Jingszo !

The death of Prince Oleg of Novgorod and the involvement of his horse in this tragic event provides the historian with an opportunity to glimpse the ideal relationship between the princely warrior and his horse through the chronicler’s denunciation of its opposite, the betrayal of the faithful horse by the selfish and superstitious owner.

Everyone familiar with classical literature, as the chronicler apparently is, would know that it is at this exact point that Oleg should be most careful, because the prophecy may be fulfilled in a most unexpected manner. And it is.

Oleg orders that he be taken to the place where the horse has died and, in an uncanny way, sees its bare bones lying on the ground. To complete his triumph against pagan priests – and against death, Oleg places his foot on the horse’s skull, only to be bitten by a snake that has been lurking inside the skull. He dies from its poisonous bite.