A bogatyr (, ; , ) or vityaz (, ; , ) is a stock character in medieval Bylina, akin to a Western European knight-errant. Bogatyrs appear mainly in Rus' epic poems—Bylina. Historically, they came into existence during the reign of Vladimir the Great (Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 to 1015) as part of his elite warriors ( druzhina),[
] akin to Knights of the Round Table.
Etymology
The word
bogatyr is not of Slavic origin.
It derives from the Turco-Mongolic
baghatur "hero", which is itself of uncertain origin. The term is recorded from at least the 8th century.
[C. Fleischer, "Bahādor", in Encyclopædia Iranica]
Gerard Clauson suggests that bağatur was in origin a Hunnic language proper name, specifically that of Modu Chanyu.
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890—1907) claims that the first known use of the word in a Kievan context occurred in Stanisław Sarnicki's 1585 book Descriptio veteris et novae Poloniae cum divisione ejusdem veteri et nova ( A description of the Old and the New Poland with the old, and a new division of the same), which states: "Rossi ... de heroibus suis, quos Bohatiros id est semideos vocant, aliis persuadere conantur."
The term vityaz comes from Proto-Slavic *vitędzь, from Proto-Germanic * wīkingaz through a West Germanic intermediary. The earliest attested form is Old English wicing, "pirate", whence modern English viking. This in turn probably comes from Latin vicus with the Germanic suffix *-inga-, indicating belonging. In Germanic and Latin sources, the word has negative connotations. The circumstances of borrowing, and how it came to mean "hero" in Slavic, remain unclear.[Saskia Pronk-Tiethoff, (Brill, 2013), pp. 96–98. Based on her PhD diss.] Alternatively, per Brückner and Machek, the Proto-Slavic term could be of native Slavic origin, "victory" or "trophy".
In modern Russian, the word bogatyr also labels a courageous hero, an athlete or a physically strong man.[
]
Overview
Many Rus epic poems, called
(; ), prominently featured stories about these heroes, as did several chronicles, including the 13th century
Galician–Volhynian Chronicle. Some bogatyrs are presumed to be historical figures, while others, like the giant
Svyatogor, are purely fictional and possibly echo figures in Slavic pagan mythology. Some scholars divide the epic poems into three collections: the Mythological epics, older stories that were told before Kiev-Rus was founded and Christianity was brought to the region, and included magic and the supernatural; the Kievan cycle, which contains the largest number of bogatyrs and their stories (Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich); and the Novgorod cycle, focused on
Sadko and
Vasily Buslayev, which depicts everyday life in Novgorod.
Many of the stories about bogatyrs revolve around the court of Vladimir I of Kiev and feature in the Kievan Cycle. The most notable bogatyrs or vityazes served at his court: the trio of
Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and
Ilya Muromets. Each of them tends to be known for a certain character trait:
Alyosha Popovich for his wits, Dobrynya Nikitich for his courage, and
Ilya Muromets for his physical and spiritual power and integrity, and for his dedication to the protection of his homeland and people. Most of those bogatyrs' adventures are fictional, and often included fighting dragons, giants and other mythical creatures. However, the bogatyrs themselves were often based on real people. Historical prototypes exist both for Dobrynya Nikitich (the warlord
Dobrynya) and for Ilya Muromets.
The Novgorod Republic produced a specific kind of hero, an adventurer rather than a noble warrior. The most prominent examples were Sadko and Vasily Buslayev, who became part of the Novgorod Cycle of folk epics.
The most prominent heroes in these epics are Svyatogor and ; they are commonly called the "elder bogatyrs".
Later notable bogatyrs also include those who fought alongside Alexander Nevsky (1221–1263) – including Vasily Buslayev – and those who fought in the 1380 Battle of Kulikovo.
Kievan bogatyrs and their heroic tales have influenced figures in Russian literature and art, such Alexander Pushkin, who wrote the 1820 epic fairy-tale poem Ruslan and Ludmila, Viktor Vasnetsov, and Andrei Ryabushkin whose artworks depict many bogatyrs from the different cycles of folk epics. Bogatyrs are also mentioned in wonder tales in a more playful light as in "Foma Berennikov",
Red Medusa Animation Studio,[ About Three Russian Bogaturs, YouTube.com. Retrieved 2 September 2020.]
Female bogatyr
Though not as heavily researched, the female bogatyr or (поляница) is a female warrior akin to the
Amazons. Many of the more well-known polianitsas are wives to the famous male bogatyrs, such as Nastas'ya Nikulichna,
the wife of Dobrynya Nikitich. While the female bogatyr doesn't quite match the men in strength and bravery, there are stories detailing instances where they save their husbands and outwit the enemy.
They are often seen working with the heroes in tales that mention their presence.
Famous bogatyrs
Most bogatyrs are fictional, but are believed to be based on historical prototypes:
-
The three ones below are collectively known as "";
-
Ilya Muromets, regarded as the greatest of the bogatyrs, from village of Karacharovo, near Murom.
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Dobrynya Nikitich – based on a Dobrynya of Vladimir I, associated with Ryazan
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Alyosha Popovich ("Alyosha the Priest's Son") – from Rostov
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In Russian versions, they are from Murom,
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Mykyta Kozhumyaka, bogatyr and a folk hero snake wrestler, in honor of which Pereiaslav was named
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Evpaty Kolovrat, bogatyr described in The Tale of the Destruction of Ryazan, he fought an army of the Mongol ruler Batu Khan
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Svyatogor, a giant knight who bequeathed his strength to Ilya Muromets (purely fictional)
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Vasily Buslayev of Novgorod
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Anika the Warrior
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Duke Stepanovich
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Dunay Ivanovich
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Volga Svyatoslavovich (possibly based on Oleg of Novgorod or Vseslav of Polotsk
[Всеслав Брячиславич // Биографический справочник — Мн.: «Белорусская советская энциклопедия» им. Петруся Бровки, 1982. — Т. 5. — С. 129. — 737 с.])
-
Sukhman The Bogatyr
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Mikula Selyaninovich ("Mikula the Villager's Son")
Some of the historical warriors also entered folklore and became known as bogatyrs:
Bogatyrs in films
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Films by Alexander Ptushko:
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Sadko (Садко, 1953)
-
Ilya Muromets (Илья Муромец, 1956)
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Ruslan and Ludmila (Руслан и Людмила, 1972), based on a fantasy poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.
-
Soyuzmultfilm animated films (directed by Ivan Aksenchuk):
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Ilya Muromets (1975)
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Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber (1978)
-
Melnitsa Animation series The Three Bogatyrs:
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Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent (Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей, 2004)
-
Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych (Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч, 2006)
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Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber (Илья Муромец и Соловей-Разбойник, 2007)
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The Three Bogatyrs and Shamakhan Queen (Три богатыря и Шамаханская царица, 2010)
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The Three Bogatyrs on Distant Shores (Три богатыря на дальних берегах, 2012)
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The Three Bogatyrs: Course of the horse (Три богатыря: Ход конём)
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The Three Bogatyrs and the Sea King (Три богатыря и Морской царь)
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Other films:
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The Dragon Spell (Микита Кожум'яка, 2016) is a 2016 Ukrainian 3D animated fantasy film directed by Manuk Depoyan based on Anton Siyanika's fairy tale of the same name.
-
Mykyta Kozhumyaka (1965) animated Ukrainian cartoon based on folk tales from the times of Kievan Rus'
-
Alexander Nevsky (Александр Невский, 1938) by Sergei Eisenstein. Although based on real history, the film also shows a strong bylina influence and features bylina bogatyr Vasily Buslayev as a secondary character.
-
The Battle of Kerzhenets (1971)
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Vasilisa Mikulishna (1975, by Roman Davydov), an animated adaptation of a bylina of the same name.
-
Prince Vladimir (Князь Владимир, 2006) also combines real medieval history with fantasy and folklore.
-
Last Knight (2017), a comedy film that deconstructs Russian folklore.
See also
Citations
Sources
-
-
Богатыри и витязи Русской земли: По былинам, сказаниям и песням. (1990) Moscow: "Moskovsky Rabochy" publishers
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Ivanova, T. G., and James Bailey. An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics. Braille Jymico, 2006.
External links
