The legendary hero of the Russian epic Ilya Muromets is the most famous epic hero. It is curious that he is the main character not only of many Russian epics, but also of Germanic poems of the 13th century, which, in turn, are based on earlier legends. In them he is presented as a mighty knight Ilya the Russian …
All that we know today about Ilya Muromets is approximately: he was born around 1143, in the village of Karacharovo near Murom (Vladimir region), in the family of a peasant Ivan Timofeev and his wife Evfrosinya. His name has not yet been found in the annals. Perhaps the mention of it simply did not survive, since Russia was going through difficult times then: hordes of conquerors more than once completely burned and destroyed cities. Meanwhile, the hero really existed, and was buried in the caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra as one of 69 saints
The Russian Orthodox Church venerates Ilya of Murom as a saint (he was canonized in 1643). According to the church calendar, the day of memory of Ilya Muromets is December 19 according to the old style, or January 1 in a new style. Ilya Muromets is not a mythological character, not a collective image of the Russian hero, but a real historical figure.
Ilya's healing
In 1988, scientists investigated the relics of the Reverend Ilya of Murom. Scientists say that Ilya was a strong-built man of enormous height for those times - 177 cm (the average height of men then was 165 cm, that is, Ilya was a head taller than the average man).
It turned out that this person died at the age of 45-55 years. The body of Muromets, scientists discovered multiple fractures of bones, ribs, traces of a spear, saber, sword. This confirmed the legend that Ilya was a warrior, a participant in fierce battles. They also found out that in his youth he had paralysis of the limbs and the young man could not move for many years, as they say in the epics: “Ilya was sitting in a sitting position for thirty years and three years and had no walking.”
But when Ilya turned 33, the day came that changed his whole life. The prophetic beggar wanderers entered the house - kaliki pedestrians and asked the young man to give them water. He explained that he could not walk. But the guests persistently repeated the request - it sounded like an order. And Ilya, suddenly feeling an unprecedented strength, for the first time got to his feet. Kaliki and blessed him for feats of arms.
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THE FEATS OF Ilya MUROMTS
Despite the fantastic stories, most of the epics are based on genuine historical events, intricately intertwined with fiction in the memory of many generations. The most famous feat of Ilya Muromets is the fight with the Nightingale the Robber, who seized the direct road to Kiev and did not give anyone a pass - “neither horse nor foot. When Ilya arrived in Kiev, the throne was occupied by Prince Mstislav, he ordered to organize the protection of trade caravans, which were mercilessly plundered by the Polovtsians. Most likely, the prince entrusted this to Ilya Muromets, who is in the prince's squad. In 10-15 kilometers from Kiev there is a village Zazimye, near which Nightingale - Robber of merchants robbed. Ilya Muromets, defeating the whistler, cleared the straight road. If a straight road is five hundred miles, then a roundabout way is "one thousand". Cleansing the straight path from robbers was equated by the people with a feat. The liberation of the epic hero of the path to Kiev is confirmed by historical facts.
Historians find echoes of ancient clashes between Russians and nomads, later raids of the Tatars and even the battle on the Kulikovo field in the epic "Ilya Muromets and Kalin-Tsar".
Princes Vladimir Monomakh, Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and the pagan DazhBog, the mythical ancestor of all princes, united in the image of Prince VLADIMIR, in all epics Vladimir is Prince of Kiev next to Ilya, although Ilya Muromets lived much later than Vladimir. But the historical Ilya Muromets was patronized by Prince Svyatoslav, whom Ilya Muromets tried to be like, he admired Svyatoslav and considered this patron of the Russian people the best warrior of all times and peoples.
MONK-BOGATYR
If the feats of arms of Ilya were widely reflected in the epics, then little is known about the monastic period of his life. To go to the monastery of the hero, most likely, it was caused by the wound received in one of the fierce battles with the Polovtsians. The holy relics of the Monk Elijah bear witness to serious injuries - a fracture of the right collarbone and two right ribs after being struck with a battle club. Apparently, the hero was tonsured a monk shortly before his death. According to legend, Ilya vowed to go to a monastery and never again take up a sword.
He became a monk of the Pechersk Lavra and spent all his days in his cell in prayer. For Orthodox warriors, this was quite a common step - to change the iron sword for a spiritual sword and spend the rest of their lives in battle not for earthly goods, but for heavenly ones. When he was tonsured a monk, he was given the name Ilya, a nickname he could also receive later.
THE LAST BOGATYR FIGHT
Scientists have established that the hero-monk died in battle! The study of the mummified remains of the hero by forensic experts shed light on the cause of his death. Muromets died from a massive wound in the heart. It looks like it happened in 1204.
On the first day of 1204, Prince Rurik Rostislavich, having concluded an alliance with the Polovtsians, took Kiev from his son-in-law Roman. The Polovtsi broke into the city, began to plunder it, to destroy temples and monasteries. Then the monk Ilya Muromets again took up arms and went to his last battle. Several wounds were found on the body of Ilya Muromets, of which only one was serious - on the hand from a spear, and the fatal one was also a spear wound, but in the area of the heart. Apparently, the hero, defending himself, covered his chest with his hand, and with a blow of a spear she was nailed to his heart.
By the way, back in 1701, the pilgrim Ivan Lukyanov narrated: “Videh of the brave warrior Ilya Muromets, in incorruption under a golden cover; growth like today's big people; his left hand was pierced with a spear, the ulcer is all known; and the right one is depicted with the sign of the cross."
The Orthodox venerate Ilya Muromets to this day. The Russian army considers him to be their patron, and the Russian border guards consider him the first Russian border guard. But not only people's memory remained about Ilya. His body is incorruptible and is in a state of mummification. In Orthodoxy, it is believed that if the body of the deceased does not decompose, but turns into relics, this is a special gift of God, which is given only to saints.
The remains of Ilya are in the Near Caves of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery, under a modest inscription above the tomb “Ilya from Murom”. I was there dear guys. I bowed to the relics of the Great Russian Man, PROTECTOR OF THE RUSSIAN LAND! I, little Filippok, am proud that I am Russian, the same Russian as Ilya Muromets.