One of the main mysteries of Russian history for several centuries haunts scientists and seekers of ancient treasures - "Liberia", the famous library of Ivan the Terrible. Where she is now and what books were in her, it is still not known for certain. True, a few years ago the writer, expert on dead languages, Vladimir Degtyarev, spoke not only about the composition of the legendary library, but also about where it might be today.
What did the king read?
The most amazing thing is that, tired of fruitless searches that lasted more than one century, some researchers ask a fair question: did this library exist at all? The answer to this question can only be affirmative.
At the same time, it is not entirely correct to call "Liberia" the library of Ivan the Terrible from the point of view of historical justice, since it was brought to Russia by the autocrat's grandmother, the niece of the Byzantine emperor Sophia Palaeologus. The books were part of her rich dowry in her marriage to the Moscow Tsar Ivan III, the author of the famous dictum: “Moscow is the Third Rome”.
It was said for a reason. The fact that his wife was the direct heir to the Byzantine throne gave Ivan III the moral right to recreate such an empire. The books of "Liberia" in this case were one of the symbols of spiritual power, since most of them were once in the legendary Library of Alexandria. Among the books brought by Sophia Palaeologus to Russia, there were unique texts of the Babylonian kingdom - copies from clay tablets. It is assumed that these manuscripts described the antediluvian life of the ancient civilizations of the Earth.
In addition, the library contained books from the times of early Christianity, as well as the most valuable cloth and leather scrolls. For example, the priceless manuscript of the East, Ajibu-al-Mahlukat ("Wisdom of the World") By the time the library came from his father to Ivan the Terrible, it consisted of 58 boxes of Jewish books, a handwritten Gospel with gold inserts dated 6670, Cosmography, as well as many Latin books.
The number of various "chroniclers" did not lend itself to counting at all, but they were considered especially valuable: the Ladder of John of Sinai (7051), the Chronicler (7034), the Chronicle of the German Martyn, the Chronicler of Sveisky (7049), the Lithuanian Chronicler (7069), Polish (7079). The library was constantly updated with new books. The main merit in this belongs to Vasily III, the father of Ivan the Terrible, who was known as a great book reader.
Promotional video:
It is not surprising that, having ascended the throne, Ivan the Terrible treated both the library itself and literate people, who were few in his kingdom, with great reverence. A natural question arises: if Ivan the Terrible loved books so much, wouldn't it have been easier for him to keep them in the chambers of the Moscow Kremlin or in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, the tsar's permanent residence?
In emigration
In the days of Ivan the Terrible, books cost a lot of money. Officially, they were assigned to the repository of the state treasury. Nevertheless, both today and during the Middle Ages, people have never stored cash and jewelry in one place. Ivan the Terrible did the same. Of course, no one would have dared to rob the king, but there was a possibility of a palace coup or an unsuccessful outcome of the war. In both cases, the king would have had to hastily flee the country.
It is well known that Ivan the Terrible was afraid of a conspiracy. Moreover, the king was actively preparing for a possible emigration. In the event of his overthrow, Ivan the Terrible with his family and court planned to move to England. From the late 1560s to the early 1570s, its representatives secretly negotiated with the British Queen about the possibility of concluding a military alliance against the Commonwealth and Sweden in the struggle for Livonia. At the same time, Ivan the Terrible obtained guarantees from Elizabeth that in the event of a threat to his life, he would be granted asylum in England.
According to historians, the queen agreed to accept the king and his family. Preparations began for the possible departure of the king from the country. In 1569-1570, a large number of professional shipbuilders came to Russia at the invitation of Ivan the Terrible. They build transport ships in the Vologda region. As the English merchant and diplomat Jerome Horsey noted: “… for a long time, having the idea of making England his refuge if necessary, (the tsar) built many ships, barges and boats near Vologda, where he brought his greatest wealth, so that when the hour came … go down the Dvina, heading for England …"
There was no palace coup. However, the tsar nevertheless transported his main values, including the famous library, closer to the sea - to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, with which he had a special relationship.
Monastery-treasury
In the first third of the 16th century, the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was a major feudal and cultural center. In 1528, Vasily III came to his churches on pilgrimage with his second wife Elena Glinskaya. The crowned couple prayed to God to grant them an heir. The prayer was answered. Soon, a boy was born, who went down in history as Ivan IV, popularly nicknamed the Terrible.
At the same time, despite his excessive cruelty, in everyday life the tsar was an extremely pious person. He especially favored the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, remembering the history of his birth. From historiography, a case is known when, by order of Ivan the Terrible, clerks made a list of 3200 people who had previously been executed. The document included: disgraced, beaten, drowned and burned with their wives, children and household members, killed by manual cutting, fiery shooting, as well as torture. By order of the king, the monks of the monastery were to atone for his sins for the innocent murdered. Moreover, this ritual was well paid from the state treasury. The amount allotted to the monastery was incredible money at that time: 28 thousand rubles.
During his life, Ivan the Terrible visited the monastery three times: in 1545, 1553 and 1569, on the eve of his supposed escape to England. It is possible that it was in the secret vaults of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery that Ivan the Terrible hid Liberia. True, scientists doubt this hypothesis, claiming that any hole dug at the walls of the monastery deeper than one meter is instantly filled with water. However, they do not take into account the fact that the walls of the monastery have a huge number of caches, many of which have not yet been opened.
To this day, within the walls of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, vast secret rooms with ancient relics are found. Perhaps in one of these rooms the library of Ivan the Terrible is waiting in the wings. According to the historian Degtyarev, after the attack on Moscow by Khan Girey, Ivan the Terrible sent his family and courtyard straight to Vologda, and he himself went through the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The royal treasury, including books, followed him. More than 100 loaded carts left Moscow, and only 40 carts returned back. It is not known where the remaining 60 carts, including the "Liberia", disappeared. Perhaps the books were hidden in the hiding places of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery.
They tried to look for "Liberia" more than once in Vologda, but the treasure hunters did not take into account the detour that the carts with the treasury made on the way to Vologda through the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, in which 60 carts were lost. It is possible that some books of "Liberia", if we compare the list of manuscripts stored in the monastery, may be found in the monastery library.
Dmitry SOKOLOV