AN ENCOUNTER IN THE FOREST. SAMPLES AND INSTRUCTIONS IN THE CULTURE OF COMMUNICATION IN MEDIEVAL IRELAND

The article is devoted to the study of two types of communication with a mythological character. The protagonist’s tactics depend on the narrative genre. In the bylichka-tale a mythological character is represented as a potential aggressor and must be driven away, presumably by swear words. In a fairy tale the same mythological character could on the contrary have a function of a magic helper or a donor. He rewards the protagonist for his politeness and kindness. An erroneous assessment of the kind of ‘reality’ can itself become the object of narration. Two Old Irish tales are studied in a contrastive comparison. In both tales an encounter of five hunting brothers with a monstrous woman is described. She proposes to copulate with her to each of them. In the first tale (on the sons of Eochaid) only Niall agrees to this demand, and as a reward receives the sovereignty over Ireland. In the second, the initial situation is the same, but the monstrous woman turns out to be their cousin and rival in disguise. All brothers agree to copulate with her, but find themselves bound and enslaved. The comparative analysis of the two texts is based on the inclusion of the point of view of the compiler and its intended audience in the material; as well as the opposition of pagan tradition and its Christian interpretation