Ranks of dependent peasants of Ancient Russia: who are serfs, serfs, purchases, ryadovichi, their comparative characteristics.

AT modern world most people are well aware of the old word "smerd". For the majority, such a phrase is associated with a curse, however, not everyone knows exactly what the word “smerd” meant in ancient times. Meanwhile, about its origin, as well as questions regarding the classes that received just such a name, disputes have not subsided so far. That is why today we will try to understand the origin of the word "smerd", consider different, authoritative points of view, and also touch on the historical component.

So, according to the well-known periodical, smerdy in Ancient Russia- these are the classes of peasants of the 9th - 14th centuries, who were landowners and were initially free, unlike serfs. Subsequently, as the landlord system developed in Russia, they began to depend on the masters and gradually became enslaved. However, the well-known historian Grekov gives a slightly different interpretation of the concept of "smerd". In his opinion, smerds in Ancient Russia were members of the rural community, but throughout the whole time they depended directly on. However, the validity, however, as well as the groundlessness of such a point of view, is extremely difficult to prove (refute). The only authoritative opinion, in contrast to Grekov's statement, is the text of Russkaya Pravda, which does not give any reason to believe that the smerds depended solely on the prince. The fact is that in the publication, members of the community who belonged to the family were called "people." At the same time, Russkaya Pravda claimed that the escheated property of the smerd went to the prince. And if this category of peasants belonged to the community, then the escheated property would be divided precisely between the members of this community. It is also worth mentioning that for the murder of a smerd, the fine was only 5 hryvnia, while for the murder of any free person (man), the perpetrator would have to pay 40 hryvnia.

In the Novgorod Republic, smerds from time immemorial were subordinate to the state. The concept of smerda there included the entire category of the lower strata of the population, who were subordinate to the prince. They worked on their own land plots paid a large tax to the treasury. But at any moment the prince could resettle the smerds, donate them to the church. In addition, smerds in the Novgorod Republic served natural duties and were obliged to supply horses, feed soldiers in war time. Unlike ordinary communal peasants (they lived in villages), smerds lived in villages.

The term, which appeared in the period from the 11th to the 14th centuries, is also curious. "To stink" - meant to capture the villages and the population of the enemy principality during the princely internecine wars. After the 15th century, the category of smerds passed to the peasantry, but the term itself continued to be used and meant the unofficial appeal of the tsar to the lower strata of the population. Subsequently, the term "smerd" was used by the landowners to insult the delinquent servants or peasants. In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about the etymology of the word. The fact is that in some parts of the European part of Russia, houses were heated in a black way (that is, without the use of pipes), so all the smoke and cinders were removed through the portage windows of the huts. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine how terrible it smelled from all the stinks, given that this disgusting smell of burning was mixed with sweat.

The section is very easy to use. In the proposed field, just enter right word, and we will give you a list of its values. I would like to note that our site provides data from various sources - encyclopedic, explanatory, word-building dictionaries. Here you can also get acquainted with examples of the use of the word you entered.

The meaning of the word smerd

smerd in the crossword dictionary

stink

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

stink

smerda, m. (historical).

In ancient Russia - a peasant farmer.

Subsequently - scorn. the designation of a serf (in the mouth of a landowner, a representative of power).

A commoner, an ignorant person, in contrast to prince, comrade.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova.

stink

A, m. In Ancient Russia: a peasant, a farmer. Free deaths. Enslavement of deaths.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

stink

Peasant, farmer (in Russia IX-XIII centuries).

trans. A person of humble origin.

Wikipedia

Smerd

Smerd- category of the population according to "Russian Truth", a peasant in Russia of the 9th - 14th centuries, a farmer. Initially free (unlike serfs), as the local system developed, they were gradually enserfed. Smerdy were directly dependent on the prince.

Examples of the use of the word smerd in the literature.

The world needs the splendor and beauty of the holy places, so that everyone stink touched the great and felt the goodness of his native antiquity and the sweetness of the spiritual faith of his fathers!

Dressed in velvet, they walked around in their felted hats and in their heads only had a resemblance to the former serfs and stinks.

But not only the eyes, but also the heart of the prince now saw and heard every movement, every exclamation of the last, seedy stink among this crowd ready to rage.

Hardened in serious battles with Lithuania, many times escaping death, Nikita's three knights cost more than the entire crowd of hastily collected Zabolotsky smerdov.

There is a history of power and rulers, infinitely important, because life and work depend on power. smerdov, prosperity or disgrace of the country and land.

Aegin no longer doubted that the bald stink Crusta Gutulana is not a murderer and cannot be a murderer.

Father, to tell the truth, he was a cool guy - he hit some with a stick: do not bawl, they say, stinks.

Rybkin pressed forward to immediately begin to take black wood from all smerdov along the volost, and on the roads to put their people and duty-free wagons to wrap up to the governor's court.

To whom more is given, the demand is greater: from an adult - not from a child, from a boyar - not from stink, from a prince - more than a boyar, from a faithful to the Lord - more than a pagan and a neveglas, from an honest person - more than a rogue.

Whoever faithfully serves the Lord, whether he is a monk or a layman, stink or a prince, all the same, one must reject selfhood, forget about one's majesty, for no one is higher than a heavenly father, and work for one's neighbor, forgetting oneself!

thought stinks that they are not giving away a piece of their land to the first fireman, but they didn’t have the strength to argue - the hungry children were crying endlessly.

Not wanting to break through, Ivan took a detour, along the riverside strands of the city wall, from where, behind the corn yard and berets, he got out to the Borovitskaya tower, where they also rushed out of the city, there was an incomparable abuse, yelling and tears, donkeys and fists were thrown up, the horses neighed, and when, once again, they grabbed him by the floor, Ivan, without arguing, raised a Tatar belt whip over his head in order to cross stink.

One of the boyars said: - Let's say stink to reprisal cases - we’ll see otherwise!

The ears are opposed to the ambush, the prince's squad: the latter fought hard against Berladnik, and stinks ran over to him.

Every now and then, breaking through the ranks of the military, they were drawn to him stinks, artisans and merchants.

smurdi, smardones) - the social stratum of fame. early medieval societies. In the sources of the 11th-12th centuries. S. marked in Kievan Rus(Russian Truth and other sources), in Poland, among the Polabian Slavs; S. may also have been in the Balkans. On the question of what social stratum dr.-rus. society was designated by the term "S.", there are three DOS. points of view: 1) S. - the designation of the entire mass rural population: initially S. - free community members, then with the development of feuds. relations, they gradually lose their freedom and for a long time coexist free and dependent S. (B. D. Grekov, I. I. Smirnov). 2) S. - peasants who sat on the state. land and taxed, later with the development of feuds. relations from their environment, a group of S., who were in the immediate vicinity, stands out. dependence on the prince-patrimony (L. V. Cherepnin). 3) S. - special group dependent semi-free population, close in position to the West.-Europe. litam (S. V. Yushkov) or formed from the serfs planted on the ground and close to them in its own way. position (A. A. Zimin). According to the supporters of the first two points of view, the norms of Russian Truth reflect Ch. arr. the position of the most oppressed groups of S., and not of the entire S. stratum as a whole. S.'s position was ambivalent. Unlike a slave, S. had his own family and property, and paid a fine for his misdeeds. At the same time, he was legally incomplete; the murder of S. was punished with the same fine as the murder of a serf. His escheated property was inherited by the prince (it is even possible that initially the right was applied to S. " dead hand"). The prohibition to "torture" (torture in court proceedings) S. "without the prince of the word" indicates the special attitude of S. Russkaya Pravda to the prince. From the beginning of the 12th century, the lands inhabited by S. were transferred to the ownership of separate feudal lords Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, references to S. were preserved in sources telling about events in the Galicia-Volyn and Novgorod lands. In some cases, the term S. during this period apparently denoted the entire rural population of that S. Novgorod and Pskov lands of the 14-15 centuries appear in the sources as peasant proprietors, owning land collectively (whole communities) or individually and having the right to freely alienate their allotments. foreign territory or under the patronage of the prince, and the prince is forbidden to accept complaints from S. against the “lord.” S. also had to perform certain duties (“tributes”, “works”) in favor of the city as a collective feudal lord. among the Polabian Slavs, chief arr. Lusatian Serbs, and in Poland are much more scarce. According to some researchers, S. among the Polabian Slavs is a layer of semi-free people that has existed for a long time; according to others, - originally DOS. mass of free glory. community members who gradually lost their property and freedom as a result of the conquest. S. among the Polabian Slavs are mentioned in letters already as part of the population of certain possessions, to-rye complained of otd. German feudal lords emperors. In them, S. are distinguished from slaves, they are equated with semi-free - litas or naz. columns. In Poland, in letters of the 12th-13th centuries. S. are also mentioned in the composition of the population of the granted otd. feudal estates. In addition to them, the smerds of the prince are also mentioned, to-rykh are called. his servers. According to a number of researchers, in Poland the term "S." served originally to designate the main. masses of free community members, the Polish historian K. Buchek believes that S. are serfs planted on the ground. Lit .: Yushkov S. V., On the question of smerds, "Uch. Zap. Saratov. State University", 1923, vol. 1, c. four; True Russian, vol. 2, M.-L., 1947; Grekov B. D., Kievan Rus, (M.), 1953; Cherepnin L.V., From the history of the formation of the class of the feudal-dependent peasantry in Russia, IZ, vol. 56, M., 1956; Zimin A. A., About stinks Dr. Russia XI - early. XII centuries, in the book: Historical and archaeological. Sat., (M., 1962); Smirnov I. I., Essays on socio-economic. relations Russia XII-XIII centuries, M.-L., 1963; Marasinova L. M., New Pskov letters of the XIV-XV centuries, M., 1966; Ryskin B., Smerdy in the German regions. colonization of the XI-XIII centuries, "VI", 1948, No 3; K?tzschke R., Zur Sozialgeschichte der Westslaven, in: Jahrb?cher f?r Kultur und Geschichte der Slaven, Bd 8, Hl 1, Breslau, 1932; Tymieniecki K., Uwagi o smerdach (smardach, smurdach) Slowianskich, in Studia historica, Warsz., 1958; his own, Smardowie polscy, Poznan, 1959. B. N. Florya. Moscow.

Remember the famous quotes from the beloved “Ivan Vasilyevich”, who changes his profession: “Why did you offend the noblewoman, stink?”, “Oh, you tramp, mortal pimple, stink!”? We laugh together at the bewilderment of Yakin (Mikhail Pugovkin), admire the Terrible (Yuri Yakovlev), but when we undertake to reread Bulgakov's immortal comedy, we also pay attention to the wonderful language in which the work is written.

Smerd stink strife

A modern reader who quickly forgets lessons on such a school subject as history will probably not immediately say what a smerd is, or rather, who it is. But the inquisitive, of course, will be interested to find out that the inhabitants were called this way ancient Russian state, with the exception of the nobility (boyars) and the clergy. Those. this concept meant merchants, merchants and artisans, wandering buffoons and townspeople, as well as peasants. So what is a commoner, a person of diverse origins. However, over time, the word acquires a different semantics.

Peasant question

Now some clarifications. The peasants in Russia were once free farmers. Then, as they became enslaved, they began to be divided into three categories: “people”, “serfs”, “smerds”. "People" were called citizens of low birth without owners-boyars. According to Russkaya Pravda (a test legal document of the 11th-16th centuries), if someone kills a free man and is caught, he must pay a fine of 40 hryvnias. And what is a smerd if his life was worth no more than the life of a slave (serf) - 5 hryvnias? Also, it turns out, a slave. Whose? Prince, i.e. boyar.

The category of smerds gradually began to include those free peasant farmers who became enslaved as social stratification and the growth of landlord lands. This meaning of the word is typical for the times of Kievan Rus.

Smerd "in Novgorod"

The Novgorod Republic was a special territory. And there were rules. What is a smerd according to local laws? This is a farmer dependent on the state, and not on a private owner. Then, in general, all peasants began to be attributed to this category. In Russia, it was the plowmen who were the most numerous category of citizens. The state gave them plots of land, for which the smerds paid taxes to the treasury, and the princes - the duty "in kind": food, linen, domestic animals, etc. Such peasants were obliged to live in villages (from the word "village", i.e. e. "sedentary"). Around the 15th century, the term "smerdy" was replaced by "peasants". And since the army was recruited from the common people, at times and a little later, service people were called this word.

In documents (orders, letters, letters, petitions) of that time, this is the officially accepted form when the king addresses the soldiers. A few centuries later, the concept of "smerd" turned into a contemptuous, almost abusive designation of serfs and commoners. By the way, during the time of princely strife, there was a specific, then obsolete word “to stink”: to capture the subjects of an enemy prince.

And more about etymology and word usage

If we talk about it, it belongs to the Indo-European language group. We have considered lexical transformation. It remains to be said about the additional semantic meaning obtained in the process of use. From the word "smerd" the verb "stink" was formed, i.e. "smell bad". The fact is that in the huts where the poorest peasants and serfs lived, the windows were covered with air that did not let in at all. The stoves were heated "in black", the smoke barely left the premises, smoking through everything. And in late autumn, winter and in early spring together with the people in the huts, poultry and cattle also kept. It is clear that the "aroma" of stink could be smelled a mile away. Therefore, over time, the word "smerd" instead of "serf" began to denote a dirty, untidy, stinking person. A modern synonym is "homeless".

Arable land in the times of Russia was the main wealth, the main means of production. The most popular variation production organization became patrimonial - the boyars and princes owned the patrimony, they received it from their fathers and passed it on to their sons. Peasants worked on this land - serfs, serfs, purchases, ryadovichi.

In Kievan Rus, along with the capital and boyar estates, there were a large number of communal farmers, so far not dependent on the feudal lords. Such independent communities of peasants paid taxes in favor of the country to the prince.

The first of the most popular categories of dependent peasants named, I suggest that you consider smerds. As you know, smerds are free peasant farmers who cultivate state land and pay a special tax in favor of the state. Smerdy, compared with other groups of dependent peasants, were in a fairly advantageous position- they had personal freedom, their own land, these people honestly worked and received remuneration, they had no problems with the local princely authorities, if they regularly paid tax, they received a protectorate from the prince and had certain civil and human rights. According to various sources, conscription smerdov - direct participation in campaigns in the infantry, or the supply of horses and food for the army. In addition, this category was the most numerous in Russia. It is the smerds that were the main component of the rural population of Kievan Rus in the 9th-12th centuries. The very concept of "smerd", according to one version, means - "man", "free peasant". Gradually, these free communal peasants became dependent on the feudal lords, lost their personal freedom and independence, “attached” to the land, and over time, the bulk of the free peasants turned into serfs. The development of socio-economic relations has led to the fact that the previously free part of the population has turned into a disenfranchised mass.

The next of the categories we are considering are serfs. This social stratum was not so numerous, but serfs also made up an impressive proportion among the rural population of the ancient Russian state. Directly - serfs - a dependent part of the population of Kievan Rus. This is a part of the population, in its position close to the slave. Serfs, for the most part - prisoners of war. Serfs, who already existed in the 9th-12th centuries in Russia, are also called serfs. According to the most common theory, the word "kholop" means "attached to the ground", "fixed peasant". The situation of the serfs was terrible - complete lack of rights and slave labor. Historians argue that Kievan Rus belongs to those states that practically missed the period of the slave system in their development, however, in the conditions of the life of the Old Russian state, it can be stated that the slave system quietly existed in it next to the feudal system, which is typical for most Slavic peoples. And there is nothing unusual in this - some part of the population will in any case be endowed with less rights than others.

Further, I suggest that you consider such a category of the population as purchases. Purchases - peasants who are in difficult material and social status, close to the servile one. Purchases are also called hirelings. It cannot be said that these are people who sell their labor, rather they are debtors, under a special agreement (the text of which can be found in Russkaya Pravda) become personally dependent on the so-called employer. Purchasing rights are severely limited, but they are more protected than serfs who do not have any social rights at all. It is precisely falling into personal dependence under a certain contract that distinguishes the purchaser from the ordinary proletarian of the times of capitalism, although both of them sell their labor power. To social rights purchase includes a very dubious right not to be twisted "for no reason", but "just like that." The purchase has the right to defend its rights in court and the ability to leave the owner, subject to certain conditions stipulated in the signed contract. Procurement also have the right to their own property, which they cannot be forcibly deprived of. In addition to rights, there are also obligations. For example, purchasers are required to fulfill all the terms of the contract and are responsible for the property, inventory and livestock of the owner. Only in this case they can count on the observance of all prescribed rights and freedoms.
Usually peasants who had no means of subsistence went into purchases, or hirelings, and becoming dependent was their chance to survive and feed their families. Purchases did various work in the feudal yard, on this basis they are divided into several subcategories. If the purchase runs away from the owner, he turns him into a slave.

The category of the dependent population of Ancient Russia, which is very similar to purchases, is the Ryadovichi. Until now, historians, studying the written sources of the times of the ancient Russian state, have not determined who the Ryadovichi are. According to one of the theories, confirmed by extracts from Russkaya Pravda, the ryadovichi are part of the servants, petty employees in the house of the feudal lord. Another version says that these are smerds who entered into a special agreement (“row”) with the feudal lord, according to which they fell into some kind of feudal dependence and served the owner for pay, food and shelter. This definition brings the rank and file closer to purchases.

From all this we can conclude that smerds are the largest and most prosperous category of the population of Kievan Rus, because they had personal freedom, unlike purchases and ryadovichi, who lost it in order to survive, and even more so from absolutely disenfranchised serfs. Just serfs - people whose position was actually slavish and are the lowest social category of the ancient Russian state.