 | The epic songs of Russia |  |
Ivan Godinovich
PULLING off the bridegroom's boots, in token of
wifely submission, was one of the ceremonies
which were regularly performed after a wedding.
Apparently, in the oldest versions of this song, Avdotya's
refusal to pull off Ivan's boot was the direct cause of
her death.
Ivan's experience with Avdotya the White Swan
is supposed to reflect that of Prince Vladimir with
Rognyeda, daughter of Rogvolod, Prince of the
Polotzki. "I will not marry the son of a slave," she
said, in answer to Vladimir's proposal of marriage,
and prepared to wed his half-brother Yaropolk.
Koschei represents Yaropolk. This was in allusion
to Vladimir's mother, who had been a servant of his
grandmother. Vladimir slew Rogvolod and Yaropolk,
and forced Rognyeda to wed him.
After several years, so runs the legend, Rognyeda
attempted to kill Vladimir in his sleep, by way of
avenging her father's death and her own wrongs.
Vladimir woke, and seized her hand as she held the
dagger over him. Then he ordered her to dress herself
in her wedding garments, and wait for him, intending
to kill her with his own hand. But she put a
sword into the hands of her little son, and bade him
greet his father with the words: "Father, thou thinkest
that thou art alone here!" Touched by the sight of
his son, Vladimir summoned his boyars, and begged
them to judge the matter. On their advice, he sent
Rognyeda and her son back to her native land. Her
warred against the descendants of Vladimir by other
wives.
Ivan's wooing, as well as Dunaï's wooing for Prince
Vladimir, furnishes a picture of that rough, forceful
manner of courtship which prevailed in the old patriarchal
days. The memory of it is preserved in a great
many wedding songs, which represent the bride as
purchased or stolen away by an entire stranger. There
is a striking likeness between the birds which surround
Avdotya and the two peacocks which hover over the
head of Hilda in Dietrich of Berne. This is a very
ancient trait, pointing to a supernatural being.
| The epic songs of Russia | |