Introduction. The Distribution Of The Slavs : * 2. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SLAVS. The Slavs in the tenth century were organized in clans or tribes []; of these the settled on the middle of the Dnpr, the in the forests watered by the Southern affluents of the Prpet'; to the West of these last-named on the river Bug the or opposite ...
Introduction. The Scandinavian Princes : * 5. THE SCANDINAVIAN PRINCES. Russian history proper, i.e. the history of the state bearing this name, with a dynasty enthroned at Kev, begins with the three brothers Rurix, Truvor and Sineus, or in Norse, Hrrekr, Thorvardr and Sikniutr. Probably Rurik only followed in the wake of other Norse...
Introduction. The Fall Of K'iev And Rise : * 13. THE FALL OF KIEV AND RISE OF SUZDAL AND MOSCOW. The confused history of this epoch is clearest surveyed from its centre, which had moved up North. South Russia was exhausting itself. From the year 1054 the Plovtsy had been ravaging and laying waste, carrying off with them Russians as slaves...
Preface : * PREFACE. This is the first English edition of this ancient Russian epic. It is intended as a handbook to the increasing number of students of the Russian language, and to reveal to the general public one of the treasures of Russian medieval literature. The editor has to express his gratitude...
Introduction. Vlad'imir Ii : * p. xxii 11. VLADIMIR II. At the age of sixty-one, in the year 1113, Vladmir ascended the throne. He had eight sons, one, Izyaslv had been killed in the campaign of 1096 against Olg Svyatoslvi: another, Svyatoslv died in 1114; a third one, David, is mentioned in 1116, and probably predeceased his...
Introduction. The Language And Grammar : * p. liii VII. THE LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR. As will be seen in the bibliography, there has been almost endless discussion as to what language the Slvo is written in, Kor has reconstructed it into early Russian in a pure form; Abicht into Church-Slavonic, with the opposite modifications, whilst other...
Introduction. The Four Great Princes : * 10. THE FOUR GREAT PRINCES. In the year 1113 Svyatoplk II Izyaslvi died. Like his uncle, Vsvolod I he had been maintained on the throne by Vladmir. The citizens of Kev insisted on Vladmir resuming the office of Grand-Prince and passing over the claims of the Svyatoslvii, the next eldest branch...
Introduction. The Slav State : * 3. THE SLAV STATE. But, as yet, there was no unitary state, only a mass of Slav tribes roving within ill-defined bounds. Those in the South paid tribute to the Khozars, a race of Turkish origin, but unlike the barbarous Asiatic hordes who had preceded them and were to follow on their trail...
Introduction. The Norse Invasion : * 4. THE NORSE INVASION. The cataclasmic eruption from Scandinavia, which remodelled so much of Europe from England to Sicily, transformed the face of the Russian land. As in England, in France, in Italy and in the Eastern Empire these alien elements were quickly absorbed into the native...
Introduction. Pagan Survivals In The Text : * p. xliv V. PAGAN SURVIVALS IN THE TEXT OF THE SLOVO. So much has been made of the heathendom of this poem, so full a construction has been put on the passage from Strabo (v. note to ) that it becomes hard to see what is stated, or omitted,--apart from what modern critics delight to read into it...
Introduction. Boy'an : * VI. THE MEANING OF BOYN AND TROYN. BOYN. This name has been one of the insoluble problems in this poem; Boyn the divine seer whose name apparently is elsewhere unrecorded. In the text he is mentioned four times; first, (ll. 8-28) as a bard, endowed, either metaphorically or in popular credence...
Introduction. The Yarosl'avici : * p. xvii 9. THE YAROSLVII. Yaroslv I may have hoped that this written instructions would prevent a recrudescence of the dynastic struggles, in which he had been victorious. But the immense territory from Nvgorod to Kev was too vast for one hand to govern; and, if it were subdivided, there was no...
Introduction. The Versification : * IV. THE COMPOSITION OF THE POEM. (A) THE VERSIFICATION. The principal authority on this head is Kor, whose edition of the text is virtually a monograph and metrical reconstruction. With his bold interpolations and omissions it would be premature to agree; his accentual lore one must gratefully...
Introduction. Vlad'imir I : * 6. VLADMIR I. Vladmir was the first prince of Russia, by birth partly of Slav blood. He owed his accesssion to the throne at Kev to Norsemen; possibly it was facilitated by the distrust aroused by his brother Yaroplk's leanings towards Christianity. At any rate Vladmir, who was to be sainted...
Scheme Of Transliteration : * SCHEME OF TRANSLITERATION. a [as in Italian]. b v g d ( dy) ye or e [e as in Italian] ["s" in lei"s"ure]. z , as in Italian: but short. y or. k l ( l') m n ( ) [ Spanish, or gn Italian]. o [always short]. p r s ( ) ["s" in sibilant]. ( t') ["ty" in don't-yer know]. u [as in Italian]. , f kh...
Text. Part Iii : * p. 21 PART III. I. GO'S ESCAPE. ; 664 : , 668. . ", ", 672 . " : ; 676 "; . : . 680 [] ; ; 684 , , , , 688 . , , 692. . The sea spurted at midnight; the waterspouts pass like mists. God manifests the road to Prince go from the Polovsk land to the Russian land, to his fathers' golden throne...
Introduction. The Old Tradition : * (2) A SUMMARY OF RUSSIAN HISTORY UP TO THE MONGOL CONQUEST. 1. THE OLD TRADITION. The old Russian Chroniclers from whose copious accounts this abstract has partly been drawn, in right medieval fashion start their tale from the Flood. A few chapters leads them on to the legendary beginnings...
Introduction. The Land System : * 7. THE LAND SYSTEM. In the feudal age the only form of capital was land. In those smaller Western European countries which had been conquered by Teuton tribes and administered by traditions of Roman law, the tenure of land was soon organized on a system of defined services, and was always...
Text. Introduction : * p. 1 . THE TALE OF THE ARMAMENT OF GO, GO SVYATOSLVI THE GRANDSON OF OLG. The text is based on Pekrski's as emended by Simoni. The two texts are called and : variants in the printed text of 1800 of Musin-Pukin being designated as. The lines and divisions of the text are the editor's:...
Title Page And Front Matter : * MEDIEVAL RUSSIA ("228 Kb") Map Detail (Full Size) ("192 Kb") THE TALE OF THE ARMAMENT OF IGOR. A.D. 1185. A RUSSIAN HISTORICAL EPIC. EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY LEONARD A. MAGNUS, LL.B. Editor Of 'Respublica' (Early English Text Society) WITH REVISED RUSSIAN TEXT, TRANSLATION, NOTES, INTRODUCTI...
Introduction. The Chronicle For The Year : * (3) THE CHRONICLE FOR THE YEAR 1185 TRANSLATED IN FULL. The Chronicle for the year 1185 contains very full details of the events in the Slvo, but it is evident that the poet did not borrow his facts from the sources, as we now have them. On the 1st of March 1185 Svyatoslv Vsvolodovi and Ryrik...
Introduction. The Successors Of Vlad'imir Ii : * 12. THE SUCCESSORS OF VLADMIR II. The history of Russia after 1126 down to the Mongol conquest 1240 is a welter of civil wars, nomad incursions, incapable and selfish rulers, increasing disunion; and under such adverse conditions the country was progressively impoverished. In forty four years...
Text. Part I : * p. 2 THE TALE OF THE ARMAMENT OF GO, GO SVYATOSLVI THE GRANDSON OF OLG. PART I. I. PROEM. 1 , , 4 , ? - , ? 8 , , , , 12 ? , , . 16 : , ; , , 20 ( ), . , , 24 ; ; 28. Were it not seemly to us, brothers, to begin in ancient diction the tales of the toils of the army of go, go Svyatoslvi? [Or]...
Introduction. Troy'an : * TROYN. The meaning of this word has always been in dispute and must remain a matter of sheer conjecture. There are four references in the text. I. l. 59. 'Oh Boyn, hadst but thou sung of these hosts... weaving together from both ends of this epoch, racing down the path of Troyn!' II. l. 209...
Introduction. The Geography Of Russia : * II. (1) THE GEOGRAPHY OF RUSSIA. It would he useful to set out "seriatim" a few elementary geographical facts before attempting to enter on an abstract of Russian history to illustrate the references in the Slvo. Russia in Europe now comprises 1,997,000 square miles, a territory just less th...
Introduction. The History Of The Manuscript : * p. i INTRODUCTION. I. THE HISTORY OF THE MANUSCRIPT. The history of the manuscript of the Slvo has been often stated. In 1795 Count Musin-Pukin, a distinguished arcologist, bought from the archimandrite of the Spaso-Yaroslvski monastery a bound volume of manuscripts, amongst which w...
Introduction. Yarosl'av I : * 8. YAROSLV I. Vladmir I left twelve sons surviving. The immediate business was to thin their ranks. Svyatoplk o Turov (a town on the Pripet' about 150 miles from Kev) at once proclaimed himself grand prince and despatched his brothers Bors of Rostv and Glb of Mrom and Svyatoslv, prince among...
Introduction. The Construction Of The Poem : * III. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE POEM. The Slvo falls into three distinct parts, each of them subdivisible. The episode eternized by the author is very slight, one of the many forays against the nomad foes, with whom, for the rest, these Russian princes never scrupled to ally themselves in their...
Text. Part Ii : * p. 10 PART II. I. PROEM. , , ; . 288 ; ; 292 , . 296 ". ;-- " , -- ". 300 , . 304 . , . 308 ! Now already, brothers a weary time arose, now it covered the army in the wilderness. Contumely arose in the hosts of the scion of Dbog, stepped like a Maiden on the land of Troyn, splashed with her...
Introduction. Style And Authorship : * (2) STYLE AND AUTHORSHIP. To enquire for the name of an author of this poem is a hopeless quest; there is only one original; and other medieval writings of Russia must likewise remain nameless. But it is still possible from both internal and external evidence to localize and individualize...
Introduction. The Historical References : * 14. THE HISTORICAL REFERENCES TO GO SVYATOSLVIC. The preceding sections are intended to put the text here edited into historical perspective, and also to give some account, however scanty, of medieval Russian history, up to those two cardinal events, which deflected and reshaped Russia, namely...
