Sigismund von Herberstein

“ O lord my son Dimitry, by the divine will Grand Duke, the Grand Duke, thy father, hath shewn thee favour, and blessed thee with the grand dukedom; do thou also, O lord my son, have the fear of God in thy heart. Love justice and just judgment; obey the grand duke thy grandfather, and interest thyself with all thy heart about all the truly faithful. We bless thee also, O lord my son, and pray God for thy welfare. Then the metropolitan and the grand dukes arose, and the metropolitan praying, blessed the grand duke and his sons with the cross ”

“ O Lord our God, King of kings, Lord of lords, who by thy servant Samuel the prophet, didst choose David and anointed him to be King over thy people Israel, hear now the prayers of Thine unworthy servant, and look down from Thy sanctuary upon Thy faithful servant whom Thou hast chosen to exalt him to be King over Thy holy nations, and whom Thou hast redeemed with the most precious blood of Thy only-begotten Son ”

“ For this reason, Maximilian thought that it concerned his interests to make an ally of the Grand Duke of Russia, who was the perpetual enemy of the Lithuanians and Poles. But on a subsequent occasion, when a conference was held at Posen, between Maximilian and Vladislav’, respecting the marriage of Anna, in the presence, and with the approval, of Sigismund, Maximilian met Sigismund, and unhesitatingly laying aside all appearance of suspicion or disagreement, embraced him so closely, that no one would doubt that he was ready to go either to heaven or hell with him. ”

“ Although, however, the Prince Vasiley is thus most unsuccessful in war, he is, nevertheless, constantly being praised by his courtiers as if he had brought things to a happy issue; and on occasions when scarcely half his army has returned home, they have told him that not a man was lost in battle. In the sway which he holds over his people, he surpasses all the monarchs of the whole world, and has carried out his father’s plan of ejecting all princes and others from the garrisons and fortified places. ”

“ After which the Metropolitan said, “Bow yourselves with me, and pray to Him who governs all things,” and pronounced the following prayer: “O Lord, we pray to Thee, the only King Eternal, to whom also is committed the sovereignty of the earth, uphold [the prince] under Thy protection; continue him in the kingdom, that he may always do that which is good and seemly, make justice to shine in his days; and in the enlargement and tranquillity of his dominion, let us live quietly and peaceably in all goodness and purity.” ”

“ At length the blind Vasiley Vasilievich obtained quiet possession of the Grand Duchy. From the time of Vladimir Monomach up to this Vasiley, Russia had no monarch. But Vasiley’s son, who was surnamed Ivan, was most fortunate; for at the same time as he married Mary the sister of Michael, Grand Duke of Tver, he drove out his brother-in-law, and took possession first of the Grand Duchy of Tver, and then even of great Novogorod; and after that, all the other princes being either moved by the grandeur of his achievements or stricken with fear became subject to him. ”

“ Then, in a loud voice, he said: “Thou art the King of the world, and Preserver of our souls; praise be to Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now and for ever. Amen.” At length he delivered to the Grand Duke the ducal hat, which had been brought to him, at his command, by two abbots. He then marked the grandson with the cross, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and while the Grand Duke placed the hat upon the head of his grandson, the Metropolitan first, and the archbishops and bishops approaching afterwards, blessed him with the imposition of hands. ”

“ And lust is law, the prince and realme must needs in time decay;
The strangenesse of the place is such for sundry things I see,
As if I would, I can not write, ech priuate point to thee.
The colde is rare, the people rude, the prince so full of pride,
The realme so stored with monks and nunnes, and priests on euery side:
The maners are so Turkie like, the men so full of guile,
The women wanton, temples stuft with idols that defile
The seats that sacred ought to be, the customes are so quaint,
As if I would describe the whole, I feare my penne would faint. ”

“ At length the king sent for Herberstein, and gave him a verbal answer for the emperor, but of too evasive and vague a character to satisfy the shrewd and resolute diplomatist. He had, therefore, the courage to tell the king, that neither the emperor nor the prince of Spain expected such an answer; nor would they believe that His Majesty would set a higher value upon a low woman than upon his own conscience, the laws of God, Christian order, his own honour, and the feelings of friendship. ”

“ They make the first charge on the enemy with great impetuosity; but their valour does not hold out very long, for they seem as if they would give a hint to the enemy, as much as to say, "if you do not flee, we must". They seldom take a city by storm, or by a sudden assault, but prefer a long siege, and to reduce the people to surrender by hunger or by treachery. Although Vasiley besieged the city of Smolensko with cannon, some of which he had taken with him from Moscow, and some he had founded there during the siege, and though he battered the city to pieces, he accomplished nothing. ”

“ As the devastations committed by these conquerors of Europe became more and more alarming, Pope Innocent IV, at the council of Lyons, in 1245, resolved to send the above-named monks as ambassadors to these formidable enemies of Christianity, in order to pacify them, or, if possible, to divert them from Europe, and to instigate them rather to a war against the Turks and Saracens. At the same time they were to endeavour to persuade the Mongolians to embrace the Christian faith, and in any case to gather every possible information respecting a people so little known. ”

“ And in order that my opinion in this matter may not be looked upon with suspicion, or considered presumptuous, I assert with all honesty, that not once only, but repeatedly, while engaged as ambassador for the Emperor Maximilian, and his grandson Ferdinand king of the Romans, I have seen and investigated Moscow, as it were under my very eyes (as the saying is) ; that I made myself acquainted with the greater part of the talented and trustworthy men of the place, and did not rely upon this or that man’s account, but trusted only to the unvarying statements of the many ”

“ Various are the opinions entertained respecting the origin of the name of Russia. Some maintain that it is derived from one Russus, a prince of the Poles, and brother or nephew of Lech, as though he himself had been a prince of the Russians. Others again derive it from a certain very ancient town, named Russum, [1] not far from Great Novogorod. Some also derive it from the dark colour of the people; and some think that, by a change in the word, Russia has received its designation from Roxolania. ”

“ Some have asserted that the grand duke has requested that the style and title of king should be given him by the Pope and the Emperor Maximilian. I do not think this probable, especially as there is no one to whom he is more obnoxious than to the Pope, whom he does not condescend to designate by any title but that of Doctor. That he does not esteem the emperor to be greater than himself, is evident from his letters, in which he affixes the title of emperor to his own name. ”

“ Among other things she is reported to have induced her husband to remove his grandson Dimitry from the sovereignty, and to elevate Gabriel to his place. For the duke, overruled by his wife, cast Dimitry into prison and kept him there, until at length on his death-bed he ordered him to be brought to him, and thus addressed him: “Dear grandson, I have sinned against God and thee, inasmuch as I have afflicted thee with imprisonment and have deprived thee of thy just inheritance; I beseech thee forgive me the injury I have done thee, depart in freedom and enjoy thy right.” ”

“ Again a chorus, in response, mentioned Dimitry, the grandson, as grand duke; and then made allusion to others in the usual manner. When the litany was finished, the Metropolitan prayed, “O most holy Lady, Virgin mother of God”, and after the prayer the metropolitan and grand duke sat down. The priest or deacon then pointed out the place selected for the gospel, and said, with a loud voice,—“Long live the Grand Duke Ivan, good and faithful, beloved of Christ, chosen of God, and to be honoured by God; long live the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilievich, monarch of Novogorod and all Russia.” ”

“ In like manner also, if any one enquires respecting some doubtful and uncertain matter, the common answer is, “God and the great prince know”. It is matter of doubt whether the brutality of the people has made the prince a tyrant, or whether the people themselves have become thus brutal and cruel through the tyranny of their prince.
From the time of Rurick to this present sovereign, these princes have borne no other title than that of Grand Dukes, either of Vladimir or Moscow or Novogorod, etc., except Ivan Vasilievich, who styled himself Lord of all Russia, and Grand Duke of Vladimir, etc. ”

“ But he replied: “If we were to fall upon this part of the army, the other part, to which perhaps yet other forces may be added, will still remain, and thus a greater danger would threaten us: let us wait until the whole army has crossed, for our strength is such that without doubt we shall be able with but little exertion either to overwhelm this army, or to surround them and drive them like cattle to Moscow, and then it will only remain for us to take possession of the whole of Lithuania.” ”

“ In the same manner, all who are not skilled in the Russian idiom or mode of spelling, such as the Bohemians, Poles, and even the Slavonians who are subject to the kingdom of Hungary, call the king by another name, namely, kral, kyrall, or koroll. [32] They think a kaiser or emperor only should be called Czar; and hence it came, that the Russian interpreters hearing their prince thus called by foreign nations, began themselves to call him emperor, and they think that the name of czar is more noble than that of king, although that is its real meaning. ”

“ The king, instigated by one of his counsellors who supported George, gave his opinion in favour of George in the presence of Vasiley; upon which the latter threw himself at the feet of the king, and begged permission to speak. On receiving the king’s assent, he said: “Thou hast announced thy decision upon lifeless words, but I trust that the living documents which I possess, and which distinctly express, under the authority of thy golden seal, thy former wish to invest me with the Grand Duchy, may be held by thee to be of far greater weight and importance” ”

“ But whatever be the source from which Russia has derived its name, all the races using the Sclavonic language that observe both the faith and the forms of Christianity in accordance with the ritual of the Greeks, and are called in conventional language Russians, and in Latin Rhuteni, have increased to so great a multitude, that they have either driven out all intermediate nations, or have absorbed them into their own habits of living ”

“ Indeed it was the custom formerly for widowers who lived in chastity to administer the sacraments without blame, but now the custom is introduced that no widower be permitted to perform the sacraments, unless he enter some monastery and live according to rule. If any priest who is a widower enter on a second marriage, which he is free to do, he has nothing in common with the clergy, nor does any priest whatever dare either to administer the sacrament, to baptize, or to perform any other duty, unless a deacon be present. ”

“ It was a high distinction at such an age to be made standard-bearer,—an honour which he held as a glorious remembrance till his death, and was proud of leaving it, amongst many other glorious reminiscences, to his descendants. The fortress of Maran, in Friuli, was besieged by the Venetians, and the inhabitants suffered the most dreadful famine, upon which Maximilian ordered Herberstein and his brother George to raise troops in Styria in order to relieve the place, and to convey provisions into it. ”

“ In summe, I say, I never saw a prince that so did raigne,
Nor people so beset with saints, yet all but vile and vaine:
Wilde Irish are as ciul as the Russies in theyr kinde,
Hard choice which is the best of both, ech bloudy, rude and blinde.
If thou be wise, as wise thou art, and wilt be rulde by me,
Liue still at home, and couet not those barbarous coasts to see;
No good befalles a man that seekes, and findes no better place,
No ciul customes to be learned, where God bestowes no grace. ”

“ The king of Poland imagined that he had good reason to mistrust the intentions of Austria, and from the beginning of this new embassy he ascribed another purpose to it than that which was really correct; and in this suspicion he was corroborated by the circumstance that the ambassadors travelled in the company of the returning Russian delegates. He was therefore quite convinced, as Herberstein afterwards learned from himself, that the emperor was forming a new league with the crown-prince against him. ”