Introduction
Over the centuries, the tale of St Peter and St Fevronia has been told and retold with growing embellishment. But at its core lies a touching and credibly historical story of married love from the infancy of Christian Rus’, and the Church keeps their feast on June 25th (July 8th) as a Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness.
PETER, a twelfth-century Russian prince,* met Fevronia when she cured him of an unsightly skin disease using her knowledge of herbs. She was only a peasant girl and Peter, having promised to marry her if she made him well, felt justified in backing out. But after a sharp relapse and further treatment at Fevronia’s hands, he kept his word.
In time, Peter inherited the crown of Murom,* but the haughty wives of Murom’s boyars flatly refused to serve Fevronia. So the loyal Prince unexpectedly followed her into exile, leaving the noblemen to squabble over the crown until they saw sense and begged them to return.
The Prince and his beloved wife reigned together in Murom for many years, and died on the same day and in the same hour, having spent a brief time apart in monastic seclusion. They were not buried together, despite their express wishes; but next day their bodies were discovered side by side, as inseparable in death as in life.*
The sixteenth-century legend of Peter and Fevronia says that just before he died Peter became a monk and took the name David, while Fevronia became a nun named Euphrosyne. It has been suggested that Peter may stand for David Yuryevich, son of Yuri I Vladimirovich ‘Dolgorukiy’, Grand Prince of Kiev. David was Prince of Murom from 1174. He married a commoner, resigned the throne to become a monk at the end of his life (he died in 1228), and shared the same grave as his wife, just as Peter does.
Murom is a city on the River Oka, some 170 miles east of Moscow, or 88 miles southwest of Nizhny Novgorod. If Peter was David Yuryevich, there are some English connections to savour. His grandfather Vladimir II Monomakh is said in Norse tradition to have married Gytha of Wessex, though David was his grandson through his second wife, Eufimia. David’s great-grandfather Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev gave sanctuary for a time to Edmund and Edward, the sons of King Edmund Ironside, and his daughter Agatha appears to have married Edward, making Henry II her great-great-grandson, and kin to David from afar. See Edward the Exile.
See also Love’s Last Knot, in which poet Richard Crashaw reflects on a husband and wife buried together. For the Welsh answer to Valentine, see St Dwynwen.
Précis
A medieval Russian tale tells how Peter, Prince of Murom, was cured of a skin ailment by a peasant girl named Fevronia, and how he overcame his courtiers’ prejudice against her low birth. The inseparable prince and his bride died on the very same day, and despite being buried apart were found miraculously nestled together in one grave. (58 / 60 words)
A medieval Russian tale tells how Peter, Prince of Murom, was cured of a skin ailment by a peasant girl named Fevronia, and how he overcame his courtiers’ prejudice against her low birth. The inseparable prince and his bride died on the very same day, and despite being buried apart were found miraculously nestled together in one grave.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, besides, if, otherwise, unless, until, who.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Follow. Hour. Together.
2 Disease. He. Monastic.
3 Justify. Meet. Peter.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Wish. 2 Use. 3 Skin. 4 Sense. 5 Return. 6 Meet. 7 Time. 8 Back. 9 Make.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
fnds (5+1)
fends. fiends. finds. founds. funds.
fondues.
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