Russian soldiers had good costumes in the film "Alexander Nevsky"!
According to the typology of the Russian scientist A. N. Kirpichnikov is of type IV. He also noted that the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of the first finds, from which “the study of not only weapons, but also Russian antiquities in general began”.
A copy of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich's helmet. (State Historical Museum, original at the Kremlin Armory in Moscow)
Well, they found him quite by accident, and quite a long time ago. It so happened that a peasant woman A. Larionova from the village of Lykov, located near the town of Yuriev-Podolsky in the fall of 1808, "being in a bush for picking nuts, saw something glowing in a bump near a walnut bush." It was a helmet lying on top of chain mail, and both she and the helmet itself were badly rusted. The peasant woman took her find to the village headman, who saw the holy image on his helmet and handed it over to the bishop. He, in turn, sent it to Alexander I himself, and he handed it over to the president of the Academy of Arts A. N. Olenin.
A. N. Olenin. He was the first to study the helmet, which is now officially called the "helmet from Lykovo" …
He began to study the helmet and suggested that the helmet, along with chain mail, belonged to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and were hidden by him during his escape from the battle of Lipitsa in 1216. He found on the helmet the name Theodore, and this was the name of Prince Yaroslav, given to him at baptism. And Olenin assumed that the prince had removed both his chain mail and his helmet so that they would not interfere with his escape. After all, we know from the Laurentian Chronicle that when Prince Yaroslav was defeated, he fled to Pereyaslavl, where he arrived only on the fifth horse, and drove four horses along the road. His brother Yuri, too, was in a hurry to escape from the battlefield so that he came to Vladimir only on the fourth horse, and the chronicle emphasized that he was "in his first shirt, and threw out the lining." That is, in one underwear, poor fellow, he galloped, in such a fear.
Unfortunately, the crown of the helmet was preserved in a very poor condition - in the form of only two large fragments, which makes it impossible to determine its exact shape, as well as its design. It is believed that it had a shape close to ellipsoidal.
A drawing from a pre-revolutionary book about Russian antiquities …
Outside, the surface of the helmet was covered with a silver leaf and gilded silver overlays, with chased images of the image of the Almighty, as well as Saints George, Basil and Theodore. The forehead plate bore the image of the image of the Archangel Michael and the inscription: "Vliky the archangel Michael help your servant Theodore." The edge of the helmet is decorated with a gilded border covered with ornaments.
In general, we can talk about the high artistic skill of the manufacturers of this helmet, their technical skill and good taste. In its design, pre-revolutionary Russian historians saw Norman motives, but Soviet ones preferred to compare them with the white-stone carvings of churches in the Vladimir-Suzdal land. Historian B. A. Kolchin believed that the crown of the helmet was one-piece forged and made of iron or mild steel using stamping, followed by a punching out, and this differs it from other similar products of that time. For some reason, the half-mask of the helmet covers part of the inscription made around the perimeter of the icon, which allows us to assert that at first it was not there, but was added later.
According to A. N. Kirpichnikov, this helmet was altered at least three times and that it had owners even before Prince Yaroslav. Moreover, at first he might not have any jewelry. Then silver plates were riveted to it. And only after that was added his pommel and half mask.
Historian K. A. Zhukov notes that the helmet did not have lower eye cutouts. But, in his opinion, the helmet was not altered, but immediately it was made with a half mask. The author of the article "The helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich" N. V. Chebotarev points to him at the place where his forehead icon meets the half-mask, and draws attention to the fact that for some reason it covers part of the inscription framing the icon, which, in general, should not be.
His drawing, made in pre-revolutionary times.
After all, if the helmet was made by one master and, so to speak, at a time, then there is no doubt that then the inscription on the icon would correspond to the place of its placement. But it could be that the half-mask was temporarily removed from the helmet in order to fix the icon on it, as if it had not been measured in size, and then “due to tradition” to hope “at random”, they decided that… “it will do just that”.
For some reason, Alexander has two helmets in the film. And he wears them in the course of the action AT THE SAME TIME. The difference is that the second one has a half mask with a pointed nose! So to speak, he has a "more fighting look."
In any case, the shape of this helmet with a forehead icon and a half mask is reflected in art. This very helmet (and in two versions!) Was put on the head of his hero by director Sergei Eisenstein in the feature film "Alexander Nevsky". Sets of postcards depicting Prince Alexander wearing this helmet were printed in thousands of copies, so it is not surprising that for a long time everyone thought that the “cine helmet” was modeled after the real one, although in reality it was not at all the case.
Turkish helmet of the early 17th century. from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Notice how much it looks like ancient Russian helmets. It is clear that this is not due to the fact that "Russia-Horde-Ataman Empire" (namely "Ataman", because "atamans", that is, "military leaders", that is, princes / kagans are atamans!). It's just that this form is rational, that's all. The Assyrians also had such helmets, and that they are also Slavs? And then to such helmets they added a visor, an arrow-nose that could be lifted up and down, a “headset”, a head-piece, and it turned out … “Yerikhon's cap” or as this helmet was called in the West - “eastern bourguignot” (burgonet).
Western European burgundy in oriental style. End of the 16th century Manufactured in Augsburg. Weight 1976 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
The second helmet, again attributed to Alexander Nevsky, is also an exhibit of the Kremlin Armory, and not just an exhibit, but one of the most famous and famous!
Officially, it is called "The Erichon Hat of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich" - that is, the very same Mikhail Romanov, who just became the founder of … the royal house of the Romanovs. And why is it considered the helmet of the faithful prince Alexander Yaroslavich? It's just that in the 19th century there was a legend that the helmet of Tsar Mikhail was a remake of the helmet of Alexander Nevsky. That's all!
Where this legend came from is not entirely clear. In any case, when the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire was approved in 1857, its coat of arms was crowned with the image of "Prince Alexander's helmet".
However, it is quite obvious that this helmet could not have been made in Russia in the XIII century. However, it was finally possible to prove that it was made at the beginning of the 17th century only after the Great Patriotic War, when the appropriate technologies appeared in the hands of historians. That is, everything that somehow connects this helmet with the name of Alexander Nevsky is just a legend and nothing more.
Well, about what this helmet is all the same, the candidate of historical sciences S. Akhmedov described in detail in the article "Helmet by Nikita Davydov". In his opinion, this helmet is made in the Eastern tradition, although along with the Arabic inscription it also has Orthodox symbols. By the way, there are very similar helmets in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York and it is known for sure that they are … from Turkey!
In the "Antiquities of the Russian State, Published by the Highest Command" (1853), - from where the lithograph given here is taken, - the following translation of the 13th Ayat 61 Sura is given: "Help from God and a close victory and to build [this] good for the faithful ". Sura 61 is called Sura al-Saff ("The Rows"). Surah was revealed in Medina. It consists of 14 Ayats. At the very beginning of Surah it is said that Allah is praised both in heaven and on earth. And whatever he wants, so that all believers in him rally and become like one hand. In it, Musa and Isa brand the sons of Israel, declare them stubborn infidels and accuse them of wanting to extinguish the light of Allah's faith. In the same chapter, Allah promises to make his religion above all others, even if this will not be to the liking of the pagan polytheists. At the very end of Surah, believers are called to fight for faith in Allah, to protect his religion, so that they sacrifice their property and even their lives. And as an example, the apostles are cited who were followers of Isa, the son of Mariam.
13 Ayat:
وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
One of the translations of this verse looks like this:
“There will also be something that you love: help from Allah and an imminent victory. Give the good news to the believers!”;
“And another thing that you love: help from Allah and imminent victory. And please the believers!”;
“And yet for you, O believers, there is another mercy that you love: help from Allah and an imminent victory, the blessing of which you will enjoy. Delight, O Muhammad, believers with this reward!"
And the question is, how could the Russian master Nikita Davydov make such a helmet (around 1621), and even being Orthodox, write on it in Arabic: "Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and a quick victory"?
In the income and expense book of the Armory Order dated December 18, 1621, there is the following entry: “The sovereign’s salary of the Armory Order to the self-made master Nikita Davydov is a polarshina (the following is a list of fabrics that must be given to the master), and the emperor granted it for the fact that he and the crowns, I used gold to aim both targets and headphones. That is, he trimmed with gold a certain helmet, given to him for decoration, and for this he received payment in kind from the sovereign.
Drawings of a helmet from the book "Antiquities of the Russian State, Published by the Highest Command" (1853). Then, this is how they presented information about the cultural values of the Russian Empire! Front, back view.
Side view.
That is, Nikita Davydov did not make it himself, but only decorated it. And it was necessary to decorate it, because it was an obvious gift to the king from the East. It is possible that the gift is directly from the sovereign, which cannot be denied. But how can you wear it if you are an Orthodox tsar, and quotes from the Koran are written on the helmet. An eastern ruler cannot be offended by the refusal of his gift. But the subjects … they are like that … Grishka Otrepiev was recognized as an impostor for the fact that he did not sleep after dinner, did not like to go to the bathhouse, and it was even embarrassing to say this - “I loved fried veal”. And then there are the words from the book of "nasty" on the head of the tsar … The Orthodox people simply will not understand this, they will also raise a riot.
Notched jewelry.
That is why Nikita Danilov was invited to bring this helmet into a "common form". So on the nose arrow of the helmet there was a miniature figurine of the Archangel Michael made of colored enamels. On the dome, the master, with the help of a notch, "filled" the golden crowns, and at the very top, that is, on the pommel, he strengthened the golden cross. True, it has not survived, but it is known that it was.
Inside view.
And this, by the way, is not the first time when weapons from the East have found new owners in Russia. From the East to Russia came the sabers of Mstislavsky (his helmet, by the way, is also Eastern, Turkish!), Minin and Pozharsky, kept in the same Armory and in the same way containing eastern brands and inscriptions in Arabic script.
P. S. That's how interesting it is in life. I wrote this material by order of one of the regular readers of VO. But in the process of work I ran into a number of "interesting moments" that formed the basis for continuing the theme, so …
