Wolga Svyatoslavovich: Characteristics of the Hero

Wolga Svyatoslavovich - a famous epic hero, which reflected the features of both the historical and primitive communal system. The peculiarity of the character is that, according to the legends, he knew how to understand the language of animals and birds, and also turned into animals. In science, there is a point of view that in the person of this character the features of several real ancient princes were combined.

Opinions about the origin

In historiography, there are several opinions about who Wolga Svyatoslavovich is. Some researchers see in his image the features of the primitive communal way of life. They refer to the following plot moments in the epics: a description of the thunder and lightning at his birth, as well as the mythological fact that, according to the tales, his father was a serpent.

Some scholars see this as an echo of the ancient Slavic cults and pagan beliefs. However, other authors trace in this character the real historical roots. For example, there is a version that Volga Svyatoslavovich was a prototype of the Polotsk prince Vseslav. There is a point of view that the hero reflects the features of the famous Prophetic Oleg, who, according to legend, was killed by a snake bite, which draw parallels with the story of this fairy-tale character.

Birth

There are several narratives related to the hero's name, and the first one is dedicated to his birth. As already mentioned above, its origin is shrouded in various kinds of mythological layers. At the time of his birth, according to the legend, there was a thunder, lightning flashed, and all the animals were frightened. Like many other Russian folk tales, Volga Svyatoslavovich grew up by leaps and bounds, intensively gaining strength. He quickly learned to read and write, and also to understand the language of animals. In this version of its origin, the influence of pagan totemic ideas of the ancient Slavs on the connection of people and animals is clearly expressed.

Wars

Wolga Svyatoslavovich, epic about which is dedicated to his trips to the overseas countries, was one of the most popular folklore heroes of the ancient Russian epic. His difference from other characters is that he achieves victory not by physical strength, like other knights, but by cunning, magic and magic. This is shown in the work devoted to his campaign in India.

According to the legend, he recruited a squad and went to fight in foreign lands. An unknown author writes how he turns into a wolf, then into a falcon, getting his warriors game for food. Before the siege, according to the myth, he turns the warriors into ants, and once the fortress is taken, he returns to them the human form. After the victory, he marries the wife of the deceased ruler, and his warriors take their own wives of local women.

Historical motives

Many scholars find in this episode another important difference in the story of the character from the traditional narratives of the knights. The fact is that usually the epic old Russian warrior did not remain in place, but continued to travel across Russian lands, protecting them from enemies. The fact that the hero remained in the conquered city allows many authors to assert that in this legend there are echoes of the distant time of migration and the hostility of the tribes among themselves, when the conquerors settled on conquered territories and married to local residents.

Meeting with Mikula Selyaninovich

On the reflection of many archaic features in the myths about the hero says their brief content. Wolga Svyatoslavovich not only travels to the overseas territories, but also travels on Russian lands. One of the legends tells how he received three cities in the viceroyalty, where he intended to collect tribute. He gathered his squad and set off. On the way, he met with the peasant plowman, who was working the plow on the land.

The work gives a lengthy description of this new hero, a simple peasant mikik Mikula, who could lift a heavy plow with one hand, which could not be pulled out of the furrow by the militia or Volga himself. According to the story, the protagonist gave Mikula to the management of these cities after he put things in order to collect the tribute. The thing is that tax collectors used to abuse their authority, collecting more money than it was supposed to.

Historical realities

The main idea of the epic "Volga Svyatoslavovich" is that it shows not only military feats of soldiers, but also simple peasant labor, as well as occupation of the ancient Slavs. In the legend of the Indian campaign, hunting is shown, for example, as the main occupation of the people. If in other works this type of occupation was portrayed as the amusement of princes and their vigilantes, it is shown here that the forest industry gave people a livelihood. The work reflected those times when the population still did not know either farming or cattle breeding, and was mainly engaged in farming. So, it is at the expense of the booty that the character's squad feeds on the campaign.

Influence of foreign legends

The second part, admittedly by the researchers, is less historical, as it reflected several cultural strata, for example, the motifs of the works about Alexander the Great, who also made a march to India. In addition, there are a number of references to the tales of other Eastern peoples. This affected, first of all, the folkloric moments associated with the transformation of the character into animals. However, in the epic there is a reference to the event from the Old Russian history: it is a question of the campaign of the Prophetic Oleg to Byzantium. This prince built ships on wheels to lead an army. Wolga also resorts to various tricks to achieve the capture of the city.

Novgorod roots

The story of the meeting of the hero with Mikula, according to the remark of the majority of specialists, is connected with the Novgorod realities. This is indicated by a description of nature that resembles the northern regions of the country. In these places the soil was very difficult for plowing, it really had stones, as it was said in the epic. In addition, the work mentions salt and pennies, which, according to some authors, is due to the fact that Novgorod, having enough of its own salt, nevertheless, bought it from German merchants, for which they paid a great tribute. This refers to the mention of unfair tax collectors. Also in the bylina mention the city of Orehovets, in which many historians see a reference to the ancient city of Oreshka.

Another interesting point, which the authors point out about this epic, is how the character's relationship with a simple peasant is shown. Mikula clearly surpassed his Volga in strength and agility. His mare was faster and more enduring than the horses of the Volga. In this the authors see references to that distant time when the Varangian squads and the local Slavic population were at enmity with each other.

Features

Bylins dedicated to this character are distinguished by the fact that they reflected a number of archaic features inherent in the ancient Russian society. Therefore, in his image joined several cultural traditions of Volga Svyatoslavovich. The cartoon, filmed in 2010, however, did not reflect the ancient Russian motifs typical of these works. But the legends showed a transitional period in the formation of the Old Russian state with the preservation of the elements of the communal system, but with the emergence of the political power of the rulers. This is the difference between legends and traditional epics, which show the already established social structure. But none of these features showed the cartoon "Volga Svyatoslavovich", which was shot in a modern style without taking into account historical realities.