GRAND DUKE JOHN DANIILOVICH, NAMED KALITA. G. 1328-1340
Northern Russia is resting. Moscow is the head of Russia. Metropolitan's prediction. Favor of Khan to John. Generosity of the Pskovites. Special Bishop in Pskov. Incidents Novogorodskiye. Zakamsky silver. Politics of Novgorod. Khan forgives Alexander. John commands the Princes. Alexander's misfortune. Peace with Norway. Hate the Swedes. Lithuanian robberies. Ioannov's quarrel with Novgorod. Hike to Smolensk. The death and dignity of John. Nickname Kalita. Kremnik. Trading on Mologa. Testament of the Grand Duke. Yaroslavl charter. The fate of Galich.
The chroniclers say that with the accession of John to the throne of the Grand Duchy, peace and silence reigned in northern Russia; that the Mughals finally stopped devastating her countries and watering the ashes with the blood of the poor inhabitants; that Christians for forty years reposed from long-term languor and violence - that is, Uzbek and his successors, content with ordinary tribute, no longer sent their Governors to plunder the Great Principality, busy with the affairs of the East and the internal anxieties of the Horde, or frightened by the example of Tver, where Shevkal was a victim of a bitter people. Our fatherland complained in humiliation; the heads of the Princes were still falling in the Horde at the unified wave of the Khans: but the farmers could work in the fields in peace, the merchants could travel from city to city with goods, the Boyars could enjoy the surplus; Tatar horses no longer trampled babies, virgins kept their innocence, elders did not die in the snow. The first state good is security and peace; honor is precious to prosperous peoples: the oppressed desire only relief and praise God for it.
This change, indeed blessed by the circumstances of that time, marked the rise of Moscow, which since the time of the Johns has become the true head of Russia. We saw that the former Grand Dukes also loved their specific, or hereditary, cities more than Vladimir, performing in it only the rite of accession to the main throne of Russia: Dimitri Alexandrovich lived in Pereslavl Zalessky, Mikhail Yaroslavich in Tver; Following the same natural attachment to his homeland, John Daniilovich did not want to leave Moscow, where the Metropolia's chair was already located: for St. Peter, having had the opportunity to be in this city several times, fell in love with its beautiful location and good Prince, left the famous capital of Andrei Bogolyubsky, ruled by then only the Viceroys of the Princes, and moved to John. “If you,” he said to the Prince in the spirit of prophecy, as Metropolitan Cyprian writes in the life of St. Peter, “if you calm my old age and erect here a temple worthy of the Mother of God, then you will be more glorious than all other Princes, and your family will be exalted; my bones will remain in this city; the saints will want to dwell in it, and his hands will rise up on the splash of our enemies.” John fulfilled the wish of the elder and in 1326, on August 4, he founded the first stone church in the square in Moscow in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God, with a great gathering of people. The Holy Metropolitan, having built a stone coffin for himself in its wall with his own hands, reposed in the winter; over his ashes in the following year the Bishop of Rostov consecrated this church, and the new Metropolitan, by the name of Theognost, a Greek by birth, founded his cathedra also in Moscow, to the displeasure of other Princes: for they foresaw that the heirs of Ioannov, having the Head of the Clergy in their place, would only want to appropriate to themselves the dignity of the Grand Duke. And so it happened, fortunately for Russia. At the time when she reached the highest degree of disaster, seeing her best regions torn away by Lithuania, all others tormented by the Mughals - at that very time her state revival began, and in the town, hitherto unimportant, the thought of a beneficent Autocracy matured, a courageous will was revealed to break the Khan's chains, the means of independence and greatness of the state were prepared. Novgorod is famous for being in it the cradle of the Monarchy, Kyiv for the font of Christianity for the Russians; but in Moscow the fatherland and Vera were saved. - This time of great deeds and glorious efforts is still far away. Let's get back to the incident.
The first thing the Grand Duke did was to go to the Horde together with the younger brother of Alexander of Tver, Konstantin Mikhailovich, and with the Novogorodsky officials. The Uzbek recognized Konstantin as the Prince of Tver; expressed mercy to John: but releasing them, he demanded that they introduce Alexander to him. As a result, the Ambassadors of the Grand Duke and Novogorodsk, Archbishop Moses and Avram of Tysyachsky, arriving in Pskov, urged Alexander in the name of the fatherland to appear at the court of the Khan and thereby tame his anger, terrible for all Russians. “And so, instead of protection,” answered the Prince of Tverskoy, “I find persecutors in you! Christians help the infidels, serve them and betray their brothers! A vain and sorrowful life does not appeal to me: I am ready to sacrifice myself for the general peace.” But the good Pskovites, touched by his unfortunate state, unanimously said to him: "Stay with us: we swear that we will not betray you; at least we will die with you." They ordered the Ambassadors to withdraw and armed themselves. So the people sometimes act on the inspiration of sensitivity, forgetting their own benefit, and strive for danger, captivated by the glory of generosity. The rarer these cases are, the more memorable they are in the annals. Sharing with Novgorod the benefits of German trade, the Pskovites were famous at that time for their wealth and warlike spirit. Under the protection of high walls, they prepared for a courageous defense and built a new stone fortress in Izborsk, on Mount Zherava.
John, afraid to appear to the Khan as a disobedient or negligent executor of his will, came to Novgorod with the Metropolitan and many Princes of Russia, among whom were the brothers Alexandrov, Konstantin and Vasily, also the Prince of Suzdal, Alexander Vasilyevich. Neither the threats nor the military preparations of Ioannov could shake the firmness of the Pskovites: in the hope that they would come to their senses, the Grand Duke walked slowly to their borders and three weeks later encamped near Opoka; but seeing that it was necessary to fight or yield, he resorted to another method, unusual in ancient Russia: he persuaded the Metropolitan to put a curse on Alexander and on all the inhabitants of Pskov if they did not submit. This spiritual punishment, combined with excommunication from the church, frightened the people. However, the citizens still did not want to betray the unfortunate son of Mikhailov. Alexander himself generously refused their help. “Let there be no curse on my friends and brothers for my sake!” he said to them with tears: “I am leaving your city, freeing you from the oath given to me.” Alexander left for Lithuania, entrusting them with his sad young wife. Sorrow was common: for they sincerely loved him. Their posadnik, in the name of Sologus, announced to John that the exile had departed. The Grand Duke was pleased, and the Metropolitan, having allowed the Pskovites, gave them his blessing. Although John in this case seemed only an involuntary instrument of the Khan's wrath, the good Russians did not praise him for persecuting his relative to please the infidels and forcing Theognost to place a church curse on the zealous Christians, whose fault consisted in generosity. - Novogorodtsy also reluctantly participated in this campaign and hurried home to humble the Germans and the Princes of Ustyug: the first killed their Ambassador in Dorpat, and the second merchants and industrialists on the way to the Yugra land. The chroniclers do not say how the Novogorodsk Government avenged both insults.
The fear induced by John on Pskov did not have the desired effect: for Alexander, received kindly by Gedimin of Lithuania, encouraged by him in protection and drawn by his heart to the good Pskovites, returned after 18 months. They received him with joy and called him their Prince; that is, they separated themselves from Novgorod and, having even chosen a Bishop special for themselves, in the name of Arseniy, they sent him to be appointed to the Metropolitan, who was then in Volhynia. Alexander Mikhailovich and Gedimin himself urged Theognost to fulfill the will of the Pskovites; however, the Metropolitan firmly refused them and at the same time - with the Bishops of Polotsk, Vladimir, Galicia, Przemysl, Chelm - consecrated Archbishop Vasily, elected by the Novogorodtsy, whose diocese, according to ancient custom, was supposed to include the Pskov region. Gediminas endured this disobedience from the Metropolitan, respecting in him the Head of the Clergy, but he wanted to intercept Archbishop Vasily and the Boyars of Novogorodsky on their return journey from Volhynia, so that they could hardly escape by choosing a different path, and were forced to pay off the Prince Theodore of Kiev, unknown to us, who was chasing them to Chernigov with the Tatar Baskak.
While John, proving his loyalty to the Khan by frequent travels to the Horde, asserted calm in the regions of the Grand Duchy, Novgorod was in constant motion from internal strife, or from external enemies, or quarreling and reconciling with the Grand Duke. Knowing that the Novogorodtsy, trading on the borders of Siberia, got a lot of silver because of the Kama, John demanded it for himself and, having received a refusal, armed himself, gathered all the Princes of Nizovsky, Ryazansky; occupied [in 1333] Bezhetsk, Torzhok and ruined the surroundings. In vain the Novogorodtsy called him to their place in order to amicably end their mutual displeasure: he did not want to listen to the Ambassadors, and Archbishop Vasily himself, visiting him in Pereslavl, could not appease him. The Novogorodtsy gave the Grand Duke 500 rubles of silver, with the condition that he return the villages and villages that he illegally acquired in their region; but John did not agree and in anger then went to the Khan.
This danger forced Novogorodtsy to reconcile with Prince Alexander Mikhailovich. For seven years the Pskovites had not seen the Archpastor: St. Basil, forgetting their obstinacy, came to them with his Kliros, blessed the people, officials, and baptized his son with the Prince. Wanting to have even more reliable support, the Novogorodtsy became friends with Gediminas, despite the fact that at that time he entered into a family alliance with John Daniilovich, marrying his son, young Simeon, his daughter or grandson Augusta (named in baptism Anastasia). Back in 1331 (according to one Chronicler), Gediminas, having stopped Archbishop Basil and the Boyars of Novogorodsky, who were traveling to Volhynia, forced them to give him their word that they would cede Narimant, his son, Ladoga with other places in eternal and hereditary possession. The circumstance is very doubtful: in the most reliable annals there is no such thing; and could a promise forced by violence be a real obligation? It is much more likely that Gediminas only expressed to the Novogorodtsy the desire to see Narimant as their Specific Prince, promising them protection, or they themselves decided to acquire it in this way, fearing John as much as external enemies: a policy not very consistent with the common good of the Russian State; but caring solely about their own benefits - thinking, perhaps, that Russia, tormented by the Mughals, hampered by Lithuania, should soon die, the Novogorodtsy were looking for a way to resist its fall with their civil liberty and private excess. Be that as it may, Narimant, hitherto a pagan, informed the Novogorodtsy that he was already a Christian and wished to bow to Hagia Sophia. The People’s Veche sent ambassadors after him and, taking an oath from him to be faithful to Novogorod, gave him Ladoga, Orekhov, Kexholm, the whole land of Korelskaya and half of Koporye to his fatherland and grandfather, with the right of inheritance for his sons and grandchildren. This right consisted of judicial and military power, combined with some certain revenues.
However, the Novgorodians were still trying to calm the wrath of the Grand Duke, and finally succeeded in this through, it seems, Metropolitan Theognost, with whom the active Archbishop Vasily had a meeting in Vladimir. John, returning from the Horde to Moscow, graciously listened to their Ambassadors and himself came to Novgorod. All displeasures were consigned to oblivion. As a sign of goodwill for the honor shown to him and the friendliness of the inhabitants, who sometimes knew how to caress the Prince, John called the Archbishop and their chief officials to Moscow in order to repay them with the same for a luxurious treat.
In these mutual expressions of goodwill, he agreed with the Novogorodtsy to expel Alexander Mikhailovich from Russia for the second time and humble the Pskovites, fulfilling the will of the Tatars or following the movement of personal anger towards him. We agreed on measures, but postponed the campaign until another time.
Calm on the one hand, the Novogorodtsy were looking for enemies within their walls. Even before, replacing Posadnik, the people robbed the houses and villages of some Boyars: this year the Volkhov River was, as it were, the border between two enemy camps. Disagreement in matters of internal government, based on the decrees of the Council or on the general will of the citizens, naturally gave rise to these frequent rebellions, which are the main evil of freedom, always restless and always kind to the people. Half of the inhabitants rebelled against the other; swords and spears sparkled on both banks of the Volkhov. Fortunately, the threats did not have a bloody consequence, and the spectacle of horror soon turned into a picture of a touching brotherly love. Reconciled by the jealousy of prudent intermediaries, the citizens embraced on the bridge in a friendly way, and the modest Chronicler, silent about the guilt of this civil strife, says only that it was proof of both the wrath and mercy of Heaven, for it ended so happily - although not for long. After some time, the Novgorod chronicle again mentions the indignation in which one Archimandrite suffered, locked up and guarded by the people in the church as in a dungeon.
However, the Grand Duke, having experienced failure, left Novogorodtsev alone, alarmed by the change in the fate of Alexander Mikhailovich. Having lived for about ten years in Pskov, Alexander constantly thought about his homeland and the means to return safely to its depths. "If I die in exile," he told his friends, "then my children will also be left without a legacy." The people of Pskov loved him, but his strength did not match their zeal: he foresaw that the Novogorodtsy would not give up their ancient power over them, would take the first opportunity to humble these disobedient ones, drive him out or leave him there out of mercy as their Viceroy. The patronage of Gediminas could not return the throne of Tver to him: for this Lithuanian Prince avoided war with the Khan. Alexander could have addressed the Grand Duke; but, being hated by him for a long time, he hoped to appease the formidable Uzbek as soon as possible and sent to him his young son, Theodore, who (in 1336) returned safely to Russia with the Mughal Ambassador. The news brought was such that Alexander decided to go to the Horde himself and, having taken a blessing in absentia from Metropolitan Theognost, went there with the Boyars. He was immediately introduced to Uzbek. “The Supreme King!” he said to the Khan with an air of humility, but without timidity and cowardice: “I have earned your wrath and entrust you with my fate. Act on the suggestion of Heaven and your own heart. The fierce Khan relented, looked at him mercifully and with pleasure announced to his nobles that "Prince Alexander with humble wisdom saves himself from execution." Uzbek, showering him with signs of benevolence, returned to him the dignity of the Prince of Tver.
Alexander arrived with admiration in his native capital, where the brothers and the people met him with the same sincere joy. Tver, devastated by the Mughals in 1327, had already risen from its ashes through the labors and care of Konstantin Mikhailovich; the scattered inhabitants gathered, and the churches, newly adorned with their zeal for the holy, shone in their former splendor. Good Constantine, the restorer of this reign, willingly surrendered the reign to his elder brother, whose reckless ardor was the cause of such a great misfortune, and wished that he, by the superiority of his experienced mind, would return to their homeland the celebrity and strength acquired in the days of Michael. Alexander called his wife and children from Pskov, ordering him to declare eternal gratitude to his good citizens for their love, and hoped to live solely for the happiness of his subjects. But fate had a different fate in store for him.
The prudent John - seeing that all the disasters of Russia came from the disagreement and weakness of the Princes - from the very accession to the throne tried to appropriate the supreme power over the Princes of the ancient Destinies of Vladimir and really succeeded in this, especially after the death of Alexander Vasilyevich of Suzdal, who, being the grandson of the eldest son of Yaroslavov, had the legal right to the dignity of the Grand Duke, and although he ceded it to John, however, dominating in his private area , also ruled Vladimir: this is what one Chronicler says, saying that this Prince also transported the ancient Veche bell of the Assumption Cathedral Church from there to Suzdal, but returned it, frightened by its deaf ringing. When Alexander (in 1333) died childless, John did not give Vladimir to his younger brother, Konstantin Vasilyevich, and, taking advantage of the Khan's favor, began to more boldly command the Princes; He gave his daughter to Vasily Davidovich Yaroslavsky, the other to Konstantin Vasilyevich Rostovsky and, acting as the head of Russia, prescribed laws for them in their own areas. So the Moscow Boyar, or Voevoda, named Vasily Kochev, authorized by John, lived in Rostov and seemed to be a true Sovereign: he overthrew the local Mayor, the oldest Boyar Averky; intervened in the courts, in reprisals; took and gave property. The people complained, saying that the glory of Rostov had disappeared; that his princes have lost power and that Moscow is tyrannizing! The Owners of Ryazan were supposed to follow John on campaigns; and Tver, lamenting in the ruins and orphaned without Alexander Mikhailovich, no longer dared to think about independence. But circumstances changed, as soon as this Prince returned, cheerful, active, ambitious. Once he himself was on the throne of the Grand Duke, could he calmly see his enemy on it? Could he not think about revenge, again confident in the mercy of the Khan? The owners of the Appanage, although they obeyed John, but with displeasure, and were glad to take the side of the Prince of Tver in order to weaken the power of the first, which was terrible for them: Vasily Yaroslavsky did just that, starting to express hostility to his father-in-law and entering into an alliance with Alexander. Fearing to lose the primacy, both flattering for the love of power and necessary for the tranquility of the State, John decided to overthrow the dangerous collaborator.
At this time, many Boyars of Tver, dissatisfied with their Sovereign, moved to Moscow with their families and servants: which was then not a dishonorable betrayal, but a very common thing. Arbitrarily entering the service of the Grand Duke or Specific, Boyarin could always leave it, returning to him the lands and villages received from him. It is likely that Alexander, having been outside his homeland for a long time, returned there with new favorites, whom the old nobles envied: for example, we know that some famous German, named Dol, went to him from Courland to Pskov, and became a paramount official of his court. This could be sufficient motivation for the Tver Boyars to seek service in Moscow, where they no doubt did not try to reassure the Grand Duke in the discussion of the imaginary or real plans of the unfortunate Alexander Mikhailovich.
John did not want to resort to arms, for he had another safest means to destroy the Prince of Tver: having sent his young son, Andrei, to the Novogorodtsy to end the strife with them, he hurried to the Horde and took with him two eldest sons, Simeon and John, presented them to the majestic Uzbek as future reliable, zealous servants of his family; skillfully flattered him, poured gifts and, having completely mastered the power of attorney of the Khan, he could already safely proceed to the main business, that is, to denigrate the Prince of Tver. There is no doubt that John described him as an inveterate enemy of the Moghuls, ready to stir up all of Russia against him and to amaze the gullible mercy of Uzbek with new enemy actions. The tsar, frightened by the danger, sent Alexander, Vasily Yaroslavsky and other Princes of the Specifics to the Horde, treacherously promising each of them, and especially the first, excellent signs of mercy. John, in order to avert suspicion from himself, immediately returned to Moscow to await the consequences.
Although the Tatar Ambassador in every possible way assured Alexander of the Uzbek disposition favorable to him, however, this Prince, fearing the evil suggestions of John in the Horde, sent his son Theodore there in advance to find out the thoughts of the Khan; but, having received a second call, he had to immediately obey. Mother, brothers, nobles, citizens trembled, remembering the fate of Mikhailov and Dimitriev. It seemed that nature itself warned the unfortunate Prince: while he got into the boat, a contrary wind rustled, and the rowers could hardly overcome the urge of the waves that carried it back to the shore. This incident seemed to the people a disastrous omen. Vasily Mikhailovich accompanied his brother a few versts from the city; and Konstantin was then lying in a serious illness: the sensitive Alexander most of all regretted that he could not wait for his recovery. - Together with the Prince of Tver, Roman Mikhailovich Belozersky and his cousin, Vasily Davidovich Yaroslavsky, went to the Horde. Hating the latter and knowing that he would defend Alexander before the Khan, the Grand Duke secretly sent 500 warriors to seize him on the way; but Basil repulsed them and went to the Horde with the intention of complaining to Uzbek about John, his father-in-law.
Young Feodor Alexandrovich, having met his parent in Ulus, with tears informed him of Khan's anger. "Let the will of God be done!" - Alexander said and carried rich gifts to Uzbek and his entire court. They were received with grim silence. A month passed: Alexander prayed to God and waited for judgment. Some Tatar nobles and the Queen interceded for this Prince; but the arrival of the sons of John in the Horde decided the matter: Uzbek, moved by them or by the friends of their cunning father, announced without any investigation that the rebellious, ungrateful Prince of Tver must die. Alexander also hoped: he was waiting for news from the Tsaritsa and, sitting on a horse, hurried to see his well-wishers; having learned that his execution was imminent, he returned home, communed the Holy Mysteries with his son, embraced his faithful servants and cheerfully went out to meet the murderers, who, having cut off the head of him and the young Theodore, divided them into squads. These tormented remnants of the unfortunate Princes were brought to Russia, buried in Vladimir by Metropolitan Theognost and interred in the Tver Cathedral Church, next to Michael and Demetrius: four victims of Uzbek tyranny, mourned by contemporaries and avenged by posterity! None of the Khans killed as many Russian Possessors as this one: in 1330 he executed the Prince of Starodubsky, Feodor Mikhailovich, thinking that these terrible actions of the Tsar's wrath would confirm the rule of the Moguls over Russia. The result turned out to be the opposite, and not the Khan, but the Grand Duke took advantage of the disastrous death of Alexander, appropriating to himself the supreme power over the Tver Principality: for Konstantin and Vasily Mikhailovich no longer dared to disobey John in anything and, as if as a sign of their dependence, they had to send to Moscow something important for that time: the Cathedral bell of excellent size, for which the Tverites were famous. The Uzbek did not know that the weakness of our fatherland came from the division of its forces and that, contributing to the autocracy of the Prince of Moscow, he was preparing the freedom of Russia and the fall of the Kingdom of Kapchak.
The Novogorodtsy, having so ruthlessly rejected Alexander in misfortune and contributed to his exile, mourned the death of this Prince: for they foresaw that John, having no dangerous rival, would respect their liberty less. Meanwhile, they tried to provide themselves from external enemies. Peace, concluded with the Swedes in 1323, lasted about fifteen years. King Magnus, then in possession of Norway, extended it to this land, often disturbed by Novogorodtsy, who had long dominated eastern Lapland. So, according to the Norwegian chronicles, in 1316 and 1323 they devastated the borders of the Drontheim region, and Pope John XXII ceded to Magnus part of the church income so that he could take real measures to protect his northern borders from the Russians. The nobleman of this King, named Gakvin, in 1326, June 3, signed a special peace treaty in Novgorod, according to which the Russians and Norwegians promised for ten years not to disturb each other with raids, to restore the ancient frontier between mutual possessions, to forget past grievances and mutually patronize trading people. But in 1337 the Swedes broke the peace: they gave asylum in Vyborg to the rebellious Russian Korels; helped them to kill the merchants of Ladoga, Novogorodsky and many Christians of the Greek Faith who were in Corelia; robbed on the banks of the Onega, burned the suburbs of Ladoga and wanted to take Koporye. In this danger, the Novogorodtsy saw Narimant’s bad zeal towards them and the futility of the honor shown to him: even before (in 1335) - despite his reign in their region and the related union of Johns with Gediminas - the gangs of Lithuanian robbers were outrageous within Torzhok: for which the Grand Duke ordered his Governors to burn several cities in neighboring Lithuania: Ryasna, Osechen and others that once belonged to to the Polotsk Principality. Although these hostile actions ended with that, they nevertheless proved that the friendship of Gediminas with the Russians was only imaginary. When the Novogorodtsy, alarmed by the unexpected army of the Swedish, demanded Narimant (who was then in Lithuania) to lead their army, he did not want to go to them and even brought his son, named Alexander, from Orekhovo, leaving only the Viceroy there. But the Swedes had more audacity than strength: proudly rejecting the prudent proposals of the Novy Novgorod Posadnik Theodore, they left Koporye and could not protect the very environs of Vyborg, where the Russians destroyed everything with fire and sword. Soon the head of this fortress let the Novogorodtsy know that his predecessor himself had started the war and that the King wanted peace. They wrote an agreement agreeing with Orekhovsky and a few months later sworn in Lund, where the Russian Ambassadors found Magnus. They also demanded that the Swedes give them all the fugitive Korels; but Magnus did not agree, answering that these people had already accepted the Latin Faith and that their number was very small. “Korels,” he said, “usually are the cause of strife among us; and so let us take strict measures to avert this evil: henceforth, execute our fugitives without mercy; and we will execute yours, so that with their malicious slander they do not prevent us from living in harmony.”
Having finished dealing with the Swedes, the Novogorodtsy sent the usual Khan tribute to John; but the Grand Duke, dissatisfied with her, demanded twice as much silver from them, as if for Uzbek. They referred to treaty letters and to the ancient Yaroslavs, according to which their fatherland is free from any extraordinary princely taxes. "What has not happened since the beginning of the world, that will not happen," the people answered the Ambassadors of Moscow: "The prince, kissing the holy cross in observance of our charters, must fulfill the oath." Some time passed: the Grand Duke was waiting for news from the Horde. When the Khan released his sons with honor and all the other Princes with a formidable command to obey Moscow: then John declared wrath to Novgorod and brought his Deputies out of there, thinking, like Andrei Bogolyubsky, that it was time to humiliate the pride of this majestic people and decide the eternal right of his liberties with the power of the princes. Fortunately for the Novogorodtsy, he had to turn his forces to a different goal.
Although we do not see from the chronicles that the Princes of Smolensk ever traveled to the Horde and paid tribute to it: but the reason for this is that the narrators of our state deeds, alive in other areas, rarely mention Smolensk and its events at all. Is it possible that the Principality, so feeble, alone in Russia escaped the yoke, when even Novgorod, even more distant, had to obey the King of Kapchak? In Smolensk, then Ioann Alexandrovich, the grandson of Glebov, dominated, with whom Dimitri, Prince of Bryansk, had a war in 1334. Tatars helped Demetrius; however, they did not succeed in anything, and the Princes, having shed a lot of blood, made peace. It is probable that the Khan did not take part in Demetrius' undertaking, and that the latter was served for money by one Tatar freeman; but John Alexandrovich was encouraged by the happy experience of his courage and, having entered into an alliance with Gediminas, he seemed to want complete independence. At least Uzbek declared him a rebel, sent a Mughal Governor to Russia, named Tovlubiy, and gave [in 1340] an order to all our Princes to go to Smolensk. The ruler of Ryazan, Korotopol, spoke on the one hand, and on the other, a strong army of the Grand Duke. Konstantin Vasilievich Suzdalsky, Konstantin Rostovsky, John Yaroslavich Yuryevsky, Prince John Drutsky, who left the Vitebsk region, and Feodor Fominsky, Prince of Smolensk Udel, marched under the banners of Moscow. Not having a particular inclination for military operations, John Daniilovich remained in the capital and entrusted the authorities to his two Voivodes. It seemed that the united regiments of the Moghuls and the Princes of Russia were to crush the Smolensk state with one blow; but, approaching the city, they only looked at the walls and, without doing anything, withdrew! It is likely that the Russians did not have much zeal to exterminate their brothers, and that the Governor of the Uzbeks, softened by the gifts of the Smolyans, undertook to propitiate the Khan.
This was the memorable reign of John Daniilovich: stopped in his important intentions by a sudden illness, he exchanged the Princely clothes for the mantle of the Schemist and ended his life in the years of mature courage, showing the heirs the path to autocracy and greatness. But rightly praising John for this public good deed, shall we forgive him the death of Alexander of Tver, although it could establish the power of the Grand Duke? The rules of morality and virtue are holier than all others and serve as the basis of true Politics. The Court of History, the only one for Sovereigns - except the court of Heaven - does not excuse even the happiest villainy: for only the deed depends on the person, and the consequence on God.
Despite the treachery used by John to the death of a dangerous collaborator, the Muscovites praised his goodness and, saying goodbye to him in a coffin irrigated with the tears of the people, unanimously gave him the name of Collector of the Russian land and Sovereign Father: for this Prince did not like to shed blood in useless wars, he freed the Grand Duchy from external and internal robbers, restored his own and personal security, severely executed taty and was generally legal. Residents of other regions of Russia, independent of him, envied the device, the silence of the Ioannovs, being agitated by the atrocities of the cowardly Princes or self-willed citizens: so in Kozelsk one of the descendants of Mikhail Chernigov, Prince Vasily Panteleimonovich, killed the uncle of his own Andrei Mstislavich; so the Ruler of Ryazan, Korotopol, returning from the Horde before the Smolensk campaign, seized on the way his relative, Alexander Mikhailovich Pronsky, who was traveling to Khan from Denmark, robbed him and took his life in present-day Ryazan; so the Bryantsy, as a result of the rebellious Vech, killed (in 1340) Prince Gleb Svyatoslavich, on the greatest holiday for the Russians, on the day of St. Nicholas, despite all the prudent convictions of Metropolitan Theognost who was there.
Excellent piety, zeal for the construction of temples and mercy for the poor no less than other virtues helped John in gaining common love. He always carried with him a sack, or kalita, filled with money for the poor: that is why he was nicknamed Kalita. In addition to the Assumption Cathedral, he also built the stone Arkhangelsk Cathedral (where his tomb stood and where all the Princes of Moscow were buried from that time), the Church of St. John of the Ladder (on Kremlin Square) and the Holy Transfiguration, the oldest of those that exist today and was then the Archimandrite, which was founded by Father John on the banks of the Moscow River with the wooden church of St. Daniel created by him: John transferred this monastery to his palace, loved more than all others , enriched with income; fed, clothed the poor there, and in it he was tonsured before his death. - Decorating the capital with stone churches, he surrounded it (in 1339) with oak walls and renewed Kremnik, or the Kremlin, which had burned down in his time, which was an internal fortress or, according to the old name, a citadel. During the reign of John, Moscow burned twice; there were other misfortunes: a terrible flood from heavy rain and a famine, called in the chronicles a tall rye. But the subjects, blessed by the active, paternal rule of Kalita, did not dare to complain about accidental disasters and glorified his happy time.
The silence of Ioannov's reign contributed to the enrichment of northern Russia. Novgorod, an ally of the Hansa, sent the work of German factories to Moscow and other regions. East, Greece, Italy (through Kafu and present Azov) sent us their goods. Already merchants were not afraid to meet gangs of Tatar robbers in the vicinity of Vladimir or Yaroslavl: the gracious letters of Uzbek, given to the Grand Duke, served as a shield for travelers and residents. New ways of bartering, new markets in Russia opened up: so in the Yaroslavl region, at the mouth of the Mologa, where there was a Kholopy town, German, Greek, Italian, Persian merchants gathered, and the treasury during the summer months collected a lot of duty silver, as one writer of the 17th century assures: countless ships covered the Volga, and tents - a beautiful, boundless Molozhsky meadow, and the people had fun in seventy pubs houses. This fair was reputed to be the first in Russia until the 16th century.
The good fame of Kalita attracted famous people to him: the Tatar Murza Chet left for Moscow from the Horde, named Zachariah in baptism, from whom Tsar Boris Fedorovich Godunov descended; and from Kyiv, the nobleman Rodion Nestorovich, the ancestor of the Kvashnins, who was summoned by John back in the time of Mikhail of Tver and brought with him 1700 Youths or Children of the Boyars. The chronicler says that this Rodion, elevated by the Moscow Prince to the first degree of the Boyars, aroused envy in all other nobles; that one of them, Akinf Gavrilovich, not wanting to yield seniority to him, fled to Mikhail of Tver, with his sons, leaving in the chalet, or in the people's hut, the newborn grandson of Mikhail, nicknamed Chelyadnya, that the zealous Rodion saved John Daniilovich in the battle with the Tverites near the city of Pereslavl, in 1304, going into their rear, and, having cut off Akinfu's head with his own hand, he brought it on a spear to the Prince; that John rewarded him with half of the Volok, and Rodion took away the other from the Novogorodtsy, driving out their Viceroy, and received for that from the Grand Duke another volost in the vicinity of the Voskhodny River. These circumstances are also spelled out in Kvashnin's petition filed to Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich against the Buturlins, descendants of Boyar Akinf, during the unfortunate disputes about the Boyar eldership.
An ancient Russian proverb: near the Tsar, near death, was born, I think, when our fatherland wore the chains of the Moghuls. The princes went to the Horde as if to the Last Judgment: happy is he who could return with the mercy of the Tsar, or at least with his head! So John Daniilovich, at the beginning of his Great Duchy, going to Uzbek, wrote a will and disposed of the inheritance between his three sons and his wife, the name of Elena, who reposed as a nun in 1332. This oldest of the original Spiritual letters of the Princes, known to us, testifies which cities belonged then to the Moscow region and how great was the property of the Princes. After the usual words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” John says: “Not knowing that the Almighty is preparing for me in the Horde, where I’m going, I leave this spiritual letter, written by me voluntarily, in good mind and perfect health. I order, in case of death, to my sons the city of Moscow: I give Simeon Mozhaisk, Kolomna with volosts; khov, Przemysl; To my princess with younger children, the villages that were in her possession "(follow their names) ... "also the quitrent of the city volosts, and the merchant duties collected in them remain the income of our sons. If the Tatars take the volost or village from any of you, dear children, then you are obliged to again equalize your parts or Destinies. Numerical people" - that is, free, salaried, paying tribute to the states “should be under your general jurisdiction; and only those bought by me go to the division. Even during my lifetime I gave my son Simeon four chains of gold, three belts, two bowls, a dish with pearls and two ladles, and three dishes of silver; Ivan four chains of gold, two belts with pearls and stones, the third carnelian, two ladles, two round bowls, and three dishes of silver; Andrey has four chains of gold, a pearl belt from Fryazh, another with a hook on scarlet silk, a third from Khan, two ladles, two cups, and three silver dishes. I gave Knyaginino's gold to my daughter Fetinya: fourteen rings, a new fold I made, her mother's necklace, a brow and a hryvnia; but I refuse my own gold and a golden box to my Princess with her smaller children. From my clothes I assign to Simeon a scarlet fur coat with pearls and a gold hat, to Ivan a yellow fur coat with pearls and a mantle with barm, to Andrey a sable coat with shoulder straps strung with pearls, and a scarlet portico with sewn barm; and two new fur coats, strung with pearls, for the younger children, Marya and Fedosya. Silver belts and my other clothes to distribute to the priests, and 100 rubles, left by me with the treasurer, to the churches. Send a large silver dish with four rings to the church of Our Lady of Vladimir. The rest of the silver and the Prince's herds - except for the two that I gave to Simeon and Ivan - to be divided by my wife and children. To you, Simeon, as the eldest, I order the younger brothers and the Princess with her daughters: be them, according to God, the main protector. - The letter was written by the Dyak Grand Duke of Kostroma, under my spiritual fathers, Priests Ephraim, Theodosius and David; whoever breaks it, God is the judge." - Two seals are attached to the letter: one is silver gilded with the image of the Savior and St. John the Baptist and with the inscription: the seal of the Grand Duke Ivan, and the other is lead. - In this will, not a word is said about Vladimir, Kostroma, Pereslavl and other cities that were the property of the Grand Duke: John, having only his fatherland, could not refuse their sons m, for the appointment of his successor depended on the Khan.
Counting his villages, the Grand Duke mentions those bought or exchanged by him in Novgorod, Vladimir, Kostroma and Rostov: in this way he tried to acquire hereditary property outside the Moscow region, to the displeasure of other Princes and contrary to the condition concluded with Novogorodtsy. But the cities of Uglich, Belozersk and Galich bought by John Daniilovich were also incomparably more important: the first two from the descendants of Constantine I, and the third from the heirs of Konstantin Yaroslavich of Galitsky, as it is said in one of the letters of Dimitry Donskoy: which should have happened shortly before the death of Kalita. However, until the time of the Donskoy, these Destinies were considered Grand Dukes, and not Moscow: therefore, they are not mentioned in the wills of the sons of Kalitins.
We also have another memorable letter from the time of the Ioannovs, given by Vasily Davidovich Yaroslavsky to the Archimandrite of the Savior Monastery. This Prince writes that, following the example of his grandfather, Theodore Cherny, he determines the salary of the monastery people, two rubles a year; frees them from all taxes, also from the pit, or wagon, from standing and guarding; further says: “My judges, Governors and Tiuns, do not send their Nobles for the people of the Holy Savior without the knowledge of the Hegumen, who alone judges them, or together with my judge, if the plaintiff or the defendant is not a monastic person; in the latter case, part of the fine imposed on the guilty person goes to the treasury of the Holy Savior, and the other to the Princely. monastic people, but their workers, assigned to my villages, remain under the court of the princes. The Chernorizets and Kryloshans of Spassky, trading in favor of the Holy Monastery, are exempt from duties: which, however, does not destroy the ancient charter on transportation and beaver rivers. This charter is sealed with a black wax seal and testifies to the civic benefits that the monasteries in Russia enjoyed, in accordance with the respect of our good ancestors for the monastic dignity and contrary to the intention with which the first Christian monasteries were founded, founded solely for soul-saving works and alien to the world.
Finally, having described the reign of John, we should mention Galicia for the last time as a Russian region. The grandson of Yuri Lvovich, Prince George, died around 1336, leaving no children, and the Khan sent his Deputies to Galicia; but the inhabitants, according to the words of one modern Historian, secretly killed them and, with the permission of Khansky, succumbed to Boleslav, the son of Troiden, Prince of Mazovsky, and Maria, the sister of Georgieva, the son-in-law of Gediminov, obliging him by oath not to cancel their charters, not to touch state or church treasures, and in all important matters to require the consent of the people or the Boyars: without which the city of Lvov - where there was a strong army, made up partly of Moghuls, Armenians and other foreigners - did not want to submit to this Prince. But Boleslav did not keep his word. Brought up in the Greek confession, he, in pleasing to the Pope and the King of Poland, his relative, became a Catholic: for the faith of our fatherland, oppressed, torn to pieces, seemed to him already inconsistent with worldly benefits. This is not enough: having changed Orthodoxy, Boleslav wanted to convert his subjects to the Latin Faith; moreover, he oppressed them with taxes, surrounded himself with Germans, Lyakhs, Bohemians, and, following the whims of vile voluptuousness, took away wives from spouses, daughters from parents. Such atrocities angered the people, and Boleslav died suddenly, poisoned with such a cruel poison, as the Chroniclers assure, that his body fell apart. Casimir, Boleslav's brother-in-law, knew how to take advantage of this opportunity and (in 1340) took possession of Galicia, promising the inhabitants not to oppress their Faith. Lviv, Przemysl, Galich, Lyubachev, Sanok, Terebovl, Kremenets swore allegiance to him as a legitimate Sovereign, and the treasures of the ancient Princes of Galicia - rich clothes, saddles, vessels, two golden crosses with a part of the Life-Giving Tree and two crowns strewn with diamonds - were taken from Lvov to Krakow. Satisfied with this success, the King temporarily limited his lust for power and, having concluded a peace treaty with Lithuania, ceded Brest to Kestutiy, the son of Gediminov, and Lubart, who was married to Princess Vladimirskaya, - Kholm, Lutsk and Vladimir, as if the legal inheritance of his wife. So the completely famous reign, or the Kingdom of Daniilovo, collapsed, and the ancient heritage of Russia, acquired by the weapons of St. Vladimir, for a long time called the cities of Cherven, and after Galich, was divided among foreigners.
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Rurik (862 - 879) - the first great Russian prince, one of the legendary figures in European history, the founder of the ancient Russian state. According to the chronicles, called from the Varangians by the Slavs, Krivichi, Chud and the whole in 862, Rurik first occupied Ladoga, and then moved to Novgorod. Ruled in Novgorod under an agreement concluded with the local nobility, who approved the right to collect income. Founder of the Rurik dynasty.
1148 years ago, according to the testimony of the chronicler Nestor in the "Tale of Bygone Years" "to rule and reign Eastern Slavs"The head of the Varangian military detachment Rurik was called, who arrived along with the brothers Sineus and Truvor - September 8, 862.
The chronicle tradition connects the beginning of Rus' with the calling of the Varangians. So "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells that in 862 three Varangian brothers with their clans came to rule the Slavs, laying the city of Ladoga. But where did they come from and who were these Varangians by origin, who gave rise to Russian statehood? Indeed, in historiography they managed to visit both the Swedes, and the Danes, and the Scandinavians in general; some authors considered the Varangians to be Normans, others, on the contrary, to be Slavs. Again and again, inattention to the problem posed in the very historical source, was the reason for contradictory statements For the ancient chronicler, the origin of the Varangians was obvious. He placed their lands on the south-Baltic coast up to "the land of Aglian", i.e. to the Angeln area in Holstein.
Rurik
Today it is the North German state of Mecklenburg, whose population was not German in antiquity. What it was like - the names that have survived to this day speak about it settlements Varin, Russov, Rerik and many others. However, despite all the clarity of the chronicle evidence, the question of the origin of the Varangians (and, therefore, the roots of Russian statehood) became debatable for posterity. The confusion was introduced by the version that appeared in political circles at the court of the Swedish king about the origin of Rurik from Sweden, which was subsequently picked up by some German historians. Objectively speaking, this version did not have the slightest historical basis, but it was completely politically conditioned. Even during the years of the Livonian War between Ivan the Terrible and the Swedish king Johan III, a sharp controversy flared up on the issue of titles. The Russian tsar considered the Swedish ruler to come from a "male family", to which he replied that the ancestors of the Russian dynasty itself allegedly came from Sweden. This idea finally took shape as a political concept on the eve of the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century, when the Swedes claimed Novgorod lands, trying to justify their territorial claims with a kind of chronicle "calling". It was assumed that the Novgorodians were supposed to send an embassy to the Swedish king and invite him to rule, as they had once allegedly called on the "Swedish" prince Rurik. The conclusion about the "Swedish" origin of the Varangians at that time was based only on the fact that they came to Rus' "from across the sea", which means, most likely, from Sweden.
Subsequently, in the first half of the 18th century, German scientists from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences turned to the Varangian theme, who, according to the same logic, sought to justify German domination in Russia during the time of Biron's regency. They also formulated the so-called. "Norman theory", according to which the Varangians, the founders of the ancient Russian state, were recognized as immigrants from Sweden (that is, "Germans", as all foreigners were then called). Since then, this theory, dressed in a kind of scientific character, has become entrenched in Russian historiography. At the same time, many prominent historians, starting with M.V. Lomonosov, pointed out that the "Norman theory" does not correspond to real facts. For example, the Swedes could not create a state in Rus' in the 9th century, if only because they themselves did not have statehood at that time. In the Russian language and in Russian culture, it was not possible to find Scandinavian borrowings. Finally, a careful reading of the chronicle itself does not allow us to confirm the fabrications of the Normanists. The chronicler distinguished the Varangians from the Swedes and other Scandinavian peoples, writing that "those Varangians were called - Rus, as others are called Swedes, others are Normans, Angles, other Goths." Therefore, when concluding peace treaties with Byzantium, the pagan combatants of princes Oleg and Igor (the very Varangians whom the Normans consider Swedish Vikings) took an oath in the names of Perun and Veles, and not Odin or Thor at all. A.G. Kuzmin noted that this fact alone could refute the entire "Norman theory". It is clear that in this form the "Norman theory" could not be viable in academic science. But she was again and again turned to when it was necessary to strike a blow at the idea of Russian statehood. Today this destructive theory has acquired new form, and modern Normanists, fed by grants from numerous foreign funds, speak not so much about the "Scandinavian origin of the Varangians", but about a kind of division of "spheres of influence" in the ancient Russian state.
According to the new version of Normanism, the power of the Vikings allegedly extended to the northern regions of Rus', and the Khazars to the southern ones (there was supposedly a certain agreement between them). Russians are not supposed to play any significant role in their own early history. However, the very development of the Russian state completely refutes all the conjectures of Russia's political enemies. could Ancient Rus' become powerful Russian Empire without the outstanding historical mission of the Russian people? great story took place together with the great people, descended from the Varangian beginning. It is unfortunate that today more and more replicas are heard that the ancestors of the Russians were non-Russians. This is wrong. Our ancestors were the Varangians, who were also Russians. The only thing to be clarified is that it is Rus' that is our original family name, and the ancient Russian navigators were called Varangians. Ambassador Sigismund Herberstein, who visited Moscow at the beginning of the 16th century, wrote that the homeland of the Varangians - Vagria - was located on the south Baltic coast and from them the Baltic was called the Varangian Sea. He expressed the broad opinion that prevailed in the enlightened circles of Europe at that time. With the development of scientific genealogy, works began to appear on the connections of the Russian royal dynasty with the ancient royal families of Mecklenburg. In North German Pomorye, the Varangians and their historical ties with Russia were remembered until the 19th century. To this day, many traces of the presence of the pre-German population remain in the Mecklenburg region. It is obvious that it became "German" only after the Varangians and their descendants were forced out to the east or Germanized by Catholic orders. The French traveler C. Marmier once recorded in Mecklenburg folk legend about Rurik and his brothers. In the VIII century, the Varangians were ruled by King Godlav, who had three sons - Rurik, Sivar and Truvor. Once they set off from the southern Baltic to the east and founded an ancient Russian principality with centers in Novgorod and Pskov.
Varia?gi (Greek ????????, Old Norse Vaeringjar)
After some time, Rurik became the head of the dynasty, which reigned until 1598. This legend from Northern Germany is completely consonant with the Tale of the calling of the Varangians from the annals. However, a careful analysis of the facts allows, to some extent, to correct the chronicle chronology, according to which Rurik and his brothers began to rule in Rus' from 862. A. Kunik generally considered this date to be erroneous, leaving the inaccuracy on the conscience of the later scribes of the chronicle. It is obvious that the events briefly reported in the Russian chronicles receive historical content from German sources. The Germans themselves refuted the Norman fictions. The Mecklenburg jurist Johann Friedrich von Chemnitz referred to a legend according to which Rurik and his brothers were the sons of Prince Godlav, who died in 808 in a battle with the Danes. Given that the eldest of the sons was Rurik, it can be assumed that he was born no later than 806 (after him, before the death of his father in 808, two younger brothers who were not the same age should have been born). Of course, Rurik could have been born earlier, but we do not yet have reliable information about this. According to German sources, Rurik and his brothers were "summoned" around 840, which seems very plausible. Thus, the Varangian princes could appear in Rus' at a mature and capable age, which looks completely logical. And indeed, according to the latest archaeological finds, it was possible to establish that the Rurik settlement near modern Novgorod, which is the ancient Rurik Novgorod, existed earlier than 862. On the other hand, while making a mistake in chronology, the chronicle points more precisely to the place of "calling". Most likely it was not Novgorod (as according to German data), but Ladoga, which was founded by the Varangians in the middle of the VIII century. And Novgorod (Rurik's settlement) Prince Rurik "cut down" later, uniting the lands of the brothers after their death, as evidenced by the name of the city.
Map - plan of ancient Novgorod, from the icon of the XVI century.
The family tree of Rurik from the ancient Varangian kings was recognized by connoisseurs and researchers of genealogy. Mecklenburg historians wrote that his grandfather was King Wittslav, who was an equal ally of the Frankish king Charlemagne and participated in his campaigns against the Saxons. During one of these campaigns, Witslav was killed in an ambush while crossing a river. Some authors directly called him "the king of the Russians." The North German genealogies also indicate the relationship of Rurik with Gostomysl, who acts in the annalistic legend about the calling of the Varangians. But if the stingy lines of the chronicle tell almost nothing about him, then in the Frankish chronicles he is mentioned as an opponent of Emperor Louis the German. Why did Rurik and his brothers set off from the South Baltic coast to the East? The fact is that the Varangian kings had a "next" system of inheritance, according to which the eldest representative of the ruling family always received power. Later, such a system of inheritance of princely power became traditional in Rus'. At the same time, the sons of the ruler who did not have time to take the royal throne did not receive any rights to the throne and remained outside the main "queue". Godlove was killed before his older brother and never became king during his lifetime. For this reason, Rurik and his brothers were forced to go to the peripheral Ladoga, where the glorious history of the Russian state began from that time. Prince Rurik was a full-fledged ruler of Rus' and a native of the "Russian family", and not at all a foreign ruler, as those who wish to imagine the entire Russian history only under foreign domination.
When Rurik died, his son Igor was still small, and Igor's uncle, Oleg (Prophetic Oleg, that is, knowing the future, died in 912), became the prince, who moved the capital to the city of Kiev. It is Prophetic Oleg who deserves the merit of education Old Russian state – Kievan Rus, with the center in Kyiv. Oleg's nickname - "prophetic" - referred exclusively to his penchant for sorcery. In other words, Prince Oleg, as the supreme ruler and leader of the squad, also simultaneously performed the functions of a priest, sorcerer, magician, sorcerer. According to legend, Prophetic Oleg died from a snake bite; this fact formed the basis of a number of songs, legends and traditions. Oleg became famous for his victory over Byzantium, as a sign of which he nailed his shield on the main gates (gates) of Constantinople. So the Russians called the capital of Byzantium - Constantinople. Byzantium was then the most powerful state in the world.
Farewell of the Prophetic Oleg with the horse. (V. Vasnetsov.)
In 2009, the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of Veliky Novgorod took place. I would like to believe that this most important date in our history will become the starting point for a new study of the ancient Russian past. New facts and discoveries constantly enrich historical science and our knowledge. There is more and more evidence that Russian history began not with a myth invented by medieval politicians and scribes, but with the real Grand Duke Rurik, who was born into the royal dynasty in the Russian Baltic region one thousand two hundred years ago. God grant that the names of our ancestors and grandparents are not forgotten.
Vsevolod MERKULOV "Russian House"
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SIGISMUND HERBERSTEIN
NOTES ABOUT MOSCOW
NOTES ABOUT MOSCOW OF SIGISMUND, FREE BARON IN HERBERSTEIN, NEUPERG AND GUTENHAG (HERBERSTAIN, NEUPERG ET GUETTENHAG)
Very short description Russia and Muscovy, which is now its capital(NG Muscovy is the main state in Russia; compiled by Mr. Sigismund, Baron in Herberstein, Neuperg and Gutenhag, Supreme Hereditary Chamberlain (Erbcamrer) and Supreme Hereditary Kravchi (Erbtruckhsess) of Carinthia, Councilor of the Roman royal majesty(King) of Hungary and the Czech Republic, Chamberlain and President of the (Treasury) Chamber of Lower Austria.).
Moreover, the chorography of the entire Muscovite empire in general (imperium) with a mention of some of its neighbors.
[Various] information [about religion and] things that do not agree with our religion are also included.
Finally, it explains what kind of way there is to receive ambassadors and treat them.
With the addition of a description of two trips to Moscow.
To His Serene Highness Sovereign and Lord, Mr. Ferdinand, King of Rome, Hungary and Bohemia and others, Infante of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Württemberg and many regions, Duke, Margrave, Count and Lord, my most merciful lord.
I read that once the Romans, when sending ambassadors to peoples distant and unknown, instructed them, among other things, to carefully record the customs, institutions and the whole way of life of the people to whom they were ambassadors. Over time, such notes became the rule and, after the report on the embassy, were kept in the temple of Saturn as a warning to posterity. If our contemporaries or close predecessors had adhered to such an order, then, I think, in history we would have had more clarity and, of course, less empty talk. Personally, communication with foreigners both at home and in foreign lands has been a pleasure for me from an early age; therefore, I willingly served in the embassies entrusted to me not only by Your Majesty's grandfather, Mr. Maximilian, the wisest sovereign, but also by Your Majesty, on whose orders I traveled around the northern lands more than once, in particular, I visited Muscovy for the second time together with a friend of honor and travel, then Caesar's ambassador, Count Leonard Nugarola (a Nugarola) . Among the lands enlightened by the sacrament of holy baptism, this country differs not a little from us in its customs, institutions, religion and military regulations. So, although by the will and on behalf of the blessed memory (divus) of Emperor Maximilian, I went as an ambassador to Denmark and Poland , and after the death of His Majesty, he went on behalf of the fatherland through Italy and France, by land and by sea, in Spain to the most powerful and invincible Mr (master) Charles V 10 , Emperor of Rome, brother of Your Majesty, then, at the command of Your Majesty, again visited the kings of Hungary and Poland, and finally, together with Count Nicholas of Salm (de Salmis) and so on. was even with Suleiman (Solimanus) the sovereign of the Turkish 11 - and although in other places I became acquainted not only in passing, but very carefully with much that would undoubtedly be highly worthy of recording and publication, yet I did not want to devote the leisure that I devote from state duties to telling about any of those cases, partly because they were eloquently and in detail set forth earlier by others, partly because they are daily under the eyes and sight of Europe. But I preferred Muscovite cases, much more hidden and not so accessible to contemporaries to get acquainted with them; I decided to describe these cases, relying mainly on two circumstances: on the painstakingness of my research and on my knowledge of the Slavic (slavonica) language; both helped me a lot in writing this treatise, whatever it turned out to be. True, a lot of people wrote about Muscovy, but most did it from other people's words, namely: from earlier Nicholas of Cusa 12 , and in our time left both maps and notes Paul Jovius 13 - I call his name with due respect for his high learning and mindful of his great disposition towards me - the writer, of course, is eloquent and very reliable, because he used a very knowledgeable interpreter 14 , John Fabry 15 and Anthony Beed 16 ; in addition, some touched on Muscovy not specifically, but when describing the countries closest to it; Olai Goth is one of them. 17 , who described Sweden, Matvey Mekhovsky 18 , Albert Kampensky 19 and Munster 20 . However, they could in no way force me to abandon the essay I had undertaken, either because I was a witness to the events described, and because, while there, I gleaned some information from trustworthy reports; finally, I talked at length and at great length, on every occasion, with very many people about those matters. Therefore, sometimes I considered it necessary to be much more detailed and extensive - and let this not will cause the reader's displeasure to explain what others have simply mentioned but not explained. In addition, I write about what others did not touch at all and what could not become known to anyone except the ambassador. But you, Your Majesty, approved of this my intention and desire and advised me to eventually complete the work I had begun, spurring, as the proverb says, an already running horse; however, the embassies and other assignments of Your Majesty have so far not given me the opportunity to complete what I started. Now that, in obedience to Your Majesty, I have returned to my interrupted work, resting, so to speak, after him from time to time from the daily studies of the Austrian treasury, I am less afraid of the ill will of readers, who in our extremely refined age will probably demand more elegance of style from the book. It is enough that I, by my deed, not being able to implement the same in words, showed a desire for the enlightenment of posterity and at the same time fulfilled the will of Your Majesty, above which there is nothing higher for me. Therefore, I dedicate to Your Majesty these notes on Muscovy, compiled by me much more from the desire to investigate and discover the truth than to show off eloquence. I humbly entrust and commit myself to the patronage of Your Majesty, in whose service I have already grown old, and I beg Your Majesty to honor the book with the mercy and favor that you have always honored its author himself. In Vienna, Austria, the first of March MCXLIX.
Your Majesty's faithful adviser, chamberlain (Camerarius) and head of the Austrian treasury Sigismund, free baron in Herberstein, Neuperg and Gutenhag ( NG Sigmund, baron in Herberstein, Neuperg and Gutenhag, supreme hereditary chamberlain and supreme hereditary nobleman of Carinthia, etc. wishes the benevolent reader happiness and good.
After much has been said and written about the midnight countries of the world, especially about the mountains and sources of famous rivers, as well as about the customs and way of life of peoples; after, further, from the blessed memory of Emperor Maximilian more than one embassy was sent to the Grand Duke in Moscow, which reported a lot of extraordinary and even something (completely) incredible, it so happened that I was instructed to go as an ambassador to those countries: to Poland and Lithuania to King Sigmund and to Moscow to Grand Duke Vasily. Mr. Matvei Lang , the Cardinal of Salzburg, a very famous, experienced and respectable man, with all seriousness urged and admonished me to remember the events there (warhafftes), which I did with zeal, both remembering his advice, and on my own, and wrote everything down as well as I could. On my return, the aforementioned cardinal asked the emperor in my presence not to hear me about my case otherwise than in his presence; and so it was done. But after the death of Emperor Maximilian, I was once again sent to those parts by the present king of Rome and my most merciful master Ferdinand, and I was especially entrusted and punished, together with the ambassador of His Imperial Majesty, Count Leonard Nugarolis (Nugarolis), to find out religious rites and other manners and customs of the people. Therefore, I again asked and found out about what I wrote down earlier, and what was repeatedly confirmed by many witnesses, I accepted as reliable. Since after my report on the embassy and my stories, I learned that they were favorably and graciously received by His Imperial Majesty and so on. and Mr. Cardinal, I dedicated these notes written in Latin to the present highly esteemed Roman royal majesty, etc. and betrayed them to the press, earning the praise of many scholars. They were soon transferred to Italian language and also printed, but the Latin text, in some ways expanded and improved by me, was printed twice more in Basel and in in large numbers sold at the Frankfurt Fair, i.e., the general market, so that in many places they are looked for and cannot be obtained. For this reason, and at the request of some of my friends, I decided to translate them into German for ordinary Germans who are not versed in Latin, but who have a desire to thoroughly get acquainted with this subject. Although I had made many long journeys before and afterwards, each time with an important embassy: thus, from Emperor Maximilian I was sent to King Christiernus 21 to Denmark, to the Electors of Mainz, Saxony, Brandenburg and to the two duke brothers of Mecklenburg at the same time, also to Salzburg, Eichstät, Bavaria, several times to Switzerland (Aidgnoschaft) and then to Hungary, and after the death of the most gracious Emperor Maximilian, on behalf of his fatherland, the Duchy of Styria through Venice, Ferrara, Bologna, Rome and Naples on horseback , and from there in Spain by sea, to Sardinia, Minorca, then to Ibiza and Mallorca, (where) I was caught by a strong storm, then through France, Piedmont, Milan, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza and Friul again to my homeland, and another time from the present Roman Royal Majesty King Ferdinand, my most merciful lord, repeatedly to Hungary and Bohemia, many times to Poland and Lithuania, and also to the German to the princes, and then to the almighty and most fortunate Suleiman (Suleyman) Emperor of Turkey - I did not write anything about those lands, about the customs of (those) peoples, because many respectable, famous and learned (men) were there and are constantly, about which they wrote, so I do not consider it possible to do it better than them. But about those regions in which none of those who have written about them so far, one must think, has ever been, and even now rarely anyone is, I want, by order and friendly advice, to bring to general information which I have seen myself, and which I have come to know through the consenting testimony of many. I hope that for those who happen to visit those countries or (talk with) those who come from those countries, my notes will serve as a basis to explore everything in more detail in order to bring more certainty to knowledge about (a subject) that has been in obscurity for so long. Encountering - and repeatedly - in my writings such things as the chronology from the creation of the world and other things that I gleaned from there historical writing and transferred here, let the kind reader take into account that I did not want to change anything in the retelling of what I take from there, wanting to bring both reliable and their errors. In my searches, (knowledge of) Latin and the Slavonic language (Windisch) helped me a lot, so that, because of which I suffered hardships in my youth, when I had to listen to many ridicule from the ignoramuses about (my study of) the Slavic language, as, indeed, because of Latin, many called me insulting, from their point of view, the nickname “doctor”, which, however, I would consider it an honor if I would consider myself worthy of this (title), and many other nicknames, which nevertheless did not repel me from (studying) languages; in any case, I did not hesitate and did not avoid speaking them, since from the side of (every) Other I would consider this an honor and (evidence of) education. This work, with my daily service and my age - from my seventy-one years I am already quite tired - gives me constant difficulties in translating into German, because due to the service entrusted to me, I cannot choose a convenient time and more often check that everything has been translated better and more elegantly. 22 . Therefore, I very much ask everyone who will hold my work in their hands, as it is, to favorably accept and read it and use my laborious experience to their advantage, for I wrote this for the common good, albeit badly, but truthfully.) 23 .
To the reader
Going to describe Muscovy, which is the head of Russia and extends its dominion over vast areas of Scythia 24 , I, a favorable reader, will certainly need to mention in this essay about many northern countries that were not sufficiently known not only to ancient, but also to modern writers. Therefore, I will sometimes have to disagree with their writings; and so that my opinion on this matter does not seem suspicious or arrogant to anyone, I declare that, as they say, I saw and examined Muscovy with my own eyes, and moreover, not once, but twice, acting as ambassador of the blessed memory of Emperor Maximilian and his grandson of the Roman king, Mr. Ferdinand; most of my knowledge I have taken from the inhabitants of that land, who are as knowledgeable as they are trustworthy; moreover, I was not satisfied with the reports of one or two, but relied on the concordant information of many 25 . So, supported, above all, by a beneficent knowledge of the Slavic language, which coincides with Russian and Muscovite, I wrote it down not only by hearsay, but also as an eyewitness, and not in a pompous style, but in a simple and clear way, and betrayed the memory of posterity.
It is known that every nation has its own special way of pronunciation; in the same way, Russians, combining and connecting their letters in every possible way, pronounce them in a way unusual for us, so that if you do not observe their pronunciation with all diligence, then it will be impossible either to successfully ask them about something, or to learn anything from them for sure. And since in the description of Russia I deliberately used Russian words when designating objects, areas and rivers 26 , then I want to immediately briefly say about the meaning of some combinations of letters 27 ; noticing them, the reader will greatly facilitate his understanding, and perhaps his future research.
Although the Russians write and pronounce the name Basilius (Vasily) through the consonant w, but since we have taken root to write and pronounce it through b, I did not consider it necessary to write this word through w. The letter c, which stands before aspiration, should not be transmitted [through ci or schi], as is the custom among most peoples, but through khi, almost like the Germans, as, for example, in the word Chiowia (Kiev), chan (khan), Chlinow (Khlynov), Chlopigrod (Khlopigorod), etc.
If this letter precedes the double (sound) z, then it should be pronounced a little more sonorously, such as Czeremissae (cheremis), Czernigo (Chernigov), Czilma (Tsilma), czunkas (chunkas), etc.
[Contrary to the custom of other Slavs] Russians pronounce the letter g as an aspirated h, almost in the Czech way. Therefore, although they write Iugra (Yugra), Wolga (Volga), they still pronounce Iuhra, Wolha 28 .
The letter i for the most part denotes a consonant, as, for example, in the words Iausa (Yauza), Iaroslaw (Yaroslav), Iamma (Yama), Ieropolchus (Yaropolk), etc.
Th they usually pronounce as ph; thus Theodorus they pronounce Pheodorus [or Feodorus] (Fedor).
If v denotes a consonant, then instead of it I put the letter vu, which the Germans transmit through a double b 29 , i.e. w, such as Wolodimeria (Vladimir), Worothin (Vorotynsk), Wlodislaus (Vladislav). [The same letter, standing in the middle or end of a word, gets the meaning and sound of the Greek letter phi, we have ph as, for example,] Ozakow (Ochakov), Rostow (Rostov), . Therefore, the reader must carefully observe the meaning of this letter, otherwise, by mispronouncing it everywhere in the same way, he may appear to be asking and meaning different things. [In addition, when translating Russian chronicles (annales) 30 and when telling about their (Russian) origin and deeds, we used not the chronology that is accepted among us, but the one that they themselves use 31 lest, by correcting their writings, one should prove to be correctors rather than faithful translators.]
Notes about Muscovy
Sigismund, Baron, in Herberstein, Neuperg and
Gutenhage
About the origin ( NG Latin) name Russia ( HG called Reissen in German) there are different opinions. Some believe that it was produced from (name) Russ (Russus), brother [or grandson (nephew?) (nepos)] of the Polish (Polonorum, Polln) sovereign Lech (Lech) 32 , since this (Russ) was de sovereign (Landtsfuerst) of the Russians. Others lead it on behalf of the [very] ancient city of Rusa (Russum), not far from Novgorod the Great (Nowogardia magna, Grofineugarten). There are also those who explain this name by the swarthyness (fuscus, braun-schwarz) of the inhabitants 33 . However, the majority thinks 34 that “Russiya” is a modified name of “Roksolania” (Roxolania) 35 . Themselves Muscovites (HG Russians), rejecting such opinions as not corresponding to the truth, assure that their country was originally called “Rossey” (Rosseia), and this name indicates the dispersion and absent-mindedness of its people, because “Rossey” in Russian means “scattering” or “scattering”. This opinion is obviously correct, since various peoples still live interspersed with the inhabitants of Russia, into which other lands are wedged everywhere, dividing it. ([From the Scriptures we know that the word "scattering" is also used by the prophets 36 when talking about the resettlement of peoples. However, in this way the name of the Russians can be derived from a Greek or even a Chaldean root, for example, from the word “flow”, in Greek rouV, or from Aramaic 37 Resissaia or Ressaia, which means "sprinkling". Similarly Jews and Gauls 38 and umbers 39 named from Gall and Gallim, and also from Umber, which means streams, rains and floods, to thereby indicate that these peoples are restless V stormy, or a tribe of waters.]) But whatever the origin of the name "Russia", this people, speaking the Slavic language, professing the faith of Christ according to the Greek rite, calling themselves in their native language Russi, and in Latin called Rhuteni, multiplied so much that they either drove out other tribes living among it, or forced them to live in its own way, so that they are now all called by the same name "Russians".
Slavic language, now distortedly called Sclavonian (Sclavonica) 40 , is very widespread: it is spoken by Dalmatians (Dalmatae, Dalmatiner), Bosniaks (Bossnenses, Bossner), Croats (Chroati, Chrabaten), Istrians (Istrii, Isterreicher) and further along the Adriatic Sea to Friul, Carni (Carni, Carster), whom the Venetians ( NG and Italians (Waelhisch)) are called Kars (Charsi), as well as the inhabitants of Carniola (Сarniolani, Crainer), the Carinthians (Carinthii, Khaerner) up to the Drava River (Dravus, Traa), then the Styrians (Stirii, Steyrer) ( NG four miles) below Graz (Graetz) along the Mur (Muer) to the Danube ( NG and further along the Drava and Sava (Saw)), Mysians (Mysii, Mysy), Serbs (Servii) ( NG which we now commonly refer to as Sirven and Raetzen 41 ), Bulgarians (Bulgarii) and others living as far as Constantinople; in addition to them, Czechs (Behemi, Beham), Lusatians (Lusacii, Lausitzer), Silesians (Silesii, Schlesier), Moravians (Moravi, Marher) and inhabitants of the banks of the Vaga River (Vagus, Waag) in the Kingdom of Hungary 42 , and also the Poles and Russians [ruling over vast territories] and the Pyatigorsk Circassians (Circasi-Quinquemontani, Circassen in fuenff pergen) near Pontus and, finally, the remnants of the Vandals (Vandali, Wenden), living somewhere in northern Germany beyond the Elbe. All of them classify themselves as Slavs, although the Germans, using the name of vandals alone, call everyone who speaks Slavonic equally Vends (-, Wenen), Windi (Windi) or Vind (peoples) (Windische) ( HG Moldavians (Moldauer) and other neighboring Wallachians (Wallachen) use this language when writing and worshiping, but they speak a different language colloquially. Many argue in their writings that the native language of the Macedonians was and still is Slavic, which they call Syrvisch.) 43 .
Russia borders on the Sarmatian mountains (montes Sarmatici, Sarmatisch gebuerg) 44 , located near Krakow, and previously stretched along the Tiras River, which in the language of the local inhabitants is called the Dniester (Nistrus) 45 , to Pontus Euxine ( NG otherwise called the Black (Schwarz) or, in Italian, the Great Sea) and the Borisfen River ( NG in Russian called the Dnieper (Nieper)), however, a few years ago, the Turks captured Alba, Weissenburg, located at the mouth of the Tiras, otherwise referred to as Moncastro (Moncastro) 46 , which belonged Wallachian-Moldavian (sovereign) (Walachus Moldaviensis)(NG Moldavian voivode (Voyvode in der Molda)) 47 . Yes and ( NG Tatar (Tartarisch) tsar, whom the Russians call “(tsar) at Perekop” (im Rgesor) 48 , and in Latin called) Taurian king (Thauriciae) 48 , having crossed Borisfen, he devastated vast spaces, after which he built two fortresses here; one of them, which is near the mouth of Borysfen, is called Ochakov (Oczakow) 49 and is now also in the hands of the Turks. Now the area between the mouths of both rivers ( NG Dniester and Dnieper) is a desert. Climbing up the Borisfen from there, you will see the city of Cherkassy (Circas) on the left bank. 50 , and even higher ( NG Kanev (Caynow) and) a very ancient city of Kyiv (Chiovia, Chiow), once the capital of Russia ( NG and residence of the prince.). On the other side of the Borysthenes there stretches Severskaya (Severa) 51 area still inhabited. Directly to the east from there are the sources of the Tanais. 52 . moving then along the Tanais (So! - A.N.) (secundum Tanaim)(NG long way down from named rivers ( Dnieper and Don? - A.N.) (von denselben fluessen... hinab)) to the confluence of the Oka (Ossa) and ( NG Volga (Volga), called in Greek)Pa(Rha) 53 and having passed the vast expanses on the other side of Ra, you will come to the North Sea (mare Septentrionale, Moer gegen Mitternacht); if you return from there along the possessions of the Swedish king along Finland and the Livonian Gulf 54 through Liwonia, Leiffland 55 , Samogitia (Samogitia, Sameitn) 56 , Mazovia (Masovia, Mass) 57 and Poland, you will eventually find yourself again at the Sarmatian mountains. Inside (this circle) there are only two non-Russian regions - Lithuania (Lithwania, Lythen) and Samogitia; located among the Russians, they speak, however, their own language and belong to the Latin Church; however, mostly Russians live in them.
Russia is now ruled by three sovereigns 58 ; b O most of it belongs to the [great] prince of Moscow, the second is Grand Duke Lithuanian (-, in Littn), the third is the Polish king, who now owns both Poland and Lithuania.
About their origin they know only what their annals tell. Let's retell them. These are the Slavic people from the tribe of Japheth; once he lived on the Danube, where Hungary and Bulgaria are now. Having settled and scattered then over various lands, they began to be called according to these areas: Moravians - along the river ( NG Morave (March)), others are Czechs (Ozechi), otherwise Bohemians 60 , as well as Croats, whites (Bieli) 61 , [Serbs (Serbli), i.e.] Serbs (Serbii); those who landed on the Danube called themselves Choruthani 62 ; those expelled by the Wallachians came to the Vistula (Istula, Weixl) and received the name Lechs (Lechi) from a certain Lech, Prince of Poland - that is why the Poles are still called Lechs; others - Lithuanians, Mazovians (Masovii, Masovithn), Pomeranians (Pomerani, Pommern) 63 ; those who sat down along Borisfen near present-day Kiev were called glades (Poleni), others Drevlyani (Drewliani), that is, the inhabitants of the forests who lived between the Dvina (Dwina) and Pripyat (Peti) received the name of the Dregovichi (Dregovici), at the river Polota (Polta) flowing into the Dvina - the Polochans (Polentzani), who settled near Lake Ilmen (Ilmen), took over Novgorod and from they took Gostomysl as sovereign (Gostomissel) 64 , called Severians (Seweri) or Seversky (Sewerski) lived along the rivers Desna (Desna) and Sula (Sula), and Krivichi (Chriwitzi) - above the sources of the Volga (Wolha) and Borysfen, their capital was the fortress of Smolensk (Smolensco). Here's what their records say 59 . Who initially ruled Russia is unknown, since the memory of them did not reach posterity due to their lack of writing. But in 6406 from the creation of the world, Tsar Michael of Constantinople gave Slavic letters to the Bulgarians, and then only they (Russians) began to keep chronicles and record both modern events and what they learned from their ancestors and kept in memory for a long time. 65 . 66 According to these chronicles, some Russians (tribes) levied tribute with squirrel skins 67 from every house the people of the Khazars (Coseri) 68 : in addition, they were ruled by the Varangians (Varegi) 69 . 66 However, neither about the Khazars: who they are and where they came from, nor about the Varangians, no one could tell me anything definite, besides their name. However, since they themselves call the Varangian Sea (mare Varegum, Varetzkhoye morye) the sea ( NG German (Teutsch Moer), in Latin) Baltic (mare Baltheum) ( NG which the Germans call Peld) and besides it ( NG Prussian and Livonian seas), which separates Prussia, Livonia and part of their own possessions from Sweden, then I thought that due to the proximity (to this sea) their princes were Swedes, Danes or Prussians. However, the region of the Vandals with the famous city of Wagria once bordered Lubeck (Lubeca, Lubegkh) and the Holstein (Holsatia, Holstain) duchy, so it is believed that the Baltic Sea got its name from this Wagria (Wagria) 70 ; since even to this day this sea, as well as the bay between Germany and Denmark, as well as between Sweden, on the one hand, and Prussia, Livonia and the coastal possessions of Muscovy, on the other, have retained in Russian the name “Varangian Sea” (Waretzokoie morie), that is, “the sea of the Varangians”, since, moreover, the Vandals then not only differed in power, but also had a common language with the Russians, custom ai and faith, then, in my opinion, it was natural for the Russians to call themselves sovereigns (-, Herrschaften) of the Vagrians, in other words, the Varangians, and not cede power to strangers who differed from them in faith, and customs, and language. 71 So, one day a dispute arose between the Russians about supreme power (principatus, Fuerstentumb), because of which they began, inflamed by mutual hatred, great strife. Then Gostomysl, a prudent man and respected by the Novgorodians, advised sending ambassadors to the Varangians to ask the three brothers, who were held in high esteem there, to take power. Following this advice, they sent to ask to sovereign(NG to assume power and rule (Regiment oder Regierung)) three siblings, who, upon arrival, divided among themselves the power, voluntarily handed over to them by the Russians. Rurik (Rurick) received the principality of Novgorod and sat in. Ladoga, thirty-six German miles down from Novgorod the Great. Sineus (Sinaus) sat on the White Lake (Albus lacus, Weissensee), Truvor (Truwor) - in the Principality of Pskov (Plescoviensis, Plesco) in the city of Izborsk (Swortzech, Swortzoch) 71 . 72 If the boasting of the Russians is to be believed, these three brothers descended from the Romans, just as, in his own words, the present Moscow sovereign (NG Grand Duke). According to the chronicles, the brothers came to Russia in 6370 after the creation of the world. Two of them died without heirs, and all the principalities were taken over by the surviving Rurik, who divided the fortresses between his friends (amici, Freunde) and servants 72 . 73 Dying, he entrusted his young son Igor (Igor) together with the kingdom (-, Reich) to one of his relative (HG closest friend (naechster Freund)) Oleg (Olech), who annexed many new lands. He went to war in Greece itself and even besieged Constantinople (Bisantium, Constantinopl), ruled for thirty-three years, but one day, stepping on the skull of his long-dead horse, he was bitten by a poisonous worm (vermis, ain vergiffts thier), which is why he died 73 . 74 After his death, Igor ruled, who married Olga (Olha) from Pskov (Plescowia, Plesco). In his distant military campaigns, he even reached Heraclea and Nicomedia, but in the end he was defeated and fled. Subsequently, he was killed by the Drevlyansky sovereign Maldittus (Maldittus) in an area called Korosten (Coreste, Coresto), where he was buried 74 . 75 Svyatoslav (Swatoslaus), his son, was still a child and, according to his years, could not manage the kingdom (-, Regiment), which was temporarily taken over by his mother Olga. Twenty Drevlyan ambassadors who came to her with a proposal to marry their sovereign, Olga ordered to be buried alive, and sent her ambassadors to the Drevlyans, demanding more numerous and noble matchmakers from them, as soon as they wish to see her as their sovereign and mistress. Soon, fifty more chosen husbands (selecti viri, fuernembliche) arrived at her place, but she burned them in a bathhouse, and she herself again sent to the Drevlyans to announce her arrival, so that they would prepare honey (aqua mulsa, Met) and everything else that is customarily required to commemorate the deceased spouse. Arriving to them and mourning her husband, Olga got drunk and killed five thousand Drevlyans. Then she returned to Kiev and opposed the Drevlyans with an army, defeated them and pursued them to the very fortress, which she besieged for a whole year, after which she made peace, demanding three pigeons and the same number of sparrows as tribute from each house. Having received the birds, Olga ordered them to tie some fire projectiles (ignea instrumenta, Fewrwerch) under their wings and let them go. Having scattered, the pigeons returned to their habitual dwellings, and a fire broke out in the fortress. The inhabitants who ran out of the burning fortress were either killed or, having been taken prisoner, were sold into slavery. So Olga captured all the Drevlyansk fortresses and avenged the murder of her husband. Then she returned to Kyiv 75 . 76 In 6463 from the creation of the world, Olga went to Greece, where she was baptized under the reign of John of Constantinople, receiving the new name "Elena". Having returned home after baptism with rich gifts from the tsar, she became the first Christian of all Russians, so that the chronicles, speaking of this, compare her with the sun: just as the sun illuminates this world, so Olga enlightened Russia with the faith of Christ. However, she could not encourage her son Svyatoslav to be baptized. 76 . 77 Svyatoslav was distinguished by courage and determination, and, having matured, he immediately began campaigns, exposing himself to all the dangers of war. In the campaign, he forbade his soldiers to burden themselves with any kind of luggage, not excluding even dishes, he ate only fried meat, and slept on the ground with a saddle under his head. Having defeated the Bulgarians and having reached the Danube, he sat down in the city of Pereaslav (Pereaslaw), saying to his mother and advisers: “This is where my real capital is in the middle of my state. Pavoloks are being brought to me from Greece (Panodocki - So! - A.N.), gold, silver and all kinds of fruits, from Hungary - silver and horses, from Russia - furs (Schora), wax, honey, slaves. His mother answered him: “Soon I will die, bury me where you want.” She died three days later 77 . Vladimir (Wolodimerus), her grandson by son, when he was baptized, canonized her among the saints; I heard that July 11th is dedicated to her 78 . 79 Svyatoslav, who ruled after the death of his mother, divided the region between his sons: Yaropolk (Ieropolchus) received Kiev, Oleg - the Drevlyans, and Vladimir - Novgorod the Great, since the Novgorodians themselves asked Vladimir to be their sovereign on the advice of a certain woman named Dobrynya (Dobrina). Dobrynl and Maluscha (Maluscha) were two daughters of a Novgorod citizen ( HG or resident (Inwoner)) named Kalufcha the Small (Calufcza parvus, Caluwtza der khiain); Malusha, being in the service (in gynaecio) of Olga, conceived from Svyatoslav and gave birth to Vladimir 79 . 80 Having taken care of his sons, Svyatoslav returned to Bulgaria, where he besieged and took the city of Pereyaslav, and then declared war on the kings Vasily and Constantine. Through their ambassadors, they asked him for peace, finding out how many troops he had, under the false pretext that they wanted to pay tribute according to the number of soldiers. Having learned this number, they gathered their army, having met with which the Russians were frightened by its large number. Noticing the hesitation of his troops, Svyatoslav said: “Russians, I don’t see a place where we could safely hide; therefore, not wanting to betray the Russian land to the enemy, I decided either to die courageously in battle, or to achieve victory. After all, fighting steadfastly, if I fall, I will gain immortal glory, but if I run, then eternal shame. Surrounded by an innumerable enemy, there is nowhere to run, so I will stand strong and in the first rank I will expose myself to all dangers for the fatherland. The soldiers answered him: "Where your head is, there is ours." Having encouraged the soldiers, Svyatoslav rushed at the enemy standing against him and overturned him with a strong onslaught. After that, he began to devastate the Greek land, and then the other Greek princes (principes) came to him with gifts. As the chronicle narrates, Svyatoslav scornfully rejected the gold and canvases presented as a gift (panadockmi, Panadogkhen - So! - A.N.), but he accepted the clothes and weapons sent by the Greeks on another occasion. Struck by such valor, the Greeks, gathered together, said to their kings: “And we want such a king who would love most of all not gold, but weapons.” The Greeks managed to turn away Svyatoslav, who was moving to Constantinople, from their borders only with a huge tribute. 80 . 81 Finally in 6480 (NG 6484) year from the creation of the world Kurya (Cures), the sovereign of the Pechenegs (Pieczenigi), killed him from an ambush, and from his skull he made himself a cup in a gold frame, writing on it like this: “Looking for someone else’s, I lost my own” 81 . 82 After the death of Svyatoslav, one of his nobles named Sveneld (Swadolt - So! - A.N.) came to Yaropolk in Kyiv, urging him with great perseverance to drive out [from the kingdom] brother Oleg because he killed his son Luta (Luta). Yielding to his persuasion, Yaropolk went to war against his brother and defeated his Drevlyan army. Oleg tried to flee to one of the fortresses, but his own people did not let him in, so in a crush he was thrown off the bridge. Many fell on him, and the unfortunate man was crushed. Having taken the fortress, Yaropolk began to look for his brother; looking at the body brought to him, which was found among the corpses, Yaropolk exclaimed: “Sveneld, that's what you wanted!” Then Oleg was buried. Having learned about the murder and burial of Oleg, Vladimir left Novgorod and fled across the sea to the Varangians, and Yaropolk sent his governor to the city and became the monarch of all Russia. Vladimir returned with Varangian help and expelled the governor's brother from Novgorod. Knowing that Yaropolk was plotting a war against him, Vladimir himself opposed his brother. Meanwhile, he sent to Pskov (Pescoviae - So! - A.N.) sovereign Rogvolod (Rochwolochda), who also came there from the Varangians, to ask his daughter Rogneda (Rochmida - So! - A.N.). Knowing that Vladimir was born from an illegal concubine, she did not want to marry him, preferring his brother Yaropolk, whom she hoped for a speedy matchmaking. The rejected Vladimir declared war on Rogvolod and killed him along with his two sons, and made his daughter Rogneda his wife. After that, he moved against his brother to Kyiv. Yaropolk did not dare to fight him and locked himself in Kyiv. Having laid siege to Kyiv, Vladimir secretly sent a messenger to Blud, Yaropolk's closest adviser; with honor calling Blud a father, he asked his advice on how to destroy his brother. Heeding the request of Vladimir, Fornication promised to kill his master himself, but let Vladimir storm the fortress for the time being. In the meantime, he convinced Yaropolk, who trusted his adviser, to leave the fortress, since many of those around him allegedly took the side of Vladimir, and to flee to Rodnya (Roden), at the mouth of the Ros (Iursa- So! - A.N.) where his brother cannot overtake him. But Vladimir, having captured Kiev, led an army to Rodna and laid siege to Yaropolk. Unable to endure a heavy and prolonged siege, exhausted by hunger, Yaropolk was incited by Fornication to make peace with his brother, who was much superior in strength. Vladimir, on the contrary, was told by Fornication that he would soon betray and deliver his brother to him. Yaropolk, succumbing to persuasion, gave himself into the power and mercy of Vladimir, voluntarily agreeing to be content with everything that he would grant him. This proposal made Vladimir very happy. Soon after this, Blud persuaded his master to go to Vladimir, although Varyazhko (Werasco, Waresco), another adviser to Yaropolk, strongly objected to this. However, Yaropolk ignored the advice of the latter and went to his brother. When he entered the gate, two Varangians killed him in front of Vladimir, who was watching from a certain tower. Having done this, Vladimir forcibly took possession of his brother's wife, a Greek woman, once a nun: she also suffered from Yaropolk before he (Yaropolk) married her 82 . 83 Vladimir erected many idols in Kyiv. The first, named Perun (Perum, Perun), was wooden, but with a silver head; the rest were called Uslad (Uslad), Khors (Corsa), Dazhdbog (Daswa- So! - A.N.), Stribog (Striba), Simargl (Simaergla) and Mokosh (Macosch). To all of them, otherwise called idols (Cumeri), he made sacrifices. He had a lot of wives. From Rogneda (Rochmida) he had Izyaslav (Isoslaus), Yaroslav (Ieroslaus, Iaroslaw), Vsevolod (Serwoldus, Sewold) and two daughters, from a Greek woman - Svyatopolk (Swetopolchus, Swatopolch), from a Czech - Zaslav (Saslaus) 84 , and from another Czech - Svyatoslav and Stanislav (Stanislaus), from the Bulgarian - Boris (Boris) and Gleb (Chleb). In addition, in Vyshgorod (in alto castro, im hohen Schlofi) he had three hundred concubines, in Belgorod (Bielgrad) - also three hundred, in Berestovo village (in Berestowo, Seiwi; in Berostow und Seiwi) - two hundred 83 . 85 After Vladimir began to rule Russia without hindrance, ambassadors from different countries began to come to him, urging him to accept their faith. Seeing the difference of faiths, he himself sent his own ambassadors to find out about all the conditions and rituals of individual faiths. Finally, when he chose the Christian faith according to the Greek rite, preferring it to all others, he sent ambassadors to Constantinople to the kings Basil and Constantine, promising to accept with all his subjects the faith of Christ and to return to the Greeks Korsun (Corsun) and everything else that he took possession of in Greece, if they give him their sister Anna as a wife. Upon reaching an agreement, they agreed on a time and chose Korsun as the place. When the tsars arrived there, Vladimir was baptized, and instead of the name Vladimir, he was named Vasily. After the wedding celebration, according to the promise, he returned Korsun and everything else 86 . This took place in 6496 (NG 6469) year from the creation of the world. Since that time, Russia has been in the faith of Christ 85 . Anna died in the twenty-third year after the wedding, while Vladimir died in the fourth year after the death of his wife 88 . He founded a city between the Volga and Oka rivers, which he named after himself Vladimir (Wolodimeria) and made it the capital of Russia. 89 . He is revered among the saints on a par with the apostles, and the celebration is celebrated for him annually on July 15 90 . After the death of Vladimir, his sons quarreled among themselves, making various attempts to seize [royal] power and fighting with each other, so that the stronger oppressed the smaller and weaker, or even drove him away. from the kingdom (NG How Vladimir accepted in 990 87 baptism for the sake of Anna, and Miesco (Miesco) Polish - for the sake of Dobrovka (Dobrowkha), daughter of the Czech prince Boleslav in 965. Also Jagiello (Jagello), Grand Duke of Lithuania - for the sake of Jadwiga (Hedwig), daughter of King Ludwig of Hungary and Poland. But he received with his bride in 1383 the Kingdom of Poland.). Svyatopolk 91 , having seized the principality of Kiev by force, appointed assassins to put an end to his brothers Boris and Gleb. After they were killed, their names were changed: one was called David, the other Roman, and they were canonized as saints; The 24th day of July is dedicated to their memory 92 . Continuing to quarrel, the brothers did not do anything worthy of mention, if not to talk about betrayals, intrigues, enmity and internecine wars. Son of Vsevolod Vladimir, nicknamed Monomakh 93 , again turned all of Russia into a monarchy, leaving behind some insignia, which are still used today at the coronations of sovereigns. Vladimir died in 6633 from the creation of the world. After him, neither his sons nor grandsons did anything worthy of mention until the time of George and Basil 94 , who were defeated and killed in the war by the Tatar king Baty (Bati) 95 ; he burned and plundered Vladimir, Moscow and a good part of Russia. From that time, i.e. from 6745 from the creation of the world, until the present Basil 96 almost all the sovereigns of Russia were not only tributaries of the Tatars, but also individual principalities were assigned to those Russians who achieved this, at the discretion of the Tatars 97 . Although the Tatars decided by analyzing and investigating the litigation that arose between the Russians about succession [in principalities] or because of inheritances, nevertheless, frequent wars arose between the Russians and the Tatars; between the brothers there were various troubles, exiles and exchanges [in the kingdom and in the principalities]. For example, Duke Andrei Alexandrovich achieved a great reign; when Demetrius occupied it, then his brother Andrei, having begged an army from the Tatars, drove him out and created a lot of wickedness in Russia 98 . 99 Similarly, Duke Dimitri Mikhailovich killed Duke Georgy Danilovich from the Tatars. Uzbek (Asbeck) 100 , the Tatar king, grabbed Demetrius and subjected him to death 99 . 101 There was also a dispute about the [great] reign of Tver (Twer). When Duke Simeon Ivanovich asked for it from the Tatar king Dzhanibek (Zanabeck), he demanded an [annual] tribute from him; but (Tatar) nobles (NG advisers), bribed with gifts (of Simeon), interceded for him and made sure that he did not pay 101 . 102 Then, in 6886, Grand Duke Demetrius defeated the great Tatar king named Mamai (Mamaij) in the war. In the third year after that, he again inflicted such a severe defeat on him that the ground was littered with corpses for more than thirteen miles. 102 . 103 In the second year after this battle, the Tatar king Toktamysh (Tachtamisch) swooped down, defeated Demetrius, besieged and occupied Moscow; the dead were redeemed for burial at eighty-one rubles (rublum), in total 3000 rubles were paid 103 . 104 Grand Duke Vasily, who ruled in 6907, occupied Bulgaria (Bulgaria, Bulgern), located on the Volga, and expelled the Tatars from there 104 . This Vasily Dimitrievich left his only son Vasily, but did not love him, as he suspected his wife Anastasia of adultery 105 from which he was born; therefore, dying, he left the great reign of Moscow not to his son, but to his brother George 106 . 107 But the majority [of the boyars] nevertheless joined his son as the rightful heir and successor. Noticing this, George hurries to the Tatars, begging the king to call Vasily and make out which of them rightfully belongs ( NG great) reign. When the king, at the suggestion of one of his advisers, who was on the side of George, began to decide the case in favor of George in the presence of Basil, Basil fell to the king's knees and began to ask to be allowed to speak out. Having immediately received the consent of the king, he said: “Although you pronounced your decision on the basis of a letter (of a man already) dead (literae mortuae, ain todter brieff), nevertheless I am sure that my letter, which you gave me, sealed with a golden seal, indicating that you wish to give me a great reign, is still valid (vivus) and has a much more important and significant significance. Thus, he asks the king to, mindful of his words, deign to fulfill the promise. To this the king replied that it was much more fair to fulfill the promise given in the letter of the living (literae vivae, lebendiger brief) than to take into account the dead. In the end, he released Vasily, granting him ( NG great) reign. Indignant at this, George gathered an army and drove Basil away. Vasily endured this calmly and retired to the principality of Uglitz (Uglistz, Uglitz) left to him by his father, while George, until the end of his life, owned the great principality without interference, refusing it by will to his nephew Vasily. This offended the disinherited sons of George, Andrei and Dimitri, and therefore laid siege to Moscow. Upon learning of this, Basil, who retired to the monastery of St. Sergius, immediately sent out scouts and posted guards, taking measures in case of a surprise attack. Knowing this, the aforementioned two brothers, after conferring, send several wagons there, placing armed soldiers in them, as if with a load of goods. Having traveled back and forth, these wagons finally stopped at night near the guards. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the soldiers suddenly jumped out of the wagons in the dead of night, attacked the guards, who did not suspect any danger, and took them prisoner. In the monastery, Vasily was also captured; then he was blinded and sent to Uglich with his wife. After some time, Dimitri, seeing that ( NG subjects and) all the nobility is hostile to him and goes over to the side of the blind Vasily, without delay, fled to Novgorod, leaving his son John, who later was born Vasily Shemyachich (Semeczitz) 108 , kept in fetters even when I was in Muscovy; more about it below. Dimitry was known under the nickname Shemyaka (Semecka, Schemekha) 109 , therefore all his descendants are called Shemyachichi. In the end, Vasily Slepoy, the son of Vasily, peacefully took over the great reign. 107 . After the death of Vladimir Monomakh, Vasily was not in Russia until this monarchs (NG supreme (rulers) (der oebere), but only princes, over whom the Tatars were supreme (rulers).). The son of this Basil, named John 110 , was very lucky. Namely, as soon as he married Mary, the sister of the [great] Duke of Tver, he expelled his brother-in-law and captured the [great] principality of Tver, and then Novgorod the Great; subsequently all other sovereigns obeyed him 111 who are impressed by the greatness of his deeds, who are under the pressure of fear. Continuing to conduct his affairs just as happily, he assumed the title [Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow and Novgorod] and finally began to call himself the monarch of all Russia 112 . By Mary this John had a son, named John 113 , whom he married to the daughter of the famous Stephen, the great voivode (Waiavoda, -) of Moldavia, the winner of Mohammed (Mahumet, Machmet) king (NG emperor) Turkish 114 , (NG kings) Matthew of Hungary 115 and John Albert of Poland 116 . After the death of his first wife, Maria, John Vasilyevich married a second time to Sophia, the daughter of Thomas, who once owned a vast (kingdom) in the Peloponnese and was the son of Emmanuel, king of Constantinople, from the Palaiologos family. From Sophia, John had five sons: Gabriel, Demetrius, George, Simeon and Andrei. He endowed them with an inheritance during his lifetime 117 . Monarchy (NG Great reign) he provided to the original John ( NG son from his first wife and crowned (eingesetzt) him according to the rite) 118 , Gabriel was ordered by Novgorod the Great, the rest he gave the rest at his discretion. The original John died NG during the life of the father), leaving his son Demetrius, to whom the grandfather, according to custom, provided monarchy(NG Great reign) instead of the deceased father 119 . They say that Sophia was very cunning, and at her instigation the prince did a lot. They say that, among other things, she persuaded her husband to deprive monarchy(NG Great reign) grandson Demetrius and put Gabriel in his place. At the insistence of his wife, the prince imprisoned Demetrius and kept him there. Just before death NG when the priests appealed to his conscience) he called Demetrius to him and said to him: “Dear grandson, I have sinned before God and you, by imprisoning you and depriving you of your lawful inheritance. Therefore, I beg you, let go of the offense caused to you, be free and use your rights. Touched by this speech, Dimitri willingly forgave his grandfather for his guilt. But when he left him, he was seized by order of Uncle Gabriel and thrown into prison. Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from smoke. During the life of Demetrius, Gabriel pretended to be only a ruler (Gubernator), but after his death he seized the princely power (principatus, Regiment), not being, however, crowned, but only changing the name Gabriel to Basil. Grand Duke John [from Sophia] had a daughter [Elena], whom he married to Alexander, Grand Duke of Lithuania, later elected King of Poland. The Lithuanians hoped that this marriage would pacify the grave enmity [between the one and the other sovereign], but it turned out that the enmity from this intensified even more. In the marriage contract, it was supposed to build a temple according to the Russian rite in a certain place of the Vilna fortress and give the bride a certain number of women and girls of the same faith as her escort 120 . Since the execution of this was delayed for some time, the father-in-law took advantage of this circumstance as a pretext for war with Alexander and, having made up three detachments, opposed him. He sent the first detachment to the south against the Seversk region, the second to the west against Toropets (Toropecz) [and Belaya (Biela)], the third he placed in the middle against Dorogobuzh (Drogobusch) and Smolensk. In addition, he kept part of the army in reserve so that it could quickly come to the aid of the detachment against which the Lithuanians would move ( NG And so it happened when the Lithuanian army moved to Smolensk and further to Dorogobuzh). When both troops approached a certain river Vedrosha (Wedrasch), the Lithuanians, who were led by ( NG Russian, Duke) Konstantin Ostrozhsky (Ostroskij) 121 , [surrounded by a huge number of nobles and nobility] found out from some prisoners about the number of enemies [and their leaders (duces)] and had a strong hope from this to defeat the enemy. [Further, since] the river interfered with the collision [then from both sides they began to look for crossings or fords]. First of all, several Muscovites crossed to the opposite bank, challenging the Lithuanians to fight. Those, not in the least timid, resist, pursue them, put them to flight and drive them across the river. Following this, both troops enter the battle [and a fierce battle ensues. During this battle, which was fought on both sides with equal enthusiasm and strength], the army placed in ambush [of whose existence (only) a few of the Russians knew] struck from the flank into the middle of the enemy. The Lithuanians, stricken with fear, scatter, their leader (imperator, oeberster Haubtman) with most of his retinue is captured, while the rest leave the enemy camp in fear and, surrendering themselves, also surrender the fortresses of Dorogobuzh, Toropets and Belaya. The same army that marched south and over which he commanded ( NG baptized) Tatar king in Kazan (Casanus) Mohammed Amin (Machmethemin) 122 , accidentally captures the [chief - but in the local] governor (Waiwoda) of the city of Bryansk (Brensko) 123 and takes possession of (the) city of Bryansk. Then two ( NG prince) brothers [and Vasily - cousins (patrueles)], one nicknamed Starodubsky (Staradub), and the other - Shemyachich, who owned a good part of the Seversk region [and previously obeyed the princes of Lithuania] 124 , give themselves under the power of the Muscovite. Thus, in one battle and in one year, the Muscovite achieved what the Grand Duke of Lithuania Witold (Witoldus) 125 achieved for many years and with great effort. The Muscovite treated the aforementioned Lithuanian prisoners very cruelly, keeping them in the heaviest chains, and negotiated with Duke Constantine so that he would leave (his) natural master and enter the service of him. Since he had no other hope of release, he accepted the condition and was released, binding himself with the most terrible oath. Although he was then allocated estates and possessions corresponding to his dignity, he could not be propitiated or kept by them, and at the first convenient occasion he returned home through impenetrable forests. Alexander, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who always found more pleasure in peace than in war, left all the regions and fortresses occupied by Muscovites, and [being content with the release of his own] made peace with his father-in-law 126 . John Vasilievich was so lucky that he defeated the Novgorodians at the Shelon River (Scholona) and, having forced the vanquished [under certain conditions] to recognize themselves as their master [and sovereign], ordered them to pay a large amount of money; he departed from there no sooner than he appointed his vicegerent there 127 . Finally, after seven years, he returned there and, having entered the city with the help of Archbishop Theophilus, turned the inhabitants into the most miserable ( NG eternal) slavery. He seized gold and silver, even took away all the property of citizens, so that he took out over three hundred fully loaded carts ( NG however, small - two small horses in a harness.) 128 . He himself was personally only once present at the war, precisely when he conquered the [principalities] of Novgorod and Tver; at other times, as a rule, he never went into battle and yet always won victories, so that the great Stefan, the famous governor of Moldavia, often commemorated him at feasts, saying that he, sitting at home and indulging in sleep, multiplies his power, and he himself, fighting daily, is barely able to defend his borders. John also installed kings in Kazan at his own will, sometimes took them prisoner, although in his old age he suffered a very strong defeat from them. 129 . He also built for the first time the walls of the Moscow fortress, his residence, which can still be seen 130 . In relation to women, he was so formidable that if any of them accidentally caught his eye, then at the sight of him they just did not lose their lives. For the poor, oppressed by the more powerful and offended by them, access to it was barred. During dinners, he mostly indulged in such drunkenness that he was overcome by sleep, while all those invited, meanwhile, sat stricken with fear and were silent. On awakening, he usually rubbed his eyes, and then only began to joke and show gaiety towards the guests. However, no matter how powerful he was, he was still forced to obey the Tatars. When the Tatar ambassadors arrived, he went out to meet them outside the city and stood listening to them sitting. His Greek wife was so indignant at this that she repeated daily that she had married a slave of the Tatars, and therefore, in order to leave this slave custom someday, she persuaded her husband to pretend to be sick when the Tatars arrived. In the fortress of Moscow there was a house in which the Tatars lived in order to know everything that was done [in Moscow]. Not being able to endure this either, John's wife, appointing ambassadors, sent them with rich gifts to the queen of the Tatars, begging her to give in and give her this house, because, according to the instructions of the divine vision, she is going to erect a temple in its place; she promised the Tatars to appoint another house. The queen agreed to this, the house was destroyed, and a temple was built in its place. The Tatars expelled from the fortress in this way could not get another home [neither during the life of the princely family, nor even after their death] 131 .This John the Great died 132 in 7014 from the creation of the world. He was succeeded by his son, the Grand Duke Gabriel, later named Vasily [he kept in custody his nephew, the son of his brother, Demetrius, who, during the life of his grandfather, was elected, according to the customs of the people, the legitimate monarch, and therefore neither during the life of his nephew, nor subsequently after his death, Vasily did not want to subject himself to solemn election to the monarchs]. He imitated his father in many ways and kept intact what he left him; moreover, he annexed many regions to his power, not so much by war, in which he was less successful, but by his cunning. As his father subjugated Novgorod the Great, so he himself acted with the allied ( NG this Novgorod) Pskov; he also annexed the [famous] Smolensk [principality], which had been under the rule of the Lithuanians for more than a hundred years. Although after the death of Alexander, Vasily had no reason to go to war with ( NG Alexander's brother) Sigismund, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania 133 , he, seeing that the king was more inclined towards peace than towards war, and that the Lithuanians also did not want to fight, nevertheless found a case for war. He began to say that his sister, the widow Alexandra, did not at all meet on their part the treatment appropriate to her dignity. 134 ; in addition, he accused Sigismund of having raised the Tatars against him. So he declared war and let down ( NG large) guns, besieged Smolensk, although he could not take it. Meanwhile ( NG duke) Mikhail Glinsky (Lynczky, Linskhi), who came from a noble family and family of Russian sovereigns 135 , who once, under Alexander, enjoyed great power, fled to the Grand Duke of Moscow, as we will tell about that below; he immediately convinced Vasily to take up arms, promising him to take Smolensk if he was besieged again, but on the condition that the Muscovite cede this principality to him. When Vasily, agreeing to the conditions proposed by Mikhail, again imposed a heavy siege on Smolensk, Glinsky, through negotiations, or rather bribery, took possession of the city and took it with him to Muscovy ( NG taking them into service) all military leaders(NG warriors (dienstleut), among whom he was highly respected), with the exception of one who returned to his master, knowing that he was innocent of treason 136 . The rest [officers (centuriones)], bribed with money and gifts, did not dare to return to Lithuania, and in order to find an excuse for their crime, they inspired fear in the soldiers, saying: “If we go to Lithuania, then we can be robbed and killed anywhere.” Fearing such a disaster, the soldiers all went to Muscovy and are kept there on the salary of the sovereign ( NG but many of them would have gladly returned, but those who could not possibly do so told others that they would be drowned, robbed and killed along the way.) 137 .
Proud of this victory, Vasily ordered his army to immediately move into the depths of Lithuania, while he himself remained in Smolensk. When the Muscovites then captured several nearby cities and fortresses that had surrendered to them, then only the Polish king Sigismund gathered an army and sent him to help the besieged in Smolensk, but it was already too late. Soon after the capture of Smolensk, Sigismund, having learned that Moscow army moves to Lithuania, rushed to Borisov (Borisow), located near the Berezina River (Beresina), and sent his army from there under the leadership of Konstantin Ostrozhsky. When this latter approached Borisfen near Orsha (Orsa), a city twenty-four German miles from Smolensk 138 , then there was already a Muscovite army numbering approximately eighty thousand people 139 , while the Lithuanian did not exceed thirty-five thousand, although it had several ( HG field) guns. September 8, 1514 Constantine, pointing ( NG floating) bridge ( HG covered with reeds), ferried the infantry through Borisfen near the city of Orsha; the cavalry crossed along a narrow ford under the very fortress of Orsha. When half of the troops crossed Borisfen, this was reported to Ivan Andreevich Chelyadnin (Czeladin) 140 , to whom the Muscovite entrusted the main authorities (summa rerum, obrister Haubtman), advising to attack this part of the army and destroy it. But he objected to this: “If we crush this part of the army, then another part will remain, with which other troops will probably be able to connect, so that we will be in even greater danger. Let us wait until the whole army has crossed over, for our forces are so great that, without a doubt, we can either crush this army without much effort, or surround it and drive it like cattle, all the way to Moscow. In the end, we will have no choice but to occupy the whole of Lithuania.” Meanwhile, the Lithuanian army [reinforced by Poles and foreign soldiers] was approaching, and when it advanced four miles from Orsha, both troops stopped. Both wings of the Muscovites retreated a little further from the rest of the army in order to surround the enemy from the rear; the main forces stood in battle formations in the middle, and some were pushed forward to challenge the enemy to battle. Opposite, in a long line, various Lithuanian troops were stationed, for each principality sent its army with own leader (dux)(HG how they do it), so that in the ranks each was given a special place. Finally, having built forward detachments, the Muscovites trumpeted the offensive and were the first to move against the Lithuanians. Those, not at all shy, stood firm and repulsed them. But soon reinforcements were sent to the Muscovites, who in turn put the Lithuanians to flight. Thus, several times either side, receiving reinforcements, hit the other. At last the battle flared up with the greatest force. The Lithuanians, deliberately retreating to the place where their cannons were hidden, directed them against the pressing Muscovites and hit their rear ranks, lined up in reserve, but too crowded, confused them and scattered them. Such an unexpected military reception plunged the Muscovites into horror, because they believed that only the first row, fighting with the enemy, was in danger; dismayed, and believing that the first ranks had already been smashed, they fled. Lithuanians, turning around and moving all their forces, pursued them, drove them and killed ( NG Seeing this flight, both Russian flanks also retreated.). Only night and forests put an end to this beating. Between Orsha and Dubrovno (Dobrowna), which are four German miles apart, there is a river named Kropivna (Cropiwna) 141 ; fleeing along its dangerous and steep banks, the Muscovites drowned in such numbers that they blocked the flow of the river. In this battle, all the military leaders [and advisers] (of the Muscovites) were taken prisoner; the most important of them, Constantine gave the next day the most magnificent reception, and then sent them to the king; they were distributed among the Lithuanian fortresses 142 . Ivan Chelyadnin, with two other noble princes, was kept in iron fetters in Vilna (Wilna, Wilde) already in their old age. When Caesar Maximilian sent me as an ambassador to Moscow, I, with the permission of King Sigismund, visited them and consoled them; besides, at their request, I loaned them some gold ( NG which were returned to me in Moscow according to their letters) 143 . Upon learning of the defeat of his own, the sovereign immediately left Smolensk and fled to Moscow, and so that the Lithuanians would not get the fortress of Dorogobuzh, he ordered to burn it. The Lithuanian army rushed straight to the city of Smolensk, but could not take it, since the Muscovite placed a garrison there and generally fortified it well before leaving the city; in addition, the impending winter hampered the siege. Further, many, burdened with booty after the battle, began to return home, believing that they had already worked hard enough. Finally, neither Lithuanians nor Muscovites know how to storm fortresses. This victory gave the king nothing but the return of three fortresses on this side of Smolensk 144 . In the fourth year after this battle, the Muscovite sent troops to Lithuania and settled down between the course of the Dvina River and the fortress of Polotsk (Poloczko); from there, he sent a significant part of the army to devastate Lithuania, capture full, kill and burn. Governor of Polotsk (Poloczkij Wayvoda) Albert Gashtold 145 one night he made a sortie and, having crossed the river, set fire to the hay prepared by the Muscovites for a long siege, and attacked the enemy. Some of them were killed, others drowned while fleeing, others were taken prisoner, and only a few escaped. Of the rest, which, dispersed, devastated Lithuania, some were defeated in various places, others, wandering in the forests, were destroyed by the peasants. 146 .
At the same time, the Muscovite went to the Kazan kingdom both with the ship and with the horse army, but returned from there unsuccessfully, having lost a lot of soldiers 147 . Although Tsar Vasily was very unhappy in the war, his (subjects) always praise him, as if he was doing business with every kind of luck. And although almost half of the soldiers sometimes returned home, however, the Muscovites pretend that not a single one was lost in the battle. The power that he has over his subjects, he far surpasses all monarchs(NG kings and princes) of the whole world. He also completed what his father had begun, namely: he took away from all the princes (principes, -) and from the other (nobility) all the fortresses [and castles] Even to his own brothers, he does not entrust fortresses, not trusting them 148 . He oppresses everyone equally with cruel slavery, so that if he orders someone to be at his court or go to war or rule any embassy, he is forced to do all this at his own expense. 149 . The exception is the [young] children of the boyars, i.e., noble persons with a more modest income [such persons, crushed by poverty, he usually annually accepts and maintains, assigning them a salary, but not the same]. Those to whom he pays six gold pieces a year are paid in two years for the third; those who are given twelve pieces of gold every year must be ready without any delay to perform any service on their own account, and even with several horses. [The nobles, who govern embassies or bear other more important duties, are appointed according to the dignity and labors of each, either the position of chief (praefectura), or village, or estate, but from each of them an annual certain tax (census) is paid to the sovereign. They are given only requisitions (mulcta), which are extorted from the poor if they are guilty of something, and some other income. But such possessions he gives them, for the most part, for use only for a year and a half; if someone is in his special favor and enjoys his favor, then several months are added to that; after the expiration of this period, all mercy ceases, and you have to serve for free for six years.] 150 There was a certain Vasily Tretyak Dolmatov (Tretyack Dolmatow), who was loved by the sovereign and was considered among his closest secretaries 151 . Basil appointed him ambassador to Caesar Maximilian and ordered him to prepare; when he said that he had no money for travel and expenses ( HG and the prince had already twice ordered him to go, then for the third time), he was captured and sent to eternal imprisonment at Beloozero (Bieloyessero, weisser See) [where he finally died a most miserable death]. The sovereign appropriated his property, both movable and immovable, and although he received three thousand florins (florenus, Guelden) in cash, he did not give his brothers and heirs a penny. The authenticity of this, in addition to the general rumor, was confirmed to me by the clerk John 152 assigned to me by the sovereign to deliver things necessary for everyday everyday needs. When Dolmatov was captured, the same John kept him under his guard. In the same way, the two brothers Vasily, Fedor and Zachary 153 which on our return from Mozhaisk (Mosaisco)(NG Moscow) to Smolensk were assigned to us ( NG one to Count Leonard Nugarola, the other to me) in the rank of bailiffs ( NG those. “attached” (Zugeordnete)), claimed that this was the case ( NG and asked us if, according to our laws, brothers do not inherit the inheritance of their dead brother). All the jewels brought by the ambassadors who traveled to to foreign sovereigns(NG emperor or kings), the sovereign puts aside in his treasury, saying that he will show the ambassadors another favor, and it is as I said above. For example, when the ambassadors Prince (Knes) Ivan Posetzen (Posetzen) Yaroslavsky and the secretary Semyon, i.e. Simeon, Trofimov (Trophimow, Tromiphow) returned to Moscow with us 154 , who received as a gift from Caesar Charles the Fifth, to whom they were sent, heavy gold necklaces, chains and a Spanish coin, and a gold one at that(NG Spanish doubloons (Toppl Guelden)), but from the brother of the Caesarean Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and mine sovereign(NG mister), silver goblets, gold and silver fabrics and a German gold coin, then the sovereign immediately took away their chains, and goblets, and most of the Spanish ( NG and Austrian) gold 155 . When I asked the ambassadors if this was true, one of them, fearing to betray his sovereign, firmly denied this, and the other said that the sovereign ordered the Caesar's gifts to be brought to him in order to look at them. Since I later thought of it too often, one of them stopped visiting me, wanting to avoid either a lie if he continued to deny it, or a danger if he accidentally admitted it. The courtiers did not deny the fairness of this, but answered: “What if the sovereign grants us some other favor for this?” He exercises his authority over the clergy as well as over the laity, disposing freely at his own will of the life and property of each of the advisers that he has; none is so important as to dare to disagree with him or to rebuff him in any matter. They openly declare that the will of the sovereign is the will of God, and whatever the sovereign does, he does it according to the will of God. Therefore, they also call it ( NG Klucznick, i.e.) housekeeper (clavigerus, Schluesseltrager) 156 and bed-keeper (cubicularius, Camerer) of God and generally believe that he is the executor of divine will 157 . Therefore, the sovereign himself, when he is addressed with requests for some kind of captive or on another important matter, usually answers: "God willing, he will be freed." In the same way, if someone asks about some wrong and dubious matter, he usually receives the answer: "God knows about it and the great sovereign." It is difficult to understand whether the people, due to their rudeness, need a tyrant sovereign, or whether the people themselves become so rude, insensitive and cruel because of the tyranny of the sovereign. 158 .
From the time of Rurik up to the current sovereign these(NG John, (son) Vasily the Blind, Moscow) sovereigns used only the title of grand dukes - either Vladimir, or Moscow, or Novgorod, etc., except for John Vasilyevich, who called himself master(NG and who wrote himself a monarch) of all Russia and the Grand Duke [of Vladimir, etc.]. The current Vasily Ioannovich assigns himself the title [and the royal name], somehow: the great Mr. Vasily, [by God's grace] the king and lord of all Russia and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Yugra (Iugariae), Perm (Permia), Vyatka (Viackiae, Viatkha), Bulgar and so on. ; lord and grand prince of Novgorod, the lower lands (Nowogardia terrae inferioris, Neugarten des undern Erdtrichs) and Chernigov (Czernigowia), Ryazan (Rezania), Volotsk (Wolotkia), Rzhev (Rschowiae, Rsowie), Belsk (Beloiae), Rostov (Rostowia), Yaroslavl (Iaroslawia), Belozersky, Udorsky (Udoria) ), Obdorsky (Obdoria), Kondinsky (Condinia) and so on. 159 Since, in addition, all NG his interpreters) call him emperor ( NG i.e. in German Kayser) 160 , it seems to me necessary to explain both this honorary title and the reason for the error. In Russian, the word czar 161 denotes a king. But in the common Slavic language, among the Poles, Czechs and all others, on the basis of a well-known consonance in the extreme and, moreover, stressed (gravis) syllable, the word czar is understood as an emperor or Caesar; therefore, all who are not versed in the Russian language and writing, as well as Czechs, Poles, and also Slavs, subject to the Kingdom of Hungary 162 , call the kings by another name, namely Kral, others Kyrall, some Koroll; czar, in their opinion, is called only one Caesar or emperor. The consequence of this was that Russian translators, hearing how their sovereign is called in this way among foreign peoples, then they themselves began to call him emperor, believing that the title “king” is more honorable than “king”, although they mean the same thing. But if you reveal all their stories [and Holy Bible], it turns out that [the word czar corresponds everywhere to the name “king”, and] the name “emperor” corresponds to “Caesar” (Kessar) ( NG And since the Wends or Slavs call the emperor Kessar, it is very similar to czar, as if shortened from it. For this reason, almost all of them call the Tatar kings (Khuenig), i.e. czar, in German emperors due to a misunderstanding of the word czar). Due to the same delusion, the emperor called(NG been named for many years) the king (czar) of the Turks, although from ancient times he did not use another more honorary title, as soon as “king”, i.e. czar. Therefore, European Turks using the Slavic language 163 , call Constantinople Tsargrad (Czarigrad), i.e., as it were, the “royal city”. Some 164 they call the sovereign of Moscow the White Tsar (Albus rex, weisser Khuenig) ( NG speaking also of "White Russians" (weisse Reyssen) and thus making a distinction between (different) Russians.). I diligently found out the reason why he is called the White Tsar, because not one of the sovereigns of Muscovy had previously used such a title (in addition, at every opportunity, I often and frankly declared to (his) advisers themselves that we recognize in him not a king, but a Grand Duke. NG The common people in Muscovy, when they want to express themselves elegantly, call the Grand Duke “the white tsar,” but they don’t know the reason for this.)} 165 . I believe that as the (sovereign) of the Persians (Persa) is now called because of the red headdress [Kizil Pasha (Kisilpassa), i.e.] “red head(NG cap”, and some other sovereign - “green cap”)”, and they are also called white because of the white headdress 166 . However, the title king(NG emperor) he uses in relations with the Roman emperor, the pope, the king of Sweden and Denmark, [the master of Prussia and] Livonia and [as I heard, with the sovereign] the Turks ( NG Although he writes all his messages only in Russian, calling himself czar in them, but usually Latin copies are sent along with them, in which instead of czar there is “emperor”, i.e. in German Khaiser.). He himself is not called king by any of them, with the exception, perhaps, of the Livonian 167 . Your titles they have been writing for a long time(HG in their letters to the Turks they write for many years (vor jaren)) in three circles enclosed in a triangle 168 . The first of them, the upper one, contained the following words: "Our god is a trinity that has been before all ages - father, son and holy spirit, but not three gods, but one god in essence." In the second was the title of the emperor of the Turks with the addition: "To our dear brother." In the third - the title of the Grand Duke of Moscow, where he declared himself the king, heir and master of all eastern and southern Russia, while we saw the following addition to the general formula: "We sent our faithful adviser to you." In relations with the king of Poland, he [uses the following title: “Great Mr. Vasily, by the grace of God the lord of all Russia and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver, Yugra, Perm, Bulgar, etc.”], without using the title of king, because none of them deigns to accept the letter of the other with the addition of a new title. This happened during our stay in Muscovy ( HG when we made a truce between them), when a Muscovite forcibly accepted a letter sent to him by King Sigismund with the addition of the title of Duke of Mazovia 169 .
Some write that the Muscovite solicited the royal title from the Pope and Caesar Maximilian. It seems incredible to me, especially since he is not more embittered at any person than at the supreme high priest, honoring him only with the title “teacher” (Doctor) 170 . He regards the Roman Caesar no higher than himself, as is clear from his letters, where he puts his name before the title of emperor. 171 . Our title "Duke" is denoted by the word knes among them, and, as I said, they never had any higher title, with the addition, however, of the word "great". It was all the others who had only one principality that were called knes, while those who had several [and to whose authority other princes (knes) were subject] were called Weliki Knesi, i.e. “great dukes”, and they have no other degree or dignity, except for the boyars, who, as I said above, take the place of our nobility [and knights]. In Croatia ( NG and Hungary) grandees (primores, Grafen) ( NG and priests) are also called knes, and here, as in Hungary, they bear only the count's name(NG standing below are called the sons of the boyars. Boy means “war” in Slavic, so their name probably means “warriors”.).
([Some noble (principes) men did not hesitate to address me with a statement, moreover, even with a reproach for the fact that the current sovereign of Muscovy 173 usually refers to the letters of blessed memory of Emperor Maximilian, in which he allegedly granted the royal title to his father Gabriel, who later wished to change his name and be called Basil, and that he claims that I brought these letters to him. The consequence of this was that in the last negotiations with the king of Poland, he demanded to call him king, refusing otherwise to accept any conditions whatsoever. Although such speeches, as not corresponding to the truth and even improbable, should not touch me in the least, nevertheless I am forced to refute them not so much for my own sake as for the sake of my most valiant and all-merciful sovereign, since I see that, due to a misunderstanding, the purest memory of him is clouded with hatred. It is no secret to anyone that there was once a well-known enmity between Emperor Maximilian and King Sigismund of Poland: precisely when Sigismund married the daughter of Count Stefan (Scepusiensis, im Zips). Some explained that this was done so that the bride's brother John could, using the influence and assistance of Sigismund, marry Anna, daughter of Vladislav, king of Hungary. 174 , and thus the right of succession to the kingdom of Hungary, which belonged to Maximilian and his grandchildren, would be hindered and violated 175 . For this reason, Maximilian, of course, recognized it important for himself to be in alliance with the Muscovite, a constant enemy of the Lithuanians and Poles ( A The emperor sent (ambassadors) to Vasily, the Grand Duke, in Moscow (...) and concluded with him (a treaty) of friendship. The Prussian Grand Master (Hochmaister in Preussen) was also sharply opposed to the Polish king. 176 , whose power was also close to royal. All this did not please the king, who was not inclined to war and sought only peace and tranquility; AK recently captured Smolensk). But when, at a meeting in Bratislava (Rosonium), Maximilian and Vladislav, in the presence and with the assistance of Sigismund, came to an agreement regarding the marriage of Anna 177 , then all suspicions and strife immediately ceased and were destroyed, and Maximilian fell in love with Sigismund so passionately that he did not hesitate to say one day - I cited this in another place - that with Sigismund he was ready to go to heaven and hell. So, although there was a time when Maximilian wanted to have a Muscovite as an ally, he never gave him the name of a king. 178 . This can easily be confirmed by letters and seals sent and received from both sides, unless my testimony, despite all its fidelity and truthfulness, seems insignificant to anyone. And why should a Muscovite ask the Emperor Maximilian for this title, if even before any relations between them he wanted to show himself not only equal to him, but even superior, always putting his name and title ahead of the imperial one, both in speeches and in writing, and this, as it has been said, is observed so stubbornly even to this day? And after my return from Muscovy, he did not use the royal title even when he wrote to the King of Poland. True, there is no doubt that when he writes to the emperor or the pope, he calls himself the king and master of all Russia. Moreover, he does not refuse the imperial title, if it happens that a translation of it from Russian into Latin is attached to the charter, because the translators themselves convey the word czar, which means the same as “king”, by the name “emperor”. Thus, the same one declares himself both king and emperor. But let no one believe that Maximilian or his grandchildren 179 made him king to offend the Polish kings. And why should he solicit, as the rumor goes, royal dignity from the pope, if he had received it from the emperor even earlier? May what has been said serve in defense of my master, who throughout his whole life was a faithful and sincere friend of King Sigismund.What to say about yourself? With what face, let me ask, would I dare to go to Poland and Lithuania so many times, show myself in the eyes of the kings of Poland, Sigismund, father and son 180 , to take part in the state meetings of the Poles, to look at the nobles there, if I assisted my sovereign in this matter, in whose name and words I very often, in a brotherly, friendly, merciful and favorable manner, reported to both the king and the estates everything that the most valiant and most merciful emperor, united with them by the closest ties, can communicate? If there is no secret that would not be revealed, then, of course, everything that I did unworthy in accordance with my duty would have been revealed long ago. But I console myself with the consciousness of being right, and there is no more reliable consolation than this. And I am happy to enjoy the favor of the Polish kings and the benevolence of the Polish estates, which, as far as I remember, never left me.
Perhaps there were times when it was possible to spread such rumors, arousing less hatred than now. But to sow them at the present time does not mean to find a way to destroy the mutual trust of very closely connected sovereigns, while it should be strengthened and strengthened with all zeal and diligence? It seems that everything has already been done and redone that, in the general opinion, could be important for the preservation of the remnants of Hungary and for the return of the lost 181 . But those to whom this state of affairs has previously brought many benefits and should have brought even more, being infected by the Turkish or some other evil spirit, forget about treaties and agreements and strive for dangerous changes. At the same time, they do not take into account the danger they can expose themselves and the neighboring lands, and above all Hungary. rendered such outstanding service to all Christendom]) ( NP Appendix, or additional information about the latest deeds of the Muscovites 182 .
The Moscow Grand Duke Vasily, in fact, having annexed, as mentioned above, many regions (land) and principalities, greatly expanded his power. Especially in 1513 A.D. he waged a hard war against Sigmund of Poland and, as a result of the help and betrayal of Mikhail Glinsky, captured the well-known city and region of Smolensk, conquered more than a hundred years ago by Witold, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. And although in the next year, 1514, the Poles with a large army (ruestung) moved to the Russian borders and won a glorious victory, so on the battlefield under. More than thirty thousand Muscovites died in Smolensk, as is described in detail in the history of Paul Jovius, they were never able to regain this city and a strong principality, which to this day are in the power of the Muscovites.
Further, in 1518, the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily again invaded Lithuania with an extremely large army (gezeug) with the intention of taking over the whole country, but met with such strong resistance from King Sigmund that, having achieved nothing, he was forced to return back.
After this event, thanks to the serious intervention (unterhandlung) of Emperor Maximilian, and then Emperor Charles and his brother Ferdinand, a peace or truce (anstand) was arranged between Christians and Muscovites. However, in the meantime, Basil took possession of large territories in the east and south, expanding his state. Finally, in 1527, they again set out with the Tatars (?) (mit den Tartaren angezogen), as a result of which the well-known battle of Kanev (?) (bey Carionen) in Lithuania took place: then more than twenty-six thousand infidels were also beaten, after which a truce followed again. The following year, Grand Duke Vasily had his youngest son, John, who later inherited his father's throne.
In 1553, Grand Duke John of Moscow waged a serious war against the Swedes, devastated many regions, and finally, after much bloodshed, made peace again.
In 1562, the Grand Duke of Moscow John undertook a major campaign against the German knightly order in Livonia, inflicting cruel violence on men and women, children and the elderly, defeated him in battle and took control of almost the entire country. That is why the Livonians finally ask for help from the Roman Empire and are forced to submit to Sigmund, the second Polish king with that name.
As a result, the war between the Poles and their primordial enemies, the Muscovites, began again and obviously with even greater bitterness. The Muscovites went to Lithuania, ravaged more than a hundred settlements (flecken), took many Christians into captivity, but nevertheless, when King Sigmund came out to meet them with a strong army, they again took refuge behind the walls of Smolensk and soon after that again concluded a truce. (IN 1567 edition added:) In January 1567, there was a general rumor that the Grand Duke of Moscow was already completely ready for a new campaign against Lithuania and adjacent countries next year. May God make this all better.
As a result of so many campaigns and glorious deeds, the name of the Muscovites has become a subject of great fear for all neighboring peoples and even in German lands, so that there is a fear that the Lord, due to our great sins and crimes, if we do not turn to him with sincere repentance, will subject us to severe trials from Muscovites, Turks or any other great monarchs and severely punish us. If anyone wants to get to know the history of the Muscovites in more detail, then let him read the stories of the highly respected wise gentlemen Paul Jovius and Martin Kromer, who described at length the midnight peoples, which we have just, in recent years, been translated into German by us and prepared for publication for the benefit of the entire German nation.) 172 .
(translated by A. V. Nazarenko)
Text reproduced according to the edition: Sigismund Herberstein. Notes on Muscovy. M. MGU. 1988
© text - Nazarenko A. V. 1988
© online version - Thietmar. 2006
© OCR - Abakanovich. 2006
© design - Voitekhovich A. 2001
© Moscow State University. 1988
Andrei and Dimitri, the sons of George, as deprived of their inheritance, were annoyed at this and therefore laid siege to Moscow. Basil received news of this in the monastery of St. Sergius, immediately posted guards, posted a garrison and was careful not to attack him suddenly. Noticing this and consulting among themselves, Andrei and Demetrius filled several wagons with armed soldiers and sent them to the monastery under the guise of a merchant convoy. Having reached there, the wagons stopped at night near the guards. Taking advantage of this circumstance, the soldiers suddenly jumped out of the carts in the dead of night, attacked the guards, who did not suspect any danger, and seized them. Vasily was also taken in the monastery, blinded and sent to Uglich along with his wife. Soon afterwards, Dimitri, seeing that the estate of the nobility was hostile to him and that they were going over to the side of the blind Vasily, fled to Novgorod, leaving his son John, from whom Vasily Shemyachich was later born, who was kept in chains when I was in Moscow; I will say more about it below. Dimitry was the nickname of Shemyak, which is why all his descendants are called Shemyachichi. Finally, Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark calmly took possession of the Grand Duchy. After Vladimir Monomakh, there were no monarchs in Russia before this Basil. The son of this Basil, John 19, was very happy, because soon after his marriage to Maria, the sister of Michael, the Grand Duke of Tver, he expelled his son-in-law and took possession of the Grand Duchy of Tver; then he also conquered Veliky Novgorod. After that, all the other princes began to serve him, struck by the greatness of his deeds or out of fear. Then, with a constantly happy course of affairs, he began to use the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow and Novgorod, and finally began to be called the monarch (autocrat) of all Russia. This John had from Mary a son named John, whom he chose as his wife the daughter of Stephen the Great, that Moldavian governor who defeated Mahomet, the Sultan of Turkey, Matthew, the king of Hungary, and John Albert, the king of Poland. After the death of his first wife, Maria, John Vasilyevich entered into another marriage with Sophia, the daughter of Thomas, who once had vast possessions in the Peloponnese: I'm talking about the son of Emanuel, king of Constantinople, from the Palaiologos family. From her he had five sons: Gabriel, Demetrius, George, Simeon and Andrei, and he shared the inheritance with them during his lifetime: he left autocratic power to John, the eldest, appointed Veliky Novgorod to Gabriel, and gave the rest other possessions at will. His first-born, John, died, leaving a son Demetrius 20, to whom the grandfather granted the monarchy, according to custom, in place of his deceased father. They say that this Sophia was very cunning and under the influence of her prince did a lot. Incidentally, they say that she prompted her husband to deprive the grandson of Demetrius of the monarchy and appoint Gabriel in his place. The prince, convinced by his wife, ordered to throw Demetrius into chains and kept him in them for a long time. Finally, on his deathbed, he ordered that he be brought to him and said to him: “Dear grandson, I have sinned before God and before you by putting you in prison and depriving you of your rightful inheritance; I conjure you - forgive me the offense; be free, go and exercise your right." Demetrius, touched by this speech, willingly forgave his grandfather's guilt. But when he left his chambers, he was seized on the orders of Uncle Gabriel and thrown into prison. Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he was strangled by smoke. Gabriel, during the life of Demetrius, pretended to be only the ruler of the state, but after his death he accepted the princely dignity, although he was not crowned, but only changed the name of Gabriel to the name of Vasily.
Grand Duke John had a daughter from Sophia, Elena, whom he married to Alexander, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was later elected King of Poland. The Lithuanians already hoped that the important disagreements between the two sovereigns would be ended by this marriage; and far more important things have come from him. For in the marriage contract it was supposed to build a temple according to Russian law in the city of Vilna at the place appointed for that and to rank among it the boyars and maidens of the Russian faith who accompanied Elena. When the fulfillment of this condition was neglected for some time, the father-in-law took advantage of this as a pretext for war against Alexander, and, having arranged three armies, came out against him: he sent the first to the south, to the northern region, the other to the west, against Toropets and Bela, he placed the third in the middle towards Dorogobuzh and Smolensk; of these, he kept another army in reserve in order to send to the aid of the army against which the Lithuanians would fight. After both enemy troops converged near the Vedrosha River, the Lithuanians, who were under the leadership of Konstantin Ostrozhsky, surrounded by a large number of nobles and nobility, had great hope of defeating the enemies when they learned from some prisoners the number of enemies and their leaders. Then, since the river prevented the fight, they began to look for crossings or fords on both sides. However, several Muscovites, having climbed to the opposite bank, were the first to challenge the Lithuanians to battle; but they fearlessly repelled them, pursued them, put them to flight and drove them across the river. Soon both armies met, and a terrible battle began. While both sides fought with equal courage, the army, placed in ambush, the arrival of which very few of the Russians knew, crashed from the side into the thick of the enemy; the Lithuanians, stricken with fear, ran; the leader of the army, along with many nobles, was taken prisoner; the rest, out of fear, left the camp to the enemy, surrendered themselves and also gave up the fortresses of Dorogobuzh, Toropets and Bela. The army, which went south and was led by Mahmet-Amin 21, the Tatar king of Kazan, accidentally captured the ruler (in their language, the governor) of the city of Bryansk and captured Bryansk. After that, two brothers, Vasily's cousins, one - Starodubsky, the other - Shemyachich, who owned a good part of the Seversk region and were previously subject to the princes of Lithuania, were transferred under the authority of the Moscow prince. So, in one battle and in one year, the Moscow prince acquired what Vitold, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, took possession of for many years and with the greatest difficulty. With these Lithuanian captives, the Moscow prince acted very cruelly, kept them in the heaviest shackles and persuaded Prince Konstantin to enter his service. Having no hope of leaving in any other way, Constantine accepted the condition and was released, undertaking the greatest oath. Although estates and possessions were assigned to him according to his rank, they could not attract and retain him, so that on the first occasion, through impenetrable forests, he returned to his fatherland. Alexander, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, constantly desired peace more than war, abandoned all regions and cities occupied by the Moscow prince, and made peace with his father-in-law, content with the release of his prisoners.
This John Vasilyevich was so happy that he defeated the Novgorodians in the battle near the Shelon River; he forced the vanquished to accept certain conditions and recognize him as their lord and prince, took a lot of money from them and then withdrew, placing his governor there. After seven years, he again returned there, entered the city with the help of Archbishop Theophilus, reduced the inhabitants to the most miserable slavery, took silver and gold, and finally all the property of citizens, and took away from there more than three hundred well-loaded carts. He himself was present at the war only once, when the principalities of Novgorod and Tver were captured; at other times, he usually never himself was present in the battle, and yet he always won, so that the great Stefan, the governor of Moldavia, often remembering him at feasts, used to say: “John, sitting at home and resting, increases his kingdom, and I, fighting daily, can hardly defend the borders.”
He also placed the kings of Kazan on his water, sometimes took them prisoners, but in the end he himself suffered a great defeat from them in his old age. He was the first to surround the Moscow fortress and his residence with a wall, as can be seen even today. To women, he seemed so formidable that if any one accidentally came across him, then from his look they just did not lose their lives. There was no access to it for the poor, offended and oppressed by the strong. At dinner, for the most part, he got so drunk that he fell asleep, and meanwhile all those invited were silent from fear; when he woke up, he rubbed his eyes, and only then did he begin to joke and be cheerful with the guests. However, although he was very powerful, he was forced to obey the Tatars. When the Tatar ambassadors approached, he went out to meet them outside the city and listened to them standing, while they were sitting. His wife, who was originally from Greece, was very annoyed at this and said daily that she had married a Tatar slave; therefore, she persuaded her husband to pretend to be ill at the approach of the Tatars in order to finally someday destroy this slave rite.
John the Great died in 7014 from the creation of the world; in the dignity of the Grand Duke of Moscow, his son Gabriel succeeded him, later called Vasily. He kept in custody his nephew Demetrius, who, during the life of his grandfather, was crowned king, in accordance with popular custom; therefore, both during his lifetime and after the death of his nephew, Vasily did not want to solemnly marry the kingdom. He imitated his father in many ways, kept intact what he inherited from his father and annexed many areas to his possessions not so much by war, in which he was very unhappy, but by cunning. Just as his father brought Novgorod into dependence on himself, so he conquered the previously friendly Pskov, and also acquired the famous principality of Smolensk, which had been under the citizenship of the Lithuanians for more than a hundred years. For after the death of the Polish king Alexander, although Vasily had no reason to fight against Sigismund, the king of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, but seeing that the king was more inclined towards peace than war, and the Lithuanians were also afraid of war, he found a pretext for a break. It was he who said that his sister, the widow of Alexander, was not treated at all in the way that should be according to her dignity. In addition, he accused King Sigismund of arming the Tatars against him. Therefore, he declared war, laid siege to Smolensk, moved the wall-beating machines, but did not take it. Meanwhile, Mikhail Glinsky, descended from the noble branch of the Russian princes and who once occupied the highest positions with Alexander, fled to the Grand Duke of Moscow, as will be described below. Soon he persuaded Vasily to war and promised him that he would conquer Smolensk if he was besieged again, but on the condition that the Moscow prince gave him this principality. Then, when Vasily agreed to the conditions proposed by Mikhail and again pressed Smolensk with a heavy siege, Glinsky took possession of the city through negotiations, or, more correctly, through bribery, and brought with him to Moscow all the commanders of the army, except for only one who returned to his sovereign, not knowing any treason; the rest of the officers, bribed with money and gifts, did not dare to return to Lithuania and, in order to provide some justification for their guilt, instilled fear in the soldiers, saying: “If we take the road to Lithuania, then they can either rob us or kill us anywhere.” The soldiers, fearing these disasters, all went to Moscow and were accepted on the salary of the prince.
Proud of this victory, Vasily ordered his army to immediately enter Lithuania, while he himself remained in Smolensk. Then, when several nearby fortresses and cities surrendered, then only Sigismund, the king of Poland, gathered an army and sent him to the aid of the besieged in Smolensk, but it was too late. Soon after the capture of Smolensk, having learned that the Moscow army was going to Lithuania, he arrived in Borisov, lying on the Berezina River, and from there sent his army against the enemy under the leadership of Konstantin Ostrozhsky. When Constantine reached Borysfen, near the city of Orsha, which is 24 German miles from Smolensk, a Muscovite army of about eighty thousand had already arrived there. The Lithuanian army did not exceed thirty-five thousand people, however, having several guns. On September 8, 1514, having laid a bridge, Konstantin ferried the infantry across the Borisfen near the city of Orsha, while the cavalry crossed a narrow ford under the Orshinsky fortress itself. Shortly after half of the troops crossed the Borisfen, they informed Ivan Andreevich Chelyadin, to whom the Moscow prince entrusted the main authorities, and advised him to attack this part of the army and destroy it. But he answered: “If we defeat this part of the army, then another will remain, to which other forces can join; and thus we shall be in great danger. Let's wait a bit until the whole army crosses over: we have such forces that, without a doubt, we can either defeat this army without much difficulty, or surround it and drive it all the way to Moscow, like bulls. Finally, we will only have to occupy the whole of Lithuania.” Meanwhile, the Lithuanian army, which included Poles and soldiers from foreign countries, was approaching, and when it moved four thousand paces from Orsha, both armies stopped. Among the Muscovites, two wings moved far from the rest of the army in order to bypass the enemy from the rear; the main army, in battle formation, stood in the middle, and those who were supposed to challenge the enemy to battle were placed in front. Opposite them, the Lithuanians for a long time gave a disposition to their forces of different tribes, for each principality sent an army and the leader of its tribe, and thus each had its place in the battle line. Finally, placing several detachments in front, the Muscovites gave a signal and were the first to attack the Lithuanians. Those stood fearless and repulsed them; but the Muscovites, having received reinforcements, in turn put the Lithuanians to flight. Thus, several times both sides, reinforced by fresh reinforcements, overturned each other. Finally, all forces were put into action. Then the Lithuanians, with the intention of retreating to the place where their guns were placed, turned their cannons on the Muscovites pursuing them: they fired, upset and tore apart the dense rear ranks, standing in reserve. The Muscovites were terrified by this new mode of warfare, for they thought that only the front ranks, fighting the enemy, were in danger; they mixed up and fled, considering the front squads already defeated. Then the Lithuanians, turning back, overtook them with all their might, pursued and killed them. One night and the forests interrupted this battle. Between Orsha and Dubrovna (which are 4 German miles apart) there is a navigable river Kropivna: so many Muscovites drowned in it, who fled along its dangerous and high banks, that the flow of the river slowed down. All the commanders of the troops and military advisers were taken in this battle. The next day, Constantine gave a magnificent reception to the noblest of them, and then sent them to the king: they were distributed among the Lithuanian fortresses. Ivan Chelyadin, with two other chief leaders of advanced years, was kept in Vilna in iron shackles; when I was sent to Muscovy as an ambassador from Caesar Maximilian, I visited them with the permission of King Sigismund and consoled them, in addition, at their humble request, I loaned them several gold pieces. Hearing about the defeat of his troops, the prince immediately left Smolensk and hastily left Moscow, ordering the Dorogobuzh fortress to be burned so that the Lithuanians would not take it over. The Lithuanian army went straight to the city of Smolensk, but could not take it, because the Moscow prince strongly fortified it and left a garrison in it. In addition, the approaching winter interfered with the siege. In addition, the Lithuanians were burdened with booty from the battle, and many demanded to return home, believing that they had already done enough. Finally, the Lithuanian army could not take Smolensk also because neither the Lithuanians nor the Muscovites know how to take fortresses. But the king did not gain anything from this victory, except for the return of three cities on this side of Smolensk. In the fourth year after this battle, the Moscow prince sent an army to Lithuania; it camped between the course of the Dvina River and the city of Polotsk. From here he sent most of his army to devastate Lithuania with fire and sword and collect booty. Albert Gastold, governor of Polotsk, having gone out in one night and crossed the river, lit a pile of hay, which the Muscovites had collected for the sake of a long siege, and attacked the enemies: some of them died from the sword, others drowned in flight, others were taken prisoner, a few escaped; of the rest, who, moving from one place to another, devastated Lithuania, some were defeated in different places, others, wandering through the forests, were killed by the settlers.
At the same time, the Moscow prince also came out against the kingdom of Kazan, with a ship and cavalry army, but returned without doing a job and having lost a lot of soldiers. Although this prince Vasily was very unhappy in the war, nevertheless, his people always praise him as if he conducted his affairs happily; and although sometimes only half of the warriors tossed and turned, they maintain that not a single one was lost in the battle. With the power that he has over his own, he surpasses almost all the monarchs of the whole world. He fulfilled what his father had begun - namely, he took away from all the princes and other rulers all their cities and fortifications. He does not entrust fortresses even to his own brothers and does not allow them to live in them. He oppresses almost everyone with heavy slavery, so that the one whom he ordered to be in his palace, or go to war, or send some kind of embassy, is forced to fulfill his position at his own expense, with the exception of young men, boyar children, that is, noble people of small means, whom, due to their poverty, he annually takes to himself and usually gives a salary, but not all the same. Those to whom he contributes 6 gold a year are paid only for the third year; those who are given 12 gold every year are required to be ready for any position at their own expense and with several horses. The noblest, who send embassies or other important posts, are given either regional administrations, or villages, or estates, depending on the work and dignity of each; however, they pay a certain annual tax from them to the prince: they only receive a monetary penalty, which they collect from the poor, those who are guilty of something, and some other income. The prince allows the use of such possessions for the most part for a year and a half; if he shows someone special mercy and favor, then he adds a few more months. But after this time, all salary ceases, and for six whole years such a person must serve as a gift. At the princely court there was a certain Vasily Tretyak Dolmatov, who enjoyed the favor of the prince and was among his close clerks. The prince appointed him ambassador to Caesar Maximilian and ordered him to get ready. When Tretyak said that he had no money for the journey and expenses, he was immediately seized, taken to Beloozero and imprisoned for the rest of his life, where he finally died a miserable death. The prince took his property, movable and immovable, and having found 3,000 florins in pure money from him, did not give his brothers and heirs even a fourth part. The authenticity of this, in addition to the general rumor, was confirmed by the scribe Ivan, who was assigned to me by the prince to deliver things necessary for daily use: he kept Tretiak in custody when he was taken. The two brothers of Vasily Tretiak, Theodore and Zakharia, who were given to us by bailiffs on the return journey from Mozhaisk to Smolensk, asserted the same thing. If the ambassadors sent to foreign sovereigns bring any valuables, then the prince deposits this in his treasury, saying that he will give them another reward, and it is as I said above. So, when the ambassadors Prince Ivan Poseden of Yaroslavsky and the clerk Semyon (i.e. Simeon) Trofimov returned to Moscow with us, having received a gift from Caesar Charles V, to whom they were sent, heavy gold necklaces, chains, Spanish ducats, and from the brother of Caesar Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, my sovereign, silver bowls, gold and silver brocades and several German guilders , then the prince immediately took away their chains, and bowls, and most of the Spanish ducats. When I asked the ambassadors whether this was fair, one constantly denied, fearing to humiliate his prince, while the other said that the prince ordered the royal gifts to be brought to him in order to look at them. Then, when I thought of this very often, one of them stopped visiting me after that, so as not to be forced to lie, continuing to deny it, or to avoid danger if he confesses the truth. But the courtiers did not reject this fact, but objected: “So what if the prince rewards them with another favor? He has power over both secular and spiritual persons and freely, according to his arbitrariness, disposes of the life and property of all. Among the advisers he has, no one enjoys such importance as to dare to contradict him in anything or to be of a different opinion. They openly admit that the will of the prince is the will of God, and that what the prince does, he does according to the will of God; therefore they even call him God's key-keeper and bed-maker, and, finally, they believe that he is the executor of God's will. That is why the prince himself, when he is begged for some prisoner or in another important matter, usually answers: he will be released when God commands. Similarly, if someone asks about some unknown and doubtful matter, they usually answer: God knows and the great sovereign. It is not known whether such a coarseness of the people requires a tyrant of the sovereign or from the tyranny of the prince these people have become so rude and cruel.
From the time of Rurik to the present prince, the former sovereigns did not use another title, like the grand princes or Vladimir, or Moscow, or Novgorod, etc., except for John Vasilyevich, who called himself the lord of all Russia and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, etc. Vasily Ioannovich appropriates the title and name of the king as follows: “Great Sovereign Vasily, by the grace of God the Tsar and Sovereign of all Russ II, and the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Yugorsk, Perm, Vyatka, Bolgar, etc., Sovereign and Grand Duke of the Lower Land of Novgorod and Chernigov, Ryazan, Volotsk, Rzhevsky, Belevsky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondinsky, etc. Since everyone now calls him emperor, it seems necessary to me to expand on the title of emperor and the reason for this error. The word "tsar" in Russian means "king", rex. But in the common Slavic language, among the Poles, Bohemians and all others, the word "king" is understood as an emperor or Caesar from the consonance of this word with the last long syllable of the word "Caesar". That is why everyone who does not understand the Russian language and does not know Russian letters, somehow the Bohemians, Poles and Slavs, subject to the Hungarian kingdom, call rex "a by a different name: some - kralem, others kirall, some king, and believe that only one Caesar or emperor is called the king. From this it happened that Russian translators, hearing that foreigners call their sovereign emperor, began to call him that way, believing that the name of the king more honorable than the name of the king (although they mean the same thing. But if you look at all their annals and scriptures, then everywhere the word tsar corresponds to the word rex, and the emperor to the word caesar. By the same mistake, the Turkish king was called emperor, although he did not use another higher title than the title of king, i.e., king. From that European Turks, who use the Slavic language, call Constantinople Tsaregrad, so to speak, king sky city.
Some write that the Moscow prince solicited from the Pope and from Caesar Maximilian the royal name and title. This seems improbable to me, mainly because the Moscow prince is not so hostile to any person as to the pope, whom he honors only with the title of teacher. He respects the Roman Caesar no higher than himself, as is clear from his letters, in which he puts his name in front of the imperial title. Their duke is called prince, and, as I said, they never had any other title greater than this and only added to it word great, for all the rest, who had only one principality, were called princes; who owned a large number principalities and had other princes under their rule, they were called grand dukes. They have no other degree or dignity than the boyars, which correspond, as I said above, to our nobles or knights.
For modern equestrians, a horse is, first of all, a beloved pet, a faithful companion or partner in the sports arena. However, over the entire centuries-old history of the relationship between man and horse, our four-legged companions directly or indirectly sent many people to the next world, among whom were very famous people. Horses don't want to kill riders and almost never do it on purpose, but facts remain facts. We bring to your attention ten great people who died from their odd-toed ungulates
in the far Middle Ages.
Oleg, Grand Duke of Kyiv
The leader in our top ten, of course, is the famous Prophetic Oleg. This is the only one of the presented characters who did not die as a result of a fall from a horse.
According to legend, the Magi predicted death from their beloved horse for the son of Rurik and the first prince of Kyiv. Oleg listened to the advice and sent the horse away, saying: “So I will never sit on this horse and see him.” Oleg ordered to feed the horse with selected grain, groom and cherish, but not let him down. Four years later, the prince returned to Kyiv after the Greek campaign and decided to find out about the fate of his pet. He called the groom and asked: “Where is the horse that I put to feed and take care of?” The groom replied: "He is dead." Oleg laughed at the prediction and decided to personally see the bones. When the prince arrived at the place where the bare horse bones and the skull lay, he got off the horse and stepped on the skull with his foot, saying with a laugh: “Should I accept death from this skull?” But then a snake crawled out of the skull and bit Oleg in the leg, which made him sick and died. In the Tale of Bygone Years, the chronicler wrote: “All people mourned him with a great cry, and they carried him and buried him on a mountain called Shchekovitsa. There is his grave to this day, it is reputed to be Oleg's grave. And all the years of his reign were thirty and three.
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Genghis Khan
One of the most cruel conquerors in the history of mankind - Genghis Khan - according to legend was born, "squeezing a clotted blood clot in his right hand." He conquered China and Tibet, the states of Central Asia, reached the Caucasus and of Eastern Europe. Perhaps the Mongol ruler would have subjugated the whole world if not for the horse. There are several versions of the death of Genghis Khan. According to one of them, one day while hunting, he fell off his horse and was badly hurt. By evening, the emperor began to have a strong fever, he fell ill for a whole year and, as it is said in the Mongolian chronicle, "ascended to heaven in the year of the Pig" on August 25, 1227.
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Frederick I Barbarossa
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Frederick I, nicknamed Barbarossa (“red-bearded”) because of his red beard, withstood numerous enemies, but fell victim to an accident. In 1187, the Kingdom of Jerusalem was again captured by Muslims, and almost all European monarchs responded to the call of Pope Clement III to start another crusade. English, French and Normans led by Richard Lion Heart and Philip II went to Palestine by sea, and Barbarossa with his army set out by land. Further, the opinions of historians differ: according to one version, while crossing the mountain river Selif, the emperor’s horse stumbled, he fell into the water and, being dressed in heavy armor, choked before the knights managed to pull him out. According to another version, Barbarossa wanted to avoid climbing to the top of the mountain, because there was an unusually strong heat, so he tried to shorten the path across the river. The horse threw the commander, he fell into the water, but died due to a heart attack from sudden hypothermia. So, thanks to the horse, Palestine at that time remained unconquered.
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William I the Conqueror
The Duke of Normandy and later the King of England, William the Conqueror, founded a single English kingdom, created an army and navy, conducted the first land census, began building stone fortresses (among them the famous Tower) and “Frenchized” the English language. Ironically, it was not numerous wars that brought death to the king, but his own horse. When William arrived in Normandy at the end of 1086, after the siege, he ordered the burning of the city of Mantes. Driving through the conflagration, the royal horse stepped on hot coals, rolled over and wounded Wilhelm in the stomach (the saddle horn damaged the abdominal cavity). Over the next six months, the conqueror slowly died, suffering from severe pains caused by festering wounds. As a result, the king died at the age of 60 in the monastery of Saint-Gervais.
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Geoffrey II Plantagenet
Geoffrey II Plantagenet was proclaimed Duke of Brittany, conquered by his father. Geoffrey would have been heir to the English throne in the reign of Henry II if Richard the Lionheart had died, but since Geoffrey predeceased Henry II, the throne passed to Richard. The duke wrote poetry, patronized the troubadours at his court in Rennes and, like all knights, adored tournaments. It was they who killed him: according to the most common version, Geoffrey died at a jousting tournament in Paris under the hooves of his horse on August 19, 1186.
Alexander III, King of Scotland
Alexander III became king of Scotland at the age of eight. As befits all monarchs, he fought wars and entered into marriages, but most of all he was worried about the question of succession to the throne. Alexander's first wife died after giving birth to three children, but they all died. Then the king married again, but the dreams of an heir still did not come true. During a night journey to his queen, Alexander separated from the guides, in the dark his horse stumbled, and the 44-year-old king died by falling on sharp rocks. Since Alexander never left heirs, John Balliol became king of Scotland, recognizing the sovereignty of England, which caused a three-hundred-year war for the independence of Scotland. Thus, if not for this accident and the king would have remained alive, everything could have turned out completely differently.
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Isabella of Aragon
The nineteenth queen of France, Isabella of Aragon, was the fourth daughter of King James I of Aragon the Conqueror and his second wife, Yolande of Hungary. On May 28, 1262, Isabella married the heir to the French throne, Philip, and subsequently bore him four sons. Being a brave woman, she dared to accompany her husband on the Eighth Crusade to Tunisia, despite the fact that she was expecting a child. On the way back, Isabella fell off her horse, causing premature birth and the death of the fifth son of the royal couple. Seventeen days later, Isabella herself died. Philip moved the remains of his wife and child to Paris, where they were buried with full honors in the Abbey of Saint-Denis.
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King Roderich
Roderic, king of the Visigoths, who ruled in 709-711, fought both the Basques and the Arabs, but the battle of Guadaleta became decisive. The armies of the king and the Arab commander Tarik, who was trying to take possession of Spain, met on the banks of the Guadalete River near Jerez de la Frontera. According to legend, the battle lasted eight days. Roderich retreated and drowned, falling from his horse while fleeing the battlefield, crossing the river. The Muslims found only his white horse with a brocade saddle adorned with rubies and emeralds, which got stuck in a quagmire. A boot was found in the stirrup, but the body of the king himself was never found. With the death of Roderic, the organized resistance of the Visigoths was broken, and the Moors established control over most of the Iberian Peninsula.
King Fulk of Jerusalem also did not escape the sad fate of being thrown by a horse. In 1143, the king and his wife were on vacation on the Mediterranean coast and went hunting. During the pursuit of the beast, the king's horse stumbled, fell, and the wooden saddle hit Fulk on the head. A contemporary describes this episode as follows: “And his brains gushed out of his ears and nostrils.” Fulk, however, did not die immediately, having lain unconscious for three days. The king was buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
Some impressionable individuals, after reading this collection, may think before getting into the saddle. However, do not be afraid - for the early Middle Ages, horseback riding was commonplace, but medicine and safety equipment were clearly “limping”. Nevertheless, these unknown horses played a significant role in history, changing the fate of entire states. Who knows what the world would be like now if one fine day one of the monarchs refrained from getting into the saddle.
