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Koschei
Koshchei ( rus, Коще́й, r=Koshchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), also Kashchei ( rus, Каще́й, r=Kashchey, p=kɐˈɕːej), often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless" (), is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore. The most common feature of tales involving Koschei is a spell which prevents him from being killed. He hides "his death" inside nested objects to protect it. For example, his death may be hidden in a needle that is hidden inside an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, the hare is in a chest, the chest is buried or chained up on a faraway island of Buyan. Usually he takes the role of a malevolent rival figure, who competes for (or entraps) a male hero's love interest. The origin of the tales is unknown. The archetype may contain elements derived from the 12th-century pagan Cumania, Cuman-Kipchak (Polovtsian) leader Khan Konchak, who is recorded in ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign''; over time a balanced view of the non-Christian Cuman Kh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marya Morevna
The Death of Koschei the Deathless or Marya Morevna () is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in ''Narodnye russkie skazki'' and included by Andrew Lang in ''The Red Fairy Book''. The character Koschei is an evil immortal man who menaces young women with his magic. Plot Ivan Tsarevich had three sisters, the first was Princess Maria, the second was Princess Olga, the third was Princess Anna. After his parents died and his sisters marry three wizards, he leaves his home in search of his sisters. He meets Marya Morevna, a beautiful warrior princess, and marries her. After a while she announces she is going to go to war and tells Ivan not to open the door of the dungeon in the castle they live in while she will be away. Overcome by the desire to know what the dungeon holds, he opens the door soon after her departure and finds Koschei, chained and emaciated. Koschei asks Ivan to bring him some water; Ivan does so. After Koschei drinks twelve buckets of water, his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Tsarevitch
Ivan Tsarevich ( or Иван-царевич) is one of the main heroes of Russian folklore, usually a protagonist, often engaged in a struggle with Koschei. Along with Ivan the Fool, Ivan Tsarevich is a placeholder name, meaning "Prince Ivan", rather than a definitive character. ''Tsarevich'' is a title given to the sons of tsars. He is often, but not always, the youngest son of three. In the tale "The Three Tsardoms" he is a son of Nastasya the Golden Braid. Different legends describe Ivan with different wives, including Yelena the Beautiful, Vasilisa the Wise and Marya Morevna. Ivan is the main hero of multiple Russian folktales. He is almost always portrayed either as the third son of a peasant family or as the third son of a king. In the latter stories, he is called Ivan Tsarevich, which means "tsar's son". ("Ivan" is one of the most common Russian forenames.) The friends and foes of Ivan Tsarevich are often mythic figures, from magical animals to deathless beings. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russian Folklore
The Russian folklore, i.e., the folklore of Russian people, takes its roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs and now is represented in the Russian fairy tales. Epic Russian bylinas are also an important part of Slavic paganism. The oldest bylinas of Kievan cycle were recorded in the Russian North, especially in Karelia, where most of the Finnish people, Finnish national epic Kalevala was recorded as well. In the late 19th-century Russian fairy tales began being translated into English, with ''Russian Folk Tales'' (1873) by William Ralston, and ''Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar'' (1890) by Edith Hodgetts. Many Russian fairy tales and bylinas have been adapted for animation films, or for feature movies by prominent directors such as Aleksandr Ptushko ('' Ilya Muromets'', '' Sadko'') and Aleksandr Rou ('' Morozko'', '' Vasilisa the Beautiful''). Some Russian poets, including Pyotr Yershov and Leonid Filatov, made a number of well-known poetical interpretat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Red Fairy Book-045
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas (, ; January 23, 1921 – February 2, 1994) was a Lithuanian archaeology, archaeologist and anthropologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old European Culture, Old Europe" and for her Kurgan hypothesis, which located the Proto-Indo-European homeland in the Pontic Steppe. Biography Early life Marija Gimbutas was born as Marija Birutė Alseikaitė to Veronika Janulaitytė-Alseikienė and Danielius Alseika in Vilnius, the capital of the Republic of Central Lithuania; her parents were members of the Lithuanian intelligentsia. Her mother received a doctorate in ophthalmology at the University of Berlin in 1908, while her father received his medical degree from the University of Tartu in 1910. After Act of independence of Lithuania, Lithuania regained independence in 1918, Gimbutas's parents organized the Lithuanian Association of Sanitary Aid which founded the first Lithuanian hospital in the capital. During this period, her fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga is a female character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) from Slavic folklore who has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is depicted as a nice old woman who helps the hero. She is often associated with forest wildlife. Her distinctive traits are flying around in a wooden mortar, wielding a pestle, and dwelling deep in the forest in a hut with chicken legs. Etymology Variations of the name ''Baba Yaga'' are found in many Slavic languages. In Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian and Bulgarian, ''baba'' means 'grandmother' or 'old woman'. In contemporary Polish and Russian, '' baba'' / '' баба'' is also a pejorative synonym for 'woman', in particular one who is old, dirty, or foolish. Andreas Johns speculates that ''"Baba"'' serves two linguistic purposes in the name: firstly, it adds a familiar component to the lesser-known wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ysbaddaden
; "Ysbaddaden, Chief of Giants" (from roots meaning " hawthorn" or "infertile" - or perhaps implying both meanings), is the primary antagonist of the Welsh romance '' Culhwch and Olwen''.Helmut Birkhan: Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1997, , S. 473. A vicious giant residing in a nigh unreachable castle, he is the father of Olwen and uncle of Goreu fab Custennin. Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd after a difficult childbirth. When Cilydd remarries after brutally murdering his new wife’s former husband, King Doged, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his new stepsister. Offended, the new queen puts a curse on him so that he can marry no one besides the beautiful Olwen, daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. Though he has never seen her, Culhwch becomes infatuated with her, but his father warns him that he will never find he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balor
In Irish mythology, Balor or Balar was a leader of the Fomorians, a group of malevolent supernatural beings, and considered the most formidable. He is often described as a giant with a large eye that wreaks destruction when opened. Balor takes part in the Battle of Mag Tuired, and is primarily known from the tale in which he is killed by his grandson Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He has been interpreted as a personification of the scorching sun, and has also been likened to figures from other mythologies, such as the Welsh Ysbaddaden and the Greek Cyclops. Name The name ''Balor'' may come from Common Celtic ''*Boleros'', meaning "the flashing one". In the early literature he is also referred to as ''Balor Béimnech'' (Balor the smiter), ''Balor Balcbéimnech'' (Balor the strong smiter), ''Balor Birugderc'' (Balor of the piercing-eye), ''Balor mac Doit meic Néid'' (Balor, son of Dot son of Nét) or ''Balor ua Néit'' (Balor, grandson of Nét). Later forms are ''Balor Béi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gusli
The ''gusli'' (, , , ''husla'') is the oldest East Slavic multi-string plucked instrument, belonging to the zither family, due to its strings being parallel to its resonance board. Its roots lie in Veliky Novgorod in the Novgorodian Republic. It has its relatives in Europe and throughout the world: kantele in Finland, kannel in Estonia, kanklės in Lithuania, kokles in Latvia, Zither in Germany, citera in the Czech Republic, and psalterium in France. Furthermore, the kanun has been found in Arabic countries, and the autoharp, in the United States. It is also related to such ancient instruments as Chinese gu zheng, which has a thousand-year history, and its Japanese relative koto. A stringed musical instrument called is listed as one of the Me in ancient Sumer. Etymology The term ''gusli'' derives from the verb *gǫsti (make sound, howl, play music) with the suffix *slь (from Proto-Indo-European *-trom). In the times of the Kievan Rus', the term ''gusli'' is believed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ipatiev Chronicle
The ''Hypatian Codex'', also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis, is a compendium of three Rus' chronicles: the ''Primary Chronicle'', ''Kievan Chronicle'' and '' Galician-Volhynian Chronicle''. It is the most important source of historical data about Kievan Rus'. The language of this work is Old Church Slavonic with many East Slavisms. Provenance The codex was discovered in Ukraine in 1617 by Zacharias Kopystensky, and was then copied by monks in 1621. The codex later known as the ''Hypatian Codex'' was most likely acquired from the Ipatievsky Monastery (Hypatian Monastery) in Kostroma on 15 May 1767. This would have happened during the May–June 1767 Volga voyage of Empress Catherine II (), who was highly interested in reading Rus' chronicles, and collecting them all at the capital city of Saint Petersburg (one of the goals of her voyage). Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov (1743–1831), then director of the Academy of Sciences, accompanied the empress on the vo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birch Bark Manuscript
Birch bark manuscripts are documents written on pieces of the outer layer of birch bark, which was commonly used for writing before the mass production of paper. Evidence of birch bark for writing goes back many centuries and appears in various cultures. The oldest such manuscripts are the numerous Gandhāran Buddhist texts from approximately the 1st century CE, from what is now Afghanistan. They contain among the earliest known versions of significant Buddhist scriptures, including a ''Dhammapada'', discourses of Buddha that include the '' Rhinoceros Sutra'', Avadanas and Abhidharma texts. Sanskrit birch bark manuscripts written with Brahmi script have been dated to the first few centuries CE. Several early Sanskrit writers, such as Kālidāsa (), Sushruta (), and Varāhamihira (6th century CE) mention its use for manuscripts. The bark of '' Betula utilis'' (Himalayan Birch) is still used today in India and Nepal for writing sacred mantras. Russian texts discovered in Veliky Nov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
