About the single combat of Prince Mstislav and Rededya: a comparative historical analysis of the culture of single combats in Ancient Rus at the end of X - the first half of XI centuries

Chasovitina Ol'ga Vladimirovna postgraduate student, Faculty of History, Department of Russian History to the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, Lomonosov Moscow State University 27, building 4, Lomonosovsky Prospekt, Moscow, 119192, Russia ovchasovitina@gmail.com

The chronicle history of Russia of the X-XI centuries contains a significant number of stories about military events. In the testimonies of military events, details have also been preserved that capture the culture of military social groups. The study of military culture makes it possible to more fully reveal the significance of individual phenomena in the life of society, to get closer to understanding the worldview and motivation of people of a distant epoch. A special place in the history of military affairs is occupied by military duels. The study of the originality and characteristic features in the descriptions of military duels in the Old Russian chronicle allows us to present in more detail their significance for society and the features of the military culture of Ancient Russia.

The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristic features of the ancient Russian culture of military duels, to compare them with the features of the Byzantine culture of military duels and the Byzantine military culture as a whole. Reports of ancient Russian military duels in the Tale of Bygone Years are few, so it is advisable to compare them with similar evidence from Byzantine sources. Relations with Byzantium were one of the most important directions of the foreign policy of ancient Russia. Cultural exchange was facilitated by military and peaceful political contacts, trade relations and the spread of Christianity in Russia. The experience of studying Byzantine evidence of duels on the material of chronicles is already available ^[29] and requires continued observations.

The research method used in the work to achieve this task is a comparative historical study of data from ancient Russian historical sources using data from Byzantine sources for comparison.

The object of research is the ancient Russian tradition of military duels. The subject of the study is the features of the Old Russian tradition of military duels, reflected in the chronicle news of the Tale of Bygone Years about the duel of Prince Mstislav and Rededi in the weather article 6530 (1022/1023) ^{[5, p. 64]}.

The chronological framework of the study is the end of the X – the first half of the XI centuries, since the mentions of duels in the Tale of Bygone Years are few and relate to the specified period. If necessary, in order to substantiate the existence of a long tradition and historical memory, sources concerning events more distant in time are involved in the study.

The geographical scope of the study is the lands of Ancient Russia (for a group of ancient Russian sources) and Byzantium (for a group of Byzantine sources).

In historiography , the scientific interpretation of the news about the duel between Prince Mstislav and Rededi dates back to the XVIII century . The question of reflecting the tradition of duels in the annals was occupied by V. N. Tatishchev, who noted the existence of an ancient tradition of duels, known from ancient Roman history, and even from its mentions in the Old Testament ^{[20, pp. 9-81, 413]}. Among modern researchers, S. P. Oakley and T. Wiedemann, in particular, write about military duels in Ancient Rome ^{[30, 31]}. The existence of this practice in antiquity is beyond doubt. However, Tatishchev's attempt to summarize information about ancient Russian duels turned out to be not quite correct due to the involvement of data from later sources ^[25].

In modern historiography, various approaches are used to study this news. V. V. Dolgov, in an article devoted to the role of duels in ancient Russian military culture, refers it to "descriptions of combat duels". The researcher notes the poetization of a combat duel in society as a factor complicating the study of the phenomenon ^{[10, pp. 59-60]}. N. V. Trofimova refers the news to "military narratives that develop a motive about duels", which also include the duel of the young man Kozhemyaka with Pecheneg in the "Tale of Bygone Years" and later duels - Evpati Kolovrat with Hostovrul in the "Tale of the Destruction of Ryazan by Batu", Peresvet with a Tatar warrior in the "Tale of Mamaev carnage." At the same time, the researcher draws attention to the universal folklore topic of stories about duels. According to her observations, in this group of narratives, "the main motive is accompanied by accompanying folklore motives: the search for a hero by the Russian troops; the unusual strength of the youngest son in the family; the bragging of the enemy, which turns into defeat" ^{[21, p. 41]}. Folklore and poetic features of the narrative, due to the connection of bookishness with the tradition of oral tradition, can be associated with the practice of preserving historical memory in the Old Russian military aristocratic environment, which had a mixed origin.

Articles by N. S. Trubetskoy and G. F. Turchaninov ^{[23, 24]} were devoted to research on Prince Kasogov Reded ^{[23, 24]}. In modern historiography, this topic is touched upon in the article by A. A. Maksidov ^[16].

The historiography considered on the subject of the study does not fully reveal the problem, while individual observations deserve attention. The issue of the allocation of chronicle news about military duels into a general typological group is sufficiently covered, an approach to comparison with the traditions of military duels in other cultures is outlined. Attempts have also been made to clarify the ethnosocial affiliation of the Rededi and to identify information related to its historical memory.

The sources used in the study are The Tale of Bygone Years, "The Word about Igor's Regiment". The Tale of Bygone Years is a stable text present in the majority of the surviving chronicles, and tells about events from ancient times to the 1110s ^[5]. "The Word about Igor's regiment" refers to the monuments of ancient Russian literature of the end of the XII century, and is dedicated to the historical plot reflected in the chronicles ^[7]. As a material for comparative study, sources on the history of Byzantium of the IX-X centuries are used. These include historical monuments relating to military events - the "History" of Leo the Deacon of the 10th century, dating from the 10th century. "Chronography" of the Successor of Theophanes, "Chronography" of Mikhail Psellus of the 11th century. ^{[2, 6, 3]}. As a source on the history of military affairs in Byzantium, the Byzantine military-scientific manual "Tactics of the Lion" is used ^[1].

The Tale of Bygone Years under 6530 (1022/1023) contains a story about the victory of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich over Rededya in a duel and about Mstislav's founding of the Church of the Virgin in Tmutarakan:

"And I have fought hard, and over the struggling ima, the beginning of the struggle Mstislav: Be great and strong Rededya. And Mstislav's speech: “O most pure Theotokos, help me. If I overcome this, I will destroy the church in your name.” And behold, hit them on the ground. And take out the knife, and I'll Reded. And he went into his land, taking all his possessions, and his wife and his children, and put tribute on kasogi. And come to the Darkness of the Cloth, lay the church of the Holy Theotokos, and build it, which will stand to this day of the Darkness of the Cloth" ^{[5, p. 64]}.

The Tale of Bygone Years is a monument of chronicling, having a multi–layered structure due to the complex history of the formation and later existence of the text. The final addition of the text of the Tale of Bygone Years was dated by A. A. Shakhmatov in the 1110s ^{[27, p. XXXVI],[9]}.

The article in question refers researchers to an earlier chronicle in relation to the Story, the so-called "Nikon vault". Studying article 6530 (1022/1023) and other news about the Kasogs and Prince Mstislav, A. A. Shakhmatov suggested that they were additions to an even earlier chronicle text. The chronicler or "editor-in-chief" of these additions, according to A. A. Shakhmatov, was the Monk Nikon, one of the companions of the Venerable Anthony of the Caves and Theodosius of the Caves, who founded a monastery near Tmutarakan, and returned to the Pechersk Monastery in the 1070s. According to the hypothesis of A. A. Shakhmatov, in 1072-1073. Nikon revised the previous code and compiled a continuation to it. The acquaintance of the author of the news with Tmutarakan, located far from Kiev, is indicated by the message that the mentioned church of the Holy Theotokos "stands to this day in Darkness" ^{[28, pp. 284-297]}. S. M. Mikheev, relying on the data of linguistic and stylistic analysis, suggests that the compilation of the Nikon Code with the participation of Nikon as a chronicler or informant took place in 1078 (6586)-1087 (6595) ^{[17, pp. 120-129]}. In the scheme of the history of the initial chronicle of A. A. Gippius, the creation of this codex is attributed to the 1070s ^{[9, p. 61]}. D. A. Borovkov, also recognizing the presence of inserts in the presentation of events during the rivalry for power between Mstislav and Yaroslav, considers the question of Nikon's involvement in the chronicle debatable ^{[8, p. 70-77]}. Considering the arguments of A. A. Shakhmatov and S. M. Mikheev, it can be assumed that the article in question was created in the 1070s, while judging by the mention of the operating church of St. The Mother of God, the chronicler had the opportunity to rely on the historical memory of some part of the inhabitants of Tmutarakan.

The confrontation between Mstislav and Rededi is also mentioned in the "Word about Igor's Regiment", compiled after 1185 ^{[7, p. 9]}. The existence of a church in the central part of Tamatarkha – Tmutarakan in the XI-XII centuries, correlated with the Church of St. Nicholas mentioned in the news under consideration. The Virgin, confirmed by archaeological excavations ^{[15, p. 377-387],[26, p. 57]}. During the excavations, a cemetery was found geographically connected with the church, which indicates the importance of the temple for local residents ^{[26, p. 302]}. Thus, certain facts of the chronicle news find a correspondence in other written and archaeological sources.

Let's repeat once again, the duel of Mstislav and Rededi is not the first military duel in the PVL, "replacing", but in fact, probably anticipating the battle. According to the PVL under 6500 (992/993) (there is no such story in the Initial Set), thirty years earlier there was a duel of an unnamed young man (in later chronicles called "Pereyaslav" or "Jan Usmoshvets", and in the later folklore tradition known as Nikita Kozhemyak) with a Pecheneg warrior ^{[4, p. 15, 165, 180],[22, pp. 19, 22]}. In memory of his victory, Prince Vladimir laid the city of Pereyaslavl at the ford across the Trubezh River, a left tributary of the Dnieper ^{[5, pp. 54-55]}. By the will of Prince Vladimir, the young fighter took a higher social position.In the above-mentioned chronicle news, the enemy soldiers are "great" in physique, and in both cases it is said about their death during the duel.

The duels are attributed to the beginning of the military confrontation, and the conditions are negotiated by the parties, and the outcome of the duels is given political significance.

It is interesting that both of these duels took place in the context of military-political contacts of Russia with political entities that were in the zone of cultural and political influence of the Byzantine Empire (but at the same time culturally and politically unrelated to it). Is it accidental?

In Byzantine sources, Roman duels among themselves and their duels with foreigners are often mentioned, in particular, soldiers from the army of the Russian Prince Svyatoslav.

Lev the Deacon, describing the war of Prince Svyatoslav with the Romans, of which he was a contemporary, gives descriptions of several duels. For example, – the fight of patrikiy Peter with the Russian warrior who challenged the fighters:

"The leader of the Scythians, a man of enormous stature, reliably protected by a shell, rode out on a horse, and, shaking a long spear, began to summon those who wished to oppose him; then Peter, filled with courage and bravery beyond expectations, turned powerfully and with such force sent a spear into the chest of the Scythian with both hands that the point pierced the body through and out of the backs" ^{[2, pp. 57-58]}.

In this passage, the challenge is particularly noted, which brings it closer to the above chronicle duels, although the description of the course of the duel, which took place on horseback and the outcome of which was decided by a strong and skillful spear strike, differs. The description of the flight of the military detachment is similar.

Lev Deacon also talks about martial arts without a challenge. This is how the duel of Varda Sklir and the Russian warrior at Arkadiopolis is described:

"The noble Scythian, who surpassed other warriors by his great height and the brilliance of his armor, moving through the space between the two troops, began to arouse courage in his comrades. Varda Sklir rode up to him and hit him on the head so hard that the sword penetrated to the waist; the helmet could not protect the skiff, the shell could not withstand the force of the hand and the striking action of the sword. He fell to the ground" ^{[2, p. 59]}.

In the presentation of Lev Deacon, Varda Sklir, at the time of the regrouping of the detachments, singled out the figure of the armored military leader, who encouraged the Russian system, and hurried to impress him, showing the skill of a rider and mastery of weapons. The course of action differs from the chronicle story under consideration. With the description of the duel between Mstislav and Rededi, this episode is brought closer by the fact that the rival of the aristocratic commander Varda Sklir leads a military detachment (like Rededi), as well as the subsequent description of the flight of the enemy soldiers.

Similarly , the defeat of the Russian military leader Ikmor at Dorostol at the hands of the imperial bodyguard Anemas is described:

"There was among the Scythians Ikmor, a brave man of gigantic stature, [the first] after Sfendoslav, the leader of the army, whom [the Scythians] honored as the second among them. (...) the son of archig the Cretans Anemas was inflamed by the valor of the spirit, pulled out the sword hanging on his side, galloped on horseback in different directions and, spurring him, rushed at Ikmor, overtook him and struck him in the neck – the head of the Scythian, cut off along with his right hand, rolled to the ground" ^{[2, c. 78]}.

Here Leo the Deacon emphasizes the nobility and military prowess of the Russian warrior, which aroused in one of the imperial bodyguards, a noble Cretan by origin, the desire to perform a feat by trying to cut him down. The motive of the confrontation between two noble warriors brings this news closer to the story of Mstislav and Reded, although the description of the course of the duel is different. There is a similarity in the topos of the description of the escape of enemy soldiers.

Leo Deacon's descriptions of duels do not contain their interpretation as actions that directly decide the outcome of the war, although Leo emphasizes their importance for the outcome of the battle.

C. Kariakidis in the article "Accounts of single combat in Byzantine historiography" investigated the references of medieval Byzantine historians about duels between brave participants in battles. The historian identified the characteristic features of the narratives of combat duels in Byzantine historiography and examined how different authors used such stories to promote their own views on political events and to praise the military merits of their heroes. The article also touches upon the influence of Homer's poems, the books of the Old Testament, the Byzantine epic tradition and the ideals of the West on the idea and descriptions of duels in Byzantium. The historian came to the conclusion that the increase in the number of mentions of military duels in Byzantine historiography coincides with the period of the rise of the military aristocracy in the IX-X centuries. Descriptions of duels cannot be considered reliable sources to such an extent that they could be used to reconstruct the course of the battle, nevertheless, they allowed historians to note the military merits of the heroes of historical narratives and reflected the development of military ideology, which emphasized heroic individualism. The descriptions of the duels revealed the contradiction between the aristocratic ethos of the doers of exploits and the guidelines of military treatises, which prescribed high-ranking commanders to lead the battle from a safe distance.

Russian Russian research conducted by S. Kariakidis, touching on the topic of duels of Greek warriors with Russian warriors in the presentation of Leo the Deacon, briefly characterizes the features of Russian warriors in the eyes of Leo the Deacon: it is physical strength, outstanding growth, respect-inspiring courage. Such attention is associated with a positive assessment of military qualities in Byzantine society, which caused respect for the enemy, who has outstanding fighting abilities. According to S. Kariakidis, all descriptions of Lev Deacon's duels reflect the values and interests of the provincial Byzantine elite, as well as changes in the style of presentation of military events in accordance with the requests of military groups of the population and the social elite – the desire to glorify individuals and local events. The researcher also suggests that the expressive heroization of the protagonists could be associated with the literary influence of Homer, whom Leo the Deacon repeatedly quotes ^{[29, pp. 116-117]}.

Mikhail Psellus describes a duel arranged during the reign of Emperor Basil II between the above-mentioned Varda Sklir, who became the leader of the rebels in the hope of achieving the imperial throne, and the commander Varda Foka, who led the troops sent by the imperial court to suppress the rebellion. This confrontation was conducted on horseback in the presence of military detachments of both sides. At the same time , the historian mentions the decisive importance of the outcome of the duel for the confrontation:

"In the end, both commanders decided to fight each other and agreed to meet in single combat. (...) The rebel Sklir, in his furious onslaught, did not take care of due care and, approaching the Foresail, first hits him on the head with all his might, and the swift running of the horse gives his blow even more power. And Foka, though for a moment he released the reins from surprise, quickly recovered and responded to the enemy with the same blow to the head, cooling his ardor and putting him to flight" ^{[3, p. 8]}.

S. Kariakidis notes that John Skilitsa describes this event somewhat differently, saying that the confrontation of the commanders took place during the battle and was not precisely agreed in advance. According to S. Kariakidis, Mikhail Psell in the story about the behavior of Varda Sklir became an exponent of ideas about the code of honor and values of the military aristocracy ^{[29, pp. 118-119]}.

In this plot, the supposed unspoken challenge of the two commanders who led the opposing armies is similar to the plot of the chronicle story about Mstislav and Reded. Similarly, the message about the change in the political situation as a result of the duel. The difference is that the duel is equestrian, common for the Byzantine nobility. In addition, unlike the Russian chronicle plots, the duel does not end with the death of one of the opponents, which is probably why Mikhail Psell added a clarification on the recognition of its outcome as final.

In the above testimonies of the Byzantine chroniclers Lev Deacon and Mikhail Psellus, there are some similarities with the Old Russian descriptions of military duels: indications of the strength and fighting qualities of the duelists, stories about the flight of enemy soldiers, mentions of duels as significant events in the biography of representatives of the military nobility. Russian Russian soldiers Lev Deacon in one of his descriptions of the Romani duels with Russian soldiers writes about the challenge with which the Russian warrior addressed the Roman army. The challenges to the duel are also reported in the chronicle articles 6500 (992/993) and 6530 (1022/1023) of the Tale of Bygone Years. The duel is interpreted as a politically significant event in the Byzantine testimony of Mikhail Psellus. In the Old Russian chronicle news, duels are given foreign policy significance.

The comparison of sources suggests that the news of the duel of Mstislav and Rededi in the cultural context of their time is associated with certain features of the Old Russian military culture proper, which is also indicated by the news of the Tale of Bygone Years under 6500 (992/993) and the mention of the Byzantine duels with Russian soldiers in a foreign source – the "History" of Lev Deacon, as well as it does not contradict the assumption about the influence of the Byzantine practice of military duels on the existence of duels in Russia. The indication in the text of the news in question of the great strength of the enemy-a foreigner can also be associated with a Christian rethinking of the plot about David and Goliath ^{[29, p. 131-132]}.

Attention is also drawn to the fact that the chronicle in the case of Mstislav, apparently, records signs of military veneration of the Virgin in Russia. We are talking about Mstislav's pronouncing a vow during the duel to build a temple in the name of the Most Pure Virgin:

"O most pure Theotokos, help me. If I overcome this, I will visit the church in your name" ^{[5, p. 64]}.

Analogies to this prayerful appeal to the Mother of God are also found in Byzantine sources. The prayerful appeals of military leaders during military operations are evidenced by the reports of the Byzantine chroniclers of the Successor Theophanes and Leo the Deacon, as well as the instructions of the military theorist Emperor Leo VI.

The tradition of veneration of the Mother of God as the defender of the Romans from militant non-Christian neighbors in Byzantium arose much earlier than the period under consideration and is associated with the complex of shrines in Blachernae ^{[19, 32]}. Among the many miracles mentioned in Byzantine sources in connection with the shrines of the Blachernae Church, there is also a miracle of the protection of Constantinople from the invasion of the Rus under Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photius in 860, which is also reported in the Tale of Bygone Years under 6374 (866/867).:

"The Caesar barely entered the city, and with the patreyarch he went to the existing church of the Holy Theotokos, he prayed all night, the same divine holy Theotokos robe with the rest of them was carried to the mori scut more soaked" ^{[5, p. 13]}.

In the Chronography of the Successor Theophanes, in the description of the events of the reign of Basil I, the prayer of the strategos Andrew, a "Scythian" by origin, to the Mother of God in front of her image is given:

"Then he took this vile letter and with great weeping laid it to the image of the Mother of God with her son in his arms and said: "Look, Mother of the Word and God, and you, eternal from the Father and in time from the Mother, how this barbarian, arrogant and new Senachirim is proud and angry at your chosen people, be the helper and champion of your servants, and let all nations know the power of your power.” He said this with a shudder of the heart and great weeping in supplication to God, and then at the head of the army he marched against Tarsus" ^{[6, p. 180-181]}.

According to the observation of S. E. Zverev, "it is quite possible that the prayer given here was performed before the troops marched. In this case, we can say that prayer in this period can be considered as a genre of military speech" ^{[11, p. 56]}.

In the Tactics of the Lion, a military treatise of the tenth century, the author of which researchers consider Emperor Leo VI, among the necessary actions in military affairs is called the leadership of the army in the spiritual sphere with the help of prayers and sacred rites in order to turn it to God, the Virgin and the clergy:

"The business of the hieratics is to firmly imbued with the Divine principle and acting for His benefit, tirelessly fulfill the army with the highest law of the Christian faith and, with the help of the holy word, sacred rites, prayers and other exhortations, turn it to God, to His most pure Mother Theotokos, to his holy servants" ^{[1, pp. 346-347]}.

G. Y. Kapten emphasizes that "hieratics" as the art of turning the thoughts of the entire army to God is mentioned by Leo along with other sections of military affairs, for example, logistics and wound healing ^{[12, p. 140]}.

Lev the Deacon mentioned above writes about the prayer of the Emperor John Tzimiskes and about the worship of the Mother of God of Blachernae before going on a campaign against Svyatoslav:

"[Speaking] from there, he came to the famous holy temple of divine Wisdom and began to pray for the sending of an angel who would move ahead of the army and lead the campaign; then, while singing hymns, he went to the glorious temple of the Mother of God, located in Blachernae. Having duly prayed to God, he went up to the palace there to look at the fiery trier" ^{[2, p. 68],[19, p. 202]}.

The worship of the Mother of God in Russia as a defender against military attacks is evidenced by liturgical and prayer texts translated from Greek into Old Russian ^{[14, pp. 216-218]}. The spread of veneration of the Theotokos of Blachernae in Russia is also associated with the monastery founded by St. Stephen of the Caves in Kiev in the second half of the XI century ^{[14, p. 219]}. According to M. White, the Mother of God was revered as the protector of princes and Kiev ^[32]. The stability of the Old Russian military tradition of veneration of the Virgin is indirectly evidenced by the presence of Her revered icon in the army of Andrei Bogolyubsky in the campaign of 1164 against the Bulgars, which was soon devoted to the article of the Old Russian Prologue on a special day of the church calendar, August 1. According to A.V. Laushkin, it is possible that when returning from this campaign, the prince staged a "triumph of the Virgin" in the image of similar Byzantine triumphs ^{[13, p. 12-13]}.

If our assumption about the connection of Mstislav's vow with the "military" veneration of the Virgin is correct, then we have almost the earliest evidence of this kind regarding Russia.

In general, it can be concluded that the news in question showed the influence of the Byzantine military tradition and religious culture on the military culture of Russia. The relationship is most clearly traced in the religious design of the duel. There are similar ideas about duels as events that deserve to be preserved in historiography. It is not easy to determine the relationship between the organization and conduct of duels, due to the scarcity of chronicle data. The Byzantine influence, presumably, was expressed in the rethinking of ideas about duels, and in the veneration of the Virgin as an assistant or intercessor in the event of war.

Mstislav's military power over the Kasogs was established, apparently, a short time after the described clash. In the article of the Story under 6531 (1023/1024), we are already talking about Mstislav's campaign together with the Khazars and Kasogs against Yaroslav ^{[5, p. 64]}, ^{[18, p. 96]}. It can be assumed that the motive of the "miraculous" help in the story of the military victory, and the construction of a church dedicated to the Virgin, contributed, among other things, to the demonstration of the "sacred" side of the princely power and the strengthening of the prince's political authority both among neighboring ethnopolitical entities and in the local Christian community.