Researching the connection between place-names and their meanings as the latter are rendered in b... more Researching the connection between place-names and their meanings as the latter are rendered in bylinas, the author tries to disprove the widespread conceptions according to which the geography presented in Russian epic songs is treated as isolated from the reality, as based on epic singers’ erroneous associations of these or those place-names and climatic zones with the four cardinal points, etc. The author concludes that many place-names rendered in bylinas may be treated as presupposing real prototypes – if it is assumed that the bylina universe is marked similarly to the artistic world of Russian spiritual verses. The fact that many bylina plots are connected with the Latyr stone enables one to consider the Holy Land – along with Constantinople, Mount Athos (known in bylinas as “the Holy Mount”), “the Caucasian Mountains”, “the Ararat Mountains”, “the Greek Land”, and “the orochinsk Mountains” – as nearly the main setting of bylina conflicts. In the author’s opinion, so as to re...
Целью статьи является формирование представления о ценностном наполнении русского героического эп... more Целью статьи является формирование представления о ценностном наполнении русского героического эпоса, основанном на результатах последствий поступков героев. Методология опирается на аксиологический анализ, механизм которого включает исследование мотивирующих героя ценностей, совершенного им поступка и последствий этого поступка. Различимые в былинах ценностные категории (слава, честь и др.) предполагают два сюжетно маркированных инварианта. На основании последствий (положительных или отрицательных) поступка героя, мотивированного, в свою очередь, той или иной вариативной ценностью, она либо утверждается, либо, наоборот, подвергается девальвации. Подобная закономерность позволяет осуществить классификацию былинных сюжетов и вынести общую содержательную оценку национальному эпосу. Учитывая, что девальвируемыми ценностями оказываются ценности «ветхого человека», совершенно оправданно говорить о том, что русская героическая поэзия является глубоко христианской по своему духу. The resea...
Внеэстетическая жанровая функция былины как основание для моделирования инварианта эпического сюжета // Традиции и современность, №34. 2023., 2023
The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through th... more The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through this plot's axiological analysis. Contrary to the widespread idea (originated from the works of V. Ya. Propp and B. N. Putilov), the variability of Russian epic songs is rather limited, which determines the latter's value-semantic integrity and inner coherence, presupposing, according to the article, an extra-aesthetic function: bylinas were intended to strengthen-or vice versa to devalue-these or those axiological categories in the listeners' consciousness. This trait allows one to derive a formula for a certain bylina plot, as well as to choose this plot's structurally significant episodes from different bylina records (including the ones of late and fragmented nature), and then to compile a resulting compendium on their basis. By way of illustration, the article offers a reconstruction of the bylina plot known as Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians.
ВНЕЭСТЕТИЧЕСКАЯ ЖАНРОВАЯ ФУНКЦИЯ БЫЛИНЫ КАК ОСНОВАНИЕ ДЛЯ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЯ ИНВАРИАНТА ЭПИЧЕСКОГО СЮЖЕТА, 2023
В статье аргументируется, что сводный текст того или иного былинного сюжета может быть составлен ... more В статье аргументируется, что сводный текст того или иного былинного сюжета может быть составлен на основе его аксиологического анализа. Вопреки распространенному представлению (В. Я. Пропп, Б. Н. Путилов), вариативность русских эпических песен носит ограниченный характер, что определяет их ценностно-семантическую цельность, внутреннюю связность, имеющую, по мнению автора статьи, внеэстетическую функцию: былины были призваны укрепить – или, напротив, девальвировать – определенные ценностные категории в сознании слушателей. Сказанное позволяет вывести аксиологическую формулу для того или иного былинного сюжета и, как следствие, выделить его структурно значимые эпизоды из The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through this plot's axiological analysis. Contrary to the widespread idea (originated from the works of V. Ya. Propp and B. N. Putilov), the variability of Russian epic songs is rather limited, which determines the latter's value-semantic integrity and inner coherence, presupposing, according to the author of the article, an extra-aesthetic function: bylinas were intended to strengthen - or vice versa to devalue - certain axiological categories in the listeners' consciousness. This allows one to derive a formula for a certain bylina plot, to choose this plot's structurally significant episodes from different bylina records (including the ones of late and fragmented nature), and then to compile a resulting compendium on their basis. By way of illustration, the author of the article suggests his reconstruction of the plot «Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians».
Axiological Dominants in Russian Epic Heroes’ Value System
Проблемы исторической поэтики
Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian bylinas, being established obliquely thro... more Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian bylinas, being established obliquely through an artistic rendering of the consequences (whether positive or negative) that are raised by the hero’s axiologically motivated act. Therefore, it is possible, on the one hand, to identify and describe a number of axiological categories reinforced in Russian epic poetry through their permanent relationship with the consequences of the act they caused that are favorable for the hero. Among these categories are the honor of certain “external” — with respect to the hero — realities (i.e., sacred objects and principles), the collective fame of all Russian knights, the so-called “knightly gift” (in Russian, talan-uchast; literally, “talent-fate”) understood as a burden of unselfish service, and the “knightly heart” (serdce bogatyrskoe), treated in terms of its capability to be enraged by certain injustices or iniquities. All these categories coincide with the mindset of the “new man” as it...
Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian epic songs (bylinas), being established o... more Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian epic songs (bylinas), being established obliquely through an artistic rendering of the consequences (whether positive or negative) that are raised by the hero’s axiologically motivated act. Therefore, it is possible, on the one hand, to identify and describe a number of axiological categories reinforced in Russian epic poetry through heir permanent relationship with the consequences of the act they caused that are favorable for the hero. Among these categories are the honor of certain “external” — with respect to the hero — realities (i.e., sacred objects and principles), the collective fame of all Russian knights, the so-called “knightly gift” (in Russian, talan-uchast; literally, “talent-fate”) understood as a burden of unselfish service, and the “knightly heart” (serdce bogatyrskoe), treated in terms of its capability to be enraged by certain injustices or iniquities. All these categories coincide with the mindset of the “new man” as it was proclaimed by the Church Fathers (the renouncement of personal honor and personal fame, unselfish service using one’s own talent, and righteous zeal for the sacred objects). Simultaneously, the values depreciated in Russian bylinas, i.e., those connected with the negative consequences of the act they motivated: personal honour and personal fame, the “knightly heart” as a capacity to feel the so-called “heroic anger,” and the “knightly gift” seen as a personal right to wealth and high social status — coincide with the evil passions of the “old man,” which were discredited by the Church Fathers. All this allows us to assert that Russian folk epics should be seen as a phenomenon of Christian culture.
Ценностные категории прямо не манифестируются в былинах. Они определяются через изображение тех п... more Ценностные категории прямо не манифестируются в былинах. Они определяются через изображение тех последствий (положительных или, наоборот, отрицательных), которые возымел мотивированный ими поступок протагониста. В статье выделен ряд аксиологических категорий, утверждаемых в русской эпической поэзии: честь «внешних» по отношению к персонажу объектов (материальных и нематериальных святынь), соборная слава русского богатырства, богатырский дар («талан-участь»), понятый как бремя бескорыстного служения, а также «сердце богатырское», взятое в аспекте своей способности гневаться из-за несправедливости и беззакония. Все эти категории совпадают с утверждаемым Отцами Церкви мировоззрением «нового человека», предполагающим отказ от личной чести и славы, бескорыстное служение Богу своим талантом, а также благочестивое ревнование о святынях. Одновременно такие ценности, связываемые с негативными последствиями мотивированных ими поступков, как личная честь и личная слава, «сердце богатырское», способное испытывать «героический гнев», и богатырский дар как личное право на богатство и высокий социальный статус, — совпадают с отрицаемыми Отцами Церкви страстями «ветхого человека». Это обстоятельство определяет русский былинный эпос как явление христианской культуры.
The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable,... more The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable, and describes some overall results of such an investigation. According to the author, Russian folk epics—despite their variability and the absence of any well-established scholarly opinion on their content-conceptual nature—reveal a characteristic integrity and coherence precisely when an attempt of their axiological interpretation is made. Such an attempt implies that the following elements should be examined: the values that motivate the hero, the hero’s deed, and the consequences (positive or negative) of this very deed. In Russian bylinas, one can easily discern such value categories as fame [slava], honor [chest], ‘talent-fate’ [talan-uchest], strength [sila], knightly heart [serdce bogatyrskoe], and anger [gnev]. As shown by the author, each of the mentioned categories implies two plot-accentuated invariants: the positive one and the negative one. For example, the word ‘fame’ [slava] (or the word-combination ‘great fame’ [slavushka velikaya]) may indicate either one’s personal fame—which is almost inevitably pernicious for the bylina hero—or the so-called ‘conciliar fame’ of all Russian knights, service to which enables one to save his life and preserve his freedom, as well as to realize himself to the utmost degree possible. Analogically, the word ‘honor’ [chest] may imply either one’s personal material-symbolic ‘honor’ (i.e., a certain valuable property, signs of public recognition, etc.), or be associated with some ‘external’—from the hero’s perspective—realities: icons, relics, churches, religious rules and principles, etc. In accordance with the consequences (positive or negative) caused by the hero’s deed, the corresponding motivational value is either strengthened or denied. Such regularity makes it possible to formulate the notion of axiological motif (i.e., a semantically accentuated plot element, in which, through a cause-and-effect relationship of spiritual-psychological nature, the hero’s motivation, his deed, and the natural—from the epic consciousness’s point of view—consequences of this very deed are merged into an inseparable unity), to classify different bylina plots (the author proposes to distinguish four types of them), and, finally, to outline Russian folk epics with respect to their semantics. Given the fact that, in bylinas, the values denied are conditionally pre- or extra-Christian (particularly, personal fame and personal honor—as compared with the above-mentioned categories of conciliar fame and ‘objective’ honor strengthened by the development of bylina plots), it is only natural to assert that Russian epic poetry is profoundly Christian in its essence, and therefore can’t be seen as comprising, in its semantic structure, any contradictory or discrete meanings and values.
The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable,... more The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable, and describes some overall results of such an investigation. According to the author, Russian folk epics—despite their variability and the absence of any well-established scholarly opinion on their content-conceptual nature—reveal a characteristic integrity and coherence precisely when an attempt of their axiological interpretation is made. Such an attempt implies that the following elements should be examined: the values that motivate the hero, the hero’s deed, and the consequences (positive or negative) of this very deed. In Russian bylinas, one can easily discern such value categories as fame [slava], honor [chest], ‘talent-fate’ [talan-uchest], strength [sila], knightly heart [serdce bogatyrskoe], and anger [gnev]. As shown by the author, each of the mentioned categories implies two plot-accentuated invariants: the positive one and the negative one. For example, the word ‘fame’ [slava] (or the word-combination ‘great fame’ [slavushka velikaya]) may indicate either one’s personal fame—which is almost inevitably pernicious for the bylina hero—or the so-called ‘conciliar fame’ of all Russian knights, service to which enables one to save his life and preserve his freedom, as well as to realize himself to the utmost degree possible. Analogically, the word ‘honor’ [chest] may imply either one’s personal material-symbolic ‘honor’ (i.e., a certain valuable property, signs of public recognition, etc.), or be associated with some ‘external’—from the hero’s perspective—realities: icons, relics, churches, religious rules and principles, etc. In accordance with the consequences (positive or negative) caused by the hero’s deed, the corresponding motivational value is either strengthened or denied. Such regularity makes it possible to formulate the notion of axiological motif (i.e., a semantically accentuated plot element, in which, through a cause-and-effect relationship of spiritual-psychological nature, the hero’s motivation, his deed, and the natural—from the epic consciousness’s point of view—consequences of this very deed are merged into an inseparable unity), to classify different bylina plots (the author proposes to distinguish four types of them), and, finally, to outline Russian folk epics with respect to their semantics. Given the fact that, in bylinas, the values denied are conditionally pre- or extra-Christian (particularly, personal fame and personal honor—as compared with the above-mentioned categories of conciliar fame and ‘objective’ honor strengthened by the development of bylina plots), it is only natural to assert that Russian epic poetry is profoundly Christian in its essence, and therefore can’t be seen as comprising, in its semantic structure, any contradictory or discrete meanings and values.
ЦЕННОСТНАЯ СУЩНОСТЬ РУССКОГО ГЕРОИЧЕСКОГО ЭПОСА: ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ // Знание. Понимание. Умение. №3. , 2021
According to the author of the article, scholars working in the field of Russian folk epics are n... more According to the author of the article, scholars working in the field of Russian folk epics are not yet in a position to progress towards solving the problem of bylinas’ genesis and genre function, as well as the one of their relationship with mythological consciousness, or the so-called folk “praising poetry” (in Russian, velichalnaya poeziya), or different archaic rites and rituals—without resorting to the tools of philosophy of culture, the branch of philosophy that implies comprehensive axiological analysis as one of its key methods. Such an analysis should be focused on the entire set of values motivating actions of all bylina heroes, as well as—hypothetically—on those worldview aspects that were common to most of the bylina narrators; in other words, on the world-conception peculiar to Russian epic consciousness. The author finds that Russian epic singers assume the role of a contemplator and, as such, assess the bylina hero’s value choice not directly, but through a selection of plot variants (the ones demonstrating particular spiritual laws according to the principle “the deed—the consequences”), at that triggering the listener’s intensive critical activity related, in turn, to the necessity to reassess the hero’s deeds. Therefore, a study of how the “rate” of a certain relevant-for-the-hero axiological category is modified in the listener’s “value centre” opens up the prospects for a comprehensive axiological analysis of Russian bylinas (their value nature seen now as an interrelated unity), and implies, in particular, that Russian epic worldview is capable of being modeled.
Проблемы исторической поэтики / The Problems of Historical Poetics, 2021
The article applies the comparative-historical method in order to analyze the world’s folk epics ... more The article applies the comparative-historical method in order to analyze the world’s folk epics with regard to the concept of practical compassion. Proceeding from an extensive factual material, the author demonstrates that different national and civilizational traditions imply various interpretations of the mentioned concept. Thus, if The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s The Iliad—as well as the Medieval West European epic songs—don’t treat compassion as an axiologically important principle, the folk epics created by the Orthodox peoples maintain its value-bearing nature—in accordance with the Christian ideal of sacrificial love. This interpretation can be observed in the Byzantine epic poem Digenes Akritas, in a number of Serbian heroic songs, and, especially, in Russian bylinas, rendering one of their main heroes—Ilya Muromets—as an extremely compassionate and merciful man. Concerning their attitude to the value of compassion, the heroes of Russian bylinas can be divided into the following three types: the “pagans” (Volkh Vseslavyevich, Dunay Ivanovich, Vasily Buslaev), the “Christians” (Ilya Muromets, Mikula Selyaninovich), and the ones of the intermediary type, their “value center” (M.M. Bakhtin’s term) presupposing both a gradual depreciation of pagan categories (such as personal fame and personal—i.e., material—honor), and an affirmation of practical compassion as an axiological dominant. The author’s observations also suggest that the concept of practical compassion—the one organically inherent to Russian folk epics—influenced the subsequent literary tradition as well, being reflected, for instance, in the poetics of the Russian psychological novel.
Politico-Ideological Criteria for the Authenticity of Russian Heroic Epic in V.Y. Propp's Theory
The article criticizes the criteria for testing the authenticity of Russian bylinas (heroic folk ... more The article criticizes the criteria for testing the authenticity of Russian bylinas (heroic folk epics) offered by V.Y. Propp in his book " The Russian Heroic Epic ". The author of the article argues that Propp employs these characteristics for identifying what he considers as " the right " bylinas which are filled with the pathos of political struggle, offering, however, a one-sided definition of the epics as " songs about 'fighting and a victory', with fragments from bylinas and even whole bylinas being " culled " on the ground that they sing of some moral spiritual struggle, and not of the political one. Propp's thesis that bylinas manifest " the people's aspirations " is appraised by the author as a productive one as it poses the question about a correlation between historicism and propheticism in the Russian epic reflecting the spiritual meaning of historical events which was clear to the people as well as the people's anticipation of its own historical mission.
On the Time in Russian Bylinas and Its Axiological Nature
The subject matter of the given study is both the artistic time of Russian heroic epics and its r... more The subject matter of the given study is both the artistic time of Russian heroic epics and its relationship with the present continuous of traditional bylina narration. Based on the results of bylina axiological analysis, the author criticizes the existing stereotype (produced by M.M. Bakhtin, D.S. Likhachov, and other scholars) according to which the epic time should be described as ideal, sacral, and "insular" (an "original time") – i.e., as separated from the ordinary time of the epic singer and his audience. According to the author, Russian folk epics do not imply any features of the sacral "original time", but absorb traits of different historical epochs into themselves on the principle of identical "spiritual codes", their temporality essentially open to the present and future of the epic singer and his audience. The convergence between the "ancient" epic time and the "familiar" time of the audience is due to the sin...
On the Concept of the Power in Russian Bylina’s Value System
The article is devoted to the concept of the power in an axiological system that was formed in Ru... more The article is devoted to the concept of the power in an axiological system that was formed in Russian bylina. Its features are researched on the extensive material (with a focus on the cycle about Ilya Muromets as the most representative one) and in contrast to ancient heroic epos, where problems of the honor and power are solved in another way. The most significant difference noted by the author is the fact that the power in the ancient epos is primarily away to achieve glory while the bylina's character gets the power for the special mission of compassion. There is one more important detail: in the first case the power is used to be constant, that given tohero once and for all, in the second case finding and the possible loss of the power depends on character's behavior: if he retreats from his mission or not.
The author reveals values that motivate Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent, compares the st... more The author reveals values that motivate Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent, compares the structures of their value centers, and concludes that these characters demonstrate an opposed - i. e., pagan versus Christian - understanding of such categories as glory, honor, and strength. The article proposes a hypothesis that the function of the bylina (Russian heroic epic) about Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin is to correct the listener’s value centre in order to devaluate in it pagan axiological paradigm. According to the author, precisely such actuality of the genre purpose accounts for the fact that the Siberian variants of the bylina are more profound and vivid than the ones written down in the European part of Russia.
Внехристианский эпический концепт "жена/невеста" героя и его деконструкция в русских былинах / Успехи гуманитарных наук, 2021
the great majority of the world's folk epics-from Homer's poems and Ramayana to The Song of the C... more the great majority of the world's folk epics-from Homer's poems and Ramayana to The Song of the Cid and The Kalevala-presuppose such an important concept as "the hero's wife/bride". At that, the role of the female character is strictly defined: the woman or girl-along with children, steeds, armor, and arms-is rendered as a "property" of her husband or fiancé, being treated as an element of his personal property honor. According to the pan-epic understanding of marriage as a mechanism for public appraisal of one's material status, the bride-having a certain worth-may "provide" her future husband with a greater standing in society or even bring glory to him. So, it is only natural that such an approach does not imply any amorous feelings, and often denies even erotic desire: the pan-epic marriage presupposes, first of all, rational basis. There is, however, a significant exception from this rule-we mean Russian bylinas with their consistent denial of the property-rational understanding of matrimonial relations. Thus, the epic story of Ivan Godinovich demonstrates that one can't see his bride as a "trophy" taken by force, while the songs about Churila and Katerina maintain the absolute value of Christian marriage understood as a sacrament and "God's law".
Value of Active Compassion in the Heroic Epic: Russian Epic Concept
The article uses the comparative historical method to analyze epic folklore from around the world... more The article uses the comparative historical method to analyze epic folklore from around the world with regard to the functioning of the concept of active compassion. Proceeding from extensive factual material, the author demonstrates that different national and civilizational traditions imply various interpretations of this concept. While The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer’s Iliad, and medieval Western European epic songs don’t treat mercy as an axiologically important principle, the folk epics created by the Orthodox peoples maintain its value in accordance with the Christian ideal of sacrificial love. This interpretation is clearly presented in the Byzantine epic poem Digenes Akritas, in Serbian heroic songs, and, especially, in Russian bylinas, where one of the main heroes, Ilya Muromets, is very often motivated precisely by compassion. The author’s observations suggest that the concept of mercy, organically inherent in Russian folk epics, influenced the subsequent literary tradition a...
This article carries out an axiological analysis of Novgorod bylinas about Sadko and Vasily Busla... more This article carries out an axiological analysis of Novgorod bylinas about Sadko and Vasily Buslayev, which leads the author to interpret epic motifs as a semantic unity that help reveal the hero’s motives, his actions, and their consequences. The borders of the motif as part of the plot are determined by the hero’s central values and his resulting (and, as a rule, altered) state. The elements of the epic motif are studied through the prism of the character’s evaluations, as well as those of the epic bard and the listener. As a result, the author develops a principle of value classification for bylina motifs. The motifs of the Russian epic are also divided depending on whether they make part of parallel constructions with other motifs of the same type, and according to the presence of an opposition in the form of an antipode motif. The author reveals the function of the motif in bylina plots which, according to the author, the bard could easily keep in his memory, as it is connected...
Rethinking of the Pan-Epic Value Category “Heroic Anger” in Russian Bylinas: The Knight’s “Fury / Resentment” as a Christian Concept
Purpose. The article examines the concept of anger, which should be placed among the central conc... more Purpose. The article examines the concept of anger, which should be placed among the central concepts of the world’s folk epics. Results. According to axiological analysis, pre-Christian epic poetry renders anger as a certain “indicator” of heroic nature peculiar to this or that character: the epic hero is “obliged” to feel this emotion when public evaluation of his personal honor (the one made either by his relatives or his bride, lord, rival, etc.) does not meet his own idea of those honors which should be granted to him as a possessor of miraculous strength. Such an underestimation is treated by the character as a kind of disgrace, and, consequently, provokes his anger – a feeling that induces him to restore “justice” through violent means. Russian folk epics, however, should be considered as a principal exception from this rule: bylinas don’t render the “fury” – or the “resentment” – of the knight as his response to the underestimation of personal honor. In Russian heroic songs,...
Researching the connection between place-names and their meanings as the latter are rendered in b... more Researching the connection between place-names and their meanings as the latter are rendered in bylinas, the author tries to disprove the widespread conceptions according to which the geography presented in Russian epic songs is treated as isolated from the reality, as based on epic singers’ erroneous associations of these or those place-names and climatic zones with the four cardinal points, etc. The author concludes that many place-names rendered in bylinas may be treated as presupposing real prototypes – if it is assumed that the bylina universe is marked similarly to the artistic world of Russian spiritual verses. The fact that many bylina plots are connected with the Latyr stone enables one to consider the Holy Land – along with Constantinople, Mount Athos (known in bylinas as “the Holy Mount”), “the Caucasian Mountains”, “the Ararat Mountains”, “the Greek Land”, and “the orochinsk Mountains” – as nearly the main setting of bylina conflicts. In the author’s opinion, so as to re...
Целью статьи является формирование представления о ценностном наполнении русского героического эп... more Целью статьи является формирование представления о ценностном наполнении русского героического эпоса, основанном на результатах последствий поступков героев. Методология опирается на аксиологический анализ, механизм которого включает исследование мотивирующих героя ценностей, совершенного им поступка и последствий этого поступка. Различимые в былинах ценностные категории (слава, честь и др.) предполагают два сюжетно маркированных инварианта. На основании последствий (положительных или отрицательных) поступка героя, мотивированного, в свою очередь, той или иной вариативной ценностью, она либо утверждается, либо, наоборот, подвергается девальвации. Подобная закономерность позволяет осуществить классификацию былинных сюжетов и вынести общую содержательную оценку национальному эпосу. Учитывая, что девальвируемыми ценностями оказываются ценности «ветхого человека», совершенно оправданно говорить о том, что русская героическая поэзия является глубоко христианской по своему духу. The resea...
Внеэстетическая жанровая функция былины как основание для моделирования инварианта эпического сюжета // Традиции и современность, №34. 2023., 2023
The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through th... more The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through this plot's axiological analysis. Contrary to the widespread idea (originated from the works of V. Ya. Propp and B. N. Putilov), the variability of Russian epic songs is rather limited, which determines the latter's value-semantic integrity and inner coherence, presupposing, according to the article, an extra-aesthetic function: bylinas were intended to strengthen-or vice versa to devalue-these or those axiological categories in the listeners' consciousness. This trait allows one to derive a formula for a certain bylina plot, as well as to choose this plot's structurally significant episodes from different bylina records (including the ones of late and fragmented nature), and then to compile a resulting compendium on their basis. By way of illustration, the article offers a reconstruction of the bylina plot known as Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians.
ВНЕЭСТЕТИЧЕСКАЯ ЖАНРОВАЯ ФУНКЦИЯ БЫЛИНЫ КАК ОСНОВАНИЕ ДЛЯ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЯ ИНВАРИАНТА ЭПИЧЕСКОГО СЮЖЕТА, 2023
В статье аргументируется, что сводный текст того или иного былинного сюжета может быть составлен ... more В статье аргументируется, что сводный текст того или иного былинного сюжета может быть составлен на основе его аксиологического анализа. Вопреки распространенному представлению (В. Я. Пропп, Б. Н. Путилов), вариативность русских эпических песен носит ограниченный характер, что определяет их ценностно-семантическую цельность, внутреннюю связность, имеющую, по мнению автора статьи, внеэстетическую функцию: былины были призваны укрепить – или, напротив, девальвировать – определенные ценностные категории в сознании слушателей. Сказанное позволяет вывести аксиологическую формулу для того или иного былинного сюжета и, как следствие, выделить его структурно значимые эпизоды из The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through this plot's axiological analysis. Contrary to the widespread idea (originated from the works of V. Ya. Propp and B. N. Putilov), the variability of Russian epic songs is rather limited, which determines the latter's value-semantic integrity and inner coherence, presupposing, according to the author of the article, an extra-aesthetic function: bylinas were intended to strengthen - or vice versa to devalue - certain axiological categories in the listeners' consciousness. This allows one to derive a formula for a certain bylina plot, to choose this plot's structurally significant episodes from different bylina records (including the ones of late and fragmented nature), and then to compile a resulting compendium on their basis. By way of illustration, the author of the article suggests his reconstruction of the plot «Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians».
Axiological Dominants in Russian Epic Heroes’ Value System
Проблемы исторической поэтики
Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian bylinas, being established obliquely thro... more Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian bylinas, being established obliquely through an artistic rendering of the consequences (whether positive or negative) that are raised by the hero’s axiologically motivated act. Therefore, it is possible, on the one hand, to identify and describe a number of axiological categories reinforced in Russian epic poetry through their permanent relationship with the consequences of the act they caused that are favorable for the hero. Among these categories are the honor of certain “external” — with respect to the hero — realities (i.e., sacred objects and principles), the collective fame of all Russian knights, the so-called “knightly gift” (in Russian, talan-uchast; literally, “talent-fate”) understood as a burden of unselfish service, and the “knightly heart” (serdce bogatyrskoe), treated in terms of its capability to be enraged by certain injustices or iniquities. All these categories coincide with the mindset of the “new man” as it...
Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian epic songs (bylinas), being established o... more Value categories are not directly manifested in Russian epic songs (bylinas), being established obliquely through an artistic rendering of the consequences (whether positive or negative) that are raised by the hero’s axiologically motivated act. Therefore, it is possible, on the one hand, to identify and describe a number of axiological categories reinforced in Russian epic poetry through heir permanent relationship with the consequences of the act they caused that are favorable for the hero. Among these categories are the honor of certain “external” — with respect to the hero — realities (i.e., sacred objects and principles), the collective fame of all Russian knights, the so-called “knightly gift” (in Russian, talan-uchast; literally, “talent-fate”) understood as a burden of unselfish service, and the “knightly heart” (serdce bogatyrskoe), treated in terms of its capability to be enraged by certain injustices or iniquities. All these categories coincide with the mindset of the “new man” as it was proclaimed by the Church Fathers (the renouncement of personal honor and personal fame, unselfish service using one’s own talent, and righteous zeal for the sacred objects). Simultaneously, the values depreciated in Russian bylinas, i.e., those connected with the negative consequences of the act they motivated: personal honour and personal fame, the “knightly heart” as a capacity to feel the so-called “heroic anger,” and the “knightly gift” seen as a personal right to wealth and high social status — coincide with the evil passions of the “old man,” which were discredited by the Church Fathers. All this allows us to assert that Russian folk epics should be seen as a phenomenon of Christian culture.
Ценностные категории прямо не манифестируются в былинах. Они определяются через изображение тех п... more Ценностные категории прямо не манифестируются в былинах. Они определяются через изображение тех последствий (положительных или, наоборот, отрицательных), которые возымел мотивированный ими поступок протагониста. В статье выделен ряд аксиологических категорий, утверждаемых в русской эпической поэзии: честь «внешних» по отношению к персонажу объектов (материальных и нематериальных святынь), соборная слава русского богатырства, богатырский дар («талан-участь»), понятый как бремя бескорыстного служения, а также «сердце богатырское», взятое в аспекте своей способности гневаться из-за несправедливости и беззакония. Все эти категории совпадают с утверждаемым Отцами Церкви мировоззрением «нового человека», предполагающим отказ от личной чести и славы, бескорыстное служение Богу своим талантом, а также благочестивое ревнование о святынях. Одновременно такие ценности, связываемые с негативными последствиями мотивированных ими поступков, как личная честь и личная слава, «сердце богатырское», способное испытывать «героический гнев», и богатырский дар как личное право на богатство и высокий социальный статус, — совпадают с отрицаемыми Отцами Церкви страстями «ветхого человека». Это обстоятельство определяет русский былинный эпос как явление христианской культуры.
The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable,... more The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable, and describes some overall results of such an investigation. According to the author, Russian folk epics—despite their variability and the absence of any well-established scholarly opinion on their content-conceptual nature—reveal a characteristic integrity and coherence precisely when an attempt of their axiological interpretation is made. Such an attempt implies that the following elements should be examined: the values that motivate the hero, the hero’s deed, and the consequences (positive or negative) of this very deed. In Russian bylinas, one can easily discern such value categories as fame [slava], honor [chest], ‘talent-fate’ [talan-uchest], strength [sila], knightly heart [serdce bogatyrskoe], and anger [gnev]. As shown by the author, each of the mentioned categories implies two plot-accentuated invariants: the positive one and the negative one. For example, the word ‘fame’ [slava] (or the word-combination ‘great fame’ [slavushka velikaya]) may indicate either one’s personal fame—which is almost inevitably pernicious for the bylina hero—or the so-called ‘conciliar fame’ of all Russian knights, service to which enables one to save his life and preserve his freedom, as well as to realize himself to the utmost degree possible. Analogically, the word ‘honor’ [chest] may imply either one’s personal material-symbolic ‘honor’ (i.e., a certain valuable property, signs of public recognition, etc.), or be associated with some ‘external’—from the hero’s perspective—realities: icons, relics, churches, religious rules and principles, etc. In accordance with the consequences (positive or negative) caused by the hero’s deed, the corresponding motivational value is either strengthened or denied. Such regularity makes it possible to formulate the notion of axiological motif (i.e., a semantically accentuated plot element, in which, through a cause-and-effect relationship of spiritual-psychological nature, the hero’s motivation, his deed, and the natural—from the epic consciousness’s point of view—consequences of this very deed are merged into an inseparable unity), to classify different bylina plots (the author proposes to distinguish four types of them), and, finally, to outline Russian folk epics with respect to their semantics. Given the fact that, in bylinas, the values denied are conditionally pre- or extra-Christian (particularly, personal fame and personal honor—as compared with the above-mentioned categories of conciliar fame and ‘objective’ honor strengthened by the development of bylina plots), it is only natural to assert that Russian epic poetry is profoundly Christian in its essence, and therefore can’t be seen as comprising, in its semantic structure, any contradictory or discrete meanings and values.
The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable,... more The article states that axiological analysis of Russian bylinas is both possible and justifiable, and describes some overall results of such an investigation. According to the author, Russian folk epics—despite their variability and the absence of any well-established scholarly opinion on their content-conceptual nature—reveal a characteristic integrity and coherence precisely when an attempt of their axiological interpretation is made. Such an attempt implies that the following elements should be examined: the values that motivate the hero, the hero’s deed, and the consequences (positive or negative) of this very deed. In Russian bylinas, one can easily discern such value categories as fame [slava], honor [chest], ‘talent-fate’ [talan-uchest], strength [sila], knightly heart [serdce bogatyrskoe], and anger [gnev]. As shown by the author, each of the mentioned categories implies two plot-accentuated invariants: the positive one and the negative one. For example, the word ‘fame’ [slava] (or the word-combination ‘great fame’ [slavushka velikaya]) may indicate either one’s personal fame—which is almost inevitably pernicious for the bylina hero—or the so-called ‘conciliar fame’ of all Russian knights, service to which enables one to save his life and preserve his freedom, as well as to realize himself to the utmost degree possible. Analogically, the word ‘honor’ [chest] may imply either one’s personal material-symbolic ‘honor’ (i.e., a certain valuable property, signs of public recognition, etc.), or be associated with some ‘external’—from the hero’s perspective—realities: icons, relics, churches, religious rules and principles, etc. In accordance with the consequences (positive or negative) caused by the hero’s deed, the corresponding motivational value is either strengthened or denied. Such regularity makes it possible to formulate the notion of axiological motif (i.e., a semantically accentuated plot element, in which, through a cause-and-effect relationship of spiritual-psychological nature, the hero’s motivation, his deed, and the natural—from the epic consciousness’s point of view—consequences of this very deed are merged into an inseparable unity), to classify different bylina plots (the author proposes to distinguish four types of them), and, finally, to outline Russian folk epics with respect to their semantics. Given the fact that, in bylinas, the values denied are conditionally pre- or extra-Christian (particularly, personal fame and personal honor—as compared with the above-mentioned categories of conciliar fame and ‘objective’ honor strengthened by the development of bylina plots), it is only natural to assert that Russian epic poetry is profoundly Christian in its essence, and therefore can’t be seen as comprising, in its semantic structure, any contradictory or discrete meanings and values.
ЦЕННОСТНАЯ СУЩНОСТЬ РУССКОГО ГЕРОИЧЕСКОГО ЭПОСА: ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ // Знание. Понимание. Умение. №3. , 2021
According to the author of the article, scholars working in the field of Russian folk epics are n... more According to the author of the article, scholars working in the field of Russian folk epics are not yet in a position to progress towards solving the problem of bylinas’ genesis and genre function, as well as the one of their relationship with mythological consciousness, or the so-called folk “praising poetry” (in Russian, velichalnaya poeziya), or different archaic rites and rituals—without resorting to the tools of philosophy of culture, the branch of philosophy that implies comprehensive axiological analysis as one of its key methods. Such an analysis should be focused on the entire set of values motivating actions of all bylina heroes, as well as—hypothetically—on those worldview aspects that were common to most of the bylina narrators; in other words, on the world-conception peculiar to Russian epic consciousness. The author finds that Russian epic singers assume the role of a contemplator and, as such, assess the bylina hero’s value choice not directly, but through a selection of plot variants (the ones demonstrating particular spiritual laws according to the principle “the deed—the consequences”), at that triggering the listener’s intensive critical activity related, in turn, to the necessity to reassess the hero’s deeds. Therefore, a study of how the “rate” of a certain relevant-for-the-hero axiological category is modified in the listener’s “value centre” opens up the prospects for a comprehensive axiological analysis of Russian bylinas (their value nature seen now as an interrelated unity), and implies, in particular, that Russian epic worldview is capable of being modeled.
Проблемы исторической поэтики / The Problems of Historical Poetics, 2021
The article applies the comparative-historical method in order to analyze the world’s folk epics ... more The article applies the comparative-historical method in order to analyze the world’s folk epics with regard to the concept of practical compassion. Proceeding from an extensive factual material, the author demonstrates that different national and civilizational traditions imply various interpretations of the mentioned concept. Thus, if The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s The Iliad—as well as the Medieval West European epic songs—don’t treat compassion as an axiologically important principle, the folk epics created by the Orthodox peoples maintain its value-bearing nature—in accordance with the Christian ideal of sacrificial love. This interpretation can be observed in the Byzantine epic poem Digenes Akritas, in a number of Serbian heroic songs, and, especially, in Russian bylinas, rendering one of their main heroes—Ilya Muromets—as an extremely compassionate and merciful man. Concerning their attitude to the value of compassion, the heroes of Russian bylinas can be divided into the following three types: the “pagans” (Volkh Vseslavyevich, Dunay Ivanovich, Vasily Buslaev), the “Christians” (Ilya Muromets, Mikula Selyaninovich), and the ones of the intermediary type, their “value center” (M.M. Bakhtin’s term) presupposing both a gradual depreciation of pagan categories (such as personal fame and personal—i.e., material—honor), and an affirmation of practical compassion as an axiological dominant. The author’s observations also suggest that the concept of practical compassion—the one organically inherent to Russian folk epics—influenced the subsequent literary tradition as well, being reflected, for instance, in the poetics of the Russian psychological novel.
Politico-Ideological Criteria for the Authenticity of Russian Heroic Epic in V.Y. Propp's Theory
The article criticizes the criteria for testing the authenticity of Russian bylinas (heroic folk ... more The article criticizes the criteria for testing the authenticity of Russian bylinas (heroic folk epics) offered by V.Y. Propp in his book " The Russian Heroic Epic ". The author of the article argues that Propp employs these characteristics for identifying what he considers as " the right " bylinas which are filled with the pathos of political struggle, offering, however, a one-sided definition of the epics as " songs about 'fighting and a victory', with fragments from bylinas and even whole bylinas being " culled " on the ground that they sing of some moral spiritual struggle, and not of the political one. Propp's thesis that bylinas manifest " the people's aspirations " is appraised by the author as a productive one as it poses the question about a correlation between historicism and propheticism in the Russian epic reflecting the spiritual meaning of historical events which was clear to the people as well as the people's anticipation of its own historical mission.
On the Time in Russian Bylinas and Its Axiological Nature
The subject matter of the given study is both the artistic time of Russian heroic epics and its r... more The subject matter of the given study is both the artistic time of Russian heroic epics and its relationship with the present continuous of traditional bylina narration. Based on the results of bylina axiological analysis, the author criticizes the existing stereotype (produced by M.M. Bakhtin, D.S. Likhachov, and other scholars) according to which the epic time should be described as ideal, sacral, and "insular" (an "original time") – i.e., as separated from the ordinary time of the epic singer and his audience. According to the author, Russian folk epics do not imply any features of the sacral "original time", but absorb traits of different historical epochs into themselves on the principle of identical "spiritual codes", their temporality essentially open to the present and future of the epic singer and his audience. The convergence between the "ancient" epic time and the "familiar" time of the audience is due to the sin...
On the Concept of the Power in Russian Bylina’s Value System
The article is devoted to the concept of the power in an axiological system that was formed in Ru... more The article is devoted to the concept of the power in an axiological system that was formed in Russian bylina. Its features are researched on the extensive material (with a focus on the cycle about Ilya Muromets as the most representative one) and in contrast to ancient heroic epos, where problems of the honor and power are solved in another way. The most significant difference noted by the author is the fact that the power in the ancient epos is primarily away to achieve glory while the bylina's character gets the power for the special mission of compassion. There is one more important detail: in the first case the power is used to be constant, that given tohero once and for all, in the second case finding and the possible loss of the power depends on character's behavior: if he retreats from his mission or not.
The author reveals values that motivate Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent, compares the st... more The author reveals values that motivate Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent, compares the structures of their value centers, and concludes that these characters demonstrate an opposed - i. e., pagan versus Christian - understanding of such categories as glory, honor, and strength. The article proposes a hypothesis that the function of the bylina (Russian heroic epic) about Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin is to correct the listener’s value centre in order to devaluate in it pagan axiological paradigm. According to the author, precisely such actuality of the genre purpose accounts for the fact that the Siberian variants of the bylina are more profound and vivid than the ones written down in the European part of Russia.
Внехристианский эпический концепт "жена/невеста" героя и его деконструкция в русских былинах / Успехи гуманитарных наук, 2021
the great majority of the world's folk epics-from Homer's poems and Ramayana to The Song of the C... more the great majority of the world's folk epics-from Homer's poems and Ramayana to The Song of the Cid and The Kalevala-presuppose such an important concept as "the hero's wife/bride". At that, the role of the female character is strictly defined: the woman or girl-along with children, steeds, armor, and arms-is rendered as a "property" of her husband or fiancé, being treated as an element of his personal property honor. According to the pan-epic understanding of marriage as a mechanism for public appraisal of one's material status, the bride-having a certain worth-may "provide" her future husband with a greater standing in society or even bring glory to him. So, it is only natural that such an approach does not imply any amorous feelings, and often denies even erotic desire: the pan-epic marriage presupposes, first of all, rational basis. There is, however, a significant exception from this rule-we mean Russian bylinas with their consistent denial of the property-rational understanding of matrimonial relations. Thus, the epic story of Ivan Godinovich demonstrates that one can't see his bride as a "trophy" taken by force, while the songs about Churila and Katerina maintain the absolute value of Christian marriage understood as a sacrament and "God's law".
Value of Active Compassion in the Heroic Epic: Russian Epic Concept
The article uses the comparative historical method to analyze epic folklore from around the world... more The article uses the comparative historical method to analyze epic folklore from around the world with regard to the functioning of the concept of active compassion. Proceeding from extensive factual material, the author demonstrates that different national and civilizational traditions imply various interpretations of this concept. While The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer’s Iliad, and medieval Western European epic songs don’t treat mercy as an axiologically important principle, the folk epics created by the Orthodox peoples maintain its value in accordance with the Christian ideal of sacrificial love. This interpretation is clearly presented in the Byzantine epic poem Digenes Akritas, in Serbian heroic songs, and, especially, in Russian bylinas, where one of the main heroes, Ilya Muromets, is very often motivated precisely by compassion. The author’s observations suggest that the concept of mercy, organically inherent in Russian folk epics, influenced the subsequent literary tradition a...
This article carries out an axiological analysis of Novgorod bylinas about Sadko and Vasily Busla... more This article carries out an axiological analysis of Novgorod bylinas about Sadko and Vasily Buslayev, which leads the author to interpret epic motifs as a semantic unity that help reveal the hero’s motives, his actions, and their consequences. The borders of the motif as part of the plot are determined by the hero’s central values and his resulting (and, as a rule, altered) state. The elements of the epic motif are studied through the prism of the character’s evaluations, as well as those of the epic bard and the listener. As a result, the author develops a principle of value classification for bylina motifs. The motifs of the Russian epic are also divided depending on whether they make part of parallel constructions with other motifs of the same type, and according to the presence of an opposition in the form of an antipode motif. The author reveals the function of the motif in bylina plots which, according to the author, the bard could easily keep in his memory, as it is connected...
Rethinking of the Pan-Epic Value Category “Heroic Anger” in Russian Bylinas: The Knight’s “Fury / Resentment” as a Christian Concept
Purpose. The article examines the concept of anger, which should be placed among the central conc... more Purpose. The article examines the concept of anger, which should be placed among the central concepts of the world’s folk epics. Results. According to axiological analysis, pre-Christian epic poetry renders anger as a certain “indicator” of heroic nature peculiar to this or that character: the epic hero is “obliged” to feel this emotion when public evaluation of his personal honor (the one made either by his relatives or his bride, lord, rival, etc.) does not meet his own idea of those honors which should be granted to him as a possessor of miraculous strength. Such an underestimation is treated by the character as a kind of disgrace, and, consequently, provokes his anger – a feeling that induces him to restore “justice” through violent means. Russian folk epics, however, should be considered as a principal exception from this rule: bylinas don’t render the “fury” – or the “resentment” – of the knight as his response to the underestimation of personal honor. In Russian heroic songs,...
Below is a summary text of the epic song about Novgorodian hero Vasily Buslaev, compiled from fra... more Below is a summary text of the epic song about Novgorodian hero Vasily Buslaev, compiled from fragments of the most complete and artistically valuable recordings of the Russian heroic epic made in the XVII-XX centuries. For the reader’s convenience, the names of the main heroes—as well as certain place names—are unified.
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Papers by Arseny Mironov
Б. Н. Путилов), вариативность русских эпических песен носит ограниченный характер, что определяет их
ценностно-семантическую цельность, внутреннюю связность, имеющую, по мнению автора статьи, внеэстетическую функцию: былины были призваны укрепить – или, напротив, девальвировать – определенные
ценностные категории в сознании слушателей. Сказанное позволяет вывести аксиологическую формулу
для того или иного былинного сюжета и, как следствие, выделить его структурно значимые эпизоды из
The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through this plot's axiological analysis. Contrary to the widespread idea (originated from the works of V. Ya. Propp and B. N. Putilov), the variability of Russian epic songs is rather limited, which determines the latter's value-semantic integrity and inner coherence, presupposing, according to the author of the article, an extra-aesthetic function: bylinas were intended to strengthen - or vice versa to devalue - certain axiological categories in the listeners' consciousness. This allows one to derive a formula for a certain bylina plot, to choose this plot's structurally significant episodes from different bylina records (including the ones of late and fragmented nature), and then to compile a resulting compendium on their basis. By way of illustration, the author of the article suggests his reconstruction of the plot «Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians».
ими поступок протагониста. В статье выделен ряд аксиологических
категорий, утверждаемых в русской эпической поэзии: честь «внешних» по отношению к персонажу объектов (материальных и нематериальных святынь), соборная слава русского богатырства, богатырский дар («талан-участь»), понятый как бремя бескорыстного служения, а также «сердце
богатырское», взятое в аспекте своей способности гневаться из-за
несправедливости и беззакония. Все эти категории совпадают с утверждаемым Отцами Церкви мировоззрением «нового человека», предполагающим отказ от личной чести и славы, бескорыстное служение Богу своим талантом, а также благочестивое ревнование о святынях. Одновременно такие ценности, связываемые с негативными последствиями мотивированных ими поступков, как личная честь и личная слава, «сердце богатырское», способное испытывать «героический гнев», и богатырский дар как личное право на богатство и высокий социальный статус, — совпадают с отрицаемыми Отцами Церкви страстями «ветхого человека». Это обстоятельство определяет русский былинный эпос как явление христианской культуры.
The author finds that Russian epic singers assume the role of a contemplator and, as such, assess the bylina hero’s value choice not directly, but through a selection of plot variants (the ones demonstrating particular spiritual laws according to the principle “the deed—the consequences”), at that triggering the listener’s intensive critical activity related, in turn, to the necessity to reassess the hero’s deeds. Therefore, a study of how the “rate” of a certain relevant-for-the-hero axiological category is modified in the listener’s “value centre” opens up the prospects for a comprehensive axiological analysis of Russian bylinas (their value nature seen now as an interrelated unity), and implies, in particular, that Russian epic worldview is capable of being modeled.
Б. Н. Путилов), вариативность русских эпических песен носит ограниченный характер, что определяет их
ценностно-семантическую цельность, внутреннюю связность, имеющую, по мнению автора статьи, внеэстетическую функцию: былины были призваны укрепить – или, напротив, девальвировать – определенные
ценностные категории в сознании слушателей. Сказанное позволяет вывести аксиологическую формулу
для того или иного былинного сюжета и, как следствие, выделить его структурно значимые эпизоды из
The article states that a consolidated text of a certain bylina plot could be compiled through this plot's axiological analysis. Contrary to the widespread idea (originated from the works of V. Ya. Propp and B. N. Putilov), the variability of Russian epic songs is rather limited, which determines the latter's value-semantic integrity and inner coherence, presupposing, according to the author of the article, an extra-aesthetic function: bylinas were intended to strengthen - or vice versa to devalue - certain axiological categories in the listeners' consciousness. This allows one to derive a formula for a certain bylina plot, to choose this plot's structurally significant episodes from different bylina records (including the ones of late and fragmented nature), and then to compile a resulting compendium on their basis. By way of illustration, the author of the article suggests his reconstruction of the plot «Vasily Buslaev and the Novgorodians».
ими поступок протагониста. В статье выделен ряд аксиологических
категорий, утверждаемых в русской эпической поэзии: честь «внешних» по отношению к персонажу объектов (материальных и нематериальных святынь), соборная слава русского богатырства, богатырский дар («талан-участь»), понятый как бремя бескорыстного служения, а также «сердце
богатырское», взятое в аспекте своей способности гневаться из-за
несправедливости и беззакония. Все эти категории совпадают с утверждаемым Отцами Церкви мировоззрением «нового человека», предполагающим отказ от личной чести и славы, бескорыстное служение Богу своим талантом, а также благочестивое ревнование о святынях. Одновременно такие ценности, связываемые с негативными последствиями мотивированных ими поступков, как личная честь и личная слава, «сердце богатырское», способное испытывать «героический гнев», и богатырский дар как личное право на богатство и высокий социальный статус, — совпадают с отрицаемыми Отцами Церкви страстями «ветхого человека». Это обстоятельство определяет русский былинный эпос как явление христианской культуры.
The author finds that Russian epic singers assume the role of a contemplator and, as such, assess the bylina hero’s value choice not directly, but through a selection of plot variants (the ones demonstrating particular spiritual laws according to the principle “the deed—the consequences”), at that triggering the listener’s intensive critical activity related, in turn, to the necessity to reassess the hero’s deeds. Therefore, a study of how the “rate” of a certain relevant-for-the-hero axiological category is modified in the listener’s “value centre” opens up the prospects for a comprehensive axiological analysis of Russian bylinas (their value nature seen now as an interrelated unity), and implies, in particular, that Russian epic worldview is capable of being modeled.