Dobrynya Nikitich
As for Ragnar Lodbrok, we find a mixture of fact and fiction in the tales of Dobrynya Nikitich. Dobrynya is one of the bogatyrs (knights-errant) of East Slavic legend and folklore, a type of character known for great strength, patriotism, and bravery. However, he is based on the great real-life warlord Dobrynya, uncle and tutor to Vladimir the Great (c.958-1015), who forced the Novgorodians he ruled over to convert to Christianity ‘by fire’. It is easy to see why this obscure but vicious and patriotic figure from the legendary Russian past provided the basis for a folkloric bogatyr.
The fictional Dobrynya who slew a dragon is a frequent character in Russian byliny (epic narrative poetry, in the vein of Beowulf and Homer). He is a trusted confidant of the royal family of the fictionalized Vladimir the Great, a great archer, swimmer, and wrestler who is adept at playing the gusli (an ancient stringed instrument). He is also known for his courtly manners and cunning. Most Dobrynya tales have the frame narrative of Vladimir setting the bogatyr a near-impossible task which he always completes, encountering many other fantastic adventures along the way there and back to the court.
The dragon story, however, begins with Dobrynya ignoring his mother’s warning not to bathe in the Puchai River or travel through the Sorochinsk Mountains. Ignoring her, Dobrynya was bathing in the Puchai when the dragon Zmaj Gorynych appeared and challenged him. Zmaj Gorynych was a huge, green, fire-breathing creature who had made her nest in the Sorochinsk Mountains. Unarmed, Dobrynya cursed himself for not listening to his mater, but spotted a wizard’s hat lying on the riverbank. He used this to take off the dragon’s head, but spared her life after she promised not to terrorise locals ever again.
Returning to Kiev, Dobrynya was praised made a bogatyr. However, Zmaj Gorynych soon reneged on the deal, and kidnapped Vladimir’s niece, Princess Zabava. Vladimir gave Dobrynya two options: rescue Zabava or die. Opting for the former, Dobrynya sought his mother’s advice, and went to meet the dragon on an old mare, armed with a magical silken whip. At the cave, Dobrynya killed Zmaj Gorynych’s dragon-children, and then began a bloody battle with her. When the horse grew weary, a stroke of the magic whip across her flank revitalised her, and Dobrynya was able to continue the fight for three days.
Finally, Zmaj Gorynych lay dead, marinating in her own blood. Dobrynya’s ordeal was not quite over, however. Zmaj Gorynych’s blood flowed around the mountain, but it was thick and sticky, and would not be absorbed into the earth. Dobrynya was stuck fast for three whole days, and was on the point of giving up. Finally, a voice from heaven told him to plunge his spear into the earth and say an incantation, and finally it soaked up the dragon’s blood. Free at last of treacly-blood, Dobrynya rescued Zabava and saved his own life, riding back to Kiev for adventures new.