"You are heavy, Monomakh's hat!" - we often say, referring to the heavy burden of power or some kind of responsibility. The above phraseological unit primarily concerns people in leadership positions. Although no less often this phrase characterizes any difficult situation. How did this common expression come about?
Origin of phraseologism
The indicated phraseological unit has a specific author. It is none other than Alexander Pushkin. It was he who first used the above expression in the tragedy "Boris Godunov" (the scene "The Tsar's Chambers", a monologue by Boris Godunov).
But the question immediately arises, what is Monomakh's hat? Phraseologism spread due to the fact that everyone associated the indicated subject with power and responsibility. After all, the Monomakh's hat was the crown of the Moscow tsars, a symbol of their power. It is a golden pointed headdress made in the Central Asian style. The hat has a sable fur edge, embroidered with pearls, emeralds, rubies and topped withcross.
Monomakh (Greek "combatant") is the family name of the Byzantine emperors. In the ancient Russian era, it was assigned to the Kyiv prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich (1053-1225), who was the grandson of the Byzantine ruler Constantine IX Monomakh (1000-1055). From Vladimir Monomakh, the Muscovite tsars derived their family, so the grand princely crown became one of the main attributes of the power of the ruler of all Russia. An important element of the ceremony of accession to the throne was the hoisting of the Monomakh cap on the head of the new ruler. This ceremony was called "crowning the kingdom."
True, during the time of Peter I, the wedding ceremony for the kingdom was replaced by the coronation ceremony. Therefore, instead of the archaic royal crown, they began to use the crown of the Russian Empire, which was made by court jewelers in accordance with European traditions.
The Mystery of Monomakh's Cap
According to legend, in the 12th century. Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX gave the Kyiv ruler Vladimir Monomakh the indicated royal crown. But many researchers are sure that the described story is just a beautiful legend. After all, Constantine IX died 59 years before the accession of Vladimir Monomakh to the throne of Kyiv. In addition, many historians believe that the above tradition arose at the end of the 15th century. Then this legend substantiated the succession of the power of the Moscow tsars from the emperors of Byzantium. In addition, it served to confirm the idea that Moscow was the "third Rome".
In the annals of the hatMonomakh was first mentioned during the time of Ivan Kalita (1283-1341). In fact, the first crowning of the kingdom with the cap of Monomakh took place in 1498. Then the Moscow Tsar Ivan III held a solemn wedding ceremony for the kingdom of his grandson Dmitry.
Scientists also argue about who made the famous royal crown. Some are sure that Byzantine craftsmen worked on the Monomakh's cap. Others think that the cap was made by Arab jewelers, and some even consider it a work of Bukhara. There is even an opinion that the future royal crown was transferred to Vladimir Vsevolodovich by the Golden Horde Khan Uzbek.
