Slavic fantasy
 | The examples and perspective in this article are to narrow. This article needs to discuss Slavic fantasy outside Russia, in other Slavic countries. As long as it is unduly focused on Russia, it may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (January 2024) |
Slavic fantasy (Russian: Славянское фэнтези, Polish: fantasy słowiańska) is a sub-genre of contemporary art (fantasy literature,[1] cinema,[2] video games,[3] visual arts) that developed in the late 90s and early 2000s.[4][5] Slavic fantasy is distinguished by the incorporation of Slavic folklore, legends, bylinas, and myths into the general canons of fantasy literature.[6] However, its genre boundaries remain indistinct.[7]
A kind of fantasy genre in modern Russian mass literature, which has a certain specificity is fairy tale-mythological and adventure prose. Occasionally the term "Russian fantasy" is used as a synonym for Slavic fantasy, although the former phrase is more often used to refer to any fantasy written in Russian.[4]
The Slavic fantasy also exists outside Russia. A major example of that genre outside Russia is the Polish fantasy series The Witcher.
History
[edit]Precursors
[edit]Slavic fantasy as a distinct literary genre grew in opposition to Western fantasy, which has its origins in Celtic and Norse mythology.[5][8] However, the literary tradition in which Slavic fantasy finds its modern roots emerged over a century ago. Sometimes the Russian folktales and medieval tales of Bovo Korolevich and Yeruslan Lazarevich are cited as the origins of Slavic fantasy, although those were originally adapted translations of Chivalric romances and the Iranian epic Shahnameh, respectively. The fantastic works of 18th-century writers Mikhail Popov, Mikhail Chulkov, and Vasily Lyovshin about Russian Bogatyrs are filled with the distinct realities of Slavic mythology and Russian history, but as these authors are reinterpreting Western court literature, they are not entirely original. Nevertheless, these books are considered predecessors to Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila."
Within Polish literature, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski's An Ancient Tale and Władysław Orkan's Drzewiej are seen as important precursor works for that genre.[9]
Gogol's works such as Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka are often referred to as precursors to Slavic fantasy. Although largely forgotten today, the works of 19th century writer Alexander Veltman fit into the framework of Slavic fantasy, particularly his novels The Immortal Koschey (1833) and Svyatoslavovich, Nursling of the Devil (1834).[8]
Contemporary Slavic fantasy
[edit]Yuri Nikitin founded modern Slavic fantasy (or at least its heroic sub-genre) with his series of novels The Three from the Forest.[10] Another prominent author of Slavic fantasy is Maria Semyonova, who wrote the Wolfhound series.[6] It is worth noting that some Russian-speaking writers draw on Norse mythology (classified by Dr. Elena Safron as Western fantasy[5]) – Elizaveta Dvoretskaya's series Ship in the Fjord,[6] for instance – and some English-speaking writers use Old Russian pagan folklore (e.g. Carolyn Cherryh in Rusalka (1989) and Chernevog (1990).[11] Slavic fantasy motifs also play a very important role in Anton Vilgotsky's novel Shepherd of the Dead.
One of the most famous writers in Slavic fantasy is Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher series, which is the basis for the popular video game trilogy.[12] Other examples of Polish works classified as Slavic fantasy include the Kajko i Kokosz comic book series.[13]
Classification
[edit]To classify Slavic fantasy, Elena Safron uses a general fantasy classification system based on Mosis Kagan's The Morphology of Art: Historical and Theoretical Study of the Inner Structure of the Art World. She proposes a number of identifiers of Slavic fantasy, including: the plot-thematic principle (epic and romantic fantasy), the time within the art (historical fantasy), the axiological principle (heroic and comedic fantasy), and mixed Slavic fantasy, which includes outside genre elements.[5] Evgeny Gartsevich specifies two subgroups within Slavic fantasy: historical and heroic fantasy.[6] Sergei and Zhanna Zhuravlev classify Slavic fantasy into three trends: historical, heroic, and comedic.[14]
Plot-thematic principle
[edit]Epic fantasy
[edit]Examples are Yuri Nikitin's series The Three (which, however, has hallmarks of other varieties of Slavic fantasy and has many comic elements), and Sergei Fomichev's Meshchersky Magi series, which includes the novels The Gray Horde, The Prophecy of Predslava and Dream of the Hawk.[5]
Romantic fantasy
[edit]In Elizaveta Dvoretskaya's series Princes of the Forest, the primary themes are divine and earthly love.[5]
Time within the art
[edit]Historical fantasy
[edit]Historical fantasy is a variation of Slavic fantasy characterized by elements of historical novels. It originates from Maria Semyonova's novel Wolfhound, which features a number of historical elements, such as descriptions of everyday life, customs, and setting. The novel generated a series of five books: Wolfhound, Wolfound: The Right for a Fight, Stone of Rage, Wolfhound: Sign of the Way, and Emerald Mountains. Semyonova's success led to a number of followers who created the World of the Wolfhound series. Pavel Molytvin wrote the compendium Companions of the Wolfhound and the novels Winds of Fortune, Eurich's Path, and Shadow of the Emperor; Andrey Martyanov wrote The Time of Trouble, The Last War, and Age of Disasters; Alexey Semyonov wrote Isle of May and Wormwood Leaves; and Elena Khaetskaya wrote Road of the Steppe. Elizaveta Dvoretskaya combines the historical novel and Slavic fantasy in her work – for example, the cycle Princes of the Forest, consisting of three novels The Fiery Wolf (1997), The Morning Horseman (2002) and Unknown Spring (2002). Historical Slavic fantasy includes Olga Grigorieva's novels The Sorcerer, Berserk and Ladoga, as well as Rogue Bear by Sergei Shvedov.[6]
Axiological principle
[edit]Heroic fantasy
[edit]This type of Slavic fantasy is characterized by a large number of battle scenes and fast paced plots. It originates from Yuri Nikitin's three cycles, The Hyperborea Cycle, The Three from the Forest, and The Prince's Feast. The Hyperborea Cycle consists of three novels: Ingvar and Olha, Prince Vladimir, and Prince Rus. Three of the Forest contains fifteen books with three main characters, Mrak, Oleg, and Targitay. The Princely Feast, in which the main characters are epic heroes, deals with patriotic themes: the return to Slavic roots, the greatness and glory of Kievan Rus', and the fight against foreign invaders. The series The Chronicles of Vladigora by Leond Butyakov also fits into the subgenre of Slavic-heroic fantasy.[6]
Comedic fantasy
[edit]This sub-genre of Slavic fantasy includes Mikhail Uspensky's series about Zhikhar, The Charter of Falconry, Andrei Belyanin's The Secret Investigation of Tsar Gorokh, and Olga Gromyko's story Put in a Word for Poor Koshoe.[5]
Mixed Slavic fantasy
[edit]Mixed Slavic fantasy works combine features of Slavic fantasy and other fantasy genres. Yuli Burkin and Sergei Lukyanenko's 1993 novel Island Rus, for instance, blurs the line between Slavic fantasy and science fiction.[5]
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ Бесков 2015, p. 12 onwards.
- ^ Бесков 2015, p. 19 onwards.
- ^ Д. М. Дудко. "Превью Pagan Online — славянское фэнтези наносит ответный удар". VGTimes (in Russian). Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ a b Сафрон 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h ""славянская" фэнтези: фольклорно-мифологические аспекты семантики 10. 01. 01. Русская литература". rudocs.exdat.com.
- ^ a b c d e f Гарцевич 2005.
- ^ Фокин А. А. (2012). "Славянское fantasy: жанр или симулякр" (PDF) (II Международный научный симпозиум «Славянские языки и культуры в современном мире» ed.). Москва, МГУ имени М. В. Ломоносова, филологический факультет: 322–323.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b "Сергей Чупринин. Еще раз к вопросу о картографии вымысла. Знамя #11. 2006".
- ^ Piechota, Dariusz (2020). "U źródeł fantasy słowiańskiej. Na marginesie lektury Starej baśni Józefa Ignacego Kraszewskiego oraz Drzewiej Władysława Orkana". Humanistyka między narodami: Interdyscyplinarne studia polsko-ukraińskie, redakcja naukowa Jarosław Ławski i Lucjan Suchanek (in Polish). Temida 2, przy współpracy Wydziału Filologicznego Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku: 363–380. ISBN 978-83-65696-69-4.
- ^ Борис Невский. Русское фэнтези. Мир фантастики # 11, 2004
- ^ Е. В. Жаринов. Жанр фэнтези в современной англо-американской беллетристике
- ^ Obertová, Zuzana (20 December 2022). "Slavenska mitologija izgubljena u fantastici: književne prilagodbe slavenskih vjerovanja u romanima Andrzeja Sapkowskog i Juraja Červenáka". Narodna umjetnost: Hrvatski časopis za etnologiju i folkloristiku. 59 (2): 119–132. doi:10.15176/vol59no206. ISSN 0547-2504.
- ^ Szyłak, Jerzy; Konefał, Sebastian Jakub (2 January 2023). "The influence of local and national press on the comic publishing industry in the Polish People's Republic between 1956 and 1989". Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. 14 (1): 57–69. doi:10.1080/21504857.2022.2032231. ISSN 2150-4857. S2CID 246656330.
- ^ "Фантастические жанры, темы и направления. С. Журавлёв. Ж. Журавлёва. Витязь на распутье: основные направления славянского фэнтези. стр № 94" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2012.
Further reading
[edit]- Абашева М. П., Криницына О. П. (2010). "Проблематика национальной индентичности в славянских фэнтези" (PDF) (332). Вестник Томского государственного университета: 7–10.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Афанасьева Е. А. "Фантастические жанры, темы и направления. Жанр фэнтези: проблема классификации" (PDF). Фантастика и технология (памяти Станислава Лема) Сборник материалов Международной научной конференции 29–31 марта 2007 г.: 94–100. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2012.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Афанасьева Е. А. (2009). Фольклорная волшебная сказка и славянская фэнтези: проблема заимствования (Культ-товары: Феномен массовой литературы в современной России: сборник статей ed.). СПГУТД. pp. 278–284. ISBN 978-5-7937-0239-3.
- Афанасьева Е. А. (2008). "Новые образы богов как способ проявления авторской индивидуальности в славянской фэнтези" (PDF) (2) (Учёные записки Петрозаводского государственного университета. Серия: общественные и гуманитарные науки ed.): 71–74.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Барашкова А. В. (2009). "Роль мифологических мотивов в произведениях славянской фэнтези" (4) (Вестник Костромского государственного университета им. Н. А. Некрасова ed.): 22–26.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) 
Бесков А. А. (2015). "Реминисценции восточнославянского язычества в современной российской культуре (статья первая)". Colloquium Heptaplomeres (научный альманах) (2) (Colloquium heptaplomeres ed.): 6–18.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)- Бесков А. А. (2016). "Реминисценции восточнославянского язычества в современной российской культуре (статья вторая)". Colloquium Heptaplomeres (научный альманах) (3) (Colloquium heptaplomeres ed.): 6–24. ISSN 2312-1696.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Бреева Т. Н. (2012). "Стратегия репрезентации национального мифа в славянском фэнтези" (1) (Филология и культура ed.): 94–100.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Бреева Т. Н., Хабибуллина Л. Ф. (2016). "Русский миф" в славянском фэнтези. Moscow: Флинта.
- Гарцевич Е. (2005). "Славянское фэнтези" (20) (Мир фантастики ed.).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Дудко Д. М. (Дм. Баринов, канд. ист. наук, писатель-фантаст). "Славянская фэнтези: вчера, сегодня, завтра (доклад)". Харьковский международный фестиваль фантастики «Звездный мост».
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Криницына О. П. (2011). Славянские фэнтези в современном литературном процессе: поэтика, трансформация, рецепция. Автореферат диссертации на соискание учёной степени кандидата филологических наук (PDF). Пермь.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Невский Борис (2004). "Русское фэнтези" (11) (Мир фантастики ed.).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Сафрон Е. А. (2011). "Литературная интерпретация образа бога Велеса в "славянской" фэнтези (на материале романов Е. А. Дворецкой)" (7) (Учёные записки Петрозаводского государственного университета. Серия: общественные и гуманитарные науки ed.): 83–85.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Сафрон Е. А. (2012). "Славянская" фэнтези: фольклорно-мифологические аспекты семантики. Издательство Петрозаводского государственного университета.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|agency=ignored (help) - Сафрон Е. А. (2013). "Классификация жанра "славянской" фэнтези: постановка проблемы" (1) (Вестник Московского государственного областного университета ed.): 45.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Черняк В. Д., Черняк М. А. (2015). "Славянское фэнтези". Массовая литература в понятиях и терминах: учебный словарь-справочник (2-е издание, стереотипное ed.). М.: Флинта. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-5-9765-2128-5.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Чупринин С. И. (2006). "Ещё раз к вопросу о картографии вымысла" (11) (Знамя ed.). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
See also
[edit]- Russian science fiction and fantasy
- Folklore of Russia
- Slavic mythology
- Supernatural beings in Slavic religion
- Films based on Slavic mythology
Literature
[edit]- Фантастические жанры, темы и направления. С. Журавлев. Ж. Журавлева. Витязь на распутье: основные направления славянского фэнтези. стр № 94
- Мир фантастики. Борис Невский. Славянское фэнтези
- Мир фантастики. Борис Невский. Русское фэнтези
- Научный журнал КубГАУ, № 73(09), 2011 года. Становление жанра «славянской» фэнтези в русской литературе 18 века
- А. В. Барашкова. Роль мифологических мотивов в произведениях славянского фэнтези
- Новые образы богов как способ проявления авторской индивидуальности в славянском фэнтези
- Вестник Томского государственного университета. М. П. Абашева, О. П. Криницына. Проблематика национальной идентичности в славянских фэнтези
- Доклад на фестивале «Звездный мост». Славянское фэнтези: вчера, сегодня, завтра
- «славянская» фэнтези: фольклорно-мифологические аспекты семантики 10. 01. 01. Русская литература