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MARIE HALUN BLOCH DEJA VU One of the oldest streets of Kiev is what is now called Andriy’s Descent. It starts at the beginning of Volodymyrska Street, between St. Andriy Cathedral and the Historical Museum, and leads down a steep slope and into a distant past. I first learned of it during my intensive research in preparation for writing my book B e rn , S o n o f M ik u la (Atheneum, 1972), a story that takes place in tenth- century Kiev, during Princess Olha’s and Prince Sviatoslav’s reigns. To familiarize myself with that period I read a hefty two-volume work on the archeology of ancient Kiev by M. K. Karger, one by Yaroslav Pasternak, another by Nikolai Zakrevsky, and two more by P. P. Tolochko. In addition, in preparation also for an adult novel I was contemplating, I read works on the law, the folklore and religion, the art and literature, the architecture, and the marine and military practices of medieval Kiev. Having thus made myself as much as possible at home in that time and place, I was at last able to see my characters in their proper surroundings and so begin writing about them. The chief person in my story, the boy Bern, is legendary, that is, popularly believed to have been a historical figure. But the story surrounding him is my own reconstruction, my own fleshing out of the tantalizingly laconic account of him and his exploit in the C h r o n ic le o f th e P a s s in g Years, the earliest annals of the Kievan Realm, begun in the eleventh century at the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev. Bern’s master, so I have it, was a tile maker, supplier to Princess Olha for the churches she was building. The clay for his tiles came from just beyond the end of Potters Lane, where he lived and worked. Close by was the Tanners Lane. The two lanes were part of a meander of humble byways that were settled by artisans of various sort at the foot of the bluff upon which stood the already ancient citadel of Kiev. In the tenth century Princess Olha, who was prominent in my story, ruled over Kiev and the Kievan Realm in the absence of her son, Prince Sviatoslav. She was old by the time of the story and lived in seclusion upon Castle Hill. Through the centuries this hill has been variously known also as Hill of Sighs or Hill of Rest, Florivska Hill, and Kyselivka. Unfortunately, I was never able to locate it on any of the maps of early Kiev that I possess. And no one, not even natives of Kiev now living in the West, could tell me where it was. But it was a landmark of that cozy little neigh borhood where Bern lived, and if one could locate it, one could find the ancient little lanes that once meandered at its foot. From its earliest days, Kiev has comprised not only the city on the bluff but also the area below, the Podil, stretched along the wide river shore. Here in time grew up a harbor through which crisscrossed many trade routes. From it each spring went furs, honey and beeswax, grain and slaves for export. And to it came silks and brocades, costly jewelry, gold and silver vessels, wine and dried fruits, and yet more slaves from Byzantium and beyond, brought back by Kievan merchant-warriors each autumn. In Princess Olha’s time the city was not yet that bright ensemble of noble churches, of palaces and monasteries, of thriving market places and myriad workshops that it was soon to become. But it was well on the way. It was an exciting time and place for a boy to be alive. Down in the Podil lived the ropemakers (such as Bern’s first master), the boat builders, the sailmakers, the marine suppliers, and the sailors and warriors who accompanied every merchant outward bound. Here stood the warehouses alternately bulging with goods and echoing empty. One of these rich merchants was named Borych, and as a matter of fact, what is now Andriy’s Descent was in medieval times called Borych’s Wagon Road. In those early times, about halfway down this road into the НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 1980 21 Kiev 1977. A n d riy Descent. Київ-Поділ Андрївський узвіс
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