The Empire of Russia: From the Remotest Periods to the Present TimeAbbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
History
The Empire of Russia: From the Remotest Periods to the Present Time
Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Russia -- History
Dmitri arrived with his army at Moscow, only to behold the ruins. The
enemy had already disappeared. In profoundest affliction, he gave
orders for the interment of the charred and blackened bodies of the
dead. Eighty thousand, by count, were interred, which number did not
include the many who had been consumed entirely by the conflagration.
The walls of the city and the towers of the Kremlin still remained.
With great energy, the prince devoted himself to the rebuilding and
the repeopling of the capital; many years, however, passed away ere it
regained even the shadow of its former splendor.
Thus again Russia, brought under the sway of the Tartars, was
compelled to pay tribute, and Dmitri was forced to send his own son to
the horde, where he was long detained as a hostage. The grand duchy of
Lithuania, bordering on Poland, was spread over a region of sixty
thousand square miles. The grand duke, Jaghellon, a burly pagan, had
married Hedwige, Queen of Poland, promising, as one of the conditions
of this marriage which would unite Lithuania and Poland, to embrace
Christianity.[3] He was married and baptized at Cracow, receiving the
Christian name of Ladislaus. He then ordered the adoption of
Christianity throughout Lithuania, and the universal baptism of his
subjects. In order to facilitate the baptism of over a million at
once, the inhabitants were collected at several central points. They
were arranged in vast groups, and were sprinkled with water which had
been blessed by the priests. As the formula of baptism was pronounced,
to one entire group the name of Peter was given, to another the name
of Paul, to another that of John. These converts were received, not
into the Greek church, which was dominant-in Russia, but to the Romish
church, which prevailed in Poland. Jaghellon became immediately the
inveterate foe of the Russians, whom he called heretics, for new
proselytes are almost invariably inspired with fanatic zeal, and he
forbade the marriage of any of his Catholic subjects with members of
the Russian church. This event caused great grief to Dmitri, for he
had relied upon the cooeperation of the warlike Lithuanians to aid him
to repel the Mogols.
[Footnote 3: For an account of the romantic circumstances attending
this marriage, see _Empire of Austria_, pp. 53 and 54.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account