Who are buffoons? Skomorokhi in Russia

Fun and drunkenness in Russia have always been relevant. There is a legend that at one time Kievan Rus adopted Christianity, because Islam forbade drinking alcohol. Fun is also a necessary attribute of the joy and happiness of the Russian people.

Who are buffoons? It is necessary to learn in this article.

Skomorokhi in Russia - who is it?

First of all, buffoons are non-standard people of their time. Among some scientists there is an opinion that buffoons are a separate class of the people of Russia. There are nobles, philistines, peasants. But who are buffoons? We will try to find an answer to this question in this article.

Russian buffoons are an actor who moved around and made people laugh. Such a wandering representative himself, whose music of Ancient Rus was unique.

These people acted as singers, musicians, conquerors of souls and the mood of the people. They could simultaneously embark on a dance, play musical instruments and sing lingering and cheerful songs.

The folk art of Ancient Rus is a buffoonery. They are the main bearers of folk art. In addition to singing, dancing and playing musical instruments, they could show various tricks, act in masks and amuse the audience. They were the best talents of their time, who gave their soul to the people.

But is all this the answer to the question "Who are buffoons"? No.

Skomorokhi in Russia were also teachers who passed on their skills and the science of laughter to the young.

They often accepted invitations to various festive events. At the Russian wedding, a merry buffoon - this is an analogue of our concept of "toastmaster". The presence of these representatives of the world, joy and laughter has always made any celebration even more cheerful and bright.

Origin of the word

The word "buffoons" in different sources is interpreted in different ways. However, they all have a common core. To understand who such buffoons can be through the word "laughter". This is the translation from Arabic and Greek.

"Joke, laughter, ridicule, master of joke" - these are approximate meanings of the word from different languages of the world.

The word "buffoons" came to Russia from France, where wandering musicians and jesters were called "scaramouche". Without them, there was not a single celebration, so they were welcomed with joy by both local and visiting spectators.

History. Start

It is not known exactly when Russian buffoons appeared in Russia. Scientists argue on this score and give various reasons as arguments.

However, the most common version says that buffoons appeared in Russia in the middle of the XI century. Many make such a conclusion because of the frescoes, which were found in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. It was the year 1037. On the frescoes one can clearly see that people are depicted there who, with the help of various instruments and dresses, amuse the crowd.

Skomorokhs constantly performed on narrow streets and wide squares. They not only conducted their own presentations, but also involved spectators who watched them. Speech buffoonery for a peasant of ancient Russia - this is always a holiday, which came to gaze the whole family.

Skomorokhov often invited princes and boyars to his courts for a fee. They were very popular at court. Princes and boyars liked to discuss not only business, but also to laugh with songs and ditties of buffoons.

They were so in demand that over time they were reflected even in art and literature. Art is a fresco and a lot of paintings by artists who depict buffoons and laughing around people.

Even Dobrynya Nikitich himself appeared at the feast of his wife. He changed into a buffoon suit to get there.

Domra - the instrument of buffoonery

The article mentioned that buffoons used special instruments for music, which made their presentations more vivid and rich.

The main instrument of the buffoon is the domra, which belongs to the class of plucked and has an oval wooden case. It can be of two types: three-stringed and four-stringed.

The three-string is an earlier model of domra. It was just used by the buffoons of Ancient Rus. A four-stringed tool appeared much later.

The history of domra and the history of Rus intersect just on buffoons. This tool is unique in that at that time it was used exclusively by buffoons and no one else. Now they would say that it was only their "chip", which became a distinctive feature of wandering artists.

Domra was considered a companion of folk actors and musicians, who walked around houses, streets, squares and cheered the people. The music of Ancient Rus was inextricably linked with this unique instrument. For today with a domra successfully sang gusli, diamonds and bagpipes. Their joint sound is very harmonious and unrepeatable.

How was the buffoonery dressed?

Having dealt with the image of the buffoon, I want to know how they dressed. After all, this should not be an accidental and first-caught clothing.

Skomorokhi are public people whose main goal is to amuse the people. Hence, they should be dressed simply, cheerfully and accordingly a stage image.

The buffoons were dressed in a striped tunic. They always had a long and bright caftan. It was girded with a special belt of threads, which was considered an indispensable attribute. Without such a belt to go to Russia for a man was considered a real disgrace! Women in the ranks of buffoons were not.

The belt protected the person from adversity, bad and evil forces that could harm his life, and indicated that the world had accepted this man to himself.

The hood of the buffooner is a separate part of the image, which was considered entertaining. He was oblong and always dangled in different directions. The cap of the buffoono gave its master an absurd look, which made it possible for people to laugh not only with his jokes, but also with the image.

Creativity buffoon

Each group of buffoons, who acted together, had its own program and repertoire. The most common genres of creativity of such artists were jokes, songs, plays, staging, ditties and various scenes from life. In particular, simple and ridiculous everyday situations were portrayed that can arise in real life between father and son, husband and wife, relatives and friends.

In their work, the lion's share was occupied by humor and jokes. It is the buffoons who are credited with the creation of many epics and fairy tales. It was believed that these people were associated with ancient paganism. They were not subject to church influence and believed that the main thing was to be a mischievous spirit without the participation of the church in the lives of ordinary people.

Flowering

The greatest prosperity of buffoons was achieved at the very beginning of its activities. Approximately in the XII-XIV centuries.

It was a period when buffoons walked unhindered through the streets and performed with their numbers. They influenced the minds of people through the prism of representations and humor. Most often met buffoons at the fair, where there were a lot of people. There they gave their best concerts. Dance buffoons - a separate element, which made their performances more impressive.

In time, questions and questions appeared about the art and creativity of buffoons in power and the church.

Decline

Gradually, the musical and entertainment movement of the buffoons fell into decay. There were several reasons for this.

First, the church was opposed to buffoons, because they were associated with paganism. Most of the church teachings are burning that amusement is a sin that people on earth produce. Idleness is not the best way to give God due for the life and happiness that you have.

Speeches of buffoons in Russia were considered "god-pleasing". The Lord does not recognize such public entertainments. Satire confessed outside the church.

Secondly, jokes and merry songs of buffoons often were associated with the church and the king. Skomorokhi in every possible way ridiculed the official Christian church in Russia. The Tsar, too, did not remain aloof. Skomorokhs joked about him. The king took such amusements at his own expense.

Thirdly, buffoons often engaged in not only fun and ideas. Having united in groups, they went to entertain people for the purpose of robbery. In the annals there is information about the excesses of roving artists in Russia.

All these reasons began to drive the buffoons to decline. After a while, they handed over the baton to the booths and the peasants, who preserved some of the traditions of the art of their predecessors.

Confrontation of the Church

Skomorokhi due to interference in their work of the church fell into decay until the XV century. However, they were not officially canceled. In different areas of Russia they arose and continued to amuse the people.

Only in the middle of the XVII century, the famous Archbishop Nikon achieved what the folk art of Ancient Rus, like a buffoonery, was forbidden by an official decree. This was one of the main events in the art of that time. In the royal decrees on the abolition of buffoonery in Russia it was said that "buffoons and listeners of them must be beaten by batoks and destroy inventory."

After this order, the free artists officially disappeared from the pages of the history of Russia. However, their jokes and way of life remained in the traditions of the East Slavic peoples for a long time.

Over time, there were followers of the buffoonish movement in Russia, who with pleasure took over the technique and cheerfully joked.

Disputes about buffoons

Skomorokhi left their musical instruments, life and creative heritage to history. They are interesting not only as court jesters and wedding entertainers, but also as figures who went against official authority in Russia.

The opinion about buffoons is not the same. Some believe that these are people who went against the church, the king and Orthodoxy, which at that time were inseparable. Simple jokes against the monarch and Orthodoxy caused anger among the upper strata of society. At the same time, the boyars and the tsar themselves were not against listening to and watching the performances of the best buffoons in Russia.

However, the contradictions between the church, the tsar, Orthodoxy and wandering artists arose when the buffoons were not only jesters and merrymakers, but also real popular preachers who did not joke about the monarch and shrine in the best possible light. The opinion of buffoons with emotional humor was transmitted to the people.

This is exactly what the church and the king did not like. Persecution and persecution began against them.

You can even say that buffoons - this is the first opposition in Russia, which tried to show its popular alternative opinion.

Contribution to the development of culture and creativity buffoons is huge. They not only cheered the people with their jokes, but also passed on their creativity to the next generations, who recorded the activities of their ancestors in the annals.