Attributed to Nestor the Chronicler · Complete work
1109–1110: Evpraksia's Death and the Pillar of Fire
1109–1110: Evpraksia's Death and the Pillar of Fire of 46. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Old East Slavic
В лѣто 6617. Приставися Евъпраксии, Всеволожа дщи, мѣсяца июля въ 9 день, и положено бысть тѣло ея в Печерьскомъ манастыри у дверий, яже къ угу, и вчиниша над нею божницю, идѣже лежить тѣло ея. В то же лѣто, мѣсяца декабря въ 2 день, Дмитръ Иворовичь взя вежи половецькие у Дона, 1000 вежь взя, послани Володимеромъ княземъ.
В лѣто 6618. Идоша веснѣ на половцѣ Святополкъ, и Володимеръ, Давыдъ. И дошедше Воиня, воротишася. Того же лѣта пришедше половци […] воеваша около Переяславля по селомъ. Того же лѣта взяша полонъ половьци у Чина. В то же лѣто бысть знаменье в Печерьскомъ манастыри февраля въ 11 день: явися столпъ огненъ от земля до небесе, а молнья освитиша всю землю, и на небеси погремѣ в час 1 нощи, весь миръ видѣ. Се сь же столпъ ста на тряпезници камянѣй, яко не видити хреста бяше, и стоя мало, ступи на церковь и ста надъ гробомъ Федосьевомъ, и потомъ надъ верхъ съступи, аки ко въстоку лицемъ, и потомъ невидимо бысть. Се же бяше не огнь, ни столпъ, но видъ ангельскый: ангелъ бо сице являеться ово столпомъ огненомъ, ово же пламеномь. Якоже рече Давидъ: «Творя ангелы своя духы и слугы своя огнь пламянъ, и слеми суть повеленьемь Божьимъ, аможе хощеть Владыка, всихъ Творець, ангеломъ и человѣкомъ. Ангелъ бо приходить, кдѣ благая мѣста и молитвении домове, и ту показають нѣчто мало видинья своего, ово бо огнемь, ово столпомъ, ово инако, яко мощно зрѣти человѣком, а не мощно бо зрѣти человѣкомъ естьства ангельскаго видити, аще и Моиси великий не возможе видѣти ангельскаго естьства: водяшеть бо я во дне столпъ облаченъ, а в нощи столпъ огненъ, то се не столпъ водяше ихъ, но ангелъ Божий идяше пред нимь в нощи и во дне. Тако и се явленье которое показываше, емуже быти хотяше, еже бо и бысть на второе лѣто. Не сий ли ангелъ вожь бы на иноплеменникы, супостатъ бысть, якоже рече: «Ангелъ предъ тобою предъидеть», и пакы: «Ангелъ твой буди с тобою»? Якоже пророк Давидъ глаголеть: «Яко ангеломъ своимъ заповѣсть о тебе сохранить тя». Якоже пишеть премудрый Епифаний: «Къ коей же твари ангелъ приставленъ: ангелъ облакомъ и мъгламъ, и снѣгу, и граду, и мразу, ангелъ гласомъ и громомъ, ангелъ зимы, и зноеви, и осени, и весны, и лѣта, всему духу твари его на земли, и тайныя бездны, и суть скровены подъ землею, и преисподьнии тьмы, и сущи връху безны, бывшия древле верху земля, от неяже тмы, вечеръ, и нощь, и свѣтъ, и день». Ко всимъ тваремъ ангели приставлени, тако же ангелъ приставленъ къ которой убо земли, да соблюдають куюжьто землю, аще суть и погани. Аще Божий гнѣвъ будеть на кую убо землю, повелѣвая ангелу тому на кую убо землю бранью ити, то оной землѣ ангелъ не вопротивится повелѣнью Божью. Яко и се бяше, и на ны навелъ Богъ, грѣхъ ради нашихъ, иноплеменникы поганыя, и побѣжахуть ны повелѣньемъ Божьимъ: они бо бяху водими аньеломъ по повелѣнью Божью. Аще ли кто речеть, яко аньела нѣсть у поганыхъ, да слышить, яко Олександру Макидоньскому, ополчившю на Дарья и пошедшю ему, и побидившю землю всю от въстокъ и до западъ, и поби землю Егупетьскую, и поби Арама, и приде в островы морьскыя; и врати лице свое взыти въ Ерусалимъ, побидити жиды, занеже бяху мирни со Дарьемь. И поиде со вси вои его, и ста на товарищи, и почи. И приспѣ ночь, и лежа на ложи своемь посредѣ шатра, отверзъ очи свои, види мужа, стояща над нимь и мѣчь нагъ в руцѣ его, и обличие меча его яко молонии. И запряже мечемь своимъ на главу цареву. И ужасеся цесарь велми и рече: «Не бий мене». И рече ему ангелъ: «Посла мя Богь уимати цесарѣ великии предъ тобою и люди многи, азъ же хожю предъ тобою, помагая ти. А нынѣ вѣдай, яко умьреши, понеже помыслилъ еси взити въ Ерусалимъ, зло створити ерѣемъ Божьимъ и к людемъ его». И рече царь: «Молю тя, о Господи, отпусти нынѣ грѣхъ раба твоего, аче не любо ти, а ворочюся дому моему». И рече ангелъ: «Не бойся, иди путемъ твоимъ къ Иерусалиму, и узриши ту въ Ерусалими мужа въ обличении моем, и борзо пади на лици своемь, и поклонися мужу тому, и все, еже речеть к тобѣ, створи, не прѣступи рѣчи ему. В онь же день приступиши рѣчь его, и умреши». И въставъ, цесарь иде въ Ерусалимъ и, пришедъ, въспроси ерѣевъ: «Иду ли на Дарья?» И показаша ему книги Данила пророка и рекоша ему: «Ты еси козелъ, а онъ овенъ, и потолчеши и возмеши царство его». Се убо не ангелъ ли вожаше Олексаньдра, не поганъ ли побѣжаше и вси елини кумирослужебници? Тако и си погании попущени грѣхъ ради нашихъ. Се же вѣдомо буди, яко въ хрестьянехъ не единъ ангелъ, но елико крестишася, паче же къ благовѣрнымъ княземъ нашимъ; но противу Божью повеленью не могуть противитися, но молять Бога прилѣжно за хрестьяньскыя люди. Якоже и бысть: молитвами святыя Богородица и святыхъ ангелъ умилосердися Богъ и посла ангелы в помощь русьскимъ княземъ на поганыя. Якоже рече и Моисѣеви: «Се ангелъ мой прѣдыпоидеть предъ лицемъ твоимъ». Якоже рекохомъ прѣже, зьнаменье се бысть мѣсяца февраля въ 11 день, исходяще сему лѣту 18.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Old East Slavic text of the Hypatian Codex (O. V. Tvorogov’s 1997 edition, pinned Russian Wikisource revision), covering the undated introduction and every annal from 6360 to 6625 (852–1117 CE). Worker drafts were checked against the source paragraph by paragraph before publication. Years keep the chronicle’s own reckoning from the creation of the world; subtract 5508 for the approximate year CE, as the chapter titles do.
In the year 6617. Evpraksia, daughter of Vsevolod, died on July 9, and her body was laid in the Caves Monastery, by the door that faces south, and they built a shrine over the place where her body lies. In that same year, on December 2, Dmitr Ivorovich, sent by Prince Vladimir, took the Cuman wagons by the Don: he took 1000 wagons.
In the year 6618. In spring Sviatopolk and Vladimir and David marched against the Cumans, and having reached Voin, they turned back. That same year the Cumans came […] and waged war around Pereiaslav, through the villages. That same year the Cumans took captives at Chin. In that same year there was a sign at the Caves Monastery on February 11: a pillar of fire appeared, reaching from earth to heaven, lightning lit up all the land, and thunder rolled in the sky at the 1st hour of the night, and the whole world saw it. This pillar stood upon the stone refectory, so that the cross upon it could not be seen, and after standing a short while it stepped onto the church and stood above the tomb of Theodosius, and then mounted above the roof, facing, as it were, toward the east, and then was seen no more. This was not fire, nor a pillar, but an angelic appearance: for so an angel manifests itself, now as a pillar of fire, now as flame. As David says: “He makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire, and they are obedient to God's command, wherever the Master wills, the Creator of all, for angels and for men.” An angel comes where there are holy places and houses of prayer, and there it shows some small part of its apparition—now in fire, now as a pillar, now in some other way, so far as men are able to see; for it is not given to men to behold the angelic essence itself, since even the great Moses could not see the angelic essence: by day a pillar of cloud, and by night a pillar of fire, led them, and it was not the pillar that led them, but the angel of God going before them by night and by day. So this apparition too showed what was yet to be—for so it came to pass the next year. Was it not this angel that became a guide against the foreigners, an adversary to them, as it is said: “An angel shall go before you,” and again: “Your angel be with you”? As the prophet David says: “He shall charge his angels concerning you, to keep you.” As the wise Epiphanius writes: “To each creature an angel is appointed: an angel of the clouds and the mists, of snow, and hail, and frost; an angel of thunder and rumbling; an angel of winter, and heat, and autumn, and spring, and the year; of every spirit of his creation on earth, and of the secret abyss; and those hidden beneath the earth, and the nether darkness, and those upon the abyss that was of old above the earth, from which come darkness, and evening, and night, and light, and day.” To all creatures angels are appointed; so too an angel is appointed to each land, to guard whatever land it may be, even though its people are pagan. If God's wrath comes upon some land, and he commands the angel of one land to march in war against another, the angel of that other land will not withstand God's command. So it was with us: for our sins God brought the pagan foreigners against us, and they defeated us by God's command, for they were led by an angel at God's command. But if anyone should say that the pagans have no angel, let him hear: when Alexander of Macedon took up arms against Darius and set out, and conquered all the land from east to west, and struck down the land of Egypt, and struck down Aram, and came to the islands of the sea, he turned his face to go up to Jerusalem, to conquer the Jews, because they were at peace with Darius. And he set out with all his army, and encamped, and rested. And when night came, as he lay upon his bed in the midst of his tent, he opened his eyes and beheld a man standing over him, a naked sword in his hand, and the blade of the sword like lightning. And he had raised the sword over the king's head. And the king was greatly terrified and said: “Do not slay me.” And the angel said to him: “God sent me to strike down great kings before you, and many peoples; I go before you, helping you. But now know that you shall die, for you purposed to go up against Jerusalem, to do evil to God's priests and to his people.” And the king said: “I pray you, O Lord, forgive now the sin of your servant; and if it is not pleasing to you, I will return to my home.” And the angel said: “Fear not; go on your way to Jerusalem, and there in Jerusalem you shall see a man in my likeness; fall quickly upon your face and bow before that man, and all that he says to you, do; do not transgress his word. On the day you transgress his word, you shall die.” And the king arose and went to Jerusalem, and coming there he asked the priests: “Shall I go against Darius?” And they showed him the books of the prophet Daniel and said to him: “You are the goat, and he is the ram, and you shall break him and take his kingdom.” Was it not an angel, then, that led Alexander, conquering the pagans—all those Hellenes, worshippers of idols? So too these pagans are let loose upon us for our sins. Be it known that among Christians there is not one angel only, but as many as are baptized—and above all for our faithful princes; yet they cannot withstand God's command, but earnestly beseech God for the Christian people. And so it came to pass: through the prayers of the holy Mother of God and of the holy angels God had mercy and sent angels to the aid of the Rus' princes against the pagans. As he said also to Moses: “Behold, my angel shall go before you.” As we said before, this sign came to pass on February 11, as the year 18 drew to its close.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same Old East Slavic text of the Hypatian Codex, paragraph for paragraph, and checked against the source before publication.
In the year 6617. Evpraksia, Vsevolod's daughter, died on July 9, and her body was laid in the Caves Monastery, by the doors that face south, and they built a chapel over her, where her body lies. In the same year, on December 2, Dmitr Ivorovich took Cuman wagons by the Don — he took 1000 wagons — having been sent by Prince Vladimir.
In the year 6618. In the spring Sviatopolk, Vladimir, and David marched against the Cumans. They reached Voin and turned back. In the same year the Cumans came […] and made war around Pereiaslav through the villages. In the same year the Cumans took captives at Chin. In that year there was a sign at the Caves Monastery on February 11: a pillar of fire appeared, from earth to heaven, and lightning lit up the whole land, and it thundered in the sky in the 1st hour of the night; the whole world saw it. The pillar stood on the stone refectory, so that the cross could not be seen. It stood a short time, then stepped onto the church and stood over the tomb of Theodosius, then stepped up over the top, as if facing east, and then became invisible. This was not fire, and not a pillar, but an angelic appearance: an angel appears in this way, now as a pillar of fire, now as a flame. As David said: “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants a flame of fire; they obey God's command, wherever the Master, Maker of all, wishes, both angels and men.” For an angel comes where there are good places and houses of prayer, and there he shows some small part of his appearance: now by fire, now by a pillar, now in another way, as far as men are able to see. For it is not possible for men to see the angelic nature; even the great Moses could not see the angelic nature: a pillar of cloud led them by day, and a pillar of fire by night — so it was not a pillar that led them, but the angel of God went before them by night and by day. So this appearance showed what was going to happen, and so it happened in the second year. Was it not this angel that became the leader against the foreigners, an adversary to them, as it is said: “An angel will go before you,” and again: “Let your angel be with you”? As the prophet David says: “For he has commanded his angels about you, to guard you.” As the wise Epiphanius writes: “To which creature an angel is appointed: an angel over the clouds and the mists, and the snow, and the hail, and the frost; an angel over sound and thunder; an angel over winter, and heat, and autumn, and spring, and the year, over all the spirit of his creation on earth, and the hidden abyss, and those concealed under the earth, and the darkness below, and those on the surface of the deep, which were of old above the earth — from which come darkness, evening, and night, and light, and day.” Angels are appointed over all creatures; in the same way an angel is appointed over each land, to guard each land, even if its people are pagans. If God's anger comes on some land, and he commands that angel to go to war against some other land, then the angel of that other land will not oppose God's command. So it was here: God, because of our sins, brought the pagan foreigners against us, and they defeated us by God's command, for they were led by an angel at God's command. But if anyone says that there is no angel among the pagans, let him hear this: when Alexander of Macedon took up arms against Darius and set out, and conquered the whole land from east to west, and defeated the land of Egypt, and defeated Aram, and came to the islands of the sea, and turned his face to go up to Jerusalem and defeat the Jews, because they were at peace with Darius — he went with all his troops, and stopped at his camp, and rested. Night came, and as he lay on his bed in the middle of the tent and opened his eyes, he saw a man standing over him with a naked sword in his hand, and the blade of the sword was like lightning. The man pointed the sword at the king's head. The emperor was terrified and said: “Do not strike me.” And the angel said to him: “God sent me to strike down the great emperors before you and their many peoples, and I go before you, helping you. Now know that you will die, because you have planned to go up to Jerusalem and do evil to God's priests and to his people.” And the king said: “I beg you, O Lord, forgive now the sin of your servant; if it is not pleasing to you, I will return to my home.” And the angel said: “Do not be afraid. Go your way to Jerusalem, and there in Jerusalem you will see a man in my likeness. Quickly fall on your face and bow down to that man, and do everything he says to you; do not go beyond his word. On the day you go beyond his word, you will die.” The emperor rose and went to Jerusalem, and when he came, he asked the priests: “Shall I go against Darius?” They showed him the books of the prophet Daniel and said to him: “You are the he-goat, and he is the ram, and you will crush him and take his kingdom.” So was it not an angel that led Alexander? And did not pagans win the victories, when all the Greeks were idol worshipers? So these pagans too are let loose because of our sins. Let this be known: among Christians there is not one angel only, but one for all who are baptized, and above all for our faithful princes; but they cannot go against God's command, and they earnestly pray to God for the Christian people. And so it happened: through the prayers of the holy Mother of God and of the holy angels, God had mercy and sent angels to help the Rus' princes against the pagans. As he said to Moses: “See, my angel will go before your face.” As we said before, this sign happened on February 11, as this year 6618 was ending.