Saints Martyrs – BORIS et GLEB

Parlons D'orthodoxie

Le 24 juillet/ 6 août, mémoire des Saints Martyrs BORIS et GLEB, nommés ROMAIN et DAVID au Saint Baptême; premiers Saints canonisés de l'Église russe, ils sont aussi les premiers représentants des Strastoterptsi, c'est-à-dire les Saints laïcs "qui ont souffert la passion sans résistance", catégorie de Saints particulière à l'hagiographie russe à laquelle appartiennent aussi le saint empereur Nicolas 1 et sa famille.

Mille ans déjà

C'était en 1015, le 24 juillet (calendrier julien évidemment!).

Mais revenons un peu avant.

En 988, le prince Vladimir de Kiev – païen adorateur de Peroun – se détourne de ses idoles et, comme Clovis en son temps, "brûle ce qu'il a adoré et adore ce qu'il a brûlé"... Bref, en 988, Vladimir reçoit le baptême (1).


Saints Martyrs – BORIS et GLEB
Plus conséquent que le roi des Francs, Vladimir, à compter de ce jour, vécut en chrétien et modifia les lois en tenant compte de l'Evangile.

Il avait eu, précédemment, de nombreuses concubines, et par conséquent de nombreux enfants.
A sa mort, en 1015, il fallut partager le royaume.

Enfin, en théorie. Car Sviatopolk – un cousin ou un demi-frère (2) – ne l'entendait pas de cette oreille. Et pour supprimer toute contestation décida de supprimer les éventuels contestataires.

Rien que de très banal, me direz-vous.

Jusque là, oui.

Saints Martyrs – BORIS et GLEB
Vladimir, le prince de Kiev avait deux fils, Sviatopolk et Iaroslav lorsqu'il épousa la princesse byzantine Anne.

Mais lorsque Boris, le premier des fils de Vladimir à être pourchassé apprit que Sviatopolk en voulait à sa vie, il refusa tout d'abord de le croire. Et quand la nouvelle lui fut confirmée, il s'exclama: "Béni soit Dieu! Je ne m'enfuirai pas d'ici ni ne m'opposerai à mon frère aîné. Que la volonté de Dieu soit faite!"

Quoiqu'il ait avec lui une armée, il décida de congédier ses troupes tout en envoyant une supplique à son frère pour implorer sa clémence.
Malgré la crainte qu'il avait, il décida de ne pas fuir, et au matin, il fit célébrer les matines par un prêtre, et pria ainsi : "Seigneur Jésus-Christ, Toi qui as daigné apparaître sur la terre sous forme humaine et qui t'es laissé volontairement clouer sur la Croix, Toi qui as accepté la passion à cause de nos péchés, donne-moi aussi d'accepter la mienne. Je la reçois non de mes ennemis, mais de mon frère: Seigneur, ne la lui impute pas comme péché."

Les envoyés de Sviatopolk arrivèrent durant l'office mais attendirent qu'il soit terminé, puis se précipitèrent dans la tente pour le tuer. Boris supplia son frère de lui laisser encore quelques instants pour prier Dieu, puis il dit en pleurant: "Approchez, frères, et terminez votre office, et que la paix soit avec mon frère et avec vous." Les hommes lui plongèrent alors leurs lances dans le corps.

Voila, en résumé, ce qui s'est passé le 24 juillet 1015...

Peu après, Gleb, autre fils de Vladimir, subit le même sort, s'y soumettant lui aussi sans résister, à l'imitation du Christ.

Je sais bien, qu'admirer les Strastoterptsi (les saints qui ont accepté de souffrir la Passion sans se défendre) est plus facile que de les imiter. Mais il est encore plus facile d'oublier qu'ils ont fait cela.

Alors, rien que pour ne pas oublier...

Source: http://cigales-eloquentes.over-blog.com/2015/07/mille-ans-deja.html

Saints Martyrs – BORIS et GLEB
Без Бориса и Глеба не было бы Александра Невского

Une autre version des faits

La version ci-dessus est celle de l'hagiographie officielle basée sur la "Chronique de Nestor" (3) mais plusieurs historiens la mettent en doute en se basant sur d'autres sources historiques (4). D'après eux Boris et Gleb furent les seuls des 11 frères (ou ½ frères) de Sviatopolk à lui faire allégeance et c'est Iaroslav dit le Sage, fils d'une autre épouse de Vladimir, Rogneda de Polotsk, et 2ème dans l'ordre de succession, qui les fit tuer justement à cause de leur alliance avec Sviatopolk. Mais après sa prise de pouvoir Iaroslav fit enjoliver l'histoire par les chroniqueurs…

(1) Le prince Vladimir appartenait à la dynastie des Rurikides a commencé à gouverner Novgorod en 970. En 978 il s’empare du pouvoir à Kiev et en 988 il opte pour le christianisme en tant que religion d’Etat. Nous ne savons pas avec précision où et quand a été baptisé le prince Vladimir, à Kiev, Chersonèse ou Berestov, non loin de Kiev. Il est cependant évident que la christianisation de la « Rus » a déterminé pour l’essentiel l’avenir du pays.

(2) La mère de Sviatopolk était une Grecque prénommée Julia, épouse du frère ainé de Vladimir, Yaropolk, Grand prince de Kiev que Vladimir avait fait tuer en 980 pour s'emparer du pouvoir. D'après les chroniques, Julia était alors enceinte de Sviatopolk, Vladimir l'épousa et adopta l'enfant pour faire son 1er héritier…

(3) "Chronique des temps passés" ou " Chronique de Nestor" rédigée à la Laure des Grottes de Kiev vers la fin du XIe siècle ou le début du XIIe

(4) Thietmar ou Dithmar, évêque de Mersebourg (975-1018), "Chronique de l'histoire d'Allemagne"; "Dit d'Eymundr Hringsson" (XIVesiècle)

V.Golovanow
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Commentaires (-5)
1. Vladimir.G: QUI A TUÉ BORIS ET GLEB? le 07/08/2018 16:06
QUI A TUÉ BORIS ET GLEB?

Voici en détail (et en anglais) l'approche historique qui conteste la belle hagiographie comme je l'indique à la fin de mon article...

Medieval mystery: who really killed Boris and Gleb?
March 17, 2017 By Nicholas

It seems everyone in the US is (justifiably) getting riled up over the impending demise of the National Endowment for the Arts. But thank goodness we have only such problems to contend with. They don’t quite compare to the bloodshed between brothers going on in Ukraine, even right now. There is so much hatred between Russians and Ukrainians that it’s hard to imagine how it could ever have gotten to this point. They are, after all, genetically the same people. (There are even studies that suggest that south Russians are genetically closer to Ukrainians that even to north Russians).

My second novel, The Garden in the Heart of the World, is set in a world similar to the early days of Kievan Rus. It examines a world torn apart by brotherly bloodshed. Unfortunately, such brotherly hatred was present even in the very beginning of Russia. One of the pivotal events of that early period is the tragic murder of princes Boris and Gleb at the hand of their own brother Sviatopolk. What seemed to have been a “typical” dynastic murder became an event of spiritual importance for early Rus.

The brothers were almost immediately canonized by the Church, an almost unheard-of event, especially in cases of political murders. But the canonization was not a political act in the least. It was a bottom-up event, a populist movement among the common Rus who began to report occurrences of miracles in astonishing profusion. Perhaps the most famous of these is the appearance of Boris and Gleb to Prince Alexander Nevsky right before a battle against the Livonian knights. The Rus were hopelessly outnumbered, and yet won a decisive victory on the Neva River.

For centuries, the order to kill Borin and Gleb was ascribed to Sviatopolk. However, there are some historians who dispute this. Arzamas Academy recently asked historian Savva Mikheev about this issue. He studied Swedish legends and Icelandic sagas and came up with an astonishing theory. It wasn’t Sviatopolk who killed his brothers, but the universally respected Yaroslav, dubbed “the Wise.” (Read the original Russian article here)

In the Chronicle, Prince Sviatopolk is clearly painted as a villain. He fought a long and bloody battle with Yaroslav the Wise. Later, he won for himself the nickname “accursed.” That was most likely because he ordered the murders of his brothers Boris, Gleb, and Sviatoslav. However, it’s possible that this version of Sviatopolk is not impartial. The history may be a bit more convoluted.

Sviatopolk was the lawful heir of Prince Vladimir, the baptizer of Rus. Before his conversion, Vladimir was a famous libertine, and he had many children from his several wives and even more concubines. However, it’s possible that Sviatopolk was the the son of Vladimir’s brother Yaropolk, because Vladimir took Yaropolk’s pregnant wife as his own after Yaropolk’s death. Sviatopolk, thus, may have had “two fathers.”

Yaroslav (the Wise) was roughly the same age as Svaitopolk, his half-brother, and ruled over Novgorod. According to the Chronicle, Yaroslav planned to fight his father Vladimir, because he didn’t want to pay tribute to Kiev. After Vladimir’s death, Yaroslav decided to try to unseat his brother and become the grand prince of Kiev. In his fight, he leaned on the military might of Novgorod, as well as mercenaries Vikings. To cement his relationship with the Vikings, he married the daughter of King Olaf Ingigerd of Sweden.

The conflict between the brothers was bloody and inconclusive. First Sviatopolk escaped to Poland (his wife was the daughter of the Polish king), only to return with an army of Polish-German mercenaries led by his father-in-law. Then, Yaroslav escaped to Novgorod and gathered more Vikings to his cause. Then, Sviatopolk got the Pechenegs (Asian nomadic tribes) involved. Finally, in 1019, Yaroslav won Kiev and ruled it until his death in 1054. Sviatopolk simply disappeared from the pages of the Chronicle.

Boris, Gleb, and Sviatoslav were all victims in this internecine conflict. Even in the 11th century, the place where Borin and Gleb were buried became a place of local veneration. Soon, a church was built over their graves. A new version of the Chronicle was written in the 1070’s, after the relics of Boris and Gleb were triumphantly moved to a new church. This new redaction had to include the details of the political murder, simply because their veneration had become universal.

There’s a curious detail in the Chronicle about the murder of the brothers that is worth noting. Boris was attacked when he was on his way back to Kiev after a battle with the Pechenegs. Boris was wounded, and his servant’s head was chopped off. The reason was, ostensibly, a golden necklace that the servant wore. This detail, as you’ll see, is curious and may hold the key to a deeper mystery.

Interestingly, the short conflict between brothers was also recorded in Scandinavian sources, after the mercenary Vikings returned from the war. One of the lesser Icelandic sagas tells of the Russian adventures of a Norwegian king named Eimund. Eimund and his twin brother Ragnar came to help Yarisleiv (Yaroslav) in Holmgard (Novgorod) in a conflict with his brother Burislav.

Here’s an interesting twist in the Icelandic saga. Before one of the battles, Eimund kills Burislav. He sneaks into his camp and gives wine to all of Burislav’s followers. Then he pulls down the branches of a nearby oak and ties a rope to the top of Burislav’s golden tent. As soon as night falls, he cuts the rope, and the branches snap up, lifting the tent and leaving Burislav exposed. Eimund then chops off Burislav’s head.

If we try to put together the Russian Chronicle and the Icelandic saga, there are a few conflicting moments. Historians have tried to figure out who exactly is “Burislav”. Perhaps it’s a compound name, including elements of Boris, Sviatopolk, and Boleslav (Sviatopolk’s father-in-law, the king of Poland). Some historians see this as proof that Yaroslav the Wise ordered the murder of Boris and Gleb, while others think this is how Sviatopolk the Accursed actually died.

The key to the riddle was found in an old Swedish legend. The legend tells of the King Agni who was choked to death by his own golden necklace. In a 10th century poem written by Tjodolv fra Hvinir, we read how a woman named Skjalv hanged Agni by his own golden necklace. According to an anonymous Latin “History of Norway,” written in the second half of the 12th century, Agni was “killed by his own wife, who hanged him on a tree by a golden thread.”

Snorri Sturluson, who compiled the Eddas, wrote a more detailed version of the legend. King Agni had a very successful campaign against the Finns. He took Skjalv, the daughter of the king of Finland, back home with him as his new wife. On his way home, he made camp near the place where Stockholm now stands. There, he ordered a memorial feast for Skjalv’s father. Completely drunk, he fell asleep with his golden necklace still around his neck.

Skjalv ordered that the sleeping king then be hanged on a tree by his golden necklace. The necklace, by the way, was itself accursed, because it was stolen by Agni’s ancestor. The witch who uttered the curse, named Hild, predicted that in Agni’s family, kin would murder kin for generations.

As you can see, the legend of Agni contains two unique elements that occur both in the Russian Chronicle and the Icelandic saga. Namely:

Both of these odd elements only really make sense when we read the legend of Agni. The most logical explanation is that this Swedish legend is based on the historical murder of one of the sons of Vladimir of Rus.

Could Burislav be not Boris, but Sviatopolk? Perhaps, but it’s unlikely. Could the man who hired Eimund to do the killing have been Sviatopolk, not Yaroslav? Perhaps, but it’s difficult to see how, considering that Sviatopolk had no alliance with Vikings, but Yaroslav did. This is the most logical explanation of this strange convergence of details. Yaroslav Vladimirovich (called “the Wise” in the 19th century) ordered the death of his brother Boris. As for who ordered the deaths of Gleb and Sviatoslav, that remains an open question.

http://nicholaskotar.com/2017/03/17/boris-and-gleb/
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