‘Etudes on the History of the Evolution of Christian Legend’ is a cycle of articles by the outstanding philologist and historian, Academician Aleksander Nickolaevich Veselovsky (1838-1906), publ. in 1875-1877. The initial title was ‘Etudes on the History of Christian Superstition”, but it was rejected by the magazine’s Editorial Board, though it reflected the main idea of V., aimed against the ideas of the mythological school: instead of pagan superstition a new one, Christian came, not better that the other.

There were only two ‘Etudes’ in publication, and each of them included several problems. In the first one, ‘Apocalypse of Methodius and the Byzantine-German Imperial Saga’, the author ries to trace back the origin of ideas in the Emperor-Liberator (which was explained with German Paganism by the mythological school). In the first chapter he makes the philological analysis of medieval sources showing the influence of the Apocalypse of [Pseudo]Methodius on them. The second chapter, ‘Legend on the Returning Emperor’, keeps the analysis of that Apocalypse and shows the interpolations, and the author tries to reconstruct the original version. Interpolations are divided into historical and legendary ones. The author notes that the legend of the Emperor-Liberator was connected with the question ‘Where is he now?’, and there were different answers, depending on cultural interests. So, the next chapter ‘Legend on the Hidden Emperor’ tells about German Emperor Friedrich II and legends around him. On the author’s opinion, the Emperor was hidden somewhere in the East, or in a German castle. In the conclusion V. returns to the role of Christian apocrypha in the shaping of German (and Byzantine, connected with Michael) Imperial legends.

The second etude is ‘Bertha, Anastasia, and Pyatnitsa (an attempt of mythological analysis)’; it consists of six chapters. The first chapter ‘Sibyl – Samovila – reine Pédauque: Bertha’ is on the Queen of Sheba, or Sibyl: the author argues for its identity with German Bertha on the base of typical details: donkey’s/goose’s leg, and textual sources. The second fragment, ‘Epistle on Nedelya (Week)’ V. studies the Christian veneration of the days of the week; he gives examples of epistles and makes an accent at the role of flagellants in the dissemination of the text, which was used as amulet. Later, he analyses ‘The Dream of the Mother of God and united versions of the Epistle’; he tries to explain why two texts circulated together and finds the inner link between them. In the ‘Tale of 12 Fridays’ V. sees analogues with the cult of Pyatnitsa (Friday), attracting various superstitions and legends. The fragment on the ‘Domenica-Anastasia) and Pyatnitsa-Paraskeva’ tells about the origin of the myth and embodiment of those two persons in folk legends of Europe and Russian-Slavic region. The final part, ‘Freiheit – Eleutherios’, connects that legend with the Byzantine ‘Tale of 12 Fridays’,

The author set the main task as a way of understanding the historical dynamics of the folk mentality and psycho atmosphere, as well as restoring the folk input into the national and world culture. Using the historical-comparative method, on the base of folk legends, spiritual verses and epic, V. polemized with the mythological school.