Who are buffoons document for printing. Buffoons: the history of the phenomenon of buffoonery and its musical features

Buffoons, wandering actors of Ancient Rus' - singers, wits, musicians, skit performers, trainers, acrobats. Their detailed description is given by V. Dal: “A buffoon, a buffoon, a musician, a piper, a weirdo, a bagpiper, a psaltery player who makes his living by dancing with songs, jokes and tricks, an actor, a comedian, a funny man, a safe-catcher, a clown, a buffoon.” Known since the 11th century, they gained particular popularity in the 15th–17th centuries. They were persecuted by the church and civil authorities. A popular character in Russian folklore, the main character of many folk sayings: “Every buffoon has his own hoots,” “The buffoon’s wife is always cheerful,” “The buffoon will set his voice to beeps, but will not suit his life,” “Don’t teach me how to dance, I’m a buffoon myself.” , “The buffoon’s fun, Satan’s joy,” “God gave the priest, the devil the buffoon,” “The buffoon is not a comrade with the priest,” “And the buffoon cries at other times,” etc. The time of their appearance in Rus' is unclear. They are mentioned in the original Russian chronicle as participants in the princely fun. The meaning and origin of the word “buffoon” itself has not yet been clarified. A.N. Veselovsky explained it with the verb “skomati”, which meant to make noise; later he suggested in this name a rearrangement from the Arabic word “mashara”, meaning a disguised jester. A.I. Kirpichnikov and Golubinsky believed that the word “buffoon” comes from the Byzantine “skommarch”, translated as a master of laughter. This point of view was defended by scientists who believed that buffoons in Rus' originally came from Byzantium, where “amusements”, “fools” and “laughmakers” played a prominent role in folk and court life. In 1889, A.S. Famintsyn’s book was published Buffoons in Rus'. The definition given by Famintsyn of buffoons as professional representatives of secular music in Russia since ancient times, who were often simultaneously singers, musicians, mimes, dancers, clowns, improvisers, etc., was included in Small encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Efron (1909).

In the Middle Ages, at the courts of the first German rulers there were jokers, clowns and fools who wore various Greco-Roman nicknames, they were most often called “jugglers”. They began to gather in troupes - “colleges”, headed by archimim. They were often identified with charlatans, magicians, healers, and mendicant priests. Usually they took part in feasts, wedding and funeral ceremonies, and various holidays. A distinctive feature of the Byzantine and Western hypocrites was their wandering lifestyle. All of them were people on the move, wandering from place to place, and therefore acquired in the eyes of the people the significance of experienced, knowledgeable, and resourceful people. During their wanderings around the world, both Byzantine and Western “cheerful people” visited Kyiv and other Russian cities. There is a lot of evidence in ancient writing about buffoons as gifted singers and storytellers. In particular, they are mentioned in Tales of Bygone Years(1068). In Rus', as in Byzantium and the West, buffoons formed artels, or squads, and wandered around in “bands” for their trade. “Regardless of whether the art of Russian buffoons came from Byzantium or from the West,” Famintsyn emphasized, “it was already in the 11th century. rooted in the everyday life of Russian folk life. From now on, it can be considered as a phenomenon that has acclimatized and developed here independently, taking into account local conditions and the character of the Russian people.” In addition to the wandering buffoons, there were sedentary buffoons, mostly boyars and princes. It is the latter that folk comedy owes a lot to. Buffoons also appeared in the form of puppeteers. Performances of puppet comedy, constantly accompanied by the display of a bear and a “goat” that constantly hit “spoons,” have been given in Rus' for a long time. The comedian would put on a skirt with a hoop at the hem, then lift it up, covering his head, and perform his performance from behind this makeshift curtain. Later, puppeteers staged everyday tales and songs. Thus, puppet comedy, like the performance of everyday farces by mummers, was an attempt at an original processing of various elements of drama contained in Russian folk poetry or imported from outside. “We also had our own “actors” - buffoons, our own Meistersingers - “passing kaliki”, they spread “acting” and songs throughout the country about the events of the “Great Troubles”, about “Ivashka Bolotnikov”, about battles, victories and death Stepan Razin" (M. Gorky, About the plays, 1937).

Another version about the origin of the term “buffoon” belongs to N.Ya.Marr. He established that, according to the historical grammar of the Russian language, “skomorokh” is the plural of the word “skomorosi” (skomrasi), which goes back to the Proto-Slavic forms. Next, he traces the Indo-European root of this word, common to all European languages, namely the word “scomors-os”, which originally referred to a wandering musician, dancer, comedian. This is where the origins of the independent Russian term “skomorokh” come from, which exists in parallel in European languages when denoting folk comic characters: the Italian “scaramuccia” and the French “scaramouche”. Marr's point of view completely coincides with the generally accepted position in art history that mimes are a phenomenon of international order. In relation to Russian buffoons, Marr’s concept allows us to speak about their original emergence on the basis of the professionalization of participants in the pagan religious rites of the ancient Slavs, invariably accompanied by music, singing, and dancing.

Buffoons are mentioned in various Russian epics. Byzantine historian of the 7th century. Theophylact writes about the love of the northern Slavs (Vends) for music, mentioning the citharas they invented, i.e. gusli. The gusli as an indispensable accessory of buffoons is mentioned in ancient Russian songs and epics of the Vladimirov cycle. From a historical perspective, buffoons are known primarily as representatives of folk musical art. They become regular participants in village holidays, city fairs, perform in boyar mansions, and even penetrate church rituals. As evidenced by the decree of the Stoglavy Council of 1551 directed against buffoons, their gangs reach “up to 60–70 and up to 100 people.” Princely amusement is depicted in the frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv (1037). On one of the frescoes there are three dancing buffoons, one solo, the other two in pairs, and one of them either parodies a woman’s dance or performs something similar to the “quinto” dance with a scarf in his hand. On the other there are three musicians - two play horns, and one plays the harp. There are also two tightrope walkers: an adult, standing, supports a pole along which a boy is climbing. Nearby is a musician with a string instrument. The fresco depicts baiting or hunting a bear and a squirrel, a fight between a man and a costumed animal, and equestrian competitions; in addition, the hippodrome - the prince and princess and their retinue, the audience in the boxes. In Kyiv, apparently, there was no hippodrome, but horse racing and baiting of animals took place. The artist depicted the hippodrome, wanting to give his fresco greater pomp and solemnity. Thus, the performances of buffoons combined different types of arts - both dramatic and circus. It is known that back in 1571 they recruited “cheerful people” for state amusement, and at the beginning of the 17th century, the troupe of banquets was part of the Amusement Chamber, built in Moscow by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Then at the beginning of the 17th century. Princes Ivan Shuisky, Dmitry Pozharsky and others had buffoon troupes. Prince Pozharsky’s buffoons often walked around the villages “for their craft.” Just as medieval jugglers were divided into feudal jugglers and folk jugglers, so were Russian buffoons differentiated. But the circle of “court” buffoons in Russia remained limited; ultimately, their functions were reduced to the role of household jesters.

The bulk of Russian buffoons were folk amusements. Their appearance spoke of engaging in “demonic” craft; they dressed in short-skirted caftans, and wearing short-skirted clothing in Rus' was considered a sin. They also often resorted to masks in their performances, although back in the 9th century. masking met with sharp condemnation from the church, and they used foul language in their speeches. With all their everyday behavior, buffoons opposed themselves to the generally accepted way of life of old Rus', and in their creativity they were conductors of oppositional sentiments. Guselniks-buffoons not only played their instruments, but at the same time “said” works of Russian folk poetry. Performing as singers and dancers, they at the same time amused the crowd with their antics and gained a reputation as witty jesters. As their performances progressed, they also introduced “conversational” numbers and became popular satirists. In this capacity, buffoons played a huge role in the formation of Russian folk drama. The German traveler Adam Olearius, who visited Russia in the 1630s, in his famous Description of a trip to Muscovy... talks about buffoon fun: “Street fiddlers sing shameful deeds publicly on the streets, while other comedians show them in their puppet shows for money to the common youth and even to children, and the leaders of the bears have with them such comedians who, by the way, can immediately imagine some joke or prank, like... the Dutch with the help of dolls. To do this, they tie a sheet around the body, lift its free side up and arrange something like a stage above their heads, from which they walk through the streets and perform various performances on it with dolls.” Olearius’ story is accompanied by a picture depicting one of these performances by puppet comedians, in which you can recognize the scene “how a gypsy sold a horse to Petrushka.” Buffoons appear as characters in many epics of the North. Famous epic Vavilo and the buffoons, the plot of which is that the buffoons invite the plowman Vavila with them to make a fool of themselves and put him on the throne. Researchers of epics attribute to buffoons a significant share of participation in the composition of epics and attribute many, especially amusing buffoon stories, to their work. It should be noted that, along with buffoon players by profession, the epics also mention amateur singers from among noble persons of princely and boyar families. Such singers were Dobrynya Nikitich, Stavr Godinovich, Solovey Budimirovich, Sadko, mentioned in the epics.

Playing musical instruments, songs and dances were linked to the customs of folk masquerade. The ritual dressing of men as women and vice versa has been known since ancient times. The people did not give up their habits, their favorite Yuletide amusements, the ringleaders of which were the buffoons. During his feasts, Tsar Ivan the Terrible loved to disguise himself and dance with the buffoons. During the 16th–17th centuries. organs, violins and trumpets appeared at the court, and buffoons also mastered playing them. Around the middle of the 17th century. wandering bands are gradually leaving the stage, and settled buffoons are more or less retraining as musicians and stage performers in the Western European style. From that time on, the buffoon became an obsolete figure, although certain types of his creative activity continued to live among the people for a very long time. Thus, the buffoon-singer, performer of folk poetry, gives way to representatives of the emerging from the end of the 16th century. poetry; a living memory of him was preserved among the people - in the person of epic storytellers in the North, in the form of a singer or bandura player in the South. The buffoon-buzzer (guselnik, domrachey, bagpiper, surnachey), dance player turned into an instrumental musician. Among the people, his successors are folk musicians, without whom not a single folk festival is complete. The buffoon-dancer turns into a dancer, leaving in turn traces of his art in the daring folk dances. The buffoon-laugher turned into an artist, but the memory of him survived in the form of Christmas fun and jokes. Your book Buffoons in Rus' Famintsyn concludes with the words: “No matter how crude and elementary the art of buffoons may be, we should not lose sight of the fact that it represented the only form of entertainment and joy that suited the tastes of the people for many centuries, replacing the latest literature and the latest stage shows. Skomorokhs... were the oldest representatives of the folk epic and folk stage in Russia; At the same time, they were the only representatives of secular music in Russia...”

Musicians and buffoons. Look from the fresco of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. 1037

Adam Olearius. Puppeteer. 1643

A. P. Vasnetsov. Buffoons. 1904.

Buffoons (scoundrels, mockers, goose-goers, players, dancers, cheerful people; other-russian buffoon; church glory skomrah) - in the East Slavic tradition, participants in festive theatrical rituals and games, musicians, performers of songs and dances of frivolous (sometimes mocking and blasphemous) content, usually mummers (masks, drag queens). They practiced ritual forms of “anti-behavior”.

Known since the 11th century. They gained particular popularity in the 15th-17th centuries. They were persecuted by church and civil authorities.

Etymology

There is no exact explanation of the etymology of the word “buffoon”. There is a version of the origin of this word: “buffoon” - a re-formulation of the Greek. *σκώμμαρχος ‘master of the joke’, reconstructed from addition σκῶμμα ‘joke, mockery’ and άρχος ‘chief, leader’.

In the work of Adam Olearius, secretary of the Holstein embassy, who visited Muscovy three times in the 30s of the 17th century, we find evidence of a wave of general searches in the houses of Muscovites in order to identify “demonic vitriol vessels” - the musical instruments of buffoons - and their destruction.

In their homes, especially during their feasts, Russians love music. But since they began to abuse it, singing all kinds of shameful songs to the music in taverns, taverns and everywhere on the streets, the current patriarch two years ago first strictly forbade the existence of such tavern musicians and their instruments, which were found on the streets, and ordered them to be immediately smashed and destroy, and then generally banned all kinds of instrumental music for the Russians, ordering musical instruments to be taken from houses everywhere, which were taken... on five carts across the Moscow River and burned there.

A detailed description of the trip of the Holstein embassy to Muscovy... - M., 1870 - p. 344.

In 1648 and 1657, Archbishop Nikon achieved royal decrees on the complete prohibition of buffoonery, which spoke of beating buffoons and their listeners with batogs and destroying buffoon equipment. After this, the “professional” buffoons disappeared, but the traditions of buffoonery were preserved in the traditional culture of the Eastern Slavs, influencing the formation of epic plots (Sadko, Dobrynya, dressed as a buffoon at his wife’s wedding, etc.), the customs of dressing up, folk theater (“Tsar Maximilian”) , wedding and calendar folklore.

Over time, buffoons turned into bugbears, puppeteers, fair entertainers and show-offers.

Repertoire and creativity

The repertoire of buffoons consisted of comic songs, plays, social satires (“glum”), performed in masks and “buffoon dress” to the accompaniment of a whistle, gusli, psaltery, domra, bagpipes, and tambourine. Each character was assigned a certain character and mask, which did not change for years.

Their work contained a significant amount of satire, humor, and buffoonery. The buffoons are credited with participating in the composition of the epic “Vavilo and the buffoons”, ballads of a satirical and comic nature (for example, “Guest Terentishche”), fairy tales, and proverbs. The art of buffoons was associated with ancient paganism, free from church influence, imbued with a “worldly” spirit, cheerful and mischievous, with elements of “obscenity.”

During the performance, the buffoon communicated directly with the audience and often presented merchants, governors, and church representatives as satirical characters.

In addition to public holidays, weddings and birthplaces, buffoons, as experts in tradition, were also invited to funerals.

There is no doubt that here the buffoons, despite their comic nature, dared to appear at the sad pity parties out of the old memory of some once-understood funeral ritual with dances and games. There is no doubt that the people allowed them to visit their graves and did not consider it indecent to get carried away with their songs and games, according to the same old memory.

- Belyaev I. About buffoons // Temporary journal of the Society of Russian History and Antiquities - M., 1854 Book. 20

Church attitude

The majority of the church, and then, under the influence of the church and state testimonies, are imbued with a spirit of intolerance towards folk amusements with songs, dances, jokes, the soul of which was often buffoons. Such holidays were called “stingy,” “demonic,” and “ungodly.” The teachings repeated from century to century, borrowed from Byzantium, which had been heard there since the first centuries of Christianity, the censure and prohibition of music, singing, dancing, dressing up in comic, satyr or tragic faces, horse shows and other folk amusements, in Byzantium closely associated with pagan legends, with pagan cults. Byzantine views were transferred to Russian circumstances, only some expressions of the Byzantine originals were sometimes altered, omitted or supplemented, according to the conditions of Russian life.

Proverbs and sayings

Everyone will dance, but not like a buffoon.
Don’t teach me how to dance, I’m a buffoon myself.
Every buffoon has his own horn.
Skomorokh's wife is always cheerful.
The buffoon will set his voice on the whistle, but will not be satisfied with his life.
And the buffoon sometimes cries.
The buffoon is not a comrade.
God gave the priest, the devil a buffoon.

Buffoons are healers and performers of ritual songs that remained after the Baptism of Rus' by Vladimir. They wandered through cities and towns and sang ancient pagan songs, knew a lot about witchcraft, and were amusing actors. On occasion, they could heal the sick, they could offer good advice, and they also entertained the people with songs, dances and jokes.

In the literary monuments of the 11th century, there is already a mention of buffoons as people who combined the qualities of such representatives of artistic activity as singers, musicians, actors, dancers, storytellers, acrobats, magicians, funny jokers and dramatic actors.

The buffoons used such instruments as paired pipes, tambourines and harps, wooden pipes and the Pan flute. But the main instrument of buffoons is considered to be the gusli, because they are depicted in various historical monuments in the context of musical and buffoon creativity, for example, on frescoes, in book miniatures, and also sung in epics.

Together with the gusli, an authentic instrument called the “beep” was often used, which consisted of a pear-shaped soundboard; the instrument had 3 strings, two of which were bourdon strings, and one played the melody. The buffoons also played nozzles - longitudinal whistle flutes. It is interesting that snuffles and harps in ancient Russian literature were often contrasted with a trumpet, which was used to gather warriors for battle.

In addition to the buffoons, next to the harp, the image of a gray-haired (often blind) old man was also mentioned, who sang epics and tales of past deeds, exploits, glory and the divine. It is known that such singers were in Veliky Novgorod and Kyiv - they have reached us.

Parallel among European musical and sacred movements

Similar to the buffoons, there were musicians and singers in other countries - these were jugglers, rhapsodists, shpilmans, bards and many others.

The Celts had a social stratum - bards, these were the singers of the ancients, people who knew the secret and were revered by others, as they were considered messengers of the gods. A bard is the first of three steps to becoming a druid, the highest level in the spiritual hierarchy. The intermediate link was the phyla, who were also singers (according to some sources), but took a great part in public life and in the development of the state.

The Scandinavians had skalds who had great power to burn the hearts of people with their verbs and music, but music was not their main occupation, they cultivated the fields, fought and lived like ordinary people.

The fading tradition of buffoonery

The church actively persecuted buffoons, and their musical instruments were burned at the stake. For the church, they were outlaws, relics of the old faith that needed to be weeded out like weeds, so the buffoons were persecuted and physically destroyed by the Orthodox clergy.

After certain punitive measures, the pagan musicians were completely exterminated, but we still have songs that were passed down orally, we still have legends and images of amusing guslars. Who were they really? “We don’t know, but the main thing is that thanks to these singers we still have grains of sacred memory.

Buffoons appeared in Ancient Rus' as traveling actors, singers, skit performers, acrobats, and wits. Vladimir Dal characterizes buffoons as “who make their living by dancing with songs, jokes and tricks.”

Buffoons are popular as characters in Russian folklore, heroes of folk sayings: “Every buffoon has his own buzz,” “Don’t teach me how to dance, I’m a buffoon myself,” “Buffoon’s fun, Satan’s joy,” “God gave a priest, the devil is a buffoon,” “ A buffoon is not a comrade”, etc.

The exact appearance of buffoons in Rus' is unknown, however, in the original Russian chronicles one can find mention of buffoons as participants in princely fun. Ancient manuscripts preserve a lot of evidence about buffoons as gifted storytellers and actors.

For their trade in Rus', buffoons gathered in so-called squads and wandered around the world in organized bands. It is believed that the art of buffoons became established in Russian folk life already in the 11th century. From that time on, the art of buffoons began to develop independently, taking into account local conditions and the character of the Russian people.

In addition to the wandering buffoons, there were settled buffoons (princely and boyar), thanks to whom folk comedy appeared. For a long time, puppet comedy has been shown in Rus'. Particularly popular here were the puppet characters of a bear and a goat beating spoons. Later, buffoon puppeteers presented everyday tales and songs to the people. In Russian epics you can also find mention of buffoons. Here they gained fame as folk musicians.

Village holidays and fairs were not complete without buffoons. They also penetrated into church rituals. Actually, buffoons gave performances of two types of arts - dramatic and circus. There is information that in 1571 there was a recruitment of “cheerful people” for the amusement of the state. And in the 17th century, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich created the Amusement Chamber, which included a troupe of buffoons. During the same period, princes Dmitry Pozharsky and Ivan Shuisky also had troupes of buffoons. “Court” buffoons in Rus' remained at a limited level; as a result, their functions were reduced to the role of household jesters.

Among the Russian buffoons there were a significant number of folk amusements. They were engaged in the so-called “demonic” trade. They wore short clothes and masks at a time when in Rus' this was considered a sin. By their behavior, the buffoons opposed the generally accepted way of life in Rus'. Around the middle of the 17th century, wandering buffoons gradually ceased their activities, and settled ones transformed into musicians of the Western European type. From this time on, the creative activity of buffoons ends, although some of its types continue to live among the people for a certain period of time.

Who are the buffoons?

as in the song: we are wandering artists, our home is in the field... singers, musicians, acrobats and jesters...
Buffoons are Russian medieval actors, at the same time singers, dancers, animal trainers, musicians and authors of most of the verbal, musical and dramatic works they performed.
buffoons, traveling actors who amused the people by singing, dancing and playing musical instruments
In the East Slavic tradition, participants in festive theatrical rituals and games, musicians, performers of songs and dances of frivolous (sometimes mocking and blasphemous) content, usually mummers (masks, travesties).
clowns entertained people in the Middle Ages
Buffoons, traveling actors of Ancient Rus', singers, wits, musicians, skit performers, trainers, acrobats. Their detailed description is given by V. Dahl: “A buffoon, a buffoon, a musician, a piper, a wonder-player, a bagpiper, a guslar, who makes his living by dancing with songs, jokes and tricks, an actor, a comedian, a funny man, a bugbear, a clown, a buffoon.” Known since the 11th century. , gained particular popularity in the 15th-17th centuries. They were persecuted by the church and civil authorities. A popular character in Russian folklore, the main character of many folk sayings: “Every buffoon has his own hoots”, “The buffoon’s wife is always cheerful”, “The buffoon will tune his voice to the whistles, but will not suit his life”, “Don’t teach me how to dance, I’m a buffoon myself” , “The buffoon’s fun, Satan’s joy,” “God gave the priest, the devil the buffoon,” “The buffoon is not a comrade with the priest,” “And the buffoon cries at other times,” etc. The time of their appearance in Rus' is unclear. They are mentioned in the original Russian chronicle as participants in the princely fun. The meaning and origin of the word “buffoon” itself has not yet been clarified. A. N. Veselovsky explained it with the verb “skomati”, which meant to make noise; later he suggested a rearrangement in this name from the Arabic word “mashara”, meaning a disguised jester. A.I. Kirpichnikov and Golubinsky believed that the word “buffoon” comes from the Byzantine “skommarch”, translated as a master of laughter. This point of view was defended by scientists who believed that buffoons in Rus' originally came from Byzantium, where “amusements”, “fools” and “laughmakers” played a prominent role in folk and court life. In 1889, A. S. Famintsyn’s book, Buffoons in Rus', was published. The definition given by Famintsyn of buffoons as professional representatives of secular music in Russia since ancient times, who were often simultaneously singers, musicians, mimes, dancers, clowns, improvisers, etc., was included in the Small Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1909).
http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/krugosvet/article/5/51/1008457.htm
wandering mass entertainers in Rus'
Hello
Looks like they're buffoons. The people were having fun.
Buffoons are Russian medieval actors, at the same time singers, dancers, animal trainers, musicians and authors of most of the verbal, musical and dramatic works they performed.
Buffoons are Russian medieval actors, at the same time singers, dancers, animal trainers, musicians and authors of most of the verbal, musical and dramatic works they performed.
They arose no later than the middle of the 11th century, we can judge this from the frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, 1037. The heyday of buffoonery occurred in the 15th-17th centuries, then, in the 18th century, buffoons began to gradually disappear, leaving some traditions of their art as a legacy to booths and districts.

The repertoire of buffoons consisted of comic songs, plays, social satires (glum), performed in masks and buffoon dresses to the accompaniment of a whistle, gusel, psaltery, domra, bagpipes, and tambourine. Each character had a specific character and mask assigned to them, which did not change for years.
Skoromokhi performed on the streets and squares, constantly communicating with the audience, involving them in their performance.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, buffoons began to unite into gangs (approximately 70,100 people each) due to persecution by the church and the tsar. In addition to buffoonery, these gangs often engaged in robbery. In 1648 and 1657, Archbishop Nikon achieved decrees banning buffoonery.
Clowns
people who walked the streets and entertained people with their songs and games. but that was so long ago. although we also have a semblance of buffoons - DEPUTIES.
The image of the buffoon has been known since ancient times. Who are the buffoons? These are the traveling actors of Ancient Rus', performing as singers, wits, jesters, amuse-benders, performers of funny skits, jugglers and acrobats.
Relying on an explanatory dictionary, it is known that buffoons became especially popular in the 17th-18th centuries, but even today the image of a buffoon is also popular at children's parties. , be it Maslenitsa or Christmas, a folk festival or a bride's wedding ransom.
When inviting a buffoon to a holiday, be sure that you will have a lot of fun, play, sing sonorous songs, dance in circles and dance.
What's happened? What's happened?
Why is everything all around?
Spun, spun
And it went head over heels?
Maybe a terrible hurricane?
Is a volcano erupting?
Could it be a flood?
Why the pandemonium?
Here's the problem:
The buffoon came to
And I decided to cheer
Cheer up with a joke and laughter!
See you! Buffoons-amusements.
The oldest "theater" was the games of folk actors - buffoons. Buffoonery is a complex phenomenon. The buffoons were considered a kind of sorcerers, but this is erroneous, because the buffoons, participating in the rituals, not only did not enhance their religious-magical character, but, on the contrary, introduced worldly, secular content.
http://www.rustrana.ru/articles/18819/555.bmp
To make a fool of yourself, i.e. sing, dance, joke, act out skits, play musical instruments and act, i.e. portray some faces or creatures.
In parallel with the folk theater, professional theatrical art developed, the bearers of which in Ancient Rus' were buffoons. The appearance of puppet theater in Rus' is associated with buffoon games. The first chronicle information about buffoons coincides with the appearance of frescoes depicting buffoon performances on the walls of the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral.
The chronicler monk calls the buffoons servants of devils, and the artist who painted the walls of the cathedral considered it possible to include their image in church decorations along with icons.
Buffoons were associated with the masses, and one of their types of art was “glum,” that is, satire. Skomorokhs are called “mockers,” that is, scoffers. Mockery, mockery, satire will continue to be firmly associated with buffoons.
http://www.artandphoto.ru/stock/art2/593/3404.jpg
The worldly art of buffoons was hostile to the church and clerical ideology. The hatred that the clergy had for the art of buffoons is evidenced by the records of chroniclers ("The Tale of Bygone Years"). Church teachings of the 11th-12th centuries declare that the mummers resorted to by buffoons are also a sin. Buffoons were subjected to especially severe persecution during the years of the Tatar yoke, when the church began to intensively preach an ascetic lifestyle. No amount of persecution has eradicated the art of buffoonery among the people. On the contrary, it developed successfully, and its satirical sting became sharper.
http://www.siniza.com/old/fotki/skomorohi.jpg
In Ancient Rus', crafts related to art were known: icon painters, jewelers, wood and bone carvers, book scribes. Buffoons belonged to their number, being “cunning”, “masters” of singing, music, dancing, poetry, and drama. But they were regarded only as entertainers, amuse-benders. Their art was ideologically connected with the masses of the people, with the artisans, who were usually opposed to the ruling masses. This made their skill not only useless, but, from the point of view of the feudal lords and clergy, ideologically harmful and dangerous. Representatives of the Christian Church placed buffoons next to wise men and sorcerers. In rituals and games there is still no division into performers and spectators; they lack developed plots and transformation into images. They appear in folk drama, permeated with acute social motives. The emergence of public theaters of oral tradition is associated with folk drama. The actors of these folk theaters (buffoons) ridiculed the powers that be, the clergy, the rich, and sympathetically showed ordinary people. Folk theater performances were based on improvisation and included pantomime, music, singing, dancing, and church numbers; the performers used masks, makeup, costumes, and props.
The nature of the performances of buffoons initially did not require uniting them into large groups. To perform fairy tales, epics, songs, and play an instrument, only one performer was enough. Skomorokhs leave their native places and roam the Russian soil in search of work, moving from villages to cities, where they serve not only the rural, but also the townspeople, and sometimes even princely courts.
Buffoons were also involved in folk court performances, which multiplied under the influence of acquaintance with Byzantium and its court life. When the Amusing Closet (1571) and the Amusing Chamber (1613) were set up at the Moscow court, the buffoons found themselves in the position of court jesters.
Buffoon - musician, piper, dancer, magician, safecracker, actor.