Menesk ( Myanesk , Mensky , Minch [1] ) is a character of Belarusian mythology. The legend of Menesque was published in the XIX century by Pavel Shpilevsky [2] . According to this legend, Menesk was the founder of Minsk .
Content
Description
The character is a miller , as well as a magician and a hero. It is associated with the cult of stones [3] . Menesk is also the leader of the squad.
Legend
Menesk lived on the banks of the Svisloch , where he built a stone mill. In this mill the flour did not grind from the grain, but from the stones. No one had ever seen Menesk, only at night from the mill came the cries, the whooping, the songs and the music. At midnight, Menesk drove around the mill on the road and recruited people into his squad. From his accomplices came the people who settled next to the mill of Menesk. Tired of Menesk, people asked another sorcerer, even more powerful, to drive off Menesk, and he, having burned the mill, drove forever Menesk from the outskirts of Minsk. But the memory of him remained in the name of the city.
Legend Interpretation
E. Zaykovsky believes that originally Mensk (the early name of Minsk) originated on the Menka River, and therefore the name of the city is derived from hydronym , and not from Menesk [3] .
P. Shpilevsky expressed a hypothesis according to which the existence of a local prince was possible, on whose behalf the name of Minsk originated [3] .
Notes
- ↑ The memorial book of the Minsk province and the calendar for 1910. - Mn. , 1909. - p. 105.
- ↑ Sanko, 2006 , p. 314.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Sanko, 2006 , p. 315.
Literature
- Sanko S. Belarusian mythology. Encyclopedic dictionary = Belarusian myphilic. Entsyklapedychny Sloўnіk / I. Klimkovich. - 2 ed. - Mn. : Belarus, 2006. - 599 p. - ISBN 985-01-0624-7 .