Editorial standards

Sources

We rely, in roughly this order of preference, on:

1. primary sources in scholarly editions and established translations;
2. peer-reviewed research and books from academic publishers;
3. excavation reports, museum catalogues and publications of archaeological institutes;
4. high-quality science journalism — used to point towards the underlying research, not in place of it.

Encyclopaedias written by anonymous contributors, popular blogs and second-hand retellings are not used as evidence. Where we cite a source, we try to link to it; where a source is only available in print, we give the full reference.

Evidence and interpretation

Every piece is written with four kinds of statement in mind:

• what the evidence shows — a find, a text, a date;
• how specialists interpret it — attributed to the scholars who hold the view;
• where they disagree — with the main positions set out;
• our own reading — clearly framed as such.

These are working principles for writing and editing, not labels attached to every paragraph. The aim is that a reader can always tell which of the four they are reading from the wording itself. When a claim cannot be reliably supported, we soften it, attribute it or leave it out.

Quotations and translations

Quotations from medieval texts are given in published translations, and the translator is named. Where we translate a passage ourselves, we say so. Quotations are not altered; omissions are marked.

Names and terms

We write Rus' for the medieval people and polity, and use current English forms of place names (Kyiv, Chernihiv), keeping older spellings inside quotations. Terms with no exact English equivalent — druzhina, poliudie — are explained on first use.

Images and reconstructions

Each image carries a caption and credit. Reconstructions and illustrations are labelled as such and are not presented as evidence.

Corrections

Errors are corrected on the page where they appear, with a dated note at the end of the piece describing what was changed.

Independence

Luxury of the Past is produced independently. It does not publish sponsored content. Any partnership relevant to a piece would be disclosed on that piece.