Herodotus, a Greek who lived in the 5th century BC, is considered to be the father of history. His counterpart in Ukraine at the turn of the 11th would have been Nestor the Chronicler.
While Herodotus traveled extensively throughout the ancient world, Nestor, a monk, spent his adult life at Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra Monastery, where he arrived when he was only 17 years old (in 1073).
Not much is known about Nestor's personal background; but his professional endeavors helped shaped a nation that would withstand the test of invasion, subjugation and division.
One thing that is known is that Nestor, who was to become one of Ukraine's most well educated men for his time, gained recognition by recovering the relics of the Lavra's first abbot, St. Theodius, which he then took part in reburying. It was and still is considered a miracle that the dead saint's remains had barely decomposed.
To the modern reader, the association of cave-dwelling ascetics, who share a macabre obsession for their predecessors' corpses, with the development of a people's national consciousness may seem flimsy, but this was the age of faith. Kyiv Rus, built on a network of river trade routes from Russia to the Black Sea, had tied its cultural future to its more sophisticated trade partner, Byzantium, when Volodymyr the Great accepted Orthodox Christianity in 988.
Now, Nestor would build on this cultural legacy to forge a unique identity for the East Slavs. Chroniclers at significant monasteries like the Lavra were not only responsible for keeping track of religious events, they also wrote the biographies of rulers and logged domestic state affairs. Churchmen throughout Europe during this period served as scholars and diplomats too. Well studied in literature, history and theology, Nestor would make important contributions to all three fields without drawing a distinction between them.
While still a young man, Nestor wrote the Hagiography of Boris and Gleb, the first saints canonized in Kyivan Rus. The two princes had been murdered in 1015 by their older brother, Svyatopol I, during a succession struggle following the death of Volodymyr the Great. It was Yaroslav the Wise, who eventually ended up on the throne in Kyiv, and he had Boris and Gleb canonized several years later.
Nestor's narration of events is important not only as a literary masterpiece and historical record but because it established an image of princely Christian behavior in the collective memory of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. The grisly details of the murders are juxtaposed against the pious response of the victims.
The tale was copied and retold by laymen and churchmen alike throughout the next few centuries, before and after the final destruction of Kyiv by the Mongols in 1240. The original text, which may have been written in Greek, has been lost. Nestor was certainly familiar with Greek works as well as native Slavic folktales, which some scholars attribute his lyrical style to.
Another famous hagiography written by Nestor was that of the abbot whose remains he'd recovered. A significant work in early Slavic literature, the Life of Theodosius reads like an eyewitness account. Nestor must have interviewed people who knew Theodosius, filling the piece with exciting snapshots of monastic life in the first century of Kyivan Christianity. It is this synthesis of 11th century East Slavic culture and classical Byzantine writing which makes Nestor's work so original. More importantly, it is thought to have been written in the Slavic vernacular.
St. Theodosius, together with the founder of the Crypt Monastery, St. Antonius, was responsible for creating the oldest and most important monastic center in the land of Rus, the Lavra, which also became the cradle of Russian and Ukrainian culture and letters.
To this day, his relics are venerated by thousands of pilgrams each year.
Interestingly, the structure of Nestor's Lives of Saints has been typical for stories about public figures and other charismatic personalities for centuries. Even the published biographies of communist leaders borrowed something from the medieval chronicler. For example, Theodosius is depicted as a person who devoted his life to God when he was still a child, never regretting his choice afterwards.
The crowning achievement of Nestor's career, of course, is the Tale of Bygone Years (first completed around 1112). Nestor didn't write the whole Tale, but rather added to and improved on the Primary Chronicle, which was started earlier the same century.
In essence, the Tale puts the East Slavs on the map of world history in a Judeo-Christian context. For example, it begins with the story of Noah's Arc and other Old Testament accounts, then describes the settlement of the early Slavs through eastern and central Europe, the visit of the Apostle Andrew to Ukraine and the founding of Kyiv by three brothers (the eldest one named Kii). Legend strings together scripture with facts, giving the people of Rus the same status as their neighbors to the west.
Some of the text is challenged by the Slavs themselves. For example, the chronicle also mentions that a Viking called Rurik founded the first "Russian" state in the ninth century, creating a dynasty that lasted almost right up til the 17th century, when the Romanovs came on the scene. Many distinguished scholars have, however, rejected the so called Normanist theory.
No matter, as the Tale continues, historical fact begins to gradually move to the forefront but in no less colorful description. We learn of the 10th century princess Olga, who buried her enemies alive along with their boat, and how Volodymyr decided to accept Christianity. The characters not only become more real, along with the events that they describe, but today's reader begins to see the first brush strokes of the modern Ukrainian and Russian mind set.
Nestor died around 1115 and was presumably buried in the Lavra, where his remains are reputedly still located. If he and other chroniclers hadn't recorded the lasting images, colorful personalities and historical connections which defined the people who later came to be known as Ukrainians, Russian and Belarusian, their ancestors may have melted away into any or several of the various nomadic tribes that traversed the Eurasian steppe, and no one would ever be able to find their remains.
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