Many are familiar with the legend of Peter and Fevronier. The Murom prince and the Ryazan witch, nowadays glorified as Orthodox saints, are considered the patrons of marriage. But their love story began with fornication. Peter's elder brother, Prince Pavel, was jealous of his wife for himself. Rather, to the snake that took his form and had fun with the princess at night. In the morning the "winged casanova" with a sense of accomplishment, safely left the bedchamber through the window. What at that moment the prince himself was doing, sleeping peacefully next to him on the couch, or saying a prayer, turning away to a corner, is not reported.
The wife herself told Paul about the adultery. Who knows, maybe the snake would have led its "caravan" between its magnificent dunes, if it were not a younger brother and his sword-kladenets.
Peter kills the Serpent.
In a lightning-fast battle, Peter chopped up "Gorynych". But he got dirty with spray. Further, the prince's skin was covered with scabs, and young Fevronia, the bee-keeper's daughter, healed and married him to herself … And this is not the only mention among the Slavs about the Serpent, who was eager for female charms. For example, the monster visited Milica, the wife of the Serbian prince Lazar. It was in the 14th century, almost 200 years after our friend Peter slaughtered a loving werewolf in Murom.
Prince Lazar and Militsa.
Whom did the Slavs take for the Snake?
Promotional video:
Our medieval ancestors, far from astronomy, attributed a mystical origin to many celestial bodies and events.
With the serpent, the Slavs identified meteors and other cosmic trifles that burn in the atmosphere.
Most often, the “heavenly booze” in the form of the deceased spouse visited young widows who yearned for a strong man's shoulder (and not only). But sometimes he led by the nose and married.
He flew to the hut in the form of a fireball, and then scattered like sparks into the chimney. A connection with a werewolf for a woman does not pass without a trace. She begins to weaken and melt before our eyes. A child born of a monster is distinguished by black skin and hooves. There were also stories that the snake brings women gifts in exchange for love. (And this is article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation No. 241). But in the morning the gifts turn into horse dung. At the same time, the husband, whose wife was treated kindly by the fiery guest, was forbidden to scold and beat the spouse. The snake could burn down the hut in revenge. Such demons were called in different ways: adorable, flyers, lubak snakes, maniacs (from the word beckon).