Паметта на св. Седмочисленици във фолклорните легенди и предания
The Memory of the Sedmochislenici Saints in Folkloric Legends and Traditions

Summary/Abstract: In this paper I analyze folklore narratives from Ochrid dedicated mostly to St. Kliment and St. Naum and recorded from the mid-19th с. to this day. The comparative analysis of written and iconographic memorials allows for drawing the following conclusions: - in the folklore texts old, pre-Christian beliefs can be found: Kliment and Naum as a twin couple; saints as cultural heroes; - the influence of written, mainly autobiographical texts on folkloric legends and records can be noted; - the cult's localization and historization. Kliment and Naum, together with St. Erasmus were considered as their "own" saints, born in this region, as opposed to the other Sedmochislenici who rarely were heroes of narratives. The cult's historization is clearly a later process, emerging at a later period and related to an increase in the level of education during the time of the National Renaissance; - the influence of high culture (mainly from literary texts) is reinforced especially after the end of the 17th c., when printed Greek texts appear in Moshopolis, close to Ohrid, which glorify the deeds of all the Sedmochislenici. This process can be observed during the 18th and 19th c., when the commemoration of Saints Cyril and Methodius ceases to be a mere church festival and also becomes public. Thus their celebration becomes a part of the ideological Renaissance narrative; - at the end of the 19th c., when the memory of the holy brothers ceases to be marked as a holiday of enlightenment, the older and living cults of Kliment and Naum (and to a certain extent of St. Erasmus) replace the worship of Cyril and Methodius who continue to persist in folkloric tradition as companions of the Ohrid 'trinity'.

• Details
• Contents