Russian skazki

[Muireann Maguire]

Robert, what I had in mind as potentially 'magical' texts for your interest 
were the Baranov tales mentioned by William Ryan(Moskovskye legendy, which 
can be downloaded as a free e-book here 
http://imwerden.de/pdf/baranov_moskovskie_legendy.pdf) and a peasant legend 
from Bruce's Kaluga estate, retold by M.V. Chistiakov as 'Narodnoe predanie 
o Briuse: iz vospominanii moego tovarishcha', in Russkaia starina, 1871, 
IV, pp. 167-170. The latter is quite a short piece. I would not dare argue 
with an eminent folklorist about whether the inclusion of alchemy as a 
theme, or legends about real-life origins as source material, is legitimate 
in an anthology of folklore. However these tales are genuinely fascinating 
in their own right...

My own interest in Iakov/James Bruce lies precisely in his reception as an 
alchemist - although the key word 'reception' liberates me from speculating 
as to whether he actually was an alchemist in his free time or not. 
Valentin Boss's monograph 'Newton and Russia: The Early Influence, 
1698-1796' (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972) cannot actually 
prove that he was, but it presents evidence that Bruce probably associated 
with the known alchemist Newton during the former's visit to London in 
1698. He was also associated with the phantasmagorical Neptune society but 
I think history begins to fade into legend at this point. It's very 
interesting that William Ryan identifies doubts over Bruce's real-life 
credentials as an alchemist, since folklore certainly pigeonholes him as 
one.

What is extraordinary about Bruce is the virtually unanimous reinvention of 
this undoubtedly talented and multifaceted individual as a black magician, 
alchemist, Satanist, etc, by sources ranging from peasant legends, to urban 
legend, to literature and poetry. Even Lazhechnikov called him a 'koldun' 
and a 'chernoknizhnik'; his unfinished novel on Bruce subscribed to the 
growing body of legends about the Sukharevskii Tower in Moscow, where Bruce 
allegedly located his astronomical observatory.

Best,

Muireann
-- 
Dr Muireann Maguire                Jesus College, Cambridge

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