Who was the hero of the epics Mikula Selyaninovich? Biography and plot Monument to Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich description.
"Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich"
Mikula Selyaninovich- the legendary plowman-hero in Russian epics of the Novgorod cycle.
Etymology
The name Mikula is a folk form of the name Nikolai; possibly the result of contamination with the name Mikhail.
The image of a hero-plowman
The hero personifies peasant strength; You can’t fight him, because “the whole Mikulov family loves Mother Cheese Earth.”
According to one of the epics, he asks the giant Svyatogor to pick up a bag that has fallen to the ground. He doesn't cope with the task. Then Mikula Selyaninovich lifts the bag with one hand, saying that it contains “all the burdens of earth.”
Mikula Selyaninovich, according to folklore, had two daughters: Vasilisa and Nastasya (wives of Stavr and Dobrynya Nikitich, respectively), who are also the central heroines of the epics.
Epics dedicated to Mikula: “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich”, “Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich”.
Mikula and Nicholas the Wonderworker
The connection between the Christian saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and the epic hero Mikula Selyaninovich. An interesting version of the connection with the day of the national calendar, St. Nicholas of the Spring, is given by P. I. Melnikov in 1874:
Mikula was honored most of all by the smerd (peasant, farmer)... He, the drinker, he, the gracious breadwinner, celebrated holidays more honestly and more often... In honor of him there were feasts and meals at marriages and Mikulshchinas.
Just as the veneration of Thunder the Rattlesman, with the introduction of Christianity, was transferred to the veneration of Ilya the Gromovnik, and the veneration of Volos, the cattle god, to Saint Blaise, so the honoring of the oratai Mikula Selyaninich was transferred to the Christian saint - Nicholas the Wonderworker. That is why in Rus' St. Nicholas the Merciful is celebrated most of all. The spring holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which the Greeks do not have, was borrowed by the Russians from the Latins to coincide with the holiday of the Mother of the Raw Earth, who loves “Mikula and his family.” Mikule's celebration coincided with the name day of Mother Earth. And to this day, two folk holidays converge nearby: the first day of “Mikula with food” (May 9, old style), the other day (May 10, old style) “Name day of Mother of the Raw Earth.”
Daughters
- Vasilisa Mikulishna- wife of Stavr Godinovich
- Nastasya Mikulishna- wife of Dobrynya Nikitich
see also
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Notes
Literature
- Melnikov-Pechersky P. I. . - 1874.
- / Petrukhin V. Ya. // Mythological Dictionary / Ch. ed. E. M. Meletinsky. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. - P. 358. - ISBN 5-85270-032-0.
Links
- . Retrieved March 16, 2009. .
- // Biographical Dictionary. 2000.
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Excerpt characterizing Mikula Selyaninovich
– Your mother loves you more than anything in the world, Alina, and she asked me to tell you that she never abandoned you.- So she lives with you now? – the girl bristled.
- No. She lives where neither you nor I can go. Her earthly life here with us is over, and she now lives in another, very beautiful world, from which she can watch you. But she sees how you suffer and cannot leave here. And she can’t stay here any longer either. That's why she needs your help. Would you like to help her?
- How do you know all this? Why is she talking to you?!.
I felt that she still didn’t believe me and didn’t want to recognize me as a friend. And I couldn’t figure out how to explain to this little, ruffled, unhappy girl that there was an “other”, distant world, from which, unfortunately, there was no return here. And that her beloved mother speaks to me not because she has a choice, but because I was simply “lucky” to be a little “different” than everyone else...
“All people are different, Alinushka,” I began. – Some have a talent for drawing, others for singing, but I have such a special talent for talking with those who have left our world forever. And your mother speaks to me not at all because she likes me, but because I heard her when no one else could hear her. And I am very glad that I can help her in at least something. She loves you very much and suffers very much because she had to leave... It hurts her very much to leave you, but it is not her choice. Do you remember she was seriously ill for a long time? – the girl nodded. “It was this illness that forced her to leave you.” And now she must go to her new world in which she will live. And for this she must be sure that you know how much she loves you.
The girl looked at me sadly and quietly asked:
– She lives now with angels?.. Dad told me that she now lives in a place where everything is like on the postcards that they give me for Christmas. And there are such beautiful winged angels... Why didn’t she take me with her?..
- Because you have to live your life here, dear, and then you will also go to the same world where your mother is now.
The girl beamed.
“So I’ll see her there?” – she babbled joyfully.
- Of course, Alinushka. So you should just be a patient girl and help your mom now if you love her so much.
- What should I do? – the little girl asked very seriously.
– Just think about her and remember her, because she sees you. And if you don't be sad, your mother will finally find peace.
“Does she see me now?” the girl asked and her lips began to twitch treacherously.
- Yes Dear.
She was silent for a moment, as if gathering herself inside, and then she clenched her fists tightly and quietly whispered:
- I’ll be very good, dear mommy... you go... please go... I love you so much!..
Tears rolled down her pale cheeks like large peas, but her face was very serious and concentrated... Life dealt her a cruel blow for the first time and it seemed as if this little, so deeply wounded girl suddenly realized something for herself in a completely adult way and now I tried to accept it seriously and openly. My heart was breaking with pity for these two unfortunate and such sweet creatures, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t help them anymore... The world around them was so incredibly bright and beautiful, but for both it could no longer be their common world. ..
Life can be very cruel sometimes, and we never know what the meaning of pain or loss is in store for us. Apparently, it is true that without losses it is impossible to comprehend what fate gives us, by right or by luck. But what could this unfortunate girl, cowering like a wounded animal, comprehend when the world suddenly fell upon her with all its cruelty and the pain of the most terrible loss in her life?..
I sat with them for a long time and tried as best I could to help them both find at least some kind of peace of mind. I remembered my grandfather and the terrible pain that his death brought me... How scary it must have been for this fragile, unprotected baby to lose the most precious thing in the world - her mother?..
We never think about the fact that those whom fate takes from us for one reason or another experience the consequences of their death much deeper than we do. We feel the pain of loss and suffer (sometimes even angry) that they left us so mercilessly. But what does it feel like for them when their suffering multiplies thousands of times, seeing how we suffer from this?! And how helpless should a person feel, not being able to say anything more and change anything?..
I would have given a lot back then to find at least some opportunity to warn people about this. But, unfortunately, I didn’t have such an opportunity... Therefore, after Veronica’s sad visit, I began to look forward to when I could help someone else. And life, as always usually happened, did not take long to wait.
Entities came to me day and night, young and old, male and female, and everyone asked me to help them speak with their daughter, son, husband, wife, father, mother, sister... This continued in an endless stream, until, in the end, I I felt that I had no more strength. I didn’t know that when coming into contact with them, I had to be sure to close myself with my (and very strong!) defense, and not open up emotionally, like a waterfall, gradually giving them all my life force, which was then still Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to make up for it.
Early in the morning, in the early sun, Volga gathered to take tribute from the trading cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets.
The squad mounted good horses, brown stallions, and set off. The fellows drove out into an open field, into a wide expanse, and heard a plowman in the field. A plowman plows in the field, whistles, the plowshares scratch the pebbles. As if a plowman was leading a plow somewhere nearby. The good fellows go to the plowman, ride all day until evening, but cannot get to him. You can hear the plowman whistling, you can hear the bipod creaking, you can hear the plowshares scratching, but you can’t even see the plowman himself.
The good fellows travel the next day until the evening, and the plowman is still whistling, the pine tree is creaking, the plowshares are being scratched, but the plowman is gone.
The third day is approaching evening, and only the good fellows have reached the plowman. The plowman plows, urges, and hoots at his filly. He lays furrows like deep ditches, pulls oak trees out of the ground, throws stones and boulders to the side. Only the plowman’s curls sway and fall like silk over his shoulders.
But the plowman’s filly is not wise, and his plow is made of maple, and his tugs are silk. Volga marveled at him and bowed to the plowman:
Hello, good man, there are laborers in the field!
Be healthy, Volga Vseslavevich. Where are you heading?
I’m going to the cities of Gurchevets and Orekhovets to collect tribute from trading people.
Eh, Volga Vseslavyevich, all the robbers live in those cities, skinning the poor plowman, collecting tolls for traveling on the roads. I went there to buy salt, bought three bags of salt, each bag a hundred pounds, put it on a gray filly and headed home to my place. Trade people surrounded me and began to take travel money from me. The more I give, the more they want. I got angry, angry, and paid them with a silk whip. Well, the one who stood is sitting, the one who was sitting is lying down.
Volga was surprised and bowed to the plowman:
Oh, you, glorious plowman, mighty hero, come with me for a comrade.
Well, I’ll go, Volga Vseslavyevich, I need to give them an order - not to offend other men.
The plowman took the silk tugs off the plow, unharnessed the gray filly, sat astride her and set off.
The fellows galloped halfway. The plowman says to Volga Vseslavyevich:
Oh, we did something wrong, we left a plow in the furrow. You sent some fine warriors to pull the bipod out of the furrow, shake out the earth from it, and put the plow under the broom bush.
Volga sent three warriors. They turn the bipod this way and that, but cannot lift the bipod off the ground.
Volga sent ten knights. They twirl the bipod with twenty hands, but can’t get it off the ground.
Volga and his entire squad went there. Thirty people, without a single one, clung to the bipod on all sides, strained, sank knee-deep into the ground, but did not move the bipod even an inch.
The plowman himself got off the filly, grabbed the bipod with one hand, pulled it out of the ground, shook the earth out of the plowshares, picked it up, and swung it behind the willow bush. The plow flew up to the cloud, the plow fell behind a broom bush, and sank into the damp earth up to the handle.
They arrived near Gurchevets and Orekhovets. And there the trading people are cunning: when they saw a plowman, they cut off oak logs on the bridge over the Orekhovets River. As soon as the squad reached the bridge, the oak logs broke, the fellows began to drown in the river, the brave squad began to die, the horses began to sink, people began to go to the bottom.
Volga and Mikula got angry, got angry, whipped their good horses, and jumped across the river in one gallop. They jumped onto that bank and began to honor the villains.
The plowman beats with a whip and says:
Oh, you greedy trading people! The men of the city feed them bread and drink honey, but you spare them salt!
Volga bestows her club on behalf of her warriors and her heroic horses.
The Gurchevet people began to repent:
You will forgive us for our villainy, for our cunning. Take tribute from us, and let the plowmen go for salt, no one will demand a penny from them.
Volga took tribute from them for twelve years, and the heroes went home.
Volga Vseslavevich asks the plowman:
Tell me, Russian hero, what is your name, what is your patronymic?
Come to me, Volga Vseslavyevich, to my peasant yard, so you will find out how people honor me.
The heroes approached the field. The plowman pulled out a pine tree, plowed up a wide pole, and sowed it with golden grain...
The dawn is still burning, and the plowman’s field is rustling.
The dark night is coming - the plowman is reaping bread. In the morning you threshed, by noon you winnowed, by lunchtime you ground flour, and started making pies. In the evening he called the people to an honorable feast. People began to eat pies, drink mash and praise the plowman.
(wife of Dobrynya Nikitich)
Mikula Selyaninovich- the legendary plowman-hero in Russian epics of the Novgorod cycle.
Etymology
The name Mikula is a folk form of the name Nikolai; possibly the result of contamination with the name Mikhail.
The image of a hero-plowman
The hero personifies peasant strength; You can’t fight him, because “the whole Mikulov family loves Mother Cheese Earth.”
According to one of the epics, he asks the giant Svyatogor to pick up a bag that has fallen to the ground. He doesn't cope with the task. Then Mikula Selyaninovich lifts the bag with one hand, saying that it contains “all the burdens of earth.”
Mikula Selyaninovich, according to folklore, had two daughters: Vasilisa and Nastasya (wives of Stavr and Dobrynya Nikitich, respectively), who are also the central heroines of the epics.
Epics dedicated to Mikula: “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich”, “Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich”.
Mikula and Nicholas the Wonderworker
The connection between the Christian saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and the epic hero Mikula Selyaninovich. An interesting version of the connection with the day of the national calendar, St. Nicholas of the Spring, is given by P. I. Melnikov in 1874:
Mikula was honored most of all by the smerd (peasant, farmer)... He, the drinker, he, the gracious breadwinner, celebrated holidays more honestly and more often... In honor of him there were feasts and meals at marriages and Mikulshchinas.
Just as the veneration of Thunder the Rattlesman, with the introduction of Christianity, was transferred to the veneration of Ilya the Gromovnik, and the veneration of Volos, the cattle god, to Saint Blaise, so the honoring of the oratai Mikula Selyaninich was transferred to the Christian saint - Nicholas the Wonderworker. That is why in Rus' St. Nicholas the Merciful is celebrated most of all. The spring holiday of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which the Greeks do not have, was borrowed by the Russians from the Latins to coincide with the holiday of the Mother of the Raw Earth, who loves “Mikula and his family.” Mikule's celebration coincided with the name day of Mother Earth. And to this day, two folk holidays converge nearby: the first day of “Mikula with food” (May 9, old style), the other day (May 10, old style) “Name day of Mother of the Raw Earth.”
Daughters
- Vasilisa Mikulishna- wife of Stavr Godinovich
- Nastasya Mikulishna- wife of Dobrynya Nikitich
see also
Write a review about the article "Mikula Selyaninovich"
Notes
Literature
- Melnikov-Pechersky P. I. . - 1874.
- / Petrukhin V. Ya. // Mythological Dictionary / Ch. ed. E. M. Meletinsky. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. - P. 358. - ISBN 5-85270-032-0.
Links
- . Retrieved March 16, 2009. .
- // Biographical Dictionary. 2000.
Excerpt characterizing Mikula Selyaninovich
- Semyon! Do you know Danila Kupor?This was the count's favorite dance, danced by him in his youth. (Danilo Kupor was actually one figure of the Angles.)
“Look at dad,” Natasha shouted to the whole hall (completely forgetting that she was dancing with a big one), bending her curly head to her knees and bursting into her ringing laughter throughout the hall.
Indeed, everyone in the hall looked with a smile of joy at the cheerful old man, who, next to his dignified lady, Marya Dmitrievna, who was taller than him, rounded his arms, shaking them in time, straightened his shoulders, twisted his legs, slightly stamping his feet, and with a more and more blooming smile on his round face, he prepared the audience for what was to come. As soon as the cheerful, defiant sounds of Danila Kupor, similar to a cheerful chatterbox, were heard, all the doors of the hall were suddenly filled with men's faces on one side and women's smiling faces of servants on the other, who came out to look at the merry master.
- Father is ours! Eagle! – the nanny said loudly from one door.
The count danced well and knew it, but his lady did not know how and did not want to dance well. Her huge body stood upright with her powerful arms hanging down (she handed the reticule to the Countess); only her stern but beautiful face danced. What was expressed in the count's entire round figure, in Marya Dmitrievna was expressed only in an increasingly smiling face and a twitching nose. But if the count, becoming more and more dissatisfied, captivated the audience with the surprise of deft twists and light jumps of his soft legs, Marya Dmitrievna, with the slightest zeal in moving her shoulders or rounding her arms in turns and stamping, made no less an impression on merit, which everyone appreciated her obesity and ever-present severity. The dance became more and more animated. The counterparts could not attract attention to themselves for a minute and did not even try to do so. Everything was occupied by the count and Marya Dmitrievna. Natasha pulled the sleeves and dresses of all those present, who were already keeping their eyes on the dancers, and demanded that they look at daddy. During the intervals of the dance, the Count took a deep breath, waved and shouted to the musicians to play quickly. Quicker, quicker and quicker, faster and faster and faster, the count unfolded, now on tiptoes, now on heels, rushing around Marya Dmitrievna and, finally, turning his lady to her place, made the last step, raising his soft leg up from behind, bending his sweaty head with a smiling face and roundly waving his right hand amid the roar of applause and laughter, especially from Natasha. Both dancers stopped, panting heavily and wiping themselves with cambric handkerchiefs.
“This is how they danced in our time, ma chere,” said the count.
- Oh yes Danila Kupor! - Marya Dmitrievna said, letting out the spirit heavily and for a long time, rolling up her sleeves.
While the Rostovs were dancing the sixth anglaise in the hall to the sounds of tired musicians out of tune, and tired waiters and cooks were preparing dinner, the sixth blow struck Count Bezukhy. The doctors declared that there was no hope of recovery; the patient was given silent confession and communion; They were making preparations for the unction, and in the house there was the bustle and anxiety of expectation, common at such moments. Outside the house, behind the gates, undertakers crowded, hiding from the approaching carriages, awaiting a rich order for the count's funeral. The Commander-in-Chief of Moscow, who constantly sent adjutants to inquire about the Count’s position, that evening himself came to say goodbye to the famous Catherine’s nobleman, Count Bezukhim.
The magnificent reception room was full. Everyone stood up respectfully when the commander-in-chief, having been alone with the patient for about half an hour, came out of there, slightly returning the bows and trying as quickly as possible to pass by the gazes of doctors, clergy and relatives fixed on him. Prince Vasily, who had lost weight and turned pale during these days, saw off the commander-in-chief and quietly repeated something to him several times.
Having seen off the commander-in-chief, Prince Vasily sat down alone on a chair in the hall, crossing his legs high, resting his elbow on his knee and closing his eyes with his hand. After sitting like this for some time, he stood up and with unusually hasty steps, looking around with frightened eyes, walked through the long corridor to the back half of the house, to the eldest princess.
Those in the dimly lit room spoke in an uneven whisper to each other and fell silent each time and, with eyes full of question and expectation, looked back at the door that led to the dying man’s chambers and made a faint sound when someone came out of it or entered it.
“The human limit,” said the old man, a clergyman, to the lady who sat down next to him and naively listened to him, “the limit has been set, but you cannot pass it.”
“I’m wondering if it’s too late to perform unction?” - adding the spiritual title, the lady asked, as if she had no opinion of her own on this matter.
“It’s a great sacrament, mother,” answered the clergyman, running his hand over his bald spot, along which ran several strands of combed, half-gray hair.
-Who is this? was the commander in chief himself? - they asked at the other end of the room. - How youthful!...
- And the seventh decade! What, they say, the count won’t find out? Did you want to perform unction?
The legendary personality of the Russian plowman-hero Mikula Selyaninovich is known from the epics of the Novgorod cycle. The image of the main character is filled with spiritual strength, courage, and love for his native land.
Historical image of the hero
Mikula Selyaninovich was a plowman endowed with remarkable strength and, according to epics, he was the only one who could lift the “earthly draft.” It embodies the collective image of the Russian peasantry, where the main role is played by hard work, respect for the homeland, perseverance and steadfastness in the face of enemies. The main life value for the folk hero is his tool of labor - the plow, and his favorite pastime - plowing. Before the power of the plowman, the witchcraft powers and the power of the princes, the strength of the entire squad, pale. The labor prowess of Mikula Selyaninovich glorifies ordinary Russian people, who are alien to laziness and weakness, who work on a grand scale from dawn to dusk.
The main life value for the folk hero is his tool of labor - the plow, and his favorite pastime - plowing. Before the power of the plowman, the witchcraft powers and the power of the princes, the strength of the entire squad, pale.
Characteristics of basic qualities
The main qualities of the peasant Mikula Selyaninovich are incredible physical strength, dexterity, love of work, spiritual purity, care for the Russian land, and tirelessness. Unlike the well-known images of heroic defenders, Mikula directs his immense power into a peaceful channel, into fertile soil.
He does his work with pride and hums happily while ploughing. It is a great honor for the glorious hero to work his mother land every day, so he comes to the field in elegant attire and is always neat. Mikula is thrifty. Having once forgotten a plow in a furrow, he returns for it, worrying like a proprietor that a passer-by will not take it away.
The hero of the epics has an expressive appearance: thick curls, black eyebrows, clear hawk eyes. A plowman is characterized by a reverent attitude towards his mare; he raised her from a foal and takes care of her, grooming her every day. The peasant is distinguished by his hospitality: at the end of the arable season, he will happily gather guests at home and give the peasants some beer of his own making. In the description of the worker’s abilities, one can note the exaggeration of qualities; these exaggerations once again emphasize the people’s love for Mikula.
Russian epic character
Novgorod epics glorifying the image of the Russian plowman have been known to many since childhood. These are “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” and “Svyatogor and Mikula Selyaninovich”.
According to the plot of the first epic, Prince Volga and his retinue go to Russian cities, transferred into his possession by Prince Vladimir. Having met the plowman Mikula in the field, he admires his strength and power and offers to go with them to resist robbery. The peasant agrees. At the end of the epic, the strength of the prince and his squad, who could not pull the plow out of the furrow, is contrasted with the heroic power of the simple Mikula, who pulled the plow out effortlessly. There is an alternative version of the ending, where Mikula, having set off on a journey, becomes the governor of one of the cities, saving Volga’s life.
In another epic, the extraordinary strength of the Russian worker is compared with the abilities of the giant Svyatogor. The epic character of ancient Russian mythology, Svyatogor, is many times larger than Mikula in size and power, but is not able to catch up with the plowman in the field at work and cannot cope with his earthly burden.
The personality of the epic hero Mikula Selyaninovich occupies a worthy place among the works of Russian folklore and arouses pride among contemporaries for the unshakable spirit and hard work of the Russian peasantry.
The characteristics of Mikula Selyaninovich are studied as part of the literature program in the seventh grade. It was during this period that the children became acquainted with the epic genre. We will learn more about this hero later.
Plot
The content of epics is very reminiscent of a fairy tale. In them we find events fictitious by the author, but it cannot be argued that the main character himself never existed. If we think about the etymology of this word, we will find a common root with the word “true”. This means that this character once truly amazed his contemporaries with his strength and power. Mikula was one of these.
But the beginning of the epic does not tell us about him at all: the first person the reader meets is Prince Volga. He is strong, wise, and has a huge army. Uncle Vladimir gives three cities at his disposal. Now the prince goes with his retinue to check out his new possessions. On the way they meet a plowman. Volga really wants to meet him, but for three days and three nights they cannot get to him. This one is so huge that it can be seen from afar, but is quite difficult to reach. The characterization of Mikula Selyaninovich should include this point. The people exaggerate their hero, deliberately distinguishing him from ordinary people.
First meeting
Finally, the prince and his army drive up to this hero. His surprise knows no bounds: oratay (as the plowman was called in Rus') is cultivating the land. But he has incredible strength: he easily uproots tree stumps and throws huge stones into the furrow. The reader immediately understands that this is not an ordinary person, but a hero. This comes easily to him; he whistles under his breath without feeling tired.
Mikula’s tool cannot help but surprise. He does not have an ordinary bipod that is used to plow the ground. It is decorated with expensive metals: yellow and red gold. The straps on it are made of damask steel, a strong and reliable metal. A filly that helps a plowman do land work, with silk tugs, which was a very expensive fabric at that time.
External characteristics of Mikula Selyaninovich from the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich”
Undoubtedly, the prince was also struck by the hero’s attire. The most ordinary plowman looks rich. He has gorgeous curls that people compare to pearls. The hero's eyes are like a falcon's. As you know, a falcon is a bird that has excellent vision and strength. Mikula's eyebrows are black, like sable. The reader immediately imagines a serious and strong husband.
The clothes are made from expensive fabrics. For example, a caftan is made of expensive and chic material - black velvet. Not every rich person could afford it. But the hero cannot be dressed differently. His boots have heels, which was considered very fashionable and prestigious at that time. The material from which they are made is morocco. This is a very high quality and expensive item. The external characteristics of Mikula Selyaninovich from the epic are very important in describing the image of this hero. It’s not for nothing that he is so handsome and chic: people imagine the hero to be ideal in all respects.
Hero's feat
Volga spoke to the Oratai and told where he was going. In response, Mikula tells him about his exploits and warns him against danger. However, we do not observe any boasting. The characterization of Mikula Selyaninovich from the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” necessarily contains information that the hero does not notice his strength, considering his exploits to be commonplace.
Oratay told the prince a story about how he went to the city for shopping. He bought three bags of one hundred pounds of salt. A simple calculation will show us that the total weight of his goods is more than five tons! Of course, the technique of so-called hyperbolization is used here. The author deliberately exaggerates his abilities to reflect his heroic power.
When Mikula is getting ready to go home, robbers approach him and demand money. But the plowman does not enter into a squabble with them, he gives them “pennies.” However, the men do not back down, they ask for more and more. Mikula has to deal with them with her fists. It turns out that the hero killed more than a thousand bandits. This story impressed Volga. He wants to see such a strong husband among his squad.
Strength and power
The characterization of Mikula Selyaninovich continues with an analysis of Mikula’s heroic capabilities. A brief information about this hero gives us an idea of all the simple peasants of that time. It was on them that the Russian land rested.
The plowman agrees to go with the prince “for pay.” However, he feels sorry for his bipod.
The characterization of Mikula Selyaninovich with quotes reflects his speech: he leaves his tool of labor “not for the passer-by,” but for the ordinary “hillbilly peasant.” These words reflect the attitude of the hero towards his fellow peasants.
In order to hide the bipod “behind the willow bush,” Volga sends five of his strongest warriors. But these strong guys cannot cope with this task; they cannot “lift the bipod out of the ground.” Then, according to the principle of trinity, Volga sends her guys twice more, but even their countless number could not do what the Russian peasant is capable of.
Mikula “took the bipod with one hand” and pulled it out without difficulty.
Special Features
A description of Mikula Selyaninovich would be incomplete without talking about his horse. Like any hero, the horse is the first assistant in work. As we learn at the very beginning, our hero’s filly is “nightingale”. This epithet denotes its light color. She is as strong as her owner. The author deliberately compares the horses of Volga and Mikula. The hero’s horse is already walking at a “quick pace,” but the prince’s horse can barely keep up with it. The first one has already accelerated and started running headlong, but the second one is lagging behind. Volga never ceases to be surprised here. He values Mikula’s horse at five hundred rubles, only on the condition that it is not a mare, but a horse. To which the simple-minded peasant replies that he himself fed and raised her, and therefore she has no price.
The characterization of Mikula Selyaninovich reflects this hero as a very good-natured, simple and sympathetic person. He never boasts about his exploits, as if without noticing them.
He promises to treat all the peasants to his own rye beer, which speaks of his generosity.
In conclusion, Volga is so imbued with the daring and simplicity of this man that he decides to make him governor of the cities donated by his uncle. The robbers, who had been beaten by him three days ago, became ashamed and came to the hero with an apology.
Conclusion
We presented a complete description of Mikula Selyaninovich. The 7th grade, who is studying this work according to the school curriculum, will be able to use our advice and describe their own impression that this epic hero made.
