Russian Folklore Codexery

Bylina

Russian oral epic poems blending history with fantasy.

A bylina is a type of Russian oral epic poem, also popularly known as a starina.[1] Byliny narratives are loosely based on historical fact but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole.[2] Russian sung epics, ballads, and humorous songs can be defined in a strict academic sense by a specific verse meter, which is the characteristic that identifies byliny.[3]

Quick Facts

Earliest known transcriptions
1617–1619 by Richard James
First notable collection
Kirsha Danilov, mid-18th century
Key collector
Pavel Rybnikov, 1861–1867
Another collector
Alexander Gilferding, 1871
Primary preservation regions
Northern Russia (Onega, Pechora, Arkhangelsk)
Term coined by
Ivan Sakharov, 1839

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The term was popularized in 1839 when folklorist Ivan Sakharov titled a section of his anthology "Byliny of the Russian People"[4] Folk singers themselves called their songs stariny or starinki, meaning "stories of old"[4] According to Russell Zguta, byliny originate from the times of Kievan Rus' and are rooted in heroic tales sung by court poets called gusliari.[5] After Christianization, the gusliari and the flamboyant skomorokhi minstrels merged and fled to northern regions, where their byliny survived until modern times.[5]

Northern Russia, especially the Onega, Pechora, and Arkhangelsk regions, was where bylina-singing continued into the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[6] The living tradition of byliny faded because of modernization and the growing presence of mass media.[7] Richard James, an Englishman who visited Russia between 1617 and 1619, is credited with making the first transcriptions of byliny.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Alexander 1973; Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Alexander 1973; Bailey Ivanova 1998, p. "Scholars employ the term ''bylina'' for Russian epics..."; Bates, "The Cambridge Companion to the Epic", Cambridge University Press, 22 April 2010, p. 58 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Oinas 1978; Zguta 1972 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Honko 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bailey Ivanova 1998, p. "Scholars employ the term ''bylina'' for Russian epics..."; Alexander 1973; Oinas 1978 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zguta 1972; Zguta 1972; Zguta 1972; Zguta 1972; Zguta 1972; Zguta 1972 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Kononenko 2025, p. 487 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Kononenko 2025, p. 487; Kononenko 2025, p. 487 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Bylina" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chadwick, "The Growth of Literature", Cambridge University Press, 1986, p. 134 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bylina (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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