Far Distant Novgorod

My Friends!  My home of Constantinople now seems so distant as I write from the beautiful city of Novgorod.  By the standards of my people, this city hardly earns the name, but compared to the villages I traveled through on my way here, it is a variable metropolis.  I traveled with a large group of  men on sleighs pulled by ponies.  Most of the men in the group are merchants or peasants, hoping to sell some of their goods or purchase oddities from this far-flung place.

Jeweled Crosses from Novgorod

However, as I was sitting around the fire sharing some odd stew with the other men, I made the acquaintance of a young man who luckily spoke a little of my native language, which was especially encouraging, as my attempts at mastering the curious language spoken here has mostly been met with laughter. The young man, named Vladimir after the prince of Kiev, has studied some icon painting in my Byzantium and is on his way north.  It would seem there is a rather sizable collection of Grecians located in the city, including the workshop of an icon painter of some talent (Musin, 2010).  I wish the best for this young man.  He seems a hard worker, full of young faith.  I do believe he will do well here.
My time here has been enlightening, if a little confusing.  Many people here are Christian, though they carry strange traditions I am unfamiliar with.  I spoke with a man after a service who claimed to have traveled to the Holy Land.  He even offered a small cross pendant with what he claimed was a piece of the cross of Christ worked into it (Musin, 2010).  What's more, he is not the only person to have made this type of claim! Many claim to have pieces of the cross, while others claim to have stones from the road Christ walked during his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem for the final supper.  One would think that with all these pieces of Jerusalem lying around, there would hardly be a cross or holy land left to make pilgrimage to.  Truly an odd people, these Russians.
What amazes me most about this trade hub is the construction of their homes.  Throughout the whole city, one could hardly find a stone to throw, much less use in a building.  This town is so far north, the pines of Russia are plentiful and readily available (Brisbane and Gaimster, 2001).  You might be tempted to think that this makes the city fragile or cold, but you would be mistaken.  The buildings are resilient and beautiful, if different from the stone of my own home.  It is an amazing feat that they have managed to combine the facilities of great city with the cozy feeling of a provincial village.  If the rest of my journey through this land is half as interesting as this city, I have no doubt I will return with many stories to tell my king.


Brisbane, M., and D. Gaimster (Eds.). 2001. Novgorod: The archaeology of a Russian medieval city and its hinterland. The British Museum Occasional Paper Number 411. London, UK

Musin, Alexander. "Russian Medieval Culture as an “Area of Preservation” of the Byzantine Civilization." Towards Rewriting?: New Approaches to Byzantine Archaeology and Art: Proceedings of the Symposium on Byzantine Art and Archaeology, Cracow, September 8-10, 2008. Vol. 8. Prus24. pl, 2010.