Gostomysl depicted on the first plate of the book ''Illustrated Karamzin'' (1836), depicting the history of Russia. Gostomysl (, ) was a legendary 9th-century prince or

posadnik A posadnik (, ) was a representative of the prince in some towns during the times of Kievan Rus', and later the highest-ranking official (mayor) in Novgorod (from 1136) and Pskov (from 1308). In the early 12th century, Novgorod won the right to ...

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

, who was introduced into Imperial Russian historiography by

Vasily Tatishchev Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (sometimes spelt Tatischev; , ; 19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer in the Russian Empire. He is known as the author of a book on Russian history titled ''The His ...

(1686–1750). According to Tatishchev, who claimed to have derived his information from the now-lost '' Ioachim Chronicle'', Gostomysl was elected by the

Ilmen Slavs The Novgorod Slavs, Ilmen Slavs (, ''Il'menskiye slovene''), or Slovenes (not to be confused with the South Slavic Slovenes) were the northernmost tribe of the Early Slavs, and inhabited the shores of Lake Ilmen, and the river basins of the ...

as their supreme ruler and expelled the Varangians from what is now northwestern Russia. But the alleged ''Ioachim Chronicle'' is considered by researchers to be the most dubious part of the so-called " Tatishchev information", and widely believed to be a later fabrication, perhaps by Tatishchev himself. The legend of Gostomysl was much aired by the writers and composers working in the nationalist milieu of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

's reign. However, the historians Gerhardt Friedrich Müller and Nikolay Karamzin gave no credit to Tatischev's story, believing that the very name of Gostomysl resulted from a misinterpretation of two Slavic words - gost' ("guest") and mysl' ("thought"). Gostomysl's existence is doubted by virtually every modern historian. The name is not an artificial derivation as was previously thought. It was indeed recorded in 844, when

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

defeated "rex Gostomuizli" of the

Obodrites The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavs, West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian S ...

. Besides, the story of Umila's dream bears striking similarities to the account of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

's birth in some of the

Norse saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s, which treat the genealogical tree seen in a dream by his mother on the eve of the childbirth as a symbol of the Hairfair dynasty of which Harald was the author. Gostomysl's rule is associated with the confederation of northern tribes, which was formed to counter the

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Krivichs The Krivichs or Kryvichs ( rus, кри́вичи, p=ˈkrʲivʲɪtɕɪ, krivichi, links=y; , ) were a tribal union of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 12th centuries. It is suggested that originally the Krivichi were native to the area a ...

, Merya, and Chud. Sergey Platonov and

Aleksey Shakhmatov Aleksey Aleksandrovich Shakhmatov (, – 16 August 1920) was a Russian philology, philologist and historian credited with laying the foundations for the science of Textual criticism, textology. Shakhmatov held the title of Doctor of Russ ...

believed that the capital of the confederation was in modern Russa and Gostomysl could have been one of its leaders.

References

Bibliography

* {{Cite book , last1=Tolochko , first1=Oleksiy Petrovych , authorlink=Oleksiy Tolochko , date=2005 , title="История Российская" Василия Татищева: источники и известия "Istoriia Rossiiskaia" Vasiliia Tatishcheva: istochniki i izvestiia , trans-title=Vasily Tatishchev's "History of Russia": Sources and Information , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ArhpAAAAMAAJ , location=Moscow , publisher=Новое литературное обозрение Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie , pages=543 , isbn=9795867933462 , access-date=17 May 2023 (also published at Krytyka, Kyiv, 2005) Russian folklore characters Historiography of Russia