Sofya la Rus
13th-14th Century Medieval Russian Life

As you can see below, I've been slightly obsessed with the Russian Middle Ages since I started in the SCA in A.S. XXXII (1997), in the Shire of Shadowdale in the great Kingdom of Calontir. I hope you find the information here helpful.

Unless otherwise noted, the articles and illustrations are my own creation, so please give credit where credit is due. All of them are also "works in progress" (although some haven't been worked on in a while). Please feel free to enlighten me.

General Persona and Culture Notes:

Developing a Medieval Russian Persona
Further Notes On Being Rus 3/09
Misc. SIG Culture Notes

History:

History according to Sofya
Russian History Timeline
Foreign Interaction with Rus
Medieval Russian Rulers
The Origin of the Romanov Dynasty
13th Century Princely Cities
Other Russian History Links

Names and Language

Quick and Dirty Russian Names
Speaking with a Russian Accent
Spelling Period Russian in Period English
Medieval Russian Titles and Ranks - includes Alternate Titles Revision Proposal5/09
Russian Names Research 5/09


Medieval Slavic Names from the Medieval Names Archive.
Paul Wickenden's Russian Archive - much more info about Russian names (among other things).
Official Alternate SCA Titles List.
On-line Manuscripts and Period Sources.

Garb

Easy, Breezy Russian Garb - class taught at Gulf Wars XVI
Fancy, Schmancy Russian Garb - class taught at Gulf Wars XVI
Sofya's Wardrobe - what she actually wears
Some Patterns

Russian Clothing in Period Art
Traditional Russian Headdresses by Region


Merchant of 15th Century Novgorod - my translation of a Russian website.
Merchant's Wife of 15th Century Novgorod - my translation of a Russian website.
Misc. SIG Garb Notes - collars, poneva debate, buttons, fabrics, dyes, threads, stolas, purses, underwear.
Misc. SIG Gem Notes - buttons, gems and lots of pearls, including pearl embroidery
Misc. SIG Headdress Notes - includes info on temple rings vs. kolty


Notes on Clothing in Early Rus


Class Distinctions
Regional Distinctions
Social Functions
Fabrics and Furs
Color and Dyes
Garment Construction and Care
Decoration and Ornament
Jewelry
Collars, Cuffs, Voshvy, Borders
Belts, Purses, Gloves, Mittens
Footwear

Notes on Women's Clothing in Early Rus.
Layer 1 - chemise/rubakha/sorochitsa
Layer 2 - short overgarments
Layer 3 - wide-sleeved long overgarments
Layer 4 - narrow-sleeved overgarments
Layer 5 - cloak-like garments
Hair and Headdresses
Examples from Stamerov
Examples from Kolchin
Women's Clothing Reconstruction from Kolchin

Notes on Men's Clothing in Early Rus
Layer 1 - shirt and trousers
Layer 2 - light overgarments
Layer 3 - heavy overgarments
Layer 4 - cloaks and cloak-like garments
Hair and Accessories
Men's Clothing Reconstructions per Kolchin

Glossary of Russian Clothing


Men's Shirts of 16th-17th Cent. - my translation. 11/08
Gold Embroidery of pre-Mongol Rus'. - my translation.
Pskov Fabric Treasure. - my translation of article about 10th cent. archeology find.
Rabinovich "Ancient Russian Clothing of IX-XIII Cent." - my translation.
Rabinovich Part 1 "Clothing of Russians of 13th-17th cent." - my translation.
Rabinovich Part 2 "Clothing of Russians of 13th-17th cent." - my translation.
"Textiles of Novgorod" - my notes/translation from Nahlik's analysis of archeological samples.
Kolchin's "Ancient Russian Costume" - my translation of Ch 4 of Drevnaya Rus Byt i Kultura.
Pushkareva's "Exceptional clothing they created..." translated from "Zhenshiny Drevnej Rusi".

Mordak's Garb Packet - from Master Mordak
Mistress Tatiana's Garb Info - from the translator of Kireyeva and Stamerov 6/09
Russian clothing and its international context: 1600-1725 by Richard Hellie (The University of Chicago).
External Clothing Links - 1903 Ball, related cultures, other costumers' info

Weapons and Armor

13th & 14th Century Medieval Russian Arms and Armour
Russian Armor in the Time of Ivan the Terrible - by Master Mordak.
Silk Road Designs Armoury by Norman Finkelshteyn.
Medieval Russian Armor - by John Sloan. [Re-rediscovered 3/10/02.]
Byzantine Lamellar Armor: Conjectural Reconstruction by Peter Beatson.

Food!

Medieval Russian Food - Overview of my _very_ preliminary research
Food in the Novgorod Chronicle
The Russian Stove 3/09
Ingredients
The Prianiki Project
Recipes
16th Century Cloister Meal - my own crude translation.


Jadwiga Zajaczkowa's Handout on Russian and Polish Food
Online Russian Grocery Store - lots of recipes, some of which I've tried.
RusCuisine.com - more recipes.
Misc. SIG Food Notes
The Fasting Rule of the Orthodox Church - something we often neglect in the SCA.

The Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Churches - now links to illustrations!
The Iconography of the Russian Iconostasis
The Icon of the Virgin Orans Great Panagia
External Icon/Orthodox Links

Calligraphy, Illumination, & Scrolls

Period Scroll Wording
Scroll Introductions
Praise & Justification for Awards
Honors, Grants, Gifts and Privileges
Responsibilities/Consequences/Instructions
Oaths
Scroll Closure/Seals
Miscellaneous Phrases and Texts
Sample A&S Scroll


Period Texts used for the above
On-line Manuscripts and Period Sources.

Russian Music and Dance - not necessarily "period"

Russian Znamenny Chant - a very interesting site about Old Russian religious music.
Songs of the Russian People - a large, old (1872) scholarly discussion
Song of the Balalaika - folksongs with music, audio, and background info (the transliterations have some mistakes)
Russian Folk Songs in Real Audio
Russian Folk Songs with English Translations
Khoomei Throat Singing - I don't know if medieval Russian music used this, but it is very interesting.
Russian, German and other Folk Songs
Three Russian Folk Dances - step-by-step instructions
Russian Folk Dances - lots of video clips
The Middlebury Russian Choir - put out a lovely CD.

Miscellaneous Articles about Material Culture

Misc. SIG Craft Notes
Medieval Russian Medicine


Gorodki - a plausibly period Russian game


Courtyards and homes: 13th-15th cent. by Rabinovich, my translation
The Russian Stove


Traditional Village Structures
Traditional Village Tools and Activities

References:

On-line Manuscripts and Period Sources.
Bibliography - Books I've found useful.
Books - that I've heard are good.

Other sites with accumulations of useful info

Novgorod Archeology - wonderful (large!) photos by Prof. Michael Fuller aka Lord Michael of Saffita.
The Russian Knowledge Page - part of the Slavic Interest Group. (under re-construction)
Medieval and Early Modern Russia and Ukraine. at the University of Washington (Seattle)
Life in 13th Century Novgorod by Gregory William Frux


Birka Traders Viking, Byzantine and Rus goods from Australia.
Miklagard - an impressive group of reeneactors from the New Varangian Guard.
Christobel's and Peter's page. Some great articles by members of the New Varangian Guard.


The Red Kaganate - a site dedicated to the medieval Turco-Mongol world that strongly influenced Rus.

Send comments and questions to sofya@heraldshill.org
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