 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The wordRus' orRus referred initially to a group of ScandinavianVikings, also known asVarangians, who founded the medieval state ofKievan Rus' inEastern Europe in the 10th century. The term gradually acquired the meaning of the aforementioned dynastic polity itself, and also the geographic region of its heartlandsKiev,Pereiaslavl' andChernihiv.[1]Russia is a Hellenized rendering of the same word, andRuthenia is its Latinized form.
Following the decline of Kievan Rus' in the 12th century, its territory fragmented into multiple polities. The northeastern principality ofVladimir-Suzdal played a crucial role in the eventual rise of theGrand Duchy of Moscow, which, by the 14th to 16th centuries, had consolidated power over most of northeastern Rus'. The nameRussia began to appear in official documents during this time, alongside the older termRus'. By the 15th century, Muscovite rulers adopted the title "Grand Prince of all Rus'," signaling their claim over the legacy of Kievan Rus'. The termRussia gradually replacedRus', and by the 16th century, underIvan IV, the state officially became theTsardom of Russia. Despite this, the termMuscovy persisted in Europe, especially in Latin Catholic regions, butRussia was increasingly recognized across Northern Europe and the courts of theHoly Roman Empire.
The nameRuthenia originated as a Latinized form ofRus' and was commonly used in Western European documents to refer to the eastern Slavic lands during medieval times. Over time, the name became more localized, especially after the 19th century, to refer toCarpathian Ruthenia—a region in the northeasternCarpathian Mountains inhabited by Slavs with aRusyn identity.
Initially the ecclesiastical title "Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'" was used for the head of the church based in Kiev until the metropolitan see moved toMoscow in the 14th century, where it became "Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'" with the establishment of theRussian Orthodox Church. In contrast, the southwestern regions of former Kievan Rus' adopted the title "Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia", while modernUkrainian Orthodox churches have shifted to using titles reflecting "Ukraine" instead of "Rus'."
The most common theory about the origins of the nameRus' is the Germanic version. The nameRus', like theProto-Finnic name forSweden (*roocci),[2] supposed to be descended from anOld Norse term for "the men who row" (rods-) as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area ofRoslagen orRoden, as it was known in earlier times.[3][4] The name Rus' would then have the same origin as theFinnish,Estonian,Võro andNorthern Sami names for Sweden:Ruotsi,Rootsi,Roodsi andRuoŧŧa.[5] The localFinnic andPermic peoples in northern Russia proper use the same (Rus'-related) name both forSweden andRussia (depending on the language): thus theVeps name forSweden and Swedish isRočinma /Ročin,[6] while in theKomi language spoken further east the etymologically corresponding termRoćmu /Roć means alreadyRussia and Russian instead.[7][8] The Finnish scholarTor Karsten has pointed out that the territory of present-dayUppland,Södermanland andÖstergötland in ancient times was known asRoðer orroðin. Thomsen accordingly has suggested thatRoðer probably derived fromroðsmenn orroðskarlar, meaning seafarers or rowers.[9]Ivar Aasen, the Norwegian philologist and lexicographer, noted proto-Germanic root variantsRossfolk,Rosskar,Rossmann.[10]
George Vernadsky theorized about the association of Rus andAlans. He claimed thatRuxs inAlanic means "radiant light", thus the ethnonymRoxolani could be understood as "bright Alans".[11] He theorized that the nameRoxolani a combination of two separate tribal names: the Rus and the Alans.[11]
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the English nameRussia first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed fromMedieval LatinRussia, which was in turn a rendition of the Byzantine Greek name for Rus', Ρωσία (Rosía).[12] The wordRuthenia originated as aLatin designation of the region its people calledRus'.Rusia orRuthenia appears in the 1520 Latin treatiseMores, leges et ritus omnium gentium, per Ioannem Boëmum, Aubanum, Teutonicum ex multis clarissimis rerum scriptoribus collecti byJohann Boemus. In the chapterDe Rusia sive Ruthenia, et recentibus Rusianorum moribus ("About Rus', or Ruthenia, and modern customs of the Rus'"), Boemus tells of a country extending from theBaltic Sea to theCaspian Sea and from theDon River to the northern ocean. It is a source ofbeeswax, itsforests harbor many animals with valuablefur, and the capital cityMoscow (Moscovia), named after theMoskva River (Moscum amnem), is 14 miles in circumference.[13][14] Danish diplomatJacob Ulfeldt, who traveled to Russia in 1578 to meet withTsar Ivan IV, titled his posthumously (1608) published memoirHodoeporicon Ruthenicum[15] ("Voyage to Ruthenia").[16]
InOld East Slavic literature, theEast Slavs refer to themselves as "[muzhi] ruskie" ("Rus' men") or, rarely, "rusichi." The East Slavs are thought to have adopted this name from theVarangian elite,[citation needed] which was first mentioned in the 830s in theAnnales Bertiniani. TheAnnales recount thatLouis the Pious's court atIngelheim am Rhein in 839 (the same year as the first appearance ofVarangians inConstantinople), was visited by a delegation from theByzantine emperor. The delegates included two men who called themselves "Rhos" ("Rhos vocari dicebant"). Louis inquired about their origins and learned that they were Swedes. Fearing that they were spies for their brothers theDanes, he jailed them. They were also mentioned in the 860s by Byzantine PatriarchPhotius under the name "Rhos."[citation needed]
Rusiyyah orRūs (روس) was used byAhmad ibn Fadlan for what was assumed to be Varangians he met by theVolga River, and by thePersian travelerAhmad ibn Rustah who visitedVeliky Novgorod[17] and described how the Rus' exploited the Slavs.
As for the Rus, they live on an island ... that takes three days to walk round and is covered with thick undergrowth and forests; it is most unhealthy... They harry the Slavs, using ships to reach them; they carry them off as slaves and... sell them. They have no fields but simply live on what they get from the Slav's lands... When a son is born, the father will go up to the newborn baby, sword in hand; throwing it down, he says, "I shall not leave you with any property: You have only what you can provide with this weapon."[18]
When the Varangians arrived inConstantinople, the Byzantines considered and described theRhos (GreekῬῶς) as a different people from the Slavs.
The earliest written mention of the wordRus' appears in thePrimary Chronicle under the year 912. When describingthe peace treaty signed by the VarangianOleg of Novgorod during hiscampaign on Constantinople, it contains the following passage, "Oleg sent his men to make peace and sign a treaty between the Greeks and the Rus', saying thus: [...] "We are the Rus': Karl, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudi, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Vost, Stemid, sent by Oleg, the great prince of Rus', and all those under him[.]"[citation needed]
Later thePrimary Chronicle states that they conqueredKiev and created what is now calledKievan Rus'. The territory they conquered was named after them as were, eventually, the local people (cf.Normans).[citation needed]
However, the Synod Scroll of theNovgorod First Chronicle, which is partly based on the original list of the late 11th Century and partly on the Primary Chronicle, does not name theVarangians asked by the Chuds, Slavs and Krivichs to reign their obstreperous lands as the "Rus'".[citation needed] One can assume that there was no original mention of the Varangians as the Rus' due to the old list predating the Primary Chronicle and the Synod Scroll only referred to the Primary Chronicle if the pages of the old list were blemished.[citation needed]
Other spellings used in Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries were as follows:Ruzi,Ruzzi,Ruzia andRuzari. Sources written in Latin routinely confused the Rus' with theRugii, an ancientEast Germanic tribe related to theGoths.Olga of Kiev, for instance, was called "queen of the Rugii" (regina Rugorum) in the Lotharingian Chronicle compiled by the anonymouscontinuator ofRegino of Prüm.[19]
A number of alternative etymologies have been suggested. These are derived from the "anti-Normanist" school of thought inRussian historiography during the 19th century and in theSoviet era. These hypotheses are considered unlikely in Western mainstream academia.[5]Slavic and Iranian etymologies suggested by "anti-Normanist" scholars include:
The nameRus' may have originated from theIranian name of theVolga River (by F. Knauer, Moscow 1901).
The Russian-American historian,George Vernadsky, has suggested a derivation from theRoxolani, stating that the first part of the name Roxolani comes from the Iranian "rukhs", meaning "light" and thus the name Roxolani meant "the light Alans".[21]
The Russian linguistIgor Danilevsky, in hisAncient Rus as Seen by Contemporaries and Descendants, argued against these theories, stating that the anti-Normanists neglected the realities of the Ancient Slavic languages and that the nation nameRus' could not have arisen from any of the proposed origins.[citation needed]
Danilevskiy further argued[citation needed] that the term followed the general pattern of Slavic names for neighboringFinnic peoples—theChud',Ves',Perm',Sum', etc.—but that the only possible word that it could be based on,Ruotsi, presented a historical dead-end, since no such tribal or national name was known from non-Slavic sources. "Ruotsi" is, however, the Finnish name forSweden.[22]Danilevskiy shows that the oldest historical source, thePrimary Chronicle, is inconsistent in what it refers to as the "Rus'": in adjacent passages, the Rus' are grouped withVarangians, with the Slavs, and also set apart from the Slavs and Varangians. Danilevskiy suggests that theRus' were originally not a nation but asocial class, which can explain the irregularities in thePrimary Chronicle and the lack of early non-Slavic sources.[citation needed]
In modern English historiography, common names for the ancient East Slavic state includeKievan Rus, (sometimes retaining the apostrophe inRus', a transliteration of thesoft sign, ь),[23] orKievan Ruthenia.[citation needed] The termKievan Rus' was established by modern historians to distinguish the period from the 9th century to the beginning of the 12th century, when Kiev was the center of a large state.[24]
Initially, the Rus' lands referred only to theMiddle Dnieper region centered onKiev, and forming a triangle withPereiaslav, andChernihiv.[1][25][26] The 12th century chroniclers "record princes from Vladimir–Suzdal’ in the Northeast, Novgorod in the North, and Galicia–Volhynia in the Southwest, among others, as going to the Rus’ Land when Kiev is meant."[1] This narrow usage of Rus’ ceased after the Mongols conquered Kiev in the second half of the thirteenth century.[25] The vast polity ofKievan Rus' was subsequently divided by geographical distance into several more distant principalities. The most influential were, in the south-west,Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, in the north, theNovgorod Republic, and in the north-east,Vladimir-Suzdal.
In the 14th–16th centuries most of northeasternRus' principalities were united under the power of theGrand Duchy of Moscow,[27] once a part of Vladimir-Suzdal, and formed a large state.[28][clarification needed] While the oldest endonyms wereRus' (Russian:Русь) and theRus' land[29] orRussian land[29] (Russian:Русская земля,romanized: Russkaia zemlia[29]),[30] a new form of its name,Rusia orRussia, appeared in the 15th century, and became common thereafter.[31][32][33] In the 1480s Muscovite state scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name "Росиа"', Medovartsev also mentions "the sceptre of Russian lordship (Росийскаго господства)".[34] In the following centuryRussia co-existed with the old nameRus'and appeared in an inscription on the westernportal of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery inYaroslavl (1515), on theicon case of theTheotokos of Vladimir (1514), in the work byMaximus the Greek,[35] theRussian Chronograph written by Dosifei Toporkov (?–1543/44[36]) in 1516–22 and in other sources.[37]
By the 15th century, the rulers of theGrand Duchy of Moscow had incorporated the northern parts of the former Kievan Rus'.[citation needed]Ivan III of Moscow was the first local ruler to claim the title of "Grand Prince of all Rus'"[citation needed] This title was used by the Grand Dukes of Vladimir since the early 14th century,[citation needed] and the first prince to use it wasMikhail of Tver.[citation needed] Ivan III was styled byMaximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor asrex albus andrex Russiae.[citation needed] Later,Rus' — in theRussian language specifically — evolved into the Byzantine-influenced form,Rossiya (Russia isῬωσσία (Rhōssía) in Greek).[citation needed]
In 1547, Ivan IV assumed the title of "Tsar and Grand Dukeof all Rus'" (Царь и Великий князь всея Руси) and was crowned on 16 January,[38] thereby proclaiming theTsardom of Russia, or "the Great Russian Tsardom", as it was called in thecoronation document,[39] by theEcumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleJeremiah II[40][41] and in numerous official texts,[42][43][44][45][46][47] but the state partly remained referred to asMoscovia (English:Muscovy) throughout Europe, predominantly in its Catholic part, though thisLatin version of the term was never used in Russia, instead it was referred asMoscow State (Russian:Московское государство.[48][49] The two names "Russia" and "Moscovia" appear to have co-existed as interchangeable during the later 16th and throughout the 17th century with different Western maps and sources using different names, so that the country was called "Russia, or Moscovia" (Latin:Russia seu Moscovia) or "Russia, popularly known as Moscovia" (Latin:Russia vulgo Moscovia). InEngland of the 16th century, it was known both as Russia and Muscovy.[50][51] Such notable Englishmen asGiles Fletcher the Elder, author of the bookOf the Russe Common Wealth (1591), andSamuel Collins, author ofThe Present State of Russia (1668), both of whom visited Russia, were familiar with the termRussia and used it in their works.[52] So did numerous other authors, includingJohn Milton, who wroteA brief history of Moscovia and of other less-known countries lying eastward of Russia, published posthumously,[53] starting it with the words: "The Empire of Moscovia, or as others call it, Russia...".[54]
In the Russian Tsardom, the wordRussia replaced the old nameRus' in official documents, though the namesRus' andRussian land were still common and synonymous to it,[55] and often appeared in the formGreat Russia (Russian:Великая Россия), which is more typical of the 17th century,[56] whereas the state was also known asGreat-Russian Tsardom (Russian:Великороссийское царствие).[42]
According to historians likeAlexander Zimin andAnna Khoroshkevich, the continuous use of the termMoscovia was a result of traditional habit.[citation needed] The termMoscovia was used in many parts of Europe prior to the reign of Peter I. InNorthern Europe and at the court of theHoly Roman Empire, however, the country was also known under nameRussia orRossia.[57]Sigismund von Herberstein, ambassador of theHoly Roman Emperor in Russia, used bothRussia andMoscovia in his work on the Russian tsardom and noted: "The majority believes that Russia is a changed name ofRoxolania. Muscovites ("Russians" in the German version) refute this, saying that their country was originally called Russia (Rosseia)".[58] Pointing to the difference between Latin and Russian names,French captainJacques Margeret, who served in Russia and left a detailed description ofL'Empire de Russie of the early 17th century that was presented to KingHenry IV, stated that foreigners make "a mistake when they call them Muscovites and not Russians. When they are asked what nation they are, they respond 'Russac', which means 'Russians', and when they are asked what place they are from, the answer is Moscow, Vologda, Ryasan and other cities".[59] The closest analogue of the Latin termMoscovia in Russia was "Tsardom of Moscow", or "Moscow Tsardom" (Московское царство), which was used along with the name "Russia",[60][61] sometimes in one sentence, as in the name of the 17th century Russian workOn the Great and Glorious Russian Moscow State (Russian:О великом и славном Российском Московском государстве).[48]
In the 13th–14th centuries, parts of the core Rus' land and many of southwestern Rus' principalities were united under the power of theKingdom of Rus' or Ruthenia (Latin:Regnum Rusiae), historiographically better known as theKingdom of Galicia–Volhynia.Roman the Great was variously nameddux Rutenorum,princeps Ruthenorum orrex Ruthenorum by Polish chroniclers.[62]Danylo of Galicia was crownedRex Ruthenorum or "king of the Rus'" in 1253.[63] Alternatively, Danylo and his brotherVasylko Romanovych were styledPrinceps Galiciae,Rex Russiae, andRex Lodomeriae inPapal documents, while the population of Halych and Volhynia was calledRusciae christiani andpopulus Russiae amongst other names.[64] TheGesta Hungarorum (c. 1280) stated that the Carpathian mountains between Hungary and Halych were situatedin finibus Ruthenie ("on the borders of Ruthenia").[64]
Galicia–Volhynia declined by mid-14th century due to theGalicia–Volhynia Wars after the poisoning of kingYuri II Boleslav by local Ruthenian nobles in 1340.Iohannes Victiensis Liber (page 218) records the death of Boleslav asHoc anno rex Ruthenorum moritur (...) ("In that year the king of the Ruthenians died (...)").[65]Grand Duke of LithuaniaGediminas adopted the titleKing of the Lithuanians and many Ruthenians, ect. orKing ofLithuanians and Ruthenians, Prince and Duke ofSemigalia in the 1320s.[66] TheGrand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia incorporated the majority ofRuthenian territory, and theKingdom of Poland later absorbed Galicia as theRus Voivodeship. The latter became theRuthenian Voivodeship (Latin:Palatinatus Russiae) in 1434.[citation needed]
While gradually most of the territories of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus', Samogitia retained the nameRus', some of them got more color-specific names:
Although the nameRuthenia arose as a Latinized form of the nameRus' in Western European documents in medieval times,Russia was still the predominant name for Western Rus' territories up until 19th century.[citation needed]
Later usage of the name "Ruthenia" became narrowed toCarpathian Ruthenia (Karpats'ka Rus'), the northeastern part of theCarpathian Mountains, in theKingdom of Hungary where the local Slavs hadRusyn identity. Carpathian Ruthenia incorporated the cities ofMukachevo (Hungarian:Munkács),Uzhhorod (Hungarian:Ungvár) andPrešov (Pryashiv;Hungarian:Eperjes). Carpathian Rus' had been part of theKingdom of Hungary since 907, and had been known as "Magna Rus'" but was also called "Karpato-Rus'" or "Zakarpattya".[citation needed]
Originally, themetropolitan based in Kiev (Kyiv) called himself "metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus'", but in 1299, the Kievan metropolitan chair was moved toVladimir by MetropolitanMaximos, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'. One line of metropolitans settled in Moscow in 1325 and continued titling themselves "of Kiev and all Rus'". PatriarchCallistus I of Constantinople in 1361 created two metropolitan sees with their own names (inGreek) for the northern and southern parts: respectively,Μεγάλη Ῥωσσία (Megálē Rhōssía,[67]Great Russia) in Vladimir and Kiev andΜικρὰ Ῥωσσία (Mikrà Rhōssía, Russia Minor orLittle Russia) with the centers inHalych andNovogrudok.[citation needed]
After the15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism, the Muscovite church became autocephalous in 1589, renamed itself theMoscow Patriarchate (today better known as theRussian Orthodox Church) and switched to the title of "Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'". On the other hand, the southwestern territories of former Kievan Rus' would undergo Polonisation and experience the 1596Union of Brest, leading to the creation of theRuthenian Uniate Church (Belarusian: Руская Уніяцкая Царква;Ukrainian: Руська Унійна Церква;Latin:Ecclesia Ruthena unita;Polish:Ruski Kościół Unicki). The primate of this church was titled "Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia". TheAnnexation of the Metropolitanate of Kiev by the Moscow Patriarchate happened inc. 1685–1722.[citation needed]
When theUkrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church proclaimed itself in 1917, its primates styled themselves "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", thus replacing "Rus'" with "Ukraine", until 1936. From 1991 to 2000, two further patriarchs of the UAOC called themselves "Patriarch of Kiev and all Rus-Ukraine", but then "Rus" was definitively dropped from the name.[citation needed] After theUnification Council of 2018 which established theOrthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the title ofMetropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine was first held byEpiphanius I of Ukraine.His rivalFilaret (Denysenko) of theUkrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) continues claiming the title "Patriarch of Kiev and All Rus'-Ukraine".Onufriy (Berezovsky) of theUkrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP) also claims the title of "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine", and in 2022 the UOC formally cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.[citation needed]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)In the Sarmatian period the Rus' were closely associated with the Alans. Hence the double name Rus- Alan (Roxolani). As has been mentioned,1 ruxs in Alanic means 'radiant light'. The name 'Ruxs-Alan' may be understood in two ways: ... of two clans or two tribes.1 That the Roxolani were actually a combination of these two clans may be seen from the fact that the name Rus (or Ros) was on many occasions used separately from that of the Alans. Besides, the armour of the ...
[...] [Jacob Ulfeldt's]Hodoeporicon Ruthenicum ['Ruthenian Journey'] (Frankfurt, 1608 [...]) [...].
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help) | This articlelacksISBNs for books it lists. Please helpadd this information or run thecitation bot.(June 2009) |
