Prototypes of Russian heroes. Three heroes are historical prototypes. Nikitich. Bogatyr-Lionheart

We have known them since childhood, we want to be like them, because they are real superheroes - epic knights. They perform inhuman feats, but they, Russian heroes, also had their own real prototypes.

Alesha Popovich

Alyosha Popovich is the youngest of the trio of epic heroes. He looks the least warlike, his appearance is not menacing, rather bored. This is understandable - he is bored without fighting, without the adventures to which he was prone, since he defeated his enemies not by force, but by ingenuity and cunning. He is the most atypical of all the heroes, not very virtuous, boastful, greedy for the weaker sex.
Traditionally, Alyosha Popovich is correlated with the Rostov boyar Alexander Popovich, about whom there is more than one mention in the Nikon Chronicle. He took part in the Battle of Lipetsk and died in 1223 in the Battle of the Kalka River.

However, just as you cannot remove words from a song, you cannot remove a feat from an epic. Alyosha Popovich became famous for two main feats - his victory over Tugarin the serpent and over the filthy Idolishch. The version of the comparison of the epic hero with Alexander Popovich does not explain any of these achievements, since victories over the filthy Idolishch and over Tugarnin the serpent were won two centuries before the Battle of Kalka.

Another version of who was the prototype of Alyosha Popovich was told by art critic Anatoly Markovich Chlenov. He believes that it is more correct to compare Alyosha Popovich with the boyar’s son and comrade-in-arms of Vladimir Monomakh, Olberg Ratiborovich.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, it was he who killed the Polovtsian Khan Itlar, who came to negotiate in Pereyaslavl in 1095, by order of the prince, shooting him with a bow through a hole in the roof. Boris Rybakov, in particular, wrote that the name Idolishche, in all likelihood, is a distortion of Itlar through the form “Itlarishche the filthy.” It is characteristic that in the entire epic tradition it is the murder of the filthy Idol that is the only example of the murder of an enemy in the palace, and not in the “open field”.

The second feat of Alyosha Popovich is the victory over Tugarin the Serpent. Philologists found the prototype of the “snake” back in the 19th century; at the beginning of the 20th century, the version was voiced by Vsevolod Fedorovich Miller. "Tugarin the serpent" is the Polovtsian khan Tugorkan from the Shurakanid dynasty. Sharukan among the Polovtsians meant “snake”.
So everything comes together. According to Boris Rybakov, the name Olberg over time was transformed into the Christian Olesha, and the comparison of Alyosha Popovich with the historical governor Alexander Popovich, according to Dmitry Likhachev, is later.

Nikitich

In Vasnetsov’s painting, Dobrynya is depicted as a mature warrior with a thick beard, while in all the epics Dobrynya is a good fellow. There is an opinion that Vasnetsov painted partly himself in Dobrynya’s appearance. The thick beard seems to hint.
The name "Dobrynya" means "heroic kindness." The epic Dobrynya also has the nickname “young”, he is strong, and is the protector of “unfortunate wives, widows and orphans.” In addition, he is creative - he plays the harp and sings, he is passionate - he does not avoid playing tavlei. Dobrynya is intelligent in his speeches and knows the subtleties of etiquette. It is clear that he is not a commoner. At the very least - a prince-commander.
The epic Dobrynya is compared by philologists (Khoroshev, Kireevsky) with the chronicle Dobrynya, the uncle of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. Historically, Nikitich is not a middle name; the real Dobrynya’s middle name is quite Hollywood - Malkovich. And there were Malkovichs from the village of Nizkinichi. It is believed that “Nikitich” is precisely the “Nizkinich” transformed by the people.
The chronicle Dobrynya played a big role in the history of Rus'. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, it was he who advised the Novgorod ambassadors to invite Prince Vladimir to their place, and he also facilitated the marriage of his nephew to the Polovtsian Rogneda. For his deeds, Dobrynya, after the death of his brother Vladimir Yaropolk, became a Novgorod mayor and participated in the baptism of Novgorod.

If you believe the Joachim Chronicle, baptism was painful, “Putyata baptized with the sword, and Dobrynya with fire,” the houses of the obstinate pagans had to be burned. Excavations, by the way, confirm the great fire of Novgorod in 989.

Ilya Muromets

Ilya Muromets is the eldest of the “younger heroes”. Everything in it is ours. At first he sat on the stove, then he was miraculously healed, then he served for the prince, quarreled with him from time to time, and after military affairs he became a monk.
The prototype of our main knight is Saint Elijah of the Pechersk, whose relics rest in the nearby caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Ilya Muromets had a nickname; he was also called “Chobotok”. Chobotok is a boot. How Ilya Muromets received this nickname can be read in the surviving document of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery:
“There is also one giant or hero, called Chobotka, they say that he was once attacked by many enemies while he was putting on a boot, and since in his haste he could not grab any other weapon, he began to defend himself with another boot, which had not yet been put it on and defeated everyone with it, which is why he received such a nickname.”

The fact that Ilya Pechersky is Ilya Muromets is confirmed by the book “Teraturgima” published in 1638. In it, the monk from the monastery Afanasy Kalnofoisky says that Saint Elijah, who is also called Chibitko, rests in the caves. The earthly life of the hero "Teraturgimus" dates back to the 12th century.

New evidence of the identity of the historical Elijah of Pechersk and Ilya of Muromets appeared in 1988, when the Interdepartmental Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR was sent to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The height of Elijah of Pechersk during his lifetime was 177 cm, which was impressive for Ancient Rus'. The epic's indication of the immobility of St. Elijah, up to 30 years of age, corresponds to data on a long-term spinal disease. According to scientists, the ascetic was a warrior, this was evidenced by calluses on the ribs that had healed after fractures. In addition, many other battle wounds were found on the body, one of which was apparently fatal.

Alesha Popovich

Traditionally, Alyosha Popovich is correlated with the Rostov boyar Alexander Popovich, about whom there is more than one mention in the Nikon Chronicle. He took part in the Battle of Lipetsk and died in 1223 in the Battle of the Kalka River.

So everything comes together. According to Boris Rybakov, the name Olberg over time was transformed into the Christian Olesha, and the comparison of Alyosha Popovich with the historical governor Alexander Popovich, according to Dmitry Likhachev, is later.

Nikitich

The epic Dobrynya also has the nickname “young”, he is strong, and is the protector of “unfortunate wives, widows and orphans.” In addition, he is creative - he plays the harp and sings, he is passionate - he does not avoid playing tavlei. Dobrynya is intelligent in his speeches and knows the subtleties of etiquette. It is clear that he is not a commoner. At the very least - a prince-commander.

The epic Dobrynya is compared by philologists (Khoroshev, Kireevsky) with the chronicle Dobrynya, the uncle of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich. Historically, Nikitich is not a middle name; the real Dobrynya’s middle name is quite Hollywood - Malkovich. And there were Malkovichs from the village of Nizkinichi. It is believed that “Nikitich” is precisely the “Nizkinich” transformed by the people.

The chronicle Dobrynya played a big role in the history of Rus'. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, it was he who advised the Novgorod ambassadors to invite Prince Vladimir to their place, and he also facilitated the marriage of his nephew to the Polovtsian Rogneda. For his deeds, Dobrynya, after the death of his brother Vladimir Yaropolk, became a Novgorod mayor and participated in the baptism of Novgorod.

Ilya Muromets

The prototype of our main knight is Saint Elijah of the Pechersk, whose relics rest in the nearby caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Ilya Muromets had a nickname; he was also called “Chobotok”. Chobotok is a boot. How Ilya Muromets received this nickname can be read in the surviving document of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery:

“There is also one giant or hero, called Chobotka, they say that he was once attacked by many enemies while he was putting on a boot, and since in his haste he could not grab any other weapon, he began to defend himself with another boot, which had not yet been put it on and defeated everyone with it, which is why he received such a nickname.”

According to scientists, the ascetic was a warrior, this was evidenced by calluses on the ribs that had healed after fractures. In addition, many other battle wounds were found on the body, one of which was apparently fatal.

Prototypes of "Three Heroes" by Vasnetsov

The history of world painting does not know many paintings to the creation of which an artist would devote a significant part of his creative life. Among these paintings are “Bogatyri” (“Three Heroes”) by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. Few people know that the heroes depicted in the picture are not only heroes of Russian folklore, but also real people!

Of the heroes depicted in the painting, the most famous is, perhaps, Ilya Muromets, located in the center of the composition. In history he is known as the holy Venerable Ilya of Murom of Pechersk (died approximately in 1188), a native of the city of Murom. He is the hero of a number of Russian epics that arose in the 12th-13th centuries, and German folk tales of the 13th century.

In 1988, the Interdepartmental Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR conducted a comprehensive examination of the remains of the hero, which are still kept in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Scientists have found that Ilya died at the age of 40-55 from a puncture wound to the heart (from the nature of the injuries one can judge that the enemy spear, having pierced Ilya’s shield and hand, pierced straight into the chest), and in his youth he suffered from paralysis of the lower extremities (that’s why he thirty years and three years lay on the stove).

Ilya was originally from peasants. Despite the fact that his military exploits earned him great respect from Prince Vladimir and his entourage, they sometimes still emphasized this social inequality. For example, Vladimir suddenly “forgets” to invite Ilya to a feast or gives him not valuable gifts, like the boyars, but just a Tatar fur coat. Conscious of his services to the Russian land, Ilya does not hesitate to publicly call Vladimir a fool for such an attitude towards himself, shoot with a bow at the gilded domes of his palace, and also excite the common people. However, he gets away with all this - after all, he is a hero!

To the right hand of Ilya Muromets sits Dobrynya Nikitich on a horse. The historical prototype of Dobrynya is difficult to determine: the whole point is that there were several Dobrynyas in epics. Thus, in the Tver Chronicle, next to Alyosha Popovich, his comrade Dobrynya (Timonya) Zlatopoyas is mentioned, and in the Nikon Chronicle, Alyosha Popovich, his servant Torop and Dobrynya Razanich Zlatoy Belt are mentioned. However, the version that the epic Dobrynya could have a connection with the historical uncle of Prince Vladimir seems the most plausible. This is evidenced, in particular, by the epic about procuring a kind bride for Vladimir.

The basis of this epic, apparently, was an event noted in the chronicle of 980, namely, Vladimir’s matchmaking of the daughter of Rog-vold of Polotsk, Rogneda. The similarities are obvious: firstly, the action takes place in a land located in the west (according to the chronicle - in the Polotsk region, according to the epic - in the land of Lithuania). Secondly, the matchmaking of the bride is refused, and the bride is obtained by violence, and the main role here is played by Dobrynya, who, according to the chronicle, defeated Rogvold and took possession of Polotsk, and according to the epic, cut down every single Tatar.

On the left hand of Ilya Muromets is Alyosha Popovich, who in the chronicles is referred to exclusively as Alexander Popovich. Alexander is a real warrior. He participated in a number of significant battles, and not only participated, but showed miracles of military art and strength. For example, he fearlessly fought on the Ish-ne and Uza rivers against the troops of Yuri, the younger brother of Constantine (who, in turn, was the eldest son of Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich). Popovich also took part in the famous Battle of Lipetsk.

After the death of his patron Konstantin, Alexander Popovich gathered his friends at the rattling well on the Uza River and put forward a proposal - to enter the service of the great Kyiv prince Mstislav Romanovich the Brave, instead of, not sparing his belly, participating in petty squabbles of different princes. Everyone liked the idea, and Mstislav Romanovich was very happy to receive such reinforcements. But, as can be seen from history, he did not rejoice for long - in the battle with the Tatars on the Kalka River on May 31, 1223, he was defeated, and Popovich fell there along with his seventy old friends.

In the epics, Alyosha Popovich first appears in the image of a mighty, fearless warrior (as it was), but later, apparently under the influence of the nickname Popovich (son of a priest), popular rumor begins to attribute other traits to Alyosha - deceit, cunning, a tendency to deceit and love affairs. This was reflected in Vasnetsov’s painting - Alyosha is depicted there as an almost slender young man, shooting from afar at enemies with a bow (although, according to epics, all three heroes fired from it for a sweet soul, and this was not considered something shameful).

If, taking into account all the above data, we take a fresh look at the picture, then we will understand that all three heroes cannot be depicted in the form in which they are depicted. If we take the age of Ilya Muromets as a standard, it turns out that at that time Dobrynya Nikitich should already be a gray-bearded old man, and Alyosha Popovich should be a boy.

But that is not all. Now let's figure out what the epic heroes are depicted with in the picture.

The central figure of the composition - Ilya Muromets - carries a mace and a spear. Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, apparently, wanted to thereby emphasize the physical power of the hero. However, the mace was not the main, but an auxiliary weapon of Ilya and served to deliver a quick, unexpected blow in any direction. The main weapon of Muromets (by the way, the most widespread in Rus') was still a spear.

The sword, as you know, was also a symbol of princely power, and at first only senior warriors or the prince had the right to wear it. Vasnetsov also noted this, giving it into the hands of Dobrynya Nikitich, who, apparently, was indeed a representative of the princely family.

Much more interesting is the weaponry of the third character, Alyosha Popovich. In his hands we see a complex (composite) bow and a sword sheathed at his side. So, a Russian marksman, unless, of course, he was left-handed, wore a pupu (case) with a bow on his left side, and a quiver of arrows on his right. The fact that Alyosha is right-handed is confirmed by the fact that his sword hangs on the left. Then why is the quiver also on the left? Apparently, Viktor Mikhailovich was so carried away by creating a masterpiece that he accidentally lost sight of this moment, thereby creating serious problems for the depicted Popovich in battle.

As for the armor, the cone adorning the top of Dobrynya Nikitich’s head attracts very close attention. The fact is that in the time of Dobrynya, this helmet was a rarity more than all the Faberge eggs combined. Why? Yes, because Vasnetsov depicted a hero in a helmet that belonged to the Pereyaslavl prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the father of Alexander Nevsky! During the internecine Battle of Lipetsk between the Vladimir-Suzdal people and the Novgorodians (1216), this helmet migrated from the prince’s head to the ground, and 600 years later it was found by a peasant in the forest and handed over to whoever it should be. Well, Vasnetsov could not resist and depicted Dobrynya in the legendary helmet, once again emphasizing his princely origin...

Historical sources “settled” the great trinity over different centuries. The names of the three heroes became symbols of childhood for many generations of children.

In epics and legends there are three heroes - Ilya Muromets, Nikitich And Alesha Popovich often perform various feats together. They save their native land from hordes of enemies, go out to fight strange villains, and help out pretty maidens in trouble.

Their deeds were reflected not only in the Slavic epic, but also in stories that were passed down from mouth to mouth for centuries by Finns, Altaians, Germans, and Scandinavians. Who were these three knights really and did they meet each other?

Ilya Muromets

In 1188, in the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, the venerable Elder Elijah, whose memory is celebrated by Orthodox Christians on January 1. The national hero, crowned with glory and wounded in battle, took monastic vows in old age. According to another version, the monk Ilya Pechersky died in battle when, in 1204, Prince Rurik led the Polovtsians to Kyiv and destroyed the Lavra.

His relics rest in the Near Caves of the Lavra. In 1988, an interdepartmental commission of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR conducted an examination of the remains.

The study showed that in the tomb lies a man of advanced age by the standards of the 12th century, who suffered many injuries and wounds and died from a striking blow to the heart. A round weapon, possibly a spear, pierced his left arm and entered his chest. His right hand remained forever folded for the sign of the cross. Doctors also identified spinal defects, which suggest that he suffered paralysis of the limbs in his youth.

Thus, it became clear that the Church preserves the memory of the epic hero, whose image in numerous retellings over many centuries has become vague and indefinite.

Historians know several options for the origin of Ilya. So, for example, this same hero could be Ilya Chobotok. He earned this nickname when, lacking a weapon, he fought off enemies with a chobot, that is, a boot. In the Vladimir village of Karacharovo they not only consider Ilya Muromets their fellow countryman, but also a relative. To the men of the family Gushchinykh, who possessed extraordinary strength, were forbidden to participate in amusing fist fights right up to the 19th century.

According to another version, Ilya came to serve the Kyiv Prince Vladimir from the village of Karachev near the city of Moroviysk in the Chernihiv region. And German epic poems, without going into details, simply call it - Ilya Russian.

This hero is the main character in 15 plots of heroic epics, through which his biography can be traced. If we proceed from them, then in his youth Ilya was paralyzed, and subsequently healed by walking Kaliki (according to some versions - by Christ and the two apostles). He studied martial arts from Svyatogor, and having entered the service of the Kyiv prince, he established himself with a victory over Nightingale the Robber. It is also known that Ilya Muromets had a difficult relationship with Prince Vladimir, and his son Sokolnichka suffered a tragic fate.

Nikitich

The place of birth of this hero is not known exactly. Some researchers believe that he was born in the second half of the 10th century somewhere in the region of Vladimir-Volynsky. It is quite possible that Nikitich is not his patronymic name at all, but a distorted nickname given after the name of the village of Nizkinichi.

It was Voivode Dobrynya, historians believe, who helped Vladimir ascend to the princely throne, bypassing his older brother Yaropolk. By the way, Dobrynya could well have taught Vladimir to achieve by force Rogneda, daughter of the Polovtsian ruler, who became the bride of Yaropolk.

Vladimir came with an army to Polotsk, captured Rogneda and publicly raped it. The prince himself, as legends describe, was very woman-loving and kept a whole harem in Kyiv. Hunting for the only woman (even though she refused to marry him, calling him the son of a slave) and then humiliating her is not in his character. And Dobrynya was very irritated by reminders that his sister Malusha was with the prince Svyatoslav was a slave, housekeeper.

In the epics, Dobrynya Nikitich fights the Serpent and rescues a whole series of beauties from trouble, including his own wife, Nastasya Mikulishna. In reality, having been appointed governor of Novgorod by Prince Vladimir, he first installs pagan idols in the city, and then, after the baptism of his nephew, converts his lot to Christianity.

Despite religious vacillations, the hero was a competent and skillful ruler, and under him Novgorod flourished. Prince Vladimir also owes many strategic government decisions to his uncle and mentor. Son of Dobrynya Nikitich, Konstantin, became one of the prominent associates Yaroslav the Wise. A direct descendant of the hero was a saint Varlaam Pechersky, first abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Alesha Popovich

In the epics, Dobrynya Nikitich fought with Ilya Muromets before they became friends. A Alesha Popovich wooed Dobrynya's wife when he was on a campaign. In fact, Dobrynya Nikitich lived in the 10th century and served Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko; Ilya Muromets labored in the service of Vladimir Monomakh.

And the Rostov brave man Alexander (Olesha) Popovich, who became the prototype of the epic Alyosha Popovich, fought for Vsevolod's Big Nest, and died in the battle of Kalka in 1223 in the squad Mstislav the Old, that is, in the 13th century. And the inseparable trinity of heroes, obviously, never existed.

"Someone from Rostov, a resident Alexander, the verb Popovich, and his servant by his name Torop; Alexander served the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich,” says the chronicles of the early 13th century.

The hero found himself drawn into a political confrontation between the two sons of Prince Vsevolod, Constantine And Yuri, and personally killed several of the latter's best warriors. To avoid revenge, he went to Kyiv to join the squad of Prince Mstislav the Old.

A warrior from a boyar family, whose father was a priest, is portrayed in epics not as a strong man, but as a cunning man. He is boastful, cunning and dexterous. The chronicles list numerous battles in which Alexander Popovich took part and defeated many enemies. One of them, the Polovtsian Khan Tugorkan, entered the epics under the name Tugarin.

Prince Mstislav was happy when such a famous warrior entered his service, who, moreover, brought with him several experienced comrades. The Kiev ruler believed that he could now cope with any enemy. However, in the Battle of Kalka, where the Russian regiments, together with the Polovtsy, opposed the Tatars, Mstislav faced defeat and death.

According to some sources, Alyosha Popovich was the son of the saint Leontia, Bishop of Rostov and Suzdal.

One of the most famous paintings Viktor Vasnetsov and throughout Russian painting they call famous "Bogatyrs", which became one of Pavel Tretyakov’s last acquisitions for his gallery. Everyone knows that the painting depicts Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, but in fact, the prototypes were not only historical and folklore characters.

Viktor Vasnetsov worked on “Bogatyrs” for about 30 years. The first sketches are dated 1871, the composition was conceived in Paris in 1876, and the painting was completed only in 1898. This canvas became central to the artist’s personal exhibition in the same year. Vasnetsov admitted: “I worked on the Bogatyrs, perhaps not always with the proper intensity, but they were always relentlessly in front of me, my heart was always drawn to them and my hand reached out to them! They were my creative duty, an obligation to my native people.”

Folklore motifs were very popular in the works of the Itinerant artists, and for Viktor Vasnetsov this theme became one of the main ones. In the center of the composition “Bogatyrs” (the name “Three Bogatyrs” is erroneous, although this is what people call this picture) are epic heroes. The heroic theme attracted the artist all his life. This is evidenced by the paintings “Bayan” (1910), “Heroic Leap” (1914), “Combat of Peresvet with Chelubey” (1914), “Fight of Dobrynya Nikitich with the seven-headed Serpent Gorynych” (1918) and others.

The historical prototypes of the heroes of the picture were the epic heroes Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. It is noteworthy that Ilya Muromets is not only a fairy tale, but also a very real character. This was a warrior named Chobotok, who was presumably born in 1188 in Murom. After being seriously wounded in battle, he “distributed his acquired wealth to decorate churches” and became a monk, taking a new name - Ilya. In 1643, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized him as a saint under the name of St. Ilya of Muromets. His relics are kept in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

In 1988, scientists conducted a study of the remains of Ilya Muromets, during which they found that he was indeed bedridden until the age of 30 due to a spinal disease, and that he died from a spear blow to the heart. At the end of the twentieth century. It was also possible to reconstruct his appearance: scientists claim that he was a large man with well-developed muscles, about 182 cm tall. At the time of the creation of the picture, Vasnetsov did not know these facts, but depicted the hero as he himself imagined him: stocky, majestic and calm.

The historical prototype of Dobrynya Nikitich is more difficult to determine: several characters with that name are mentioned in epics. Apparently, he was a representative of the princely family. But more is known about Alyosha Popovich, however, in the chronicles he is mentioned under the name Alexander Popovich. This was a Rostov boyar who defeated the enemy not so much by force as by skill and ingenuity. He proved himself to be a fearless warrior in several significant battles. But later, under the influence of the nickname Popovich (son of a priest), popular rumor attributed completely different traits to the hero - cunning, cunning and love of love.

All three heroes lived at different times, and could only meet in Vasnetsov’s painting. When Ilya Muromets was the way the artist depicted him, Dobrynya should have been an old man, and Alyosha Popovich should have been a boy.

However, in addition to the epic heroes, Vasnetsov’s characters also had very real prototypes, which he found among his contemporaries. They say that the prototype of Ilya Muromets was the peasant of the Vladimir province Ivan Petrov, as well as a cab driver whom the artist met in Moscow and persuaded to pose: “I’m walking along the embankment near the Crimean Bridge,” V. Vasnetsov later said, “and I see: a hefty fellow standing near the regiment , exactly the spitting image of my Ilya.”

In the appearance of Dobrynya, some researchers see features of Vasnetsov himself. There is an opinion that Dobrynya’s face has become a collective type of the Vasnetsov family - not only the artist, but also his grandfather and father. But for Alyosha Popovich, Andrei, the youngest son of the owner Savva Mamontov, posed for the artist on the Abramtsevo estate. Then he was only 13 years old, and 8 years later the young man fell ill and died suddenly. Vasnetsov completed his image from memory.

Fairy-tale characters in the artist’s paintings often acquired the external features of his contemporaries: