Historical songs appeared at the same time as epics. Their first records were made at the beginning of the XVII century. They differed from bylinas in that they sang about some specific events that took place in Russian history. Reliable facts were present in them. And epics could be called generalized-hyperbolic works, transmitting information about time immemorial. Not a single historical song observed any fantastic elements characteristic of myths. On the contrary, their content was realistic, even when it was not entirely believable to convey the facts.
Themes of historical songs
The events captured in the historical songs that have been preserved to this day extend over several periods - starting from the very old days, when the country was still free from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and up to the end of the past century. The main themes of works that have reached us are the confrontation of Russian people by the Horde invasion, Ermak, Stenka Razin, Peter the Great, the Poltava triumph, the courage of the Suvorov soldiers, the Russian-French war, the liberation of the southern Slavs from Turkish oppression, Ivan Vasilievich, unrest, Bulavinsky uprising, defense the city of Sevastopol, etc. The heroes of historical songs were famous and famous people. Their names were known to everyone. And now, almost everyone is more or less aware of these historical figures. Children begin to get acquainted with their activities even from school.
Song cycles, their features
Historical songs are characterized by an accessible language, conciseness, an abundance of facts and an accurate transmission of the event on which the plot is based. What are they remarkable for? They are full of patriotism, respect for Russian history, praise of the exploits of Russian soldiers and those who fought for social equality. As for the popular interpretation of the actions of great people of the past in such works, it not only embellishes, but often corrects the facts obtained from official sources of those periods. Often there are song cycles based on fundamental events and incidents entrenched in the memory of people. They may include several pieces. The Russian folk historical song always makes a strong impression on the audience, allows you to get acquainted with some previously unknown facts. This is its uniqueness. Some impressionable people cannot hold back their tears when listening to a beautiful, soul-taking folk song. It takes to the past, many centuries ago, we can say that a person makes a kind of journey.
How can I find out about historical songs?
However, unfortunately, the oldest historical songs have not reached us. The fact that such works were often performed long before the advent of the Old Russian state was sometimes stipulated by the historians of Byzantium. And historical folk songs, common in Novgorod and Kievan Rus, are now known to us in a very abridged version. You can learn about them from preserved written sources.
A variety of songs, folk art today
There are slightly altered texts of legends and songs, there are also episodes, which, in essence, are records of fragments of oral poetry. All of them are of great interest to researchers. Among the songs written by them in the XVIII-XX centuries from the lips of people, there are several of them that tell about the famous historical events and personalities of the XI-XIV centuries. But there are works that do not contain any specific information and facts, and only focusing on the general content, we can assume that they date back to the period of Russian defense against periodic attacks by the Polovtsy, as well as the Pechenegs, which took place in the X-XIII centuries.
Be that as it may, historical songs are the wealth of the people to be treasured. Unfortunately, some neglect it, not understanding its value. But there are other people who are trying to preserve and disseminate the old creative heritage, and for this they can be respected. Now there are a lot of folk groups performing historical songs and playing ancient instruments. Thanks to their efforts, a wide circle of listeners will learn a lot of interesting things about our homeland, about how it was in the past. Isn't that wonderful?
The consequences of the Horde yoke
The Mongol-Tatar yoke had a very negative impact on all aspects of the country's life, in particular, its culture began to degrade. As a result, beautiful cities were destroyed, masterpieces of applied art, poetry and painting were destroyed. Many people have become illiterate. Oral art also fell into decay, which tirelessly developed over the centuries and was at that time at a high level. However, the army of Batu did not ruin Novgorod land, and it was there that a unique epic was preserved. As for the ancient historical songs of North-East, Central, and also South Russia, many of them have sunk into oblivion. That magnificent poetic culture of antiquity, which gave rise to beautiful works, ceased. These include, in particular, “The Word on the Ruin of the Russian Land”, “The Word on Igor's Regiment” and several others. These historical songs, by the way, are still known to people. They are studied in schools and universities, because these are great monuments of Russian culture, which should remain in people's memory forever.
The influence of creativity of wanderers-kalik, the mention of religion in songs
And there is nothing strange in the fact that some songs telling about historical events that took place before the 16th century, for example, the famous work about Gleb and Boris, in the form in which the researchers wrote them, often have some features of the later Kalik pilgrimage school. These are people who did not have a specific place of residence and wandered around the world. They sang, as a rule, folk songs, which contained a certain morality. Often, religion was mentioned in them. But historical songs, of course, are of more interest than the work of Kalik.
It should be borne in mind that in Russia in the Middle Ages, faith in God was considered a fundamental symbol of national cohesion. She, in fact, was the banner of a long struggle against the oppression of the cruel Basurman nomads living in the steppe. And a little later, she became associated with a universal desire to liberate her native country from the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Therefore, some historical songs, among other things, have references to God. Do not be surprised at this.
The loss of valuable manuscripts
Judging the very ancient forms of Russian folk historical songs is rather difficult, given the dramatic events unfolding at that time. As a result of the Batu invasion, many ancient and very valuable manuscripts burned down, which researchers now bitterly regret. Now people will never know what the destroyed works narrated about. These historical songs are lost forever.