Sadko is a young guslar from Veliky Novgorod, a hero of epics with mythological features, who became rich with the help of the sea king. There is an opinion that the prototype of this hero is the famous Novgorod merchant Sotko Sytinich, who built the church in gratitude for his salvation at sea. According to the plot of the epic, Sadko started a dispute with other merchants that he could buy up all the goods of the city and still remain rich. This dispute was lost and the guslar undertook to pay the merchants thirty thousand. After this, Sadko built thirty ships and set off on a sea voyage with the goods he had bought. Having sold Novgorod goods with great profit in overseas cities and countries, he returned home. However, on way back something strange happened. All the ships stopped at sea and did not want to move further. The sea king himself did not give them the way.

Then Sadko sacrificed himself and descended into the magical underwater world. There the king joyfully greeted him and asked him to play the harp, and he himself began to dance. Because of his dancing, the sea became restless and many ships sank. Sadko's ships still managed to reach Novgorod safely, but the king did not let up. Then Saint Mikola of Mozhaisk whispered in the ear of the guslar that he could break the strings and stop the music. This is what Sadko did so that the sea would calm down. In gratitude, the king invited him to choose a bride for himself and stay in the sea kingdom. Mikola Mozhaisky advised choosing the one called Chernavushka. So he did, and the next morning after the feast he woke up in Novgorod on the shore, where his ships stood safe and sound. With proceeds from sea ​​travel funds Sadko built a church in honor of Mykola Mozhaisky. He never went to sea again and lived his life in glorious Nove Grad.

Answer from Diva Natalie™[guru]




Fell asleep on an oak plank,

In the blue sea at the very bottom.
I saw Sadko - in the blue sea
There is a white stone chamber,

The king of the sea is sitting in his chamber.





Or is damask steel expensive?
Sadko's answer:

But damask steel is not cheaper;
That's why it's expensive







People’s faith was refracted in the image of Sadko Ancient Rus' in the presence of a mysterious power over a person and in the fact that a person, doing the right thing, will pass his life with dignity.

Reply from Yoer[guru]
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Prince in foreign relations

Reply from Jamara Yasnaya[guru]
A weak-willed blond playing the pipe...

Reply from Oksana[newbie]
Well, actually it’s a gusli, not a pipe, the gusli is not even a wind instrument

Reply from Yoerezha Arkov[newbie]
grsh

Reply from 1 1 [newbie]
At first, Sadko is a guslar, a singer who lives by being invited to rich feasts. He is poor. For some reason, they stop inviting him to feasts, and he goes to Lake Ilmen and plays the harp here. The king of the sea hears Sadko's performance and decides to reward the singer. Sadko must fight with the merchants, “Oh, it’s a great bet” that a wonderful fish with golden feathers lives in the lake. In a dispute with the guslar, several merchants pawn their shops with goods, and poor Sadko pawns his head. With the help of the sea king, Sadko catches fish with golden feathers three times and becomes a rich “guest” - a merchant.
It would seem that the fate of the former guslar was determined - he became part of the Novgorod merchants, won his place in the sun. But Sadko cannot live “like everyone else,” he has a heroic beginning - only it is not expressed in military exploits. Sadko opposes himself to Novgorod and challenges him: he is ready to use his “countless treasury” to buy back all Novgorod goods.
An unusual competition begins: Novgorod merchants bring their goods to Sadko, and he buys them. But the moment comes when Sadko is forced to admit defeat.
Sadko decides to make a trading voyage. Successfully negotiated. Sadko is swimming home. A storm is rising. Sadko guesses: “Apparently, the king of the sea demands tribute from us, demands tribute in the blue sea.” The squad lowers a barrel of silver and gold into the sea, but nothing helps: “Apparently, the king of the sea demands a living head in the blue sea.”
Fell asleep on an oak plank,
Sadko woke up in the blue sea,
In the blue sea at the very bottom.
I saw Sadko - in the blue sea
There is a white stone chamber,
Sadko came into the white stone room,
The king of the sea is sitting in his chamber.
At the request of the Tsar, Sadko plays the harp - and so well that the Tsar began to dance, and from his dancing a storm arose on the sea and ships began to perish and people began to drown.
An old man suddenly appears next to Sadko: he advises breaking the strings. This old man is Saint Mikola of Mozhaisk, whom the Novgorodians revered as their patron, protector from storms and sea disasters. Thus, there seems to be a hidden struggle between the pagan deity, the spirit of the sea (sea king), and the Christian saint.
Thanks to the saint, Sadko gets out of a difficult situation. But the tests do not end there: he must solve a difficult riddle - to resolve the dispute between the king and queen.
The queen and I are having a conversation,
Gold or silver is expensive in Rus'
Or is damask steel expensive?
Sadko's answer:
- Gold and silver are expensive in Rus',
But damask steel is not cheaper;
That's why it's expensive
How long can you live without gold and silver?
But it’s impossible to live without damask iron.
Choosing a bride is the last test for Sadko. Sadko does not want to stay in the sea kingdom and, therefore, should not marry. Again Mikola Mozhaisky comes to the rescue: he shows Sadko the one he needs to choose in order to return home - the girl Chernavushka.
According to some versions, Chernavushka is the only earthly one among the brides, she will return him to earth; according to another version, she is the embodiment of the river flowing near Novgorod, and she will carry him home.
When Sadko wakes up after the wedding, he sees himself lying on the bank of the Chernava River. In gratitude for the rescue, Sadko builds a church in honor of Mykola Mozhaisky.
Sadko whimsically combines a skilled musician, a Novgorod merchant and an epic groom who is threatened with marriage to a girl from the underwater kingdom. Mythological situations are constantly woven into his life, he comes into contact with higher powers, and becomes the object of a struggle between them.
Sadko is not at all like the Kyiv heroes - he does not perform military feats. But Sadko lives under the sign of something unknown, much is predicted for him, and he successfully passes the wonderful tests that befall him.
In the image of Sad

The epic “Sadko” is one of the pearls of Russian folk epics of the Novgorod cycle. Its main theme is a colorful description of the trading merchant life of Novgorod and the fantastic wanderings of the merchant-guslar through the depths of the sea.

The plot of the epic is constructed in conventional three parts, each of which has its own inherent self-sufficiency. And the work itself has a clearly expressed dramatic conflict of a historical nature.

Story

According to historians, the first basis of the ancient epic about Sadko was a song about a Novgorod merchant whose name was Sodko Sotynets. He was mentioned in the Novgorod Chronicle of 1167 as the builder of the Boris and Gleb Church in Novgorod. It is noteworthy that the prototypes of the main characters - Sadko-guslar and the sea king - are found in epic narratives different nations- Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Kyrgyz and Old French tales.

Analysis

Description of the work

The action takes place in a rich and prosperous Novgorod. The young guslar singer Sadko pleases numerous Novgorod merchants with his sweet-voiced singing. At one of the feasts, realizing that no one is listening to him, the saddened singer goes to the shore of Lake Ilmen. Having poured out his soul in a beautiful, but at the same time filled with sadness song, Sadko excited with his singing the king of the sea, who thanked the guslar with the opportunity to gain wealth. Having won an argument with three merchants that there are fish with golden feathers in Lake Ilmen, Sadko becomes a rich man and over the course of twelve years increases his property many times over.

One day, Sadko the merchant sets off on a long trading journey, loading thirty ships with untold riches. A sudden strong storm forces Sadko to try to appease the king of the sea, but the lot shows that the ruler of the sea does not need wealth, he needs a sweet-voiced psaltery singer. Sadko pleased the tsar and his entire retinue with his play from morning to evening, he was promised untold riches, but dreams of his beloved Novgorod turned out to be stronger than the devilish temptation underwater world. Thanks to his love for the sea beauty Chernavushka and the help of the famous saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (Mozhaisky), Sadko returns to his hometown, throws a feast and builds a church in the name of the saint who saved him.

Epic quotes

“How can I boast about something, Sadku? But I don’t have a lot of countless golden treasury, And I don’t have a beautiful young wife, But how can I, Sadku, only have one thing to brag about: In Ilmen and like in the lake And there are fish like golden feathers, after all.”

“And how hello, rich merchant, Sadko and Novgorod! And how no matter how much you traveled across the sea, And how you never paid tribute to the king of the sea in the blue sea, And now he himself came to me all and in gifts.”

“And whoever boasts about something at a feast: And another boasts about his countless golden treasury, And another he boasts about a good horse, And another he boasts about his strength and good luck; And now how smart he is, how he boasts about A and his old father, his old mother, And how the crazy fool now boasts, And how he boasts about his young wife.”(Narrator)

Main characters

A talented young guslar singer. He sacrifices himself during a storm, thereby saving the lives of his squad. In this act, the Christian spirit of the hero is manifested, along with high morality and patriotism.

The image of the ruler of the seas is very ambiguous; it combines both power and destructive force, and love for the talent of the guslar singer Sadko. This character acts first as a benefactor, and over time as an enslaver of the singer, while he does not understand that for Sadko earthly life in hometown there is nothing.

Structure of the work

The plot and compositional structure of the epic includes three self-sufficient parts. According to Belinsky, the work clearly expresses a dramatic conflict of a historical nature. The uniqueness of the work is the combination of three epics from different times of writing, starting from the early pagan (the image of the good sea king) and ending with the Christian (the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker). Also unusual is the choice of the main character - not an epic hero, but a poor talented guslar singer.

Final conclusion

The epic “Sadko” is a unique monument of Russian culture, which expresses the entire historical and patriotic essence of the image of a wandering guslar singer who defeated both merchants and the seductive temptations of fantastic underwater life.

The holiness of the image of his native Novgorod is what turns out to be above all for Sadko, a patriot and Christian. The epic is of particular historical value - it shows with great truthfulness the everyday life of Novgorodians in all its manifestations.

The distant past has left us, residents of the twenty-first century, a lot of traditions and legends, tales and sayings. The treasures of folk wisdom also include epics, of which there are more than five hundred. They are divided into cycles: all-Russian, Kyiv, Novgorod. The latter also includes an epic about a guslar who visited the underwater king. We will look at a summary of “Sadko” in our article. Although we strongly recommend reading the work in its entirety. So let's get started.

The epic "Sadko": a summary for the reader's diary

By school curriculum, this epic is brought to extracurricular reading. During the holidays, the student must read the work and make an entry in his diary, describing its essence in a few sentences. So what does the epic “Sadko” talk about? Summary for reader's diary can be conveyed like this.

In the ancient and glorious city of Novgorod lives a poor guslar named Sadko. His playing is skillful, so rich merchants often invite him to holidays. This is how he earned his living. But one day he was not invited anywhere. The guy felt bitter, and he went to the shore of the lake, where he began to play for himself.

Even very summary“Sadko” should mention that the king of the sea himself swam out to the musician. He thanked the young man for the wonderful game and told him how to get rich. Sadko began to live happily and took up the merchant business. One day he arranged a feast at which he boasted about his wealth. He himself offered the merchants to buy back all their goods to prove that he had a lot of money. He lost the argument, so he paid thirty thousand chervonets to each merchant, loaded all the goods onto the ships and set off to trade around the world.

What happened in the middle of the sea?

Continuing to reveal the summary of “Sadko”, it is worth mentioning that his ships were caught in a storm when the hero was returning home. Deciding that the sea king is demanding a tribute that he never paid, the guslar orders a barrel of silver to be poured into the waves. A barrel of gold followed, but the storm did not subside. Then Sadko suggested casting lots and making a human sacrifice. They cast lots several times, and each time it fell to him. Then the merchant made a will, played the harp and went to the bottom of the sea.

What's next we're talking about in the epic "Sadko"? The summary for the reader's diary should continue with a description of the hero's meeting with the ruler of the underwater kingdom. He scolded the young man for not paying him tribute and ordered him to play. Sadko touched the gusli, and wonderful sounds poured out, which amused the king. He danced, and a storm arose on the sea, ships sank, people died. At this time, Saint Nicholas of Mozhaisky came to the musician and asked him to stop playing. He advised him how to explain his refusal to the lord of the sea and how to get out of the sea.

How does Sadko's story end? The summary for the reader's diary should be completed like this: following the advice of a holy man, the guslar wakes up in Novgorod, where merchant ships were just sailing. The hero’s squad was very surprised that their leader remained alive, but they were very happy, and the guslar’s ​​wife also ran out. He gave funds for the construction of the temple to Nikolai Mozhaisky and never went to sea again.

Heroes of the epic

The reader already knows the summary of “Sadko”. Now let's talk about the characters of the epic. Main actor appears Sadko, a poor young man who skillfully plays the harp. He is not used to showing his feelings to others, so in moments of grief he goes to the shore of the lake to play, although his heart aches in pain. Having received an unexpected gift from fate, the hero takes care of the housework, and everything works out for him. But then he begins to boast of his wealth, and this boasting almost destroyed him. Sadko tries to avert the fate from himself, but then resigns himself. Already at the bottom he listens to wise advice, so he gets away with it.

The underwater king is a very controversial character. He is no stranger to the love of beauty, that is, to playing the harp, and he generously rewards the musician. But when Sadko plays seabed, the king dances, and he does not feel sorry for the ships and people who are swallowed by the abyss. The Lord of the underwater world realizes his strength and appreciates the human mind, since he tacitly agrees with the choice of the guslar and allows him to return to earth.

Opera by Rimsky-Korsakov

At the beginning of January 1898, the epic “Sadko” (opera) was staged for the first time on the stage of the S. Mamontov Theater (Moscow). Its summary is not much different from the plot we retold above. The only difference is that the guslar was saved not by a saint, but by a certain hero. And the daughter of the water king, whom the hero should marry, had a different name. The sea girl turned into a blue river, and Sadko returned to his beloved wife Lyubava.

The libretto for the epic plot was written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov together with V.I. Velsky. The opera of seven scenes is still staged in the best theaters in the world.

Ilya from Murom

This man, who has a real prototype (his relics are kept in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra), is an ideal image of a folk hero. Almost two dozen stories with a common hero have survived to this day. In them, Ilya fights evil - a snake, a monster, an idol, robbers, and helps other heroes. Legends also tell about the hero’s difficult relationship with the prince and other kings.

After a study of the relics carried out in 1988, it was found that Ilya Muromets died at the age of 40-55. He was a strong, stocky man, by the way, not of gigantic stature as the epics depict him. It is known for certain that in his youth his limbs were paralyzed, but then he was healed and lived the remaining years of his life to the fullest.

Comparison of two stories

We will not retell all the epics from the cycle “Ilya Muromets”. “Sadko,” a summary of which we have already reviewed, has a completely different plot. The first story is about a hero who faces danger for a good cause. He defends justice and the weak, and does not compromise with evil spirits. Paralyzed until the age of 33, he devoted the rest of his life to serving people and God.

Sadko is a young man who lived in conditions of social inequality. Being poor, he was not afraid to tell the rich the truth. For this he lost his earnings, but was later rewarded. Having become arrogant, he almost lost his wealth again, and only prayers helped him to save himself. Sadko made the right conclusions and did not tempt fate any further.

Tradition of deep antiquity

Epics “Ilya Muromets”, “Sadko”, a brief summary of which students go through in high school, are folk art. The first, as already mentioned, is based on historical facts, decorated and supplemented with fiction. The other is considered a fairy tale, but there are versions that it is also based on real events. Some scientists see in the epic echoes of the colonization of the world and its study, others identify Sadko with Odysseus and Sinbad the Sailor. In the French epic there is a story about a sailor named Zadok, whose fate strongly resembles the fate of the Novgorod guslar. But there are people who consider the epic to be a fiction of religious persons: after all, the miraculous salvation of a merchant sacrificed to the sea god is attributed to a Christian saint.

Instead of an afterword

Epics are not fairy tales, they are true stories that once took place in reality. Of course, people embellished it, modified it almost beyond recognition. Today we read these stories and are amazed at the richness of the language, the richness of the images, and the interestingness of the plot. And between the lines you can see wisdom that helps to cope with modern challenges. Therefore it is worth studying carefully folk art, read the epics in the original and in full, and not in an abbreviated version. It won't take much time to read, but positive emotions classes are guaranteed from this.

The events in the epic unfold in the city of Novgorod. It splits into two parts (Sadko receives wealth and Sadko from the Sea King). Main character - guslar Sadko. At the beginning of the epic, the Novgorod boyars neglected him and stopped inviting him to feasts. Offended, Sadko goes to Lake Ilmen, sits on the “white-flammable stone” and begins to play “yarovchaty guselki”. The Sea King liked his game:

Just then the water in the lake began to stir, the king of the sea appeared, came out of Ilmen from the lake, and himself said these words: “Oh, you, Sadke of Novgorod! a gentle game." 1

Decided Sea king help Sadko, give him untold wealth. He told him to make a bet with the Novgorod merchants that he would catch a fish in the lake - a golden feather. The king will send this fish to Sadko in the net.

Guslyar did just that and won three shops of red goods in a dispute with merchants, became rich, erected magnificent chambers, decorating them with marvelous paintings:

Sadke arranged everything in heavenly fashion: There is sun in the sky and there is sun in the chambers, There is a month in the sky and there is a month in the chambers, There are stars in the sky and there are stars in the chambers. 2

Sadko “invited noble guests to his honorable feast,” who at the feast ate, got drunk and all boasted with boasts." Sadko boasted of buying up all the goods in Novgorod, argued with him in wealth. But the bet lost: no matter how much he bought goods in Novgorod shops, in the morning more and more people brought from all over Rus' appeared in them. And Sadko realized that he was not the rich merchant of Novgorod - his glorious Novgorod was richer. And if at the beginning of the epic the popular consciousness was on the side of the poor guslar, then Sadko was the merchant who imagined. that he is richer and stronger than the entire trading city, deprived of the sympathy of the people. The epic forces him to recognize the victory of Novgorod. It clearly expresses the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe trading power of the great city of northern Rus'.

In the second part of the epic, Sadko, a rich merchant, equips ships and sets off with his comrades to trade overseas:

Strong weather met on the blue sea, The blackened ships stagnated on the blue sea: And the wave hits, tears the sails, Breaks the blackened ships; But the ships do not move from their place on the blue sea. 3

This is how landscape is introduced into the epic. The ships are at sea - the Sea King does not let Sadko in and demands a ransom from him. First, the shipbuilders try to pay off with a barrel of pure silver, red gold, but the wave hits everything, tears the sails, and “the ships still do not move from their place on the blue sea.” Sadko guesses that the Tsar of the Sea demands “a living head in the blue sea.” They cast lots three times as to who should go to the Sea King. And no matter how hard Sadko tried, the lot fell on him. Taking only the harp, Sadko rushes into the depths of the sea.

The image of the underwater kingdom in the epic is real, the landscape is realistic:

In the blue sea at the very bottom. Through the water I saw the baking red sun, the evening dawn, the morning dawn. I saw Sadko: in the blue sea there was a white stone chamber... 4

What we see here is not fantasy, but rather a certain amount of convention. The King of the Sea himself is also depicted. The epic gives only one detail of his portrait: “the king’s head is like a heap of hay.” The singers use the technique of hyperbolization: the king’s head is compared to a pile of hay, which indicates its significant size and introduces an element of comedy.

How Sadko began to play guselki yarovchaty, How the king of the sea began to dance in the blue sea, How the king of the sea began to dance. Sadke played for a day, others played too, and Sadke and others played, And still the king danced in the blue sea. 5

Grateful for the fun, the Sea King began to persuade Sadko to marry one of his thirty daughters. Meanwhile, in the blue sea, the waters shake, ships break, and righteous people drown.

In reality, an Orthodox person, in search of deliverance from misfortunes, always turns to Christian saints, which is reflected in the epic: “the people began to pray to Mikola of Mozhaisk.” It is no coincidence that the image of the Christian intercessor Mykola, the patron saint of all seafarers and sailors, is introduced into the epic. This reveals the general Christian idea of ​​Russian folklore:

The saint appeared before Sadko on the seabed: He turned around and looked at Sadko of Novgorod: A gray-haired old man was standing there. Novgorodsky said to Sadka: “I have no will of my own in the blue sea, I am ordered to play guselki yarovchaty.” The old man says these words: “And you tear out the strings, And you break out the pins. Say: “I didn’t have any strings, And the pins weren’t useful, There’s nothing else to play with: The verge-shaped goosenecks broke.” 6

Saint Mikola teaches the unlucky guslar how to return to Novgorod. He must choose as his bride the last daughter of the Sea King, the girl Chernavushka. Having listened to wise advice, the next morning Sadko found himself on land, and the girl he chose turned out to be a Novgorod river. In gratitude, Sadko built the cathedral church of Mykola Mozhaisky.

In the Novgorod Chronicle, under 1167, the name of a certain Sadko Sytinets is mentioned, who founded the church. The epic Sadko coincides with a real historical figure.

V.G. Belinsky wrote about Novgorod epics that all the rest of Russian fairy-tale poetry is visible in front of them. A new and special world is visible, which served as the source of the forms and very spirit of Russian life, and therefore of Russian poetry. About “Sadko” he writes: “The whole poem is imbued with extraordinary animation and is full of poetry. This is one of the pearls of Russian folk poetry.”