hd1

Horde Stories in the ‘Volokolamsk Patericon’

  • PDF
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.37816/2073‑9567‑2026‑79‑99‑113
  • УДК / UDC: 821.161.01.0
  • Publication Type: Research Article
  • For Citation:

    Andreeva, E.A. “Horde Stories in the ‘Volokolamsk Patericon’.” Vestnik slavianskikh kul’tur, vol. 79, 2026, pp. 99–113. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.37816/2073‑9567‑2026‑79‑99‑113 
  • Author 1: Ekaterina A. Andreeva
  • Information about the Author 1:

    Ekaterina A. Andreeva — PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sci‑ ences, Povarskaya St., 25A, bldg. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

    ORСID ID: https://orcid.org/0000‑0002‑8829‑3084

    E‑mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • Abstract: The paper discusses the main ways of creating the image of an enemy ‑ the Horde warrior, a non‑christian in the “Volokolamsk Patericon”, a compilation compo‑ sition of the 16th century. The Horde theme sounds in traditional way, but with those immediate features that impose the genre and purpose of the text. Accurate topographi‑ cal indications are juxtaposed with legendary information when he was writing about the Batu`s invasion. In each subsequent story about the Horde, the compiler gradually moves away from fixing the exact details, realism gives way to symbolism. The Horde gradually turns from real power and obvious enemies on the battlefield, the hated invad‑ ers, into background characters whose customs and features are uninteresting, which are needed only to reveal the images of “their” heroes, Old Russians, Orthodox, become a catalyst, thanks to which we see who is righteous and who is a sinner. From the point of view of the drafters of the Patericon, it makes no sense to describe the Horde in different ways, they differ little from each other, and therefore different contexts are not needed, one conditional scheme is enough: the Horde captured Old Russia, and its individual representatives capture specific Christians, another function is inaccessible to external and religious enemies. The semantic orientation of the texts featuring the Horde hero gradually changes its vector: from opposing an external enemy to fighting an internal enemy, lust, and the base desires of the flesh. The main function of the image of the Horde enemy in the text is the function of the tempter, a test of an Orthodox person who decides for himself which path is closer to him: martyrdom and salvation of the soul or salvation of life and eternal torment.
  • Keywords: “Volokolamsk patericon”, horde, enemy, alien, gentile, Martyrdom, ethno‑ confessional Differences
  • Страницы / Pages: 99–113
  • Received: August 19, 2025
  • Approved after Reviewing: November 21, 2025
  • Publication Date: March 25, 2026

Current Issue