Message about legends in literature. Fairy tale prose

What is "Tradition"? What is the correct spelling of this word. Concept and interpretation.

Tradition Tradition (Ukrainian - confirmation, German - Sage, French and English - tradition, Greek - paradosis, according to folk terminology - “dosyulschina”, “true”, “bylshchina”) - “folk legend”, more precisely those stories and memoirs that are not included in the circle of genres that are clearly isolated: epics, historical songs, spiritual poems, fairy tales, legends and anecdotes. P. is a term applied to works of oral creativity and, by analogy, transferred to the corresponding works of literature (monuments of ancient writing, setting out little reliable events). The goal of folk P. is to consolidate the past in the offspring, therefore, in the appropriate environment, they usually treat it with a certain trust (unlike, for example, a fairy tale and an anecdote, which they do not believe). The number of folk P. is unlimited, but according to their content they can be divided into several groups: 1. P. mythical (see "Mythology"). This, in addition to stories about the gods, are stories about the sky and its phenomena, about the soul and body, about the struggle of spirits, about evil spirits, about the souls of the dead, about popular saints like Frol and Lavr, Friday, etc. 2. P. naturalistic: etiological tales about the origin of plants, animals, birds, fish, objects or their properties, about fantastic animals (Phoenix bird, Firebird, Leviathan), about wonderful peoples (one-eyed, dog-headed, gogs and magogs), etc. 3. P. historical, especially numerous. These include geographic records (about the names of localities, cities, tracts: Kiev from Kiy, Paris from Paris, etc.), about material monuments (treasures, monasteries, burial grounds, temples, etc.), about customs ( initiation rites among primitive peoples, marriage, funeral rites, etc.), about truly historical events (about the Tatars, about wars), about various historical figures (about Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Attila, Belisarius, Columbus, Joan of Arc), about the genealogy of nationalities or heroes (the Franks from the Trojans, the Danes from Odin, Rurik from Augustus, etc.), and about minerals (for example, Herodotus about the wealth of the north in gold and amber off the coast of the North Sea). The class struggle seized historical legends into its whirlpool, making them either a weapon for enslaving and deceiving the oppressed classes (feudal legends about the Monomakh's hat, about the white hood, about the nobility of kings), or a focus of attraction for the sympathies, aspirations of liberation and a bright future among the classes of the oppressed (for example, peasant narratives about Stepan Razin, about Pugachev, and other heroes of popular uprisings). The October Revolution gave rise to a number of revolutionary legends about the heroism of the civil war, about the Red partisans, about the leaders of the revolution, about communists (Baku commissars, Chapaev, Dzerzhinsky, etc.). ), in a class-hostile environment, counter-revolutionary propaganda also spread (about the birth of the devil, Antichrist, updated icons, etc.). A large circle of P., which widely captured not only the USSR, but also the peoples of the East, was caused by the heroic personality of V. I. Lenin. Folk P., reflecting the features of production, everyday, social and class relations at different stages of the past, represent the richest historical source. Folk P. are kept in the general population, but there are special connoisseurs of them, people who sometimes have an enormous memory. The very narration of folk P. is not an end in itself, but takes place at a suitable occasion at gatherings, gatherings, etc. The existence of folk P. occurs in waves: either it freezes, then, under the influence of a socio-political impetus, it comes to life again. There are P., wandering all over the globe (about the flood, etc.), there are narrowly local P. The creative process of creating P. is ongoing to this day. Our ancient historical monuments (chronographs, chronographs, palaea, etc.) and literary monuments (apocrypha, legends, stories, novels) are saturated. P. serves as a rich source of plots and images of world fiction (for example, Dante's Divine Comedy, Bocaccio's Decameron, Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Goethe's Faust, Mickiewicz's Pan Tadeusz, Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka Gogol and many others). Bibliography: I. The texts of Russian P. are scattered among collections of fairy tales and legends, for example: D. N. Sadovnikov, Tales and Traditions of the Samara Territory, St. Petersburg, 1884; Afanasiev A.N., Folk Russian legends, M., 1859, and Kazan, 1914; Shein P.V., Materials for the study of the life and language of the Russian population of the North-West. edge, vol. II, St. Petersburg, 1893; Dobrovolsky V. N., Smolensk ethnographic collection, part 1, St. Petersburg, 1891. A large amount of texts and research on the folklore of the peoples of the USSR is in folklore magazines and collections: Living Antiquity, Siberian Living Antiquity, Ethnographic Review , "Ethnographic Bulletin", "Materials for the description of localities and tribes of the Caucasus", "Ethnographic collection", "Izvestiya Mosk. Society of Lovers of Natural Science, Anthropology and Ethnography” and others.II. Folk P. were collected and studied unevenly. Starting editions: Grimm, Br., Deutsche Sagen, 2 Teile, Berlin, 1816-1818, 4 Aufl., 1906; Danhardt O., Natursagen, eine Sammlung naturdeutender Sagen, Marchen, Fabeln und Legenden, Lpz., I-IV, 1907-1912; Wehrhan K., Die Sage, Lpz., 1908; Paul H. Grundriss der germ. Philologie, Bd II, 2 Aufl., Strasburg, 1901-1905. See also "Mythology". III. There is no bibliography of Russian P.. They should be searched for in general bibliographies of folklore, for example: Brodsky H., Gusev H., Sidorov H., Russian oral literature, L., 1924.

Tradition- TRADITION, Qia, cf. Passing from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation, a story about the past, a legend. Naro ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Tradition- in folk poetry, a narrative containing information about real persons and events ...

Tradition- a genre of folklore non-fairytale prose that develops historical themes in its folk interpretation.

Tradition is a story about the past, sometimes very distant. The very word "tradition" means "to transmit, to preserve." Tradition depicts reality in everyday forms, although fiction is necessarily used, and sometimes even fantasy. The main purpose of legends is to preserve the memory of national history. Traditions began to be recorded before many folklore genres, as they were an important source for chroniclers. In a large number of legends exist in the oral tradition and in our days.

Traditions are characterized by references to old people, ancestors. The events of the legends are concentrated around historical figures, who, regardless of their social position (be it the king or the leader of the peasant uprising), most often appear in an ideal light.

Any legend is historical in its essence, because the impetus for its creation is always a true fact: a war with foreign invaders, a peasant revolt, large-scale construction, a crowning of the kingdom, and so on. However, tradition is not identical with reality. As a folklore genre, it has the right to fiction, offers its own interpretation of history. Plot fiction arises on the basis of a historical fact (for example, after the hero of a legend stays at a given point). Fiction does not contradict historical truth, but, on the contrary, contributes to its revelation.

Difference from other genres

Unlike legends, which are focused on explaining the origin of natural and cultural phenomena and their moral assessment, the plots of legends are associated with history, historical figures, and local toponymy. They differ from other genres of folklore non-fairytale prose - legends and tales - in a number of ways: the content of legends - historical events and deeds of historical characters, characters - historical or "quasi-historical" personalities (kings, rulers, robbers), mytho-epic characters (giants, mythologized natives of the region, first settlers, militant opponents). Traditions are characterized by a third-person narrative (the action is related to the past, the narrator is not an eyewitness to the events). Collective memory captures historical facts not only within the framework of local toponymic legends, but connects information about specific events with ideas about the creation of the world, introduces both into a single historical and mythological narrative covering events from biblical antiquity to the present. In stories about historical figures and events, the same mechanisms of mythologization operate as in folklore legends, one way or another connected with canonical and apocryphal texts.

Creation of lore

There are two main ways of creating legends: 1) generalization of memories; 2) generalization of memories and their design using ready-made plot schemes. The second way is characteristic of many legends. Common motifs and plots pass from century to century (sometimes as myths or legends), being associated with different events and persons. There are recurring toponymic stories (for example, about failed churches, cities). Typically, such plots color the narrative in fabulously legendary tones, but they are able to convey something important for their era.

Tradition tells about the universally significant, important for everyone. This affects the selection of material: the theme of tradition is always of national significance or important for the inhabitants of a given area. The nature of the conflict - national or social. Accordingly, the characters are representatives of the state, nation, specific classes or estates.

Traditions have developed special techniques for depicting the historical past. Attention to the details of a big event is shown. The general, the typical is depicted through the particular, the specific. Traditions are characterized by localization - geographical confinement to a village, lake, mountain, house, etc. The reliability of the plot is supported by a variety of material evidence - the so-called "traces" of the hero (a church was built by him, a road was laid, a thing was donated)

Ways to depict heroes

Legends have their own ways of depicting heroes. Usually the character is only named, and in the episode of the legend some one of his traits is shown. At the beginning or at the end of the narrative, direct characteristics and assessments are allowed, which are necessary for the image to be correctly understood. They act not as a personal opinion, but as a general opinion (about Peter I: Here it is the tsar - so the tsar did not eat bread for free; he worked better than a barge hauler; about Ivan Susanin: ... after all, he did not save the tsar, but Russia`!) .

The portrait (appearance) of the hero was rarely portrayed. If the portrait appeared, it was laconic (for example: robbers - strong men, handsome men, stately fellows in red shirts). A portrait detail (for example, a costume) could be connected with the development of the plot: an unrecognized tsar walks around dressed in a simple dress; the robber comes to the feast in the uniform of a general.

Varieties of legends

Scientists distinguish different genre varieties of legends. Among them are historical, toponymic, ethnogenetic legends, about the settlement and development of the region, about treasures, etiological, cultural - and many others. We have to admit that all known classifications are conditional, since it is impossible to offer a universal criterion. Traditions are often divided into two groups: historical and toponymic. However, all legends are historical (already in terms of their genre essence); therefore, any toponymic tradition is also historical.

On the basis of the influence of the form or content of other genres, groups of transitional, peripheral works stand out among the legends. Legendary stories are stories with a miracle motif, in which historical events are comprehended from a religious point of view. Another phenomenon is fairy-tale plots dedicated to historical figures (see the story about Peter I and the blacksmith - the famous storyteller F.P. Gospodarev in the Reader).

The main cycles of legends

The following main cycles can be distinguished in the repertoire of Russian legends: ancient legends, legends about the "just king", legends about the leaders of popular movements, legends about robbers and treasures.

Ancient legends

The most ancient legends appeared at a time when the supernatural characters of tribal myths were replaced by ordinary people (A. N. Afanasiev called this process "bringing the gods down from heaven to earth"). Traditions tell about the settlement of the Slavic tribes and about their ancestors, whose names were associated with the name of the tribes themselves: Czech, Lech, Rus, Radim, Vyatka. In the legends about the first Russian princes, their closeness to the people is recorded (carriers Kiy, Olga; son of a prince and a slave Vladimir I). It tells about the important events of their lives, about the death of the princes (the death of Oleg from his beloved horse; the murder of Igor by the Drevlyans and the revenge of his wife Olga). It is reported about the construction and strengthening of the first Russian cities (Kyiv, Pereyaslavl and others); about the defense of these cities and the military tricks of the besieged inhabitants (for example, the legend "About Belgorod Kissel" - see the Reader).

A large number of legends are devoted to the struggle of Ancient Rus' with external enemies, as well as internecine wars. The exploits of individuals who did not submit to enemies - men, women and even children - are glorified. This is the feat of a Kyiv youth who lived in the 10th century, who made his way through the Pecheneg camp to the Russian army for help; duel of a young strong man Kozhemyaki with a huge Pechenezhin; the feat of the Ryazans in the 13th century: Evpaty Kolovrat and Princess Evpraksia - and others.

Legends of the just king

Traditions about the just king are associated with the names of Ivan IV (the Terrible) and Peter I.

The legends about Ivan the Terrible reflected the struggle of the tsar with the feudal elite, the boyars. A number of legends are associated with the Kazan campaign (including a fantastic story about the punishment of the Volga). Ivan the Terrible becomes the godfather of the peasant who sheltered him, and there is even a legend about the election of Ivan the Terrible to the king from among the peasants (see the Reader). A special group is the legends of the Novgorodians about the defeat of Novgorod in 1571. They express a sharply negative attitude towards the tsar and the oprichnina (about Martha Posadnitsa; about the drowning of the Novgorodians in the Volkhov; about the miracle that made Ivan the Terrible repent: the murdered Metropolitan Kornily took his severed head in his hands and followed the tsar's heels; about the origin of the Valdai bells from a broken veche bell; about the holy fool Mikolka, who denounced the tsar at his entrance to Pskov: "Ivashka, Ivashka, eat bread and salt, not human blood!").

The legends about Peter I were formed later, so the image of the king in them is more specific. A group of plots preserves the memory of historical facts: the Russian-Swedish war, the construction of the Ladoga Canal (ditch), the construction of shipyards. The most numerous group of legends is about the relationship of Peter I with representatives of various social groups and professions. The tsar eats murzovka (bread in kvass) from a poor peasant woman; appreciates the useful advice of a soldier; baptizes soldiers' children; makes the boyars work in the forge; Pskov monks orders to build defensive fortifications - and so on. Known legends on the theme "Peter I-master". The tsar studied abroad to cast cannons and build ships; worked incognito in factories and shipyards. He took over the craft from Russian artisans. At the same time, Peter I was never able to weave bast shoes.

Many toponymic legends are connected with the images of Ivan the Terrible and Peter I; fairy tales are attached to these characters ("Geese from Rus'", "The Careless Monastery", "The Gorshenya", "The Terrible and the Thief", "Peter I and the Soldier").

Legends about the leaders of popular movements

The legends about the leaders of popular movements supplemented the people's utopian dream of a just king.

In folklore, the earliest historical image of the people's leader is the ataman of the Siberian Cossacks Ermak Timofeevich, who defeated the Siberian Khan Kuchum. The cycle of legends about Yermak took shape simultaneously with the cycle about Ivan the Terrible (at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 18th centuries). The image of Yermak absorbed the epic features of epic heroes and is colored by folk ideas about the "noble robber". The main group of stories about Yermak is connected with his Siberian campaign (who was Yermak; the purpose of the campaign; with whom Yermak went; Yermak's victory; Yermak's death).

Legends about robbers and treasures

Traditions about robbers and treasures were told everywhere in Russia, since places associated with robbers and places where they supposedly buried treasures were known everywhere. The typological image of the "noble robber" (the hero robs the rich and stands up for the poor) appeared in numerous local variations (Churkin, Roshchin, Soroka). At the same time, general plots were used that recreated the typical bio-"graph" of the robber. It necessarily explained what exactly prompted the hero to become a robber; a purely Russian picture of river robberies, robbery prowess and dexterity was depicted. The tragic end of the robber's fate is obligatory.

There are widespread legends about the robber Kudeyar, which reflected the genetic connection of plots about treasures with mythology. The ancient layer of the image of Kudeyar goes back to a mysterious and powerful creature, the owner of the earth's bowels and the values ​​\u200b\u200bhidden in them. The very word "Kudeyar" means a violent rebel, a wizard close to the dark forces ("kud" - an evil spirit, "yar" - ardor, riot). Hence the late meaning of the image - "robber" appeared.

Zueva T.V., Kirdan B.P. Russian folklore - M., 2002

Completed by a student of grade 9B MBOU "Secondary School No. 23" STRUK ROMAN Head: Pichugina N.V., teacher of Russian language and literature MBOU "Secondary School No. 23" 2012 Historical legend as a genre of folklore in the folk art of the Arkhangelsk North

Goals and objectives of the work The goal is to explore the historical legend as a genre of folklore in the literary tradition of the Arkhangelsk North; Tasks: Find out the distinctive features of the legend from other genres of folklore; To study the species groups of the legends of the Arkhangelsk region; Consider the role of legends in the oral folk art of the Arkhangelsk North

Researchers - folklorists of the Arkhangelsk North

Features of the legend genre 1. Preserve the memory of events and figures of national history; 2. Traditions are of great cognitive importance; 3. Perform informative, ideological functions; 4. Possess aesthetic significance; 5. Tradition uses special figurative and expressive means. TRADITION - EPIC, NARRATORY, STORY

Types of legends of the Arkhangelsk North Legends about the mythological people - CHUD; Legends about the foundation of the "small motherland"; Legends about northern heroes; Legends about the origin of the Arkhangelsk villages; Traditions related to historical events; Legends about robbers; Legends about schismatics; Legends about statesmen

These legends tell about the settlement, the foundation of the Arkhangelsk region

Chud in northern legends The mythological chud in the early northern legends is depicted either red-skinned or white-eyed. In later legends, Chud appears as ordinary people.

The favorite hero of the legends of the Arkhangelsk North is the bogatyr Ivan Lobanov, originally from the Vologda region Legends about the northern bogatyrs Bogatyr Ivan Lobanov

Legends about the defense of the Arkhangelsk North Historical Arkhangelsk In the legends of the Arkhangelsk North, there are stories about the attack of the Swedes on the northern borders, episodes of the Crimean War, unsuccessful approaches of the English landing to the Pomeranian villages

Foma the governor is a good-natured robber who helps the poor, the weak, the destitute The robbers in the Arkhangelsk legends Narrator of the northern legends Foma the governor

Traditions about schismatics The historical prototype of the legends about schismatics in the church was Archpriest Avvakum, the greatest writer and leader of Ancient Rus'.

Legends about statesmen The image of Peter the Great is the central image of legends about historical figures

Tradition as a genre of folklore occupies an important place in the system of oral folk art in the Arkhangelsk North; The themes of legends are varied; each legend is interesting, instructive, informative in its own way; Tradition has educational value, helps to travel back to the past Conclusion

The main purpose of legends is to preserve the memory of national history. Traditions began to be recorded before many folklore genres, as they were an important source for chroniclers. In a large number of legends exist in the oral tradition and in our days.

Genre varieties of legends

Scientists identify different genre varieties of legends . Among them are legends
historical,
toponymic,
ethnogenetic,
about the settlement and development of the region,
about treasures
etiological,
cultural
- and many others. All known classifications are conditional, since it is impossible to offer a universal criterion.

Traditions are often divided into two groups:

historical and toponymic.

However, all legends are historical (already in terms of their genre essence); therefore, any toponymic tradition is also historical.

By on the basis of the influence of the form or content of other genres groups stand out among the legends
transitional, peripheral works.

Legendary lore- these are legends with the motive of a miracle, in which historical events are comprehended from a religious point of view.

Another phenomenon is fairy tales dedicated to historical figures.

Features of legends

In the legends there are ways to portray heroes . Usually the character is only named, and in the episode of the legend some one of his traits is shown. At the beginning or at the end of the narrative, direct characteristics and assessments are allowed, which are necessary for the image to be correctly understood. They act not as a personal opinion, but as a general opinion (about Peter I: Here it is the tsar - so the tsar did not eat bread for free; he worked better than a barge hauler; about Ivan Susanin: ... after all, he did not save the tsar, but Russia`!) .

Portrait (appearance) of the hero was rarely portrayed. If the portrait appeared, it was laconic (for example: robbers - strong men, handsome men, stately fellows in red shirts). portrait detail (for example, a costume) could be related to the development of the plot: an unrecognized king walks disguised in a simple dress; the robber comes to the feast in the uniform of a general.

Lore Collectors

Legends and traditions, born in the depths of Russian folk life, have long been considered a separate literary genre. In this regard, the well-known ethnographers and folklorists A. N. Afanasyev (1826–1871) and V. I. Dahl (1801–1872) are most often named. The pioneer of collecting ancient oral stories about secrets, treasures and miracles and the like can be considered M. N. Makarova (1789–1847).

Some narratives are divided into the oldest - pagan (this includes legends: about mermaids, goblin, water, Yaril and other gods of the Russian pantheon). Others belong to the times of Christianity, they explore the folk life more deeply, but even those are still mixed with the pagan worldview.

Makarov wrote: “Tales about the failures of churches, cities, etc. belong to something immemorial in our earthly upheavals; but the legends about gorodets and gorodishches, is it not a pointer to the wanderings of the Russians on the Russian land. And did they belong only to the Slavs?” He came from an old noble family, owned estates in the Ryazan district. A graduate of Moscow University, Makarov wrote comedies for some time, and was engaged in publishing activities. These experiments, however, did not bring him success. He found his true calling at the end of the 1820s, when, being an official for special assignments under the Ryazan governor, he began to write down folk legends and traditions. In his numerous business trips and wanderings around the central provinces of Russia, “Russian Traditions” were formed.

In the same years, another "pioneer" I. P. Sakharov (1807-1863), then still a seminarian, doing research for Tula history, discovered the charm of "recognizing the Russian people." He recalled: "Walking through the villages and villages, I peered into all classes, listened to the wonderful Russian speech, collecting the traditions of a long forgotten antiquity." The type of activity of Sakharov was also determined. In 1830-1835 he visited many provinces of Russia, where he was engaged in folklore research. The result of his research was the long-term work "Tales of the Russian people."

Exceptional for its time (a quarter of a century long) "going to the people" in order to study their work, life, was made by a folklorist

Genre definition. Folklorists have not yet given a sufficiently satisfactory and substantiated definition of tradition. Quite often in the scientific literature, traditions and legends are mixed, although these are different genres. This is explained by their proximity, as well as the presence of transitional forms, some of which are closer to legends, while others are closer to legends.

lore people call bylyas "bylytsins". They are characterized

historical theme. Tradition preserves the memory of events and figures of national history. This type of oral folk art is of great cognitive importance, since the legends tell about the distant historical past, about a time from which, as a rule, no other evidence has been preserved. What is said in the legends is usually perceived by both the narrator and the listeners as really happening.

A number of features give the legends a realistic character: historical material, which sometimes has a local coloring, an accurate indication of the time and place of events, everyday details, often a reference to the traditional nature of the narrative (old people tell, they say), an insignificant role in the plots of fantastic elements. Traditions not only tell about the events and actions of historical persons, but also explain their causes. This increases the educational value of the stories.

Traditions are close to historical songs, but have a prosaic
skuyu_forma, not poetic. Traditions are different from fairy tales
by the fact that they tell about real facts,
although sometimes interpreted with a certain amount of fiction, they also differ in free form; legends do not have stable beginnings and endings, certain plot developments. Tradition differs from the everyday oral story in that it talks about the distant past, and not about the near one, and also in that the narrator never acts as a participant or witness to events.

Traditions - epic i.e. narrative genre. But the plot in them usually does not unfold into a complex chain of events, as in a fairy tale, but is based on one episode, bright and unusual. Unusual is the subject of narration in a fairy tale too, but there it is the result of fiction, while in legend it is about the unusual in life, which gives the story an amazing, amazing character.

Tradition, although it has a “free form”, in which there is no specific model for constructing a work, is not devoid of an internal structure, principles of the ideological and artistic organization of a work: fastening all narrative material with one plot episode, one main character, the creation of whose image is subject to both the plot and expressive means .

In pre-revolutionary Russian folklore, and sometimes even now, not all scholars recognized legends as a folklore genre and often considered them as a kind of oral everyday word. However, legends not only perform an informative and ideological function, but also have an aesthetic one, which is manifested in the unusual plot situation, the idealization of a positive hero, and the use of special expressive and pictorial means. Traditions exist in the mouths of many people, while the oral story-remembrance is transmitted by one person. Traditions exist in many versions, which is an important feature of folklore. They relate to and interact with other folklore prose genres, as well as with historical songs. Finally, they have their own history. They, like some other genres of oral art, are characterized by cyclization, i.e., the unification of groups of works around historical characters or similar plot situations. The cycle more fully reveals the image of the hero than a separate legend. The works included in it are close in themes, according to the assessment of events and characters.

Collecting and studying legends. The collection of Russian folk traditions was not carried out systematically. The most ancient legends are recorded in retellings in Russian chronicles. Records of legends were also made by some Western European travelers; Olearius, Fletcher, Collins.

Magazines of the 18th century From time to time, so-called historical "jokes" were published - stories about amazing events in the life of famous people, mainly kings and generals. These stories were often of a loyal nature. Such works appeared in separate books. A large number of them came out at the beginning of the 19th century. The collection Anecdotes and Deeds of Glorious Men (1808, 1809, etc.) went through several editions. Peter I was especially popular. A book of jokes about him was published many times. Anecdotes related to the Patriotic War of 1812 were published, for example, the book by F. M. Sidelnikov “Anecdotes of the most noteworthy incidents that occurred during the current war with the French” (1813). In this kind of publications, legends were placed, composed mainly in the soldier's environment.

The first consolidated (and, in fact, the only one so far) collection of legends was the book by M. N. Makarov "Russian Traditions" in three parts, published in St. Petersburg in 1838-1840.

It contains a variety of material, but nevertheless there are folk traditions.

In the XIX - early XX century. Traditions were published mainly in journals that paid attention to Russian history: Historical Bulletin, Russian Archive, Beseda, as well as in regional collections. Publications were placed by E. V. Barsov, N. Ya. Aristov and others. Traditions were also included in collections of fairy tales. So, the book of D. N. Sadovnikov is called "Tales and Traditions of the Samara Territory" (1884). Traditions were published in the ethnographic journals "Ethnographic Review", "Live Antiquity", "Siberian Living Antiquity", etc.

Russian folklorists began to collect traditions more systematically after the October Revolution. Information about their publication is given in the well-known bibliographic index of M. Ya. Melts "Russian Folklore".

The study of Russian historical legends in the XIX century. for the most part it was a commentary on the published “texts. In fact, the study has received almost no development.

The most valuable are the article by N. I. Kostomarov “Traditions of the original Russian chronicle” (1905), the book by I. P. Khrushchev “On ancient Russian historical stories and legends of the XI-XII centuries” (1878), the article by N. Ya. Aristov “Traditions about historical persons and events” (1880), article by A. Zachinyaev “On the epic legends of the Oryol, Kursk and Voronezh provinces”.

In these works, an attempt was made to distinguish legends from other prose genres of folklore, to determine the main plots and composition of the most popular characters, and to establish the role of legends as a historical source.

The study of legends developed much more widely in Soviet times.

K. V. Chistov developed the question of classifying the genres of non-fairy-tale folk prose and their plot composition. S. N. Azbelev tried to distinguish between these genres in their relation to reality, V. K. Sokolova studied the typology of legends.

Peculiar Ural legends were studied by V.P. Kruglyashova and A.I. Lazarev.

The fundamental work is the book by V. K. Sokolova "Russian Historical Traditions" (1970). The study by V. K. Sokolova is the first work in which the plots, the cognitive, ideological and artistic value of legends are considered in detail, and what has been done in their study is summarized. The book reveals the relationship of legends to other genres, the coverage of reality in works of this type. The researcher turns to the historical and comparative comparison of Russian legends with the traditions of other Slavic peoples and establishes important features of their relationship. VK Sokolova gave a classification of types of legends, showed the use of traditional material of legends and its adaptation to new social conditions. Unfortunately, the book does not cover the legends about Russian generals (Suvorov, Kutuzov, Platov, Skobelev).

Types of legends. Russian yards_knowledge is heterogeneous. But attempts to give their reasonable classification were not always successful. The simplest classification was thematic, which, for example, is followed by S. N. Azbelea: “Traditions and legends, as a rule, are distinguished by subject - historical, toponymic, religious, demonological, household and etc." V.E. Gusev divides historical legends into actually historical or legends about events, and “heroic, or legends about persons”. V. K. Sokolova rightly criticizes such a classification, since legends about events and persons are difficult to distinguish: legends about events and legends about persons can be historical, and legends about events and persons can also be heroic.

VK Sokolova identifies two types of legends: historical and legendary. Explaining further that she refers to them historical legends of religious content and social utopian legends, i.e., she mixes two genres - legends and legends.

As for the legends themselves, we can accept the classification given by V. K. Sokolova, which divides them into two types: historical and toponymic legends. The former include stories about historical events and people related to them, as well as about people who participated in the events or met with historical figures. The second includes stories about the emergence of settlements (cities and villages) and their names, about places associated with major events.

Historicism of legends and their historical development. The historicism of legends lies primarily in the fact that they have a historical basis. In the annals and folk tradition, legends play the role of a reliable historical source, they are referred to as true evidence of the past of their native country.

The historicism of legends also lies in the fact that over time there are changes in the life content and form of works. Their themes, plots, motifs, characters, the nature of the depiction of events and persons are constantly updated. The general evolution of folk art, the change in folk views introduce new elements into the structural and artistic features of legends.

Russian folk legends in their historical development have identified several cycles that are associated with certain historical periods and tell about important events and persons of that time.

Ancient legends. The most ancient Russian folk traditions have not come down to us in exact records. The early Russian chronicles include many stories, the basis of which can be considered oral traditions. Chroniclers sometimes refer to the fact that they use the stories of old people, to what the people say. Moreover, they give variants of oral stories and their own refutation of the information contained in them. For example, the chronicler cites a legend in which Kyi is spoken of as a prince, but here he also mentions that “inii, not knowingly” call him a carrier: if Kyi had beaten a carrier, he would not have gone to Constantinople, where he was received by the king with great honors.

There are three types of texts in the annals that there is reason to consider coming from folk traditions: these are either brief records of important and amazing cases (related to the most ancient times), or retellings of oral traditions, or more common narratives, to a certain extent plot-organized and including itself a significant dialogic text. They, as a rule, are devoid of religious Christian overtones, and sometimes contain some pagan elements. This kind of chronicle records are distinguished by significant realism: the simplicity of the narration, the presentation of the plot course of the action, the characterization of the characters in their actions. Already the most ancient forms of legends contain; the main elements that form this type of work.

Early legends captured many important testimonies about the past of the Russian people. First of all, these are stories about the ancient Slavic tribes, about their ancestors. So, according to legend, Radim and Vyatko came from the "Lash countries"; the first with his kind settled on the Sozh, and the second on the Oka. Radimichi and Vyatichi came from them. Stories about the neighbors of the Slavs have also been preserved in the annals: about the giants who were punished by God for cruelty and violence against other peoples - they disappeared from the face of the earth, which is why the proverb “died like aubry” went. A story is also recorded about how the clearing was freed from the Khazar yoke; the khan demanded tribute from the meadows, they gave the Khazars "from the smoke on the sword." The Khazars were afraid of this tribute and left. On this occasion, N. I. Kostomarov remarks: “Of course, there is not a drop of historical truth here. The clearing could not give a sword from the smoke, while swords were rare and precious ... ". The scientist believes that "the song served as the basis for this story", this "shows the tone of the story and the poetic smoothness of expression."

Ancient legends tell about the first Russian princes; about Oleg’s campaign against Constantinople, about his death from a snake bite that crawled out of the skull of his beloved horse (the plot was processed by A. S. Pushkin in “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg”), about revenge on Olga’s Drevlyans for the death of Igor, about the courtship of Prince Vladimir to Rogneda .

Many stories are devoted to the struggle of Russian tribes with southern nomads. Particularly stand out are the stories about a young man from Kiev, Kozhemyak, who won Pechenezhin in single combat, about whom it is said: “He is great and terrible.” The legend about Kozhemyak can be compared with epic motives: here the young hero, the youngest among the brothers, shows incredible strength; he is a man of ordinary height, and his enemy is a giant, reminiscent of the filthy Idolishche; Kozhemyaka strikes Pechenezhin on the ground, like an enemy hero at the end of a duel.

The legend about the struggle against the Mongol-Tatars, especially about the Battle of Kulikovo, should also be attributed to the narratives about the battles. True, there are almost no legends about it, but studies have shown that the well-known work of ancient writing “The Tale of the Battle of Mamaev” is based on oral tradition. A special type of works should be singled out - heroic tales, which are an intermediate phenomenon between a historical song and a legend. S. N. Azbelev believes that the heroic tale tells directly about specific historical facts, thus drawing closer to historical legend and historical song. The legend is characterized by concrete historicism, in contrast to the conventional historicism of the epic.

Traditions of the 11th-17th centuries. In the legends of the XVII-XUP centuries. three cycles of works stand out: about Ivan the Terrible, about Yermak and about Stepan Razin. Each of them is original in its own way.

Among the legends about Grozny, the stories about the Kazan campaign and about the mounds heaped on the orders of the tsar in order to count the army (each warrior brought a cap of earth) are especially popular. children. The tsar brutally cracks down on the boyars and governors who rob the people. He executes the governor for taking a bribe - a goose stuffed with gold. \ The sympathy of the people for Grozny became the basis of the plot about his election to the kingdom (king of men) .

Foreign travelers who visited Rus' wrote down several characteristic stories about Grozny, reminiscent of anecdotes. Gil Fletcher, English ambassador to the court of Tsar Fedor. Ioannovich, was in Moscow at the end of the 16th century. In 1591, in London, he published the book On the Russian State, in which he told a story about Ivan the Terrible's cunning: the tsar ordered each of the governors to collect a cap of fleas, otherwise they would pay a fine for disobeying the tsar's order. But since the governor's order could not be carried out, the king imposed a heavy fine on them. The legends tell how Grozny, unrecognized, stuck to a gang of thieves and began to persuade them to rob the royal treasury. But the thieves did not agree: they do not rob the treasury. The king rewarded the thieves. In another legend, a poor peasant, having nothing else, presented the king with a pair of bast shoes and turnips as a gift; Grozny ordered the boyars to buy turnips from this peasant. And then one of the boyars decided to get a greater privilege from the tsar and presented him with an expensive gift, but the tsar gave him a turnip.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. two important social cycles of legends are formed - about Yermak and Stepan Razin. This was the result of the influence of large peasant movements on folk art. The legends of these cycles represent a new phenomenon in works of this type, namely: the masses of the people were no longer satisfied with the dream of a just king, but began to dream of a hero who would lead the "free people", of the leader of the people. In many areas of Russia, legends about Yermak developed, attaching his origin or his actions to a certain area; Don, Ural, Volga. And Ermak acted either as a Don Cossack, or as a barge hauler from the Volga, or as a robber from the Kama. The main plot is a trip to Siberia. He is motivated, as in historical songs, by the fact that Yermak invites his comrades to earn the forgiveness of the king. Traditions are dedicated to both Yermak's victories in Siberia and his death.

Stories about Stepan Razin began to take shape during his lifetime. They reflected the growth of peasant unrest. Large detachments of "free people" gathered on the Don and especially on the Volga. Stepan Razin became their leader. In the legends, this is the image of the national leader. The motifs of the legends are very close to the motifs of historical songs about him. The main plots, as in the songs, are the capture of Astrakhan, the massacre of the governor, the campaign in Persia. The image of Razin is revealed in relation to the "freemen". People from all over the Russian land go to Razin: runaway peasants, the poor; he takes care of them and distributes to them what he takes from merchants and landlords.

The main aspect of the image of Razin, as well as the nature of the entire cycle of legends about him, can be called romantic, which is most clearly expressed in the plot "Razin and the Persian Woman". However, the general plan of the image is quite realistic. With all this, the Razin cycle of legends is distinguished by a significant development of fantastic motifs. There are many deviations from the historical truth in the legends. So, for example, the story of how Razin in 1670 in Astrakhan throws the bishop from the bell tower, who anathematized him, but Razin was not in Astrakhan in 1670. In this case, there is no fantastic motive, but only the historical truth is violated. However, in the legends about Razin, motifs of magic are not uncommon, the narrative sometimes takes on a fabulous character. The people endowed Razin with wonderful qualities; the bullet does not take him, the fetters do not hold him, he escaped from prison in a boat, which he painted on the wall and on which he splashed water from a mug: the waves splashed and the boat swam. Fairy-tale motifs were supplemented by legendary ones: the execution of Razin caused not only grief among the people, but also utopian dreams, which found expression in stories that he was alive and would come to defend the people. This kind of motives are much more common in legends than in historical songs, more faithful to historical truth. The legends of the Razin cycle differ from previous cycles in social issues of great importance, in the direct glorification of popular protest and the struggle against class oppression.

Traditions of the XVIII-XIX centuries . In the legends of the XVIII-XIX centuries. finds further development of the theme of popular uprisings. It serves as the basis for a rich cycle of stories about Emelyan Pugachev. This cycle has a pronounced anti-feudal character. It reflected the scope of the social struggle of the Russian peasantry in the 70s of the XVIII century. In the center is the image of Pugachev, the leader of the insurgent masses and, which is typical for the folk psychology of that time, the "muzhik tsar".

The main plots of the cycle are the plots of the struggle against the governors and landlords, reprisals against them. Pugachev is presented as a "just tsar". He protects the people from arbitrariness and oppression, and the people follow him, supply weapons and clothing, feed Pugachev's detachments. In a number of legends, pictures are drawn of battles with the royal troops, the capture of fortresses, cities and factories in the Urals. The defeat of Pugachev's troops and his execution in the legends are covered in a special way: the people could not come to terms with such an outcome of the peasant war. This gave the basis for the legend that Pugachev was alive, would still come to the aid of the people, and instead of him voluntarily went to the execution of soldiers. Here we see a repetition of the motif of some legends of the Razin cycle.

Pugachev is close to the people, relies on the people, defends them, promises them “freedom”, fights against the generals and landowners. An important feature of the legends about Pugachev is that he acts with the masses of the people, and not with “free people”, A. N. Lozanova noted the realistic plan of legends and songs about Pugachev.

In the legends of the XVIII-XIX centuries. The theme of "the king and the people" continues to develop. It is most realized in the legends about Peter I. The numerous wars of Russia with the Swedes, Germans and Turks gave this topic a new aspect - it turns into the theme of "commander and soldiers", especially in the legends about Suvorov and Kutuzov.

One of the first images of commanders in the legends was the image of Peter I. At the same time, he was also the image of a “just king”. With all the hardships for the people of military service and labor, for example, at the construction of the Ladoga Canal, Peter I is portrayed as positive. Only in the backward strata of the population, especially the schismatics, is he presented as the Antichrist.

A large place in the legends is occupied by the circumstances associated with the capture of Azov, Nut (Schlisselburg), Riga, but there are no images of the battles themselves. This can be explained, perhaps, by the fact that the traditions were not recorded much, their collection began late, when much had already been forgotten. At the center of the legends associated with military events is Peter, who is presented as a commander, but only in a general aspect. Most of all, the image of Peter is deployed in everyday life. Traditions about him often bear the character of so-called historical anecdotes. For example, in Solovki, Peter proves to the monks that cannons are more useful than bells. There are many stories about Peter's meetings with different people. He is depicted as a businesslike master, strict with soldiers and generals, and despising the clergy. In one story, Peter tells the monks: such idlers should be in the army, and not save souls.

There are many legends about Peter's meetings with craftsmen, with "working" people. He does not lag behind them in work, shares with them all the difficulties. He is simple and can measure his strength with a soldier, give him his camisole, reward him for a cunning invention (the soldier drinks his sword and, having made a wooden one, assures that it was the Lord who turned it into such that he did not follow the order of the king to stab another soldier). Traditions of this type arose among the soldiers and were a natural consequence of both long military service and the really peculiar attitude of Peter I towards the soldiers.

A similar theme is especially widely developed in the legends about Suvorov, the favorite commander of the mass of soldiers at the end of the 18th century. The legends about him are very popular. They are patriotic. The soldiers are proud of their commander, the victories they won under his command, his heroic behavior in battles. Suvorov is depicted in the legends as a simple, witty, cheerful person with whom one can speak directly / without embarrassment. The soldiers' love for Suvorov was the basis for the fact that deep sorrow is expressed in the legends about his death. Many motifs of legends about him were then transferred to the image of Kutuzov.

Especially popular were the legends about Ataman Platov. He is presented as a simple Cossack, brave, courageous, setting an example in battle. A feature of the image is that Platov is not afraid to say a word against the opinion of the king.

The images of Suvorov, Kutuzov ~ and Platov are the most vivid and meaningful images of commanders who can rightly be called folk heroes.

Toponymic legends. Toponymic legends are an ancient variety of legends popular among the people. They are stories about geographical objects (places, rivers, lakes, mountains, etc.) and settlements, attached to certain areas. The main feature of toponymic legends is that they explain the nature, origin or names of geographical objects and settlements. They are connected with historical traditions by the fact that they are often attached to certain events or persons, and thus to historical periods.

Already in ancient Russian legends there are stories about the settlement of Slavic tribes, about their names, about the foundation of cities. So, Kyiv, according to legend, was founded by three brothers: Kyi, Shchek and Khoriv and their sister Lybid. It should be noted that near Kiev there are hills Khorivitsa, Shchekovitsa and the tributary of the Dnieper Lybed. There is a legend about the origin of the name of the city of Orsha. The young Prince Orsha and his daughter Orshitsa, in a difficult hour for Kiev, came to the aid of Prince Vladimir and helped him to repel the Pecheneg raids.

Toponymic legends also include stories about the origin of mounds. Mounds are associated with many people: with Ivan the Terrible, with Razin (mounds on the banks of the Volga).

An important group of legends includes explanations for the names of localities, cities, and so on. The names were given not only according to the features of the area, but also according to those events and persons who were associated with it. For example, near the city of Alatyr there is the Tsar-Kon area. Its name was explained by the fact that Ivan the Terrible's horse fell there. In several places in the Volga region, the uplands are called "Conversational Mountains" or "Dumnye Mountains". Their names allegedly arose in connection with the fact that in those places Razin or Pugachev arranged thoughts - meetings with their assistants.

Here are the toponymic legends recorded in the Saratov Territory by Acad. A, A. Shakhmatov.

“I heard from old people about one place that Stenka Razin lived there. This place can now be very well recognized: a huge mountain that looks like a courtyard, its name is now Stone Yard, in the middle of its hillock, on the hillock there is an oak forest, and in the very middle, on top near the hillock, there are three birches, under the birches a spring. The old people say that robbers lived in that very place, and the outer side of that mountain, on one side, looks like a gate. And around it as there is a yard. At the very top of the mountain there is a forest, like a roof, at the bottom of it like a stone wall. This wall is called the front side of the Stone Yard. Away from this courtyard are high mountains ... The name of these mountains is the Karaulny mountains. The old people say that when Stenka Razin lived, the robbers on these mountains were watching for passers-by along the road, and it was as if a chain had been stretched through the ground from there. As soon as they see the passers-by, they will pull this chain, and a bell was tied to the ring of this chain. As soon as their comrades hear this bell, they will go out onto the road. And even further to the main road there is a ravine named Bathing ravine, as if they went there to bathe in a bathhouse.

Toponymic legends according to their nature can be divided into two groups: legends that realistically convey information from historical facts, and legends in which fiction occupies a significant place; moreover, in ancient stories of this type, it usually has a fantastic form.

Fantasy in toponymic legends can be the result of personifications, remnants of mythological representations and the introduction of fairy tales. Rivers, lakes, mountains can be personified. There is a story about the dispute between the Kama and the Volga; The Kama made a mistake, broke through in the wrong direction), and it failed to become an independent river, it remained a tributary of the Volga. An example of a legend in which traces of mythological ideas have been preserved can be a story (recorded by the traveler Olearius), which explains the name of the Serpent Mountain on the Volga coast: a snake of enormous size lived on the mountain, it caused great harm to people, but a brave young man cut the snake into three pieces, which turned into large stones. And they still lie on top of the mountain.