From: tgpedersen
Message: 58096
Date: 2008-04-26
>Maybe he was a linguist. Or perhaps one of those infamous philologists
>
> --- tgpedersen <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
> >
> > > GK: I don't know of any legend as such (other than
> > > subsequent historical theories). There is, of course,
> > > the Kyiv Foundation Legend, which speaks of three
> > > brothers (and a sister) as original founders. I
> > > actually wrote a little book on this (in Ukr. back in
> > > 1991 "Tajemnytsja pervisnoji Rusy v Kyjevi" ("The
> > > mystery of Kyiv's original Rus'"). My view is that the
> > > legend is of Late Hunnic provenance (there is also an
> > > Armenian version from the 7th c.) and reflects
> > > political realities from ca. 455-520 CE, not in Kyiv
> > > but on the lower Dnipro and around central Crimea. It
> > > was "transplanted" to Kyiv along with this Hunnic
> > > aristocracy (actually an Iranic clan) which became
> > > slavicized as the "Polani" (the Armenian version knows
> > > them as "Paluni"). The "sister Lybid" ("sister
> > > swan")was added in the early 12th c., by reference to
> > > the well known Hermanaric and Sunilda "Rosomoni"
> > > story. Archaeologically, Kyiv was founded near the end
> > > of the 7th and the beginning of the 8th c. It was
> > > controlled by the Khazars for about one hundred years,
> > > then taken over by Varangian warlords in co-operation
> > > with local Slavs.****
> >
> > = Svan-hild ?
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svanhild
> >
> >
> > Torsten
>
> ****GK: Bishop Sylvester was familiar with some
> version of the story in which "Svanhild" was
> associated with three brothers, and with the Rosomoni.
> He then connected this "lebed' lady" with the river
> Lybid' which flowed west of the three hills allegedly
> occupied by the three founding brothers. The earlier
> version of the Legend did not mention a sister.
> Neither did the Armenian version. But the "Varangian"
> component of the Kyivan aristocracy would probably
> have appreciated the addition. We don't know
> Sylvester's background.****