In the story of the ancestors of the rulers of the Russian state, there are many dark moments, fraudulent facts and frankly far-fetched biographies. The origin of Andrei Kobyla is no exception. But in order to understand the vicissitudes of all these palace secrets and intrigues, for a start it is necessary to find out who this person is and what his fate in history is. Consider these issues in more detail.
Who is this man and why does the story remember him?
Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, who lived in the first half of the 14th century, is of fundamental importance for the history of the Russian state: it is he who is the first historically confirmed ancestor of the last Tsar of Russia, Nikolai the Second Romanov, that is, the founder of the dynasty.
Unfortunately, the exact dates of his life are unknown, there is only the assumption that he died after 1347. Also, historians do not know what he really looked like, because in reliable historical archives he is mentioned only once: as a confidant of Semen Proud, the Grand Duke of Russia, who later became known in the church style as Simeon.
Who were the ancestors of A. Kobyl?
An interesting fact is that historians do not really know anything about the origin of Andrei Kobyl: the first version, which is considered official among the noble family trees, is rather doubtful due to the "far-fetched" facts, the other is more truthful, but not so good for a representative of the royal dynasties. It is worth considering each story in more detail in order to form your opinion on this matter.
So, we will consider the version that Stepan Kolychev (the Russian heraldmeister, a descendant of Kobyla) presented to the court in order to strengthen in this way the high origin of the Romanov family. Stepan Andreevich claimed that Kobyla was the son of Glanda Kambila, the great Prussian prince (although some historians believe that Andrei Kobyla and Glanda Kambila are one person, and the name was changed in the Russian manner). The historian claims that in the distant days, when many years of war had exhausted many families morally and financially, Glanda Divonovich and his family moved to Russia in 1283 and entered the service of Alexander Nevsky’s son, changing his name to the simple “Ivan”.
Did the mistake come out?
If you know the peculiarity of the formation of Russian surnames in antiquity, it is immediately clear that the pedigree, coming from the Prussian king, does not have stable soil. In the Middle Ages in Russia, it was customary to give surnames to children not by their father. If we recall that Andrei Kobyla’s brother had the nickname Shevlyag (Shevlyug), which means "decrepit horse, nag," and Andrei himself had one of his sons with the surname Stallion, then the idea of what is the connection of the original Russian words with the Prussian ancestry is inspired. Indeed, centuries-old traditions could not cross out everything in one fell swoop.
Thus, the second version of the origin of Andrei Kobyla becomes more believable: she claims that his ancestors are Muscovites, who at one time moved to the Novgorod lands. Moreover, some scholars of ancient chronicles claim that the ancestors of Kobyla lived on Prusskaya Street, which is why there was confusion among historians who, having seen in the annals the phrase “.. came from Prus ..”, considered it to be Prussia.
But if you carefully consider the family coat of arms of the Sheremetyevs, one of the descendants of the Mare, you can see the image of two crosses above which the crown rises. It looked like the traditional symbol of Gdansk, which according to legend was the birthplace of Andrei Kobyla. The coat of arms over time transformed a little, but the main image remained unchanged, so the noble nobles proved their involvement in the ancient family, originating from the Prussian kings. At the same time, some historians argue that in fact this emblem was created no earlier than the 17th century, which means it cannot be a symbol of the Mare’s family.
The second version of the origin of the genus
A more reliable pedigree of the ancestor of the Romanovs Andrei Kobyla looks like this:
- Andrei's father is Iakinf the Great, who served Andrei Gorodetsky, one of the sons of Alexander Nevsky.
- Andrei’s grandfather is Gabriel Oleksich, the hero of the great Neva battle, who in turn was the son of Oleksa Gorislav, who took monastic tonsure on the slope under the name Varlaam.
Moreover, in the annals there are many inaccuracies, sometimes confusion so much that sometimes it seems that the name of Andrei Kobyl means another person who has a very similar biography and relatives. For example, in some archives it is mentioned that Fedor Shevlyuga (Sviblo) and Ivan Khromoi are Andrei’s brothers, other sources indicate that these are his children. Where the truth is is unknown.
Siblings: the ancestors of noble families
According to the official version, Andrei Kobyla had five children - all sons, although some historians say that girls were often not mentioned in the archives, since it was the successors of the clan and surname that were valued:
- Fedor Koshka, the most famous of the brothers (albeit the youngest). It is his line of descendants that will lead to Nikolai Romanov, the last of the Russian tsars. He was close to Dmitry Donskoy, very much appreciated for his stunning diplomatic qualities, remarkable mind and at the same time calm disposition.
- History mentions Vasily Ivantey in passing, he was not very popular, had only one son, Gregory, who had no children.
- Alexander Elka is the second son of Andrei. Such dynasties as the Neplyuevs, Sukhovo-Kobylins and Kolychevs, the previously mentioned heraldmeister Stepan Andreevich Kolychev - from among them began from him.
- Another son of Andrei Kobyla - Semyon Zherebets was the first-born, perhaps that is why he inherited the originality of the surname, although not without error of the scribe. He had three sons, from whom came the names of the Lodygins, Konovnitsyns, Gorbunovs, as well as Obraztsovs and Kokarevs.
- Gabriel Gavsha, according to historical information, had only two sons: history is silent about Boris, and Andrei had four sons, one of whom founded the Boborykin family. One of the descendants of this kind was the founder of the city of Tver - this is Roman Boborykin.
For example, it is worth adding that the surnames of the brothers were written in this way: Koshka-Kobylin, Elko-Kobylin, etc. In total, the children of Andrei Kobyla gave birth to seventeen surnames, many of which remained the "cream of society" for many centuries.
Is the opinion of historians reliable?
If we recall the fact that in the ancient annals the mention of the personality of Andrei Kobyl was once, it becomes unclear why historians decided that he was a noble family. The fact of the recording indicates this: the aforementioned ancestor of the Romanovs and Aleksey Bosovolokov had the honor of being a personal escort of Maria Alexandrovna, the daughter of the Tver prince, who was prophesied as wife to Semyon Gordom, the prince of Moscow. Naturally, people with the maximum confidence of the prince were selected for such a mission, which suggests that Mare was practically his right hand.
Famous ancestors of the Romanov clan
The genus of Andrei Kobyla is rich not only in regal descendants, his family tree has several no less interesting personalities, which are worth mentioning:
- Count Petr Petrovich Konovnitsyn in the title of general heroically fought at Mount Vatutina, in the famous Battle of Borodino (he commanded the second army after Bagration was wounded), as well as in the battle of Leipzig. He leads his family from Semyon Stallion, or rather his son Gregory.
- Metropolitan Philip (1507-1569) is known for openly opposing Ivan the Terrible and his savagery of the people and individuals, for which he was calmly killed by Malyuta Skuratov. The Metropolitan, who had the name Fedor Kolychev from his family, leads his family from Alexander Elki.
- Pyotr Dmitrievich Boborykin (1836-1921), a descendant of Gabriel Gavsha and an outstanding writer, is known to writers for his novel Kitay Gorod.
- One of the most famous in the family is Alexander Lodygin, who in 1872 invented an incandescent lamp.
How did the name Kobyl transform into the Romanovs?
For people who are not closely related to the intricacies of the origin of surnames in Russia, it is probably not very clear how one surname turned into a completely different one, because in the modern world it is transmitted from father to son and so on. But if you recall that the surname was determined by the question “Whose will you be?”, Then naturally Kobylins are the children of Andrei Kobyl. In turn, his grandchildren answered this question based on his father’s nickname, and if the direct ancestor of the Romanovs is Fedor Koshka, then the answer was: “Cat's son, Ivan.”
The next generation was called more difficult: Zakharyins-Koshkins, but the next one dropped the hated "animal" surname and the Zakharyins-Yuryevs began to be called from the fourth knee. Starting with Roman Yuryevich, the surname undergoes changes again, becoming the Zakharyin-Romanovs and from the next tribe - simply the Romanovs. Further, the surname ceased to change, because the ancient custom lost its strength.
The last of the Romanov dynasty
The most recent representatives of the Andrei Kobyla clan are the Romanov couple, or rather Nikolai II, the last tsar of the Russian state, who was shot by the Bolsheviks in 1918 with his family at the age of 50. Although it can be added that his son, Alexei Nikolaevich, is actually the last of the Romanovs, since he was born later, but given that he was shot at the same time as his father, the fact is no longer relevant.
Who knows how long the family of Andrei Kobyla would last if it were not for this atrocious crime against man? How many more outstanding people would this ancient dynasty give the world?