Images of Ukraine and Ukrainians in the Story “Taras Bulba” by M. Gogol (1835)

Abstract

The theme of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Cossackdom is one of the main themes in the work of M. Gogol. For him, this theme was very important in the context of his family. It is known that Gogol’s ancestors on his mother’s side were Cossacks. For example, the writer’s distant ancestor Ostap Gogol was a hetman of the Right-Bank Ukraine at the beginning of the 17th century. However, the subject of Ukraine also interested Gogol as a historian and artist. In the early 1830s Gogol was deeply researching the history of Europe in the Middle Ages and wrote several historical articles. In particular, he wrote a lot about medieval knights. Who are knights? This concept originated in Western Europe in the Middle Ages, especially in the 11th-13th centuries. Knights participated in military campaigns, fought in combat tournaments, and joined religious and military associations. At that time, the countries of Western Europe developed a chivalric code – certain rules of morality and behavior for knights. The leading ideas of the chivalric code were courage, honor, defending Christian faith, protecting the poor and disadvantaged, trustworthiness, dignity, etc. The knights also served their beloved ladies, for whom they performed feats, won battles, and composed poems and songs. In one of his articles, Gogol compared Ukrainian Cossacks to the knights of Western Europe.