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Where is Alexander Nevsky's helmet kept? "Erichon Hat" by Alexander Nevsky
Where did the Muslim script come from on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, why did an eagle appear on the seal of Ivan III, did Ivan the Terrible kill his son? The history of Russian monarchs is full of mysteries.
Who was Rurik?
Historians have not come to a consensus about who Rurik was. According to some sources, he could be the Danish Viking Rorik of Jutland, according to others, the Swede Eirik Emundarson, who raided the lands of the Balts.
There is also a Slavic version of the origin of Rurik.
The 19th-century historian Stapan Gedeonov associated the prince's name with the word "Rerek" (or "Rarog"), which in the Slavic Obodrite tribe meant a falcon. During the excavations of the early settlements of the Rurik dynasty, many images of this bird were found.
Did Svyatopolk kill Boris and Gleb?
One of the main "anti-heroes" of the history of Ancient Rus' was Svyatopolk the Accursed. He is considered to be the murderer of the noble princes Boris and Gleb in 1015. Folk etymology connects the nickname Svyatopolk with the name of Cain, although this word goes back to the old Russian "kayati" - to repent.
Despite the accusation of murdering princes, the name of Svyatopolk was not removed from the family list of princely names until the middle of the 12th century.
Some historians, such as Nikolai Ilyin, believe that Svyatopolk could not have killed Boris and Gleb, since they recognized his right to the throne. In his opinion, the young princes fell victim to the hands of the warriors of Yaroslav the Wise, who claimed the throne of Kiev. For this reason, the name Svyatopolk was not removed from the generic list of names.
Where did the remains of Yaroslav the Wise disappear?
Yaroslav the Wise, son of Vladimir the Baptist, was buried on February 20, 1054 in Kyiv in the marble tomb of St. Clement. In 1936, the sarcophagus was opened and, with surprise, several mixed remains were found: a male, a female, and several bones of a child.
In 1939 they were sent to Leningrad, where scientists from the Institute of Anthropology established that one of the three skeletons belonged to Yaroslav the Wise.
However, it remained a mystery to whom the other remains belonged and how they got there. According to one version, the only wife of Yaroslav, the Scandinavian princess Ingegerde, rested in the tomb. But who was Yaroslav the child buried with him? With the advent of DNA technology, the question of opening the tomb arose again.
The relics of Yaroslav - the most ancient of the surviving remains of the Rurik family, had to "answer" several questions. The main one of which: the genus of Rurikovich - Scandinavians or all the same Slavs?
On September 10, 2009, looking at the pale anthropologist Sergei Szegeda, the employees of the St. Sophia Cathedral Museum realized that things were bad. The remains of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise disappeared, and in their place lay a completely different skeleton and the Pravda newspaper from 1964.
The riddle of the appearance of the newspaper was quickly solved. She was forgotten by Soviet specialists, the last ones who worked with bones.
But with the "self-proclaimed" relics, the situation was more complicated. It turned out that these were female remains, and from two skeletons dating from completely different times! Who these women are, how their remains ended up in the sarcophagus, and where Yaroslav himself disappeared, still remains a mystery.
Where did the Muslim script come from on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky?
On the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, in addition to diamonds and rubies, there is an Arabic script, the 3rd verse of the 61st sura of the Koran: "Rejoice the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory."
In the course of countless checks and examinations, it was found that the “Erichon Hat” was forged in the East (where the Arabic inscriptions come from) in the 17th century.
Then, with an opportunity, the helmet ended up with Mikhail Fedorovich, where he underwent “Christian tuning”. The helmet was mistakenly attributed to Nevsky, but because of this mistake it was on the coat of arms of the Russian Empire along with other royal "hats".
Interestingly, the Arabic script also adorned the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other well-born people of medieval Rus'. Of course, we can say that these were trophies. But it is difficult to imagine that the regulated Ivan IV put a used helmet on his crowned head. Moreover, in use by the "basurman". The question of why the noble prince wore a helmet with Islamic inscriptions still remains open.
Why did an eagle appear on the seal of Ivan III?
The double-headed eagle in Russia first appeared on the state seal of Grand Duke Ivan III in 1497. Historians almost categorically claim that the eagle in Rus' appeared with the light hand of Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor and the wife of Ivan III.
But why the Grand Duke decided to use the eagle only two decades later, no one explains.
Interestingly, it was at the same time in Western Europe that the double-headed eagle became fashionable among alchemists. The authors of alchemical works put the eagle on their books as a sign of quality. The double-headed eagle meant that the author received the Philosopher's Stone, capable of turning metals into gold. The fact that Ivan III gathered around him foreign architects, engineers, doctors, who probably practiced then fashionable alchemy, indirectly proves that the tsar had an idea about the essence of the “feathered” symbol.
Did Ivan the Terrible kill his son?
The murder of his heir by Ivan Vasilyevich is a very controversial fact. So, in 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Studies have made it possible to assert that Tsarevich John was poisoned. The content of poison in his remains is many times higher than allowable rate. Interestingly, the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilyevich.
Scientists have concluded that the royal family had been the victim of poisoners for several decades.
Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. This version was followed, for example, by the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Seeing the famous painting by Repin at the exhibition, he was outraged and wrote to Emperor Alexander III: “You can’t call the painting historical, since this moment is ... purely fantastic.”
The version of the murder was based on the stories of the papal legate Antonio Possevino, who can hardly be called a disinterested person.
Why did Ivan the Terrible move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda?
Grozny's move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda was an unprecedented event in Russian history. In fact, Alexandrovskaya Sloboda became the capital of Russia for almost 20 years. Here Ivan the Terrible began to establish the first international relations after centuries of isolation, conclude important trade and political agreements, and receive embassies of European powers.
Grozny moved there the first printing house in Russia, where Andronik Timofeev and Nikifor Tarasiev, the disciples of the first printer Ivan Fedorov, worked, who printed many books and even the first leaflets in it.
The best architects, icon painters, and musicians came to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda after the sovereign. A book-writing workshop worked at the court, and a prototype of the first conservatory was created.
The tsarist diplomats were ordered to explain to foreigners that the Russian tsar went to the “village” of his own free will “for his own coolness”, that his residence in the “village” is located near Moscow, therefore the tsar “rules his state both in Moscow and in Sloboda”.
Why did Grozny decide to move? Most likely, the monastic brotherhood in Sloboda was formed in the wake of the conflict between Ivan IV and Metropolitan Philip. The head of the church denounced the unrighteous life of the king. The presence in Sloboda of the monastic brotherhood showed with their own eyes to everyone that the sovereign was leading the life of a saint. Ivan the Terrible did not particularly flirt with his brotherhood. In 1570-1571, some brothers were stabbed to death or hanged on the gates of their own house, others were drowned or thrown into prison.
Where did Ivan the Terrible's library go?
According to legend, Ivan the Terrible, after his move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, brought the library with him. Another hypothesis says that John hid it in some kind of reliable Kremlin cache. But be that as it may, after the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the library disappeared.
There are many versions of the loss. First: priceless manuscripts burned down in one of the Moscow fires. The second: during the occupation of Moscow, the Poles took the "liberia" to the West and sold it in parts there.
According to the third version, the Poles really found the library, but in the conditions of hunger, they ate it there in the Kremlin.
The library was searched for a long time, but in vain. The search for "liberia" was carried out in the 20th century. However, academician Dmitry Likhachev said that the legendary library is hardly of great value.
Why did Ivan the Terrible abdicate?
In 1575, Ivan the Terrible abdicated and placed Simeon Bekbulatovich, a serving Tatar khan, on the throne. Contemporaries did not understand the meaning of the monarch's undertaking. A rumor spread that the sovereign was frightened by the prediction of magicians. The news of this was preserved by one of the later chroniclers: “But the netsyi say that for this they planted (Simeon), that the sorcerers told him that in that year there would be a change: the Moscow tsar would die.”
The autocrat received warnings of this kind from sorcerers and astrologers more than once.
Ivan began to call himself "serf Ivashka." But it is significant that the power of the "serf" for some reason continued to spread to the lands of the former Kazan Khanate, where Ivan retained the title of king.
Most likely, Ivan was afraid that, being under the rule of a real Chingizid, the citizens of Kazan would perhaps perk up, they would incite Simeon to revolt. Of course, Simeon was not a real king, the uncertainty of his position was aggravated by the fact that he occupied the royal throne, but received only the grand ducal title instead of the royal one.
In the third month of Simeon's reign, the Terrible told the English ambassador that he would be able to take the rank again when he pleased, and would do as God instructed him, because Simeon had not yet been approved by the wedding ceremony and had not been appointed by popular choice, but only by his consent.
Simeon's reign lasted 11 months, after which Ivan dismisses him, generously rewards Tver and Torzhok, where Simeon dies in 1616, having taken monasticism before his death. For almost a year Grozny carried out his strange experiment.
Was False Dmitry "false"
We have already come to terms with the fact that False Dmitry I is a fugitive monk Grishka Otrepyev. The idea that “it was easier to save than to fake Demetrius” was expressed by the famous Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov.
And indeed, it looks very surreal that at first Dmitry (with the prefix “false”) was recognized by his own mother, princes, boyars in front of all honest people, and after a while, everyone suddenly saw the light.
The pathological situation is added by the fact that the prince himself was completely convinced of his naturalness, as contemporaries wrote about.
Either this is schizophrenia, or he had reasons. Checking the "originality" of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich, at least today, is not possible.
Who killed Tsarevich Dmitry?
If Dmitry did die, what caused his death? At noon on May 25, 1591, the prince threw knives with other children who were part of his retinue. In the materials of the investigation into the death of the son of Ivan the Terrible, there is evidence of one youth who played with the prince: “... the prince played de poking with a knife with them in the backyard, and a disease came upon him - an epileptic ailment - and attacked the knife."
In fact, these testimonies became the main argument for the investigators to qualify the death of Dmitry Ioannovich as an accident.
However, the official version still does not suit historians. The death of the last sovereign from the Rurik dynasty opened the way to the kingdom of Boris Godunov, who was actually the ruler of the country while Fyodor Ivanovich was still alive. By that time, Godunov had gained a reputation among the people as the “murderer of the prince”, but this did not bother him much. Through cunning manipulations, he was nevertheless elected king
Peter I was replaced?
Many Russian boyars were in this belief after the return of Peter I from a 15-month tour of Europe. And the point here was not only in the new royal "outfit".
Particularly attentive persons found inconsistencies of a physiological nature: firstly, the king grew significantly, and, secondly, his facial features changed, and, thirdly, his leg size became much smaller.
Rumors spread throughout Muscovy about the substitution of the sovereign.
According to one version, Peter was "put into the wall", and instead of him they sent an impostor with a similar face to Rus'. According to another - "the king in the Germans was laid in a barrel and put into the sea." Fuel to the fire was added by the fact that Peter, who had returned from Europe, began a large-scale destruction of "old Russian antiquities."
There were also rumors that the tsar was replaced in infancy: “The sovereign is not of Russian breed, and not Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich’s son; taken in infancy from a German settlement, from a foreign exchange. The queen gave birth to a princess, and instead of the princess they took Evo, sovereign, and gave the princess instead of Evo.
To whom did Peter I bequeath power?
Peter I died without having time to appoint an heir. After him, the throne was taken by Catherine I, and then followed by a long political leapfrog, called the era of palace coups. In 1812, after the collapse of the Napoleonic invasion, it became known about a certain “Testament of Peter I”.
In 1836 it was published, however, in French. In the will, Peter allegedly called on his successors to wage constant wars with Europe, divide Poland, conquer India and neutralize Turkey. In general, to achieve complete and final hegemony in Eurasia.
The credibility of the document was given by some of the “covenants” already fulfilled, for example, the partition of Poland. But, at the end of the 19th century, the document was carefully studied and found to be fake.
Who was Paul I?
Emperor Paul I unwittingly continued the tradition of generating rumors around the Romanov dynasty. Immediately after the birth of the heir, rumors spread around the court, and then throughout Russia, that the real father of Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov.
This was indirectly confirmed by Catherine II, who in her memoirs recalled how Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, so that the dynasty would not die out, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, regardless of who would be his genetic father. There is also a folk legend about the birth of Paul I: according to her, Catherine gave birth to a dead child from Peter, and he was replaced by a certain "Chukhonian" boy.
When did Alexander I die?
There is a legend that Alexander the First left the royal throne, having faked his own death, and went to wander around Rus' under the name of Fyodor Kuzmich. There are several indirect confirmations of this legend.
So, the witnesses concluded that on his deathbed, Alexander was categorically not like himself.
In addition, for unclear reasons, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, the wife of the Tsar, did not participate in the mourning ceremony.
The famous Russian lawyer Anatoly Koni conducted a thorough comparative study of the handwriting of the emperor and Fyodor Kuzmich and came to the conclusion that "the letters of the emperor and the notes of the wanderer were written by the same person."
Alexander Nevsky is a very bright historical figure who did a lot for the greatness of Rus'. Having entered the principality at a rather difficult time, he managed not only to preserve the territories entrusted to him, but also to strengthen relations with the Golden Horde, and also to fight the crusaders on All these facts are well known, but besides this, there are many secrets and mysteries around the prince canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church disturbing the minds of historians and archaeologists. Most of all, scientists are concerned about the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, which looks very unusual for Slavic culture. Although until now this item stored in was considered a genuine element of the military uniforms of the Grand Duke, scientists have expressed several different versions of its origin. Today we will try to unravel the mystery that has been kept by the helmet of Alexander Nevsky for many centuries.
Helmet description
The helmet of Alexander Nevsky, whose photo can be seen on the pages of school history textbooks, has been kept in the Armory for many years. It is one of her most precious treasures. And it really does look very impressive. Approximately it dates from the thirteenth century, but it is known that in the seventeenth centuries the helmet underwent some alteration and received additional decorations.
The helmet of Alexander Nevsky is made of reddish iron and has a semicircular shape. It is covered with gold and silver ornate ornaments, around the entire circumference of the helmet is decorated with precious stones and pearls. A skilled court craftsman placed more than two hundred rubies, almost a hundred diamonds and ten emeralds on it. On the nose of the helmet there is a lacquer miniature depicting the Archangel Michael, and royal crowns and an Orthodox cross are engraved around the perimeter. But this is not what makes the museum exhibit so unique, the whole mystery lies in the inscription printed around the pointed top. Do you want to know what is written on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky? You will be very surprised, because the inscription is made in Arabic and contains a verse from the Koran. Why is there Arabic script on Alexander Nevsky's helmet? How could an Orthodox prince wear armor with inscriptions of the Gentiles? Let's try to uncover this mystery a little.
What is written on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky?
So what secret does this historical artifact keep? As we have already mentioned, scientists have studied the helmet of Alexander Nevsky for a very long time. (the photo we have given in this article) was translated quite easily, and their coincidence with the Koran was known in ancient times. The following is written in a beautiful pattern on the helmet of the Russian prince: "Rejoice the faithful with the promise of God's help and a speedy victory."
It is worth noting that this verse is very popular among Muslims. It is considered one of the main verses of the Quran. With what intent did the master put it on the helmet of the Russian prince? This mystery is yet to be unraveled.
Mysteries of Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky is an extraordinary personality of his time. Being the son of Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodich, he appears before his descendants as a wise and far-sighted ruler who managed to establish relations with the Golden Horde, and even influence its foreign policy.
Surprisingly, this strange friendship with the Tatars raised many questions even among the contemporaries of the prince. At one time there were even rumors that Alexander Nevsky was the son of Batu Khan. Most likely, this legend was born from the fact that the prince visited the Horde four times in his entire life and called Sartak, the son of Batu, his named brother. It is known that in the horde, Prince Alexander dreamed of creating a stronghold of a Christian state and even persuaded Sartak to accept Orthodoxy. This extraordinary influence and friendship between peoples could explain where the Arabic script on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky came from, if not for one "but". It is hard to imagine that the Russian prince went into battle for Rus' in armor with inscriptions in Arabic and Orthodox symbols. It was simply not possible at the time. In addition, Russian craftsmen could not forge this product, which so ideally coincides with all the traditions of oriental forging. Where, then, did this helmet come from and who is its author?
The master who forged the helmet: who is he?
Scientists have been arguing for a long time about who forged the helmet of Alexander Nevsky. The Arabic inscriptions seemed to point quite clearly to its Eastern origin. But with regard to history, one should never be so sure of anything.
In Rus', blacksmithing was quite developed, Slavic masters often even taught this craft to representatives of various peoples. Therefore, it is not surprising that Russian armor turned out to be very durable and skillfully made. But it was not customary to decorate them with Arabic script. Yes, and how can this be possible - after all, in the thirteenth century, the Tatar-Mongol yoke dominated Russia. Then why is the inscription on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky made in Arabic? Scientists have made several assumptions about this.
According to one of them, the helmet was a gift from the Khan of the Golden Horde to the Russian prince, symbolizing friendship and respect. The received gift Alexander Nevsky did not disregard and put it on every military campaign. It is likely that the helmet was created in Sarai-Batu, the capital of the Golden Horde. This version has the right to exist, because it has been proven that the Khan's warriors never killed skilled craftsmen. They remained to live in the capital of the Horde and produced simply real masterpieces of art. Foreign craftsmen made excellent jewelry, wonderful weapons and, of course, armor.
If we stick to this version, then only one question arises - why does the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, made by oriental craftsmen, contain Orthodox symbols? Here scientists had to seriously break their heads before they put forward a new hypothesis.
The historical value of the helmet
The helmet of Alexander Nevsky, whose Arabic inscriptions raise so many questions, played a very significant role in the history of the Russian state. In the seventeenth century, it was presented to Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as a gift. Funds from the royal treasury were allocated for its decoration, and as a result of the work of the court master Nikita Danilov, he gained unprecedented luxury.
From that moment on, the helmet became an indispensable attribute of the Russian tsars. And in the middle of the nineteenth century, it was even placed on the coat of arms of the state. Scientists believe that such an unprecedented attachment of the Romanovs to this subject is explained quite simply - it meant the continuity of the Romanov dynasty, who became rulers after the Rurikovichs. This is what made the ancient helmet so important and significant, as if it asserted a new royal power. The helmet decorated with precious stones was called the "Ericho cap of the king
Jericho hats: the meaning of the name
The Armory houses several Jericho hats. They are helmets worn by Russian princes. These products always had a formal appearance and numerous decorations. Historians believe that these items were not so much used in battles as they served as attributes in parades or during palace rituals.
The origin of the name of these "caps" is interesting. The fact is that the Russian tsars associated themselves with Jesus and the victory over Jericho. They considered themselves the governors of the highest forces on earth and in battles were ready to crush any enemy who encroached on Rus'. In order to intimidate the enemy, inspire their army and give significance to their person, ceremonial helmets, nicknamed "Ericho caps", were put on.
An interesting fact is that the very first Ericho hat, which is the most ancient, is also the most expensive. Its value exceeds the prices of five other similar items combined.
The mystery of Alexander Nevsky's helmet
History, as you know, often throws scientists more riddles than riddles. Therefore, it is not surprising that many archaeological finds turn out to be completely different from what they were originally taken for. Unfortunately, a similar story happened with the helmet of Alexander Nevsky.
In the mid-twentieth century, technology reached such a level that they could accurately indicate the date of manufacture of an item. The famous helmet, which haunted historians with its uniqueness, was also subjected to research. After much manipulation, it was found that the version of the helmet belonging to Alexander Nevsky is just a legend. Experts have determined that the item was made in the seventeenth century, almost four hundred years after the death of Prince Alexander.
Surprisingly, this did not make it easier for scientists to determine the master who made the helmet and its purpose. The mysteries continued to multiply.
Controversy over the origin of the helmet
Interestingly, the research of scientists did not put an end to the history of the helmet. Many experts continue to argue that it still belonged to Alexander Nevsky, and the laboratory assistants simply made a mistake in the calculations.
Their main argument is the fact that the Romanovs would not turn an unknown helmet that has no historical value into a relic and depict it on the state emblem. Of course, there is still a grain of truth in these arguments. It is hard to imagine that the newly-made king spent so much money on decorating an ordinary helmet with Arabic inscriptions, and then began to use it as the main festive paraphernalia.
No matter how attractive this story is in the eyes of patriots who stand up for sensational discoveries, we cannot refute serious scientific research and will focus on them in the article.
Versions about the appearance of Mikhail Fedorovich's Erichon cap
If we take as a basis the version that the helmet appeared at the court of the king only in the seventeenth century, then discovering the secret of its origin is no less interesting than learning about its master. Most historians are inclined to believe that the oriental helmet was a gift from a very important person.
Perhaps he was a diplomatic gift, which the king simply could not accept. But how to put on a helmet with a foreign inscription? This question, most likely, seriously disturbed Mikhail Fedorovich. In those days, there were enough educated people at the court who owned several foreign languages. Therefore, the assumption that the king did not know about the translation of the inscription is simply ridiculous.
Many experts are inclined to the version according to which Romanov found the best way out of a rather delicate situation - he ordered to decorate the item with Orthodox symbols, which diverted attention from the inscription in Arabic, and turned the dangerous gift into the property of the state.
Of course, this is just another version, but it is quite plausible and does not go beyond historical events.
Mysterious East: a mixture of two cultures
The explanations of the origin of the inscription on the helmet kept in the Armory given in this article are proven scientific facts. But one mystery of the Arabic inscriptions still remained - Russian weapons, various objects, and even Orthodox church paraphernalia were often inscribed with Arabic script. It seems incredible, but the facts speak for themselves - the Arab and Slavic cultures were very closely interconnected.
The Armory has enough copies of weapons, on which various phrases in Arabic are engraved. Moreover, all these weapons are not trophy, they were made either by Slavic craftsmen, or received as a gift. But the amount of these items is simply amazing.
Many historians have even put forward a rather bold hypothesis that in ancient times Arabic was used as a church language. This allows us to approve the bishop's headdress, on which there is a beautiful gem with an Arabic inscription. Many such finds have been made by archaeologists.
Of course, neither the scientific world nor the Orthodox Church officially recognize this fact, because it can completely change the idea of Russian history.
Conclusion
But what about the real helmet of Alexander Nevsky? Where is he located? It might upset you, but it hasn't been found yet. Therefore, archaeologists and historians have every chance to someday touch the real helmet, which belonged to the great son of Yaroslav Fedorovich.
One should not think that rare and very expensive helmets were found and are found only abroad. And even more so, it is stupid to consider in their findings some kind of belittling of our Russian culture. Well, there was no Roman culture on our lands, the Romans did not come here. Therefore, there are no Roman helmets in our archaeological finds, even the most tasteless ones. They reached England, and they reached France. But beyond the Rhine, again, they were not, so a clear boundary of the finds is fixed - the Rhine River - and here the Romans, and here - the "wild Germans". But after the baptism of Rus', its spiritual development went in the same direction of European civilization, the same swords from Europe appeared, but, of course, their own local products, which were no worse than Western and Scandinavian ones. And just the helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of these products. This is an ancient Russian helmet, which is dated to the second half of the 12th or the first half of the 13th century. It is located in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.
Russian soldiers had good costumes in the movie "Alexander Nevsky"!
According to the typology of the Russian scientist A.N. Kirpichnikov belongs to type IV. He also noted that the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of the first finds, from which "the study began not only, but in general of Russian antiquities."
A copy of the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. (State Historical Museum, original in the Kremlin Armory in Moscow)
Well, they found it quite by accident, and quite a long time ago. It so happened that a peasant woman A. Larionova from the village of Lykova, located near the city of Yuryev-Podolsky, in the autumn of 1808, “being in a bush for plucking nuts, saw something luminous near a walnut bush in a tussock.” It was a helmet that lay on top of chain mail, and both she and the helmet itself were badly rusted. The peasant woman took her find to the village headman, and he saw a holy image on the helmet and handed it over to the bishop. He, in turn, sent it to Alexander I himself, and he handed it over to the president of the Academy of Arts A.N. Olenin.
A.N. Olenin. He was the first to study the helmet, which is now officially called the "helmet from Lykovo" ...
He began to study the helmet and suggested that the helmet, along with chain mail, belonged to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and were hidden by him during his flight from the battle of Lipica in 1216. He found the name Theodore on the helmet, and this was the name of Prince Yaroslav, given to him at baptism. And Olenin suggested that the prince removed both the chain mail and the helmet so that they would not interfere with his flight. Indeed, from the Laurentian Chronicle, we know that Prince Yaroslav, when he was defeated, fled to Pereyaslavl, where he arrived only on the fifth horse, and drove four horses along the way. His brother Yuri was also in a hurry to escape from the scene of the battle so that he arrived in Vladimir only on the fourth horse, and the chronicle emphasized that he was "in the first shirt, lining and threw out you." That is, in one underwear, poor fellow, he galloped, in such a fear.
Unfortunately, the crown of the helmet has been preserved in a very poor condition - in the form of only two large fragments, which makes it impossible to determine its exact shape and design. It is generally accepted that it had a shape close to ellipsoidal.
Drawing from a pre-revolutionary book about Russian antiquities...
Outside, the surface of the helmet was covered with a silver sheet and gilded silver lining, with chased images of the image of the Almighty, as well as Saints George, Basil and Theodore. The forehead plate bore the image of the image of the Archangel Michael and the inscription: “Look at the Archangel Michael, help your servant Theodore.” The edge of the helmet is decorated with a gilded border covered with an ornament.
In general, one can speak of the high artistic skill of the manufacturers of this helmet, their technical skill and good taste. In its design, pre-revolutionary Russian historians saw Norman motifs, but the Soviet ones preferred to compare them with the white stone carvings of the temples of Vladimir-Suzdal. Historian B.A. Kolchin believed that the crown of the helmet was solid forged and made of iron or low-carbon steel using stamping, after which a knockout followed, and this distinguishes it from other similar products of this time. For some reason, the half-mask of the helmet covers part of the inscription made around the perimeter of the icon, which allows us to assert that at first it was not there, but was added later.
According to A.N. Kirpichnikov, this helmet was remade at least three times and that it had owners before Prince Yaroslav. And at first he could not have any decorations. Then silver linings were riveted to it. And only after that, his pommel and half mask were added to it.
Historian K.A. Zhukov notes that the helmet did not have lower cutouts for the eyes. But, in his opinion, the helmet was not subjected to alteration, but was immediately made with a half mask. The author of the article “The Helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich” N.V. Chebotarev points to the place where his forehead icon joins the half-mask, and draws attention to the fact that for some reason it covers part of the inscription framing the icon, which, in general, should not be.
His drawing, made in pre-revolutionary times.
After all, if the helmet were made by one master and, so to speak, at a time, then there is no doubt that then the inscription on the icon would correspond to the place of its placement. But it could also be that the half-mask was temporarily removed from the helmet in order to fix the icon on it, as if it were not measured in size, and then “by virtue of tradition” to hope “at random”, they decided that ... “it will do.”
For some reason, Alexander has two helmets in the film. Moreover, he wears them during the action SIMULTANEOUSLY. The difference is that the second one has a half mask with a sharp nose! So to speak, he has a "more combative look."
In any case, the shape of this helmet with a forehead icon and a half-mask is reflected in art. It was such a helmet (and in two versions!) that was put on the head of his hero by director Sergei Eisenstein in the feature film Alexander Nevsky. Sets of postcards with the image of Prince Alexander in this helmet were printed in thousands of copies, so it is not surprising that for a long time everyone thought that the “movie helmet” was made according to the model of a real one, although in fact it was not at all like that.
Turkish helmet of the early 17th century. from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Pay attention to how much it looks like old Russian helmets. It is clear that this is not due to the fact that the “Rus-Horde-Ataman Empire” (namely “Atamanskaya”, because “atamans”, that is, “military leaders”, that is, princes / kagans are chieftains!). It's just that the form is rational, that's all. Even the Assyrians had such helmets, and that they are also Slavs? And then a visor was added to such helmets, an “arrow-nose”, which could be raised up and down, “headphones”, a back pad and it turned out ... a “Ericho hat” or as this helmet was called in the West - “eastern burgignot” (burgonet).
Western European burgonet in oriental style. End of the 16th century Made in Augsburg. Weight 1976 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
The second helmet, again attributed to Alexander Nevsky, is also an exhibit of the Kremlin Armory, and not just an exhibit, but one of the most famous and famous!
Officially, it is called the "Erichon cap of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich" - that is, the same Mikhail Romanov, who just became the founder ... of the royal house of the Romanovs. And why is it considered the helmet of the noble prince Alexander Yaroslavich? It’s just that in the 19th century there was a legend that the helmet of Tsar Mikhail was a remake of the helmet of Alexander Nevsky. That's all!
Where this legend came from is not entirely clear. In any case, when the Great Emblem of the Russian Empire was approved in 1857, its coat of arms was crowned with the image of the “helmet of Prince Alexander”.
However, it is quite obvious that this helmet could not be made in Rus' in the 13th century. However, to prove that it was made at the beginning of the 17th century was finally able only after the Great Patriotic War, when historians had the appropriate technologies in their hands. That is, everything that somehow connects this helmet with the name of Alexander Nevsky is just a legend and nothing more.
Well, what is this helmet all the same, the candidate outlined in detail historical sciences S. Akhmedov in the article "Helmet by Nikita Davydov". In his opinion, this helmet is made in the Eastern tradition, although along with the Arabic inscription it also has Orthodox symbols. By the way, very similar helmets are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and it is known for sure that they are ... from Turkey!
In the “Antiquities of the Russian State, published by the Highest Command” (1853), from which the lithograph cited here is taken, the following translation of the 13th Ayat of 61 Sura is given: “Help from God and a near victory and build [this] blessing to the faithful ". 61 The surah is called Sura As-Saff ("Rows"). Surah sent down in Medina. It consists of 14 Ayats. At the very beginning of the Surah, it is said that Allah is praised both in heaven and on earth. And whatever he wants, so that all those who believe in him rally and become like one hand. In it, Musa and Isa stigmatize the sons of Israel, declare them stubborn infidels and accuse them of wanting to extinguish the light of the faith of Allah. In the same sura, Allah promises to make his religion above all others, even if this is not to the liking of the pagan polytheists. At the very end of the Sura, believers are called to fight for faith in Allah, to defend his religion, so that they sacrifice both their property and even their lives. And as an example, the apostles are given, who were followers of Isa, the son of Maryam.
13 Ayat:
وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
One of the translations of this verse is as follows:
“There will be something else that you love: help from Allah and a close victory. Tell the good news to the believers!”;
“And another thing that you love: help from Allah and a close victory. And rejoice the believers!”;
“And also for you, O believers, another favor that you love: help from Allah and a near victory, the blessing of which you will enjoy. Please, O Muhammad, the believers with this reward!
And the question is, how could the Russian master Nikita Davydov make such a helmet (in about 1621), and even being Orthodox, write on it in Arabic: “Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory”?
In the income and expenditure book of the Armory Order dated December 18, 1621, there is such an entry: “The Sovereign’s salary of the Armory Order to the self-made master Nikita Davydov is polar (the following is a list of fabrics that must be given to the master), and the sovereign granted him for the fact that he and the crowns, and targets, and naushi pointed with gold. That is, he trimmed with gold a certain helmet given to him for decoration, and for that he received payment in kind from the sovereign.
Drawings of the helmet from the book "Antiquities of the Russian State, published by the Highest Command" (1853). Then this is how information about the cultural values of the Russian Empire was presented! Front, back view.
Side view.
That is, it was not Nikita Davydov himself who made it, but only decorated it. And it was necessary to decorate it, because it was a clear gift to the king from the East. It is possible that a gift directly from the sovereign, which must be accepted. But how to wear it if you are an Orthodox tsar, and quotes from the Koran are written on the helmet. It is impossible to offend the eastern ruler by refusing his gift. But the subjects… they are like that… Grishka Otrepyev was recognized as an impostor because he didn’t sleep after dinner, didn’t like to go to the bathhouse, and it’s even embarrassing to say such a thing - “he loved roast veal.” And then there are the words from the book of the "nasty" on the head of the king ... The Orthodox people simply will not understand this, they will also raise a riot.
Notched jewelry.
That is why Nikita Danilov was invited to bring this helmet into a "usable form." So on the nose arrow of the helmet there was a miniature figurine of the Archangel Michael made of colored enamels. On the dome, the master, with the help of a notch, “stuffed” golden crowns, and at the very top, that is, on the pommel, he strengthened the golden cross. True, he did not survive, but it is known that he was.
Inside view.
And this, by the way, is far from the first case when weapons from the East found new owners in Rus'. From the East, the sabers of Mstislavsky (his helmet, by the way, is also eastern, Turkish!), Minin and Pozharsky, stored in the same Armory and containing oriental hallmarks and inscriptions in Arabic script, came to Russia from the East.
P.S. That's how interesting life is. I wrote this material by order of one of the regular readers of VO. But in the process of work, I encountered a number of “interesting moments” that formed the basis for continuing the topic, so…
To be continued…
Secrets like to surround not only living beings, but also inanimate objects. Especially if this is the history of Muscovy, sewn with threads of lies and beads of myths. The helmet of Alexander Nevsky, which is stored in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin, is from this number.
Such a headdress crowned the head of the Moscow ruler. Everything in it is mixed to the heap: red iron, a shape in the form of a dome of a temple, the image of Archangel Michael the Archangel on the bow arrow, a gold notch, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls ... And suddenly - Arabic script! On the helmet, as it were, of an Orthodox prince! What is this? 13th verse of the 61st sura of the Qur'an: "Rejoice the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory."
Russian myth-makers and collectors will find an explanation for everything. In the horizon of their own erudition, experience, dreams, obsessions... They love logic. The logic of primary school teachers explaining to schoolchildren the impossibility of the existence of ghosts.
According to legend, Nevsky's helmet was reforged in the 17th century especially for Mikhail Fedorovich, the first tsar from the Romanovs (the German rulers of the Moscow kyshtym). The court master Nikita Danilov added precious stones to it. The updated helmet was named "Erichon cap of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich". There was no modernization here - it was customary to call helmets in Muscovy because the Muscovite monarchs, suffering from an inferiority complex since the time of Ivan the Terrible, liked to compare themselves with Joshua, the Old Testament Jewish king who took Jericho.
In the 20th century, historians did not believe in the legend, doubting that the helmet once belonged to Alexander Nevsky. Having subjected the damask headdress to countless examinations and analyses, scientists came to the conclusion that the “Erichon Hat” was forged in the East (where the Arabic inscriptions come from) in the 17th century. Then, with an opportunity, the helmet ended up with Mikhail Fedorovich, where he underwent “Christian tuning”.
True, no one explains why the king did not order to remove the "basurman letter"? Was it because of negligence that he wore a symbol, as Russians say today, “chock”? Hardly. Out of ignorance? Hardly. The royal court was always crowded with Tatars familiar with Arabic calligraphy.
Interestingly, the Arabic script also adorned the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other well-born people of medieval Muscovy. Of course, we can say that these were trophies. Yeah, of course, tributaries of the Golden Horde with trophies :-) It can be assumed that Ivan IV put a used helmet on his head. Moreover, in use by the "basurman" ... After all, the Moscow ruler appropriated the Byzantine chicken, why not vilify the helmet from his masters?
Of course, the royal owners of the “Ericho hats” knew the origin and translation of the “Arabic patterns”. And at the same time they showed tolerance for the presence on their own helmets. Perhaps, the engraved suras from the Koran were given some magical properties - a sort of "graphic" Jericho trumpet, destroying the walls of fortresses not with sound, but with letters. But, the most likely clue to the Muslim helmet of the Moscow rulers is that in Muscovy in the Middle Ages the dominant religion was a kind of mix of Byzantine Orthodoxy and Islam and the obedience of the Moscow princes to the Horde rulers.
Ericho hat
The appearance of the helmet is very remarkable. It is forged from red iron and covered with floral gold ornaments. It contains 95 diamonds, 228 rubies and 10 emeralds, crowns with crosses are engraved with gold on three sides. Above the front latch that protects the nose, there is an image of the Archangel Michael.
The Arabic inscription is the 13th verse of the 61st sura of the Koran and is translated as follows: ""Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and an early victory." Even without a thorough examination, it is noticeable that Christian images on the helmet appeared later than this inscription - some of them are slightly placed on top of it.
In the surviving inventory of the royal armory treasury dated 1687, the helmet is called the “Erichon cap” with the addition “Miki-tin of the Davydov case”. That is, the creator of the headdress is the master Nikita Davydov, who worked in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin from 1613 to 1664. In other historical documents, it is noted that the helmet was presented as a gift to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the first of the Romanov dynasty, and the date of this event is mentioned - 1621.
But why is Alexander Nevsky, who lived much earlier, in the 13th century, called the owner of the headdress?
Death of the Grand Duke
The historians of the Russian Empire referred to a legend according to which the hat of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in Ericho was reforged from the helmet of the holy Grand Duke.
In 1262, in the Russian cities of Vladimir, Suzdal, Rostov and Yaroslavl, uprisings began against the Tatar-Mongol rule, during which the Horde tax-farmers were killed. At the same time, Khan Berke, who was preparing to fight Iran, announced a military recruitment among the inhabitants of Russia. Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich, having transferred power to his sons, went to the Khan to settle both major political issues.
His visit dragged on for almost a year. The prince managed to persuade the khan not to destroy the rebellious cities and refuse to call up Russian soldiers. But while in the Horde, Alexander Yaroslavich fell ill (according to some reports, he was poisoned). On the way back, he reached Gorodets Volzhsky (or Meshchersky) not far from Nizhny Novgorod, and there he died in the Fedorovsky Monastery in the autumn of 1263, having accepted the schema under the name Alexy before his death. His body was transported and buried in the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin in Vladimir (in 1724, the relics of the holy prince, by order of Peter I, were reburied in St. Petersburg).
Further, there is some inconsistency in the legend - because, according to legend, the helmet of the Grand Duke was transported to Moscow and later ended up in the Armory. Although Moscow only 100 years after the death of Alexander Nevsky became the center of the Russian state, and the Armory was first mentioned in documents as the Armory Order in general only in 1547!
Where all this time the helmet of the Grand Duke was located is unknown. But this legend was actively supported by representatives of the royal house of the Romanovs. This was done immediately for two reasons: firstly, the headdress of Alexander Yaroslavich, remade for Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, symbolized the continuity of two dynasties - the Rurikovich and the Romanovs. And secondly, the thing that once belonged to Alexander Nevsky, canonized in 1547 and became a saint, in the eyes of the people, undoubtedly, left an imprint of holiness on its subsequent owners.
Artist on the order
No documents about the fate of the things of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich have been preserved. Russian historians for a long time adhered to the version that the helmet could be kept in the Fedorovsky Monastery - since in Rus', when accepting the schema, all personal property had to be given to the temple - and several centuries later it was transferred to the Armory Order.
Until the middle of the 19th century, it was believed that the helmet was forged in the Golden Horde, and the Arabic inscription was explained by the close ties of Alexander Nevsky with its rulers. Once his father, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, gave his young son to be raised by Khan Batu - this was one of the conditions for Yaroslav's approval for a great reign. Alexander grew up in a khan's family and even became a blood brother with Sartak, the son of Batu, so he undoubtedly knew the meaning of the Arabic inscription.
The assertion that the Ericho hat once belonged to the holy prince seemed indisputable, and its image fell not only on the large coat of arms of the Russian Empire, but also on the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky established in 1725. The badge of the award was a cross, in the center of which was a round medallion with the image of a prince on a horse. The figure was very small, due to which the facial features came out undeveloped, but the helmet turned out to be very recognizable.
After the October Revolution, this award was abolished, but in 1942 it was established again - to reward the highest command personnel. The sketch was developed by the artist Ivan Telyatnikov. Since there were no lifetime images of Alexander Nevsky preserved, he recreated on the order the image created by the artist Nikolai Cherkasov in the 1938 film directed by Sergei Eisenstein "Alexander Nevsky". Accordingly, the helmet of the Grand Duke became different, such as in the film, with a large forehead icon and without an Islamic inscription.
Arabic as a second church language?
In the middle of the 19th century, historians came to the unanimous conclusion that the cap of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in Erichon was not the headdress of Alexander Nevsky and was created in the 17th century (already in Soviet times, this fact was confirmed by a thorough scientific examination). But the scientists of the Russian Empire did not want such a striking example of weapons art to be considered the creation of foreign masters. The exhibit of the Armory was named "Damask helmet made by Nikita Davydov" and dated - 1621. The Islamic inscription was explained by the fact that at the beginning of the 17th century the Arabic language was used in Rus' for some rituals and as a second church language.
At the same time, the researchers referred to a huge number of weapons and jewelry stored in various museums, which are inscribed with Arabic inscriptions. For example, on one of the richly inlaid sabers there is an Islamic saying that can be translated as "In the name of God, the good and the merciful." On the helmet of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, also called the Jericho hat because of its shape, the Arabic words “Allah Muhammad” are repeated seven times around the circumference. An Islamic inscription is even present on the Orthodox bishop's miter, which is kept in the museum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - it is placed under a precious stone located next to the Orthodox cross.
Soviet researchers of the middle of the 20th century (in particular, F.Ya. Mishutin and L.V. Pisarevskaya) adhered to a similar point of view: the helmet of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was made by the Russian master Nikita Davydov, and the Islamic inscription was made based on the military and religious traditions. But if we accept the version of Arabic as the second ecclesiastical language, why is there no Cyrillic inscription on the helmet referring to the main ecclesiastical language? And most importantly - why is there a quote not from the Bible, but from the Koran on the headdress?
canvas for work
The colorful album "The State Armory" (authors I.A. Bobrovnitskaya, L.P. Kirillova and others, published in 1990) provides a different point of view. Researchers believe that Russian masters of the 17th century simply copied oriental weapons along with the inscriptions on them. In their opinion, the helmet, which was once attributed to Alexander Nevsky, was created by Nikita Davydov from some unpreserved sample, reproducing the Arabic script and, in addition, decorating it with Orthodox symbols.
The mystery of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich's Erichon cap was only revealed at the end of the 20th century, when a sheet from the book of the State Order, dated 1621, was found in the historical archives - about the issuance of several arshins of fabrics to the master Nikita Davydov, which the sovereign granted him for being "crowns , targets and earpieces he pointed with gold ”(the crown is the top of the helmet, the target is a separate ornament, the earpieces are plates to protect the ears). Thus, the Russian master obviously did not make a headdress, but only supplemented and decorated it.
Further, everything is quite simple and clear. The very phrase "Ericho hat" indicates the Middle Eastern city of Jericho - that is, the helmet, like many other weapons, was forged in the Middle East, most likely in Iran. Eastern damask steel was highly valued in the Middle Ages, and the inscriptions in Arabic were carefully preserved and served as something of a hallmark of quality.
The original helmet of Alexander Nevsky has not yet been discovered. But we can recall that in the fall of the distant 1808, near the village of Lykovo, Vladimir province, the peasant woman Larionova found a headdress that belonged to the father of the holy prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (in these places in 1216 there was a battle on the Lipitsa River - one of the internecine battles of the sons of Vsevolod the Big Nest for the throne of Vladimir ). It was he who served as the prototype of the princely helmet in the film by Sergei Eisenstein and on the Soviet military order. So there is hope that someday there will be a headdress of Alexander Nevsky. And maybe not even one.
