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Duke Stepanovich
Duke Stepanovich (russian: Дюк Степанович) is a character in Bylina. The young bogatyr, who rides through a treacherous mountain pass towards the Kiev, the capital of ancient Rus, to prince Vladimir. In this image, hungry birds swoop before him, intent on pecking him, while a Slavic dragon, dragon breathes fire at his horse's hooves. Background Different versions of this bylina specify different motherlands for Duke Stepanovich: India, Volyn, Korela, Halych, Galich. In this version, when he came to Kiev and met Prince Vladimir, the capital seemed poor to him and he told the prince how rich his homeland was. On the instigation of Churila Plyonkovich, a rash young knight, Vladimir imprisoned Stepanovich and sent scouts to Duke's homeland to ascertain if Duke told the truth. The scouts returned with confirmation, and the message that if all Kiev's treasures were sold, it wouldn't be enough to buy sufficient paper to inventory Stepanovich's homeland's wealth. Churila confro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bylina
A ( rus, были́на, p=bɨˈlʲinə; pl. ) is an Old Russian oral epic poem. Byliny narratives are loosely based on historical fact, but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole. The word derives from the past tense of the verb ''to be'' ( rus, был, r=byl) and implies 'something that was'. The term most likely originated from scholars of Russian folklore (folklorists); in 1839, Ivan Sakharov, a Russian folklorist, published an anthology of Russian folklore, a section of which he titled "Byliny of the Russian People", causing the popularization of the term. Later scholars believe that Sakharov misunderstood the word in the opening of the ''Igor Tale'' as "an ancient poem." The folk singers of called their songs ( rus, ста́рины, p=ˈstarʲɪnɨ, ; ) or ( rus, старинки, p=), meaning 'stories of old' ( rus, старый, r=staryj). History Most scholars adhere to the version expressed by Vsevolod Miller that as an old genre originated in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
