What does "incognito" mean? The first association that most of us have is intrigues, novels by Dumas, secrets of the Madrid court and other attributes of the life of crowned persons and their entourage. The word comes from the Latin "in cogito" - "not to recognize" and denotes the concealment by the individual of his real name, the use of a fictitious or borrowed one instead. But there is an important caveat here: it is called incognito only if the purpose of hiding the name is not criminal. The person just wants to avoid publicity for some reason.
In previous centuries, incognito actions were indeed resorted to most often by crowned persons and their entourage. They had their own reason: a high-ranking, and even more so royal person is obliged to follow a certain etiquette. He is not allowed to do actions that are allowed to a mere mortal. And this is sometimes inconvenient, indecent, and simply dangerous. But more often they acted incognito to keep up appearances.
It was especially convenient to travel incognito. This, by the way, did not mean at all that the host party had no idea who exactly was visiting them. But propriety is keptand that was enough.
You can remember Harun al-Rashid, who put on the clothes of the poor and went to travel around his country to find out how the common people live. The monarchs of the Middle Ages also resorted to such actions. W alter Scott colorfully describes the incognito journey of Richard the Lionheart in the novel "Ivanhoe" and does not sin so much against the truth. In fairness, it should be noted that Richard was forced to do this out of fear for his life.
In 1696, the carpenter Pyotr Mikhailov set off for Europe from Moscow as part of the Grand Embassy. And only a limited circle of people should have known that it was Tsar Peter I himself.
In 1781, Count and Countess Severny set off from St. Petersburg to travel. 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 the heir to the throne, Paul I and his wife. Firstly, it was fashionable to travel under pseudonyms at that time, and secondly, it allowed you to slightly deviate from the mandatory and strict etiquette.
It may seem that acting incognito is the prerogative of titled or crowned persons. However, this is not at all necessary. Suffice it to recall the three musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. The fictitious names did not prevent them from serving in a privileged musketeer regiment. Another typical example of incognito actions is described in Pushkin's story "The Young Lady-Peasant Woman".
Noblewoman Liza pretends to be a peasant Akulina tomeet a young man who is interested in her. The then strict etiquette forbade an unmarried noble girl from such actions. Turning into a peasant woman, the girl was able to realize her plans.
With the advent of the Internet, forums and chats, a real era of incognito action began. The meaning of pseudonyms, nicknames, userpics is exactly the same: hiding your name for a purpose that does not go beyond the legal field. An author writing on the Internet does not always use his real name and a real photo. People can communicate for years, reporting only a minimum of information about themselves, without revealing their name and face. It can be said that incognito is now a daily reality for many.
