Where did the epic heroes live? Russian hero Ilya Muromets.

15.10.2019

Embodying the national ideal of a hero-warrior, people's protector. Kmita of Chernobyl (XVI century) has Ilya - Muravlenin, not Muromets, Erich Lassota (XVI century) - Ilya Morovlin, in some epics of the XVII century - Ilya Murovich or Ilya Murovets.

Ilya Muromets appears in the Kiev cycle of epics: “Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber”, “Ilya Muromets and Poganoe Idolishche”, “Ilya Muromets Quarrel with Prince Vladimir”, “Ilya Muromets Fight with Zhidovin”. Most historians believe that the birthplace of Ilya Muromets is the village of Karacharovo near Murom (Most of the epics about Ilya Muromets begin with the words: “Is it the city of Muroml, Is it the village of Karachaev ...” According to some historians Russian Empire and modern Ukrainian historians, his small homeland was the ancient village of Moroviysk in the Chernihiv region (the modern village of Morovsk, Kozeletsky district, Chernihiv region of Ukraine), which leads from Chernigov to Kiev. This conclusion is based on the possibility of merging in the folk epic of the image of Ilya of Muromets with the Monk Elijah of the Caves.

According to S. A. Azbelev, who has 53 plots of heroic epics, Ilya Muromets is the main character of 15 of them (No. 1-15 according to the index compiled by Azbelev).

Gaining strength by Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor
The first trip of Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets and Idolishche
Ilya Muromets in a quarrel with Prince Volodymyr
Ilya Muromets and Goli tavern
Ilya Muromets on the Sokol-ship
Ilya Muromets and the robbers
Three trips of Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets and Sokolnik
Ilya Muromets, Yermak and Kalin Tsar
Kama massacre
Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar
Dobrynya Nikitich duel with Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber

For each plot, the number of individual variants recorded from different storytellers is in the tens and can exceed a hundred (Nos. 3, 9, 10), mostly there were from 12 to 45 or more.

Epic biography of Ilya Muromets

unprecedented big number plots dedicated to Ilya Muromets, provides a unique opportunity to present in a more or less complete form the biography of this hero (as it seemed to the storytellers).

Folklore outside the Russian North

Only a few epic stories with the name of Ilya Muromets are known outside the provinces of Olonets, Arkhangelsk and Siberia (Collection of Kirsha Danilov and S. Gulyaev). Outside of these areas, only a few plots have been recorded so far:

In the middle and southern parts of Russia, only epics are known without attaching Ilya Muromets to Kiev and Prince. Vladimir, and the most popular plots in which robbers (Ilya Muromets and robbers) or Cossacks (Ilya Muromets on the Falcon-ship) play the role, which indicates the popularity of Ilya Muromets among the freedom-loving population, who hunted on the Volga, Yaik and was part of the Cossacks .

Prose stories about Ilya Muromets, written in the form of Russian folk tales and those who passed to some non-Slavic peoples (Finns, Latvians, Chuvashs, Yakuts), also do not know about the Kiev epic relations of Ilya Muromets, do not mention Prince Vladimir, replacing him with an unnamed king; they contain almost exclusively the adventure of Ilya Muromets with the Nightingale the Robber, sometimes with the Idolish, called the Glutton, and sometimes attribute to Ilya Muromets the release of the princess from the snake, which the epics do not know about Ilya Muromets.

Often there is a mixture of Ilya Muromets with Elijah the prophet. This confusion also occurred in the alleged epic homeland of Ilya Muromets, in the view of the peasants of the village of Karacharovo (near Murom), and in the stories of these peasants, Ilya Muromets' relationship to Kiev and Prince Vladimir is not mentioned at all. The study of the epic biography of Ilya Muromets leads to the conviction that the name of this popular hero was overlaid with many fabulous and legendary wandering stories.

The hero Ilya is the hero not only of Russian epics, but also of German epic poems of the 13th century. In them, he is represented by the mighty knight of the princely family Ilya Russian.

historical prototype

The relics of Ilya Pechersky

The prototype of the epic character is considered by researchers to be a historical strongman nicknamed "Chobitok", originally from Murom, who took monastic vows in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra under the name of Ilya, canonized in the Orthodox Church as "Reverend Elijah of Muromets" (canonized in 1643) Elijah of the Caves.

According to this theory, Ilya Muromets lived in the 12th century and died in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra around 1188. Memory by church calendar- December 19 (January 1). Modern anthropologists and orthopedic doctors, when examining the relics of Elijah, confirm that the lower limbs of this person long time did not work, due to either congenital paralysis or birth trauma. The spinal injury was repaired, allowing him to regain leg mobility.

The theory of the identity of the epic hero with the monk - Chobitko, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is quite plausible.

Russian chronicles do not mention his name. After a miraculous healing, he converts to Orthodoxy and chooses a new name for himself, Ilya.

The relics rest in the Near Caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The tombstone of Ilya Muromets is located near the grave of Stolypin. Part of the relics of Elijah - Middle finger left hand, located in one of the temples of the city of Murom, Vladimir region.

Ilya Muromets in Russian culture

Monument to Ilya Muromets in Murom

Monuments

In 1999, a monument to Ilya Muromets by sculptor V. M. Klykov was erected in the city park of Murom
In 2012, a monument to St. Ilya Muromets by the sculptor Zinich was erected in the Admiralsky Square of Vladivostok. The monument is a gift from the group of companies "Stimex" and the public of Krasnoyarsk to the city of Vladivostok.

Objects named after Ilya

Geographic features

Located on the Bear Peninsula, one of the highest waterfalls in Russia bears the name Ilya Muromets.
In the Kiev region on the Dnieper there is Muromets Island - a landscape park and favorite place rest of the townspeople.

Organizations

Film studio for children and youth films "Ilya Muromets"
Open-end investment fund Troika Dialog - Ilya Muromets

Technics

Literature

Fiction

"History about Ilya Muromets" - handwritten folk book of the 18th century
Ilya Muromets - an unfinished poem ("heroic tale") by N. M. Karamzin
"Ilya Muromets" - ballad by A. K. Tolstoy
Jan Rainis wrote the tragedy "Ilya Muromets" (1922)
Ilya Muromets is a character in Vasily Shukshin's story "Until the third cocks".
Ilya Muromets - main character novel of the same name by Ivan Koshkin.
Ilya is the central character in Oleg Divov's novel "The Brave", which, according to the author, aims to "immerse yourself in the atmosphere of that time." The struggle of the hero with the Nightingale the Robber is interpreted in the novel with the involvement of the hypothesis of the Neanderthals who survived until that time, and the nickname "Muromets" is interpreted as a distorted "Urmanin", that is, a Viking, Varangian. In addition to the novel, the book contains an extensive appendix of a popular science character, which gives a fairly detailed historical reference and a review of various hypotheses about the prototype and origin of the epic hero.
Ilya son Ivanov is one of the main characters of the historical novel Nine Spas by Anatoly Brusnikin. In the work, images of other fairy-tale characters are guessed: Dmitry Nikitin, Alexei Popov, Vasilisa.

Modern folklore

In modern Russian folklore, Ilya Muromets is the hero of a small cycle of jokes (usually together with Alyosha Popovich and Dobrynya Nikitich).

art

Painting

Ilya Muromets is a character in Viktor Vasnetsov's painting " Bogatyrs", inspired by the epic "Ilya Muromets and the Robbers", he also painted the painting " The Knight at the Crossroads".
“Ilya Muromets at a feast at Prince Vladimir” - painting by V. P. Vereshchagin
Ilya Muromets - painting by Nicholas Roerich
"Ilya Muromets liberates the prisoners", "Ilya Muromets and the barren tavern", "Ilya Muromets in a quarrel with Prince Vladimir", "Gift of Svyatogor" - paintings by Konstantin Vasiliev

Illustrations

Ivan Bilibin created illustrations for epics about Ilya Muromets: Ilya Muromets, Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor, Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber, Ilya Muromets and Svyatogor's wife.

engravings

There are popular prints about Ilya Muromets: “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber”, “Strong and brave hero Ilya Muromets”.

Plastic

"Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber" - porcelain composition by sculptor S. M. Orlov

Music

operas

Caterino Cavos wrote the opera Ilya the Bogatyr to a libretto by Ivan Krylov.
In the opera-farce of the composer Alexander Borodin "Bogatyrs" there is the role of Ilya Muromets.
Composer Leonid Malashkin wrote the opera "Ilya Muromets, or Russian Bogatyrs"
Ilya Muromets is a character in Mikhail Ivanov's opera Fun Putyatishna.
Ilya Muromets - opera by Valentina Serova
Opera "Ilya Muromets" by composer Boris Feoktistov.

Symphonic works

In 1909-11, the composer Reinhold Gliere created the 3rd symphony under the title "Ilya Muromets".

Mass music

The Gaza Sector group has a song "Ilya Muromets"
The group Gas Attack Sector has an album "Rock epic Ilya Muromets"

Our ancestors XVI - early XIX centuries had no doubt that Ilya Muromets- a real person, a warrior who served the Kiev prince.

But if Ilya Muromets is a historical figure, then why is he not mentioned in any annals? There may be several reasons for this.

Firstly, not many written sources of those years have come down to us. And this is not surprising. Tatars constantly raided Russian land and burned cities. Once, during a fire, books from the library of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra burned down.

Secondly, Ilya was from a simple peasant family. At that time, the permanent army of the prince - his squad, was recruited from noble people. The outrageous precedent of the dizzying rise of a simple peasant could not leave indifferent the noble boyars and the princes of the golden age of Kievan Rus who relied on him.

Therefore, the name of the national hero was erased from the pages of history. But it was impossible to erase him from the good memory of a grateful people.

After his death, Ilya was buried in the limit of the main temple of Kievan Rus - Sophia of Kiev. There was a grand ducal tomb, in which not all princes were buried. And Ilya Muromets was awarded such an honor by his worldly deeds. The boyars could not even dream of such indulgence.

Perhaps it was for this reason that later the tomb of Ilya Muromets was destroyed during the raid, and the tomb of his comrade - Dobrynya Nikitich, the son of the Drevlyan prince Mala, miraculously survived.

The ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II mentions this in his diaries. Erich Lasota, which from May 7 to May 9, 1594 was a passage in Kiev.

At that time, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra took care of the relics of the hero. There, in the Near Caves, his body rests to this day.

No. 2 Ilya Muromets is a hero not only of the Russian epic

Although the Russian chronicles do not mention the name of the most famous hero of Russian epics, he is the main character in one of the German epic poems of the 13th century, based on earlier legends.

It speaks of him as a mighty knight, and they call him Ilya Russian.

#3 Giant

No. 4 Descendants of Gushchina

Now the village of Karacharovo has become part of the modern city of Murom. On the site of the house of Ilya Muromets stands new house with a sign, they say, the people's favorite and the hero of epics Ilya Muromets lived on this place. The residents of this house claim that they are descendants of the hero. From generation to generation they collect all the information about their famous ancestor. After recreating the portrait of Ilya Muromets, they showed a photograph of their great-grandfather. The resemblance is indeed observed.

They say that the phenomenal strength of the hero was also inherited by his distant descendants - the family of the Karacharov villagers Gushchins, who, like their great ancestor, could well move a load in the last century that was beyond the power of a horse.

#5 "Sydnam sat on the stove for thirty years and three years..."

From the legends, we know that Ilya could not walk until the age of 33.

Such a story was spread among the people. As if the grandfather of the future Russian hero Ilya Muromets was real pagan and refused to accept Christianity. One day he took an ax and cut Orthodox icon. Since then curse fell on his family. All boys were to be born crippled.

And after 10 years, a grandson was born who had paralysis of the legs. But he did not despair, but developed the rest of the body. For 33 years he could not even take a step on the ground. Once they entered the house kaliks passable» – traditional healers. They healed the hero with the help of charmed water. This is evidenced by the legends of antiquity deep.

But the most interesting thing is that after studying the relics of Ilya Muromets, anatomists found in the lumbar rachiocampsis to the right and pronounced additional processes on the vertebrae. This means that this person really could not walk for a long time due to pinched nerves in the spinal cord.

#6 Age

Scientists are still arguing about the date of birth and date of death of the hero, but it was possible to determine from the remains that the hero lived for 45-50 years. For that time he was old man.

#7 First body exploration

For the first time, the body of Ilya Muromets was examined by Soviet scientists in 1963. At that atheistic time, scientists wrote in their conclusion that the body belongs to a person Mongoloid race, and the wounds imitated Lavra monks.

Meanwhile, the Mongoloid facial features of the Russian knight are also noted by modern scientists.

No. 8 Straight path

Remember the beginning of the epic tales about Ilya Muromets? " Whether from that city from Murom, from that village from Karacharov ...» It would seem that everything is clear. Here is the city of Murom. The village of Karacharovo is now part of this city, although it has retained its name. But there were doubts about the place of birth of the Russian knight in the last century, and there are now.

The name of the epic hero was also known on Chernihiv region. There are the years Karachev and Moroviysk, whose names are consonant with the village of Karacharov and the city of Murom.

But if you look at an ordinary geographical map, Moroviysk and Karachev are separated by hundreds of kilometers. And talking about the "Morovian village of Karachev" is somehow strange. But if you mark Murom, Karachev, Chernigov, Moroviysk and Kiev on the map, then you can draw one line. Here is the famous "straight path".

It is on it that Ilya travels to Kiev, passing " through those forests, Brynsky, through the Smorodinnaya River”, through the village of Nine Oaks, not far from Karachev. All settlements have retained their former names and still exist. Even the Smorodinnaya River flows there to this day.

In addition, the most famous feat of a hero is a fight with a bandit. Nightingale the robber. As you know, the robber controlled the direct road to the capital of Russia, Kiev, and did not let him pass quietly. neither mounted nor on foot". Around 1168, Ilya arrived in Kiev. At that time, he sat on the throne Prince Mstislav, who ordered to organize the protection of trade caravans going to the capital, which were constantly plundered by the Polovtsians. Probably, the prince of Kiev entrusted this to his hero Ilya Muromets, who was in the prince's squad.

The nightingale was a robber who hunted for raids and thefts on the road, and the nickname, as one might assume, stuck to him for his ability to whistle loudly. Ilya Muromets defeated the robber in a duel and freed the “straight road”. This event, no doubt, was not only of great economic importance for the principality, but also made life ordinary people calmer.

The liberation of the straight road from the robbers did not go unnoticed and was equated by the people with a real feat.

#9 Mystery of death

The fact of the presence of the revered relics of the famous hero was also reflected in the epic texts themselves. So interesting is the end of the epic " Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar» performed by the narrator Shchegolenkova: "from these Tatars and from filthy ones, his horse was petrified and heroic, and relics and saints became, and from the old Cossack Ilya Muromets." Everyone remembers from childhood that passerby Kaliki prophesied to the famous hero that “ death in battle is not written for him". Therefore, in epics and fairy tales, the death of a hero is told differently: either he turns to stone alone, or with other heroes; then the living lies in the coffin and remains there forever; then, together with Dobrynya, he sails away somewhere on the Falcon Ship, and since then there has been no news about him.

At this point in time official sources they say that the hero Ilya Muromets was born between 1150 and 1165. And he died, as scientists suggest, during the capture of Kiev by the army of Prince Rurik Rostislavich in 1204, when the famous Pechersk Lavra was destroyed and plundered by the Cumans, allied with Rurik. Death came from a blow to the chest with a sharp weapon (sword or spear).

#10 Saint

There is a legend about why Ilya decided to become a monk. In another very fierce battle, the hero was badly wounded and almost killed, but miraculously survived. In that battle he vowed never to lift a sword again, settle in a monastery and devote himself to the service of God. Ilya Muromets approached the walls of the Lavra and threw off all his armor. However, he could not throw the sword to the ground.

So he became a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. He spent the rest of his life in a cell in constant prayer.

The Russian hero left behind not only imperishable memory. The body of Ilya, like the remains of other monks who are buried in the caves of the Pechersk Lavra, is incorruptible. But, unlike the remains of the Egyptian pharaohs, it turned into a mummy not due to treatment with mummifying compounds, but due to an unknown modern science reason.

The Orthodox believe that if the human body does not decompose, but gradually turns into power then this is a gift from above, therefore a person can be considered a saint.

There is a belief that the relics of the Holy Russian hero Ilya Muromets able to heal those who suffer from terrible diseases of the spine and those whose legs are completely paralyzed. The Russian knight continues to serve people even after death...

Ilya Muromets is the central hero of Russian epics. He embodies the ideal warrior. Epics about the bogatyr Ilya Muromets are included in the Kiev cycle. There are about fifty of them, and in twenty of them - Ilya acts as the main character.

Biography of the hero Ilya Muromets

We learn about the biography of the hero Ilya Muromets from epics.

The birth of the hero belongs to the twelfth century. It happened in the city of Murom or in the village of Karacharovo near Murom. This fact is still controversial. If you believe the epic "Healing of Ilya Muromets", then he lay on the stove for up to thirty-three years, because he could not walk. This misfortune happened to the boy for this reason: Ilya's grandfather, being a pagan, refused to accept Christianity and even cut an Orthodox icon with an ax. Since that time, all the boys in the family were doomed to be born crippled, which happened to Ilya. However, the hero did not lie just like that, he trained his hands, did muscle exercises. Therefore, his arms were very strong. However, his legs were completely motionless.

But one day, the elders passing by his house healed him. First they asked the hero to bring them water. Perplexed, Ilya gets up and brings it. Then the elders ask him to drink water himself, after which Ilya recovers. After the second sip, he becomes incredibly strong, and after the third - his strength becomes a little less. Then the healers tell Ilya that now he must serve Prince Vladimir. However, on the way to Kiev he will meet a huge stone. The hero says goodbye to his parents, goes to Kiev. And indeed, on the way, he finds a stone. Ilya moves it, and there he finds a horse and armor. Saddling a horse, he gallops to Prince Vladimir Monomakh. The latter ruled from 1113 to 1125. At this time, Christianity was already firmly established in Russia. And the hero Ilya Muromets himself was a true Christian.

The Russian hero Ilya Muromets devoted his entire life to exploits. For example, a fight with the Nightingale the Robber. The latter blocked the road to Kiev. In addition, he was engaged in robberies, raids on ordinary people. Ilya was able to defeat the robber and open the way to the capital.

Also, the Russian heroes, led by Ilya, were able to repulse the Polovtsy, having conquered several of their cities. There is an epic about the feat of Elijah when he kills a dragon.

Part of the epics about Ilya Muromets is based on how he fights with various villains: robbers, Cossacks. Usually we meet these plots in southern and central Russia, in Ukraine. And traditional epics come from the north of Russia.

Ilya dies at about fifty from a blow with a sharp weapon.

Holy hero Ilya Muromets

It is believed that the hero is the creator of several churches: Trinity in Karacharov, Elijah the Prophet. In Karacharovo there is a temple, which was restored in our time, where the icon and relics of the holy hero Ilya Muromets are kept. In general, it is included in the Cathedral of Saints of Murom. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized him in 1643. His image can be seen on the icons. The relics of Elijah from Murom have been stored in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra for about eight or nine centuries. But do they really belong to the same Ilya Muromets? And did he really exist?

Honoring Ilya Muromets

Today in Russia there are two monuments dedicated to the famous hero. One of them is located in his homeland - in Murom, and the second in Vladivostok.

The day of the epic hero Ilya Muromets is celebrated on the first of January (December 19, according to the old style). The memory of him is kept as a hero who defended Russia from attacks. In addition, he liberated Kiev from Kalin-tsar.

Land of heroes. Ilya Muromets - documentary.

Name: Ilya Muromets

The country: Kievan Rus

Creator: Slavic epics

Activity: hero

Ilya Muromets: character history

A stately fellow on a horse and in armor - such a picture is usually drawn by the imagination at the mention of Ilya Muromets. The controversy surrounding the personality of the great Russian hero has not subsided for many years. Did Elijah really exist? Where do the rumors about the magical healing of a man come from? And did the hero really uproot trees from the ground?

History of creation

Every year on January 1 in Orthodoxy, the memory of St. Elijah is commemorated. The man met his old age in the Pechersk Lavra and died at the hands of the cruel Polovtsians. Studies of the remains of the martyr confirm the opinion that the hero Ilya Muromets is not a fictional character, but a real person.

Analysis of the relics, which scientists conducted in 1988, indicates specific features: the deceased man suffered from a rare disease that affects the ability to move. Traces of wounds were seen on the bones and tissues of the saint. The above facts give reason to assert that Ilya Pechersky (a man is buried under that name) is a prototype of a mighty hero.

Perhaps the exaggerations that are characteristic of tales and legends are the consequences of constant retelling. Or the creators of the epics added metaphors to the story to impress the listeners.

Muromets really differed from his contemporaries. The description of the hero (confirmed by scientists) proves that the height of the warrior was 177 cm. The average height of men in Ancient Russia did not exceed 160 cm. It is necessary to mention the quotes of Boris Mikhailichenko, the researcher of relics:

“... the so-called tuberosities are very well developed on the bones of the mummy. And we know that the better a person’s muscles are developed during life, the more these tuberosities will be. That is, he had a developed muscular system.

“In addition, X-ray examination of the skull revealed changes in the part of the brain called the Turkish saddle. At all times there are people with such symptoms, they say about them - "an oblique fathom in the shoulders."

The first written mention of Ilya Muromets dates back to 1574. The Lithuanian voivode, in a note to Ostafiy Volovich, casually mentions the brave warrior "Ilii Murawlenina" and the imprisonment of the Russian hero in the dungeon of the Kiev prince.

There is a theory that handwritten evidence of the exploits of Muromets were deliberately destroyed. The supposedly humble origin of the hero cast a shadow on the boyar combatants and their descendants.

Biography

There is a fierce debate about where Ilya Muromets comes from. The initial theory says that the hero was born in the village of Karacharovo, which is located near the city of Murom, Vladimir Region.

Researchers of the hero's biography adhere to the explanation that the birthplace of the strong man is the village of Karachev, located near Moroviysk, Chernihiv region. The supposed birthplaces of the hero are consonant, so the mistake easily crept into the epic.

It is not yet possible to obtain reliable information about the origin of the man. It is not worth excluding the possibility that Ilya Muromets is Ukrainian. By the way, the patronymic of the famous hero is Ivanovich:

“And in the glorious in the Russian kingdom,
And in that village of Karacharovo,
From honest, glorious parents, from a mother
The son Ilya Ivanovich was born here,
And by name was the glorious Muromets.

The kid, who was born in a peasant family, suffered from an unknown disease since childhood. The child did not feel the lower limbs and could not move independently. It was said in the family that the curse was the cause of the disease. Ilya's grandfather did not want to accept Christianity and cut the Orthodox icon. A descendant of a pagan paid for disrespect for the saints.

A detailed biography of the hero can be traced from the 33rd anniversary of the hero. Ilya, suffering from his own weakness, lay on the stove. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Passable Kaliki" (they are folk healers) helped the future combatant to get on his feet. Per miraculous salvation Ilya gave his word that he would protect the Russian land from enemies and atone for the sin of his grandfather.

Having received the long-awaited freedom, the man left his native village and went to perform feats. On the way to Kiev, Ilya encountered the first serious opponent. terrorized the district, not allowing travelers to overcome the Bryn forest.

The fight ended quickly, and the man brought the troublemaker to the chambers. The ruler of Russia was impressed by the feat of the man, but the peasant outfit caused discontent among the reigning person. Instead of the reward promised for the robber, the tsar threw a worn fur coat at Ilya's feet. The brave man did not take offense. For impudent behavior, Muromets was put under lock and key.

Perhaps this would have ended the exploits of the man, but the Polovtsians attacked Russia. Having shown military talents, physical strength and peasant ingenuity on the battlefield, Muromets earned a place in the tsar's squad.

A little more than 10 years, the hero put things in order on the territory ancient Russia. The man accomplished many feats, about which legends and songs were composed. Ilya's favorite weapon is a heavy mace and a treasure sword, which the hero Svyatogor presented to the man.

There is a change of power, and a new ruler ascends the throne. , about which the "Lay of Igor's Campaign" narrates, leads the squad into battle with the old enemy. But there are too many nomads, Ilya Muromets is seriously injured. And here the theories about the fate of the hero diverge again:

"... from these Tatars and from filthy ones, his horse and heroic were petrified, and relics and saints became, and from the old Cossack Ilya Muromets."

In other words, the hero died during the fight. Another epic claims that the faithful horse takes the owner out of the battlefield. The man regains consciousness at the walls of the monastery and remembers the promise to atone for the sin of his grandfather. Ilya drops his ammunition and takes the tonsure. The remaining years the man spends in the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, having promised not to take up arms.

The Tale of Bygone Years mentions an internecine war between Rurik Rostislavovich and Roman Mstislavovich. In the battle, in addition to the Russian princes, the Polovtsian mercenaries participated. The robbers got to the monastery and killed the clergy. Ilya, faithful to his vow, did not take up arms and died from a spear in the heart.

Screen adaptations

Ilya Muromets, stopping at a stone, is a familiar image from childhood. It is not surprising that many films and cartoons have been shot about the hero, many paintings have been written.

They were the first to try on the role of a powerful combatant. The film "Ilya Muromets" was released in 1956. The plot was based on classic epics about the hero and scenes from fairy tales.

The Soviet cartoon about a warrior was released in 1975. The second part was released on the screen three years later. Animated films tell about significant events in the life of a combatant. The musical arrangement is compositions from the opera "Ilya Muromets".

In 2007, the animation film studio "Melnitsa" released the cartoon "Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber". The image of a laconic strongman, which was loved by kids and their parents (the one who voiced the hero did not have to memorize a lot of text), will later appear in four more cartoons dedicated to Russian heroes. Valery Solovyov and became the voice of Muromets.

In the film "The Real Tale" (2010), the epic character is transferred to modern reality. Ilya holds the position of a guard of Koshchei the Immortal and does not at all look like a true hero.

Alexey Dmitriev as Ilya Muromets in the film "The Real Fairy Tale"

In addition to films, the image of a strong and courageous man is reflected in painting, musical compositions, performances and computer games.

Ilya Muromets is mentioned in German epics. In legends, the hero is named Ilya the Russian.
Foreign sources also mention the wife and children of the warrior, whom the man misses on long trips.
Researchers claim that Ilya died at the age of 45-50 years.
For unknown reasons, the remains of Ilya Muromets (or rather, the alleged prototype) did not succumb to complete decomposition. Believers believe that the holy relics of the hero heal diseases of the spine.

Quotes

"I'm going to serve for the Christian faith, and for the Russian land, and for the capital city of Kiev..."

“I am from the city of Murom, Ilya, son Ivanovich. And I came here by a direct road past the city of Chernigov, past the Smorodina River.

“My light father had a gluttonous cow. Also eat a lot. Yes, in the end, her belly cracked "

"Run, cursed ones, to your places, but repair such glory everywhere: Russia-land is not empty."

“Forgive me, mother, I am not a worker in the field, not a breadwinner. Kalin-Tsar prepared a mortal arrow in the heart of Kiev. Not great for me, well done, the honor of sitting in Karacharov.

An epic hero or a real historical figure?

Ilya Muromets is the most famous, but at the same time the most mysterious hero of the Russian epic. It is difficult to find such a person in Russia who would never have heard of this glorious hero from the ancient city of Murom. Most people know about him only what they remember from childhood from epics and fairy tales, and are often amazed by the complexity and ambiguity of this image. Scientists of various specialties have been struggling to resolve the mysteries associated with it for almost two centuries, but the secrets still remain.

Our ancestors of the 16th - early 19th centuries. there was no doubt that Ilya Muromets was a real historical figure, a warrior who served the Kiev prince.

The usual beginning of epic tales, where Ilya leaves “Whether from that city from Murom, from that village from Karacharov”, it would seem, leaves no room for doubt that he comes from the ancient Russian city of Murom, where not far from him there still exists the ancient village of Karacharovo. But doubts about the origin of the epic hero arose both in the last century and in our time. They are trying to connect the famous hero with the Chernihiv region, where there are the cities of Moroviysk and Karachev, and where there are also legends about Ilya Muromets. But if we turn to an ordinary geographical map, it is clear that these two cities are separated by hundreds of kilometers and it is absurd to talk about the “Morovian city of Karachev”. Meanwhile, it is impossible not to notice that Murom, Karachev, Chernigov, Moroviysk and Kiev lie on the same line. This is precisely the same “straight path” that the hero traveled from his native Murom to Kiev “through those forests, Brynsky, across the Smorodinnaya River”, through the village of Nine Oaks, not far from Karachev. That is, there is no contradiction between classical epics and Karachev legends. It is also worth noting that ancient city Murom was part of the Chernihiv Principality for quite a long time. The confinement of the name of the epic hero to the city of Murom is consistent with both epic and historical reality. Murom and the Principality of Murom were quite significant both in the times of Kiev, Vladimir-Suzdal, and in the times of Muscovite Russia to become the birthplace of Ilya Muromets.

Meanwhile, Russian chronicles do not mention his name. On the other hand, he is the main character not only of our epics, but also of German epic poems of the 13th century, based on earlier legends. In them, he is represented by a mighty knight, a princely family, Ilya the Russian. In a documentary source, the name of this famous hero was first mentioned in 1574. The envoy of the Roman Emperor Erich Lassota, who visited Kiev in 1594, left a description of the tomb of Ilya Muromets, located in the heroic chapel of St. Sophia Cathedral.

The mystery of the death of Ilya Muromets.

There can be only one explanation for this fact: the name of a commoner was an eyesore to the well-born boyars and the princes of the golden age of Kievan Rus who relied on him. Therefore, it was blotted out of the annals as an undesirable and even outrageous precedent for the dizzying rise of a simple peasant.

Moreover, he was buried in the aisle of the main temple of Kievan Rus - St. Sophia of Kiev - the grand ducal tomb (where not all princes were buried). The boyars, on the other hand, could not even dream of burial in St. Sophia of Kiev, since for them it was an unheard-of honor!

Probably for this reason, at a later time, the tomb of the “peasant boyar” was destroyed, while the tomb of his comrade in the chapel, the son of the Drevlyan prince Mal, Dobrynya Nikitich, “survived”. Erich Lasota, the ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, who traveled to Kiev from May 7 to 9, 1594, on a diplomatic mission to the Cossacks, reported about this significant “memory” from those in power regarding the unborn defender of the Russian Land.

By that time, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra took over the care of the remains of the legendary man, where he still rests, in the Near Caves, under a modest inscription over the tomb “Ilya from Murom”.

According to the church calendar, the day of memory of Ilya Muromets, the son of Ivanovich, is December 19 according to the old style, or January 1 according to the new one. By the way, it was on January 1, 1993, in the homeland of Ilya Ivanovich, in the village of Karacharovo, that the icon of St. Ilya Muromets was solemnly installed (with an reliquary inserted into it with a particle of the relics of the hero, transferred at one time by the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra) in the newly rebuilt church of Guria, Samon and Aviva.

And it is precisely thanks to the archival materials of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra that we at least approximately know the dates of the life of the popularly beloved warrior.

In 1638, the printing house of the Lavra printed the book "Teraturgima" by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Athanasius Kalnofoysky. The author, describing the lives of the saints of the Lavra, devotes a few lines to Ilya, specifying that the hero lived 450 years before the book was written, that is, in 1188.

The events of those distant years are extremely dramatic. In 1157-1169 Kiev became the scene of internecine conflicts for the right to reign. During this period alone, 8 princes changed on the throne of Kiev, in 1169 the capital city was ravaged by Andrei Bogolyubsky (by the way, he took the icon from St. Sophia of Kiev, now known as the icon Our Lady of Vladimir), and from 1169 to 1181 Kiev was ruled by 18 princes, some of them even several times. In addition, the Polovtsy intervened in the struggle for grand princely power, having made devastating raids on the Kiev lands in 1173 and 1190.

And when examining the body of Ilya Muromets by forensic medicine specialists, it turned out that the epic hero was the victim of one of these raids. According to Sergei Khvedchenya (Vokrug Sveta magazine, No. 1, 1994), this sad event took place in 1203 during a devastating raid on Kiev by the combined troops of Rurik and the Polovtsians. The city was then taken by storm, the Kiev Caves Monastery and St. Sophia Cathedral were plundered, most of the capital was burned to the ground. According to the chroniclers, "there has never been such ruin in Kiev before." By that year, the bogatyr, in his declining years, had taken monastic vows in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, so, probably, Ilya, nicknamed “Muromets”, became there during his tonsure - his true name was not preserved in church chronicles. And of course, the former warrior could not stand aside, defending the symbol of Old Russian Orthodoxy and his monastery.

A medical examination of the mummified remains of the hero, carried out already in the 20th century, showed that, judging by his injuries, he did not become easy prey for enemies. Several wounds were found on the body of Ilya Muromets, of which only one turned out to be serious - on the arm from a spear, and fatal - also spear, but in the heart area. Only both feet are missing. In addition to a deep rounded wound on the left arm, the same significant damage is visible in the left chest area. It seems that the hero covered his chest with his hand, and with a blow of a spear it was nailed to his heart. The relics are dressed in monastic clothes. Above the tomb is the image of St. Elijah of Muromets.

The first study of the remains of the hero was carried out in 1963. Then, in that Soviet atheistic era, the commission concluded that the mummy belongs to a person of the Mongoloid race, and the wounds were imitated by the monks of the Lavra. In 1988 The Interdepartmental Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR conducted an examination of the relics of St. Ilya of Muromets. To obtain objective data, the most modern technique and ultra-precise Japanese equipment. The research results are amazing.

It is curious, but back in 1701, the wandering priest Ivan Lukyanov, who visited the catacombs of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, noted: "... I saw the brave warrior Ilya Muromets in incorruption under a golden veil, his left hand was pierced with a spear." The pilgrim could not see another wound on his chest because of the gilded veil.

Medical experts dated the remains with the honor of a warrior who fell in battle to the 12th century, and according to Sergey Khvedchenya, the time period of the life of Ilya Muromets from 1148 to 1203.

From a modern point of view, the hero was slightly taller than average - 177 cm, but in the 12th century such a man was considered a giant, (and even 350 years after the death of Ilya Muromets, in 1584, a passing Lvov merchant Martin Gruneweg was struck by the "relics of a giant" ancient Russian history).

However, in physique Ilya Muromets really differed from ordinary people - he was “well-cut and well-knit” - “an oblique fathom in the shoulders”, as they used to say in the old days. The phenomenal strength of the hero was inherited by his distant descendants - the family of the Karacharov villagers Gushchins, who could well, like their great ancestor, in the last century move a load that was beyond the power of a horse.

Anatomists noted in the lumbar part of Ilya's body a curvature of the spine to the right and clearly expressed additional processes on the vertebrae, which made it difficult for the hero to move in his youth due to the infringement of the nerves of the spinal cord. By the way, epics tell about the same thing, noting that “for thirty years Ilya sat in the seat and did not have walking at his feet.” And only the "passable kaliks" - folk healers - set Ilya's vertebrae and gave him a drink with a healing herbal decoction, blessing him for feats of arms.

The fact of the presence of the revered relics of the famous hero was also reflected in the epic texts themselves. The end of the epic “Ilya Muromets and Kalin Tsar” performed by the narrator Shchegolenkov is so interesting: “from these Tatars and from the filthy ones, his horse was petrified and heroic, and relics and saints became from the old Cossack Ilya Muromets.” Everyone remembers from childhood that passersby Kaliki prophesied to the famous hero that "death in battle is not written for him." Therefore, in epics and fairy tales, the death of a hero is told differently: either he turns to stone alone, or with other heroes; then the living lies in the coffin and remains there forever; then, together with Dobrynya, he sails away somewhere on the Falcon Ship, and since then there has been no news about him. But as the examination of the relics showed, the Kalik prophecy, unfortunately, did not come true.

Experts determined the age of the epic hero at 40-45 years plus 10 years due to his specific disease. According to the method of reconstructing the soft parts of the face from the skull of the famous anthropologist M. M. Gerasimov, the leading specialist in this field, the criminologist and sculptor S. Nikitin, recreated a sculptural portrait of Ilya Muromets.

According to Sergey Khvedcheni: “The portrait was clearly a success for the master. It is the embodiment of calm strength, wisdom, generosity and peace. There is no remorse in his eyes, he fought for a just cause and did not live his life in vain. Strong hands heroes rely not on a damask sword, but on a monastic staff as a symbol recent years his life spent in the monastery.