Vasily Tatishchev held that the first use of the term "White Rus'" is found in the Rostov chronicles from the year
1135, where the lands of
Rostov-Suzdal Principality were mentioned. Referring to the publications of the Pole
Maciej Stryjkowski, Persian and other Eastern peoples who called the Russian princes "ak-padishah"(white tsar), and the state "Ak-Urus" (White Rus), the historian in his narrative extends this name to all Vladimir-Rostov princes, starting with
Yuri Dolgorukiy, and
Andrei Bogolyubsky. He also calls the lands controlled by them "White Rus'", and calls the princes "White Russians" or "grand dukes of White Russia". The praiseworthy songs composed in the second half of the
14th century by the Austrian poet Peter Suchenwirt tell how in
1349, in the battle of
Izborsk ("Eysenburk" in the poem), German knights faced "Weizzen Reuzzen" ("White Russians"). However, it is known that it was a squad of
Pskov and
Izborsk people, led by Georgy Viktorovich,
voivode of the Grand Duke of Lithuania
Algirdas. (1459), oriented south, White Rus' (Rossia Biancha) is located near the White Sea (El mar bianco) On the world
Fra Mauro map (1459), the territory of
Novgorod-
Moscow Rus' between
Volga and
White Sea is called White Russia (Rossia Biancha). This map gives the following explanation: Many other variations of this name appeared on ancient maps; for instance,
Russia Alba, Russija Alba, Wit Rusland, Weiß Reußen (Weißreußen), White Russia, Hviterussland, Hvíta Rússland, Weiß Russland (Weißrussland), Ruthenia Alba, Ruthénie Blanche and
Weiß Ruthenien (Weißruthenien). The name was also assigned to various territories, often quite distant from that of present Belarus. According to
Alfred Nicolas Rambaud:The name of
White () Russia is given to the provinces conquered from the 13th to the 14th century by the
Grand Dukes of Lithuania. These were the ancient territories of the
Krivitches,
Polotchans,
Dregovitches,
Drevlians,
Doulebes, now forming the governments of
Vitepsk,
Mohilef, and
Minsk. The Lithuanian territories of Grodno, Novogrodek and Belostok were sometimes called
Black Russia. An ethno-religious theory suggests that the name used to describe the part of old
Ruthenian lands within the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania that had been populated mostly by
Slavs who had been Christianized early, as opposed to
Black Ruthenia, which was predominantly inhabited by pagan
Balts. As stated by historian
Andrej Kotljarchuk, the first person who called himself "Belarusian" was Calvinist writer
Salomon Rysinski (Solomo Pantherus Leucorussus, ca 1569–1626). According to his words, he was born "in richly endowed with forests and animals Ruthenia near the border to frigid Muscovy" and doctorated at the
University of Altdorf. in French On the 1712 map of French cartographer Henri Chatelain "Russie noire" (Black Ruthenia) is placed in region of
Eastern Galicia (today
Western Ukraine), which traditionally known as "Russie rouge" (
Red Ruthenia). in black,
Volhynia in red, and
Podolia in yellow. Vasmer's dictionary mentions the dichotomy of "white" land and "taxed" land in
Domostroy and speculates that "white"
Rus' may have referred to the parts of
Kievan Rus' that were not conquered by
Golden Horde. Another speculation in Vasmer is that the color of the clothes of the White Ruthenians (perhaps as well as the color of their hair) may have contributed to the name.
Oleg Trubachyov calls both theories "complete fantasies". Also, the 16th century chronicler
Alexander Guagnini's book
Sarmatiae Europeae descriptio wrote that
Rus' was divided in three parts. The first part, under the rule of the Muscovite Grand Duke, was called
White Ruthenia. The second one, under the rule of
Polish king, was called
Black Ruthenia. And the rest was
Red Ruthenia. He also said Moscow was the center of White Rus' and the Russian
metropolitanate, and that the
Grand Duke of Moscow was called the
White Czar, especially by his subjects. According to the late 19th-century
Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland, White Ruthenia (Ruś Biała) constituted the
Minsk,
Mścisław,
Połock,
Smolensk and
Witebsk voivodeships of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (before the
Partitions of Poland), or the
Mogilev Governorate, eastern parts of the
Minsk and
Vitebsk Governorates, the western half of the
Smolensk Governorate, and the northern part of the
Chernihiv Governorate, i.e. the central, northern and eastern parts of modern Belarus, and the western outskirts of modern Russia with
Smolensk and
Starodub. The largest cities in the region so defined today are
Minsk,
Gomel,
Vitebsk,
Mogilev,
Smolensk and
Babruysk. ==See also==