In this article, we will continue talking about the historical ballads of A. K. Tolstoy.
We remember that A. K. Tolstoy idealized the history of Ancient Rus, believing that the Mongol yoke and the despotic rule of Ivan IV distorted the natural development of our country. This could not but affect his work. But the author's absolute objectivity is perhaps an exception to the general rule. And, I must admit that from an artistic point of view, this subjectivism often even benefits novels, stories and poems. Defending (explicitly or in a veiled form) his views, the author works more carefully on the text and gives the works an additional emotional color and passion, which attract readers. If there is no passion and desire to convey to readers their position, it turns out, as in the "Revelation of John the Theologian":
“You are neither cold nor hot; oh, if you were cold, or hot!"
The main thing is that the author does not fall down to outright manipulations and forgeries, which A. Dumas (senior) often sins. This novelist had an amazing talent for representing white as black and black as white.
And how impartial and objective was A. Tolstoy when he worked on the ballads? And how much can you trust the information they contain?
Let's see. We will talk about the historical ballads of A. K. Tolstoy, following the chronology of the events described.
Song about Vladimir's campaign against Korsun
The source of this ballad is the chronicles recounted by Karamzin about the circumstances of the adoption of Christianity by the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich and his retinue. The beginning of this story is full of irony - in the style of the famous "History of the Russian State from Gostomysl to Timashev."
After listening to the sermon of the Byzantine monk, Vladimir declares:
“I will humble myself,” the prince tells him, “I’m ready -
But just put up without damage!
Launch ten hundred plows into Chertoy;
If I get a ransom from the merchants of Korsun, I won't touch the city with a finger!
The Greeks saw the court in the bay, The squad is already crowding at the walls, Let's go interpret here and there:
“The trouble has come as it is for Christians, Vladimir came to be baptized!"
Let's comment on these lines.
A. Tolstoy was a supporter of the version according to which pride did not allow Vladimir to humiliate himself in the eyes of the Greeks by a sincere admission of his pagan delusions. And so he decided to "conquer" the Christian faith: to accept it from the hands of the defeated teachers.
The siege of Chersonesos could have been long and, perhaps, unsuccessful. However, a traitor was found who told the Russians the location of the wells through which water entered the city through underground pipes.
As a result, the inhabitants of Chersonesos were forced to surrender. After that, Vladimir, through ambassadors, announced to the emperors Vasily and Constantine that he wanted to be the spouse of their sister Anna, threatening to seize Constantinople in case of refusal:
“Here has already taken your glorious city; I heard that you have a virgin sister; if you don’t give it up for me, then I will do the same to your capital as to this city”.
(The Tale of Bygone Years).
Alexei Tolstoy is again very ironic:
“And he sends ambassadors to the court to Byzantium:
“Tsars Constantine and Vasily!
I humbly woo your sister
Otherwise, I'll sprinkle you both with a squad, So let us enter into kinship without violence!"
The moment for the "matchmaking" was a good one. The empire at this time is restless: a long period of "rebellion of the two Wards" - Sklira and Phocas. Sklir, who successfully fought against Svyatoslav Igorevich in 970, rebelled in 976. His old rival, Varda Foka, was directed against him (earlier it was Scleros who suppressed his rebellion against John Tzimiskes). The hatred between them was so great that during the decisive battle on March 24, 979, they entered into a duel: Sklirus cut off the ear of Phocas' horse with a spear, but he himself was seriously wounded in the head.
In 978, the rebellion was already raised by Varda Fock. He proclaimed himself emperor, took possession of almost all of Asia Minor and approached Constantinople.
In general, the only thing that was still lacking "for complete happiness" was the presence of a foreign army at the walls of the capital. Therefore, the usually proud Byzantines accepted the condition of the Russian prince.
After the wedding, Vladimir shows his awareness of the internal affairs of the empire:
“It’s true eh, I heard that the Bosphorus was closed
Some kind of Foki's squads?"
"Truly true!" - the yard responds.
"But who is this Foka?"
- "A rebel and a thief!"
Trim it on all sides!"
A 6,000-strong Russian army was sent to the aid of the Byzantines, which fought for the empire until 989 - until the army of Phocas was defeated at Abydos (April 13).
The rebellious general died that day after drinking poisoned wine - in the midst of the battle. His soldiers proclaimed the emperor Sklira (previously captured by Phoca), who agreed to an agreement with Basil II. By the way, it is this emperor who will go down in history under the nickname “The Bulgar-Slayer”. His portrait can be seen in the icon below:
As for Chersonesos, Vladimir, allegedly, finally made a broad gesture:
“And the prince says:
“I will build you a temple
In memory that I was baptized here, And I return the city of Korsun to you
And I will give the ransom back entirely -
I have resigned my soul to Zane!"
There were no craftsmen capable of building large stone buildings at that time, not only among Vladimir's warriors, but also in Kiev, where a wooden church was built upon the return of the prince. Therefore, the message of the chronicle about the construction of a stone temple by Vladimir in Chersonesos seems unlikely. He may have allocated funds for such a construction. Or, perhaps, the residents of the city themselves erected a church to commemorate the deliverance from the "godson".
As for the ransom, Vladimir took to Russia the relics of Saints Clement and Thebes, church vessels (presumably, not made of simple metal), two marble statues and four copper horses (here I feel a sense of pride in the esthete prince), priests and a traitor, thanks to which the city was taken. The chronicle, by the way, retained the name of this person - Anastas. Vladimir brought him to Russia in vain, since after the death of this prince Anastas committed another betrayal. Vladimir's eldest son, Svyatopolk, a rival of Yaroslav the Wise, entered Kiev thanks to the help of his father-in-law, the Polish king Boleslav the Brave. However, after the victory, Boleslav behaved not as an ally, but as a conqueror. Svyatopolk led the uprising against the Poles, and Boleslav had to leave for Poland. From Kiev, the king took away Vladimir's daughter Peredslava (sister of Yaroslav and Svyatopolk), whom he unsuccessfully wooed shortly before these events. He did not refuse from the princely treasury, which Anastas handed over to him. Well, the king also took the clever Chersonese with him.
Objectively assessing the circumstances of Vladimir's baptism, it should be recognized that it turned out to be beneficial, first of all, for the Romans. Vladimir's production was small. The large Russian corps had to fight for several years on the territory of a foreign country and for other people's interests. Novgorodians, who did not forgive Vladimir for the cruel forcible baptism of their city, supported his son Yaroslav ("the Wise"), who refused to pay tribute to Kiev and actually proclaimed independence during the life of the old prince.
Having captured Kiev in the course of the internecine war, they burned down all the churches here (and therefore “the accursed Svyatopolk and Boleslav were then met by the people of Kiev with icons and singing prayers). The traitor Anastas, whom Vladimir took from Chersonesos to Kiev as a valuable employee, as we already know, betrayed the sons of this prince.
In addition, Constantinople received an extremely powerful and effective instrument of influence on affairs in the Russian lands in the person of Greek priests (among whom were the metropolitans of Kiev and All Russia). Only in 1448 was the first Russian metropolitan, Jonah, elected in Moscow. Before that (in 1441), the Greek Uniate Isidor, declared an enemy of Orthodoxy, was arrested and placed in the Chudov Monastery, from which he fled to Tver, and then to Lithuania. More on the territory controlled by the Moscow princes, he did not appear.
In the second part of this ballad, the ironic tone of the narrative is replaced by a lyrical one: the poet describes the transformed state of mind of the baptized prince. The “transformation” and “humility” of the baptized Vladimir can be judged, for example, by the baptism of “fire and sword” of Novgorod, which, by order of the prince, was carried out by Dobrynya and Putyata (recall that as a response action, the soldiers of the Novgorod squad of Yaroslav the Wise were later burned in captured Kiev all churches).
On this occasion, I would like to quote O. Dymov - one of the authors of the "General History, processed by" Satyricon ". The words he said about the consequences of the adoption of Christianity by one of the Frankish kings can be fully attributed to our Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince:
"Clovis never repented of his decision: he still achieved his goals by deceit, betrayal and murder, and died a zealous Catholic."
The only inaccuracy in this passage is as follows: both Clovis and Vladimir died simply as Christians, since the split of the Church into Catholic and Orthodox occurred only in 1054.
Gacon the Blind
This ballad is about the battle of Listven (1024), in which the Novgorodians and the Varangians of Yaroslav the Wise were opposed by the northerners (residents of the North, the future Novgorod-Seversky) and the squad of the prince of Chernigov and Tmutorokan Mstislav. It was he who "stabbed Rededya in front of the Kasogian regiments." And about him, as we know from The Lay of Igor's Host, Boyan sang songs.
The reason for writing the ballad was a phrase from the Russian chronicle about the Varangian prince Gakon who took part in this battle.
Gakon or Yakun is the Russified Scandinavian name Hakon, and this leader of the Vikings was "sy lѣp", that is, handsome. But the first Russian historians made the unfortunate mistake of declaring him blind ("slѣp"). And the golden cloak of a young dandy and handsome man, through their efforts, turned into a mask of a crippled old man. This incredible plot (a blind Viking at the head of his squad is fighting in the most dangerous direction) attracted the attention of Tolstoy, who also recalled the story of an event that took place during the Hundred Years War between France and England. Blinded by King John of Luxembourg during the Battle of Cressy, he ordered his squires to lead him into the thick of the battle, where he was killed by the British.
The blind hero of A. Tolstoy's ballad asks the "youths", that is, members of the "younger" squad (the prince's personal squad - in contrast to the "elder" squad, boyar) to help him take part in the battle:
“And the youths took him from two sides, And, full of insane anger, Gacon rushed blind between them
And crashed into a slash, and, intoxicated with her, He chops amid the roar and roar …
Gakon was cut off and repulsed from the Russians, And seeing that, Prince Yaroslav says:
“We need a brother-in-law defense!
See, how the enemy showered his army!"
There were many Khazars and Kasogs (ancestors of the modern Adyghes) among Mstislav's vigilantes, so one should not be surprised that Gakon was "recaptured from the Russians."
Much more intriguing is the word brother-in-law in the mouth of Yaroslav the Wise, married to the Swedish princess Ingigerd. The fact is that most modern researchers identify Yakun of the Russian chronicles with Jarl Hakon, the son of the former ruler of Norway Eirik. In the war for the Norwegian throne, he fought against Olav the Saint on the side of his uncle Svein, who was supported by King Olav Shetkonung of Sweden and another uncle of Hakon, King of Denmark Knut the Mighty. And Hakon was indeed very handsome. This is also reported in the "Saga of Olav the Holy":
“Hakon Jarl was brought to the king's ship. He was amazingly handsome. He had long hair, beautiful as silk. They were tied with a gold hoop. When he sat down at the stern of the ship, Olav said: "It is true that your family is beautiful, but your luck has run out."
Hakon's golden hair band is mentioned in two more sagas.
At that time, this jarl was lucky: he was released on condition not to appear in his homeland again. First, he went to Denmark and England, where his uncle Knut the Mighty ruled. Then - he found himself on the territory of Kievan Rus, apparently, then he took part in the Battle of Listven. After the death of King Olav, Hakon became the ruler of Norway for a short time, but it was here that the "luck of his family" was exhausted: he died at sea, returning from England. There is nothing impossible in the relationship of this jarl with Inginerd. I could not find confirmation in historical documents that Hakon was married to Ingigerd's sister, but I don’t presume to deny the poet's words.
Some researchers call Yakun the brother of another Jarl - Afrikan, from whose son, Shimon (Simon), the families of the Velyaminovs, Vorontsovs and Aksakovs originate. Shimon Afrikanovich, according to legend, was baptized by Theodosius of the Caves and made a contribution to the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery - a golden crown and belt, which served as a measure in the construction of the Assumption Church of the Kiev-Pechersky Monastery, as well as churches in Rostov and Suzdal. He served the sons of Yaroslav the Wise and fought with the Polovtsy in the unfortunate battle of Alta. His son, Georgy Simonovich, became the tutor of the last son of Vladimir Monomakh - Yuri Dolgoruky, who received his nickname for his constant attempts to seize Kiev and extend power to all Russian lands.
In the ending of the ballad, Gakon has great difficulty convincing that the battle is already over, and that they are victorious. Yaroslav:
“With a new one he pounded on the enemies with a crowd, I cut the road through the dump
But then a blind man swoops down on him, Raising your ax …
Threshing on Russian shields and armor, Crushes and cuts shishaki in half, No one can cope with the angry …"
In fact, the Battle of Listven ended in a terrible defeat for Yaroslav and Hakon:
“Seeing that he was defeated, Yaroslav ran with Yakun, the Varangian prince, and that Yakun threw his golden cloak on the run. Yaroslav came to Novgorod, and Yakun left for the sea."
The poet in this case defeated the historian.
