Early in the morning, in the early sun, Volta gathered to take tribute from the trading cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets.
The squad mounted good horses, brown stallions, and set off. The fellows drove out into an open field, into a wide expanse, and heard a plowman in the field. The plowman plows, whistles, the plowshares scratch the stones. It’s as if a plowman is leading a plow somewhere nearby. The good fellows go to the plowman, ride all day until evening, but cannot get to him. You can hear the plowman whistling, you can hear the bipod creaking, you can hear the plowshares scratching, but you can’t even see the plowman himself.
The good fellows travel the next day until the evening, and the plowman is still whistling, the pine tree is creaking, the plowshares are scratching, but the plowman is gone.
The third day is approaching evening, and only the good fellows have reached the plowman. The plowman plows, urges, and hoots at his filly. He lays furrows like deep ditches, pulls oak trees out of the ground, throws stones and boulders to the side. Only the plowman’s curls sway and fall like silk over his shoulders.
But the plowman’s filly is not wise, and his plow is made of maple, and his tugs are silk. Volga marveled at him and bowed politely:
- Hello, good man, there are laborers in the field!
- Be healthy, Volga Vseslavevich. Where are you going?
- I’m going to the cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets to collect tribute from trading people.
- Eh, Volga Vseslavyevich, all the robbers live in those cities, they skin the poor plowman, and collect tolls for traveling on the roads. I went there to buy salt, bought three bags of salt, each bag a hundred pounds, put it on a gray filly and headed home to my place. Trade people surrounded me and began to take travel money from me. The more I give, the more they want. I got angry, angry, and paid them with a silk whip. Well, the one who stood sits, and the one who sat lies down.
Volga was surprised and bowed to the plowman:
- Oh, you, glorious plowman, mighty hero, come with me for a comrade.
- Well, I’ll go, Volga Vseslavyevich, I need to give them an order - not to offend other men.
The plowman took the silk tugs off the plow, unharnessed the gray filly, sat astride her and set off.
Well done guys rode half the way. The plowman says to Volga Vseslavyevich:
- Oh, we did something wrong, we left a plow in the furrow. You sent some fine warriors to pull the bipod out of the furrow, shake out the earth from it, and put the plow under the broom bush.
Volga sent three warriors.
They turn the bipod this way and that, but cannot lift the bipod off the ground.
Volga sent ten knights. They twirl the bipod with twenty hands, but can’t get it off the ground.
Volga and his entire squad went there. Thirty people, without a single one, clung to the bipod on all sides, strained, sank knee-deep into the ground, but did not move the bipod even an inch.
The plowman himself got off the filly, grabbed the bipod with one hand, pulled it out of the ground, and shook the earth out of the plowshares. I cleaned the plowshares with grass.
The job was done and the heroes went further along the road.
They arrived near Gurchevets and Orekhovets. And there the trading people are cunning: when they saw a plowman, they cut off oak logs on the bridge over the Orekhovets River.
As soon as the squad reached the bridge, the oak logs broke, the fellows began to drown in the river, the brave squad began to die, the horses began to sink, people began to go to the bottom.
Volga and Mikula got angry, got angry, whipped their good horses, and jumped over the river in one gallop. They jumped onto that bank and began to honor the villains.
The plowman beats with a whip and says:
- Oh, you greedy trading people! The men of the city feed them bread and drink honey, but you spare them salt!
Volga favors with her club for the warriors, for the heroic horses.
The Gurchevet people began to repent:
- You will forgive us for our villainy, for our cunning. Take tribute from us, and let the plowmen go for salt, no one will demand a penny from them.
Volga took tribute from them for twelve years, and the heroes went home.
Volga Vseslavevich asks the plowman:
- Tell me, Russian hero, what is your name, what is your patronymic?
- Come to me, Volga Vseslavyevich, to my peasant yard, so you will find out how people honor me.
The heroes approached the field. The plowman pulled out a pine tree, plowed up a wide pole, and sowed it with golden grain...
The dawn is still burning, and the plowman’s field is rustling.
The dark night is coming - the plowman is reaping bread. I threshed it in the morning, winnowed it by noon, ground flour by lunchtime, and started making pies. In the evening he called the people to a feast of honors. People began to eat pies, drink mash and praise the plowman:
- Oh, thank you, Mikula Selyaninovich!
Mikula Selyaninovich is one of the most beloved Russian heroes. And this is no accident: Mikula personifies the entire Russian peasant family.
This is a hero-plowman, whom Mother, Cheese Earth, loves very much along with his family. He is closely connected with her, because he processes her, and she feeds him.
Therefore, it is impossible to fight with Mikula and his relatives; they are under the reliable protection of the forces of nature.
Peasant Warrior
According to one of the central epics about him, Mikula meets Svyatogor, an ancient hero who has unearthly features of an archaic character in his appearance. Svyatogor is a fantastic hero whose strength is immeasurable.
To make sure of this, Mikula invites him to pick up his bag from the ground. However, Svyatogor cannot do this - as soon as he tries to lift the bag, he sinks his feet into the ground. And Mikula himself raises the bag with one hand and says that it contains all the “earthly burdens.” This may mean that the Russian peasant is able to overcome even natural elements.
A similar motif can be traced in the epic about the meeting of Volga and Mikula. Volga is a prince who owns three cities and many villages. When the heroes meet, Mikula complains to Volga about the tax collectors robbing the peasants dry. Volga punishes the collectors, and takes Mikula into her squad. The army goes to fight, and then Mikula remembers that he forgot to pull his plow out of the ground.
Mikula Selyanovich and Volga photo
Volga sent his mighty warriors there several times, but they could not snatch the plow. Then Mikula himself went for the plow and easily pulled it out with one hand. Mikula Selyaninovich, for all her connections with Slavic mythology, is a rather late character. His image was formed when the Russian peasantry had already emerged as a class and contrasted itself with the rest of the social classes in Rus'.
The contrast between Volga and Mikula is a contrast between a noble prince, a relative of Vladimir, and a simple peasant, with the first being put to shame and the second exalted.
Mikula and Saint Nicholas
Some researchers believe that the image of Mikula arose on the basis of the most popular saint in Russian culture - Nicholas the Wonderworker. The writer P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky gives the example of folk festivities on “Nicholas of the Veshny,” that is, on the spring church holiday in honor of St. Nicholas; On this holiday, people honor the “oratay” Mikula Selyaninovich, in whose honor they even brew mash.
Most likely, the ancient prototype of Mikula had some other name, which later changed to a Christian one. Some scientists even suggest that in the name of Mikula the names of Nikolai and Mikhail came together. Such renaming of ancient deities and heroes is not uncommon in Russian and other cultures.
“Gromovnik” Perun was revered after baptism under the name of Elijah the Prophet; The agricultural god Veles “transformed” into Saint Blaise; Among the Serbs, the ancient hero Svyatogor was “reborn” into Kralevich Marko, a ruler and defender of Christians from the Ottoman conquerors. Marco is a real historical figure, but in the popular consciousness his image has merged with mythological heroes.
(wife of Dobrynya Nikitich)
Mikula Selyaninovich- the legendary plowman-hero in Russian epics of the Novgorod cycle.
Etymology
The name Mikula is a folk form of the name Nikolai; possibly the result of contamination with the name Mikhail.
The image of a hero-plowman
The hero personifies peasant strength; You can’t fight him, because “the whole Mikulov family loves Mother Cheese Earth.”
According to one of the epics, he asks the giant Svyatogor to pick up a bag that has fallen to the ground. He doesn't cope with the task. Then Mikula Selyaninovich lifts the bag with one hand, saying that it contains “all the burdens of earth.”
Mikula Selyaninovich, according to folklore, had two daughters: Vasilisa and Nastasya (wives of Stavr and Dobrynya Nikitich, respectively), who are also the central heroines of the epics.
Epics dedicated to Mikula: “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich”, “Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich”.
Mikula and Nicholas the Wonderworker
The connection between the Christian saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and the epic hero Mikula Selyaninovich. An interesting version of the connection with the day of the national calendar, St. Nicholas of the Spring, is given by P. I. Melnikov in 1874:
Mikula was honored most of all by the smerd (peasant, farmer)... He, the drinker, he, the gracious breadwinner, celebrated holidays more honestly and more often... In honor of him there were feasts and meals at marriages and Mikulshchinas.
Just as the veneration of Thunder the Rattlesman, with the introduction of Christianity, was transferred to the veneration of Ilya the Gromovnik, and the veneration of Volos, the cattle god, to Saint Blaise, so the honoring of the oratai Mikula Selyaninich was transferred to the Christian saint - Nicholas the Wonderworker. That is why in Rus' St. Nicholas the Merciful is celebrated most of all. The spring holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which the Greeks do not have, was borrowed by the Russians from the Latins to coincide with the holiday of the Mother of the Raw Earth, who loves “Mikula and his family.” Mikule's celebration coincided with the name day of Mother Earth. And to this day, two folk holidays converge nearby: the first day of “Mikula with food” (May 9, old style), the other day (May 10, old style) “Name day of Mother of the Raw Earth.”
Daughters
- Vasilisa Mikulishna- wife of Stavr Godinovich
- Nastasya Mikulishna- wife of Dobrynya Nikitich
see also
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Notes
Literature
- Melnikov-Pechersky P. I. . - 1874.
- / Petrukhin V. Ya. // Mythological Dictionary / Ch. ed. E. M. Meletinsky. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. - P. 358. - ISBN 5-85270-032-0.
Links
- . Retrieved March 16, 2009. .
- // Biographical Dictionary. 2000.
Excerpt characterizing Mikula Selyaninovich
- Semyon! Do you know Danila Kupor?This was the count's favorite dance, danced by him in his youth. (Danilo Kupor was actually one figure of the Angles.)
“Look at dad,” Natasha shouted to the whole hall (completely forgetting that she was dancing with a big one), bending her curly head to her knees and bursting into her ringing laughter throughout the hall.
Indeed, everyone in the hall looked with a smile of joy at the cheerful old man, who, next to his dignified lady, Marya Dmitrievna, who was taller than him, rounded his arms, shaking them in time, straightened his shoulders, twisted his legs, slightly stamping his feet, and with a more and more blooming smile on his round face, he prepared the audience for what was to come. As soon as the cheerful, defiant sounds of Danila Kupor, similar to a cheerful chatterbox, were heard, all the doors of the hall were suddenly filled with men's faces on one side and women's smiling faces of servants on the other, who came out to look at the merry master.
- Father is ours! Eagle! – the nanny said loudly from one door.
The count danced well and knew it, but his lady did not know how and did not want to dance well. Her huge body stood upright with her powerful arms hanging down (she handed the reticule to the Countess); only her stern but beautiful face danced. What was expressed in the count's entire round figure, in Marya Dmitrievna was expressed only in an increasingly smiling face and a twitching nose. But if the count, becoming more and more dissatisfied, captivated the audience with the surprise of deft twists and light jumps of his soft legs, Marya Dmitrievna, with the slightest zeal in moving her shoulders or rounding her arms in turns and stamping, made no less an impression on merit, which everyone appreciated her obesity and ever-present severity. The dance became more and more animated. The counterparts could not attract attention to themselves for a minute and did not even try to do so. Everything was occupied by the count and Marya Dmitrievna. Natasha pulled the sleeves and dresses of all those present, who were already keeping their eyes on the dancers, and demanded that they look at daddy. During the intervals of the dance, the Count took a deep breath, waved and shouted to the musicians to play quickly. Quicker, quicker and quicker, faster and faster and faster, the count unfolded, now on tiptoes, now on heels, rushing around Marya Dmitrievna and, finally, turning his lady to her place, made the last step, raising his soft leg up from behind, bending his sweaty head with a smiling face and roundly waving his right hand amid the roar of applause and laughter, especially from Natasha. Both dancers stopped, panting heavily and wiping themselves with cambric handkerchiefs.
“This is how they danced in our time, ma chere,” said the count.
- Oh yes Danila Kupor! - Marya Dmitrievna said, letting out the spirit heavily and for a long time, rolling up her sleeves.
While the Rostovs were dancing the sixth anglaise in the hall to the sounds of tired musicians out of tune, and tired waiters and cooks were preparing dinner, the sixth blow struck Count Bezukhy. The doctors declared that there was no hope of recovery; the patient was given silent confession and communion; They were making preparations for the unction, and in the house there was the bustle and anxiety of expectation, common at such moments. Outside the house, behind the gates, undertakers crowded, hiding from the approaching carriages, awaiting a rich order for the count's funeral. The Commander-in-Chief of Moscow, who constantly sent adjutants to inquire about the Count’s position, that evening himself came to say goodbye to the famous Catherine’s nobleman, Count Bezukhim.
The magnificent reception room was full. Everyone stood up respectfully when the commander-in-chief, having been alone with the patient for about half an hour, came out of there, slightly returning the bows and trying as quickly as possible to pass by the gazes of doctors, clergy and relatives fixed on him. Prince Vasily, who had lost weight and turned pale during these days, saw off the commander-in-chief and quietly repeated something to him several times.
Having seen off the commander-in-chief, Prince Vasily sat down alone on a chair in the hall, crossing his legs high, resting his elbow on his knee and closing his eyes with his hand. After sitting like this for some time, he stood up and with unusually hasty steps, looking around with frightened eyes, walked through the long corridor to the back half of the house, to the eldest princess.
Those in the dimly lit room spoke in an uneven whisper to each other and fell silent each time and, with eyes full of question and expectation, looked back at the door that led to the dying man’s chambers and made a faint sound when someone came out of it or entered it.
“The human limit,” said the old man, a clergyman, to the lady who sat down next to him and naively listened to him, “the limit has been set, but you cannot pass it.”
“I’m wondering if it’s too late to perform unction?” - adding the spiritual title, the lady asked, as if she had no opinion of her own on this matter.
“It’s a great sacrament, mother,” answered the clergyman, running his hand over his bald spot, along which ran several strands of combed, half-gray hair.
-Who is this? was the commander in chief himself? - they asked at the other end of the room. - How youthful!...
- And the seventh decade! What, they say, the count won’t find out? Did you want to perform unction?
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Mikula Selyaninovich is a character in Russian epics, a hero, a legendary plowman. He personifies peasant strength, the strength of the Russian people. Mikula Selyaninovich is found in two epics: about Volga and Svyatogor. In the epic about Svyatogor, he is the bearer of a wonderful bag, which contains earthly cravings; in the epic about Volga, he is a wonderful plowman, whose bipod cannot be moved by Volga’s entire squad. Mikula Selyaninovich, according to folklore, had three daughters: Vasilisa, Marya and Nastasya. The first and last (the wives of Stavr and Dobrynya Nikitich) are also the central heroines of the epics.
According to one of the epics, he asks the giant Svyatogor to pick up a bag that has fallen to the ground. He doesn't cope with the task. Then Mikula Selyaninovich lifts the bag with one hand, saying that it contains “all the burdens of the earth,” which only a peaceful, hardworking plowman can do.
It is interesting to trace the emergence of the image of Mikula Selyaninovich in the popular consciousness. The people imagined the flight of the guch as plowing in the sky - lightning cuts through the sky like a plow cuts through the earth, that is, the work of the plowman Mikula is compared with the work of a certain divine force. The name Mikula itself is borrowed from St. Nicholas, but underneath it hides the ancient deity of thunder and lightning. Mikula Selyaninovich (as he appears in epics) strongly resembles the German god Thor, who is also the patron saint of farmers. Mikula’s terrible strength, comparison with Svyatogor and other features with which he is endowed show that his type, like Svyatogor’s type, was formed under the influence of the image of some titanic creature, who was probably the personification of the earth or the patron god of agriculture. This is especially indicated by the handbag with the pull of the earth, with which Mikula is depicted and which, obviously, is nothing more than an image of the earth. But he himself no longer represents the earth as an element, but the idea of a settled agricultural life, in which he represents his strength and significance.
The interpretation of the image of Mikula in science is very different. The famous Russian scientist Buslaev, who studied Russian folklore, believed that Mikula was a representative of sedentary, agricultural life, and his image was based on the idea of a titanic creature: the deity of the earth or agriculture. Another folklorist scientist, Orest Miller, sees a thunder deity in Mikula and compares him with the Scandinavian god Thor, who is the patron of agriculture. According to Orest Miller, Mikula's mare is a cloud. Another Russian scientist Vladimirov doubts the existence of any borrowed features in the image of Mikula and considers him a poetic idealization of plowing, believing that the basis of the epic about Mikula Selyaninovich is the agricultural myth that the work of a plowman is the work of a breadwinner, closest to earth, to natural roots.
In the most famous epic that has come down to us, “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich,” Mikula in his luxurious attire appears not as a peasant plowman, but rather as some kind of prince or boyar, who took up a plow for show and pretended to be a farmer. Having learned from Volga that he is going for tribute, Mikula says that he himself recently encountered the peasants and Orekhovites when he went for salt, and calls them robbers. Other versions very briefly talk about the assistance provided by Mikula to Volga in obtaining tribute from rebellious townspeople who wanted to destroy Volga’s squad by cutting down bridges across the Volkhov River. Great results in science have been achieved by the study of the everyday side of the epic, which revealed its Northern Russian (probably Novgorod) origin. The everyday features include: 1) the picture of northern plowing in the provinces of Novgorod, Pskov, Olonetsk and others, where arable land is sometimes completely strewn with boulders, sometimes small ones, on which the plows are constantly scratched, sometimes large ones, which have to go around when plowing (compare Mikula’s description of plowing Selyaninovich); 2) using a plow, not a plow;
3) sowing rye, not wheat; 4) Mikula Selyaninovich’s trip for salt, explained by Novgorod living conditions;
5) his clash with the Orekhovets sometimes because of salt: Orekhovets is the ancient name of the present Shlisselburg on the Neva, where the Novgorodians had to buy imported salt;
6) mention of the Volkhov River in one version of the epic; 7) finally, the personality of Mikula Selyaninovich is known exclusively in the Olonets epic repertoire, and there is not a single epic about him recorded in other parts of Russia. A study of the vocabulary of the epic shows that the version of the folklore work we are reading appeared not so long ago, approximately in the 15th century. Scientists learned about this based on the analysis of the following episode: Mikula buys salt with silver pennies, and it was in the 15th century that the Novgorodians began to use foreign money in place of the old monetary system: artigas, pubes and Lithuanian pennies.
Questions about the report:
1) Who does Mikula Selyaninovich appear in the epics?
2) What epic stories about Mikul Selyaninovich have reached us? Retell one of the stories.
3) What images was associated with the image of Mikula in the popular consciousness?
4) Why do folklorists believe that the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” appeared in the north of Russia, most likely in Novgorod?
5) When did the version of the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” that has come down to us appear? Explain your point of view.
Name: Mikula Selyaninovich
A country: Rus
Creator: Slavic epics
Activity: hero, plowman
Family status: married
Mikula Selyaninovich: character story
Famous fairy-tale characters, whose images seem familiar from childhood, have a centuries-old history. The warriors and heroes from the traditions and legends told by grandparents are not just representatives of traditional folklore, but characters who personify the spirit and traditions of the great Russian people. The heroes of epics are endowed with remarkable talents for protecting their native land. In the line of mighty warriors there is a place for Mikula Selyaninovich.
History of creation
Mikula Selyaninovich is a hero sung in an epic called “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich.” The epic was composed over several centuries, as the legend underwent changes and was passed on from mouth to mouth in various interpretations. The characteristics of the heroes are accurately conveyed in the version composed in the north of the country after the collapse of Kievan Rus. It is unknown how the description of Mikula was composed, but Volga (Oleg) Svyatoslavovich is a real historical person. The prince was the king's cousin and grandson.
The epic lacks unity of place, time and action. It involves a description of fictional events involving fairy-tale characters, but the etymology of the word indicates that some episodes actually happened.
The narrative describes a meeting of two heroes: a prince and a peasant plowman. The first goes to war, and the second, the plow hero, cultivates the land. The simple peasant is presented in a noble appearance. This is a well-groomed man in clean clothes and a painted caftan. Mikula is wearing green high-heeled boots and a feather hat. Such attire did not correspond to the usual clothing of a plowman, accustomed to working with the land and exhausting labor. But a stately hero must, according to the traditions of the epic, have a beautiful outfit, and this rule is observed.
The specificity of the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” lies in its artistic techniques. It includes elements of archaic language and numerous repetitions. Through colorful epithets, details of clothing, character traits of the heroes, and the life surrounding them are described. In the epic, the images of a peasant and a warrior are contrasted with each other.
At the same time, the work of a simple farmer is placed higher, because a plowman could be called upon to defend his homeland at any moment, and not everyone is given the opportunity to work on the land. There is also a version that the legend contrasts the images of two deities, the patrons of agriculture and hunting.
The motive for praising the work of plowmen is vividly described in the episode when Prince Volga orders his squad to take up the bipod. The warriors cannot overcome it, but Mikula Selyaninovich copes with the task in one go.
A hero who can bypass a squad is a true defender of the Russian land and its cultivator. The writers of epics speak kindly and affectionately about the hero. It is noteworthy that throughout the narrative the hero is called nothing less than oratay. And only in the finale Mikula’s name is revealed. The hero talks about his achievements without bragging.
Biography and plot
In the epic about Mikul Selyaninovich, the main characters were two characters: himself and Prince Volga. The first meeting takes place when, according to the behest of Vladimir Monomakh, three cities pass into the possession of Oleg. The prince goes to inspect the property. On the way of the squad, they meet a stately hero, who can be seen from afar, but they manage to get to the curious character only after three days and three nights. Hyperbole of this kind shows people's admiration for the hero.
Mikula is a plowman. He cultivates the land with ease, uprooting stumps and stones with a wooden plow decorated with precious stones. Mikula's mare is hung with silk tugs, and the hero's outfit itself does not look like a simple peasant dress. It becomes clear that the reader is dealing with a hero for whom hard plowing is entertainment.
Mikula Selyaninovich is presented in the image of a hero revered most of all in Rus'. Holidays were dedicated to work related to the land, and traditions and legends were associated with it. Mikula is a folk hero; his prototype was considered the patron saint of the peasantry.
This image was the personification of the Russian farmer. Therefore, the creators of the epic do not mention the name of the hero’s father: Selyaninovich is combined with the word “village,” which means that the parent was a simple Russian people.
Mikula has an easy-going character and a kind soul, a generous and hospitable person. Without it, the princely warriors are not even able to pull out a light bipod, which means that the royal power is based on the strength of the plowman. Rus' is based on a simple village peasant who feeds the people and protects his homeland from misfortunes.
Heroic strength does not make Mikula a braggart. The hero is modest and calm, does not get into trouble and simply communicates with the prince. A conflict-free character belongs everywhere. He pleases those around him, knows how to work and relax well.
Orthodox Rus' is famous for humility and forgiveness, but is always able to defend its honor and protect its neighbor. In the episode of the attack by robbers demanding pennies, it is clear that the righteous Mikula is ready to endure and show loyalty to the last. Having lost his temper, he will be able to reason with his rivals by force. The biography of heroes is rarely described in detail. It is often unclear who the hero was before the heroic power awakened in him. Sometimes it is not even known where he was born. But the main exploits for which the characters became famous were passed down in detail from mouth to mouth, considered a national treasure, and supported the spirit of the Russian people, who needed defenders.
Heroic strength is one of the favorite subjects of fine art. The paintings, painted in the same manner, told about the exploits and travels of Russian heroes. Among the admirers of Russian folklore were painters and Ryabushkin.