"Legend of Kozhemyak" as a work of Old Russian literature

About a thousand years ago began to appear the first manuscripts in Russia, the authors of which were mostly monks - a small number of literate people. One of them, The Tale of Bygone Years, contains a description of the history of the Slavs, an author's attitude to what was happening.

Reflection of life events

Nikita Kozhemyaka - a young craftsman, mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years", strangled him in a solitary confrontation with the enemy-pechenegom. "Legend of Kozhemyak" is a story about the evil Serpent, who regularly took from each house a young beautiful girl and devoured her. It was the turn to give the Serpent's daughter to the Serpent. "The Legend of Kozhemyak" reflects the events that occurred in those days in the life of the Slavs and the hostile steppe Khazars. A fairly common phenomenon was the seizure of the Slavs by the Khazars with the subsequent resale of them into slavery.

The snake is simply a robber and an invader, symbolizing the Khazar. Even in the finale, "The Tale of Nikita Kozhemyak" recalls the real relationship with this people. The division of land and water equally between Kozhemyaka and Serpent depicts the customs service of the Khazars on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Such a metaphor the author conveyed a constant threat to the Slavs from the Khazar tribes. Since the long wars of the Slavs with the Khazars ended in the victory of the first, it should be thought that the "Legend of Kozhemyak" reflects exactly the finale of relations, that is, the victory in the X - early XI century.

Bogatyri

In general, the heroes are mentioned for the first time since the time when Prince Vladimir began to attract hunting northern people for the protection of the Slavic frontiers. They numbered about two or three thousand. True, the glory of heroic strength and daring became much later, at the time of the Tatar-Mongol yoke; Then the word "hero" ("gods") came into Russian.

The battle with the Pechenegs

"The Tale of Bygone Years" preserved two legends: a young man who had beaten a Pecheneg strongman, and a Belgorod jelly. In the first ("The Legend of Kozhemyak") we are talking about how in the confrontation of Rusich and Pechenegs the decisive role was played by a match between two strongmen. These were the events of 992. Only having finished the war with the Khazars, Vladimir returned to his homeland, but here on the other side of the Dnieper appeared the hateful Pechenegs. Before they started the fight, they decided to fight one-on-one. If the Russian warrior wins, the war will be canceled, if the Pecheneg wins, it will last three years. Opponents have risen along the opposite banks of the Trubezh River. Should have been a duel, but was not in the camp of Vladimir Udalts, ready to fight with the Pecheneg warrior. Vladimir began to grieve, but the warrior approached him with the words that his youngest son was still at his house, who is so strong that he once severed his skin in anger, that he crumpled in his hands.

Asked whether he could defeat the Pecheneg, the young man asked to test himself, leading him to fight with an angry bull. Urgently brought the young man to the regiment and let the bull infuriate him with a bruised iron. A young bull approached him more closely and tore the skin from his sides along with the meat. The battle began. In comparison with the huge and terrible Pecheneg warrior, the Russian boy was very lost. However, as soon as both warriors seized, the young man strangled Pecheneg to death. Frightened enemies fled, and on the battlefield Vladimir founded the city of Pereyaslavl. So says the Russian chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years". "The Legend of Kozhemyak" - one of her heroic pages.

Since that time Nikita Kozhemyaka became the hero of many legends, who, in proof of his mighty power, at once breaks several folded bovine skins. The time has passed, and the plot of Kozhemyaka's fight with the pecheneg was mythologized - now it was a fight with the Serpent. Such artistic processing was not unique. In the Bessarabian version, Stefan Voda also fights against the Serpent (in the original interpretation - with the Turk).

"Legend of Kozhemyak." Short narrative

The royal daughter, carried away by the Serpent in her cave, was not eaten by them, like other girls, thanks to her indescribable beauty. The snake, instead of eating, took her as his wife. Learning from him that only a certain young man, Nikita Kozhemyaka, is stronger than the Serpent, the girl transmits this information to her father, writing a note and tying her to the dog's neck, that she was tied behind her. And then the king issues an order to find Kozhemyak and ask to go to battle with the Serpent. Seeing that the tsar's envoys came to him, Kozhemyaka, with fear, tore up the twelve skins that he had crumpled in his hands. Dejected by the fact that because of this he will incur a huge loss, the young man first refused to save the princess. Then the orphans who were left without parents because of the damned Serpent were brought to him. A young man, touched by their grief, after a short preparation goes to the Serpent and kills him. This is the story of the young Kozhemyak, who defeated the Serpent.

The second option

Another retelling contains a different version of the development of events. The defeated Serpent asks Kozhemyaka for mercy and alteration of the land, to which Nikita agrees. The Serpent, harnessed into the plow, begins to plow the land from the city of Kiev to the Caspian Sea. Having divided the earth, the Serpent decides to divide the sea. Having driven the snake to depth, Kozhemyaka there drowns him, thereby freeing the people from the villain. According to the legend, to this day the interlayers, laid by the Serpent, are visible. People do not touch them, they leave them to remember the invincible Nikita Kozhemyak.

Differences between bylinas and chronicles

"The Legend of Nikita Kozhemyaka" (in the Ukrainian version - about Cyril Kozhemyak) is a chronicle. Although this is a hero not only chronicles, but epic. Between the annals and the epic, there are significant differences, and similar features. General:

1. The enemy demands to expose a young man for a duel, but not one.
2. On the duel is not a strong man, a hero, and a young man is a young man.
3. About the young man informs his father.
4. The enemy is always a hero of great power and enormous size.
5. The enemy triumphs in advance, but turns out to be beaten.

Differences:

1. The protagonist is a professional fighter, and the hero of the annals is a simple artisan. He is victorious only because of his worn hands.
2. In the annals of the event is always tied to the historical context. In the epic this is not.