DOCSLIB.ORG

135-312 AMM XVI.Cdr

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
135-312 AMM XVI.Cdr KOMUNIKATY – ANNOUNCEMENTS Acta Militaria Mediaevalia XVI Kraków–Sanok–Wrocław 2020, 205-224. DOI: 10.48280/AMMXVI.2020.010. Alexandra Yu. Shchedrina* SWORD FROM KRASN͡IANKA. COMPLEX OF TRADITIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES1 Abstract: A precious early medieval sword was found in 1900 near the village of Krasn͡ianka in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. A.N. Kirpichnikov included the sword in his typology of Old Russian sword hilts, the sword scabbard chape was included in P. Paulsen’s typology, and the blade was examined by metallography. The technology of the decoration of the hilt, however, has not yet been studied in detail and has been described incorrectly in most works. This article contains a comprehensive review of this unique archaeological find. Key words: sword, scabbard chape, Old Rus’, technology, typology. Received: 06.03.2020; Accepted: 02.07.2020; Revised: 25.09.2020. Citation: Shchedrina A. Yu. 2020. Sword from Krasn͡ianka. Complex of traditions and technologies. “Acta Militaria Mediaevalia” XVI, 205-222. DOI: 10.48280/AMMXVI.2020.010. In 1900, a precious early medieval sword with The exhibition album, compiled by Egor a scabbard chape was accidentally found at the K. Redin (Redin 1903, 6, Pl. IV:8), contains a photo bottom of a well near the village of Krasn͡ianka, of the sword and the scabbard chape lying nearby Kup͡iansk oblast’, Kharkov province of the Russian (Fig. 1). Empire, currently the territory of Luhansk Oblast of Following the Archaeological Congress, the Ukraine (Shramko 1962, 353; Kirpichnikov 1966a, items were transferred to the Museum of Fine 35). Both items were displayed in the exhibition Arts and Antiquities of the Imperial Kharkov of the XII Archaeological Congress, held in 1902 University. In 1920, the Museum of Sloboda in Kharkov and were included in the exhibition Ukraine was founded in Kharkov (later renamed catalogue under the numbers 1232 and 1233: into Kharkov Historical Museum), where some 1232. Мечъ желѣзныĭ, или скорѣĭ одна of the items from the University collection were рукоять меча (выш. 17 стм.) съ обломкомъ лезвiя, transferred, including, apparently, the sword with шириноĭ въ 6 стм. Рукоять соединяется съ a scabbard chape.2 Sadly the museum’s collections лезвiемъ широкою полосою и заканчивается were severely damaged during World War II. Some полукруглою головокою. Рукоять желѣзная, но items were unsuccessfully evacuated in October вся покрыта серебряною накладкою и тонкою 1941 and suffered severe damage due to the серебряною нитью. Мечъ этотъ несомнеѣнно direct hit of the railway carriage they were being Х. в., заслуживаетъ вниманiя по своеĭ сохранности transported in by the Luftwaffe air bomb. Another и красотѣ, рѣдкоĭ для Россiи. part of collection remained in the occupied city 1233. Бронзовыĭ наконечникъ отъ ноженъ and was plundered partly spontaneous, partly by того же меча съ прокладкою серебра the subdivision of the Reichsleiter Rosenberg и лилiеобразными наконечниками (Katalog... Taskforce, and later burned when the Germans left 1902, 119) the city in February 1943 (Babenko 2011, 7-9). * Moscow State University, Department of Archaeology, Moscow, Russia; ORCID: 0000-0002-9464-9788; e-mail: shedr. [email protected]. 1 The preparation of the paper was financed by the Author. 2 No documents about the transfer of collections were preserved. I am grateful to Stanislav A. Zadnikov (V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University) and Leonyd I. Babenko (M. F. Sumt͡sov Kharkiv Historical Museum) for the consultation. 206 Alexandra Yu. Shchedrina the crossguard is 3.4 × 1.7 cm. The height of the crossguard in the center is 2.8 cm, length is 9.6 cm, and width is 3.1 cm. The crossguard (Fig. 4) has a virtually straight base and a slightly curved upper edge. The side edges are rounded. From the horizontal view the crossguard has an oval shape. The crossguard is hollow, and its walls are 0.5 to 0.7 cm thick. The upper-guard (Fig. 5) is similar in shape to the crossguard, but is less wide. The pommel is semicircular from the front, with a wide rib stretching along its top and sides. The grip is oval in cross section, and tapers towards the centre (Fig. 6). All the parts are made of iron and covered with inlay. The decoration was applied by first hatching the surface of the iron with numerous tiny grooves, then thin wires of non-ferrous metal were hammered over the top. The wires were laid close together by forming a solid coating. By using wires of different colors – white silver and a reddish copper- based alloy,4 the craftsman created a polychrome composition. In addition to simple copper and silver wire, two different wires that had been twisted together were also used. The density of wire laying in different sections varies between 16 to 33 pieces 2 Fig. 1. Sword and the scabbard chape from Krasn͡ianka − archive photo per 1 cm , that is, each strip of the pattern has of 1902 (after Redin 1903, Pl. IV:8). a thickness of 0.3 to 0.6 mm. Given that the wire Ryc. 1. Miecz i trzewik pochwy miecza z miejscowości Krasnânka − is flattened during the hammering process, its fotografia archiwalna z 1902 r. (wg Redin 1903, Pl. IV:8). original diameter was even smaller, possibly 0.2 to 0.4 mm. The inlay at the ends of the crossguard and the upper-guard was made using the same method, but the silver wire formed only the lines of The whereabouts of the sword and chape during the the pattern, while the background was left as iron. war is unknown, but fortunately the sword survived In addition to the inlay, the front surfaces these catastrophic events and is now stored in of the pommel, upper-guard and crossguard are the M. F. Sumts͡ ov Kharkiv Historical Museum.3 decorated with round indentations with a diameter Unfortunately the scabbard chape, was lost. of 3 mm and a depth of about 1.5 mm, into which copper-alloy inserts were placed. These inserts Hilt of the sword were most likely made by laying a piece of The most remarkable part of the sword is the thin copper-alloy sheet (slightly larger than the hilt (Fig. 2-3). It consists of the following four diameter of the indentation) over the indentation. parts: crossguard, grip, upper-guard and pommel. The sheet was then pressed inside, covering the All parts are secured to the tang, the tip of which is bottom and side walls of the indentation. riveted on top of the pommel. The dimensions are The indentations at the crossguard and the as follows: The total length of the hilt is 17 cm. The upper-guard are arranged in three rows: five and height of the pommel is 2.6 cm, length is 5.4 cm, four indentations in a row at the crossguard, width is 2.4 cm; the height of the upper-guard is and four and three at the upper-guard. The four 2.4 cm, length is 6.4 cm, and width is 2.7 cm. The indentations on the pommel are arranged into length of the grip is 9.4 cm, the pommel’s cross a rhombus. The background between the indentations section is 2.8 × 1.5 cm, the cross section in the is covered with silver, while the rings around each middle is 2.2 × 1.6 cm, and the cross section at indentation as well as the interlace or “wickerwork” 3 I am grateful to head of the Department of Archaeology, Viktor S. Aksenov, who has kindly provided the opportunity to study the item. 4 No special analyses have been carried out to define the composition of metal. Consequently the white wire will be conventionally defined as silver, and the reddish wire as copper. Sword from Krasn͡ianka. Complex of traditions and technologies 207 5 cm 0 10 cm 0 Fig. 2. Sword from Krasn͡ianka. Photo by A. Iu͡ . Shchedrina. Ryc. 2. Miecz z miejscowości Krasnânka. Fot. A. Û. Ŝedrina. design is of copper. All the parts of the hilt again a copper wire. The same strips divide the are framed at the edges by a peculiar strip with head of the pommel into three parts. The ends of a “herringbone” pattern. This decoration has been the crossguard and the upper-guard facing the hilt created by successively laying a copper wire; have the same ornament. That is a frame with copper/silver wire, twisted in one direction; a silver two longitudinal lines in the middle and parallel wire; a wire, twisted in the other direction; and diagonal lines that radiate symmetrically to the 208 Alexandra Yu. Shchedrina 5 cm 0 Fig. 3. Details of the sword from Krasn͡ianka. Drawing by A. Iu͡ . Shchedrina. Ryc. 3. Detale miecza z miejscowości Krasnânka. Rys. A. Û. Ŝedrina. sides. The central part of the grip has been decorated decoration differing from samples of common with an X-shaped pattern with a circle in the center European forms (Kirpichnikov 1966a, 35-36, and scrolled ends. Wide bands at the edges of the N 82-86). In addition to the sword from Krasn͡ianka, grip are inlayed with alternating turns of twisted the swords from Glukhovtsy, Kiev, Karabchiev and copper/silver and silver wires. R͡iazan province were also referred to as the A-local Anatoliĭ N. Kirpichnikov suggested that the type of swords. Sergeĭ I͡ u. Kainov has already noted sword from Krasn͡ianka is a local Old Russian that these swords differ in morphology, material, product and attributed it to the A-local type. This manufacturing technology, and decoration of the type comprises five swords, whose hilts preserved parts which make up the hilt. The parts of the hilts some common European features [e.g., a three-part on the swords from Kiev, Karabchiev and R͡iazan pommel], but otherwise have an appearance and province are of cast copper-alloy, decorated with Sword from Krasn͡ianka.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Co-Operation Between the Viking Rus' and the Turkic Nomads of The
    Csete Katona Co-operation between the Viking Rus’ and the Turkic nomads of the steppe in the ninth-eleventh centuries MA Thesis in Medieval Studies Central European University Budapest May 2018 CEU eTD Collection Co-operation between the Viking Rus’ and the Turkic nomads of the steppe in the ninth-eleventh centuries by Csete Katona (Hungary) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2018 Co-operation between the Viking Rus’ and the Turkic nomads of the steppe in the ninth-eleventh centuries by Csete Katona (Hungary) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2018 Co-operation between the Viking Rus’ and the Turkic nomads of the steppe in the ninth-eleventh centuries by Csete Katona (Hungary) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2018 I, the undersigned, Csete Katona, candidate for the MA degree in Medieval Studies, declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography.
    [Show full text]
  • PRESERVING the DNIPRO RIVER Harmony, History and Rehabilitation PRESERVING the DNIPRO RIVER
    PRESERVING THE DNIPRO RIVER harmony, history and rehabilitation PRESERVING THE DNIPRO RIVER harmony, history and rehabilitation International Dnipro Fund, Kiev, Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, National Research Institute of Environment and Resources of Ukraine PRESERVING THE DNIPRO RIVER harmony, history and rehabilitation Vasyl Yakovych Shevchuk Georgiy Oleksiyovich Bilyavsky Vasyl M ykolayovych Navrotsky Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Mazurkevich Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Preserving the Dnipro River / V.Y. Schevchuk ... [et al.]. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-88962-827-0 1. Water quality management--Dnieper River. 2. Dnieper River--Environmental conditions. I. Schevchuk, V. Y. QH77.U38P73 2004 333.91'62153'09477 C2004-906230-1 No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Publishing by Mosaic Press, offices and warehouse at 1252 Speers Rd., units 1 & 2, Oakville, On L6L 5N9, Canada and Mosaic Press, PMB 145, 4500 Witmer Industrial Estates, Niagara Falls, NY, 14305-1386, U.S.A. and International Development Research Centre PO Box 8500 Ottawa, ON K1G 3H9/Centre de recherches pour le développement international BP 8500 Ottawa, ON K1G 3H9 (pub@ idrc.ca / www.idrc.ca)
    [Show full text]
  • Contact Between Scandinavia and Byzantium in the Albums »The Varangian Way« (2007) and »Stand up and Fight« (2011) by the Finnish Band Turisas
    Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie Heavy Metal Meets Byzantium! Contact between Scandinavia and Byzantium in the Albums »The Varangian Way« (2007) and »Stand Up and Fight« (2011) by the Finnish Band Turisas »Diversity is what unites us!« Turisas: »The March of the Varangian Guard« Byzantium as a research subject fi lls entire libraries, but has not had as much impact on popular culture as, for example, the Classical world or the Vikings. Particularly in music, there is hardly any echo of this empire, which existed for more than a thousand years as the continuation of the Roman Empire, thus being the longest existing medieval empire (4th-15th centuries). The Finnish Heavy Metal band Turisas has focused on the subject of Byzantium and its relations with Scandinavia. They have not only devoted a song to Byzantium but created two concept albums on the migration of the »Eastern Vikings«, the Varangians, to Constantinople (today Istanbul) and their ex- periences with the Byzantine Empire 1 : »The Varangian Way« 2 (2007, fi g. 1-2), and »Stand Up and Fight« 3 (2011, fi g. 3). The fi rst album describes the journey of a group of Scan- dinavians along the »Way of the Varangians to the Greeks«, as it was called in a 12th-century chronicle 4 , to Constantino- ple via Holmgard (Novgorod), the waterways and the feared Dnieper Rapids (see cover art on the album’s back, fi g. 2). The fi rst album ends with the magnifi cent epic hymn on Fig. 1 Cover of the album »The Varangian Way« by Turisas (2007). – (© Century the capital of the Byzantine Empire, the »Miklagard Over- Media Records, with kind permission).
    [Show full text]
  • Slobozhanskyi Herald of Science and Sport
    ISSN (English ed. Online) 2311-6374 ISSN (Ukrainian ed. Print) 1991-0177 ISSN (Ukrainian ed. Online) 1999-818X MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE KHARKIV STATE ACADEMY OF PHYSICAL CULTURE SLOBOZHANSKYI HERALD OF SCIENCE AND SPORT Scientific and theoretical journal Published 6 times in a year English ed. Online published in October 2013 № 2 (40) Kharkiv Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture 2014 SLOBOZHANSKYI HERALD OF SCIENCE AND SPORT • 2014 • №2 (40) (LBC) 75.0 P 48 UDC 796.011(055)”540.3” Slobozhanskyi herald of science and sport : [scientific and theoretical journal]. – Kharkiv : KSAPC, 2014. – № 2(40). – 177 p. The journal includes articles which are reflecting the materials of modern scientific researches in the field of physical culture and sports. The journal is intended for teachers, coaches, athletes, postgraduates, doctoral students research workers and other industry experts. Contents Themes: 1. Physical education of different population groups. 2. Improving the training of athletes of different qualification. 3. Biomedical Aspects of Physical Education and Sports. 4. Human health, physical rehabilitation and physical recreation. 5. Biomechanical and informational tools and technologies in physical education and sport. 6. Management, psychological-educational, sociological and philosophical aspects of physical education and sport. 7. Historical aspects of the development of physical culture and sports in Ukraine. Publication of Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture Publication language – English. The journal is included in the list of professional publications in Ukraine, which may publish results of dissertations (Decree of Presidium of SCADT Ukraine: №3–05/11 from 10.11.1999. №1–05/34 from 14.10. 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • THOR the WIND-RAISER and the EYRARLAND IMAGE the Eyrarland Image (fijms 10880)
    VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH TEXT SERIES GENERAL EDITORS Anthony Faulkes and Richard Perkins VOLUME XV THOR THE WIND-RAISER AND THE EYRARLAND IMAGE The Eyrarland image (fijms 10880). (By kind permission of the photographer, Páll Stefánsson.) THOR THE WIND-RAISER AND THE EYRARLAND IMAGE BY RICHARD PERKINS VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 2001 © Richard Perkins 2001 ISBN 0 903521 52 0 Printed by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter The cover picture is of the amber figure from Feddet, Roholte parish, Sjælland, Denmark (= FI; DNM C24292; height: 4.6 cm.). (By per- mission of Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen.) Cf. also Figure 6. TILL INGEGERD 14 20–7 01 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................ viii PREFACE ......................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE: Wind-power and wind-gods ................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: An episode in Rƒgnvalds fláttr ok Rau›s .......... 27 CHAPTER THREE: Three beard-clutching figures ....................... 53 CHAPTER FOUR: The Eyrarland image ....................................... 82 CHAPTER FIVE: Conclusions. Contexts ..................................... 150 APPENDIX: Rƒgnvalds fláttr ok Rau›s and ‘Rau›s fláttr ins ramma’ 159 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................... 165 LIST OF FIGURES The Eyrarland image ...................................................... Frontispiece 1: Vignette from Olaus Magnus’s Historia ..................................
    [Show full text]
  • Rediscovering Zaporozhians Memory, Loyalties, and Politics in Late Imperial Kuban, 1880–1914
    Rediscovering Zaporozhians Memory, Loyalties, and Politics in Late Imperial Kuban, 1880–1914 Oleksandr Polianichev Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, 26 May 2017 European University Institute Department of History and Civilization Rediscovering Zaporozhians Memory, Loyalties, and Politics in Late Imperial Kuban, 1880–1914 Oleksandr Polianichev Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board Professor Alexander Etkind, European University Institute (EUI Supervisor) Professor Pavel Kolář, European University Institute Professor Vladimir Lapin, European University at St. Petersburg (External Supervisor) Professor Mark von Hagen (Arizona State University) © Oleksandr Polianichev, 2017 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of History and Civilization - Doctoral Programme I Oleksandr Polianichev certify that I am the author of the work Rediscovering Zaporozhians: Culture, Memory, and Politics in Late Imperial Kuban, 1860–1914 I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297).
    [Show full text]
  • 10TH CENTURIES VI Petrukhin
    V.I. Petrukhin PREHISTORY OF RUSSIAN ART PRECHRISTIAN RELICS BASED ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL MATERIAL OF THE 4TH – 10TH CENTURIES The foundation of the early Russian state, its adoption of Chris- an impact of Roman, Celtic, Germanic, Scythian-Sarmatian and tianity and the emergence of an art culture in the 10th-11th cen- even Dacian-Illyrian cultural traditions. Their interaction began turies followed a period characterized primarily by the gradual to determine the nature of artifacts associated with the Slavic and conquest of vast territories of Eastern Europe from the Danube broader Balto-Slavic group of peoples. to the Volkhov and Upper Volga areas by Slavic tribes from the Continued migrations of various ethnic groups, in particular 6th to the 10th centuries. the movement of the Goths in the north and the Sarmatians in the During that period the cultural traditions of Slavic tribes south, led to the disintegration of the Zarubintsy culture in the interacted with those of Turkic- and Iranian-speaking peoples 1st century A.D., impacting on vast territories from the Upper of the steppes and forest-steppes, on the one hand, and the later Dnieper and Desna areas to the Oka basin and, possibly, to the antiquity traditions of the Black Sea and Danube areas, on the Middle Volga. Changes manifest themselves primarily in the loca- other. That interaction was noted already by the early scholars tion of settlements in valleys rather than on river banks, and in pot- (N.P. Kondakov, I.I. Tolstoi and A.S. Gushchin), whose works tery shapes and manufacture techniques as coarsely modeled pots aimed above all to make a catalogue of archaeological finds, become widespread, as well as in the rise of ironmongery as attest- while B.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Apardjón Journal for Scandinavian Studies Volume 1
    1 VOLUME 1 Apardjón Journal for Scandinavian Studies University of Aberdeen, UK 2020 Copyright © 2020 Steven P. Ashby, Jim Gritton, Sarah Künzler, Andrew G. Marriott, Blake Middleton, Ralph O’Connor, Roberto Luigi Pagani, Derek Parrott, Lyonel D. Perabo. The authors published in this issue retain copyright of their submitted work and have granted Apardjón right of first publication of the work. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For more information, please visit creativecommons.org. First published in 2020 ISSN 2634-0577 (Online) ISSN 2634-0569 (Print) Published in Aberdeen, United Kingdom Apardjón Journal for Scandinavian Studies Centre for Scandinavian Studies University of Aberdeen Email: [email protected] Main editors: Daniel Cutts, Heidi Synnøve Djuve, Deniz Cem Gülen, Ingrid Hegland, Jennifer Hemphill, Solveig Marie Wang, Caroline Wilhelmsson. Cover image: © 2020 Marianne Mathieu Cover design and layout: Heidi Synnøve Djuve The present volume of this periodical was financially supported by The Viking Society for Northern Research and the University of Aberdeen Development Trust Experience Fund. To Stefan Brink for his encouragement and contagious enthusiasm, and to Hannah Burrows for her unfaltering faith in her students EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jennifer Hemphill MANAGING EDITORS Heidi Synnøve Djuve Solveig Marie Wang INTERNAL EDITORS Daniel Cutts Deniz Cem Gülen Ingrid Hegland Caroline Wilhelmsson EXTERNAL EDITORS Dr Hannah Booth Linn Willetts Borgen Dr Simon Nygaard Roberto Luigi Pagani Alessandro Palumbo Dr Aya van Renterghem Dr Brittany Schorn Jessie Yusek ADVISORS Dr Hannah Burrows Professor Ralph O’Connor CONTENTS EDITORIAL PREFACE 1 ESSAY PRIZE WINNER Mapping the Settlement Period: Mnemotopographies in Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar 4 Sarah Künzler Territorial Division in the Alfred-Guðrum Treaty: A Ninth Century Diplomatic Innovation? 22 Andrew G.
    [Show full text]
  • Cossack Treasure in Ukrainian Folk Legends Cossack Treasure In
    Cossack Treasure in Ukrainian Folk Legends 75 Cossack Treasure in Ukrainian Folk Legends Roman I. Shiyan University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Introduction Ukrainian Cossacks were a military people who lived and functioned in territories that are now Ukrainian lands. At the time that the Cossacks existed as a group, however, these lands were within the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (after 1569 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) and Russian-controlled territories of the Lower Dnipro region (Zaporizhzhia) and Central Ukraine. The peak of Cossack strength and influence came during the mid-17th century, when the Zaporozhian Cossack Host began a rebellion against the Polish- Lithuanian government on Ukrainian lands, which resulted in the creation of an early-modern Ukrainian State, the Hetmanate (1648-1764) [Okinshevych; Zhukovsky 1988: 145-147]. The establishment of Russian control over the Zaporoz’ka Sich(1) and the Hetmanate by the end of the 17th century coincided with the decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This control grew considerably stronger over the next century, resulting in the eventual liquidation of the Cossack state (1764) and the Sich (1775). Cossacks, especially those of the Zaporozhian Cossack Host, had a reputation as fierce warriors. It was also believed that they possessed vast treasure: the proceeds of their military raids. Historical texts and documents often supply specific figures,(2) thus providing verifiable information on Cossack riches. However, little attention has been paid to how the topic of Cossack treasure is presented in Ukrainian folklore, particularly legends. This article is meant to at least partially fill that gap.
    [Show full text]
  • Professor Emeritus Jostein Børtnes, University of Bergen Vikings in The
    Professor emeritus Jostein Børtnes, University of Bergen Vikings in the East: A Brief Survey of the Textual Sources In my guest lectures on Norwegian literature to Georgian students, I have often been asked about the Vikings and their forays into the lands of the Eastern Slavs and beyond. In the following I will try to answer their questions by giving a brief survey of what we know about the Vikings from extant Eastern sources. The Vikings referred to their expeditions to these parts as Austrvegr or the Eastern route. Historians relying on the early East Slavic Primary Chronicle have traditionally taken for granted the pre-eminence of “the route from the Vikings to the Greeks,” i.e. the Dnieper route from the Baltic past Kiev to Constantinople. This route—путь из варяг в греки—went via the network of navigable rivers that with a few short portages links the rivers that flow west into the Baltic with the river Dnieper, which flows south into the Black Sea. According to the chronicle’s version of the history of Rus, the princes of Kiev owed the legitimacy of their political power to their decent from the Varangian Rurik, the legendary ancestor of the Rurikids, the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus after 862. Furthermore, in this version, Kiev was already a city when the Varangians arrived there in mid-ninth century. Until the last quarter of the last century it was believed that archaeological evidence supported this story. New excavations, and the re-examination of earlier material in the light of the new finds, have shown that Kiev, in fact, did not exist as a city before the late ninth century.
    [Show full text]
  • The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia Estonian
    Estonian Archaeology 4 Andres Tvauri The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia - 1 - The Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Estonia - 2 - Contents Estonian Archaeology 4 ANDRES TVAURI THE MIGRATION PERIOD, PRE-VIKING AGE, AND VIKING AGE IN ESTONIA Tartu University Press Humaniora: archaeologica - 3 - The Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Estonia Official publication of the Institute of History and Archaeology of the University of Tartu Estonian Archaeology Editor-in-Chief: Valter Lang University of Tartu, Estonia Editorial Board: Anders Andrén Stockholm University, Sweden Bernhard Hänsel Free University of Berlin, Germany Volli Kalm University of Tartu, Estonia Aivar Kriiska University of Tartu, Estonia Mika Lavento University of Helsinki, Finland Lembi Lõugas Tallinn University, Estonia Heidi Luik Tallinn University, Estonia Evgeni Nosov Saint Petersburg State University, Russia Jüri Peets Tallinn University, Estonia Klavs Randsborg University of Copenhagen, Denmark Jussi-Pekka Taavitsainen University of Turku, Finland Heiki Valk University of Tartu, Estonia Andrejs Vasks University of Latvia, Latvia Vladas Žulkus Klaipeda University, Lithuania Estonian Archaeology, 4 The Migration Period, Pre-Viking Age, and Viking Age in Estonia Author: Andres Tvauri Editor: Margot Laneman Translators: Alexander Harding, Enn Veldi, Margot Laneman Language editor: Mara Woods Lay-out and illustrations: Kristel Külljastinen Cover design: Meelis Friedenthal Copyright University of Tartu and Andres Tvauri, 2012 ISSN 1736-3810 ISBN 978-9949-19-936-5 Tartu University Press (www.tyk.ee) This book has been published with the support of the Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory. - 4 - Contents Contents List of Figures 11 Abbreviations 16 Introduction Chronology 17 About this work 19 Acknowledgements 23 Chapter 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rural Viking in Russia and Sweden
    The Rural Viking in Russia and Sweden Conference 19-20 October 1996 in the manor of Karlslund, Orebro Lectures Edited by Piir Hansson Orebro kommuns bildningsforvaltning Orebro 1997 ~ in contrast to tl1ose in the west, did not bring their own place-name tradition Ingmar Jansson with them from their homeland. This research, however, is still in its WARFARE, TRADE OR COLONISATION? beginning phase and this first impression will perhaps be modified. SOME GENERAL REMARKS ON THE EASTERN EXPANSION It will also be interesting to see what light a future study of the ancient OF THE SCANDINAVIANS IN THE VIKING PERIOD agricultural remains in the terrain in the shape of fossile ploughing fields, crop-marks, soil-marks and other traces of agricultural field-work might throw over the character of the varjag society in Russia. Viking is a Scandinavian word meaning "sea warrior" or "pirate", and the Viking Age (late 8th-late 11th centuries A.D.) is the period when many Scandinavians travelled by ship to foreign countries east and west. The LITERATURE i~the most well-known ~ of these jour~ was r~i~ Frl!9J>t~~~nglish Ekelund. G. 1956. Silverskatten frim Eketorp. Fran bergslag och bondelngd. Orehro lii11S and Irish chronicles of the time give short but reliamt'atco~htsdfattacks on hembygdsforbunds i!rsbok. Orebro. monasteries and towns. A closer study, however, reveals that the Scandi­ navians were also engaged in other activities. In 876, 877 and 880 the Anglo­ Hansson. P. 1981. Ndrke. Cddevalla. Saxon Chronicle records that the Viking leaders shared the occupied land in - 1983 (2nd print 1995).
    [Show full text]