Leo the Deacon
Byzantine court historian Leo the Deacon met Kyiv ruler Sviatoslav the Brave in person in 971 AD. Leo’s description of the famous ruler of Rus is the only one known.
The description can be found in his History of Leo the Deacon, and it is better to quote the whole passage:
Description of Sviatoslav the Brave
“[Sviatoslav] arrived sailing along the river in a Scythian light boat, grasping an oar and rowing with his companions as if he were one of them. His appearance was as follows: he was of moderate height, neither taller than average nor particularly short; his eyebrows were thick; he had grey eyes and a snub nose; his beard was clean-shaven, but he let the hair grow abundantly on his upper lip where it was bushy and long; and he shaved his head completely, except for a lock of hair that hung down on one side, as a mark of the nobility of his ancestry; he was solid in the neck, broad in the chest and very well articulated in the rest of his body; he had a rather angry and savage appearance; on one ear was fastened a gold earring, adorned with two pearls with a red gemstone between them; his clothing was white, no different from that of his companions except in cleanliness.”
Monument
Ukrainian sculptors recreated the appearance of Sviatoslav the Brave according to that description in the monument currently standing in Zaporizhzhia city. It was in this area of the Dnieper Rapids that Sviatoslav was ambushed by the Pechenegs in 972 while returning to Kyiv after the Bulgarian campaign.
Ancestry Nobility
Leo the Deacon’s description is important for a number of reasons.
First, it shows that the famous haircut whose origin was attributed to Ukrainian Cossacks of the 16th century is centuries older.
Sviatoslav the Brave wore this haircut in the 10th century, but he certainly was not the first one in doing so.
Second, according to Leo the Deacon, that lock of hair was not just a decoration, but a mark of the nobility of Sviatoslav’s ancestry.
It means that Sviatoslav’s ancestors wore the khokhol hairstyle too, including his father Igor too.
But this tradition certainly spanned centuries back in time, even before Sviatoslav, because the Byzantine historian speaks of ancestry, not just a single ancestor.
Byzantine court knew the significance of the Khokhol haircut for Kyiv Rus rulers and described it respectfully.
Thirdly, Leo the Deacon’s description is of vital importance to establishing the legacy of Kyiv Rus.
Muscovites-Russians have been trying to denigrate Ukrainians for the khokhol haircut for centuries.
They do not understand its true meaning and significance.
It proves once again that they are absolute strangers to the culture and history of Kyiv Rus.
Because, speaking in modern terms, Sviatoslav the Brave was a Khokhol.
Our next video will be about the Khokhol haircut in the Ukrainian Cossacks’ culture. Subscribe so as not to miss it.
The book ‘Kyiv Rus in Heimskringla Sagas and Byzantine Texts’ has unique facts and perspective on the famous dynasty of Kyiv Rus, starting with the famous mother of Sviatoslav the Brave, the revengeful Olga of Kyiv. Learn why Scandinavian kings came to the Kyiv court and served Kyiv rulers.
