Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Timeline of Events
- Introduction: The Problem with Names
- Chapter 1 The Place of Rus’ in Europe
- Chapter 2 The Historiography of the Translation of Kniaz’
- Chapter 3 Titulature and Medieval Rulers
- Chapter 4 What Was a Kniaz’?
- Chapter 5 Medieval Titulature and Rus’
- Chapter 6 Titles for Other Medieval Rulers in Rusian Sources
- Conclusion: Consequences and Resolution
- Further Reading
Chapter 2 - The Historiography of the Translation of Kniaz’
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2021
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Timeline of Events
- Introduction: The Problem with Names
- Chapter 1 The Place of Rus’ in Europe
- Chapter 2 The Historiography of the Translation of Kniaz’
- Chapter 3 Titulature and Medieval Rulers
- Chapter 4 What Was a Kniaz’?
- Chapter 5 Medieval Titulature and Rus’
- Chapter 6 Titles for Other Medieval Rulers in Rusian Sources
- Conclusion: Consequences and Resolution
- Further Reading
Summary
The current translation of kniaz’ into English as “prince” or “duke” did not arise in a vacuum. Translations, like historical documents themselves, are products of their time and of their translator. As we delve into the issue of the translation of this title, it is important to understand where the impetus to translate kniaz’ into English as “duke” or “prince” came from, to better appreciate why it was translated that way and to learn how to correct it. We must also note two additional, complicating factors: the first is the prevalence of this title and its use in modern secondary sources—this helps us properly appreciate the scale of the task of changing the translation of this one word; the second is the fact that the translation of kniaz’ as “prince” or “duke” is correct for certain historical periods, just not for the period under discussion.
Historical Background to Translation
In the middle of the sixteenth century, British merchants seeking a faster way to reach central and south Asia began crossing through the eastern European river systems, and increasing their dealings with the Muscovite (or Russian in some secondary sources) ruler. What they found was a government led by a tsar’, surrounded by a series of other members of his family who helped him govern, the majority of whom bore the title “kniaz’.” Giles Fletcher's “Of the Russe Commonwealth” is one of the most comprehensive descriptions of Muscovy in this period by an English traveller and will stand in as an example of the genre. He describes the Muscovite government, tsar’, and ruling families in some detail. Of the kniazia (plural for kniaz’, and a term he uses) he says, “The fourth and lowest degree of nobility with them is of such as bear the name of kniaz’ia or dukes but come of the younger brothers of those chief houses through many descents and have no inheritance of their own, save the bare name or title of duke only.” He continues in this vein using “duke” and “kniaz’” interchangeably. This change in power structure from the period we are interested in until the arrival of the English in Muscovy was the result of increasing centralization over the fourteenth century, and the practical subordination of most of the Volodimerovichi to a few individuals, such as the ruler of Moscow (see, for example, Kollman, pp. 46–47).
- Type
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- Information
- The Kingdom of Rus' , pp. 25 - 30Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2017