THE RELIEF OF THE DRAGON FROM HALYCH

Abstract

The ancient chronicles, literature and the researches of modern historians, archeologists and art investigators show the important role of Halych in the cultural and public life of the ancient Rus of the XIIth–XIIIth centuries. Halych artistic school is considered as one of the centres from which architectural plastic and stone building spread in other parts of ancient Rus. But many aspects of its development are not sufficiently studied. For example, a very interesting dragon was found in the XVIth century church of the Assumption in the village of Krylos (ancient Halych) on the part of the block, 65 cm long and 33 cm high. The research carried out by the author indicates that the relief belonged to the ancient church of Assumption built by Iaroslav Osmomysl in 1157. Now it is placed in the central part of the portal with the symmetric reflection of the dragon with a palmette which reflected the mythological and poetic ideas about its protective abilities. The analysis of this relief acknowledged that the culture of ancient Halych was developing closely with the European architectural plastic and sometimes using the forms of Romanesque architecture with semantically similar ideas. These cultural forms were closely connected with the folklore and artistic traditions of the Slavs, that appeared in the peculiarities of the thematic sculpture of Halych.
sculpture of Halych.