Folk Tales From the Russian: Notes

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This is an annotated glossary of cultural and linguistic notes accompanying a 1903 English-language collection of Russian folk tales, compiled by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal. The notes explain Russian-specific vocabulary — titles of nobility and royalty (tsar, boyar, tsarevitch), everyday objects (izba, sarafan, schouba), food and drink (mead, kabak), and religious customs (icons) — to orient Western readers unfamiliar with Russian peasant life. Beyond simple translation, the author frequently draws comparisons between Russian and English idioms, often noting where the Russian phrasing is more vivid or expressive than its English equivalent. The notes also offer brief ethnographic observations: the quasi-sacred relationship between tsar and subjects, the role of icons in every Russian home, and the convention of sleeping on brick stoves in winter. A recurring thread is the difficulty of exact translation, with several terms (moujik, "little father") flagged as having no true English equivalent. Readers deciding whether to engage with the full text will find these notes essential background for understanding the social world the folk tales inhabit.

Folk Tales From the Russian: Notes

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