0 If you live in Russia, then you are well aware of such a fairy-tale character as Koschey the Immortal, the most terrible creature from East Slavic legends. Name " Koschey" comes from the Slavic word for "bone", and this indicates that this creature is skinny or very bony. Myths about Koshchei are mainly found in East Slavic lands, and researchers see in him an association with the Slavic god of Death or a frost sorcerer who can bring death and cold to anyone who opposes him. You can find many more on our resource. useful information, for example, deciphering street slang or fashionistas' jargon. Add this site to your bookmarks to always have access to necessary and useful information.
However, before I continue, I would like to point you to a couple of interesting publications on the topic of religion and cults. For example, who is Baba Yaga, learn about the Slavic goddesses briefly; who is the god Perun, what does the word Hermit mean, etc.
So, let's continue, Koschey the Immortal, meaning?

Koschey the Immortal is an evil sorcerer, and his death is hidden in several nested things and magical animals. In some legends, he takes the form of a king or even a rider on a black talking horse. He often kidnaps women, namely the bride of the main character in the fairy tale. Outwardly it looks like a skeleton or a tall or thin old man. Usually appears to be vindictive, harmful and greedy.

Who really is Koschey the Immortal?

IN modern approach To this question, some scientists do not perceive him as a villain, but see the force of nature embodied in him. In other words, he doesn't have to be always evil. However, in various Russian myths, Koschey is considered a powerful sorcerer of frost, with a cunning mind and not very good intentions. In several different fairy tales he turns people into walnuts or even turns entire kingdoms to stone. That's why folk legends everyone still sees him evil character. Like the cunning old wizard in fairy tales, he is usually required to develop his activities around young pretty girls, where he tries to seduce them and win their love through magic or even brute force. In his failure and rage, he even curses these young girls by turning them into animals, such as frogs, snakes and other unpleasant creatures.

Why is he called "Immortal"?

Koschey is known as an immortal creature, and one of the fairy tales reveals him, describing: “Koshchey’s death is far away: beyond the sea, beyond the ocean there is an island; on that island there are oak trees, under the oak trees there is a chest buried; in the chest there is a hare closed; in the hare there is a duck; in a duck has an egg, and the egg is his death." Many researchers saw in this “matryoshka” an interpretation of the model of the universe: water (sea, ocean), earth (island), plants (oak), animals (rabbit), bird (duck) and oak - the “world tree”. In other words, you can kill Koshchei only by destroying the world itself.
In the Christian interpretation, Koschey is seen as a “sin,” the kidnapped girl as a “human soul,” and the hero who opposes Koschey as a “righteous spirit.” The death of Koshchei is considered as a cleansing of man from sin, and these legends have evolved over time.

The Legend of Prince Ivan and Koshchei the Immortal

One of legendary stories, in which this evil creature is mentioned is " Koschey and Ivan Tsarevich". Young Ivan, after the death of his parents, soon found himself completely alone. And he became even more sad after his three sisters went to men who decided to take care of them. Ivan decided to find his sisters and along the way he met his future wife, Marya Morevna, a woman warrior. Years passed, these two got married and lived and made a fortune in Marya’s house, but one day it began great war. Marya, like a warrior maiden, went to war and left Ivan alone to take care of the house. She asked him not to open one particular closet because there was something personal in there. Some time passed, and since Ivan was curious enough, he opened that very forbidden closet. He really wanted to see what Marya was hiding from him. In this closet he found an old man tied to the wall with twelve chains. The old man was weak and in terrible condition, and he asked Ivan to give him water and food, otherwise he would die of hunger and thirst. Ivan, being kind person, gave him several barrels of water. Just a few minutes after the old man got drunk, his muscles and body began to recover. And after some time it dawned on Ivan that Koschey the Immortal himself was standing in front of him. Now completely restored and vigorous, Koschey was strong enough to break free from the chains driven into the wall, and angrily said that he would kidnap Marya.
Fearing that he has ruined his relationship with Maria, and fully aware of Koshchei's threat to kidnap her, Ivan decides to go on a rescue expedition to find her and save her. In subsequent events, Ivan caught up with Koshchei several times, but he constantly killed him. Fortunately for Ivan, he still had three sisters who married wizards who revived Ivan every time he died.
Eventually, Ivan learned from one of his sisters that the fastest horse could be obtained from the old Baba Yaga, a terrible witch with a hooked nose. After successfully completing several tasks from

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Etymology

Word "koschei" in the 12th century it meant a slave, a captive; in the Tale of Igor’s Campaign the term is mentioned twice: Igor, having been captured by Konchak, sits “in the saddle of Koshcheevo”; the author of “The Lay” says that if Vsevolod Yuryevich the Big Nest had come to the aid of the Polovtsians, then the chaga (slave) would have been nogata, and the koschei would have been rezane (small monetary units). In the same meaning, koschey appears in the Ipatiev Chronicle. In birch bark letters of the 12th century from Novgorod and Torzhok, Koschey (also Koshkei, with the dialect Novgorod reading -sch- like -shk-) appears as a personal name. This word, according to the most common etymology, is from the Turkic košči “slave”, which, in turn, is derived from koš “camp, stop” (in Old Russian “kosh” - camp, convoy; in Ukrainian “kish” means camp, settlement , and “koshevoy” is the foreman, the head of the kosh. Belarusian language“kashevats” meant to spread out the camp); however, A.I. Sobolevsky proposed a Slavic etymology - from kosti “to scold.”

Koschey, as the name of the hero of a fairy tale and as a designation of a skinny person, Max Vasmer in his dictionary considers it not a Turkism, but an original Slavic word (homonym) and associates it with the word bone (common Slavic *kostь)

Appearance

Koschey the Immortal (Kashchei the Immortal)- a negative character in Russian fairy tales and in Russian folklore. A king, sometimes a rider on a magical talking horse. Often acts as the main character's bride kidnapper. He is depicted as a thin, tall old man, often presented as stingy and stingy (cf. “there Tsar Koschey is wasting away over gold” by A.S. Pushkin).

Origin

First of all, we know that this is one of the brightest fairy-tale characters. His appearance is vague, and the options for interpreting the image are contradictory. In addition, his name has a not entirely clear etymology. There are at least two versions of the origin of this dubious fairy-tale (and maybe not fairy-tale) personality: 1. This is the result of the people's imagination, which later became folklore and the property of the republic. 2. Koschey the Immortal is a prototype of a real person. Koschey the Immortal, whose photo for a number of reasons is not possible to demonstrate to you (only drawings) as a folklore fictional character endowed with many powers. He turns into a black raven, and sometimes into a flying snake. This allows him to easily and quickly move around the world and different worlds, stealing everything he needs. And what he needs is gold and other riches... Remember how Pushkin said about Koshchei, who languishes over gold? That's how it is. According to folklore, water gives it strength. Having drunk three whole buckets at a time, he is able to tame even the Serpent Gorynych himself! By the way, some researchers in the field Slavic mythology argue that the images of the Immortal and Gorynych are interchangeable in Russian fairy tales. Both of them simply adore wealth, and also steal beautiful girls! However, Koschey is endowed with a little more power, beyond the control of the Serpent Gorynych. According to this version, the prototype of the fabulous Koshchei is none other than Saint Kasyan himself. The fact is that the above-mentioned prototype could well have been called Koshchei because of the consonance of these names. In addition, two holidays coincide: the day of Chernobog and the day of St. Kasyan were celebrated by the Slavs at the same time - at the end of February. According to some reports, for this holiday they put on strange outfits in the form of human bones with a crown on their heads, which to this day are popular at children's matinees and in fairy-tale performances. This refers to the costume of Koshchei the Immortal. Meanwhile, Kasyan did a lot to spread Christianity on earth, but he was still considered evil, not holy!

Habitat

The exact location of the Hero is unknown; different sources mention different things.

• THREE NINE EARTHS FAR AWAY - In the fairy tale “The Frog Princess,” the heroine manages to say goodbye to Tsarevich Ivan with the phrase: “Look for me far away, in the thirtieth kingdom, with Kashchei the Immortal.” At such a dramatic moment, Vasilisa the Beautiful would not have spoken empty, meaningless sayings. She showed Ivan Tsarevich the exact place where Kashchei’s kingdom was located. That’s where they had to look for her in order to rescue her from Kashcheev’s captivity.

• The perception of Koshchei the Immortal as a representative of the “other” world, the world of death, is indicated by the characteristics of his location. The kingdom of Koshchei is very far away: the hero has to go to “the end of the world, to the very end” of it. Of all the paths, the longest, most difficult and dangerous one leads there: the hero wears out iron boots, an iron coat and an iron hat, eats three iron loaves; he has to overcome numerous obstacles, turn to assistants for advice and help, fight an insidious enemy, and even die and be resurrected. The dwelling of Koshchei the Immortal is depicted in a fairy tale as a palace, castle, big house, “fa-terka - golden windows.” Here there are untold riches - gold, silver, ray pearls, which the hero, after defeating the enemy, takes from his kingdom. According to researchers, the golden coloring of objects in the mythopoetic consciousness is perceived as a sign other world. The same applies to the image of the glass mountains, where, according to some fairy tale texts, the palace of Koshchei the Immortal is located. Lives in the underground kingdom.

Relatives

• According to some retrospections Koschey seems son Mother of the Earth in ancient Slavic mythology.

• Family connections of Koshchei the Immortal. E.V. Karavaeva notes: the fairy tale directly mentions that Vasilisa is daughter of Koshchei Immortal, whom he does not want to marry to anyone, which is another manifestation of his greed and acquisitiveness, authoritarianism. And the name Vasilisa comes from the Byzantine “basileos”, which means “king” or “queen”. That is, Vasilisa - royal daughter, she is related to Koshchei and confirms his high social status as a king.

Character traits and habits

Ruthless, evil, terrible sorcerer, terribly stingy.

In Dahl's Russian language dictionary, “Kashchey” is written with an “A”. And it explains why. “Kashchey,” according to Dahl, comes from the word “castit,” which means “to dirty, spoil, dirty, dirty, litter, scold, use foul language.” “Kast” is a dirty trick, an abomination, a disgusting thing, a filth..

In this case, the name very accurately defines the character and habits of our hero.

Interests

Collects gold and silver and various treasures. Loves to kidnap beauties.

Friends

We did not find friends in different fairy tales

Enemies

• Baba Yaga. Most often, these two negative characters are at the same time, but in some fairy tales it is this old woman who tells the main character how to destroy the villain.
• The heroes are the kind Dobrynya, the smart Usynya and the savvy Gorynya.
• Koshchei’s main enemy is still Ivan Tsarevich, a man who never tires of fighting him.

Characteristic phrases, quotes

- “Fu, fu! You can’t hear a Russian braid, you can’t see it, but here it smells of Russia!”

- “I have death in such and such a place; there is an oak tree, under the oak tree there is a box, in the box there is a hare, in the hare there is a duck, in the duck there is an egg, in the egg is my death.”

- “Look for me far away, in the thirtieth kingdom, near Koshchei the Immortal...”

- “What are you, Koschey the Immortal! You yourself flew around Rus', picked up the Russian spirit - you smell of the Russian spirit.”

- “And I was here, I drank honey and wine, it was running down my mustache, it wasn’t in my mouth.”

Image in art

Works in which the creature appears

Marya Morevna. The frog princess. Koschey the Immortal. Bulat is great. Russian folk tales

Ivan Sosnovich. White Sea fairy tale

Koshcheevo kingdom. Everyday tale

Panyushkin V. Koshchei's code: Russian fairy tales through the eyes of a lawyer.

The famous writer Valery Panyushkin discovered the origins of the modern legal system in Russian folk tales: even then, the litigants were sure that the truth was unattainable, the punishment was determined social status criminal, the strongest always turned out to be right, the terms of the contract were revised retroactively, and evil in an open trial was a priori invincible. Has nothing really changed in so many centuries?

Yu. Kostrov Sukin sir, or Koshchei's egg.

After visiting the Apogee company, headed by Ilya Suvorov, several large businessmen and politicians mysteriously disappear. The unsuspecting owner of the company begins to be hunted by an all-Russian oligarch nicknamed Kalson, who manages to lure Suvorov to the closed clinic of Dr. Spleen, where they conduct strange experiments on people. The resourceful and resourceful Ilya Suvorov, who is at the same time “under the hood” of the colonel from the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department Petrovna and Long Johns, not only extricates himself from the tenacious clutches of the experimental doctor, but also manages to bestow passionate love on the women he meets on the way to salvation...

Shemshuk V.A. Meeting with Koshchei the Immortal. Practice of immortality.

Filmography

Photo by Koshchei the Immortal

from a children's film "Kashchei the Immortal",Directed by Alexander Rowe. Premiere - May 27, 1945

Rimsky-Korsakov Musical film. 1952 (Evgeny Lebedev)

Cartoon frame "The Frog Princess" 1954

Fire, water and... copper pipes Children's, musical. 1968 (Georgy Millyar)

Fun magic Movie. 19669 (Fyodor Nikitin)

New Year's adventures Masha and Vitya Children's film. 1975 (Nikolai Boyarsky)

There, on unknown paths... Children's film. 1982 (Alexander Filippenko)

After the rain on Thursday Children's film. 1985 (Oleg Tabakov)

They sat on the golden porch Children's film. 1986 (Viktor Sergachev)

A tale about a painter in love Children's film. 1987 (Valery Ivchenko)

purple ball Fantastic children's film. 1987 (Igor Yasulovich)

Koshcheevo kingdom. Children's film. 2003 Russia. Director: Svetlana Kenetsius

• Miracles in Reshetov Children's film. 2003 (Nodar Mgaloblishvili)

Book of Masters Children's film. 2009 (Gosha Kutsenko)

Similar creatures in the myths of other peoples, fairy tales, and fantastic works

Koschey Copperbeard- in Polish fairy tales there is a water monster. A merman with a copper beard, a toad head, crustacean claws and huge eyes. He can do magic. While talking he croaks all the time. Has power over all waters, even underground. “From the well, eye to eye, a monster looks at him: a toad’s head with a bucket, a mouth from ear to ear, eyes like baskets, instead of hands there are crayfish claws... the monster stuck out of the well halfway - its red beard spread out across the water, like rusty algae, each hair moves one by one. - I am Koschey Copperbeard, ruler of the underworld...

Power beyond the grave, relics, dried fruit, miser, thin, thin, worm, thin as a sliver, old man, skeleton Dictionary of Russian synonyms. koschey see thin Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova ... Dictionary of synonyms

- (or kashchei), koschei, husband. (Cossack. poor man). 1. (K capital). In Russian folk tales mythical creature: a thin, bony old man with the secret of longevity, rich and evil. Koschey the immortal. 2. An emaciated, skinny and tall old man (colloquial) ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

KOSCHEY, Kashchey. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. V.I. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Kashchei) Immortal. 1. Unlock Disapproved About an evil, greedy, stingy man. BMS 1998, 312. 2. Discussion. Disapproved About an extremely thin person. BMS 1998, 312; BTS, 75; Mokienko 1989, 147. 3. Jarg. school Joking. iron. or Neglect Elderly, elderly teacher;... ... Big dictionary Russian sayings

KOSHCHEY, me, husband. 1. In Russian fairy tales: thin and angry old man, owner of treasures and the secret of longevity. K. Immortal. 2. transfer About skinny and tall man, often an old man, and also about a miser (colloquial neod.). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu.... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

KOSHCHEY- Koschey, a man of the Grand Duke of Moscow. OK. 1459. A.K. I, 548. Kosche, peasant, zap. 1582. Arch. VI, 1, 115… Biographical Dictionary

Ko(a)shchei immortal (eternal Jew). Wed. He took from his relatives, he took from the poor, He was known as a good man... Nekrasov. Vlas. Wed. He lives there alone at the forge, like the immortal Kashchei, filling his own little jar!... He has become greedy! fear! Markevich... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

M. coll. Endowed with immortality, a bony and evil old man, the owner of enormous wealth as a Russian character folk tales; Koschey the Immortal. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language Efremova

KOSHCHEY- (character of Russian fairy tales; see also KASHCHEY) Koschey was not evil either, What, perhaps, will be the uprising of things. Why do we spoil things? Khl909 (189) ... Given name in Russian poetry of the 20th century: a dictionary of personal names

Koschey- This word, meaning thin, skinny person and miser, is probably derived from bone. According to another version, in Old Russian there was koschey - slave, captive, borrowed from Turkic languages and not connected in any way with Koshchei the Immortal... Etymological dictionary Russian language Krylov

Books

• Koschey. Reboot. Roman, Galkin R.. "Koschei. Reboot". What do you know about Koshchei the Immortal, about Baba Yaga, about Leshy and others fairy tale characters? Do you consider them treacherous villains? George thought the same thing, until his soul after...
• Koschey the Immortal: a fairy tale with games, . Koschey the Immortal: a fairy tale with games ISBN:978-5-222-19883-4…

Koschey (Kashchei) the Immortal is one of the most odious and mysterious villains of Russian fairy tales. The epithet “Immortal” alone makes one fear this character. The absence of fear of the Immortal may mean that you have long been registered in his Koshcheev kingdom.

1. The secret of the name

We still do not know the exact origin of the name “Koschei”. The most common version - the name "Koschey" comes from the word "bone" and means a skinny person - is not in fashion among linguists today. Modern researchers of Russian folklore are more inclined to see the roots of the villain either in the Lower Sorbian kostlar (caster), or in the Old Russian “kast” (abomination, muck, etc.). Other scholars believe that the word "koschey" on others Slavic languages translated as skin, neck, bones. So, in Serbian “koschei” - “bone and skin” or “neck”, in Slovenian and Polish - “neck” (Slovenian kitami, Polish chudzielec).

2. Who is Koschey?

Oddly enough, scientists have not yet come to a clear conclusion. Some see Koschei as an interpretation Slavic god death from the cold of Karachun, others - the Russian version of the German god Odin, others - just a somewhat frostbitten sorcerer with large magical abilities. Many modern folklorists generally call for the rehabilitation of Koshchei, declaring that he is not a villain at all, but a kind of role model for a participant in the mystery of initiation of a young girl, which is performed by the father of the initiate.

3. Crimes of Koshchei

In Russian fairy tales, Koschey appears as a very capable sorcerer. Moreover, he was very sophisticated in his magical solutions. So, in the fairy tale “Elena the Beautiful” he turns Ivan Tsarevich into a nut, he “dresses up” the princess from “The Frog Princess” in the skin of an amphibian, and in the fairy tale “Ivan Sosnovich” he deals with the whole kingdom, turning it into stone. The villain himself prefers to turn into a raven.

4. Unsuccessful ladies' man

As a rule, all of Koshchei’s activities are built around young girls. Koschey uses the same failed tactics to win their love: first he spectacularly kidnaps the girl, then unsuccessfully tries to achieve intimacy, and, having failed to achieve it, turns fairy-tale beauties into frogs or snakes.

5. Koschey the Gallant

True, there was a case when the lady reciprocated with Koschey. In the epic “About Ivan Godinovich” the Immortal with the exotic patronymic Tripetovich appears as a gallant, courtly gentleman, wooing the Chernigov princess Marya Dmitrievichna. His rival is the treacherous Ivan Godinovich, who kidnaps Koshchei’s bride and takes her to an open field. Having caught up with the kidnapper, Koschey Tripetovich again asks Beautiful Marya to become his legal wife. And she agrees. Happy couple ties the treacherous Ivan to an oak tree, and they themselves go to indulge in love pleasures in the tent. Then a raven flies in and begins to croak to the lovers that Marya Dmitrievichna will not be Koshcheeva’s wife, but the wife of Ivan Godinovich. In a fit of righteous anger, the Immortal Romeo shoots at the raven, but the arrow changes its trajectory and kills Koshchei himself. Unhappy Marya the Beautiful decides to put an end to Ivan, but he cleverly snatches the saber from her and quarters the girl. The only one ended so tragically romance novel Koshcheya.

6. How to kill Koshchei

In one of the fairy tales, Koschey opened up: “My death is far away: there is an island on the sea on the ocean, on that island there is an oak tree, under the oak tree there is a chest buried, in the chest there is a hare, in the hare there is a duck, in the duck there is an egg, and in the egg there is death.” my". Many scientists saw in this “matryoshka” an interpretation of the model of the universe: water (sea-ocean), earth (island), plants (oak), animals (hare), birds (duck), and the oak is the “world tree”. In other words, you can end Koshchei by destroying the world order.

7. Where does Koschey live and does he have any relatives?

The daughter of Koshchei is Vasilisa (from the Greek basilissa - queen) the Wise (aka the Frog Princess), in another version the father of Vasilisa the Wise is the Sea King. Image " sea ​​kings"goes back to the image of the sea-king - the German leaders of sea campaigns of the Dark Ages (from the Goths to the Vikings), who came from Scandinavia. It is noteworthy that the kingdom of Koshchei is localized in the north. Koschey went to war against Rus' in order to avenge betrayal. By the way, in many fairy tales he is mentioned primarily as a king. Koschey the Immortal: king, slave, sorcerer, does not have the opportunity to die, loves to kidnap maidens, loves gold. Draw a parallel between him and the Scandinavian Troll, and you will get a 100% coincidence, right down to the name, which translates as “slave,” and in both cases there was initially betrayal, and then immortality.

8. Christian interpretation of Koshchei

Some elders of Northern Rus' interpreted Koshchei as the fallen Adam, and Ivan Tsarevich as a “New Testament man.” In other interpretations of “folk Orthodoxy” Koschey symbolized the sinful body, the girl he abducted - human soul, and Ivan Tsarevich is a spirit. The death of Koshchei was interpreted by these ascetics as the cleansing of the soul from sins. True, modern folklorists consider these interpretations anti-scientific.

Koschey the Immortal is not just a character from children's fairy tales - this folklore hero has many stories and even names. So who is he?

Where did Koschey come from: hypotheses of origin

In Slavic mythology, he had a “surname” Chernobogovich - after his father, Chernobog. Then he was not a symbol of evil, although he reigned in Navi - this underground kingdom can be considered an analogue of the Greek Hades and belonged to a host of dark deities. He controlled the souls (and even bodies) of the dead, and also had many spirits under his command. Researchers of myths claim that, despite his power, Koschey did not like battles and participated in a battle only once.

Having migrated to fairy tale folklore, Koschey turned into an evil sorcerer - he could be a king, sometimes just a sorcerer. As a rule, he kidnaps beauties.

Another of his incarnations is the husband of a witch, whose eyelids are always closed. To raise them, the strength of a dozen mighty warriors is needed. Obviously, from this legend he migrated to Gogol’s story about Viya, where he received his next name.

In any case, folklore Koschey is always the embodiment of evil and an antagonist, unlike Baba Yaga, who can also be an assistant to the hero.

Character from the point of view of scientists

The famous scientist James Frazer draws a number of parallels between the image of this folk hero and the famous Samson. They are united by miraculous strength and the fact that they cannot be defeated in a simple way, as well as a tendency to trust women. According to Fraser, these characters come from the same source, which he, however, does not establish.

Slavic ethnographers see in him the Lord of the Black Sun - a symbolic personification of the strength of the people and their power, that is, more of a patron than a pest.

One of the most interesting versions of the origin of the tales of Koshchei is associated with the marriage rites of the Slavs. To initiate a girl into married life, she was symbolically abducted (the custom has survived to this day). This gave rise to a certain generalized image of a kidnapper of girls, who took them to his kingdom (which was regarded as temporary death), and then returned them to the world of the living. According to this version, he is also not an evil hero - only with the advent of Christianity, when the Slavs’ ideas about the world changed, Koschey also changed.

1. In fact, he is not completely immortal, he just dies in a needle, which is very difficult to get.

2. In Polish and Czech fairy tales, this character has a red beard.

3. His name comes from the word “bone”, since this hero was often depicted as a skeleton - or a very bony old man.

4. He can turn into a raven.

5. The symbol of Koshchei is his magic sword.

6. Being generally an unlucky gentleman, one day he will know love - this story is described in epics. The beautiful girl Marya reciprocates the sorcerer's feelings, but she is killed by the treacherous groom.

7. He may lose his strength if he goes for a long time without food, but one sip of water brings him back to normal.

8. And Koschey can turn an entire kingdom into stone as easily as putting frog skin on a person.