Kyi,_Czech,_Khoryv_and_Lubed_in_der_Radziwiłłchronik

Kyi (, Kiy;

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: Кий, Kyi) was the legendary founder of

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

and the

Kyi dynasty Kyi (, Kiy; Ukrainian: Кий, Kyi) was the legendary founder of Kyiv and the Kyi dynasty, and the Prince (Knyaz) of the Polans. He was one of four siblings ( brothers Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv, and sister Lybid), who, according to the Primary ...

, and the Prince (

Knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

) of the

Polans Polans may refer to two Slavic tribes: * Polans (eastern) The Polans (, ''Poliany'', ''Polyane'', pl, Polanie), also Polianians, were an East Slavic tribe between the 6th and the 9th century, which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river ...

. He was one of four siblings ( brothers Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv, and sister Lybid), who, according to the

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

, lived in the Dnieper mountains and built a city on the right high bank of the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

, named Kyiv, after the eldest brother. Kyi was also named the founder of the town of Kyivets on the Danube. From Kyi and his brothers the

chroniclers A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

deduced the Polans tribe.

Parallel evidence

In the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

"History of Taron" by

Zenob Glak Zenob Glak ( hy, Զենոբ Գլակ) was an Armenian historian who became the first abbot of the Glak monastery (also known as ''Surb Karapet Monastery'', dedicated to St. John the Baptist ) in the Taron region of Greater Armenia. He began the ch ...

(VIII century) it is mentioned that three brothers: Quar(or Kuar.A name after city of kyiv), Meltei (Mile) and Horean(Khoriv) founded three cities in the country Poluny, and after some time they built a settlement on Mount Kerkey, where there was space for hunting, lots of grass and trees. This story with its names and details is very reminiscent of the testimony of the Kyiv chronicler. An explanation for this can be found both in the common source (probably

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

) of Ukrainian and Armenian legends, and in the common mythological plot used to explain the founding of the many cows that inhabit the city.

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

sources report that the Kievan prince Kyi (originally Kuver) was brought up at the court of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

in his youth, converted to Christianity in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, and was educated there. "He had the great honor of the king," received benefits in the

Lower Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, where he founded the "town of Kiev", but due to resistance from local tribes could not gain a foothold there. That's why Kyi returned home, where he "laid" (probably rebuilt or moved from another city) his capital Kiev. According to other Byzantine testimonies, Kyi was a contemporary of Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

(575–641). As his contemporary John of Nicaea writes in detail, "by the power of the Holy and Life-Giving Baptism he received, he defeated all barbarians and pagans." The friendly ties of the ancient prince with the Byzantine imperial court is evidenced by the "Primary Chronicle".

Archaeological evidence

In the sixth to seventh centuries, the borders of three cultural groups of monuments converged on the

land —

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...

—

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Penkiv and Kolochyn cultures, and in the eighth to tenth centuries — Luka-Raikovetska and

Volyntsevo culture Volyntsevo culture is an archaeological culture of the early Middle Ages (8th to 9th centuries), located between the Dnieper and the Don rivers. In the west, the territory of the Volyntsevo monuments reaches the right bank of Dnieper in the Kyiv ...

. From the very beginning, Kyiv was the center of not one, but several tribal groups.

The text of "Primary Chronicle"

«И быша 3 брата, единому имя Кий, а другому Щекъ, а третьему Хоривъ, и сестра их Лыбѣдь. И сѣдяше Кий на горѣ, кдѣ нынѣ увозъ Боричевъ, а Щекъ сѣдяше на горѣ, кдѣ нынѣ зовется Щековица, а Хоривъ на третьей горѣ, отнюдуже прозвася Хоривіца; створиша городокъ, во имя брата ихъ старѣйшаго, и нарекоша его Киевъ. И бяше около города лѣсъ и боръ великъ, и бяху ловяще звѣрье. Бяхуть бо мудрѣ и смыслени, и нарицахуся Поляне, отъ нихъ же суть Поляне Кияне и до сего дни.

Инии же, не вѣдуще, ркоша, яко Кий есть перевозникъ бысть; у Киева бо перевозъ бяше тогда съ оноя страны Днепра, тѣмь глаголаху: на перевозъ на Киевъ. Аще бо быль перевозникъ Кый, то не бы ходилъ къ Царюграду; но сий Кий княжаше в роду своем; и приходившю ему къ царю не свѣмы, но токмо о семъ вѣмы, якоже сказають, яко велику честь приялъ есть от царя, которого не вѣмъ и при которомъ приходи цари. Идущю же ему опять, приде къ Дунаеви, и възлюби мѣсто и сруби городокъ малъ, и хотяше сѣсти с родомъ своимъ, и не даша ему близъ живущии; еже и до нынѣ нарѣчють Дунайци городіще Киевѣць. Киеви же прішедшю въ свой городъ Киевъ, ту и сконча животъ свой, и брата его Щекъ и Хоривъ и сестра ихъ Лыбѣдь ту скончашася. И по сей братьи почаша дѣржати родъ ихъ княжение въ Поляхъ…

(Filed according to the

Hypatian Codex The Hypatian Codex (also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis; be, Іпацьеўскі летапіс; russian: Ипатьевская летопись; uk, Іпатіївський літопис) is a ''svod'' (compendium) of three ''l ...

)

Legacy

* The city of Kyiv was named in his honor. * In the center of Kyiv there is a monument to the founders of the city of Kyiv, among which the legendary Prince Kyi is depicted.

References

External links

*
Кий
//

Українська мала енциклопедія Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...

: 16 кн. : у 8 т. / проф. Є. Онацький. — Накладом Адміністратури УАПЦ в Аргентині. — Буенос-Айрес, 1959. — Т. 3
кн. V : Літери К — Ком
— С. 631-632. — 1000 екз.
Кий, Щек, Хорив і Либідь
// Михайлів Т. В., Михайлів Т. А. Видатні постаті українського державотворення. Довідник. — Xарків: Основа, 2014. — 128 с. — (Б-ка журн. „Історія та правознавство“. Вип. 1 (121)). — С. 5.

// Історія України: Хрестоматія / Упоряд. В. М. Литвин. — К. : Наук. думка, 2013. — 1056 с.

// Котляр М. Ф., Кульчицький С. В. Шляхами віків: Довідник з історії України. — К.: Україна, 1993. — 384 с.
Кий — князь русі
/ Культура України
Три брати — засновники Києва // Народні перекази та легенди

* ttp://www.haidamaka.org.ua/0148.html Князь Кий // ''Котляр М. Ф.'' Історія України в особах: Давньоруська держава.— К.: Україна, 1996
Найдавніша легенда про заснування Києва // Сайт „Трипілля“

„И нарекоши имя ему Киев“. Князь Кий — легенди та бувальщина // День, № 114, 14.07.2006

Скільки років місту Києву? // Дзеркало тижня» № 21, 29.05.2004

Городище Кия // Веб-енциклопедія «Київ»
*
Князь Кий — рицар короля Артура // Народна правда

* ttp://www.mandry.info/?var=2&lang=1&d_id=96&id=634 ''Володимир Ільченко''. Князь Кий був іранцем? // Журнал «Mandry»
Урок від князя Кия // Обозреватель

{{refend Grand Princes of Kiev Pages with unreviewed translations