''Life of Alexander Nevsky'' ('; ''Zhitiye Aleksandra Nevskogo'') is a Russian
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
of the 1560s, as part of the Laptev Volume of the ''
Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible
The Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible (; 1560-1570s) is the largest compilation of historical information ever assembled in medieval Russia. It is also informally known as the Tsar Book (Царь-книга), in an analogy with the Tsar ...
'' ("Tsar-Book"). It is currently housed in the
National Library of Russia
The National Library of Russia (NLR, , ''РНБ''), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked among the world's major libraries. It has the second biggest libr ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(manuscript ID: РНБ F.IV.233).
The work includes 83 illuminations and text that describe the life and achievements of
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263).
...
, a Russian ruler and a military leader, who defended the northern borders of
Rus
Rus or RUS may refer to:
People
* East Slavic historical peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia
** Rus' people, the people of Rus'
** Rus, a legendary eponymous ancestor, see Lech, Czech and Rus
* Rus (surname), a surname found in Ro ...
against the
Swedish invasion, defeated the
Teutonic knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
at the
Lake Chud in 1242 and paid a few visits to
Batu Khan
Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...
to protect the
Vladimir-Suzdal Principality from the
Khazar
The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...
raids.
See also
*''
Life of Alexander Nevsky
The ''Life of Alexander Nevsky'' is an Old East Slavic hagiography about Alexander Nevsky, composed and edited in stages between the late 13th century and the mid-15th century. In most manuscript copies, its full title is ''Tale
about
the
...
'' (an earlier text from the 13th-14th century)
*
List of illuminated manuscripts
This is a list of illuminated manuscripts.
2nd century
*Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, cod. suppl. gr. 1294 ( Romance Papyrus)
3rd century
*Oxford, Sackler Library, Oxyrhynchus Pap. 2331 ( Heracles Papyrus)
*British Library, Papyrus 3053 ...
External links
The full manuscript translated into English
Medieval literature
16th-century illuminated manuscripts
Life of Alexander Nevsky (illuminated manuscript)
Cyrillic manuscripts
{{East-Slavic-hist-stub