Yeleazar Meletinsky
Encyclopedia
Professor Eleazar Moiseevich Meletinskii (also Meletinsky or Meletinskij depending on the transliteration
; ) (October 22 1918 Kharkiv
- December 17, 2005 Moscow
) was a Russian scholar famous for his seminal studies folklore
, literature
, philology
and the history and theory of narrative; he was one of the major figures of Russian academia in those fields.
He was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at Russian State University for the Humanities
for several years until his death.
summarized Meletinsky's analysis in his work on Rabelais:
Meletinsky also cites Frejdenberg's analysis of the comic alter ego
s of the heroes.
In a class-based society, ritual laughter in popular culture
creates an anti-clerical world of feasts, playful parody, and carnival
s.
Hermes
is a deified trickster
, and Ulysses
, the main character of the Odyssey, has a matrilinear discent from Hermes. In the Legendary Troy the mythological element also includes comic moments.
-Finnish (pp.95-155), Caucasian (156-246), Turkic
-Mongolian
(247-374) and Sumer
ian-Akkad
ian (375-422). Here the author examines very ancient myths and their role in the formation of the archaic epic
. Among the discussed ones is the Alpamysh
, ancient Turkic epic.
Meletinskii also makes an interesting analysis of comic doublet
s (particularly in "Primary sources epic" pp.55-58, bibliography included).
The book also contains a bibliography (pp. 449-459), Primary sources epic (21-94).
This work doesn't seem to be translated in other languages.
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
; ) (October 22 1918 Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
- December 17, 2005 Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Russian scholar famous for his seminal studies folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and the history and theory of narrative; he was one of the major figures of Russian academia in those fields.
He was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian State University for the Humanities
The Russian State University for the Humanities , is a university in Moscow, Russia with over 5500 students. It was created in 1991 as the result of the merger of the Moscow Public University and the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives The Russian State University for the Humanities...
for several years until his death.
His analysis of comic doublets
The traditions of the mythological narration, dealt with the figures of the ancestors-heroes civilizers, and their comic-demoniac doublets. BakhtinMikhail Bakhtin
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin was a Russian philosopher, literary critic, semiotician and scholar who worked on literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language...
summarized Meletinsky's analysis in his work on Rabelais:
This double aspect of the world and of human life [the existence of a second world and life outside officialdom] existed even at the earliest stages of cultural development, in the folkloreFolkloreFolklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
of primitive peoples. Coupled with the cultCultThe word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
s which were serious in tone and organization were other, comic cults which laughed and scoffed at the deity ("ritual laughter"); coupled with serious myths were comic and abusive ones; coupled with heroes were their parodies and doublets. These comic rituals and myths have attracted the attention of folklorists.
Meletinsky also cites Frejdenberg's analysis of the comic alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
s of the heroes.
In a class-based society, ritual laughter in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
creates an anti-clerical world of feasts, playful parody, and carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
s.
Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
is a deified trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
, and Ulysses
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, the main character of the Odyssey, has a matrilinear discent from Hermes. In the Legendary Troy the mythological element also includes comic moments.
Origins of Heroic Epic
In his 1963 work "Origins of Heroic Epic: early forms and archaic monuments", he studied and compared elements of four ancient civilizations: KarelianKarelians
The Karelians are a Baltic-Finnic ethnic group living mostly in the Republic of Karelia and in other north-western parts of the Russian Federation. The historic homeland of Karelians includes also parts of present-day Eastern Finland and the formerly Finnish territory of Ladoga Karelia...
-Finnish (pp.95-155), Caucasian (156-246), Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
-Mongolian
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
(247-374) and Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ian-Akkad
Akkad
The Akkadian Empire was an empire centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia....
ian (375-422). Here the author examines very ancient myths and their role in the formation of the archaic epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
. Among the discussed ones is the Alpamysh
Alpamysh
Alpamysh, also spelled as Alp-amish or Alpamish , is an ancient Turkic epic or dastan — ornate oral history, generally set in verse — and one of the most important examples of the Turkic oral literature of Central Asia...
, ancient Turkic epic.
Meletinskii also makes an interesting analysis of comic doublet
Doublet
Doublet may refer to:*Doublet , a man's snug-fitting buttoned jacket that was worn from the late 14th century to the mid 17th century*Doublet , an assembled gem composed in two sections, such as a garnet overlaying green glass...
s (particularly in "Primary sources epic" pp.55-58, bibliography included).
The book also contains a bibliography (pp. 449-459), Primary sources epic (21-94).
This work doesn't seem to be translated in other languages.
List of works
- 1963, Proiskhozhdenie geroicheskogo éposa. Rannie formy i arkhaicheskie pamiatniki (meaning "The origins of the heroic epic: early forms and archaic monuments"). Moscow. (462 pages) ISBN 5-02-018476-4 http://www.eastview.com/xq/ASP/sku=A2073670/f_locale=/Meletinskii/Eleazar/Moiseevich/Moskva/Russia/Russian/qx/russian/books/product.asp http://www.knigoprovod.ru/?book_id=1888&topic_id=23 http://www.universitybooks.ru/img.asp?id=39604
- 1964 Primitive heritage in archaic epics, Reports of the International Congress of anthropological and ethnological sciences, Moscou : Nauka.
- 1976, Poetika Mifa
- 1977 Mif i istoricheskaia poetika folklora (Mythe et la poétique historique du folklore), Moscou : Nauka.
- 1986, Vvedenie v istoričeskuû poétiku éposa i romana. Moscow, Nauka.
- Introduzione alla poetica storica dell'epos e del romanzo (1993)
- Dostoevskii v Svete Istoricheskoi Poetiki;
- 1996, MELETINSKY E. M. (1) ; BELMONT N. La poétique historique du folklore narratif (The historic poetry of folklore narratives); journal: Ethnologie française ISSN 0046-2616; 1996, vol. 26, no 4, pp. 573-747 (dissem.), pp. 611-618
- Kak Sdelany “Brat’ia Karamazovy (1996)
- 1998, E.M. Meletinskii. Izbrannye Stat’i. Vospominaniia
- 2000, The Poetics of Myth translated by Guy Lanoue and Alexandre Sadetsky
- 2001, Zametki o Tvorchestve Dostoevskogo