Dobrynya Nikitich- Slavic HeroHero"Dragon Slayer"
Also known as: Dobrynya, Добрыня Никитич, and Добрыня
Description
Caught swimming naked in the Puchai River when Zmey Gorynych attacked, Dobrynya beat the three-headed dragon with nothing but a sand-filled hat. The noblest of Russia's bogatyri, as deft with a gusli as with a sword.
Mythology & Lore
The Puchai River
Dobrynya's mother warned him: stay away from the Puchai River. He went anyway. He was swimming, naked and unarmed, when Zmey Gorynych came down from the mountains on three heads and twelve tails. Dobrynya had nothing. He grabbed his Greek hat from the riverbank, filled it with sand, and beat the dragon until it begged for mercy.
He spared it. The dragon swore never to fly over Russian lands again. Then it flew straight to Kiev and carried off the princess Zabava. Prince Vladimir sent Dobrynya to finish what he had started. This time he brought his sword.
The byliny vary on the second battle's length. In some, Dobrynya fights for three days, the earth soaked in dragon's blood so thick his horse cannot move. He is about to give up when a voice from heaven tells him to strike once more. He does. The dragon falls.
The Wedding Musician
Prince Vladimir sent Dobrynya on a quest that kept him away for years. While he was gone, Alyosha Popovich rode to Nastasya with news: her husband was dead, his body rotting on the steppe. He offered to marry her. She refused for years, but eventually Vladimir himself ordered the wedding.
Dobrynya returned to find the feast already laid. He disguised himself as a gusli player and walked into his own wedding. He played so well that Nastasya offered the musician any reward. He asked for a cup of wine. She recognized him. The singers disagree on how, but the ending is the same: Dobrynya rose from the bench, and Alyosha found somewhere else to be.
Relationships
- Enemy of
- Slew
- Member of