Yeruslan Lazarevich
Encyclopedia
Yeruslan Lazarevich, also known as Eruslan Lazarevich or in the Tatar original Uruslan, is the Russian folk literature
hero
of The Tale of Eruslane Lazarevic, recounting the many military and amorous adventures of a young and beautiful hero, a tale which was much liked by the old Russian
readers due to a variety of its content and by appearing frequently on the lubok
, was widely spread among the people. Its influence is noticeable even on some retelling of tales about Ilya of Murom.
(Tatar) alteration of certain episodes of the adventures of an Iranian
hero Rustem
, in particular two things: the campaign, by Rustem, in Mazandaran, for the release of the Persian king Kay Kaus, and his battle with his son, Sohrab
. The father of Uruslan (according to the Undolskogo list of the narrative) is Zalazar, who retains the name of the father of Rustem, Zal-Zar
, the King of Persia turns into Kirkous from the original Kay Kaus, the horse of Uruslan, is called Arash, while the horse of Rustem was Rahsh
and so on. Uruslan himself - no one else, as Rustam, whose name was already in the Turkic medium hanged to Arslan (Lion). Between the two above-mentioned episodes, the first of which is the beginning of the second – the tales were ended, to immediately place the other adventures of Uruslan (with little connection in the original versions), such as the meeting with a Russian hero Ivan, the fight with him, then their fraternisation and mutual assistance in the search by Uruslan for Ivan’s daughter taken by Theodulus-zmeyya Kandauly Feodulovny; the meeting of Uruslan with beautiful princesses, held by a giant-keeper, Ivashko; the battle with the sea king dragon saving Princess Anastasiya Vahramyeevna, his marriage to Princess Sunflower City and so on. These adventures of Uruslan do not have a direct correspondence in the adventures of an Iranian Rustem, but find parallels in the various oriental tales.
The Tale of Eruslane Lazarevic is of considerable interest for the history of fairy tales about Ilya of Murom. On the one hand, on some adventures of the Murom heroes there are the same motives that went into the tale of Eruslane Lazarevic. For example, a meeting of Ilya with Nightingale the robber
, his coming to Kiev
and his relationship with Prince Vladimir is reminiscent of Eruslan Lazarevic meeting with Ivashko hero and his arrival to the king of Dalmatia
; the meeting of Ilya with Korolevichnoy can be associated with the meeting of Yeruslan with beautiful princesses; then the two knights fight with their sons not known of them, and so on. On the other hand, some epic poems, and especially tales about Ilya of Murom had a cheap popular direct effect in people, which it has in common with the tale of Eruslane Lazarevic.
The text of the cheap popular personal tales printed D. A. Rovinsky
. Both record tales of XVII c. represented in two editions, of which the edition of the Undodskogo list is considered more valuable, as it has a more logical connection between the separate adventures of the hero, names in it the hero as Sir Uruslan and preserved in greater purity, in some names of other characters.
Popular print
Popular Prints is a term for printed images of generally low artistic quality which were sold cheaply in Europe and later the New World from the 15th to 18th centuries, often with text as well as images. They were the first mass-media...
hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
of The Tale of Eruslane Lazarevic, recounting the many military and amorous adventures of a young and beautiful hero, a tale which was much liked by the old Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
readers due to a variety of its content and by appearing frequently on the lubok
Lubok
A lubok is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories and popular tales. Lubki prints were used as decoration in houses and inns...
, was widely spread among the people. Its influence is noticeable even on some retelling of tales about Ilya of Murom.
Basis of legends
It was based on TurkicTurkic 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...
(Tatar) alteration of certain episodes of the adventures of an Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
hero Rustem
Rostam
Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
, in particular two things: the campaign, by Rustem, in Mazandaran, for the release of the Persian king Kay Kaus, and his battle with his son, Sohrab
Sohrab
Sohrāb or Suhrāb is a character from the Shahnameh, or the Tales of Kings by Ferdowsi in the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab. He was the son of Rostam, who was an Iranian warrior, and Tahmineh, the daughter of the king of Samangam, a neighboring country. He was slain at a young age by his father...
. The father of Uruslan (according to the Undolskogo list of the narrative) is Zalazar, who retains the name of the father of Rustem, Zal-Zar
Zal
Zāl , also transliterated Zaal, is a legendary Persian warrior from the old Persian "The Book of Kings/ The king of books" or Shahnameh.-Background:...
, the King of Persia turns into Kirkous from the original Kay Kaus, the horse of Uruslan, is called Arash, while the horse of Rustem was Rahsh
Rakhsh
Rakhsh is the stallion of main protagonist Rostam in the Persian national epic, Shahnameh of Ferdowsi.The color of Rakhsh is described as "rose leaves that have been scattered upon a saffron ground" and it is first noticed by Rostam amongst the flocks of horses brought over from Zabulistan and Kabul...
and so on. Uruslan himself - no one else, as Rustam, whose name was already in the Turkic medium hanged to Arslan (Lion). Between the two above-mentioned episodes, the first of which is the beginning of the second – the tales were ended, to immediately place the other adventures of Uruslan (with little connection in the original versions), such as the meeting with a Russian hero Ivan, the fight with him, then their fraternisation and mutual assistance in the search by Uruslan for Ivan’s daughter taken by Theodulus-zmeyya Kandauly Feodulovny; the meeting of Uruslan with beautiful princesses, held by a giant-keeper, Ivashko; the battle with the sea king dragon saving Princess Anastasiya Vahramyeevna, his marriage to Princess Sunflower City and so on. These adventures of Uruslan do not have a direct correspondence in the adventures of an Iranian Rustem, but find parallels in the various oriental tales.
The Tale of Eruslane Lazarevic is of considerable interest for the history of fairy tales about Ilya of Murom. On the one hand, on some adventures of the Murom heroes there are the same motives that went into the tale of Eruslane Lazarevic. For example, a meeting of Ilya with Nightingale the robber
Nightingale the Robber
Nightingale the Robber or Solovei the Brigand , also known as Solovey Odikhmantievich , was an epic robber from bylinas poetry of Kievan Rus'....
, his coming to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and his relationship with Prince Vladimir is reminiscent of Eruslan Lazarevic meeting with Ivashko hero and his arrival to the king of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
; the meeting of Ilya with Korolevichnoy can be associated with the meeting of Yeruslan with beautiful princesses; then the two knights fight with their sons not known of them, and so on. On the other hand, some epic poems, and especially tales about Ilya of Murom had a cheap popular direct effect in people, which it has in common with the tale of Eruslane Lazarevic.
Publications
The Tale of Eruslane Lazarevic manuscript was published, first by Undolskogo and N. S. Tikhonravov, and then by the manuscript Archive of Pogodinskaya, by N. KostomarovNikolay Kostomarov
Nikolay Ivanovich Kostomarov , of mixed Russian and Ukrainian origin, is one of the most distinguished Russian and Ukrainian historians, a Professor of History at the Kiev University and later at the St...
The text of the cheap popular personal tales printed D. A. Rovinsky
Dmitry Rovinsky
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Rovinsky Dmitry Aleksandrovich Rovinsky was born into the family of a Moscow policeman. After graduating from a law college he started his service in Moscow, taking various legal posts...
. Both record tales of XVII c. represented in two editions, of which the edition of the Undodskogo list is considered more valuable, as it has a more logical connection between the separate adventures of the hero, names in it the hero as Sir Uruslan and preserved in greater purity, in some names of other characters.
Literature
- A. N. Pypin. Очерк литературной истории старинных повестей и сказок русских (Essay on the literary history of ancient legends and tales of Russian) (1858);
- Stasov. Происхождение русских былин (Origin of the Russian epic) / / Herald of Europe, 1868;
- B. Veselovsky in the «Истории русской словесности» ("History of Russian Literature") Galakhova A. (ed. 2, 1880, p. 431);
- Vsevolod Miller. Экскурсы в область русского народного эпоса (Excursions to the region of the Russian folk epic). 1892, digression VI;
- Vsevolod Miller. Материалы для истории былинных сюжетов (Materials for the history of epic stories) / Ethnographic Survey, 1892, Vol. XII.