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Elizabeth Warner

Russian Myths (Legendary Past Series) Paperback – July 1, 2002

by Elizabeth Warner (Author)

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The coming of Christianity to the state of Kievan Rus' at the end of the tenth century had an enormous impact on the development of Russian civilization. Despite the abandonment of the pagan gods, both Christian and pagan practices and beliefs continued to coexist for centuries, producing a system known as "dual faith."

Russian Myths deals with mythic beliefs, notions, and customs—concerning the veneration of earth, water, fire, and air, demons and spirit-beings in the world of nature, the cult of the dead, and witchcraft—many of which have their roots in the pre-Christian past but still survive to the present day. To illuminate the evolution of major themes and motifs and set Russian myths in the context of mythology the world over, Elizabeth Warner draws upon a rich variety of sources, including anecdotal narrative forms and religious legends, epic songs, funeral laments and folk religion, and, of course, the folktales where the sacred gives way to pure imagination in the depiction of mythic themes and characters.

Print length

80 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of Texas Press
Publication date

July 1, 2002
Dimensions

6 x 0.25 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0292791585
ISBN-13

978-0292791589
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this new addition to "The Legendary Past" series, Warner (Russian, emerita, Univ. of Durham), an authority on Russian folklore and ethnography, gives an overiew of the customs and themes underlying Russian beliefs. While the advent of Christianity at the end of the tenth century profoundly affected the development of the culture, pagan beliefs have continued to coexist with the new religion to the present day, resulting in a "dual faith." Drawing upon a variety of sources (e.g., epic songs, funeral laments, religious legends), Warner expertly discusses the most significant themes of this faith the cult of the dead, animism in nature, and magic to shed light on the development of major themes in Russian mythology. There is no formal bibliography, though a "Suggestions for Further Reading" section is included, as is an index and a selection of works in Russian used in preparation. A glossary would have been beneficial, as the author uses a variety of Russian folkloric terms, each defined once and briefly within the text. Nonetheless, this basic introduction to the subject provides information invaluable to understanding the primary sources; recommended for folklore collections in all libraries. [Other titles in the series include Aztec and Maya Myths, Celtic Myths, Chinese Myths, Egyptian Myths, and many more. Ed.] Katherine Kaigler-Koenig, The Ellis Sch., Pittsburg.
- Katherine Kaigler-Koenig, The Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Elizabeth Warner is Emerita Professor of Russian, University of Durham, where she was formerly Head of the Department of Slavonic Studies.

Product details

Publisher : University of Texas Press; 1st edition (July 1, 2002)
Language : English
Paperback : 80 pages
ISBN-10 : 0292791585
ISBN-13 : 978-0292791589
Item Weight : 7.8 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.25 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,460,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,348 in Comparative Religion (Books)
- #4,599 in Folklore & Mythology Studies
- #29,426 in Sociology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
16 ratings

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Jeffrey Huntington

Credit for trying

Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2016

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This is too big a subject to cover in a book of this size and scope. There are several challenges: The peoples who lived in Russia weren't all "Russians;" their beliefs varied quite a bit over time and space; and, as far as I can tell, there wasn't any national religion in the distant past. I'll bet there are patterns and broad generalizations which could be drawn, but this book does not go that deep. I give the author credit for trying. We really do need to understand pre-Christian beliefs better.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Depending on your requirements, this may not be the book for you.

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2010

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If you are looking for a lot of information on Russian myths and/or folk beliefs, this extremely slender and overpriced volume is not the place to turn. (As an alternative, you might try Russian Folk Belief by Linda Ivanits, which, while a bit too scholarly in tone for easy digestion, is still full of valuable bits of information. In particular, I appreciate how she places beliefs and mythology in the context of both time and place, as these folk beliefs change over time.) The mythology in Russian Myths, while fine for what it is, can be found in other places as well--with more stories. However, as I was looking for reference material related to the region's folk beliefs, this was fairly useless to me.

16 people found this helpful

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Lena

Perfect

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

Perfect and as described. Thank you

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Yelena P. Francis

Good quality book

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2009

Verified Purchase

This is a very good book for those who like folklore: everything is in concentrated form, well-illustrated, rather easy to read in comparison with most research books. Logical, clear, very useful in Russian Folklore Course.

One person found this helpful

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NIKOLAI M VITSYN

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2014

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Thank you!

Helpful

Vaygar-Ingvald Elmersson aka Caroll EH Reimer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2015

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I look forward to reading it.

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Rodnover

Not the best out there.

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2011

As someone who has been avidly studying Slavic folklore and myth for four years, I found this book disappointing. It may be a good place to start, but there are many books out there which contain much more information. Some of what the book contains, I would consider downright misinformation:

For instance, the author actually denies that the folklore about St.Elijah has any non-Christian influence, even though countless folklorists have submitted evidence of this. Granted, St. Elijah brought fire down from the sky as a miracle in the Old Testament, but in Slavic folklore, St.Elijah is *literally* up in the sky causing each thunderstorm, battling the devil with stone arrows. He is wrathful, and ruins the crops of peasants who don't honor him. In Serbia, he also throws lightning-spitting golden apples, and in Bulgaria shoots arrows at dragons who with-hold rain from the earth. The Russian peasants actually used to call Saint icons "Bogi" (Gods). Yet she claims there is nothing at all extra-Biblical about St.Elijah in Slavic folklore. This author clearly is all about intact mythology, and cannot be bothered to comb through folklore.

Much better books would be Forests of the Vampire (Slavic Myth and Mankind). Bulgarian folk customs by Mercia MacDermott, and Songs of the Russian People for anyone interested in Slavic myth and folklore.

11 people found this helpful

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Cwn_Annwn

Good introduction to Slavic Pagan Beliefs

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2009

Really just as much about Russian Pagan beliefs, Gods, folklore and folk custom as much as any Russian mythological system. Its a short and basic book but is also full of nice illustrations. This seems to me like a very good introductory book for someone studying this books subject matter. I look forward to reading more about the Slavic interpretations of the Indo-European Gods in the future.

3 people found this helpful

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David in Sussex

Short but good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2009

Verified Purchase

Russian Myths (The Legendary Past)

A very informative and enjoyable book. Well presented, covering a complex subject in a concise and understandable manner. I would have liked it to have been longer and expanded on the folk-tales referenced in more detail but allowing that the book format is only 80 pages long I think Elizabeth Warner has done an excellent job in setting out and explaining the key elements of Russian mythology. This is a good overview of Russian folk beliefs and myths but it is not a collection of myths and folk-tales.

One person found this helpful

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