- Boyan (bard)
Boyan or Bayan is the name of a
bard who was mentioned in the Rus' epic "TheLay of Igor's Campaign " as being active at the court ofYaroslav the Wise . He is apostrophized as Veles's grandson in the opening lines of "The Lay" (probably a reference to Veles as the patron of musicians). Historians have been unable to determine whether Boyan was his proper name (asNikolai Karamzin andFyodor Buslayev postulated) or allskald s of Rus were called "boyans" (Alexander Vostokov ). The Russian button accordeon known as thebayan (accordion) was named after Boyan upon its invention in 1907.Although "The Lay" is the only authentic source mentioning Boyan, his name became exceedingly popular with later generations. He is mentioned in the "
Zadonshchina " andPushkin 's "Ruslan and Lyudmila ". The folkloristAlexander Afanasyev considered Boyan a precursor of Ukrainiankobzar s. Soviet scholars tended to associate him with the House ofChernihiv , assuming that he started his career at the court ofMstislav of Tmutarakan .Boris Rybakov supported this theory and linked his name to a graffito on the wall ofSaint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev which mentions a purchase of "Bayan's land" by "Vsevolod's wife".References
*"The Encyclopaedia of The Lay of Igor's Campaign", in five volumes. St. Petersburg, 1995. Volume 1, pages 147-153.
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