Отправлено: 17.11.04 23:03. Заголовок: Journal of Medieval History 28(2)2002: Scandinavians swearing oaths in tenth-century Russia

Martina Stein-Wilkeshuis. Scandinavians swearing oaths in tenth-century Russia: Pagans and Christians // Journal of Medieval History, 2002, 28, 2, 155-168.

The Old Russian Primary Chronicle reports on four tenth-century treaties concluded on oath between unchristianised merchants coming from Scandinavia and the Greek emperor, describing the oaths and ceremonies, the objects used, and the gods invoked. This article presents an investigation into the oaths and the formalities performed on those occasions. The opportunity is given for a comparison with fragmentary data elsewhere in the Scandinavian area of the time, and for a clarification of the portrayal of the oath in its pre-Christian form. As the agreements were concluded on the eve of Russian’s official Christianisation, interesting encounters between pagans and Christians are signalised.