Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia

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Originally, the name Rus' (

Byzantine Greek designation of the Rus', Ρωσσία Rossía—related to both Modern Greek: Ρως, romanizedRos, lit.'Rus'', and Ρωσία (Rosía, "Russia", pronounced [roˈsia]
).

One of the earliest written sources mentioning the people called Rus' (as Rhos) dates to 839 in the

In the 11th century, the dominant term in the Latin tradition was Ruscia. It was used, among others, by Thietmar of Merseburg, Adam of Bremen, Cosmas of Prague and Pope Gregory VII in his letter to Izyaslav I. Rucia, Ruzzia, Ruzsia were alternative spellings. During the 12th century, Ruscia gradually made way for two other Latin terms, "Russia" and "Ruthenia". "Russia" (also spelled Rossia and Russie) was the dominant Romance-language form, first used by Liutprand of Cremona in the 960s and then by Peter Damian in the 1030s. It became ubiquitous in English and French documents in the 12th century. Ruthenia, first documented in the early 12th century Augsburg annals, was a Latin form preferred by the Apostolic Chancery of the Latin Church.

The modern Russian

endonym of Россия, Rossiya, which came into use in the 15th century,[3][4][5] is derived from the Greek Ρωσία, which in turn derives from Ῥῶς, the self-name of the people of Rus'.[6]

A hypothetical predecessor of Kievan Rus' is the 9th-century Rus' Khaganate, whose name was introduced by modern researchers who hypothesised its existence basing on a small number of early medieval Byzantine and Persian and Arabic sources that mention Rus'.[7]

Etymology

Gotlanders

The most common theory about the origins of Russians is the Germanic version. The name Rus', like the Proto-Finnic name for Sweden (*Ruotsi), supposed to be descended from an Old Norse term for "the men who row" (rods-) as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of Roslagen or Roden, as it was known in earlier times.[8][9] The name Rus' would then have the same origin as the

Northern Sami names for Sweden: Ruotsi, Rootsi, Roodsi and Ruoŧŧa.[10] The local Finnic and Permic peoples in northern Russia proper use the same (Rus'-related) name both for Sweden and Russia (depending on the language): thus the Veps name for Sweden and Swedish is Ročinma / Ročin,[11] while in the Komi language spoken further east the etymologically corresponding term Roćmu / Roć means already Russia and Russian instead.[12][13]
The Finnish scholar Tor Karsten has pointed out that the territory of present-day Uppland, Södermanland and East Gothland in ancient times was known as Roðer or roðin. Thomsen accordingly has suggested that Roðer probably derived from roðsmenn or roðskarlar, meaning seafarers or rowers.[14][page needed] Ivar Aasen, the Norwegian philologist and lexicographer, noted proto-Germanic root variants Rossfolk, Rosskar, Rossmann.[15]

Alanic means "radiant light", thus the ethnonym Roxolani could be understood as "bright Alans".[16] He theorized that the name Roxolani a combination of two separate tribal names: the Rus and the Alans.[16]

Early evidence

In

Danes, he jailed them. They were also mentioned in the 860s by Byzantine Patriarch Photius under the name "Rhos."[citation needed
]

Rusiyyah was used by

and described how the Rus' exploited the Slavs.

As for the Rus, they live on an island ... that takes three days to walk round and is covered with thick undergrowth and forests; it is most unhealthy... They harry the Slavs, using ships to reach them; they carry them off as slaves and... sell them. They have no fields but simply live on what they get from the Slav's lands... When a son is born, the father will go up to the newborn baby, sword in hand; throwing it down, he says, "I shall not leave you with any property: You have only what you can provide with this weapon."[18]

When the Varangians arrived in Constantinople, the Byzantines considered and described the Rhos (Greek Ῥῶς) as a different people from the Slavs.

The earliest written mention of the word Rus' appears in the Primary Chronicle under the year 912. When describing a peace treaty signed by the Varangian

campaign on Constantinople, it contains the following passage, "Oleg sent his men to make peace and sign a treaty between the Greeks and the Rus', saying thus: [...] "We are the Rus': Karl, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudi, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Vost, Stemid, sent by Oleg, the great prince of Rus', and all those under him[.]"[citation needed
]

Later, the Primary Chronicle states that they conquered

Kiev and created what is now called Kievan Rus'. The territory they conquered was named after them as were, eventually, the local people (cf. Normans).[citation needed
]

However, the Synod Scroll of the Novgorod First Chronicle, which is partly based on the original list of the late 11th Century and partly on the Primary Chronicle, does not name the Varangians asked by the Chuds, Slavs and Krivichs to reign their obstreperous lands as the "Rus'".[citation needed] One can assume that there was no original mention of the Varangians as the Rus' due to the old list predating the Primary Chronicle and the Synod Scroll only referred to the Primary Chronicle if the pages of the old list were blemished.[citation needed]

Other spellings used in Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries were as follows: Ruzi,

Ruzzi, Ruzia and Ruzari. Sources written in Latin routinely confused the Rus' with the Rugii, an ancient East Germanic tribe related to the Goths. Olga of Kiev, for instance, was called "queen of the Rugii" (regina Rugorum) in the Lotharingian Chronicle compiled by the anonymous continuator of Regino of Prüm.[19]

Alternate anti-Normanist theories

A number of alternative etymologies

Soviet era. These hypotheses are considered unlikely in Western mainstream academia.[10]
Slavic and Iranian etymologies suggested by "anti-Normanist" scholars include:

The name Rus' may have originated from the

Ros are common in Eastern Europe.[14][page needed
]

The Russian linguist Igor Danilevsky, in his Ancient Rus as Seen by Contemporaries and Descendants, argued against these theories, stating that the anti-Normanists neglected the realities of the Ancient Slavic languages and that the nation name Rus' could not have arisen from any of the proposed origins.[citation needed]

  • The populace of the
    Ros River
    would have been known as Roshane;
  • Red-haired or bear-origined people would have ended their self-name with the plural -ane or -ichi, and not with the singular -s' (red hair is one of the natural hair colors of Scandinavians and other Germanic peoples);
  • Most theories are based on a Ros- root, and in Ancient Slavic an o would never have become the u in Rus'.[citation needed]

Danilevskiy further argued[citation needed] that the term followed the general pattern of Slavic names for neighboring Finnic peoples—the Chud', Ves', Perm', Sum', etc.—but that the only possible word that it could be based on, Ruotsi, presented a historical dead-end, since no such tribal or national name was known from non-Slavic sources. "Ruotsi" is, however, the Finnish name for Sweden.[21] Danilevskiy shows that the oldest historical source, the Primary Chronicle, is inconsistent in what it refers to as the "Rus'": in adjacent passages, the Rus' are grouped with Varangians, with the Slavs, and also set apart from the Slavs and Varangians. Danilevskiy suggests that the Rus' were originally not a nation but a social class, which can explain the irregularities in the Primary Chronicle and the lack of early non-Slavic sources.[citation needed]

From Rus' to Russia

In modern English historiography, common names for the ancient East Slavic state include Kievan Rus, (sometimes retaining the apostrophe in Rus', a transliteration of the soft sign, ь),[22] or Kievan Ruthenia.[citation needed] The term Kievan Rus' was established by modern historians to distinguish the period from the 9th century to the beginning of the 12th century, when Kiev was the center of a large state.[23]

The vast political state was subsequently divided into several parts. The most influential were, in the south, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia and in the north, Vladimir-Suzdal and the Novgorod Republic.[citation needed]

Northeast principalities

In the 14th–16th centuries most of northeastern

Theotokos of Vladimir (1514), in the work by Maximus the Greek,[29] the Russian Chronograph written by Dosifei Toporkov (?–1543/44[30]) in 1516–22 and in other sources.[31]

By the 15th century, the rulers of the

Ivan III of Moscow was the first local ruler to claim the title of "Grand Prince of all Rus'"[citation needed] This title was used by the Grand Dukes of Vladimir since the early 14th century,[citation needed] and the first prince to use it was Mikhail of Tver.[citation needed] Ivan III was styled by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor as rex albus and rex Russiae.[citation needed] Later, Rus' — in the Russian language specifically — evolved into the Byzantine-influenced form, Rossiya (Russia is Ῥωσσία (Rhōssía) in Greek).[citation needed
]

Tsardom of Russia

In 1547, Ivan IV assumed the title of "Tsar and Grand Duke

Samuel Collins, author of The Present State of Russia (1668), both of whom visited Russia, were familiar with the term Russia and used it in their works.[45] So did numerous other authors, including John Milton, who wrote A brief history of Moscovia and of other less-known countries lying eastward of Russia, published posthumously,[46] starting it with the words: "The Empire of Moscovia, or as others call it, Russia...".[47]

In the Russian Tsardom, the word Russia replaced the old name Rus' in official documents, though the names Rus' and Russian land were still common and synonymous to it,[48] and often appeared in the form Great Russia (Russian: Великая Россия), which is more typical of the 17th century,[49] whereas the state was also known as Great-Russian Tsardom (Russian: Великороссийское царствие).[36]

According to historians like

Alexander Zimin and Anna Khoroshkevich, the continuous use of the term Moscovia was a result of traditional habit[citation needed] and the need to distinguish between the Muscovite and the Lithuanian part of the Rus', as well as of the political interests of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which competed with Moscow for the western regions of the Rus'. Due to the propaganda of the Commonwealth,[50][51] as well as of the Jesuits, the term Moscovia was used instead of Russia in many parts of Europe where prior to the reign of Peter the Great there was a lack of direct knowledge of the country. In Northern Europe and at the court of the Holy Roman Empire, however, the country was known under its own name, Russia or Rossia.[52] Sigismund von Herberstein, ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor in Russia, used both Russia and Moscovia in his work on the Russian tsardom and noted: "The majority believes that Russia is a changed name of Roxolania. Muscovites ("Russians" in the German version) refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia (Rosseia)".[53] Pointing to the difference between Latin and Russian names, French captain Jacques Margeret, who served in Russia and left a detailed description of L'Empire de Russie of the early 17th century that was presented to King Henry IV, stated that foreigners make "a mistake when they call them Muscovites and not Russians. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond 'Russac', which means 'Russians', and when they are asked what place they are from, the answer is Moscow, Vologda, Ryasan and other cities".[54] The closest analogue of the Latin term Moscovia in Russia was "Tsardom of Moscow", or "Moscow Tsardom" (Московское царство), which was used along with the name "Russia",[55][56] sometimes in one sentence, as in the name of the 17th century Russian work On the Great and Glorious Russian Moscow State (Russian: О великом и славном Российском Московском государстве).[57]

From Rus' to Ruthenia

Southwest principalities

In the 13th–14th centuries, many of southwestern Rus' principalities were united under the power of the

Danylo of Galicia was crowned Rex Ruthenorum or "king of the Rus'" in 1253.[59] Alternatively, Danylo and his brother Vasylko Romanovych were styled Princeps Galiciae, Rex Russiae, and Rex Lodomeriae in Papal documents, while the population of Halych and Volhynia was called Rusciae christiani and populus Russiae amongst other names.[60] The Gesta Hungarorum (c. 1280) stated that the Carpathian mountains between Hungary and Halych were situated in finibus Ruthenie ("on the borders of Ruthenia").[60]

Galicia–Volhynia declined by mid-14th century due to the

Latin: Palatinatus Russiae) in 1434.[citation needed
]

Engraving of 1617 with the inscription "Premislia celebris Rvssiae civitas" (Peremyshl – the famous city of Rus)

While in the Grand Principality of Moscow the rulers called their realm Rus, the residents of Western Rus lands called themselves Rusyny, Rusniaky or Rus'ki.[citation needed]

White, Black, Red

While gradually most of the territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia retained the name Rus', some of them got more color-specific names:

Although the name Ruthenia arose as a Latinized form of the name Rus' in Western European documents in medieval times, Russia was still the predominant name for Western Rus' territories up until 19th century.[citation needed]

Later usage

Later usage of the name "Ruthenia" became narrowed to Carpathian Ruthenia (Karpats'ka Rus'), the northeastern part of the Carpathian Mountains, in the Kingdom of Hungary where the local Slavs had Rusyn identity. Carpathian Ruthenia incorporated the cities of Mukachevo (Hungarian: Munkács), Uzhhorod (Hungarian: Ungvár) and Prešov (Pryashiv; Hungarian: Eperjes). Carpathian Rus' had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary since 907, and had been known as "Magna Rus'" but was also called "Karpato-Rus'" or "Zakarpattya".[citation needed]

Ecclesiastical titles

Originally, there was a metropolitan based in Kiev (Kyiv) calling himself "metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'", but in 1299, the Kievan metropolitan chair was moved to Vladimir by Metropolitan Maximos, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'. One line of metropolitans settled in Moscow in 1325 and continued titling themselves "of Kiev and all Rus'". Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople in 1361 created two metropolitan sees with their own names (in Greek) for the northern and southern parts: respectively, Μεγάλη Ῥωσσία (Megálē Rhōssía,[62] Great Russia) in Vladimir and Kiev and Μικρὰ Ῥωσσία (Mikrà Rhōssía, Russia Minor or Little Russia) with the centers in Halych and Novogrudok.[citation needed]

After the

Annexation of the Metropolitanate of Kiev by the Moscow Patriarchate happened in c. 1685–1722.[citation needed
]

When the

Onufriy (Berezovsky) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP) also claims the title of "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", and in 2022 the UOC formally cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.[citation needed
]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica: "Rus People" Archived 1 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  3. ^ a b Kloss 2012, p. 13.
  4. ^ a b E. Hellberg-Hirn. Soil and Soul: The Symbolic World of Russianness. Ashgate, 1998. P. 54
  5. ^ a b Lawrence N. Langer. Historical Dictionary of Medieval Russia. Scarecrow Press, 2001. P. 186
  6. from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  7. ^ К. Цукерман (Constantin Zuckerman), "Перестройка древнейшей русской истории", In: У истоков русской государственности, 2007 (a 2005 conference materials)
  8. from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  9. ^ Stefan Brink, 'Who were the Vikings?', in The Viking World Archived 14 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine, ed. by Stefan Brink and Neil Price (Abingdon: Routledge, 2008), pp. 4–10 (pp. 6–7).
  10. ^ a b "Russia Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine," Online Etymology Dictionary
  11. ^ "Зайцева М. И., Муллонен М. И. Словарь вепсского языка (Dictionary of Veps language). Л., «Наука», 1972.
  12. ^ Zyri͡ansko-russkīĭ i russko-zyri͡anskīĭ slovarʹ (Komi – Russian dictionary) / sostavlennyĭ Pavlom Savvaitovym. Savvaitov, P. I. 1815–1895. Sankt Peterburg: V Tip. Imp. Akademīi Nauk, 1850.
  13. ^ Русско–коми словарь 12000 слов (Russian – Komi dictionary, Л. М. Безносикова, Н. К. Забоева, Р. И. Коснырева, 2005 год, 752 стр., Коми книжное издательство.
  14. ^ (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  15. ^ Ivar Aasen, Norsk Ordbog, med dansk Forklaring, Kristiania 1918 (1873), p.612
  16. ^ a b George Vernadsky (1959). The Origins of Russia. Clarendon Press. In the Sarmatian period the Rus' were closely associated with the Alans. Hence the double name Rus- Alan (Roxolani). As has been mentioned,1 ruxs in Alanic means 'radiant light'. The name 'Ruxs-Alan' may be understood in two ways: ... of two clans or two tribes.1 That the Roxolani were actually a combination of these two clans may be seen from the fact that the name Rus (or Ros) was on many occasions used separately from that of the Alans. Besides, the armour of the ...
  17. ^ "RUSRIKET: Vikingar skapade Europas största rike". Varldenshistoria.se (in Swedish). 28 April 2022. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  18. National Geographic
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  22. ^ Echoes of glasnost in Soviet Ukraine Archived 2 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine, by Romana M. Bahry, p. viii
  23. ^ Halperin 2022, p. 1–3.
  24. ^ Robert O. Crummey. The Formation of Muscovy 1300–1613. Routledge. 2013. P. 29-84
  25. ^ a b Halperin 2022, p. vii–viii.
  26. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 3.
  27. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 30–38.
  28. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 55–56.
  29. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 61.
  30. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 57.
  31. ^ Robert Auty, Dimitri Obolensky. Companion to Russian Studies: Volume 1: An Introduction to Russian History. Cambridge University Press, 1976. P. 99
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  33. ^ Lee Trepanier. Political Symbols in Russian History: Church, State, and the Quest for Order and Justice. Lexington Books, 2010. P. 61: "so your great Russian Tsardom, more pious than all previous kingdoms, is the Third Rome"
  34. ^ Barbara Jelavich. Russia's Balkan Entanglements, 1806–1914. Cambridge University Press, 2004. P. 37. Note 34: "Since the first Rome fell through the Appollinarian heresy and the second Rome, which is Constantinople, is held by the infidel Turks, so then thy great Russian Tsardom, pious Tsar, which is more pious than previous kingdoms, is the third Rome"
  35. ^ a b Richard S. Wortman. Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy from Peter the Great to the Abdication of Nicholas II. Princeton University Press, 2013. P. 17
  36. ^ Maija Jansson. England and the North: The Russian Embassy of 1613–1614. American Philosophical Society, 1994. P. 82: "...the towns of our great Russian Tsardom", "all the people of all the towns of all the great Russian Tsardom".
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  41. ^ Шмидт С. О. Памятники письменности в культуре познания истории России. М., 2007. Т. 1. Стр. 545
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  45. ^ John T. Shawcross. John Milton: The Self and the World. University Press of Kentucky, 2015. P. 120
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  47. ^ Kloss 2012, p. 4.
  48. ^ Ruslan G. Skrynnikov. Reign of Terror: Ivan IV. BRILL. 2015. P. 189
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Sources