Abstract
In 1923, the Russian ethnologist and archaeologist Vasily Smirnov published an article entitled “A Devil is Born. (Contemporary Legend)”. The article dealt with an unusual demonological legend that had appeared short time ago in Soviet Russia. It told a story of a baby devil who was an offspring of one communist. In his commentaries, Smirnov pointed at some parallels between European folk narratives, legends about miraculous icons, the story about the burning bush in the Book of Exodus, beliefs related to succubi and incubi, legends about the birth of antichrist, and Christian eschatology in general. However, those observations require certain corrections. In fact, the narrative about the baby devil is an international legend, and its history can be the ground for general discussion about evolution and functions of didactic stories in Christian culture.
References
1 Antonov D.A. Dva “tela” ikony: apropriatsiia sily u sakral’nogo obraza [The icon’s two bodies: appropriating power of a sacred image]. Izobrazhenie i kul’t: sakral’nye obrazy v khristianskikh traditsiiakh. Materialy nauchnoi konferentsii [Image and cult: sacred images in Christian traditions. Conference proceedings]. Moscow, Izdatel’skii dom “Delo” Publ., 2017, pp. 5–13. (In Russ.)
2 Arkhipova A.S. Roga i kopyta generalissimusa: demonizatsiia Stalina v sovetskoi i postsovetskoi traditsii [The generalissimo’s horns and hoofs: demonization of Stalin in Soviet and post-Soviet tradition]. In Umbra: Demonologiia kak semioticheskaia sistema. Al’manakh. [In Umbra: Demonology as a semiotic system]. Moscow, RGGU Publ., 2012, issue 1, pp. 409–433. (In Russ.)
3 Afanas’ev A.N. Poeticheskie vozzreniia slavian na prirodu [Poetic views on the nature of the Slavs]. Moscow, Izd. K. Soldatenkova Publ., 1869. Vol. 3. VII+840 p. (In Russ.)
4 Berger E.E. “Nekhorosho, chto monstry zhivut sredi nas” (Ambruaz Pare o prichinakh vrozhdennykh anomalii) [“It is not good that monsters are among us” (Ambroise Pare about the causes of congenital defects)]. Srednie veka [Middle Ages], 2004, vol. 65, pp. 147–165. (In Russ.)
5 Bogdanov K.A. Vrachi, patsienty, chitateli. Patograficheskie teksty russkoi kul’tury [Physicians, patients, readers. The pathographical texts of the Russian culture]. St. Petersburg, Azbuka-Attikus Publ., 2014. 669 p. (In Russ.)
6 Buiskikh Iu. “Kara Bozh’ia” i “Chudo Gospodnee” v rasskazakh ob oskvernenii sviatyn’ v tekstakh sovremennoi ukrainskoi krest’ianskoi traditsii [“God’s punishment” and “the Lord’s miracle” in the narratives about desecration of sacred objects recorded from present day Ukrainian peasants]. Acta Baltico Slavica, vol. 38, Warszawa, 2014, pp. 263–278. (In Russ.)
7 Bulychev A.A. Mezhdu sviatymi i demonami: Zametki o posmertnoi sud’be opal’nykh Ivana Groznogo [Between saints and demons. On the posthumous fate of the “disgraced” by Ivan the Terrible]. Moscow, Znak Publ., 2005. 304 p. (In Russ.)
8 Vetlovskaia V.E. Dostoevsky i poeticheskii mir drevnei Rusi [Dostoevsky and the poetic world of the Old Rus’]. Trudy otdela drevnerusskoi literatury. [Proceedings of the Department of Old Russian Literature]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1974, vol. 28, pp. 296–307. (In Russ.)
9 Vinogradova L.N. Podmenysh [Changeling]. Slavianskie drevnosti. Etnolingvisticheskii slovar’ [Slavic antiquities. Ethnolingiustic dictionary]. Moscow, Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia Publ., 2009, vol. 4, pp. 98–103. (In Russ.)
10 Vlasova M.N. Russkie sueveriia. Entsiklopedicheskii slovar’ [Russian superstitions: an encyclopedia]. St. Petersburg, Azbuka Publ., 1998. 672 p. (In Russ.)
11 Delumeau J. Grekh i strakh: Formirovanie chuvstva viny v tsivilizatsii Zapada (XIII–XVIII vv.). [Sin and fear: the emergence of the Western guilt culture, 13th–18th centuries]. Ekaterinburg, Izd-vo Ural. un-ta Publ., 2003. 572 p. (In Russ.)
12 Dobrovol’skaia V.E. Neskazochnaia proza o razrushenii tserkvei [Folk narratives about the destruction of churches]. Russkii fol’klor: materialy i issledovaniia [Russian folklore: data and research], 1999, vol. 30, pp. 500–512. (In Russ.)
13 Dostoevsky F.M. Polnoe sobranie sochinenii: v 30 t. [Complete works in 30 vols.]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1972–1990. (In Russ.)
14 Karnachuk N.V. Novosti o rozhdenii chudovishch i angliiskoe obshchestvennoe soznanie vtoroi poloviny XVI–XVII vv. [News about monstrous births and English social consciousness in the second half of the 16th and the 17th centuries]. Dialog so vremenem [Dialog with time], 2014, no 47, pp. 107–128. (In Russ.)
15 Letopis’ Kunstkamery. 1714–1836 [The Kunstkamera chronicle. 1714–1836]. St. Petersburg, MAE RAN Publ., 2014. 740 pp. (In Russ.)
16 L’vov A.L. Sokha i Piatiknizhie: russkie iudeistvuiushchie kak tekstual’noe soobshchestvo [Plow and Pentateuch: Russian Judaizants as a textual community] St. Petersburg, Izd. Evropeiskogo universiteta v S.-Peterburge Publ., 2013. 328 p. (In Russ.)
17 Mazalova N.E. Sostav chelovecheskii: Chelovek v traditsionnykh somaticheskikh predstavleniiakh russkikh [Human composition: a human being in the traditional somatic conception of the Russians]. St. Petersburg, Peterburgskoe vostokovedenie Publ., 2001. 192 p. (In Russ.)
18 Maizul’s M. Nakazanie sviatykh: blagochestivoe bogokhul’stvo v Srednie veka i rannee Novoe vremia [Punishment of saints: pious blasphemy in the medieval and early Modern culture]. Gosudarstvo, religiia, tserkov’ v Rossii i za rubezhom [State, religion, and society in Russia and abroad], 2017, no 2 (35), pp. 15–51. (In Russ.)
19 Maizul’s M.R. Obraz sviatogo: quasi-prisutstvie i quasi-telesnost’ [Images of saints: quasi-presence and quasi-corporality]. Izobrazhenie i kul’t: sakral’nye obrazy v khristianskikh traditsiiakh. Materialy nauchnoi konferentsii (Moskva, RANKhiGS,
16–17 iiunia 2017 g.) [Image and cult: sacred images in Christian traditions. Conference proceedings]. Moscow, Izdatel’skii dom “Delo” Publ., 2017, pp. 68–75. (In Russ.)
20 Mel’nikova E.A. Eskhatologicheskie ozhidaniia rubezha XIX–XX vekov: kontsa sveta ne budet? [Eschatological Expectations at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries: the end of the world is (not) nigh?]. Antropologicheskii forum [Forum for anthropology], 2004, no 1, pp. 250–266. (In Russ.)
21 Morar A. Odomashnit’ Inogo: Pokaz monstrov v Rossii [domesticating the other: freak shows in Russia]. Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2017, no 143. Available at: http://www.nlobooks.ru/node/8251. Accessed on 08.02.2017 (Accessed 08 February, 2017). (In Russ.)
22 Moroz A.B. Ustnaia istoriia russkoi tserkvi v sovetskii period (narodnye predaniia o razrushenii tserkvei) [Oral history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet period (local legends about the church destruction)]. Uchenye zapiski Rossiiskogo pravoslavnogo universiteta ap. Ioanna Bogoslova [Proceedings of the Apostle John Theologian Russian Orthodox University]. Moscow, 2000, vol. 6, pp. 177–185. (In Russ.)
23 Pamiatniki literatury Drevnei Rusi. Nachalo russkoi literatury. XI — nachalo XII veka [Heritage of Old Russian literature. The beginning of Russian literature, 11th — early 12th centuries]. Moscow, Khudozh. lit. Publ., 1978. 413 p. (In Russ.)
24 Panchenko A.A. Ivan i Iakov — neobychnye sviatye iz bolotistoi mestnosti: “Krest’ianskaia agiologiia” i religioznye praktiki v Rossii Novogo vremeni [Ivan and Iakov — unusual saints from a marshland: “Popular hagiology and religious practices in modern Russia”]. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2012. 442 p.
(In Russ.)
25 Pigin A.V. Iz istorii russkoi demonologii XVII veka: Povest‘ o besnovatoi zhene Solomonii [From the history of Russian demonology: The story about Solomonia, a possessed woman]. St. Petersburg, Dmitrii Bulanin Publ., 1998. 267 p. (In Russ.)
26 Prishvin M. Golubinaia kniga [The Dove book]. Krasnaia nov’, 1924, no 2, pp. 228–236. (In Russ.)
27 Rovinskii D.A. Russkie narodnye kartinki [Russian popular prints]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaia Akademiia nauk Publ., 1881, vol. I–V. (In Russ.)
28 Rovinskii D.A. Russkie narodnye kartinki [Russian popular prints]. St. Petersburg, Izd. R. Golike Publ., 1909. Vol. I. 368 p. (In Russ.)
29 Smilianskaia E.B. Volshebniki. Bogokhul’niki. Eretiki. Narodnaia religioznost’ i “dukhovnye prestupleniia” v Rossii XVIII v. [Witches, blasphemers, and heretics: Popular religiosity and “spiritual crimes” in the 18th century Russia]. Moscow, Indrik Publ., 2003. 464 p. (In Russ.)
30 Smirnov V. Chort rodilsia (tvorimaia legenda) [A devil is born. (Contemporary legend)]. Trudy Kostromskogo nauchnogo obshchestva issledovatelei mestnogo kraia [Proceedings of the Kostroma learned society for the study of the region], 1923, vol. 29, pp. 17–20. (In Russ.)
31 Togoeva O.I. “Istinnaia pravda”. Iazyki srednevekovogo pravosudiia [“Veritable truth”. Languages of medieval justice]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2006. 333 p. (In Russ.)
32 Toporkov A.L. Dva izdaniia knigi P.G. Bogatyreva “Magicheskie deistviia, obriady i verovaniia Zakarpat’ia” (1929/1971): nauchnyi i obshchestvennyi kontekst [Two editions of the book by P. G. Bogatyrev “Magic, rituals and beliefs in the Transcarpathian region”: scholarly and public contexts]. Antropologicheskii forum [Forum for anthropology], 2011, no 14, pp. 149–150. (In Russ.)
33 Uspenskii B.A. Filologicheskie razyskaniia v oblasti slavianskikh drevnostei [Philological studies of the Slavic antiquities]. Moscow, Izd. MGU Publ., 1982. 248 p. (In Russ.)
34 Fadeeva L.V. Rasskazy o razorenii sviatyni v sovremennoi ustnoi traditsii Pinezh’ia (K probleme spetsifiki siuzheta i zhanra) [Narratives about the destruction of sacred objects in present day Pinega oral tradition (On the specificity of the plot and the genre)]. Riabininskie chteniia — 2003 [Ryabinin readings — 2003]. Petrozavodsk, Muzei-zapovednik “Kizhi” Publ., 2003. Available at: http://kizhi.karelia.ru/library/ryabinin-2003/29.html (Accessed 08 February 2017). (In Russ.)
35 Frazer J.J. Zolotaia vetv‘ [The golden bough]. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1986. 706 p. (In Russ.)
36 Sprenger J., Institoris G. Molot ved’m [The hammer of witches]. Saransk, Saran. fil. SP “Nord” Publ., 1991. 349 p. (In Russ.)
37 Shtyrkov S.A. Rasskazy ob oskvernenii sviatyn’ [Narratives about sacrilege of sacred places]. Traditsionnyi fol’klor Novgorodskoi oblasti [Traditional folklore of the Novgorod region]. St. Petersburg, Tropa Troianova Publ., 2006, pp. 208–230. (In Russ.)
38 A declaration of a strange and wonderfull monster: born in Kirkham parish in Lancashire...London, Jane Coe, 1646. 8 p. (In English)
39 Addams J. The Long Road of Woman’ Memory. New York, Macmillan, 1916. XV+168 p. (In English)
40 Andrejev N.P. Die Legende vom Rauber Madej. Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1927 (Folklore Fellows Communications, vol. 69). 335 p. (In German)
41 Anemone A. The Monsters of Peter the Great: The Culture of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera in the Eighteenth Century. The Slavic and East European Journal, 2000, vol. 44, no 4, pp. 583–602. (In English)
42 Another Museum Attraction. Perrysburg Journal (Ohio), 1891, January 24, p. 1. (In English)
43 Astuti R. What happens after death? Questions of anthropology, ed. by R. Astuti, J. Parry and C. Stafford Oxford, UK, Berg Publishers, 2007, pp. 227–247. (In English)
44 Bates A.W. Emblematic Monsters: Unnatural Conceptions and Deformed Births in Early Modern Europe (Clio Medica 77). Amsterdam, Rodopi, 2005. VI+334 p. (In English)
45 Baughman E.W. Type and Motif-Index of the Folktales of England and North America. The Hague, Mouton, 1966. LXXVIII+607 p. (In English)
46 Belanus B.J., Langlois J.L. Monstrous Births. Archetypes and motifs in folklore and literature: a handbook, ed. by Jane Garry and Hasan El-Shamy. Armonk, New York, M.E. Sharpe, 2005, pp. 425–431. (In English)
47 Bennet G. Bodies: Sex, violence, decease, and death in contemporary legend. Jackson, University Press of Mississippi, 2005. XV+313 p. (In English)
48 Bogdan R. Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit. Chicago and London, University of Chicago Press, 1988. 336 p. (In English)
49 Boyer P. Religion Explained. The Human Instincts that Fashion Gods, Spirits and Ancestors. New York, Basic Books, 2001. VII+375 p. (In English)
50 Coleman H.J. Russian Baptists and Spiritual Revolution, 1905–1929. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2005. XI+304 p. (In English)
51 Crawford J. Marvelous Protestantism: Monstrous Births in Post-Reformation England. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, 2005. IX+270 p. (In English)
52 Degh L., Vazsonyi A. Does the Word “Dog” Bite? Ostensive Action: A Means of Legend-Telling. Degh L. Narratives in Society: A Performer-Centered Study of Narration. Helsinki, 1995, pp. 236–262. (In English)
53 Eberly S.S. Fairies and the Folklore of Disability: Changelings, Hybrids and the Solitary Fairy. Folklore, vol. 99, no 1 (1988), pp. 58–77. (In English)
54 Ellis B. Death by Folklore: Ostension, Contemporary Legend, and Murder. Western Folklore, vol. 48, no 3 (July, 1989), pp. 201–220. (In English)
55 Favret-Saada J. An Anthropology of Religious Polemics: The Case of Blasphemy Affairs. HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, vol. 6, no 1 (2016), pp. 29–45. doi: 10.14318/hau6.1.003. (In English)
56 Haffter C. The Changeling: History and Psychodynamics of Attitudes to Handicapped in European Folklore. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 1968, vol. 3–4, pp. 55–61. (In English)
57 Hairy and Hoofed. St. Paul Sunday Globe (Minnesota), 1891, January 18, p. 1. (In English)
58 Halpert H. Legends of the Cursed Child. New York Folklore Quarterly, 1958, vol. XIV, no 3, pp. 233–241. (In English)
59 Halpert H., Mitchell B., Dickason D. H. Folktales from Indiana University Students. Hoosier Folklore Bulletin, vol. I (1942), pp. 85–97. (In English)
60 Has Hoofs and Hair: An Awful Monstrosity in Minnesota. The Columbus Journal (Nebraska), 1891, January 28, p. 1. (In English)
61 Hibbard L.A. Medieval Romance in England. New York, Burt Franklin, 1963. VIII+350 p. (In English)
62 Huet M.-H. Monstrous Imagination. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1993. 316 p. (In English)
63 Lightner. Many Freak Curios. Pittsburg Dispatch (Pennsylvania), 1891, April 19, p. 7. (In English)
64 Locke J. A strange and lamentable accident that happened lately at Mears-Ashby in Northamptonshire. London, Harper and Wine, 1642. 7 p. (In English)
65 Miles M. Martin Luther and Childhood Disability in 16th Century Germany: What did he write? What did he say? Journal of Religion, Disability & Health, 2001, vol. 5 (4), pp. 5–36. (In English)
66 Park K., Daston L.J. Unnatural Conceptions: The Study of Monsters in Sixteenth-Century France and England. Past and Present, 1981, no 92, pp. 20–54. (In English)67 Park K., Daston L.J. Wonders and the Order of Nature (1150–1750). Boston, Zone Books, 1998. 512 p. (In English)
68 Rose E.H. and H.J. Quebec Folklore Notes, III. Folklore, vol. 24, no 3 (September 1913), pp. 360–362. (In English)
69 Semonin P. Monsters in the Marketplace: The Exhibition of Human Oddities in Early Modern England. Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body, ed. by Rosemarie Garland Thompson. New York and London, New York University Press, 1996, pp. 69–81. (In English)
70 Spinks J. Monstrous Births and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Germany. London and New York, Routledge, 2016. IX+207 p. (In English)
71 Viola L. The Peasant Nightmare: Visions of Apocalypse in the Soviet Countryside. Journal of Modern History, 1990, vol. 62, no 4, pp. 747–770. (In English)
72 Williams W. Monsters and their Meanings in Early Modern Culture: Mighty Magic. Oxford University Press, 2011. 344 p. (In English)
73 Wilson D. Signs and Portents: Monstrous Births from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment. New York, Routledge, 1993. 232 p. (In English)
74 Wrenshall L. Incantations and Popular Healing in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Journal of American Folklore, vol. 15, no 59 (October–December 1902), pp. 268–274. (In English)