The most expensive helmets. Part six. Helmets of Alexander Nevsky
Good suits for Russian warriors were in the film "Alexander Nevsky"!
According to the typology of the Russian scientist A.N. Kirpichnikov belongs to type IV. He noted that the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich is one of the first finds with which "the study of not only weapons, but also of Russian antiquities began."
A copy of the helmet of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. (GMM, original in the Kremlin Armory in Moscow)
Well, they found him quite by accident, and for quite some time. It happened so that a peasant woman A. Larionov from the village of Lykova, located near the town of Yuryev-Podolsky in the autumn of 1808, “being in a bush for plucking nuts, saw something luminous near the nut bush”. It was a helmet that lay on top of the chain mail, and both she and the helmet itself rusted strongly. The peasant woman carried his find to the village elder, who saw a holy image on the helmet and handed it over to the bishop. He, in turn, sent him to Alexander I himself, and he gave it to the president of the Academy of Arts, A.N. Oleninu.
A.N. Olenin. He first studied the helmet, which is now officially called the “helmet from Lykovo” ...
He began to study the helmet and suggested that the helmet along with the chain mail belonged to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and were hidden by him during the flight from the battle of Lipits 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 both the chain mail and the prince took off the helmet so that they would not interfere with his escape. After all, we know from the Laurentian Chronicle that when Prince Yaroslav was defeated, he fled to Pereyaslavl, where he arrived only on the fifth horse, and drove four horses along the road. His brother Yuri, too, hurried to escape from the battlefield so that he arrived at Vladimir only on the fourth horse, and the chronicle emphasized that he was "in the first shirt, lining and tying out." That is, in one underwear, poor fellow, rode up, in such was fear.
Unfortunately, the helmet’s crown has been preserved in a very poor condition - in the form of only two large fragments, because of which it is impossible to determine its exact shape and construction. It is believed that she had a shape close to ellipsoid.
A drawing from a pre-revolutionary book about Russian antiquities ...
Outside, the surface of the helmet was covered with silver leaf and gilded silver lining, with chased images of the image of the Almighty, as well as of Saints George, St. Basil and Theodore. The head plate carried on itself the image of the image of the Archangel Michael and the inscription: “By the Archangel Michael, help your servant Theodore”. The edge of the helmet is decorated with a gilded border, covered with ornaments.
In general, we can talk about the high artistic skills of the manufacturers of this helmet, their technical skills and good taste. In its design, pre-revolutionary Russian historians saw Norman motifs, while the Soviet preferred to compare them with the white-stone carvings of the temples of Vladimir-Suzdal land. Historian B.A. Kolchin believed that the slam of the helmet was solid-forged and made of iron or low-carbon steel by means of stamping, followed by a hammer, and this is different from other similar products of this time. The helmet’s half mask for some reason closes a part of an inscription made around the perimeter of the icon, which suggests that at first it was not there, but was added later.
According to A.N. Kirpichnikova, this helmet was altered at least three times and that he had masters even before Prince Yaroslav. And at first he could not have any decorations. Then silver patches were riveted to it. And only after that to him was added his top and a half mask.
Historian K.A. Zhukov notes that the helmet did not have lower eye openings. But, in his opinion, the helmet was not subjected to alteration, and immediately it was done with a half mask. The author of the article "Helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich" N.V. Chebotarev points to the place where his forehead icon fits with the half mask, and notes that for some reason it closes a part of the inscription framing the icon, which, in general, should not be.
His drawing, made in pre-revolutionary time.
After all, if one master did the helmet and, so to speak, at a time, there is no doubt that then the inscription on the icon would correspond to its location. But it could be that the half-mask from the helmet was temporarily removed to fix the icon on it, as if it was not measured in size, and then “by tradition” to hope “at random”, they decided that ... “it will come down”.
For some reason, Alexander has two helmets in the film. And he wears them during the action SIMULTANEOUSLY. The difference is that on the second one a half mask with a pointed nose is attached! So to say, he has a “more combat look”.
In any case, the shape of this helmet with head icon and a half mask is reflected in art. It was just such a helmet (and in two versions!) That the director Sergei Eisenstein set up his hero on the head in the Alexander Nevsky feature film. The sets of postcards depicting 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 “cinema helmet” was modeled after the real thing, although in reality this was not at all the case.
Turkish helmet beginning of the XVII century. from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Notice how much he looks like Old Russian helmets. It is clear that this is not due to the fact that the “Rus-Orda-Ataman Empire” (namely “Atamanskaya”, because “atamans”, that is, “military leaders”, that is, princes / kagans are atamans!). Just this form is rational, that's all. Even Assyrians had such helmets, and that they, too, are Slavs? And then a visor, an arrowhead, which could be raised up and down, a headphone, was added to such helmets, and it turned out ... an “erichon hat” or as this helmet was called in the West - “oriental burginot” (burgonet).
Western European burgonet in oriental style. Late 16th century Made in Augsburg. Weight 1976 (Metropolitan Museum, New York)
The second helmet, attributed again 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 “Erikhon Hat of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich” - that is, that very Mikhail Romanov, who just became the founder of the ... the royal house of the Romanovs. And why is he considered the helmet of the faithful Prince Alexander Yaroslavich? Just in the XIX century, there was a legend that the helmet of Tsar Michael is a remake of the helmet of Alexander Nevsky. That's all!
Where this legend comes from is not entirely clear. In any case, when the Great Emblem of the Russian Empire was approved in 1857, his coat of arms was crowned with the image of “the helmet of Prince Alexander”.
However, it is clear that this helmet could not be done in Russia in the XIII century. However, it was finally possible to prove that it was made at the beginning of the seventeenth century only after the Great Patriotic War, when the appropriate technologies appeared in the hands of historians. That is all that somehow connects this helmet with the name of Alexander Nevsky is just a legend and no more.
Well, about what this helmet is 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, there are very similar helmets 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 given here is taken, is the following translation of 13-th Ayat 61 Sura: “Help from God and near victory and build [it] good to the faithful ". 61 Sura is called Sura Al-Saff ("Rows"). Sura is revealed in Medina. It consists of 14 Ayat. At the very beginning of Sura it is said that Allah is glorified both in heaven and on earth. And what pleases him, so that all those who believe in him come together 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 put out the light of Allah’s faith. In the same surah, Allah promises to make his religion above all others, even if it is not to the liking of the pagan polytheists. At the very end of Sura, believers are called upon to fight for faith in Allah, to protect his religion, so that they sacrifice their property and even their lives. And as an example, the apostles, who were followers of Isa, the son of Mary.
13 Ayat:
وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
One of the translations of this verse looks like this:
“There will still be what you love: help from Allah and a close victory. Give the good news to the believers! ”;
“And another thing that you love: help from Allah and a close victory. And rejoice the believers! ";
“And for you, O believers, another grace that you love: help from Allah and a close victory, the blessing of which you will enjoy. Rejoice, O Muhammad, who believe in this recompense! ”
And the question is, how could the Russian master Nikita Davydov make such a helmet (approximately in 1621 year), and even being Orthodox, write on it in Arabic: “Rejoice the faithful with a promise of help from Allah and a quick victory”?
The entry and expenditure book of the Armory Order of 18 December 1621 contains the following entry: “The state’s salary of the Armory’s order to the self-made master Nikita Davydov Polarshina (the enumeration of fabrics to be given to the master follows), and the sovereign advised him that he and the crowns, and the target, and the science of gold. " That is, he trimmed with gold a kind of helmet, given to him for decoration, and for that he received from the sovereign a fee in kind.
Slam drawings from the book "The Antiquities of the Russian State, published by the Highest Command" (1853). Then they filed information about the cultural values of the Russian empire! Front view, rear.
Side view.
That is, not Nikita Davydov himself did it, but only decorated it. And it was necessary to decorate it, because, as it was a clear gift to the king from the East. It is possible that the gift directly from the sovereign, which can not be accepted. But how to wear it if you are an Orthodox king, and quotations from the Koran are written on the helmet. Eastern ruler hurt rejection of his gift can not be. But the subjects ... they are ... Grishka Otrepyev was recognized as an impostor because he didn’t sleep after dinner, didn’t like to go to the bathhouse, and even said such a shame - “he loved fried veal”. And then there are the words from the book "filthy" on the head of the king ... The Orthodox people simply do not understand this, they will also raise a rebellion.
Decorations made by notching.
That is why Nikita Danilov was invited to bring this helmet into a “usable form”. So on the nasal arrow of the helmet was a miniature figure of the archangel Michael from colored enamels. On the dome, the master, with the help of a notch "filled in" the golden crowns, and at the very top, that is, on the top, strengthened the golden cross. True, he did not survive, but it is known that he was.
Inside view.
And this, by the way, is not the first time that weapons from the East have found new owners in Russia. The saber of Mstislavsky (his helmet, by the way, is also eastern, Turkish!), Minin and Pozharsky, kept in the same Armory and containing Eastern stamps and inscriptions in Arabic script, came from the East to Russia.
P.S. That's how interesting it is in life. I wrote this material on the order of one of the regular readers of VO. But in the process, I ran into a number of “interesting moments” that formed the basis for the continuation of the topic, so ...
To be continued ...
- IN. Shpakovsky
- The most expensive helmets. Helmet Crosby Garrett. Part one
The most expensive helmets. Part two. Helmet Hallathon
The most expensive helmets. Helmet of Gisborough. Part three
The most expensive helmets. Helmet Meskalamdug, the hero of the blessed country. Part four
The most expensive helmets. Part Five Benti Grange Helmet
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