Mikula Selyaninovich

Bogatyr Volga Svyatoslavich and Mikula Selyaninovich, by Ivan Bilibin

Mikula Selyaninovich (Russian: 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.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Leonard Arthur Magnus, "The Heroic Ballads of Russia". K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company, Limited, 1921, pp. 23-26, pdf on archive.org
  2. ^ a b Е.М. Мелетинский (гл. ред.) Мифологический словарь. М.:'Советская энциклопедия', 1990