What is a legend? The meaning of the word legend in Efremova’s explanatory dictionary What does a man legend mean?

04.07.2020

All dictionaries Ushakov's Dictionary Modern Economic Dictionary. 1999 Dictionary of Military Terms Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language Culturology. Reference Dictionary Counterintelligence Dictionary Reference Commercial Dictionary (1926) Terminological dictionary-thesaurus in literary criticism Dictionary of economic terms Dictionary of musical terms Dictionary of mythology by M. Ladygina. Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language (Alabugina) Brief Dictionary of Operational-Tactical and General Military Terms Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms Encyclopedic Dictionary Ozhegov's Dictionary Efremova's Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Dal Vladimir

Ushakov's Dictionary

lege nda, legends, wives (lat. legenda - what you need to read) ( books).

1. A poetic fantasy tale with religious content.

| Any fantastic story, poetic legend about some event. Legends of the old castle. Medieval legends.

2. Fiction, fiction; something that seems incredible. This is a legend that is not trustworthy. There were whole legends about him.

3. Inscription on the coin ( specialist.).

4. Explanatory text for the plan, drawing, map and so on. (specialist.).

Dictionary of Military Terms

a brief text explanation of the graphic document. It is written in the margins of a diagram, outline, topographic map or attached to combat graphic documents in the form of an explanatory note. Includes information that cannot be expressed graphically and conventional signs, applied in the document.

Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language

Latin - lego (read).

In Russian the word is known from the first half of the 19th century V. A little later, the derivative adjective “legendary” appeared. The derived adjective has been found in the dictionary since 1845.

In modern Russian, the word “legend” means: “a poeticized oral folk legend about some historical or fictional event or incident, which may contain a fair amount of fantasy, fiction, and mysticism.”

The word originates from the Latin language. Originally - from the word lego. Then the word is transformed into legendus, i.e. "to be read"

Counterintelligence Dictionary

externally plausible information specially prepared by intelligence or counterintelligence, intended to mislead the enemy. Legends are widely used in intelligence and counterintelligence activities, especially for camouflaging intelligence officers and agents and their actions when performing missions, as well as for encrypting defense facilities.

Agents and intelligence officers sent to a scouting country are usually provided with a cover legend, also called a protective legend, or a biographical legend. They use this legend to explain the circumstances and purposes of arrival in the country, the reasons for being in a certain area, the motives for certain actions, etc. and thereby hide their affiliation with intelligence and justify their intelligence actions. Sometimes an agent or scout is supplied with not one, but several legends or various options the same legend. Counterintelligence officers often use a legend when making contact with foreigners, when introducing agents into or out of a development, when encrypting particularly important objects, when conducting operational games with the enemy, etc.

The legend can be the main one or a spare one. The operational worker (agent) relies on the main legend when performing tasks, and the reserve one, sometimes called a “legend within a legend,” is used in the event of the main legend being revealed and in other emergency circumstances.

Consolidation of the legend, that is, confirmation of its plausibility, is achieved by including truthful information in it, supplying the agent or intelligence officer with relevant documents and items of equipment, as well as through specially conducted disinformation activities aimed at bringing to the attention of the enemy data that would confirm the legend.

The vulnerability of a legend, that is, the objective possibility of its disclosure during the verification process, depends on the presence in it of fictitious information that contradicts the true state of affairs, its “lag” from reality (due to the impossibility of taking into account all changes in the situation when saturating the legend with truthful information), and from errors made during its preparation, consolidation and use. In order to reduce the vulnerability of the legend, it is whenever possible saturated with facts that are difficult or impossible to verify.

Reference Commercial Dictionary (1926)

an inscription made on the rim of a coin indicating the content of noble metal in it.

Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism

(from lat. legenda - what you should read) - 1) prose genre folklore; traditional folk story about the miraculous, perceived, however, by the narrator and the listener as reliable; 2) any work that is distinguished by poetic invention, but claims to be authentic.

RB: types and genres of literature

Genus: folklore genres

Est: the fantastic in literature

Ass: legend

* “Before the creation or assimilation of writing, all peoples created verbal works orally, stored them in their collective memory and disseminated them through oral transmission. This is how various kinds of fairy tales, legends, songs, proverbs, etc. arose among them.” (G.N. Pospelov).

Many anti-serfdom legends were created in Russia people's intercessors, as well as about prominent historical figures... The plot of the legend about Ataman Kudeyar was used by Nekrasov in the poem Who Lives Well in Rus' (A.F. Golovenchenko). *

Dictionary of economic terms

inscription on a coin, medal.

Dictionary of musical terms

(from lat. legenda - something that needs to be read) is a musical piece of a narrative-fantastic, dramatic nature, akin to a ballad. The plot of the legend is usually associated with folk or religious legends. There are vocal (solo or choral) and instrumental (violin, piano, etc.) legends. Examples of legends are found in G. Wieniawski (for violin and orchestra), F. Liszt and others.

Dictionary of mythology by M. Ladygin.

Legend- a mythologized tale based on oral tradition about a historical person, act or event.

Sources:

● M.B. Ladygin, O.M. Ladygina Brief mythological dictionary - M.: Publishing house NOU "Polar Star", 2003.

A brief dictionary of operational-tactical and general military terms

a short explanatory note containing information that cannot be depicted graphically on a map or diagram. L. can be given in the form of text and graphic explanations that reveal the contents of the map. Usually the letter is placed in the margins or in the corner of the map (diagram).

encyclopedic Dictionary

(from Latin legenda, lit. - something that should be read),

Ozhegov's Dictionary

LEG E NDA, s, and.

1. Poetic legend about which historical event. Medieval legends.

2. trans. About the heroic events of the past (books). The man from the legend (a person with a glorious past). Live l.(about a person with a heroic, glorious past).

3. Fictitious information about oneself from someone who is performing a secret mission (special). L. resident.

4. Explanatory text, as well as a set of symbols for a map, plan, diagram (special).

| adj. legendary, oh, oh (to 1 value). L. genre.

Efremova's Dictionary

Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

(from Lat. legenda - that which should be read). - In the usage of medieval Catholicism, L. was called the praise and life of a saint, which should have been read in church on the day dedicated to the celebration of the memory of this saint. Since the lives of saints were considered particularly beneficial reading, the name L. was extended to all stories of a religious nature, edifying to the same extent. In the age of development of church-historical criticism, the legendary life of a saint is contrasted with his authentic or reliable deeds (acta); but in the Middle Ages, when from historical (and sometimes literary, for example from own name; So Veronica from verus and Greek icon, eleven thousand companions of St. Ursula from the name Undecimilla, etc.) bases or from church tradition were created, disseminated and received artistic treatment by L., such a difference could not exist. Medieval Catholic L. are more complete than any other literary phenomenon, reflect the moral character of the era. Already in the 6th century. in Gregory of Tours and in the “Dialogues” of Pope Gregory, we find a number of characteristic and durable letters. As Catholic culture becomes isolated and develops, history becomes more complicated and embellished with the help of a wide variety of sources: classical legends (for example, Judas the traitor, following the example of Oedipus , turns out to be a parricide and incest), German mythology, stories of travelers to holy places, instructive and non-instructive books, church rituals, iconography and, finally, reality itself (for example, the Crusades contributed to the development of literature about the tree of the cross, which grew into a whole a series of episodic stories; the transfer of relics often introduces L. into a new phase of development, and sometimes brings to life a new phenomenon, such as the legend of the Holy Grail; the timing of the celebration of a saint or event at a certain time of the year often introduced new details into L. about him, and etc.). In that age of unconditional faith and the search for the miraculous, everyone historical fact, both from the long past (the life of Alexander the Great, Virgil, etc.), and from the present or recent (the life of a medieval scientist, for example, Herbert, later Pope Sylvester II) turns into a pious L., which, finally, turns out to be the only by reading everyone who understands Latin. From books about saints and books dedicated to holidays, collections were early compiled (by Gregory of Tours - “De miraculis martyrum” and “De gloria confessorum”), of which the so-called Golden L . (Legenda Aurea). Its author is Jacob of Voragin (see), arch. Genoese (d. 1298). The popularity of the Golden L. in the transitional era from the Middle Ages to modern times is almost unparalleled: before 1500 there were 70 Latin editions. the original and more than 30 translations into English, French, Italian, Low German and Czech. Like all widely circulated books, the Golden L. was subject to significant additions and changes (chapters about holidays and saints that became known after the 13th century were added; in the German edition of 1483, 38 articles about local shrines in Germany were added). The most common is not at all critical French. translation Gustav Brunet (P. 1843); much better than "Jacobi a Voragine Legenda aurea vulgo historia lombardica dicta", ed. Graesse (Dresd. and Lpts., 1846; 2nd ed. 1850; 3rd ed., 1892; for its shortcomings, see Roze, “Revue de l"art chr é tien,” 1867, XI, 44).In its current form The Golden L. consists of a short prologue in which the author explains the system of his collection (the entire life of mankind is divided into four periods: the period of deviation from the path - deviationis - from Adam to Moses; renewal - renovationis - from Moses to R.C.; reconciliation - reconciliationis - when Christ reconciled us with the Lord, and wanderings - peregrinationis - our modern life; therefore, the church year is divided into 4 parts, of which special holidays are dedicated to each of these holidays and the chapters of his book are located), and 182 chapters, except additions and appendices. The vast majority of the main chapters are devoted to the presentation of the lives of the saints of the Catholic Church, which the compiler often prefaced with etymological explanations of their names (of course, extremely naive and often absurd) and which he decorated with numerous quotes from Holy Scripture and the Fathers of the Church. From the editions of the lives, not the most reliable, but the most entertaining ones were selected. The minority consists of stories about the events of the Gospels, often with clearly apocryphal features, borrowed, however, not directly from the apocrypha, but from their abbreviated popular transcriptions (the compiler quotes them under the name hystoriae scholaslicae); these stories are also decorated with quotations and interpretations, which greatly appealed to the more literary readers of the book of James, while the apocryphal additions that delight the imagination were especially to the heart of the “simple” clerics. The fact that the Golden L. satisfied different tastes was the reason for its enormous popularity, which for a long time could not be weakened by numerous attacks. Only in the era of the struggle between Protestantism and the revived and purified Catholicism did the second half XVI century, the Golden L. began to give way to other collections compiled with more criticism. In the XIV and XV centuries. The Golden L. serves as a direct source of a mass of works of spiritual national poetry in all European countries, and through this it influences other areas of artistic and spiritual life in general: national epic, drama, lyrics, iconography, etc. (about works of Czech poetry based on the Golden L. . see J. Feifalik, in "Sitz.-ber. der Wiener Akad. philos.-hist., Kl.", XXXVII, 1861, p. 56); but the above-mentioned, more “sober” collections of the 17th century are in one way or another closely connected with the Golden L., which is important, therefore, for anyone who studies the history of any hagiographic or even legendary plot. "Minea" by Dmitry of Rostov and Russian iconography of the 17th century. did not escape its very noticeable influence.

In the era of development of national literatures Western Europe, L., taking poetic form, become a favorite reading secular people, and L.’s internal development goes even further in the same direction of the miraculous. The first monuments of ancient French poetry are dedicated to the praise and depiction of the life of St. Eulalia and St. Leodegaria ("Vie de saint Léger"); one of the first German documents. poetry - “Song of St. George” (according to his apocryphal life). In X Art. A number of eastern routes penetrate through Italy to the West. L., which in the following centuries provide rich material for the emerging national poetry. In the 11th century in France, an excellent poem about Alexei the man of God was written in assonance, which was redone in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. (see "La Vie de saint Alexis", par Gaston Paris, new ed., Par., 1885); there at the beginning of the 12th century. L. is presented about Gregory the Great and the involuntary sinner (incestuous), who, having atoned for his crime, was later a patriarch or pope (source of Hartmann's poem by F. Aue, see); besides the 12th century. There are many poetic French legends, as well as Celtic religious legends that became known to the Normans after the conquest of England. The latter includes a poem about St. Brendan (written around 1125), an Irish abbot (see Brandanus), who, sailing to the west, reached paradise and saw the places of torment of sinners, and about the knight Aries, who descended into the purgatory of St. Patrick; both of these L., together with Tunsdal’s vision (preserved only in prose), belong to a large family of apocrypha about the afterlife, headed by “The Virgin’s Walk through the Torment” and “The Vision of the Apostle Paul” (see the study by L. Shepelevich, Kharkov, 1891-1892). The murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (1170), aroused the energetic activity of spiritual poets; the author of one poetic poem about him, who gave it its final form in 1173, the wandering (Vagant) cleric Garnier de Pont-Sainte-Maxence, recited it many times at the very grave of the people’s saint, as an instruction to his admirers (it is known that around the same time time in France, on the day of the celebration of the saint in the churches, for teaching common people, read French poetic L.; this custom also passed to England). The 13th century in France was especially rich in poetic literature, new to those who did not know Latin. The degree of creativity of their authors is extremely diverse: there are almost literal translations, and such free alterations, in which it is only difficult to trace the connection with the Latin source; even the retellings of the earthly life of the Savior and the Mother of God include details and episodes closely related to the monuments of the national epic and knightly novel; Eastern literature is processed with special energy, providing food for the imagination already in the original itself (the spiritual romance about Varlaam and the Indian prince Joseph was the source of three separate poems), and with special freedom - wandering legends of a religious nature (about a proud emperor from whom an angel stole him clothes, appearance and the throne itself; about the hermit and the angel, corresponding to the Russian L. “Angel”, which gave the plot for famous story gr. L. Tolstoy: “How people live”, etc.; The French usually call such L. contes dé vots). At the same time, extensive collections of L. were compiled about the miracles of the Virgin Mary, of which the most important collection is the collection of the Soissons monk Gautier de Coinci (d. 59 years old in 1236); it amounts to approx. 30,000 verses. In his stories, precious not only for the history of literature, but also for the study of the life of the era, there are many episodes that can outrage modern Catholics with their naivety, but the lively poetic animation of many of them reconciles criticism with them (there we find a story about how the Mother of God breastfed a sick monk; like a thief who used to work to call on the name of the Mother of God, was supported for 3 days on the gallows by Her white hands; how the Mother of God for many years performed duties for a nun who ran away from the monastery to indulge in carnal pleasures, etc.). In subsequent centuries, the activity of authors and renovators of poetic literature does not stop, and many of their works become even more popular, appearing from the book to the stage; at the same time, with the increased need for reading, both individual books and collections of them are translated into French prose. Wed. about French L.: Douhet, “Dictionnaire des l égendes” (1855); Alf. Maury, "Les L. pieuses du Moyen-Age"; Gaston Paris, "Poé sie -au Moyen-Age" (1887). IN Germany, V early period medieval poetry (11th and 12th centuries), poetic literature is processed mainly by poets of the clergy (one of the oldest and most interesting in terms of breadth of view is devoted to the life of Annon, bishop of Cologne, died in 1075). Court poets are attracted only by those legendary subjects in which they find something knightly (for example, from the Old Testament - Judith, from the lives of saints - St. George) or fantastically fabulous (such as L. Hartmann v. Aue); the Shpilmans work in the same direction, and from their hands half-legends, half-epices like “Orendelle”, “Oswald”, etc. come to life; through them echoes of L. penetrate into ancient national poems in the vein of "Wolfdietrich", and among the knightly poets other lives take on the character of knightly novels. In the XIII and XIV centuries. The clergy is energetically working on many legendary subjects and providing the people with a lot of edifying reading. Early there was a desire to cyclize, to gather together this spiritual wealth, and already in the 2nd half of the 13th century. on the middle Rhine, a huge collection (up to 100,000 poems) “Passional” was compiled, divided into 3 parts: the 1st treats about I. Chr. and the Mother of God, 2nd - about the apostles and evangelists, 3rd - about the saints, the legends about which are arranged according to church calendar; its compiler is a preacher who came to the conclusion that scripture is more powerful than preaching. In the era of book printing in Germany, as well as in France, some of the favorite literary works turned into popular literature. History of L. in England falls into the same periods as the medieval English literature. Anglo-Saxon Latvia, in the early products of which numerous echoes of the national epic can be heard, is replaced by Norman-French. It is followed by Middle English, very extensive in the number and variety of monuments; its sources are either Latin or French; it contains curious echoes of ancient Germanic beliefs and medieval beliefs (for example, L. about St. Michael, depicting his battle with the dragon Satan, not only talks about the ranks of angels and the creation of the human race, to replenish the void created as a result of the falling away of the host of Lucifer's servants , but also talks about brownies - alps and about elves and sets out the entire medieval demonology, in connection with cosmogony, physiology, psychology, etc.). At the end of the 13th century. in the south of England, an extensive collection of poems (Alexandrian couplets) was compiled, known under the name Liber festivalis; it contains many poems about national saints, representing interesting historical material; sources - French and Latin; the close similarity of many stories with the Golden L. is explained by the unity of origin. This collection, like similar ones in other countries, for most medieval readers replaced any historical reading, since it presented everything that was considered interesting then, from the beginning of the world to last days. As in individual L., episodes full of deep and subtle feelings alternate here with naive, sometimes funny rudeness, infantile gullibility with an inquisitive mind (the poet, for example, enthusiastically talks about how St. Margaret, swallowed up by a dragon, came out of him and killed him - and then he himself expresses doubt about the possibility of killing the devil). The poets of Chaucer's era and later did not neglect L.'s more or less beautiful retelling. IN Italy, due to late separation literary language, L. remains in its original Latin attire longer than anywhere else, but among the Quattrocentists and Cinquecentists (writings of the 14th and 15th centuries) it receives great development; Italian L. represents more classical reminiscences than any other. In literature Iberian peninsula of Latvia plays an even more important role and appears early on theater stage, from which it does not leave until the 17th century. inclusive. IN South Slavic lands and in ancient Russia quite numerous L., translated from Greek, as well as compiled according to their model, were rewritten over a number of centuries, but changed only in minor details, and most of them remain purely book monuments. These are the legends, stories, parables, tales and literature, published in the 1st and 2nd editions of “Monuments of Ancient Russian Literature” gr. Kushelev-Bezborodko (St. Petersburg, 1860), as well as scattered in scientific and spiritual journals, publications of the “Society of Lovers of Ancient Russian Writing”, “Proceedings” of archaeological. congresses and special studies. Only a certain part of book literature and apocrypha penetrates the people, but it penetrates deeply and is altered either into spirituality. poems, or spiritual tales, otherwise called folk L. , which, due to the properties of their easily movable form and method of transmission, deviate significantly further from their sources than Western or spiritual poetry. The most interesting collection of Russian folk literature was published by A. N. Afanasyev in 1859; it has long become a great bibliographic rarity. There are only 33 L. in it (and including Nos. 3 and 26, 4 and 5, 27 and 28 represent only variants), but they are perfectly selected and equipped with precious historical and literary instructions (for analysis by A. N. Pypin, see in Sovremennik, 1860, No. 5). Folk letters are also found in all large collections of monuments folk poetry: in “Proceedings of Ethnogr. - Statistical Expedition” (Chubinsky), in Drahomanov, in Shein’s “Belarusian Collection”, etc.; many of them are scattered in “memorable books” and other regional publications, as well as in ethnographic magazines (for a review of previous works, see Pypin’s “History of Russian Ethnography”, the newest ones in “Ethnographer. Review” and “Living Antiquity”). General characteristics Russian folk literature, see "Ist. Lit." Galakhov (2nd and 3rd ed., § 20), as well as in Porfiryev and others. Our best researcher on the history of Latvia is Academician Alexander Nik. Veselovsky, who began in the "Journal of Min. Nar. Pr.", in 1875, a series of works entitled: "Experiments on the history of the development of Christian Leningrad." and continued them in the publication. acd. Sciences, in "Research in the field of Russian spiritual verse", as well as in the study: "From the history of the novel and story" and small notes.

Words: L ., legendary are also used in a sense opposite to historically reliable, and mean a story that either does not completely agree with the facts (for example, “Moravian L.” in the Cyril and Methodius Question), or is obviously decorated with folk fantasy (for example, “Imperial L.” , "Napoleonic L."), operating according to certain laws that have not yet been fully clarified.

A. Kirpichnikov.

Legend(musical) - musical composition on the text of legendary content, in various sizes. Liszt wrote to L. about St. Elizabeth for solo, choir and orchestra, equal in volume to the oratorio; small instrumental pieces are also called L., for example. L. for violin by Wieniawski.

LEGEND, -y, w. 1. A poetic legend about someone. historical event. Medieval legends. 2. transfer About the heroic events of the past (books). A man of legend (a man with a glorious past). Live l. (about a person with a heroic, glorious past). 3. Fictitious information about oneself from someone who is performing a secret mission (special). L. resident. 4. Explanatory text, as well as a set of symbols for a map, plan, diagram (special). || adj. legendary, -aya, -oe (to 1 value). L. genre.

View value LEGEND in other dictionaries

Legend- legend
Synonym dictionary

Legend- and. lat. sacred tradition, belief about an event related to the church, faith; chetiya, chetya; in general, a legend about a miraculous event.
Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Legend- legends, w. (Latin legenda - what needs to be read) (book). 1. A poetic fantasy tale with religious content. || Any fantastic story, poetic legend........
Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Legend J.— 1. A poetic fantasy tale (usually of religious content). // Fantastic story, poetic legend about someone. event or person. 2. Instrumental........
Explanatory Dictionary by Efremova

Legend- inscription on a coin, medal.
Economic dictionary

Legend- Goes back to the Latin legenda, which literally means “that which should be read”, derived from the verb legere - “to read”.
Krylov's etymological dictionary

Legend- - here: inscription on a coin, medal.
Legal dictionary

Legend— maps - a set of symbols and explanations for the map.
Big encyclopedic Dictionary

Legend to Geographic Maps —
SETTLEMENTS
:: more than 1 million inhabitants
:: from 250 thousand to 1 million inhabitants
:: from 100 thousand to 250 thousand inhabitants
:: less than 100 thousand inhabitants
It is highlighted in capital letters........
Geographical encyclopedia

Map Legend— map legend, table of symbols used on the map with text explanations for them. Gives the key to reading the map, reveals the logic (system) of classification of what is depicted........
Geographical encyclopedia

Legend— - the term originated in medieval Catholicism. Initially - the life of the saint, which was read on the day of his memory, later - a parable about animals, plants, Christian objects........
Historical Dictionary

Legend- (from Lat. legenda, lit. - what should be read) - mus. a work of lyrical-epic nature, reproducing the content of folklore. or religious L. A genre related to the ballad, L.........
Music Encyclopedia

We all often hear: “This event will become a legend! Yes, he is simply legendary! There are legends about her!” What is a legend really?

The word “legend” itself comes to us from the Latin language and is translated as “readable” or “a list of passages from the liturgy to read for every day.” It is believed that this is one of the varieties of oral folk art, but unlike a fairy tale, there is no magical beginning. A legend, as a rule, describes events that actually happened. But since most legends began to form even when there was no written language, and therefore were passed on from mouth to mouth, each of the storytellers added some new elements, new colorful details, and the legend gradually transformed. Legends are also found in religious literature - descriptions of the lives of saints, the acts of the apostles, parts of the Holy Scriptures.

The best way to understand what the legend means is at specific example. Everyone has heard the legend of Atlantis - a mysterious city-civilization that was developed beyond words. high level, which angered the gods and went under water. Part of this story - the existence of the city of Atlantis - is true. The rest - the wrath of the gods, the level of development of civilization, the strength of the inhabitants themselves - the Atlanteans - may be true, or it may also be the conjecture of the storytellers.

What is the difference between a myth and a legend?

Myth is a certain literary genre, conveying human understanding of the origin of the world, and natural phenomena, and the place of man himself in this world. The essence of myth and legend is, in principle, the same, but has a significant difference in time frame.

In the earliest period of human development ( Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece), when the order of chronology was just emerging, the main thing in the human worldview was myth. It was thanks to myths that people explained to themselves the most important human issues.

Gradually, with the development of humanity and the emergence of monotheistic religions (where there is only one Creator God, and not several), legends appeared - more realistic tales that help describe not the entire universe as a whole, but some of its individual elements.

The concept of legend has been rethought, and now we also call “legend” people and events that have gained worldwide fame. For example, the legends of rock are The Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, and the legends of domestic show business are Alla Pugacheva, the group " VIA Gra" and others.

Dictionary of economic terms

Legend

inscription on a coin, medal.

Reference Commercial Dictionary (1926)

Legend

an inscription made on the rim of a coin indicating the content of noble metal in it.

Modern economic dictionary. 1999

Culturology. Dictionary-reference book

Legend

(lat. legenda, lit. - something that should be read) - a folk tale about a historical event; in Christianity - a story about the life and deeds of a saint.

Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms

Legend

♦ (ENG legend)

a legend that has religious significance, but may also have dubious historical authenticity.

A brief dictionary of operational-tactical and general military terms

Legend

Dictionary of Military Terms

Legend

Dictionary of mythology by M. Ladygin.

Legend

Legend- a mythologized tale based on oral tradition about a historical person, act or event.

Sources:

● M.B. Ladygin, O.M. Ladygina Brief mythological dictionary - M.: Publishing house NOU "Polar Star", 2003.

Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language (Alabugina)

Legend

Y, and.

1. A story about something. historical or fictitious person, event, name; myth, legend.

* Legends of Ancient Greece. *

2. Fiction, fiction.

* Tell legends. *

Dictionary of musical terms

Legend

encyclopedic Dictionary

Legend

(from Latin legenda, lit. - something that should be read),

in medieval writing - the life of a saint and a religious and moral story, a parable; in folklore - a folk story about the miraculous that has become a tradition, perceived by the narrator and the listener as reliable (the legend of "golden age"); V latest literature any work that is distinguished by poetic invention, but claims to have some kind of authenticity in the past.
In everyday meaning - something incredible, a fiction.

Efremova's Dictionary

Legend

and.
1. :
  1. A poetic fantasy tale (usually of religious content).
  2. A fantastic story, a poetic legend about someone. event or person.
2. An instrumental piece of a narrative nature, often embodying musical by some means. folk legend.
3. What seems incredible; fiction, fiction.
4. A fictitious biography of an intelligence officer for the purpose of conspiracy.
5. trans. Inscription on the coin.
6. trans. Explanatory text and a set of symbols for a plan, drawing, map, etc.

Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language

Legend

Latin - lego (read).

The word has been known in Russian since the first half of the 19th century. A little later, the derivative adjective “legendary” appeared. The derived adjective has been found in the dictionary since 1845.

The word originates from the Latin language. Originally - from the word lego. Then the word is transformed into legendus, i.e. "to be read"

Ushakov's Dictionary

Legend

lege nda, legends, wives (lat. legenda - what you need to read) ( books).

1. A poetic fantasy tale with religious content.

| Any fantastic story, poetic legend about some event. Legends of the old castle. Medieval legends.

2. Fiction, invention; something that seems incredible. This is a legend that is not trustworthy. There were whole legends about him.

3. Inscription on the coin ( specialist.).

4. Explanatory text for the plan, drawing, map and so on. (specialist.).

Ozhegov's Dictionary

LEG E NDA, s, and.

1. Poetic legend about which historical event. Medieval legends.

2. trans. About the heroic events of the past (books). The man from the legend (a person with a glorious past). Live l.(about a person with a heroic, glorious past).

3. Fictitious information about oneself from someone who is performing a secret mission (special). L. resident.

4. Explanatory text, as well as a set of symbols for a map, plan, diagram (special).

| adj. legendary, oh, oh (to 1 value). L. genre.

Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism

Legend

(from lat. legenda - something that should be read) - 1) prose genre of folklore; a folk story about the miraculous that has entered into tradition, but is perceived, however, by the narrator and the listener as reliable; 2) any work that is distinguished by poetic invention, but claims to be authentic.

RB: types and genres of literature

Genus: folklore genres

Est: the fantastic in literature

Ass: legend

In Russia, many anti-serfdom legends were created about people's intercessors, as well as about prominent historical figures... The plot of the legend about Ataman Kudeyar was used by Nekrasov in the poem Who Lives Well in Rus' (A.F. Golovenchenko). *

Counterintelligence Dictionary

Legend

Agents and intelligence officers sent to a scouting country are usually provided with a cover legend, also called a protective legend, or a biographical legend. They use this legend to explain the circumstances and purposes of arrival in the country, the reasons for being in a certain area, the motives for certain actions, etc. and thereby hide their affiliation with intelligence and justify their intelligence actions. Sometimes an agent or scout is equipped with not one, but several legends or different variants of the same legend. Counterintelligence officers often use a legend when making contact with foreigners, when introducing agents into or out of a development, when encrypting particularly important objects, when conducting operational games with the enemy, etc.

Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Legend

(from Lat. legenda - that which should be read). - In the usage of medieval Catholicism, L. was called the praise and life of a saint, which should have been read in church on the day dedicated to the celebration of the memory of this saint. Since the lives of saints were considered particularly beneficial reading, the name L. was extended to all stories of a religious nature, edifying to the same extent. In the age of development of church-historical criticism, the legendary life of a saint is contrasted with his authentic or reliable deeds (acta); but in the Middle Ages, when from historical (and sometimes literary, for example from one’s own name; so Veronica from verus and Greek icon, eleven thousand companions of St. Ursula from the name Undecimilla, etc.) bases or from church tradition were created, disseminated and received artistic treatment by L., such a difference could not exist. Medieval Catholic literary works reflect the moral character of the era more fully than any other literary phenomenon. Already in the 6th century. in Gregory of Tours and in the “Dialogues” of Pope Gregory, we find a number of characteristic and durable letters. As Catholic culture becomes isolated and develops, history becomes more complicated and embellished with the help of a wide variety of sources: classical legends (for example, Judas the traitor, following the example of Oedipus , turns out to be a parricide and incest), German mythology, stories of travelers to holy places, instructive and non-instructive books, church rituals, iconography and, finally, reality itself (for example, the Crusades contributed to the development of literature about the tree of the cross, which grew into a whole a series of episodic stories; the transfer of relics often introduces L. into a new phase of development, and sometimes brings to life a new phenomenon, such as the legend of the Holy Grail; the timing of the celebration of a saint or event at a certain time of the year often introduced new details into L. about him, and etc.). In that age of unconditional faith and the search for the miraculous, every historical fact, both from the long past (the life of Alexander the Great, Virgil, etc.), and from the present or recent (the life of a medieval scientist, for example, Herbert, later Pope Sylvester II) turns into pious L., who finally turns out to be the only by reading everyone who understands Latin. From books about saints and books dedicated to holidays, collections were early compiled (by Gregory of Tours - “De miraculis martyrum” and “De gloria confessorum”), of which the so-called Golden L . (Legenda Aurea). Its author is Jacob of Voragin (see), arch. Genoese (d. 1298). The popularity of the Golden L. in the transitional era from the Middle Ages to modern times is almost unparalleled: before 1500 there were 70 Latin editions. the original and more than 30 translations into English, French, Italian, Low German and Czech. Like all widely circulated books, the Golden L. was subject to significant additions and changes (chapters about holidays and saints that became known after the 13th century were added; in the German edition of 1483, 38 articles about local shrines in Germany were added). The most common is not at all critical French. translation Gustav Brunet (P. 1843); much better than "Jacobi a Voragine Legenda aurea vulgo historia lombardica dicta", ed. Graesse (Dresd. and Lpts., 1846; 2nd ed. 1850; 3rd ed., 1892; for its shortcomings see Roze, "Revue de l"art chr é tien", 1867, XI, 44). In its current form The Golden L. consists of a short prologue in which the author explains the system of his collection (the entire life of mankind is divided into four periods: the period of deviation from the path - deviationis - from Adam to Moses; renewal - renovationis - from Moses to R.C.; reconciliation - reconciliationis - when Christ reconciled us with the Lord, and wanderings - peregrinationis - our modern life; therefore, the church year is divided into 4 parts, of which special holidays are dedicated to each of these holidays and the chapters of his book are located), and 182 chapters, except additions and appendices. The vast majority of the main chapters are devoted to the presentation of the lives of the saints of the Catholic Church, which the compiler often prefaced with etymological explanations of their names (of course, extremely naive and often absurd) and which he decorated with numerous quotes from Holy Scripture and the Fathers of the Church. From the editions of the lives, not the most reliable, but the most entertaining ones were selected. The minority consists of stories about the events of the Gospels, often with clearly apocryphal features, borrowed, however, not directly from the apocrypha, but from their abbreviated popular transcriptions (the compiler quotes them under the name hystoriae scholaslicae); these stories are also decorated with quotations and interpretations, which greatly appealed to the more literary readers of the book of James, while the apocryphal additions that delight the imagination were especially to the heart of the “simple” clerics. The fact that the Golden L. satisfied different tastes was the reason for its enormous popularity, which numerous attacks could not weaken for a long time. Only in the era of the struggle between Protestantism and the revived and purified Catholicism of the second half of the 16th century, the Golden L. began to give way to other collections compiled with greater criticism. In the XIV and XV centuries. The Golden L. serves as a direct source of a mass of works of spiritual national poetry in all European countries, and through this it influences other areas of artistic and spiritual life in general: national epic, drama, lyrics, iconography, etc. (about works of Czech poetry based on the Golden L. . see J. Feifalik, in "Sitz.-ber. der Wiener Akad. philos.-hist., Kl.", XXXVII, 1861, p. 56); but the above-mentioned, more “sober” collections of the 17th century are in one way or another closely connected with the Golden L., which is important, therefore, for anyone who studies the history of any hagiographic or even legendary plot. "Minea" by Dmitry of Rostov and Russian iconography of the 17th century. did not escape its very noticeable influence.

In the era of the development of national literatures of Western Europe, L., taking a poetic form, became the favorite reading of secular people, and the internal development of L. goes even further in the same direction of the miraculous. The first monuments of ancient French poetry are dedicated to the praise and depiction of the life of St. Eulalia and St. Leodegaria ("Vie de saint Léger"); one of the first German documents. poetry - “Song of St. George” (according to his apocryphal life). In X Art. A number of eastern routes penetrate through Italy to the West. L., which in the following centuries provide rich material for the emerging national poetry. In the 11th century in France, an excellent poem about Alexei the man of God was written in assonance, which was redone in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. (see "La Vie de saint Alexis", par Gaston Paris, new ed., Par., 1885); there at the beginning of the 12th century. L. is presented about Gregory the Great and the involuntary sinner (incestuous), who, having atoned for his crime, was later a patriarch or pope (source of Hartmann's poem by F. Aue, see); besides the 12th century. There are many poetic French legends, as well as Celtic religious legends that became known to the Normans after the conquest of England. The latter includes a poem about St. Brendan (written around 1125), an Irish abbot (see Brandanus), who, sailing to the west, reached paradise and saw the places of torment of sinners, and about the knight Aries, who descended into the purgatory of St. Patrick; both of these L., together with Tunsdal’s vision (preserved only in prose), belong to a large family of apocrypha about the afterlife, headed by “The March of the Virgin Mary through Torment” and “The Vision of Apostle Paul” (see the study by L. Shepelevich, Kharkov, 1891-1892). The murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (1170), aroused the energetic activity of spiritual poets; the author of one poetic poem about him, who gave it its final form in 1173, the wandering (Vagant) cleric Garnier de Pont-Sainte-Maxence, recited it many times at the very grave of the people’s saint, as an instruction to his admirers (it is known that around the same time time in France, on the day of the celebration of the saint, French poetic poems were read in churches to edify the common people; this custom passed to England). The 13th century in France was especially rich in poetic literature, new to those who did not know Latin. The degree of creativity of their authors is extremely diverse: there are almost literal translations, and such free alterations, in which it is only difficult to trace the connection with the Latin source; even the retellings of the earthly life of the Savior and the Mother of God include details and episodes closely related to the monuments of the national epic and knightly novel; Oriental leaves are processed with special energy. , providing food for the imagination already in the original itself (the spiritual romance about Varlaam and the Indian prince Joseph was the source of three separate poems), with particular freedom - wandering legends of a religious nature (about the proud emperor, from whom an angel stole his clothes, appearance and the throne itself; about the hermit and the angel, corresponding to the Russian L. “Angel”, which gave the plot for the famous story of Count L. Tolstoy: “How people are alive”, etc.; the French usually call such L. contes dé vots). At the same time, extensive collections of L. were compiled about the miracles of the Virgin Mary, of which the most important collection is the collection of the Soissons monk Gautier de Coinci (d. 59 years old in 1236); it amounts to approx. 30,000 verses. In his stories, precious not only for the history of literature, but also for the study of the life of the era, there are many episodes that can outrage modern Catholics with their naivety, but the lively poetic animation of many of them reconciles criticism with them (there we find a story about how the Mother of God breastfed a sick monk; like a thief who used to work to call on the name of the Mother of God, was supported for 3 days on the gallows by Her white hands; how the Mother of God for many years performed duties for a nun who ran away from the monastery to indulge in carnal pleasures, etc.). In subsequent centuries, the activity of authors and renovators of poetic literature does not stop, and many of their works become even more popular, appearing from the book to the stage; at the same time, with the increased need for reading, both individual books and collections of them are translated into French prose. Wed. about French L.: Douhet, “Dictionnaire des l égendes” (1855); Alf. Maury, "Les L. pieuses du Moyen-Age"; Gaston Paris, "Poé sie -au Moyen-Age" (1887). IN Germany, in the early period of medieval poetry (11th and 12th centuries), poetic literature was processed mainly by poets of the clergy (one of the oldest and most interesting in terms of breadth of view is dedicated to the life of Annon, bishop of Cologne, died in 1075). Court poets are attracted only by those legendary subjects in which they find something knightly (for example, from the Old Testament - Judith, from the lives of saints - St. George) or fantastically fabulous (such as L. Hartmann v. Aue); the Shpilmans work in the same direction, and from their hands half-legends, half-epices like “Orendelle”, “Oswald”, etc. come to life; Through them, echoes of L. penetrate into ancient national poems like Wolfdietrich, and among the knightly poets, other lives take on the character of knightly novels. In the XIII and XIV centuries. The clergy is energetically working on many legendary subjects and providing the people with a lot of edifying reading. Early there was a desire to cyclize, to gather together this spiritual wealth, and already in the 2nd half of the 13th century. on the middle Rhine, a huge collection (up to 100,000 poems) “Passional” was compiled, divided into 3 parts: the 1st treats about I. Chr. and the Mother of God, 2nd - about the apostles and evangelists, 3rd - about the saints, the legends about which are arranged according to the church calendar; its compiler is a preacher who came to the conclusion that scripture is more powerful than preaching. In the era of book printing in Germany, as well as in France, some of the favorite literary works turned into popular literature. History of L. in England falls into the same periods as medieval English literature. Anglo-Saxon Latvia, in the early products of which numerous echoes of the national epic can be heard, is replaced by Norman-French. It is followed by Middle English, very extensive in the number and variety of monuments; its sources are either Latin or French; it contains curious echoes of ancient Germanic beliefs and medieval beliefs (for example, L. about St. Michael, depicting his battle with the dragon Satan, not only talks about the ranks of angels and the creation of the human race, to replenish the void created as a result of the falling away of the host of Lucifer's servants , but also talks about brownies - alps and about elves and sets out the entire medieval demonology, in connection with cosmogony, physiology, psychology, etc.). At the end of the 13th century. in the south of England, an extensive collection of poems (Alexandrian couplets) was compiled, known under the name Liber festivalis; it contains many poems about national saints, representing interesting historical material; sources - French and Latin; the close similarity of many stories with the Golden L. is explained by the unity of origin. This collection, like similar ones in other countries, for most medieval readers replaced all historical reading, since it presented everything that was considered interesting then, from the beginning of the world to the last days. As in individual L., episodes full of deep and subtle feelings alternate here with naive, sometimes funny rudeness, infantile gullibility with an inquisitive mind (the poet, for example, enthusiastically talks about how St. Margaret, swallowed up by a dragon, came out of him and killed him - and then he himself expresses doubt about the possibility of killing the devil). The poets of Chaucer's era and later did not neglect L.'s more or less beautiful retelling. IN Italy, due to the late isolation of the literary language, Latin remains in its original Latin attire longer than anywhere else, but among the Quattrocentists and Cinquecentists (writers of the 14th and 15th centuries) it receives great development; Italian L. represents more classical reminiscences than any other. In literature Iberian The peninsula of Latvia plays an even more important role and early appears on the theater stage, from which it does not leave until the 17th century. inclusive. IN South Slavic lands and in ancient Russia quite numerous L., translated from Greek, as well as compiled according to their model, were rewritten over a number of centuries, but changed only in minor details, and most of them remain purely book monuments. These are the legends, stories, parables, tales and literature, published in the 1st and 2nd editions of “Monuments of Ancient Russian Literature” gr. Kushelev-Bezborodko (St. Petersburg, 1860), as well as scattered in scientific and spiritual journals, publications of the “Society of Lovers of Ancient Russian Writing”, “Proceedings” of archaeological. congresses and special studies. Only a certain part of book literature and apocrypha penetrates the people, but it penetrates deeply and is altered either into spirituality. poems, or spiritual tales, otherwise called folk L. , which, due to the properties of their easily movable form and method of transmission, deviate significantly further from their sources than Western or spiritual poetry. The most interesting collection of Russian folk literature was published by A. N. Afanasyev in 1859; it has long become a great bibliographic rarity. There are only 33 L. in it (and including Nos. 3 and 26, 4 and 5, 27 and 28 represent only variants), but they are perfectly selected and equipped with precious historical and literary instructions (for analysis by A. N. Pypin, see in Sovremennik, 1860, No. 5). Folk poetry is also found in all large collections of folk poetry: in Works of Ethnogr. - Stat. expedition" (Chubinsky), in Drahomanov, in Shein's "Belarusian Collection", etc.; many of them are scattered in "memory books" and other regional publications, also in ethnographic journals (for a review of previous works, see Pypin's "History of Russian Ethnography" , the newest - in "Ethnographer. Review" and "Living Antiquity"). For a general description of Russian folk literature, see "Ist. Lit.” Galakhov (2nd and 3rd ed., § 20), as well as in Porfiryev and others. Our best researcher on the history of Latvia is Academician Alexander Nik. Veselovsky, who began in the “Journal of Min. Nar. Ave., in 1875, a series of works entitled: “Experiments on the history of the development of Christian literature” and continued them in the publishing house of academic sciences, in “Research in the field of Russian spiritual verse”, as well as in the study: “From the history novel and story" and small notes.

A. Kirpichnikov.

Legend(musical) - a musical composition based on a text of legendary content, in various sizes. Liszt wrote to L. about St. Elizabeth for solo, choir and orchestra, equal in volume to the oratorio; small instrumental pieces are also called L., for example. L. for violin by Wieniawski.

N.S.

Sentences containing "legend"

According to legend, Merenptah drowned in the Red Sea, but his mummy was found in the Valley of the Kings.

What I saw was supported by the legend of my father.

The composition of the mixture is kept secret, and this gives rise to numerous legends.

Having hung a target in the editorial office and received darts as a gift, we joined the noble sport with its legends, champions, advanced technologies and high fashion.

A special subject of grandmother’s pride, the theme of family legends, a story certainly passed on orally to new generations of our summer residents, was the wedding of her stepson, one of the twins, Uncle Albert, at which.

There is a legend that Galileo dropped objects of different masses from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and measured the speed of their fall.

The authorities, the notorious inner circle of Stalin, were tired of Stalin’s terror, which after the 19th Congress he intended to thoroughly cleanse, which, according to the legend, served

How often today do we hear cliché words and expressions like “the birth of a legend” without thinking about what a legend is, strictly speaking. If we turn to the primary sources, the word legenda comes from the Latin language. Thus, there is reason to believe that legends are the know-how of the Romans, but this statement is controversial. Its translation sounds like “reading”, “readable”. There are monographs about this type of traditional genre by the Russian scientist of the 19th century, the classic of linguistics R. O. Shor.

And what does reading have to do with it if we are talking about oral folklore? This question is quite natural. Indeed, legends were once intended in Rome for illiterate citizens; they contained historical and religious information that they could understand. From them people drew knowledge and moral principles.

Legends and traditions. What is the difference?

The meaning of the word “legend”, which was borrowed, is close to the meaning of the Old Russian word “tradition”. The latter comes from the words “to convey,” meaning by word of mouth. Tradition, as a rule, is tied to a specific area or people. The legend was originally distinguished by its assessment of events and people according to religious norms.

Christian legend traditionally includes an assessment of events according to Christian standards of life. It is more generalized than legend. What both narration and legend have in common is their common basis - certain historical events. The latter are usually dramatic.

Expanded understanding of the legend

Let's try to answer in more detail the question of what a legend is. A religious legend, as already noted, can take the form of a dramatic miracle (a medieval story about miracles performed by saints). However, there are legends in other religions: Buddhism, Judaism, Islam. The genre acquired a broader, non-ritual meaning. Its subject was the story of a hero, historical figure or event. Examples of such works will be discussed below.

Famous Legends

Let us remember, To do this, we present several of the most famous examples this genre. This is the legend about the journey of the hero Jason and his comrades on the ship Argo in search of the Golden Fleece to Colchis. This story has survived centuries and has survived to this day. The legend of the Trojan War, its heroes and the drama of the confrontation has also passed through the thickness of time. Even today, Achilles and Hector inspire creative people to numerous remakes of this legend in various forms of art.

An allegorical and instructive story is about the victory of the hero Theseus over the monster Minotaur, who lives in the palace labyrinth of the king of Crete. “The Aeneid” tells us about the courageous founder of Rome - the hero Aeneas, a Trojan who fled after the destruction of his native city-kingdom by the Greeks.

Three hundred Spartans who gave a heroic battle to the Persians in the Thermopylae Gorge also became a legend.

The legend of the “Flying Dutchman” is widely mentioned in literature. The captain brought a curse on his ship, swearing on his mother's bones that no one would come ashore, and condemned his soul to eternal wandering. A meeting with this ship appearing in the Indian Ocean promised death for the sailors and ruin for other ships.

The Middle Ages are decorated with knightly and heroic legends. Russian legends about the miraculous victory over the serpent and about heroes are also known.

The French are proud of their national hero - the knight Roland.

In British folklore, there is a well-known legend about King Arthur, who united around himself

School program

In general educational institutions, the literary legend is studied as a genre. 5th grade according to the program includes both the most famous works, as well as local legends. This one is adapted to children's perception. Legend is a genre of literature related to small forms of folklore. It is capacious and quite laconic, which is important for children’s perception. In addition, this genre traditionally uses expressive concepts of love and hate, good and evil, and justice. It is somewhat like a fairy tale.

The genre of legend was developed in the 19th century by the titans of literature: L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, I. S. Turgenev. For example, Lev Nikolaevich wrote the essay “The Destruction of Hell and Its Restoration”, “The Christmas Legend”. Fyodor Mikhailovich wrote a monumental work - “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor”. Ivan Sergeevich - “Eastern Legend”, “Legend of St. Julian the Merciful."

Conclusion

The genre under consideration is very dynamic. Therefore, speaking about what a legend is, it should be noted that today this genre is experiencing a rebirth. Society, faced with the unknown, the unknown, begins to create new legends. For example, about aliens abducting people, about a monster about a system of pyramids and other objects that prevent the destruction of civilization, about human heroes - our contemporaries. In addition, legends are also born from literary works, if, of course, they were written by a real master. For example, Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings was perceived by the British as an epic. The stories told in this trilogy have become legends.