Since the time of the Russian Empire in the Russian historical school, the positions of the so-called. "Norman theory". According to this theory, the creators of Russian statehood are the Normans (Varangians of Scandinavian origin). It was the Normans who created the first Russian states - Novgorod Rus and Kievan Rus. The Scandinavians gave the Slavs the first princes - Rurik, Oleg, Igor, Svyatoslav.
This concept first appeared in Sweden - it was put forward by the Swedish king Johan III (1568 - 1592) in diplomatic correspondence with Ivan the Terrible. This idea was supported by the Swedish diplomat Peter Petrei de Erlesund and the royal historiographer Johan Videkind. Later, this idea was developed by German historians in Russian Academy Gottlieb Bayer, Gerard Miller, Strube de Pyrmont and August Schloetzer.
In fact, this is how the black myth was created about the backwardness, "savagery" of the Slavs, Rus, their inability to create statehood. It was beneficial both to Western historiography and to foreign scholars who flooded Russia, all kinds of adventurers (he put them above the "wild" Slavs), the church, which also claimed that it brought the foundations of civilization to Russia. Most of the later major Russian historians adopted this theory - following NM Karamzin (the author of the 12-volume "Russian State").
Although a number of Russian researchers already at that time tried to resist this Russophobic concept. Among them are such titans of Russian thought, such as M.V. Lomonosov (believed that Rurik was from the Polabian Slavs), V.N. Tatishchev, S.A. Gedeonov (considered the Russians to be Baltic Slavs - encouraging), D.I. Ilovaisky ( put forward a hypothesis of the southern origin of the Rus) and a number of other researchers. In particular, Lomonosov, objecting to Miller, wrote: “... the Varangians and Rurik with their clan, who came to Novgorod, were Slavic tribes, spoke the Slavic language, came from ancient Rossi and were by no means from Scandinavia, but lived on the eastern-southern shores of the Varangian Sea, between rivers Vistula and Dvina ... the name of Russia in Scandinavia and on the northern shores of the Varangian Sea is nowhere to be heard ... ". In Soviet times, the historian and archaeologist B.A.Rybakov was a major opponent of the Norman theory.
But this theory turned out to be extremely tenacious, because it met the interests of very significant forces - the intelligentsia, which was oriented towards the West, the churches, the nobles of the German, Franco, Anglophiles. This trend continued in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation... She is supported very powerful forces, who are not interested in the descendants of the Varangians-Rus, who knew and remembered about Slavic Europe, the tragedy of the brothers of the Slavs of Central and Northern Europe. Geopolitics is behind history.
What do the chronicles say?
Russian chronicles report that three "tribes" (or rather, "lands", a union of tribes) - the Slovene Ilmen, the Krivichi, being tired of strife, were sent across the sea, to the Varangians-Rus, with the words: Our land is great and abundant, and there is no outfit in her. Come to reign and rule us by right. " Three brothers responded to the call - Rurik, Sineus and Truvor. “And from those Varangians the Russian land was nicknamed”.
According to the Normanists, these Varangians were Scandinavians. And in a number of modern publications, including children's ones, they generally speak of “Swedes”. They also cite "proofs" that the term "rus" was not an ethnonym, but meant "rowers" - a squad that went on a campaign on rowing ships. In Swedish, the word sounds like "rots", which is why, they say, Estonians still call Sweden "Rootsi". Thus, they build a scheme: the Estonians were the first to meet the “rowers-Swedes” and passed on their name to the “unreasonable” Slavs. Shaped delirium.
The problem is that the ethnonym "Ros", "Rus" is found in the historical documents of that time and denotes the people. In addition, the "Norman civilizers" having founded the Russian state disappeared leaving neither the words of their native language, nor the names of their gods, nor the names of the cities they founded, nor objects of material culture. And this is very strange. Let us recall a historically recent example: the Spanish conquistadors, capturing vast territories of South and Central America, while not disdaining to marry and concubines of beautiful aboriginal women, left a significant mark on the culture of all Latin American countries. Their descendants (Creoles) have long been and still are the elite of states Latin Americaand the Spanish (Portuguese) language, culture dominate.
There are also older similar examples. Until the 10th century, members of the royal house of the Franks spoke in their midst and concluded agreements in the Germanic dialect. Although in the 5th century they conquered the main part of Gaul (modern France) under the leadership of their leader Clovis. They did not own the Roman dialect of the bulk of their subjects, even after almost half a thousand years. We see a similar example in England, conquered by the Norman Duke William. The Norman elite did not know the language of the local population for centuries. Imagine Prince Alexander Nevsky, who is negotiating with representatives of Batu in the Swedish dialect, or Dmitry Donskoy talking with the prince and voivode Dmitry Bobrok-Volynsky in the "Urman" language.
The German-Scandinavian tribes possessed their own gods, distinctive culture, and mythology. And there are no traces of this in Russia. And the name Rurik (Rarog) is of West Slavic origin, apparently, a generic nickname associated with a falcon. And the falcon is the embodiment of the Sort, the Father God of the Slavs, the princes of the Slavs represent his power on earth. This is confirmed by the symbol of the Rurik clan - the falcon, it is preserved in the coat of arms of Staraya Ladoga (the first capital of Rurik). The stylized version of this image is the modern coat of arms of Ukraine. It must be said that modern West Slavic peoples (Czechs, Slovaks and Poles) still use the name Rurik in our time.
It is interesting that centuries have passed, and the Norman theory still exists in an almost unchanged form and introduces into the minds of the children and youth of Russia "viruses" of a disdainful attitude towards their ancestors, the ancient Slavic civilization. But for the XIX century and especially XX, the beginning of the XXI centuries historical science received a lot of new material, archaeological, anthropological, linguistic, mythological, etc. Even such an interesting auxiliary discipline as DNA genealogy appeared. For a long time it was believed that in old Russian language many Norman borrowings. For example, words such as prince, griden, smerd, vira, shipyard were considered Norman. But the researchers found out, among them was the Russian Slavic philologist, ethnographer, paleographer, academician Izmail Sreznevsky (1812 - 1880), that practically all of these words have Slavic roots, and some are found in the languages \u200b\u200bof other Slavic peoples, in regions where the Scandinavians are not wandered. "Norman civilizers" who owned the Slavs for centuries (according to the Normanists) left no traces of their language. The Danes (the ancestors of the Danes) owned part of England for only about half a century, and this was enough to enrich the English language with up to 10% roots. For several centuries, after the expulsion of the Danes, it was customary to give children Anglo-Danish and Danish names, some Scandinavian geographical names survived to this day, not to mention a significant number of archaeological sites. In addition, the Anglo-Saxon kings, having restored their power over Danelag, retained Scandinavian law and customs, and some passed into common English practice.
Thanks to the current Russophobes, both Russian and Western, who shoot films like "The Thirteenth Warrior" (1999), where the "Vendels" -Slavs live at the level of primitive society, many consider the ancient Rus, Slavs to be perfect savages who lived in the forest "life animals and birds ”before the arrival of the Scandinavian and Christian civilizers.
Apparently, this theory has patrons among the power structures, both Russian and Western. The Norman theory is an excellent tool for information warfare, it puts the Slavs at the lower rungs of the conventional hierarchical ladder of peoples, where the leading positions are occupied by Germanic and Romanic peoples, "the people of the Holy Scriptures." The winners write their own history. We are observing this process in the events much closer to us - the Second World War. Judging by Western sources, the decisive battles were fought in Pacific and on Western front, in Africa.
Varangians
By the tireless work of the Normanists and their supporters in the creative intelligentsia, the words "Varangian" and "Norman" have become synonymous. They say that the Varangians are the "Old Russian name of the Scandinavians." But the problem is that neither the chronicles nor the sagas contain phrases like "Varangian king" or "Varangian knight".
In Russia and in Europe, they clearly distinguished between "Sveev", "Danes", "Urmans" (Normans), "Angles", "Goths", "Varangians" and other tribes of Northern Europe. The chronicle says: “Idosh across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia. Sice bo zvakhut you Varangians rus, as all the friends are called svee, druzii urmani, anglyane, ini and got, tacos and si .. ". For the Slavs, the Varangians were one of the peoples inhabiting Europe. In addition, there is no Scandinavian tribe "Varangians".
According to the chronicle, the Poles (the ancestors of the Poles), the Prussians and Chud “sat” along the Varangian Sea (as the Baltic Sea was then called), besides them, the Varangians lived there, their lands extended all the way to the territory of the Angles (the present Danish province of Angeln). It should be noted that the Chronicle attributed the Pomor Slavs and Lyutichs to the Lyakhs. Between them and the Angles, only the territory of the Slavic Union will encourage. They occupied a significant territory: the lower reaches of the Elbe (Slavic Laba), the west of modern Mecklenburg, the eastern part of Schleswig-Holstein and the northeastern part of modern Lower Saxony (territories east of the city of Hamburg - the so-called "Wendland", Lyukhov district - Dannenberg). It is also interesting that the Novgorod Chronicle reports that the Varangians live to the east of the Poles, Prussians and Chuds, "to the limit of Simov" (to the lands of Volga Bulgaria). And this is the land of "Novgorod Rus". The chronicler reports: "The Novgorodians, the people of Novgorod - from the Varangian family ...".
This is confirmed by the data of archaeologists, anthropologists - material culture vigorous-cheer and Ilmen slovens are almost identical, as is their appearance. Archaeologists claim that already the first traces of the Ilmenian Slovenes - “the culture of burial hills” (6-7 centuries AD) has clear features of West Slavic origin. And in the 9-10th centuries a new wave of newcomers from the Slavic Baltic countries appeared. The first finds of Slavic ceramics in Novgorod belong to the Feldberg culture (Slavic early medieval archaeological culture on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea). The construction of Novgorod Detinets in 1116 (the inner city fortress) has exact analogies only with the fortifications of the Baltic Slavs. Archaeological traces of the Baltic Slavs have also been found in Pskov, Staraya Ladoga and other settlements of the Ilmen Slovenians. The Novgorodians also had close trade contacts with the Western Slavs.
Russian linguists (A. A. Shakhmatov, D. K. Zelenin and others) also identified similarities between Novgorodians and Western Slavs. For example, the famous Novgorod "clatter" has analogs in the Lower Sorbian language (derived from the Polab dialect), it was spoken by the tribes of the Lusatians and the Udrits. This explains the "non-Slavic" name of Prince Igor. The name was simply transformed later, in the northern dialect it was called "Ingore", hence "Svyatoslav - Sventoslav". In the manner of the Baltic Slavs, the cities were called - "guard", "Nemogard - Novgorod".
The chronicle says that the Vikings founded Rostov, Murom, Beloozero. Archeology says that there are traces of two groups of the population - the Finno-Ugrians and the Slavs with clear features of the Baltic culture (they were originally called "Scandinavian complexes") and there is no legacy of the "Normans". Yes, and the cities themselves are not "Norman" names, there is no memory of their gods. By the XI-XII centuries, these cities were completely Slavic.
An interesting fact is that the Obodrit union included a tribe of Vagrs, they are also varnas, vargs, varins, etc. And European sources know the Vagir mark, as well as the Vering brand, they were located in the lands of the Obodrit Slavs.
And with such a mass of facts from various sources that prove the Slavic origin of the Varangians, the Norman theory is still alive and well.
AGENCY DISPUTE
Interest in “ where did the Russian land come from "Goes into the far Middle Ages, responding to the endless dispute between supporters of the Norman and anti-Norman (Slavophil) theories.
The first, the Normanists, believe that the Russians, led by Rurik, came at the call of the Novgorodians to rule them from Scandinavia-Normandy, most likely from Sweden or Denmark.
They say that the Slavs-Novgorodians who invited Rurik were backward people, incapable of independent state building. This means that the very emergence of the Russian state is the merit of the Normans, and not even the indigenous Slavs. That is why the Russians, as it were, are not a very independent people, which quite needs external control.
This theory arose at the beginning of the eighteenth century through the efforts of German historians who labored russian service G. Bayer and F. Miller.
At that time, Russia fought with Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea, and, naturally, the question arose about the moral rights of Russians to these territories. The Germans were the first to realize how the conqueror's right is strengthened if he realizes that he not only seizes foreign lands, but also returns his own, originally belonging to his ancestors.
They apparently knew the ancient Frankish sources quite well, in which with undisguised pride it is told how the Germans conquered the southern and eastern Baltic states, once inhabited by the Slavs, with fire and sword. Russians at that time did not know these materials, to their own chronicles - and they were treated without piety.
Nevertheless, when in 1749 Friedrich Gerhard Miller became in his lecture on the topic " The origin of the people and the name of the Russian “to assert that it was the Swedes who stood at the origins of the Russian statehood, many Russian scientists were outraged.
Academicians, among whom were Vasily Trediakovsky and Mikhail Lomonosov on this report, said that they say, an ungrateful German " in the whole speech not a single incident showed to fame russian people, but only mentioned more that can serve to dishonor ”.
The Normanists have no direct evidence, but they have a great desire to put the Russians "in their place" and the huge support of German scientists who, as already mentioned, invented this theory and especially reinforced it under Hitler, who tried to prove that " Deutschland uber alles "- Germany is above all, and the Russians are an inferior people.
And therefore, they say, Russia, as a secondary, dependent state, must submit to the Germans, as it once did to the Normans. Now the Europeans have even begun to shoot documentaries about the fact that the cities in Russia were built by the Normans, and the culture - from them, and if not for them - then the Russians, perhaps, would still probably live in dugouts.
The Slavophiles have more substantiated arguments. All ancient Russian and European chronicles unequivocally testify that the Rus-Varangians are Slavs related to Novgorod, that they lived on the southern shores of the Baltic, and Rurik, invited by the Novgorodians, was the grandson of their ruler Gostomysl from his daughter Umila. This is mentioned by the Joachim Chronicle, which has come down to us in the transcription of Tatishchev.
To establish the truth and understand the essence and causes of this dispute about the origins of the Russian statehood, we cannot do without an excursion into antiquity and ancient sources. And first of all, we must look at who the Russians are and how they relate to the Slavs and Varangians.
Of the many documents, the most reliable are, of course, the Russian annalistic collections, primarily “ Tale of Bygone Years ", Compiled in Kiev at the beginning of the XII century by Abbot Sylvester, and rewritten in a large number of vaults.
The Slavs, Russians and their places of residence are also mentioned by most of the significant European medieval sources, among which the most authoritative are “ Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ", Depicting the events of the VIII-IX centuries," Bertin annals "(VIII century)," X ronik Adam of Bremen "," Acts of the Hamburg Archbishops ", Which was completed in the second half of the XI century, "Slavic Chronicle" Helmhold from Bosau (Germany, XII century), " Chronicles of Livonia »Henry of Latvia (early XIII century) and others.
Many of the authors of these works were partly witnesses and participants in the events they described. A lot of brief, but quite valuable information on the history of the Slavs contains other European documents: annals, letters, notes.
So, let us consider the most important arguments of the anti-Normanists-Slavophiles.
RUSSIA - VARIANS FROM THE "TALK OF TIME YEARS"
Turning to this main and, in fact, the only domestic document on the origin of the Russian-Varangians, we must first of all understand for ourselves: whether we believe him or not. And not to act like supporters of the Norman theory: what confirms their conjectures, they believe, that does not correspond, they reject.
Their whole theory is based on legend from " Tales of bygone years »* (Hereinafter PVL) about the vocation of the Novgorodians to reign Rurik - they trust this fact. And the specific indication of the chronicler on the origin of Rurik and the Russians, on their place of residence - they neglect this.
This vault - PVL - rewritten on parchment in 1377 for the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod prince Dmitry Konstantinovich, has a specific performer: the monk Lawrence, who, finishing his work, named himself, having captured it in eternity. Naturally, the monk did not compose this document himself - he copied it from more ancient sources - and this is his direct indication in the text.
After all, not only paper, but also parchment is not eternal - the text is erased from the skin, the base deteriorates, insects gnaw, and the current means for combating pests and preserving documents did not exist. To preserve the source, it had to be rewritten.
And given the remoteness of the times of calling the Vikings from the time of writing the work, we can note the disinterest of Lawrence and his predecessors in distorting some facts. In addition, the accuracy of the PVL data that we can verify is impressive. Therefore, it seems to me, not to trust " Stories »We have no reason. As there is no reason to reject the existence of the Rurik dynasty in our country.
Russian chroniclers claim that the Vikings and the Rus are one and the same people, or, at least, related peoples, going back to the same root. And, as if anticipating our upcoming disputes, they repeatedly emphasize that Russia is not Swedes, Normans or Angles. And that the Slavic and Russian people are one:
« And they went across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia. Those Varangians were called Rus, as others are called Swedes, and some Normans and Angles, and still other Gotlandians - that's how these»*. <…> « And the Slavic people and the Russian are one, from the Varangians they were nicknamed Rus, and before there were Slavs; although they were called glades, the speech was Slavic».**
/ * The Tale of Bygone Years (hereinafter PVL). Laurentian Chronicle. PSRL, vol. 1, stb. 19. In the source, the document is written in the Old Russian language. And therefore, to facilitate perception, I give it in the translation of the now deceased authoritative scientist D.S.Likhachev.
** Laurentian Chronicle, PSRL, vol. 1, stb. 28-29./
In later years, the chroniclers, at times, enumerate the Russians and the Varangians separately. This may indicate that the Varangians-Slavs were gradually divided into different clans and tribes. Approximately, how the clans of the princes Shuisky, Starodubsky, Ryapolovsky, Obolensky, Chernigovsky were independent from each other, sometimes they were at enmity, but all considered themselves descendants of the Rurikovichs. Or from the Obolensk family, over time, the Dolgorukovs, Repnins, Shcherbaty, Lykovs and others descended.
German medieval chroniclers unanimously confirm that they belong to the Slavic people and the ancient Prussians. And this does not exclude the identity of the Russians and the Prussians or their close relationship, which, in turn, gives all the grounds for the late Rurikovichs to trace their origin from the Prussians. This is captured in some chronicles, in the "Tale of the Princes of Vladimir", in several epistles of Ivan the Terrible.
Here it must be borne in mind that by the XII century ancient Prussia was conquered by the Germans by the most severe wars of destruction, and the surviving Prussians were assimilated by the Slavs. In the end, the invaders took the name of the Prussians. Therefore, later authors call the inhabitants of Prussia Germans. However, at the time we are considering, the Prussians were the masters of their land and still remained Slavs.
« Behold the original about Rurik. In the summer of 6369 * a certain voivode of Novgorod the Great named Gostomysl ends his life, and in that summer, civil strife began in the city of being, and blood was shed.
And he calls the people of the country and speaks to them: "I give you advice, man: send wise men to the land of Prus and a prize from the existing families of the prince, to judge us in truth." And they, according to his words, went to the Prus land and brought Rurik with two brothers Trovur and Sineus, and his nephew Olga ”**.
/ * 861
** Piskarevsky chronicler, PSRL, t. 34, p. 198./
There is a lot of other evidence that the Prussians and the Russians are one and the same, or a closely related Slavic people. Sometimes these two peoples are referred to as different, and this is natural, given that the documents were created after their separation. A similar version is illustrated by an old Czech legend that once in antiquity three brothers left the Slavic tribe in different directions - Lech, Czech and Rus, and created their own peoples.
WHERE HAVE LIVED OUR ANCESTORS - VARIANIAN RUSSIANS?
To find the answer to this question, first we turn to the Russian chroniclers, who probably heard about the origin of their ancestors, used more ancient Russians ( Behold the original about Rurik " ) and European (in particular the Byzantine " Chronicle of George Armatol ») Sources.
Describing the origin and settlement of peoples, the author of the PVL traditionally, in accordance with the Bible, defines the origin of all Europeans, including the Slavs, Russians, Prussians and Varangians as “ japheth's offspring ».
At the same time, he lists in detail dozens of local tribes and peoples that no ancient Greek or Byzantine historian could have known, such as “ chud and all sorts of peoples: Merya, Muroma, all, Mordovians, Zavolochskaya Chud, Perm, Pechera, Yam, Ugra, Lithuania, Zimigola, Kors, Letgola, Livs". And this only emphasizes that the chronicler tried to be accurate:
« In Japheth's part, Russia is sitting, chud and all kinds of peoples<…>... Lyakhs and Prussians, chud sit near the Varangian sea. The Varangians sit along this sea: from here to the east - to the boundaries of the Simovs, they sit along the same sea and to the west - to the lands of English and Volosh * ».
/ * Laurentian Chronicle, PSRL, vol. 1, stb. 4. Per. D. S. Likhacheva. /
As you can see, the Vikings " sitting near the Varangian sea ”, In the same place where Poles, Prussians and chyud (ancestors of the present-day Estonians) live, that is, along the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. And they occupy such a vast space that he extends its western border " to the land of English ».
If we take into account that the Danes were then called Angles, it turns out that the lands of the Varangians occupied the territories of the Southern Baltic up to present-day Denmark. The fact that the Slavs inhabited the southern coast of the Baltic - up to the Elbe River (in Slavic - Laba), which was the border between the Saxons and the Slavs, is confirmed by all medieval Frankish and other European chronicles that report the Baltic Slavs.
And in the east, the possessions of the Varangians stretched " to the limits of Simov», that is, almost to the Volga, where the eastern peoples lived. This fact is also confirmed by Muslim sources, in particular, the preacher of Islam from Baghdad Ahmed Ibn-Fadlan in his “ Travel notes to the Volga ", Where he visited in 922.
Next to the ancient Bulgarians, he found and described the Russians, who, unlike the Bulgarians who lived in tents, had already built houses on the banks of the Volga and traveled on ships. Apparently they controlled the waterways " from the Varangians to the Greeks »Along the Dvina River and to the East along the Volga River.
Even more definitely, the author of PVL indicates the habitat of the Varangians in the description of this famous “ the way ". Here we see a list of the names of lakes and seas, rivers and their tributaries, countries and peoples that have survived to this day (almost a thousand years!). The chronicler is accurate in his descriptions, and this only confirms that he can be believed in what concerns the Varangians. And most importantly, he has no reason to invent something here, to add from himself, to embellish:
“When the glades lived separately along these mountains, there was a way from the Varangians to the Greeks and from the Greeks along the Dnieper,<…>... The Dnieper flows out of the Okovsky forest and flows to the south, while the Dvina flows from the same forest and heads to the north and flows into the Varangian Sea.
From the same forest, the Volga flows to the east and empties into the Khvalisskoe Sea with seventy mouths. * Therefore, from Russia you can sail along the Volga to the Bulgarians and to Khvalis, and go east to the inheritance of Sim, and along the Dvina - to the land of the Vikings, from the Vikings to Rome , from Rome to the tribe of Hamov. ”**
/* « khvalissky sea "- now called the Caspian.
** Laurentian Chronicle, PSRL, vol. 1, art. Per. D. S. Likhacheva. /
In this description there is only one toponym that has already disappeared from use - the Okovsky forest, in which three great European rivers originate at once - the Volga, the Dnieper, the Dvina (now the Western Dvina), and another small, fourth - Lovat. It is not difficult to find on the map that now this place is called the Valdai Upland.
Here we are faced with a natural miracle: in the same place, four navigable rivers originate at once, which flow in four opposite directions of the world: Lovat - north to Volkhov, and through it to Novgorod, to the Neva River and to the Baltic Sea. Dvina flows into the same sea, but already to the northwest. Volga moves east - " to Khvalisa ", That is, to the Caspian Sea, the Dnieper - to the south to the Black Sea.
In those distant times, when there were no roads on the Russian Plain, waterways became the main link between many peoples. It was possible to drag ships or plows with goods from one source of the river to another and eventually get to the right parts of the world.
This phenomenon was described by the author of the ancient "Tale". But the main thing in this description for us is what the supporters of the Norman theory do not pay attention to: “<…> and the Dvina flows from the same forest, and goes north, and flows into the Varangian Sea. " Next, the author clarifies : "And along the Dvina - to the land of the Vikings, from the Vikings to Rome."
That is, the Dvina and its mouth are the final point of the Baltic coast on the way to the Varangians and, therefore, definitely the land of the Varangians. In addition, if you sail directly from the mouth of the Dvina to Rome, then there is no need to climb to the north of the Baltic Sea to the Normans. It is not surprising that during excavations in Sweden, including in the ancient city of Birke, where at that time there was a Swedish port, Byzantine coins are a great rarity.
It is easy to find out that the chronicle river Dvina is now called the Western Dvina in Russia, from here through Belarus it goes to Latvia and there it is renamed Daugavpils. And not far from its mouth is the city of Riga, founded in 1201 by Latin pilgrims and crusaders, mostly Germans. This city, like the Latvian people themselves, emerged at the beginning of the 13th century - after the brutal defeat and almost universal destruction of the local population by the crusaders.
My attempts to find out what was in the lower reaches of the Dvina before the rise of Riga showed that the Latin preachers of Christianity at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th century found here, in addition to the Livonian tribes, which at that time did not have cities or fortresses, rich Russian city-states during led by kings.
An eyewitness and partly participant in those events, Henry of Latvia, tells about this in detail in “ Chronicles of Livonia ". The author describes with some pride how pilgrims and crusaders gathered from all over Europe destroy and plunder local peoples and tribes with rare cruelty, burn their villages and cities.
In particular, in “ Chronicles of Livonia "The king is mentioned more than once ( rex ) « Vyachko (Vesceka ) "- Vyacheslava from" russian castle Kukenois "Located on the right bank of the Dvina" three miles away »From Riga. He also writes about battles with warriors " king Vsevolod (rex Wissewaldum) of Herzike ", - a Russian military fortress on the Dvina, the center of the principality of the same name, also located in the lower reaches of the Dvina River.
One of the episodes of "Chronicle" - the defeat of the Russian castle of Herzike by the crusaders, tells about the fact that the Russians are here, old indigenous inhabitants . This happened at the beginning of the XIII century, shortly after the founding of Riga by the Crusaders. The author writes about this with pride in the victories of his Latins supporters:
«<…> the Teutons rushed into the gate after them<…>... That day all the army remained in the city, gathered in all its corners a large booty, captured clothes, silver and purple, a lot of cattle; and from churches bells, icons (yconias), other decoration, money and much good and all this was taken away with them, blessing God for being so suddenly
He gave them victory over their enemies and allowed them to penetrate the city without damage. The next day, having taken everything away, they prepared to return, and the city was set on fire. Seeing the fire on the other side of the Dvina, the king was in great melancholy and exclaimed with groans, sobbing: “O Gertsike, dear city! O legacy of my fathers! Oh the unexpected death of my people! Woe is me! Why was I born to see the fire of my city and the destruction of my people! "*
/ * Henry of Latvia. Chronicle of Livonia. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. M.-L. 1938, pp. 233-234./
We see that King Vsevolod, who saw him die native city, exclaims that it is “ legacy of my fathers ”, That is, the place where many of his ancestors lived, and, therefore, the lower reaches and the mouth of the Western Dvina were the ancient homeland of a part of the Russian people.
SLAVS AND RUSSIANS IN EUROPEAN SOURCES
For the first time, the mention of our ancestors - the Russians - is found in a Latin manuscript of the 9th century - “ Bertin annals ", The original of which is now kept in France. It tells about the life and work of Frankish kings and emperors in the period from 830 to 882.
In 839, ambassadors from Constantinople (now Istanbul) from the Byzantine emperor Theophilos arrived in the city of Ingelheim on the Rhine River, to the court of the Frankish emperor Ludwig the Pious to conclude a peace treaty. Along with the ambassadorial people, foreigners from the people arrived to the Franks " rhos "who had to be transported to their homeland.
We should not be confused by the writing of the Russian nation in the form " rhos ". Obviously, the model for this translation was the message of the Byzantine emperor, written, as was customary at that time, in Greek, which had been the state language in Byzantium since the fourth century.
The Greeks do not have the letters "y" and "b" in the alphabet and in speech. They replaced "y" with the only letter possible for them " ω "- omega (note that not with the letter" about"), Discarding completely soft sign... So the word " ρως ", which the Frankish translator portrayed letter by letter. Subsequent Frankish and German authors, who are more familiar with our people, unanimously called him" Russia » - « Rusci " or " Ruzzi " and even "Rugi" ... And the fact that some historians call the ancient Russian people "dews" is a clear delusion.
Byzantine ambassadors arrived at the court of Louis at a troubled time. His lands were repeatedly raided by robbers and pogroms by the Scandinavians - “ normans ”, Among whom were Danes and Swedes. It is clear that the appearance of intruders among the ambassadors alerted the emperor, for he was afraid of sending enemy spies.
After all, they could find out about the affairs in his country, which, due to civil strife, were far from brilliant. Therefore, the emperor treated the guests with great suspicion. As a result of the check, as can be seen from the text, it quickly became clear that his guests were not at all “ dew ", With whom the Franks at that time, obviously, were in peaceful relations, and just those Swedes "Of the Sveon people" with whom he fought:
“Investigating more carefully the reason for their arrival, the emperor learned that they were from the Sveon people *, and decided that they were more scouts in that country and in ours than petitioners for friendship; he saw fit to keep them with him until he could truly know whether they had come honestly there or not ».*
/ * "Sveons" - Swedes.
* Bertino Annals. From the site vostlit.info. Translation - A. Volynets 2006. Or Latin-language sources on the history of Ancient Russia. Germany. Issue I. Mid IX - first half of the XII century. M. Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1989. p. 10-11. (translated by M. B. Sverdlov) ./
As you can see, this document not only clearly distinguishes between the Swedes and the "Ross", but also opposes them as opponents and allies. And the way to the Russians past the Rhine suggests that they lived somewhere in a close region, and this also indirectly indicates the southern shores of the Baltic.
Let me remind you that “ Tale of Bygone Years "Tells in detail that the Varangians-Slavs settled in the vast area of \u200b\u200bthe southern coast of the Baltic to the very" to the English land ". Zthe famous Saxon author of the first half of the 9th century Einhard, the author of the popular and nowadays work “ Charlemagne's life ", Created between 829 and 836, confirms that the Slavs in the 9th century, before the start of the Carolingian campaigns, occupied the southern coast of the Baltic Sea up to the Elbe (Laba) River, which was the border between Saxony and the Slavic tribes:
« From the western ocean to the East stretches a certain bay, the length of which is unknown, and the width does not exceed a hundred thousand steps, although in many places it is narrower. Many peoples live around it: the Danes, just like the Sveons, whom we call Normans, own the northern coast and all its islands. Slavs, Estonians and various other peoples live on the east bank».*
/ * Historians of the Carolingian era. M. ROSSPEN. 1999, p. 789./
« Beyond the Oder River, first the Pomeranians (Pomerani) live, then the Poles, whose neighbors on the one side are the Prussians (Pruzzi), on the other - the Czechs (Behemi), and in the east - Russia (Ruzzi) <…>. So, the shores of this sea from the south are in the power of the Slavs, and from the north - the Swedes (Suedi) »*.
/ * Adam of Bremen, "Acts of the Archbishops of Hamburg." The names of the peoples are given in brackets as they are given in the source. From the site www.vostlit.info/
The authoritative German source on the history of the Russians and the Slavs is “ Slavic Chronicle "Helmhold of Bosauwhich covers the period from the eighth century to 1171. He was a contemporary and participant in the events of the last part of the Chronicle. Helmgold partially repeats the conclusions of Adam of Bremen, but also adds much of what he saw and heard himself. This is what he says about the Baltic peoples, whom he calls barbaric:
« Many Slavic tribes live on the shores of the Baltic Sea.<…> The same sea is called the Barbarian, or Scythian, sea according to the barbarian peoples, whose countries it washes ”. Many peoples are sitting around this sea. For its northern coast and all the islands near it are held by Danes and Sveons *, whom we call Northmanns, the southern coast is inhabited by Slavic tribes ", of which the Rus come first from the east, then the Pools **, having neighbors from the north of the Prussians, from the south of the Bohemians *** ". ****.
/ * Danes and Sveons - Danes and Swedes.
** Polony - Poles
*** Bohemians - Czechs
**** Helmhold from Bosau. "Slavic Chronicle". Book. 1, ch. 1 Author's quotes denote, apparently, its borrowings from other sources. From the site www.wostlit.info/
The Europeans called the Varangians barbarians - this is the name of one nationality - the Pomorians, people living by the sea. These words have one common meaning, they have a single root "var", sea. Therefore, the Baltic or Barbarian Sea in the German chronicler is the same as in the Russian chronicles and other sources - the Varangian Sea.
Helmgold, like the ancient Russian chronicler, repeats over and over again that the entire southern coast of the Baltic, including the coast of the Oder River, is occupied by the Slavs, specifies their tribes and places of residence.
« Where Polonius ends, we come to the vast country of those Slavs, who in ancient times were called Vandals, but now they are called Vinites, or Vinules. The first of these are the Pomorians, whose settlements stretch as far as Odra *. Odra is "the richest river in the Slavic country"<…>.
Odra, heading to the north, crosses the land of the Vinuls, separating the Pomorians from the Viltsy ”. “At the mouth of the Oder River”, where it flows into the Baltic Sea, “once“ there was the famous city of Yumnet **,<…>.
It really was the most big city of all cities in Europe, inhabited by Slavs<…>... However, in terms of morals and hospitality - it was impossible to find a single people more worthy of respect and more hospitable [than they]. " ***
/ * Now the Oder River.
** Yumneta is the Slavic city of Volin, located in the southeastern part of the island of the same name at the mouth of the Oder River.
** Helmgold from Bosau "Slavic Chronicles", book 1, ch.2. From the site www.vostlit.info./
Here we are faced with the fact that in two centuries the Slavs have already lost a considerable part of their territories - from the Elbe River to the Oder.
Many Slavic cities have already been destroyed and destroyed, but the memory of the ancient city of Yumnet, which formerly bore the Slavic name Volin, about which the German author reports that it was “ the largest city of all cities in Europe ”.
Helmgold in his work not only lists in detail and in detail the Slavic tribes inhabiting the southern part of the Baltic Sea, including the Prussians and Russians, but also their famous cities "Retru", "Mikilinburg", "Ratsisburg" (it is possible that the Slavic name of this city was Ratibor, now Ratzeburg), "Aldenburg" (Slavic Stargard, now Oldenburg) and others.
The preachers of the Norman theory, who tell us that most of the most ancient Russian, Slavic cities were founded by the Scandinavians, it would be nice to get acquainted with these ancient European documents.
Read that it was the Slavs who created many cities in the Middle Ages, including the largest city of Wolin in Europe - Yumnetu, which was famous for its trade ties, buildings, wealth, ships. The largest city in Europe! So it's not the Scandinavians to teach the Slavs to build cities, in the Middle Ages the Norman Vikings mostly destroyed them, not built them.
Unfortunately, our scientists, supporters of the Norman theory, often themselves try to belittle the role of our ancestors in the history of their country. For example, almost all Russian chronicles telling about Rurik's invitation to reign, report that he was invited to the already existing Novgorod, that by that time there were already many cities in Russia.
And only the only one, the Ipatiev Chronicle, compiled in the XIV century in western Russia, which belonged to Lithuania at that time, tells that it was Rurik who came and built the Slavs their cities. And for some reason it is this version that is persistently introduced into our consciousness by our own historians. And on the website of the St. Petersburg Pushkin House, this one is posted - the Norman version of the "Tale of Bygone Years" with translation. They have no other options. At a time when there is a translation of the oldest PVL by the most authoritative academician D.S.Likhachev:
« And three brothers with their families were elected, and they took all Russia with them, and came, and the eldest, Rurik, sat in Novgorod, and the other, Sineus, - on Beloozero, and the third, Truvor, - in Izborsk "*.
/ * Tale of Bygone Years. Laurentian Chronicle. PSRL, vol. 1, stb. 20./
Other European documents also indicate that the Russians lived on the southern, Slavic coast of the Baltic, and not on the northern one. For example, in the bull of Pope Clement III (1188-1191), the Archbishop of Bremen was called “Russia” the territory of Livonia. 13th century author Roger Bacon in " Great essay "Writes about Levkovia (Lithuania), around which" at both sides "Baltic Sea" great Russia is located ».
Russians continued to live in the Baltic and later - almost until the XIV century. So, in 1304, Pope Benedict IX addresses in a letter to the Rugen princes as “ beloved sons, famous husbands, Russian princes ". Russians lived in the territory of not only present-day Latvia, but also Estonia.
Together with the Estonians, they defended themselves against the hordes of crusaders at the beginning of the 13th century, in 1343-1345 the Russians led an uprising in Estonia (in Rotalia and Vika) against the rule of the Teutonic Order. And even in the XIV century, after many years of German and Swedish rule in Estonia, a number of documents mention Russian villages, for example, Russen Dorp near Venden. It cannot be ruled out that the ancient city of Yuryev (present-day Tartu), founded in 1030 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise, was built precisely on Russian soil.
Note that well aware of the location of the Slavic lands, Helmgold, like the Russian chroniclers, confirms the proximity of the Slavic tribes to Denmark: “ had neighbors the peoples of the Danes and Saxons " .
WHERE ARE THE BALTIC SLAVS GOING TO?
Where have these flourishing Slavic cities gone along with their population? If we speak without polites, they, under the slogan of salvation and introduction to Christian values, were seized by Europeans, primarily Franks and Germans. The resisting population either fled, or was destroyed with unparalleled brutality, its remnants assimilated.
First, the Franks captured and enslaved the Saxons, who were neighbors of the Slavs - their lands were separated by the Elbe (Laba) River. This is eloquently told on many pages “ Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ". In 758 " king Pepin invaded Saxony with an army ”*.
The Saxons resisted for a long time and courageously, they raised uprisings, fought, died. But the Franks were persistent, their troops regularly visited the Saxon possessions, burned, plundered, subdued, executed. The Saxons were evicted to other lands, in their place were brought new peoples who no longer yearn for their independence.
/ * Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks. From the site www.vostlit.info. Text translated from the publication: Annales regni Francorum inde ab a. 741 usque ad a. 829, qui dicuntur Annales Laurissenses maiores et Einhardi. MGH, SS. rer. Germ. Bd. 6. Hannover. 1895 /
By the end of the VIII century, it was the turn of the Slavs. In 789, the Frankish king and Roman emperor (from 800) Charlemagne *, “ having prepared a huge army,<…> went to Elba<…> and entering the land of the Viltsy, he ordered to devastate everything with fire and sword. " In the year 806 “He sent his son Charles with an army to the land of the Slavs, who are called Sorbs and who live on the Elbe” **.
Already by 810, Charles conceived a project to seize neighboring Slavic tribes under the guise of their Christianization, for which he decided to create an archbishopric in Hamburg. This plan was carried out by his son Louis in 831.
/ * King Charlemagne, King of the Franks (768-800), King of the Lombards (774-800), Emperor 25.12.800-814.
** Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks. From the site www.vostlit.info. /
The Slavs, like the Saxons, were squeezed out of the Baltics for a long time and purposefully, all this is recorded in European sources. In particular, he talks about this in “ Slavic Chronicle »12th century German author Helmgold of Bosau:
“When the entire Slavic land, as mentioned above, was conquered and devastated, then the city of Aldenburg * converted to the [Christian] faith and became the largest in terms of the number of believers.” ** <…> « And all this year they fought a war with success and with frequent raids devastated the lands of the Slavs,<…> turning their whole country into a desert ».***
/* Aldenburg - slavic Stargard, now Oldenburg.
** Helmgold from Bosau. "Slavic Chronicle". M. 1963, book. 1 ch. 10. From the site www.wostlit.info
*** Ibid, ch. 56./
Henry of Latvia tells in detail how the Germans seized the Baltic lands at the beginning of the 13th century in the book “ Chronicles of Livonia ", Written, according to experts, before 1226.
The author was not only a witness, but also a participant in those events, which he narrates with undisguised pride: “ Arriving there, we divided our army along all the roads, villages and regions of that land and began to burn and devastate everything; males were killed, women and children were taken prisoner, a lot of cattle and horses were stolen»*.
/ * Henry of Latvia. Chronicle of Livonia. Slavic Chronicles. SPb. Verb. 1996, p. 269./
Helmgold from Bosau to " Slavic Chronicle »Not only describes how the Slavic tribes were destroyed and their lands were captured, but also how these lands were settled. For example, one of the German conquerors, Count of Holstein Adolf, who received as a gift from the king for his military exploits the devastated land of the Slavs-Vagrs, located on a vast territory from the Oder River to the Elbe River, threw a cry to his soldiers and to all participants in the crusade:
« Be the first, go into the promised land, inhabit it, become partakers of its benefits, for you should own all the best that is in it, you who took it away from the enemy. " In response to this call, countless different peoples rose up, who, taking their families and property with them, came to the Wagra land to Count Adolf to own the land that he had promised them.<…>
And the desert land of Vagr began to be settled and the number of its inhabitants increased *.<…>
And the Slavs who lived in the surrounding villages left, and the Saxons came and settled here. The Slavs gradually decreased in this land **. <…>
And tithes in the Slavic land increased, because the Teutons flocked here from their lands to populate this land, spacious, rich in bread, convenient due to the abundance of pastures, abounding in fish and meat and all the benefits ”***.
/ * Helmgold from Bosau. "Slavic Chronicle". M. 1963, book. 1 ch. 10, pp. 137-138. From the site www.wostlit.info
** Ibid, Ch. 77.
*** Ibid, ch. 87. /
Lyudmila Gordeeva
The end follows.
Varangians - Slavic name of the population of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea (in the 9th-10th centuries), as well as the Scandinavian Vikings who served the Kiev princes (in the 1st half of the 11th century).
"The Tale of Bygone Years" asserts that the Varangians lived along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which in the chronicles is called the Varangian Sea, " to the land of Agnyanskaya and Voloshskaya". Angles at that time were called Danes, and Volokhs - Italians. In the east, the boundaries of settlement of the Varangians are indicated more vaguely -" to the limit of Simov". According to some researchers, in this case Volga-Kama Bulgaria is meant (the Varangians controlled the north-western part of the Volga-Baltic route up to the Volga Bulgaria).
The study of other written sources showed that on the southern coast next to the Danes of the Baltic Sea lived "Vagry" ("Varins", "Vars") - a tribe that belonged to the Vandal group and by the 9th century. already glorified. In the East Slavic vocalization, the "vagrs" were called "Varangians".
In the end. VIII - early. IX centuries. the Franks began to attack the lands of the Wagrov-Varins. This prompted them to look for new places of settlement. In the VIII century. in France appears "Varangeville" (Varangian city), in 915 the city of Varingvik (Varyazhskaya Bay) appeared in England, the name Varangerfjord (Varangian Bay) in the north of Scandinavia is still preserved.
The eastern coast of the Baltic Sea has become the main area of \u200b\u200bmigration for the Varins. To the east, they moved together with separate groups of Rus who lived along the shores of the Baltic Sea (on the island of Rügen, in the Baltic States, etc.). Hence, in the "Tale of Bygone Years" and there was a double naming of immigrants - Varangians-Rus: " And they went across the sea to the Varangians, to Russia, for that was the name of those Varangians - RussiaAt the same time, the chronicler specifically stipulates that the Varangians-Rus are not Swedes, Norwegians and Danes.
In Eastern Europe, the Vikings appear in the late. IX century. The Varangians-Rus first came to the northwestern lands to the Ilmenian Slovenes, and then went down to the Middle Dnieper. According to the testimony of various sources and in the opinion of some scholars, Prince Rurik was at the head of the Varangians-Rus who came to the Ilmen Slovenes from the shores of the Southern Baltic. The names of the ones founded by him in the 9th century. cities (Ladoga, Beloe Lake, Novgorod) say that the Varangians-Rus at that time spoke the Slavic language. The main god of the Varangians-Rus was Perun. The treaty between Russia and the Greeks in 911, which was concluded by Oleg the Prophet, says: " And Oleg and his husbands forced him to swear according to the Russian law: they swore by their weapons and Perun, their god".
In the end. IX-X centuries the Vikings played a significant role in the northwestern slavic lands... The chronicle states that " from the Varangian family"Novgorodians took place. The Kiev princes constantly resorted to the help of hired Varangian squads in the struggle for power. Under Yaroslav the Wise, who was married to the Swedish princess Ingigerd, Swedes appeared in the Varangian squads. Therefore, from the beginning of the 11th century in Russia, Varangians were also called Varangians. However, in Novgorod, the Swedes were not called Varangians until the 13th century.After the death of Yaroslav, the Russian princes stopped recruiting hired squads from the Varangians.The very name of the Varangians was reinterpreted and gradually spread to all immigrants from the Catholic West.
Which terrify the local population. Since the Vikings mainly came from the Scandinavian countries, especially from Denmark, after a close acquaintance with them, they began to be called Danes. History says that around the same time, the Varangians began to appear on the primordial Slavic lands, who are now considered to be the same Vikings.
If you carefully analyze all the documents that have come down to us concerning the appearance and vocation of the Varangians in Russia, you will notice a strange inconsistency. If the Vikings in the same Europe were hated, then among the Slavs the Varangians were, as a rule, treated with respect. This raises serious doubts about the credibility of the version that the Varangian is the same Viking.
The appearance of the Varangians in Russia
The first mentions of the Varangians are found in the Tale of Bygone Years. Representatives of this people appeared in the Slavic lands from about the 9th century. As a rule, at that time the Vikings were rich merchants who came to Russia in huge numbers. In large Slavic cities, there were so many of these merchants that they formed large communities, which often prevailed even over the local population.
After the Russian princes began to vigorously recruit Varangian squads into their service in the 10-11 centuries, the number of these strangers increased even more. It got to the point that Novgorod, originally considered a Slavic city, after the mass vocation of the Varangians, began to be considered a Varangian city. A huge number of Varangian merchants and mercenaries were repeatedly recorded in ancient Kiev documents.
Even one of the first campaigns of the squads of the princes Askold and Dir against Constantinople became possible thanks to the Varangian militia gathered in Kiev. By the way, according to legends, even the capital of Russia was founded by the Varangians. The cult of Perun, who was the main god of the Varangians, confirms these traditions.
Mentions of the Varangians in ancient European history
When analyzing the rare surviving sources of Europe from the early Middle Ages, one can find references to the Varangians dating back to the early 9th century. Examining these documents, one can see that the Varangians came to Europe from the territory of the Slavs long before the Varangians were called to reign in Novgorod.
For example, in 839, envoys from the people called Rus arrived in Constantinople. After solving their problems, they were sent together with the Byzantine embassy to Germany, where they met with Louis the Pious. German sources clearly point to the Swedish origin of the Slavic embassy, \u200b\u200bwhich hints that the ambassadors were pure-blooded Varangians.
Around the same time, the Varangians are also mentioned in Arab sources. Eastern chroniclers described in sufficient detail the military campaigns of Rus to the shores of the Black Sea. The same warriors who attacked the coasts often came to the East for commercial purposes. At the beginning of the 10th century, the Varangians settled in the Black Sea so much that in Byzantine documents it is often called "Russian", since, apart from the Varangians, almost no one else swam in it so massively.
The secret of the origin of the Vikings and Russia
The Old Russian Varangians, most likely, were not Slavs. It was some kind of tribe related to the Scandinavians. If we turn again to the Tale of Bygone Years, then there under the Varangians are meant all Germanic peoples, such as:
- Noregi;
- Are given;
- Goths;
- Angles and so on.
Most likely, the tribes that lived on the southern and northern coasts of the Varangian (Baltic) Sea were called the Varangians. In the 11th century, the Byzantines called the Varangians mercenaries who served as the emperor's personal guard.
As for the origin, according to one of the versions it is believed that the Varangians are a distorted word "Varang", the origin of which is not completely clear. This word was used in the ancient Scandinavian language.
According to another version, which is also not confirmed, the first Varangians were named so because they worshiped the wolf as their patron. Moreover, this name was given to them by other peoples. Varg is the monstrous wolf Fenrir from Norse mythology. His sons, Skol and Hati, were also called Vargs. It turns out that the Varangians are the children of the Vargs. Unlike the Slavic peoples, who treated the forest wolf like a thief, the Scandinavians revered polar wolves, which were much larger than the forest ones.
German sources of the 11th century also speak of the non-Slavic origin of the Varangians, telling about the Polish campaign against the Russian lands. German soldiers told chroniclers that in Russia there are many people who are Danes. You can be sure that the Germans would definitely not confuse their Danish tribesmen with other peoples. In addition, ancient gravestones are often found in Sweden, on which there is information about military sea voyages to the Slavic lands.
The most common ancient Scandinavian sources and sagas, which can be compared with the Russian chronicles of the Varangians, directly indicate that the Scandinavians often went to Gardarika. It is interesting that Gardarika, that is, the "kingdom of cities" of the saga, is called ancient Russia. This indirectly indicates that the large trading Slavic cities were founded by the Varangians.
In addition, all the legends about the calling of the Varangians to Russia claim that it was they who founded the state called Russia. The first Varangian, called to reign with his retinue and brothers Sineus and Truvor, is known to everyone under the name of Rurik. If we compare this name with Scandinavian sources, it becomes clear that this is none other than Hrerek. Other Russian princes also have distorted Scandinavian names:
- Truvor is Thorvardr;
- Oleg - Helgi;
- Olga - Helga;
- Oskold - Hoskuldr;
- Deer - Dyri.
In the 10th century, all Arab and Byzantine chronicles about the Varangians clearly distinguished such two peoples as the Slavs and the Varangians. And the name Rus originally meant not a state, but a separate warlike people who ruled over the Slavs. And the battles of the first Russian princes with the Drevlyans and other indigenous Slavs indirectly indicate that these are completely different peoples.
Formation of the ruling military and trade elite in the country
It was the Varangians, who were of Scandinavian origin and became the basis for the emergence of the military-trading class in large Slavic cities. Although many authors often associate the Vikings with the Vikings, these are completely different concepts. Vikings are an alliance of warriors made up of representatives of different nations. In essence, it is a prototype of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, that is, a huge robber wind. The most that the Vikings could do useful for others was to be hired as mercenaries or guards.
In battles, the warriors of Norway proved to be the best fighters of their time, but as for honesty, the Normans and Norwegians became famous as insidious and dishonorable opponents. Often for profit, the Scandinavian warriors who served the prince could refuse to fight or even attack their employer.
The Varangians, who came from the shores of the Baltic Sea, did not cause a negative attitude among the Slavs, since they traded mostly honestly. Wealthy merchants, who were armed to the teeth and knew how to handle weapons perfectly, usually bought furs in Russia, after which they went to distant Byzantium in order to profitably sell their goods. From the Byzantine markets, textiles, spices, clothes, shoes and other goods were sent to Russia.
In addition, in the surviving legends and legends, people from the Russian sea, which was called Varangian at that time, often figured as brave robbers. A lot of legends about daring merchants who did not hesitate to rob or even kill a foreign merchant on the way, perfectly characterize the Varangians. The fact that it was the Vikings who were engaged in trade is evidenced by some words preserved in the Russian lexicon. A small trader was often called a Varyag in imperial Russia, and the expression "varyag" meant to engage in small bargaining.
Often, the fighting squads of the Varangians pretended to be trade caravans, while no one aroused suspicions that the Varangian merchants were armed to the teeth. Here are a few historical factsthat confirm this:
- Prince Oleg was able to lure Askold and Dir out of Kiev, pretending to be a wealthy merchant with security;
- The great Scandinavian hero Saint Olaf, who had served the Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavovich for many years, also pretended to be a merchant when he returned home.
As the Novgorod chroniclers write, the Varangians began their journey as mercenaries and guards of trade caravans, and when they got rich, they themselves became merchants. Thus, it was the Varangians who formed the class of merchant warriors who developed trade in Russia.
Establishment of Varangian rule in Russia
If you believe the ancient sources, the Vikings, after the formation of armed trading clans in the cities, began to gradually seize power into their own hands. Over time, the cities that were ruled by the Varangian princes turned into powerful armed posts, around which the local population was grouped. Since before that the Slavs were under the yoke of the Khazars and paid tribute to them, the unauthorized seizure of power by the Varangians was regarded by the local population, almost as a deliverance.
The Varangian princes, unlike the greedy Khazars, did not rob the local residents. The Tale of Bygone Years tells that the princes Askold and Dir, having approached Kiev, and having learned that the locals were paying tribute to the Khazars, remained to rule in it. Then they recruited a strong army, consisting mainly of tribesmen, and began to seize the nearby Polyan towns. Soon all these lands recognized the power of the Varangian princes.
Prince Oleg, who seized power in Kiev, called on all the surrounding Varangians and local glades to arms, proceeded to further expand the sphere of influence. So he managed to subdue the Smolensk Krivichi. The local residents did not particularly resist, although the same Drevlyans did not want to obey the Varangians for a long time.
Formation of the Varangian principalities
Gradually, the Varangian power in Russia was significantly strengthened. The newcomers began to assimilate with the local population, since almost all of them took wives and concubines among the Slavs. The seizure of power in large cities took place suddenly. At first, the Varangians fenced off their trading yard from prying eyes, and began to accumulate weapons and strength. At one point, the merchants turned into warriors, and removed or killed the local leadership. To resolve this issue, the Varangians needed one strong squad.
Naturally, this state of affairs did not like the Kiev princes, who gradually began to consider themselves indigenous Slavs. This marked the beginning of the princely feuds that tormented the Russian lands for many centuries. In the struggle with each other, the princes did not hesitate to invite not only the hired Varangian squads, but also the Scandinavian Vikings.
True, the Scandinavians did not miss their profit, and often at the most crucial moment they could go over to the side of the enemy or kill their employer. However, these methods have often proved to be quite effective. For example, Prince Vladimir, who became famous for baptizing Russia, summoned a huge number of Varangians and Vikings from across the sea. With their help, he wanted to defeat his brother Yaropolk, who was a Kiev prince.
It cannot be said that Vladimir did not know the disposition of the Scandinavians, since he was married to the daughter of one of the famous jarls at that time. But even Vladimir almost fell into a trap when, attracted by stories about the untold riches of Kiev, the Vikings demanded that the city be given to them for plunder. “The city is ours, and we want to take the ransom, but if you don’t want to, then we will take it ourselves!” - with these words they answered the prince. Leaving only his Varangian squad and the Vikings of his father-in-law, Vladimir sent the rest of the greedy Scandinavians to serve in Constantinople.
Some of the most intelligent Varangian princes not only captured cities, but also formed entire principalities. In the 9th century, there were several of them in Russia:
- The most famous was the Novgorod principality of Rurik (aka Hrerek Jarl);
- Prince Sineus settled on the White Lake;
- Truvor reigned in Izborsk;
- Askold is in Kiev.
In the 10th century, the Polotsk and Turov principality appeared. We can say for sure that there were much more such principalities, but they were not noted in the annals. With the strengthening of the power of the Kiev princes, other Varangian principalities gradually lost their power and became part of Kievan Rus.
The question of the origin of the term "Varang / Varangian" is thoroughly confused. Among the most common are two misconceptions: that this term originated in ancient Russia and that he meant predominantly Scandinavians. Meanwhile, both are wrong. In Russia, the word "Varyag" was not earlier than the second half of the 11th century, that is, later than in Byzantium and even in the Arab East. Moreover, the analysis of the sources shows that the first in medieval literature the mention of the "Varanki" people and the "Varank Sea" ("Varangian Sea") belongs to the Arabic-speaking author - the Central Asian scientist al-Biruni ("Canon of Astronomy and Stars", 1030), who got his information from Byzantium.
In turn, the Scandinavian sagas are the identity of the "Varangians" and the Vikings. The Old Russian term "Varangian" was known in Scandinavia in the form of "vaering". But this word came to the Scandinavian languages \u200b\u200bfrom the outside. Moreover, the waring in the sagas in most cases differs from the Viking Normans.
In Russia, the term "Varang / Varangian", before acquiring the broad meaning of "a native of the overseas", was applied mainly to the inhabitants of Slavic Pomorie. So, in the introductory part of the "Tale of Bygone Years" the Varangians "squat" to the Varangian Sea, in the vicinity of the Lyakhs, Prussians and Chudy - the population of the southern coast of the Baltic. In the Nikon Chronicle, Rurik's "Varangian Rus" comes "from the Germans." In the treaty of 1189 between Novgorod and the Gothic coast, these same "Germans" appear as the Varangians - residents of the Hanseatic cities of the Baltic Pomerania, that is, the former Slavic lands colonized in the 11th-12th centuries. German feudal lords. Finally, the Ipatiev Chronicle (Ermolaevsky list) directly states in an article under 1305 that "Pomorie Varyazskoe" is located behind "Kgdansk" (Polish Gdansk, German Danzig), that is, again in the former Slavic Pomorie.
Arab writers in their news about the people of "Varanks" are practically Russian chroniclers. According to them, the Varankov people lived on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, in its Slavic region. Finally, the Byzantine chronicler Nicephorus Briennius in the second quarter of the 12th century. wrote that the Varangi "shield-bearers" came "from a barbarian country near the Ocean and were distinguished from ancient times by their loyalty to the Byzantine emperors." The turnover "near the Ocean" means the southern, not the Scandinavian coast of the Baltic.
However, despite the fact that the term "Varang / Varangian" was endowed with a certain ethnic content, a Slavic tribe with such a name never existed. Meanwhile, the word "Varangian" existed primarily in the Slavic environment of the Baltic Pomerania and, moreover, had a certain symbolic meaning. In one place in Saxon Grammar one can read about the Slavic prince Varizin (Warisin, that is, Varyazin, Varyag), defeated by the Danish king Omund in Jutland, along with six others slavic princes... The use of the word "Varangian" as a proper name convincingly testifies to its sacred meaning among the Slavs.
One philological find of Count I. Potocki helps to clarify this meaning, who in 1795 published in Hamburg a dictionary that was still preserved in the 18th century. Drevan dialect (Drevane is a Slavic tribe on whose land Hamburg arose). In it, among the surviving Drevan words, there was the word "warang" - "sword" ( Gedeonov S. A. Excerpts from research on the Varangian question. 1862-64. T. II. S. 159-160. He's the same. Varangians and Russia. SPb., 1876.S. 167-169).
The word "varang" was destined to have long adventures.
The Byzantines, apparently, got to know him early enough, hearing him from the lips of the Pomor Slavs who entered the Byzantine service together with the Rus, or from the Rus themselves. However, in Constantinople it was not in use, at least until the end of the 10th century. ("Varangs" are still absent in the list of imperial mercenaries from Constantine Porphyrogenitus). But the sonorous foreign word did not go unnoticed. At the turn of the X - XI centuries. The Constantinople common people made him a household name, which is evident from the words of the Byzantine writer John Skilitsa that the Varangs "were called so in the common language." This dating is also supported by the use of the word "Varanq" in Al-Biruni's "Canon of Astronomy and Stars".
It follows that the term "varang" to denote a detachment of mercenaries originated in Byzantium, and not in Russia and not in Scandinavia. From the reports of medieval authors it is known that the Slavs and the Rus revered the sword as a sacred object; in particular, oaths were taken on it. Therefore, the news of Potocki gives the right to believe that by Varangs the Greeks meant the sword-bearers who swore an oath of allegiance on a sword, in other words, Slavic bodyguards-warriors (hence the Slavic word "cook" - to protect, to protect). Officials of the imperial chancellery only legalized this word from the local "argo" as an official term for state documents - Khrisovulov *, and Byzantine writers of the 12th century introduced it into "high" literature. Meanwhile, in the Greek language, it does not mean anything and, therefore, is a borrowing. Its literal coincidence with the Drevan "varang" proves that at the turn of the X - XI centuries. the hired Vendian Slavs in Byzantium began to be called by the nature of their weapons "sword-bearers" - "Varangs" **. This is also confirmed by the information of medieval Arab writers, gleaned for the most part from the Byzantines, about the "Varank people" on the southern coast of the Baltic.
* Khrisovuly - decrees of the Byzantine emperors. Varangs are mentioned in Khrisovuli of the 60s - 80s. XI century., Which freed houses, estates, monasteries, at the request of their owners and abbots, from the hiring of hired detachments. The latter are listed in the following order: the Khrisovul of 1060 indicates “Varangs, Ros, Saracens, Franks”; Khrisovul 1075 - “grew, Varangs, Kulpings [Old Russian Kolbyagov], Franks, Bulgars or Saracens”; Khrisovul 1088 - “grew up, Varangs, Kulpings, Inglings, Franks, Germans, Bulgars, Sarakins, Alans, Obzes,“ immortals ”(a detachment of the Byzantine guard, whose numerical strength always remained unchanged - the soldiers who left it were immediately replaced by others. S. C.) and everyone else, Greeks and foreigners. " It is noteworthy that Varangs constantly coexist with dews, as they come from the same region.
** Here it is pertinent to note that the characteristic weapon of the Vikings and of the peoples of Northern Europe in general was not a sword, but an ax. Byzantine writers call the Norman mercenaries "ax-bearers"; they also call the Celts from the British Isles - "ax-carrying Britons".
Apparently, the need for a new term appeared among the Greeks in connection with the need to distinguish between the old "Franks" from the new - a large corps of Kiev Rus sent in 988 by Prince Vladimir to help Emperor Basil II.
Later, the word "varang" in Byzantium received the meaning of "faithful", "who took an oath of allegiance" - from the custom of the Pomor Slavs to swear on a sword. In this sense, it entered the Byzantine chronicles. From the second half of the 11th century, when the influx of the Pomor Slavs to Constantinople sharply decreased, the name of the Varangs was transferred to the inhabitants of the British Isles, mainly the Celts-Britons. According to Skilitsa, "Varangi, by origin Celts, employed by the Greeks."
At one time, V.G. Vasilievsky convincingly showed that the Norman conquest of England in 1066 should have caused a significant Anglo-Saxon emigration. But the island Britons experienced even greater oppression, since, along with national oppression, they were also affected by religious persecution. In 1074, Pope Gregory VII anathematized the married priests. This was not so much an attack against the Greek Church as against the British-Irish Church, which lived according to a special charter, which allowed, in particular, monks to live with their families and to transfer the pulpit from father to son. A decade later, in 1085, Gregory VII virtually eliminated the independence of the British-Irish Church. Therefore, the mass emigration primarily affected not the Anglo-Saxons, but the Britons and other Celts who continued to adhere to their beliefs (see: Vasilievsky V.G. The Varangian-Russian and Varangian-English squads in Constantinople in the XI and XII centuries. Proceedings. SPb., 1908.Vol. 1).
The Britons, naturally, poured into the Slavic corps of the Varangs over the years and did not immediately gain a numerical advantage in it. Their confessional affiliation played an important role in the "coaching" of the Britons. Slavic mercenaries, as a rule, adopted Greek Christianity in Constantinople. The Rus, and then the Varangs, had a special church in the Byzantine capital, which was called the Varangian Mother of God and was located at the western facade of the Church of St. Sophia. Evidence has been found that it belonged to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Persecuted by the Roman Church, Britons, entering the Varang corps, also prayed in this temple and generally easily found a common language with Orthodoxy, which was facilitated by some common features of the Irish and Greek Churches: the admission of marriage for priests, communion of the laity under two types (wine and bread), denial of purgatory, etc. The confessional closeness of the Britons to Orthodoxy led to the fact that they inherited the nickname of the Slavs-Vendians - "Varangi", meaning "faithful", for no other mercenaries in Byzantium professed the Greek faith.
Byzantine authors of the 12th century have already forgotten about the ethnicity of the first, real Varangs-sword-bearers and retained only vague memories that they lived in some "barbarian country near the Ocean" and that they are somewhat related to the "dews", next to which the Varangs and continued to be mentioned in historical writings and documents. But the Arab writers who received in the XI century. from the Byzantines, information about the Varangs (Pomor Slavs), consolidated this knowledge as a stable literary tradition about the “sea of \u200b\u200bVaranks” and “the people of Varanks” - “Slavs of the Slavs” living on the southern coast of the Baltic (such processing and transmission from generation to generation of news, obtained once from the original source, it is generally characteristic of the Arab geographical and historical literature about remote lands and peoples).
In Russia, the term "Varang" in the form of "Varangians" became known in the first half of the 11th century, that is, at the time when it still denoted mercenaries from Slavic Pomorie. Some ancient Russian texts speak in favor of such a dating, such as the Ermolaev list of the Ipatiev Chronicle, in which "Pomorie Varangskoe" is equivalent to the lands of the Pomor Slavs.
The memory of their presence of the Pomor “Varangians” is preserved in the medieval name of the present village of Chernomorskoye - Varangolimen. The “Book of the Antiquities of the Russian State” (late 17th century) also speaks of the Varangians who lived on the shores of the Warm (Black) Sea even before the foundation of Kiev.
But then, in connection with the disappearance of the Vendian Slavs from the Byzantine Varangian corps and the active Germanization of the Slavic Pomorie that began, its former meaning was forgotten. For Nestor, "Varangian" is already a "hired soldier" or simply "a native of the overseas." However, in the XII century. there is still an unclear recollection of the ethnic meaning of the term: the chronicle places the Vikings, as an ethnos, on the southern coast of the Baltic, west of the Poles and Prussians, and the Novgorodians, in a treaty with the Gotha coast, refer to the Hanseatic merchants as Vikings, who again live on the territory of the former Slavic Pomorie ...
However, it is characteristic that the Russian people of the 12th century can no longer clearly separate the new meanings of the word "Varangian" from the old. Therefore, when Nestor tried to define Rurikov "Rus" by means of the term "Varangians", and taken in the modern meaning for the chronicler "resident of the overseas" ("for those Varangians were called" Rus ", as others are called" Sves ", others are" Urmans ", "Anglyans", other "Goths"), this unintentional anachronism became the cause of centuries-old historiographical delusion, giving rise to the notorious "Varangian question", which, as one of the historians aptly put it, became a real nightmare of early Russian history.