This book examines several “mysterious” chronicle and material evidence related to the history of Russian culture of the late 11th and early 13th centuries. The study focuses on how individual choice finds its place in tradition, and often shapes a new direction for it. Unusual experiences of personal piety of princes and spiritual hierarchs, non-trivial coincidences of names and dates in family and public history, unexpected appeals to the past and the use of new models in the iconography of power turn out to be just as necessary for maintaining dynastic and church life as its stable and regularly reproduced manifestations .

Contents: From the authors 5I~ Monastery of St. Simeon in Kyiv and Russian-German connections of the second half of the 11th century. 9II~ Prince and Metropolitan: Touches to the portrait of Clement Smolyatich 21III~ Death in Chernigov: spiritual letter of Metropolitan Constantine of Kyiv 80IV~ Time to live and time to die: textual criticism of the most ancient Russian chronicles or princely family tradition? 138V~ Christ pantocrator of the seal of Mstislav's charter 152Abbreviations and cited literature 168Index of names 193