The Moscow Coronation of 1498 Reconsidered

10 Pages·0.988 MB·English

by  Majeska George P.

The Moscow Coronation of 1498 Reconsidered
Author(s): George P. Majeska
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas, Neue Folge, Bd. 26, H. 3 (1978), pp. 353-361
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41045749 .
Accessed: 22/11/2011 08:39
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Franz Steiner Verlag is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Jahrbücher für
Geschichte Osteuropas.
http://www.jstor.org
GeorgeP . Majeska, Universityof Maryland^C ollegeP ark
The Moscow Coronationo f 1498R econsidered
By generala greementR, ussia's Byzantineh eritageis one of thei mportanqtu es-
tions for late medievalR ussianh istoryS. ubsumedu ndert his generalh eadingi s,
amongo thert hingst, hatm asso f ideas whichc lustersa roundt hec oncepto f "Mos-
cow the Third Rome," itselfa rathero verworkedt opic in Russianh istory.1H is-
toriansi n pre-revolutionarRyu ssia looked in the ideologyo f the "Third Rome"
fort he rootso f imperiaRl ussiana utocracyt,h e "Russiani dea," or the local "idea
thatm ovesh istory."N on-Russianh istoriansso ughtt hem edievalk ernelo f Russian
Pan-Slav messianismT. he temptationf or historianso, f course,i s to be all too
readyt o findw hatt heya re lookingf or.T heyl ook backwardsu, singh indsighta,n d
oftenn ot onlyp rojectt he presentin to past,b ut also one past onto a mored istant
past.
So it was, I would like to suggest,t hath istoriands iscovereda consummataen d
fairlyco mpletee xampleo f a "ThirdR ome"-inspiremd onarchin thep ersono f Ivan
the Terriblea, nd thenp roceededt o extendt he image,a nachronisticallays, i t turns
out, to his predecessorI,v an the Great.I van the Terrible'sp rivatel ettersa nd dip-
lomaticd ispatchesd isplaya clear and moderatelyco herenti mage of himselfas a
divinelya ppointeda utocraticm onarch,a tsarr esponsiblet o no man,a nd able to
1 The scholarlya nd polemicall iteraturesp ecificallyan d tangentiallyon Moscow "the
ThirdR ome" and relatedt hemesi s voluminousa nd uneven.B asic treatmentosf thes ubject
can be foundi n Hildegard Schaeder Moskau das dritteR om. Studienz ur Geschichte
der politischenT heorieni n der slawischenW elt.2 nd ed. Darmstadt1 957,w hicha lso gives
referencetso thee arlierli teratureW; illiam K. Medlin Moscow and East Rome. A Political
Studyo f theR elationso f Churcha nd Statei n MuscoviteR ussia. Geneva 1952; V. I. Savva
Moskovskie cari i vizantijskiev asilevsy.K voprosu o vlijanii Vizantii na obrazovanie
idei carskojv lastim oskovskichg osudarej.C hafkov1 901. See also V. S. Ikonnikov Opyt
issledovanijao kulturnomz naceniiV izantiiv russkoji storii.K iev 1869, and F. A. Ter-
novskij Izucenie vizantijskoijs toriii eja tendencioznoep riloèeniev drevnejR usi. 2 parts.
Kiev 1875-1876. More recent contributionst o the topic include D. Strémooukhoff
Moscow the ThirdR ome: Sourceso f the Doctrine,i n: Speculum.A Journalo f Mediaeval
Studies2 8 (1953) No. 1, pp. 84-101; R. L. Wolff The Three Romes: the Migrationo f
an Ideologya nd theM akingo fa n Autocrati,n : Daedalus. Journaol ft heA mericanA cademy
of Artsa nd Sciences8 8 (1959) No. 2, pp. 291-311; Michael CherniavskyT sar and People.
Studiesi n Russian Myths.N ew York 1948, and Idem Khan or Basileus: An Aspect of
RussianM edievalP oliticalT heory,i n: Journalo f theH istoryo f Ideas. A QuarterlyD evot-
ed to IntellectuaHl istory2 0 (1959) No. 4, pp. 459-476; Arnold Toynbee Russia's Byzan-
tineH eritage,i n: Idem Civilizationo f Trial.N ew York 1948, pp. 164-183; Dimitri Obo-
lensky Russia's ByzantineH eritage,i n: OxfordS lavonic Papers 1 (1950) pp. 37-63, and
reprintedin : Idem Byzantiuma nd theS lavs. CollectedS tudies.L ondon 1971, pp. 87-123;
Helmut Neubauer Car und SelbstherrscherB.e iträgez ur Geschichted er Autokratiei n
Rußland.W iesbaden1 964; N. S. Caev "Moskva - tretijR im" v politiceskopj raktikem os-
kovskogop ravitelstvXa VI veka, in: Istoriceskiez apiski 17 (1945) pp. 3-23; Ja. S. Lure
O vozniknoveni"i teorii" Moskva - tretijR im, in: Trudy Otdela drevnerusskolij teratury
16 (1960) pp. 626-633. See also titlesc itedi n subsequentn otes.
23* Jahrbüchefrü rG eschichteO steuropas2 6 (1978) H. 3 © Franz SteinerV erlag GmbH, Wiesbaden,G ermany
354 George P. Majeska
demandu nquestioningob ediencef roma ll his Orthodoxs ubjects.2T he Muscovite
literaryan d historicacl ompendiao f the time echo these sentimentasn, d, in their
veryc reationa, re exampleso f thea bsolutistc entralizinagc tivitieso f the "awesome
tsar."3H istoriansa ssumedt hatt he inspirationan d contento f thisa utocratics tate
wereB yzantinea; ftera ll, thet rappingasl l looked ByzantineT. he churcht, he most
Byzantine-orientiends titutioinn Muscovy,e nunciatedt hei deologya nd backedt he
development;4B yzantinea uthorsw ere cited to justifyt he theoryo f monarchy;5
Byzantinec eremoniesr, egaliaa nd emblemsw ere employeda, nd, mosts trikingly,
Ivan legitimizedh is powerb y an imperialB yzantinec oronationr itual.I f a "Third
Rome," a new Byzantiumw, as in fullb loomi n theM uscovyo f Ivan IV, wherec an
we findt heb ud fromw hichi t blossomed?T he answerh as to be Ivan theT errible's
grandfatherIv, an the Great,w ho marriedZ oë Palaeologos, a scion of the last
Byzantineim perialr ulingf amilyI.v an was the firstG rand Princeo f Moscow to
use the title" tsar," or emperor;h e introducedt he Byzantineim periale mblemo f
thet wo-headede agle; it was to himt hatt he monk,P hilotheuso f Pskov,a ddressed
his famouse pistlew hich noted that Moscow was the "Third Rome," the final
incarnationo f the divinelyc onstitutedem pire;a nd, most convincinglyi,n 1498
Ivan theG reatc rownedh is grandsonD mitriji n a ceremonyim itativoef a Byzantine
imperiacl oronation.6
The case for placingt he origino f a Byzantine-styalue tocracyin Russia in the
reigno f Ivan III looked firmb, ut onlyo n a theoreticalle vel. The factsh ave never
quites upportedt he theoryT. he onlyB yzantiniem periaal ctiono f Zoë Palaeologos
which could be documentedw as that she once stitchedh er signatureo n some
ecclesiasticale mbroiderya s "carevna caregorodskaja,"p rincess of Constanti-
2 This case is presentedv ery carefullyin Bjarne Norretranders The Shaping of
Czardomu nderI van GroznyjK. obenhavn1 964.B uts ee also Edward Keenan The Kurbskii-
Groznyi Apocrypha.T he Seventeenth-CenturGye nesis of the "Correspondence"A t-
tributedt o PrinceA . M. Kurbskiia nd Tsar Ivan IV. CambridgeM, ass. 1971, whichr aises
veryb asic questionsa bout the materialn ormallyu sed to analyzet he "imperial"i deology
of Ivan IV; againstK eenan's thesiss ee R. G. SkrynnikovP erepiskaG roznogo i Kurb-
skogo: ParadoksyE dvarda Kinena. Leningrad1 973. See also : Ch. J. Halperin A Heretical
View of Sixteenth-CenturMyu scovy [on Keenan], in: Jahrbücherf ür GeschichteO st-
europas.N .S. 22 (1974) pp. 161-186; A. Kappeler Die sowjetischeR eaktiona uf Keenans
Häresie, ibidem pp. 187-198; I. Auerbach Kurbskij-StudienB. emerkungenz u einem
Buch von Edward L. Keenan,i bidemp p. 199-213,a nd Keenan's Reply,i bidemp p. 593-617.
3 See David Miller The LiteraryA ctivitieso f MetropolitanM acarius: A Study of
MuscoviteP oliticalI deology in the Time of Ivan IV (unpublishedd octorald issertationin
HistoryC, olumbiaU niversity1,9 67), as well as the materiacl itedi n note 1 above.
4 See, fori nstance,F . Dvornik ByzantiumM, uscoviteA utocracya nd the Church,i n:
Re-DiscoveringE asternC hristendomE. ssays in Commemorationof Dom Bede Winslow.
Ed. by E. Fry & A. H. Armstrong. London 1963, pp. 106-118; M. Raeff An Early
Theoristo fA bsolutism: J osepho fV olokolamski,n : The AmericanS lavica nd East European
Review 8 (1949) pp. 79-89; M. Szeftel JosephV olotsky'sP oliticalI deas in a New His-
toricalP erspectivei,n : Jahrbüchefrü rG eschichteO steuropas.N .S. 13 (1965) pp. 19-29.
5 See, fori nstance,M edlin Moscow and East Rome,p assim; I. Sevòenko À Neglected
Source of MuscoviteP oliticalI deology,i n: HarvardS lavic Studies2 (1954) pp. 141-179.
6 The importancoe f thec oronationso f 1498 and 1547 is stressedin mucho f them aterial
citedi n note 1. See the sketchi n George Vernadsky Russia at the Dawn of the Modern
Age. New Haven 1959,p p. 17-26,o n theh istoriographyCf. . also J. L. I. Fennell Ivan the
Greato f Moscow. London 1963,p p. 315-323. G. Ol§r La Chiesae lo Staton el cerimoniale
d'incoronazioned egli ultimis ovraniR urikidi,in : OrientaliaC hristianaP eriódica1 6 (1950)
pp. 267-302,s hows muchi nsighti nto the meaningo f thisc eremony.
The MoscowC oronatioonf 1498R econsidered 355
nople;7 and Ivan the Great never mentionedt he rightsh e was supposed to
have inheriteda s successort o EmperorC onstantineX I Palaeologos of Constan-
tinoplea, lthought herew erep lentyo f circumstancewsh eno ne would have expected
him to do so. Even his grandson,t he God-crownedT sar Ivan theT erriblew, hile
makingm uch of his "imperialc oronation"a nd the supposed Byzantineo rigin
of his officiarl egalia,p referretdo draw his rightt o rule fromR ussian antiquity
and patrilineadl escentr athert hanf romh is supposeds uccessorshitpo ,a nd descent
from,t he Byzantinee mperors.8M oreover,i n foreignp olicy,n eithero f the Ivans,
nor fort hatm attert he Vasilij thatw entb etweent hem,s howeda nyi nteresitn the
territoroyf the defunctB yzantineE mpire,o r eveni n punishingt heO ttomanc on-
querorso f OrthodoxC hristiansT. heir foreignp olicy was clearlyR usso-centric,
and even the Popes of Rome were somewhatt akena back by the lack of interest
shownb y theM uscoviter ulersi n crusadesa gainstt he Turks.9
Moderns cholarshiph as continuedt o erodet he case fora full-blownB yzantine-
stylea utocracyd evelopingi n the Moscow of Ivan III. Ivan's use of the title" tsar"
turnso ut to have been inconsistenta,n d fort he mostp artt o dependo n to whom
he was writing.1G0 ustave Alef has createda cogentc ase for his thesist hatt he
emblemo f the two-headede agle adopted by Ivan for his seal was the heraldic
deviceo f the cadetb rancho f the Palaeologosf amilyw hichr uleda s despotsi n the
Morea, and to whichZ oë belonged,r athert hant he symbolo f the Empirea t Con-
stantinople.1T1h e imperial symboli n Palaeologan Byzantiumw as the single-
headed eagle, and this symbolw as adopted by Greek Orthodoxb ishops,a long
witht he imperiacl rown,t o symbolizet heirr ole as ethnarchos f the Greekp eople
under the Sultans.N . Andreyev has convincedm any people that the famous
epistleo f Philotheuso f Pskovw as not writtento Ivan to prophesyw orldd ominion,
but rathera s a morep rosaicp lea forI van to be a good Christianr ulera nd not to
confiscatem onastich oldingsa t Pskov, particularlyh is own monastery'sla nds,
just because some Pskovianh ot-headsh ad misbehavedp oliticallyF. inally,A . L.
Goldberg has recentlyre statedt he case fort hel ettern ot beingt o Ivan III at all.12
These developmentsse emt o leave the coronationw hichI van the Greatp erformed
on his grandsonD, mitrijI vanovic,a s theo nlyu ndamageds upportf ort heB yzantine
7 The piece is describedi n A. Svirin DrevnerusskoeS ite.M oskva 1963, pp. 57-61 and
figuresO. n Zoë's lack of influenceo n Muscovy see K. V. Bazileviö VneSnjajap olitika
russkogo centralizovannogog osudarstva.V toraja polovina XV veka. Leningrad 1952,
pp. 72-88.
8 See Norretranders The Shapingo f Czardom,p assim;R . P. Dmitrieva Skazanie o
knjazjachv ladimirskichM. oskva 1955,p p. 148-151.
9 See Caev "Moskva - tretij Rim" pp. 3-10; cf. Dmitrieva Skazanie o knjazjach
vladimirskicphp . 148-151.
10 Schaeder Moskau das dritteR om pp. 53-58.
11 G. Alef The Adoption of the Muscovite Two-headed Eagle: A DiscordantV iew,
in: Speculum4 1 (1966) No. 1, pp. 1-21 and plates.S ee also A. V. Solovjev Les Emblèmes
héraldiquesd e Byzancee t les Slaves,i n: SeminariumK ondakovianum7 (1935) pp. 119-164;
Ja. S. Lure Ideologiceskajab ofba v russkojp ublicistikek onca XV - nacala XVI veka.
Moskva 1960,p p. 389-390.
12 N. Andreyev Filofeya nd his Epistle to Ivan Vasilyevichi,n : The Slavonic and East
European Review 38 (1959-60) pp. 1-31; A. L. Goldberg Tri "poslanija Filofeja" (Opyt
tekstologiceskogaon aliza),i n: TrudyO tdela drevnerusskolji teratur2y9 (1974) pp. 68-97,
herep p. 68-79. But see also the fascinatingar ticleb y F. Kämpfer Beobachtungenz u den
SendschreibeFni lofejs,i n: Jahrbüchefrü rG eschichteO steuropas.N .S. 18 (1970) pp. 1-46.
356 George P. Majeska
foundationo f the fifteentche nturyM uscovitea utocracya,n d thisp illar,o n closer
examinationt,u rnso ut to be rathers hakya s well.
I
For those who were looking for an impressivee vent which would signal the
appearanceo n history'ss tage of Muscovy as a reincarnationof the Byzantine
Empire,t he coronationc eremonyo f 1498 seemedt he answer.A s far as we can
tell,u p to thatt imep rincest ook thet hronew itha minimumo f ceremonyo,r maybe
no ceremonya t all. Chroniclest reats uch eventsm ore as chronologicael ntries
thana s ritualizedc eremonies:" Prince( or Grand Prince)b lankc ame to blanka nd
sat [sedeo] n thet hroneo f his forefathersT."h is formi s followedi n chroniclee ntries
dealingw ithK ievan and appanaget imes,a nd, to an extent,M ongol times.T here
seem to be two exceptionst o this generalr ule: firsta, Grand Princes ometimes
goes (oftenw itha n armyt) o one oft hep rincipalitieosv erw hichh e claimsp ersonal
rulea nd "seats" [posadith] is son on thet hrone( a transitivvee rb,a s opposedt o the
intransitivvee rb" he sat"); second,a ftera n uprisinga gainstt heM ongol overlords,
an armyw ill come to restoreM ongol suzeraintyov era principalityan, da represent-
ative of the Mongol Khan will personallys eat [posadtt9t]h e princec hosenb y the
Mongols on the throne.13A gainstt he dim greyb ackgroundo f such "enthrone-
ments"( if we mayd ignifysu ch simplec eremoniews itha high-soundintgi tle),t he
colorfurl itualo f the coronationo f Dmitriji n 1498 certainlyst ood out. In theg reat
DormitionC athedralo f the Kremlint he highestc lergyo f the Muscoviter ealm
gatheredin fullv estmentst,h ronesf ort heM etropolitanan d theo ld and new Grand
Princesw ere arrangedo n a dais beforet he sanctuaryt,h e memberso f the Grand
Princelyf amilyin favora t them omentc amei n fullr egaliaa ttendedb y sumptuously
accouteredb oyars and attendantsa, nd, most impressivelyt,h e barmy(a richly
decoratedb road collar) and cap were put on youngD mitrija s equivalentso f the
Byzantiniem periadl iadema nd crown,a ll thist o the accompanimenotf the solemn
Byzantinep rayersu sed for the coronationo f an emperoro f the EasternR oman
Empire.14T he ritualw as carefullyco pied fromt he byzantiner ituale(sp robablyi n
Serbiant ranslationss,u cha s theo ne publishedb y E. V. Barsov),15b ut an element
was addedw hichw as not mentionedin the Byzantintee xts,t houghi t was described
bya Russianw itnessa t thec oronationo f EmperorM anuelI I in 1392.A s then ewly-
crownedr ulerl eftt hec hurcha ftert hec eremonyh,e was "showeredw ithg old coins"
13 On earlyR ussian princelye nthronementsse e E. V. Barsov Drevnerusskiep amjat-
niki svjaëcennogov encanijac arej na carstvo.M oskva 1883, pp. X-XV; Medlin Moscow
and East Rome pp. 54-60; F. Dvornik ByzantineP oliticalI deas in Kievan Russia, in:
DumbartonO aks Papers 9-10 (1956) pp. 116-121. Cf. A. V. Solovjev Die Entwicklung
der Idee des Staatesi n den slawischenM onarchien,i n: Corona Regni. Studienü ber die
Krone als Symbold es Staatesi m späterenM ittelalterE. d. by M. Hellmann. Darmstadt
1961,p p. 181-196.
14 Barsov Drevnerusskiep amjatnikip p. 32-38; Polnoe sobranie russkichl etopisej
(hereafterP SRL). Vol. 12, S.-Peterburg1 901, pp. 246-248 (Nikon Chronicle).T he text
of the Nikon Chronicleo n thise venti s commont o most of the late chronicler edaction;s
cf. PSRL. Vol. 8, S.-Peterburg1 859, pp. 234-236 (VoskresenskiCj hronicle);e t al. See
P. Nitsche Großfürstu nd ThronfolgerD. ie Nachfolgepolitikd er Moskauer Herrscher
bis zum Ende des RiurikidenhauseKs.ö ln 1972,p . 132, notes2 50, 251, and elsewhere.
15 Cf. Barsov Drevnerusskipe amjatnikpi p. 25-31.
The MoscowC oronatioonf 1498R econsidered 357
in imitationof a Russianp ilgrim'sm istakenim pressionof thel argesset hrownt o the
people of Constantinoplteo celebratea n imperiacl oronation.16
Those who soughth ad foundw hatt heyw anted: the firstp ublic statemenotf the
translatiimo periit:h eE ast ChristianE mpireh ad migratedto theb ankso f theM oskva
Riverw itht he" imperial"c oronationo fD mitriji n 1498a s GrandP rinceo f Moscow
and heir apparentC. onsistencyd emandedt hatI van's son Vasilij III, who in fact
succeededI van in place of Dmitrij,b e crownedw ith a similarr itual,w hich the
historianS . M. Solovev proceededt o describe,a lthought he sourceh e cites says
nothinga bouti t.17A t leasto ne extremelgyo od source,a s a mattero f fact,e xplicitly
deniest hatV asilij was crowned.I n instructionws hichh e gave to his ambassadors,
Ivan IV notedt hath is title" tsar" mightb e unfamiliatro theP olishK ing and that
thee nvoyss houlde xplaint o the kingt hatt hisw as becauseI van was the firstr uler
of Russiat o beart hatt itle,s ince" neitherh is fathern orh is grandfathewre rec rown-
ed.""
II
Makingp roperh istoricals ense out of the coronationo f 1498 seemst o demand
two typeso f analysisi: deologicala nd functionalT. he firsht as long pervadedh istor-
ical scholarshipw ith, I would suggest,d ubious results.L iturgicallyt, he 1498
ceremonyw as not thato f the coronationo f an emperoro f the ByzantineE mpire.
Amongo therm issinge lementsD, mitrijw as not anointedw itht he holy oils, nor
did he take communionin the sanctuaryw itht he clergy,1a9n d theset wo customs
were de rigueuirn the ByzantineE mpirea t least fromt he thirteentche nturyo n.20
16 See G. Majeska The Journeyo f Ignatiuso f Smolenskt o Constantinople1,3 89-1392
(unpublishedd octorald issertationin History,I ndiana University1,9 68) pp. 273-276. This
additiont o the Byzantiner itualb ecame standardi n later Muscovitec oronationsa nd, as
is well known,p rovideda veryp owerfuls cene forE isenst ein'sf ilm" Ivan the Terrible."
17 S. M. Solo^ev Istorija Rossii s drevnejSichv remen.K niga 3 (toma 5-6), Moskva
1960,p . 358, n. 84.
18 The text( witho thersi n a similarv ein) is quoted in Sawa Moskovskiec arip . 145.
19 Barsov Drevnerusskipe amjatnikpi p. 32-38; PSRL vol. 12, pp. 246-248.
20 See: Euchologion sive ritualeG raecorum.E d. by J. Goar. Venezia 1730, pp. 726-
730; [Pseudo-JCoDiNuCs uropalatas De officialibusp alati constantinopolitaniB. onn
1839,p p. 90; 96; 98, and: Traitéd es officesE. d. by J. Verpeaux.P aris 1966, pp. 353-355;
358-359; Ioannes Cantacuzenus Historiae.E d. by L. Schopen. Vol. 1, Bonn 1828, pp.
197-198; 202; Symeono f Thessalonica De sacro templo,i n: PatrologiaG raeca. Ed. by
J. P. Migne. Vol. 155, Paris 1866,c ols. 353-354; cf. ibidemc ols. 351-352. See also Barsov
Drevnerusskiep amjatnikpi . XXIX; Sawa Moskovskiec ari p. 153; L. Bréhier Hiereus
kai basileus, in: Archives de l'Orient Chrétien.M élanges d'Histoire et d'Archéologie
Byzantines1 (1948) pp. 41-45; G. Ostrogorsky Zur Kaisersalbungu nd Schilderhebung
im spätbyzantinischeKnr önungszeremonieliln, : Historia4 (1955) pp. 246-256, reprinted
in Idem Zur ByzantinischenG eschichte.A usgewähltek leine SchriftenD. armstadt1 973,
pp. 142-152; D. M. Nicol Kaisersalbung.T he Unction of Emperorsi n Late Byzantine
CoronationR itual,i n: Byzantinean d ModernG reekS tudies2 (1976) pp. 37-52; C. Walter
The Significancoef Unctioni n ByzantineIc onographyi,b idemp p. 53-73.
Beforet het enthc enturyt he heira pparentw as appointedb y his coronationa s "Caesar."
The ritualf ort hiss ervicei s less impressivet hant hatf ort he coronationo f a coëmperor;
see the textp reservedi n Constantinus Porphyrogenitus De cerimoniis2. vols. Ed. by
J. Reiske. Bonn 1829-1930,h erev ol. 1, pp. 217-225; cf. also ibidemv ol. 2, pp. 263-266;
Le Livred es CérémoniesE. d. byE . Vogt. Vol. 2, Paris1 939,p p. 26-32; cf.i bidem,C ommen-
taire pp. 42-50. On Byzantinec oronationr ituali n general,s ee A. Christophilopoulou
Eklogë,a nagoreusisk ais tepsist oub yzantinouau tokratorosA. thens1 956,a nd F. Brightman
ByzantinIem periaCl oronationsi,n : The Journaol fT heologicalS tudies2 (1901) pp. 359-392.
358 George P. Majeska
It is not clear thatt heset wo customsw ere followedb y the Serbsa nd Bulgarians
in crowningt heir" tsars" in thel ate middlea ges, but theirt sarsm ade no serious
claim to ecumenicalr ule in the Orthodoxw orld as did the emperora t Constan-
tinople.T hey were,i n fact,a utonomousk ingsw itht he title" tsar,"a nd theyw ere
recognizeda s such by the laterB yzantinee mperors.2H1 ere it mightb e usefult o
reiteratteh atS erbianm anuscriptsse emt o be the chiefs ourcef ort he ritualo f the
1498 coronationT. he factt hata Slavic "tsar" crownedt o the accompanimenotf
prayerso f the Byzantiner itual does not necessarilyc laim ecumenicali mperial
prerogativeasn d somewhatd eflatest he relevanceo f the 1498 Moscow ceremony
fora messianicin terpretatioonf thei deologyo f the "ThirdR ome." It also suggests
thata functionaaln alysiso f thec oronationo f 1498 mightb e morei nstructive.
It was earlyr ecognizede, ven by those mostt akenw itht he ideologicalc ontent
of Dmitri'js imperialc oronation,t hat the ceremony'sf unctionw as to associate
himw ithh is grandfatheinr ther uleo f Muscovy,a nd to nameh ima s heira pparent.
The ceremonyco mesw henI van's eldestl ivings on, Vasilij,i s in disgrace.B arelya
yearl aterV asilij's rehabilitatiobne gan,a nd in thes pringo f 1502t her oleso fD mitrij
and Vasilij,n ephewa nd uncle,w erer eversedD. mitrijw as sento ffi n disgrace,a nd
Vasilijw as proclaimedh eira pparent.2B2u t thes amec hroniclews hicht reatD mitri'js
coronationw iths uchf ulsomed etailt reatV asilij's proclamationm uchm orep rosai-
cally: "Grand PrinceI van Vasilevic of All Russia blessed and endowed his son
Vasilij witht he Grand Principalityof Vladimira nd Moscow and sat him over it
as autocrato f All Russia,w itht heb lessingo f Simon,M etropolitaonf A ll Russia."23
For our purposes,t hreet hingss tando ut in this laconic statementF. irst,t herei s
no mentiono f a coronationc eremonyi;t does not seemt o be necessaryin Vasilij's
case. Second,I van "seats" [posaditV] asilij on the throne;t he old vocabularyf or
installationof vassalp rincesr eappearsT. hird,t hew ord" endow" [poza/ovafap] pears
- the regulart erminologyof testamentsi,n cludingG rand Princelyw ills.24T he
functiono f Ivan's proclamationo f Vasilij in 1502 is to announcep ubliclyt hel ine
of inheritance/successioTno. proclaimD mitrijh is heir and successorf our years
previouslyIv an had neededa n impressiveec clesiasticarli tual,a "coronation."
I would suggestt hatt he differenmt ethodso f proclaimingh eirs-apparenstt em
fromt he factt hati n passingo ver his eldestl ivings on, Vasilij,t o appointa s heir
his grandsonD, mitrijs, on of his deceasedf irst-borsno n, Ivan, Ivan the Greatw as
openlyb reakingw itht hel ong-standinMg uscovitep recedentt hatt hee ldests urviv-
ing son was chiefh eir of the Grand Prince.W e need not recounth ere how hard
Moscow had foughtt o uphold thisp recedentt; he role of primogeniturhea s long
beenr ecognizeda s a vitalf actorin ther iseo f Moscow.25T o overridet hist radition
21 See D. Obolensky The ByzantinCe ommonwealthE.a sternE urope,5 00-1453.L ondon
1971, passim.
22 On the backgrounds ee J. L. I. Fennell The DynasticC risis 1497-1502,i n: The
Slavonica nd East EuropeanR eview3 9 (1960-61)p p. 1-23 and Idem Ivan theG reatp p. 355-
361, as well as Nitsche Großfürsut nd Thronfolgepr p. 119-170,w hichi s especiallyim por-
tantf ori ts treatmenotf the role of the coronationc eremony.
23 PSRL vol. 12, p. 255.
24 Cf. The Testamento f the Grand Princeso f Moscow. Ed. by R. Howes. Ithaca,N .Y.
1967,p p. 115-173.
25 See Nitsche Großfürsut nd Thronfolger.
The Moscow Coronationo f 1498 Reconsidered 359
needed a dramatica ct; to validate it required an appeal to divine sanction,a n eccle-
siastical consecration. Returning to the normal Muscovite line of inheritance,i .e.,
leaving the throne to Ivan's eldest living son, Vasilij, needed only a proclamation
and a demonstrative act; Ivan "seated Vasilij" over the Grand Principality. It
should be rememberedt hat the exceptions to the rule of princes "seating themselves
on a throne" noted earlier, that is, when they "were seated" upon a throne by a
senior prince or a Mongol legate, were also "demonstrative acts" accompanying
appointments not immediately accepted. Ivan, indeed, seems to be explaining his
intent himself in his address to the Metropolitan of Moscow which begins the
coronation ceremonyf or Dmitrij :
"Father Metropolitan!B y the will of God, fromo ur Grand Princelya ncestorst o the
presentt imeo ur ancientc ustomh as been for [our] fatherst he Grand Princest o give the
Grand Principalittyo theirf irsts ons; and myf athert he Grand Princeb lessedm e witht he
Grand Principalitydu ringh is lifetimeA. nd I would have blessed my firsts on Ivan with
theG randP rincipality[b, ut]G od's will provedt o be thatm ys on Ivan shouldn ot survive.
But his firsts on Dmitrijr emains,a nd God gave him to me in my son's place, so now,
duringm yl ifetimaen d afterm e, I bless him witht he Grand Principality. . ,"26
In a slightly differentc ontext Ivan made his action even clearer to recalcitrant
citizens of Pskov: "Am I not freet o choose between my grandson and my children?
I will grantt he rightt o rule to whomever I please."27
Why, specificallyw, as a Byzantine coronation ritual chosen to establish Dmitrij' s
precedence? First, the Byzantines,t o whom at least the church looked for answers
to abstractq uestions, had a ready-mader itual for a ruler naming a successor during
his lifetimer egardless of blood lines, the ritual for the coronation of a coëmperor.
In this ceremony,t he ruling emperor rathert han the patriarchi mposed the diadem
and crown on the candidate,28a s Ivan III imposed the barmya nd cap on young
Dmitrij. But then, how else could Ivan have confirmedh is intention? In earlier
Muscovite history the Grand Prince would have, in essence, made his suzerain,
the Khan of the Golden Horde, the executor of his will, dispatching him a copy
and hoping that at his death the Khan would issue the appropriatej arlyk to fulfill
his plans for succession. But by the 1490's Ivan had no suzerain, he was, correctly,
samoderzeca,u tocrat,i n the sense of an independent ruler. To whom could he appeal
to enforce his desire to change the standard Muscovite Grand Princely line of
succession? The only all-Russian institutiono f Muscovy besides the government
was the church. Its blessing was needed to sanctifyI van's untraditional wishes
in the mattero f succession; but its blessing was unnecessaryi f custom was allowed
to dictate the normal primogeniture succession: the exact road by which Ivan
himselfc ame to the throne of Moscow afterh is father,V asilij II.
26 PSRL vol. 12, pp. 246-247.
27 Pskovskiel etopisi.E d. by A. N. Nasonov. Vol. 1, Moskva 1941, p. 83. An Ambas-
sadoro f Moscow to theK han of theC rimeanT atarsg ave a similare xplanationo f Dmitri'js
replacemenbt y Vasilij (quoted in Nitsche Großfürstu nd Thronfolgerp . 169). The type
of autocracyi mpliciti n such statementiss more reminiscenotf the EmperorP aul I than
of the sacredr ulerso f Byzantium!
28 See the sourcesc iteda bove, note 20.
360 George P. Majeska
III
Connectingt he coronationo f Dmitrijw itht he sorto f Byzantine-aurae"dT hird
Rome" mentalityn ormallya ssociatedw ith Ivan the Terriblei s not uniquelya
faulto f laterh istoriansA. "ThirdR ome" mentalitiys in thes ources,b utt hes ources
are largelyf romt he sixteenthc enturyt: he chroniclec ompilationse dited specifi-
callyt o reflectth e new officiaild eologyo f the Muscoviter ulera s the divinelya p-
pointeda utocratitcs aro f all Russia.29H owever,a carefurl eadingo f,s ay,t heN ikon
Chroniclec,o uld havep reventedh istorianfsr omf allingin tot hee arly" ThirdR ome"
trap.T he NikonC hroniclef, ori nstanceh, as two separatee ntriesf ort hec oronation
of Dmitriju ndert he same year,o ne immediatelyfo llowingt he other,a sure sign
thatt wo sources are being used, and have been poorlyi ntegratedF. ortunately,
we have the sourcesw hichw ere used for thesee ntriesi n the Chroniclea, nd it is
clear thatt he editorw as very "active" in his editingw ork. The firste ntryw as
obviouslyt akenf roma now lost chronicle,p ossiblya copy of the "Novgorod
compilationo f 1539" done by the thenA rchbishop(l aterM etropolitanM) acarius;
thee ntryo n thec oronationo f Dmitrijw as laterc opied at thee nd of anotherw ork.
Afterg ivingt hea ppropriatde ate,t hel ost chroniclet extg oes:
"GrandP rinceIv anV asifevibcl esseda nde ndowedh isg randsoPnr inceD mitriIjv anovic
witht heG randP rincipaliotyf V ladimirM, oscow,a nd All Russia.H is seatingw as in the
Churcho f theA ll-purien Moscow[ i.e.,t he DormitionC athedralW]. itht heb lessingo f
MetropolitaSnim ont, heA rchbishoapn db ishopso ft hew holes acredc ongregatioonf t he
RussianM etropolitanahtee, [ Ivan]i mposedo n him[ Dmitritj]h eb armoyf M onomachan d
thec ap,a nd hisu ncle,P rinceJ uriIjv anovics, howeredh imw ithg oldt hricei:n fronot f
theA U-purein, fronotf t he[ Archjangaenl di n fronotf t heA nnunciatio[in.e .,a t thet hree
majorK remlinch urchesA].n dt hatd ayt heG randP rincea rrangead greatb anquetf orh is
grandsoGn randP rinceD mitriIjv anovica ndt heM etropolitaannd b ishopsA. ndt heG rand
Princem adea giftt o hisg randsoonf t heg oldc rosso fP aramSwa itha goldenc haina,n dt he
goldb eltw ithp reciousst onesa,n dt hes ardonybxo x."30
The firstN ikon Chroniclee ntryf ollowst hist extw ord forw ord,e xceptf orc onfla-
tion (it adds the nameso f all the bishopsp resenta t the service,f ori nstance),a nd
1) Ivan does not "endow" Dmitrijw itht he GrandP rincipalityh,e "seatsh imo ver
it", and 2) the sectiond escribingt he banqueta nd the giftsi s lefto ut.31I n other
words,t hec eremonyas an act of testamento,f will-writingis, hiddeni n theN ikon
Chronicleb y replacingt he testamenwt ord "endow," and by not mentioningth e
giftsw hich,w itht he barmyan d the cap ("of Monomach"),a re willedt o the chief
inheritoorf each of ther ecentG randP rinceso f Moscow in theirw ills!32
29 The literaturoen thei deologicailn tentionosf thes ixteentche nturcyh roniclceo m-
pilersi s veryl arge.S ee,f ore xampleA, . N. NasonovI storijar usskogole topisanijXa I -
nacalaX VIII veka.O cerkii issledovaniiMa.o skva1 969,d d. 410-477a ndp assim.
30 PSRL vol. 12,p . 263= PSRL. Vol. 6, S.-Peterbur1g85 3,p . 279.S ee NasonovI storija
russkogloe topisanipjap . 465-472o n thep ossiblep rovenancoef t hist ext.
31 PSRL vol. 12, pp. 246-248C. f.t hev erys imilatre xtp, ossiblyof o fficiastl andingin, :
Sobranieg osudarstvennygcrha moti dogovorovc hranjaëcichsvj aG osudarstvennkooj l-
legiii nostrannydcehl .V ol. 2, Moskva1 819,p p. 27-29.
32 The Testamentosf theG randP rincesp p. 115-173O. n theg rowingim portancoef
theg iftass trappingosf i mperiaplo wert o be bestoweodn lyw ithg react eremonrya thetrh an
beings implyw illedo r givena s giftss ee DmitrievaS kazanieo knjazjachv ladimirskich,
passim.
The MoscowC oronatioonf 1498R econsidered 361
The seconde ntryo n thec oronationo f Dmitri)i n theN ikonC hronicler eproduces
the texti n the fifteentche nturyp archmentm anuscript" Synodal Rituale" which
recordsa ll the prayersu sed at Dmitrij'sc oronationa, long withc eremoniald irec-
tions.33T he Chronicleh, owever,r eproducest he textw iths omen oticeablec hanges,
even beyondR ussianizinga rchaicC hurchS-l avonicismsa nd droppingd irectionos f
interesto nly to the officiatincgl ergy;t he cap becomes the "cap of Monomach"
(with,t hus,B yzantineim perialc onnotations);3I4v an does not announcet hath e
is conferrintgh eG randP rincipalitoyn Dmitrija s his fatherh ad conferreidt on him
(in otherw ords,t his ceremonyis assumedt o be a new and differencte remony);
Ivan does not say thath e is elevatingD mitrijb ecause God gave him Dmitrijt o
replaceh is dead eldests on (apparentlyh e does so becauseh e autocraticallcyh ooses
to and need not explainh is reasons); the Metropolitand oes not just personally
congratulatteh e two GrandP rinces,b uth is wordsa re spelledo ut in theC hronicl:e
"Rejoice and be of good health,I van, OrthodoxT sar,b y the graceo f God, Grand
Princeo f all Russia,A utocra!t May you live withy ourg randsonD mitrijI vanovic,
GrandP rinceo f All Russia,f orm anyy ears!"I n the Nikon Chronicle( only) Ivan,
liket heM etropolitang,i vesa religiousc harge,a littles ermont, o youngD mitrij( in
thes amew ordsa s theM etropolitanc,u riously)e,x ceptt hatI van's chargee nds with
the commandt o Dmitrijt o "take care whole-heartedloyf all OrthodoxC hristen-
dom." In short,t he sixteenthc enturyc hroniclea ccountsa re made to reflectt he
officiaild eologyo f Ivan the Terrible'sM uscovye xpresseds o clearlyi n the con-
temporar"yS kazanieo knjazjachv ladimirskich."35
In the end, the tendentiouvs iewingo f Dmitrij'sc oronationa s a benchmarkin
the evolutiono f Muscovitem essianismis not the creationo f eighteenthc entury
apologistsf or Pettinea bsolutismb, ut ratheri t bears the marko f theirs ixteenth
centuryp redecessorst,h e editorso f the "new-think"c hronicleso f Ivan the Ter-
rible'sc entralizedst ateu ndert he inspiredl eadershipo f MetropolitanM acariuso f
Moscow.36
33 The Rituale text is publishedi n Barsov Drevnerusskiep amjatnikip p. 32-38. Cf.
PSRL vol. 12, pp. 246-248. The Rituale textw as made available to Herbersteinb y the
Muscovitea uthoritiesa; good translationo f it (with Herberstein'su seful comments)i s
includedi n: Sigmund Freiherrv on Herberstein Rerum MoscoviticarumC ommentarii.
Basel 1571 (repr. Frankfurt1 964) pp. 19-22 (in: Notes upon Russia. Transi, by R. H.
Maior. 2 vols. London 1851-1852,h erev ol. 1, pp. 39-44).
34 Lure Ideologiceskajab ofba pp. 383-390 claimst hat" cap of Monomach" is theo lder
readingi n the manuscripttr aditiono f the coronationR ituales,b ut his argumentsa re not
veryc onvincingT. he argumentasr e, however,a cceptedb y A. A. Zimin Anticnyem otivy
v russkoj publicistikek onca XV v., in: FeodafriajaR ossija vo vsemirno-istoriceskom
processe.S borniks tatejp osvjaScennyEj vu VladimirovicuC erepninuM. oskva 1972,p . 132f f.
and forma pivotal point in his attemptt o connectt he compositiono f the "Skazanie o
knjazjachv ladimirskichw" ithD mitrij'sc oronationi n 1498. The argumento f the present
workw ould militatea gainstZ imin's ideas on this.
35 See Dmitrieva Skazanieo kniaziachv ladimirskicphp . 110-118 and passim.
36 On Macarius'l iterary-publiciswtioc rk see Miller The LiteraryA ctivitieso f Metro-
politanM acarius,a nd Nasonov Istorijar usskogol etopisanijap p. 410-477.