Heroic Character in Literature The ability of a person to accomplish a feat, to overcome obstacles that seem insurmountable has always attracted people. The very first literary characters were heroes - Gilgamesh, Achilles, Roland, Ilya Muromets ...

Tsvetaeva M. And the Epos and Lyrics of Modern Russia Vladimir Mayakovsky and Boris Pasternak If I, speaking of contemporary Russian poetry, put these two names side by side, it’s because they stand side by side. It is possible, speaking about modern poetry of Russia, to name one of them, each of them without

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1 The concept of a heroic epic. "Epic" - (from the Greek) word, narration, one of three types of literature, telling about various events of the past. The heroic epic of the peoples of the world is sometimes the most important and only evidence of past eras. It goes back to the most ancient myths and reflects human ideas about nature and the world. Initially, it was formed orally, then, acquiring new plots and images, was fixed in writing. The heroic epic is the result of collective folk art. But this does not at all diminish the role of individual storytellers. The famous "Iliad" and "Odyssey", as you know, were recorded by the only author - Homer.

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"The Legend of Gilgamesh" Sumerian epic 1800 BC The Epic of Gilgamesh is set out on 12 clay tablets. As the plot of the epic develops, the image of Gilgamesh changes. The fabulous hero-hero, boasting of his strength, turns into a person who has learned the tragic brevity of life. The mighty spirit of Gilgamesh revolts against the recognition of the inevitability of death; only at the end of his wanderings does the hero begin to understand that immortality can bring him the eternal glory of his name.

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Summary Table I tells about the king of Uruk Gilgamesh, whose unbridled prowess caused much grief to the inhabitants of the city. Deciding to create a worthy rival and friend for him, the gods blinded Enkidu from clay and settled him among wild animals. Table II is devoted to the heroes' single combat and their decision to use their strengths for the good by chopping a precious cedar in the mountains. Tables III, IV and V are dedicated to their preparations for the road, travel and victory over Humbaba. Table VI is similar in content to the Sumerian text about Gilgamesh and the heavenly bull. Gilgamesh rejects Inanna's love and reproaches her for treachery. Insulted Inanna asks the gods to create a monstrous bull to destroy Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull; Unable to take revenge on Gilgamesh, Inanna transfers her anger to Enkidu, who weakens and dies. The story of his farewell to life (VII table) and Gilgamesh's lament for Enkidu (VIII table) become a turning point in the epic legend. Shocked by the death of a friend, the hero goes in search of immortality. His wanderings are described in Tables IX and X. Gilgamesh wanders in the desert and reaches the Masha Mountains, where the scorpion men guard the passage through which the sun rises and sets. The "mistress of the gods" Siduri helps Gilgamesh to find the shipbuilder Urshanabi, who ferried him across the "waters of death" that are fatal for man. On the opposite shore of the sea, Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim and his wife, whom in time immemorial the gods gave eternal life. XI table contains the famous story of the Flood and the construction of the ark, on which Utnapishtim saved the human race from destruction. Utnapishtim proves to Gilgamesh that his quest for immortality is in vain, since a person cannot overcome even the semblance of death - sleep. In parting, he reveals to the hero the secret of the "grass of immortality" growing at the bottom of the sea. Gilgamesh extracts the herb and decides to bring it to Uruk to give immortality to all people. On the way back, the hero falls asleep at the source; A snake that has risen from its depths eats the grass, sheds its skin and, as it were, gets a second life. The text of Table XI, known to us, ends with a description of how Gilgamesh shows Urshanabi the walls of Uruk erected by him, hoping that his deeds will be preserved in the memory of descendants.

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GILGAMESH (Sumer. Bilga-mes - possible interpretation of this name as "ancestor-hero"), semi-legendary ruler of Uruk, hero of the epic tradition of Sumer and Akkad. Epic texts consider Gilgamesh to be the son of the hero Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun, and attribute the reign of Gilgamesh to the era of the 1st dynasty of Uruk (c. 27-26 centuries BC). Gilgamesh is the fifth king of this dynasty. Gilgamesh is also credited with divine origin: "Bilgamez, whose father was demon-lila, en (ie," high priest ") of Kulaba." The length of the reign of Gilgamesh is determined at 126 years. Sumerian tradition places Gilgamesh on the verge of a legendary heroic time and a closer historical past.

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"Mahabharata" Indian epic of the 5th century AD "The Great Legend of the Descendants of Bharata" or "The Legend of the Great Battle of the Bharatas". Mahabharata is a heroic poem consisting of 18 books, or parvas. In the form of an appendix, she also has the 19th book - Harivansha, that is, "The Genealogy of Hari". In its current edition, the Mahabharata contains over one hundred thousand slokas, or couplets, and is eight times larger in volume than Homer's Iliad and Odyssey taken together. The Indian literary tradition considers Mahabharata to be a single work, and its authorship is attributed to the legendary sage Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa.

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Summary The main legend of the epic is devoted to the history of irreconcilable enmity between the Kauravas and the Pandavas - the sons of two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu. According to legend, numerous peoples and tribes of India, northern and southern, are gradually involved in this enmity and the struggle caused by it. It ends in a terrible, bloody battle in which almost all participants on both sides perish. Those who won the victory at such a high price unite the country under their rule. Thus, the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe main legend is the unity of India.

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The medieval European epic "The Song of the Nibelungs" is a medieval Germanic epic poem written by an unknown author in the late 12th - early 13th centuries. One of the most famous epic works of mankind. Its content is reduced to 39 parts (songs), which are called "adventures".

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The song tells about the marriage of the dragon-slayer Siekfried to the Burgundian princess Kriemhild, his death due to the conflict between Kriemhilda and Brunhilda, the wife of her brother - Gunther, and then about Kriemhilda's revenge for the death of her husband. There is reason to believe that the epic was composed around 1200, that the place of its origin should be sought on the Danube, in the area between Passau and Vienna. In science, various assumptions have been made about the identity of the author. Some scholars considered him a spielman, a wandering singer, others were inclined to think that he was a clergyman (perhaps in the service of the Bishop of Passau), and others that he was an educated knight of a low family. The Song of the Nibelungs combines two initially independent plots: the tale of Siegfried's death and the tale of the end of the Burgundian house. They form, as it were, two parts of the epic. Both of these parts are not entirely consistent, and you can see certain contradictions between them. So, in the first part, the Burgundians receive a generally negative assessment and look rather gloomy in comparison with the light hero Siegfried, who they kill, whose services and help they used so widely, while in the second part they appear as valiant knights who bravely meet their tragic fate ... The name "Nibelungs" is used differently in the first and second parts of the epic: in the first, these are fabulous creatures, northern treasure keepers and heroes in the service of Siegfried, in the second - the Burgundians.

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The epic reflects primarily the knightly worldview of the Staufen era (the Staufens (or Hohenstaufens) - the imperial dynasty that ruled Germany and Italy in the 12th - first half of the 13th century. The Staufens, especially Frederick I Barbarossa (1152-1190), tried to carry out a wide external expansion, which ultimately accelerated the weakening of central power and contributed to the strengthening of the princes.At the same time, the Staufen era was characterized by a significant, but short-lived cultural upsurge.).

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Kalevala Kalevala - Karelian - Finnish poetic epic. Consists of 50 runes (songs). It is based on Karelian folk epic songs. The processing of "Kalevala" belongs to Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884), who connected individual folk epic songs, making a certain selection of variants of these songs and smoothing out some irregularities. The name “Kalevala” given to the poem by Lönnrot is the epic name of the country in which they live and Finnish folk heroes are acting. The suffix lla means residence, so Kalevalla is the residence of Kalev, the mythological ancestor of the heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen, sometimes called his sons. In Kalevala there is no main plot that would connect all the songs.

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It opens with a legend about the creation of the earth, sky, luminaries and the birth by the daughter of the air of the main character of the Finns, Väinämöinen, who arranges the earth and sows barley. Further, it tells about the different adventures of the hero, who meets, among other things, the beautiful maiden of the North: she agrees to become his bride if he miraculously creates a boat from the fragments of her spindle. Having started to work, the hero wounds himself with an ax, cannot relieve the bleeding and goes to an old healer, to whom he tells a legend about the origin of iron. Returning home, Väinämöinen raises the wind with spells and transports the blacksmith Ilmarinen to the country of the North, Pohjola, where he, according to the promise given by Väinämöinen, fetters a mysterious object for the mistress of the North that gives wealth and happiness - the Sampo mill (runes I-XI). The following runes (XI-XV) contain an episode about the adventures of the hero Lemminkäinen, a warlike sorcerer and seducer of women. Then the story goes back to Väinämöinen; describes his descent into the underworld, staying in the womb of the giant Viipunen, obtaining from the last three words necessary to create a wonderful boat, sailing the hero to Pohjola in order to receive the hand of the northern maiden; however, the latter preferred him the blacksmith Ilmarinen, whom she marries, and the wedding is described in detail and wedding songs are given outlining the duties of a wife and husband (XVI-XXV).

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Further runes (XXVI-XXXI) are again occupied with the adventures of Lemminkäinen in Pohjola. The episode about the sad fate of the hero Kullervo, who out of ignorance seduced his own sister, as a result of which both, brother and sister, commit suicide (runes XXXI-XXXVI), belongs to the depth of feeling, sometimes reaching true pathos, to the best parts of the entire poem. Further runes contain a lengthy story about the common enterprise of the three Finnish heroes - the extraction of Sampo's treasure from Pohjola, about the manufacture of Väinämöinen kantele, by playing which he enchants the whole nature and lulls the population of Pohjola, about the taking of Sampo by the heroes, about their pursuit by the witch Sampo at sea, about the benefits provided by Väinämöinen to his native country through the fragments of Sampo, about his struggle with various disasters and monsters sent by the mistress of Pohjola to Kalevala, about the hero's marvelous play on a new kantel, created by him when the first fell into the sea, and about his return them of the sun and moon, hidden by the mistress of Pohjola (XXXVI-XLIX). The last rune contains a folk-apocryphal legend about the birth of a wonderful child by the virgin Maryatta (the birth of the Savior). Väinämöinen gives advice to kill him, since he is destined to surpass the power of the Finnish hero, but the two-week-old baby showered Väinämöinen with reproaches of injustice, and the ashamed hero, singing a wondrous song for the last time, leaves forever in a canoe from Finland, giving way to the baby Mary ...

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Other peoples of the world have developed their own heroic epics: in England - "Beowulf", in Spain - "Song of my Side", in Iceland - "Elder Edda", in France - "Song of Roland", in Yakutia - "Olonkho", in the Caucasus - "Nart epic", in Kyrgyzstan - "Manas", in Russia - "epic epic" and others. Despite the fact that the heroic epic of peoples was formed in different historical settings, it has many common features and similar features. First of all, this concerns the recurrence of themes and plots, as well as the generality of the characteristics of the main characters. For example: 1. The epic often includes the plot of the creation of the world, how the gods create the harmony of the world from the initial chaos. 2. The plot of the hero's miraculous birth and his first youthful exploits. 3. The plot of the hero's matchmaking and his trials before the wedding. 4. Description of the battle. in which the hero shows miracles of courage, resourcefulness and courage. 5. Glorification of loyalty in friendship, generosity and honor. 6. Heroes not only defend the Motherland, but also highly value their own freedom and independence.

The literature of the western early Middle Ages was created by new peoples inhabiting the western part of Europe by the Celts (Britons, Gauls, Belgae, Helvetians) and the ancient Germans living between the Danube and the Rhine, near the North Sea and in the south of Scandinavia (Suevi, Goths, Burgundians, Cherusci, Angles, Saxons, etc.).

These peoples first worshiped pagan tribal gods, and later adopted Christianity and believed, but, in the end, the Germanic tribes conquered the Celts and occupied the territory of what is now France, England and Scandinavia. The literature of these peoples is represented by the following works:

• 1. Stories about the life of the saints - hagiography. Lives of the Saints, visions and spells;
• 2. Encyclopedic, scientific and historiographic works.

Isidore of Seville (about 560-636) - "etymology, or beginning"; Bede the Venerable (about 637-735) - "about the nature of things" and "the church history of the people of the Angles", Jordan - "about the origin of the deeds of the Goths"; Alcuin (about 732-804) - treatises on rhetoric, grammar, dialectics; Einhard (about 770-840) "Biography of Charlemagne";

3. Mythology and heroic-epic poems, sagas and songs of the Celtic and Germanic tribes. Icelandic sagas, Irish epic, "Elder Edda", Younger Edda "," Beowulf ", Karelian-Finnish epic" Kalevala ".

The heroic epic is one of the most characteristic and popular genres of the European Middle Ages. In France, it existed in the form of poems called gestures, i.e. songs about deeds, exploits. The thematic basis of the gesture is made up of real historical events, most of which date back to the 8th - 10th centuries. Probably, immediately after these events, legends and legends about them arose. It is also possible that these legends originally existed in the form of short episodic songs or prosaic stories that developed in a pre-royal retinue environment. However, very early on, episodic legends went beyond this environment, spread among the masses and became the property of the whole society: not only the military class, but also the clergy, merchants, artisans, and peasants listened to them with the same enthusiasm.

The heroic epic as an integral picture of folk life was the most significant legacy of the literature of the early Middle Ages and occupied an important place in the artistic culture of Western Europe. According to Tacitus, songs about gods and heroes replaced history for barbarians. The oldest is the Irish epic. It formed from the 3rd to the 8th century. The epic poems about warrior heroes created by the people back in the pagan period first existed in oral form and were passed from mouth to mouth. They were sung and chanted by folk storytellers. Later, in the 7th and 8th centuries, after Christianization, they were revised and written down by learned poets, whose names remained unchanged. For epic works, the chanting of the heroic deeds of heroes is characteristic; interweaving of historical background and fiction; glorification of the heroic strength and deeds of the main characters; idealization of the feudal state.

Features of the heroic epic:

• 1. The epic was created in the conditions of the development of feudal relations;
• 2. An epic picture of the world reproduces feudal relations, idealizes a strong feudal state and reflects Christian beliefs, chr. ideals;
• 3. With regard to history, the historical basis is clearly visible, but at the same time it is idealized, exaggerated;
• 4. Bogatyrs - defenders of the state, the king, the country's independence and the Christian faith. All this is interpreted in the epic as a public affair;
• 5. The epic is associated with a folk tale, with historical chronicles, sometimes with a chivalric romance;
• 6. The epic survived in the countries of continental Europe (Germany, France).

The heroic epic was greatly influenced by Celtic and Germanic-Scandinavian mythology. Often, epics and myths are so connected and intertwined with each other that it is rather difficult to draw a line between them. This connection is reflected in a special form of epic legends - sagas - Old Icelandic prose narratives (the Icelandic word "saga" comes from the verb "to say"). The sagas were composed by Scandinavian poets of the 9th-12th centuries. - skalds. Old Icelandic sagas are very diverse: sagas about kings, saga about Icelanders, sagas about ancient times ("The Welsungs saga").

The collection of these sagas has come down to us in the form of two Edda: "Elder Edda" and "Younger Edda". The Younger Edda is a prosaic retelling of ancient Germanic myths and legends, performed by the Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sjurluson in 1222-1223. The Elder Edda is a collection of twelve poetic songs about gods and heroes. The concise and dynamic songs of the Elder Edda, dating back to the 5th century and recorded, apparently, in the 10-11th centuries, are divided into two groups: legends about gods and legends about heroes. The chief of the gods is the one-eyed Odin, who was originally the god of war. The second most important after Odin is the god of thunder and fertility Thor. The third is the malevolent god Locke. And the most significant hero is the hero Sigurd. The heroic songs of the Elder Edda are based on the all-German epic legends about the gold of the Nibelungs, on which lies a curse and which brings misfortune to everyone.

The sagas also spread in Ireland, the largest center of Celtic culture in the Middle Ages. It was the only country of Western Europe, where the foot of the Roman legionary did not go. Irish legends were created and passed on to descendants by druids (priests), bards (singers-poets) and felids (diviners). A clear and concise Irish epic was formed not in poetry, but in prose. It can be divided into heroic sagas and fantastic sagas. The protagonist of the heroic sagas was the noble, fair and brave Cuchulainn. His mother is the king's sister, and his father is the god of light. Cuchulainn had three faults: he was too young, too daring, and too beautiful. Ancient Ireland embodied its ideal of valor and moral perfection in the image of Cuchulainn.

In epic works, real historical events and fantastic fiction are often intertwined. Thus, "The Song of Hildenbrand" was created on a historical basis - the struggle of the Ostrogothic king Theodoric with Odoacer. This ancient Germanic epic of the era of migration of peoples originated in the pagan era and was found in a manuscript of the 9th century. This is the only monument of the German epic that has come down to us in song form.

In the poem "Beowulf" - the heroic epic of the Anglo-Saxons, which has come down to us in the manuscript of the beginning of the 10th century, the fantastic adventures of the heroes also take place against the backdrop of historical events. The world of "Beowulf" is the world of kings and warriors, the world of feasts, battles and duels. The hero of the poem is a brave and magnanimous warrior from the Gout people, Beowulf, who performs feats and is always ready to help people. Beowulf is generous, merciful, faithful to the leader and greedy for glory and rewards, he accomplished many feats, opposed the monster and destroyed him; defeated another monster in an underwater dwelling - Grendel's mother; entered into battle with a fire-breathing dragon, who was enraged by the attempt on the ancient treasure he guarded and devastated the country. At the cost of his own life, Beowulf managed to defeat the dragon. The song ends with a scene of the solemn burning of the hero's body on a funeral pyre and the construction of a mound over his ashes. This is how the familiar theme of misfortune-bringing gold appears in the poem. This theme will be used later in knightly literature.

The immortal monument of folk art is "Kalevala" - the Karelian-Finnish epic about the exploits and adventures of the heroes of the fairyland of Kaleva. "Kalevala" is composed of folk songs (runes), which were collected and recorded by a native of a Finnish peasant family, Elias Lennrot, and published in 1835 and 1849. runes are letters of the alphabet carved on wood or stone used by the Scandinavian and other Germanic peoples for cult and commemorative inscriptions. The whole "Kalevala" is a tireless praise of human labor, there is not even a hint of "court" poetry in it.

The French epic poem "The Song of Roland", which has come down to us in a manuscript of the 12th century, tells about the Spanish campaign of Charlemagne in 778, and the protagonist of Roland's poem has his own historical prototype. True, the campaign against the Basques in the poem turned into a seven-year war with the "infidels", and Karl himself - from a 36-year-old man to a gray-haired old man. The central episode of the poem, the Battle of Ronseval, glorifies the courage of people loyal to duty and "sweet France."

The ideological concept of the legend is revealed by comparing the Song of Roland with the historical facts that underlie this legend. In 778, Charlemagne intervened in the internal strife of the Spanish Moors, agreeing to help one of the Muslim kings against the other. Crossing the Pyrenees, Charles took several cities and laid siege to Zaragoza, but after standing under its walls for several weeks, he had to return to France with nothing. When he was returning back through the Pyrenees, the Basques, irritated by the passage of foreign troops through their fields and villages, set up an ambush in the Ronseval Gorge and, attacking the rearguard of the French, killed many of them. A short and fruitless expedition to northern Spain, which had nothing to do with religious struggle and ended with a not particularly significant, but still an annoying military failure, was turned by the storytellers into a picture of a seven-year war that ended with the conquest of all of Spain, then a terrible catastrophe during the retreat of the French armies, and here the enemies were not the Basque Christians, but all the same Moors, and, finally, the picture of revenge on the part of Charles in the form of a grandiose, truly "world" battle of the French with the connecting forces of the entire Muslim world.

In addition to the hyperbolization typical of the entire folk epic, which manifested itself not only in the scale of the events depicted, but also in the pictures of superhuman strength and dexterity of individual characters, as well as in the idealization of the main characters (Roland, Karl, Turpin), the saturation of the entire story with the idea of \u200b\u200ba religious struggle against Islam is characteristic and France's special mission in this struggle. This idea found its vivid expression in numerous prayers, heavenly signs, religious appeals filling the poem, in denigrating the "pagans" - the Moors, in repeatedly emphasizing the special patronage given to Charles by God, in the image of Roland as a knight-vassal of Charles and a vassal of the Lord, to whom he before dying, he stretches out his glove like a suzerain, finally in the image of Archbishop Turpin, who with one hand blesses the French knights for battle and forgives the sins of the dying, and with the other he defeats enemies, personifying the unity of the sword and cross in the struggle against the "infidels."

However, "The Song of Roland" is far from being exhausted by its national-religious idea. It reflected with great force the socio-political contradictions characteristic of the intensively developing in the 10th - 11th centuries. feudalism. This problem is introduced into the poem by an episode of Ganelon's betrayal. The reason for including this episode in the legend could be the desire of the singers-storytellers to explain the external fatal reason for the defeat of the "invincible" army of Charlemagne. But Ganelon is not just a traitor, but the expression of some evil principle, hostile to every national cause, the personification of feudal, anarchic egoism. This beginning is shown in the poem in all its power, with great artistic objectivity. Ganelon is depicted by no means some physical and moral freak. This is a dignified and courageous fighter. The Song of Roland does not so much reveal the blackness of an individual traitor, Ganelon, as it exposes the ruinousness for the native land of that feudal, anarchic egoism, of which, in some respects, Ganelon is a brilliant representative.

Along with this opposition of Roland and Ganelon, another opposition runs through the entire poem, less acute, but just as principled - Roland and his beloved friend, named brother Olivier. Here, not two hostile forces collide, but two versions of the same positive principle.

Roland in the poem is a powerful and brilliant knight, impeccable in the performance of a vassal. He is an example of knightly valor and nobility. But the deep connection of the poem with folk songwriting and folk understanding of heroism is reflected in the fact that all the knightly features of Roland are given by the poet in a humanized form, freed from class limitations. Roland is alien to heroism, cruelty, greed, anarchic willfulness of the feudal lords. One feels in him an excess of youthful strength, a joyful faith in the righteousness of his cause and in his own luck, a passionate thirst for selfless feat. Full of proud self-awareness, but at the same time alien to any arrogance or self-interest, he fully devotes his strength to serving the king, people, homeland. Seriously wounded, having lost all his companions in battle, Roland climbs a high hill, lies down on the ground, puts his trusty sword and Olifan's horn next to him and turns his face towards Spain so that the emperor would know that he "died, but won in battle." For Roland, there is no more tender and sacred word than "sweet France"; with the thought of her, he dies. All this made Roland, despite his chivalrous appearance, a true folk hero, understandable and close to everyone.

Olivier is a friend and brother, Roland's "dashing brother", a valiant knight who prefers death to the dishonor of retreat. In the poem, Olivier characterizes the epithet "reasonable". Three times Olivier tries to convince Roland to blow Olifan's horn to call for help the army of Charlemagne, but Roland refuses to do it three times. Olivier dies with his friend, praying before his death "for a sweet homeland."

Emperor Charlemagne is Roland's uncle. His image in the poem is a somewhat exaggerated image of the old wise leader. In the poem, Charles is 200 years old, although in fact at the time of the real events in Spain he was no more than 36 years old. The power of his empire is also greatly exaggerated in the poem. The author includes in it both the countries that really belonged to her and those that were not included in it. The emperor can only be compared with God: in order to have time to punish the Saracens before sunset, he is able to stop the sun. On the eve of the death of Roland and his army, Charlemagne sees a prophetic dream, but he can no longer prevent betrayal, but only sheds "streams of tears." The image of Charlemagne resembles the image of Jesus Christ - his twelve peers (compare with the 12 apostles) and the traitor Ganelon appear before the reader.

Ganelon is a vassal of Charlemagne, the stepfather of the protagonist of Roland's poem. The emperor, on the advice of Roland, sends Ganelon to negotiate with the Saracen king Marsil. This is a very dangerous mission, and Ganelon decides to take revenge on his stepson. He enters into a treacherous conspiracy with Marsil and, returning to the emperor, convinces him to leave Spain. At the instigation of Ganelon in the Ronseval Gorge in the Pyrenees, the army of Charlemagne, led by Roland, is attacked by the outnumbered Saracens. Roland, his friends and all of his troops perish without a step back from Ronseval. Ganelon personifies in the poem feudal selfishness and arrogance, bordering on betrayal and dishonor. Outwardly, Ganelon is handsome and valiant ("he is fresh-faced, in appearance and brave and proud. That was a daring man, be honest he was"). Neglecting military honor and following only the desire to take revenge on Roland, Ganelon becomes a traitor. Because of him, the best soldiers of France die, so the ending of the poem - the scene of the trial and execution of Ganelon - is natural. Archbishop Turpen is a warrior-priest who bravely fights against the "infidels" and blesses the Franks for the battle. His image is associated with the idea of \u200b\u200ba special mission of France in the national-religious struggle against the Saracens. Turpen is proud of his people, which in their fearlessness cannot be compared with any other.

The Spanish heroic epic "Song of Side" reflected the events of the reconquista - the Spanish conquest of their country from the Arabs. The protagonist of the poem is the famous reconquista figure Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar (1040 - 1099), whom the Arabs called Sid (lord).

Sid's story has served as material for many Gotapes and chronicles.

The main poetic legends about Side that have come down to us are:

• 1) a cycle of poems about King Sancho II and the siege of Samara in the 13-14 centuries, according to the historian of Spanish literature F. Kelin, “serving as a kind of prologue to the“ Song of My Side ”;
• 2) the "Song of My Side" itself, created around 1140, probably by one of Sid's warriors, and preserved in a single copy of the 14th century with heavy losses;
• 3) and the poem, or rhymed chronicle, "Rodrigo" in 1125 verses and related romances about Side.

In the Germanic epic "The Song of the Nibelungs", which finally developed from individual songs into an epic legend in the 12-13th centuries, there is both a historical basis and a fictional tale. The epic reflects the events of the Great Migration of Peoples of the 4th-5th centuries. there is also a real historical person - the formidable leader Attila, who turned into a kind, weak-willed Etzel. The poem consists of 39 songs - "aventure". The action of the poem takes us to the world of court festivities, knightly tournaments and beautiful ladies. The protagonist of the poem is the Dutch prince Siegfried, a young knight who performed many wonderful feats. He is bold and courageous, young and handsome, impudent and arrogant. But the fate of Siegfried and his future wife Kriemhilda was tragic, for whom the treasure with the gold of the Nibelungen became fatal.

MBOU "Secondary School No. 1 (with in-depth study of individual subjects)

"Artistic traditions of the peoples of the world"

Completed by: Filippova E.Yu.

a history teacher

Lesson topic:

“Heroic epic of the peoples of the world. The concept of a heroic epic "

The concept of the heroic epic

"Epic" - (from the Greek) word, narration, one of three kinds of literature, telling about various events of the past.

Heroic epic peoples of the world is sometimes the most important and only evidence of past eras. It goes back to the most ancient myths and reflects human ideas about nature and the world.

Initially, it was formed orally, then, acquiring new plots and images, it was fixed in writing.

The heroic epic is the result of collective folk art. But this does not at all diminish the role of individual storytellers. The famous "Iliad" and "Odyssey", as you know, were recorded by a single author - Homer.

"The Legend of Gilgamesh" sumerian epic 1800 BC

The Epic of Gilgamesh is set out at 12

clay tablets.

As the plot of the epic develops, the image of Gilgamesh changes. The fabulous hero-hero, boasting of his strength, turns into a person who knows the tragic brevity of life. The mighty spirit of Gilgamesh revolts against the recognition of the inevitability of death; only at the end of his wanderings does the hero begin to understand that immortality can bring him the eternal glory of his name.

GILGAMESH (Sumerian. Bilgamez - possible interpretation of this name as "ancestor-hero"), semi-legendary ruler Uruk, hero of the epic tradition of Sumer and Akkad.

Gilgamesh with the lion from the palace

Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin

8th century BC e.

"Mahabharata" indian epic mid-1st millennium AD

"The Great Legend of the Descendants of Bharata" or "The Legend of the Great Battle of the Bharatas". Mahabharata is a heroic poem consisting of 18 books, or parvas. In the form of an appendix, she also has the 19th book - Harivansha, that is, "The Genealogy of Hari". In its current edition, the Mahabharata contains over one hundred thousand slokas, or couplets, and is eight times larger in volume than Homer's Iliad and Odyssey taken together.

The Indian literary tradition considers the Mahabharata to be a single work, and its authorship is attributed to the legendary sage Krishna - Dvaipayana Vyasa.

Summary

The main legend of the epic is devoted to the history of irreconcilable enmity between the Kauravas and the Pandavas - the sons of two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu. In this enmity and the struggle caused by it, according to legend, the numerous peoples and tribes of India, northern and southern, are gradually involved. It ends in a terrible, bloody battle, in which almost all participants on both sides perish. Those who won the victory at such a high price unite the country under their rule. Thus, the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe main legend is the unity of India.

Medieval epic

"Song of the Nibelungs" - a medieval Germanic epic poem written by an unknown author in the late 12th - early 13th century. One of the most famous epic works of mankind. Its content is reduced to 39 parts (songs), which are called "adventures".

The song tells about the marriage of the dragon-slayer Siekfried to the Burgundian princess Kriemhild, his death due to the conflict between Kriemhilda and Brunhilda, the wife of her brother - Gunther, and then about Kriemhilda's revenge for the death of her husband.

There is reason to believe that the epic was composed around 1200, that the place of its origin should be sought on the Danube, in the area between Passau and Vienna.

In science, various assumptions have been made about the identity of the author. Some scholars considered him a spielman, a wandering singer, others tended to think that he was a clergyman (perhaps in the service of the Bishop of Passau), and still others that he was an educated knight of a low family.

The Song of the Nibelungs combines two initially independent plots: the tale of Siegfried's death and the tale of the end of the Burgundian house. They form, as it were, two parts of the epic. Both of these parts are not entirely consistent, and you can see certain contradictions between them. So, in the first part, the Burgundians receive a generally negative assessment and look rather gloomy in comparison with the light hero Siegfried, who they kill, whose services and help they used so widely, while in the second part they appear as valiant knights who bravely meet their tragic fate ... The name "Nibelungs" is used differently in the first and second parts of the epic: in the first, these are fabulous creatures, northern treasure keepers and heroes in the service of Siegfried, in the second - the Burgundians.

Quarrel of kings

Competitions at the court of Brunhilde

The epic reflects primarily the knightly worldview of the Staufen era ( The Staufens (or Hohenstaufens) are an imperial dynasty that ruled Germany and Italy in the 12th - first half of the 13th century. The Staufens, especially Frederick I Barbarossa (1152-1190), tried to carry out a wide external expansion, which ultimately accelerated the weakening of central power and contributed to the strengthening of the princes. At the same time, the Staufen era was characterized by a significant but short-lived cultural upsurge. ).

Death of Siekfried

Siekfried

Funeral of Siekfried

Halen throws gold at the Rhine

Kriemhilda shows Helena

gunther's head

Epic in works of art of different genres

Music:

• A. Borodin. Heroic Symphony;
• N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Operas "Sadko", "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia", "The Pskovite Woman";
• M. Mussorgsky. "Pictures at an Exhibition", the play "Heroic Gates", the opera "Khovanshchina";

Painting:

• V. Vasnetsov. "Heroes".

Kalevala

• Kalevala - Karelo - Finnish poetic epic. Consists of 50 runes (songs). It is based on Karelian folk epic songs. The adaptation of Kalevala belongs to Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884), who connected individual folk epic songs, making a certain selection of versions of these songs and smoothing out some irregularities.
• The name “Kalevala” given to the poem by Lönnrot is the epic name of the country in which Finnish folk heroes live and act. Suffix lla means place of residence, so Kalevalla - This is the residence of Kalev, the mythological ancestor of the heroes Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen, sometimes called his sons.
• In Kalevala, there is no main plot that would connect all the songs together.

Väinämöinen protects sampo from

Louhi witches.

Väinämöinen

Despite the fact that the heroic epic of peoples was formed in different historical settings, it has many common features and similar features. First of all, this concerns the repetition of themes and plots, as well as the generality of the characteristics of the main characters. For instance:

1 an epic often includes a plot creation of the world , how the gods create the harmony of the world from the original chaos.

2.Plot the miraculous birth of the hero and his first youthful exploits .

3.Plot matchmaking of the hero and his trials before the wedding .

4. Description of the battle , in which the hero shows the wonders of courage, resourcefulness and courage.

5. Glorifying loyalty in friendship, generosity and honor .

6. Heroes not only defend their homeland, but also highly value their own freedom and independence .

• Homework:

Illustrations for the Nart epic

It is believed that the Nart epic has ancient Iranian roots (7-8 centuries BC), spread through the Scythian-Sarmatian tribes in the Caucasus, the main core was created by the Adygs, Ossetians, Vainakhs, Abkhazians, and is popular among others (along with common features each nation had its own epos), in the 19th century it was first recorded by the Russians (a little more about the genesis of the epic in this article).

The Ossetian artist Azanbek Dzhanaev (1919-1989) turned to the Nartiada several times: in 1948, his graduation work at the Leningrad Academy of Arts at the graphic faculty, the work was done in the style of lithography, and in the 1970s, the materials were gouache and cardboard.

Personally, his black and white graphics make a greater impression on me, but in general, in my unprofessional opinion, thanks to the realistic style of drawing, Dzhanaev managed to capture and convey all the beauty of the epic and mountain peoples :)

1. Dzerassa's lament over the bodies of Akhsar and Akhsartag (1948)
2. Akhsar and Akhsartag (1977)

The ancestor of the Narts was Uarkhag, he had two twin sons, Akhsar and Akhsartag, whose wife was the daughter of the water deity Dzerassa. While Akhsartag and Dzerassa were feasting, Akhsar was waiting for them on the shore. Once he returned to his tent and saw his daughter-in-law, and she took him for Akhsartag. Then Akhsartag entered and decided that Akhsar had committed violence against her. “If I am guilty, let my arrow strike me to death in the place with which I touched my daughter-in-law!” Exclaimed Ahsar, and fired the arrow. She hit the little finger and immediately Akhsar died. Akhsartag realized his mistake, drew his sword and struck himself in the heart. While Dzerassa mourned the brothers, the celestial Uastyrdzhi appeared and offered her to bury the men, in exchange she would become his wife. Dzerassa agreed, but then, having deceived Uastyrdzhi, fled to her parents to the bottom of the sea. "Wait, I will find you, even in the land of the dead," said Uastirdzhi.

Curious: the name Uarkhag in translation from Old Ossetian means "wolf", his sons are twin brothers who killed each other (in other versions of the legend, the brothers did not recognize each other), there is a plot similarity with the legend of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. The theme of "upbringing by wolves" is encountered many times in the epic.

3. How Satan married Uryzmag (1978)

Dzerassa gave birth to twin brothers Uryzmag and Khamyts, and punished them "when I die, protect my body for three nights, one unkind person vowed to find me after death." So it happened, while the brothers were away, Uastyrdzhi entered the crypt, after which they found a newborn girl in it, who was named Satan. She grew by leaps and bounds, having matured, she decided to marry the best sled, who was Uryzmag. To upset his wedding with another girl, Satan tricked into his bedroom, prepared an intoxicating drink, put on his bride's wedding clothes and pretended to be her. She enchanted the ceiling of the room so that the moon and stars were always on it, and Uryzmag did not get up from the bed until the heart of his real bride broke with despair.

The image of Satan (among the Circassians of Satan) originated in the period of matriarchy, she plays the role of a wise counselor of the Narts, endowed with magic spells, but does not direct them directly. In the Ingush epic Satan corresponds to Sela Sata, the daughter of the god of thunder and lightning Sela, born to a mortal woman under the same circumstances. Sela Sata married the sky god Halo: where she carried straw for the wedding bed, the Milky Way formed, where she baked triangular bread, a summer-autumn triangle formed (the stars Vega, Deneb and Altair).

4. Nart Syrdon (1976)

Syrdon is the son of the water deity Gatag and Dzerassa, a cunning rascal who made intrigues to the Narts. When Syrdon, offended by Khamyts, stole a cow from him, Khamyts found his secret home, killed all his sons and put them in a cauldron instead of a cow. Grief-stricken, Syrdon pulled 12 other sons on the wrist of his eldest son and made a fandir (harp), presented it to the Narts and was accepted into their society.

Among the Vainakhs, Botky Shirtka corresponds to Syrdon. The sledges threw his little son into the cauldron; in revenge he lured them into a trap to the monsters of the garbash. But about this the next picture ("the campaign of the Narts").

5. Sled hike (1977)

The sleds went on a hike and saw the dwelling of the Waig giants. The giants lured them onto a bench, which was covered with magic glue that the sledges could not get up, and prepared to eat them. Only the last sled who entered Syrdon was able to save everyone, having set the stupid waigs against each other. But the mutual intrigues of the Narts and Syrdon did not stop there.

In the Vainakh version, at the sight of the inevitable death, the sledges prayed for mercy, Botky Shirtka forgave them the death of his son, making it so that the garbashi fought among themselves, and the sledges quietly left. Since then, there has been no enmity between them.

It is curious: according to the Ossetian epos, the waigi are one-eyed giants, but Dzhanaev, with his inherent realism, portrays them as narrow-minded ape-like Pithecanthropes. He does the same in other plots, for example, the three-legged horse Uastyrdzhi has all four legs.

6. Exiled on a march (1976)

Soslan (Sosruko among the Circassians, Seska Sols among the Vainakhs) is the central hero of the epic and one of the most beloved. Appearing from a stone fertilized by a shepherd at the sight of a naked Satan, tempered in wolf's milk (except for the knees, which did not fit into the boat because of the cunning Syrdon), he became an almost invulnerable hero-hero. In the Nart-Orstkhoi epic of the Ingush, Seska Solsa acquired negative traits (for example, he stole cattle from the local hero, a hard worker, Koloi Kant, but the stronger Koloy restored justice).

7. Soslan and Totradz (1972)

Totradz is the son of Soslan's blood enemy, the last man in the race he exterminates. At a young age, he raised Soslan on a spear, but agreeing not to disgrace him, he postponed the fight. The next time Soslan dealt with him on the advice of Satan: he put on his horse a fur coat made of wolf skins and 100 ringing bells, thereby frightening Totradz's horse, Totradz turned around and Soslan insidiously killed him with a blow to the back.

Among the Circassians, Totresh is considered a negative hero and the actions of Sosruko, who did not heed Totresh's request to postpone the fight after falling from a horse, are idealized.

8. Sauway (1978)

Sauuay is the son-in-law of Uryzmag and Satan. But from birth they were enemies. Once Sauuai \u200b\u200bwent on a hike together with Uryzmag, Khamyts, Soslan and they decided that Soslan's steel-hoofed horse would destroy Sauuai, gallop over the edge of the earth at night, visited the underworld and in heaven, and the guardian of the Sauuai \u200b\u200bcamp could not find him and brought him down shame at the sledges. But Sauuay not only found him, but also brought Uryzmaga a huge herd of horses from a distant country, which earned him trust and respect.

9. Exiled to the land of the dead (1948)

Soslan decided to marry the daughter of the Sun Atsyrukhs, but the waigi who protected her demanded a difficult ransom, leaves from a healing tree growing in the Land of the Dead. Force Soslan opened the gates to it and was immediately surrounded by the dead, who were killed by him during his lifetime. But while Soslan was alive, the enemies could do nothing with him. Soslan got the leaves, returned, and played the wedding.

According to Ingush legends, Seska Solsa came to the kingdom of the dead to find out who is stronger, he or the local hero Byatar. This is one of my favorite stories, so I will quote a piece of it:

The Lord of the kingdom of the dead thought deeply and asked them the following riddle-parable:
- There were two people in the old days. Everyone knew them as loyal and devoted friends. One of them fell in love with the girl and the girl agreed to become his wife. The second also fell in love with this girl, not knowing that his friend loved her, and sent matchmakers to her parents. The parents agreed. The first friend did not know about it. When he wanted to talk to the girl affectionately, she told him that they had married her to another without her consent, and that she, at any time appointed by her lover, was ready to run away with him. Returning home after talking with the girl, in the uninhabited steppe, he met a hungry and thirsty unarmed bloodline, the murderer of his father. Now tell me, what would you do if your beloved girl was given to another and still remained faithful to you? What would you do with meeting your bloodline? Tell me, what would you do if you were this person?
Cesca Solsa and Byatar thought for a while. Then Cesca Solsa said:
“If you ask me, if I were this man, I would have kidnapped the girl, because I fell in love with her earlier than anyone else. And with a blood man he would have done what he deserves. Whatever he may be - after all, he is my bloodline! But if he hadn't had the gunpowder-weapon, I would have lent him mine.
Byatar said:
- Friendship is needed not at a plentiful table, not at a beautiful speech. In misfortune or in another matter, a great friendship is required. The girl should have yielded to a friend, praising him in every possible way. Of course, this is easy to say, but much more difficult to accomplish. And yet, I believe that this is exactly what a real friend should have done. It is shameful to let go of a blood enemy, but in such a difficult moment in which he found himself, I would have greeted him with bread and salt. To kill a weak person is a little courage.
After listening to both answers, the Lord of the realm of the dead said:
“Don’t be upset, Cesca Solsa. If you judge courage the way you understand it, then you cannot be found more courageous. From your answers I found that Byatar understands courage more correctly. It does not consist of courage alone; courage absorbs much. It doesn't take much courage to rush to Terek without hesitation. Courage is determined not by this, but by the mind.

10. Soslan and Balsagovo Wheel (1948)
11. Exiled and the wheel of Balsag (1976)

Soslan insulted the daughter of Balsag, refusing to marry her, and sent Balsag his wheel of fire to kill the sled. It burned everything in its path, but could not stop Soslan. Then it rides on Soslan's unhardened knees, taught by Syrdon, and he dies. The only one who was able to destroy the wheel of Balsag was Batradz (about him in the next cycle of paintings).

12. Batradz (1948)

Batradz - the son of Khamyts, hardened by the heavenly blacksmith like steel, crushed enemies and any strongholds with his body. It was impossible to kill him with any weapon, he died only in the struggle with the inhabitants of heaven from the unbearable heat sent.

13. Batradz in the fight (1948)
14. Batradz and Tykhyfirt (1978)

The giant Tykhyfyrt sent the girls to the sledges for tribute, but instead Batradz challenged him to a battle, in which the fighters could not defeat each other. Then Tykhyfyrt lured Batradz into a deep hole and wanted to throw boulders at him, but Batradz got to the ground along them and killed Tykhyfyrt.

16. Wedding of Atsamaz and Agunda (1976)

Atsamaz is a musician, to the sound of a flute, glaciers melted, mountains crumbled, animals emerged from shelters and flowers bloomed. Hearing the game of Atsamaza, the beautiful Agunda fell in love with him, but Atsamaza offended him with her request to give a pipe, and he broke her. The celestials learned about this and acted as matchmakers; at the wedding, Agunda returned to Atsamaz his pipe, glued from the selected fragments.

17. Three sleds (1948)