"Yermak's banner" from the kremlin armoury collection: legend and facts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2016.1.147Abstract
The historical comprehension of the journey to Siberia that resulted in its conquest and annexation by Russia almost immediately started with the sacralization of Yermak as its protagonist. Thus, it was natural for ‘contact relics’ to appear, i.e. items that had belonged to the legendary conqueror. Among them was Yermak’s armour and banners: these were invested with a certain holy power that gave them a sacral character. This is certainly the case with regards to the banner in the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow that depicts Archangel Michael’s appearance before Joshua. It was sent, along with other banners, from Tobolsk in the early 19th century and was until recently attributed to Yermak without any doubt. This article provides proof that the banner was created a century later than originally supposed, in the late 17th century. This can be demonstrated by the artistic character of the banner, the decorative elements along the edges borrowed from book illustrations, and the details in the depictions of figures and the landscape. The banner is unlikely to have been taken to Tobolsk after its creation in Moscow, although data exists about the production of banners in several Siberian cities (Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseysk, Tobolsk) in the late 17th century. It is known that S. U. Remezov, a famous chronicler and cartographer, made seven banners destined for Tobolsk in 1697. Based on these facts, the author puts forward the hypothesis that the banner in question, as well as a number of others kept in the Kremlin Armoury, were made by Remezov himself. The author proposes that the banner was dated to the times of Yermak much later, when its real point of origin had been forgotten.
References
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Berezikov, N. A. & Lyutsidarskaya A. A. (2013). Znamena sibirskikh kazakov-zemleprokhodtsev [Banners of Siberian Cossacks-explorers]. In Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ser.: Istoriya, 2 (22), pp. 14–17.
Blazhes, V. V. (2002). Fol′klor Urala: Narodnaya istoriya o Ermake (issledovaniya i teksty) [Folklore of the Urals : Folk story of Ermak (Research and Texts)]. 186 p. Yekaterinburg, Izdatel′stvo Ural′skogo universiteta.
Blazhes, V. V. (2012). Kungurskaya letopis′ [The Kungur Chronicle]. In Blazhes, V. V.& Sozina, E. K. (Eds.). Istoriya literatury Urala : Konets XIV – XVIII v. (pp. 238–243). Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoy kul′tury.
Bryusova, V. G. (1984). Russkaya zhivopis′ XVII veka [Russian Painting of the XVIIth century]. 420 p. Moscow, Iskusstvo.
Buseva-Davydova, I. L. (2008). Kul′tura i iskusstvo v epokhu peremen : Rossiya semnadtsatogo stoletiya [Culture and Art in an Era of Changes : Russia of the Seventeenth Century]. 364 p. Moscow, Indrik.
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Golovanova, M. P. (n..d.). Znamena vtoroy poloviny XVI – kontsa XX veka : catalog sobraniya Muzeev Moskovskogo Kremlya [Banners of the second half of XVIth – the end of XXth century : Catalog of the Moscow Kremlin Museums]. (In print).
Golovanova, M. P. (2005). Relikvii rossiyskoy istorii iz sobraniya Oruzheynoy palaty Moskovskogo Kremlya : Znamya D. M. Pozharskogo [Relics of Russian history from the Armoury Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin : Banner of D. M. Pozharsky]. In Gerboved′′, 83 (5), pp. 70–78.
Gol′denberg, L. A. (1990). Izograf zemli sibirskoy : Zhizn′ i trudy Semena Remezova [Painter of the Siberian Land : Life and Works of Semyon Remezov]. 400 p. Magadan, Magadanskoe knizhnoe izdatel′stvo.
Gol′denberg, L. A. (1965). Semen Ul′yanovich Remezov: Sibirskiy kartograf i geograf. 1642 – posle 1720 g. [Semyon Ul′yanovich Remezov: Siberian cartographer and geographer. 1642 – after 1720]. 260 p. Moscow, Nauka.
Gordeev, N. V. (1964). Oruzhie [The Weapon]. In Oruzheynaya palata (pp. 11–72). Moscow, Moskovsky rabochy. Ikonopistsy tsarya Mikhaila Romanova [Painters of Tsar Mikhail Romanov]. (2007). 180 p. Moscow, Khudozhnik i kniga.
Khromov, O. R. (2010). Rukopisnaya kniga s gravyurami – novyy zhanr v iskusstve russkoy knigi Pozdnego Srednevekov′ya i Novogo vremeni [Handwritten book with engravings – a new genre in the art of Russian books in Late Medieval and Modern Times]. In Kniga i vremya, 3, pp. 54–61.
Komarov, I. A., Lavrent′ev, A. V. & Levykin, A. K. (Eds., Comp.) (2001). Orel i lev: Rossiya i Shvetsiya v XVII veke [Eagle and Lion : Russia and Sweden in the XVIIth century]. 158 p. Moscow, IMA-press.
Kotoshikhin, G. K. (1852). O Rossii v tsarstvovanie Alekseya Mikhaylovicha [On Russia during the Reign of Alexey Mikhailovich]. 274 p. Sankt Petersburg, Izdanie Arkheograficheskoy komissii.
Kuznetsov, E. V. (1892). K svedeniyam o znamenakh Ermaka [For information about the banners of Ermak]. In Tobol′skie gubernskie vedomosti, 43, October 24.
Likhachev, D. S. (1947). Russkie letopisi i ikh kul′turno-istoricheskoe znachenie [Russian Chronicles and Their Cultural Significance]. 499 p. Moscow, Leningrad, Izd-vo AN SSSR.
Losunov, A. M. (2012). Iz istorii svyatyni sibirskogo kazach′ego voyska – znameni Ermaka Timofeevicha [From the History of the Shrine of the Siberian Cossack Troops – the Banner of Ermak Timofeevich]. In Losunov, A. M., Churkin, M. K. & Parygin, N. P. (Eds.) Nedbaevskie istoricheskie chteniya (pp. 269–277). Omsk, Izd-vo OmGPU.
Mayasova, N. A. (1971). Drevnerusskoe shit′e [Old Russian Embroidery]. 140 p. Moscow, Iskusstvo.
Pavla Ioviya Novokomskogo kniga o posol′stve Vasiliya, velikogo knyazya Moskovskogo, k pape Klimentu VII [De legatione Basilii Magni Principis Moschoviae]. (1908). 320 p. Sankt Petersburg, Tip. M. A. Aleksandrova.
Pavlenko, V. V. (2001). Sibirskie relikvii v Moskovskom Kremle [Siberian Relics in the Moscow Kremlin]. In Mir muzeya, 4, pp. 22–27.
Pestov, I. S. (1833). Zapiski ob Eniseyskoy gubernii [Notes on the Yenisei Province]. 298 p. Moscow, Universitetskaya tipografiya.
Petrov, A. S. (2009). Vizantiyskaya vyshivka iz Urbino : K voprosu o prednaznachenii pamyatnika [Byzantine Embroidery from Urbino. The Purpose of the Piece]. In Ubrus, XII, pp. 1–7. Sankt Petersburg.
Romodanovskaya, E. K. (2012a). Initsiirovanie kul′turno-pis′mennoy traditsii [Initiating the Cultural Written Tradition]. In Blazhes, V. V. & Sozina, E. K. (Eds.). Istoriya literatury Urala. Konets XIV – XVIII v. (pp. 210–214). Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoy kul′tury.
Romodanovskaya, E. K. (2012b). Tobol′skoe letopisanie Savvy Esipova [Tobolsk Chronicles of Savva Yesipov]. In Blazhes, V. V. & Sozina, E. K. (Eds.). Istoriya literatury Urala. Konets XIV – XVIII v. (pp. 225–229). Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoy kul′tury.
Romodanovskaya, E. K. & Soboleva, L. S. (2012). Literaturno-publitsisticheskaya deyatel′nost′ tobol′skikh arkhiereev [Tobolsk bishops’ literary and publicist activity].In Blazhes, V. V. & Sozina, E. K. (Eds.). Istoriya literatury Urala : Konets XIV – XVIII v. (pp. 215–224). Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoy kul′tury.
Rossiyskie imperatory i Oruzheynaya palata [Russian Emperors and the Armoury Chamber]. (2006). 280 p. Moscow, Khudozhnik i kniga.
Shuldyakov, V. (2008). Znamya Ermaka : Dve tayny bestsennoy relikvii Sibirskogo kazach′ego voyska [The Banner of Ermak. Two Mysteries of Priceless Relics of the Siberian Cossack Troops]. In Tobol′sk i vsya Sibir′ (Iss. 10, pp. 151–158). Tobolsk.
Sibirskie letopisi [Siberian Chronicles]. (1907). 464 p. Sankt Petersburg, Imper. Arkheograficheskaya komissiya.
Silaeva, E. I. (Comp.). (1992). Proizvedeniya ikonopistsev Oruzheynoy palaty Moskovskogo Kremlya : Iz sobraniya Ostankinskogo dvortsa-muzeya [Works of painters of Moscow Kremlin Armoury : From the collection of the Ostankino Palace-Museum]. 112 p. Moscow, Erna LTD.
Soboleva, L. S. (2008). “Gosudarev ataman” Ermak Timofeevich: vektory idealizatsii [“Sovereign Ataman” Ermak Timofeevich: Vectors of the Idealization]. In Dergacheva-Skop, E. I. & Alekseev, V. N. (Eds., Comp.) Drevnerusskoe dukhovnoe nasledie v Sibiri: nauchnoe izuchenie pamyatnikov traditsionnoy russkoy knizhnosti na vostoke Rossii. : v 2 t. (Vol. 2, pp. 185–202). Novosibirsk.
Soboleva, L. S. (2012). Stroganovskaya letopis′: kontseptsiya i obraznoe reshenie [The Stroganov Chronicle: its Concept and Images]. In Blazhes, V. V. & Sozina, E. K. (Eds.). Istoriya literatury Urala : Konets XIV – XVIII v. (pp. 230–237). Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoy kul′tury.
Tychinskaya, P. A. (2012). Obraz arkhangela Mikhaila groznykh sil voevody v russkom iskusstve Pozdnego Srednevekov′ya [The Image of Archangel Michael “Commander of Formidable Forces” in the Russian Art of the Late Middle Ages]. (A PhD Thesis in Art History). 259 p. Moscow, Gos. institut iskusstvoznaniya.
Velikanov, V. S. (2013). “Salatskie trofei”: polkovoe imushchestvo streletskikh polkov Nechaeva i Protopopova, poteryannoe v srazhenii pri Salatakh 18/29 marta 1703 goda [“Saladen’s Trophies”: Regimental Property of Streltsy Regiments Nechayev and Protopopov, Lost in the Battle of Saladen 18/29 March 1703]. In Staryy Tseykhgauz, 52 (2/2013), pp. 3–13.
Vibe, P. P. (2008). K voprosu o pokhishchenii Annenkovym znameni druzhiny Ermaka [On the issue of the abduction of flag Ermak by Annenkov]. In Vibe, P. P. & Nazartseva, T. M. (Comp.) Izvestiya Omskogo gosudarstvennogo istoriko-kraevedcheskogo muzeya, 14, pp. 285–290. Omsk.
Vilinbakhov, G. V. (1982). Russkie znamena XVII v. s izobrazheniem edinoroga [Russian Banners of the XVIIth century with the Image of a Unicorn]. In Soobshcheniya Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha (Iss. IIIL). Leningrad.
Yakovlev, L. P. (1865). Russkie starinnye znamena [Old Russian Banners]. In Drevnosti Rossiyskogo gosudarstva. Dopolnenie k III Otd. (Part 2: Podrobnaya opis′ russkikh starinnykh znamen). Moscow.
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Published
2016-04-06
How to Cite
Petrov, A. (2016). "Yermak’s banner" from the kremlin armoury collection: legend and facts. Quaestio Rossica, 4(1), 157–169. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2016.1.147
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