CONSTANTINOPLE LEGENDS IN THE RUSSIAN PILGRIMAGE LITERATURE OF THE 12-19THCENTURIES

The article examines the repertoire and the specific features of the transmission of legendary narratives related to Constantinople and its relics. Since the pilgrimage route from Russia to the Holy Land passed through Tsargrad-Constantinople, the local folklore, overheard by the Russian pilgrim writers, began to be integrated into the pilgrimage records as early as the 13^th century. Extensive studies of the pilgrimage stories (13-19 centuries) show that the legendary narratives transmitted by the Russian pilgrims can be thematically divided into three groups: legends about icons and other relics from the Constantinople churches; legends prophesizing the fall of Byzantium; epic legends concerning the construction of Hagia Sophia. While in the Middle Ages writers used a fullscale legendary narrative and the form of a topographic note to record it, the texts of the Early Modern Times were dominated by the narrative descriptions, augmented by dialogue and details that added drama and dynamics to the story.

pilgrimage literature, Constantinople, Tsargrad, Byzantium, legend, narrative, Hagia Sophia, pilgrimage.