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There are other people known as Saint Roman and Saint David.

Saints Boris and Gleb (Russian: Бори́с и Глеб), also referred to as Borys and Hlib (Ukrainian: Бори́с і Гліб), were the legendary sons of Grand Prince Vladimir I of Kiev. Hailed as martyrs, they are traditionally considered to have been the first East Slavic christian saints.

History edit

The earliest recorded mention of Boris and Gleb can be found in the 10th century Primary Chronicle A Tale of Bygone Years (a history of Kievan Rus' attributed to Nestor the Chronicler), which named them as the sons of Grand Prince Vladimir and a Bulgarian woman. (This account is questioned by most modern scholars, however, who argue that Boris and Gleb had different mothers.) Boris ruled the town of Rostov, and was probably regarded as the heir apparent to the Kievan Rus throne, while the younger Gleb purportedly ruled the eastern town of Murom. This account blames Sviatopolk I of Kiev (the Accursed) for plotting their assassination.

According to two 11th century accounts entitled The Lives of Boris and Gleb (whose authorship has been attributed to Nestor the Chronicler and Jacob the Monk respectively), Boris and Gleb were the favorite sons of Grand Prince Vladimir I of Kiev. Boris and his manservant Yuri were stabbed to death when sleeping in a tent. The prince was discovered still breathing when his body was being transported in a bag to Kiev, but the Varangians put him from his misery with a thrust of a lance.

Gleb was assassinated on his way to see the dying father by his own cook who cut his throat with a kitchen knife and concealed his body in a brushwood. The Life contains many picturesque details of Boris and Gleb's last hours, such as their sister's warning about the murderous plans of Svyatopolk.

Saint's name.

As well as the English language names Roman and David.

Both were murdered during the internecine wars of 1015-1019 and glorified by the Russian Orthodox church in 1071. They were interred at the Vyshhorod Cathedral, which was reconsecrated in their name; many other Russian churches were later named after them.

Their Turkic names seem to back up this information.

It doesn't stand to reason to accept the Life's data at face value. This masterpiece of hagiography unites numerous literary traditions. Actual circumstances of Boris and Gleb's life and death might have been different. Perhaps the crucial evidence comes from several unbiased foreign sources which mention that Boris succeeded his father in Kiev, and was not lurking in Rostov as the Russian Primary Chronicle seems to imply.

Moreover, the Norse Eymund's saga tells a story of the Varangian warriors who were hired by Yaroslav I the Wise to kill his brother Boris. Some historians trusted the saga more than Russian sources, claiming that it was Yaroslav (and not Svyatopolk) who was interested in removing his political rivals and was therefore guilty of his brothers' murder.

External links edit

Category:10th century births category:1010s deaths Category:Christian martyrs Category:Kievan Rus Category:Murdered Russian royalty members Category:Russian saints Category:Ukrainian saints