The Ukrainians received the Christian faith from the Byzantines, and their church was originally linked to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. By the 14th century most Ukrainians were under the political control of Catholic Lithuania. Metropolitan Isidore of Kyiv attended the Council of Florence and agreed to the 1439 act of union between Catholics and Orthodox. Although many Ukrainians within Lithuania initially accepted this union, within a few decades they had rejected it.
In 1569, when Lithuania and Poland united to form a single commonwealth, most of Ukraine passed to Poland. By this time Protestantism was expanding rapidly in the Ukrainian lands, and the Jesuits had begun to work for a local union between Catholics and Orthodox as a way of reducing Protestant influence. Soon many Orthodox also began to view such a union favorably as a way of improving the situation of the Ukrainian clergy and of preserving their Byzantine traditions at a time when Latin Polish Catholicism was expanding.
These developments culminated in a synod of Orthodox bishops at Brest in 1595-1596 which proclaimed a union between Rome and the Metropolitan province of Kyiv. This event sparked a violent conflict between those who accepted the union and those who opposed it. The dioceses of the far western province of Galicia, which lie at the heart of what is now the Ukrainian Catholic Church, adhered to the union much later (Przemysl in 1692 and Lviv in 1700). By the 18th century, two-thirds of the Orthodox in western Ukraine had become Greek Catholic.
But as Orthodox Moscovia expanded its control into Ukraine, the union was gradually suppressed. In 1839, Tsar Nicholai I abolished it in all areas under Russian rule with the exception of the eparchy of Kholm (in Polish territory), which was itself integrated into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1875. Thus by the end of the 19th century Greek Catholicism had virtually disappeared from the empire.
But the Ukrainian Catholic Church survived in Galicia, which had come under Austrian rule in 1772 and passed to Poland at the end of World War I. The church flourished under the energetic leadership of Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky, who was Archbishop of Lviv from 1900 to 1944. The situation changed dramatically, however, at the beginning of World War II, when most of Galicia was annexed by the Soviet Union.
The new Soviet administration acted decisively to liquidate the Ukrainian Catholic Church. In April 1945 all its bishops were arrested, and the following year they were sentenced to long terms of forced labor. In March 1946 a "synod" was held at Lviv which officially dissolved the union and integrated the Ukrainian Catholic Church into the Russian Orthodox Church. Those who resisted were arrested, including over 1,400 priests and 800 nuns. Metropolitan Joseph Slipyj, the head of the church, was sent to prison in Siberia. He was released in 1963 and exiled to Rome. In the same year he was given the title Major Archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians. He was made a cardinal in 1965 and died in 1984.
Although the exact role played by the Moscow Patriarchate in the suppression has not been clearly established, the events of 1946 poisoned the atmosphere between Ukrainian Catholics and Orthodox. All this came to the surface in the late 1980s when the new religious freedom inaugurated by Soviet President Michael Gorbachev enabled the Ukrainian Catholic Church to emerge from the catacombs.
On December 1, 1989, Ukrainian Catholic communities were given the right to register with the government. With the support of the local authorities, Ukrainian Catholics gradually began to take possession of their former churches. All this marked the beginning of a strong Ukrainian Catholic resurgence in the region. As this was happening, the Moscow Patriarchate protested that violence had been used in repossessing some churches (a claim the Catholics denied), and that Ukrainian Catholics were attempting to expand at the expense of the Orthodox. The situation was complicated by the strong presence of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in western Ukraine. While many property disputes are still unresolved, for the most part a peaceful modus vivendi had been worked out by the mid-1990s.
In the meantime, the Ukrainian Catholic Church was resuming a normal ecclesial life. On March 30, 1991, Myroslav Ivan Cardinal Lubachivsky, the exiled head of the church, was able to leave Rome and take up residence in Lviv. In May 1992 Ukrainian Catholic bishops from all over the world convened for a synod in Lviv for the first time in many decades. In August 1992 the remains of Joseph Cardinal Slipyj were translated from Rome to Lviv where he was buried next to Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky. In July 1993 four new dioceses were created in Ukraine from the territory of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and the Ukrainian section of the diocese of Przemysl of the Ukrainians, Poland. In April 1996 an Archepiscopal Exarchate of Kyiv-Vyshhorod was established to provide pastoral care for the faithful in central and eastern Ukraine. New dioceses in Bucac, Sokal, and Stryj were set up in 2000, and Archepiscopal Exarchates were subsequently established in Donetsk-Kharkiv (2002) and Odesa-Krym (2003).
Ukrainian Greek Catholic officials believe that their church has as many as six million faithful scattered throughout Ukraine and beyond. According to official Vatican statistics, in 2006 the church within Ukraine had 2,939 parishes, 2,251 priests, and 570 seminarians. Seminaries have been set up in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Drohobych. The Lviv Theological Academy, which had been closed down by the Soviets in 1946, was reopened in September 1994. On June 29, 2002, the academy became the Ukrainian Catholic University. It was the first Catholic university on the territory of the former Soviet Union and the first university opened by an Eastern Catholic Church. The university’s history department received accreditation from the Ukrainian government in 2003, but the theology department had to await such recognition until March 2006 when the Ukrainian Ministry of Education licensed theology as an academic discipline.
There are several religious orders of women and men in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Male religious orders include the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat, the Studites, and Ukrainian provinces of the Redemptorists, Salesians and Miles Jesu. The women’s communities are the Sisters of the Order of St Basil the Great, the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate, the Sisters of St Joseph Spouse of the Virgin Mary, the Sister Catechists of St. Anne, the Sisters of the Holy Family, the Sisters of the Priest and Martyr St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, Sisters of the Most Holy Eucharist, and the Myrrh-Bearing Sisters Under the Protection of St. Mary Magdalene, as well as Ukrainian Provinces of Salesian and Vincentian sisters. Altogether there were 374 religious priests, 367 brothers, and 1,476 women religious serving the church worldwide in 2006.
After the re-establishment of the church in Ukraine, the synod of bishops began meeting there regularly. The first General Council of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was held in Lviv in October 1996. Composed of 40 bishops along with six clergy and six lay delegates from each eparchy, these General Councils were held annually until 2000. Due to the ill health of Cardinal Lubachivsky, one of his auxiliary bishops, Lubomyr Husar, was named Administrator of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by the General Council in 1996. Cardinal Lubachivsky died in December 2000, and Bishop Husar was elected to succeed him in January 2001. He was made a Cardinal later the same year.
During his visit to Ukraine in June 2001, Pope John Paul II spent two days in Lviv. During a liturgy in the Byzantine rite on June 27, the Pope beatified 28 Ukrainian Greek Catholics, including eight bishops, eight priests, seven monks, four nuns and one layperson. Twenty-six of them had died as a result of the Soviet persecutions between 1935 and 1973.
On the basis of a decision by Cardinal Husar, the see of the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was officially moved to Kyiv, the national capital, on August 21, 2005. This decision had been confirmed by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in October 2004, and blessed by Pope John Paul II. On the same day, the title of the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was changed from “Major Archbishop of Lviv” to “Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych.”
There is widespread support within the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to raise the status of the church to the rank of Patriarchate, and even now the Major Archbishop is commemorated as patriarch liturgically throughout Ukraine. The Holy See has not acted on this proposal, perhaps in part because the Moscow Patriarchate and all the other autocephalous Orthodox churches have expressed strong opposition to any such move.
Ukrainian Catholics also have a significant presence in Poland. When the Soviet Union annexed most of Galicia during World War II, about 1,300,000 Ukrainians remained in Poland. In 1946 the new Polish communist authorities deported most of these Ukrainians to the Soviet Union and suppressed the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Approximately 145,000 Ukrainian Catholics dispersed around the country were able to worship openly only in the Latin rite. Only in 1957 were pastoral centers opened to serve them. In 1989 Pope John Paul II appointed a Ukrainian bishop as auxiliary to the Polish Primate. Bishop Ivan Martyniak was appointed bishop of Przemysl of the Byzantine-Ukrainian rite on January 16, 1991, thus providing Byzantine Catholics in Poland with their first diocesan bishop since the war. In the general reshaping of Polish ecclesiastical structures that took place in 1992, Przemysl was made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Warsaw and removed from the metropolitan province of Lviv to which it had belonged since 1818. It was later made immediately subject to the Holy See. In 1996 Pope John Paul II elevated the Przemysl diocese to the rank of metropolitan see, and changed its name to Przemysl-Warsaw. At the same time, he created a new Ukrainian Catholic diocese of Wroclaw-Gdansk, making it a suffragan of the new metropolitan see of Przemysl-Warsaw. There are now about 53,000 Ukrainian Catholics in Poland.
There is a large diaspora of Ukrainian Catholics. In the United States there are four dioceses and 200 parishes for about 103,000 members. The Metropolitan is Archbishop Stefan Soroka of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians (827 North Franklin Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123). In Canada there are five dioceses and 431 parishes with 86,000 faithful. The Metropolitan is Archbishop Lawrence Huculak, OSBM, of Winnipeg of the Ukrainians (233 Scotia Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2V 1V7). The ten parishes serving an estimated 34,000 Ukrainian Catholics in Australia are under the pastoral care of Most Rev. Peter Stasiuk, Bishop of Sts. Peter and Paul of Melbourne (35 Canning Street, North Melbourne, Victoria 3051). There is an Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainian Catholics in Great Britain located at 22 Binney Street, London W1Y 1YN, with 15 parishes and about 50,000 members. There is also a large Ukrainian Catholic presence in Latin America with about 160,000 faithful in the diocese of Sao Joao Batista em Curitiba, Brazil, and 155,000 in the diocese of Santa Maria del Patrocinio in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In the diaspora there are major Ukrainian seminaries in Washington, DC; Stamford, Connecticut; Ottawa, Canada; and Curitiba, Brazil. The Pontifical Ukrainian College of St. Josaphat in Rome was founded in 1897, and moved into its current location on the Janiculum Hill in 1932.
Location: Ukraine, Poland, United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Western Europe
Head: Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk (born 1970, elected 2011)
Title: Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych
Residence: Kyiv, Ukraine
Membership: 4,351,000
Website: www.ugcc.org.ua
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Historiebloggen: Metropolitan Isidore of Kyiv
Metropolitan of Kyiv, born at Thessalonica (Saloniki) towards the end of the fourteenth century; died at Rome, 27 April, 1463. He was one of the chief Eastern defenders of reunion at the time of the Council of Florence. He arrived at Constantinople, became a monk, and was there made hegumenos of the monastery of St. Demetrius. He had evidently received an unusually complete education: he knew Latin well, and had considerable fame as a theologian. He was also an accomplished orator; he seems from the beginning to have been eager for reunion with the West. It was the time when the Court of Constantinople, on the eve of its final destruction by the Turks, was considering the chance of rescue from the Western princes as a result of reuniting with Rome. In 1434 Isidore was sent to Basle by Emperor John VIII (1425-48) as part of an embassy to open negotiations with the Council of Basle. Here he made a mellifluous speech about the splendour of the Roman Empire at Constantinople. On his return he continued to take part in all the preparations for reunion among his own people. In 1437 he was sent by the Byzantine patriarch (Joseph II, 1416-39, a conspicuous friend of reunion, who died a Catholic at Florence) to be Metropolitan of Kyiv. He is constantly called Ruthenian Bishop of Kyiv. Kyiv was the old metropolis of Ruthenia. As soon as he arrived he began to arrange a Ruthenian legation for the council about to be held at Ferrara. Syropulus and other Greek writers charge Isidore with perjury because in spite of this he accepted the union. Isidore set out with a great following on 8 Sept., 1437, travelled by Luebeck, and arrived at Ferrara on 15, August, 1438. On the way he offended his suite by his friendly conduct towards the Latins. At Ferrara and at Florence, whither the council moved in January, 1439, Isidore was one of the six chief speakers on the Byzantine side. Together with Bessarion he steadfastly worked for the union, and never swerved afterwards in his acceptance of it.
After the council, the pope (Eugene IV, 1431-47) made him his legate for all Ruthenia and Lithuania. On his way back news reached Isidore, at Benevento, that he had been made Cardinal-Priest of the Title of St. Peter and St. Marcellinus. This is one of the few cases in which a person not of the Latin Rite has been made a cardinal. From Budapest in March, 1440, he published an encyclical calling on all Ruthenian bishops to accept the union. He at last arrived in Kyiv (Easter, 1441), and proclaimed the union in the church. He returned to Rome, and was graciously received by the pope in 1443. Nicholas V (1447-55) sent him as legate to Constantinople to arrange the reunion there in 1452, and gave him two hundred soldiers to help the defence of the city. On 12 December of that year he was able to unite three hundred of the Byzantine clergy in a celebration of the short-lived reunion. He saw the taking of the city by the Turks on 29 May, 1453, and only escaped the massacre by dressing up a dead body in his cardinal's robes. While the Turks were cutting off its head and parading it through the streets, the real cardinal was shipped off to Asia Minor with a number of insignificant prisoners, as a slave. Afterwards he wrote an account of the horrors of the siege in a letter to Nicholas V (P.G., CLIX, 953). He escaped from captivity, or bought himself free, and came back to Rome. Here he was made Bishop of Sabina, presumably adopting the Latin Rite. Pius II (1458-64) later gave him two titles successively, those of Patriarch of Constantinople and Archbishop of Cyprus, neither of which he could convert into real jurisdiction. He died at Rome on 27 April, 1463.
Isidore Of Kyiv, (born c. 1385, southern Greece—died April 27, 1463, Rome), Greek Orthodox patriarch of Ruthenia, Roman cardinal, Humanist, and theologian who strove for reunion of Greek and Latin Christendom but was forced into exile because of concerted opposition, particularly from the Byzantine and Ruthenian Orthodox churches, and by the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Abbot of St. Demetrius monastery in Constantinople and recognized for his cultured rhetoric, Isidore was sent abroad as envoy of the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaeologus to arrange for a council to unite the Eastern and Western churches. Unsuccessful, he returned to Constantinople and in 1436 was named patriarch of Kyiv and Ruthenia. Isidore attended the council, first in Ferrara (1438), then in Florence (1439), at which he was one of six Greek spokesmen. Together with the Greek cardinal John Bessarion, he drew up the document of unification that was proclaimed on July 5, 1439; soon after, he was made a Roman cardinal, thenceforth referred to as “the Ruthenian (Ukrainian Roman Catholic) cardinal.” Commissioned papal legate by Eugenius IV, Isidore successfully implemented the decree of union at Kyiv. He on Easter 1444 received sanctuary from King Ladislas of Hungary-Poland. From Siena, Isidore was dispatched by Pope Nicholas V to Constantinople and in December 1452, on the eve of the city’s fall to the Turks, solemnly announced to the hard-pressed Byzantines in the basilica of Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) the union of the Greek and Latin churches. Although the court and hierarchy were agreeable, the people rejected relations with the papacy. Isidore and his staff then joined in the futile defense of Constantinople. Wounded, he escaped capture by fleeing to Crete. Returning to Rome in 1454, he wrote of the traumatic experience of Constantinople’s collapse in his Epistula lugubris (“The Mournful Letter”). After resigning his other ecclesiastical offices in 1459, he received the honorary title Greek Patriarch of Constantinople from Pope Pius II, at whose election he assisted.
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After the council, the pope (Eugene IV, 1431-47) made him his legate for all Ruthenia and Lithuania. On his way back news reached Isidore, at Benevento, that he had been made Cardinal-Priest of the Title of St. Peter and St. Marcellinus. This is one of the few cases in which a person not of the Latin Rite has been made a cardinal. From Budapest in March, 1440, he published an encyclical calling on all Ruthenian bishops to accept the union. He at last arrived in Kyiv (Easter, 1441), and proclaimed the union in the church. He returned to Rome, and was graciously received by the pope in 1443. Nicholas V (1447-55) sent him as legate to Constantinople to arrange the reunion there in 1452, and gave him two hundred soldiers to help the defence of the city. On 12 December of that year he was able to unite three hundred of the Byzantine clergy in a celebration of the short-lived reunion. He saw the taking of the city by the Turks on 29 May, 1453, and only escaped the massacre by dressing up a dead body in his cardinal's robes. While the Turks were cutting off its head and parading it through the streets, the real cardinal was shipped off to Asia Minor with a number of insignificant prisoners, as a slave. Afterwards he wrote an account of the horrors of the siege in a letter to Nicholas V (P.G., CLIX, 953). He escaped from captivity, or bought himself free, and came back to Rome. Here he was made Bishop of Sabina, presumably adopting the Latin Rite. Pius II (1458-64) later gave him two titles successively, those of Patriarch of Constantinople and Archbishop of Cyprus, neither of which he could convert into real jurisdiction. He died at Rome on 27 April, 1463.
Isidore Of Kyiv, (born c. 1385, southern Greece—died April 27, 1463, Rome), Greek Orthodox patriarch of Ruthenia, Roman cardinal, Humanist, and theologian who strove for reunion of Greek and Latin Christendom but was forced into exile because of concerted opposition, particularly from the Byzantine and Ruthenian Orthodox churches, and by the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Abbot of St. Demetrius monastery in Constantinople and recognized for his cultured rhetoric, Isidore was sent abroad as envoy of the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaeologus to arrange for a council to unite the Eastern and Western churches. Unsuccessful, he returned to Constantinople and in 1436 was named patriarch of Kyiv and Ruthenia. Isidore attended the council, first in Ferrara (1438), then in Florence (1439), at which he was one of six Greek spokesmen. Together with the Greek cardinal John Bessarion, he drew up the document of unification that was proclaimed on July 5, 1439; soon after, he was made a Roman cardinal, thenceforth referred to as “the Ruthenian (Ukrainian Roman Catholic) cardinal.” Commissioned papal legate by Eugenius IV, Isidore successfully implemented the decree of union at Kyiv. He on Easter 1444 received sanctuary from King Ladislas of Hungary-Poland. From Siena, Isidore was dispatched by Pope Nicholas V to Constantinople and in December 1452, on the eve of the city’s fall to the Turks, solemnly announced to the hard-pressed Byzantines in the basilica of Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) the union of the Greek and Latin churches. Although the court and hierarchy were agreeable, the people rejected relations with the papacy. Isidore and his staff then joined in the futile defense of Constantinople. Wounded, he escaped capture by fleeing to Crete. Returning to Rome in 1454, he wrote of the traumatic experience of Constantinople’s collapse in his Epistula lugubris (“The Mournful Letter”). After resigning his other ecclesiastical offices in 1459, he received the honorary title Greek Patriarch of Constantinople from Pope Pius II, at whose election he assisted.
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Historiebloggen: Goternas historia, Ingmar Stenroth, 2015, ISBN: 9789197419482
Historiebloggens bokrecension: Goternas historia, Ingmar Stenroth, 2015, ISBN: 9789197419482
Författaren Ingmar Stenroth har lagt ordentligt med tid på Goternas historia. Han har forskat under många år. I denna bok om Goternas historia sammanfattar Ingmar Stenroth sina tidigare upptäckter från boken Goternas Vandringssaga från 2011 (och 2014) och Myten om Goterna från 2002 (ISBN 9789174866148). Den historiska forskningen slås ihop med den arkeologiska och ger en ganska trovärdig bild av Goternas historia.
Ingmar Stenroth skulle även tjäna på att undersöka utgrävningarna i Ukrajina lite mer noggrannare, specifikt Tjernjakiv-kulturens utgrävningsföremål. Enligt författaren själv är Tjernjakiv-kulturen mycket besläktad med Goternas. Dessutom finns det en legend i Ukrajina att det Ukrajinska riket (Rutenien) grundades av tre bröder: Kyj, Schek och Horyv, samt deras syster Lybid. Dessutom har Ukrajinas nationalsymbol, Tryzub, stora likheter med Goternas örnsymbol.
Författaren undersökte inte så mycket Goternas religion eller religioner. Här skulle Ingmar Stenroth tjäna på att läsa boken The Goths in the Crimea från 1936 (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Så får han lära sig att det finns mycket mer om Goterna i diverse religiösa källor.
Läs mer på www.Historiebloggen.nu
Författaren Ingmar Stenroth har lagt ordentligt med tid på Goternas historia. Han har forskat under många år. I denna bok om Goternas historia sammanfattar Ingmar Stenroth sina tidigare upptäckter från boken Goternas Vandringssaga från 2011 (och 2014) och Myten om Goterna från 2002 (ISBN 9789174866148). Den historiska forskningen slås ihop med den arkeologiska och ger en ganska trovärdig bild av Goternas historia.
Ingmar Stenroth skulle även tjäna på att undersöka utgrävningarna i Ukrajina lite mer noggrannare, specifikt Tjernjakiv-kulturens utgrävningsföremål. Enligt författaren själv är Tjernjakiv-kulturen mycket besläktad med Goternas. Dessutom finns det en legend i Ukrajina att det Ukrajinska riket (Rutenien) grundades av tre bröder: Kyj, Schek och Horyv, samt deras syster Lybid. Dessutom har Ukrajinas nationalsymbol, Tryzub, stora likheter med Goternas örnsymbol.
Författaren undersökte inte så mycket Goternas religion eller religioner. Här skulle Ingmar Stenroth tjäna på att läsa boken The Goths in the Crimea från 1936 (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Så får han lära sig att det finns mycket mer om Goterna i diverse religiösa källor.
Läs mer på www.Historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: How Moscow hijacked the history of Kyivan Rus’
This essay was first published in a collection by Yaroslav Dashkevych, PhD. in “Learn to Speak the Truth with Non-Lying Lips” – K:Tempora, 2011, 828pp. Yaroslav Dashkevych was a prominent Ukrainian historian, who during his long academic career wrote more than 950 works on Ukrainian historiography, source studies and special historical disciplines, Eastern Studies, Ukrainian-Armenian, Ukrainian-Turkish, and Ukrainian-Jewish relations.
In creating their nation, Ukrainians need to examine and analyze their own history, based on truth, verified facts and historical events. For centuries under the rule of conquerors, Ukrainians were basically deprived of the opportunity to influence the formation of national awareness and the development of their history, with the result that Ukraine’s history was composed predominantly to the advantage of their conquerors. Especially troublesome is the question of the pretensions and demands of Moscow, and later Russia, concerning the historical legacy of Kyivan Rus.
In his historical work “The Land of Moksel or Moskovia” (Olena Teliha Publishing House, Kyiv 2008, 2009, 3 vol.) V. Bilinsky presents historical sources (predominantly Russian) which testify to the total misrepresentation of the history of the Russian Empire, which was geared to create a historical mythology about Moscow and Kyivan Rus sharing common common historical roots, and that Moscow possesses “succession rights” to Kyivan Rus.
Moscow’s outright fraud that appropriated the past of the Great Kyiv kingdom and its people dealt a severe blow to the Ukrainian ethos. Our obligation now is to utilize hard facts to uncover the lies and amorality of Moskovian mythology.
Let’s examine these problems.
The tsars of Moscow and, later, Russia understood that without an imposing past it was impossible to create a great nation and empire. Therefore it was necessary to glorify their historical roots and even to hijack the history of other nations. So, starting with Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) the tsars of Moscow applied all their efforts to appropriate the history of Kyivan Rus, its glorious past, and to create an official mythology for the Russian Empire.
This might have been less consequential if their mythology had not affected the central concerns of Ukraine and if it had not aimed at the utter destruction of Ukraine: its history, language and culture. Over time, it became clear that Russian Imperial chauvinists did and continue to do everything possible to realize this aim.
Over hundreds of years and especially starting with the early XVI century, they brainwashed and continue to brainwash everyone, saying that the origins of the Russian nation and people are the Great Kyivan kingdom. They assert that Kyivan Rus was the cradle of three sibling nations – Russians, Ukrainians and Belarus; and that because the Russians are “older brothers”, they have the right to the legacy of Kyivan Rus. To this day, Russian historians and officials make use of this woeful lie, which is repeated by the ‘fifth column’ of communists and almost all Party of Regions deputies in our Parliament.
Here are the facts:
- At the time of the Kyivan Empire there was no mention of a Moscow nation. It is well known that Moscow was created in 1277 as a subservient vassal region or ‘ulus’ to the Golden Horde, established by the Khan Mengu-Timur. By that time, Kyivan Rus had existed for more than 300 years.
- There are no indications of any connection of Kyivan Rus with the Finnish ethnic groups in the land of ‘Moksel’ or later of the Moscow principality with the Principality of Kyivan Rus up until the XVI century. At the time when Kyivan Rus had officially accepted Christianity, the Finn tribes in ‘Moksel’ lived in a semi-primitive state.
How can anyone speak of ‘an older brother’ when that ‘older brother’ did not first appear until centuries after Rus-Ukrainians? He has no moral right to call himself an ‘older brother’, nor to dictate how people are to live, nor to force his culture, language, and world views. It is clear that until the end of the XV century, there was no Russian nation, there was no older brother ‘Great Russian’, nor were there any Russian people. Instead, there was the land of Suzdal: the land of Moksel, later the Moscow princedom, which entered into the role of the Golden Horde, the nation of Genghis Khan. From the end of the XIII to the beginning of the XVIII century, the people in this land were called Moskovites. And Moscow historians are silent about this question of their national origins.
Moskovites, ‘Great Russians’ – who are they?
During the IX to the XII cent. the large area of Tula, Riazan, and today’s Moscow region, including the tribes of Mer, Ves, Moksha, Chud, Mari and others – all this was inhabited by the people called ‘Moksel’. These tribes eventually became the foundation of the nation who now call themselves ‘Great Russians’.
In 1137, the younger son of the Kyivan prince Monomakh, Yuri Dolgoruky (who had been left without a princedom in the Kyivan empire) arrived in this land.
Yuri Dolgoruky began the rule of the ‘Riurykovyches’ in ‘Moksel’, becoming prince of Suzdal. To him and a local Finnish woman was born a son Andrey, called ‘Bogoliubsky’. Born and raised in the forest wilderness among the half savage Finnish tribes, prince Andrey cut all ties with his father’s entourage and with their old Kyivan customs.
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| Yuri Dolgoruky |
In 1169 Andrey Bogoliubsky sacked and destroyed Kyiv. He destroyed all the churches and religious artifacts, something unheard of in those times.
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| Andrey Bogoliubsky |
Andrey was a barbarian who did not feel any familial ties with Kyiv, the holy city of Slavs.
Within a brief time (50-80 years) every Finnish tribe was imposed with a prince of the Riurykovyches, whose mother was either a woman of Mer, Murom or Kokshan… Thus appeared the ‘Moksel’ princedoms: Vladimir, Riazan, Tver, and others. At this time, some missionaries appeared in the land of Moksel to spread Christianity. It is impossible to consider a mass ‘migration’ of Slavs from the Dnipro river region, as Russian historians insist. Why should the Slavs leave behind their fertile Dnipro lands and relocate more than a thousand kilometers through impassable undergrowth and swamps into an unknown semi-savage land?
Under the influence of Christianity, the land of ‘Moksel’ started to form their language, which in time became Russian. Up until the XII century, only Finn tribes lived in the land of ‘Moksel’. The archaeological findings of O.S. Uvarova (Meria and their everyday life from kurhan excavations, 1872 – p. 215) support this. Out of 7729 excavated kurhans, not a single Slavic burial was discovered.
And the anthropological investigations of human skulls by A. P. Bohdanov and F. K. Vovk support the differentiated characteristics of the Finnish and Slavic ethnoses.
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| Moscow’s subservience to the Khan |
In 1237 the Tatar-Mongols entered the lands of Suzdal. All who bowed, kissed the boots of the Khan and accepted subservience remained alive and unharmed, all others who did not submit were destroyed.
The princes of Vladimir, Yury and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich accepted subservience to Khan Batey. In this manner, the land of ‘Moksel’ entered the ranks of the Golden Horde Empire of Genghis Khan, and its fighting forces were combined with the army of the Empire. The commander of the Moksel division within Batey’s army was Yury Vsevolodovich, the prince of the city of Vladimir. In 1238, Finnish tribe divisions were formed and marched together under Batey in his invasions of Europe in 1240-1242. This is direct evidence of the establishment of the rule of the Khan in the lands of Rostov-Suzdal.
While Yuri Vsevolodovich was away taking part in Batey’s European invasion, his younger brother Yaroslav Vsevolodovich was placed at the head of the Vladimir princedom. Yaroslav left his eight year old son Alexander Yaroslavich as hostage with the Khan.
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| Alexander “Nevsky” blood brother with Khan Sartak of the Golden Horde |
Living with the Horde of Batey from 1238 to 1252 Alexander, only much later named ‘Nevsky’, adopted all the customs and organizational ideas of the Golden Horde. He became a blood brother of Sartak, the son of the Khan, married the Khan’s daughter, and eventually became a loyal vassal of the Golden Horde and prince of Vladimir from 1252 to 1263. He never took part in any significant battles – all the ‘victories’ of Alexander Nevsky are transparent lies. Prince Alexander simply could never had taken part in the battles on the Neva in 1240 and on Chud or Peipus Lake in 1242 (fantasized in Eisenstein’s film) because he was still a child.
It is important to mention that the ruling powers of the local princes of Rostov-Suzdal were minimal. Khan Batey installed his own administrators in all the “ulus” princedoms: on top was the Great Baskak, and under him were the regional administrative baskaks.These were full-fledged rulers from the Golden Horde, who followed the laws of the Genghis Khans. Russian historians are lying when they state that the princes of Suzdal, and later Moscow, were independent from the Golden Horde. The Khan’s covenant named the primary rulers of the princedoms his baskak, or ‘daruha’, while the local princes were relegated to second and even third place importance.
The big lie was introduced: that Moscow was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky. This is a myth with no supportive evidence. Moscow was established as a settlement in 1272. That same year the Golden Horde conducted their third census of the populations in their domain. Both in the first census (1237-1238) and in the second census (1254-1259) there is no mention of any Moscow at all.
Moscow appeared as a princedom in 1277 at the decree of the Tatar-Mongol Khan Mengu-Timur and it was an ordinary ‘ulus’ (subdivision) of the Golden Horde. The first Moscow prince was Daniel (1277-1303), younger son of Alexander, so-called ‘Nevsky’. The Riurykovich dynasty of Moscow princes starts from him. In 1319 Khan Uzbek (as stated in the afore-mentioned work by Bilinsky) named his brother Kulkhan the virtual Prince of Moscow, and in 1328 the Great Prince of Moscow. Khan Uzbek (named in Russian history as Kalita), after he converted to Islam, destroyed almost all the Riurykovich princes. In 1319-1328 the Riurykovich dynasty was replaced by the Genghis dynasty in the Moscow ‘ulus’ of the Golden Horde. In 1598 this Genghis dynasty in Moscow which began with Prince Ivan Kalita (Kulkhan) was finally broken. Thus for over 270 years, Moscow was ruled solely by the Khans of Genghis.
Still, the new dynasty of the Romanovs (Kobyla) promised to follow former traditions and solemnly swore allegiance to the age-old dynasty of Genghis.
In 1613 the Moscow Orthodox Church became the stabilizing force to safeguard the sustainment of Tatar-Mongol government in Moscow, offering Masses for the Khan, and issuing anathemas on anyone who opposed this servitude.
Based on these facts, it becomes clear that Moscow is the direct inheritor of the Golden Horde Empire of Genghis and that actually the Tatar-Mongols were the ‘godfathers’ of Moscow statehood. The Moscow princedom (and tsardom from 1547) up until the XVI century had no ties or relationships with the princedoms of the lands of Kyivan Rus.
Great Russians
The tribe of Great Russians, or the Russian people as known today, appeared around the XV to XVII centuries from among the Finn tribes: Muroma, Mer, Ves and others. This was when their history started. There is no history of Great Russians on Kyivan lands! The history of Great Russians starts with the ‘Beyond the Forests Land’ in Moscow, which was never Kyivan Rus. The Tatar-Mongols who entered these lands were a big element in the formulation of ‘Great Russians’. The Great Russsian psychology absorbed many characteristics – the Tatar-Mongol instincts of a conqueror and despot, with the ultimate aim: world domination. Thus by the XVI cent. was established the type of a conqueror who was horrible in his lack of education, rage and cruelty. These people had no use for European culture and literacy. All such things like morality, honesty, shame, justice, human dignity and historical awareness were absolutely foreign to them. A significant amount of Tatar-Mongols entered the makeup of Great Russians from the XIII to XVI centuries and they accounted for the genealogy of over 25% of Russian nobility. Here are some Tatar names that brought fame to the Russian Empire: Arakcheev, Bunin, Derzhavin, Dostoyevsky, Kuprin, Plekhanov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Turgenev, Sheremetiev, Chadaev and many others.
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| Ivan Turgenev |
In order to appropriate the history of Kyiv lands and to immortalize this theft, the Great Russians had to squash the Ukrainian people, drive them into slavery, deprive them of their true name, exterminate them via famine, etc.
Ukrainians had emerged as a nation in the XI to XII centuries, and probably, even earlier. Later they were labeled ‘Little Russians’ when Russians began to brainwash the world with their ‘version’ of history. For the smallest deviation from this official version, people were tortured, killed, and sent off to the GULAG. The Soviet period was especially brutal and vicious. During that time, Ukraine lost over 25 million of her sons and daughters, who perished in wars for Russian interests, and during collectivization, tortures, and forced relocations.
This is the way the ‘older brother’ forced the ‘younger brother’, the ‘Little Russian’, to live in the savage ‘embraces of love’.
Creation of the Historical Myth of the Russian State
Back in the times of the princedom of Vasily III (1505 – 1533) Moscow gave birth to the idea of its greatness, articulated by the representative of Moscow orthodoxy, the monk Filofey: “Two Romes fell, a third still stands, and there will never be a fourth”.
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| Filofey of Moscow |
From there, they created the idea of an all-powerful and ‘God chosen’ Moscow – the ‘third – and final Rome’. These ideas spread and were confirmed throughout Moskovia. And how much blood was spilt by the princes of Moscow, and later the tsars, over this fantasy-myth!
During the reign of Ivan IV (the Terrible) they grasped not only after the inheritance of Kyivan Rus, but now also the Byzantine Empire. Thus, according to accounts, the cap of Monomakh was believed to have been given the Kyivan prince Volodymyr Monomakh by his granddad, the basileus Constantine IX.
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| Cap of Volodymyr Monomakh |
This was considered the symbol of the transfer of power from Byzantium to Kyivan Rus. In addition, Yuri Dolgoruky, the sixth son of Volodymyr Monomakh, was the first prince of Suzdal, so the appearance of this cap in Moscow was a ‘proof’ of the legacy legitimacy of the Moscow rulers not only to the Kyiv Great Throne, but now also to the inheritance of the former Byzantine Empire. Furthermore, Moscow fabricated a deceptive last will of Volodymyr Monomakh about handing over ‘legacy rights’ to his son Yuri Dolgoruky, the conqueror of the so-called ‘Beyond the Forests Land’. This was all fiction. In reality, the cap of Monomakh was a gold ‘bukhar tubeteyka’, which Khan Uzbek presented to Ivan Kalyta (1319-1340) who maintained this cap in order to further his fame. (Логвин Ю. Кобила, Калита і тюбетейка «Мономаха» // Час. – Київ, 1997, 27 березня).
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| Ivan Kalita/Kalyta |
Ivan IV (the Terrible) in 1547 was anointed in the cathedral with the title of ‘Moscow Tsar’ as the ‘inheritor’ of the Greek and Roman emperors. Of the 39 signatures who affirmed this document sent from Constantinople, 35 were forgeries. Thus, Ivan the Terrible became the ‘inheritor of the Byzantine emperors’. Thus, the lie was made official.
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| Ivan IV, the Terrible |
Peter I began the massive falsification of his people’s history. In 1701 he issued a decree to eliminate from all subjugated peoples all their recorded national historical artifacts: ancient chronicles, chronographs, old archives, church documents etc. This was especially directed at Ukraine-Rus.
In 1716, Peter I ‘changed the copy’ of the so-called Königsberg Chronicles to now show the ‘joining’ of the old chronicles of the Kyivan with the Moscow princedoms. The aim was to lay a foundation for the unity of Slavic and Finnish lands. However, both the false ‘copy’ as well as to the original were sealed.
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| Peter I, the Great |
Peter’s falsification became the basis for further falsifications – the composition of the so-called ‘General Rus Chronicles Collections’ which purported to establish Moscow’s rights to the legacy of Kyivan Rus. On the basis of these falsifications, on October 22, 1721, Moscow proclaimed itself the Russian Empire, and all Moskovites were now to be – Russians. In this manner, they stole from the legitimate inheritors of Kyivan Rus the Ukrainians’ historical name of Rus.
Peter imported from Europe a large number of specialists, including professional historians, who were assigned the rewriting and falsification of the history of the Russian state.
In addition, every foreigner who entered government work, swore an oath not to reveal state secrets and to never betray the Moscow state. The question remains, what government secrets regarding the ‘formation of Russian history’ of ancient times could there be? In any civilized European country, after 30-50 years all archives are opened. The Russian Empire is very afraid about the truth in its past. Deathly afraid!
Following Peter I, who transformed Moscow into the Russian state, the Moscow elite began to consider the necessity of creating a comprehensive history of their own country. Empress Catherine II (1762-1796) intensively took on this task.
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| Catherine II |
She could not admit the idea that common Tatar-Mongol elements existed in the dynasty of the Tsars. Catherine was an intelligent and educated European woman and once she had examined the archival sources, she called attention to the fact that all the history of her country was based on oral traditions (‘bilyny’) and had no factual support.
Therefore on December 4, 1783, Catherine II issued a decree, creating a ‘Commision for the Collection and Organization of the Ancient Russian History’ under the leadership and oversight of Graf A. P. Shuvalov, with a staff of 10 renowned historians. The principal task before this commission was to ‘find’ new chronicles, rewrite others, and create new collections of archives and other similar falsifications. The aim was to lay the foundations for the ‘legitimacy’ of Moscow’s hijacking of the historical legacy of Kyivan Rus and to create an official historical myth about the origins of the Russian state. This commission labored for ten years. In 1792, ‘Catherine’s History’ saw the light of day. The commission worked in the following manner:
– the gathering of all written documents (archives, chronicles, etc). This effort had partly begun under Peter I. This collection of materials was conducted not only within the Empire, but also from other countries like Poland, Turkey etc.
– the analysis, falsification, rewritings or destruction of historical materials. Thus they rewrote the chronicles: ‘The Tale of Ihor’s Campaign’, ‘Tale of bygone years’, ‘Lavrentiivsky Chronicles’, and many others. Many chronicles were rewritten several times, and the originals either locked up or destroyed. Thus were also locked up: the ‘History of the Scythians’ by A. I. Lyzlov (published in 1776 and 1787), and the ‘Russian History from Ancient Times’ by V. M. Tatishchev (published in 1747). In his ‘Scythian History’ Lyzlov showed that the inhabitants of Moscow were a separate people, who had nothing in common with Kyivan Rus, Lithuania, Poland, etc.
– the writing of new ‘Rus Chronicles Collections’ which were now being composed in the XVIII cent., but purported to be from the XI to the XIV centuries. These collections all propagated the ‘General Rus’ idea. This was in reference to the times when Kyivan lands were inhabited by Slavic tribes (Poliany, Derevliany, Siveriany etc) who were Christians, while the ‘Beyond the Forests Land’ was populated by Finn tribes (Muroma, Mer, Ves, Moksha and others) who lived a semi-primitive existence, and these tribes had nothing historical in common up to the XVI century.
– the new composition of thousands of various collections to establish the ‘unity’ of Kyivan Rus with the Finn tribes. All these chronicles and collections, according to author Bilinsky, exist only in the form of copies, not one original. Not one! All this points to the almost unbelievable in scope and shameless, massive plundering and falsification of the creation of the history of the Russian state.
It is impossible to live a lie forever!
It is time for Ukrainian historians to write the actual true history of Ukraine, which would not be based on the lies of the ‘Catherine Chronicles’, the falsifications and newly written in the XVIII century ‘General Russian Chronicle Collections’, but rather based on historical reality, established in documents, especially those preserved in countries like Poland, Turkey, Greece, Iran and others. People deserve to know the truth.
By Yaroslav Dashkevych
Translated by Adrian Bryttan
Source: Strataforum
Read more on www.historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: Kyiv
Kyi = Kij = Sambat = Shambat = Шамбат (bulgariska) = Самбатас (bulgariska)
Kyiv = Киоаба = Kuar = Kænugarðr = Κια(ο)βα = Shambatas = Sambatas = Σαμβατας (grekiska)
enligt Konstantin VII Porfyrogennetos
Latin: Veterem Ruthenum = Staroruština (czech)
Rutenici, Regio Rutenico
Even now the dwellers by the Danube call this town Kievetz.
Den gotiske historikern Jordanes lär ha kallat bosättningen Danapirstadir.
Kujaba, Kuyaba, Куявія ,Куябия, Куйа.а, Кукийана, Kuyavia, Kujawia, كويابة (Kūyāba) = Kyiv
Arsania, Artania = near Riazan/Rjazan
Slaavia, Slawia, Славия, Славія, صلاوية (Ṣ(a)lāwiya) = Ilmen Slavs territory
From wikipedia:
Kuyaba (Arabic: كويابة Kūyāba) was one of the three centers of the Rus or Saqaliba (early East Slavs) described in a lost book by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (dating from ca. 920) and mentioned in works by some of his followers (Ibn Hawqal, Al-Istakhri, Hudud ul-'alam). The two other centers were Slawiya (Arabic: صلاوية Ṣ(a)lāwiya) tentatively identified with the land of Ilmen Slavs and Arthaniya (Arabic: ارثانية ’Arṯāniya) not properly explained.
Kiou, Kiov, Kionien(sis) - i latinska källor.
Ruthenoru.
Kiow, Kiovia.
Kiouf, Kioff
City was built 861 by Prince Kio. 1615 burnt by Tartars. The Palatinate of Kjovia is also called Volhinia Inferior, and also the Vkrayne, and is a part of Red Ruthenia, and lies on the both sides of Nieper.
Källa/Source: ''A Geographical Dictionary, Representing the Present and Ancient Names of All...'' Av/by Edmund Bohun
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
Kyiv = Киоаба = Kuar = Kænugarðr = Κια(ο)βα = Shambatas = Sambatas = Σαμβατας (grekiska)
enligt Konstantin VII Porfyrogennetos
Latin: Veterem Ruthenum = Staroruština (czech)
Rutenici, Regio Rutenico
Even now the dwellers by the Danube call this town Kievetz.
Den gotiske historikern Jordanes lär ha kallat bosättningen Danapirstadir.
Kujaba, Kuyaba, Куявія ,Куябия, Куйа.а, Кукийана, Kuyavia, Kujawia, كويابة (Kūyāba) = Kyiv
Arsania, Artania = near Riazan/Rjazan
Slaavia, Slawia, Славия, Славія, صلاوية (Ṣ(a)lāwiya) = Ilmen Slavs territory
From wikipedia:
Kuyaba (Arabic: كويابة Kūyāba) was one of the three centers of the Rus or Saqaliba (early East Slavs) described in a lost book by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (dating from ca. 920) and mentioned in works by some of his followers (Ibn Hawqal, Al-Istakhri, Hudud ul-'alam). The two other centers were Slawiya (Arabic: صلاوية Ṣ(a)lāwiya) tentatively identified with the land of Ilmen Slavs and Arthaniya (Arabic: ارثانية ’Arṯāniya) not properly explained.
Kiou, Kiov, Kionien(sis) - i latinska källor.
Ruthenoru.
Kiow, Kiovia.
Kiouf, Kioff
City was built 861 by Prince Kio. 1615 burnt by Tartars. The Palatinate of Kjovia is also called Volhinia Inferior, and also the Vkrayne, and is a part of Red Ruthenia, and lies on the both sides of Nieper.
Källa/Source: ''A Geographical Dictionary, Representing the Present and Ancient Names of All...'' Av/by Edmund Bohun
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: Harald «Hard ruler» Hardråde (Sigurdsson)
Nicknames: "Hardrada", "Haraldr harðráði", "Hårdråde", "The Severe", "Haraldr Sigurðsson", "The Severe King", "stern counsel", "hard ruler"
Birthdate: cirka 1015
Birthplace: Bonsnes, Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway
Death: Died September 25, 1066 in Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, England
Cause of death: falt i slag
Occupation: Konge 1046-1066, Konge, Kung av Norge, Norsk konge, Konge 1045-1066, Konge av Norge, Noregskonungur frá 1046, konge av norge
Spouse: Elisiv of Kyiv, Ellisif of Kyiv, Elisaveta Yaroslavna of Kyiv
Children: Ingegerd Haraldsdotter of Norway, Ingigerðr Haraldsdóttir
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
Birthdate: cirka 1015
Birthplace: Bonsnes, Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway
Death: Died September 25, 1066 in Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, England
Cause of death: falt i slag
Occupation: Konge 1046-1066, Konge, Kung av Norge, Norsk konge, Konge 1045-1066, Konge av Norge, Noregskonungur frá 1046, konge av norge
Spouse: Elisiv of Kyiv, Ellisif of Kyiv, Elisaveta Yaroslavna of Kyiv
Children: Ingegerd Haraldsdotter of Norway, Ingigerðr Haraldsdóttir
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: Svitjod - resor till Sveriges ursprung, Mats G.Larsson, 1998, ISBN:9789174864212
Historiebloggens bokrecension: Svitjod - resor till Sveriges ursprung, Mats G.Larsson, 1998, ISBN:9789174864212
17
Prokopios skriver: under flera ledare av kunglig ätt tågade de genom slavernas alla stammar, vandrade sedan genom en stor ödemark och nådde slutligen fram till det folk som heter varner.
Den främste bland dessa hette Rurik/Rörik och sägs tillhöra en stam som kallades Rutener säger krönikan, och från den kan namnet Rutenien härledas.
Det är namnet Rutenien som tillsammans med andra språkliga indicier och arkeologiska fynd gör att man kan knyta dessa hövdingar och deras följen till Rutheni som nämns i Kejsar Augustus strider på 100-talet.
Rurik kan dock vara av vikingarnas ursprung som assimilerats i rutenska samhället. Hans urpsrung sägs då vara i Rugen. Det kan vara dit som Augustus Rutheni vandrade först och senare spridits till Ukrajina där de bosatte sig för gott.
Det första, enligt Nestorskrönikan, anfallet på Aldegjuborg, dvs Staraja Ladoga, i sjäva verket skett i samband med ett krigståg som leddes av kungen själv, alltså Rurik.
Den enda större grupp runinskrifter som kan knytas till en enskild expedition är de stenar som är resta på 1040-talet efter män som dött österut med hövdingen Ingvar, ihågkommen också i den isländska traditionen med tillnamnet "den vittfarne". Spåren efter honom och hans män kan troligen följas till Gårdarike och vidare till Georgien och trakterna kring Kaspiska Havet, på runstenarna kallade Särkland, "saracenernas land".
Varför skulle sveakungen, vid denna tid Olof Skötkonungs son Anund Jakob, organisera ett stort uppbåd för en färd till Gårdarike? Svaret ligger troligen i hans svågerskap med den rutenske fursten Jaroslav, som var gift med Anunds syster Ingegärd. Fursten låg vid tiden för Ingvars avfärd i krig med petjenegerna, ett stäppfolk som också hotade handelsvägarna mot Svarta havet och därmed förbindelserna med Konstantinopel. Både den ättegemenskapen och svearnas strävan efter att upprätthålla förbindelserna med kejsarstaden - tydligt märkbara i Sigtuna - kan därför ha varit skäl för att sända en flotta till Jaroslavs hjälp. Efter ett blodigt slag vid Kyiv, där Jaroslav placerat sina skandinaviska krigare mitt i slaglinjen, lyckades han besegra petjenegerna och driva bort dem från sitt område. Varför Ingvar och många av hans män därefter fortsatte till Svarta havet och vidare österut genom Transkaukasien är höljt i dunkel, och vi kommer nog aldrig att få något säkert svar på frågan. Kanske var det ett led i Jaroslavs krig mot kejsaren i Konstantinopel. Ryktet om att svearna vid denna tid utsänt en ödesdiger expedition mot avlägsna länder nådde också Adam av Bremen. Han inte sen att använda det som ett exempel på hur gud straffat sveakungen Emund, halvbror och efterföljare till Anund Jakob. Kungen hade nämligen begått brottet att avvisa biskop Adalvard den äldre och andra sändebud från kyrkan i Bremen, förklarar kyrkomannen. När Emund sedan sände sin son Anund till Skytien omkom denne därför med hela sin här efter att amasonerna givit dem förgiftat vatten.
En av de män som blev borta med Ingvar hette Banke eller Bagge. Hans runsten sitter nu inmurad i vapenhuset i Svinnegarns kyrka i Uppland.
Isländska sagorna berättar hur Ingvar den vittfarne attackerades av vikingar på sin färd mot Särkland. Detta hindrar dock inte att begreppet "vikingatiden" nog ändå är en lämplig sammanfattande beteckning för forntidens slutskede - "drängtiden" skulle inte låts lika bra.
17
Svetiud, sveafolket, på fornislöndska Svitiod och vanligen skrivet Svitjod, lokaliseras till landskapen kring Mälaren.
58
Ungefär vid den tid då Hugleik föll i Frisland började ett annat germanfolk röra sig från Centraleuropa mot Skandinavien, en folkvandring i motsatt riktning mot den som gällt under de föregående århundradena. Det var herulerna, ett folk som en gång sägs ha blivit fördrivna av danerna och vandrat söderut till Svarta havets norra steand, där de bosatte sig vid sidan om goterna.
Prokopios skriver: under flera ledare av kunglig ätt tågade de genom slavernas alla stammar, vandrade sedan genom en stor ödemark och nådde slutligen fram till det folk som heter varner.
74
Ivar Vidfamne lade nu under sig hela Sveaväldet. Han tog också hela Danaväldet, en stor del av Saxland (Nordtyskland), Österriket (Baltikum) och en femtedel av England.
96
För svenska vikingar måste det i stället ha varit länderna på andra sidan Östersjön som låg närmast till hands att attackera, även om dessa områden inte var lika rika och tättbefolkade som de västliga riken.
Den främste bland dessa hette Rurik/Rörik och sägs tillhöra en stam som kallades Rutener säger krönikan, och från den kan namnet Rutenien härledas.
Det är namnet Rutenien som tillsammans med andra språkliga indicier och arkeologiska fynd gör att man kan knyta dessa hövdingar och deras följen till Rutheni som nämns i Kejsar Augustus strider på 100-talet.
Rurik kan dock vara av vikingarnas ursprung som assimilerats i rutenska samhället. Hans urpsrung sägs då vara i Rugen. Det kan vara dit som Augustus Rutheni vandrade först och senare spridits till Ukrajina där de bosatte sig för gott.
Det första, enligt Nestorskrönikan, anfallet på Aldegjuborg, dvs Staraja Ladoga, i sjäva verket skett i samband med ett krigståg som leddes av kungen själv, alltså Rurik.
100
Det är i första hand mot dessa östliga trakter som ett av de typiska skandinaviska föremål som brukar hittas i den östslaviska jorden pekar - torshammarrigen. Det är en järnring av en halsrings storlek med påträdda små amuletter av samma material i form av torshammare och små ringar eller spiraler. Den förekommer särskilt ofta i gravarna i östra Uppland, på Södertörn och även på Åland, men man finner den också i Ladogatrakten och längs flodvägarna bort mot Dnipro och Volga, fjärran från de steniga enebackarna i det gamla Svitjud/Svitjod.
110
Kanske var det i samband med anfallet mot kurerna som några hövdingar begav sig längre mot nordost, in i Finska viken och mot trakterna runt Ladoga - tidpunkten överensstämmer ganska väl med Nestorskrönikans uppgifter om de tributkrävande främlingarna från andra sidan havet.
141
Namnet Uppland är känt först från tiden för Upplandslagens tillkomst vid slutet av 1200-talet. Dessförinnan bestod landskapet av de tre så kallade folkland som figurerat tidigare i denna bok - Attundaland, Tiundaland och Fjädrundaland - samt kustområdet Roden.
168
Men vart tog då vägen Ragnvald Jarl och hans ättlingar vägen när Olof tog kontrollen över landskapet och grundade ett biskopsdöme i deras huvudort Skara? Jo, de försvinner ur traditionen strax efter att Ragnvald mäklat fred mellan svear och norrmän och förmedlat äktenskapet mellan Olaf Haraldsson och Olof Skötkonungs frillodotter Astrid. Följd av sveakungens hotelser ledsagade Ragnvald då kungadottern Ingegärd till Gårdarike, där hon skulle förmälas med den rutenske fursten Jaroslav, säger Snorre. Där fick Ragnvald ett nytt jarldöme i staden Staraja Ladoga, sagornas Aldeigjuborg, och där dyker också hans son Eiliv upp i den rutenske furstens trupper ett par decennier senare.
188
Under de närmast följande decennierna fram till 1000-talets mitt fanns möjligheterna i stället österut, där de rutenska furstarna förde ständiga strider såväl inbördes som mot aggressiva nomadfolk och till och med mot den östromerske kejsaren, den mäktigaste härskaren av alla.
Den enda större grupp runinskrifter som kan knytas till en enskild expedition är de stenar som är resta på 1040-talet efter män som dött österut med hövdingen Ingvar, ihågkommen också i den isländska traditionen med tillnamnet "den vittfarne". Spåren efter honom och hans män kan troligen följas till Gårdarike och vidare till Georgien och trakterna kring Kaspiska Havet, på runstenarna kallade Särkland, "saracenernas land".
Varför skulle sveakungen, vid denna tid Olof Skötkonungs son Anund Jakob, organisera ett stort uppbåd för en färd till Gårdarike? Svaret ligger troligen i hans svågerskap med den rutenske fursten Jaroslav, som var gift med Anunds syster Ingegärd. Fursten låg vid tiden för Ingvars avfärd i krig med petjenegerna, ett stäppfolk som också hotade handelsvägarna mot Svarta havet och därmed förbindelserna med Konstantinopel. Både den ättegemenskapen och svearnas strävan efter att upprätthålla förbindelserna med kejsarstaden - tydligt märkbara i Sigtuna - kan därför ha varit skäl för att sända en flotta till Jaroslavs hjälp. Efter ett blodigt slag vid Kyiv, där Jaroslav placerat sina skandinaviska krigare mitt i slaglinjen, lyckades han besegra petjenegerna och driva bort dem från sitt område. Varför Ingvar och många av hans män därefter fortsatte till Svarta havet och vidare österut genom Transkaukasien är höljt i dunkel, och vi kommer nog aldrig att få något säkert svar på frågan. Kanske var det ett led i Jaroslavs krig mot kejsaren i Konstantinopel. Ryktet om att svearna vid denna tid utsänt en ödesdiger expedition mot avlägsna länder nådde också Adam av Bremen. Han inte sen att använda det som ett exempel på hur gud straffat sveakungen Emund, halvbror och efterföljare till Anund Jakob. Kungen hade nämligen begått brottet att avvisa biskop Adalvard den äldre och andra sändebud från kyrkan i Bremen, förklarar kyrkomannen. När Emund sedan sände sin son Anund till Skytien omkom denne därför med hela sin här efter att amasonerna givit dem förgiftat vatten.
En av de män som blev borta med Ingvar hette Banke eller Bagge. Hans runsten sitter nu inmurad i vapenhuset i Svinnegarns kyrka i Uppland.
Isländska sagorna berättar hur Ingvar den vittfarne attackerades av vikingar på sin färd mot Särkland. Detta hindrar dock inte att begreppet "vikingatiden" nog ändå är en lämplig sammanfattande beteckning för forntidens slutskede - "drängtiden" skulle inte låts lika bra.
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Religiösa och rättsliga hövdingarna kallades godar. Deras ämbeten kallades godord, och kunde såväl ärvas som köpas och säljas utan tingsmännens medgivande, och de kunde också innehas av flera personer gemensamt.
Historiebloggen: Smältdeglars härskare och Jerusalems tillskyndare, Anna Hed Jakobsson, 2003, Elanders Gotad, ISBN:9162857800
Historiebloggens bokrecension: Smältdeglars härskare och Jerusalems tillskyndare, Anna Hed Jakobsson, 2003, Elanders Gotad, ISBN:9162857800
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Sedan 1800-talet har man antagit att namnet Gårdarike, Garðaríki, som används i den isländska litteraturen, betydde "landet med städerna, stadslandet". Garðar, vilket är det namn som finns på runstenarna, skulle ha syftat på de städer som fanns längs vägen mot Bysans: Novgorod (HolmGarðr), Kyiv (Kœnugarðr) och Konstantinopel (MiklaGarðr). Ett annat förslag är att beteckningen kommer av det fornslaviska ordet för stad, grad. Om så, var namnet förmodligen adekvat när de medeltida sagorna nedtecknades. Det förutsätter emellertid att beteckningen Gardariki knappast är äldre än från sent 900-tal, eftersom det tidigare inte fanns några städer i Rus, förutom Kyiv.
Man brukar dock anta att namnet är äldre. Därför har det föreslagits att namnet Gardar ursprungligen avletts från en bestämd ort, som måste ha varit Könugård, alltså Kyiv.
Ord som gipta och gefa uppträder huvudsakligen i kristen kontext.
159
På en runsten, Öl58, beskrivs den omtalade sonen Smid, som dreng godan. I detta område förefaller god signalera en berömvärd lojalitet gentemot en överordnad, och dreng torde beteckna en yngre, ogift man, eventuellt en krigare, med full rättskapacitet (Sawyer 1991:53f; Herschend 1998:58, 72, 131). Hans bror har dessutom haft en viktig position i Gårdarike och kanske har han ägt en gård där.
170
Jättinnans namn i Skirnismal, Gerd är en avledning av gardr som betyder gärde eller inhägnad.
195
Rimberts målande beskrivning av Birka som en port eller passage in till svearnas rike, ad portum regni (VA 11). Portus brukar översättas med hamn.
264
Gårdsnamnen verkar ha varit knutna till avgränsade platser, medan bynamnen mera söker fånga boendet och/eller tillhörigheten till en plats. Detta stämmer bra etymologiskt sett. Inget av dessa namn kan emellertid knytas exklusivt till någon viss typ av bebyggelse, som ensamliggande gård, by, tätort eller stad. En gemensam nämnare för dessa är att de präglas av en omfattande hantverksproduktion.
Läs mer på www.Historiebloggen.nu
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Sedan 1800-talet har man antagit att namnet Gårdarike, Garðaríki, som används i den isländska litteraturen, betydde "landet med städerna, stadslandet". Garðar, vilket är det namn som finns på runstenarna, skulle ha syftat på de städer som fanns längs vägen mot Bysans: Novgorod (HolmGarðr), Kyiv (Kœnugarðr) och Konstantinopel (MiklaGarðr). Ett annat förslag är att beteckningen kommer av det fornslaviska ordet för stad, grad. Om så, var namnet förmodligen adekvat när de medeltida sagorna nedtecknades. Det förutsätter emellertid att beteckningen Gardariki knappast är äldre än från sent 900-tal, eftersom det tidigare inte fanns några städer i Rus, förutom Kyiv.
Man brukar dock anta att namnet är äldre. Därför har det föreslagits att namnet Gardar ursprungligen avletts från en bestämd ort, som måste ha varit Könugård, alltså Kyiv.
...
I sammanhanget intressant är Adams förklaring att Kyiv av "de vilda danerna" kallas Ostrogard, "...därför att det ligger österut och som en vattnad trädgård överflödar av alla goda ting" (Adam IV, skolie 120, övers. Svenberg 1984:248). Det tycks ha varit vanligt att associera det inhägnade med fruktbarhet, som också bäkraftar att med Gardar menade man Kyiv. För detta finns även belägg i Nestorskrönikan, där det meddelas att staden överflödade av rikedomar och flärd.
Miklagård ansågs vara Bysans, eller åtminstone den staden som representerade Bysans. Konstantinopel kallades till och med Byzantium. Och eftersom det fanns ett rike i öster, nämligen Kyivriket, så drar vi slutsatsen att Gårdarike är Kyivriket, dvs dagens Ukrajina.
...
Alla dessa beteckningar urbs, oppidum, civitas och metropolis, brukar översättas med stad. Det ord Adam använder mest var civitas, som tycks hos Adam beteckna den kristna gemenskapen snarare än en bestämd plats. Ett missionerande biskopssäte i en för övrigt hednisk omgivning. Exempelvis beskriver Adam Uppsala som ett centrum för svearna, men denna lokal betecknas inte civitas utan templum (Adam IV:26). När det gäller både Rimberts och Adams berättelser om Birka noteras dock att båda fäster avseende vid platsens avgränsade karaktär.
Större orter och städer benämndes borgar och gårdar och man kan undra hur associationerna har löpt. Uppenbarligen kunde bregreppet gård täcka ett vitt spektrum av platser, från de mytiska Asgård och Midgård över den stora staden Miklagård till den egna boplatsen.
Ordet gård kommer av garðr (fvn), garder (fsv), som betyder gärde, hägnad, inhägnat område, den odlade marken (Fritzner 1886:561ff; Hovda 1960:sp. 191f; Granlund 1960:sp. 621). Det finns 15 belägg för gård i hela runstensmaterialet (bortsett från medeltida former och personnamn, jfr Varenius 1998:106). Av dessa syftar 8 på Gårdarike, 3 på Holmgård och 1 (ett) på Midgård. Av de övriga är 1 (ett) ortnamnet Gårdstånga (Sm52) och 1 (ett) "gård" finns på en skadad gotländsk runsten (G207). Ytterligare ett belägg finns på runstenen U170, som är något av ett specialfall eftersom den omtalar en kyrkogård. Eftersom 3 belägg syftar på Holmgård och hela 8 på Gårdarike, så är det ett starkt bevis på att Gårdarike är Kyiv, dvs Könugård som var större, mäktigare och rikare än Holmgård.
Varken Gårdarike, Holmgård eller Midgård kan uppfattas som vilka gårdar som helst. Även Gårdstånga i Skåne var en speciell plats, troligen kungalev och uppbördscentrum för ett härad, skapat omkring år 1000 (Söderberg 1994:70f; jfr Andrén 1983). Uppgifter hos Saxo Grammaticus och på runstenen Sm52 från tidigt 1000-tal (med inskriften "Rolf och Eskil reste denna sten efter Livsten, sin fader, som blev död i Skåne vid Gårdstånga, och förde (honom) till Finnveden") har tolkats som att ett betydelsefullt slag har hållits i Gårdstånga (Kinnander 1935-61:160 med ref.). Byn ligger strategiskt där vägen förband sydvästra Skåne med de nordöstra delarna passerade Kävlingeån, som kan ha fungerat som en gräns. Även denna Stång var under medeltiden kungsgård, och säregna fornlämningar (Helander & Zetterberg 1995; Helander 1998a, b), tyder på att platsen länge varit betydelsefull.
Runstensbeläggen för ordet gård syftar alltså oftast på tämligen speciella bebyggelser. Till de nämnda kan också det fornvästnordiska namnet på Lejre fogas: Hleid(r)argardr (KL art. Lejre). Enligt Fitzner var borg och gård synonymt, och Konstantinopel kunde också kallas Mikla borg (Fitzner 1886:560). Ett ytterligare prov på denna innebörd hos namn på -gård kan vara det namn som den öländska befästa byn eller borgen Eketorp tros ha haft i äldre tid, Gräsgård. Äldsta belägget är från 1279 (gresgard), men namnet kan vara ursprungligt. Sannolikt har gård i efterledet syftat på den iögonfallande borgmur som rest sig över det platta Alvaret.
Gård tycks alltså i första hand ha använts om avgränsade platser, och ibland har det syftat på själva gränsen (jfr Fitzner 1886:559ff). Det är förstås i denna betydelse begreppet används i kirkjugardi (U170). Ännu i medeltida Västgötalagarna användes ordet garder först och främst i sin ursprungliga betydelse hägnad, gärdsgård snarare än om bebyggelse (Pellijeff 1967:86). Detta orsakade Ingemar Olsson probelm, när han ville ge det gotländska ortnamnet Stavgardar (stafgardr) betydelsen "plats med järnåldershusgrunder".
För gården användes under vikingatiden (runstenstid) hellre en annan beteckning: byr eller bo. Verbet boa betyder bland annat bebo, bo i.
I Ottars berättelse i kung Alfreds Orosius används verbet buan om fast bosättning, i kontrast till vad som verkar vara en nomadiserande tillvaro (för den senare används wician; Fell 1983:69). Verbformerna byggi, byggu, som förekommer i ett 20-tal runinskrifter, har utvecklats ur boa (Peterson 1993:173). I Norge anses gårdsnamn med suffixet -byr/bör/bär vara äldre än namn med suffixet -gard, som man räknar med började användas först under tidig- och högmedeltid. Etymologiskt sett förefaller det som om -bär, -byr främst betecknade gården som social enhet, snarare än gården som avgränsad yta (Brendalsmo 1994:17 med ref.).
Sammanfattningsvis har man under vikingatiden betecknat de vanliga boplatserna, gårdarna och byarna, med ordet by hellre än gård. En koppling mellan begreppet by, bo och ett existentiellt varande som människa förefaller sannolik. Möjligen har termen gård saknat den associationen. Istället verkar det som om platser betecknade med gård på ett eller annat sätt har haft egenskaper som förknippade dem med gränser. Det verkar dock inte som om de var reserverade för städer eller stadslika platser. By däremot, kunde i fornsvenskan användas såväl för en gård som för en större, koncentrerad bebyggelse. Både Ottar och Wulfstan kallar Hedeby Heðum, som är dat.plur. av Heda(r) (Lund 1983).
100
Utifrån det språkliga materialet går det att hävda att man under vikingatiden saknade ett särskilt begrepp för stad. Gårdsnamnen förefaller förknippas med gränser och avgränsningar, men av slag som inte behöver knytas till stadssamhällen. Då är det emellertid vi som konstituerar platserna som städer.
Städerna fungerade som en sorts kungsgårdar.
Det finns därför alltid utrymme för människor att omskapa historien till sin egen fördel (Giddens 1993/1976:117).
Järnålderns samhälle förefaller utifrån sådana handlingssätt ha varit vänt mot det förflutna - mot en föredömlig guldålder i viss mån - snarare än, som det kristna eller moderna samhället, inriktat mot en hoppets framtid som kunnat sporra till förändring och innovation. Myter, sagor och konst saknar därför referenser till historisk förändring.
106
Hantverksproduktionen under folkvandrings- och vikingatid bestod huvudsakligen av ting med prägel av lyx och överflöd. Det man producerar och handskas med är pälsvaror, glaspärlor, bärnsten, bronser, hornkammar, silver- och guldföremål, fina tyger med mera.
109
Begrepp som fvn. konungr, höfdingi, jarl, godi, visi med flera, förefaller ha kunnat regera över såväl lokala områden som större territorium, kanske som "överkungar" (Sawyer 1991:9).
Dåtida Svetjud (svearnas område, dvs. delar av Uppland, Västmanland och Södermanland; Sundqvist 2002).
Maktens uttryck under yngre järnålder var präglat av religiösa föreställningar och praktiker. Uttryck för makt och uttryck för religion återfinns allt oftare på samma ställen. Bebyggelser brukar förknippas med maktinnehav och dominans.
112
Gåvor "eulogiae".
116
Exempel på källor som omtalar blotkulturen är Vellekla 15-18, Fagrskinna 16, Håkon den Godes saga 14-18 och Eyrbyggja saga 4.
I Ynglinga saga kap. 29 omtalas disarsalr och disablot i Uppsala. Blotet skulle hållas i Uppsala under goi.
Diserna, kvinnliga fruktbarhetsgudomligheter som tycks ha stått Freja nära (Ström 1985:192). Frey samlade alla sina skatter, rikedomar och lösöre (lönd ok lausan eyri).
Länge tog forskningen för givet att kungar och hövdingar ansångs besitta en särskild lycka eller kraft, i källskrifterna omtalad med begrepp som hamingja, gefa, heill eller auðna.
...
Miklagård ansågs vara Bysans, eller åtminstone den staden som representerade Bysans. Konstantinopel kallades till och med Byzantium. Och eftersom det fanns ett rike i öster, nämligen Kyivriket, så drar vi slutsatsen att Gårdarike är Kyivriket, dvs dagens Ukrajina.
...
Alla dessa beteckningar urbs, oppidum, civitas och metropolis, brukar översättas med stad. Det ord Adam använder mest var civitas, som tycks hos Adam beteckna den kristna gemenskapen snarare än en bestämd plats. Ett missionerande biskopssäte i en för övrigt hednisk omgivning. Exempelvis beskriver Adam Uppsala som ett centrum för svearna, men denna lokal betecknas inte civitas utan templum (Adam IV:26). När det gäller både Rimberts och Adams berättelser om Birka noteras dock att båda fäster avseende vid platsens avgränsade karaktär.
Större orter och städer benämndes borgar och gårdar och man kan undra hur associationerna har löpt. Uppenbarligen kunde bregreppet gård täcka ett vitt spektrum av platser, från de mytiska Asgård och Midgård över den stora staden Miklagård till den egna boplatsen.
Ordet gård kommer av garðr (fvn), garder (fsv), som betyder gärde, hägnad, inhägnat område, den odlade marken (Fritzner 1886:561ff; Hovda 1960:sp. 191f; Granlund 1960:sp. 621). Det finns 15 belägg för gård i hela runstensmaterialet (bortsett från medeltida former och personnamn, jfr Varenius 1998:106). Av dessa syftar 8 på Gårdarike, 3 på Holmgård och 1 (ett) på Midgård. Av de övriga är 1 (ett) ortnamnet Gårdstånga (Sm52) och 1 (ett) "gård" finns på en skadad gotländsk runsten (G207). Ytterligare ett belägg finns på runstenen U170, som är något av ett specialfall eftersom den omtalar en kyrkogård. Eftersom 3 belägg syftar på Holmgård och hela 8 på Gårdarike, så är det ett starkt bevis på att Gårdarike är Kyiv, dvs Könugård som var större, mäktigare och rikare än Holmgård.
Varken Gårdarike, Holmgård eller Midgård kan uppfattas som vilka gårdar som helst. Även Gårdstånga i Skåne var en speciell plats, troligen kungalev och uppbördscentrum för ett härad, skapat omkring år 1000 (Söderberg 1994:70f; jfr Andrén 1983). Uppgifter hos Saxo Grammaticus och på runstenen Sm52 från tidigt 1000-tal (med inskriften "Rolf och Eskil reste denna sten efter Livsten, sin fader, som blev död i Skåne vid Gårdstånga, och förde (honom) till Finnveden") har tolkats som att ett betydelsefullt slag har hållits i Gårdstånga (Kinnander 1935-61:160 med ref.). Byn ligger strategiskt där vägen förband sydvästra Skåne med de nordöstra delarna passerade Kävlingeån, som kan ha fungerat som en gräns. Även denna Stång var under medeltiden kungsgård, och säregna fornlämningar (Helander & Zetterberg 1995; Helander 1998a, b), tyder på att platsen länge varit betydelsefull.
Runstensbeläggen för ordet gård syftar alltså oftast på tämligen speciella bebyggelser. Till de nämnda kan också det fornvästnordiska namnet på Lejre fogas: Hleid(r)argardr (KL art. Lejre). Enligt Fitzner var borg och gård synonymt, och Konstantinopel kunde också kallas Mikla borg (Fitzner 1886:560). Ett ytterligare prov på denna innebörd hos namn på -gård kan vara det namn som den öländska befästa byn eller borgen Eketorp tros ha haft i äldre tid, Gräsgård. Äldsta belägget är från 1279 (gresgard), men namnet kan vara ursprungligt. Sannolikt har gård i efterledet syftat på den iögonfallande borgmur som rest sig över det platta Alvaret.
Gård tycks alltså i första hand ha använts om avgränsade platser, och ibland har det syftat på själva gränsen (jfr Fitzner 1886:559ff). Det är förstås i denna betydelse begreppet används i kirkjugardi (U170). Ännu i medeltida Västgötalagarna användes ordet garder först och främst i sin ursprungliga betydelse hägnad, gärdsgård snarare än om bebyggelse (Pellijeff 1967:86). Detta orsakade Ingemar Olsson probelm, när han ville ge det gotländska ortnamnet Stavgardar (stafgardr) betydelsen "plats med järnåldershusgrunder".
För gården användes under vikingatiden (runstenstid) hellre en annan beteckning: byr eller bo. Verbet boa betyder bland annat bebo, bo i.
I Ottars berättelse i kung Alfreds Orosius används verbet buan om fast bosättning, i kontrast till vad som verkar vara en nomadiserande tillvaro (för den senare används wician; Fell 1983:69). Verbformerna byggi, byggu, som förekommer i ett 20-tal runinskrifter, har utvecklats ur boa (Peterson 1993:173). I Norge anses gårdsnamn med suffixet -byr/bör/bär vara äldre än namn med suffixet -gard, som man räknar med började användas först under tidig- och högmedeltid. Etymologiskt sett förefaller det som om -bär, -byr främst betecknade gården som social enhet, snarare än gården som avgränsad yta (Brendalsmo 1994:17 med ref.).
Sammanfattningsvis har man under vikingatiden betecknat de vanliga boplatserna, gårdarna och byarna, med ordet by hellre än gård. En koppling mellan begreppet by, bo och ett existentiellt varande som människa förefaller sannolik. Möjligen har termen gård saknat den associationen. Istället verkar det som om platser betecknade med gård på ett eller annat sätt har haft egenskaper som förknippade dem med gränser. Det verkar dock inte som om de var reserverade för städer eller stadslika platser. By däremot, kunde i fornsvenskan användas såväl för en gård som för en större, koncentrerad bebyggelse. Både Ottar och Wulfstan kallar Hedeby Heðum, som är dat.plur. av Heda(r) (Lund 1983).
100
Utifrån det språkliga materialet går det att hävda att man under vikingatiden saknade ett särskilt begrepp för stad. Gårdsnamnen förefaller förknippas med gränser och avgränsningar, men av slag som inte behöver knytas till stadssamhällen. Då är det emellertid vi som konstituerar platserna som städer.
Städerna fungerade som en sorts kungsgårdar.
Det finns därför alltid utrymme för människor att omskapa historien till sin egen fördel (Giddens 1993/1976:117).
Järnålderns samhälle förefaller utifrån sådana handlingssätt ha varit vänt mot det förflutna - mot en föredömlig guldålder i viss mån - snarare än, som det kristna eller moderna samhället, inriktat mot en hoppets framtid som kunnat sporra till förändring och innovation. Myter, sagor och konst saknar därför referenser till historisk förändring.
106
Hantverksproduktionen under folkvandrings- och vikingatid bestod huvudsakligen av ting med prägel av lyx och överflöd. Det man producerar och handskas med är pälsvaror, glaspärlor, bärnsten, bronser, hornkammar, silver- och guldföremål, fina tyger med mera.
109
Begrepp som fvn. konungr, höfdingi, jarl, godi, visi med flera, förefaller ha kunnat regera över såväl lokala områden som större territorium, kanske som "överkungar" (Sawyer 1991:9).
Dåtida Svetjud (svearnas område, dvs. delar av Uppland, Västmanland och Södermanland; Sundqvist 2002).
Maktens uttryck under yngre järnålder var präglat av religiösa föreställningar och praktiker. Uttryck för makt och uttryck för religion återfinns allt oftare på samma ställen. Bebyggelser brukar förknippas med maktinnehav och dominans.
112
Gåvor "eulogiae".
116
Exempel på källor som omtalar blotkulturen är Vellekla 15-18, Fagrskinna 16, Håkon den Godes saga 14-18 och Eyrbyggja saga 4.
I Ynglinga saga kap. 29 omtalas disarsalr och disablot i Uppsala. Blotet skulle hållas i Uppsala under goi.
Diserna, kvinnliga fruktbarhetsgudomligheter som tycks ha stått Freja nära (Ström 1985:192). Frey samlade alla sina skatter, rikedomar och lösöre (lönd ok lausan eyri).
Länge tog forskningen för givet att kungar och hövdingar ansångs besitta en särskild lycka eller kraft, i källskrifterna omtalad med begrepp som hamingja, gefa, heill eller auðna.
Ord som gipta och gefa uppträder huvudsakligen i kristen kontext.
159
På en runsten, Öl58, beskrivs den omtalade sonen Smid, som dreng godan. I detta område förefaller god signalera en berömvärd lojalitet gentemot en överordnad, och dreng torde beteckna en yngre, ogift man, eventuellt en krigare, med full rättskapacitet (Sawyer 1991:53f; Herschend 1998:58, 72, 131). Hans bror har dessutom haft en viktig position i Gårdarike och kanske har han ägt en gård där.
170
Jättinnans namn i Skirnismal, Gerd är en avledning av gardr som betyder gärde eller inhägnad.
195
Rimberts målande beskrivning av Birka som en port eller passage in till svearnas rike, ad portum regni (VA 11). Portus brukar översättas med hamn.
264
Gårdsnamnen verkar ha varit knutna till avgränsade platser, medan bynamnen mera söker fånga boendet och/eller tillhörigheten till en plats. Detta stämmer bra etymologiskt sett. Inget av dessa namn kan emellertid knytas exklusivt till någon viss typ av bebyggelse, som ensamliggande gård, by, tätort eller stad. En gemensam nämnare för dessa är att de präglas av en omfattande hantverksproduktion.
Läs mer på www.Historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: Olha/Olgha of Kyiv
Selimir succeeded Illyria Budimir, baptized by Cyril.
Selimir not same as serbian ruler (?-679/680).
Bonfinio witness, and changed the name Suentopluk/Suetopelek (Svatopluk I of Moravia), gr. Sueropilus. Suetolik.
Svatopluk or Svatopolk I of Moravia, b.840-d.894.
Budmir, Bintmir.
Volhiniam in Lithuania.
Cumani or Polucci.
Stratimir
Rus in divided in 12 duchy.
Roxolaniam.
Gediminus ca 1300 occupauit Volhiniam & Kyouiam. Vilnam (Vilnius) founded 1305.
Sineus, Truborus, Ruricus. Bielozaranum, Pleskoviensem, Novogardiensem. Ruricus successor Igorus.
Igors wife, Olga, was the Pitzingos, who are Pazinace destroyed, baptized Helen in Constantinople.
He (Igor) was succeeded by Suentoslaus (Sviatoslav), Zonare Splendostablus. Which succeeded by Vlodimirus.
capta Kiovia Russiam Nigram, que hodia Ukraina dicitur.
Borysthenem, Dniper.
Lithuanorum.
Vitenes Samogita founded a new dynasty, and the Lithuanian tax aprons and gladly, and each year of the Duke of Kyiv. His successor, Gediminas, Rus'siam, which had been captured Kiovia made himself master of the Grand Duke and a title. He founded Vilnam (Vilnius).
Kioviam, Volyniam, Podolie, Podlachiam.
Bogdanus Chmelnicius Cosaccos & Russos Ukrainos. Zaporovianis
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
Selimir not same as serbian ruler (?-679/680).
Bonfinio witness, and changed the name Suentopluk/Suetopelek (Svatopluk I of Moravia), gr. Sueropilus. Suetolik.
Svatopluk or Svatopolk I of Moravia, b.840-d.894.
Budmir, Bintmir.
Volhiniam in Lithuania.
Cumani or Polucci.
Stratimir
Rus in divided in 12 duchy.
Roxolaniam.
Gediminus ca 1300 occupauit Volhiniam & Kyouiam. Vilnam (Vilnius) founded 1305.
Sineus, Truborus, Ruricus. Bielozaranum, Pleskoviensem, Novogardiensem. Ruricus successor Igorus.
Igors wife, Olga, was the Pitzingos, who are Pazinace destroyed, baptized Helen in Constantinople.
He (Igor) was succeeded by Suentoslaus (Sviatoslav), Zonare Splendostablus. Which succeeded by Vlodimirus.
capta Kiovia Russiam Nigram, que hodia Ukraina dicitur.
Borysthenem, Dniper.
Lithuanorum.
Vitenes Samogita founded a new dynasty, and the Lithuanian tax aprons and gladly, and each year of the Duke of Kyiv. His successor, Gediminas, Rus'siam, which had been captured Kiovia made himself master of the Grand Duke and a title. He founded Vilnam (Vilnius).
Kioviam, Volyniam, Podolie, Podlachiam.
Bogdanus Chmelnicius Cosaccos & Russos Ukrainos. Zaporovianis
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: Historien om Hamburgstiftet och dess biskopar, Adam av Bremen, 1984, Propius, ISBN:9171184473
Historiebloggens bokrecension: Historien om Hamburgstiftet och dess biskopar, Adam av Bremen, 1984, Propius, ISBN:9171184473
Första boken, kapitel 26
120. Ukrajina kallas av de vilda danerna Ostrogard, därför att det ligger österut och som en vattnad trädgård överflödar av alla goda ting. Den kallas också Hungard, emedan hunnernas boplats ursprungligen låg där. Ostrogard står här som namnet på Ukrajina, medan det i huvudtexten står som namn för ett samhälle i Ukrajina. Skoliet syftar uppenbarligen till att förklara själva namnet för latinska läsare: Ostro = öster, in oriente. Benämningen Chunigard förekommer hos historieskrivaren Helmold i Chronica Slavorum.
122. Horatius prisar dessa folk i sina lyriska dikter på följande sätt: "Skyterna på sin stäpp och geterna i sitt kalla land, vilka enligt gammal sed på kärror släpar med sig sina flyttbara hus, lever bättre. Dygden är det viktigaste arvet från föräldrar till barn. Att synda är en skam, eller är också döden dess belöning." Ännu i dag lever turkarna, som bor nära ukrajinarna, på detta sätt, så också övriga skytiska folk. Den tillfogade kommentaren om folk vid namn Turci anses av några forskare samma som Taurica, ett namn för Krim.
123. När sveonernas kung Emund hade sänt sin son Anund till Skytien för att utvidga sitt välde, kom denne sjövägen fram till Kvinnolandet.
126. Man kan segla från danernas Skåne till Birka på fem dagar. På samma sätt tar det fem dagar att segla från Birka till Rus(?).
193. Latinet har Ostrogard. Sannolikt avser Adam Ukrajina.
213. Adam använder beteckningen askomanner för de sjöfarande bönder och bondesöner som vi kallar vikingar. Enda gången Adam använder termen Wichingi och förklarar att folket använder detta namn på sig självt. Han kallar dem vanligen piratae, dvs sjörövare. Enligt Annales Hildesheimenses inföll sjörövaranfallet 994.
229. Här introducerar Adam Olof Eriksson Skötkonung, som var kung i Sverige från ca 994- ca 1022. Genom sin dotters gifte hade han kontakter med Jaroslav den helige av Kyiv 1015/19-1054.
252. Här åberopas Cassiodorus, Historia ecclesiastica tripartita, IX, 47, där Scitia har annan mening än i övrigt hos Adam.
363. Här avses Harald Hårdråde, halvbror till Olav Haraldsson, som efter tjänstgöring hos Jaroslav I i Ukrajina och insatser i väringagardet i Konstantinopel blev kung i Norge från 1047 till 1066.
451. Bela härskade i Ungern 1060-1063, efter att ha fördrivit Salomon; med Adalberts hjälp blev denne återinsatt och regerade därefter 1063-1074 äver Ungern.
616. Latinet har också här Ostrogard, vilket enstämmigt tolkas som Kyiv/Ukrajina, ett samhälle med tillhörande maktområde.
665. På latin Westragothia i ett ord. Adam förklarar det med occidentalis, västlig.
666. På latin Ostrogothia, i en handskriftsgrupp Astrogothia, varvid "Ostro" motsvarar latinets orientalis, östlig.
678. Väderstrecksbegreppen måste tolkas med hjälp av Adams avsikt, så att occidens blir väst, boreas nord, auster syd och oriens öst.
738. Som i Östersjön benämns här ett större landskap "ö".
Första boken, kapitel 26
Om jag inte tar fel tycks här Hesekiels profetia om Gog och Magog ha gått i tydlig uppfyllelse. Men när jag betänker att goternas folk härskade i sveonernas land och att hela detta område överallt är fördelat på öar, tror jag att profetian kan tillämpas på dem.
Första boken, kapitel 37
Det finns också bland danerna och nordmännen andra kungar, som vid denna tid härjade i Gallien genom sjöröveri. De främsta av dessa vilda hövdingar var Horich, Ordwig, Gottfrid, Rudolf och Ingvar. Den allra grymmaste var Ingvar, Ragnar Lodbrokes son, som överallt lät döda de kristna under tortyr.
Första boken, kapitel 62
Efter att ha kämpat den goda kampen och fullbordat loppet dog han i Skytien, som det står skrivet, i Herrens år 936, i den nionde indikationen, i mitten av september.
Andra boken, kapitel 5
Hela det hedniska folket blev döpt, och kyrkor byggdes nu för första gången i slavernas land.
Andra boken, kapitel 18
Sachsens gräns löper sedan utmed denna ända till den Skytiska havsbukten och det hav man kallar Östersjön.
Andra boken, kapitel 19
Men den södra stranden bebos av slaver och andra folk, bland vilka särskilt märkes Wilzerna, som kungen då förde krig mot.
Andra boken, kapitel 21
Slavernas land, som är Tysklands största landskap, bebos alltså av Vinulerna, som förr kallades vandaler. Polanerna bor på andra sidan Oder/Odra. Det finns många slaviska stammar. De första av dessa är wagrierna, som i väster gränsar till nordalbingerna....
Andra boken, kapitel 26
Han namngav också denna tids fursta: Mistislaw, Nakko och Sederich.
Andra boken, kapitel 39
Sveonernas kung var ivrig kristen och tog en slavisk flicka vid namn Estrid, av obodriternas stam, till gemål. Hon födde honom Jacob och dottern Ingegerd, som den fromme kungen i Kyiv Jaroslav den Vise tog till äkta.
Andra boken, kapitel 53
Aethelreds broder, den stridslystne Emund, undanröjdes med gift, och hans söner dömdes att gå i landsflykt till Ukrajina/Rutenien.
Andra boken, kapitel 66
Dessas furstar Gnew och Anatrog var hedningar. Den tredje, Udo, som var son till Mistiwoj, var en dålig kristen.
Andra boken, kapitel 71
De slaviska furstarna Anatrog, Gnew och Ratibor kom fredligt till Hamburg och gjorde krigstjänst under hertigen och ärkebiskopen.
Tredje boken, kapitel 13
En viss Harald Hårdråde Ruthless, broder till kungen och martyren Olav, hade, medan hans broder ännu levde, lämnat sitt fosterland och gått i landsflykt till Konstantinopel. Där tog han värvning hos kejsaren och deltog i många strider, till havs mot saracenerna och till lands mot skyterna.
Tredje boken, kapitel 19
Under hans farfar Mistiwoj hade återfallit i hedendom.
Tredje boken, kapitel 20
Alla de slaviska stammar, som lyder under Hamburgerstiftet, bekände alltså hängivet den kristna tron under denna furste, dvs wagrier, obodriter, rereger, polaber, och likaså linoner, warnaber, kizziner, och circipaner, ända till floden Panis, som i vår kyrkas urkunder heter Peene.
Skolier
14. Skoliet ser polanerna som omgivna av pruzzer till vänster och böhmare till höger, samt ukrajinare "rakt fram". Det motsvarar en kartbild, där öster är uppåt, eftersom "till vänster" måste vara "norr om polanerna", "till höger", "söder om polanerna", för att ukrajinarna anges bo öster om polanerna.
14. Skoliet ser polanerna som omgivna av pruzzer till vänster och böhmare till höger, samt ukrajinare "rakt fram". Det motsvarar en kartbild, där öster är uppåt, eftersom "till vänster" måste vara "norr om polanerna", "till höger", "söder om polanerna", för att ukrajinarna anges bo öster om polanerna.
62. När Harald hade återvänt från Grekland, förmälde han sig med en dotter (Ellisif/Elisabeth) till kung Jaroslav i Ukrajina. En syster (Anastasia) till henne blev gift med Andreas (kung av Ungern 1046-1060), ungrarnas kung, och hon födde sonen Salomon (kung av Ungern 1060-1063). En tredje syster (Anna) äktades av Henrik I, frankernas kung, och födde åt honom Filip I (fransk kung 1060-1108).
68. Adam återgriper här på föreställningar hos Goternas hävdatecknare Jordanes från 500-talet i De origine actibusque Getarum om Scandza som goternas urhem. Jordanes skriver både geti och gothi, när han återger benämningen på sitt folk.
68. Adam återgriper här på föreställningar hos Goternas hävdatecknare Jordanes från 500-talet i De origine actibusque Getarum om Scandza som goternas urhem. Jordanes skriver både geti och gothi, när han återger benämningen på sitt folk.
84. När Halsten snart hade blivit fördriven, tillkallades Anund från Ukrajina. Om nämnde Olav är Olav Kyrre, skulle innebörden vara att Hakon ingått äktenskap med Harald Hårdrådes änka Ellisif/Elisabeth av Kyiv.
120. Ukrajina kallas av de vilda danerna Ostrogard, därför att det ligger österut och som en vattnad trädgård överflödar av alla goda ting. Den kallas också Hungard, emedan hunnernas boplats ursprungligen låg där. Ostrogard står här som namnet på Ukrajina, medan det i huvudtexten står som namn för ett samhälle i Ukrajina. Skoliet syftar uppenbarligen till att förklara själva namnet för latinska läsare: Ostro = öster, in oriente. Benämningen Chunigard förekommer hos historieskrivaren Helmold i Chronica Slavorum.
122. Horatius prisar dessa folk i sina lyriska dikter på följande sätt: "Skyterna på sin stäpp och geterna i sitt kalla land, vilka enligt gammal sed på kärror släpar med sig sina flyttbara hus, lever bättre. Dygden är det viktigaste arvet från föräldrar till barn. Att synda är en skam, eller är också döden dess belöning." Ännu i dag lever turkarna, som bor nära ukrajinarna, på detta sätt, så också övriga skytiska folk. Den tillfogade kommentaren om folk vid namn Turci anses av några forskare samma som Taurica, ett namn för Krim.
123. När sveonernas kung Emund hade sänt sin son Anund till Skytien för att utvidga sitt välde, kom denne sjövägen fram till Kvinnolandet.
126. Man kan segla från danernas Skåne till Birka på fem dagar. På samma sätt tar det fem dagar att segla från Birka till Rus(?).
193. Latinet har Ostrogard. Sannolikt avser Adam Ukrajina.
213. Adam använder beteckningen askomanner för de sjöfarande bönder och bondesöner som vi kallar vikingar. Enda gången Adam använder termen Wichingi och förklarar att folket använder detta namn på sig självt. Han kallar dem vanligen piratae, dvs sjörövare. Enligt Annales Hildesheimenses inföll sjörövaranfallet 994.
229. Här introducerar Adam Olof Eriksson Skötkonung, som var kung i Sverige från ca 994- ca 1022. Genom sin dotters gifte hade han kontakter med Jaroslav den helige av Kyiv 1015/19-1054.
252. Här åberopas Cassiodorus, Historia ecclesiastica tripartita, IX, 47, där Scitia har annan mening än i övrigt hos Adam.
363. Här avses Harald Hårdråde, halvbror till Olav Haraldsson, som efter tjänstgöring hos Jaroslav I i Ukrajina och insatser i väringagardet i Konstantinopel blev kung i Norge från 1047 till 1066.
451. Bela härskade i Ungern 1060-1063, efter att ha fördrivit Salomon; med Adalberts hjälp blev denne återinsatt och regerade därefter 1063-1074 äver Ungern.
616. Latinet har också här Ostrogard, vilket enstämmigt tolkas som Kyiv/Ukrajina, ett samhälle med tillhörande maktområde.
665. På latin Westragothia i ett ord. Adam förklarar det med occidentalis, västlig.
666. På latin Ostrogothia, i en handskriftsgrupp Astrogothia, varvid "Ostro" motsvarar latinets orientalis, östlig.
678. Väderstrecksbegreppen måste tolkas med hjälp av Adams avsikt, så att occidens blir väst, boreas nord, auster syd och oriens öst.
738. Som i Östersjön benämns här ett större landskap "ö".
Noteringar
Arusiam = Århus. In ulmo insula - på ön Holm. Sembland. Matianus. Frankernas historia. Boleslaw förde krig mot Ukrajina/Rutenien år 1013 och 1018.
Läs mer på www.Historiebloggen.nu
Läs mer på www.Historiebloggen.nu
Historiebloggen: The Vikings, Magnus Magnusson, 2000, Tempus, ISBN:0752417983,9780752417981
Historiebloggens bokrecension: The Vikings av Magnus Magnusson (2000), Tempus, ISBN:0752417983,9780752417981
9
They penetrated the depths of Ukraine, founding city-states like Kyiv, testing slavonic trade routes along formidabler rivers like the Dnipro, opening up the route to Asia to exploit the exotic markets of Persia and China.
The orb of the world, which mankind inhabits, is riven by many fjords, so that great seas run into the land from the Outer Ocean. Thus, it is known that a great sea goes in through Nörvasund (Straits of Gibraltar) all the way to the land of Jerusalem. From that same sea a long bight stretches towards the north-east, called the Black Sea, which divides the three continents of the earth, to the east lies Asia, to the west lies Europe (which some call Aeneas-land), but to the north of the Black Sea lies Ruthenia (Ukraine)...
From the range of mountains which lie to the north beyond the edge of human habitation, there runs a river properly called the Tanais (Don), which flows into the Black Sea. In Asia to the east of the Tanais there was a land called Asaland or Asaheimur (Land of the AEsir); its chief city was called Asgardur (Home of the AEsir). That city was ruled by a chieftan named Odin, and it was a great centre for sacrifices...
Thor was the Lord Protector of the Universe, guarding the world with his mighty hammer Mjöllnir against the menace of the Giants (Peoples of Giants in 6th century near Kyiv and river Dnipro).
18
After death, the ship was supposed to carry the dead man to the afterworld, either as a funeral pyre as described by the arab traveller Ibn Fadlan in 922.
21
Viking religion, the Asatru (Belief in the AEsir).
29
Red and white woven cloth (vadmal). A four-oared sailing dinghy (faering).
69
Throughout the viking age, one historic island can claim to have been the true centre of the viking world - the Baltic island of Gotland, off the east coast of Sweden. Although it is now a province of Sweden, it has always prided itself on its independence of view and action. Gotland lay at the crossroads of the world; it was the trade cruciable of the Baltic, the entrepot of east-west commerce.
A little whetstone was found in Gotland on the farm of Timans in the parish of Roma, dating from the late 10th century. It has a brief runic inscription scratched on it. It was not meant to be momentous message for posterity - frankly, it was just a doodle done in an idle moment; but what is says is momentous enough: "Ormiga: Ulfuair: krikiaR: iaursaliR: islat: serklat." Transliterated, it reads: "Ormiga, Ulfar: Greece, Jerusalem, Iceland, Serkland." Which means, in effect, "Ormiga and Ulfar have been to Greece (the Byzantine Empire), to Jerusalem, to Iceland, and to the land of the Saracens (probably Baghdad).
72
In the Historical Museum in Visby there is a beautifully ornamented bronze wind-vane for a ship's mast, dated to around 1000, and decorated with a writhing serpent in what the Norwgians call the Ringerike style; and a lion stands on the top edge.
There is some archeological evidence that Visby itself dates back to a 10th century Viking Age settlement, flanked to north and south by two satellite settlements at Gustavsvik and Kopparsvik whose grave-fields have been extensively excavated; and, more recently, indications of a port or lagoon-haven have been recognised at Pavik, near Västergarn on the west coast, and at Bogevik, near Slite, on the east coast.
75
Anundshög, just outside Västerås. This Anund has been associated with a shadowy King Braut-Önund. Not yet been excavated.
80
A memorial stone at a bridge at Broby (Bridge Farm) in Täby on the Viking Road was ercted as part of a set in memory of a farmer named Östen by his wife Estrid: Es sotti IorsaliR ok andathis uppi i Grikkium - "He visited Jerusalem and died out in Greece".
Another stone was found at Pilsgård, on the island of Gotland, in association with the harbour-lagoon at Bogevik, near Slite. The runes are now blurred, but it is a memorial stone erected by four brothers in memory of a fifth brother, Hrafh, who had died far away in Ukraine: "Hegbjörn and his brothers Rödvisl, Östen and Amund had this stone painted in colours and erected; they have also raised stones for Hrafn south of Rufstein. They went far into Aifur."
"They went far into Aifur". The significance of that sentence is that "Aifur" was the Norse name given to one of the frightening cataracts of the river Dnipro in Ukraine, where boats had either to shoot the rapids or be dragged overland to bypass them. It is a vivid glimpse of a family of five Gotland brothers on the make, carrying iron and furs and slaves, no doubt, to the markets of the East where they could exchange them for Arabic silver to be banked in buried caches at home on Gotland. One of them, Hrafn, died in the boulder-strewn torrents of the Dnipro; and the Pilsgård Stone immortalises not just him but the whole opening-up of the vast Ukrainian hinterland by those Viking merchant adventurers fron Gotland.
Ibn Fadlan wrote an account of his mission, called a Risala, in which he described his contacts with a tribe of armed merchants called Rus/Rutheni. One of the ceremonies Ibn Fadlan witnessed at first was a ship-cremation of a rich and important member of the tribe, which was proceeded by some gruesome rituals of sacrifice for which no parallels can be found in viking literature.
Archeologists tend to argue that vikings effect on what was fundamentally a Slav state, Ruthenia, which had been in existence for centuries before Scandinavian traders penetradeted Ukraine, was negligible.
The present inhabitants of Novgorod are descended from the varangian race, but earlier they were Slavs.
In the sagas, Ukraine was known as "Greater Sweden".
A confederation of tribes hade formed in the 6th century in the area of the middle Dnipro, and one of the eastern Chronicles mentions a "People of Giants". This "People of Giants" formed, so to speak, the nucleus of the future Kyiv state.
Vikings were attracted by the glamour of the Kyiv state, because the Kyiv state traded actively with Constantinople (Byzantium, Byzantine Empire). If they (vikings) wanted to join the trade convoys down the Dnipro to the Black Sea and Constantinople they had to apply for permission from the authorities in Kyiv. Permission to join these convoys from Kyiv depended entirely on the ruler of Kyiv at the time.
It is in the Hermitage that the classic conflict between hazy saga evidence and hard archeological fact begins to resolve itself. There is a cornucopia of viking finds to be seen in the Hermitage: a rune-stick (runakefl) like the Bergen stick. It has been dated to the first half of the 9th century.
In the icelandic sagas Staraja ladoga was called Aldeigjuborg, and is frequently mentioned as a target for attack or a convienent staging post on the way to Kyiv or Kyivan Rus.
There is no doubt that Staraja Ladoga was originally a Slav settlement, founded by some finno-ugrian tribe in the middle of the 8th century - a century before any traces of a viking presence. The earliest layers of house remains are non-Scandinavian, and dr.Anatoly Kirpichnikov of Leningrad thought they were built by southern Slav peoples moving northwards from the Novgorod area to develop trade with the Baltic. Staraja Ladoga provided easy access to the Gulf of Finland along the river Neva.
The vikings were simply immigrants who wanted to move in on Staraya Ladoga's growing prosperity; they came there, according to the archeological record, in the middle of the 9th century. Dr. Kirpichnikov thought that the legend of the calling-in of Rurik and his brothers might well have a kernel of historical truth, except that the settlement was not actually founded by Rurik.
Staraya Ladoga is the only early settlement in Eastern lands, which has a distinct viking cemetery; its dated to the second half of the century. This thesis is borne out by excavations at the 15th-century-fortress of Staraya Ladoga, which dr. Kirpichnikov himself carried out from 1972-6. He discovered that there were two earlier sets of walls underlying the present walls, and that the earliest dated back to the viking period of the late 9th century. The site has now been handsomely restored, and there are replicas of the major finds in an excellent little local museum. But although the building of the first walls corresponds roughly with the date of Rurik's alleged arrival, the finds of pottery and weaponry and jewellery associated with it are decidedly not Scandinavian - they are all Slav/Slavonic.
The stone fort at Staraya Ladoga was built by Rurik's successor, a man with the hybrid viking-slav name of count Oleg. By this time, however, the scandinavians in staraya ladoga had become almost completely Slavicised themselves - hence the lack of any specifically viking artefacts.
Excavations at Gnizdovo near Smolensk, with its 5000 burial mounds, show that many of the artefacts are of a hybrid culture; the proportion of "pure" scandinavian objects is very small. The number of scandinavian graves in the cemeteries constitutes only about 5%.
Overall, however, Anne Stalsberg's conclusions were very close to the position of most leading scholars: that the grave goods and other finds are evidence of normally peaceful relations between the viking incomers and the native population of Slavs. She found no evidence of scandinavians as invaders who created a state where there had been none before, and their (vikings') role in this was probably not as critical as the later literary sources would suggest.
The archaeological evidence from Novgorod, the second city said to have been founded by Rurik, is less clear-cut than that of Staraya Ladoga, but it may well have followed a similar pattern of Slav settlement and temporary viking takeover.
88
Traders would congregate in Kyiv in June, having waited for the spring floods to start to subside, and then set sail in huge convoys to face the perils of the voyage together. We cad read about these cataracts in a book titled De Administrando Imperio, written around 950 by no less a person than the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. The emperor gave the names by which the individual cataracts were known: Essupi (Gulper), Gelandri (Yeller), Leanti (Seether), Strukun (Courser) and Aifur (Ferocious), the cataract recorded on the Pilsgård rune stone on Gotland in memory of at least one gotlandish trader who died in the fearsome rapids of the Dnipro.
Suddenly, in the year 907, Oleg is said to have swept down the Dnipro with a huge fleet and over the Black Sea. The fifteen envoys of Oleg, Great prince of Kyiv: "We the Rutheni - Karli, Ingjald, Farulf, Vermund, Hrodleif...".
The norsemen called Constantinople Mikligardur, the Great City. Original name was Bizantium. The Vikings came here in their hundreds, perhaps even thousands, all drawn by the same things: money and power. And yet, as in so many other places, the vikings left remarkably few traces of their substantial presence in Constantinople.
In Hagia Sophia, build 537 by emperor Justinian, in the 1967 the great swedish scholar professor Sven B.F. Jansson, one of the world's leading authorities on runic inscriptions, recognised one casual graffiti as being runic: -A-L-F-T-A-N, which in full would have read "Halfdan", "Half-Dane".
195
To all intents and purposes the year 1066 marks, or symbolises at least, the end of the viking age.
The second major figure in the 1066 scenario, King Harald Sigurdsson of Norway, was the laft of the great viking sea-kings: the "theunderbolt of the north", as Adam of Bremen called him. Icelandic historians would dub him Hardradi (Norwgian Hardråde), meaning "hard-ruler": Harald the Ruthless. Harald was half-brother to King Olaf Haraldsson, later to be canonised as St Olaf, patron saint of Norway, who ruled Norway from 1014 until his death in battle in 1030. They had the same mother, Queen Asta, and Harald was born in the year in which Olaf was fighting his way to the Norwegian throne.
Olaf Haraldsson - Olaf the Stout, as he was called during his lifetime - had been a professional viking since the age of twelve.
Deep in the heart of Ruthenia in Ukraine, exiled king Olaf the Stout saw this political upheaval as a chance to regain his kingdom. Early in 1030 (29 july) he set off along the frozen rivers with a small detachment of 240 troops. The fateful battle took place on a day of high summer at Stiklestad (Stiklarstadir in the saga sources) in the Trondelag in northern Norway.
200
Svein Knutsson's reign proved to be uneasy, unsuccessful and brief. Beside his throne, as the eminence grise, sat his english mother, AElfgifu (Alfifa in the saga sources). Harald Hardradi came to the Norwegian throne in 1047.
As soon as he was fit to travel he was smuggled over the norwegian border to friendly Sweden, and from there he also made his way to Kyiv, at that time and for centuries thereafter the heart and capital of Ukraine. In Kyiv he was given political asylum by the ever-hospitable Yaroslav.
Yaroslav the Wise, Lord of Kyiv, was one of the greatest princes of the viking age, revered as a patron and founder of learning and litarature in Ukraine during his 30-year reign. A shrewd and energetic statesman, he was always careful to foster his ancestral connections with scandinavia and with the varangians. He married a daughter of the King of Sweden; his contacts with the viking kingdoms to the west were obviously close and calculated. At Kyiv he took the young Harald as his fosterling. At Yaroslav's court, Harald met up again with Magnus Olafsson, now heif-apparent to the norwegian throne - two future kings of Norway learning the crafts of kingship at the Ukrainian court. At Kyiv, too, Harald would have seen the foundations being laid by Yaroslav of Ukraine's first cathedral, the superb minster of St Sophia which has so miraculously survived the troubled centuries.
Harald stayed with Yaroslav for three years, being taught the art of warfare as an officer in the Ukrainian army, taking part in various military campaigns. Yaroslav must have recognised in him the steelines and ambition which would earn him his nickname of Hardradi, and promised to give him one of his daughters, Ellisif/Elizabeth, in marriage. But first, to complete his education, he sent him down the Dnipro to Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, with a personal command of five hundred hand-picked warriors, to join the elite bodyguard of the emperor, the feared and famous varangian guard.
Viking had been fighting in the service of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople throughout the 10th century. The word for them, Varangians (Vaeringjar), seems to derive from the old norse word var, meaning "pledge". They were men pledged to stand together and support one another loyally. They continued as a mainly scandinavian company until after the Norman conquest of 1066. Harald spent about 10 years in the imperial army, incognito for most of the time according to some sources, serving under three successive emperors. He may also have visited Jerusalem as captain of a special military escort for pilgrims or craftsmen bound for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. His career prospered, and he was promoted to the rank of commander with the title of spatharokanditates, the third level in the hierarchy of the imperial court. He secretly salted away in Kyiv, in Yaroslav's safe-keeping, all the immense plunder he took on his various campaigns.
The greek source says that when Harald asked the new emperor, Constantine Monomachus (1042-5), Zoe's 4th husband, for permission to return to Norway, it was refused.
Safelt into the freedom of the Black Sea with a hard-knit troop of battle-seasoned varangians, Harald Hardradi now headed for home: first to Kyiv to claim from Yaroslav the hand of his daughter Ellisif/Elizabeth and his accumulated loot, and then to Norway to claim a share at least of the throne from his nephew, Magnus the Good - if necessary by force. Harald returned to the northern arena from Constantinople in 1045.
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
9
They penetrated the depths of Ukraine, founding city-states like Kyiv, testing slavonic trade routes along formidabler rivers like the Dnipro, opening up the route to Asia to exploit the exotic markets of Persia and China.
The orb of the world, which mankind inhabits, is riven by many fjords, so that great seas run into the land from the Outer Ocean. Thus, it is known that a great sea goes in through Nörvasund (Straits of Gibraltar) all the way to the land of Jerusalem. From that same sea a long bight stretches towards the north-east, called the Black Sea, which divides the three continents of the earth, to the east lies Asia, to the west lies Europe (which some call Aeneas-land), but to the north of the Black Sea lies Ruthenia (Ukraine)...
From the range of mountains which lie to the north beyond the edge of human habitation, there runs a river properly called the Tanais (Don), which flows into the Black Sea. In Asia to the east of the Tanais there was a land called Asaland or Asaheimur (Land of the AEsir); its chief city was called Asgardur (Home of the AEsir). That city was ruled by a chieftan named Odin, and it was a great centre for sacrifices...
Thor was the Lord Protector of the Universe, guarding the world with his mighty hammer Mjöllnir against the menace of the Giants (Peoples of Giants in 6th century near Kyiv and river Dnipro).
18
After death, the ship was supposed to carry the dead man to the afterworld, either as a funeral pyre as described by the arab traveller Ibn Fadlan in 922.
21
Viking religion, the Asatru (Belief in the AEsir).
29
Red and white woven cloth (vadmal). A four-oared sailing dinghy (faering).
69
Throughout the viking age, one historic island can claim to have been the true centre of the viking world - the Baltic island of Gotland, off the east coast of Sweden. Although it is now a province of Sweden, it has always prided itself on its independence of view and action. Gotland lay at the crossroads of the world; it was the trade cruciable of the Baltic, the entrepot of east-west commerce.
A little whetstone was found in Gotland on the farm of Timans in the parish of Roma, dating from the late 10th century. It has a brief runic inscription scratched on it. It was not meant to be momentous message for posterity - frankly, it was just a doodle done in an idle moment; but what is says is momentous enough: "Ormiga: Ulfuair: krikiaR: iaursaliR: islat: serklat." Transliterated, it reads: "Ormiga, Ulfar: Greece, Jerusalem, Iceland, Serkland." Which means, in effect, "Ormiga and Ulfar have been to Greece (the Byzantine Empire), to Jerusalem, to Iceland, and to the land of the Saracens (probably Baghdad).
72
In the Historical Museum in Visby there is a beautifully ornamented bronze wind-vane for a ship's mast, dated to around 1000, and decorated with a writhing serpent in what the Norwgians call the Ringerike style; and a lion stands on the top edge.
There is some archeological evidence that Visby itself dates back to a 10th century Viking Age settlement, flanked to north and south by two satellite settlements at Gustavsvik and Kopparsvik whose grave-fields have been extensively excavated; and, more recently, indications of a port or lagoon-haven have been recognised at Pavik, near Västergarn on the west coast, and at Bogevik, near Slite, on the east coast.
75
Anundshög, just outside Västerås. This Anund has been associated with a shadowy King Braut-Önund. Not yet been excavated.
80
A memorial stone at a bridge at Broby (Bridge Farm) in Täby on the Viking Road was ercted as part of a set in memory of a farmer named Östen by his wife Estrid: Es sotti IorsaliR ok andathis uppi i Grikkium - "He visited Jerusalem and died out in Greece".
Another stone was found at Pilsgård, on the island of Gotland, in association with the harbour-lagoon at Bogevik, near Slite. The runes are now blurred, but it is a memorial stone erected by four brothers in memory of a fifth brother, Hrafh, who had died far away in Ukraine: "Hegbjörn and his brothers Rödvisl, Östen and Amund had this stone painted in colours and erected; they have also raised stones for Hrafn south of Rufstein. They went far into Aifur."
"They went far into Aifur". The significance of that sentence is that "Aifur" was the Norse name given to one of the frightening cataracts of the river Dnipro in Ukraine, where boats had either to shoot the rapids or be dragged overland to bypass them. It is a vivid glimpse of a family of five Gotland brothers on the make, carrying iron and furs and slaves, no doubt, to the markets of the East where they could exchange them for Arabic silver to be banked in buried caches at home on Gotland. One of them, Hrafn, died in the boulder-strewn torrents of the Dnipro; and the Pilsgård Stone immortalises not just him but the whole opening-up of the vast Ukrainian hinterland by those Viking merchant adventurers fron Gotland.
Ibn Fadlan wrote an account of his mission, called a Risala, in which he described his contacts with a tribe of armed merchants called Rus/Rutheni. One of the ceremonies Ibn Fadlan witnessed at first was a ship-cremation of a rich and important member of the tribe, which was proceeded by some gruesome rituals of sacrifice for which no parallels can be found in viking literature.
Archeologists tend to argue that vikings effect on what was fundamentally a Slav state, Ruthenia, which had been in existence for centuries before Scandinavian traders penetradeted Ukraine, was negligible.
The present inhabitants of Novgorod are descended from the varangian race, but earlier they were Slavs.
In the sagas, Ukraine was known as "Greater Sweden".
A confederation of tribes hade formed in the 6th century in the area of the middle Dnipro, and one of the eastern Chronicles mentions a "People of Giants". This "People of Giants" formed, so to speak, the nucleus of the future Kyiv state.
Vikings were attracted by the glamour of the Kyiv state, because the Kyiv state traded actively with Constantinople (Byzantium, Byzantine Empire). If they (vikings) wanted to join the trade convoys down the Dnipro to the Black Sea and Constantinople they had to apply for permission from the authorities in Kyiv. Permission to join these convoys from Kyiv depended entirely on the ruler of Kyiv at the time.
It is in the Hermitage that the classic conflict between hazy saga evidence and hard archeological fact begins to resolve itself. There is a cornucopia of viking finds to be seen in the Hermitage: a rune-stick (runakefl) like the Bergen stick. It has been dated to the first half of the 9th century.
In the icelandic sagas Staraja ladoga was called Aldeigjuborg, and is frequently mentioned as a target for attack or a convienent staging post on the way to Kyiv or Kyivan Rus.
There is no doubt that Staraja Ladoga was originally a Slav settlement, founded by some finno-ugrian tribe in the middle of the 8th century - a century before any traces of a viking presence. The earliest layers of house remains are non-Scandinavian, and dr.Anatoly Kirpichnikov of Leningrad thought they were built by southern Slav peoples moving northwards from the Novgorod area to develop trade with the Baltic. Staraja Ladoga provided easy access to the Gulf of Finland along the river Neva.
The vikings were simply immigrants who wanted to move in on Staraya Ladoga's growing prosperity; they came there, according to the archeological record, in the middle of the 9th century. Dr. Kirpichnikov thought that the legend of the calling-in of Rurik and his brothers might well have a kernel of historical truth, except that the settlement was not actually founded by Rurik.
Staraya Ladoga is the only early settlement in Eastern lands, which has a distinct viking cemetery; its dated to the second half of the century. This thesis is borne out by excavations at the 15th-century-fortress of Staraya Ladoga, which dr. Kirpichnikov himself carried out from 1972-6. He discovered that there were two earlier sets of walls underlying the present walls, and that the earliest dated back to the viking period of the late 9th century. The site has now been handsomely restored, and there are replicas of the major finds in an excellent little local museum. But although the building of the first walls corresponds roughly with the date of Rurik's alleged arrival, the finds of pottery and weaponry and jewellery associated with it are decidedly not Scandinavian - they are all Slav/Slavonic.
The stone fort at Staraya Ladoga was built by Rurik's successor, a man with the hybrid viking-slav name of count Oleg. By this time, however, the scandinavians in staraya ladoga had become almost completely Slavicised themselves - hence the lack of any specifically viking artefacts.
Excavations at Gnizdovo near Smolensk, with its 5000 burial mounds, show that many of the artefacts are of a hybrid culture; the proportion of "pure" scandinavian objects is very small. The number of scandinavian graves in the cemeteries constitutes only about 5%.
Overall, however, Anne Stalsberg's conclusions were very close to the position of most leading scholars: that the grave goods and other finds are evidence of normally peaceful relations between the viking incomers and the native population of Slavs. She found no evidence of scandinavians as invaders who created a state where there had been none before, and their (vikings') role in this was probably not as critical as the later literary sources would suggest.
The archaeological evidence from Novgorod, the second city said to have been founded by Rurik, is less clear-cut than that of Staraya Ladoga, but it may well have followed a similar pattern of Slav settlement and temporary viking takeover.
88
Traders would congregate in Kyiv in June, having waited for the spring floods to start to subside, and then set sail in huge convoys to face the perils of the voyage together. We cad read about these cataracts in a book titled De Administrando Imperio, written around 950 by no less a person than the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. The emperor gave the names by which the individual cataracts were known: Essupi (Gulper), Gelandri (Yeller), Leanti (Seether), Strukun (Courser) and Aifur (Ferocious), the cataract recorded on the Pilsgård rune stone on Gotland in memory of at least one gotlandish trader who died in the fearsome rapids of the Dnipro.
Suddenly, in the year 907, Oleg is said to have swept down the Dnipro with a huge fleet and over the Black Sea. The fifteen envoys of Oleg, Great prince of Kyiv: "We the Rutheni - Karli, Ingjald, Farulf, Vermund, Hrodleif...".
The norsemen called Constantinople Mikligardur, the Great City. Original name was Bizantium. The Vikings came here in their hundreds, perhaps even thousands, all drawn by the same things: money and power. And yet, as in so many other places, the vikings left remarkably few traces of their substantial presence in Constantinople.
In Hagia Sophia, build 537 by emperor Justinian, in the 1967 the great swedish scholar professor Sven B.F. Jansson, one of the world's leading authorities on runic inscriptions, recognised one casual graffiti as being runic: -A-L-F-T-A-N, which in full would have read "Halfdan", "Half-Dane".
195
To all intents and purposes the year 1066 marks, or symbolises at least, the end of the viking age.
The second major figure in the 1066 scenario, King Harald Sigurdsson of Norway, was the laft of the great viking sea-kings: the "theunderbolt of the north", as Adam of Bremen called him. Icelandic historians would dub him Hardradi (Norwgian Hardråde), meaning "hard-ruler": Harald the Ruthless. Harald was half-brother to King Olaf Haraldsson, later to be canonised as St Olaf, patron saint of Norway, who ruled Norway from 1014 until his death in battle in 1030. They had the same mother, Queen Asta, and Harald was born in the year in which Olaf was fighting his way to the Norwegian throne.
Olaf Haraldsson - Olaf the Stout, as he was called during his lifetime - had been a professional viking since the age of twelve.
Deep in the heart of Ruthenia in Ukraine, exiled king Olaf the Stout saw this political upheaval as a chance to regain his kingdom. Early in 1030 (29 july) he set off along the frozen rivers with a small detachment of 240 troops. The fateful battle took place on a day of high summer at Stiklestad (Stiklarstadir in the saga sources) in the Trondelag in northern Norway.
200
Svein Knutsson's reign proved to be uneasy, unsuccessful and brief. Beside his throne, as the eminence grise, sat his english mother, AElfgifu (Alfifa in the saga sources). Harald Hardradi came to the Norwegian throne in 1047.
As soon as he was fit to travel he was smuggled over the norwegian border to friendly Sweden, and from there he also made his way to Kyiv, at that time and for centuries thereafter the heart and capital of Ukraine. In Kyiv he was given political asylum by the ever-hospitable Yaroslav.
Yaroslav the Wise, Lord of Kyiv, was one of the greatest princes of the viking age, revered as a patron and founder of learning and litarature in Ukraine during his 30-year reign. A shrewd and energetic statesman, he was always careful to foster his ancestral connections with scandinavia and with the varangians. He married a daughter of the King of Sweden; his contacts with the viking kingdoms to the west were obviously close and calculated. At Kyiv he took the young Harald as his fosterling. At Yaroslav's court, Harald met up again with Magnus Olafsson, now heif-apparent to the norwegian throne - two future kings of Norway learning the crafts of kingship at the Ukrainian court. At Kyiv, too, Harald would have seen the foundations being laid by Yaroslav of Ukraine's first cathedral, the superb minster of St Sophia which has so miraculously survived the troubled centuries.
Harald stayed with Yaroslav for three years, being taught the art of warfare as an officer in the Ukrainian army, taking part in various military campaigns. Yaroslav must have recognised in him the steelines and ambition which would earn him his nickname of Hardradi, and promised to give him one of his daughters, Ellisif/Elizabeth, in marriage. But first, to complete his education, he sent him down the Dnipro to Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, with a personal command of five hundred hand-picked warriors, to join the elite bodyguard of the emperor, the feared and famous varangian guard.
Viking had been fighting in the service of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople throughout the 10th century. The word for them, Varangians (Vaeringjar), seems to derive from the old norse word var, meaning "pledge". They were men pledged to stand together and support one another loyally. They continued as a mainly scandinavian company until after the Norman conquest of 1066. Harald spent about 10 years in the imperial army, incognito for most of the time according to some sources, serving under three successive emperors. He may also have visited Jerusalem as captain of a special military escort for pilgrims or craftsmen bound for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. His career prospered, and he was promoted to the rank of commander with the title of spatharokanditates, the third level in the hierarchy of the imperial court. He secretly salted away in Kyiv, in Yaroslav's safe-keeping, all the immense plunder he took on his various campaigns.
The greek source says that when Harald asked the new emperor, Constantine Monomachus (1042-5), Zoe's 4th husband, for permission to return to Norway, it was refused.
Safelt into the freedom of the Black Sea with a hard-knit troop of battle-seasoned varangians, Harald Hardradi now headed for home: first to Kyiv to claim from Yaroslav the hand of his daughter Ellisif/Elizabeth and his accumulated loot, and then to Norway to claim a share at least of the throne from his nephew, Magnus the Good - if necessary by force. Harald returned to the northern arena from Constantinople in 1045.
Read more on www.Historiebloggen.nu
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