Sineus and Truvor () are mentioned in

Rus' chronicle The Rus' chronicles, Russian chronicles or Rus' letopis () was the primary Rus' historical literature. Chronicles were composed from the 11th to the 18th centuries, generally written in Old East Slavic (and, later, Ruthenian language, Ruthenian ...

s as brothers of

Rurik Rurik (also spelled Rorik, Riurik or Ryurik; ; ; died 879) was a Varangians, Varangian chieftain of the Rus' people, Rus' who, according to tradition, was invited to reign in Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in the year 862. The ''Primary Chronicle' ...

, a

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

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 ...

who is traditionally considered to be the founder of the

Rurikids The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

. According to legendary

calling of the Varangians The calling of the Varangians, calling of the (Varangian) princes or invitation to the Varangians (; ) is a legend about the origins of the Rus' people, the Rurik dynasty and the Kievan Rus' state, recorded in many divergent versions in various ma ...

as recorded in the ''

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

'' (PVL) and ''

Novgorod First Chronicle The Novgorod First Chronicle ( rus, Новгоро́дская пе́рвая ле́топись, Novgoródskaya pérvaya létopisʹ, nəvɡɐˈrot͡skəjə ˈpʲervəjə ˈlʲetəpʲɪsʲ, commonly abbreviated as NPL), also known by its 1914 Eng ...

'', the three brothers were invited by East Slavic and Finnic tribes to reign over them in what is now

northwestern Russia Northwest Russia, or the Russian North is the northern part of European Russia, western Russia. It is bounded by Norway, Finland, the Arctic Ocean, the Ural Mountains and the east-flowing part of the Volga. The area is roughly coterminous with th ...

in 862. Sineus established himself at Beloozero and Truvor at

Izborsk Izborsk (; ; ) is a rural locality (village) in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia. It contains one of the most ancient and impressive fortresses of Western Russia. The village lies to the west of Pskov and just to the east of the Ru ...

. After they died, Rurik consolidated their territories into his own.

Description

According to the ''

'', compiled in , a group of Varangian Rus' were invited to rule over the local East Slavic and Finnic tribes after they began fighting each other. Rurik, the oldest of the brothers, established himself in

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 ...

, while Sineus established himself at Beloozero, on the shores of Lake Beloye, and Truvor at

, although archaeological findings have also suggested that his residence was in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. Truvor and Sineus died shortly after the establishment of their territories, and Rurik consolidated these lands into his own territory, thus laying the foundations for the state of

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

Interpretation

According to popular 20th-century scholarly interpretation (summarized in the textbook by Katsva and Yurganov), the phrase "Rurik, Sineus, en Truvor" should be read "Rurik, sine hus, en tro(gna) vär(ingar)" (Rurik, his house/relatives, and true companions). Melnikova (1998) disagreed, arguing that modern linguistical expertise shows that "sine hus" and "thru varing" contradict basic morphology and syntax of known old Scandinavian dialects, and could never be translated as "our faithful" and "his households". On the other hand, historians of the 19th century (A. Kunik, N. Belyaev, et al.) had already found common old Scandinavian names such as Signjótr (also Sveinn?) and Þórvar �, which could fit well with the PVL transcription of "Sineus" and "Truvor". Russian historian

Valentin Yanin Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (; 6 February 1929 – 2 February 2020) was a leading Russian historian who authored 700 books and articles. He had also edited a number of important journals and primary sources, including works on medieval Russian ...

(2008) agreed that the "existence of the "Rurik brothers" seems doubtful" based on the linguistic argument, adding: "The distance of Beloozero from Novgorod is quite significant, and the subordination of the territory closer in the direction of Beloozero to Novgorod occurred only in the middle of the 10th century, when Princess Olga established churchyards on the Msta. In Izborsk, it is customary to display a stone cross, supposedly standing on the grave of Truvor, in complete oblivion of the fact that Truvor, if he lived, then one and a half centuries before the establishment of Christianity in Eastern Europe. The most significant thing is that neither in Izborsk nor in Beloozero have archaeological excavations found any traces of Scandinavian presence in the 9th century."

Notes

References

Varangians 9th-century Vikings Russian legends Ukrainian folklore Primary Chronicle episodes {{East-Slavic-hist-stub

Description

Interpretation

See also

Notes

References