1 of the peoples of Europe. Peoples of Western Europe

No matter what anyone says, the Russians are a great nation that plays a fairly significant role in the development of the modern world. And given its centuries-old history, it is worth thinking about what wisdom is present in this nation, and what contribution it has made to the overall progress of mankind. Today, many people, most often politicians, unreasonably belittle the “Russian” nation. Let's look at the stages of its development and formation, so that later no one will have any doubts about its significance in the history of mankind.

The nation “Russians” as an ethnographic group

Let's start, perhaps, with a presentation of dry facts. It is believed that Russians, or as they have been called since ancient times, Rusichi, belong to the ethnographic Slavic group. It goes without saying that the definition of any nation as such is based on territorial affiliation, common moral and cultural values, as well as some common physiological similarities.

In general, the “Russian” nation belongs to the Slavic branch of human development, but in the general understanding it is a Caucasian type of race (one of the most numerous among the entire population of our planet). Let us consider all aspects of its origin and evolution from several points of view.

Russians are a European nation: anthropology

If we talk about the nation itself, here the first emphasis should be placed on some distinctive features of the same appearance, which differs quite greatly from some other nations.

First of all, it is necessary to note some external signs by which a Russian (Slav) can be distinguished from all other representatives of humanity. Firstly, there is a predominance of brown-haired people over blondes and brunettes. Secondly, these people are characterized by reduced eyebrow and beard growth. Thirdly, representatives of this nation have a moderate facial width, weak development of the brow ridges and a slightly sloping forehead. Fourthly, we can note the presence of a moderate horizontal profile with a high nose bridge.

But this is all a purely scientific approach. The nation “Russians” should be considered not only from the point of view of some kind of physiology or belonging to the place of residence, but rather from the point of view of culture, epic and consciousness. Agree, after all, Russians, Scandinavians or Americans may have an understanding of the same issue different variants. All this is due to history.

A story we don't know about

The fact that Russians live on the Eurasian continent, unfortunately, misleads many. It wasn't always like this. In light of recent discoveries, it is worth tracing the history of the nation.

Of course, the mention of such a mythical country as Hyperborea may seem utopian to some. It is believed that it existed as an island state similar to Atlantis, but only in a place today called the Arctic. After global cataclysms that occurred approximately 12 thousand years ago, representatives of that race, due to a sharp cooling, began to migrate south, populating the current Central and Eastern European territories. In addition, this supposedly vanished civilization gave the world a huge heritage - Vedic wisdom. Even skeptics have no doubt about this fact.

Over time, that people divided and mixed with other representatives of humanity, but the main cultural and physiological differences from other nationalities remained, uniting into a race that today is commonly called the Slavs. It includes three main nationalities, which are then distributed according to certain ethnic characteristics: Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. But such a division happened much later than when there was one nation"Russians".

But that's not all. Some modern historians claim that Russians are a nation of slaves. This can only be attributed to the dominance of the Soviet past. However, many of these “writers” would do well to delve into history. In fact, if anyone doesn’t know, the nation of slaves is the name given to the Jews who, under the leadership of Moses, made the exodus from Egypt. So, there is no need to confuse different things.

Russian folk tales and folklore

The “Russian” nation itself, its traditions and the way of life of those times are associated with the emergence of a kind of folklore. Of course, every nation has fairy tales and legends in the form of a national epic, passed down from generation to generation, but it is Russian wisdom that has a rather interesting character.

Of course, it is not as heavily veiled as, for example, however, any more or less literate person knows from childhood that “a fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it...” What is most interesting is that in Some fairy tales contain real information about the past, despite some abstract or non-existent images. Researchers of five lakes with healing water near the settlement of Okunevo in the Omsk region claim that they have come to understand that fairy tales contain a hidden meaning that may implicitly point to real things or events that took place in ancient times. It’s not for us to judge whether this is true or not, nevertheless...

But what's most interesting! Ershov, who wrote his fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” when he was less than 19 years old, composed it in this very place, and the cauldrons in which one had to swim represent the sequence of all the lakes entering the water (in his time only three main lakes were known) .

What did the Russian give?

In general, let no one be offended, the Russians are the titular nation, which in the near future will lead all of humanity. Russia (Western Siberia) will become not only the main cultural, but also the religious center of the whole world. By the way, one of such legendary prophets as Edgar Cayce spoke about this. And recently, an interpreted verse was found in the quatrains of Nostradamus.

As for cultural heritage, here, no matter what anyone says, it is simply impossible to argue. Look, almost all the classics of literature or music include the names of Russian figures. And what can we say about such sciences as physics and chemistry? Only Lomonosov and Mendeleev are worth anything.

Misconceptions and speculation about Russian people

Unfortunately, in Western society You can often find certain associations with a type of nationality. For example, the nation “Russians” is often associated with a bear playing the balalaika (usually drunk).

Yes, people love to drink from the “green snake,” but our people never drink on their own. Look, it’s not without reason that they suggest “thinking for three”?

On the other hand, even the tradition of serving bread and salt when welcoming a guest or stranger at home has also become almost international. And this is only the most famous, but if you dig deeper, you can find so many interesting things in history and everyday life that you will have to spend whole years and even decades on the description.

Aryan legacy

Of course, one can argue that Russians are the best nation, however, from the point of view of respect for other nations, this is incorrect. There was already one person in history who put the nation above everyone else. This refers to Adolf Hitler. He believed that the ancient Aryans from the already mentioned Hyperborea were the forefathers of the Germans.

Russian nation today and tomorrow

In the light of recent discoveries, it turns out that the Fuhrer was completely wrong. The Aryans were the ancestors of the Slavs, who later spread across the Eurasian continent, but certainly not of the Germans, who are more similar to the Scandinavians or Anglo-Saxons.

However, if we talk about the Russian nation today, even if it cannot yet lead the world movement for cleansing from filth, nevertheless, this day is not far off. If you have any doubts, read the predictions of those who were never mistaken - Wang and Edgar Cayce. Indeed, according to their statements, it is Russia and the “Russian” nation that will become the stronghold that will provide refuge for a saved civilization.

Instead of an afterword

Even biblical sources in modern interpretation claim that peace will come only when there is a unification and this is the West and the East, and the role of the East is assigned specifically to the Russian people. And no “Uncle Sam” can stop this. The reason, alas, is banally simple: by that time the USA simply will not be on the world map. And isn’t that why the States are trying so hard to put pressure on Russia (and maybe even “bite off” part of the territories that do not belong to them for their survival?). I just want to answer: “Don’t wake up the sleeping Russian bear!” Because, you know, he can not only play the balalaika or drink vodka, but he will also crush anyone who dares to poke his head into his den. And if he is also in a sleeping state, then certainly no American special forces will help.

The Celts can safely be called the core of the formation of almost all the titular nations of Central Europe. One and a half thousand years before the birth of Christ, the Celtic tribes concentrated only in the eastern part of France, in the adjacent part of Western Germany, southern Belgium and northern Helvetia, or Switzerland. But already in the 4th century BC, the Celts began to quickly spread throughout the European part of the continent.

They reached the territory modern Poland and Western Ukraine. Their raids are well remembered in the Balkans and Apennines. With their ferocity they made a huge impression on the inhabitants of Iberia (this is the current Kingdom of Spain), and on the Saxons who inhabited the British Isles. They reached the territory of modern Scotland and Ireland, assimilated and radically changed the worldview of the population of all of the above territories.

History of origin

The Celts are not aliens from distant continents. These are tribes related to each other who lived in the Rhine valley, in the upper reaches of the Danube, in the upper reaches of the Seine, Meuse and Loire. The Romans, sincerely surprised by their appearance and manners, called them Gauls. So much for toponymy famous words: Gallic rooster, Galicia, Helvetia, halite.

But the word “Celt” has a somewhat artificial origin. It was proposed by Lloyd in the 17th century. A linguist who studies the linguistic similarities of different historical and ethnographic regions of Great Britain noted the similarities between them. He gave them the name “Celtic group”, which stuck, becoming a common noun for all ethnically homogeneous peoples, even before our era, “spreading” throughout Europe. The southern part of the continent did not succumb to expansion, although it was pretty frightened by such newcomers.

Religion

The Celts are one of the most famous pagans, whose sacred traditions are now being actively restored and theatricalized. The Celts had a vast pantheon of divine beings: Taranis and Esus, Lug and Ogmius, Brigantia and Cernunnos. But they did not have a single supreme deity, such as Zeus, Odin, Perun or Jupiter. It was replaced by the World Tree. In 98%, this was the name given to the most spreading and powerful Oak in the grove closest to the Celtic settlement.

Oak was served by Druid priests. They avoided human sacrifice, but in case of urgent need they could feed the root system of the head Oak with human blood. The priests were engaged in rituals and cults, and the education of the children of the tribe. In addition, the priests had the last word at any Judgment.

Average Celts believed in an afterlife, so they accompanied the dead with many necessary items, from plates and weapons to wives and horses. But they usually cut off the heads of their enemies, because they believed that the human soul lives in the head. During military operations, they cut off and collected the heads of enemies, hanging them from the saddle. Having brought it home, they nailed it above the entrance to the home. The most valuable enemy heads were preserved in containers filled with cedar oil. The idea is circulating in scientific circles that these heads were then participants or objects of religious cults.

Social structure

The Celtic tribes lived like typical tribal societies with a clearly expressed patriarchal character. At the head of the communities were priests and leaders, constantly pulling the “blanket” of power over themselves. Judicial power was nominally in the hands of the clan head. But very often he listened to the opinion of the Bregons. This is the lowest division of the Druid priests, which interpreted the laws and monitored compliance with all required rituals.

Male warriors were the backbone of Celtic society. It was they, the father or the eldest son, who received the ransom for their daughter when she got married. By the way, according to local laws, she could do this no more than 21 times. In case of divorce, women could take all their property.

The Celts had a very developed system of fines and ransoms. For example, for the murder of one man, the culprit had to pay the relatives of “7 slaves.” Living slaves were the main currency of the Celts. As a last resort, they were replaced by cows. There were fines for beatings, maiming, wounding, killing in an ambush or unintentionally killing a clan member. The amount of payments was adjusted depending on the status in society of the injured Celt. The richer he was, the more his death “cost” the killer.

The first Celts lived in dugouts, caves and huts half dug into the ground. Later, they began to build stone fortifications - oppidums. These are examples of the first European fortresses. With the development of civilization, they turned into entire fortified cities. Celt men were engaged in hunting, war and fishing. But the abundance of slaves allowed individual clans to engage in farming, and quite effective farming at that. The Celts perfectly mastered the skills of smelting and processing metal, camp cattle breeding and maintained trade relations with the majority of European peoples that had not yet been conquered.

The Celts are considered one of the most ferocious and tough warriors on the European continent. The enemies were greatly impressed by the invasions of practically naked people, painted blue and with their heads covered in lime. In order to amaze opponents not only with sight, but also with sound, they screamed and howled into special pipes, which were called carnyxes, and looked like the heads of wild animals. On their heads they had helmets with rooster feathers stuck into them. By the way, the Romans, who first saw the Celts on the battlefield, called them Gauls, that is, roosters.

Having sorted out and established a hierarchy within the Alpine territory, the Celts loudly declared themselves throughout Europe, attacking Massalia 600 years before the Nativity of Christ. This is today's Marseille and a former Greek colony. Blue naked people with tattoos and rooster feathers on their heads, screaming and smelling like lions, bears or wild boars, made a depressing impression on their opponents, sowed horror and panic, so they easily won.
200 years later, after such striking episodic attacks, the Celts managed to capture Rome. Simultaneously with this event, the eastern groups of Celts began to advance along the Danube, to the Balkan Peninsula, to the northern part modern Greece. The same time dates back to the attempt of the odious Celtic leader, Brennus, to plunder the temple of Apollo of Delphi and cut off the head of the statue of the Sun God. But the outbreak of a thunderstorm scared off the superstitious barbarians, giving Delphi the opportunity to admire its temple for another couple of centuries.

King Nicomedes the First (281-246 BC), seated on the shaky throne of Bithynia in Asia Minor, invited a group of Celts, literally 10 thousand people, with wives, children, cows and slaves, to cross the Bosphorus and support him in the dynastic wars . It was these ten thousand mercenaries that became the basis of Galatia, a state that existed for four hundred years in the vastness of modern northwestern Turkey.

Thus, the Celts very successfully settled on the European mainland and firmly established themselves in the British Isles and Ireland. In those places where they were opposed by empires, in the manner of the Roman one, the migratory military maneuver did not work. Therefore, the south of Iberia, the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan coastline remained unoccupied by the barbarians. In these parts they were only allowed to conduct trade operations and sometimes practice the art of surprise raids and primitive blitzkriegs.

Today the Irish and Cornish, the Bretons and the Scots, the Welsh, the East French, the Belgians, the Swiss, the indigenous Bohemians and the West Germans consider their Celts to be their ancestors.

Thracians

Two of their fellow tribesmen made the Thracians famous throughout Europe: the singer Orpheus and the rebel Spartacus. The place where he was formed and lived this ethnic group, Xenophanes and Herodotus named the Balkan Peninsula. The Thracians occupied the territory from the Pindus ridges and the Dinaric Highlands to the Stara Planina and the Rhodope Mountains inclusive. They were recorded in the western part of Asia Minor, on the territory of the modern Turkish ulus of Anatolia. But beyond the Carpathian arc, the ethnic group that gave the world the legendary lyre musician never spread.
Due to the fact that the now dead language of the Thracians belongs to the Indo-European language family, it is assumed that the representatives of the ancient people themselves came to the Balkans from south asia. One of the large-scale stops of the Thracian ancestors, who left a number of characteristic artifacts there, was their long-term stay on the territory of modern Ukraine. In the very center of the state, in the Belogrudovsky forest of the Cherkasy region, tulip-shaped vessels, scoops, and agricultural implements made of bronze, but with the use of silicon inserts, were found.

“Having come to light” in the 11-9th century BC on the Podolsk Upland, in the interfluve of the Dnieper, Southern Bug and Dniester, the ancestors of the Thracians migrated beyond the Carpathians, to the Balkans, in order to form into a single ethnic monolith in this fertile area.

Religion

The Thracians were pagans who believed in animal gods, in gods - tamers of natural elements. According to them, the soul of a deceased person moved to the World of their ancestors and led a life there similar to that on earth. To facilitate the existence of a fellow tribesman in another world and to preserve his body from desecration by people and animals, the Thracians built dolmens, or stone tombs, for their dead. For richer people, real “afterlife palaces” were created. They had a spacious burial chamber, a dromos corridor and a vestibule in which unpleasant surprises awaited potential violators of the body's peace, such as a collapsed ceiling or a nest with snakes. For poorer tribesmen, individual small burial chambers were cut into the surrounding limestone or marl rocks.

During the period of formation of sacred beliefs, there was an alternation in the importance of female goddesses responsible for fertility, water, earth, and male images, represented by gods, lords of hunting, lightning, wars and blacksmiths. The periods depended on what exactly the Thracians were doing at the moment. They lived on the fertile lands of Ukraine and the Balkan Peninsula, engaged in agriculture, and female goddesses became more important. During periods of migrations and searches for new lands, when new territories had to be recaptured, male gods came to the fore. By the way, it was at this time that the role of the priests decreased. But, as soon as the Thracians found a more or less stable refuge, the priests again gained strength.

The products of agriculture or the results of hunting, traces were sacrificed to the gods human sacrifices not found to date

Social order

The Thracians in the period BC are the canonical representatives of the primitive communal system. They lived in scattered tribal groups, with an obligatory leader and chief sorcerer. The status of a member of the community directly depended on his wealth; the more horses, cows and food supplies a person had, the more his fellow tribesmen listened to his opinion. Women's rights were not infringed. But, before the main resettlement to the Balkans, polygamy was common among the Thracians, which also depended on the status of the “husband.” The richer a man was, the more wives he could take for his support.
The Thracians actively used the work of slaves. Both prisoners of war and fellow tribesmen who committed crimes became slaves.

By the beginning of our era, Thracian society was divided into clear classes: princes, warriors, free people engaged in agriculture, trade or crafts, and slaves. With special talents or luck, a transition from one social category to another was observed.

Thracian settlements differed geographically. Those peoples who were grouped on the territory of modern Bulgaria and Slovakia, surrounded by forests and hidden behind mountain ranges, built unfortified villages and considered mountain rivers, thickets and ridges the best elements of fortification.
The southern Thracians, who lived on the coasts of the Adriatic, Mediterranean, Marmara and Pontic Seas, were forced to defend their settlements, open to all sea travelers. Therefore, they fortified their settlements and built primitive but effective fortresses.

Wars with other nations and migrations

The Thracian people flourished in the 1st-5th centuries AD. There were more than two hundred Thracian tribes, so for ease of study, scientists divided them into four regional groups.

The first group includes, in fact, Thrace. This is a historical and cultural region that occupies the territory of today's Bulgaria and the European territory of Turkey. Another, no less famous region of compact residence of the Thracians is called Dacia. These are the lands of today's Romania. The third and fourth regions, Moisia and Bithynia, were located nearby, on the peninsula of Asia Minor, on the coast of the Marmara and Pontic Seas, only one to the west, and the other to the east, ending at the very ridges of the Pontic Mountains.
Soon after the resettlement of the Thracians to the Balkans, the great migrations of the so-called “peoples of the sea” began. This gave them a chance to gain a strong foothold in their chosen area of ​​land. Until the fifth century BC, the Thracians were mainly occupied with intra-tribal conflicts and attempts to unite under the rule of one leader, a potential monarch.
The result of long negotiations and occasional wars was the emergence of the Odrysian kingdom, which became the largest state of its time. The last Thracian state formed before our era was Dacia. King Burebista gathered under his control all the lands inhabited by this ethnic group. By force and power of arms, he united a vast territory into a single organism. This included lands from the Southern Bug itself, the Carpathian Valley, all of Bulgaria, Moravia and Stara Planina.
After Burebista was killed by the rebels, the unification was continued by King Decebalus. For this, he had to fight all his life with the Romans, who did not want the emergence of a united Thrace. Emperor Trajan spent five years of his life conquering the kingdom of Decebalus. After the defeat of the Thracian troops, the king stabbed himself with a sword, and the Romans turned Dacia into their colony.
A little later, already in the 5th century AD, the Celts came to the lands of the Thracians, knocked out the Romans and formed their own kingdom, the Gallic, choosing the city of Tilis for the capital. Over time, the Thracians successfully assimilated with the Scythian plowers, and therefore became the basis for the formation of the southern branch of the Slavs: Bulgarians, Slovaks, Czechs, and Yugoslav peoples.

Goths

The peak of the Goths' influence on Europe was between the 1st and 8th centuries AD. Many Swedish kings and Spanish aristocrats proudly call themselves descendants of one of the most significant nations in Europe. The formation of the ethnic group itself took place in the southeastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, even before our era. This is the territory of today's Sweden. The Gothic historian of Alan origin Jordan of Croton called this place Scandza. A separate line in the definition of the area where the Goths were identified as a people is the island of Gotland, which stretches like a narrow arrow along the coast of Sweden.

History of origin

In the first century AD, Berig, the charismatic leader and northern "Moses", launched the entire European process of the "Great Migration". Berig and people loyal to him sailed across the Baltic Sea on three ships, landing in the north of modern Poland, in the area of ​​Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia. The epic about people's motivation, swimming and the first steps in Pomerania is described by the historian Jordan in his work “Getika”.
The passengers of the three ships gave birth to three basic tribes: the forest Therving, the steppe Greuthung and the powerful and aggressive Gepids. In the meantime, having united, they ousted the vandals and ruts who had already mastered it from the fertile Pomerania. The union of three Gothic tribes took shape in the so-called Wolbar culture.
The displaced Rutas and Vandals began to move south, to the even more comfortable Mediterranean. The consequences of such a global migration were felt by the Roman Empire. The Goths themselves, led by the leader Philimer, moved south in the 6th century, occupying almost the entire territory of modern Ukraine and Romania, giving rise to the unique Chernyakhov culture.

Religion

Despite the enormous influence of the Goths on modern ethnic European solitaire, precise information about the religion has not been preserved. The main source about them is the work of the historian Jordan. And since he was the current bishop of Croton, he deliberately did not pay any attention to the host of gods of the early pagan Goths.
A smaller but more reliable source is considered to be the Herver Saga. It mentions only the god of battles, thunder and lightning - Donar, but does not deny the existence of other divine beings. The clergy did not have much influence on the bulk of the population. They lived separately from the tribe, in the Mirkvid forest, among fabulous and mythical creatures. There is a version that the Ukrainian-Romanian molfars received strength and knowledge precisely from their Ostrogothic ancestors.
The early Goths burned their dead, the later Goths carefully laid them out in burial grounds. Metal jewelry, cups, combs and ceramic dishes have been found more than once next to dead people.
More information has been preserved about the sacred preferences of the Visigoths. In the 4th century, the leader Freitigern, seeing great benefit in a centralized religion, ordered a Christian priest from the Byzantine emperor Constantius II and the archbishop of Nicomedia.
The priest Wulfil, an ethnic Goth, arrived to the Visigothic leader. It was he who helped turn Freitingern's subjects into Christians. Bishop Ulfila compiled the Gothic alphabet and, using it, translated it into native language The Bible. In the 6th century, all the Visigoths submitted to King Reccared converted to Christianity.

Social structure

The powerful Gothic people did not have a permanent leader; only situational leaders appeared, whose influence was lost after a raid, advancement or military action against the enemy. In times of peace or occasional calm, the entire Gothic people were divided into clans. Each was headed by its own leader, who jealously guarded his authority and land.
The leaders of the largest clans could enter into vassal relations with their fellow tribesmen. Some, sayons or vigilantes, were given weapons by the leaders. Others, bucellarii or boyars, received weapons and decent plots of land. The leaders had unlimited power, especially in the battle period and the period preceding it.
Initially, back in the days when the Goths had just set foot on Polish soil, the leader was elected by a meeting of free people. In the period from the first to the seventh centuries, the rights of succession to the throne and the right of election constantly replaced one another, causing instability in society, inter-tribal and intra-tribal squabbles.
Women of the early Goths had more rights than those enjoyed by ladies of the 5th to 8th centuries. The people used the work of slaves, fortunately that wars regularly supplied free labor.

Wars with other nations and migrations

The basis of the power and expansion of the Goths was laid in an ideal military organization. The main structural unit of the army was considered to be a dozen fighters. They were managed by the dean. From tens they added up to a hundred. She was subordinate to the centenarius. From hundreds they added up a thousand, headed by the millenarians. But the millenarians themselves did not plan battles, but only obediently carried out orders coming from the leader, leader, later king, or his monarch-substitute - duki. In battles, the later Goths willingly replaced infantry with cavalry.
The Gothic tribes split into two parts already in the 3rd century. During the active, military ousting of the Romans from the territory of modern Moldova, then Dacia, the great people dispersed in different directions.

The first is the eastern branch. They are the descendants of the Greuthungs - the people of the endless steppes, or the Ostrogoths. They began to densely develop the territory between the Dnieper and the Dniester within the borders of modern Ukraine, Transnistrian Moldova, the Danube part of Romania and a small part of modern Russia, represented by the Taman Peninsula. The historian Herodotus, traveling around the Northern Black Sea region, was surprised by the beauty, freedom and military skill of Gothic women. He “settled” his Amazons, who became legends, right here, between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers. The Goths were pushed out of their positions by subsequent invasions of the Huns.

The second branch is the heirs of the Tervingi. They are the Western Goths or Visigoths who moved west.
The Visigoths crossed the Bosporus and entered Greece, where they were noted for the plunder of the Chalkidiki peninsula and an attack on Thrace. We visited Corinth and rode horseback through Athens. In the Balkans, after a skirmish with the Visigoths, Marcus Aurelius fled, leaving the lands of modern Serbia to the enemy. A little later, the Goths caught up with the Romans and once again defeated their army at Andrianople. The final chord before marching victoriously along the entire Apennine coast was the destruction of Rome by Alaric's troops.
After this, the Vistrogoths in the 5th century AD. invade Iberia, Gallicia and establish their kingdoms everywhere. Then they had to defend their lands from the warlike Franks, African Arabs and the strengthened troops of Emperor Justinian. Until the 9th century, the Goths were completely assimilated into the local population. All that remains from them are beautiful legends, linguistic bases for a number of modern languages, and unique jewelry artifacts, for example, treasures with many crowns found in Toledo and Jaen.

Etruscans

The Etruscans are a people who once lived in the central part of the Apennine Peninsula. This is today's Tuscany, Lazio, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna. Much of what is considered today to be native Roman traditions was inherited by the Romans from the Etruscans. For example, gladiator fights or saturnalia in masks, the culture of ablution and coiffure in therms, funeral rites and the high art of sculptural and mosaic images.

Origin

Already in the 7th century BC, the inhabitants of Etruria, today's central Italy, mastered writing and the art of conveying shapes and emotions with the help of chisels and brushes. There are two main versions of the origin of such a highly civilized people. According to the first, the Etruscans lived in the Apennines since the Stone Age, on this land developing, learning and establishing themselves as one of the most advanced peoples in Europe. According to the second version, the ancestors of the Etruscans settled this fertile land, migrating here from the east.
Herodotus believed that great architects and sculptors came here from Asia Minor. In terms of time, he connected this resettlement with the end of the Trojan War. The settlers called themselves Tyrrhenians or “children of the sea.” At the same time, the name of Aeneas emerges, allegedly leading the migration of the ancestors of the Etruscans to the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Today, most people accept the second, Trojan-Aenean version of the origin of the cultural ancestors of the Romans. The intermediate point of migration of the flow of Trojan refugees was the island of Sardinia. A great many early artifacts, similar to those that the Etruscan culture left on the peninsula, were found on it.

Religion

The great people had a whole host of gods, but did not forget to deify the forces of nature. The main god was Tin, who belonged to Heaven. His wife and assistant were Menrwa and Uni, respectively. Deities of a smaller caliber included 16 more gods, responsible for their sector of the sky and branch of earthly work. In addition to them, the third echelon deities included spirits living in plants, stones, rocks, streams and lakes. Special respect was paid to the god of the sea and the owner of the underworld. They settled him, either in the crater of Etna, or in the crater of Stromboli, constantly blazing with fire. He was represented by Aeneas as a fiery demon with dancing snakes on his head.
The Etruscans respected and served the spirits of the ancestors of their families. Small food, jewelry and souvenir sacrifices were regularly made to all the gods, trying not to miss or forget anyone, so as not to anger anyone.
In special cases, human sacrifices were prescribed. During difficult times for the entire people, the most exalted members of society killed themselves with their own hands, sacrificing them. When rich and respected people died, the Etruscans forced captives or slaves to fight among themselves until the first death, so that the blood and soul of the deceased would appease God underground kingdom, receiving the soul of their deceased.
Having moved to Italy, the Etruscans began to cremate their dead on bonfires, the size of which corresponded to the status of the deceased. After this, the ashes were collected and placed in an urn. All urns were buried in specially designated cemeteries - urn fields.
Social structure
The entire territory of the Etruscans was divided between twelve policies. At the head of each was a king. But the power of the king was similar to the power of the high priest in Egypt. The kings were engaged in rituals and harmonization of moods between gods and people. Political power, the treasury and international, or rather inter-city relations, were in the hands of the princes, who received their positions by hereditary or elective methods.
Only King Lucomon managed to become the king of Etruscan Rome, gathering in his hands all the powers of the first person of the state. He moved the princes to a lower position. The role of an adviser, a boyar, a senator, but nothing more.
Women had equal status to men. Their position in society was determined by their wealth. All women and men, except the priests, cut their hair short. Cult ministers only removed them from their foreheads using a gold or silver hoop.

Wars with other nations and migrations

The son of the Greek Demaratus, Lukomon (second half of the 7th century BC), who became the first real Etruscan king, ushered in the era of power and greatness of the Etruscans. Under him, the Roman kingdom became the center of 12 colonies inhabited by related peoples. At the same time, there was a constant, targeted expansion into the southern regions of the Apennine Peninsula.
After the murder of Lucomon, power passed to his son Servus Tullius. Killed Servus brother- Tarquin the Proud. He happily tried on the toga of the new Roman king. He was a tough monarch, with the habits of a tyrant and a sadist, therefore, although he regularly expanded the territory of his kingdom within the borders of the Apennine Peninsula, he was captured and expelled from Rome in disgrace. The Etruscans moved from the monarchy phase to the Republic phase.

After this, the Etruscans captured almost the entire central part of modern Italy, gained access to the ports of the Adriatic Sea and established active trade relations with the Greek policies.
Trade with the Greeks did not prevent them from entering into permanent military alliances, and periodically fighting against them. So they “gave” Sardinia to the Carthaginians, but conquered Corsica from the Greeks.
Then a period of military and territorial degradation began. The Syracusans took Corsica and Elba from the Etruscans. The Republicans lost influence in Latium and lost the roads that connected them with Campania and Basilicata. Rome was lost (the battle for Fidenae and Veii) and Bologna was given to the Gauls. The temporary truce of the conglomerate of Perugia, Croton and Arezzio with the Romans no longer saved the great civilization.
The Etruscans first became allies of the Romans against a more powerful and terrible enemy, the Gauls. Then, together, only under Roman banners, they took part in the first and second Punic War, which the Romans started against the Carthaginians. Due to the fact that not a single Etruscan settlement rebelled during a difficult period for the Romans, they were recognized as equal to the new masters of their land.
Then the Etruscans were granted Roman citizenship, and they very organically joined the Roman Empire, bringing with them a high aesthetic culture and original rituals. The haruspices, the long-haired priest-foretellers, lasted the longest as purebred Etruscans. As early as 199, one could hear Etruscan speech on the streets of Rome and on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Roman art of this period is called Etruscan-Roman, and the most complete collection of artifacts, jewelry, especially brooches, sarcophagi, sculptures and black-bodied ceramics can be seen in one of the Vatican Museums, in 9 halls of the “Etruscan Museum”.

Vikings

History of origin
Residents of coastal settlements looked anxiously at the waters of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. After all, at any moment narrow ships with bright sails and rearing stems could appear from there. In a matter of minutes, ruthless warriors jumped from them, burned houses, killed townspeople and retreated with lightning speed, taking away all the most valuable and edible items.

The people who inhabited the Scandinavian and Jutland Peninsula called themselves Vikings. The peoples of Western Europe who suffered most from their raids called them Normans. And although in our time the word “Viking” is a symbol of fearlessness, courage and heroism, both in the Scandinavian sagas and in European chronicles, the term has a sharply negative connotation, to designate those who left their native land for the purpose of robbery.

But, no matter what they are called, the place where the legendary warriors were born is the territory of the modern Norwegian, Danish and Swedish kingdoms. The history of the Vikings' military glory began in the region of Fennoscandia, when Scandinavian tribes, genetic relatives of the Angles and Danes, pushed the nomadic Finns to the east, to places abounding in swamps and lakes. The exact timing of the Viking ancestors' appearance in Scandinavia is unclear, but artifacts left by hunter-gatherers dating back 10,000 to 9,000 years ago have been found in Finnmark and Nurmera.

Social structure

The ancestors of the people who became Vikings lived in scattered groups or counties. 20-30 such groups were quite enough to create local conflicts, maintain excellent combat readiness of all warriors and organize regular quarrels between leaders, kings or jarls locally.
In order to coordinate the actions of the jarls, sort out land claims and issues of succession to the throne in each county, a single assembly was created - the Ting. Ting did not have a permanent center. All free Scandinavians could attend the meeting. But the cases were examined only by a group made up of representatives from each county. The only condition was that the representative should not be directly dependent on his jarl.
Each filk was divided into smaller structural units, hundreds or herads. It was ruled by a hersir, who received the position from his parent. It was they who resolved civil litigation, but the kings were involved in the “international” politics of their county and became the head of the army during hostilities. And although it was believed that the king was of divine origin, and his fellow tribesmen paid him a tax, the so-called vira, as soon as the king began to openly infringe on the rights of his fellow tribesmen or went against their interests, he could be killed or expelled from his native land.
The Vikings were led by jarls and cuirassiers. The bulk of the Normans were free peasants or bondsmen. It was they who, suffering from the scarcity of local soil, went on long hikes. It was they who, having set sail from their native shore, instantly turned into Vikings.
A small part of the society was made up of slaves, who were obtained during military campaigns. It is worth noting that the children of a slave could become a jarl or hersir. Slaves were not allowed into the Thing.
A special position was occupied by the Hirdmanns - the king's squad. They were supported by the monarch, protected him from the insinuations of his fellow tribesmen and accompanied him on the hunt, and formed the core of the army.
The boundaries between members of class groups were not rigid. Thanks to his personal merits, a slave could become a free person. Women occupied a worthy place in society, were present at feasts and could fully inherit their parent’s property. And a certain Freydis, the daughter of Erik the Red, even led a trip to Vinland, killing all her competitors at the end of the voyage.

Religion

The restless and warlike nature of the Vikings was fully consistent with their gods. All the deities of these legendary pagans lived in a majestic fortress - Asgard. The citadel occupies a central place in the human world, in Midgard. The walls and towers of the divine fortification reach the sky, and thick walls and steep cliffs protect them from enemies of any kind.
Most main god- One. He was considered the creator of the Universe, he was the best interpreter of runes and knew all the sagas in the world. He was responsible for the war and distributed victories. He led a dozen Valkyrie maidens. It was Odin who was considered the owner of the palace of Valhalla, in which he received the souls of the Scandinavians who died in battle. Everyone who died honestly moved to the palace, where there was a continuous feast, warriors told sagas, sang and danced.
Odin's wife, Frigga, was responsible for marriage, love and childbirth. She was considered a seer, but preferred not to share her knowledge with people. The god Thor, the master of thunder and lightning, protected Asgard, Middlegard and Valhalla from the giants.

Wars with other nations and migrations

Wars with other peoples and migrations are directly related to the existence of the very concept of “Viking”. When a resident of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and later Jutland, left motherland in search of profit, they began to call him a “Viking.”
There are two main streams of migration, accompanied by active military operations. The inhabitants of the territory occupied by the modern Kingdom of Sweden were oriented to the southeast. The silhouettes of the Viking Varangian drakkars were well known in the Dnieper, Vistula, Daugava, and Niva valleys. They even managed to reach the Northern Dvina valley, which they called the land of Biarmia. But the bulk of the operations were trade, because the ancient Russians fought no worse than the Varangians. Many of the failed Varangians had to earn money by being hired as a whole team into the squad of the Russian prince. This phenomenon was very common, bringing benefits to both parties.
Another stream, from the lands of today's Norwegian and Danish kingdoms, was oriented towards the West. In the deltas of the Elbe, Rhine, Seine, Thames, Loire, Charente and Garronne, the local population warily looked out to sea, expecting raids by warriors with whom it was impossible to negotiate. Thanks to their low landing and the ability to move both due to the force of the wind under sail and due to rowers, longships, coming from the sea, easily climbed up large rivers, plundering cities. The warlike Normans are well remembered on the coasts of Spain and France. There is evidence that they even reached Byzantium.
In 960, Gardar Svafarson's ship was driven ashore by a storm on the island of Iceland. Just 14 years later, the Vikings began to colonize and populate this region, which was as harsh as Scandinavia, but had additional attractiveness due to its thermal water sources. The reason for all the migrations and military raids of the Vikings was very ineffective agriculture in narrow mountain valleys and a high density of “hungry mouths” in coastal areas where fishing could be done.

Over time, the Viking nobility began to consider their main source of enrichment to be military raids aimed at Western, less so at eastern and central, Europe. And a breakthrough in shipbuilding, namely the art of building longships, provided the Vikings with free, easy and graceful movement throughout the North Atlantic.

Germans

History of origin

The core of the formation of the ethnos of the ancient Germans was the middle part of Europe from the Odra to the Rhine. In addition to these lands, now occupied by Germany, western Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium, traces of an ancient people were found in the south of Jutland and on the southern edge of eastern Scandinavia, which belong to today's Kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden.
The Germans began to be considered a full-fledged ethnic group only in the 1st century BC. And already from the beginning of our era, the Germans began to actively “spread” throughout Central Europe, attacking even the northern borders of the great, seemingly eternal Roman Empire. The result of the attacks of the fair-haired barbarians was the fall of the Western part of the Roman Empire, and various traces of the presence of the Germans were found over a vast territory from Cape Roca to the Crimean Peninsula and from the English Channel to the southern African coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Initially, the Germanic ethnic group was compared to the Celts. Only the first was considered even more wild and primordial in terms of culture than the Celts, who fought naked, blue and with rooster feathers on their heads. In order to somehow distinguish between their unpredictable northern neighbors, the Latins began to call them “Germans,” which means others.

Spreading across Europe, the Germans actively assimilated with the captured peoples. So they replenished their gene pool with Celts and Slavs, Goths and a number of small tribes that hid from the Great Migration in fairly isolated Alpine mountain valleys. But the basis of the nation is still considered to be those tribes that originally lived at the mouth of the Elbe, in the south of Jutland and Fennoscandia.

Religion

According to Strabo and Julius Caesar, the Germans were much less pious than the Celts. They endowed with divine power only sunlight and moonlight and the warmth that fire exudes. But the German customs of finding out the future surprised even the Romans. Like a terrible fairy tale, the peoples of Europe passed on to each other stories about gray-haired witches cutting the throats of victims. By the way blood fills the fortune-telling cauldron, women determined the outcome of future battles, the fate of a newborn or the life path of a new leader.
Having settled in Europe, the Germans acquired a small host of their own gods, borrowing them from the captured tribes. This is how the myth about the god Mann, who gave birth to their people, appeared. The ancestors of today's Danes and Germans began to recognize classical Greek and Roman gods such as Mercury or Mars. The cult of women occupied a special place. Each of them implied a divine principle, giving the opportunity to reproduce their own kind.

Having learned about foreign gods, the ancient Germans did not lose their love for a variety of fortune-telling. Forecasters actively used runes, the entrails of birds, and the neighing of sacred horses. Predictions of the outcome of an important battle, obtained by simulating a duel, were popular. In the “test”, an honorary tribesman and a prisoner from a potential enemy met in mortal combat. In the 4th century, Christianity began to penetrate the lands of the ancient Germans.

Social structure

At the head of the tribe, the clan were leaders - military leaders. They were surrounded by a ring of elders, experienced warriors, and diviner priests. The bulk of the warriors were formed by free Germans. They were the main force and voice of public meetings, where they came in full military garb. By the way, it was here that the next leader and new military leaders responsible for the outcome of future battles were chosen.
Lower social levels were occupied by freed citizens and slaves. The slave was obliged to pay rent to the owner, and he could kill him with impunity.
With the beginning of our era, the Germans began to have kings whose power was inherited. But before the next war, despite the presence of a king in the region, a leader was still elected, authorized by the function of a commander. Both kings and leaders had their own squad, which they fed, armed and clothed. Money was paid only after another successful robbery or military raid on neighbors.
The elders, elderly and experienced warriors, were engaged in the division of land plots and sorted out property and interpersonal disputes. In order for decisions to be carried out faster, the power of the elders was reinforced by a detachment of soldiers supported by the community.
According to the notes of the same Julius Caesar, who wanted to thoroughly know everything about his opponents, the ancient Germans did not have their own land plots. Each year, the king, chief, or elder would redistribute the land available for cultivation. Therefore, most community members preferred to engage in livestock farming. Cows and sheep have long been the most stable currency. This was the case until the Germans copied the very concept of “money” from their enemies and put their own coins into circulation.
At the beginning of the first century, the Germans had poorly developed handicrafts, shipbuilding, and even the production of fabrics from plant fibers. Both women and men wore cloaks and capes made of animal skins. Only the richest citizens wore pants. The family of the average German lived with their livestock in a long one-story house covered with clay.

War with other nations and migrations

Europe first started talking about the Germans when the northern colonies of the Roman Empire were attacked by Teutonic tribes in the year 103. The new barbarians made an impression on the more civilized people, so the myths about them were filled with new, blood-chilling details.

Several centuries in a row Germanic tribes fought with the Roman Empire. The most famous battle took place in the Teutoburg Forest (September 9), during which 3 Roman legions were destroyed. Throughout the 2nd century, the Germans attacked, and the Romans tried to maintain their possessions at least within the same borders.
The ferocity and attacks of the young tribe were so great that due to the reluctance to compete with the Germans for the lands of Dacia, the Romans withdrew from there immediately after the death of Emperor Decius. But, despite the retreat, with the beginning of the Great Migration of Peoples, the Germans still penetrated and settled on Roman lands. This happened in the 4th century.
In the 5th century, the Germans began to attack the Roman Empire from a different direction. They easily drove the Roman governors out of Iberia, the land of what is now the Kingdom of Spain. Then they became famous in the wars with the Huns, meeting on the Catalaunian field in battle with the hordes of Attila.
After this, the Germans began to take an active part in the appointment of emperors by the Roman Empire. Romulus Augustus, who tried to show independence, was deposed, which provoked the beginning of the end Great Empire.. In 962, King Otto the First began to form his own Roman-German Empire, which included more than a hundred small principalities.
The ancient Germans formed the basis of a number of European peoples: Germans, Danes, Belgians, Dutch, Swiss and Austrians.

Overseas Europe includes the territory of Europe west of the borders Russian Federation with a total area of ​​about 6 million sq. km. The geographical zoning of Foreign Europe is determined by a combination of wide lowlands (the eastern part of the East European Plain, the Central European, Lower and Middle Danube Plains, the Paris Basin) and a number of mountain ranges (the Alps, the Balkans, the Carpathians, the Apennines, the Pyrenees, the Scandinavian Mountains). The coastline is heavily indented and has a large number of bays convenient for navigation. Many rivers flow through the region, the longest of which are the Danube, Dnieper, Rhine, Elbe, Vistula, Western Dvina (Daugava), and Loire. Most of Western Europe is characterized by a temperate climate, Southern Europe– Mediterranean, for the far north – subarctic and arctic.

The vast majority of the population of modern Europe speaks languages ​​of the Indo-European family. The period of existence of the common Indo-European language dates back to the 5th–4th millennium BC. At the end of this period, the migration of their speakers and the formation of separate Indo-European languages ​​began. The geographic location of the ancestral homeland of the Indo-Europeans has not been precisely established. Various hypotheses place it on the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, and the Black Sea region. In the 2nd–1st millennium BC. Indo-European languages ​​spread throughout Europe, but as early as the 1st millennium BC. peoples of non-Indo-European origin survived: the Etruscans in Italy, the Iberians on the Iberian Peninsula, etc. Currently, only the Basques living in the north of Spain and adjacent areas of France are native speakers of a language that dates back to the pre-Indo-European era and is not related to any other modern languages.

During the settlement throughout Europe, separate groups of languages ​​of the Indo-European family were formed: Romance, Germanic, Slavic, Celtic, Greek, Albanian, Baltic, as well as the now non-existent Thracian.

Romance languages ​​go back to Latin, which spread in the first centuries of our era throughout the territory of the Roman Empire. They are spoken by such numerous peoples of the southwest and west of Foreign Europe as the French (there are 54 million people in Foreign Europe), Italians (53 million people), Spaniards (40 million people), Portuguese (12 million people) . The Romance group includes the languages ​​of the Walloons of Belgium, the Corsicans inhabiting the French island of Corsica, the Catalans and Galicians of Spain, the Sardinians of the Italian island of Sardinia (in a number of classifications they are considered a group of Italians), the Romansh (Friuls, Ladins and Romans) in northeastern Italy and southern Switzerland, Franco-Swiss, Italo-Swiss, San Marino, Andorran, Monegasque (Monegasque). The Eastern Romance subgroup includes the languages ​​of Romanians, Moldovans, and Aromanians, who live dispersedly in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula.

Languages German group common in Central Europe, where Germans live (more than 75 million people). German is also spoken by Austrians, German-Swiss, and Liechtensteiners. In Northern Europe, the peoples of the Germanic group include the Swedes (about 8 million people), Danes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Faroese; on the British Isles - the English (45 million people), the Scots - a people of Celtic origin who have now switched to the English language, as well as the Ulsters - the descendants of immigrants to Ulster from England and Scotland; in the Benelux countries - the Dutch (13 million people), the Flemings (live in Belgium and adjacent areas of France and the Netherlands), the Frisians (live in the north of the Netherlands), and Luxembourgers. Until World War II, a significant part of European Jews spoke Yiddish, which was formed on the basis of German dialects. Currently, the Hebrew language of the Semitic group of the Afroasiatic family is widespread among Jews. In addition, in everyday life they communicate in the languages ​​of the peoples among whom they live.

The peoples of Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe speak languages ​​of the Slavic group. The languages ​​of Ukrainians (43 million people) and Belarusians (10 million people), together with Russian, form the East Slavic subgroup; Poles (38 million people), Czechs, Slovaks and Lusatians of East Germany - West Slavic; Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Slovenes, Bulgarians, Macedonians - South Slavic.

Languages ​​of the Celtic group, in the 1st millennium BC. widespread in Europe, they are preserved in the British Isles, where the Irish, Welsh and Gaels (northern Scots who have not switched to English) live. The language of the Bretons, the population of the Brittany Peninsula (France), is also Celtic.

The Baltic group includes the languages ​​of Lithuanians and Latvians, the Greek group includes the languages ​​of the Greeks, and the Albanian group includes the languages ​​of the Albanians. The language of the European Gypsies, whose ancestors migrated to Europe from Asia, belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of the Indo-European family.

Along with the Indo-Europeans, peoples living in Foreign Europe speak the languages ​​of the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language family. These are Finns (about 5 million people), Estonians (1 million people), Sami, whose ancestors penetrated from the east into the Baltic Sea region in the 2nd millennium BC, as well as Hungarians (12 million people) - descendants nomads who settled at the end of the 9th century. on the Danube Lowland. In Southeast and Eastern Europe live Turks, Tatars, Gagauz, Karaites, whose languages ​​belong to the Turkic group of the Altai language family. The language of the Maltese (more than 350 thousand people), formed under the influence of Arabic, belongs to the Semitic group of the Afroasiatic language family.

The population of Foreign Europe belongs to the large Caucasian race, within the boundaries of which it forms the Atlanto-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, Central European, Indo-Mediterranean, Balkan-Caucasian small races.

Farming. The peoples of Foreign Europe belong to the HKT of arable farmers. In the mountainous zone on small plots of land until the 20th century. elements of manual farming were preserved. For example, the Basques used the “laya” tool, dating back to the Neolithic era, to loosen the earth, which consisted of two sharp rods attached to a wooden handle.

The Apennine and Iberian Peninsulas were characterized by a light, wheelless plow of the Roman (Italian) type, suitable for cultivating rocky, infertile soils. To the north, a heavy asymmetrical plow with a wheeled limber was common, which dates back to the Celtic cultural tradition. The peoples of Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula used the Slavic plow with a runner. In this zone, archaic arable tools were preserved longer. The peoples of the Balkan Peninsula back in the 19th century. They used a light plow with a symmetrical plowshare, which, unlike the later plow, did not have a wheeled plow or a moldboard.

In the Middle Ages, European agriculture was characterized by two-field and three-field crop rotations, and for the forest regions of Eastern and Northern Europe with low population density, also slash-and-burn agriculture, which persisted in Finland until the beginning of the 20th century.

In the XVIII–XIX centuries. An industrial revolution took place in Europe, which also affected agricultural production. The centers for the invention and implementation of new agricultural technologies and tools during this period were England and Flanders, whose economies were distinguished by the early development of capitalist relations. Here in the middle of the 18th century. They began to use the lightweight Brabant (Norfolk) plow, which increased the depth of plowing and reduced the number of weeds on the field, agronomic knowledge developed, and multi-field crop rotation systems were introduced, which were subsequently introduced and improved in other European countries.

Traditionally, grains (wheat, barley, oats, and rye in cooler areas), legumes, vegetables, and root crops (turnips, rutabaga) were grown in Europe. In the 16th–19th centuries. There was the introduction of new crops, including corn, potatoes, tobacco, and sugar beets imported from the New World.

Currently, grain farming is developed in the southern part of Foreign Europe, including Ukraine. In the more northern zone, agriculture is focused on growing potatoes and vegetables.

The climatic conditions of Southern Europe are favorable for agriculture, where olives, citrus fruits, and rice are cultivated, which appeared in Spain and Italy under the influence of the Arabs, and on the Balkan Peninsula - the Turks. Viticulture and related winemaking have long been developed here. The grape culture has become widespread among European peoples and is grown in the north as far as Germany and the Czech Republic, and in small quantities even in England.

Among the peoples of Northern Europe - Icelanders, Norwegians, Swedes, Finns - agriculture was less important due to the harsh climate and infertile soils. Livestock farming, fishing, and various crafts played a major role in the economy of this region.

Animal husbandry (breeding cattle, sheep, goats, horses, pigs) is practiced throughout Europe. It is most significant in mountainous regions inconvenient for agriculture (Alps, Carpathians, Apennines, Balkans). Transhumance with vertical movement of the herd with the change of two or three pastures per season was the main occupation of some groups of the population of the Alpine zone, where they raised cattle, as well as the Polish Gurals in the Beskids, the Moravian Vlachs of the Czech Republic, the Transylvanian Hungarians, and the Aromanians of the Balkan Mountains who were engaged in sheep breeding.

In a number of cases, the predominant development of livestock farming was determined by trade benefits: meat and dairy farming in Denmark and North-West Germany; sheep farming in England, where sheep's wool became an important export item. Sheep farming has also acquired particular importance on the Faroe Islands, whose climate is extremely unfavorable for agriculture.

Fishing was of greatest importance to the inhabitants of the Atlantic coast. The Portuguese, Galicians, and Basques caught cod, sardines, and anchovies. The main catch of Dutch fishermen was herring. The peoples of Northern Europe - Norwegians, Icelanders, Faroese, Danes - have long practiced sea fishing (cod and herring fishing) and whaling. In particular, the Faroese fished for pilot whales, a whale whose migration routes pass by the Faroe Islands.

The Finns had developed lake and river fishing, as well as hunting. The northernmost people of Foreign Europe - the Sami - were engaged in reindeer herding, hunting and fishing.

Housing depended on climatic conditions and availability building material. Due to the fact that forests have been cut down in many areas of Foreign Europe, frame structures of houses and brick buildings have spread here. Wood is widely used in construction to this day in Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic states, and Belarus.

The southern part of Foreign Europe is characterized by the southern European type of house, which developed from a room with a fireplace, and subsequently additional residential and utility rooms were added to it. A Southern European house can be one-story or have several floors. Its most common variant - a Mediterranean house consists of two floors, the lower of which is utility, the upper is residential. The house is distributed throughout the Mediterranean from Portugal to Turkey. Houses were built from brick and stone; on the Balkan Peninsula, right up to deforestation, log-cutting equipment was also used. The estate (house and adjacent outbuildings) often had a closed quadrangle plan with an open courtyard. The yard could have economic functions (the Italians of the Alpine zone kept cattle in such a yard) or it could be a place of rest (the Spaniards of Andalusia).

Along with Mediterranean houses, the Albanians had residential stone towers - “kuls” (square or rectangular in plan), which also had a defensive function.

In Central and Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Northern France, a house of the Western Central European type is common. Initially, this house consisted of a middle room with a hearth and a bread oven (a door led into it from the street) and two side rooms. Subsequently, the number of rooms increased, utility rooms were added to the house, forming a verb-shaped or quiet courtyard. One-story (France, Belgium) and two-story (Germany) versions of this type are known.

Northern Germany, the Netherlands, Alsace and Lorraine are characterized by a house of the Northern European type, which developed from a single-chamber building with a gate in a narrow wall. Its main part was occupied by a threshing floor, along the side walls there were stalls for livestock, and on the wall opposite the gate there was a living area with a fireplace. Later, a wall appeared that separated the utility room from the living space, although back in the 17th century. There were houses without such a wall. The same type of house was brought to modern England by the ancestors of the English - the Angles and Saxons, who moved to the British Isles in the 6th century. When agriculture in England lost its importance, the threshing floor turned into a hall - a spacious front room.

In Germany, the construction of houses is of frame construction, known by the German term "half-timbered". In such buildings, the supporting base is sections of dark wooden beams visible from the outside of the house. The space between the beams is filled with adobe material or brick, then plastered and whitewashed.

Half-timbered construction is also used in the construction of houses of the Western Central European type.

Home of Western and Eastern Slavs, part of the Austrians and Hungarians belong to the Eastern Central European type. Its basis was a single-chamber building of a log or pillar structure with a hearth or stove (hut/hut). The entrance was through a cold extension (canopy). Since the 19th century a cage-chamber was attached to the dwelling, which in the past was an independent building. As a result, the dwelling acquired the following layout: hut - canopy - hut (chamber). The hearth and the mouth of the stove, the body of which was located in the hut, were moved into the canopy, thereby becoming warm and turning into a kitchen. Log buildings are more ancient. In the Czech tradition, the gaps between the logs were plugged with moss and covered with clay, which was painted in various colors. Sometimes the walls of the log house were completely whitewashed. From the 16th century In Western Poland and the Czech Republic, frame technology (half-timbering) spread under German influence.

Finland, Northern Sweden, and Northern Norway were characterized by the North Scandinavian type of housing - a log building with a gable roof, consisting of a living room with a stove, a clean room and a cold entryway between them. The house was covered with boards, which were usually painted dark colors.

In Southern Sweden, Southern Norway and Denmark, houses of the Southern Scandinavian type dominated, consisting of a middle living room with an oven and hearth (in Denmark only with a stove) and two rooms on the sides. The frame (cage) technique, similar to German half-timbering, predominated.

The northern and southern Scandinavian types were characterized by a closed type of courtyard, in the southern zone it was also quiet or with a free arrangement of buildings. In Finland, Northern Sweden and Norway there were two-story log cages and barns. In Finland, a bathhouse (sauna) was obligatory for the construction of a manor.

Original types of housing were formed among peoples living in mountainous conditions, where there was a need to combine residential and utility premises on a small area of ​​terrain. In the Alpine mountains, the area inhabited by the Bavarian Germans, Austrians, and peoples of Switzerland, such is, for example, the Alpine type of house - a huge two- (or three)-story building with a gable roof, combining residential and utility rooms. The lower floor was usually built of stone, the upper floors were made of logs (alternatively, they had a frame structure). Along the front wall at the second floor level there was a gallery with wooden railings, which was used for drying hay. The Basques of the Pyrenees Mountains are characterized by a special type - the Basque house. This is a massive two- or three-story square building with a gable flat roof and a gate in the front wall. In ancient times, such a house was built from logs, from the 15th century. - made of stone.

Cloth. The common elements of the men's clothing complex of the peoples of Foreign Europe were a tunic-like shirt, trousers, a belt, and a sleeveless vest. Until the middle of the 19th century. among the peoples of Western Europe, the trousers were narrow, slightly below the knees, and were worn with short stockings or leggings. In the 19th century Pants of modern cut and length have become widespread. The modern costume of the European peoples has absorbed many elements of the clothing of the British of the 19th century: jackets, tuxedos, raincoats of modern cut, galoshes, rain umbrellas.

The costumes of the inhabitants of some mountainous regions were original. Such, for example, is the Tyrolean costume typical of the inhabitants of the Alps - Austrians, Germans, German-Swiss, which included a white shirt with a turn-down collar, short leather pants with suspenders, a cloth vest, a wide leather belt, knee-length stockings, shoes, a hat with narrow brims and pen.

The components of the Highland Scots men's costume were a knee-length checkered skirt (kilt), a beret and a plaid of the same color, a white shirt, and a jacket. The color of the kilt corresponded to the clan, although not all lowland clans had their own colors in the past.

White men's skirts (fustanella) were also worn by Albanians and Greeks, but they were worn over pants.

Men's headdresses were hats, the shape of which depended on the current fashion; in the Mediterranean, also caps. In the 19th century In Europe, soft caps with a visor spread. The ethnospecific headdress of the Basques was the beret.

A typical women's costume consisted of a shirt, skirt, and sleeveless jacket. The clothing of Protestant peoples in most cases was distinguished by darker tones.

Archaic versions of women's clothing survived into the 19th century. in Eastern Finland: two unstitched panels were worn over a tunic-like shirt with embroidery, held on shoulder straps. The Bulgarians had a piece of woolen material replacing a skirt, fitting a tunic-like shirt below the waist; among the northern Albanians - the so-called “jublet”, which consisted of a bell-shaped skirt and a separately worn bodice, sleeves and shoulder pads, the joints of which were decorated with fringe.

In certain areas of Foreign Europe, sundresses were common. They were worn in Norway, Eastern Finland, Belarus, and Southern Bulgaria. Shoulder scarves were popular. In particular, on the Iberian Peninsula they wore colorful shawls - mantillas. Headdresses were caps, which could be decorated with lace. IN German tradition Women's hats were also common.

Men's and women's shoes most peoples had leather. In France, Belgium, and the Netherlands they also wore cheap wooden shoes; Belarusians were familiar with bast shoes.

The Muslims of the Balkan Peninsula had specific elements of clothing: women had trousers, over which they wore a skirt, men had a fez, a red cylinder-shaped headdress without a brim, originally common among the Turks.

Of course, clothing depended on the climate. Thus, the men's and women's costume of the peoples of Northern Europe included a variety of woolen knitted items and outerwear made from fur.

Food. Among the peoples of Foreign Europe, bread (both unleavened and sour) made from wheat, rye, corn flour, porridge, and various dough products was widespread. For example, typical for Italian cuisine are pizza - a type of open pie, pasta - various pasta, for Czech - bread dumplings (pieces of soaked white bread which are served as a side dish). In modern times, potato dishes have become widespread. Potatoes occupied a large place in the cuisine of the Irish, the Baltic peoples, and the Eastern Slavs.

Soups and stews, which were especially varied in Eastern Europe (borscht among Ukrainians, cabbage soup and borscht among Belarusians). Meat dishes were prepared from pork, beef, lamb, and the Icelanders also used horse meat. The practice of making sausages, frankfurters, and smoking hams was practiced. The French along with various types meat (including rabbit and pigeon) was eaten by frogs, snails, and oysters. Among Muslim peoples, pork is a taboo meat. A typical dish for Muslims on the Balkan Peninsula was pilaf with lamb.

Residents of the sea and ocean coasts are characterized by fish dishes - fried or boiled sardines and cod with potatoes among the Portuguese, herring among the Dutch, fried fish and chips among the British.

Cheese making is practiced in many European cultures. A wide variety of cheese varieties exist in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany. In Switzerland at the beginning of the 20th century. Processed cheese was invented. Cheese dishes include fondue (a hot dish of cheese with wine, common in Switzerland and French Savoy), onion soup with cheese (among the French). Slavic peoples know various methods of fermenting milk; residents of the Balkan Peninsula prepare cheese from sheep's milk - feta cheese.

For most peoples, the main non-alcoholic drink is coffee. Tea is popular among the peoples of the British Isles and the Eastern Slavs. The alcoholic drinks of European peoples are varied. Beer is known everywhere; the most famous varieties are produced in the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and the British Isles. Cider, a low-alcohol drink made from apples, was popular among the Basques and Bretons. Wine is consumed in large quantities in the viticulture zone. Also known are grape and fruit brandies (for example, plum brandy among the Western Slavs), and grain vodka. The British Isles produce whiskey, a strong barley-based drink, as well as gin, a juniper vodka that is also popular among the Dutch.

Islam does not allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages, so coffee is the festive ritual drink of Muslims.

Religion. Most peoples of Foreign Europe profess Christianity, which is divided into several directions.

Catholicism is practiced by the Irish, the peoples of the Iberian and Apennine Peninsulas (Spaniards, Catalans, Portuguese, Galicians, Basques, Italians), France, Belgium (Walloons and Flemings), Austria, the Germans of southern and western Germany, the Austrians, part of the population of Switzerland, the Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Slovenians, Croats, and some Albanians.

Protestantism is widespread mainly in the northern part of Europe. Lutherans are the peoples of Finland and Scandinavia, the Germans of eastern Germany; Calvinists - French-Swiss, part of the German-Swiss, Dutch, part of the Hungarians, Scots; Anglicans - the English and Welsh (the latter also have small Protestant churches, in particular Methodism).

Orthodoxy is characteristic of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. This branch of Christianity is practiced by Ukrainians, Belarusians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Romanians, Aromanians, Gagauzians, and some Albanians.

Islam spread to the Balkan Peninsula and Crimea during the period when this territory became part of the Ottoman Empire. Turks, Crimean Tatars, Bosnians, part of the Albanians, Nomak Bulgarians are Sunni Muslims, part of the Albanians are Shiites belonging to the Bektashite tariqa. Jews and Karaites profess Judaism. Among the Sami of Foreign Europe, who belong to the Lutheran Church, traditional animistic beliefs have also been preserved.

Calendar ritual. The traditional customs and rituals of the peoples of Foreign Europe have typological similarities, since historically they were closely connected with common agricultural activities. Pagan rituals were partially preserved in the Christian era. Having lost their former meaning, they were included in the rituals of the Christian holiday calendar, or existed in parallel with the church tradition. Catholicism and Orthodoxy were more tolerant of the remnants of paganism. On the contrary, Protestant churches that arose in the 16th century. and those who fought for the renewal and purification of Christianity showed intolerance towards them. For this reason, archaic customs and rituals in to a lesser extent manifested in the culture of Protestant peoples.

For many peoples - Catholics and Protestants - the beginning winter season Saint Martin's Day (November 11) was considered. By this day, agricultural work was completed and cattle were brought in from mountain pastures. Meals were arranged, the obligatory dish of which for many peoples was roast goose. In wine-growing regions, for example, among the Spaniards, Italians, and Croats, young wine was tasted and poured from vats into barrels.

In the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic, a popular folk holiday was St. Nicholas Day (December 6). Saint Nicholas was represented as a man with a long gray beard, wearing the white robes of a bishop. He rode on a horse or donkey with a bag of gifts on his back and rods in his hand for naughty children. During the Reformation, Protestants, who rejected the cult of saints, moved the giving of gifts to Christmas, and Saint Nicholas was replaced by other characters: the child Christ or, in the German tradition, the Christmas man ( Weihnachtsmann ). Processions of mummers on the eve of St. Nicholas Day have been preserved in the cities of the Netherlands.

An important holiday was Christmas (December 25). Catholics have a well-known tradition of arranging models of the manger in which, according to biblical legend, Jesus Christ was born. Clay or porcelain figurines of the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the Child Christ and other biblical characters were placed in the Christmas manger. In the evening of Christmas Eve (December 24), a meal was held in the house, before which the ritual of lighting the Christmas log was performed. The head of the family put a large log on the hearth, which was supposed to smolder for as long as possible, sometimes, like the Italians, twelve days - this is the name of the period from Christmas to Epiphany, corresponding to the Russian Christmastide. The coals and firebrands of the Christmas log were credited with miraculous powers.

In the 19th century The custom of decorating the Christmas tree, originally known in southwestern Germany, spread throughout Europe.

Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks had beliefs about the first guest (polaznik) associated with Christmas. The well-being of the family in the next year depended on the personality of the visitor, so the polaznik was often chosen from respected men; his function included performing ritual actions: for example, in Poland, the polaznik, upon entering the hut, sat down and clucked, imitating a chicken. Prosperity was also symbolized by the sheaves that the Western Slavs brought to the house on Christmas Eve.

During the Twelve Days, in all European countries, groups of children visited homes, sang songs, and practiced fortune-telling. The festivities ended on the feast of Epiphany (January 6), known in folk tradition like the Day of the Three Kings - the biblical wise men who saw Star of Bethlehem and those who came with gifts to the baby Jesus. Processions took place in which masks of three kings (Melchior, Gaspard, Balthazar) participated, who were presented in pseudo-eastern costumes embroidered with stars.

The Carnival holiday, celebrated for several days before Lent, was very popular - in German this holiday is called Fastnacht (“fast night”, meaning the night before fasting). Carnival is characterized by abundant fatty foods and flour products. The symbol of the holiday was a stuffed animal of a large fat man, whom the Spaniards called Don Carnaval, the Italians called the King of Carnival, and the Poles called Bacchus. At the end of the festivities, the effigy was burned at the stake. During the Carnival, there were processions of mummers who put on masks of animals, evil spirits, and dressed in clothes of the opposite sex. In European cities, carnival processions spread in the Middle Ages. Then they had clear regulations, and representatives of craft workshops took part in them. In the past, the holiday also included ritual actions aimed at ensuring a good harvest, such as symbolic plowing. Protestant churches have been around since the 16th century. successfully fought against carnival traditions, considering them a manifestation of paganism. Thus, among the peoples of Scandinavia, professing Lutheranism, only some games and the custom of baking special buns and flatbreads were preserved. In modern Europe, the most famous urban carnival processions are in Cologne (Catholic Germans) and Venice (Italians).

After Carnival, Great Lent began, lasting seven weeks until Easter. A common Christian tradition is the dyeing of eggs. For Easter, many nations prepare roast lamb, symbolizing the Lamb of God - Jesus Christ. In German culture, Easter has acquired the characteristics of a children's holiday. There was a custom to hide colored eggs in the garden or in the house. If a child found a red egg first, it promised happiness, a blue egg meant misfortune. They said that these eggs were brought to children by hares - animals associated in the popular consciousness with fertility, fertility and wealth, which became one of the symbols of the German Easter celebration.

May Day (May 1) was associated with the onset of the warm season of the year and summer greenery. On the eve of the holiday, a maypole (a real tree dug up with roots or a decorated pole) was installed at the place where young people were celebrating. During the competition, the May king and queen were chosen - the most dexterous guy and the most beautiful girl, who led the festive procession. Houses were decorated with flowers. In France, the symbol of May 1st is lilies of the valley, which are usually given to girls. The German peoples had ideas about the special danger of witches who flock to sabbaths on the night of May 1 (among these peoples it is known as the day of St. Walpurgis, and the night, accordingly, is Walpurgis). To protect against evil forces, crosses were painted on the barn doors, fires were lit, guns were fired into the air, a harrow was dragged around the village, etc.

St. John's Day (June 24) is associated with the summer solstice. On the eve of the holiday, they burned bonfires, collected medicinal herbs, and told fortunes. It was believed that water on Ivan’s night also acquired miraculous powers. Therefore, in the morning they washed themselves with dew or water from springs. For St. John's Day, the peoples of Scandinavia erected a tree similar to the May one (a pole with various decorations). In many countries, May 1 and St. John's Day are widely celebrated to this day.

The holiday of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (August 15) coincides with the end of the main summer agricultural work. Catholics held solemn processions, the participants of which carried ears of the new harvest to the church for blessing.

The year ended with All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). On the first day, it was customary to attend a church service, and on the second, to come to the graves of relatives and have a memorial meal at home.

The peoples of the British Isles have preserved holidays associated with the ancient traditions of the Celtic peoples. The Christian All Saints Day (Halloween, November 1) included the rituals of the pagan Celtic holiday Samhain or Samhain (in Gaelic - “end of summer”) - a procession of mummers, whose participants carried torches or lanterns made of turnips mounted on long sticks; fortune telling and various games. August 1st was the holiday of Lughnas (on behalf of the pagan god Lugh, and later a character in medieval Irish sagas), which in modern English was called Lammas day (according to one version, from Loaf-mass loaf mass, according to another - from Lamb mass - Mass of the Lambs). On this day, youth festivities took place, the English brought bread from the flour of the new harvest to church, the Irish organized a common meal, for which they roasted a whole sheep and cooked new potatoes for the first time.

Among the Orthodox peoples of the Balkan Peninsula, the beginning of the cold season, when cattle were driven from mountain pastures and the sowing of winter crops was completed, was considered St. Demetrius's Day (October 26/November 8), and the beginning of the warm season, when cattle were driven out to pastures, was St. George's Day ( April 23/May 6). For Christmas (December 25/January 7), rituals with a Christmas log, the first guest, and dressing were timed. The analogue of the Catholic carnival is known among the Orthodox (including the Eastern Slavs) as Maslenitsa. In Eastern Bulgaria, processions of kuksrov (festively dressed men), dating back to ancient Thracian traditions, have been preserved. The ritual included the kukers going around the village, collecting gifts (grain, oil, meat), ritual plowing and sowing in the village square, the symbolic murder of the main kuker and his subsequent resurrection, and the purifying bathing of the kukers in the river.

Some rituals of ancient origin were timed to coincide with other church holidays. St. Andrew's Day (November 30/December 13) was celebrated by the South Slavs as a bear holiday - in popular belief, St. Andrew rides a bear. For the bear, whose image in the traditional mind was associated with fertility, a treat made from corn cobs and dry pears was left in front of the house. St. Nicholas Day (December 6/19) was considered a family holiday. Serbs and Montenegrins hosted a meal with the participation of all family members, the central dish of which was bread consecrated in the church. Meals were also held on St. Elias Day (July 20/August 2), which acquired the features of a pagan thunder god. On St. John's Day (June 24/July 7), Orthodox Christians, as well as Catholics and Protestants, lit fires, collected herbs, wove wreaths, and told fortunes. Serbs and Montenegrins also performed similar rituals on St. Peter's Day (June 29/July 12).

The rituals of Belarusians and Ukrainians had their own characteristics due to climatic conditions. So, the beginning of the cold period here was considered to be Pokrov (October 1/14). On the Feast of the Trinity, celebrated seven weeks after Easter, houses were decorated with greenery and young trees were placed in front of the entrance. The Orthodox Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula performed a similar ritual as well as Catholics on May 1 (14) (in Orthodoxy - St. Jeremiah's Day). In general, the calendar rituals of the Eastern Slavs - Ukrainians and Belarusians - are characterized by great similarities with Russian ones.

The traditional calendar rituals of the Bosnians and Albanians, despite belonging to Islam, were fundamentally no different from the rituals of neighboring Christian peoples. This was due to their common origin and long-term residence in similar conditions.

St. Dmitry's Day corresponded to Kasym's Day (also a winter holiday), October 26, and St. George's Day corresponded to Khyzyr's Day (April 23). Muslim Albanians celebrated Christmas, which merged in popular culture with the midwinter holiday dedicated to the Winter Solstice (First Snow Day). In particular, they knew the ritual of lighting the Christmas log. The spring holiday of Nauruz (March 22) corresponded to the Christian New Year. On this day, Albanians performed actions aimed at driving out snakes, personifying evil forces: they walked around fields and gardens and created noise, ringing bells and hitting tin with sticks. Their neighbors, the Orthodox of the Balkan Peninsula, performed a similar ritual on the Annunciation (March 25/April 7). A special holiday for the Albanians was Midsummer Day, celebrated at the end of July. Residents of the villages climbed to the tops of the mountains, where they lit fires that burned throughout the night.

Family and social structures. The peoples of Foreign Europe in modern times were characterized by small (nuclear) families. Among Catholic and Protestant peoples, the tradition of primogeniture prevailed, in which the household was inherited by the eldest son. The remaining sons did not receive real estate and went to work for hire. The tradition of primogeniture prevented the fragmentation of farms, which was important in conditions of high population density and limited land resources.

On the periphery of the region - in Belarus, Ukraine, Eastern Finland, we met large families. Among such peoples of the Balkan Peninsula as Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosnians, back in the 19th century. existed special kind large family - zadru, which consisted of a father with married sons (father's zadru) or several brothers with their families (brotherly zadru). The Zadruga had collective ownership of movable and immovable property. The position of head (it was held by a man) could be elective or inherited. The head did not have absolute power: decisions were made collectively. Zadrugs united from 10–12 to 50 people. and more. In the second half of the 19th century. The section began at once.

The Albanians in the mountainous part of Albania until the beginning of the 20th century. there were fisas - tribal associations governed by an elder (he held the position by inheritance) and a gathering of men. Fiss owned land, divided into family plots. According to historical tradition, 12 phises are considered the oldest (“original”, “large” phises), the rest are considered to have arisen later. One fis could include persons of different confessions.

For a long time, the Highland Scots and Irish maintained a clan structure. Clans were the basis of the military organization of these peoples. The disappearance of clans occurred due to economic reasons and was reinforced by the introduction of relevant laws: in Ireland, clans were abolished by the British in 1605 after the suppression of the uprising local residents, in highland Scotland - in the 18th century, after consolidating the power of the English monarchy. However, among the Scots, the idea of ​​a person's symbolic affiliation with a clan persists to this day.

Ritualism of the life cycle. IN traditional culture young people met at gatherings, fairs, and festivities. Wedding rituals usually included matchmaking, which could consist of several stages. Catholic and Protestant peoples had a tradition of entering into a written dowry agreement during matchmaking - the predecessor of modern marriage contracts.

Remnants of ancient beliefs have long been preserved in folk cultures. For example, in the German tradition, on the eve of the wedding in the bride’s house, or separately at the bride and groom’s house, a polterabend (literally an evening of noise, din) was held. Many guests gathered for the holiday, who made toasts and, after drinking, broke the dishes (especially for such an occasion, cracked cups were kept in the house). It was believed that the noise drove away evil spirits from young people, and a large number of shards promised great happiness to the new family. Also, in order to deceive evil spirits in Spain, there were traditions of kidnapping the bride and groom in the first place. wedding night or to obstruct it in every possible way (they let ants onto the wedding bed, sprinkled salt, hid under the bed, guests constantly entered the room during the night).

Traditional wedding festivities could last several days. In a number of countries (Denmark, Scotland), Protestant churches and secular authorities in the 16th–19th centuries. they tried to regulate the wedding so that the population did not spend a lot of money on it: restrictions were introduced on the number of guests, food served at the table, and the duration of the wedding.

Protestants view weddings as a simple rite, in contrast to Catholicism and Orthodoxy, which consider weddings a church sacrament. Among Protestant peoples, for example, among the Norwegians, young people could begin life together after betrothal. The Scots had an “irregular marriage” or “handshake marriage,” which consisted of a verbal declaration by a couple in front of witnesses that they were becoming husband and wife. Such a marriage was not approved by the Presbyterian (Calvinist) church, but from the point of view of popular ideas it was considered valid.

The birth of a child was also accompanied by magical actions. In Italian tradition, a woman in labor was placed on an adobe floor near the hearth so that she could be helped by the house spirits living under the hearth. Remnants of the kuvada ritual—the husband’s imitation of labor pains—were noted. For example, in Spain, in the Leon region, a husband climbed into a basket and squatted down, clucking like a chicken. Beliefs were widespread about the connection between a child’s birthday and his future destiny. Family meals were held on the occasion of the baptism of a child, the appearance of the first tooth, and the first cutting of hair and nails. In the economically developed regions of Foreign Europe, archaic elements of maternity rituals disappeared quite early due to the spread of rational medicine and the emergence of professional midwives (in England - from the 16th century, in Scandinavia - from the 18th century).

Christians were required to baptize the child. For Muslims, the rite of circumcision was obligatory. Bosnians performed it in the first ten years of a boy’s life (usually at three, five or seven years), Albanians - in the period from 7 to 12 years. The circumcision ceremony was accompanied by a subsequent feast.

In the funeral rites of some Catholic and Orthodox peoples, funeral laments performed by women have been preserved. Sometimes, as, for example, among the Basques, these were professional mourners who received payment for their art. Only the Albanians performed male laments, which were considered appropriate at the funerals of respected men. In some cases, there were ideas about special ways delivering the deceased to the cemetery: Poles and Slovaks were supposed to hit the coffin three times on the threshold, which symbolized the deceased’s farewell to his home; Norwegians practiced transporting the coffin with the body of the deceased to the cemetery at any time of the year on a sleigh, a vehicle of the pre-wheel era. European peoples knew the tradition of funeral meals, which was preserved in its most developed form among the Orthodox peoples, who organized such meals on the day of the funeral, on the ninth, fortieth days after death.

The peoples of Europe are one of the most interesting and at the same time complex topics in history and cultural studies. Understanding the peculiarities of their development, way of life, traditions, and culture will allow us to better understand the modern events that are taking place in this part of the world in various areas of life.

general characteristics

With all the diversity of the population living on the territory of European states, we can say that, in principle, they all followed one common path of development. Most states were formed on the territory of the former Roman Empire, which included vast areas, from the Germanic lands in the west to the Gallic regions in the east, from Britain in the north to northern Africa in the south. That is why we can say that all these countries, despite all their dissimilarity, nevertheless formed in a single cultural space.

Path of development in the early Middle Ages

The peoples of Europe as nationalities began to take shape as a result of the great migration of tribes that swept the continent in the 4th-5th centuries. Then, as a result of massive migration flows, a radical transformation of the social structure that existed for centuries during the period of ancient history took place, and new ones took shape. ethnic communities. In addition, the formation of nationalities was influenced by the movement that founded their so-called barbarian states on the lands of the former Roman Empire. Within their framework, the peoples of Europe emerged approximately in the form in which they exist at the present stage. However, the process of final national formation occurred during the mature Middle Ages.

Further formation of states

In the XII-XIII centuries, in many countries of the continent, the process of formation began national identity. This was the time when the prerequisites arose for residents of states to begin to identify and position themselves as a specific national community. This initially manifested itself in language and culture. The peoples of Europe began to develop national literary languages, which determined their belonging to a particular ethnic group. In England, for example, this process began very early: already in the 12th century famous writer D. Chaucer created his famous “Canterbury Tales”, which laid the foundation for the national in English.

XV-XVI centuries in the history of Western Europe

The late Middle Ages and early modern period played a decisive role in the formation of states. This was the period of the formation of monarchies, the formation of the main governing bodies, the formation of economic development paths, and, most importantly, the specific cultural appearance was formed. Due to these circumstances, the traditions of the peoples of Europe were very diverse. They were determined by the entire course of previous development. First of all, the geographical factor had an impact, as well as the peculiarities of the formation of national states, which finally took shape in the era under consideration.

New time

The 17th-18th centuries were a time of violent upheaval for Western European countries, which experienced a rather difficult period in their history due to the transformation of socio-political, social and cultural environment. We can say that in these centuries the traditions of the peoples of Europe were tested for strength not only by time, but also by revolutions. During these centuries, states fought for hegemony on the mainland with varying degrees of success. The 16th century passed under the domination of the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs, the next century - under the clear leadership of France, which was facilitated by the fact of the establishment of absolutism here. The 18th century shook its position largely due to the revolution, wars, and also the internal political crisis.

Expansion of spheres of influence

The next two centuries were marked by major changes in the geopolitical situation in Western Europe. This was due to the fact that some leading states took the path of colonialism. The peoples living in Europe mastered new territorial spaces, primarily North, South American and eastern lands. This significantly influenced the cultural appearance of European states. First of all, this concerns Great Britain, which created an entire colonial empire that covered almost half the world. This led to the fact that it was the English language and English diplomacy that began to influence European development.

Another event had a strong impact on the geopolitical map of the mainland - two world wars. The peoples living in Europe were on the verge of destruction as a result of the devastation caused by the fighting. Of course, all this affected the fact that it was Western European states that influenced the beginning of the process of globalization and the creation of global bodies for resolving conflicts.

Current state

The culture of the peoples of Europe today is largely determined by the process of erasing national borders. The computerization of society, the rapid development of the Internet, as well as widespread migration flows have raised the problem of erasing national distinctive features. Therefore, the first decade of our century passed under the sign of resolving the issue of preserving the traditional cultural appearance of ethnic groups and nationalities. Recently, with the expansion of the globalization process, there has been a tendency to preserve the national identity of countries.

Cultural development

The life of the peoples of Europe is determined by their history, mentality and religion. With all the variety of paths of the cultural appearance of countries, one general feature of development in these states can be identified: the dynamism, practicality, and purposefulness of the processes that occurred at different times in science, art, politics, economics and in society in general. It was the last characteristic feature that the famous philosopher O. Spengler pointed out.

The history of the peoples of Europe is characterized by the early penetration of secular elements into the culture. This determined the rapid development of painting, sculpture, architecture and literature. The desire for rationalism was inherent in leading European thinkers and scientists, which determined the rapid pace of growth technical achievements. In general, the development of culture on the mainland was determined by the early penetration of secular knowledge and rationalism.

Spiritual life

The religions of the peoples of Europe can be divided into two large groups: Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy. The first is one of the most common not only on the mainland, but throughout the world. At first it was dominant in Western European countries, but then, after the Reformation that occurred in the 16th century, Protestantism arose. The latter has several branches: Calvinism, Lutheranism, Puritanism, the Anglican Church and others. Subsequently, on its basis, separate communities of a closed type arose. Orthodoxy is widespread in Eastern European countries. It was borrowed from neighboring Byzantium, from where it penetrated into Rus'.

Linguistics

The languages ​​of the peoples of Europe can be divided into three large groups: Romance, Germanic and Slavic. The first includes: France, Spain, Italy and others. Their peculiarities are that they were formed under the influence of eastern peoples. In the Middle Ages, these territories were subject to invasion by Arabs and Turks, which undoubtedly affected the development of their speech characteristics. These languages ​​are distinguished by their flexibility, sonority and melodiousness. It is not for nothing that most operas are written in Italian, and in general, it is considered one of the most musical in the world. These languages ​​are quite easy to understand and learn; however, French grammar and pronunciation can cause some difficulties.

The Germanic group includes the languages ​​of the northern, Scandinavian countries. This speech is distinguished by its firm pronunciation and expressive sound. They are more difficult to perceive and learn. For example, German is considered one of the most difficult European languages. Scandinavian speech is also characterized by the complexity of sentence construction and rather difficult grammar.

The Slavic group is also quite difficult to master. Russian is also considered one of the most difficult languages ​​to learn. At the same time, it is generally accepted that it is very rich in its lexical composition and semantic expressions. It is believed that he has all the necessary means of speech and language to convey the necessary thoughts. It is indicative that it was European languages ​​that were considered world languages ​​at different times and centuries. For example, at first it was Latin and Greek, which was due to the fact that Western European states, as mentioned above, were formed on the territory of the former Roman Empire, where both were in use. Subsequently, Spanish became widespread due to the fact that in the 16th century Spain became the leading colonial power, and its language spread to other continents, primarily to South America. In addition, this was due to the fact that the Austro-Spanish Habsburgs were the leaders on the mainland.

But subsequently France took the leading position, which also took the path of colonialism. Therefore, the French language spread to other continents, most notably North America and North Africa. But already in the 19th century it became the dominant colonial state, which determined the main role of the English language throughout the world, which continues to this day. In addition, this language is very convenient and easy to communicate, its grammatical structure is not as complex as, for example, French, and due to the rapid development of the Internet in recent years, English has greatly simplified and become almost colloquial. For example, many English words in Russian sound have come into use in our country.

Mentality and consciousness

The characteristics of the peoples of Europe should be considered in the context of their comparison with the population of the East. This analysis was carried out back in the second decade by the famous culturologist O. Spengler. He noted that all European peoples are characterized by this, which led to the rapid development in different centuries engineering, technology and industry. It was the latter circumstance that determined, in his opinion, the fact that they very quickly embarked on the path of progressive development, began to actively develop new lands, improve production, and so on. A practical approach became the key to the fact that these peoples achieved great results in the modernization of not only economic, but also socio-political life.

The mentality and consciousness of Europeans, according to the same scientist, from time immemorial have been aimed at not only studying and understanding nature and the reality around them, but also at actively using the results of these achievements in practice. Therefore, the thoughts of Europeans have always been aimed not only at obtaining knowledge in its pure form, but also at using it in transforming nature for their needs and improving living conditions. Of course, the above path of development was also typical for other regions of the world, but it was in Western Europe that it manifested itself with the greatest completeness and expressiveness. Some researchers associate this business consciousness and practically oriented mentality of Europeans with the peculiarities geographical conditions their residence. After all, most European countries are small in size, and therefore, in order to achieve progress, the peoples inhabiting Europe began to develop and master various technologies to improve production due to limited natural resources.

Characteristic features of countries

The customs of the peoples of Europe are very indicative of understanding their mentality and consciousness. They reflect them and their priorities. Unfortunately, very often the image of a particular nation is formed in the mass consciousness based on purely external attributes. In this way, labels are applied to one country or another. For example, England is very often associated with primness, practicality and exceptional efficiency. The French are very often perceived as cheerful socialites and open people, easy to communicate with. Italians or, for example, Spaniards seem to be a very emotional nation with a stormy temperament.

However, the peoples inhabiting Europe have a very rich and complex history, which left a deep imprint on their life traditions and way of life. For example, the fact that the British are considered homebodies (hence the saying “my home is my castle”) undoubtedly has deep historical roots. When there were fierce internecine wars in the country, apparently, the idea was formed that the fortress or castle of some feudal lord was a reliable defense. The British, for example, have another interesting custom, which also dates back to the Middle Ages: during parliamentary elections, the winning candidate literally fights his way to his seat, which is a kind of reference to the time when there was a fierce parliamentary struggle. Also, the custom of sitting on a sack of wool is still preserved, since it was the textile industry that gave impetus to the rapid development of capitalism in the 16th century.

The French still have a tradition of striving to express their nationality in a particularly expressive way. This is due to their turbulent history, especially XVIII century when the country went through a revolution, Napoleonic wars. During these events, the people felt their national identity especially acutely. Expressing pride in their fatherland is also a long-standing custom of the French, which is manifested, for example, during the performance of the Marseillaise and in our days.

Population

The question of what peoples inhabit Europe seems very complex, especially in view of the recent rapid migration processes. Therefore, in this section we should limit ourselves to only a short overview of this topic. When describing the language groups above, it was already said which ethnic groups inhabited the mainland. Here it is necessary to identify a few more features. Europe became the arena in the early Middle Ages. Therefore, its ethnic composition is extremely diverse. In addition, at one time, parts of it were dominated by Arabs and Turks, who left their mark. However, it is still necessary to point out the list of peoples of Europe from west to east (only the largest nations are listed in this series): Spaniards, Portuguese, French, Italians, Romanians, Germans, Scandinavian ethnic groups, Slavs (Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, Croats, Serbs , Slovenes, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Russians and others). Currently, the issue of migration processes, which threaten to change the ethnic map of Europe, is especially acute. In addition, the processes of modern globalization and the openness of borders threaten the erosion of ethnic territories. This issue is now one of the main ones in world politics, so in a number of countries there has been a tendency to maintain national and cultural isolation.

As a result of the studies, it was found that in given time 87 peoples live on the territory of modern Europe, 33 of them are the main nation for their states, 54 are an ethnic minority in the countries where they live, their number is 106 million people.

In total, about 827 million people live in Europe, this figure is steadily growing every year due to emigrants from the Middle East and those who come here to work and study large quantity people from all corners of our planet. The most numerous European nations are considered to be the Russian nation (130 million people), German (82 million), French (65 million), British (58 million), Italian (59 million), Spanish (46 million), Polish (47 million), Ukrainian (45 million). Also living in Europe are such Jewish groups as Karaites, Ashkenazis, Rominiots, Mizrahim, Sephardim, their total number is about 2 million people, Gypsies - 5 million people, Yenish (“white gypsies”) - 2.5 thousand people.

Despite the fact that the countries of Europe have a variegated ethnic composition, it can be said that they, in principle, have followed a single path of historical development and their traditions and customs were formed in a single cultural space. Most countries were created from the ruins of the once great Roman Empire, stretching from the possessions of the Germanic tribes in the west, to the borders in the east where the Gauls lived, from the shores of Britain in the north and the southern borders in North Africa.

Culture and traditions of the peoples of Northern Europe

According to the UN, the countries of Northern Europe include such states as Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Most numerous peoples Living in these countries and making up more than 90% of the population are the British, Irish, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Finns. The majority of the peoples of Northern Europe are representatives of the northern group of the Caucasoid race. These are people with fair skin and hair, their eyes are most often gray or blue. Religion - Protestantism. Residents of the Northern European region belong to two language groups: Indo-European and Uralic (Finno-Ugric and Germanic group)

(English primary school students)

The British live in a country called Great Britain or, as it is also called Foggy Albion, their culture and traditions have centuries-old history. They are considered to be a little prim, reserved and cold-blooded, but in fact they are very friendly and easy-going, they just value their personal space very much and for them kisses and hugs when meeting, like the French, for example, are unacceptable. They have great respect for sports (football, golf, cricket, tennis), sacredly honor the “Five O Clock” (five to six o’clock in the evening - time to drink traditional English tea, preferably with milk), prefer oatmeal for breakfast and the saying “my home is mine.” fortress” is just about the “desperate” homebodies that they are. The British are very conservative and do not really welcome change, so they have great respect for the reigning Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family.

(Irishman with his toy)

The Irish are known to the general public for their red hair and beard, emerald green as their national color, the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, the belief in the mythical wish-granting leprechaun, the fiery temperament, and the mesmerizing beauty of Irish folk dances performed to the jig, reel, and hornpipe.

(Prince Federick and Princess Mary, Denmark)

The Danes are distinguished by their special hospitality and loyalty to ancient customs and traditions. The main feature of their mentality is the ability to distance themselves from external problems and worries and completely immerse yourself in the comfort and peace of home. From others northern peoples Having a calm and melancholic disposition, they are distinguished by great temperament. They value freedom and individual rights like no other. One of the most popular holidays is St. Hans' Day (we have Ivan Kupala), and the popular Viking Festival is held annually on the island of Zealand.

(Birthday buffet)

By nature, Swedes are generally reserved, silent people, very law-abiding, modest, thrifty and reserved people. They also love nature very much and are distinguished by their hospitality and tolerance. Most of their customs are associated with the change of seasons: in winter they meet Saint Lucy, in summer they celebrate Midsommar (the pagan solstice holiday) in the open air.

(Representative of the indigenous Sami in Norway)

The ancestors of the Norwegians were brave and proud Vikings, whose hard life was completely devoted to the struggle for survival in the harsh conditions of the northern climate and surrounded by other wild tribes. That is why the Norwegian culture is imbued with the spirit of a healthy lifestyle; they welcome sports in nature, value hard work, honesty, simplicity in everyday life and decency in human relations. Their favorite holidays are Christmas, St. Canute's Day, and Summer Solstice.

(Finns and their pride - the reindeer)

The Finns have very conservative views and very much respect their traditions and customs; they are considered very reserved, completely devoid of emotions and very slow, and for them silence and thoroughness are a sign of aristocracy and good taste. They are very polite, correct and value punctuality, love nature and dogs, fishing, skiing and steaming in Finnish saunas, where they restore physical and moral strength.

Culture and traditions of the peoples of Western Europe

In the countries of Western Europe, the most numerous nationalities living here are Germans, French, Italians and Spaniards.

(In a French cafe)

The French are distinguished by restraint and polite treatment, they are very well-mannered and the rules of etiquette are not an empty phrase for them. Being late is a norm of life for them; the French are great gourmets and connoisseurs of good wines, which even children drink there.

(Germans at the festival)

The Germans are particularly punctual, neat and pedantic; they rarely express emotions and feelings violently in public, but deep down they are very sentimental and romantic. Most Germans are devout Catholics and celebrate the holiday of First Communion, which is very important to them. Germany is famous for its beer festivals, such as the Munich Oktoberfest, where tourists drink millions of gallons of the famous beer and eat thousands of fried sausages every year.

Italians and restraint are two incompatible concepts, they are emotional, cheerful and open, they adore stormy love passions, ardent courtship, serenades under the windows and magnificent wedding celebrations (matrimogno in Italian). Italians profess Catholicism, almost every town and village has its own patron saint, and houses are required to have a crucifix.

(Spain's lively street buffet)

Native Spaniards constantly talk loudly and quickly, gesticulate and show violent emotions. They have a hot temperament, there are “many” of them everywhere, they are noisy, friendly and open to communication. Their culture is permeated with feelings and emotions, dances and music are passionate and sensual. The Spaniards love to take a walk, relax during the summer two-hour siesta, cheer for the bullfighters at the bullfight, and indulge in tomatoes at the annual Battle of the Tomatoes at the Tomatina festival. The Spaniards are very religious and their religious holidays are celebrated with great pomp and pomp.

Culture and traditions of the peoples of Eastern Europe

The ancestors of the Eastern Slavs live in Eastern Europe; the most numerous ethnic groups are Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

The Russian people are distinguished by their breadth and depth of soul, generosity, hospitality and respect for their native culture, which has centuries-old roots. Its holidays, customs and traditions are closely connected with both Orthodoxy and paganism. Its main holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Maslenitsa, Easter, Trinity, Ivan Kupala, Intercession, etc.

(Ukrainian boy with girl)

Ukrainians value family values, honor and respect the customs and traditions of their ancestors, which are very colorful and vibrant, believe in the meaning and power of amulets (specially made objects that protect against evil spirits) and use them in various areas of their lives. These are hardworking people with original culture, its customs mix Orthodoxy and paganism, which makes them very interesting and colorful.

Belarusians are a hospitable and open nation, loving their unique nature and respecting their traditions; a polite attitude towards people and respect for elders are important to them. In the traditions and customs of the Belarusians, like all descendants of the Eastern Slavs, there is a mixture of Orthodoxy and Christianity, the most famous of them are Kalyady, Dedy, Dozhinki, Gukanne Viasny.

Culture and traditions of the peoples of Central Europe

The peoples living in Central Europe include Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Moldovans, Romanians, Serbs, Croats, etc.

(Poles on a national holiday)

Poles are very religious and conservative, but at the same time they are open to communication and hospitable. They are distinguished by a cheerful disposition, friendliness and have their own point of view on any issue. All age categories of Poles visit the church every day and honor the Virgin Mary above all else. Religious holidays are celebrated with special scope and solemnity.

(Festival of the Five Petal Rose in the Czech Republic)

Czechs are hospitable and friendly, they are always friendly, smiling and polite, they honor their traditions and customs, preserve and love folklore, and love national dances and music. The national Czech drink is beer; many traditions and rituals are dedicated to it.

(Hungarian dances)

The character of Hungarians is distinguished by a significant amount of practicality and love of life, combined with deep spirituality and romantic impulses. They are very fond of dancing and music, organize lush folk festivals and fairs with rich souvenirs, and carefully preserve their traditions, customs and holidays (Christmas, Easter, St. Stephen's Day and Hungarian Revolution Day).