고려 현종 관련 설화와 즉위 정당성 구축

Abstract

King Hyeonjong experienced all kinds of difficulties before and after the accession to the throne, contrary to the later assessment of ‘the King who rejuvenated Goryeo’. In the process, King Hyeonjong left a variety of tales. Such tales have been utilized as a device to emphasize that he was born with the destiny to be a King by highlighting the extraordinariness of King Hyeonjong. There had been two vulnerabilities to be a King. The first was his situation of being born as an illegitimate child；the second was the point that he was ascended through ‘the political upheaval’ caused by Gangjo. King Hyeonjong made great efforts politically to overcome these weaknesses and justify the enthronement. The various tales about King Hyeonjong are also understood as this series of processes. First of all, the conception dream for King Hyeonjong is similar to the tale of the Goryeo Royal Family Ancestors. This is considered to highlight that he has the sanctity of the Royal Family of Goryeo by hiding his weakness as an illegitimate child. It is thought that King Hyeonjong appeared as a dragon in the dream of a monk in Soonggyosa(崇敎寺), which emphasizes that he is a noble being. In other words, the tale of Hyeonjong is the product of his effort to justify the enthronement by facing the difficulties at the beginning of enthronement. Nonetheless, the justification for his enthronement could be an ad hoc measure because his specialty described in the tale was difficult to be realized. For this reason, King Hyeonjong tried to secure his enthronement by placing his parents and himself in the Royal Family that came down from King Taejo. As a part of that placement, King Hyeonjong constructed Hyenhwasa(玄化寺) as a memorial to his parents and sincerely commemorated them. Especially, unlike the records of 『Goryosa(高麗史)』, signs of embellishment are clearly found everywhere in the inscription on 「Hyeonhwasa Stele(玄化寺碑)」. Here, his parents are portrayed as an ideal couple, being appreciated warm-heartedly as such by the preceding King. In other words, if the tale had been intended to add sanctity to the rumors that were spread, the story on 「Hyeonhwasa Stele」 is thought to be intended to emphasize that there is no problem with his own lineage back to the Royal Family.