Historiska Nyheter specialnummer om olga & ingegerd • statens historiska museum 2oo4-2oo5 • pris 20 kr Olga <&Ingegerd Vikingafurstinnor i ost • VtkingPrincesses Innehallsforteckning/Contents Inledning/ Foreword ............................................................................2 Margareta Attius Sohlman Ost- och vastkyrkan och kristendomeris spridnirig norrut ..............................................4 The East and West Church and the spread of Christianity northwards Gotlandska mirmen av vikirigars farder i osterled .....................................................8 Testimony from Gotland island of Viking journeys east Kristna kvinnor i 900- och 1100-talets Polotsk.......................................................10 Christian women in 10th and 12th century Polotsk Elisabeth Lofstrand Olga: hamnerska och helgon / Olga: avenger andSaint................................................12 Helgon i den ortodoxa kyrkan / Saints in the Orthodox Church .........................................14 Je A. Jakovleva Nyll gnivfynd fran furstinnan Olgas tid i central:! Pskov...............................................18 New burialfinds in central Pskov from the time of princess Olga Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg Ingegerd - en bricka i det politiska spelet/ Ingegerd - a pawn in the game of politics .........................21 Rune Ed berg Fard experiment ger nya ron om farder i osterled ..............................................................26 Travel experiments provide newfindings on journeys east Sten Tesch Stadsplan och stadsbyggnad i Sigtuna och Kiev ...............................................................30 Town planning and town building in Sigtuna and Kiev Fedir Androshchuk Vikingarna - ruserna - varjagerna / Vikings - the Rus - Varangians..............................................36 Krisln:i nordbor i Rus / Scandinavian Chr/s//\/;;s /,v R//s.........................................................40 Ruser och varjager i Kiev / The Rus and Varangians in Kiev....................................................46 G. L. Ivakin Skandinaviska gravfynd i Kiev / Scandinavian gravefinds in Kiev...............................................50 I- I- Mov 11.\\ Varingagrav i Kiev / Royal guard grave in Kiev................................................................54 Historiska Nyhetei - Olga&Ingegird I Inledning !~nPHBET npiiEwiortiiEcnofl iionvwlin \M CTPOHTWUItE nEO&liOPI) 3tinTD MM 5tatens historiska museum, SHM haren lang tradition av kontakter dsterut. Pa bilden synsdocenten vid SHM Ture J Arne ^nu miner tva f ran hoger, nedersta raden) vid en arkeologikonferens pa Krim 1926. Arne del tog i flera viktiga a rkeologisks jtgravningar i Ryssland och Sovjetunionen under 1910-1920-talen. Pa bilden syns ocksa bl.a. direktoren vid Vetenskaps- akademin i Leningrad, Nikolaj Marr (mannen i gra kostym i mitten av nedre raden), en av deframsta forskarna inorr arkeologi och filologi i det tidiga Sovjetunionen. Texten i bakgrunden lyder 'halsning till arkeologikonferens en =oratt byggaframtiden mAste man kannatill det forflutna vetenskapen at detarbetande folket' Ingen tid i var historia ar mer mytomspunnen an vikingatiden. En period som praglades av vald- sam nordisk expansion pa haven, langs Vasteuropas och Gronlands kuster och langs Osteuropas floder. Vikingatiden fran slutet av 700-talet till forsta halften av 1000-talet var ocksa gryningstid for det norra Europa vi kanner idag, delat i tva kultursfarer, en vast- och en ost- kristen. De bada skandinaviskattade furstin- norna och sedermera ortodoxa helgo- nen, Olga fran Pskov och Ingegerd av Novgorod, har en intressant roll i derma brytningstids manga kontakter mellan Skandinavien och Rus/Kievriket. Bilden de formedlar om relationerna med de blivande ostslaviska landerna ger en anrian vinkel an den gangse, som brukar handla om handel och krigstag. Helgo- nens historia berattar om kvinnorna som viktiga kulturbarare och som kris- tendomens forsta budbarare i Rus. Det senaste decenniets arkeologiska utgravningar och forskning i de ostsla- viska landerna, Ryssland, Ukraina och Vitryssland/Belarus, har okat var kun- skap betydligt om kontakterna over Ostersjon. De viktigaste resultaten av dessa nya ron ar att de kulturella kon- takterna varit mer omfattande - med bl. a. skandinaver bosatta pa fler an de platser vi tidigare kant till langs vatten- vagarna i ost. Under decenniet efter Soyjetunionens sammanbrott har ocksa en mangd experimentella vikinga- skeppsfarder gjorts i vikingarnas spar fran Ostersjon till Svarta Havet. Resul- tatet av dessa farder pekar mot att var vedertagna bild av nordbor som drar sina skepp mellan de ryska floderna maste revideras. Kanske fardades de framfbrallt om vintern, i sladar pa de frusna floderna och sjosystemen, pa samma satt som varit vanligt vid tyngre transporter i inlandets Nordeuropa langt fram i modern tidf Samtidigt som en allt tydligare bild av ett flersprakigt kulturomrade i Nord- europa for 1000 ar sedan vaxer fram, ar sparen efter detta gemensamma kultur- arv mer hotat an kanske nagon gang tidigare. Dagens situation pa kulturarvs- omradet ar pa flera platser i Ostersjo- omradet mycket svar, med omfattande plundring av forntida gravfalt och illegal handel med fornminnen. Kulturarvet ar aldrig givet pa forhand. Det ar nagot vi kontinuerligt maste skapa och vid- makthalla. Ett kant och omtyckt, eller i alia fall varderat kulturarv, har sa myck- et storre mojlighet att bevaras an ett skydd baserat enbart pa lagstiftning Vi hoppas att derma utstallning skall bidra till okat intresse och fordjupad kannedom om ett spannande forflutet vi alia delar. Det ar ocksa i detta sam- manhang mycket gladjande att denna utstallning ar resultatet av ett flerarigt och mycket gott samarbete inte minst mellan Staraja Ladoga Museum, Ukrainas Vetenskapsakademi i Kiev, Sigtuna Museer, Svenska institutet och Historiska museet. Vi vill ocksa uttrycka vart varma tack till alia de ledande experter som med engagemang och kunskap gjort denna utstallning och katalog mojlig. @ Stockholm, 7 maj 2004 Kristian Berg Overin ten dent Ola Olsson Proj ektle d ar e/utstal 1 n i ngs an s v ar ig 2 Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd Introduction No period in our history is surrounded by as much myth as the Viking Age. A period characterised by intense Scandinavian expansion by sea, along the coasts of western Europe and Greenland, and along the waterways of eastern Europe. The Viking Age encompassing the end of the 8th century to the mid nth century was also the dawning age of northern Europe as we know it today, divided into the two cultural spheres of East and West Christianity. The two princesses of Scandinavian ancestral line, and subsequently Ortho- dox saints, Olga from Pskov and Inge- gerd of Novgorod, played an interesting role in this era of transition rich in con- tacts between Scandinavia and Rus/ Kievan Rus. The picture they convey of relations with the embryonic east Slavic countries comes from a different perspective to that which prevails, and which usually involves trade and mili- tary actions. The history of these saints tells of women as important bearers of culture and initial heralds of Christiani- ty in Rus. The archaeological excavations and research of the last two decades in the east Slavic countries, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, have greatly enhanced our knowledge of contacts across the Baltic Sea. The most important results ofthese new findings show that cultural con- tacts were more extensive with, for example, Scandinavians inhabiting more places along the waterways of the east than was previously known. During the decade since the collapse of the Soviet Union, numerous experi- mental Viking ship journeys have also been made in the wake of Viking trav- els from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Results from these journeys suggest the need to revise our established view of Northmen hauling their boats between Russian rivers. Perhaps they primarily travelled during winter, by sledge along the frozen rivers and lake systems, just as was common for transport of more heavy goods in the Northern European interior far into our modern age. An increasingly clear picture of a multi-lingual cultural area in Northern Europe a thousand years ago is devel- oping. At the same time, traces of this common cultural heritage are perhaps under greater threat than ever before. At several places in the Baltic Sea area, cultural heritage is currently under great strain, with wide-ranging plunder of ancient burial grounds and illegal trade in historic artefacts and remains. Cultural heritage is never given in advance. It is something we must continually create and maintain. A cultural heritage which is well known and popular, or at least esteemed, has much greater chance of being preserved than when protection is based purely on legislation. Our hope is that this exhibition shall contribute to greater interest in and a deeper knowledge of the exciting past we all share. In this connection, it is immensely gratifying that this exhibi- tion is the result of many years' highly fruitful collaboration, not least between Staraya Ladoga Museum, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev, the Sigtuna Museums, the Swedish Institute and the Museum of National Antiquities/Historiska Museet in Swe- den. We also wish to express heartfelt thanks to all those prominent experts who, with their commitment and knowledge, have made possible both exhibition and catalogue. Stockholm, May 7, 2004 Kristian Berg Director general Ola Olsson Project leader/Head of exhibition The Museum of National Antiquities in Sweden (SHM) has a long tradition of contacts to the east. In the picture associate professor at the Museum Jure J Arne (second from right, lower row) at an archaeological conference in the Crimea 1926. Arne took part in several important archaeological excavations in Russia and theSovietUnion in the1910sand 1920s. Amongst others in thepicture is Nikolai Marr (dressed in grey suit, middle of lower row), head of the Leningrad Academy of Science, one of the early SovietUnion's foremost research experts within archaeology and philology. Background text states: "WELCOMETO THE CONFERENCEON ARCHAEOLOGY JO BUILD JHE FUJURE JHE PASJ MUSJ BE KNOWN SCIENCETOTHEWORKING PEOPLE" Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 3 Ost- och vastkyrkan och kristendomens spridning normt Margareta Attius Sohlman -OST.ROMERSKA RIKET Det romerska imperiet delades i ett Ostrom och ett Vastrom ar 395 efter kejsarTheodosius I's dod. Huvudstad i det ostromerska riket var Konstantinopel. Following the death ofEmperor Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided in AD 395 into East Rome and West Rome. Capital of the East Roman Empire was Constantinople. PA 3oo-talet efter kristus hade Rom spelat ut sin roll som administratevt centrum i det romerska riket, och medelpurikten for- skots osterut. Den nygrundade staden Konstantinopel (ar 324) vid Bosporen blev metropol i ost, och ett andra Rom hade darmed skapats. Kejsaren Kon- stantin erkande officiellt den kristna kyrkan och lat aven dopa sig pa dods- badden ar 337. Ar 395 var det kristna romarriket slutgiltigt delat i ett vast- och ett ostro- merskt rike, med tva skilda administra- tioner och oftast aven olika kejsare i den ostra och vastra rikshalvan. Spraket var 1 vast latin och i ost grekiska. Den kristna kyrkan var annu gemensam och foljde den nicenska trosbekannelsen (stadfast 381). Vast hade en dynamisk syn i tros- satserna, medan ost ville bevara mysti- ken. Den heliga treenigheten, var och borde forbli, enligt ostkyrkan, omojlig att intellektuellt genomskada. Har finris ursprunget till den spricka mellan det latinska och det bysantinska synsattet, som med tiden vidgades och slutligen ledde till den definitiva brytningen mel- lan de tva kyrkorna. Ar 1054 bannlyste Vastroms pave och Ostroms patriark varandra och varandras kyrkor. Den tidiga missionsverksamheten Redan under kyrkans aldsta tider bedrev bade vast- och ostkyrkan mission. Paven sande ut sina missionarer forsed- da med religiosa texter skrivna pa latin. I den bysantinska varlden var grekiskan det dominerande spraket. Har fanns dock tidigt en tolerans mot olika folk- VASTROMERSKA RIKET sprak, och nar de slaviska folken fick sina religiosa texter fran Bysans, var de nedskrivna pa slaviskt sprak. De forsta slaviska missionarerna var de tva broderna Konstantinos, vars munknamn blev Kyrillos och Metho- dios. De kom fran Saloniki och var verksamma i Konstantinopel. Pa kejsa- rens befallning konstruerade dessa bro- der ett slaviskt alfabet med utgangs- punkt i det grekiska. Det nya alfabetet fick namnet det kyrilliska, och det sprak de religiosa texterna nedtecknades pa kallades kyrkslaviska. Brodernas missionsverksamhet in- leddes i borjan av 860-talet med en missionsresa resa till det Stormahriska riket, som hade slavisk befolkning Det ar intressant att notera, att dessa slaviska missionsbroder idag hyllas av bade den katolska och den ortodoxa kyrkan. De blev Mahrens skyddshelgon, och de kom att kallas slavernas apostlar. De aras som de sista heliga i den odela- de kyrkan, och paven Paulus 11 utnamn- de dem for nagra ar sedan till Europas skyddshelgon. Man bor aven komma ihag, att under 4 Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ingigerd den forsta kristna tiden, nar kyrkan annu var odelad, striden inte stod mel- lan vast- och ostkyrkan utan mellan kristendomen over huvud taget och hedendomen. Kristendomens spridning i norr I slutet av 800-talet hade Stormahren och Bohmen kristnats fran Rom, trots Kyrillos' och Methodios' tidigare mis- sion, medan Serbien och Bulgarien nu tillhorde den ortodoxa kyrkan. I slutet av 900-talet hade Polen kristnats fran Rom, och ar 988 var Kievriket ortodoxt kristet, fortaljer Nestorskronlkan. Kristendomen spred sig sedan norrut till andra rusiska stammar. Redan i mit- ten av 1000-talet var klostret Valamo uppfort pa en o i Ladogasjon, och mot slutet av 1200-talet var den kristna tron och de forsta bysantinska religiosa tex- terna kanda i nordligare delar av det rusiska riket. De tva angransande furs- tendomena Pskov och Polotsk kristna- des kort efter Kievriket i borjan av 1000-talet. Karelen var ett mycket vidstrackt och glesbefolkat omrade, som i vaster gran- sade till fmska trakter och i ost och syd till Novgorodriket, som det aven mer eller mindre officiellt lod under. Har gick inga skarpa granser mellan ost och vast, och i borjan av den kristna tiden horde en del av befolkningen till den ortodoxa kyrkan, medan andra ater kom att tidigt inga i den vastliga kyr- kan. Kristnandet skedde ju inte over en natt, utan det var en mycket lang och langsam process, som ibland aven raka- de ut for olika langvariga bakslag. Samma forhallande gallde i svearnas rike. Nar kungen Olof Skotkonung lat dopasigi Husaby kallaar 1000, innebar det ingalunda att hela riket darmed var kristnat. Det skulle droja langt in pa noo-talet, innan den processen var slutford. Rus kristnas Nestorskronikan beskriver pa ett malan- de och ofta drastiskt satt hur vikingar, vikingaattlingar och slaver blandades, gifte sig och gav upphov till nya slakten, som med tiden blev tamligen homo- gena. Pa sa satt uppkom efter blott The East and West Church and the spread of Christianity northwards Margareta Attius Sohlman DURING THE FOURTH CENTURY AD, Rome had played out its role as administrative centre in the Roman Empire, and the focal point of the empire shifted eastwards. The newly founded city of Constantinople (AD 324) on the Bosporus became an eastern metropole, thus forming a second Rome. The Emperor Constantine officially acknowledged Christianity and accord- ing to his own wishes was baptised on his deathbed in AD 337. The Christian Roman Empire was finally split into an East and West Roman Empire in AD 395, with two separate administrations and also usually two different emperors for the eastern and western halves. The language in the West was Latin, in the East Greek. The Christian church was as yet united and followed the Confession of Nice (ratified AD 381). The view of Church dogma in the West was dynamic, while the East wished to retain greater mystery. According to the Eastern Church, the Holy Trinity was, and should always remain, beyond intellectual penetration. And it is here that the rift between Latin and Byzantine outlooks originated. In time the rift deepened and eventually led to a final break between the two churches. In 1054 the West Rome Pope and the East Rome Patriarch excommu- nicated one another and one another's churches. Early missionary activities Both the East and West Churches pur- sued missionary activities from the Church's earliest times. The Pope sent forth his missionaries bearing scripts in Latin. Greek dominated the Byzantine world, but there was early tolerance here towards regional languages, and when the Slavs received their religious texts from Byzantium they were in Slavic. The first Slavic missionaries were the two brothers Constantine, as monks named Kyrillos (Cyril) and Methodios. They were from Thessaloniki and active in Constantinople. At the command of the Emperor, these brothers built up a Slavic alphabet based on Greek. It received the name Cyrillic, and the language of the religious texts was termed Church Slavonic. The missionary activities ofthe broth- ers commenced in the early 860 s with a mission to Great Moravia with a Slavic population. It is interesting to note that these Slavic missionary brothers are nowa- days paid homage to by both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. They became the patron saints ofMoraviaand became known as the Apostles of the Slavs. They are honoured as the last saints of the undivided Church, and a few years ago were declared patron saints of Europe by Pope Paul II. It should perhaps be recalled that during the first period of Christianity, when the Church was as yet undivided, the battle stood not between the East and West Churches, but rather between Christianity^Vrje and the heathen world. The spread of Christianity northwards Despite the earlier mission of Kyrillos and Methodios, by the end ofthe 800s Great Moravia and Bohemia were Christianised from Rome, while Serbia and Bulgaria now belonged to the Ortho- dox Church. Poland was Christianised from Rome by the end ofthe 900s, and the Primary Chronicle relates that the principality of Kiev (Kiyv) became Orthodox Christian in AD 988. Christianity then spread north from Kiev into other Rus tribes. By the middle of AD 1000, the monastery of Valamo was established on an island in Lake Lagoda, and at the end ofthe 1200s Christianity and the first Byzantine reli- gious texts were known in northern Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 5 nagra generationer de s.k. ruserna, som befolkade landet narmast oster om Ostersjon och som talade slaviskt sprak och inte langre kunde nagot skandina- viskt tungomal. I kronikan skildras aven expressivt hur olika medlemmar inom en och samma familj tog till sig den nya kristna laran. Av beskrivningen forstar man, att kristnandet inte genomfordes en gang for alia vid ett och samma tillfalle. Munken Nestor beskriver i sin kroni- ka under aret 987 hur fursten i Kiev, Vladimir, inhamtade upplysningar om olika religioner och hur han darefter, tillsammans med bojarerna (adelsman- nen), beslot att antaga den ortodoxa tron - med hanvisning till att farmor Olga (Helga/ Helena) fran Pskov, "den visaste av alia manniskor" en gang gjor- de detsamma. Aret darpa fortsatte Vladimir sina krigstag, derma gang ner till den grekiska staden Korsun. Nar han omringat och forstort staden, sande han bud till kej- sarna Basileios och Konstantin, berattas vidare i Nestorskronikan, hotade han att forgora dem om han inte fick deras sys- ter till maka. Han maste dock lova att dopa sig innan han kunde akta henne. .. Och jag Mr att mhar en syster, som ar jungfru och om ni inte later mig akta henne, saskalljagmederstadgora detsam- ma somjaghar gjort med denna." Kejsarna sande ett hud med svaret: "Det h'oves icke kristna att lata gjva sina kvinnor till akta it hedningar Om du d'oper dig far du henne, och du shall fa det himmelska riket. .."Pa detta svarade Vladimir: "Lai saga till era kejsare: Jag later dopa mig ty jag har redan fore dessa dagar la'rt kanna er lag och er tro ar mig Mr och er guds- janst; det har de man som visantut he rat- tatfor mig." Furst Vladimir fick sa den bysantinska kejsarsystern Anna till maka - och des- sutom "halva kungariket" skulle man kunna saga, eftersom han och Rus pa detta satt blev delaktig i det bysantins- ka riket. Tillbaka i Kiev lat han dopa allt sitt folk. Aret var 988. Hadanefter maste Vladimir leva efter de kristna lagarna. Foljaktligen tvingades han avsta fran alia sina andra kvinnor. Hans tidigare hustru Rogned av Polotsk, som faktiskt ocksa var kristen, sandes saledes hem igen och maste lamna sin son Jaroslav kvar i Kiev Nar Vladimir dog i sjukdom ar 1015, efterlamnade han manga soner, forutom Jaroslav aven bl.a. Syjatopolk, Boris och Gleb. Hedningen Syjatopolk ville inte dela med sig av makten till sina kristna- de broder Boris och Gleb utan lat morda dem utan att dessa gjorde nagot motstand. Boris och Gleb blev efter derma handelse det ortodoxa ryska kyr- kans forsta martyrer. Den yngre brodern Jaroslav, som slutligen lyckades besegra Syjatopolk, blev i vuxen alder den framste fursten under Kieveran. Han kallades "Jaroslav den vise", och under hans regeringstid infordes kristendomen slutgiltigt i riket. Han hade gift sig med Ingegerd (Irina, Anna), dotter till den svenske Olof Skotkonung Som ett tecken pa att deras riken bli- vit kristnade och folken dopta, samt for att visa vordnad mot Gud lat furstarna i Kiev (Jaroslav den vise), i Novgorod och i Polotsk uppfora en katedral unge- far samtidigt (1030-1050-tal) i var sitt land. Alia katedralerna bar - och bar an idag - samma namn, Sofiakatedralen (Den Heliga Vishetens katedral) efter den bysantiska forebilden Hagia Sofia (fran 532-537) i Konstantin op el. (ft: Den helige furst Boris och Den helige furst Gleb, nordrysk ikon fran 1600-talet. Karelska konstmuseet i Petrozavodsk Ryssland. Princes Boris and Gleb, venerable saints, 17 th century north-Russian icon Republic of Karelia Museum of Arts, Petrozavodsk, Russia. Umea Bildmuseet 6 Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 1 fj <<H'-t ' IH 3 \t /.■«.;■ B< |i r Radziwillovskajakronikan, den enda illuminerade ryska kronika som innehaller bilder pa Olga. The Radziwill Chronicle is the only illuminated Russian chronicle containing illustrations of Olga Dhoto: Catharina Ingdman-Sundberc Nestorskronikan Nestorskronikan ar den framsta kalian till den aldsta ostslaviska historien. Den beskriver tiden fran jordens skapelse fram till ar 1113, och tyngd- punkten ligger pa Rus' (Kievrikets, Fornryska rikets) uppkomst och kristnande. Kronikan skrevs av munken Nestor, som levde i Grottklostret i Kiev Han var fodd ar 1056, och de sista anteckningarna han gor i sin kronika ar fran ar 1113. Russian Primary Chronicle The Russian Primary Chronicle is the primary source of older Russian history It describes the periodfrom world creation ups to AD 1113, emphasising the emergence and Christianising of the Rus. It was written by the monk Nestor who lived in Kiev's Caves Monastery. He was born in iog6 and his last chronicle notes are from 1113. parts of Kievan Rus. The two bordering principalities of Pskov and Polotsk (Polatsk) were Christianised at the start of the eleventh century, shortly after the Christianising of the Kiev principality. Karelia was a vast and thinly popu- lated area which bordered on Finnish territory to the west and the principality of Novgorodto the east and south; being more or less under official control of the latter. There were no sharp boundaries here between east and west, and at the start of the Christian period, part of the population belonged to the Orthodox Church while others returned early on to the West Church. Christianisation did not of course take place overnight, but rather was quite a long, slow process which occasionally encountered various lengthy setbacks. This was also the case for the kingdom of Svea (part of modern- day Sweden). When the king Olof Skot- konung was baptised at Husaby source in AD 1000, this in no way meant that the whole kingdom was thus Christian. That process was not completed until the 12th century was well advanced. Christianising of Rus The Primary Chronicle describes in a vivid and often forceful manner the intermingling of Vikings, Viking descen- dants and Slavs, their intermarrying and the development of new generations which in time became more or less homogenous. In this way, a people called the Rus arose after a few generations and populated the countryside directly to the east of the Baltic Sea. They spoke Slavic, and were no longer able to speak any Scandinavian tongue. The Chronicle also expressively depicts how various members of one and the same family took in the new Christian teachings. We can understand from the description that this Christianising did not take place irrevocably and at one and the same time. The monk Nestor describes in his Chronicle for AD 987 how Vladimir, prince of the Kiev principality, gathered knowledge of the various religions and thereupon, together with the boyars (aristocrats), decided to adopt Orthodox beliefs; referring to the fact that his pater- nal grandmother, Olga (Helga/Helena), from Pskov "the wisest of all people" had once done the same. The following year Vladimir contin- ued his military expeditions, this time to the Greek city of Kherson. After sur- rounding and sacking Kherson, he sent, according to the Chronicle, message to the emperors Basil and Constantine threatening them with death should he not be given their sister as wife. How- ever, before she became his spouse he must be baptised. In this way, Prince Vladimir gained the hand of an imperial sister of Byzantium - and furthermore "half the kingdom", since he and the principality of Kiev became in this way implicated in the Byzantine Empire. He then had all his people in Kiev baptised. The year was 988. Vladimir must henceforth follow Christian law. He is thereby obliged to forgo all his other women. His former wife, Rogned of Polotsk, who in fact was Christian herself, was thus sent back home and required to leave her son Yaroslav in Kiev. When Vladimir died of illness in 1015, he left many sons. These included Yaroslav, as well as Svyatopolk, Boris and Gleb. The heathen Svyatopolk had no wish to share power with his Christian brothers Boris and Gleb and had them put to death, without their resisting. Following this event, Boris and Gleb became the first martyrs of Russian Orthodox church. The younger brother, Yaroslav, finally succeeded in overcoming Svyatopolk and as an adult became the foremost prince of the Kiev era. He was entitled Yaroslav the Wise, and during his reign Christianity was conclusively established in the principality. He wedded Ingegerd (Irina/Anna), daughter of the Swede Olof Skotkonung. The princes of Kiev (Yaroslav the Wise), Novgorod and Polotsk wished to show that their principalities had been Christianised and their people baptised; and to show veneration to God they built cathedrals around the same time (AD 1030-1050) in each respective realm. The cathedrals were given, and still retain, the same name Sofia Cathedral (Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom) as their Byzantine forerunner, Hagia Sofia (from532-537), in Constan- tinople, (hj Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 7 Gotlandska minnen av vikingars farder i osterled Margareta Attius Sohlman De vikingar som atervande hem efter sina farder i osterled medforde forutom foremal aven nya intryck och ideer. I vikinga- gravar, framst pa Gotland, har svenska arkeologer furinit sma glaserade kera- mikagg, formodligen av sydrusisk har- komst. De ar fran iooo-talet och har bysantinskt ursprung. Det ror sig om s.k. upp- standelseagg. Dessutom har arkeologerna ocksa furinit vanliga honsaggskal i vikirigagravar, vilket skulle kunria visa pa att vikirigarria tagit efter den rusiska seden att lagga ner uppstandelseaggi sina dodas gravar. Uppstandelseagg, troligen fran sodra Rus, harfunnits i vikingagravar i Alva socken, Gotland samt i Sigtuna. Resurrection egg, probably from southern Rus. Such eggs have been found in Viking graves in A iva parish, Gotland, and Sigtuna. Bysantinska silvermynt firms i mycket stor mangd pa Gotland, och det framsta fyndet ar fran Ocksarve. Troligen var det en viking, som uppeholl sig i Konstantinopel vid samma tid som den norske kungen Harald Hardrade, som tog med sig denna skatt, praglad under forrahalften av iooo-talet. Flera korshangen av bysantinskt ur- sprung fran iooo- och noo-talet har ocksa patraffats. Handeln var livlig mellan Gotland och Novgorod (Holmgard/Gorodisjtje). De gotlandska kopmannen besokte Novgorod ofta och under langa perio- der, och de lat inratta en handelsgard med egen kyrka, St Olof, troligen sa tidigt som i slutet av iooo-talet. Darfor har vissa forskare framkastat hypotesen, att Gotlands forsta kyrka kanske rent av lag i Novgorod och inte pa Gotland. Omvant besokte rusiska kopman Gotland pa sina tidiga handelsresor. De hade egen handelsgard, och i Visby firms rester av en ortodox kyrka. Det firms uppgifter som talar for att Gotland faktiskt kan ha paverkats av ortodox tro Manligt helgon avbildat med martyrkors i handen, 1150-tal, Garda kyrka, Gotland. Male sain t depicted holding martyr's cross, 1150s, Garda church, Gotland. 8 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd vid tiden for kristnandet av on, i borjan av noo-talet. Gotland lag ratt isolerat fran det svenska fastlandet - och efter- stravade att behalla en sadan position. Det var forst pa 1160-talet som on blev del i Linkopings stift och pa sa satt inlemmades i den romersk-katolska administrationen. De gotlandska kopmannen impone- rades storligen av Novgorods magnifi- ka kyrkor och deras bildprakt. Flera svenska forskare haller det for troligt att gotlarmingarna forde med sig hem fran Novgorod rusiska konstnarer ochikon- malare, som hade skolats i Bysans, eller grekiska konstnarer som var verksamma i Novgorod. Malriingarna i de tre aldsta gotlandska trakyrkorna i Dalhem, Sundre och Eke visar sadana spar. Vi firmer manga rusiska avtryck pa Gotland fran noo-talets borjan, speci- ellt i den sodra delen. Dessa trakter paverkades mer an ovriga Norden av den hogtstaende bysantinska kulturen, som harskade pa andra sidan havet. Kyrkorna med sina interiorer utgor ypperliga bevis pa detta. Bl.a. muralmalningarna i stenkyrkor- na Kallunge, Masterby och Garda upp- visar tydlig bysantinsk ikonografi. Hangsmycke i guld, 1100-talet, Vallstena socken, Gotland. Gold pendant, 12th century, Vallstena parish, Gotland. Testimony from Gotland island of Viking journeys east Margareta Attius Sohlman THOSE VIKINGS RETURNING home after their journeys east- wards brought with them not only objects but also new impressions and ideas. Small glazed ceramic eggs, probably deriving from southern Rus, have been found by Swedish archae- ologists in Viking graves chiefly on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland. These are from the nth century and are of Byzantine origin. They are termed "resurrection eggs". Archaeo- logists have also found ordinary chicken egg shells in Viking graves, which perhaps shows that the Vikings adopted the Rus people's custom of placing resurrection eggs in the graves of their dead. Byzantine silver coins have been found in very large quantities on Got- land, the foremost discovery being at Ocksarve. This treasure - minted in the first half of the n th century - was probably brought back by a Viking who stayed in Constantinople at the same time as Norwegian king Harald Hardraade. Several cross pendants of Byzantine origin from the nth and 12th cen- turies were also found. Trade between Gotland and Nov- gorod was lively. Merchants from Gotland visited Novgorod frequently and for long periods, and perhaps as early as the end of the nth century they established a trading centre with its own church of St Olof. Thus some researchers have launched the hypo- thesis that the first Gotland church was perhaps to be found not on Got- land but indeed in Novgorod. In con- verse, merchants from Rus visited Gotland on their early trading jour- neys. They established their own trading centre, while the Gotland town of Visby has remains of an Orthodox church. There is evidence suggesting that the island can in fact have been influenced by Orthodox beliefs when it was Christianised in the early 12 th century. It was quite isolated from the Swedish mainland, and strove to maintain such a position. It was not until the 1160s that the island became part of the mainland bishopric of Linkoping, and in this way was incorporated into the administra- tion of the Roman Catholic church. The merchants of Gotland were greatly impressed by Novgorod's (Holmgard/Gorodishche) magnifi- cent churches and their illustrative splendour. Several Swedish research- ers consider it likely that Gotlanders brought back with them from Novgorod artists and icon painters from Rus schooled in Byzantium, or Greek artists working in Novgorod. Such traces can be found in paintings from the three oldest timber churches on Gotland at Dalhem, Sundre and Eke. Many tracies from Rus from the early 12th century can be found on Gotland, particularly in its southern half More than the rest of Scandina- via, this region was influenced by the advanced Byzantine culture which prevailed across the sea. The churches and their interiors supply first-rate proof of this. Among others, the mural paintings of the stone churches of Kall- unge, Masterby and Garda display marked Byzantine iconography. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 9 Kristna kvinnor i 900- och 1100-talets Polotsk Margareta Attius Sohlman NESTORSKRONIKAN NAMNER Polotsk for forsta gangen under aret 862. Man kan dar lasa: "Och Rurik tog makten och forla- nade at sina man olika stader - en fick Polotsk, en Rostov och en annan Beloozero. I dessa stader ar varjagerna (dvs vikingarna) inflyttare, medan de ursprungliga invanarna i Novgorod var slaver, i Polotsk krivitjer, i Rostov merer, 1 Beloozero vepser, i Murom muroma; och over dem alia harskade Rurik." En av vikingarnas viktigare fardvagar 1 osterled gick fran Ostersjon in i Riga- bukten och vidare langs Daugavafloden (Dvina/Dzvina/Diina). Dar fanns sta- den Polotsk, strategiskt belagen. Tamli- gen snart blev Polotsk med omkring- liggande omrade ett sjalvstandigt furs- tendome med nara kontakter med saval Novgorod som Kiev. I Polotsk regerade varjagen Rogvolod (Ragnvald), samtidigt som Vladimir var storfurste i Kiev. Vladimir var omatt- lig nar det gallde kvinnor, formaler gamle Nestor, och nu eftertraktade han Rogvolods dotter Rogned (Ragnhed). Hon awisade dock hans begaran att fa henne till maka. Darfor anfoll Vladimir Polotsk, valdtog Rogned infor hennes skrackslagna foraldrar och lat morda bade Rogvolod och dennes tva soner. Vladimir forde med sig Rogned till Kiev, dar hon fodde honom tva dottrar Kristus Allharskaren, detalj ur Deisis. Muralmalning, mitten av 1100-talet, Spasayskaja tsarkva, Polotsk Klottrare fran senare arhundraden har satt sina marken. Christ the Lord, Deisis detail. Mid-12 th century mural painting, Spasayskaya Tsarkva, Polotsk Graffiti frorr, later centuries has left its mark Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ingegerd och fyra soner, av vilka Jaroslav med tiden blev regent i Kiev och fick epite- tet "den vise". Nar Vladimir hade dopts ar 988 och aktat de bysantinska kejsar- brodernas syster Anna (dod 1011), maste han leva efter kristna regler som inte tillat ens en furste att ha flera kvin- nor. Darfor forskot han Rogned. Hon, som vid denna tid var kristnad och i dopet fatt namnet Anastasija, atervan- de till Polotskriket. Dar slog hon signer och uppforde det forsta klostret i hela det vastra slaviska omradet. Hon levde dar som nurma anda till sin dod ar 1000. Narmare hundra ar efter Rogneds/ Anastasijas bortgang verkade en annan framstaende kristen kvinna i Polotsk. Det var den heliga Efrosinija, av furstlig att (11 o 1 -1173). H on grundade my cket tidigt ett kloster, som blev bade ett and- ligt och kulturellt vitryskt centrum. Dar inrymdes bibliotek och skola, samt ikon- och guldsmedsverkstad. Hon var den forsta slaviska kvinna som kanonisera- des, och hon tillbeds idag som det fors- ta vitryska helgonet. I Polotsks utkant kan man an idagbesoka Efrosinijas lilla klosterkyrka "Spasayskaja tsarkva" I det svaga ljuset darinne lyser underba- ra vaggmalningar i sina ursprungliga farger. Har har inga hardhanta konser- vatorer varit framme. Dock syns tydli- ga spar fran nyare tiders klafingriga besokare. $U lastips / further reading ■ Attius Sohlman, Margareta, Tro och tanke t Europas mitt - hrytpunkter och grdnsover- stridanden. Carlssons Bokforlag. Stockholm 2001. ■ Attius Sohlman, Margareta, Botstavens matt Tverslavista vdrldar. Carlsson Bokforlag. Stockholm 1994. ■ Nestorstronitan. Brutus Ostlings Bokforlag Symposion, Stockholm/Stehag 1998. ■ Lagerlof Erland, Gotland och Bysans. Odins Forlag AB 1999. ■ Larsson, Mats G, Vdrmgar. Nordbor has hjsaren iMiHag&rd. Atlantis Stockholm 1991. ■ Larsson, Mats G, Rusernas rite. Nordborna och Rysshndsfb'dehe. Atlantis Stockholm 1993. ■ LinneY, Sture, Bysantinst tulturhistoria. Norstedts, Stockholm 1994. ■ Piltz, Elisabeth, Det levande Bysans. Natur och Kultur Stockholm 1997. ■ Svahnstrom, Gunnar, Rysttonstfi&n Vladimir den helige till Ivan den forstractlige 1000-1^0. Odins Forlag AB, Visby 1993. Christian women in 10th and 12th century Polotsk Margareta Attius Sohlman Polotsk (Polatsk) is first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle in AD 862. Here it is said: "Rurik assumed the sole authority. He assigned cities to his follow- ers, Polotsk to one, Rostov to another, and to another Beloozero. In these cities there are thus Varangian (Viking) colo- nists, but the first settlers were, in Novgorod Slavs; in Polotsk, Krivichians; at Beloozero, Ves; in Rostov, Merians; and in Murom, Muromians. Rurik had dominion over all these districts." One of the more important eastern routes taken by the Vikings went from the Baltic Sea into the Gulf of Riga and up the Western Dvina river (Daugava). Here the city of Polotsk was strategical- ly situated. This city and its surrounding district quite rapidly became an inde- pendent principality, having close con- tact with both Novgorod and Kiev. The Varangian Rogvolod (Ragnvald) ruled in Polotsk, while at the same time Vladimir was Grand Prince of Kiev. The ageing Nestor tells of Vladimir's insa- tiable appetite for women, and now his eye was on Rogvolod's daughter Rogned (Ragnhed). She however rejected his request ofher as spouse. Hence Vladimir attacked Polotsk, raped Rogned in front ofher horror-stricken parents, and had Rogvolod and his two sons put to death. Vladimir brought Rogned with him to Kiev where she bore him two daughters and four sons, of which Yaroslav eventu- ally became regent of Kiev and received the epithet "the Wise". After being bap- tised in year 988, he took Anna, sister to the brother rulers of the Byzantine empire, as his spouse and was obliged to live according to Christian law, which did not permit even a prince to have sev- eral women. Thus he cast aside Rogned. She had been Christianised at this time, had received the name Anastasia, and returned to the principality of Polotsk. She settled there and established the first nunnery in the west Slavic territory. She lived here until her death in AD 1000. Almost a century later another emi- nent Christian woman was active in Polotsk. This was Saint Evfrosinia (AD 1101-1173), of royal line. Early on she founded a nunnery which became both a spiritual and cultural centre in Belarus. It included a library, school, and work- shops for icon-making and smithing of gold. She was the first Slavic woman to be canonised and is prayed to in modern times as the first saint of Belarus. Evfrosinia's small monastery church "Spasayskaya tsarkva" can still be seen on the outskirts of Polotsk. Through the pale light of the interior gleam wonder- ful mural paintings in their original colours. No signs of the activities of heavy-handed restorers. Clear signs, however, of the itchy fingers of contem- porary visitors. Translation note: quotes from the Russian Primary Chronicle are taken from a translation of the Laurentian Text ofthe Russian Primary ~le by S. H. Cross and O. P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Mediaeval Academy of America 1953. Margareta Attius Sohlman arforskare i slavisk kultur- historia med fokus pa moten mellan den ostliga och den vastliga kulturtraditionen. Hon har skrivit bocker om bl.a. ikonens varld, slaviskt boktryck och det vasteuropeiska intresset for det medeltida Ryssland. MargaretaAttiusSohlman conducts research intoSlavic cultural history with focuson the meeting between eastern and western cultural traditions Subjects for her books include the world of the icon, Slavic book printing, and western European interest in medieval Russia. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegird Olga: hamnerska och helgon Elisabeth Lofstrand "Du overgav avgudadyrhansfdrvillelse ochfoljde Kristus, den odddlige brudgummen, o, du gudomligt visa Olga, dusom frojdar dig i Hans boningar, bed standigtfdr dem som itro och harleh aktar ditt minne.'1 SA SJUNGER MAN I DEN RYSKA ortodoxa kyrkan varje ar den 24 juli, da furstinnan Olgas (Helga/Helena) minne firas - Olga som bland helgon en har rangen av "den apostlalika". Hon var Rus (Kievrikets, Fornryska rikets) forsta kristna harska- re, och liksom apostlarna spred hon det kristna budskapet bland hedningarna. Olgas biografi ar ett askadligt exem- pel pa det normskifte som den kristna laran forde med sig Hon var troligen fodd i trakten av Pskov (nara dagens Eastland) omkring 890. Har gar en av vattenvagarna som forband Skandinavien med det Bysan- tinska riket, och man tror att hon var fodd i en stormannafamilj av nordisk harkomst. Namnet Olga ar en forrysk- ning av det nordiska Helga. Den ryska Nestorskronikan berattar att Kievs furste Igor - son till Rurik - ar 903 tog hermes till sin hustru. Nasta gang Olga namns i kronikan har det gatt 42 ar, och hon ar nybliven anka. Igor har blivit dodad under en hardhant skatteindrivning hos folk- stammen derevljanerna. Det ar nu Olgas uppgift att hamnas sin makes dod, och hon gar grundligt till vaga. Hennes eftermale ar att hon ar "den visaste" men aven "den listigaste av kvinnor" Derevljanerna, somnaturligtvis ar med- vetna om blodshamndens krav men missbedomer Olgas kapacitet, gar gang pa gangi hennes fallor. Deras utrakning ar att de ska oskadliggora Olga genom Bysantinskfreskfran 1000-talet, Sofiakatedralen, Kiev. Bilden antas visa Olgas mote med kejsaren Fbrfyrogennetos pa Hippodromen i Konstantinopel. Eleventh century Byzantine fresco, Sofia Cathedral, Kiev. Assumed to depict Olga'smeeting with Emperor Porphyrogennetos at the Hippodrome in Constantinople. att gifta bort henne med deras egen furste Mai, och de skickar tjugo av sina yppersta man for att framfora frieriet. Olga gor god min och gor upp med mannen att de dagen darpa ska komma till henne i palatset. Pa hennes uppma- ning sager de: "Vi rider inte till hast, vi gar inte till fots, utan bar oss i var bat." Val framme pa palatsgarden kastas de tillsammans med baten i en stor grop och blir levande begravna. Har har man sett ett bevis for Olgas nordiska harkomst. Olga iscensatter en parodi pa batbegravning, en sed som var kand fran Skandinavien. Nasta grupp av sandebud moter ett liknande ode. De erbjuds ett bastubad innan Olga ska ta emot dem. Sa befaller hon att dorren skall lasas och att bastun ska antandas fran dorren. "Och dar brann de alia inne." Olga latsas nu acceptera frieriet men begar att forst fa grata vid sin mans grav. Hon vill ocksa att gravol ska hallas och ber derevljanerna brygga mycket mjod "i staden dar ni drapte min man". Under gravolet haller sig Olgas man nyktra men ser till att derevljanerna blir ordentligt druckna. Festen slutar med ett blodbad pa femtusen derevljaner. Aret darpa, ar 946, drar Olga och hennes son Svjatoslav ut i hartag mot derevljanerna. Dessa har nu forstatt vem de har att gora med och forskansar sig i sin huvudstad, som utsatts for en lang och plagsam belagring. Nar ett ar har gatt maste de innestangda satta tro Bysantinskfreskfran 1000-talet, Sofiakatedralen, Kiev. Antas visa furstinnan Olga. Byzantine fresco from 11th century, Sofia Cathedral, Kiev. Assumed to depict princess Olga. 12 Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ing?gerd till Olgas ord: "Jag vill inte hamnas mer -jag vill endast ta latt skatt av er. Nu har ni varken homing eller palsverk, ge mig fran varje gard tre duvor och tre spar- var." Derevljanerna blir glada och villfar hennes begaran. Men i kvallningen later Olga binda brinnande fnoske vid faglarnas ben och slapper dem. "Och duvorna och sparvarna flog till sina nasten, duvorna till duvslagen och spar- varna under taksparrarna; och sa antan- des duvslagen, iorradsbodarna, ladorna och hoskullarna, och det farms inte en gard dar det inte brann." Manniskorna flydde ut ur staden. En del blev ihjal- slagna, andra togs som tralar och resten nek stanna kvar for att betala skatt. Igors dod var nu hamnad. Samhallets hederskodexhade foljts pa ett exempla- riskt satt. Nestorskronikans nedteckna- re berattar om dessa handelser nyktert och sakligt, utan kommentarer. Olga, som styrde riket i egenskap av formyndare for sonen Syjatoslav, blev nu en klok harskarinna. Hon fixerade en bestamd skatt med fasta uppbordsti- der i stallet for som tidigare indrivning VARJE DAG UNDER ARET FIRAR kyrkan minnet av ett stort antal helgon. Deras namn ar inforda i tolv manadsbocker. Har finns levnadsbe- skrivningar och hymntexter. Kyrkan har inte mojlighet att uppmarksamma alia helgon i lika man. Exempelvis intar den heliga Olga (Helga/Helena) en genom rov och plundring. "Som husfrun i ett stort hushall ansvarade hon for allt och alia" Ar 955 kom vandpunkten i Olgas liv: hon mottog det kristna dopet i Konstantinopel under namnet Helena. Det ar i ljuset av denna handelse som vi ska se den understrom av gillande som trots allt fargar Nestors hela framstall- ning om Olga. Skildringen av vistelsen i Konstantinopel ar nog nagot forsko- nad: Olga gor genom sin fagring och klokhet ett sa djupt intryck pa kejsaren Konstantin Porfyrogennetos att han vill gifta sig med henne. Vid det har laget bor Olga ha varit drygt sextio ar! Hon avbojer frieriet pa ett mycket fmkansligt satt: hon ber kejsaren sta som gudfar vid dopet. Och sedan ar allt for sent - i ostkyrkan raknas gudforaldrar som nara slaktingar och aktenskap ar darfor omojligt. Det var patriarken sjalv som dopte Olga, vilket far ses som en stor ara och som ett tecken pa respekt for harskarin- nan fran det okanda landet i norr. Patriarken undervisade henne om bon, framtradande plats medan den heliga Annas (Ingegerd/Irina) plats ar mera blygsam. Men till badas ara har hymner diktats. For en stor mangd helgon har man gemensamma texter. Varje manniska som dopts i den orto- doxa kyrkan ar uppkallad efter ett hel- gon. Darfor har storre delen av den fasta, barmhartighet och ett rent lever- ne. Enligt Olgas helgonberattelse stod hon "med sankt huvud och liksom en svamp soghon i sighans ord". Fran och med nu ar hennes uppgift att folja de kristna barmhartighetsidealen. Pa vagen hem till Kiev lat Olga vraka bort avgudabilder och stalla upp sten- kors, vid vilka "till hedningarnas lardom manga under skedde". Men till Olgas stora sorgforblevhennes son Syjatoslav en enveten hedning. "Hum skall jag ensam ta emot en annan lag? Min hird skall skratta at mig", genmalde han sin mor. Det kom att bli Olgas sonson Vladimir som ar 988 inforde kristen- domen i det ryska riket. Den heliga Olga dog den 11 juli (enligt var nuvarande tiderakning 24 juli) ar 969. "Ochhon var forebadare for ett kristet land, liksom morgonstjarnan ar for solen och liksom gryningen for ljuset." © Citaten ar hamtade ur■ Nestorskronikin (i oversattning av Gabriella Oxenstierna) och ur den heliga Olgas helgonberattelse. Olgafreskfran Moskva. Olga fresco from Moscow. Helgon i den ortodoxa kyrkan Helgon spelar en viktig roll i det ortodoxa fromhetslivet. Ett helgon ar en dod man eller kvinna som framlevt ett rattfardigt liv och standaktigt forsvarat de kristna idealen och darfor sarskilt vordas av kyrkan. Helgonen frambar de troendes boner till Gud och ger dem storre kraft. Man tillber alltsa inte ett helgon - helgonet ar en formedlare och kan pa sa satt uppfattas som en god van, en narstaende, som lyssnar pa dina boner och bar dem vidare. '■\ Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingigerd Olga: avenger and Saint Elisabeth Lofstrand You did fre\ ages and fol- lowed Christ, the eternal Bridegroom, O most divine wise Olga, rejoicing in His- Kingdom, fray everfor those who with faith and Jove do cherish thy memory. This prayer is sung in the Russian Orthodox Church each year on July 24 in princess Olga's (Helga/Helena) memory - Olga who among saints has the rank of equal-to- the-apostles. She was the first Christian ruler of the principality of Kiev and as with the apostles spread the Christian message among heathens. The biography of Olga represents a clear example ofthe change in norms brought by Christian teaching. She was most likely born near Pskov (close to modern Estonia) around AD 890. One ofthe waterways linking Scandinavia with the Byzantine Empire flows by, and the belief is that she was born into a distin- guished family of Nordic stock. The name Olga is a russification of Nordic Helga. The Russian Primary Chronicle tells how Igor, prince of Kiev, son of Rurik, took her for his spouse in year 903. She is not mentioned in the Chronicle again until 42 years later, then as recent widow. Igor had been killed during heavy- handed tribute collection among the Derevlian people. It is now her task to avenge her husband's death, and this she does in thoroughgoing manner. Her posthumous reputation is not only that of "wisest" but also "most cunning" of women. The Derevlians are of course aware of the demands setby blood feud, but misjudge the capacity of Olga, repeatedly falling into her traps. They calculate rendering Olga harm- less by marrying her off to their own prince Mai, and they send 20 of their best men to announce the offer of marriage. Olga keeps face and agrees with the men that the fol- lowing day they are to come to her in the palace. Urged by her, they say: "We will not ride on horses, nor go on foot; carry us in our boat." On reaching the palace courtyard they and their boat are together pitched into a large pit to be buried alive. Here proof has been presented ofthe Nordic origins of Olga. She stages a parody of a boat burial, a custom known from Scandinavia. The next group of messengers meet a sim- ilar fate. They are offered to bathe in a bath- house prior to audience with Olga. She then commands that the door be locked and the bath-house be set alight at the door. "So the Derevlians all burned to death." Olga then pretended to accept the mar- riage proposal, but requests first to weep at her husband's grave. She also wishes for a funeral feast and requests that the Derevlians brew quantities of mead "in the city where you killed my husband". Olga's men remain sober at the feast while the Derevlians get thoroughly drunk. It ends with a bloodbath of 5,000 Derevlians. The following year, AD 946, Olga and her son Svyatoslav launch a force against the Derevlians. The latter now realise who they are dealing with and entrench themselves in their main city, which suffers a long and har- rowing siege. After a year, those inside are obliged to believe Olga's word when she says: "I do not desire further revenge." She tells them they have neither honey nor furs, "(But) give me three pigeons [...] and three sparrows from each house." The Derevlians rejoice and grant her request. But at dusk Olga had burning tinder bound to the birds' legs, and then released them. "And the birds flew to their nests, the pigeons to their cotes, and the sparrows under the eaves; where- upon the dovecotes, the coops, the porches and the haymows were set on fire." No house was spared from fire. People fled from the city. Some were beaten to death, others were taken into slavery, while those remain- ing had to stay and pay tribute. The death of Igor was now avenged. Society's code of honour had been followed in exemplary manner. The scribes of the Primary Chronicle relate these events soberly and in matter-of-fact manner, without com- ment. Olga now governed the principality as regent to her young son Svyatoslav, and became a wise ruler. She settled a specific taxation with fixed levy periods instead ofthe previous collection by pillage and plunder. "As housekeeper to a large household she was responsible for everything and everyone." The turning point in Olga's life came in AD 955: she received Christian baptism in Constantinople in the name of Helena. It is in the light of this event we are to see the under-current of approval which embroi- ders, despite all, the account given by the Primary Chronicle of Olga. The description ofher stay in Constantinople is told in some- what glowing terms: through her comeliness and wisdom, Olga makes such a deep im- pression on the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus that he wishes to marry her. By this time she must have been around 60 years old! She turns down his hand in extremely tactful fashion: requesting him to be godfather at her baptism. Whereupon she is lost to him - godfathers are counted as close relatives in the East Church, making marriage impossible. Olga was baptised by the Patriarch him- self which must be seen as a great honour and sign of respect for the ruler from the unknown lands ofthe north. The patriarch schooled her in prayer, fasting, almsgiving and in the maintenance of chastity. According to the biography of Olga, she "bowed her head, and like a sponge absorb- ing water, she eagerly drank in his teach- ings". From this point on her task was to fol- low the Christian ideal of compassion. On the journey back to Kiev, Olga had craven images dashed asunder and stone crosses raised. "To the enlightenment ofthe heathens many miracles took place," at these crosses. To Olga's great sorrow, how- ever, her son Svyatoslav remained an unyielding heathen. "How shall I alone accept another faith? My followers will laugh at that", he responded to his mother. And it was to be Olga's grandson Vladimir who in AD 988 brought Christianity to the kingdom of Russia. The blessed Olga died on July 11 (new calendar July 24) year 969. "Olga was the precursor ofthe Christian land, even as the day-spring precedes the sun and as the dawn precedes the day." © Quotes from the Russian Primary Chronicle are taken from a translation of the Laurentian Text of the Russian Primary Chronidehy S. H. Cross and O. P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Mediaeval Academy of America 1953. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 15 Olgamosaikfrantunnelbanan i Kiev. Olga mosaic from Kiev metro system. ryska namnskatten hamtats fran Bysans, dvs det ostromerska riket. De grekiska martyrerna och asketerna fran de forsta arhundradena utgor den storsta grup- pen heliga bade i den ryska och grekis- ka kyrkan. Rus kristnades fran Bysans i slutet av 900-talet, och de inhemska helgonen var lange relativt fa. De gamla hedniska namnen trangdes alltsa ut och bara ett fatal blev kvar. Olga ar dock kand under sitt gamla namn - som ar skandinaviskt - och inte under sitt dopnamn Helena. Ingegerd vordas daremot under sitt nunnenamn Anna. Dessutom hade hon ytterligare ett kristet namn, Irina. I det forrevolutionara Ryssland bru- kade ett nyfott barn fa namn efter ett helgon som frrades pa dess fodelsedag, eller pa en dag strax fore eller efter. Det var sedan helgondagen man firade i familjen med fester och presenter - det var bandet till himlen som var det vik- tiga. I dagens Ryssland firar man fodel- sedag precis som i Sverige, aven om namns dags fir and et med det okade intresset for kyrkan upplever en renas- sans. En ortodoxt troende brukar ha en ikon av sitt helgon och be framfor den. Ikonen ar malad efter fasta principer vad galler detaljer i kladedrakten och andra attribut. Den heliga Olga fram- stalls i furstinnemantel och med ett kors, skriftrulle eller en miniatyrkyrka i han- den. Den heliga Anna avbildas i nun- nedrakt och hon haller i en skriftrulle. For att nagon ska bli vordad som hel- gon racker det inte med ett rattfardigt och fromt leverne. Kyrkan maste till- erkanna den doda denna status, och for detta kravs en speciell process som i den ortodoxa kyrkan ar mindre forma- liserad an i den katolska. Fore ryska revolutionen var "under vid graven" ett oeftergivligt krav. Nar biskopen i ett stift underrattades om sadana handelser inkravde han tillforlitliga rapporter, och pa grundval av dessa beslots att denna man eller kvinna skulle firas med en gudstjanst pa sin dodsdag eller den dag da man tog upp relikerna ur graven. For detta andamal maste man forfatta speci- ella hymntexter, en levnadsbeskrivning och mala en ikon. Sjafva kanonisering- en bestod i att man pa utsatt dag holl en hogtidlig gudstjanst i den kyrka dar det nya helgonet hade sin gravplats eller i narheten darav. Nu firades helgonet lokalt, men i vissa fall beslutade patriar- ken eller Synoden att hela ryska kyrkan skulle infora denna fest. Under sovjettiden var den ryska kyr- kan berovad ratten att kanonisera nya helgon. Efter 1990 har kyrkan dock fatt flera nya helgon, varav de mest spekta- kulara ar den sista ryska kejsarfamiljen som kollektivt led martyrdoden i Ural 1918. Bade den heliga Olga och den heliga Anna hor till den ryska kyrkans tidigas- 16 Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd Saints in the Orthodox Church te helgon. Olgas kvarlevor, som enligt vittnesmal var oforgangliga, forsvann under mongolernas angrepp pa Kie v pa 1200-talet. Tva platser gor ansprak pa att hysa den heliga Annas (Ingegerds) reliker: Sofiakatedralen i Novgorod och Sofiakatedralen i Kiev. Hennes hel- gonnamn ar dock Anna av Novgorod. Olga och Anna, som levde pa 900- talet och 1000-talet, ar tidiga helgon ocksa i ett svenskt perspektiv. Olga hade troligen slaktband till Skandinavien, medan Anna/Ingegerd, dotter till Olof Skotkonung, var fodd har. Darmed kan hon ses som det forsta svenska kvinn- liga helgonet. © lAstips/further reading ■ Aleksandrov, A.A., Vo•vremenaknjagint'Olgt, Pskov 2001. ■ Golubinskij, E., Istorija kanonizatsii svjatych v russkqj tserkvi, Moskva 1903. ■ Lofstrand, Elisabeth, Sverige och Pskov. Svenska institutet, Stockholm 2003. ■ Nestorskronikan. Brutus Ostlings Bokforlag Symposion, Stockholm/Stehag 1998. ■ Pushkareva, N.L., Women in Russian history: from the tenth to the twentieth century, Armonk. N.Y. 1997. Elisabeth Lofstrand, fil.dr, ar lektor i ryska spraket vid Stockholms universitet och forskar kring det s.k Ockupations- arkivet fran Novgorod. Elisabeth Lofstrand, Ph.D., is a senior lecturerin Russian (assistantprofessor of Russian) atStockhoim University. She conducts research into the "Occupation archives" of Novgorod. SAINTS PLAY AN IMPORTANT part in Orthodox piety. Saints are deceased men or women who have lived honourable and earnest lives and steadfastly defended Christian ideals, and are thus particularly venerated by the Church. Saints convey the prayers of the faithful to God, giving them greater strength. In this manner, one does not worship a saint; saints carry mes- sages to God and might be seen as close friends, intimates who listen to your prayers and send them on. A large number of saints are celebrated by the Church each day of the year. Their names are entered into 12 Menaion. These books provide hymn texts and details of their lives. It is impossible for the Church to give all saints equal prominence. For example, Saint Olga (Helga/Helena) is given prominence while Saint Anna (Ingegerd/Irina) is more modestly pre- sented. Both, however, have had hymns written in their honour. Large numbers of saints have texts in common. Every person Christened into the Ortho- dox Church is named after a saint. This explains why the majority of Russian fore- names come from Byzantium, i.e. from the kingdom of East Rome. The largest group of saints in both the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches are the Greek martyrs and ascetics from the early centuries. Rus was Christianised from Byzantium at the end of the 10th century, and for quite some time had but relatively few saints of its own. The old heathen names were therefore squeezed out, only a few remained. Olga however is known by her old name - which is Scandinavian- andnotbythebaptismal Helena. Ingegerd is, however, venerated as Anna, the name she received as a nun. She also had a further Christian name Irina. A newborn in prerevolutionary Russia was normally named after the saint cele- brated on its day of birth, or a day imme- diately before or after. Thereafter, it was the saint's day which was celebrated with- in a family with feasting and presents - the links to heaven were of primary impor- tance. In modern-day Russia, birthdays are celeb rated just as in Sweden, even if name's day celebration with the increased interest in the Church is experiencing a renaissance. Orthodoxbelievers usually have an icon oftheir saintto pray to. Such icons are paint- ed according to specific principles as far as dress details and other attributes are con- cerned. Saint Olga is depicted in a princess gown, and in her hand is a cross, scroll or miniature church. Saint Anna is portrayed in nun's clothing, holding a scroll. Being venerated as a saint requires more than a life of earnestness and piety. The dead person's status in this respect must be acknowledged by the Church, and this requires a special process which is less for- malised in the Orthodox Church com- pared to that of the Catholic Church. Prior to the Russian revolution "graveside mira- cle" was an indispensable condition. When a bishop of a diocese was informed of such happenings, he demanded reliable reports, and on the basis of these it was determined whether or not the man or woman would be celeb rated with a church service on their day of death, or the day on which relics were removed from their grave. To this end, special hymns had to be written, a life-of-the-saint in question drawn up. Icons had to be painted. The canonisation itself consisted of holding a ceremonial service on a determined day in the church where, or close to where, the new saint had his or her grave. The Saint was then celebrated locally, but in certain cases the Patriarch or Synod decided to incorporate the feast day into the entire Russian Orthodox Church. During the Soviet period, the Russian Church was stripped of its right to canon- ise new saints. Since 1990, however, it has gained several new saints, the most spec- tacular being the last Russian Tsar family, which suffered the deaths of martyrs in the Urals in 1918. Both Saint Olga and Saint Anna are among the Russian Church's earliest saints. The remains of Olga - said by witnesses to be unperishable - disappeared during 13th century attacks by the Mongolians on Kiev. The relics of Saint Anna are claimed by two separate places: the Cathedrals of Sofia in Novgorod and Kiev. Her saint's name is however Anna of Novgorod. Olga and Anna, living as they did in 10th and nth centuries, are early saints also in a Swedish perspective. It is likely that Olga had relational ties to Scandinavia, while Anna (Ingegerd/Irina), daughter of Olof Skotkonung, was born there. In this way, she might be seen as Sweden's first female saint. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 17 Nytt gravfynd fran furstinnan Olgas tid i centrala Pskov Je A. Jakovleva Ett for Pskov sensationellt fynd gjordes i slutet av 2003 vid en arkeologisk utgravning infor bygget av ett kontorskomplex i centrala staden. Man fann da en kammargrav dar den gravlagda var en skandinavisk kvinna. Den heliga furstinnan Olga (Helga/Helena), den apostlalika, ar for Pskovborna intimt forknippad med staden och dess allra tidigaste historia. I den historiska traditionen ses Olga som stadens skyddshelgon, och enligt vissa versio- ner var hon dess grundare. 2003 firade Pskov 1100-arsjubileet av sitt forsta omnamnande i landets aldsta national- kronika, Nestorskronikan. Under ar 903 narnns det i kronikan att Kievfursten Igor tagit Olga, bordig fran Pskov, till sin hustru. Tyvarr ar de skriftliga kallorna knapp- handiga och i de fiesta fall tillkomna senare an handelserna i borjan av 900- talet. Historikernatorde knappastkunna upptackanagot nytt pa omradet. Hoppet star saledes till arkeologin. Decennier av fortlopande arkeolo- giska utgravningar har mojliggjort for dagens forskare att fa en allman bild av Pskov sadan staden tedde sig pa furstin- nan Olgas tid. Det star klart att det langt innan den blivande Kievfurstinnan foddes farms en bosattning pa udden dar floderna Pskov och Velikaja flyter samman. Under 900-talet blev stadens yta flera ganger storre (upp till femton hektar). Bosattningen sag ut som stader i Rus brukade - en fastning, ett handels- centrum och en kultplats (en helgedom och ett gravfalt). Stadens lage vid en stor vattenvag var gynnsam for dess ekonomiska utveckling. Pskov hade en Kvinnog raven fran december 2003. / Grave of female, December2003. multietnisk befolkning. Dar farms sla- ver, huvudsakligen krivitjer, men ocksa finskugriska, baltiska och skandina- viska stammar. Bland de flera tusen arkeologiska fyn- den i Pskov ingar det, liksom i manga andra stora ryska stader, enstaka skandi- naviska foremal. Att olika etniska grup- per levde i Pskov framgar av fynden fran gravfaltet som ar fran 900- och 1000- talet och ar belaget nagra hundra meter soder om fastningen. Av attio utforskade gravar kan fern med sakerhet sagas vara utformade enligt skandinaviska traditio- ner (tillhorande en man, en tonaring och nagra barn). De som begravdes dar kan, med viss reservation, kallas samtida till furstinnan. Men man har lange saknat mojlighet att rekonstruera hur furstin- nan Olgas landsmaninnor sag ut ... Ett for Pskov sensationellt fynd gjordes dock i december 2003, vid en 18 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd New burial finds in central Pskov from the time of Princess Olga Spannbuckla Buckle Je A. Jakovleva In december 2003, a sensational find in Pskovian terms was made at a statutory excavation prior to a building of an office complex in central Pskov. Here a burial chamber was found containing the remains of a Scandinavian woman. To the people ofPskov, SaintOlga, princess, equal-to-the-apostles, is intimately linked to the earliest history of their city. Historic tradition makes Olga (Helga/Helena) the Patron Saint of the city, and according to some ver- sions she was its founder. In 2003, the city of Pskov celebrated the 1100th anniversary of its first mention in the Russian Primary Chronicle - Russia's old- est national chronicle. The Chronicle records that in year 903 Igor, prince of Kiev took Olga, native of Pskov, as his wife. Written sources are unfortunately quite sparse, and in most cases were recorded later than events in the early 900 s. It is unlikely that historians can dis- cover anything new on the topic. In this respect, hope lies with archaeologists. Decades of continuous archaeological excavations have made it possible for modern researchers to gain a general picture of Pskov as it was in princess Olga's day. Clearly, a settlement at the confluence of the rivers Psovka and Velikaya existed long before the future princess of Kiev was born. During the 10th century the surface area of the town expanded sever- al fold (up to 15hectares). In appearance, the settlement was not unlike other towns in Rus, with a fort, a trading cen- tre and a cult site (shrine and burial ground). The position of the town on a major water route was favourable to its economic development. The population of Pskov was multi-ethnic. Not only were the Slavs there (chiefly Krivichians), but also Finno-Ugric, Baltic and Scandi- navian peoples. As with the archaeological finds in many other large Russian cities, the thou- sands of finds in Pskov include occasion- al Scandinavian objects. Evidence that various ethnic groups lived in Pskov can be seen from 10th and nth century finds from the burial ground The burial ground is situated less than a kilometre from the fort It may be said that five of the 80 excavated graves are definitely formed according to Scandinavian tradition (those of a man, a teenager and several children). With certain reservation, those buried there might be termed contem- poraries to princess Olga. Though the chance of reconstructing the features of her compatriots has long since passed... However, in December 2003, a sen- sational find in Pskovian terms was made at a statutory excavation prior to the building of an office complex on Sovetskaya-street Here a burial cham- ber was found containing the remains of a Scandinavian woman. The excavation took place in an area more than half a kilometre from the pre- historic burial ground as it was known. The find was made in a central area of modern Pskov, on the eastern banks of the Velikaya river. This area was first incorporated into the city with the con- struction of a third ring of fortifications in the late 15th and early 16th century. The excavation site runs along medieval Pskov's main street, Velikaya-street (now Sovetskaya-street). Outside the city, the street continued southwards as an anci- ent country road. Thirty metres south of the construction sitelies amedieval nun- nery, Staroya Vozneseniya, believed to have been founded outside the city in the 14th century. No written sources indicate that this area was taken over by the city before the 15th century. The grave was discovered after inves- tigating the medieval layers from the city. In a large, square, grave-deep pit, a timber-built burial chamber was found. Herein were the remains of a woman, buried in sitting posture. She was fur- nished with an array of gold, silver and bronze jewellery common to Scandina- Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 19 Ryska arkeologer i arbete med graven. Russian archaeologists at work on the grave. raddnmgsgravnirig infor bygget av ett kontorskomplex pa Sovetskajagatan. Man farm da en kammargrav dar den gravlagda var en skandinavisk kvinna. Omradet dar utgravningen skedde ligger mer an en halv kilometer fran det dittills kanda, forntida gravfaltet. Fyndet gjordes i de centrala delarna av dagens Pskov, pa hogra stranden av Velikaja. Detta omrade inforlivades i staden i och med att man byggde den tredje befastningsringen i slutet av 1400- och borjan av 1500-talet. Utgrav- ningsplatsen stracker sig langs det medeltida Pskovs huvudgata, Velikaja- gatan (idag Sovetskaja-gatan). Utanfor staden overgick gatan i en sydgaende, mycket gammal landsvag. Trettio meter soder om byggarbetsplatsen lig- ger ett medeltida nunnekloster, Staroje Voznesenije, som tros ha grundats utan- for staden pa 1300-talet. De skriftliga kallorna antyder ingenting om att sta- den skulle ha lagt under sig detta omra- de fore 1400-talet. Graven upptacktes efter det att man gatt igenom de medeltida lagren fran staden. I en stor, fyrkantig, mer an manshojd djup grop hade en kammar- grav timrats. I denna fann man stoftet av en kvinna, som begravts i sittande stall- ning. Hon var forsedd med den for skandinaviska kvinnor vanliga uppsatt- ningen smycken av guld, silver och brons - nagra dussintal foremal. Man fann en halsring, nagra hangsmycken, metallparlor, ringar, armband m. m. De traditionella, ovala spannbucklorna var forgyllda, och guld forekom i graven aven i form av bysantinska mynt i ett halsband och en tradring med en liten parla. Att kvinnan hade en hog social stall- ning kan man sluta sig till, dels genom de dyrbara smyckena och gravkamma- rens betydande storlek, dels genom att graven ocksa inneholl en bronsvag for smavikter. Samst bevarat var husgeraden och foremal en av jam och organiska mate- rial. Konservatorerna har lyckats identi- fiera ett handtag till en hink, beslag till en trakista samt en kniv. De huvudsakliga slutsatserna aterstar annu att dra. Det unika fyndet kraver ett allsidigt studium, och foremalen behover restaureras noggrant. Upptackten har snarare givit fler fragor an svar nar det galler Pskovs tidiga historia. Under de narmaste faltsasongerna kommer arkeo- logerna att forsoka utvidga undersok- ningsomradet, i forhoppningen att det skall visa sig att den patraffade graven inte ar den enda pa platsen. Oversattning Magnus Dahnbeig vian women - several dozen objects in all. These included a torque, several pen- dants, metal beads, rings and armlets. The traditional oval brooches were gilded, and gold was also present in the grave in the form of Byzantine coins in a necklace and a wire ring with a small bead. The woman's high social status is indicated partly by the valuable jewels and the significant size of the burial chamber, and partly by the presence in the grave of a bronze scales for small weights. The household utensils and objects of iron and organic material were least well preserved. Restorers have succeeded in identifying the handle to a pail, fittings to a wooden coffin, and a knife. The principal conclusions remain to be drawn. The unique find demands comprehensive study; the objects must be carefully restored. In actual fact, the discovery may have raised more ques- tions than providing answers as to the early history of Pskov. Coming excava- tion seasons will see archaeologists attempting to expand the area of inves- tigation in the hope of finding further graves on the site. © Jelena Jakovleva arforskare i arkeologi pa Pskovs historiska museum. Hennes specialomrade ar stadsarkeologi i Ryssland. For narvarande haller hon pa att avsluta sitt doktorsavhandling om Pskovs tidiga stadslandskap. JeienaJakovieva conducts research at the Historical museum of Pskov. She specialises in urban archaeology in Russia, and is currently completing her doctoral thesis on the early townscape of Pskov. 20 Historiska Nyheter - OJga & Ingegerd Ingegerd - en bricka i det politiska spelet Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg I det som var 1000-talets Sverige farms inte sa mycket att valja pa for en kvinna i hog stallning. Nar Ingegerd/Irina/Anna (ca 1000-ca 1050), den kristne sveakungen Olof Skotkonungs (ca 980-ca 1022) dotter, nadde giftasvuxen alder blev hon en politisk schackpjas bland kunga- och furstehusen i det datida Europa. Hennes far kunde anvanda sin dotter for att i basta fall utvidga sitt rike eller som pant for fred och Ingegerd sjalv var val medveten om detta. Politiken i skandinavien vid den har tiden handlade inte bara om krigare och ledungsflottor. En kvinna kunde vara lika mycket vard som en hel arme. I de riken som omgav det politiskt instabila Gotaland och Svealand var det framfor allt Norge och Rus, som det var klokt att halla sig val med. Och i det ena riket farms en ung hjalte i hennes egen alder, Olav Haraldsson, och i det andra en tjugofem ar aldre rusisk furste, Jaroslav den vise. I Vastergotland hade redan hennes kusin Ragnvald jarl, som var gift med kungaattade norskan Ingeborg, gjort en del sonderingar i vast. Kung Olav Haraldsson, sedermera den helige, lag namligen i fejd med sveakungen och stoppade handeln vid granserna samti- digt som han da och da anfoll Olof Skotkonungs skattefogdar nar de for- sokte ta skatt i omraden som tidigare varit norska. Olav Haraldsson ville garna ena och utvidga Norge varfor granskonflikten hotade freden. Men om Ingegerd gifte sig med Olav Haraldsson maste norr- man och svear halla fred med varandra och salunda skulle problemen losas. Ragnvald jarl och vastgotarna jobbade hart for att fa till ett giftermal mellan de bada. Allt hade sakert gatt bra om det inte vore for att Olav Haraldsson i sin ung- dom harjat i Malarlandskapen. Nar Olof Skotkonung stangt in honom i Malaren hade den norske kungen galant smitit undan med sina skepp vid platsen for Norrbro i Stockholm, en nesa Olof Skotkonung inte hamtat sig ifran. Dessutom tyckte han att den norske kungen var en opalitlig upp- komling utan viktiga landomraden. Att fa Olav Haraldsson till svarson var sale- des inget han onskade. Men Ingegerd som hade fatt hora att Olav Haraldsson pa en enda morgon besegrat fern norska kungar och dessu- tom utfbrt hjaltedad i Normandi och England hade blivit intresserad av norr- mannen. Nar sa Olav efter en tid friade svarade hon ja, nagot som inte fadern, men ting- et i Uppsala, tyckte var en god sak. Olof Skotkonung forsokte satta sig emot gif- termalet men maste till slut ge med sig eftersom bonderna vid Uppsalatinget hotfullt bullrat med sina vapen. Upprymd sande Ingegerd sin blivande Den heliga Anna (Ingegerd) av Novgorod. Del av ikon fran fran 1700-talet, Novgorod. Saint Anna (Ingegerd) of Novgorod. Icon detail from 18th century, Novgorod. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd Sofiakatedralen i Kiev. Katedralen paborjades 1037 och tillkom pa initiativ av fursteparet Ingegerd och Jaroslav den vise. Den ar ombyggd men finns kvar an idag. Sofia Cathedral of Kiev. Building of the Cathedra! commenced in 1037, on the initiative of the royal couple princess Ingegerd and prince Yaroslavthe Wise. The cathedral survives, rebuilt, to thisday. Photo: Catharina Ingelman-Sundberc brudgum en guldstickad kappa och Olav sjafv seglade med flaggprydda skepp till gamla Kongahalla (Kungalv) for att hamta sin brud. Men nagon kungadotter syntes inte till. Olof Skotkonung hade namligen inte haft nagon avsikt att upp- fylla loftet till bonderna i Uppsala. Ingegerd fortvivlade och nar fadern stolt berattade att han fangat fern orrar pa en enda morgon, replikerade hon bitskt att Olav Haraldsson minsann han hade fangat fern kungar pa samma tid. Medan Ingegerd och norske kungen vantade pa att giftermalet skulle komma till stand anlande plotsligt ett bud fran Novgorod (Holmgard/Gorodisjtje). Det var den rusiske furstenJaroslav den vise (ca 978-1054) som i ett brev bad om att fa gifta sig med Ingegerd. Kanske hade han skramd asett hur Sveariket och Norge narmat sig varandra, nagot som kunde innebara riskfor anfall vasterifran. For Olof Skotkonungs del var frieriet losningen pa allt. Nu slapp han den norske kungen, fick fred med Rus och dessutom stod emot eventuella anfall vasterifran. Han pressade Ingegerd att saga ja och forst efter langa forhand- lingar och manga eftergifter gick hon med pa arrangemanget. Vid 19 ars alder tvingades hon saledes att gifta sig med en 25 ar aldre framling borta i Novgorod. Som klen trost fick hon en del landomraden kring Staraja Ladoga (Aldeigjuborg) som morgongava. Olav Haraldsson som vantat pa Ingegerd i manader blev sa forolampad att han hotade med krig och endast genom att Ragnvald jarl i hemlighet lyckades gifta bort Olof Skotkonungs andra dotter och Ingegerds halvsyster Astrid med Olav, raddades freden. Ingegerd fann sig i sitt ode och tycks ha anpassat sig val i ost. Med Jaroslav fick hon tio barn och de akta makarna forefaller ha haft ett gott samarbete. Ingegerd hjalpte Jaroslavi hans krigstag och nar det antligen blev fred, byggde de upp Kiev efter bysantinskt monster. Gyllene Porten, den vackraste av de tre portarna till "Jaroslavs stad", och Sofia- kyrkan tillkom pa initiativ av storfurste- paret och aven skolundervisning intro- ducerades i staden. Jaroslavs och Ingegerds marmorsarkofag i Sofiakatedralen i Kiev. Yaroslav's and Ingegerds marble sarcophagus in Sofia Cathedral in Kiev. Dhoto:KonstantinShmatov and Vladimir Vereshchagir 22 Historiska Nyheter - OJga & Ingegerd Under Ingegerd ochjaroslavs tid blev Rus ett storfurstendome och en av dati- dens verkliga stormakter jamte Ostro- merska riket och Kalifatet. Tre av Ingegerds dottrar giftes bort med representanter for europeiska kungahus. Dottern Elisabeth gifte sig med den norske hjaltekonungen Harald Hardrade, Anastasia gifte sig med den blivande kung Andreas av Ungern och tredje dottern Anna for- maldes med Henrik I av Frankrike. I slutet av sin levnad gick Ingegerd i kloster och gavs da namnet Anna. Hon kom att bli Sveriges forsta helgon och ligger begravd tillsammans med Jaroslav i Sofiakatedralen i Kiev. @ lastips / further reading ■ Ingelman-Sundberg, Catharina, Mdktigmam koinna, en roman om storfurstinnan Ingegerd. Egmont Richter, Malmo 2001. ■ Ingelman-Sundberg, Catharina, Bo fen om vikingarna. Egmont Richter, Malmo 1998. ■ Ingelman-Sundberg, Catharina, Vikmgasilver. Egmont Richter, Malmo 1997. Arkeologiska utgravningar pagar sedan manga ar i Gorodisjtje utanfor Novgorod dar Jaroslav och Ingegerd periodvis vistades. Archaeological excavations have been in progress for several years in Gorodishche outside Novgorod where Yaroslavand Ingegerd periodically stayed. 3hoto: Catharina Ingelman-Sundberc Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg arforfattare och journalist pa Svenska Dagbladet. Hon borjade sir karriar som dykande arkeolog och har arbetat som marinarkeolog pa Sjohistoriska museet i Stockholm, pa Norsksjofartsmuseum i Oslo och vid Malmo sjo- fartsmuseum samt vid Western Australian Museum i Perth i Australien. 1999 belonades hon med Widdingpriset som aretsforfattare av historiska romaner och popularhistoria i Sverige. Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg is a writer and journalist on the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. She started her career as a diver archaeologist and has worked as a marine archaeologist for the National Maritime Museum in Stockholm, the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo, the Maritime Museum of Malmo, and the Western Australian Museum in Perth. In 1999 she received the Widding award as writer of the year ofhistorical novels and popular history in Sweden. 24 Historiska Nyheter - OJga & Ingegerd Ingegerd - a pawn in the game of politics Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg In nth century Sweden, a woman of high standing had little to choose from. When Ingegerd/Irina/Anna (c. 1000-1050), daughter to the Christian king of Svea, Olof Skotkonung (c. 980-1022) reached marriageable age, she became a political pawn among the kings and princes of European royalty. Most favourably, the king could use her to expand his king- dom, or else as a pledge on peace. And of this, Ingegerd was well aware. THE POLITICS OF SCANDINAVIA at this time were not limited to warring and Viking fleet expeditions. The value of a woman could be equal to a whole army. Norway and Rus (Kievan Rus) were above all those countries it was wise to remain on good terms with among the kingdoms sur- rounding the politically unstable Swedish provinces of Gotaland and Svealand. And in one kingdom was to be found a young hero Ingegerd's own age, Olav Haraldsson, in the other a prince of Rus some twentyfive years older, Yaroslav the Wise. Her cousin in Vastergotland, Earl Ragn- vald, wed to the royal descendant Ingeborg of Norway, had already explored possibili- ties to the west. For the case was that king Olav Haroldsson, later to become St. Olav, was in feud with the Svea king and prevent- ed border trade, at the same time sporadical- ly attacking Olof Skotkonung's tax bailiffs in their efforts to collect revenue in areas pre- viously belonging to Norway. The great wish of Olav Haraldsson was to unite and expand Norway, so the border conflict was a threat to peace. If, however, Ingegerd were married to Olav Haraldsson then the Norwegians and Sveas would be obliged to remain on peaceful terms, and the problem would be solved. Earl Ragnvald and his people of Vastergotland worked hard to arrange a marriage. This would most certainly have been successful if Olav Haraldsson had not in his youth ravaged the districts around Lake Malaren. When Olof Skotkonung closed his escape from the lake he managed to gallantly slip away with his fleet at Norrbro; an ignominy from which Olof Skotkonung had still not recovered. He furthermore felt the Norwegian king to be an unreliable upstart, lacking important stretches of land. Having him as his son-in-law was thus not something he wished for. But Ingegerd's interest in Olav Haralds- son had been awakened. She had heard that he had defeated five Norwegian kings in a single morning, and also that he had per- formed heroic deeds in Normandy and England. So when, after a period of time, Olav asked for her hand she agreed. Something her father did not approve, but the thing of Uppsala did. Olof Skotkonung attempted to oppose the marriage but was finally obliged to agree to it - the farmers of Uppsala thing began making threatening noises with their weapons. In elation Ingegerd sent her bridegroom- to-be a gold-knitted cloak, and Olav himself sailed with flag-festooned ships to old Kungahalla (Kungalv) to fetch his bride. There was, however, no royal daughter in sight there. For Olof Skotkonung had owned no intention of fulfilling his promise to the farmers of Uppsala. Ingegerd was despair- ing, and when her father proudly related the capture of five grouse in a morning, she bit- terly replied that Olav Haraldsson had, indeed, managed the capture of five kings in the same period of time. While Ingegerd and the king of Norway awaited the marriage, a message from Novgorod (Holmgard/Gorodishche) unex- pectedly arrived. Yaroslav the Wise, prince of Rus, (c. 978-1054) requested in a letter the hand of Ingegerd. Perhaps he had seen with alarm how the kingdoms of Svea and Norway approached one another, increas- ing the risk of attack from the west For Olof Skotkonung this proposal was a solution to everything. He was now spared the Norwegian king, gained peace with Rus, and could also stand up to any attack from the west. He urged Ingegerd to say yes, and eventually after long negotiations and many concessions she agreed. Thus at the age of 19 she was forced to marry a stranger in dis- tant Novgorod twentyfive years her senior. It was poor consolation that she received certain stretches of land around Staraya Ladoga (Aldeigjuborg) as a morning gift Olav Haraldsson had waited months for Ingegerd, and became so angry that he threatened war. It was only through Earl Ragnvald, who in secret succeeded in mar- rying off Olof Skotkonung's other daughter Astrid - Ingegerd's half sister - to Olav, that peace was kept Ingegerd accepted her fate and seems to have adapted well to the east She bore ten children with Yaroslav, and the married couple appears to have worked well togeth- er. Ingegerd helped Yaroslav in his military expeditions, and when peace arrived they built up Kiev in Byzantine style. Construction of the Golden Gate - the finest of the three gates to Yaroslav's city - and the church of Sofia was initiated by the Grand Prince and his wife. School teaching was also intro- duced. During the period of Ingegerd and Yaroslav, Rus became a grand principality, and one of the great powers of the time, along with the Empire of East Rome and the Caliphate. Three daughters of Ingegerd were married off to representatives of European royalty. Elisabeth married the heroic Norwegian king Harald Hardraade, Anastasia married the future king Andrew of Hungary, while Anna wed Henry I of France. Towards the end of her life, Ingegerd took her religious vows and received the name Anna. She was to be Sweden's first saint and is buried together with Yaroslav in Kiev's Sofia Cathedral. @ Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 2 5 Aifur nar Novgorod 1994. Till hoger Sofiakatedralen. / Aifur arrives at Novgorod 1994. To the right Sofia Cathedral. Photo: Foreningen Aifur Fardexperiment ger nya ron om farder i osterled Rune Edberg Sovjetunionens upplosning om- kring 1990 fick bland mycket annat till foljd attforbudetfor utlanningar att resa omkring fritt forsvann. Ocksa detaljerade, tidigare hemliga, kartor gick nu att kopa. Detta blev en stark frestelse for vissa historiskt intresserade som garna ville uppleva aventyret att fardas i osterled i kol- vattnet pa vikingahovdingen Rode Ormfran Frans G. Bengtssons beromda bocker. BLAND ARKEOLOGER Och annat fackfolk hade det da lange forts en diskussion om vilka de kon- kreta forutsattningarna for flodfarder varit pa vikingatiden och vilka battyper som kunde ha anvants. Flera forskare hade papekat att man ocksa borde kunna rakna med mojligheten av lang- vaga sladfarder pa vinterns skare och isbelagda sjoar. Sadana resor ar valkan- da fran historisk tid. Men att skilja mel- lan fakta och fantasier var omojligt eftersom nagra seriosa experiment aid- rig gjorts. Forskningen stod och stam- pade pa samma flack Redan 1983 och 1985 hade emeller- tid arkeologen Erik Nylen lett en expe- dition fran Ostersjon till Svarta havet. Han hade latit bygga en atta meter lang klinkbyggd bat av vikingatida typ, som fatt det gotlandska namnet Kramp- macken. Eftersom Nylen vid denna tid inte fick tillstand att fardas genom Soyjet improviserade han en rutt langs polska, slovakiska och ungerska floder till Donau. Farden med Krampmacken var valorganiserad och manskapet val- tranat. Baten var ratt liten. Trots detta visade det sig vara ett mycket tidskra- vande slitgora att ro mot strommen pa 26 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd floderna, vecka ut och vecka in. Var detta verkligen ett realistiskt satt att fardas, ens pa den karva vikingatidenf Kanske, men sakert bara om det inte farms nagot rimligare alternativ! For att passera over berg och kullar mellan flodsystemen satte Krampmackens be- sattning hjul pa baten och rullade fram den pa landsvagarna. Gjorde man sa pa vikingatiden? Nej, inte vad vi vet! Krampmackens resa stallde de praktiska problemen pa sin spets. Det forsta forsoket att fardas uppfor en storre flod i de forna Soyjetterritoriet gjordes sedan 1992 av en norsk expedi- tion med en 16 meters bat, kallad Hav0rn. Floden var Daugava (det ar det lettiska namnet; pa ryska heter den Dvina). Floden reglerades under 1900- talet for kraftverksandamal, och sa lange som farden gick pa uppdamda strackor gick den skapligt, men nar man sa smaningom nadde mer ofor- andrade flodmiljoer var man tvungna att ge upp. Baten visade sig vara pa tok for stor och tung. Travel experiments provide new findings on journeys east Himinglava ovar pa Dalalven i Gysingeforsen infor resan 2004. Himinglava in p re-journey practice on the Swedish Dalalven river at Gysingeforsen 2004. Rune Edberg One of the consequences of the dis- bandment of the Soviet Union in 1990 was the lifting of the ban on foreigners travelling the countries freely. Even detailed and previously classified maps could now be purchased. The tempta- tion was strong among some people with historical interests who more than willingly wished to experience the adventure of travel east in the wake of Viking Chieftain Rode Orm from the famed books of Frans G. Bengtsson. Archaeologists and other experts had long since held a dialogue as to what the real conditions were for river journeys in Viking times and the types of boats that had been used. Several researchers had pointed out that it should also be possible to calculate the possibility of long-distance sledge jour- neys on the frozen crust of winter snow and frozen lakes. Such journeys are well known from historical times. Separating fact from fantasy was however impossi- ble, since no serious experiments had been carried out. Research was march- ing on the spot However, back in 1983 and 1985, archaeologist Erik Nylen headed an ex- pedition fromthe Baltic to the Black Sea. He built an eight metre long clinkerbuilt boat of Viking type which was given the Gotlandic name of Krampmacken. Since Nylen at this time was not permitted to travel through Soviet territories he im- provised a route along Polish, Slovakian and Hungarian rivers to the Danube. The Krampmacken journey was well organised, with a primed crew. Though the boat was small. Despite this, it became apparent that rowing upstream on rivers week in and week out was a much time-consuming and strenuous task. Was it a truly realistic method of travel, even in the harsh days of the Vikings? Perhaps, but only if no more reasonable alternatives existed! In order to pass through the mountains and hills between river systems, the crew of Krampmacken fit wheels under the boat and wheeled it along country roads. Did the Vikings do likewise? Not that we know of! The journey of Krampmacken brought the practical difficulties to a head. The first attempt to travel up a larger river in the former Soviet territories was made in 1992, when a Norwegian expe- dition with a 16-metre boat called Havern journeyed up the Daugava river (this is the Latvian name for it; in Russian: Dvina). Its flow was regulated in the 20th century to meet the needs of power stations, and as long as the journey was along dammed stretches reasonable progress was made. But when less altered waterway environments were reached the journey came to an end. The boat turned out to be far too large and heavy. The nine metre host Aifur, owned by a Swedish group, carried out a lengthy journey in 1994 and 1996, starting at Sigtuna near Lake Malaren and heading for Kherson close to the mouth of the Dnieper (Dnepr, Dnipro, Dnyapro) on the Black Sea. The journey was 3,600 km altogether and the adventure was enti- tled "Expedition Holmgard". Aijur is a Nordic name for one of the stretches of rapids on the river Dnieper, and Holm- gard is the Nordic Viking name for Novgorod and its precursor close by, Gorodishche. In the summer of 1994 Aifur jour- neyed across the Baltic and along the Gulf of Finland into Lake Ladoga and south up the Volkhov river to Novgorod. The boat was able to sail a large part of the way, hard rowing being an excep- tion. There was eager expectation when the Aifur continued from Novgorod in the summer of 1996. It first headed across Lake Ilmen and then on south- Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 27 Niometersbaten Aifur, som ags av en svensk forening, genomforde 1994 och 1996 en langfard med start i Sigtuna vid Malaren och slutpunkt i Cherson nara floden Dneprs (Dnjeprs) mynning i Svarta havet. Total strackan var om- kring 360 mil och aventyret kallades "Expedition Holmgard". Aifur ar ett nordiskt namn for en av Dneprs (Dnjeprs) forsar och Holmgard ar det vikingatida nordiska namnet pa Nov- gorod och denna stads foregangare, det narbelagna Gorodisjtje. Sommaren 1994 fardades Aifur over Alands hav och Finska viken, in i Ladoga och vidare soderut pa floden Volchov till Novgorod. Baten kunde segla storre delen av vagen, och hard rodd kravdes endast undantagsvis. Sparmingen var stor nar Aifur som- maren 1996 fortsatte fran Novgorod. Kosan stalldes nu over sjon Ilmen och vidare soderut langs Lovat (Lovot), en drygt 50 mil lang flod. Det var har vagen fran "varjagerna till grekerna" (dvs. fran Skandinavien till det ostromerska riket) gick enligt Nestorskronikan. Detta skulle nu provas praktiskt. Det kandes darfor ganska snopet nar Lovat visade sig helt ofarbar redan knappt tio mil fran sin mynning. Fors- arna var fulla av sten och vattenstandet sa lagt att det knappt skulle gatt att komma fram ens med kanot. En kon- troll med ryska historiska skrifter och handbocker har senare visat att Lovat bade under tsartiden och soyjettiden beskrivits som oduglig som batled. Daremot har man under varfloden flot- tat mycket timmer dar. Forhallandena pa Lovat var, av allt att doma, knappast dramatiskt annorlunda pa vikingatiden och uppgifterna i Nestorskronikan kan darfor inte tolkas som att vagen fran "varjagerna till grekerna" var en ren vat- tenvag Sedan Aifur med hjalp av lastbil transporterats forbi Lovats kallor och ater sjosatts fortsatte farden framgangs- rikt pa flera mindre floder med lugnare lopp. Efter ytterligare en landtransport, denna gang pa hemsnickrade trahjul, kunde baten sjosattas i den maktiga Dnepr. Denna flod, som flyter igenom Kiev och mynnar i Svarta havet, ar dock helt utbyggd. Dagens forhallanden dar kan darfor inte alls jamforas med vikingatidens. Fardexperimenten fortsatter och kommer att ge ytterligare nyttiga erfa- renheter. Sommaren 2004 gors en ny resa som ansluter till Aifurs. Det ar "Expedition Vittfarne" som startar pa den plats dar "Expedition Holmgard" avslutades 1996 och som tar fasta pa de tidigare erfarenheterna. Den tio meter langa bat som "Expedition Vittfarne" anvander bar det fornnordiska namnet Himinglava. (Himinglava ar i fornnor- disk mytologi en av havsjatten Agirs och Rans nio dottrar.) Den ar smackert byggd och trots sin storlek vager den bara omkring 400 kilo, vilket ar bara ungefar halften sa mycket som fore- gangarna Krampmacken och Aifur Himinglava ar latt att hantera och kan kortare strackor till och med baras av sinbesattning. Expeditionen, inspirerad av den svens- ke krigarhovdingen Ingvars aventyr i dessa trakter omkring 1040, ska segla over Svarta havet till Georgien och upp i floden Rioni. Baten ska darefter slapas over bergspassen i Kaukasus och sedan, om allt gar val, fortsatta flodvagen ut i Kaspiska havet. Under vikingatiden fanns tata kultur- kontakter i bada riktningarna mellan Skandinavien och omradena oster om Ostersjon. Lockade av lonande skinn- handel emigrerade ocksa manga skan- dinaver till de omraden, dar senare det aldsta ryska riket kom att bildas. Vissa skandinaviska slakter skaffade sigmakt- positioner pa olika platser och hovding- arna borjade kalla sig furstar. Manga unga nordbor tog varvning hos dem och manga andra reste langs floderna till Konstantinopel for att soka lyckan i tidens varldsstad. Det arkeologiska materialet talar sitt tydliga sprak och bekraftas ocksa av en rad olika skriftli- ga, berattande kallor. Troligast ar att skandinaverna seglade pa egna kolar endast till stodjepunkter som Aldeigjuborg (Staraja Ladoga) nara Ladoga eller Holmgard (Goro- disjtje/Novgorod) vid Ilmen. Dar gjor- des affarer av alia slag upp. Kopman som ville vidare med sina varulager vantade sedan till vintern och for i slade fram till platser vid floderna pa andra sidan vattendelarna, dar det gick att skaffa lampliga batar. En bysantinsk kalla fran 900-talet uppger att resenarer mot Konstantinopel om vararna sam- lade sig i omradet runt Kiev och gav sig av pa Dnepr i konvojer. Men langa tider var Dneprvagen helt omojlig att anvan- 28 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd da eftersom fientliga folk hindrade all genomfart. Att med stark eskort ta land- vagen fran Kiev over stappen till ham- nar pa Krim var da enda alternativet. De experimentella farderna visar att det inte ar troligt att skandinaver rest med egna batar eller skepp hela vagen fran hemmets kuster till Osterlandet. De klinkbyggda skepp som vikingati- dens skandinaver konstruerade och som var sa framgangsrika pa fjordar, skargardar och oppet hav var inte lampliga for flodtrafik. Att ocksa sakra arkeologiska och skriftliga belagg for att sadana langfarder pa floderna over- huvudtaget agt rum ocksa saknas, kan heller inte vara nagon slump. @ lastips / further reading ■ Edberg, Rune, (red), En vikingafardgenom Rysshndoch Ukraina. Sigtuna Museers skriftserie, 8. Sigtuna 1998. ■ Edberg, Rune, Fdrder idsterled. Experiment Mllor, myter och analogier. Stockholm Marine Archaeology Reports, 2. Stockholms universitet. Stockholm 2002. ■ Larsson, Mats G., Ettodesdigert vikingatdg. Ingvar den vittfdrnes resa 1036-1041. Atlantis forlag. Stockholm 1990. ■ Nyle"n, Erik, Vikingashpp mot Mikhgdrd Krampmacken idsterled. Carlssons forlag. Boras 1987. ■ Sindbsek, S. M, Varasgiske vinterruter. Slsedetransport i Rusland og sp0rgsmalet om den tidlige vikingetids orientalske import i Nordeuropa. Fomvdnnen 99. 179-193. Rune Edberg ar arkeolog och forskar om forntida och sentida batar, skepp, batfarder och andra resor. Rune Edberg is an archaeologist and con- ducts research into boats past and present, ships, journeys by boat and other trave is. wards up the 500 km long river Lovat (Lovot). This was the "Varangians-to- Greeks" route (i.e.Vikings to East Rome Empire) according to the Primary Chronicle. It was nowto be put to the test Thus, when after less than 100 km the Lovat appeared completely unnavigable disappointment ran high. The rapids were full of rocks, and water levels were so low a canoe would have run into dif Acuities. A later check with Russian his- torical documents and manuals showed the Lovat was described as unfit for boat traffic, both during tsarist and Soviet periods. Much timber has, however, been transported down it during spring floods. To all appearances conditions on the river were not dramatically different in Viking times, thus the information in the Primary Chronicle cannot be inter- preted as the "Varangians-to-Greeks" route being purely a water route. The Aifur was then transported by truck past the source of the Lovat and relaunched. Whereby it successfully negotiated several lesser rivers with calmer flow. After a further transport by land, this time on home-made wooden wheels, the boat was set down in the mighty Dnieper. This river, flowing through Kiev to the Black Sea, is how- ever completely harnessed. Hence, mod- ern conditions can in no way be com- pared to those of Viking times. Such experimental journeys are to continue, and will provide further useful experience. A new journey linked to Aifur's is plannedfor this summer (2004). This is "Expedition Vittfarne" and starts where "Expedition Holmgard" left offin 1996, paying heed to past experiences. The 10-metre boat used by "Expedition Vittfarne" carries the Old Norse name of Himinglava (in Old Norse mythology Himinglava is one of the nine daughters of sea giant Aegir and Ran). It is sleek, and despite its length weighs a mere 400 kg - around half the weight of its prede- cessors Krampmacken and Aifur. Himing- lava is easily handled and for short stretches can even be carried by its crew. Warrior chieftain of Sweden, Ingvar, sought adventure in the region around AD 1040. His adventures have inspired the expedition route. Intended journey is to sail across the Black Sea to Georgia and up the river Rioni. The boat will then be hauled through the mountain passes of the Caucasus and, providing all is well, will then continue by river to the Caspian Sea. During Viking times, cultural contacts between Scandinavia and tracts east of the Baltic were frequent. Attracted by the lucrative trade in skins, many Scan- dinavians emigrated to these regions where the first Russian kingdom was to develop. Certain Scandinavian families acquired positions of power in various places and chieftains began calling them- selves princes. Many younger Nordic people joined their military forces, while a great many others journeyed along the rivers to seek their fortune in the world metropolis of the time, Constantinople. The archaeological evidence speaks for itself, and is confirmed by a series of written and verbal sources. It is most likely that Scandinavians sailed in their own boats only as far as base points such as Aldeigjuborg (Staraya Ladoga) near Ladoga, or Holmgard (Gorodishche/Novgorod) at Lake Dmen. Here, business deals of all kinds were completed. Tradesmen wishing to con- tinue on with their goods then waitedfor the winter and journey by sledge to places on rivers on the other side of the watershed where suitable boats could be acquired. One 10th century Byzantine source states that those travelling towards Constantinople gathered in the Kiev region to travel the Dnieper in con- voy. For long periods, however, the Dnieper was impossible to use due to enemy tribes preventing travel. The only alternative was having a strong escort on the land route from Kiev across the steppes to Crimean ports. The experimental journeys show it unlikely that Scandinavians travelled in their own boats or ships the entire route from their home shores to the shores of the eastern lands. The clinker-built ships constructed by the Scandinavian Vikings, which were so successful in fjords, coast- lands and open sea, were not suited to river journeys. Neither can it be by chance that no written evidence exists proving that such lengthy river journeys at all took place. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 29 Stadsplan och stadsbyggnad i Sigtuna och Kiev Sten Tesch Decennierna fore och runt ar i ooo ar en period med stora samhallsforandringar i Skandinavien. Ett symboliskt avstamp ger den stora runsten som kung Harald Blatand lat resa ca 960 vid kungasatet Jelling pa Jylland. Har skryter Harald med att han vunnit hela Danmark och (delar av) Norge och att han gjort danerna kristna. Med viss efterslapning kan vi se samma framvaxt av riken med kristna fortecken i bade Norge och Sverige. Kristna furstar i kristna riken Riken eller stater skapades naturligtvis inte over en natt, det var en mycket lang ochmodosam process, men det var fore och runt ar 1000 som plattformen ska- pades. Den nya tron fiingerade bade som medel for att bryta hedniska smakung- ars och hovdingars maktstallning och som kitt for att halla ihop riket. Dar den kungliga maktpositionen var svaggrun- dades administrativa, maktpolitiska och ideologiska stodjepunkter - stader. Lund i Skane, Roskilde pa Sjalland (Danmark), Trondheim i Tr0ndelag (Norge) och Sigtuna i Uppland ar exempel pa sadana stader. Har lat kungarna pragla mynt med egen bild pa atsidan och kristet kors pa fransidan for att bekrafta sin maktposition, och har inrattades snart biskopssaten. Ungefar samtidigt som nya stader grundades overgavs aldre stader eller stadsliknande samhallen s.k. proto- towns, inriktade pa hantverk och om- sattning av prestigevaror. De nya sta- derna grundades ofta i narheten av dessa aldre urbana centra. Birka/ Fornsigtuna/Sigtuna, Uppakra/Lund, Hedeby/Schleswig (Tyskland), och Kaupang/Tonsberg (Norge) ar kanda exempel pa sadana par eller motsatspar om man sa vill. Upprattandet av kristna riken var en process som ocksa berorde stora delar av norra Europa, bland annat Rus (Kievriket), Polen och Ungern. Ocksa i Rus grundades vid samma tid nya stader i nara anslutning till aldre han- dels- och hantverkscentra. Exempel pa sadana par ar Rurikovo Gorodisjtje/ Novgorod, Gnezdovo/Smolensk och Shestovitsy/Chernigov. Kiev langre soderut awek fran detta monster genom att staden existerade pa samma plats bade fore och efter religi- onsskiftet. Likafullt kan Vladimirs mak- tovertagande 980 ses som inledning till nagot nytt. Nar Vladimir kristnade Rus 988 var det den grekisk-ortodoxa tron som anammades. Kanske var farmor Olgas dop i Konstantinopel 957 vagle- dande for sonsonens val. Valet skulle i vilket fall fa mycket stora konsekvenser for bade rikets och Kievs utveckling. For saval de skandinaviska rikena som Rus medforde religionsskiftet en avgo- rande samhallsforandringpafleraplan, kort sagt kan man tala om europeisering av hela den norra periferin. Brytningen mellan ost- och vastkyrkan lag annu en bit fram i tiden (1054). Kungens Sigtuna Sigtuna grundades pa 970-talet. Till skillnad fran Kiev finns det inga skrift- liga kallor att ta till nar stadens aldsta historia ska berattas. Daremot finns det ett rikhaltigt och omfattande arkeolo- giskt material. Inte minst har de senaste tjugo arens utgravningar lett till att synen pa Sigtunas uppkomst och funk- tion pa ett avgorande satt forandrats. Den aldsta stadsplanen kan nu bade dateras och rekonstrueras. Av det arke- ologiska materialet framgar tydligt att staden ar anlagd och det i ett svep. En rimlig tolkning ar att det var kung Erik Segersall som stod bakom anlaggandet. Den ursprungliga stadsplanen var mycket enkel. Langs med och pa bada sidor om en gata, en bit fran men paral- lell med stranden, anlades ca 140 lang- smala 20-30 meter langa tomter. I sta- dens mitt lag en stor tomt som tolkats som kungsgarden. Aven om skriftliga kallor saknas, ar det ett rimligt anta- gande att Olof Skotkonungs dotter Ingegerd i sin ungdom tidvis vistats pa kungsgarden i Sigtuna. Sigtuna var fran borjan en helt och hallet kristen stad. Hedniska gravar sak- nas aven pa de aldsta gravgardarna. De forsta trakyrkorna byggdes dock inte 30 Historiska Nyheter - OJga & Ingegerd Sigtuna omkring ar 1000. Rekonstruktion av Jacques Vincent efter vetenskapligt underlag av Sten Tesch. Sigtuna circa AD 1000. Reconstruction byJacquesVincent, based on scientific research by Sten Tesch. 3TeschaVincent2003 fbrran vid iooo-talets mitt, i anslutning till att arkebiskopen i Hamburg- Bremen inrattade ett biskopssate i Sigtuna. Dessforinnan utovades den kristna kulten i den hallbyggnad som lag langst bak pa varje gardstomt. Forst runt ar noo paborjades bygget av sex eller sju romanska stenkyrkor. For de tidiga staderna var mangkyrk- ligheten etttypiskt drag. Med tiden blev kyrkans paverkan pa stadsplanen sa djup att vi kan tala om ett sakralt stadsrum. Sa var fallet i Sigtuna och aven i Kiev. Sigtunas stadsplan anknyter klart till nordvasteuropeisk tradition. Bade den och stadsgardarnas utformning och byggnation har direkta arkeologiskt belagda motsvarigheter i Trondheim och Oslo/Gamlebyn. Platser som Dublin och det anglo-skandinaviska York hade i sina vikingatida faser liknan- de stadsplaner som de skandinaviska orterna. Forebilder fanns redan i 700- talets Ribe och Dorestad vid Nordsjon. "Beskada staden skinande i sin glans!" Pa 900-talet var Kiev annu en trastad och det hade lange funnits bosattning- ar pa platsen. Staden bestod da av tva delar. Dels en befast hogstad Starokiev- ska (Gamla Kiev) dar fursten och hans folje vistades, dels en lagstad Podol (Podil) vid Dneprs (Dnjepr) strand for handelsman, hantverkare och fiskare. Den befasta kullen avgransades av upp till hundra meter branta sluttningar pa Historiska Nyheter - Olga fe5 Ingegerd 3 ■ tre sidor och en vail pa den fjarde. I staden fanns ett hednatempel och soder om staden ett stort gravfalt. I Podol fanns forutom den enkla trabebyggel- sen ocksa en kristen trakyrka. Med tiirst Vladimirs styre (980-1015) borjade ett storskaligt byggande av bade palats och kyrkor inom ramen for en ny befastning - "Vladimirs stad". Grekiska arkitekter och konstnarer in- kallades. Det ar mojligt att dessa ocksa var med ochplanerade hela stadsplanens utformning. Den forsta stenkyrkan (Tio ndeky rkan/D e sj atinn aj akyrkan) stod klar mycket snabbt. Kyrkobygget symboliserade etablerandet av den nya religionen. Forst hundra ar senare bygg- des den forsta stenkyrkan i Sigtuna, Under fur steparet Jaroslavs och Inge- gerds tid (1019-1054) infoll Rus verkliga guldalder. Jaroslav lat bygga en helt ny och mycket storre betast stadsdel - "Jaroslavs stad" - intill Vladimirs. Denna omgavs av en 3,5 kilometer lang, 14 meter hog och 25 meter bred vail. Tre portar ledde in, varav den fornamsta kallades Gyllene Porten. Forsvarssyste- met som byggdes 1037-1041 maste ha sysselsatt 1000 man dagligen. For att fira segern over petjenegerna (1036) och patriarkatets inrattande i Kiev (1039) byggdes den maktiga Sofiakate- dralen. Under sonerna Izyaslavs och Svyatopolks styren byggdes ytterligare en befast stad intill Jaroslavs, men den var betydligt mindre. Lngstaden Podol vaxte ut stort och omgavs av starka befastningsverk. Runt marknadsplatsen byggdes flera sten- kyrkor, men forst pa noo-talet. Han- delsmannen och hantverkarna bodde i timmerhus. Vid slutet av 1000-talet var Kiev Europas kanske storsta stad med 400 kyrkor och N torg. Arkeologiska berakningar visar att den omfattade ca 400 ha med 8000 egendomar/gardar. Om man raknar med att varje hushall bestod av 6 perso- ner ger det en befolkningpa 50 000 per- soner. En motsvarande berakning for Sigtuna ger 840 personer. Kievs skonhet prisades i en predikan av Jaroslavs hovprast Hilarion (1049): "Beskada staden, skinande i sin glans! Beskada de blomstrande kyrkorna! Beskada den vaxande kristenheten! Beskada staden som glimrar av helgon- ikoner, doftar av rokelse och genljuder av lovprisningar och hymner till Gud!" Kievvid ca1000-1200. Uppe i hogra hornet anas Podol, Kievs lagstad. Hbgstaden Gora syns med sina muromgardade stadsdelar. Till vanster Gyllene Porten. Rekonstruktionsforslag Mihajlo Suhajdak. Kiev circa AD J000-1200. Kiev's valley town Podol can be glimpsed in the top right-hand corner. The hill town of Gora is seen with its walled city districts. Jo left the Golden Gate Proposed reconstruction by Mihailo Suhaidak Town planning and town building in Sigtuna and Kiev Sten Tesch The decades prior to and around year AD 1000 were witness to great changes in Scandinavian society. A symbolic point of departure is the runestone raised by king Harald Bluetooth around year 960 at the royal seat at Jelling in Jutland, Here he boasts of gaining all of Denmark and (parts) of Norway, and of Christianising the Danes. With a certain delay, we can see development of the same kind of king- doms with Christian overtones in both Norway and Sweden. Christian princes in Christian lands Such kingdoms or states were not, of course, formed overnight: the process was long and laborious. It was, however, prior to and around year AD 1000 that the platform for this was initiated. The new faith functioned both as a means ofbreakingthe dominant position ofheathen petty kings and chieftains, and as a means of binding together the nation. In places where the royal position of power was weakest, administrative, power-political and ideolo- gical points of support- towns - were estab- lished; Lund in Skane (Sweden), Roskilde on Zealand (Denmark), Trondheim in Tronde- lag (Norway) and Sigtuna in Uppland (Sweden). Here, coins were minted on royal mints, with an obverse king and a Christian cross on the reverse. The kings confirmed their position of power and soon established Episcopal sees in these towns. Around the same time that new towns were established, older ones, including town- like communities (proto-towns), specialising in crafts and trade in prestigious goods, were abandoned. The new towns were often founded close to the older urban centres. Birka (Old Sigtuna)/Sigtuna, Uppakra/ Lund, Hedeby/Schleswig (Germany), and Kaupang/Tonsberg (Norway) are known examples of such pairs or counter-pairs. The establishment of Christian kingdoms was a process which also covered a large part of northern Europe, for example in Rus, Poland and Hungary. At this time, towns were also founded in Rus in close association to earlier commercial and craft centres. Examples are Rurikovo Gorodishche/ Novgorod, Gnezdovo/Smolensk and Shestovitsy/ Chernigov. Kiev, further south, diverged from this pattern, since the town existed in the same place both before and after the change in religions. The power take-over by Vladimir in 980 can, however, still be seen as the start of a new era. When he Christianised Rus in AD 988, the faith adopted was from the Greek Orthodox Church. Perhaps aunt Olga's (Helga/Helena) baptism in Constan- tinople AD 955 guided the grandson in his choice. Whatever, this choice was to have major consequences for the development of both Kiev and Rus. The religious shift result- ed in decisive changes in society on several levels, both for the Scandinavian countries and Rus: in short it meant the entire north- ern periphery becoming part of Europe. The schism between the East and West Churches lay still some time ahead (1054). Royal Sigtuna Sigtuna was founded in the 970 s. Unlike Kiev, no written sources exist to tell of the town's earliest history. On the other hand, the archaeological material is ample and wide- ranging. Not least excavations in the past two decades have led to a decisive change in the way Sigtuna's rise and function is looked upon. The earliest town plan can now be both dated and reconstructed. The archaeo- logical material shows that the town was planned and then constructed in one fell swoop. One reasonable interpretation is that king Erik Segersall stood behind this. The original town plan was very simple. One hundred and forty oblong 20-30 metre long parcels of land were laid out alongside, and on both sides of a street, slightly away Irom but parallel to the shore. In the centre of the town was a large site understood as being the royal estate. Even though written sources are lacking, it is a reasonable assump- tion that Ingegerd (Irina/Anna), daughter ot Olof Skotkotiling, spent time in her youth at this royal estate. Sigtuna was a fully Christian town from the start Even its oldest burial sites lack hea- then graves. However, its earliest timber churches were not built until the mid nth century when the archbishop of Hamburg- Bremen established a bishopric. Prior to this, the Christian cult was exercised in hall buildings at the bottom of each parcel of land. It was not until the start of the 12th century that the building of six or seven Romanesque stone churches commenced. Abundance of churches was typical for younger towns. In time, the effect of the Church on town plans became so deep that we can speak in terms of a sacred town- scape. This was the case of Sigtuna, and also of Kiev. Sigtuna town plan is clearly related to a north-west European tradition. Both the plan and formation of the urban homesteads have direct, archaeologically confirmed, equivalents in Trondheim and Oslo/Gamle- byn. Cities such as Dublin and Anglo- Scandinavian York had town plans in their Viking periods similar to those of the Scandinavian towns. The eighth century North Sea towns of Ribe and Dorestad already existed as forerunners. "Behold the city in splendour!" Tenth century Kiev was still a town of wood- en buildings, settlements had existed on the site a long time. It was divided into two parts. One a fortified hill town Starokyivska (Old Kiev), where the prince and his entourage lived, the other, Podol, lower down by the shores of the Dnieper for traders, craftsmen and fishermen. The forti- fied hill was bounded by steep slopes up to 100 metres long on three sides, and an earth- work on the fourth. To the south of the town, there was a heathen temple, with a large burial ground. Podol was of simple tim- ber construction, but it also possessed a Christian timber church. It was during the rule of prince Vladimir Historiska Nyheter - Qlga &Ingegerd 33 Amforaskarva med rurikidernas vapenmarke fran Sigtuna. Amphora fragment from Sigtuna with crest oftheRiurikovichi. Dhoto: Gabriel Hildebrand/RAA I sarming ett sakralt stadsrum. Sigtuna var vid samma tid en slaende kontrast Visserligen hordes sakert ett och annat gudsord i stadsgardarnas hallbyggna- der, men sa mycket av skinande glans farms dar inte. Man kan tanka sig att Ingegerd farm sig val tillratta i Kiev. Det skulle droja minst femtio ar innan Sigtunas stadsrum ocksa kunde gora skal for epitetet sakralt. Kulturkontakter De dynastiska forbindelserna och poli- tiska kontakterna mellan Skandinavien och Rus ar val omvittnade. Manga runstenar berattar ocksa om farder i osterled till bade Gardarike (aldre be- namning for det Fornryska riket, Rus ochKievriket) och Miklagard (Konstan- tinopel). Att forvarva guld och annan rikedom, genom handel eller genom tjanstgoring i kievfurstens liwakt eller kejsarens varingagarde (som bestod av skandinaver), var de viktigaste drivkraf- terna for manga unga man som sokte lyckan osterut. I de islandska sagorna och skaldedik- terna omtalas Sigtuna i samband med farder till Gardarike. Det ar darfor tro- ligt att en stor del av farderna osterut fran Mellansverige utgick fran Sigtuna och att det var hit som de fiesta batarna atervande. Darfor ar det inte sa konstigt att Sigtuna ar den enskilda plats i Skandinavien dar det patraffats flest fynd fran Rus och Bysans daterade till iooo- och noo-talet. Till de intressan- taste fynden hor ett stort antal (volhy- niska) slandtrissor. De ar tillverkade av en rodaktig skiffer fran ett stenbrott ett tiotal mil nordvast om Kiev. I ovrigt firms dessa bara i enstaka exemplar i Skandinavien. En mojlig tolkning ar att de ar uttryck for en hogst pataglig nar- varo av slaviska kvinnor i Sigtuna. Om riktigtlangvagabesokvittnar ett bysan- tinskt blysigill fran iooo-talets mitt. Pa sigillet finns en inskrift pa grekiska "Herre skydda din tjanare Kosmas" Darmed kanner vi ocksa namnet pa kej- sarens sandebud. En intressant fraga ar om dessa inten- siva kontakter ocksa paverkade utform- ningen av stadsplan, stadsgardar och kyrkor i Sigtuna eller vice versa. Eventuellt kan Vladimir som lands- flyktig pa 970-talet ha besokt det ny- grundade Sigtuna i syfte att soka stod fran Erik Segersall for att fa med sig trupper for att erovra furstekronan fran sin bror Yaropolk i Kiev. Det eventuella besoket i Sigtuna gjor- de knappast nagra djupare intryck pa Vladimir. Arkeologiska utgravningar av vanliga stadsgardar i Sigtuna och Kiev har varje fall visat att det inte existerar nagra klara likheter. Varje gard i Sigtuna bestod pa 1000- talet av en rad med ca 4 hus langs ena sidan av den langsmala tomten. Varje hus hade en speciell funktion. I Kievlik- som i Novgorod ar tomterna daremot vanligtvis kvadratiska eller rektangula- ra med bebyggelsen samlad runt en gardsplan. Det finns dock ett omrade dar en paverkan kan skonjas, men i andra rikt- ningen. Runt ar 1000 borjade man i Mellansverige tillampa ett manghus- system med skilda hus for skilda funk- tioner. I denna forandring ingick det knuttimrade huset som en nyhet. Traditionen att bygga langhus under vars tak gardens funktioner hade varit samlade overgavs. Det verkar ha skett ungefar samtidigt bade pa landsbygden och i staden, men troligtvis var staden den innovativa miljon. I Sigtunas aldsta bebyggelsefas har vi inte kunnat dokumentera nagra knut- timrade huslamningar, utan alia hus har lerklinade flatverksvaggar. Daremot dyker timmerhusen upp i nasta fas, vil- ket gor att vi kan tidfasta forandringen till ca 990 eller nagot tidigare. Pa slaviskt omrade har man daremot anvant tekni- ken att bygga timmerhus langt tidigare, vilket gor tanken om en ostlig influens fullt rimlig. Arkitektoniska influenser fran Rus har ocksa diskuterats nar det galler S:t Olofs och S:t Nicolaus' kyrkor i Sigtuna. Stadernas fall 1240 foil Kiev for Gyllene Horden, mongolernas styrkor, som forstorde staden i grunden. Den stad som under en mer an tvahundra ar var en av Europas storsta och viktigaste stader. En stad dar stadsbyggnadskonst och kyrkoarkitektur firade stora triumfer. Darmed foil ocksa det valdiga Rus (Kievriket) - som hade bestatt sedan ca 800. Ungefar samma blomstringsperiod hade aven Sigtuna, men dar var det nya maktpolitiska forutsattningar och Stockholms uppgang som starkt redu- cerade stadens betydelse. Idag har bade Sigtuna och Kiev ateruppstatt och nu som fdrr ar de storleksmassigt som David och Goliat. @ lastips / further readning ■ Tesch, Sten, och Vincent, Jacques, Fyerjrdn medeltidens Sigtuna, i Sigtuna museers skriftserie nr 10, Sigtuna 2003. ■ Tesch, Sten, Det sakrala stadsrummet: den medel- tida topografin iSigtuna, iMeta 2000:1, Lund. ■ Sten, Tesch, Frdn hall till k'fka, i Popular arkeologi, 2001.2, Larbro. Sten Tesch ar chef for Sigtuna museum och fil.dr. i arkeologi med specialicering pa medeltida urbanisering och stadsplanering. Sten Tesch is head of Sigtuna museum and Ph.D. in archaeology, with specialisation in medieval urbanisation and town planning. 34 Historiska Nyheter - OJga & Ingegerd (980-1015) that large-scale building ofboth palace and church got underway within the framework of a new fortification - the City of Vladimir. Architects and artists from Greece were called upon. It is quite possible that these were also present in planning the design of the entire town plan. The first church (Tithe Church) was rapidly com- pleted. The building of churches symbolised the arrival of a new religion. It delayed another 100 years until the first stone church was built in Sigtuna. The true golden age of Rus began during the rule of the princely couple Yaroslav and Ingegerd (1019-1054). Yaroslav had a new and much larger fortified area of the town built - the City of Yaroslav - next to Vladimir's. This was surrounded by a 3.5 km long, 14 m high and 25 m wide earthwork. Entry was by three gates, the finest entitled the Golden Gate. Building of the defensive system, 1037-1041, must have occupied 1,000 men a day. Victory over the Pechenegs (1036), and establishment of the Patriar- chate (1039) were marked by building of the magnificent Sofia Cathedral. A further forti- fiedtown section was built next to Yaroslav's during the rule of his sons Izyaslav and Svyatopolk, but this was much smaller. Podol in the valley expanded greatly and had powerful fortification built round it. From the 12th century, several stone churches were built round the market place. Traders and craftsmen lived in timber houses. At the end of the nth century, Kiev was perhaps Europe's largest city with 400 churches and eight squares. Archaeological calculations put its area at around 1,200 acres, with 8,000 properties/homesteads. Given an average per household of six per- sons, the population was 50,000 people. The then equivalent for Sigtuna would have been 840. The beauty of Kiev was praised in a ser- mon by Hilarion (1049) court priest to prince Yaroslav: "Behold the city in splendour! See the blossoming churches! See Christianity as it prospers! Witness the city glimmering with holy icons, witness the fragrance of incense, the echo of praise and song to the Lord!" Indeed a sacred townscape. At this time, Sigtuna was in marked contrast. Of course, the occasional word of God could no doubt be heard from the hall buildings of the homesteads, but there was not much splen- dour to talk of. It is imaginable that Ingegerd (Irina/Anna) settled well into Kiev. It would be at least 50 more years before Sigtuna could have reason to be talked of in terms of a sacred townscape. Cultural contacts The dynastic ties and political contacts between Scandinavia and Rus are well testi- fied. Indeed, many runestones tell of jour- neys eastwards to both Gardarike (ancient Russia) and Miklagard (Constantinople). The most persuasive reasons for seeking for- tune eastwards were based on the acquire- ment of gold and other riches either through trade or through service in the Kievan prince's bodyguard or that of the East Rome Emperor. The old sagas and poetry of Iceland men- tion Sigtuna in connection with journeys to Gardarike. It is thus likely that a large part of the journeys eastwards from mid-Sweden departed from Sigtuna, and it was here that most boats returned. Hence, it is not strange that Sigtuna is the one particular site in Scandinavia where most finds from nth and 12th century Rus and Byzantium have been excavated. Among the most interest- ing of these is a large number ofVolhynian whorls. They are made from a reddish slate from a quarry 100 km or so north-west of Kiev. Only sporadic examples of these otherwise exist in Scandinavia. One possible interpretation is that they express the very real presence of Slavic women in Sigtuna. A mid-nth century Byzantine lead seal bears witness to visits from far distant. The seal contains the inscription in Greek: "Lord preserve your servant Kosmas". Andthrough this we learn the name of the Emperor's messenger. A question of interest is whether or not these frequent contacts also influenced the formation of the town plan, urban home- steads and churches in Sigtuna, or vice- versa. It is possible that Vladimir, during his period of exile in the 970 s visited newly founded Sigtuna where he sought the help of Erik Segersall, looking for troops to win the princely crown from his brother Yaropolk in Kiev. Any such visit to Sigtuna by Vladimir would hardly have made an impression on him. It is a fact that archaeological excava- tions in ordinary urban homesteads in Sigtuna and Kiev show no clear likeness. In the nth century, each homestead in Sigtuna consisted of approximately four buildings on one side of the long and narrow parcels of land. Each building had a special function. Instead, the plots in Kiev, as in Novgorod, are normally square or rectangu- lar, with buildings gathered round a court- yard. There is however one area where influence can be discerned, but in the other direction. Around AD 1000, the people of mid- Sweden began using the system of house and outhouses, with separate buildings for separate functions. After this change, the new dovetailed timber building arrived. The tradition of building longhouses with all the functions of a farm under one roof was abandoned. This appears to have occurred more or less simultaneously in rural and urban areas, but it is most likely that urban areas provided the most innova- tive environment. No remains from dovetailed timber build- ings have been documented from Sigtuna's earliest building phase. All the houses from this period have clay-daubed wickerworked walls. The timber houses turn up in the next phase, however. This means the date of change can be determined to c. AD 990 or somewhat earlier. On the other hand, in Slavic areas the technique adopted to build timber properties was in use much earlier. Architectural influences from Rus have also been discussed with regard to the Sigtuna churches of St Olof and St Nicolaus. The fall of Sigtuna and Kiev In 1240 Kiev fell to the Golden Horde of the Mongols who completely destroyed the city. It had been one of the largest and most important cities in Europe for over 200 years. A city where the arts of town architecture and church building enjoyed great triumphs. And with this fell also the vast Rus (Kievan Rus), which had existed since the start of the 9 th century. Sigtuna enjoyed a similar period of pros- perity, but here it was new circumstances in power-politics and the rise of Stockholm which heavily reduced its importance. In modern times, both Sigtuna and Kiev have once again emerged, and again the sizes are those comparable to David and Goliath. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 35 Vikingarna - ruserna - varjagerna Fedir Androshchuk Som vikingatid brukar man i Norden beteckna tiden fran slutet av 700-talet till mitten av 1000-talet. I ost kallades de som kom fran Skandinavien for rus och varjager. Frankiska och anglosachsiska kronikor delar ibland in vikingarna i "danskar" "svear" och "normanner" Arabiska forfattare skiljer i sin tur skandinaver, verksamma i Vasteuropa - som de kallade magus eller al-urmania - fran dem de kande till i ost - ar-rus. Vk forestallning om viking- arna och deras tid grundar sig framst pa vasteuropeiska, mus- limska, bysantinska och rusiska skrift- liga kallor, runstenar och arkeologiska fynd. Vi kan dra den slutsatsen att de som i Vast- och Nordeuropa benamn- des vikingar var en mycket begransad kategori marmiskor, som aktivt deltog i falttag. Ruserna Ruser kallades forst de skandinaver som pa 800-900-talet fardades och bosatte sig langs vattenvagarna mellan Oster- sjon och Svarta Havet. De livnarde sig framforallt pa handel men aven krigstag var en viktig sysselsattning. Ruserna levde sida vid sida med de slaviska, bal- tiska och finskugriska folken. Under forsta halften av 900-talet borjar begreppet ruser ocksa anvandas for andra folkgrupper i Kievriket. Orientaliska kallor berattar De orientaliska forfattarna gjorde klar atskillnad mellan ruserna och deras grannar slaverna i riastan allt - fran klad- sel till levnadssatt och verksamheter. I deras forestallning ar slaverna manrii- Skandinavisk krigare i Rus, 900-tal. Tolkning av Sergei Kainov och Oleg Fyodorov. Scandinavian warrior in Rus, 10th century. Rendered by Sergei Kainov and Oieg Fyodorov. 36 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd skor som klar sig i linneskjortor och laderstovlar och anvander spjut och skoldar i strid. Till skillnad fran dem bar ruserna kaftaner med knappar och vida byxor. Kvinnorna smyckade sig med armband, parlor och ringar, och pa brostet bar de en sarskild sorts spannen, ovala spannbucklor. I motsats till sla- verna, som var bofasta, hade ruserna ingen fast egendom och levde bara pa vad de kunde forvarva med hjalp av sitt svard. Kallor fran den vastliga delen av den muslimska varlden kanrier inte till nagot om rusernas sociala struktur. De havdar att ruserna varken har lagar eller kungar. Bland muslimerna i ost fram- stalls rusernas samhalle daremot pa foljande satt. I spetsen for ruserna stod en ledare som i vissa kallor benamns kung malik och i andra khagan. For- utom ledarna namns ocksa praster, som sysslade med mannisko- och djur- offer. Vissa av prasterna hade betydligt storre makt an kungarna. Rusernas khagan hade ratt att avkunna domar i tvistemal. Men om de tvistande parter- na inte var nojda med kungens beslut, fick tvisten enligt de skandinaviska kal- lorna losas genom envig (holmgarig, dvs. tvekamp). Islarmingarria kallade det "holmganga" eftersom det genom- fordes pa oar. Men om det inte fanns nagon naturlig avgransning av platsen for ett envig, sa gjorde man symboliska markeringar, till exempel med hassel- grenar eller trapinriar. Rusernas militara verksamhet Rusernas militara verksamhet i Medel- havsomradet finns belagd i arabiska kallor atminstone fran mitten av 800- talet. Det ar kant att de anfoll Sevilla 844 och Konstantinopel 860. En serie angrepp mot Kaspiska havets kust och Transkaukasien skedde under 900-talet. Vi vet inte med sakerhet om dessa falt- tag organiserades fran nagot enhetligt centrum, eller om de hade politisk eller militar ledning. Ruser var med pa by- santinska havs-expeditioner till Kreta redan 902, och 954-955 deltog ruser i syriska falttag. Bysans hade for ovrigt redan tidigare gjort forsok att leja ruser till militara operationer. Vikings - the Rus - Varangians Fedir Androshchuk The viking age in Scandinavia is usually dated from the end of the eighth centu- ry to the mid-11 th century. Those who came from Scandinavia were called Rus and Varangians by peoples in Eastern Europe. French and Anglo- Saxon chroniclers sometimes divide the Vikings into "Danes", "Swedes" (Svear) and "Norsemen" (Norwegians). In their turn, Arab scribes distinguished between Scandinavians, inhabiting Western Europe, calling them "magus" or al-urmania, and peoples in the east, which they called ar-rus. Our concept of the vikings and their age is primarily based on West European, Muslim, Byzantine and ancient Russian written sources, runestones and archaeological finds. We can conclude from this that those people termed Vikings in Western and Northern Europe were men who actively took part in mil- itary campaigns. The Rus First to be called the Rus were 9th and 10th-century Scandinavians who jour- neyed and settled along the water routes between the Baltic and the Black Sea. Trade was their chief source of income, but military actions were also important The Rus lived side by side with Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugric peoples. From the early 10th century, the term 'Rus' began to be used for other ethnic groups in the principality of Kiev. Narratives from oriental sources A clear difference was made by oriental writers between the Rus and neighbour- ing Slavs in almost all respects - from clothing to lifestyle and activities. They saw the Slavs as people dressing in linen shirts and leather boots, using spears and shields in battle. Whereas the Rus wore short caftan-like coats or jackets with buttons and wide trousers. The women wore bracelets, beads and rings, with "Boxes", oval brooches on the chest In contrast to the settled Slavs, the Rus had no fixed property and lived on what they could acquire with their swords. Sources from the western part of the Muslim world new nothing of the social structure of the Rus people. They claim the Rus lacked both kings and laws. On the other hand, eastern Muslims gave the following picture of Rus society: the Rus were headed by a leader which according to some sources is termed king Malik, while others say Khagan (Kagan). Priests are also mentioned. These were involved in human and animal sacrifices. Certain of them had considerably more power than the kings. The Khagan of the Rus could pronounce judgement in disputes. If the parties were dissatisfied with the king's decision, they could solve their dispute through single combat The Icelanders called this "holmganga" because it took place on the island. If, however, no natural bor- ders existed in the place of single com- bat, then symbolic markings were used, such as hazel wands, or rags affixed with sticks in the middle of the delimited area. Military activities of the Rus The military actions of the Rus in the Mediterranean area are attested by Arab sources from as early as the mid-ninth century. It is known that the Rus attacked Seville in 844 and Constantinople in 860. A series of attacks against the Caspian Sea coast and Transcaucasia took place during the 10 th century. We do not know for certain whether these campaigns were organised from a single political centre, or if they were headed by differ- ent political and military leaders. Rus individuals took part in Byzantine mar- itime expeditions to Crete in 902, and in 954-955 they took part in Syrian cam- paigns. Even earlier efforts had been made in the Byzantine Empire to hire the Rus for military operations. Rus boundaries - past and present Our modern concept of what is called Rus, also termed Kievan Rus or Ancient Russia, is that of a well defined area with fixed borders. This is due to our familiar- ity with geographical and political maps, and would have been an idea alien to people living in the Viking Age. In 882 S.k Gulbisjtje-gravhog i Tjernigov i Ukraina. Hogen inneholl bl.a. skandinaviska vapen och magyariska beslag. Photo: catharinaingeiman-sundberc Gravhogar av den har storleken under vikingatiden ar ett skandinaviskt inslag i det gamla Rus. The Gulbishche barrow at Chernigov Ukraine. Contents of the mound included Scandinavian weapons and Magyar fittings. Burial mounds of this size during the Viking Age represent a Scandinavian feature in Ancient Rus. Rus granser - da och nu Var moderna forestallning om Rus eller som det ocksa kallas Kievriket och Fornryska riket, som ett val definierat omrade med fasta granser, ar betingad av var vana vid geografiska och politiska kartor. Detta synsatt om fasta granser skulle dock ha upple vts som frammande for dem som levde pa vikingatiden. Furst Oleg utnamner ar 882 Kiev till "alia ryska staders moder". Man kan for- moda att staden vid mitten eller under senare halften av 900-talet borjar fram- sta som sarskilt viktig centralort. Kiev lag vid vattenvagen till Bysans och furs- ten tog har in skatt. Under 900-talet vaxer ett allt starkare rike fram under ledning av Kievfurstarna Kopplingen till Skandinavien ar under denna tid som starkast. Forsarna i Dnepr hade enligt skriftliga kallor saval skandinaviska som slaviska namn varav man kan sluta sig till att bada spraken under denna tid var i bruk langs floden. Efter falttagen till Bulgarien hade furst Syjatoslav under senare delen av 900-talet enligt Nestorskronikan allvar- liga planer pa att flytta sitt residens fran Kiev till Donau. Han motiverade sitt beslut sa har: "... dar ar mitten av min land, dar ffyter allt gott samman: fran Greklands jord guld, brokad, vin och olika frukter, fran Tjeckien och Ungern silver och hastar, och fran Rus palsverk och vax, homing och slavar" Staten i Rus pa 900-talet var alltsa en mycket speciell skapelse med synnerli- gen flytande territoriell utstrackning och granser. Rus - ruser - Ruotsi Namnet Rus forknippas idag allmant med finskans och estniskans Ruotsi/ Rootsi som i vara dagar betecknar Sverige men som tidigare syftat pa folk fran Sverige och Skandinavien. Detta namn syftar i sin tur pa det gamla skan- dinaviska namnet for rodd. Nordborna var uppenbarligen mycket kanda for sina roddexpeditioner. Varjagerna Rikedomarna i Bysans var mycket lockande for skandinaverna. Bysans sjafvt hade behov av erfarna krigare. Vagen dit gick via Kiev, dar man anda sedan furst Vladimirs tid pa slutet av 38 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd 900-talet kant till de legosoldater som kallades varjager. Det ar annu oklart vilket ursprung ordet "varjager" har. Man tror att det stod for olika saker i olika sprak. Pa slaviska och grekiska betydde det skandinaver och/eller fran- ker; pa engelska och islandska beteck- nade det skandinaviska legosoldater i tjanst hos de bysantinska kejsarna. Det kejserliga gardet Hetaria hade manga utlandska legosoldater. Pa 980-talet lat Basilios II inom det kejserliga gardet skapa ett sarskilt var- jaggarde - varingagardet, som kom att besta fram till Konstantinopels fall ar 1204. Araberna lanade in ordet fran Rus i formen "varank". Ostersjon kalla- de de "Varjagsjon" eller "Bahr Varank" Till skillnad fran ruserna, som mest age- rade fran sina skepp bestod Bysans var- ingagarde framst av tungt kavalleri. Legosoldaterna som kom till Rus och Bysans - varjagerna - bestod enbart av man. Manga varjager kom ocksa att inga i Kievfurstens hird. Avsaknaden av kvinnor bland dem innebar en vasentlig skillnad gentemot ruserna, som kommit med sina familjer ochbosatt sigi Rus. Detta ledde ibland till blodiga konflikter, som till exempel 1015, nar Novgorodborna misshandla- de varjager for att de hade utovat vald mot deras hustrur. Begreppet varjager kom med tiden att fa en utokad betydelse. Under andra halften av 1000-talet kom begreppet alltmer att karaktarisera vastkristna/ katoliker i Rus. @ Oversattning fran ryska: Magnus Dahnberg prince Oleg pronounced Kiev as "moth- er of all Russian towns". It is thought that Kiev began to develop as a centre of major importance in the mid and latter half of the 10th century. The town was on the water route to the Byzantine Empire and the prince imposed levy. The 10th century saw the develop- ment of an increasingly stronger king- dom led by the princes of Kiev. The link to Scandinavia is strongest at this time. According to sources, rapids of the Dnieper had both Scandinavian and Slavic names, and one can conclude that both languages were used on the route at these times. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, prince Svyatoslav had - following the campaigns in Bulgaria - serious plans in the late 10th century to move his residence from Kiev to the Danube. His motivation was as follows: "That shall be the centre of my land; for there all good things flow: gold from the Greeks, precious cloths, wines and fruits of many kinds, silver and horses from the Czechs and Hungarians, and from the Rus furs, wax, honey and slaves." Thus the 10th-century state of Rus was a highly special creation with an espe- cially fluid territorial area and borders. Rus, the Rus and Ruotsi Nowadays, the name Rus is associated with the Finnish and Estonian words Ruotsi/Rootsi which currently denote Sweden, but which previously referred to peoples from Sweden and Scandina- via. In its turn, this name refers back to the old Scandinavian name for rowing. It seems the Scandinavians were famed for their rowing expeditions. Varangians The riches of the Byzantine Empire were highly enticing to Scandinavians. Byzantium itself required experienced warriors. The route to the Empire was via Kiev, where Varangian mercenaries were known since the time of prince Vladimir at the turn of the 10th century. The origins of the word "Varangians" is still not clear. The belief is that it stood for different things in different languages. In Slavic and Greek it meant Scandina- vians and/or Franks; in English or Icelandic it referred to Scandinavian mercenaries in the service of Byzantine emperors. Hetairia, the imperial guard, had many foreign mercenaries. In the 980 s, Basil II had a particular Varangian guard set up within the impe- rial guard, which remained until the fall of Constantinople in 1204. The Arabs adopted the word from Rus in the form "Warank". They termed the Baltic the Varangian Sea or "Bahr Warank". Whereas the Rus mostly acted from their ships, the Byzantine Varang-guard chiefly consisted of heavy cavalry. Many Varangians also became part of the bodyguard of Kievan princes. The mer- cenary Varangians who came to Rus and the Byzantine Empire were all males. The lack of women among them marks an essential difference compared to the Rus. The Rus came with their families and settled in Rus. This occa- sionally led to bloody conflicts such as that in 1015 when Novgorodians assault- ed Varangians after their wives had been exposed to violence by the latter. In time, the term Varangian gained broader meaning. During the second half of the nth century the term in- creasingly signified West Christians/ Catholics in Rus. Fedir Androshchuk arforskare i arkeologi vid Stockholms universitet. Hans forskningsomrade ar vikingatidens samhalle och dess kontakter. Under de senaste aren har han bl.a. arbetat i det stora svensk- ostslaviska forskningsprojektet kring vikingatida fynd i ost. Ett projekt lett av Ingmar Jansson vid Stockholms universitet och med stod av Kung! Vitterhetsakademien. Sedan ar 2002 arbetar har ocksa med ett forskningsprojekt om vikingatida vapen stott av Svenska institutet och Berit Wallenbergs stiftelsen. FedirAndroshchuk is a researcher in archaeology at Stockholm University. He researches into thesocietyand contacts of'the Viking Age. His work in recent years includes involvement in themajorSwedish-FastSlavic research project into Viking Age finds in the east. This project is led by Associate Professor Ingmar Jansson at Stockholm University with support of the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities Since 2002 he is also working on a research project on Viking Age weapons, with support of the Swedish Institute and the Berit Wallenberg Foundation. Kristna nordbor i Rus Fedir Androshchuk Rusernas rorliga levnadssatt var sakerligen en bidragande orsak till att de relativt snabbt kom i kontakt med varldens stora religioner. Detta gjorde det latt for dem att ta till sig frammande trosriktningar. Bade vasteuropeiska och orientaliska kallor vittnar om att ruserna bytte religion tamligen fritt och ofta. I en arabisk kalla fran 1200-talet star det att ruserna antog kristendomen redan 912. EFTER ATT HA GATT OVER TILL kristendomen blev ruserna tvungna att lagga svarden at sidan och borja ett nytt liv. Men efter- som de inte kande till nagot annat satt att tjana sitt dagliga brod fick de svarig- heter att overleva. Da kom de fram till att de borde konvertera till islam, for att fa ratt att kriga for sin tro. Det berattas ocksa att beslutet att konvertera till islam underlattades av att ruserna fick storslagna gavor, varpa de konvertera- de. Man kan formoda att det var just gavorna som var den verkliga anled- ningen till att skandinaverna blev intresserade av att konvertera till en frammande religion. I detta samman- hang kan det ocksa vara intressant att hora vad en munk fran Sankt Gallen klostret i Frankerriket har att beratta om hur det gick till nar en grupp nord- man doptes vid Ludvig den frommes hov. Nar gavorna inte rackte till alia, rev de sonder de skankta tygerna i mindre bitar och delade upp dem emellan sig. En av de medverkande ber attar: "Jag har blivit dopt tjugo ganger och har alltid fatt fina klader, men den har gang- en fick jag trasor som battre passade en herde an en krigare." Oavsett om det fanns ett materiellt intresse med i bilden vid anammandet Halsband bestaende av sju torshammarsliknande hangen i sydskandinavisk, s.k hiddenseestil fran ca ar 1000 e.Kr. och kyrkliga hangen av ostkristet ursprung fran ca ar 1200 e.Kr, funna i narheten av Michajlovskijklostret i Kiev ar 1903. Fyndet sags svarforklarat fram till 1990-talet da professor Gleb Ivakin genomforde utgravningar av flera skandinaviska kammargravar pa ett och samma stalle. Det artroligt att de skandinaviska hangena har ursprungligen tillhort en rusisk/varjagisk stormanna- familj och gatt i arv till kristna och slavifierade attlingar. Necklace consisting of seven pendants resembling Thor's Hammer in south Scandinavian "hiddensee" style, from c. AD 1000, and religious pendants of East Christian origin from c.AD 1200, foundnearthe Mich ailovsky Monastery in Kiev 1903. The find was considered practically inexplicable until professorGleb Ivakin carried out excavation in the nineties of several Scandinavian chamber graves at a single site. Most probable is that the Scandinavian pendants originally belonged to a RusfVarangian landed family, and were passed on to Christian an d Slavifi ed descen dan ts. 4° Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ingigerd Scandinavian Christians in Rus Utgravningsplan overTiondekyrkan/Marie Himmelfardskyrka med kammargravarfrari andra halften av 900-talet utmarkta, enligt Mikhail K. Karger. Plan of excavations for the Tithe church, indicating chamber graves from the latterhalf of the 10th century, by Mikhail K. Karger. av nya religioner, finns det skal att tro att manga av skandinaverna faktiskt var de forsta kristna i Rus. I texten till ett avtal mellan Rus och Bysans, som namns i Nestorsh.rdnih.an under ar 944, omnamner man bland ruserna bade hedningar, som svurit eden till sin gud, och kristna som svurit sin ed i kyrkan. Vid tiden for furstinnan Olgas dop (ar 955) torde kristendomen ha varit ganska kand i Rus. Under ar 983 berat- tar kronikan om ett par kristna varjager, far och son, som kommit till Kiev och blivit offrade av hedningarna. Den alds- te varjagen hette Ihorir och hans son Johan. Pa platsen dar deras gard lag uppforde furst Vladimir den forsta sten- kyrkan i Rus (Tiondekyrkan/Marie Himmelfardskyrkan/Desjatinnaja). Minuet av dessa kristna varjager finns bevarat i en predikan, dar det star: "skryt icke med din harkomst, du adling, sag inte: min fader ar bojar, utan: Kristi martyrer ar mina broder" Fedir Androshchuk The flexible lifestyle of the Rus must have been a contributary reason for their relatively quickly coming into contact with the world's major relig- ions. It made it easy for them to take on alien religious doctrines. Sources from both western Europe and the Orient bear witness to the Rus changing relig- ion quite freely and quite often. A 13th century Arabian source states that the Rus adopted Christianity as far back as AD 912. ONCE THEY HAD GONE OVER TO Christianity, the Rus were comp- elled to lay aside their swords and start a new life. However, since they knew of no other method to earn their daily bread they had difficulty in surviving. They thus reached the conclusion that they should convert to Islam to gain the right of fighting for their beliefs. Furthermore, it is related that the decision to convert to Islam was eased by their receiving magnificent gifts, whereupon they con- verted. One can suppose that it was gifts in particular which were the real reason for the Scandinavians gaining interest in conversion to foreign religions. In this respect it may be of interest to hear what the monk of St. Gall in the Frankish Empire said tells of the process when a group of Norsemen werebaptised at the court of Louis the Pious. When the gifts failed to suffice for all, they tore the pre- sented fabrics into smaller pieces and divided them amongst themselves. One of those present said: "I have been baptised twenty times and I have always been given fine clothing, but this time I was given rags more fit for a shepherd than a warrior." Irrespective of whether or not material interests were involved when new reli- gions were adopted, there is reason to believe that many Scandinavians were in fact the first Christians of Rus. The Russian Primary Chronicle of 944 alludes to an agreement between the Rus and Byzantium, the text of which mentions that among the Rus are both heathens who have sworn an oath to their god and Christians who have vowed their alleg- iance in church. Christianity was most likely quite well known in Rus by the time ofthe baptism of princess Olga (AD 995). The Chronicle entry for year 983 tells of a Varangian father and his son settling in Kiev and being sacrificed by heathens. The elder Varangian was Turi (Thorir), his son was Joan (Johannes). Prince Vladimir built the first stone church of Rus (Mother of God church) on the site of their homestead. The memory of these Christian Varangians is kept in a sermon which says: "Boast not of your lineage, most noble one, say not: my father is a boyar, but rather: the martyrs of Christ are my brothers." Varangian Simon In the collection of tales of the mona- stery's history and inhabitants (Pateric) at the Caves Monastery in Kiev there is an interesting portrayal ofthe baptised Varangian Simon (Sigmundr). This account is one of very few examples where ithas been possible to reconstruct an integral Varangian ancestry. He was one of the sons of Varangian prince Afrikan (Alfrekr). Afrikan was brother of Jakun (Hakun) who served with prince Yaroslav and took part in the battle of Listven against Mstislav, brother of Yaroslav, in 1024. He lived the remain- der of his life in Rus where he served first with prince Yaroslav and then with his son. Together with Yaroslav's three sons, he took part in the battle against the Polovotsy in 1068. It is told that founder of the Caves Monastery, St. Antonii, predicted that the battle would end ill— Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 4 - 42 Historiska Nyheter - Olga £?''biif^ rj Ateruppfort Olgamonument flankerat av S:t Andreas och Kyrillos och Methodios i centrala Kiev. Olga monumentonce again raised in centra! Kiev. Flanked by St. Andrei, St. Cyril and St. Methodios. Varjagen Sjimon I samlingen med helgonberattelser i Grottklostret i Kiev firms det en intres- sant skildring om den dopte varjagen Sjimon (Sigmundr). Denna berattelse ar en av de ytterst fa exemplen dar en hel varjagslakt kunnat rekonstrueras. Han var en av sonerna till varjagfursten Afrikan (Alfrekr). Denne var bror till Jakun (Hakun), som tjanade hos furst Jaroslav och deltog i slaget vid Listven mot Mstislav, Jaroslavs bror, ar 1024. Efter faderns dod forjagades Sjimon av Jakun och levde resten av sitt liv i Rus, dar han forst tjanstgjorde hos furst Jaroslav och sedan hos dennes son. Ar 1068 deltog han tillsammans med Jaroslavs tre soner i slaget mot polovt- serna. Det berattas att S:t Antonius, grundaren av Grottklostret, fore slaget forutspadde att det skulle sluta olyckligt men att Sjimon skulle raddas genom ett under. Till den nya kyrkan i Grott- klostret skankte Sjimon darfor ett balte och en krans avguld, med vilka hans far Afrikan latit utsmycka ett krucifix. (Man kan tanka sig ett krucifix likt det beromda "Volto Santokrucifixet" i Lucca i Italien.) Sjimons son Georgij hyste ocksa "en stor karlek till denna heliga plats". Enligt Pateric skickade Georgij guld och silver fran Suzdal till utsmyckningen av Theodosius grav- vard i Grottklostret. Han lamnade ocksa efter sig ett brev till sina efter- kommande, dar han tillholl dem att efter formaga hjalpa klostret materiellt. Sjimons barnbarnsbarn begravdes i Dmitrijkyrkan i Suzdal, byggd av Suzdals biskop Jefrem som prastvigts i Grottklostret. Varjag-grottorna I Grottklostret i Kiev firms ocksa de sa kallade Varjag-grottorna. I samlingen med berattelser om klostrets historia och dess invanare {Pateric) kan man lasa, att dessa grottor existerade irman S:t Antonius grundade Grottklostret och att detta fick sina forsta lokaler just 1 Varjag-grottorna. Munkarna forknip- pade namnet med en legend om en var- jagskatt med "romerska karl, och guld och silver i orakneliga mangder". Tva munkar som ar begravda i grottorna kanner man namnen pa - Fjodor och Vasilij. Det ar troligt att grottorna under 44 Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ingigerd lang tid var lamnade at sitt ode. Deras ursprungliga utseende, funktion och uppkomsttid ar inte kanda. Den forsta planritningen over Grottklostrets fram- re och bortre grottor framstalldes och publicerades forst pa 1960-talet. I detta sammanhang far det darfor anses som en sensation att man pa Nationalmu- seum i Stockholm nyligen patraffat detaljerade planritningar over dessa grottor, framstallda redan 1745. Dessa planritningar forvaras nu pa National- museum. Varjagtron Pa 1000-, 1100- och 1200-talen etableras 1 kyrkliga sammanhang i Rus begreppet "varjagtron", med vilket man avsag den vastliga formen av kristendom. Nar S:t Theodosius skall forklara "varjagtron" for furst Izjaslav (Jaroslavs son) sager han bland annat: "Kristna far inte gifta bort sina dottrar med dem eller ta deras dottrar till hustru, man far inte forbrodra sig med dem eller skapa slaktband med dem, inte kyssa dem eller ata och dricka ur samma karl som de." Hans forbud torde snarare ha varit kyrklig retorik an nagot som faktiskt gallde. Izjaslav var sjalv gift med Gertrud, syster till den polske kungen Kazimir, och hans dotter Jevdokia var gift med den polske kungen Mieszko. Saval de ovriga foretradarna for furste- dynastin i Rus som, far man anta, de vanliga manniskorna brot standigt mot forbuden. Vid den har tiden, och sarskilt under 1200-talet, marktes i vissa ryska stader ett katolskt inflytande i den kyrkliga kulten och den kristna kultu- ren over huvud taget. Detta avspeglas t. ex. ibruket avfran Vasteuropaimpor- terade liturgiska karl i vars vatten pras- terna tvattade handerna fore massan. Till de frammande inslagen horde aven inforandet av kyrkklockor, vilka den mer konservativa grekiska kyrkan annu 1 manga arhundraden efter vikingatiden vagrade inkludera i kulten. fated, but that Simon would be saved by a miracle. Thus Simon presented the new church of the monastery with a belt and wreath of gold, with which his father, Afrikan, embellished a crucifix. (What comes to mind is a crucifix like the famous Volto Santo crucifix in Lucca, Italy.) George, son of Simon, also pos- sessed "great love for this sacred place". The Paterk relate how George sent gold and silver from Suzdal for adornment of the sepulchre of Theodosius in the Caves Monastery. He also left a letter to his successors, urging them to provide whatever material assistance to the monastery they could give. Simon's great grandchildren were buried at the church of Dmitry in Suzdal, built by bishop Jephrem of Suzdal who was ordained in the Caves Monastery. Varangian caves Also found at the Caves Monastery of Kiev are the "Varangian caves". The lives-of the-saints tell us that these caves existed prior to St. Antonii founding the Caves Monastery, andthatthe monastery was first situated in these particular caves. The monks associated the name to a legend of Varangian treasure with "Roman vessels, and gold and silver in multitude". The names of two monks buried in the caves are known - Fyodor and Vasiley. It is most likely that the caves were left to their fate for a long period. Their original appearance is not known, nor their function and date of initial use. A first plan of the caves to the fore and rear was not drawn up and published until the 1960s. In this respect it must be seen as a sensation that detailed plans of these caves, drawn up as early as 1745, have recently been found at National museum (the National Museum of Fine Arts) in Stockholm, where they are still kept The Varangian creed In ecclesiastical context, the term "Varangian creed" was established in Rus in the nth, 12th and 13th centuries to refer to the western form of Christianity. When St. Theodosius explains the "Varangian creed" to prince Izyaslav, son of Yaroslav, he says: "Christians (that is orthodox Christians) must not marry off their own daughters to them, nor take their daughters to wife; they shall not be befriended, nor kinship ties bound; neither shall they be kissed nor shall Christians eat and drink from the same vessel." His prohibitions were most likely Church rhetoric, rather than current ordinance. Izyaslav himself was married to Gertrud, sister of the Polish king Kazimir, and his daughter Jevdokia was married to the Polish king Mieszko. It is presumed that not only representatives of the royal dynasty, but also ordinary people, continuously violated the ban. Aroundthis time, and particularly during the 13th century, Catholic influence on the religious cult and on Christian culture in general could be seen in some Russian towns and cities. Example of this is the use of liturgical vessels imported from Western Europe in which priests washed their hands prior to mass. A further alien feature was the introduc- tion of church bells, which the more conservative Greek church did not accept for many centuries after the Viking Age. Oversattning Magnus Dahnberg Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 45 Ruser och varjager i Kiev Fedir Androshchuk VISSA LEGENDER BERATTAR att Kij var farjekarl pa Dnepr (Dnjepr), andra att han var furste bland poljanerna (slattborna), en slavisk stam. Till den aldste broderns ara byggde broderna en stad och kallade den Kiev (Kyiv). Genom arkeologiska utgravningar har man funnit rester av en liten slavisk fornborg fran 6oo-talet e.Kr pa Star old evskajaber get i Kiev. Enligt Nestorskronikan existerade denna stad fortfarande vid tiden for de bada varjagerna Askolds och Dirs ankomst till Kiev ar 862. Nestor berattar att Askold och Dir samlade fler varjager och stannade kvar som furstar i staden som Kij hade byggt. Pa samma plats i staden lag furstehovet och palatsen pa Olgas och Vladimirs tid. Podol - lagstaden Intill fur step alatsen gick en vag (Boritjev uzvoz) som ledde ner till floddalen vid Dnepr och dess biflod Potjajna. Enligt Nestors uppfattning bodde det pa furs- tinnan Olgas tid inga manniskor i denna del av staden, kallad Podol (efter det slaviska namnet for dal). Men utgravningar pa 1970-talet visa- de att Nestor tagit fel. I Podol fann man pa tio till elva meters djup flera valbeva- rade byggnader och till och med hela kopmansgardar fran 900-talet. Fynden vittnar om att har i huvudsak bodde kopman och hantverkare. Intressant ar att man varken da eller senare gjort nagra skandinaviska forn- fynd i Podol. Gora - hogstaden I den owe del en av staden har man dar- emot gjort mangder med skandinaviska fynd i brand- och kammargravar fran 900-talet. Dessa och andra fynd tyder pa att ingen regelbunden stadsbebyg- gelse fanns dar fore 1000-talet. Troligen fanns det fristaende gardar, runt vilka gravfalt med gravkullar sa smaningom uppstod. Allteftersom kristendomen spred sig borjade man pa dessa familjegravfalt bygga kapell, kyrkor och ibland ocksa hela kloster, vilkas grundare ofta hade skandinaviskt ursprung. Vi vet till ex- empel att furst Jaroslav lat bygga S:ta Irinas kyrka inte langt fran platsen dar furst Dir lag begravd. En viss Olma (den slavifierade formen av det skandi- naviska mansnamnet Holmi), vars gard lag i narheten av varjagen Askolds grav, lat dar uppfora S:t Nicolai kyrka. Vi vet ocksa att det i staden fanns nagot som kallades "Turova bozjnitsa" (Tors bonehus), som tyder pa skandinaviskt ursprung. Vi har ingen uppfattning om vad Kievborna pa 900-talet menade med "stad". Det enda vi vet ar att platsen dar de rikaste gardarna lag, omgivna av gravplatser for de fornamsta Kievborna, kallades Gora ("Berget") i motsats till den lagre belagna delen av staden, som kallades Podol ("Dalen") och dar hant- verkare och de fattigare delarna av befolkningen bodde. Skandinaver i Kiev Under furstarna Vladimir och Jaroslav (slutet av 900-talet och forsta halften av 1000-talet) forandrades uppfattningen om hur en stad skulle se ut vasenligt under inflytande av den kristna ideo- login. Det ar vid denna tid som det moderna Kiev vaxer fram inspirerat av datidens Konstantinopel med sin rika kyrkoarkitektur. I slutet av 900-talet borjar furst Vladimir bygga den forsta stenkyrkan i Rus, Tiondekyrkan/Marie Himmelfar dskyrkan/D esjatinnajakyrk- an. Utgravningar av kyrkan har visat att den uppfordes pa aldre, mojligen krist- na gravar. Vissa av gravarna inneholl skandina- viska smycken. Nordvast och sydost om kyrkan fanns ocksa tva stenpalats. Utgravningar av det ena har visat att det Tiondekyrkan/ Tithe Church Kievfiirstens palats / Kiev royal palace Vallgrav 600-talet / 7th century moat Plan: Kievfurstens palatsomrade med Tiondekyrkan ca 900-1150, efterV. Harlamov. Plan of the royal palace area of Kiev, with Tithe Church, c. AD 900-1150. byV. Harlamov. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegtrd 47 Plan overtva gardstomterfran 900-talet i Podol (lagstaden i Kiev), enligt Konstantin Gupalo. Plan of two 10th century parcels of land in Podol (valley town in Kiev), by Konstantin Gupalo. var rikt smyckat med fresker och mar- mor- och skifFerplattor med rikt utsku- ren dekor. Pa en av plattorna firms furst Vladimirs emblembevarat, samma som pa hans myrit. Man kan formoda att ett av palatsen var till for furstens hird och dar Vladimir holl fester med sina hird- man. Vi vet inte hur lange dessa palats existerade, men det ar sannolikt att ett nytt, med langsidan langs Tiondekyr- kans sydvastsida, uppfordes pa iooo- talet. Vaster om kyrkan och palatsen fanns det pa 1000-, iioo- och 1200- talen juvelerarverkstader, som tillverka- de smycken och kyrkoforemal. Pa 1030-talet inledde Vladimirs son Jaroslav en livlig byggverksamhet i Kiev. Den over staden vaxer nu med nya befastningar och kyrkor. De arkeo- logiska utgravningarna i hogstaden pekar ocksa pa att det furmits en konti- nuitet i tomt- och gardsagande. De tidi- ga bosa'ttningarna verkar ha gatt i arv fran de skandinaviska och slaviska hird- mannen till 1100-1200-talets bojarer (den framvaxande ostslaviska adeln). Man kan har se Kievfurstarnas hird pa 900-talet som ursprunget till bojarerna. Furstarna hade ocksa sina gardar i staden. Pa dessa tillverkades lyxforemal som smycken men de fiingerade aven som lagerhus for livsmedel. Gardarna kunde tillfalligt lanas ut till furstarnas bojarer. Furstarna sjalva bodde ofta i residens utanfor staden - vi kanner till Berestovo, Vysjgorod och Krasnyj dvor. En annan sak man kanner till ar att det pa en furstegards domaner under andra halften av 1000-talet fanns tva bojar- gardar, dar bojarerna Mikyfor Kyjanin och Mikula Tjudin bodde. Dessa var med om att sammanstalla den forsta lagsamlingen i Rus, den sa kallade Pravda Jaroslavitjej fran 1072. Mikula Tjudin fick senare staden Vysjgorod som forlaning av furst Izjaslav. Trots hans slaviska namn finns det skal att tro att Tjudin ar en av attlingarna till de fornama skandinaviska hirdmannen i Kiev pa 900-talet. Pa detta tyder bland annat hans brors namn, Told, som var vanligt framst i de sodra delarna av Skandinavien. Bade kronikorna och de arkeolo- giska kallorna vittnar alltsa om att Skandinaviska hirdman med familjer som etablerat sig i Kiev pa 900-talet blev stamfader till flera bojarslakter och ocksa utgjorde en viktig del av stadens befolkning. @ Overs attning: Magnus Dahnberg Dagens Kiev. I forgrunden Pirogosjtjakyrkan i Podol, i bakrunden hogstaden Gora. Modern Kiev. Pirogoshcha church in Podol in the foreground. Upper town of Gora in the background. 48 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd The Rus and Varangians in Kiev Fedir Androshchuk The Russian Primary Chronicle and other written sources retell legends about the origin of the city of Kiev. According to them three brothers, Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv, lived in the Kiev hills on the right bank of the Dnieper where the future city was founded. Some sources give kiy as ferryman of goods and people across the Dnieper, others say he was a prince among the Slavic Polotians. The brothers built a town in hon- our of their elder brother and named it Kiev (Kyiv). Archaeological excavations on Kiev's Starokievskaya have revealed a small seventh century hill-fort. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, this town still existed when the Varangians Askold and Dir arrived at Kiev in AD 862. The Chronicle relates how they gathered other Varangians and remained as princes in the town built by Kiy. And it was here that the royal court and palace ofOlga/Helga/Helena and Vladimir were established. Podol - the valley town A road (Borichev uzvoz) passed the royal palace and led down to the Dnieper river valley and its tributary Pochayna. According to the Chronicle, this part of the town, Podol (after the Slavic name for valley), was unin- habited in princess Olga's time. However, excavations in the 1970s show the Chronicle to have been wrong. Several well preserved buildings and even complete merchant properties from the 900s were found ten to eleven metres down. The finds testify that merchants and craftsmen were the chief inhabitants. Of interest is that no artefacts of Scandinavian origin were found in Podol during these excavations. Gora - the hill town On the other hand, large numbers of Scan- dinavian finds have been made in 10th cen- tury cremation and chamber graves in the upper town. These and other finds indicate that no regular townscape existed there prior to the nth century. What most likely existed was individual yards, around which burial grounds and burial mounds arose. As Christianity spread, chapels, churches and sometimes even monasteries were built on these family burial grounds. The founders of these often had Scandinavian origin. We know for instance that prince Yaroslav had the church of St Irina built close to where prince Dir lay in his grave. A certain Olma (Slavified form of the Scandinavian male name Holmi), who had a property close to the grave of Varangian Askold, had the church of St Nikolai/Nicholas built there. We know also that the town had a building called "Turova bozjnitsa" (Tor's chapel), indicating its Scandinavian connection. But what did 10th century Kievans under- stand by the term "town"? This, we do not know. All we know is that the place contain- ing the richest properties, surrounded by burial grounds for the most distinguished people of Kiev, was called Gora ("The Hill"), while the lower part of the town was called Podol ("The Valley"), where craftsmen and poorer inhabitants lived. Scandinavians in Kiev During the reigns of princes Vladimir and Yaroslav (end of 10th century, first half of nth century) the concept of how a town should appear was radically changed under the influence of Christian ideology. This was the period which saw the development of future modern Kiev, inspired by contem- porary Constantinople and its wealth of church architecture. Prince Vladimir had the first stone church in Rus built at the end of the 10th century. This was the Tithe church/ the Church of Assumption of the Virgin/ Desyatinnaya church. Excavations of the church have revealed it was erected on older, partly Christian, graves. Some of the graves contained Scandi- navian jewellery. Two stone palaces were also found to the north-west and south-east of the church. Excavation of one of these has revealed that they were decorated with frescos, and marble and slate tiles with richly carved decoration. On one of these is the emblem of prince Vladimir, the same emblem as on his coinage. It is presumed that one of the palaces was for the prince's entourage, where Vladimir held banquets with them. We do not know how long these palaces existed, but it is most likely that a new one was built in the nth century, with its length parallel to the Mother of God church. From the nth to the 13 th century, jewellery work- shops for the making of jewellery and church items were found west of church and palace. In the 1030s Yaroslav, son of Vladimir, embarked on vigorous building activity in Kiev. The upper town was developed with new fortifications and churches. Archaeolo- gical excavations in the hill town also suggest a continuity in property ownership at the time. The early settlements appear to have been passed on from Scandinavian and Slavic royal guards to 12th and 13th-century boyars (newly developing East-Slavic aristo- cracy). It is here we can see the royal guards of the 10th-century princes of Kiev as the origin of the boyars. The princes also had their commercial properties in the town. Luxury goods such as jewellery were made there, butthe properties also acted as food storehouses. The properties could be temporarily lent to royal boyars. The princes themselves often had their resi- dence outside the town - we know of Berestovo, Vyshgorod and Krasny dvor. We also know that on the domain of one royal estate two boyar properties existed already in the latter half of the nth century, where the boyars Mikyfor Kyanin and Mikula Chiudin lived. These two were involved in compiling the first code of law for Rus terri- tory entitled Pravda Yaroslavishch from 1072. Mikula Chiudin was later to receive the town of Vyshgorod on loan from prince Izyaslav. Despite his Slavic name, there is reason to believe that Chiudin was a descendant of eminent members of the Scandinavian royal bodyguards in 10th-century Kiev. This is suggested by the name of his brother Tuki (Toki) which was most frequent as a name in southern parts of Scandinavia. Thus both the chronicles and the archaeo- logical sources bear witness to the fact that Scandinavian royal bodyguards who estab- lished themselves in 10th-century Kiev were ancestors to various boyar families, and also constituted an important part of the town's population. Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 49 Skandinaviska gravfynd i Kiev G. J. IVAKIN Bland gravfyndeni Kievhar man hittatforemal liknandedem i Birka. Ar 1999 gjordes arkeologiska utgravningar vid Michajlovskijkiostret i Kiev. I omradet har man vid utgravningar funnit hela fjorton silverskatter fran 1100- och 1200-talen. Bara i ettfatal rusiska stader har man gjortliknande fynd. Vidare fanns spar av tjugotva gravar fran 900- och 1000-talen, tva av dessa med kammargrav av skandinavisk typ. Izjaslavs stad" var en av de vikti- gaste stadsdelarna i ovre delen av Kiev pa 1000-1200-talen. I nordost gransade den till tva aldre, "Vladimirs stad" fran 900-talet och "Jaroslavs stad" I omradet har man vid arkeologiska utgravningar hittat sa manga som fjorton silverskatter fran 1100- och 1200- talen. Bara i ett fatal rusiska stader har man gjort fler skattfynd fran samma tid. Har firms sarskilt manga grivnor, mynt fran Kievi form avmyntade silvertackor. Under sokningarna har vis at att "Izjaslavs stad" som upptog en del av Starokievskaja-berget var betydligt mer kuperad under forntiden. Stadsdelen hade anlagts i en blandskog med tall, bjork och al. Man har ocksa kunnat Kvinnograven, "prinsessgraven" i Kiev. Grave of female, the "princess grave" in Kiev. 5° Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ingigerd konstatera att har vaxte bland annat malort, kardborre, malla, groblad och nassla. Under senare halften av 900- talet anlaggs ett hedniskt gravfalt i den blivande stadsdelen. Senare tillkom dar ocksa kristna gravar. Man har funnit spar av bebyggelse fran mitten av 1000-talet. Omkring 1062 lat Izjaslav bygga ett kloster till sitt skyddshelgon, S:t Dmitrij. Senare upp- forde hans soner S:t Peterskyrkan (1086) och Michajlovskijkyrkan (Mikaels kyrka). Den senare var en av de mest betydande kyrkorna i Rus, rikt utsmyck- ad med mosaik och fresker. For att ge plats for derma maste en del av det tat- bebyggda omradet rivas. Pa 1170-talet uppfordes aven en s.k Portkyrka. Av de undersokta gravarna ar kam- margravarna de mest intressanta. Den ena kammargraven upptacktes vid kyrkans ostra port. Kammaren, 2,25 x 1,25 meter och 60 cmdjup,ligger i ost-vastlig riktning. Kammaren och botten var timrad med grova plankor. Langs ost- och vastsidan fanns det manga spikar, vilket tyder pa att kam- marens tak varit fastad med spik Graven plundrades troligen redan under forntiden. Den inneholl ett ske- lett av en n-12 ar gammal flicka, kvar pa sin plats fanns endast kraniet och hoftbenen. Foremalen var delvis beva- rade. Bland dessa marks bl. a. tva finger- ringar av silver. Typen ar valkand i nordostra Europa. Sarskilt intressanta ar ett par silverhangen ornerade med granulation och fHigran. Man har ocksa funnit en benkam med fodral. Detta ar ornerat med ett linje- och cirkelmonster och parallella skaror. Bland ovriga fynd marks skrin- Korshangetfran "prinsessans" ladervaska. Cross pendant from "the princess's" leather bag. beslag, en liten nyckel, en liten kniv och detaljer fran ett ambar (ogleformade hakar och ett handtag). I graven fanns aven fagelben och revben fran nagot storre djur, sannolikt rester av en offer- maltid. Graven kan dateras till senare delen av 900-talet. Den andra kammargraven ar betyd- ligt storre an den forsta och den mater 3,2 x 2,7 meter. Fynden ar bland de rikhaltigaste och mest intressanta av alia de gravar som hittills undersokts i Kiev. Den 90 cm djupa gravgropen inneholl skelettet av en 16-18 gammal kvinna med huvudet i vaster. Graven visar skador fran bygg- nationerbade fran 1100- och 1800-talet. I graven fanns en ansamling av fore- mal. De lag ca 1 meter fran skelettet och bestod av jarnbeslag till ett traskrin, en massingsskal, en sax och en pincett, bada av jam. Dartill kommer ett for tidens gravfynd unikt inslag av glasbitar (bla, bruna, gula), som kan ha varit avsedda att sys fast pa kladesplagg, samt ett baltesspanne av brons. Pa huvudet bar den unga kvinnan ett band med invavda silvertradar och vid tinningen en s.k. tinningring av guld samt en orange karneolparla. Runt halsen bar hon ett parlhalsband. I detta ingick forutom glasparlor en morkbla karneolparla och tre silver- parlor samt ett par baltesbeslag av silver som ateranvants i halsbandet. De ar av magyarisk/ungersk typ med vaxtorna- ment. Pa brostet bar kvinnan ett stort runt Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 5- Runt sparine av sydskandinaviskt ursprung. Round brooch of south Scandinavian origin. Hangena ar avtypisk magyarisk karaktar. The pendants arc of typical Magyar character. Runda hangen fran halsbandet av slaviskt karaktar. Round pendants from necklace of Slavic character. m ♦ Formodligen bysantinska fargade glasbitar, troligen tankta att inga i kladedrakten. Pieces of presumably Byzantine coloured glass, probably intended as part of clothing. * ''-:V Halsband i prinsessgraven. Necklacein the princess grave. silverspanne med spiralornamentik i granulation och filigran. Det hade pa baksidan en nal samt en ring i vilket en silverkedja var fast. Ett par fingerringar av silver var fasta i kedjans andra anda. Vid vanstra armbagen lagresterna av en ladervaska brydd med kantbeslag av silver och ett korsformat bronsbeslag. Vaskan var av morkt lader och fodrad med bysantinskt silke. Den inneholl ett hangkors. Vid hogra axeln lag ett knivskaft omlindat med metalltrad. Denna grav har ocksa daterats till andra halften av 900-talet. Dessa kammargravar skiljer sig kon- struktionsmassigt fran majoriteten av Kievs andra kammargravar fran 900- talet, vilka vanligtvis ar av timmer- eller stolpkonstruktion. Har ar det emeller- tid fragan om en ramverkskonstruktion av breda plankor. Vem var da den gravlagda kvinnan i den stora graven? Tolkningen visar i gravgavornas kva- litet och exklusivitet att hon tillhorde Kievs fornamsta samhallsskikt. Sanno- likt har hon rort sig i samma kretsar som furstinnan Olga. Kanske tillhorde hon furstehovet, kanske i egenskap av slakting eller som hovdam? Overs attning: Magnus Dahnberg 52 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingigerd Scandinavian grave finds in Kiev G. j. Ivakin Several grave finds similar to those of Birka have been made in Kiev. In 1999 archaeo- logical excavations were conducted near Kiev's Michailovsky Monastery. Excava- tions in the area have unearthed no less than 14 silver hoards from the 12th and 13th centuries. Such finds have been made in only a few Russian towns and cities. Evidence was also found of twenty-two 10th and nth century graves, of which two had grave chambers of Scandinavian type. The "City of Izyaslav" was one of the most important districts of upper Kiev in the nth to 13 th centuries. The older 10th century "City of Vladimir" and "City of Yaroslav" bordered it to the north-east. Archaeological excavations in the area have uncovered a total of 14 silver hoards from the 12 th and 13 th centuries. Such treas- ure finds from this period have been made in but few ancient Russian towns and cities. The finds include large numbers of grivnas, coins from Kiev in the form of minted silver ingots. Investigations have shown that the "City of Izyaslav", which occupied part of the Starokievskaya hill, was significantly more undulating in ancient times. The district was built in mixed forest of pine, birch and alder. It has also been ascertained that plant life included wormwood, burdock, goosefoot, plantain and nettle. In the latter half of the 10th century a heathen burial ground was established in the incipient town district. Christian graves were also later locatedthere. Remnants ofbuildings from the mid nth century have been found. In c. 1062 Izyaslav had a monastery built in honour of his patron saint Dmitry. His sons later had the churches of saints Peter (1068) and Michailovsky (Michael) built The latter was one the most outstanding churches in Rus, richly decorated with mosaics and frescos. Part of the densely built-up area was pulled down to make way for it. The 1170 s also saw the building of the "Gate Church". The chamber graves are most interesting among those graves examined. One of these was discovered by the east- ern entrance to the church. The chamber measures 2.25 x 1.25 metres, with a depth of 60 cm. It lies in an east-west direction. The chamber and bottom were constructed with rough planks. Numerous nails were found along the east-west side, suggesting that chamber roof was secured with nails. The grave was most likely plundered already in prehistoric times. It contained the skeleton of a 11-12 year old girl, only crani- um and hip bone remained in place. Grave artefacts were in part preserved. These include two finger rings of a type well known in north-eastern Europe. Particularly inter- esting is a pair of silver pendants, ornament- ed with granulation and filigree. A bone comb with sheath was also found. This is ornamented with a line and circle pat- tern and parallel scoring. Other finds include casket fittings, a small key, a small knife, and details from a pail (loopedhooks and ahandle). The grave also contained bird bones, and rib bones from a larger animal, most probably the remains of a sacrificial meal. The grave is dated to the later half of the 10th century. The second chamber grave is consider- ably larger than the first, measuring 3.2 x 2.7 metres. The finds are among the most full and var- ied, and most interesting of all the graves so far looked at in Kiev. The 90 cm deep burial pit contained the skeleton of a 16-18 year old female, her headfacing west The grave shows damage from 12 th and 19 th century building. A deposit of artefacts was found in the grave. These were one metre from the skele- ton and consisted of the iron fittings of a wooden casket a brass bowl, a pair of scis- sors and tweezers of iron. Unique for the grave finds of the time was the excavation of blue, brown and yellow pieces of glass, prob- ably intended for sewing onto clothing, and a belt buckle of bronze. On her head, the young woman wore a band with silver threads interweaved. By her temple was found a gold "temple ring" and an orange carnelian bead. She wore a bead necklace round her neck. This was not only made up of glass beads, but also included a dark-blue carnelian bead and three silver beads, and two silver belt fit- tings used in the necklace. These are of Magyar/Hungarian type with floral orna- mentation. The woman wore a large round silver brooch on her chest, with spiral ornamenta- tion in granulation and filigree. On the rear side was a pin and a ring in which a silver chain was attached. Two finger rings were affixed to the opposite end of the chain. At her left elbow lay the remains ofaleatherbag worked with edgings of silver and a cruci- form fitting of bronze. The bag was of dark leather and lined with Byzantine silk. It contained a pendant crucifix. At her right shoulder was a wire-wound knife handle. This grave has also been dated to the latter half of the 10 th century. Construction-wise, these burial chambers differ from the majority of Kiev's other 10th century burial chambers. These are normal- ly of timber or pole construction. What we have here, however, is a framework con- struction of wide planks. Who was the woman placed in the larger grave? Interpretations based on the quality and exclusivity of the grave gifts show her to have belonged to Kiev's most distinguished social class. It is most probable she moved in the same circles as princess Olga. Perhaps she belonged to the royal court perhaps as a relation or a lady-in-waiting. % G. J. Ivakin arforskare i arkeologi vid Ukrainas vetenskaps- akademi i Kiev. Hansforskningsomrade rorvikingatidensoch medeltidens Kiev som han ocksa behandlat i olika skitter. Gleb Ivakin is professor in archaeology at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev. His chief area of research is the medieval history of Kiev which he has written about in several publications Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 53 Varingagrav i Kiev I. I. MOVTJAN Ett antal rika skandinaviska kammargravar patraffades ar 2002 i "Vladimirs stad" en av de aldsta stadsdelarna i Kievs ovre stad Gora. I en av dessa gjorde man ett unikt fynd av en icke plundrad varingagrav (krigargrav). AR 2002 UPPTACKTES VID arkeologiska undersokningar i !Vladimirs stad", en av de aldsta delarna av "Gora", ovre staden i Kiev, ett antal rika skandinaviska kammar- gravar. De hade ursprungligen varit overtackta med gravkullar. Platsen lig- ger nara den klyfta som skiljer omradet fran en annan historiskt viktig del av Gora, "Izjaslavs stad". Pa ett djup av 0,8 meter under den nuvarande markytan patraffade man en nastan kvadratisk (3 x 3,2 meter) gravkammare, oriente- rad i ost-vast. Gravkammarens sidor bestod av grova plankor som var lagda omlott med utskjutande kortsidor i knut- timringsteknik. Kammaren hade haft ett tak av 0,2 meter tjocka trastockar. I kammaren lag skelettet av en 175 cm lang krigare, med huvudet i vaster. Han vilade pa en laderkladd trabar. Langs med mannens hogra sida lag ett 94 cm langt skandinaviskt svard med rester av en laderkladd traslida. Langs ner hade denna en med en fagel- ■ * * I I Beslag av magyarisktyp till en mindre ladervaska som inneholl mynt. Fittings of Magyar type belonging to a small leather bag containing coins. Skandinaviskt svard med trafragment av svardsslidan samt doppsko av brons. Scandinavian sword with wood fragment of scabbard and bronze chape. 54 Historiska Nyheter - OJga &Ingegerd figur ornerad doppsko av brons. Redan tidigare kande man till ett fyrtiotal lik- nande beslag fran Ryssland, Baltikum och Polen. Aven i Birka utanfor Stock- holm har doppskor patraffats som ar narmast identiska med den fran Kiev Likheten dem emellan visar tydligt att tata kontakter funnits mellan Rus och Skandinavien. Bredvid svardet farm man en bysan- tinskbronssolja i form av en grip, vilken varit fastad pa svardsgehanget. Den kan vara tillverkad nagonstans i utkanten av det bysantinska imperiet, kanske pa Balkan eller vid Donau. Pa samma stalle lag ocksa resterna av en pilbage. Ovanfor krigarens huvud lag resterna av ett laderklatt pilkoger av naver. Det inneholl resterna av 26 pilar med spet- sar av jam. Pilkogrets lock hade ett bronsbeslag med vaxtornamentik Till vanster om skelettet fann man fern spannband och en bygel av jam, som hallit ihop ett trakarl. Langre upp lag tva filigrankulor av silver som ingatt i kladedrakten. En solja av brons av bysantinskt ursprung. Bronze buckle of Byzantine origin. The Na bono lAcademyofSciencesof Ukrai ne i n Kis v Historiska Nyheter - Olga & Ingegerd 55 Bysantinska mynt. / Byzantine coins. Ett annat viktigt fynd var resterna av en lader- bors. Den inneholl fyra bysantinska kopparmynt och bryddes med tva olika typer av vaxtornerade beslag. Det aldsta myntet ar fran Basileios I:s regeringstid (867-886), tva andra myntades under kejsarna Leo VI, Leo den vise, (886-912) och Alexander. Det yngsta praglades 920 for kejsar Konstantin Porfyrogermetos. Tack vare mynten kan vi alltsa med sakerhet saga att graven tillhor en rik hirdman fran furst Igors och furstinnan Olgas tid under forsta half- ten av 900-talet. @ Oversattning fran ryska: Elisabeth Lofstrand Ivan Movtjan arforskare i arkeologi vid Ukrainas vetenskapsakademi i Kiev. Hansforskningsomrade ror vikingatidens och medeltidens Kiev som han ocksa behandlat i olika skrifter Ivan Movchan conducts archaeological research at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev. Hisfield research is Viking Age andmedieval Kiev which be has treated in various publications. Royal guard grave in Kiev I. I. Movchan In year 2002 a number of rich Scandinavian chamber graves were found in the City of Vladimir, one of the old- est districts of Kiev1 s upper town of Gora. In one of these a unique find was made of an unpillaged grave of a royal guard (varingegrav). IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN 2002 in the City of Vladimir, one of the oldest parts of "Gora", Kiev's upper town, several rich Scandinavian chamber graves were discov- ered. They had originally been overlaid by burial mounds. The site is close to the cleft which separates the area from another historically important part of Gora, the "City of Izyaslav".An almost quadratic grave chamber (3x3.2 metres) was found 0.8 metres under present surface level, oriented east-west. Its sides consisted of rough overlapping planks with pro- truding short ends in dovetail technique. A roof of 0.2 metre thick wooden logs had covered the chamber. The skeleton of a 175 cm long warrior lay in the chamber, head to the west He reposed on a leather-clad wooden bier. A 94 cm long sword of Scandinavian type lay on his right side, with remains of a leather-clad wooden scabbard. At its tip was a bronze chape with a bird ornamentation. Over 40 similar fittings were already known from Russia, the Baltic and Poland. Chapes almost identical to that of Kiev have also been found at Birka outside Stockholm. Similarities between them clearly show that close contacts existed between Puis and Scandinavia. Beside the sword was found a bronze buckle in the form of a griffin. This was attached to the swordbelt. It may have been made somewhere on the outskirts of the Byzantine Empire, perhaps in the Balkans or near the Danube. Remains of a bow were also found at the same location. Above the warrior's head were the remains of a leather- clad birch-bark quiver. This contained the remnants of 26 iron-headed arrows. On quiver lid was a bronze fitting with floral decoration. Five hoops and an iron mounting which had held together a wooden vessel were found to the left of the skeleton. Two filigree beads of silver, part of the warrior's dress, were found further up. The remains of a leather purse constituted a further impor- tant find. It contained four Byzantine copper coins and was embellished with two different types of florally decorated fittings. The oldest coin is from the rule of Basil I (867-886), two others were minted during the emperors Leo VI (Leo the Wise), 886-912, and Alexander. The most recent was minted in 920 for Emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos. The coins allow us to say with sureness that the grave belongs to a wealthy royal guard (hirdman) from the period of prince Igor and princess Olga in the first half of the 10 th century. Jig 56 Historiska Nyheter - Olga &Ingegerd ■rVj Rus utbredning kring 900-1000. Skandinavernasfardvagar och viktiga stader under denna period. xxxxxxxxxx, c. 10th century. Routes of the Scandinavians and important towns of the period. ORDFORKLARINGAR ORDFORKLARINGAR (eNg) Rus - Kievriket - Fornryska riket: I denna tidskrift anvands Rus som benamning for Kievriket och aven for Fornryska riket Rus - Kievan Rus - ancient Russia: This publication uses the term Rus to designate Kievan Rus, and ancient Russia. De ostslaviska landerna betecknar landerna Ryssland, Ukraina och Vitryssland/Belarus. East Slavic countries denotes Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Sweden In your language! Welcome to Sweden Bookshop, the home of literature from and about Sweden. Glossy coffee-table books, facts and figures, Swedish classics and the very latest fiction. Culture, people, design, nature and traditions. Exciting reading for every taste* perfect as gifts. And in a Language to suit you — 30 of them on our shelves just now. You'll find us in Gamla Stan, beside the Royal Palace. And, of course, on (he Internet. Si. Swedish Institute vivcdcn tUjak*cp q 3 part nf ll-e Swdith -i«:ih.:i\ .1 pualir .igrnry eiln.tfod vjiM diwininiring ■ rowedgn ,-hr-:.:4 ahni.1 Iwodcn nnrl o-gnniTinj ntchan!j« w :h ral wimtriw-intlwiplwrw gfnltm, f*i*«t -csrarc-h anri pjblk ;c n gcnnral. itnrrrt, ire iww.swEdnn it- A History of Sweden in 8 languages! A new boot abuul Swedish tnvlory Tb* (jutrirjr e _ar; o. .agerq^r.. formerly museologisi and head of the Royal Cabinet of Cans and Medals.. Here he presents a Ihffity description of Sweden's exciting history, from a land of hunter-gatherers ro modern time*. Richly illustrated in colour- Hand cover. 204 pp. Pri«: SEK 225. Englhti, ;w .ItenNi. ■ -1. Esfcmlan, ;w. 1011-1 /. Gernnai, ■"■t-^. Latv^ii. J-J-j^. ■"■v-i'&.llthuanlan. i!-.:. Polish. ^i>;^. i(i"-i-:^J. Russian, iftH, 1011-3fi. -SvredlsK 2MI.HM1-5. Order by Internet: WWW iwedenrx5rjhh0p.com Phone: +46 S 453 73 00 Fmsll! orderWsi.se Sweden Bookshop Slottsbadceri 10, Gamla Stan, Stockholm. Phone 03-453 73 SO www.5wedenboQkshap.corn DennautgavaavHistoriskaNyheter ar utgiven i samband med utstallningen Olga &Ingegerd - Vikingafiirstinnor i ost paHistoriska museet 24juni 2004-19 juni 2005. Olga &Ingegerd - Vikingafiirstinnor i ost ar ett samarbetsprojekt mellan Historiska museet, Svenska institutet och Vikingabyn Storholmen. projektet stods av Rica City Hotels Elsa Sagers Stiftelse Ryska Federationens Ambassad tack till Sveriges generalkonsulat i S:t Petersburg, Sveriges ambassader i Kiev och Moskva, Arimandrit Malias Norstrom, Ryska ortodoxakyrkan i Stockholm och Ukrainas Ambassad i Stockholm. utstAllningsproduktion Projektledarer: Ola OIssod Formgivare: Tor Cederman Fdremalsurvalt: Fedir Androshchuk Information: Marie Bennerdt och Jenny Fransson katalogen Utgivare: Historiska Museet, Stockholm Ansvarig utgivare: Kristian Berg Projektledare: Ola Olsson Expert: Fedir Androshchuk Redaktor: Kristiina Sepanmaa Faktagranskning: Jan-Peder Lamm Oversattning fran svenska till engelska: Peter Hogan Oversattning fran ryska till svenska: Magnus Dahnberg, Elisabeth Lofstrand Grafiskdesign: SirjePapp Tryck: Danagards Grafiska, Odeshog, Sverige, 2004 [SBN91-89176-30-8 Bild pabaksidan; 'nferidr iSofiakatedialeri iKiev. DenrMutsir, ■naktochrikedotnpa 1000-taletlnteridrenn This edition of Historiska Nyheter is published in connection with the exhibition Olga &Ingegerd - Viking Princesses at the Museum of National Antiquities in Sweden, June24,2004-June 19, 2005. Olga &Ingegerd - Viking Princesses is ajoint project between Historiska museet (SHM), the Swedish Institute and Vikingabyn Storholmen. the project is supported bt Rica City Hotels ElsaSager Foundation The Embassy of Russian Federation tack (eng) till Sveriges generalkonsulat i S:t Petersburg, Sveriges ambassad er i Kiev och Moskva, Arimandrit Matias Norstrom, Ryska ortodoxakyrkan i Stockholm och Ukrainas Ambassad i Stockholm. exhibition Projectleader: Ola Olsson Exhibition design: Tor Cederman Artefact expert: Fedir Androshchuk Information: Marie Bennerdt and Jenny Fransson catalogue Publisher: Historiska Museet, Stockholm Ansvarig utgivare: Kristian Berg Projectleader: Ola Olsson Expert: Fedir Androshchuk Editor: Kristiina Sepanmaa Factual verification: Jan-Peder Lamm Translation from Swedish to English: Peter Hogan Translation from Russian to Swedish: Magnus Dahnberg, Elisabeth Lofstrand Graphicdesign: SirjePapp Printing: Danagards Grafiska, Odeshog, Sweden, 2004 [SBN91-89176-30-8 Rear Cover.