The Princely Power Between Regional and Super-Regional Identities According to the Life of Mikhail of Tver’ (Early 14th Century)

The article analyzes the Life of Mikhail of Tver’ — a work written around 1320 in the Tver’ land, which glorified the martyrdom of the prince executed in the Horde. The author asks the question, the ruler or leader of which community prince Mikhail acted in the Life. As he shows, the hagiographer indicated several such communities. The prince acted as the hereditary ruler of the Tver’ land and the “tsar” of the Rus’ian land, by which the Great Princedom of Vladimir was meant. It was also very important to present the prince as a protector of (potentially all) Christians. According to the author, the different statuses and functions of the prince reflected the multiple identities of the Russian population, which the hagiographer conveyed in the Life.