Princes’ Deathbed Addresses to Their Children: The Axiology of Kinship and State (with Reference to The Book of Royal Degrees)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2022.4.740Keywords:
The Book of Royal Degrees, 16th-century Russia, deathbed addresses, princes’ testaments, genealogy, moral and spiritual heritage, kinAbstract
This article discusses princes’ deathbed addresses to their children as part of The Book of Royal Degrees. In some cases, they are highlighted by a separate heading; in others, they make part of the text describing the last days of the prince. Most often, they are preceded by the news of the prince’s illness and impending death, and in some cases, they are compiled in detail, in others – laconically. The analysis of the text demonstrates that addresses are not an obligatory element of the narration and are absent in many Royal Degrees. The stories, including the addresses of the princes, are named differently: message, instruction, blessing, and teaching. They are thematically diverse and include motifs of blessing, instructions to hold on to the Orthodox faith, observe the Gospel commandments, the motif of the transience of life, a reminder of the importance of harmony between heirs, and concern for the homeland. The testament of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (degree 7) stands out among others. He appeals to his sons to support their sisters who have lost their mother and will soon be deprived of their father. The deathbed words of the princes (in two cases those of princesses), different in plot, are designed to trace back a genealogical connection and emphasise the important spiritual and moral heritage transmitted to descendants of Ivan the Terrible. Of particular interest is the will of Dmitry Donskoy composed on the base of the second prince’s testament. As a part of the collection, the genre acquires other features that ensure its embedding in one of the motifs implemented in the narrative. Appeals of princes to princesses in deathbed addresses endowing them with special powers testify to the growing role of family ties in creating an ideal sovereign, from the exaltation of the compiler of The Book of Royal Degrees.
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