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Among the aims of Charles VIII's Italian expedition, the reappropriation of the kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem served as the main purpose for preparing the decisive crusade that would regain Jerusalem to Christianity. However, the connection established by several early modern sources between Charles VIII's claims to the kingdom of Naples and the expedition to the Levant had already been expressed in previous centuries in very similar terms. Also, in the case of Charles I of Anjou in the thirteenth century, the acquisition of the kingdom of Sicily was perceived as a necessary precondition for setting military campaigns aiming at recovering Constantinople and Jerusalem. The same pattern appears also in Benzo of Alba's Ad Heinricum imperatorem (eleventh century), where the pacification of Southern Italy is presented as the first step towards the reunification of the Constantinopolitan empire and the conquest of Jerusalem under the rule of Henry IV. The paper intends to shed light on a geographical pattern that periodically emerges in various iterations of crusading (and pre-crusading) propaganda (very often intertwined with prophetic expectations) which implied a tight interconnection between the recovery of the Holy Land and the unification of the orbis christianus under one universal ruler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper analyses O. O. Shakhmatov's treatise "The Korsunian Legend about the Volodymyr's Baptism". O. O. Shakhmatov proves that the legend about the baptism of Prince Volodymyr in Korsun (Chersonese), preserved in chronicle and consecrated by tradition, does not correspond to reality, since it does not withstand textual criticism. According to the Shakhmatov's hypothesis, the chronicler had to coordinate and fuse three independent sources into a single outline, removing too obvious contradictions. Thus, a) according to the first source, Prince Volodymyr was baptized in Kyiv, being convinced by a Greek missionary who criticized the faith of Western Christians, Muslims and Jews and substantiated the exclusivity of Eastern rite Christianity; b) according to the second source, Prince Volodymyr was baptized in Kyiv after he sent his delegates to different countries to "test the faith" and the delegates, amazed by the splendor of the Greek worship, gave preference to Eastern rite Christianity; c) finally, according to the third source, Prince Volodymyr took the city of Korsun (Chersonese) and, threatening to take Constantinople, forced emperor to spouse his sister Anna to him in exchange for baptism. However, when Anna arrived in Korsun, Volodymyr refused to be baptized and suddenly became blind. Nevertheless, eventually he was baptized and miraculously restored his sight. The existing chronicle is a compilation of the three sources. The following chapters of O. O. Shakmatov's work are dedicated to finding the sources of these three legends and reconstructing their original form. This article thoroughly analyses O. O. Shakhmatov's treatise, reviews the works of the researchers mentioned by O. O. Shakhmatov, and examines the primary sources used by him in his treatise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]