In Russia, the senior combatant was called. A squad is a princely army or a public organization

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 and constituted a privileged stratum of society;

2) armed detachments under the prince in Kievan Rus, participating in wars, managing the principality and the personal household of the prince.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

DRUZHINA

1) In the ancient meaning - a community, an association of people. In this sense, D. were called members of other Russian. Vervi communities; in the 14th and 15th centuries D. members of artels of icon painters were named, etc. 2) A detachment of mounted warriors united around a tribal leader, and then a king, prince; military an organization characteristic of the system of military democracy, for the period of the decomposition of the tribal system and the birth of feuds. relations. D. appeared among the ancient Germans in the 1st century. BC e. as temporary, and from the 1st c. n. e. already as a permanent military. associations and formed the core of the German. troops. The leader and D were bound by mutual obligations. D. was supposed to protect the leader, the latter - to support D. Members of D., enriching themselves at the expense of the military. robbery, gradually turned into a military-aristocratic. the top of the tribe. In D., wrote Engels, "...the germ of the decline of the ancient people's freedom was already lurking..." (The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, 1963, p. 161). Contributing to the rise of the tribal leader, D. thus contributed to the emergence of queens. authorities. During the German invasion tribes on the territory Rome. empire (4th-6th centuries) warriors, as a result of conquests and then queens. complaints, acquired means. land possession ("settlement of D. on the ground") and in the process of development of the feud. relations turned into feudal lords. D. was often available not only to the king, but also to private individuals - large lands. owners. As a soldier. The D. organization (as well as the people's militia) gave way to the feud. militia of seniors. Rus the term "druzhinniki" corresponded to the terms: levdas (lit. - people) in many others. the Germans, Antrustions - among the Franks, Gesites, then Tens - among the Anglo-Saxons, Gacindas - among the Lombards, Sayons - among the Goths, etc .; sometimes in German laws used Rome. (lat.) terminology (buccellaria, fideles - faithful, - the origin of retinue relations occurs back in the period of the Roman Empire). In China, terms close to the concept of "combatant" are chen, shi (in their original meaning), among the Mongols - nukers. Lit .: Neusykhin A.I., The emergence of a dependent peasantry in Western Europe of the VI-VIII centuries, M., 1956; Korsunsky A.R., On the development of feudal relations in Gothic Spain, in collection: Cf. century, 1961, c. 19. See also lit. at Art. Germans. In Kievan Rus, a prince stood at the head of the dynasty. Entry and exit from D. were free for personally free husbands-warriors. D. was the closest support of the princes. authorities. T. n. The "senior" D. consisted of a small number of the most distinguished combatants who were close advisers to the prince. Senior combatants often received from the prince the right to collect tribute in certain areas in their favor and had their own D. The "young" D consisted of "grids", "youths", "children" and other warriors who made up the main. the mass of D. and also involved in the execution of various court.-adm. instructions. With the development of feudal land tenure warriors turned into land owners - the boyars and were one of the main. components in the formation of dominance. feudal class. Houses of princes existed until the 16th century, when appanage princes were abolished. Lit .: Sreznevsky I.I., Materials for the dictionary of other Russian. yaz., vol. 1, M., 1958; Grekov B. D., Kievan Rus, (M.), 1953. A. M. Sakharov. Moscow.

The social structure of society in Russia VaDEvil: According to Russian Truth: Princes - the leaders of the tribes, later - the rulers of the state or state formations within the framework of a single state. Simply put, everyone who was from Rurik's house. The prince of Kyiv was considered the senior prince in Ancient Russia, and the rest - specific. For the XIII century, after the ruin of Kyiv by the Mongols, the ruler of the Vladimir-Suzdal land becomes the Grand Duke. Boyars - representatives of the upper class of feudal lords in Russian: and, descendants of the tribal nobility, large landowners. They enjoyed immunity and the right to leave for other princes. Vigilantes - warriors of the armed detachments of princes, participating in wars, managing the principality and the personal household of the prince for a monetary reward. Men - in the pre-state and early state period - are free people. The general name of personally free people City people - townspeople. In turn, they were divided into "best" or "higher" (prosperous) and "younger" or "black" (poor). By occupation they were called "merchants" and "artisans". Smerdy - free communal peasants who had their own farm and their own arable land. Purchases - smerds who have taken a loan ("kupu") from another landowner with livestock, grain, tools, etc. and must work for the lender until they repay the debt. Before that, they had no right to leave the owner. The owner was responsible for the purchase if he committed theft, etc. Ryadovichi - smerds who concluded an agreement ("row") with the landowner on the conditions of their work for him or the use of his land and tools. Forgiveness - freed ("forgiven") serfs. They were under the auspices of the church, lived on its land for duties. Kholops are a category of the feudally dependent population, in terms of legal status close to slaves. Initially, they did not have their own economy and performed various work in the economy of the feudal lords. The sources of the formations of this estate were: captivity, sale for debts, marriage with a serf or serf. Outcasts are people who have lost their former social status and are unable to run an independent household.

The social structure of Ancient Russia was complex. The bulk of the rural population, dependent on the prince, was called smerds. They lived both in peasant communities and in estates. The ruined peasants borrowed a loan from the feudal lords - "kupa" (money, crops, etc.), hence their name - purchases. A person who lost his social status became an outcast. In the position of slaves were servants and serfs, replenished from among the captives and ruined fellow tribesmen.

The dependent people were opposed by the free population, called people (hence the collection of tribute - "polyudye"). The social top was made up of princes from the Rurik family, surrounded by a retinue, which was divided from the 11th century. into the older (boyars) and younger (children, youths, merciful). "The new retinue and zemstvo (zemstvo boyars) nobility, which took the place of the former tribal, represented a kind of aristocratic stratum supplying political leaders." The free population consisted mainly of residents of cities and villages, community husbands, who created a significant part of social wealth. They were the social core of the socio-political and military organization in the Old Russian state. This was expressed as follows.

Free community members had their own military organization, which in terms of combat power far exceeded the prince's squad. It was a people's militia led by a leader - a thousand (the militia itself was called "thousand"). The supreme authority in the Russian lands of the X-XII centuries. there was a popular assembly of the "older city" - a veche, which was the highest form of self-government. According to L.I. Semennikova, in ancient Russian society, the ideal of people's rule, collective communal governance dominated: "The prince in Kievan Rus was not in the full sense of the word the sovereign, either in the eastern or in the western version. Arriving in one or another volost, the prince had to conclude a" series "(agreement ) with the people's assembly - "veche". And this means that he was also an element of communal power, designed to look after the interests of society, the collective; The composition of the veche was democratic. The ancient Russian nobility did not have the necessary means for its complete subordination. With the help of the veche, the people influenced the course of social and political life"

Opinion of L.I. Semennikova about the popular character of the vecha is shared by many scientists, including I.Ya. Froyanov, A.Yu. Dvornichenko. At the same time, in science there is a view of the veche as a narrow-class body of power, where ordinary people could not get (V.T. Pashuto, V.L. Yanin, and others). Another point of view boils down to the following: the veche became a relic in Russia already by the 11th century. and was collected in exceptional cases, and as the highest form of power, it is up to the XV century. existed only in Novgorod, Pskov and partly in Polotsk.

Veche played a prominent role in the political life of Ancient Russia, so the political system of that time can be called veche democracy.

An analysis of the socio-political situation in Kievan Rus leads to the conclusion that the people were an active political and social force, based on the traditions of freedom and public institutions dating back to antiquity, but built on a territorial basis. By means of the vecha, the people often decided which of the princes to "put on the table", discussed issues of war and peace, acted as a mediator in princely conflicts, and resolved financial and land problems. As for the nobility, it has not yet emerged as a separate, closed class, has not yet turned into a social entity that opposes the main part of the population.

The social structure of ancient Russia The highest class in Russia were the princes, and from the 10th century. also ministers of the clergy, tk. they owned (obviously, from the 11th century) landed property (patrimony). A privileged position was occupied by the squad. The squad organization had an internal hierarchy: the top of the squad layer was the oldest squad; its members were called boyars. The lowest layer was the younger squad. Its representatives were called lads. The lower class consisted of a free rural population, subject to tribute, and free townspeople, who were called people. For the personally dependent population of estates, as well as for non-free servants, the terms servants and serfs were used. Smerds constituted a special category of the population. The question of its essence is debatable. In the second half of the 11th c. a category of purchases appears - people who become dependent on the landowner for debts and are forced to work for the master until the amount of the debt is paid. Their legal position was intermediate between free people and serfs.

The social structure of the society of Kievan Rus The population of the ancient Russian state, according to various estimates, ranged from 5 to 9 million people. At the head of Russia were the Rurikovichs - the great Kyiv prince and his relatives. The prince enjoyed great power. He led the army, organized the defense of the country and directed all conquest campaigns. In the former tribal principalities, his brothers and sons ruled on behalf of the Grand Prince of Kyiv. Senior squad Former tribal princes and the best men of the period of "military democracy" made up the senior squad, the top of the squad layer. They were called boyars and constituted a permanent council ("thought") of the prince. The junior squad The junior squad are ordinary soldiers (“gridi”, “lads”, “children”). From the junior squad, the prince's personal squad was recruited, which was in his service. From the pre-state period, a squad came to the social structure of Kievan Rus. But during this period, it is divided into older and younger. People are personally free residents of Kievan Rus. By occupation, people could be both urban artisans and communal peasants. Craftsmen were a fairly large group of the population of Russia. As the social division of labor grew, cities became centers for the development of handicrafts. By the XII century. in the cities of Russia there were over 60 craft specialties; artisans produced more than 150 types of iron products. With the growth of cities, the development of crafts, the activity of such a group of the population as merchants is connected. The Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944 allows us to speak of the existence of an independent merchant profession. The peasants united in a rural community - a verv, which consisted of economically independent families. The word "rope" is most often associated with a rope, which may have been used to highlight individual sections. The community had a certain territory and was responsible for public order on it before the state (for a corpse found on its territory, it had to pay or find and extradite the killer), paid a fine - viru - for its members, owned land, which it periodically distributed among families . Vladimir I (Saint) Svyatoslavovich (died in 1015), Prince of Novgorod (since 969), Grand Duke of Kyiv (since 980). The youngest son of Svyatoslav. Came to power in Kyiv after an 8-year internecine war. He conquered the Vyatichi, Radimichi and Yotvingians; fought with the Pechenegs, Volga Bulgaria, Byzantium and Poland. Under him, defensive lines were built along the rivers Desna, Osetr, Trubezh, Sula, and others. , re-fortified and built up with stone buildings in Kyiv. In 988-990 introduced Christianity as the state religion. Under Vladimir I, the Old Russian state entered its heyday, and the international prestige of Russia increased. In Russian epics it was called the Red Sun. Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The squad, which previously performed only military functions, from the end of the 10th century. more and more turned into the apparatus of state power. The warriors performed various assignments of the Grand Duke (in military affairs, in governing the country, in the field of diplomatic relations). At the same time, the prince was forced to reckon with the opinion of the squad. The chronicle cites a case when the squad expressed their dissatisfaction with the stinginess of Vladimir, who exposed wooden dishes during the feast; the prince, considering that the loss of a squad is worth more than silver and gold, satisfied her demand. In the cities, the prince relied on the boyar-posadniks, in the army - on the governor, who were also, as a rule, representatives of prominent boyar families. The main group of the population of Kievan Rus were free community members - people. Semi-dependent population of Kievan Rus At the beginning of the XII century. a group of semi-dependent people appears - purchases. Most often, these were ruined community members who went into bondage for obtaining a loan - “kupa”. Working off the debt, the purchaser could work on the land of his master, but at the same time he retained his economy. The law protected the purchase from the possible desire of the owner to turn him into an independent (ie, complete) serf. Zaqup was deprived of his personal freedom, but he could redeem himself by repaying a debt. But if the purchase tried to escape, he became a complete slave. Russkaya Pravda is a code of ancient Russian law. It included separate norms of the “Russian Law”, the Pravda of Yaroslav the Wise (the so-called Ancient Truth), the Pravda of the Yaroslavichs, the Charter of Vladimir Monomakh, etc. Dedicated to protecting the life and property of princely combatants, servants; free rural community members and townspeople; regulated the position of dependent people; set out the norms of obligation and inheritance law, etc. It has been preserved in 3 editions: Brief, Lengthy, Abbreviated (lists of the 13th-18th centuries). A small group of the semi-dependent population of Russia were the Ryadovichi. According to Russkaya Pravda, their lives were only protected by a 5 hryvnia fine. Probably their connection with the drafting of the contract - a series. Perhaps the Ryadovichi are tiunas who have concluded an agreement, key-keepers, husbands of slaves, as well as children from marriages of slaves and freemen. Ryadovichi often carried out minor administrative assignments of their masters. The Dependent Population of Kievan Rus The completely dependent groups of the population include the slaves known as servants and serfs. Probably servants is an early name, serfs is a later one. Another possible explanation: servants - slaves from prisoners of war, serfs - internal slaves. The slave did not have the right to be a witness at the trial, and the owner was not responsible for his murder. Not only the slave was punished for escaping, but also everyone who helped him. The sources of slavery were captivity, selling oneself into slavery, marrying a slave or marrying a slave, entering the service of a prince (tiun, housekeeper) without an appropriate contract. In Russia, there was patriarchal slavery, when slaves were involved in work in the household, but Roman classical slavery did not exist. Most of the slaves did menial work. Their life was estimated at five hryvnia. But at the same time, slaves could be managers, overseers, and housekeepers. Their life (for example, a princely tiun) was estimated at 80 hryvnia, and he could act as a witness in court. Despite the existence of a non-free population in Kievan Rus, most historians believe that slavery in Rus was not widespread due to economic disadvantage. In addition, in Russia there are categories of semi-dependent and fully dependent residents. Smerds were a special group of the population. These are probably not free princely tributaries. Smerd had no right to leave his property to his heirs. It was given to the prince. One more group can be distinguished - outcasts, people who have lost their social status - a serf who has redeemed himself, a community member expelled from the line, a bankrupt merchant or artisan, and even a prince who has lost his principality.

The prince and the princely squad, along with the city council, personified the most important state institutions of Kievan Rus.

As I.Ya. Froyanov, the word team is common Slavonic. It is formed from the word "friend", the original meaning of which is a companion, comrade in war.

In Russian historical science, a squad is usually understood as a detachment of warriors (“Svyatopolk, and Volodimir and Rostislav, having executed the squad, poidosha”) or the prince’s inner circle (“you love the squad for great”).

It is difficult to say when and how a squad appears among the Eastern Slavs. The origin of the squad can only be assumed, based on indirect data and analogies. As a rule, when it comes to such issues, early evidence of the squads of the ancient Germans is attracted. In the 1st century AD among the ancient Germans, combatants constituted a special group. She lived separately from her community, along with the leader. Vigilantes existed thanks to military campaigns in which booty was captured, as well as thanks to gifts from their fellow tribesmen and neighboring tribes. The leader had the right to distribute the funds thus received. He was connected with the retinue by mutual obligations of personal loyalty. The squad was recruited from noble youths and valiant warriors. Tacitus also mentions some hierarchical division among the vigilantes.

Apparently, the East Slavic squad had similar characteristics. However, we can draw such a conclusion only by analogy. Moreover, in the sources the word "team" is clearly not unambiguous. So, in the story about the Kiev uprising in 1068, two different squads are mentioned: “Otherwise, people speak to the governor on Kosnyachka; went to the mountain, forever, and having come to the Kosnyachkov yard and did not find it, stood at the yard of Bryachislavl and decided: “Let's go, let's land our squad from the cellar.” Izyaslav is sitting on the senekh with his retinue ... ". As you can see, in addition to the princely retinue, “their own” retinue of the rebellious Kyivans is also mentioned here. Of whom in this case it consists, it is difficult to say, but it is obvious that in addition to the princely squads, there were others. Nevertheless, in the historical literature, it is customary to call a squad of warriors a princely detachment.

The allocation of the princely squad, according to A.A. Gorsky, contributes to the destruction of the tribal structure that engulfed the Slavic ethnos in the 5th-6th centuries. S.V. Yushkov believes that the princely squads as a circle of his closest associates and employees have existed since the very emergence of the Kievan state. I agree with both of them, since I consider the armed detachments of tribal leaders of the 5th-7th centuries to be the prototype of the princely squad of Kievan Rus.

Despite the paucity of sources, it can be assumed what the size of the squad was and who it consisted of. One of the earliest references to the size of the squad of Russian princes is a fragment from the notes of Ibn Fadlan, who says that “together with the king of the Rus, four hundred men from among the heroes, his associates, are constantly in the castle.” A.A. Gorsky supports the opinion of T. Vasilevsky that the squad consisted of two hundred to four hundred people, with which I.N. agrees. Danilevsky, but M.B. Sverdlov believes that the number of soldiers reached five hundred or eight hundred people.

There is a consensus in the historical literature on the problem of the composition of the squad. The main contingent of the squad, according to S.V. Yushkov, can be considered "the tribal nobility, but anyone whom the prince considered valuable in military affairs could be included in the number of combatants." This shows that the prince could receive people from different nations and tribes, which is confirmed by the sources. In addition to the Slavs and Varangians, the Ugrians (Hungarians), and Torks, and other tribes also consisted in the squad. I.D. Belyaev believes, and one cannot but agree with him, taking into account the Varangian origin of the Rurik dynasty, that initially the squad consisted only of the Varangians. But already under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, this element loses its primary importance, since, according to I.D. Belyaev, these free and restless warriors could become an obstacle in exercising his power, and after the death of Yaroslav, the chronicles do not mention the Varangian squads at all. However, already under Oleg, the Varangians perceive themselves as an indigenous population (as Slavs). Oleg's treaty with Byzantium in 911 draws before us such assimilation, in which his combatants swear by "Perun, their god, and Volos, the cattle god." I.D. Belyaev also says that Hungarians, Pechenegs, Poles, and Polovtsians, and others now served in the squad.

It is indisputable that the princely squads had a hierarchical structure. As a rule, it is divided into “senior”, “junior” and “middle” - a group of “husbands”, which cannot be attributed to either the first or the second.

The "senior" squad consisted of those who served the father of the prince ("team away"). It passes to the younger generations of princes, armed with the former influence and authority in the retinue and public environment. Most often, this group of warriors includes boyars, less often husbands, S.V. Yushkov believes that “thousands, posadniks and other representatives of the princely administration come out of its ranks.” Chronicles are full of stories about the princes who are in the boyar company in a variety of life situations, social and domestic: “... and after the funeral of the liturgy, the brothers dined avariciously, each with his own boyars”, “and the noble prince Vsevolod opposes him with his son’s voice and all boyars, and Blessed Metropolitan John with chernoriztsi and sounders. And all the kiyans were crying over him”, “Svyatopolk called the boyars and kyyans, and told them, if Davyd had told him. And deciding the boyars and the people ... ". The old tradition of the duma of the prince with his retinue was fundamental in the relationship between the prince and the boyars. Whatever the prince started, he always had to "reveal" his plan to the boyars who served him, otherwise risking losing boyar support, which threatened him with failure. The princes sometimes neglected the advice of the boyars, but such facts were rare. However, over time, the prince prefers to focus on the "middle" squad, not listening to the advice of the boyars, but the commanders of the "wars" invariably stand out from the "senior" squad, because they are the most experienced and valiant.

The “middle” layer of the squad was made up of mushrooms, according to S.M. Solovyov and I.E. Zabelin, or princely men (S.V. Yushkov, I.A. Poray-Koshits). It is possible that, unlike the boyars, who were involved in government, the men were engaged only in military service. These combatants constituted the main combat contingent of the prince's personal military forces. Gradually, the prince prefers to rely not on his father's warriors - the boyars, but on his peers. Perhaps it is precisely with this that the numerous reproaches of the chroniclers against the princes are connected that they listen to the advice of the "uny", neglecting the opinion of the elders: "And I began to love [Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich] the meaning of the prince of truth, start the union of plunder, sell people, I don’t lead this in my illnesses. Perhaps behind this lies the gradual strengthening of the role of the prince, who sought to get rid of the influence of the squad. The layer of the "middle" squad was made up of the prince's peers. According to I.N. Danilevsky, they grew up and were brought up with the prince from the age of 13-14. Together with these warriors, the prince studied military affairs, went on his first campaigns. From this it is clear why their position was closer to the prince, why he sought support among his peers.

Also, strong ties connected the prince with the “junior” squad, which included youths, children, merciful, stepchildren, who, depending on the individual duties entrusted to them, wear swordsmen, metal workers, virniki, and others. Sources acquaint us with the youths earlier than with the rest of the representatives of the “younger” squad - in the 10th century: “therefore, the villagers drink gray hair, and Olga ordered his youth to serve before them”, “and Svyatoslav said, except in vain, his youth ... ". They are with the prince, one might say, relentlessly. The youths are, first of all, servants of the prince. This can be judged by the relationship between the words "lad" and "servant": Boris, however, stood with his youths and attacked like an animal near the tent, and thrust both spears, and pierced Boris, and his servant, falling on him, pierced with him. The official purpose of the youths is revealed in written monuments quite easily. "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells about the youths who served Olga and Svyatoslav. In the Long Truth, the prince's lad is put on a par with the groom and the cook: "even in the princes of the children, or in the groom, or in the cook." On the basis of the material of the Long Truth, it can be concluded that the lad served as an assistant to the virnik (“And behold, the horses of the virnik were beaten under Yaroslav: take the virnik seven buckets of malt for a week, but it’s nice to weed the ram, any two legs; and in the middle of the kuna is cheese, and in Friday is the same or something like a virnik with a youth ...”), a bridgeman (“And this is the lesson of the bridgemen”), according to M.B. Sverdlov, and a swordsman, and an independent actor in the collection of virus. Youths are not only domestic, but also military servants of the prince. Svyatopolk Izyaslavich had 700 youths ready for battle: “He [Svyatopolk Izyaslavich] said: “I have my youths 700.” The data about the youths speak of their belonging to the princely house. But the question of their freedom remains open. Most likely, some of them were slaves in the past, however, I think that some of them were free as well. the lad could occupy the usual for a free position of an assistant to the virnik and, in general, be in the service.

Many researchers combine adolescents and children, which is not quite correct, because. they differed in their functions and position. According to article 86 of the Long Truth, “and pay forty kunas for an iron sword, five kunas for a swordsman, and half a hryvnia for a child; then you have an iron lesson, who knows what to eat. It follows that the child followed the iron test at the trial, which means that he was the main executor of the sentence in court. According to article 108 of the Long Truth, "even the brothers stretch themselves in front of the prince on the ass, which the children go and divide, then take a hryvnia kun." It turns out that in the case of a judicial division of the inheritance between the brothers, the child is entitled to a small payment. “During the uprising in Vladimir in 1178, not only princely posadniks and tiuns were killed, but also children’s and swordsmen “and plundered their houses,” which means that children had a home like tiuns and posadniks.” From the above material, it is clear that the activity of children is much more limited, hence their unequal position.

From the end of the XII century. one can trace how the "younger" squad is gradually absorbed by the princely court. The term "nobles" appears in the sources. Over time, the princely squad began to collapse, attach to the ground, losing its ability to fight, because. most of the warriors, in order to preserve traditions, should be exempted from management and service at the princely court.

S.V. Yushkov believes that “by the beginning of the 11th century. there has been a process of decomposition of retinue relations, which manifested itself in isolation from the princely court of the most influential combatants. I am also of the opinion that with the split of the squad into "senior" and "junior", with the constant growth of differences between them, symptoms of the breakup of the squad began to appear.

Summing up, it should be noted once again that within the ancient Russian squad there was a hierarchical division into “senior”, “middle” and “junior”. Within each particular social stratum, only certain functions were inherent in it. Over time, the role of the squad in political affairs and its influence on the prince changed. The Old Russian squad existed until the 13th century.

The prince and the princely squad, along with the city council, personified the most important state institutions of Kievan Rus.

As I.Ya. Froyanov, the word team is common Slavonic. It is derived from the word "friend", the original meaning of which is a companion, comrade in war.

Apparently, the East Slavic squad had similar characteristics. However, we can draw such a conclusion only by analogy. Moreover, in the sources the word "team" is clearly not unambiguous. So, in the story about the Kiev uprising in 1068, two different squads are mentioned: “Otherwise, people speak to the governor on Kosnyachka; went to the mountain, forever, and having come to the Kosnyachkov yard and did not find it, stood at the yard of Bryachislavl and decided: “Let's go, let's land our squad from the cellar.”<…>Izyaslav is sitting on the senekh with his retinue ... ". As you can see, in addition to the princely retinue, “their own” retinue of the rebellious Kyivans is also mentioned here. Of whom in this case it consists, it is difficult to say, but it is obvious that in addition to the princely squads, there were others. Nevertheless, in the historical literature, it is customary to call a squad of warriors a princely detachment.

Despite the paucity of sources, it can be assumed what the size of the squad was and who it consisted of. One of the earliest mentions of the size of the squad of Russian princes is a fragment from the notes of Ibn Fadlan, who says that “together with the king of the Rus in<…>the castle is constantly home to four hundred men from among the heroes, his associates. A.A. Gorsky supports the opinion of T. Vasilevsky that the squad consisted of two hundred to four hundred people, with which I.N. agrees. Danilevsky, but M.B. Sverdlov believes that the number of soldiers reached five hundred or eight hundred people.

There is a consensus in the historical literature on the problem of the composition of the squad. The main contingent of the squad, according to S.V. Yushkov, can be considered "the tribal nobility, but anyone whom the prince considered valuable in military affairs could be included in the number of warriors." This shows that the prince could receive people from different nations and tribes, which is confirmed by the sources. In addition to the Slavs and Varangians, the Ugrians (Hungarians), and Torks, and other tribes also consisted in the squad. I.D. Belyaev believes, and one cannot but agree with him, taking into account the Varangian origin of the Rurik dynasty, that initially the squad consisted only of the Varangians. But already under Vladimir Svyatoslavich, this element loses its primary importance, since, according to I.D. Belyaev, these free and restless warriors could become an obstacle in exercising his power, and after the death of Yaroslav, the chronicles do not mention the Varangian squads at all. However, already under Oleg, the Varangians perceive themselves as an indigenous population (as Slavs). Oleg's treaty with Byzantium in 911 draws before us such assimilation, in which his combatants swear by "Perun, their god, and Volos, the cattle god." I.D. Belyaev also says that Hungarians, and Pechenegs, and Poles, and Polovtsians, and others now served in the squad.

The "senior" squad consisted of those who served the father of the prince ("team away"). It passes to the younger generations of princes, armed with the former influence and authority in the retinue and public environment. Most often, this group of warriors includes boyars, less often husbands, S.V. Yushkov believes that “thousands, posadniks and other representatives of the princely administration come out of its ranks.” The chronicles are full of stories about the princes who are in the boyar company in a variety of life situations, public and domestic: “... and after the funeral of the liturgy, the brothers dined on avarice, each with his own boyars”, “and the noble prince Vsevolod with his son’s voice was opposing him<…>and all the boyars, and the blessed Metropolitan John with chernoriztsi and sounders. And all the kiyans were crying great over him, ”“ Svyatopolk called the boyars and kyyans, and told them, if Davyd told him<…>. And deciding the boyars and the people ... ". The old tradition of the duma of the prince with his retinue was fundamental in the relationship between the prince and the boyars. Whatever the prince started, he always had to "reveal" his plan to the boyars who served him, otherwise risking losing boyar support, which threatened him with failure. The princes sometimes neglected the advice of the boyars, but such facts were rare. However, over time, the prince prefers to focus on the "middle" squad, not listening to the advice of the boyars, but the commanders of the "wars" invariably stand out from the "senior" squad, because they are the most experienced and valiant.

Also, strong ties connected the prince with the “junior” squad, which included youths, children, merciful, stepchildren, who, depending on the individual duties entrusted to them, wear swordsmen, metal workers, virniki, and others. Sources acquaint us with the youths earlier than with the rest of the representatives of the “younger” squad - in the 10th century: “therefore, the villagers drink gray hair, and Olga ordered his youth to serve before them”, “and Svyatoslav said, except in vain, his youth ... ". They are with the prince, one might say, relentlessly. The youths are, first of all, servants of the prince. This can be judged by the relationship between the words "lad" and "servant": Boris is standing with his youths<…>and behold, attacking like a wild beast near the tent, and wearing both spears, and piercing Boris, and his servant, falling on him, piercing with him. The official purpose of the youths is revealed in written monuments quite easily. "The Tale of Bygone Years" tells about the youths who served Olga and Svyatoslav. In the Long Truth, the prince's lad is put on a par with the groom and the cook: "even in the princes of the children, or in the groom, or in the cook." On the basis of the material of the Long Truth, it can be concluded that the lad served as an assistant to the virnik (“And behold, the horses of the virnik were beaten under Yaroslav: take the virnik seven buckets of malt for a week, but it’s nice to weed the ram, any two legs; and in the middle of the kuna is cheese, and in same friday<…>then it’s a virnik with a youth ...”), a bridgeman (“And this is the lesson of bridgemen”), according to M.B. Sverdlov, and a swordsman, and an independent actor in the collection of virus. Youths are not only domestic, but also military servants of the prince. Svyatopolk Izyaslavich had 700 youths ready for battle: “He [Svyatopolk Izyaslavich] said: “I have my youths 700.” The data about the youths speak of their belonging to the princely house. But the question of their freedom remains open. Most likely, some of them were slaves in the past, however, I think that some of them were free as well. the lad could occupy the usual for a free position of an assistant to the virnik and, in general, be in the service.

Many researchers combine adolescents and children, which is not quite correct, because. they differed in their functions and position. According to article 86 of the Long Truth, “and pay forty kunas for an iron sword, five kunas for a swordsman, and half a hryvnia for a child; then you have an iron lesson, who knows what to eat. It follows that the child followed the iron test at the trial, which means that he was the main executor of the sentence in court. According to article 108 of the Long Truth, "even the brothers stretch themselves before the prince on the ass, which the children go and divide, then take a hryvnia kun" . It turns out that in the case of a judicial division of the inheritance between the brothers, the child is entitled to a small payment. “During the uprising in Vladimir in 1178, not only princely posadniks and tiuns were killed, but also children’s and swordsmen “and plundered their houses,” which means that children had a home like tiuns and posadniks.” From the above material, it is clear that the activity of children is much more limited, hence their unequal position.

Portal for the student. Self-training

DRUZHINA

RELATED ARTICLES