''Prince Rostislav'' (Князь Ростисла′в) is a poem by Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy first published in the April

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voyag ...

issue of ''

The Russian Messenger The ''Russian Messenger'' or ''Russian Herald'' (russian: Ру́сский ве́стник ''Russkiy Vestnik'', Pre-reform Russian: Русскій Вѣстникъ ''Russkiy Vestnik'') has been the title of three notable magazines published in ...

'' (book 1, pp. 483-484), subtitled ''The Ballad''. The poem was based on an episode in '' Slovo o Polku Igoreve'' concerning Prince Rostislav of Pereyaslavl (1070-1093) and his brothers' losing a battle with the Polovtsy. Fleeting from the enemy, he drowned in the

Stuhna River The Stuhna (), or Stugna, is a minor river in Ukraine, a right tributary of Dnieper River. Its length is 68 km. The river was mentioned in the ''Tale of Igor's Campaign'' and was a place of the Battle of the Stuhna River. Cities located on ...

. The quotation from ''Slovo'' was used in a corrupt form, common at the time.Yampolsky, Igor. Commentaries to Prince Rostislav. The Works by A.K. Tolstoy in 4 volumes. Vol.I. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. 1964. P.719. Later literary scholars found close similarities between this poem and Lermontov's ''Mermaid'' and

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

's ''King Harald Garfager''. The poem was set to music twice, by Anton Rubinstein and

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

References

{{Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy 1856 poems Poetry by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Works originally published in The Russian Messenger

See also

References