Russian land, now you have been after Tsar Solomon! Glory to our God.
Zadonshchina
There are many interesting and sometimes funny traditions in Russia, however, as elsewhere. But one of them is especially interesting. It is customary for us to write articles for different historical dates. So we all hear about birthdays, days of death, and the day of the explosion of the nuclear power plant, and the day of the Battle of the Ice, in a word, we live in a continuous environment of memorable dates. And there is nothing surprising in this. We live in a great country with a thousand-year history, so the events have accumulated. In Soviet times, for example, I tried to write in advance in a local newspaper material about the celebration of March 8, May 1, World Children's Day, and so on. etc. These materials went well, and most importantly, when writing them, there was no need to think too much. You open some suitable publication like the Children's Encyclopedia, rewrite the material in your own words and … go ahead.
With regard to the materials of the VO website, it is pleasant to see that this tradition has not died out today. Just recently there was another memorable date - the Day of Military Glory of Russia, timed to coincide with the day of the Battle of Kulikovo, and another "memorable" material immediately appeared on it, causing a lively exchange of opinions. But opinions are opinions, and the modern information space is good because it greatly facilitates the search for information and allows you to write really interesting materials without leaving your home.
I would like to note that the most important moment for discussing this topic - the famous “south wind” that blew out on the Kulikovo field at the right moment, for some reason fell out of sight of commentators. But in vain! It is here that the "dog is buried" of really interesting facts and fictions that have surrounded this event over the past centuries. Because, of course, there is a history from a school textbook, a history of military art by E. A. Razin, but there is a history of chronicles and documents. Moreover, just today, in order to get acquainted with them, you do not need to go to Moscow, to the Archive of Ancient Acts. Everything is on the Web, you just need to type and read.
So let's get acquainted with this event today on the basis of historical documents. However, we cannot do without conclusions here either. But these conclusions will be based on the texts of these very documents, since other sources are at the disposal of historians … there simply are not!
But to start the story about this event, which eventually resulted in a grandiose mystification of the medieval history of Russia, I wanted to start with … a small "lyrical digression", however, very indicative and graphic.
Mamai is crossing the Volga with all his strength. Miniature from "The Tale of the Battle of Kulikovo", XVI century.
Imagine that you and your friends go to the forest for a picnic. And after the picnic, as expected, they began to dig a hole in the ground to bury its waste. And then you came across the handle of a medieval sword. By its form, you had enough knowledge to determine that it was the XIV century. The next day you arrived there with a magnetometer, started digging and … found scraps of chain mail, crosshairs of sabers, arrowheads. What conclusion can you draw from these findings? That in this place, once upon a time, a battle took place, and most likely in the XIV century. You cannot draw any other conclusions with all your will. Then you report your discovery to archaeologists, they have been digging at this place for 10 years and eventually come to the conclusion that the battle was massive, that many people fought and on the one hand there were Russians, and on the other the soldiers of the Golden Horde. And that's it! To find out what kind of battle it was and who won it, you will need to refer to the chronicles, bind their text to the scene you discovered, and only then it will become clear to everyone what exactly you have found!
So we know about the Battle of Kulikovo from … texts written in the times of "these". There are four main works of Old Russian writing, which contain information about the battle. These are the Short and Extensive Chronicle Tale, "Zadonshchina" and "The Legend of the Mamayev Massacre." Something can also be found in "The Lay of the Life and Death of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich" and also in the "Life of Sergius of Radonezh".
In addition to domestic sources, there are also German chronicles of the Franciscan monk of the Thorn Monastery Dietmar Lubeck (which was brought to 1395, and his successor to 1400), an official from Riesenburg Johann Poschilge (from the 60s-70s of the XIV century to 1406, and then until 1419), and there are also anonymous "Torun annals". It is interesting that the messages in them about the Battle of Kulikovo are very similar. In addition, they are also very short. Therefore, it makes sense to cite them in full.
In the “Torun annals” the text is very short: “In the same year, the Rutenas and the Tartars collided near the Blue Water. Four thousand were killed on both sides; The Ruthenes have surpassed. ALL!
Johann Poschilge writes: “In the same year, there was a big war in many countries: the Russians fought this way with the Tatars at Sinyaya Voda, and about 40 thousand people were killed on both sides. However, the Russians held the field. And when they were returning from the battle, they ran into the Lithuanians, who were called by the Tatars there to help, and killed a lot of Russians and took from them a lot of booty, which they took from the Tatars."
Dietmar Lubeck says: “At the same time there was a great battle there at Sinyaya Voda between the Russians and the Tatars, and then four hundred thousand people were beaten on both sides; then the Russians won the battle. When they wanted to go home with a big booty, they ran into the Lithuanians, who were summoned to help by the Tatars, and took their booty from the Russians, and killed a lot of them in the field."
As you can see, there is very little information. And it's clear why. Somewhere out there, far away, the Russians fought with the Tatars / Tartars (this is a common name in the West at that time, there is no point in inventing any theories on this basis!). The author of the annals gives the number of losses for both sides at four thousand, Poshilge's losses are already 40 thousand, and for Dietmar it is 400 thousand. That is, each new author added zero! But the Germans report something that is not in the Russian chronicles. Firstly, the Lithuanians attacked the Russian troops returning from the battlefield and defeated them (at Poshilge and at Ditmar). And secondly, the place where the battle took place is called Blue Water.
Blessing of the Warriors. Miniature from "The Tale of the Battle of Kulikovo". XVI century
Karamzin also referred to the fifth document of the 15th century by the German historian A. Krantz called "Vandalia". And here's what it says:
“At this time, the greatest battle in the memory of people took place between the Russians and the Tatars in a place called Blue Water. As usual, they fight, not standing [in position], but running in large lines, throwing spears and striking [swords] and soon retreat back. Two hundred thousand mortals [people] are reported to have fallen in this battle. However, the victorious Russians seized a lot of booty - cattle, since [the Tatars] have almost no other [booty]. But the Russians did not rejoice at this victory for long, because the Tatars, having united with the Lithuanians, rushed after the Russians, who were already returning back, and the booty that they had lost was taken away and many of the Russians, having overthrown, killed. It was in 1381 after the birth of Christ. At this time, a congress and gathering of all cities of the society called the Hansa gathered in Lubeck.(I wonder why the “Germans” of the era of Lomonosov, Catherine, etc., who wanted to vulgarize and distort our history, did not insert this passage into any of our annalistic texts? no … they did not touch the Kulikovo battle!)
Here, by the way, the number of those killed is 200 thousand. The battle is called "the greatest in the memory of people." And the Russian soldiers are attacked here not only by the Lithuanians, but also by the Tatars. The year is incorrectly named, but there may be many reasons for this.
Now let's digress for a while from the ancient chronicles and see what is written about the most decisive moment of the Kulikovsky battle in the book "Winds of the Kulikovo Field" - such a well-known work by the equally famous author Mityaev A. V., on which more than one generation of our children comprehended our history. And not only kids …
Here is his text: “Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovskoy could not endure the Tatar victory and said to Dmitry Volynts:“Great trouble, brother, what is the use of our standing? Will it not be a mockery to us? Who will we have to help?”And Dmitry said:“The trouble, prince, is great, but our hour has not come: everyone who starts at the wrong time brings trouble for himself. Let's endure a little more until a convenient time and wait until we give our enemies retribution. " It was hard for the boyar children to see people from their regiment killed. They wept and incessantly rushed into battle, like falcons, as if invited to a wedding to drink sweet wine. Volynets also forbade them, saying: "Wait a little, there is still someone to comfort you with." And the hour came, suddenly the south wind pulled them in their backs. Volynets shouted in a loud voice to Vladimir: "The hour has come, the time has come!" their banners were sent by a formidable commander."
The text is given in such a way that one might think that it represents a close retelling of the chronicle, isn't it? But which one? This is interesting !!!
The earliest known message about the Battle of Kulikovo is a short chronicle story "About the massacre of others on the Don", which was contained in the annalistic collection of 1408 (which was in the Trinity Chronicle burned down in a fire in 1812, in the Simeon Chronicle and the Rogozhsky Chronicle). It is believed that this is not only the earliest, but also the most reliable description of those events.
We read:
ABOUT THE GREAT BATTLE ON THE DON
In the same year, the godless wicked Horde prince, Mamai the rotten, gathered numerous troops and all the Polovtsian and Tatar lands, hired troops of Fryaz, Cherkasy and Yass - and with all these troops went to the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich and to the whole Russian land. In August, news came from the Horde to the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich that the Tatar army was rising against the Christians, a filthy clan of the Ishmaelites. And Mamai the wicked, fiercely angry at the Grand Duke Dmitry about his friends and favorites and princes who were beaten on the Vozha River, set out with a huge army, wishing to capture the Russian land.
The Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich learned about this, gathered many soldiers and went against the Tatars in order to defend their estates, for the holy churches and for the right Christian faith, and for the entire Russian land. When the prince crossed the Oka, other news came to him that Mamai had gathered his troops behind the Don, was standing in the field and waiting for Yagaila, the Lithuanian army, to help him.
The Grand Duke crossed the Don, where there is a clear and spacious field. There the filthy Polovtsy, Tatar regiments gathered, on an open field near the mouth of the Nepryadva. And then both troops lined up and rushed into battle, the opponents came together - and there was a long battle and an evil slaughter. They fought all day, and countless dead fell on both sides. And God helped the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, and the filthy Mamaev regiments ran, and ours - after them, and beat and flogged the filthy ones without mercy. It was God with miraculous power that frightened the sons of Hagarian, and they ran, putting their backs under the blows, and many were beaten, while others drowned in the river. And Russian detachments drove the Tatars to the Mechi River and there they killed many of them, and some Tatars threw themselves into the water and drowned, driven by God's wrath and gripped by fear. And Mamai fled with a small retinue to his Tatar land.
This massacre took place on September 8, on the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, on Saturday, before lunchtime.
And in the battle were killed: Prince Fyodor Romanovich Belozersky, his son Prince Ivan Fedorovich, Semyon Mikhailovich, Mikula Vasilyevich, Mikhail Ivanovich Okinfovich, Andrei Serkizov, Timofey Valui, Mikhail Brenkov, Lev Morozov, Semyon Melik, Alexander Peresvet and many others.
And the great prince Dmitry Ivanovich with other Russian princes and with the governors, and with the boyars, and with the nobles, and with the surviving Russian regiments, took the battlefield and thanked God and bowed to his soldiers, who fought hard with foreigners and fought firmly for him, they defended the Christian faith in a courageous battle.
And the prince returned to Moscow, to his possessions with a great victory, having won the battle and defeated his enemies. And many of his soldiers were delighted, having seized a rich booty: they drove behind them numerous herds of horses, camels, oxen, which are innumerable, and armor, and clothing, and goods.
Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich speaks with his people against Khan Mamai. Miniature from "The Tale of the Battle of Kulikovo", XVI century.
