Duke Stepanovich
Encyclopedia
Duke Stepanovich - 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 dragon breathes fire at his horse's hooves.
Different versions of this bylina
specify different motherlands for Duke Stepanovich: India
, Volyn, Korela, 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 confronts Stepanovich with a variety of tests, which ends with the Duke prevailing and Churila chastened.
Bogatyr
The bogatyr was a medieval heroic warrior of Kievan Rus' and the Novgorodian Republic, akin to a Western European knight errant.- Kievan Rus' :...
, who rides through a treacherous mountain pass towards the Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, the capital of ancient Rus, to prince Vladimir. In this image, hungry birds swoop before him, intent on pecking him, while a dragon breathes fire at his horse's hooves.
Different versions of this bylina
Bylina
Bylina or Bylyna is a traditional Russian oral epic narrative poem. Byliny singers loosely utilize historical fact greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole to create their songs...
specify different motherlands for Duke Stepanovich: India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Volyn, Korela, Galich
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
.
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 confronts Stepanovich with a variety of tests, which ends with the Duke prevailing and Churila chastened.