Fun and drunkenness in Russia have always been relevant. There is a legend that Kievan Rus adopted Christianity at one time, because Islam forbade the use of alcohol. Fun is also a necessary attribute of the joy and happiness of a Russian person.
Who are buffoons? To be learned in this article.
Buffoons in Russia - who is it?
First of all, buffoons are non-standard people of their time. Among some scholars there is an opinion that buffoons are a separate class of the people of Russia. There are nobles, philistines, peasants. But who are the buffoons? We will try to find the answer to this question in this article.
Russian buffoon is an actor who moved around and amused people. Such an itinerant representative, in whom the music of Ancient Russia was unique.
These people acted as singers, musicians, conquerors of souls and moods of the people. They could dance, play musical instruments and sing lingering and funny songs.
Folk art of Ancient Russia is buffoons. They are the main carriers of folk art. In addition to singing, dancing and playing musical instruments, they could show a variety of tricks, perform in masks and amuse the audience. These were the best talents of their time, which gave soul to the people.
But is this the whole answer to the question "who are the buffoons"? Not.
Buffoons in Russia were also teachers who transferred their skills and the science of laughter to the young.
They often accepted invitations to various celebrations. At a Russian wedding, a funny buffoon is an analogue of our concept of “toastmaster”. The presence of these representatives of peace, joy and laughter has always made any celebration even more fun and vibrant.
Origin of the word
The word “buffoon” is interpreted differently in different sources. However, they all have one thing in common. You can understand who these buffoons are through the word “laughter”. This is how this name is translated from Arabic and Greek.
“Joke, laughter, mockery, master of jokes” - these are the approximate meanings of a word from different languages of the world.
The word “buffoon” came to Russia from France, where roaming musicians and jesters were called “scaramouche”. Not a single celebration was complete without them, so they were welcomed by both local and visiting spectators.
History. Start
It is not known exactly when buffoons appeared in Russia. Scientists argue about this and cite various facts as arguments.
However, the most common version says that buffoons appeared in Russia in the middle of the XI century. Many draw this conclusion because of the frescoes that were discovered in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. It was 1037. In the frescoes you can clearly see that there are people who, with the help of various tools and outfits, amuse the crowd.
Buffoons constantly performed in narrow streets and wide areas. They not only conducted performances on their own, but also involved the audience who watched them in this process. The performance of a buffoon for a peasant of ancient Russia is always a holiday that the whole family came to gawk at.
Skomorokhs were often invited to their courts by princes and boyars for a fee. They were very popular at court. Princes and boyars loved to discuss not only matters, but also to laugh from songs and ditties of buffoons.
They were so in demand that over time they were reflected even in art and literature. Art is the murals and many paintings of artists who depict a buffoon and people laughing around.
Even Dobrynya Nikitich himself appeared at the feast of his wife. He changed into a buffoon costume to get there.
Domra is a buffoon's tool
The article mentioned that buffoons used special instruments for music, which made their representations brighter and more saturated.
The main tool of the buffoon is the domra, which belongs to the pinch class and has an oval wooden case. It can be of two types: three-stringed and four-stringed.
Three-stringed is an earlier model of domra. It was just used by the buffoons of Ancient Russia. The four-stringed instrument appeared much later.
The history of domra and the history of Russia 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 exclusively their "trick", which became the hallmark of wandering artists.
Domra was considered a companion of folk actors and musicians who walked around houses, streets, squares and entertained people. The music of Ancient Russia was inextricably linked with this unique instrument. To date, gusli, tambourines and bagpipes have successfully sung with domra. Their joint sound is very harmonious and unique.
How did the buffoon dress?
Having figured out the image of a buffoon, I want to know how they dressed. After all, this should not be random and the first clothing caught.
Buffoons are public people whose main purpose is to amuse people. So, they should be dressed simply, cheerfully and accordingly to the stage image.
Buffoons were dressed in a tunic with stripes. They always had a long and bright caftan. He was belted with a special belt of thread, which was considered a mandatory attribute. Without such a belt, walking in Russia was considered a real shame for a man! There were no women in the ranks of buffoons.
The belt protected a person from adversity, bad and evil forces that could harm his life, and meant that the world took this person to himself.
The cap of a buffoon is a separate part of the image, which was considered a pleasure. He was oblong and always hung in different directions. The cap of a buffoon gave its master an absurd appearance, which made it possible for people to laugh not only from his jokes, but also from the image.
Skomorokh's creativity
Each group of buffoons who acted together had their own program and repertoire. The most common genres of creativity of such artists were jokes, songs, plays, productions, ditties and various scenes from life. In particular, they depicted simple and funny everyday situations that could arise in real life between a 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 attribute 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 mischievous in spirit without the participation of the church in the lives of ordinary people.
Heyday
The buffoons reached their greatest prosperity at the very beginning of their activity. Around the XII-XIV centuries.
This was a period when buffoons walked freely through the streets and spoke with their numbers. They influenced people's minds through the prism of ideas and humor. Most often, buffoons were met at the fair, where there were a lot of people. There they gave their best concerts. The dance of buffoons is a separate element that made their performances more impressive.
Over time, questions arose in the power and church of the art and creativity of buffoons.
Decline
Gradually, the musical and entertaining 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 church teachings say that amusement is a sin that people on earth commit. Idleness is not the best way to give God its due for the life and happiness that you have.
The speeches of buffoons in Russia were considered "godly". The Lord does not recognize such public amusements. Satire admitted outside the church.
Secondly, jokes and funny songs of buffoons were often associated with the church and the king. Buffoons in every possible way ridiculed the official Christian church in Russia. The king also did not stand aside. The buffoons joked about him. The king perceived such amusements at his own expense.
Thirdly, buffoons were often engaged not only in fun and performance. Having united in groups, they went to entertain people with the purpose of a robbery. In the annals there is information about the atrocities of vagrant artists in Russia.
All these reasons began to lead the movement of buffoons to decline. After a while, they passed the baton to booths and rayons, which preserved some of the art traditions of their predecessors.
Church Confrontation
Buffoons due to interference in their work, the church fell into decay until the 15th century. However, they were not officially canceled. In various regions of Russia, they arose and continued to amuse the people.
Only in the middle of the XVII century did the famous Archbishop Nikon achieve what folk art of Ancient Russia, like buffoonery, was forbidden by an official decree. This became one of the main events in the art of that time. In tsarist decrees on the abolition of buffoonery in Russia it was said that “buffoons and their inventory should be beaten by buffoons and listeners”.
After this order, free artists officially disappeared from the pages of the history of Russia. However, their jokes and life remained in the traditions of the East Slavic peoples for a long time.
Over time, there appeared followers of a good-natured movement in Russia, who with pleasure adopted the technique and fervently joked.
Debates about buffoons
The buffoons left their musical instruments, life, and creative heritage. They are interesting not only as court jesters and wedding entertainers, but also as figures who went against the official authorities in Russia.
Opinion about buffoons is not the same. Some believe that these are people who went against the church, the king and Orthodoxy, who at that time were inseparable. Simple jokes against the monarch and Orthodoxy provoked anger among the upper strata of society. At the same time, the boyars themselves and the tsar were not against listening to and watching the performances of the best buffoons in Russia.
However, the contradictions between the church, the king, Orthodoxy and wandering artists arose when the buffoons were not only jesters and merry fellow, but also real folk preachers, who were not joking about the monarch and the shrine in the best light. The opinion of buffoons was conveyed through emotional humor to the people.
That is what the church and the king did not like. Persecution and persecution began against them.
You could even say that buffoons are the first opposition in Russia, which tried to show its alternative popular opinion.
The contribution to the development of culture and creativity of buffoons is huge. They not only amused the people with their jokes, but also passed on their work to the next generations, who captured the activities of their ancestors in the annals.