Was Alexander Nevsky named after Alexander the Great?

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Was Alexander Nevsky named after Alexander the Great?

Illustration of one of the lists of "Alexandria"

It is known that before Alexander Nevsky the name Alexander was not worn by any of the ancient Russian princes. Suppose that this prince-commander was named after the tsar-commander Alexander the Great. Could it really be?

In Ancient Russia, they learned about Alexander the Great from a historical novel translated from Greek, known under two names: "Acts of Alexander" (Άλεξάνδρου πράξεις) and "Life of Alexander the Great" (Βίος Αλεξάνδρου του Μακεδόνος, whose authorship could not be established). In Russian translation, the novel is called "Alexandria" or "Alexandrida". How and since when did this work become available to the Russian-speaking reader?




One of the subtitles "Alexandria", roughly coinciding with the Greek names

Alexandria is an integral part of a collection of translations called The Greek and Roman Chronicle. The first of the two existing editions of the Chronicler, in addition to Alexandria, includes two more works by Greek authors, namely the Chronography of John Malala (1th century) and the Chronicle of George Amartolus (XNUMXth century), that is, XNUMX- i edition covers the period of the world stories from Adam to the Byzantine emperor Theophilos (829–842) inclusive. It is noteworthy that both of the named historical writings tell about Alexander the Great.

The Russian philologist V. M. Istrin in his work "Alexandria of Russian Chronographs" (Moscow, 1893) determined that the 1st edition of the "Chronicler" was created before the middle of the XIII century. He also established that the Old Russian version of Alexandria was distributed only as part of the Chronicler.

The Soviet philologist A. S. Orlov in his work "Translated Tales of Feudal Russia and the Moscow State of the XII-XVII Centuries" (L., 1934) gives the opinion that the 2nd edition of the "Chronicler" already in the 1st half of the XIII century. influenced the Russian annals, which formed the basis of the Ipatiev Chronicle and the Moscow Chronicle.

The Soviet philologist O. V. Tvorogov, in his research "Old Russian Chronographs" (L., 1975), believes that both editions of the Chronicler that have come down to our time go back to its archetypal edition that has not survived, the composition of which more fully corresponds to the composition of the 1st edition of the Chronicler "(See also his notes to the publication: Chronicler Yellinsky and Roman. In 2 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1999-2001).

As for Alexandria itself, it also had two versions. According to A.S. Orlov, the original version, which appeared in the XNUMXnd – XNUMXrd centuries, is the Egyptian-Alexandrian version, which probably arose in Egyptian Alexandria. This version was later Hellenized. The second version is a Judeo-Christian, probably created in Jerusalem. In it, "Alexander is depicted as an admirer of the Jews and their monotheistic confession, and also prophesied about the coming of Christ." One would expect that this version of Alexandria would be included in the Chronicler, but A. Orlov claims that it included a Hellenized version with inserts from the Chronicle of George Amartol. The latter was translated from Greek in Bulgaria in the XNUMXth century. She also brings to Alexandria episodes of Alexander the Great's veneration of one God, as is the case in the Judeo-Christian version. Thus, this Hellenistic king was not perceived in Russia as a pagan.

From all of the above, we can conclude that in Russia information about Alexander the Great from written Russian-language sources began to spread no later than the XII century. Whereas Alexander Nevsky was born ca. 1220, we come to the conclusion that "Alexandria" could become the reason for the name of our Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky, named in honor of the great Tsar Alexander Filippovich of Macedon.
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40 comments
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  1. +3
    24 July 2020 06: 19
    I just got ready to read, but it ended ((
    1. +2
      24 July 2020 08: 12
      In Asia, in honor of the Macedonian, his name became widespread in the form of Iskander
      1. 0
        24 July 2020 10: 44
        With the epithet "Two-horned" ......)))
    2. 0
      24 July 2020 12: 11
      Quote: Cartalon
      I just got ready to read, but it ended ((

      This is the third version of "Alexandria", a Russian-Vekpedicheskaya pro
      Alexander Filippovich of Macedon
  2. +5
    24 July 2020 07: 07
    CONSIDERING. that the ancient Russian princes were literate people (and not wild barbarians as they are depicted in the west) and collected not small libraries, such a book could well have been brought by some merchant as a gift to the prince.
  3. +5
    24 July 2020 07: 09
    Sucked out of a finger. negative
  4. +3
    24 July 2020 07: 19
    Brevity is the soul of wit laughing
    1. 0
      24 July 2020 10: 45
      Quote: parusnik
      Brevity is the soul of wit

      and mother-in-law of the fee :)))
      1. -2
        24 July 2020 13: 16
        ..the grandson of Ivan Kalita - Dmitry Donskoy = Constantine the Great ..
  5. +4
    24 July 2020 07: 24
    Perhaps it was named after an Orthodox saint, the Monk Alexander of Constantinople, which is most likely.
    1. -1
      24 July 2020 07: 50
      ... remember who founded Constantinople ..
      1. 0
        24 July 2020 08: 00
        If you only consider the holy emperor Constantine as a kind of heir to Alexander the Great, maybe you mean just such a connection. If only, I understood you correctly.
        1. -4
          24 July 2020 16: 31
          ..Alexander the Great = Alexander Nevsky = Khan Berke = Alexander Yaroslavovich = Alexander Ivanovich ... His father is Yaroslav Vsevolodovich = Khan Batu, Ivan Kalita (Caliph), the Tsar the educator .. The second trip to Macedonia they carried out together ..
          1. +1
            28 July 2020 13: 07
            Now indicate in what reliable historical source is this all indicated?
      2. +1
        24 July 2020 08: 28
        Who are you?
        by the way, from what will we start from Astakos, Nicomedia, Byzantium or Constantinople?
      3. +1
        24 July 2020 19: 21
        Quote: ver_
        ... remember who founded Constantinople ..

        Flavius ​​Valery Aurelius Constantine, but what?
  6. +2
    24 July 2020 08: 09
    Names in Orthodoxy were given by the names of the saints.
    About Alexander Nevsky in honor of the Macedonian is an obvious stretch.
    1. +2
      24 July 2020 08: 46
      Sergei, until the middle of the XIII century. it was common practice to call princes by pagan names. Alexander Nevsky's father went down in history under the name Yaroslav, although he also had the Christian name Fyodor.
      1. +1
        24 July 2020 09: 37
        Yes, there was a family name and the one that was given at baptism
        The family could be non-Christian
        But Alexander - completely from Christian names, at baptism could well receive
  7. +4
    24 July 2020 09: 17
    Over the 1500 years dividing Alexander the Great and Alexander Nevsky, there were still quite a few Aleksandrs of varying degrees of "greatness" in the world. It should not be forgotten that Alexander the Great himself was only Alexander III - before him, all sorts of Alexandras became famous (to varying degrees).
    So, the question in honor of whom Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and Rostislav Mstislavna named their son remains open.
    The only thing is, there is no need to be a great scientist or an expert in onomastics to understand that the name Alexander came to Russia only with Christianity, the source of which was Byzantium.
    1. -4
      24 July 2020 16: 41
      ... The brothers Yuri and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich made their first trip to Macedonia together and founded Rome and the Vatican .. Batu-Khan = the house of God ..
      1. +3
        24 July 2020 19: 16
        Quote: ver_
        ... The brothers Yuri and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich made their first trip to Macedonia together and founded Rome and the Vatican .. Batu-Khan = the house of God ..

        It's not even funny, alas ... hi
        1. -5
          25 July 2020 16: 14
          ... alas, you are very far from Nosovsky ...
          1. +5
            25 July 2020 17: 02
            Quote: ver_
            ... alas, you are very far from Nosovsky ...

            Ah, there he is, you are an adherent of the New Chronology! Well, then it’s another matter. The adherents of pseudoscientific theories are allowed to carry any nonsense, without any restrictions, for their full pleasure.
            hi
            1. -3
              27 July 2020 07: 58
              ... if there is no mind -...
              1. +3
                27 July 2020 08: 03
                Quote: ver_
                ... if there is no mind -...

                I understand ... you have nothing else to do. But, in this I cannot help you with anything. Please accept my deepest condolences. hi
          2. +1
            28 July 2020 13: 10
            Indeed, not everyone will be able to come up with such nonsense as Fomenkonosov's ...
        2. -1
          31 July 2020 17: 57
          ... it's not funny - this is that Christ, who was born in the zero year, but it turned out that he was born in 1152 ... The pipes with lamps (guns), which Dmitry Donskoy used in the battle on the Kulikovo field in 1380, were used by Konstantin Great at 31 .. Humanitarians need to write fairy tales about Shaherizad and 1001 nights, and not deal with history ..
  8. 0
    24 July 2020 10: 43
    The chronology of the distribution of "Alexandria" is presented, but the geography is not.
    Why?
    1. +1
      27 July 2020 10: 09
      Aleksey, translated literature of a secular nature was intended for the upper strata of society. Remember Prince Svyatoslav's Izbornik. There were no geographic restrictions here.
  9. 0
    24 July 2020 10: 51
    The name is absolutely wrong. Only the theoretical possibility of the Macedonian influence on the name of Nevsky is considered. There are all the rules here - in theory it is possible, the Russians were familiar with the name itself and with the biography of Alexander III. But a short note does not give any answer to the question in the title: in honor of the Macedonian, or not?
  10. +6
    24 July 2020 11: 37
    The author raised an interesting topic, but sanctified it in an extremely superficial and clumsy manner. The question in the title of the article is formulated as "Was Alexander named?", And the article answers, at best, the question "Could he have been named?"
    The published material can serve, perhaps, as part of some kind of research proving that it was already known about Alexander the Great at the time of Alexander Yaroslavich's birth. Further, one should delve into the topic and understand the principles of princely naming, as well as changes in these principles at the turn of the XNUMXth - early XNUMXth centuries.
    And, by the way, it would be desirable that before writing the article, the author checked the theses on which he is going to rely.
    For example, this:
    It is known that before Alexander Nevsky, none of the ancient Russian princes bore the name Alexander.

    Who knows? For example, I know something else, namely, that in 1195 Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich Volynsky, the uncle of Daniel Galitsky, died in 1208, and that this prince had a son named Alexander, known to historians as Alexander Vsevolodovich Belzsky. In the annals, he appears as an active independent and capable figure from XNUMX, that is, twelve years before the birth of Alexander Yaroslavich. I would also remember that the wife of Alexander Yaroslavich was called only Alexander Bryachislavna.
    The author also, I don't know, knowingly or not, missed one important point. Alexander Nevsky was born at a time when significant changes were taking place in the principles of naming among the Rurik. If in the generation of his grandfather, in general, all the princes had two names - the generic and the baptismal, then in his generation the generic name is already absent from the majority of the princes, and in the next generation it (the generic name) practically disappears. There was a certain breakdown of tradition, and just at this time. Of the many brothers of Alexander Nevsky, only one - Yaroslav (baptized Afanasy) had a family name known to us.
    And the last.
    Since the time of Vladimir the Baptist, all princes in Russia had baptismal names, although generic, pagan names often appeared in the annals. But sometimes, and long before Alexander Nevsky, the princes used the baptismal name as a generic one. It is believed that this happened not because the prince did not have a generic name, but because the generic and baptismal names coincided. An example is the numerous Andrei (Andrei Vladimirovich Dobry, Andrei Yurievich Bogolyubsky, etc.), Mikhail (Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky), Yuri (Yuri Dolgoruky), the same Alexander Belzsky, and others, of which there were quite enough. Apparently the same story happened with Alexander - his baptismal name coincided with the generic one. It should be remembered that the baptismal name can only be obtained from the holy calendar, if the name is not there, then they cannot name anyone at baptism. Consequently, Alexander in baptism is named after some saint with the same name. Those in the know will tell you in honor of which Alexander they could name the boy born at the end of May. And the family name Alexander could get any and not necessarily from the calendar. So it is quite possible, and even very likely, that Alexander Nevsky received his family name precisely in honor of Alexander the Great. And it is not at all necessary to prove that in the biography of the "two-horned pagan", which Alexander the Great was for all Christians of that time, there were
    episodes of veneration ... of one God, as is the case in the Judeo-Christian version.

    In short, my opinion: the author needs to study the subject of research more deeply and prepare more carefully for publications. The level that he is demonstrating now, even to be called satisfactory, I can’t dare.
    1. 0
      28 July 2020 13: 20
      Perhaps the Russian prince could receive a baptismal name in honor of the Holy Martyr Alexander of Jerusalem, whose day of veneration falls on May 29 according to the Orthodox calendar. Or Alexander of Tiberias (veneration day May 26).
    2. +1
      28 July 2020 13: 38
      Michael (Master of Trilobite), I promise you that I will
      Quote: Trilobite Master
      prepare publications more thoroughly.
  11. 0
    24 July 2020 14: 39
    Pavel Gusterin continues to delight us with his fundamental works on interesting topics laughing
    As he says there like - "Thinking enough" laughing
    The author, I look forward to your further works on the same topical issues. It was sad until lunchtime, but then I saw this wonderful job and even cheered up.
    1. +1
      27 July 2020 10: 43
      Paphnutius, maybe you will someday please me with your opuses (the word "opus" means "intellectual work, composition") on the most pressing issues?
      1. 0
        27 July 2020 10: 55
        And what ... It may very well be. As Blotter said - "I can do it this way too" smile
        1. +1
          27 July 2020 11: 04
          Paphnutius, Blotter, so spoke about the performance of Chopin's music. There is no need to compare me to Chopin, I am not fit for him. And you yourself have just equated yourself with the Blotter. Here I completely agree with you!
          1. +1
            27 July 2020 14: 38
            You pinned me subtly, you will swing. It is immediately evident that you are not only a master of writing articles. lol
  12. -2
    28 July 2020 22: 00
    The logic is as follows. The letter A is a new order or person. Lex is a new language. Dr - this is how they write a man. If, as a child, D is a house, P is a person. Just like the Ottoman Empire, Os and Man are new well-enlightened people, or the Ottoman Empire is well-armed people.

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