Azanbek Dzhanaev. Illustrations for the Nart epic, Ishmael Bey and Genghis Khan
Topic: “Heroic epic of the peoples of the world” (lesson 1/2)
Municipal budgetary educational institution Sadovskaya secondary school branch of the village of Lozovoye, village of Lozovoye, Tambov district, Amur region
MHC. 8th grade Compiled by teacher of Russian language and literature Efimova Nina Vasilievna
Checking homework. What does the term "multiculturalism" mean? How does cultural diversity manifest itself? Tell us about the tea ceremony. What is ikebana? What do its components mean? What is the significance of Japanese gardens? Name their types.
Epic (from Greek - “word, narrative”) is one of three types of literature, telling about various events that happened in the past.
In the history of world culture, a special place belongs to the heroic epic, which artistically reflected ideas about the historical past, recreating holistic pictures of people's life.
N.K. Roerich. Illustration for the Mongolian heroic epic “Bum-Erdeni” 1947.
The heroic epic of the peoples of the world is the only witness to a distant era.
Heroic Epic
legends
about historical events
about the exploits of legendary heroes
The heroic epic of the peoples of the world reflects the depths of people's memory. Getting acquainted with the artistic traditions of the peoples of the world, we turn specifically to the heroic epic, to hoary antiquity.
Hercules
Alexander Nevskiy
Ilya Muromets
“The first victories over nature aroused in him (among the people - G.D.) a feeling of his stability, pride in himself, a desire for new victories and prompted him to create a heroic epic.” A.M. Bitter
The heroic epic goes back to ancient myths and reflects man’s mythical ideas about nature and the world around him.
A.M.Gorky (1868-1936)
The epic was formed in oral form, passed on from mouth to mouth, from one generation of storytellers to another. Then it acquired new subjects and images. Later it was consolidated in book form and has come down to us in the form of extensive works.
Guslars
Chronicler Nestor (mid 11th century - early 12th century)
The heroic epic is the result of collective folk art; we do not know the names of its creators. But there are works that were created by individual storytellers or singers. The famous “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, as we know, were written by a single author - Homer.
Covers of audiobooks "Iliad" and "Odyssey"
Homer (8th century BC)
The story “The Kemean Singer” very accurately recreates the picture of the creation of the epic in a conversation between the Greek youth Meges and the ancient old man-storyteller
French writer A. France (1844-1924)
Monuments of the heroic epic of the peoples of the world
The outstanding monuments of the heroic epic include the Sumerian epic “The Tale of Gilgamesh” (c. 1800 BC). One of the most poetic works tells about the brave folk hero Gilgamesh, who went in search of wisdom, happiness and immortality.
Statue of Gilgamesh with a lion from the palace of Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin. 8th century BC.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu
An interesting Indian folk epic is the Mahabharata, created by the middle of the 1st millennium AD in Sanskrit, the oldest Indian literary language. It was formed on the basis of tales and legends and tells about the battle of two clans and their allies for dominance in the kingdom located in the upper reaches of the Ganges River.
"Mahabharata" - book illustrations
In the Middle Ages, many peoples of Western Europe developed a heroic epic that reflected knightly ideals of valor and honor.
The most significant include
Beowulf in England
"Song of the Nibelungs" in Germany
Elder Edda in Iceland
Karelo-Finnish epic "Kalevala"
"The Song of Roland" in France
"Song of my Sid" in Spain
Folk-heroic French epic "The Song of Roland".
Roland receives the sword Durandal from the hands of Charlemagne
Death of Roland.
Fixing the material. What does the word "epic" mean? What is a heroic epic? How did the heroic epic of the peoples of the world arise and develop? What were the people who “spoke” called? Name the monuments of the heroic epic of the peoples of the world. Who does the Sumerian epic “The Tale of Gilgamesh” tell us about?
Literature. Textbook "World artistic culture". Grades 7-9: Basic level. G.I. Danilova. Moscow. Bustard. 2010 The world of artistic culture (lesson planning), 8th grade. N.N.Kutsman. Volgograd. Corypheus. year 2009. http://briefly.ru/_/pesn_o_rolande/ Wikipedia – https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AD%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81_%D0%BE_%D0%93 %D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%B5 Wikipedia – https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/ %D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%BE_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0 %B5
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Epics. The term epics was first introduced in 1839 by Ivan Sakharov in the collection “Songs of the Russian People.” The popular name for these works is “old man, old woman, old woman.” “I lay down on a sack near a skinny fire... and, warming myself by the fire, I fell asleep unnoticed; I was awakened by strange sounds: before that I had heard a lot of songs and poems..., but I had never heard such a tune. Lively, whimsical and cheerful, sometimes it became faster, sometimes it broke off and in its harmony resembled something ancient, forgotten by our generation. For a long time I didn’t want to wake up and listen to the individual words of the song: it was so joyful to remain in the grip of a completely new impression...” recalls folklore collector P. N. Rybnikov.
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Epics: fiction or history with elements of fantasy? Most of the epics known to us were created in the 9th – 12th centuries. However, one can notice in the texts of epics echoes of events and life of much later eras (16th and even 19th centuries). Why did this happen? “Not all events and heroes sung in epics remained in the memory of descendants. Previously created works were reworked in relation to new events and new people, sometimes feats performed later were attributed to former heroes. Thus, over the course of centuries, a special world of epics was formed, which united people from different centuries and eras. Thus, all the Kyiv heroes became contemporaries of one prince Vladimir, although they had to fight the enemies who plagued Rus' from the 10th to the 16th centuries.”
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Kyiv cycle of epics. Features: The action takes place in or near Kiev. At the center of the story is Prince Vladimir. Main theme: protection of the Russian land from nomads. Heroes: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, Alyosha Popovich, Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich.
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Ilya Muromets. The main hero of Russian epics, the plot of his battle with the Nightingale the Robber alone has more than a hundred variations. Until the age of 30, Ilya sat idle, unable to control his arms and legs, then he received miraculous healing and heroic strength from the kalik passers-by (wandering pilgrims). His personality symbolizes the transition from the “older” heroes to the “younger”: he was familiar with Svyatogor and he, according to some versions, transferred part of his great power to him before his death (according to others, Ilya refused it). In the epics, Ilya Muromets appears before us as an “old Cossack”, possessing remarkable strength, powerful and wise.
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Nikitich. The most popular hero of the Russian epic after Ilya Muromets. The most “intelligent” of the epic heroes; it embodies those qualities that the people collectively denoted by the word “knowledge”: education, excellent upbringing, knowledge of etiquette, the ability to play the harp, intelligence (Dobrynya plays chess superbly). All this makes him especially suitable for diplomatic assignments: in epics he often represents the interests of Prince Vladimir in foreign lands. In addition to the listed qualities, he, like all heroes, is brave and courageous. Since childhood (from the age of 12 or 15), Dobrynya has mastered weapons.
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Alesha Popovich. The youngest of the famous trinity of epic heroes, the son of the Rostov priest Levontius (rarely Fedor). He is known both for his dashing prowess, resourcefulness and heroic courage, and for his hot temper and boastfulness. Alyosha is cheerful, mocking and sharp-tongued. He often defeats his enemies not by force, but by military cunning: he pretends to be deaf and forces the enemy to come closer, under some pretext he forces the enemy to turn around, etc.
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Volga Svyatoslavovich (Volkh Vseslavevich). The name of the hero, Volkh, indicates that a great magician, a sorcerer, was born. He is connected by birth with nature, just as the whole life of primitive man was connected with nature and the struggle with it. The ancestors of the Russians, before becoming farmers, depended on hunting, which was once the main form of livelihood. When Volkh is born, animals, fish and birds hide in fear: a great hunter is born. The Volkh knows how to transform into animals: he catches fish in the form of a pike, birds - turning into a falcon, forest animals - a gray wolf. He is a sorcerer and a werewolf. The Volkh knows how to transform into animals: he catches fish in the form of a pike, birds - turning into a falcon, forest animals - a gray wolf. He is a sorcerer and a werewolf. He fights the same way he hunts: through magical skill, “cunning-wisdom.”
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Mikula Selyaninovich. A plowman with remarkable strength. Volga Vseslavyevich met him when, accompanied by a squad, he went for tribute to the cities of Gurchevets, Krestyanovets and Orekhovets. Orest Miller saw in Mikula the ancient deity of agriculture; thus, his meeting with Volga is a meeting of the hunter-god with the plowman-god. Enormous strength, the ability to easily lift earthly thrusts (which turned out to be beyond the power of the mighty Svyatogor), bring him closer to the so-called “elder” heroes - the most ancient characters of the Russian epic.
These are not reproductions, but photographs of paintings that I took in museums. On some I couldn't overcome the glare, so the quality is not very good. The originals are good size.
Illustrations for the Nart epic
It is believed that the Nart epic has ancient Iranian roots (7-8 centuries BC), spread through the Scythian-Sarmatian tribes to the Caucasus, the main core was created by the Circassians, Ossetians, Vainakhs, Abkhazians, and is also popular among others (along with common features each nation had its own peculiarities), in the 19th century it was first recorded by the Russians (a little more about the genesis of the epic in this article).
The Ossetian artist Azanbek Dzhanaev (1919-1989) turned to Nartiada several times: in 1948, his graduation work at the Leningrad Academy of Arts at the Faculty of Graphics, the works were made in the style of lithography, and in the 1970s, the materials were gouache and cardboard.
Personally, his black and white graphics make a greater impression on me, but in general, in my unprofessional opinion, thanks to the realistic style of drawing, Dzhanaev managed to capture and convey all the beauty of the epic and the mountain peoples :)
1. Dzerassa's cry over the bodies of Akhsar and Akhsartag (1948)
2. Akhsar and Akhsartag (1977)
The ancestor of the Narts was Warkhag, he had two twin sons Akhsar and Akhsartag, whose wife was the daughter of the water deity Dzerassa. While Akhsartag and Dzerassa were feasting, Akhsar was waiting for them on the shore. One day he returned to his tent and saw his daughter-in-law, and she mistook him for Akhsartag. Then Akhsartag entered and decided that Akhsar had committed violence against her. “If I am guilty, let my arrow strike me to death in the place with which I touched my daughter-in-law!” Akhsar exclaimed and released the arrow. It hit the little finger and Akhsar died immediately. Akhsartag realized his mistake, drew his sword and struck himself in the heart. While Dzerassa was mourning her brothers, the celestial Uastirdzhi appeared and offered her to bury the men, in exchange she would become his wife. Dzerassa agreed, but then, deceiving Uastirdzhi, she ran away to her parents to the bottom of the sea. “Wait, I will find you, even in the land of the dead,” said Uastirdzhi.
It is curious: the name Warhag translated from ancient Ossetian means “wolf”, his sons are twin brothers who killed each other (in other versions of the legend the brothers did not recognize each other), there is a plot similarity with the legend of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. The theme of “raising by wolves” appears many times in the epic.
3. How Satan married Urizmag (1978)
Dzerassa gave birth to twin brothers Uryzmag and Khamyts, and punished them “when I die, protect my body for three nights, one unkind person vowed to find me even after death.” And so it happened, while the brothers were away, Uastirdzhi entered the crypt, and then they discovered a newborn girl in it, who was named Satan. She grew by leaps and bounds, and having matured, she decided to marry the best Nart, who was Uryzmag. To ruin his wedding to another girl, Satan tricked her into his bedroom, prepared an intoxicating drink, put on his bride's wedding clothes and pretended to be her. She enchanted the ceiling of the room so that there would always be the moon and stars on it, and Urizmag did not get up from his bed until the heart of his real bride burst from despair.
The image of Satan (among the Circassians Sataney) originated during the period of matriarchy; she plays the role of a wise adviser to the Narts, endowed with magical spells, but does not directly guide them. In the Ingush epic, Satan corresponds to Sela Sata, the daughter of the god of thunder and lightning Sela, born to a mortal woman under the same circumstances. Sela Sata married the sky god Halo: where she carried straw for the wedding bed, the Milky Way was formed, where she baked triangular bread, the summer-autumn triangle (stars Vega, Deneb and Altair) was formed.
4. Nart Syrdon (1976)
Syrdon is the son of the water deity Gatag and Dzerassa, a cunning rogue who plotted against the Narts. When Syrdon, offended by Khamyts, stole his cow, Khamyts found his secret house, killed all his sons and put them in a cauldron instead of the cow. Struck by grief, Syrdon pulled 12 strings of other sons onto the wrist of his eldest son and made a fandyr (harp), presented it to the Narts and was accepted into their society.
Among the Vainakhs, Syrdon corresponds to Botkiy Shirtka. The Narts threw his little son into the cauldron; in revenge, he lured them into a trap with the Garbash monsters. But this is what the next picture (“the expedition of the sledges”) is about.
5. Nart campaign (1977)
The Narts went on a hike and saw the dwelling of the Uaigi giants. The giants lured them onto a bench, which was covered with magic glue, so that the sleds could not get up, and were preparing to eat them. Only the last Nart, Syrdon, who entered, was able to save everyone by setting the stupid Uaigs against each other. But the mutual machinations of the Narts and Syrdon did not stop there.
In the Vainakh version, at the sight of imminent death, the Narts begged for mercy, Botky Shirtka forgave them for the death of his son, making sure that the Garbashs fought among themselves, and the Narts calmly left. Since then there has been no hostility between them.
It is curious: according to the Ossetian epic, the uaigi are one-eyed giants, but Dzhanaev, with his characteristic realism, depicts them as narrow-minded monkey-like Pithecanthropes. He acts similarly in other plots, for example, the three-legged horse Uastirdzhi has all four legs.
6. Exiled on the march (1976)
Soslan (Sosruko among the Circassians, Seska Solsa among the Vainakhs) is the central hero of the epic and one of the most beloved. Appearing from a stone fertilized by a shepherd at the sight of a naked Satan, tempered in wolf's milk (except for the knees, which did not fit into the boat because of the cunning Syrdon), he became an almost invulnerable hero-hero. In the Nart-Orstkhoy epic of the Ingush, Seska Solsa acquired negative traits (for example, he stole cattle from the local hero, heroic worker Koloy Kant, but the stronger Koloy restored justice).
7. Soslan and Totradz (1972)
Totradz is the son of Soslan’s blood enemy, the last man in the family he exterminated. At a young age, he raised Soslan on a spear, but agreed not to disgrace him, and postponed the duel. The next time Soslan dealt with him on the advice of Satan: he put a fur coat of wolf skins and 100 ringing bells on his horse, thereby frightening Totradz’s horse, Totradz turned around and Soslan insidiously killed him with a blow to the back.
Among the Circassians, Totresh is considered a negative hero and the actions of Sosruko, who did not heed Totresh’s request to reschedule the duel after falling from his horse, are idealized.
8. Sauwai (1978)
Sauuai is the son-in-law of Uryzmag and Satan. But from birth they were enemies. Once Sauuai went on a campaign together with Uryzmag, Khamyts, Soslan, and they planned for Soslan’s steel-hoofed horse to destroy Sauuai, gallop off at night to the ends of the earth, visit the underworld and heaven, and Sauuai, who was guarding the camp, could not find him and brought it upon himself Shame on the Narts. But Sauuai not only found him, but also brought Uryzmag a huge herd of horses from a distant country, which earned him trust and respect.
9. Exiled in the land of the dead (1948)
Soslan decided to take the daughter of the Sun Atsyrukhs as his wife, but the uaigs who protected her demanded a difficult ransom, leaves from a healing tree growing in the Land of the Dead. By force, Soslan opened the gate to it and was immediately surrounded by the dead who had been killed by him during his lifetime. But while Soslan was alive, the enemies could not do anything with him. Soslan got the leaves, returned, and played the wedding.
According to Ingush legends, Seska Solsa came to the kingdom of the dead to find out who was stronger, he or the local hero Byatar. This is one of my favorite legends, so I’ll quote a part of it:
The Lord of the Kingdom of the Dead thought deeply and asked them the following parable-riddle:
- In the old days, there lived two people. Everyone knew them as true and devoted friends. One of them fell in love with a girl and the girl agreed to become his wife. The second one also fell in love with this girl, not knowing that his friend loved her, and sent matchmakers to her parents. The parents gave their consent. The first of the friends did not know about this. When he wanted to talk kindly to the girl, she told him that she had been betrothed to another without her consent, and that she, at any time appointed by her lover, was ready to run away with him. Returning home after a conversation with a girl, in the uninhabited steppe he met a hungry and thirsty unarmed bloodline, the killer of his father. Now tell me, what would you do if the girl you loved was given to someone else and still remained faithful to you? What would you do if you met your bloodmate? Tell me, what would you do in this person’s place?
Seska Solsa and Byatar thought for a while. Then Seska Solsa said:
“If you ask me, if I were this man, I would kidnap the girl, because I fell in love with her before the other.” And he would treat the bloodline as he deserves. Whatever he may be, he is still my blood! But if he didn’t have any gunpowder, I would lend him mine.
Batar said:
– Friendship is not needed at a rich table, not at a beautiful speech. In times of adversity or other matters, great friendship is required. The girl should have yielded to her friend, praising him in every possible way. Of course, this is easy to talk about, but much more difficult to do. And yet, I believe that this is exactly what a true friend should have done. Letting go of a blood enemy is shameful, but in such a difficult moment as he found himself in, I would greet him with bread and salt. Killing a weak person is a small act of courage.
After listening to both answers, the Lord of the kingdom of the dead said:
– Don’t be upset, Seska Solsa. If you judge courage the way you understand it, then you won’t be more courageous. Based on your answers, I found that Byatar understands courage more correctly. It does not consist of courage alone; Courage takes in a lot of things. In order to rush into the Terek without hesitation, you don’t need much courage. Courage is determined not by this, but by intelligence.
10. Soslan and Balsagovo Wheel (1948)
11. Soslan and the wheel of Balsag (1976)
Soslan insulted Balsag's daughter by refusing to take her as his wife, and sent Balsag his fiery wheel to kill the Nart. It burned everything in its path, but could not stop Soslan. Then, trained by Syrdon, it passes over the unhardened knees of Soslan, and he dies. The only one who was able to destroy the Balsag wheel was Batradz (the next series of paintings is about him).
12. Batradz (1948)
Batradz, the son of Khamyts, hardened like steel by the heavenly blacksmith, crushed enemies and any strongholds with his body. It was impossible to kill him with any weapon; he died only in the fight against the celestials from the unbearable heat sent.
13. Batradz in the fight (1948)
14. Batradz and Tykhyfirt (1978)
The giant Tykhyfyrt sent girls to the Narts for tribute, but instead Batradz challenged him to a fight in which the fighters could not defeat each other. Then Tykhyfyrt lured Batradz into a deep hole and wanted to throw boulders at him, but Batradz climbed onto the ground using them and killed Tykhyfyrt.
16. Wedding of Atsamaz and Agunda (1976)
Atsamaz is a musician, to the sounds of whose pipes glaciers melted, mountains crumbled, animals came out of their hiding places and flowers bloomed. Hearing Atsamaz play, the beautiful Agunda fell in love with him, but with her request to give a pipe she offended Atsamaz, and he broke it. The celestials found out about this and acted as matchmakers; at the wedding, Agunda returned Atsamazu his pipe, glued together from the collected fragments.
17. Three sledges (1948)
Fairy tales are associated with myths, they are oral
narratives and historical
legends and they are called “epic”
is a type of literature distinguished
along with lyrics and drama;
represented by such genres as
fairy tale, legend. Varieties
heroic epic: epic,
epic poem, story, story,
short story, novel, essay.
Epic, like drama, is characterized by
replay of the action,
unfolding in space and
time, - the course of events in life
characters.
determined by properties
narratives. Speech here
acts mainly in
reporting functions
happened earlier. Between
speaking and portrayal
the action in the epic is preserved
time distance: epic
the poet tells “... about the event,
as something separate from
myself..." The epic contains information about the gods
and other supernatural
creatures, fascinating
stories and educational
examples, aphorisms of everyday life
wisdom and examples
heroic behavior;
its edifying function
as indispensable as
educational. It covers and
tragic and comic
The history of the epic
Lyric-epicProse genres
Myth (fantastic
idea of the world inherent
primitive communal man
formations are usually
transmitted in oral form
narratives - myths).
The concept of a heroic epic
Epic" - (from Greek) word, narrative,one of three types of literature telling about
various events of the past.
The heroic epic of the peoples of the world is sometimes
the most important and only evidence
past eras. It goes back to ancient myths
and reflects human ideas about nature and
world.
It was originally formed verbally
form, then, acquiring new subjects and
images, fixed in written form.
The heroic epic is the result of a collective
folk art. But this does not detract at all
the roles of individual storytellers. Famous
The Illiad and the Odyssey, as we know, were
written down by a single author - Homer
"Mahabharata" Indian epic of the 5th century AD
"The Great Legend of the Descendants of Bharata" or"The Tale of the Great Battle of the Bharatas."
Mahabharata is a heroic poem,
consisting of 18 books, or parv. As
appendices she has another 19th book -
Harivanshu, i.e. "Pedigree of Hari." IN
its current edition of the Mahabharata
contains over one hundred thousand slokas, or
couplet, and eight times in volume
surpasses the Iliad and the Odyssey
Homer taken together. Indian literary
tradition considers the Mahabharata
a single work, and
credits her for authorship
to the legendary sage Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa.
Summary
betweensouthern.
The main tale of the epic is dedicated to
stories of irreconcilable enmity
Kauravas and Pandavas - sons
two brothers Dhritarashtra and Pandu.
In this enmity and the struggle it caused,
according to the legend, gradually
numerous nations are involved
and tribes of India, northern and
It ends scary
a bloody battle in which
almost all participants die
sides Those who won
united at such a high price
country under his rule. So
way, the main idea of the main
legend is the unity of India
.
Mahabharata - book illustrations
"Mahabharata" sculptural illustrations
"Mahabharata" - sculptural relief
"Beowulf" England"Song of the Nibelungs"
Germany
"Song of My Sid"
Spain
Elder Edda Iceland
"The Song of Roland" France
"Kalevala"
Karelian-Finnish epic
"The Elder Edda" from a collection of Old Norse songs about the gods and heroes of Scandinavian mythology and stories.
"The Elder Edda" from a collection of Old Norse songs aboutgods and heroes of Scandinavian mythology and stories.
The plot tells about the struggle in which
two groups oppose each other;
solo heroes are usually
representatives of the groups. These groups may
be two peoples (for example, Russians and
Tatars), tribes, clans; or gods and
demons (for example, Greek Olympians
and titans). Bogatyrs-leaders and warriors
represent a historical people, and
their opponents are often identical
historical "invaders", foreign and
to heterodox oppressors. Opponents
meet in physical combat. The amazing epic Beowulf.
Refers to the end of VII or the first
third of the 8th century.
There are 3182 verses in Beowulf, and the Song
about the Nibelungs" three times more (2379
stanzas of four verses each),
whereas in the longest of
Eddic songs, “Speeches of the High One”,
a total of 164 stanzas (the number of verses in
stanzas fluctuates), and not a single
another song besides "Greenland
Atli's speeches" does not exceed a hundred
stanzas
"Beowulf."
In every country there aretheir heroes of the folk epic. IN
England was sung invincible
robber Robin Hood - defender
the disadvantaged; in Asia Geser the great archer: Evenki
heroic tales of the brave Sodani the hero; V
Buryat heroic epic young Alamzhi Mergen and his
sister Agui Gohon
Epic works of the peoples of Eurasia
Epic works of antiquity
INTERFLIVE
"The Epic of Gilgamesh"
ANCIENT GREECE
"Iliad"
"Odyssey"
« The Iliad is the oldest monument of ancient Greek literature. The Iliad describes the events of the Trojan War. According to Homer, the most outstanding heroes of Greece took part in it - Achilles, Ajax, Odysseus, Hector and others, who were helped by the immortal gods - Athena, Apollo, Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon.
Achilles the spearman. Drawing on a red-figure vase.
Mid-5th century BC
From the collection of the Vatican Museums.ANCIENT ROME
"Aeneid"
INDIA
"Ramayana"
An ancient Indian epic that tells the story of the great hero Rama and his fight against the evil demon King Ravana.
"The battle of Rama and Hanuman with Ravana."
India. 1820
From the collection of the British Museum.
Epic works of the Middle Ages
FRANCE
"The Song of Roland"
"Song of the Campaign against the Albigensians"»
Roland is a French margrave, the hero of one of the most famous works of world literature, a poem from the Old French heroic cycle dedicated to King Charlemagne.
"Roland takes a vow of fidelity
Charlemagne."Medieval manuscript.
France. Around 1400
SPAIN 
"Poem about my Sid"
A monument of Spanish literature, a heroic epic created at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries. The main character of the poem is the valiant Sid, a fighter against the Moors, a defender of his people. The main goal of Sid's life is the liberation of his native land. The historical prototype of Sid was a Castilian military leader, a nobleman.
Banner of Baez. Spain, XIII century.
The banner that brought victory to Spanish arms is revered as a relic.
The embroidery depicts an early Spanish saint, the Visigothic bishop Isidore of Seville, more famous for his learning than for his military prowess.
ANCIENT Rus'
Epics
"The Tale of Igor's Campaign"
Bylinas are Russian folk epic songs about the exploits of heroes.
Still from the feature film
cartoon studio"Mill"
"Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych"
ENGLAND
"Beowulf»
"The Stealing of the Kualnge Bull"
Beowulf is an epic poem of the Anglo-Saxons. Its action takes place in Scandinavia before the migration of the English to Britain. The poem tells about the victory of the military leader Beowulf over the monster Grendel and the dragon that devastated the country.
"Beowulf's Duel with the Dragon."
Illustration for the book by H.-E. Marshall
"The Stories of Beowulf."
New York, 1908
GERMANY
"The Song of the Nibelungs"»
"Kudruna"
“The Song of the Nibelungs” is a medieval Germanic epic poem created by an unknown author in the late 12th - early 13th centuries. The legend of the Nibelungs, which forms the plot of the poem, took shape during the era of migration of peoples. The basis for the legend was the ancient German heroic saga (myth) about Siegfried - the slayer of the dragon and the liberator of the things of the maiden Brünnhilde, his fight against evil and tragic death, as well as the historical saga about the death of the Burgundian royal house in 437 in the battle with the Huns of Attila.
"Siegfried's fight with the dragon."
Wood carving on the portal of a Norwegian church. End XII century
SCANDINAVIA
"Elder Edda"»
"Kalevala"
Kalevala is the name of the country in which the heroes of the Karelian-Finnish folk epic live and act.
“Day of the Folk Epic Kalevala” is a national holiday celebrated on February 28. On this day, the Kalevala Carnival takes place every year in Finland and Karelia.
Gallen-Kallela A. “Väinämöinen defends Sampo from the witch Louhi.” 1896
From the collection of the Turku Art Museum.
LATVIA
"Lachplesis"
ESTONIA
"Kalevipoeg"
ARMENIA
"David of Sassoun"
Medieval epic (8th-10th centuries), telling about the struggle of heroes from Sasun (a region in historical Armenia, this hour - on Turkish territory) against the Arab invaders. The epic was first recorded in 1873 by the famous researcher Garegin Srvantdztyants from the mouth of a simple Armenian peasant named Krpo.
Kochar E.S. Monument to David of Sasun in Yerevan. 1959
AZERBAIJAN
"Kor-ogly"
KYRGYZSTAN
"Manas"
The hero of the epic is the hero who united the Kirghiz. The epic "Manas" is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest epic in the world.
Sadykov T. Monument to the hero of the epic “Manas” in Bishkek. 1981
Epic of the peoples of Russia
BASHKIRS
"Geseriada"
PEOPLES OF ALTAI
"Ural-batyr"
PEOPLES OF THE CAUCASUS
Nart epic
The basis of the epic consists of tales about the exploits of heroes (“narts”). Variants of the Nart epic are found among the Abkhazians, Circassians, Ingush Balkars, Karachais, Ossetians, Chechens and other peoples of the Caucasus.
Tuganov M.S. (1881-1952).
Illustration for the Nart epic.
"The Magic Pipe of Atsamaz."
TATARS
"Idigey"
"Alpamysh"
The epic “Idigei” is based on real historical events that took place during the collapse of the Golden Horde. His heroes are real historical characters, for example, the temnik of the Golden Horde, Edigei, who became the founder of the dynasty that ruled the Nogai Horde. His direct descendants in the male line were the princes Yusupov and Urusov.
Family coat of arms of the Yusupov family. In the second part
coat of arms in a golden field, the Tatar holds a hammer in his right hand.