“Bestial Peoples” – the Rejected or the Chosen Ones? About the Atypical “Foe” in the Old Russian Written Sources

Abstract

In the ethnographic introduction of the Primary Chronicle, the Slavic tribes living around the Polans are compared to forest animals, which is often regarded by researchers as a vivid example of the construction of a “foe” image and a clear evidence of the blatant ethnocentrism of the Kievan author. This is in stark contrast to the author’s general Slavic patriotism. According to the traditional interpretation of the Book of Hosea in Old Rus’, however, the Jews of the Old Testament were in league with animals as the prophecy that the pagan peoples would be baptized. The overlaps in the texts of the Primary Chronicle and other written sources following the above tradition suggest that the long-established idea, supported by many historiographers, about the unambiguously negative and pejorative juxtaposition of the Slavic tribes with the Polans should be revised. The fragment about the customs of different peoples found in the Primary Chronicle only emphasizes the special role played by the ancestors of the Kievans in the spread of Christianity in the surrounding territories. Furthermore, it was believed that the tribes that would adopt the new faith were not only savage pagans, but also those chosen for salvation.

Keywords

• primary chronicle
• bible
• exegesis
• christianization
• polans
• drevlians
• khazars
• slavic tribes
• animals
• wilderness