Tricking up the expansionist plot : Vassian and Nigrin as 'classicist magi' in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779)
- Author
- Michel De Dobbeleer (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- In Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (Rossiad), praised (for a while) as Russia’s national epic, two characters, the mysterious hermit Vassian and the vicious sorcerer Nigrin, occupy a special place because of their capacity to do magic. This article explores whether these magi and their tricks have any historical basis – the Rossiada tells about the successful siege of Kazan’ in 1552 – and also examines the literary predecessors of the two magi have in the rich European epic tradition. Especially Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata and its parallel plot must have been a great source of inspiration. It turns out that the presence of magic in the Rossiada has little or nothing to do with Kheraskov’s potential interest in authentic Russian magic. Actually, it was the Aristotelian poetical concept of the marvellous which the classicist poet took into account when he constructed his epic plot.
- Keywords
- cerise, magic, epic, Aristotle, Russian literature, 18th century
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8544221
- MLA
- De Dobbeleer, Michel. “Tricking up the Expansionist Plot : Vassian and Nigrin as ‘classicist Magi’ in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779).” RUSSIAN LITERATURE, vol. 93–94, Elsevie, 2017, pp. 131–52, doi:10.1016/j.ruslit.2017.11.004.
- APA
- De Dobbeleer, M. (2017). Tricking up the expansionist plot : Vassian and Nigrin as “classicist magi” in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779). RUSSIAN LITERATURE, 93–94, 131–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ruslit.2017.11.004
- Chicago author-date
- De Dobbeleer, Michel. 2017. “Tricking up the Expansionist Plot : Vassian and Nigrin as ‘classicist Magi’ in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779).” RUSSIAN LITERATURE 93–94: 131–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ruslit.2017.11.004.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- De Dobbeleer, Michel. 2017. “Tricking up the Expansionist Plot : Vassian and Nigrin as ‘classicist Magi’ in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779).” RUSSIAN LITERATURE 93–94: 131–152. doi:10.1016/j.ruslit.2017.11.004.
- Vancouver
- 1.De Dobbeleer M. Tricking up the expansionist plot : Vassian and Nigrin as “classicist magi” in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779). RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 2017;93–94:131–52.
- IEEE
- [1]M. De Dobbeleer, “Tricking up the expansionist plot : Vassian and Nigrin as ‘classicist magi’ in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779),” RUSSIAN LITERATURE, vol. 93–94, pp. 131–152, 2017.
@article{8544221,
abstract = {{In Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (Rossiad), praised (for a while) as Russia’s national epic, two characters, the mysterious hermit Vassian and the vicious sorcerer Nigrin, occupy a special place because of their capacity to do magic. This article explores whether these magi and their tricks have any historical basis – the Rossiada tells about the successful siege of Kazan’ in 1552 – and also examines the literary predecessors of the two magi have in the rich
European epic tradition. Especially Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata and its parallel plot must have been a great source of inspiration. It turns out that the presence of magic in the Rossiada has little or nothing to do with Kheraskov’s
potential interest in authentic Russian magic. Actually, it was the Aristotelian poetical concept of the marvellous which the classicist poet took into account when he constructed his epic plot.}},
author = {{De Dobbeleer, Michel}},
issn = {{0304-3479}},
journal = {{RUSSIAN LITERATURE}},
keywords = {{cerise,magic,epic,Aristotle,Russian literature,18th century}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{131--152}},
publisher = {{Elsevie}},
title = {{Tricking up the expansionist plot : Vassian and Nigrin as 'classicist magi' in Mikhail Kheraskov’s Rossiada (1779)}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ruslit.2017.11.004}},
volume = {{93-94}},
year = {{2017}},
}
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