One long ship after another directly hit the soft shoal. Now the reeds have sprouted, and soon the muddy land will be lush and green.
The oak keel was gnawed deeply into the soil, and a strong figure jumped up holding on to the wooden railing, stepping on the mud of Novgorod calmly and gracefully.
Rurik finally returned to his most prosperous agricultural area and the queen's natal home, which was also the best place for all old Russians to live.
He smiled and his beard trembled.
He opened his arms, his golden ponytail was blown elegantly by the warm south wind, and his golden laurel wreath shimmered in the sun.
Behind him, soldiers returning from the expedition jumped down with large and small bags of trophies on their backs or on their strong shoulders. Many of them fell to their knees because the trophies were too many and too heavy to stand firm.
His knees also hit the mud heavily.
The people who came up in this way could judge the results of their expedition with their naked eyes.
"Is it true that a strong man cannot carry the spoils of war? How much wealth must this be?!"
Old Otto couldn't help but think in his mind. He saw that everyone had gained a lot, and there must be immeasurable wealth pouring in here. It is true that even all his achievements in his life could not compare with the plunder of this war launched by his son.
The shining golden Otto moved around with the assistance of two strong men. His strong cowhide belt served as a good handle. The strong men on the left and right tried their best to hide their hands pulling the belt in order to show that the old king was still tough. At first glance, it was Otto.
I rely on my own strength to move forward wearing this heavy armor.
This scene frightened Rurik, and he really thought that his old father had become brave again.
There were only cheering crowds around him, and a large number of women holding their children chatting and laughing.
There were more and more onlookers on both sides of the river. Some fishing boats on the lake heard the rumbling of the city and hurriedly came to watch.
When the fishermen found out that Wang Shi had arrived in the harbor, some of them turned their boats around and headed straight to Mstisk and Youth City in the east of the lake, just to deliver the good news.
Novgorod is destined to be packed with people, welcoming relatives, trying to buy trophies, and even people just watching the fun, they flock here with various purposes.
For Otto, the scene in front of him was confusing.
His son will probably never grow taller. His body used to be a little thin, but now he seems to be getting stronger and stronger. He saw the shadow of his past, when he first arrived in Novgorod at this age. But then
At that time, Rus was still weak. To the Slavic people of Lake Ilmen, they were essentially a group of pirates who broke in and demanded tribute.
Times have changed, and everyone here is cheering for their king.
The world suddenly became bizarre and unreal.
Otto blinked hard to wake himself up, and finally walked up to his son and hugged him with great strength.
He didn't need to say anything, he just hugged Rurik like this and patted Rurik on the back. This move was worth a thousand words.
Queen Niya was so excited that she burst into tears. She ran over with a wooden stick, her white hair flowing in the wind, and hugged her son tightly.
People continued to cheer and make a huge noise, and the booing people screamed like apes, just to make the triumphal atmosphere more enthusiastic.
For a moment, people ignored the sacrifice and the cruelty of war.
Anyone with eyes can tell from the large number of linen bags packed tightly on the longships that cannot be unloaded quickly that Ross did gain a lot from this war. Wars always kill people, and often many people die. Compared with dying in war,
People who die from the cold in winter during peacetime, from various accidental injuries, from diseases, and from war are not very tragic ways to die. What's more, people believe that the souls of good people or warriors will have a beautiful destination and eternal happiness after death.
The unique post-war security system determines that a family will not collapse if its main labor force is killed in the war. In the hands of Rurik, Ross determined the national policy of equal emphasis on sea and land power. In terms of a single livelihood, farming is not the only means of survival.
You can earn profits by engaging in other economic activities, and then exchange them for food to continue living.
At least the women of the old Russians and the women of the White Tree Manor who rule the basic base basically do not have to do anything during the slack period. The people have been organized to engage in handicrafts. The long winter has become a production period. The most important production activity is the production of leather products.
and cotton and linen products. They require a large amount of raw materials to produce a large amount of output. Each farm becomes a "country factory", the people earn labor fees, and the king opens the market for the final products.
The extremely enlarged sacks on the beach long boats are stuffed with wool from Flanders that has been trampled and compressed as much as possible. The wool is rolled into wool, and then a series of processing is performed using flax processing techniques, and finally weaving
.The hand-rolled wool is much thicker and longer than the linen thread. The method of knitting sweaters can be done by hand spinning with two wooden needles.
After a brief but warm welcome at the dock, Rurik had decided to gather the local boyar nobles and property owners together after the carnival.
Ross must repair the damage caused by this war, and also use the spoils of war to quickly expand the size of the economy, etc.
However, what shocked him was his large group of gorgeous women. They were dressed in beautiful and even dazzling floral cloths. Most of them had straight or curly hair, and beautiful headbands strung with glass beads and amber.
The foreheads are tied in a circle. This is a very standard Slavic woman's dress. These are the concubines with the lowest rank. However, they are all holding children, and they all look like brats with tough heads.
"Can't I have another daughter?"
Soon, when all Rurik's wives and concubines gathered in the lobby of the Novgorod palace, all he could see was the babbling little boy.
And his astonishing number of wives and concubines.
No wife or concubine is as noble as Queen Svetlana. She is a little fatter but more attractive. Because she lived with Rurik too early, she lived a high-protein and high-calcium life of eating meat and fish. She is more beautiful than Queen Svetlana.
My elder sister Lilia is much taller, with delicate facial features and chubby cheeks.
The queen held the two-year-old Prince Osborne Slav in her arms, and held hands with Oleg, who was about to turn three.
Each wife and concubine holds one in her arms.
Duchess Carlotta of Ostara brought her four-year-old son Carl, and her biological sister Ella also held a little guy.
The lobby was filled with the voices of women chirping and the babbling of children. There were even children who were frightened or had just given birth and were crying loudly.
Such a lively scene was like a dream to Otto and Niya. The old couple was happy to hear the cries of a large group of children. The louder the voices, the better it meant that these boys had a bright future.
Rurik knew that all of this came from his crazy hard work more than a year ago. This body was young and strong. It was no problem to deal with a group of wives and concubines in a short period of time, but looking at them now was a problem.
Instead of swarming up with their children in their arms, they would sit sideways on the cushions with their children in their arms. The man looking at them had a smile on his face. Each of them had a thousand things to say and longed to talk to the king more.
sentence.
They also maintain their duties. As the king's women, they can have a lifetime of food and clothing, prosperity and wealth, but the price is that they cannot enjoy the favor of a man alone, nor can they betray their own men. They will seize every opportunity to get close to the king.
It is human nature to compete for beauty and beauty.
The palace of Rus is still simple, and the hierarchy of the harem has long been established.
After all the wives and concubines experienced the bloodshed in their hometown of Roseburg, they became each other's sisters, their ranks were established, and everyone's fate was determined.
According to the rules, when the king returns, he must stay with his wife, the queen, for a long time. Eventually, each concubine will be entrusted to distant places by their sons and become nobles of different sizes.
First, the wives and concubines must give birth to their own sons.
"You've seen it all!" Old Otto's voice was hoarse and he couldn't hide his inner joy: "It's Freya's blessing and Odin's gift. They all gave birth to sons."
Old Otto's words were so shocking that all the chattering wives and concubines were quiet, so that his voice actually echoed in the lobby.
Rurik, who was sitting in the middle of the hall, was surprised and happy. He said bluntly: "I have seen them all. They are all my sons."
"Indeed. Go and cheer! Rurik, my son! I won't ask you about the expedition today, but you will definitely write down and post your deeds. Now it's just our family matter."
"Family matters?"
Old Otto looked around at the women present again. "Rurik, give your sons formal names. This is your right and your obligation."
"Huh?! They don't have names yet?"
"There are only informal nicknames. Just like when you give your maids new names and they give birth to your sons, the task of naming them is yours."
Rurik suddenly looked embarrassed. He glanced at the wives and concubines on his left and right, thinking that the mother should give the child a name first and then confirm the matter later. Just like Noren and Beyasier each had their own affairs during the war.
When a child is born, it is his mother who names him.
Parents do not choose names for their children randomly.
In countries like Frankfurt and other countries that believe in God, priests baptize children, and they just flip through the scriptures and use the name of the person who appears first as the name of the child. Without this ritual process, names can only be regarded as informal nicknames.
Ilmenslavia is also very particular about it. Parents choose a good day as the naming day of their son. However, the tradition here is to give the son a formal name. The girls in the family often have no names, and they often use the meanings of "eldest daughter" and "second daughter".
A vague title like "" becomes a name with a little modification. Only families with noble status and a lot of wealth will be very particular about their daughter's name.
Although the Old Rus and other Viking tribes do not have to choose an auspicious day as the day for naming their children, they must use good words to name their children. They treat their children equally in naming them. Perhaps it is in the traditional old Viking life that men and women
The social division of labor is not yet clear.
More than ten years ago, when Rurik got ten maids, today's status quo was destined. He cherished these obedient girls at hand, taught them knowledge personally and made them special craftsmen.
It is a natural thing nowadays for masters to give names to slaves. Those girls did not have serious names in their hometown. Rurik giving them names was actually a gift.
But the so-called given names are also defined according to the order of Roman letters, and a suitable catchy word starting with the corresponding letter is found.
Anna is a, which means elegance. Bella is b, which means white, and it is extended to purity. Sithea c, which means heavyweight. One of Caesar's favored slaves was called this. Diana is d, after the name of the Roman goddess.
Naming. Ekaterina is e, and naming the fifth child this is purely Rurik’s bad taste. Fenna is f, which is the Norse finnr with the feminine suffix. She is a Slavic woman, and her name directly refers to Finland.
Rurik just thought it sounded good and took it. Greta is g, which is taken from the old Norse word, which means full of vitality. Helena is h, and Ilia is i, both of which come from the names of Greek goddesses. Yuri
Ya is j, and the masculine name is directly Yuri. It is really a name tailor-made for Rose.
They all gave birth to healthy boys, and whether it was the custom of the Slavs or the Rus, the boys must have a good name.
In this way, Rurik also understood today's situation.
He scratched his head and scratched his head. The strong man from Northern Europe suddenly became hesitant.
"Father, is today the children's name day?!" he had to ask.
"Exactly." Old Otto continued with a hoarse voice, "I decided that it would be good to determine a name day. In the future, every child will have a name day, which is as important as the birth date. Rurik, give your sons a name day.
Name it! Today is their name day! After that, all the children will be sent to the temple in the city, Freya will grant them health, and Odin will grant them courage and strength. Oh, and there is also the Slavic God of Fire here,
It will also give children special powers.”
The old father suddenly became eloquent when he spoke. These words should have been spoken by a priest.
Forget it. Rurik continued to scratch his face. He couldn't name his sons casually to avoid them complaining about their father in the future. But today was the name day, so it wouldn't be right to not finish the "proposal composition" quickly.
Simply, let’s follow the naming routine of their mothers’ names! The first is for the boys born to the ten lowest-status maids and concubines.
Next is Ella, Saipolava's son. The two of them have high status. If they have already chosen a name for their child, they will admit it immediately.
Since it is now a ceremony to name a child, things should be done in a more orderly manner.
Ella still has a gentle appearance, and her character has not changed even after becoming a mother. She is not suitable to be a feudal noble, and is perfectly suitable to be a scribe.
Without mentioning anything to Ella's son in advance, she quickly fetched paper and quills to record the king's arrangements.
Everything is ready, and it seems that Ella is ready to write down the record.
"Anna!" Rurik turned his face and spoke suddenly.
This sound shocked Anna and she was flattered: "I...I'm here."
Rurik spoke loudly: "Your son's name is Alexander. Aleksanda, spelled like this."
Forget it, he looked at Bella again and said, "Your son's name is Boris. Boris, spelled like this." This is a Slavic word that means "to fight." Bella understood it completely and was immediately satisfied.
Then came Siva, Dmitri, Evgeni, Feodo, Grigori, Heracles, Ignat, and Yuri Juri.
In Rurik's opinion, most of the children's names have been severely Slavicized, that is, their names come from Slavic, Norse, Latin and Greek sources.
At least the children's names retain their own characteristics. After all, they are born princes, and their names should be as unique as possible. Also because their bloodline is mixed and their mothers have lower status, the children's names must also have the same name as the senior prince.
There is an obvious distinction. For example, the names of these children do not have the suffix slav.
Ella and Saborava have already named their sons.
Ella's son was named Amberman, which means Amber Man.
Saipolava's son was named bouba, which means treasure in the Finnish Kovin dialect.
The two named them this way, and Rurik could conclude that they had discussed it, so he described his son as as precious as a gem. In this way, there was no need to change the names of the two cubs.
The name day had a happy outcome for everyone, and all the princes had completely identical names, which tested the limits of Rurik's own cognition.
What always criticized him was the naming habits in the Western world, which made the probability of duplicate names always very high. This problem was extremely obvious in the Viking world, where Bjorn, Harald, Harold, and Eli were everywhere.
Gram, Carl, and their variants.
Rurik knew that his name was also a special variant of "Eric". Like his cousin Arik, the name was a direct variant of "Eric".
Therefore, every man hopes to have a domineering nickname. I don’t know because it represents a man’s honor. On the other hand, it is also because parents always lack imagination and have good words for their children, but good words are targeted at them.
My poor literary knowledge is limited to a few, so the names are always highly concentrated in the dozen or twenty.
It’s just an obvious problem for our children, it’s time to make a change!
Starting from the royal family, they took the lead in introducing Greek, Latin, Slavic words, and even some seemingly meaningless but particularly catchy syllables as names.