Russia and Scandinavia 3 1 5 



know, Eussia had been part of the Scandinavian con- 

 federacy ; and it had, as a rule, been the most powerful 

 of all the members of that group. That Jarisleif 

 (Yaroslav), to whose court came Harald Hardradi and 

 the Orkney Jarl Eognvald, is an important person in 

 Eussian history, for he is the first legislator for Eussia. 

 Not long after his time ends what has been called the 

 heroic era in Eussian history, which, like the heroic 

 era of Norway, is simply the Saga age. Then the old 

 Scandinavian stock becomes more and more mixed with 

 Slavonic elements, and finally, there comes the long 

 dominion of the Mongol Tartars, during which Eussian 

 nationality, though not extinguished, lies under a cloud. 

 During this period there had been some relations 

 between the Swedes and the Eussians, chiefly of a hos- 

 tile character, and when Norway came to be united with 

 Sweden she sometimes suffered from attacks from 

 Eussia. 



We read of one, just before the union, in 1316, which 

 fell upon Halogaland, in the north of Norway ; of others 

 in the succeeding century. 



In the middle of the fifteenth century comes the 

 consolidation of the Grand Duchy of Eussia, under 

 Ivan ; and it is from this time forward that the country 

 begins . to be known by trade, and otherwise, to the 

 other nations of Europe. We find in the reign of Ivan 

 the Terrible an Englishman of the name of Horsey, 

 going to Eussia as Ambassador from Queen Elizabeth, 

 in order to arrange a sort of commercial treaty between 

 the two countries. From this time forward the Eussian 

 trade was a very important element in the trade of the 

 Baltic. 



