Bogatyr Bogatyr is a term applied to warriors in Ancient Rus. Bogatyri are the main characters of ancient epic folk stories - byliny - that were passed on verbally from one generation to another. The origin of this word (byl’ means reality in Russian) suggests that most of these heroes existed in real life. As for the word bogatyr, many researchers are divided on its origins. Some say that it sprang from the Tatar words – bagatyr and batyr, meaning “warrior”; others point to the Sanskrit word baghadhara meaning “somebody that possesses happiness and luck.” A bogatyr (Russian: богатырь, IPA: [bəɡɐˈtɨrʲ] or vityaz (Russian: витязь, IPA: [ˈvʲitʲɪsʲ]) 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 person. Painting- Knight at the Crossroads, Viktor Vasnetsov (1882) . Легенда о Коловрате - https://youtu.be/XpVC7QT6egQ . #art #folklore #history #music