A bogatyr () or vityaz () is a stock character in medieval East Slavic legends, akin to a Western European knight-errant. Bogatyrs appear mainly in Rus' epic poems—bylinas. Historically, they came into existence during the reign of Vladimir the Great (Grand Prince of Kiev from 980 to 1015) as part of his elite warriors (druzhina), akin to Knights of the Round Table. Tradition describes bogatyrs as warriors of immense strength, courage and bravery, rarely using magic while fighting enemies in order to maintain the "loosely based on historical fact" aspect of bylinas. They are characterized as having resounding voices, with patriotic and religious pursuits, defending Rus' from foreign enemies (especially nomadic Turkic steppe-peoples or Finno-Ugric tribes in the period prior to the Mongol invasions) and their religion. In modern Russian, the word bogatyr labels a courageous hero, an athlete or a physically strong man.
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.
Gerard Clauson suggests that bağatur was in origin a Hunnic proper name, specifically that of Modu Chanyu. Alternatively, a suggestion cited in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary that the term may be related to the Sanskrit bhagadhara.
Despite the linguistic research of modern scholars, popular etymology associates the word bogatyr with . The first known use of the word in a Russian context occurred in Stanisław Sarnicki's 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), printed in 1585 in Cracow (at Aleksy Rodecki's printing house), which states: "Rossi ... de heroibus suis, quos Bohatiros id est semideos vocant, aliis persuadere conantur." ("Russians ... try to convince others about their heroes whom they call Bogatirs, meaning demigods.")
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.
Overview
Many Rus epic poems, called Bylinas, 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 descend from Slavic pagan mythology. The epic poems are usually divided 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, that contains the largest number of bogatyrs and their stories (IIya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Aloysha Popovich); and the Novgorod cycle, focused on Sadko and Vasily Buslayev, that depicts everyday life in Novgorod.
Many of the stories about bogatyrs revolve around the court of Vladimir I of Kiev (958–1015) and are called 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 of both Dobrynya Nikitich (the warlord Dobrynya) and Ilya Muromets are proven to have existed.
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.
Mythological epics rooted in the supernatural and shamanism, and related to paganism. The most prominent heroes in these epics are Svyatogor and Volkh Vseslavyevich; they are commonly called the "Elder Bogatyrs".
Later notable bogatyrs also include those who fought by Alexander Nevsky's side, including Vasily Buslayev and those who fought in the Battle of Kulikovo.