Russian Folk Belief / Edition 1

by Linda J. Ivanits

Overview

A scholarly work that aims to be both broad enough in scope to satisfy upper-division undergraduates studying folk belief and narrative and detailed enough to meet the needs of graduate students in the field. Each of the seven chapters in Part 1 focuses on one aspect of Russian folk belief, such as the pagan background, Christian personages, devils and various other logical categories of the topic. The author's thesis - that Russian folk belief represents a "double faith" whereby Slavic pagan beliefs are overlaid with popular Christianity - is persuasive and has analogies in other cultures. The folk narratives constituting Part 2 are translated and include a wide range of tales, from the briefly anecdotal to the more fully developed narrative, covering the various folk personages and motifs explored in Part 1.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780873328890
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/30/1992
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	503,142
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

LINDA J. IVANITS studied at Pennsylvania State University and at the University of Wisconsin, where she received her Ph.D. in Russian literature. She is currently Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature at Pennsylvania State University.Professor Ivanits is the author of a number of articles on literature, folklore, and related topics, including "Dostoevski's Mar'ja Lebjadkina," "Folk Beliefs about the Unclean Force in The Brothers Karamazov," "Hagiography in Brat'ja Karamazovy," "Sologub's Fantasy Creatures," "Fairy Tale Motifs in Sologub's Dream on the Rocks," and "The Grotesque in Sologub's Novel The Petty Demon"

Table of Contents

Part 1 Folk Beliefs about the Supernatural; Chapter 1 The Pagan Background; Chapter 2 Christian Personages; Chapter 3 The Devil; Chapter 4 Spirits of the House and Farmstead; Chapter 5 Spirits of the Forest, Waters, and Fields; Chapter 6 Russian Sorcery; Chapter 7 “Spoiling” and Healing; Part 2 Folk Narratives about the Supernatural; Chapter 8 Legends, Fabulates, and Memorates; Chapter 9 Creation Legends; Chapter 10 Biblical Personages and Saints; Chapter 11 Devils; Chapter 12 The Domovoi and Other Domestic Spirits; Chapter 13 Nature Spirits; Chapter 14 Sorcerers and Witches;

Editorial Reviews

Ivanits (Russian and comparative literature, Penn. State U.) includes chapters on paganism, biblical personages and saints, the devil, spirits, witches and sorcerers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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