"You are heavy, Monomakh hat!" - we often say, bearing in mind the difficult burden of power or any responsibility. The above phraseologism primarily concerns people in leadership positions. Although no less often this phrase characterizes any difficult situation. How did this common expression appear?
The origin of phraseology
The specified phraseological unit has a specific author. He is none other than Alexander Pushkin. It was he who, in the tragedy of Boris Godunov (the scene of the Tsar’s Chambers, the monologue of Boris Godunov), used the expression for the first time.
But the question immediately arises, what is a Monomakh hat? Phraseologism spread due to the fact that everyone associated the specified subject with power and responsibility. After all, the Monomakh hat was the crown of Moscow tsars, a symbol of their power. She is a golden pointed headdress made in the Central Asian style. The cap has an edge of sable fur, embroidered with pearls, emeralds, rubies and crowned with a cross.
Monomakh (gr. “Martial artist”) is the family name of the Byzantine emperors. In the Old Russian era, it was assigned to the Kiev prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich (1053-1225), who was the grandson of the Byzantine ruler Konstantin IX Monomakh (1000-1055). Moscow tsars derived their kind from Vladimir Monomakh, therefore 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 new ruler of the cap of Monomakh on the head. This rite was called the "wedding of 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.
Mystery Caps Monomakh
According to legend in the 12th century. the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX presented to the Kiev ruler Vladimir Monomakh the indicated royal crown. But many researchers are sure that the described story is just a beautiful legend. After all, Konstantin IX died 59 years before the accession of Vladimir Monomakh to the throne of Kiev. In addition, many historians believe that the aforementioned tradition arose at the end of the 15th century. Then this legend justified the continuity of power of the Moscow tsars from the emperors of Byzantium. In addition, it served as a confirmation of the idea that Moscow was the “third Rome”.
In the annals, the Monomakh cap is first mentioned in the time of Ivan Kalita (1283-1341). In fact, the first wedding to the kingdom with a Monomakh hat took place in 1498. Then the Moscow Tsar Ivan III held a solemn wedding ceremony for the kingdom of his grandson Dmitry.
Scientists argue about who made the famous royal crown. Some are sure that Byzantine masters worked on the hat of Monomakh. 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 handed over to Vladimir Vsevolodovich by the Golden Horde Khan Uzbek.