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Ilya Muromets orMurometz,[1][a] also known asIlya of Murom,[2] is abogatyr (hero) in a type of Russianoralepic poem calledbylina set during the time of theKievan Rus'.[1] He is often featured alongside fellow bogatyrsDobrynya Nikitich andAlyosha Popovich,[3][1] the three collectively known in Russian culture as "the three bogatyrs [ru]".
Attempts have been made to identify a possible historical nucleus for the character. The main candidate isIlya Pechersky [ru], a 12th-century monk in theKiev Pechersk Lavra who wascanonized in 1643. His relics are preserved in the monastery.
Ilya Muromets is a major figure inbyliny (pl. ofbylina), a type of Russian epic folklore collected in the 18th and 19th centuries.[4]
The son of a peasant, Ilya was born in the village of Karacharovo, nearMurom.[1][5] He suffered a serious illness in his youth and was unable to walk until the age of 33.[3] He could only lie on aRussian stove, until he was miraculously healed by twopilgrims.[3] He was then givensuperhuman strength by a dying knight,Svyatogor, and set out to liberate the city of Kiev fromIdolishche and to serve Vladimir I of Kiev. Along the way, he single-handedly defended the city ofChernigov from nomadic invasion (possibly by thePolovtsi) and was offeredknighthood by the local ruler, but Ilya declined to stay. In the forests ofBryansk, he then killed the forest-dwelling monster known asNightingale the Robber (Solovei-Razboinik), who murdered travelers with his powerful whistle.[3]
In Kiev, Ilya was made the chiefbogatyr by Vladimir and he defended the country from numerous attacks by the steppe people, includingKalin-tsar [ru] of theTatars. Generous and simple-minded but also temperamental, Ilya once went on a rampage and destroyed all the churchsteeples in Kiev after Vladimir failed to invite him to a celebration. He was soon appeased when Vladimir sent for him.[3]
Some suggest that his prototype wasIlya Pechersky [ru], a 12th-century monk in theKiev Pechersk Lavra who was born in Karacharovo, nearMurom, andcanonized in 1643. According to hagiography, before taking his monastic vows, Ilya Pechersky was a warrior famous for his strength. His nickname was "Chobotok", meaning "(small) boot", given to him after an incident when Ilya Pechersky, caught by surprise, fought off enemies with only his boot.[6][better source needed]
According to another version, Ilya stemmed from modern-dayMorivsk [uk] (earlier known asMoroveysk), a village halfway between Kyiv and Chernihiv (Chernigov) in modern-day Ukraine. It is supported by the notes ofErich Lassota von Steblau, who in 1594 visited the Pechersk Monastery and described the hero (bohater) buried there as "Elia Morowlin" - "Elijah of Morov".[7]
In 1988, Soviet archeologists exhumed Ilya Pechersky's remains, which were stored in the monastery, and studied them. Their report suggested that at least some parts of the legend may be true: the man was tall, and his bones carried signs of spinal disease at early age and marks from numerous wounds, one of which was fatal.[6]
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His character probably does not represent a unique historical persona, but rather a fusion of multiple real or fictional heroes from vastly different epochs. Thus, Ilya supposedly served Vladimir I of Kiev (r. 980–1015); he foughtBatu Khan, the founder of theGolden Horde (c. 1205 – c. 1255); he savedConstantine the God-Loving, the tsar of Constantinople, from a monster (there were a number of Byzantine emperors named Constantine, one of them a contemporary of Vladimir I, namedConstantine VIII (r. 962–1028); it could also be a reference toConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), who encounteredOlga of Kiev in the 950s; but the one emperor in Constantinople with this name most likely to be called "God-loving" wasConstantine XI,r. 1449–1453).
The cycle of tales around Ilya Muromets (including the fight against villainousNightingale the Robber and monsterIdolishche) is classified under its own type in theEast Slavic Folktale Classification (Russian:СУС,romanized: SUS): SUS -650C*,Russian:Илья Муромец,romanized: Ilya Muromets, closely placed with othertale types about strong heroes.[8] The East Slavic Classification registers variants from Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian sources.[9]
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"Илья Муромец" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.
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