p closer to m e , I cannot hear what y o u say." A n d there rode u p to him Tugarin, the Dragon's Son, [And] there turned young Alesa P o p o v i c Against Tugarin, the Son of a Dragon, With the w h i p [he] delivered a blow u p o n his daring head, [He] split his daring head. 3 3

The fairy-tale pattern is evident: the pilgrim is the donor; the whip is the agent. As in the bylina about Dobrynja, Alesa faces the dragon again, this time for the final and decisive battle. Victory in the climactic confrontation does not depend on donor or agent. However, there is one important difference between the two byliny. Dobrynja exhibits his epic self-sufficiency only in the final episode; Alesa, on the other hand, shows his intrinsic worth within the reworked fairy-tale pattern. His victory depends not on the donor and the whip, but on his resourcefulness and cunning in disguising himself and luring his adversary closer. The bylina "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" represents an important literary development. There is a rather close adherence to the fairy-tale pattern. Yet, this pattern undergoes a transformation. Alesa disguises himself as a pilgrim, pretends not to hear Tugarin in order to get him into the right position, and then delivers the blow.34 The hero directs events as he sees fit. It is accepted by scholars of Russian folklore that the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" evolved out of the older, less popular bylina "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon". 35 In this bylina, the encounter of Il'ja with the donor takes place on the road either to Kiev or Car'grad (old Slavic name for Constantinople). Thus spoke the seasoned Cossack, Il'ja M u r o m e c : " N o w , you, y o u travelling pilgrim, N o w give m e your pilgrim's attire. A n d put o n m y heroic attire."

33

Danilov, No. 20. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 137. The club physically involved in the hero-adversary confrontation obviously is an agent. A technical question may be raised as to whether the pilgrim's dress is not also such an agent. The indirect involvement of the dress (disguise), which the hero himself conceives, indicates that it is not. This same observation applies also to "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". 35 See V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, pp. 87-168, especially p. 118; Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 224-237, especially p. 224. 34

THE HERO'S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

39

The pilgrim would not give up his attire. [The hero's] ardent heart swelled with anger, He threw the pilgrim on the damp earth, Divested the pilgrim of his pilgrim's attire, He dressed in the pilgrim's attire; The pilgrim had a cap of forty poods, And a travelling club of forty poods. 36

The pattern of meeting the donor and receiving an agent remains. The agent with which Il'ja subsequently defeats the adversary, the Big Idol, is the cap. The meeting with the donor, however, turns into a contest in which Il'ja proves his superiority over the latter; he acquires the pilgrim's attire by force. In other variants, the hero's superiority over the donor stems from the latter's cowardice and drunkenness, rather than his physical weakness: Now, you, Vasilij, you tippler, After all you are twice as strong as I, Yet you don't even have half of my boldness and valor. 37

The donor voluntarily gives the hero the agent with which the latter defeats the Big Idol. It may be the cap or a travelling club. The hero's superiority over the donor, asserted verbally or in a contest of strength, is a quality of his epic self-sufficiency. A further step in this direction occurs when the hero acquires the pilgrim's attire but does not use it in his struggle with the adversary. He defeats the Big Idol with his bare hands: Put on Il'ja [his] Greek cap, Pulled up Il'ja [his] Volga club. And Il'ja Muromec came out, He lifted up [the Big Idol] over his daring head, Threw [the Big Idol] against the brick floor. Crushed his arms and legs, He kicked out the Idol's eyes. 38

In conclusion, the byUna "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" follows closely the fairy-tale pattern. In "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin 36

Markov, No. 69; see also Rybnikov, I, No. 6; Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 6. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 137. 37 Gil'ferding, II, No. 186; see also Gil'ferding, III, Nos. 196, 232, 245. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 138. 38 Gil'ferding, II, No. 144; see also Rybnikov, I, No. 62; Gil'ferding, II, No. 186; III, No. 196. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 138.

40

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

the Dragon", the process of transformation has already begun. The hero, Alesa, adheres to the tradition when he meets the donor, obtains the latter's whip, and uses the whip to defeat Tugarin. He departs from the tradition when he uses the pilgrim's garb as a disguise and pretends not to hear in order to set up the adversary for the blow. The further the epic hero departs from his fairy-tale heritage, the more he enhances his epic status. In the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" the pattern of hero, donor, and agent, is transformed even more than in the bylina about Alesa. Although the basic pattern of donor and agent remains, the action resolves in a new mode. In every variant Il'ja uses the pilgrim to prove his epic worth and the pilgrim's garb as a disguise to enter the palace of either Prince Vladimir in Kiev or Konstjantin Bogoljubovic in Car'grad. In the variants in which Il'ja defeats the Big Idol with his bare hands, thus eliminating the traditional function of the agent, the break with tradition is complete. The new resolution of action enhances the self-sufficiency of Il'ja Muromec as compared with Volx Vseslav'evic, Dobrynja Nikitic, and Alesa Popovic, who in varying degrees make use of an extrinsic source of power. The confrontation between Il'ja Muromec and the pilgrim also relates to a fairy-tale situation. In the fairy-tale, the hero may also force the donor to surrender the magical agent, but he does not resort to physical strength. Artfully forcing the surrender, he applies knowledge imparted to him by another, usually a wise woman. 39 Reliance on others prevents the hero from asserting either his superiority over the donor, or his selfsufficiency. In the by liny "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" and "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" there remains no vestige of the fairy-tale pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent.40 This pattern is replaced by a ceremonial action performed by the hero prior to his struggle with the adversary — ceremonial because rooted in tradition, yet by no means essential. But this pattern, when present in the byliny or in fairy tales with miraculous birth, may also be viewed as ceremonial, because in each case the protagonist does not need the donor and the agent that he has to offer. Il'ja Muromec confronts Solovej the Brigand and subdues him with an arrow. In some variants, however, the action of shooting is preceded by an incantation: 39

Afanas'ev, Nos. 95, 178. The reader must, of course, consider here the discussion about Il'ja's acquisition of epic might. 40

THE HERO S MIRACULOUS BIRTH AND ENDOWMENT

41

He inserted the tempered arrow, And to the arrow he spoke thus: "Fly, my tempered arrow, Higher than the standing forest, Lower than the moving cloud; Fly, land in Solovej's right eye And pierce through his left ear." 4 1 This formula is never repeated in the final confrontation between the two, which is the last scene of every variant. Many variants do not have the incantation even in the initial encounter; 42 instead there is a description of the arrow entering Solovej's right ear and piercing through his left eye. 43 This situation indicates the ceremonial aspect of the verbal formula; the hero may use it, but when he does not, he is equally successful. In the by lina "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" the enemy besieges Kiev. Il'ja is to confront him. However, before the confrontation, he engages in the preparatory action of summoning other epic heroes to his aid: Then, spoke the lord, Il'ja Muromec: "Now, you, Dobrynja, you Mikitic, You sit down, Dobrynja on the stool of hide straps. You, Dobrynja, you have a light hand, A light hand and a sharp pen; You send out writings quickly, quickly. Enlist the brave retinue;" 4 4 When the actual encounter takes place, however, Il'ja's epic strength is more than sufficient to deal with the enemy. He charges alone into the center of the enemy camp and kills Mamaj. Only then do the enlisted heroes enter the battle, making a secondary contribution. A comparison of the heroes of the byliny with those of the fairy tale in relation to the sources of their valor indicates that the epic hero is 41

Rybnikov, II, No. 127; see also Gil'ferding, III, No. 210; Markov, No. 68; Grigor'ev II, Nos. 12, 73, 85; III, No. 56; Astaxova, I, Nos. 39, 59; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 55, 61, 193; Oncukov, Nos. 19, 53. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 138. 42 Danilov, No. 49; Kireevskij, I, Section 3, Nos. 1, 3, 4; Rybnikov, Nos. 4, 82; II, Nos. 103,110,191; Gil'ferding, I, No. 74; II, Nos. 104, 112, 120; Grigor'ev, I, No. 38; II, Nos. 36, 52; III, Nos. 8, 89; Markov, Nos. 1, 107; Astaxova, I, Nos. 1, 28; II, Nos. 122, 141; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 96, 104, 130, 170. 43 Rybnikov, II, No. 116; Gil'ferding, III, Nos. 212, 274; Oncukov, No. 26; Astaxova, I, Nos. 12, 33; Propp and Putilov, pp. 174-182. 44 Markov, No. 94; see also Grigor'ev, III, Nos. 90, 98; Oncukov No. 26; Astaxova, I, Nos. 12, 33; Propp and Putilov, pp. 174-182. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 138.

42

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

more closely related to the miraculously born fairy-tale hero than to the recipient of a magical agent; both are constantly valorous, do not depend upon a donor, and are markedly active. But there is one important difference between them. Every fairy-tale hero must have an external source for his prowess, be it the donor or a miraculous birth; the epic hero does not need such a source. The origin of his epic might is instrinsic; it is his epic status. All heroes share in the fairy-tale pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent. To the hero dependent on a donor, this pattern has an all-important significance. The miraculously born hero, on the other hand, is always resourceful by virtue of his birth and can obtain an agent at will. The encounter with a donor often becomes to him an essentially ceremonial act to be performed before meeting the adversary. The epic hero usually follows the pattern more closely than the miraculously born hero. However, the pattern loses its supernatural aspect and is transformed in order to show epic self-sufficiency. Since neither the donor nor the agent is essential to the epic hero the fairy-tale pattern may be replaced by a purely ceremonial act to be performed before the encounter with the adversary. In his study, Heroic Poetry, Bowra points to the anthropocentric quality of the epic narrative: a concern with man and his world and the depiction of great deeds of which man, on his own, is capable.45 This chapter, in presenting the structural similarities between the epos and the fairy tale, has also demonstrated the validity of Bowra's observations. The fairy-tale hero needs supernatural aid; the epic hero emerges out of the heritage of dependence on extrinsic power as a self-sufficient protagonist.

45

C .M. Bowra, Heroic Poetry (London, 1952).

IV THE NEW A E S T H E T I C S OF THE EPOS

PORTRAYAL OF THE ADVERSARY

Scholars have advanced numerous theories concerning the dragon adversary in Russian folklore. Afanas'ev sees the dragons as the demonic representation of winter clouds and mists.1 Orest Miller shares this interpretation. He views Gorynyc, Tugarin, and Solovej as mythical personifications of atmospheric phenomena.2 Buslaev disagrees, regarding Solovej as a former pagan god of honey gatherers.3 Vsevolod Miller, primarily interested in the historicity of the byliny, sees in Gorynyc a symbol of Russian paganism. For him, the bylina "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" is a version of a historical event: in 988 an uncle of Prince Vladimir (also named Dobrynja) participated in the expedition to Christianize Novgorod. 4 Solovej represents a real brigand, known in the The Book of Degrees as Moguta, and whose crimes Prince Vladimir forgave.5 Tugarin is a distortion of the name of the historical Tugorkan, a leader of the Polovcy, who invaded Rus' in 1096 and was defeated. The bylina "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" is a version of this historical event.6 Soviet scholars utilize the findings of both the mythologists and the historians but tend to reject their specific assertions. They admit that the prototypes of Gorynyc, Tugarin, or Solovej belong to distant mythology but insist that they can no longer be identified within the pagan Slavic system of beliefs. In the byliny, their general role is that of external, historical enemies of Russia. As Propp states, the essence of heroic poetry is the theme of "struggle and victory" for "the highest ideals of 1

Afanas'ev, Poetic Outlook on Nature, I, pp. 304-305. O. Miller, II'ja Muromec, pp. 254-306, 426-438, 439^45. 3 Buslaev, Folk Poetry, pp. 273-279. 4 V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, pp. 144-148. 5 Ibid., Ill, pp. 91-135. 6 Ibid., II, pp. 87-168.

2

44

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

the people". 7 Lixacev rejects Vsevolod Miller's theory about the Christianization of Novgorod and sees the dragon as an external enemy of Russia rather than a representation of paganism. 8 To Astaxova, Solovej symbolizes the Tartar invader of Rus'. 9 Afanas'ev and Orest Miller claim that their interpretations of the dragons are applicable to the fairy tale as well as to the bylina, thus indicating a kinship of the adversary in both genres. The following comparison of the dragon of the fairy tale with that of the bylina shows that the former serves as a prototype for the latter. Although the fairytale dragons are essentially alike in every story, the bylina dragons acquire distinctive features from narrative to narrative and move away from the supernatural world of the prototype. Propp delineates the elements associated with the fairy-tale dragon. These are: fire, water, mountains, and flight.10 Water and mountains are his habitat; flight and fire are his personal attributes. Examples of this are multiple. All four elements are present in the following quotation, where the dragon that "climbs up high" is a variation on the theme of the mountain dragons. Ivan the Prince saddled his horse and rode off to the blue s e a . . . Suddenly a cloud appeared, the wind began to blow, the sea b e c a m e stormy. T h e dragon c a m e out f r o m the sea and climbed u p h i g h . . . T h e dragon with its twelve heads flew, strewing fire.11

Other elements in the dragon's portrayal are multi-headedness, as just demonstrated, metamorphosis, and sound imagery, such as hissing, hubbub, noise, and roar: Suddenly a duck quacked, the shore shook, the sea swayed, the sea rose in waves. [Thereupon] out crawled a monster, a musky lip, a twelve-headed dragon. H e whistled and hissed with a heroic whistle, with a mighty r o a r . . , 1 2 ' Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 5-6. 8 D. S. Lixacev, "Narodnoe poeticeskoe tvorcestvo vremeni rascveta drevnerusskogo rannefeodal'nogo gosudarstva" ("Poetic Folk Art in the Times of Growth of Early Feudalism in Rus'"), in Russkoe narodnoe poeticeskoe tvorcestvo ("Russian Poetic Folk Art") (Moscow-Leningrad, 1953), I, p. 197. 9 Astaxova, Il'ja Muromec, pp. 453-454. 10 Propp, Roots of the Fairy Tale, pp. 197-199. 11 Afanas'ev, No. 92; note here the inclement weather accompanying the appearance of the dragon. This factor adds plausibility to the assertion of the mythologists. 12 Ibid., Nos. 76, 165a, b.

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

45

Metamorphosis from a dragon to a human, to a lion is described in the following passage: One day Ivan the Soldier's Son went out for a walk into the field. He encountered a young boy who asked him for alms. The good lad took pity upon the boy, reached for a coin and gave it to the child. The boy accepted the alms and then puffed up, expanded, turned into a lion and tore Ivan to pieces. Several days later the very same thing happened to Ivan the Prince. He went out into the garden for a walk, and there he met an old man who bowed to him low and asked for alms. The Prince gave him a coin, and the old man having accepted the alms puffed up, expanded, turned into a lion and tore Ivan the Prince to p i e c e s . . . They were [both] destroyed by the dragon's kin. 13 The portrayal o f the dragon in the byliny shows a movement away from the supernatural and toward the lifelike. T h e dragon in the

bylina

"Dobrynja Nikitic and G o r y n y c the D r a g o n " is similar to his fairy-tale prototype: He led his good horse, [Led] his good horse to the river Pucaj. Now in this hour, in this time There is no wind yet a black cloud appears, Now the cloud is gone, there falls only the rain, Now there is no rain, only sparks keep falling, The Dragon flies - the Dragon Gorynyc, The Dragon has a dozen tails, The Dragon seeks to burn both hero and his horse. F a r is the hero, in the open field, On those mountains, mountains of Sorocinsk, There he tramples all the young serpents, Out came the cursed Gorynyc the Dragon. 1 4 The serpent o f the fairy-tale, usually multi-headed, appears in the byliny as multi-tailed. In some variants, however, he also may have many heads: Young Dobrynja wished T o bathe in the River Pucaj, to dive. At that time, at that hour, From the distance, from the open field, Afanas'ev, No. 92; see also 71b, 125. Kireevskij, II, Section 2, No. 1; see also Danilov, No. 48; Rybnikov, I, No. 25; Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 93,123; III, 241; Markov, Nos. 5,73; Oncukov, No. 59; Grigor'ev, II, Nos. 89; Astaxova, I, No. 23; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 10, 98. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 138-139. 13 14

46

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE F r o m t h e w e s t e r n side N o t t h e falling r a i n , n o t t h e striking t h u n d e r , N o t t h e striking t h u n d e r , b u t a g r e a t h u b b u b a p p r o a c h e s : T h e r e flies o v e r y o u n g D o b r y n j a Huge Gorynyc the Dragon. T h e Dragon has three heads, T h e D r a g o n h a s twelve tails; " I f I wish I c a n b u r n D o b r y n j a w i t h

fire".15

A comparison of the fairy-tale serpent (often also named Gorynyc) with his namesake of the bylina shows that they share the association with water, mountains, flight, fire, multi-headedness, and sound imagery. The kinship between the two, therefore, is indeed close. The portrayal of Tugarin, however, is a departure from the fairy-tale image of the dragon: [Alesa] c a m e u p t o t h e R i v e r S a f a t , A n d t h e r e h e saw t h e y o u n g D r a g o n T u g a r i n , A n d r o a r e d [the D r a g o n ] , s t e n t o r i a n his v o i c e ; T h e g r e e n , l e a f y forest t r e m b l e d . " A n d I w o u l d p i e r c e Alesa w i t h m y s p e a r , P i e r c e h i m a n d b u r n h i m w i t h fire.16

This image of the dragon appears in the Kirsa Danilov bylina. Structurally, this variant is unique: Alesa encounters the dragon twice; he defeats him the first time with the aid of a donor (pilgrim), the second time, by himself. In all other variants, Alesa encounters Tugarin only once and defeats him, typically, with the help of God. The image of the adversary in these variants is as follows: O l e s e n ' k a rides o n o n his g o o d h o r s e A n d sees t h e h e a t h e n T u g a r i n . T u g a r i n flies h i g h , close t o t h e c l o u d ; Olesa gets off his g o o d h o r s e , Stands u p and faces the east. 15 Gil'ferding, II, N o . 79; see also Grigor'ev, II, N o . 16 (seven heads) N o . 47 (three heads); III, N o . 66 (three heads); Astaxova, II, N o . 133 (four heads). F o r Russian text, see Appendix p. 139. 16 Danilov, N o . 20. There is also a variant in Markov (No. 47) f r o m the singer A. M. Krjukova, which is a close parallel to the Danilov bylina. As Astaxova points out (A. M. Astaxova, Russkij bylinnyj epos na Severe ["Russian Byliny in the North"], [Petrozavodsk, 1948], pp.281-294) Krjukova's source was the Kirsa Danilov collection; thus, her song may not be viewed as an expression of folk epic tradition. F o r Russian text, see Appendix p. 139.

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

47

He prays to the Lord the Most Holy: "Grant Lord fine rain but thick, Let it wet the paper wings of Tugarin, Let me meet Tugarin face to face." There appeared a cloud, a black one With a thick, fine rain and lightning, Tugarin's paper wings became wet; Tugarin descended onto the damp earth. Tugarin rides forth on his good horse, On his good horse, on the damp earth, Olesenka Popovic, Ivanovic's son, Takes a big knife of steel, He forces the knife into the daring head... 1 7 Most of the elements associated with the fairy-tale dragon are present in the two examples given: fire, flight, sound imagery, and watery habitat. Certain factors, however, reduce the supernatural quality of the dragon. Water, an element typical for him, now becomes a force acting against him. Rain brings him down to earth; the supernatural dragon becomes a horse rider. Solovej represents a radical departure from the fairy-tale prototype; he is not even called a dragon: There at the road the Smorodina flows, And on the road Solovejko, the little brigand Has been sitting thirty years on twenty-seven oaks.18 Il'ja Muromec released his heroic horse, And he journeyed on down the straight road, To the famed little river the Smorodina. And whistled the brigand, brigand Solovej; He whistled, Solovej, like a nightingale, He screamed, the scoundrel brigand, just like a beast: The dark forests bent down to the earth. 19 The connection with the fairy-tale dragon still exists. His name, Solovej (nightingale) suggests flight; the watery habitat and the sound imagery are also evident in his description. Solovej's whistle is the dragon's whistle, his bird-like name harks back to the traditional flight of the fairy17 Gil'ferding, II, No. 99; see also Grigor'ev, III, No. 30; Oncukov, No. 64; Astaxova II, No. 212. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 139-140. 18 Kireevskij, I, Section 3, No. 4. for Russian text, see Appendix 140. 19 Rybnikov, I, No. 4. for Russian text, see Appendix p. 140.

48

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tale adversary, the river Smorodina recalls the watery dwelling of the the sea. Since in Russian folklore tradition the nightingale is usually depicted true to his natural image, as a pleasantly singing, friendly bird, 20 the choice of the name Solovej in this particular instance produces the effect of an oxymoron. The contradiction works against the supernatural tradition, and, as in the case of Tugarin, breaks up the chain of fixed associations connected with the dragon's image, such as water, whistle, flight, and fire. Moreover, actual flight and fire are no longer present in the image of Solovej (though in a number of variants he is endowed with wings).21 A tendency to ascribe human characteristics to Solovej accompanies the reduction of supernatural elements in his image. He may have yellow hair on his head and have hands or legs.22 He may even be fully human: Bound is the hefty man, He wears a red Alexandrian shirt, Gloves stick in his belt, His eyes are badly hurt.23 The description of Solovej as fully human is not typical for the epos, however, and can be found only in the song quoted from the collection of Astaxova. The means by which the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" produces the impression of a Solovej with human characteristics is the scene of mistaken identity present in almost every text in which Solovej is described as having a family: And thus spoke Neveja: "Our father rides on through the valley, the open field, And he sits on his good heroic horse; He carries a big peasant, uncouth, Tied to his stirrup of steel. And thus spoke Pel'ka: "A big peasant, uncouth, rides on 20

See A. I. Sobolevskij (ed.), Velikorusskie narodnye pesni ("Great Russian Folk Songs") (St. Petersburg, 1895-1897), I, pp. 307-309, 431; II, pp. 129-131, 242. The nightingale may also symbolize the grief of the male; for example, the youth drafted into the army. Ibid., VI, p. 70. 21 Kireevskij, I, Section 3, No. 1; Grigor'ev, II, No. 73; Sokolov-Cicerov, N o . 55; Rybnikov, II, N o . 103. 22 Rybnikov, II, No. 127; Kireevskij, I, Section 6, No. 1; Rybnikov, I, N o . 61. 23 Astaxova, II, N o . 157. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 140.

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

49

T h r o u g h the valley, the o p e n field, H e carries our master, our father Tied to his stirrup of steel. 2 4

Solovej can be mistaken for Il'ja, U'ja for Solovej; the brigand's daughters, not knowing the hero, refer to him as a big, uncouth peasant. The very existence of Solovej's children adds to his human image. It is apparent that Gorynyc, Tugarin, and Solovej derive their features, in varying degrees, from the fairy-tale dragon. Gorynyc is the most closely related to the prototype, Solovej the least. However, even Gorynyc becomes associated with a river, rather than with the lake or sea of the fairy tale; such association is also established for the other two adversaries. Moreover, none of the three emerges out of watery depths and none has metamorphic capability. These factors reduce the supernatural air of all epic adversaries as compared to the dragons of the fairy tale. Furthermore, although all the fairy-tale dragons are essentially identical, those of the epos are not: Gorynyc flies over the river, Tugarin rides up to it on horseback, and Solovej spreads himself on several trees by the river. The departure from the fairy-tale prototype finds its full realization in the Big Idol and Mamaj: neither of these adversaries retains supernatural features. Nineteenth-century scholars did not attach any specific connotations to the figure of the Big Idol. For Orest Miller, the adversary represents paganism; Il'ja's defeat of the Big Idol assures the victory of Christianity on Russian soil.25 Vsevolod Miller, considering the two versions of the bylina, "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol", one with Vladimir in Kiev, the other with Konstjantin Bogoljubovic in Car'grad, judges the latter to be older. Il'ja's defeat of the adversary in Car'grad achieves a symbolic Russian victory over the Turks in Constantinople.26 There is little room for argument concerning Mamaj. The epic adversary acquired his name from the fourteenth-century Khan Mamaj of the Golden Horde. The appraisal of the adversary in the bylina "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" is difficult. The bylina in its variants is known under many different titles; the one used here is a generalization.27 What unites all these variants is the theme of boasting which may lead to the demise of epic heroes. The adversary may be named Mamaj, Kalin, Kudravenko, Kurgan, or the Big Idol. The first four adversaries are similar; the fifth 24 25 26 27

Rybnikov, I, No. 4. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 140. O. Miller, Il'ja Muromec, pp. 739-763, especially p. 762. V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, pp. 87-168, especially p. 96. Astaxova, Il'ja Muromec, II, pp. 462-464.

50

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differs from them. Consequently only the figures of Mamaj and the Big Idol are analyzed. The Big Idol is depicted in an almost identical manner in those variants of "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" in which he appears and in "Il'ja Muromec and The Big Idol". The discussion concerning him will, thus, relate to the variants of both these byliny. The bylina "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" evolves out of "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", but Tugarin and the Big Idol are adversaries who are quite different. Tugarin maintains three essential points of similarity with the supernatural, fairy-tale dragon: sound imagery, flight, and fire. The following passage elaborates further the image of this adversary: And Tugarin the Dragon vilely eats bread: A whole loaf in one swallow, And the loafs are monastery baked. And Tugarin beverages vilely drinks: An entire cupful he swills at a draught, And the cup is as large as two buckets and a half. 28

The Big Idol does not share with Tugarin the supernatural aspect of the latter's image. Rather, his description shares points of similarity with Tugarin's hyperbolic gluttony: Thus speaks up the wandering pilgrim: "And the Tartar's head - like a beer cauldron, And the Tartar's big eyes - like big beer mugs, And the Tartar's nose - like a sour dumpling." 29

The foregoing description of the Big Idol is from the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". It is quite similar to that which can be found in "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj": There arose a monster not little, Not little and yet not big either, His head - like a beer cauldron, His eyes - like beer mugs. From one ear to the other - the length of a tempered arrow, From one eye to the other - the span of a written page, And his shoulders - as broad as a scythe is long. 30 28

Danilov, No. 20. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 140-141. Kireevskij, IV, Section 1, No. 5; see also Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 178, 186; Oncukov, No. 20; Grigor'ev, I, No. 76, III, No. 19; Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 19. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 141. 30 Astaxova, I, No. 12. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 141. 29

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

51

The description of Mamaj contains none of the supernatural material from the fairy tale; this results in a human adversary: From beyond the sea, the blue sea, From beyond mountains, mountains high, From beyond the forests dark, From the distant eastern region No dark cloud rises up high, Mamaj and his force take up arms Against Kiev, the adorned city, Captive he wants Kiev, the adorned city. And he takes a great force, a great multitude; Forty tsars he takes, forty sons of tsars, Forty kings and forty of their sons; And again he takes his son-in-law beloved, His Vasilij the Handsome, With Vasilij comes a force of hundred thousands And with Mamaj comes a force beyond all number. 31

The imagery is interesting: sea, mountains, and the suggested upward movement of the cloud, expressed by a negative metaphor ("No dark cloud mounts up high, Mamaj and his force take up arms"). It recalls the elements associated with the fairy-tale dragon. However, in the bylina the tradition of the fairy tale has been completely reworked: the supernatural becomes ornamental and poetic. Moreover, the depiction of Mamaj's forces introduces the device of hyperbole. The fairy tale is dominated by the supernatural, and both the hero and the adversary share it. In the bylina, hyperbole, rather than the supert natural, predominates. In the 1850's, Aksakov pointed to a redistribution of attributes in the epos. In this redistribution the supernatural elements shift towards the adversary. The hero becomes a more lifelike but by no means realistic figure: hyperbole, modified by realistic detail, replaces the supernatural. When the adversary loses his supernatural features hyperbole asserts itself; in deference to the hero's image it is grotesque hyperbole, as in the image of the Big Idol, or pure hyperbole, as in the image of Mamaj. The investigation of the images of the fairy-tale dragon and the epic adversary shows a decrease in the number of points of similarity between them, from the fairy-tale prototype to Gorynyc, to Tugarin, to Solovej, to the Big Idol, and, finally, to Mamaj. Gorynyc most resembles the fairy-tale dragon, Mamaj least. This research seems to confirm the general 31

Propp and Putilov,!, "Mamajevo poboisce". For Russian text, see Appendix p. 141.

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assumption of both Wundt and Propp: the path of development is myth to fairy tale to epos. The gradation may be correlated with the findings from the preceding chapter. The pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent and the image of the adversary rooted in the fairy-tale tradition are both clearly evident in "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon". The pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent is restructured in "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", and the adversary here has fewer points of similarity to its fairy-tale prototype. In the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" the pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent is no longer present. There remains, on one hand, the hero's incantation to the arrow evoking the supernatural and, on the other, the image of the adversary sitting by the river and whistling. Both the whistle and the watery habitat are points of identity shared with the fairy-tale dragon. Since the less the epic adversary resembles the supernatural, fairy-tale prototype, the more lifelike he becomes, Mamaj comes after the Big Idol on the comparative scale of epic adversary vs. fairy-tale dragon. "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" still uses the traditional pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent but reworks it, rejecting the supernatural adversary and introducing the grotesque into his hyperbolic image. Mamaj of "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" is a purely hyperbolic adversary and the gathering of epic heroes before the fight is ceremonial; this bylina shows the greatest departure from the fairy-tale tradition.

THE PORTRAYAL

OF THE

HERO

Unlike the fairy tale, the bylina differentiates between the mode of depiction of the hero and that of the adversary. When the image of one is dominated by hyperbole, the image of the other is dominated by the supernatural; when hyperbole prevails in the images of both, this device is somehow differentiated. The hero is depicted by hyperbole modified by realistic detail. As in the case of the epic adversary, a great deal of scholarly research has gone into the elucidation of the origins of the epic hero. The m y c o logists posit poetic narratives about gods as the mythical basis for both the fairy tale and the epos. The important difference between the two genres is that the fairy tale is myth distorted through centuries of oral transmission, while in the bylina later historical events envelop the initial myth. Hence, Il'ja Muromec, Alesa Popovic, and Dobrynja Nikitic, warriors connected with the historical period of Kievan Rus', repre-

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

53

sent later additions or younger heroes, Buslaev claims.32 Narratives about historical personages may superimpose themselves on those about ancient gods and transform religious, ritualistic poetry into epic poetry. The historical layers in the bylina, which are its historicity, have been a constant preoccupation of Russian folklore scholars. Kalajdovic traces certain connections between the byliny and history. Orest Miller believes in the past existence of a hero, Il'ja of Murom, basing his assertion on the claim of a group of peasants in the Murom region that their ancestor was Il'ja, the epic hero.33 Like Kalajdovic, both Buslaev and Vsevolod Miller find the historical ancestor of Alesa Popovic in his thirteenth-century namesake from Rostov, said to have died at the Battle of the Kal'ka in 1223; Dobrynja is believed to represent the historical uncle of Vladimir Svjatoslavic (978-1015).34 Although Orest Miller posits a historical Il'ja Muromec from Murom, Vsevolod Miller views him as a Cernigov hero: Il'ja Muromec is a distortion of Il'ja Morovec, the hero originating from the Morovsk area, a town in the Cernigov principality of Kievan times.35 Contemporary Soviet scholars approach the question of the historicity of epic heroes with a great deal of skepticism. Propp denies the connection between the epic Dobrynja and Vladimir's uncle, although Lixacev maintains its validity.36 Both scholars agree that knowledge of the historical Alesa Popovic of Rostov is of epic origin, i.e., that the chronicle accounts may only reflect an older epic tradition. The first written source about the hero, the "Vladimir Polixron", is as late as 1423. Propp believes that this makes the actual historical existence of an Alesa Popovic unlikely, although Lixacev expresses no judgment concerning the reliability of the epic tradition about Alesa.37 Lixacev rejects Vsevolod Miller's theory about Il'ja Morovec as adding nothing meaningful to knowledge about the hero. His past existence remains an open question.38 Although the names of Dobrynja (but not Nikitic) and Alesa PopoviC appear in the chronicles, that of Il'ja Morovec of Muromec does not. 32

See Chapter II, Note 23. O. Miller, Il'ja Muromec, p. 810. 34 Buslaev, Folk Poetry, pp. 279-284; V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, pp. 144-148. 35 V. Miller, Excursions into the Folk Epos, pp. 186-188; Russian Folk Literature, III, pp. 86-90. 36 Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 183; Lixacev, "Poetic Folk Art in Rus'", pp. 191-192. 37 Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 212-213; D. S. Lixacev, "Letopisnye izvestija ob Aleksandre Popoviie" ("The Chronicles about Aleksander Popovic"), in Trudy otdela drevnerusskoj literatury ("Studies of the Division of Old Russian Literature") (1949), VII, pp. 17-51; D. S. Lixacev, Kul'turaRusi ("The Culture of Rus'") (Moscow Leningrad, 1962), pp. 108-116. 38 Lixaiev, "Poetic Folk Art in Rus' ", pp. 277-278. 33

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It is apparent that the search for historicity in the by liny extends beyond names and places. For Vsevolod Miller, it involves events such as the invasion of Rus' by Tugorkan or the Christianization of Novgorod. Here again Soviet scholars express a great deal of skepticism. For Vsevolod Miller, the byliny reflect specific historical events; Lixacev and Astaxova see them as generalizations of such events; for Propp, the by liny seem to express a kind of wishful thinking of the people concerning victory over their enemies. Regardless of the conclusions a scholar may reach, his essential starting point for historical investigation is in the place names and personal names, the toponomy and nomenclature, which appear in the byliny. The bylina is a literary genre and, whether or not it tells anything about the history of Russia, it utilizes epic toponomy and nomenclature for certain artistic purposes. These purposes deserve investigation, as does the relationship between epic place names and personal names and history. The reduction of supernatural attributes in the image of the adversary is only a part of the general tendency to utilize supernatural material to a far lesser degree in the epos than in the fairy tale. This tendency finds its strongest expression in the figure of the hero, dominated by hyperbole modified by realistic detail. Epic toponomy and nomenclature play an essential part in providing the realistic detail. The fairy-tale nomenclature deprives its hero of personal specificity. It is not only nomenclature that has this effect on the fairy-tale Ivan. It is also his task: he fights a dragon, an adversary undifferentiated from tale to tale; he seeks Vasilisa or Elena the Fair, as it were, over and over again.39 Moreover, Ivan inhabits a world void of toponomy. He lives in "a certain kingdom", "beyond three times nine countries in a certain kingdom", "in a certain village", or "in a village of a certain country, of a certain kingdom". 40 When he rides out, his path leads to "an unknown land" or a "distant land". 41 Ivan's own country, or the land of his destination, may have a ruler, but he, too, is a nameless king or tsar.42 Lack of toponomy deprives the hero of personal specificity. Ivan's image is that of a faceless human being; the heroic quality he projects through his deeds is dominated by the supernatural, the indispensable extrinsic source of valor. 39

Afanas'ev, Nos. 59, 71b, 84c, 102, 104f, 105b, 116b, 118a, 120b, 127b, 133, 150a, 173p, 179.

40 Ibid., Nos. 41 Ibid., Nos. 42

120b, 125d, 126, 123. 92, 118b. Ibid., Nos. 123, 164.

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

55

The epic hero makes a radical departure from the fairy-tale tradition. He depends neither on a miraculous birth nor on a donor. His selfsufficiency finds its ultimate expression in epic might, projected through the device o f hyperbole. Dobrynja confronts Gorynyc for the final battle: Seventy-two hours he fought with the dragon, He killed the dragon, the cursed one; He went down, Dobrynja, into a deep trench, And many sit there, tsars, sons of tsars, Many, many kings and the sons of kings; As for simple soldiers - they are numberless; He counted the men - forty thousand men. He spoke to the princess, Vladimir's niece: "It's for you that I journeyed so far! Let us go to the city of Kiev, To the kindest of Princes - Vladimir; And to you my sirs: you are all free!" 4 3 The hero fights the dragon for seventy-two whole hours. H e defeats a dragon who has subdued countless kings, tsars, and simple soldiers and sets them free; that which none o f them could accomplish, Dobrynja does single-handedly. Il'ja M u r o m e c confronts the Big Idol and his T a r t a r force. One against many, the hero emerges victorious: And now Il'jusenka jumped up, Struck a blow with his club upon his daring head, And the Pagan trembled and swayed, He opened, opened wide his mouth. He delivered a blow, a second blow, And there fell the Pagan, he fell on the floor of oak, Palace towers trembled at his fall. He ran out, out on the street, He began to brandish his club, Where he waved it, there he cleared a street, As he waved it - he cleared an alley: Away flew the Tartars, the Pagans, The last of the lot disappeared, Where they could, they ran, ran away; Some he killed, the others he sent running. And the city of Kiev became free. 44 43 44

Kireevskij, II, Section 2, No. 1. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 141-142. Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 6. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 142.

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Investigation of the epic adversary and the fairy-tale dragon has shown that the two have much in common. The epic hero and his fairy-tale counterpart are also related, but their relationship is that of opposites. The fairy tale denies altogether the value of human prowess; the epos moves in the opposite direction, hyperbolizing it. Super-anthropocentrism replaces non-anthropocentrism. The essential difference between the supernatural of the fairy tale and the hyperbole of the bylina is that hyperbole assigns to one man what only many men could accomplish reasonably; the supernatural, what no mortal could. Thus, the bylina hero belongs to this world ; the fairy-tale hero does not. The relationship of opposites applies also to the effect nomenclature and toponomy have upon the figure of the hero of the epos as compared to the hero of the fairy tale. In the bylina, nomenclature provides the hero with a specific identity. He has a given name, different from that of any other hero; he has a patronymic: Il'ja Muromec Ivanovic, Dobrynja Nikitic, Alesa Popovic (a variation, since Popovic obviously means the son of a pop [priest]). This last name is reminiscent of the fairy-tale tradition. To counteract it, the bylina also names him Ivanovic: "Alesa Popovic Ivanovic." Epic nomenclature is arbitrary and, therefore, realistic; that of the fairy tale is not. Epic toponomy makes the hero concrete and specific: Il'ja is from the village of Karacarovo near Murom, Alesa from Rostov, Dobrynja from Kiev. The fairy-tale hero rides out of a "certain country" to a "distant land", to a nameless king or tsar; his epic counterpart rides out from a specific locale to a specific destination, most often to Kiev, the capital city of Prince Vladimir. From the famed Rostov city, the beautiful town, Like two bright falcons there flew out, Rode out two powerful heroes : The young hero named Alesa Popovic And with him the young... Ekim The first road leads to Murom, The second - to Cernigov town, The third to that city, to Kiev, To the kindest of princes, Vladimir. And Ekim Ivanovic spoke: "You, brother, young Alesa Popovic, Which road do you choose to follow?" Said to him Alesa Popovic: "It's best that we ride on to Kiev."45 45

Kirsa Danilov, N o . 20. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 142-143.

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

57

Artistically, specific nomenclature and toponomy make the hero not only concrete but also believable. They supply the hyperbolic epic hero with the realistic detail of real life. Thus, the fairy tale favors the mysterious, the supernatural; the bylina favors suspension of disbelief. The warrior, Alesa Popovic from Rostov, might not have existed, but his name fulfills an aesthetic function regardless of historical considerations. Aksakov's comment that epic geography is inexact is not relevant here. What matters artistically is the use of a name, not its exactness. The names of the adversaries are arbitrary selections: Tugarin, Mamaj, the Big Idol, Gorynyc. The last, however, appears to be a direct borrowing from the fairy tale. Gorynyc relates to gora (mountain), the dragon's mountainous habitat. The name Solovej (nightingale), which may be associated with the flight of the dragon, has the quality of an arbitrary selection: the adversary might as well have been called Kanarejka (canary) or Zavoronok (lark). Like the heroes, the adversaries gain in concreteness from the epic nomenclature. This effect is further enhanced by the differences between epic adversaries. The fairy-tale dragon remains the same from tale to tale, but no two of his epic counterparts are identical. The concreteness of the adversary acts in turn upon the image of the hero: he gains in personal specificity by being identified with a specific enemy. Realism is also enhanced or reduced by the place of the hero's encounter with the adversary. In the fairy tale, the hero departs to the kingdom of the dragon, defeats him, and returns to his own kingdom; the two worlds are separate: Ivan the Prince learned that the Princess had been led away [to be sacrificed] to the Tsar of the Waters. He set out to the Island... Suddenly the six-headed dragon appeared; the waters burst six arsins* h i g h . . . They began to fight. Ivan the Prince cut off the first head of the dragon, then the second, third, finally - all six. He threw them into the water. 46

After the fight, both Ivan and the Princess return to the kingdom of her father, the tsar. In the byliny, the situation is reversed. The hero confronts the adversary in his own heroic world: between Murom and Kiev (Solovej), Rostov and Kiev (Tugarin), in Kiev or Car'grad (the Big Idol), and near Kiev (Mamaj). The realistic surroundings lend credibility to the encounter. Only Gorynyc, who most resembles the fairy-tale dragon, * A linear measurement equal to 28 inches. Afanas'ev, No. 68; see also 71b, 92, 125d, b.

46

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BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE

maintains his old mountainous kingdom; Dobrynja journeys out to him from Kiev, defeats him, and returns to the capital city. All the epic adversaries, however, maintain some aspect of the fairy-tale dragon habitat. For Gorynyc, the habitat is near the mountains and by the water (the Pucaj), and for Solovej, it is the Smorodina. Alesa meets Tugarin at the River Safat. In the fairy tale, the lakes and seas are nameless. The Smorodina, however, appears both in the bylina and in the older genre. The river is a typical habitat for the epic adversary, and the Smorodina probably entered the fairy tale by way of the epic tradition. All epic adversaries share with the fairy-tale dragon a nameless region of origin. Even the dwelling place of Solovej's family, though apparently somewhere on the hero's road from Murom to Kiev, remains nameless. Mamaj is a human adversary. In rich poetic language the bylina describes his kingdom, but this language borrows from fairy-tale tradition. Mamaj's nameless kingdom lies beyond an unspecified sea and mountains. Within his entire force only one name, Vasilij the Handsome, appears, and this is also found in the fairy-tale tradition. Thus the description of Mamaj lacks the realistic detail that modifies the hyperbolic image of the epic hero. The figure of Mamaj is also hyperbolic, but not enriched by epic toponomy or nomenclature; his description remains in the realm of pure hyperbole. This discussion has shown that regardless of historical veracity, epic toponomy and nomenclature have an artistic function within the genre. This function stems from the application of the new aesthetic principle aiming at suspension of disbelief. Both toponomy and nomenclature are closely associated with the figure of the hyperbolic epic hero and his world, Kievan Rus'. Thus the figure of the hero is a foremost embodiment of these new epic aesthetics. Of all the epic heroes, only Volx Vseslav'evic maintains the supernatural image. The redistribution of attributes in the bylina as compared to the fairy tale has already been mentioned. In the latter, both the hero and the adversary share in the supernatural; in the epos, the supernatural material gravitates toward the adversary, and the hero remains comparatively free of it. Redistribution also applies to the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic", but, contrary to the general scheme, it is the hero and his retinue whom the bylina depicts through the use of the supernatural; the adversary assumes the features usually reserved for the epic hero. Beyond Volx's miraculous birth and metamorphic capability, he possesses a fairy-tale-like habitat in that he, too, is a hero from a nameless land. On the other hand, his adversary shares in the epic nomenclature as well

THE NEW AESTHETICS OF THE EPOS

59

as toponomy: he is Saltyk Stavrul'evic, a tsar of the Indian Kingdom, married to Elena Aleksandrovna Azvjakovna: Young Volx, wise he was, Into an ant he turned himself, And all the good lads with him; They crossed the white stone wall, Now the good lads stood, on the other side, In the famed Indian Kingdom. Into good lads Volx turned them all again, With their weapons, martial attire. And Volx himself entered the halls, The halls of the tsar, Of the Indian tsar. The doors in the halls were of iron, The locks and catches were of steel and gilded, He broke all the locks of steel, By his white hands he took the tsar, The famous tsar of India, Saltyk Stavrul'evic. He seized him and threw him against the brick floor, He smashed him to excremental bits. Volx himself now became the tsar. Azvjakovna, the tsar's wife, he took for himself, The young one, Elena, Alexander's daughter. 47

It should be clear why this by lina is unique in the Russian epic tradition. The epos aims at suspension of disbelief. This aim can hardly be achieved when it is not the hero, but the adversary, who conforms to the epic aesthetics. The hero is the main subject of the narrative, the figure with whom the audience identifies, yet he remains an unbelievable, fairy-talelike figure. The failure to allege truth makes the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" an unsatisfactory work which has found little popularity among the people; there are only some eight recorded variants of this bylina.is Aksakov considers Volx a magician; Buslaev, views him as an "older hero", since his mythological image is far less obscured by later historical material than the images of Il'ja or Dobrynja.49 However, both these 47

Danilov, No. 6. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 143. Danilov, No. 6; Rybnikov, I, No. 38; II, No. 146; Gil'ferding, I, No. 15; II, No. 91; Markov, No. 51; Oncukov, No. 84; Byliny M. S. Krjukovoj (Moscow, 1939), No. 39. 49 Buslaev, Folk Poetry, pp. 21, 32-35, 268. 48

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views seem to be imaginative interpretations of an artistic mode of depicting an epic hero, rather than conclusions based on a comparative study of the Russian folk epos and Russian mythology, since sources concerning the latter are scarce indeed. Old Russian chronicles attribute magical skills to two Kievan princes, Oleg (d. 912) and Vseslav (1044-1101).50 On this basis, Jakobson and Szeftel connect the epic Volx with Vseslav; Lixacev considers the possibility that both Oleg and Vseslav are historical sources for the epic hero, Volx Vseslav'evic.51 In Chapter III, a gradation of the epic heroes in relation to the pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent was established. Out of this gradation Il'ja emerges as the most anthropocentric figure, Volx the least. Anthropocentricity is an important factor in the new aesthetics. Thus, the more self-sufficient an epic hero is, the more successful he is artistically. This situation may well suggest why Il'ja Muromec is the most celebrated epic personality and why the bylina "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", itself not too popular, evolved into "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", on the other hand, is far better known among the people than "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon". Aksakov argues that the folk proverb, "the tale is fiction, the song is a fact", states the essential aesthetic difference between the bylina and the fairy tale. It is the process of reworking the borrowed material within the Russian folk epos that allows for this differentiation. Anthropocentricity of the epic narrative, the use of modified hyperbole for the depiction of the epic hero, and the decrease of the supernatural in portrayal of the epic adversary, are all expressions of the movement toward the suspension of disbelief. Perhaps it should be noted that, if the modern reader finds little believable in the bylina, he should remember that the Russian folk epos was not composed for him. The genre must be appreciated on its own terms. 50

In S. H. Cross (trans.), Russian Primary Chronicle (Cambridge, Mass., 1953), pp. 64-65, 139, under the year 6415, Oleg is mentioned as vesci, 'prophetic', while Vseslav, under the year 6552, is stated to have been born ot volxovanija, 'from enchantment'. Further, in (V. Naboko vtrans.), The Song of Igor's Campaign, pp. 62-63, this same Vseslav of Polock is said to be able to turn into a wolf. The obvious question here is whence all this material came. It is, of course, only reasonable to assume that folklore tradition influenced both the Primary Chronicle and The Tale of Igor's Campaign. The discussion of the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" is, in a sense, confirmed by the situation in the Primary Chronicle: from among all the Kievan princes only these two are endowed with supernatural attributes. 51 Jakobson and Szeftel, "Vseslav Epos", p. 14; Lixacev, "Poetic Folk Art in Rus' ", pp. 200-201.

V HISTORY A N D THE BYLINY

HISTORICAL

BASIS FOR

THE

BYLINY

The writing of chronicles had been a richly developed literary tradition from the early days of Kievan Rus'. The members of the historical school, therefore, have had ample sources for their study of the byliny. The description here of the hero and the adversary has lead to discussion of the specific historical events the Russian folk epos is supposed to narrate. The following examples of a detailed comparative study of historical documents and the folk epos demonstrate the basic approach of the historical school and serve as a basis for arguing against the historical approach and the conclusions to which it leads. The works examined are those of Vsevolod Miller and Jakobson and Szeftel.1 1 Many other scholars utilized the historical approach and sought to establish a relevance between historical events and the byliny: N. P. Daskevic, K voprosu o proisxozdenii russkix bylin. Byliny ob Alese Popovice i o torn, kak ne ostalos' na Rusi bogatyrej ("An Essay on the Origin of the Russian Byliny. Byliny about Alesa Popovic and the Disappearance of Great Heroes from the Land of Rus' ") (Kiev, 1883); N. KavsinSamarin, "Novye istocniki dlja izucenija russkogo eposa" ("New Sources for the Study of the Russian Epos"), Russkij vestnik ("The Russian Messenger"), Moscow, No. 9, 1874; M. Xalanskij, Velikorusskie byliny kievskogo cikla ("Great Russian Byliny of the Kievan Cycle") (Warsaw, 1885); N. E. Kostomarov, "Predanija pervonacal'noj russkoj letopisi" ("Traditions of the Primary Russian Chronicle"), Vestnik Evropy ("The European Messenger") 1873, IX; Majkov, Vladimir Cycle; Speranskij, Russian Oral Literature. The Russian historical school is a pre-revolutionary institution. But its basic methodological approach has been utilized by Soviet scholars among whom perhaps the most important are Lixacev (whose works are quoted throughout this study) and B. A. Rybakov (see, for example, Drevnjaja Rus\ Skazanija, Byliny, Letopisi [Ancient Rus'. Legends, Byliny, and Chronicles] [Moscow, 1963]). Although the former scholar maintains a great deal of skepticism concerning the relationship between the historical event and the byUna, Rybakov, in the manner of the representatives of the historical school, does see such a relationship. It must be pointed out, however, that, although the prerevolutionary historians maintained the theory of an aristocratic origin of the epos (see subsequent discussion of Vsevolod Miller's views), Soviet scholars, regardless of their attitude toward the historical approach, deny the validity of this theory. The epos belongs to the Russian people and is a true folk genre.

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In the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" the miraculously born hero sets out against the Indian tsar, Saltyk Stavrul'evic, who plans an attack on Kiev: And when Volx was twelve years old, Volx began to assemble a retinue. Three years he assembled a retinue: He assembled seven thousand men. Fifteen years of age was Volx himself, Fifteen was each of his men. Great news had reached the city, The capital city of Kiev: The Indian tsar takes up arms, He brags, he brags and boasts; The city of Kiev he seeks to subdue, God's churches burn to the ground, Noble monasteries raid and destroy. Thereupon Volx was cunning. He embarked upon a campaign With his entire bold retinue Against the famed Indian Kingdom. 2 In their analysis of this bylina Jakobson and Szeftel equate Volx Vseslav'evic with Vseslav of Polock (1044-1101) and the Indian tsar with the Great Prince of Kiev, Izjaslav (1054-1068, 1076-1078). The Indian Kingdom is Kiev. The bylina about Volx, the conqueror of Tsar Saltyk, in reality narrates the historical event in which Vseslav attacked the Kievan Prince Izjaslav and assumed his throne: If Kiev is presented as being without a sovereign, and the sovereign inimical to Volx as being without a concrete metropolis, then, in reality, was not this sovereign who terrorized Kiev and whom Vseslav attacked, simply an unpopular ruler of Kiev? In other words, this could be no other than the Grand Duke Izjaslav Jaroslavic with his particularly unpopular allies, the Latins - the Catholic Poles, the Izjaslav who provoked a rebellion in 1068 and was obliged to give up his throne to Vseslav.3 Jakobson and Szeftel find a correlation between the bylina and history, even on the level of minute detail: The Primary Chronicle tells that, during the rebellion, Izjaslav conducted a conference with his retinue in his palace in Kiev while Vseslav's partisans listened at a window; the bylina recounts this incident in two variants in which the hero is called Vol'ga rather than Volx and the adversary is the ruler of Turkey: Danilov, No. 6. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 143-144. Jakobson and Szeftel, "Vseslav Epos", p. 35.

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Vol'ga, Lord Buslaevic, turned Into a bird, young bird, Flew on under the clouds. Quickly he reached the Turkish land, Quickly he reached the Turkish tsar, His little windows he reached. There he heard the secret words: How the tsar conversed with his wife. 4

As already explored, Vsevolod Miller related the bylina "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" to the Christianization of Novgorod. The non-extant "Jakimovian Chronicle" (available to the eighteenthcentury historian Tatiscev) reported, "Putjata spreads Christianity [in Novgorod] with a sword, Dobrynja - with fire." The name of Vladimir's commander, Putjata, does not appear in the bylina, but its echo is present in a reference to Zabava Putjaticna, the niece of Vladimir. Furthermore, Dobrynja initially encounters the dragon at the river Pucaj and defeats him with a Greek cap filled with earth. Both toponomic references bear special religious connotations: the Kievans were baptized in the river Pocajna, and Greece is, of course, the mother country of Russian Orthodoxy. On this historical data, essentially, Vsevolod Miller bases his theory. 5 In 1096 Tugorkan and his Polovcy put to siege the town of Perejaslavl', the main urban center of the principality of Vladimir Monomax, who subsequently ascended to the Kievan throne (1113-1125). The siege was a part of a general invasion of Rus' in which other Polovcy leaders, Bunjak and Kurja, participated. Vladimir Monomax and the holder of the Kievan throne, Svjatopolk (1093-1113) defeated these enemies and succeeded in killing both Tugorkan and his son. The epic tradition, according to Vsevolod Miller, has assigned to Alesa Popovic, a historical figure of the thirteenth century, the task of fighting the Polovcy. In the bylina, "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", Alesa, rather than Vladimir Monomax or Svjatopolk, defeats Tugarin (Tugorkan). This epic tradition also apparently influenced the chronicles, for the sixteenth-century Muscovite Nikonian Chronicle credits Alesa Popovic with defeating the Polovcy leader Volodar in the year 1000.6 4

Rybnikov, I, N o . 38; Gil'ferding, II, N o . 91; Jakobson and Szeftel, "Vseslav Epos", p. 43. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 144. 5 V. Miller, Excursions into the Folk Epos, pp. 33-54; Russian Folk Literature, I, pp. 144-148. 6 V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, I, pp. 87-168.

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"Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", according to Vsevolod Miller, unites two historically unrelated figures. In the byliny Il'ja appears as Muromec, but some sources refer to him by a different name. In a letter dated August 5, 1574, a village elder, Kmita Cernobylski from Orsa in White Russia, makes reference to Il'ja Muravlenin. 7 Erich Lassota, a German traveler to Russia, claims to have seen in Kiev the grave of the Russian warrior Eliae Morovlin. 8 These names allow Vsevolod Miller to link Il'ja with the town of Morovsk in the principality of Cernigov. He further links the village from which Il'ja comes, Karacarovo, with another Cernigov town, Karacev. These geographical data bring Vsevolod Miller to the conclusion that Il'ja was originally a Cernigov hero. His attachment to Murom is a result of the colonization drive from the south toward the north and northwest. The initial Slavic settlers on the Murom territory were the Vjatici. The administration of this land lay in the hands of the Severjane and, hence, of princes related to the House of Cernigov. The town of Murom was in existence as early as 1088 and belonged to the Cernigov bishopric until 1198. These close ties between Murom and Cernigov explain the migration of Il'ja of Morovsk into Murom. The similarity of the names, Morovsk and Murom, might have facilitated the renaming of Il'ja Morovskij to Il'ja Muromskij (and subsequently Il'ja Muromec). 9 a The Book of Degrees presents the following story about the capture of brigand named Moguta: A brigand named Moguta was captured in a cunning manner. When he stood before Vladimir, he cried out in a very loud voice, tears flowing down his cheeks: "I assure you, O Vladimir, in the name of our Lord and the Immaculate Virgin, His Mother, that from this day on I shall do no evil before G o d or man, but I shall repent as long as I live." Hearing these words Vladimir forgave him in his heart and soul and sent him to the Metropolitan I v a n . . , 1 0

According to Vsevolod Miller, the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" assigns the capture to Il'ja and changes the name, Moguta, to Solovej. Moreover, since in the source Moguta is not punished for 7

A. N. Vselovskij, Juznorusskija byliny ("South Russian Byliny") (St. Petersburg, 1881), pp. 62-64. A. M. Loboda, Russkij bogatyrskij epos ("Russian Heroic Epos") (Kiev, 1896), p. 15. 9 V. Miller, Excursions into the Folk Epos, pp. 185-188; Russian Folk Literature, III, pp. 86-90. 10 Metropolitans Kiparian and Makarij (comp.), Stepennaja Kniga ("The Book of Degrees") (Moscow, 1775), I, p. 165. 8

HISTORY AND THE BYLINY

65

his crimes, he considers versions in which Solovej is released after capture as closer to the source than those in which Il'ja kills Solovej.11 In many variants, Solovej has the patronymic Raxmatovic.12 Vsevolod Miller suggests that the origin of this appellation lies in the name of the Tartar Khan, Axmat (Ahmad), who in 1480 attempted to invade Moscow; defeated, he withdrew to Saraj. The bylina echoes this historical event.13 Vsevolod Miller identifies "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" with the defeat of the Russians at the river Kal'ka in 1223, this event marking the first appearance of the Tartars in Rus'. In some of its variants, this bylina narrates the demise of the Russian heroes, among whom the name of Alesa Popovic appears.14 The adversary in the bylina is sometimes called Kalin. Since the chronicles recount the demise of many Russian warriors at the river Kal'ka, including Alesa Popovic, the name Kalin may well be viewed as a derivation from the river's name. Thus, the names, Alesa Popovic, Kalin, and Kal'ka, are the essential basis for Vsevolod Miller's theory.13 For lack of substantial data on the Russian system of pagan beliefs the theories of the mythologists are, in reality, little more than conjecture. The historians, however, have the chronicles. Vsevolod Miller, opposing the historical approach to that of the mythological school, proclaims with confidence, "The upper layer of byliny [i.e., the historical one], not surrounded by mystery, which makes antiquity so attractive to the researcher . . . can really be elucidated."16 Actually, Vsevolod Miller and Jakobson and Szeftel find little more than epic toponomy and nomenclature on which to base their imaginative interpretations of the byliny. The name Tugarin recalls that of Tugorkan; the names Kalin and Alesa Popovic suggest a connection between "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" and the historical battle at the river Kal'ka. Again, Dobrynja and Zabava Putjaticna suggest the uncle of Prince Vladimir and Putjata; Pucaj suggests the river Pocajna in which 11

Variants with the release of Solovej are rare; in sixty-five variants on Il'ja and Solovej, there is only one: Grigor'ev, I, N o . 38. In four, there is the reverse of release - imprisonment: Gil'ferding, III, N o . 212; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 55, 193, 196. 12 Rybnikov, I, No. 61; II, No. 116; Gil'ferding, I, Nos. 3, 56; S o k o l o v - C i c e r o v , N o . 61. In many other variants the name appears as Roxman'evic, Raxmanovic, and Raxmatov. 13 V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, III, p. 133. 14 See Kireevskij, IV, "S kakix por perestavilis' vitjazi na svjatoj Rusi"; Markov, N o . 94. 15 V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, II, pp. 60-68. 16 Ibid., I, pp. iv-v.

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the Kievans were baptized. The bylina, "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", tells nothing of the invasion of Rus' by the Polovcy or of the siege of Perejaslavl'. The Kievans, under Monomax and Svjatopolk, do not confront the enemy troops; rather, Alesa Popovic, a thirteenthcentury figure, engages in single combat with the dragon Tugarin. "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" makes no mention of the Christianization of Novgorod, and the river Pucaj/Pocajna, which appears in this bylina, belongs to the area of Kiev. Volx Vseslav'evic kills an Indian tsar, Saltyk Stavrul'evic, and takes his wife, rather than depose an unpopular ruler, Izjaslav. In 1223 the Tartars penetrated across the Caucasus and into the steppe south of Kiev, an area then occupied by the Polovcy. Although life-long enemies of the Russians, the Polovcy were forced to turn to them for help against the invader. The Russians sent a force under the prince of Galicia, Mstislav the Bold; with the Polovcy, they confronted the Tartars on the banks of the river Kal'ka, a tributary of the Don. The Polovcy and their allies the Russians met with a crushing defeat. "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" hardly tells that story. Instead a tsar, Kalin, threatens the Kiev of Prince Vladimir and is defeated by Il'ja Muromec. Jakobson and Szeftel see a parallel between the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic" and the historical event concerning Vseslav of Polock and Izjaslav the ruler of Kiev. Again, an essential point of contact between the event and the bylina is the name of the epic hero. In Russian, Vseslav'evic means the son of Vseslav; Volx strongly suggests the term volxv, which means magician, and Vseslav of Polock is referred to as a magician in the chronicles. In the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", Il'ja Muromec captures Solovej and brings him to Prince Vladimir of Kiev. In The Book of Degrees, Moguta is captured and brought to Vladimir. Kiev and the court of Prince Vladimir suggest a kind of parallel between the two narratives although it is difficult to see a connection between Moguta and Solovej aside from the fact that they are both called brigands. The epic toponomy and nomenclature have a historical significance, yet it is clear that the byliny are by no means reliable accounts of the history of Kievan Rus'. Although Jakobson and Szeftel do not attempt to explain the discrepancies between a bylina and the historical event that it is supposed to narrate, Vsevolod Miller does furnish a theory explaining the divergencies. He believes that the epos originated among the aristocracy of the various principalities composing Kievan Rus'. The wealthy cities, such as Kiev, Novgorod, Cernigov, and Perejaslavl' had their own

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local epic tradition. This tradition came down to the peasantry who, ignorant of the historical fact, distorted the aristocratic epos; the result is the bylina as it exists today. 17 The historical researcher has suffered from the same shortcomings as his colleague of the mythological school. Just as it is difficult to argue for or against the gods of Afanas'ev or Orest Miller, so it is impossible to establish the past existence of the Russian aristocratic epos, which presumably differed considerably from the folk epos. The aristocratic bylina might have existed; the folk might have borrowed the genre from the upper levels of society. But the fact is that there are no extant aristocratic byliny. Moreover, even if a theory of aristocratic origin is assumed, the second deduction concerning distortions does not necessarily follow if it can be shown that the Russian folk epos is not a distortion of historical reality. Historical personal names and place names are present in the byliny, but the epic action appears to follow that of the fairy tale rather than history. The same might have been true for the aristocratic epos, assuming that it ever existed.

FAIRY-TALE BASIS FOR THE

BYLINY

Chapter III was concerned with the thematic pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent. This pattern occurs in the song and has a genetic relationship with the fairy tale. The following discussion shows the extent to which the bylina utilizes other thematic patterns of the fairy tale in developing its action. The bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic", a narrative said to be about a protagonist who preserves the essential features of his divine image (Buslaev) or about Vseslav of Polock and Izjaslav Jaroslavic (Jakobson and Szeftel), actually develops its action around the theme of exogamy.18 It begins with the miraculous birth of the hero, his acquisition of crafty lore, or both. Volx gathers a retinue, learns of Saltyk Stavrul'evic's plan to invade Kiev, and sets out against the Indian Kingdom. India and Kiev are the only two geographic points related to epic toponomy; Volx himself never enters Kiev and departs for India from his unnamed homeland. 17

V. Miller, Excursions into the Folk Epos, III, p. 28; Majkov, Vladimir Cycle, passim, also sees the aristocratic milieu as the originator of the epos. 18 Frazer, Golden Bough, p. 177. Exogamy is a historical institution. The right of kingship was in the distant past transmitted in the female line. A man seeking a bride would have to find her in a clan other than his own. The theme of exogamy common to the fairy tale is, no doubt, an echo of this ancient institution.

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Once in India, he forgets Rus' (or wherever he conies from), kills the ruler, acquires a bride, and remains in his new homeland. The retinue follows his example: And Volx himself now became the ruler, Azvjakovna, the ruler's wife he took for himself, The young one, Elena, Alexander's daughter. The members of his retinue, the daring men, All married the local young maidens. Young Volx to the throne then ascended, His men high officials became; Much riches: gold and silver he rolled out, Horses, cows, he divided by herds; Each man received a hundred thousand. 19

Directly related to the theme of exogamy is the acquisition of riches and the killing of the ruler; all of these are fairy-tale themes. It has already been noted that the hero of the fairy tale invariably acquires a bride and or riches on his quest, as does Ivan the Prince: And Ivan the Prince departed with the princess from the golden kingdom to get married. Indeed, they married, lived well and in riches. 20

or Ivan the Fool: Having become a ruler [Ivan the Fool] lived in the palace, made his brothers into lords, . . . drank wine from full barrels.. . 2 1

These two examples suggest still another fairy-tale pattern reflected in "Volx Vseslav'evic". As a rule, Ivan the Prince returns with his bride to his father's kingdom; the other Ivan, not of noble birth, acquires the country of the bride and himself becomes the ruler. This second pattern is found in the bylina. Moreover, Volx, in yet another pattern, kills the ruler, marries the wife rather than the daughter, and becomes the ruler. The killing of the ruler is a fairy-tale motif. The non-princely hero may already be married and kill the ruler who is inimical to him, thus acquiring his throne: The Fool sees that the decisive moment has arrived; thus he shouts: "You there, my club, hit and strike!" The club threw itself at the king, hit him once, twice, and clobbered to death the evil king. Then the Fool became the king and ruled long and beneficently. 22 19 20

Danilov, No. 6. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 144. Afanas'ev, No. 71e.

21 Ibid., 22

No. 106. Ibid., Nos. 122, 123.

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or, like Volx, he may kill the king and marry the queen: The good lad fulfilled all the instructions he received from the young colt. He arrived, threw himself into the boiling milk, swam in the cauldron, bathed and nothing happened to him. The ruler, seeing his minister unharmed, grew daring, threw himself into the cauldron and burned to death. The queenly maiden came out from the tower and took the lad by the h a n d . . . On the second day they had a splendid wedding. 23

Jakobson and Szeftel found correlative historical data in "Volx Vseslav'evic" in the listening scene at the window. Actually, the episode of a human metamorphosized into a bird at a window is a fairy-tale commonplace : Ivan the Son of a Bull went into the open field, struck the ground and became a sparrow. He flew over to the palace of white stone and sat at the open window. 24

The two scholars imply that a bylina which failed to preserve such important data concerning the historical event it is supposed to narrate, as, for example, the names of Polock or Izjaslav, retains, nonetheless, the memory of a little incident that took place at the window of the palace in Kiev. The action in the byliny "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", and "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", is also related to the action in fairy tales. The three songs in their variants can be divided into two groups: texts in which the hero confronts the adversary only once, with or without the involvement of Prince Vladimir,25 and texts in which the hero confronts the adversary twice, initially without and then with the involvement of Prince Vladimir. 26 23

Afanas'ev, No. 103d. Ibid., No. 77; see also Nos. 102, 122, 125, 129. 25 "Dobrynja Nikitii and Gorynyc the Dragon": Danilov, No. 48; Kireevskij, II, Section 3, No. 1; Rybnikov, I, No. 40; II, No. 193; Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 93, 123; III, Nos. 241, 289; Oncukov, No. 59; Grigor'ev, I, Nos. 51, 79; II, Nos. 1,16, 51, 27; III, Nos. 35, 38, 47, 66, 104; Astaxova, I, No. 48; II, No. 192; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 53, 169, 271, 273. "Aljosa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon": Rybnikov, I, No. 27; Gil'ferding, II, No. 99; Grigor'ev, I, Nos. 14,176; Oncukov, Nos. 64, 85; Astaxova, II, Nos. 125,212. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand": Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 104,120; Grigor'ev, I, No. 180; Astaxova, I, Nos. 23, 60; Sokolov-ticerov, Nos. 53, 169, 255. 26 "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon": Kireevskij, II, Section 2, No. 1; Rybnikov, I, No. 25; Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 79, 148,157; Markov, Nos. 5, 73; Grigor'ev, I, No. 78; Astaxova, II, Nos. 133, 148; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 10, 80, 98. "Aljosa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon": Danilov, No. 20. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand": Danilov, No. 49; Kireevskij I, Section 3, Nos. 1, 3, 4; Section 6, No. 1; IV, Section 1, No. 1; Rybnikov, I, Nos. 4, 61, 82; 24

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The confrontations with the adversary at the rivers Pucaj, Safat, and Smorodina, without the involvement of the Prince, have been discussed in Chapter III. Both "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" and "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" have a substantial number of variants for each group. The variants with a double confrontation are the complete versions; those with a single encounter are truncated. "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" has only one variant, that of Kirsa Danilov, in which the hero confronts the adversary twice. This text is considered a faulty, composite bylina lacking justification for the second encounter; the basic version of the bylina contains one confrontation. 27 It is possible, however, that the version containing two encounters is not .a faulty, composite text but rather reflects closely the artistic tradition of the fairy tale. The variants of this bylina, which contain only one encounter, represent this tradition in a form reworked according to epic aesthetics. The byliny about Il'ja and Dobrynja provide believable justifications for the second encounter. Il'ja fires his arrow, subdues Solovej, and takes him captive to Kiev: Into Solovej's right eye fell the little arrow, T h e little arrow c a m e out through his left ear: Solovej rolled d o w n with his little nest, Rolled d o w n like a heavy stack of hay. H e t o o k Solovej by his yellow locks, H e tied Solovej by his yellow locks. T o his left stirrup of steel. H e himself rode o n to the famed Capital, T o the city of Kiev. 2 8

Dobrynja subdues Gorynyc with the Greek cap filled with earth and enters into a pact with him: H e filled his Greek cap with earth, T h e cap then weighed an even three poods. H e hit the dragon, the cursed one, Broke off twelve of his tails; T h e dragon fell o n the feather-grass. 11, Nos. 110, 116, 127, 139, 170, 191; Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 74, 112, 171; III, 210, 212, 274; Markov, Nos. 1, 68, 107; Oncukov, Nos. 19, 53; Grigor'ev, I, No. 38; II, Nos. 12, 36, 52, 73, 85; III, Nos. 8, 56, 89; Astaxova, I, Nos. 1, 28, 32, 39, 95; II, Nos. 122, 131, 157; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 55, 61, 70, 96, 104, 107, 130, 170, 184, 193, 196. 27 Danilov, p. 610; Propp, Russian Heroic Poetry, pp. 206-207. 28 Rybnikov, II, N o . 127. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 144-145.

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And Dobrynja turned on his foot, Jumped on the dragon's white chest; Then and there the dragon implored: "Now you, Dobrynja the son of Nikita! Let's both you and I make a great pledge, Do not ride far off into the open field, Do not trample there these little dragons. I shall no longer ride into Holy Rus', No longer carry off captives for myself." 29 In "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the D r a g o n " the situation is different. The hero neither captures the adversary nor enters into an agreement with him. He subdues him with the pilgrim's whip and, distrustful o f the dragon's friendly overture, cuts off his head: With the whip a blow he delivered upon his daring head, He split his daring head. And Tugarin fell upon the damp earth, Alesa jumped on his black chest. Thereupon young Tugarin the Dragon implored him: "Now you there, you traveling pilgrim! Are you not young Alesa Popovic? Now you, young Alesa Popovic, Let's be friendly, let's be brothers." Thereupon Alesa did not trust the foe, Cut away his head. 30 How can Alesa encounter the adversary a second time when he has already killed him? This is the point that led scholars to suggest a faulty, composite bylina.

The second confrontation can be justified, however,

if literary heritage, the fairy-tale, is considered. In this genre, to cut off a dragon's head is by no means tantamount to killing him; the supernatural dragon has many heads. So it is in the bylina.

Alesa, having cut

off Tugarin's head, does not seem to have killed him. Indeed, a close study o f the Kirsa Danilov text shows that in the first encounter no mention is made o f an actual killing; in the second confrontation Alesa celebrates his victory over the adversary: Thereupon Alesa jumped up, Cut his head off, The head fell on damp earth like a beer cauldron, Alesa jumped off his good horse, He untied the reins of his good horse, 29 30

Gil'ferding, II, No. 157. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 145. Danilov, No. 20. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 145.

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Pierced the ears on the head of Tugarin the Dragon, Tied the head to his good horse; He brought the head to the princely court, Threw the head in the middle of the princely court.

The justification for the second encounter between Alesa and Tugarin is artistically unsatisfactory. The epos, though utilizing the dragon figure, tends to give him the air of believability. The justification that a dragon has many heads and that it is not enough to cut one off to kill him belongs directly to the supernatural world of the fairy tale and conflicts with the epic aesthetics of credibility. Typically, the epic dragon has one head and many tails. The hero cuts off these tails, but the dragon still remains alive; this is somehow more believable. In the epic tradition decapitation, rather realistically, signifies death. "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", in its version with two confrontations between the hero and the adversary, is not a faulty, composite text, but rather a complete version of this bylina. The variants containing one confrontation end with the decapitation and death of Tugarin. They represent the truncated version of "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" and are numerous, for they, unlike the complete version with two encounters, conform to epic aesthetics. The by liny "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" and "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" appear in two basic versions: a truncated version, containing one encounter between the hero and the adversary, and a complete version, containing two such encounters. "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" also has two similar versions, one truncated and one complete. The initial confrontation between the hero and the adversary is, of course, a recollection of the typical fairy-tale theme, man versus dragon. There is, however, an important departure from the older literary tradition. In the fairy tale, the hero always kills the dragon rather than risk another confrontation. The epic hero, on the other hand, may let his opponent live. Unlike his fairy-tale prototype, he is sufficiently sure of himself to be generous with the adversary. This situation stems from epic anthropocentricity. By not killing Tugarin, Alesa conforms to the epic aesthetic. The manner in which the act is carried out (the hero cuts off only one of the multi-headed, supernatural dragon's heads) belongs to the realm of the fairy tale. After the first confrontation with the adversary, the hero proceeds to the Kiev of Prince Vladimir. It has often been noted that the epic king is a weak figure. For Bowra, this situation is "surprising"; Skafty-

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mov, on the other hand, explains it as a literary device: the contrast with a weak Vladimir makes the epic hero appear stronger. 31 Skaftymov may be right; however, a comparison of Vladimir with the nameless, fairy-tale king or tsar reveals a basic kinship. The fairy-tale ruler, too, is incapable of accomplishing anything. If he desires some valuable object, the hero obtains it for him; when his daughter or wife is abducted by the dragon, the hero rescues her. It has been shown that "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" follows the fairy tale in its justification of the second confrontation. There is also a close parallel in the direct motive causing the second struggle. In the fairy tale, the abducted queen or princess becomes the mate of the dragon, who is an amorous creature. The fairy tale in which Ivan the Prince sets out to free his mother, who has been abducted by the dragon, has already been quoted. The mother (donor) provides him with the water of strength. Prior to the fight with the adversary, Ivan watches the following scene: A storm arose, thunder roared, the earth trembled, the primeval forest bent to the ground. The three-headed dragon flew in, he arrived in the palace. He struck the ground and turned into a fine lad, a club in his hand. "Foo, foo, I smell a Russian. Who visited you?" The Queen answered: "I have no idea what makes you think so." Then he embraced the queen passionately and began to kiss her. Thereupon Ivan the Prince grabbed the club. 32

In the bylina, the fairy-tale situation repeats itself, but the cast of characters is different. The amorous dragon, the abductor, and Elena the Faire are replaced by Tugarin and Apraksevna. Ivan frees his mother from the dragon; in the bylina, Alesa performs this function. The setting, too, is changed. In the fairy tale, the action takes place in the palace of the dragon; in the bylina, it takes place at the court of Prince Vladimir. Alesa arrives and comments on the state of affairs there: Thereupon spoke young Alesa Popovic: "Now you there, kind sire, O Prince Vladimir ! What sort of a moron arrived in your house, What sort of an uncouth idiot? Indecently he sits behind the princely table, The dog, he puts his hands under the queen's dress, Kisses her upon her sugar-sweet lips, 31

Bowra, Heroic Poetry, p. 105; A. P. Skaftymov, "Poetika i genezis bylin" ("Poetics and Origin of the Byliny"), in Stat'i o russkoj literature ("Studies in Russian Literature") (Saratov, 1958), p. 63. 32 Afanas'ev, No. 71b, variant 1.

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And you, oh Prince, he mocks. In the house of my father, my master, A dog there was, an old one. To the table it forced its way, And choked this dog on a b o n e . . . I took it by the tail and swung up high; Thus too I shall deal with Tugarin!" 33 The epic hero volunteers his services, destroys Tugarin, and restores the queen to Vladimir. Like his fairy-tale ancestor, Vladimir does nothing. In the bylina "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", the initial confrontation ends with a pact. Here the dragon does not keep his word but abducts Zabava, Vladimir's niece: The Dragon flew across the city of Kiev, The Dragon swooped down to the damp earth, Abducted from the Prince, the Prince Vladimir, Abducted his beloved niece, The fairest Zabava Putjaticna.34 The theme of abduction by a dragon is that of the fairy tale, but the abduction is not the motivation for the second confrontation with Gorynyc. In "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", the hero fights the dragon of his own volition. In the bylina about Dobrynja, Vladimir orders the hero to save the princess Zabava; the order causes consternation: Then Prince Vladimir of Kiev, the capital, Came up to the young Dobrynja. These were his words to Dobrynja: "Now you, very young Dobrynja Mikitinec! I impose upon you a mission not small, Now ride far into the open field, To those famed mountains, mountains of Sorocinsk; Descend into the lairs, those of the dragon, Rescue my little niece, my beloved, The fairest Zabava Putjaticna; Bring her to my capital, the city of Kiev, Bring her to my halls of white stone, Give her, Zabava, into my white hands." Now the young Dobrynja Mikitinec Sat behind the little table and grieved, He grieved and was sorrowful. 33

Danilov, No. 20; see also the texts in which one confrontation occurs: Grigor'ev, I, No. 176; Oncukov, No. 64. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 146. 34 Gil'ferding, II, No. 79. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 146-147.

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He came out from behind the tables of oak He came out from behind the round benches, He came out across the halls of white stone. He came into his own dining-room, To his own little mother who bore him, Thus spoke to Dobrynja his mother who bore him: "Now you, my world, my beloved child, Now you, very young Dobrynja Mikitinec! Why from the noble feast have you come so unhappy? Was your place at the feast far below your rank? Did they fail to serve you drink when others were served ? Did a drunk, a fool, pick a bone with you?" Spoke Dobrynja to his mother who bore him: "Prince Vladimir of Kiev, the capital city, Imposed upon me a mission, a great one, A great service, not a small one;" The mother questions her son and acts as a donor; excerpts from this bylina in which she gives Dobrynja a whip and advises him how to use it were quoted in Chapter III. The example just given introduces still another fairy-tale theme, that of difficult tasks. The fairy tale distinguishes two types of relationships between the hero and the king. In one, the hero volunteers his services; typically, he is Ivan the Prince, and the king is his father. "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" reflects this situation. In the other relationship, the king imposes difficult tasks on the hero who may be a prince, a peasant, a soldier, and so forth. Since the fairy-tale hero is dependent on the donor and a magical agent, a task forced upon him causes consternation: will he be able to accomplish it? The king ordered the riflemen to appear before h i m . . . "Well, Fedot, you are a fine lad, first in my regiment of riflemen... Fulfill this one task for me: go I don't know where, bring me I don't know what. And remember, if you fail I shall cut your head off with my own sword." The rifleman departed from the king's palace. He returned home much grieved and pensive. His wife asked: "Why are you so sad, my dear? Has some misfortune befallen you?" "Oh dear," he says, "the king sends me there, I don't know where, and orders me to bring that, I don't know what." 35 35

Afanas'ev, No. 122a.

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The wife acts as a donor: She gives him a towel and a little ball. "When y o u depart f r o m our t o w n throw this ball and f o l l o w it as it rolls on. A n d here is the work of m y o w n hands. Wherever y o u may be, whenever y o u wash, always wipe yourself with this t o w e l . "

The little ball and the towel are magical agents, which make Fedot's success certain. Dobrynja's mother acts in much the same way as Fedot's wife. Both the mother and the wife question the respective heroes, furnish agents, and give instructions about the use of these agents. The behavior of Dobrynja and Fedot is similar: both are apprehensive over the task imposed on them by the ruler. There is one difference between the difficult tasks in the bylina and those in the fairy tale. Propp shows that in the fairy tale the imposed task never involves a fight with a dragon.36 In the bylina, this task, too, may be assigned. Both genres, however, share the essential pattern: the inactive king imposes tasks upon the hero, and the hero fulfills them with a donor's assistance.37 The linkage of difficult tasks and struggle with a dragon are understandable in the epos. The bylina aims for the heroic, and victory over a dragon satisfies this aim. The finding of "that, I don't know what", or, in other fairy tales, sowing a field, or finding a firebird, does not. The bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" develops along the lines of "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon". Il'ja captures Solovej and brings him to the palace of Prince Vladimir. The narrative that follows revolves around the pattern of the inactive king imposing tasks upon the hero: Thus spoke the Sun, Prince Vladimir: "Shout n o w with your stentorian voice." Spoke Solovej, such were his words: "I listen not to you, but to the o n e w h o feeds m e . " H e returned f r o m the court t o his halls o f white stone, A n d s o h e spoke, such were his words: " N o w you, y o u fine g o o d lad, Il'ja M u r o m e c , son of Ivan! D o n ' t y o u by chance boast in vain? Make Solovej the brigand Shout with his stentorian voice in a milder voice." 3 8 36

Propp, Morphology of the Folktale, pp. 68-69, 112. Dobrynja may set out on his own to free the princess. This pattern, however, is not typical. For example, in the thirteen texts with a double confrontation, only one, Markov, N o . 73, has the hero act of his own volition. 38 Rybnikov, II, N o . 170. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 147-148. 37

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What happens here is that Vladimir does not believe Il'ja has really captured Solovej the brigand, the famous whistler. Hence he orders Solovej to produce his sound. A curious scene follows, which feeds on the fairy-tale tradition. Vladimir attempts to verify the brigand's identity himself, but Solovej refuses the order. Behind Solovej's reason lies the tradition: the king cannot accomplish anything himself. But the hero is at hand and fulfills Vladimir's wish: Thus spoke Il'ja Muromec: "Now you shout with your stentorian voice but not too loudly." And he shouted with his stentorian voice. Prince Vladimir the sunlike fell on his knees And into the arms of Il'ja Muromec. And from that cry of Solovej's In the town all windows shattered, Women with child gave birth to their offspring, Mares in foal gave birth to young colts. Then spoke the Sun, Vladimir the Prince: "I don't need such a gift as Solovej, Move on and mount a good horse, Pick up Solovej in your white hands And carry him off far into the steppe, There cut off his daring head." Then he mounted a good horse, He departed far into the steppe, Cut off Solovej's daring head. Thus, once again the inactive king imposes a task on the hero, and the hero fulfills it. 3 9 The anthropocentric quality of Il'ja Muromec has already been discussed. Unlike Dobrynja, he is not dismayed by Vladimir's orders. The difference in behavior between the two heroes is largely the difference between the aesthetics of the fairy tale and of the epic. Dobrynja exhibits a greater dependence on fairy-tale tradition, Il'ja, a lesser one. 39

There exist variants with a pattern in which Il'ja makes Solovej whistle and afterwards subdues him solely on his own. These, however, are not typical; the one quoted, with Vladimir's attempt to command the brigand and subsequent, traditional reliance on the hero, is. Thus, from among the fifty-four variants of group two, those in which Il'ja acts in both instances (whistling, subdual) of his own volition are only three: Gil'ferding, III, No. 210; Markov, No. 68; Grigor'ev, II, No. 52. One problem of this classification must be indicated. In the variant quoted (Rybnikov, II, No. 170) Vladimir does not believe that Il'ja has really captured the whistling Solovej and tells Il'ja to make him whistle. In some variants the element of disbelief is present, while the direct order to Il'ja is not. This instance is also treated as reflecting the traditional pattern of king imposing tasks on the hero: Il'ja does not make Solovej whistle of his own choice, but rather because of Vladimir's disbelief.

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In another respect, "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" is a movement away from the fairy-tale tradition as compared to "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" and "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon". The amorous Tugarin deprives Vladimir of his wife; Gorynyc abducts his niece Zabava. Both actions are related to the fairy tale. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" utilizes only the general outline of this fairy-tale action: the adversary causes harm to the king. The vivid description of shattered windows, women with child, and mares in foal, produces an extension: the adversary causes harm to the kingdom. The pattern of inactive king, hero, and adversary is enacted also in "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". The bylina, having evolved out of "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", preserves the mode of a hero acting of his own volition. Here, too, is the thematic extension of the adversary causing harm to the kingdom by occupying the palace, as well as a repetition of the amorous advances of Tugarin, now made by the Big Idol: With us in Kiev it is no longer as before: The Big Idol came to live with Prince Vladimir, Yes, the Big Idol, the pagan Idol. He came to live with Vladimir the Prince, In the guest-hall, the princely guest-hall. He sits between the Prince, yes, and his Princess, With his hand he feels the breasts of the Princess, He lowers his hands and feels her belly; The Prince sits there, dares not say a word. 40

Il'ja arrives dressed as a pilgrim and remedies the situation. He has qualms, however; should he dirty the Prince's floor with the Big Idol's blood? "Now you sunlike Prince, Vladimir, Would you order me to splash blood in your guest-hall?" Thus spoke the sunlike Prince Vladimir: "I don't know myself what advice to give you." Then the good lad took off his cap of down, Then he folded it into three corners, 40

Oncukov, N o . 20. The pattern of the adversary causing harm to the kingdom by occupying the princely palace is typical of the bylina; the amorous dragon appears in a minority of cases. In the thirty variants investigated, he appears only in nine: Rybnikov, I, N o . 62; Gil'ferding, III, Nos. 196, 232; Markov, Nos. 43, 69; Oncukov, N o . 20 (quoted); Grigor'ev, III, Nos. 19, 114; Astaxova, I, N o . 78. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 148.

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Then he threw this cap right at the Idol, He threw it at his black chest; The Idol fell into the street. In "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", the thematic development goes beyond that of "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand". In the latter, the Prince suffers harm, and Kiev suffers; neither event is serious, and the two are separable. In the former bylina, the events are inseparable; the welfare of Vladimir matters only through its equation with that of the city: The thief, the dog, yes, Tsar Kalin was rising, The thief, the dog, was rising and not for three years, The thief, the dog was rising and not for three months, The thief, the dog was rising for full thirty years. He moved against the famous town, Kiev the capital. Then and there frightened was Vladimir; Vladimir came up to the seasoned cossack; Before the seasoned cossack he bowed low, And thus he spoke, such were his words: "Now you there, seasoned cossack, Il'ja Muromec, Il'ja Muromec, seasoned cossack, son of Ivan! You stood up for our faith, yes the Christian faith, Yes, the Christian faith, the Orthodox faith. You stood up for monasteries, yes the noble ones; You stood up for the churches, the churches of G o d ; So stand up for us, too - the capital town Kiev, For me, the Prince, the Prince Vladimir",41 A comparison of the relationships between Gorynyc, Zabava, and Vladimir and between Tugarin, Apraksevna, and Vladimir, with those between Solovej and Vladimir and between Mamaj and Vladimir, shows the evolution of the fairy-tale theme of dragon as abductor in the epos. Typically, the dragon as abductor and the amorous dragon are one in the fairy tale. The bylina introduces a slight modification: Gorynyc abducts but is not amorous; Tugarin does not abduct but is amorous. Since the abducted girl is a young princess and Tugarin is attracted to Apraksevna, there is a suggestion that the dragon will fulfill both of his functions; 41

Grigor'ev, III, No. 90; italics added. See also Markov, No. 81, 94; Oncukov, No. 26; Grigor'ev, II, Nos. 64,91; III, No. 98; Astaxova, I, Nos. 12, 33,44; Propp and Putilov, "Mamaevo poboisce". In all the cited variants except the last, Vladimir, at one point in the narrative, urges the hero into action against the adversary; in "Mamaevo poboisce", the mode is indirect: the Prince makes the eminent danger known to Il'ja, and thereupon the hero acts. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 148-149.

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his wrongdoings are directed against the king whose immediate family he harms. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" evolves the theme of dragon as abductor further: the adversary causes harm both to the king and the kingdom. In "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" he is primarily the enemy of the state; the fate of the king is one with the state. When this bylina introduces the related theme of the amorous dragon, this theme is also fully reworked. The amorous intentions of the foe become a part of his general hostile scheme : Thus the prince fell to his nimble feet, Yes, with his Princess, the Princess Opraksja, To the feet of the seasoned cossack Il'ja Muromec he fell: "Be merciful you seasoned cossack, Il'ja Muromec. Don't abandon us in this need and misfortune. Yes, stand up for the Orthodox multitudes, Yes, stand up for the churches of God. He [Kudravenko], wants all this multitude killed, He wants to split heads of the little children, He wants all old women at the mountain buried, He wants to burn down all the churches of God, He wants to trample holy icons in mud, He wants Prince Vladimir put to the sword, He wants Princess Opraksja as his own wife." 42

Compared to his fairy-tale ancestor, the equally inactive epic ruler appears both weaker and humbler. The fairy-tale king, conscious of his status, gives direct orders and threatens the hero. Vladimir, giving orders to Dobrynja, is most like him. The prince in "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", though he still gives direct orders, is different: he falls, and Il'ja must support him. In "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", the king figure is powerless; he falls on his knees before Il'ja and implores rather than orders. The king in the fairy tale is important as a person; he obviously has a country, but it is what happens to him that matters. The epic king undergoes an evolution. In his dealings with Dobrynja, Vladimir matters in his own right; it is important that he has a niece and wants her back. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" introduces a split. The king still matters, but so does his kingdom. In "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", it is the state that matters; Vladimir matters only as the ruler of Kiev. Thus, in the fairy tale the king is important, but epic evolution leads to the importance of the state at the expense of 42

Grigor'ev, III, No. 98; see also Propp and Putilov, "Mamaevo poboisce", I. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 149.

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the king. In the byliny, the more important the state, the weaker and humbler becomes the image of the prince and the mightier the hero. The anthropocentric quality of Il'ja Muromec is confirmed once again. All epic heroes (with the exception of Volx) share this anthropocentric quality, though Il'ja is the mightiest of them all. In the complete versions of "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", and "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", the ending of the first confrontation without the killing of the adversary is an expression of epic anthropocentricity. Structurally, this situation is indispensable for the second confrontation. In the byliny with one confrontation only, or in the second confrontation in those with two, there exists a total freedom of choice: the adversary may or may not be killed. This same freedom exists for Il'ja in his dealings with the Idol and Mamaj, since the hero and the adversary confront each other only once in the respective byliny. In some variants, the hero, adhering to the fairy-tale tradition, kills his opponent; in others, asserting his epic anthropocentricity, he lets him live.43 This holds true for Dobrynja and Gorynyc, Il'ja and Solovej, and Il'ja and the Big Idol. Volx, on the other hand, acts as the exception: he kills the adversary in every variant of the bylina. In a sense, "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" reverts to the Volx situation. Out of the fourteen variants available, Il'ja kills his adversary in all but two texts, and in these he and the opponent never come into direct contact.44 The reasons, however, are different. Volx kills the adversary because he lacks the anthropocentric quality of the epic hero. Il'ja kills Mamaj because the stakes are high: the Orthodox faith, the state, and the people are in danger. The fate of the adversary is a function of the fairy-tale heritage, on one hand, and the epic aesthetics, on the other. When the adversary represents a grave threat to the state, the hero kills him; when such is not the case, the hero, expressing his 43

"Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon"; thirty-three byliny investigated. The adversary is killed in twenty-one, and remains alive in twelve. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand"; sixty-five texts investigated. The adversary is killed in forty-one, and remains alive in twenty-four. "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol"; twenty-seven texts investigated. The adversary is killed in twenty-two, and remains alive in five. "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj"; fourteen texts investigated. The adversary is killed in eleven, and remains alive in two. One bylina ("S kakix por prestavilis' vitjazi na svjatoj Rusi", Kireevskij, IV), fits into neither category, since it does not depict single combat between the hero and the adversary. It juxtaposes Russians versus Tartars, and the Tartars remain alive while the Russians flee to the mountains where they turn to stone. 44 Oncukov, N o . 26; Astaxova, I, N o . 86.

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human might and self-confidence, overcomes the fairy-tale tradition and lets the adversary live. It has been pointed out that Vsevolod Miller relates Solovej's release to the release of the brigand Moguta in The Book of Degrees. It is more likely that the relationship between the hero and the adversary is motivated by the artistic process within the genre. A fairy-tale pattern uniting all the epic heroes in their struggle with the adversary is that of the single combatant. The magically endowed Ivan defeats the foe alone; there is a repetition of this in the by liny. Unlike his ancestor, Volx sets out against the Indian Kingdom with a retinue. However, he enters the tsar's palace alone and kills Saltyk Stavrul'evic. Il'ja's struggle with Solovej, Dobrynja's with Gorynyc, and Alesa's with Tugarin, are typical fairy-tale situations in that they oppose a single hero and a single enemy. This pattern becomes more striking in "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol", where the hero alone defeats the Idol and his Tartar force; it is even more striking in "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj". Although Volx has a retinue, Saltyk seems to be alone with his wife behind the high wall of white stone. In the fight against Mamaj both the adversary and the hero confront each other with a force of other men, yet the pattern of single combatant prevails. The hero sets out alone against the enemy, kills the leader and many of his men, and then calls for assistance from his retinue; the hyperbole increases the dignity of the epic hero: Thus spoke Ilejka, such were his words: "Now you there, my retinue, my bold retainers! From amongst us who shall ride out into the open field Against this huge tsar Bakanis? It seems, it's for me alone to ride out into the open field." Then Ilejka mounted, mounted his good horse, Then Ilejka rode out into the open field; He reached the huge tsar, the tsar Bakanis. He snatched his sabre, yes, a sharp one, He wanted to cut off Il'ja's daring head. But Ilejuska, he was wise to these tricks, He evaded the blow, he ducked to his right, And he brandished his own sharp sword, He cut off the huge tsar's daring head. Flew off the corpse, the cursed, And killed a dozen of the enemy heroes. Then jumped Il'ja out from the black tent And he shouted, loud was his voice: "Now you there, my retainers, my bold ones,

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N o w all y o u powerful heroes of R u s ' ! Y o u ride out quickly into o p e n field, Y o u cut d o w n all this heathen force. 4 5

Wundt points to the evolution of the boy-hero of the fairy tale into the mighty youthful hero of the epos.46 The Russian bylina and the fairy tale bear out this observation. Ivan is ten years old, a little boy, or the youngest of three sons. In the bylina, Volx, who resembles most the fairy-tale protagonist, is also a mere boy; he begins to gather his retinue at the age of twelve and sets out against the Indian King at fifteen. Alesa and Dobrynja, however, no longer seem to be children, and the epos refers to them as young heroes. Although the epos evolves the boyhero into a mighty youth, it maintains the age relationship between him and the king. The fairy-tale king is always older than the hero. Most often, he is his father or becomes his father-in-law. The bylina does not preserve the blood relationship, nor does the hero ever marry a daughter of Prince Vladimir. The respective age relationship is preserved, however. The Kievan prince does not bear the epithet young, and the constant reference to the heroes as youthful makes the Prince appear older by contrast. This same effect is achieved when the bylina juxtaposes Vladimir and his young wife. Il'ja Muromec presents a special problem. He appears in the byliny as staryj kazak. Since staryj means old and kazak means cossack, the phrase may be taken to mean simply an old cossack. However, it should be translated as seasoned cossack. The phrase, constantly repeated in sequence, acquires the nature of a fixed epithet. As Vsevolod Miller observes, this is typical of another folklore genre, the historical song; it might have entered the bylina by way of this genre about the seventeenth century.47 Now, being a fixed epithet, the phrase is self-contained, and the adjective has its meaning in reference to that noun only. In the historical song, staryj kazak seems to mean old in skill rather than in years: There set out the Grand Prince of M o s c o w , Ivan the Lord Vasilevic, the seer, With those regiments of foot soldiers, With those seasoned [starymi], famous cossacks. 4 8

45 46 47 48

Grigor'ev, II, N o . 91. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 149-150. Wundt, Folk Psychology, p. 280. V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, II, pp. 312-358. Danilov, N o . 30. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 150.

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Surely, Ivan the Fourth did not lead a group of old-timers against the enemy. The double meaning of staryj: by itself 'old' and within the phrase staryj kazak 'seasoned', influenced the epic tradition, and in a number of variants Il'ja appears as actually old in years: There sets out the brave lad, The brave lad, Il'ja Muromec On his heroic horse; White has turned his head, Grey has turned his beard.49 He rode off, the old cossack, to the capital city of Kiev, The old fellow sat on his horse; white was his hair, all white, White, too, was the horse under the old fellow, white he was, all white. 50

There is a kind of progressive aging in these examples. In the first quotation (c. 1840's), only the hero is old; in the second (c. 1930's), both the hero and his horse become ancient through the association of old age with whiteness introduced in the depiction of Il'ja. Thus a shift takes place. Staryj kazak Il'ja (the seasoned cossack Il'ja) becomes staryj Il'ja kazak (old Il'ja the cossack). In spite of this distortion of tradition, the bylina does exhibit a marked tendency to preserve the unity of staryj and kazak. Typically, in those variants in which Il'ja is not called a cossack, the term staryj does not appear. 51 Volx, Alesa, and Dobrynja have all been endowed with the epithet young, but Il'ja does not share with them this epithet, even when he is not called a cossack. In one variant only is Il'ja designated as young.52 It may be assumed that, as with other heroes, the epithet "young" pertained to Il'ja, too. Eventually it disappeared, since, in the majority of variants, Il'ja acquires the fixed epithet "seasoned cossack"; stylistically, the combination "staryj kazak Il'ja Muromec mlad" (the seasoned/old young Il'ja Muromec) would be too incongruous. 49

Kireevskij, I, Section 3, No. 3. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 150. Astaxova, I, No. 69; see also Rybnikov, II, No. 103; Gil'ferding, II, No. 171; III, No. 274; Markov, No. 1; Grigor'ev, III, No. 8; Astaxova, I, Nos. 1,48. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 150. 51 Danilov, No. 49; Kireevskij, I, Section 3, Nos. 3-4; Section 3, No. 1; IV, Section 1, No. 1; Rybnikov, I, No. 61; II, Nos. 139, 170, 191; Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 140, 112; Markov, No. 107; Grigor'ev, II, No. 73; Astaxova, I, Nos. 28, 32, 39, 95; II, 122, 157, 165; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 44, 61, 70, 77, 107, 130. 52 Rybnikov II. No. 170. 50

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The preceding discussion of action in the byliny discloses the genre's marked lack of interest in the actual history of Russia. The Russian epic songs find the primary source for their action in fairy tales. The epic event appears to be not a distortion of a historical event, but rather an analogue of a fairy-tale event.

VI

T H E BYLINA:

A FAIRY-TALE

HISTORY

O F K I EVAN R U S '

THE EPIC SPACE

Although it is erroneous to project historical events on the basis of epic toponomy and nomenclature, both do supply the byliny with a kind of historicity. Since the name fulfills an important function within the aesthetics of believability, it is not surprising to note the origin of epic toponomy in real rather than fictitious landmarks and towns. The Smorodina flows by the town Karacev, not far from Brjansk; the Pucaj (Pocajna) passed by Kiev. The forests of Brynsk or Brymsk, which often appear in the byliny, refer to the previously mentioned town, Brjansk. Although some landmarks are the product of artistic imagination, their names are not. The bylina introduces mountain chains upon the Russian flatlands. The mountains of Zion near Cernigov are a borrowing from the Bible. The epic land also has the mountains of Saracinsk or Sorocinsk. This name may be derived from the Bedouin tribe, the Saracens, in Russian saraciny and saraciny. In Western Europe, beginning with the time of the Crusades (1098), the name Saracen was equated with pagan. 1 This equation might have entered Russian usage even prior to the Tartar invasion (1237); hence, the mountains that Dobrynja and Il'ja pass in order to reach their adversaries were named saracinskie, meaning pagan. This is in keeping with the epic tradition in which the adversary is practically never a Christian. The epic towns conform more closely to the actual Russian toponomy than do the landmarks. The byliny know Kiev, Cernigov, Murom, Rostov, Brjansk, Rezan'-Rjazan', and Karacarovo-Karacev. Constantinople, the Indian Kingdom, Lithuania, Sweden, and the land of the Ljaxs, i.e., Poland, are mentioned. The epic map as drawn by the byliny discloses more than the genre's preference for real rather than fictitious names. The towns and the rivers 1

See, for example, The Song of Roland. 86

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confine epic Russian land to the area of Kievan Rus' and her thirteenthcentury neighbors, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, and Byzantium with its capital Constantinople. India is not, of course, a close neighbor of Kievan Rus', but the juxtaposition of the two is not anachronistic. The toponomy in the byliny refers, thus, to a specific period in the history of Russia, thence its historicity. The events ascribed to the byliny belong, for the most part, to this period also: the Kievan era. Although this kind of historicity of epic toponomy is not subject to controversy, the historical origin of epic nomenclature is disputed. The quality of toponomy suggests, however, the likelihood that historical figures, rather than purely fictional dramatis personae, populate the epic world. Thus, the adversaries Tugarin-Tugorkan, Raxmatovic-Axmet, and Mamaj appear in the epic nomenclature. Dobrynja appears in the chronicles as the uncle of Prince Vladimir; in the bylina he is a young hero, sometimes a nephew of the Prince. In view of the previous discussion on the relationship in age between king and hero, the change from uncle to nephew confirms Dobrynja's historical origin. Il'ja of Murom or Morovsk may well be a historical figure, too. As early as the thirteenth century, this Russian hero seems to have been known in the West. In the Lombardian saga, Ortnit, Elias von Reuzzen (Riuzen, Reuczen) appears.2 The Norwegian Tidrek saga mentions Ilias von Riuczen.3 These names are old, Germanic variants of Elias von den Russen.4 In neither of these Western sources does Il'ja appear as a cossack: in one saga, he is a powerful hero of noble birth in the service of King Ortnit of Lombardy; in the other, he is the brother of Prince Valldamar, and both of them are the sons of King Gertnit. Their country is Ruzciland with the cities Smalizk, Palteskia, Holmgard, and Kaenugard. These cities have been traced by scholars to the land of Rus' and their names correspond to the Russian names of Smolensk, Polock, Novgorod, and the capital city of Kiev; Valldamar has been equated with Vladimir Svjatoslavic (978-1015).5 The controversy concerning Alesa Popovic has been discussed in Chapter IV. Still, the preference of the epos for borrowing, rather than inventing, names suggests that, even if the hero's name did enter the 2

Karl Pannier (ed.), Ortnit ein Heldetigedicht ("Ortnit, a Heroic Poem") (Leipzig, 1877). 3 Loboda, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 19-26; V. Miller, Excursions into the Folk Epos, pp. 176-179. 4 Ibid., see also Astaxova, Il'ja Muromec, p. 408; Propp and Putilov, Byliny, I, p. 119; Zirmunskij, Folk Heroic Epos, p. 91. These scholars are of the opinion that the German Elias is none other than Il'ja from Russia. 5 Loboda, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 17-28.

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chronicles from the bylina, Alesa Popovic nevertheless may be a historical figure. The close parallel between Volx Vseslav'evi£ and Vseslav the magician may indicate the nominal identity between the Prince of Polock and the hero of the bylina. The non-fictional origin of a name strengthens its function of providing an air of believability within the epic narrative. But since the name alone can fulfill this function, regardless of its derivation, a consideration of the origins of epic toponomy and nomenclature must, therefore, be marked by caution. Il'ja Muromec may be a historical figure, or he may be a product of artistic invention alone. The Saracinsk or Sorocinsk Mountains may have their derivation from soroka (magpie), rather than saracin (Saracen). Vsevolod Miller seeks the origin of the adversary Kalin in the name of the river Kal'ka. Jansen, on the other hand, suggests a derivation from kalyn: in Turko-Tartar, the term kalyn is an epithet describing one who is both fat and dumb.6 Many names of people and places are historically verifiable, which allows for the coexistence of purely fictional names with historical ones. For example, Il'ja may be purely fictional, but Murom is not: his historically verifiable origin makes the hero a historical figure, a Kievan warrior in whose, past existence one can believe. A historical name serves the aesthetics of believability both in itself and through interaction with other, possibly fictional, names. A cornerstone of such historicity is Prince Vladimir in the capital city of Kiev. The epic heroes journey to his court from various cities of the Kievan state. Vsevolod Miller considers the preeminence given to Kiev and its ruler, and the disregard of other urban centers of the Kievan era with their princes, as a distortion of historical reality made by the ignorant peasant milieu. Vsevolod Miller's views reflect the thinking of the Russian historical school before the revolution. Propp disagrees; he believes that the by liny never were a creation of various urban centers in feudal Rus'. They never dealt with historical events specifically concerned with these centers, as Miller claims. Rather, the folk epos expresses the desire of all the people for a unified Rus': the country governed by many princes appears in the byliny under the sole ruler, Vladimir.7 There can be little doubt that the people of Kievan Rus' desired unity. The division of the land among many princes and their animosity toward each other made the state only too vulnerable to constant attack by the Polovcy. The bylina, which is an art form and not a kind of historical 6 O. Jansen [Pseudonym of R. Jakobson], "Sobaka Kalin tsar'" ("Kalin Tsar' the Dog"), Slavia, XVII, Nos. 1-2 (1939). ' Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 69.

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document, expresses this ideal. A statement by Propp and Putilov describes the origin of the Russian folk epos even more accurately: "The bylina is not based on a historical fact, but rather on an artistic invention." 8 The Russian folk epos, in its expression of patriotic ideals, chooses literary patterns suitable to this end. These belong to the fairy tale. The cycle of byliny with Vladimir in Kiev as the focal point is the result of the epic heritage. In the fairy tale, Ivan sets out on a quest. He reaches the kingdom of the dragon, or that of a king, or his journey takes him to both the king and the dragon. In the bylina, the last situation is prevalent. The fairy tales appear to have many different kings while epic songs know only one ruler, Prince Vladimir of Kiev. The difference here is more implied than real. Typically, the fairy-tale kings are nameless, as are their kingdoms. Since the kings are not identified from one tale to the other, they merely appear to be different kings. In the epos the ruler can be identified in all the songs as one and the same, for he has a name and his land has a name. What essentially separates the fairy-tale ruler from his epic counterpart is, probably, toponomy and nomenclature. The fairy-tale kings and the epic Vladimir are inactive and older than the heroes; they all either impose difficult tasks upon the heroes or receive their voluntary services. Neither the fairy tale nor the epos tells much more about the ruler. One minor difference between the epic Vladimir and the fairy-tale king should be mentioned: although both are married, only the king has children; Vladimir and his wife Apraksevna are always childless. Two Vladimirs occupied the Kievan throne: Vladimir Svjatoslavic and Vladimir Monomax. The epic Vladimir is probably Svjatoslavic, since his Christianization of Rus' no doubt left a lasting memory of his rule. His blood relationship with Dobrynja, who historically was his uncle and in the epos became his nephew, partly supports this view. In the Kievan cycle of byliny, the journey of Il'ja or Alesa to the court of Prince Vladimir reflects that of the fairy-tale Ivans. The latter travel out of nowhere to a nameless king in a nameless kingdom; the epic heroes set out from their respective cities to Prince Vladimir in Kiev. Thus, the movement remains the same while the space changes: Kievan Rus' replaces the fairy-tale land. The bylina introduces Prince Vladimir and the capital city of the Kievan State in lieu of a nameless king and a nameless kingdom. But the historical Kievan Rus' outlived many of its rulers; the epic Russian land has 8

Propp and Putilov, Byliny,

I, p. 27.

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only one. The shift in t o p o n o m y and nomenclature in the byliny is not accompanied by a shift in treatment o f time; it remains identical with that of the fairy tale. THE EPIC TIME Lixacev, in his consideration of fairy-tale time and epic time, makes the following distinction: The folktale in no way defines the past with regard to the general flow of history. It is enclosed within the folktale and recurs with each new recital; this situation foregrounds the expressionistic and playful side of the folktale. The time of action in the byliny, on the other hand, is distinctly localized in a conditional epoch of Russia's past which could be called "the epic epoch". . . . This "epic epoch" represents a kind of ideal antiquity which knows no direct transition to later times. In this epoch Vladimir rules "eternally", the heroes live eternally, many events take place. This, unlike fairy-tale time, is history, but a history without transition to other epochs. The place of this history is "island-like". 9 Cassirer differentiates the concept of time among primitive peoples, which he terms mythical, from historical time: What distinguishes mythical time from historical time is that for mythical time there is an absolute past, which neither requires nor is susceptible of any explanation. History dissolves being into the never ending sequence of becoming, in which no point is singled out but every point indicates the one further back, so that regression into the past becomes a regressus in infinitum. Myth, to be sure, also draws a line between being and having-become, between present and past; but once this past is attained, myth remains in it as something permanent and unquestionable. For myth time does not take the form of mere relation, in which the factors of present, past and future are persistently shifting and interchanging; here, on the contrary, a rigid barrier divides the empirical present f r o m the mythical origin and gives to each its own inalienable "character". Thus it is understandable that the mythical consciousness... has sometimes been called a timeless consciousness. 10 Cassirer's concept of mythical time and Lixacev's delineation o f time in the Russian folk epos and fairy tales largely correspond. A l t h o u g h the Soviet scholar's distinction between fairy-tale time and epic time is valid, the past in both genres remains a past absolute. The difference lies in t o p o n o m y and nomenclature: in the fairy tale, space and the people 9

D. S. Lixacev, Poetika drevnerusskoj literatury, ("Poetics of Old Russian Literature") (Leningrad, 1967), p. 234. 10 E. Cassirer, Mythical Thought (New Haven and London, 1966), p. 106.

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populating it are indefinable with relation to the world, wherefore the past is not definable; in the epos, both toponomy and nomenclature are definable - they belong to Kievan Rus' - therefore the past is definable. But in each case the past is absolute. In Cassirer's terminology the past is mythical, in Lixacev's, "island-like" for the epos, "enclosed within" for the fairy tale. Cassirer refers to a timeless mythical consciousness. This timelessness stands in opposition to historical time, characterized by continuance, and again finds its correspondence in Lixacev's comment on the eternal Vladimir and the eternal epic heroes. For them time stands still. What treatment of time disregards temporal continuance and establishes an absolute past rigidly separated from the present? In the fairy tale and epos, time passes only with regard to specific acts of the dramatis personae; the duration of these acts may be protracted or short, but they are not interrelated. The result is that in the fairy tale and in the bylina events are not integrated into a time continuum. The grammatical term, aspectual, may be applied to this treatment of time, since the concept of aspect pertains to the duration of a given act without consideration of other temporal ramifications.11 The aspectual treatment of time produces an absolute past or a "then" time separated from the present, or the "now" time. Each is a static unit in which only durations of individual acts are considered. Since the bylina and the fairy tale lack the sense of a flow of time, the "then" and the "now" stand separate, whence the timeless quality of both genres. The "then" of the fairy tale is as indefinable as its locale: "In a certain kingdom, in a certain country in a little village there lived an old man with his wife; he had three sons."12 The aspectual treatment of time lends itself easily to dramatic effects, since the narrative is concerned solely with the concept of duration of a given act without considering its further temporal ramifications within the fairy tale. Lixacev notes the playful air in the use of time by this genre. Thus, traditional formulas contrast lengths of given acts. One formula contrasts the time of narration with that of an act itself: "The tale is told more quickly than the task solved" (it corresponds also to the proverb, "Sooner said than done"). 13 Another formula describes the hero's journey: "Is it far, is it near, is it long, is it 11

Jakobson thus defines the aspectual category: "It characterizes the narrated event itself without any reference to the speech event." In R. Jakobson, Shifters, Verbal Categories, and the Russian Verbs (Harvard University, 1957), p. 4. (Mimeographed) 12 Afanas'ev, N o . 123. 13 Ibid., Nos. 71, 75, 93, 122.

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short?" 14 The fairy tale can make comments like these about time because it does not consider the overall flow of time; the hero's journey may be long or very short; any given act of a dramatis persona is longer than the time of the narration about it, but how much longer hardly matters, for the act is treated only with regard to its own duration. This solely aspectual use of time becomes the more striking when actual units of time are introduced and the fairy tale aims for tension, not humor. In the preceding chapter, a fairy tale in which the king imposes a difficult task upon the hero, Fedot, was discussed. The hero has "to go there, I don't know where, bring that, I don't know what". The wife, who acts as a donor, comments thus on the duration of this task: "Yes, that is a difficult task! To get there you will have to walk nine years and it will take you again nine years to return; in all eighteen years." 15

The statement of how long the task will take stresses its difficulty. Having accomplished it, the hero returns home to his young wife, who was young when he left her, and lives happily with her ever after. In the fairy tale, the dramatis personae perform various acts, and the genre indicates their duration. It goes, however, no further than that. There is no integration of the duration of all acts and, hence, no flow of time or change subject to this flow. Young dramatis personae do not grow older, the old do not die with the passing years, memories do not fade. The aspectual treatment of time produces a timeless world. When an event is separated from the following event by a year or a day, it is because the preceding event lasts a year or a day. The fairy tale indicates not the time span between episodes but rather the time span of the episodes themselves. A pause in the development of the plot or the end of an episode suggests a break in time because the sense of a flow of time is absent in the genre; still, the next episode or event begins immediately on the conclusion of the preceding one. The following examples illustrate this situation. The king orders the hero to present him with an entire regiment fully armed and gives him one night to do it. The hero accomplishes the difficult task with the help of a donor. The following episode thus begins in the morning upon completion of the act of creating a military regiment.16 14 15 16

Ibid., Nos. 92, 107, 135. Ibid., No. 122. Ibid., No. 83.

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On the tenth day Ivan the Prince enters the palace of a beautiful maiden. He does so because previously he observed the palace for ten days.17 A father turns over his son to a teacher to acquire crafty lore. In the third year, he goes to bring his son back home. Again, the father does so because the process of learning the supernatural skills takes three years, and the fairy tale says so.18 As Lixacev points out, the "epic epoch" is distinctly localized within the historical flow of time: I shall narrate to you, brothers. I shall not tell you a tale or sing you a song; I shall sing to you a poem of the olden days:

A Kievan bylina.19

However, it does not share in this flow: the "then" time of the bylina, like that of the fairy tale, is a timeless unit, an absolute past. Within the bylina, time passes only when the dramatis personae act. Il'ja Muromec on his journey to Kiev has a choice of two roads, one longer, the other shorter. On the shorter road he must face Solovej. The bylina contrasts the duration of each journey: Blocked was the straight road For those who travel on horseback, for those who travel on foot: There is no passage on horse, there is no passage on foot; N o hero will pass this road. On the straight road one journeys three hours, On the round-about road one journeys three years. The seasoned cossack sets out to ride, to ride the straight road, Yes, the seasoned cossack, and yes no other, but Il'ja Muromec. And he will open up the road for those who travel on foot, For those who travel on foot, for those who ride on horseback. 20

The use of time here is aspectual only: the contrast of the duration of the two journeys. Il'ja, taking the shorter road, arrives in Kiev in three hours; considering solely the use of time in the bylina, however, it would all be the same whether he arrived in three hours or in three years. Like the fairy tale, the epos does not know the concept or an overall flow of time but depicts only the duration of a given act. A variant of "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" in which Prince Vladimir's men imprison Il'ja illustrates the point further. When the enemy attacks, the Prince releases 17 Ibid., 18 19 20

No. 104c. Ibid., No. 140a.

Astaxova, II, No. 165. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 150. Grigor'ev, II, No. 36. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 150-151.

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the hero and sets him the task of defending the state. Il'ja's imprisonment lasted thirty years, yet upon release he is able to fight the enemy: They imprisoned the seasoned cossack Il'ja Muromec. They closed behind him the iron doors, The placed iron bolts against the doors, They closed the locks from beyond the seas; Thus sat the seasoned cossack in the dark dungeon, Not more and not less - just thirty years. Then arose a black cloud, yes a threatening cloud, Yes a threatening cloud, a pitiless cloud: Against this city, the capital Kiev Arose the evil and huge Kudravenko tsar. Then arrived the seasoned cossack, he arrived all alone. Brandished his weapon Kudravenko, the bad and evil tsar, The seasoned cossack, Il'ja Muromec, brandished his weapon. He cut the head off the shoulders of the huge evil tsar. 21 Two late additions to "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", the theme of acquisition of heroic might and the fixed epithet staryj kazak, have been discussed. Consideration of the mode of their incorporation into the narrative sheds further light on the aspectual treatment of time. Prior to acquisition of heroic might the hero lives in the village Karacarovo for thirty years in total inactivity: Blocked was the straight road, From the city of Kiev And up to the town to Cernigov, Blocked was the straight road. And there, there in Murom, In the village, village Karacarovo, There lived little Il'ja, Il'ja Muromec, And he sat, for thirty years he sat, Like a tree trunk at the edge of the road. 22 Il'ja acquires heroic might from the donor and confronts Solovej on the way to Kiev. He captures his adversary and, arriving in the capital, introduces himself: "(I am) from the town of Murov, From the village, the village Karacarovo, To be sure, seasoned cossack Il'ja Muromec, To be sure I journeyed the straight road, I got hold of Solovej, yes, the little brigand. 21 22

Grigor'ev, III, No. 98. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 151. Grigor'ev, III, No. 89. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 151.

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Traditionally, this journey is the hero's first heroic expedition.23 Also, traditionally, the entire trip from Murom to Kiev takes Il'ja a very short time: three hours,24 from Matins to Mass.25 The long confinement of thirty years, due to infirmity vanishes from Il'ja's life once he is miraculously cured by the three old men; the hero has no recollection of his confinement, although the donors do nothing specifically to make him forget his past. The hero sets out for Kiev. In three hours he is there and already an experienced cossack, though one might think that only years of warfare could endow U'ja with such a title. The aspectual treatment of time reconciles this situation. The bylina considers each act separately and does not integrate them into a set of relationships: Il'ja sits passively for thirty years; Il'ja journeys to Kiev and subdues Solovej in three hours; Il'ja is already an experienced cossack. Since the bylina, like the fairy tale, does not consider the relationship of one time sequence to another, like the fairy tale it can assign to them arbitrary lengths for a purely dramatic effect. The thirty years serve to emphasize the hero's helplessness prior to his acquisition of strength and dramatize the importance of that acquisition. The amazingly short time of his journey points up Il'ja's might; his experience in warfare enhances his status. The contrast of three hours with the three years it normally takes to travel to Kiev, dramatizes the hero's act of opening the road to the capital. In the fairy tale the hero needs eighteen years to fulfill a task. Il'ja is imprisoned for a period of thirty years. In both instances, the time span serves to heighten the dramatic tension. The fairy tale has no referents in the historical world. The bylina does; hence the aspectual use of time in this genre has a more striking effect. Kalajdovic notices the discrepancy between historical and epic time and calls the bylina "anachronistic".26 Lixacev's observations on time in the Russian folk epos are much more to the point. The bylina considers the duration of various acts of the epic heroes living in the Kievan era but not the overall flow of time in this epoch; consequently, as in the fairy tale, the dramatis personae do not age27 or die, rulers do 23

Ibid.', see also Danilov, N o . 49; Rybnikov, II, N o . 127; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 55,

61. 24

Grigor'ev, II, N o . 36. Kireevskij, I, Section 3, N o . 1; see also Rybnikov, I, Nos. 4, 61; Grigor'ev, I, N o . 38. 26 Danilov, p. iii. 27 The aging of Il'ja Muromec and his horse occurs within the entire epic tradition and not in individual texts. In no text does the seasoned cossack turn into the old cossack with passing years. 25

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not change, one enemy does not vanish or another appear. The epic world is timeless. Lixacev notes, "In this epoch Vladimir rules eternally, the heroes live eternally, many events take place. Thus, unlike the fairy tale, time in the bylina is history, but history without transition to other epochs." The epos may indeed be history but not for the reason Lixacev indicates. As Cassirer points out, epic time is not historical time but rather mythical time. Indeed Lixacev himself points to the features that make the epic "then" an absolute past. Still, the epos is a kind of history, not in the sense of time but rather because of its toponomy and nomenclature. The relevance of names of historical origin for the epos goes beyond the topic of historicity in the service of credibility.

F A I R Y - T A L E A C T I O N I N KI EVAN R U S '

The epic space is Kievan Rus'; the epic time, though aspectual, like that of the fairy tale, is definable within the context of the space. The nomenclature populates the epic space with dramatis personae who nominally hark back to historical figures but share a broad spectrum of common attributes with fairy-tale personae. The heroes of the epos and those of the fairy tale are young and invincible in the final outcome of combat. But their essential similarity is that of opposites: indispensable extrinsic source of heroic might versus epic self-sufficiency, lack of individuality versus personal specificity, non-anthropocentrism versus super-anthropocentrism. Epic adversaries share many attributes with the fairy-tale dragon: flight, fire, watery and mountainous habitat, sound imagery, and amorousness. Yet the points of kinship between the adversary of the bylina and that of the fairy tale decrease from Gorynyc to Tugarin, Tugarin to Solovej, and Solovej to Mamaj. Prince Vladimir shares with the fairy-tale king his age and inactivity, but, compared to the latter, he evolves into a much humbler figure. Thus, there exists a basic kinship between the dramatis personae of the fairy tale and those of epos. Furthermore, the epic personae reenact within an epic space, Kievan Rus', the action of the fairy tale. The epic toponomy and nomenclature have an essential function in the new aesthetics of credibility, but their historicity also forces a new meaning upon the fairy-tale action reenacted on the epic stage; this action becomes the history of Kievan Rus'. This history does not begin in the distant antiquity when Slavic tribes settled the territory of Eastern Europe, and then moves on to the mythical Rurik, to Vladimir, to Jaroslav the Wise, his son, to Vladimir Mon-

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omax, and beyond. It does not narrate the events of the past recorded by the chronicles. The source of epic history, the events it narrates and their temporal treatment lie in the fairy tale.

IDEOLOGY IN THE

EPOS

In their study of the Russian epos, the Chadwicks claim that nationality is not important in the byliny, and that what is important is the hero's individual worth exhibited through his success in combat. 28 However, as Propp and Kalinin point out, the folk epos is permeated with a sense of Russian patriotism.29 As noted already, considerations of epic ideology may have kept Soviet scholars from investigating the kinship between the heroic byliny and the fairy tale. This kinship, however, and ideology are by no means concepts which are mutually exclusive; the fairy-tale history of Russia maintains a deep patriotic consciousness. In the byliny, the correlation of ideology with the aesthetics of credibility discloses the importance of nationality in the epic tradition. When patriotism is manifested in the bylina, credibility also is stressed, and the greater the manifestation of patriotism, the greater the stress on credibility. The ideology finds its expression in the new historical meaning that epic toponomy and nomenclature inject into the fairy-tale action within the bylina. The historicity of both the toponomy and nomenclature serves the epic aesthetics of credibility while these epic aesthetics serve the epic ideology. In "Volx Vseslav'evic", only eleven verses out of the two hundred the bylina contains strike a patriotic note. In these, Volx ostensibly sets out for India to defend Kiev. This motivation for his expedition is not integrated into the narrative. The hero does not really defend anything; out of nowhere, he sets out for a distant land and there acquires a bride and a royal title. "Volx Vseslav'evic", the hero and action of which are very much in the fairy-tale tradition, also has an undeveloped patriotic theme, the defense of Rus'. The first encounter between Dobrynja and Gorynyc has no expression of epic ideology. Their struggle takes place in the realm of Gorynyc, who defends his domain against the invader. The two sign a pact, and the adversary promises to refrain from invading Rus', but obviously the agressor is Dobrynja. The hero moves against his opponent in the spirit 28 29

Chadwick and Chadwick, Growth of Literature, pp. 77-100; see especially pp. 92, 94. Russian Poetic Folk Art, I, p. 538; Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 69.

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of pure adventure found in the fairy tale about Ivan the Bull, who sets out against the dragon simply because the latter is there to be challenged. The second encounter has a weak expression of national consciousness. Gorynyc actually invades the epic land, abducts Zabava, and withdraws. Vladimir assigns the hero the task of freeing her, and Dobrynja fulfills his mission. The fairy-tale theme of difficult tasks acquires a new meaning: the abducted girl is a Russian princess; the hero performs a task for the Kievan ruler. The bylina narrates an event from the epic past. The ideological scope of this event is limited; the service Dobrynja performs for his epic land involves no more than two figures, the Prince and his niece. The kings and sons of kings, the tsars and sons of tsars whom he frees are obviously not Russian, since epic Rus' has only one ruler. Along with the limited manifestation of epic ideology, there is a limited expression of epic aesthetics. Dobrynja follows closely the pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent, shows consternation when faced with a difficult task, and fights a dragon very much like that of the fairy tale. The toponomy and nomenclature and the hero's final and quick subdual of Gorynyc are the elements that counteract the fairy-tale atmosphere and bring the event, if only partially, into the realm of epic aesthetics. In "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", the initial confrontation is the reverse of that between Dobrynja and Gorynyc. The adversary invades the land of the hero; Alesa faces him between Rostov and Kiev. This reversal is applicable to the remaining byliny under discussion. In Chapter IV, the artistic importance of the reversed epic pattern as compared with the fairy tale was noted. Ivan confronts the dragon in a mountainous, watery, supernatural kingdom; Dobrynja follows this pattern. Il'ja and Alesa, on the other hand, meet their adversaries in their toponomically concrete epic land. Toponomy makes the adversary more believable: he appears in Kievan Rus'. Beyond its artistic importance, this reversed epic pattern has ideological significance: the epic hero defends his epic land against an enemy. With regard to the first confrontation between Alesa and Tugarin, this ideological significance is rather limited. Tugarin is an invader, but he does not disturb anybody or bring apparent harm to Rus' and her people. The events preceding the second confrontation of Alesa and Tugarin present the adversary as a far greater menace. He enters the Prince's palace, behaves there as he pleases, and makes advances to Vladimir's wife. Compared to "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", this bylina narrates events ideologically more important: the hero frees his land from a foreign intruder and saves his prince from disgrace. With events of greater importance there

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is also a greater insistence on their credibility. In the first confrontation, Alesa, though following the pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent, defeats the adversary through his own ingenuity; he is bolder than Dobrynja and, hence, exhibits more of an anthropocentric quality. Also, Tugarin is less dragon-like than Gorynyc. The epic adversaries from Gorynyc to Mamaj share points of similarity with the fairy-tale dragon. Gorynyc and Tugarin are most like him and are still called dragons; as the resemblance decreases, the adversaries no longer have this appellation. In the fairy tale, Ivan and the dragon come from different realms. The bylina maintains this dichotomy: the epic hero is always Russian; the adversary is a dragon or a Tartar. Thus, the epos does not reflect any internecine struggles; the portrayal of a native Russian adversary would go against the epic tradition. The by liny feed upon their own literary heritage. Astaxova assumes that "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" echoes the general problem of brigandage prevalent in Kievan Rus'. Solovej could be considered a native brigand, since his name was not an uncommon one among Russians at the time. Only later, after the Tartar invasion, did he become a Tartar. 30 The first confrontation with the Mongols took place at the river Kal'ka in 1223. Following this confrontation in which the Russian and their allies were defeated, the Tartars vanished only to return fourteen years later and conquer Rus' between the years 1237-1240. The brigand Solovej could not have acquired his Tartar origin earlier than 1223 and more likely some time after 1240. But was Solovej originally a Russian? Textual evidence contradicts this assumption. In the epic tradition, Russian nationality is synonymous with Orthodoxy, and Solovej differentiates himself from the Christians: "Give me my freedom, set me free, I shall take before you a solemn pledge: I shall sit no longer by the straight road, I shall whistle no longer like a nightingale, N o longer will I bring misfortune upon the Christian people." 3 1

In many variants, Solovej has a family composed of a wife and daughters who may have husbands.32 Seldom does he have sons.33 The wife, sons, Astaxova, IVja Muromec, pp. 453-454. Kireevskij, IV, Section 1, No. 1. For Russian text, see Appendix pp. 151-152 32 Grigor'ev, III, No. 56; Astaxova, II, Nos. 131, 141, 157; Sokolov-Cicerov, Nos. 96, 104, 107. 33 Danilov, No. 49; Grigor'ev, II, No. 52. 30

31

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and sons-in-law are always nameless. Occasionally the daughters have names, many of which are not Russian: Neveja, Nenila, Pel'ka, Mar'ja, and Cjujka. 34 Elena appears in two variants. 35 This is a Russian name but one closely associated with a fairy-tale princess. 36 One variant has the name Nastas'ja. 37 This, though Russian, is also common to the fairy tale. 38 Thus the epic tradition tends to bestow upon the family of Solovej such invented names as Neveja, Nenila, Pel'ka and Cjujka, the name Mar'ja, a typical Polish name for a girl, or names closely associated with the fairy tale, such as Elena and Nastas'ja. This indicates that Solovej is not considered a Russian in the epic tradition. Indeed, he disassociates himself from the Russians in the excerpt previously quoted and in the following one: "I will raise a son, marry him to a daughter, I will raise a daughter, marry her to a son, Thus the Solovejan stock will not disappear." 3 9

Solovej thus turns to incest to maintain his own kind; perhaps, generalizing this statement to other variants, Solovej's sons-in-law may be considered his sons. In her assessment of Solovej's nationality, Astaxova follows Vsevolod Miller, who equates the brigand, Moguta, with the literary Solovej. Astaxova posits an original highwayman named Solovej, but both she and Miller agree in deeming Il'ja's adversary a Russian. The artistic function of the name Solovej has already been analyzed; it tends to reduce the supernatural aspect of the adversary. His other appellation, brigand, works in the same way, and is closely tied in with the locale Solovej occupies. He sits on the road between Murom and Kiev and blocks it; hence, he is a kind of highwayman. But there is no variant in which the supposed highwayman robs anybody. His main action on the road is the destructive whistle, an attribute which he has in common with the fairy-tale dragon. When the epic adversary shares few points of similarity with the fairy-tale dragon, he becomes a definite foreign enemy. Thus Solovej becomes a Tartar, though he is not too often called by that name. 40 Far more commonly, the bylina knows him as 34

Rybnikov, I, No. 4; II, N o . 116, 191; Sokolov-Cicerov, No. 77. Rybnikov, II, No. 127 (Olena, a variation of Elena); Gil'ferding, III, N o . 210. 36 Afanas'ev, Nos. 71b, 84c, 102, 104f, 105b, 116b, 118a, 120b, 127b, 130a. 37 Rybnikov, II, No. 170. 38 Afanas'ev, Nos. 71b, 92, 107, 113b, 125f, 160p, 179p, 181p. 39 Kireevskij, I, Section 3, No. 4. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 152. 40 Rybnikov, II, No. 127; Gil'ferding, II, N o . 171; Grigor'ev, III, No. 89. 35

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Axmatovic Raxmatovic, a name which Vsevolod Miller connects with the Tartar Khan, Axmet. 41 It has been noted that the aesthetic movement towards greater credibility is concurrent with a broadening of the scope of national consciousness. The bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" shares in this artistic development. The victory over Solovej has far wider implications than that over Gorynyc or Tugarin, who are always dragons and never Tartars. Il'ja defends not only Prince Vladimir but also the Russian people; he can state: "And I journeyed after Solovej Raxmanov, A n d o p e n e d up all the wide highways In all of the holy Russian Land. 4 2

Of course, Il'ja does not really make all the roads in Rus' safe for travel, but the hyperbole stresses the importance of nationality. Thus, the more important the narration for the epic state as a whole, the greater becomes the bylina!s insistence on the credibility of its narrative. Solovej is far less dragon-like than Gorynyc or Tugarin, and Il'ja is the most anthropocentric figure of all three heroes. The byliny "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" and "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" demonstrate further the interplay of ideology and aesthetics. The Big Idol's very name distinguishes him sharply from the Christian Russians. He comes with a Tartar retinue, thus indicating his own nationality. In some variants, the Big Idol maintains the role of an amorous dragon and makes advances to Vladimir's wife, Apraksevna. However, these are a minority: of the thirty variants investigated, the adversary appears in this role only in nine texts, while in all thirty of them he is a pagan invader who occupies the palace in Kiev. The main concern of this bylina in its variants, therefore, is the fate of Kiev rather than the personal fortune of Vladimir. In the byliny, "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" and "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", epic ideology encompasses both nationality and Orthodoxy. There is a profound concern for the faith in Prince Vladimir's plea to Il'ja: Y o u stood u p for our faith, yes the Christian faith, Y e s the Christian faith, the Orthodox faith. Y o u stood up for the monasteries, yes the noble o n e s ; 41 42

V. Miller, Russian Folk Epos, III, p. 133. Gil'ferding, II, N o . 120. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 152.

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You stood up for the churches, the churches of God, So stand up for us, too - the capital, town Kiev, For me, the Prince, the Prince Vladimir.43

This concern is present also in "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol": The force of the Busurman, the Tartar, approached, Closely, very closely this force approached The town, the town of Kiev. The Tatar, the Big Idol from his white tent came out, Quickly he wrote a message, Sent it with a pagan Tartar; Quickly he wrote a message: "I, the Big Idol shall enter, yes enter the city of Kiev, I shall put to flame Kiev and the churches of God; Let the Prince quickly leave his halls, I shall occupy these halls of white stone. 44

The two byliny differ in the dramatic intensity of the respective invasions. That in "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" has a truly epic sweep: thousands of enemies surround Kiev, and its Christian people and their churches and monasteries are threatened. The ominousness of the Big Idol is scaled down: his force is more limited, the danger he poses is smaller. Thus the ideology of nationality and Orthodoxy finds a more intense expression in one bylina than in the other. The relationship between the two byliny from the vantage point of epic ideology finds its correlation from the vantage point of epic aesthetics. The grotesque hyperbole in the image of the Big Idol is replaced by pure hyperbole in the description of Mamaj. The pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent, still present in one bylina, though completely reworked, disappears in the other and is replaced by Il'ja's ceremonial gathering of a retinue. Also, "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" introduces the theme of human mortality, which, within the epic aesthetics, may be viewed as the most extensive movement of the epos in the direction of credibility. In the six byliny analyzed, the greater the expression of a national consciousness, the greater the assertion of epic aesthetics and the more artistically credible the narrative. Epic ideology finds its most meaningful expression in "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", its least meaningful expression in "Volx Vseslav'evic"; although the former maintains only a distant kinship with the fictitious world of the fairy tale, the latter preserves a close connection with this world. The Chadwicks point to individualism in epic poetry. Bowra sees 43 14

Grigor'ev, III, No. 90. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 152. Markov, No. 43. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 152.

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individual accomplishment as an expression of the larger concept of anthropocentricity: "The hero gives dignity to the human race by showing of what feats it is capable." 45 Propp, stressing the epic ideology, claims that it is the country that gains glory from the deeds of her sons and that the tradition somehow demands the hero serve the state. 46 All these views may well be compatible with one another. The epic hero does not really have to serve the state within the tradition, but, if he does, the tradition rewards him by depicting him as a mighty hero. Volx, or Dobrynja in his first encounters with Gorynyc, perform no deeds for Rus', so they hardly present themselves as heroic figures. Il'ja, in his singlehanded attack on the enemy camp in "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", appears as an invincible man of might. The epic hero can prove his worth through service to the state; the greater his service, the greater his individual worth. Il'ja sums it up best in this admonishment to three princes he has captured: "You ride away to your homes, And everywhere spread the glorious word: Holy Rus' does not stand desolate, Holy Rus' has its strong and mighty heroes." 47

The ideology of the fairy tale revolves around self-interest. The nonprincely hero sets out on a quest to fulfill his own, personal needs. Ivan the Prince is altruistic, but even his selfless quest has its limitations: he is saving his own mother or sister. The individuals, moreover, are not members of the home nationality. Their fate is of no great importance to the audience, hence the jocular tone of the narrative and no pretense of veracity. The sole purpose of the fairy tale is entertainment. The situation is different in the epos. What is taking place upon the epic stage becomes important; therefore the insistence on credibility: the action which is played out is a true story of the olden days. The stage is no longer a "never-never land", it is Kievan Rus'. The dramatis personae are not undifferentiated Ivans, dragons, nameless kings; they are Russians victoriously confronting their enemies. The epos insists that it give a true account of the past: Who shall tell us of the olden days, Of the olden days, of what happened then, Of Il'ja Muromec. 4 8 45

Bowra, Heroic Poetry, p. 4. Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 113. 47 Kireevskij, I, Section 3, No. 4. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 152. 48 Kireevskij, I, Section 1, No. 1. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 152. 46

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Aksakov observed that the essential difference between the epos and the fairy tale is the difference between artistic truth and fiction. Chapter IV shows the validity of this view. Orest Miller and Wilhelm Wundt posit the initial credibility of the fairy tale.49 Ernst Cassirer's consideration of mythical time which is applicable to the Russian fairy tale lends further validity to this assertion of initial credibility: the 'then' time or absolute past of the fairy tale "neither requires nor is susceptible to any further explanations, it is unquestionable". If the fairy tale is considered to be an initially credible myth that has subsequently deteriorated into a fictional narrative, then the bylina is a kind of revitalized myth. The attributes of the dramatis personae and action in the epos are those of the fairy tale. The epic genre reworks this material in accordance with its own aesthetics and absorbs new material - toponomy and nomenclature. The result is a credible myth: the fairytale history of Kievan Rus'.

49

O. Miller, Survey of Russian Literature,

p. 140; Wundt, Folk Psychology,

p. 270.

VII THE D E M I S E OF THE EPIC HERO

P O P U L A R I T Y OF THE VARIANTS OF T H E

BYLINY

As has been shown, the fewer the points of similarity a given bylina has with the fairy-tale genre, the more pronounced the epic features in it become. Within this range, the closest to the fairy tale is "Volx Vseslav'evic" ; the most distant is "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj ". It would be logical to expect those byliny in which epic features find their most pronounced expression to be more popular than those in which the kinship with the fairy tale is rather close. However, the relative popularity of the six byliny analyzed does not show an overall correlation with the use of epic artistic features. The twenty available variants of "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" scarcely indicate a true preference, since this bylina evolved into "U'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" and lost much of its popularity for that reason. The five remaining byliny appear in approximately the following numbers of variants: "Volx Vseslav'evic", 8, "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", 60, "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", 100, "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol", 50, "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", 14. The number of variants of any given bylina represents the number of singers who knew this epic song and from whom the collectors made their recordings. Thus, the number of variants is a measure of a bylina's popularity. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", which appears midway between "Volx Vseslav'evic" and "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" in degree of kinship with the fairy tale, is the most popular bylina. "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", which exhibits a far greater kinship with the fairy-tale tradition than "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol", is slightly more popular than the latter bylina. "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", which has the most pronounced epic features, hardly demonstrates substantial acceptance. This situation is, of course, indi-

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cative of the attitude of the folk toward their literary heritage. This heritage from the fairy tale is reworked in accordance with epic aesthetics; the degree of reworking, i.e., the measure of the bylinds similarity or dissimilarity to the fairy tale, depends on the expression of national consciusness in the epic song. The greater the sense of nationality, the lesser the kinship. There is a preference for a golden mean where the difference from the fairy tale is pronounced but not too drastically. This explains the supreme popularity of "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand". Under the stimulus of epic aesthetics, "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol" evolves from "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", but it does not achieve a greater popularity than "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon". Within the scope of the six byliny analyzed in this study, "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" represents the end product of the epic development. Following the trend, this bylina should be somewhat less popular than "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". What drastically reduces the popularity of this bylina is its artistic mode of presenting the demise of the epic hero.

D E M I S E O F T H E EPIC H E R O

The mortality of the bylina hero stems from the aesthetics of believability, in which anthropocentricity plays a paramount role. Since anthropocentricity means humanity, the logical extreme of the epic aesthetics is the depiction of the demise of the human hero. His demise should strengthen the quality of believability. Death of the human hero is, therefore, an integral part of the epic narrative. One of the main themes of the ancient Sumerian epic, Gilgamesh, is that of human mortality. The Iliad ends with the death of Hector; The Odyssey recalls in its concluding pages the deceased heroes who fought the Trojans. The Song of Roland narrates the heroic death of its hero; both Beowulf and The Poem of El Cid end with the demise of their respective protagonists. Mortality also figures in the fairy tale, but the aesthetics of this genre favor the wondrous rather than the lifelike. Ivan may be cut to pieces, but the supernatural, always at his disposal, assures his revival by means of the waters of death and life: Ivan the Prince lay dead on this spot for full thirty days. Then the gray wolf arrived and by his scent recognized Ivan. He wanted to help him, to revive him... Then the gray wolf sprinkled Ivan the Prince with the water of death

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and his body grew together; he sprinkled him with the water of life and Ivan the Prince arose and said: "My, my, I slept so long!" 1

The bylina does not use the fairy-tale motif of death and revival; when death occurs, it is an end to human existence.2 In spite of this seemingly radical departure from the fairy-tale world, motivated by the inner artistic requirements of the epic genre, the bylina fails to deal with the theme of the demise in a way that would enhance the aesthetics of credibility and, in its failure, detracts from their paramount principle - anthropocentricity. The reason for this failure is rather paradoxical. The inner artistic development of the epic genre governed by its aesthetics leads to the theme of the demise of the epic hero, but, even in the presentation of this theme, the bylina harks back to its literary heritage, the fairy tale. Established patterns preclude certain modes of demise in the byliny. Since the bylina, like the fairy tale, is governed by the aspectual treatment of time, the epic hero does not age. Other natural causes of death, such as accident or illness, do not occur either; the epic hero is too mighty a figure to be stricken down by such everyday mishaps. The Russian folk epos also avoids the depiction of the death of its heroes in the field of battle. As in the case of possible accidental death or death from illness, it would be beneath the dignity of the powerful and invincible hero to fall at the hands of his enemy. It also would be difficult to reconcile this mode of demise with the strong sense of nationality present in the Russian epos, since the enemy is invariably a foreigner. But death in the field of battle is perhaps the most satisfactory artistic mode of presenting the demise of the epic hero. Far from detracting from his anthropocentric image it may enhance it. The one who kills him does not necessarily prove himself to be his superior. One of the dramatis personae in the Old Russian "Tale of the Destruction of Rjazan'" is Evpatij Kolovrat, who bears a close resemblance to the hyperbolic byliny heroes. The tale describes his death thus: Evpatij was encircled by Tartar troops because they wished to take him alive. And Hostovrul rode out against Evpatij, but Evpatij was a giant, and with one blow he cleft Hostovrul to the saddle. And once more he began to cut down 1

Afanas'ev, No. 102; see also Nos. 74b, 76, 83, 92, 94, 95, 104b, g, 106, 116a, b, c, 118c, 119a, 120b, 137p, 148, 158a, b, c. 2 In Kireevskij's variant of the bylina, "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" (Vol. IV) there is a scene striking because of its uniqueness, in which a Tartar kills Dobrynja. The hero, however, is revived in a fairy-tale manner with the waters of death and life; see also "Alesha Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", Danilov, No. 20.

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the Tartar troops, and he killed m a n y of Batu's best knights. S o m e were cut down, while others were cleft to their waist, and still others were cleft to their saddles. The Tartars took flight, seeing what a giant Evpatij was. A n d then they brought u p catapults and began showering rocks u p o n him. A n d they finally killed Evpatij Kolovrat, but only with great difficulty. 3

Evpatij dies a truly heroic death, which enhances his epic stature. Glorious, too, are the deaths of Roland, Archbishop Turpin, and Oliver on the battlefield against the pagan Saracens in The Song of Roland. Also, Hector's death at the hands of Achilles by no means detracts from his image in The Iliad. The bylina shares the pattern of single combat with "Tale of the Destruction of Rjazan'" or The Song of Roland; thus, the bylina could portray a heroic demise of its heroes on the field of battle. But it does not. The Russian epic hero has no superior in his world. If he is to die, the force that can overpower him must exist elsewhere, and this "elsewhere" is in the supernatural. In accepting the supremacy of supernatural forces, the bylina evokes its literary heritage, the fairy tale. In that genre, human weakness is the reverse of the power of the supernatural: one is humble because the other is mighty. But, having reasserted the power of the supernatural, the bylina violates the paramount principle of its aesthetics, anthropocentricity. Once the otherworldly forces assert themselves, the hero loses his former might. He can remain powerful only if he dies in battle, demonstrating his might before his demise. As it is, the fate of the epic hero, like that of Ivan, rests in the hands of the supernatural; in the fairy tale, however, the otherworldly not only threatens the protagonist but, more important for him, aids him. In the bylina, it serves only as a cause of the hero's destruction. Many variants of the bylina "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" contain an episode in which Il'ja faces mortal danger at a crossroads on his way from Murom to Kiev. In spite of this theme of mortality, the bylina remains highly popular. It is not that this bylina has an artistically successful mode of dealing with the theme of demise; the answer lies elsewhere. The forces controlling Il'ja's destiny for life or death are not of this world. However, the bylina does not present death as an unmitigated finality; it thus refrains from asserting the superiority of supernatural forces over the might of the human hero. The patterns which "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" utilizes to convey the theme of demise are those of the fairy tale: 3

S. A. Zenkovsky (ed.), Medieval pp. 180-181.

Russia's Chronicles and Tales (New York, 1963),

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The bold fellow journeyed across the open field, The bold fellow reached the cross-roads, H e reached the cross-roads Kristos'skie, H e reached the Levanidov cross. There stood a post of white oak, On the post there was writing: "If you ride straight, you must ride five hundred versts, If you ride r o u n d a b o u t , seven hundred versts." Il'ja looked at this writing: "If you ride straight, then you shall not live, There is n o crossing on horse or on f o o t : Solovej the Brigand sits on seven oaks." 4 In spite o f the warning, the undaunted Il'ja c h o o s e s the road where mortal danger lies: "It is not honorable, it is not glorious for a brave lad T o journey the r o u n d a b o u t road, I had better choose the straight r o a d . " 5 T h u s the hero is m a d e aware that his expedition will c o m e to a tragic end. This kind o f prophecy is very prevalent in the fairy tale. Ivan the Prince journeys in search o f a firebird and finds himself in

a situation

similar to that o f Il'ja: H e journeyed across a highway-road and, was it far, was it near, was it high, was it low? Quickly the tale is told, but not the task solved. Finally he reached an open field, green meadows. In the open field there stood a post and on the post there was writing: " H e who will journey straight ahead f r o m this post will be hungry and cold; he w h o shall ride to the right will remain well but his horse will die; he who shall ride to the left will be killed but his horse will remain alive." 6 In b o t h the bylina and the fairy tale, the prophecy serves to create dramatic tension. But in o n e genre the threat is only rhetorical, in the other it c o u l d be real. T h e waters o f death and life at the disposal o f Ivan are n o t available to the epic hero. Were he to die, his death w o u l d b e c o m e a finality.

But, as in the fairy tale, in the bylina the prophecy proves false.

Il'ja does n o t need the magical waters, for his hyperbolic might assures h i m victory over any adversary. 4

Rybnikov, II, No. 116. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 153. Ibid.; see also Kireevskij, I, Section 3, No. 3; Rybnikov, II, Nos. 103, 116; Gil'ferding, II, Nos. 120, 171; Oncukov, No. 53; Astaxova, I, No. 93; II, Nos. 157, 165; Sokolov-ticerov, Nos. 61, 104. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 153. 6 Afanas'ev, No. 102; see also No. 92. 5

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In a variant of "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", the hero, Svjatogor, acts as donor of epic might.' The fairy tale often describes strength as weight: a powerful hero is very heavy.8 The bylina develops this theme further and turns it into a mysterious cause of death. Svjatogor is too heavy to live; the earth cannot bear his weight and he is destined to die. He knows this, lies down in a coffin, and seeks to bestow his heroic might upon Il'ja before dying. Il'ja, however, does not wish to be destined to die, having acquired all of Svjatogor's might. He takes only the sword. Thus Il'ja becomes the hero, Svjatogor the donor, and the sword the magical agent. Then Svjatogor let himself down into the coffin of oak. "Now you, my younger brother, This coffin is made for me. Thus comes one's destiny, and thus he must die, There is no death without destiny, there is none to be sure. C o m e up to me to the little opening; I shall bestow upon you my strength." Thus answered Il'ja Muromec, the son of Ivan: "Now you, there, you my elder brother, My own strength will have to suffice, Or else damp Mother Earth will not bear me." Thus spoke the other, such were his words: " N o w you, you my younger brother, Y o u tie my horse to the coffin And my sword you take with you." So did Il'ja Muromec, the son of Ivan, H e tied the horse to the coffin And into his hands, he took his brother's sword. 9

Propp and Putilov observe that the relationship between Il'ja and Svjatogor is an expression of epic ideology. Svjatogor, who in the epic tradition never appears as a defendant of Rus', is useless to the state and doomed to die; Il'ja, on the other hand, is a defender of the epic land and destined to live.10 They may be right. There exists a correlation between the epic aesthetics and ideology. The defense of Rus' is of paramount importance in the byliny. This feeling of national awareness tends to bring about an 5 The subject of Il'ja's miraculous acquisition of strength from Svjatogor is found in a number of independent bylina variants; see Astaxova, IVja Muromec, pp. 449-453. 8 Afanas'ev, Nos. 68, 74p. 9 Astaxova, II, No. 165. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 153. 50 Propp and Putilov, Byliny, I, pp. 20-21; Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 76.

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assertion of credibility, hence the theme of demise of the epic hero which ought to function to this end within the epic aesthetics. However, it does not, because the epos lacks an artistically satisfactory mode of depicting the death of the hero. Svjatogor's death is a finality, and he is never revived by the waters of death and life. But he dies in a mysterious manner, doomed to death by fate, because, as Propp and Putilov point out, he never fought for his country. If credibility suffers in Svjatogor's death, anthropocentricity does not. One hero may be doomed, but Il'ja, who is far more important for the epic tradition, is not. Indeed, the pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent turns the death of one epic hero into the birth of another. This is the significance of the verse, "And into his hands he took his brother's sword." What holds true for the demise of Svjatogor is also applicable to the scene at the crossroads. The prophecy, deeply rooted in the fairytale tradition, does not enhance the credibility of the narrative, but neither does it detract from the heroic image. Il'ja dares to proceed and asserts his prowess; the prophecy proves false. "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" presents a situation opposite to that of "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand". This bylina, in its depiction of the hero's demise, departs from the concept of anthropocentricity, although it maintains that of credibility. The epic hero dies because he transgresses against the canons of Christian faith, which are to be believed in and respected. Death now becomes an unmitigated finality. In "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", such a transgression does not occur nor is the finality of human life ever depicted. The concept of man transgressing against God and thereby arousing the wrath of Heaven is Judeo-Christian. The basic pattern here is, however, more archaic than Christian and revolves around the concept of taboo or prohibition: man may not do a given thing lest he suffer evil consequences. This theme is present in the fairy tale. The hero is assured of success as long as he does not do what is prohibited; if he does, he arouses supernatural forces against himself. Ivan the Prince sets out to obtain the water of youth for his father. This miraculous water flows from the hands and arms of a beautiful maiden. Ivan may obtain it safely if he resists her beauty. He cannot. On bedding of down lies the beautiful maiden. She rests, sleeping soundly. Water flows from her arms and legs; her faithful army sleeps beside her. Ivan the Prince took two skins full of water and he could restrain himself no longer: he made love to the beautiful maiden and afterwards mounted his horse and left for home. The beautiful maiden slept for nine days and nights and when

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she awoke she became extremely angry. She stamped her feet and shouted: "What rascal was here? He drank from me and left me uncovered!" She mounted her speedy mare and set out after Ivan the Prince.11 The maiden seizes Ivan and cuts him down with her sword. Afterwards, however, she takes pity on him, cures his wounds with her magical water and even marries him. Thus, the more archaic concept of taboo may be said to precede the Judeo-Christian concept of transgression or sin. Ivan does not adhere to the prohibition and arouses the anger of the beautiful maiden; the epic hero sins and arouses the wrath of Heaven; both challenge the supernatural by a wanton act. The difference lies in the nature of the relationship between man and the supernatural: in the bylina, it is ethical, for such is the relationship between man and his Maker in the Christian world; in the fairy tale, prohibitions have nothing to do with morality and hark back to archaic pagan beliefs. Thus in the fairy tale the breaking of a prohibition never has serious consequences, and the hero suffers nothing more than a temporary setback. The fairy tale does not treat the ancient beliefs seriously. In the bylina, the transgression is against the canons of Christian faith, and these are not to be disregarded. In "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", the transgression is boasting. The bylina is not unique in this respect and several epic heroes of other songs face death following their boastfulness: Suxman, Dunaj, Danilo Lovcanin, and Svjatogor, who in some variants boasts of his strength. 12 Harkins aptly comments that "the strong tendency in Church history to associate the sin of pride with original sin implied that the Church ethics could hardly countenance boasting". 13 The braggarts of "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", however, not only boast but in their arrogance challenge Heaven itself. The heroic retinue with Il'ja in the forefront defeats the Tartar invaders. This induces Alesa Popovic and Gavrilo Dolgopolyj to boast: Thus they boasted, such words they spoke: "Were there a ladder reaching up to heaven We would destroy the forces of heaven."14 The result is that the Tartars, defeated and put to death, rise up again. The forces of Heaven bring the victory to naught. "The Bloody Fight 11

Afanas'ev, N o . 104c; see also N o s . 95, 126, 135, 178. See Propp and Putilov, Byliny, I, passim. 13 W. E. Harkins, "La millanteria nelle byline russe" ("Boasting in the Russian Byliny") Ricerche slavistiche ("Slavic Studies"), N o . 13, 1965, p. 18. 14 Markov, N o . 81. F o r Russian text, see Appendix p. 154. 12

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against Mamaj" conceives of two modes of demise for the boastful heroes: in one, they turn to stone; in the other, they commit suicide. The turning to stone recalls the biblical story about Lot and his wife; however, the motif can also be found in the fairy tale.15 Suicide has a rather solid psychological motivation here, since it often follows an abrupt change of fortune. The epic heroes pass from supreme self-confidence to a sudden realization of their helplessness. The abrupt change is more than they can bear and they commit suicide.16 The bylina establishes a kind of guilt by association. The enemy force, revived by Heaven following the boast, threatens all the epic heroes and negates their victory. Logically, however, only the braggarts should commit suicide. The others may turn to stone, simply die, or remain alive.17 In the three variants in which the heroes turn to stone they are fearful of the enemy who has come back to life, run to the mountains, and there meet their end along with the braggarts: And then arrived two brothers from Suzdal': And then they began to boast, Thus they spoke, the bold, fine lads: "Were there a pole in the earth, We would pierce Mother Earth through and through; Were there a ladder to the sky, Captive we would take all the heavenly force." Il'ja came out and he climbed a pole, He looked into the open field, And he saw a great multitudinous force. Thus they set out into the open field: Whomever they cut, he turned into two, And thus they divided and remained alive. And they were fearful of this force, And thus they departed, they left this force For this rocky mountain, And there they all, yes all turned to stone, On these horses, good horses to be sure. 18

15

Afanas'ev, No. 93c. Markov, No. 81; see also Markov, No. 94; Astaxova, I, No. 12; Krjukova, I, No. 34; "Mamaevo poboiSce" in Propp and Putilov, Bytiny, I, is an exception. Here the braggarts die in a monastery. 17 Turn to stone: Kireevskij, IV, "S kakix por perevelis' vitjazi na svjatoj Rusi", Grigor'ev, No. 64; Astaxova, I, No. 33. Die: Propp and Putilov, I, "Mamaevo poboisce". Remain alive: Grigor'ev, II, No. 91; III, No. 98; Oncukov, No. 26; Markov, Nos. 81, 94; Astaxova, I, Nos. 12, 44, 86; Krjukova, I, No. 34. 18 Grigor'ev, II, No. 64. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 154. 16

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Since these variants number only three out of the total number of fourteen for the bylina, it is evident that this total discrediting of epic heroes finds little popularity in the tradition. Far more representative are the six variants in which the braggarts bring about the revival of the enemy forces and commit suicide or are turned to stone while the other heroes remain alive and deal with the enemy.19 Still another variant may be included in the group - that of the Propp and Putilov collection.20 In this text all the heroes including the braggarts die, but, prior to their demise, they destroy the enemy. In these seven variants the heroes do not fare much better than in the preceding three. True, they do not show themselves fearful of the enemy, but they achieve victory over the resurrected force not by their own feats of valor but through the intervention of the supernatural: Thus, in the Propp and Putilov variant, the Brothers Suzdal'cy boast, the enemy comes back to life, and Il'ja addresses a prayer to the Lord: Those two brothers from Suzdal' Are themselves boasting: "Were there now a heavenly force We would all defeat it in the field" Suddenly because of their words a miracle happened: The force of Mamaj arose, Five times as great as before. "Forgive us, O Lord, in this first transgression, Forgive us for those foolish words, For those brothers from Suzdal'." Thus fell the bloody force. They departed, the bold ones, for the city of Kiev, They arrived in the beautiful town, They came to the noble monasteries, To the Kievan Crypts. And there all of them died.

In two variants of the bylina none of the heroes dies, not even the braggarts. Here, too, the revival of the Tartars is followed by their destruction through supernatural forces. In one text the earth swallows them up, in the other the heavenly power which revives them puts them to death again.21 Thus the epic heroes have no essential role to play in the se19

Oncukov, No. 26; Markov, Nos. 81, 94; Astaxova, I, Nos. 12, 86; Krjukova, I, No. 34. 20 Propp and Putilov, I, "Mamaevo poboisce". For Russian text, see Appendix p, 154. 21 Astaxova, I, No. 44; Grigor'ev, II, No. 91.

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quence of events; the supernatural dominates the scene. In one version of "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" the anthropocentric spirit of the epos reasserts itself. Following the initial victory over the enemy the heroes boast, and even Il'ja is among the braggarts. The foe comes back to life, but the Russian heroes defeat them on their own and return triumphantly to Kiev.22 This reassertion of anthropocentricity, however, is also indicative of the limitation of the Russian folk epos: the inability to present the demise of the epic hero in an aesthetically satisfactory manner, i.e., without the employment of the supernatural. Although death on the field of battle would be the most fitting for him, only one variant out of the fourteen comes close to such a treatment. Following the boasting scene, the enemy comes back to life. The braggarts do not die, however, and Il'ja alone, without prayer or fear, sets out against the revived Tartars. He fights bravely as an epic hero should, but again he does not die in battle: H e attacked, t o be sure, this greatest of forces A n d he fought and he struggled with all of his might, Like a fine brave lad that he w a s ; Thus h e flattened, laid low this greatest of forces. A n d h e turned around his horse, yes, his g o o d horse, For his o w n city of Kiev, the celebrated, A n d arrived, to be sure at the wall of the town, At those gates, at those princely gates. T h e n Il'ja turned to stone, to stone o n his g o o d horse. A n d n o w they sing glory to Il'ja. 23

The portrayal of the epic hero as helpless before the supernatural has its roots in the fairy tale. Propp, however, believes this portrayal has its roots in extrinsic sources. In his analysis of the variants of "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" he notes a reworking of one of these texts by the poet L. A. Mej: "This is the only instance in the whole of the Russian epos where the Russians flee, and the innovation belongs not to the people but to Mej." 24 Mej's reworked version influenced other texts introducing the theme of demise. The ending in Mej's text is as follows: Frightened were the powerful heroes, They ran away to the mountains of stone, Into those dark caves. 22

Grigor'ev, III, N o . 98. Grigor'ev, III, N o . 90. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 155. 24 Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, p. 339.

23

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BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE A n d as a hero runs u p to a mountain, So he turns into stone. F r o m this time o n the heroes were n o longer in H o l y Rus'. 2 5

Propp notes that this innovation could not be accepted by the people; for them, the heroes were immortal. Besides the innovations of Mej, Propp points to the Church as still another extrinsic source influential in the formation of this group of byliny. Thus, in connection with the nature of the boast, the heroes die in a monastery. And Propp believes that such Church teachings as the insignificance of man before the powers of heaven are an intrusion of a foreign element into the bylina. Propp's comment on the uniqueness of flight in Mej's variant is incorrect. Besides Mej's, there are two other versions containing the motif of the flight of the epic heroes.26 This is not to deny Propp's assertion of the influence of Mej's reworking on the epic tradition; this influence may very well have occurred. However, the existence of other variants similar to that of Mej indicates that his "innovation", if it indeed took place, was itself within the tradition, or it would not have been adopted by the people. The epic mode of presenting the demise of the hero introduces the supremacy of the supernatural; this is true not only for "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", but also for other byliny dealing with the theme of demise.27 Such a presentation, of necessity, detracts from the hero's stature, and the fear of the revived Tartars is only an extension of this artistic process. Thus, whether Mej introduced it or not, the possibility for such a treatment of the epic hero exists in the epic tradition. Propp's view on the immortality of the epic heroes cannot, of course, be accepted, since the demise is not limited to "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" alone. It would be more correct to assert that the theme of demise seldom occurs in the epic tradition. The reason for this lies, however, in the genre's artistic limits, its inability to portray the truly heroic death of its heroes. Propp is right about the influence of Church teachings on "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", but a free development of art among the people precludes the idea of intrusion of foreign elements. When certain materials enter the epic tradition, the implication is that there existed within this tradition an inner receptivity for these materials. It is an oversimplification to consider the concept of man's insignificance before the super25

Kireevskij, IV, "S kakix por perevelis' vitjazi na svjatoj Rusi". For Russian text, see Appendix p. 155. 28 Grigor'ev, II, N o . 64; Astaxova, I, N o . 33. i7 See note 12 of this chapter.

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natural as a Christian invention. The fairy tale, which, at its best, exhibits hardly any influence of Church teachings, clearly divides the field of human experience into two realms: that which falls within human competence and that in which this competence fails before the supernatural. This division harks back to pagan beliefs. In the bylina the realm of human competence is much larger than in the fairy tale. In describing the death of the epic hero, the bylina reasserts the power of the supernatural, since human competence dominates the natural world to such an extent as to exclude the death of the hero from natural causes. Much of the supernatural material evident in the epos finds its origin in Christian lore. In "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" Christian influence is especially strong, because this bylina expounds a theme of Orthodoxy. This expression of Orthodoxy, as well as that of nationality, results in a strong assertion of the epic aesthetics. This assertion induces an elaboration of the theme of death, for this theme ought to strengthen credibility. Thus, quite often the braggards die first, then the enemy is resurrected and destroyed again, and finally the other heroes face death. The theme of demise of the epic hero, however, does not function as it ought to because of artistic limitations in its depiction. In the epos the act of boasting is unethical, since it is characterized by excessive pride, and the act releases the wrath of Heaven. Death is the usual aftermath, as Harkins indicates, but he adds: "In skazka-\ike byliny and in novellas... boasting hardly plays such a serious role as an ethical motif." 28 In these cases, there is a kinship with the fairy tale, where the breaking of a prohibition causes only a temporary setback for the hero. Harkins also observes that Christian values produced the attitude that all boasting is bad. A comparison of the fairy tale and the epos shows the validity of his observation. In Chapter III the fairy tale in which Ivan the Prince acquires his strength from drinking miraculous water was presented. Having drunk the water Ivan boasts: "Now, if I felt like it, I could turn the whole world upside down." No harm comes to the hero for having boasted and his mother, the donor, exlaims only: "Oho! That's really a lot." In the epos, however, boasting becomes a sin of pride, the opposite of the Christian virtue of humility. In Il'ja's acquisition of strength from the three old men, he boasts of his newly gained might, and the donors promptly reduce his might to save him from committing blasphemy : - 8 Harkins, "Boasting in the Russian Byliny", p. 7.

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BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE Thus asked him the three old m e n , the pilgrims: "What is the feeling y o u have within y o u ? " "Yes, I feel, yes, a great might: Were there a ring in the damp earth I w o u l d swing the earth to m y side." Thus spoke the old m e n , such were their words: " G o d o w n into the famed deep cellars, There fill a cup to the brim." A n d h e brought the cup filled to the brim, A n d h e drank the cup filled to the brim. "And n o w , Il'ja, h o w d o y o u f e e l ? " " N o w m y strength has fallen off, H a s fallen, fallen off in half." "To be sure, then, live, Il'ja, y o u shall be a warrior, M a y it not be written that y o u shall die o n this earth, M a y it not be written that y o u shall die in combat." 2 9

The patterns in the bylina and the fairy tale are identical: Both heroes receive their might by means of a drink; Ivan the Prince receives his might from his mother; Il'ja Muromec, from the three old men. These patterns are, of course, those of hero, donor, and magical agent. The difference lies in the attitude toward boasting. In the fairy tale the boast is acceptable; in the bylina it is deplorable and dangerous. In a fairy tale of later origin, one obviously influenced by the epic genre (since its action develops at the court of Prince Vladimir in Kiev), boasting becomes detrimental to the welfare of its hero, Danilo the Luckless.30 Three variants of the bylina "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" furnish a unique treatment of the demise of the epic hero. Following the boasting scene, the suicide of the braggarts, and the second destruction of the foe through the intervention of the supernatural, the heroes depart. Dobrynja joins in combat with an old hag, Latyngorka, and, unable to defeat her, commits suicide.31 The bylina here substitutes low comedy for the religious theme. The boasters, helpless before the force of Heaven they had challenged in their supreme self-confidence, took their own lives. Dobrynja, the invincible epic hero, cannot deal with a hag; the come-down is more than he can bear, and he, too, commits suicide. 29

Sokolov - Cicerov, No. 70. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 155. Afanas'ev, N o . 178. 31 Markov, Nos. 81, 94; Krjukova, I, N o . 34; see also V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature, II, p. 301. Miller associates Latyngorka with the Cherkassian wife of Ivan IV, Mar'ja Temrjukovna. In the historical songs about her brother Kostrjuk (Mastriuk), she is called Zlatygorka and Latyngorka. 30

THE DEMISE OF THE EPIC HERO

119

A n d Dobrynja set out against the old hag Latyngorka; A n d their sharp sabres crossed, A n d their sabres broke. T h e n their Burza spears crossed, T h e spears bent in their hands. N o n e inflicted a bloody w o u n d u p o n the other. They j u m p e d off their g o o d horses. A n d began to fight. But G o d did not grant his help, N o t h i n g went as Dobrynja would have wished: Her flowery dress tore, H i s right hand slipped, His right foot stumbled, H e fell u p o n the damp earth. The old hag Latyngorka sat o n Dobrynja's white chest. She seeks to pierce o p e n Dobrynja's white chest, T o see the daring heart of Dobrynja. She slides her ass over his white face, Slides and thus she speaks: "And n o w kiss m y white ass." 3 2

Il'ja arrives in time to save Dobrynja, but the latter cannot bear his abasement and kills himself: A n d he drove his sharp spear into the damp earth, A n d he fell with his daring heart against the spear. Thus came about Dobrynja's demise.

In one verse, the bylina evokes the role of the supernatural in the hero's demise: "But God did not grant His help." This verse, however, is overshadowed by the rest of the narration, which turns into a mock epic.The influence of the skomorosiny, a special kind of folk poetry whose aim was low comedy, is apparent here. The skomorosiny, like the byliny, belonged in the repertoire of the skomoroxi (buffoons), who were entertainers in Russia until they were banned in the seventeenth century.33 Whether the epic hero dies confronted with the supernatural, as happens in the heroic epos, or whether he dies as a result of a comic combat with the old hag Latyngorka, he never dies a heroic death that befits him. "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" elaborates the theme of demise of the epic hero more than any other bylina. This detracts considerably from the popularity of this heroic song. "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" hardly exceeds "Volx Vseslav'evic" in popular acceptance and 32 33

Markov, No. 81. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 155-156. See Propp and Putilov, Byliny, II, pp. 391-456.

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falls far below "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand", "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", and "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". What unites the two "unpopular" byliny is that both violate the anthropocentric epic spirit. They employ the supernatural in different ways: in one, the supernatural helps the hero, crafty lore providing the potentiality of metamorphosis; in the other, the supernatural, in the form of the wrath of Heaven, destroys the hero. Both result in the dramatic negation of anthropocentricity, and the epic genre finds its most satisfactory artistic fulfillment in the depiction of man's world and the mighty deeds of which he is capable. Thus, anthropocentricity is the dominant factor in the popularity of a by Una; when it is drastically violated a sharp drop occurs in popular acceptance. However assertion of anthropocentricity does not assure popularity. Other factors come into play here: the artistic presentation of the images of the adversary and the king, the ideology of nationality, the mode of utilizing such patterns as hero, donor, and magical agent, and single combatant. The less the resemblance between the bylina and the fairy tale and the greater the assertion of epic aesthetics and ideology, the more popular the bylina becomes, but only up to a point. "Volx Vseslav'evic" has the greatest number of points of similarity with the fairy tale, and is the least popular. "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" has fewer such points and is the most popular bylina. But "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", which resembles the fairy tale the least, has not had great popular acceptance. When an epic song greatly resembles a fairy tale, its audience is small, which is also true when it differs radically from the fairy tale.

VIII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

A broad spectrum of points of similarity between the fairy tale and the bylina, as well as the aesthetic relationship between them, has been established. The fairy-tale dragon and the epic adversary show a close kinship, as do the fairy-tale king and the epic prince. Both genres share the patterns of hero, donor, and magical agent, difficult tasks, single combatant, and abduction by an amorous dragon. Ivan and the epic hero are both youths, and younger than the king whose wishes they fulfill either voluntarily or when entrusted with a task. Although the epic hero shows his self-sufficiency as opposed to Ivan's total dependence on an extrinsic source of power, at his death he finds himself as helpless as Ivan before the supernatural. The patterns in combination produce the action in both genres, and this action is carried out by dramatis personae who share similar attributes. The aesthetic relationship between the fairy tale and the bylina is that of fiction versus artistic truth, or discredited versus credible myth. The epos reworks the material it shares with the other genre to give it the air of a lifelike situation. The most important factors in this reworking are anthropocentricity, toponomy, and personal nomenclature. The epos therefore evokes man's world, the realm of human competence, to justify the assertion that the fairy tale is fiction and the bylina is truth. The mythologists assert the independent development of both the bylina and the fairy tale from ancient, pagan mythology. However, the greater the similarity between the two genres that can be demonstrated, the less likelihood there is for such a development. The aesthetic relationship of truth versus fiction which the bylina and the fairy tale exhibit also precludes this assertion. The mythologists posit first the evolution of the fairy tale from mythology, then that of the bylina. In the interim, after the birth of the fairy tale and before the formation of the epos, this pagan mythology would have to be credible to exist as a system of beliefs, for, discredited, it belongs to the realm of the fairy tale. Tronskij aptly

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observes that only after they have lost their religious significance can myths serve as material for fairy tales.1 Thus it is necessary to determine whether the material which the bylina has in common with the fairy tale is considered fictional in the bylina. If indeed it is fictional, then the epos draws on the fairy-tale tradition rather than on mythology for its material. But, if this material is presented as credible in the bylina, then the theory of the mythologist may be acceptable, and this appears to be the case. Gorynyc, deemed fictional in the fairy tale, appears in the bylina as a true figure out of the past. The reader is not supposed to believe in the king who cannot accomplish anything by himself, but he is supposed to believe in the king's epic counterpart, Vladimir. The question arises as to why the epic genre maintains credible myths and the fairy tale does not. The mythologists tell us that at its initial stage of development the fairy tale was also credible. Such may be the case, but it does not solve the problem. Fairy-tale lore becomes believable when it is presented within the context of the new, credible epic world. Gorynyc, for example, inherits many of the characteristics of the fairy-tale dragon. In the bylina he is a credible antagonist, not because of his mountainous, watery kingdom, or his power to fly or strew fire, but because of his association with the epic hero Dobrynja who lives in a world definable by its toponomy and nomenclature. The inactive epic ruler really existed, for his name was Vladimir, and he held his court in Kiev. The bylina reworks the material it shares with the fairy tale and transfers it into the world of human competence. This indicates that, in itself, the shared material is not credible. Indeed, it cannot be, for without epic toponomy or nomenclature, without the self-sufficient human hero, what remains in the bylina is the material of the fairy tale, which the folklore tradition already deems fictional. Another explanation for the similarities between the bylina and the fairy tale is that of interaction between the two genres in their long coexistence among the folk. The concept of interaction substantiates Zirmunskij's view that the Russian epos drew its material primarily from historical events, as well as Vsevolod Miller's theory of the origin of epos in the aristocratic milieu and its subsequent reworking among the peasantry. After all, is it not possible that the Russian epos, initially following historical reality quite closely, has subsequently undergone an artistic transformation in which fairy-tale themes replaced historical ones? 1 1. M. Tronskij, Istorija anticnoj literatury ture") (Leningrad, 1951), pp. 28-31.

("A History of Ancient Classical Litera-

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

123

There is little doubt that a cross-penetration between the fairy tale and the bylina has taken place. The presence in the bylina of the motif of revival by means of waters of death and life or the presence of Prince Vladimir and his court in the fairy tale are the results of interaction. But, the influence of the epos on the fairy tale is rare. Epic toponomy and nomenclature seldom occur in the fairy tale, and the anthropocentric hero is altogether foreign to it. The reverse, however, appears not to be the case if the concept of interaction as an explanation of all similarities between the two genres is accepted. Indeed, the fairy tale would necessarily have greatly influenced the epos, since such motifs as the dragon-like adversary, the inactive king, or the pattern of hero, donor, and magical agent are hardly representative of Kievan historical reality. The conclusions in the following discussion of genre chronology preclude this explanation. Davletov posits a chronology in which the formation of the byliny precedes that of the fairy tales, since, as he sees it, myths are still credible in the epos and no longer so in the fairy tale. He does not follow the theory of the mythologists. Rather, along with Propp in Russian Heroic Epos, he posits an initial stage of development of the folk epos in which man, hitherto feeling himself subjugated to mythological masters of his own creation, becomes through his technical and economic progress strong enough to challenge them, hence the prevalence of the theme of man versus monster. Thus, at its initial stage of development, the epos is a kind of human reaction against inherited beliefs. Propp considers the monster nothing more than "artistic imagery" feeding on mythological heritage and sees as the aim of this early epos the assertion of man's prowess. Davletov, however, notes that the need to fight the monster indicates man's belief in his existence. Both scholars see the fairy tales as discredited myth. They do not find examples of this early epos on Russian soil. Propp searches for them in Jakut folklore. The Jakuts, a people living in Siberia, possess epic narratives much more archaic, according to Propp, than the Russian byliny. These Jakut epics Propp considers similar to the early Slavic epos, which is no longer extant.2 This may be so. Propp's examples of Jakut epic narratives, however, rarely differ from the Russian fairy tale. Their themes are exogamy and man's struggle with a monster; they lack specific toponomy, exhibit a poorly developed nomenclature, and emphasize the supernatural. Propp does not consider the attitude of the Jakuts toward this kind of 2

Propp, Russian Heroic Epos, pp. 32-58; Davletov, Folklore as an Art Form, pp. 128178.

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narrative. Whatever it may be, it is relevant to the Russian fairy tale. If they judge these narratives as credible, then, this may be a kind of proof for an initially credible Russian fairy tale; if not, then the situation parallels the Russian tradition, in which the fairy tale is not considered a credible narrative. It appears that both scholars in their study of the early Russian epos deal, in essence, with the fairy tale, which exhibits broad similarities the world over, rather than with epos, which differs from country to country in its toponomy and personal nomenclature. Davletov does not really claim that the present-day Russian epos is older than the fairy tale, but rather that the credible tale precedes a discredited myth. His argument on the significance of the fight depends, of course, on the attitude of the folk towards the folklore tradition: Ivan fights a dragon, yet we are not asked to believe in the truth of the encounter. Propp's view that early Russian epos is similar to Jakut narratives appears to bring him back to his previous view of the evolution of the bylina from the fairy tale. Since Davletov, too, considers this "early epos" a forerunner of the present-day Russian epos, does he not likewise adhere to the concept of the evolution of bylina from fairy tale? The postulations of the mythologists are preferable to Stasov's theory on Russia's borrowing from the East, although their theory of an independent development of the fairy tale and the bylina is unsatisfactory. Orest Miller is correct in saying that the similarities of folktales indicate their common heritage. But this mythological heritage should not be limited to the Indo-European peoples. Rather, it should involve all the inhabitants of this earth. Propp's Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale furnishes sufficient proof for this assertion. Many of Stasov's examples of similarity between the fairy tale and the bylina of Russia and the epos and fairy tale of the peoples of the East are indeed valid, but they do not indicate, as he suggests, borrowings from the East; rather they are part of the proof for the universal similarity of the two genres. As Orest Miller points out, epic poetry differs from people to people in the characteristics that reflect their separate historical destinies. The "historical destinies" in the epos are scarcely more than epic toponomy and nomenclature. The shared similarities among epics of various countries are the result of the evolution of the epos from the fairy tale - an artistic development applicable wherever epos exists. Another source of similarities is furnished by epic aesthetics, with their paramount principle of anthropocentricity. To demonstrate that the bylina originates from the fairy tale is one way of asserting that the fairy tale is the older genre. However, this chro-

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

125

nology can be confirmed without regard to the question of origins. To do this, a consideration of the chronology of other narrative folklore genres, starting with the bylina, is necessary. Balasov points out that the bylina precedes the classical folk ballad. In the post-Tartar period of Russian history, the byliny continued to sing of the Kievan heroes, while the ballad introduced new subjects echoing contemporary developments.3 As the bylina ceased to be a productive art form and gave way to the genre of the ballad, the aesthetic aim of which is melodrama rather than heroic combat, a new genre, the historical song, came forth to narrate stories of Russia's heroic past. In his survey of Russian folklore, Sokolov states that the events sung in the historical songs took place mostly in the second half of the sixteenth century and in the seventeenth century.4 Study of the byliny and the fairy tales discloses the presence in the Russian folk epos of a large measure of material echoing the supernatural world of the fairy tale: metamorphosis, the dragon-like adversary, the pattern hero, donor, magical agent, intervention of supernatural forces to bring about the death of the epic hero. The ballad and the historical song, genres later than the bylina, exhibit a marked decline in the use of such material. Harkins points out, for example, that, among the Russian ballads, supernatural causes for death or conflicts in which supernatural forces are involved do not occur.5 Sokolov, in comparing the bylina with the historical song, notes that the content of the historical song is "nearer to real life".6 Unlike the bylina, the ballad and the historical song do not present donors and magical agents, nor do their heroes fight dragon-like adversaries. Still, both these newer types of folk art make some use of the supernatural. In the ballad, the supernatural is often animism, as in the poem, "The Fine Lad and the River Smorodina". The hero of this ballad is forced to leave home. On his journey he encounters a river which speaks: Thus spoke the swift river, In a human voice, Like a kind fair maiden: "I will tell you, I the swift river, 3 D. M. Balasov, "Russkaja narodnaja ballada" ("The Russian Folk Ballad"), in Narodnye ballady ("Folk Ballads"), A. M. Astaxova (ed.) (Moscow - Leningrad, 1963), p. 15. 4 Sokolov, Russian Folklore, pp. 342-343. 5 W. E. Harkins (ed.), "K sravneniju tematiki i kompozicionnoj struktury russkoj i cesskoj narodnoj ballady" ("A Comparison of the Thematics and Compositional Structure of the Russian and Czech Folk Ballads"), in American Contributions to the Sixth International Congress of Slavists (The Hague, 1968), II. passim. 6 Sokolov, Russian Folklore, p. 342.

126

BYLINA AND FAIRY TALE [I will tell you], you fine lad, About the ford which horses cross, About the guelder-rose bridge, Frequent ferrying [across the river]: For the crossing of the ford I take one horse, For the frequent ferrying -

A Cerkassian saddle, For the guelder-rose bridge A fine good lad. But you, you unfortunate lad, I shall pass you free." 7

After this episode with a talking river, the hero simply crosses the river on his own. But he boasts about how easy it has been to cross the river. Following the boasting scene, he hears again the voice of the river reminding him that he must return to the other shore, for he left something there. Trying to cross the river again he drowns, while the river announces that the drowning is punishment for boasting. This calls to mind the demise of the boastful epic hero. In the bylina, supernatural circumstances surround his death; in the ballad, there is nothing unnatural in the hero's drowning: With the first step The horse sank up to his belly, With the second step -

Up to the Cerkassian saddle.

The horse made a third step, And his mane was no longer seen.

The hero drowns as his horse sinks in the water. The speaking river is the only supernatural element in the poem. One of the oldest historical songs, "The Conquest of the Kingdom of Kazan", 8 introduces the theme of the prophetic dream, similar to that in the bylina "Volx Vseslav'evic", and the fairy tales.9 In the center of the Kingdom of Kazan' Halls of white stone stood. The queen awakened from her sleep, She told her dream to Semion, the king: Arise, awaken, King Semion! ' Astaxova, Folk Ballads, pp. 214-215. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 156-157. 8 Danilov, No. 30. For Russian text, see Appendix p. 157. 9 Afanas'ev, Nos. 133-134, 156; N. E. Oncukov (comp.), Severnye skazki ("Northern Folktales") (St. Petersburg, 1908).

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

127

I, the queen, have slept badly this night, M u c h I have seen in m y dreams: It is as if f r o m the strong Moscovite K i n g d o m A strong eagle has shaken his wings, A threatening cloud has risen up high A n d swept over our kingdom.

In her prophetic statement the queen echoes Elena Aleksandrovna of "Volx Vseslav'evic". The imagery of the cloud rising up high is reminiscent of that usually associated with the dragon. But the hero, whom the queen associates with a cloud, is none other than "Ivan the Lord, Vasil'evic", or Ivan the Terrible whose father was Yasilij III (15051533). The event narrated is taken from historical reality, for in 1556 Ivan the Terrible conquered the Tartar Khanate of Kazan'. Ivan, unlike Volx, is not subject to metamorphosis nor is he an inactive ruler in the classical epic manner. He is the song's hero. In the chronology of three folklore genres, the bylina comes first, then the ballad, and finally the historical song. Within this chronology (and there is almost no disagreement concerning its validity in Russian scholarship), there is a decline in the use of supernatural material. The trend in Russian folk art is towards a lifelike depiction of the world. Unless a reverse trend is posited for the bylina and the fairy tale, the fairy tale ought to precede the bylina. The ballad originates some time toward the end of the thirteenth century or early in the fourteenth century. The toponomy and nomenclature in the bylina strongly suggest its formation and growth in the Kievan period, hence from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries, and such is the majority opinion among Russian scholars.10 The fairy tale originated prior to the development of the epos, hence in the prehistoric era. The general trend within Russian narrative folklore demonstrates a decline in the use of the supernatural material, on one hand, and a movement toward a lifelike depiction of the world, on the other. This trend not only justifies the chronology of fairy tale preceding bylina but also verifies the theory that the bylina evolved from the fairy tale. The bylina reworks the material it shares with the fairy tale, and in reworking it reduces the supernatural aspect of this shared material. Compared with the fairy tale, the bylina moves away from the supernatural depiction of 10 See, for example, Majkov, Vladimir Cycle; Buslaev, Folk Poetry; Veselovskij, South Russian Byliny; V. Miller, Russian Folk Literature; Zirmunskij, Folk Heroic Epos; Lixacev, "Poetic Folk Art"; V. P. Anikin, "Kollektivnost' kak suscnost' tvorceskogo processa v fol'klore" ("Collectivity as the Essence of the Creative Process in Folklore"), in Russkij fol'klor ("Russian Folklore") (Moscow -Leningrad, 1960), V.

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the world; this movement accords with the general trend of development of narrative folklore. To reject the theory that the bylina evolves from the fairy tale, and instead to suggest interaction as explanatory of similarities between these two genres is really tantamount to positing a chronology in which the bylina precedes the fairy tale in its formation. If folk art, in its broad development, rejects the supernatural in favor of a more lifelike depiction of the world, why within this same artistic tradition should the bylina, based initially on historical reality, become like a fairy tale? This situation would reverse the general artistic trend for two genres. Interaction, therefore, may account for certain points of similarity between the epos and the fairy tale, but not for their overall genetic relationship. Among the six byliny analyzed in this study, "Volx Vseslav'evic" exhibits the closest kinship with the fairy tale; "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj", the most remote relationship. The question arises as to whether, considering the general trend in Russian narrative folklore, a relative chronology for these byliny may be posited in which "Volx Vseslav'evic" is the oldest bylina, "The Bloody Fight against Mamaj" the youngest, "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" precedes "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon", and "Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand" precedes "Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol". This appears to be the case, not in relation to these byliny themselves, but in relation to the artistic types they represent. A situation in which the general, centuries-long development of folk art would coincide with each artistic production within a given genre is rather unlikely. Once a mode of artistic expression is established within a genre, it may be used at any time as long as the genre itself is viable. Within the relative chronology of types proposed, each of the six byliny marks a step further away from its literary heritage, the fairy tale, and toward a greater assertion of the epic aesthetics. The six byliny thus present a kind of microcosm of epic evolution from the fairy tale. For this reason, the predecessor is necessary for the successor as an artistic point of departure to an ever greater independence from the heritage. Thus it is not suggested that in the growth of the epic genre "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" came after "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon", but that "Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon" need a bylina such as "Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon" for its own artistic evolution away from the fairy tale.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TEXTS Afanas'ev, A. N. (comp.), Narodnye russkie skazki A. N. Afanas'eva [Russian Folktales of A. N. Afanas'ev] 5 vols., A. E. Gruzinskij ed. (Moscow, 1914). Astaxova, A. M., Narodnye skazki o bogatyrjax russkogo eposa [Folktales about Russian Epic Heroes] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1962). Astaxova, A. M. (comp.), Byliny severa [Northern Byliny] 2 vols. (Moscow - Leningrad, 1938-1951). Astaxova, A. M. (ed.), Wja Muromec (Moscow - Leningrad, 1958). —, Narodnye ballady [Folk Ballads] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1963). Balasov, D. M., "Russkaja narodnaja ballada" [The Russian Folk Ballads], in Folk Ballads, A. M. Astaxova ed. (Moscow - Leningrad, 1963). Baxtin, V. S. (ed.), Öastuska (Moscow - Leningrad, 1966). Danilov, Kirsa (comp.), Drevnie rossijskie stixotvorenija sobrannyja Kirseju Danilovym [Ancient Russian Poems Collected by KirsSa Danilov], A. P. Evgen'eva and B. N . Putiloveds. (Moscow - Leningrad, 1958). Gil'ferding, A. F. (comp.), Onezskie byliny [Onega Byliny], 3 vols. (Moscow - Leningrad, 1949-1951). Grigor'ev, A. D. (comp.), Arxangel'skie byliny i istoriceskie pesni [Archangel Byliny and Historical Songs], 3 vols. (Moscow, 1904), I; (Prague, 1939), II; (St. Petersburg, 1910), III. Riparian and Makarij, Metropolitans (comp.), Stepennaja Kniga carskogo rodoslovija [The Book of Degrees] (Moscow, 1775), I. Kireevskij, P. A. (comp.), Pesni sobrannye P. V. Kireevskim [Songs Collected by P. V. Kireevskij], 5 vols. (Moscow, 1860-1863). Krjukova, M. S., Byliny M. S. Krjukovoj [Byliny of M. S. Krjukova], Ju. Sokolov ed., 2 vols. (Moscow, 1939-1941). Markov, A. (comp.), Belomorskie byliny [White Sea Byliny] (Moscow, 1901). Nabokov, V. (trans.), The Song of Igor's Campaign (New York, 1960). Oncukov, N. E. (comp.), Severnye skazki [Northern Folktales] (St. Petersburg, 1908). —,Pecorskie Byliny [Pecora Byliny] (St. Petersburg, 1904). Pannier, Karl (ed.), Ortnit ein Heldengedicht (Leipzig, 1877). Propp, V. Ja., and Putilov, B. N. (eds.), Byliny, 2 vols. (Moscow, 1958). Rybnikov, P. N. (comp.), Pesni sobrannye P. N. Rybnikovym [Songs Collected by P. N. Rybnikov], 3 vols., A. E. Gruzinskij ed. (Moscow, 1909-1910). Sobolevskij, A. I. (ed.), Velikorusskie narodnye pesni [Great Russian Folk Songs], 4 vols. (St. Petersburg, 1895-1897). Sokolov, Ju. M., and Cicerov, V. (eds.), Onezskie byliny [Onega Byliny] (Moscow, 1948).

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Eremin, I. P., Literatura drevnej Rusi [Literature of Old Rus'] (Moscow-Leningrad, 1966). Evgen'eva, A. P., Ocerki po jazyku russkoj ustnoj poezii [Essays on the Language of Oral Russian Poetry] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1963). Fedotov, G. P., The Russian Religious Mind (Cambridge, Mass., 1946). Fekula, A. A., The Russian Orthodox Baptismal Names (Philadelphia, 1949). Frazer, J. G., The Golden Bough (New York, 1966). Greene, T., The Descent from Heaven (New Haven and London, 1963). Gudzij, N. K., Istorija drevnej russkoj literatury [History of Old Russian Literature] (Moscow, 1966). Hambly, W. D., "Serpent Worship in Africa", in Anthropological Series of Field Museum of Natural History, XXI, No. 1 (Chicago, 1930), pp. 1-76. Harkins, W. E. (ed.), "K sravneniju tematiki i kompozicionnoj struktury russkoj i cesskoj narodnoj ballady" [A Comparison of the Thematics and Compositional Structure of the Russian and Czech Folk Ballads], in American Contribution to the Sixth International Congress of Slavists, II (1968), pp. 133-163. —, "La millanteria nelle byline russe" [Boasting in the Russian Byliny], Ricerche Slavistiche, No. 13 (1965), pp. 41-56. —, The Russian Folk Epos in Czech Literature, 1800-1900 (New York, 1951). Hyman, S. E., "The Ritual View of Myth and the Mythic", in Myth, T. A. Sebeok ed. (Bloomington, Ind., 1958), pp. 84-94. Ivanov, V. V., Istoriceskaja grammatika russkogo jazyka [A Historical Grammar of the Russian Language] (Moscow, 1964). Jakobson, Roman, Shifters, Verbal Categories, and the Russian Verbs (Harvard University, 1957). (Mimeographed) Jakobson, Roman, and Szeftel, Mark, "The Vseslav Epos", in Russian Epic Studies, R. Jakobson and E. J. Simmons eds. (Philadelphia, 1949), pp. 13-86. Jansen, O., "Sobaka Kalin tsar'" [Kalin Tsar the Dog], Slavia, XVII, Nos. 1-27 (1939), pp. 82-92. Kalajdovic, K. F., "Vstuplenie" [Introduction], in Drevnie rossijskie stixotvorenija sobrannye Kirseju Danilovym [Ancient Russian Poems Collected by Kirsa Danilov) (Moscow, 1878), pp. i-xx. Kavsin-Samarin, N., "Novye istocniki dlja izucenija russkogo éposa" [New Sources for the Study of the Russian Epos], in Russkij Vestnik [The Russian Messenger] (Moscow, 1874) No. 9, pp. 5-44; No. 10, pp. 768-803. Kolpakova, N. P. Russkaja narodnaja bytovaja pesnja [The Russian Folk Song of Everyday Life] (Moscow-Leningrad, 1962). Kostomarov, N. E., "Predanija pervonacal'noj russkoj letopisi" [Traditions of the Primary Russian Chronicle], in Vestnik Evropy [The European Messenger] (Moscow, 1873), No. 1, pp. 5-34; No. 2, pp. 570-624. Krappe, A. G., The Science of Folklore (London, 1930). Kravtsov, N. I. (ed.), FoVklor kak iskusstvo slova [Folklore as the Art of the Word] (Moscow, 1966). Lixacev, D. S., Celovek v literature drevnej Rusi [Man in Old Russian Literature] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1958). —, Kul'tura Rusi [The Culture of Rus'] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1962). —, "Letopisnye izvestija ob Aleksandre Popovice" [The Chronicles about Aleksandr Popovic], Trudy otdela drevnerusskoj literatury [Studies of the Division of Old Russian Literature], (1949), VII, pp. 17-51. —, "Narodnoe poéticeskoe tvorcestvo v gody feodal'noj razdroblennosti Rusi" [Poetic Folk Art in the Times of Feudal Division of Rus'], in Russkoe narodnoe poéticeskoe tvorcestvo [Russian Poetic Folk Art], V. P. Adrianova-Peretc ed. (Moscow Leningrad, 1953), I, pp. 217-247.

132

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—, " N a r o d n o e poèticeskoe tvorcestvo vremeni rascveta drevnerusskogo rannefeodal'nogo gosudarstva" [Poetic Folk Art in the Times of Growth of Early Feudalism in Rus'], in Adrianova-Peretc, V. P. (ed.), Russkoe narodnoe poèticeskoe tvorcestvo [Russian Poetic Folk Art] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1953), I, pp. 141-216. —, Poètika drevnerusskoj literatury [Poetics of Old Russian Literature] (Leningrad, 1967). Loboda, A. M., Russkij bogatyrskij èpos [Russian Heroic Epos] (Kiev, 1896). Majkov, L., O bylinax Vladimirova cikla [On the Byliny of the Vladimir Cycle] (St. Petersburg, 1863). Meletinskij, E. M., Geroj volsebnoj skazki [The Hero of the Fairy Tale] (Moscow, 1958). —, Proisxozdenie geroiceskogo èposa [The Origin of Heroic Epos] (Moscow, 1963). Miller, O. F., ll'ja Muromec i bogatyrstvo kievskoe [Il'ja Muromec and the Kievan Knighthood] (St. Petersburg, 1870). —, Opyt istoriceskogo obozrenija russkoj slovesnosti [An Essay Toward a Historical Survey of Russian Literature] (St. Petersburg, 1865). Miller, V. F., Èkskursy v oblast' russkogo narodnogo èposa [Excursions into the Field of Russian Folk Epos] (Moscow, 1892). —, Ocerki russkoj narodnoj slovesnosti [Essays on Russian Folk Literature], 3 vols. (Moscow - Leningrad, 1897-1924). —, "Vsemirnaja skazka v kul'turno-istoriceskom osvescenii" [World Folktale Elucidated from the Cultural-Historical Vantage Point], Russkaja mysl' [Russian Thought], XI, N o . 11 (1893), pp. 207-229. Mine, S. I., and Pomeranceva, E. V. (eds.), Russkaja foVktoristika [Russian Folklore Studies] (Moscow, 1965). Petrovskij, G. P., Slovak russkix licnyx imen [A Dictionary of Russian Personal Names] (Moscow, 1966). Pomeranceva, E. V. (ed.), Sovremennyj russkij fol'klor [Contemporary Russian Folklore] (Moscow, 1966). —, Sud'by russkoj skazki [The Fate of the Russian Folktale] (Moscow, 1965). Propp, V. Ja., Istoriceskie korni volsebnoj skazki [The Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale] (Leningrad, 1946). —, Morfologija skazki [Morphology of the Folktale] (Leningrad, 1928). —, "Osnovnye ètapy razvitija russkogo geroiceskogo èposa" [The Basic Stages in the Development of the Russian Heroic Epos], in hsledovanija po slavjanskomu literaturovedeniju i fol'kloristike [Slavic Folklore and Literary Research], A. N . Robinson ed. (Moscow, 1960), pp. 284-311. —, Russkij geroiceskij èpos [Russian Heroic Epos] (Moscow, 1958). —, "Zanrovyj sostav russkogo fol'klora" [Genre Structure of Russian Folklore], Russkaja literatura [Russian Literature], N o . 4 (1964), pp. 58-76. Propp, V. Ja., and Putilov, B. N., "Èpiceskaja poèzija russkogo n a r o d a " [Epic Poetry of the Russian People], in Byliny, V. Ja. Propp and B. N. Putilov eds. (Moscow, 1958), I, pp. iii-lxiv. Raglan, Lord, The Hero (London, 1936). R a m b a u d , A., La Russie èpique (Paris, 1876). Rybakov, B. A., Drevnjaja Rus': Skazanija. Byliny. Letopisi. [Ancient R u s ' : Legends, Byliny, and Chronicles] (Moscow, 1963). Sepping, D . O., "Ivan carevic, narodnyj russkij b o g a t y r ' " [Ivan the Prince, a National Russian Epic Hero], Moskvitjanin [The Moscovite], N o . 21 (1852), pp. 14-32. Skaftymov, A. P., "Poètika i genezis bylin" [Poetics and Origin of the Byliny] ( M o s c o w Saratov, 1924). —, Stat'io russkoj literature [Studies in Russian Literature] (Saratov, 1958).

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133

Sovetskaja etnografija [Soviet Ethnography], No. 5 (1965), U. B. Degat, N. V. KidajsPokrovskaja, I. V. Puxov, "V plenu predvzjatoj sxemy (o knige E. M. Meletinskogo Proisxozdenie geroiceskogo eposa)" [In Captivity of a Preconceived Scheme (on the Book by E. M. Meletinskij, The Origins of Heroic Epos)], pp. 94-113; N o . 1 (1966), E. V. Pomeranceva, V. K. Sokolova, K. V. Cistov, " O stat'e U. Degata, N. Kidajs-Pokrovskoj i I. Puxova: v plenu predvzjatoj sxemy" [About the Article of U. Degat, N . Kidajs-Pokrovska and I. Puxov: In Captivity of a Preconceived Scheme], pp. 88-98; I. S. Braöinskij, " K sporam o genezise geroiceskogo e p o s a " [On the Debate About the Origin of Heroic Epos], pp. 99-104; N o . 2 (1966), E. S. Kotljar, " O kul'turnom geroe afrikanskoj mifologii (k diskussii po knige E. M. Meletinskogo, Proisxozdenie geroiceskogo eposa)" [On the Culture Hero in African Mythology (A Contribution to the Discussion on the Work by E. M . Meletinskij, The Origins of Heroic Epos)], pp. 93-100; N o . 3 (1966), E. V. Gusev, "Cto daet takaja polemika?" [What is the Purpose of Such Polemics?], pp. 92-100. Sokolov, Y. M., Russian Folklore, C. R. Smith trans. (Hatboro, 1966). Speranskij, M., Russkaja ustnaja slovesnost' [Russian Oral Literature] (Moscow, 1917). Stasov, V. V., "Proisxozdenie russkix bylin" [The Origin of the Russian Byliny], Vestnik Evropy [The European Messenger], VI (1868); N o . 1, January, pp. 167-221; N o . 4, April, pp. 651-710; N o . 6, June, pp. 590-664; N o . 7, July, pp. 292-345. Tolstoj, I. I., Stat'io foVklore [Studies of Folklore] (Moscow - Leningrad, 1966). Tronskij, I. M., Istorija anticnoj literatury [A History of Ancient Classical Literature] (Leningrad, 1951). Tupikov, N. M., Slovar' drevne-russkix licnyx sobstvennyx imen [A Dictionary of Old-Russian Personal First Names] (St. Petersburg, 1903). Uxov, P. D., " K istorii termina 'bylina'" [The History of the Term 'Bylina'], Vestnik moskovskogo universiteta [Messenger of Moscow University], N o . 4 (1953), pp. 135-192. Veselovskij, A. N., Juznorusskija byliny [South Russian Byliny] (St. Petersburg, 1881). —, Sobranie socinenij [Collected Works], Vols. I, XVI (St. Petersburg, M o s c o w Leningrad, 1913-1938). Vries, Jan de, Heroic Song and Heroic Legend (London - New York, 1963). Wundt, Wilhelm, Völkerpsychologie, Vol. 2 (Leipzig, 1909). —, Elements of Folk Psychology, E. L. Schaub trans. (New York, 1916). Xalanskij, M., Velikorusskie byliny kievskogo cikla [Great Russian Byliny of the Kievan Cycle] (Warsaw, 1885). Zenkovsky, Serge A., Medieval Russia's Chronicles and Tales (New York, 1963). Zirmunskij, V. M., Epiceskoe tvorcestvo slavjanskix narodov i problemy sravniteVnogo izucenija eposa [The Epic Art of the Slavic Peoples and Problems of Comparative Epic Studies] (Moscow, 1958). —, Narodnyj geroiceskij epos [Folk Heroic Epos] (Leningrad, 1962).

HISTORIES Clarkson, J. D., A History of Russia (New York, 1962). Dvornik, F., The Slavs: Their Early History and Civilization (Boston, 1956). Grekov, B., Kiev Rus' (Moscow, 1959). Niederle, L., Slavjanskie drevnosti [Slavic Antiquities] T. Kovaleva and M. X a z a n o j trans. (Moscow, 1956). Vernadsky, G., A History of Russia, 4 vols. ( N e w Haven and L o n d o n , 1959-1964).

APPENDIX R U S S I A N T E X T S OF T R A N S L A T E D

BYLINA

FRAGMENTS

IIP IIo ca/iy, no 3ejieHOMy, XOAHJIA-RYJIIIJIA MOJIOAA KHAACHA

Map T p O H CyTKH,

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APPENDIX

137

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( E r o ) I I I e j i e n y r a n o f l o p o a t H a a B n a T b ^ e c s T ny,a,

ripnBe3aJica A j i e r n a IIOIIOBHH Mjra.ii: „ A H Tbi, 6 p a T e n , KajiHKa nepexojKaa! flafi

MHe njiaTBe Kajianee,

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flaeT

c B o e njiaTbe Kajiwca A j i e m n I I o n o B H H y , He OTKa3biBaiOHH,

A H a c e 6 e H a a e B a j i TO njiaTbe 6oraTbipcKoe. ( A j i e r n a ) n o r n e j i 3 a CacjjaT-peicy.

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APPENDIX — A ii ace Tbi, BacmibioiiiKa ynbaHCTJiHBbiii! CHJIH y Te6a Be^b ecTb flBa MCHH, CMCJIOCTH — y/iaTn y Te6a HeT B noji-MeHa. 3 ' OfleBajr H j i b a niJiany rpenecKyio, H BbiaepHyji KjiiouiKy BOJiacaHicy. TyT BbixoflHJi Hjiba, ffriba MypoMeii H 3flbiHyji ero Bbirne 6yiiHOH rojiOByuiKH, H 6pocHJi TATAPNHA o KHPIIHHHOH noji. H TyT eMy pyKH H Horn noBbijTOMajT, H rjia3a-TO EMY noBbiKonaji, 38 KajieHy CTptny HaKjraabiBajib, C a M b cTptjioHKH £a npHroBapHBajib: „Jlera, MOH CTPTJIOHKA KANEHAFL, Bbirne jrbcy CToanaro, Hnace oGjianica xoflanaro, Po3JieTHCb-naaH CojioBbio Bb npaBbiii rjia3b, BbineTH, CTp"fejia, BT. jiiiBoe yxo!" 4 1 ToBopHJib Tor/ibi rocyaapb-OTb a a H j i b a MypoMeiib: „ y ^ b Tbi BOH eCH, ZIoSpblHIOIIIKa Tbi MHKHTHUb! Tbi caflHCb-Ko-ce, /Jo6pbma, A a Ha peMeHbnaTb CTyjib. y Te6a ace, y ¿Io6pbiHioiiiKa, pyKa jienca, A i i pyxa y Ta Jienca A a H nepo BOCTPO; Tbi nnuiH-TKO epjibiKH CKopo-Ha-CKop"feii, A nniun-TKo-ce ^pyacHHyuiKy m

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APPENDIX

139

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APPENDIX y TyrapnHa 6yMaa 6oraTbipcKaro, ncfexaub no aopoxcKi. npaaMoteacna, Ko CJiaBHeHbKOH p'feHK'fe KO CMOpO.ZlHHK'fe. KaKi. aacBHmeTb CojioBeii pa36ofiHHKT> OflHXMaHTbeBb cbiHb 3acBHCTajii»-To CojioBeii no-cojioBbeMy, BoCKpHiaUT) 3H0fl'feH-pa360HHHKb nO-3B'fepHHOMy: TeMHbl JltcyniKH Kb 3eMJI"fe nOKJIOHHJlHC»,19 IlpHBH3aH MyaCHHHHa AKMKafl. Ha HeM py6auiKa ajieKcaH/ipeHKa KpacHaa, PyKaBHUbi 3a noac BTbipKHyTbi, rjia3a pa36nTbie,23 TOBOPHTB —

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H BE3ETI> OHT> MY^CHHHIIA AEPEBEHLUHHY,

— Ko cTpeMeHH 6yjiaTHeMy npHKOBaHa. ToBopHJia IlejibKa TaKOBbi cjiOBa: — "BfleTb My»CHHHiue .aepeBemnHHa — Pa3flOJIbHUeMb HHCTblMTj nOJIMb, — H Be3eTb-TO rocyaapa SaTiomeKy — Kb CTpeMeHH 6yjiaTHeMy npHKOBaHa:24 A TyrapHH 3MeeBHH HenecTHO xjie6a ecT: n o uejioft KOBpnre 3a meicy MCHHT,

APPENDIX Te KOBpnrH MOHacTbipcKHa; H HenecTHO TyrapHH IIHTI»H nbei: Ilo uejioH name oxnecTOBaeT, KoTopa nauia B nojrrpeTba Bezipa.28 H TaKt roBopHTi-TQ KajiHKa nepexoacaa: — TojioBKma ero KaKi> nHBHoii KOTCJII., — Tjia3a y Hero KaKb naiiiH nirreHHbiH, — H o c a m e KaKi najiKaflpoBOKOJibHaa.— 2 9 IloAMMajiocb HyAOBHmo He Manoe, J\a. KaK H He Majioe Aa He Bejimcoe. fla ronoBa y Hero m KaK nHBHoii KOTCJI, J\& KaK rjia3a y Hero aa KaK nHBHbi UHLUH, Pa. npoMeacy yrnaMH KajieHa crpejia, fl,a n p o M e a c y r j i a 3 a M H n z n h S y M a a c H b i a ,

fla yac H miena y Hero m KaK Koca caaceHb.30 H3-3a Mopa, Mop« cHHero, H3-3a Tex ace rop H3-3a BHCOKHX, H3-3a Tex ace jiecoB TeMHbix, H3-3a TOH ace CTopoHyuiKH BOCTOHHMH H e TeMHaa Tyna noAHHMajiaca, C CHJIOH MaMaii copaacaeTca H a TOT ace Ha KparneH KneB-rpaj H xoneT KparneH Khcb B nojioH B3»Tb. H 6paji OH ce6e CHJIM MHOTO MHoacecTBo — CopoK uapeS H copoK iiapeBHHeii, CopOK KOpOJieH H copoK KOpOJieBHHefi, H 3a BCHKHM BH3HpeM no CTy TbICflHeH, Ha. 6paji cBoero 3»ta JHOGHMOTO, CBoero BacHJiHfl IlpeKpacHoro, H 6paji 3a HHM CHJibi-BOHCKa TpHCxa TbicaHeii, A 3a caMHM 3a co6ofi BoiicKa cneTy He 6buio.31 JlpajICH CO 3MHeft OHb TpOH CyTKH, Om> y6HJIb 3MHIO-TO npOKJIHTyiO, CnycTHjica BO Hopy BO rjiy6oKyio, MHOTO TaMi> CHflHTb aapeft, HapeBHHeBb,

APPENDIX MHoro Kopojieii, KoponeBHHeBi>, npOCTOH-TO CHJIbI H CM^Tbl H"feTI>, HaCIHTajli OHb CHJIbI COpOKb TbICHHb. TOBOpHTl OHb KHfl3eBOH IIJieMHHHHU,bl, MOJIOAOH 3 a 6 a B H AOHB IlyTaTHHHoii:

,,3a Te6a a 3Taia> CTpaHCTByio! „RICFEAEMB KO r p a a y KO KneBy, ,,Ko jiacKOBy KHH3K> KO Bjia^HMupy; 43 „ A BaMT> BC"T>MB, rocno/ia, BOJIH BOJibHaa!"

KaK Ty JIH HjiioiiieHbKa, noacKaKHBaji, BHflb KJIIOXOH 6yMHy rojxoBy, — rioraHbmx Aa Beab npn3axaMKaji-To, P O T - T O Beflb KAK Beflb oTBepaT. KaK apyroM pa3 ji'd yaapHJi — jxa nan-TO EH, KaK nan-TO eH eme o MOCTM o /jyooBbie, TepeMbi HHO a a noiuaTajiiice. Y^APHJI

KaK y6eaca;i-To eH a a Ha yjiHmo, Hanan-TO Be^b najimie(H) noMaxHBaTb, K y a a MaxHeT — BM/IB Tyflbi yjiaua, KaK MaxHeT TyT — nepeyjiKa. JICTHT-TO noraHbie TaTapoBba, OcTaTHbie JIH nepenajiHCH, Koii Ky^a OHM pa36eacajiHce, npH6njT-y6njI, JX& HHBLX po3orHaji, I J H C T O BE/ib CTajio BO r o p o ^ e BO K H C B H . 4 4

H 3 cnaBHOBa PocTOBa, KpacHa r o p o ^ a , KaK Asa HCHbia COKOJIM BbmeTbiBajiH, Bbie3»cajiH ABa MoryiHH 6oraTbipn: M T O n o HMeHK) AjieaiiiHbKa RIONOBHH Mjia/j A CO MOJIOAOM E K H M O M HBaHOBHHeM. a o p o r a BO MypoM jieacHT, A p y r a « flopora — B ^TEPHHROB-RPAA, TpeTba — KO ropo/iy KO KneBy, K o JiacKOBy KHJBIO BxraxtHMepy. RIEPBAA

T O B O P H J I TYT E K H M H B A H O B H H :

APPENDIX „ A H 6 p a T e u , A j i e r n a rionoBHH MJiaa, KoTopoii

floporoS

H3BojiHiiib e x a T b ? " .

„JlyTHe HaM exaTb KO r o p o f l y KO K n e B y . " 4 5

M O J I O A M B o j i b x OH AoraAJiHB 6 b m : C a M o6epHyjia MypammcoM H Bcex Ao6pbix MOJIOAUOB MypauiKaMH, r i p o m j i H oHe cTeHy 6ejioKaMeHHy, M c T a j i a Mojioflubi yac Ha a p y r o i i CTopoHe, B cuaBHOM uapcTBe HHflencKHeM, B c e x o 6 e p H y j i /i;o6pbiMH MonoMUaMH, C o cBoeio CTanH c 6 p y e i o c o paTHoio.

A caM OH, B o j i b x , BO nojiaTbi n o u i o j i , B o Te BO nonaTbi uapcKHH, K o TOMy u a p i o KO HH/jeMCKOMy; ,3,BepH 6MJIH y n o j i a T acejie3Hbifl, KpioKH-npo6oH n o S y j i a T y 3JianeHbi,

H a j i o M a j i Bee n p o 6 o n 6yjiaTHbiH. O H 6epeT u a p a 3a 6ejibi pyKH, A cuaBHOBa a a p a HHfleiicKOBa, CanTbiKa CTaBpynbeBHHa.

Y x B a T a , eBO, y^apHJi o KHpnHiueTofi n o n , PacrnnG eBO B KpoxH ROBEHHBIA. H TyT B o j i b x caM uapeM Haceji, B3HBHIH u a p n u y A3BHKOBHy, A H M o j i o a y EneHy AjieKcaHjjpoBHy. 4 7

V

A H 6 Y A E T B o j i b x BO FLBEHA,ZMATB jieT, C T A N c e 6 e B o j i b x OH .APYACHHY N P H 6 H P A T B , ^PYACHHY n p n 6 n p a j i B x p n roflbi; O H H a 6 p a n APYACHHY c e 6 e ceMb TbiCHieii; C a M OH, B o j i b x , B IIHTHA/MATB JTCT, H BCH eBO apyacHHa n o naTHaauaTH JieT. r i p o i u j x a Ta cjiaBa BejiHtcaa

APPENDIX Ko CTOJitHOMy ropoay KaeBy: HHACHCKOH uapt HapeacaeTca, A

XBAJIHTCFL-NOXBAJIAHTCH,

XoneT KaeB-rpaa 3a IUHTOM Becb B3HTI>, A 6oaci>H uepKBH Ha abim cnycraTb H nonecTHbi MOHacTbipn po3apirrb. A BTanopbi Bojibx OH .nora/IJIHB 6MJI: Co Bceio apyacHHoio xopa6poio Ko cjiaBHOMy aapcTBy HHfleiicKOMy TyT »ce c HHMH BO noxoa norneji.2 rioBepHyjica Bojibra cy/iapb EycjiaeBHib Majioio immeio nTauiHueii, n o j i e r t j i b eHb no noflo6naHbio. H cKopo 6y^eTb BO Typeirb-3eMjrfe, ByaeTb y uapa Typeuicaro, IIpoTHBi. caMbixb OKOineneKb, H cjiymaeTb OHb ptna TaiiHbia, — ToBopHTb uapb co uapHueio:4 H TyT Bojibx caM xiapeM Haceji, B3HBUIH UapHIiy A3BHKOBHy, A H Mojioay EjieHy AjieiccaHflpoBHy, A H Te eBO Apy«HHa xopo6pbia H Ha Tex Ha aeBHuax nepexceHHJiHca. A H Mojioabi Bojibx TyT iiapeM Haceji, A TO CTAJIH JIIO^H noca,acKH8, OH 3JiaTa-cepe6pa BbiKaTHJi, A H KOHeii, KopoB Ta6yHOM aejTHii, A Ha BCHKOBa 6paTa no CTy Tbicaneii.19 KaKb nonajia cTp"fejiKa CojioBbio BO npaBbiii rjia3b, BwjieTajia CTp"fejiKa BO jrfeBo yxo: IloKaTHjicH CojioBeiomKa co rHtoflbiuiKOMb, ByflTO cbHHaa icyna HenoAbeMHaH. OHb 6pajib CojiOBba 3a acejira Ky/ipn, IlpHBH3biBajib OHb vKejiTHMH Ky^epKaMH Ko ji^Bbia 6yjiaTHbia cTpeMeHbi,

APPENDIX C a M t n o t x a x i b KO c j i a B H O M y KO C T O J i b H O M y K o r o p o / i y KO K n e B y . 2 8

H a c w n a H K O J i n a K jxa. 3CMJIH r p e n e c K O H , B e c o M KOJinaK P O B H O T P H n y a a . O H YAAPHJI BO 3 M e i o p, a BO n p o K J i a x y i o , O T 6 H J I ABEHA/MATB X O 6 O T O B

—

T y T y n a j i a 3MEA ^ a BO KOBMJII> T p a B y . A

, H , o 6 p b i H H a a H a HOJKKy n o B e p T o i c ;

O H CKOHHJI 3 M e n

H a 6 e n b i RPY^H,

B O T KAK T Y T 3MCJI ixa. B ' j M O J i H J i a c a : —

A I I » E T b i /JOSPBTHH C H H HHKHTHHHH!

M b f NOJIOXHM c T O 6 O H 3ANOBEFLB B C J i H K y r o , H T O 6 H e E3FLHTB 6 b i T e 6 e BO AAJIENE HHCTO n o j i e , H e T 0 n T a T b - T 0 Beflb MJiazibix

3MeeHbimeB,

A

MOHX-TO BEAB p o a c o H b i x M a j i b i x A E T Y M O K ,

A

MHe He J i e T a T b 6 o j i b m e H a CBHTyio

Pycb,

H e H 0 C H T b - T 0 j i K D f l e i i A a BO n o j i o H K c e 6 e . 2 9

X j r e c T H y j i eBO m e j i e n y r o i o n o 6yiiHOH P o c u i n S eMy SyiiHy

roJiOBe,

rojioBy,

M ynaji T y r a p H H Ha cbipy

3eMjno,

CKOHHJI e M y A j i e m a H a n e p H y

rpyab.

B T a n o p b i B3iviojiHTca T y r a p H H 3MeeBHH „ r o i i ecH Tbi, KajiHKa

MJia^:

nepexoacea!

H e T b i JIH A j i e u i a I I o n o B H H M J i a f l ? TOKO Tbi A j i e u i a I l o n o B H i

MJiaA,

C e M n o G p a x y e w c H c TO6OH". B T a n o p b i A j i e u i a B p a r y He BepoBaJi, OTpe3an eMy rojioBy

nponb,30

B T o n o p b i A j i e u i a no/icKOHHji, E M y rojioBy c p y S n j i , M n a j i a r j i a B a HA c b i p y 3 e M j n o , KAK n H B H o i i KOTCJI. A j i e u i a CKOHHJI c o A O 6 P A KOHH, O T B E 3 A J I H C M 6 Y P OT , a o 6 p a KOH», H

npoKOjioji yniH y r0Ji0Bbi T y r a p n H a

3MeeBHia,

M NPNBE3AJI K A o 6 p y KOHIO, M n p H B e 3 B K n e B H a KHHHceHeuKOH i i B o p , B p o c H J i c p e f l H a BO p a

KHHHceHenKOBa.

APPENDIX

M roBopuji

BTanopbi

Anerna

D O I I O B H H MJia,zi:

„ r o i i e c H T b i , jiacKOBOH c y ^ a p b

Bjra^HMep-KHa3b!

HTO y Te6a 3a SojiBaH npmiieji, MTO 3 a A Y P A K HeoTecoHoii? H e n e c T H o y KHSHH 3 a CTOJIOM CH^HT, K o KHarHHe O H , c o 6 a K a , pyKH B n a 3 y x y K J I A A E T , I],ejiyeT BO y c T a c a x a p H b i a ,

Te6e,

KHJBK), HacMexaeTca!

A y MoeBO

Bbijia

cyAapa-6aTioiiiKa

co6aHHinma cTapea,

HacHJiy

no noacTOJibio T a c K a j i a c a , co6aKa n o / i a B H j i a c a ,

M KOCTbK) T a

B3HJI e e 3 a XBOCT, n o a r o p y

—

MaxHyn;

O T MeHH T y r a p H H y T O ace G y z i e T ! , , . 3 3

Jla.

ii jieTejia-TO 3 M e H m o n e p e 3 K H C B r p a a ,

Ko cbipoH 3eMJiH 3Menmo npnnaflajia, Y n e c j i a OHa y KHH3a y BnaflHivmpa, Y H e c j i a - T O njieMHHHHKy j i K > 6 H M y i o fl,a

npeKpacHyio 3a6aByujKy

OyTaTHUHy.34

T Y T B J I A A B L M H P KHfl3b Jia. CTOJlbHe-KHeBCKOH I l p H X O f l H J l - T O OH K MOJIOflOMy / J o 6 p b ] H K ) U J K H , TOBOPHJI

flo6pblHH

TaKOBbI CJIOBa:

„ T b i MOJIOAeHbKOH 7 1 o 6 p b l H K ) I J J K a M H K H T H H e u ! H a j i o r a i o T O 6 H cjiyacoGicy BejiHKyK), / J a ii BejiHKy cjiyacoGicy HeMajieHbKy: A H T b i CBE3FLH-TKO BO

flajieMe

BO HHCTO n o j i e ,

K o TbIM CJiaBHbIM KO T O p a M KO COpOHHHCKHHM, JX& CXOFLH-TKO Tbi BO HOpbl BO 3MeHHbIfl, O T b i m H - T K O DJieMHHHKy JIK>6HMyiO

A

npeKpacHyio 3a6aByuiKy

FLyTaTHiHy,

N P H B E 3 H - T K O Tbi K) B C T O J I B H E - K H e B r p a / i , n p H B e a H - T K O M H H B n o j i a T b i B 6ejIOKaMeHHbI, J X a n o ^ a n - K O Tbi 3 a 6 a B y B O 6 e j i b i p y x n . T y T MOJIOfleHbKOii 3 o 6 p b I H K > I I l K a M H K H T H H e u O H 3 a C T O J I H K O M C H A H T , c a M 3ANEHAJIHJICA, 3 a n e i i a j i n j i C 5 i O H 3aKpyHHHHJicH. B M X O J I H J I - T O O H 3 3 a CTOJIHKOB

flySoBbiex,

BbixoflHJi OH 3 3 a cKaMeeneK 0K0JibHHHx,

APPENDIX

IIpoxoaHJi-TO ëH nojiaTOH GejioKaMeHHOH, n p H X O f l H J I OH BO CTOJIOBy CBOK) T O p e H K y , K o CBOeil KO p O f l H O K ) KO M â T y i I I K H .

roBopHT floôpbiHH poflHa MaTyuiKa: „ A h Tbi M o ë i x a a o j i i o Ô H M o e ,

fla H MOJIOaeHbKOH ^OÔpblHIOIUKa MHKHTHHeu! H t o c necTHa irapy npniuoji na t u He Becejio? T o MecTeHHKO 6biJio b r i n p y He n o HHHy?

A j i h l a p o i o b nnpy t o 6 h npHOÖHecjiH? A j i b KTO nbHHHija aypaK npnoôrajiHJica? rOBOpHJI

flo6pbIHH

pOflHOii MaTyiHKH:

„ A H BjiaflblMHp KHH3b-OT CTOJIbHe-KHeBCKOií HajiOÄHJi-TO MHH-Ka cjiyacoÔKy BejiHKyio, A ii BejiHKyio MHe cjiyacoÔKy He M a j i y i o ; " H rOBOpHTb COJIHblUIKO BjiaflHMHpb KHH3b : — 3aKpHHH-KO Tbl 3bIH*iHbIMb TOJIOCOMb. —• M roBopHTb CojiOBeä TaKOBbi cjioBa: „ H e Te6a, a ii Koro "feMb-nbio, T o r o h cjiyuiaio." IlpHxoAHJib co ABopa Bb najiaTbi 6i5jroKaMeHHM, CaMb roBopHJib TaKOBbi cjioBa: — A i i ace Tbi, y^ajibiä floôpbiii Mojiozteijb, —• Hjiba M y p o M e i i b cbiHb HßaHOBHHb! — H e nycTbiMb jih Tbi 3axBacTbiBaeuib? — 3acTaaBb-Ko Tbi CojiOBbs pa36oiiHHKa — 3aKpaiaTb 3biHHHbiMb r o j i o c o M b , cpeAHeio nporjiacHHueio. 38 H roBopHTb Mjiba M y p o M e u t : — 3aKpH4H-TKO Tbl 3bIH1HbIMb TOJIOCOMb CpeßHeiO nporjiacHHueio. H 3aKpHHaJIb TO OHb 3bIHHHbIMb TOJIOCOMb. COJIHblUIKO BjiaflHMHpb KHH3b Ha KOJI^HKa HaHT. n o A b jrfeByio na3yxy H j i b t M y p o M u y . H 3 b 3TOrO KpHKy COJIOBbHHarO B ropoji'fe cTeKOJibiuiKa c okohouiok nocbinajiHCb, H 6a6bi noHocHbiH pa3po/iHJiHCb. H KoôbiJibi 6epeacHH acepeGnnacb.

APPENDIX

A 3AROBOPHJIT> COJIHBLLLKO BJIAAHMHPI. KHH3B: — H e HAFLO CojioBta BI> NO^APOHKH, A B03BMH-TK0, CAFLHCB HA AO6PA KOHH, B3HMA0 COJIOBTA HA 6"FEJIBI PYKH, OTBE3H BO FLAJIENE BO HHCTO n o n e , O T p y 6 H eMy T a M t 6yfiHy rojioBy. T Y N . CAFLHJICH OHI> HA A O 6 P A KOHH, ORB1S5KAHJN> OHI> BO FLAJIENE BO HHCTO n o j i e ,

OIPYSNJIT, COJIOBBIO GYIIIIY ROJIOBY. H BO KHEB"B y H a c i . He NO n p e a c H e M y : 3 a c e J i H j i o c b BE^b KO KHA3IO KO BJIAJIHMEPY, K a 6 b i TO Mine H/JOJIHIULUO n o r a H o e ,

3 a c e j i H J i c a OH KO KH33K> KO B j i a ^ H M e p y , K a K i . B b T y e r o r p H H i o KHaaceHeBCKyio, M e n y

KHA3EMT. OHT> CHAHTT», M

MEACI. KHSTHHOK),

KHflTHHbl-TO flepXCHTb fla p y K y BT> n a 3 y K X H ,

OHI. noHH»ce o n y c K a T b pyKH—0K0Jib nepeBa; K a 6 b l KHH3b-OTB T y T b

CHRHTb

HeUO TOBOpHTb He CM"feTb. 40

„ Y a c b Tbi r o i l e c n T M c o j i H b n i K o B j i a f l H M e p t KH33b, T b i B e j i H u i b M H ^ - j i e K p o B a B H T b CBOK> r p H H i o a c e ? " r O B O p H T l » H a TO COJlHblHIKO B j i a f l H M e p b KHH3b: „51 He 3 H a i o - j i e K a K b HOHb B a M b n o c o B ' f r r o B a T b . " O H cbiMaeTb, M o n o / i e u i c e 6 a nyxoBT. KOJinaKt, O H 3 a B e p T b i B a j n > K O J i n a K t na. Ha T p n

rorna

»e,

O H b KaKi> 6 p o c H J i b KOJinaKOMb HOHbiie B y r a p H i u m a , H BO TH-AE r p y a i i

nepHbm,

n o B a j i H J i C H T y T t l O r a p H H i . BOHb Ha y j i n u y . I l o f l H H M a j i c a B o p b - c o 6 a K a na. B k r b K a K b K a j i H H i . x j a p b . rioziHHMajica B o p t - c o 6 a K a

He T p n r o . n a ,

r i o f l b i M a n c a B o p t - c o 6 a K a He T p i i ivrfeceua, IIo,zibiMajica B o p b - c o 6 a K a m

—

POBHO T p n i m s T i » j i t T b .

H nodouioAb OHb nodb cmeHou da cmojibneu Kueeb zpadb. K a K b H TyTi> a-JIE B J I A ^ H M e p t na. KI> C T a p y K a 3 a K y ;

ORIB 6HJN.-JIE NE.NOMB aa CTapy Ka3aKy;

APPENDIX M caMb roBopHjn> eMy TaKOBO CJIOBO: „YUIT, Tbi oii ecu, CTapbi Ka3aKi> Mjibfl MypoMem», „HjibH MypoMeu,b, CTapbi Ka3aKb, CHHT. HBaHOBHUb! „Tbi CToajit-jie 3a B'bpy ,ga 3a KpeniiuoHyio, ,,3a KpemoHyio B"bpy 3a npaBOCJiaBHyK>; „Tbi CToajii» 3a MaHacTbipH nonecHbia, „Tbi CTOHJit ace 3a iiepKBH ,aa HOHb 3a EoacbHa; „Tbi nocmou-KO 3a nacb da cmojibne-Kueeb ,,3a MeHH otce 3a KHH3H da 3a BmduMepa"

zpadb, .41

Hme naaaJiH KHH3b H BO ptaBbi Horn Kaici. cb TOH >Ke KHerHHyuiKoii OnpaKcfecii K o TOMy >Ke CTapoMy Ka3axy jia. Hjibn Mypavruy: „KaKb n p o c r a xce, CTapoS Ka3aKb Hub« Mypaivreub. „He 0CTa HjieiiKa HA flo6pa KOH», OHT. noiixajib HjieHKa BO IIHCTO nojie. OHb npH'txajib Kb uapbiiiiLuy-Ty EaicaHHUiiiiy, OHT.

xBaTHJii. ace CBOIO na. ca6jiio BocTpyio,

OHT. xorfejib cpySnTb y HjieHKii Gyitay rojiOBy. H Ha TO fle HjieiomKa yxBaTijH, YBepHyjica noTb na3yxy noTb npaByio, H MaxHyjib OHI. CBoeii aa ca6jieM BocTpoe

APPENDIX H

cpyGmit y uapHinma 6yimy

H

yjieTtjio e r o TyjioBo npoKjiHToe,

rojiOBy.

YSHJIO HXHMXI. 4B"FEHAUU3TB T Y T B 6 o r a T b i p e f i . T y T b H B t i c K o i i H J i i H n e i i K a H3i> u e p H a 3aKpbiH«Jii> a e - K a OHb na. r p o M K H M t „Yuit „ A

BH o i i e c H , aproiCHHyiiiKH

4>cfe p y c b K H a , M o r y r a a

xopo6pbia,

SoraTbipn!

„NCFEXCXCAHTE BH c K o p " b m „ B b i p y 6 H T e ; rTo6en'fejia e r o

rojioByuiKa,

rTocexrfejia e r o

6opo,ayiiiKa.49

A ncfexajib cTapbi Ka3aKb Bb CTOJibHe-KneBT> rpaTT, CTap

6biJi

H a KOHe H a y c e A

n o « CTapbiM

6bm

ceAoii,

KOHb H a y 6 e j i

6ejiOH.50

VI

PaccKaacy a BaM, He A

6paTHbi,

cxa3Ky x B a M c i c a H c y , He necHio cnoio, cnoio H BAM CTHX CTAPO^aBHeeH,

BbiJiHHy K n e B C K y . 1 9

3anerajia

flopoiuica

npaMo"b»cMca

npaMcfeaoKa«,

flopomica

ntmoxoflHaa:

K a K i > He KOHHOMy, He i r f e u i o M y n p o x o a y A

H e K a K O M y 6 o r a T b i p i o n p o t e ^ y H"fcrb.

A

npHMofoKHCoii A o p o u i K O H 'txaTT. T p n

fffcrb,

ueca,

A KaKb 0K0Ji0Mb-T0 'fexaTb HaAO T p n ro/ia.

APPENDIX A HanyiiimaHio.ce Tyrb t x a r t CTapofi Ka3aKb A HUIUIO cTapoS Ka3aio> ^a Hjiba MypoMeub A OH POCTHCUHTI. flopouiKy npaMo"feacacyio A npaMotacacy aopouiKy irbiuexoflHyio. 20

FIocaflHJiH HjieiouiKy CTaporo Ka3aKa M y p o M u a .

3anHpanH OHH ^Bepn m TyTb acajifaHbia, 3aflBHrajia 3aABHacoHKH acajrkjHbia, 3aMbiKajiH 3aMKH OHH 3aMopcKHa;

KaKb CHA'feJii» TyTb-jie CTapoii 4>b TeMHOMb noArpe6n, O H B He MHoro, He Majio, Ma PO6HO TPBIIMATB JRBRB.

H noAbiMaHio>ce Tyua fla Tyua rpo3Haa, Tyua rpo3Ha noflbiManubce HeMHjiocjiHBa KaKb Ha TOTb ace Ha 3TOTT> AA cTOJibHe-KneBT. rpaTb: IloAbiMaHm.ce uapHmo p,a. KyapeBamimo, KaKb npHteajn. CTapoii Ka3aKb noeflHHbniHixbKOMb. KaKb MaxHyjib TyTb uapnmo na. KyapeBaHHmo, — YBepHyjica cTapw Ka3aKb 3a KOHHHy rpbiBy. KaKb MaxHyjib-TO CTapbi Ka3aKb Hjiba MypoMeub, — KaKb cMaxHyjib y uapmua na. H rojioBy cb njieub. 2 1

flo Toro ace ao ropo^a MepHHroBa, A 3anajiaflopoaceuKanpaMotacacaa. A BO TOMb ace BO MypoB"b, Bo cejit-TO, cejrfe aa KapaHapoB"b A 6biJib ace HjieiouiKa MypoMeub. A cHfl"fejib r a t HjieiouiKa TpnmiaTb j i t T b ,

A KaKb neH"fe irffe cnfltjib aa Kpaii flopoaceubKH.22 -

Hcb Toro ace a H3b ropoaa H3b MypoBa, Hcb cejia-Ta, cejia na. KapanapoBa; Yiirb a CTapi. ace KasaKb aaKb Hjiba MypoMeHb; A nme "fexajib aflopoaceHbKoiinpaMofoKacoio, A npbi6mrb a CojioBba aaKb a pa36oiiHHHbKa. -

- O m y c T H Tbi MeHa Ha BOJIIO BOJibHyK»,

- Ilojioacy a Te6"b 3anoB"bAb BejiiiKyio:

APPENDIX - He 6yay h 6ojibine cnA"feTb Haab AoporoM npHMoteaceio, - He cTaHy cBHCTtTb no cojiOBbHHOMy, - He CTaHy ry6HTb Hapoziy KpemeHaro. - 3 1 - -3 cbiHa-TO Bbipocuiy, 3a HCBO NOHB OT/iaivrb;

- /],OHb-Ty Bbipaciny, OTflaMT. 3a cbma, 39 - UITO6M CojiOBefiKHHb poflb He nepeBOAHJica. H a exaji JIH no CojioBbio PaxMaHOBy, H OHHCTHJI BCH nyTHflOpOHCKHUmpOKH H BO BCeii JIH-TO 3eMJlH CBHTOpyCCKOIO.42 „Tbi CToaiib-Jie 3a B"fcpy p,a. 3a KpeininoHyio, ,,3a KpemoHyfo B^fepy Aa npaBOCJiaBHyio; „Tbi CToajib 3a MaHacTbipn nonecHbia, „Tbi cToajiT, ace 3a NEPKBH aa HOHB 3a Eoacbmi;

„Tbi nocTOH-KO 3a Hacb m cTOJibHe-KneBi. rpafli, ,,3a MeHH ace 3a khh3h aa 3a BjraAHMepa".43 noflouuia CHjia TOTapbHKa-SycypMaHbHKaa, noaoiiijia ace 3Ta CHJiyunca GjureexoHbico Ko TOMy OHa KO ropoay KO KneBy. TyTb BblXOAHTI. TOTapb-OTb H A O J I H U I I I I O BCe H3b Stiia rnaTpa, OHT> nwcajib-TO epjibiHKH Bee CKoponHCHHTbi; IlocbiJiaeTb OHb TOTapHHa noraHoro. Hanncajib OHT> BI> epjibiHKax'b Bee CKoponacnHTbixi.: 3afijiy, 3an^y, Hflojrainino, BO KneBb-rpa/ib, SI B"feab Bbiacry-Ty B"feflb KneBb-rpaAb, BoacbH nepbKBbi; BbiGnpajica-TO nibToGbi KH»3b HCb nojiaTymoKT.: SI 3aiiMy, 3anMy nojiaTbi 6"fejioKaMHHHbi;44 „Bbi ncfeflbTe no CBHMT. \rfecTaMt, „Bbi iHHHTe Be3zrb TaKOBy cjiaBy, „IIITO CBATAA Pycb HE nycra CTOHTT., „Ha CBHTOH PycH ecb cnjibHbi, Morynn 6oraTbipH."47 KTO 6bi HaMi> cKa3ajii> npo CTapoe, Ilpo CTapoe, npo 6biBajioe, ITpo Toro Hjibio npo MypoMna?48

APPENDIX

153

VII "Bxajib yaajibiii no HHCTy nojiio, npH"b3»caeTi. OHt yflajibiii ko pa3CTaHOHKaMT>, K o TBIMTj KO pa3CTaHOHKaMI) XpHCTOCbCKiHM"b, K o TOMy KpecTy ko JleBaHHflOBy. Ctohtt. cTOJiGt 6'fejiofly6oBWH, Ha CTOJi6"fe ecTb noflnncb nofliiHcaHa: „IIpaMO "fexaTb, CTOJIbKO nflTbCOTb BepcTb, A Ha OKOJ11.-TO "fexaTb, ceMbcon. BepcTb." Cmotphtt. Hjiba ho 3Ty no^nHCb-To: ,,KaKi> npaMy "fexaTb, acHBy He 6biBaTb, H"feTi> nyTH hh npotexceMy, hh npoxoxceMy, hh npojieraoMy, Chahti> CojioBeii pasGoiiHHKT, Ha ceMH ,ny6axi>."4 „He necTb MH"fe xBajia MojioflenKaa "BxaTb TOH ^OpOvKKOH OKOJIbHOeHl A jiynrne no"fe^y AopoacKOH npaMofaaceio." 5 CBailHJICH TyT C B H T o r o p b o a y 6 o B o i i rpo6.

Tbi t o h ecH, moh MeHbuiHii 6paT, KaK no MHe s t o t r p o 6 h cfleJiaHbiii. „A

npa^eT, TaK h cMepTb npnaeT, Be3 cy^bSbi cMepTH He 6biBaeT Be^b. Cyflb6a

npHXOflH-KO Tbi KO MHe, MOH MeHblHHH 6paT,

ChyxaM a Te6e cboio CHJiyiiiKy". OTBenaeT r y r Hjibh MypoMeu cwh HBaHOBHi: „ O h t h roii ecH, moh crapmHii 6paT, XBaTHT MHe-Ka CHJiyUIKH H TaK ch6h, T o He 6yaeT MeHH HocHTb MaTb cbipa 3eMJia" rOBOpHT TyT TaKOBbI CJIOBa: „ A h t h roii ecn, moh MeHbuiHii 6paT, M o b o kohh npHBH»CH 3a rpo6, A MOH Meu Tbi C C060H B03bMH". B3hji TyT Hjihx MypoMeu c h h liBaHOBHH HpHBH3aji kohh ko rpo6y TyT. A caM 6paji b pyKH 6paTCKoii Men.9

APPENDIX

KaKi> xBacTaioTT>, TEKOBLI p"fenH roBopHJin: „A Ka6bi 6biJia Ha HeGeca fla jiHCbHHiia, A npnGHJiH 6bi CHjiy He6ecHyio." 14 Mmrna TyTi> n p n t x a j i a hbs. 6paTejiica flBa Cy3,aajibiw; Mmiua TYTI» » a OHH na NPHPOCXBA(C)TAJIHCB, ToBopHJiH 6bi OHH yaajibi flo6pbi Mojiomibi : ,,Ka6bi Gbijii. (H)mrne TYRI. 6bi BO 3CMJIH-TO CTOJUII., „Mbi 6 B I BCK) 3 e M j n o MATYUIKY nepepbiJiH ace; „Bbijio 6bi HOHB HA He6o JIHCHHHH, „MM BCK) 6BI HeGecHy cmiy nonjrbHHjiH ace." Bbixo^HJii. TyTi. HjieiouiKa Ha GajiaxoHHoii CTOJini, CMOTp"fejii. fle BO HHCTO nojie, yBH^aJIl» OHT> MHOrO MHOHCeCTBO CHJiyiUKH. Ha notxajiH OHH na BO HHCTO nojie: KoToporo pySaTb OHH na (J)ce r/rb HA flBoe, Hrniua ^"fejiaHUbce H3i> Hxt xia cf)ce acbiBbi ace B"i5Tb. y C T p a n i H J I H C e OHH Jia 3TOH C H J i y U I K H ,

A yfexajiH OHH na HA yfeci. OTT. eft A BO Ty aca B'feTb ropy a a BO uiopjionHHy. A OHH ace B'feTb TYTI. 4>cfe 3aKaMeH"FEJIH JXa Ha T"bxi> ae KOHHHKaxi. Ha Ao6pwxb ace.18 Te flBa 6paTa, a s a Cy3^ajibua, H caMH OHH noxBajiHiOTca: ,,Ka6bi 6biJia Tenepb CHJia He6ecHaa, H Bee 6bi MM no6njiH ee no nojiio". Bflpyr OT HX cjioBa caejiajiocb nyjxo BejiHKoe: BoccTajia CHJia MaMaeBa, H CTajio CHJiw 6ojibme BnaTepo. n p o c r a Hac B nepBoft 3a Te ace cjioBa rjiynbie, ,,TM

BHHE,

3 a T e x ace 6paTOB C y 3 , n a j i b u e B " .

H noBajiHJiacb TyT CHJia KpoBOJiHTHas, IloexajiH

YAAJIBI KO

ropo^y

KO

KneBy,

3aexajin OHH B JcpameH KneB-rpafl,

Bo Te ace

BO HCCTHM

MOHacTbipn,

B o T e a c e n e m e p w BO KHCBCKH;

T a M Bee OHH H npecTaBHjiHca.

155

APPENDIX H HafaKA3Kajii> OHI> Bfrrb CHJiy ,na npeBejiHKyio H 6 n j i c 3 - 6 o p o j i c 3 , ,na cKOJibKo Moacbiubce, I l o CBoeii ace y f l a r a

M0Ji0,neHbK0eH;

H npH6ajiH B"bTi> CHJiy ^ a npeBejimcyio.

O T B a p o n a j i t CBoero a a KOHH a o 6 p o r o B o CBOH ace BO cjiaBHofi aa. K n e B b rpa,m>, A

flotacacajrb

ace OHT> B*feTb flo TOH c r t H b i a a ROPOFLOBOK)

A no r f e x b ace B o p o T t na. KaKb a o KHaacecbKHXb. H KaKb oKaMeH"fejib H j i b a a a Ha a o 6 p o M KOH"b. H T y T b ace HjibiomoHbKH cjiaBbi n o i o T b . 2 3

H c n y r a j i n c b MoryHHe BHTH3H, no6"feacajiH Bb KaMeHHbia ropbi, B b TeMHbia n e m e p b i : K a K b no^6"feacHTb BHTH3b Kb r o p t , T a K b H oKaMeirfeeTb C b rfcxb-TO n o p b H nepeBejiHCb BHTH3H Ha CBHTOH PycH. 2 5

A cnpocHJiH e r o CTap(H)uH npoxoxcHH: - " A yace HTO ace TM, H j i b i o m a , B c a 6 e nyBCTByeiiib?" - " A A m o c T B y i o JIH c a n y BejraKyio: A Ka6w 6bijro KOJIENBKO BO cbipoii 3EMJIH A NOBEPHYJI JIH 3eMejibiuiKy HA p e 6 p b m i K o . " A H roBopHjiH TYT c r a p u b i TaKOBbi cjioBa: - „ A Tbi noflH-KO B n o r p e 6 a cjiaBHbi rjiyGoKHH, A HaJiefi-KO TM JIH u a p y u i K y nojiHemeHbKy!" A npHHec eH u a p y nojiHemeHbKy: - „ A yac Bbinen-KO u a p y eziHHemeHeK!" A yac Bbinnji eH u a p y e^HHeuieHeK. - „ A T o n e p e , H j i b f l , HTO TM

rnocTByeuib?"

- „ A HyHb y MeHa cnjiyuiKa JIH c n a j i a JIH, A c(bi)najia y MH CHJia B nojioBHHy UIKH." AFT roBopHjiH CTap(n)ubi npoxoacHH: - „ A BEFLB H acHBH, H j i b n , AA Gy^enib BOHHOM! A Ha 3HMJIH TH6E Be AT cMepTb 6 y a e HE nncaHa, A BO 6 o a x TH6e JIH CMEPTB 6YAE He n n c a H a ! " 2 9

Ha notxajib

floSpbmioiiiKa

Kb 6a6bi JIaTbiHropKH;

A YJTAPHJIHCB OHH fla c a 6 j i n BOCTpbiMa, -

APPENDIX Y HXT> c a 6 e j i b K H a a n o j i o M a j i n c e ; YflapHUHCb OHH KOnbeMH 6 0 p 3 0 M e H b C K H M a , -

n o pyicfe Konba y HHXb corHyjiHce; He a.ajm Ha CO6H paHbi KpoBaBbia; OHM CK04HJ1H COfloGpblXbKOHeH H

HaiejM 6opoTHce.

He no Boacbefi-To 6bijio Bee no MHJIOCTH, He no ,ZJo6pbiHHHOH-TO 6bino ynecTn: n o p B a j i o c b - T O y eii njiaTbe i i b B t T H o e ,

A npaBa pyica y ero a a CKOJibeHyjiace; A ji^Ba-TO Ho>KKa y ero a a noABepHyjiace; A KaKb na^ajib /JoSpbimoniKa Ha cbipy 3eMJiio, A KaKb cfejia 6a6a JlaTbiHropKa Ha 6"fe;ibi r p y ^ n , A xoneTb cnopoTb a a ^o6pbiHH Bee 6"fejibi r p y a n , /^ocMOTpHTb .ZioSpHHHHa p e r m a cepun. OHA "fefleTb C B o e i i a c . . . n o 6 " b u y JIHUIO, OHA •FEAEN» jxa. NPAROBAPHBATB:

„A utjiyii-Ko-ce MOIO a c . . . S t j i y i o ! " 3 2 A BTblKaJIT» OHb BOCTpO KOnbe BO Cbipy 3eMJIK),

Hrnino naaajit /JoSpbiHfl Ha Konbe peTHBbiMb cepflbneMb T y T b FLO6PBIHK)NIKH H CMETPB n p n i n j i a . VIII

npoBemHTca obicTpa peKa ^LEJIOBENECKHM TOJIOCOM,

J\a. H Ayniofi KpacHoii AeBHueft: cKaacy Te, 6biCTpa peKa, FLO6POH MOJIOAEU,

R npo 6poflbi KOHHHbie, N P 0 MOCTOHKH KaJIHHOBbI, nepeB03bi nacTbie: Co 6pOfly KOHHHOrO iL 6epy no flo6py KOHIO, C nepeB03y nacToro n o ceaeJieHKy nepKeccKOMy, Co MOCTOHKy KaUHHOBa n o yaajioMy Mojio/my, A TeSsi, 6e3BpeM5iHHoro Mojioaua, JI H TaK Te6a nponymy". 7

APPENDIX Oh nepBy CTyneHb cTynHJi Ilo nepeB KOHb yTOHyji, /Ipyry cTyneHb CTynHJi Ilo ce,o;ejieHKo HepiceccKoe, TpeTbio CTyneHb KOHb CTynHJi Yxce rpHBbi He Bii/ieTH. CepeaH 6bijio Ka3aHCKOBa uapcTBa Hto CToajiH 6ejioKaMeHHbi nonaTbi, Oto CHa TyT uapwua npoSyacajiaca, CeMHOHy-ixapio OHa coh paccKa3ana: „A h ra BCTaHb, CeMaeH-uapb, npoSyAHC«! Hto Hanecb MHe, uapnue, Majio cnajioca, B cHOBH^eHbHae MHoro BH^ejioca: KaK ot CHJibHOBa MocKOBCKOBa uapcTBa Ka6bi CH30H opjiHinuia CTpeneHyjica, Ka6bi rpo3Han Tyna noflbiMajiacb, Hto Ha Harne Beztb aapcxBo HanjibiBajia".

157

GENERAL INDEX

abduction, 16, 17, 73, 74, 79, 98, 121 Achilles, 108 adversary, 40, 43, 46, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 69, 72, 81, 82, 98, 99, 109, 125 Afanas'ev, A. N., 9, 10, 18, 43,44, 67 Aksakov, K. S., 16, 17, 18, 20, 51, 57, 59, 60, 104 Alesa Popovic, 15, 16, 37, 38, 40, 47, 52, 53, 56, 57, 58, 63, 65, 66, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75, 82, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89,98,99,112 Alesa Popovic and Tugarin the Dragon, 10, 37, 38, 39, 43, 50, 60, 66, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 81, 98, 105, 106, 128 Alesa Popovic Ivanovic, 56 amorousness, 73, 78, 79, 80, 96, 101, 111, 112, 121 Anikin, V. P., 23 animal myths and tales, 7, 14, 15 animism, 125 anthropocentricity, 56, 60, 81, 96, 103, 106, 107, 111, 115, 120, 121, 123, 124 anthropologists, 8, 9 Apraksevna, 73, 79, 89, 101 Archbishop Turpin, 108 aspectual time, 91, 92, 93, 95 Astaxova, A. M., 44, 48, 54, 99, 100 Axmatovic, Raxmatovic, 101 Axmet, Tartar Khan, 65, 87, 101 Baba Jaga, 15, 30 Bakanis, 82 Balasov, D. M., 125 ballads, 12, 125, 126, 127 Bascom, W. R., 8, 9 Battle of Kal'ka, 53 Batu Khan, 108 Bedouins, 86 Beowulf, 106 Big Idol, 39, 40, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 57, 78, 79, 81, 82, 101, 102

Bloody Fight against Mamaj, The, 10, 40, 41, 49, 50, 52, 65, 66, 79, 80, 81, 82, 93, 101, 102, 103, 105, 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 128 boasting, 49, 76, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 126 bogatyrskaja skazka, 32 Bonc-Bruevic, V. D., 22 Book of Degrees, The, 43, 64, 66, 82 Bowra, C. M., 42, 72, 102 Brjansk, 86 Brymsk, 86 Brynsk, 86 Bunjak, 63 Buslaev, F. I., 18, 43, 53, 59, 67 Busurman, the Tartar, 102 bylina, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128 By liny of the Russian People, 13 Byzantium, 87 Car'grad, 38, 40, 49, 57 Cassirer, Ernst, 90, 91, 96,104 Caucasus, 66 Cernigov, 53, 56, 64, 66, 86, 94 Cernobylski, Kmita, 64 Chadwick, H. M. and Chadwick, N. K., 21, 97, 102 Christian, 86, 99 Christianity, 49, 63

GENERAL INDEX

Christianization, 43, 44, 54, 63, 89 Cicerov, V. I., 13, 23 Cjujka, 100 comparative school, 19 Conquest of the Kingdom of Kazan', 126 Constantinople, 38, 49, 86, 87 crafty lore (xitraja nauka), 32, 33, 35, 67, 93, 120 Crusades, 86 Danilo, Danilo Lovcanin, 26, 112, 118 Danilov, KirSa, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 46, 70, 71 Davletov, K. S., 123, 124 death, 106, 107, 108, 111, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 125, 126 difficult tasks, 75, 76, 89, 98 Dobrynja Nikitic, 16, 36, 37, 38, 40, 45, 46, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59, 65, 70, 71, 76, 77, 82, 83, 86, 89, 97, 98, 99, 118, 119 Dobrynja Nikitic and Gorynyc the Dragon, 10, 35, 37, 39, 43, 45, 52, 60, 63, 66, 69, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 81, 98, 105, 106, 120, 128 Don, 66 donor, 9, 10, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 46, 52, 55, 67, 75, 76, 92, 94, 98, 110, 111, 117, 118, 120, 123, 125 dragon, 16, 17, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 36, 37, 38, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 66, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 79, 80, 89, 98, 99, 100, 101, 121, 122, 124, 125, 127 Dunaj, 112 Eastern Europe, 96 Ekim the Young, Ekim Ivanovic, 56 Elena the Fair, 27, 54, 73, 100 Elena Aleksandrovna Azvjakovna, 59, 68, 127 Eliae Morovlin, 64 Elias von den Russen, 87 Elias von Reuzzen, 87 epic, epos, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 59, 72, 76, 77, 79, 83, 86, 91, 93, 96, 98, 99, 103, 117, 119, 122, 123, 124, 125, 128 epic geography, 57 epic hero, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 35, 40, 41, 42, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 66, 73, 74, 81, 103, 107, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115,116, 117, 118, 119, 122

159

epic poetry, 16, 19, 102, 124 epic song, 8, 11, 13, 16, 30, 89, 120 epic time, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 epic tradition, 11, 33, 53, 58, 63, 67 Evpatij Kolovrat, 107, 108 exogamy, 67, 68, 123 fabliaux, 21, 22 fairy tales, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 49, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 67, 68, 69, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 83, 85, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 103, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128 Fedor, 26 Fedot, 26, 75, 76, 92 fire (characteristics of the dragon), 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 96, 122 fixed epithet, 83 flight (characteristics of the dragon), 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 96, 122 folk epos, 7, 10, 11, 16, 17, 20, 24, 32, 67, 88, 123 folklore, 8, 9, 18, 19, 20, 22, 33 folktales, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 32, 35, 90 formalists, 21 feudal culture, 8; era, 7 Galicia, 66 Gavrilo Dolgopolyj, 112 Gil'ferding, A. F., 11 Gilgamesh, 106 Golden Horde, 49 Gorynyc the Dragon, 27, 36, 37, 43, 45, 46, 49, 51, 55, 57, 58, 70, 74, 78, 79, 82, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 103, 122 Grammatin, N. F., 14, 16, 20 Greece, 36, 63 Harkins, W. E., 14, 112, 117, 125 Hector, 106, 108 hero, 9, 10, 12, 17, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 67, 71, 72, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 87, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 102, 103, 111, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120, 123, 125, 126, 127 heroic by liny, 21, 22, 23

160

GENERAL INDEX

Heroic Poetry, 42 Historical Roots of the Fairy Tale, The, 8, 124 historical school, 15, 20, 21, 61, 87 historical time, 90, 91, 93, 95 historians, 23, 43, 65 Holmgard, 87 horses, 16, 17, 27, 30, 35, 36, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 71, 72, 73, 77, 82, 84, 93, 109, 112, 113, 115, 119, 126 Hostovrul, 107 Iliad, The, 106, 108 Ilias von Riuczen, 87 Il'ja Morovec, 53 Il'ja of Morovsk, 64, 87 Il'ja Morovskij, 64 Il'ja Muravlenin, 64 Il'ja of Murom, 53, 87 Il'ja Muromec, 16, 33, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 47, 49, 52, 53, 55, 59, 60, 64, 66, 70, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 88, 89, 93, 94, 98, 101, 102, 103, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 115, 117, 118 Il'ja Muromec and Solovej the Brigand, 10, 34, 35, 40, 48, 52, 60, 64, 66, 69, 70, 72, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 94, 99, 101, 105, 106, 108, 110, 111, 120, 128 Il'ja Muromec and the Big Idol, 10, 38, 40, 49, 50, 52, 60, 78, 82, 101, 102, 105, 106, 120, 128 Il'ja Muromec Ivanovic, 56 Il'ja Muromskij, 64 Il'jusenka, 55 India, (people and kingdom), 20, 59, 62, 67, 82, 83, 86, 97 Indo-European, 18, 19, 20, 124 Ivan the Bull's Son, 26, 30, 33, 69, 98 Ivan the Cow's Son, 26, 29, 30, 33 Ivan the Fool, 9, 25, 26, 68 Ivan the Fourth, 84 Ivan, the Lord Vasil'evic, 83, 127 Ivan the Merchant's Son, 26, 27 Ivan the Pea, 26, 28, 29, 33 Ivan the Peasant's Son, 26 Ivan the Prince, 9, 15, 16, 17, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 44, 45, 57, 68, 73, 75, 93, 103, 106, 111, 112, 117, 118 Ivan the Soldier's Son, 26, 27, 29, 45 Ivan the Terrible, 127 Izjaslav, 62, 66, 67, 69 Jakimovian

Chronicle, The, 63

Jakobson, Roman, 31, 32, 33, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 69 Jakuts, 123, 124 Jansen, O., 88 Jaroslav the Wise, 96 Journey (the hero's quest), 9, 25, 28, 29, 30, 34, 37, 56, 57, 67, 89, 92, 93, 101, 125 Kaenugard, 87 Kalajdovic, K . F., 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23, 53, 95 Kalin, 49, 65, 66, 79, 88 Kalinin, M. I., 22, 97 Kal'ka, 65, 66, 88, 99 Karacarovo, 56, 64, 86, 94 Karacev, 64, 87 Kiev, 11,37, 38, 40, 41, 49, 51, 55, 56, 57, 58, 62, 66, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 80, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 108, 114, 115, 118, 122 Kievan Rus', 52, 58, 61, 66, 87, 88, 89, 91, 96, 98, 99, 103, 104 king, 10, 54, 55, 56, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 89, 92, 121, 122, 123 King Gertnit, 87 King Semion, 126 Kireevskij P. A., 11 Konstjantin Bogoljubovic, 40, 49 Kudravenko, 49, 80, 94 Kurgan, 49 Kurja, 63 Lassota, Erich, 64 Latyngorka, 118, 119 Lenin, V. I., 22 Levsin, V. A., 14, 16, 20 Lithuania, 86, 87 Lixacev, D. S., 44, 53, 54, 60, 90, 91, 93, 95, 96 Lombardy, 87 Lord Buslaevic, 63 magical agent, 9, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 52, 67, 75, 99, 101, 111, 118, 120, 123, 125 Mej, L. A., 115, 116 Mamaj, 41, 49, 50, 52, 57, 58, 79, 81, 82, 96, 99, 102, 114 Märchen, 7 Marfa Vseslav'evna, 32 Mar'ja, 100 Meletinskij, E. M „ 9, 24, 25, 30

GENERAL INDEX metamorphosis, 44, 45, 49, 58, 120, 125 Metropolitan Ivan, 64 Miller, O. F „ 18, 19, 43, 44, 49, 53, 67, 105, 125 Miller, V. F „ 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 35, 43, 44, 49, 53, 54, 61, 63, 64, 65, 82, 88, 100, 122 miraculous birth, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 40, 42, 55, 58, 62, 67 Moguta, 43, 64, 66, 82, 100 Mongols, 99 Morovsk, 53, 64 Morphology of the Folktale, 25 Moscow, 65, 83 motifs, 7, 11, 12, 21, 23, 33, 68, 107, 113, 116, 123 mountainous habitat (characteristics of the dragon), 44,46, 51, 58, 96, 98, 122 Mstislav the Bold, 66 multi-headedness (characteristics of the dragon), 44, 45, 46 Murom, 53, 56, 57, 58, 64, 86, 88, 94, 95, 100, 108 myths, mythical tales, 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 52, 103, 121, 122, 123, 124 mythical time, 90, 104 mythical school, 14, 18, 19, 65, 67 mythologists, 18, 20, 23, 43, 52, 65, 121, 122, 123 Nastas'ja, 100 national consciousness, 98, 101, 106 nationality, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107, 117, 120 Nenila, 100 Neveja, 48, 100 Nikonian Chronicle, The, 63 nomenclature, epic, 54, 56, 57, 58, 65, 66, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 96, 98, 104, 121, 122, 123, 125, 127 non-military epos, 21, 22 novellas, 11, 12, 21, 22, 117 Novgorod, 43, 44, 54, 63, 66, 87 Odyssey, The, 106 Oleg, 60 Oliver, 108 Oncukov, N . E., 9 Orient, the, 20 Origins of the Heroic Epos, The, 24 Orthodoxy, 63, 99, 101, 102, 117 Ortnit, 87 Orsa, 64

161

pagan, 55, 86 paganism, 43, 44, 49 Paletskia, 87 patriotism, 22, 97 Pel'ka, 48, 100 Perejaslavl', 63, 66 Persia, 20 pesnja, 13, 17 Pocajna, 63, 65, 66, 86 Poem of El Cid, The, 106 Poland, 86, 87 Polovcy, 43, 63, 66, 88 Princess Opraksja, 80 Prince Vladimir, 11, 15, 40, 43, 49, 55, 56, 63, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 96, 98, 101, 102, 118, 122, 123 Propp, V. Ja., 7, 9, 12, 15, 22, 23, 33, 43, 44, 52, 53, 54, 76, 88, 89, 103, 110, 111, 114, 115, 116, 123, 124 Pucaj, 44, 58, 63, 65, 66, 70, 86 Putilov, B. N., 12, 22, 23, 89, 110, 114 Putjata, 63, 65 Raxmatovic, 65, 87 Rezan', 86 Rjazan', 86 Roland, 108 Rostov, 55, 56, 57, 63, 86, 98 Rurik, 98 Rus', 43, 44, 54, 65, 66, 67, 70, 83, 87, 88, 89, 97, 98, 99, 103, 110, 116 Russia, 7, 18, 19, 43, 44, 54, 64, 85, 119 Russian Heroic Epos, 8, 22, 23, 123 Rybnikov, P. N., 11 Ruzciland, 87 Sadovnikov, D . N., 9 Safat, 37, 46, 58, 70 Saltyk Stavrul'evic, 59, 62, 66, 67, 82 Saracens, 86, 87, 108 Saracinsk, 88 saraciny, saraciny, 86 Saraj, 65 Saxarov, I. P., 13 Sepping, D . O., 16, 17, 18, 20, 23 Severjane, 64 Siberia, 123 Skaftymov, A. P., 72, 73 skazka, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 117 skomorosiny, skomoroxi, 119 Smalizk, 87

162

GENERAL INDEX

Smirnov, A. M., 10 Smolensk, 87 Smorodina, 30, 47, 48, 59, 70, 86 Sokolov, Y. M„ 125 Solovej the Brigand, 40, 41, 42, 43, 47, 48, 49, 51, 58, 65, 66, 70, 76, 77, 79, 82, 93, 94, 95, 96, 99, 100, 101, 109 Song of Igor's Campaign, 13 Song of Roland, The, 106, 108 songs, 15, 17, 18, 20, 67, 69; historical, 125, 126, 127 Songs of the Russian Nation, 13 Sorocinsk, 74, 86 sound imagery, 44, 46, 47, 50, 52, 77, 96, 99, 100 Speranskij, M. N., 21 starina, 13 Stasov, V. V., 19, 20, 23, 124 stat'ja, 13 stixotvorenie, 13 suicide, 113, 114, 118, 119 supernatural, the, 9, 10, 16, 20, 51, 52, 60, 106, 108, 112, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 123, 128 Suxman, 112 Suzdal', 113, 114 Svjatogor, 110, 111, 112 Svjatopolk, 63, 66 Sweden, 86, 87 Szeftel, M., 31, 32, 33, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 69 taboo, 111, 112 Tale of the Destruction of Rjazari, 107, 108 tales of everyday life, 14 Tartars, 20, 44, 55, 65, 66, 82, 86,99, 100, 101, 102, 107, 108, 112, 114, 115, 116 Tartar Khanate of Kazan', 127 Tatiscev, V. N., 63 Tidrek, 87 toponomy, epic, 54, 56, 57, 58, 65, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 96, 97, 104, 121, 122, 123, 124, 127

totemic age, 7; rites, 8; beliefs, 33 Trojans, 106 Tronskij, I. M., 121 Tugarin the Dragon, 38, 40, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 57, 58, 63, 65, 66, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, 79, 82, 87, 96, 98, 99, 101 Tugorkan, 43, 54, 63, 65, 87 Turkey, 62 Turk, 49 Urals, 14 Uxov, P. D., 13 Valldamar, 87 Vasilij III, 127 Vasilij the Handsome, 51, 58 Vasilisa Golden Locks, 25, 29, 54 Vjatici, 64 Vladimir Monomax, 63, 66, 89, 96 Vladimir Polixron, 53 Vladimir Svjatoslavic, 53, 87, 89 Vol'ga, 62 Volodar, 63 Volx Vseslav'evic, 10, 31, 32, 33, 35, 40, 58, 59, 60, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69, 81, 82, 83, 84, 88, 97, 102, 103, 105, 119, 120, 126, 127, 128 Vseslav, 60, 88; of Polock, 62, 66, 67 waters of life and death, 106, 107, 109, 111, 112, 123 watery habitat (characteristics of the dragon), 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 58, 96, 98, 122 Western Europe, 86 Wundt, W„ 7, 8, 9, 83, 103 Xudjakov, I. A., 9 Zabava Putjaticna, 63, 65, 74, 78, 79, 98 Zion, 86 Zirmunskij, V. M„ 7, 8, 122