Fun and drunkenness in Russia have always been relevant. There is a legend that at one time Kievan Rus adopted Christianity, because Islam forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Fun is also a necessary attribute of the joy and happiness of a Russian person.
Who are buffoons? To be found out in this article.
Buffoons in Russia - who are they?
First of all, buffoons are non-standard people of their time. Among some scientists, there is an opinion that buffoons are a separate class of the people of Russia. There are nobles, philistines, peasants. But who are these buffoons? We will try to find the answer to this question in this article.
Russian buffoon is an actor who moved around and made people laugh. Such a wandering representative, whose music of Ancient Russia was unique.
These people acted as singers, musicians, conquerors of the souls and moods of the people. They could simultaneously dance, play musical instruments and sing long and cheerful songs.
The folk art of Ancient Russia is buffoons. They are the main carriers of folk art. In addition to singing, dancing and playing musical instruments, they could perform various tricks, perform in masks and amusethe public. These were the best talents of their time, who gave their souls to the people.
But is this the whole answer to the question "who are buffoons"? No.
Buffoons in Russia were also teachers who passed on their skills and the science of laughter to young people.
They often accepted invitations to various festive events. At a Russian wedding, a cheerful buffoon is an analogue of our concept of "master of ceremonies". The presence of these representatives of peace, joy and laughter has always made any celebration even more fun and bright.
Origin of the word
The word "buffoon" in different sources is interpreted differently. However, they all have a common essence. You can understand who these buffoons are through the word "laughter". This is how this name is translated from Arabic and Greek.
"Joke, laughter, mockery, master of joke" - these are the approximate meanings of the word from different languages of the world.
The word "buffoon" came to Russia from France, where itinerant musicians and jesters were called "scaramouche". Not a single celebration could do without them, so they were greeted with joy by both local and visiting spectators.
History. Home
It is not known exactly when buffoons appeared in Russia. Scientists are arguing about this and cite various facts as arguments.
However, the most common version says that buffoons appeared in Russia in the middle of the XI century. Many draw this conclusion because of the frescoes that were discovered in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. It was 1037. On the frescoes you can clearly see that people are depicted there,who, with the help of various instruments and outfits, amuse the crowd.
Buffoons constantly performed in narrow streets and wide squares. They not only held performances on their own, but also involved the audience who watched them in this process. The performance of a buffoon for a peasant of ancient Russia is always a holiday where the whole family came to gawk.
Skomorokhovs were often invited to their courts by princes and boyars for a fee. They were very popular at court. Princes and boyars loved to discuss not only business, but also to laugh at the songs and ditties of buffoons.
They were so in demand that over time they were reflected even in art and literature. Art is frescoes and many paintings by artists that depict buffoons and people laughing around.
Even Dobrynya Nikitich himself appeared at the feast of his wife. He dressed up as a buffoon to get in.
Domra is a buffoon's instrument
It was mentioned in the article that buffoons used special instruments for music, which made their performances more vivid and rich.
The main instrument of the buffoon is domra, which belongs to the class of plucked instruments and has an oval wooden body. It comes in two varieties: three-string and four-string.
Three-string is an earlier domra model. It was just used by the buffoons of Ancient Russia. The four-stringed instrument appeared much later.
The history of domra and the history of Russiaintersect just on buffoons. This instrument is unique in that at that time it was used exclusively by buffoons and no one else. Now they would say that it was exclusively their "trick", which became the hallmark of itinerant artists.
Domra was considered a companion of folk actors and musicians who walked around houses, streets, squares and cheered the people. The music of Ancient Russia was inextricably linked with this unique instrument. To date, harps, tambourines and bagpipes have successfully sung with domra. Their joint sound is very harmonious and unique.
How did the buffoon dress?
Having de alt with the image of the buffoon, I want to know how they dressed. After all, it should not be random and the first clothes that come across.
Buffoons are public people whose main goal is to amuse people. So, they should be dressed simply, cheerfully and according to the stage image.
Buffoons were dressed in a tunic with stripes. They always had a long and bright caftan. It was girded with a special thread belt, which was considered an obligatory attribute. Without such a belt, walking in Russia for a man was considered a real shame! There were no women in the ranks of buffoons.
The belt protected a person from adversity, bad and evil forces that could harm his life, and meant that the world accepted this person.
The buffoon's cap is a separate part of the image, which was considered entertaining. It was oblong and always dangled in different directions. The buffoon's hat gavea ridiculous look to his master, which made it possible for people to laugh not only at his jokes, but also at his image.
Creativity buffoon
Each group of buffoons who acted together had their own program and repertoire. The most common genres of creativity of such artists were jokes, songs, plays, performances, ditties and various scenes from life. In particular, they depicted simple and funny everyday situations that can arise in real life between father and son, husband and wife, relatives and friends.
Humor and jokes occupied the lion's share in their work. It is the buffoons who are credited with creating many epics and fairy tales. It was believed that these people were associated with ancient paganism. They were not subject to church influence and believed that the main thing was to be mischievous in spirit without the participation of the church in the lives of ordinary people.
Flourishing
The buffoons achieved the greatest flourishing at the very beginning of their activities. Approximately in the XII-XIV centuries.
It was a period when buffoons freely walked the streets and performed with their numbers. They influenced the minds of people through the prism of performance and humor. Most often there were buffoons at the fair, where there were a lot of people. There they gave their best concerts. The dance of the buffoons was a separate element that made their performances more impressive.
Over time, the authorities and the church have questions about the art and creativity of buffoons.
Decay
Slowly the musical and entertainment movement of buffoons fell into decline. There were several reasons for this.
Wo-First, the church was opposed to buffoons because they were associated with paganism. Most church teachings are on fire that entertainment is a sin that people produce on earth. Idleness is not the best way to give God credit for life and the happiness you have.
The performances of buffoons in Russia were considered "blasphemous". The Lord does not recognize such public amusements. Satire was recognized outside the church.
Secondly, the jokes and funny songs of buffoons were often associated with the church and the king. Buffoons ridiculed the official Christian church in Russia in every possible way. The king also did not stand aside. The buffoons joked about him. The king took such entertainment personally.
Thirdly, buffoons were often engaged in not only fun and performances. Having united in groups, they went to entertain the people with the aim of robbery. The annals contain information about the atrocities of wandering artists in Russia.
All these reasons began to lead the buffoon movement to decline. After a while, they passed the baton to booths and districts, which retained some of the traditions of the art of their predecessors.
Church Opposition
Buffoons due to interference in their work of the church fell into decay until the XV century. However, they were not officially cancelled. In different regions of Russia, they arose and continued to amuse the people.
Only in the middle of the 17th century, the famous Archbishop Nikon achieved that the folk art of Ancient Russia, like buffoonery, was banned by official decree. This isbecame one of the main events in the art of that time. The royal decrees on the abolition of buffoonery in Russia said that “buffoons and their listeners must be beaten with batogs and inventory should be destroyed.”
After this order, free artists officially disappeared from the pages of the history of Russia. However, their jokes and way of life remained in the traditions of the East Slavic peoples for a long time.
Over time, followers of the buffoon movement appeared in Russia, who gladly adopted the technique and joked fervently.
Disputes about buffoons
Buffoons left their musical instruments, way of life and creative heritage behind history. They are interesting not only as court jesters and wedding entertainers, but also as figures who went against the official authorities in Russia.
Opinions about buffoons vary. Some believe that these are people who went against the church, the tsar and Orthodoxy, which at that time were inseparable. Simple jokes against the monarch and Orthodoxy aroused anger among the upper strata of society. At the same time, the boyars themselves and the tsar were not opposed to listening and watching the performances of the best buffoons in Russia.
However, the contradictions between the church, the tsar, Orthodoxy and wandering artists arose when buffoons were not only jesters and merry fellows, but also real folk preachers who joked not in the best light about the monarch and the shrine. The opinion of the buffoons was conveyed to the people with emotional humor.
This is exactly what the church and the king didn't like. They were persecuted andpersecution.
You can even say that buffoons are the first opposition in Russia that tried to show their alternative opinion of the people.
The contribution to the development of culture and creativity of buffoons is huge. They not only entertained the people with their jokes, but also passed on their creativity to the next generations, who recorded the activities of their ancestors in the annals.
