HRIŠĆANSKI I PAGANSKI ELEMENTI U SRPSKIM NARODNIM LEGENDARNIM PRIČAMA

This article offers a comprehensive exploration of legendary narratives, unraveling the intricate layers of religious and cultural influences that shape legendary folk tales. Drawing upon the legendary folk tale corpus compiled in the works of V. Stefanović Karadžić and V. Čajkanović, the study dissects the essential com- ponents of legendary storytelling. Highlighting the heterogeneous nature of religious elements within legendary stories, the article challenges the notion of homogeneity, acknowledging the coexistence of Christian and pagan influences. It shines a spotlight on the structural intricacies, such as temptation, character origins, and the nuanced systems of reward and punishment embedded within these tales. The research discerns how these diverse elements serve a distinct function in establishing ethical codes, despite their varied prevalence across narratives. In its essence, the article celebrates the rich tapestry of legendary storytelling, where each narrative possesses its own unique deviations from conventional models. By acknowledging the varying degrees of Christian and pagan influence through a lens of origin and literary function, this article seeks to classify and comprehend the role of religious elements within the broader landscape of oral literature