EDNote: Sergei Soloviev and Viktor Fet both offer some information on
early Russian history. VF's post is below SS's. -SB
-------- Original Message --------
Dear Charles,
now I understand the main source of your idea:
>The shield dates at least from 1280, around the time when the
Swedish tribe
>of Rus were laying the foundations of what eventually became
Russia.
They are Sweden (Zembla?) centered...
>In Sweden, which was not so unlike Russia in pre-revolutionary time
So, let me first tell something about nobility in Russia. I'll try to
be
purely factual.
Until 16 century Russia was not a monarchy, there were many
principalities
(Moscow was founded at 1147, Kiev existed at least from 9 century etc.).
So, the source of the gentry was not a Monarch, like in Sweden in
the period you mention. According to http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/,
there were a) princes and their descendants
(called "natural nobility" or "natural princes" - knazya prirodnye in
russian), they are derived
from Vladimir Monomach (1053-1125, Grand Prince of Kiev Russia),
actually there exist 109 lines of descendants (may be not "lines" -
branches?
genera? families?) ; and from Saint Michail
Chernigovsky (killed by tartars in 1246) - 28 lines. b) There
were 49 foreign princes whose descendants were recognized
c) some western titles were recognized as well, for example,
3 or 4 of Sweden.
Since 16 th century it was also certain number of princes, graphs
etc whose title was given by Monarch: 32 princes (knyasia), 127
graphs. The descendance from old princes sometimes inspired
sort of opposition to Monarch since this kind of nobility was not
derived
from Monarch at all. (A lot about this can be found in Pushkin's
verse.)
These, until the reforms of Piter the Great (in the beginning of 18
century)
were considered as "Boyars", and had hereditary
lands. The lower level of gentry, "dvoryane", initially got their
nobility
from princes and until, as I remember, Catherine II, possessed the land
in
non-hereditary manner. After Piter the Great it was possible to earn
hereditary nobility (dvoryanstvo) by military or even civil service if
you
were promoted to sufficently high grade (equivalent to
lieutenant-colonel, as
I remember).
It is probable that the first ruling dinasty (Rurikovichi) is derived
from
swedes coming to Russia, and it is possible that Rus was a swedish
tribe that came to Slavic lands in 9 century (the road to Bysance
through these lands - future Russia - throug Ladoga, Kiev etc - was
very
actively used in 9-10 century). But to 1280 it had already many hundred
years
of history behind - cyrillics alphabet in 9 century, baptism in 10-th,
Bysantian influence, republic in Novgorod, tartar invasion in 1238 (a
catastrophe and the end of Kiev Russia).
By the way, VN translated "Slovo o polku Igoreve", a secular heroic
poem,
dated probably by the end of 12 century. There are some speculations
that it could be latest forgery (to me - I know the text of course - it
looks unlikely), but even if it was so, it must use the autentic texts
of
12 century (chronographs etc - there are many) as its base.
Best regards
Sergei
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>
1280, around the time when the Swedish tribe of Rus
were laying
the foundations of what eventually became Russia.
Sorry - this date is off at least by 400 years...Here is the excerpt
from that Wonderful Well of Wisdom, the Wikipedia...
"It is thought the Slavs adopted that name from the Varangian
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varangian>
elite, which was first
mentioned in the 830s <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/830>
in the annals
of Saint Bertan <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annals_of_Saint_Bertan>
.
These annals relate that Holy Roman Emperor Louis II
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor>
's court
at Ingelheim <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingelheim>
, in 839
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/839>
(the same year as the first
appearance of Varangians <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varangian>
in
Constantinople <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople>
), was
visited by a delegation from the Byzantine emperor
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_emperor>
. In this delegation
there were two men who called themselves Rhos (Rhos vocari dicebant).
Louis enquired about their origins and learnt that they were Swedes
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedes>
. Fearing that they were spies for
their brothers, the Danes <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danes>
, he
incarcerated them. They were also mentioned in the 860s
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/860>
by the Byzantine patriarch Photius
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photius>
under the name of Rhos"
By the way, Wikipedia features a reasonably informative note on VN.
The only deficiency I can see there at once is pigeonholing VN under TWO
"LIterary movements" at the same time (modernism AND postmodernism).
Anybody cares to comment? :)
Victor Fet