Borovkov D.A. Traditions and innovations in the testament of Yaroslav the Wise

Abstract: the article reviews the spoken testament (“ryad”) of Yaroslav the Wise, found in the text of the chronicle of the 6562 (1054) in “The Tale of Bygone Years”. Based on the content analysis given, the author makes conclusions about geopolitical meaning of the urban centers separation (Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Smolensk, Vladimir-Volynskiy), ordered by Yaroslav the Wise; about the place of reign of Izyaslav Yaroslavovich until 1054 and territorial base of power of the Knyazh of Kiev compared with the division of 970, made by the Yaroslavs’ grandfather Svyatoslav. Based on the comparative analysis of this text with the similar textual chronicle texts of 1073, 1078, 1093 è 1097 the author finds elements that could influence it’s formation, which also allows to reconsider the Shakhmatov A.A. hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypotheses of Solovyev S.M. and Aleshkovskiy M.Kh and also reconstruct the original content of the text of 1054 by excluding later added elements. The article substantiates the point that the announcing of the priority of the elderly, that is attributed to Yaroslav the Wise since XIX century allows to discover political meaning of the division of 1054 under the concept of the brotherly co-ownership in the family of Rurik.

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