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Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen
A collection of fairy tales from Slavic lands. Some of these fairy tales are recognizable as variations of others. Interesting and complex at times, these fairy tales are outstanding bedtime stories.
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1896
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About the author
Aleksander Chodźko
49 books2 followersAleksander Borejko Chodźko was a Polish poet, Slavist, and Iranologist.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 25, 2020
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Elég gyakran szoktam úgy átlagolni, hogy a megírás minősége öt csillag, az élmény három, a végeredmény négy. Na, itt fordított a helyzet. Minőség három, élmény öt. Unalomig ismert mesék nem túl érdekes verzióit tartalmazza a kötet, minden utalás nélkül arra, hogy hol, kiktől, mikor gyűjtötték őket. A cím olyan elvárásokat kelt, amelynek a tartalom nem tud megfelelni (ezek lengyel, esetleg orosz mesék, a többi szláv nép sehol), ráadásul elég sok az ismétlődő motívum. Gyerekeknek semmiképp nem ajánlom. DE! Amire nekem kell, arra egyszerűen tökéletes.
Amikor Sapkowski Vaják-sorozatának első részét olvastam, végig azon nyavalyogtam, hogy hol vannak a sajátosan lengyel népmesei alakok. Nem igaz, hogy nem lehet elég ijesztőeket találni közöttük. Igen, persze, tudom, az abban felhasznált történetek (Hófehérke, a Szépség és a Szörnyeteg stb.) nemzetköziek, meg általában a népmesék kiválóan tudnak közlekedni kultúrák között, de akkor is, hogy csak egy-két huszadrangú mellékszereplő erejéig bukkanjon fel ez a mesevilág, és pont egy lengyel szerző művében?!
Na, itt aztán kaptam őket orrba-szájba, horrorral vagy anélkül. Náluk is van Baba Jaga meg Halhatatlan Koscsej, vannak az elemek fölött uralkodó királyok és az időt (a tizenkét hónapot) irányító öregember, hosszú szakállú púpos törpe és társaik. De nem ez az igazán érdekes. Hanem például az, hogy Baba Jaga orosz mozsár és mozsártörő helyett tölgyfa teknővel és vasmankóval közlekedik, utóbbi igény szerint tömegmészárlásra vagy evezésre is használható. Vagy az, hogy ha egy állat életét (aki utóbb hálás lehet az életmentésért) kőhajítással próbáljuk megmenteni, és véletlenül egy öngyilkos koponyáját kapjuk fel kő helyett, azzal az öngyilkos lelke kimenthető a pokolból (persze tisztes temetés után), és ráadásul még azt is megmondja, mivel tudjuk szolgálatunkba állítani a lovát. Van baziliszkusz is, de csak a feje, a testéből hegy lett a testvére árulása után, és őt is meg kell menteni. A túlvilági démonokat rövid kabátjukról, szűk nadrágjukról és háromszögletű kalapjukról lehet fölismerni, a gyilkosok kezét forró szurokba mártogatják, a nyakukat fából készült fűrésszel fűrészelik a túlvilágon, egyébként meg a királykisasszonyok a legjobb rejtvénykészítők.
Sok-sok mindent fel fogok tudni belőle használni, ezért az élménnyel a legteljesebb mértékben elégedett vagyok. Ilyen mesegyűjtemény jöhet még sok. Ez a legelsők között van, tudom, még a XIX. század végén készült.
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When I give a book four stars, it quite often means I calculated the arithmetic mean of five stars for the quality of writing and three for my experience of reading. This time, it's the opposite. I can give the quality three stars. This is a volume of not too interesting versions of well-known folk tales, without any reference to where, when and from whom they were collected. The title raises expectations not fulfilled by the contents (there are Polish tales in it, maybe some Russian ones, and that's it, no other Slavic nations are represented). It's definitely not for children (they would probably get bored by it). BUT! The experience is definitely worth five stars to me, because it's just what I needed at the moment.
Reading the first volume of The Witcher series, I was really dissatisfied with the lack of specifically Polish folk tale characters or motifs. There must be so many wonderful (or horrendous) ones, why are they not made use of? Of course I know the folk tales used by Sapkowski are international, and folk tales in general can cross borderlines extremely easily, but even so, how can a Polish writer give only minor roles to figures from Polish folk culture?
Here, I had heaps of them all the time. They have Baba Yaga, too, as well as Kostei the Immortal; they have kings ruling over elements and an old man directing time (the twelve months, that is); they have a dwarf with a hump and a long beard; they have all these figures and more, but that's not exactly what I found interesting. I found Baba Yaga's oaken trough and iron crutch interesting (in that, she's unlike her Russian counterpart, who has a mortar for the same purpose), and that she uses the latter for massacring an army or paddling in the sea. Or that when you save an animal's life by throwing a stone, it may turn out to have been the scull of a suicide whom you can save from the flames of hell for saving a life (after a decent burial of course), and who can even tell you how to make their horse help you. There's a basilisk here as well - his head, I mean, his body having turned into a mountain after his brother's betrayal -, and he should also be saved. Demons from the other world can be recognised by their short overcoats, their tight pantaloons and their three-cornered hats; murderer's hands are dipped into burning pitch and their necks are sawed with wooden saws in hell; and princesses are the best at riddle-making.
There are lots of motifs and figures I can use from the book; that's why I'm absolutely satisfied with the experience. It's one of the first folk tale collections in Polish culture. I'll be definitely seeking others in the future.
Elég gyakran szoktam úgy átlagolni, hogy a megírás minősége öt csillag, az élmény három, a végeredmény négy. Na, itt fordított a helyzet. Minőség három, élmény öt. Unalomig ismert mesék nem túl érdekes verzióit tartalmazza a kötet, minden utalás nélkül arra, hogy hol, kiktől, mikor gyűjtötték őket. A cím olyan elvárásokat kelt, amelynek a tartalom nem tud megfelelni (ezek lengyel, esetleg orosz mesék, a többi szláv nép sehol), ráadásul elég sok az ismétlődő motívum. Gyerekeknek semmiképp nem ajánlom. DE! Amire nekem kell, arra egyszerűen tökéletes.
Amikor Sapkowski Vaják-sorozatának első részét olvastam, végig azon nyavalyogtam, hogy hol vannak a sajátosan lengyel népmesei alakok. Nem igaz, hogy nem lehet elég ijesztőeket találni közöttük. Igen, persze, tudom, az abban felhasznált történetek (Hófehérke, a Szépség és a Szörnyeteg stb.) nemzetköziek, meg általában a népmesék kiválóan tudnak közlekedni kultúrák között, de akkor is, hogy csak egy-két huszadrangú mellékszereplő erejéig bukkanjon fel ez a mesevilág, és pont egy lengyel szerző művében?!
Na, itt aztán kaptam őket orrba-szájba, horrorral vagy anélkül. Náluk is van Baba Jaga meg Halhatatlan Koscsej, vannak az elemek fölött uralkodó királyok és az időt (a tizenkét hónapot) irányító öregember, hosszú szakállú púpos törpe és társaik. De nem ez az igazán érdekes. Hanem például az, hogy Baba Jaga orosz mozsár és mozsártörő helyett tölgyfa teknővel és vasmankóval közlekedik, utóbbi igény szerint tömegmészárlásra vagy evezésre is használható. Vagy az, hogy ha egy állat életét (aki utóbb hálás lehet az életmentésért) kőhajítással próbáljuk megmenteni, és véletlenül egy öngyilkos koponyáját kapjuk fel kő helyett, azzal az öngyilkos lelke kimenthető a pokolból (persze tisztes temetés után), és ráadásul még azt is megmondja, mivel tudjuk szolgálatunkba állítani a lovát. Van baziliszkusz is, de csak a feje, a testéből hegy lett a testvére árulása után, és őt is meg kell menteni. A túlvilági démonokat rövid kabátjukról, szűk nadrágjukról és háromszögletű kalapjukról lehet fölismerni, a gyilkosok kezét forró szurokba mártogatják, a nyakukat fából készült fűrésszel fűrészelik a túlvilágon, egyébként meg a királykisasszonyok a legjobb rejtvénykészítők.
Sok-sok mindent fel fogok tudni belőle használni, ezért az élménnyel a legteljesebb mértékben elégedett vagyok. Ilyen mesegyűjtemény jöhet még sok. Ez a legelsők között van, tudom, még a XIX. század végén készült.
--------------
When I give a book four stars, it quite often means I calculated the arithmetic mean of five stars for the quality of writing and three for my experience of reading. This time, it's the opposite. I can give the quality three stars. This is a volume of not too interesting versions of well-known folk tales, without any reference to where, when and from whom they were collected. The title raises expectations not fulfilled by the contents (there are Polish tales in it, maybe some Russian ones, and that's it, no other Slavic nations are represented). It's definitely not for children (they would probably get bored by it). BUT! The experience is definitely worth five stars to me, because it's just what I needed at the moment.
Reading the first volume of The Witcher series, I was really dissatisfied with the lack of specifically Polish folk tale characters or motifs. There must be so many wonderful (or horrendous) ones, why are they not made use of? Of course I know the folk tales used by Sapkowski are international, and folk tales in general can cross borderlines extremely easily, but even so, how can a Polish writer give only minor roles to figures from Polish folk culture?
Here, I had heaps of them all the time. They have Baba Yaga, too, as well as Kostei the Immortal; they have kings ruling over elements and an old man directing time (the twelve months, that is); they have a dwarf with a hump and a long beard; they have all these figures and more, but that's not exactly what I found interesting. I found Baba Yaga's oaken trough and iron crutch interesting (in that, she's unlike her Russian counterpart, who has a mortar for the same purpose), and that she uses the latter for massacring an army or paddling in the sea. Or that when you save an animal's life by throwing a stone, it may turn out to have been the scull of a suicide whom you can save from the flames of hell for saving a life (after a decent burial of course), and who can even tell you how to make their horse help you. There's a basilisk here as well - his head, I mean, his body having turned into a mountain after his brother's betrayal -, and he should also be saved. Demons from the other world can be recognised by their short overcoats, their tight pantaloons and their three-cornered hats; murderer's hands are dipped into burning pitch and their necks are sawed with wooden saws in hell; and princesses are the best at riddle-making.
There are lots of motifs and figures I can use from the book; that's why I'm absolutely satisfied with the experience. It's one of the first folk tale collections in Polish culture. I'll be definitely seeking others in the future.
August 11, 2016
I personally liked it but only because of my love for slavic folklore. I was greatly amused by the mix of christian and pagan beliefs - classic Poland, less so by the lack of interesting females, but that was to be expected. The writing is dull, the motifs overdone - I know that's how it goes in the genre but I'm judging from a modern reader's standpoint and it really bothered me. There were maybe 5 that grabbed my attention or inspired me in some way.
July 22, 2016
3,5*
Certainly interesting, but I feel the title is very broad and inclusive. I'd say maybe Polish or Russian Slav tales. Lots of similarities to German fairy tales, and not that different to Slavic tales from Southeast Europe(still in my opinion the title is a bit broad).
Certainly interesting, but I feel the title is very broad and inclusive. I'd say maybe Polish or Russian Slav tales. Lots of similarities to German fairy tales, and not that different to Slavic tales from Southeast Europe(still in my opinion the title is a bit broad).
May 9, 2017
Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen is an excessively earnest collection of fairy tales presumably from Poland and its Eastern slavic neighbours (Belarus, Lithuania, etc. ) Chodźko has a very impressive résumé. He succeeded Adam Mickiewicz as chair of Slavic at Collège de France a post which he held from 1857 until 1883. In addition he was also was a member of the Royal Asiatic Society of London and the Russian Imperial Institute of Oriental Studies. Unfortunately, if the English translation of this work is any indication, he had no literary flair whatsoever.
In addition to Chodżko's very pedestrian writing style, this collection also suffers very badly from repetition. Most of the stories have for hero a poor peasant boy who leaves his farm hoping to find a way to support his mother. Early on he commits an act of gratuitous charity to either a human beggar or to a weak animal being pursued by a predator who turns out to be a magic creature with great powers who will assist the hero to overcome all the obstacles in his path. The hero will then encounter a king who will send him out on a perilous mission promising him the hand of his daughter if he succeeds. Once the mission is accomplished, the King will typically renege and send the hero out on two more additional missions before consenting to the marriage. At this point, the princess will make him answer three to six riddles before agreeing to marry him.
None of the fairy tales in this academic collection have made it into the popular repertory in Poland. Poles today North America and Western Europeans introduce their children primarily to tales from the Grimm brothers anthology or from the work of Hans Christian Anderson. Chodzko's book does however have the virtue of being brief and thus is worth the time needed to read it for any adult with an ethnographic interest in fairy tales. Young readers will find simply that the tales lack any magic.
In addition to Chodżko's very pedestrian writing style, this collection also suffers very badly from repetition. Most of the stories have for hero a poor peasant boy who leaves his farm hoping to find a way to support his mother. Early on he commits an act of gratuitous charity to either a human beggar or to a weak animal being pursued by a predator who turns out to be a magic creature with great powers who will assist the hero to overcome all the obstacles in his path. The hero will then encounter a king who will send him out on a perilous mission promising him the hand of his daughter if he succeeds. Once the mission is accomplished, the King will typically renege and send the hero out on two more additional missions before consenting to the marriage. At this point, the princess will make him answer three to six riddles before agreeing to marry him.
None of the fairy tales in this academic collection have made it into the popular repertory in Poland. Poles today North America and Western Europeans introduce their children primarily to tales from the Grimm brothers anthology or from the work of Hans Christian Anderson. Chodzko's book does however have the virtue of being brief and thus is worth the time needed to read it for any adult with an ethnographic interest in fairy tales. Young readers will find simply that the tales lack any magic.
June 10, 2020
I had stumbled across this book while looking up illustrations by Emily J. Harding. Harding completed some very nice line drawings to accompany the text, reminiscent of H. J. Ford or Walter Crane. She also translated the text, and I rather enjoyed her fussy, slightly-archaic style.
If one has never encountered fairy tales of Eastern Europe, these may feel quite fresh. Cinderella is not here, nor Goldilocks or the other heroes and heroines Grimm, Perrault, and Disney popularized. Probably the best known character that turns up in these tales is the Baba Yaga, though she has many guises and roles between these tales.
Curiously, the stories are organized in a way so that themes and concepts repeat between them. A few stories in a row feature the personified 12 months sitting on a mountain. Another set of tales feature a lazy fool who acquires magical items. Princesses who demand answers to riddles appear more than once, as do magical horses, lords of the underworld, the Three Waters of Life, and more. At times the book feels more like an encyclopedia of folk tales, rather than a collection to amuse because so many of the stories repeat motifs and elements. Really, wouldn't only one story about a club that beats people so hard it feels "like boiling water was being poured on them" suffice? The redundancy makes the book a little less fun to read.
The thing I enjoyed most was just how bonkers some of the tales were. Magical items are plenty and unusual. Need to find your frozen brothers on a mountain? Follow this magical pincushion that will roll to them. Need a suit of armor? Walk through your mystical horse's right ear and come out the left, and you'll be so dressed. Sashes become lakes. Thankful trees drop golden acorns. A princess weeps pearls for her lost brother. A talking horse commands its master to kill and resurrect it repeatedly to finish the quest, &c, &c...
Maybe 4 stars is too generous, but 3 didn't seem enough.
If one has never encountered fairy tales of Eastern Europe, these may feel quite fresh. Cinderella is not here, nor Goldilocks or the other heroes and heroines Grimm, Perrault, and Disney popularized. Probably the best known character that turns up in these tales is the Baba Yaga, though she has many guises and roles between these tales.
Curiously, the stories are organized in a way so that themes and concepts repeat between them. A few stories in a row feature the personified 12 months sitting on a mountain. Another set of tales feature a lazy fool who acquires magical items. Princesses who demand answers to riddles appear more than once, as do magical horses, lords of the underworld, the Three Waters of Life, and more. At times the book feels more like an encyclopedia of folk tales, rather than a collection to amuse because so many of the stories repeat motifs and elements. Really, wouldn't only one story about a club that beats people so hard it feels "like boiling water was being poured on them" suffice? The redundancy makes the book a little less fun to read.
The thing I enjoyed most was just how bonkers some of the tales were. Magical items are plenty and unusual. Need to find your frozen brothers on a mountain? Follow this magical pincushion that will roll to them. Need a suit of armor? Walk through your mystical horse's right ear and come out the left, and you'll be so dressed. Sashes become lakes. Thankful trees drop golden acorns. A princess weeps pearls for her lost brother. A talking horse commands its master to kill and resurrect it repeatedly to finish the quest, &c, &c...
Maybe 4 stars is too generous, but 3 didn't seem enough.
September 14, 2019
The illustrations are nice. The fairytales I didn't like as a child, but wanted to read them now as an adult to see if i would change my mind about them. I didn't...
December 30, 2010
These were some of the best fairy tales I've read--and I've read a lot of fairy tales.
Want to read
April 12, 2013ebook version; http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2997/fa...
March 30, 2017
It starts with Gods and Ends With Princesses
The first half is full of stories I hadn't read before, and while it ended with some of the old reliables, they were all told with an unfamiliar twist. Not too Anglicized either. Enjoy
The first half is full of stories I hadn't read before, and while it ended with some of the old reliables, they were all told with an unfamiliar twist. Not too Anglicized either. Enjoy
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews