Folk Legends Research Articles

Smolensk in the Book Tradition of Russia of the XVI Century

The article examines a number of ancient Russian works dating back to the XVI century, in which Smolensk is at the center of the narrative. On the basis of indirect data, the author concludes about the possibility of the appearance of these plots on the Smolensk land, possibly in the form of folk legends, and then the emergence of a literary version based on them, recorded in the sources of the XVI century. The appearance of these plots in the XVI century was not accidental. In 1514, Prince Vasily III of Moscow annexed Smolensk to his possessions. The annexation of an ancient Russian city with a rich history and tradition required legitimization. Literature has become a way of including Smolensk in the ethnocultural space of the Moscow state.

Contact with the Dead in Iceland Past and Present: The Findings of a New Survey of Folk Belief and Experiences of the Supernatural in Iceland

This article focuses on the figures concerning experiences of and beliefs in possible contacts with the dead amongst Icelandic people that have come to light from three national surveys that were undertaken in 1974, 2006–2007, and 2023, focusing in particular on the most recent figures. It starts by reviewing the earliest evidence of such beliefs in Iceland (expressed in both Old Icelandic literature and Icelandic folk legends), which evidently laid down the foundations for modern-day beliefs. After listing the main findings of the surveys and noting the changes in belief that appear to have taken place over the last 50 years, the article offers some brief conclusions relating to what seems to have caused not only some obvious gender and age differences in belief and experience, but also differences in figures between urban and rural areas.

Thomas Crofton Croker, The Fairy Legends, and the Arrival of the Illustrated Folk Legend in Northern Europe

This article focuses on the collaborative work between the early Irish collectors and artists, and particularly that between Crofton Croker and Keightley, and the artists Daniel Maclise and William Henry Brooke who produced the illustrations for Crofton Croker’s Fairy Tales and Legends of the South of Ireland (1825 and 1826) and Thomas Keightley’s Fairy Mythology (1833). The images by Maclise and Brooke added a powerful new dimension to the ways in which the stories and the beliefs behind them were understood. These works (and Crofton Croker’s in particular) would go on to influence the presentation of Norwegian folk legends especially in the latter half of the century, and not least the careers of some of Norway’s most famous artists from the period.

Tolmini piirkonna kadunud järvedest jutustavate muistendite motiivid

The article discusses, from the content/motif aspect, 30 folk legends about the disappeared lakes in Tolmin region, Slovenia. The material covers different archival manuscripts and publications, mainly from Janez Dolenc’s student archive. In all the legends under study the location of the lake is specified. In addition to this, most of them feature at least one of the following motifs: emergence of settlements, existence of rings used for fastening water vehicles, water traffic, an explanation of who or what caused the disappearance of the lake and how and where it happened.

Feringas and Galgai expansion in the Terek and Argun interfluve in the XV-XVIII centuries.

The subject of the research in the article is the question of the Galgai expansion in the interfluve of Fortanga and Argun in the XV–XVIII centuries, in the context of the question of the tribal affiliation of the Ferings from the Akka folk legend about the Ferings. The analysis of information from historical sources related to these issues is carried out. The purpose of this article is to show the Galgai presence in the interfluve of Fortanga and Argun in the XV–XVIII centuries, as well as their connection with the mythical Feringami people, who, according to information from the Akka legend, came from the "Galgai societies" around the XV century, seized the upper reaches of the Gekhi River and tried to subjugate this territory through its colonization and the spread of the Christian religion among the local pagan population. To achieve this goal, the author has attracted a significant amount of scientific literature and archival data, comparing them with information from Ingush and Chechen folklore. In the course of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that the in XV–XVIII centuries there was an active expansion of the Galgai tribes in the interfluve of Fortanga and Argun and their colonization of this territory. This is reflected in some Chechen legends. After the crushing blow inflicted in the XVI century by the Kabardino-Nogai army, the Galgaevites were forced out of the flat territories. However, in the second half of the XVII century, led by Etagai Agishbatoysky and with the support of the Avar princes Turlov, they managed to liberate the flat lands between Argun and Terek from the Nogais, after which they founded their settlements here. The relevance of this article lies in the fact that it additionally highlights an important issue for the study of the main migration routes of Ingush tribes in the XV–XVIII centuries.

"Dwaj święci" Aleksandra Kuprina: Studium przypadku


 
 
 Aleksandr Kuprin is considered to be a penetrating and wise observer of human life, admirer of colourful characters which represent different social groups, a writer who is able to transgress the borderlines of literary conventions in order to reveal fundamental truthes of the human existence. The tale Two saints proves these statements to be true. Its main heroes are Nicholas, bishop of Myra and John Cassian. Following the plot of the Russian folk legend, A. Kuprin depicts their journey in common to the Heavens, skilfully approximates both ancient saints to his reader and demonstrates different ways that lead to God, whose Justice is Mercy. 
 
 

Western Myth

Necessary feedback in understanding the phenomenon of westerns is certainly the social background that is closely related to the myth of westerns from its beginnings until the decline of westerns in the seventies. America, as we see it in westerns, is a picture of a mass exodus of people who wanted more, often those for whom the old homeland had become cramped and insufficient. It is in this environment that we see the heroes of the Western empowered in the desire for individualization. In the USA, the western used to be a large part of the entire production, and its popularity was transferred to other continents (Europe, Australia and Asia). An interesting fact is that the western myth does not have its beginnings in western films, although they are not only his strongest and most persistent accomplices but also the strongest populist weapon for telling folk legends such as the ones about Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday or Billy the Kid who become the heroes of these legends. Even before the invention of cinema and Porter’s The Great Train Robbery (1903), considered by many to be the first western film, Western literature was represented, but in the form of cheap books glorifying groups of conquerors of distant wilderness. However, what the heroes of the western persistently carry with them from the old homeland are the laws. They try to turn their new environment into a socially organized one, to turn the “desert into a flower”.

On Reconstructing the Mountain Mythonymy of the Urals: The Masters of Underground Treasures

This article analyses the mountain mythonymy of the Urals, i.e. names for supernatural anthropomorphic beings that guard treasures of the earth (minerals and metals) and aid (or interfere with) their discovery, extraction, and carving. Russian mountain mythology has already been studied by folklorists, but the linguistic aspect is only unfolding now. The material referred to in the article was collected during the 2020–2023 expeditions and retrieved from dictionaries, folklore texts, and fiction. The article mainly draws on the mythology and mythonymy of the Urals (as well as some zones of Siberia). The paper analyses the core nominations in the sphere of “genii loci” — mythonyms хозяин (khoziain, lit. ‘master’) and хозяйка (khoziaika, lit. ‘mistress’). The authors note that the images of the owners of the mountains and earth treasures originate in peasant beliefs about the spirits of natural loci which could have been supported by the corresponding mythological images that existed among indigenous Uralic peoples. In the Middle Urals, a mountain spirit usually takes a female form. The article traces the genesis of this image and explains its feminine nature. The authors compare the following two mythonyms: хозяйка (khoziaika) from folk legends and Хозяйка Медной горы (Khoziaika Mednoi Gory, lit. ‘Mistress of the Copper Mountain’) from Bazhov’s tales. The authors note that the widespread appreciation of Bazhov’s tales stands in the way of determining the direction in which the mythonym migrated (from the author’s tale into folk speech or vice versa). Хозяйка (Khoziaika) is the most widespread mountain mythonym which is found in the Middle Urals vocabulary and phraseology associated with the extraction and carving of minerals: коса хозяйки (kosa khoziaiki, lit. ‘the mistress’s plait’), слезы хозяйки (slezy khoziaiki, lit. ‘the mistress’s tears’), мастер от хозяйки (master ot khoziaiki, lit. ‘craftsman from the mistress’, ‘craftsman inspired by the mistress’), камень хозяйки (kamen’ khoziaiki, lit. ‘the mistress’s stone’), хозяйка зеркало разбила (khoziaika zerkalo razbila, lit. ‘the mistress broke the mirror’), etc. The legends of the Southern Urals more often feature the image of a master (хозяин). This may be explained by the influence of Tatar and Bashkir culture.

Тематика фольклора и языка в пьесе юкагирского драматурга Геннадия Дьячкова «Розовая чайка»

The preservation of the language and folklore of the indigenous peoples of the North is a pertinent concern within the context of Russian humanitarian science. Of significance is their realization in fiction. This article analyzes the theme of folklore and language as portrayed in the play “The Pink Seagull” written by therig Yukaghir playwht Gennady Dyachkov, with a focus on understanding their roles and connections. The analysis encompasses both the textual content of the play and various folklore sources, such as folk legends, songs, Yukaghir addresses, and Russian paremias. The playwright effectively employs the literary device of folklorism, incorporating folklore into the dialogue of the characters in order to develop the plot and imagery. The theme of language is exemplified through the utilization of the Russian language in various forms and considerations about the Yukaghir language with minor illustrations. It can be concluded that G. Dyachkov perceives folklore and the language of the Yukaghirs as phenomena of differing levels of importance. The Yukaghir language is depicted as dying, the value of which is undoubted. However, the Yukaghir folklore is not perceived as a passing phenomenon that needs to be preserved. The Russian language in the play holds a dominant significance compared to Russian folklore. The characters all speak Russian, which serves as an indicator of their erudition and fulfills the functions of accurate or erroneous identification. Folklorism is regarded as a variant of folklore evolution, with the author’s work functioning as a repository for numerous works of Yukaghir folklore.

THE RUSSIAN FOLK “EGYPTOLOGY”

The paper deals with Russian folk legends about “pharaohs” - mythical creatures with a human torso and a fish tail, who inhabited the water element. The legends reflected the oldest layer of folk knowledge about the ancient Egyptian history. These ideas go back to the biblical story about Pharaoh's army that drowned in the Red Sea during the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. In Old Russia, the title “Pharaoh” became a symbol of a proud and wicked ruler. The legend about the mythical water people was first recorded by Vasily Poznyakov, who travelled to Egypt in 1558. At the end of the 16th century, his story was used by Trifon Korobeynikov, who was on a pilgrimage to the East. Thanks to this work, “pharaohs” and “pharaonic women” were formed as negative characters of the Christian legend and in the 18th - 19th centuries were firmly incorporated into Russian folklore, while the image of the mythical people itself received an eschatological sound. Images of these creatures became one of the motifs of folk decorative art in Nizhny Novgorod province and neighboring counties of Kostroma province. It had a negative meaning, which derived from the “negativity” of the Old Testament character of the same name and was projected onto one of the repulsive features of the local character.

Фольклорная версия «библейской» истории о Соломоне в аду и ее русские сибирские записи

The main theme of folk stories about the biblical King Solomon is his wisdom, which allows him to solve difficult problems and find a way out of difficult situations. Such stories include stories about Solomon in hell: left in hell during the descent of Christ into hell, for the liberation of the souls of the Old Testament righteous languishing there, Solomon, thanks to his wisdom, finds a way to get out of there – he threatens the devils to build a church, for which he is expelled from hell and so freed; they are the subject of consideration in the article. Neither the Holy Scriptures nor the apocryphal narratives known in ancient Russian literature about the descent of Christ into hell contain an episode about Solomon being left in hell, therefore they could not be the only source of folk legends. But similar stories are noted in the indexes of plots of folklore prose: AaТh 804В The Church in Hill; SUS 804В=AA 804* Solomon (soldier, blacksmith) in hell. For analysis, along with records of the European territory of historical Russia, Russian Siberian texts containing the indicated plot were involved in the work. The identified Siberian variants of the stories about Solomon in Hell expand our knowledge about the plot “repertoire” of Russian folklore prose in Siberia, and against the background of the fact that the Siberian fixations of this plot are not taken into account in the SUS, they clarify ideas about the geography of the existence of plot type 804B. Along with this, they replenish the general East Slavic fund of records of narrative folklore with new materials, which expands the source base for research. The results of the examination of folklore narratives about Solomon in hell, including their Siberian records, allow us to assert that not only the wisdom of King Solomon, but also the book motif of the biblical Solomon the temple builder, which was considered not represented in oral legend, was reflected in folk narratives based on folklore plot fund.

일제강점기 『동아일보』 연재물 ｢전설의 조선｣ 및 ｢전설｣의 문화적 위상

This study explores the cultural status of “Jeonseol-ui Joseon (legend of Joseon)” (1927.8.20-12.28) and “Jeonseol (legend)” (1932.6.2. -10.15) serialized in Dong-A Ilbo during the Japanese colonial period. Thus far, researchers have not mentioned the Japanese colonial period in the process of discussing the “history of Korean legends.” However, many recent studies have been conducted on legend collections from this period, making it possible to supplement the history of Korean legends with prior studies. The most noteworthy aspect of these studies is the claim that Lee Hong-ki's Joseon Legend Collection (Chosun Publishing Company, 1944) was the first collection of legends published in Korean. Choi Sang-soo's Korean Folk Legends Collection (Eulyu Munhwasa, 1947; Tongmungwan, 1958) was evaluated as the first collection of Korean legends. However, Lee Hong-ki's Joseon Legends Collection can take its place. Lee Hongki’s legend collection was greatly influenced by Dong-A Ilbo’s legendary serial “Jeonseol”. From the late 1920s to the early 1930s, Dong-A Ilbo carried out the task of discovering Joseon legends from folklore and systematically introducing them into newspapers. These are serials titled “Jeonseol-ui Joseon” and “Jeonseol”. Although the legendary materials included in this series were not published together in the form of a booklet, they are significant as a collection of Joseon legends collected and introduced with a clear purpose, that is, data collection. The cultural status and value of these series are high and significant in that it was the first attempt to work from an “insider’s perspective” in response to Japan’s colonial policy. Additionally, Dong-A Ilbo's legendary series attempted to discover and revive the traditional spirit and local character of the people in the dark situation of colonialism, which can be said to have performed the function of cultural therapy for the entire Korean population.

Plots and motifs of legends about Taas Ullungakh in folklore and literature: on the question of continued folklore traditions in the literature

The relevance of the research is due to the need to study the specifics of the interaction of folklore and literature from the point of view of the continuity of oral literature traditions and their artistic interpretation and transformation in Yakut literature. The problems of functioning and interpretation in the structure of the literary text of the folklore narrative are still poorly studied. Meanwhile, folk legends and legends are one of the important genre- and plot-forming components of Yakut literature. A comparison of plots and motifs of legends in folklore narratives and literary works is considered in the context of the interaction of two poetic systems: oral (recorded in written “book form”) and literary. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time in Yakut literary studies, the process of forming a plot-motif complex in folk legends about a separate mythological hero in various versions from different sources and its functioning in modern Yakut literature is considered. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the formation of a plot–motif complex about Taas Ullungakh in folklore studies and the specifics of its artistic interpretation in various genres of Yakut literature of the second half of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. (in historical novel, drama poems and poem). Research objectives: 1) comparison and typology of the plot-motif complex in folk legends about Taas Ullungakh in the folklore and ethnographic works of G. V. Ksenofontov, A. E. Kulakovsky, D. I. Dyachkovsky-Sehen Bolo; 2) identification of the features of the functioning and transformation of the plot-motif complex that has developed in mytho-folklore texts, in the drama poems "The Valley of Keryaya" and the poem "Tygyn and Taas Ullungakh" by I. M. Gogolev – Kyndyl, the historical novel "Tygyn Darkhan" by V. S. Yakovlev – Dalan, in the "little" poem "Taas Ullungakh" by N. I. Kharlampieva. The study uses a source analysis of the origin of the main plots and motifs in the legends about Tygyn's son Taas Ullungakh (Muos Uola) and their comparative analysis in literary works of the twentieth century. The comparison of the plots and motifs of legends in folklore narrative and literary work is considered in the context of the interaction of two poetic systems: oral (recorded in written "book form) and literary. This approach will allow you to detect some common properties of the artistic structure of both systems.

Legends about Prusian Cities

The Prussian settlements contain archaeological information that can be enriched with data from folk legends about these fortified settlements. In the proposed article, several legends of Sambia (the Kaliningrad peninsula of the Kaliningrad region) are selected, the analysis of which allowed us to draw the following conclusions: in the names of the settlements there are rudiments of the Prussian language, which disappeared from local use in the beginning of the 18th century . In the array of legends about the Prussian settlements, some of which arose already in the 17th century, there are several sorts / types of texts. They have both local, Prussian, and external, Germanic origin. Some of the legends of Sambia are an echo of finds made not earlier than the time of the order on the sites of settlements or near them (treasures, individual valuable artifacts, sacrificial stones, etc.). Indirectly, this indicates that the authors of the legends and their narrators reported that the settlements were once the habitats of the local population. All of the above allows us to consider the legends about the Prussian settlements of Sambia as a special, but, nevertheless, interesting and important source of the settlement history of the center of the Prussian tribal area.

MOTIVES OF NATURE AS A MEANS OF NOMINATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE WORKS OF POLISH LITERATURE

In many works of fiction, the connection of the Mother of God with the natural world is pointed out, which is due to the influence of the mythological worldview on traditional religious ideas about the Virgin Mary. The article demonstrates how the indicated peculiarity reveals itself in the choice of the names of the Blessed Virgin, and studies the role of the nature motifs in creating Her image in Polish literature. Folk legends (The Queen of Heaven. Folk legends about the Mother of God edited by M. Gawalewicz and P. Stachiewicz), works of medieval religious literature (apocrypha of the 15th century The Przemyśl Meditation and the Marian hymns) and fiction created in different periods (poetry books Songs Sung to Oneself by K. Benisławska, Song of My Christ and Marian Hymns by R. Brandstaetter, poetry by M. Sęp Szarzyński, T. Lenartowicz, W. Gomulicki, C.K. Norwid, K.K. Baczyński) are analyzed in detail. The names related to the natural world are classified according to the standard of comparison: Saint Mary is compared with flowers and trees, celestial bodies, precious stones, and birds. The article explores how the choice of names reveals the author’s intention. Thus, flowers are designed to illustrate Her beauty, nobility, and purity, trees - majesty and power, birds - chastity and simplicity, the sun and the moon - uniqueness and inaccessibility, and the morning star - hope for salvation. It shows how the ancient and biblical symbolism is actualized in the names and how the original names give the image a national flavor. Based on the material, a conclusion is made about the continuity of the tradition of perceiving the Mother of God as part of the natural world.

The Preface to the <i>Shiwang Jing</i>: An Early Legend of Revival

The main text of the Tangut version of the Scripture on the Ten Kings was based on the Tibetan version, but its preface, translated from Chinese, contains a folk legend about a child who returns alive from Hell after Yama admires his respect for deities and sages. A similar legend is recorded in Chinese Buddhist canon no earlier than the Ming Dynasty, therefore the Tangut preface proves to be the earliest sample of the same work. With the help of Chinese texts, it may be possible to decipher the Tangut version of the cursive handwritten preface in inv. №819 kept at the IOM, RAS and the version in a xylograph that recently appeared on the Chinese relic market.

Knjiga osvajanja otoka Krete i Zadra Livnjaka Sipahizade Ahmeda Čelebija

This paper deals with the work Gazavatname-i Cezire-i Kilid ve Zadre written by Sipahizade Ahmed Çelebi. Ahmed Çelebi was born in the second half of the 16th century in the town of Livno in southwestern Bosnia. He was a descendent of the local notable Ljubunčić family. He served as judge (kadı) at the various places in the territory of the Ottoman province of Bosnia. In his work he described the war events in Bosnia, Dalmatia and Croatia during the Cretan War (1645–1669). He provides detailed information on the preparation of Ottoman troops in Bosnia for military campaigns and the participation of members of the military and political elite in the battles against the Venetian troops as well as on the Venetian attacks in the Ottoman territory. Moreover, his work is very important for the study of folk literature. For example, Ahmed Çelebi mentioned a folk legend about Queen Kaydefa, whose capital was Solin near Klis, and that she was outwitted by Alexander the Great. This version of the folk tale about Queen Kaydefa was most likely based on the encounter from the epic poem on Alexander the Great written by the Ottoman poet Ahmedi and the Croatian version of Pseudo-Callisthenes’ novel about Alexander the Great. The work of Ahmedi Çelebi is a very important source for the 17th century Bosnia, Dalmatia and Croatia, and deserves to be edited and translated into the Croatian language.

“She Did Not Want a Husband, and Least of All This One”

The article looks at how marriage appears in Icelandic folk legend collections from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while focusing on the portrayal of femininity and gendered power relations. The focus is on legends of women and nonsupernatural men as well as women and male outlaws, which are common in Icelandic folktale collections. The legends show women being forced into marriage, difficulties within marriage and eventually perhaps women’s hopes for a better life. The article considers the messages about and for women conveyed in the legends, bearing in mind that while legends tend to reflect the societies to which they belong, they can also potentially affect and shape their environments.

Critical Method of History Writing for the Russia’s Muslim Turkic Peoples in Talfiq al-akhbar by Murad Ramzi

In the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries pre-modern Islamic past and imperial present of the Turkic Muslim peoples in the Ural-Volga region became the object of meticulous study for Muslim historians-reformers, who belonged themselves to these peoples, like Shihab al-Din Marjani, Rida’ al-Din Fakhreddinov, Murad Ramzi, Munir Hadi, Hasan-Ata Gabashi, Hadi Atlasi. This article presents to readers the first results of a comparative investigation of their historical works with the focus made on the works by Murad Ramzi. The author argues that the historical works under study, though they were composed in the traditional ta’rikh (in Pl. tawarikh) genre typical for the Islamic bookish tradition, form a transitional type from the Muslim chronicle to the national positivist historiography based on the scientific method of historical sources criticism. They share typical settings of traditional Muslim historiography, yet experience a strong influence of the positivist scholarship in Western Europe and Russia dating the second half of the 19th century. These works are brought together by a sharp criticism of the content of Muslim chronicles, which were still popular among the reading Muslim public at the turn of the 20th century. Their authors attempted to rewrite critically the history of their own peoples, without departing from Islamic foundations, but taking into account benefits of modern positivist scholarship. They all including Ramzi aimed at seeking for objective truth, freed from errors and superstitions of folk legends.

The Parable of the People's Faith and the Motive of the Crusade Fraternization in F.M. Dostoevsky's Novel "The Idiot".

The author studied the episode of fraternization by Myshkin and Rogozhin in several aspects: 1) as a specific literary transformation of folk’s legends about fraternization with Christ 2) both as the central episode of the novel’s plot and a reference to its final scene 3) ideologically as a spiritual unit between the protagonists and the Russian folk 4) as a symbolic description of internal contradictions of the Russian national character. The episode is closely connected with the preceding talk about belief in God, in whose course Myshkin refusing to directly answer if he believed in God, tells about his meetings with “common people” and arrives at a conclusion about the chaotic and enigmatic depths of the folk’s consciousness. This was the only discourse about religious belief in the whole Dostoevsky’s Pentateuch preceding “the Brothers Karamazov” which makes Myshkin conclude that religious belief can be obtained from Russian folk as a bearer of religious mission, notwithstanding the dark abyss in his soul. The conclusions based on the analysis lets us rethink and reconstruct Myshkin’s ideological evolution in the whole novel. The article traces Dostoevsky’s reliance on folk legends about fraternization with Christ. It is a pioneering research as it points to parallels with the novel’s final in terms of symbolic gestures, paradoxically completing the rite of exchanging crosses in the second chapter of the novel. Myshkin’s thoughts are proved in the next episode when Rogozhin attempts to kill Myshkin – which would have seemed impossible after the characters exchanged their crosses. Thus the imminent catastrophe outlined in the episode dooms the novel’s final, yet not in terms of religious belief and the author’s dependence on Russian folk.