ABSTRACT
As the central figure in the Russian epic tradition, Ilya Muromets is the subject of more songs and has a more complete epic biography than any other bogatyr (Astakhova 1958: 393–419). His appearance as “Ilyas von Riuzen” in several German and Scandinavian sagas dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries reveals that he was an established hero by that time in Kievan epics. Since that period the characteristics of Ilya Muromets as an epic hero have undoubtedly changed. For example, even though he is frequently referred to as an “old Cossack,” folklorists believe that this appellation appeared in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. They also note that the adjective “old” does not indicate age but rather respect, experience, and seniority. The image of Ilya appears to have evolved further in the nineteenth century when peasant performers started emphasizing his peasant background. The importance of Ilya Muromets in Russian culture is also shown by the fact that his relics were long believed to lie in a Kiev monastery and that he appeared in many tales circulated in chapbooks in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
