E-mail: tkhlybova@yandex.ru
Moscow, Russian Federation PhD in Philology, Independent Researcher
This article is devoted to the influence of church tradition on the image of the Virgin in folk culture. It is based on data of ancient Russian sphragistics (the seals of archbishops and bishops) and legal documents (e. g., “The Charter of Prince Vladimir”). The author suggests that these materials have not been sufficiently considered in the study of folk religiosity and, having subjected them to analysis, she offers an interpretation why the Mother of God theme was popular in folklore, This is connected to the symbolic meaning of the Virgin as a church, which is clearly manifested in her image on the seals of archbishops and bishops, in the prevalence of temples dedicated to the Theotokos in the pre-Mongol period, and in her involvement in the law of ancient Russia. The article complements the arguments of those who have seen the early influence of Christianity on the formation of the plot, figurative, and ideological structure of folklore, as well as its poetic, stylistic and lexical features. The article, as well as the data presented, serve as material for further research into folk Orthodoxy and rethinking the role of the Church in the formation of many folklore motifs and images associated with Russian religiosity.
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