Once upon a time there lived a widow, Mamelfa Timofeevna, near Kiev. She had a beloved son - the hero Dobrynyushka. Throughout Kyiv, fame spread about Dobrynya: he was stately, and tall, and learned to read and write, and was brave in battle, and cheerful at the feast. He will compose a song, play the harp, and say a clever word. And Dobrynya’s disposition is calm and affectionate. He will not scold anyone, he will not offend anyone in vain. No wonder they nicknamed him “quiet Dobrynyushka.”
Once on a hot summer day, Dobrynya wanted to swim in the river. He went to his mother Mamelfa Timofeevna:
“Let me go, mother, to go to the Puchai River and swim in the chilly water—the summer heat has exhausted me.”
Mamelfa Timofeevna got excited and began to dissuade Dobrynya:
- My dear son Dobrynyushka, don’t go to the Puchai River. The river is furious and angry. From the first stream the fire shoots out, from the second stream sparks fall, from the third stream smoke pours out in a column.
“Okay, mother, at least let me go along the shore and get some fresh air.”
Mamelfa Timofeevna released Dobrynya.
Dobrynya put on a traveling dress, covered himself with a tall Greek hat, took with him a spear and a bow with arrows, a sharp saber and a whip.
He mounted a good horse, called a young servant with him and set off. Dobrynya drives for an hour or two; The summer sun is scorching hot, burning Dobrynya’s head.
Dobrynya forgot what his mother was punishing him and turned his horse towards the Puchai River.
The Puchai River brings coolness.
Dobrynya jumped off his horse and threw the reins to the young servant:
- You stay here, watch the horse.
He took off the Greek hat from his head, took off his traveling clothes, put all his weapons on his horse and rushed into the river.
Dobrynya floats along the Puchai River and is surprised:
– What did my mother tell me about the Puchai River? The Pooh-river is not fierce, The Pooh-river is quiet, like a rain puddle.
Before Dobrynya had time to speak, the sky suddenly darkened, but there were no clouds in the sky, and there was no rain, but thunder rumbled, and there was no thunderstorm, but the fire was shining...
Dobrynya raised his head and saw that the Serpent Gorynych was flying towards him, a terrible serpent with three heads and seven claws, flames blazing from his nostrils, smoke pouring out of his ears, copper claws on his paws shining.
The Serpent saw Dobrynya and thundered:
- Eh, the old people prophesied that Dobrynya Nikitich would kill me, but Dobrynya himself came into my clutches. Now if I want, I’ll devour him alive; if I want, I’ll take him to my lair and take him prisoner. I have a lot of Russian people in captivity, only Dobrynya was missing.
And Dobrynya says in a quiet voice:
- Oh, you damned snake, first take Dobrynya, then show off, but for now Dobrynya is not in your hands.
Dobrynya knew how to swim well; he dived to the bottom, swam under the water, surfaced near a steep shore, jumped out onto the shore and rushed to his horse. And there was no trace of the horse: the young servant was frightened by the snake’s roar, jumped on the horse and was off. And he took away all Dobrynino’s weapons.
Dobrynya has nothing to fight with the Serpent Gorynych.
And the Serpent again flies to Dobrynya, showers with flammable sparks, and burns Dobrynya’s white body.
The heroic heart trembled.
Dobrynya looked at the shore - there was nothing to take into his hands: there was no club, no pebble, only yellow sand on the steep bank, and his Greek hat was lying around.
Dobrynya grabbed a Greek hat, poured five pounds of yellow sand into it - no less than five pounds - and how he hit the Snake Gorynych with his hat - and knocked off his head.
He threw the Snake down to the ground, crushed his chest with his knees, and wanted to knock off two more heads...
How the Serpent Gorynych prayed here:
- Oh, Dobrynyushka, oh, hero, don’t kill me, let me fly around the world, I will always obey you! I will give you a great vow: not to fly to you in wide Rus', not to take Russian people prisoner. Just have mercy on me, Dobrynyushka, and don’t touch my little snakes.
Dobrynya succumbed to the crafty speech, believed the Serpent Gorynych, and let him go, damned.
As soon as the Serpent rose under the clouds, it immediately turned towards Kyiv and flew to the garden of Prince Vladimir. And at that time, young Zabava Putyatishna, Prince Vladimir’s niece, was walking in the garden.
The Serpent saw the princess, was delighted, rushed at her from under the cloud, grabbed her in his copper claws and carried her to the Sorochinsky mountains.
At this time, Dobrynya found a servant and began to put on his traveling dress - suddenly the sky darkened and thunder roared. Dobrynya raised his head and saw: the Serpent Gorynych was flying from Kyiv, carrying Fun Putyatishna in his claws!
Then Dobrynya became sad - he became sad, he became depressed, he came home unhappy, sat down on a bench, and didn’t say a word.
His mother began to ask:
- Why are you sitting sadly, Dobrynyushka? What are you, my light, sad about?
“I’m not worried about anything, I’m not sad about anything, but it’s not fun for me to sit at home.” I’ll go to Kyiv to see Prince Vladimir, he’s having a fun feast today.
- Don’t go, Dobrynyushka, to the prince, my heart senses evil. We'll have a feast at home too.
Dobrynya did not listen to his mother and went to Kyiv to see Prince Vladimir.
Dobrynya arrived in Kyiv and went to the prince’s upper room. At the feast, the tables are full of food, there are barrels of sweet honey, but the guests do not eat or drink, they sit with their heads down.
The prince walks around the upper room and does not treat guests. The princess covered herself with a veil and did not look at the guests.
Here Vladimir the Prince says:
- Eh, my beloved guests, we are having a sad feast! And the princess is bitter, and I am sad. The damned Serpent Gorynych took away our beloved niece, young Zabava Putyatishna. Which of you will go to Mount Sorochinskaya, find the princess, and free her?!
Where there! The guests hide behind each other: the big ones behind the middle ones, the middle ones behind the smaller ones, and the smaller ones cover their mouths.
Suddenly the young hero Alyosha Popovich comes out from behind the table.
- That's what, Prince Red Sun, yesterday I was in an open field, I saw Dobrynyushka by the Puchai River. He fraternized with Zmey Gorynych and called him a smaller brother. You went to the Serpent Dobrynyushka. He will ask your beloved niece from your sworn brother without a fight.
Prince Vladimir got angry:
- If so, get on your horse, Dobrynya, ride to Mount Sorochinskaya, get me my beloved niece. Anya gets Putyatishna's Fun - I'll order you to cut off your head!
Dobrynya lowered his violent head, did not answer a word, got up from the table, mounted his horse and rode home.
Mother came out to meet him and saw that Dobrynya had no face.
- What’s wrong with you, Dobrynyushka, what’s wrong with you, son, what happened at the feast? Did they offend you, or put you under a spell, or put you in a bad place?
“They didn’t offend me, and they didn’t put a spell around me, and I had a place according to my rank, according to my rank.”
- Why did you hang your head, Dobrynya?
- Prince Vladimir ordered me to perform a great service: to go to Mount Sorochinskaya, to find and get Zabava Putyatishna. And the Serpent Gorynych took away Zabava Putyatishna.
Mamelfa Timofeevna was horrified, but did not cry and be sad, but began to think about the matter.
- Go to bed, Dobrynyushka, go to sleep quickly, get some strength. The morning is wiser than the evening, tomorrow we will keep the advice.
Dobrynya went to bed. He sleeps, snores that the stream is noisy.
And Mamelfa Timofeevna does not go to bed, sits on a bench and spends the whole night weaving a seven-tailed whip out of seven silks.
In the morning, Dobrynya Nikitich’s mother woke up:
- Get up, son, get dressed, get dressed, go to the old stable. In the third stall the door does not open; the oak door was beyond our strength. Push up, Dobrynyushka, open the door, there you will see your grandfather’s horse Burushka. Burka has been standing in a stall for fifteen years, uncared for. Clean him, feed him, give him something to drink, bring him to the porch.
Dobrynya went to the stable, tore the door off its hinges, brought Burushka out into the world, cleaned him, bathed him, and brought him to the porch. He began to saddle Burushka. He put a sweatshirt on it, felt on top of the sweatshirt, then a Cherkassy saddle, embroidered with valuable silks and decorated with gold, tightened twelve girths, and bridled it with a golden bridle. Mamelfa Timofeevna came out and handed him a seven-tailed whip:
- When you arrive, Dobrynya, on Mount Sorochinskaya, the Serpent Gorynych will not be at home. Run your horse into the den and start trampling the baby snakes. The little snakes will wrap around Burka’s legs, and you will whip Burka between the ears with a whip. Burka will jump up, shake the baby snakes off his feet and trample every single one of them.
A branch broke off from the apple tree, an apple rolled away from the apple tree, a son was leaving his mother for a difficult, bloody battle.
Day after day passes like rain, but week after week it flows like a river. Dobrynya is riding in the red sun, Dobrynya is riding in the bright moon, he went to Mount Sorochinskaya.
And on the mountain near the snake’s lair, baby snakes are swarming. They began to wrap Burushka’s legs around her and began to undermine her hooves. Burushka cannot jump and falls to her knees.
Dobrynya then remembered his mother’s order, grabbed the whip of seven silks, began to beat Burushka between the ears, and said:
- Jump, Burushka, jump, shake the baby snakes away from your feet.
Burushka gained strength from the whip, he began to jump high, throw stones a mile away, and began to shake baby snakes away from his feet. He beats them with his hoof and tears them with his teeth and tramples every single one of them.
Dobrynya got off his horse, took a sharp saber in his right hand, a heroic club in his left hand, and went to the snake caves.
As soon as he took a step, the sky darkened, thunder roared: the Serpent Gorynych was flying, holding a dead body in his claws. Fire shoots from the mouth, smoke pours from the ears, copper claws burn like heat...
The Serpent saw Dobrynyushka, threw the dead body to the ground, and growled in a loud voice:
- Why, Dobrynya, did you break our vow and trample my cubs?
- Oh, you damned snake! Did I break our word, did I break our vow? Why did you fly, Snake, to Kyiv, why did you take away Zabava Putyatishna?! Give me the princess without a fight, so I will forgive you.
- I won’t give up Zabava Putyatishna, I’ll devour her, and I’ll devour you, and I’ll take all the Russian people to the full!
Dobrynya got angry and rushed at the Snake.
And then a fierce battle began.
The Sorochinsky Mountains crumbled, the oak trees were uprooted, the grass went a yard deep into the ground...
They fight for three days and three nights; The Snake began to overcome Dobrynya, began to throw him up, began to throw him up... Then Dobrynya remembered about the whip, grabbed it and started lashing the Snake between the ears. The serpent Gorynych fell to his knees, and Dobrynya pressed him to the ground with his left hand, and with his right hand he was lashing him with a whip. He beat and beat him with a silk whip, tamed him like a beast, and cut off all his heads.
Black blood gushed from the Serpent, spread to the east and west, and flooded Dobrynya to the waist.
For three days Dobrynya stands in black blood, his legs are cold, the cold reaches his heart. The Russian land does not want to accept snake blood.
Dobrynya sees that the end has come for him, took out a whip of seven silks, began to whip the ground, saying:
- Make way, mother earth, and devour the blood of the snake.
The damp earth opened up and devoured the snake's blood.
Dobrynya Nikitich rested, washed, cleaned his heroic armor and went to the snake caves. All the caves are closed with copper doors, locked with iron bolts, and hung with golden locks.
Dobrynya smashed the copper doors, tore off the locks and bolts, and entered the first cave. And there he sees a countless number of people from forty lands, from forty countries, it’s impossible to count in two days.
Dobrynyushka tells them:
- Hey, you foreign people and foreign warriors! Go out into the free world, go to your places and remember the Russian hero. Without it, you would sit in snake captivity for a century.
They began to go free and bow to Dobrynya’s land:
– We will remember you forever, Russian hero!
And Dobrynya goes further, opens cave after cave, and frees captive people. Both old people and young women, small children and old women, Russian people and from foreign countries, come out into the world, but Putyatishna’s Fun is no longer there.
So Dobrynya went through eleven caves, and in the twelfth he found Zabava Putyatishna: the princess was hanging on a damp wall, chained by her hands with golden chains. Dobrynyushka tore off the chains, took the princess off the wall, took her in his arms, and carried her out of the cave into the open world.
And she stands on her feet, staggers, closes her eyes from the light, and doesn’t look at Dobrynya. Dobrynya laid her down on the green grass, fed her, gave her something to drink, covered her with a cloak, and lay down to rest.
The sun set in the evening, Dobrynya woke up, saddled Burushka and woke up the princess. Dobrynya mounted his horse, placed Zabava in front of him and set off. And there are no number of people around, everyone bows to Dobrynya, thanks for her salvation, and rushes to their lands.
Dobrynya rode out into the yellow steppe, spurred his horse and took Zabava Putyatishna to Kyiv.
Page 1 of 2
Epics about Dobrynya Nikitich: Dobrynya and the Serpent
Mother used to say to Dobrynyushka,
Yes, and Nikitich’s mother punished him:
- Don’t go too far into an open field,
To that mountain and Sorochinskaya,
Don't help out the full Russians,
Don’t swim, Dobrynya, in the Puchai River,
That Puchai river is very fierce,
But Dobrynya did not listen to his mother.
How he rides far into an open field,
And to Thuya on Sorochinskaya Mountain,
He trampled the young snakes,
And he helped out the full Russians.
His heroic heart began to sweat,
My heart started to sweat, I got thirsty -
He seasoned his good horse,
He is kind to the horse and to the Puchai River,
He got off, Dobrynya, from his good horse,
Yes, Dobrynya took off her colored dress,
Yes, I wandered beyond the first trickle,
Yes, he wandered behind the trickle behind the middle one
And he himself said these words:
- Mother used to tell me, Dobrynyushka,
My mother punished me, Nikitich:
Why don’t you go further into an open field,
To that mountain on Sorochinskaya,
Don't trample on the young snakes,
And don’t help out the Polons and the Russians,
And don’t swim, Dobrynya, in the Puchai River,
But the Puchai River is very fierce,
And the middle stream cuts like fire!
And the Puchai River is meek and meek,
It's like a rain puddle!
Dobrynya didn’t have time to say a word -
There is no wind, but there is a cloud,
There are no clouds, but it’s as if it’s raining,
And there is no rain, but only thunder roars,
Thunder rumbles and lightning whistles -
And how the Serpent Gorynishche flies
About those twelve about trunks.
But the Dobrynya of that Snake will not shrink.
The damned snake says to him:
- You are now, Dobrynya, in my hands!
If I want, now I’ll drown you, Dobrynya,
I want you, Dobrynya, now I’ll eat you, I’ll devour you,
If I want, I’ll take you in my trunk, Dobrynya,
I’ll take it in my trunk, Dobrynya, and carry it into the hole!
The Snake falls like a fast river,
But Dobrynyushka was good at swimming:
He will dive onto the shore there,
He will dive onto the shore here.
But Dobrynyushka doesn’t have a good horse,
Yes, Dobrynya doesn’t have colored dresses -
There’s only one feather cap lying there,
May that cap be filled with Greek soil,
The weight of that cap is as much as three pounds.
How he grabbed the cap and the Greek land*,
He will hit the Snake and the damned one -
He knocked off twelve Snakes and all their trunks.
Then the Snake fell into the feather grass,
Dobrynyushka turned on his leg,
He jumped onto the serpentine and white breasts.
On the cross Dobrynya had a damask knife -
He wants to spread out her white breasts.
And the Snake Dobrynya prayed to him:
- Oh, hey, Dobrynya son Nikitinich!
We will lay down with you the great commandment:
You shouldn’t go far into an open field,
To Thuya, to Mount Sorochinskaya,
Don't trample any more young snakes,
And not to help out the full and Russians,
Do not swim, Dobrynya, in the Puchai River.
And I don’t want to fly to Holy Rus',
I don’t need to carry Russian people anymore,
I don’t want to hoard fulls and Russians.
He released the Snake from under his knees -
The Snake rose up under the cloud.
She happened to fly past Kyiv-grad.
She saw the Prince's niece,
Young Zabava's daughter Potyatichna,
Walking along the wide street.
Here the Snake falls on the damp ground,
She captured the Prince's niece,
She took it into a hole and into the deep.
Then the sun Vladimir Stolno-Kyiv
And he spent three days clicking here and there,
And the old man called out to the glorious knights:
- Who could go far into an open field,
To Thuya, to Mount Sorochinskaya,
Go into a hole and into a deep one,
And to get my prince’s niece,
Young Zabava's daughter Potyatichna?
Aleshenka Levontevich said:
- Oh, you sunshine Vladimir Stolno-Kyiv
Throw on this great service
On that Dobrynya on Nikitich
After all, he has a commandment with the Snake,
Why shouldn’t she fly to Holy Rus'?
And he can’t go far into an open field,
Don't trample on the young snakes
Don't help out the full Russians.
So he will take the Prince’s niece,
Young Zabava's daughter Potyatichna,
No fighting, no bloodshed. –
The sun is here Vladimir Stolno-Kyiv
How I threw this great service
On that Dobrynya on Nikitich -
He should go further into an open field
And get him Prince’s niece,
Young Zabava's daughter Potyatichna.
He went home, Dobrynya, got twisted,
Dobrynya began to spin and became sad.
The Empress and dear mother greet you,
That honest widow Ofimya Alexandrovna:
- Hey, my baby is born,
Young Dobrynya son Nikitinets!
Why aren't you leaving the feast happy?
To know that the place was not up to par,
You know, they brought you a spell at the feast
Was the fool laughing at you?
Dobrynya's son Nikitinets said:
- Hey, empress and dear mother,
You are honest, widow Ofimya Alexandrovna!
The place was suited to my rank,
I was not enchanted at the feast,
Yes, the fool didn’t laugh at me,
And he did a great service
And then the sun Vladimir Stolno-Kyiv,
Why go far into an open field,
To that mountain and to the high one,
I should go into a hole and into a deep one,
Should I get Prince’s niece,
Young Zabava's daughter Potyatichna.
Mother says to Dobrynya,
The widow Ofimya Alexandrovna is honest:
- Go to bed early in the evening,
So the morning will be very wise -
The morning will be wiser than the evening.
He got up early in the morning,
It washes itself and it’s white,
He is well equipped.
Once upon a time there was a widow, Mamelfa Timofeevna, near Kiev. She had a beloved son, the hero Dobrynyushka. Throughout Kyiv, fame spread about Dobrynya: he was stately, and tall, and learned to read and write, and was brave in battle, and cheerful at the feast. He will compose a song, play the harp, and say a clever word. And Dobrynya’s disposition is calm, affectionate, he will never say a rude word, he will never offend anyone in vain. No wonder they nicknamed him “quiet Dobrynyushka.”
Once on a hot summer day, Dobrynya wanted to swim in the river. He went to his mother Mamelfa Timofeevna:
Let me go, mother, to go to the Puchai River and swim in the cold water, the summer heat has exhausted me.
Mamelfa Timofeevna got excited and began to dissuade Dobrynya:
My dear son Dobrynyushka, don’t go to the Puchai River. The river is furious and angry. From the first stream the fire shoots out, from the second stream sparks fall, from the third stream smoke pours out in a column.
Okay, mother, at least let me go along the shore and breathe some fresh air.
Mamelfa Timofeevna released Dobrynya.
Dobrynya put on a traveling dress, covered himself with a tall Greek hat, took with him a spear and a bow with arrows, a sharp saber and a whip.
He mounted a good horse, called a young servant with him and set off. Dobrynya drives for an hour or two, the summer sun is scorching hot, burning Dobrynya’s head. Dobrynya forgot what his mother was punishing him and turned his horse towards the Puchai River.
The Puchai River brings coolness.
Dobrynya jumped off his horse and threw the reins to the young servant.
You stay here, watch the horse.
He took off the Greek hat from his head, took off his traveling clothes, put all his weapons on his horse and rushed into the river.
Dobrynya floats along the Puchai River and is surprised:
What did my mother tell me about the Puchai River? The Pooh-river is not fierce, The Pooh-river is quiet, like a rain puddle.
Before Dobrynya had time to speak, the sky suddenly darkened, but there were no clouds in the sky, and there was no rain, but thunder rumbled, and there was no thunderstorm, but the fire was shining...
Dobrynya raised his head and saw that the Serpent Gorynych was flying towards him, a terrible serpent with three heads and seven tails, flames blazing from his nostrils, smoke pouring out of his ears, copper claws on his paws glistening.
The Serpent saw Dobrynya and thundered:
Eh, the old people prophesied that Dobrynya Nikitich would kill me, but Dobrynya himself came into my clutches. Now if I want, I’ll eat him alive; if I want, I’ll take him to my lair and take him prisoner. I have a lot of Russian people in captivity, only Dobrynya was missing.
Oh, you damned snake, first take Dobrynya, and then show off, but for now Dobrynya is not in your hands.
Dobrynya knew how to swim well, he dived to the bottom, swam under the water, surfaced at the steep shore, jumped out onto the shore and rushed to his horse. And there was no trace of the horse: the young servant was frightened by the snake’s roar, jumped on the horse, and that was it. And he took away all Dobrynino’s weapons.
Dobrynya has nothing to fight with the Serpent Gorynych.
And the Serpent again flies to Dobrynya, showers with flammable sparks, and burns Dobrynya’s white body.
The heroic heart trembled.
Dobrynya looked at the shore - there was nothing to take into his hands: there was no club, no pebble, only yellow sand on the steep bank, and his Greek hat was lying around.
Dobrynya grabbed a Greek hat, poured no less than five pounds of yellow sand into it, and when he hit the Snake Gorynych with his hat, he knocked off his head.
He threw the Snake down to the ground, crushed his chest with his knees, and wanted to knock off two more heads...
How the Serpent Gorynych prayed here:
Oh, Dobrynyushka, oh, hero, don’t kill me, let me fly around the world, I will always obey you. I will give you a great vow: not to fly to you in wide Rus', not to take Russian people prisoner. Just have mercy on me, Dobrynyushka, and don’t touch my little snakes.
Dobrynya succumbed to the crafty speech, believed the Serpent Gorynych, and released him, the damned one.
As soon as the Serpent rose under the clouds, it immediately turned towards Kyiv and flew to the garden of Prince Vladimir. And at that time, young Zabava Putyatishna, Prince Vladimir’s niece, was walking in the garden. The Serpent saw the princess, was delighted, rushed at her from under the cloud, grabbed her in his copper claws and carried her to the Sorochinsky mountains.
At this time, Dobrynya found a servant and began to put on his traveling dress - suddenly the sky darkened and thunder roared. Dobrynya raised his head and saw: the Serpent Gorynych was flying from Kyiv, carrying Fun Putyatishna in his claws!
Then Dobrynya became sad - he became sad, he became depressed, he came home unhappy, sat down on a bench, and didn’t say a word.
His mother began to ask:
Why are you, Dobrynyushka, sitting sadly? What are you, my light, sad about?
I don’t worry about anything, I don’t worry about anything, and it’s not fun for me to sit at home. I’ll go to Kyiv to see Prince Vladimir, he’s having a merry feast today.
Do not go, Dobrynyushka, to the prince, my heart senses evil. We'll have a feast at home too.
Dobrynya did not listen to his mother and went to Kyiv to see Prince Vladimir.
Dobrynya arrived in Kyiv and went to the prince’s upper room. At the feast, the tables are full of food, there are barrels of sweet honey, but the guests do not eat or drink, they sit with their heads down.
The prince walks around the upper room and does not treat guests. The princess covered herself with a veil and did not look at the guests.
Here Vladimir the Prince says:
Eh, my beloved guests, we are having a sad feast! And the princess is bitter, and I am sad. The damned Serpent Gorynych took away our beloved niece, young Zabava Putyatishna. Which of you will go to Mount Sorochinskaya, find the princess, and free her?!
Where there! The guests hide behind each other, the big ones behind the middle ones, the middle ones behind the smaller ones, and the smaller ones cover their mouths.
Suddenly the young hero Alyosha Popovich comes out from behind the table.
That's what, Prince Red Sun, yesterday I was in an open field, I saw Dobrynyushka by the Puchai River. He fraternized with Zmey Gorynych and called him a smaller brother. You went to the Dobrynyushka the Serpent. He asks you for your beloved niece without a fight from your named brother.
Prince Vladimir got angry:
If so, get on your horse, Dobrynya, go to Mount Sorochinskaya, get me my beloved niece. If you don’t get Putyatishna’s Fun, I’ll order you to cut off your head!
Dobrynya lowered his violent head, did not answer a word, got up from the table, mounted his horse and rode home.
Mother came out to meet him and saw that Dobrynya had no face.
What’s wrong with you, Dobrynyushka, what’s wrong with you, son, what happened at the feast? Did they offend you or put you under a spell, or put you in a bad place?
They didn’t offend me, and they didn’t put a spell around me, and I had a place according to my rank, according to my rank.
Why did you, Dobrynya, hang your head?
Prince Vladimir ordered me to perform a great service: to go to Mount Sorochinskaya, to find and obtain the Fun of Putyatishna. And the Serpent Gorynych carried away Zabava Putyatishna.
Mamelfa Timofeevna was horrified, but did not cry and be sad, but began to think about the matter.
Go to bed, Dobrynyushka, go to sleep quickly, get strong. The morning is wiser than the evening, tomorrow we will keep the advice.
Dobrynya went to bed. He sleeps, snores that the stream is noisy.
But Mamelfa Timofeevna does not go to bed, sits on a bench and spends the whole night weaving a seven-tailed whip from seven silks.
In the morning, Dobrynya Nikitich’s mother woke up:
Get up, son, get dressed, get dressed, go to the old stable. In the third stall the door does not open; half of it is buried in manure. Push up, Dobrynyushka, open the door, there you will see your grandfather’s horse Burushka. Burka has been standing in the stall for fifteen years, his legs buried in manure up to his knees. Clean him, feed him, give him something to drink, bring him to the porch.
Dobrynya went to the stable, tore the door off its hinges, took Burushka out, and led him to the porch. He began to saddle Burushka. He put a sweatshirt on it, a felt pad on top of the sweatshirt, then a Cherkassy saddle, embroidered with valuable silks and decorated with gold, tightened twelve girths, and bridled it with a golden bridle. Mamelfa Timofeevna came out and handed him a seven-tailed whip:
When you arrive, Dobrynya, on Mount Sorochinskaya, the Snake Gorynych will not be at home. You run into the lair with your horse and start trampling the baby snakes. The little snakes will wrap around Burka’s legs, and you will whip Burka between the ears with a whip. Burka will jump up, shake the baby snakes off his feet and trample every single one of them.
A branch broke off from the apple tree, an apple rolled away from the apple tree, a son was leaving his mother for a difficult, bloody battle.
Day after day passes like rain, but week after week it flows like a river. Dobrynya is riding in the red sun, Dobrynya is riding in the bright moon, he went to Mount Sorochinskaya.
And on the mountain near the snake’s lair the snakes are swarming with little snakes. They began to wrap Burushka’s legs around her and began to undermine her hooves. Burushka cannot jump and falls to her knees. Dobrynya then remembered his mother’s order, grabbed a whip of seven silks, began to beat Burushka between the ears, and said:
Jump, Burushka, jump, shake the little snakes away from your feet.
Burushka gained strength from the whip, he began to jump high, throw stones a mile away, and began to shake baby snakes away from his feet. He beats them with his hoof and tears them with his teeth and tramples every single one of them.
Dobrynya got off his horse, took a sharp saber in his right hand, a heroic club in his left hand, and went to the snake caves.
As soon as he took a step, the sky darkened, thunder roared: the Serpent Gorynych was flying, holding a dead body in his claws. Fire shoots from the mouth, smoke pours from the ears, copper claws burn like heat...
The Serpent saw Dobrynyushka, threw the dead body to the ground, and growled in a loud voice:
Why, Dobrynya, did you break our vow and trample on my cubs?
Oh, you damned snake! Did I break our word, did I break our vow? Why did you fly, Serpent, to Kyiv, why did you take away Zabava Putyatishna?! Give me the princess without a fight, so I will forgive you.
I won’t give up Zabava Putyatishna, I will devour her, and I will devour you, and I will take all the Russian people to the full!
Dobrynya got angry and rushed at the Snake.
And then a fierce battle began.
The Sorochinsky Mountains crumbled, the oak trees were uprooted, the grass went a yard deep into the ground...
They fight for three days and three nights; The Snake began to overcome Dobrynya, began to throw him up, began to throw him up... Then Dobrynya remembered about the whip, grabbed it and started lashing the Snake between the ears. The serpent Gorynych fell to his knees, and Dobrynya pressed him to the ground with her left hand, and with her right hand she was lashing him with a whip. He beat and beat him with a silk whip, tamed him like a beast and cut off all his heads.
Black blood gushed from the Serpent, spread to the east and west, and flooded Dobrynya to the waist.
For three days Dobrynya stands in black blood, his legs are cold, the cold reaches his heart. The Russian land does not want to accept snake blood.
Dobrynya sees that the end has come for him, he took out a lash of seven silks, began to whip the ground, saying:
Make way, mother earth, and devour the blood of the serpent.
The damp earth opened up and devoured the snake's blood.
Dobrynya Nikitich rested, washed himself, cleaned his heroic armor and went to the snake caves. All the caves are closed with copper doors, locked with iron bolts, and hung with golden locks.
Dobrynya smashed the copper doors, tore off the locks and bolts, and entered the first cave. And there he sees kings and princes, kings and princes from forty lands, from forty countries, and ordinary warriors cannot be counted.
Dobrynyushka tells them:
Hey you, foreign kings and foreign kings and simple warriors! Go out into the free world, go to your places and remember the Russian hero. Without it, you would sit in snake captivity for a century.
They began to go free and bow to the land of Dobrynya:
We will remember you forever, Russian hero!
So Dobrynya walked through eleven caves, and in the twelfth he found Zabava Putyatishna: the princess was hanging on a damp wall, chained by her hands with golden chains. Dobrynyushka tore off the chains, took the princess off the wall, took her in his arms, and carried her out of the cave into the open world.
And she stands on her feet, staggers, closes her eyes from the light, and doesn’t look at Dobrynya. Dobrynya laid her down on the green grass, fed and watered her, covered her with a cloak, and lay down to rest.
The sun set in the evening, Dobrynya woke up, saddled Burushka and woke up the princess. Dobrynya mounted his horse, placed Zabava in front of him and set off. And there are no number of people around, everyone bows to Dobrynya, thanks for her salvation, and rushes to their lands.
Dobrynya rode out into the yellow steppe, spurred his horse and took Zabava Putyatishna to Kyiv.
It happened to the young hero, Dobrynya Nikitich, on a hot day near the Puchai River in a field. And not far from there, on Mount Sorochinskaya, lived a fierce, greedy Snake. The Snake hated Dobrynya because more than once the hero trampled her poisonous baby snakes, and more than once saved Russian people from snake captivity, whom the Snake dragged to her mountain into a cave. Many times my dear mother persuaded Dobrynya:
Be careful, child, the river is swollen, don’t swim in it. If a snake attacks you, how can you deal with it unarmed?
Dobrynya remembered his mother’s orders. Yes, it was very hot that day for the hero in the field. He threw off his dress and rushed into the water.
And the Snake is right there. Rising above the river, hovering over Dobrynya, ready to rush at him. Scoffs:
- If I want, I’ll devour Dobrynya whole! If I want, I’ll take Dobrynya into my trunks! If I want, I’ll take Dobrynya captive!
But Dobrynya was not afraid of the Snake: he managed to deftly jump out onto the shore. He grabbed his cap, which weighed three pounds, and how it hit the Snake on the head! Instantly knocked off her poisonous trunks. He rushed to his dress and grabbed a damask knife. The snake got scared and howled:
- Don’t hit me, don’t destroy me, Dobrynyushka! I will no longer fly to Rus' and take Russian people into captivity! Let's make peace! And don’t touch my cubs in the future.
Dobrynya believed her. I agreed. He released the Snake into freedom. The fierce snake instantly disappeared and flew away. And Dobrynya went home.
He comes home, and Kyiv-grad stands sad.
- What kind of misfortune happened? - Dobrynya asks.
The people of Kyiv answer him:
- Prince Vladimir had one beloved niece, Zabava’s daughter Putyatichna. She went for a walk in the green garden. A damned snake flew over Kyiv here. She picked it up and took the princess to her snake cave!
Dobrynya goes to Vladimir, and there the heroes are sitting in the upper room, thinking: how to free Zabava Putyatichna? Who should I send? Everyone nods at Dobrynya: he, they say, can cope with such a task better than anyone else.
Dobrynyushka sat on his good horse. His mother gave him a silk whip:
- When you arrive, child, at Mount Sorochinskaya, whip your horse harder, so that he firmly tramples the evil little snakes.
Dobrynya rushed to the snake cave. I reached the cave. Here he began to whip the horse with a whip. The horse began to trample the baby snakes with its hooves. And from the cave a fierce, ferocious Snake flies out to meet Dobrynya.
- What are you doing, Dobrynya? Didn’t you promise not to trample my little snakes anymore?
Dobrynyushka answered her:
But weren’t you the one who promised not to bring Russian people to you? Why did you kidnap Zabava Putyatichna? I won't let you down on this!
And then a fierce battle began between Dobrynya and the Snake. They fought for three days and three more hours. The Snake couldn't bear it and died. Dobrynyushka finished her off.
He ran into the snake's cave and began to bring the captives out into the light.
Come out,” he shouts, “Russian people!” The Dobrynya Serpent was killed!
He is looking for Zabava Putyatichna among the captives, but cannot find him. I found it hidden in the very last cave.
He mounted his good horse and placed the princess in front of him. And he took her to Kyiv to her uncle, Prince Vladimir.
Prince Vladimir came out onto the high porch and greeted Dobrynya with a bow and great gratitude:
Thank you, Dobrynyushka, you alone of all the heroes have performed such an important service for us!
And he rewarded Dobrynya with a golden treasury and a festive dress.
Introduction
Dobrynya Nikitich is depicted in epics as the second most powerful and important hero after Ilya Muromets. A fairly extensive set of stories about the origin, service and exploits of this hero are recorded in a number of epics: “Dobrynya and the Serpent”, “Dobrynya and Marinka” and “Dobrynya and Alyosha”, etc.
By origin, Dobrynya Nikitich is of a princely family, which, nevertheless, did not prevent him from winning the love and recognition of the common people, who, in their epic tradition, endowed him with many virtues: in the epics the hero is educated, tactful, courteous, knows how to act as an ambassador, masterfully plays the harp. The main work of his life was military service to Rus'.
As an average hero, Dobrynya is included in the heroic trinity together with Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich. The “middle” position of Dobrynya Nikitich explains the emphasis on the connecting function of this character: thanks to his efforts and talents, the heroic trinity remains restored even after Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich are separated . In some epics, Dobrynya appears in community with Ilya and/or Alyosha, in others - with other heroes (Danube, Vasily Kazimirovich), in others - alone. Of all the heroes, he is closest to Prince Vladimir Red Sun: sometimes he turns out to be his nephew, he is often with Vladimir and directly carries out the prince’s orders, wooing a bride for him, conducting, at the princess’s request, negotiations with passing Kalikas, etc.
Folklorists have shown great interest in this image, as evidenced by the large number of works on this topic by authors such as V.Ya. Propp, B. Rybakov, V. Miller, A.F. Hilferding et al.
Thus, the purpose of our work is to consider the interpretation of the image of Dobrynya Nikitich in the epic epic by different author-researchers.
The object of study in our work is the process of embodying the character of the hero in epics.
The subject is the specifics of the hero’s personality.
– consider the main interpretations of the origin of the image of Dobrynya;
– identify the character traits of the hero as a hero-snake fighter;
– analyze the main personality traits of Dobrynya Nikitich, reflected in various epics.
The practical significance of our work lies in the fact that the material presented in it can be further used in the study of courses on traditional Russian folklore, folk poetry of the Russian people, as well as in the preparation of special courses and special seminars on epic folk art.
1. Historical basis of epics about Dobrynya Nikitich
Several widespread epic stories are dedicated to Dobrynya, such as “Dobrynya and the Serpent”, “Dobrynya and Vasily Kazimirovich”, “Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich” (“The Marriage of Alyosha Popovich to Dobrynya’s Wife”), “Dobrynya and Marinka” and others.
Not all of these epics arose at the same time. The earliest, according to many scientists, is the epic “Dobrynya and the Serpent”, the latest is the epic “Dobrynya and Marinka”. The prototype of Marinka is seen in the wife of Dmitry the Pretender, Marina Mnishek.
Researchers agree that the image of Dobrynya has a very real historical prototype - this is the maternal uncle of Vladimir I, who lived at the beginning of the 11th century. Vladimir’s mother, housekeeper of Princess Olga Malusha, is Dobrynya’s sister (Vladimir is Svyatoslav’s side son). Being older than Vladimir, Dobrynya was his mentor, then an associate in military campaigns and other matters of national importance. There are chronicle references to him, similar to epic stories. For example, the epic Dobrynya is the matchmaker of Prince Vladimir. The historical Dobrynya played this role in 980, when Vladimir I decided to marry the Polotsk princess Rogneda.
The connection between Dobrynya Nikitich and the reality of the late 10th – early 11th centuries. does not mean that all epics about him were generated by historical events of that time. Having become an epic hero, Dobrynya lives according to the laws of oral epic: he assimilates the features of more ancient heroes, enters into works that previously existed and were later composed. It is possible that most of the ancient songs about Dobrynya have long been forgotten. However, Dobrynya’s place among other heroes of the Russian epic indicates that he was the main character of the epic songs that cyclized around the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.
Thus, it becomes clear that the epic did not invent the name of Dobrynya, it only imprinted it in the people’s memory. In the book by academician B.A. Rybakov “Ancient Rus'”, in the chapter dedicated to Vladimirov’s cycle of epics, we will find the sub-chapter “Dobrynya Nikitich”, which contains a detailed analysis of the coincidences of epic and chronicle information about Dobrynya. Science already found out more than a hundred years ago that the epic Dobrynya and the first Dobrynya, mentioned in Russian chronicles in the 10th century, are one and the same person.
Dobrynya Nikitich was born around 935 in Korosten. Now it is a small city in the Zhitomir region, and in the 10th century it was the capital of the Drevlyansky land. The city was famous for its impregnable oak walls, which, according to local legends, stretched for several miles.
Dobrynya was the crown prince of the Drevlyansky land. His father's name was Mal Drevlyansky. The chronicle passes over in silence that Dobrynya is the son of Prince Mal (there were reasons for this of a dynastic and political nature). But the Drevlyan origin of Dobrynya was unraveled in 1864 by the historian D.I. Prozorovsky in the article “On the kinship of St. Vladimir on his mother's side."
The epic knows the Drevlyan and princely origins of Dobrynya. Researcher T.N. Kondratyeva noticed that in the epics he is either a boyar or a prince. Bylina also knows Dobrynya’s father, the hero Nikita Zaleshanin (which was noted by the outstanding Russian scientist A.A. Shakhmatov). This is a hero whom no one in Kyiv knows by sight except Dobrynya, and at the same time a person so respected that Ilya Muromets himself hides behind his name
In 945, Mal Drevlyansky rebelled against the despotic Igor Rurikovich, who reigned in Kyiv. The civil war in the country lasted for a whole year. But military happiness is fickle, and Mal Drevlyansky was captured by his own family. And the crown prince of the Drevlyans, Dobrynya, falls into slavery and becomes a groom in humiliation.
The epic notes Dobrynya's ten-year slavery in her youth and her slow ascent from more humiliating slave positions to less humiliating ones. Only in the tenth year did Dobrynya finally receive a horse, i.e. freedom.
Together with Dobrynya, his sister Malusha was captured. Chronicles note her position under Princess Olga - housekeeper.
Dobrynya and Malusha received freedom around 955. The next chapter in Dobrynya’s biography is undoubtedly connected with Kiev. The gradual rise of the Mal children and their subsequent liberation were no accident. Olga had far-reaching plans. A far-sighted and courageous politician, she learned lessons from the Drevlyansky uprising.
At the end of the fifties (around 958 or 959), Olga, in the face of the Slavic gods, put the hand of her son, Emperor Svyatoslav, into the hand of the daughter Mal, who executed his father - into the hand of the sovereign princess Malusha Drevlyanskaya! Dobrynya, of course, was present at the ceremony in Kyiv of this dynastic marriage, important for his family and beneficial for the entire country. And Mal too. Both of them now received the rank of Kyiv boyars. For a whole decade, the life of Dobrynya, who became the brother-in-law of Emperor Svyatoslav, was connected with the Kyiv court. And in 970 a new turn came in it: Svyatoslav sent Dobrynya to Novgorod, giving him the regency for his young nephew Vladimir.
The next period of Dobrynya Nikitich’s life leads him abroad - Svyatoslav’s brother-in-law and son with his companions received asylum in Sweden, where they had to spend three long years. Dobrynya finally returned to Rus' in 980.
Thus, it can be noted that the epic Dobrynya, when compared with the chronicle Dobrynya, Vladimir’s uncle, seems to have nothing in common with him. While the chronicle Dobrynya has almost a leading role before Vladimir’s accession to the throne of Kiev and for a long time after that, the epic Dobrynya occupies a secondary role at Vladimir’s court. Moreover, the epic Dobrynya complains to his mother about his fate: he regrets that his mother did not give birth to him as a flammable pebble, that she did not throw this pebble to the bottom of the blue sea, where he would lie calmly and would be spared the need to drive across an open field .
This discrepancy can be explained by the fact that under the name Dobrynya in epics, not only Dobrynya, Vladimir’s uncle, is sung, but also a number of other Dobrynyas, who were mixed with the first. Thus, in the Tver Chronicle, next to Alexander Popovich (Alyosha Popovich bylin), his comrade Dobrynya (Timonya) Zlatopyas is mentioned; and the Nikon Chronicle mentions Alexander Popovich, his servant Torop and Dobrynya Razanich Golden Belt.
Some epics about Dobrynya, indeed, take him out of Ryazan; his father is trade guest Nikitushka Romanovich.
In any case, in the epics about Dobrynya there are some features that may have a connection with Vladimir’s historical uncle: getting a bride for Vladimir is an undoubted echo of the story with Rogneda.
Researcher Yu.I. Smirnov notes that the chronicles link at least seven Dobrynya:
– in information about the 10th century, Dobrynya, the uncle of Vladimir I Svyatoslavovich, is mentioned several times;
- to the 11th century - Dobrynya Raguilovich, governor of Novgorod;
- up to the 12th century - Novgorod mayor Dobrynya, Kiev boyar Dobrynka and Suzdal boyar Dobrynya Dolgiy;
- 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. Chronicles have been preserved about each of these historical Dobryns, and literary works have been preserved about some of them. 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. This means that for all of the Dobryns listed above, it was either a second – a pagan name, received for certain qualities: kindness, beauty, greatness. All this was invested in the ancient Russian name Dobrynya.