Heroic epic of the early Middle Ages. High Middle Ages
During the early Middle Ages, oral poetry, especially heroic epic, actively developed, which was typical primarily for England and the countries of Scandinavia.
The collective memory of the people was heroic epic, which reflected his spiritual life, ideals and values. The origins of the Western European heroic epic lie in the depths of the barbarian era. Only by the VIII - IX centuries. The first records of epic works were compiled. The early stage of epic poetry, associated with the formation of early feudal military poetry - Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Old Scandinavian - has reached us only in fragments.
The early epic of Western European peoples arose as a result of the interaction of a heroic fairy tale-song and a primitive mythological epic about the first ancestors - “culture heroes”, who were considered the ancestors of the tribe.
The heroic epic has come to us in the form of grandiose epics, songs, in mixed poetic and song form, and less often in prose.
Ancient Icelandic literature according to the time of origin, it includes the poetry of the skalds, Eddic songs and Icelandic sagas (prose tales). The most ancient songs of the skalds have been preserved only in the form of quotations from the Icelandic sagas of the 13th century. According to Icelandic tradition, skalds had social and religious influence, and were brave and strong people. The poetry of the skalds is dedicated to the praise of some feat and the gift received for it. Skaldic poetry is unknown to lyricism; it is heroic poetry in the literal sense of the word. The poems of about 250 skalds have survived to this day. The first of the Icelandic sagas, “Egil’s Saga,” tells about one of them, the famous warrior poet Egil Skallagrimson (10th century).
Celtic epic is the oldest European literature. Irish sagas originated in the 1st century. AD and took shape over several centuries. IN in writing they have existed since the 7th century. - (came down to us in the records of the 12th century). The early Irish sagas are mythological and heroic. Their content is the pagan beliefs of the ancient Celts, the mythical history of the settlement of Ireland. In the heroic sagas, the main character Cuchulainn reflected the national ideal of the people - a fearless warrior, honest, strong, generous.
Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, dating back to the end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th century, was formed on the basis of earlier oral heroic songs. The hero of the epic is a brave knight from the South Scandinavian tribe of Gauts, who saves the Danish king Hrothgar who is in trouble. The hero performs three miraculous feats. He defeats the monster Grendal, who exterminated the king's warriors. Having mortally wounded Grendal and defeated his mother, who was avenging her son, Beowulf becomes king of the Gauts. Being already old, he accomplishes his last feat - he destroys the terrible dragon, taking revenge on the Gauts for the golden cup stolen from him. The hero dies in a duel with the dragon.
"Beowulf" is a bizarre interweaving of mythology, folklore and historical events. Snake wrestling, three wonderful duels - elements folk tale. At the same time, the hero himself, fighting for the interests of his tribe, his tragic death - characteristic features a heroic epic, historical in its core (some names and events described in the epic are found in the history of the ancient Germans). Since the formation of the epic dates back to the end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th centuries, i.e. more than a century after the adoption of Christianity by the Anglo-Saxons, Christian elements are also found in Beowulf.
In the 12th century. the first written monuments appear medieval heroic epic in adaptations. Being original, they are based on the folk heroic epic. The images of the medieval epic are in many ways similar to the images of traditional epic heroes - they are fearless warriors, valiantly defending their country, brave, faithful to their duty.
At the same time, since the medieval heroic epic in adaptations was created during a period of already quite developed culture of its time, in traces of the influence of chivalric and religious ideas of the era of its creation are obvious. The heroes of the medieval epic are faithful defenders of the Christian faith (Sid, Roland), vassals devoted to their lords.
Spanish epic - "Song of my Cid"- was composed during the period of the “Reconquista” (XII century), the time of the Spaniards’ struggle to return the lands captured by the Moors. The prototype of the hero of the poem was a historical figure - Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (the Moors called him “Sid”, i.e. master).
The Song tells how Cid, exiled by King Alfonso of Castile, wages a brave fight against the Moors. As a reward for his victories, Alphonse wooed Sid's daughters to noble infantes from Carrion. The second part of the "Song" tells about the treachery of Sid's sons-in-law and his revenge for the desecrated honor of his daughters.
The absence of fiction, the realistic depiction of the life and customs of the Spaniards of that time, the very language of the “song”, close to the folk language, make “The Song of My Cid” the most realistic epic in medieval literature.
An outstanding monument of the German epic - "The Song of the Nibelungs"- was recorded around 1225. The plot of the “Song” is based on ancient German legends from the time of the Great Migration of Peoples - the death of one of the German kingdoms - Burgundy - as a result of the invasion of the Huns (437).
The leading genre of medieval literature was epic poems, which arose at the final stage of the formation of nations and their unification into states under the auspices of the king. Medieval literature of any nation has its roots in ancient times.
Through the intricate outline of fairy-tale plots, through the apparent simplicity of the images, ancient wisdom emerges, passed on from generation to generation by the storytellers of foggy Albion - Great Britain and Brittany - a peninsula full of mysteries in western France... Picts and Scots, Britons and Anglo-Saxons, mysterious Celts, the wise magician Merlin, who possessed prophetic gift and predicted many events that occurred centuries later. Fabulous-sounding names - Cornwall, Wales, Tintagel, Camelot, the mysterious Brocéliand Forest. In this forest, as legends say, many miracles happened, here the knights of the Round Table fought in duels, here, according to legend, is the grave of Merlin. Here, from under a flat stone, the magical Bellanton spring gushes out. If you scoop up water from a source and wet this stone with it, then even on the hottest and windless day, when there is not a cloud in the sky, a strong wind will blow and rain will pour. Since time immemorial, the inhabitants of Brittany have surrounded standing stones - menhirs, and table stones - dolmens with legends and traditions. No one still knows exactly who built these structures and when, and therefore people have long attributed magical powers to ancient stones...
Myths and historical facts, legends and stories about miracles and exploits over many generations are gradually synthesized into a heroic epic, which reflects the long process of formation of national self-awareness. The epic forms the people's knowledge of the historical past, and the epic hero embodies the people's ideal idea of themselves.
Despite differences in the condition and time of occurrence, content and style early medieval epics have a number of typological features that distinguish them from the epic monuments of the mature Middle Ages:
· in the epic of the early Middle Ages, a kind of mythologization of the past is observed, when the narration of historical events is combined with myth and fairy tale;
· the main theme of the epic cycles of this period is the struggle of man with the forces of nature hostile to him, embodied in fairy-tale images of monsters, dragons, giants, etc.;
· the hero, as a rule, is a fairy-tale-mythological character endowed with miraculous properties and qualities (flying through the air, being invisible, growing in size, etc.).
Celtic (Irish) sagas, formed in the 2nd–7th centuries, were quite ramified in plot, their creators are considered filids- ancient guardians of secular learning, composers of battle songs and funeral laments. At the same time, bards developed a lyrical tradition. The most important cycle of Irish sagas is considered Uladsky(named after one of the ancient tribes of Northern Ireland), where the central epic hero stands Cu Chulainn. Indicative in this cycle is the saga “The Stealing of the Bull from Qualinge,” which depicts a series of fights between Cuchulainn and enemy heroes. The main narrative text has many branches, poetic insertions, and there is a lot of mythology and fantasy in it. The god Lugh comes to the aid of the exhausted hero in the form of a young warrior, and the warlike fairy Morrigan offers him her support. Central to the saga is the battle between Cuchulainn and his brother-in-arms, the mighty hero Ferdiad, who had horny skin. The battle lasts three days, and only by using the well-known fighting technique of the “horned spear”, Cuchulainn kills Ferdiad. He suffers greatly because, while fulfilling his military duty, he was forced to kill a friend of his youth, he falls unconscious, and then mourns. The brown bull of the Cualinge Ulads deals with the white-horned bull of their Connacht opponents and rushes, devastating their lands, until he crashes on a hill. Since the war began because of its theft, now it loses its meaning, peace is concluded, and the Ulads seize large booty.
Scandinavian songs about gods and heroes, which were also popular in Iceland in the 13th century, date back to the 9th–12th centuries, the so-called “Viking Age,” although much suggests their more ancient origin. It can be assumed that at least some of them arose much earlier, even in the non-literate period. They are systematized in a book called “ Elder Edda"(the name "Edda" was given in the 17th century by the first researcher of the manuscript, who transferred to it the title of the book of the Icelandic poet and historian of the 13th century Snorri Sturluson, since Snorri relied on songs about the gods in his story about myths. Therefore, Snorri's treatise is usually called " Younger Edda”, and the collection of mythological and heroic songs - the “Elder Edda”. The etymology of the word "Edda" is unclear).
Unlike the songs of the Icelandic skald poets, for almost every one of which we know the author, Eddic mythological songs anonymous. Myths about the gods, stories about Sigurd, Brynhild, Atli, Gudrun were public property, and the person who retold or recorded the song, even re-creating it, did not consider himself its author. Of greatest interest are the Eddic songs, reflecting the mythological ideas of the ancient Scandinavians. They are noticeably close to real everyday life. The gods here are powerful, but not immortal; their behavior is easily comparable to the life of a primitive tribe: endless wars with neighbors, polygamy, seizure of prey and the constant threat of death. Everything that happens is especially harshly predetermined by fate: along with the whole world, the gods will die in a battle with the giants, but then they will be reborn again for a new, happy life. This is the content of the song “Divination of the Völva”:
At the beginning of time
when Ymir lived
was not in the world
no sand, no sea,
there was no land yet
and the firmament,
the abyss gaped
the grass didn't grow.
While the sons of Bor,
Midgard created
fabulous,
did not raise the earth,
sun from the south
there was light on the stones,
grew up on the ground
green herbs.
Then the gods sat down
to the thrones of power
and confer
became sacred
called the night
and to the offspring of the night -
evening, morning
and in the middle of the day -
given a nickname
to count time.
...I will see through everything
the fate of the mighty
glorious gods.
The brothers will begin
fight each other
close relatives
they will perish in strife;
sad in the world,
great fornication
the age of swords and axes,
shields will crack,
age of storms and wolves
until the end of the world;
spare a person
there will be no man.
The sun has faded
the earth is sinking into the sea,
fall from the sky
bright stars,
the flames are raging
feeder of life,
the heat is unbearable
reaches the sky.
She sees:
rises again
from the sea land,
green as before;
the waters are falling,
eagle flies
fish from the waves
he wants to catch it.
Aces meet
on Idavoll-field,
about the peace belt
they talk mightily
and remember
about glorious events
and the runes of the ancients
great god.
Based on the functions and names of the gods, one can see the connection between Eddic mythology not only with ancient mythology, but also with ancient Germanic mythology, which gives scientists grounds to speak of it as German-Scandinavian. The Supreme God is Odin, the creator of the world and people, he grants victories and patronizes the brave. Valkyries, the winged warlike daughters of Odin, carry heroes killed in battles to his palace Valhalla and serve them during feasts with the supreme god himself. The majority are destined to live in the three worlds. The upper world (Asgard) is for the gods, the middle world (Midgard) is for people, the underground is the kingdom of the dead (Niflheim), where the giantess Hel rules (everyone goes there except those who go to Valhalla).
The most archaic part of the Elder Edda, according to its researchers, is the so-called gnomic stanzas, which contain the rules of worldly wisdom and behavior. Most of them are contained in the “Speeches of the High One,” that is, Odin. They reflect the life, customs and morality of the ancient Vikings, when such human qualities as courage, the desire for glory, loyalty to friends were encouraged, and cowardice, greed, and stupidity were condemned. Many of them amaze with the depth of wisdom contained in them and its enduring significance (some still sound very relevant today):
The heroic epic songs of the Elder Edda include a number of plots known from the common German legends about Sigurd (Siegfried) and the Nibelungen treasure. They are characterized by high heroic pathos, the main thematic content in them is the re-interpretation of the major historical events of the times of the Great Migration of Peoples and the Viking Age as family feuds, revenge for breaking oath promises. This is the tragic story of the giantess Brynhild, who seeks the death of Sigurd, who is guilty of breaking his vow to marry her and whom he still loves. Such are the bloody endings of the stories of Gudrun, Gunnar and Hegni, the blacksmith of Velund. Fate and circumstances lead to the death of worthy, noble heroes. Both mythological and heroic songs are attracted by the amazing expressiveness of Eddic poetry, based on the traditional folk poetic arsenal, a subtle combination of heroism and everyday life, epic and lyricism.
The ancient German folklore heritage is also represented by mythological and heroic songs, which were mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus back in the 1st century. Mythological songs told about the earth-born god Tuisco and his son Mann, from whom the ancestors of the people descended. They meant the sons of Mann - the ancestors of the main German tribes. But, perhaps, more common among the warlike Germans were songs praising their military campaign life, duels, and the courage of individual heroes. This is always a warrior, a warrior, performing feats for the glory of the family, presented as an example of physical strength and valor. One of the surviving, and even then incomplete, monuments of the heroic epic is recorded around 800 "Hildebrand's Song". It is based on both the events of the fall of the Roman Empire and the motif of a random duel between father and son, common in the epics of many nations. The work is almost devoid of a descriptive element and represents a dialogue corresponding to a military ritual, full of heroism and drama.
The Anglo-Saxon folk epic can be represented by dating back to the 8th century. poem "Beowulf". Unlike those discussed above, this is a work of large epic form. The descriptive element is developed here, the action unfolds gradually, the narrative is replete with digressions that slow down the story of events. The main plot of the poem is formed by two independent lines, united by the theme of the fight against monsters who have encroached on the peaceful life of people. First, the glorious Gautian hero Beowulf helps the Danish king Hrothgar, the great-grandson of the first ruler Scyld Skefing, defeat the humanoid monster Grendel, and then, becoming the king of the Gautian lands, in a difficult duel he kills the fire-breathing dragon that was devastating his land. . The poem begins with a mournful picture of the funeral of the ancestor of the Danish kings, Scyld Skefing, and ends with a solemn scene of the burning of the Gautian king Beowulf on a funeral pyre and the construction of a mound over his grave. One can assume the deep symbolism of such a roll call of two lines: the leaders of only friendly tribes left, but their descendants in new lands are destined to create a single Anglo-Saxon nation.
Epic of the mature Middle Ages differs from the poems of the early period:
· mythology occupies a much smaller place; it is not mythical creatures that act, but people, although endowed with exaggerated properties (the age of Charles the Great, the strength of Brunhild, etc.);
· main character fights with the pagans for the truth of the Christian faith;
· First –. Second -. Third -. Some poems focus on one of these topics, others emphasize the main one for them, making the others secondary.
· changes central theme. three directions can be distinguished in it: 1) defense of the homeland from external enemies (Moors (Saracens), Normans, Saxons); 2) endless bloody feuds of feudal lords; 3) faithful service to the king, protection of his rights and punishment of apostates
Now in epic tales a loyal vassal of his overlord plays a very important role. This was required by the ideology of feudal society. The process of consolidation of nations was ending: previously disparate tribes united under the auspices of the king, who became a symbol of national unity. Serving the king was the embodiment of patriotism, since it was automatically service to the homeland and state. The duty of loyal vassals is to obey the king unquestioningly.
Such, for example, is the hero of the French "Songs of Roland", who did not spare his life to serve King Charlemagne. He, at the head of a small detachment of Franks in the Roncesvalles Gorge, repels the attack of thousands of Saracen troops. Dying on the battlefield, the hero covers his body with his military armor, lies down facing the enemies, “so that Karl would tell his glorious squad that Count Roland died, but won.”
Karl began to look for Roland on the hill.
There the grass is not green - the color is red:
French blood is red on her.
Karl began to cry - there’s no point in not crying,
He saw three blocks between two trees,
I saw Durandal's mark on them,
Near them I found my nephew in the grass.
How could the king not grieve with all his heart!
He dismounted where the dead man lay,
He pressed the dead man to his chest
And with him he lay unconscious on the ground.
Roland is the hero of numerous songs about robes, the so-called chansons de geste, performed by folk singers called jugglers. They probably did not mechanically repeat the lyrics of the songs, but they often contributed something of their own.
The basis of the monument of folk poetry is historical events, significantly rethought. In 778, the king of the Franks, Charles, made a campaign beyond the Pyrenees for rich booty. The Frankish invasion lasted several weeks. Then Charles's army retreated, but the Basques attacked the rearguard in the Roncesval gorge, commanded by the king's nephew Hruodland. The forces were unequal, the Frankish detachment was defeated, and Hruodland perished. Charles, returning with a large army, avenged the death of his nephew.
Folk storytellers gave an exceptional character to everything that happened. The short campaign turned into a seven-year war, the goal of which, as interpreted by the jugglers, became extremely noble: Charles wanted to convert the unfaithful Saracens to the Christian faith. The Saracens were the collective name for the Arab tribes that invaded the Iberian Peninsula; they were Muslims, not pagans. But for the storytellers they were simply non-Christians who should be guided on the path true faith. The king has aged considerably; the song says that the gray-bearded old man is two hundred years old. This emphasizes his greatness and nobility.
Where the rose hips bloom, under the pine tree,
A gold chased throne was installed.
Charles, the king of France, sits on it.
He has gray hair and a gray beard,
Beautiful in figure, majestic in face.
It's easy to recognize him from afar.
The ambassadors dismounted when they saw him,
As they should, they bow to him.
He liked to weigh the answer slowly.
Your sovereign is both old and gray-haired.
He is over two hundred years old, as I heard.
Hruodland became Roland, but most importantly, he gained exceptional heroic power. Together with his companions: knight Olivier, Bishop Turpin and other brave knights, he killed thousands of enemies on the battlefield. Roland also has extraordinary battle armor: the sword Durendal and the magic horn Oliphant. As soon as he blew the horn, the king, wherever he was, would hear him and come to his aid. But for Roland it is the greatest honor to die for the king and dear France.
Every Moor wears Saracen armor,
Each has three rows of chain mail.
All in good Zaragoza cones,
With Viennese strong forged swords,
With Valencian spears and shields.
The badge on the shaft is yellow, or white, or al.
The Arabs are in a hurry to jump off the mules,
The army mounts on war horses.
The day is shining and the sun hits your eyes,
The armor on the fighters is burning with fire.
Trumpets and horns call to the Moors,
The noise flies towards the French from afar.
Roland says to Olivier: “Brother,
The infidels want to attack us."
“Praise be to the creator!” Roland responded to him.
We must stand up for the king.
A vassal is always happy to serve the lord,
To endure heat and cold for him.
He is not sorry to give blood for him.
Let everyone chop down the infidels from the shoulder,
So that they don’t write evil songs about us.
God is for us - we are right, the enemy is wrong.
And I won’t set a bad example for you.” Aoi!
Roland's patriotism contrasts with the betrayal of his stepfather Ganelon, who entered into a vile conspiracy with opponents of the Franks.
The Song of Roland took shape over almost four centuries. The real details were partly forgotten, but its patriotic pathos intensified, the king was idealized as a symbol of the nation and state, and the feat in the name of faith and people was glorified. The characters in the poem are highly characterized by their belief in immortality, which the hero gains through his heroic deeds.
Ruy Diaz de Bivar also faithfully serves his king Alfonso VI, receiving his nickname Cid Campeador (master-warrior) from the conquerors who were forced to recognize his superiority. Start "Songs about Sid"(XII century) was lost, but the exhibition told that King Alfonso was angry with his faithful vassal Rodrigo and expelled him from Castile. Folk singers - in Spain they were called juglars - emphasize democracy in their favorite, and the reason for the royal disfavor was the envy and slander of the nobility. The new king Alfonso VI, who undeservedly condemned and expelled the hero, was at first mistaken in supporting the arrogant aristocrats of Leon, who did not want to come to terms with the loss of his former primacy. Largely thanks to the reasonable, unarrogant behavior of Sid, although he was unfairly offended by the king, but for the sake of national unity and did not succumb to the temptation of revenge, the much-needed reconciliation takes place. His vassal devotion to his king in the song appears as no less valiant, significant act of a hero than military exploits and conquests. Conquering new lands from the Arabs, Sid each time sends part of the tribute to the king and thereby gradually achieves forgiveness.
In the first part, the songs artistically convincingly complement the lengthy story of the Cid’s exile, his farewell to his wife Doña Jimena and his little daughters Elvira and Sol with the story of the hero’s increasingly significant victories over the Moors and the rich booty that he generously shares with the king. The second part is devoted to how, after the reconquest of Valencia by the Cid and the final reconciliation with him, Alfonso VI, the weddings of his daughters with the noble Infanta de Carrion are appointed. Only the merits of the hero, an infant by birth, especially noted by the king, allowed him to become related to the highest aristocracy. The third part is a story about how vile and mercantile Sid’s sons-in-law turned out to be, how decisively he seeks punishment from the king and the Cortes, and how the princes of Navarre and Aragon send their attorneys to ask for the hands of Doña Elvira and Doña Sol.
The image of Sid captivates with its realistic versatility. He is not only a brave commander, but also a subtle diplomat. When he needed money, he did not disdain deception; he cleverly deceived gullible moneylenders, leaving them chests with sand and stones as collateral. Sid is having a hard time with the forced separation from his wife and daughters, and when the king betrothed them to noble swindlers, he suffers from the insult and calls out for justice to the king and the Cortes. Having restored the honor of the family and gained royal favor, Sid is satisfied and marries his daughters a second time, now to worthy grooms. The proximity of the epic hero of the Spanish epic to reality is explained by the fact that “The Song of Cid” arose just a hundred years after Rodrigo accomplished his exploits. In subsequent centuries, the Romansero cycle arose, telling about the youth of the epic hero.
Germanic heroic epic "Song of the Nibelungs" was recorded around 1200, but its plot dates back to the era of the “great migration of peoples” and reflects the real historical event: the death of the Burgundian kingdom, destroyed by the Huns in 437. But, as mentioned above, the Nibelungen heroes have an even more ancient origin: heroes with similar names and destinies appear in the Scandinavian monument “Elder Edda,” which reflected the archaic Viking era. However, the Scandinavian and German heroes also have significant differences. In the Edda, the events are mainly mythological in nature, while in the Song of the Nibelungs, along with myths and legends, history and modernity are reflected. It is not so much a heroic as a tragic flavor that predominates in it; the initiative belongs to people of strong, cruel passions, bringing death to everything sincere, pure (even good witchcraft forces), and to themselves. Thus, the brightest hero of the song, the Dutch prince Siegfried, is not saved from death either by his heroic strength and invulnerability, received after he bathed in the blood of the dragon he killed, or by his invisibility hat. In turn, a terrible fate will befall all those involved in the treacherous murder of Siegfried, who appropriated and hid in the waters of the Rhine his untold wealth - the Nibelungen treasure (the name of the treasure goes back to the Burgundian knights who seized the treasure, nicknamed the Nibelungs - the inhabitants of the “land of fogs”) .
Due to the fact that “The Song of the Nibelungs” was formed over several centuries, its heroes act in different time dimensions, combining in their minds the daring of valiant deeds with the observance of courtly etiquette. In particular, the courtly poetry of the 12th century left its mark on the German heroic epic with its cult of the beautiful lady and the motive of the love of a knight who had never seen her, but was inflamed with passion for her only because rumor glorified her beauty and virtue throughout the land.
Large-scale in volume, “The Song of the Nibelungs” is divided into two fairly independent parts. The events in the first center around the court of the Burgundian king Gunther, where Siegfried arrives at the beginning of the story. The prince from the Lower Rhine, the son of the Dutch king Siegmund and Queen Sieglinde, the conqueror of the Nibelungs, who took possession of their treasure - the gold of the Rhine, is endowed with all the virtues of knighthood. He is noble, brave, courteous. Duty and honor are above all for him. The authors of the “Song of the Nibelungs” emphasize his extraordinary attractiveness and physical strength. His very name, consisting of two parts (Sieg - victory, Fried - peace), expresses the national German identity at the time of medieval strife. He arrived at Gunther's court with the intention of marrying his sister Kriemhild. Rumors about her extraordinary beauty turned out to be so convincing for the hero that he fell in love with her in absentia and was ready to do anything to win her hand and heart. Gunther is not averse to becoming related to the strongest of the knights, but first puts forward a number of conditions, the main one of which is to help him himself take possession of the Icelandic warrior maiden Brunhilda, whom he was unable to defeat in the most difficult sports competitions (namely, these are her conditions for marriage). Thanks to the invisibility cap, Siegfried quietly provides Gunther with a solution not only to athletic problems, but also removes Brunhild’s ring and belt of innocence in the first place. wedding night. Subsequently, these objects will quarrel between the two queens, inflame the hatred of Brunhild, who considered herself insulted, towards Siegfried and lead to a tragic denouement. Gunther will take his wife’s side, and with his consent, the vassal Hagen von Tronje will treacherously hit Siegfried in the only vulnerable spot on his back (while bathing in the dragon’s blood, it turned out to be covered with a fallen linden leaf) and take possession of his treasure.
The second part takes us to the court of the Hun king Etzel (Attila), where the widow of Siegfried Kriemhild, who became his wife, many years later will carry out bloody revenge for a past atrocity. Pretending that everything has already been forgotten, she cordially invites the Burgundian knights, led by brother Gunther, to visit her. When they finally dared to come, he orders everyone to be destroyed. She tries to find out from the wounded Hagen where the treasure is hidden, and when this fails, she cuts off his head. Both Etzel and Hildebrand, who was at his court, were so amazed by the cruelty of the reprisal against the glorious men that Hildebrand himself kills Kriemhild. The Nibelung family is dying, an ill-fated treasure is lost forever in the depths of the Rhine, which will attract many more seekers.
"The Song of the Nibelungs" is a tale of vicissitudes human destinies, about the fratricidal wars that tore apart the feudal world.
Serbian heroic epic- one of the components of the folk poetic heritage of the southern Slavs (Serbs, Montenegrins, Slovenes, Croats, Bosnians, Macedonians, Bulgarians). Songs telling about what happened in the 14th century are imbued with special drama. Turkish invasion and selfless resistance to it. Central here is the Kosovo cycle, which comprehensively covers the heroic battle and defeat of the Serbs in the battle with the Turks in 1389 on the Kosovo field. The epic narrative draws and greatest tragedy, and a bright symbol of the valor and patriotism of the defenders native land. The death of the Serbian prince Lazar and his most prominent associates, the sacrifice of thousands of national heroes in an unequal struggle, the loss of independence appear as the greatest national disaster, sprinkled with the bitter tears of the survivors. Their lot is unenviable, so the images of grieving and courageous Serbian women are imbued with special warmth and lyricism: the Jugović mother who lost nine sons, young Milosevski, the wife of Voivode Obilic and many, many others. The heroism of the fallen echoes the heroism of the conquered, but not conquered, who retain in their hearts the faith in future freedom.
The main pathos of the epic tales of the mature Middle Ages, be it the “Song of Roland”, “Song of Sid” or the East Slavic “Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, is a call for the consolidation of the nation, rallying around a strong central government. In “The Nibelungenlied” this idea is not expressed directly, but throughout the entire poem the idea is consistently conveyed about what disastrous consequences the struggle for power leads to, what catastrophes fratricidal strife entails, how dangerous discord is within one family clan and state.
Medieval Latin literature. Poetry of the Vagants.
Clerical(that is, church) medieval literature in Latin, originating in the Roman Empire, created a whole system of its own genres. The most important of them include lives of saints And visions.
Hagiography- church literature describing the lives of saints - was especially popular throughout the centuries-old development of the Middle Ages. By the 10th century a canon of this has been formed literary genre: the indestructible, strong spirit of the hero (martyr, missionary, fighter for the Christian faith), a classic set of virtues, constant formulas of praise. The life of a saint offered the highest moral lesson, captivated by examples of righteous life. Hagiographic literature is characterized by the motif of a miracle, which corresponded to popular ideas about holiness. The popularity of the lives led to the fact that excerpts from them—“legends”—began to be read in church, and the lives themselves began to be collected in extensive collections.
The penchant of the Middle Ages for allegory and allegory was expressed by the genre of visions. According to medieval ideas, the highest meaning is revealed only by revelation - vision. In the genre of visions, the fate of people and the world was revealed to the author in a dream. Visions often told about real historical figures, which contributed to the popularity of the genre. Visions had a significant influence on the development of later medieval literature, starting from the famous French “Roman of the Rose” (13th century), in which the motif of visions (“revelations in a dream”) is clearly expressed, to Dante’s “Divine Comedy”
The genre is adjacent to visions didactic-allegorical poem(about the Last Judgment, the Fall, etc.).
Didactic genres also include sermons, various kinds of maxims (moralizing sayings), borrowed both from the Bible and from ancient satirical poets. Sentences were collected in special collections, original textbooks of worldly wisdom.
Along with the epic genres of clerical literature, its lyrics also developed, developing their own poetic images and style. Among the lyrical genres of clerical literature, the dominant position was occupied by spiritual poems and hymns glorifying the patron saints of monasteries, church holidays. The hymns had their own canon. The composition of a hymn about saints, for example, included an opening, a panegyric to the saint, a description of his exploits, a prayer to him asking for intercession, etc.
Of the secular literature in Latin, the most interesting are historical chronicles, in which truth and fiction were often intertwined. Works such as “History of the Goths” by Jordan (VI century), “History of the Franks” by Gregory of Tours (VI century), “History of the Danes” by Saxo Grammar (XII century) had a great artistic value and were often considered sources of plots for writers of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (for example, Shakespeare gleaned the plot of the tragedy “Hamlet” from the chronicle of Saxo Grammar).
A special place in medieval Latin literature was occupied by free-thinking, sometimes mischievous poetry of the vagantes or (a very rare term)) goliards (XI - XIII centuries). Its creators were wandering monks, schoolchildren, students, and representatives of the urban plebs. Having emerged in the early Middle Ages (8th century), the poetry of the vagants reached its heyday in the 12th-13th centuries. in connection with the emergence of universities in Europe. The vagantes were educated people: they knew antiquity, folklore, church literature very well, their music was addressed to the spiritual elite of medieval society - the educated part of it, who knew how to appreciate poetic creativity, but at the same time the wandering poets remained, as it were, “dropped out” of the social structure of medieval society, personally independent and financially insecure - these features of their situation contributed to the development of the thematic and stylistic unity of their lyrics.
Here, in a vagantic environment, Latin poetry reached an exceptional and, at first glance, unexpected flowering. The Vagantes lived among the people, in their way of life they differed little from the folk singers and storytellers - jugglers and shpilmans, but they were alien to their folk language: they clung to Latin as the last support of their social superiority, their cultural aristocracy. They contrasted French and German songs with their own, Latin ones.
The poetic heritage of the Vagants is wide and varied: these include poems glorifying sensual love, taverns and wine, and works exposing the sins of monks and priests, parodies of liturgical texts, flattering and even impudent petitionary poems. The Vagantes also composed religious chants, didactic and allegorical poems, but this theme occupied an insignificant place in their work.
A huge number of vagant poems and songs are scattered throughout Latin manuscripts and collections: the most extensive of them, Benedictbeiren (Carmina Burana), compiled in southern Germany in the 13th century, contains over 200 poems. The vast majority of these poems are anonymous. Of course, this anonymity does not mean that there was no individual creativity here: here, as elsewhere, a few created new and original works, dozens reproduced them with their imitations, and hundreds were engaged in processing and rewriting what had already been created. At the same time, of course, there was no need at all for the poet himself to lead a vagant lifestyle: every venerable cleric had a schoolboy youth behind him, and many had enough spiritual memory to find words for their feelings even in retirement. early years. If these words fell into the tone of the ideas and emotions of the vagant masses, they were quickly assimilated by them, their poems became common property, lost their name, were added to, reworked; restoring the appearance of individual authors of vagant works is becoming almost hopeless.
Three names belonging to three generations emerge for us from this nameless element. The first of the Vagant poets known to us is Hugon, nicknamed Primate (i.e., Elder) of Orleans, who wrote ca. 1130-1140s. The Primate's poems are exceptional for the Middle Ages in terms of the abundance of everyday details: they are extremely “earthly”; the author deliberately emphasizes the baseness of their themes - the gifts that he begs for, or the reproaches that he experiences. He is the only one of the vagants who portrays his beloved not as a conventional beauty, but as a prosaic city harlot:
This house is pitiful, dirty, wretched and ugly in appearance,
And the table is sparse: just salad and cabbage -
That's all the treat. And if you need anointings, -
He will buy bull fat from any carcass,
Spending a little, he will buy a sheep's or a goat's leg,
The bread will crush and soak, stale since last night,
He will add crumbs to the lard, he will season this prison with wine,
Or, rather, sludge, like wine slop...
(Translation by M. Gasparov)
The second outstanding Vagant poet is known only by the nickname Archipiita, poet of poets; ten of his surviving poems were written in 1161-1165. and are addressed mostly to his patron Reynald of Dassel - the chancellor of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa - whom the poet accompanied during Frederick's Italian campaign and on the way back. Archipiita is also a wanderer, also a poor man, but his poems do not have that caustic gloom that fills the poems of the Primate: instead, he flaunts lightness, irony and brilliance. By his own admission, he was from a knightly family and became a clergyman only out of love for “literature.” Instead of talking about his individual misadventures, he paints a general self-portrait: he owns the famous “Confession,” one of the most popular Vagant poems:
Having condemned with bitterness the dishonorable path of life,
I gave her a strict and unflattering sentence:
Created from weak, lightweight matter,
I am like a leaf that the surrounding wind blows across a field...
Here the poet, with undisguised pleasure, repents of his devotion, firstly, to Venus, secondly, to the game, thirdly, to wine; Here are perhaps the most famous lines of all Vagant poetry:
Take me in the tavern, O death, and not on the bed!
Being close to wine is dearer to me than anything else;
It will be more fun for the angels to sing too:
“Have mercy on the great drunkard, oh God!”
(Translation by O. Rumer)
Finally, the third classic of Vagant lyricism is Walter of Chatillon, already known to us, the author of “Alexandrides”. He was never an unplaced cleric, he has no begging poems at all, he hardly talks about himself in his poems, but stands up for his entire learned class; Most of his poems are satirical, with pathos denouncing the love of money of the prelates and their indifference to true learning. Both Walter's accusatory poems and his no less brilliant love songs enjoyed wide popularity and evoked many imitations. Of the three poets, Walter is the most “literary”: he takes popular popular motifs and, with the help of an arsenal of rhetorical means that he masters perfectly, turns them into exemplary poems. He especially loves spectacularly developed allegories, in which the broad picture is first sketched out, and then each of its details receives a precise allegorical interpretation:
If the shadow covered
Low-lying fields, -
We have to wait for the influx.
If the heights are mountainous
A black veil
Hidden in the menacing darkness, -
Visible in that phenomenon
doomsday
True signs.
Low valleys -
This is the essence of the laity:
Kingdoms and thrones
Counts and nobles.
Luxury and vanity
Like a night of evil
They are overwhelmed;
God's punishment
Mortal torment
It awaits sinners.
(Translation by M. Gasparov)
It is easier to imagine the primate reading poetry in a tavern, Archipita - at court, Walter - in the preaching pulpit.
The 12th century is filled with the creativity of the founders of Vagant poetry, the 13th century with the activities of nameless epigones, and by the 14th century. these Latin lyrics completely disappear from the scene. The crisis of overproduction of learned clergy resolved itself, the interests of the learned class switched from Ovidianism to scholasticism and mysticism, and wandering monk-preachers flocked along the roads instead of wandering scholars. And the artistic experience accumulated by the Latin lyricism of the vagantes passed on to the knightly lyricism in new languages, which had an incomparably wider audience.
Knightly (courtly) literature: troubadour lyrics, knightly romance.
In the XI–XII centuries. The church is noticeably drained of blood in the crusades, intra-confessional struggles, discussions of numerous heresies, and discussions at church councils about the correction of faith and morals. Many of its educated ministers go out into the world, often becoming vagant clerics, especially skeptical of any kind of prohibitions on the freedom of the human spirit and body. A growing spiritual breakthrough was increasingly felt, which more and more persistently shifted cultural life from religious centers to knightly castles and cities taking on their own identity. Secular culture remained Christian in character. At the same time, the very image and lifestyle of the knights and townspeople predetermined their focus on earthly things, developed special views, ethical standards, traditions, and cultural values. Before urban culture itself was formed, secular spirituality began to establish itself in knightly culture.
The creator and bearer of knightly culture was the military class, which originated in the 7th – 8th centuries, when conventional forms of feudal land tenure developed. Chivalry, a special privileged layer of medieval society, over the centuries developed its own traditions and unique ethical standards, its own views on all life relationships. The formation of the ideas, customs, and morality of chivalry was largely facilitated by the Crusades and his acquaintance with the Eastern tradition.
The earliest centers of the new culture are noted in the French south, in Provence, and the secular poetry that arose there, where the central characters are a knight and his Beautiful Lady, is called courtly(courtly-aristocratic) (from the French court - yard).
Courtliness, courtliness- a medieval concept of love, according to which the relationship between a lover and his Lady is similar to the relationship between a vassal and his master. The most important influence on the formation of the ideal of courtly love was the Roman poet Ovid (1st century), whose poetic “treatise” - “The Art of Love” - became a kind of encyclopedia of the behavior of a knight in love with a Beautiful Lady: he trembles with love, does not sleep, he is pale, may die from the unrequited feeling. Ideas about such a model of behavior became more complicated due to Christian ideas about the cult of the Virgin Mary - in this case, the Beautiful Lady whom the knight served became the image of his spiritual love. The influence of Arab mystical philosophy, which developed the concept of Platonic feeling, was also significant. One of the centers of the emerging new culture was the code of knightly honor. A knight must not only be brave, loyal and generous, he must also become courteous, graceful, attractive in society, and be able to feel subtly and tenderly. To the heroic ideal of former times is added a moral and aesthetic ideal, which is impossible to feel and master without art.
The creators of the salon culture, where the mission of a kind of priestess is assigned to the Beautiful Lady - the mistress of the castle, were those who settled at large courts and were professionally engaged in writing, performing, and teaching troubadours And minstrels. Their great merit is that they not only make available to poetry the increasingly complex world of chivalry, the new family and social role of women (the 12th century in France was also marked by the fact that women received the right to land inheritance), but also found and created previously unknown in the native language, words that express feelings, mental states and experiences of a person.
The main place in Provençal lyrics is occupied by the theme of high courtly love, which acts as the strongest moral feeling that can change, ennoble and elevate a person. She is given the power to triumph over class barriers, she wins the heart of a proud knight who finds himself in vassal dependence on the Beautiful Lady. In understanding the place and role of poetry in people's lives, troubadours were divided into adherents of clear and dark styles. Supporters of a clear manner considered it their duty to write for everyone and about understandable, topical things, using simple, commonly used language. The dark style gave preference to vague hints, allegories, metaphors, and complicated syntax, without fear of being difficult to understand and requiring effort to understand. If in the first case a democratic tradition stemming from folklore developed, then in the second one was influenced by learned poetry and an orientation towards a narrow circle of initiates.
Courtly lyrics had their own system of genres.
Canzona- the most popular genre, it is a fairly voluminous love poem, ending with the poet’s parting words to his brainchild or recommendations to the juggler-performer. Its shorter form was called vers.
Love will sweep away all barriers,
Since two people have one soul.
Love lives in reciprocity
Cannot serve as a replacement here
The most precious gift!
It's stupid to look for pleasure
The one who hates them!
I look forward with hope
Breathing tender love for that one,
Who blooms with pure beauty,
To that noble, non-arrogant one,
Who was taken from a humble fate,
Whose perfection they say
And kings are honored everywhere.
Serena- an “evening song” performed in front of the beloved’s house, in which the glorification of her beauty could be intertwined with subtle, incomprehensible to her husband, allusions to the forbidden love that binds a knight and a lady.
Alba- “song of dawn”, sung at dawn by a sleepless friend to wake up a knight who spent the night in his beloved’s bedchamber, and to prevent an unwanted meeting with her husband.
The hawthorn leaves drooped in the garden,
Where Don and his friend capture every moment:
The first cry is about to sound from the horn!
Alas. Dawn, you were too hasty!
Oh, if God would give the night forever,
And my darling never left me,
And the guard forgot his morning signal...
Alas, dawn, dawn, you were too hasty!
Tenson- a dispute between poets on moral, literary, civil topics.
Sirventa- originally a soldier's song (of service people), and later a polemic on political topics.
Pastorela- a story about a meeting in the lap of nature between a knight errant and an attractive shepherdess. She may succumb to his affectionate speeches and, seduced, be immediately forgotten. But in response to the knight’s harassment, he can call the villagers, before whose pitchforks and clubs he hastily retreats. To justify himself, he can only curse the mob and their unworthy weapons.
I met a shepherdess yesterday,
Here at the fence wandering.
Brisk, albeit simple,
I met a girl.
She's wearing a fur coat
And colored katsaveyka,
A cap - to cover yourself from the wind.
Among the most prominent Provençal troubadours we can name Guillaume VII, Count of Poitiers (1071–1127), Jauffre Rudel (c. 1140–1170), Bernard de Ventadorn (wrote c. 1150–1180), Bertrand de Born (1140–1215), Arnaut Daniel (wrote c. 1180–1200).
The traditions of Provençal lyrics were continued by German poets - Minnesingers(“singers of love”) - authors of German secular poetry. German knightly poetry - minnesang– was strongly influenced by Provençal lyrics. At the same time, the work of the Minnesingers has a number of features.
The Minnesingers themselves composed music for their works, but they were usually distributed by traveling singers - stilettos. Although main theme The creativity of the Minnesingers was a celebration of refined feelings for the Beautiful Lady, like their Provençal predecessors, their poetry is more restrained, sad, prone to didacticism, often painted in religious tones (while remaining mainly secular). The most prominent minnesingers were Heinrich von Feldeke, Friedrich von Hausen, Wolfram von Eschenbach and others.
Along with lyrics, the knights created a genre that replaced epic poems - this novel .
The French-speaking territories of northwestern Europe are considered to be the birthplace of the chivalric romance, and it became established in the 12th century. the word novel at first simply meant a large work of poetry in the living Romance language (as opposed to texts in Latin). But soon its own genre and thematic specificity becomes obvious.
The hero of the novel still remains a noble knight, but his image undergoes significant changes. Thus, the epic did not care about the appearance of the hero-knight (Roland’s face, for example, is indistinguishable under the knight’s visor), while the authors of knightly novels, in addition to selfless bravery, courage, and nobility, note the external beauty of the hero (Tristan’s broad shoulders, curls...) and his ability to behave : he is always polite, courteous, generous, restrained in expressing feelings. Refined manners convince of the noble origin of the knight. In addition, the hero’s attitude towards his overlord has changed. A noble paladin of his king, while remaining a vassal, often acquires a slightly different status: a friend and confidant of the monarch. And often they are relatives (Tristan, for example, the nephew of King Mark). The purpose of knightly deeds has also changed: the hero is driven not only and not so much by the desire to fulfill the instructions of his master and devotion to him, but by the desire to become famous in order to win the love of the Beautiful Lady. In novels (as in lyric poetry), love for a knight is the delight of earthly life, and the one to whom he gave his heart is the living, bodily embodiment of Madonna.
Having placed love at the center of its attention, the novel reinforces the story about it with legendary and historical images that were impressive at that time. The novel also necessarily contains fantasy in its dual manifestation: as the supernatural (wonderful) and as the unusual (exceptional), elevating the hero above the prose of life. Both love and fantasy are covered by the concept of adventures, towards which the knights rush.
The chivalric romance spread throughout the territories of future Germany and France, easily overcoming the language barrier. The authors of chivalric novels were called trouvères. Trouvères essentially composed entertaining tales about the endless adventures of a knight. Chronologically and thematically, three cycles of chivalric romance were formed: ancient, Breton, and Eastern Byzantine.
In the ancient cycle, plots and legendary historical themes borrowed from the classics were reworked in a new knightly manner. Love, adventure, and fantasy dominate in one of the earliest works of the genre - “The Romance of Alexander” (second half of the 12th century) by Lambert le Thor, where the famous commander is represented as a sophisticated medieval knight. The anonymous “Roman of Aeneas” (c. 1160) dates back to Virgil’s Aeneid, where the hero’s differently shaped love relationships with Dido and Lavinia come to the fore. Around the same time, “The Romance of Troy” by Benoit de Saint-Maur appeared, built on love episodes from various adaptations of the Trojan cycle of myths.
The Breton cycle is the most extensive and indicative of the chivalric romance. The material for it was Celtic folklore filled with poignant love adventures, a whole series of legends about the legendary King of the Britons Arthur (5th–6th centuries) and his Knights of the Round Table, and the prose chronicle of Godfrid of Monmouth “The History of the Kings of Britain” (c. 1136). The entire cycle can be divided into four groups: 1) short, short story-like Breton lays; 2) novels about Tristan and Isolde; 3) the novels of the Round Table are actually Arthurian; 4) novels about the Holy Grail.
Among the most popular novel plots of the Breton cycle is the legend of the love of the young man Tristan of Leonois and the Queen of Cornwall, Isolde Blonde. Having arisen in the Celtic folk environment, the legend then gave rise to numerous literary fixations, first in Welsh, then in French, in adaptations from which it became part of all major European literatures, without passing through the Slavic ones.
The number of literary monuments in which the plot of the strong but sinful love of Tristan and Isolde is developed is very large. Not all of them have been preserved equally. Thus, according to Celtic sources, the legend is known only in the form of fragments and its early French adaptations have been completely lost. French poetic novels of the second half of the 12th century. have also reached our time far from completely; later versions are much better preserved, but they are much less original and distinctive. In addition, the legend, having arisen in the deep Middle Ages, continued to attract writers and poets in modern times. Not to mention the mention of the main characters of the legend (say, in Dante, Boccaccio, Villon and many others), August Schlegel, Walter Scott, Richard Wagner and others dedicated their works to it. Alexander Blok was going to write a historical drama based on the plot of the legend.
Large quantity literary works about the love of Tristan and Isolde led to a large number of versions of the legend. The earliest evidence of the folklore existence of the legend of Tristan and Isolde (“Triads of the Isle of Britain”), as well as its first literary adaptations, are fragments of Welsh texts. In them the main characters are "Tristan, son of Tallukh, and Essild, wife of Mark." The lovers with two servants, taking pies and wine, take refuge in the Kelidon forest, but Markh - the husband of Essild - together with the warriors found them. “Tristan stood up and, raising his sword, rushed into the first duel and finally met March, the son of Mairchion, who exclaimed: “And at the cost of my life I would like to kill him!” But his other warriors said: “Shame on us if we attack him!” And Tristan emerged from three fights unharmed.” King Arthur, to whom March turns, tries to resolve the dispute between March and Tristan. “Then Arthur reconciled him with Marchus, son of Mairchion. But even though Arthur persuaded everyone, no one wanted to leave Essild to another. And so Arthur decided: one would own it while the leaves were green on the trees, the other would have the rest of the time. This is what Markh chose, because then the nights are longer.” The decision of the wise king delighted the quick-witted Essild: “Essild exclaimed when Arthur told her about this: “Blessed be this decision and the one who made it!” And she sang this English:
I will name you three trees,
They keep leaves all year round,
Ivy, holly and yew -
As long as we live
No one can separate us from Tristan.
Another early version of the novel, belonging to the Norman trouvere Béroul, is a detailed, lengthy and very colorful narrative in which Tristan and Isolde appear as innocent victims of a love drink given to them by a servant’s mistake. The drink is charmed for three years; during these years, lovers cannot live without each other.
Another extensive epic direction developed in the Breton cycle were the novels of the Round Table.
Arthur was a petty ruler of the Britons. But the Welsh author of the historical chronicle, Geoffrey of Monmouth, portrays him as the powerful ruler of Britain, Brittany and almost all of Western Europe, a semi-mythical figure, one of the heroes of the struggle of the Celts against the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Arthur and his twelve loyal knights defeat the Anglo-Saxons in many battles. He is the supreme authority in politics, his wife Genievre is the patron of the knights in love. Lancelot, Gauvin, Yvain, Parzival and other brave knights flock to the court of King Arthur, where everyone has a place of honor at the round table. His court is the center of courtliness, valor and honor. Another legend is closely connected with the legend about the kingdom of Arthur - about the Holy Grail - the communion cup in which the blood of Christ was collected. The Grail became a symbol of the mystical knightly principle, the personification of the highest ethical perfection.
The group of Arthurian novels itself is distinguished by the variety of plots, love stories and exploits of many glorious knights, all of whom had in common only the fact that they showed themselves worthily in tournaments at the court of King Arthur and feasted at his famous Round Table. This theme was most successfully developed by Chrétien de Troyes (c. 1130–1191), known both as a lyricist and as the author of stories about Tristan and Isolde, about the Holy Grail. His popularity was based not only on his ability to uniquely combine the real, legendary and fantastic, but also on new approaches to creating female images. The educated, talented trouvere was patronized by Maria Champagne, who was fond of knightly poetry. Chrétien de Troyes was prolific, five of his novels have come down to us: “Erec and Enida”, “Cliges, or the Imaginary Death”, “Yvain, or the Knight with the Lion”, “Lancelot or the Knight of the Cart”. The main conflict of his novels is the solution to the question of how to combine a happy marriage with knightly deeds. Does the married knight Erec or Yvain have the right to sit out in the castle when the little and orphans are offended by cruel strangers? At the end of his life, for some unknown reason, he quarreled with Maria of Champagne and went to seek the protection of Philip of Alsace. “Parzival, or the Tale of the Grail” is the last novel that has not reached us, but became known thanks to a very free interpretation of Chrétien’s text, made when translated into German Wolfram von Eschenbach.
In the XIII–XIV centuries. Works in which knights show perseverance and determination not in serving duty, not in risky fights, but in recklessly idyllic love are becoming increasingly popular. For example, the story “Aucassin and Nicolette” (it belongs to the Eastern Byzantine cycle) depicts the main characters in exactly this vein. The count's son Aucassin, in love with the Saracen captive Nicolette, is ready to go against his father's will and disdain religious and class differences. He does everything solely for the sake of happiness with his beloved, forgetting even about his patriotic duty. His only valor is loyalty to his chosen one, who, in turn, is passionately and touchingly devoted to her beloved. The unconcealed parodic background of such works seemed to precede the offensive new era, was indirect evidence of the growing influence of urban literature on knightly literature, which was losing its position.
Urban and folk literature: fabliaux and schwanks; allegorical poetry; folk ballads; mysteries, miracles and farces.
With the invention of artillery, knighthood gradually lost its social role, but the burghers - the townspeople, united in craft workshops and merchant guilds - grew stronger. With the acquisition of special city rights by Magdeburg in 1188, the circle of European cities seeking self-government in major areas of legal, economic and social relations rapidly expanded. Thanks to the emergence and spread of Magdeburg law, the successes of cities in their struggle with feudal power for independence, for the gradual self-affirmation of the third estate, were legally consolidated.
By the beginning of the 12th century, burgher literature had formed, in opposition to the chivalric romance and courtly lyricism. A city dweller is distinguished by down-to-earthness, a desire for practical-useful knowledge, an interest not in knightly adventures in unknown lands, but in the familiar environment, everyday life. He does not need the miraculous; his own intelligence, hard work, resourcefulness, and, ultimately, cunning and dexterity become his supports in overcoming everyday difficulties. Hence, the literature shows attention to the details of everyday life, simplicity and brevity of style, rough humor, in which a free interpretation of established ethical principles is visible. On the other hand, a significant place in it is occupied by works of an instructive, even protective nature, where private enterprise, good morals, and fear of God are glorified, combined with sharp anti-feudal and anti-church satire.
The townspeople had their own genres, and turning to already formed genres, the townspeople parodied them. The humorous literature of the Middle Ages developed for a whole millennium and even more, since its beginnings date back to Christian antiquity. Over such a long period of its existence, this literature, of course, underwent quite significant changes (literature in Latin changed the least). Various genre forms and stylistic variations were developed. The first, most developed genre of everyday satire of the 12th-13th centuries was the French fabliau.
Fablió(the name comes from the Latin “fabula” due to the initial identification of any funny, amusing story with a fable, already known under this ancient Latin name) were small (up to 250-400 lines, rarely more) stories in verse, mostly eight-syllable, with a pair rhymed, had a simple and clear plot and a small number of characters. Fabliau becomes perhaps the most widespread genre of urban French literature and experiences its heyday in those years when the decline of knightly literature begins, putting forward such masters as Henri d'Andely, Jean Bodel, Jacques Bézier, Hugon Leroy of Cambrai, Bernier, and finally like famous Ruytbeuf, the first remarkable representative of French urban literature, who tried his hand at many poetic genres.
The works of heroic poetry presented in this volume belong to the Middle Ages - early (Anglo-Saxon Beowulf) and classical (Icelandic songs of the Elder Edda and the German Song of the Nibelungs). The origins of German poetry about gods and heroes are much more ancient. Already Tacitus, who was one of the first to leave a description of the Germanic tribes, mentions their ancient songs about mythical ancestors and leaders: these songs, according to him, replaced history for the barbarians. The Roman historian's remark is very significant: in the epic, memories of historical events are fused with myth and fairy tale, and fantastic and historical elements are equally accepted as reality. There was no distinction between “facts” and “fiction” in relation to the epic in that era. But ancient Germanic poetry is unknown to us; there was no one to write it down. The themes and motifs that have existed in it orally for centuries are partly reproduced in the monuments published below. In any case, they reflected the events of the period of the Great Migrations of Peoples (V-VI centuries). However, using Beowulf or the Scandinavian songs, not to mention the Song of the Nibelungs, it is impossible to reconstruct the spiritual life of the Germans during the era of the dominance of the tribal system. The transition from the oral creativity of singers and storytellers to the “book epic” was accompanied by more or less significant changes in the composition, volume and content of songs. It is enough to recall that in the oral tradition, the songs from which these epic works then developed existed in the pagan period, while they acquired written form centuries later after Christianization. Nevertheless, Christian ideology does not determine the content and tone of epic poems, and this becomes especially clear when comparing the German heroic epic with medieval Latin literature, as a rule, deeply permeated with the church spirit ( However, how different assessments the ideological basis of epic poetry received is clear from at least the following two judgments about the “Song of the Nibelungs”: “basically pagan”; "medieval-Christian". The first assessment is by Goethe, the second by A.-V. Schlegel.).
An epic work is universal in its functions. The fabulous and fantastic is not separated from the real. The epic contains information about gods and other supernatural beings, fascinating stories and instructive examples, aphorisms of worldly wisdom and examples of heroic behavior; its edifying function is as integral as its cognitive one. It embraces both the tragic and the comic. At the stage when the epic arose and developed, the Germanic peoples did not have knowledge about nature and history, philosophy, fiction or theater - the epic gave a complete and comprehensive picture of the world, explained its origin and further destinies, including the most distant future, taught to distinguish good from evil, instructed in how to live and how to die. The epic contained ancient wisdom; knowledge of it was considered necessary for every member of society.
The integrity of the scope of life corresponds to the integrity of the characters depicted in the epic. The heroes of the epic are cut from one piece, each personifying some quality that determines his essence. Beowulf is the ideal of a courageous and determined warrior, unfailing in loyalty and friendship, a generous and merciful king. Gudrun is the embodiment of devotion to the clan, a woman who avenges the death of her brothers, not stopping before killing her own sons and husband, similar to (but at the same time in contrast to) Kriemhild, who destroys her brothers, punishing them for the murder of her beloved husband Siegfried and taking away she has a golden treasure. The epic hero is not tormented by doubts and hesitations, his character is revealed in his actions; his speeches are as clear as his actions. This monolithic character of the hero of the epic is explained by the fact that he knows his fate, accepts it as a given and inevitable, and boldly goes to meet it. The epic hero is not free in his decisions, in choosing a line of behavior. Actually, his inner essence and the force that the heroic epic calls Fate coincide and are identical. Therefore, the hero can only in the best possible way valiantly fulfill your destiny. Hence the unique, perhaps a little primitive for other tastes, greatness of epic heroes.
Despite all the differences in content, tone, as well as in the conditions and time of their origin, epic poems do not have an author. It's not that the author's name is unknown ( In science, attempts have been made more than once - invariably unconvincing - to identify the authors of the Eddic songs or the “Song of the Nibelungs”.), - the anonymity of epic works is fundamental: the persons who combined, expanded and reworked the poetic material at their disposal did not recognize themselves as the authors of the works they wrote. This, of course, does not mean that the concept of authorship did not exist at all in that era. The names of many Icelandic skalds are known who declared their “copyright” to the songs they performed. “The Song of the Nibelungs” arose during the period when the largest German minnesingers were creating and chivalric novels were created according to French models; this song was written by a contemporary of Wolfram von Eschenbach, Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried of Strasbourg and Walter von der Vogelweide. And yet, poetic work on a traditional epic plot, on heroic songs and legends, which in an earlier form were familiar to everyone, in the Middle Ages was not assessed as creativity either by society or by the poet himself, who created such works, but did not think about it to mention your name ( The above also applies to some types of prose creativity, for example, Icelandic sagas and Irish tales. See the preface by M. I. Steblin-Kamensky to the publication of the Icelandic sagas in the Library of World Literature.).
Drawing from the general poetic fund, the compiler of the epic poem focused on his chosen heroes and plot, pushing many other legends related to this plot to the periphery of the narrative. Just as the beam of a searchlight illuminates a separate piece of terrain, leaving most of it in darkness, so the author of an epic poem (an author in the sense now indicated, that is, a poet devoid of authorial self-awareness), developing his theme, limited himself to hints at its branches, being confident that his audience already knew all the events and characters, both those sung by him and those that were only mentioned in passing by him. The tales and myths of the Germanic peoples found only partial embodiment in their epic poems, preserved in written form; the rest has either disappeared or can only be restored indirectly. In the songs of the Edda and in Beowulf, cursory references to kings, their wars and strife, mythological characters and legends are scattered in abundance. Concise allusions were quite enough for the corresponding associations to arise in the minds of listeners or readers of the heroic epic. Epic usually does not communicate anything completely new. The strength of its aesthetic and emotional impact is not diminished at all; on the contrary, in archaic and medieval society, the greatest satisfaction, apparently, was not the receipt of original information, or not only that, but also the recognition of previously known, new confirmation of old and therefore especially valued truths ( Wouldn't a comparison with a child's perception of a fairy tale be appropriate here? The child knows its content, but his pleasure from listening to it again and again does not diminish.).
An epic poet, processing material that did not belong to him, a heroic song, a myth, a tale, a legend, widely using traditional expressions, stable comparisons and formulas, figurative clichés borrowed from oral folk art, could not consider himself an independent creator, no matter how much he actually was his contribution to the final creation of the heroic epic is great. This dialectical combination of the new and the received from predecessors constantly gives rise to disputes in modern literary criticism: science is inclined either to emphasize the folk basis of the epic, or in favor of the individual creative principle in its creation.
Tonic alliterative verse remained the form of German poetry for an entire era. This form was preserved for a particularly long time in Iceland, while among the continental Germanic peoples, already in the early Middle Ages, it was replaced by verse with end rhyme. “Beowulf” and the songs of the “Elder Edda” are in the traditional alliterative form, “The Song of the Nibelungs” is in a new one, based on rhyme. Old Germanic versification was based on rhythm, determined by the number of stressed syllables in a poetic line. Alliteration is the consonance of the initial sounds of words that were under semantic stress and repeated with a certain regularity in two adjacent lines of verse, which therefore turned out to be connected. Alliteration is audible and significant in Germanic verse, since the stress in Germanic languages predominantly falls on the first syllable of the word, which is also its root. It is clear, therefore, that reproducing this form of versification in Russian translation is almost impossible. It is very difficult to convey another feature of Scandinavian and Old English verse, the so-called kenning (literally “designation”) - a poetic periphrasis that replaces one noun of ordinary speech with two or more words. Kennings were used to designate the most essential concepts for heroic poetry: “leader”, “warrior”, “sword”, “shield”, “battle”, “ship”, “gold”, “woman”, “raven”, and for each of these concepts there were several or even many kennings. Instead of saying “prince,” the expression “ring-giver” was used in poetry, a common kenning for a warrior was “battle ash,” the sword was called “battle stick,” etc. In Beowulf and the Elder Edda, kennings are usually two-part , in skaldic poetry there are also polynomial kennings.
“The Song of the Nibelungs” is built on the “Kührenberg stanza,” which consists of four rhymed verses in pairs. Each verse is divided into two hemistiches with four stressed syllables in the first hemistich, while in the second hemistich of the first three verses there are three stresses, and in the second hemistich of the last verse, which completes the stanza both formally and in meaning, there are four stresses. The translation of the “Song of the Nibelungs” from Middle High German into Russian does not encounter such difficulties as the translation of alliterated poetry, and gives an idea of its metrical structure.
Beowulf
The only existing manuscript of Beowulf dates back to around 1000. But the epic itself dates back, according to most experts, to the end of the 7th or the first third of the 8th century. At that time, the Anglo-Saxons were already experiencing the beginning of the process of the emergence of feudal ties. The poem, however, is characterized by epic archaization. In addition, she depicts reality from a specific point of view: the world of Beowulf is a world of kings and warriors, a world of feasts, battles and duels.
The plot of this largest of the Anglo-Saxon epics is simple. Beowulf, a young knight from the Gaut people, having learned about the disaster that befell the Danish king Hygelac - about the attacks of the monster Grendel on his palace Heorot and about the gradual extermination of the king's warriors over the course of twelve years, goes overseas to destroy Grendel. Having defeated him, he then kills in a new single combat, this time in an underwater dwelling, another monster - Grendel's mother, who was trying to avenge the death of her son. Showered with awards and gratitude, Beowulf returns to his homeland. Here he accomplishes new feats, and subsequently becomes the king of the Gauts and safely rules the country for fifty years. After this period, Beowulf enters into battle with the dragon, who devastates the surrounding area, angered by the attempt on the ancient treasure he guards. Beowulf manages to defeat this monster, but at the cost of his own life. The song ends with a scene of the solemn burning of the hero's body on a funeral pyre and the construction of a mound over his ashes and the treasure he conquered.
These fantastic feats, however, are transferred from the unreal world of fairy tales to historical soil and take place among the peoples of Northern Europe: in Beowulf the Danes, Swedes, and Gauts appear ( Who the Gauts of Beowulf are remains controversial. In science it was proposed different interpretations: the Goths of Southern Sweden or the island of Gotland, the Jutes of the Jutland Peninsula and even the ancient Getae of Thrace, who, in turn, were confused in the Middle Ages with the biblical Gog and Magog.), other tribes are mentioned, and the kings who once actually ruled them are named. But this does not apply to the main character of the poem: Beowulf himself, apparently, did not have a historical prototype. Since everyone then believed unconditionally in the existence of giants and dragons, the combination of such stories with the story of wars between peoples and kings was quite natural. It is curious that the Anglo-Saxon epic ignores England (this gave rise, by the way, to the now rejected theory of its Scandinavian origin). But perhaps this feature of Beowulf will not seem so striking if we keep in mind that in other works of Anglo-Saxon poetry we meet the most diverse peoples of Europe and that we encounter the same fact in the songs of the Elder Edda, and partly in “The Song of the Nibelungs.”
In the spirit of the theories that dominated scholarship in the mid-19th century, some interpreters of Beowulf have argued that the poem arose from the combination of various songs; It was customary to cut it into four parts: a duel with Grendel, a duel with his mother, Beowulf's return to his homeland, and a duel with the dragon. The point of view was expressed that the initially purely pagan poem was partially reworked in the Christian spirit, as a result of which an interweaving of two worldviews arose in it. Then most researchers began to believe that the transition from oral songs to the “book epic” was not limited to simply recording them; these scientists considered Beowulf as a single work, the “editor” of which, in his own way, combined and reworked the material at his disposal, presenting traditional stories more extensively. It must be admitted, however, that nothing is known about the process of formation of Beowulf.
There are many folklore motifs in the epic. At the very beginning, Skild Skevang is mentioned - “foundling”. The boat with the baby Scyld washed up on the shores of Denmark, whose people were defenseless at that time due to the absence of a king; Scyld subsequently became the ruler of Denmark and founded a dynasty. After Scyld’s death, they put him back on the ship and, along with the treasures, sent him back to where he came from - purely fairy tale plot. The giants Beowulf fights are akin to the giants of Scandinavian mythology, and combat with the dragon is a common theme in fairy tales and myths, including northern ones. In his youth, Beowulf, who, having grown up, acquired the strength of thirty people, was lazy and not distinguished by his valor - does this not resemble the youth of other heroes of folk tales, for example, Ilya Muromets? The hero’s coming on his own initiative to the aid of those in distress, his altercation with his opponent (exchange of speeches between Beowulf and Unferth), the test of the hero’s valor (the story of the swimming competition between Beowulf and Breka), the presentation of a magical weapon to him (the sword Hrunting), the hero’s violation of the ban ( Beowulf takes away the treasure in a duel with the dragon, not knowing that a spell hangs over the treasure), an assistant in single combat between the hero and the enemy (Wiglaf, who came to the rescue of Beowulf at the moment when he was close to death), three fights that the hero gives, and each subsequent one turns out to be more difficult (the battles of Beowulf with Grendel, with his mother and with the dragon) - all these are elements fairy tale. The epic retains many traces of its prehistory, rooted in folk art. But the tragic ending - the death of Beowulf, as well as the historical background against which his fantastic exploits unfold, distinguish the poem from a fairy tale - these are signs of a heroic epic.
Representatives of the “mythological school” in literary criticism of the last century tried to decipher this epic in this way: the monsters personify the storms of the North Sea; Beowulf is a good deity who harnesses the elements; his peaceful reign is a blessed summer, and his death is the coming of winter. Thus, the epic symbolically depicts the contrasts of nature, growth and decline, rise and decline, youth and old age. Other scholars understood these contrasts in ethical terms and saw in Beowulf the theme of the struggle between good and evil. The symbolic and allegorical interpretation of the poem is also not alien to those researchers who generally deny its epic character and consider it the work of a cleric or monk who knew and used early Christian literature. These interpretations largely hinge on the question of whether the “spirit of Christianity” is expressed in Beowulf or whether it is a monument of pagan consciousness. Supporters of understanding it as a folk epic in which beliefs are alive heroic time The great migrations naturally found German paganism in it and minimized the importance of church influence. On the contrary, those modern scholars who classify the poem as written literature shift the center of gravity to Christian motifs; in paganism, Beowulf is seen as nothing more than a stylization of antiquity. In recent criticism there is a noticeable tendency to shift attention from the analysis of the content of the poem to the study of its texture and style. In the middle of our century, denial of the connection between Beowulf and the epic folklore tradition prevailed. Meanwhile for recent years a number of experts are inclined to consider the prevalence of stereotypical expressions and formulas in the text of the poem as evidence of its origin from oral creativity. There is no generally accepted concept in science that explains Beowulf satisfactorily. Meanwhile, one cannot do without interpretation. “Beowulf” is difficult for the modern reader, brought up on a completely different literature and inclined, albeit unwittingly, to transfer to ancient monuments the ideas that have developed upon acquaintance with the artistic creations of modern times.
In the heat of scientific debate, they sometimes forget: regardless of how the poem arose, whether it was composed of different pieces or not, it was perceived by the medieval audience as something whole. This applies to both the composition of Beowulf and its interpretation of religion. The author and his heroes often remember the Lord God; in the epic there are allusions to biblical stories, apparently understandable to the “public” of that time; paganism is clearly condemned. At the same time, Beowulf is replete with references to Fate, which either acts as an instrument of the creator and is identical to divine Providence, or appears as an independent force. But belief in Fate occupied a central place in the pre-Christian ideology of the Germanic peoples. Family blood feud, which the church condemned, although it was often forced to endure, is glorified in the poem and considered an obligatory duty, and the impossibility of revenge is regarded as the greatest misfortune. In short, the ideological situation depicted in Beowulf is quite contradictory. But this is a contradiction in life, and not a simple inconsistency between earlier and subsequent editions of the poem. The Anglo-Saxons of the 7th-8th centuries were Christians, but the Christian religion at that time did not so much overcome the pagan worldview as push it from the official sphere to the background of public consciousness. The Church managed to destroy the old temples and the worship of pagan gods, sacrifices to them. As for the forms of human behavior, here the situation was much more complicated. The motives that drive the actions of the characters in Beowulf are by no means determined by the Christian ideals of humility and submission to the will of God. “What do Ingeld and Christ have in common?” - asked the famous church leader Alcuin a century after the creation of Beowulf and demanded that the monks not be distracted from prayer by heroic songs. Ingeld appears in a number of works; he is also mentioned in Beowulf. Alcuin was aware of the incompatibility of the ideals embodied in such characters of heroic tales with the ideals preached by the clergy.
The fact that the religious and ideological climate in which Beowulf arose was not clear is confirmed by the archaeological find at Sutton Hoo (East England). Here in 1939, a burial in a boat of a noble person was discovered, dating back to the mid-7th century. The burial was performed according to a pagan rite, along with valuable things (swords, helmets, chain mail, cups, banners, musical instruments), which the king might need in another world.
It is difficult to agree with those researchers who are disappointed by the “banality” of the scenes of the hero’s fights with monsters. These fights are placed at the center of the poem quite rightly - they express its main content. In fact, the world of culture, joyful and multi-colored, is personified in Beowulf by Heorot - the palace, the radiance of which spreads “to many countries”; in his feast hall, the leader and his companions revel and have fun, listening to the songs and tales of the osprey - a warrior singer and poet glorifying their military deeds, as well as the deeds of their ancestors; here the leader generously gifts the warriors with rings, weapons and other valuables. This reduction of the “middle world” (middangeard) to the palace of the king (for everything else in this world is passed over in silence) is explained by the fact that “Beowulf” is a heroic epic that developed, at least in the form known to us, in a warrior environment.
Heorot, the “Deer Hall” (its roof is decorated with gilded deer antlers) is opposed by wild, mysterious and horror-filled rocks, wastelands, swamps and caves in which monsters live. The contrast of joy and fear corresponds in this opposition to the contrast of light and darkness. Feasts and fun in the shining golden hall take place in the light of day - the giants go out in search of bloody prey under the cover of darkness. The feud between Grendel and the people of Heorot is not an isolated episode; this is emphasized not only by the fact that the giant raged for twelve winters before being killed by Beowulf, but also, above all, by the very interpretation of Grendel. This is not just a giant - in his image different hypostases of evil were combined (although, perhaps, not merged into one). A monster of German mythology, Grendel is at the same time a creature placed outside of communication with people, an outcast, an outcast, an “enemy,” and according to German beliefs, a person who stained himself with crimes that entailed expulsion from society seemed to lose his human appearance and became a werewolf , a hater of people. The singing of the poet and the sounds of the harp coming from Heorot, where the king and his retinue are feasting, awaken rage in Grendel. But this is not enough - in the poem Grendel is called “a descendant of Cain.” Christian ideas are superimposed on the old pagan beliefs. Lies on Grendel ancient curse, he is called a “pagan” and condemned to hell. And at the same time, he himself is like the devil. The formation of the idea of the medieval devil at the time when Beowulf was created was far from complete, and in the interpretation of Grendel, which is not without inconsistency, we find a curious intermediate moment in this evolution.
The fact that pagan and Christian ideas are intertwined in this “multi-layered” understanding of the forces of evil is not accidental. After all, the understanding of the rich man in Beowulf is no less peculiar. In the poem, which repeatedly mentions the “ruler of the world”, “mighty god”, the Savior Christ is never named. In the minds of the author and his audience, apparently, there is no place for heaven in the theological sense, which so occupied the thoughts of medieval people. The Old Testament components of the new religion, more understandable to recent pagans, prevail over the Gospel teaching about the Son of God and reward after death. But we read in Beowulf about a “hero under heaven,” about a man who cares not about the salvation of the soul, but about establishing his earthly glory in human memory. The poem ends with the words: of all the earthly leaders, Beowulf was the most generous, merciful to his people and greedy for glory!
The thirst for glory, booty and princely awards - these are the highest values for the German hero, as they are depicted in the epic, these are the main springs of his behavior. “Every mortal must die! - //let those who can deserve // eternal glory while alive! For for a warrior // the best payment is a worthy memory!” (Art. 1386 seq.). This is Beowulf's creed. When he has to deal a decisive blow to his opponent, he focuses on the thought of glory. “(This is how a warrior should go hand-to-hand // in order to gain eternal glory // without worrying about life!)” (Art. 1534 next) “It’s better for a warrior // to die than to live in shame!” (verses 2889 - 2890).
Warriors seek no less glory for gifts from the leader. Neck rings, bracelets, twisted or plate gold constantly appear in the epic. The stable designation of the king is “breaking hryvnias” (sometimes they were given not a whole ring, but significant wealth, but parts of it). The modern reader, perhaps, will be depressed and seem monotonous by all the newly renewed descriptions and enumerations of awards and treasures. But he can be sure: the medieval audience was not at all tired of stories about gifts and found a lively response in them. The warriors expect the leader's gifts primarily as convincing signs of their valor and merit, so they demonstrate them and are proud of them. But in that era, a deeper, sacred meaning was also invested in the act of a leader giving jewelry to a faithful person. As already mentioned, the pagan belief in fate persisted during the period of the poem's creation. Fate was understood not as a universal fate, but as the individual fate of an individual person, his luck, happiness; Some have more luck, others less. A mighty king, a glorious leader - the most “rich” person in happiness. Already at the beginning of the poem we find the following description of Hrothgar: “Hrothgar rose to prominence in battles, successful, // without dispute his relatives submitted to him...” (v. 64 next). There was a belief that the leader’s luck extended to the squad. By rewarding his warriors with weapons and precious objects - the materialization of his luck, the leader could convey to them a piece of this luck. “Possess, O Beowulf, for your own joy // Strong Warrior with our gifts - // the ring and wrists, and may good luck accompany // you!” - Queen Walchtean says to Beowulf. (Art. 1216 seq.)
But the motif of gold as a visible, tangible embodiment of a warrior’s luck in Beowulf is supplanted, apparently under Christian influence, by its new interpretation - as a source of misfortune. In this regard, the last part of the poem is of particular interest - the hero’s combat with the dragon. In retaliation for the theft of a jewel from a treasure, the dragon who guarded these ancient treasures attacks the villages, setting the surrounding country to fire and destruction. Beowulf enters into battle with the dragon, but it is easy to see that the author of the poem does not see the reason that prompted the hero to this feat in the atrocities committed by the monster. Beowulf's goal is to take the dragon's treasure. The dragon sat on the treasure for three centuries, but even before these values belonged to people, and Beowulf wants to return them to the human race. Having killed a terrible enemy and himself received a fatal wound, the hero expresses his dying wish: to see the gold that he snatched from the claws of his guard. The contemplation of these riches gives him deep satisfaction. However, then something happens that directly contradicts Beowulf’s words that he won a treasure for his people, namely: his companions place all these treasures on the funeral pyre along with the king’s body and burn them, and the remains are buried in a mound. An ancient spell hung over the treasure, and it is of no use to people; Because of this spell, broken out of ignorance, Beowulf apparently dies. The poem ends with a prediction of the disasters that will befall the Gauts after the death of their king.
The struggle for glory and jewelry, loyalty to the leader, bloody revenge as an imperative of behavior, man’s dependence on the Fate reigning in the world and a courageous meeting with it, the tragic death of the hero - all these are the defining themes not only of Beowulf, but also of other monuments of the German epic.
Elder Edda
Songs about gods and heroes, conventionally united by the title “Elder Edda” ( The name "Edda" was given in the 17th century by the first researcher of the manuscript, who transferred to it the title of the book of the Icelandic poet and historian of the 13th century Snorri Sturluson, since Snorri relied on songs about the gods in telling the myths. Therefore, Snorri’s treatise is usually called the “Younger Edda”, and the collection of mythological and heroic songs is called the “Elder Edda”. The etymology of the word "Edda" is unclear.), preserved in a manuscript that dates back to the second half of the 13th century. It is not known whether this manuscript was the first, or whether it had some predecessors. The background to the manuscript is as unknown as the background to the Beowulf manuscript. There are, in addition, some other recordings of songs also classified as Eddic. The history of the songs themselves is also unknown, and a variety of points of view and contradictory theories have been put forward on this matter. The range in dating of songs often reaches several centuries. Not all songs originated in Iceland: among them there are songs that go back to South German prototypes; in the Edda there are motifs and characters familiar from the Anglo-Saxon epic; a lot was apparently brought from other Scandinavian countries. Without dwelling on the countless controversies regarding the origin of the Elder Edda, we only note that in the most general form, development in science went from romantic ideas about the extreme antiquity and archaic nature of songs expressing the “spirit of the people” to their interpretation as book works of medieval scientists - “antiquarians” who imitated ancient poetry and stylized their religious and philosophical views as myth.
One thing is clear: songs about gods and heroes were popular in Iceland in the 13th century. It can be assumed that at least some of them arose much earlier, even in the non-literate period. Unlike the songs of the Icelandic skald poets, for almost all of which we know the author, the Eddic songs are anonymous. Myths about the gods, stories about Helgi, Sigurd, Brynhild, Atli, Gudrun were public property, and the person who retold or recorded the song, even re-creating it, did not consider himself its author. Before us is an epic, but a very unique epic. This originality cannot but strike the eye when reading the Elder Edda after Beowulf. Instead of a lengthy, slowly flowing epic, here before us is a dynamic and concise song, in a few words or stanzas, outlining the fate of heroes or gods, their speeches and actions. Experts explain this compression of Eddic songs, unusual for the epic style, by the specifics of the Icelandic language. But one more circumstance cannot be ignored. A broad epic like Beowulf or the Lied of the Nibelungs contains several plots, many scenes, united by common characters and time sequence, while the songs of the Elder Edda usually (though not always) focus on one episode . True, their great “fragmentation” does not prevent the presence in the text of songs of various associations with plots that are developed in other songs, as a result of which an isolated reading of a single song makes it difficult to understand it - of course, understanding modern reader, for the medieval Icelanders, there is no doubt, knew the rest. This is evidenced not only by the allusions scattered throughout the songs to events not described in them, but also by the kennings. If only habit was enough to understand kennings such as “land of necklaces” (woman) or “snake of blood” (sword), then such kennings as, for example, “guardian of Midgard”, “son of Igg”, “son of Odin”, “descendant Hlodun”, “the husband of Siv”, “the father of Magni” or “the owner of the goats”, “the serpent slayer”, “the charioteer”, assumed that the readers or listeners had knowledge of myths, from which it was only possible to learn that in all cases the god Thor was implied .
Songs about gods and heroes in Iceland did not "swell" into vast epics, as was the case in many other cases ( Beowulf has 3182 verses, the Nibelungenlied has three times as many (2379 stanzas of four verses each), while the longest of the Eddic songs, the Speech of the High One, has only 164 stanzas (the number of verses in stanzas varies), and no other song, except Atli's Greenland Speeches, exceeds a hundred stanzas.). Of course, the length of the poem itself says little, but the contrast is nevertheless striking. This does not mean that the Eddic song in all cases was limited to the development of one episode. “The Divination of the Völva” preserves the mythological history of the world from its creation to the death predicted by the sorceress as a result of the evil that penetrated into it, and even to the revival and renewal of the world. A number of these subjects are touched upon in both the Speeches of Vafthrudnir and the Speeches of Grimnir. The epic scope also characterizes the “Gripir Prophecy,” which seems to summarize the entire cycle of songs about Sigurd. But the broadest pictures of mythology or heroic life in the Elder Edda are always given very laconically and even, if you like, “concisely.” This “conciseness” is especially visible in the so-called “tula” - lists of mythological (and sometimes historical) names ( See "Divination of the Völva", art. 11-13, 15, 16, “Speeches of Grimnir”, art. 27 next, “Song of Hyndla”, art. 11 next). The modern reader is perplexed by the abundance of proper names, given without further explanation - they do not tell him anything. But for the Scandinavian of that time this was completely different! Each name was associated in his memory with a certain episode of a myth or heroic epic, and this name served him as a sign, which was usually not difficult to decipher. To understand this or that name, a specialist is forced to turn to reference books, but the memory of a medieval Icelander, more capacious and active than ours, due to the fact that we had to rely only on it, easily gave him the necessary information, and when he met this name in his the whole story relating to him unfolded in his consciousness. In other words, in the compressed and relatively laconic Eddic song there is much more content “encoded” than it might seem to the uninitiated.
The noted circumstances are that some features of the songs of the “Elder Edda” seem strange and devoid of aesthetic value to modern taste (for what kind of artistic pleasure can one now get from reading unknown whose names!), and also that these songs do not develop into a broad epic, like the works of Anglo-Saxon and German epic, testify to their archaic nature. Folklore formulas, clichés and other stylistic devices characteristic of oral versification are widely used in songs. A typological comparison of the Elder Edda with other monuments of the epic also forces us to attribute its genesis to very distant times, in many cases earlier than the beginning of the settlement of Iceland by the Scandinavians at the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century. Although the surviving manuscript of the Edda is a younger contemporary of the Lied of the Nibelungs, Eddic poetry reflects an earlier stage of cultural and social development. This is explained by the fact that in Iceland even in the 13th century pre-class relations were not eliminated, and despite the adoption of Christianity back in the year 1000, the Icelanders adopted it relatively superficially and retained a living connection with the ideology of the pagan era. In the “Elder Edda” one can find traces of Christian influence, but in general its spirit and content are very far from it. It is rather the spirit of the warlike Vikings, and, probably, to the Viking Age, the period of widespread military and settlement expansion of the Scandinavians (IX-XI centuries) , a considerable part of the Eddic poetic heritage dates back. The heroes of the Edda songs are not concerned with saving their souls; the posthumous reward is the long memory left by the hero among people, and the stay of the knights killed in battle in the palace of Odin, where they feast and are engaged in military amusements.
Noteworthy is the diversity of songs, tragic and comic, elegiac monologues and dramatized dialogues; teachings are replaced by riddles, prophecies by stories about the beginning of the world. The intense rhetoric and overt didacticism of many of the songs contrasts with the calm objectivity of the narrative prose of the Icelandic sagas. This contrast is also noticeable in the Edda itself, where poetry is often interspersed with prose pieces. Perhaps these were comments added later, but it is possible that the combination of poetic text with prose formed an organic whole even at the archaic stage of the existence of the epic, giving it additional tension.
Eddic songs do not form a coherent unity, and it is clear that only a part of them has reached us. The individual songs feel like versions of the same piece; Thus, in the songs about Helgi, Atli, Sigurd and Gudrun, the same plot is interpreted differently. The "Speeches of Atli" are sometimes interpreted as a later, expanded reworking of the more ancient "Song of Atli."
In general, all Eddic songs are divided into songs about gods and songs about heroes. Songs about the gods contain a wealth of material on mythology; this is our most important source for knowledge of Scandinavian paganism (albeit in a very late, so to speak, “posthumous” version).
The image of the world developed by the thought of the peoples of Northern Europe largely depended on their way of life. Cattle breeders, hunters, fishermen and sailors, to a lesser extent farmers, they lived surrounded by a harsh and poorly developed nature, which their rich imagination easily populated with hostile forces. The center of their life is a separate rural yard. Accordingly, they modeled the entire universe in the form of a system of estates. Just as uncultivated wastelands or rocks stretched around their estates, so they thought of the whole world as consisting of spheres sharply opposed to each other: the “middle estate” (Midgard ( stress on the first syllable)), that is, the human world, is surrounded by a world of monsters, giants, constantly threatening the world of culture; this wild world of chaos was called Utgard (literally: “that which is beyond the fence, outside the estate”) ( Utgard includes the Country of giants - the Jotuns, and the Country of the Alfs - dwarfs.). Above Midgard rises Asgard - the stronghold of the gods - the Aesir. Asgard is connected to Midgard by a bridge formed by a rainbow. The world serpent swims in the sea, its body encircles the entire Midgard. In the mythological topography of the peoples of the North, an important place is occupied by the ash tree Yggdrasil, which connects all these worlds, including the lower one - the kingdom of the dead Hel.
The dramatic situations depicted in songs about the gods usually arise as a result of clashes or contacts in which different worlds, opposed to one another either vertically or horizontally. One visits the kingdom of the dead - in order to force the völva to reveal the secrets of the future, and the land of giants, where he asks for Vafthrudnir. Other gods also go to the world of giants (to get a bride or Thor’s hammer). However, the songs do not mention the visits of the Aesir or giants to Midgard. The contrast between the world of culture and the world of non-culture is common to both the Eddic songs and Beowulf; as we know, in the Anglo-Saxon epic the land of people is also called the “middle world.” With all the differences between the monuments and plots, here and there we are faced with the theme of the struggle against the carriers of world evil - giants and monsters.
Just as Asgard represents the idealized home of people, so the gods of the Scandinavians are in many ways similar to people and have their qualities, including vices. The gods differ from people in dexterity, knowledge, especially the mastery of magic, but they are not omniscient by nature and obtain knowledge from more ancient families of giants and dwarfs. Giants are the main enemies of the gods, and the gods wage an ongoing war with them. The head and leader of the gods, Odin and other aces, try to outwit the giants, while Thor fights them with the help of his hammer Mjollnir. The fight against giants is a necessary condition for the existence of the universe; If the gods had not led it, the giants would have long ago destroyed both themselves and the human race. In this conflict, gods and people find themselves allies. Thor was often called the "protector of the people." One helps courageous warriors and takes in fallen heroes. He obtained the honey of poetry, sacrificing himself, and obtained runes - sacred secret signs with which one can perform all kinds of witchcraft. Odin shows the traits of a “culture hero” - a mythical ancestor who endowed people with the necessary skills and knowledge.
The anthropomorphism of the Aesir brings them closer to the gods of antiquity, however, unlike the latter, the Aesir are not immortal. In the coming cosmic catastrophe, they, along with the whole world, will die in the fight against the world wolf. This gives their struggle against monsters a tragic meaning. Just as the hero of the epic knows his fate and boldly goes towards the inevitable, so do the gods: in the “Divination of the Völva” the sorceress tells Odin about the approaching fatal battle. The cosmic catastrophe will be the result of moral decline, for the aces once violated the vows they had made, and this leads to the unleashing of evil forces in the world that are no longer possible to cope with. Völva draws impressive picture dissolution of all sacred ties: see stanza 45 of her prophecies, where the worst thing that can happen to a person is predicted, in the opinion of members of a society in which tribal traditions are still strong - strife will break out between relatives, “brothers will begin to fight each other... ."
The Hellenic gods had their favorites and charges among people, whom they helped in every possible way. The main thing among the Scandinavians is not the patronage of a deity to a separate tribe or individual, but the awareness of the common destinies of gods and people in their conflict with the forces that bring decline and final death to all living things. Therefore, instead of a bright and joyful picture of Hellenic mythology, Eddic songs about the gods paint a tragic situation of a universal world movement towards an inexorable fate.
The hero in the face of Fate is the central theme of heroic songs. Usually the hero is aware of his fate: either he is gifted with the ability to penetrate into the future, or someone revealed it to him. What should be the position of a person who knows in advance about the troubles and ultimate death that threaten him? This is a problem to which the Eddic songs offer a clear and courageous answer. Knowledge of fate does not plunge the hero into fatalistic apathy and does not encourage him to try to evade the death that threatens him; on the contrary, being confident that what befalls him is inevitable, he challenges fate, boldly accepts it, caring only about posthumous glory. Invited to visit by the treacherous Atli, Gunnar knows in advance about the danger that awaits him, but without hesitation he sets off on the road: this is what his sense of heroic honor tells him to do. Refusing to pay off death with gold, he dies. “...So must the brave man, the giver of rings, // defend the good!” (“Greenland Song of Atli”, 31).
But the highest good is the good name of the hero. Everything is transitory, say the aphorisms of worldly wisdom, and relatives, and wealth, and one’s own life - only the glory of the hero’s exploits remains forever ("Speeches of the High", 76, 77). As in Beowulf, in the Eddic songs glory is denoted by a term that at the same time had the meaning of “sentence” (Old Norse domr, Old English dom) - the hero is concerned that his exploits should not be forgotten by people. For he is judged by the people, and not by any supreme authority. The heroic songs of the Edda, despite the fact that they existed in the Christian era, do not mention God’s judgment; everything happens on earth, and the hero’s attention is riveted to it.
Unlike the characters of the Anglo-Saxon epic - leaders who lead kingdoms or squads, Scandinavian heroes act alone. There is no historical background ( “The Song of Hloda,” which contains echoes of some historical events, seems to be an exception.), and the kings of the era of the Great Migration mentioned in the Edda [Atli - the king of the Huns Attila, Jormunrekk - the Ostrogothic king Germanaric (Ermanaric), Gunnar - the Burgundian king Gundaharius] have lost all connection with history. Meanwhile, the Icelanders of that time were closely interested in history, and from the 12th and 13th centuries many of the works they created have survived. historical works. The point, therefore, is not in their lack of historical consciousness, but in the peculiarities of the interpretation of the material in Icelandic heroic songs. The author of the song focuses all his attention exclusively on the hero, on his life position and fate ( There was no state in Iceland at the time the heroic songs were recorded; Meanwhile, historical motifs intensively penetrate the epic, usually under conditions of state consolidation.).
Another difference between the Eddic epic and the Anglo-Saxon epic is a higher appreciation of women and interest in her. In Beowulf, queens appear who serve as decorations for the court and the guarantee of peace and friendly ties between the tribes, but that’s all. What a striking contrast to this are the heroines of Icelandic songs! Before us are bright, strong natures, capable of the most extreme, decisive actions that determine the entire development of events. The role of women in the heroic songs of the Edda is no less than that of men. Taking revenge for the deception into which she was led, Brynhild achieves the death of her beloved Sigurd and kills herself, not wanting to live after his death: “... the wife was not weak if she follows a stranger’s husband alive // to the grave...” (“Short Song of Sigurd”, 41). Sigurd's widow Gudrun is also seized with a thirst for revenge: but she takes revenge not on the brothers who were responsible for Sigurd's death, but on her second husband, Atli, who killed her brothers; in this case, the family duty operates flawlessly, and first of all their sons fall victim to her revenge, whose bloody meat Gudrun serves to Atli as a treat, after which she kills her husband and dies herself in a fire she started. These monstrous acts nevertheless have a certain logic: they do not mean that Gudrun was deprived of the feeling of motherhood. But her children from Atli were not members of her clan, they were part of the clan of Atli; Sigurd did not belong to her family either. Therefore, Gudrun must take revenge on Atli for the death of her brothers, her closest relatives, but does not take revenge on her brothers for their murder of Sigurd - even the thought of such a possibility does not occur to her! Let us remember this - after all, the plot of “The Song of the Nibelungs” goes back to the same legends, but develops completely differently.
Generic consciousness generally dominates in songs about heroes. The convergence of tales of different origins, both borrowed from the south and Scandinavian proper, and their combination into cycles was accompanied by the establishment of a common genealogy of the characters appearing in them. Hogni was turned from a vassal of the Burgundian kings into their brother. Brynhild received a father and, more importantly, a brother, Atli, as a result of which her death turned out to be causally related to the death of the Burgundian Hukungs: Atli lured them to himself and killed them, carrying out blood revenge for his sister. Sigurd had ancestors - the Volsungs, a family that went back to Odin. Sigurd also became related to the hero of an initially completely separate legend - Helga, they became brothers, the sons of Sigmund. In the Song of Hyndla, the focus is on the lists of noble families, and the giantess Hyndla, who tells the young man Ottar about his ancestors, reveals to him that he is related to all the famous families of the North, including the Volsungs, the Gyukungs and ultimately even with the aces themselves.
The artistic and cultural-historical significance of the Elder Edda is enormous. It occupies one of the honorable places in world literature. The images of the Eddic songs, along with the images of the sagas, supported the Icelanders throughout their difficult history, especially during the period when this small people, deprived of national independence, was almost doomed to extinction as a result of foreign exploitation, and from famine and epidemics. The memory of the heroic and legendary past gave the Icelanders the strength to hold out and not die.
Song of the Nibelungs
In “The Song of the Nibelungs” we again meet the heroes known from Eddic poetry: Siegfried (Sigurd), Kriemhild (Gudrun), Brunhild (Brynhild), Gunther (Gunnar), Etzel (Atli), Hagen (Högni). Their actions and destinies have captured the imagination of both Scandinavians and Germans for centuries. But how different are the interpretations of the same characters and plots! A comparison of Icelandic songs with German epic shows what great opportunities for original poetic interpretation existed within the framework of one epic tradition. The “historical core” to which this tradition traced back, the destruction of the Burgundian kingdom in 437 and the death of the Hunnic king Attila in 453, gave rise to highly original artistic creations. On Icelandic and German soil, works emerged that were deeply dissimilar to each other both artistically and in the assessment and understanding of the reality they depicted.
Researchers separate the elements of myth and fairy tales from historical facts and truthful sketches of morality and everyday life, and discover in the “Song of the Nibelungs” old and new layers and contradictions between them, which were not smoothed out in the final edition of the song. But were all these “seams”, inconsistencies and layers noticeable to the people of that time? We have already had occasion to express doubt that “poetry” and “truth” were as clearly opposed in the Middle Ages as in modern times. Despite the fact that the true events of the history of the Burgundians or Huns are distorted beyond recognition in the “Song of the Nibelungs,” it can be assumed that the author and his readers perceived the song as a historical narrative, truthfully, due to its artistic persuasiveness, depicting the affairs of past centuries.
Each era explains history in its own way, based on its inherent understanding of social causality. How does The Song of the Nibelungs depict the past of peoples and kingdoms? The historical destinies of states are embodied in the history of the ruling houses. The Burgundians are, in fact, Gunther and his brothers, and the death of the Burgundian kingdom lies in the extermination of its rulers and their troops. In the same way, the Hunnic power is entirely concentrated in Etzel. The poetic consciousness of the Middle Ages depicts historical collisions in the form of a clash of individuals, whose behavior is determined by their passions, relationships of personal loyalty or blood feud, and the code of ancestral and personal honor. But at the same time, the epic elevates the individual to the rank of the historical. In order for this to become clear, it is enough to outline, in the most general terms, the plot of the “Song of the Nibelungs.”
At the court of the Burgundian kings, the famous hero Siegfried of the Netherlands appears and falls in love with their sister Kriemhild. King Gunther himself wants to marry the Icelandic queen Brynhildr. Siegfried undertakes to help him in matchmaking. But this help is associated with deception: the heroic feat, the accomplishment of which is a condition for the success of matchmaking, was actually performed not by Gunther, but by Siegfried, hiding under the invisibility cloak. Brunhild could not help but notice Siegfried’s valor, but she is assured that he is just a vassal of Gunther, and she grieves because of the misalliance into which her husband’s sister entered, thereby infringing on her class pride. Years later, at the insistence of Brunhild, Gunther invites Siegfried and Kriemhild to his place in Worms, and here, during a skirmish between the queens (whose husband is more valiant?), the deception is revealed. The offended Brunhild takes revenge on the offender Siegfried, who had the imprudence to give his wife the ring and belt that he had taken from Brunhild. Revenge is carried out by Gunther's vassal Hagen. The hero is treacherously killed while hunting, and the kings manage to lure the golden treasure, once won by Siegfried from the fabulous Nibelungs, from Kriemhild, and Hagen hides it in the waters of the Rhine. Thirteen years have passed. The Hun ruler Etzel is widowed and is looking for a new wife. Rumors about Kriemhild's beauty reached his court, and he sent an embassy to Worms. After much resistance, the inconsolable widow Siegfried agrees to a second marriage in order to obtain the means to avenge the murder of her loved one. Thirteen years later, she gets Etzel to invite her brothers to visit them. Despite Hagen's attempts to prevent a visit that threatens to become fatal, the Burgundians and their retinue set off from the Rhine to the Danube. (In this part of the song, the Burgundians are called Nibelungs.) Almost immediately after their arrival, a quarrel breaks out, escalating into a general massacre in which the Burgundian and Hunnic squads, the son of Kriemhild and Etzel, the closest associates of the kings and the brothers of Gunnar die. At last Gunnar and Hagen are in the hands of the revenge-stricken queen; she orders her brother to be beheaded, after which she kills Hagen with her own hands. Old Hildebrand, the only surviving warrior of King Dietrich of Berne, punishes Kriemhild. Etzel and Dietrich, groaning in grief, remain alive. This is how the “story of the death of the Nibelungs” ends.
In a few phrases one can retell only the bare bones of the plot of a huge poem. The epically leisurely narrative depicts in detail court leisure and knightly tournaments, feasts and wars, scenes of matchmaking and hunting, travel to distant lands and all other aspects of the luxurious and refined courtly life. The poet literally with sensual joy talks about rich weapons and precious robes, gifts that rulers reward knights and hosts give to guests. All these static images undoubtedly were of no less interest to the medieval audience than the dramatic events themselves. The battles are also depicted in great detail, and although large masses of warriors participate in them, the fights in which the main characters enter are given in close-up. The song constantly anticipates a tragic outcome. Often such foretellings of fatal fate emerge in pictures of prosperity and celebrations - awareness of the contrast between the present and the future gave rise to a feeling of tense anticipation in the reader, despite his prior knowledge of the plot, and cemented the epic as an artistic whole. The characters are delineated with exceptional clarity and cannot be confused with each other. Of course, hero epic work- not a character in the modern sense, not the owner of unique properties, a special individual psychology. An epic hero is a type, the embodiment of qualities that were recognized in that era as the most significant or exemplary. “The Song of the Nibelungs” arose in a society significantly different from the Icelandic “law of the people”, and underwent final processing at a time when feudal relations in Germany, having reached their peak, revealed their inherent contradictions, in particular the contradictions between the aristocratic elite and petty knighthood. The song expresses the ideals of feudal society: the ideal of vassal loyalty to the master and knightly service to the lady, the ideal of a ruler who cares about the welfare of his subjects and generously rewards his captives.
However, the German heroic epic is not content with demonstrating these ideals. His heroes, unlike the heroes of the chivalric romance that originated in France and were adopted in Germany at that time, do not move safely from one adventure to another; they find themselves in situations in which following the code of knightly honor leads to their death. Brilliance and joy go hand in hand with suffering and death. This awareness of the proximity of such opposite principles, inherent in the heroic songs of the Edda, forms the leitmotif of the Song of the Nibelungs, in the very first stanza of which the theme is indicated: “feasts, fun, misfortunes and grief,” as well as “bloody strife.” Every joy ends in grief - this idea permeates the entire epic. The moral precepts of behavior, obligatory for a noble warrior, are tested in the song, and not all of its characters pass the test with honor.
In this regard, the figures of kings are indicative, courtly and generous, but at the same time constantly revealing their inadequacy. Gunther takes possession of Brunhild only with the help of Siegfried, in comparison with whom he loses both as a man, and as a warrior, and as a man of honor. The scene in the royal bedchamber, when the angry Brynhild, instead of surrendering to the groom, ties him up and hangs him on a nail, naturally caused laughter from the audience. In many situations, the Burgundian king shows treachery and cowardice. Gunther's courage awakens only at the end of the poem. And Etzel? At a critical moment, his virtues turn into indecision bordering on complete paralysis of the will. From the hall where his people are being killed and where Hagen has just hacked his son to death, the Hun king is rescued by Dietrich; Etzel goes so far as to beg his vassal for help on his knees! He remains in a daze until the end, able only to mourn the countless victims. Among the kings, the exception is Dietrich of Berne, who tries to play the role of a conciliator of warring cliques, but without success. He is the only one, besides Etzel, who remains alive, and some researchers see in this a glimmer of hope left by the poet after he painted a picture of universal death; but Dietrich, an example of “courtly humanity,” remains to live as a lonely exile, deprived of all friends and vassals.
The heroic epic existed in Germany at the courts of large feudal lords. But the poets who created it, based on German heroic legends, apparently belonged to petty knighthood ( It is possible, however, that “The Song of the Nibelungs” was written by a clergyman. See notes.). This, in particular, explains their passion for chanting princely generosity and for describing the gifts uncontrollably lavished by the lords on vassals, friends and guests. Is it not for this reason that the behavior of a faithful vassal turns out to be closer to the ideal in the epic than the behavior of the sovereign, who is increasingly turning into a static figure? This is the Margrave Rüdeger, faced with a dilemma: to act on the side of friends or in defense of the lord, and fell victim to fealty to Etzel. The symbol of his tragedy, very clear to a medieval person, was that the margrave died from the sword, which he himself had given, having previously given it to Hagen, former friend, and now to the enemy, your battle shield. Rüdeger embodies the ideal qualities of a knight, vassal and friend, but when faced with harsh reality, their owner is faced with tragic fate. The conflict between the requirements of vassal ethics, which does not take into account the personal inclinations and feelings of the participants in the fief agreement, and moral principles friendship is revealed in this episode with greater depth than anywhere else in medieval German poetry.
Högni does not play a leading role in the Elder Edda. In "The Nibelungenlied" Hagen grows into a foreground figure. His enmity with Kriemhild is the driving force of the entire narrative. The gloomy, ruthless, calculating Hagen, without hesitation, goes to the treacherous murder of Siegfried, kills the innocent son of Kriemhild with a sword, and makes every effort to drown the chaplain in the Rhine. At the same time, Hagen is a powerful, invincible and fearless warrior. Of all the Burgundians, he is the only one who clearly understands the meaning of the invitation to Etzel: Kriemhild did not abandon the thought of avenging Siegfried and considers him, Hagen, to be her main enemy. However, energetically dissuading the kings of Worms from traveling to the Hunnic state, he stops arguing as soon as one of them reproaches him for cowardice. Having once decided, he shows maximum energy in implementing the adopted plan. Before crossing the Rhine, the prophetic wives reveal to Hagen that none of the Burgundians will return alive from the country of Etzel. But, knowing the fate to which they are doomed, Hagen destroys the boat - the only means of crossing the river, so that no one can retreat. In Hagen, perhaps more than in the other heroes of the song, the ancient Germanic faith in Fate is alive, which must be actively accepted. He not only does not shy away from a collision with Kriemhild, but deliberately provokes it. Just look at the scene when Hagen and his associate Shpilman Volker are sitting on a bench and Hagen refuses to stand in front of the approaching queen, defiantly playing with the sword that he once removed from Siegfried, whom he killed.
No matter how dark many of Hagen's actions may seem, the song does not pass a moral verdict on him. This can probably be explained as author's position(retelling “tales of bygone days,” the author refrains from active intervention in the narrative and from assessments), and the fact that Hagen hardly seemed like an unambiguous figure. He is a loyal vassal, serving his kings to the end. In contrast to Rüdeger and other knights, Hagen is devoid of any courtliness. He is more of an old Germanic hero than of a refined knight, familiar with the refined manners adopted from France. We know nothing about any of his marital or love affairs. Meanwhile, serving a lady is an integral feature of courtliness. Hagen, as it were, personifies the past - heroic, but already overcome by a new, more complex culture.
In general, the difference between old and new is realized more clearly in the “Song of the Nibelungs” than in German poetry of the early Middle Ages. Fragments of earlier works that seem “undigested” to some researchers in the context of the German epic (themes of Siegfried’s struggle with the dragon, his conquest of a treasure from the Nibelungs, single combat with Brunhild, prophetic sisters predicting the death of the Burgundians, etc.), regardless of the conscious intention of the author , perform a certain function in it: they impart an archaic quality to the narrative, which makes it possible to establish a temporal distance between modernity and long ago in days gone by. Probably, other scenes marked by logical inconsistency also served this purpose: the crossing of a huge army in one boat, which Hagen managed in a day, or the battle of hundreds and thousands of warriors taking place in the banquet hall of Etzel, or the successful repulsion by two heroes of the attack of an entire horde of Huns . In an epic telling about the past, such things are permissible, because in the old days the miraculous was possible. Time has brought great changes, as the poet says, and this also reveals a medieval sense of history.
Of course, this sense of history is very peculiar. Time does not flow in the epic in a continuous stream; it flows, as it were, in spurts. Life is at rest rather than moving. Despite the fact that the song covers a time period of almost forty years, the heroes do not age. But this state of peace is disrupted by the actions of the heroes, and then a significant time comes. At the end of the action, the time “turns off”. “Leaping” is also inherent in the characters’ characters. At the beginning, Kriemhild is a meek girl, then a grief-stricken widow, and in the second half of the song she is a “devil” seized by a thirst for revenge. These changes are externally caused by events, but the psychological motivation for such a sharp change in state of mind Kriemhilda is not in the song. Medieval people did not imagine personal development. Human types play in the epic roles assigned to them by fate and the situation in which they are placed.
“The Song of the Nibelungs” was the result of processing the material of German heroic songs and tales into an epic on a wide scale. This processing was accompanied by both gains and losses. Acquisitions - for the nameless author of the epic made ancient legends sound in a new way and managed to make it unusually visual and colorful ( Colorful in the literal sense of the word: the author willingly and tastefully gives the color characteristics of the clothes, jewelry and weapons of the heroes. The contrasts and combinations of red, gold, and white colors in his descriptions vividly resemble medieval book miniatures. The poet himself seems to have it before his eyes (see stanza 286).), to unfold in every detail every scene of the tales of Siegfried and Kriemhild, more succinctly and concisely presented in the works of his predecessors. It took outstanding talent and great art for songs that spanned centuries to once again acquire relevance and artistic power for the people of the 13th century, who in many ways already had completely different tastes and interests. Losses - for the transition from the high heroism and pathos of an inexorable struggle with Fate, inherent in the early German epic, right up to the “will to death” that possessed the hero of ancient songs, to greater elegism and glorification of suffering, to lamentations of sorrows that invariably accompany human joys, the transition, certainly incomplete, but nevertheless quite clear, was accompanied by the loss of the epic hero’s former integrity and solidity, as well as a certain reduction in theme as a result of a compromise between the pagan and Christian-knightly traditions; The “swelling” of old lapidary songs into a verbose epic, replete with inserted episodes, led to a certain weakening of the dynamism and tension of the presentation. “The Song of the Nibelungs” was born out of the needs of new ethics and new aesthetics, which largely departed from the canons of the archaic epic of the barbarian era. The forms in which ideas about human honor and dignity are expressed here, about the methods of their establishment, belong to the feudal era. But the intensity of passions that overwhelmed the heroes of the epic, the acute conflicts in which fate confronts them, and to this day cannot but captivate and shock the reader.
The early epic of Western European literature combined Christian and pagan motifs. It was formed during the period of decomposition of the tribal system and the formation of feudal relations, when Christian teaching replaced paganism. The adoption of Christianity not only contributed to the process of centralization of countries, but also to the interaction of nationalities and cultures.
Celtic tales formed the basis of medieval chivalric romances about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; they were the source from which poets of subsequent centuries drew inspiration and plots for their works.
In the history of the development of Western European epic, two stages are distinguished: the epic of the period of decomposition of the tribal system, or archaic(Anglo-Saxon - "Beowulf", Celtic sagas, Old Norse epic songs - "Elder Edda", Icelandic sagas), and epic of the feudal era, or heroic(French - “The Song of Roland”, Spanish - “The Song of Cid”, German - “The Song of the Nibelungs”).
In the archaic epic there remains a connection with archaic rituals and myths, cults of pagan gods and myths about totemic ancestors, demiurge gods or cultural heroes. The hero belongs to the all-encompassing unity of the clan and makes a choice in favor of the clan. These epic monuments are characterized by brevity, formulaic style, expressed in the variation of some artistic tropes. In addition, a single epic picture arises by combining individual sagas or songs, while the epic monuments themselves developed in a laconic form, their plot is grouped around one epic situation, rarely combining several episodes. The exception is Beowulf, which has a completed two-part composition and recreates a complete epic picture in one work. The archaic epic of the early European Middle Ages developed both in poetic and prose forms (Icelandic sagas) and in poetic-prose forms (Celtic epic).
Characters going back to historical prototypes (Cuchulainn, Conchobar, Gunnar, Atli) are endowed with fantastic features drawn from archaic mythology. Often archaic epics are presented as separate epic works (songs, sagas) that are not combined into a single epic canvas. In particular, in Ireland such associations of sagas were created already during the period of their recording, at the beginning of the Mature Middle Ages. Archaic epics, to a small extent, sporadically, bear the stamp of dual faith, for example, the mention of the “son of error” in “The Voyage of Bran, son of Phebal.” Archaic epics reflect the ideals and values of the era of the clan system: thus, Cu Chulainn, sacrificing his safety, makes a choice in favor of the clan, and when saying goodbye to life, he calls the name of the capital Emain, and not his wife or son.
Unlike the archaic epic, where the heroism of people fighting for the interests of their clan and tribe, sometimes against infringement of their honor, was glorified, in the heroic epic a hero is glorified, fighting for the integrity and independence of his state. His opponents are both foreign conquerors and rampaging feudal lords, who with their narrow egoism cause great damage to the national cause. There is less fantasy in this epic, there are almost no mythological elements, replaced by elements of Christian religiosity. In form, it has the character of large epic poems or cycles of small songs, united by the personality of the hero or an important historical event.
The main thing in this epic is its nationality, which is not immediately realized, since in the specific situation of the heyday of the Middle Ages, the hero of the epic work often appears in the guise of a warrior-knight, seized with religious enthusiasm, or a close relative, or an assistant to the king, and not a person from the people. Depicting kings, their assistants, and knights as heroes of the epic, the people, according to Hegel, did this “not out of preference for noble persons, but out of a desire to give an image of complete freedom in desires and actions, which is realized in the idea of royalty.” Also, the religious enthusiasm, often inherent in the hero, did not contradict his nationality, since the people at that time gave their struggle against the feudal lords the character of a religious movement. The nationality of the heroes in the epic during the heyday of the Middle Ages is in their selfless struggle for the national cause, in their extraordinary patriotic inspiration in defense of their homeland, with the name of which on their lips they sometimes died, fighting against foreign enslavers and the treasonous actions of anarchist feudal lords.
3. "Elder Edda" and "Younger Edda". Scandinavian gods and heroes.
A song about gods and heroes, conventionally united by the title "Elder Edda" preserved in a manuscript that dates back to the second half of the 13th century. It is not known whether this manuscript was the first or whether it had any predecessors. There are, in addition, some other recordings of songs also classified as Eddic. The history of the songs themselves is also unknown, and on this score a variety of points of view and contradictory theories have been put forward ( Legend attributes the authorship to the Icelandic scientist Samund the Wise. However, there is no doubt that songs originated much earlier and were passed down through oral tradition for centuries). The range in dating of songs often reaches several centuries. Not all songs originated in Iceland: among them there are songs that go back to South German prototypes; in the Edda there are motifs and characters familiar from the Anglo-Saxon epic; a lot was apparently brought from other Scandinavian countries. It can be assumed that at least some of the songs arose much earlier, even in the unwritten period.
Before us is an epic, but a very unique epic. This originality cannot but strike the eye when reading the Elder Edda after Beowulf. Instead of a lengthy, slowly flowing epic, here before us is a dynamic and concise song, in a few words or stanzas, outlining the fate of heroes or gods, their speeches and actions.
Eddic songs do not form a coherent unity, and it is clear that only a part of them has reached us. The individual songs feel like versions of the same piece; Thus, in the songs about Helgi, Atli, Sigurd and Gudrun, the same plot is interpreted differently. The "Speeches of Atli" are sometimes interpreted as a later, expanded reworking of the more ancient "Song of Atli."
In general, all Eddic songs are divided into songs about gods and songs about heroes. Songs about the gods contain a wealth of material on mythology; this is our most important source for knowledge of Scandinavian paganism (albeit in a very late, so to speak, “posthumous” version of it).
The artistic and cultural-historical significance of the Elder Edda is enormous. It occupies one of the honorable places in world literature. The images of the Eddic songs, along with the images of the sagas, supported the Icelanders throughout their difficult history, especially during the period when this small people, deprived of national independence, was almost doomed to extinction as a result of foreign exploitation, and from famine and epidemics. The memory of the heroic and legendary past gave the Icelanders the strength to hold out and not die.
Prose Edda (Snorr Edda, Prose Edda or simply Edda)- a work by the medieval Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, written in 1222-1225 and intended as a textbook of skaldic poetry. Consists of four parts containing a large number of quotations from ancient poems based on scenes from German-Scandinavian mythology.
The Edda begins with a euhemeristic prologue and three separate books: Gylfaginning (approx. 20,000 words), Skáldskaparmál (approx. 50,000 words) and Háttatal (approx. 20,000 words). The Edda survives in seven different manuscripts, dating from 1300 to 1600, with textual content independent of each other.
The purpose of the work was to convey to contemporary Snorri readers the subtlety of alliterative verse and to grasp the meanings of the words hidden under the many kennings.
The Younger Edda was originally known simply as the Edda, but was later given its name to distinguish it from the Elder Edda. The Younger Edda is associated with many verses quoted by both.
Scandinavian mythology:
Creation of the world: initially there were two abysses - ice and fire. For some reason they mixed, and from the resulting frost the first creature arose - Ymir, the giant. Afterwards, Odin appears with his brothers, kills Ymir and creates a world from his remains.
According to the ancient Scandinavians, the world is the ash tree Yggdrasil. Its branches are the world of Asgard, where the gods live, the trunk is the world of Midgard, where people live, the roots are the world of Utgard, the kingdom of evil spirits and the dead who died an improper death.
Gods live in Asgard (they are not omnipotent, they are mortal). Only the souls of heroically dead people can enter this world.
The mistress of the kingdom of the dead, Hel, lives in Utgard.
The appearance of people: the gods found two pieces of wood on the shore - ash and alder and breathed life into them. This is how the first man and woman appeared - Ask and Elebla.
The Fall of the World: The gods know that the world will end, but they do not know when this will happen, for the world is ruled by Fate. In the "Prophecy of Volva" Odin comes to the soothsayer Volva and she tells him the past and the future. In the future, she predicts the day of the fall of the world - Ragnarok. On this day, the world wolf Fenrir will kill Odin, and the serpent Ermungard will attack people. Hel will lead the giants and the dead against gods and people. After the world will burn, its remains will be washed away by water and a new life cycle will begin.
The gods of Asgard are divided into Aesir and Vanir. ( Aces - the main group of gods led by Odin, who loved, fought and died, because, like people, they did not have immortality. These gods are contrasted with the vanirs (gods of fertility), giants (etuns), dwarfs (miniatures), as well as female deities - diss, norns and valkyries. Vanir - a group of fertility gods. They lived in Vanaheim, far from Asgard, the abode of the aesir gods. The Vanirs had the gift of foresight, prophecy, and also mastered the art of witchcraft. They were attributed to incestuous relationships between brothers and sisters. The Vanir included Njord and his offspring - Frey and Freya.)
One- First among the aces, One god of poetry, wisdom, war and death.
Thor- Thor is the god of thunder and one of the most powerful gods. Thor was also the patron of agriculture. Therefore, he was the most loved and respected of the gods. Thor is the representative of order, law and stability.
Frigga- As Odin's wife, Frigga is the first among the goddesses of Asgard. She is the patroness of marriage and motherhood; women call upon her during childbirth.
Loki- God of fire, creator of trolls. It is unpredictable, and represents the opposite of a fixed order. He is smart and cunning, and can also change his appearance.
Heroes:
Gylvi, Gylfi- the legendary Swedish king, who heard Gytheon’s stories about the Aesir and went in search of them; after long wanderings, as a reward for his zeal, he got the opportunity to talk with three aces (High, Equally High and Third), who answered his questions about the origin, structure and fate of the universe. Gangleri is the name given to King Gylfi, who was accepted for conversation by the Asami.
Groa- the sorceress, wife of the famous hero Aurvandil, treated Thor after the duel with Grungnir.
Violectrina- appeared to Tohru before his escape.
Volsung- the son of the king of the Frans Rerir, given to him by the Aesir.
Kriemhilda- Siegfried's wife.
Mann- the first man, the progenitor of the Germanic tribes.
Nibelungs- the descendants of the miniature who collected countless treasures, and all the owners of this treasure, which carries a curse.
Siegfried (Sigurd)
Hadding- a warrior hero and wizard who enjoyed the special patronage of Odin.
Högni (Hagen)- the hero is the killer of Siegfried (Sigurd), who flooded the Nibelungen treasure in the Rhine.
Helgi- a hero who accomplished many feats.
Ask- the first man on earth whom the aces made from ash.
Embla- the first woman on earth made by the Ases from willow (according to other sources - from alder).
4. German heroic epic. "Song of the Nibelungs."
"The Song of the Nibelungs" written around 1200 is the largest and the oldest monument German folk heroic epic. 33 manuscripts have survived, representing the text in three editions.
The “Song of the Nibelungs” is based on ancient German legends dating back to the events of the period of barbarian invasions. The historical facts to which the poem goes back are the events of the 5th century, including the death of the Burgundian kingdom, destroyed in 437 by the Huns. These events are also mentioned in the Elder Edda.
The text of the “Song” consists of 2400 stanzas, each of which contains four paired rhyming lines (the so-called “Nibelung stanza”), and is divided into 20 songs.
In terms of content, the poem is divided into two parts. The first of them (songs 1 - 10) describes the story of the German hero Siegfried, his marriage to Kriemhild and the treacherous murder of Siegfried. Songs 10 to 20 talk about Kriemhild's revenge for her murdered husband and the death of the Burgundian kingdom.
One of the characters that most attracts researchers is Kriemhild. She enters the action as a tender young girl who does not show much initiative in life. She is pretty, but her beauty, this beautiful attribute, is nothing out of the ordinary. However, at a more mature age, she achieves the death of her brothers and beheads her own uncle with her own hands. Has she gone crazy or was she cruel to begin with? Was it revenge for her husband or a thirst for treasure? In the Edda, Kriemhild corresponds to Gudrun, and one can also be amazed at her cruelty - she prepares a meal from the meat of her own children. In studies of the image of Kriemhild, the theme of treasure often plays a central role. The question of what prompted Kriemhild to action, the desire to take possession of the treasure or the desire to avenge Siegfried, and which of the two motives is older, is discussed again and again. V. Schröder subordinates the theme of treasure to the idea of revenge, seeing the importance of the “Rhine gold” not in wealth, but in its symbolic value for Kriemhild, and the motive of the treasure is inseparable from the motive of revenge. Kriemhild is a useless mother, greedy, a devil, not a woman, not even a person. But she is also a tragic heroine who lost her husband and honor, an exemplary avenger.
Siegfried is the ideal hero of the "Song of the Nibelungs". The prince from the Lower Rhine, the son of the Dutch king Siegmund and Queen Sieglinde, the conqueror of the Nibelungs, who took possession of their treasure - the gold of the Rhine, is endowed with all the virtues of knighthood. He is noble, brave, courteous. Duty and honor are above all for him. The authors of the “Song of the Nibelungs” emphasize his extraordinary attractiveness and physical strength. His very name, consisting of two parts (Sieg - victory, Fried - peace), expresses the national German identity at the time of medieval strife. Despite his young age, he visited many countries, gaining fame for his courage and power. Siegfried is endowed with a powerful will to live, a strong belief in himself, and at the same time he lives with passions that awaken in him by the power of foggy visions and vague dreams. The image of Siegfried combines the archaic features of the hero of myths and fairy tales with the behavior of a feudal knight, ambitious and cocky. Offended at first by the insufficiently friendly reception, he is insolent and threatens the King of the Burgundians, encroaching on his life and throne. He soon resigns himself, remembering the purpose of his visit. It is characteristic that the prince unquestioningly serves King Gunther, not ashamed to become his vassal. This reflects not only the desire to get Kriemhild as a wife, but also the pathos of faithful service to the overlord, invariably inherent in the medieval heroic epic.
All the characters in “The Nibelungenlied” are deeply tragic. The fate of Kriemhild is tragic, whose happiness is destroyed by Gunther, Brunhild and Hagen. The fate of the Burgundian kings who perish in a foreign land, as well as a number of other characters in the poem, is tragic.
In “The Song of the Nibelungs” we find a true picture of the atrocities of the feudal world, which appears before the reader as a kind of gloomy destructive principle, as well as a condemnation of these atrocities so common to feudalism. And in this, first of all, the nationality of the German poem, closely connected with the traditions of the German epic epic, is manifested.
5. French heroic epic. "The Song of Roland"
Of all the national epics of the feudal Middle Ages, the most flourishing and diverse is the French epic. It has come down to us in the form of poems (about 90 in total), of which the oldest are preserved in the records of the 12th century, and the latest date back to the 14th century. These poems are called “gestures” (from the French “chansons de geste”, which literally means “songs”) about deeds" or "songs about exploits"). They vary in length - from 1000 to 2000 verses - and consist of unequal length (from 5 to 40 verses) stanzas or "tirades", also called "laisses". The lines are interconnected by assonances, which later, starting from the 13th century, are replaced by precise rhymes. These poems were intended to be sung (or, more precisely, chanted). The performers of these poems, and often their compilers, were jugglers - traveling singers and musicians.
Three themes make up the main content of the French epic:
1) defense of the homeland from external enemies - Moors (or Saracens), Normans, Saxons, etc.;
2) faithful service to the king, protection of his rights and the eradication of traitors;
3) bloody feudal strife.
Of all the French epics, the most remarkable is “The Song of Roland,” a poem that had a European resonance and represents one of the peaks of medieval poetry.
The poem tells of the heroic death of Count Roland, Charlemagne's nephew, during the battle with the Moors in the Roncesvalles Gorge, the betrayal of Roland's stepfather, Ganelon, which was the cause of this disaster, and Charlemagne's revenge for the death of Roland and twelve peers.
The Song of Roland originated around 1100, shortly before the First Crusade. The unknown author was not devoid of some education (to the extent available to many jugglers of that time) and, no doubt, put a lot of his own into the reworking of old songs on the same topic, both in plot and stylistically; but his main merit lies not in these additions, but precisely in the fact that he preserved the deep meaning and expressiveness of the ancient heroic legend and, connecting his thoughts with living modernity, found a brilliant artistic form for their expression.
The ideological concept of the legend about Roland is clarified by comparing the “Song of Roland” with the historical facts that underlie this legend. In 778, Charlemagne intervened in the internal strife of the Spanish Moors, agreeing to help one of the Muslim kings against the other. Having crossed the Pyrenees, Charles took several cities and besieged Zaragoza, but, having stood under its walls for several weeks, he had to return to France with nothing. When he was returning back through the Pyrenees, the Basques, irritated by the passage of foreign troops through their fields and villages, set up an ambush in the Roncesval Gorge and, attacking the French rearguard, killed many of them; according to the historiographer Charlemagne Eginhard, among other nobles, “Hruotland, Margrave of Brittany” died. After this, Eginhard adds, the Basques fled, and it was not possible to punish them.
A short and fruitless expedition to northern Spain, which had nothing to do with the religious struggle and ended in a not particularly significant, but still unfortunate military failure, was turned into a painting by singer-storytellers seven years war, which ended with the conquest of all of Spain, then - a terrible catastrophe during the retreat of the French army, and here the enemies were not the Basque Christians, but the same Moors, and, finally, a picture of revenge on the part of Charles in the form of a grandiose, truly “world” battle of the French with the united forces of the entire Muslim world.
The epic song at this stage of development, expanding into the picture of an established social structure, turned into an epic. Along with this, however, it preserved many common features and techniques of oral folk poetry, such as constant epithets, ready-made formulas for “typical” positions, direct expression of the singer’s assessments and feelings about what is depicted, simplicity of language, especially syntax, coincidence the end of a verse with the end of a sentence, etc.
Main characters poems - Roland and Ganelon.
Roland in the poem is a powerful and brilliant knight, impeccable in fulfilling his vassal duty, formulated by the poet as follows:
The vassal serves his lord, He endures the winter cold and heat, He is not sorry to shed blood for him.
He's in in every sense words are an example of knightly valor and nobility. But the deep connection of the poem with folk songwriting and the popular understanding of heroism is reflected in the fact that all the knightly traits of Roland are given by the poet in a humanized form, freed from class limitations. Roland is alien to selfishness, cruelty, greed, and the anarchic self-will of the feudal lords. One can feel in him an excess of youthful strength, a joyful belief in the rightness of his cause and in his luck, a passionate thirst for selfless achievement. Full of proud self-awareness, but at the same time alien to any arrogance or self-interest, he devotes himself entirely to serving the king, people, and homeland.
Ganelon is not just a traitor, but an expression of some powerful evil principle, hostile to any national cause, the personification of feudal, anarchic egoism. This beginning in the poem is shown in all its strength, with great artistic objectivity. Ganelon is not depicted as some kind of physical and moral monster. This is a majestic and brave fighter. When Roland offers to send him as an ambassador to Marsilius, Ganelon is not afraid of this assignment, although he knows how dangerous it is. But by attributing to others the same motives that are fundamental to himself, he assumes that Roland had the intention of destroying him.
The content of “The Song of Roland” is animated by its national-religious idea. But this problem is not the only one; the socio-political contradictions characteristic of the intensively developing in the X-XI centuries were also reflected with enormous force. feudalism. This second problem is introduced into the poem by the episode of Ganelon's betrayal. The reason for including this episode in the legend could be the desire of the singers-storytellers to explain the defeat of the “invincible” army of Charlemagne as an external fatal cause. In “The Song of Roland,” the blackness of the act of an individual traitor, Ganelon, is not so much revealed as the disastrousness for the native country of that feudal, anarchic egoism, of which Ganelon is a brilliant representative, is exposed for his native country.
6. Spanish heroic epic. "Song of my Sid"
The Spanish epic reflected the specifics of the history of Spain in the early Middle Ages. In 711, Spain was invaded by the Moors, who within a few years captured almost the entire peninsula. The Spaniards managed to hold out only in the far north, in the mountains of Cantabria, where the kingdom of Asturias was formed. However, immediately after this, the “reconquista” began, that is, the reconquest of the country by the Spaniards.
The kingdoms - Asturias, Castile and Leon, Navarre, etc. - sometimes fragmenting, and sometimes uniting, fought first with the Moors, then with each other, in the latter case sometimes entering into an alliance with the Moors against their compatriots. Spain made decisive progress in the reconquista in the 11th and 12th centuries, mainly due to the enthusiasm of the popular masses. Although the reconquista was led by the highest nobility, who received the largest part of the lands conquered from the Moors, its main driving force was the peasantry, townspeople and minor nobles close to them. In the 10th century A struggle unfolded between the old, aristocratic kingdom of Leon and Castile, which was subject to it, as a result of which Castile achieved complete political independence. Submission to the Leonese judges, who applied ancient, extremely reactionary laws, weighed heavily on the freedom-loving Castilian knighthood, but now they had new laws. According to these laws, the title and rights of knights were extended to everyone who went on a campaign against the Moors on horseback, even if he was of very low origin. However, at the end of the 11th century. Castilian liberties suffered greatly when Alfonso VI, who had been King of Leon in his youth and now surrounded himself with the old Leonese nobility, ascended the throne. Anti-democratic tendencies under this king intensified even more due to the influx of French knights and clergy into Castile. The former sought there under the pretext of assisting the Spaniards in their fight against the Moors, the latter, allegedly to organize a church in the lands conquered from the Moors. But as a result of this, the French knights captured the best plots, and the monks captured the richest parishes. Both of them, having arrived from a country where feudalism had a much more developed form, implanted feudal-aristocratic skills and concepts in Spain. All this made them hated by the local population, which they brutally exploited, caused a number of uprisings and for a long time instilled in the Spanish people distrust and hostility towards the French.
These political events and relationships were widely reflected in the Spanish heroic epic, whose three main themes are:
1) the fight against the Moors, with the goal of reconquering their native land;
2) discord between feudal lords, portrayed as the greatest evil for the entire country, as an insult to moral truth and treason;
3) the struggle for the freedom of Castile, and then for its political primacy, which is seen as the key to the final defeat of the Moors and as the basis for the national-political unification of all of Spain.
In many poems these themes are not given separately, but in close connection with each other.
The Spanish heroic epic developed similarly to the French epic. It was also based on short episodic songs of a lyrical-epic nature and oral unformed legends that arose in the druzhina environment and soon became the common property of the people; and in the same way, around the 10th century, when Spanish feudalism began to take shape and for the first time there was a sense of the unity of the Spanish nation, this material, falling into the hands of jugglers-huglars, through deep stylistic processing took shape in the form of large epic poems. The heyday of these poems, which for a long time were the “poetic history” of Spain and expressed the self-awareness of the Spanish people, occurred in the 11th-13th centuries, but after that they continued to live an intensive life for another two centuries and died out only in the 15th century, giving way to a new form folk epic legend - romances.
Spanish heroic poems are similar in form and method of execution to French ones. They stand in a series of stanzas of unequal length, connected by assonances. However, their metric is different: they are written in folk, so-called irregular, meter - verses with an indefinite number of syllables - from 8 to 16.
In terms of style, the Spanish epic is also similar to the French. However, it is distinguished by a drier and more business-like way of presentation, an abundance of everyday features, an almost complete absence of hyperbolism and an element of the supernatural - both fairy-tale and Christian.
The pinnacle of the Spanish folk epic is formed by the tales of Cid. Ruy Diaz, nicknamed Cid, is historical figure. He was born between 1025 and 1043. His nickname is a word of Arabic origin meaning "lord" ("seid"); this title was often given to Spanish lords who also had Moors among their subjects: Ruy is a shortened form of the name Rodrigo. Cid belonged to the highest Castilian nobility, was the commander of all the troops of King Sancho II of Castile and his closest assistant in the wars that the king waged both with the Moors and with his brothers and sisters. When Sancho died during the siege of Zamora and his brother Alfonso VI, who spent his youth in Leon, ascended the throne, hostile relations were established between the new king, who favored the Leonese nobility, and this latter, and Alfonso, taking advantage of an insignificant pretext, expelled Sida from Castile.
For some time, Sid served with his squad as a mercenary for various Christian and Muslim sovereigns, but then, thanks to his extreme dexterity and courage, he became an independent ruler and conquered the principality of Valencia from the Moors. After this, he made peace with King Alphonse and began to act in alliance with him against the Moors.
There is no doubt that even during Sid’s lifetime, songs and tales about his exploits began to be composed. These songs and stories, having spread among the people, soon became the property of the Khuglars, one of whom, around 1140, composed a poem about him.
Content:
The Song of Sid, containing 3,735 verses, is divided into three parts. The first (called by researchers the “Song of Exile”) depicts Sid’s first exploits in a foreign land. First, he gets money for the campaign by pawning chests filled with sand to Jewish moneylenders under the guise of family jewelry. Then, having gathered a detachment of sixty warriors, he enters the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña to say goodbye to his wife and daughters there. After this he travels to Moorish land. Hearing of his expulsion, people flock to his banner. Cid wins a series of victories over the Moors and after each of them sends part of the booty to King Alfonso.
The second part (“The Wedding Song”) depicts the Cid’s conquest of Valencia. Seeing his power and touched by his gifts, Alphonse makes peace with Sid and allows his wife and children to move to Valencia with him. Then Sil meets with the king himself, who acts as a matchmaker, offering Sid the noble infantes de Carrion as his son-in-law. Sil, although reluctantly, agrees to this. He gives his sons-in-law two of his battle swords and gives a rich dowry for his daughters. A description of the magnificent wedding celebrations follows.
The third part (“Song of Korpes”) tells the following. Sid's sons-in-law turned out to be worthless cowards. Unable to tolerate the ridicule of Sid and his vassals, they decided to take it out on his daughters. Under the pretext of showing their wives to their relatives, they prepared for the journey. Having reached the Korpes oak grove, the sons-in-law got off their horses, severely beat their wives and left them tied to the trees. The unfortunates would have died if not for Sid's nephew Felez Muñoz, who found them and brought them home. Sid demands revenge. The king convenes the Cortes to try the guilty. Sid comes there with his beard tied up so that no one will insult him by pulling his beard. The case is decided by judicial duel (“God’s court”). Sid's fighters defeat the defendants, and Sid triumphs. He unties his beard, and everyone is amazed at his majestic appearance. New suitors are wooing Sid's daughters - the princes of Navarre and Aragon. The poem ends with a praise to Sid.
IN overall poem more historically accurate than any other Western European epic known to us.
This accuracy corresponds to the general truthful tone of the narrative, usual for Spanish poems. Descriptions and characteristics are free from any elevation. Persons, objects, events are depicted simply, concretely, with businesslike restraint, although this does not exclude sometimes great inner warmth. There are almost no poetic comparisons or metaphors at all. There is a complete absence of Christian fiction, except for the appearance of the Archangel Michael in Sid's dream on the eve of his departure. There is also no hyperbolism at all in the depiction of combat moments. Images of martial arts are very rare and are of a less brutal nature than in the French epic; Mass fights predominate, with nobles sometimes dying at the hands of nameless warriors.
The poem lacks the exclusivity of knightly feelings. The singer openly emphasizes the importance of booty, profit, and the monetary base of any military enterprise for a fighter. An example is the way in which at the beginning of the poem Sid obtained the money necessary for the campaign. The singer never forgets to mention the size of the war booty, the share that went to each fighter, and the portion sent by the Sid to the king. In the scene of the litigation with the infantes de Carrion, Cid first of all demands the return of swords and dowry, and then raises the issue of insult to honor. He always behaves like a prudent, reasonable owner.
In accordance with everyday motives of this kind, family themes play a prominent role. The point is not only what place is occupied in the poem by the story of the first marriage of Sid’s daughters and the bright ending of the picture of their second, happy marriage, but also by the fact that family, family feelings with all their sincere intimacy gradually come to the fore in the poem.
Sid's image: Sid is presented, contrary to history, only as an “infanson,” that is, a knight who has vassals, but does not belong to the highest nobility. He is depicted as full of self-awareness and dignity, but at the same time good-natured and simple in his dealings with everyone, alien to any aristocratic arrogance. The norms of knightly practice inevitably determine the main lines of Sid’s activities, but not his personal character: he himself, as free as possible from knightly habits, appears in the poem as a truly folk hero. And all of Sid’s closest assistants - Alvar Fañez, Felez Muñoz, Pero Bermudez and others - are also not aristocratic, but popular.
This democratization of the image of Sid and the deeply democratic popular tone of the poem about him are based on the above-mentioned folk character reconquista.
In the early Middle Ages, oral poetry developed, especially heroic epic, based on real events, military campaigns and great heroes that remain in people’s memory. Epic, Chanson de geste (lit. “song of deeds”) is a genre of French medieval literature, a song about the deeds of heroes and kings of the past (“The Song of Roland,” a cycle about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table). Its purpose is to glorify the moral values of chivalry: duty to the overlord, service to the Church and the Beautiful Lady, loyalty, honor, courage.
All works of medieval heroic epic belong to the early (Anglo-Saxon Beowulf) and classical Middle Ages (Icelandic songs of the Elder Edda and the German Song of the Nibelungs). In the epic, descriptions of historical events coexist with myth and fairy tale; the historical and fantastic are equally accepted as truth. Epic poems do not have an author: the people who revised and expanded the poetic material did not recognize themselves as the authors of the works they wrote.
"Beowulf" - the oldest Anglo-Saxon epic poem, its action takes place in Scandinavia. The text was created at the beginning of the 8th century. The action of the poem begins in Denmark, where King Hrothgar rules. A disaster looms over his country: every night the monster Grendel devours the warriors. From the land of the Gauts (in Southern Sweden), where the valiant King Hygelac rules, the hero Beowulf hurries to the aid of Denmark with fourteen wars. He kills Grendel:
The enemy was approaching;
Above the reclining
He extended his hand
To rip with the intention
clawed paw
The breast of the brave-hearted,
But the agile one
Rising up on my elbow,
He squeezed his hand,
And the terrible one understood
Shepherd of misfortunes,
What's on earth
Under the firmament
He hasn't met yet
human hand
Stronger and harder;
The soul shuddered
And my heart sank
But it was too late
Run to the den
Into the Devil's Den;
Never in my life
Never happened to him
Of what happened
In this palace.
But trouble struck Denmark again: Grendel’s mother came to avenge her son’s death. With an ancient sword and impenetrable armor, Beowulf dives into the disastrous swamp and at the very bottom inflicts a crushing blow on the monster. At the end of the poem, Beowulf takes the throne of the Gauts after the death of Hygelac. He has to save his people from a winged serpent, enraged by the theft of treasures. Having defeated the serpent, Beowulf dies from a mortal wound, bequeathing his armor to Wiglaf, the only warrior who did not abandon him in trouble. At the end of the poem, eternal glory is proclaimed to Beowulf.
"Elder Edda" is a collection of Old Icelandic songs, songs about the gods - about Hymir, about Thrym, about Alvis and the heroes of Scandinavian mythology and history, which were preserved in manuscripts dating back to the second half. XIII century The background to the manuscript is as unknown as the background to the Beowulf manuscript. Noteworthy is the diversity of songs, tragic and comic, elegiac monologues and dramatized dialogues; teachings are replaced by riddles, prophecies by stories about the beginning of the world. Songs about gods contain a wealth of mythological material, and songs about heroes tell about the good name and posthumous glory of heroes:
The herds are dying
relatives die
and you yourself are mortal;
but I know one thing
that is eternally immortal:
glory to the deceased.
(from “The Speech of the High One”).
"Song of the Nibelungs"– a medieval epic poem, classified as a German epic, consisting of 39 songs (“adventures”). It contains legends dating back to the time of the Great Migration and the creation of German kingdoms on the territory of the Western Roman Empire. It was recorded by an unknown author at the end of the 12th – beginning of the 13th centuries. In the land of the Burgundians lives a girl of extraordinary beauty named Kriemhild. Her three brothers are famous for their valor: Gunther, Gernot and Giselcher, as well as their vassal Hagen. Siegfried, the son of the Dutch king Sigmund, the conqueror of a huge treasure of the Nibelungs (since then Siegfried himself and his squad are called the Nibelungs) - the sword of Balmung and the invisibility cloak - arrived in Burgundy to fight for the hand of Kriemhild. Only after many trials (victory over the Saxons and Danes, victory over the warrior Brunhild, with whom Gunther is in love), is Siegfried allowed to marry his beloved. But the happiness of the young does not last long. The queens quarrel, Hagen finds out from Kriemhild weak point Siegfried (his “Herculean heel” was a mark on his back; while washing in the dragon’s blood, a linden leaf fell on his back):
My husband,–She said,–and brave and full of strength.
One day he slayed a dragon under the mountain,
I washed myself in his blood and became invulnerable...
When he began to bathe in the dragon's blood,
A leaf from a neighboring linden tree fell on the knight
And he covered his back between the shoulder blades by an inch.
It is there, alas, that my mighty husband is vulnerable.
After this confession, Hagen kills Siegfried while hunting. From now on, the Burgundians are called Nibelungs, since Siegfried's treasures pass into their hands. After grieving for 13 years and marrying the ruler of the Huns, Etzel, Kriemhild lures the brothers and Hagen to visit and kills every one of them. So she takes revenge for the death of her beloved husband and kills all the Nibelungs.
French heroic epic. A wonderful example of a medieval folk heroic epic - "The Song of Roland". In France we received widespread“songs about deeds” that existed among knights. There are about a hundred of them in total, forming three groups from the point of view of plot and theme: in the center of the first is the King of France, a wise monarch; in the center of the second is his faithful vassal; in the center of the third - on the contrary, a rebellious feudal lord who does not obey the king. The Song of Roland, the most famous among heroic songs, is based on a real historical event, Charlemagne’s short campaign against the Basques in 778. After a successful seven-year campaign in Moorish Spain, the Frankish emperor Charlemagne conquers all the cities of the Saracens (Arabs), except Zaragoza , where King Marsilius rules. Marsilius' ambassadors offer riches to the French and say that Marsilius is ready to become Charles's vassal. The Breton Count Roland does not believe the Saracens, but his enemy Count Gwenelon insists on a different decision and goes as an ambassador to Marsilius, plotting to destroy Roland and advising Marsilius to attack the rearguard of Charlemagne's army. Returning to the camp, the traitor says that Marsilius agrees to become a Christian and a vassal of Charles. Roland is appointed commander of the rearguard, and he takes with him only 20 thousand people. They are ambushed in the Roncesvalles Gorge and engage in battle with superior Saracen forces. In the end they die, Karl notices something is wrong too late and returns to Roncesvalles to defeat the insidious enemy and accuse Gwenelon of treason.
Spanish heroic epic. The Spanish epic is in many ways close to the French, and the art of the Spanish epic singers, the Huglars, has much in common with the art of the French jugglers. The Spanish epic is also based mainly on historical tradition; even more than the French, it is centered around the theme of the reconquista, the war with the Moors. The best and most fully preserved monument of Spanish epic poetry is "Song of My Sid". Coming down to us in a single copy compiled in 1307 by a certain Pedro Abbot, the poem of the heroic epic apparently took shape around 1140, less than half a century after the death of the Cid himself. Cid is the famous figure of the reconquista Rodrigo (Ruy) Diaz de Bivar (1040 - 1099). The Arabs called him Sid (from Arabic seid - “lord”). The main goal of his life was the liberation of his native land from Arab rule. Contrary to historical truth, Cid is depicted as a knight who has vassals and does not belong to the highest nobility. He's turned into a real one folk hero, who suffers insults from an unjust king, comes into conflict with the family nobility. Due to false accusations, the Cid was expelled from Castile by King Alfonso VI. But at the end of the poem, Sid not only defends his honor, but also becomes related to the Spanish kings. "The Song of My Cid" gives a true picture of Spain both in days of peace and in days of war. In the XIV century. The Spanish heroic epic is in decline, but its plots continue to be developed in romances - short lyric-epic poems, in many ways similar to Northern European ballads.
