Nowadays, a cartoon about three heroes is popular - Ilya Muromets, Dobryn Nikitich and Alesha Popovich. No one seriously refers to the cartoon. It is full of irony, and little is left of historical truth or ancient epic sources. So do you know about the characters of Russian epics exactly what was told about them from ancient times? I would like to dwell on the least known stories, so there will be no information about Ilya Muromets, but we will talk about Dobryn Nikitich, as well as his wife and son-in-law, who also differed in heroic strength, but are not so famous in modern culture. Although there is an echo of these legends in the cartoon - in the image of the strict wife of Dobrynia.
Snake Winner
From an early age, young Dobrynya Nikitich was distinguished not only by strength, but also by his love of playing the harp and chess. The hero in epics is presented as the winner of the Serpent of Gorynych. The first time he dealt with a snake, but released him, taking from him a promise that he would not harm the people and the prince. But the insidious Serpent did not obey and stole the princely niece Zabava Putyatishna. Dobrynya Nikitich freed the girl, but the witch Marina, the lover of Snake Tugarin, cast a spell on him with potions. She married the hero on herself, but they did not get married in the church. The mother of Dobryny dissuaded him from this step, and for the refusal to marry the witch turned him into a bay tour. But Dobryna managed to return to its previous form. He killed a sorceress and turned a water mare into a mare.
Strong women
If you think that in ancient times the only decent part of a woman was the role of wife and mother, and the whole Old Russian culture was limited only to the images of the meek and humble guardians of the hearth, you are mistaken. Times were harsh. There are heroines in the old epos about which one could say with the words of Nekrasov: "The horse will stop the gallop, it will enter the burning hut." Moreover, American superheroes rest in front of our ancient heroes. Here, for example, Nastasya Mikulishna. They call it raspberry. Who is the epic woodpipe? This is a warrior maiden.
Unexpected wedding
Her duel with Dobrynya Nikitich was very interesting. They decided somehow to fight, to find out who is stronger. And the hero swung his heavy club on the head. According to one legend, Dobrynya mistook a strong girl from the back for a man, and therefore did not consider it shameful to measure strength. It struck two whole blows, but she did not flinch and compared these blows with mosquito bites. But after the following attempts, Nastasya Mikulishna put Dobrynya in a bag (and according to one version in her pocket) and tried to take it away on a horse. But the horse could not stand the weight of two heroic bodies. Then the raspberry placed the following conditions: “If I am an old hero, then I will let go, if I am a young one I will take him prisoner. If I love you, I’ll go down the aisle, if not, I’ll crush it into an oat pancake. ” If the hero refused to marry, then his fate was the same - to be crushed. He had to submit. So they played the wedding. Dobrynya called all the relatives, except for the younger brother of Alyosha Popovich.
Alyosha's trick
Dobrynya left to fight, and for 6 years there was no news from him. At this time, Alyosha Popovich arrived and told the news that the hero had died and was lying unburied in the open field. The prince ordered the widow to marry Alyosha Popovich, who, however strong and brave, did not dare to disobey the prince's order: they promised to imprison her in the monastery if she refused, and she was not going to be a nun. The wedding day has come, the feast has begun. And then Dobrynya returned from the battlefield and found out about everything. The hero dressed up as a buffoon and sat down at the table. He began to play the harp and sing. Nastasya Mikulishna recalled how her late husband sang and something in her heart trembled. Then Dobrynya asked the prince for permission to bring a glass of wine to anyone he wants. The hero put the wedding ring in the cup and handed it to Nastasya. Then she recognized her husband and began to apologize, and Alyosha fell at the feet. But Dobrynya did not forgive him for the false news of his death and thoroughly beat him with a harp on the back. But the wedding was canceled, and with Nastasya they returned to their home, to the old mother of the hero.
Lord of the plow
Who did Nastasya Mikulishna go to with such extraordinary power? Her father had two daughters. His name was Mikula Selyaninovich. The eldest was Vasilisa Mikulishna, also a raspberry. What do the epics tell about this hero? Once the Volga prince-hero rode with his retinue and saw a farmer from afar. Everyone is approaching him, but not getting any closer. They drove three days and three nights, and finally arrived. And then miracles began. Volga invited the peasant to collect tribute with him, and he forgot the plow in the field and asked him to send a squad for her. The whole princely squad could not raise a heavy plow, and the plowman easily threw it behind a bush. His modest peasant horse overtook the war prince horse. Volga asked the peasant what to call him-dignity, he introduced himself. He turned out to be Mikula Selyaninovich. The hero promised to grind rye, make beer and treat the whole village. This shows his generosity. Mikula Selyaninovich - the personification of the peasantry. Closely linked to the earth. In another epic, he picks up a bag in which "all the burdens of the earth", while the giant Svyatogor is unable to lift it and goes underground from its weight.
Ideals of the people
The heroes personified not only physical strength and combat skills, but also the best human qualities, such as courage, industriousness, the ability to forgive, but when necessary, do not remain unrequited and show your strength. Some epic heroes had real prototypes under them, for example, Dobrynya was called the governor, uncle of Prince Vladimir.
But the stories about the exploits of the heroes, of course, were created by the rich peasant imagination and lead the sources from stories passed from mouth to mouth, from centuries to centuries, rethought pagan legends.