Polistoria: Kings, Saints, Myth Makers in Medieval Europe

This book is based on the second book of the "Polystoria" series – the second book of the Laboratory of Medieval Studies of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, published in 2016. The publication addresses a wide range of questions that were either not previously posed at all or not sufficiently studied – from the peculiarities of historical anthroponymy in Kievan Rus and Scandinavia to attempts to create a "correct" picture of the past in the Moscow Kingdom and among the Western Slavs. Alongside this, the main milestones of the history of the Abkhazian Kingdom are outlined, the complex journeys of the famous Gertrude's Book of Prayers are traced, unknown aspects of12th–13th century scholasticism are uncovered, and unexpected features of Orthodox religiosity at the turn of the Middle Ages and the early Modern period are revealed. The publication is addressed to historians, philologists, religious scholars, cultural scientists, and political scientists, as well as a wide range of readers interested in European history.