The role of the Grand Duke, the senior and junior teams in the formation of the state administration system. Prince, combatants and militias

The question of the origin, social and ethnic composition and the main functions of the princely squad still causes the most heated debate. Therefore, it is no coincidence that this problem has again become the subject of a number of special monographic studies, which belong to the pen of M.B. Sverdlov, A.A. Gorsky, I.N. Danilevsky, P.S. Stefanovich and other modern historians.

The term "princely squad" itself was traditionally used to refer to a small but very influential social group of the closest "princely people" who personally served the Grand Duke of Kiev and other specific princes and were their support in all their affairs and undertakings. As many historians note (S. Solovyov, V. Klyuchevsky, I. Belyaev, E. Presnyakov, A. Gorsky), initially the princely squad was recruited and built not according to the tribal principle, but according to the principle of personal devotion to the prince, therefore it was outside the traditional communal structure and was cut off from it both socially, since the combatants were not members of separate communities, and territorially, due to their isolated residence. Princely-druzhina relations were a continuation of the social relations that existed in the era of "military democracy". The ancient Russian squad was a kind of military community or corporation, where the prince was “first among equals”, which was externally reflected both in the squad “brothers” (feasts), and in the equalizing order of sharing military booty, income from foreign trade and tribute (“polyudya ”), which were the main sources of income for the squad in the early stages of its existence. In addition, most likely, part of the princely combatants had the right to "departure" from their "suzerain" to other princes.

Historians determined the time of the emergence of the princely squad in different ways. Some authors (A. Gorsky, I. Danilevsky) believed that the separation of the princely retinue occurs at the stage of destruction of the tribal structure, which covered the entire Slavic ethnos in the 5th-6th centuries. Other authors (B. Grekov, V. Mavrodin, M. Sverdlov) argued that this social institution arose in the era of "military democracy", i.e. in the 7th-8th centuries. The third group of authors (S. Yushkov, I. Froyanov) associated the appearance of the princely squad only with the era of the birth of the Old Russian state, i.e. middle of the ninth century.

A similar discord of opinions is also observed in determining the numerical composition of the princely squad. P.S. Stefanovich put forward an assumption about the existence of a certain "large squad", the number of which was at least 800-1000 warriors. M.B. Sverdlov believed that the number of princely squads was 500–800 professional soldiers, and A.A. Gorsky and I.N. Danilevsky believed that the number of princely warriors was unlikely to exceed 200–400 warriors. Almost all researchers agree that initially the princely squad was a very diverse ethno-social formation, which included various ethnic groups (Rus, Varangians, Slavs, Pechenegs), and various social groups, including tribal nobility.

The same unanimity is observed in the fact that the princely squad was hierarchical in nature, however, each researcher presented this hierarchy in his own way. Some authors (S. Solovyov, I. Zabelin, S. Platonov, M. Sverdlov, I. Danilevsky) believed that it included “senior”, “middle” and “junior” squads. Other authors (V. Sergeevich, V. Mavrodin) believed that it was divided into "senior" and "junior" squads and a staff (people's militia), which was part of the prince's squad only during major military campaigns. Finally, the third group of authors (I. Belyaev, S. Yushkov, A. Gorsky) rightly asserted that the princely squad included only “senior” and “junior” squads.

The internal composition of these constituent parts of the princely squad also remains the subject of acute scientific disputes, but most modern authors believe that:

1) The senior squad, whose members in historical sources are called princely men, boyars or gridi, not only participated in all military campaigns and diplomatic relations with foreign powers, but also took an active part in the management of the princely domain economy as tiuns and firemen, and in the management of the state itself as posadniks (in cities) and volostels (in rural areas). From the members of this squad, then the highest layer of the Old Russian nobility was formed, part of which, along with the highest episcopate and the “stars of the city”, was part of the Boyar Duma, the existence of which Professor V.O. Klyuchevsky, the author of the famous monograph "The Boyar Duma of Ancient Rus'" (1881), attributed to the end of the 10th century. As the modern historian P.S. Stefanovich, the Boyar Duma included no more than 20-30 representatives of the most noble boyar families.

2) The younger squad, whose members in written sources are called children, youths or stepchildren, was the personal guard of the prince, who participated with him in all military campaigns, and also carried out separate instructions from the prince both to manage his domain economy and the state itself in as guardians of public order, swordsmen (bailiffs), virniks (collectors of fines), etc. As a rule, members of the younger squad were inseparable from the prince and lived in his courtyard or near him.

From the middle of the XI century. the process of decomposition of the princely squad as a purely military and mobile corporation begins, and the formation of boyar patrimonial and feudal land ownership takes place. This process, most likely, went in two main ways:

Either through the granting of state land to private inalienable possession - allod, or patrimony, the owners of which, as a rule, were members of the senior princely squad, in particular, the boyars;

Or through the grant of land from the princely domain to a private, but alienable possession - flax, or feud, the owners of which, apparently, were members of the junior princely squad, who were called merciful in the sources.

From the end of the XII century. The “junior” squad is gradually absorbed by the princely court and the term “nobles” appears for the first time in historical sources. The process of formation of boyar patrimonial landownership was also basically completed at the end of the 12th century, and from that moment on, many warriors turned into landed vassals of the great Kiev prince and other great (specific) princes. At the same time, a “seigneurial regime” appeared in Rus', when, together with the land, its owner received administrative and police power and fiscal rights in relation to the population dependent on him.

Organization of the Russian army in the period of Ancient Rus'. Russian squad April 15th, 2015

The Russian army in the period of Ancient Rus' included two parts - a squad and a militia.

Permanent princely armed detachmentwas aretinue, which consisted of well-armed and trainedprofessionalwarriors. Historically, the squad originated during the period of decomposition of the tribal system from the warriors of the tribe grouped around the leader. It was recruited mainly from the children of the combatants themselves. It was believed that the virtues of the father are passed on to the son. It was also common practice when the best warriors from the militia were invited to the prince's squad, i.e. origin was irrelevant. The exit from the squad was quite free - in peacetime, a warrior dissatisfied with the prince could leave him. However, tradition did not approve of this, and such departures were rare. The princes, in turn, welcomed the squad in every possible way.

The tasks of the squad included not only the conduct of hostilities against an external enemy, but also the maintenance of order in the controlled territories, the collection of tribute, and the fight against robbers. By modern standards, the squad performed the functions of the army, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police, the judiciary, and the penitentiary service. Also, from among the combatants, governors, posadniks, governors were appointed, who represented the prince in subordinate territories. In other words, the squad combined the functions of the current law enforcement agencies, plus partly the functions of the executive and judicial authorities. But the main thing was still the conduct of hostilities.

Starting from the 11th century, the squad is divided into senior and junior. The senior squad consisted of boyars and, in fact, was a principality management apparatus. You can draw an analogy between the senior squad and the command staff. But unlike officers of the present time, representatives of the senior squad combined both military and administrative management. Posadniks, governors, governors (rulers of destinies subordinate to the prince) were appointed from the senior squad. They managed separate destinies and cities, were engaged in the organization of their defense, fortifications, had their own squads, were the heads of garrisons. Also from the senior squad were appointed commanders of large detachments of the militia - thousand (commander of a thousand). From the middle level of the senior squad, members of the princely administration were appointed, who were then required to govern the country - swordsmen, virniki, bridgemen, village elders, etc.

The junior squad was an armed detachment of warriors, staffed by descendants of the prince's close associates. Members of the younger squad were fully provided for by the prince and permanently lived in the prince's court in the grid. Within it was its own hierarchy, based on age and social status. Among the vigilantes, children, youths, young people, grids, children and ryadovichi stood out. The first three categories were the children of combatants at different stages of growing up - from boys (children) sent for training to almost adults (young). The warriors who came out of the common people belonged to the child. Ryadovichi were combatants-debtors serving under a number (agreement).

DRUZHINA

DRUZHINA, a detachment of warriors united around a tribal leader, then a prince, a privileged layer of society. Armed detachments led by princes in Ancient Rus' participated in wars, administration of the principality, and the personal household of the prince. They were divided into the "older" (the most noble and close persons - "princely men") and the "youngest" - "gridi" and "lads". At the end of the 12th century D. was replaced by the so-called. courtyard (see GOVERNMENT'S COURT).

Source: Encyclopedia "Fatherland"

originally a princely army, formed on a voluntary basis and had the rights of self-government. The "druzhina of the prince" was, although smaller, but nevertheless the main, central part of the entire mass of warriors. In peacetime, the combatants accompanied the prince "to the polyudye", collected tribute for him, helped him in the administration of the regions and in the administration of justice, served in the courtyard, etc. The income received by the prince from the volost, and part of the military booty went to the maintenance of the squad. The relationship between the squad and the prince was built on the basis of a contract: there was no obligation to serve, the prince and the squad were bound by material and moral ties, in case of dissatisfaction, the warriors could always leave the service of the prince. With constant strife and strife, the princes feel the need to rely on the squad, which is why they value it, take care of its best possible composition and, once having composed it, try to bind it to themselves. From here we see a special kind of attitude of the prince towards the squad: he feasts with her, favors her, tries to please her, for which he willingly listens to all her desires; from this follows the custom of the prince to confer with the retinue, a custom that little by little turned into a rule, the non-observance of which was reproached to the prince. Chroniclers, among the merits of the famous prince, always mention his solidarity with the retinue and frequent meetings with her. Concerned about the best selection of the squad, the princes did not pay attention to its tribal composition; therefore, foreign elements penetrate into it, especially under the first princes, when among the warriors we meet Finns, Ugrians, Polovtsy, Khazars, Poles, Torks. In terms of their position and significance, the combatants were not the same: already in the 11th century. we meet the division of the squad into two categories: into the squad of the oldest, large, lepshoy, or front, and into the squad small, young. The oldest difference between them consisted mainly in age, but in the course of time another one was added to this, rooted in the actual difference between the best and the worst people. The senior squad was made up of men of the princes and boyars. This was the force that the prince had to reckon with. Men and boyars formed their own squads, with which they served the prince; from among them, senior officials were appointed (posadniks, thousand, governors), they were also the main advisers to the prince in his Duma. It happened that the princes had to accept the opinion of the senior squad, refusing their own, with which she did not agree. The senior squad enjoyed some legal advantages that gave it the character of a privileged class. The main one was the more careful protection of personal safety by law: for the murder of the prince's husband, the law threatened twice as severe punishment as for the murder of a younger combatant. The younger squad bore the common name of Grid, Gridby; the lowest category of it was the youths who performed various kinds of official duties at the princely court; if necessary, they armed themselves and were then called friendly youths; among the youths there could also be people who were not free, slaves. The highest category of the junior squad was made up of children, who were exclusively of a military nature; between them are mentioned swordsmen who stood closer to the prince. By the end of the XII century. the terms "gridba" and "children's" disappear, around this time a new term appears - "boyar children", which, it is believed, began to be used in the same sense as "children's", i.e. to designate the highest rank of junior vigilantes. The word squad was also a synonym for the community, artel, gang.
S.Yu.

Source: Encyclopedia "Russian Civilization"

Synonyms:

See what "DRUZHINA" is in other dictionaries:

DRUZHINA- Lazarev, clerk of Moscow. 1552. A. Yu. 219. Druzhina Petelin, deacon of Moscow. 1588. A. I. I, 425. Druzhina Yuryev, messenger of Boris Fedorovich. 1598. A. I. II, 5. Druzhinka Tumak, archery foreman in Tsar's city. 1601. A. I. II, 38. Druzhinka Mikhailov ... Biographical Dictionary

- (7) 1. Close servants of the prince, who made up his permanent army: And Igor spoke to his retinue: “Brothers and retinue! Lutse would be drawn to being, rather than full of being; and let us all sit down, brothers, on our breezes, let us see the blue Don. 5 6. Behold Gotsky ... ... Dictionary-reference book "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

1) a detachment of warriors united around a tribal leader, and then a prince (king) and constituting a privileged stratum of society. The druzhina military organization is characteristic of the period of the decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of the state. The ancients... ... Political science. Dictionary.

DRUZHINA, squads, wives. 1. In ancient Rus', the closest princely servants, the most important detachment of the princely army (source). “With his retinue in Constantinople armor, the prince rides across the field on a faithful horse.” Pushkin. || more often pl. Army (poet. obsolete). “Shooted off ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Y, husband. Art. Russian redk.Otch .: Druzhinich, Druzhinichna. Origin: (Use of common noun squad as a personal name. Other Russian squad ‘comrade’.) Dictionary of personal names ... Dictionary of personal names

Cm … Synonym dictionary

S, m. St. Russian rare Rep.: Druzhinich, Druzhinichna. [The use of adverb. noun squad as a personal name. Dr. Russian squad comrade.] Dictionary of Russian personal names. N. A. Petrovsky. 2011 ... Dictionary of personal names

It is the same necessary element in ancient Russian society as the Prince. And as the guardian of the volost from external enemies, and as the builder of internal order, the Prince needs a whole group of assistants. These assistants to the prince make up D. Hence ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

DRUZHINA- originally a princely army, formed on a voluntary basis and had the rights of self-government. The "druzhina of the prince" was, although smaller, but nevertheless the main, central part of the entire mass of warriors. In peacetime, combatants ... ... Legal Encyclopedia

1) a detachment of warriors who united around the tribal leader during the period of the decomposition of the tribal system, and then the prince (king) and constituted a privileged layer of society. 2) Armed detachments under the prince in Dr. Russ who participated in wars, management ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Special Purpose Squad (set of 4 books), Ivan Alekseev. By decree of the Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, a secret military camp was created in the Pomeranian forests. In it, following the example of ancient Sparta, warriors are brought up who can stand alone ...

PRINCE, DRUZHINNIKI AND MILITIES

But if it came to a fight,

it is shameful for the leader to yield to someone

in valor, shamefully squad

do not imitate your leader's prowess.

Tacitus, "Germany"

The military leader is probably known among all the peoples of the traditional society who came into contact with other peoples and were forced to fight with them. Initially, he was elected and was chosen for a specific military task. In order to become such a leader, a person had to possess a number of qualities - he must be able to fight, be able to manage people, enjoy authority among fellow tribesmen and have military success. The latter quality showed that the leader was favored by higher powers, which was very important for the people of traditional society. Over time, the power of the military leader became hereditary, but was still limited mainly to military matters.

The military leader in Ancient Rus' is a prince.

The prince is traditionally seen as some distant ancestor of the king, the absolute monarch. It seems that he fully manages the affairs of his principality - decides on issues of war and peace, judges people ... In reality, the situation is much more complicated.

The activity of the prince in ancient Russian society was primarily associated with the war - the prince was the leader of the army that defended this or that land or city. In addition, it was through the figure of the prince that higher powers influenced the life of the community. Without a prince, the ancient Russian urban community could not be considered full-fledged, it was vulnerable both to enemies and to evil otherworldly forces.

The prince must command the army that protects the community. This army consisted of the prince's squad and militias-warriors. The prince, as a military leader, must be able to effectively protect the community from attacks by neighbors, or vice versa - successfully organize an attack on neighbors. In addition, it was the prince, most likely, who led the large ceremonies on the holidays of the annual cycle.

If the prince did not cope with his duties, he could be removed, expelled, and in exceptional cases - killed. The prince in Ancient Rus' was never and nowhere a full-fledged monarch, his power was severely limited by communal traditions.

I. Ya. Bilibin. Epic hero Volga and his team. Volga Svyatoslavich (or Vseslavich) of Russian epics is a vivid image of a retinue leader. He loves his squad, and she is ready to go through fire and water for him. In the drawing by I. Ya. Bilibin, Volga and his knights are depicted in late military attire: on the helmets there are Yalov flags, the shields are almond-shaped. Helmets of this type are of Middle Eastern origin and appeared only in the 17th century in the arsenal of the local cavalry.

Russian princes from childhood were preparing for military accomplishments. At the age of three, the prince was solemnly mounted on a horse, dedicating him to the warriors.

On the pages of the chronicle, we invariably see a retinue around the prince - faithful warriors accompanying their leader in joy and sorrow, in case of success and failure. Vigilantes accompany the prince on trips, fight for him in battle, give him advice (for example, they warn of danger), in a word, this is exactly the squad - friends on whom the prince can always rely and who form the core of the Old Russian army in case of a big war.

The prince among the combatants occupied the position of "first among equals." The combatants were ready to follow the prince into fire and water, but the prince also understood his dependence on the combatants and treated them accordingly. He, as a rule, did not have any domestic advantages over his entourage, he personally commanded in battle and took a direct part in the battles. It was the prince who had the right to start the ritual battle.

A. M. Vasnetsov. Courtyard of the specific prince. This is how the princely court could have looked somewhere in the north-east of Rus' in the 12th century. Chopped log buildings could at that time reach a considerable height - this can be judged from the materials of excavations in Novgorod. However, the church with graceful onion domes in the background of the picture belongs to a much later time - the artist used images of the architecture of the Russian North of the 17th-18th centuries.

The warrior could not be hired for a fee, he went to serve the prince, guided by other principles; Here, first of all, the personal charisma and military merits of the prince played a role. “With gold and silver, I’m not going to fit the squad,” said the son of Svyatoslav Vladimir the Holy at one time, “but I’ll climb the silver and gold with the squad ...”.

Perhaps Svyatoslav Igorevich can be considered the most expressive of our warrior princes. By the way, it was during his short, but stormy reign that the highest flowering of the "druzhina culture" - a special military entourage of the Rus - falls.

Just in time for Svyatoslav, there is a brief but very revealing chronicle note about the relationship between the prince and the squad. When Princess Olga, Svyatoslav's mother, who was baptized in Constantinople, urged her son to be baptized, he answered with a categorical refusal, explaining this precisely by the fact that the squad would begin to laugh at him.

The unity of the prince and the squad was built not only on the personal devotion of the combatants to their leader, but also on purely material things - the well-being of the combatants directly depended on the prince. From time immemorial, according to custom, a military leader was obliged to feed and support combatants, and generosity has always been considered one of the main virtues of a leader. The main source of retinue income was tribute from subject tribes and military booty. If the prince, for some reason, did not live up to the expectations of the combatants in terms of remuneration, the initiative for the next military campaign could come "from below" - for example, at one time Igor's soldiers persuaded him to go rob the Drevlyans, which led to the death of the prince ...

V. M. Vasnetsov. Rest of Vladimir Monomakh on the hunt. Hunting was a favorite entertainment of the Russian princes, a kind of combat training. Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh left in his "Instruction" addressed to children a colorful description of his hunting adventures - he mentions dangerous fights with wild bison bulls and tours, deer, bears.

The prince distributed treasures obtained in battles among his soldiers, gave valuable gifts to warriors and arranged feasts.

A feast for a man of Ancient Rus' was by no means an ordinary drinking bout. It was in a certain sense a sacred act, a repetition of the feast of the gods. For the Scandinavian warriors, the feast of the king reproduced the feast that Odin, the god of war and victory, arranged in Valhalla for the Einherja warriors who fell in battle. The feast was a window into the world of the gods. So it was not only the drinking of intoxicating drinks as such that the son of Svyatoslav Vladimir had in mind when he said: “Rus' is fun drinking, we cannot be without it ...”.

And one of the sons of Vladimir, the fratricidal prince Svyatopolk the Accursed, once lost a battle because of a retinue feast. At the decisive moment, when it was already time to build an army and prepare for battle, Svyatopolk, according to the chronicler, "drank with his retinue ...". The result was a military disaster.

"Begin to think with your squad ...". The miniature of the Radziwill Chronicle depicts the moment of presenting the gifts of the Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes to Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. The prince decided to consult with the retinue about the possibility of continuing a difficult military campaign against the Greeks. The Radziwill chronicle is a remarkable monument of ancient Russian book art. It was created in the 15th century. The text is illustrated with many miniatures, which are an important visual source for studying the costume of late Rus'. The basis of the text of the Radziwill Chronicle is "The Tale of Bygone Years".

Svyatoslav confers with his warriors. Miniature of the Radziwill chronicle.

Druzhina feasts both in Rus' and Scandinavia were usually arranged at the expense of ordinary community members who were obliged to the prince and the squad for protection from enemies. When the season of campaigns ended, the prince and his retinue went to the field. Here is how the Byzantine emperor Konstantin Porphyrogenitus describes the polyudie of the Rus:

“The winter and harsh way of life of those same dews is as follows. When the month of November comes, immediately their archons leave with all the dews from Kiava and go to polyudia, which is called “circling”, namely, in Slavinia, the Vervians, Druguvites, Krivichi, Severii and other Slavs, who are the pactiotes of the dews. Feeding there throughout the winter, they again, starting in April, when the ice on the Dnieper River melts, return to Kiav. Then, just as it was told, taking their monoxyls, they equip them and go to Romagna.

Drinking horn binding. Rus', X c. Drinking horns, bound with sheet silver, were an obligatory attribute of retinue feasts. They drank from them both in Rus' and in Scandinavia. However, among the Slavs, the feast bull's horn had a special meaning - the wild bull-round was considered a sacred animal of the god Perun, the patron saint of Slavic warriors, and the protector of the whole kind of ancient "Slovenes".

What is an ancient Russian polyudie? This is the oldest way to provide military protection, known both in Rus' and in Scandinavia. Turning to the Scandinavian sources allows us to clarify a lot.

The polyud mechanism is simple. There is a military leader (for example, a prince or king), and he has a squad. These are the permanent military forces of the ancient society. They do not plow and do not sow, but they need to somehow exist - they are fed by the people they protect. The leader with combatants travels around the “subordinate territory”, stopping briefly in conditionally agreed places. In our case, these are obviously small Slavic cities - the centers of tribal principalities. Constantine calls such reigns "Slavinia", by analogy with the same formations of the early Slavs, whose invasions shook Byzantium in the 6th century. The stopping places of the "prince of Rus'" could also be special "graveyards" in which tribute was brought.

The tribute, apparently, was collected in the winter, during the polyudya - a detour of the Slavic lands. This can be traced quite easily: it is known that the Khazars took tribute from the Slavs “by the white line” - the winter squirrel. However, just the Khazars could run over for tribute in the summer - their main sources of food lay in the Steppe and had nothing to do with the Slavic lands.

The arrival of a prince in a small Slavic town is always an event. They knew about the arrival in advance and prepared a feast for the prince and the combatants accompanying him. Here they collected tribute, traded, settled litigation, and perhaps even accepted the young sons of local community members into the squad. Then the Russians went further.

The Scandinavian king also spent the winter on trips to feasts. The Scandinavian analogue of polyudya was called "veizla", i.e. feast, feeding. The kings had a network of their own estates throughout the country, which were managed by specially appointed people from among the combatants or local residents who were awarded such an honor for special merits.

... We do not know so much about the composition of the Russian squad, its internal structure, the relationship of combatants among themselves - chronicle stories are very short. It is known that the squad was clearly divided into senior and junior. The younger combatants were called "youths" and "children." According to Scandinavian sources, we know that the younger sons of free community-bonds, deprived of the right to inherit their father's possessions, willingly entered the squad of a king or jarl. Such a junior combatant in Scandinavia was called "dreng" ("drengr").

K. V. Lebedev. Polyudie. Prince Igor collects tribute from the subject Drevlyans near Iskorosten.

The senior combatant, an experienced, accomplished warrior, was called "husband", and for special merits he could become a boyar. Boyars in Rus' in the 10th century. - these are the closest military advisers to the prince, they had their own possessions, and sometimes (as, for example, governor Igor Sveneld) and their squads, competing in the wealth of clothes and weapons with the squads of princes. It was envy of the dressed-up youths of Sveneld that pushed Igor's warriors to put forward the initiative of a predatory campaign against the Drevlyans.

Warrior of the Swedish king. Birka, X century. The author of the reconstruction is M. Yu. Vladimirsky (Black Raven Club, St. Petersburg). The warriors who returned to Scandinavia from the Russian lands brought the fashion adopted in Rus' to their historical homeland. The warrior, whose costume was restored based on materials from the burials of Hemlanden - the cemetery of the trading city of Birka in Central Sweden - is dressed in an open caftan, the belt repeats steppe samples. At the same time, Thor's hammer, scramasax combat knife and hook windings are characteristic attributes of a Scandinavian.

Senior combatant in full combat attire. Early 11th century The author of the reconstruction is S. Kashin-Sveshnikov (St. Petersburg). Properly Russian forms of weapons, original ornamentation of jewelry appear by the beginning of the 11th century. Prior to this, the warriors of the Russian princes used the steppe and European things, without subjecting them to changes. The warrior in the photo has a characteristic sword with a cast handle, created by South Russian craftsmen, a European spear with protrusions on the sleeve, a helmet and plate armor repeating steppe counterparts.

An epic epic can help us understand the psychological world of a Russian warrior.

The origin of epics is lost in the darkness of centuries. There is no doubt that the basis of the Russian epic is very ancient. In the annals and military stories of Ancient Rus', reflections of heroic poetry are sometimes seen - for example, in the famous "Tale of Igor's Campaign" or in "The Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land". Probably, there was a retinue tradition about the wars of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, reflected in the colorful stories of The Tale of Bygone Years.

We know by name and some of the ancient singers. The most famous of them is Boyan.

Sometimes it happened that the epic of pagan times was written down in a more or less complete form by Christian scribes. There are many such examples in Europe: here are the Anglo-Saxon "Beowulf", and the Scandinavian legends about heroes recorded in Iceland, and the German "Nibelungenlied", and the Irish epic tales about the king of the Ulads Conchobar and his warriors, the most glorious of which was the hero Cuchulainn …

V. M. Vasnetsov. Boyan. An unsurpassed master of the performance of the military epic was Boyan, mentioned in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. We usually use the expression "to spread thought along the tree" in an ironic sense - to speak verbosely where it is possible not to do so. But in the eyes of the author of the Lay, this is an unequivocal compliment - this is exactly how the famous singer sang, spreading his thoughts along the tree, like a wolf on the ground and an eagle under a cloud. The historical Boyan, if he existed at all, lived in the 11th-12th centuries, in Christian Rus'. The artist depicted a singer with a late harp-psalter; the armament of the soldiers listening to Boyan also belongs to the period of the 14th-16th centuries. Apparently, Boyan sings at a feast, a funeral feast - the singer and listeners are sitting on the top of the mound, in front of them are a brother and ladles. The young prince in the picture is dressed in a half-open caftan, depicted in the miniature "Izbornik 1073" - one of the oldest Russian handwritten books.

In the heroic epic, there is always, or almost always, some kind of sovereign, the ruler of the country. Most often, this sovereign is also the main character of the entire epic. He is the first among his equal mighty warriors, he has magical powers and wisely rules his country. Such, for example, are the Kalmyk Dzhangar or the Buryat Abai-Geser.

It also happens that the epic ruler, being surrounded by famous brave men, does not himself have outstanding abilities, and sometimes even finds himself in comic situations. Such a ruler was King Conchobar, the hero of the Irish epic. At the same time, this controversial sovereign is quite respected by his knights; in the epic, he often bears honorary titles. The protagonist of Irish legends, the great warrior Cuchulain, highly honored Conchobar as his tutor.

Our epic prince, Vladimir the Red Sun, belongs to this type of epic rulers, at whose feasts most epic stories are tied. For example, one of the heroes boasted unsuccessfully - and was forced to prove his boast with deeds. Someone quarreled with the prince himself because of the unsuccessful allocation of a place at the table - this was very important for the people of ancient society! It also happens that a hero, whom everyone considers missing, may appear unrecognized at a feast - and disrupt the wedding of his wife with another hero ...

A. P. Ryabushkin. Feast of heroes at the affectionate Prince Vladimir.

Almost all of our epics in one way or another reflected the ancient squad spirit. But in our story about Russian warriors, we will dwell in detail on only one of them. This epic tells how two heroes - Duke Stepanovich and Churila Plenkovich - competed with each other ... in the beauty of their clothes.

Duke Stepanovich came to Kyiv from South-Western Rus', from the "Volynets-city, from Galich." Already his very name (it probably comes from the Latin "dux" - "prince", "duke") inclined scientists in that direction to look for his possible historical counterpart. However, the epic Duke has no direct analogue in real history.

Scientists believe that the epic about Duke and Churil reflected those times when the Russian lands competed, and often fought with each other. Duke is not a foreigner, although in relation to Kyiv and the people of Kiev he acts as an alien character. He is in some ways his own, Russian, but in some ways not.

I. E. Repin. Cossacks. As in the costume, so in the appearance of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, some characteristic attributes of the squad culture of Rus' have been preserved, for example, a hairstyle.

It should be noted that the name "Russian Land" in our ancient chronicles has a double meaning. Firstly, the Russian land is all immense Rus'. But in some cases, the Russian land of the chronicler is Kyiv and the region adjacent to it - modern Northern and Northwestern Ukraine. It was this “Russian land in the narrow sense of the word” (as historians call it) that was the rival of Galicia-Volyn Rus for a long time.

Duke Stepanovich is very rich. The treasures that he owns in Galich cannot be described even in three years. At the end of the epic, the people of Kiev, led by Vladimir, are disgraced and humiliated.

Russian combatant costume. X century. The author of the reconstruction is A. Kovalev (St. Petersburg). The Rus warrior is dressed in a caftan with gold-woven galloons, girded at once with two type-setting belts of the steppe appearance. On the belt is a characteristic early medieval saber with a slight curve of the blade. A bone point with a miniature dragon's head was most likely used to untie knots, but could also be used for other purposes, for example, as a fork. The fact that we have a Russian is evidenced by a fur hat and a massive braided chain of silver wire around the warrior's neck. On such chains, both Thor's hammers and Christian symbols - crosses - could be worn.

Russian combatant. X century. The author of the reconstruction is D. Kovalev (Black Raven Club, St. Petersburg). The costume and weapons of this warrior combine steppe and European elements. The pointed helmet, silk-topped caftan, and stacked belt are borrowed from the nomads, while the Carolingian sword comes from Western Europe. On the feet of the combatant - low leather shoes with windings, boots will appear in Rus' a little later.

Russian combatant costume. 10th century The author of the reconstruction is S. Mishanin. Steppe elements predominate in the costume of this combatant - a caftan, the cut of which is similar to the cut of North Caucasian swing clothes, a typesetting belt, a pointed hat with a silver pommel. However, a scramasax knife on the belt and shoes with windings on the warrior's feet clearly indicate that we are still Russian, and not a steppe.

Druzhina belt with a bag-tashka. The author of the reconstruction is M. Savinov. The type-setting belts of Russian warriors, decorated with overlay plaques, come from the Steppe. Comparison of plaque ornaments shows that most of the ancient Russian belts have the closest analogies in the Volga Bulgaria, Khazar belts are also known in Rus'. By the end of the 10th century, the actual Russian traditions of making typesetting belts appeared. The belt shown in the photo was found during the excavations of the Timerevsky burial ground near Yaroslavl, on the Upper Volga. It fastened with a short slip-on strap.

The epic clearly reflected the times of power and glory of Galich. South-Western Rus' reached this position in the second half of the 12th century, when the influence of Kyiv was already severely undermined.

But back to the plot of the epic. The Galician fellow, after various trials, nevertheless reached the capital Kyiv. Already when he was driving through the streets of the city to the tower of Vladimir the Red Sun, the Kyiv merchants argued whether the first Kiev handsome Churila Plenkovich would surpass this visiting dandy or not? As you can see, by this time Churila had firmly settled down in Kyiv and was unequivocally perceived as his own person. “Our Churilushka,” the people of Kiev were now talking about him.

Duke and Churila bet on a hefty sum of five hundred rubles for medieval Rus':

Pinch-basitda rub them for years,

Changeable dresses for every day.

The expression "shap-basit" can be translated as "flaunt", "show off clothes." Heroes of the epic undertook to dress every day in a new dress for three years.

At first glance, such boasting of one's outfits looks like some kind of unheroic, unworthy of real warriors. But it's not all that simple.

The Russian warrior from the time of the historical Prince Vladimir was distinguished by a special costume, rich and bright. Russian warriors, participants in distant campaigns, and part-time also successful merchants, dressed in such clothes that an ordinary rural community member or city dweller could never afford.

Competitiveness is characteristic of all warriors around the world - whether they are Irish, Vikings or ancient Rus. Warriors were always ready to exalt their martial skill to the detriment of their neighbor's. Sometimes the boasting of the brave at the feast led to fierce, bloody battles. For example, at one time there was a great slaughter between the men of Ireland, who argued over the honorable duty of sharing a roasted boar at a feast.

In ancient Iceland, there was a kind of game. The feasters chose for themselves "husbands for comparison" from among the well-known leaders and praised them, and not themselves. The opponent had to prove that his candidate was superior to the opponent's candidate.

There is no reason to doubt that the warriors of Kievan Rus also bullied each other at feasts. And they also boasted of their weapons and rich outfits. Echoes of this boast can be heard in the dispute between Duke and Churila.

So the heroes set to work. The whole of Kyiv vouched for Churila in this dispute. But no one wanted to vouch for Duke. Then the Galician went to a tavern and rolled out three barrels of wine to the regulars. And the tavern goals vouched for him.

For three years, both regularly changed clothes. Finally, the last day has come. Churila and Duke dressed in the best outfits, and Churila was outfitted by all of Kiev.

The first dandy of the Kyiv land appeared in a classic squad costume - morocco boots, a caftan with "braces", that is, with decorations woven from gold wire. The buttons on Churila's caftan are also gold.

Belt of the Russian combatant. 10th century The author of the reconstruction kit is V. Ostromentsky (club "Gromovnik", Moscow). In one of the squad burials of the Gnezdovsky burial ground, a belt was found that has no direct analogues either in Rus' or in the nearby steppe regions. The plaques of this belt are made in the form of cat muzzles. The belt did not have a buckle and was tied with special laces equipped with small brass tips.

There is a version of the epic, in which the clasps of the caftan of a Kiev citizen are made in the form of figures of young men and girls - when the caftan is buttoned, the figures embrace each other ...

Duke instead of boots put on ... bast shoes, common folk, completely dishonorable shoes! True, Duke's bast shoes are silk, and precious stones are woven into their socks. Instead of a caftan (or maybe over it), the Galician hero put on a sable fur coat. The buttons of the fur coat are made in the form of lions, and snakes sit in the loops.

In appearance, the outfits of the heroes are equally rich, but there is one caveat - Duke's clothes are magical! When Duke enters the church, the lions and snakes come to life and emit a monstrous roar and whistle. Many ancient magical rites are associated with dressing, and it is very likely that it was this ancient magic of clothing that was reflected in the epic.

So which of the two outstanding braggarts won the contest? The people of Kiev, having listened to the roar and whistle of magical animals on Duke's fur coat, resolutely declared:

Thank you, Duke you Stepanovich!

Overshot Churilushkuta Plenkov!

Duke took away Churila's mortgage of five hundred rubles and began to mock his defeated opponent:

Basi you, Churilo, in front of the women,

In front of the women and in front of the girls,

And with us, well done, you are in the horse!

But the epic is still fiction, although it has an ancient real basis. The time has come to take a closer look at the Russian "druzhina culture" of the 10th century, as archeology paints it for us.

Tash bag. Rus', X century. The author of the reconstruction is V. Kachaev. Such handbags of steppe origin came into use by Russian warriors in the 10th century. Their front side was decorated with cast overlays of various shapes. The bag shown in the photo comes from a burial ground near the village of. Shestovitsa near Chernigov.

Like weapons, the costume of the Russian combatant from the time of Svyatoslav's campaigns absorbed the various traditions of the peoples neighboring Russia. Most of all, the ancient Russian squad costume was influenced by the customs of the peoples of the Great Steppe - the Khazars, Hungarians, as well as the Volga Bulgars - a settled people who lived on the territory of modern Tatarstan.

Men's costume of the X century. both in Rus' and in Scandinavia, most often included a shirt, pants and a raincoat. For some time now, the caftan has firmly entered the costume of the Russian combatant. This swinging clothing, convenient for riding, has been known since ancient times in the Steppe, in the North Caucasus, in the Middle East. Caftans in Rus' in the 10th century are found precisely in the monuments of the warrior culture - the barrows of Gnezdov, Timerev, the burial ground of Shestovitsa near Chernigov and in the warrior barrows of Chernigov itself.

From what kind of caftans - Alanian, Turkic or Middle Eastern - the caftans of Rus' come from, it is still impossible to say exactly. The closest analogy of Russian caftans can be conditionally considered the North Caucasian caftans of the Alans, well known from the Moshcheva Balka burial ground. In the conditions of the highlands, organic matter is well preserved, therefore, caftans and many other items from Moshcheva Balka have come down to us in a perfect condition for their age (the burial ground dates back to the 8th-9th centuries) and provided a lot of valuable information about the materials, cut and decorations of ancient clothes.

Caftans Moshcheva Balka are sewn mostly from linen, in addition, there are silk caftans. One of the side sections of the Great Silk Road passed through the area of ​​Moshcheva Balka, and the inhabitants of this area had access to high-quality Chinese and Iranian fabrics. Many caftans are lined with fur: for the poor - with sheepskin, and the richest caftan of the burial ground with a top made of imported silk was lined with squirrel fur.

The caftans of the North Caucasus are swinging, their hem was cut out separately from the top and expanded downwards. They were fastened with small buttons, from which narrow galloons made of colored braid or silk fabric radiated along the chest part of the caftan.

The material of Russian caftans is much less known to us - as a rule, only a set of buttons remains from the caftan in burials. The number of buttons could reach up to 17-20 pieces.

The best preserved caftan from the Gnezdov burial mound Dn-4. From the caftan remained the chest part with two rows of galloons made of silk rolls. The top of the caftan was wool, and the lining (at least in the surviving part) was leather.

Although the caftan from Gnezdovo does not correspond in its materials to the caftans of Moshcheva Balka, it is still structurally similar to them. But in Rus', a completely different type of caftans was also encountered, not of Caucasian, but of Hungarian origin. We are talking about a caftan from the Chernigov burial mound Gulbishche.

An outstanding person in all respects was buried in the barrow. He was a distinguished combatant, a contemporary of Prince Svyatoslav and, perhaps, a participant in his campaigns. Judging by the size of the helmet and stirrups found in this mound, the warrior was almost two meters tall. As we have already told in the chapter devoted to the weapons of Russian warriors, it was in the Gulbishche burial mound that the largest Carolingian sword in Europe, more than a meter long, was found. But now we are interested in a caftan from this mound.

The caftan from Gulbishch repeats Hungarian designs. He has no galloons or buttons. It was fastened with the help of several pairs of cast diamond-shaped overlays, decorated with krin - stylized images of lilies. In each pair, one pad has a small hook, and the other has a ring into which the hook was inserted. The plates were cast from brass and gilded. Caftans with similar clasps are well known in Hungary.

Tash bag. Hungary, 10th century In bags of this type, the entire front surface was covered with a chased silver plate.

Perhaps the most striking, most characteristic detail of the costume of the Russian combatant was the belt.

Belts, decorated with plaques, archaeologists call type-setting. A type-setting belt has been a characteristic detail of the costume of the steppes since ancient times, and by the 10th century it had become widespread among Russian combatants - along with caftans, steppe helmets, hatchet-chasers, sabers.

Old Russian type-setting belts experienced their heyday in the 10th century. But even later they did not go out of use. Thus, belts with precious metals are mentioned in grand ducal spiritual letters (testaments) of the 14th-15th centuries.

The warrior's belt was a symbol of his position in the society of Ancient Rus'. In the burials of Russian warriors, belts are found along with expensive weapons, caftans, and fragments of expensive trimmings. Typically, a belt set consisted of a buckle, several plaques, pads and a tip. There are also complex belts, with several types of plaques, the total number of which can reach several dozen. Such belts (their design was borrowed from the Hungarians) were fastened with a small insert strap, and the main end of the belt, decorated with plaques, hung freely, or, perhaps, was laid in a certain way by itself.

Belt plaques have a variety of shapes and ornaments: lilies, shamrocks, floral curlicues, geometric figures… Most of the plaques are brass, often there are tin-plated (tinned) belt sets. But silver belts were a rarity.

In their ornaments and shape, the plaques and the tips of the belts of the 10th century copy the steppe samples. A significant part of the Old Russian belt decorations comes from the Volga Bulgaria, but there are (albeit very rarely) belts with Khazar ornaments. In the second half of the X century. Chernihiv land also developed its own tradition of making belt overlays - with silver inlay. In plaques cast from brass, grooves were cut, into which silver wire was then carefully hammered.

Knives, armchairs, whetstones, as well as small bags decorated with metal plaques or chased plates were hung from the belt. The origin of handbags is Hungarian, and among Russian warriors they are as widespread as typesetting belts. Together with stacked belts and steppe axes, these handbags are also found in the Swedish Birka, confirming the strong connection between Rus' and Scandinavia.

Most military bags have a large rhombic pad on the lid with a slot in the center. A brass bracket entered the slot, through which a narrow strap was passed, completely decorated with small plaques. Four rhombic plaques-rosettes were strengthened around the central plaque, small triangular plates could be attached along the entire edge of the bag. The overall size of the handbag was very small - no more than 12-14 cm in length and width.

There are also quite miniature bags for coins in Rus', having a lyre-shaped shape - with an extension upwards. The edges of such bags were bound with brass strips, and the bags were hung on the belt with the help of two rings. These mini-purses were fastened with small buttons.

A grained silver pommel that adorned the cap of a Russian warrior. Such finials of Hungarian origin not only spread throughout Rus', but also reached the Swedish Birka.

In Scandinavia, the custom of wearing massive bracelets made of silver and gold was widespread among combatants. Such bracelets were not only an ornament, but also a container of wealth - silver was calculated by weight. In Rus', there are no such finds in the burials of warriors, but it cannot be ruled out that our soldiers could wear twisted silver hryvnia hoops, well known from ancient Russian treasures.

A massive square ring made of gold was found in one of the military mounds of the Timerevsky burial ground.

The Old Russian warrior is usually depicted in boots. With regard to the XII - XIII centuries, this is perhaps true. But the warriors of the times of the first princes - Rurikovich did not wear boots. The fashion for these steppe shoes appeared with us somewhere at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries, and by the 12th century, boots were already mass-produced in the workshops of ancient Russian cities.

The early boot had a low, straight top made of two halves - front and back. Later, more complex forms of this shoe appeared - with a top that expands upwards and is tailored from several parts. The toe of the boot was pointed, and the sole became multi-layered - it was assembled from several layers of thin leather. Even later, in the 14th century, the boot had a low heel.

The most mass-produced old Russian shoes, as far as we can judge from the materials of the excavations of the cities of Rus', were low leather shoes. They consisted of two parts - the upper and the sole. The top of the shoe was sewn either on the side or along the toe. The top was sewn with a special weaving seam, without piercing the skin through and through. There are also somewhat more primitive Scandinavian shoes in Rus' with not so sophisticated straight seams - the edges of the parts to be sewn simply overlapped each other and were stitched with small, neat stitches. On the leg, the shoe was fastened with narrow straps.

Russian combatant costume. 10th century The author of the reconstruction is S. Mishanin. This costume is not so rich - it lacks expensive silk fabrics and silver jewelry. Apparently, before us is a junior combatant who has not yet had time to distinguish himself in long-distance campaigns. The suit, which is based on a shirt and pants, is traditional for both Slavs and Scandinavians. A belt with plaques and a steppe handbag indicate belonging to a retinue community; in addition, a warrior’s shirt dyed with madder serves as an indicator of well-known wealth.

Fibula - fastener of a man's raincoat. Rus', X c. The author of the reconstruction is M. Savinov. Horseshoe-shaped brooches were very widespread in Eastern and Northern Europe. They were worn by the Scandinavians, and the Slavs, and the Finns, and the Balts. The fibula shown in the photo belongs to the type of fibulae popular in Rus' with multifaceted heads at the ends of the arc. For the first time such brooches appeared in southwestern Finland, from where they spread throughout all the lands adjacent to the Baltic Sea.

... The squad is a permanent elite army, always ready for battle, which can solve tasks of a certain scale - go on a raid, collect tribute, carry out a profitable trade campaign. But when it comes to major operations, such as raids on Constantinople-Tsargrad, a not so bright, but incomparably more powerful force inevitably comes to the fore - the militia of free community members.

The peasant community is perhaps the most resilient social organism. Of course, over the centuries it changed - it lost its ownership of land, the right to carry and use weapons, received new owners, new requisitions and duties, but its ancient basis, that very “solution of all affairs together”, lasted until the 20th century.

The community in Rus' is the measure of everything. Every person (with rare exceptions) of Ancient Rus' was aware of himself as belonging to a community. A small collective of farmers is a community. A city with a population of several thousand people is also a community. Several cities with surrounding villages, whose inhabitants are aware of their kinship and descend from common ancestors - this is also a community that will act as a single entity in the international arena.

But the whole of Ancient Rus' was no longer aware of itself as a single community.

Decisions in any community, as we already know, were made jointly or, in scientific terms, collegially. The institution that governed the community had various names among the ancient peoples, the general term that scholars use to designate these institutions is "people's assembly". Among the Slavs, such a meeting was called "veche".

Belarusian clothes. 19th century Watercolor by F. G. Solntsev. The costume of the Slavic peoples changed over time, but at the same time its general outline and main details remained intact. The Belarusian peasants in the drawing by F. G. Solntsev are dressed in linen shirts and trousers, on the heads of the peasants - felt hats, on their feet - pistons, characteristic low shoes, cut from one piece of leather. Like the ancient Slavs, clothes do not have pockets - everything you need is worn on the belt.

North Russian militia. 10th century The author of the reconstruction is R. Potapov (Ladoga club, St. Petersburg). This is how the son of a community member, accepted into the junior squad during the autumn polyudya, could look like. The basis of the armament of the militias from the Slavic and Finnish tribes was spears and axes, defensive weapons most often came down to a board shield.

Slavic warrior. 10th century The author of the reconstruction is O. Rublev (Ladoga club, St. Petersburg). In the hand of a warrior - typical for Rus' in the 10th century. light battle axe. A shirt dyed with madder is an indicator of prosperity. Most likely, our hero already has experience of long-distance campaigns, for example, in the army of Prince Igor. On the warrior's neck is an amulet made of a drilled bear's fang; archaeologists often find such amulets during excavations of Slavic settlements.

The first association with the word "veche" is Novgorod. There it remained in force for a long time, so it is the Novgorod veche that is most famous and, let us add, best studied. But in all other cities of Rus', the veche existed, just less is known about it. When our chronicle speaks of how the people of Kiev or some other townspeople “thought”, “conferred”, etc., it means precisely the veche.

Not every inhabitant of an ancient Russian city or village could attend or speak at the veche. Veche, like, for example, the Scandinavian Thing, is primarily a meeting of heads of families, and on a tribal scale - heads of clans.

Military force is also in the hands of the community itself. Weapons in the Slavic (as, indeed, in the Celtic, Baltic and Scandinavian society) were not the privilege of the elite. All the people were armed, in each family there was a warrior (or even more than one), who, if necessary, could take part in repulsing the enemy or in attacking a neighbor.

It is the tribal militias that the Tale of Bygone Years describes, talking about the great campaigns of the first Russian princes.

The squad in this case formed something like an officer corps. Here, for example, is the composition of Oleg's campaign in 907:

“Ide Oleg to the Greeks, leave Igor in Kiev, send a lot of Varangians, and Slovenes, and Chud ... and Krivichi, and Meryu, and Derevlyany, and Radimichi, and Polyany, and Severo, and Vyatichi, and Croats, and Dulebs, and Tivertsi ... and with them, with all of them, Oleg went on horseback and on ships ... ".

The huge army included tribal militias of both the northern and southern East Slavic tribes, Finnish militias also took part in the campaign to the rich shores. This is just that rare case when the entire space of Rus' from Novgorod to Kyiv appeared as something unified.

So, we got acquainted with the organization of the Russian army, the very army that, from the second half of the 9th century, began to make large military campaigns in the southern seas - the Black and Caspian. How these campaigns took place - we will find out in the next chapter.

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BE) of the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (KN) of the author TSB

Prince Prince, head of a feudal monarchical state or a separate political entity (specific k.) in the 9th-16th centuries. among the Slavs and some other peoples; representative of the feudal aristocracy; later - a title of nobility. Initially, K. is a tribal leader,

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (MA) of the author TSB

Mal (drevlyan. prince) Mal (according to other sources, Niskin, Niskinya - a man of small stature), Drevlyansky prince. Mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years" under 945 as the leader of the Drevlyans, who rebelled against the extortions of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Igor. After the murder of Igor, the Drevlyans

From the book of 100 great Russians author Ryzhov Konstantin Vladislavovich

PRINCE OLEG The legendary Prince Oleg can be called the first Russian figure on a national scale. For more than thirty years he worked on the arrangement of the country, conquered neighboring tribes, built cities, established tributes, waged successful wars and concluded treaties. And although

From the book of 100 great prisoners author Ionina Nadezhda

"Prince of scientists" Ibn-Sina In the early Middle Ages there were no scientists - specialists in only one field of science. Since the range of knowledge in natural science was then limited and such sciences were studied only in connection with philosophy, scientists were required to know in all

From the book All masterpieces of world literature in brief. Plots and characters. Russian literature of the XX century the author Novikov V I

Prince of Peace Roman (1927) “It will be many years ago” lived in Chertukhin a peasant Mikhail Ivanovich Bachura, nicknamed the Saint. In his old age, his wife died, and he began to live on alms. Once on the way he met a beggar girl, brought her home and married her. Marya turned out to be

From the book of 200 famous poisonings the author Antsyshkin Igor

THE LAST PRINCE OF GALICIA The Galicia-Volyn principality, which became the heir to the great glory of Kyiv, by the XIV century had already lost its strength and was in decline. The internecine strife of the princes, boyar betrayals, conspiracies of neighbors led to the fact that the princes from the dynasty of Danila Galitsky actually

From the book Serial Crimes [Serial Killers and Maniacs] author Revyako Tatyana Ivanovna

“Prince Odoevsky” A.F. Koshko tells in his book “The Criminal World of Tsarist Russia” about the case of one swindler, the former actor Mikhailov. “Somehow, during office hours, an unknown official appeared in my office. He entered in a uniform frock coat, with a sword and in white filament

From the book Slavic Encyclopedia author Artemov Vladislav Vladimirovich

From the book Masterpieces of Russian Artists author Evstratova Elena Nikolaevna

From the book Where do the names come from. Petersburg streets, embankments, squares from Anninsky decrees to the decisions of the governor Poltavchenko author Erofeev Alexey Dmitrievich

Prince M. V. Skopin-Shuisky 1630–1640s. Parsuna. State Tretyakov Gallery, MoscowIn the terrible years of the Time of Troubles, a talented military leader, nephew of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, Mikhail Vasilievich Skopin-Shuisky (1586–1610) managed to gather a militia in the northern cities and

From the book Who's Who in the History of Russia author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

From the book Big Dictionary of Quotes and Popular Expressions author Dushenko Konstantin Vasilievich

How did Prince Oleg die? Prince Oleg, who had the nickname Prophetic (that is, knowing the future), was the founder of the ancient Russian state - Kievan Rus. The chronicle says that he was related to the Novgorod prince Rurik and, when he died, by the right of seniority (Ryurik's son Igor

From the author's book

YURI DOLGORUKY (?-1157), Prince of Suzdal and Grand Duke of Kiev 22 Come to me, brother, in Moscow [y]. An invitation sent to Novgorod Seversky Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich in 1147. This first written mention of Moscow was preserved in the Ipatiev Chronicle. ? PSRL. – M.,

In the written monuments of Ancient Rus', the prince invariably appears against the background of the squad, in the company of his comrades and assistants, who shared with him both success and defeat.

As A.A. Gorsky, the squad “is recruited and built not according to the tribal principle, but according to the principle of personal loyalty; the squad is outside the community structure; it is cut off from it socially (the combatants are not members of separate communities) and territorially (due to the isolated residence of the combatants). At the same time, princely-druzhina relations were a continuation of the social relations of the period of military democracy. The Old Russian squad was a kind of military community, led by the prince - the first among equals. Relations of equality came from the community, which were externally reflected in squad feasts, reminiscent of peasant "brothers", in the equalizing order of the division of booty (later transformed into the division of tribute) - the main source of existence of the squad.

Breaking away from the community, the squad first copied its orders in its internal structure. A squad should be understood as professional soldiers, who were recognized as nominal collective ownership of the lands from which they had the right to collect tribute.

The Tale of Bygone Years provides enough information to solve the problems of this paragraph. The prince solved many issues not on his own, but with a squad. "In the summer of 6452. Igor, having gathered many howls, Varangians, Rus', and glades, Slovenes, and Krivichi, and Tivertsy, and Pechenegs, and hoisted them, go to the Greeks in boats and horses, although to take revenge on himself. When the tsar heard the ambassador to Igor, the radiant boyars, praying and saying: “Do not go, but take tribute, Oleg has sent it to the south, give it to that tribute.” It’s the same with the Pecheneg ambassador’s pavoloki and a lot of gold. Igor, having reached the Danube, convened a squad, and began to think, and delivered a speech to them to the king. Deciding the team of Igorev: “Yes, if the king speaks to his wife, then what do we want more than that, not to have gold, and silver, and curtains? Whenever someone knows; who will overcome, are we, are they? Who is bright with the sea? Behold, we do not walk on the earth, but on the depths of the seas: it is customary for everyone to be angry. Listening to them Igor ... ". As you can see, the question of whether it is worth continuing the campaign or whether it is better to make peace on sufficiently favorable terms (according to the chronicler), the prince decides not on his own, but with his retinue. It is her opinion that is decisive. Let us note in passing that the refusal to forcibly seize all those riches that the Greeks offer Igor was most likely regarded negatively by the contemporaries of the chronicler. Nevertheless, the prince agrees with the retinue and goes to sign peace with the Greeks.

However, the prince did not always agree with the opinion of the squad, but, on the contrary, the squad supported the decisions of the prince. “In the summer of 6479 ... And the ambassador [Svyatoslav] was heard to the tsar in Derevstr, for the tsar was there, ryka sitse: “I want to have peace with you, firm and love.” But when the king heard it, he was glad and sent gifts to him more than the first. Svyatoslav, however, received gifts, and often think with his retinue, roaring: “If we don’t make peace with the king, but take the king away, as there are few of us, when they come, they will step on the castle. And Ruska is far away, and the Pechenesi are warriors with us, and who can help us? But let's make peace with the king, we'll give you tribute, and then be pleased with us. Is it possible to begin not to administer the tribute, but from Rus' again, having combined the howls of the multiplicity, we will go to Tsaryugorod. Love was the speech of this squad, and sent the molded men to the king ... ".

The question arises why the prince had to focus on his warriors. The answer can also be found in The Tale of Bygone Years. For example, the chronicler explains Svyatoslav's refusal to be baptized in this way. “In the summer of 6463 ... Olga lived with her son Svyatoslav, and to teach and mother to be baptized, and not scolding, but cursing [mocked] that. . It’s like Olga often says: “Az, my son, I know God and rejoice; if you know, you will rejoice.” But he does not heed that, saying: “How is it possible to accept a single law? And the moa team will start laughing at this. She said to him: “If you are baptized, do everything you have too.” He doesn't listen to his mother...

Perhaps this was due to the fact that his status in the squad environment was not yet unconditional. Apparently, the attitude of the comrades towards their prince was largely determined by the extent to which his actions corresponded to what was included in the concept of honor, and one could be honored if the behavior was approved by the “comrades”.

But, as already mentioned, there were cases when the prince acted at his own discretion, and the squad followed him, and this shows that not only the prince was guided in his actions by the squad, but the squad followed the prince. “In the summer of 6496 ... According to God, I will arrange for Volodimer to get sick all the time, and not seeing anything, and worse, and not to think what to do. And the queen [the Byzantine princess Anna whom Vladimir wanted to marry] sent to him, saying: “If you want to get rid of this disease, then do not want to get rid of this disease.” Hearing Volodimer, he said: “Yes, if there is truth, then truly great God will be a Christian.” And he commanded to be baptized. The bishop of Korsun, from the priesthood of the tsarina, having announced, baptized Volodimer. Like put your hand on n, abye see. Seeing Volodimer's vain healing, and glorify God, rivers: "First of all, I took away the true God." Behold, having seen his squad, many were baptized. Perhaps this passage marks a certain turning point in the relationship between the prince and the squad. If before the authority of their leader, now the actions of the leader are a certain pattern of behavior for combatants.

The relationship between the prince and the squad was also based on the transfer of certain material values ​​to the latter. Moreover, values ​​are not important in themselves. The resulting wealth, apparently, did not carry an economic essence. I think the combatants were more worried about the act of transfer than enrichment as such. “In the summer of 6583 ... coming from a German to Svyatoslav; Svyatoslav, magnifying, showing them his wealth. They saw a numberless multitude, gold, and silver, and dragging, and decided: “This is nothing, this is lying dead. This is the essence of a better beam. Husbands are afraid to search for more than this. Ezekiel, Caesar of Judea, praised this, to the ambassador of the Caesar of Asuri, his whole body was taken to Babylon: even after this death, all the estate was scattered differently.

It is noteworthy that the complaints of the combatants were focused on external signs of wealth. At the same time, in contrast to Western European chivalry, land grants were never discussed, which testifies to the underdevelopment of feudal relations. As is known, feudal relations are based on corporate land ownership and on the distribution of land plots to soldiers on the condition that they serve the owner of the land. On the one hand, the land in Rus' was in abundance, on the other hand, there was a constant shortage in the developed areas (the need for a constant change of cultivated land due to the fact that the land cleared from the forest was quickly "ploughed out"). Under such conditions, land grants were largely meaningless. Their borders could not be fixed somehow. It was this that for a long time did not allow the development of "normal" feudal relations. In Rus', feudalism with its characteristic estates, beneficiaries, immunities and regulation of vassalage began to take shape only at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries. and was fully developed in the 16th century. Until that time, ties, conditionally correlated with the vassal-suzerain relations of Western Europe, existed in a more patriarchal form of personal relations associated with the centralized exploitation of lands that were in corporate ownership. Such a late appearance of feudal relations is due to the fact that the birth of early feudal relations was interrupted by the Mongol invasion.

In Rus', the formation of a corporation of professional warriors was based not on conditional land ownership, but on the personal connections of the prince-leader and his soldiers. They were based on a system of donations, one of the forms of which can be considered feasts of the prince and squad. Everything that the prince gave to the combatant made the latter dependent on the donor. The same applies to princely feasts. Treating the prince's combatants strengthened the personal ties that had existed since childhood: “Behold, packs [Vladimir Svyatoslavich] with his people: for the whole week, set up a feast in the yard in the gridiron, and come as a boyar, and we celebrate, and as a son, and ten, and a deliberate husband, with princes and without a prince. There was a lot from meat, from livestock and from beasts, more in abundance from everything. Apparently, at such feasts, rites of acceptance of new combatants and meetings, “thoughts” of the prince with the squad, also took place. This "thought" was almost the daily occupation of the prince, as follows from the Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh; moreover, the opinion expressed by the warriors is by no means obligatory for the prince. He could act in his own way, which was facilitated by the fact that disagreements arise in the squad when discussing issues, and the prince could choose one of the many decisions of the squad.

The squad also received a monetary support from the hands of the prince or used deductions from the volost feed and various payments from the population, while fulfilling the police, judicial and administrative orders of the prince.

Thus, the squad of Kievan Rus lived to a large extent on princely funds, therefore the prince who generously presented his soldiers was considered ideal, but if the warrior for some reason was dissatisfied with his prince, then he could leave.

Over time, however, the relationship between the prince and the squad began to change, as can be seen from the above story about the arrangement of the feast. The property stratification of the squad led to the formation of a new social group - the boyars, which also affected the relationship between the prince and the squad.

Drawing analogies between the ancient Russian squad and the German one, one can identify a number of features characteristic of both. The military community is united around the overlord, this group follows the leader, where he is the first among equals. The military community models itself according to the family model, which can be seen in the names of the groups of the squad and its members. The system of gifts is more sacred than economic. But the German squad was cut off from the community, any valiant warrior could become its leader, which cannot be said about the Slavic.

Summing up, it should be noted that the relationship between the prince and the squad was based on personal ties, which were consolidated by a developed system of "gifts" in various forms. At the same time, the prince acted as "first among equals." He depended on his warriors no less than they depended on him. All state issues (about the structure of the "land", about war and peace, about the laws being adopted), the prince decided not on his own, but with the squad, accepting or not accepting its decisions.