White Ruthenia

White Ruthenia (Belarusian: Белая Русь, romanized: Biełaja Ruś; Polish: Ruś Biała; Russian: Белая Русь, romanized: Bjelaja Ruś; Ukrainian: Біла Русь, romanized: Bila Ruś) alternatively known as Russia Alba, White Rus' or White Russia, is an archaism[1][2] for the eastern part of present-day Belarus, including the cities of Polotsk, Vitebsk and Mogilev.

This article is about the geographical region. For the country, see Belarus.

History
White Ruthenia (in green) within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia at 1780, with modern Belarusian borders (in red)

Many other variations of this name appeared on ancient maps; for instance, Russia Alba, Russija Alba, Wit Rusland, Weiß Reußen (Weißreußen), White Russia, Hviterussland, Hvíta Rússland, Weiß Russland (Weißrussland), Ruthenia Alba, Ruthénie Blanche and Weiß Ruthenien (Weißruthenien). The name was also assigned to various territories, often quite distant from that of present Belarus.

According to Alfred Nicolas Rambaud:

The name of White (Lithuanian: Balta) Russia is given to the provinces conquered from the 13th to the 14th century by the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. These were the ancient territories of the Krivitches, Polotchans, Dregovitches, Drevlians, Doulebes, now forming the governments of Vitepsk, Mohilef, and Minsk. The Lithuanian territories of Grodno, Novogrodek and Belostok were sometimes called Black Russia.[3]

An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old Ruthenian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by Slavs who had been Christianized early, as opposed to Black Ruthenia, which was predominantly inhabited by pagan Balts.[4]

1918 map of the "White Ruthenian Democratic Republic" in French

On the 1712 map of French cartographer Henri Chatelain "Russie noire" (Black Ruthenia) is placed in region of Eastern Galicia (today Western Ukraine), which traditionally known as "Russie rouge" (Red Ruthenia).

White Russia (French: Russie Blanche) in white on a map by French cartographer Henri Chatelain in 1712. Black Ruthenia in black, Volhynia in red, and Podolia in yellow.

Vasmer's dictionary mentions the dichotomy of "white" land and "taxed" land in Domostroy and speculates that "white" Rus' may have referred to the parts of Kievan Rus' that were not conquered by Golden Horde. Another speculation in Vasmer is that the color of the clothes of the White Ruthenians (perhaps as well as the color of their hair) may have contributed to the name. Oleg Trubachyov calls both theories "complete fantasies".

Also, the 16th century chronicler Alexander Guagnini's book Sarmatiae Europeae descriptio wrote that Rus' was divided in three parts. The first part, under the rule of the Muscovite Grand Duke, was called White Ruthenia. The second one, under the rule of Polish king, was called Black Ruthenia. And the rest was Red Ruthenia. He also said Moscow was the center of White Rus' and the Russian metropolitanate, and that the Grand Duke of Moscow was called the White Czar, especially by his subjects.

See also

References
  1. "White Russia". Oxforddictionaries.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  2. "White Russian". Oxforddictionaries.com. 2017. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  3. Rambaud, Alfred (1898). "2". History of Russia. Archived from the original on 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  4. Аб паходжанні назваў Белая і Чорная Русь (Eng. "About the Origins of the Names of White and Black Ruthenia"), Язэп Юхо (Joseph Juho), 1956.

Sources
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