Boris and Gleb

Vladimir the Great (c.958 - 1015) was Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kyiv. Although originally a pagan, he converted himself, and then the whole of the Kievan Rus, to Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox Church made him a saint. Among his children were two sons, Boris and Gleb. When Vladimir converted the country to Christianity, the sons were baptized and given new names. Boris became Roman, and Gleb was baptized as David. When later canonized, however, their birth names were used.

According to a monk named Nestor, who wrote Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb, they were their father's favorites. Boris ruled the town of Rostov, and Gleb ruled Murom. Boris was said to have been Vladimir's heir apparent, although not his eldest. When Vladimir died, the real trouble started.

The eldest son, Sviatapolk, declared himself Grand Prince of Kyiv. Boris had been on campaign with the army, and his friends tried to get him to go to Kyiv to challenge Sviatapolk, but Boris said “I will not raise my hand against my brother, who is even older than I, and whom I should respect as my father!” Sviatapolk was not so interested in avoiding civil or familial strife, however, and had Boris assassinated while sleeping. Well, almost: he was stabbed, but while the body was being transported to Kyiv in a bodybag, those escorting it realized he was still breathing inside, and they thrust a sword into it.

Word had not yet reached Gleb that their father was dead. Sviatapolk sent a message that Vladimir was on his deathbed, causing Gleb to rush to his side, suspecting no treachery. Another brother, Yaroslav, learned about Sviatapolk and told Gleb that Boris is dead and to not meet with Sviatapolk, but the warning didn't help: while praying for Boris, Gleb's own cook slits his throat with a kitchen knife.

Because the two were faced with potential violence and did not meet it with violence, they were declared martyrs for the Faith. They were canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1071. They were interred at the Vyshhorod Cathedral. The Roman Catholic Church canonized them in 1724. Many Russian and Ukrainian churches were named for them.

Their Christianity, so soon after their father converted the nation, was surprisingly steadfast. If Vladimir had not done that, how would they have been raised differently, one wonders. What was Slavic paganism like? Let's talk about that tomorrow.

Women of Legend

The word for a Slavic epic hero is bogatyr. One of the best-known was patterned on Prince Vladimir's uncle, Dobrynya. His battle with a dragon to save a princess would have resulted in most other folklores in being married to the princess, but his bride came from a different story.

Slavic folklore included female bogatyr called polianitsa, who are known to be as brave and strong and skilled as the bogatyr, and who often rescue their husbands. Dobrynya "met" a polianitsa named Nastas'ya Nikulichna when he saw her riding her black horse across he plains. (Without explanation) he fired an arrow at her that struck the side of her helmet. The strike had no effect; the arrow bounced and fell to the ground. He fired another with the same result. A third arrow finally caused her to stop and look around.

She rode up to him, grabbed him off his saddle by his hair, stuffed him into her saddlebag, and continued her ride. After four days, her horse stumbled, complains to her that he was carrying too much weight. Nastas'ya then pulled Dobrynya out of her pouch, asked him who he was, and gave him her terms: if he were older than she, she would kill him; if he were younger, she would treat him like a brother; if they were the same age, she would marry him.

Dobrynya did not want to risk revealing anything, so he refused to talk. Her horse recognized him, however, and identified him as Dobrynya Nikitich who was her age. Nastas'ya said they should get married, and they rode to Kyiv to make it happen. Prince Vladimir attended the wedding feast, which lasted three days, and Nastas'ya went to live with Dobrynya's widowed mother, Amelfia Timofeyevna, while Dobrynya went to fight a war in Lithuania.

While Dobrynya was away for many years, Nastas'ya (believing him dead) agreed to marry Alyosha Popovich (the second of the three best-known legendary bogatyr). Dobrynya was not dead, however, and learned of the wedding plans. He rushed back in time to attend the wedding disguised as a minstrel. After singing for the couple, he revealed himself, forgave this wife, and threatened to kill Alyosha. He was stopped by the third legendary bogatyr, Ilya Muromets. Dobrynya and Nastas'ya then lived happily ever after, agreeing to never speak of or to Alyosha ever again.

Whew.

There were actual women performing legendary acts in history. Vladimir's grandmother was one of them, in fact. Another was a 1st century British queen—a little early for the Middle Ages, but mentioned in medieval literature—Boudicca. Let's talk about her next.

Slavic Epic Legends

A bylina (plural byliny) is an Old Russian epic poem. They often contain tales of a bogatyr, a legendary hero. Early examples are like any other culture's folklore, containing tales of giants and dragons, acts of magic and miracles, etc. With the era of Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Kyiv, the so-called Kievan Cycle included bogatyr who were more rooted in real historical figures and (slightly) more realistic events.

I have mentioned Dobrynya, based on Vladimir's maternal uncle. The bylina of Dobrynya Nikitich starts with his mother advising him to avoid doing four things, all of which he winds up doing. She tells him not to travel the Saracen Mountains, not to trample baby dragons, not to rescue Russian captives, and not to bathe in the Puchai River.

He bathes in that river and meets a female dragon. He defeats the dragon, who pleads for a treaty, which he grants. The dragon immediately breaks the treaty, flying to Kyiv and kidnapping Prince Vladimir's niece Zabava. Vladimir orders Dobrynya two choices: rescue my niece, or be executed (sounds historically accurate!) Dobrynya's mother gives him a legendary horse Burko and a magic silk whip. Dobrynya tracks down the dragon's lair in the Saracen Mountains and tramples her dragon pups, one of whom cripples Burko with a bite to the leg; the magic whip (riding crop?), however, restores the horse with its application.

The dragon refuses to give up Zabava, and they fight for three days. Dobrynya, exhausted, wants to give up, but a voice from Heaven tells him to continue for three more hours, at the end of which he kills the dragon. This tale is so popular that it is still told: the illustration above is from a 2006 animated feature.

The happy ending would be Dobrynya marrying the rescued Zabava, but alas! Dobrynya is a peasant and not suited to the niece of a prince. Zabala's hand in marriage goes to Alyosha Popovich (second of the three best-known bogatyr). Dobrynya marries Nastas'ya Nikulichna, a polyanitsa (a female bogatyr).

From here I was thinking of talking about the medieval belief in dragons, but a female bogatyr is too interesting to leave alone with a single sentence. Dobrynya's marriage to Nastas'ya isn't part of the dragon story. It starts when he shoots her with an arrow. But that's a story for tomorrow.

Slavic Epic Heroes

Grand Prince of Kiev Vladimir the Great (958 - 1015) expanded the territory for the Kievan Rus. He cared about his reputation, showing his religious devotion by erecting a temple to the various gods of the people he had conquered. (He abandoned this when it became politically prudent to convert to Christianity.) The conversion to Christianity was politically prudent when he married a royal from Constantinople, abandoning his Kievan wives. (I think it stemmed from trying to overcome his illegitimacy, his mother being his father's housekeeper.)

Something else happens during his reign that I have to assume is not a coincidence, and that he encouraged it: the rise of the Kievan Cycle, legends about heroes, some of whose origins can be traced to real people during Vladimir's reign among his elite warriors and personal companions.

Now for some terms: a bogatyr (etymology uncertain) is a hero, a knight errant similar to Arthur's knights of the Round Table who travel the land having adventures recorded in the Rus' epic poems called bylinas (from the past tense of the Russian verb for "to be," indicating "something that was"). Prior to Vladimir's reign and the Kievan Cycle, Slavic/Russian legends include supernatural elements; the bogatyr often wield magic. The Kievan Cycle is more rooted in fact and national pride. The heroes are often depicted in defending the homeland.

One of the bogatyr is Dobrynya, shown to be based on Vladimir's maternal uncle of the same name. Vladimir had been sent to Dobrynya in Novgorod as a youth. One story claims that Vladimir's rape of Rogneda (see the link above) was orchestrated by Dobrynya, after Rogneda insulted his sister, Vladimir's mother Malusha. It was Dobrynya who forced Novgorod's Christian conversion "by fire" after Vladimir's decision.

The picture above is an 1898 painting the three best-known bogatyr: Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets, and Alyosha Popovich. Bogatyr were sometimes known for specific characteristics. Dobrynya was known for his courage, Alyosha for his wits, and Ilya excelled in strength and integrity and his defense of the homeland.

Tomorrow we'll delve into some of the fictional and not-so-fictional bogatyr and their bylinas.

Christianization Aftermath

Vladimir the Great's mass conversion plan for the Kievan Rus was not acceptable to everyone. Less than a decade earlier he hd built a temple to several gods of the local tribes he had conquered, and picked Perun as the chief god.

Perun was the top god of the Slavic pantheon, a sky god with the power of thunder and lightning and storms. He was god of war and law, fertility and oak trees, and his symbols were the eagle and the hammer or axe (many "Axes of Perun" amulets have been found in archaeological digs). Perun was important to many peoples in the region, and even to Vladimir's own military.

So when Vladimir commanded that everyone come to the Dnieper to be baptized in the river or be named his enemy, people were upset, and many resisted. Dobrynya, Vladimir's uncle—Novgorod chronicles claim that it was he who raised Vladimir as a child, and later persuaded him to take control from his older brother—is said to have driven Novgorod to Christianity "by fire."

Pagan protests took place in areas outside of main population centers, such as in the Upper Volga and in the northeast in what is now Rostov in the Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia. Even decades later, in 1071, the bishop was being threatened by a mob opposed to Christianity, but the local prince bisected a "sorcerer" with an axe, saving the bishop and discouraging the uprising. Pagan culture could not be eradicated completely, surviving for centuries: a medieval epic poem composed probably shortly after 1200 called The Tale of Igor's Campaign blends Christian motifs with pagan gods.

Mass conversion was a political move, but it did not immediately change the hearts and minds of the subjects or the culture in win they lived.

But since we've touched on Slavic literature, I want to talk more about Vladimir's uncle Dobrynya, and the Kievan version of the Round Table. More on that tomorrow.

The Christianization of the Kievan Rus

Although his grandmother, the cruel and vicious Olga, is considered by some to be the reason the Kievan Rus became Christian, Vladimir the Great is the one who made it "official." The "Baptism of Kyivan Rus"*  is celebrated every year. The reason he converted himself and the country is worthy of debate.

The account of the Primary Chronicle is that he looked for the best religion of the three major ones (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) to submit to, settling on Christianity because it didn't have the dietary prohibitions of the others. The Chronicle also contains what is called the "Korsun Legend." In it, Vladimir captures Korsun—part of the Byzantine Empire—in the Crimean Peninsula. He uses this to negotiate with the Emperor Basil II for Basil's unwedded sister in marriage. Vladimir already had a few wives, but this would be the highest-born wife he could get, and forge an alliance with a large empire. Basil consents if Vladimir will be baptized a Christian. He does so, and marries Anna Porphyrogeneta.

Several Arab sources cast this event in a slightly different light. They tell us that two rebels joined forces against Emperor Basil, one of whom actually declared himself emperor in September 987. Basil wanted help dealing with them, and so turned to Vladimir, despite their less-than-friendly history. Vladimir offered his help in suppressing the rebels, in exchange for Anna's hand in marriage. Vladimir also agreed (although he seemed to have had the upper hand in this deal) to be baptized and to Christianize his whole nation. Once this agreement was finalized, Vladimir sent 6000 troops to Basil's aid.

Whichever version is accurate, Vladimir married Anna, but had a problem at home: several wives. He had to divorce Rogneda (who entered a monastery), Adela, and Malfrida. He also had all the residents of Kyiv meet him at the Dnieper River for a mass baptism. He baptized his children and all the nobility. Messages went to all residents of Kyiv to come to the river and be baptized or be declared Vladimir's enemy. Priests from Korsun performed the ceremony.

Afterward, less than a decade after setting up shrines and temples to pagan deities to please the various tribes, he had them all torn down or burned. 

In our high school History of Western Civilization classes we often hear about entire countries being forced into Christianity. We never hear about paganism fighting back. In this case, let's see how Vladimir's people felt about their forced conversion. See you tomorrow.

*The Russian attack of Ukraine in 2022 has resulted in a change in many places to use the Ukrainian spelling "Kyiv" over the Russian "Kiev." I still use "Kievan Rus" because it is historically what the group has been called; when I mention the capital city, I will use the Ukraine spelling.

Vladimir the Great

Vladimir the Great (also Vladimir I, also St. Vladimir/Volodymyr) was Grand Prince of Kyiv and ruler of Kievan Rus from 980 to 1015. He was the third son of Sviatoslav I, whose death in 972 resulted in Vladimir fleeing to Scandinavia after his oldest brother, Yaropolik, murdered their middle brother, Oleg, to eliminate a potential rival to his rule.

Yaropolik might not have considered Vladimir a threat, since Vladimir was the son of their father and their father's housekeeper.

The ruler of Norway, Haakon Sigurdsson, was a relative. Haakon helped Vladimir (who was only 21) to gather a Varangian army and defeat Yaropolik, taking over Novgorod. He was crowned 11 June 980.

On his way to defeat his brother, he sent to the Prince of Polotsk (in Belarus) asking for his daughter Rogneda's hand in marriage. Rogneda refused to marry the son of a housekeeper, so Vladimir diverted to Polotsk, conquered it, kidnapped Rogneda, killed her parents, and used Polotsk as a fortress base to capture Kyiv.

During his reign and expansion of his father's territory, Vladimir lived the life of a staunch pagan, erecting shrines to gods and enjoying 800 concubines. He was keenly aware of the religious beliefs of the various tribes and areas he was conquering, and wanted to ensure loyalty to himself by showing reverence for their deities, at one point building a temple to six different gods worshipped by different groups.

This attempt to exploit the gods for his own purposes was overt enough that people resented it. Vladimir, fascinated with the power religion had, sent emissaries to explore the major religions of the world: Islam, Christianity, Judaism. Islam's prohibition against alcohol and pork made it unsuitable, and Jews' loss of Jerusalem showed that God did not favor them. His people returned having been most impressed by the grandeur of Constantinople and its religious rituals.

There are two different versions of what happened next: the local sources that say Vladimir decided Christianity was preferable, and Arab sources that offer a more cynical reason for his conversion. I'll give you the details next time.

From Scandinavia to Constantinople

The Varangian Guard were personal bodyguards for Byzantine emperors from the 10th to 14th centuries. The guards were primarily hired from Northern Europe. Hiring mercenaries from far away was a common practice in many countries (Italy, for example) to avoid soldiers having any local loyalties that might motivate them to help someone overthrow the government.

Vikings traveled everywhere, not only on northern seas, but also the Black Sea, the Marmara, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean. An ethnic group called the Rus, believed to be Norse who settled around the Black and Baltic Seas and merged with Slavic locals, created a culture now called the Kievan Rus. They were the first recruits for the Varangian Guard, after their Christianization.

Over time, Constantinople sent emissaries north seeking to hire more. In 1195, Alexios Angelos sent requests for 1000 warriors each from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden to help him overthrow the emperor, who was his brother, and make himself Emperor Alexios III.

Many Norse, mostly Swedes, made the trip south on their own, seeking employment in the lucrative business of guarding the Byzantine emperor in Miklagarðr, ("Great City"). The number of them—and the consequences of their absence—was sufficient to create new laws. Sweden forbade receiving an inheritance if you lived in Greece. Norway decreed that departing for Greece forfeited your place in line regarding inheritance. Clearly they were happy if citizens brought money back, but were against seeing wealth leave their country for southern climes.

The Christianization of Kievan Rus that brought them to the attention of Byzantium and made them the source of the first Varangians has been touched on before, as has been the person who brought it about, but he did more than that. Next time we look more closely at Vladimir I of Kyiv.

Olga of Kiev, the Evil Saint

We touched on the Christianization of Kievan Rus when talking about the Varangian Guard. This Christianization did not happen all at once. Something was happening by 867, when Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, said that the Rus were taking to Christianity with enthusiasm. Still, other historical sources are clear that paganism was still strong in the following century. Still, when ruler Vladimir the Great was baptized some time in the 980s, bringing his family and all of Kiev with him, it is fair to say that the place was "officially" Christian.

That does not mean, however, that everyone immediately became a gentle, "turn the other cheek" follower of the Golden Rule.

Igor I of Kiev ruled Kievan Rus from 912 until his death in 945 during the Drevlian Uprising. The Drevlians were a Slavic group with a wide territory, and they wanted Igor's wife Olga to marry their leader, Prince Mal, so that he would become king of the Rus. Olga intended to became regent for her son, Sviatoslav the Brave, and wanted nothing to do with Prince Mal. When an embassy of 20 men were sent from Mal to persuade her, she made an elaborate plan.

She had a large trench dug in her hall, and had her people carry the 20 men in the boat they came with into the hall as a show of honor to the Drevlians. She then had the boat dropped into the trench and had them buried alive.

She then sent a message to Mal that she would marry him, but he had to show her honor and persuade her people that this was the right decision by sending his best and most impressive nobles as her escort to Mal. When this new and aristocratic assemblage reached Olga's court, she offered them a fancy building to bathe and clean themselves up after their journey. Once they were inside, she secured the building and set fire to it.

She then asked that the Drevlians prepare a funeral feast so that she might mourn her husband, and she would come to them; when they were drunk, her army slew 5000 Drevlians, then returned to Kiev to expect an attack.

The Drevlians were done: they offered terms of surrender. Olga told them she would accept three pigeons and three sparrows from each household, an easy tribute. The people were glad to get off so lightly, and delivered the birds. Olga instructed her men to attach with thread to each bird a small piece of sulphur wrapped in cloth. At night, the birds were released, whereupon they flew back to their nests in the houses from which they came. The houses were set on fire, and the fire spread so quickly that there was no chance to save anything.

Her feast day is today, 11 July.

That's right: she's a saint. As one of the first of the Kievans to be baptized, and for spreading Christianity so diligently (one wonders what tools of persuasion she used), she was named a saint. She failed, however, to convert her son; Vladimir I, who made the Kievan Rus' conversion "official," was her grandson.

Vikings in Constantinople

An 11th-century depiction of Varangian Guards.

In recent posts on the 4th Crusade and the Siege of Constantinople, I mentioned the Varangian Guard beating back the Crusaders temporarily. The Varangian Guard were, essentially, Vikings who made their way to the Mediterranean and became mercenaries. Their name comes from the Old Norse Væringjar, from the word var which meant "pledge"; thus, they were "pledged men"; the Greeks turned this name into Βάραγγοι or Varangoi.

It was Emperor Basil II (958 - 1025), sometimes called "Basil the Young" or "Porphyrogenitus," who first hired them in 988, after their Kievan Rus homeland was Christianized. Basil received 6000 Varangians from Vladimir I of Kiev, which he preferred over local men whose loyalties might attach them to other aristocrats and would-be emperors if circumstances favored such a switch.

Viking runes in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Service in the Byzantine Empire was so attractive that men from all the Scandinavian countries considered it a good career move. Sweden even made a law that declared no Varangian serving in Byzantium could inherit without returning back home.

Varangians became very popular as mercenaries in Kievan Rus and even in England—but only for a short time, from 1018-1066: they did not help to turn the tide when William of Normandy came to claim the throne.

In Byzantium, they operated at least through the middle of the 14th century. Still, they left their mark on Constantinople in more ways than one. Some runic inscriptions have survived, placed their by Varangians. One was even carved in the Hagia Sophia.