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The Annals of St. Bertin (839) and Chacanus of the Rhos

The Annals of St. Ber tin (839) and Chacanus of the Rhos

By Ildar Garipzanov

Ruthenica, Vol. 5 (2006)

Introduction: In 839, an embassy from Emperor Theophilus arrived in the court of Louis the Pious at Ingelheim, accompanied by some men who claimed that they belonged to the people called Rhos (qui se, id est gentem suum, Rhos vocari dicebant) and who asked Louis’ permission to pass through his empire on their way back home. This matter was thoroughly investigated at the Carolingian court, and the Frankish emperor came to the conclusion that they belong to the gens of Swedes. This record in The Annals of St. Bertin for the year 839 became the first written record on the Rus’/Rhos and has been analyzed in scholarly literature since the eighteenth century. This passage has been used to trace the Scandinavian origins of the Rhos as well as the political structure existing among the early Rus’.

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