Today our press is full of sensational articles about all sorts of unusual phenomena and miracles, which, alas, are often based only on the idle speculations of their authors. Sometimes, in search of sensations, they do not disdain anything, including even a deliberate deception of a gullible reader and a gross falsification of real facts.
But what is easier, you just have to look around carefully, look into seemingly well-known old books, and a real wave of such incredible facts will fall on you, from the abundance of which the most daring science fiction writer will stagger! To do this, you just need to be attentive and diligent, only in this case the yellowed volumes of ancient tomes will reveal their revelations to you!
Who of us has not heard from school years about the famous PSRL (Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles). Needless to say, numerous volumes of difficult-to-read texts are the lot of a narrow circle of specialist professionals. However, among the dozens and dozens of ancient manuscripts, republished many times, there are also those that are well adapted to the language of the modern reader.
Studied and re-studied up and down by many generations of domestic and foreign historians, they seem to not conceal anything new, and even more unusual, but it only seems so at first glance. One has only to break away from today's bustle and breathe in the scent of past eras, touch the past, as it will certainly reward you with the most incredible discoveries!
How many disputes are going on today about such a famous character in many Russian fairy tales and epics - the Serpent Gorynych! As soon as historians and publicists do not explain the essence of this very unusual creature. Some at the same time see in him a product of the forces of a formidable element, in particular a tornado, while others see in him even a giant Mongolian-Chinese flamethrower.
True, there are voices that, perhaps, the Serpent Gorynych had a very real prototype as a kind of relic dinosaur, but at the same time everyone immediately makes a reservation that there is no actual confirmation of this hypothesis.
Completeness! There is confirmation of the version of the real existence of the Snake, you just have to reread the original texts of the same well-known epics, you just have to slowly flip through the ancient chronicles.
Let's start with the fact that, in addition to the numerous fabulous and epic images of the Serpent, ancient Russian mythology brought to us an amazing and quite specific image of a certain sacred Lizard - the forefather, who allegedly created everything that lives on Earth. It was from the egg hatched by this first lizard that our world was born. The origins of this myth go back to the beginnings of the ancient Aryan culture and are, apparently, one of the most ancient.
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And now let's ask a very logical question: why there was such a long-standing and incredibly persistent worship of some invented creature, while all other worship and totems among the ancient Rus and Slavs were always associated with very real and specific representatives of the animal world: leopards and bears, bulls and swans?
For some reason, especially for some reason, the cult of the beast-lizard was strong in the northwestern regions of Russia, in the Novgorod and Pskov lands. Maybe that's why this cult existed because once there were beast-lizardmen? So, the myth of a certain Chud two-headed lizard is widely known, which swallowed the setting sun with one head, and belched the morning sun with the other.
Even Herodotus told about a certain people of Neurov who lived “on the land facing the north wind” and had to flee from there to the country of Budins (tribes of Yukhnov culture) only because their land was flooded with some terrible serpents. These historians date the events to about the sixth century BC. Of course, not a single people will ever move because of mythical monsters, but it is more than likely an escape from quite real monsters, especially if they were very bloodthirsty.
At one time, the world-renowned expert on Ancient Russia, Academician BA Rybakov, was engaged in the study of issues related to "Russian lizards". Of particular interest to us is his analysis of the well-known epic about the Novgorod merchant Sadko. This epic turned out to be so encrypted that only such a great scientist could understand its essence and meaning.
First of all, let us make a reservation that B. A. Rybakov, as well as the famous 19th century historian N. I. Kostomarov, considered the epic about Sadko one of the most ancient in the Novgorod lands, rooted in pre-Christian times. At the same time, in the original version, Sadko does not travel, but simply comes with a psaltery to the shore of a lake-river and plays his songs there to a certain water king. The image of the king in the epic is meant to be anthropomorphic, it is not described in any way.
However, in a number of cases he is referred to as a certain "uncle Ilmen" or "queen Whitefish". Then the water king, who liked Sadko's game, comes out of the water and promises him for the pleasure he has given him a constant rich catch of fish and the capture of even a goldfish ("fish of the golden feather"). After that, Sadko rapidly grows rich, becoming the most respected person in Novgorod.
Academician B. A. Rybakov, in his fundamental work “Paganism of Ancient Rus”, writes about this: “In connection with the writing theme (the theme of the lizard), the original gusli of the first half of the 12th century from excavations in Novgorod are of particular interest.
The harp is a flat trough with grooves for six pegs. The left (from the guslar) side of the instrument is sculpturally shaped, like the head and part of the body of a lizard. Two small "lizard" heads are drawn under the head of the raptor.
A lion and a bird are depicted on the reverse side of the gusel. Thus, in the ornamentation of the gusel, all three vital zones are present: sky (bird), earth (horse, lion) and the underwater world (lizard).
The lizard dominates everything and, thanks to its three-dimensional sculpturality, unites both planes of the instrument. Such decorated gusli are depicted by the guslar on the bracelet of the 12th-13th centuries.
There is a gusli with the image of two horse heads (a horse is a common sacrifice for a water horse); there are gusli, on which, like the ornament on Ukrainian bandura, waves are depicted (gusli of the XIV century) … The ornament of Novgorod gusli of the XI XIV centuries directly indicates the connection of this underwater kingdom - the lizard. All this is quite consistent with the archaic version of the epic: the guslar pleases the underwater deity, and the deity changes the standard of living of the poor but cunning guslar."
And immediately the question: why on the harp among real animals is suddenly depicted one mythical - a lizard? So maybe it is not at all mythical, but as real as the others, and even more prevalent over them in strength and power, and therefore more revered?
The numerous images of a lizard found during excavations in the Novgorod and Pskov regions, primarily on the structures of houses and bucket handles, represent an almost image of a completely real creature with a large, elongated muzzle and a huge mouth with clearly distinguished large teeth. These images may well correspond to mesosaurs or kronosaurs, confusing the minds of scientists with new and new rumors about their current existence.
And the nature of the sacrifices made to the "underwater king" also clarifies a lot. This is not some kind of abstract fetish, but a very real animal, and at the same time it is large enough to satisfy a very voracious lake deity.
This animal is sacrificed to an underwater monster not when it is necessary, but mostly in the winter, that is, in the most hungry time. The famous historian and folklorist A. N. Afanasyev wrote about it this way: "The peasants buy a horse in peace, feed it with bread for three days, then put on two millstones, coat their head with honey, weave red ribbons into the mane, and put them in an ice-hole at midnight …"
However, apparently, the demanding "underwater king" was not always satisfied with sacrificial horse meat, as the writings that have come down to us say, and transforming "into the image of the fierce beast corcodile", quite often attacked fishermen and merchants sailing past him in boats, drowning their single-tree canoes and eating ourselves. There was something to fear for such a "king" and why to bring him abundant sacrifices.
Academician Rybakov, analyzing the original versions of the epic about Sadko, found even a very real place for the "communication" of the guslar with the underwater king. According to his calculations, it took place on Lake Ilmen, near the source of the Volkhov, at the western (left, so-called "Sofia") bank of the river. This place is known as Peryn. In 1952, during excavations by archaeologists in Peryn, a temple was discovered, which Rybakov refers to as the "crocodile" sanctuary in Peryn. It is believed that it was from there that the later appearance of the god Perun took place …
Academician Rybakov drew attention to the very stable and well-defined habitat of the “underwater king”: “The cult of the lord of the underwater-underground world was little connected with the agricultural worldview of the Slavic tribes of the forest-steppe south … antiquities lizard is found, especially in the northern region …"
Well, what do the chronicles say? The oldest mention of an underwater snake dates back to the 11th century. These are the so-called "Conversations of Gregory the Theologian about the trial of the city", directed against paganism and included in the chronicle under the year 1068.
In the section on fishing and related pagan rites, it says:
“… Ov (someone who) devour his newfound, I have a lot (a grateful sacrifice for a rich catch) … God who has sent heaven and earth will stir up. He calls the goddess the river, and the beast that lives in it, as if calling God, demands to create."
And here is what an unknown Pskov chronicler of the 16th century writes:
“In the summer of 7090 (1582) … Of the same summer, the animals from the river and the way of the shutter came out of the Korkodili lutia; there are a lot of people. And people were terrified and prayed to God all over the earth. And the packs will hide, but others will be housed”(Pskov Chronicles. M., 1955, vol. 2, p. 262.).
However, the appearance of "corcodiles" was not always so scary. Sensational messages on this matter were left to us by the German traveler-scientist Sigismund Herberstein in his "Notes on Muscovy", written in the first half of the 16th century. tells a German scientist about the beast carnivores domesticated by the Russian people!
So, Herberstein writes, speaking of the northwestern lands of Russia:
“There are still a lot of idolaters who feed at home, as it were, penates, some kind of snake with four short legs, like lizards with a black and fat body, which have no more than 3 spans (60-70 cm) and length and are called givoites … On the appointed days, people cleanse their home and with some fear, the whole family reverently worship them, crawling out to the supplied food. Misfortunes are ascribed to the one whose serpent deity was poorly fed”(S. Gerberstein. Notes on Moscovit Affairs. St. Petersburg, 1908, p. 178).
So, we can say with confidence that real animal lizardmen, moreover, of several species (both predatory underwater and domesticated terrestrial ones), felt very good a few centuries ago, thus having survived almost to our historical times (after all, from the events described, we alienates the life of some eight generations!)
But what happened next? Why have these seemingly revered and sacred animals still not survived to this day? Most likely, that is why they did not live, that they were too revered! And again we turn to the annals. The fact is that the pagan lizard god was undoubtedly the most dangerous ideological enemy for the Christianity planted in the XI-XVI centuries in the north-western Russian lands. It was impossible to convince people to renounce the mighty and deified animal they knew well.
Most likely, there could only be one way out in this situation: the merciless physical extermination of all sacred animals and at the same time the complete eradication of all memory of them. That is why the lizards are referred to in the Christian chronicles as "godless and possessed river sorcerers", "fiends of hell" and "devilish reptiles".
Such epithets meant an unequivocal death sentence for relic animals. The reprisals against the "underwater kings" were merciless. First of all, apparently, they dealt with the domesticated little creatures, and then they began to take on the predatory river ones. The chronicles tell very picturesquely about concrete steps in this direction.
Thus, the manuscript of the Great Synodal Library of the 17th century, known among specialists as "Flower Garden", narrates:
“Our Christian true word … About this persecuted sorcerer and sorcerer - as if evil was broken and strangled by demons in the turnip of Volkhov and by demonic dreams the persecuted body was carried up this river Volkhov and was thrown into a run against this magical town, which is also called Perynya … And with much weeping from that neveglas, the one who was perished was buried with a great feast for the bastard. And the grave is high above him, as if he were filthy."
In the "Flower Garden" it is very eloquently said that the "Korkodil" swam not downstream, but upstream of the river, i.e. he was alive, then somehow he was "strangled" in the river, possibly died a natural death, but most likely he was, apparently, still killed by Christians, after which his body washed ashore was buried with the greatest solemnity by local pagans. The merciless extermination of river lizards proceeded simultaneously with a very active persuasion of the inhabitants that the "korkodil" was not a god, but just an ordinary, albeit very "disgusting" beast.
Let us recall the above-mentioned passage about the anti-pagan "Conversations of Gregory the Theologian about the trial of the city", where it is clearly stated that some people make sacrifices ("demands are made") in honor of an ordinary beast living in the river and called by God.
Most likely, as the northwestern outskirts of Russia were Christianized, the last representatives of the ancient genus of river lizards were destroyed on its rivers and lakes. It is possible that, from the point of view of the dominant ideology of the time, everything was done quite right. And yet I am frankly sorry that our neighbors in the historical era - the lizards were completely exterminated and did not survive to this day, remaining only on the pages of chronicles, in epics and legends about the times of the past!
However, who knows …
Vladimir Shigin
Lizards ground and flying
Ethnographer and historian Ivan Kirillov also suggests that the Serpent Gorynych was once a very real creature that lived on the territory of Russia.
Kirillov with a grin calls himself a "dragon expert." For many years he has been studying myths and legends about this creature. And once I came to the conclusion that the Serpent Gorynych from Russian fairy tales could well have a living prototype.
“It all started with the fact that I decided to clarify the origin of the winged snake on the coat of arms of Moscow,” says Ivan Igorevich. - The snake-fighter rider first appeared on the coat of arms of the Moscow principality under Ivan III. The seal of the Grand Duke Ivan (1479) has been preserved, which depicts a warrior striking a small winged dragon with a spear. Soon the image of this scene became known to any resident of Russia. The spear-bearer was minted on the smallest coin. That is why, by the way, she was nicknamed by the people "penny" …
Many researchers perceive the image of St. George the Victorious piercing the Serpent as a beautiful artistic image symbolizing the confrontation between Good and Evil. He once thought so too. But one day he came across an image of a 12th century fresco from the Church of St. George in Staraya Ladoga. And there is a rider with a spear, but on that fresco the winged serpent is not killed, but dragged on a string, like a prisoner or a pet.
This image, which appeared much earlier than the official coat of arms of Muscovy, introduces, in Kirillov's opinion, new semantic elements into the familiar picture with a spearman. A terem with windows, a woman who leads a strange creature resembling a crocodile or a giant lizard, all this looks very vital and looks more like a sketch from nature than some kind of artistic symbolic image.
Did our ancestors really see with their own eyes the fabulous "mountain snakes" and even knew how to tame them? Ivan Kirillov collected historical documents that can serve, if not direct, then indirect evidence that the "Russian dragons" could exist in reality. Here are some of these materials.
Among the manuscripts in the Russian National Library is an old diary of a priest. The title page is lost, therefore the name of the eyewitness is unknown. But the entry he made in 1816 is quite remarkable: “While sailing on a boat along the Volga River, we saw a huge flying kite, which carried a man in his mouth with all his clothes. And all that was heard from this unfortunate person was: “Them! Them!" And the kite flew over the Volga and fell with a man into the swamps …"
Further, the priest says that on that day he had a chance to see the Serpent again: “Near the Kolominsky district of the village of Uvarova there is a wasteland called Kashiryaziva. We arrived there to sleep over 20 people. Two hours or more passed, the area suddenly lit up, and the horses suddenly rushed in different directions. I looked up and saw a fiery serpent. It twisted over our camp at the height of two or three bell towers. It was three arshins or more long and stood above us for a quarter of an hour. And all this time we were doing prayer …"
An interesting piece of evidence was found in the archives of the city of Arzamas. Here's a quick excerpt from that document:
“In the summer of 1719 June 4 days there was a great storm in the district, and a tornado and hail, and many cattle and all living creatures perished. And a serpent fell from heaven, scorched by God's wrath, and smelled disgusting. And remembering the Decree by God's grace of the Sovereign of our All-Russian Peter Alekseevich departure in 1718 about Kunshtkamor and the collection of various curiosities for it, monsters and all kinds of freaks, heavenly stones and other miracles, this serpent was thrown into a barrel with strong double wine …"
The paper was signed by the Zemsky Commissar Vasily Shtykov. Unfortunately, the barrel did not reach the St. Petersburg Museum. Either she got lost on the road, or the negligent Russian peasants were capitalizing on "double wine" from a barrel (as vodka was called earlier). And it’s a pity, perhaps, the Zmey Gorynych, preserved in alcohol, would have been kept in the Kunstkamera today.
Among the memoirs, one can single out the story of the Ural Cossacks, who witnessed an incredible incident in 1858. Here is a record of their memoirs: “A miracle happened in the Kyrgyz Bukeev horde. In the steppe, not far from the khan's headquarters, in broad daylight, a huge serpent fell from the sky to the earth, as thick as the largest camel, and twenty fathoms long. For a minute the serpent lay motionless, and then, curled up in a ring, raised its head two fathoms from the ground and hissed violently, piercingly, like a storm.
People, livestock and all living things fell down in fear. They thought that the end of the world had come. Suddenly a cloud descended from heaven, approached the serpent five fathoms and stopped above it. The serpent jumped onto the cloud. It enveloped him, swirled and went under the heavens."
- All this is so incredible that I certainly do not take such stories too seriously, says dragon expert Kirillov. - But somewhere in my heart I believe that something like that is possible … According to the most widespread version, the mythological Dragon-Serpent owes its origin to the remains of dinosaurs, which our ancestors found from time to time. At first glance, everything is simple and clear … But a careful analysis of this version reveals a number of its shortcomings.
Firstly, myths about the Dragon are widespread, and easily accessible dinosaur remains are found only in the desert regions of Central Asia (in other regions, fossil remains are most often found only under thick layers of sediment - it is unlikely that ancient people dug so deeply).
Secondly, the bones of dinosaurs are very different from each other, and dragons from different peoples are similar, like twin brothers. Maybe fairy tales did not arise on ancient bones, but after meetings with living dinosaurs that have survived to this day? Crazy assumption, but how not to make it, reading the testimony, and not so densely distant days?
So biologists recently confirmed to me that the "fire-breathing Gorynych" from a fairy tale does not contradict science at all. It is theoretically possible that there are cavities in the body of an animal where methane (bog gas) is formed as a result of decomposition. When you exhale, this gas can ignite (think of swamp lights).
By the way, this assumption confirms the testimony of eyewitnesses, who invariably point to a stench or foul breath coming from the Serpent …