We all heard the term "legend." Have you ever seriously thought about what it is? It turns out that even after the alphabet was invented, many remained illiterate. Writing allowed people to exchange information and knowledge, preserve them for centuries and pass them on to descendants. Those people who could not learn writing for some reason exchanged information verbally. Accordingly, a legend is a verbal narrative.
Myths
This kind of retelling appeared in antiquity. They are talking about the very beginning - the beginning of the world. But that is not all. They also tell about the appearance of man, about gods and heroes. It is not known for certain whether this is true or fiction. A legend is not always a reality or a story. Rather, we can say that this is a reflection of the creators' views on the structure of the world, life in it. Heroes of myths are a model for listeners.
Epos
Another version of the tales is the epic. It is not very different from the myth, but it can talk about real heroes, events or faces. Here the central figure is the hero and his life, actions. Often in the epic works there are gods, but they are secondary characters. There is an opinion that the literature of our time comes from the characters and plots that are described in the epic.
Saga
The legend is also sagas - stories about real people with a mention of all the little things in the life of heroes. Usually they describe the life of a particular family: its life, children. The saga tells of generations and time. For example, among the peoples of Scandinavia (usually Norway or Iceland), most families honored the memory of their ancestors, they collected bit by bit information about their lives and retold the next generation. Over time, they became more and more. Sometimes a saga can narrate for centuries.
Bible legends
This is probably the most extensive layer for our study and understanding, because they, in fact, make up our whole idea of religion. They describe the lives of saints and people who existed many years ago. Unfortunately, we cannot verify their authenticity either. With the development of mankind, many historians study biblical tales and find a lot of evidence for them. As for antiquity, many chroniclers also studied this genre.
Old Russian literature was created from the 11th to the 16th centuries. She was also very religious. It used to be that the chronicler is a person who can communicate with God. He directed it, and the scribe, in turn, glorified the Holy Scriptures. We can safely say that the legend is a genre of Old Russian literature.
Literature
The alphabet among the Slavs appeared in the middle of the IX century. It was created by Cyril and Methodius in order to translate sacred texts. Church language could not be the one in which fiction books would be published. That is why in ancient Russian literature there are no heroes, love, emotions, suffering, and so on until the 17th century. Comic works were also banned due to the sinfulness of laughter. He was considered an occupation that distracted from prayers and discussions about the good.
The first recorded legend is considered the "Word of the Law and Grace." It was recorded by the Kiev Metropolitan Hilarion. Its approximate creation dates back to scientists 30-40 years of the XI century. Further chronicles appear. They most often described the lives of saints who glorified the faith and shared their knowledge with the people. We conclude that the legend is also a genre that covers the annals.
Tales of the people
There is such a thing as epic. This is a folk-epic song, which is written in tonic verse. Folk legend - this is the epic. Each of them tells about the life of the heroes. They have their own plot, which is associated with a particular event that occurred in Russia. Such legends are an obligatory part of folklore and are called "antiquities."
Russian epics and their features
The most important thing here is the chorus, the conception and the ending. The first part is very rarely associated with the main storyline. This is done in order to attract the attention of the reader or listener. The main event described in the epic is called the inception. At the end, a feast is described - a celebration that is organized in honor of the victory over the enemy. The tunes in epics are also of different types. For example, strict, majestic, fast, funny, calm, humorous.
Epics are patriotic, their stories are always laudatory. They talk about how beautiful and invincible Russia is, illuminate the dignity of princes, defenders, their courage. Heroes immediately come to the rescue, help out and protect the population from impending disaster. Before 1830, such songs were called differently. Only after this time, the scientist I. Sakharov introduced the concept of "epic."
The main character in them is a powerful Russian hero. These people possessed such power that is not subject to the ordinary person. They were also very brave and courageous. The heroes themselves could defeat any enemy even without weapons. Their main task is to protect Russia from the enemy and attacks on the life and freedom of the people.