The exact date of the death of Prince Oleg the Prophet is unknown. According to the most widespread version, he died from a snake bite that crawled out of the skull of a horse, from which the wizards had once promised death to the prince. Historians name the years 912 and 922 based on various sources as the most probable dates of death.
Engraving by F. A. Bruni, 1839
According to the Kyiv version reflected in “The Tale of Bygone Years,” his tomb is located in Kyiv on the Shchekovitsa Hill. The first Novgorod chronicle places his tomb in Ladoga, but at the same time says that he went “beyond the sea.” The legend of the prediction of death from a horse and the subsequent death from a snake bite hidden in the skull finds parallels in the Icelandic saga of the Viking Orvar Odd[1]Clipping from the saga of Odd the Arrow.
The plot of Prince Oleg’s death from a snake bite that crawled out of the skull of his faithful horse became a popular motif in the visual arts, including thanks to its popularization by Alexander Pushkin in the famous poem “Song of Prince Oleg the Prophet.”
Prophecy of the Prince’s Death from a Horse
V.M. Vasnetsov
«Prince, the horse that you love and ride, from it you will receive death».[2]V. N. Tatishchev, “Russian History” book 2, chapter 2
When the prince asked how the magicians themselves were destined to die, they replied that he, the prince, would order them to be killed for the bad prophecy. Wanting to show his own will in the disposition of his fate, the prince declared that everything would not be as foretold:
«I do not want to execute you, and I will no longer ride my horse, nor will I ever see him again.»
Art. Ozhiganov I.
The saddened prince ordered the horse to be unbridled and no longer prepared for campaigns, only to be properly fed and cared for – cleaned, combed, and allowed to walk in a clean field.
Death from a Snake Bite
Image from the Radzivilov Chronicle, late 15th century
Several years after his return from the Byzantine campaign (according to different sources, from 4 to 7), Oleg the Prophet turned to his stable master with a question:
«Where is my favorite horse, which the sorcerers predicted would bring me death?»
To which the stable master replied:
«Your horse has been dead for several years now»
Laughing, Oleg said to the sorcerers who had once foretold his death:
«You were wrong in your prophecy»
hen, ordering the sorcerers to be hanged on a tree, he called his warriors and boyars and ordered them to bring him to where the horse’s bones lay. Upon arriving at the spot, Oleg hurried and, placing his foot on the horse’s whitening skull under the sky, said:
«Was it from this forehead that death was to take me?»
However, inside the skull lived a venomous snake, which crawled out and bit the prince in the leg. This bite proved to be fatal, and Oleg the Prophet soon passed away.
Chorikov B.
Caption: According to the prediction of the Magi, Oleg dies from a snake bite, which is located in the skull of his beloved horse
(At the top of the picture, Prince Igor Rurikovich and Princess Olga)
Art. V.M. Vasnetsov.
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