—

I am still astonished by the journey, and more grateful than I can say that it happened.

A NOTE ON RUSSIAN NAMES

RUSSIAN CONVENTIONS OF NAMING AND address—while not as complicated as the consonant clusters would suggest—are so different from English forms that they merit explanation. Modern Russian names can be divided into three parts: the first name, the patronymic, and the last, or family, name. In medieval Rus’, people generally had only a first name, or (among the highborn) a first name and a patronymic.

FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES

RUSSIAN IS EXTREMELY RICH in diminutives. Any Russian first name can give rise to a large number of nicknames. The name Yekaterina, for example, can be shortened into Katerina, Katya, Katyusha, or Katenka, among other forms. These variations are often used interchangeably to refer to a single individual, according to the speaker’s degree of familiarity and the whims of the moment.

Aleksandr—Sasha

Dmitrii—Mitya

Vasilisa—Vasya, Vasochka

Rodion—Rodya

Yekaterina—Katya, Katyusha

PATRONYMIC

THE RUSSIAN PATRONYMIC IS always derived from the first name of an individual’s father. It varies according to gender. For example, Vasilisa’s father is named Pyotr. Her patronymic—derived from her father’s name—is Petrovna. Her brother Aleksei uses the masculine form: Petrovich.

To indicate respect in Russian, you do not use Mr. or Mrs., as in English. Rather, you address someone by first name and patronymic together. A stranger meeting Vasilisa for the first time would call her Vasilisa Petrovna. When Vasilisa is masquerading as a boy, she calls herself Vasilii Petrovich.

When a highborn woman married, in medieval Rus’, she would exchange her patronymic (if she had one) for a name derived from her husband’s name. Thus Olga, who was Olga Petrovna as a girl, has become Olga Vladimirova (whereas Olga and Vladimir’s daughter is called Marya Vladimirovna).

GLOSSARY

BABA YAGA — An old witch who appears in many Russian fairy tales. She rides around on a mortar, steering with a pestle and sweeping her tracks away with a broom of birch. She lives in a hut that spins round and round on chicken legs. In The Winternight Trilogy, she is Vasya’s great-grandmother.

BANNIK — “Bathhouse dweller,” the bathhouse guardian in Russian folklore.

BATYUSHKA — Literally, “little father,” used as a respectful mode of address for Orthodox ecclesiastics.

BELIYE — Porcini, a kind of mushroom.

BOYAR — A member of the Kievan or, later, the Muscovite aristocracy, second in rank only to a knyaz, or prince.

BROTHER ALEKSANDR PERESVET — Historically a monk and member of the Trinity Lavra under Sergius of Radonezh; he fought a single combat with Chelubey to open the Battle of Kulikovo. Both men were killed, but according to Russian sources, Chelubey was unhorsed first.

BYZANTINE CROSS — Also called the patriarchal cross, this cross has a smaller crosspiece above the main crossbar, and sometimes a slanted crossbar near the foot.

CAFFA — A city in Crimea, now known as Feodosia. In the era of The Winternight Trilogy, the city was under the control of the Genoese.