thumb|Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv with Lybed' (miniature of the [[Radziwiłł Chronicle)]]

Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv were the three legendary brothersoften mentioned along with their sister Lybеd who, according to the Primary Chronicle, founded the city of Kiev (modern Kyiv), which eventually became the capital of Kievan Rus', and is the present-day capital of Ukraine.

There is no precise and historically established information about the existence of the four legendary siblings and the establishment of the city of Kiev. It has been claimed by some scholars that Kyi was also a prince (knyaz) and founded the so-called Kyi dynasty, from the Slavic tribe of Polans.

Historical background

In the Primary Chronicle ( 1110s), written by a monk of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (traditionally attributed to Nestor), a special place is held by the legend of the foundation of Kiev by three brothers. but he no longer mentioned Kyi and his siblings in his 2017 book The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine, relegating them to the realm of legend, as little reliable information is known about Slavs in Ukraine prior to the 10th century. Roman Adrian Cybriwsky (2016) said "the founding story of Kyiv is dubious", and called Kyi "a person who may or may not have actually existed."

The names of Kyi and his brothers have equivalents in an Armenian chronicle from the 7th century, History of Taron, by Zenob Glak. In it, Kyi and Khoryv have counterparts in brothers Kouar and Horian, while Polyans is paralleled in the Balounik district. An explanation for this can be found both in the common source (probably Scythian) of Ukrainian and Armenian legends, and in the common mythological plot used to explain the founding of the many cows that inhabit the city. The legend also has parallels in the Croatian origo gentis of five brothers and two sisters (Kloukas, Lobelos, Kosentzis, Mouchlo, Chrobatos, Touga and Bouga) from the 30th chapter of De Administrando Imperio by Constantine VII (10th century), and the Bulgarian apocryphal chronicle (12th century) about the ethnogenesis of the Bulgarians. All three speak about people who migrated to a foreign land, whose leader was of the same name (Kyi in Kyiv, Chrobatos in Croats, and Slav in Bulgarians), while Kyivan and Croatian mention a sister. Paščenko related his name, beside to the Croatian ethnonym, also to the solar deity Khors.

Lybid () is the name of another tributary of the Dnipro, just south of Kyiv. As a river, Lybed () is mentioned twice in the Primary Chronicle, first on page 69.8 during the Pecheneg Siege of Kiev (968), and second on page 79.28–80.1 as the place where Vladimir the Great settled his wife Rogned' sub anno 980. In both cases, it takes the form of на Лыбеди (na Lybedi, "at/on the Lybed'"). It is unknown whether the sister was named after the river or vice versa.

Byzantine sources report that the prince Kyi (originally Kuver) was brought up at the court of Emperor Justinian I in his youth, converted to Christianity in Constantinople, and was educated there.

According to other Byzantine testimonies, Kyi was a contemporary of Emperor Heraclius (575–641). As his contemporary John of Nicaea writes in detail, "by the power of the Holy and Life-Giving Baptism he received, he defeated all barbarians and pagans." The friendly ties of the ancient prince with the Byzantine imperial court is evidenced by the "Primary Chronicle".

Archaeological excavations

thumb|Graphic depiction of archaeological excavations in Kyiv by [[Vikentiy Khvoyka]]

Archaeological excavations have shown that there was indeed an ancient settlement starting with the 6th century. Some speculate that Kyi was a real person, a knyaz (prince) from the tribe of the Polans. According to legend, Kyi, the eldest brother, was a Polianian Prince, and the city was named after him.

In the sixth to seventh centuries, the borders of three cultural groups of monuments converged on the Polans land — Kyiv Oblast — Prague, Penkiv and Kolochyn cultures, and in the eighth to tenth centuries — Luka-Raikovetska and Volyntsevo culture. From the very beginning, Kyiv was the center of not one, but several tribal groups.

Modern tributes

In addition to the respective hills and the river, there are Shchekavytska and Khoryva Streets in Kyiv's ancient neighborhood of Podil.

In 1982, Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and Lybid were depicted (standing on an ancient riverboat) in a sculpture, called the Monument to the Founders of Kyiv by Vasyl Borodai, at the river-side of Navodnytsky Park. At the time of its unveiling, the Soviet authorities claimed that it was simultaneously on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR, as well as the alleged "1500th anniversary" of the foundation of Kyiv in 482. Various scholars and commentators found "482" an odd attribution, as no such date is mentioned in the Primary Chronicle; historian Taras Kuzio said that 'the year 482 had no special significance'. There was speculation that the two anniversaries were merged for the sake of convenience by the Soviet regime, to emphasise the common origins of Ukraine and Russia, and step around their many conflicts. Nevertheless, several politicians would go on to embrace 482 as the date of the legendary foundation, including former Kyivan mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko, who utilised it in order to argue the Ukrainian capital was much older than Moscow. The monument soon became iconic for the city and has been used as Kyiv's unofficial emblem. In 2001, another statue was installed at a fountain of the Maidan Nezalezhnosti.

<gallery>

File:Наводницький парк IMG 3482 (cropped).jpg|Navodnytskyi Park Monument to the Founders of Kyiv (1982)

File:UkraineP89-200Karbovantsiv-1992 f-donated.jpg|The sculpture of Kyiv's founders depicted on Ukraine's interim bank note in 1990s

File:Щек хорив кий либідь - panoramio.jpg|Maidan Nezalezhnosti Monument to the Founders of Kyiv (2001)

File:Kiy_R.jpg|Commemorative coin "Kyi" denomination of 10 hryvnias is dedicated to Knyaz Kyi, 1998

File:Coin_of_Ukraine_900_Povist_mynulyh_lit_A.jpg|Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv and Lybid' on the obverse of the NBU silver coin "900 years of the Primary Chronicle", 2013

</gallery>

  • In a 2019 episode of the satirical comedy series Servant of the People, Ukraine is in a political crisis, with several regions threatening to break away. Prime Minister Yuriy Ivanovich Chuiko (played by Stanislav Boklan) recommends President Vasily Petrovych Holoborodko (played by Volodymyr Zelenskyy) to hold an empassioned speech, referring to the common origins of all Ukrainians from when the capital was founded by Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv and their sister Lybid', to inspire everyone to reunite the country. Yuriy warns the President to correctly remember and pronounce the legendary founders' names, but then goes on to mix them up himself on live television, causing a huge political scandal.

See also

  • Lech, Czech, and Rus
  • Jonakr's sons

Notes

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • (First edition published in 1930. The first 50 pages are a scholarly introduction.)
  • – A 2014 improved digitised version of the 2002/2003 Ostrowski et al. edition.

Literature

Further reading

  • В.&nbsp;М.&nbsp;Ричка. Кий // Енциклопедія історії України : у 10 т. / редкол.: В. А. Смолій (голова) та ін. ; Інститут історії України НАН України. — К. : Наукова думка, 2007. — Т. 4 : Ка — Ком. — С. 284. — 528 с. : іл. — .
  • Dmytro Lavrov. How many years has Kyiv (СКІЛЬКИ РОКІВ МІСТУ КИЄВУ?). The Mirror Weekly. 28 May 2004
  • Mykola Kotlyar. Kyiv princes Kyi and Askold (КИЇВСЬКІ КНЯЗІ КИЙ І АСКОЛЬД). Magazine "Voyenna istoriya". 2002
  • Кий // Українська мала енциклопедія: 16 кн.&nbsp;: у&nbsp;8&nbsp;т.&nbsp;/ проф. Є. Онацький. — Накладом Адміністратури УАПЦ в Аргентині.&nbsp;— Буенос-Айрес, 1959.&nbsp;— Т.&nbsp;3, кн.&nbsp;V&nbsp;: Літери К&nbsp;—&nbsp;Ком.&nbsp;— С.&nbsp;631-632.&nbsp;— 1000 екз.
  • Кий, Щек, Хорив і Либідь // Михайлів Т. В., Михайлів Т.&nbsp;А.&nbsp;Видатні постаті українського державотворення. Довідник.&nbsp;— Xарків: Основа, 2014.&nbsp;— 128 с.&nbsp;— (Б-ка журн. „Історія та правознавство“. Вип. 1 (121)).&nbsp;— С. 5.
  • Літопис про княжіння Кия, заснування Києва і держави Київська Русь (друга половина V&nbsp;— перша третина VI&nbsp;ст.) // Історія України: Хрестоматія / Упоряд. В.&nbsp;М.&nbsp;Литвин.&nbsp;— К. : Наук. думка, 2013.&nbsp;— 1056 с.
  • Кий та його брати // Котляр М. Ф., Кульчицький С.&nbsp;В.&nbsp;Шляхами віків: Довідник з історії України.&nbsp;— К.: Україна, 1993.&nbsp;— 384 с.
  • Кий&nbsp;— князь русі / Культура України
  • Три брати&nbsp;— засновники Києва // Народні перекази та легенди
  • До 1020-ліття хрещення України-Руси // Інтернет-представництво Президента України
  • Князь Кий // Котляр М. Ф. Історія України в особах: Давньоруська держава.— К.: Україна, 1996
  • Найдавніша легенда про заснування Києва // Сайт „Трипілля“
  • „И нарекоши имя ему Киев“. Князь Кий&nbsp;— легенди та бувальщина // День, №&nbsp;114, 14.07.2006
  • Скільки років місту Києву? // Дзеркало тижня» №&nbsp;21, 29.05.2004
  • «Сидел Кий на горе…» // Сайт «1 сентября»
  • Володимир Ільченко. Князь Кий був іранцем? // Журнал «Mandry»
  • Урок від князя Кия // Обозреватель
  • Дан Берест. Літочислення Києва
  • Пам'ятні та ювілейні монети України // Сайт НБУ