medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The 12th-century Russian epic known as the Igor Tale repeatedly refers to swords made from "kharalug". The only other text in which this mysterious word has been found is the "Zadonshchina", a tale celebrating the Russians' victory over the Tatars in 1380 -- a tale that derives from the same epic tradition that gave us the Igor Tale. All attempts to link this word with various types of sword metal are unsatisfactory. In the 1930's one expert in sword technology pointed out that a metaphor in the Igor Tale suggests that kharalug must refer to fire or flames:
"Your brave hearts are forged in kharalug and tempered in bellicosity!"
(Forging is done in fire, and tempering is done in cool air or water. The phrasing "in kharalug" in Old Russian would not work like English "forged in steel". "In" refers to a medium that surrounds the metal.) Partly because Russian troops are portrayed metaphorically as seraphim ("six-winged ones of no mean nest"), I have long suspected that kharalug refers to the fiery swords and arrows of angel-warriors (and archangels), who in Russian military tales of the 11th through the 17th centuries are forever interceding in battles to assist the Russian armies. Illuminated manuscripts show them in the sky above the battlefields. The formant "khara-" has analogues in Greek and Sanskrit that are associated with fire and bright light. On the other hand, with my dearth of sources here in Palm Beach County, Florida, I've not managed to find much of anything corresponding to "lug" other than the solar deity of the Celts (Lough) whose name left its mark in various toponyms throughout!
Europe, and a questionable Norse term for fire. My suspicion is that the answer to this puzzle is to be found in Indoeuropean mythology and/or in Byzantine manuscripts that describe the angels. Do any of you veteran medievalists know of any lore pertaining to the fire or bright light of angels -- anything that might conceivably "shine light" on this obscure word?
Robert Mann
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