''The Tale of the Destruction of Riazan'' (russian: Повесть о разорении Рязани Батыем) is an early Russian work about the capture of the city of

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...

by the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

in 1237.

Historical background

Before the events described in the tale, the

Principality of Ryazan The Grand Duchy of Ryazan (1078–1521) was a duchy with the capital in Old Ryazan (destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1237), and then in Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, which later became the modern-day city of Ryazan. It originally split off from the Ch ...

operated as a rather prosperous border settlement-area - actively engaged in trade along the rivers

Oka Oka or OKA may refer to: Cars * Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ * OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA Military * 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...

and

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

to the east and by the river

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

to the south. Archeological evidence suggests lively trading relationships with the Northern

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

and with peoples of the

coast. Crafts were relatively well developed, especially famous being Ryazan jewelry-making. The principality often became involved in conflicts with neighboring

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative ...

and

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

; by the time of the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

invasion their relationships were relatively peaceful. Ryazan was first mentioned in a chronicle of 1096 in connection with the move of Prince Oleg I Sviatoslavovich of Chernigov (also known as Oleg Gorislavovich) to Ryazan after he was rejected in Smolensk. , ru, Муромский поход (1096) The ruling family of Ryazan started with Oleg Gorislavovich's younger brother— of

, who became

Prince of Murom The Prince of Murom was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Murom, a lordship based on the city of Murom, now in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. Gleb Vladimirovich, son of Vladimir the Great, ruled the principality in the e ...

and Ryazan (). As a border principality, Ryazan became one of the first Rus' polities conquered by

Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...

(a military leader of the

forces) who led a united army of various nomadic steppe peoples. Russian texts referred to the invaders as "

tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

" (татаре - standard modern Russian: татары). According to various chronicles and this military tale, Batu attacked Ryazan in 1237.

History of the text

This military tale survived in several sixteenth and the seventeenth century redactions and is thought to be a part of a miscellany that was composed and revised by the clergy of the Church of St. Nikholas of Zaraisk. According to the legend, the church is located on the spot where the princess Eupraxy killed herself.

Likhachev Likhachyov (russian: Лихачёв, masculine) or Likhachyova (, feminine), alternatively spelled Likhachev/Likhacheva or Likhachov/Likhachova, is a Russian surname shared by: *Dmitry Likhachov (1906–1999), Russian language and literature schola ...

Given a form of a military tale, the later version of The Tale of Batu's Capture of Ryazan is a fictionalized account with some historical inaccuracies suggesting that the Tale was composed sometimes after the described events and was subsequently further edited. Tracing its provenance, textual analysis, and dating of various redactions have been conclusively resolved by Soviet scholars. Originally, The Tale of Batu's Capture of Ryazan was a part of a cycle dedicated to the icon of St Nicholas of Zarazsk. This cycle included several parts or tales, each with a differing thematic emphasis. Having absorbed details from these various parts, a more popular version ---a military tale—still manifests stylistic and thematic heterogeneity. The Tale of

St Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

of Zarazsk (in 1225) and The Tale of Batu's Capture of Ryazan (in 1237) in their earlier serving manuscripts versions are dated to the second third of the sixteenth century. For the first time, The Tale of Batu's Capture of Ryazan was published by I. P. Sakharov in 1841. It was based on the late sixteenth century redaction. The whole cycle was published by D. C. Likhachev in 1947. In his canonical study, Likhachev (basing it on the research by V. L. Komarovich) dated, analyzed, and classified 34 variants dating from the sixteenth-eighteenth centuries. Surviving in the earliest dating redactions, the first cycle-variant of The Tale of St Nicholas of Zarazsk is centered on the wonder-working icon of St Nicholas. The subject matter of transferring sacred objects (crosses, icons, relics) was very common in medieval literature. After the icon was brought to Ryazan, the Mongol invasion described in the second tale began. The second tale (The Tale of Batu's Capture of Ryazan proper) was about initial unsuccessful negotiations, a battle and then ransacking of Ryazan and finally the return of the Prince Igor to his destroyed homeland. The final part The

Encomium ''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is ''laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the c ...

of the Princely House of Ryazan included a long

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...

, added much later as Zenkovsky points out, and a panegyric to Ryazan princes. The final part would have been the “family tree of the “keepers” of the icon.

''The Tale of St Nicholas of Zarazsk''

As we know from earlier redactions, this first tale located the

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

precisely in a banquet room of the church of St. James in the city of Korsun (Chersoneses). According to the legends, the icon was from the same church where the Grand Prince Vladimir (I) Sviatoslavovich was baptized; the tale gave details of his miraculous baptism and a feast celebrating the marriage between the Russian Prince and the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

princess Anna. This was followed by an account of “moving” or ”traveling” of the icon as it was escorted by Eustathius from Korsun (корсунянин Евстафий) who was the icon's “keeper”. The tale about this wonder-working icon was filled with wondrous interventions of St. Nicholas who directed Eustathius around the dangerous Polovtsian lands to the Russian principality of Ryazan.

himself orchestrated the arrival of the icon into Russian lands sending visions to both Eustathius and to the Prince Fedor of Ryazan who came to meet the icon. Likhachev explains this part as an earlier type of the story that traditionally interpreted every event as foreshadowing upcoming catastrophes, Ryazan's destruction being the divine retribution "казнию божиею". According to medieval scribe, this was a typical causality. The tale about the wonder-working icon described events that were professed to Fedor (his marriage and child). The icon's story continued in the second part The Tale of Batu's Capture of Ryazan. The icon's name “икона чудотворца Николы Заразская” is specifically associated with the location of the death of Fedor's wife and son. Icon's story extended beyond this Ryazan episode and the icon was moved to Kolomna in 1513. However, as Likhachev suggests, the name of the city is most likely related to the topographical peculiarities of the region (it has many hollows овраги-зарази). Another detail surviving in some redactions reveals traces of a local legend connected to a name of Fedor's servant Aponitsa (who survived and managed to bury the body of Fedor Yurievich secretly). Likhachev suggests a link to a name of a village settlement nearby Zaraisk called Aponichishi (Апоничищи).

''The Tale of Batu’s Capture of Ryazan ''

Plot summary

The tale proper begins as a chronicle-like entry: “Within twelve years after bringing the miraculous icon of

from

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

, the godless Emperor Batu invaded the Russian land with a great multitude of his Tatar warriors and set up a camp of the river

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

in the vicinity of the principality of

Riazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, s ...

.” [В лето 6745. В фторое на десят лето по принесении чюдотворнаго образа ис Корсуня прииде безбожный царь Батый на Русскую землю со множество вой татарскими, и ста на реце на Воронеже близ Резанскиа земли.] We soon learn about a betrayal of Riazan by its neighbors. This is significant because it points out to the theme of disunity between the Russian princes, as a source of Russia's many misfortunes. The Riazan Prince Yury Igorevich calls for an assembly. After a closer historical investigation, this meeting would have been impossible to take place. The council included Prince Vsevolod who could not have present, already dead at the time of the councils and the battle. Possibly, in an effort to simplify the story and add to pathos all of the mentioned princes were made brothers. The Grand Prince Yury Igorevich sends to Batu his son Fedor Yurevich with gifts of supplication. The merciless Batu accepts the gifts and gives a false promise not to invade Riazan. His lust fueled by storied about Prince Fedor's beautiful wife of Byzantine noble blood, Batu demands for himself concubines from Riazan's ruling families. Angered by Fedor's proud refusal, he puts the Prince and his retinue to death. One servant survives to tell the story to Fedor's wife Eupraxy. She is seized with grief and throws herself from the window with the child in her arms. Great Prince Yury Ingarevich prepares for the battle, which takes place on the border of the principality of Riazan. The outnumbered Russians fight fiercely and bravely but they lose the battle. Many receive

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

-like deaths. The accursed Batu successfully storms the city and kills all of its inhabitants. A small detachment led by

Evpaty Kolovrat Evpaty Kolovrat ( rus, Евпатий Коловрат, Yevpatiy Kolovrat, ; c.1200 – 1238) is a Russian bogatyr described in ''The Tale of the Destruction of Ryazan''. According to the tale he died while fighting the vastly superior army of ...

hurries to Riazan from Chernigov (where it was at the time of the battle with Batu). Engaging in an uneven battle, Evpaty Kolovrat manages to significantly undermine the Tartar army, exhibiting extreme heroism, inhuman strength, and endurance. The story about Evpaty Kolovrat's bravery and his joust with Tatar warrior Hostovrul add an epic flair bringing to the story stylistic features found in Russian byliny. Eventually Evpaty is killed. Batu is amazed at the bravery of Evpaty's warriors and honors his dead body, releasing Riazan prisoners with the body without harm. The part of the tale is told in ornate yet vigorous style using phraseology of Old Russian military tales. Prince Ingvar Ingvarevich (nephew of Prince Yuri) returns from Chernigov having been visiting his relatives, at the time of the destruction of Riazan. Having found his fatherland devastated, he searches through the bodies to find all of his relatives dead. He falls to the ground and utters a lament. Having commemorated the dead he rebuilds the city and restores the land of Riazan. The story ends with him taking the throne of Riazan.

Issues with dating and sources

Some inaccuracy present in the tale (such as the naming) help to date to a later period, after the actual events took place. The naming inaccuracy suggests some of possible sources that might have been used in composition of the Tale. Most likely, the names of the Princes were taken from court archives where lists of Ryazan's dead princes were kept; the author could look at tombstones of most of the Princes. Furthermore, the chronicle of Ryazan that survived in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

’s copy does not mention any names but still gives details about the invasions that were faithfully repeated in the Tale.

points out that: “Автор имел в своем распоряжении Рязанскую летопись, современную событиям, весьма вероятно, краткую, без упоминания имен защитников Рязани. Отрывки именно этой летописи дошли до нас в составе Новгородской первой летописи. Вот почему между рассказом Новгородской первой летописи о событиях нашествия Батыя и "Повестью о разорении Рязани" имеются буквальные совпадения. Впоследствии эта летопись была утрачена в самой Рязани. Кроме нее, автор имел в своем распоряжении княжеский рязанский помянник, где были перечислены умершие рязанские князья, но без указаний, где и когда умер каждый из них. Отсюда-то и дополнил автор рассказ рязанской летописи именами рязанских князей, сделав их всех участниками защиты Рязани. Вот почему в "Повести" такое большое внимание уделено похоронам князей, тем более что могилы рязанских князей были перед глазами у автора "Повести".”. Other suggested sources are local legends (already mentioned) and the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

tradition of byliny. The episode about Evpaty the Fearless in particular has a number of folkloric characteristics like use of

hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and ...

(the hero seemed endowed with supernatural strength able to fight hundreds of Batu’s warriors by himself. Only catapults could take him down.) The motif of

single combat Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies. Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repres ...

between two heroes from opposing armies is also a traditional one. Typical of folktales Evpaty’s

druzhina In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna ( Slovak and cz, družina; pl, drużyna; ; , ''druzhýna'' literally a "fellowship") was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called ''knyaz ...

speaks in riddles. The military tale abounds with song-like formulas and motifs like the frequent characterization of Ryazan warriors as adept and swift: “все воинство, и удалцы и резвецы, узорочие резанское” the “chalice of death” shared by all of Ryazan's defenders. Prince Igor's

is another typical element (both in written and oral sources). The ending of the Tale gives some further hints about the date of its creation: Prince Igor returns to restore the city, and peace descends on the region. As Likhachev points out, Ryazan was ravaged but not destroyed. From later historical accounts, we know that Ryazan was destroyed in the 1570s. This fact secures the composition time to the first half of the fourteenth century. Furthermore, details from the Tale were later repeated in 1418 text about the destruction of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( kz, Тоқтамыс, tt-Cyrl, Тухтамыш, translit=Tuqtamış, fa, توقتمش),The spelling of Tokhtamysh varies, but the most common spelling is Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamısh, Toqtamysh, ''Toqtamış'', ''Toqtamıs'', ''Toktamy ...

. These details were not present in the earlier version from 1409. Likhachev suggests that Moscow text exhibits direct textual parallels with the Ryazan Tale.

References

Cited sources

External links

The full Russian text of the tale
Лихачев Д. С. in ВЕЛИКОЕ НАСЛЕДИЕ. КЛАССИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ ДРЕВНЕЙ РУСИ

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tale Of The Destruction Of Riazan, The East Slavic literature