Proshin A.V. The Image of the Ideal Warrior Prince in the Russian Chronicle Obituaries (11th – Beginning of the 13th Centuries) [Digital Resource] // Vox medii aevi. 2025. Vol. 1 (12). P. 13–36. URL: https://voxmediiaevi.com/2025-1-proshin/
DOI: 10.24412/2587-6619-2025-12-13-36
Alexey Proshin
PhD Student, School of History, National Research University “Higher school of economics” (Moscow)
Vizuvy123@gmail.com
The Image of the Ideal Warrior Prince in the Russian Chronicle Obituaries (11th – Beginning of the 13th Centuries)
Since Russian princes had to participate in campaigns and battles, the ideal ruler had to certainly reflect the idea of the prince as a warrior. Yet, this view, shared by a number of researchers, that the military image of princes, which includes their military and leadership qualities, was of primary importance, finds little support in chronicle obituaries of princes (or necrological panegyrics/ eulogies). These texts construct a posthumous image of a deceased prince, noting his main virtues and merits; however, not every of them presents him as a warrior-ruler. The article hypothesizes that military characteristics (mentions of courage, victories, defense of the Rus’ land) appear in obituaries only for those princes who participated in successful campaigns against foreigners. At the same time, most of these characteristics emphasize the importance of the princes’ actual presence in battles and define ideal behavior in combat. This includes impulsive involvement in the fight, endurance, fearlessness, and readiness to die. Based on these observations, the author argues that the military ideal of the prince is, above all, that of a defender of the ‘Rus land and of Christians against foreign aggressors, mostly pagans. At the same time, the ideal prince fiercely and fearlessly fights with them and is ready to sacrifice his life. Participation in military conflicts with other princes is not considered military valor by chronicle writers due to the fact that it does not conform to Christian ethics and their ideas about the ideal ruler.
Keywords: Chronicle obituaries of princes; Medieval Rus’; military history of Medieval Rus’; military traits of princes; Russian chronicles; the image of prince-warrior.