The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich

St. George defeating the dragon. 15th Century Byzantine Icon, Benaki Museum , Athens

According to S.K. Makovsky , the author’s plan of Vyacheslav Ivanov was very broad, and in general terms was summarized as follows:

“The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich” - the myth told of a certain state, of the fate of his princely dynasty in the person of - first the parents of Seraphim-Svetomir, then himself: in childhood, until his first imaginary death and imaginary resurrection; then - in the years of adolescence, when he was brought up by a certain presbyter of the Indian land John, after which he wandered around the world until a second, genuine, death, and finally he, Seraphim-Svetomir, should shine after the second, wonderful resurrection in the image of Tsar- Maidens and affirm their blessed kingdom ^[3] .

Song One

"In the white kingdom, the Christian state" the princes came from the family of St. Egorius , but the family was only half holy. The celibate winner of the Dragon Serpent had no children, and his many-sinful sisters mated with dragon blood serpents and gave rise to the princely Gorynsky dynasty. Egoriy threw the arrow to the arrow, which had wonderful power, and in that place he scored a key and a tree grew. A prophecy is connected with this plot: a certain prince from the family of Egoriev and the serpent, when the deadlines come, will receive great power from the princess at the foot of the tree and take all the land. But earlier the sin of the royal family must be atoned for ^[4] .

The story begins with a story about the friendship of Lazarus with Prince Simeon Uravda, whom he saved from death. Simeon was engaged to the girl Gorislava, the daughter of Borivoy (of the same "snake" kind), but she ignited a passion for Lazarus, and mutually. However, Lazarus, faithful to duty, overcame the feeling of a brother to the bride to the bride, although Gorislava warned that if she marries the unloved, everything will be bad. And so it happened: Simeon after the wedding died a martyr in the Horde , and Gorislava died during the birth of the daughter of Joy. Lazarus, on the other hand, from internal struggles and experiences of moral duty became weak ^[5] .

Song of the Second

The joy-beauty had the gift to communicate with the deceased mother: the soul of Gorislava, as it were, was infused into her. As a girl, she sang a song with divination under the windows of the sick prince, and so friendship was established between them. Joy for a lifetime fell in love with Prince Lazarus, and he took up her education. Joy did not want marriage and asked to go to the monastery, visited the monk Parfeny - the seer. He did not allow her to cut her hair, lifting the veil of the future: the prince will be healed, save the country, and Joy will become his faithful wife. All this was justified ^[6] .

During the campaign, Lazarus learned that Otrada gave birth to an heir and hurried to the capital city, heard Otrada sing a strange lullaby in which the prophecy sounded.

When the prince came in, he saw that near Otrada there were two babies on the bed: one - his blood son - had a painful appearance, as if not alive, and the second was healthy and blush. Joy explained that this is an orphan, the son of a prince's comrade-in-arms killed in a campaign. Elder Parfenius named the monastic name Seraphim the ill heir, in the world - Svetomir ^{[9] [10]} .

Songs Three - Fifth

Svetomir grew up as a blessed one , and his milk brother played the role of a guard under him. For military valor and victory, the people called Lazarus the Ruler, but peace did not reign in the state. The birth-born Borisov-Gorynsky, the brother of Gorislava, having left his father in his youth, came to Constantinople and entered the service of Caesar. He strengthened his power, married his daughter, and Vasilevs married a second marriage with his own niece - Zoe , nicknamed Elena the Beautiful. Rodivoy’s wife died in childbirth, leaving him a daughter, the same age as Svetomira. After the death of Caesar and confusion, Rodiva was blinded and, together with Zoe and her daughter, fled under the protection of the Lord ^[11] .

The time of troubles began in the power of Vlad: around Zoya the Greek, a party was formed that was hostile to Tsarevich Svetomir. The daughter of Vladar and Otrada also died. The master started his solemn coronation and the Joy, to which the envoys of John the Presbyter arrived from White India. The lord of India asks the lord to entrust him with the education of Prince Svetomir ^[12] . The entire fifth book of the story is “a long letter ... of a fabulous presbyter to Vlad, with very remarkable philosophies, written in the spirit of ancient Russian letters ” ^[13] :

3 But Az and the embassy dressed you and this message was written not by brotherly love, but also by order from above, but I command your son to let go of John’s kingdom, hopefully and purposefully, and be restored, and brought up, and strengthened for a great cause, the hedgehog is eaten and done
4 They want lime in your house, the prince of the weak-minded, the one who is wise again from the memory of the pre-world; but the kingdom will be saved, and the builder will give the hope of the earth. Under John’s cover your son will be saved.

5 Meditate on my words, amiable and god-loving friends, and dare the Almighty to fulfill the will, But honor and praise befitting of him forever and ever. Amen. ^{[14] [15]} .

Completion of the Tale

According to A. L. Toporkov , in a certain respect, The Tale is a completely completed and self-sufficient work that does not require continuation. The first four books are mainly devoted to the Lord; the fifth plot is complementary and contains the esoteric myth of the Virgin and the appearance of St. Egorius in the Slavic land, which loops through his plot with the first book. The storyline associated with Vladar also looks quite finished: from his youth and love for Gorislava to illness, healing by the joy of Joy, glorious deeds and victories to preparing for the wedding to the kingdom. The lines of Gorislava and Otrada are also quite complete: Gorislava retires to another world, leaving his daughter Vladar, and Otrada goes from a bold teenager to a righteous wife and mother. The first two books devoted to the mystical initiation of Vlad were completed by 1930 and, apparently, were perceived by the author as completely finished. In any case, in the correspondence of 1930-1931, Vyach. Ivanov mentioned the project of translating two songs of the Tale into German and their publications. Essentially, work on the text was then interrupted for several years. Created in the 1940s, the third and fourth books are also quite completed in terms of the plot: the third book begins at the birth of Svetomir, and the fourth ends with the arrival of the embassy from White India, the kingdom of John Presbyter. The main action here takes place in the capital and at the court, relations with Tsargrad come to the fore ^[16] .

S. S. Averintsev in this connection drew attention to the undoubted connection (conscious or unconscious) of the Tale with Novalis ’s novel “ Heinrich von Ofterdingen ”, the first part of which was completely completed by the author, while the unfinished second was accompanied by notes by L. Thicke , which set out the creative plan. According to A. L. Toporkov, “The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich” has an open finale, and does not at all imply that all lines should be continued or not contradict each other. He cited in parallel parallel textbooks of Russian literature - Pushkin's “ Eugene Onegin ” and Gogol’s “ Dead Souls ”, which have no plot completion, but are perceived as completely self-sufficient. A similar idea was put forward by T. Venzlova , based on the mythical, prophetic meaning of the Tale, in which mythical symbols form a "multidimensional kaleidoscope." Ivanov himself said that the final meaning of the "Tale" cannot be expressed in human (and probably even angelic) language, and the final state of the world of the "Tale" goes beyond any experience ^[17] .

The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich is unique in that its author has been engaged in a creative plan for more than half a century. 34 years passed from the first plot sketches of 1894 to the beginning of the embodiment of the text, the writing itself took 21 years - until the death of Vyach himself. Ivanova. Thus, the writer worked on his story for 55 years ^[18] .

Until 1928

Outlines of the work, the protagonists of which were the Lord and his son Svetomir, are recorded in the papers Vyach. Ivanov in 1894; apparently it was a dramatic plan. The unwritten work “Comedy about the Glorious Husbands of Vladar and Borivoe and Vladarev’s son Svetomir” was named ^[20] . Judging by the surviving notes, the plan was only in the formative stage and was hardly clear to the author himself. In any case, the two versions of the title and the sketched text do not correspond much to each other ^{[21] [22]} . Probably, the two-part play about the transitional peasants was part of the more general plan of the “Russian Faust”, to the poetic realization of which Vyach. Ivanov was approaching back in the 1880s. In 1887, he began to write a poetic drama about Russian Faust. In the surviving part, the hero contemplates the lights of Kupala and, probably, he was awaited by spiritual art, he also wanted to grant freedom to his people and suffered from his ingratitude. To a certain extent, “Faust” and “Comedy” can be associated with the initial plan of A. S. Pushkin “ Comedy about Tsar Boris and Grishka Otrepiev ” ^[23] . The title of the work, an attempt at Western-Eastern synthesis and the use of medieval motifs, the genre of "comedy" and the motives of traveling to the underworld also directly referred to Dante's "Divine Comedy" ^[24] . In general, it seems that by the turn of 1900 the writer had several options for the story of Vladar and Svetomir, which was at the intersection of many of Vyach’s permanent interests. Ivanova: the legend of the city of Kitezh, the kingdom of Presbyter John, and others ^[18] .

From the diary entries of M. M. Zamyatnina in 1902 it follows that in Geneva Vyach. Ivanov returned to the story of Vladar and Svetomir, "a drama-poem in the national spirit." In a note dated June 17 (30), 1902, “the whole man” is mentioned, the image of which dates back to the Pushkin speech of F. M. Dostoevsky. However, the brevity of Zamyatnina's notes does not allow us to trace the connection between the written text of the Tale and early ideas ^[25] . In the same period, the poet was engaged in literary processing of spiritual verses; he included in the book “Stern Stars” (1903) with the epigraph “Verse about Joasaph the Tsarevich and the Desert” - one of the sources of the song of Otrada about the earthly Paradise. The diary of 1902 mentions the reading of St. Bernard and reflections on the connection of the Virgin with the World Tree - one of the most important intertextual landmarks of the future "Tale". This idea was realized in the final lines of the song of Joy to the Lord in the second book, “Tales”: in the midst of Paradise - the Tree of Life, the Tree of Life - the Blessed Virgin ^[26] . Two texts from the “Helmsman” were stylized as Russian spiritual poems, and “The Verse of the Holy Mountain” was included by O. Shor in its continuation, which, perhaps, could correspond to the wishes of Vyach. Ivanova. In the book of lyrics “Cor ardens” (1911–1912), the poem “Dream of the Desert Mother” was published, having parallels in the third song of the “Tale”: the dream of Otrada about a tree growing out of her womb. In addition, in 1915-1916 Vyach. Ivanov published the poem "The Lady of Debren" and worked on the long poem "Vinogradar", published entirely as a part of O. Shor's sequel in the 1971 Brussels collected works. In the "Lady" there is an image of seven keys and a student in a dark forest; The “Vinogradar” in the 1916 edition is presented as the song of Svetomir, which tramples on the grapes from which wine is born for the sacrament. However, it is impossible to say whether these texts were composed deliberately for the Slavic epic of Ivanov, or whether they appeared spontaneously due to work on the images and poetics of spiritual verses ^[26] .

From the manuscripts of 1915-1916 and according to the testimonies of O. Shor, it can be assumed that at this time Vyach. Ivanov developed a fundamentally new idea of ​​the work, which was connected with the previous plans only by the name of Svetomir. The author, apparently, had not yet imagined how the images of The Lady of Debren and The Winegrower would be related ^[27] . Two versions of the beginning of a new work, entitled "Sharp Mountain", which almost do not resemble notes of 1894, have survived. Dominar, Gorislava and Otrada are absent, Svetomir is an adult, and in terms of form and genre the fragment resembles an opera libretto ^[28] .

After 1928

The difficult trials the poet suffered during the revolutionary years and after leaving the USSR in 1924, apparently, contributed to the maturation of the idea of ​​the work about the fate of Russia. Perhaps this is Vyach. Ivanov informed O. Shor on June 27, 1925 - "I would write a large, important, original poem about Russia, as I saw it before ...". Having received service in Pavia (at the College of Borromeo, and then at the university), Vyach. Ivanov made an attempt to rethink his own life path and the path of his abandoned homeland. In January 1927, he gave a series of four lectures on Russian culture and Russian religiosity at Pavia University . Recognizing his position, from the mid-1920s, Vyacheslav Ivanov strove to integrate into the intellectual and artistic world of Europe, intensively published in Italian, German and French. At the same time, “ Correspondence from two angles ” was published in different languages ​​by Ivanov and M. Gershenzon ^[29] . Reflections Vyach. Ivanov about Slavs and about Russia took on new forms described by S. Makovsky:

Thinking about the abandoned homeland, abandoned unconditionally - having accepted Italian citizenship, he soon changed his Christian confession, became a Catholic - Vyacheslav Ivanov believed in Russia’s mystical future, or rather, not in Russia, but in a world transformed by a Russian sense of holiness. Having ceased to look back at the ancient past, at the European Middle Ages, at the Renaissance, he saw when he wanted to look far into the future, the Russian sun above the earth - Russian, though it became universal. I mean "The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich" ^[30] .

According to O. Shore, in Rome on the night of September 27-28, 1928, Vyach. Ivanov began writing the text "Tales of Svetomir Tsarevich." The first song was completed the same fall, its original version also included texts that later passed on to the next song; on the second part (the third song of the published version), the poet worked in Pavia, finishing it on June 16, 1929. The first chapters of the third song were created in Pavia between approximately 1930-1932. The letter Vyach has survived. Ivanov to his son (March 23, 1930), in which the poet thanked for the donated album with reproductions of Gothic frescoes from the Church of St. George in Graubunden . This is an important evidence of the writer’s attention to visual images and their translation into verbal and mythological ones. After moving to Rome in 1934, Vyach. Ivanov continued to work on 11-17 chapters of the third song; periodically returning to them until 1939. A great incentive for him was the work at the Pontifical Oriental Institute , for which Ivanov reread the sacred texts and delved into Church Slavonic studies. Only in January 1945 the third song of the Tale was over. From the litter on the autographs of the fourth song, it becomes clear that work on it was conducted from February to December 1945. According to the testimonies of O. Shor and the poet’s daughter, L. V. Ivanova, Vychelav Ivanovich literally continued to work on his “Story” until his death ^[31] .

According to A.L. Toporkov, work on the third song was overly delayed (for a total of 19 years) due to the many complexities of the artistic plan. Apparently, before the beginning of the story, the stories about Vladara and Svetomir were hatched by Vyach. Ivanov separately; they might not be connected at all. From the surviving materials and testimonies of contemporaries, the plot intentions about Svetomir are more or less well known, but since the story of Vlad was preceded by him, in 1928 Vyacheslav Ivanovich began writing this line ^[32] . This work captured him, according to O. Shor, he “wrote easily, in a continuous joyful upsurge” ^[33] . In the completed storyline about Vladar and Gorislav, the poet creatively transformed his own mystical experience and memories of his relationship with L. D. Zinovieva-Annibal and her daughter Vera; even experiencing their own kinship with St. George the Victorious and the wolves ^[32] . On the contrary, the line of Svetomir was given to the writer with the greatest difficulty, his image remained sketchy. In addition, the theme of pilgrimage and communication with the righteous and heroes of antiquity assumed a different readership than descriptions of love passions and experiences. A. L. Toporkov categorically concluded that the opinion of D. V. Ivanov (the writer’s son) and O. A. Shor that only “an insignificant part of the work” was created is a fallacy:

Vyach. Ivanov created exactly the work that he could create, remaining a great artist and thinker, and did not write what could turn his text into a collection of allegorical episodes ^[32] .

O. A. Shor and the Continuation Problem

For the story of the creation of the "Tale" and its continuation, the collision of 1930 is very important. On August 25, 1930, Olga Aleksandrovna Shor sent Vyach. Ivanov’s postcard, in which she reported that Svetomir was “pursuing” her, and finally, the story of his life was mystically “revealed” to her. From the poet’s response letter on August 29, it follows that Vyacheslav Ivanov at that time did not have a clear plan for continuing the work. A. L. Toporkov in this connection drew attention to two problems: firstly, O. A. Shor considered it possible to compose story lines of the Tale for Ivanov; secondly, it is quite possible that its own version of the “Adolescence of the Lightworld” was embodied in the continuation. Information about the continuation of the plot is very contradictory. So, in a letter to the translator B. von Geiserel from the same 1930, Vyach. Ivanov reported 9 books, however, O. Shor wrote about twelve in her comments on the 1971 edition. The discrepancies can be explained by the fact that creative plans could change significantly over time. At the same time, the “continuation” written by O. Shor included 4 books, that is, the structure of the Tale eventually returned to the 9-part, which was mentioned in a letter to von Geiserel ^[34] .

In the Roman archive Vyach. Ivanov preserved individual notes, drafts and plans relating to unrealized songs. One of the plot plans includes the motives used by O. Shor in her sixth book ^[35] . S.K. Makovsky, after talking with O. Shor, retold in detail the author’s ideas. It is noteworthy in his presentation that the “Tale” was to consist of two large parts of approximately the same size, of which the first was ready for about three quarters ^[36] . Makovsky did not know the manuscript projects and prospectuses of Vyach. Ivanov, but he mentioned that O. Shor wrote down the poet’s ideas. There was not a word about the will to complete the "Tale" or O. Shor's own plans on this subject ^[35] . In the retelling of the plot by S. Makovsky there are no clear indications of the presence of Svetomir at the court of John the Presbyter and in the kingdom of the dead. However, the plots about the golden arrow, crystal tomb and life in the monastery correspond to the plots used by O. Shor. The "continuation" of Olga Alexandrovna ends with the fact that the Tsar Maiden awakens Svetomira from a dream. Having risen from the crystal coffin, he discovers a golden arrow in his hands and orders her to transfer herself to her homeland. In his homeland, he meets the Apostle John and St. Egorius, who blessed him and granted him a white horse. This differs from the version of S. K. Makovsky, in which the Tsar Maiden is the transformed Svetomir after resurrection - the ruler of the renewed Earth ^[37] .

Olga Aleksandrovna Shor claimed that she was fulfilling the death will of Vyach. Ivanova ^[38] . Moreover, V. I. Ivanov and O. A. Shor himself sincerely believed that their spiritual connection would not end after physical death, and the poet could “dictate” from the next world. The son of the poet D. V. Ivanov also wrote about the same; In a letter to O. Shor, addressed to him, one of these visions is described, dated August 26, 1967 ^[39] . However, it is quite possible that Ivanov’s command to “save Svetomir” correlated with what Ludwig Thicke did for Heinrich von Oftendingen’s novel , that is, publish a text setting out the author’s intention to save him for posterity ^[17] . Materials that O. Shor wrote about in his biography - a preface to the Brussels collected works - have not yet been found, however, as of 2015, the archive of O. A. Shor, also stored in the Roman Research Center Vyach. Ivanov, was still in a state of processing ^[39] .

Archetypes of the Tale

A.L. Toporkov , analyzing the parallels of "The Tale of Svetomir ..." with Dante , noted that defining the genre here is "as difficult as defining the genre of the Divine Comedy ", so we can consider the "Tale of Svetomir ..." which does not fit into the existing nomenclature of literary genres ” ^[40] . According to S. D. Titarenko, the final work of Vyach. Ivanova absorbed the genre archetypes of the epic : epics , poems , annals , tales , legends , legends , a chivalric novel , life , apocrypha , fairy tale and is a polygenetic genre formation. “Genre syncretism speaks, firstly, of the mythological nature of the work, and secondly, of the insufficiency of modern theory” ^[41] . The most important genre signs of the epos are the non-singularity (supra-individuality) of the narrator’s personality, the conventionality of the time of action, and the installation on mythological tradition. In “The Tale of Svetomir ...” a mythological conditional image of the medieval Slavic world is created, the narration is from an impersonal “old man-monk”, world time supplants the time of real history, repeated traditions are used: about the defeat of the snake, about the golden arrow and some others ^[42] . T. Ventslova came to the conclusion that, depending on the reader’s attitude, the Tale can be understood as a fairy tale, an adventure epic, a quasi-historical novel, or a theological treatise. In other words, this is a postmodern text that can be compared with Thomas Mann's “ Joseph and His Brothers ” or Hermann Hess's “ Pilgrimage to the Country of the East ” ^[43] . A. Toporkov noted that in the cultural context of the 21st century, Ivanov’s text can also be associated with the fantasy genre, due to the combination of fairy tale motifs and quasi-historical narrative ^[19] . From the point of view of S. Titarenko, “The Tale” is “an original version of religious Slavic fantasy based on the Christian model of the world” ^[44] .

The genre-stylistic features of The Tale became the subject of a separate article by T. Venzlov, first published in 1988. Lithuanian researcher writes:

Ivanov's “Special Prose” is striking: perhaps this is one of the most unusual examples of “foreign speech” not only in Russian, but also in world literature ^[45] .

The conscious task of Vyach. Ivanov was an almost complete merger with the narrator (which, perhaps, is not one), preserving the distance and the element of the game. “Before us is an old Russian monument, but at the same time, as if translating this monument into a slightly more modern language” ^[45] . The “Tale” is varied in the degree of convention: it contains “texts in the text”: on the one hand, more conventional passages written in Church Slavonic (the message of John Presbyter, the conversation of Lazarus the Vladar with two schematics, and with Joy); on the other hand, there are poetic inclusions, the language of which is less conventional, folklore, sometimes modern-literary. In the text of the letter of John Presbyter there are also strong references to a non-verbal text, especially an icon-painting : the convention " icons in life ." According to T. Venzlova, the “Tale” color scheme also turns out to be “iconic”: for example, Gorislava has scarlet and green colors, Otrada is azure, blue, Svetomir is dark azure, silver, white, gold, Paraskeva is blue and white ^{[45 ]} .

Myth personal and national myth

The Story clearly sets forth the mythological theory of Ivanov, who considered myth-making (and its highest manifestation - theurgy ) to be the basis and goal of great art. More consistently than other Russian Symbolists, he turned to mythological models: at the turn of the century, to the ancient mythology of the suffering god, this was a clear influence of Nietzsche , in Italy - to what he defined as Christian mythology, which should not be confused with theology. “The limit of his search was a kind of synthetic understanding of the world, in which pagan myths turned out to be vague and approximate, but in their own way deep and effective, a prediction of Christian dogmas. Various myths were for Ivanov a reflection of one archetype, the development of one fundamental worldview concept ” ^[43] . In the Tale, these meanings are conveyed to the reader by the Storyteller, Joy and John Presbyter in their message. The myth is explained as “ancient truth”, revealed through the image, “fables”. The heroes of the Ivanovo epic constantly comprehend various life situations in the coordinates of the Bible and ancient mythology, and also directly interpret their own life as a repetition of the archetype. The master explains his illness according to the story of King David , and his mother - according to the story of the Gospel Lazarus and the prophet Jonah . The history of the princes of Gorynsky is built by analogy with the myth of the descendants of Cadmus , and in the message of presbyter John, Bacchus and Noah are synonymous. Joy - in full accordance with the mythological picture of the world - formulates the identity of birth and death, and Elder Epiphanius - the conformity of the mountain and the moon, macro- and microcosm. In literary terms, this leads to the reciprocity of the Greek, Biblical and Slavic elements. At the external level, this is emphasized by the translation of the names: Euphrosyne (“good location”) - Joy, Seraphim (“fiery, flaming”) - Svetomir, Photinia (“bright”) - Zarezlava, and so on. The same applies to place names, for example: Acropolis - Vysehrad. According to T. Wentslove, mythologemes can “rise in rank”, turning into theologemes, and “decrease in rank”, turning into metaphors ^[46] .

To a certain extent, there is an autobiographical element in the Tale. In a poem from the Roman Diary of September 1, 1944, Vyacheslav Ivanov directly related himself to Vladar. Simon Horse is a certain hypostasis of the biblical Simon Magus , according to T. Venzlova, Horse - the ambassador "from the archons of the stars", in the biographical plan corresponds to Anna Mintslova , who instilled mystical interests in Ivanov. The Paraskeva Tower - “is thinned out of ivory, with a height of one hundred and forty-seven”, there is an obvious allusion to the St. Petersburg Tower ^[46] .

The personal myth in him assumes as his "real" essence the national myth, and the national myth, in turn, is a reflection and concretization of the transnational, general cultural myth. Moreover, Ivanov’s myth (as in the literature of the 20th century in general), superimposed on the past and the present, gives temporary chaos timeless order and meaning ^[47] .

For Vyach. It was important for Ivanov as a thinker not only to fit the work into tradition, but also to transform it and contrast it with real time, that is, translate the work into eternal time, structure epic traditions into a single mythological religious and philosophical text based on the similarity of plots and motives ^[48] . In a letter dated February 14, 1928, O. Shor stated that Ivanov directly wanted to contrast the Christian tradition by showing its refraction in the world of the Middle Ages he modeled, in Slavic history and culture, in new Soviet mythology, “to respond with universal Catholicism to the Soviet international” ^[48] . In a letter from Ivanov S. Baur of October 1, 1946, the writer reported that his intention was similar to Milton ’s “Arthuriades” - the life of a powerful tsar and his holy son, told by a devout monk in the language of ancient Russian chronicles and legends ” ^[49] . The Arthurian cycle was clearly not present in the finished part of The Tale, although in the eighth book written by OA Shor, the knight Gilead ( Galahad ) appears, telling about the sacredness of the Holy Grail . This is due to the cross-cutting motive of the miraculous arrow, which appeared in Ivanov’s first plans; however, the symbolist writer used techniques for coding images and motifs ^[50] .

Poetics of the "Tale"

Yu. B. Orlitsky considered the "Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich" as a synthesis of all areas of creativity Vyach. Ivanova - from symbolist poetry to philosophy and even political science. This last one appeared in his 1937 review of the German translation of “Words on Igor’s Regiment” by R. M. Rilke . Vyach. Ivanov, speaking of the form and content of the "Word ...", emphasized that "a purely lyrical work was not suitable for ... a clear program", which, of course, also reflected reflections on the address of his own "Tale" ^[51] .

The main part of Ivanov’s “Tale” is written in verseynas , that is, in a stanchically ordered prose using a wide range of poetic elements ^[51] . The text contains six voluminous poetic fragments, including three in the first song (Gorislava’s two-part song, the blacksmith’s poem and Yegoriya’s poem quoted by Vasilisa), two in the second, and one in the third. As the creative concept developed, false poems left the text. In form, these plug-in works are most often stylized on the theme of spiritual verses. Four of them are not rhymed, one is written in a tonic verse , one is in rash , the rest is in syllabo-tonic . The most famous of them is “Song of Paradise” ^[52] . It was written in a three- step anapaest with a series of digressions and occasional rhyme.

Noteworthy in this text (the first stanza is given) is the author's arrangement of stresses, which is also practiced in the prosaic parts of the Tale. EM Vereshchagin in this connection put forward a hypothesis that the "Tale" was intentionally created to be read aloud, but the key to pronouncing it was lost; in any case, reading with a pause on periods determined by the syntax of the text is of little use for it. Perhaps the poet was guided by the reading of the Prologue by the Old Believers ^[54] . The ordered variability of the versed stanza Vyach. Ivanova first of all goes back to the Scriptures, more precisely, to his Church Slavonic text ^[55] . The poet was extremely striving for diversity: in the first four songs, various metrics covered about 30 - 40% of the prose text, and in the first seven stanzas of the song of the first, all traditional syllabonic tones were used. In the example of Yu. Orlitsky, the metric part is in italics, its nature is indicated in brackets (the stanzas are indicated with numbers, the first - the beginning - issued) ^[56] :

2. In the white kingdom, the Christian state (six- footed trochee ), Tsar Volodar held power.
3. Sovereign (one- and five-footed iambic ) was established in his hand and magnified, and his dominion extended to the east of the sun and noon and west and midnight farther, and his name (five-footed amphibrach ) filled the universe;
4. and the people worked for the power (five-footed trochee), and the earth carried the burdens of the kingdom (three-footed anapaest ).
5. And Volodar sat down to ruin in ruin and great ruin, and defended his homeland from the opposite (one- and five-footed iambic ), and soon erected in great glory,
6. not having a father-in-law having given (a three-foot amphibrach ) table, but having been beloved and shown and planted by God's grace, the church with a blessing and all the lands with a cathedral sign (six- footed trochee ),

7. at the signs revealed from St. Egorius, like a rebel leader in the power of Yegorieva, who has been the root of the Lord Warrior from the root; and hope did not shame the earth (four- foot amphibrach ).

The sound instrumentation of the Tale is also extremely rich, complex in structure, but not necessarily accompanied by a meter. Often there are long chains of alliterable words:

In a number of cases rhymes appear in a prose text arising from homogeneous terms of a sentence; many rhymes are used for proverbs and riddles cited or invented by the author himself. In other words, the sound effects in the "Tale" are most often formed where the author sought to present parallelisms of different types and volumes. A peculiar generalization was the commentary on the Church Slavonic Psalter, completed by Vyach. Ivanov literally a few days before his death. In this comment, Vyacheslav Ivanovich emphasized that “the rhythm of the psalms ... cannot be precisely defined”, and that “the dominant technique of anthem composing is antiphonic parallelism”. The use of the latter in The Tale, in the opinion of Yu. Orlitsky, does not always indicate a poetic orientation, but always indicates the construction of speech according to rhetorical models ^[58] .

The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich and Wagner

According to a study by D. M. Magomedova, R. Wagner's musical drama played a significant role in shaping the creative intent of The Tale, its plot, language, and composition. Five plot written Vyach. Ivanov’s songs roughly correspond to the first two operas from the cycle “The Ring of the Nibelung ”, which show Siegfried’s background and all the most important mythologemes and locations of the world in which the action takes place, including magic items ^[59] . However, the surface layer of comparison also demonstrates serious differences between the formation of the Wagner dramas and the Ivanov epic. In The Tale, Svetomir is already born, but until the end of the action remains a child, his formation and vigorous activity are yet to come. Richard Wagner relied on the already existing mythological narrative (“ Song of the Nibelungs ”, Elder and Younger Edda , “ Partzipal ” von Eschenbach , etc.), while Vyach. Ivanov was not to reconstruct, but to construct a national myth, based on dozens of completely heterogeneous sources ^[60] .

The mythological space of Wagner's tetralogy and Ivanov's “Tale” is organized by common symbolic images. This is the World Tree and the life-giving spring at its roots: Scandinavian-German Ash and Slavic Oak. The World Tree is a symbol of elemental power, primordial wisdom and wholeness of the universe. For Ivanov, this is Yegoryev oak, and the spring at its foot is Yegoryev’s key. After drinking water from the spring, his mother Vasilisa carried the Vlad. If Wagner’s violation of the integrity of Ashen violates harmony, and Wotan’s spear, carved from a branch, introduces confusion into the world, then Ivanov’s father, Vladimir, the father of Vlad, commands the oak to tumble down and cut out the whole cross from it. In the second book with the blessing of the elder Parthenius, the army wins in the shadow of this cross, but already in the third book the cross itself refused to go before the army ^[61] . The same motive for Wagner and Ivanov has a fundamentally different meaning: the death of the world tree and the drying up of the source portend the death of the gods and the world in Twilight of the Gods , while in the Tale the oak transforms into a life-giving cross, symbolizing the Christian rebirth of the world. Apparently, through A. Mintslova and A. Bely, Ivanov was familiar with the lectures of R. Steiner on oak symbolism and Druid mythology. The plot of how Saint Boniface cut down the "dilapidated" sacred oak, probably directly affected the use of the "Tale" ^[62] . T. Venzlova also directly connected the extrusion of the cross from oak with the enlightenment of pagan symbolism by the Christian spirit. In addition, in the Grail legend, the Dangerous Chapel is also overshadowed by oak (“ Parsifal ”) ^[63] .

In the “Tale” two more cross-cutting motives of the “Ring of the Nibelung” were reflected. The sword of Notung in Wagner's mythology symbolizes a self-sufficient will, condemning the hero to death, and his work - to ruin. The second Wagnerian motive is gold , which grants power over the world through the rejection of love. Vyach. Ivanov contaminated these mythologemes together in the image of a golden arrow. The sword belongs to the chosen one, and in the " Valkyrie " is hidden in the global Yasen, it can be removed only by the one to whom it is intended. In Siegfried, only a hero who knows no fear can forge fragments of a sword. The golden arrow is capable of hitting the dragon (like Notung) and bestowing power, however, St. Egorius hid it in the bowels of the Slavic land. Only the righteous according to the word of the Mother of God and his people “to all the nations for salvation” will take an arrow. A similar Christian polemic inversion befell the motive of snake-fighting. Siegfried killed Fafnir at the instigation of the dwarf Mime, to find out what fear is. Having gained a golden ring, he condemned himself to death in advance by the curse that lurked in him. In Ivanov, snowshoeing appears in the context of the creation of the Christian world by St. Egorius and is transferred to the absolute past ^[64] .

Serpentine, demonic blood is a source of not only external, but also internal, carnal temptations. The key to understanding this layer of text is the plot with Gorislava, which the lord brings from the wounded sister to parents; she has analogues in the three musical dramas of Wagner. The plot of Gorislav and Vladar is given in The Tale twice, first in Vasilisa’s dream, and then reality is described. Closest to this is Wagner’s first act, Tristan and Isolde , in which Tristan accompanies Isolde to his friend and sister King Mark, but under the influence of a love drink gives in to temptation. At the end of the first action of “Twilight of the Gods”, the Siegfried, who has lost his memory, drives Bringild, not recognizing her, to his twin brother Gunther. Both heroines, like Gorislav Ivanov, to some extent possess insight and witching charms. The corresponding motives are transformed into the Tale: experiencing a conflict between sensuality and honor, Lazarus refuses Gorislava and the intention to kill her sleeping groom. There is clearly a third motive from Wagner — the scene between Siegfried and Sieglinda from the first action of Valkyrie. The heroes of Wagner and the characters of Ivanov come from the Wolves family, and Gorislava and Vladar are still carriers of snake blood, that is, twice relatives of Yegoriy ^[65] . Wagner and Ivanov are equally motivated by incest and contempt of conjugal duty, but Wagner’s heroes do not perceive their union as sinful, because love, passion and happiness are self-valuable, higher than violent marriage unions and blur the line between legal and illegal. Ivanov Gorislav defends the primacy of passion and its superiority over honor; at the same time, the torment of the Master is organic to his nature, since he is connected with the serpentine principle. Overcoming the temptation is connected with the Christian concept of honor; his illness is penance for, although not perfect, but thought of sin ^[66] .

Even more frank are the parallels between The Tale and Parsifal. They are connected not only by the Grail, but also by the ruler’s disease, which is a consequence of the hero’s insufficient hardness before the temptations of the flesh. But if Amfortas heals the same spear that inflicted a wound on him, the path of Lazarus the Vladar is more difficult: partly heals the love of Joy, partly his own repentance. The episode of the temptation of Lazarus is also parallel to the temptation of Parsifal, with Gorislav and Kundri combining the demonic and the sacrificial, cleansing principle. There is an unconditional similarity between Parsifal and Svetomir, who were brought up for a long time in isolation from the world and did not know their fathers ^[67] . Apparently, the image of Svetomir Tsarevich arose as the “Russian Parsifal”. It is no coincidence that it was after the transition to the Catholic Church without renunciation of Orthodoxy, in the 1920s Vyach. Ivanov plunged into the deep layers of Old Russian and Church Slavonic literature. The construction of the Slavic epic was probably seen by Ivanov as a means for the Slavic branch of European culture to conduct a dialogue with the West European tradition ^[68] .

Thus, according to D. M. Magomedova, reading Wagnerian meanings in The Tale significantly expands the possibilities of its interpretation. It can be concluded that Wagner's dramas are the same source for Vyach. Ivanova, as well as Old Russian and Slavic literary and folklore texts. There is a direct controversy with The Ring of the Nibelungen in The Tale and dialogue-consent with Parsifal. Perhaps this was due to irritation from the use of the Wagnerian myth in Nazi propaganda, and deeper ideological motives ^[69] .

According to A. Toporkov, Vyach. Ivanov conceived his "Tale" as a kind of Christian Slavic epic based on the Bible and the Russian book and folklore tradition and at the same time stylized as a medieval work ^[70] . The specifics of creative consciousness Vyach. Ivanov was that different traditions did not exist in it separately, but entered into complex, sometimes bizarre, relationships. For example, translating Aeschylus , Ivanov could put easily recognizable biblical formulas into the mouths of ancient Greek characters. Therefore, the characters of the "Tale" went back not only to Slavic, but also to ancient, Germanic and Italian sources. So, Elder Parthenius, undoubtedly, bore the features not only of Sergius of Radonezh , but also of Francis of Assisi . End-to-end for the "Tale", the image of wolves went back to the " Word of Igor's Campaign ", to the Scandinavian sagas, and to the legend of Romulus and Remus , fed by a she-wolf ^[71] .

According to A. L. Toporkov, the intellectual background of the "Tale" is correlated with the following literary and spiritual traditions: biblical (both Old and New Testament); Greek and Roman Antique; Italian, Germanic and Slavic medieval; Russian and German romantic and realistic literature of the 19th century; and modern Ivanov Russian symbolism ^[72] . The intertextual background of the Tale forms the following series of texts: Genesis , the Psalter , the Gospel of John , the Epistles of the Apostle Paul and the Revelation of John the Theologian ; Augustinova " Confession "; “ The Epistle of Elder John ”; “The Divine Comedy ” by Dante and his “ New Life ” and “ Monarchy ”; “ The Word of Igor’s Regiment ” and “The Legend of the Mamaev Massacre ”; The Life of Sergius of Radonezh; " Heinrich von Ofterdingen " Novalis ; “ So said Zarathustra ” Nietzsche ; " Boris Godunov " by Pushkin ; Dostoevsky ’s novels The Idiot , Crime and Punishment , and The Brothers Karamazov ; “ Russia and the Ecumenical Church ” and “ Three Conversations ” Vl. S. Solovyov , and a number of poems and dramas by A. Blok ^[73] .

These texts were sources of hidden and explicit quotes and allusions, moreover, their choice was determined by the author’s erudition and the task of creating a “mosaic” text stylized under the Middle Ages. The same was determined by an attempt to synthesize the traditions of antiquity, the Middle Ages, Slavs, Western and Eastern Christianity. Citation in the creative method Vyach. Ivanova was not only a reference to the source, but also a sign of belonging to a certain tradition. A. Toporkov revealed a certain pattern: biblical and ancient primary sources are included in the "Tale" through an intermediate citation - through Dante and Dostoevsky, about. Pavel Florensky and S.N. Bulgakov . Often, Ivanov proposed his own exegesis of the texts of the Apocalypse, the Gospel of John and Shestodnev, and he relied not only on the Christian, but also on the Gnostic tradition and even the anthroposophy of R. Steiner ^[74] . This was his principled position: Vyach. Ivanov, being a sincere and deeply religious person and a practicing Catholic, considered gnosis legal, although hidden from the uninitiated part of the Church’s spiritual heritage, and also shared Augustine’s opinion that communication with heretics can be useful to the extent that it helps strengthen the faith ^{[72 ]} . Moreover, he sought to comprehend the ancient pagan myths as a premonition of the Christian Revelation ^[75] .

Gnosticism in the "Tale" received a peculiar - implicit - refraction with the doctrines of Vl. S. Solovyov. Apparently, the Gnostic layer of Ivanov’s story dates back exactly to Solovyov’s articles on the history of Gnosticism. According to E.V. Glukhova, Solovyov’s influence was indirectly manifested in the plot of the duality of Simeon the Magician / Simon Horse and Zoe / Elena. Apparently, the well-known Gnostic duality was reflected in the characterization of the main characters, in which the binary opposition of light and darkness is manifested, nevertheless inseparable from each other ^[76] .

Allusions were needed Vyach. Ivanov to create a modern text, which was given a deep archaic form. The psychological portraits of the heroes of the Tale are close to the images of F. M. Dostoevsky and are inconceivable in Old Russian bookishness. Such is Gorislava, imposing her love on Lazarus and ready to cut with an ax the unloved husband - Simeon Uravda. Gorislava correlates with Dostoevskaya Nastasya Filippovna , as well as with the real prototype - L. D. Zinovieva-Annibal . These motives become especially noticeable when comparing the themes and images of the correspondence of Ivanov and Zinovieva with the theme of the Tale. Joy also "sprouted" not from Old Russian bookishness; it is closest to the dante Beatrice or Fevronia from the opera of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Biography of the Ruler directly refers to the Gospel Lazarus, and his path to Christ, consisting of ups and downs, goes back to Augustine's Confession and again to the characters of F. M. Dostoevsky ^[77] .

The literary style and images of the Bible define the whole thematic and spiritual space of the "Tale". Joy pronounces the words of the Virgin and those around her turn to her with the same words that are addressed to Mary in the New Testament. In the vision of Lord Joy, appears to him in the form of the Virgin with the Baby in her arms. Thus, the second narrative plan is realized, in which Joy embodies Mary, and Svetomir - the Son born by her. The history of Lazarus the Ruler appears at the same time as a classical initiation and at the same time Christian enlightenment. At the same time, the author was very fluent in the biblical text, and also widely used liturgical texts ^[78] .

Another semantic layer of the Tale is the continuous 1000-year-old tradition of Russian literature from The Tale of Bygone Years and The Words of Igor's Campaign through A. Pushkin and F. M. Dostoevsky to the Symbolists and Futurists ( V. Khlebnikov ). According to A. Toporkov, a citation analysis shows that for Vyach. Ivanov presented the whole Russian culture as something complete and complete, and for Ivanov himself at that time when he was actively writing The Tale, Holy Russia went into the "rest of the Lord", and those who remained on the earth have to hope for its coming resurrection ^[79] .

A.L. Toporkov noted that whatever the intentions of Vyach. Ivanov, the historical concept of the "Tale" was determined by the fact that the author lived at the turn of the historical eras, and therefore we can say that he lived several lives, marked not only by time, but also by his country of location. The Tale reflected a situation where several epochs are replaced during the life of one generation, and in ordinary circumstances such changes would take decades, and sometimes centuries ^[80] .

The country in which Vlad and Svetomir live and rule is not named in the Tale, by some contemporaries Vyach. Ivanova ( B.K. Zaitsev ) she evoked associations with Serbia. However, according to A. Toporkov, it was a question of Muscovite Russia , which was indicated by folklore terminology, as well as identifiable quotes from monuments of ancient Russian book writing and the very arrangement of coordinates - between the Horde and Byzantium. It is noteworthy, however, that Vyach. Ivanov commensurate the events of the Tale with a world-wide historical perspective, and therefore the subjects of Vlad are Europeanoid Christians who are waging war with the narrow-eyed “Agarians” pagans from the East. The most significant difference between the fairy-tale mythological time of the Tale and the real one is the absence of the Time of Troubles . The transfer of power to the Lord takes place peacefully: the previous prince simply renounces in his favor, and this decision is approved by the national assembly ^[81] . According to S. S. Averintsev, several Moscow sovereigns joined at once in the image of the Ruler - from Ivan Kalita to Ivan III ^[82] . Directly in the text of the Tale, only one specific historical event is called - the fall of Constantinople in 1453 (in the fourth song). The time reference of the birth of Svetomir can also be interpreted: it was preceded by the Battle of Kulikovo ^[83] . In the story of the further conquests of Vladar, “the conquest of the two kingdoms of the Horde” is mentioned, which can be interpreted as the fall of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates ^[84] .

In the "Tale" there are allusions to other historical characters. In the image of Hieromonk Meletius Maxim the Greek is easily recognized, and the name of his beloved disciple Epiphanius alludes to Epiphanius the Wise , the author of the lives of Sergius of Radonezh and Stefan of Perm. consistent with his real biography. S. S. Averintsev noted that the Epifanievo “weaving of words” had a significant influence on the style of the “Tale” ^[83] .

The historical and cultural appearance of ancient Russian civilization meant a lot to Ivanov and is the most important construct of the Tale. Vyach. Ivanov sincerely believed (and reported in a letter to V.D. Shore on October 26, 1927) that Russia, having adopted Orthodoxy from Byzantium through the Church Slavonic language , joined the ancient culture and became its heir. “Russia itself was Europeanized when it wanted, no one has“ Europeanized ”it, like India and China” ^[85] . Slavic culture is extremely close to ancient, so the Lord saw himself in a dream Ganymede , who is carried by an eagle in the sky, and there is absolutely no question whether Lazarus knows about the existence of this myth at all ^[86] . The general intention, however, was Christian: joining the Catholic Church, Ivanov did not break with Orthodoxy and was inspired by the idea of ​​communion of the saints of the East and West and the union of churches. In the Tale there are no specific provisions of Catholic dogma, and in the kingdom of Presbyter John of the fifth song, original Christianity is preserved, which has not yet been affected by heresies and the Great Schism ^[87] .

As the author worked on the "Tale", information about her was distributed through relatives and acquaintances of Vyach. Ivanova. So, B.K. Zaitsev , being in Rome in the spring of 1949, met with Ivanov and listened to the reading of "The Story of Svetomir Tsarevich." His impressions are noteworthy: Zaitsev immediately identified the work as a poem , not a story , considered it “symbolically fantastic”, but at the same time meaningfully connected with ancient Serbia , and not Russia ^[88] . The work incomplete by the author - the philosophical "testament" - became known to the general public thanks to S. K. Makovsky and his essay book "Portraits of Contemporaries" in 1955. On four and a half pages, the memoirist retold the plot of the then unpublished "Tale" and from the words of O. A. Shor (Deshart) ^[89] - a long-time companion, correspondent and interlocutor of Vyach. Ivanova, - announced plans to continue ^{[90] [91]} .

For the first time the text of “The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich” was published in Brussels in 1971, as part of an collected work prepared by the writer’s son, D. V. Ivanov and O. Shor (Deshart) ^[92] . In addition to the five songs completed by Vyach. Ivanov, without any designation in the table of contents, published another 4 songs written by O. Shor. The question is, to what extent do these texts reflect the intention of Vyach. Ivanov and whether they can be considered a continuation, is not obvious ^[93] . According to A. L. Toporkov , the text in the Brussels edition was not properly prepared, there were numerous typos and distortions of the autograph; the complex work was provided with only a minimal commentary, which dealt mainly with the chronology of the creation of The Tale ^[94] . In an extensive introduction - biography Vyach. Ivanov, also written by O. Shor, reported some information about the history of creation and the idea of ​​the "Tale" ^{[95] [91]} .

Five songs “Tales of Svetomir Tsarevich” without supplement by O. Shor were reproduced by the Brussels edition in 1995 by S. Averintsev in the collection “The Face and Masks of Russia. Aesthetics and literary theory ”, which included the aesthetic work of Vyach. Ivanova. Additional work with the text was not carried out, and the commentary was in the form of short selective notes ^{[96] [97]} .

In the professional environment, “The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich” is considered as one of the “forgotten” texts of Russian writers who were ahead of their time and became a reflection of global intellectual searches of the 20th century ^[98] . Based on this, a collective project was undertaken by researchers of the Institute of World Literature. A. M. Gorky RAS (A. L. Toporkov), Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) RAS (O. L. Fetisenko) and the Vyacheslav Ivanov Research Center in Rome (A. B. Shishkin). In 2015, the publication was published in the series “ Literary Monuments ”. The main task was not only the publication of a text corresponding to the modern level of development of textology, but also the reconstruction of the original author’s intention. Olga L. Fetisenko prepared the author’s text “The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich” according to the manuscript editions available in the archive (books 1–5). Variants of individual editions of poems, preserved in the writer's personal archive ^[99], were included in the appendix. The text was accompanied by voluminous comments by A. L. Toporkov, written on the basis of his own monograph, “Sources of the Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich: Ancient and Medieval Books and Folklore” ^[100] . Nevertheless, S. D. Titarenko in her review noted the inconsistency of the research position on books 6 - 9 of the Tale, written by OA Shor. On the one hand, this text is not organic for the composition and structure of "The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich" and in this regard, its elimination is logical. However, the text of O. Shor was widely used in the study and comments of A. Toporkov; in this regard, as the reality of the history of the work and as a text that historically arose in the context of communication with Vyach. Ivanov, the continuation would be appropriate in the 2015 edition ^[101] .

Manuscripts of Svetomira in the Roman Archives of Ivanov

• List 2, cardboard 1, folders 1-2 (unopened) . Electronic archive Vyach. Ivanova . Vyacheslav Ivanov Research Center in Rome (March 25, 2015). Date of treatment May 2, 2018.
• Inventory 2, cardboard 1, folders 3-12 (unopened) . Electronic archive Vyach. Ivanova . Vyacheslav Ivanov Research Center in Rome (March 25, 2015). Date of treatment May 2, 2018.
• Inventory 2, cardboard 2 (neopr.) . Electronic archive Vyach. Ivanova . Vyacheslav Ivanov Research Center in Rome (March 25, 2015). Date of treatment May 2, 2018.

The 1971 edition text of The Tale, supplemented by O. Shor

• Vyacheslav Ivanov. The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich (Neopr.) . RVB: Vyach. Ivanov. Date of treatment May 1, 2018.

Other

• The Tale of Svetomir Tsarevich on the site " Science Fiction Laboratory "
• Joint archive of Vyacheslav Ivanov (neopr.) . Date of treatment May 1, 2018.
• The program of the international conference “Vyacheslav Ivanov and his time. Poetics “Tales of Svetomir Tsarevich” ”February 11, 2014 (neopr.) . IMLI RAS, Moscow . Date of treatment May 1, 2018.