Incognito is easy. From Harun al-Rashid to nikneima

What does "incognito" mean? The first association that arises in most of us is intrigue, Dumas's novels, the secrets of the Madrid court and other attributes of the lives of crowned individuals and their associates. The word comes from the Latin "in cogito" - "do not recognize" and denotes the individual's concealment of his real name, the use of his fictional or borrowed instead. But here there is an important caveat: incognito it is called only in the event that the purpose of the name concealment is not criminal. A person simply wants to avoid publicity for some reason.

In previous centuries, incognito activitiesReally used the crowned people and their approximate people. They had their own reason: a high-ranking, and even more so a royal person must follow a certain etiquette. It is not permissible for him to do what is permissible for a mortal. And this is sometimes uncomfortable, indecent, and simply dangerous. But more often still incognito acted to observe decency.

Especially it was convenient to travel incognito. This, by the way, did not mean at all that the host party did not know who was visiting them. But decency is observed, and that was enough.

You can recall Garun al-Rashid, who woreclothes of a poor man and going to travel around his country to find out how the common people live. Monarchs of the Middle Ages also resorted to such actions. Walter Scott colorfully describes the journey of incognito Richard the Lionheart in the novel "Ivanhoe" and does not so much sin against the truth. To be fair, it should be noted that Richard was forced to do so because of fear for his life.

In 1696, carpenter Peter Mikhailov went to Europe from Moscow, as part of the Grand Embassy. And only a limited circle of people had to know that this was King Peter I.

In 1781 they left St. Petersburgtravel Count and Countess Northern. They were received with honor everywhere in Europe, and, in principle, everyone knew that under this pseudonym the future Russian Tsar was hiding, and at that time heir to the throne, Paul I with his wife. First, it was fashionable to travel under pseudonyms at that time; secondly, it allowed a little to depart from the obligatory and strict etiquette.

It may seem that the actions of incognito areprerogative of titled or crowned persons. However, this is not necessary. Suffice it to recall the three musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Fictional names did not prevent them from serving in the privileged Musketeer regiment. Another typical example of incognito actions is described in the Pushkin story "The Young Lady-Peasant Woman".

The noblewoman Liza pretends to be a peasant woman to Akulina,to get acquainted with the young man who interested her. Strict then-etiquette forbade unmarried maiden such actions. Turned into a peasant woman, the girl was able to realize what she had planned.

With the advent of the Internet, forums and chats beganthe real era of incognito action. The value of nicknames, nicknames, userpics is exactly the same: hiding your name with a goal that does not go beyond the legal field. The author, writing on the Internet, does not always use his real name and original photo. People can communicate for years, reporting only a minimum of information about themselves, without revealing their names and faces. We can say that now incognito is an everyday reality for many.