Yaroslav the Wise

“ But tell me, Yaroslav, how far are you journeying?" Then said Yaroslav: "I am riding to the city of Shtchetin to slay the Tsar Fireshield." But the Head answered: "Sooner will you be slain yourself! I was indeed a powerful knight, feared by all Tsars and knights; at my birth I was six feet tall, and as stout as a man could compass. When I was ten years old no wild beast, no man on foot, or knight or horse, could stand before me. Now you see how I am grown: my body is sixty feet long, twelve feet between the shoulders, and a feathered shaft can lie between my eyebrows. ”

“ The passions of the people and the wild rage of parties had never been so violent. It turned out, too, that Yaroslav himself was of those called “young, but early.” Men were mistaken when they thought to find in him a son-in-law who would agree with Mystislav. He was a genuine Vladimir prince, hence in no way inclined to preserve the famed liberties of Novgorod. [189] He had one thought alone: to acquire additions for Vladimir. Mystislav’s adherents immediately conceived a deep hatred for Yaroslav, the most irascible among all the sons of Big Nest. ”

“ Thereupon Yaroslav asked how far distant this Russian knight was; and the man replied: “Yaroslav Lasarevich, he has gone too far for you to reach him; ride round the army, and you will see the footsteps of Prince Ivan.” So Yaroslav rode round the army, and saw the tracks of the bounding of the steed; for wherever he had struck his hoofs, large heaps of earth were thrown up. He followed the track until he came to another slain army: here he cried with a loud voice: “Is there not one living man here who has survived the battle?” ”

“ My treasures are open to thee—take towns and handsome villages, and if thou wilt have my daughter the Princess Nasaria for wife, I will give thee one-half of my kingdom.” And so saying, he stretched out his hand to take the sword; but Yaroslav struck him a blow which cleft his head, and the Tsar fell dead on the spot. Then all the princes and boyars cried aloud: “Yaroslav Lasarevich, strike him a second blow!” But he answered: “A knight deals one blow, and that is enough.” ”

“ Many men were drowned in crossing rivers, others died on the road. Every man cursed Yaroslav as the one cause of evil; on him alone did they fix all the error.
When in Vladimir people saw from the walls a horseman rushing toward the city, they thought him a courier with glad tidings from their prince, but when he came nearer they recognized Prince Yuri himself, in shirt and trousers. “Strengthen the town! Strengthen the town!” ”

“ Then said Prince Ivan: “I am the prince of princes, and the knight of knights, and you are a cossack.” “Ay, indeed!” replied Yaroslav, “you are prince in your tent; but let us meet in the open field and we are equals.” Prince Ivan saw that he had no coward to deal with: he took a golden flask, fetched some cold water, and gave it to Yaroslav to drink. Then they mounted their horses and rode into the open country. ”

“ When Mystislav began the campaign and took Zubtsoff, he sent to Yaroslav, saying that he did not like to make war on Vladimir, that peace would be better. “I do not want peace,” replied Yuri; “to your one man we have a hundred.” “Thou hast power, but we have the cross,” answered Mystislav. A month had not passed after that, when the opponents stood face to face, waiting for battle. ”

“ From the references to the princes whose praise he sang, it is evident that he lived at the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth centuries. Nothing else is known of this famous poet.
[25] Yarosláv, the son of Vladímir, lived from 1019-1054: he was the author of the Russian Code (see p. 45) .
[26] Mstisláv, Prince of Tmútorokan, was the brother of Yarosláv († 1036) . In 1022 he killed in duel the giant Redédya, chief of the Kasógs who dwelt between the Black and Caspian seas, and conquered their country. ”

“ Yarosláv and all grandchildren of Vsesláv! [84] Furl your standards, sheath your blunted swords, for you have leaped away from your grandfather’s glory! You have with your discords invited the pagan hosts against the Russian land, against the life of Vsesláv, for through your strife has come the enslavement by the Pólovts land. ”

“ This cousin was Vseslav of Polotsk, grandson of Izyaslav, the eldest brother of Yaroslav the Lawgiver. This Vseslav was known to be desperate in battle, and swift beyond any man in marching. People believed him born through enchantment, they thought him a real devil’s son, who could turn to a gray wolf and race in one night from the Caucasus to Novgorod. This so called “wizard,” excluded from the sovereign circle, now began war in defense of rights which to him, the great-grandson of Vladimir the Apostle, might indeed seem well founded. ”

“ Yaroslav, Vladimir’s fourth son, was prince in Novgorod. This city had been paying Kief a yearly tax of two hundred grievens. The tax, paid at all times unwillingly, was refused altogether during Yaroslav’s rule. Vladimir had been preparing to punish his son, and force payment on Novgorod, when he died rather suddenly. Yaroslav, to defend Novgorod against his father, had brought in Varangians to help him. Those men, as is the [20] wont of such persons, grew insolent quickly and were offensive to Novgorod women. Certain people rose up and slew some of those warriors. ”

“ If he be a Russ, [4] or henchman, or merchant, or a boyár’s thane, or swordsman, [5] or hapless man, [6] or Slovene, [7] let the price on his head be 40 grívnas. After Yarosláv, his sons Izyasláv, Svyatosláv, Vsévolod, and their men Kusnyáchko, Perenyég, and Nikifór, came together and did away with the blood revenge, but substituted weregild for it, but in everything else his sons left as Yarosláv had decreed.
If one strike another with the unsheathed sword, or with the haft, the prince’s fine [8] for the offence is 12 grívnas. ”

“ Against the fervor of this popular spiritual uprising the efforts of the Church and the power of the State were exerted in vain. Dissent was rooted in the hearts of the people, never again to be extirpated.
The relations between the tsar and the exarch were no longer harmonious. Peter was exacting and arbitrary, impatient of clerical control, and inclined to use ecclesiastical patronage in furtherance of his political plans. Yavorsky, while faithful and loyal, was independent, and rigid in his devotion to the Church. ”

“ I'm timid, without self-confidence; I have a cowardly conscience; I never can adapt myself to life, or become its master. Some people talk nonsense or cheat, and even so enjoy life, while I consciously do good, and feel nothing but uneasiness or complete indifference. I explain all that, Gavrilitch, by my being a slave, the grandson of a serf. Before we plebeians fight our way into the true path, many of our sort will perish on the way."
"That's all quite right, my dear fellow," said Yartsev, and he sighed. "That only proves once again how rich and varied Russian life is. Ah, how rich it is! ”

“ Yeroshka has studied all the wisdom of the animals, he is continually pitting his wits against theirs, and he thinks them, on the whole, much cleverer than men: notwithstanding his hunting he loves all creatures so much that he will save even moths from the flame. ”