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Reid Publishing - Sergei Chechnev

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224 pages

English

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900 years ago a village to the east of the tiny hamlet of Moscow challenged the supremacy of the ancient and majestic Kiev, thus beginning a strife that would endure for centuries. Perfidy and Poison: A Case for Brother Daniel is set amidst the roots of that epic power struggle in turmoil-ridden 12th Century Russia. Based on historic fact, this fast-paced medieval murder mystery pits Brother Daniel against all the odds and some powerful enemies, both regal and religious, trying to uncover the truth behind the death of the Grand Prince of Kiev, a puppet appointment that infuriated southern princes who stood to lose precious lands in the north and so divide the nation. As he stumbles closer to the real assassins in a tangled skein of suspicions, Daniel is hounded by treachery and treason lurking around every dark corner created by the country's elite ruling classes.

Informations

Publié par	Reid Publishing
Date de parution	08 janvier 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780992681111
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Contents
Introduction
About the Author
Glossary of Terms
Map of 12th Century Russia
Genealogy of the Grand Princes
Prince s attire
Bishop s attire
Zipun
Headdress
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Epilogue
INTRODUCTION
900 years ago a village to the east of the tiny hamlet of Moscow challenged the supremacy of the ancient and majestic Kiev, thus beginning a strife that would endure for centuries. Perfidy and Poison: A Case for Brother Daniel is set amidst the roots of that epic power struggle in turmoil-ridden 12th century Russia. Based on historic fact, this fast-paced medieval murder mystery pits Brother Daniel against all the odds and some powerful enemies, both regal and religious, trying to uncover the truth behind the death of the Grand Prince of Kiev, a puppet appointment that infuriated southern princes who stood to lose precious lands in the north and so divide the nation. As he stumbles closer to the real assassins in a tangled skein of suspicions, Daniel is hounded by treachery and treason lurking around every dark corner created by the country s elite ruling classes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sergei Chechnev graduated from the Moscow Linguistic University in 1989. He has worked as an interpreter and business consultant with various companies and published some translations, notably, that of Casino Royale which was the first James Bond book published in Russian.
He lives in Moscow with his wife and a Labrador Glasha who turned 13 years old in June.
A RECKONING FOR THE GRAND PRINCE
By Sergei Chechnev
Sergei Chechnev,
c/o V.E. Services Ltd.,
Kholodilny per. 3-A, Suite 1004
Moscow 115191, Russia
Tel: 0117 926-226 9396
Fax: 01144 870-127 2571
E-mail: serge@hepple.com
Word count: 102, 532 words
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
All the Princes, Bishops and most of the Boyars featured in this book are real life characters. The author has attempted to reconstruct them as much as possible based on the Chronicles. All the major events around which the story revolves did actually happen 900 years ago and the author believes that his rendition of the characters dialogues is an accurate supposition very much true to life as it transpired.
This Glossary is a simplified Explanation of Medieval Russia. While taking some liberties with the interpretation, it serves its main purpose of providing quick reference to a reader not well versed in the Middle Ages.
Prince s retinue
The prince s retinue ( druzhina ) consisted of
the Senior retinue - peers ( boyars )
the Junior retinue - gentry
The Junior retinue:
Detski - squire
Otrok - young nobleman
Gridin - nobleman in military service
Druzhinnik - officer of the army
Administrative and military offices:
Tysiatski - General (commander of a regiment of a thousand); in cities: head of the garrison; holder of the mayoral office
Desyatnik - Lieutenant (commander of a squad of ten); in cities: head of a squad of the garrison; head of a district
Prince s household offices :
Thiun - Constable
Ognishchanin - High Steward
Mechnik - Swordbearer
Chashnik - Cupbearer
Koshchei - Household servant
Premises
Tierem - Separate quarters for women, often the upper storey of a palace
Gornitsa - Solar chamber
Gridnitsa - Great chamber (where gridins could gather)
Forms of Address
Vladiko - My Holy Lord (when addressing bishops)
Matushka - My Kind Matron (when addressing married women)
Miscellaneous
Stauropegion - A church entity belonging directly to a primate, bypassing the local bishop; all the revenues of a stauropegion belonged directly to the primate to whom it was assigned.
Korzno - A cloak worn by princes exclusively, a token of a prince s dignity.
Money in the times of Andrew of Bogolyubi
Russian principalities used silver and gold bars weighing ca. 200 grams as money.
The bar was called grivna .
The silver grivnas were of 2 varieties: grivna sterling and grivna kun .
Grivna kun was made of silver with inferior purity and cost 4 times less than grivna sterling.
1 gold grivna = 12.5 silver grivnas = 50 grivnas kun
These monies were good for major trade settlements:
A horse - 3 grivnas kun
A cow - 2 grivnas kun
A sea-faring vessel - 3 grivnas kun
A river boat - 2 grivnas kun
A barrel of rye (425lb) - 4 grivnas kun
A sword - 5 grivnas kun
A chainmail - 10 grivnas kun
A pair of high boots - 1 grivna kun
A slave - 5 grivnas kun
For smaller purchases, coins from Byzantium (denarii) and Arabia (dirhams) were used .
Those coins were known by their Russian names:
Denarius - kuna
Dirham - nogata
When smaller denominations were required, Oriental coins were cut in pieces (in Russian cut off is rezan ).
Such cuttings were known as rezanas
1 grivna kun = 20 nogatas = 25 kunas = 50 rezanas .
Average prices of goods that cost less than 1 grivna:
A big loaf of bread (6lb) - 2 kunas
Half of beef carcass (side) = 2 nogatas
A pail of milk = 6 nogatas
A loaf of cheese - 1 kuna
A jug of butter - 10 rezanas
A chicken - 9 kunas
Workman s salary per day - 1 nogata (plus 1 kuna s worth of food)
A sheep - 6 nogatas
A wether - 10 rezanas

Prologue
Kiev
March 8, 1169
Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents and shall cause them to be put to death. (The Gospel according to Saint Mark, Chapter 13, Verse 12) .
HE wasn t a saint, so he couldn t be expected to act like one.
Magnanimity was foolish.
Forgiveness was a sin.
Standing in the open alcove on the top floor of the Rotonda Palace, Prince Gleb had a perfect view of the burning city. Amidst fire and wreckage, Kiev still looked majestic, spellbinding. It occurred to Gleb that perhaps true beauty could only be appreciated in times of agony, when death and destruction were nigh at hand and all fetters of mundane habit were severed. He had plunged Kiev into agony, and, with uncanny admiration, he watched it shed its panoply in front of him, stubbornly, unwillingly, but unavoidably. And he admired his new possession. He watched the flames stick out their tongues to the gilded roof of the stalwart Grand Palace opposite him, and every time the delicate gilt blistered and hissed under the heat, his heart missed a beat in triumph. This was his palace now. For he was Kiev s new lord. The Grand Prince of Russia. He kept repeating this to himself over and over again.
Yet still his heart ached.
He had told himself that all the pain, uneasiness and agitation of the past three days would ebb as soon as he saw the mother of all Russian towns lie beneath his feet. But now an irking thought gnawed at his mind: had this dream of his entire life been worth dreaming?
Out there in the distance, he spotted St. Sophia-the Great Cathedral-that towered above the city like a white candle, enveloped in flames that licked at her sides as if trying to cajole her into abandoning her defying ways and succumbing to the obvious power that was about to consume her. As Gleb watched, a grunt of satisfaction escaped his lips. You think yourself special? You think yourself strong? Then think again. For today is my day. And today I am the lord of all here. Yet, she just stood there, silent, proud, bowing to no one but God, snow-white in spite of all the soot that besmeared her. And she sang her song, a song of unrivalled beauty, unconquered pride, untarnished soul. The song pierced the noise and hum of the city and seemed to be reaching out to the farthest corners of Russia, the Great Bell wailing a monotonous low note with a handful of smaller bells gracing it with high-pitched cries of mourning.
Gleb could bear the bells no longer. Their sound gutted his soul, drove him mad, made his ears pop. This was Kiev s revenge. The city which he had finally seized after three days of battle, the city which he pillaged and ransacked, the city which he had set on fire, refused to accept its doom. His troops were everywhere, robbing the churches and houses, killing anyone who was crazy enough to try and oppose them, raping women, beating children. There was no one left to stand up for this ancient capital of Russia. Its defenders together with Grand Prince Mstislav had fled. And yet, though fully in his power, Kiev wasn t his. The Mother of God Herself opposed him now, hailing his imminent undoing with the bells of St. Sophia.
Gleb clenched his fists and teeth and exhaled forcefully. His temples pulsed. His head was about to burst with the noise that hummed in it louder and louder. Fresh rage resurged. And he began to pace. Was it his doom to be defeated even in victory? Was the cause to which he had given all, for which he had committed the gravest sins of perfidy- oath-breaking, treachery and fratricide -never to give him the comfort and joy he had known since childhood?
With a swift motion of his arms, Gleb stamped both fists on the cold stone balustrade and cast a final glance at the city from beneath his eyebrows. Nothing, nothing in the whole world would stop him now. This city had killed his father, defied his brother, but it would not hold out against him. It will burn until it comes crawling to me on its knees, begging for quarter!
His resolution was final. He must face the enemy. And woe betide a prince whose heart should quaver!
As Gleb turned around, he realized that he was no longer alone in the small chamber. In the doorway he saw his little brother Prince Vsevol