What is a "hero"? When pronouncing this word, associations immediately arise with epic heroes. And also before my eyes are the paintings of Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov "Three Athletes" and "The Knight at the Crossroads." So what is a “hero”? The definition of this word will be given in our article.
General concept
The dictionaries indicate that the linguistic object we are studying is traditionally poetic. That is, it is used in epics and legends, and denotes a brave and valiant warrior, a hero. Therefore, in order to understand what this means, “a hero”, we consider two words that characterize him - “valiant” and “hero”.
Valiant - one who is distinguished by valor, that is:
- supreme courage;
- willingness to overcome obstacles in order to achieve a high goal;
- selflessness;
- courage.
A hero is a character present in epic works, distinguished by remarkable strength, and accomplishing feats. His exploits are both patriotic and religious in nature.
Sources of Information
For a long time, the form of transmission of epics, from which it became known what a “hero” is, was oral until they came into the view of philologists and folklorists. Their first publication was carried out at the beginning of the 19th century.
Then the images of Russian knights and heroes were widely reflected in the works of famous artists such as Mikhail Vrubel (decorative panel “The Athlete”), Viktor Vasnetsov (the painting “Athletes”, the creation of which he worked for almost 20 years). From them we can judge how the knights looked in Russia.
True or fiction?
In chronicles and in separate historical records such facts are traced that indicate the reality of historical events that have passed into epics. From them we learned that the knights stood at the outposts as guardians of Russia.
The Russian heroes have such common properties as strength and youth. Although Ilya Muromets is often called the old Cossack in epics, the word "old" in this context should not be understood as "burdened with years", but "experienced in military affairs, mature."
Origin of the word
There are several versions regarding the etymology of the word we are studying:
- The first, belonging to the linguist Fasmer, says that the "hero" comes from the vikingr (Viking), taken from the ancient Norwegian language.
- The second, which is put forward by such researchers as Schuster-Shevts, Bruckner, Mahek, represents this word as originally Slavic. This is due to chronological and phonetic reasons. Schuster-Shevts points to the word as to the ancient designation “warrior on a horse”, originating from the Slavic vit - “booty, trophy”, Old Slavic - to invoke, meaning benefit, gain, profit, profit.
- The third deduces the origin of the word from the Prussian “Vitingas”, which means “knight, a noble equestrian warrior”. As a comparison, the corresponding word, “Vitis”, available in Lithuanian, is given.
- The fourth is the most plausible, according to which the word was formed from the old Russian root “beat”, from it came such words as “battle”, “warrior”, “war”.
Heroic Valor
The main features of Russian knights are military valor, which was mentioned above, as well as honesty and good nature. But this is not enough. It is also necessary that the actions of the hero have a religious and patriotic connotation.
As a rule, the heroes were idealized by the people. They were credited with tremendous strength, an unprecedented dexterity, a deafening voice, a heavy gait, a long sleep. And although the indicated physical qualities seemed to be exaggerated, there is no negative connotation in them. So, for example, there is no brutal gluttony inherent in the monstrous giants in epics not belonging to the heroes.
In Kievan Rus
Continuing the study of the question of what is a “hero”, we recall that in epics dating back to the time of Kievan Rus, it is said about (about):
- Svyatore;
- Mikule Selyaninovich;
- Volga Svyatoslavich;
- Sukhmane Damantievich;
- Kolyvan;
- Danube Ivanovich;
- Ilya Muromets;
- Alyosha Popovich;
- Dobryne Nikitiche;
- Mikhail Potik;
- Ivan Gostiny son;
- Gorden Bludovich;
- Nightingale Budimirovich;
- Ivana Danilovich;
- Stavre Godinovich;
- Eupatia Kolovrat;
- Alexandra Peresvet.
It should be noted that the word under study is very popular in modern reality. It is often used in various names. At the end of the consideration of the question of what is a “hero”, we give their examples.
Other values
This is the “Russian Knights”. So called:
- One of the aerobatic aviation groups, consisting of the air forces of Russia.
- A youth hockey team playing ice hockey, deployed in the city of Chekhov near Moscow.
And also the name "Russian Knight" are:
- The world's first aircraft with four engines.
- An art studio in Russia, which played an important role in the development of contemporary miniature art.
- Festival of martial arts and folk traditions of Russia, held in the city of Alexandrov.