RUTHENIAN KING IN EUROPEAN PERCEPTION: ICONOGRAPHY IN MANUSCRIPTS OF JANS ENIKEL’S “WORLD CHRONICLE” (13th—15th CENTURIES)

Abstract

The aim of the study. The study provides a detailed examination of the miniatures depicting the Ruthenian King in the manuscripts of Jans Enikel’s “World Chronicle”. Methodology. The research employs a contextual interpretive approach — a set of procedures designed to identify textual attributes and elucidate their significance in the socio-cultural context. This method involved a linguistic analysis of the narrative concerning the daughter of the King of Rus in the “World Chronicle”. Through comparative analysis, shared features in the iconography of the Ruthenian ruler across selected manuscripts were identified. Scientific novelty. This study is the first in Ukrainian historical scholarship to focus on the miniatures in Jans Enikel’s “World Chronicle” that portray the Ruthenian King, complete with the regalia of power. The author offers new interpretations of the historical context surrounding these miniatures, situating them within the medieval author’s concept of translatio imperii. Conclusions. The analysis covers a range of miniatures from 14th to 15th centuries manuscripts housed in the Court Library and Central Archives of Prince Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg, the Bavarian State Library, and Ruprecht-Karl University in Heidelberg. These miniatures are unique in that they portray the Ruthenian King as imagined by medieval German and Austrian societies. Moreover, these miniatures equated him with other European monarchs through depictions of royal regalia. Although Enikel’s account is largely fantastical, it reflects the political and religious complexities of the 13th century Christian world.