Who among us has not heard of the most glorious epic heroes: Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. Which of the boys has not dreamed of being like them? And surely there is no one who has not seen the painting of the artist Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov "Three heroes" - its reproduction was not only printed in several school textbooks, but also, in Soviet times, decorated many homes, and, as they say, hung in every rural teahouse.
But if many of the deeds of the heroes (I note: not all) are the fruit of the imagination of the compilers of epics, and many of them were composed even four hundred years after the death of the characters, then the heroes themselves existed in reality and made their contribution to the history of Russia.
So who are they, epic heroes?
The most famous and revered hero in Russia, of course, is Ilya Muromets, son of Ivanovich. In life, Ilya not only fought gloriously, but also took monastic life, and was even canonized by the Church, which testifies to the outstanding contribution of the hero in the formation and strengthening of the Orthodox faith. The imperishable relics of the Monk Ilya of Muromets are kept in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, parts of the relics at different times were transferred to various Orthodox churches in Russia and Ukraine. The relics of the Monk Ilya of Muromets were repeatedly examined by medical commissions, the latter was organized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in 1988. Scientists equipped with the advanced equipment of that time found that Ilya, as the epic narrates, was bedridden until about thirty years old, the reason for this was a spinal disease. By the way,it is for the recovery of those suffering from paralysis that one should pray to the Monk Ilya of Murom. By the same study, the cause of Ilya's death was established for certain - he died from a blow to the heart of a spear - the spear also pierced the hero's left arm. The very fact of such a death was assumed back in the nineteenth century, but a study of the 1960s questioned this version: as if the monks pierced the corpse with a spear after the death of the hero. But whether Ilya Muromets died in battle, or was insidiously killed by enemies, history does not give accurate information, but the epics say that Ilya "was not destined to die in battles."but a study of the 1960s cast doubt on this version: as if the monks pierced the corpse with a spear after the death of the hero. But whether Ilya Muromets died in battle, or was insidiously killed by enemies, history does not give accurate information, but the epics say that Ilya "was not destined to die in battles."but research from the 1960s cast doubt on this version: as if the monks pierced the corpse with a spear after the death of the hero. But whether Ilya Muromets died in battle, or was insidiously killed by enemies, history does not give accurate information, but the epics say that Ilya "was not destined to die in battles."
Academician Mikhail Gerasimov restored the image of Ilya Muromets in the last years of his life from the preserved relics. It turned out to be a large man with developed bones and muscles. Ilya was 182 centimeters tall, despite the fact that the average height of adults at that time was no more than 160 centimeters. For the people of that time, Ilya Muromets looked approximately the same as for us the famous strongmen Vasily Virastyuk or Alexei Koklyaev, and these guys were able to move a loaded truck or a medium plane. For some time it was believed that Ilya Muromets had Mongoloid facial features, but, in fact, he had a completely Slavic appearance, which was reliably confirmed by the reconstruction by the method of Academician Gerasimov.
Few people know that Ilya Muromets is a hero not only of Russian epics, but also of the German epic, where the exploits of Ilya Russich are described (the researchers are sure that this is the same person), however, for some reason he is of a princely family there. I think this happened because in Europe the knights were noble people, and the exploits of Ilya were matched only by the glorious knight. The fact that our hero became famous in Germany suggests that Ilya traveled to foreign lands and there he became famous for his strength and courage!
Another hero, Dobrynya Nikitich, played a huge role in the history of Kievan Rus. It is known that he was the brother of Malusha, the mother of Prince Vladimir the Great, the baptist of Russia.
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During his life, Dobrynya changed many "professions": he was also a "courtyard" boy in Princess Olga's house, where he often had to do the dirtiest work; was a gridnem - an elite warrior of the prince's squad at Svyatoslav; "Nanny", educator and teacher of his young nephew, Prince Vladimir, and when he became a prince, he was with him the regent and the first adviser; in a tough and often bloody political struggle of that time, he headed the "Slavic" party, which opposed the "Varangian" party led by the governor Sveneld.
Nestor mentions the origin of Dobrynya in the "Tale of Bygone Years" - Malusha, and, therefore, Dobrynya were the children of Malk Lyubechsky - this is how the captive Drevlyansky prince Mal was called at that time, whom Princess Olga held in the city of Lyubech. It is not clear, however, why then he is Nikitich, some historians explain that the patronymic of the hero comes from the word "nobody" (because the mention of the name of the Drevlyan prince at that time was not welcomed in Kiev). In any case, there is no other information about the origin of Dobrynya, and the fact that he was, like his sister, of a princely family is beyond doubt, because then his sister, according to the customs of that time, could not be the wife of the prince, and her son would not could be called a prince, therefore, become a prince.
Thus, the birthplace of Dobrynya is considered the capital of the Drevlyans - the city of Iskorosten (now Korosten, Zhytomyr region). After the burning of the city by the army of Princess Olga, the captured 10-year-old Dobrynya was brought to the palace of the Kiev princess, where he and his sister lived as a palace servant. The prince suffered a lot of humiliation from low people, with whom he suddenly found himself in the same position: more than once Dobrynya had to respond to insults and intercede for his sister, we can say that it was in the prince's mansion that he developed the character of a warrior and diplomat.
The princely carpenter made a wooden sword for the boy, and Dobrynya in the evenings, and even at night, practiced martial arts on the banks of the Dnieper. And he adopted the techniques of sword ownership from the Varangian mercenaries, to watch the teachings of which he ran as soon as free time fell out. When Dobrynya grew up, Kiev's policy towards the outskirts of Russia became softer, the attitude towards Dobrynya and his sister changed, the future hero was assigned to the prince's squad. The newcomer decided to test the centurion of the Varangian mercenaries - an experienced and skillful warrior. Imagine the surprise of the vigilantes when Dobrynya knocked out the sword from the hands of the Varangian by his own technique!
After the birth of Vladimir, Dobrynya was assigned to him as a teacher. The seasoned warrior had to master pedagogical wisdom. This is not the only role of Dobrynya in the fate of Vladimir the Great. It was he who persuaded the ambassadors from Novgorod to ask for Prince Vladimir, it was he who, in fact, was the regent under him in Novgorod itself, quickly gaining authority among the townspeople. The active Dobrynya rallied the opponents of Varangian rule from all the lands of Russia. The "Slavic" party soon succeeded, often in battles, to win primacy in the important lands of Russia: Novgorod, Drevlyansky, Pskov, it was on it that Vladimir relied, having obtained the princely table in Kiev.
Dobrynya played a significant role in the baptism of Rus by Vladimir the Great. He not only took part in the decision to accept Christianity from Byzantium, but also actively converted his “fellow citizens” to the new faith. And he did this, from the song, as they say, you cannot throw out the words, not only with the word of God, but also with a sharp sword.
More than once Dobrynya, and this is also reflected in the epics, led the army of Vladimir, gaining victories for the prince both in wars with external enemies (it is mentioned about the battles of the Russian army with the Byzantine Greeks), and with internal ones - supporters of Prince Yaropolk and the governor Sveneld.
As mentioned in the epic, Dobrynya was married to a female warrior named Nastasya. It is interesting that the future wife once defeated Dobrynya in a kind of "sparing", as Dobrynya himself once defeated the Varangian centurion.
We know least of all about the third hero - Alyosha (Alexander), the son of a priest. It is known that he was one of the best, and perhaps the best Russian knight of his time. Alyosha won not so much by force as by skill and ingenuity. He enjoyed authority among the army. He served in the squads of the princes of Rostov and Kiev. He lived at the beginning of the tragic one in the history of Russia in the XIII century. Was born in Rostov. He died heroically in 1223 in a battle on the Kalka River.