Sadko

Sadko is the hero of the Novgorod bylina cycle; of nine known variants recorded exclusively in Olonets Province, only two are complete (the storytellers were Andrey Sorokin and Vasily Shchegolyonok).

In the most complete variant, recorded from Andrey Sorokin and having come to matter as the canonical version, Sadko was first a poor guslar who earned his daily bread by playing at feasts. One day, for nine days in a row, Sadko was not invited to any banquet. Then he went to Lake Ilmen and began to play on the empty shore. Unexpectedly, the lake’s own sea king appeared and declared that the guslar’s music had “consoled” him and that he wanted to reward him. After receiving instructions from the sea king, Sadko went to Novgorod and made a wager with three wealthy merchants, claiming that in Lake Ilmen there was a marvelous “fish with golden feathers.” Having won the bet, Sadko began to trade and became rich…