Mikula Selyaninovich

Bogatyr Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich, by Ivan Bilibin

Mikula Selyaninovich (Микула Селянинович, Mikula the Villager's Son) is a Russian epic hero, a bogatyr - plowman, from the Novgorod Republic bylina cycle.[1][2]

A common plot trope in bylinas involving Mikula is that another bogatyr of warrior type turns out to be weaker than Mikula: cannot pull his plow out of the soil, cannot lift his bag, cannot race him, etc., because Mother Earth loves him. [2] [1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Leonard Arthur Magnus, "The Heroic Ballads of Russia" (Google eBook), 1921,pp.23-26
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Мифологический словарь/Гл.ред. Е.М. Мелетинский - М.:'Советская энциклопедия', 1990 г