코르스ㅣ호르스

코르스

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khors

Xors by Andrey Shishkin.jpg
2015년, 안드레이 시슈킨에 의한 코르스
성모 마리아의 고난의 여정
성 그레고리의 설교, 댓글에서 발견...
성 요한 크리소스톰의 설교...
그리스도를 사랑하는 사람의 설교...
사도들의 설교와 계시
호르스[a]는 12세기부터 언급된 불확실한 기능의 슬라브 신이다. 일반적으로 태양신, 때로는 달의 신으로 해석된다. 그의 이름은 페르시아어 xorshid 또는 오세트어 xor와 같은 태양을 뜻하는 이란어 단어와 결합된 경우가 대부분이지만, 현대 언어학자들은 그러한 어원을 강하게 비판하고 있으며, 그 대신 다른 토착어원들이 제안되고 있다.

원천
호르스는 페룬 다음으로 가장 많이 언급되는 슬라브 신이다.[1] 그는 블라디미르 대제가 조각상을 세운 다른 신들과 함께 최초로 등장한다:

그리고 블라디미르는 키예프에서 혼자 통치하기 시작했다. 그리고 왕궁 바깥 언덕에 우상을 세웠다. 그는 나무로 만든 브룬 사람으로, 은으로 된 머리와 금으로 된 콧수염을 기르고, 호르스와 다스드보그와 스트리보그와 시말글과 모코스이다. 그들은 제물을 바치고, 그들을 신이라 부르며, 그들의 아들딸들을 그들에게로 데리고 가서 악마들에게 제물로 바쳤다. 그리고 그들은 그들의 희생으로 땅을 더럽혔고, 루스와 그 언덕은 피로 더럽혔다. 하지만 죄인들의 죽음을 바라지 않는 자비로운 하나님이 오늘날 성 바실리 교회에 서 있습니다. 나중에 이야기하겠지만요.[2]
고대 동슬라브어 원문
— 일차 연대기
"브세슬라프 왕자는 신하들에게 도시를 나누어 주었지만, 밤이 되자 키예프에서 수탉이 울기 전에 트무타라칸으로 도망쳤다."[3]

또한 신은 페룬과 호스를 노인으로 언급한 사도들의 설교와 묵시록에도 언급되어 있으며, 호스는 키프로스의 실생활로 인정받고 있다.[4] 호르스는 성 베드로 대성전의 외설적인 텍스트인 세 성인의 대화에도 등장한다. 바실리오, 신학자 성 그레고리오, 그리고 성 베드로. 존 크리소스톰은 대화를 한다. 성 요한이 묻는다: "천둥은 무엇으로 만들어졌는가?" 성 바실리가 대답한다: "천둥의 천사는 두 명이다. 이 때문에 고대 그리스의 페룬인 호르스는 유대인이다. 그리고 두 명의 번개 천사가 있다."[5] 이 문서는 슬라브어, 기독교, 보고밀 전통을 결합한 것이다.[6][4] 그는 또한 다른 레토피스 의존적인 공급원에서 발생한다.[4]

고유명사로
미하일 바실료프는 16세기부터 18세기까지 노브고로드-세베리아 지역(코르소보 습지, 코르소프 저수지 등)에서 온 많은 수력어를 인용했고, 10세기부터 12세기까지 볼히니아의 지명, 또는 불가리아의 흐리소보를 인용했다.[7] 안드레이 베스코프(Andrey Beskov)는 호로호바트카[uk] 마을에서 멀지 않은 보로바 지역에 현재 오스콜 저수지 아래에 있는 호르시브카 마을이 있었다고 언급한다. 중요한 것은, 이 마을의 주민들 중에 코르스라는 성을 가진 사람들이 있었다는 것이다.[8]

신은 또한 다즈보그의 폴란드 이름 다드보그와 유사하게 고대 세르비아어 이름 хсь, 고대 불가리아어 이름 ъсъ, [9] 세르비아어 이름 ср, Hrs, рик, Hrsovik, [10] 고대 동슬라브어 이름 оъс[9]으로 보존되어야 했다.[11] 또한 그가 고대 체코어 이름인 초루시로 보존되었을 가능성도 있다.[10] 세르비아어 이름은 그리스어 이름인 χσς, 흐리스 또는 흐리스오의 변형으로 간주되어야 한다고 제안되었지만, 알렉산드르 브루크너에 따르면 이 이름들은 기독교 이름이 아니기 때문에 세르비아인들이 이 이름을 채택할 이유가 없었고, 단순히 흐리스로 철자를 쓴다.[12]

어원학

기독교적이고, Khors의 선전 이미지, Georg A. 슐레우싱, 1698년 라 리옹 앙시엔느와 모데른 드 모스코비테스.
고대 러시아 문헌에서는 이 이름을 크로슘 Chorsum, 현대 Chors). 영어에서는 번역 시스템에 따라 이름을 Hors, Hors 또는 Xors로 씁니다.[1][4]

이란어 어원
현재, 호르스라는 이름의 어원에 관한 가장 일반적인 견해는 이란어이며, 이 어원은 19세기부터 제안되었다.

러시아의 역사가 페트르 부트코프는 호르스를 "슬라브의 아폴로"라고 불렀고, 그의 이름을 페르시아어 وشد, xurshit, 그리고 오세트어 xoroš, xor sun, 그리고 "선"을 의미하는 오세트어 xoroshŭ, ŭrsо, xorsu와 연결시킨 최초의 사람들 중 하나였다.[13] 이란어 xvar "halo", 인도어 hara, 페르시아어 xorshid "sun", 페르시아어 xorshid "sun", 수르쉬드 "sun-god"도 제안되었다.[13][15] 이란어는 또한 보굴족과 오스티야크족에서 하늘의 신 크로네를 의미하는 어원이 되었고, 보티야크어에서 "하늘"을 의미하는 kvar "하늘"을 의미하는 단어가 되었다.[14]

블라디미르 토포로프는 호르스라는 이름이 태양 숭배와 함께 키이우에 전해졌다고 믿었는데, 이는 블라디미르 대제의 치세 동안 그곳에 주둔했던 것으로 추정되는 화라즘의 군인들에 의해 만들어졌다고 믿었지만, 이 이론은 많은 비판을 받아왔다. 미하일 바실리예프는 이 이름이 중세 페르시아어에서 차용된 것이 아니라 기원전 1천년(이른바 이란의 반전)에 사르마티아-알란족에서 차용된 것이라고 주장했다.

이란어 어원 외에도 다른 이론들이 있었다. 예를 들어, 오세트어 xorz "good"로부터 초기 차용어가 제안되었는데, 이는 원래 "hors, hors에 속하는 Hors의"를 의미하는 러시아어 단어인 "horoshy "good"를 설명하기도 했지만, 이 가능성은 Vasmer에 의해 거부되었다. 또한 오세티야의 차용을 거부한 토포로프는 다음과 같이 썼다:

연구자들이 실제로 호르스(Khors)라는 이름과 연관된 유일한 러시아어 단어는 –. 이 링크는 이제 의심의 여지가 없는 것으로 보인다. 의문의 여지가 없는 것은 단어 형성의 방향이기도 하다: Khors → Khoroshy. 의심을 불러일으키는 것은 호스라는 이름의 구체적인 이란 출처뿐이다.[17]

비평
이란어에서 차용하는 것은 종교학자들에게 큰 불만 없이 받아들여졌지만, 막스 바즈마와 같은 언어학자들은 음성학적 문제를 지적한다. 이란어 hva-는 슬라브어의 단모음 ъ(ŭ)를 설명하지 않으며, s는 슬라브어에서 s로 남아있을 수 없지만, ruki 규칙에 따르면 규칙이 완성된 후 단어를 차용한 경우에는 х(h) 또는 as(sh)로 남아 있어야 한다.[18]

이란 어원 또한 역사적인 문제를 가지고 있다. 페르시아는 이미 이슬람교로 개종했으며 페르시아어로 토르시드라는 단어는 태양을 의미하고 종교적인 의미가 없었기 때문에 블라디미르 대제의 통치 기간 동안 호르스는 차용될 수 없었다. 이 이름은 아베스탄 흐바르(hvar хаə)에서 유래한 것이 아니며, 사산 왕조 시대에는 미트라 신에게 태양 숭배가 전해진 중세 페르시아어로 xwaršēδ/xorshid로 단축되었다. 게다가, 초기 단계에서, 페르시아에는 우상 숭배가 만연했고 이란 신들의 우상은 신성한 불로 대체되었다. 그렇다면 동슬라브인들이 어떻게 짧은 시간에 페르시아어에서 xwaršδ/xorshid라는 단어를 차용하여 급진적인 음운 변화를 일으켰고, 코르스를 판테온의 높은 곳에 두었는지는 불분명하다.[18] 바실리예프는 복잡한 추측의 사슬을 통해 얻은 가상의 사르마티아-알란어 단어 *xors/*xurs "King-Sun"의 존재를 제안함으로써 이 문제를 해결하려고 했지만, 여기서 앞서 언급한 음성 문제도 발생한다.[18]

이란 이론에 대한 포괄적인 비판은 안드레이 베스코프에 의해서도 이루어졌다.[19]

슬라브 어원
인도유럽조어의 *krḱós
알렉산드르 브루크너(1918)도 슬라브어에서 유래했다고 주장했다. 그에 따르면, 폴란드어로 체르슈는 차르처럼 들릴 것이고, 그는 폴란드어로 "수척하고, 초췌하고, 꼬집히고, 그리고, 그려진" 생명체를 의미하는 프셰카르스와자 또는 비차르스와치나(wcharswężzna)에서 이 단어를 찾을 수 있다 원래의 키가 보존된 단어는 카르시(Karsy)라는 뜻이다.[12] 이 단어들의 슬라브조어 형태는 PIE에서 "감소하다, 감소하다, 감소하다," *krsati"라는 동사인 *krsati "감소하다, 감소하다,"라는 형용사로 재구성된다. *krḱós "supple" (PIE → PSs).[20][9] 이러한 해석은 미하우 우친스키(2020)의 지지를 받았다. 그에 따르면 슬라브조어의 이름인 크르스(Xъrsъ)는 공식적으로 다음과 같은 성과 동일하다: 고대 세르비아어와 고대 불가리아어는 다음과 같다: 고대 폴란드어 *카르스어와 *차르어, 세르비아어 Hrs와 고대 러시아어 хсъ 등이 있으며, 형용사 *kъrsъ "skinny"에서 파생되었다. 이 재구성은 어원적으로 정확하며 의미적으로 달의 주기와 관련이 있을 수 있는 "마른"이라는 달의 해석과 일치한다.[9]

인도유럽조어에서 온 *k̥rʷs-
추가 정보: 슬라브어의 액체 메타세시스와 모음곡
슬로바키아의 언어학자 마르틴 푸카네츠(2013)에 따르면, 호르스어는 슬라브조어의 기원을 가지고 있지 않다. 그는 여기서 800년경에 발생한 슬라브어 TarT/TorT(T = 임의의 자음) 스위치를 지적한다.

동슬라브어의 TorT조어는 ToroT로 넘어갔기 때문에 동슬라브어 *Xorsъ조어는 동슬라브어 *Xorsъ로 전달되어야 하며, 그러한 표기법은 출처에 의해 확인되지 않는다. 그에 따르면, 서슬라브어와 남슬라브어에서는 이 이름에 대한 확실한 증거가 없다. 푸카네츠에 따르면, 이 이름은 페르시아의 크수르슈트 "빛나는 태양"에서 따온 것이지만, 그는 앞서 제시된 다른 언어학자들의 그러한 어원에 대한 비판을 다루지 않는다.[21]

그는 또한 다른 가능성을 지적한다. 슬라브조어 TorT는 교회 슬라브어로 "TъrT"와 "TrъT"로 전달되었는데, 이는 *Xorsъ와 *Xъrsъ" 표기법을 모두 설명하고 *Xъrsъ 표기법을 1차적으로 인정하는 것이었다. PS *x는 PIE *k 또는 *g에서 유래한 것으로, 단어의 PIE 어원을 찾을 때는 둥근 폰 *kʷ, *gʷ, *gʰʷ에 주로 주의를 기울여야 한다. 위에서 언급한 줄기들 중 오직 하나인 *k̥s-만이 율리우스 포코르니의 인도게르만시스 어원학자 뵈르테르부흐에서 발견되는데, 그는 이 줄기를 그리스어 ρρος, 프르노스 "오크", 갈리아어 프렝네 "큰 나무", 고대 고지 독일어 말을 사용하여 "덤불", "두꺼운" 또는 "오크" 또는 "슬로베니아어"를 사용하여 재구성했다 -r-와 -s-. 이러한 재구성은 폭풍과 오크의 신 페룬의 기능과 유사한 기능을 나타낼 것이다.[21]

해석
코르스다즈보그 – 태양신
이란어의 어원을 추정하는 학자들은 태양의 특징을 코르스의 것으로 보는 경우가 많다. 주된 주장은 그 뿌리가 어떤 정확한 단어였는지에 관계없이 애초에 "태양"을 의미하는 테오님의 뿌리이다. 게다가 이고르의 원정에 따르면, "닭보다 먼저 트무타라카니에 왔다"며 "위대한 호르스의 길을 따라 달렸다"는 브세슬라프 왕자는 서쪽에서 동쪽으로 이동했고, 닭이 울리기 전에 성에 도착했고, 이렇게 해서 태양을 "점령했다"고 한다.[22]

또한 원초 연대기의 본문에서는 태양신인 호르스와 다즈보그 사이에서만 신들의 조각상을 나열할 때 다른 신들과는 달리 "and"가 사용되지 않는다는 점이 지적되었는데, 이는 많은 학자들에 따르면 호르스가 다즈보그의 다른 이름이며 다즈보그와 그와 관련이 있다고 한다 다른 방법으로.[14][23] 이러한 견해는 예를 들어, 다즈보그가 호르스에 대한 설명인 헨리크 워빈스키의 지지를 받았다. 그러나 그는 접속사가 존재하지 않는지는 확신할 수 없다고 지적했다.[24] 브루크너는 이 견해에 반대하며, 접속사의 부족은 무관하다고 주장했고, 다즈보그와 코르스의 연관성은 정당하지 않다고 생각했다.[25] 옛 동슬라브 문헌의 철자에 대한 분석은 브뤼크너의 견해를 확인시켜준다: 노브고로드 제1연대기의 사본 "... иишьомкааобплксеррероуыянаасротадхиимнетс",sermon[:"onymsп...firstapostlesonymsthecopyholy,of"와 같은 연결어가 없는 경우가 종종 발생한다рояна", Sermon by Saint Gregory, found in the comments: "молятся (...) нероуноу. хорсу мокоши".[26]

달의 신
이란어의 어원을 추정하는 일부 학자들은 초르스가 달의 신이며, 그의 이름의 의미는 태양의 광선이 아니라 달의 광선을 의미한다고 믿는다.[22]

여기서 브세슬라프를 '늑대'라고 불렀고 늑대인간주의는 달과 연관이 있는 반면, 왕자의 여행 자체는 하늘에서 해가 없는 밤에 이뤄지기 때문에 해가 아닌 달의 길을 끊을 수 없었다는 지적이 나온다.[27][28] 추가적으로 트무타라칸이 키이우에서 동쪽이 아닌 남동쪽에 위치하고 있다는 지적도 있다.[22] '닭에게'라는 말에 대한 오해도 지적된다. 이 문구는 구 동슬라브어로 "늦을 때까지; 밤에", "새벽까지, 동트기 전에", 러시아어 다이얼을 의미했다.

"늦을 때까지; 자정 이후까지"라는 뜻의 "다른 수탉들에게"라는 말이 있다. "од"로 시작하는 문구는 "ос"로 시작하는 밤과 아침의 문구를 의미했다. 브세슬라프는 아침이 아닌 밤에 도시에 도착했다고 결론지을 수 있다.[29] 우친스키는 또한 이야기에서 호르스와 관련하여 사용되는 "위대한"(OES вемуокил, 벨리코무)이라는 별칭은 다르게 이해될 수 있다고 지적한다슬로베니아어 벨리 메섹은 고대 러시아어를 문자 그대로 "달의 길"인 고대 노르드어 케닝 마나베그르 "하늘"과 비교하기도 한다.[29]

호르스라는 이름은 언어학자 완다 붓지셰프스카에 의해 "수척"으로 해석되었다. 그녀는 사라져가는 달을 슬라브족들 사이에서 "가난하고 연약한" 것으로 불렀다고 보고한다. 폴란드 문자판 (포데일과 크라코프 지역) 비텍, 위오텍, 옛 체코어 베테크, 벨라루스어 베냐크, 러시아어 베토치. 옛 폴란드어에서 위치(wioty)는 "마모, 사용, 노후로 인한 쇠약"을 의미했다.

아이돌로 추정됨


프스코프 근처에서 발견된 돌바바. 분데러의 묘사에 따르면 우슬라드를 나타내며, 키르피치니코프의 해석에 따르면 호르스 또는 다즈보그를 나타낸다.
1589년부터 1590년까지 러시아를 여행한 독일의 여행자 요한 다비드 분더러(Johann David Wunderrer)는 프스코프 근처에 위치한 것으로 추정되는 코르스와 우슬라드의 동상을 언급했다:

마을 앞에서 우리는 옛날에 그들을 숭배하는 제사장들이 세운 두 개의 우상, 즉 한 손에는 칼을 들고 다른 한 손에는 벼락을 들고 뱀 위에 서 있는 우사드와 같은 우상을 보았다.

그의 일기에서, 원더러는 프스코프를 새롭게 묘사했지만, 그가 원고를 편집할 때, 그는 다른 출처에서 차용한 요소들을 추가했고, 그것들은 쉽게 식별할 수 있는 더 자세한 정보를 추가했다. 원더러는 주로 그가 언급한 우슬라드가 실제로 가짜 신이기 때문에 돌에 묘사된 신들의 이름을 알 수 없었을 것이며, 그의 이름은 페룬의 황금 조각상이 묘사된 원초 연대기의 한 구절의 왜곡의 결과로 생겨났으며, 지기스문트 폰 헤르베르슈타인은 황금(우슬라트)이라는 단어를 독립어로 인식했다이름은 우슬라드이고, 러시아 판테온에는 존재하지 않았어요. 많은 역사학자들은 언급된 구절을 신뢰할 수 없다고 생각했다.[31]

1581년에서 1582년 사이에 프스코프를 포위한 스테판 바토리의 야전 캠프가 동상 근처에 있었다는 것을 알게 되었고, 이 정보는 그가 묘사한 동상들의 위치로 이어졌다. 수용소는 프스코프 남쪽에 위치해 있었고, 도시 주변의 평평한 지형과 체렘차 강까지 뻗어 있는 숲이 우거진 언덕과 산을 분리한 프로미에지차 강 양쪽에 놓여 있었고, 동상들은 그 근처에 위치해 있었을 것이다. 이 우상의 존재는 1897년 발굴 과정에서 프로미에지차와 공장 사이에서 이른바 석상 바바(동유럽의 사람들을 묘사한 석상의 전통적인 이름)가 발견되면서 예기치 않게 확인되었다. 그 조각상은 아마도 원래의 장소에서 발견되지 않았을 것이지만, 어쨌든 그 장소는 근처에 있었을 것이다. 제2차 세계 대전 동안 프스코프 박물관에 있던 동상은 사라졌지만, 1928년에서 1929년 사이의 사진들은 살아남았다. 그 아이돌의 키는 약 100cm였다. 길이는 길고, 가슴에는 십자가가 있었는데, 이는 나머지 조각품들과 동시에 만들어졌지만, 우상은 의도적으로 손상되었고, 머리만 좋은 상태로 보존되어 있다.[31]

러시아 고고학자 아나톨리 키르피치니코프에 따르면 이 인물은 슬라브족의 이교도와 관련이 있다. 동상의 위치와 십자가의 표시는 원더러의 묘사와 정확히 일치한다. 고대 태양의 상징인 십자가는 여신상에 있는 신과 태양의 관계를 증언하는 것으로 추정되며, 여신상 자체는 호르스 또는 다즈보그를 상징하는 것으로 추정된다.[31] 일부 연구원들은 그 조각상이 기독교 문화에 속한다고 제안했다. 그 조각상은 8세기에서 10세기까지 거슬러 올라간다.[32]

 

 

Khors

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article is about the god. For other uses, see Khors (disambiguation).

"Hors" redirects here. For other uses, see Hors (disambiguation).

KhorsTexts

Member of Vladimir's pantheon

Khors by Andrey Shishkin, 2015

Primary Chronicle The Tale of Igor's Campaign The Virgin Mary’s Journey through the Torments Sermon by Saint Gregory, Found in the Comments... Sermon by the Holy Father Saint John Chrysostom... Sermon by One Who Loves Christ... Sermon and Revelation by the Holy Apostles

Khors[a] is a Slavic god of uncertain functions mentioned since the 12th century. Generally interpreted as a sun god, sometimes as a moon god. The meaning of the theonym is also unknown: most often his name has been combined with the Iranian word for sun, such as the Persian xoršid, or the Ossetian xor, but modern linguists strongly criticize such an etymology, and other native etymologies are proposed instead.

Sources[edit]

Khors is the most frequently mentioned Slavic god, after Perun.[1] He first appears in the Primary Chronicle letopis along with other gods to whom Vladimir the Great erected statues:

And Vladimir began to reign alone in Kiev. And he placed idols on the hill outside the palace: a Perun in wood with a silver head and a gold moustache, and Khors, Dazhdbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh. And they offered sacrifices and called them gods, and they took their sons and daughters to them and sacrificed them to the devils. And they profaned the earth with their sacrifices, and Rus’ and that hill were profaned by blood. But God the merciful, who does not wish the death of sinners, on that hill stands today the church of Saint Vasilij, as we will relate later.[2]

show

Old East Slavic original text

— Primary Chronicle

The second source mentioning the god is The Tale of Igor's Campaign: "Prince Vseslav was a judge for his subjects, he distributed cities among princes, but by night he ran like a wolf, from Kiev he ran to Tmutarakan, before the cock crowed, as a wolf he ran along the road of the great Khors."[3]

God is also mentioned in the apocryphal work Sermon and Apocalypse of the Holy Apostles, which mentions Perun and Khors as old men, and Khors is credited with real life in Cyprus.[4] Khors also appears in the apocryphal text Conversation of the Three Saints, in which St. Basil, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom converse. St. John asks: "What was thunder made from?", St. Basil replies: "There are two angels of thunder. For this, the ancient Greek Perun, Khors is Jewish. And there are two angels of lightning".[5] This text combines Slavic, Christian, and Bogomil traditions.[6][4] He also occurs in other letopis-dependent sources.[4]

In proper nouns[edit]

Mikhail Vasil'yev cited a number of hydronyms from the Novgorod-Severian region (e.g., Khorsovo swamp, Khorsov reservoir) from the 16th-18th centuries, toponyms in Volhynia from the 10th-12th centuries, or Khrŭsovo in Bulgaria, to the right of the Danube.[7] Andrey Beskov notes that in Borova region (Ukraine), not far from the village of Horokhovatka [uk], there was the village of Horsivka, which is now under the Oskol reservoir. Significantly, among the inhabitants of this village were bearers of the surname Khors.[8]

God was also to be preserved in the Old Serbian name Хьрсь, Old Bulgarian Хръсъ,[9] Serbian Хрс, Hrs, Хрсовик, Hrsovik,[10] Old East Slavic Хорсъ[9] in analogy to the Polish name Dadźbóg, from the god Dazhbog.[11] It is also possible that he was preserved in the Old Czech name Chorúš.[10] It has been proposed that the Serbian names should be regarded as alterations of the Greek name Χρυσης, Khrisis, or Χρυσος, Khrisos, but according to Aleksander Brückner this is unwarranted: these names are not Christian names, so there was no reason for the Serbs to adopt them, and Χρυσ- is spelled simply as khris-.[12]

Etymology[edit]

 

Christian, propaganda image of Khors, Georg A. Schleusing, La Religion ancienne et moderne des Moscovites, 1698.

In Old Russian sources, this theonym is noted as Xърсъ, Xŭrsŭ, Хорсъ, Xorsŭ, Хъросъ, Xŭrosŭ, and in modern Russian literature it is written as Khors (Russian: Хорс), similarly spelled by Maciej Stryjkowski - Khorsum (Polish: Chorsum, modern Chors). In English, depending on the transliteration system, the name is written as Khors, Hors, or Xors.[1][4]

Iranian etymology[edit]

Currently, the most popular view regarding the etymology of the theonym Khors is Iranian, and this etymology has been proposed since the 19th century. The Russian historian Pёtr Butkov, who called Khors "the Slavic Apollo", was one of the first to connect his name with the Persian خورشید, xuršit and the Ossetian xur, xor "sun," and with the Ossetian xorošŭ, хоrsŭ, xorsu meaning "good".[13] Iranian xvar "halo", Indian hāra, hāras "fire"[14] or Persian xoršid "sun", Xuršid "sun-god" are also proposed.[13][15] The Iranian word was also supposed to be the root word for Krones, the sky god in the Voguls and Ostyaks, and for the word kvar "sky", "air" in the Votyak language.[14]

Vladimir Toporov believed that the name Khors was brought to Kyiv, along with the solar cult, by soldiers from Khwarazm, who were supposedly stationed there during the reign of Vladimir the Great, but this theory has been heavily criticized. Mikhail Vasil'yev stated that the name could not have been borrowed from Middle Persian, but from Sarmatian-Alan peoples in the first millennium BC[16] (so-called Iranian inversion).

Besides the Iranian etymology, there were other theories. For example, an early loan from Ossetian xorz "good" was proposed, which would also explain the Russian word хороший, khoroshiy "good," which was originally supposed to mean "of Khors, belonging to Khors", but this possibility was rejected by Vasmer. Toporov, who also rejected borrowing from Ossetian, wrote:

The only Russian word which has really been connected by researchers with the name of Khors is – khoroshiy. This link now appears unquestionable [...]. Unquestionable is also the direction of the word formation: Khors → khoroshiy. It is only the concrete Iranian source of the name Hors that raises doubts.[17]

Criticism[edit]

Borrowing from Iranian languages has been accepted by religious scholars without much complaint, but linguists, such as Max Vasmer, point out phonetic problems. Iranian hva- does not explain the Slavic short vowel ъ (ŭ), and š could not in Slavic languages remain as s, but according to the ruki rule should remain either as х (h) or as š (sh) in case the word was borrowed after the rule completion.[18]

Iranian etymology also has historical problems. Khors could not have been borrowed during the reign of Vladimir the Great because by that time Persia had already converted to Islam, and the word Xoršid in Persian meant only "sun" and had no religious connotations. The name cannot be derived from the Avestan Hvar (because of the final -s), or hvarə хšаētəm: the expression was shortened to xwaršēδ/xoršid in Middle Persian during the Sassanid dynasty, at which time sun worship was transferred to the god Mitra. Additionally, at an early stage, iconoclasm prevailed in Persia and idols of Iranian gods were replaced with sacred fires. It is unclear, then, how the Eastern Slavs would have borrowed the word xwaršēδ/xoršid from Persia in such a short time, made a radical phonetic change, and placed Khors so high in the pantheon.[18] Vasil'yev tried to solve this problem by suggesting the existence of a hypothetical Sarmatian-Alan word *xors/*xūrs "King-Sun" obtained through a complex chain of assumptions, but here too the phonetic problems mentioned earlier arise.[18]

A comprehensive critique of Iranian theory was also made by Andrey Beskov.[19]

Slavic etymologies[edit]

From Proto-Indo-European *kr̥ḱós[edit]

Aleksander Brückner (1918) also proposed a Slavic origin of the theonym. According to him, Chъrsъ in Polish would sound like chars and he finds this word in Polish dated phrases przecharsła koza or wycharsł mężczyzna meaning "emaciated, haggard, pinched, drawn" creature, or in Czech words krsati, krsnouti "to emaciate, haggard", krsek "dwarf", zakrsly, krs "dwarf shrub" with typical interchange of ch and k – the Polish word with preserved original k is karślak "knotty tree", or toponymes Karsy.[12] The Proto-Slavic form of these words is reconstructed as the adjective *kъrsъ "declined, skinny, dwarf", the verb *kъrsati "to decrease, decline", *krsnąti "to lose weight" from PIE. *kr̥ḱós "skinny" (PIE ḱ → PS s).[20][9] This interpretation was supported by Michał Łuczyński (2020). According to him, the Proto-Slavic form of theonym, *Xъrsъ, from the earlier *Kъrsъ, is formally identical with the surnames: Old Serbian Хьрсь and Old Bulgarian Xrъсъ, as well as the toponyms: Old Polish *Kars and *Chars, Serbian Hrs and Old Russian Хорсъ and others, and is derived from the adjective *kъrsъ "skinny". This reconstruction is etymologically correct, and semantically consistent with the lunar interpretation – moon as "skinny", which may have been related to lunar cycles.[9]

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷr̥s-[edit]

Further information: Slavic liquid metathesis and pleophony

According to the Slovak linguist Martin Pukanec (2013), the theonym Khors does not have a Proto-Slavic genesis. He points here to a Slavic TarT/TorT (T = any consonant) switch that occurred around 800. Proto-Slavic TorT in East Slavic languages passed into ToroT, so Proto-Slavic *Xorsъ should pass into East Slavic *Xorosъ, and such a notation is not confirmed by the sources. According to him, there is also no reliable attestation of this theonym in West and South Slavic languages. In that case, according to Pukanec, the theonym was borrowed from Persian xuršēt "shining sun", but he does not address the criticism of such etymology by other linguists presented earlier.[21]

He also points to another possibility. Proto-Slavic TorT passed into Church Slavonic as TъrT and TrъT, which would explain both notations *Xorsъ and *Xъrsъ and recognizes the *Xъrsъ notation as primary. As the PS *x may derive from PIE *k or *g, when searching for the PIE etymology of the word, attention must be paid primarily to the rounded phones *kʷ, *gʷ, and *gʷʰ; the Proto-Indo-European stem can thus be reconstructed as *kʷr̥s- or *gʷr̥s- or *gʷʰr̥s-. Of the aforementioned stems, only one, *kʷr̥s-, is found in Julius Pokorny's Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, who reconstructed this stem using Greek πρῖνος, prînos "oak (holly)", Gaulish prenne "large tree", Old High German horst, hurst "bush, thicket" or Slovene hrást "oak", which, like the theonym in question, contain a vowel between -r- and -s-. Such a reconstruction would indicate functions similar to those of Perun, the god of storms and oaks.[21]

Interpretations[edit]

Khors-Dazhbog – Sun god[edit]

Scholars who assume an Iranian etymology most often attribute the solar features to Khors. The main argument is the root of the theonim meaning "sun" in the first place, regardless of which exact word that root was. Moreover, according to The Tale of Igor's Campaign, Prince Vseslav, who "came to Tmutarakani before the cocks" and "ran along the road of the great Khors", traveled from west to east and thus reached the castle before the cocks crowed, and in this way "overtook" the Sun.[22]

It has also been pointed out in the text of the Primary Chronicle where, when listing the statues of the gods, only between Khors and Dazhbog, the sun god, no conjunction "and" is used (unlike the rest of the gods), and this, according to many scholars, would suggest that Khors is another name of Dadzbog, his hypostasis, or that they are related in some other way.[14][23] Such a view was supported e.g. by Henryk Łowmiański, according to whom Dazhbog was an explanation of Khors. He pointed out, however, that he was not sure if conjunction wasn't there.[24] Brückner argued against this view, claiming that the lack of conjunctions was irrelevant, and he considered the association of Dazhbog with Khors to be unjustified.[25] An analysis of the spelling of Old East Slavic sources confirms Brückner's view: the lack of a conjunction often occurs in the enumeration of choronyms, ethnonyms, hydronyms, anthroponyms, and theonyms, e.g.: copy of Novgorod First Chronicle: "... и стриба сенмарекла мокошь", Sermon and Revelation by the Holy Apostles: "пероуна и хорса дыя и трояна", Sermon by Saint Gregory, found in the comments: "молятся (...) нероуноу. хорсу мокоши".[26]

Moon god[edit]

Some scholars, who also assume an Iranian etymology, believe that Chors was a lunar god, and that the meaning of his name refers not to the rays of the sun, but to the rays of the moon.[22]

It is pointed out here that Vseslav was called a "wolf" and werewolfism is associated with the moon, while the prince's journey itself takes place at night when the sun is absent from the sky, thus he could not cut the path of the sun but the moon.[27][28] Additionally, it is also pointed out that Tmutarakan is not located from Kyiv to the east, but to the southeast.[22] A probable misunderstanding of the phrase "to the hens" is also pointed out. In Old East Slavic this phrase meant "until late; at night", "until dawn, before dawn", and Russian dial. phrase "до вторых кочетов" meant "until late; after midnight' (literally: "to the other roosters"). As phrases beginning with "до" meant night and morning phrases starting with "со" (cf. со вторыми кочетами), it can be concluded that Vseslav arrived in the city at night, not in the morning.[29] Łuczynski also points out that the epithet "great" (OES великому, velikomu) used in relation to Khors in The Tale, which is usually[29] taken as an argument for the solar interpretation, can be under