What human qualities are evident in Ilya Muromets. What character qualities of Ilya Muromets inspire respect? Analysis of the structure of the work

Glorious Russian hero and hero ancient Russian legends and epic stories - Ilya Muromets is famous not only in our country, but also in neighboring states. By the way, in German poems dating back to the 13th century, there is a mention of the mighty knight Ilya the Russian.

Meanwhile we're talking about not at all about fairy tale character, but about a person who actually lived at that time, whose remains are in the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Ilya Muromets Russian Orthodox Church canonized and since then January 1 in the calendar is the day of his memory. Nowadays, the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation reverence the hero as their heavenly patron; it is customary to turn to him for support in difficult times.

Characteristics of the hero

(By origin Ilya Muromets - peasant son. Father - Ivan Timofeevich, mother - Evfrosinya Yakovlevna)

Courage, loyalty to word and duty, strength and love for the homeland - these are the main features epic image Ilya Muromets. Legends say that until the age of 33 he was bedridden in his house in the village of Chernigov near the city of Murom. And only when three elders came to him and miraculously healed Ilya, was he able to get up and find his heroic strength. The elders ordered him to go to Kyiv to serve the prince. From that time on, the history of the hero’s glorious victories over enemies internal (robbers and dashing people) and external (Pechenegs, Polovtsians, Khazars) dates back.

(The famous painting “Three Heroes” by V.M. Vasnetsova)

The epics describe Ilya as a man of powerful build and height (more than 180 cm), with light brown curls, black eyebrows, and a beard streaked with gray. His attire is traditional for that time: a helmet and chain mail, and his weapons are a club, a spear and a shield. For his high military spirit and fighting qualities, Prince Ilya Muromets was appointed senior over all his heroes.

(The Crush of the Nightingale the Robber)

The most famous feats- this is a victory over Nightingale the Robber (the unifying image of bandits who hunted on the roads), Idolisch the Pogany, Kalin the Tsar and other enemies of the Russian land. The hero accomplished many feats during his life, and when he became old, he retired to a monastery. But despite the passing centuries, his glory has not subsided, and in his image the features of all the defenders of the Fatherland, who laid down their lives for people and their freedom, merged.

Hero image

(Ilya Muromets - valiant hero, defender of the people in Rus')

The folk epic put on the image of Ilya Muromets traditional features hero. In each epic, his portrait acquires new features that only complement big picture. So, before leaving home for Kyiv, the warrior bows to his parents and asks them for a Christian blessing.

Ilya even treats his horse as a military comrade. His speech is addressed to him, he gives orders to him. In many epics, the goal of the hero is stated very precisely: to defend Holy Rus' and the Orthodox faith. He is ready to help the offended and unjustly oppressed. When Ilya Muromets liberates the city of Chernigov from invaders, its residents invite the liberator to take the place of governor. However, the hero does not agree, because his goal is completely different, and he serves his homeland selflessly.

(Everyone revered Ilya and came to him for any help.)

It is noteworthy that the hero does not have a family in the usual sense - a wife or a lover. And this is no coincidence. All the strength of the mighty warrior is aimed at protecting Rus', which truly needs him completely. The meaning of his life is to give opportunity ordinary people just live, build your own houses, start families and not be afraid of enemy attacks.

Despite countless victories, Ilya was not boastful. Epic storytellers especially emphasize that he was never proud of his victories and did not show them off. It is often said that the defeated enemy, if there was no order (as in the case of the Nightingale the Robber), was released on all four sides. This special treatment to the defeated enemy can also be traced in the images of other epic heroes, and later became traditional for the Russian warrior-defender.

The epic “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” is a poetic creation of the Russian people, created orally, and is one of the best examples of folk heroic epic. The main characters of “Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber” are a Russian knight and a robber, personifying two human hypostases, good and evil. As in all fairy tales, good triumphs over evil, so in the epic “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber,” the hero, who represents the Russian people, triumphs over the invaders.

Characteristics of the heroes “Ilya Muromets and Nightingale - the Robber”

Main characters

What was Ilya Muromets like?

Why is the hero holy?

We associate the word “hero” with remarkable strength and courage, but if we look closely at it, we can easily see something else there - the words “God” or “rich”. The Russian people chose their words with care, so that even after many centuries they reveal to us important meanings. The word “hero” appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and began to mean a person gifted with wealth and divine abundance of strength. Before him, the Slavs used more unambiguous words: “brave” or “horobr”, that is, “daring man”. They say that the strength of heroes is not only physical in origin. They are superior to the enemy in that they stand on the side of truth. And God, as you know, “is not in power, but in truth.” And the thirty years that the hero spent “on the stove” should be understood not as years of idleness and idleness, but as a time of learning humility and preparing for service.

Why was he sitting on the stove?

It is known from epics that Ilya Muromets spent his entire childhood and adolescence on the stove. It is reported that at the age of 30, “Ilya could not walk on his feet.” Scientists who examined the relics of the saint noted a curvature of the spine in the lumbar region to the right and clearly pronounced additional processes on the vertebrae. This means that in his youth the saint could actually suffer from paralysis. The “walking Kaliki” who came to Ilya in the epic could, according to one version, be folk healers who set Ilya’s vertebrae and gave him a healing decoction. And according to another, healing and strength are a miracle given to Elijah by God.

Nickname Chobotok

“Ilya Muromets” sounds much more serious and impressive than “Ilya Chobotok”. However, both of these nicknames belonged to the holy Venerable Elijah of Pechersk. Chobotok is, as you know, a boot. Ilya Muromets received this nickname after he once had to defend himself from enemies with a boot, which he put on his foot at the moment when he was attacked. Here is how the document from the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery tells about it:
“There is also one giant or hero, called Chobotka, they say that he was once attacked by many enemies while he was putting on a boot, and since in his haste he could not grab any other weapon, he began to defend himself with another boot, which had not yet been put it on and defeated everyone with it, which is why he received such a nickname.”
But this was not the first time that Ilya had to defend himself with such weapons. In one of the epics, a helmet helped a hero defeat countless robbers:
And he started here
wave the shell,
How he waves to the side -
so here is the street,
Ay will wave at a friend -
Duck alley.

Censorship omissions

Not everyone associates the image of the epic Ilya of Murom with Saint Elijah, whose relics rest in the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. This division - into the fabulous Ilya and the real person - was largely due to Soviet power, who made considerable efforts to turn the saint into a fairy-tale hero-warrior. It was necessary to secularize this image, to de-Christianize it. For example, it was at this time that the episode of the epic in which the “passing Kaliki” healed Ilya was distorted. In the pre-revolutionary edition of the epic it was stated that the “Kalikas” were Christ and the two apostles. The Soviet publication is silent about this.

Descendants of Ilya Muromets

The village of Karacharovo is now part of the city of Murom. And in the place where the Muromets hut stood, not far from the Trinity Church, where the hero dragged a bog oak from the Oka to the mountain, which a horse could not drag, stands the house of the Gushchin sisters. Priokskaya Street, 279. The Gushchin sisters consider themselves descendants of Ilya Muromets in the 28th generation.
The great-great-grandfather of the Gushchin sisters, Ivan Afanasyevich, inherited the heroic strength of Ilya Muromets. He could easily pull a cart if the horse could not cope. And local authorities at one time banned him from participating in fist fights due to the deadly force of the blow. According to another version, this man still participated in the battles, but with one limitation: his hands were tied.
It’s interesting that recently, while cleaning the Oka, several more ancient bog oaks, each three girths in size, were found. But they couldn’t pull it ashore!

Murom or Morovsk?

Not long ago, there were passionate debates among scientists, and some of the opponents were convinced that the birthplace of the saint was not Murom, but the city of Morovsk (Moroviysk) in Ukraine.
"IN glorious city in Murom, in the village of Karacharovo” - this is how the epics tell us about the place of birth of the hero. More than once he himself recalls his native places, lost among dense forests and impassable and swampy swamps.
In the same Chernigov region as Morovsk, there is the city of Karachev, consonant with Karacharov. And even the village of Devyatidubye and the Smorodinnaya River.
However, now the place of origin of Ilya Muromets has been established precisely. This is the Russian city of Murom, the village of Karacharovo.

In the West

Surprisingly, Saint Elijah of Murom is also known in the West, because he is the main character not only of Russian epics, but also, for example, of German epic poems of the 13th century, based, of course, on earlier legends. In these poems he is also called Ilya, he is also a hero, yearning, moreover, for his homeland. In the German epic of the Lombard cycle, in the poem about Ortnit, the ruler of Garda, the uncle of the ruler is Ilya the Russian (Ilian von Riuzen). He takes part in a campaign on Sudere and helps Ortnit get a bride. Ilya did not see his wife and children for almost a year, and the poem talks about his desire to return to Rus'.
Another example is the Scandinavian sagas recorded in Norway around 1250: the Vilkina Saga or Thidrek Saga from the northern corpus of stories about Dietrich of Berne. The ruler of Rus' Gertnit had two sons from his legal wife Osantrix and Valdemar, and a third son from his concubine - Ilias. Thus, according to this information, Ilya Muromets is no more and no less, but the blood brother of Vladimir - later the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

The epic “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” is one of the works of the epic cycle about the exploits of the most revered hero among the Russian people. The epic tells of two heroic events in which Ilya Muromets participates: the battle with the enemy army - the “strong woman”, who was “black and black”, and the victory over the Nightingale the Robber.

Story

The work has no author's affiliation and is an example of a folk epic. The time of creation of the epic can be determined approximately - it was composed by the people orally in the period before the 14th century. The epic has undergone many changes throughout its history, acquired new characters, and been enriched poetic images. The first mentions of Ilya Muromets as a defender of Russian lands were discovered in the 16th century in correspondence between one of the subjects of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and his king. The hero is named Ilya Muravlenin. Twenty years later, a traveling foreigner mentioned in his notes that he saw the relics of the Russian hero Ilya Morovlin in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. This indicates that at that time the epic, like its main character, was already widely known among the people.

Analysis of the work

Content Description

The action of the epic begins with Ilya Muromets getting ready to set off: after standing for “matins in Murom,” he wants to be in time “for the capital Kyiv-grad” for mass. In front of Chernigov he encounters an enemy army, which he defeats. The Chernigov “peasants” ask him to become a governor in the city, but Ilya Muromets refuses and travels further along the dangerous straight road to Kyiv, despite warnings about the Nightingale the Robber living there - he destroys travelers with a “nightingale whistle” and “animal cry.”

The hero wounds and captures the robber, and then, arriving in Kyiv, leaves him tied up in the princely court. Prince Vladimir does not believe the story that the guest traveled along the direct road to Kyiv and defeated the Nightingale the Robber. Surprised that the formidable enemy was indeed captured, the prince asks him to whistle demonstratively. When he causes destruction in the city with his whistle, Ilya Muromets takes him out into the open field and executes him.

Main characters

The two main characters of the work personify one - absolute good, the other - evil. Ilya Muromets is fearless and reasonable. Warned of the danger that lurks along the way, he does not turn away from it, but boldly enters into battle with the robber and defeats him. The hero appoints himself as the defender of the Russian land and people from enemies and carries out his service responsibly and skillfully. The image of Ilya Muromets is partially copied from fairy tales, fictional characters, but also has historical prototype- St. Elijah of Pechersk Chebotka. Many features of the hero speak of his connection with the mythical Perun and Veles.

The origin of the image of the enemy of the main character Nightingale the Robber is not entirely clear. If we talk on a larger scale, then he replaces in the epic another famous villain, the offender of the Russian people, the snake. However, it can also be assumed that this is not a mythical image, but an ordinary robber, distinguished by his outstanding power to whistle.

There is another hero in the work - Prince Vladimir. Judging by the time of action, Vladimir the Red Sun is depicted. The prince is shown to be quarrelsome and not very reasonable person. He suddenly becomes angry at the suspicion that the words of Ilya Muromets may contain mockery of him, asks the robber to whistle, although he has heard a lot about destructive force his whistle. The image of the prince is described in the mocking tonality of describing kings, traditional for folk epic.

Analysis of the structure of the work

The action of the epic develops progressively and sequentially. Much attention is paid to details and conversations, descriptions of characters and circumstances of actions. The action itself is conveyed in laconic and precise, but figurative expressions: “pulled a silken string,” “put a red-hot arrow,” “shot,” and “knocked out the right eye.”

The epic conveys the people's dream of a faithful defender, formidable for the enemy, faithful and fair for his own. Ilya Muromets is equally independent from the requests of the people, if they do not meet his main goal - to defend the entire Russian land, and not individual cities, and from the attitude of the prince towards him - he is polite and respectful towards him, but is not afraid to argue and defend his human dignity.

The work is written in a kind of “epic” style, with repetitions and a leisurely flow of the plot. All heroes have a pronounced individuality, the motives of their actions are explained by the direct speech of the heroes, and not by the narrator. Direct speech itself is poetic and replete with figurative expressions.

The epic “Ilya-Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” is one of the best examples epic epic. The characters and plot are reflected in some non-Slavic epics.

ABOUT THE CHAPTER.

I. Introductory part. page 2

1. Revealing the image of Ilya Muromets. page 5

2. Dobrynya Nikitich - brother of the cross

Ilya Muromets. page 11

III. Conclusion. page 15

IV. Literature. page 16

Of course, it is difficult to imagine a person who would not know what epics are and have not read at least one of them. However, most often they have very general idea, and often erroneous.

We get acquainted with epics from books, so we consider them literary works, but this is not so. The creator of epics is the people; epics do not have authors, like works fiction. They were performed by folk storytellers, performed from memory, as they heard from their ancestors.

The very word epics comes from the word true story , i.e. in these ancient songs they sing about what happened, about what really happened.

Listeners asked the storyteller I.T. Ryabinin, who performed in Moscow in the 90s of the 19th century:

• Ivan Trofimovich, do you love your old fashioned ?
• If I didn’t love, I wouldn’t sing,” he said.
• And do you believe that all this that is sung in epics is true?
• We know it's true. Otherwise, what is the need to sing them?

Northern storytellers have accomplished a deed of inestimable significance -

they brought to us the ancient epic legacy. Thanks to them, epics have now forever entered the treasury of national and world culture.

But is what the epics say really true? Did Ilya Muromets really shoot at Nightingale the Robber, and Dobrynya Nikitich fight with the Serpent?...

This question is not so simple.

One day, fishermen who were fishing on Lake Ilmen, near Novgorod, discovered a boot made of a material unusual for our time and of a completely unusual shape. The boot was made of saffiano (skillfully processed leather), with a thin curved heel and a high toe turned up. Scientists - archaeologists first decided: fake! Imagine their amazement when, while studying epics, they discovered the following description of the hero’s boots:

...Boots made of green morocco,

Here are the awls of the heels, sharp noses,

Fly under the heel of a sparrow,

At least roll an egg near your sock!

So is there truth in what the epics tell? Well, for example, did Russian soldiers suffer defeats in battles with enemies? Without a doubt.

The same “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” tells about the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians of Novgorod-Seversk Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich. But epics tell about invincible Russian heroes - and this is also true. Glorifying the heroes, the defenders of the Motherland, the epics called for heroic deeds for the glory of the fatherland, raised the spirit of the people in difficult times of trials, and instilled in youths love for their native land and hatred of rapists. An example of invincible heroes created folk art, instilled courage in people, strengthened the sense of duty and honor. And isn’t it true that the glorious Russians, despite temporary defeats, always turned out to be winners? Neither the Pechenegs, nor the Cumans, nor the Mongol-Tatars could conquer Rus'!

The main character of the epics is the hero. He became the embodiment of the ideal of a courageous, honest man devoted to his homeland and people. He is not afraid of the countless forces of the enemy, not even death itself is afraid! To emphasize the strength of the hero, the greatness of the feat, storytellers depict him fighting alone against enemy forces, which are “black and black, like black ravens”... Such is Ilya Muromets, such are other heroes - Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Danube Matchmaker, Vasily Kazemirovich, Sukhman...

According to epics, heroism as a powerful and invincible force that ensured peace and prosperity for the Russian land belonged to the distant past. It cannot be dated and it cannot be determined how long it lasted. Epic time turns out to be closed and, in its own way, even motionless: many events happen, but each time everything returns to its original state. Bogatyrs perform feats to restore the disrupted order of life.

V.G. Belinsky identified the Kiev cycle and the Novgorod cycle in Russian epics. Both cycles have their historical background. He established that in the Russian epic there is a group of epics, united by a number important signs. Their common features are as follows: the action takes place in or near Kyiv; in the center stands Prince Vladimir; the main theme is the protection of the Russian land from southern nomads; Historical circumstances and life depicted in epics are characteristic of Kievan Rus; events and enemies of the Russian land in these epics - the pre-Mongol period; Kyiv is not just the scene of epics, but it is glorified as the center of Russian lands: heroes go from Murom, Rostov, Ryazan, Galich to serve in Kyiv.

The formation of the Kyiv cycle of epics was determined by characteristic historical circumstances. In the IX-XI centuries. Kyiv reached high prosperity and power; he played important role in the fight against the Pechenegs and Polovtsians, blocking their path to the northern Russian lands. In this struggle, all-Russian tasks were realized and the self-awareness of the Russian people was formed. The raids of the steppe nomads were repelled not only by the people of Kiev, but also by representatives of other Russian lands, which is clearly shown in epics. Kyiv at that time united almost all Russian regions and was their recognized center.

Kyiv epics are usually grouped by heroes. But among the epics of the Kyiv cycle there are heroic and social works. In this regard, they can be divided into the following groups: heroic - include epics that arose before the Mongol- Tatar invasion, and epics associated with the invasion; social epics include songs in which social conflicts come first.

One of the important and characteristic features The Kyiv cycle is represented by the images of three heroes, whose actions and fate are closely connected. The images of these heroes embody the main features of heroism. These are the images of Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. In the popular imagination, the eldest of them, the most powerful, is the hero Ilya; behind him comes Dobrynya, inferior in some qualities to Ilya; finally, Alyosha, also a brave defender of the Russian land, but in a number of features inferior to the first two heroes. All three heroes have a lot in common, however, each of them is a special personality and has certain individual traits. In the images of these heroes, individualization is clearly visible, which develops already in epics, and receives significant manifestation in historical songs, where it was necessary to depict not generalized images of heroes, but certain historical figures.

In the image of Ilya Muromets, the main idea of ​​the epics is most vividly and expressively embodied - the idea of ​​protection native land. It is he who more often than other heroes acts as a brave and duty-conscious guardian of the Russian land. He stands at the heroic outpost more often than others, and more often than others enters into battle with enemies, winning victory.

Ilya Muromets - perfect image hero, the most beloved hero of Russian epics. This is a hero of mighty strength, which gives him confidence and endurance. He is characterized by a sense of self-esteem, which he will not compromise even before the prince. He is the defender of the Russian land, the defender of widows and orphans. He hates the “slant-bellied boyars” and tells everyone the truth to their face. He forgets the offense when it comes to the misfortune hanging over his native land, calls on other heroes to stand up not for Prince Vladimir or Princess Opraxa, but “for the sake of Mother Holy Rus' land.”

The best evidence of the enormous popularity of the image of Ilya Muromets among the people is the number of epics and epic stories about him. It was this image that was destined to become central in the Russian epic, to embody best ideals and the aspirations of the people, their concepts of good and evil, selflessness, loyalty to their native land, heroic prowess and honor. None of the heroes - neither Dobrynya Nikitich, nor especially Alyosha Popovich - can compare in this regard with Ilya Muromets.

All the heroes of the heroic epic, without exception, fight with specific Batygs and Batey Bateyevichs who approached or captured the capital city of Kyiv. All epics of the heroic epic are imbued with the patriotic idea of ​​protecting the native land. And the main character in them is, of course, not Dobrynya Nikitich, not Alyosha Popovich, but Ilya Muromets. Although Dobrynya and Alyosha are also present, they seem to be in “secondary” roles. On heroic outpost Dobrynya is a clerk, Alyosha is a groom, neither Dobrynya nor Alyosha manages to win a battle with the hero - the boaster Sokolnik (or Zhidovin), only Ilya Muromets can do this. From many stories about Ilya Muromets it is known that he was granted higher powers a special fate - death in battle is not written down for the hero. And although this does not play any role in the action of the epics themselves, such a fate serves as recognition of the special position of Ilya Muromets among Russian heroes as the most majestic and ideal defender of the homeland, an indicator of his special destiny.

The ideal nature of the hero is manifested not only in moral sense, guiding his actions, but also in his features appearance: Ilya is old and gray-haired, which is a sign of his wisdom and experience.

The cycle of epics about Ilya Muromets contributed a lot to the epic and developed some of its tendencies laid down in the previous time. Epics about a hero born in the very depths of folk Rus',

and immediately placed above all other heroes of the history of Kievan Rus, they spoke of the increased consciousness of the people. Popular mass understood herself as a force, without the support of which no successful activity for the benefit of Rus' is possible.

In 1869 it was published basic research“Ilya Muromets and the heroism of Kiev” by Orest Miller. F.I. Buslaev, A.N. Veselovsky, V.F. Miller, A.I. Sobolevsky, A.V. Markov and many other major pre-revolutionary researchers of Russian epic wrote about Ilya Muromets. And among the works of the Soviet era, one should name, first of all, the famous book by V.Ya. Propp “Russian heroic epic"(1958), several chapters of which are entirely devoted to Ilya Muromets, an article and comments by A.M. Astakhova to the publication "Ilya Muromets" in the series " Literary monuments"(1958).

“Ilya Muromets,” notes A.M. Astakhov, is an image of a huge, self-aware, intelligently, expediently directed force. The numerous exploits of Ilya Muromets, written in epics, are always associated exclusively with the task of serving the people; he is depicted in the Russian epic primarily as a protector of the homeland. Ilya Muromets fights against foreign invaders, saves his native land from enemy hordes, defeats foreign heroes who come to Rus' with hostile intentions. He is also credited with feats in the fight against rapists within the country, with robbers, from whom he clears straight roads, protecting peaceful labor and the well-being of the people.”

An interesting story is about the miraculous healing of Ilya Muromets. It is widespread in folk tales and legends about Sydney , known in the folklore of almost all countries and peoples.

One of the interpretations of this epic plot belongs to the historian V.G. Mirzoev. “It’s unlikely that this image of a hero,” distinguishes he - strength which were shackled, random artistic device epics. It would probably be assumed that he was metaphorically representing historical reality, especially since the typification and imagery of the epic’s depiction of life has not yet been questioned by anyone, it seems. Are the Russian people, chained hand and foot by the terrible Tatar force, embodied in the image of Ilya? Of course, thirty years is an epic time that does not really correspond to chronology. However, we must allow for a time when the Russian land, drenched in blood and debilitated after the Tatar invasion, a certain period had to pass in order to come to its senses after the terrible defeat and begin to gather forces for the fight. It was this period - completely understandable and natural - that epics could depict in the image of a hero who embodied the main features of the Russian people. If this is indeed the case, then “The Healing of Ilya Muromets” represents one of the most bright examples transformation of reality in an epic, an epic reflection of the historical past, sometimes manifested in a complex form of personification, seemingly far from its historical source, but nevertheless explainable.

Vsevolod Miller noticed that Ilya Muromets, leaving his native village of Karacharov and his native Murom, “makes a significant detour to liberate Chernigov on the way to Kyiv.” From this the researcher concluded that Ilya Muromets is not a hero of Murom, but of Chernigov. “I suppose,” he wrote, “that ancient Ilya, before being attached to Murom, was attached to another area and, specifically, to the Chernigov region. He could be connected with the city of Chernigov, as with his capital city, and therefore he performs his first feat for its liberation, as a northern hero. This explains the kind attitude of the Chernigov residents towards him, and the fact that in most epics the outposts are placed precisely on the way from Chernigov to Kyiv, and not from Murom to Kyiv, and that he learns about them from the residents of Chernigov. Performing the first feat of leaving the house near Chernigov,

ancient Ilya probably did not travel from such a distant place native place, what is Suzdal Murom like, and from somewhere closer to Chernigov. Such a place could be the ancient city of Morovsk (Moroviysk), which belonged to the cities of the Chernigov principality in the 11th and 12th centuries and was often mentioned in chronicles in the description of events that took place near Chernigov or in the Chernigov region. V. Muller found exactly the same sound analogy for the village of Karacharova. “The village of Karacharoevo or Karacharovo,” he claims, “appeared in the epic as a replacement for more southern city Karachev, the ancient city of Chernigov princes, mentioned in the chronicles starting from the 12th century.”

So: not Ilya Muromets from the Murom village of Karacharova, but Ilya (Morovets) from the Morovsk city of Karachev... At the same time, I researched -

The author also gives purely local Karachevskie legends: “The location of the epic is located in the vicinity of the city

Nightingale - the Robber. Twenty-five versts from Karachev a river flows Currant and on its shore is the ancient village of Devyatidubye. Local old-timers point to the place where the nest of the Nightingale the Robber was supposedly located. And now on the shore Currant there is a huge stump, which, according to legend, has been preserved from nine oak trees.”

Many researchers of the epic wondered: who was the prototype of the Russian hero? The search for historical “prototypes” of the epic Ilya Muromets did not yield any tangible results. And there is only one reason: in the chronicles and others historical sources there is no similar name, at least in consonance, like, say, Tugor Khan - Tugarin, Stavr Gordyatinich - Stavr Godinovich, etc. Therefore, in in this case researchers found themselves deprived of opportunities for comparisons, comparisons, and hypotheses. The only parallel with the thunderer Ilya the Prophet was used by mythologists in their interpretations of the image of Ilya Muromets as a double “replacement” in the popular consciousness of the pagan god of thunder Perun: Perun - Ilya the Prophet - Ilya Muromets.

Researchers have not yet found even such parallels in historical material. Although this name is known in foreign sources. For example, in German epic poems, recorded in the 13th century, but based on even earlier epic tales, Ilya the Russian is mentioned. The poem “Ortnit” tells about King Ortnit reigning in Gard and about his maternal uncle Ilya the Russian. But all these are distant and very conditional parallels. In Russian chronicles and literary sources no information has been preserved about Ilya Muromets.

And yet, Ilya Muromets is the only hero of the Russian epic canonized (Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich was also canonized, but not as an epic hero). IN Orthodox calendars to this day, December 19 is celebrated as “the memory of our venerable Ilya of Muromets, who lived in the twelfth century.” Moreover, there is one of the most irrefutable proofs of the reality of Ilya Muromets - his tomb in the famous Anthony Cave of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery, located next to the tombs of the first Russian chronicler Nestor, the first Russian icon painter Alimpiy and many other very real ones historical figures Kievan Rus, its ascetics and great martyrs.

Now it is hardly possible to establish how the canonization took place epic hero. That this is another “materialized” legend, of which many arose in all times and among all peoples, a random coincidence of names, or next to Nestor and Alimpius, the holy martyrs Theodore and Basil, Abraham the Hardworking and Onuphrius the Silent, the goldsmith Eustathius, the elder Ephraim, whose historical existence no one will doubt, was the hero Ilya Muromets really buried in the 12th century?.. Nothing incredible. There is nothing implausible, much less supernatural, in such an assumption. Many of those buried next to Ilya Muromets were also not included in the chronicles; their memory was preserved only by word of mouth, and yet they were canonized. And the fact is that the hero Ilya Muromets found himself next to the great martyrs and righteous people Ancient Rus', there is, of course, also its own pattern, its own deep symbolic meaning, Regardless of when and how it happened, whether it is a historical fact or a legend...

IN historical documents XI-XI centuries we will not find the answer to these questions, but folklore itself is also a document of history, one of the most irrefutable and reliable chronicles inner life people, their ideals and ideas. And in this chronicle, Ilya Muromets not only exists, he is the main character in it.

Ilya Muromets went beyond the boundaries of the folk epic; numerous tales about him, legends, experiences, both created on the basis of epic plots and completely independent ones - all this is also a continuation of the “biography” of the epic hero, his life in time.

The epic “biography” of Dobrynya Nikitich was developed in Russian folk epic no less carefully than that of Ilya Muromets. There are epics about the birth and childhood of Dobrynya, his marriage to the heroic polyana, his acquaintance with Ilya Muromets, and the conflict with Alyosha Popovich. The name of Dobrynina's mother is known - Amelfa Timofeevna, father - Nikita Romanovich; wives - Nastasya Mikulichna; aunts crusade - Avdotya Ivanovna.

The image of Dobrynya Nikitich is one of the most charming and profound in the Russian epic. This true hero, always ready for a feat. He is there where you need help, ingenuity, intelligence and tact, the fight against heresy and deceit, loyalty and courage.

Dobrynya is faithful to his integral, definite character everywhere. Infinitely devoted to Rus', the hero jealously guards his dignity as a Russian warrior. Dobrynya’s human qualities are determined by the property that in epics is called “knowledge.” Dobrynya is reasonable in speech, restrained, and tactful. His knowledge is “born,” that is, innate, and not externally acquired and therefore often lost. Dobrynya is a caring son and loving husband. The epic sometimes briefly, sometimes in quite detail, tells about the hero’s childhood, his growth, maturity, and upbringing in his mother’s house. It is sung about how unusually early the hero’s heroic nature begins to show itself. Even as a youth, he sometimes comes into full force:

And here Dobrynyushka Mikitits blood grows,

And here Dobrynya grows up to twelve years old,

Yong began to grab the heroic seasoning...

Dobrynya began to grow, swear,

Not by years, not by months - by weeks.

With this hero, the type entered the song-epic folklore public figure, who entirely connected his exploits, deeds and thoughts with strengthening the power of the Kyiv state - the guarantee of independence and unity of the Russian land and the Russian people. Dobrynya faithfully serves Kyiv and the capital Kyiv prince.

Particular importance should be attached to the epic about the battle between Ilya and Dobrynya. Dobrynya is presented in it as a resident of Ryazan. It is said about Ryazan itself that “until now” it was “known as a settlement,” but “now” it is considered a city. The fame of Dobrynya as a daring fighter has also passed - “considerable” fame throughout the entire land, right up to “Ukraine” - to Murom. Ilya Muromets goes to Ryazan to verify Dobrynya’s strength and prowess. Ilya meets Dobrynya in an open field. The heroes struck with clubs, then with swords, jumped off their horses and began to fight. The fight ended with Ilya and Dobrynya fraternizing. Dobrynya said:

Let's call ourselves brothers of the cross,

Let's exchange gilded crosses:

How will you be my bigger brother?

And how will I be your little brother,

And we will drive across an open field to pole,

And we will fight for each other,

Friend for friend, for brother for the cross!

And the heroes went to Kyiv. Vladimir Stolnokievsky met Ilya with these words:

Hello, Ileyushka, Ilya Muromets!

Hello there, burly good fellow!

And the Kyiv prince said to Dobrynya:

I'm a good fellow, I don't know your name.

The meaning of the epic is to confirm in the minds of the listeners the idea of ​​Ilya’s superiority over Dobrynya, who is almost equal in strength to Ilya, but whose glory supposedly began not earlier, but later than the glory of Ilya. Judging by the epic, Muromets was known everywhere already when Dobrynya first arrived in the capital Kyiv. Why was it necessary to create such an epic? It must be assumed that Dobrynya, as the oldest hero of the Russian epic, lost primacy to Ilya Muromets. For the sake of Ilya, the epic is trying to challenge the primacy of Dobrynya as a hero of the previous time in the development of the epic. To further prove this, the epic forces Ilya and Dobrynya to go to Kyiv, and Prince Vladimir, as if he did not yet know Dobrynya, resolves the dispute between the two with an involuntary question. mighty heroes. Yes, by that time they themselves had quite clearly defined their attitude towards each other.

The epic, which deliberately puts Ilya above Dobrynya, was needed to refute the current opinion that Dobrynina’s fame was born before Ilyushina. Ilya Muromets as a hero, born of the history of the rise of the Rostov-Suzdal land over other Russian lands, in his epic biography also takes precedence over the other heroes of the epic and, first of all, over Dobrynya, as the main hero of the epic of the 9th-11th centuries.

Unlike Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich has a very real historical “prototype” - this is the famous uncle of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, the mayor of Novgorod, and then the governor of Kiev Dobrynya, stories about which are in the “Tale of Bygone Years” and in other chronicle sources. But there is another version, according to which the epic Dobrynya is a collective image that has absorbed the features of many ancient Russian Dobrynyas. Researcher Yu.I. Smirnov notes that the chronicles connect at least seven Dobryn:

In information about the 10th century, Dobrynya, the uncle of Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich, is mentioned several times;

In the 11th century - Dobrynya Raguilovich, voivode of Novgorod;

By the 12th century - the Novgorod mayor Dobrynya, the Kiev boyar Dobrynka and the Suzdal boyar Dobrynya Dolgy;

• to the 12th century Dobrynya Galician and Dobrynya Yadreikovich, Bishop of Novgorod.

The choice is quite large - almost four centuries, and theoretically it is impossible to exclude any of these “prototypes” or reduce all Dobrynya to the first of them. Chronicle information has been preserved about each of these historical Dobrynya, and about some - literary works. Yu.I. Smirnov speaks about the times of pre-Mongol Rus', but even later, in the 15th - 17th centuries, this name remained among the most common ancient Russian names. It must be taken into account that it was one of the “non-calendar” names; it could not be given at baptism. And this means that for all the Dobryns listed above, it was either the second - pagan name received for certain qualities: kindness, beauty, greatness. All this was invested in Old Russian name DOBRYNA. So in this case, it’s really difficult to judge what exactly attracted the attention of the historical Dobrynya: was it his merits, and they were indeed considerable, or was it just this beautiful name DOBRYNYA, especially since he has a middle name NIKITIN, that is, translated from Greek, is glorious, brilliant, winner.

So what do the epics talk about? About love for the Motherland, about valor and

selfless courage, selflessness and fidelity to duty. The pathos of epics, which arose many centuries ago and carry the features of long-lost events, cannot but excite listeners and readers. Academician Yu.M. Sokolov wrote in his famous book“Russian folklore”: “Love for the Motherland, respect for those who stood guard over the borders of their native land, who devoted their lives to service native people who set as their goal the care of the disadvantaged and oppressed, who knew how to keep given word“who were strong in spirit, brave, brave, who gave a fierce rebuff to the enemies of the country and people, who knew how to speak the truth straight to the face, who fought against the violence of princes and boyars - all this constitutes the pathos of many heroic epics.”

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