Part 23

_Elijah the Prophet and St. Nicholas._ Perún was the God of Thunder in pagan Slavdom, and his attributes have been transferred to Elijah who is represented as driven up to Heaven in a fiery chariot darting fiery rays, drawn by four winged horses, and surrounded by clouds and flames; a tale which copied the biblical account of Elijah’s end. On earth the noise of the wheels is called thunder. In Nóvgorod there were one or two churches to St. Elijah of the Drought, and St. Elijah of the Rain, to be consulted as occasion required. The name-days of these saints are December 6th and July 20th.

_Hawk._ The hawk is one of the most common references in Russian folk-lore, and the reference to the clear-eyed hawk is one of the strongest metaphors. The crow is equally common, but is generally used as a malign being. In Russian folk-tale there is nothing incongruous in a man having as his sons a boy, a crow and a hawk or an eagle: or as in ‘_Márya Morévna_,’ where the marriage of Iván with a beautiful princess and of his two sisters with the eagle and the crow are all of them equally plausible.

_Ídolishche._ One of the symbols of paganism in the early ballads of Russia. He is generally represented as a gluttonous monster; but in the ballad of the Realms of Copper, Silver, and Gold his name has been given too as a goblin. Goblins are very rare in Russian folk-lore; fairies seem to be non-existent.

_Ilyá Múromets._ Ilyá Múromets is one of the heroes of the Kíev cycle; he derives his strength from mystical sources of Mother Earth, and his great feat is the slaying of the Nightingale Robber. He is intermediate between the ‘_elder bogatyri_,’ the earth-born Tirans, and the human champions of the legendary Court of Vladímir. He is always of popular origin and, as such, at variance with the semi-Scandinavian Court.

_Iván Vasíl’evich._ The Tsar Iván Vasíl’evich is a very popular figure in the Russian ballads; there are two of this name: Iván III. 1462–1505, and Iván the Terrible, 1533–1584. Both were very energetic rulers who enlarged the domain of Moscow and curbed the power of the territorial nobility.

MIDNIGHT DANCE. GENERAL NOTES TO THIS STORY

The underworld is the home of magic. This charm, to be said by a soldier going to the wars, may be of interest.

“Beneath the sea, the sea of Khvalýnsk [the Caspian], there stands a house of bronze, and in that house of bronze the fiery serpent is enchained, and under the fiery serpent lies the seven _pud_ key from the castle of the Prince, the Prince Vladímir, and in the princely castle, the castle of Vladímir, are laid the knightly trappings of the knights of Nóvgorod, of the youthful war-men.

“On the broad Volga, on the steep-set banks, the princely swan swims from the Prince’s courtyard. I will capture that swan, I will seize it, I will grasp it. (I will say) ‘Thou, oh swan, fly to the sea of Khvalýnsk, peck the fiery snake to death, gain the seven _pud_ key, the key from the earth of Prince Vladímir.’ In my power it is not to fly to the sea of Khvalýnsk; in my power it is not to peck to death the fiery snake; nor with my legs may I reach the seven _pud_ key. There is on the sea, on the ocean, on the island of Buyán, the eldest brother of all the crows, and he will fly to the sea of Khvalýnsk, he will peck to death the fiery snake, he will gain the seven _pud_ key; but the crow is held back by the evil witch of Kíev. In the standing wood, in the grey-clad forest, stands a little hut, not thatched, not wattled; and, in the little hut, lies the evil witch of Kíev. I will go to the standing forest, the dreamy wood, I will enter in at the hut of the evil witch of Kíev.

“Thou, oh evil witch of Kíev, bid thy crow fly over the sea of Khvalýnsk, to the house of bronze; bid him peck the fiery snake, bid him gain the seven _pud_ key. She was grim, and she clove to her crow, the evil witch of Kíev. In my old age I cannot roam to the sea, to the ocean, to the isle of Buyán, to the Black Crow. Do thou bid, by my enchanting words, the crow gain me the seven _pud_ key.

“The crow has smitten the house of bronze, has pecked the fiery snake to death, has gained the seven _pud_ key.

“With that key I will unlock the princely castle, the castle of Vladímir, I will gain the knightly gear, the trappings of the knights of Nóvgorod, of the youthful war-men; and in that gear the arquebus cannot fell me, the shots cannot hit me, the warriors and champions, the hosts of Tatary and Kazán cannot hurt me.

“I invoke the servant, a man, a fighter, in the host, who goeth to war with these my potent words.

“My words die down, My deeds they crown.”

[Kazán was the last stronghold of the Tatars. It was stormed in 1549.]

_Buyán_ is a kind of fairy hill like the _Tír n’an óg_ of the Irish folk-tales, the land of youth, and cannot probably be assigned to any physical geography. Most probably the mythical Isle of Buyán is the reminiscence of the Isle of Rügen. The whole of the Pomeranian coast from Lübeck to the Memel was, prior to its conquest by the Saxons and the Brandenburgers, a Slavonic district, and the Isle of Rügen, in especial, the promontory of Arcona, a seat of the most highly developed Slavonic pagan ritual: Saxo Grammaticus has conserved us full details. Considering the intimate association of the mysterious stone _Alátyr_ (probably meaning amber) with Buyán: and the fact that _Buyán_ is a Slav translation of the Old Slav name Ruyán, the wind-swept isle [cf. English _rough_, German _rauh_, etc.]; also taken the specific references in the magic charms in connection with the facts recorded by the Scandinavian chroniclers, there seems to be little doubt that the Isle of Buyán is a folk-tale shadow of the old place of Pagan pilgrimage, contaminated, of course, with other fantastic elements.

_Katomá._ This is one of the marvellous servants whom fortunate princes possess in folk-lore. In Russian folk-tales they have magical attributes, and are often described by their caps, e.g. oaken-cap, blue-cap, etc.

_Koshchéy the Deathless._ The meaning of this name is very hard to determine. There are at least three disparate ideas involved. First of all the most ancient is that which occurs in the Word of Igor’s Armament, in which the word Koshchéy is used for a warrior of the hostile Pólovtsy; and, when Igor is said to be put on a Koshchéy saddle, it means he is taken into captivity. Hence the word _koshchéy_ came to be used in Russian as meaning a slave, or a groom, originally a captive slave from the Pólovtsy who fought the Russians for over two hundred years. Consequently the word has a meaning in Russian folk-lore which has a widespread Aryan notion, that of a fearful Enchanter who lives in a mountain fastness far removed; runs away with the beautiful princess, and can only be slain by the valiant lover, going through unfordable streams, impenetrable forests and unpassable mountains, so as to catch hold of his soul which is contained in a casket, or in some other manner is always terribly enclosed. He takes this soul, which is as a rule lastly contained in an egg, up to the Monster’s palace, scrunches it in his hand, and the monster dies. Thirdly, the word became confused with _kost’_, bone, and so came to mean a skeleton or miser, and a wandering Jew. The epithet ‘deathless’ does not mean indestructible, but that he can only be slain in an extraordinary manner and will not die in a natural way.

_Kutúzovo._ The Kutúzovy are one of the most ancient of Russian families; this particular village from which they derive their name must be somewhere on the trade route of the Dniepr.

_Kvas._ A liquid made from various kinds of flour and fermented with sour milk to which is added malt or yeast.

_Name-day._ The day of the patron Saint. In Russia Saints’ days are kept in place of birthdays.

_Na-úm._ In this Russian name the two vowels are to be sounded separately, _Na-úm_.

_Nightingale Robber._ His patronymics are Rakhmánovich, Odikhmantovich, Rakhmánya, all of them very difficult of definition or explanation.

_Nightingale Robber._ Ilyá Múromet’s conquest of the Nightingale Robber is his most notable feat. He is a very difficult figure to explain. He is a gigantic bird who has been explained on the one hand as a highway robber who was a great bard, for the Russian _solovéy_ (nightingale) is applied to a minstrel. But it is more probable that there is a confusion of two other words in this one, and that the word _solovéy_, which has come to mean nightingale, is either derived from _sláva_, meaning fame, or from the same root as the hostile power whom Ilyá Múromets, in some of the ballads, fights, namely Solóvnik the Grey One. Be this as it may, the version which has come down is that the Nightingale Robber was an enormous bird, whose nest spread over seven oaks, who had needed no other weapon than his dreadful beast-like, lion-like, or dragon-like whistle on which every wall and every beast and every man fell down in sheer terror. The rest of this story may be gathered from the one which has been selected for this book.

_The Pike._ The pike plays a peculiar part in Russian folk-lore.

_Potán’ka._ The name of Potán’ka [in which the ‘n’ and ‘k’ are to be sounded separately as in pin-case], is also found in the Nóvgorod ballads where Potán’ka the Lame is one of the boon companions of Vasíli Busláyevich.

_Prískazka._ Many of the tales begin with a conventional introduction which has no relation to the story. Such an instance may be found in ‘The Wolf and the Tailor.’ Also in ‘A Cure for Story-telling.’ And the tale of ‘The Dun Cow,’ ‘Princess to be Kissed at a Charge,’ etc.

_The Realm of Stone._ For the episodes in this story of the kingdom turned to stone there seems strong evidence of adaptation or loan from the Arabian Nights. Cf. The Tale of the Young King of the Black Islands, and the Tale of the City of Brass, but the development is very different.

_Sebezh._ A city in the Vitebsk Province bordering on Poland.

_Shemyák._ The judge. Shemyákin Sud, the court of Shemyák, is a proverbial expression for arbitrary judgments. He was a prince of Galicia of the time of Vasíli II, 1425–62. He was also a leader of the unruly nobles of that time. This may be partly the reason that the name of the family has been given this unfortunate significance.

_The Shovel._ Shovels are used to insert loaves and pots deep into the Russian stove, for which use see the long note on the ‘Dream.’

_The Sister of the Sun._ The Russian commentator in the compilation, from which these stories are drawn, states that this is the expression for the dawn.

_Sorrow._ This picture of Sorrow as an ancient hag who pursues mankind throughout life is peculiarly Russian and is the theme of very many beautiful ballads. She is described as a lovely beggar woman, with a pale face, low stature, and hare’s blood in her veins, and her cheeks of poppy red, and she entices men to drink their sorrow away in the public-houses, and is frequently turned into a moral lesson against over-indulgence. But this particular application of the myth, the picture of her as a wandering devil who attaches herself to unfortunate heroes but can be cheated into non-existence, much like the ordinary devil of folk-lore, is a feature, as has been said, probably peculiar to Russia.

_St. Nicholas._ In Russia St. Nicholas is the most popular miracle worker amongst all the saints. In the story of St. Nicholas and St. Elias his beneficent character is clearly shown.

In the story of St. Nicholas the Wonder-Worker, I have taken the story as I found it, and have not attempted to fill up the obvious gaps.

_The Sun, and how it was made by Divine Will._ This story is of literary and ancient origin; the language is very antique.

_Svyatogór._ Svyatogór in this story may be eponymous of geography. The word standing for _svyátyya góry_, the sacred mountains. Múrom is an ancient Russian settlement in the province of Vladímir, by the river Oka, and the village of Karacharovo is not far off.

As to Svyatogór’s bride, there is another story which tells how he acquired her. One day Svyatogór was walking on the earth and laid hold of a wallet which an old man whom he met wandering by held. He could not lift it however, for it was rooted in the earth. He went on from there to a smith, something like Wayland Smith (the whole tale has a curious Norse tang), who forged his fortune, told him he would have to go to the Kingdom by the Sea, and there he would find his wife who for thirty years had been lying in the dung. He proceeds to the Kingdom by the Sea, finds the miserable hut, enters it, and sees the maiden lying in the dung. And her body was as dark as a pine. So Svyatogór purchases her freedom by taking out five hundred roubles, laying it on the table, and then snatching up his sharp sword out of his sheath smote her on her white breasts and so left her. Then the maiden woke up, and the skin of age-long filth had been broken; she went and traded with the five hundred roubles, came to the Holy Mountains, and presented herself there in all her maiden beauty. Svyatogór the Knight also came to look on her, fell in love and wooed her for his wife. He then recognised her by the scar on her white breasts.

_The Swan Maiden._ This is one of the most baffling figures in Russian mythology. She corresponds to the Siren of Greece, and the Lorelei of Germany, but is very distinct in all her characteristics. She is also called in the Russian Devítsa (maiden), which may be a corruption of Dívitsa, the feminine of _Div_, one of the ancient pagan deities of Russia. Like the Lorelei, she is said to sit on the rocks and draw sailors down into the depths, but her more human characteristics are stated in this story.

_Thoughtless Word._ The devil in this story is the popular myth of the water-gods or sprites, elsewhere called the _vodyanóy_ or _vódyánik_. The point of detail, that after the rescue of the maiden the boy has to walk backwards until he reaches the high road, is rather similar to the Celtic notion of Widdershins, the superstition that anyone who walked round the churchyard contrary to the direction of the sun would be captured by the fairies.

_Túgarin Zmyéyevich._ Túgarin Zmyéyevich, the strong man, the Serpent’s Son.

_Vazúza and Vólga._ Similar stories are told of other rivers. The old Russian ballads give names and patronymics to their rivers such as the people use for themselves, e.g. Dněpr Slovútich Don Iványch.

The Vazúza is a short stream crossing the borders of the provinces of Tver and Smolensk, meeting a great bend of the Vólga at Zubtsóv (in the province of Tver).

The Sea of Khvalýnsk is the Caspian, so called from an ancient people (the Khvalísi) of the eleventh and tenth centuries, who lived at the mouth of the Vólga in the Caspian. There is also a town called Khvalýnsk on the Vólga in the province of Sarátov, above the city of Sarátov.

This particular story is probably a poetization of a geographical fact, but in all the Russian folk-lore the river-gods play a very great part. Thus Igor in The Word of Igor’s Armament, on the occasion of his defeat, has a very beautiful colloquy with the Donéts. At least two of the heroes of the ballad cycle, Don Ivánovich and Sukhán Odikhmántevich, are in some aspects direct personifications of the rivers, whilst the river-gods exercise a direct and vital influence over the fortunes of several others, such as Vasíli Buslávich and Dobrýnya Nikítich.

Many Russian rivers have been rendered almost into human characters. The ordinary speech is still of Mother Vólga. In the Nóvgorod ballads there is a mention of Father Volkhov, much as we speak of Father Thames, and there were very great possibilities of the development of a river mythology which did not succeed. It is worth observing that in one ballad dealing with Vasíli Buslávich, the hero of Nóvgorod, this semi-comic figure is twitted by the men of Nóvgorod that he will one day turn the Volkhov into _Kvas_ (q.v.): i.e. he will one day set the Thames on fire. [Rybnikov, I, 336].

_The Wood Sprite._ _Léshi_ is a peculiar feature in Russian folk-lore. He is somewhat similar to Pan, but is also represented as having copper arms, and an iron body, terms which refer to colour rather than to material. Sometimes he has claws for hands.

_Yagá-Búra._ This is the same as Bába Yagá, but is specific reference to the Witch who raises the Wind.

GLOSSARY

_Aspen._ Always associated with magic. Its trembling leaves give it a weird appearance.

_Bába Yagá._ Russian witch, also Yagá-Búra.

_Bábushka._ The grandmother.

_Bárkhat._ This word also means velvet.

_Bátyushka._ Father in a general sense, meaning anybody older. _Otéts_ is father, meaning the relationship of father and son.

_Birds’ milk._ The Russian folk-tale expression for asking for the moon.

_Boyárs._ This may be translated earls, but in the Russian social scale it only meant the bigger men, the seigneurs.

_Boyárynyi._ Countesses, feminine plural of _boyár_.

_Chúdo-Yúda._ The Old Man of the Sea. This is a very clear loan from the Homeric Proteus.

_Dyádka._ Uncle. A term of respect.

_Egórushko Zalyót._ Means George the Bold Flier.

_Fatá._ A long silken glove.

_Gúsli._ A musical instrument, something like a zither with seven strings.

_Iváshko Zapéchnik._ Iván, who is always sitting behind the stove.

_Iváshechko._ A diminutive form of Iván.

_Iváshko._ A diminutive form of Iván.

_Izbá._ Hut.

_Kaftán._ A peasant’s overcoat, made very long.

_Khvalýnsk._ The old name of the Caspian. _Vide_ Vazúza and Vólga.

_Korolévich._ King’s son. Koról, king.

_Korolévna._ King’s wife.

_Ksálavy._ Mythical birds, the meaning of which is entirely unknown.

_Mikháilo Ivánovich._ The popular name for the bear.

_Mísha Kosolápy._ Dmítri, the Bandy-legged.

_Morévna._ Of the sea.

_Nikíta._ From the Greek Νικήτης, conquer.

_Pope._ Village priest.

_Pud._ A Russian weight. Thirty-six pounds avoirdupois.

_Sarafán._ A short sleeveless jacket, generally embroidered, worn over the bodice or the blouse.

_Sazhén._ A length of seven feet.

_Sebézh._ A city in the Vítebsk province, bordering on Poland. The Poles and the Mussulmen are all called infidels, Saracens or _Busormany_.

_Shúba._ A fur mantle.

_Stárosta._ Mayor of a town.

_Teléga._ A peasant’s cart without springs.

_Tsarévich._ Tsar’s son.

_Tyátya._ Daddy.

_Tzarévna._ Tsar’s wife.

_Ukaz._ Imperial edict.

_Ványa._ A diminutive form of Iván.

_Vertodúb._ The oak-turner, a gigantic figure.

_Vertogór._ The mountain-turner; a gigantic figure.

_Vóron Vóronovich._ Crow Crowson.

_Zamorýshek._ This name is freely translated Benjamin, the last-born son of an old man.

Footnote 1:

Hut.

Footnote 2:

Hut.

Footnote 3:

The Mayor.

Footnote 4:

Hut.

Footnote 5:

Hut.

Footnote 6:

Ten kopeks.

Footnote 7:

Fur mantle.

Footnote 8:

Grandmother.

Footnote 9:

Another variant, “the Fearsome Swan.”

Footnote 10:

Little Father.

Footnote 11:

Hut.

Footnote 12:

This is a simple instance of the _prískazka_ or preface to a story.

Footnote 13:

A _sazhén_ is seven feet.

Footnote 14:

Benjamin.

Footnote 15:

Father.

Footnote 16:

The Devil in this story is the popular myth of the water-god or spirit, The Vodyanóy.

Footnote 17:

Countesses.

Footnote 18:

Village priest.

Footnote 19:

Death is feminine in Russian.

Footnote 20:

Ilyá Múromets is one of the heroes of the _Byliny_: his great feat is the slaying of the Nightingale Robber. This tale may be eponymous of geography; Svyatogór (_Svyáty Góry_, Sacred Mountains) Múrom is on the river Oka, in the Province of Vladímir, one of the oldest cities in Russia; the village of Karachárovo is not far off.

Footnote 21:

Affectionate term for old servant, equivalent to uncle.

Footnote 22:

The word means velvet.

Footnote 23:

Hut.

Footnote 24:

Cf. Dante, _Inf._

Fitti nel limo dicon; ‘Tristi fummo. Nel dolce mondo che dal sol s’allegra.... Or c’attristiam’ nella belletta negra.

Footnote 25:

This is a prose version of a _bylína_: Alyósha Popóvich is one of the Kíev cycle.

Footnote 26:

The strong man, the Serpent’s son.

Footnote 27:

Hut.

Footnote 28:

_Koról’_ king: hence princess.

Footnote 29:

I have taken this story as it stands. There are obvious gaps I have not ventured to fill up.

Footnote 30:

A mythical city, very probably derived from Θύλε.

Footnote 31:

Earls.

Footnote 32:

Diminutive of Iván; so too Ványa.

Footnote 33:

Hut.

Footnote 34:

A bold flier.

Footnote 35:

Bandy-legged.

Footnote 36:

Sitting behind the stove.

Footnote 37:

_Ídolishche_, i.e. Big idol.

Footnote 38:

Θεόφιλος.

Footnote 39:

An equivalent to the Bába Yagá.

Footnote 40:

Father.

Footnote 41:

Hut.

Footnote 42:

Hut.

Footnote 43:

Hut.

Footnote 44:

Hut.

Footnote 45:

A mock patronymic for the Bull.

Footnote 46:

Hut.

Footnote 47:

_v._ note to p. 125.

Footnote 48:

A great forest in Central Russia, once impenetrable and always legendary.

Footnote 49:

Grandmother.

Footnote 50:

Father.

Footnote 51:

Father.

Footnote 52:

Hut.

Footnote 53:

Hut.

Footnote 54:

Hut.

Footnote 55:

Shovels are used to insert loaves and pots deep into the oven.

Footnote 56:

“_n_” and “_k_” to be sounded distinct as in _pin-case_.

Footnote 57:

Uncle: term of affection.

Footnote 58:

Princesses.

Footnote 59:

Earls.

Footnote 60:

Hut.

PRINTED BY WM. BRENDON AND SON, LTD. PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. P. 168, changed “And Alyósha set out into the open field. And Alyósha set out into the open field” to “And Alyósha set out into the open field”. 2. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 3. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. 4. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together at the end of the last chapter. 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.