ÿþ<head> <title>Medieval Russian Titles and Ranks</title> </head> <body style="background: url(../Images/redbg.jpg) top left repeat-y;"> <body background=../Images/redbg.jpg bgcolor=690000 text=fcce19 link=ffffff vlink=fff769> <table width=100%> <td width=100> <td width=80%> <h1 align=center>Medieval Russian Titles and Ranks</h1> <center>by Sofya la Rus<p> <i>Updated 16 May 2009</i></center> <p> In all of the articles linked below, words from old Russian sources have been left in their original declensions (locative, dative, genetive, etc. cases) since Old Russian has so many spelling and grammar quirks it would have been too much work to try to convert all of the terms into nominative case, even if I had the necessary linguistic expertise. <p> In addition, I have not yet figured out how to get my computer to render certain obsolete letters of the Old Slavonic alphabet, so the yat' has been written as "e", etc. <hr> <b> Detailed information:</b><ul> <a href=titlesroyal.html>Royal Titles</a><br> <a href=titlesclasses.html>Social Classes</a><br> <a href=titlesroyalofficials.html>Royal Officials</a><br> <a href=titlesmilitary.html>Military Ranks</a><br> <a href=titleslordship.html>Lordly Titles and Forms of Address</a><br> <a href=titlesmastery.html>Master and Mistress</a><br> <a href=titleshousehold.html>Household Titles</a><br> <a href=titlesalternate.html>Unofficial Alternate Titles List</a> - includes the Alternate Titles Revision Proposal<br> </ul> <hr> <h2>Class Structure</h2> <table width=100%> <td width=50% valign=top> Kievan Rus, from Mackenzie and Curran:<ul> <li>Princely class - descendents of the House of Riurik.<br> <li>Service aristocracy - "muzhi," upper-class freeman, members of druzhina (wergild 80 grivnas)<br> <li>Non-service aristocracy - old Slavic aristocracy and other wealthy personages (wergild 40 grivnas)<br> <li>Boyarstvo - the service and non-service aristocracy eventually merge to form the boyar class.<br> <li>"Liudi" - middle-class freemen (also 40 grivna wergild).<br> <li>"Molodshie liudi" - lower-class freemen (wergild only 5 grivna).<br> <li>"Smerdy" - rural peasants.<br> <li>"Zakupy" - half-free (not yet serfs)<br> <li>"Cheliad" - slaves.<p> Ranks fluid and poorly defined in this period. </ul> Kievan Rus, derived from Andreeva:<ul> <li>Knyaz <li>Senior druzhina - knazhnie muzhi, boyars, posadniks, tysyatski, voevodi <li>Junior druzhina - detskie, otroki, gridin, deti boyarskie, dvoryane </ul> <p> Yaroslav I to Mstislav Toropetski (1054-1228), per Solov'ev:<ul> Starshaya druzhina - aka boyare<br> Mladshaya druzhina - aka molod", molodye, molodye liudi, gridej, grid'by<br> Servitor druzhina - aka pasynki, otroki, detskie, beginning to be called dvoryane/dvor in the north. </ul> Mstislav Mstislavich to Vasili Temnij (1228-1462), per Solov'ev:<ul> Starshaya druzhina - aka boyare or bolyare<ul> <li>Knyazhnye slugi - lesser princes serving a senior prince, usually outrank other boyars in his service<br> <li>Bol'shie boyare appear as senior members of starshaya druzhina<br> <li>Okol'nichie appear as junior members of the starshaya druzhina</ul> Mladshaya druzhina - slugi, dvoryane<ul> <li>1st part - deti boyarskie<br> <li>2nd part - slugi, slugi vol'nye, liudi dvernye, slugi pod dvorskim</ul> Kholopi - nevol'nye slugi (unfree servants)<br> Prostie liudi<br> <td width=50% valign=top> Early Muscovite Rus, from MacKenzie and Curran (late 1400s):<ul> <li>Sovereign<br> <li>Local/appanage princes (mestnoj/udel'noj knyaz).<br> <li>Boyars - service and non-service aristocracy. Make up the Boyar Duma that advises the sovereign.<br> <li>Dvoryane - gentry, educated commoners, central treasury secretaries (diaki). Came to be members of the Duma - dumnye dvoriane. Also called deti boyarskie?<br> <li>Namestnik (governor) or volostel (district chiefs) that govern former principalities. When replaced by zemskaya system of local self-government, the former governors became voevody (military leaders). A subgroup of the diaki.<br> <li>Merchants - wealthy merchants (gosti) became responsible for tax collecting.<br> <li>Lower-class freement - poorer merchants, artisans, etc.<br> <li>Serfs - newly created class.<br> <li>Kabali - indentured servants.<br> <li>Kholopy - slaves<br> </ul> <p> Time of Ivan III, per Solov'ev:<ul> Starshaya druzhina aka boyarstvo<ul> <li>Knyaz'ya - servitor princes<br> <li>Boyare - including vvedennye & putnye<br> <li>Melkie boyare - same as okol'nichie?</ul> Deti boyarskie<br> Dvoryane<br> </ul> Time of Ivan IV, per Solov'ev:<ul> <li>Boyare<br> <li>Okolnichie<br> <li>Dumnye diaki - council clerks<br> <li>Bolshie dvoryane - aka dumnye dvoryane, dvoryane "first class", young members of even the highest princely families start their service careers here<br> <li>Dvoryane - dvoryane "second class", start to include deti boyarskie<br> </ul> <p> Early Romanov Rus, from MacKenzie and Curran (early 1600s - i.e. OOP):<ul> <li>Tsar<br> <li>Boyars - taking over administrative functions previously held by gentry/educated commoners.<br> <li>Okolnichii - just below boyar, heads of a prikazy in the 17th cent.<br> <li>Dvoryane - gentry, diaki.<br> <li>Voevody - regional governors, replaced namestniki.<br> <li>Burghers - got monopoly of trade and manufacturer, but stripped of ability to move to new residences.<br> </ul> </table> <hr width=50%> <b>Period Sequences of Ranks/Social Classes</b>.<p> The Russian words are still declined (genetive, dative, locative, etc.) as in the original texts. <p> <table width=100%> <td width=50% valign=top> From Statute of Prince Iaroslav (1019-54), Item 4 - penalties for throwing out a wife:<ul> Great boyars (25;8:8E 1>O@J) - [5] gold grivnas<br> Lesser boyars (<5=H8E 1>O@J) - 1 gold grivna<br> Well-to-do people (=0@>G8BKEJ ;N488) - 2 rubles<br> Common people (?@>AB>8 GO48) - 12 [silver] grivnas<br> </ul> <p> From Statute of Prince Iaroslav (1019-54), Item 7 - payment to redeem a girl from the convent:<ul> Great boyars (25;8:KE 1>O@J) - 5 gold grivnas<br> Lesser boyars (<5=H8E 1>O@J) - 1 gold grivna<br> Well-to-do people (=0@>G8BKEJ ;N488) - 2 rubles or 12 [silver] grivnas<br> Common people (?@>AB>8 GO48) - 1 silver grivna or one ruble<br> </ul> <p> From Statute of Prince Iaroslav (1019-54), Item 31 - penalties for insulting another man's wife:<ul> Great boyars (25;8:K8EJ 1>O@J) - 5 gold grivnas<br> Lesser boyars (<5=H8EJ 1>O@J) - 3 gold grivnas<br> Townspeople (3>@>4A:8K8EJ ;N458) - 3 silver grivnas/ruble<br> Farmer's wife (A5;LA:>8 65=5) - 60 rezanas/3 grivnas [silver]<br> </ul> From The Pravda Rus'skaya (1019-1054) - Item 1, bloodwites:<ul> 80 grivnas - for the prince's man (:=O68< <C65<) or the prince's overseer (:=O65A:8< B8C=><)<p> 40 grivnas - for a Rus' man (@CA8=), junior member of prince's retinue (3@848=), a merchant (:C?5F), a boyar's overseer (1>O@A:89 B8C=), [the prince's] bodyguard (<5G=8:), someone under the prince's protection (8A3>9), or a Slav (!;>25=88). </ul> From The Pravda Rus'skaya (1019-1054) - Items 11-17, bloodwites:<ul> <li>80 grivnas - for overseer/steward (42>@5F:>3>) or stablemaster (:>=NH53>)<br> <li>40 grivnas - for prince's page (:=O65A:>3> >B@>:0), groom (:>=NE0) or cook (?>20@0).<br> <li>12 grivnas - for prince's estate or field overseer (:=O65A:>3> B8C=0, 25402H53> A5;0<8 8;8 ?0H=O<8)<br> 12 grivnas - for craftsman (@5<5A;5=8:0) or craftswoman (@5<5A;5==8FC)<br> 12 grinvas - for tutor (:>@<8;LF0) a wet nurse (:>@<8;8FC), even if slaves (E>;>?... 8;8 @010)<br> <li>6 grivnas - for a female slave (@01C)<br> 5 grivnas - for a contract laborer (@O4>28G0) or for a boyar's contract laborer (1>O@A:>3>)<br> 5 grivnas - for a peasant or male slave (?065==>3> E>;>?0)<br> </ul> <p> From The First Treaty of Novgorod (1264-5), Novgorodians party to the treaty:<ul> Posadnik<br> Tysyatski<br> Sotski<br> Stareishii (elders)<br> </ul> <p> From The First Treaty of Novgorod (1264-5), limits on princely power:<ul> Knyaz<br> Knyaginya<br> Boyars<br> Servitors (dvoryane)<br> </ul> <p> 1307-08 Agreement between Novgorod and the Tver Grand Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich, Novgorod signatories:<ul> Posadnik<br> Tysyatski<br> Stareishii (seniors)<br> Menshii (juniors)<br> </ul> <p> <td width=50% valign=top> >A;. 8;. A:>2. >:. 1382 3. [Sreznevskij, under "posad'nik"]<ul> ;03>@>4=i8 G5AB=i8 1>O@5 (noble honorable boyars)<br> <C6i5 A:>28G8 ("men" Pskovian)<br> AK=J <>8 ?>A04=8:J (son my posadnik)<br> A>FLA:i8 (sotski - hundred-men)<br> 2A8 45B8 <>8 (all children mine)<br> ?@>Gi8 E@8AB>8<5=8Bi8 ;N4i5 (other Christian people) </ul> <p> From Novgorod Chronicle (1398):<ul> Posadnik (x2) - ?>A04=8:J<br> Boyars - 1>O@8<br> "Little" boyars - 45B8 1>O@LA:K8<br> Men of substance - 68BK88 ;N48<br> "Little" merchants - :C?5G:K8 45B8<br> </ul> <p> From Novgorod Charter (mid 1400s), Novgorodians party to the treaty:<ul> Posadnik<br> Starye posadniki (old posadniks)<br> Tysyatski<br> Starye tysyatski (old tysyatski)<br> Boyars<br> Zhitie lyudi (well-to-do people)<br> Kuptsy (Merchants)<br> Chernie lyudi (common people)<br> </ul> <p> From Novgorod Charter (mid 1400s), Novgorodians party to the treaty (compare to above):<ul> Posadnik<br> Tysyatski<br> Boyars<br> "Middle-class burghers"<br> Merchants<br> "Lower-class burghers"<br> </ul> <p> From Novgorod Judicial Charter (mid-late 1400s), Novgorodians party to the treaty (compare toabove):<ul> Posadnik<br> Tysyatski<br> Boyars<br> "Ranking Men"<br> Merchants<br> "Taxpaying townspeople"<br> </ul> <p> From Pravosudie Mitropolich'e (compiled c. 1400-1500), penalties for dishonoring the Grand Prince:<ul> Lesser Princes (<5=65<C :=O7N)<br> Estate Stewards (A5;LA:><>C)<br> Tysyatski (BKAOGL=8:><J)<br> Okol'nichie (>:>;8G=8:><J)<br> Boyar (2>O@8=C)<br> Servitor (A;C75)<br> Abbot (83C<5=C)<br> Priest (?>?C)<br> Deacon (4L0:>=C)<br> </ul> <p> From Pravosudie Mitropolich'e (compiled c. 1400-1500), penalties for abduction and rape:<ul> Boyar wife/daughter (1>O@A:0O) - 5 grivnas<br> Lesser boyar daughter (<5=H8EJ 1>O@J) - 1 gold grivna<br> "Good" people daughter (4>1@KEJ) - 30 silver grivnas<br> Well-to-do daughter (=0@>G8BKE) - 3 rubles<br> </ul> <p> From the Domostroi (compiled c. 1550-1620), section 64:<ul> Tsar<br> Tsaritsa<br> Tsar's brothers<br> Boyars<br> </ul> <p> From Okruzhnaya Gramota Pozharskogo s Tovarishchami v Iyune 1612 o Sozdanii Vtorogo Opolcheniya:<ul> Boyarin<br> Voevoda<br> Stolnik<br> dvoryane bol'shie/dumnye<br> dvoryane<br> deti boyarskie<br> </ul> </ul> </table> <hr> <b>References:</b> (Note that terms drawn from "primary sources" and listed throughout this documents may be more representative of the dates of the codexes they were taken from than the years they recorded under, i.e. the entry may be describing events from the year 1204, but the language used may be that of the scribe who re-copied it in 1377. Or not. ;-) <ul> <li><u>1445-1461 33. - @0<>B0 5;8:>3> >23>@>40 > ?@54>AB02;5=88 =0 3>4 "G5@=>3> 1>@0" A >2>B>@6A:8E 2>;>AB59 25;8:><C :=O7N 0A8;8N 0A8;L528GC. </u> (Certificate of Novgorod the Great... to grand prince Vasili Vasil'evich) Available at http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/russ.htm (under XIII cent.) <li>Andreeva, A.E. et al. "1448-1461 @0<>B0 5;8:>3> >23>@>40 > ?@54>AB02;5=88 =0 3>4 "G5@=>3> 1>@0" A >2>B>@6A:8E 2>;>AB59 25;8:><C :=O7N 0A8;8N 0A8;L528GC." <u> "+     !</u>. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Russ/XIII/1260-1280/Gramoty_otn_Novgoroda_knjaz/21-40/21.htm <li>Bogatyrev, Sergei. <u>The Sovereign and his Counsellors: Ritualized Consultations in Muscovite Political Culture, 1350s-1570s.</u> Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemian Toimituksia Annales Academiae Scientieraum Fennicae. http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/histo/vk/bogatyrev/thesover.pdf <li><u>>;LH0O A>25BA:0O M=F8:;>?548O.</u> [The Big Soviet Encyclopedia]. Third Edition, 1969-78. Available on-line at http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse <li>Cross, Samuel and Olgerd Sherbowitz-Wetzor, translators and editors. <u>The Russian Primary Chronicle</u>. The Medieval Academy of America, Cambridge, MA. 1953. <li>Dal' <a href=//www.slova.ru>Slovar' Dalya</a>. On-line Russian Dictionary. http://www.slova.ru <li><u>><>AB@>9.</u> Sylvester redaction (short version) of the Domostroi in Russian. Available on-line on several websites. <li><u>-=F8:;>?548O @>:30C70 8 -D@>=0.</u> (Brockhause and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary). On-line at http://gatchina3000.ru/brockhaus-and-efron-encyclopedic-dictionary <li>Fennell, John. <u>The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304</u>. Longman, New York. 1983. <li>Freeze, Gregory. <u>Russia, a History</u>. Oxford University Press, New York. 1997. <li>Grigor evich, Scherbakov Vyacheslav, editor. #G51=>-<5B>48G5A:89 :><?;5:A. -;5:B@>==0O 25@A8O :C@A0 ;5:F89 'AB>@8O >AA88 A 4@52=59H8E 2@5<5= 4> =0H8E 4=59', 8AB>@8O #@0;0 8 @5=1C@6LO, ?;0=K ?@0:B8G5A:8E 70=OB89, 4>:C<5=BK, B5ABK, ?@>1;5<=K5 7040=8O 8 <=>3>5 4@C3>5. <ul> <li>Kliuchevsky, B.O. "> ?><5AB=>9 A8AB5<5 2 >AA88" [About the Pomestie System in Russia]. @0B:>5 ?>A>185 ?> @CAA:>9 8AB>@88... http://his95.narod.ru/doc00/kluch_pomsis.htm <li>"3@0=8G5=85 <5AB=8G5AB20, 1550 3." 07@O4=0O :=830 1475-1598 33. . http://his95.narod.ru/doc00/mestn.htm <li> CAA:0O @0240 !C4 /@>A;020 ;048<8@>28G0 (Russkaya Pravda, Judgements of Yaroslav Vladimirovich). http://his95.narod.ru/rus_pr2.htm </ul> <li>AB>@8G5A:0O M=F8:;>?548O % !0</u> - Historical Encyclopedia of Khronos - an extensive Russian/Ukrainian history website. <li>Kaiser, Daniel. <u>Grinnell College Individual Webpage: Daniel Kaiser, Professor of History.</u><ul> <li>"The First Treaty of Novgorod". http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/kaiser/novgorodtreaty.html<br> <li>"The Novgorod Judicial Charter". http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/kaiser/novjudicial.html<br> <li>"The Pravda Rus'skaia". http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/kaiser/exrp.html<br> <li>"The Pravosudie Mitropolich'e". http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/kaiser/pravosudie.html<br> </ul> <li>Katzner, Kenneth. <u>English-Russian Russian-English Dictionary</u>. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 1984. <li>Kies, Lisa, editor. "Period Russian Scroll Sources." <u>Sofya la Rus: 13th-14th Century Medieval Russian Life</u>. http://www.strangelove.net/~kieser/Russia/ <li>Kolchin, B.A. <u>@52=OO CAL KB 8 :C;LBC@0</u>. Mosckva, "Nauka". 1997. <li>Kovalesky, Maxime. "Old Russian Folkmotes." <u>Modern Customs and Ancient Laws of Russia: The Ilchester Lectures.</u> 1891. Available on various websites. <li>Krotov, Yakov, editor. <u>81;8>B5:0 /:>20 @>B>20.</u> <ul> <li> !/  / "!,. http://www.krotov.info/acts/12/pvl/novg.htm <li>#!"* / !,. !#+ !/"",!+. (Statutes of Yaroslav.) http://www.krotov.info/acts/12/pvl/novg41.htm </ul> <li>Kubijovyc, Volodymyr (vols. 1-2) and Danylo Husar Struk (vols. 3-5), editors. <u>Encyclopia of Ukraine.</u> University of Toronto Press, 1984-93. Partially availabe on-line at http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/ <li>Jelisavcic, Micha and John Sloan. Chronology of Russian History at http://www.xenophon-mil.org/rushistory/rulers/chron10cen.htm <li>MacKenzie, David and Michael Curran. <u>A History of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Beyond, 4th Edition.</u> Wadsworth, Inc. Belmont, CA. 1993. <li>Michell, Robert and Nevill Forbes. <u>The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016-1471: Camden Third Series Vol XXV</u>. Officers of the Society, London. 1914. <li><u>" ',  !#</u> (Russian version of the Pravosudie Mitropolich'e). Available at http://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/RP/mp.htm <li>Ozhegov, C.I. <u>!;>20@L CAA:>3> /7K:0: 70 000 A;>2.</u> [Dictionary of the Russian Language: 70,000 words.] "Russkij Yazyk", Moscow. 1990. <li>Petrov, Aleksandr. "!B0@8==K5 A;C68;K5 G8=K 8 720=8O". <u>@52=5@CAA:0O 8B5@0BC@0. =B>;>38O. AB>@8:>-;8B5@0BC@=K9 A09B.</u> http://old-rus.narod.ru/zvan.html [seems to be based on Russian encyclopedias, see other references] <li>Pouncy, Carolyn, editor and translator. <u>The Domostroi</u>. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. 1994. <li><u>>25ABL 2@5<8==KE ;5B</u>. Original Russian version of the Tale of Bygone Years, aka Russian Primary Chronicle. Available on-line on several websites. <li>Riha, Thomas. <u>Readings in Russian Civilization: Russia Before Peter the Great, 900-1700.</u> University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 1969. <li>Rozn, Val. "Russia." <u>Titles of European hereditary rulers.</u> http://www.geocities.com/eurprin/russia.html <li>Russian Knowledge Pages' <u>SCA Alternate Titles.</u> http://russiansig.wikispaces.com/SCA+Alternative+Titles <li>!;C610 BK;0. Website about history of rear eschelons of Russian army that has some primary sources. http://www.tyl.mil.ru <li>Solov'ev, S.M. <u>AB>@8O >AA88 A @52=59H8E @5<5=.</u> 29-volume history of Russia first published in the late 1800s. Available at http://www.kulichki.com/inkwell/text/special/history/soloviev/solovlec.htm <li>Smith, Diane. "The Muscovite Army of Ivan IV". <u>Xenophon Group International.</u> Found on-line at http://www.xenophon-mil.org/rushistory/battles/ivanbook.htm <li>Sreznevskij, I.I. <u>0B5@80;K 4;O A;>20@O 4@52=5-@CAA:03> O7K:0 ?> ?8AL<5==K<J ?0<O=8:0<J.</u> [Materials for a Dictionary of the old-Russian Language according to written memorials.] The Department of Russian Language and Literature, Imperial Academy of Science. 1893-1912. <li>Ushakov, D.N. <u>">;:>2K9 A;>20@L @CAA:>3> O7K:0:  4 B.</u> [Defining dictionary of the Russian Language: in 4 volumes.] State institute "!>2. M=F8:;."; ; >A. 874-2> 8=>AB@. 8 =0F. A;>2., 1935-1940. Available on-line at http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/ushakov <li>Vernadsky, George. <u>Ancient Russia.</u> Yale University Press. New Haven, CN. 1943. <li>Vernadsky, George. <u>Kievan Russia.</u> Yale University Press. New Haven, CN. 1948. <li>Vernadsky, George. <u>The Mongols and Russia.</u> Yale University Press. New Haven, CN. 1953. <li>Vernadsky, George. <u>Russia at the Dawn of the Modern Age.</u> Yale University Press. New Haven, CN. 1959. <li>Vydrina, Predslava. "Alternate Russian Titles - Revision." <u>LoAR Cover Letter</u>. 22 May 1997. http://www.sca.org/heraldry/loar/1997/05/cvr.html <li>Waugh, Daniel. "Chronology of Novgorod's Political History". <u>Novgorod Resources</u>. University of Washington. http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/rus/novgorod/n-chron.html <li>Wikipedia <li>8:8?548O <li><a href=//lingvo.yandex.ru/>Yandex. On-line Russian-English Dictionary.</a> http://lingvo.yandex.ru/ <p> </ul> <hr> COPYRIGHT (c) 2007-9 by Lisa Kies. You may make copies for personal use and to distribute for educational purposes but only if articles remain complete and entire with original authorship clearly noted. <p> Return to <a href=index.html>Russian Materials</a><br> Return to <a href=../index.html>homepage</a><br> </table> </body>